March

25, 2010 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS Vol.

XLVI No. 4

The House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Fitzgerald): Order, please!

Admit strangers.

Today the Chair would like to welcome eleven Level III students from the

Mealy Mountain Collegiate in the District of Lake Melville. The students are

accompanied today by their Principal, Mr. Gary Barrett, and Chaperone Kelly

Barrett.

Welcome to the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

Statements by Members

MR. SPEAKER: The Chair will also hear the following members' statements:

the Member for the District of Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi; the hon. Member for the

District of Bay Islands; the hon. Member for the District of the Straits & White

Bay North; the hon. Member for the District of Terra Nova; the Member for the

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

John's West.

The hon. the Member for the District of Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

It gives me great pleasure today to stand in the House and recognize the

power of community spirit in my District of Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.

This winter, two fierce storm surges damaged much of the Outer Battery's

heritage fishing structures, including retired fishermen Jack Wells' wharf and

twine store. In the face of this destruction, a number of residents have begun

to organize an Outer Batter Residents Association to begin the job of rebuilding

the heritage structures damaged in the wake of the storm.

At their first meeting, these people unanimously agreed their first job was

to start raising funds to repair Wells' twine store, which has been the heart

and soul of that community for over sixty years, as well as a popular St. John's

tourist attraction. Jack Wells himself was married in the twine store over fifty

years ago.

Mr. Speaker, a documentary by Battery Radio commissioned by Irish public

radio on Wells' twine store can be heard this weekend on CBC's, The Performance

Hour, Saturday and Sunday. Mr. Speaker, community spirit runs deep in all parts

of our Province, and is alive and well in my district.

I ask all members to join with me in applauding residents Ches and Flo

Sweetapple, Angela Drake, and others who are working hard to preserve the last

examples in the St. John's metro region of a way of life that sustained this

place for 500 years, a heritage all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians share with

the people of Outer Battery.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. LODER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today to recognize Mr. Frank Bartlett

Senior on the occasion of his ninetieth birthday today, March 25.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Bartlett was born in Curling to the late Charles and Laura

Bartlett and is married to Mable nee Chaulk and they are the parents of five

children: Joyce, Bob, Frank Jr., Terry and Kathy. Mr. Bartlett was self-employed

most of his life.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Bartlett lives on a very historical piece of property.

During the First World War there were five Germans captured in the Bay of

Islands and during the time of captivity these POWs built a rock wall around his

property measuring four feet wide, four feet high and 700 feet long. Mr.

Speaker, this 700 foot rock wall remains today and we would like to thank Mr.

Bartlett for maintaining the wall and keeping history alive.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all hon. members here today to wish Mr. Bartlett a happy

ninetieth birthday and many more years of good health.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Terra Nova.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

On January 4, 2010, the Province lost a tremendous individual, World War II

veteran Mathew T. Brown.

Mr. Brown, a resident of Gambo, was born on April 2, 1923 and was only

seventeen years of age when he enlisted in the Navy. In 1940, shortly after

joining the ranks, he was sent to the European battlefront. While overseas, the

most notable of Mr. Brown's experiences occurred when his ship was torpedoed off

the coast of Italy; 102 soldiers were killed in that attack. Luckily, Mr. Brown

survived. However, he was left stranded in the Mediterranean Sea for twenty-four

hours before being picked up by Italian forces. He would spend three more months

in Italy as a POW before being moved to Poland where he worked in a forced

labour camp for another year and a half.

While in prison, Mr. Brown, along with many of his comrades, were faced with

taking

part in what was referred to as a death March in November of 1944. This

saw prisoners forced to walk from Poland, across Germany and Czechoslovakia into

Austria. Mr. Brown recounted how during this trek so many of his friends

perished due to exposure and starvation. Shortly after arriving in Austria the

war ended and he and his fellow allies were liberated, allowing Mr. Brown to

return home to Newfoundland.

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Brown in November of last year. It was

unfortunately the only time we had an opportunity to speak, as he passed away on

January 4 of this year. I attended Mr. Brown's funeral and bid farewell to a

real life hero. His memories will live on through the people who knew him and

his story, a story that must never be forgotten.

I ask all members of this hon. House to join with me in recognizing this

gentleman's remarkable life.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

Clair.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to congratulate the St. Mary's All Grade basketball team from

the Community of Mary's Harbour on their terrific results at the recent

provincial basketball championships held here in St. John's.

Mr. Speaker, this past weekend, Hoopla 2010 was held to feature top

basketball teams in various rankings from across the Province. I had the

opportunity to attend some of the games and to be a part of the medal

presentations, and I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, there were some great athletes

amongst these students.

The St. Mary's Wolves girls' team won the championship for the Small School

Division after an exciting playoff against St. Joseph's All Grade from

Terrenceville who took home the silver medal. The winning players on the team

from my district, Mr. Speaker, were: Tamara Pye, Lissa Rumbolt, Irene Simms,

Kelly Russell, Carla Rumbolt, Stephanie Sooley, Alexandra Pye, Leslie Rumbolt,

Cassandra Pye, Sara Lee Campbell and their Coach Todd Farrell. I extend them

congratulations.

Mr. Speaker, I also want to acknowledge the St. Mary's Wolves boys team who

won the silver medal in the Small School Division and put forth a terrific

effort in a play against a very strong team from Valmont Academy in King's

Point. It was a wonderful game to watch, Mr. Speaker, and I congratulate both

teams, and as part of the Mary's Harbour boys team I want to extend

congratulations to: Matthew Rumbolt, DJ Rumbolt, Colin Rumbolt, Taylor Farrell,

Owen Randell, Courtney Pye, Kevin Farrell, Kenny Snook, Andrew Cumby, Cody Ryan,

Morgan Snook, Shane Ryan and Daniel Johnson.

I ask members of the House to join me in congratulating all four of these

teams for their outstanding performance in high school sports within the

Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of St. John's West.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS S. OSBORNE: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the life and

work of one of the most accomplished, generous, and remarkable women of

Newfoundland and Labrador who passed away on March 23 at the age of 86.

Kathrine Elizabeth Bellamy was born in Bay Roberts and after completing her

early education, entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy of

Newfoundland. Soon afterwards she was assigned to Our Lady of Mercy School, St.

John's, where she began her lifelong vocation as a music teacher. During the

course of her life as a teacher, she worked principally with the school choirs.

Under her direction, Our Lady of Mercy Glee Club received numerous awards, and

it was the first Newfoundland choir to win the Mathieson trophy for the best

junior choir in Canada.

Sister Kathrine set the standard for musical excellence in our Province, and

she trained and taught a generation of the brightest and best of our musicians,

including Dr. Susan Knight, Susan Quinn, and Marie Piccinini, the world-renowned

flautist. In over sixty years as a music teacher, never did she turn a student

away regardless of their religious denomination, economic or social background.

She taught them all.

In 1973, at the University of Wisconsin, Sister Kathrine became the first

Newfoundland and Labrador woman to earn a Doctorate in Musicology. As one of the

Province's most respected musicians, she advised MUN President Moses Morgan on

the establishment of the Music School, and in the early 1970s she succeeded the

noted composer Rainer Rees as organist and choirmaster at the Basilica of St.

John the Baptist.

She was the moving spirit and founder of the inter-denominational downtown

community kitchen known as The Gathering Place. In 2005, her scholarly history

of the Sisters of Mercy in Newfoundland and Labrador, Weavers of the Tapestry

was published, becoming a Canadian bestseller. In 2006, she became a Member of

the Order of Canada, and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws by Memorial

University, but her proudest moment was her induction that year into the Order

of Newfoundland and Labrador.

I ask my colleagues in this hon. House to join with me in extending

condolences to Sister Kathrine's family, as well as to the Sisters of Mercy,

particularly her colleague and dear friend, Sister Celine Veitch, as well as her

many friends and students.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Statements by Ministers.

Statements by Ministers

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this hon. House today to inform members present and the public of

an important initiative that is supported by the Department of Fisheries and

Aquaculture. That is the annual conference and trade show held by the

Newfoundland and Labrador Aquaculture Industry Association and the Aquaculture

Association of Canada.

Both of these associations have been instrumental in advancing the

aquaculture industry in Newfoundland and Labrador. Their annual conference has

been a key component of their strategy for facilitating networking opportunities

within the industry. To that end, my department was pleased to offer $50,000 to

support event planning and hosting of this year's conference.

In 2009, the Newfoundland and Labrador aquaculture industry reached record

levels of production and market value. Production of aquaculture species rose to

13,625 tonnes, an increase of 18 per cent over 2008. The 2009 market value for

provincial aquaculture increased to $92 million, representing a rise of 45.9 per

cent over 2008. Truly, aquaculture has developed into a full industry in

Newfoundland and Labrador, supporting economic growth and development in coastal

areas of the Province. This has been due, in no small part, to the high level of

investment on the part of the Williams' government.

The theme of this year's conference will be Successful Partnerships for a

Sustainable Future. Mr. Speaker, this is a very appropriate theme because of the

collaborative efforts that have been made to facilitate the growth and the

development of our Province's aquaculture industry. These industry associations

have played a key role in making that happen. I am sure that the industry and

its stakeholders will continue to work together toward even greater goals in the

future.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to report that this year my department will be

co-hosting the joint Cold Harvest 2010 and Aquaculture 2010 annual meetings,

conference and trade show in St. John's from May 16 to May 19. It has been an

incredibly successful event in the past and we look forward with great

enthusiasm to this year's conference.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of The Straits & White

Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would like, first of all, to thank the minister for the advance copy of his

statement. Again, I would like to acknowledge the success of the aquaculture

industry recognizing that it is a growing industry and one that will be very

important to the Province as it goes forward. I am very pleased to see that it

is doing well in getting the support of government that it rightfully deserves.

Obviously, at the same time we are very concerned about the rest of the

industry. As we all know, with the percentage of the decline in the fishery in

2008-2009, I would encourage your department, yourself as minister of the

government, to continue to see this as an industry that needs major investment

and a lot of attention. I certainly would hope that as the MOU process continues

to unfold, that whatever direction it takes us, to see that the industry

improves and corrects itself, that we would take those initiatives.

Again, I thank you for your statement.

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

Vidi.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

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

This is good news that he has presented. It is good that government is

supporting the aquaculture industry, and I applaud the growth in that industry

and the support of the government. But, as my colleague from the Official

Opposition has said - and I know the minister knows this - that while

aquaculture is growing, it is only a small component of our fishery. We still

have our traditional fishery which is a major contributor to the economy of this

Province.

We know we have a crisis looming once again with the price of crab and we

have fishing people who are saying they are not going out on the water. So, I

encourage the minister to show both to those in the industry and to the

Province, even more strongly, that government is in there with those in the

traditional fishing industry, because it does not look like a good summer. We

knew this was coming and I know we have a process in place, but people are

starting to need to see action.

I encourage the minister, to the degree that he can, to get the process

moving and to see what action this government can be involved in putting in

place to ensure people that they are not going to be living in poverty more

poverty after this coming summer.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Further statements by ministers?

The hon. the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS POTTLE: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to inform hon. members of the fifth

annual two-day Aboriginal Women's Conference which took place this week in St.

John's. This year's theme: The Path to the Good Life Evolving Opportunities

for Aboriginal Women, focuses on the growing opportunities in our expanding

natural resources sector.

In a keynote address to the conference Tuesday evening, my Cabinet colleague,

the hon. Kathy Dunderdale, Minister of Natural Resources and Minister

Responsible for the Status of Women, pointed out how the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador , along

with the federal government, Nunatsiavut Government, the Innu Nation, the

Labrador Metis Nation, and Nalcor Energy, recently announced

a $30 million training initiative for Aboriginal women and men throughout

Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, by providing training opportunities and improving the labour

market for Aboriginal people we are not only increasing our skilled workforce,

we are helping to enrich and improve the lives of many families, which will in

turn improve the economic and social makeup of communities.

I was very pleased to have the opportunity to address the conference during a

breakfast gathering on Wednesday, where I was joined by my Cabinet colleague,

the hon. John Hickey, Minister of Labrador Affairs.

Mr. Speaker, these women always go out of their way to make me feel welcome,

like family. I pointed out that the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is a

proud supporter of Aboriginal women and continues to invest in areas that are

important to themselves and their communities.

As well, I had the great pleasure of taking

part in a tribute to the late

Flossie Oliver, an elder from Happy Valley-Goose Bay. She was known simply as

Aunt Flossie. She was indeed a strong force in her community. I understand she

provided much guidance to her family, her community and to other Aboriginal

women. It was a great honour to join her family, her daughter Jenny, and her son

Valance, who works in our Labrador Affairs office, and take

part in a moving

dedication to her. She will be a hard act to follow.

Mr. Speaker, Aboriginal women are the keepers of culture and traditions and

they are a great source of strength in their communities. Like all women, they

can be a profound force for positive social change. That is why the Government

of Newfoundland and Labrador is so pleased to lend its support to this

conference which provides an opportunity for Aboriginal women from all over the

Province to gather, exchange ideas and viewpoints, and give inspiration and

support to each other.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

I want to say, Mr. Speaker, how pleased I am that this conference around

Aboriginal women's issues in the Province continues and continues, from what I

understand, with tremendous involvement of women all across Newfoundland and

Labrador who live in Aboriginal regions.

Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge, of course, the involvement of Aboriginal

women in different sectors of our economy, but obviously in the oil and gas

sector, in the mineral and energy sectors where involvement has been evolving, I

guess, against tremendous odds as women and Aboriginal women. I look forward to

seeing more of that.

I also want to take the opportunity, Mr. Speaker, today to offer my best

wishes to the Aboriginal women of Natuashish, who are being faced with some very

difficult decisions in their communities, decisions that will affect them and

their children for a long time. This is a community where we have seen

tremendous progress because of the ban on alcoholism. I have listened to their

stories on the radio. I have talked with many of them on the phone. I have met

many of them in person. I know how important this issue is for them in being

able to protect their children, protect their community and those that they

love.

I want to use this opportunity to wish them well, Mr. Speaker, and ask all of

us to give our best wishes and our blessings upon this community as they move

forward with their vote and their deliberations.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

Vidi.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for the advance copy of her statement. I really regret -

and I sent my regrets - that I was not able to accept the invitation this year

to be at the dinner at the conference and to hear the keynote address. I have

enjoyed doing that in the past and this year it was impossible.

This conference is such an important event in the lives of the Aboriginal

people of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is a way in which we are increasing the

visibility and the voice of Aboriginal women in this Province.

Last weekend, when I was at the opening of the Winter Games in Grand

Falls-Windsor it was really significant that a major part of the entertainment

was the performance of the honour song by the Exploits native women's drumming

group. I could not help thinking ten, fifteen years ago in this Province that

would not be happening. So, we really are advancing as a Province in the

recognition of Aboriginal peoples in general, and particularly of the Aboriginal

women of this Province.

The annual conference is an important moment in strengthening the spirit of

collaboration that is growing among the Aboriginal women themselves. I think

that is what is really important too, that it is all of the Aboriginal people

together, all the Aboriginal women together.

I encourage the minister to continue the work that is being done with the

Aboriginal women.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Further statements by ministers?

The hon. the Minister of Labrador Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HICKEY: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, through the Northern Strategic Plan the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador work closely with the people of Labrador to improve

social and economic circumstances throughout this vast and diverse region.

Today, as Minister of Labrador Affairs, it is my pleasure to provide a progress

update on the NSP through the release of our mid-term report.

Mr. Speaker, this report chronicles a record of unprecedented investment in

Labrador since the launch of the plan in April of 2007. These investments are

helping to build the Trans-Labrador Highway, a hospital and a college campus in

Labrador West, and K-12 schools in Port Hope Simpson and L'Anse au Loup and

enhanced winter trail infrastructure for North Coast communities. They are

funding programs and services, including an energy rebate for isolated coastal

communities, an energy efficiency pilot project in Coastal Labrador, a pilot

project for year-round ferry service to the Island, a Medical Transportation

Assistance Program, the Labrador Travel Subsidy, and Cultural Travel Subsidy.

The NSP is a five-year progressive strategy aimed to improve the lives of

Labradorians through social and economic stimulus investments, including a

record investment of more than $135 million in the current fiscal year. This

mid-term report presents an important snapshot of the evolution of the NSP and

initiatives that will be spearheaded in the coming years.

Mr. Speaker, this report deals with accomplishments that have taken place up

until the fall of 2009. Since then, we have marked a number of additional

milestones; most notably, the historic opening of Phase III of the

Trans-Labrador Highway, connecting Labrador West through Lake Melville to

Southern Labrador, which will cost approximately $138 million when completed.

Other achievements include the opening of a francophone school in Happy

Valley-Goose Bay, the establishment of a boundary for the Mealy Mountain

National Park Reserve, and the initialling of formal documents for the New Dawn

Agreement reached between the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and the

Innu Nation.

Mr. Speaker, groups and individuals across Labrador continue to help shape

the Northern Strategic Plan. In April, a series of meetings in communities

throughout Labrador are planned to provide updates on the NSP.

Mr. Speaker, we will be making published copies of the NSP mid-term report

available to the public in the coming weeks. In the meantime, I invite people to

view our report on-line at the Department of Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs Web

site.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for a copy of his statement today. However, Mr. Speaker,

I already had it from April 29, 2009. With the exception of a couple of words,

it is almost nearly the same statement.

Mr. Speaker, the Northern Strategic Plan for Labrador

should really be geared towards progressive lifestyles for

the people of Labrador itself. I would like to know from the Minister of

Labrador Affairs when they are going to start tackling the

issues regarding high-speed access to Internet services for the eleven

communities in Labrador that have no access; when they

are going to look at things like cell phone coverage on a highway system, one of

the most treacherous highway systems in this Province today, where people are

driving hundreds of kilometres with no stops in between, Mr. Speaker. Maybe he

could tell us what they are going to do to bring down the commercial energy

rates on the North and South Coast of Labrador so that

these people can be competitive in a Labrador

environment. These are the kinds of things that people want to see under the

Northern Strategic Plan and the efforts of the government under Labrador and

Aboriginal Affairs.

Mr. Speaker, maybe he could tell us if they are going to pave the only piece

of highway -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS JONES: - to the only tourism attraction the Province has in Labrador,

which is in L'Anse Amour, where buses are refusing to go to the only provincial

tourism site you own because the road is so bad. Maybe that is the kind of

initiatives that the minister needs to start looking at as part of the strategic

plan instead of continuing to put out statements on schools and buildings that

he has been doing for the last six years since they got in government, Mr.

Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Member for the District of Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Throne Speech made much about the developing of

Labrador and that government was going to release the mid

report of the Northern Strategic Plan and today we have it, and I am glad of

that. The report tells us what the government has done, but what it does not

tell us is what the people of Labrador think about

what must be done.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Labrador Affairs could not take time to attend

the Combined Councils of Labrador, in Labrador West this past February, to

listen to the leaders, the elected leaders of the municipalities and what they

had to say about the needs of their communities. We now have, Mr. Speaker, in

our hands a copy of the resolutions from the Combined Councils AGM. I know the

minister has them; we were all cc'd on the bottom. I hope that the minister is

going to get the time now to listen to the Combined Councils by reading their

resolutions and responding to them.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Further statements by ministers?

Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the government today made an announcement around air ambulance

services in the Province. I have a copy of the report here, which, Mr. Speaker,

I feel is a very simplistic report to a very complex and critical problem that

exists in air ambulance services in Newfoundland and Labrador. In fact, Mr.

Speaker, if you look at the decision that was made today you would think that

government completely missed the boat in filling the gaps in air ambulance

services throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the minister today, because looking through the report in

the sketchy information that is there, it is telling us immediately that 63 per

cent of the medevacs being provided in this Province will now not be serviced

with the change in location. We were asking, Minister, for your government to

fix this problem by adding a third air medevac aircraft. Why have you chosen to

just shift an aircraft and not fix the gaps in the system?

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

A decision like this is never easy. We are aware of the effect on people in

the St. Anthony area and we are aware of the consequences, Mr. Speaker, of

making decisions, but decisions have to be made. We have to make strategic

investments and we have to utilize the money that we have to achieve the best

possible results.

Mr. Speaker, this is the same Leader of the Opposition who, on December 15,

presented a petition of 3,000 people from the Labrador region asking to have an

air ambulance service in Labrador. We have now provided the air ambulance

service in Labrador. We have invested $8 million in a new plane to replace the

old plane in St. John's, and we are putting a second medical flight services

team in Labrador. I thought she would have been happy today, but I guess I was

right yesterday when I said she would not like the decision.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will continue to raise issues on gaps in services in this Province, whether

they be in Labrador or whether they be created by your government somewhere else

in the Province.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the minister today, because addressing the critical gap of

air ambulance services in Labrador is very important and needed to be done, but

I ask you minister: Why you choose to do it at the peril of other patients in

this Province who need air ambulance services and not invest the money to ensure

the proper resources were there?

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As I indicated yesterday, on November 27 I met with the councils in the

Labrador region. I met with the two families who were very severely affected by

what they described as the failure of the air ambulance system. Mr. Speaker,

having regard to that human toil and having regard to the issues raised, on

December 14 I indicated that we would have a review conducted. On December 15,

the petition was presented from the people of Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, I indicated at that point in time that we would hire a

consultation with a view to taking the politics out of it. The consultant's

reasons, Mr. Speaker, for suggesting the move were quite simple. One is that the

population of the Labrador region is approximately 26,000 people, the population

of St. Anthony is 2,450 people, with a population in the rural secretariat

region of St. Anthony-Port au Choix of 13,000 people. So we have twice as many

people in the Labrador area, Mr. Speaker. Secondly, the flight statistics show

that twice as many flights are coming out of Labrador as are coming out of St.

Anthony, and some of those flights out of St. Anthony are from the Southeast

Coast of Labrador.

So, Mr. Speaker, what we have done here today, having regard to the problems

that have arisen in the Labrador region, and three specific incidents come to

mind, we have, Mr. Speaker, made a decision that we feel is in the best interest

of the people of this Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, the minister should realize that every life is

important, and ensuring services for every person in this Province is important.

We do not want what has been happening in Labrador in the last year to be

happening somewhere else in this Province, a year later, minister.

So I ask you: Why was there no consideration given in the terms of reference

to look at how this is going to impact upon Central Newfoundland or Western

Newfoundland, which are two areas that have used that same air medevac aircraft?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yesterday, Mr. Speaker, in relation to the private member's motion that was

brought forward by the Opposition, we outlined how we are trying to address,

strategically, needs throughout this Province and our commitment to rural

Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, what we have done with this particular decision is to try to

address the immediate needs in Labrador. The plane will still come to St.

Anthony. It will come from Happy Valley-Goose Bay. It is centrally located. The

Innu Nation, Mr. Speaker, the Nunatsiavut Government support this decision. What

we are trying to do, Mr. Speaker, is use our resources as best as possible.

What the consultant did state, Mr. Speaker, I want to make this clear, in

case the Leader of the Opposition has conveniently forgot it, the consultant

said if there is a third aircraft it should be in Deer Lake. Not one in St.

Anthony, not one in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, but in Deer Lake, Happy Valley-Goose

Bay and St. John's, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

What the study did not address in its simplistic format was the fact that:

What are going to be the response times around the Province when we still have

just two aircraft? All the minister did today was shuffle an airplane from one

runway to the other runway. My concern is, how do you fix the gaps in service?

Where is the demand, who is going to provide it, and why is it your government

can put $15 million into collar caribou in this Province and cannot spend $8

million on a third air medevac for the people of this Province?

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we are spending approximately $2.6 billion a year on health

care, up $1 billion from a number of years ago and up significantly from when

the Liberals were in government.

Mr. Speaker, it is not a matter of simply saying a third aircraft is

required. We will continue to have discussions. We will continue to study this

issue.

MS JONES: (Inaudible).

MR. KENNEDY: Mr. Speaker, can I

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the hon. member for her co-operation.

The hon. the minister.

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

So, what we are looking at, Mr. Speaker, is: How do we address the situation

for the Province as a whole, but specifically the people of Labrador right now,

the situations that have arisen in Goose Bay, the situations that have

unfortunately arisen in Lab West?

This plane is centrally located. It will be able to serve now the people of

Northern Labrador, Southern Labrador and Lab West. Again, Mr. Speaker, there are

approximately twice as many flights or pickups in the area as there are coming

out of St. Anthony which involves the Southeast Coast of the Labrador flights;

and secondly, Mr. Speaker, it serves a much greater population.

Also, we have significant industry going on in Labrador right now. What we

have to be able to do, Mr. Speaker, is identify the areas of risk and try to

address those issues. That is what we are doing.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I think the Leader of the NDP said it best yesterday in a statement that she

made when she said that this government wants the federal government to set up

additional search and rescue capacity in St. John's, but not lessen its service

in Gander.

I say to the government: How could you be so hypocritical in your own

approach in providing emergency response services to the people of this Province

that you would singularly just move an aircraft from one runway to another

runway in hopes of fixing a very critical problem that have claimed the lives of

people in this Province?

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

So now I take it from the comments of the Leader of the Opposition that she

does not want the plane in Labrador. Is that what I am hearing here today? That

is what I appear to be hearing, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, it is not, again, simply a matter of transferring an airplane.

We are moving a team of twelve medical flight service people to Happy

Valley-Goose Bay so that there will be trained paramedics and specialized nurses

on the flight. These people will rotate between St. John's at the tertiary care

centre to obtain the clinical exposure they need. Secondly, Mr. Speaker - and

this seems to be conveniently forgotten by the Leader of the Opposition - we

indicated today that we are going to invest $8 million in a new plane to replace

the plane in St. John's.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Mr. Speaker, the fact that she does not get everything she

wants, but what I say to the Leader of the Opposition is: Be careful what you

ask for, sometimes you get it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, it is not about what I want, but I say to you

minister: I want an aircraft in Goose Bay. I want two aircraft on the Island

portion of the Province and I want them because the people need the service.

What you fail to do in your simplistic report

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS JONES: - was study the fact and the need of where gaps are in this

Province and omitted, omitted looking at all of Central Newfoundland, all of the

West Coast of Newfoundland.

I ask you today, Minister: Do you feel that your solution will be the

solution that prevents people from losing their lives in this Province because

there will not be an air medevac service?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I say to the hon. member you cannot ask questions and shout at somebody who

is trying to give an answer. I also ask members to my left for their

co-operation so as the minister might be identified to provide his answer.

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

MR. KENNEDY: I just want to make sure I understand this now, Mr. Speaker,

from the Leader of the Opposition. So she is okay with the plane in Happy

Valley-Goose Bay, okay with the plane in St. John's but what she is saying is

there should be a third plane in Deer Lake. Now if I have that correct, that -

AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).

MR. KENNEDY: A third one in Deer Lake is what the consultant's report

said.

In any event, Mr. Speaker

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. KENNEDY - there are other issues that have to be looked at here, and

basically the issues that we are looking at today are a significant investment.

This is a significant investment. It is a significant announcement.

The Leader of the Opposition stood up on December 15, and misled this House

by presenting a petition with her own heading that did not reflect what the

people of Labrador said. Have you forgotten that I say to you? Then, Mr.

Speaker, she stands up and says: Well, we want a plane in St. Anthony and in

Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

Well, Mr. Speaker, what we have done is made a significant investment today.

I thought again, in my naivety, that it would be well received, I guess not. Mr.

Speaker, I assume that the people of Labrador will recognize this as

government's commitment to them.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want to remind the minister, Mr. Speaker, that I am not the one being

short-sighted here, but I do want to ask him this question.

I want to ask him why his government was not prepared to invest the money for

a third air ambulance in this Province when it is clearly necessary based on the

cases that we have seen in the last two years. I ask him: Where in this study it

indicates that a third air ambulance was not necessary and not required?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Yes, Mr. Speaker, we looked at where planes will be

required. There has to be a plane in St. John's because we have a specialized

neonatal unit at the Janeway which has to fly with the plane whenever they

proceed to pick up neonates, and I understand there could be between fifty and

sixty trips a year. So that is the first plane that has to be in St. John's.

Also, in relation to the training for the medical flight service individuals as

they rotate through the clinical services at the Health Sciences - first plane.

The second question is we have these issues in Labrador; we take these issues

seriously. I have met with these families, Mr. Speaker, and I can tell you there

was a significant impact upon me. What happens, what we look at, is that we are

having the difficulties in Labrador. We hired a consultant. Maybe, Mr. Speaker,

simplistic is not the word, maybe the answer is simple. Maybe when you look at

the flight statistics and you look at the population, it is that simple that a

second plane should be located in Happy Valley-Goose Bay as it is. We also

looked at Lab West; the consultant made a recommendation and we accept that

recommendation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of The Straits & White

Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Today is a very sad day for the residents of The Straits & White Bay North,

but they are use to sad days in recent years under this government.

On February of 2009, there was a news release put out by Trevor Taylor, the

MHA and the then Minister of Transportation, saying that the reasoning that Dr.

Thomas used back in the mid-1950s to base an aircraft in Northern Newfoundland,

still holds true today. He noted that St. Anthony is located in the center of

the Province making it a logical location -

AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).

MR. DEAN: The center of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, yes,

for those who do not understand the geography.

Also, the Member for St. Barbe suggested that its location here in the region

will undoubtedly continue to serve the people of the Province well; that was

just a little over a year ago. Since that time

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the hon. member to complete his question.

MR. DEAN: Yes, I will, Mr. Speaker.

I am assuming that a decision with such a negative impact would have been

discussed with the town. So, I ask the minister today: When was the community

notified of this devastating decision?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As I have indicated, after the consultant was retained and the terms of

reference were outlined, the consultant met with the mayor of St. Anthony, I

understand I do not know but council and met with the mayors of the other

areas. I replied to a letter from the mayor of St. Anthony myself. However, Mr.

Speaker, when it comes to the actual announcement today, the announcement was

made in a decision that was communicated during a press release, and like

everyone else, they were notified at the same time.

Mr. Speaker, the last couple of days there have been discussions in this

House, and I think it has been fairly clear as to the nature of these

discussions. Today, we made our decision and that is what we have to do, Mr.

Speaker, as a government and as ministers is make decisions. We made it based on

a consultant's report.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of The Straits & White

Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Mr. Speaker, the point has already tried to be made that 63 per

cent of this Province today has a lesser service than it had yesterday once this

move is made.

AN HON. MEMBER: That is not true.

MR. DEAN: It is true.

Given that

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. DEAN: Read the report!

Given that this here

AN HON. MEMBER: Explain it.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. DEAN: Explain it? My explanation, Mr. Speaker, is that when an air

ambulance service, a second air ambulance service has to be called and St.

John's is busy, it will come out of Goose Bay instead of St. Anthony, and that

is an hour longer to Gander by the way.

Given that this air medevac service is administered by the Labrador-Grenfell

Health Board and given that this move is within their boundaries, I would ask

the minister again: Were they a part of the decision-making process to move this

air ambulance?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I have to say I am a bit confused by the numbers being put forward by the

Liberal Opposition not that they have ever been concerned about the facts.

When I look at the number of flights, we have a total number of pickups, in the

spreadsheets I am looking at, of approximately 1,133. We have 150 in St.

Anthony; 18 per cent of them are coming out of the Southeast Coast for another

thirty. So we have 120 out of St. Anthony themselves; eighty of those people are

residents of St. Anthony and that region.

So, Mr. Speaker, I do not know where the numbers are coming from.

Labrador-Grenfell was involved in the discussion. They certainly knew what was

going on, Mr. Speaker, but as a government and as a Cabinet, we make these

decisions in the best interest of the people of this Province.

The Member for The Straits & White Bay North, he knew this was ongoing. I did

not receive any submissions from him. I have not received any letters from him

(inaudible) -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of The Straits & White

Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Mr. Speaker, you cannot get an answer to a question in the

House, let alone consideration to a submission.

Nevertheless, the statistics are what they are. Sixty-three per cent, Mr.

Speaker, of the medevac service in this Province today come out of other places

across the Island, being Gander, Deer Lake, Burgeo, and so on, and the Northern

Peninsula and Southern Labrador . When the aircraft is

relocated to Goose Bay, those 63 per cent respondents out of Goose Bay will

obviously take longer.

My question was not answered. Probably the minister would consider it again:

Was the Grenfell board a part of this decision-making process?

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

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I met with the CEO of Labrador-Grenfell a couple of days ago. He was in here

I guess it was yesterday - for the Cameron update and we had a discussion as

to what was going on, Mr. Speaker. The CEO was aware of what was transpiring.

The boards, Mr. Speaker, have been again, I assume the CEO will be in contact

with the boards. This decision has been looked at. We have had discussions over

the last period of time and, Mr. Speaker, what we have done - I come back to the

basic facts here. There are twice as many flights out of Labrador, we have

incidents out of Labrador, and the population of Labrador is 26,000 people as

opposed to 2,400 people in St. Anthony.

These are the basic facts upon which the decision was made, Mr. Speaker.

Again, having regard to the size of Labrador and the problems we have

encountered, we felt that this is the best decision, based on the consultant's

report.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for The Straits & White Bay North.

MR. DEAN: I realize, Mr. Speaker, sometimes it is difficult for a city

person to get their head around rural Newfoundland, so I will not beat

statistics any further. No wonder Trevor Taylor would have left.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. DEAN: You know, who would have the stomach to stay and watch their

government tear the district apart.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. DEAN: This report talks about transporting

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

Order, please!

I ask the hon. member to ask his question.

MR. DEAN: The report talks about transporting patients from the South

Coast of Labrador to Goose Bay and St. John's, instead of St. Anthony. It sounds

like we are planning to shut the hospital down, practically.

So I would ask the minister if he could answer this question: What does this

mean now for the future of the hospital in St. Anthony?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The one point I will continue to make is that we have to make strategic

investments. We have to utilize the money that we have in the best way we can. I

have indicated on numerous occasions that we would talk to the people and

discuss with the people want they want. What we are doing here is responding to

the needs of the people.

Now, Mr. Speaker, if I could refer earlier today as to how we utilize our

money. Earlier this week the Newfoundland Medical Association said it would cost

$80 million to reach a deal with them. The Premier and Minister of Finance

challenged them on that. Today it comes out, Mr. Speaker, that Mr. Ritter says

he admits that the figure of $80 million may be significantly higher, and it is

possible that the government figures are accurate, but we do not know for sure.

Here we have the doctors misleading us now. So what happens, Mr. Speaker, is we

have to make sure that we utilize the money as best we can, and when we have the

doctors trying to double figures like that and slide it by the public, we cannot

let that (inaudible).

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yesterday, Eastern Health confirmed that frontline workers were accessing

patient files without permission to do so. As a result, disciplinary action was

taken and two individuals were suspended without pay for three months. We have

been dealing with the case of a patient, Mr. Speaker, at the Gander hospital

whose medical files were inappropriately accessed by her ex-husband's girlfriend

who was an employee of Central Health. We wrote the health authority on a number

of occasions, we asked for an investigation into this file and they did admit

that there was a breach of privacy. We asked for disciplinary action to be taken

and none was.

I ask the minister today: Why is there no standard policies throughout the

four health boards involving patient confidentiality?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Yes, Mr. Speaker, thank you very much.

One of the issues that we are dealing with in these privacy concerns, Mr.

Speaker, is obviously the standardization of policies. That is certainly going

to take time. What we saw yesterday was Eastern Health move quickly to deal with

the privacy breaches. We have the Personal Health Information Act, Mr. Speaker,

which is expected to be proclaimed later this year. So this act will govern the

collection, use and disclosure of personal health information in our Province.

Under the act, Mr. Speaker, custodians of personal health information, which

is Eastern Health or Central Health, are required to have safeguards in place to

prevent breaches in privacy. Mr. Speaker, obviously this should not have

occurred and Eastern Health has taken action. I would certainly check into that

situation with Central Health, but, Mr. Speaker, the good news is, is that it

was found out quickly and acted upon quickly and that is the way that the health

system is trying to respond.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In the case in Central Newfoundland, Central Health did confirm that this was

in fact a breach of privacy on behalf of this individual, yet no action was

taken. In a letter to the patient, Mr. Speaker, they did express that they had

told this employee that they were not permitted to check the files any more.

I ask the minister - I am prepared to give him all the information I have

regarding that patient and all the correspondence with Central Health. I ask

you, minister, if you would investigate it and ensure that the proper

disciplinary action is taken inside of that health board as it was in Eastern

Health?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, if the Leader of the Opposition wishes to supply me with the

information I certainly will review it. As for what has taken place to this

point, I cannot speak to it. When I saw yesterday - when I had this same member

yesterday get up and quote me a conversation from March 12 as if it took place

earlier this week, than I do not have any reason to trust the accuracy of what

she says to me. So once I have a review of it, Mr. Speaker, I will consult with

officials and see where it is going.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister, the full docket is on the way across the House of Assembly to you

and I expect -

MR. KENNEDY: (Inaudible).

MS JONES: Yes I do.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the hon. member to pose her question.

MS JONES: I do, I say to the minister, I have had it for some time. I

have been dealing with this case for nearly two years.

Mr. Speaker, Eastern Health has announced that they conduct regular audits of

patient files to ensure confidentiality. I ask the minister: Is a similar audit

conducted in the three other health board regions and other government agencies,

such as RNC and social services, to ensure the privacy of clients?

I have been waiting that long to get responses from Central Health I had to

go back -

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, this government has obviously outlined our concern for privacy.

We brought in the Access To Information And Protection Of Privacy Act. We are

going to proclaim the Personal Health Information Act. We are well aware, Mr.

Speaker, of the privacy concerns, and these are issues that I am sure that the

CEOs of the various health authorities are also very concerned about.

Now, Mr. Speaker, as the minister has outlined on page, I think it is 438 or

448 of the Cameron inquiry, I have an oversight role, but, Mr. Speaker, it is

not the role of the minister to be involving myself in the operational

day-to-day activities of the health authorities. Mr. Speaker, if a situation has

not been handled properly and it is not simply the Leader of the Opposition

using these materials for her own motives then we will look at it and see what

is going on. If it concerns me, and once there is a review, we will get back.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

Vidi.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

My questions are for the Minister of Health and Community Services. He said

earlier in Question Period that he had made things very clear with regard to the

air ambulance situation. Well, it is not clear to me yet, so I still have some

questions. The report commissioned by government asked the consultant to

consider only whether an aircraft should be in St. Anthony, Happy Valley-Goose

Bay or Labrador City. Consequently, the consultant does not give an opinion

regarding a third aircraft. He only says that if there were a third aircraft it

should be located in Deer Lake.

I have to ask the minister, Mr. Speaker: Why the terms of reference did not

ask for a comprehensive review of air ambulance services in this Province,

including recommendations regarding the need for a third aircraft?

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, at pages 7 and 8 of the report the consultant has a heading,

number 11, Third Aircraft, and looks at the analysis of the pick up and

destination statistics of the Western portion of the Province.

Mr. Speaker, the consultant was asked to look at the need for a third

aircraft based on the fact that the Liberals and I cannot remember if the

Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi was involved in this because she has only

raised this, this week, that I am aware of. Mr. Speaker, they were saying we

should have one in St. Anthony and we should have one in Labrador.

Now, Mr. Speaker, what we had to first look at was if there is a second

aircraft, or there is a second aircraft, where should it be? If there is a third

aircraft, to dispel the notion put forward by the Opposition that we needed

airplanes in every place in this Province, that if there was a third aircraft,

where would it be? So there is a full

section there. It outlines statistics,

looks at the situation as it exists, and recommends if there was a third

aircraft (inaudible).

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

Vidi.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

The minister continues to be disingenuous with some of his answers, because

this is not a full review of the air ambulance services, and that is what I am

asking about. He has said that we have to fit our resources. Well, Mr. Speaker,

as I have said publicly and has been reported in the media, I find the

government is being two-faced. This government is rightfully demanding that the

federal government place additional search and rescue in St. John's without

sacrificing services already in place in Gander, yet, Mr. Speaker, the same

government turns around and plays a cynical political shell game by moving vital

air ambulance services around, instead of adding resources for a third aircraft.

I ask the minister, Mr. Speaker, why this government is not practicing what

it preaches by putting a third dedicated air ambulance in this Province?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The consultant, Mr. Speaker, at page 2 of his report, indicated quite clearly

that this is not an analysis of the complete air ambulance system in the

Province. As a result of the situations that were arising in Labrador we had to

address them, we had to move quickly, and he looked at the situation of the

second medical flight service team and looked at the placement of an air

ambulance.

Now, Mr. Speaker, as I said a few minutes ago, if the NDP wants us to give

everything to everyone do you want us to give the doctors their $145 million

also? Because money does grow on trees, I say to the Leader of the New

Democratic Party.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

Vidi.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

The minister has actually given me an answer here that means something to me.

My point is exactly what he just said. This is a knee-jerk reaction to a crisis

instead of coming up with a whole plan for the long term. That is my problem.

Mr. Speaker, today's decision potentially places lives at risk in Western

Newfoundland and the Northern Peninsula.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS MICHAEL: The air ambulance was originally stationed in St. Anthony for

a reason. So I ask the minister to explain to the people of Western Newfoundland

and the Northern Peninsula why they are less needing today than they were

yesterday?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Mr. Speaker, I guess you just cannot please some people.

Today, this is a major advancement in air ambulance in this Province, a new

airplane costing $8 million to replace one

AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. KENNEDY: I would rather be disingenuous than dishonest. That is the

way I would put it, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).

MR. KENNEDY: Can I answer the question?

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

Is the hon. member rising on a point of order?

MS MICHAEL: Yes, I am.

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

Vidi, on a point of order.

MS MICHAEL: I am asking if I can

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Member for the District of Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want clarification as to whether or not the minister has said I am

dishonest. It read that way to me, Sir.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I do not know if the hon. member wants to respond, but the Chair did not hear

the hon. member say that the hon. member was dishonest. The member made a

statement saying that he would rather be disingenuous than dishonest, is the way

that I understood it, but I will gladly review the tapes if the hon. member

thinks that what I understood is wrong, and if the hon. member meant anything

different than that I am sure that he will be an hon. member and withdraw his

remarks.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

Is the hon. member rising on a new point of order?

MS MICHAEL: To make a response, Mr. Speaker, to extend why I am calling

for the point of order.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS MICHAEL: I am, yes, because, Mr. Speaker

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Chair has heard the hon. member's point of order. The Chair has responded

to the hon. member's point of order.

I ask the hon. member if she is rising on a new point of order. If she is, I

will recognize the hon. member; if not, I will respond to the former point of

order that was made.

Is the hon. member rising on a new point of order?

MS MICHAEL: A new point of order, Mr. Speaker.

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

Vidi.

MS MICHAEL: The point of order is phrased in a question. I saw the

minister point his hand in my direction when he made his comment. Does action go

with words, Mr. Speaker, in a point of order?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. Government House Leader, to that point of order.

MS BURKE: Yes, Mr. Speaker.

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, certainly our contention on this side of the House

is that as the hon. minister was answering the question today he was speaking

about himself. He said he would rather be disingenuous as opposed to being

dishonest.

Many times within the House we speak with our hands, with our arms, and he

was doing just that. Mr. Speaker, there were no derogatory comments made toward

the Leader of the Third Party.

MR. SPEAKER: The Chair has heard the point of order. The Chair has

already indicated that it will review the tapes, both the video and the audio

tapes, and if there is a need to respond it will respond later today or at

another sitting.

The time allotted for questions and answers has expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Special Committees.

Tabling of Documents.

Tabling of Documents

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

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table a copy of the update on the provincial

government's progress in implementing recommendations of the report of the

Commission of Inquiry on Hormone Receptor Testing, known as the Cameron report.

MR. SPEAKER: Further tabling of documents.

In accordance with

section 19.(5) (

a) of the House of Assembly

Accountability, Integrity and Administration Act, I hereby table the minutes of

the House of Assembly Management Commission meetings of December 2, 2009,

February 3, 2010, and the revised minutes for August 29 and November 28, 2007.

Further, under tabling of documents, pursuant to

section 10 of the Public

Tender Act, I hereby table the report of the Public Tender Act Exceptions for

November 2009 as presented by the Chief Operating Officer of the Government

Purchasing Agency.

Notices of Motion.

Notices of Motion

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

Board.

MR. MARSHALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I give notice that I will move that the House resolve itself into a Committee

of the Whole on Supply to consider a resolution for the Granting of Supply to

Her Majesty. (Bill 6)

Mr. Speaker, I further give notice that I will move the following motion:

That this House approve in general the budgetary policy of the government, the

Budget Speech.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Further notices of motion.

The hon. the Government House Leader.

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I give notice that I will ask leave to introduce a

bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Commissioners For Oaths Act. (Bill 7)

Further, Mr. Speaker, I give notice that I will ask leave to introduce a bill

entitled,

An Act To Amend The Notaries Public Act. (Bill 8)

MR. SPEAKER: Further notices of motion.

Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

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

MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate an opportunity to deliver a petition again from the residents of

the southwestern part of the Province running basically from La Poile, Rose

Blanche, Burnt Islands, Isle aux Morts, Port aux Basques, Cape Ray, and it is

with respect to the lack of dialysis services in that particular area.

I said, the last day I rose on this petition - I believe this is my

sixty-eighth time of presenting this petition that I thought that was the only

region of the Province that did not have such a service, but I stand corrected.

I understand from an

article that I read from the Member for Labrador West that

he is also lacking such a service in his area. He can certainly appreciate as

well the hardship and the stress that is caused to the residents of your

district when they cannot avail of these services.

I do believe those are the only two areas of the Province today that people

cannot access this service within a reasonable distance. He, of course, has

impediments when it comes to air travel and so on. In our case we have

geography, and weather being the primary one.

We had individuals - and I do not mind mentioning his name; I have been asked

to mention his name in fact - Mr. Edward Keeping. He has been in touch with the

minister directly himself. He has been in touch with me numerous times. He keeps

me updated as to the expense that he has incurred, and the trauma and stress

that it is causing his family.

As we indicated before, there are certain components that go into providing

this service. Of course, you have to have the physical facility; we have that at

Dr. Charles L. LeGrow. The people of the area are committed to raise the funds

to buy the equipment. The staff at the hospital are prepared to undergo the

training to do it. We do not know what else is missing. We understand that a

report has been done by the doctors at LeGrow and submitted to Western, and that

Western has submitted that to the department. Hopefully, if there are any

budgetary considerations that are necessary in order to do this - because we

understand that the operational piece in terms of physical infrastructure,

equipment that is needed, and the training that is needed to administer it

would, in fact, be available.

We have made a lot of strides. Nobody is disagreeing that we have made a lot

of investments in health care in this Province in the last number of years. We

would certainly be the first to see that as well, but this is one piece of the

health care puzzle that, albeit is not overly expensive in order to operate, it

comes down to basically preparation and getting the equipment in place and the

trained staff in place. It is probably one of the most aggravating conditions

that you can have. Hopefully in this Budget and, again, it is not only the

hope of Mr. Keeping; it is the hope of every family that has ever had to suffer

through this affliction of dialysis and having to travel.

Anyone who lives there and is familiar with the weather, it is not like going

down the street, for example, to see your doctor. This particular individual -

you have to get in your car in the winter months, any time from October until

April, and travel to Corner Brook three times a week. You do not have much left

in your day when you have to leave home at six o'clock in the morning and you

get home at eight o'clock in the night. You are taking all that time to travel

to Corner Brook to get hooked up and to get administered. You get home and you

get twenty-four hours, basically, to rest up and then you have to turn around

and do it again the next day. That is your life.

Now, he says he does not have a life, and I think he is quite right. That is

not life when you spend three days resting from what you went through and three

days actually getting your treatment.

Hopefully there will be funding available. As we have said, we have not heard

anything from the minister as to why it cannot be done. We have not heard

anything from the Western Authority as to why it cannot be done, from either a

financial or an operational or a technological point of view, so we are just

wondering, what is the hassle and what is the problem here with getting this

achieved?

Anyway, we look forward to seeing the Budget on Monday, and hopefully there

will be some good news for the residents of southwestern Newfoundland in regard

to the dialysis.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Further petitions.

Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, we will return to the debate we were having on

Tuesday of this week. So, from the Order Paper, I call Order 1, Committee of

Supply, to debate the resolution and Bill 2 respecting the Granting of Interim

Supply to Her Majesty.

MR. SPEAKER: The motion is that this House now resolve itself into a

Committee of Supply and that I do now leave the Chair.

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, nay'.

The motion is carried.

On motion, that the House resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole, Mr.

Speaker left the Chair.

Committee of the Whole

CHAIR (T. Osborne): Order, please!

We are now resuming a resolution and Bill 2,

An Act For Granting To Her

Majesty Certain Sums Of Money For Defraying Certain Expenses Of The Public

Service For The Financial Year Ending March 31, 2011 And For Other Purposes

Relating To The Public Service.

The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. MARSHALL: Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Today we are continuing the Interim Supply debate, which as I mentioned I

guess it was two days ago when the debate started, that this is the bill where

the government seeks it is a bill and it also a resolution where the

government is seeking some money in order to pay its bills and to keep the cost

of government being paid for and to keep the government operating for a period

of three months, from the start of the next fiscal year, which is April 1, 2010,

for a three month period to the end of June, 2010. As I said last time,

government does not get any money unless it is voted upon, unless it is approved

by the elected representatives of the people, the Members of the House of

Assembly, who give that approval through the passage of the main Supply bill,

which is the Budget bill.

The Budget Debate, as I said, takes about seventy-five hours, including the

debate we are having here today, the debate on Interim Supply. When the Budget

is over government will then have its funding for the whole year, assuming of

course the Budget is passed and the main Supply bill is passed, but in the

interim, we need some money to operate until the Budget Debate is completed and

the vote has taken place.

During the debate, I responded to some criticisms by the Leader of the

Opposition in terms of the government's decision to run a deficit, and I also

outlined the fact that the government was running a deficit this year, or the

Premier had previously indicated that we would do so. The reason that we were

doing so is because of the importance of doing that for rural

Newfoundland .

We are seeing in the world economy we saw last year what the Opposition

House Leader referred to as an economic tsunami. That was an interesting

comment, and it truly was. It has been called the recession that happened last

year, and a recession being an actual contraction of economic activity. There

was no economic growth. There was in fact a contraction, and in our Province it

was almost 9 per cent. So we had this contraction and therefore, in order to

deal with it, government had to determine in its fiscal policy how it would

stimulate the economy. I said when I did the Pre-Budget Consultations as I went

around the Province, I said it was like a line from Charles Dickens' novel A

Tale of Two Cities , it was the best of times, then it was the worst of

times.

We went from a booming economy with revenues coming in up in the $8 billion

range but we had oil revenues coming in; we had mining revenues come in, they

were over $400 million; corporate income taxes were high; personal income taxes

were high. The money just rolled into the economy and that gave government and

it was mainly triggered, of course, by the oil industry, and it was triggered by

the mining industry as well. It gave the government revenues, and when

government gets those revenues it can then use them to do some wonderful things,

including distributing income to people in our society who need it, and in

particular rural Newfoundland, because the - while in this recession parts of

the Newfoundland economy did very well, particularly the oil industry. We are

seeing business investment at the Vale Inco new hydromet site in Long Harbour.

What about rural Newfoundland? What was happening out there in rural

Newfoundland, where you have the fishing industry and you have the forestry

industry; a lot of people involved in sawmilling and cutting wood to feed the

paper mills, and the sawmilling, and our manufacturing industry. All those

industries mainly sell into the U.S. market. Canadian manufacturers; I think

over 80 per cent of what we sell goes into the U.S. market, and the U.S. market

was hammered. The U.S. market was hammered like you would not believe. They have

had unemployment losses, which proportionally are three times as great as the

loss of jobs in this country.

So Canada, because of its strong banking system and because of its strong

fiscal position, has weathered the economic storm much better than the U.S. The

problem for us here is that while we will do well from the oil, if oil prices

are high and we have to remember that the high dollar impacts that in a

negative way, and the fact that the amount of oil coming out of the ground is

much, much less than it was, for example, when I gave a Budget two years ago. I

think it was over 125 million barrels were coming out. That is going to be down

to less than, I think, 85 million this year. It was interesting - I read the

fact that a famous American businessman named Boone Pickens, who was in the oil

business said: there is one thing about oil, once it starts coming out of the

ground it comes out very, very quickly. We are seeing that here. There is a

chart that we have that shows mineral production in this Province, and it showed

us hitting, what Jeffrey Simpson of the Globe and Mail called a wall. The

natural production, there was a big decline that started this year and it is

going to continue.

While production, natural production will come back when Hebron comes on, but

it is never going to come back to what production was two years ago; unless, of

course, we discover additional fields, such as in the other basins where they

are continuing to explore. I cannot help but think of the fact that there has

not been a major find in twenty-five years. Although, I notice that a

significant discovery licence for a well, or a field called the Mizzen well was

recently issued by the C-NLOPB.

Also, I am obviously excited about the fact that we are now seeing some

onshore exploration which is taking place in Parsons Pond. I am very pleased to

see that Nalcor has used some of its revenues to help some of the smaller junior

oil companies and I am trying to think of the names now. I think Leprechaun

Resources was one; Vulcan Minerals is another one, and PDI and these companies.

There is, in particular, some interesting exploration going on in up in Parsons

Pond. Parsons Pond there have been reports on oil coming out of Parsons Pond

since, I think, 1840. That was when the first report about oil bubbling through

the ground must have come from Parsons Pond into government. I know the first

oil well in the Province was drilled in 1867.

It is very interesting that the year Canada joined together, the various

provinces in Canada joined together, that the first oil well in Parsons Pond was

drilled. They never did find oil in commercial quantities in Parsons Pond, but

people say they did not go down far enough and that it is there, but we will

see. We will see, and if we can have discoveries there, if we can discover oil

onshore and there is other exploration going on as well in the Deer Lake

Basin, I think Deer Lake Oil and Gas is drilling there. Of course, onshore oil

activity is a different industry than offshore. Offshore is obviously very

expensive, you have to have these major companies that have access to great sums

of capital. I understand to drill a well offshore it is $200 million to $300

million. So if you drill a well and there is nothing there, it has obviously

been quite expensive,

whereas onshore drilling is much cheaper.

I understand that in West Texas you can get an idea of what the onshore oil

and gas industry would be liked compared to offshore. I am told that the onshore

- or the oil and gas industry in the West Texas area is a mom and pop, a lot of

mom and pop operations. People might own one or two oil wells. So the wealth is

spread out amongst ordinary families and ordinary citizens rather than just

being done by the big, major oil companies.

Mining; our mining revenues, the royalties that were coming in, were over

$400 million at one point. Last year there was less than $100 million. That was

the plunge. Our revenues plunged from last year to this year by $1.9 billion.

Now just imagine! In one year our revenues go down $1.9 billion. Now if you take

the Atlantic Accord out of it you have to remember, the Atlantic Accord came

in, the Premier got the cheque for $2 billion. From an accounting point of view,

that $2 billion had to be allocated over the eight years and so much of it would

come in each year. Of course, once we realized we were going off equalization it

all had to be taken in at the one time. So if we take that out of the factor, if

we take that out, I think the actual decline of revenues from oil would be I

think about $800 million. It is still one heck of a lot of money. Personal

incomes were down. Consumer income tax was down and it is even going to be down

more this year because people, you know, if they have a bad year, you file your

income tax return the next year, and that is where the loss of revenue to

government is going to show up. So, a bad year, we are going to see the effects

of it this year.

This year, mining revenue was down less than $100 million. It is quite a

change from $400 million of just a couple of years ago, but it is very volatile

and it could come back. I mean people are hoping that increased demand that come

out of China and that come out of India will start driving commodity prices and

driving that back, but on the other hand you see other stories. You hear stories

about a possible bubble in the Chinese economy.

CHAIR: Order, please!

I remind the hon. member that his time for speaking has expired.

MR. MARSHALL: Well, Mr. Chair, I did not get to some of the points I

wanted to make and I look forward to taking an opportunity - I will come back

again in the debate and speak again.

Thank you.

CHAIR: The hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.

MR. BUTLER: Thank you, Mr Chair.

The hon. minister could have had all the leave he wanted but seeing he has

sat down, I will continue on.

As the minister stated, we are here today to discuss Interim Supply again. I

guess I will take my turn as the other hon. members in this House. I just want

to continue on from where I left off the last day that I spoke with regard to

Interim Supply. I was into the debate with regard to the fishery, and I know the

hon. minister mentioned it in quite detail, where we saw in the Speech from the

Throne, which referenced the Fishing Industry Renewal Strategy back in 2007. The

report went on to say about how there are many challenges in the world today, in

the world markets when it comes to the fishery, and there is no doubt about

that.

Also, Mr. Chair, the concerns that I have and the people that I represent,

and I am sure throughout this Province each and every one of us hear the same

concerns, is the concerns that they have for the fishing industry this year. I

noticed in Interim Supply, I think under Fisheries and Aquaculture in the bill,

there was $8.237 million and I think the minister quoted last week that 43 per

cent of that was probably a carryover from last year and the rest would be used

this year.

Mr. Chair, why I speak on the fishery, the fishery is not only important to

my area, it is also important to the Province as a whole. No doubt, it is one of

the most important sectors in the Province. I cannot help but remember the

comments that were made - and I do not have the full quote here - after the

election of 2003. When the new government took over they had a joint caucus

Cabinet meeting - I think it was on the Bonavista Peninsula. One of the comments

that we saw in the paper at the time was that the fishery more or less is the

way of the past. I guess they were referring to the wealth that was about to

unfold from the offshore, the oil industry.

Maybe that was true, but then again, the fishery cannot be looked at as the

way of the past because the fishery is what keeps rural Newfoundland - many of

these smaller communities around this Province, in order for them to survive, we

have to have a viable fishery.

Mr. Chair, one of the things we have to remember, everyone cannot be involved

in the oil industry. Each and every individual around this Province, whether

they be plant workers, harvesters, processors, or whatever the title you want to

put on them, all of them just cannot give up and become involved in the oil

industry because that industry is flowing and very flourishing at the present

time. But, if we compare the numbers, the importance of the fishery, the people

who are involved in the fishery now - we know many people have left the fishery

for various reasons. I cannot help but think of the constituents I spoke to last

year who had a reasonable year but it was not the success that they had hoped it

would be. They had difficulty getting through that year. One incidence, I know

one individual who had an enterprise and I was told that he could have sold it

two or three years ago for $1 million. This year, it is even a problem trying to

get someone that would be interested even in purchasing.

I have many constituents, Mr. Chair, who are looking for funding to be

retrained; they are trying to get out of the fishing industry. I know the

minister and all of the other partners in the fishing industry are meeting, they

are dealing with this MOU and hopefully, as I said previously, that something

successful will come from that.

Mr. Chair, we know what the fishery means to this Province. We have to listen

to the fishermen. Back in the 1990s when the moratorium came, it went on and on

and on, the overfishing, but nobody listened. They did not listen to the people

who knew what was happening. Even though they were the people who had to make a

living from the sea, they knew what was unfolding.

Having come from a small community on the Burin Peninsula, a small fishing

village that now has been resettled. Back in the early days, you would hear the

fishermen talk about it, and I know my own father who would go to Lunenburg,

Nova Scotia and take

part in the dory fishery on the Grand Banks, how often

would you hear them say that the Grand Banks was lit up almost like a city.

There were so many draggers and trawlers out their fishing, just raking up the

supplies. Then, in later years went on to the dragger fishery and we heard of it

again. Not only foreign fishing, we heard it from people within our own country,

what was happening to the fishing industry.

You cannot help but think and listen to the people that are so knowledgeable

here in the Province. I just want to mention a couple of them. From time to

time, you hear them on Open Line or you see articles that they have in the

paper, like Mr. Gus Etchegary and Dr. Phil Earle of Carbonear. The knowledge

those individuals about the fishing industry and it is too bad that we do not

listen to them. Those gentlemen are putting forward a message that we have to

listen to it, and we hear it so often, how they want us and want this government

to make sure that we hold Ottawa accountable, and that is what it all comes down

to.

From time to time, I know there were commitments made to the Premier of this

Province by the Prime Minister and some of them were to support the extension of

custodial management on the Continental Shelf beyond the 200-mile limit. What

has been done, Mr. Chair? Nothing has been done about that and that is where I

believe our own Minister of Fisheries has to be stronger, has to be firmer with

the federal government.

Another one was a greater role in the managing of the fishery for the

provincial government; thirdly, more investment in science and management and

then a wider consultation with corresponding provincial departments and with

fishermen. It comes back, I guess, to the very comment that I started with:

Those are the people that we have to listen to.

Mr. Chair, I know in the debate from time to time it comes up about how the

government has purchased investments into the oil industry. I have people call

me or e-mail me and say: Look, why, why? Maybe it is a good point; maybe it is

not. Then we hear talk, back a few years ago when the issue of FPI was on the

table. Many people wanted government to invest in FPI, the wonderful, richest

marketing arm of the industry. Lo and behold, we did not do that; we did not

invest into it. This year, we have heard many times about the great wealth that

someone else has derived from the purchase of the marketing arm of FPI, which we

had in our own Province, which we had control of but we just let it slip by. We

had that opportunity, but we failed to do it. We cannot let things like this

happen. I know we said we would not get involved because of industry and so on.

Mr. Chair, another point that I want to touch on for the next couple of

minutes it was also in the Throne Speech and that is about our Poverty

Reduction Strategy. I understand there is a second Poverty Reduction Strategy

action plan that will be released sometime this year. When I make those

comments, Mr. Chair, I do not want to be negative because we all know that right

across this country we hear great things about the poverty strategy we have here

in the Province.

I said it before, and I have to repeat it, to me, the numbers do not add up.

I am not saying there are changes not made - and I agree with that, there are

things that are happening. We claim that in six years - I think was in the

Throne Speech - as a Province we have moved from one with the highest poverty

rates in the country to third place with the least amount of poverty.

I know there are different scenarios that we look at when we talk about

poverty, but one of the things that I cannot understand, and hopefully it will

be explained when the second strategy comes out, and that is our food banks. The

people that are involved, they tell us that our food bank usage has increased by

10 per cent and we are pretty close to the highest in the country. People do not

understand, if we are moving in the right direction, which I hope we are, and I

think we are, why then do we have such great usage for food banks? The same

report noticed one particular area of our Province, and I am sure there are

others, but the one that was mentioned in the report was Happy Valley-Goose Bay

where they said the usage of the food banks went up by 20 per cent. Hopefully,

that is correct. It was in the report that came down.

Mr. Chair, regardless, we hear talk of the various religious denominations,

you go to any particular church just about, and they have a basket where you can

bring along items for the food banks, the need is so great. We have people who

are fundraising for the same purpose.

Mr. Chair, the study, the HungerCount 2009 showed that it was 10.1 per cent -

I said it was 10, but they claim it was 10.1 per cent. We have to look at the

reductions that we are doing and the right way that we are travelling. I know

the religious coalition has spoken out on many occasions and they have called

for a social audit, something to show where we stand.

One of the comments I did read about recently was a gentleman by the name of

Chris Sarlo, an expert on poverty. He studied poverty for some twenty years. His

comment was: The first step to eliminate poverty is first to define it. I know

it is not easy to define it. In Estimates I have asked different ministers for a

definition of poverty, but have not been able to get one.

So, Mr. Chair, I hope that when the second Poverty Reduction Strategy comes

down that there will be more money put into the areas where we can have less

people who will have to go to our food banks in the Province.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

CHAIR: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. MARSHALL: Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Sometimes when we are speaking in this House we speak about topics and then

we forget to get back to the main point that we want to make, but thankfully, in

a debate like this we can keep getting up and speaking again.

I was talking about, when I concluded my remarks, the fact that last year,

the fiscal year 2008-2009, we had a booming year and then this past year I

keep saying this past year but it is really this year, which will end at the end

of this month, 2009-2010, we had a major recession. As a result of that, our

revenues plummeted and the decision was made from a public policy point of view

that in spite of that we would continue to stimulate the economy. We would

continue to move forward with infrastructure. We would continue to move forward

with government programs. We would continue to lower taxes. The objective of all

of this is to put money in people's pockets and create jobs and create

opportunities for the people in this Province.

We are making the decision again. We are looking at the decision for the

forthcoming year. Where are we now? We are seeing signs of economic recovery. I

think it is pretty safe to say that the recession or the contraction in the

economy has stopped and that we now have some growth. There are signs of growth

there and there are some economic indicators that when you read them you will

think the economy is starting to move along, and then you see other economic

indicators which tell you quite the opposite. The one that concerns me the most

is - I know there were comments by the federal Minister of Finance, James

Flaherty said in his speech in New York, and he repeated it in London, that

while we have economic growth in the world economy the growth is very fragile.

Economists throughout the world are referring to the global economy, the US

economy as modest, as fragile, as tepid, as flat and there is uncertainty

surrounding the economic outlook and that uncertainty is high, it remains

elevated.

We are seeing economists, some of Canada's major economists, some of whom I

had the honour to meet in Toronto, and again they were concerned about the level

of uncertainty in the economy. Therefore the question is: What do we do for the

next year? What do we do for the year that is coming? What public policy do we

put in place? Do we move back to a balanced budget? The Opposition, the Leader

of the Opposition expressed concern about the fact that we were going to run a

deficit. Well obviously, Mr. Chair, when things are going very well and your

revenues go up and then your spending goes up because you now have the money to

catch up with years of pent up demand and you now have the money to invest in

the economy, when the revenues drop, when you hit a recession and your revenues

drop, and I said before how our revenues had dropped to the tune of $1.9

million, what do you do with that spending? Your revenues go up, your spending

goes up, your revenues drop, what do you do with the spending?

As I said in the debate two days ago, you have three choices. The first

choice is lower taxes. That puts money in people's pockets. It helps people

stimulate the economy. I have seen a number of economic reports which says that

that is probably the best way to go if stimulation of the economy is your

objective, to lower taxes, put money in people's pockets.

The other thing, of course, is to cut spending if you want to get back to a

balanced budget, and I don't think that is the way we should go. Even the Leader

of the Opposition said that most of the spending initiatives that government has

taken forward, she asked for most of it. She mentioned one thing she would like

to cut. She would like to cut the investment that government made in the oil

fields. She felt that was adding to the deficit, and of course it is not. It is

not a program expense. It is not an expenditure that adds to the deficit. It is

an asset. It is an asset that is purchased, and it is not reflected in the

deficit. She is wrong on that particular point.

When you ask why, I think the hon. Member for Port de Grave said: Why are we

investing in the oil fields? Why are we taking a piece of the action? Well, one

thing is that we want to be at the table and we want to learn that business. The

major reason we are doing it is because we think it is going to bring to the

people of this Province a lot of wealth in the future. We are not in it just for

the sake of being in the oil business. We are in it for the sake of the revenues

that will come out of the dividends out of the oil fields by being in that oil

business that will come to the people of Newfoundland

through their government, that the governments can then use to build hospitals

and to provide better services and to build roads and provide nurses and police

officers and social workers and veterinarians and all of the services that we

need; and the programs and the projects, the dialysis, like the Opposition House

Leader raised today, the need for a dialysis units in he mentioned Labrador

West and he mentioned his home of Port aux Basques. That is where the revenue

comes from and that is why we are doing that.

Mr. Chair, now is not the time to cut back. Now is not the time while there

is uncertainty. Now is not the time to slam on the brakes. I believe, for the

sake of rural Newfoundland because the oil and gas

industry is not happening the jobs are not in rural Newfoundland .

The jobs are on the East Coast. The hydromet facility is in Long Harbour. What

about the forestry and what about the fishery and what about our manufacturing

products? They are selling into the U.S. The U.S. market is in big trouble.

Europe is in trouble.

I saw a report coming out of the U.S. that their job losses were

proportionately three times larger than what was happening in Canada. I am

seeing the number of people who are filing Unemployment Insurance claims in the

U.S. is actually increasing. We know the Canadian dollar relative to the U.S.

dollar is very, very high, which will negatively impact their ability to buy our

products. If Americans are not working, if they have no income they are not

going to be buying our fish, they are not going to be buying our newsprint, they

are not going to be buying our forestry products, and they are not going to be

buying our manufacturing products. That does not auger well for the future of

rural Newfoundland. Therefore, we cannot just let it die; therefore government

must step into the breach. We must continue to invest in infrastructure as we

did last year, as we did the year before. As a matter of fact, the Premier

started that a few years ago.

The Premier instituted an infrastructure strategy in this Province that was

in effect way before Barack Obama started to stimulate the American economy, way

before Stephen Harper decided to stimulate the Canadian economy. We have to do

that for the benefit of rural Newfoundland, because my fear is that while we are

seeing economic growth in this Province, in many parts of the Province, in many

sectors of our economy not the oil and gas, not the hydromet facility, but in

many sectors of the economy it is government investment, it is government

infrastructure, it is government programs that are keeping that economy going.

If the economy improves, if the economy gains traction over time, if the

uncertainty ceases to exist, and we know that the economic growth throughout the

world and here in the Province is fully reinvigorated, then that is a time to

get back to balance. That is the time to do what the Leader of the Opposition

wants us to do, remove the deficit, but not yet not yet. The dollar is high,

that is not going to help. The economy in China, there is talk about a bubble in

China. Uncertainty remains high, and government spending has to continue for the

sake of rural Newfoundland and Labrador. It would be a mistake to slam on the

brakes. We have to stay on course. We have to keep the momentum going until the

economic growth is fully invigorated.

We will get back to a balanced budget when the good times come back, when the

economic growth gathers traction. We will get back to balanced budgets; we will

get back to surpluses at some point in the future so that we can then continue

to pay down the debt, which has handicapped and been a burden to the people and

the government of this Province for so many years, but we are not going to do so

to compromise, as the Minister of Finance in Ontario said. He said: we cannot do

so to compromise the quality of public services that the people of this Province

want protected, and we are not going to do it so quickly as to dampen the

economic recovery, which in my view is just beginning.

So, that is where we are coming from and that is why the decision was made to

continue to stimulate the economy until we know that the traction has come back

and the economy has been fully invigorated.

With that, Mr. Chair, I will take my seat.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

CHAIR: The hon. the Member for the District of Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

I am glad to be able to stand again as we discuss the Interim Supply bill and

raise issues that I began speaking to on Tuesday. One of the points I made on

Tuesday, and it is where I want to start from again today, is that it is very

good, of course, that we have economic stimulus going on and we have money going

into infrastructure. One of the things I pointed out on Tuesday is that there is

more to infrastructure than roads and bridges and buildings. Buildings, our

hospitals, our schools, they all have to be maintained, they all have to be kept

up, they all have to be improved, and in some cases we have to have new ones.

New roads, new buildings, new bridges, et cetera.

We also have what is called social infrastructure. Social infrastructure

refers to the systems that are put in place to deliver social programs to meet

social needs. The one I started talking about on Tuesday was child care. I think

I explored that on Tuesday to the degree I wanted to, I may come back to it

again, but I would like to continue looking at other kinds of social programs

that we need to have in place, or other aspects of social infrastructure.

The aspect I would like to look at this afternoon for a bit is that of

affordable housing. When I say affordable housing, one has to define, affordable

for whom? Obviously, a $300,000 home is affordable for a millionaire but it is

not affordable for somebody on an income of $15,000. So when we are talking

about affordable housing, we are talking about housing that is affordable for

low to middle-income people, because for the most part, middle income and upper

can usually find housing somewhere that will fit their pocketbooks. It is

becoming much more difficult in Newfoundland and Labrador right now for people

to find housing that is fitting their pocketbooks, when we are talking about low

income and low-middle income. People in those categories, people with incomes

that are just above or slightly above or even $10,000 above the poverty line,

they do not have a lot of money when it comes to meeting all their needs.

When we are talking about affordable housing, we are talking about housing

that fits all pocketbooks. At the lower end, people do not have an easy time

finding housing that meets those needs. What has happened is, especially in

areas like the Northeastern Avalon, people are finding that rents have gone up

terrifically. It is not just in the Northeastern Avalon, it is quite amazing

actually what I am learning about how rents have gone up in areas like Corner

Brook, which do not have Corner Brook itself does not have the same rate of

economic growth as St. John's does right now because of the impact of the

offshore development as it hits St. John's. Yet, even in Corner Brook, for

example, rental rates are going up very quickly. In Labrador West, where there

has been increased economic activity because of increased mining activity, the

economy has been affected, rents have gone up there. The rate of rents going up

is really quite shocking.

I became aware of one rent last night where those who are renting have been

notified that their rent is going to go from $495 a month to $650 a month. That

is an amazing jump. That is $155 a month of a jump in a rent. This is the kind

of thing that is going on. The price of homes is going up and some lower,

middle-income people would hope to be able to buy a home but with the way in

which the price of homes are going up, that is going out of their reach.

I heard this morning in a coverage on CBC radio, a gentleman who was on, a

developer - well, I guess he is a builder - talking about the new homes that are

going up in the St. John's region, in the greater area. It includes more than

St. John's. So, the area of the Northeast Peninsula, I guess the Avalon

Peninsula, and now it is almost impossible to get a new home that is under

$300,000.

Heating costs are also going up and low-income people, low middle-income

people are finding that their salaries and their incomes are not going up at the

same rate as all of those costs. So, what suffers? One thing that suffers is

housing, adequate housing. The housing crunch, because people are having to put

more money into housing, what is happening is that people therefore are having

their budgets for food and other necessities of life, for themselves and their

families, being eaten into because of the high cost of housing. Right now in the

Province one-third of tenant households - so one-third of households were people

are renting in the Province, that is about 14,000 households, are in what is

called core housing need. Their housing is unaffordable or in bad condition or

not the right size and there is no alternative.

People with disabilities - and many people with disabilities are low income.

They cannot find accessible housing at any price. We do have a Social Housing

Plan that government released last August but unfortunately that plan does not

have specific actions or timelines for increasing the supply of affordable

housing. We did have the federal-provincial Affordable Housing Program. It has

put in place and has created an average of 100 new units a year, but we forget -

people hear 100 new units, well we have waiting lists that sort of wipe out what

100 means. The other thing is that the 100 new units include shelters and there

are all kinds of shelters that we have in the Province. So those units include

shelters and supportive housing. So, part of that 100, they are targeted to

special needs in different ways, and so it cuts into the units for people who

their special need is that they are low income and that is the only special need

they have. Families, in particular, who are low income, but we also have

individuals who are out there who cannot find places to live, cannot find decent

places to live which are affordable, which meets their pocketbook.

So the rate at which affordable units are being built is way too slow and

what is happening is that the waiting lists where waiting lists exist, for

example, with Newfoundland and Labrador Housing they have waiting lists, the

waiting lists are growing. Their waiting lists are getting greater and it is not

just in the St. John's area. It is province-wide with regard to the waiting

lists. Obviously, it is bigger on the Northeast Avalon but it happening

everywhere.

The thing is that housing, if we got into building more housing it is much an

economic stimulus as building roads and bridges. If we did it as part of a whole

plan of training and employment, we could train more people to be involved in

residential building and we would have more employment opportunities if we

increased the number of people being trained. So, it is a whole package. I have

said this before in the House, a whole package of putting money into new units,

training more people in an aggressive way, getting more people trained to be

involved in the residential market and then we get employment and we have people

working for good salaries. Things just improve all around, but it has to be a

whole package that is put together. That is something that I would love to see

in the Budget that we are going to see next Monday.

A greater investment in affordable housing would require a multi-year plan,

not just a one year plan, but a multi-year plan and that includes more than just

social housing; a plan that would have timelines, that would have targets and

would have money put into the program. We just need more than 100 units a year.

If we just keep going at that rate, we are always going to have hundreds of

people who are living in unsatisfactory conditions, and this of course adds to

poverty. Housing is an indicator of poverty and we have got to because the

more that people cannot afford where they are living, as I said a minute ago,

the more other aspects of their lives are suffering because they do not have the

money to put into other necessities -

CHAIR: Order, please!

MS MICHAEL: I have noticed, yes, that my time is up and I will stop right

now because I will stand again and continue.

Thank you very much.

CHAIR: The hon. the Member for the District of Bonavista North.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HARDING: Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I am certainly pleased today to be able to have my ten minutes speaking on

the Interim Supply bill, a bill, as most people know, is one that will give us

the capacity, I guess, to meet the current day-to-day expenditures of the

government until the new Budget receives final approval.

I have been listening intently to the Minister of Finance and President of

Treasury Board as he explained why we have continued to follow the course that

we had set back in 2004. A course whereby we said that we would invest in

infrastructure, we would reduce taxes, we would grow the economy, we would take

steps to invest in our social policies, reduce poverty, and the evidence of that

is certainly well known now whereby we were, back in 2004, a Province with the

highest rate of poverty in the country, and today we are the third lowest.

Mr. Chair, based on that - and the other thing that we have done certainly,

wherever we could, was to reduce the deficit; 2009-2010, as most people know

now, has been a year of exception in terms of reducing the debt. We have had to

do that because we are part of a worldwide recession. As well, our revenues for

2009-2010 have declined substantially. The minister referred just a minute ago

to the fact that our revenues this current year have been reduced by $1.9

billion.

The one thing that he has referred to as well is that we have been consistent

in the way we have managed the fiscal affairs of our Province. That is where the

difference lies, Mr. Chair, between our government and the Opposition. We have

heard the Leader of the Opposition say, from time to time, that she is concerned

or she does not agree with the fact that we are incurring a deficit. We saw here

again this afternoon, she is still going to find the money somewhere to put a

third air ambulance in the Province. The one thing she has not said is where

that money is coming from.

There are two choices, Mr. Chair, they either have to increase taxes or they

have to cut services. So what are they going to do? Are they going to take away

the $800 a year we have been giving our seniors? Not likely, Mr. Chair. Are they

going to take away the improvements we have made to the Prescription Drug

Program? Are they going to take away the fuel rebate? Are they going to take

away a rollback, the wage increases that we gave to our public sector workers? I

doubt it very much, Mr. Chair. Or are they going to increase our income taxes

again? When we inherited government back in 2003-2004, our workers in this

Province were paying the highest rate of income tax in the country. Today, with

the reductions that we have made in income tax, that we are now the lowest in

Eastern Canada.

Listening to the Opposition, Mr. Chair, again, with respect to the air

ambulances it would appear that their policy would be to put an air ambulance

wherever an accident occurred. They would probably have an ambulance, a road

ambulance at the access to every skidoo trail in the Province waiting for an

accident to occur, but, Mr. Chair, we all know that that is not reasonable.

We also acknowledge the fact, Mr. Chair, that the role of the Opposition is

to criticize government from time to time; no one disputes that. Mr. Chair,

there is something more too that the Opposition have to do if they ever want the

opportunity to form government and that is to show the general public that they

have alternative solutions to what the government is currently doing. In doing

that, Mr. Chair, in making these alternatives, they have to be reasonable. They

have to be realistic. They have to be rational and most important of all they

have to be responsible. I think that is one of the reasons, Mr. Chair, why the

people in Topsail district voted last week and only gave a combined total of

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HARDING: - 700 votes roughly to the two Opposition parties combined.

I think that was one of the main factors. That is one of the main reasons as

well, Mr. Chair, why our party was showing in the last poll that was taken the

satisfactory rate for our government is around 93 per cent.

Mr. Chair, none of us in government want to hear of tragic accidents, tragic

events taking place in the Province, not one of us. I would say to the

Opposition that for every one tragic accident in this Province, for every one

tragic case in this Province there are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of

good stories that can be told in our health care system.

I can tell you one now, Mr. Chair. A couple of weeks ago I had a call from a

constituent, her sixteen- year-old daughter was having twins - sixteen-year-old

daughter was having twins - and because of complications she had to be

transferred to Halifax to have the babies. As it happened, everything turned out

perfectly, the babies were born perfect and the mom is recovering wonderfully

well, but after a week or so in Halifax with no friends, no family around, the

young woman certainly wanted to get back as close to home as possible. The

grandmother called me and asked if there was anything I could do. I made a

couple of calls that same day. The next morning I had a call from the department

saying: Keep your fingers crossed, it looks like we may get the three of them

back to Gander later in the afternoon.

Mr. Chair, that afternoon I did receive the call from the Department of

Health that just before 5:00 o'clock one of the babies was on the way to Gander.

After that, the aircraft, the air ambulance was going back to Halifax again and

bringing back the mom and the other baby. Mr. Chair, for every sad story there

are always many, many more of good stories.

I know there are only a couple of minutes left, Mr. Chair, but I want to pay

emphasis to another program that has been ongoing and it is with respect to

Newfoundland and Labrador Housing, the Home Repair Program. When I was elected

back in 2002, we received numerous calls, myself and my constituency assistant.

One of the major calls that we were receiving was from constituents who had

applications in for the Home Repair Program.

After many, many calls to the Gander office that serves the Bonavista North

region, we found out that applicants were back four years. Applicants had

applications in for four years before they were being addressed. That is another

area where our government certainly stepped in and came up with extra money year

after year. Last week, I dropped into the Gander office, Mr. Chair, only to be

told that this year now with our new budget they are going to be dealing with

applications from 2009. That is a major improvement with respect to that housing

program, and mostly, a large part of that is for rural Newfoundland and

Labrador.

Mr. Chair, I know that my time is up but probably later on I may have the

opportunity to speak again. I also wanted to make some comments with respect to

the fishery and a statement that was made by the Opposition House Leader a

couple of days ago with respect to the way we were approaching the Memorandum of

Understanding. He did say, and he could not understand, why we were doing what

we are doing now in that we are talking to all the people in the Province in

trying to reach common consensus on how we approach of the future of the

fishery.

I guess, Mr. Chair, that I will address that sometime later and explain why

we are doing as well, in addition to what the Minister of Fisheries has already

said, as to why we are doing what we are doing in relation to that industry in

our Province.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

CHAIR: The hon. the Member for the District of Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

I am happy to stand again and continue the topic that I was speaking on some

twenty minutes ago with regard to affordable housing. I spoke somewhat about the

problems that exist and somewhat about the needs that are there in our Province

right now with regard to affordable housing.

What I would like to do now is to think a bit to the future and some of the

things that we need to have in place. Some of these things are things that

require money, yes, and building the infrastructure, but some are regulatory.

So, things that I would very much like to see in the Budget, and I will pick up

where I let off some time ago, one would be, and I will repeat it now, I think

we need a multi-year plan with a schedule, a multi-year

schedule not just year

by year but multi-year

schedule for creating new affordable housing units every

year - and understanding by affordable housing we mean housing that fits the

pocketbooks of low to low-middle income people. The 100 units a year that we are

getting right now, and which do not all go towards the kind of housing I am

talking about, are just not sufficient. We are doing not too badly, actually,

with regard to shelters, but we are not doing well with regard to people who

require good housing. As I described earlier, people sometimes are living in

housing, so they may be in a unit, but the units are not liveable and the units

have all kinds of needs in terms of having to be upgraded, in terms of having to

be repaired, et cetera. So, there is much more to this issue than having a

person or a family in a unit.

One of the things that we need to see changed and improved - and I would love

to see this in the Budget - is that we need a bigger budget for the Rent

Supplement Program. Newfoundland and Labrador Housing does have a Rent

Supplement Program. Last year we had 1,000 extra supplements in last year's

budget, but those supplements were taken up by July. So, halfway through the

year, if people started identifying themselves as being in need of rent

supplements then the money was not there. This is becoming more and more a need

because Newfoundland and Labrador Housing does not have adequate housing in its

bank to meet the needs of people. They now have a wait-list for Newfoundland and

Labrador Housing, provincially, which is well over 1,000 now. It is going up and

they have lost some control on stopping the numbers from going up and then

trying to bring the numbers down.

What is happening is, they, with the supplements, it sort of gave them a

breather because if somebody could not get into Newfoundland and Labrador

Housing then NLHC could say: Okay, we can give you a supplement, you go try to

find an apartment and we can give you a supplement that will help you live in

that apartment. When people would find that apartment, NLHC would go and assess

it, make sure that it was an apartment that was safe, an apartment that met the

regulations of NLHC with regard to requirements in a rental unit. Then, if it

met the regulations of NLHC and it is important that NLHC does that because

they need to know people are going into a safe unit they then would approve a

supplement, but the supplements last year were taken up by July. I am really

hoping that on Monday I am going to see, in the Budget, t