Newfoundland and Labrador Hansard — Members' Statements; Statements by Ministers — 14 April 2005 (45th General Assembly, 2nd Session)
2005-04-14
Newfoundland and Labrador — Debates (Hansard)
April 14. 2005 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS Vol. XLV
No. 11
The House met at 1:30 p.m.
MR. SPEAKER (Hodder): Order, please!
Admit strangers.
I do believe the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi was standing.
The hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.
MR. HARRIS: On a point of order, Mr. Speaker.
Yesterday, after Question Period, I asked for the tabling of a letter by the
Premier to Mr. McCurdy, which he cited during Question Period, and we did have
an undertaking from the Government House Leader to provide the letter before the
close of business yesterday. Unfortunately, it seems he had to leave the House a
few minutes before the House did close. The Acting Government House Leader did
not have any knowledge of what was going on, so I wonder if the Government House
Leader can tell us today, or can table the letter from the Premier to Mr.
McCurdy so we can see what the nature of the request was?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.
MR. E. BYRNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yes, I did have to leave the House about 4:50 p.m. I had an unexpected
personal message that I had to deal with, but in the Order Paper today, under
Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given, I will be happy to table
the letter. I have it with me and I will table it at that point under the Order
Paper in which the Standing Orders call for it.
MR. SPEAKER: It is not a point of order; however, I do believe there has
been an understanding between two hon. members.
Statements by Members
MR. SPEAKER: This afternoon we have members' statements as follows: the
hon. the Member for the District of Topsail, the hon. the Member for the
District of Fortune Bay-Cape la Hune, the hon. the Member for the District of
Port au Port, the hon. the Member for the District of Grand Bank, and the hon.
the Member for the District of Grand Falls-Buchans.
The hon. the Member for the District of Topsail.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS E. MARSHALL: Mr. Speaker, today I am very proud to recognize a group
of young individuals from my district who recently received national recognition
for their athletic achievements in boxing.
Five young boxers, ages four to sixteen, from the Conception Bay South Boxing
Club, recently represented our Province of Newfoundland and Labrador at the
Cadet Canadian National Championships in Prince George, British Columbia, April
1 to April 3. They combined to take home four medals from this prestigious
event.
Mr. Colin Morgan won gold in the forty-three kilogram category, and Michelle
Benson took top honours in the fifty-three kilogram weight class. Colin also
earned a gold medal in the forty-one kilogram exhibition competition. Michelle
Rideout won bronze in her class of fifty kilograms, while Megan Dawe captured a
bronze medal as well.
The team also earned the "most disciplined" award for the
championships. This is a most impressive award because it not only demonstrate
their character in the ring, but also the discipline displayed in all their
other activities. I believe this achievement also recognizes the important role
of their coaching staff, Mr. Doug Fowler, Mr. Todd Rideout, and another
accomplished boxer, Mr. Donnie Hunt, in teaching boxing in the ring and
behaviour when out of the ring. Interesting also is that Colin and Robert Morgan
are twins, and obviously share the same interests. I am also very pleased to
inform this House that Megan Dawe is the first female ever to win the gold medal
for Newfoundland and Labrador at the Junior Cadet National Competition which was
held in British Columbia.
I ask all members of this House to join me today in congratulating those
tremendous young athletes from my district for this outstanding achievement in
boxing, and the contribution they have made to our Province of Newfoundland and
Labrador.
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Fortune Bay-Cape la Hune.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. LANGDON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Today I rise to congratulate the Fortune Bay North Family Resource Centre,
located in Belleoram, for celebrating their tenth anniversary.
Mr. Speaker, just over ten years ago, funding from the federal government was
obtained through the Community Action Program for Children to create the Family
Resource Centre. The centre is physically located in Belleoram, but covers a
large geographical area in Fortune Bay that is made up of nine small rural
communities. Since the establishment of the centre, it has become a focal point
for the many residents it serves.
The facility consists of a meeting room for parents and children, play area,
program room, clothing exchange program, toy library, book bag library, and an
information and resource lending room. The centre is also home to the Healthy
Baby Club for the region.
Mr. Speaker, it is a place where children and parents can meet, get
information, or just sit and relax without the interruption of normal day life.
Parents network and support each other, and children socialize and learn about
the value of good healthy eating. Parents and staff work together to promote an
overall healthy lifestyle. The centre employs four full-time staff, one
part-time staff and two casual staff. Their dedication to the programs and
services they offer has been outstanding.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to congratulate the Executive Director, Mr. Cyril Brown,
and his staff for their commitment and dedication, and wish them continued
success in the future.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Port au Port.
MR. J. HODDER: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate fifteen
Enterprise Education students from the Stephenville High School who were chosen
to represent this Province at the Eighth Annual National Young Entrepreneur
Conference and Business Competition in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the United
States. This is being held at the present time from April 13 to April 15.
The competition hosts 750 students, teachers and youth leaders who come to
participate in the entrepreneurship classes and competition over a three-day
period.
At the conference, adults and young entrepreneurs share their secrets and
stories of success; youth run businesses compete for prizes, cash and
scholarships; break out sessions are conducted to provide hands on assistance in
starting and running a business; and students and teachers leave the conference
inspired, motivated and energized.
The institute has provided young people ages eight to eighteen with the
assistance for starting business since 1995. Young people start businesses, earn
money and contribute to their community. The institute helps ventures get
started and expand, with the intention that they will have economic impact, as
well as affect the lifelong skills of the young people.
Enterprise Education, Mr. Speaker, is very important to the young people of
Stephenville High School. It also represents a vehicle by which rural areas of
this Province can easily be sustained through the creativity and determination
of entrepreneurs who create, not only opportunities for themselves, but also for
others.
During their time at the conference the students will be promoting the
Province of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Stephenville, Port au Port, Bay
St. George area as a great place to operate a business, to invest, to visit, and
to raise a family.
I congratulate the fifteen students involved, Mr. Speaker, their teacher,
Shawn Bradbury and the conference organizers.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Grand Bank.
MS FOOTE: Mr. Speaker, today I congratulate students from two schools in
the District of Grand Bank, John Burke High School and Lake Academy.
Students from those schools are recognized for their efforts in their Market
Your Thoughts competition, which is a business essay competition sponsored by
the Y Enterprise Centre in partnership with the Department of Education. There
were 854 entries received from throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.
Rebecca Stuckey of John Burke High School in Grand Bank is both the district
and provincial winner at the Grade 8 level. Kurt Warren was named the Grade 9
level winner at the district level. Four other students from John Burke High
School, Kristin Francis, Bradley Caines, Bradley Symes and Philip Hillier placed
among the top 100. Students placing in the top 100 from Lake Academy in Fortune
were: Adam Piercey, Jennifer Lake, Kerri-Lynn Rose, Michael Pittman, Brian
Keeping, Tyler Coady and Stacey Matchem.
The competition was designed for students in Grades 7 to 9 in the Province.
It was developed to introduce intermediate students to the many business
opportunities that can be created by young people and encourage them to think
seriously about a future as entrepreneurs. Students are required to write a 600
to 1,000 word essay describing a business idea or opportunity they believe could
work in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of this House to join me in congratulating all
students in the Province who participated in this particular competition and
commend the Y Enterprise Centre and the Department of Education on this most
worthwhile initiative.
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Grand Falls-Buchans.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS THISTLE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate a very much admired constituent of
mine, ninety-one year old Mary McCormick, who was named an Honourary Member of
the Newfoundland and Labrador Drama Society, during the Fifty-fifth Annual
Provincial Drama Festival recently held in Grand Falls-Windsor.
Mr. Speaker, Mary McCormick has had a lifetime involvement in local and
provincial drama. As a young girl growing up in Grand Falls-Windsor, and even
now, her stage presence has captured the attention of the many audiences who
have had the privilege to see her preform. She has a tremendous ability to
transform herself into the character she is playing, a rare talent that has
brought her success over the years.
Mary did not limit her acting abilities to just theater. She was also a
member of the cast of Up At Hours , a television series with acclaimed
actor, Gordon Pinsent. Her countless hours and enthusiasm has helped establish
and maintain an interest in drama for people of all ages and it is hoped that
she will continue to be involved well into the future.
Mr. Speaker, I would like all members to join with me in congratulating Ms
Mary McCormick on being recognized for her lifetime contribution to drama.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Statements by Ministers.
Statements by Ministers
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury
Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
In recognition of National Organ Donor and Tissue Donation Awareness Week, I
rise today to bring your attention to an issue that touches thousands of
Canadians every year, an issue that may indeed touch many of us, our friends,
our families and loved ones here in Newfoundland and Labrador.
This coming week, Mr. Speaker, is Canada's National Organ and Tissue
Donation Awareness Week. It is a time which gives us the opportunity to bring
the issue of organ and tissue donation to the forefront, and a chance to
increase awareness of the importance of organ and tissue donation in our
Province.
Although in Canada we have some of the best transplant technology in the
world, some of the most highly skilled surgeons, and some of the most
prestigious transplant hospitals, there are never enough organs. Research shows
that only about fifteen out of every one million Canadians are organ donors -
putting us as a country in the bottom half of all of the countries in the
western world where transplants are performed. Mr. Speaker, this is not good
enough.
Recently in our local news we heard a very touching story about a mother who
donated part of her liver to her ailing son. She saved his life, but if she was
not a match for her son, he would have had to look elsewhere and hope another
donor could be found. Some children and adults wait years and years for an organ
only to eventually die because there wasn't one.
According to Health Canada, there are currently 3,987 Canadians waiting for
organ transplants and thousands more are in need of tissues. Unfortunately,
while almost 2,000 transplants were preformed in Canada last year, nearly 150
Canadians die every year while waiting for a suitable donor organ. Here at home
we have forty-eight people waiting for kidney transplants and six who need new
livers. Yet, indicators show that the number of donors in Newfoundland and
Labrador decreases every year. In Atlantic Canada our rate of donation is lower
than in most parts of the country.
Statistics indicate that anywhere from 20 per cent to 30 per cent of people
currently waiting for organs will die before a suitable organ becomes available.
I urge the residents of this Province to sign their driver's licences or
fill out organ donor cards agreeing to donate their organs in the event of
death. It is equally important to make your wishes known to your loved ones. A
decision to become an organ donor could truly mean giving the gift of life.
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
We, on this side of the House, also want to join with the minister and his
government today in recognizing National Organ Donor and Tissue Donation
Awareness Week.
Mr. Speaker, I also want to join him in encouraging people in Newfoundland
and Labrador to become organ donors, to sign their driver's licences as well
when they renew it. Mr. Speaker, we have all heard the stories right throughout
our Province, the desperate need that families and individuals are waiting in
day after day so that they, too, may have a new lease on life. Actually, it was
just yesterday I was reading an
article in The Northern Pen about
a fellow in Port Saunders, Brent Gould, who just donated a kidney to his father
so that he would have that opportunity to be able to carry on. Of course, like a
lot of people who donate, you have to wait a certain period of time to find out
if it was successful. The operation for them was successful, and I certainly
want to wish them well.
I think it is important that there be more awareness drawn to this particular
issue, to knowing that you can give the gift of life and you can do it very
freely and very unselfishly. I want to encourage people to do that.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Labrador West.
MR. COLLINS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the minister for an
advance copy of his statement.
This is a very important program, Mr. Speaker, there is no question about
that. The key to having more people lies in education, awareness and promotion
of this program. Mr. Speaker, I think people have good intentions of becoming
organ donors. For your driver's license, as an example, once every five years,
people have intentions but don't get around to doing it. I would like to see a
much more aggressive program in place, I say to the minister, even through the
Department of Health. It could be a project for summer employment for students,
to have a kit to go around their communities and meet with people, have
pamphlets and other information available, and have cards with them that people
can sign.
I am very sure and certain, Mr. Speaker, that the people of this Province
would, indeed, become members of the organ donor program if it was put in front
of them in a manner such as that. I don't think people are not donors by
choice, it is more by default. I think with a program like this we would
certainly generate it.
I want to say one other thing if I could, Mr. Speaker. I am not questioning
the research that the minister has quoted, but it certainly seems to me -
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The member's time has expired.
MR. COLLINS: By leave, Mr. Speaker?
MR. SPEAKER: By leave?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: By leave.
MR. SPEAKER: Leave has been granted.
MR. COLLINS: I just want to say, Mr. Speaker, that the research shows,
according to the statement, fifteen out of one million Canadians. That means
there will be only 450 approximately in the country, and our rates are lower
than that with a half a million population. It means we would have approximately
five donors in this Province. I am not sure whether or not that is correct, Mr.
Speaker. If it is, it certainly demonstrates how far we have to go and how much
work is required to bring up these numbers. I just wondered if these facts are
indeed correct as stated here.
MR. SPEAKER: Further Statements by Ministers? Oral Questions.
Oral Questions
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. GRIMES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, in an
article in The Western Star , and it is dated August
23, 2003, the Premier told fish plant workers that the crab industry needed more
balance - his words - because there was too much power in the hands of a few
processing companies. His exact quote was as follows: It is the top boys who are
pulling the strings, a handful of companies that are running the whole show on
the resource side, and the last thing in the world they want in there as Premier
is me because I am serious.
I ask the Premier, Mr. Speaker: What has changed since he made those
comments? Why has he now taken a stand exactly the opposite of what he told the
plant workers, and put even more power in the hands of the top boys and the
processors, to the detriment of the fish harvesters?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the Premier's comments certainly have been addressed over the
past year and a half since we became the government. As the Leader of the
Opposition might know - he certainly heard me say it enough over the past while
- under the previous regime, under the previous approach to fisheries
management, Mr. Speaker, under the previous -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MR. TAYLOR: Under the previous regime and the previous approach to
fisheries management in this Province, four companies controlled over 50 per
cent of the crab production in this Province. That is way that it was going, and
that level of corporate concentration was continuing to grow, Mr. Speaker. That
is why, when rolling out our proposed pilot project on raw material sharing, we
suggested that there needed to be a cap put on the corporate concentration, on
control of ownership in the industry and, Mr. Speaker, that is something that we
are serious about doing and we will continue to pursue as time goes on.
Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, he might remember in the fall sitting of the House
of Assembly when we introduced the Fish Inspection Act, and the added authority
and regulatory power that was given to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans
and the government at that time to be able to control the kind of activities
that we saw in the past.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. GRIMES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, whenever an issue is discussed in Cabinet that could create a
potential conflict of interest for a minister, that particular minister is
normally expected to excuse himself or herself from the discussion.
The Premier and the Minister of Fisheries have both stated publicly that the
decision to implement production quotas was a decision of the full Cabinet. Mr.
Speaker, I ask the Minister of Finance: Did you personally take
part in these
discussion at the Cabinet table, or did you excuse yourself because of a
potential conflict of interest?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury
Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I am here in this House going on fifteen years, and any decisions I have ever
made have been without any bias. I have two family members who are harvesters in
the industry, who are opposed to the stand that government have taken, and I
have brothers in the industry, some as owners and some as employees of companies
in the industry. I have people on both sides of this. Any decision I make has
been done in an unbiased manner. Any decision I have made, I try to make in my
life in an unbiased manner. I make and support decisions that I feel are best
decisions here.
I contribute around the Cabinet table, and what goes on around the Cabinet
table. He knows what goes on around the Cabinet table is a secret, and what is
left at the Cabinet Table. I speak out where I have to. I have spoken in public
on this issue in front of 200 people to 300 people up in my district three weeks
ago, and I have never been shy to voice my opinion on matters.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. GRIMES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
A lot of words. Maybe let me ask again: Did you participate in this decision,
yes or no?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury
Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SULLIVAN: Mr. Speaker, I answered the question. I reiterated that to
him. If he wants me to sing it for him, I just can't sing. It is not one of my
abilities.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MR. GRIMES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I will assume, then - I do not want to put words in his mouth - that the
answer is yes.
Mr. Speaker, now that there have been quota cuts in the crab sector, and the
Premier is intent on moving forward with a production quota system, I ask the
Minister of Fisheries: Does he know yet what this year's quota will be for the
newly announced licence for St. Anthony? If so, could he please advise the House
how that particular decision was arrived at?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
No, I do not know the number for St. Anthony. I do not know the number for
any other processing facility in this Province. What we said when we rolled out
our pilot project in the press conference on March 4 is that we would generate
numbers for the various processing facilities that were active in the Province,
and that we would generate a 90 per cent number, a number that was based on 90
per cent of the previous three year average. That will be provided to the
various processing facilities and they would then use that number to go and make
their case to the arbitrator.
As well, all processing facilities in the Province, in trying to determine
what the numbers will be, will be based on an arbitrated settlement at some
point in the very near future, and at that point they have their number, they
have their 90 per cent number. Nobody in the industry today has their final
number.
AN HON. MEMBER: They do have it.
MR. TAYLOR: You are absolutely wrong. You know nothing what you are
(inaudible).
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MR. GRIMES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Again, there is some real confusion, because the Premier says go fish. The
system says we will tell you where you have to sell it, and he is trying to make
us believe that even the processors themselves do not know how much they are
going to get. Then he says, in answer to an aside, that they know 90 per cent of
what they are going to get.
Let me ask him again, with respect to another operation: If they do know 90
per cent of what they are going to get, could he tell us and tell this House
about an operation at Beothic Fish in New-West-Valley? What is the 90 per cent
number that they know they have so far for this year, and how does it compare to
last year's quota?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I am not going to stand in this House, or anywhere else, and say
what anybody's number is. That is proprietary information. He knows, Mr.
Speaker -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
A question has been asked by the Leader of the Opposition. The Minister of
Fisheries and Aquaculture was giving an answer. I ask the House for their
co-operation.
The Chair recognizes the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, as a former Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, the Member
for Twillingate & Fogo knows full well that you do not disclose the numbers,
the production numbers, or any numbers like that related to an individual
operation. That was the policy when he was the Minister of Fisheries and
Aquaculture; it is the policy when I am the Minister of Fisheries and
Aquaculture.
As for matters related to disclosure of sales, invoices and what have you,
that information will be disclosed to an independent auditing firm, Mr. Speaker.
That is how that will be dealt with. We said that on March 4, and we are saying
it again today.
Mr. Speaker, I have to correct an assertion by the Leader of the Opposition.
There is no requirement under the raw material sharing system for anybody to
sell to anybody. Under the system, people can sell to whomever they like.
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Grand Bank.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The Chair recognizes the hon. the Member for Grand Bank.
MS FOOTE: Mr. Speaker, the employees of the fish plant in Fortune are
living in fear, facing an uncertain future, because FPI is not living up to the
commitment it gave to the union and to the employees. In return for their
support for the company's proposal to sell off 40 per cent of their marketing
division, the company promised work that has not materialized. Given that the
company cannot be trusted, I ask the Premier: What is the status of FPI's
request to the government to allow the company to sell one of its most lucrative
divisions?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the company and the FFAW are both aware that government will sit
down with FPI to see if the outstanding issues related to their income trust
transaction proposal can be dealt with. If those issues can be dealt with in a
satisfactory manner, we have indicated to both parties that we will be prepared
to bring a resolution, or amendments to the FPI Act, or whatever is required, to
the House of Assembly for a free, open debate and vote.
That, Mr. Speaker, is the status of it. That was the status of it the last
time the question was asked. It remains the status. As soon as we can conclude
some discussions with FPI on this matter, we will inform everybody in this
Legislature and a free vote will ensue.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: A supplementary, the hon. the Member for Grand Bank.
MS FOOTE: Mr. Speaker, now that the minister has acknowledged that they
are, in fact, in discussions with FPI, I guess my question is: What has the
government asked of FPI in return for proceeding with the plan to sell off 40
per cent of the marketing division?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the Member for Grand Bank need not put words in my mouth. I did
not say there were discussions ongoing. I said that we told FPI and we told the
FFAW that we were prepared, and we are prepared, to sit down and discuss the
outstanding issues as it relates to the income trust transaction. If we can
conclude something that resembles a satisfactory arrangement, we will bring it
to the House. If we cannot, we will not.
At this point, Mr. Speaker, there had been a meeting quite some time ago with
the board of FPI when those issues were discussed. Have there been any
negotiations on it? No, Mr. Speaker, there have not.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: A supplementary, the hon. the Member for Grand Bank.
MS FOOTE: Mr. Speaker, it is a little worrisome that the minister cannot
tell us what, in fact, they expect to get in return from FPI for the granting of
such a proposal. Obviously, nothing, which is really concerning to the people
not only in Fortune but in other communities.
Mr. Speaker, I cannot stress enough the fear that exists in the eight
communities which have residents who work at FPI's fish plant in Fortune. A
concerned citizens committee has been formed. The union and other concerned have
been trying for months to get a meeting with the Premier. The Premier may not be
personally aware of this, but I am going to ask now if he will meet with the
concerned citizens committee within the next week. Time is of the essence.
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, what we are asking of FPI, what we might be able to ring out of
FPI, what we might be able to gain from FPI for the people of the Province over
and above the protection that might have been there before or might not have
been there before under the FPI Act, will all become abundantly clear to
everybody when the resolution, or the amendments, or whatever it is, is tabled
here in this House.
Mr. Speaker, nothing will go forward with FPI until it is tabled in this
House so that all forty-eight members have the opportunity to vote on it and the
public of the Province can be informed of exactly what has been proposed and
what has been negotiated, and what the people's representatives are prepared
to support.
That, Mr. Speaker, is the status of it. That is what we are prepared to do,
and that is what we are going to do.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.
MR. ANDERSEN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Transportation and Works told this House there
would be no closures on maintenance depots in this Province. The minister is now
closing thirteen depots and he is laying off approximately 125 people for at
least the summer months. Can the minister tell the House who is going to do the
maintenance on our highways once he guts the department?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works, and
Minister Responsible for Aboriginal Affairs.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. RIDEOUT: Mr. Speaker, first of all, let me correct the hon. member. I
do not think that I told the House there would not be any rationalization of
depots in this Province. I never did say that to the House. I said last year -
as a matter of fact, this initiative was announced in the Budget last year, part
of it was implemented last year, and the other
part is going to be implemented
this year.
Now, we are in the process of finalizing the rationalization of the
maintenance division in our department. We do intend to winterize, in other
words, seasonalize', thirteen further depots. Seventeen were seasonalized,'
by the way, Mr. Speaker, when the hon. members opposite were the government. So,
we intend to move in that regard. We also intend - we have approval to take the
dollars that we realized from that rationalization and put it into maintenance,
so that we have more money in maintenance and we can do a better job on
maintaining the highways in the Province, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.
MR. ANDERSEN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It is ironic, because about this time last year I asked the minister the same
question about closing depots, to which - it is in Hansard - he replied: He will
not close any.
Mr. Speaker, not only is the minister laying off workers in thirteen depots
he is closing, but government is also handing out pink slips to veteran
employees at the remaining sites. To take an example, can the minister tell the
House how he expects six employees in Victoria Cove to service several hundred
kilometres of highway in Gander Bay, New World Island and Twillingate Island?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works, and
Minister Responsible for Aboriginal Affairs.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. RIDEOUT: Mr. Speaker, I told the hon. gentleman last year - he is
correct - that we were not closing depots. We are not closing depots. We are
rationalizing depots, we are winterizing depots, we are going to use them when
we need them most, which is in the winter months. If the hon. member does not
like that, Mr. Speaker, that is too bad.
The fact of the matter is, Mr. Speaker, we had the deputy minister -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
A question has been asked and an answer is being given. I ask the minister to
complete his answer.
MR. RIDEOUT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is that the deputy minister, the
assistant deputy minister, and the regional director met on this issue in Corner
Brook last week. A formula has been devised. It is not going to be one person
per 100 kilometres of road. It is not going to be anything like the earthquake
that the hon. gentleman is talking about. It is going to be reasonable, it is
going to be rational and it is going to deliver a better maintenance highway
system in Newfoundland and Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.
MR. ANDERSEN: Mr. Speaker, I must say that when the minister started to
rant and rave, I thought for a while I was at the Heritage Dog Team race on the
North Coast of Labrador because he made more noise than thirteen mutts and seven
dog teams put together.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. ANDERSEN: Mr. Speaker, every time the minister hands out a pink slip
or closes a depot he states that changes will improve our highways. When will
the minister come clean with the public and admit that he is cutting the
maintenance capacity of his department by laying off unionized workers and
closing depots, and that he intends to contract out services?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works, and
Minister Responsible for Aboriginal Affairs.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. RIDEOUT: Mr. Speaker, I am so hurt by the body blow, the massive body
blow that just came from the Member for Torngat Mountains that I can hardly rise
to my feet. I am shivering in the timbers over here.
Mr. Speaker, I have been in this House longer than anybody else. I know one
way to give an answer. I know one way to give a speech, and that is what dad
used to say: Tommy boy, get up and heave it out of you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
I am asking members on both sides for their co-operation. The Chair
recognizes the hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.
MR. HARRIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
My questions are for the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
For the fourth day in a row fish harvesters have protested in this House
because this minister and his government is trying to ram down their throats a
production quota system totally contrary to what he said last year. Yesterday,
Mr. Speaker, the minister met with officials of the FFAW to talk about this
issue. Did he tell them that he was relenting and that he was willing to develop
a system based on consultation and with the support of the fish harvesters or
did he confirm that he still wants to ram this down their throats against their
will?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, yes, we met, as everybody knows, with representatives of the
FFAW yesterday. We had a good discussion on the issue of Raw Material Sharing.
We had a good discussion of possible options for moving forward. Mr. Speaker, we
met for an hour to an hour and a half. There was no conclusion at the end. We
agreed that we would reflect on the discussion and that we would endeavour to
try and maintain lines of communication in the interest of finding a way of
getting harvesters back on the water and processing workers back in the plants.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.
MR. HARRIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I am surprised to hear those comments, because I heard the minister this
morning on CBC Radio and he sounded like he was content to have the crab fishery
closed for another several weeks.
I want to know, Mr. Speaker, whether he thinks he can starve the fish
harvesters into submission on this thing and actually do what he says he wasn't
going to do last year, to ram this down their throats against their will. Does
he still plan to implement this production quota system against the wishes of
the fish harvesters, against the wishes of the majority of people in
Newfoundland and Labrador, and, according to this letter I got, against the
wishes of PC Association presidents who think that he is about to create another
ten to twenty Harbour Bretons over the next five years in this Province?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, as I said, we had a good discussion with representatives of the
FFAW yesterday. I don't know what interview he was listening to, or what radio
he was listening to this morning. He certainly wasn't listening to the one
that I was on. I said that we are interested in trying to find a way of getting
harvesters back on the water and processing workers back in the plants.
Mr. Speaker, it is in everybody's interest in this Province to have the
crab fishery going as soon as possible. It is our interest, it is in the
Opposition's interest, it is in the interest of the people in the gallery. Mr.
Speaker, that is something that we are endeavoring to do. As for the details of
how that gets done, I will report that to the House as soon as the matter has
been concluded.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Grand Falls-Buchans.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS THISTLE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, this question was asked yesterday in the Estimates Committee,
and I want to raise it again. I want clarification.
In this current Budget, government allocated $14.7 million for White Paper
initiatives for post-secondary education. It is clear that Cabinet has already
made decisions in order to arrive at this figure, $14.7 million, even though the
minister stated yesterday that the study is before the Cabinet and no decisions
have been made.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of Education assure this hon. House that the
campuses in Carbonear, Stephenville, St. Anthony, Seal Cove and Bonavista will
not be closed?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Education.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. HEDDERSON: Mr. Speaker, again to remind the hon. member on the other
side that this government made a commitment: a commitment to look at the public
post-secondary system in Newfoundland and Labrador. There is a paper that is
before Cabinet right now. It is going through the process, and in due time the
directions, decisions, that come out of that will be released not only to the
hon. member but to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: A supplementary, the hon. the Member for Grand Falls-Buchans.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS THISTLE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
We got no assurance from that answer, and do you know something? This
government made assurances to the people in the gallery and that is the reason
why they are here today, because that commitment was broken.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS THISTLE: Do you know something? This minister knows the answer but he
is not concerned about rural communities.
The College of the North Atlantic has been hiring -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MS THISTLE: Mr. Speaker -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The Chair recognizes the hon. the Member for Grand Falls-Buchans.
MS THISTLE: Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, the College of the North Atlantic has been hiring -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
I am asking members to my right, and members to my left, for their
co-operation. A question has been asked by the hon. Member for Grand Falls-Buchans.
She has the floor, and I ask all members to recognize her right to pose her
question to this House.
The hon. the Member for Grand Falls-Buchans.
MS THISTLE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The College of the North Atlantic has been hiring high-level positions, like
the Director of Alumni Affairs, and placing them in St. John's instead of the
headquarters in Stephenville. Why is this college placing their executive
positions in St. John's, instead of placing these positions in Stephenville?
Mr. Speaker, will the headquarters in Stephenville be a headquarters in name
only? That is what we want to find out here today.
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Education.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. HEDDERSON: Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague on the other side brings up
commitment but she forgets to mention to the House that we made a commitment,
for example, on a tuition freeze that we have delivered on and that we will
continue to deliver on with regard to this commitment of this government!
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The hon. the Member for Twillingate & Fogo.
MR. REID: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I say to the minister that he committed, as well, to a cancer clinic for
Grand Falls. We haven't seen that yet, have we?
Mr. Speaker, my questions are also for the Minister of Education.
The Director of Education for the Central school board is talking about the
need to offer bursaries to children who live in the more remote and isolated
areas of that region so that they can leave home to attend schools in a larger
urban area. I ask the minister: Is this his government's plan for revitalizing
rural Newfoundland and Labrador, to have their children move away from the small
communities to attend school in the larger urban areas, or is the Minister of
Education now the minister responsible for resettlement?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Education.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. HEDDERSON: Mr. Speaker, bursaries have been offered in this Province
for as long as I can remember, to address the needs of the learners out there,
to make sure that they get a quality education. If you are suggesting that we
should give up that program, come out and say so.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Twillingate & Fogo.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. REID: I say to the minister, what I am suggesting is that you put
more teachers in rural Newfoundland so that the children do not have to leave!
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. REID: Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Education is out and about talking
about new courses in culture and music. He is also talking about capping class
sizes in elementary and primary grades to twenty-three. Could the minister
explain to the people of the Province how he intends to do this when he is going
to eliminate another 145 teaching positions from the schools this year?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Education.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. HEDDERSON: Again, I say to the hon. member, perhaps another lesson.
We understand fully - at least this government understands fully - that if we
are going to move forward in some areas of education we have to target certain
initiatives that are going to get the biggest effect. I can tell you right now
that I do not make any apologies whatsoever to you or anybody else for putting
teachers in the primary grades in an area where it is going to make the most
difference.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Twillingate & Fogo.
MR. REID: Mr. Speaker, I know the gentleman was an educator himself but I
am glad, I am certain, he did not teach math, because he is talking about
putting additional teachers in the system when 145 are coming out this year.
Mr. Speaker, in the Estimates Committee yesterday -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MR. REID: - the minister stated that he was working -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The hon. the Member for Twillingate & Fogo.
MR. REID: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for your protection against those
opposite.
Mr. Speaker, in the Estimates Committee yesterday, the minister stated that
he was working with the Labrador School Board in an effort to re-offer French
Immersion to the schools in Western Labrador.
Can the minister tell the people of that area how this can be achieved when
he confirmed to me as well yesterday that he is eliminating teachers from that
very area?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Education.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. HEDDERSON: Mr. Speaker, again in reference to the French Immersion
program that is currently into effect in Labrador, and throughout the Province
of Newfoundland and Labrador, we certainly recognize the importance of French
Immersion.
With regard to that particular file, we have been working very, very closely
with the school board to bring resolve to that particular issue, not only in
Labrador West but also in Labrador East. I fully expect in the near future that
a decision will be made, Mr. Speaker, on that particular program and we
certainly hope that it will move forward.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Port de Grave.
MR. BUTLER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
There has been a litany of problems identified in the Department of Human
Resources, Labour and Employment since this new minister took over the
department. We have heard of walls falling down, software problems, and
inadequate staffing levels.
I ask the minister: Can she give this House an update on the problems
encountered with the software problems they were encountering, and how the level
of staffing has improved over the last report we received?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Human Resources, Labour and
Employment.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, since I took over this department in November,
2003, we have been implementing the new service delivery system that the members
opposite did not have the courage to continue and roll out the plans that they
had developed initially.
Mr. Speaker, there is a new computerized pay system going in, and it is
rolling out. It will be completed in the West Coast very shortly. It is started
here on the Avalon right now.
Mr. Speaker, with regard to other problems, there was a building that was
demolished downtown which was next door to the office. Mr. Speaker, that was not
a government building. It was not our building. We had Occupational Health and
Safety monitor the situation for us.
Mr. Speaker, the problems, the quality of service within that department are
very important to me and I monitor them as much as I can. Mr. Speaker, every
client of HRLE demands nothing but the highest quality service that we can
provide, and that is what we will provide.
Thank you very much.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The time allocated for Question Period has expired.
Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.
Tabling of Documents.
Tabling of Documents
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.
MR. E. BYRNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
As per the request made by the hon. Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi
yesterday, I did give an undertaking that I would get this letter written from
the Premier to the President of the FFAW. I do have it and I wish to table it
today for all members in the House.
MR. SPEAKER: Further tabling of documents.
The hon. the Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment.
MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table for your information today
the 2003-04 Annual Report for Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation.
Copies have been provided for distribution through the Clerk.
Thank you.
MR. SPEAKER: Further tabling of documents.
Notices of Motion.
Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.
Petitions.
Petitions
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Port de Grave.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. BUTLER: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
I, today, present another petition on behalf of the fish harvesters of this
Province in the following communities: Port de Grave, Cupids, North River, Coley's
Point, Clarke's Beach, Holyrood, Chapel Cove, Harbour Main.
Mr. Speaker, this petition is asking this hon. House of Assembly to ask
government to only impose production quotas if it is agreed upon by the FFAW and
the processors of this Province as was outlined in the Dunne report.
We have heard the Premier and the Minister of Fisheries and others in this
House say that they are carrying out the wishes that was in the Dunne report.
Mr. Speaker, that is not correct. The Minister of Fisheries and the Premier of
this Province, they did not listen to the plant workers, they did not listen to
the harvesters. If you read the Dunne report there are even processors who
disagree with this production.
[Disturbance in the gallery]
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
I wish to inform visitors in the gallery that it is a long standing
parliamentary tradition, in all Parliaments under the British commonwealth
system, that members who are visitors in the galleries are not to participate or
to demonstrate for or against anything that is said on the floor of the House. I
ask them for their co-operation and to permit the Member for Port de Grave to
continue with his petition.
The hon. the member.
MR. BUTLER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It has also been said that this production quota, when it is implemented,
will improve the fishing industry in this Province. I say what is being done,
and we have witnessed it so far, it is putting the industry of this Province
into one major tailspin.
I have heard people recently saying: What are the fishermen complaining
about? I say, Mr. Speaker, those people have not been involved probably. I came
from a family where the major breadwinner was a fish harvester. I can tell you,
that is back a few years ago, but he was owned lock, stock and barrel by the
merchants of this Province and those people do not want to return to that, not
in one inkling.
I have to say that the Premier always gets up and talks about a promise is a
promise, when he refers to the Prime Minister of this country. I say to the
Premier and to the Minister of Fisheries: A promise is a promise what was in
writing to the FFAW, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. BUTLER: Something else, Mr. Speaker. This week I was informed - I do
not know if it was during the by-election or during the election in the District
of Port de Grave, and the now Premier of the day went to the wharf in Port de
Grave campaigning. He said they were trying to make inroads in the good Liberal
district, and this prominent fisherman, who was also involved politically, said
to him: Sir, listen, we don't trust you. We are very concerned that you are
going to bring in production quotas. And the Premier of the day, when he was
running and trying to get the votes and win this government, he turned around
and said to the fishermen on the wharf in Port de Grave: Not under my watch. Mr.
Speaker, how can you trust a man who was out telling people that one day and
doing something else now?
Mr. Speaker, he talks about the members opposite going out and consulting
with their constituents. I venture to say that he did not listen to the Member
for Harbour Main-Whitbourne, or the District of Trinity-Bay de Verde, Conception
Bay South, Placentia-St. Mary's, Burin-Placentia West, Ferryland, Bonavista
North and South, St. Barbe and others. I challenge all the hon. members opposite
(inaudible).
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The member's allotted time has expired.
MR. BUTLER: By leave, Mr. Speaker.
[Disturbance in the gallery]
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
I ask the security to escort the gentleman out of the gallery.
[Disturbance in the gallery]
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
Again I remind visitors in the gallery that they are not to participate in
the proceedings, and I also, as I have done on other days, ask them to respect
the traditions of this House, the traditions of Parliament. Should the
disturbance continue, the Chair has no alternative but to ask those people who
are causing disruptions in the gallery to leave this gallery and to leave this
House for the afternoon.
The hon. member's time has expired. He has asked for leave to continue. Is
there leave being granted?
AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).
MR. SPEAKER: Leave has been granted.
MR. BUTLER: Just to clue up, Mr. Speaker.
I challenge all members opposite to please stand by their constituents. They
are getting the same message I am getting, and give a message loud and clear to
the Premier because he is not listening.
I will conclude by saying this, that I am so uptight about this and listening
to what the people around this Province are saying, I have to say when the
Minister of Education yesterday announced $60,000 to send the e-waste out of
this Province, I think the first thing to go on the first load travelling out
should be the information that the Minister of Fisheries has in implementing
production quotas.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Further petitions?
The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. ANDERSEN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I rise again today, as I have done so many times in this House, to present a
petition on behalf of the most important people of all in Labrador, and that is
our youth. Today's petition is signed by the students from the beautiful Town
of Makkovik, Mr. Speaker, my home town.
Again, Mr. Speaker, let me say how disappointed, and perhaps I can use the
word disgusted, I was, along with the people in Labrador, when this year's
Budget came down and there was no auditorium, no money allotted for an
auditorium to serve all of the young people in Labrador, and to know that $45
million was handed over to pay off The Rooms. The grand opening, I understand
from the minister, is the last week in June, to cut the ribbon. They paid off a
mortgage, $45 million in this year's Budget, before they even cut the ribbon.
They turned around to the youth in Labrador and said: You people don't count.
Mr. Speaker, I am coming to a point where I am starting to believe, with this
government, it is not a question of the auditorium in Labrador being a
necessity, but I am beginning to think along with a lot of people in Labrador,
especially the youth, that the reason they are not getting the auditorium - and
the answer is this, Mr. Speaker, I hope it is not true - is because of where
they live.
Mr. Speaker, I am glad they gave over $1 million for some sports organization
in St. John's. Let there be no mistake, The Rooms will do this Province good,
all of this Province, but to turn around and know that there are people out
there who need health care in different parts of this Province and that the
youth in Labrador once again had the back turned on them by the Premier who
campaigned and said that Labrador deserves better than what they had in the
past.
Mr. Speaker, I am so proud to be part of a government that builds schools on
the North Coast of Labrador. Many people, many organizations on the Island,
would not even consider that to be a good storage shed. Anyone who travelled to
the North Coast saw it - but to come again in this year's Budget and to hear
once again that they have to wait. With the construction season so short in
Labrador, a week before the Premier and his colleagues cut the ribbon and burn
the mortgage where they pay $45 million in this year's Budget, a week before
they cut the ribbon and clap their hands to celebrate, the students of Labrador,
all across Labrador, will be walking out, knowing full well that, with the short
construction season, next year there will be no auditorium for them to go and do
what -
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The member's allotted time for his petition has expired.
MR. ANDERSEN: By leave, just to clue up, Mr. Speaker?
MR. SPEAKER: Has leave been granted just to clue up, a few concluding
comments?
AN HON. MEMBER: By leave.
MR. SPEAKER: Leave has been granted.
MR. ANDERSEN: For such an injustice that was done to the youth in
Labrador, I will rise again tomorrow, I will rise again next week and in weeks
to come, and ask the Premier to live - I heard his ministers say they made
commitments. I say to them, Mr. Speaker, live up to your commitment and give the
children in Labrador what every other child across this Province takes for
granted. Do the right thing, and do it now.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Twillingate & Fogo.
MR. REID: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I have a petition as well from fish harvesters on the Burin Peninsula, namely
the communities of Petit Forte, South East Bight, Marystown, St. Lawrence and so
on. I had the opportunity three weeks ago to attend a meeting in Marystown where
there were representatives of all the communities on the Burin Peninsula and, to
a man and woman in that meeting, they were all opposed to production quotas.
What they are asking for in this petition is that the government remove
production quotas from the table, not implement it this year, and only implement
it when it is agreed to by the FFAW.
Mr. Speaker, the Premier talked, and says he is all over this file. He talked
about consultations.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MR. REID: He talked about, Mr. Dunne went around the Province and
consulted with everybody, and he was following through on the recommendation of
Eric Dunne in the Dunne report.
Well, Mr. Speaker, I say nothing could be further from the truth because what
Eric Dunne said in his recommendation to the Premier and to the Minister of
Fisheries is that you would only proceed with production quotas if and when it
was agreed to by the FFAW. Anyone who wants to read that, it is on page 162 of
the Dunne report under Recommendation 9.12.
I say, the Premier stood in this House the last four days talking about, he
is on top of this and he knows all about this issue and he is willing to sit
down and discuss this with the FFAW to come to some resolution. Mr. Speaker, the
Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi stood in the House yesterday when the Premier
stood in the House yesterday and said: I just sent off a letter to Earle
McCurdy, the head of the FFAW, concerning this and we are working on it.
Well, we asked them to table that and it was tabled. Let me read it for the
people of this Province, Mr. Speaker, the correspondence he was having, and
leaving everyone with the hope that something was going to happen to break this
impasse. Let me read it to you, Mr. Speaker.
It reads, "Dear Mr. McCurdy: Your letter of March 23 rd , 2005
was forwarded to my attention, however I was out of the Province until April 3 rd .
" - I might add, on holidays. Here is what he says, "As I have
indicated publicly on several occasions, the Minister of Fisheries and
Aquaculture is available to meet with you at your earliest convenience.
Sincerely, Danny Williams."
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MR. REID: Now, Mr. Speaker, I certainly left this House yesterday
afternoon thinking that maybe there was some movement toward a resolve between
what is happening in the fishing industry because it is so important to the
people of this Province and it is so very important to the harvesters,
especially those who need to get their crab ashore before it gets too late in
the season and we get into a soft shell problem, Mr. Speaker. To be led to
believe yesterday by the Premier of this Province that we were at least moving
in that direction, and to read then in this letter and to listen to him on the
5:00 o'clock news yesterday afternoon: Yes, I have instructed my minister to
talk with the FFAW if they want to talk, but I am not backing down on my stand.
We are still proceeding with production quotas.
Being so entrenched as what he is, Mr. Speaker, the Premier -
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The member's allotted time has expired.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: By leave.
MR. SPEAKER: Leave has been granted to make some concluding comments.
MR. REID: Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the harvesters in this Province, I
beg of the Premier to take the production quotas off the table until it has been
discussed with the FFAW and until the FFAW agrees with it, and allow the
harvesters in this Province to get back on the water, where they want to be and
where they should be at this time, and allow fish plant workers to go back into
the plant where they want to be so that they can feed their families.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
[Applause from the gallery]
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
[Comments from the gallery]
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
I appeal again to the visitors in the public galleries to respect the
traditions of the House. They are not to participate or to show approval or
disapproval for anything that is said on the floor of the House. I ask them to
discontinue the disorder, and also remind them that, if we need to, we will have
to clear the galleries. I do not wish to do that, but I will not have any
choice. This Parliament must function, and must function appropriately.
Further petitions.
Orders of the Day.
Orders of the Day
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Acting Government House Leader.
MR. RIDEOUT: Motion 1, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: Motion 1, the Budget debate.
The hon. the Member for Gander.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. O'BRIEN: Mr. Speaker, unlike the hon. Member for Grand Falls-Buchans,
it gives me great pleasure to stand in this House today in support of the
Budget, and speak in support of that Budget.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MR. O'BRIEN: Mr. Speaker, it is something, I might say, that I did not
think was possible, a Budget of this category to be presented at this particular
time based on the financial situation that we were in, in this Province, based
on the financial situation that was presented to us by an outside, independent,
chartered accountant firm in Pricewaterhouse, Mr. Speaker.
Being in business for thirty years, I did not think for a minute that we
would be in this position today, as we projected last year that we would not.
The foundation of this Budget was laid out last year on the presenting of the
2004-2005 Budget, a little over a year ago today. I tell you now, Mr. Speaker,
that we took to heart, as any businessperson, any person out there with a grain
of sense would take to heart, the financial advice that was given to us by
Pricewaterhouse at that particular time.
In last year's Budget, Mr. Speaker, this government outlined a number of
commitments, three major ones in particular: balance our Budget on a cash basis
in four years, Mr. Speaker, just in four years -
[Comments from the gallery]
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
I ask the gentleman who is making the interruption if he would leave the
gallery.
[Applause from the gallery]
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Gander.
MR. O'BRIEN: The second one, Mr. Speaker, was to ensure that our health
and education systems meet the needs of Newfoundland and Labrador for the long
term. The third was to expand the economy and create jobs, Mr. Speaker.
Those were the three major commitments that we made in that Budget. Those
were the three major commitments that we lived up to, Mr. Speaker, not that the
hon. Member for Twillingate lived up to his commitments, I can say that.
MR. REID: Yes, I did.
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MR. O'BRIEN: Well, Mr. Speaker, I am very, very happy to be a part of
government that is on this path to achieving all those goals. I might say, also,
that not only are we on the path, we are far ahead of what we projected last
year. With careful monitoring and control of expenditures and with new
resources, it resulted in a deficit of 2004-2005 now being $473 million, not the
$840 million as projected. That is very significant in a very short period of
time.
The cash shortfall, which is even more important to any government, any
business that you might have out there, is now projected not to be $362 million
but now it is $14 million. Instead of the $362 million, it is now $14 million.
In 2005-2006, we project that the deficit is $492 million and not the $792
million that we had previously projected, based on all the information that was
given to us by PriceWaterhouse. The cash shortfall attached to that should be
around $62 million instead of the $320 million as forecast last year.
Now, Mr. Speaker, as I said, I did not expect or think that it was possible
that we would be in this position today. I did not think - so based on thirty
years of experience, based on the finances of this Province -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MR. O'BRIEN: - based on what was left to us to follow. That is a fact,
Mr. Speaker. I would not want, as a business person, to walk into a business and
face what we faced last year. But I will tell you something, with the
leadership, tough decisions by Cabinet and responsible fiscal management, we
have done it. We are on that path. We are on the path to a bright future for
Newfoundland and Labrador. I think it has become a common practice here in this
House to quote members from the media, editorial pieces and whatnot. I will talk
just a little bit on leadership, and I will quote the
article which was April 7
in the Express . The person who is writing this is Chris Westcott. I think
he has been quoted before. I think he has actually been quoted before.
AN HON. MEMBER: Craig.
MR. O'BRIEN: Craig Westcott. Thank you, I say to the hon. member of the
Opposition.
He was a teacher at one time and he orated very well in this House of
Assembly. I have watched him in this House many, many times and I look at him.
Now, I would not want to dot all the ways he handles himself in this House but I
certainly watch him when he is speaking, Mr. Speaker. When Craig is talking in
this article, he is talking about the past. He is talking about past leaders
leading us in the wrong path. He talked about before Confederation. He talked
about Sir Richard Squires. He talked about past premiers of this wonderful land
of ours. A bluff such as Tobin, he says, and Joey, and so forth. He also goes on
to say that the odd one came along like Moores or Wells, and they led us into a
new path, a new path for a brighter future, but then some of the other ones came
along and led us in the wrong path again. He says, "But Williams is a
different beast altogether. I guess after the run we've had..." - and he
talks about the run -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
I remind members, and it has happened on a couple of occasions this
afternoon, when reference is made to any member of the House, in any context,
when referring to the portfolio, or referring to the district that the member
represents, we should always avoid using first names when referring to members
of this hon. House. I am asking all members for their co-operation in that
regard.
The hon. the Member for Gander.
MR. O'BRIEN: I apologize for that, Mr. Speaker.
I will it read again, Mr. Speaker, because I cannot quote off the top of my
head this article. He says, "But Williams is a different beast altogether.
I guess after the run we've had, we're due a good one." He is talking
about the past, even though he points out Moores and Wells as very, very good
Premiers.
He says, "But more than all that is his canny appreciation of what
things like the Lower Churchill and the Hebron oil field are really worth.
Grimes, apparently, was willing to give away the shop to Hydro Quebec for a
Lower Churchill deal. He is of the old school that thinks the outside world is
doing us a favour when it comes in and "develops" our resources."
I quote that because it has become a common thing here to quote articles in the
paper, editorials and what not, and we rely on their credence and their wisdom.
You know, with the enhancement of the Atlantic Accord and our offshore, our
mining, our retail sector, coupled with careful planning, Mr. Speaker - and that
is the word, careful planning - I can only see a bright future for Newfoundland
and Labrador. That is a fact, we are on the road to a bright future.
As to education and health, Mr. Speaker, $23.2 million invested to reduce
patient wait times. This was not only a priority for this government, but also a
priority for Health Canada. Based on the extra monies now that we are getting
from health in regards to health from the federal government, we have also
decided to follow their directive in regards to their priorities, and one of
them being, the top one, being wait times. The investment will deliver 43,444
more procedures across this Province - in Gander, in Grand Falls-Windsor, in
Corner Brook, to all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.
It seems to me that my hon. colleagues in the Opposition's answer to the
problem in health care is throw bricks and mortar at them. In thirty years of
business, I have been standing behind a counter thirty years, patients - 200 and
300 prescriptions a year, so that is a lot of people - coming from rural
Newfoundland, not only Gander because most of my business came from
New-Wes-Valley down in Twillingate area and what not. They all came into my
store to shop. Each and every one of them were saying various, various times and
all they talked about was accessing health care. That does not mean just bricks
and mortar. That means the delivery of diagnostic servicing, doctors,
specialists and what not. That is what they mean, in a reasonable period of
time, in a reasonable distance.
Yesterday, it was private member's resolution day, and I was listening to
the hon. the Member for Grand Bank talking about the steel in Grand Bank being
referred to as a gazebo, I believe. Well, I have been checking Hansard now for a
number of days and I cannot find anywhere that any hon. member on the opposite
side got up and spoke about the steel in Gander. The steel in Gander that stood
there for just about three to four years. We had to get a consultant in to
determine if the steel was any good because it was so rusted by the time it was
decided. Even the mayor of the day, of Gander, had to go up and chain themselves
to the steel to get that project to go forward.
We are going to be a responsible government. We are going to look at things.
We are going to look at priorities. We are going to look at where and when to
deliver services to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador as a whole. That is
exactly what we are going to do. We all stand here and we all have our thoughts
about our own districts and what not. At the caucus table, I have seen the
Member for Windsor-Springdale, I have seen the Member for St. Barbe, I have seen
the Member for Terra Nova, I have seen them all at the caucus table talking
about their districts. That is a fact. The hon. members know full well, across
the way, that is where we talk at the caucus table because they did the same.
They did the same when they were in Cabinet, they did the same when they were in
the caucus, they did the same when they were backbenchers, as well as myself,
and that is what we do. We go to the different departments, we go to the
different ministers, and we talk to them in regard to what we need for our
district. Then it comes down to priorities.
That is what we do, Mr. Speaker. That is exactly what we do. We go there and,
yes, we all understand there is only so much money to go around, Mr. Speaker.
There is not very much money to go around. Yes, we do have the Atlantic Accord.
We do have that. We have extra health money from the federal government, but we
cannot spend it all in one place. Unlike the members of the Opposition, we do
not throw it at bricks and mortar, Mr. Speaker; we throw it at diagnostic
services, diagnostic services and location of health services for this Province,
for all of Newfoundland and Labrador.
That is exactly what we do, Mr. Speaker. That is exactly what we do, and they
cannot take it. That is why they are shouting and all that kind of stuff,
because the truth hurts, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MR. O'BRIEN: We are on the right direction, the right direction for
this Province. We are not going to stand up here and say we do everything right
- we do not - but we are going to try it and we are going to keep this Province
of ours on a path to economic success and a bright future, Mr. Speaker. That is
exactly what we are going to do; no more to it than that.
We see things also in the health budget, and I will just finish off on that.
We see $14.5 million to enhance care for seniors, Mr. Speaker: people who put us
here, people who made me successful in business, people who shopped at my store,
people from rural Newfoundland and Labrador who came in and made me a successful
businessman as well. I tell you, it is about time that we started to invest in
what got us here in the first place. Twenty-five new drugs through the
Newfoundland and Labrador Prescription Drug Program, twenty-five new drugs that,
when I was a pharmacist, Mr. Speaker, were not covered under the Newfoundland
and Labrador Prescription Drug Program.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MR. O'BRIEN: Were not covered, I say, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The Chair recognizes that there will be some interaction across the Chamber
from time to time; however, the Chair is having difficulty being able to hear
the hon. member. I ask members on my right and on my left for their
co-operation.
The Chair recognizes the Member for Gander, who I do believe has about
another seven minutes left to address the House.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. O'BRIEN: By leave, I need an hour and a half.
Mr. Speaker, these are just some of the things that we are doing as a
government, a government that will provide and bring quality health care to all
of Newfoundland and Labrador. We cannot do it all at once, but we will do it in
a very strategic plan, Mr. Speaker.
Education, $4.5 million to redeploy teachers to reduce class sizes and
capitalize on our culture, our music and our history, Mr. Speaker, very, very
important. Yes, there are layoffs and redundant jobs out there. Yes, there are,
absolutely there are, no doubt about it, but in the meantime we have to -
[Disturbance in the gallery]
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The Chair is attempting to be very tolerant and understanding of the visitors
in the gallery; however, it appears to the Chair that people who are visitors in
the gallery do not want to co-operate with the Speaker and with the House. I
therefore inform visitors that if there are further interruptions the Chair will
have no other choice but to close the galleries and to ask visitors to leave the
galleries.
The hon. the Member for Gander.
MR. O'BRIEN: Yes, Mr. Speaker.
Twenty-six million for school infrastructure. As you know, Mr. Speaker, Nova
Central School District has already released their action plan to implement -
MR. PARSONS: On a point of order, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: A point or order has been raised by the hon. the Opposition
House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Any time that I might take from the speaker's time, by all means, no
problem, it should be restored to him.
I just raise a question at this point pursuant to Standing Order 23 because
we have had incidents in the last few days where Your Honour has ordered that
the galleries be cleared. I would just like some point of clarification before
you might find yourself in a situation where a ruling is made.
It says, "Any stranger admitted into any part of the House or gallery,
who misconducts himself or herself, or who does not withdraw when strangers are
directed to withdraw, while the House, or any Committee of the Whole House, is
sitting, shall be taken into custody by the Sergeant-at-Arms and no person so
taken into custody shall be discharged without a special order of the
House."
I would just like some clarification as to how that rule would be applied,
because we have had incidents here where many people in this gallery - we could
have 100 people here today, for example, and not 100 people are necessarily
obstructing the happenings of this House. Yet, the orders are made carte blanche
that everybody be taken out.
I do not think that is the import and the intent of Standing Order 23. I just
point that out in the interest of the people who are in the gallery who are not
causing any disturbance. I would submit that under that Standing Order 23 there
is no authority to remove a person who is acting lawful and abiding within the
gallery to be ordered out.
MR. SPEAKER: To the point of order, the hon. the Acting Government House
Leader.
MR. RIDEOUT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I think the actions of yourself today on behalf of all hon.
members answers the query that has been put forth by the hon. Opposition House
Leader. When Your Honour was able to differentiate and make certain that one
individual or two individuals - I think in this case today it was one - Your
Honour asked that individual to leave the gallery and the individual did. If
Your Honour is not able to make a differentiation that it is one, two, three,
half a dozen, or it could be many, I guess we are in the hands of Your Honour
and your discretion. I think how it has transpired in my time here is that Your
Honour does the best you can, in your discretion, to make a decision whether it
is one offender, whether there are many or whatever the case might be.
MR. SPEAKER: To the point of order, the Chair is always anxious to have
visitors in the gallery. This is the public Chambers. It is the House of
Assembly. It is called the people's House for a very good reason. In all of
the British parliamentary democracies, visitors are welcome to the galleries.
That is part of the Westminister model of Parliament. It is part of the
traditions that we have. It is part of the things that we hold dear. So,
therefore, when visitors are in the gallery they must respect the traditions of
Parliament. The people who speak in Parliament are the duly elected members and
speakers in the Chambers are restricted to those members.
In regard to the point raised by the hon. the Opposition House Leader, when
the Chair asks for co-operation, the Chair has to be bound by a number of
things. First of all, it would be my desire that I would never, ever have to ask
visitors to leave the public galleries. However, the traditions of this House
are that the Chair will give a first warning, the Chair will give a second
warning, and then in the third warning the Chair will exercise an option, and
that is to tell the people, who are visitors, that they should co-operate with
the Speaker, co-operate with the House, co-operate with the traditions and that
we would not have to ask people to leave.
However, when you look at our Standing Orders, we have to look Standing Order
1.(2). It says: "In all cases not provided for in these Standing Orders or
by sessional or other orders of the House, the Speaker shall be guided by the
following in the order in which they are stated: (
a) the usages, customs and
precedents of this House." It has been the custom in this House for many,
many years, since Confederation and prior to that, that if the Speaker feels
that members who are visitors in the gallery are not going to obey the Speaker
and take direction from the Speaker, the Speaker cannot differentiate in most
cases.
So, what we have done over the last number of years, Speakers before me have
always said they would ask visitors to leave in the galleries and then they
would say to them: if you wish to come back in after order has been restored,
then you have that choice. That is what we have done in the last number of days
and that is what I will do today because that has been the tradition of this
House. However, if order continues to be not recognized by the visitors in the
gallery, Parliament must function. That is the important thing we have to put to
this particular institution. Parliament must function, therefore the Speaker has
no choice, in some cases, other than to have the galleries emptied to make sure
that Parliament can function. In some cases, on the second time, the tradition
in this House is that the doors be locked for the balance of the day.
I am asking members, who are visitors in the gallery, to be co-operative. It
is not my interest to have visitors leave the gallery, but if I have no other
choice, I have no other choice. Parliament must function.
The hon. the Member for Gander.
MR. O'BRIEN: Mr. Speaker, as I said, the Nova Central School District
has released their action plan to implement the 2005 framework document in
regards to restructuring schools. This document is well planned out by that
board. I have reviewed it in full since it has been released and what I can see
through it, is that more important than having our resources diluted into just
infrastructure, we are going to be able, in regards to that whole region, be
able to provide quality education that is now being diluted in regards to
infrastructure being everywhere. That is very, very important and I think the
people of Newfoundland clearly understands what it means to a government in
regards to accessing and delivering programs in regards to the declining
population. They clearly understand that we cannot, as Newfoundlanders and
Labradorians, have a school, a hospital, or a government service in their
backyard. All Newfoundlanders and Labradorians want, I believe at this
particular time, is be able to access programs and services, regardless of which
department that it is in, in a reasonable period of time, at a reasonable
distance, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the future of our success in Newfoundland and Labrador rests on
strategic investments that grow the economy for the long term. I must first - we
have to identify opportunities. That is exactly what we have to do, as I did for
thirty years in business. I always sat each day, or whenever I could, and I
identified opportunities. Also, as a government, we have to build on our
strengths, Mr. Speaker, that have been there since the beginning of time, since
the 1600s, and we develop them and develop them and develop them. Now, we are
getting to that point that we have to capitalize certain ones of them. With the
direction -
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The hon. member's time has expired.
AN HON. MEMBER: By leave.
MR. SPEAKER: By leave, I believe. Is there leave? A minute to make some
concluding comments.
MR. O'BRIEN: Mr. Speaker, I have a lot more to say, so I will invite
the hon. members across the way to invite me back and I will clearly and gladly
give some enlightenment on the future for Newfoundland and Labrador, it being a
bright future.
I have too much here to go on, so I will conclude now, but I tell you, in all
honesty, I will gladly come back another day and speak in regards to what I see
and where we should go in regard to this beautiful Province of ours. We will see
a brighter future and we will see a long-term plan in place for our future.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. REID: On a point of order, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Twillingate & Fogo, on a point
of order.
MR. REID: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I didn't want to interrupt the Member from Gander when he made the remark
early in his speech, but I took this opportunity now to do it. Early in his
speech he indicated across the floor that I didn't live up to my commitments.
I say, Mr. Speaker, I am not the type of politician - and you can check with my
constituency - who gets out during an election and makes a lot of commitments to
people. As I say, I cannot make commitments during an election if I don't know
I can live up to them.
Mr. Speaker, I challenge the member opposite to stand now and tell me about a
commitment that I broke to the people on Fogo Island or Twillingate Island or
New World Island or Change Islands. I made some commitments to the people after
I was elected, during a term. One of them was to build a brand new hospital for
the people of Fogo Island. Mr. Speaker, we built that hospital. It was his
Premier who went out there during the last election and said, we will open it,
and turned around after and closed half of it.
Mr. Speaker, I will quickly clue up. When I was Minister of Fisheries I made
a commitment to the fish harvesters of this Province that I would never
implement plant production quotas unless they agreed to it. I honoured that
commitment and I still honour it today, more than I can say for the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
To the point of order, there is no point of order. It may be a disagreement
between two hon. members as to certain facts, but there is no point of order.
The hon. the member, I do believe, seeking the floor would be the Member for
Fortune Bay-Cape La Hune.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. LANGDON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I am glad to have an opportunity to speak in the Budget debate.
Obviously it can be wide-ranging, some of the topics that you want to speak on.
I want to touch first of all on the situation that has been involved with the
fishery in the last number of days. I can remember - probably I am older than
many of the people in this Legislature - as a young boy, growing up in Seal Cove
in Fortune Bay, just small community, a fishing community, and remembering when
my grandfather and my dad and my grandparents on both sides, my mom's side and
my dad's side, went to fish. I heard a number of stories, and I witnessed it
for myself. I witnessed the fact that my grandparents and my father, and many
other people in the community that I represent now, when they went fishing, they
gave their life's work for it and they worked hard. They cured fish, and they
cured it in the best way that they knew how. As far as they were concerned, it
was a number one fish that they could produce.
When they went to the fish merchant - and they had no choice because it was
only just one buyer for them, take it or leave it - when they went there, they
would take the fish, the big codfish, the state cod, and they would take it
together and they would say: Uncle Bert, that is West Indian. That is the worst
type of fish that you could cure. He knew the difference, but he had no choice.
He had to take it.
I can remember also my grandfather, on my mom's side, telling me of going
to Garland's at the end of the year. There was a big number of them, and my
mom was the second oldest of the family. She left school when she was in Grade
1, illiterate, and could not read and write because she had to help my
grandmother and my grandfather with the other children in the family. That is
what it was about. I heard her tell stories when, in the spring of the year,
they had no molasses in the barrel. She had to take a little bit of water and
put in it and swish it back and forth so that when they put it in the buns it
could be coloured.
That is the type of life they had. My grandfather would fish all year. Then
he would go to Gaultois, to Garland's, and went into the store and said in
front of the people: How did I do this year? He knew he had done well. He knew
he had probably caught a couple of hundred quintals of fish. He would say: Uncle
Ted, you have not even broken even. I am not sure if I can give you any supplies
for the winter or not.
That was the situation that they endured. Now, we will probably never revert
to that again. I do not think we ever will, but do you know what? For the fish
harvesters in the Province, they know the situation and they do not want to
revert to it. They can see concentration of the fishing industry into three or
four people's hands. They can dictate to them where they can go, what they can
catch, almost, and how they can produce it. They do not want that. These are
free enterprisers. Some of these people, I would think, have probably spent $1
million or owe the banks $1 million for enterprises. If the system goes through
the way that it is, they will probably have to declare bankruptcy and will not
be able to make a living in the way that has been with them over all these
years. I can understand the frustration. We have been there. We have done that.
I want to use one more example before I talk about some things in the Budget.
My mom said to me only recently - she is still alive but has a lot of pain
through arthritis - do you know what she said? It is probably because of all of
the things that I did when I was a young girl, when I brought kelp on my back
and the water would fall down over my back and over my legs, because that is the
way we did our ground. That is the way it was about. Do you know what she said
to me? She said, I can remember you did not have a playpen. Your playpen was in
a salt fish box in the stage. When you were hungry and cried, that is where I
nursed you. Do you know what? That is the reason why, when I was a very young
fellow, I had aspirations to get elected. Do you know what? The people in my
area gave me that opportunity, and for five times I have been here and I have
worked for them.
Today, as I speak, my heart is torn and I feel bad for the people of Harbour
Breton, the people who have stood by me for the last sixteen years, the people
who had a good lifestyle and all of a sudden it was just taken out under their
feet like a rug, people who had good homes, good cars, and all of a sudden saw
it disappear. Young people who are fifteen, sixteen, seventeen years of age,
going to school in the morning and knew that they had Internet and they had
cable. When they came back in the afternoon, the cable was gone and the Internet
was gone. It is not a luxury; it is essential. It is part of their tools. Can
you imagine the frustration?
I can sympathize with people in other parts of my district, like in Ramea,
the situation up there, where there is not a thing (inaudible), and I am sure in
the area of the Member for Port aux Basques, and the same thing for Burgeo, that
they are talking about, and in Gaultois, the situation, and we can go on.
I talked about the Budget there some other times ago, and was talking about
choices, and I was somewhat criticized by the Member for Bonavista North who
said we made choices that were not in the best interest of the people of
Newfoundland and Labrador. Probably we did. None of us are perfect. I am sure
that when the government that is there, when you reflect back a year from now
and look at some of the decisions you made, you will say we could have done
better. Hindsight is twenty, twenty. There is nobody perfect. We all make
mistakes, but we strive to do what is best.
One of the things that I really thought was going to happen this year was a
cancer clinic for Grand Falls-Windsor. It was not for Grand Falls-Windsor. It
was for Bay d'Espoir. It was for Harbour Breton. It was Baie Verte. It was for
Springdale. It was for Lewisporte and Botwood, Point Leamington and Leading
Tickles, and everywhere in between. I tell you, when I looked at the picture
from the CBC, I was hurt because there were two people that I knew. One of them
was Larry Warford, a guy from Point Leamington who was there when I taught there
for twenty years. He was a good friend of mine. Here he was in a little room,
shown on the CBC and CTV, very sick with cancer, and they were all cuddled
together in one little room with no privacy, and had to use a five gallon bucket
either to puke or to do something else.
This the Twentieth Century, and we had an opportunity, when we paid for The
Rooms, The Rooms that was built under this Administration, and it was paid for,
$65 million lock, stock and barrel - great, if you could do it, but at what
expense? The people in Grand Falls-Windsor and the central area of the Province
do not have the opportunity to have good decent hospital facilities like they
deserve. It is not what they want; it is what they need. That is the situation.
That is one of the things that we thought would happen.
You make a choice. I said it in the House before, like the rugby situation in
St. John's, and the government committed $1.3 million to do a new recreation
facility and primarily to do rugby. I bet if you ask 90 per cent of
Newfoundlanders outside of the city what is rugby they could not tell you. It is
for a certain class of people, and yet at the same time allow the people in
Central Newfoundland, in Grand Falls-Windsor, to endure that humiliating
situation. The other guy that I knew in there was Tony Hurley. I met Tony when I
was Minister of Municipal Affairs. He owned the Badger Training Academy. Here he
was, I could not believe it, how the cancer had really gripped him, gotten hold
of him, and here he was in that situation too. That is what makes it different.
When you come into the House, you look at the situations that are there and you
make decisions accordingly. Some of them are right and some of them are wrong,
probably, as everybody sees it, but, as you make it as a minister, you are aware
of it and hopefully do it.
One of the other things - and the Member for Torngat Mountains talked about
it today - is the omissions, when he talked about an auditorium for Happy
Valley-Goose Bay. Do you know what? When I was the Minister of Municipal
Affairs, the Member for Torngat Mountains and the Minister of Labrador, at that
time, and also the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair came, along with the
Mayor from Happy Valley-Goose Bay and all the other ones, and said: Look, we
need an auditorium so that we can do some things in Labrador. I thought it was a
good idea. We put the money aside to appoint $4 million to do it. It wasn't
done because they thought that this decision, that I made, was a political
decision. It was a political decision. Sure it was, because as government you
make it, but I thought it was a good one and it was the right one to do. Today
it is still not done. We can keep on going down the list on some other things as
well.
When I talked about the cancer clinic, as I said, in Grand Falls-Windsor.
Talk about the health care. I must take some issue, even though I do not
represent the Burin Peninsula. I did at one time, and the people of
Terrenceville and Bay L'Argent and so on. I have a lot of relatives in Grand
Bank because the people from Seal Cove, where I grew up, a lot of them during
the 1960s, when they resettled, went to Grand Bank to live. I have relatives
there now who needs care. That nursing home in Grand Bank was Level I and Level
II. That is what it was built for. Now, we see that Level III and Level IV is
needed, but they cannot do it. They cannot put the (inaudible) these people and
put them in the bathtub because it was not constructed to look after Level III
and Level IV. That is what they are looking for, a new particular facility and
they are looking for a clinic.
I know about a cottage hospital. One of the things that I am so proud of and
the people who sent me here are proud of, too, we had a cottage hospital in
Harbour Breton that was built in the 1930s. As a boy, I went there in 1955 when
I had an accident and fell down and broke my arm playing soccer. Do you know
what? I remember one day after I was elected, there was a twelve-year-old boy
who was in one bed and there was a guy next to him, not even a curtain between
them, in his late eighties and did not have much time to live in this life, and
I said that is not right. I came here and I convinced my colleagues that we
should build a new facility in Harbour Breton, and we did and we are proud of
it. Do you know what? That is the type of thing that you do because you have
compassion for people, decisions that you made are the right ones and we made
that. The people in that area today are very, very happy of it.
What I also see, Mr. Speaker, in the Budget here -
AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).
MR. LANGDON: Yes, there were some good things. I have to admit that, if I
did not I would not be honest. A lot of good things in the Budget. A lot of
money put into health care, and I agree with it. It is good. It is needed, but
there are other things here.
Getting back to the Burin Peninsula. I live in an area down in the Bay d'Espoir
area, we are three hours drive from Grand Falls. We are an isolated community.
That is why when I had an opportunity to ask for and did receive - my
colleagues, I convinced them that we should modernize the clinic in St. Alban's.
It was not a lot of money, it was $200,000. I had the Deputy Minister of Health
down there at the time because I was cognizant that it was a building that
needed to be repaired. I talked to the mayor again this morning about it because
we live so far. It is the same thing with the Burin Peninsula. I remember - and
I am sure members who are representing there now realize - in the wintertime
with all the whiteouts and so on, and the weather conditions, there are days you
cannot get off the Burin Peninsula. Why would you need a CAT Scan or a dialysis
there? Because of the geographics.
I heard the Minister of Finance say this morning: but you can't very well
do that because there are not enough people on the Burin Peninsula to do it,
when there are more people in St. John's and you have to have a greater wait
time than you do on the Burin Peninsula. Do you know what? There is a facility
in Burin and a hospital that should have all those things in it. What is wrong
if there is a waiting period in St. John's, if somebody from here has to go to
Burin? It is only (inaudible) way around, what the people up there are doing
now.
AN HON. MEMBER: What is the difference?
MR. LANGDON: What is the difference if you have to wait a little longer?
AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible) travel from St. John's to go to Burin.
MR. LANGDON: Because this Province is made up of geographical areas, and
it is more than St. John's and it is more than the ribbon community.
Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about this too, because when I got elected here
first and we formed the government, many of the people criticized the fact that
Clyde Wells hired, who is now the Deputy Minister of Rural Development over
here, Dr. Doug House. They pooh-poohed him, and said: You are taking away all of
the responsibilities from the department. And he is going to destroy rural
Newfoundland.
I did not get an answer, but I am sure that our researchers can give me
speeches by many of the guys who were there at the time. Get rid of him! When
Brian Tobin came here, he did get rid of him. Guess what? Who brought him back?
This government did. What do you think his aim is? I tell you what his aim is,
it is to build urban areas and to build Corner Brook and St. John's and what
is called the ribbon community, the Trans-Canada Highway. If you can drive to
Grand Falls, if you can drive to Gander, if you can drive to Clarenville, then
that is alright, but any of the outlining communities where you cannot commute,
I wonder what is their future. It is a very serious thing for us to consider and
we have to consider that, if we do not, than obviously we are not up to the task
that we are asked to do.
Mr. Speaker, I recognize that just twenty-three months ago the people of
Newfoundland and Labrador decided they wanted change. That is the democratic
progress, and everyday that the present government is there - and I probably
will never be in the situation where I will be a minister again, but who knows?
- the thing is, I want to assure you that everyday you are there is one day
less, because that is how the system works. That is the democratic process. We
don't have a monopoly of government for life. People change their minds and
they make decisions. Mr. Speaker, some of the decisions that this government
makes are probably decisions that I wouldn't make, but that is democracy. They
have made the choices, they live with them, and they have to justify them.
Another thing that is really dear to me is a teacher; teacher cuts. I grew
up, as a small fellow, as I said, in Fortune Bay schools and I couldn't even
go to university when I graduated, because I didn't have French or Latin. I
had to find a way to do it, and eventually I did. The first year I taught
Kindergarten, 1, 2 and 3. Now, we talk about teacher cuts. I think about the
school where I taught in Port Leamington. We are asking teachers to do the same
thing now. It is a different world. Just think about what happened even in the
last Budget. The Premier and the government decided that they were going to put
seventy-five teachers in to bring the class size in Kindergarten down to less
than thirty-five. Now, how many of those teachers are outside the Avalon. There
is no Kindergarten in the district that I represent more than thirty-five, and I
doubt there is either one in Grand Falls or either one on the Burin Peninsula.
They all came here.
Where do you think the other 145 teachers are who came out of the schools?
They didn't come out here. Where did they come out? They came out of rural
Newfoundland. As a result of that, do you know what the situation is? You cannot
offer the top academic program. You cannot offer chemistry, you cannot offer
physics, you cannot offer honours math, you cannot offer advanced writing,
because the teacher numbers are just not there to do it. Talk about teaching
music and so on, when you cannot even do the core curriculum. These are the
types of things that I am sure the people in the rural parts of the Province are
thinking about as we speak.
One of the other things, too, Mr. Speaker, as I said is public safety. I
talked yesterday, in Public Accounts, to the minister about it. As a person who
drives over the highway a lot - all of us do. The Member for Baie Verte, I am
sure he will have to agree with what I am saying, and so will the Member for
Terra Nova. We talked about it yesterday. You come into St. John's on a very
nice sunny day, you look ahead, and you can see ruts in the road that deep. When
it comes rain they are full of water, and then what happens? Your car will
fishtail. We have had a number of accidents. I said to the minister, she was
correct, it didn't happen over the last twenty-six months. The last twenty-six
months helped to make it even worse than what it was before.
One of the things that I think could have been corrected - and I asked the
minister if she would talk to her colleagues about it, and probably she will in
the future - is to reactive that inspection station out in Foxtrap. You know
what, you can leave here and if it is foggy in Goobies you don't even have to
stop. You can leave here, you can load your truck down, you can put on it
whatever you can get, and what happens? What suffers? It is the highway that
suffers. At the end of the day it is going to cost much more money than it did
before, to enable it to be made safe and so on, to recap it again. It is a real
serious problem.
We recognize today the number of dollars - and every dollar is very
important. If we probably were to invest and to have that happen then we might
be able to save $1 million or $2 million on recap and be able to do it somewhere
else.
Mr. Speaker, those are some of the things that I wanted to say. I also wanted
to say to my colleague, my good friend, the Minister of Municipal Affairs, I
have seen many of the things - you have carried on some of the things that I
started, only started, and enhanced and made better, and that is the Multi-Year
Capital Works Program for many of the municipalities. There were municipalities,
when I was there, that did not want to participate, like Corner Brook. Corner
Brook never wanted to participate in a Multi-Year Capital Works Program for the
number of years that I was minister, two or three. They have this year. Mount
Pearl never did want to participate into a Multi-Year Capital Works apart from
the town hall, city hall. Every year they wanted to do their own thing.
AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).
MR. LANGDON: I will come to that another day.
Here is the situation that I see happening. Probably it is not true. Probably
in my situation - I will just talk to the minister as a point of caution. Many
of the larger communities are getting Multi-Year Capital Works - a good thing -
but I am wondering, because the amounts are larger than normal, what does it
mean for many of the small rural communities? Are they able to obtain the funds
if that particular thing happens?
With that, Mr. Speaker, I will conclude and hopefully somebody else will
continue.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER (Fitzgerald): The hon. the Minister of Municipal and
Provincial Affairs.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. J. BYRNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I want to take this opportunity to say a few words on the Budget 2005. As the
previous speaker said in his passionate speech, as he usually gives, it can be
pretty broad ranging. I will try not to go too far off the course, Mr. Speaker.
I have to say this: I find it more than passing strange that all the woes of
the world have happened in the past eighteen months, nineteen months, since we
became elected as the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. Anybody in their
right mind would have to question that.
If you listen to the speeches that are given on the other side of the House,
the comments and the questions that have been made from the other side of the
House these past few days, we are the worse thing since - I will not start
comparing ourselves to certain individuals in history, but it is unbelievable
the attitude from the other side of the House of Assembly.
The speaker who was just up talked about the Grand Falls clinic - and we all
know it is needed, and wanted, and certainly understand that. He talked about
the auditorium in Labrador, as did the Member for Torngat Mountains when he was
up on a petition today. I am going to address that now shortly with respect to
the comments that he made. He talked about teacher cuts. The former speaker
talked about teacher cuts. There was neither Administration in the history of
this Province that cut the amount of teachers out of the system as the previous
Administration. We are still following their formula, that they put in place,
and we are cutting that in half. We are reducing the amount that should be going
out according to their formula, and they are criticizing us for that. So, you
have to wonder where they are coming from on some of these issues, other than
playing pure, raw politics.
The Member for Torngat Mountains was up on a petition today. He made a
comment that he has to wonder - they did not get the auditorium because of where
they live. Now, you talk about trying to be inciteful and divisive in this House
of Assembly, when you want to sit back and look at what was done in Labrador,
and you compare in the Budget of this year what had been done previously.
We cannot be all things to all people in eighteen months. We brought down a
Budget here in which there are so many positive things but, no, that crowd on
the other side cannot look at those. They cannot talk about anything positive in
the Budget, but only try and dig up the things that are negative.
The Member for Torngat Mountains, when he was on his feet talking about the
auditorium, did not go so far as to say we had thirteen ministers and the
Premier in Labrador, probably the first time - I will not say in history, but in
a long, long time - that we had that many ministers in Labrador to show the
interest that we have in Labrador, met with the mayors of all around Labrador,
brought them in to a meeting, and paid to bring them in so we could meet
directly with them, so we could hear their concerns. No, again they have to go
back - did not get the auditorium.
We have the Minister of Tourism in Ottawa since, trying to raise funds to
work on getting the auditorium for Labrador; but, no, do not mention that. Do
not look at any co-operation on this. Just try and be divisive as much as you
can.
Where is the co-operation, I say to members on the other side of the House?
We are all supposed to be here to work together for the betterment of the people
of Newfoundland and Labrador.
We see them on their feet every day on that side of the House, up trying to
be very inciteful with the questions they ask, trying to play to the galleries,
playing to the galleries.
AN HON. MEMBER: Inciteful is not a word. Inciteful is (inaudible).
MR. J. BYRNE: Yes, I say to the former, former Premier.
The Member for Grand Bank was up saying today that we are not as good on this
side of the House as when they were there. Well, I say to her: What is she doing
on that side of the House? She was one of the ones who tried to leave, to get
out of this House of Assembly, as did the Member for Torngat Mountains, as did
the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair, and tried to get elected in
Labrador for the Liberal nomination, Mr. Speaker.
The Member for Exploits over there gets pretty upset, you know, but he can
get up there - and here is an individual, Mr. Speaker, when he is on his feet,
is a pro at this: leaving things out, omissions, leaving half sentences out, and
these types of things. He tries to be the expert in the field, but he is far
from it. That is why he is sitting on this side of the House, and I expect he is
going to be there for a long, long time to come.
Now, Mr. Speaker, last night - you want to talk about the Budget - I met with
two ministers and six MHAs in Mount Pearl, and met with a number of mayors and
councillors from all over the Avalon Peninsula, at the request of the Federation
of Municipalities. At that meeting they brought up a number of issues. They
brought up issues with respect to the roads in the Province of Newfoundland and
Labrador. They brought up other issues with respect to the ferries in the
Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. They said: Look, we know it is eighteen
months in but we do not want to hear that the government has to deal with the
past.
Mr. Speaker, I said to them at that point in time, the reality of the
situation is this: We have the previous Administration who spent nothing,
basically, on roads in the Province with respect to maintenance in the Province
of Newfoundland and Labrador, with class A gravel for the shoulders of the road.
Therefore, the road has deteriorated over the past ten or twelve years, big
time, Mr. Speaker. They did not put any money into schools over the years, and
now we see the situation within the schools of the Province of Newfoundland and
Labrador. The structures, the buildings themselves, is something that we have to
deal with, and we are dealing with. They are in a mess, make no mistake about
that. The thing is, Mr. Speaker, we cannot, as has been said, be all things to
all people in eighteen months, but we are working towards it.
We have a Budget that was brought down here, Mr. Speaker - another thing that
was mentioned last night was snow clearing in the Province of Newfoundland and
Labrador. Now, we were elected eighteen months ago. In November we took over the
government, so the first winter was set. This past winter, again across this
Province we had snow clearing equipment that is anywhere from fifteen, twenty,
thirty, thirty-five, forty years old, that is falling apart. We had another
problem with respect to the snow clearing, and Occupational Health and Safety
required us to take certain vehicles off the road because of the location of the
plows, and the wings caused a problem for safety problems. That caused problems
with respect to the number of vehicles that could be on the road. Therefore,
yes, with some of the snow clearing there were problems created and it was a bit
slow, but we have the minister working on that. He is on top of it. We are
looking at new equipment for next year but, then again, we have to work with
what we have and the amount of money we have.
We have a Budget this year - we have turned a corner, Mr. Speaker, as far as
I am concerned. We have turned -
MR. GRIMES: (Inaudible).
MR. J. BYRNE: Mr. Speaker, there you go. The Leader of the Opposition
said: Should we have spent more money when we were there? Well, I say to the
Leader of the Opposition, you should have spent the money more wisely. We did
not have to get into the situations, and we can go on and on and on about how
you misspent, how you took care of your buddies, how you spent money on
hospitals and we are still being sued, how you fired everybody when you came in
and you are still paying out the -
MR. GRIMES: (Inaudible).
MR. J. BYRNE: Oh, yes, you are. You are. Talk about Trans City, Sir. Talk
about Trans City. Talk about some of the contracts you ordered. Let's talk
about it. Do you want to go down that road? There are lots of them out there, I
say to the Leader of the Opposition.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MR. J. BYRNE: So, it all well and good to get up and be holier than thou
and try to say that we are the culprits over here when you guys created the
problem.
MR. GRIMES: You were doing alright for awhile when you were talking about
facts.
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The hon. the Minister of Municipal and Provincial Affairs.
MR. J. BYRNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Now, Mr. Speaker, let's talk about the good things that are in this Budget,
or some of the good things.
AN HON. MEMBER: You hit a nerve.
MR. J. BYRNE: Yes, I should say I hit a nerve on that side that time, Mr.
Speaker, when we talked about how they took care of their buddies big time, I
say that to the Leader of the Opposition, and it has been proven over and over
and over again. That is why we are in the mess we are in today, that we are
trying to work our way out of it and, thank God, we are on this side of the
House and not you.
They talked about commitment on that side of the House earlier today. Talked
about commitment. The only commitment that I ever saw on that side of the House
was to their political buddies and making sure that the Province went in the
hole further and further.
In the last election, Mr. Speaker, aside from the Budget - now we are talking
September, October - those guys promised an extra $85 million when we were
looking at a $500 million, $600 million and $700 million deficit and they were
trying to buy the election. People wised up, I say to the Leader of the
Opposition. They wised up and they know now what they are going to get here is
going to be a good planned approach, which we are going to be strategically
utilizing -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. J. BYRNE: - any money that we receive in this Province of
Newfoundland and Labrador.
Now, let's look at some of the good things, Mr. Speaker, in the Budget. Let's
talk about roads, and I do not want to preempt the Minister of Transportation
and Works when he gets up, but we have the $21 million that was allocated
previously, I think, or for road work within the Province, all across this
Province, anywhere from $3 million to $4 million would have come out of that for
engineering. Last year I think we went to $30 million, and now this year we are
up to $33 million. There is a $3 million carryover but there is $33 million on
road work this year. Now, that is over a 50 per cent jump in one year. So, we
are working on the problems, Mr. Speaker.
Let us look at Municipal and Provincial Affairs, $83 million under three
programs for Capital Works for municipalities in the Province of Newfoundland
and Labrador. We have more money coming under the Municipal Rural Infrastructure
Fund, $84 million to be spent in five years. We have the gas tax coming, $82
million to be spent in five years. In the next five years we have upwards of
$500 million to spent in this Province on Capital Works for municipalities.
The previous speaker was on his feet and he had a concern. I understand he is
concerned because I find him to be a decent, concerned individual. He is a
former minister. He asked a question. I think the question was, Mr. Speaker, the
Multi-Year Capital Works Program -
MR. ANDERSEN: (Inaudible).
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MR. J. BYRNE: I say to the Member for Torngat Mountains, relax. You will
have your opportunity go get on your feet. You will have your twenty minutes to
get up, I say to the Member for Torngat Mountains. Then again, Mr. Speaker, it
seems that we hit a nerve again. It is no trouble to hit a nerve. What is he
saying now, Mr. Speaker?
MR. ANDERSEN: (Inaudible) put your money where your mouth is.
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MR. J. BYRNE: Put your money where your mouth is, he said. Well, let me
say to the Member for Torngat Mountains, we have done that. We have shown it in
the Budget here and I will refer to some of it now shortly.
Mr. Speaker, I will address the concern of the former Minister of Municipal
and Provincial Affairs, the Member for Fortune Bay-Cape la Hune, when he was
talking about the multi-year program. He was concerned that the larger
municipalities are taking a bigger chunk of the money. That would leave less for
the rural communities. I say to the member, last year we put $9 million,
extended a program that they started which was supposed to