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June 11, 2019

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLIX No. 2

The

House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Trimper):

Admit strangers, please.

Order,

please!

I'd like

to welcome the Members back. It's good to see you after you've taken your Oath

and it's good that you've come back. We went through a lot of trouble yesterday.

Again, I'd like to thank all of the staff of the House of Assembly. I think you

will agree it was a very fitting ceremony for such an auspicious occasion. So,

welcome to you all again.

We have

a few things I'd like to do today. First of all, I'd like to welcome some new

Pages. To my right is Emma Taylor from St. John's, and Emma is completing a

Bachelor of Science with a major in Applied Mathematics at Memorial University

of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Also, I

have to my left, new to us, is Elizabeth Tuck from Mount Pearl. Elizabeth is

studying at St. Thomas University in New Brunswick and she's completing a

Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Human Rights and majors in Political Science

and Comparative Literature. Also, joining us are Katelyn Galway and Alden

Spencer, our returning Pages.

Welcome

to our Pages.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Over in the Speaker's

gallery, to my right, I would like to welcome Ms. Lorraine Michael – certainly

no stranger, former Member of the House of Assembly and past leader of the

Newfoundland and Labrador New Democratic Party. Ms. Michael will be recognized

in a Member's statement this afternoon, and she's accompanied by Laurel

Doucette.

Welcome

to you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

I could almost ask you how

the view is from that chair.

Statements by

Members

MR. SPEAKER:

For Members' statements today

we will hear from the hon. Members for the Districts of Lewisporte -

Twillingate, Fogo Island - Cape Freels, Conception Bay East - Bell Island,

Harbour Main and St. John's East - Quidi Vidi.

Before I

introduce the Members' statements, I would like to recognize Ms. Deirdre Lono is

joining us today for a very special Member's statement.

So let's

start with the hon. Member for Lewisporte - Twillingate, Sir.

MR. BENNETT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It's

great to be back.

On June

8, I had the distinct honour to attend the Annual Review Ceremony of 83 Briton

Sea Cadet Corps. All cadets did an exceptional job with their marching, band

performances and various displays of the skills they have learned throughout

their training.

Cadets

are encouraged to become active, responsible members of the community while they

learn valuable life and work skills such as teamwork, leadership and

citizenship.

A number

of awards were presented during the ceremony, with Ethan Hodder receiving the

Lord Strathcona Trust Fund Medal, which is the highest award that can be

bestowed upon a cadet in recognition of exemplary performance in physical and

military training.

Jasmine

Blake received the Legion Medal of Excellence. Samuel Anstey was presented with

the Most Proficient Cadet, while Jacob Bennett took Top On-Parade Cadet.

Instructors Lieutenant Navy Monique Wellman and Tara King were presented with

the National Cadet and the Junior Canadian Rangers Support Group Commander's

award.

Mr.

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

instructors of 83 Briton Cadet Corps and wish them much success in the future.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

The hon.

the Member for Fogo Island - Cape Freels.

MR. BRAGG:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Once

again, I feel honoured and privileged to rise in this House and tell of

incredible accomplishments by residents of my District of Fogo Island - Cape

Freels.

We all

know how important participation, team work and physical fitness shapes a young

mind. There is no better example of that than Noah Carter.

Noah

will be graduating grade 12 from Pearson Academy in New-Wes-Valley in the coming

weeks. Not only will he be graduating at the top of his class, he will be

graduating with a room full of athletic awards. Noah excelled in all school

sports. At hockey, softball, basketball, track and field, volleyball, badminton,

table tennis and ultimate Frisbee competitions, you would find Noah at the top

of the heap. His parents, Jeffery and Lorna, as you would expect, are very proud

of him.

Recently, at a school sports NL banquet, Noah was awarded the Brother G.I.

Moore, Student Athlete of the Year, in the 3A male category. Pearson Academy

will forever remember Noah for his big smile and ease in which he lit up the

team with his leadership and gracefulness.

Noah,

you are indeed a gentleman, keep up the good work. We wish you well.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay East - Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This

past Thursday I had the privilege of attending this year's graduation of the

community adult basic education program on Bell Island. Six diplomas and six

certificates were awarded to those who had completed their high school

equivalency or to those moving on to another level in the program.

For over

a decade, this program has been offering educational supports for more than 100

students and have seen many of those go on to post-secondary institutions to

further their career path. The program had started by offering a level I

educational program, then with its uptake and support quickly moved to also

offering a level II program. It wasn't too long before the Bell Island program

was licensed by government to offer the first level III program outside a

college system, something the instructors, students, organizers and community

should be very proud of.

The

program has attracted participants from all backgrounds, ages and even from

other communities as it offers a very professional, inclusive and supportive

environment. I have to acknowledge that a lot of the credit for the success of

the program has to be given to the two instructors, Paul and Aimee, who go

beyond the call of duty to ensure students success.

congratulate and thank the students for their commitment to the program and ask

all Members of this House to wish them every success as they move forward on the

next journey of their career path.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member, I

welcome, for Harbour Main.

MS. CONWAY OTTENHEIMER:

Mr. Speaker, I am

pleased to rise today and share with all hon. Members and the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador a true act of bravery which occurred in my District of

Harbour Main on May 14, 2019.

Mr. Paul

Furey of Chapel's Cove ran to the rescue of a gentleman of the same community,

Mr. Bernard Hawco, who had caught fire while working on his property burning

brush in the early afternoon.

Bernard was engulfed in flames, Paul at first tried patting his neighbour down

with gloves, then a jacket and then a seat cushion from Bernard's truck.

Bernard's boots kept reigniting, so Paul quickly got the senior out of his

burning clothing – safe and protected from immediate danger. Paul then

extinguished the brush fire which had been spreading quickly in the area.

Bernard

is recovering in hospital today but is alive due to the fast thinking and heroic

efforts of his valiant neighbour and friend.

I ask

all Members of this House to join me in paying tribute to Mr. Paul Furey, who

demonstrated great courage and sacrifice in saving the life of another human

being.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's East - Quidi Vidi.

MS. COFFIN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, I am honoured and proud to stand today to recognize and celebrate Ms.

Lorraine Michael, former MHA for St. John's East - Quidi Vidi and past New

Democratic Party Leader.

Ms.

Michael's contributions to this House of Assembly and our province are

innumerable. Ms. Michael is personally responsible for my being in the House of

Assembly.

Lorraine

taught for 12 years here in our province before committing her life to social

justice and community activism, provincially, nationally and internationally.

Before being elected, she was the Executive Director of Women in Resource

Development.

Ms.

Michael was first elected as MHA for Signal Hill - Quid Vidi in a 2006

by-election, was re-elected in 2007 and 2011, and again in 2015 as the MHA for

St. John's East - Quidi Vidi. Lorraine also served as Leader of the Newfoundland

and Labrador NDP from 2006 to 2015.

Thank

you, Lorraine, for your tireless efforts as a parliamentarian, and your lifelong

commitment to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. You are a mentor and a

guide, and I'm eternally grateful for your support.

I ask

all hon. Members to join with me in thanking and congratulating Ms. Michael.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Burgeo - La Poile, who, I understand, has leave for this statement.

Please

proceed.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

And I

thank my colleagues for providing leave.

I invite

all hon. Members to join me today in paying tribute to Simon Lono, a

Newfoundlander dedicated to making our province a better place for us all.

Simon

passed away on May 24, 2019. He spent most of his life working in some aspect of

politics or public service, in either government or Opposition.

Simon

had a deep and abiding love of Parliament and its traditions, generally, and of

this House, in particular. He believed that it's only through informed,

respectful and vigorous debate that those of us fortunate enough to sit in this

House can ensure that whatever decision we reach will be the very best for all

the people of the province. Simon also believed that all citizens should take

part in their communities to make the future better for us all.

He put

these two beliefs into action through his involvement in debating. As a national

debate champion in his youth, he toured the Soviet Union in the late 1980s with

a Canadian and American debate team to build bridges between West and East at

the height of the Cold War.

At home,

Simon coached debate teams and supported the Newfoundland and Labrador Youth

Parliament. He founded the Newfoundland and Labrador Speech and Debate Union in

2000, set up programs to train debaters, judges and coaches; and raised money so

that students could develop their debating skills regardless of personal

finances.

Engagement; activism; informed, respectful, passionate debate; working with

others to make life better for all – surely that is politics at its best.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask that you convey to Simon's family – his wife Deirdre, his

children Simon, Diana, Sarah and Sam and his brothers Norman and Mark – the

deepest and most sincere condolences of this House and the staff of the House.

I ask

you to do this, Mr. Speaker, in the hope that such an expression of sympathy and

respect for our departed friend and colleague would give them some small comfort

in their bereavement.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by

Ministers

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister

Responsible for the Human Resource Secretariat.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm pleased to

rise in this hon. House today to recognize Public Service Week, which runs June

9 to June15.

The theme,

Proudly Serving Newfoundland and Labrador, speaks to the pride and commitment I

witness every day from our valued public service employees as they work to move

our province forward, making it a better place to live and work.

Mr. Speaker, I

know that every Member here would agree with me when I say that Newfoundland and

Labrador has some of the hardest working public service employees in our

country. Each day, our colleagues develop policy and deliver programs and

services that positively impact families, individuals and businesses throughout

our province.

As a part of this

special week, nominations have been opened for the Public Service Awards of

Excellence, which will be awarded this fall in recognition of exceptional work.

To be recognized by fellow employees is a great accomplishment and I encourage

staff to nominate a colleague that exemplifies a quality and value of work that

is truly outstanding.

Mr.

Speaker, the significant progress that we've made as a government would not have

been achievable without the tremendous support of our public service employees.

I ask

all Members to join me in recognizing Public Service Week and the many valuable

contributions of provincial government employees.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

The hon.

the Member for Stephenville - Port au Port.

MR. WAKEHAM:

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank

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

Opposition, I would like to wish all members of the public service a very happy

Public Service Week, and I would like to thank them for their commitment to this

province.

The

individuals who make up our public service are undoubtedly hard working. Each

and every day they strive to make our province a better place to live, work and

visit. Being employed in the public service isn't always easy, as employees are

faced sometimes with challenging files and have to make hard decisions. However,

our public service does this with skill and dedication. We must always remember

the role of a public servant is to advise fearlessly and implement flawlessly.

Members of this House, we can learn a lot from the public service. The members

of the public service are subject matter experts who can help us to make better

decisions for the province as a whole. They can help us to provide better

quality and more efficient services.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

The hon.

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

MS. COFFIN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I, too,

thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement and congratulate the

public service on their excellent work.

Our

public service is indeed a dedicated, hard-working group of professionals. They

provide the services that are essential to our lives. Usually they work in the

background, so it is very important to celebrate their contributions this week

and hold the Awards of Excellence every fall. I am sure that public service

employees will have no trouble finding those among them who are deserving of an

award for exceptional work.

Thank

you to all of those who work in the public service, and thank you, Mr. Speaker,

for this opportunity.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

Further

statements by ministers?

The hon.

the Minister of Fisheries and Land Resources.

MR. BYRNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

World

Oceans Day is recognized globally on June 8, but we've enjoyed a full week of

events in this province. I am really encouraged by the initiatives

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians took last week to celebrate World Oceans Day

and to explore this year's theme, “together we can protect and restore our

ocean.”

The

focus of this year's World Oceans Day celebration was reducing plastic

pollution, and highlighting solutions that inspire leadership and conservation,

both locally and globally.

Mr.

Speaker, last week I attended a World Oceans Day event at Immaculate Heart of

Mary School in Corner Brook, where a student assembly was held and students

shared their ideas about protecting our oceans through video projects and art

work. A family fun day was held at the Marine Institute in St. John's and that

was also a great success, with families coming together to enjoy a wealth of

activities aimed at raising awareness of the importance of our oceans.

Mr.

Speaker, all over this province, schools and organizations hosted beach clean

ups, information sessions and student art challenges – including a poster

context that generated more than 1,500 entries from kindergarten to grade six

students from all over the province. It was fantastic to see so many young

people involved in celebrating the ocean, a most precious resource shared by us

all.

Mr.

Speaker, our province was founded on the ocean as its primary resource, and the

ocean remains an integral economic and cultural force to this day.

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians' active engagement in this year's Wold Oceans

Day events demonstrates their devotion to this resource, and our shared

commitment to preserving the ocean's species and ecosystems for generations to

come.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Cape

St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I want

to thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement. Mr. Speaker, we're

all connected by the oceans, but especially in this province where the ocean is

so important to our very being. Our oceans are a tremendous resource and it's

nice to see so many students and organizations participate in World Oceans Day

activities this year.

I'd like

to acknowledge and thank all those who took

part in clean ups and other events

across the province. I encourage everyone to do what they can to take care of

our oceans so that they can be protected and preserved for our future.

Every

little bit counts. Together we can make a difference. In that spirit, I

encourage government to move forward on the implementation of the single use

plastic bag in this province as soon as possible.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MR. J. DINN:

Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank

the minister for an advance copy of his statement. And, as a teacher, I am

pleased to hear that the minister took

part in World Oceans Day events and heard

from students and families.

I'm also

pleased, Mr. Speaker, to hear that the minister believes in protecting and

restoring our oceans. We look forward to working with government to strengthen

environmental legislation and rules around seismic exploration and open sea pen

aquaculture to protect our oceans for our future generations.

Thank

you.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Further statements by

ministers?

Oral

Questions.

Oral Questions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. CROSBIE:

Mr. Speaker, thank you.

While

recognizing the paramount need to return to surplus by 2022-23: Does the Premier

accept that the electorate has just instructed their representatives to

collaborate on reorganizing budget priorities? And, if not, what instruction

from the electorate does he think he has?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I think

on May 16, when I look back at election day and the 28-day campaign that was

ran, I think I made my intentions very clear on election night when I spoke to

the people of our province and put forward a willingness to work together on

behalf of all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. As a matter of fact, made it

quite clear that I wanted to work with all 40 Members of this House of Assembly.

Mr.

Speaker, when you look at the dynamic of the decisions that we have to make, all

of us I believe that sit in this House, that really what we want to do is make

decisions that are in the best interest of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

In 2016,

we started with a plan to return to balance in 2022-2023. Mr. Speaker, we are

creating jobs in our province, and our province is on track to return to

surplus. I believe that is the budget that we put forward to the people of our

province during this recent election.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. CROSBIE:

I thank the Premier for the

answer.

And he

and I, as he knows, have had an exchange of correspondence on potential

modifications to the unpassed budget.

Is the

Premier willing to collaborate to pass supply and, over coming months, to

negotiate policy preferences expressed by the voting public, like insulin pump

coverage and of killing the levy, while respecting the paramount need to return

to balance?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Absolutely, Mr. Speaker.

In the

letter that was sent to me on June 5, I think it's now publicly shared – at

least I hope it is – from the Leader of the Opposition, there were eight

initiatives or eight things that were discussed. All of these initiatives were

not new, Mr. Speaker, to government. These are all things that we're currently

working on.

everyone in this province would know already, the levy was a temporary levy and

it's legislated out. So this is not on the advice or the response or a reaction

to any particular letter that was sent to me on June 5. This was all part of the

plan when the temporary levy was in Budget

2016 . There is a legislative

process that will make sure that this levy is gone by 2019. That's about $55

million that will go in the pockets of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, as well

as insulin pump coverage that was expanded this year, ArtsNL funding, Mr.

Speaker, all of which are part of Budget 2019.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. CROSBIE:

I thank the Premier for that

somewhat limited amount of encouragement, and would ask the following: Upon

election of the Speaker, the Premier has a 19-Member caucus in a 40-Member

Legislature. Can the Premier explain how this amounts to a mandate to pass his

pre-election budget with no changes?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Mr. Speaker, the mandate that

I'm talking about is that we have 20 Liberal seats currently in Newfoundland and

Labrador. When you look at the popular vote within our province, I'm still

Leader of the Liberal Party, which puts me in a position to be Premier of the

province. That is the mandate that was given to me and a mandate to lead this

province in this minority government. And it's one that I embrace, because I see

this as an opportunity to work together with every Member.

These

ideas that have been mentioned, as I said, are not new; there are about eight

initiatives there. What I've done in response to the letter is to ask the Leader

of the Opposition, which is the responsible manner, to actually cost these

initiatives and also speak to, in a very specific way, the cuts or the

expenditure reductions that he refers to in his first letter on June 5. I think

that is what leadership does, to actually work together in the response of that

letter.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. CROSBIE:

The government promised to

eliminate the sales tax imposed on auto insurance premiums, but chose not to

give this measure legal effect before the election. People found out about this

while renewing their coverage.

Will

this legislation be brought to the House?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Yes.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. CROSBIE:

Can the Premier or other

minister explain when?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

For

Members opposite, given this is their first exposure to Question Period, if you

look at your desk there, there would be an Order Paper there that would explain

when this piece of legislation was coming. I understand this was introduced

yesterday by the Minister of Finance. This is a piece of legislation that we

want to bring forward too. Of course, the House Leader, as everyone would know

right now, will introduce this bill.

We want

to get this done, Mr. Speaker. People in our province are looking forward to

this rebate. This is a commitment that we have made, nearly $60 million to the

people of our province, to remove auto insurance.

If you

remember, Mr. Speaker, this was all part and parcel of the Public Utilities

Board review on auto insurance that we were the first administration of many –

many administrations prior to us have pushed this down the road. This

administration dealt with it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. CROSBIE:

Could someone from the

ministry explain whether discussions have taken place with representatives of

the insurance industry on the question of inconvenience and expense arising from

the need to make rebates of auto insurance premiums.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Mr. Speaker, any time you

make a decision within government that's imposed, there's always a date that

would be imposed. So what we want to do is work with the insurance industry to

make sure that these rebates can be effective, because the objective here is to

put this money back in the pockets of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, without

delay.

We want

to get this done. People have been asking for this. This was one of the things

that came forward from the Public Utilities review, but it's something that

we've wanted to do for quite some time. The measures that we imposed in 2016,

the decisions that were made, Mr. Speaker, were very obvious, based on the

fiscal challenges that we were left with coming into government in 2015.

So, Mr.

Speaker, we are glad to get this money back in the pockets of Newfoundlanders

and Labradorians as quickly as possible.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Stephenville - Port au Port.

MR. WAKEHAM:

Mr. Speaker, I ask the

Minister of Finance: The December 2018 report of the government's Independent

Tax Review Committee said the Temporary Deficit Reduction Levy was – quote –

regressive, a head tax, poor tax policy and consideration should be given to

ending the Temporary Deficit Reduction Levy prior to the legislated date. Why

not take your own committee's sound advice and immediately eliminate the levy?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The levy

is being eliminated in 2019. What we chose to do, as a government, is to reach

the greatest number of people in the province with a tax break that we could by

eliminating the sales tax on automobile insurance.

The

Independent Tax Review Committee did not recommend the elimination of automobile

tax insurance right away. They did recommend the levy, but the automobile tax

insurance reaches a greater number of people and this way both win because the

levy is gone this year and the automobile tax insurance is gone this year as

well.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Stephenville - Port au Port.

MR. WAKEHAM:

Mr. Speaker, I ask the minister for clarification.

Is the

minister telling the taxpayers of this province that they will have to pay the

full cost of the levy on their 2019 tax returns?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, the tax levy is gone as of December 31, 2019. That's been legislated in

this House since 2016. The same people that pay the levy, Mr. Speaker, of all

tax filers in the province, less than 30 per cent actually pay the levy, but of

people filing taxes in the province, almost 100 per cent pay automobile

insurance.

wanted to give the widest number of people we could a tax break, and that's what

we did with the automobile insurance. The levy is gone this year as well.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

The hon.

the Member for Stephenville - Port au Port.

MR. WAKEHAM:

Mr. Speaker, the answer is obviously, yes, and the minister referred to an

amount of $55 million being the impact of the tax levy, so it isn't

insignificant to the people of this province.

Mr.

Speaker, there's new information that insolvencies are up over 50 per cent in

this province. Businesses are going under because they're prospective customers

have less to spend, thanks to exorbitant taxes.

Is the

minister concerned about this number of insolvencies?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Mr. Speaker, there are

jurisdictions in Canada with higher rates of growth and insolvency than this

province, but what I will say is that in

Budget 2015 , the previous government gave a projection on the amount of

capital investment in this province; we've exceeded that. They gave a projection

on the number of jobs in this province; right now, today, we've exceeded that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

I remind all Members I will

not tolerate interruptions, please.

MR. OSBORNE:

They gave a projection on the

amount of retail sales in this province; we've exceeded that.

So,

based on their numbers, I would suspect that things would've been worse. We've

got 11 consecutive months of year-over-year job growth in this province, we've

worked hard to overcome the fiscal crisis that was there in 2015-2016 and we're

making progress.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

The hon.

the Member for Stephenville - Port au Port.

MR. WAKEHAM:

Mr. Speaker, I ask the

minister: What is your solution to bring down the number of insolvencies in this

province?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Mr. Speaker, what we're doing

is probably the opposite of what the crowd opposite were doing when they

projected that capital investment would be lower than we've actually delivered,

where retail sales in the province would be lower than what we delivered, where

the number of jobs in the province would be lower than what we delivered.

We've

come off a period where we've had two megaprojects shut down, and something that

this province could not control was the effects of Fort McMurray on the

province, where people had large incomes in Fort McMurray. Literally thousands

of people in this province were affected by that, but we have made huge progress

with 11 consecutive months of year-over-year job growth.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

The hon.

the Member for Stephenville - Port au Port.

MR. WAKEHAM:

Mr. Speaker, the Dominion

Bond Rating Service has indicated that the deficit for this year is actually

$855 million.

In this

government's pre-election budget, the minister stated that the province would

record a $1.9-billion surplus. I ask the minister: Which number is correct?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Mr. Speaker, with the

Atlantic Accord, based on the accounting principles that this province has had

in place for two decades, it does show a surplus, but without the Atlantic

Accord, we'd have a $577-million deficit in this province.

If the

Member wanted to be completely accurate with the people of the province and read

a little bit further into DBRS, the reason they show the figure they do is

because they project all capital costs immediately, as opposed to amortized over

the life of the project.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

The hon.

the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MS. EVANS:

Mr. Speaker, the people of my

District of Torngat Mountains rely heavily on marine service for food security

and to keep the cost of living down. I repeat, rely heavily on the marine

service to keep food security and to keep the cost of living down.

Now that

the Lewisporte run has been eliminated, all food and materials have to be

trucked to their freight facility in Goose Bay in order to be shipped to

Northern Labrador. It is now June 11, Mr. Speaker, and it has not been made

public when this facility will start accepting freight.

I ask

the Premier: When will this facility start accepting freight, including food and

essential goods, to ship to the Northern Labrador communities?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

And I

thank the hon. Member for the question.

Mr.

Speaker, when we made the changes to Lewisporte into Goose Bay as the main hub,

we also took our road database and we adjusted the freight rates to actually

reflect that change, Mr. Speaker. So what the people of the North Coast will see

is adjustments in the freight rates to actually come down to reflect the

difference in the distance.

Mr.

Speaker, as for the information on when the terminal will be starting to accept

freight, I will get that and speak to the Member later with that date.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Torngat Mountains.

MS. EVANS:

Mr. Speaker, I find that

answer unacceptable for the communities in my District of Torngat Mountains. It

is critical for them to have the date that a freight shed will start accepting

freight. Right now, because of the Lewisporte services being cancelled by this

Liberal government, I say, Mr. Speaker, that they cannot plan to truck their

freight into Goose Bay to be shipped to the North Coast. So it is very, very

confusing and very, very stressing for businesses and individuals.

I ask

again, Mr. Speaker, we need the date that freight services will be open in Goose

Bay. It is critical to my communities.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

Again, I

say to the hon. Member, I will provide you with that date. It's not something I

have at hand. Mr. Speaker, what we have been able to do to reflect on the

changes to that service – and, Mr. Speaker, this is the first time that the

North Coast of Labrador is going to have a roll-on, roll-off ferry, something

that's very important to the people of the North Coast, and we were able to do

that after many years of a government that wasn't willing to actually make these

changes for the people of the North Coast.

So, Mr.

Speaker, we will see a reflection in the new freight rates of how this service

is going to look. Mr. Speaker, right now, if we were to bring in that service

today we would not even be able to get up the North Coast. Right now, the ice

conditions are such that the ferry would not be able to operate.

So, Mr.

Speaker, we'll make sure that the necessary provisions are made so that the

people of the North Coast can get their necessary freight.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Torngat Mountains.

MS. EVANS:

Mr. Speaker, I find that

answer unacceptable as well. We need the date.

I also

would like to say that the freight has to be shipped, has to be trucked up the

Northern Peninsula, across the Strait of Belle Isle, up the South Coast highway

into Goose Bay, then put on the freight boat. Mr. Speaker, this takes time. The

suppliers need an advance notice. We need to know when that freight shed is

going to be open to accept freight.

I will

also say, Mr. Speaker, as a representative of Torngat Mountains, the cost

incurred for extra trucking is causing a lot of increase. So I disagree with

your statement that it's actually going to reduce cost.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

MR. CROCKER:

Mr. Speaker, as we found out

this past winter, there are actually about six tractor-trailer loads of freight

per week that go in to Goose Bay. So, Mr. Speaker, there's already ample freight

going in to Goose Bay that goes up the Northern Peninsula, goes across the

Strait of Belle Isle and up the Trans-Labrador Highway. So freight going in to

Goose Bay is nothing new.

The

reality is, I will get the date for the Member of when we will be opening the

shed. The reality is at this point in time, Mr. Speaker, ice conditions wouldn't

allow us to go north anyway.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Torngat Mountains.

MS. EVANS:

Mr. Speaker, the reason why

getting the date that the freight is going to be accepted is because there's a

small, little fright shed – and my constitutions will agree with me – there's a

small, little freight shed in Goose Bay; so, therefore, they will not accept

freight until the shipping season is open. So the thing about it is we cannot

actually ship. We cannot actually truck to Goose Bay right now and it's causing

a lot of hardship.

We need

to know when the suppliers can start trucking their freight up to Goose Bay.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I thank

the employees at TW for their great work, Mr. Speaker, because I have just been

informed that based on ice and weather conditions, we'll make the decision when

the freight shed is going to open. The ADM responsible for marine will be in

Goose Bay next week to actually have meetings to make sure that this is in place

when we need to be there.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Torngat Mountains.

MS. EVANS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

constituents have been looking for that information and it has been causing a

lot of stress. So if you could get that information out to the public, we'd

greatly appreciate it, Mr. Speaker.

I do

have one more question, which is critical for my constituents. The start date of

the northern ferry service to Labrador communities have not also been made

public; when the ferry service is going to start its run. I realize that right

now with the ice conditions it can't run, but we need to know because residents

are growing more and more concerned because the ferry, the

MV Kamutik W , is still under repair in Norway. She's still in dry

dock in Norway.

I ask

the minister: When will the ferry service to Northern Labrador communities

start, and will the MV Kamutik W be

ready in time to meet the scheduled dates?

MR. SPEAKER:

The Member's time has

expired.

The

Minister of Transportation and Works, please.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the hon. Member for the question.

Mr.

Speaker, as I said in my first response to the hon. Member, we will get that

date for her. Our officials are available any time if she would like to sit down

and have a discussion around that service. Our department has been always very

open in that way.

Mr.

Speaker, the reality is right now ice conditions will dictate when we get the

service started, but I can assure the Member opposite and the people of the

North Coast of Labrador that we'll make whatever provisions are necessary to

make sure freight is getting to the North Coast.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

The hon.

the Member for Bonavista.

MR. PARDY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We are

aware of the scarce financial resources. Following a report of the Auditor

General in September that outlined widespread fraud and abuse, including $735 to

proposed action plan and budget request to the department on October 29, 2018.

Can the

minister update this House as to why there has not been any action taken in

Budget 2019 to deal with these serious

issues?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. WARR:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Certainly, I want to thank the hon. Member for his question, and it's an

opportunity for me to stand as Minister of Education and Early Childhood

Development in my first response.

The

school board, Mr. Speaker, continues to implement actions and provide a

full-scale update to the report to the Public Accounts Committee. We continue to

explore cost-effective ways to improve the district's financial processes, such

as integrating them in the government core financial management system under a

shared services model. We will continue to look into the situation there and

certainly I'd be more than happy to bring that report back to the House at my

earliest possible opportunity.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

The hon.

the Member for Bonavista.

MR. PARDY:

I thank the minister.

Mr.

Speaker, just to add, and if I may add, if the government in the report back can

assure the people of Newfoundland and Labrador that sound controls are now in

place to prevent a repeat of such an incident?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. WARR:

Certainly, Mr. Speaker, as

always, everybody's job here is to make improvements. We have engaged a

consultant to work with the district and government officials to do a detailed

analysis of moving forward with the district's financial management system.

Again,

Mr. Speaker, any further information, I'd be glad to share it with the House.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

The hon.

the Member for Bonavista.

MR. PARDY:

Mr. Speaker, our office

continues to hear from parents regarding the concerns over the 1.6-kilometre

rule for busing. In particular, parents in the MacLaren-Faulkner Street area of

St. John's have been told they will lose their bus stop in September because

they are 1.56 kilometres from school.

Worse

still, Mr. Speaker, the school board has told the parents they cannot get a

courtesy stop because nearby Thorburn Road is too busy and a dangerous four-lane

road to stop safely.

Will the

minister finally put student safety first and review this situation?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. WARR:

Again, Mr. Speaker, I'd

certainly thank the hon. Member for the question. While we continue to hear

concerns from parents and from our colleagues across the way with regard to the

1.6-busing policy, we've taken action to have a look at the 1.6-busing policy.

I have

to say, if you take a jurisdictional scan, Mr. Speaker, throughout other

provinces across the country – and I have a report that I'd like to table here

today and it outlines the actual busing policies right across this country.

Newfoundland and Labrador certainly stands third across the country.

With

regard to the issue, children safety is always paramount in our view as well,

and, certainly, anything that you (inaudible) –

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Grand

Falls-Windsor - Buchans.

MR. TIBBS:

Mr. Speaker, I strongly

advocate for the Lionel Kelland Hospice in my District of Grand Falls-Windsor -

Buchans, which was a priority to our party. During the election campaign, the

government announced a commitment to support the proposed hospice.

I ask

the Premier: Will the budget that you are tabling here today include funding for

this project, as we can get started so less people can die in hallways of

hospitals without dignity in death?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

Thank

you for the question from the new Member opposite. The issue of hospice care is

topical. We have said that we will support the Lionel Kelland Hospice in its

establishment and operation.

We are

arranging to meet, again, with the board of Lionel Kelland Hospice to see what

specific requirements they have, and I will be happy to keep the House informed

of our progress, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Grand

Falls-Windsor - Buchans.

MR. TIBBS:

Mr. Speaker, this is the same

board that the government has met with many times before. The Premier did not

answer my question, neither did the minister if there is funding in this budget

for the hospice.

Let me

ask again: If there's no funding, where is the money coming from?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

The

exact flow of money through the system, as it were, is a matter for the

Estimates Committee. I'd be happy to deal with that there. The issue of the

hospice itself, we have said we are committed to the concept of hospice care.

We're committed to the Lionel Kelland Hospice and happy to work through that and

through Central Health probably for the establishment of such a facility there,

just as we would with Eastern Health who have similarly expressed interest, Mr.

Speaker.

The work

is ongoing, happy to chat with the Member opposite and the board of Lionel

Kelland.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you very much.

The hon.

the Leader of the Third Party.

MS. COFFIN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, government's own budget data shows, in

The Economy , unemployment is going to rise over the next few years

in 2020, '21, and '22. This ties in with the insolvency rate. Clearly, the

Premier's Way Forward plan is not working.

I ask

the Premier: Will he agree to develop a new jobs plan that will go beyond the

Cabinet committee and actively involve all stakeholders at this time?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm very

pleased to stand and answer the first question from the Leader of the NDP. Mr.

Speaker, we put in place, back in 2016, a plan that was developed around

partnerships, with industry, with businesses, with communities, associations and

interest groups, including the volunteer sector, by the way, which we don't

often talk about enough and the job creation that they do within our province.

Mr.

Speaker, clearly that plan right now is demonstrated that we've seen 11

consecutive months, as the Minister of Finance has just mentioned, 11

consecutive months – if someone had forecasted that back in 2015, no one would

have said that this province today would see job growth to this degree in our

province.

Also,

Mr. Speaker, Newfoundland and Labrador will lead the country in GDP, economic

growth within the country. These are statistics that we're proud of. The plan

that we put in place in 2016 is working and it's attracting investment and

creating jobs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

The hon.

the Leader of the Third Party.

MS. COFFIN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

addition to that, will the Premier commit to use the carbon tax proceeds to

create a permanent green jobs fund that will help small green businesses to

innovate and create green jobs?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We see

significant interest in what a new green economy would look like. That was one

of the reasons why we put in place a hybrid which is part of the Pan-Canadian

framework on climate change. Mr. Speaker, we participated in that. While other

provinces would disagree maybe with the approach that we have taken and other

provinces that have disagreed of what they've seen as their constituents and

their residents opposed to a federal carbon tax, we took the opportunity to put

in place a hybrid model for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, which includes

investment into green initiatives.

We see

so many opportunities for young Newfoundlanders and Labradorians in some of the

more traditional companies that we have doing work in our province, to work with

people in this Legislature to make sure that that green economy is something

that we can put a focus on and create even more jobs for Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MR. J. DINN:

Mr. Speaker, the Independent

Expert Advisory Committee, or the IEAC, on methylmercury, fourth and last

recommendation says: Nalcor Energy undertake targeted removal of soil and

capping of wetlands in the future reservoir area before impoundment. The CEO of

Nalcor says they will begin to raise water levels in the Muskrat reservoir this

summer.

What is

the Premier's position on this fourth recommendation?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

If we go

back and look at the history, the development of Muskrat Falls, even go back to

the Joint Review Panel, which was put in place prior to sanction, a number of

the recommendations, including things like how you deal with methylmercury, was

not dealt with prior to sanction, and so it got us in a situation that we're

into today.

Very

pleased to say today that I did have a meeting with Indigenous leaders,

primarily from Labrador – well, all from Labrador – on this very issue. If you

remember that it was an historic event in our province back in October of 2016

when we first met to put an Independent Expert Advisory Committee in place. Of

the four recommendations that are put in place, two of those are things that I

think we can make success with and have success.

What we

need right now, and what we agreed to in this morning's meeting, was to put in

place a committee that would follow the implementation, which is a

recommendation from the Independent Expert Advisory Committee that filed its

report just last year.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

The time

for Oral Questions has ended.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Table of

Documents.

Tabling of

Documents

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Pursuant

section 26(5)(

a) of the Financial

Administration Act , I am tabling seven orders-in-council relating to funding

pre-commitments for fiscal years 2020-21 and beyond.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

Further

tabling of documents?

Notices

of Motion.

Notices of Motion

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I give notice

that I'll move the following motion: That the Striking Committee comprise the

following Members: the Member for Burgeo - LaPoile, the Member for Burin - Grand

Bank, the Member for St. John's West, the Member for St. John's Centre and the

Member for Mount Pearl North.

And I

further give notice that the Committees of the House of Assembly for the 49th

General Assembly be constituted as follows:

The

Public Accounts Committee: the Member for Cape St. Francis; the Member for

Harbour Grace - Port de Grave; the Member for St. George's - Humber; the Member

for Fortune Bay - Cape La Hune; the Member for Fogo Island - Cape Freels; the

Member for Stephenville - Port au Port; the Member for St. John's East - Quidi

Vidi.

The

Privileges and Elections Committee: the Member for St. George's - Humber; the

Member for Fogo Island - Cape Freels; the Member for Burin - Grand Bank; the

Member for Conception Bay East - Bell Island, and the Member for St. John's East

- Quidi Vidi.

The

Standing Orders Committee: the Member for Burgeo - La Poile; the Member for St.

John's West; the Member for St. George's - Humber; the Member for Windsor Lake,

and the Member for St. John's Centre.

Finally,

the Miscellaneous and Private Bills Committee: the Member for St. George's -

Humber; the Member for Harbour Grace - Port de Grave; the Member for Mount Scio;

the Member for St. John's East - Quidi Vidi, and the Member for Conception Bay

South.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

Further

notices of motion?

Answers

to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER:

I see the gentleman for Mount

Pearl - Southlands.

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

There

have been numerous concerns raised by family members of seniors in long-term

care throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, particularly those suffering from

dementia, Alzheimer's disease and other cognitive debilitating conditions

whereby loved ones have experienced injuries, have not been bathed regularly,

not received proper nutrition and/or have been left lying in their own waste for

extended periods of time. We believe this is directly related to government's

failure to ensure adequate staffing at those facilities.

THEREFORE we petition the House of Assembly as follows:

To urge

the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to instate legislation which

includes the mandatory establishment of an adequate ratio of one staff for three

residents in long-term care and all other applicable regional health facilities

housing persons with dementia, Alzheimer's disease and other cognitive

debilitating conditions in order to ensure appropriate safety, protection from

injuries, proper hygiene care and all of the required care. This law would

include the creation of a specific job position in these facilities for

monitoring and intervention as required to ensure the safety of patients.

Mr.

Speaker, I'm picking up where I left off at the last sitting on behalf of the

group Advocates for Senior Citizens' Rights. They wish to continue with their

campaign to ensure that we have adequate staffing in our long-term care

facilities throughout the province, particularly and specifically as it relates

to patients, as indicated in this petition, patients with dementia and

Alzheimer's disease.

That is

not to say – because every time I raised this in the past, the Minister of

Health would stand and basically say that this is a shot about staff and so on.

This is not about staff. This is not saying that people at these facilities are

not doing the best they can with what they have, but what is being suggested

here is that there's not always adequate staffing at these facilities to care

for our most vulnerable seniors.

They

want assurances through legislation – not through the policy of the health care

authorities, not through regulations that could be changed by the minister of

the day whenever he or she decides, but through legislation to enshrine the fact

that there would be adequate staffing at these facilities to take care of our

seniors.

This is,

as I said, it's something I've presented numerous times and I will continue to

do so as long as this group asks me to do so.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

Further

petitions?

The hon.

the Member for Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland

and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

many students within our province depend on school busing for transportation to

and from school each day; and

WHEREAS

there are many parents of school-aged children throughout the province who live

qualify for busing; and

WHEREAS

policy cannot override the safety of our children;

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

of Assembly to urge government to eliminate the 1.6 kilometre policy for all

elementary schools in the province and in junior and senior highs where safety

is a concern.

And as

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, we've argued this and fought this and we'll continue to fight it. At

the doors we heard this over and over again. Not only just me, but a lot of my

colleagues around.

Now,

it's unfortunate during QP that the new minister referred to an old plan the

former minister was using, the jurisdictional scans and whatnot. That's not what

the people in this province are looking for – not in my district.

This

policy is outdated. It's long overdue to be reviewed and changed. You have

children that are on four lanes of traffic with no sidewalks, are trying to get

to school in the middle of the winter. We've said this in this House over and

over again. It bears repeating. We continue to argue for it.

And it's

not just us, Mr. Speaker. We're representing districts. We have 15 representing

districts here now that we believe this is a huge issue and we're just waiting

for someone to finally – common sense has to prevail. People say this is a

common sense issue, so we're hoping government will finally look and listen and

take this policy, shelve it and review it and put a proper policy in place

that's going to protect our children. Our children are our most valuable

resource, and we need to do that now.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

The hon.

the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development for a response,

please.

MR. WARR:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

And I

thank the hon. Member for his petition.

Mr.

Speaker, he's talking about making strides, and we are making strides. I can go

back to a report that was tabled in September of 2018 where, at that time, we

had 72 courtesy stops. Today, we have 649 courtesy stops and that's actually

looking after thousands of children within our province.

The one

thing that I will agree with him, Mr. Speaker, is that safety of our children is

paramount. He is right in saying that. The safety of our children is paramount

and we will do whatever we can to continue to review the policies to make

changes.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

Further

petitions?

The hon.

the Member for Conception Bay East - Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

government now requires regional health authorities to strictly enforce a policy

that requires all applicants being assessed to have a physical care need to

qualify for admission to a personal care home.

Seniors

with issues such as anxiety, depression, fear of falling and loneliness are no

longer eligible. Many seniors who would have qualified just months ago are now

being denied access.

We, the

undersigned, call upon the House of Assembly to urge the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador to revise the policy on personal care home access.

Mr.

Speaker, we've spoken to this a number of times before the election. It was

relevant then and it was known within the public that families, seniors and the

general population had a real concern about the change in the operations of the

policy that is in play with the regional health authorities.

The real

issue here is that we're separating physical health from mental health. We've

tried to over the last number of years in this House, and we've done it very

eloquently and we've done it very efficiently, about connecting the two, that

it's very important that we make sure good, personal, physical health falls in

line with good mental health.

In this

case, we're separating it. When you're talking about a vulnerable part of our

society, seniors, who now for circumstances that have changed in their living

circumstance, a loved one has passed away, family members have moved away, their

ability to be able to stay in a certain home because of anxiety, because of

fear, because of loneliness, is not taken into account. When they could be put

in an environment which is much more conducive to a quality of life, much more

conducive to their long-term physical health and much more conducive to their

mental health.

So, we

can't separate these two. If it's about money, we have to look at the long-term

benefits by investing upfront, Mr. Speaker. We know the impact it has on

families. We know the impact it's having on communities.

I know

we've talked about it before, the Home First program that nobody denies. We're

all supportive about being able to keep people in their homes with the supports

they need, but we're talking about a vulnerable part of our society, seniors who

want, who no longer feel comfortable living in that environment, who want to go

into a personal care home to have other interactions, to dismiss with any of the

issues, the anxieties, the fear of falling, the loneliness, and be part and

parcel of a community-based support system there that, obviously, enhances their

physical health and their mental health.

Why

would we deny that, and on one side say it's about money, and yet say that we're

going to spend more money in support services that they don't want and don't

need because we have an alternative that works.

There

are a multitude of approaches here. One is the Home First program, another is

being able to get people into personal care homes and then there are other ones

that look at long-term needs here. We need to be able to find the solution that

works for a particular part of our society.

What

we're doing here, we're dismissing a group of our society who has a need, we

have a solution to that need, it's no more costly than any other solution we

would do, but it does affect their mental and physical health, and we have an

obligation and a responsibility to ensure that they have an opportunity to excel

because they can access those services.

Mr.

Speaker, we'll be presenting this many more times in this House of Assembly.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

The hon.

the Minister of Health and Community Services for a response, please.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I think

the Member opposite is correct when he states that there are a variety of ways

of looking after seniors and vulnerable folk in the community.

With

particular reference to the comments around the petition, there have been no

change in the criteria for admission to personal care homes; it is a personal

care need that has to be identified. This includes mental health and mental

wellness. Indeed, there were personal care home operators on the radio during

the recent election campaign referencing the fact that they were having clients

admitted with these kinds of diagnoses, so I would refute some of the

presumptions underlying the petition.

We are,

in actual fact, doing what the Member opposite asked, which is we are working

with personal care home operators to revise, update and make more nuanced the

admission criteria for physical and mental illness and wellness to personal care

homes, including things like the access to day programming facilities. So we are

actually doing what the petition has asked for, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

Further

petitions?

The hon.

the Government House Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Yes, I call Orders of the

Day, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Orders of the Day, Sir.

Orders of the Day

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I call

from the Order Paper, Motion 6.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Yes, and I would move the

following motion, Mr. Speaker, that Standing Order 74 be amended by adding

immediately after Standing Order 74(2) the following:

(3) Notwithstanding

Standing Order 74(2), where a head of expenditure has been referred to a

committee established under Standing Order 72 and the time used in debate of

that head of expenditure exceeds three hours, the additional time shall also be

deducted from the time allocated under Standing Order 71.

Now, I

won't take a significant amount of time to speak to this proposed change, except

to provide, perhaps, some knowledge as to how it came to be here today, and

perhaps more importantly the relevancy of it and what I think is the importance

of it.

So, as

all Members know or are about to find out, one of the big parts of the budget

process is the Estimates, as they're called, which are all handled by Committees

of the House, and actually they will be beginning tonight with Justice

Estimates. And again, to those that might be watching, if I were to try to

explain, it's an opportunity – and I personally feel that Estimates are the best

part of any budget. Whether you're in government or Opposition, it's a great

chance where you're not constrained by time so much as you are in the House,

where you can sit down, ask questions and get answers. I think it works for

everybody to find out a real understanding of the budgetary allocations of any

particular department.

So, for

instance, tonight the Justice department will sit here, staff officials, and on

the other side you'll have Members of the Committee belonging to Social

Services, which there are a number of Members. But primarily, the big reason for

it is that you'll have Members from the Opposition sitting on the other side as

well, whether it's the Official Opposition, the NDP, our independent Members,

and they have an opportunity to sit there, usually for a prescribed amount of

time, which is three hours, and to go back and forth asking questions.

It's not

just sometimes like you see in Question Period where there are the political or

partisan overtones. In many cases, it's about finding that information. This is

what you were budgeted to spend; this is what you actually spent. Can you give

us some background on that? Can you talk about policy? Again, I've seen these be

very useful. I've seen some where ministers would obfuscate and not provide as

much information, but either way I think it's a useful exercise.

Each one

of those is three hours long. Now, we all know that the budget goes up to 75

hours and is made up of Estimates, Interim Supply, budget debate, Concurrence,

you name it. I still think this is the most important and each one is three

hours. Now, I'll say this and I know that the staff at the Table will remind me

if I'm wrong, as they usually do, they'll look up and they'll shake their head,

or they'll nod their head, or they'll let me know when I make a mistake but it's

three hours.

If the

Opposition stops asking questions after two hours, it still counts as three

hours towards the budgetary timeline. So, it still counts as three towards that

75. But, in some cases, as I've seen – for instance, in my first year doing

Estimates we sat for 4½ hours. It was great. I felt that it was productive. I

think the Members of the Opposition that participated felt it was productive and

we went for 4½, but the problem is that the extra hour and a half does not count

towards the budgetary timeline. So, there was actually no benefit to perhaps me

doing it, providing that extra time in terms of going towards the budget. I

think the benefit was to everybody, though.

What

we're saying here with this resolution which I'm hoping will be supported

unanimously – and I'll give the reason for it as well – is that it provides, I

think, an incentive for departments to provide as much time as possible – even

though there is no need to do that. Some departments take longer, some

departments are shorter. Myself, personally, I feel it's better for this process

if we sit there and give as much time, but I can understand why a minister may

also chose not to do that and, in many cases, it's a lot to bring together your

whole department for a night, plus the prep work that goes into it.

This is

something that I think will be beneficial to all. I think it's beneficial to the

people that we represent in that the Opposition having as much time as necessary

to ask these questions and get answers, it guides them and it guides all of us

in terms of Question Period.

I don't

think it helps anybody if these Estimates are constrained by time, which is why

I think ministers and departments need to feel that if they put the extra time

in – for instance, as I said the 4½ hours that I done before, it's not just me

giving my time, it's staff. It's staff giving their time, and many of these

people are giving up a significant amount of time. There's a benefit to this.

This was

brought up – and I'll talk more about Standing Orders tomorrow – by the Members

of the Standing Orders Committee. Ms. Michael, who was here today, was a Member

of that Committee, myself, the Official Opposition House Leader was there and

Members on this side as well. This was one of the issues we brought up and said

we think this would be a positive change. We think it would help the budget

process.

I will

say, and Members will find out, I'm sure, that sometimes the debate on the

budget proper, on the budget motion sometimes, can be a bit repetitive, can

maybe not be as informative, I guess, is just my little opinion, but I think the

Estimates is something that is beneficial, so we're putting this resolution

forward.

It was

agreed to unanimously by the Standing Orders Committee. I think like anything

that we do with a Standing Order, if we chose to do something and it does not

work, we always, as a House, have the right to go back and change that because

Standing Orders govern how this House operates. We all want the best operating

House we can have that benefits us all, benefits the people we represent.

On that

note, I'll take my seat, listen to my colleagues across the way and, hopefully,

we can vote on this resolution and move forward so that we actually can hear the

budget later on.

Thank

you.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay East - Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It's an

honour to stand here and talk about our Standing Order 74. I'll start by how

we'll end this, that we wholeheartedly support this. The Government House Leader

is exactly right. This has been a discussion that's gone on for well over a year

about how we change the Standing Orders here to make it more efficient and make

it more reflective of the discussion in the House, particularly around what we

consider one of the most important components of what we do in the House of

Assembly is Estimates and the debate we have on the budget that represents the

needs and the programs and services of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

While we

wholeheartedly support the opportunity for having a minister and all the

relevant staff and having a committee made up of all three parties and

independents and any Member of the House of Assembly who can assemble here to

ask questions relevant to that particular department and the headings are very

important.

The only

caveat we've had some discussion around from a caucus point of view and that we

want to put on the table is, at the same point, we want to ensure that while –

where a minister who's open to extend it for the open discussion to ensure all

questions are answered, that that time should count, and we agree with that.

It's

Estimates. It's debate. It shouldn't be extra time put in and not allocated, but

on the same side, there's a fear here – it happens rarely, but it does happen

with certain ministers – that when debate happens, at the three hour time they

cut it off, that it still should be open until the Committee is comfortable

asking all the questions and referring to all the headings, that that also would

be an understanding that would happen.

I know

that's not what's being put forward here, but I do want to have that tabled here

because that's also important. While we support the extra time that is put

forward by a department, it should be allocated and counted. It makes sense

because it's open debate on the budget, an opportunity for everybody to know and

hear, and it's transparent. The questions and answers are for the general public

to be able to review.

It's

great for any party then to have that information so they can avail of the

services and put out the information to their constituents, but also

particularly for critics so they would have an understanding of any other

clarification they may need in the House in Question Period to divulge a little

bit more information to the general public here.

The

concern we had in our caucus was around what happens if we do get a minister who

says they don't like the tone of the questioning, at three hours I'm cutting it

off. That then becomes a concern for us because, at the end of the day, due

diligence is about getting to reveal all the issues and all the programs and all

the nuances that are in a particular budget or budget line, to ensure everybody

understands what they can avail of, everybody understands how this is going to

benefit the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, or would understand exactly

what the restrictions are on the monies that are going to be allocated for that

particular line item.

So,

there's a concern. It's not a burning one at this point because most ministers

have been extremely co-operative in understanding that, but it has happened in

the past.

I had

the privilege of sitting in the Chair, as chairing for nearly three years, a

multitude of Committees on budget lines and there are some times ministers, and

it's happened with all administrations, who are not as co-operative, who are not

quite open to answering all the questions, as to pass it off over a period of

time. So it does become a concern for us to talk about.

I would

hope that we'll bring this up again in Standing Committee meetings down the road

to ensure that doesn't happen. I'm hoping the ministers that are across from us

here now will be very co-operative. If it takes four hours – and I know the

Minister of Justice has no qualms, he's done it in the past, and I would think

other ministers would be open – that if it takes 3½ hours, if it takes three

hours and one minute, if it takes four hours and one minute, that they're open

to do that, particularly now knowing that that time counts towards budget

debate.

To have

a proper budget debate, and we're talking in a unique situation in the House of

Assembly about openness and transparency, what better way to do that by showing

we're open to have a full debate on any particular line item in the budget so

that it's all clarified, and whoever leaves this House on the committee side

understands exactly what was meant and what the intent of the monies being

expended in those particular line items are to benefit the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador. Then they are more equipped to be able to explain to

their constituents and to the people of this province what it is this money is

going to be used for.

So we

have no qualms and we support the resolution here now, the Standing Orders

amendment, but we do want to have it noted that as we go forward in the Standing

Orders Committee this would be a note there. We do ask the co-operation from the

ministers as we start Estimates tonight, that if it takes a little bit longer

that all are co-operative in being able to do that.

So we do

stand to support it, and we look forward to the Estimates process over the next

two weeks.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

The hon.

the Member for St. John's Centre.

MR. J. DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We will

also support this motion, and as brand new MHAs, I think when you look at the

Estimates committee process it will be extremely valuable to us.

The only

concern we would have, of course – and, again, it comes from our own

inexperience and newness to this – is the amount of time that might be taken

away from the budget debate itself; but, however, we'd see a lot more benefits

to us in the long run.

Thank

you.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

The hon.

the Member for Mount Pearl - Southlands.

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want

to take a couple of moments now to make a couple of comments on this.

First of

all, of course, as an independent Member, and myself and my colleague here,

we're not part of the Standing Orders Committee, so when we have this unanimous

concurrence on this, I would just say for the record, it may be unanimous minus

two; unanimous by 38, not unanimous by 40 per se. That's not saying I'm against

it, but I do make the point for a reason.

Mr.

Speaker, I absolutely understand the value of Estimates. I have no issue with

the fact that if there's going to be time beyond the three hours taken for

Estimates, that it should come off the 75 hours. I do question and wonder,

though, that if the opposite were to happen and we only took two hours, for

argument's sake – although, I don't know if I've ever seen that happen; I think

once or twice, depending on the department, but generally speaking you use most

of the three hours.

I do

wonder if there was any consideration that if it was less than three hours,

let's say it took two hours, why we're going to take three hours off, but if we

go four hours we're going to take the four hours off. So you're going to have –

to my mind, why do you have it both ways? If you're going to use the time, use

the time. If you only take two, two should come off; not three if you only use

two. So that would be just one point on that.

The

other thing I'll say again, just for the record here, that we've had practice

here in the House, past practice, that while the independent Members or Member,

depending on what it was at the time, may not have been part of these

Committees. We had the opportunity to sit on Committee, if we wished to, and I

certainly have sat in on the majority of them in my time as being an

independent.

There

was always some time allotted, by leave, I guess, of Committee to allow the

independent Members to ask a few questions if there was something that wasn't

already asked, something that wasn't addressed and so on. While that is

absolutely appreciated, and I would certainly hope the same thing will happen

again this time as in the past, I would like to see somewhere – and I say to the

Committee, I would like to see recognition somewhere in the Standing Orders,

some absolute recognition of that fact for independent Members.

I can

understand in the past it was totally a party system. And, yes, there have been

some independents, primarily because they left or they were booted from a

particular caucus or whatever and they ended up sitting as independents, but in

this particular case we have two independents now who were actually elected by

the people as independents, which makes it, I think, different. I think it's a

reality of how a lot of people are feeling. There were nine people who ran as

independents in the last election. There could be 29 next time, I don't know.

But it is a reality and I think there has to be some recognition for it.

So I

just say, for the purposes of what's being proposed here, I'll support it.

Again, I think if you're going to take away time because you use extra time, I

think by the same token if you use less time, than less time should be taken

off. Again, I would like to see some actual recognition in the Standing Orders

of the role of duly elected independent Members and their right on behalf of the

people they represent to participate in the Estimates process.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Humber - Bay of Islands.

MR. JOYCE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm

going to stand just to concur with the colleague from Mount Pearl - Southlands

about the changes that should be in the Standing Orders. I'll just give you a

good example. I won't keep you long. I will be supporting the motion.

Mr.

Speaker, just say, for example, a prime example, the hospital in Corner Brook is

a major issue. All during the election, we hear at the hospital in Corner Brook

that workers should be hired as local workers. I'm not making any suggestion

that the Minister of Health or the Minister of Transportation would ever do

this, but if I'm in the Estimates and I'm asking questions about why local

workers are not being hired, they can say no leave and I can't ask a question in

Estimates. That's the number one issue for the West Coast of the province, is

the hospital and local workers that I heard at the doors.

Seventy

per cent of people say go in and find out what's going on. I'm not saying it

would happen, but there is a good possibility, Mr. Speaker, that somebody can

just say no leave, you can't ask questions in Estimates. So we have to make some

changes to the Standing Orders Committee. With independents now in this House –

duly-elected independents in this House, we should have the same rights as

anybody in this House of Assembly and the Standing Orders must reflect that.

On the

issue now, when we discuss the hours, how many hours there should be accounted

for, it should be if you go over three hours, add it. If you go less than three

hours, we should take it back and make sure that there is 75 hours. If there is

75 hours for debate, let's have 75 hours. I have been into discussions in

Estimates on both sides, as on the Opposition and as a minister where it didn't

take three hours to get done. Sometimes you get through a bit quicker; they look

for information. All my dealings, even when I was in the Opposition asking the

government, the PC government at the time, if you got the information, if they

couldn't get it, they would supply it to you later. I know a lot of ministers

opposite would do the same thing. If they haven't got the information, they

would supply it later, so that would speed up the process because you'll say

we'll give you the information later.

Mr.

Speaker, I am in agreement with this here, but I am convinced that we must

change the Standing Orders so the independents – which is a reality in

Newfoundland and Labrador now, if there are independents in this House, we

should have the same rights to ask questions in Estimates as any other Member in

this House and not leave it up to somebody to say no leave or yes, leave.

The

point about leave and no leave in this House, Mr. Speaker, you'll never know who

said it. You don't have to announce which person, which minister, which Member.

It could be PC, it could be NDP, it could be a Liberal Member or could be a

Liberal minister. There's no statutory law or rule in this House to say identify

who did not give you leave and that takes away the rights of independents.

So I

think we should now change the Standing Orders to give all of us the flexibility

because, as elected officials, we have a right to bring up what's very important

to us. What's very important to Western Newfoundland is the hospital, our local

workers. I expect and I hope before Estimates starts that we'll have the changes

in the Standing Orders so that we can have proper leave to ask the questions

that we've been elected to ask in this hon. House.

Thank

you, Minister.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

The hon.

the Government House Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

appreciate the commentary from my colleagues across the way. I think we all have

our heads facing in the same direction. We all know that when it comes to the

operation of the House that we've had to change how the House operates, and I

don't mind saying, to provide some context on how the Standing Orders have

evolved just over the last few years.

The

Standing Orders have been in place for many, many, many years. Some of them are

quite arcane, antiquated and have not changed. I'm willing to say – and I'm

quite proud of it actually – I'm quite proud of it that over the last three

years, through co-operation of Members, we have made more changes to the

Standing Orders than you saw in the decades before perhaps combined.

I take

pride in that because it was a case of people talk about working together in

committees – well, that's what it was. It was Members of different caucuses

working together to make those changes. So I am proud of that, but the fact is

that there's more change that's required.

perhaps the best thing that I can do – because I want to respond to each of the

Member's concerns and to say that, firstly, I appreciate the support for this

and I know there will be a unanimous support for this resolution, but the second

thing is I will provide some assurance that I'm always willing to work together

to make change that's positive to this House.

I say to

my House Leader colleague from across the way, again, thank you. He was a part

of this deliberation and I've appreciated his contributions over the last little

while. I understand he's not on the Standing Orders Committee anymore and he

will be sorely missed from that Committee.

What I

will say is that I appreciate his concern and I have seen that happen in the

past when you talk about, quite frankly, stonewalling by ministers, and I'm not

putting a stripe on that or a colour on that. I think that comes down to perhaps

a willingness to answer questions and, if that comes up, I think we can deal

with that. We can remedy that.

What I

will point out is that we cannot take away the flexibility to not answer the

same question 15 times. And we've seen that in the past where you ask a

question, you get an answer, you might not like it, you ask it again, you get

the same answer and, at some point, you have to have the ability to say okay,

this can go on forever. So, it's like a balancing act, but I do appreciate what

he's saying and I think we should be on guard with that. My personal viewpoint

is that if it takes all night and you get it done, it leaves less for people to

question you about on accountability and transparency later, if you're willing

to answer those questions. So I just put that out there.

I say to

my colleagues from the NDP, thank you for your contributions. The fact is I

don't think – and, again, it is something that I think you'll get the hang of

extremely quickly, I have no doubt about that, but what I will say is I think

you'll definitely share my view that the Estimates, when it's all said and done,

is perhaps the most substantive and best part of the budget in terms of finding

out information. We all know that there's the debate part, but I don't think

that the extra time will take away from the substantive debate that continues

on.

I will

point out – and it's funny because recognizing my colleagues are new to the

House, and I had a conversation with somebody earlier where I talked about

sometimes it doesn't matter how long you're here, the fact is we're all rookies.

I've already made a rookie mistake. I'd like to have this motion seconded by my

colleague, the Minister of Natural Resources. First day in, standing up and

forgetting how the rules work, so that's all part of it, Mr. Speaker.

I say to

my colleagues, the independents in the back, I appreciate your thirst for change

and the fact is that we do have some change. I will point out that you're not

the first independents to sit in the House. I know Yvonne Jones sat here for

three years – three years as an independent in this House and, for whatever

reason, I don't think the changes were made then.

What I'm

willing to point out, though, is that I've shown, along with the work of all

Members of this House, that we are willing to make change when it's warranted,

but it takes time. The Member for Humber - Bay of Islands said: I want to see it

happen today. It's not going to happen today. It takes time to figure this out.

It takes deliberation. It takes research by our staff here, because it's very

easy to come in and make a change to a hundred-year-old rule and then you think

about, oh, I didn't realize that was the repercussions or the impact of making

that change, even if it seems right, even if it feels right.

So what

I will say is that we're all quite aware of your position on this. I would

encourage you to reach out to the Standing Orders Committee, as well as all

committees, because we have to continue to work together. I know that you've put

those concerns on the record and, with a new Parliament sitting here, I think

those concerns should be put on record.

What I

will point out to all Members is that when the Estimates start tonight, every

Member of this House has the ability to sit in here – and I've never seen

questions turned down. In fact, there were times before, depending on the

Estimates, where the Opposition parties, and certainly I was one of them, where

I might not be wanting to give up my time to somebody else to ask questions

because it was stuck at three hours.

Again,

we had minister that would stonewall; they would just take time to put out

information that was not always the most relevant to the debate. Again, I don't

put a stripe on that. That's why, as an Opposition Member, you're afraid to give

up your time because you might have some burning question that you wanted

answered, you wouldn't get the time to do it. With the change that we have put

in here today, I don't think that's going to be an issue. I think there's enough

time – obviously, like anything, we had to put a reasonableness on this, but I

think we've shown over the past few years that that part of the budget debate

seems to have worked.

The last

thing I'll say is there was no discussion even amongst the Opposition Members of

the Standing Orders Committee, that if you use less time, that it should not be

counted. I will point out, from a departmental point of view you put a

ridiculous amount of time into prep for Estimates. Your staff are here, and if

you come in and the Opposition chooses not to ask – I think it's incumbent on

Oppositions to come prepared to ask those questions, and if they choose for

strategic reasons or otherwise not to ask questions, then you've just wasted

time of a bunch of civil servants who've been working on this for weeks and

months.

I still

think when you add it all up – and I'm just speaking of my experience of being

parts of budgets since, basically, 2012. I've never seen anybody walk out and

say we didn't put enough time into debate of that budget. Nobody's walked away

and said I didn't have enough time to get my concerns forward. The fact is – the

reality is that most people are saying: my God, I can't believe that person has

said this X number of times. And I say that from sitting on the Opposition side

and speaking at every possible moment I could.

So this,

I think, is a good step forward, but as a Standing Orders Committee – again, I

know there's a private Member's resolution tomorrow that speaks to Standing

Orders. So this is a topic I think we'll see a lot of in the coming years. And

you know what, I think, like anything, we've indicated we're willing to change.

It takes time, but the willingness is the most important part.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

Is the

House ready for the question?

Is it

the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against?

The

motion is carried.

The hon.

the Government House Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would

call from the Order Paper – I would move the following motion, seconded by the

Minister of Natural Resources, that the composition of the Resource Committee,

the Government Services Committee and the Social Services Committee will be as

follows:

The

Government Services Committee will consist of the Members for the following

districts: the Member for Harbour Grace - Port de Grave; Conception Bay South;

Ferryland; Fogo Island - Cape Freels; Fortune Bay - Cape La Hune; Lewisporte -

Twillingate; Mount Scio; and St. John's East - Quidi Vidi.

The

Resource Committee will consist of the Members for the following districts: the

Member for St. George's - Humber; Cape St. Francis; Fogo Island - Cape Freels;

Fortune Bay - Cape La Hune; Harbour Grace - Port de Grave; Mount Scio; St.

John's East - Quidi Vidi; and Terra Nova.

And

finally, the Social Services Committee will consist of the Members for the

following districts: the Member for Lewisporte - Twillingate; Conception Bay

East - Bell Island; Fortune Bay - Cape La Hune; Harbour Grace - Port de Grave;

Mount Scio; St. George's - Humber; St. John's Centre; and Topsail - Paradise.

I'll

take barely any time to talk about this, Mr. Speaker. These are generally

referred to as Estimates Committees. They sit in this House. They are a Select

Committee that are designed to look at the three different areas. And later on

today I'll be speaking very quickly to the different heads of expenditure that

fall under these different Committees.

The

important part to point out, because I had a panicked person say: Oh, my God,

I'm on X number of Committees, am I going to have to do every Estimates everyday

and night? No. The fact is there are substitutions that happen on both sides.

Generally, government Members sit there to ensure there is a majority or that

there is a quorum, and on the Opposition side it's a fact of having the proper,

usually, critic for each department sitting in asking the questions, along with

their researcher. Substitutions happen everyday, something we've dealt with, and

substitutions also happen on the government side. So these names are set in

place, but the fact is they are not carved in stone in terms of actually who

appears.

On that

note, I will take my seat, Mr. Speaker.

Thank

you.

MR. SPEAKER:

I would ask the Government

House Leader, did I get a seconder that time?

MR. A. PARSONS:

(Inaudible.)

MR. SPEAKER:

Okay. Thank you, Sir.

Excellent, excellent.

The hon.

the Opposition House Leader.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'll

just confer that the Members that are put forward here represent all the Members

of the House of Assembly, particularly the three parties. We do open up,

particularly, debate in any Estimates. All Members of the House of Assembly are

allowed to attend – and the answers to the questions that are being posed here.

Like the

Government House Leader has said, there's a process in play where we'll get to

be more encompassing, a little bit more inclusive to all Members of the House of

Assembly. There's a process that needs to be put in play. Our hope is that we

move that as quickly as possible in the next meetings of the Standing Orders

Committee to make that happen.

We're

looking forward to Estimates as they start tonight and as they roll out over the

next nine nights and days to ensure that the information is out there for the

general public, and all Members of this House of Assembly to be able to share

with their respective districts and the people they represent.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

Further

speakers to the motion?

Seeing

none, is the House ready for the question?

Is it

the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against?

This

motion is carried.

The hon.

the Government House Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Yes, Mr. Speaker.

I call

from the Order Paper, Order 2.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I move,

seconded by the Premier, that the House approves in general the budgetary policy

of the government.

MR. SPEAKER:

The motion is that this House

approves in general the budgetary policy of the government.

The hon.

the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, on April 16 of this year we brought forward a budget, and on April 17

we committed to taking this budget to the people of the province.

Mr.

Speaker, we committed at that time that this budget we would bring back to the

House if we were given another mandate, and today that is what we are doing. I

will not rehash the entire speech; that speech was read in this hon. House. It's

on the record in Hansard and it's

published on the Department of Finance website. Instead, Mr. Speaker, I would

like to recap just some of the highlights from the budget for the year ahead to

remind those in this House, and those that are watching from home, what we

brought to the table.

Mr.

Speaker, with Budget 2019 consumers

can rest easy. There are no tax or fee increases. In addition, this year we are

eliminating the tax on automobile insurance in its entirety. This change will be

implemented in July and will be retroactive to April 15, 2019.

This

year, we are making changes necessary to put a stop to the unfair practice of

clawing back children's benefits from families on Income Support, which was a

disadvantage to some of our most vulnerable children and families. We will amend

the Income and Employment Support Regulations to exempt payments from child

support of the Canada Pension Plan Disabled Contributor's Benefit, and the

Canada Pension Plan Surviving Child Benefit for the purposes of determining

eligibility for Income Support. Further amendments will be made to ensure that

child maintenance payments will not be clawed back from Income Support.

Mr.

Speaker, the cost of delivering health care in this province grew by more than

50 per cent between 2007 and 2015 due to many factors, including the

introduction of new drugs and new technologies. This considerable growth and how

to best manage it is an issue being experienced by all provinces.

Our

government has made great strides to curb that growth rate and make better use

of the roughly $3 billion that we spend on health care annually. In fact, the

Canadian Institute for Health Information has reported that Newfoundland and

Labrador has seen the third lowest growth rate in Canada over the last three

years.

Mr.

Speaker, we have achieved this while making significant – and necessary

improvements – to home and community care supports, mental health and addictions

services, health infrastructure and primary health care.

working smarter and being open to partnerships, we are: Well into construction

of a new 145-bed long-term care home in Corner Brook; the building of a new

ambulatory care unit in Carbonear, which is in addition to the 28 long-term care

beds that were opened in that community; we are just weeks away from starting

construction of a new protective care unit in Botwood, long-term care homes in

Gander and in Grand Falls-Windsor, as well as a new mental health care

addictions hospital here in St. John's, as well as a six-bed mental health unit

at the Labrador Health Centre in Happy Valley-Goose Bay; construction of a new

acute care hospital in Corner Brook will start in 2019.

This

year the Minister of Health and Community Services will be launching a new

program that will provide children starting kindergarten with access to free,

comprehensive eye exams from an optometrist. Our government will contribute

$250,000 in coverage for children by supporting the Newfoundland and Labrador

Association of Optometrists so they can deliver the Eye See Eye Learn Program.

This initiative will allow children to overcome potential barriers to eye exams

and contribute to a more positive learning experience, as well as an overall

improvement to their quality of life.

Mr.

Speaker, our government will increase services and supports for people across

the autism spectrum and their families. This year, we have allocated $2.5

million, growing to $5 million in following years, to implement an Autism Action

Plan. This plan will take a whole of government approach in the provision of

services to people with autism and their families.

Our

government will be expanding the Insulin Pump Program. While we continue to work

with Eastern Health to complete a review of that program, we are immediately

lifting the age cap for those currently enrolled. This means that individuals

currently relying on the program are not at risk of losing their current

coverage or having to take on a new financial burden once they reach the age of

This

year, 15 new drug therapies will be added to the Newfoundland and Labrador

Prescription Drug Program. Eight of those are for oncology.

Mr.

Speaker, building on the additional 1,000 affordable child care spaces created

since last year, Budget 2019 allocates

approximately $60 million for early childhood development, which includes $7.4

million through an agreement with the federal government. These investments will

provide $17 million for the Child Care Services Subsidy Program to reduce costs

for individual families; it will provide $11 million to continue the Operating

middle-income families; and provide an income enhancement to qualified early

childhood educators working in regulated child care to help improve the quality

of child care services.

Mr.

Speaker, our government's Newfoundland and Labrador Income Supplement supports

low-income seniors, individuals and families, and persons with disabilities.

Through the Income Supplement, qualifying families would be eligible to receive

upwards to $650 a year, with an additional $200 for each child.

Through

the Newfoundland and Labrador Seniors' Benefit, we are providing up to $1,313

annually to adults age 65 and older. Mr. Speaker, approximately 70 per cent of

those single beneficiaries are women. The total investment this year is $123

million.

Currently, our seniors enjoy a discount when they register their vehicles. Mr.

Speaker, this year, we are increasing that discount. As a result of

Budget 2019 when seniors renew their vehicle at the counter, the

price will fall below $100. For seniors that renew online, the fee will be less

than $90.

As well,

Mr. Speaker, this year we are introducing a discount for our veterans who have

served our country so bravely. We are applying a 10 per cent discount on vehicle

registration for those who have a veteran plate.

Mr.

Speaker, we have prioritized safe and sustainable communities.

Budget 2019 commits $42 million in

provincial funds for projects under the Investing in Canada Plan and a combined

investment of $91 million in the Municipal Operating Grant Program, the gas tax

program, Special Assistance Grants and the Community Employment Enhancement

Program.

In 2019,

we are making our Fire Protection Vehicle Program work better for communities

and fire departments. Budget 2019

introduces $2.88 million for the replacement of fire protection vehicles and

firefighting equipment. This reflects an increase of $1 million, creating more

options for communities to access funding for both used and new vehicles, as

well as $101,000 for grants to the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Fire

Services to support operations and the Learn Not to Burn Program.

Mr.

Speaker, with an investment of $242,000, offset by federal funding, the Drug

Treatment Court in St. John's addresses the underlying issues that contribute to

crime by offering court-monitored treatment, random and frequent drug testing,

incentives and sanctions, clinical case management and social services support.

It is crucial that people in Newfoundland and Labrador have faith in the

administration of justice.

Our

Serious Incident Response Team will be operational this year, providing an

increased level of transparency for police and helping ensure people have trust

in the system. SIRT will investigate serious incidents involving the police and

it is not intended to replace other mechanisms currently in place. The

establishment of a provincial SIRT was a recommendation from the Inquiry into

the Death of Donald Dunphy.

support improved police oversight, we have allocated an annual investment of

$500,000 for a provincial stand-alone team. As outlined by the Minister of

Justice and Public Safety last month,

Budget 2019 includes $354,000 for bail supervision and electronic monitoring

programs to help lower levels of recidivism and improve safety for women.

Budget 2019 also

provides, through the Department of Municipal Affairs and Environment, in

partnership with Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, a Heat Pump Rebate Program to

assist homeowners in increasing the energy efficiency of their homes. The

program budget will be $1 million, and homeowners can receive a grant of $1,000

towards the purchase and installation of an eligible heat pump.

Mr.

Speaker, our rolling five-year infrastructure plan from 2019-20 to 2023-24

totals $3 billion. This plan is helping to stimulate economic activity, create

jobs and provide access to modern facilities. This year, our plan includes a

total investment of $594.3 million for new and existing schools, health care

facilities, post-secondary institutions, roads and bridges, justice facilities,

affordable housing and municipal infrastructure. This investment will generate

close to $580 million in economic activity and 5,100 person years of employment.

Our

government is pleased to allocate $600,000 to advance construction of a new

adult correctional facility in St. John's. This is the first step towards

replacing an antiquated facility that no longer meets the needs of those

incarcerated. It will ensure the safety of employees and correctional officers,

providing them with a modern working environment. We are also allocating $1

million to expand the Labrador Correctional Centre in Happy Valley-Goose Bay,

which will increase capacity and the potential to allow women to be housed at a

facility, closer to children and family members.

This

fiscal year, our government will match the roads budget of $77.2 million for

each of the last two years. This year, we are allocating more than $40 million

for the remaining contracts to complete the Trans-Labrador Highway. Mr. Speaker,

with completion in sight, a fully paved Trans-Labrador Highway will open up

opportunities for businesses and residents.

Budget 2019

will allocate approximately $13.6 million, including funding from the federal

government, for local and rural highways. For the first time in our province's

history, centre line rumble strips will be added to the Veterans Memorial

Highway and construction of climbing lanes at four locations of the highway will

be completed to create a safer environment for all motorists.

These

improvements not only mean safer roads and fewer accidents for our residents in

communities such as Bay Roberts, Carbonear and Spaniard's Bay, but they also

support the continued economic growth of the region and efficient transportation

of goods. These investments in the roads program, along with the work on the

Team Gushue Highway and the Trans-Labrador Highway, will be supported by an

investment of $131.4 million this year.

Mr.

Speaker, Budget 2019 allocates $13

million, an increase of $6 million from last year, to continue the

implementation of the Education Action Plan and support better outcomes for

students. Through the plan, we are implementing over 80 actions and hiring 350

teacher resources over a three-year period to ensure students have access to the

supports they need.

Budget 2019 , a new18-week Aquaculture

Training Program will begin to be piloted this fall at the Burin Campus. This

new program, supported by an investment of more than $236,000, will address

skill shortages in this sector by targeting both basic skills needed to obtain

and maintain employment as well as the technical skills required for employment

in the aquaculture industry, in partnership with the Marine Institute and in

consultation with industry.

This

year, we are also investing more than $858,000 to pilot a new Geological

Technician Certificate Program at the College of the North Atlantic's Grand

Falls-Windsor campus, which is scheduled to begin this fall. This will

strengthen the connection between industry and courses provided by our

post-secondary institutions.

Mr.

Speaker, we are allocating $39.2 million to begin construction of schools in

Gander, Paradise, St. Alban's and Coley's Point in 2019. We are also allocating

$14.5 million for repairs and maintenance of existing schools, including Bishop

Feild, which is expected to reopen in winter of 2020.

Mr.

Speaker, given the remote offshore operating environment for oil producers in

this province, digital innovations could substantially benefit the local

industry and accelerate the pace of innovation already underway. This is why we

are investing $3 million this year to create a Digital Ocean Innovation Centre

of Excellence for this valuable work to occur. The centre will enhance the

province's digital capabilities in emerging technology sectors, as well as

support the goals of Advance 2030 and

the Ocean Supercluster.

Budget 2019 , we are also contributing

a further $2.5 million to support a Subsea Centre of Excellence for training,

research and product testing.

Through

our Way Forward plan, our government is working with industry, community, other

levels of government, as well as academic and research institutions to support

economic development and job growth. With more than $18 billion attracted in new

investments in such industries as our oil and gas sector and our mining sector,

the message is strong, Mr. Speaker, our approach is working. We have had 11

consecutive months of year over year job growth. Employment in this province is

expected to average 228,100 person-years of employment in 2019, which reflects

continued growth over 2018.

Newfoundland and Labrador is open for business, and companies from around the

world want to do business in our province. Our collaborative approach to working

with businesses – both large and small – are leading to business development,

creating jobs and benefiting communities. We are backing up that support with

more than $100 million in industry development, which will help create even more

jobs.

Our

government has a track record of job creation. Some of those examples, Mr.

Speaker, include S&P Data, a North American contact centre that we supported in

2018, which is on its way to creating more than 500 new jobs, with close to 300

people already employed in this province.

Placentia, approximately 1,900 people were working on the West White Rose

Project this year. Vale's construction of its underground mine at Voisey's Bay

will extend the mine's life by at least 15 years. With construction underway,

there are approximately 2,000 people working on the project in Labrador and in

Long Harbour. IOC has started its new open pit in Wabush, which will help

sustain roughly 1,800 jobs and the mine for up to 50 years.

Mr.

Speaker, we have also seen the recent reopening of the Beaver Brook Antimony

Mine in Central Newfoundland and the 100 new jobs that that will create. We have

seen the start of mining of fluorspar at St. Lawrence, which employs more than

250 people.

Additionally, mineral shipment projections for this year are 38 per cent higher

than they were in 2018. It is also an industry that is forecasted to employ

5,100 people directly in operations, as well as an additional 1,200 people from

mining construction. Mr. Speaker, that will bring the total employment forecast

for 2019 to 6,300 people – an 11 per cent increase over 2018.

sustain this progress, $4.6 million is available for Investment in Geological

Survey; and $1.7 million through the Mineral Incentive Program, which includes

$100,000 for Junior Exploration Assistance Programs encouraging mineral

exploration.

Mr.

Speaker, we are supporting greater science in geo-science exploration. This

year, we are adding $250,000 to expand the Geo-Science Exploration Program. As

reflected by the benefits of seismic activity in the offshore, with greater

geosciences capacity comes greater exploration and greater investment.

The

Grieg aquaculture project will generate approximately 800 new jobs in and around

Marystown, with approximately 440 direct jobs at Grieg NL and processing

facilities, as well approximately 380 other jobs in affiliated sectors.

Through

Advance 2030 , our government is

working with industry to position Newfoundland and Labrador globally as a

preferred location for oil and gas development. We anticipate 100 new

exploration wells being drilled, and that our offshore will be producing more

than 650,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, and direct employment totalling

more than 7,500 people. We have been working with industry, as well as Memorial

University's Marine Institute, which is one of the top maritime universities in

the world, to identify infrastructure needs and expand innovation service

providers to offer dedicated support to businesses in the ocean technology

sector.

Budget 2019 , $2.5 million is being

contributed towards the construction of a new 36,000-square-foot facility at the

Marine Institute's Holyrood Marine Base. This base is an integral part of the

innovation ecosystem in Newfoundland and Labrador. In addition to supporting

education and research, the new facility will accelerate the growth of ocean

technology firms through the provision of space and the latest technologies to

test products.

This

year we will invest $250,000 to launch an ocean technology competition, focused

on developing solutions that solve Newfoundland and Labrador's unique

challenges. The Newfoundland and Labrador technology sector includes almost 600

businesses, generating approximately 6,500 jobs. Supporting greater research and

development has proven outcomes and will help attract new researchers and

investment to this province, as well as help expand key industries.

As a

government, we view ourselves as a partner in creating a culture where such

innovation and entrepreneurship can flourish. To support access to much-needed

capital investment and support a climate where such innovation can occur, we are

allocating almost $14 million in Budget

2019 .

Mr.

Speaker, I had the good fortune of joining the Ministers of Tourism, Culture,

Industry and Innovation and Advanced Education Skills and Labour to announce a

key step to explore opportunities for additional growth potential for the

aerospace industry through a $200,000 investment.

The

Department of AESL is adding a trade designation for the Air Maintenance

Engineer Program at the College of the North Atlantic campus in Gander. We will

be the second province in Canada to make this designation.

We are

also working with the college and the federal government on further plans to

upgrade and modernize the College of the North Atlantic's Gander campus

aerospace programming. We look forward to working with such companies as EVAS

Air and Provincial Aerospace to identify further opportunities that take full

advantage of the growing market in the maintenance, repair and overhaul

industry.

Our

support for the tourism industry is a catalyst for economic development. The

industry supports 2,600 businesses, nearly 20,000 jobs and generates more than a

billion dollars in spending. To help create awareness of these wonderful

experiences, our government will invest $13 million in tourism marketing again

this year. We will also use funds from the $10 million Regional Development Fund

to work with industry and community partners to support initiatives to advance

economic development infrastructure, marketing, research and capability in areas

such as tourism.

Building

on our Tourism Product Development Plan, we will focus on enhancing tourism

experiences. Further, we are committed to undertaking an action plan on the

maintenance and growth of airline routes and marketing.

Mr.

Speaker, to assist the fishing enterprises in the wild and farmed fisheries

adopt innovative, modern fishing practices in a globally competitive sector, we

are allocating $10 million under the Atlantic Fisheries Fund in

Budget 2019 . This fund enhances our

ability to partner with the industry to meet growing market demands for

sustainably sourced, high-quality fish and seafood products.

Mr.

Speaker, last year, we launched Student Mentorship Program. It is a program that

provides up to 140 students with valuable on-the-job experiences. This year, we

are allocating $339,000 to expand the program to include summer career

development opportunities in the aquaculture, agriculture, technology, forestry,

mining, community and oil and gas sectors.

Mr.

Speaker, we believe we have put forward a budget that works for the people of

this province. We are turning the corner towards a brighter future. The stage is

set to continue creating jobs and opportunities for Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians and improving service delivery.

Mr.

Speaker, we have maintained our commitment to bring this budget back into this

hon. House and I look forward to debating its merits with all Members. The

people of this province want our Legislature to work together to make

Newfoundland and Labrador the best place to live, work and raise a family.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

The hon.

the Minister of Finance to move …

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. the Premier, that we adjourn debate.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

The

motion is that debate be adjourned.

Is it

the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

The

motion is carried.

The hon.

the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Mr. Speaker, I wish to inform

the House that I have received a message from Her Honour the

Lieutenant-Governor.

MR. SPEAKER:

All rise, please.

I have,

in my hands, a message from the Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor. It's dated

June 6, 2019.

Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, I transmit

Estimates of sums required for the Public Service of the Province for the year

ending 31 March 2020, in the aggregate of $7,576,549,700, and in accordance with

the provisions of sections 54 and 90 of the

Constitution Act, 1867 , I recommend these Estimates to the House of

Assembly.

Sgd.: _________________

Lieutenant-Governor

Please

be seated.

The hon.

the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Premier, that the message, together with

the Estimates, be referred to a Committee of Supply.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that the message from Her

Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, together with the Estimates, be referred to a

Committee of Supply, and that I do now leave the Chair.

it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

The

motion is carried.

motion, that the House resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole Supply, the

Speaker left the Chair.

Committee of the Whole

CHAIR (Reid):

Order, please!

will now take a few moments to distribute the budgetary documents to all hon.

Members.

(Budgetary documents are distributed.)

CHAIR:

The hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Chair, I move that the Committee rise, report progress and ask leave to sit

again.

CHAIR:

The motion is that the

Committee rise, report progress and ask leave to sit again.

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

CHAIR:

All those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

motion, that the Committee rise, report progress and ask leave to sit again, the

Speaker returned to the Chair.

MR. SPEAKER (Trimper):

The hon. the Deputy

Speaker and the Chair of the Committee of Supply.

MR. REID