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November 20, 2014

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVII No. 43

The

House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Verge):

Order, please!

Admit

strangers.

Today we

have with us in the gallery Ms Mary Walsh, Chairperson with the Association of

Early Childhood Educators, along with Skye Taylor, Roisin Cowley, Mojca Bas, and

Paul Walsh.

Welcome

to the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

We also have a number of

mayors with us today: Mayor Nat Moores from L'Anse au Clair; Mayor Wilson Belbin

of Forteau, who is also the MNL Director for Labrador; Mayor Agnes Pike of West

St. Modeste; Mayor Wanita Stone of Red Bay; Sheila Chubbs, Vice-President of the

Combined Councils of Labrador; and the Mayor of L'Anse au Loup, Hedley Ryland.

Welcome

to the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Also, we have two volunteers

from the Gathering Place with us today, Sister Lois Greene and her guest.

Welcome,

again, to the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

Statements by

Members

MR. SPEAKER:

Today we have members'

statements from the Member for the District of Mount Pearl South; the Member for

the District of Bonavista North; the Member for the District of Port de Grave;

the Member for District of Labrador West; the Member for the District of Signal

Hill Quidi Vidi; and the Member for the District of The Straits White Bay

North.

Before I

recognize the Member for Mount Pearl South, I do have one other special function

that I want to do. In the Speaker's

gallery today the Chair would like to recognize an employee of the House of

Assembly who retired this past summer, Mrs. Madeline O'Brien, Manager of

Hansard.

Mrs.

O'Brien began working with the Hansard office in 1990 and has served in the

positions of transcriber, editor, and manager.

As members, we all know the value of the Hansard and we often refer to it

to remind ourselves what has been said here in the Chamber.

Under

Mrs. O'Brien's watch, as manager, we have seen such innovations as the Oral

Questions Blues and the posting of the unedited Hansard on the same day of the

sitting. These tools are invaluable

to members and their staff in preparing for each day's business in the House.

I know

that all hon. members will join with me in wishing Mrs. O'Brien a happy and a

healthy retirement, and to also thank her for her twenty-three years of faithful

and diligent service to the House of Assembly.

Thank

you very much, Mrs. O'Brien.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Mount Pearl South.

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is my

privilege to stand in this hon. House to recognize the tremendous success which

was the twenty-sixth Annual Mount Pearl City Days Celebrations.

Once again this year, the festivities included various activities for

citizens of all ages and interests, including a Family Outdoor Movie Night, a

Pig Roast, Family Fun Day, Milk Carton Boat Races, Show & Shine Car Show, and a

Prince and Princess Community Breakfast.

As in

past years, the festival culminated with the Mega Birthday Blitz which saw

thousands of residents and visitors gather on St. David's Field to participate

in fun activities, games of chance, and take in some of the best live

entertainment that Newfoundland and Labrador has to offer.

Mr.

Speaker, I am sure you can appreciate any festival of this magnitude would not

be possible if it were not for the hard work and co-operation of a number of

community partners. I would

therefore ask all members of this hon. House to join me in congratulating the

City of Mount Pearl, the City Days Advisory Committee, various community groups

and organizations, the corporate sponsors, and all of the community-minded

volunteers who contributed to the great success story which was City Days 2014.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Bonavista North.

MR. CROSS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am

proud to rise today, like so many of my colleagues, to recognize the three

Electoral Scholarship winners from my district.

This year the successful students are, from Lumsden, attending Pearson

Academy, Mr. Douglas Gibbons; and from Centreville-Wareham-Trinity, attending

Jane Collins Academy, Mr. Bradley Rogers, and Mr. Michael Cutler.

Although Jane Collins Academy is at Hare Bay in Terra Nova District,

students in the Indian Bay Region of Bonavista North attend there.

The

awarding of these scholarships is recognition of the value of the dedication,

study, and hard work of the recipient, coupled with the commitment of parents

and teachers alike in focusing their child or their student on academic success.

What is truly exceptional and speaks well of our education system, the

valuable influence of teachers, of school growth and development, and the

quality and equality of programming in schools is that the annual winners are

generally shared among the five schools throughout the district from year to

year.

This

year, Douglas, Bradley, and Michael are to be recognized for their achievement

as leaders of a very distinguished class of graduates.

Our wish is for continued success, and

more important than success, contentment in their chosen profession.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Port

de Grave.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. LITTLEJOHN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, I rise today in this hon. House to salute the Royal Canadian Legion

Branch 32, Bay Roberts, on the sixtieth anniversary of their charter as a Royal

Canadian Legion in Canada.

The

Branch still resides in the original building purchased in 1957 from the Seventh

Day Adventist School Board. The

building has undergone numerous renovations over the years, but is still an

integral part of the community.

Prior to owning their own building, meetings would take place either at the old

courthouse or Thomas Handigan's store.

The

building was full to capacity on Saturday, November 8, for the annual

Remembrance Day dinner, and this year's theme was: A Salute to Our Veterans.

The keynote speaker for the evening was the hon. Premier of Newfoundland

and Labrador. The Premier paid

tribute to the veterans and thanked them for their service and courage in

protecting our freedoms and the freedoms of those around the world.

Branch

32 continues to play an active role in the region through their work with

veterans and support for numerous community organizations, including the Avalon

North Cadet Corps.

I ask

all members to join me today in congratulating Branch 32 on sixty years of

dedicated service.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Labrador West.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. MCGRATH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today to pay tribute to an icon of Labrador

West. Alphonse Rudcowsky, one of the

region's early pioneers, community leaders, and a long-time resident of Wabush,

passed away on October 16 at the Long-Term Care Home in Happy Valley Goose Bay

at the age of eighty-seven.

Born

November 20, 1927 in Szarlej, Poland, Alphonse moved to Canada in the early

1950s. After spending twelve years

working with the Airlines Inn in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, he accepted a position

as manager of the Ashuanipi Club in Labrador West.

In 1969 he became manager of the Sir Wilfred Grenfell Hotel in Wabush

which he eventually bought.

Alphonse

was the first Mayor of Wabush and a very active member of the community.

He was also a member of the Chamber of Commerce, a loyal Rotarian, and an

executive member of the Navy League of Wabush.

He retired at the age of seventy-eight from his career as owner, operator

of the Airport Restaurant. Outgoing,

outspoken, and very engaging, Alphonse was a household name known to all.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask that all members of this hon. House join me in celebrating the

life of one of Labrador's pioneers.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

October 29, an innovative community-based centre in my district celebrated

twenty years of service by reopening a completely reconstructed building

designed with extensive community consultation to give more than 500 people

every week access to many things that most of us take for granted.

Let me

tell you what the Gathering Place is doing now, besides providing a hot meal to

130 people a day. Guests can get ID,

and securely receive mail and messages.

They can access government services on computers.

People can socialize in a safe environment or sit quietly and read.

They can shower, do laundry, and get basic home items like dishes.

Nurses and social workers provide various services.

There is actually a flu shot clinic going on there today.

Thanks

to help from the City of St. John's, the redesigned Gathering Place also has an

emergency power generator and is now ready to serve the city's residents as a

community warming centre in the event of a major power outage.

Please

join me in congratulating the congregations of the Sisters of Mercy and the

Presentation Sisters, the staff and hundreds of volunteers who make the

Gathering Place such a vital institution.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for The

Straits White Bay North.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to

recognize Canon Richards Memorial Academy for hosting the Provincial Student

Leadership Conference 2014 from October 23 to 26.

Traditional fiddle music, guitars, and feet stomping opened up the

conference, followed by speakers introduced with wit from the drama troupe

impersonating Lynn Burry, Buddy Wasisname, Dr. Wilfred Grenfell, Ivy Durley,

Kaetlyn Osmond and other notable personalities.

Themed

Rootspiration Let your Roots be your Inspiration showcased keynote speakers,

new skills and opportunities to meet new people, while connecting with our

culture. Breakout sessions taught

people how to play 120s, ugly stick making, homemade bread baking, crocheting,

knitting, traditional singing, dancing, motivational and inspirational talks,

knowledge share, games, lessons of real life budgeting, and leadership

activities.

I am

inspired by our team of local leaders, exceptional volunteers and community for

hosting an outstanding provincial event, displaying our hospitality and

showcasing the Great Northern Peninsula to more than 300 youth.

I ask

all hon. members to join me in congratulating organizing committee Ms Marsha

Genge, Ms Wendy Cunard-Genge, Ms Emma Genge and Ms Lavinia Beaudoir, as well the

minister, administrators, teachers, staff, volunteers, students and all who

participated to make PSLC a resounding success.

In the words of Tom Peter, Leaders don't create followers, they create

more leaders.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Before I go to statements by

ministers, I want to recognize a group of mayors from Labrador.

I am not sure they were actually in the gallery when I made the initial

welcome.

We have

Mayor Nat Moores from L'Anse au Clair; Mayor Wilson Belbin of Forteau, who is

also the MNL director for Labrador; Mayor Agnes Pike of West St. Modeste; Mayor

Wanita Stone of Red Bay; Sheila Chubbs, who is the Vice-President of the

Combined Councils of Labrador; and the Mayor of L'Anse au Loup, Hedley Ryland.

Welcome

to the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

I will also make mention

again that we have with us the members from the Association of Early Childhood

Educators, Skye Taylor, Roisin Cowley, Mojca Bas and Paul Walsh.

Welcome

to the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

Statements by

Ministers

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

today in this hon. House to recognize National Child Day, which takes place

annually on November 20. National

Child Day has been celebrated across Canada since 1993 to commemorate the

adoption of two documents focused on children's rights: the

United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child and the

United Nations Convention on the Rights of

the Child . Mr. Speaker, this

year marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the signing of the convention.

National

Child Day demonstrates Canada's commitment to ensuring all children are treated

with dignity and respect. This

commitment includes the opportunity for children to have a voice, be protected

from harm and be provided with their basic needs and every opportunity to reach

their full potential.

The new

Department of Education and Early Childhood Development was created to put more

focus on early learning and to provide the best possible start for our children.

The provincial government remains committed to ensuring children and

youth have the skills they need to succeed.

Mr.

Speaker, that commitment is clear in the continued planning and implementation

of full-day Kindergarten. Budget

2014 included $30.6 million to implement universal full-day Kindergarten and

$4.8 million for the continuation and enhancement of other early learning

initiatives. This brings our total

investment in early learning and K-12 initiatives to $872 million a 48 per

cent increase since 2003.

Also, to

services for families with young children, Budget 2014 allocated an additional

investment of $11.4 million for child care, bringing that total budget to

approximately $42.5 million. This

funding, Mr. Speaker, will focus on continuing to implement the 10-year child

care strategy, Caring For Our Future .

We are excited about the direction child care is taking in our Province.

As of June 2014, we had 7,815 regulated child care spaces throughout the

Province, which is almost a 70 per cent increase since 2003.

This

government is committed to ensuring the health and well-being of all children

and youth in Newfoundland and Labrador.

I ask

all members of this hon. House to join me in marking National Child Day.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's North.

MR. KIRBY:

My thanks to the minister for

an advance copy of her statement.

Just a

technical note for Hansard first, Mr. Speaker.

The National Child Day was first instituted twenty-one years ago, not

twenty-five. It was instituted in

1993. It is the twenty-fifth

anniversary of the United Nations declaration by the convention on the rights of

the child, which was in 1989, but that is just a technical note.

National

Child Day, indeed, it says we should ensure that all children are treated with

dignity and respect, that all children deserve to be heard, to be protected, to

be cared for, and to be provided with opportunity, and that, of course, is

something which we can all agree upon.

I want

to remind members that we had quite an extensive discussion here yesterday

during Private Members' Day in the House of Assembly on the issue of child

protection. Unfortunately,

government once again denied bringing in mandatory child protection laws that

everyone wants, except for the government.

I also

want to remind members that it was just on Monday or Tuesday, just this week in

any case, that the Premier boasted about his government's record on early

childhood education

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

I remind

the member his time has expired.

The hon.

the Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I, too,

thank the minister for an advance copy of her statement.

This

National Day of the Child gives us a moment to remember how urgent it is that

governments on both levels collaborate on quality child care for all children

across the country.

recently attended a conference of the Association of Early Childhood Educators

of Labrador, in Churchill Falls. I

heard about their hopes, that with child care located in the new Department of

Education and Early Childhood Development there will be a focus on quality

programing and a greater recognition of the profession of early childhood

educators in this Province, Mr. Speaker.

Thank

you very much.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further statements by

ministers?

The hon.

the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. GRANTER:

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this

hon. House to recognize World Fisheries Day, an annual celebration that takes

place on November 21. Tomorrow,

people throughout the world will take this opportunity to reflect on the

importance of fishing and aquaculture to our economy, our environment, and

culture.

Mr.

Speaker, I encourage all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to take a moment this

Friday to consider how the provincial seafood sector contributes to prosperity

in our Province. In 2013, the total

production value of our seafood industry was approximately $1.1 billion.

This economic activity provided direct employment for more than 18,000

people, mostly in rural parts of the Province.

In addition to this, the fishing and aquaculture sectors also create

significant spin-off employment in areas that include the transportation,

industrial supply, and service sectors.

Given

the economic significance of the provincial seafood industry, it is important

for provincial producers to always remain competitive in global markets.

The provincial government made it a priority to support industry in this

regard, and created the Fisheries Technology and new Opportunities Program in

2007 to support projects that enhance the harvesting, farming, processing, and

marketing of provincial seafood. Mr.

Speaker, I am pleased to note that to date, more than 270 research and

development projects have been made possible through the provincial government's

commitment of $16 million

this program.

Mr. Speaker, this government is also carefully

monitoring and protecting the ocean environment.

Since 2010, the provincial government has committed $15.1 million to the

Marine Institute's Centre for Fisheries Ecosystems Research.

This centre gives the Province unprecedented insight into trends

involving specific species and the marine environments they inhabit.

In addition, since 2006 this government has contributed more than $3.2

million through our Fisheries Research Program, which has supported fifty

fisheries science projects involving partnerships with the federal government,

academia, and industry.

Mr. Speaker, the people working in our Province's

seafood sector have endured dangers at sea, moratoria, and the uncertainty of

world markets, and have always shown the resilience and resourcefulness that

defines what it means to be a Newfoundlander and Labradorian.

On World Fisheries Day, this government would like to remind everyone

that we share their commitment to building a fishery that is strong, vibrant,

and sustainable for generations to come.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Carbonear Harbour Grace.

MR.

SLADE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for the advanced copy of his

statement. As a fisherman and MHA

from a fishing district, I am very pleased to join in marking World Fisheries

Day. I would like to recognize all

our ancestors across the centuries who brought us to this place, as well as

those who are currently involved in the industry, including those who fight

passionately to keep our industry strong against the many challenges.

The minister spoke of a few of them, but that is not

good enough just to acknowledge challenges, Mr. Speaker.

We have to do better than that.

One of the most pressing issues that have arisen in recent weeks is the

proposed pilotage authority to move a pilot boarding station thirteen nautical

miles further into Placentia Bay.

This is a bay that has been called one of the riskiest

areas in Canada for an oil spill.

This is a bay where 1,000 fish harvesters and plant workers are involved in the

fishing industry. This is a bay

where there are an abundance of resources, pristine waters, good people, and

great communities. We need to

protect all those assets against increased risk of a disastrous oil spill, but

we have to be proactive.

I call upon government not just to celebrate World

Fisheries Day, but to show strong leadership in keeping our fisheries and our

ecosystems safe from those who are taking (inaudible )

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

I remind the member his speaking time has expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for the advance copy of his

statement. It is all very well for

the minister to speak of the more than $34 million they have spent over the past

seven years on the fishery, which they should be spending, but we learned this

week $280 million in federal funds for the fishery we thought we were getting is

far from guaranteed.

I remind the minister the $280 million is in

recognition of government's decision to abandon provincial minimum processing

requirements for European fish markets, a sticking point in the federal

government's CETA negotiations. Over

the past few days, the Premier has come short of guaranteeing we will see this

federal money.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

KENT:

Mr.

Speaker, today we celebrated the launch of Upopolis, a social network for young

patients which will further enhance the care of children and youth here in

Newfoundland and Labrador.

Upopolis is a safe online networking site designed to

provide patients in children's hospitals and treatment centres with a place to

connect.

As of today, Upopolis will be available at the Janeway

Children's Health and Rehabilitation Centre in St. John's, the Youth Mental

Health Treatment Centre in Paradise, and the Provincial Youth Addictions

Treatment Centre in Grand Falls-Windsor.

Hospital stays can often be difficult for small

children and youth. The goal of

Upopolis is to make the overall experience more comfortable, to allow patients

to stay connected with family and friends, and to start discussions with other

patients in similar situations.

Upopolis provides familiar features of social

networking, such as personal profiles, microblogging, newsfeed, instant chat,

and photo uploading while giving patients the opportunity to stay up to date

with schoolwork, and navigate through child-friendly health and wellness

information verified and approved by health care professionals.

Upopolis was developed by the Kids' Health Links

Foundation in partnership with Telus.

It is the only private, secure, and trusted online social network

designed for kids and teens receiving medical care in hospitals and youth

treatment centres in Canada.

Our government looks forward to the many benefits this

new technology will bring to our health care system and the enhancements in the

overall care for children and youth.

Mr. Speaker, we understand how critical a child's

support network is while receiving care in our facilities and Upopolis enables

that safe connection while empowering our young patients by providing access to

medical information in a format they can easily access and understand.

I encourage all hon. members and members of the public

to become familiar with Upopolis and the many benefits it will bring to our

young patients.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an advance copy of his

statement. Upopolis is a private

online networking site that allows children and youth to stay connected to

families, friends, and school while receiving medical care.

This secure online community originated with a teenager named Christina

who was hospitalized in 2002 with a life-threatening illness.

Her experience inspired her and her family to explore ways to help

children stay connected.

This family wanted to make a difference in the lives of children staying

in the hospital.

Make no

mistake, hospital stays are challenging for all of us, but especially so for

children. It can be the most

challenging time in their lives.

Many of my own constituents and their children have to travel hundreds of

kilometres to get medical treatment that is not available in our region, so

helping these children through such a stressful and challenging time can improve

their patient experience. This is

obviously a very good thing.

Improving the patient experience is especially important, obviously, for

children.

commend government for taking

part in this initiative.

Our children are going to benefit from it.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I, too,

thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement.

It is good news that this social network is coming to young hospital

patients in this Province. I am sure

that the young patients will love it and will find it a comfort.

I have a

few questions about how it will work.

When will it be available to children staying in other health facilities

throughout the Province for treatment that does not require a stay at the

Janeway or the other facilities listed?

It is an important question.

What protocols will be in place to detect and stop any online bullying that

might occur in the system?

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yesterday the Premier gave the impression that he had a discussion with the

Prime Minister on the CETA fisheries fund.

This is what he said: I have already had one discussion with the Prime

Minister since I took office here.

The Prime Minister and I intend to have further discussions on CETA.

I ask

the Premier: When did this discussion with the Prime Minister about CETA take

place?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, I

did say yesterday in the House I had a discussion with the Prime Minister since

coming into office. I can tell the

hon. member opposite, the members of the House, and the people of the Province

that I had another discussion yesterday with the Prime Minister regarding CETA.

We had a very good discussion.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

I reiterate in the House here

today that we had reached an agreement-in-principle with the federal government

last year around our participation in CETA and what that would mean to our

Province. We had a discussion

yesterday again about that, about the fund that we reached an agreement on, the

$400 million Fisheries Innovation Fund for this Province.

It was based on five pillars.

Mr.

Speaker, as I have said before and I say again, we stand by the agreement that

we reached with the government a year ago.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

A few

days ago, and this was of course after the first discussion with the Prime

Minister by the Premier, he still said at that point that he found that the

progress was troubling.

After

the second discussion he had with the Prime Minister yesterday, I ask the

Premier: Are you troubled again today?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, this agreement

with the federal government is very important to rural Newfoundland and

Labrador. It is very important to

the fishing industry in our Province.

It is very important to the rural parts of the Province that depend on

the fishery for their own sustainability, for the sustainability of those very

important communities. It is an

important matter for all of our Province, Mr. Speaker.

It is

important that we continue to have discussions.

As I have said in this House already, ministers in my government are

having ongoing discussions with their federal counterparts.

I had a direct conversation, as I said yesterday, with the Prime Minister

regarding CETA, the importance of us continuing the discussions and the

administration of the fund that was agreed to previously.

We fully intend to continue to have those discussions and reach a full

conclusion to our agreement with the federal government.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yesterday, the minister said he had met with Minister Moore on this issue in

January, and that the government would move forward in the budget in terms of

working through this initiative.

That certainly sounds like the government has made budget commitments with this

money money that we know has not been locked in yet.

So I ask

the Premier: How much of this fund has already been committed, and to what

projects?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Municipal and Intergovernmental Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, as part of rolling the fund out, the administration of the fund,

obviously the Province, wanted to be proactive to make sure we could certainly

be ready when the funds flow. As the

original agreement said, it would be within the sixteen or twenty-four months.

It is a huge fund, the $400 million.

In the

Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture there is the FTNOP, there are other

technology programs, and there are research programs.

As part of that to be ready, and in this year's Budget and it was

certainly discussed in the Estimates in the prior year, in terms of the Budget,

there was $600,000 that was allocated for staffing to get up and running and to

look at the administrative part, which we will work collectively with ACOA

officials to bring this to fruition, in terms of the agreement.

Those monies were allocated in the Budget, and we are moving forward with

those funds.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well,

just for clarification from the minister: Is the minister saying there is only

$600,000 of that fund committed?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Municipal and Intergovernmental Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Mr. Speaker, the monies

committed in the DFA budget has nothing to do with the fund.

That money has not been spent; there is no amount of monies allocated for

that fund. The original agreement

was that money would flow once the agreement was reached, and as the Premier has

indicated, we have stood by, we have reached an agreement, we negotiated an

agreement, and we expect the federal government to meet that.

At that point in time, the money would flow, being administered by ACOA

and through the Department of DFA.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In his

report on the consolidated financial statements, the Auditor General said that

the environmental liability in the former Abitibi mill and properties is now

estimated to be $265 million. This

is $165 million more than the previous government's estimates.

So I ask

the Premier: After mistakenly expropriating the century-old mill, will you now

come clean on what the exact cost of this mistake is?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

With

regard to the Abitibi mill, it is a matter that has been very important to us.

Environmental protection is always important to us as a government.

I do not have the most recent numbers and assessments on that for the

member opposite, but I will get the information for him.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This

AG's report came out a few days ago now.

Mr. Speaker, this is a $265 million bill that we are talking about.

This is a $265 million liability.

When we come planning for the Budget of this Province, we do not know the

difference in what this liability will cost.

I was

expecting a response about assets aside and all of this, but with the assets

aside there is a liability. This

government mistakenly expropriated hundreds of millions of dollars in

environmental liabilities. The AG

said that further study is required to assess the human health and ecological

risks.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

I ask

the hon. member to please ask his question.

MR. BALL:

Okay.

The

question will be to the Premier: When will these studies be completed and at

what additional cost to taxpayers?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

reiterate my last comments to the member opposite that the status of the

property assets in Grand Falls-Windsor is very important to us.

We continue to work on plans to move forward with dealing with that

property and with the assets.

Again,

if he is asking for me to differentiate, as he did earlier, between figures that

were talked about previously versus what is reflected in the Auditor General's

report, I do not have that particular information for him right now; but I will

confirm for him that we are working on the file, we are working on the file

regarding the property in Grand Falls-Windsor, and we will continue to move that

forward.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yesterday, the Chief Scientific Officer with the Canadian Diabetes Association

stated that there is a significant need for a diabetes screening program and

registry in our Province, something that I have advocated for, for a long time.

I ask

the Premier: After hearing from the experts, will you now commit to finally

implementing a diabetes registry and screening program in our Province, the only

Atlantic Province without one?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank

colleagues on both sides of the House for participating in an informative event

with the Diabetes Association just last evening.

It is

important that we gather data and measure outcomes when it comes to diabetes and

the prevalence of it in Newfoundland and Labrador.

We continue to work with regional health authorities towards a solution.

In fact, there has been really good progress made in Western Health.

database has been created. There are

still some details to be worked out before we roll it out across the four

regional health authorities. Once we

do, hopefully over the next number of months, we are going to be able to monitor

trends related to the prevalence of diabetes.

We are going to be able to monitor quality of care for those with

diabetes, and a number of other things that will serve people in this Province

quite well.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is

alarming to think of the fact that since this time yesterday we have had ten

people in our Province who have been diagnosed with diabetes.

Our population is 25 per cent higher than anywhere else in Canada with

diabetes. Diabetes is costing this

Province $320 million in just six years.

After

eleven years in government, I ask the Premier: Why hasn't your government made

implementation of a diabetes prevention and management program a priority?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, the rate of

chronic disease in Newfoundland and Labrador is alarming, to be quite frank.

That is why we do have a comprehensive chronic disease strategy in

Newfoundland and Labrador, not just to address one particular illness or

disease, but to address chronic disease as a whole.

We have

made great strides in supporting people with diabetes, as I outlined yesterday.

We have twenty-four clinics.

We have improved insulin pump therapy.

We have expanded the number of medications available.

It is an

issue that we take quite seriously.

We will continue to work with the Diabetes Association, with professionals in

our regional health authorities to continue to advance care for those suffering

from this chronic disease in Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Cartwright L'Anse au Clair.

MS DEMPSTER:

Mr. Speaker, residential

ratepayers along the Labrador coast will see an 11.4 per cent increase as a

result of Hydro's latest application to the PUB.

The Minister of Natural Resources stated in the House on Tuesday that

government supports the proposed increases.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask the Minister of Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs: Do you also

support Hydro's latest proposal to the PUB that will see rates increased by 11.4

per cent?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, just for

clarification, the conversation and the discussion previously was around

basically the viability of Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro and the rate of

return of 8.8 per cent specifically to the application.

It was very clear what I said.

This is not a government application.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. DALLEY:

There is a process laid out

in which Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro submits the application to the PUB.

The PUB makes the decision, Mr. Speaker, not the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thankfully, Mr. Speaker, there is a process for interested parties to be able to

submit and have some input on those rate discussions with the PUB and not the

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Cartwright L'Anse au Clair.

MS DEMPSTER:

The Minister for Labrador

said in a recent paper we have to be more accessible as a government to

Aboriginal groups in Labrador.

Mr.

Speaker, not only are residents going to see this increase, commercial

businesses will close. A 20 per cent

increase; $6,000 bills now, Mr. Speaker, and they are going to be hit with 20

per cent more.

I ask

the Minister of Labrador again: Do you, Minister of Labrador, also support the

commercial rates that are proposing to be increased by 20 per cent?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, I would suspect

that all members in this House, and certainly our government, Mr. Speaker, has

demonstrated concern for Coastal Labrador, concern for all householders, and

particularly seniors who are on fixed incomes, that anytime there is an increase

in expenses to their home, it is of great concern.

If we

really want to look back, Mr. Speaker, we are developing projects like Muskrat

Falls to help protect the increases in their expenses for their home.

It is important to recognize as well, as a government we have

demonstrated clearly the support for Coastal Labrador in a number of

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. DALLEY:

There are a number of

initiatives, from the Northern Strategic Plan to the rural deficit ratepayer's

subsidies, to the deferral subsidies, Mr. Speaker, to help offset some of the

challenges that exist in Coastal Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

George's Stephenville East.

MR. REID:

Mr. Speaker, the Newfoundland T'Railway was announced with much fanfare and

potential in 1997. It was trumpeted

as an economic generator for the whole Province.

Now the trail is in a deteriorated state and in some places the trail is

starting to be overgrown and has severe washouts.

I ask

the Minister of Environment and Conservation: Why has your government allowed

this trail to fall into disrepair?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Environment and Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CRUMMELL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, the T'Railway is an important asset for the people of the Province.

I use it on a regular basis when I am out fishing and hunting as well.

We do recognize there are challenges with this 1,100 kilometre trail and

a linear provincial park that goes from one side of the Province to the other.

Last year we spent about $1 million in upgrades to that trail.

We know we need to have another look at that and invest more money.

Mr.

Speaker, I had meetings this morning with my officials, talking about what the

needs are and doing an assessment of exactly what is required to make sure we

get that T'Railway up to where we need it to be.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

George's Stephenville East.

MR. REID:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I ask

the minister: What is government's long-term plan for this trail, and can he

assure the House that sections of the Newfoundland T'Railway will not close

because of this government's neglect?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Environment and Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CRUMMELL:

Again, Mr. Speaker, we are

doing an assessment of exactly what is needed to make sure that is a long-term

viable park in this Province. It is

an important asset to the people of the Province.

I take a personal responsibility, Mr. Speaker, to make sure we do the

right things going forward.

I will

assure the member opposite, and assure the people of the Province, we are going

to be addressing this important asset to make sure it is there for

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians for generations to come.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's North.

MR. KIRBY:

Mr. Speaker, after eleven

years government is still only in the planning stages of providing full-day

Kindergarten. Now, to find enough

space, school district personnel are looking at providing Kindergarten classes

in gymnasiums, cafeterias, school libraries, science labs, and classrooms

currently designated for music, art, technology, and home economics.

I ask

the minister: How many schools will be losing learning spaces and facilities

because of your government's failure to plan?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, full-day Kindergarten is something that is very important to the people

of this Province. That is why we

have responded in the manner in which we have, which is to say that over three

years we will invest $30.6 million in the necessary infrastructure and resources

to ensure that full-day Kindergarten will in fact be implemented in 2016.

In some

cases, Mr. Speaker, it will be difficult to have infrastructure in place for

that particular date. However, we

have a plan in place, and that plan to a large extent will revolve around using

modular classrooms that will be added on to the schools to ensure there is in

fact the space that is required.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's North.

MR. KIRBY:

The minister is planning to

keep parents in the dark until 2016, Mr. Speaker.

Cramming all these students into overcrowded schools will put more

pressure on students, on teachers, and parents. It

flies directly in the face of the idea of twenty-first century learning.

I ask

the minister: How can you claim you are improving the education system when you

are shutting down essential learning spaces?

How can students have twenty-first century learning if you are trying to

create nineteenth century learning environments?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, I am somewhat perplexed. It

sounds as if the member opposite does not want full-day Kindergarten.

That seems to be what I am hearing on this side of the House, and others

around me are hearing the same thing.

What we

have said is that we are working forward to make sure we can provide the best

education and the best early learning we can.

That involves the implementation of full-day Kindergarten in September of

2016. We will have infrastructure in

place. We will meet those demands

and those requirements through the installation of modular classrooms in some

areas of the Province. In other

areas, we already have adequate space, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Carbonear Harbour Grace.

MR. SLADE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, the plant at Harbour Breton has been closed for over a year, leaving

150 people facing uncertainty.

Despite promises by a plant operator that it would open last month, this has not

happened and there are fears it could be another year before production starts.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. SLADE:

I ask the minister: What has he done to ensure this plant reopens as soon as

possible? Have you even spoken to

the plant owner about this issue?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. GRANTER:

Mr. Speaker, I have had a

number of conversations with numerous groups associated with the plant in

Harbour Breton. I have met with the

town just recently here in St. John's.

Yesterday or the day before, I spoke to union representatives from the

plant and I have a call in to the owner of the plant.

There is

nothing more important to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians than the fishery of

this Province. It is a fishery that has sustained us for hundreds of years, it

is a fishery that this government is committed to, and we are committed to the

people of Harbour Breton, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Carbonear Harbour Grace.

MR. SLADE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, there are 7 million pounds of farmed salmon coming out of the water

next week. We understand some will

be sent to St. Alban's, but 3.5 million pounds will be shipped out to places

like New Brunswick.

I ask

the minister: How can you justify shipping out 50 per cent of our fish resource

to another province while the plant in Harbour Breton remains closed?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. GRANTER:

Mr. Speaker, it is an

unfortunate circumstance that industry finds itself in, in that particular part

of the Province, but it is important to remember that this government is working

with the people of Harbour Breton, that we continue to work with the people of

Harbour Breton.

believe the short-term difficulty they are having down there and I have had

conversations and, again, have a call in to the owner of the fish plant.

I am hoping, Mr. Speaker, as the owner of the fish plant speaks to it, we

will have some operations taking place down on that particular peninsula in the

new year.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon.

the Member for Mount Pearl South.

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

According to the 2014 Budget Estimates, this issue is and I quote very live

and top of mind within the department.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask the Minister of Service Newfoundland and Labrador: What is the

current status of payday loan legislation?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Service NL.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CORNECT:

Mr. Speaker, I certainly

thank the hon. member across the way for standing up again today and asking

another question to me. Service NL,

after significant research and consideration, is studying the regulation of

payday loans companies. It is a

complicated area with a number of policy considerations.

When we are going to be ready to act on it, I will let him know and let

this House know as well.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount

Pearl South.

MR. LANE:

Mr. Speaker, I ask the

Minister of Service NL: When will he introduce amendments to the Workplace

Health, Safety and Compensation Act?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Service NL.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CORNECT:

Mr. Speaker, the Workplace

Health, Safety and Compensation Act is a very complex, in-depth piece of work.

We are doing our due diligence.

We are reviewing it. When we

are ready to bring it, ready to be introduced in the House of Assembly, the

Opposition will be briefed, the House will be briefed, and I will be a proud

minister to bring it to the House.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's South.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, over two years ago government held consultations on the Residential

Tenancies Act. In March, they said

they were doing a jurisdictional and legislative review and they were very close

to putting things on paper.

I ask

the minister: Have you put it on paper yet?

When will you amend this outdated legislation and provide modern

protection for tenants and landlords?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Service NL.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CORNECT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, this government is very proud that we held ten consultations across the

Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

One hundred and forty-two individuals attended in-person sessions and we

had twenty-eight written submissions.

What we

have done is we have put a What We Heard document that was released on our

departmental Web site. We are

looking at everything. When we are

ready to deliver it to the public of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador,

we will do so with our due diligence done.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's South.

MR. OSBORNE:

Mr. Speaker, when the

minister at that time, now the Premier, announced consultations for a new act,

he said the act affects so many people in this Province, and it is important to

make sure that we are keeping the act up to date with today's housing market.

I ask

the minister: Will you introduce legislation in this session of the House of

Assembly before the information gathered during those consultations itself is

outdated?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Service NL.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CORNECT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, this is a very important issue that affects both the landlords and the

tenants. For this reason, we are

doing our due diligence necessary for the review of the legislation.

We remain committed to bringing this piece of legislation before the

House of Assembly. I look forward,

Mr. Speaker, when we bring it to the House to a healthy debate here in the House

of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for The

Straits White Bay North.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Mr. Speaker, it has been more

than one year-and-a-half since the Central Expressions of Interest was called.

I ask

the minister: When will we see a deal to diversify the economy and put the

timber resources in Central Newfoundland to productive use?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, the discussions

around the development of the resource in Central and to try to benefit the

Northern Peninsula has certainly been talked about in the public.

I will be very clear that government continues to work with a company,

Rentech, to try to secure a deal so we will be able to develop that resource for

the full benefit of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

Mr.

Speaker, it has taken some time.

There are multiple challenges with that, but I can assure you my officials and

myself as the minister work very diligently to try to get this deal done.

We are not there yet. I look

forward to the day to get there and I know the people of Central and certainly

the Northern Peninsula are anxious.

We are doing all we can in trying to get this deal done.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

The new

St. John's Long-Term Care Facility has thirty empty beds because of a shortage

of local LPNs. Among the reasons are

that the jobs are temporary and the salary does not match the new duties and

responsibilities of LPNs.

I ask

the Premier: Why didn't government put incentives in place to attract local LPNs

such as making the jobs permanent and offering better wages?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, the recruitment

and retention of licensed practical nurses in our Province has been a challenge

for some time. For that reason we

have taken steps to increase the number of licensed practical nurses working in

Newfoundland and Labrador.

We have

offered bursaries, we have offered other incentives, we have expanded online

learning, we have a working group, and we are working closely with the

association of licensed practical nurses.

We are working closely with our Centre for Nursing Studies.

We have made more seats available to train licensed practical nurses in

our Province, in addition to the international recruitment effort that is

ongoing. We have expanded the number

of long-term care beds in this region, and it is our hope in the next couple of

months we will be able to open the remaining thirty beds.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

Yes, I

know the seats are there for training, but we also know there is a very low

graduation rate for the LPNs at the college, something I heard acknowledged by

the minister in the media.

What is

government doing to graduate more of the LPNs who are training, fill the labour

market gap, and keep LPNs in the Province?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, while the

roughly 185 seats available for licensed practical nurses for training in

Newfoundland and Labrador should meet the demand, there is a challenge around

the graduation rate. That is why we

are working closely with the Centre for Nursing Studies, with regional health

authorities, with my department, as well as with College of the North Atlantic,

to ensure we address that issue.

There

are a number of things we are trying to do to attract more LPNs.

There is not one quick fix.

That is why we are offering bursaries.

That is why we have this working group that is looking at the program and

some of the other issues related to recruitment and retention.

I am

pleased to say we have expanded the number of long-term care beds in this

region, and I look forward to seeing the rest open at our brand new facility in

the next couple of months.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Then, I

am asking the minister: When are they going to have a solid plan to create

long-term care beds to get rid of the serious shortage of long-term care that is

coming? When are we going to get

people out of the beds in the hospitals?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, the member

opposite raises a very important issue.

We do need to increase long-term care in Newfoundland and Labrador, and

this government has done exactly that.

We have challenges in long-term care in this Province, particularly in

the Central Region where we are currently conducting a review.

There was funding announced in this year's Budget for that review to

ensure we have plans in place for the short and long term to meet long-term care

needs.

We also

need to keep long-term care patients out of acute care beds.

It is one of the reasons why there were changes made to plans for the

West Coast hospital, recognizing the need for increased long-term care on the

West Coast of the Island as well. So

we are making progress, and we recognize there is still work to do.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker, on October 23, I

sent a proposal to the Minister of Justice outlining how the Family Violence

Intervention Court could be reinstated and expanded with minimal cost, using

existing infrastructure and personnel.

This proposal was developed in consultation with experts in family

violence specialty courts.

I ask

the Minister of Justice: Will she commit to reinstating the Family Violence

Intervention Court in St. John's immediately and commit to a timeline for the

expansion of the court to other areas of the Province?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am

quite pleased to rise and talk about the Family Violence Intervention Court.

I believe we have clearly laid out the work we are doing on the Family

Violence Intervention Court here in the House of Assembly, and I have clearly

articulated how important it is to me as the Premier and also to our government.

We want

to see it being available to people throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

So it is important, before we just flip a switch, that we do our homework

first, that we look at opportunities that exist to expand the services and

availability of services throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

Can we use technologies that are available to us?

Is that a proper way to deliver the services?

Does it need to be done face to face, or is there a combination we can do

there?

We need

to rely on the input from specialists and experts in the field, as well as look

at the infrastructure that is available to us.

All that work is underway, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre for a quick question.

MS ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker, I ask: Who on

the other side of this House will stand up for the needs of the women and

children, victims of violence in their districts, and insist government

reinstate the court immediately? Who

on this side of the House will stand up for the people in their districts?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon.

the Premier, for a quick reply.

PREMIER DAVIS:

I think, Mr. Speaker, the

demonstration by the caucus on this side of the House demonstrates we will all

stand up for people. Mr. Speaker,

every one of us does.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The time

for Question Period has expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling

of Documents.

Notices

of Motion.

Notices of Motion

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MS SULLIVAN:

Mr. Speaker, I give notice

that I will ask leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Regulate Child

Care Services, Bill 30.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further notices of motion?

Answers

to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Bay

of Islands.

MR. JOYCE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I stand

today, Mr. Speaker, to present a petition on behalf of the people of Western

Newfoundland and Labrador concerning the hospital in Corner Brook.

WHEREAS

we wish to raise concerns regarding the recent delay on the construction of the

new hospital in Corner Brook;

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

of Assembly to urge the government to commit to the planning and construction of

a new hospital in Corner Brook as previously committed to and in a timely manner

as originally announced without further delay or changes.

Mr.

Speaker, once again I stand today on this, because I see the comments by the

minister saying that certain information is incorrect.

Once again, what was tabled in this House this week was a $4.8 million

pre-commitment for the design of the hospital portion of the facility in Corner

Brook. I stated, and I always did

say, and the minister said that the hospital portion will start in 2015, as was

in Hansard. Mr. Speaker, I have said

that it will not be, and we need to inform the people of Western Newfoundland.

Mr.

Speaker, the minister mentioned that he is going to go out to Corner Brook this

weekend. I guess because of the

by-election, he is going out to Corner Brook.

I asked if he would have a public meeting.

It was denied.

Here is

what is going to happen, Mr. Speaker.

He is going to contact the health care committee, and instead of meeting

with the full committee, I bet he is going to meet with one to two.

He will not meet with the full committee.

That is my expectation, Mr. Speaker, because he does not want a full

group of people to say: here is what was said, here is the commitment, and here

are our issues.

You

watch, Mr. Speaker, if I do not come back in this House on Monday and say, he

met with one, maybe two. If he is

pressured, it may be two. I asked

for a full public meeting.

This is

not about me. This is not about the

people opposite. This is about the

people who have to travel in for services in St. John's.

This is what this is all about.

I was on

Open Line this morning. I gave the

former Premier, the Member for Humber East, information.

The Leader of the Opposition, we walked over and gave him the information

we had. We gave him phone numbers to

phone. I have to give him credit; he

called to prove that single bunkers were used in Canada.

He called. The former Premier

called the worker in Sydney and said: boys, I am sorry, the information I was

given was incorrect; single bunkers do work.

So let's

work together on this. Let's have a

public meeting so we can tell everybody the status of it, the time delays.

Let's talk about when it is going to start and what is going to be in the

hospital. I am willing to bet, Mr.

Speaker, there will be one or two from the health care committee.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker, for the time.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of undersigned humble sheweth:

WHEREAS

Labrador's coastal communities already pay extremely high hydro rates; and

WHEREAS

small businesses are struggling to stay in operation against rising costs of

operation; and

WHEREAS

Nalcor, a Crown corporation, is proposing an 11.4 per cent increase to

residential hydro rates and a 20 per cent increase to business rates;

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

of Assembly to urge the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to work with

Nalcor to establish rates that are fair and consist with the whole Province.

As in

duty bound, your petitioners

Mr.

Speaker, when I first learned of these rates, I was totally floored.

When we joined Confederation in 1949, Labrador was a part of that union.

We are a part of this Province.

We are still a part of this Province, and we expect to be treated as a

part of this Province.

When I

see hydro rates proposed for 1.9 per cent, when I see hydro rates increased from

2.9 per cent, I think that is fair.

When I see 11 per cent and 20 per cent

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. EDMUNDS:

To hear the Minister of

Natural Resources agree with this proposal, Mr. Speaker, I wonder if this

proposal had an 11.4 per cent increase and a 20 per cent increase for The Isles

of Notre Dame, would he stand up and support it?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. EDMUNDS:

Mr. Speaker, we are looking

at fairness and equity in Labrador.

We have to argue for fairness and equity.

With this government, it falls on deaf ears.

I would like to think and I have read it and I would still like to

think that Nalcor is a Crown corporation, and to see the gall of this

government to look at the unfairness in this proposal.

Mr.

Speaker, this is the first of many petitions that I will be presenting.

I will be making my submissions to the PUB.

When you look at fairness and equity in this Province, we expect it.

Thank

you.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS ROGERS:

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

the Family Violence Intervention Court provided a comprehensive approach to

domestic violence in a court setting that fully understood and dealt with the

complex issues of domestic violence; and

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MS ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker, I am sure,

because this petition is representing the people of the Province who are very

interested in alleviating the suffering of women and children who are the

victims of family violence, that people will want to hear what they have to say.

WHEREAS

domestic violence continues to be one of the most serious issues facing our

Province today, and the cost of the impact of domestic violence is great, both

economically and in human suffering; and

WHEREAS

the Family Violence Intervention Court was welcomed and endorsed by all aspects

of the justice system including the police, the courts, prosecutors, defence

counsel, Child, Youth and Family Services, as well as victims, offenders,

community agencies, and women's groups; and

WHEREAS

the recidivism rate for offenders going through the court was 10 per cent

compared to 40 per cent for those who did not; and

WHEREAS

the budget for the court was only 0.2 per cent of the entire budget of the

Department of Justice;

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

of Assembly to urge government to reinstate the Family Violence Intervention

Court

As in

duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, yet again today this feels a little bit like the Mad Hatter's Tea Party

here in the House of Assembly. When

I hear the Premier respond to my question about the Family Violence Intervention

Court, he said we cannot simply turn on a switch and turn it on.

Well,

Mr. Speaker, they turned off the switch without any thought.

It was absolutely immediate with no thought and no planning whatsoever in

terms of what the ramifications were of closing that court, what the

ramifications were for victims of domestic violence, but also what the

ramifications were for the entire justice system, because those cases then had

to go back to a cumbersome justice system that could not effectively deal with

the root causes of domestic violence.

I say,

Mr. Speaker, because we know the court was working well several Ministers of

Justice and the past Premier and the current Premier were both saying how well

the court worked. So, why not

reinstate it immediately? All the

elements are in place.

Mr.

Speaker, I had the privilege and the honour of working with experts in the area

of the family violence specialty court to come up with a proposal not only on

how to reinstate the court, but how to expand it with minimal cost using

existing infrastructure.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I have a

petition to the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and

Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents

humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

the applied behavioural analysis, ABA program, for children with autism is

funded by the Department of Health and Community Services; and

WHEREAS

the program was introduced in 1999 and is in serious need of revision; and

WHEREAS

with the advances made in early diagnosis of autism, the number of high

functioning children being diagnosed with autism has drastically increased; and

WHEREAS

the current ABA program does not take into account that children on the autism

spectrum are involved in many educational, recreational, and social activities

outside of the home; and

WHEREAS

the current ABA program requires that the therapist be accompanied at all times

by another adult, which is not only inconvenient but can be quite costly when a

parent is unable to be that second adult due to work or other obligations; and

WHEREAS

the current ABA program ends at Grade 3 but autism is a lifelong social

disorder;

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

of Assembly to urge the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to implement a

review of the ABA program with considerations given to alternate programing

options and to extend autism programming beyond Grade 3.

Now, Mr.

Speaker, I am proud to stand here today and speak on behalf of residents,

especially in my district, members of the Autism Involves Me AIM committee

who I met with just shortly before coming back to the House of Assembly.

They sat down with me and told me that this is what we need.

These are parents and advocates for children with autism.

The interesting thing is it is not just children, this is a lifelong

disorder, yet our ABA program cuts off at Grade 3.

Let's forget what age they are diagnosed;

once Grade 3 comes they are off, they do not get this therapy, and it is

absolutely shameful.

The fact

is this therapy was developed well over a decade ago and it needs revision.

Again, I am listening to the experts.

I am listening to the advocates and the parents who have to live this;

they are dealing with it every day.

So I am happy to stand here and speak on their behalf.

I know

government knows this is a serious issue.

We just have to look at the numbers over the last little while: 2007, one

in 150 children; 2009, one in ninety-one; 2012, one in eighty-eight; last year,

one in sixty-eight children. This is

an epidemic, but again, this government is woefully behind and woefully

unprepared, as they seem to be with just about everything else.

This needs to be done now for the betterment of our children who are

going to grow up to be adults on the autism spectrum.

We asked for it; let's get it started, and let's work together.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Cartwright L'Anse au Clair.

MS DEMPSTER:

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 humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

Labrador's coastal communities already pay extremely high hydro rates; and

WHEREAS

small businesses are struggling to stay in operation against rising costs of

operation; and

WHEREAS

Nalcor, a Crown corporation, is proposing a 11.4 per cent increase to

residential hydro rates and a 20 per cent increase to business rates;

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

of Assembly to urge the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to work with

Nalcor to establish rates that are fair and consistent to the whole Province.

As in

duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, I was on my feet about this yesterday, on my feet today now for the

second time, and I will continue to hammer this.

Yesterday, I could not believe it when I heard the minister say and I

will check Hansard and I will bring it back into the House next week to hear him

say that he supports this. If he

wants to know what businesses right now in my district are paying, I am happy to

table this document: a small business in my district, $6,000 to heat their

building and keep the lights on $6,000 and we are going to hit those

businesses with another 20 per cent on top of that.

I have

people sitting in the gallery today, Mr. Speaker, and there are fifty-foot

towers going right across their land, a DC transmission line, and we are getting

nothing from that. We are being left

with dirty diesel, unreliable power.

It is not good enough.

Someone

has to stand up for these people. In

two or three years, Mr. Speaker, Muskrat Falls will be over and done, and these

small businesses employing five or six people in the communities are all that we

have left. Not only the small

businesses, but non-profit groups are paying this commercial rate.

We are

trying to shut down rural communities.

More than half our Province is rural.

We need to be supporting and doing what we can to help those communities.

We are not only closing the doors of the small businesses, but we are

dragging down the social programs and fabric of our communities as well, Mr.

Speaker.

I ask

the minister to think about, when he goes home over the weekend, what he said he

was supporting. Stand up, because

the minister for Labrador never stood today.

I gave him two opportunities to stand.

Stand for the people of Labrador.

He said yesterday he was out in my district recently, the beautiful

communities of St. Lewis and William's Harbour.

I ask him to think about that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS DEMPSTER:

Think about the seniors who

have to choose between buying their pills or heating their home this winter, Mr.

Speaker. They are going to pay

twice, because they are going to pay 11 per cent on their residential increase

and they are going to pay on their milk and butter when the businesses have to

charge extra to stay in business.

It is an

injustice. It is highway robbery.

It is something I will continue to bring and do my best to keep the issue

front and center here in the House, Mr. Speaker.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's East.

MR. MURPHY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland

and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

Tordon 101 contains the chemicals 2, 4-D and Picloram; and

WHEREAS

the chemical Picloram is a known cancer causing carcinogen; and

WHEREAS

the provincial government has banned the cosmetic use of the pesticide 2, 4-D;

and

WHEREAS

safer alternatives are available to the provincial government for brush

clearance such as manual labour, alternative competitive seeding methods, and/or

the mechanical removal of brush; and

WHEREAS

the provincial government is responsible for ensuring the safety and well-being

of its citizens;

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

of Assembly to urge government to cease the use of chemicals covered under its

own cosmetic pesticide ban and begin using safer methods of brush clearance that

will not place its citizens in harm's way.

As in

duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, I am quite pleased to stand in the House again today I should not say

quite pleased, because it is upsetting when you are talking about dumping

chemicals into our perfect environment.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. MURPHY:

This petition is signed by

some of the people from Cavendish, St. John's; I see there are some Labrador

Point, and Elliston. We are getting

people from all over Newfoundland and Labrador signing this petition and then

sending them in.

These

people also believe in a clean and pristine environment that they want to see in

this Province. They also believe, as

we talked about yesterday in this House of Assembly, we talked about making

responsible decisions in this House of Assembly.

We were talking about the advent of the fracking panel, of course, and

government making the responsible decision to put someone in there to represent

the public health interest.

We have

a public health interest here that people want the government to address.

The simple fact is people do not want to see chemicals put into their

environment, if we have other alternatives to address the same problems we are

dealing with. Whether it is the

Nalcor right-of-way, running about 1,200 kilometres worth of wires and we want

to control the brush that is there; whether it is the moose problem in this

Province where we want to make sure we are controlling roadside brush clearing.

We have

a responsibility to the people to use the cleanest possible method if we are to

control brush. Be that either

competitive growing methods by introducing another species that would compete

with some of the flora and fauna that is there on the side of the road now, or

whether it is using a mechanical means of harvesting, of getting rid of the

brush on the side of the road. We

have other options, and I ask government to do the responsible thing.

Pay attention to its own chemical ban here and start adhering to the

wishes of the people of this Province.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Deputy

Government House Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, I move, seconded by the Minister of Health and Community Services, that

we move to the Orders of the Day.

MR. SPEAKER:

The motion is that we move to

Orders of the Day.

All

those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, nay'.

Carried.

Orders of the Day

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Deputy

Government House Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Mr. Speaker, from the Order

Paper, I would like to call Order 3, second reading of a bill,

An Act Respecting

Chartered Professional Accountants And Public Accountants, Bill 27.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Service NL.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CORNECT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I move,

seconded by the hon. Member for Baie Verte Springdale, that Bill 27, the

Chartered Professional Accountants And Public Accountants Act, now be given a

second reading.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that

Bill 27, entitled,

An Act Respecting Chartered Professional Accountants And

Public Accountants, be now read a second time.

Motion,

second reading of a bill,

An Act Respecting Chartered Professional Accountants

And Public Accountants. (Bill 27)

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Service NL.

MR. CORNECT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

Chartered Professional Accountants and Public Accountants Act will facilitate a

merger of the three self-regulating bodies for accounting professions in

Newfoundland and Labrador into a single organization, reflective of the newly

created national body, Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada.

It would also incorporate the Public Accountants Act, so separate

legislation is no longer necessary for this designation.

Mr.

Speaker, this new legislation and the merging of the accounting professions are

consistent with what is being carried out in all other provinces.

The merger is strongly supported by all three existing accounting

organizations in this Province. My

officials have had meetings with the accounting bodies to facilitate this

merger, and it has been a priority for them since they approached government

requesting approval to merge in July of last year.

Historically, in Newfoundland and Labrador, there have been three separate

professional accounting designations: chartered accountants, certified

management accountants, and certified general accountants.

To be licensed to practice as a public accountant, one must first be a

certified Chartered Accountant, Certified Management Accountant, or Certified

General Accountant. Licences to

practice public accountancy are issued by the Public Accountants Licensing Board

under the Public Accountants Act.

Mr.

Speaker, all accounting designations are governed by their own self-regulatory

organizations. These organizations

are the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Newfoundland and Labrador, the

Society of Certified Management Accountants of Newfoundland and Labrador, and

the Certified General Accountants Association of Newfoundland and Labrador.

course, along with each of these three self-regulatory organizations come

corresponding legislation. They are

each governed respectively by the Chartered Accountants Act, 2008, the Certified

Management Accountants Act, 2008, and the Certified General Accountants Act,

The new

legislation will align accountants in Newfoundland and Labrador with most of the

rest of Canada by creating a single new accounting organization known as the

Chartered Professional Accountants of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The provincial body representative of the newly created national body of

Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada.

Mr.

Speaker, the new act will replace the four existing acts governing accountants

in the Province; and, as such, the creation of this new legislation requires

that all four existing acts be

repealed.

Mr. Speaker, it is noteworthy that the single new act

has been drafted substantially along the lines of the four previous separate

acts. Slight differences in the new

legislation exists primarily to effect the merger and to address minor

differences in the previous legislation with respect to fines, board

composition, and other administrative areas.

Because the new Association of Chartered Professional

Accountants of Newfoundland and Labrador will be a self-regulating organization,

they will address education and licensing requirements as did the

self-regulatory bodies for the Chartered Accountants, Certified Management

Accountants, and Certified General Accountants.

These requirements under the new Chartered Professional Accountant

designation will largely resemble the previous requirements for each of the

three former types of accounting designations.

This is the same process under which the three designations carried out

their respective organizations in the past.

It has worked well since they became self-regulating organizations.

For new Chartered Professional Accountants a very

positive piece of this merger includes the new education program developed by

CPA Canada. The new program meets or

exceeds the rigor of existing programs and also offers advanced and increased

training opportunities for members.

Mr. Speaker, Service Newfoundland and Labrador have

consulted with the Public Accountants Licensing Board to obtain its position on

the merger and the repeal of the Public Accountants Act.

The board's position was neutral.

The new act will continue to allow for additional education and

professional requirements to become a public accountant, which will retain a

separate licence and public register to be overseen by the board of the

Chartered Professional Accountants.

Historically, accountants of different designations

typically performed markedly different types of work.

Today, that is no longer the case and, as such, individuals with

different accounting designations are often performing similar duties.

By combining the three existing accounting designations into one, under a

single new governing act, we will ensure that all accountants are subject to the

same educational requirements and licensing processes, as well as the same codes

of conduct, enforcement, and disciplinary processes.

All other Canadian provinces are participating in this

merger to form the national organization and most have already completed or are

in the process of completing this merger within their own jurisdictions.

Mr. Speaker, by joining the move across Canada with respect to merging

accounting professions, regulatory consistency across the provinces will also

make things easier for accountants in this Province who wish to expand their

practice into other provinces.

Before I conclude, I want to acknowledge and thank

those individuals who have been instrumental in advancing this merger here in

Newfoundland and Labrador. That

includes all members of the Chartered Professional Accountants Transitional

Steering Committee and, in particular, Mr. Jason Hillyard who has played a key

co-ordinating role between accountants and government.

Their work must be noted, and I commend them for their dedication and

diligence.

From time to time, as Minister of Service Newfoundland

and Labrador, I am invited to a number of their functions and graduations.

I look forward to being able to address this merger at the next

invitation I receive.

I move that the new Chartered Professional Accountants

and Public Accountants Act be introduced for the benefit of accountants in

Newfoundland and Labrador and to keep our Province's accounting sector in line

with what is being done across the rest of Canada.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Virginia Waters.

C. BENNETT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in the House today to speak to the bill the

minister just spoke to, Bill 27,

An Act Respecting Chartered Professional

Accountants and Public Accountants.

On this side of the House, certainly for the Official Opposition, this is a bill

we will be voting to support. I am

surprised, though, when I went to the briefing this morning, that this piece of

legislation has taken as long as it has.

If I could take a couple of minutes of the House and

the hon. members' time today to go back in history as to why this particular

change is happening, many of us will remember back in 2001 the infamous Enron

scandal and ultimately what ended up happening with Arthur Andersen, which was

the fifth largest audit and accountancy partnership at the time.

Enron's collapse and the subsequent collapse of Arthur

Andersen not only created severe losses for shareholders, but in particular for

pension programs around the world, more importantly, for pensioners, investors

and, quite frankly, average folks who had worked very hard to create a nest egg

and invest it. When Enron collapsed

and the industry stood back and took a look at what needed to happen, raising

accounting standards throughout the world was something many organizations, and

particular governments, took the initiative to do.

This House would certainly be very familiar with

legislation in the US called Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002, where it was referred to

at the time Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act.

The bill, which was approved and passed in 2002, contains eleven

sections, each of which was enacted as a reaction to a number of major corporate

and accounting scandals, including not only Enron but also WorldCom.

Sections of the bill cover responsibilities of public

corporations' boards of directors, add criminal penalties for certain

misconduct, and require the Securities and Exchange Commission to create

regulations to define how public corporations are to comply with the law.

I mentioned I was surprised in the briefing, and the

reason I was surprised in the briefing is that government's own Crown

Corporation, Nalcor Energy, adopted the practices and accounting policies under

Sarbanes-Oxley as part of its accounting processes several years ago.

The destination that the legislation is going to get us

to today with the merging of the CMA, CGA, and CA professions was lobbied

government was lobbied to make those changes, and it was done so because

accounting standards needed to rise, not only in the United States as it relates

to publically- and globally-traded companies but right here in our own Province

with companies just like Nalcor Energy and other large companies like Fortis.

Many of these companies proactively took the

responsibility to go ahead and follow the rules that were established by the

Sarbanes-Oxley Act. They included

things like the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, things like auditor

independence.

The act in the US consists of nine sections and

establishes standards for external auditor independence to limit conflicts of

interest. It also addresses new

auditor approval requirements, audit partner rotation, auditor reporting

requirements, and it restricts auditing companies from providing non-audited

services for the same client.

One of

the reasons this is important is oftentimes audit companies can become very

familiar with the management of a particular company.

The reason you rotate the auditing companies is to make sure there is a

fresh set of eyes on the practices and processes that are followed by that

company, so ultimately the shareholders of that organization are protected.

The

largest publicly traded companies have adopted the best practices.

The organizations that represent the professionals under the CMA, the

CGA, and the CA categories have been advocating for this legislation for many

years. It is a natural progression

of what we saw in the US when Enron, WorldCom, Arthur Andresen, and the other

scandals ripped money out of the pockets of poor, hard-working folks because of

corporate greed. These are all parts

of the accounting improvements that needed to happen.

Some

other components of this legislation included corporate responsibility, which

mandated that senior executives take individual accountability for accuracy and

completeness of corporate financial reports.

No longer was it good enough for company CEOs and company CFOs to defer

to or deflect to accounting systems and accounting companies, they also were

personally liable. It also spoke to

enhanced financial disclosures, describing enhanced reporting requirements for

financial transactions, including those important off-balance-sheet

transactions. Pro forma figures and

stock transactions of corporate officers as well were included.

Another

part of the legislation was the analysts' conflicts of interest which clearly

identified organizations' behaviour when they were participating in audits of

large companies, particularly companies that had public stock.

Commission resources and authorities, there are four sections of the act

that refer to the SEC's authority.

There were a number of sections of the act that also referred to studies and

reports, as well as corporate, criminal, and fraud accountability.

describes specifically criminal penalties for manipulation, destruction or

alteration of financial records, and other interference with investigations,

while providing certain protection for whistleblowers.

This was legislation that the US undertook in 2002 and, subsequently,

practices that were then followed by many jurisdictions.

The changes in Canada are happening, as the minister indicated, at the

request of the professional associations.

It is

government's responsibility to act quickly, efficiently, and decisively when

there is a chance the population is at risk, and certainly the amalgamation of

these three organizations provides an opportunity for a higher standard of

professionalism in the industry of accounting.

The Canadian Public Accounting Organization has indicated there are a

number of things they are trying to achieve in promoting this type of

amalgamation happening in all the jurisdictions across Canada.

What

they are suggesting is that professionals in the accounting industry are

securing their rights to the global designation of choice and the industry is

going to be aligning with the most recognized global accounting designation,

which would best protect long-term value.

Mutual recognition agreements will be maintained and expanded to include

the world's most prominent bodies, providing maximum global mobility.

Common

regulatory processes will also be a by-product of this amalgamation.

It will enhance the trust and confidence in the profession among

employers and the public and provide enhanced mobility for members, allowing

them to transition from one jurisdiction to the other with ease.

There

will be a new common certification program reflected of the best-in-class

standards in accounting. There will

be a single set of high ethical and practice standards.

There will be a common code of conduct, a common code of practice

inspection, and a common code of discipline processes.

Efficiencies and economies of scale will also be achieved.

Unification reduces the number of governing bodies in Canada from forty

to fourteen, significantly simplifying operations in governance and reducing

marketplace confusion.

Marketing spending to support the interests of all the CPA members will be more

efficient and gains from increased efficiencies can be reinvested into enhanced

members' services, such as post-designation specialty programs and professional

development, which is so important in an industry that is fraught with change,

particularly change that happens as a result of innovation and technology

processes and systems.

It will

also allow the national organization to create new products that enhance the

members' practices and career goals, and develop communities of interest and

networking opportunities so professionals in the industry can share best

practices and also share the stories they have learned from the mistakes of the

past when accounting happened in a way that did not protect the all-important

shareholders.

It also

will provide for a more unified voice; a larger cohesive voice representing

about 190,000 members will more effectively represent members' interests for

domestic policy, legislation, and regulatory issues.

It is an industry of professionals that must lobby governments throughout

Canada and globally to ensure the best practices in the accounting system are

enacted, so transactions in public companies, transactions in government,

transactions in private companies, are handled in a way that is ethical, above

board, and in the best interests of shareholders.

It will

provide for a stronger and more effective way of dealing with global alliances

and other international designations.

It will also ensure the standards in Canada, and the bar for accounting

services, are raised.

As I

mentioned earlier when we had the briefing this morning, which, I have to be

honest, Mr. Speaker, as a new member to the House of Assembly not having

celebrated my first year, it really does surprise me how amazingly ill-prepared

government feels it is to have the Opposition members not briefed well in

advance of a legislative agenda that is as light and as weak as we have seen

this week. It has certainly not been

something I had expected and been a surprise and a disappointment, but I

digress.

The

bill, as the minister referred to, is going to require a merger of three

organizations. It is something that

has been completed in other jurisdictions.

I believe there are three jurisdictions that have already completed it.

We have a population of 500,000 people, one of the smallest populated

provinces in Canada. The industry,

in my understanding, has expected this legislation to be on the Order Paper back

in the spring of this year, but it failed to be able to get there.

I think when the industry is looking for a better, more comprehensive way

to be managed so they can raise the bar of performance and government is slow to

do that, that is something that is a worry for all taxpayers.

Also, as

I mentioned earlier, many of the accounting practices that are considered best

in class, and ones that have been about raising the bar of performance, have

been adopted in many corporations that are looking to set the bar high.

Whether it is Fortis or other publicly-traded companies, or the

government's own Crown corporation of Nalcor, it is not as if the importance of

raising accounting practices and standards was not known to government or not

known to the bureaucracy. It

certainly would have been.

Nobody

can argue with the fact that in 2001, when the logo of Enron appeared on many of

our TVs and we saw people protesting in the streets, people crying about their

pension programs, people crying about the amount of money they lost because

corporate greed and inappropriate processes took over, nobody can misunderstand

that this is what took us to today and the need to change this act.

The

reason the act is being changed and I will clarify for the minister who,

obviously, is having some difficulty understanding what I am saying.

The reason the act has to be changed is that those three designations

need to come together to raise the level of accounting process so they can be

more globally accountable and follow more standards that are more important.

To make sure that, in the end, shareholders of publicly traded companies

are protected.

With

that said, I thank the Speaker for the time to speak to the bill.

As I said earlier, we will certainly be standing in support of this

change, and I thank hon. members for listening.

MR. SPEAKER (Littlejohn):

The hon. the

Member for Baie Verte Springdale.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. POLLARD:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is

certainly a pleasure to stand in this House of Assembly this afternoon.

It is good to be back and to see all of my colleagues, and everybody is

ready to go and have their game face on.

First of

all, I simply want to say a great big thank you to the people of the District of

Baie Verte Springdale for their previous and ongoing support.

It is certainly an honour and a privilege to serve the people of the

region and the Province, to stand in this House and engage in dialogue day-in

and day-out. On behalf of the

District of Baie Verte Springdale, it is an honour and a privilege.

We all

take our jobs very seriously, Mr. Speaker.

It is very humbling to be in this House.

No matter if we are here ten years, two years, two months or one day, it

is always a humbling experience, Mr. Speaker.

I am

pleased to speak to Bill 27. The

title is

An Act Respecting Chartered Professional Accountants and Public

Accountants. Before I go into it,

Mr. Speaker, I just want to thank the Service NL department officials and

minister's officials for their briefing yesterday.

It was comprehensive and thorough.

I really appreciate them taking the time out to brief us.

Mr.

Speaker, I will refer to page 2. The

bill has fifty-two pages. The

language is very tedious and a lot of technical terms.

So do not get scared, Mr. Speaker; I am not going to read fifty-two

pages. I think I would lose

everybody this afternoon if I did that.

I will simply read the explanatory notes on page 2.

This is

exactly what it says. This is very

succinct; it serves as a synopsis of what the bill will do.

It says, This Bill would enact the Chartered Professional Accountants

and Public Accountants Act and repeal the Certified General Accountants Act,

2008, Certified Management Accountants Act, Chartered Accountants Act, 2008 and

Public Accountants Act.

The bill

would do three things, Mr. Speaker.

In other words, number one, it would merge the professions of Certified General

Accountant, CGA as we know it, Certified Management Accountant, CMA, and

Chartered Accountant, CA, into the profession of Chartered Professional

Accountant, CPA; two, it would retain the Public Accountant designation, known

as the LPA; and number three, it would provide for the governance, membership,

and discipline of Chartered Professional Accountants and Public Accountants.

Mr.

Speaker, as was pointed out earlier, in Newfoundland and Labrador, historically,

we have always had three separate professional accounting designations.

Someone mentioned earlier they were Chartered Accountants, CAs, Certified

Management Accountants, CMAs, and the Certified General Accountants, CGAs.

At one

time, Mr. Speaker, they did different types of work, but today that is not

really so. They are all basically

doing the same kind of work. Their

duties are very similar in nature, so having three separate designations for the

same type of work, Mr. Speaker, was rather cumbersome, disjointed, or

convoluted. So upon the strong

support and the request of industry players, or the three existing accounting

organizations, to my understanding in this Province, our government explored the

idea of consolidation, or we call merging, whatever, or combining the three

existing designations into just one, known as the CPA.

Of course, this would have to be done under a new governing act.

Mr.

Speaker, when you think of it, this makes a lot of sense, because all other

Canadian provinces are participating in this merger, from my understanding.

Basically, this is just a me-too type of legislation.

There is nothing sinister that we are doing here, Mr. Speaker.

We are just lining ourselves up with the rest of Canada so there could be

more uniformity for the industry.

Mr.

Speaker, by joining the move across Canada with respect to merging accounting

professions, well, there are some advantages to doing this.

What are they? Well,

regulatory consistency across the provinces will make things easier for the

accountants in our Province who wish to grow their business or expand their

business into other provinces; they could find it quite easy to do so.

Also,

with this harmonization or uniformity, the larger firms may choose to move their

employees into the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, that will be another advantage.

In addition to that, it would also provide greater opportunities to

attract highly skilled individuals to our Province, Newfoundland and Labrador,

if they wish to expand their business or grow their business.

Again,

it makes a lot of sense to combine the three existing accounting designations,

such as the CA, CMA, CGA, into just one and that will be known as the CPA.

It ensures all accountants are subject to the same educational

requirements and licensing processes, as well as the same code of conduct, the

same enforcement and disciplinary processes.

What we

are trying to do, in essence, Mr. Speaker, is the new legislation will align

Newfoundland and Labrador accountants with the rest of the country by creating

one new accounting organization known as the Chartered Professional Accountants

of Newfoundland and Labrador, CPA.

This provincial body will be representative of the newly created national body,

called the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada.

Mr.

Speaker, this new act will replace the four existing acts that govern

Newfoundland and Labrador accountants, and as such the creation of this new

legislation will require all four existing acts to be repealed, hence

facilitating the merger of this profession in this Province.

Before I

clue up, one more point about Bill 27 is this, Mr. Speaker.

The new Chartered Professional Accountant's designation, CPA, there is

also the Licensed Public Accountant designation known as the LPA, Licensed

Public Accountants. They must first

be certified as a CPA before applying to the board to become a Licensed Public

Accountant. I thought that would be

nice to know, Mr. Speaker. There

will still be separate educational and licensing requirements for Licensed

Public Accountants, or the LPAs.

That

concludes my remarks on Bill 27 for today.

Mr. Speaker, I exhort everybody in this House and I would expect

everybody in this House to support this bill.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's East.

MR. MURPHY:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I take

pleasure in rising in the House of Assembly today to speak to Bill 27, the

Chartered Professional Accountants and Public Accountants Act.

I have to, first of all, thank the staff at Service NL for what I would

call an excellent briefing except for one thing I could not get there myself

but on behalf of the staff. The

staff told me it was a great briefing that they had.

There was a lot of information that was exchanged.

I know

this is not one of these bills that are going to end up with any life-changing

events for some of the people in this House of Assembly.

It is a necessary part of the process when you find that an industry out

there is modernizing, getting with the times, and conforming to the standards

that have been set in other provinces or in other countries sometimes.

Sometimes it does not sound like it is anything significant.

If you are a chartered accountant, or if you are a CPA, or if you are

falling under one of these designations, this is very important for those people

working in the industry, and that there is some sort of uniformity that is going

to be happening.

As the

Member for Baie Verte Springdale said, for example, and in my own initial

research on this, I did find out that there are actually four acts that are

affected and they are rolled into one.

I would expect government would be making an announcement soon that this

is part of a very effective government Red Tape Reduction strategy measure they

have taken here. No doubt they will

take credit for it in the future. I

see that the Member for Port au Port, the Minister of Service NL, is agreeing

with me on that one.

It is

one of these things that have to happen because of the modernization of the

times. It was a necessity.

It was eventually going to happen in this Province anyway.

Again, I thank the staff at Service Newfoundland and Labrador for the

briefing on the part of my staff. I

also thank my own staff as well for the research they have done.

They gave me some excellent background besides the stuff that I was

doing.

researcher also found out along the way that the country of Bermuda and this

was a real surprise; it might be a surprise to everybody else in the House, too

is also a part of the Canadian chartered professional association.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bermuda has been affiliated

with the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants for almost forty years and

is considered a provincial institute of the CICA.

Mr.

Speaker, it surprises me, no doubt.

I think every member of this House would probably know of an accountant who

might be living in Bermuda. I know

we have run into one or two ourselves along the way who have been back up here

for vacation and they tell us that they are doing chartered accountancy work in

Bermuda. It is a great place to be

figuring out numbers. Perhaps we

will have a session of the House down there one of these days where we can

figure out the provincial Budget.

The

former titles of these various professionals have been merged into the one title

now under this piece of legislation.

The changes we have seen in this country, when it comes to the chartered

accountancy profession, Mr. Speaker I had no idea that there are about 190,000

people in this country who are actually working in the profession.

That was a bit of a surprise to me when it came to that.

We are

talking about changes to the legislation and getting with it with the other

provinces, for example, what is happening in the rest of the country.

It is already the case in Ontario, Saskatchewan, Quebec, and New

Brunswick that this process has already happened within their own jurisdictions.

It is a hope that the new combined Canadian accounting profession, built

on the strengths of the three legacy designations, Chartered Accountant,

Certified Management Accountant, and Certified General Accountant, will be

better positioned to represent their own interests in Canada and abroad.

As we

have already heard, there are many times in our history where we have noted

abuses of the system. Hopefully this

will result in better policing overall of the profession as well.

Unification will also enhance the influence, relevance, and contribution

to the Canadian accounting profession.

No doubt, it is going to raise it another bar and everybody is going to

be well served by this.

All

forty of the accounting bodies, 190,000 members in Canada right now, have now

either unified or are participating in discussions to unite under the CPA

banner. Jobs evolve.

We see changes in various professions.

For example, in health care we see the changes in the designations when

it comes to PCA, LPN, nurse, that sort of thing.

This is all changing with the times.

Here in

Newfoundland and Labrador, any decision to unify the profession requires

consultation and engagement with many stakeholders.

We can appreciate that. This

has been done with the three professions.

They have approved the merger proposal which has led to the legislation

that we are looking at here today.

They

wanted to see changes in their future industry.

We are agreeable to that. We

will be supporting this legislation.

Of course, government are the people responsible for having to come forward with

this legislation in the first place.

They are representatives of the people and we would vote for this particular

legislation in this particular case.

It is

consistent with the unification framework that we have seen in other provinces

that have already done this, Mr. Speaker.

We will be supporting this piece of legislation.

We also want to wish the chartered accountancy profession good luck in

their future deliberations.

Myself

and the Member for Signal Hill Quidi Vidi, where she represents finance in our

caucus, had a great debate ourselves over who was going to be doing this

particular piece of legislation.

Even though I ended up with a sore arm out of it, she really twisted my arm to

try to get to do it herself. Mr.

Speaker, in the end I won out.

Hopefully chartered accountants will be winning out when this legislation gets

passed.

We wish

them all the best. We will be voting

yes to this particular piece.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Bonavista South.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. LITTLE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Once

again I would like to thank the constituents of the District of Bonavista South

for the continued support in allowing me to represent them in the House of

Assembly.

Mr.

Speaker, I listened attentively to the previous speakers: the Member for Port au

Port, the Minister Responsible for Service Newfoundland and Labrador, the member

opposite, the member representing Virginia Waters, the member on this side of

the House from Baie Verte Springdale, and the previous speaker, the Member for

St. John's East. I got the sense and

understanding that we are on the same wavelength on this particular piece of

legislation. That is very positive

when a piece of legislation like this is introduced into the House of Assembly

for passing.

Mr.

Speaker, over the years accountants of different designations typically perform

different types of work. Today, that

is no longer the case. As such,

individuals with different accounting designations are often performing similar

duties.

Bill 27,

this particular piece of legislation, will support the request of chartered

professional accountants. Combining

the three existing accounting designations into one under a single new governing

act will ensure that all accountants are subject to the same educational

requirements and licensing processes, as well as the same codes of conduct,

enforcement, and disciplinary processes.

Mr.

Speaker, all other Canadian provinces are participating in this particular

merger and have already completed this merger within their own jurisdictions, or

are actually in the process of doing so.

With this important merger, larger firms may also chose to move their

employees to Newfoundland and Labrador for work.

This piece of legislation will provide greater opportunities to attract

highly skilled individuals to this Province if they wish to expand their

practices. We are talking Chartered

Accountants, Certified Management Accounts, and Certified General Accountants

right across the country.

Mr.

Speaker, this new piece of legislation, and the merging of the accounting

professions, is consistent with what is being carried out in all other

provinces, like I said. The merger

is strongly supported by all three existing accounting organizations in this

Province. This is a very positive

piece of legislation, Mr. Speaker.

The new

legislation changes are required to facilitate the merger in this Province.

A new governing act has been created and, for the most part, resembles

the current acts governing CAs, CMAs, and CGAs.

Mr.

Speaker, due to the fact that the previous speakers are in line with this

particular piece of legislation, at this present time I would like to thank the

officials of Service Newfoundland and Labrador for their briefing to all of our

MHAs on Bill 27. I will certainly

support this piece of legislation that will improve the Province's accounting

professional sector.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount

Pearl South.

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is

certainly a pleasure to stand and speak to this piece of legislation.

Of course, we are speaking to Bill 27,

An Act Respecting Chartered

Professional Accountants and Public Accountants.

I do not want to belabour it because I think much of the points that need

to be made have been made by my colleagues on this side of the House, the other

side of the House, the government side, and certainly the Third Party.

If you

look through it, it seems like there is quite a bit there.

The actual piece of legislation itself is fifty-three pages long.

So, it is fairly extensive.

To put it in a nutshell, as has been said, really what we are doing here is we

are taking what there used to be three accounting designations, of course.

There were Chartered Accountants, Certified Management Accountants, and

the CGAs, Certified General Accounts.

We are merging them into one designation, the Chartered Professional

Accountants, and we are retaining the public accountant role.

All this legislation allows that to happen.

It also provides legislation around those two entities.

Primarily, the biggest change is the merger of the CGAs, the CMAs, and

the CAs. They will all be known now

as CPAs.

Mr.

Speaker, I think it is fair to say that we have support on all sides of the

House for this. The big thing for me

is the fact that we have the three designations: CGAs, CMAs, and CAs.

Each of their respective groups and representatives has come together and

they have endorsed this. They are

the experts in that particular field.

I am

sure, though, that there will be people, no doubt, individuals perhaps in all

those groups for various reasons who may not necessarily agree with this

particular move. I had one

representation from a gentleman who, in fact, did disagree with this particular

move. He had his reasons and I

respect those reasons.

He had

concerns over the fact that we would now have one organization that would

basically, in the terms he used, take him from the cradle to the grave.

Right from the point of which somebody now decides they want to be an

accountant, there is only one program they can choose as opposed to three

programs. Then once you become an

accountant, you are basically governed by one body instead of the three separate

bodies. You can be disciplined by

that one body. In his view, he felt

we were creating somewhat of a monopoly, was the terminology he used, and he did

have some concerns about that.

At the

end of the day, what I see here are three professional groups coming together.

They are going to be the highest common denominator in terms of training

and in terms of education. There

were three organizations and perhaps three different degrees of training and

degrees of expertise. At one point

in time, I believe you could not do an audit at all unless you were a CA.

You had to be a CA in order to even do an audit.

Then back around ten or twelve years ago or something there was a piece

of legislation that was passed that allowed CGAs and CMAs to also be licensed to

actually do audits as well.

So, that

was a big change at that point in time, and I am sure I can remember somebody I

knew at that point in time back then who were saying that was a CA, and they

were not necessarily happy about that change because they felt it was kind of

watering down their profession or what they considered, I guess, a higher

designation. I am sure with any

change there will be some people in all groups who would have reservations.

There is

no doubt there has been some competition between the three groups over the

years, but they have gotten beyond that.

They have all agreed to come together to form this one designation, this

one designation that would also be responsible for the education and training,

would be responsible for governance, would be responsible for discipline and

licensing or removing of licences, if deemed necessary.

It is going to bring everybody up to the higher standard, as I

understand, in terms of training and so on.

Individuals who currently have a CA, a CMA, or a CGA designation certainly for

the next ten years, have the opportunity to be considered a CPA, CA; CPA, CMA;

or a CPA, CGA. So, in other words,

they can keep both sets of credentials, both names, if they so choose.

Certainly with the new graduates of the CPA program in the future, come 2015, I

guess everybody will now be considered a CPA; there will be only one

designation. That will be the only

designation those new people would have.

At the

end of the day when you think about the work accountants do, the work they do in

terms of auditing, the work they do in terms of managing because a lot of

people who are managers and CEOs and so on have this designation, managing the

finances of sometimes smaller organizations, sometimes larger organizations,

sometimes being contracted out to do that type of work for organizations, to do

financial analysis.

When you

look at that perspective and the impact all these businesses and so on have on

our economy, on business, which leads to the creation of jobs and wealth and all

that stuff, it is important that this work is done professionally, done

properly. Not to suggest in any way

that some of these designations did not do it in the past, but the fact that we

can bring everybody together and agree this is a higher standard which will

protect business and ultimately protect people, the public, and everything else,

because we have seen some