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November 14, 2016

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVIII No. 41

The

House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Osborne):

Order, please!

Admit

strangers.

welcome to the Speaker's gallery Mr. Joseph Janson and Mrs. Margaret Janson

and I'll explain a little later why they're in our public gallery, but I will

say that they were here once before in the 1970s. So welcome back.

We have

two new Pages in the House of Assembly today. Mr. Mohammed Ali Bakshi, he's a

native of Kabul, Afghanistan, who is pursuing a master's in educational

leadership at Memorial University.

Welcome.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

And Ms. Tresha Moorhouse, a

native of Walkers Wood, Jamaica, who is also pursuing a master's of educational

leadership at Memorial University.

Welcome.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

And welcome back as well to

Crystal Snelgrove, who is now our senior Page.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

I rise today to pay tribute

to Ms. Elizabeth Duff, former Clerk of this House of Assembly, who recently

passed away.

Ms.

Duff, known to most as Bettie, had a long career with our civil service. She was

private secretary to Premier Joseph Smallwood for 23 years, following which she

served as executive assistant within the government, and then within the House

of Assembly and Speaker Gerald Ottenheimer.

In 1977,

she was appointed as Clerk of this House, a position which she held until her

retirement in 1991. Ms. Duff was well-respected by all parties.

It is

notable, that Ms. Duff was the first female Clerk of any legislature or

parliament in all of Canada. During her tenure as Clerk she became well-known

throughout the British Commonwealth parliamentary circles and is fondly

remembered for her achievement as Clerk and for her graciousness and mentorship

at all times.

Bettie

passed peacefully away on August 28 of this year, her 90th birthday, having

spent the day celebrating with her family.

particular, she leaves behind her nephew, Joseph Jansen, his wife, Margie, who

works in the Office of the Legislative Counsel, and their three children,

Joseph, Meghan and Maria, as well as numerous nieces, nephews and other extended

family in the United States who all miss her greatly.

We pay

tribute to Bettie.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

Statements by

Members

MR. SPEAKER:

Today we have Members'

statements for the Districts of Bonavista, Mount Pearl Southlands, Labrador

West, St. John's East Quidi Vidi, Harbour Main and Cape St. Francis.

The hon.

the Member for the District of Bonavista.

MR. KING:

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to

acknowledge Sonja Mills and Alicia MacDonald owners and operators of the Port

Rexton Brewing Company. These entrepreneurial young women have always had a

passion for craft beer, but gained their brewing experience in Nova Scotia's

craft beer movement.

Operating out of an old school house in Port Rexton, Trinity Bay, they realized

their dream of opening a craft brewery and taproom in July. At that time it was

only the fourth craft brewery in the province. Since their opening, business has

been brisk with demand often exceeding supply for both beer and merchandise. The

high demand saw new growth in their business, purchasing new brewing tanks in

September. This growth allowed for consistent growler service that allows

patrons to enjoy the brews in the comfort of their own homes.

Although

the taproom is closed for the season, that doesn't mean that Sonja and Alicia

are any less busy. They are still producing beer, supplying many local bars and

restaurants. As a testament to their hard work, they were awarded the People's

Choice Award for their T'Rex Porter at the Atlantic Canadian Beer Awards.

Please

join me in wishing them continued success.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Mount Pearl Southlands.

MR. LANE:

Mr. Speaker, it's my

privilege to stand in this hon. House to recognize an individual who gave a

lifetime of service to the citizens of Mount Pearl. Richard Levandier moved to

Mount Pearl from Nova Scotia 44 years ago for what was supposed to be a two-year

work assignment. Shortly after arriving, he joined the Kinsmen Club of Mount

Pearl where he would subsequently hold numerous leadership roles and chair

numerous charitable projects in the community.

Outside

of Kin, he was a relentless defender of all things Mount Pearl and would be

regularly engaged in promoting, supporting and advocating for his community.

Among the many hats that Richard wore, was the role of president of the Mount

Pearl Men's Slowpitch Softball League. Earlier this year, he was recognized by

the city and the league by having the new softball facility named in his. The

citizens of Mount Pearl recently mourned the loss of our great friend Richard

who fought valiantly with ALS. Even in his final days, he insisted on continuing

his involvement with Kin.

His

final Kinsmen meeting took place in palliative care, with his fellow Kinsmen

gathered around his bedside. This speaks volumes to the type of individual that

Richard was: a Kinsmen and a dedicated volunteer right to the very end.

Mr.

Speaker, I would ask all Members of this hon. House to join me in offering

condolences to Richard's wife Deirdre and his family and in celebrating the life

of an individual who is gone but will never be forgotten by the people of Mount

Pearl.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Labrador West.

MR. LETTO:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

in this hon. House today to congratulate the Labrador City Fire Department on

their 50th anniversary. The Labrador City Fire Department is a combination of

career and volunteer firefighters, with a total of 45 firefighters on active

deputy protecting the residents of Labrador West, including the Town of Wabush,

the Iron Ore Company of Canada and response services to the Trans-Labrador

Highway.

Over the

past 50 years, training has been a top priority for the fire department, and I

can honestly say that the Labrador City Fire Department is one of the most

highly trained departments in the province. With three major forest fires and

several serious industrial fires in its 50-year history, their training has been

tested and proven beyond any reasonable doubt.

I speak

highly of the men and women of the Labrador City Fire Department because I have

seen them in action and witnessed their professionalism. The residents of

Labrador West are fortunate to have them.

I ask

all hon. Members to join me in congratulating the Labrador City Fire Department

on their 50 years of service and wish them well in the years ahead as they

continue to protect the residents of Labrador West.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's East Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I could

never grow tired of celebrating the youth of our province. Today I am happy to

share the accomplishments of two boys from St. John's East Quidi Vidi who

received the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Awards last Tuesday in a ceremony at St.

John's City Hall.

Mayor

Dennis O'Keefe presented bronze awards to, among others, Adonias Mohammed from

the St. John's Boys and Girls Club and Colin Nolan from the Waypoints Leadership

Resilience Program.

The

Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award is the first of three levels for these awards. It

takes at least 26 weeks half a year, Mr. Speaker to complete, and often much

longer as teenagers balance all the competing interests in their lives.

Adonias,

Colin and all the other recipients have demonstrated their commitment to the

three core values of the Duke of Edinburgh Program, participating in

activities that fall under the categories of service, skill and physical

recreation. The program also includes an overnight adventurous journey or

expedition.

Mr. Speaker, our youth today face challenges many of us

cannot imagine. I invite all hon. Members to join me in applauding Adonias

Mohammed and Colin Nolan, Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award winners.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Harbour Main.

MS. PARSLEY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

in this hon. House today to congratulate the participants of the 2016

Newfoundland and Labrador Summer Games. This year's games took place in the

scenic Town of Conception Bay South. The games were held from August 13-21 and

saw over 1,400 athletes and 600 volunteers converge on the region to show their

skills in various sports while promoting a healthy, active lifestyle and, above

all else, making friends and having fun. We were also delighted to welcome the

very first Aboriginal delegation to participate in the festivities.

I would

like to extend a big congratulations to all the staff and volunteers who made

these games possible, as well to this year's organizing committee within the

town and Mayor Steve Tessier for his council's outstanding support for this

year's event.

Without

such amazing community support, such as is found within Conception Bay South,

events like these would not be possible and would not have been such an

unforgettable event for the many athletes, coaches and parents that took

part in

the games.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Cape St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

in this hon. House today to recognize the Pouch Cove Volunteer Fire Department

for 41 years of service to the residents of Bauline and Pouch Cove.

At the

firefighters' ball on 24th of September, it was nice to see a full house at the

Pouch Cove Lions Club. Departments from all over came out to celebrate with

Chief Derek Sullivan, along with the 32 members, four junior firefighters and

firettes. The firettes host many fundraising events throughout the year.

Fire

Prevention Officer Shawn Wall was presented with his 20-year pin for his

dedication to the department. Chief Derek Sullivan was also recognized for 25

years of service. He received a gift from the town, as well as the firettes.

The

Pouch Cove Volunteer Fire Department is very well trained and the members take

great pride in their work. The department also has a junior firefighters program

which encourages young people to get involved in the department.

I ask

all hon. Members to join with me in thanking the Pouch Cove Volunteer Fire

Department for 41 years of service to the residents to Pouch Cove and Bauline.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by

Ministers

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. KIRBY:

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this

hon. House today to recognize National Bullying Awareness Week, which takes

place November 14 to 20. This year's theme is

Stand Up to bullying.

Bullying

Awareness Week is an opportunity for students, educators, parents and

communities to discuss and learn about what we can do to prevent bullying.

Mr.

Speaker, it is the responsibility of all of us to speak up against bullying. We

encourage schools to review the Safe and Caring Schools Policy and its Bullying

Intervention Protocol; we also encourage students to

Stand Up when they witness bullying and to tell a teacher, a

friend or a parent so that together we can put an end to bullying.

Every

child and adult deserves to feel safe, protected and accepted for who they are

within the school environment, in the community and, indeed, in all aspects of

their lives regardless of appearance, gender, race, sexual orientation, gender

identity and beliefs.

Mr.

Speaker, our government supports a proactive approach to eliminating bullying.

Annually, the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development recognizes

students and schools for their work to promote Safe, Caring and Inclusive School

communities.

The

provincial Safe and Caring Schools Policy promotes the elimination of all forms

of bullying, harassment and inappropriate behaviour. The policy also provides

guidance on the development of a bullying intervention protocol and a school

code of conduct.

I ask

all hon. Members of the House to join me and promote National Bullying Awareness

Week.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Conception Bay East Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the minister for an advance copy of his statement. We, too, join with the

government in recognizing National Bullying Awareness Week.

Mr.

Speaker, much work has been done to create safe and caring schools in our

province, but we understand much more remains to be done. It is only with the

co-operation of students, staff, administration, parents and leadership that we

can rid our schools of bullying. We owe it to ourselves but, more particularly,

we owe it to our students and our children.

We know

children are better able to learn when they feel safe and respected. We must

ensure every child has that benefit afforded to them. As legislators, we, too,

can promote safe and respectful spaces ourselves. While unfortunately we stray

from those ideals sometimes in here, we should strive to be positive examples.

It is incumbent on us as leaders to lead by example.

I'd like

to thank the students and staff in my own district as well as all of those from

our various schools around the province for standing up to bullying. You are

creating the change we need. You are to be commended.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's East Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I thank

the minister for the advance copy of his statement. We too often hear of

situations where it appears bullying is still going on in spite of all our

efforts, and also where children who have been bullied don't feel they've been

listened to and still feel afraid.

It's not

enough to have intervention protocols and codes of conduct, though we need them;

government also needs to provide sufficient resources to ensure they are fully

implemented and to bring more prevention programs into the schools as well.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Municipal Affairs.

MR. JOYCE:

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this

hon. House to commend the work of communities, residents and staff with Fire and

Emergency Services and the Department of Transportation and Works on working

together in the lead up and during the rainstorm on October 11 that affected so

many areas of our province.

congratulate communities and emergency management partners as they followed best

practices for emergency response and utilized their emergency management plans

to support residents in their time of need. This event demonstrated the

importance of sound emergency preparedness and highlighted the progress we have

made as a province in terms of our ability to respond to major events. Following

the storm, Premier Ball, along with the Minister of Transportation and Works,

all MHAs representing affected districts and I travelled to the impacted

communities to survey the damages and meet the families that were impacted by

the storm's devastation.

In the

response phase of this emergency, teams followed protocol and were on the ground

within hours of the event. We were in constant contact with officials throughout

the response. Services, schools and roads were opened quickly and individual

community needs were addressed efficiently.

Mr.

Speaker, we worked closely with the federal government to ensure an early

rollout of the Newfoundland and Labrador Disaster Financial Assistance

Program. All municipalities have been advised of eligible criteria requirements

under the Disaster Financial Assistance Program.

To date,

the Department of Municipal Affairs has received 145 private sector claims,

which include individual claims, small businesses and not for profit. All of

these claims are being processed by the Disaster Financial Assistance division.

Mr.

Speaker, the total estimated costs for municipal infrastructure damages are

between $6 million and $7 million. The province continues to work closely with

the federal government to ensure all necessary federal approvals are in place to

access federal funding.

I would

like also to thank local women and men who assisted their neighbours in their

time of need, and I want to acknowledge the hard work of all municipalities,

first responders, employees, town councils and the RCMP for their efforts. Our

government will continue to work with all levels of government, organizations

and homeowners in the recovery phase of this storm.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Before I recognize the Member

for Fortune Bay Cape La Hune, I remind Members of the Legislature that we can

only refer to another Member by district or their title.

The hon.

the Member for Fortune Bay Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the minister for an advance copy of his statement and for his prompt assistance

during our plight, along with our Premier, who came to visit right away. So on

behalf of myself and residents of Fortune Bay Cape La Hune, we thank you.

We, too,

in the Official Opposition office join with the government and express our

sincere appreciation to all those who provided assistance during the rainstorm.

From the emergency responders to those who helped reopen roadways and bridges,

and to the volunteer and not-for-profit groups who supplied hospitality to those

individuals stranded on our roadways, we offer you a heartfelt thank you.

Mr.

Speaker, my district was particularly impacted by the Thanksgiving rainstorm.

The rain and flooding caused serious damage to local infrastructure, roads and

bridges were washed out, and many communities were isolated for several days.

During the days that followed the storm I received many calls from residents

needing assistance.

behalf of those residents, I would like to thank the local officials, first

responders, service crews, volunteers and residents for their tireless efforts

and care. I would also like to extend a very special thank you to those

individuals who helped and are continuing to help restore the infrastructure in

Fortune Bay Cape La Hune and across affected areas of the province.

Thank

you all so very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's East Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the minister for an advance copy of his statement.

Fire and

Emergency Services did great work during the recent October rainstorm. We all

commend them. I also congratulate municipalities for the support they provided

in their communities. With the advent of climate change there will be more and

more extreme weather events. I hope the minister has a plan in place to ensure

municipalities get all the resources and support they need as they face the

realities of climate change.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Further statements by

ministers?

Oral

Questions.

Oral Questions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Opposition.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, for more than two years the Premier has been saying that he had a plan

for Newfoundland and Labrador. He promised the LEAP plan, the Liberal Economic

Action Plan. He promised a plan from The Road Ahead tour. He, through the

election campaign, promised A Plan for a

Stronger Tomorrow . And just last week they unveiled

The Way Forward: A Vision .

A full

year in office without a plan. The people of our province remain concerned about

the state of our province and the leadership of this government. They're worried

about heightened tax fees put on them by the Liberal government. They're worried

about the economy and the future of our province.

I ask

the Premier: Why should people buy into your latest promise?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, I

would guess one reason why they should buy into this commitment and this vision,

this plan that we put forward is because it's really the only one that they've

seen in the last 12 years.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER BALL:

Mr. Speaker, what we laid out

to the public over the last number of weeks was really a part of a process that

started last January. It saw the engagement of over a thousand Newfoundlanders

and Labradorians from the business community, from the labour community, from

our communities in general. So there was quite a piece of work that went into

leading up to the release of a vision.

What we

did put in place very different than what we've seen from the previous

administration is actually put targets in place. What we would be doing in the

first six months, what would happen in six to 18 months, and then 18 months and

beyond. First and foremost, the foundation for any plan, I say, Mr. Speaker, is

to put in place a secure financial foundation. Because what we've known from the

past administration is one that was weakened by their mismanagement and their

poor planning.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

So the

Premier hasn't provided any reason why people should actually buy into his plan.

He likes to go back in history lessons. We don't mind doing that as well, Mr.

Speaker, because I can tell you, there's a lot of good that happened over the

last decade. I don't mind standing here and saying that as well; but, Mr.

Speaker, no doubt there are challenges in the future for Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians and in the province. We are the only party who talked about that

leading into the election last year.

I ask

the Premier, on his new vision that he disclosed last week and shared with the

people of the province, he also took the time to highlight savings.

Premier:

What savings are you referring to, and what do they amount to?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

What we

laid out last week was indeed a seven-year plan to return this province to

surplus. That was laid out, and a matter of fact, just a few weeks prior to that

the Minister of Finance laid out where we were in the fiscal updates. So, Mr.

Speaker, there's an ongoing plan here, as we know, not only to reduce expenses,

to reduce the footprint of government. We've laid that out there. What we've

seen is we've seen a government prior to the last government change, is when you

had to deal with an issue, what they did is they opened up an office, and they

just continue to make a strategy about strategies, I would say.

So what

we continue to see is a footprint of government becoming much larger. We know,

based on the jurisdictional scan that we are doing, some of this, based on the

geography, merely of what we have in our province, this is a very expensive way

to deliver the services that people want. So we will always look for ways to put

in place good, efficient government services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Opposition.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

So there

are no details on savings. If you can't provide details on savings, I ask the

Premier this: Are you confident that this plan is going to save taxpayers money

or will it cost them more?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

What we'll see this plan do,

Mr. Speaker, is it will create sources of revenue. We will diversify the economy

with this, but we've already put in place the previous administration, when

you look back at where we were, we had the same number of deputy ministers that

we've seen as the Province of Ontario. So we've been able to reduce that by 19

per cent. We've seen the same thing within the communications department where

we've reduced that by nearly 30 per cent. We've seen it also within the ADM

level.

So what

we've seen from the previous administration is a very expensive model to deliver

services. Quite clearly, I will tell you that people in all our engagements said

this: Do not waste our money. Make sure that the footprint of government is one

that fits the services that we depend on.

Mr.

Speaker, that is what we are doing with this

Way Forward vision statement.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

So the

Premier can't say if it's going to save taxpayers money or cost them more. Mr.

Speaker, recently the Muskrat Falls Project was shut down for several days while

the Premier sat idly by.

I ask

the Premier: What was the cost resulting from the shutdown of the Muskrat Falls

Project?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, I

take exception to the fact that the former premier says we sat idly by. That was

not the case. We were involved in this for every minute, every hour that this

was an active file.

Indeed,

the former premier, after a 12-hour marathon meeting that we had with our

Aboriginal leaders, should be ashamed to say that someone was ever sitting idly

by because if they had to have done their work and planned for this project, Mr.

Speaker, we would not be in this situation that we're into.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER BALL:

Keep in mind, this is the

person the day after, prior to looking at this, said he wasn't familiar with the

issue around methylmercury as it affected Aboriginal communities. He didn't even

bother when he was the premier of this province to make himself familiar with

the science that was going on.

So I

take exception to the fact that this former premier thinks that someone was

sitting idly by. It was not the case.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Premier,

there's no need to be angry here today. We're only asking questions on behalf of

the people. Your own minister agreed with our assessment and our plan on

methylmercury back in June, but changed his plan this fall, I say to the

Premier.

So,

Premier, if you can't tell us what the cost is resulting from the shutdown of

Muskrat Falls, are you able to provide the people of the province with an

updated timeline on the project itself and the construction of the project? If

you don't have the cost resulting from the shutdown, can you give us an update

on the timelines? Do you know that?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

I remind

all hon. Members that the only person I wish to hear from, especially during

Question Period, is the person that has been recognized to speak. I don't want

to start this session off on the wrong foot. I'm not going to tolerate Members

interrupting other Members' speaking time.

The hon.

the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well,

there's no doubt any time you see a major project that was shut down as a result

of the actions that took place on that project a few weeks ago, there were

significant costs. The costs are not fully developed or finalized yet. It's too

early to tell. What we do know is it will impact

schedule and it will impact

cost. Once the numbers are determined, of course, these will be shared, as we

normally get with updates on the Muskrat Falls Project.

I would

also say, Mr. Speaker, when you look at what we've had to deal with on the

Muskrat Falls Project, it really anchors us back to the fact that they were not

prepared, the proper amount of preparation that was required on this megaproject

when you look at companies like Astaldi, the contracts that were put in place,

they were put in place, sanctioned by the previous administration.

Keep in

mind, we did not support this project; we inherited this project. There's a

significant investment made here now with public funds. Our job right now is to

get it back on track and get the

schedule back in place.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, the Premier hasn't provided an update on cost or on timelines. Now, the

CEO this morning made an estimate; he said there was an impact of two to three

months on the construction project itself. He estimated a $200 million to $300

million impact. Now, obviously the Premier is not aware of this.

I'll ask

the Premier: When can you provide an update to the House of Assembly?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Mr. Speaker, there's a big

gap between $200 million and $300 million. What he asked for was: What were the

costs? Well, I could easily say between $200 million and $300 million; that's

what was reported this morning, but that's a big gap. I'd like to have numbers

that is kind of like the way they budgeted before. Remember, it was them who

said it was going to be around $1.1 billion and it was $2.2 billion. So I'm not

surprised they would not be concerned about the details when it comes to

budgeting or a schedule, Mr. Speaker.

This

project right now, there's no doubt about it, has come with significant

challenges to the people of this province. Also, if you remember, it was a

previous administration that said we would not have to worry about borrowing for

Muskrat Falls because, as a government, they said this: We are flush with cash.

I wonder how he feels about that statement today.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Opposition House

Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, since Budget 2016 we've seen

reversals on closing of libraries, closing of courts and health care decisions.

I ask

the Minister of Finance: What is the net effect on

Budget 2016 and these changes, and where will these costs be made

up?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MS. C. BENNETT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the Member opposite for the question.

As we

shared with the people of the province, and certainly the Members of this House

on October 27 as part of our fall fiscal update, we revised our deficit for this

fiscal year from $1.8 billion to $1.58 billion, which is a reduction of $250

million over what we had forecast.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS. C. BENNETT:

That number comes from an

improvement in revenue and also from an adjustment to the revenue risk

adjustment. As well, we've been able to reduce our borrowing requirements by

$500 million.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Opposition House

Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

She

wasn't able to answer the question.

Mr.

Speaker, Budget 2016 identified cuts

of 450 FTEs in agencies, boards and commissions and 200 in core government.

I ask

the minister: How many of these 450 FTEs represented jobs? Have all of these

people been terminated and what is the net savings?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MS. C. BENNETT:

Mr. Speaker, I would take

exception to what the Member opposite said in his

preamble to his question. The

information I provided to him was an explanation of where we are, at a very high

level on the expenses and on the revenues for the province as part of our fiscal

update.

I'll

take great exception to the fact that the Member opposite likes to refer to the

fact that he believes people can't answer questions. I'm very prepared to answer

his questions. On the information he asked around the FTEs, I will make sure

that I have the exact information for that Member and provide it to him in the

next day or so.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Opposition House

Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

So let's

be clear, the Minister of Finance is telling us she had 450 FTEs in her budget

last spring that she was going to take out of the public service. Today she

stands in the House and she can't give us details on those 450 FTEs. No wonder

we're in the state we're in in the province, Mr. Speaker, right now over the

past 12 months.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

I'm restarting the clock.

The hon.

the Opposition House Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask the Minister of Finance: Are the Liberal appointments of deputy

ministers, assistant deputy ministers and communication directors replacing

prior FTE cuts from Budget 2016 ?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MS. C. BENNETT:

Mr. Speaker, the Member

opposite is inferring that I'm not aware of information inside my departments,

and I can assure the Member opposite quite unequivocally that the operations

inside the Department of Finance, as well as the Human Resources Secretariat,

get my full and undivided attention. So much so that this year our government

has been able to say to the people of the province that we had a $1.8 billion

deficit that we expected we would be achieving, and we were able to come out at

the mid-year and say we had improved that number by $250 million.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS. C. BENNETT:

Quite frankly, I think that's

performance.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Opposition House

Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

So on

top of it, she couldn't tell me what the 450 full-time equivalents were or if

they would be terminated based on the budget in 2016.

Mr.

Speaker, a budget is a plan, or may I say a vision of how to lead forward. In

Budget 2016 you advised people of the province of a supplementary budget to

address expenditures.

I ask

the minister: The Premier disagreed with this we understand, why the fiscal

change on this?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MS. C. BENNETT:

Mr. Speaker, let me assure

the people of the province who are watching this today, and the Members

opposite, that our government is extremely unified in how we intend to solve the

financial situation that we as a people must face.

Last

week the Premier announced the vision, The

Way Forward , which is a sustainable plan with 50 initiatives in it, Mr.

Speaker, that we will implement and we will report with a scorecard on our

implementation process as part of budget '17-'18. Quite frankly, Mr. Speaker, I

believe the people of the province the feedback has been positive, and with 50

initiatives with very clear outputs, we're very proud of that piece of work.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Opposition House

Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, Quebec is receiving $10 billion in equalization while forecasting a $2

billion surplus. Nova Scotia is getting $1.7 billion; yet, Newfoundland is

running a deficit and not seeing a penny in equalization.

I ask

the Minister of Finance: Have you made any effort to advocate for equalization

from the federal government for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MS. C. BENNETT:

Mr. Speaker, I'm very proud

to stand in this House of Assembly and speak to the incredible work that our

Premier and our colleagues on this side of the House of Assembly have been doing

with our federal counterparts successfully, I might add to help lighten the

burden of the financial situation that we're faced with in our province.

Recently, there was an announcement of a $2.9 billion enhanced federal loan

guarantee which will help reduce the costs associated with the Muskrat Falls

Project, Mr. Speaker. In addition to that, we've seen actions that are very

broad, including things like removing the tariffs from the boats that were

purchased by the former administration without even considering the tariffs on

those boats.

We have

been working very hard with our officials and colleagues in Ottawa and we will

continue to do that. We will continue to bring back results.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Opposition House

Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

minister didn't indicate if she was advocating on behalf of Newfoundland and

Labrador. All that she referenced in regard to funding from the federal

government, we certainly applaud that, but there's a federal program under

equalization that we should have access to.

In her

fiscal update, the minister talked it wasn't a supplementary budget, it was an

update. The minister herself acknowledged the unfairness of the current

equalization program.

So I ask

her again: Why are you not talking to the federal government about a fair share

of equalization for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MS. C. BENNETT:

Mr. Speaker, not only are we

advocating, but we're getting results. I just listed a large number of them,

including a $2.9 billion loan guarantee that this government has been able to

bring to fruition for the people of the province against the Muskrat Falls

Project which is a huge success.

When it

comes to equalization, Mr. Speaker, I would remind the Member opposite that the

equalization formula as it is implemented today was negotiated and agreed to by

the former administration.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount

Pearl North.

MR. KENT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Economic

diversification was mentioned quite often in the Liberal's 2015 election

campaign. They even promised a LEAP plan which doesn't exist. One year later,

still no real plan.

I ask

the Premier: When can the people of Newfoundland and Labrador expect to see your

plan to grow our economy?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the Member opposite for the question. Our Department of Business, Tourism,

Culture and Rural Development is very active in taking on initiatives to talk to

business in the community, to grow the economy. With the Premier's

Way Forward and the vision statement,

we're taking on a number of initiatives to work to grow broadband in the economy

so that people have more competitive business.

Also,

we're improving our service standards, looking at our programming. We are

looking at ways of which we can attract and grow more business in Newfoundland

and Labrador in many cases throughout the province and we're seeing success.

We have

been working with the arts community as well when it comes to status of the

artist legislation. There are a number of initiatives that the Department of

Business is taking to grow and diversify the economy right here to deliver

tangible results.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount

Pearl North.

MR. KENT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

minister's department is indeed busy carrying out initiatives that were launched

by the previous administration.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

I ask the Premier: What

specifically has your administration done to strengthen the economy since taking

office one year ago?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I can

speak quite candidly that we've delivered broadband Internet to 16 communities

across the province in Newfoundland and Labrador since January of this year.

We've also invested $6.2 million to leverage 20 additional million dollars in

various programs for market, business development. We've been working with a

number of business clients to grow and diversity the economy.

Our

tourism numbers this year have been tremendous when it comes to initiatives

undertaken. We did a new launch of a tourism ad. We've been taking a number of

approaches when we work with our operators.

We have

a vision to get through destination development planning and product development

to really grow and enhance our tourism industry, and all other aspects of the

economy. We're really going to be doing things on innovation.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount

Pearl North.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, the minister

talks about tourism and rural broadband. I thank the minister for proving my

point.

The

Liberals are projecting that our province will lose 33,000 jobs in the next five

years.

I ask

the Premier: Do you have a concrete plan to support job growth? Can you show it

to us, because it's certainly not in your vision statement?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Mr. Speaker, I would say to

the Member opposite that no government owns the tourism industry or owns an

infrastructure aspect.

We're

taking on a number of strategic initiatives that we're doing here as a

government when it comes to innovation, when it comes to regional pilot

projects. We're working with the small business sector because we believe that

small business is the backbone of the economy. We will map that out and make

sure there are additional jobs created with small business. Working with my

colleagues, the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills, when it comes to

looking at the College of the North Atlantic and how we modernize, and work with

business incubation, work with the social enterprise, when we talk with my

colleague for Seniors, Children and Social Development.

We're a

government that's working together as a team: Natural Resources, Fisheries and

Agrifoods. We're going to grow the economy.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount

Pearl North.

MR. KENT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Today is

World Diabetes Day.

I ask

the minister: Can he please provide an update on the Liberal's promise of

diabetes prevention and management program?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

welcome the question. The program development is proceeding. The issue currently

with us is converting a registry into a database for diabetes management. We are

drawing on some legislation to try and deal with the privacy issues about

converting what is a database into a registry. The gentleman opposite will

remember some of those challenges from his time, I'm sure.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay East Bell Island.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BRAZIL:

Mr. Speaker, the Premier

campaigned on if you can't listen, you can't lead.

I ask

the Premier: Will you listen to the NLTA and the hundreds of teachers requesting

that you remove the Minister of Education from Cabinet?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well,

the answer I will tell you now is no. I will not be replacing the minister.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER BALL:

Mr. Speaker, I can give you

some very good reasons. In the minister's mandate letter we talked about

actually putting in place a Premier's Task Force on Improving Educational

Outcomes. The minister has done that. Also, around school board elections,

something that the previous administration said they were going to do, often

said they were going to do. Then they said they were going to do it again, but

guess what, never did it. The minister has delivered on that on November 22 of

this year.

We have

a number of people around our province that showed significant interest in this.

I encourage people to get out and participate. The minister has delivered on

that, also, on full-day kindergarten. So the minister has done a very good job

in some very trying times, but he has my confidence.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay East Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

understanding is you're right, a number of people do want to run. It's because

they need to help fix the education system and the state it's in right now.

The

Minister of Education received a mandate letter from the Premier to act with

integrity in all aspects of his service. Based on the responses from the school

councils, the Child Care Coalition and the NLTA, does the Premier think that the

Education Minister has shown integrity when dealing with stakeholders?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

When you

look at where the education system is in our province, we've made a big

commitment. Education is a priority for us. As a matter of fact, if it wasn't

for the fact that we find ourselves in a situation where debt servicing is now

surpassing education, based on where they didn't prepare our education system to

where it is today, there would be more money to spend on education.

Education is a priority for us. We respect the fact that we have teachers that

are working very hard to deliver the education where we need to be in our K to

12 system as we do with early childhood educators, Mr. Speaker.

These

are very difficult times within the system right now, but the Minister of

Education is doing a very good job in these very challenging times. We've put in

place an offer to meet with the NLTA and that offer still exists.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay East Bell Island for a very quick question.

MR. BRAZIL:

Mr. Speaker, when will the

Minister of Education meet with stakeholders, particularly those bus operators,

to ensure that all school buses carrying children are safe in this province?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Municipal Affairs for a very quick response.

MR. JOYCE:

Mr. Speaker, we take bus

safety very seriously in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. We thank all

the workers who are out inspecting our buses.

I'll

have a further question later if you want to question tomorrow on the

inspection process, Mr. Speaker. We all, on this side, take buses very

seriously, the safety of our children very seriously, Mr. Speaker, and we work

very hard with all stakeholders in the province to ensure that the buses are

safe.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's East Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

Last

week the Premier presented what he called a vision statement which says nothing

about job creation objectives. With 6,500 jobs lost last month and unemployment

increasing monthly, government speaks only of cuts and firings.

I ask

the Premier: After a year in power, what plans does this government have? What

is his vision to address the job crisis?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well,

the plan did not just address where we'd need to be in putting in place a

leaner, flatter way of delivering services within our province, which is what

really taxpayers, the people that actually use their hard-earned money to pay

for the services, which they have told me in vast in many, many occasions in

making sure that you run an efficient government. They have said that

un-categorically, no matter where we'd go.

Creating

the new sources of revenue is really within

The Way Forward documentation in many,

many ways. We've put in place targets around agriculture, around how we would

use forestry, as an example; how we would work with our offshore industry, how

we would work with small business in general. That is within this document. As

has been mentioned, there are nearly 50 initiatives there; how we reduce health

care costs, making sure we have health in all policies, as an example, Mr.

Speaker. There are lots of good examples here of how we would create employment.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's East Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

Looking

for the word jobs in that statement is a real job, Mr. Speaker, I say.

In his

mandate letter to himself, the Premier says, building a stronger, smarter

economy requires diversification, job creation and growth.

I ask

the Premier: After a year in power, what has he done of any significance for

diversification, job creation or growth?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Mr. Speaker, when you look at

any business application, whether it's a community, it could be an association,

it could be a business, as an example, one of the things that you have to do is

establish secure financial footing. You have to do that. It is essential.

We have

worked very hard this year. When you look at where we were with a $2.7 billion

deficit, we would have seen debt-servicing costs in our province create further

we'd create more damage, I would say, and we would see more job losses, in

fact, I'd say, Mr. Speaker, based on where we were going.

So we

had to put in place a financial footing that could be dependent. Well, we've

done that. We've reduced from $2.7 billion currently down to just shy of $1.6

billion. That has been our focus this year, I would say, so far. We've done a

very good job. We're working with all Cabinet and caucus in getting that secure

foundation in place.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker, in September our

community was shocked by Scotsburn's announcement they were closing their ice

cream plant in St. John's Centre, losing over 170 well-paying jobs, also

resulting in a significant economic loss to the province.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask the Premier: Did he or any of his ministers meet with Scotsburn

management to see whether anything could be done to address the company's

concerns and prevent the loss of these valuable jobs?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries, Forestry and Agrifoods.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the hon. Member for the question. The answer is yes, as a department, we did

meet with Scotsburn on the closure of the ice cream plant here in St. John's;

and, like you, we were disappointed by the decision. Scotsburn did assure us

that this decision was one they made as a company and, at this time, they

weren't going to revisit the decision.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker, I ask the

minister: What was the outcome of his meeting with Scotsburn? What, if anything,

anything at all, did he do to try and protect these manufacturing jobs?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries, Forestry and Agrifoods.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Like I

said in the earlier response, we met with the company. The company made it clear

this was business decision that they weren't, at this time, prepared to revisit.

We're working with the dairy industry, the Dairy Farmers of Newfoundland and

Labrador, to ensure a successful transition as we move forward with the industry

in this province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre, for a very quick question.

MS. ROGERS:

So, Mr. Speaker, I ask the

minister, what is he doing to concretely help these workers who have lost their

well-paying manufacturing jobs. What are they doing for their way forward?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries, Forestry and Agrifoods.

MR. CROCKER:

Again, thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

We're

working diligently with the Dairy Farmers of Newfoundland and Labrador to find

outlets for our industrial milk in this province. It's not easy, but we will

continue to work with the dairy farmers in the province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The time for Question Period

has expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling

of Documents.

Tabling of

Documents

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MS. C. BENNETT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Pursuant

section 26(5)(

a) of the Financial

Administration Act , I'm tabling 10 orders-in-council relating to funding

pre-commitments for the 2017-18 to 2022-23 fiscal years.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

In accordance with

section

19(5)(

a) the House of Assembly

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

of the House of Assembly Management Commission meetings held on September 22,

November 6 of 2015; March 16, March 23, May 30, June 29, July 15 of 2016.

Further

tabling of documents?

Notices

of Motion.

Notices of Motion

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Municipal Affairs.

MR. JOYCE:

Mr. Speaker, I would like to

give notice that I will ask leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend

The Works, Services And Transportation Act, Bill 40.

Mr.

Speaker, I would also like to give notice that I will ask leave to introduce a

bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Highway Traffic Act, Bill 42.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I give notice

that I will ask leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Create Safe Access

Zones Around Facilities And Homes Of Doctors And Service Providers Providing Or

Facilitating Abortion Services, Bill 43.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further notices of motion?

The hon.

the Member for Virginia Waters Pleasantville.

MR. B. DAVIS:

I'd like to give notice of a

motion for a private Member's resolution:

WHEREAS

the upgrading and development of road infrastructure is of paramount importance

to the economic future of Newfoundland and Labrador; and

WHEREAS

the traditional approach to road construction has led to momentous traffic

backups, delays and frustration for citizens, tourists and businesses alike; and

WHEREAS

it can be shown that night-time paving will significantly reduce the negative

impact of road construction through traffic slowdowns and travel delays;

THEREFORE

BE IT RESOLVED that this hon. House supports the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador's initiative to implement a pilot project early in

2017 which uses night-time paving as its primary method of completing of work.

This is

moved by the Member for Virginia Waters Pleasantville and seconded by the

Member for Harbour Grace Port de Grave.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Yes, Mr. Speaker, pursuant to

Standing Order 63, the private Member's resolution just read by the Member for

Virginia Waters Pleasantville is the one to be debated this Wednesday.

MR. SPEAKER:

While it's unusual for

speakers to give notices of motion this is, I think, the first time for our

Legislature. But according to the legislation, I give notice that I will

tomorrow place a resolution before the House of Assembly as follows:

WHEREAS

section 85 of the Access to Information

and Protection of Privacy Act, 2015 provides that the Office of the

Information and Privacy Commissioner be filled by the Lieutenant Governor in

Council on resolution of the House of Assembly; and

WHEREAS

section 85 further provides that the Speaker establish a selection committee for

that purpose; and

WHEREAS

the Selection Committee was established and that Committee submitted a roster of

qualified candidates to the Speaker of the House of Assembly; and

WHEREAS

section 89 provides that the Lieutenant Governor may, on the recommendation of

the House of Assembly Management Commission, appoint an acting commissioner if

the office becomes vacant; and

WHEREAS

the office was vacated and Mr. Donovan Molloy was, on the recommendation of the

Selection Committee, appointed in an acting capacity on July 22, 2016;

NOW

THEREFORE

BE IT RESOLVED that Mr. Donovan Molloy be appointed as the Information

and Privacy Commissioner.

Further

notices of motion?

Answers

to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount Pearl Southlands.

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland

and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

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

and from school each day; and

WHEREAS

there has been a number of buses removed from service over the past few weeks

for safety reasons, calling into question the current inspection and enforcement

protocols for school buses in this province; and

WHEREAS

there have been concerns raised by members of the busing industry regarding

government's tendering practices as it relates to the provision of school bus

services in the province; and

WHEREAS

there are many parents throughout our province who have raised both scheduling,

1.6-kilometre policy, the courtesy-seating policy, the new double-bus run

schedule, as well as overcrowding on school buses;

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

of Assembly to urge the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to strike an

all-party committee on school busing to consult with stakeholders and make

recommendations to government for the improvement of the school busing system in

our province.

And as

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, I think the petition is pretty self-explanatory. There are a number of

issues that have been raised now around school busing. In fairness to the

current administration, pretty much all of these issues existed when the other

administration was in power but changes weren't made. The issues continue today.

Certainly it's been exacerbated, the issue about the 1.6 kilometre rule, which

apparently wasn't being applied in a lot of areas of the province is now being

applied. There have been changes around that; implications on courtesy seating,

and certainly the new double busing run and the implications that is having on

families is a concern as well.

Whereas

there are so many issues around busing, they span different departments, Service

NL as well as Education, then it's suggested, Mr. Speaker, that the best

solution would be to have an all-party committee to look at all of the busing

issues in the province, make recommendations to improve it for the children of

Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

government has once again cut the libraries budget forcing the closure of 54

libraries; and

WHEREAS

libraries are often the backbone of their communities

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MS. ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker, I can hardly

hear myself here.

Thank

you.

WHEREAS

libraries are often the backbone of their communities, especially for those with

little access to government services where they offer learning opportunities and

computer access; and

WHEREAS

libraries and librarians are critical in efforts to improve the province's

literacy levels which are among the lowest in Canada; and

WHEREAS

already strapped municipalities are not in a position to take over the operation

and cost of libraries;

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

of Assembly to urge government to keep these libraries open and work on a

long-term plan to strengthen the library system.

And as

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, this petition, this group of petitioners are from Greenspond, and the

idea of a public library in Greenspond was born at a public meeting on March 27,

1946. So that was quite a while ago, and they have the objective of creating a

sustainable memorial to five men from Greenspond who lost their lives in combat

during World War II. So for them, their library was an important, crucial part

of their community and they did it in honour of these men who lost their lives

in combat. It was officially opened as a war memorial on July 22, 1949.

Mr.

Speaker, one might think, why are people still signing petitions? Because they

have no confidence in this government right now to do the right thing and keep

their libraries open. We know there's been an ongoing consultation with many

communities about the roles their library plays, but most citizens were

absolutely shocked that this government decided to close half the libraries in

the province we, with the lowest literacy rate in the country.

So, Mr.

Speaker, the people of the province have no confidence in this government to do

the right thing. That's why they're still signing petitions, that's why they're

still having community meetings, and that's why they're still asking us to stand

in this House to speak on their behalf, to petition this government to do the

right thing and not close their very valuable libraries.

So, Mr.

Speaker, I think it's fitting to present this particular petition from the

people of Greenspond, because of the origin of their library. Why the people

invested their own time and money to open their library it was so important to

them and continues to be so.

Thank

you very much.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Fortune Bay Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

the people of Fortune Bay Cape La Hune need to have access to adequate health

care; and

WHEREAS

the local clinics in rural areas are the main source of medical assistance for

our people; and

WHEREAS

the government has reduced funding and closed the Hermitage clinics and

downgraded services;

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

of Assembly to urge government to reinstate the services to health care in rural

Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr.

Speaker, since the clinic in Hermitage has closed, over the last few months

we've seen a significant increase in anxiety, particularly for our seniors who

now, with facing winter arriving, are very, very worried about what will happen

to their medical care.

We have

issues around people not being able to get to Harbour Breton to get their blood

tested, and they're on medications, Mr. Speaker, like warfarin. This type of

regressive cuts to health care will do nothing to improve our state of

well-being as a people.

Looking

at the vision document last Thursday, I have some fears and concerns about what

that means for health care particularly rural health care for the entire

Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. I encourage every, single citizen of this

province to take a keen interest and a close eye, and to voice your concerns

about what you see happening in health care.

We, in

rural Newfoundland, do not need more people who can deliver presentations or

more managers. We need more front-line nurses and doctors, and more nurse

practitioners. That is where we see, as livyers in rural Newfoundland and

Labrador, the greatest need for health care. You can send us a brochure about

how to eat better. You can send us Facebook notices and emails. There are all

kinds of ways of getting the message out.

What we

need in health care in rural Newfoundland and Labrador are doctors and nurses

and clinics. We need them to be open; we need them to be accessible. We are

geographically spread out as a province and we need those front-line services in

our communities, or certainly within close proximity, and I don't mean driving

an hour or two over highways that are not even snow cleared.

So, Mr.

Speaker, we call upon government to seriously evaluate what it's doing with

health care and to look at improving it, not eroding it.

Thank

you so much.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland

and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

policing is vital to the protection and the service of our province's

communities;

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

of Assembly to urge government to increase the presence of law enforcement in

the Conception Bay South area.

As in

duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, I'm not sure of the number, but this has been numerous, numerous of

these petitions I've presented. Through my travels through the district, it's

still a big issue.

Recently, a few months back, I spoke publicly on it. A lot of people in the

district had a lot of concerns, raised a lot of concerns. By a few recent, I

guess, serious crimes now, more policing wouldn't have stopped those crimes from

happening, but it just reaffirmed people's belief that they don't feel as safe

in their communities as they once did.

A lot of

that is the evolution of the town; it's one of the largest municipalities in the

province. And with that comes increased crime and whatnot. But most people in

the community don't feel there's adequate policing. There has been improvement,

there has been more presence, there's no doubt, but a town the size of CBS does

require I think it's earned the right to have its own dedicated detachment

office.

I know

there were some public comments made in the media shortly after I spoke publicly

on it stating that there was an office there that the public didn't use;

therefore, that's why it was closed. Just to add to that commentary, because I

never responded at the time, but I will now. That office was not really a public

office. There was a little sign over the door. It was more meant for officers to

come in and complete their work via computer.

As we

all know now, computers are readily accessible in the police vehicles; they no

longer require that building. But anyone requiring any service of any sort from

the RNC had to either go to Mount Pearl or Fort Townshend. That office didn't

provide service to the public as was stated. So that was somewhat misleading and

I just wanted to clarify it.

People

come to you and you speak to them on a daily basis not only daily, but I mean

you run into them and the topic comes up their views have not changed. And

there's an acknowledgement that there is an improvement in the number of police

vehicles patrolling the community.

Response

times are everything, Mr. Speaker. If anyone is familiar with CBS, if you have

an incident in Seal Cove or Topsail, both at various ends of the district, and

another police vehicle is already gone to Fort Townshend, you're operating most

times with two, three if you're lucky. The response times to get to those from

one end of that town to the other as we all know, it's a large district. I

think response times are a problem on certain crimes, not all, but it's just a

matter of more police presence. I believe that a town the size of almost 27,000

people does deserve the proper attention, to have its own detachment.

I call

upon government, as I've done many times in the past and I'll probably continue

to do with these petitions I have a lot of them to give some serious

consideration to that.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Cape

St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

To the

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland

and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

fisheries policy regulations link harvesting quotas to vessel length for various

species; and

WHEREAS

many harvesters own vessels of various sizes but, because of policy regulations,

are restricted to using smaller vessels, often putting their crews in danger;

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

of Assembly to urge the government to make representation to the federal

government to encourage them to change policy, thus ensuring the safety of

fisheries harvesters in our province.

And as

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

This is

a petition that I presented several times in the last session. Mr. Speaker, I

know that this is important in your district, as recently we saw the devastation

in the community of Shea Heights where they lost four members of that community

out fishing in a small vessel. It seems like every year we come back to the

House of Assembly there's always a tragedy that we talk about on the water.

Some of

these tragedies can be avoided. It is so important I have friends of mine that

fish the crab fishery, for example, and they use six different boats to go out

and catch crab. The cost alone to getting those boats ready and everything else

but if you look at what they have in their vessels from the six boats from their

best vessel to the worse one they got, we should be ensuring that our fish

harvesters are out on the water in the safest vessel possible. It's too late

when we see what happened here in St. John's, and that could happen anywhere

else in the province when people are out in small boats and tragedy happens.

Again

like I said, the fishery today and I know the Minister of Fisheries, because

we spoke of this several times, does agree with me. I just want to see us put

regulations in place and encourage the federal government to put regulations in

place that our fish harvesters are safe. They have to go home to their families.

I have

family members that do fish and every time that they are out on the water, it's

always concern. It's not only in rural Newfoundland; it's right here in St.

John's. I was over to the Prosser's Rock there the weekend having a look at some

of the boats over there; the place is absolutely blocked with fish harvesters.

If you looked at the good boats that are there, you'd say, okay, I'd have no

problem going out in that one; but there are some boats over there that I

wouldn't want to be in when out on the water in rough seas.

encourage and ask government to really put this forward, the safety of our fish

harvesters the people who go out on the water every day should be paramount to

all of us. We should really encourage the federal government I understand why

some of these policies came in place. I understand when we went into the crab

fishery and shell fishery that they had to take care of different sectors, but

right now, we have too many fishermen out on the water in boats that are not

safe and they shouldn't be out there. They have vessels to be safe out on the

water. I encourage government to continue with the policy on this, please.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay East Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

the education of children is one of the important and vital investments that can

be made in the success of our children; and

WHEREAS

the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador should be choosing educational

options that will provide all students of our province with a higher standard of

education and enhance the learning experience for our youth; and

WHEREAS

the government's decision to make cuts to teachers and to our education system

will have a negative effect on the students;

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

of Assembly to urge government to reverse the decisions effectively immediately.

Mr.

Speaker, as we've heard here, there's a trend around some of the issues that are

going on within government and this administration has brought in recently,

particularly around education.

As my

colleagues here for Southlands, Mount Pearl North and also for St. John's Centre

had noted here, there are major cuts in our education system and there's a real

awareness here. There's a trend going on here. The trend is they're hearing it

in their districts. They're hearing it from school councils. They're hearing it

from administrators. They're hearing it from parents. They're hearing it from

the business community. Even the business community now are stepping up and

saying the investments that are being taken away from our education system is

going to have a detrimental effect in the next generation's ability to be

leaders in the education system but also in the business sector.

We've

heard it from every sector here around the impacts that we're having. We're

hearing it around changes to our busing, the impact that has on stress on

families. The impact it has on students being able to be part of extracurricular

activities; administrators themselves having to coordinate these types of

efforts. We're seeing it around safety. We're seeing around core French. We're

seeing it around the issues, particularly around blended classrooms and

integration in certain programs and services. We're seeing it from the direct

cuts.

There's

a trend here. There seems to be a commonality here around the fact that our

education system has stepped backwards in the last decisions made by this

administration, and everybody sees that. What they're asking is open up your

minds, open up your eyes and see that we need to take a different approach here.

There's

no doubt there are fiscal challenges here, but this is not the way to deal with

those. You're going to have an impact negatively on our society. It's not in the

best interests of students here. It's not in the best interests of parents and

definitely not in the best interests of our society.

We're

trying to attract families to stay here. The first key thing that people look at

from a family moving into a neighbourhood is the quality of education. One time

it was about the type of school you were in, the amenities it had; now it's

about directly the type of programs and services you offer.

you're not offering those to the quality that people expect here we've come a

long way in the last couple of decades, let's continue that trend. We can't do

it when we're continuously cutting education and when we're continuously not

open to listening to the stakeholders about their input to what should be done

and how we should better serve the education system here.

So I'm

encouraging the House, I'm encouraging the government, I'm encouraging the

Minister of Education to go back and look again at the cuts they've made, see

how detrimental they are to our society and ask that they look at the petitions

here and heed the advice given.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Yes, Mr. Speaker, I call

Orders of the Day.

MR. SPEAKER:

Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded

by the Minister of Natural Resources, for leave to introduce a bill entitled, An

Act To Amend The Judicature Act, Bill 39, and I further move that the said bill

be now read the first time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It has been moved and

seconded by the hon. the Government House Leader that they shall have leave to

introduce a bill, Bill 39, and that the said bill be now read a first time.

Is it

the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

All

those in favour?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

Those against?

Carried.

Motion,

the hon. the Minister of Justice and Public Safety and Attorney General to

introduce a bill,

An Act To Amend The Judicature Act, carried. (Bill 39)

CLERK

(Barnes) :

A bill,

An Act To Amend The

Judicature Act. (Bill 39)

MR. SPEAKER:

This bill has now been read a

first time.

When

shall the said bill be read a second time?

MR. A. PARSONS:

Tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

Tomorrow.

motion, Bill 39 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Yes, Mr. Speaker, I call from

the Order Paper, Order 1, Address in Reply.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Bonavista.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KING:

Mr. Speaker, it's an honour

for me to rise here today and give my maiden speech as a relatively new MHA for

the historic District of Bonavista. Being an MHA is a lifelong dream of mine

that came true on the evening of November 30, 2015 and was fully realized on

December 18, 2015 when I was sworn in along with the 39 others here today.

I'm

going to start with a little story, and I hope you get a chuckle out of it, but

my maiden speech is certainly not going to hold a candle to the Member for Fogo

Cape Freels. I think that was quite the maiden speech. Growing up I was a sea

cadet, and I'll talk about that further in my speech. After I finished my time

as a cadet, I decided I would help my corps whenever I was available because I

was going to MUN at the time.

Anyway,

in the spring of 2000, RCSCC Golden Hind had their annual ceremonial review in

Catalina. I was feeling pretty good about myself, wearing a beautiful blue suit

I got to get that out there for my friends across the floor that my parents

purchased for me for my cousin's wedding two years prior, and I was waiting for

the event to start.

One of

my friends who volunteered with the corps, Dexter Hicks, was always known for

his sarcastic remark or some put down, all in good fun of course. Figuring that

I would get some sort of put down or insult, I decided to get ahead of it by

saying to Dexter, It's amazing what a cheap suit and shower can do for a man.

His only response was, Yes, Kingy b'y, I spose. Thinking I dodged the bullet,

I had a conversation with Mrs. Jean Elliott who was the president of the navy

league, who'd I'd known for many years as a cadet.

Mrs.

Elliott asked me what I was up to these days, and before I could get the words

out of my mouth, Dexter said: King's a salesman for cheap suits. So here I am 16

years later, still wearing a cheap suit but instead of selling them, I'm

representing my district in the House and trying to sell my constituents on

legislation and government policy. I probably should have been a haberdasher.

Growing

up I lived in Catalina, Trinity Bay, which is where I currently reside.

Catalina, when I was young, was a very prosperous town until the collapse of the

cod fishery in 1992. Almost immediately you could see and feel the devastation

that the cod moratorium had on mine and neighbouring communities, which is in

some instances are still being felt today, 24 years later.

We went

from an economy where anyone who wanted full time, year-round work at good pay

and benefits could have it, to an economy where there are mainly seasonal jobs

at the minimum or lower income wages. This is the case for most of rural

Newfoundland. After sitting on the sidelines, I decided two years ago that I

wanted to become an MHA to try to make a difference in the lives of which I

serve.

As a

youth, I attended Catalina Elementary and Discovery Collegiate in Bonavista. My

interests included sports, mainly volleyball and hockey, the outdoors thanks

to my Uncle Max I became an avid fly fisherman, much like our Premier, and my

Uncle Bruce, a moose hunter politics and student government, and sea cadets.

Each of my four years at Discovery Collegiate I served on student council,

during which I was president in grades 11 and 12. That's one of the reasons I

got interested in politics, and I'll get into that interest in a moment.

biggest passion growing up was being a sea cadet with RCSCC #84 Golden Hind in

Catalina. I spent most of my free time for five years being active as I could

within the corps, becoming coxswain during my last year. As a cadet, I attended

sailing camps in Cornwallis, Halifax, and St. John's, finishing as a sailing

instructor with HMCS Avalon here on Quidi Vidi Lake in 1999. I had an

opportunity to do seamanship training off the interior coast of British

Columbia, Vancouver Island. As well, Golden Hind received a trip to Plymouth and

Bristol, England, as part of the Cabot 500 celebrations in 1997. All this led to

a pretty good career with the Royal Canadian Navy. I'll discuss this after I

speak to two very important people in my life.

parents have always been a big part of my life. Edward and Linda King are truly

two remarkable people who provided me with a wonderful childhood. They've been

there for me when times were tough, especially when I was battling with

depression and anxiety a few years ago, and they have made countless sacrifices

for me. Those sacrifices mainly come from my military deployments, including

Afghanistan and Libya, where their fear and worry was probably a lot worse than

what I was feeling. When in the theatre of war, your primary focus is on the

task at hand. It is those left behind that patiently wait for an email or phone

call to know that you're all right, pay the bills, and take care of all other

things that we're unable to do.

As a

single guy and an only child, it was up to my parents to man the home front. A

little over two years ago I found it necessary to invite my parents to live with

me in Halifax. My father had just had kidney failure and required dialysis three

days a week. Knowing the hardships they faced by travelling over an hour from

Catalina to Clarenville, I invited them into my home to ease their burden. That

was all well and good for six months or so, but I had other plans and my parents

would have to make another sacrifice. I was going to get into politics and move

back home to Catalina to seek the Liberal nod for Bonavista South; thus, they

would have to make the move back. Now don't feel too bad for them, they were the

ones who got me interested in politics.

A few

months after returning home, dialysis was opened in Bonavista. Getting back to

my interest in politics, in the early '90s my parents were active volunteers and

friends with former Trinity North MHA Doug Oldford. I vividly remember the

by-election in 1991, where I was nine years old going around knocking on doors

and hanging out in campaign offices throughout the district.

Once

Doug got the victory on that cold February night, I was hooked on politics. As I

mentioned, I was active in student politics in high school. I was also elected

as VP Academic for the Marine Institute Students' Union for the 2003-2004

academic year, often fighting tooth and nail against MI's administration on

numerous issues.

I'm

probably one of the most unlikely MHAs to sit in the Legislature here today. At

a recent social event our Education Minister said to me: Neil, tell me how you

did it. What he was referring to is the fact that when I announced I would seek

the Liberal nomination on July 28, 2014, I was living in Halifax and was a

relative unknown to most constituents in the old Bonavista South district and

within the Newfoundland and Labrador Liberal Party.

I wasn't

on anyone's radar, no one was courting me. What I did bring to the table was a

strong work ethic and an ability to relate and make connections with people in

over 20 years around party politics. I held several positions with my local

federal and provincial Liberal district associations in Nova Scotia, being

president of the Halifax Atlantic District Association during the NSLP rise to

government in 2013.

What I

gained most from this time was campaigning on both losing and winning campaigns,

both in Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia. You learn quite a bit on the

hustings and I brought that to my own campaign. My proudest moment prior to my

own election was the evening of October 8, 2013, when we helped get my friend

and mentor, Brendan Maguire, elected as MLA in Nova Scotia.

Anyway,

I've gotten off topic a little bit, but that's what politicians like to do, get

off track and talk about themselves. During the initial Bonavista South

nomination, there were five of us seeking the nod pretty hard odds to

overcome. However, based on my campaign experience I put together a strong team,

knocked on every door in the district and got out to as many events as possible

that I could to raise my profile and make myself accessible. I still do this

today because I truly believe that an MHA must be available for his or her

constituents.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KING:

At that point, I had signed

up over 2,200 supporters. However, a day before our nomination was called, our

former premier who gained the position by a couple of hundred delegates in the

ballroom at the Delta decided he had a mandate to conduct electoral reform and

try to save his party's skin. We all know how that worked out.

Anyway,

so that delayed our nomination and the newly minted District of Bonavista was

formed, which took in all of the old Bonavista South district as well as parts

of Trinity North and Terra Nova. I took a short break to recharge, going on a

trip with my friends to Montreal to see my beloved Habs. After that, I was hard

at it again for the next six months and, on July 9, I won the Liberal nomination

in the District of Bonavista, gaining over 65 per cent of the vote against two

other competitors.

The work

didn't stop there. My team grew and I grew as a person, because you are truly

affected by those you meet on the campaign trail. That paid off on November 30

when I was elected as the first MHA in the District of Bonavista, defeating

three other candidates, including the incumbent MHA. I won that evening with 67

per cent of the vote, but that's not a direct result of me, that is a direct

result of my campaign team and volunteers.

Words

cannot express how deeply thankful I am for your hard work and dedication. I

will do my best not to let you down.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KING:

Everyone has a career before

becoming an MHA; I'm no different. My friend for Placentia West Bellevue is

the same as well; he had one. I proudly served as a Marine Systems Engineering

officer in the Royal Canadian Navy for 14 years. My path to being a naval

officer is almost as unlikely as my path with politics. In high school I had

given some thought to a career in the Canadian Forces by applying for the

Regular Officer Training Plan, ROTP, which would pay for my university degree,

with a five-year commitment to the military afterwards.

I went

to see my guidance counsellor and he told me not to waste my time applying

because I would more than likely not get accepted, so I didn't. I applied for

engineering at MUN and got accepted in the fall of 1999. In January of 2000, I

headed to the recruiting centre in St. John's for a cadet officer interview. I

wanted to help out my old corps and earn a few bucks teaching sailing at cadet

camp in the summer. I sat down with recruiting officer and he looked at my high

school marks, my extracurricular activities and the fact that I was taking

engineering in university and then proceeded to ask me to if I heard of ROTP.

I told

him about my high school guidance counsellor story and the recruiter asked for

his name. I'm sure he gave the counsellor an ear full. He told me to consider

the interview a formality and, less than six months later, I was accepted to the

highly competitive Regular Officer Training Plan.

Given

the length of my engineering program, I had to change it to fulfill the

obligations of my contract. So I completed a Diploma of Marine Engineering

Technology at the Marine Institute in 2003 and a Bachelor of Technology from MUN

in 2004.

January 2005, I moved to Halifax and my career in the navy took off. That

included training in Esquimalt, Halifax and Portsmouth, England. I had shipboard

postings to Her Majesty's Canadian ships:

Fredericktown , Halifax ,

Charlottetown , Montreal

and St. John's . The

St. John's is where I finished my

career in October 2014 as head of the department for the Marine Systems

Engineering department, months away from being promoted to Lieutenant Commander.

I had shore-based postings at the Canadian Forces Naval Engineering School, the

Fleet Maintenance Facility and Engineering Operations with Maritime Forces

Atlantic.

I had

several people which helped me through my naval career and I feel I should

mention them. These people include Dave Hooper, Pete Lebel, Jean Francis Seguin,

Brad Pelley, Mark Brake, Bob Steeb and Bob Jones.

The

highlight of my career, which formed a lot of my perspective I have here today,

is my deployments. I've been deployed to West Africa and the Caribbean for

counter-drug operations in 2006 and 2007, the Coast of Libya for Op Unified

Protector in 2011 and to Afghanistan in 2009-10.

deployment to Afghanistan was truly remarkable because I was a naval officer and

I never thought in a million years I would end up there because it's a

landlocked country. B'y, was I wrong. Usually when you get called up to the

commander's office, you're in trouble; however, I couldn't think of anything

that I did wrong and I had just got an excellent performance review.

On July

2, 2009 I got called up to Commander Bob Jones's office. He broke the news to me

that one of my colleagues did not make it past his pre-deployment screening and

the Fleet Maintenance Facility would have to provide another officer. That

officer was me.

quickly got sent to Kingston, Ontario for three weeks of training and on

September 16, 2009 was on my way to Afghanistan as the interpreter manager for

Regional Command South in Kandahar.

Being in

charge of interpreters was like herding cats at the best of times; everyone

wanted their services but there were limited numbers with appropriate

qualifications to do different classifications of work. It wasn't the

easiest thing to do when you have to tell a higher ranking officer that they

couldn't immediately have interpreter services because there was a higher

priority. This was especially true for the senior British staff officers. To

them, their task was the most important, even when others have more pressing

matters. As well, they didn't like to be told no by a colonel navy lieutenant

and Dr. Haggie knows what I'm talking about.

The good thing is my boss and mentor Aussie Colonel David

Stanley always had my back. He would say Slick he called me that because I

once beat him at poker don't worry about it; you're doing a good job.

Two things stand out to me the most about Afghanistan. The

first is the ramp ceremonies, which everyone attends when a soldier that was

killed begins his or her journey home. The first day I arrived in theatre, I

attended a ramp ceremony for Corporal Jonathan Joseph Sylvain Couturier. There

would be 10 other Canadian soldiers who would be killed over the next six

months, as well as countless others from allied countries. They never get easier

and I often thought and still think about their families that they left behind.

The second thing that stood out was how little people

actually have. At the end of my tour, my replacement was in theatre early so I

had an opportunity to do some mentoring with the Afghan National Army. A couple

of times a week I would head from Kandahar Airfield, where I was based, along

with a few others and drive the two kilometres down to Camp Hero. Although only

a 10-minute drive and a couple of kilometres journey, it was very telling as to

how the Afghan people live. There were no big houses or condos, grocery stores

or department stores. They lived in buildings that were very, very modest, to

say the least. They bought their goods from little roadside vendors.

While working with the ANA, I had an opportunity to talk to

their sergeant major who, like me, was 28 at the time. I asked him what his goal

in the army was. He told me that he wanted to be a sergeant major in the Helmand

province, which he could have had if he paid the bribe. However, he refused and

it gave me faith that some great leaders were going forward in Afghanistan.

I have one final thing to share about my military career

before I finish off my maiden speech and spending some time on my district and

I'm getting a little short on time. While deployed with

HMCS Charlottetown off the coast of

Libya in the city of Misrata, the crew recognized the Battle of the Atlantic

with a service on the flight deck. This was done the first Sunday of each May to

remember Canadian sailors and ships that were lost during World War II. As each

name of the ship was being read and the bell rang in remembrance, I could hear

the bombs exploding in the background. This was the most surreal moment of my

life .

As we're

remembering those who lost their lives during World War II, there was Libyans

losing theirs at that very moment. Afghanistan and Libya gave me my perspective

that I have today in that things aren't always as bad as what they seem. Sure

things could always be better, but until you experience places where people have

absolutely nothing and constantly fear for their lives, you don't realize how

fortunate we are to live where we are.

As I

wind down my speech, I want to address my district. To the District of Bonavista

and I usually preference this with historic, I'm blessed to live in a district

that I called home growing up. We've had some ups and it seems like for the past

few years we've had more downs, but what is always great about my district is

the people that live there. I believe that the District of Bonavista is a great

place too and has the potential to grow and be so much more. We've seen this

over the past year as we've seen significant growth in our population, seen many

new businesses start and grow, and have seen unprecedented investment from the

private sector and from government.

When

John Cabot landed in Cape Bonavista in 1497, he tossed a basket off the

Matthew and pulled it up full of cod.

I believe that the fishery is our past, it is our present, and will be our

future. This fall is a great example of the return of the cod fishery, where

fishers are able to catch 2,500 pounds per week and many today are still at it.

As we

see crab and shrimp decline and our cod stocks grow, we must work with all

stakeholders to ensure that we have the appropriate balance in our fishery. The

Bonavista Peninsula has always had a great agriculture and forestry sectors and

I have and will continue to go to bat to ensure that we grow these sectors to

their full potential. We have learned as a province that we cannot put all our

eggs in the one basket and expect it to be sustainable. The fishery, agriculture

and forestry are three ways in my district where smart investments will help us

diversify.

Finally,

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the tourism industry in the District of

Bonavista, which I believe is second to none. This past season was a banner year

for tourism in our region and next year it looks to be just as good.

MADAM SPEAKER (Dempster):

Order, please!

MR. JOYCE:

By leave.

MADAM SPEAKER:

By leave.

Continue.

MR. KING:

Okay. Just a couple of more

sentences, Madam Speaker.

This

past season was a banner year oh, excuse me, I just read that. I've got a bet

with the MHA for Lewisporte Twillingate about who would have the better

numbers, and I think I'll win that dinner. As MHA, I believe that we need to

continue to invest in this sector. We need to work with local stakeholders, the

people on the ground, and give them not just the resources but the tools to

provide long-term stability and growth.

I was at

a conference this past summer and I was explaining my district to some other

attendees. When I started to think about what I was telling them, it all of a

sudden hit me that I'm one lucky MHA to represent the district which I serve.

Most people pay thousands of dollars to visit, I have it for free by living

there. For that I am truly thankful and fortunate.

Thank

you, Madam Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MADAM SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The

Chair recognizes the hon. the Member for Harbour Grace Port de Grave.

MS. P. PARSONS:

Thank you, Madam Speaker.

It's

great to be back, of course, after a long summer and a fall, and it's certainly

an honour to stand here today to give my maiden speech. It's an honour and

privilege to stand here in the House of Assembly as the representative for the

strong District of Harbour Grace Port de Grave.

Firstly,

I would like to wish each and every one of you warm congratulations on becoming

elected to represent your districts, and, of course, for some of you it's a

successful re-election.

I grew

up in Spaniard's Bay. I was fortunate to experience a beautiful childhood with

my parents Ann and Wayne Parsons, and my younger sister, Erin. I can remember

the very first day of what I consider to be my life career, and this moment was

my first day of kindergarten. As I recall, prior to the school year my mom, dad,

Erin and I went out shopping for all the supplies I would need; my clothing, of

course, my Cabbage Patch book bag at the time. I remember we would meet friends

while out and about, and when chatting with my mom, mom proudly said, yes,

Pamela will be starting school soon. Then, I was asked, are you excited? Are you

looking forward to going to school? And I would say abruptly, no.

At this

time I knew change in my routine was coming. My mornings of

Sesame Street , nutrition snacks

prepared by mom, and following her around as she completed her daily routines

were coming to an end. Finally, that first day of school arrived. I started at

Holy Redeemer School in Spaniard's Bay, and Mrs. Joyce Bishop was my teacher. I

had my Care Bear with me. My mom and Erin were also there. I remember the meet

and greet with the teacher and the other students, and then the time came to

take our seats. The parents were leaving, but I wouldn't agree to that. That's

right, my mom and Erin, my sister, spent my first day of kindergarten with me in

my class. I wouldn't let them leave.

Just as

that first day of kindergarten, my family have been behind me, supporting me in

everything I do throughout my life. As each one of us here in this hon. House,

we each know firsthand, we could have not made it to here, to this very moment

where we are, without the support and dedication of our families and our friends

and the people who believe in us.

remember when I very first thought about politics and about someday offering

myself to the public, to run to hopefully become the representative for the

people, it was in political science class when listening to the professor's

lecture on Pierre Elliott Trudeau at the time. As we know, it is common for

university students to change their minds a few times before determining the

right direction with regard to a major. I changed mine several times, but it was

when I first attended my first political science class when I knew I was home.

Shortly after, I declared my major in political science for my degree. I knew

then that someday I would run.

It was

during my time as a student at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax during

summers when I was a tour guide on the Harbour Hopper. The Harbour Hopper is an

amphibious tour in Halifax featuring land and water. The vehicle used is called

a LARC. It's a lighter, amphibious resupply cargo. They were used in Vietnam.

Like a frog, a boat or truck, it toured the historic downtown area and then

plunged into the Halifax Harbour; the second largest natural harbour in the

world next to Sydney, Australia.

It was

during my time as a tour guide when I realized I liked to talk for a living to

an audience. Upon graduation at university, I felt I needed to do something

else. Throughout my childhood and my high school career, I've always dreamt

about being on TV working in the broadcast industry.

following the completion of my degree at Mount Saint Vincent University, I

applied to the radio and television arts program at Nova Scotia Community

College, Kingstec, which is located in the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia. I then

went on to start my program where I majored in journalism. The radio and

television arts program was a two year discipline. It was an amazing program

where I studied television production, radio production and journalism

broadcasting for both mediums.

Some of

the best times in my life were had during this time of my academic career. In

the second year, graduation was fast approaching and I felt that gravitational

pull as most Newfoundlanders feel, of course, when we're abroad wherever we

are to return home to Newfoundland. I knew without doubt, that this is where I

wanted to be, to utilize my skills and, of course, my education.

I had

three work-term placements at CBC TV in Halifax, CBC Radio in Halifax and CTV

Atlantic in Halifax as a student, but I put all of my energy and focus on

applying for employment back home here in Newfoundland. I was hired at CBC

Here and Now in St. John's by Doug

Letto in 2006 as a summer relief journalist, where I stayed actually for two

years reporting both for TV and radio at CBC. At the time, in 2006 CBC Radio was

located down in the old building on Duckworth Street here in St. John's.

Soon, an

opportunity at Rogers TV, Out of the Fog ,

came up and I accepted the contract. And it was during this year, while

reporting for Out of the Fog , when I

was offered a producer position at Rogers TV in Owen Sound, Ontario. I knew it

was a valuable experience, but I also knew that I wanted to be in Newfoundland.

So prior to leaving for Ontario, I contacted Fred Hutton at NTV and arranged a

meeting. I explained how I was going away to avail of this experience but,

eventually, I want to come back home and, when I do, I'd like to work at NTV.

So, of

course, I kept in touch with Fred. He heard from me frequently. Within that

year, an opportunity at NTV Newfoundland Broadcasting brought me back home to

our province. Once again, I was homeward bound to embark on another leg of my

journey.

My job

as a reporter and a video journalist was to gather facts, truth and communicate

with people. And, in this way, I believe journalism and politics are the same.

It is our duty as an MHA to communicate and present the truth and facts to each

and every one of our constituents.

During

my time as a journalist, I was approached actually to run for a PC nomination

from the district of then Port de Grave. This was during the 2011 election

period. I wasn't quite ready to leave my journalism career at the time. The

timing wasn't right, and I felt it wasn't quite the right fit for me.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS. P. PARSONS:

So instead of running in the

election, I continued reporting and covered the election live that year from

then Shawn Skinner's headquarters. But, as time passed of course, my desire to

become involved in the public grew stronger and stronger.

Remembering my university days in Halifax and the lessons on Pierre Elliott

Trudeau, I felt in my heart and soul that the Liberal philosophy and culture

best matched my own personal values. I made the decision to jump into the

political world. I was hired to work on the robust 2013 leadership campaign and,

following this, I made the decision that I was going to seek the nomination in

my home district of Port de Grave.

There

were six strong candidates in total, and it was a long summer. With the help of

my supporters, my family and my team, I secured the nomination. Some other

colleagues who have become some of my best friends, the Member for Placentia

St. Mary's and the Member for Placentia West Bellevue, Mark and Sherry

AN HON. MEMBER:

Cape St. Francis.

MS. P. PARSONS:

And Cape St. Francis.

Well,

they've had similar experiences with their nominations. Finally, the three of us

secured our place to carry the banner for the upcoming election but, to our

surprise, we quickly learned that the nominations would once again open due to

an abrupt electoral boundary change to be squeezed in just before voters went to

the polls.

So it

was time to tackle yet another storm and like the weather in our great province

that we call home, politics, as we know, can be very unpredictable; but

fortunately, of course, we made it here and here we are to do the very best for

our people.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS. P. PARSONS:

The strong District of

Harbour Grace Port de Grave consists of many communities, colourful

communities, such as Hibbs Cove, Port de Grave, Bareneed, Coley's Point, Bay

Roberts, Country Road, Otterbury, Shearstown, Butlerville, Spaniard's Bay,

Tilton, Bishop's Cove, Upper Island Cove, Bryant's Cove, Southside, Harbour

Grace, Riverhead and The Thicket. Each town is enriched with history and pride

and a true sense of community.

As I've

gotten to know my constituents, of course, travelling around for the past

several years while working on the nomination and the election campaign and then

becoming the MHA for the district, I've witnessed the strong sense of community

spirit first-hand. Let me tell you if someone falls on hard times in any

community, those communities, they come together and, boy, we band together and

that helped is delivered.

There is

a lot of great history as well in the District of Harbour Grace Port de Grave.

As a matter of fact, the first time that the Stanley Cup came to the province it

was Riverhead, Harbour Grace native Danny Cleary who brought that cup home here

to our Island for the very first time.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS. P. PARSONS:

We also have a gold medalist

from Harbour Grace who happens to be my cousin, Mr. Jamie Korab. Amelia Earhart

graced her presence in Harbour Grace, Peter Easton, and, of course, our district

has a strong connection to the fishery, both the inshore and the offshore.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MADAM SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS. P. PARSONS:

Also, as we know, with a

strong connection to the fishery and to the ocean in Harbour Grace Port de

Grave, I would like to take the time to recognize and to thank our Trudeau-led

federal government, the great relationship that we have with our federal

government, the reopening of the Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS. P. PARSONS:

As a matter of fact, Madam

Speaker, there was a young fish harvester from the community of Port de Grave

who quickly realized how important it is to have a good, strong team of search

and rescue here in our province. As we remember I was a journalist at the time

when the Harper government ordered that our Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre be

closed down at a cost savings of only $1 million.

remember when Quebec was also slated to lose their Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre.

That didn't happen; however, we sure lost ours. I was a journalist; I was

assigned to cover the rallies and the stories leading up. And it was amazing to

witness first-hand how Newfoundlanders and Labradorians came together to rally

for that important cause. Because as we know, it's an essential service that we

need and we live here in a beautiful province surrounded by water. So who better

to need those services than Newfoundlanders and Labradorians?

It was a

great day last week to hear our counterparts Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Minister

Foote and our Premier there to reopen that centre. So a round of applause for

that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS. P. PARSONS:

And thank God for the great

relationship that we do have with our federal counterparts, the Trudeau

government.

Not only

is politics a blood sport, as they say; it is a team sport. No one can get

elected all by themselves. I would like to sincerely thank Ivy Anthony who has

strongly supported me from the very beginning; George and Donna Warford; Debbie

Hutchings; Mike and Paula Reynolds; Rubin Peach; Kay, Jordan and John Crane;

Donna and Mike Hewson; Patrick Whalen; Hayward Butler; Judy McCarthy; Carol

Hunt; Rosalyn Greenlen now a little story about Rosalyn.

Roslyn

is an older lady living in Coley's Point, her and her husband Gordon. And they

were strong Liberals. They have a long history of supporting. And I must say,

they stood behind me and they were amazing. Unfortunately, however, they both

passed away from the time I started as a candidate to the time I became an MHA.

But I know they're still here in spirit and I'm really grateful for the support

that I had from them.

Also, I

would like to thank Mr. Howie Smith and Marilyn Smith; Lorie Lynn and Darryl

Sharpe; Eileen Smith, my constituency assistant and of course our office is

located in Bay Roberts Glenn Thorne; Ken LeDay; Ryan Steeves; Tonya Power; and

the many supporters who helped me in every way. I certainly could not have done

it without you. We got out there in all sorts of weather because we experienced

every season a couple of times before it was time that the election was finally

called.

To my

family, my mom, dad and Erin: my circle of genuine support started with you, and

this started the day I was born. I'm blessed to have you.

To my

grandmother, Nora Healey: I'm grateful, at age 94, you are still here to see me

in the House of Assembly, and to have been there by my side on the nights of my

nomination and my election.

My other

grandmother, Emmy Parsons, passed away at age 68 when I was in university. But

I'll never forget she used to babysit us, my sister and I, and me being, I

guess, a mommy's girl, I would go to bed when nanny was babysitting. I figured

the sooner I went to bed, and when I woke up my parents would be back home. That

necessarily wasn't the case at just 10 or 11 o'clock at night. I can remember

those nights when nanny was babysitting and I would come down over the stairs to

see her watching Peter Mansbridge, the news. I'll never forget her keen interest

in news and politics. Although she is gone from this world, I know she's still

watching me.

Colleagues, whether we think we can or we think we can't, we are right. Because

what we dream about, what we think about, we can bring about. I sincerely

believe that.

To all

the young women out there, the young girls with dreams of taking on careers,

their wildest dreams, whatever they want: I encourage you, don't ever give up on

those dreams or aspirations. Have your courage. We may have setbacks, we may

make mistakes but we'll learn from them. They make us strong. They contribute to

the people that we become.

I am

proud to say that I am the very first female representative, female MHA for the

District of Harbour Grace Port de Grave.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS. P. PARSONS:

Thank you.

So, of

course, by working together we achieve the greatest results.

To my

caucus team, and to my colleagues across the House: I am committed to working

with each and every one of you to do the best we can for our province.

To the

Harbour Grace Port de Grave District: I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

It is a true blessing to be your MHA. I look forward and I hope to work with you

for many years to come. The promise I will make to you is that I will work hard,

I will be honest, I'll be your voice and I will certainly do the best I can.

We will

accomplish wonderful things, from infrastructure, agriculture and our fishery.

And I look forward to finally celebrate the day when we have our

long-anticipated Coley's Point Primary school.

Well,

colleagues, thank you very much.

Thank

you, Madam Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MADAM SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The

Speaker recognizes the hon. the Member for Gander.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Madam

Speaker.

I'm

going to try and not be too controversial and stick to the UK style of maiden

speeches. It seems very much that the place for me to start is with thanks. It

may turn into a little bit of an autobiographical romp later on, but I think no

one, as my colleagues have said, gets here by themselves. We can talk about how

that process started, but certainly the campaign of last week in the news made

me kind of revisit my own campaign. Although, it was nowhere near as nasty or as

harsh. In actual fact, we had so much fun with the nomination we did it the

second time with an even more spectacular win.

To list

off all the people who were involved in our success in Gander would be invidious

and I think rather than try, I'd use a short hand and I'll use for the

campaign team, Randell Mercer was my manager and put in long hours, as did

everyone else of what was a small but mighty team. I think that reflects the

level of support I had in the community.

I think

a short hand for friends and family, I would have to give credit to my partner

and mentor in many respects, and fashion consultant, Jeannette. She is the short

hand for, again, a small but really enthusiastic group of friends and family. A

modest in size group but, again, we all get here by different routes. I think to

try and list off a long list of names would only embarrass me by leaving

somebody out, and I'd feel bad about that.

So I

came here via a different route. As you might notice from the accent, this is a

really old Newfoundland accent.

I grew

up in an extended, blended family in a very urban area in Manchester; population

three-quarters of a million. So it's not exactly a small town. It might come as

no surprise for people who regard me as maybe controversial and a bit

provocative to know that my maternal grandmother was brought home more than once

by the local constabulary in the '20s for wielding signs. Actually, I think she

hit a constable over the head with it, which said: Give women the vote.

She got

the vote. She got it first in her 30s because she was a married woman; married

to someone with property, and that was gradually rectified over the time. She

was the politician in the household. We'd get into it on a Sunday over lunch and

that would cause agitation with everybody else.

father passed away when I was young. I was raised by my mom and her younger

brother, who is an historian. He's the last surviving member of the clan. That's

why I often start spouting history, much to the sort of eye rolling of my

colleagues behind sometimes, but I find it useful, and I blame him.

I was a

local recruit to medical school. In those days you would get direct entry from

high school. The idea was that you would be recruited locally. They had this

big, new medical school and you would stay there and practice locally. It, kind

of, sounds familiar. It's a thing that keeps cropping up; but, in actual fact,

it worked because I stayed in that area, in general, in Manchester for 10 years,

thereabouts.

Apprenticeship was more of the word for surgical training in the UK at the time.

It didn't have any defined end. At some point it was felt appropriate that I

should actually go into full-time research for a couple of years, and I did

that. In actual fact, that's the MD degree that you see behind my name. It's a

medical PhD. It's not a registerable the basic qualification in the UK is

slightly different.

MR. BYRNE:

You'll get there one day.

MR. HAGGIE:

I'll get there.

Anyway,

what happened after that was, it was suggested that I try academic surgery as a

career. So I moved to Liverpool. It was a disaster, quite frankly. I learnt an

awful lot about politics within the department of an academic surgical unit, who

to talk to about what and who not to talk to, or at least not let on whom you

had spoken about things. I was awful.

That was

the final straw that made me look elsewhere. Fondly enough, in the '80s I had

been in conversation with a fellow from a place called Carbonear, which I had

never heard of at the time.

MR. CROCKER:

Hear, hear!

MR. HAGGIE:

For one reason or another,

connected with family, I decided not to set foot there. Nothing personal, it's a

lovely spot.

MR. BYRNE:

What a fantastic recruiter.

MR. HAGGIE:

That's right, yes.

Anyway,

some years later, I answered an ad for a group called the Grenfell Regional

Health Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. HAGGIE:

After a visit one January,

actually, to look around the place, and a couple of snowmobile rides which I

thought were really great; I had never been on one of those before the rest,

as they say, is history. I arrived in St. Anthony just about the time or just

after the time the cod left. I don't know whether the two were connected in

other people's minds.

A lovely

place, but the nearest girls dress shop was 6 hours' drive away. With three

daughters, that wasn't going to cut it for any great length of time. I had a

blast though. I actually went and did clinics up in Labrador. I'd go to Nain. I

wasn't allowed off the plane in Davis Inlet for all sorts of reasons I never

really understood, but I think that was down to Grenfell, the RCMP and the band

at the time. There were some disagreements there which I never really

understood. Hopedale was my other favourite place.

Amongst

other experiences, I remember taking a medical student from London, England,

caribou hunting with Jimmy, the maintenance man from Hopedale. She never got

over that and I never saw her again after that. Punching a caribou on the ice

was something that was quite outside what she had expected to see. She wasn't

particularly good in the OR either, so I think surgery probably wasn't her

forte.

But,

anyway, a chance

AN HON. MEMBER:

Did you leave her?

MR. HAGGIE:

No, I put her on the plane.

We shipped her back out to the UK.

AN HON. MEMBER:

Do not tell your knitting

needles story.

MR. HAGGIE:

No, I won't tell the knitting

needles story.

Anyway,

a chance vacancy ended up with me going on to the board of the Medical

Association in the province. Part of it was because I couldn't understand how

the system worked, so I kept on asking questions. And then I realized nobody

else knew how it worked either. But I did think somewhere there would be a room,

a committee, where the answer would appear. I haven't found it yet, but that

started the quest.

So I got