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December 5, 2013

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS Vol. XLVII No. 41

The House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Wiseman): Order, please!

Admit strangers.

Statements by Members

MR. SPEAKER: Today we will have members' statements from the Member for

the District of Placentia St. Mary's; the Member for the District of Terra

Nova; the Member for the District of Lake Melville; the Member for the District

of Bonavista North; the Member for the District of Torngat Mountains and the

Member for the District of Kilbride.

The hon. the Member for the District of Placentia St. Mary's.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

Mr. Speaker, I pleased today to rise in this hon. House to pay tribute to two

special ladies in my district.

birthday. Practically the whole community of Branch gathered to celebrate the

life of this woman and the tremendous contribution that she has made to her

community.

With her now deceased husband, Tommy, they opened their doors and their

hearts to several foster children over the years. The tributes from the family

and friends were testimony to the great love and respect that they have for her.

Earlier, Mr. Speaker, in September, Mrs. Beatrice Murphy celebrated her one

hundredth birthday at the Lions Manor in Placentia. A native of Argentia, she

lived in Freshwater and after working in Argentia for twenty years owned and

operated a grocery store in Freshwater with her husband, Pius.

After a lifetime of commitment to the community, they both reside today at

the Lions Manor in Placentia where they can be seen every day in the lobby

greeting visitors.

Mr. Speaker, I was honoured to attend the birthday celebrations of both Mrs.

heartfelt congratulations and best wishes to them both.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

I rise today to recognize someone who has given the vast majority of his life

to helping others, Mr. Gord Kelly, born on Burnt Island in 1941 and moved to

Gambo at age eight.

Later in life, he would move to Churchill Falls for work. While in Labrador,

Gord became involved with the Lions Club serving the community for twenty years,

everything from organizing events to fundraising for the underprivileged.

He and his wife, Rosalind, returned to the Island and now reside in

Glovertown. It did not take him long to become an active volunteer in the area.

He is a regular at practically every fundraiser in Glovertown and surrounding

areas. He regularly visits the local 50 Plus Clubs and the local seniors' homes

to perform, along with his band mates Cal Sweetapple and Percy Collins.

For those with mobility issues, Mr. Speaker, he does do regular house visits.

He is also an active member of the Catholic Church in Culls Harbour, as well as

a member of the United Church Men's Fellowship in Glovertown. He is not

restricted by denomination, Mr. Speaker; his only concern is in helping others.

I ask all members to join me in thanking my friend, Gord Kelly, for his

outstanding community service.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Lake Melville.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RUSSELL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today, Mr. Speaker, to recognize the life of the late Barney Powers.

Born in British Columbia, Barney moved to Labrador to help build the Upper

Churchill Project with McNamara, and just never left.

For almost fifty years he took

part in almost every major project that has

helped shape Labrador. From 5 Wing Goose Bay, to the Voisey's Bay mine, to the

Trans-Labrador Highway, and even in his last days he was advising people working

on the Muskrat Falls Project.

He adopted Newfoundland and Labrador as his new home, and like anyone who

takes pride in where they live he did his best to build it and to make it

better, Mr. Speaker. He helped build much of the development in Labrador while

at the same time giving back to all of the communities that he worked in.

With the loss of Barney Powers, you could quickly tell that the Big Land felt

a little bit smaller if just for a moment. He is survived by his wife Debbie,

his children Tim and Jane, and his two grandchildren Sam and Sarah.

I ask all hon. members of this House to join me in celebrating the life of

Barney Powers, a great resident of Labrador.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Bonavista North.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. CROSS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Nearly a year ago, it was the last school day before Christmas. Lori Mercer

returned home at lunchtime and discovered that her thirty-three-year-old

husband, who had worked the previous night shift, had passed quietly away in his

sleep. The Town of New-Wes-Valley was suddenly and completely in shock.

Bradley Mercer, the eldest son of Roland and Bonnie Mercer, graduated from

Memorial University's nursing program. He could have chosen to travel anywhere,

but he returned to his hometown to nurse at Brookfield-Bonnews Health Centre.

His devotion to his profession endeared him to all. He was truly in his element,

patient care was paramount, and many days he ignored the clock as it told

everyone their shift was over.

Bradley also loved outdoor recreation and he had a quirky sense of humour. I

remember a photo at his wake that showed him sawing bread at his cabin with his

new handsaw because he left the bread knife home. Bradley was blessed with a

wide circle of friends. His closest comrades, the entire group, all called each

other brudder'.

A wise author once wrote, "Someone will walk into your life and leave a

footprint in your heart." Bradley Mercer, brudder', was such a person.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this hon. House today to recognize the founders of the Combined

Councils of Labrador. The first Labrador Combined Councils Conference took place

in Hopedale from April 13-15, 1972. The main purpose of the conference was to

bring the community councils of Northern Labrador together to discuss their

problems and collectively seek solutions. Four community councils were

represented at that conference, Mr. Speaker, Hopedale, Makkovik, Davis Inlet,

and Nain.

Representing Hopedale was Zach Karpik, David Mitsuk, Fred Vincent, Isaac

Winters, and William Onalik. Representing Makkovik were Bill Anderson, Ted

Anderson, Gary Mitchell, Rupert Evans, and Reg Anderson.

Nain was represented by John Lyall, Sam Anderson, Harry Dicker, Abraham

Kojak, and William Kalleo. Father Peters represented the Innu community of Davis

Inlet. Bill Shiwak from Rigolet showed up without invitation but was welcomed

with open arms.

The first meeting was chaired by Ian Strachan, representative for the

Extension Service of Memorial University. Several others, including my mom, Ruth

Flowers, and Garfield Flowers, attended as observers.

Mr. Speaker, the Combined Councils of Labrador has been and continues to be

an effective organization representing Labrador.

I ask all hon. members to join me in recognizing the elders of Northern

Labrador who started the Combined Councils in 1972.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Kilbride.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DINN: Mr. Speaker, I stand in this hon. House today to recognize and

commend a constituent of Kilbride district, Maureen Hynes, a long-standing

member of the Goulds Lions Club.

Maureen was a Lioness for five years, and a Lions Club member for the past

eleven years. Along with having a very busy work

schedule and home life, Maureen

is very active with the club. She organizes the children's Christmas parties and

makes sure each child in attendance receives a gift from Santa. She has helped

the Leo Club as a Leo advisor, as well as played a major role in the Goulds

Lions Club Drive-In Bingo, which is their major fundraiser.

Maureen has had a very busy year as Secretary of Goulds Lions Club and she

was recently chosen as Secretary of the Year for District N4, which covers

Gander East.

The highest award by Lions International is the Melvin Jones Fellowship

Award, which was awarded to Maureen in 2009. Goulds Lions Club has contributed

thousands of dollars and many volunteer hours in our community, and Maureen is

one of the major players in this club.

I ask all hon. members to join me in commending this dedicated individual.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Statements by Ministers.

Statements by Ministers

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Acting Minister Responsible for the Status of

Women.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SHEA: Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House of Assembly today to honour the

memory of fourteen young women who were killed during what we now refer to as

the Montreal Massacre.

It will be twenty-four years ago tomorrow, December 6, that the lives of

these women were taken at Montreal's

Ėcole Polytechnique, simply because they

were women.

More than two decades later, this horrific event is a chilling reminder of

the devastating effects of violence against women.

In 1991, in memory of these women, the federal government designated December

6 as a National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women.

Tomorrow, flags at Confederation Building will be at half-mast from sunrise to

sunset to mark this day.

Mr. Speaker, far too many women in our Province live with violence every day.

In 2012, 54 per cent of the 5,847 violent crimes committed in this Province were

against women. During the past seven years, the two police forces in our

Province reported more than 20,000 incidents of violent crimes against women.

These facts represent a huge societal issue that we all have a responsibility

to address. Through the Violence Prevention Initiative, our government is

proactively working with community partners and stakeholders to identify

long-term solutions to preventing violence against women.

The purple ribbon lapel pin that has been placed on your desk today

symbolizes the memories of women we have lost to violence.

Mr. Speaker, let this ribbon also symbolize the hope that comes from our

collective efforts to end inequality and violence against women. I encourage

everyone to learn more about how they can bring an end to violence against

women.

As a reminder to us all of the events of December 6, 1989, I will read the

names of those fourteen women who died that day into the record of this House of

Assembly: Genevive Bergeron, Hlne Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara

Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz,

Maryse Laganire, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michle

Richard, Annie St. Arneault, and Annie Turcotte.

Mr. Speaker, at this time I would like to ask that we all take a moment of

silence to remember these women and all the women whose lives have been impacted

by violence.

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER: The House will honour the moment of silence.

[A moment of silence is observed.]

MR. SPEAKER: Thank you.

The hon. the Member for Cartwright L'Anse au Clair.

MS DEMPSTER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an advance copy of her statement. Twenty-four years

later the Montreal Massacre still haunts our Nation. Fourteen bright and

promising engineering students were murdered that day, Mr. Speaker, just because

they were women. After ordering all the male students out of the classroom, the

gunman shouted, I hate feminists, before opening fire.

It was feminists, Mr. Speaker, who got women to vote. It was feminists who

fought to have rape in marriage considered a crime in Canada. That only changed

thirty years ago. It was feminists who opened the first transition house, many

out of their own money, to provide a safe place for women and children to flee

from violence. Just last week, I took

part in a Take Back the Night event in my

own district and the turnout was exceptional.

Only thirty years ago in the House of Commons the issue of domestic violence

was met with laughter by MPs. Indeed, we have come a long way in our Nation to

end the violence again women, but there is still much more work that needs to be

done.

The elimination of the Family Violence Intervention Court was a step

backwards for this government in protecting women and children from violence.

The RNC chief was in the news only last month expressing his concern over the

homicide rates in the Province, many of which are domestic homicides. Most

recently, of course, we mourn the loss of Juliane Hibbs.

In Canada, December 6 is now recognized as a Day of Remembrance and Action on

Violence against Women. I say, indeed, every day needs to be.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's Centre.

MS ROGERS: I thank the minister for an advance copy of her statement.

Twenty-four years ago I was a filmmaker living in Montreal near the

Polytechnique. I remember the evening so well. Aside from the shock, the chaos,

and the tragedy, what I remember is how many women really understood what had

happened. A year later, I made the film After the Montreal Massacre for

the first anniversary. The film looked at what had happened at Polytechnique,

but also linked it to the whole issue of violence against women.

We have come far in our understanding of the complexities of this issue. Many

women have worked hard, have gained expertise, have lobbied for change, and have

developed and provided effective services.

On this day of remembrance and action, I implore the Minister of Justice once

again to reconsider the closure of the Family Violence Intervention Court. It

was a program that was so effective in dealing with violence against women. I

implore the minister to meet with and listen to the voices of those who know.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Does the Member for St. John's North have leave?

AN HON. MEMBER: Leave.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's North.

MR. KIRBY: Thanks to the minister for an advance copy of her statement.

In the summer of 2000, I met April Arnott. April was an excellent student who

loved nature and was interested in environmental issues. In November of that

year, April Arnott was murdered by her boyfriend. She was only nineteen.

Too many of us have known women who have died at the hands of their intimate

partners. We must all bring our collective resources to bear in order to prevent

such tragedies in the future. A single one of them is one far too many.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HUTCHINGS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the hon. House today to discuss the recent World Trade

Organization ruling on Canada and Norway's action against the European Union

seal ban.

The provincial government was disappointed when the World Trade Organization,

or WTO, decided to uphold this ban using public moral concerns as the

justification. We believe this was an unfair ruling, as the Canadian seal

harvest is one of the best managed harvests of animals anywhere in the world.

Our provincial seal industry has increased the level of training sealers receive

to ensure a humane harvest, and many internationally respected veterinarians

have reviewed the Canadian harvest and confirm indeed it is humane.

Despite the wrongful ban, the provincial sealing industry continues to grow

thanks to the dedication of the industry players, and the ongoing support of the

provincial government. More than 90,000 seals were harvested during the 2013

season, which represents an increase of approximately 30 per cent over the

69,000 seals that were harvested in 2012.

The provincial government has fostered this success by providing a $3.6

million inventory financing loan to Carino Processing in 2012, and again in

2013. The industry fully repaid the 2012 loan, with interest, and is on its way

to fully repaying this year's loan. This government has also provided almost

$40,000 recently to support an international branding and marketing strategy for

seal products produced by Carino Processing. Tomorrow, I will join the hon. Gail

Shea, federal Fisheries Minister, to make another announcement in support of the

industry.

Mr. Speaker, the production value of the sealing industry has been as high as

$55 million annually, which shows the economic benefits this industry can create

in rural Newfoundland and Labrador. This government deeply values the positive

impact the sealing industry has on our vibrant and growing economy. We also

appreciate its significance to our culture and history. In light of this, I call

on all hon. members to support the federal government's appeal of the WTO's

unjust decision to uphold this ban a ban that the WTO admits violates

international trade agreements.

Working together with the industry and our federal counterparts, we will

continue to foster the success of an industry that has been a proud part of our

past, and will continue to be a source of valuable income for rural families and

communities in the future.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mr. Speaker, our sealing industry is not only important to us as a Province,

but to each fisherman who take a significant income from this harvest each year.

The decision by the World Trade Organization to uphold the 2010 seal ban was

indeed disappointing.

Mr. Speaker, what was more disturbing was when our own government failed to

pressure the federal government to place this critical issue on the table when

the CETA trade deal was being worked on with the European Union. The fact that

it was not raised during the trade talks shows that the Province did not

consider the issue important enough.

Many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, including the Canadian Sealers

Association, have expressed their concern that the Province did not use it as a

bargaining chip at the CETA table as it would have certainly given us a better

chance to have this issue successfully resolved. It shows the lack of government

will to truly tackle issues that are important to our history, our culture, and

our economy. Now we are left with no other choice but to again fight this seal

ban through an appeal which could take many years.

Mr. Speaker, I suggest that to truly save our industry we must also fight the

public relations board to correct the EU public misconception of our sealing

industry, and that will require a significant investment.

Mr. Speaker, I was once a commercial sealer, I am still a subsistent seal

hunter, and I do plan to go seal hunting this weekend.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

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

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

I fully support the sealing industry and I am optimistic about its future

potential. The sealing industry is still an important aspect of rural

Newfoundland and Labrador. It has played a critical role in the evolution of

many of the coastal regions here in the Province. It is intricately linked to

our culture and to our economy, especially for many of the communities along the

East and Northeast Coast of the Island, and as a traditionally way of life along

the Coast of Labrador.

I fully support the federal government's appeal of the World Trade

Organization's decision based on moral grounds. I think this decision is

problematic because it has implications for the trading of all animal meat and

products.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Does the Member for The Straits White Bay North have

leave?

AN HON. MEMBER: Leave.

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

MR. MITCHELMORE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I, too, thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement.

My family and my heritage have been linked to sealing for centuries. I am

very disappointed by the WTO decision, and I am encouraged by any investment and

any action that the provincial or the federal ministers will take on this

initiative. Sealing is environmentally friendly, it is sustainable, and it is

humane. We have so much potential to grow at the local level and in the Asian

markets as well.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. MCGRATH: Mr. Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today to announce the

annual launch of our Snow Means Slow winter road safety awareness campaign.

The vision of the Department of Transportation and Works is of a safe,

reliable and sustainable transportation and public works infrastructure that

supports the social and economic needs of the Province. This campaign supports

that vision by bringing safety to the forefront.

Mr. Speaker, with the increasingly volatile weather that we experience, it is

more important than ever to make safe driving practices a priority. The Snow

Means Slow campaign is designed to remind drivers to do their part by adjusting

their speed to suit road and weather conditions.

The Department of Transportation and Works takes pride in providing a

reliable road clearing service for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. Our winter

maintenance program represents an annual investment of $65 million, providing

for the operation of 557 pieces of equipment including plow trucks, graders,

loaders, snow blowers, brine tankers, and backhoes.

Mr. Speaker, we began our winter maintenance service on December 1 and our

crews will remain dedicated to provincial snow clearing and ice control on more

than 9,800 kilometres of primary and secondary highways and community access

roads. Our staff is committed to working around the clock, often in treacherous

and dangerous conditions, to help keep the travelling public safe.

The Snow Means Slow message is a very serious and important one. Our

advertising campaign is now running on television, radio, and newspapers

Province-wide to encourage all motorists to plan ahead, check forecasts and

adjust their speed according to the current road conditions.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all hon. members to keep safety a priority at all times

and remember, Snow Means Slow.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's South.

MR. OSBORNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement. My colleague, the

Member for Burgeo La Poile, has been advocating for twenty-four seven snow

clearing on expanded areas of the Trans-Canada Highway. If government are

prepared to advocate for safer driving conditions and practices, they have to be

prepared to provide the resources to make that happen.

Coincidentally, Mr. Speaker, just today I spoke with a transport truck driver

who last Sunday got stuck on Holyrood Hill it is about half an hour from St.

John's at 10:00 p.m. He called the RCMP to ask for assistance; they referred

him on to Highways. Highways told him they could not clear the road until 6:00

a.m. the next morning. He called the RCMP again, afraid that somebody was going

to go into the back of the truck, and another truck got stuck there. They had to

call a wrecker, Mr. Speaker, to haul them up Holyrood Hill because it was

impassable.

Twenty-four seven snow clearing is an important issue, Mr. Speaker. When it

can happen only thirty miles from St. John's, it can happen on the Burgeo La

Poile highway, it can happen in other areas of the Province. To have that type

of dangerous situation, Mr. Speaker, not only for the drivers of that vehicle to

be stuck on the highway for eight hours, but for another driver who could

possibly pile into the back of one of those trucks, it is a very serious issue.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's East.

MR. MURPHY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would also like to thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement

here today.

I would also like to thank the workers who are out there on the highways

doing the hard work of keeping these roads and everything clear. I know

sometimes the department has been left according to the Budget consultations

last year they have been left shorthanded in some cases when it comes to

staffing some of the equipment that is out there. The reason why, of course, has

to do with the retention of workers because they have to compete with other

factors out there, such as the Labrador market.

I would like to remind government, too, that while it is very important to

have these roads and everything clear, we also have to remember the other things

that are happening out there as regards to highway enforcement that we have been

talking about in the last little while. Enforcement, as well, is a very

important component. We just cannot ask people to slow down, because sometimes

they do not. We have to have the resources to ensure enforcement.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

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

MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Since the Department of Child, Youth and Family Services was created back in

2009, we have had three different ministers, three different deputy ministers,

and we have had four investigative reports from the Child and Youth Advocate.

I ask the Premier: How can you address the long-standing systemic problems

within CYFS when the department is in such turmoil and in constant turnover?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DAVIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Department of Child, Youth and Family Services and the provision of

services to children and youth in the Province has a long history in this

Province. Back in the 1990s it came from a mainline department in government; it

was moved to health authorities throughout the Province.

We, as a government, realized that is not the most effective way to provide

services for children and youth. We undertook a study, a clinical review in 2008

to 2009. We looked at the results of that review very carefully, and in 2009 we

announced that we would form a new Department of Child, Youth and Family

Services.

It has been a big piece of work for this government, Mr. Speaker. It is a

serious piece of work. Our goal is to continue to provide the best services

possible for children and youth in Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, my question was about the turnover, and there is no question, if you

want to have consistency in any department, in anything we do, you would not be

just moving people around on a regular basis.

Mr. Speaker, in response to my question yesterday, the minister said that

events and recommendations leading up to the report were events prior to the

fall of 2011. However, the Child and Youth Advocate says the issues still exist

today.

I ask the minister: How can you say that these issues have been addressed?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DAVIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The department was developed in 2009. We announced the development of a new

department. That department was wrapped around the recommendations from the

clinical recommendations of the study that was carried out by Susan Abell in

2008, and there were several recommendations in that report.

One of the comments made by the author of that comprehensive report is that

it is going to take many years of focused and concerted effort by government to

bring services to a much better level than what they were being provided prior

to that. We are committed to that. We are committed to that documentation. We

are committed to the recommendations contained in it, and we are going to

continue our efforts, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

My question again was about the comments that were made by the minister

yesterday where he said the events and recommendations leading up to this report

are events prior to the fall of 2011.

I ask the minister today: Do you stand by your comments that you made

yesterday?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DAVIS: Mr. Speaker, this report was about events leading up to an

event in the fall of 2011, a tragic day by many respects. In many ways it was a

tragedy. Mr. Speaker, that resulted in the Child and Youth Advocate carrying out

an investigation into the events leading up to that event and the events of the

fall of 2011. She just recently released her report which contains a number of

recommendations that are applicable to various departments within government.

We are looking at all of those recommendations. What is important to

recognize here is that there are and we noticed this right away common

factors in the recommendations. There are common aspects of the recommendations

the Child and Youth Advocate has mentioned. We compared to our goal in the first

place in 2008 when we began the process of developing the department, and that

included a number of factors, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

There are a lot of things in common. The recommendations, of course, coming

out of the Turner investigation are very similar to the recommendations that we

are seeing released this week.

The advocate has said that many deficiencies identified as a result of the

investigation process are included in the report with applicable recommendation.

The advocate also confirms that there are still issues outstanding today, and if

they were not she would have acknowledged them in this report as she did in some

previous reports.

I ask the minister: Do you agree with the advocate or not?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DAVIS: Mr. Speaker, the provision of services to children and youth

in Newfoundland and Labrador is a very important matter, so much so that we

developed this independent department to deal with children and youth.

The advocate has made recommendations, several recommendations, and when you

read through the recommendations some of those recommendations say develop and

ensure; as an example, an auditing process. As a result of the earlier

recommendation done, that auditing process now exists in the Department of

Child, Youth and Family Services.

That is what I am trying to explain to the member opposite. There are a

number of recommendations and pieces in the recommendations from the Child and

Youth Advocate which we have already implemented, are working towards, and

making our best efforts in regard to those recommendations. We need to meet with

her to make sure we are on the same page.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, the advocate released three investigative reports this spring called

Turning a Blind Eye, "Joey's" Story, and Out of Focus. In those investigations,

when policy changes were made in the interim, she acknowledged that in her

report. It is clear from the advocate that this has not happened in this latest

report and she is very clear about that.

I ask the minister: Why are you still insisting that these recommendations

are only related to circumstances prior to 2011?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DAVIS: Mr. Speaker, that is not what I am trying to explain to the

member opposite. What I am trying to explain to the member opposite is that when

we undertook the enormous task of developing a new department and when we

undertook the enormous task of developing new legislation and new policies to

guide us in the provision of services for children and youth, we carried out a

large piece of work. It was a transformation of how the Department of Child,

Youth and Family Services provided those services to the people of Newfoundland

and Labrador.

They came from recommendations in 2008. There are similarities in the

recommendations she has provided. We agree. We are continuing to work towards

the best services we can. Some of those recommendations that have common

features in them, it is important we understand the vision of the Child and

Youth Advocate and the vision we have, and have a good discussion about.

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

MR. BALL: I ask the minister: Would you confirm and agree that many of

the outstanding issues based on the recommendations are still not addressed by

your department?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DAVIS: Mr. Speaker, when one looks at the recommendations by the

Child and Youth Advocate, a piece of work that took two years to complete by the

advocate and resulted in a comprehensive report and several recommendations that

she has laid out in the provision of child and youth services for the Province,

it is very important that we have a clear understanding of what her intention

and what her vision is when she lays out those recommendations. We are doing our

work. We have been doing our work internally to look at those recommendations to

grasp a full understanding of them.

Our intention is, and we have already reached out, to arrange to have a

meeting, an opportunity to sit at the table to discuss her recommendations so

that we have a full and clear understanding of what those recommendations are.

Once we do that, we will be in a much better position to answer the hon. member

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We have spoken with the advocate and she clearly identifies and states, as

she did in her media release, that they have not been acted upon and she still

sees some major issues. Yesterday we learned that there are almost 100 youth

sixteen years and older who have signed youth services agreements and are living

on their own. I asked yesterday how many of these children could be taken back

into care.

I ask the minister: What action has been taken, working with those youth, and

giving them the option of returning into protective care?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DAVIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

For many years in Newfoundland and Labrador, as has been outlined by members

opposite in their comments in the last few days, when a young person reached the

age of sixteen they come out of care. They come out of the care and custody of

the Department of Child, Youth and Family Services.

We have provisions in place now that provide enormous supports for persons

aged sixteen and beyond, for sixteen year olds, seventeen year olds, and

eighteen year olds. We provide them with the option to continue to stay in a

supportive living environment. Some of them, many of them, most of them opt out

to go into an alternative arrangement. They live more independently than the

ones who live in a supportive living arrangement.

We continue to provide supports to them, we continue to reach out to them,

and we continue to encourage them, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BALL: I take from the comment from the minister that the department

and I would like for you to confirm this, that you have actually reviewed those

files and have progressively went through the files and given those children who

have signed those youth services agreements the option to come back into

protective care.

Can the minister confirm that?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DAVIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to think that the social workers, social work supervisors, the

professionals who work in the Department of Child, Youth and Family Services are

very well qualified and work very hard in the provision of services to children

and youth in the Province. We rely on them and we hold them at a very high

standard, Mr. Speaker, and so we should. We expect good performance from those

employees. They are very well qualified. I met some of them, I know some of them

myself, they work very hard and they are very dedicated.

They provide choices to youth. When youth reach the age of sixteen, they

provide choices to those youth. I can tell you that when a person reaches

sixteen years of age, a child who is in care and reaches their sixteenth

birthday, they have the option to remain in that supportive living environment

that they lived in when they were fifteen.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We kind of went through this a bit yesterday and I agree with the minister.

We have a lot of great staff working in the Department of CYFS. What I am

looking for here is: Have you have actually progressively gone out and sought

the number of youth that we have, who have signed youth services agreements, and

giving them the option of coming back into protective care. Have you done that?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DAVIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, protective care is designed for children up to their sixteenth

birthday. So, protective care is designed for children up to their sixteenth

birthday. When they reach their sixteenth birthday, we provide them with the

opportunity to remain in the supportive living environment that they were living

in prior to their sixteenth birthday.

That was not always done in this Province, Mr. Speaker, but it is done by us

and it is done by us as a government. We provide supports and services to them.

We provide supports and services then throughout Newfoundland and Labrador. It

becomes the choice of the young person, when they reach the age of sixteen, if

they want to stay in those circumstances; 40 per cent of them have chosen to

stay in those circumstances and 60 per cent have chosen otherwise.

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

MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As I said, there are almost 100 people living on their own. The minister has

been talking about a transition pilot project that allows for youth who are

sixteen to nineteen, as you said, to voluntarily stay in protective care.

I ask the minister: How many youth do you have currently taking

part in the

pilot project?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DAVIS: Mr. Speaker, again, I have to tell the hon. member opposite,

when you reach your sixteenth birthday you are no longer in protective care.

Protective care is for children up to their sixteenth birthday. When they reach

sixteen, we offer them the opportunity to stay in the supportive living

environment that they were living in prior to their sixteenth birthday.

If children or youth, when they reach their sixteenth birthday they are now

referred to as youth and when youth do that, we build supports around them. We

build supports around them to assist them in their everyday living. In a pilot

project that we started just this year, in providing life skills coaches to

youths throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, we provide skills and we provide

coaching to them on how to function and operate in every day-to-day life.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS: Mr. Speaker, the minister acknowledged yesterday that he

received the draft report at least a week ago before it was released publicly.

I ask the minister: Will you table a copy of that draft report?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DAVIS: Mr. Speaker, until the report is made public by the Advocate

for Children and Youth, the Advocate for Children and Youth has all rights to

make amendments or changes to that report, as the person sees fit. Therefore,

until the report is made public and it is publicly tabled and publicly presented

by the Advocate for Children and Youth, it does not become a public, finalized

document.

The document that was made public and made available this week by the Child

and Youth Advocate is, to the best of my knowledge, the same document, without

alterations, that was provided to us the week before.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS: Mr. Speaker, the minister has confirmed that he received

the draft report approximately a week ago, but the advocate has confirmed that

CYFS, Justice, and Health were all provided with the factual findings of this

investigation on July 9, 2013, about five months ago.

I ask the minister: Can you confirm that is correct?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DAVIS: Mr. Speaker, a

summary or a set of facts, as referred to by

the member opposite, a draft, a set of facts, were shared with the department

some time ago, and I believe it was shared with other departments as well.

Mr. Speaker, what is important here is that the advocate has full

responsibility and full right to develop and complete a final report. That is

what we have to guide ourselves by, is the final report that was released by the

advocate this week. That finalized document to my mind, Mr. Speaker, is the only

one that really counts.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS: Mr. Speaker, we have the final report which was Tuesday,

the draft report that the minister states he received about a week ago, and the

factual findings which the advocate says that these departments received on July

I am asking the minister: Will you table what the advocate provided to you on

July 9?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DAVIS: Mr. Speaker, we have a relationship with the Child and Youth

Advocate as the Department of Child, Youth and Family Services. Now, as I

mentioned in this House this week, when I first came into the department in

October, I reached out to the Child and Youth Advocate to engage in a

discussion, an opportunity to meet the advocate.

My understanding is that there has been a relationship similar to that with

the advocate for some time, where the advocate will sometimes reach out and ask

of information, provide information, there are responses that go back and forth.

That is just the course sometimes of doing business with the advocate.

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure that I want to I am not in a position here to

give the member opposite any assurances of any documentation or discussions we

have had.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS: Mr. Speaker, the minister is the head of that department

so certainly he can take the responsibility of providing the documentation if he

feels so. We understand that CYFS responded to the factual findings that the

advocate sent to the department.

I ask the minister: Will you confirm that your department responded, and will

you table your response to the advocate?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DAVIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I believe, and with all due respect to the member opposite, what he is asking

for now are documents that were compiled as part of the advocate's

investigation. With all due respect to the member opposite, I would strongly

suggest that what he should probably do is ask the advocate for those documents.

It was her investigation, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS: Mr. Speaker, I actually have to correct the minister

because what I am asking for, your response was not part of the investigation.

The factual findings that were sent to you were a result of the investigation.

The second thing is that I asked the minister: Will he table his response to

the advocate? I am asking if he will table and provide to the public what his

department said to the advocate.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DAVIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Our response to the advocate in relation to the information referred to by

the member opposite was in response to her investigation. It was an

investigation that was being carried out by the Child and Youth Advocate.

I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, I have respect for the Child and Youth Advocate.

I respect her office, her ability, her right to carry out investigations, and I

am not going to interfere with that process.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS: Mr. Speaker, I accept the fact that the minister wants to

keep the documents that his department provided secret. I am not asking for the

advocate, I am asking for the minister to take responsibility but if he does not

want to.

I ask the Minister of Justice: Can you confirm that your department

responded, and are you prepared to table a copy of your department's response?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DAVIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I have the highest respect and I know I speak for members on this side of

the House and for the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador when I state here

in the House of Assembly that we have the highest respect for the rights,

ability, for the Child and Youth Advocate to carry out investigations pertaining

to children and youth in the Province. I am not going to interfere with that

investigation. If he wants to obtain records or documents that pertain to her

investigation, I encourage him to contact the Child and Youth Advocate.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS: Mr. Speaker, the Department of CYFS is refusing to

provide their response to the investigation. The Department of Justice is

refusing to answer whether they will provide.

I ask the Minister of Health: Can you confirm that your department responded,

and are you prepared to table a copy to the public of your response?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DAVIS: Mr. Speaker, it is the same answer, as I have told you. The

Child and Youth Advocate has the right and responsibility to carry out

investigations that she deems necessary and appropriate in the capacity of her

office. I am not going to interfere with her right to do that. If she has

documentation involving her investigation that the hon. member opposite is

interested in obtaining, I suggest he go through the process of contacting her

office.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's South.

MR. OSBORNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Earlier this sitting I asked the Minister of Environment and Conservation

of those communities are at high risk to coastal erosion.

There has been a second landslide in Daniel's Harbour in just one month, and

storm surges last night in Placentia Bay created public safety concerns.

Government is spending a considerable amount of money in Daniel's Harbour now to

move infrastructure. We need to take these events into consideration, Mr.

Speaker, as we allow future developments.

I ask the minister: When will you take action and update the provincial

regulations for new coastal developments?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SHEA: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To build on the further questions and answers that we had in this House,

there was a report done on coastal erosion. It is available online. It was done

by Dr. Catto at the university, as the hon. member knows. Based on that report,

Mr. Speaker, which did not contain recommendations, there has been information

put together to provide a toolkit for communities, for municipalities, to be

able to do a vulnerability assessment of their community.

Also, Mr. Speaker, there is work being done to digitize the information

contained in that report. That report is available. It is available to

municipalities. We will work with municipalities and through our Department of

Municipal Affairs as well to ensure that communities understand this issue and

that they are prepared to make necessary changes if they wish to do so.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's South.

MR. OSBORNE: Mr. Speaker, it is deplorable that the minister would put

this responsibility back on communities.

I have asked the minister: Is she prepared to change regulations regarding

future development too near the coastline?

Dr. Catto has recommended publicly I read it in the newspaper, so I am sure

the minister did as well that developments too close to coastlines are going

to be very costly in the future.

Will you change the regulations, Minister, to take into account coastal

erosion in these communities at high risk to prevent coastal development too

close to the coastline?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SHEA: Mr. Speaker, what I am not prepared to do is unilaterally impose

on communities and municipalities what the hon. member is suggesting. This

government is open to consultation and is open to working with our

municipalities to help them assess the vulnerability of their communities and

work together. Any work in this regard will be done in collaboration with our

communities and municipalities, and not to them.

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

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

Manitoba Hydro's Wuskwatim hydroelectric dam bills are in and the people of

Manitoba learned it has cost twice what they were told it would cost. Manitoba

Hydro officials blamed unprecedented increases in input costs on everything from

cement, to fuel, to labour.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier: What makes her and Nalcor think they will be

able to control the costs of their Muskrat Falls Project, also approved by

Manitoba Hydro?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY: Mr. Speaker, what we see time and time again in this House,

and what the member opposite fails to recognize, is that we believe in our own

experts and we believe in the work of Nalcor, first and foremost.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY: This has been a long, comprehensive process. There has been a

tremendous amount of work and expertise applied to the Muskrat Falls Project,

Mr. Speaker, in every area that has been validated. It supports the work of

Nalcor. It shows that we are on the right track to providing and meeting the

power needs of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians at the least-cost option.

It is also built into this project an opportunity for a renewable resource

that we can sell for revenue for the Province as long as the river flows. We are

certainly going to continue to support the work of our own experts right here in

Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I point out that Nalcor and the government believed in Manitoba Hydro also.

The people of Manitoba, however, face a 2.5 per cent rate increase because of

the huge cost overruns on the Wuskwatim project. Some experts say Manitobans can

expect double digit rate hikes over the next decade.

I ask the Premier: How can she be sure, as she keeps insisting, that people

in this Province will not face the same fate from government's Muskrat Falls

Project?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, with this project and with any other project we take on in this

Province, it is important never to look at it through a single lens. That is

what the members opposite have done, particularly the Third Party. The lens that

they peer through all the time, and every piece of information is measured

through, is that we are against Muskrat Falls.

Mr. Speaker, we have more than MHI and MHI were not our experts. You tout

the PUB, Mr. Speaker. The Leader of the Third Party touts the PUB in this House

on a regular basis. Manitoba Hydro was the PUB's choice the PUB's choice, Mr.

Speaker - not the government's.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

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

In this year's Budget government pegged over $531 million for Nalcor to draw

down on, if needed. That is money government chose not to spend on

infrastructure and services.

I ask the Premier: Does the Department of Finance have complete oversight on

how this money is spent by Nalcor?

MR. SPEAKER : The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, that is certainly an original way of describing government

spending. Every dollar we spend on roads is a dollar we do not spend in health

care. Every dollar we spend helping municipalities is not a dollar we spend in

education, according to the rationale just put forward by the Leader of the

Third Party.

Investment in Nalcor, Mr. Speaker, investment in our renewable energy,

investment in the natural resources of this Province, ensure that

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are the primary beneficiaries of these

resources and will allow us to do all of those other things.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. MURPHY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Ontario announced in June that it would ban outright the collection of

so-called environment fees on consumer products, including those fees on the

electronics and tires. They said that recycling should be a regular cost of

doing business. Tagging consumers for these fees should not be a business

opportunity, Mr. Speaker.

I ask the minister: Is she prepared to take another look at recycling in this

Province and how much consumers are getting dinged as a result of it?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SHEA: Mr. Speaker, I think there is a commitment from this government,

and probably from any government in this Province in the future, that recycling

is important and waste disposal is also important.

There are fees on different materials that we dispose, whether it is paint,

tires or electronic equipment. Mr. Speaker, the agency that we deal with for the

e-waste, which is the electronic waste, is a non-profit agency. So, for the

member's information, it is not a business that we are conducting this work

with; it is a non-profit agency.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's East.

MR. MURPHY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The problem here is that the EPRA, the group that she is talking about, has

$36 million in the bank and none of it has gone back to the consumer.

Will government reassess the program, recycling here, and stop charging the

collection of recycling fees plus HST, the government take, for electronic

recycling until it has time to look at the overall recycling program in this

Province?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SHEA: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We have an agreement to have the e-waste collected at this time and there is

a fee attached to that, but like any program, Mr. Speaker, we will make sure

that it meets the needs of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. It is not a

lifetime contract that we are in to. We will review as we move forward to make

sure that the waste disposal is happening in an appropriate manner and that the

cost is appropriate to the consumers of Newfoundland and Labrador.

What we are also committed to, Mr. Speaker, is that we want to deal with

waste management in Newfoundland and Labrador; again, whether it is the paint or

the tires, or the e-waste or new waste management disposal sites that we have.

Mr. Speaker, we are committed to a waste management strategy and we will see

that through.

Thank you.

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 Premier.

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, this afternoon I am very happy to table the promised documents

on our CETA negotiations.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

Pursuant to

Section 8 and

Section 10 of the Public Tender Act, I hereby table

reports of the Public Tender Act exceptions for the period of April to October,

2013, as presented by the Chief Operating Officer of the Government Purchasing

Agency.

Notices of Motion.

Notices of Motion

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

MR. KING: Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I give notice under Standing Order 11, I shall move that this

House not adjourn at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, December 9, 2013.

Further, I give notice under Standing Order 11, I shall move that this House

not adjourn at 10:00 p.m. on Monday, December 9, 2013.

MR. SPEAKER: Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

The hon. the Member for Bay of Islands.

MR. JOYCE: No, a petition.

MR. SPEAKER: You are standing under?

AN HON. MEMBER: Notices.

MR. SPEAKER: We are into answers to questions for which notice has been

given.

Does the member have leave to go back to notices of motion?

AN HON. MEMBER: No leave.

MR. SPEAKER: Leave has been denied.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's North.

MR. KIRBY: 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 early childhood educators are trained professionals essential to the

operation of child care centres and indispensable to many parents and children

across Newfoundland and Labrador; and

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. KIRBY:

WHEREAS on the occasion of Early Childhood Educators Week in

May 2012, government conveyed its support and recognition for the role of early

childhood educators and expressed its appreciation for its value; and

WHEREAS early childhood educators working in child care centres receive

salaries that are the lowest in Canada amongst ECEs; and

WHEREAS government's 2012 increase in subsidies paid to ECEs applies only to

Level I ECEs working in child care homerooms and Level II Early Childhood

Educators who operate child care centres; and

WHEREAS all early childhood educators are highly educated, skilled and

deserving of a fair and equitable wage and subsidy; and

WHEREAS government is discriminating against some of the most skilled ECEs in

Newfoundland and Labrador;

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

House of Assembly to urge government to revise the enhancement to the Early

Learning and Child Care Supplement to include all early childhood educators

working in Newfoundland and Labrador.

As in duty bound your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, I would first like to clarify. This petition has been in

circulation for some time now, since about May of 2012. The hon. Minister of

Child, Youth and Family Services tells me that there have been changes in terms

of the salaries paid to ECEs in Newfoundland and Labrador relative to their

counterparts across the Canadian provinces.

I do not know if that data is from Statistics Canada, but if he could table

that information here in the House of Assembly and we could have a look at it to

see if this is in fact out of date information. The fact remains, back in May of

2012, government did make a change to the Early Learning and Child Care

Supplement that is paid to ECEs in the Province. While some received that, many

did not.

I think one of our goals with the child care strategy in the Province is to

encourage ECEs to attain higher levels of education and training. Going ahead

with this would achieve that, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you.

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

MR. MITCHELMORE: 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 Route 430, The Viking Trail, is the primary highway on the Great

Northern Peninsula used at all times during any given day to conduct business,

commute for work or education, and to obtain emergency medical assistance; and

WHEREAS at times the road lacks adequate snow clearing during late night and

early morning hours; and

WHEREAS the provincial government has a twenty-four hour snow clearing

program;

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

House of Assembly to urge government to allocate funds to implement twenty-four

hour snow clearing on Route 430.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, it is quite evident when you have twenty-four hour snow clearing

it does improve the safety outcomes. In my particular district, a key employer

is the hospital in St. Anthony. There are a number of people who conduct shift

work, who work late nights at gas stations. They are commuters, and after 9:30

p.m. road conditions can be quite devastating where people are not able to get

home, they are not able to travel, or they are taking that risk.

That is something we should be looking at in areas where there are commuters.

Given that Route 430 the Deer Lake airport is a last in, first out type

airport. A number of people on the Great Northern Peninsula commute late hours

into the evening, or they are driving to or from the airport. This is something

that can greatly assist and it is something that is driving the economy.

The Deer Lake Regional Airport is breaking records all the time. It is

positive that it is doing that, but we have to look at the impacts, and the

economic impacts, as to what it means for the commuters and the economy and

making sure we are providing adequate services to keep families, keep people who

are travelling on our highways as safe as they can be.

This is something that maybe on a pilot basis we could look at exploring,

sections of Route 430; it could be an opportunity to look at, for the Minister

of Transportation and Works. It is something that constituents of mine are

asking for, and I certainly look forward to having further discussion on that.

Twenty-four-hour snow clearing is something we should strive to do, given that

in the response to the Ministerial Statement today it was that snow means slow

and we certainly need to slow down; but if the road is not clear, people cannot

get safely to where they need to go.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cartwright L'Anse au Clair.

MS DEMPSTER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS Cartwright is an existing port of call for the MV Northern Ranger ;

and

WHEREAS Cartwright is connected to the Trans-Labrador Highway, providing

access to truck freight destined for the North Coast of Labrador; and

WHEREAS Cartwright would eliminate unnecessary travel and cost for freight

destined for Northern Labrador now being trucked to Happy Valley-Goose Bay; and

WHEREAS there has always been, and continues to be, commercial trade between

the South and North Coast of Labrador;

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

House of Assembly to urge the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to

designate Cartwright as a shipping port for freight destined to the North Coast

of Labrador, beginning with the 2014 shipping season.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, it has been a huge deal of frustration, especially for

businesses and local contractors in my district this past season. Just to paint

a picture of that, we have businesses in the Labrador Straits that have to drive

past Cartwright, an extra 600 or 700 kilometres return on a gravel road to Goose

Bay, and the people who are paying for this, ultimately, are the people on the

North Coast of Labrador. They are paying an extra $600 or $700 on a snow

machine. What we are asking for, Mr. Speaker, do not cost the government extra

money.

If I go to Cartwright today and I am going to Black Tickle with my four

wheeler, I can take it and go; but if I am going to Makkovik, I cannot take my

four wheeler. Mr. Speaker, while the pavement is coming, the road is not

finished. We are asking government to reconsider this for the new shipping

season. It does not cost any extra money. There is just a blatant lack of will

to provide this service to the people of Labrador once again, and we see it here

in this situation.

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

MR. KING: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I move, seconded by the Minister of Environment and Conservation, that we now

move to Orders of the Day.

MR. SPEAKER: It has been moved and seconded that we now move to Orders of

the Day.

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, nay'.

Motion carried.

Orders of the Day

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

MR. KING: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Order 2 on the Order Paper, third reading of a bill, I move, seconded by the

Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services, that

An Act Respecting Adoptions,

Bill 27, be now read the third time.

MR. SPEAKER: It has been moved and seconded that the said bill be now

read a third time.

Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 27 be now read

a third time?

The hon. the Member for St. John's Centre.

MS ROGERS: I just have a question for the minister, and I am very

interested in how this act is going to roll out. Although the new legislation

will be rolled out, which would probably be passed very soon, in the interest of

openness and transparency, I ask the minister if he will table all written

submissions and the minutes or notes of all consultations that informed the

amendments to the bill.

I am especially interested in the submission by the Office of the Child and

Youth Advocate and any records of consultations with Aboriginal groups.

MR. SPEAKER: All those in favour of the motion, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, nay'.

Motion carried.

CLERK: A bill,

An Act Respecting Adoptions. (Bill 27)

MR. SPEAKER: This bill is now read a third time and it is ordered that

the bill do pass and its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act Respecting Adoptions", read a third time, ordered

passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 27)

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

MR. KING: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to call from the Order Paper, Order 6, second reading of a bill,

An Act To Amend The Schools Act, 1997, Bill 28.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Education.

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Minister of Fisheries,

that Bill 28 be read a second time.

MR. SPEAKER: It is moved and seconded that Bill 28,

An Act To Amend The

Schools Act, 1997, be now read a second time.

Motion, second reading of a bill, "An Act To Amend The Schools Act, 1997".

(Bill 28)

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Education.

MR. JACKMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, in ten years as a member of this government and a minister of

this government, I have been fortunate to be involved in many announcements

which have brought benefits to Newfoundland and Labrador. I am standing today

and I have to say this is amongst one of my proudest moments. On Monday, we went

out to St. Teresa's and we made a launch of our Safe and Caring Schools Policy.

There has been much talk about bullying, anti-bullying, and whatnot. The

launch of our Safe and Caring Schools, as I will get into a little bit further,

while that is a large part of it, what we are looking at is making our schools

safe for all students and we will be looking at different types of activities

and whatnot that go on there, and see how we can indeed work with the larger

school community to make things as best as we possibly can for our children.

Mr. Speaker, the message around this is certainly getting out there. I will

tell you that since our launch of the revised policy on Monday, we have gotten

e-mails; we have gotten commentary. I was on the elevator when somebody stopped

and commented on the work that we are doing in this regard, and the latest one

caught me a little bit by surprise last night. I was aboard a cab and I am

sitting right across from the cab driver in the front seat; he looks across at

me and he says: Do you think it is going to work? I said: What do you think is

going to work? He said: That thing you are doing on bullying.

A message for me in that, Mr. Speaker, a strong message, is that people are

hearing about it; they are talking about it. His commentary to me, which I fully

agree with, is schools can do their part and we have to do our part as the

Department of Education and school boards, and he commented on the role of

parents. I thanked him for his insight and his interest. It did leave an

impression with me, Mr. Speaker.

Two year ago, a little over two years ago, I came in as Minister of

Education. Within my first week, there were three things that I had identified

that I wanted to work on during my time as Minister of Education. This issue of

countering bullying was one of them. As we got further into doing this revised

policy, certainly the whole aspect of having safe schools for our students

expanded into other types of behaviours that we want to ensure are appropriate

behaviours within the schools.

I want to tackle this whole issue of bullying among young people from

different perspectives. Certainly, the physical violence there is no doubt

about that. There is harassment, intimidation, cyberbullying and sexting which

probably about three years ago, none of us would have known about, exclusion,

and just plain disrespect. Bullying can take many forms, and as such, we as a

larger school community need to address it.

At St. Teresa's the other morning, the head table guests were there, but I

have to say, the person on my immediate right and my immediate left were the

ones I felt most connected to at the table because they are students. They are

young people who are in our schools day in and day out. In the gymnasium, the

auditorium where we were, we had students there from other schools. These are

the young people who go to these buildings day in and day out. They are the ones

who are front and center and deal with this issue, and to see how the scope of

things has changed.

When we spoke about bullying a few years back, as recent as ten years ago, we

would have thought it would have been somebody who would have been physically

aggressive towards someone else. Well, at a recent student leadership conference

in Gander, there were some 400 students there, they did a poll on them. An

instant return, as this is your vote. They asked those students where do they

think the majority of bullying takes place. I was actually surprised. I knew it

had been an issue for some time 75 per cent of that 400 said they felt it

takes place on the Internet; a whole new phenomenon.

For some of us my age, I was born into a time when there was no Internet. To

the generation we have in school right now, they have not known life without the

Internet. Therefore, they recognize it as a factor in their lives.

There were at the table with us on Monday, besides the two students, we had

school board and school district personnel. We had the President of the

Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers' Association, the Federation of School

Councils, we had law enforcement agencies, and we had a representative from

EGALE that is the Equality for Gays And Lesbians Everywhere. The Human Rights

Commission was in attendance, the Red Cross, Roots of Empathy, and there were

more.

Just to speak to the larger context of what it is we are talking about. The

Ministerial Statement today and why we are wearing this purple pin, all of the

things we are talking about here are all factors that impact on violence within

society. Where better can we start to try to diminish and eradicate that than

with our youngest people, with our students in our classrooms? This is what this

revised policy is all about, getting more and more into how we deal with this

particular issue.

The fact that we have these people there, the fact that someone meets me in

the elevator and mentions it to me, the fact that a taxi driver mentions it to

me, the fact that I get e-mails on it and phone calls tells me that people on

the ground get it. Now it is a matter that we take the next step as to how it is

we can intervene more, how we can be proactive, how we can make it more

effective and more efficient. That is what this piece of legislation is about.

I am very proud to stand in the House today to introduce amendments to the

Schools Act, 1997, amendments which will strengthen and support school

communities in their efforts to implement our new Safe and Caring Schools

Policy. As I have already noted, it is about more than just bullying. We know

there are issues around drug use. We know there are issues around violence. It

is about these issues as well, alcohol use, the inappropriate use of the

Internet. So it is more than bullying.

What it is about, too, is giving students the emotional tools, the social

skills, and the life skills to keep themselves safe and grow into caring,

compassionate, confident individuals. When it comes to implementing that policy,

I think we all recognize that we cannot legislate basic human decency or

empathy. I have said it on several occasions, Mr. Speaker, there is one thing we

cannot legislate and that is respect.

Respect is a learned behaviour. It is a learned behaviour as to how we

co-operate with fellow students within the classroom. It is about how a family

unit operates, so that dad shows respect for mom, vice versa, and respect for

the family. It is respect for all things around us, Mr. Speaker.

There are things we can do in the legislation in an effort to prevent

bullying and other aggressive behaviours. There are things we can do to record

and address these incidents in a consistent manner. These amendments make every

member of a school community responsible for promoting a safe and caring school

so that in this legislation and this revised document students, teachers,

principals, school councils, school boards, and directors all have a

responsibility. We place it in legislation so it becomes a legislated

responsibility.

It requires every school to have a code of conduct. Right now, if we walk

into schools, we know there are schools that as soon as you walk in they have

their codes on the walls. This is what you as a student should do to respect

others, respect your teachers, your building, and the whole gamut. This now

requires every school to do it. It also allows the minister to issue policy

directives related to Safe and Caring Schools. I will take you through that

section momentarily.

There are also smaller amendments related to the duties and staffing of

school boards made necessary when we restructured our school board this past

year. These amendments simply recognize the new position of associate director

in all sections with reference to the school district executive. We will speak

to that as well shortly.

Mr. Speaker, if I get a little into the amendments as I have said, there

are sections of the act that we will be bringing revised legislation from two

perspectives; one, around the Safe and Caring Schools Policy, revised policy of

2013; and then around how the associate director and the role of the associate

director becomes a part of this revised legislation.

Mr. Speaker, amendments to the Schools Act, one of the things we certainly

will do, it will line up the Schools Act, 1997. It will line it up and be

revised in conjunction with the Safe and Caring Schools Policy. It will

strengthen and support the policy to place emphasis on ensuring that schools

have codes of conduct. It allows the minister to issue directives related to

bullying, protocols, and data collection.

Why do we need the legislation? We want strong enforcement of the policies.

Right now schools do, many of them, have codes of conduct, but what we want to

do is we want to strengthen it so that all schools will have codes of conduct.

The reporting and recording mechanisms will provide them with a document in

which they can, through this document, which is on the Web site and if you go

on there, if you go into this document, look at the table of contents online,

and type in code of conduct, click, it is right there for you. You can see how

this is a very, very functional document, very easily used, and I would contend

it is going to make things efficient for schools.

We know teachers are out there now recording and reporting, but this will

provide consistency and be effective and efficient. This is one of the other

things that certainly shows our commitment as a government to providing safe and

caring learning environments. Also, it gives very clear directions to

stakeholders and the roles they have.

Mr. Speaker, there will be additions as it pertains to the people who are in

the system. Now we will be seeing that "every student shall (

a) promote a safe

and caring learning environment". That is under

section

Section 24 around

principals, a principal of a school shall, subject to the direction of the

board, "promote a safe and caring learning environment".

It goes on down through to schools councils, which are to promote safe and

caring learning environments. The teachers' responsibility shall include

promoting safe and caring learning environments. It goes on down through the

board and to the directors. What it in effect does is incorporate everyone's

responsibility as it references to this new Safe and Caring Schools Policy.

The code of conduct: Every school will be required to establish a code of

conduct, a template of which will be provided to all schools. The code of

conduct will identify standards of appropriate and inappropriate behaviours

including, again, as I said, not limited to bullying. It will also provide

proactive school and classroom strategies to teach and reinforce appropriate

behaviours, focusing on the positives, on the appropriateness, and outline also

the possible consequences for failing to comply with the code of conduct.

The school code of conduct, as well, in addition to students promoting safe

and learning environments in amendments to the act, it notes that students are

to comply. Students are to comply with the school code of conduct.

Then, Mr. Speaker, in addition to the code of conduct, we have outlined the

amendments will allow the minister to issue policy directives related to safe

and caring learning environments, and these will include what I have said, the

guidelines and template for a school code of conduct.

There is much around the definition of bullying, and I remember the Member

for St. John's North speaking several times on this particular issue, especially

around the definition of bullying. Mr. Speaker, we have done extensive

consultations with our education and our community partners including students,

parents, teachers, administrators, school board and district personnel, the

NLTA, the Federation of School Councils, law enforcement agencies, many

community-based organizations involved in the well-being of children, and youth

and district personnel.

I would like, Mr. Speaker, to read out the definition that we are bringing

forward around bullying. The definition reads, "Bullying is typically repeated

behaviour that is intended to cause harm to another person(s). A person

participates in bullying if he or she directly carries out, assists or

encourages the behaviour in any way. Those that engage in bullying behaviour are

perceived to be in a position of power. Bullying can be physical, verbal, social

and/or electronic. In some circumstances bullying is an illegal activity."

Now, I will tell you that in our consultations in the first round we went

out, we consulted, and then we went back and spoke to some of these groups to

say: Okay, here is the basis of our document; are there things here that you

think need to be adjusted in any way? The law enforcement agencies came back and

said: Yes, we would like to see in there that, in some circumstances, it can be

an illegal activity.

Mr. Speaker, there is also the piece around the Bullying Intervention

Protocol. Every school will be required to implement a process of responding to

incidents of bullying behaviour, including physical, verbal, social, and

electronic bullying. The protocol outlines both prevention and intervention

strategies and appropriate responses to the behaviour. Incidents of bullying

must also be documented, reported to the parents or guardians, and there must be

some form of action or consequence.

Again, when I flick into the Web site and I look up Bullying Intervention

Protocol, it is very much step by step as to how that protocol is laid out. This

is the documentation and your interventions and your reporting to parents and

such.

Finally, there is a requirement for the collection of data related to

inappropriate behaviours. Incidents of bullying or other inappropriate

behaviours will be documented Province-wide, data will be collected and analyzed

for the purpose of improving student behaviour and the safety of the school

environment.

Mr. Speaker, this will be an electronic piece so that in part one, I will

say, for example, you can go in and just, click, here is the type of behaviour.

You can just follow that process down through so that we now have documentation.

Teachers and schools are documenting now. They may be documenting in

different ways, so what we are looking at is a standardized, more efficient

process across the Province. Certainly, that information will be useful. I may

be able to take a look at school A, go in and see the incidents that occur here

this year. After two years of schools doing different activities across the

school, let's go and see if those numbers have reduced, and maybe look at a

particular school where there are very few incidents and what are they doing

there.

This information is going to be a valuable piece, not only for the tracking

and monitoring and trying to do away with these inappropriate activities but it

can also be a tool that we can further use, to analyze, to report, record and

then do more intervention type of work with the hopes of improving the entire

school system.

The second part of this, Mr. Speaker, is around changes to the school board

structure. Everyone will know that we have gone from having five boards in the

Francophone school board.

say publicly, to say over the airwaves and to say to those people who are

watching, the work that has gone into this with the officials in my department

and those who are leading the charge at the board office level and the satellite

office level, I have to commend them.

I think most people who are in the field in terms of parents and students

would notice that this school year started out very much like it would have

started out any other year. I can assure you, Mr. Speaker, that behind the

scenes there are people who are working at that board office level who have

worked conscientiously, who have put in hours upon hours upon hours to ensure

that the transition happen and it ran smoothly.

Mr. Speaker, the bottom line of why they do it, it is their job, yes. They do

it because they want the students of this Province to have the best school

system they can. They have done a tremendous job with that, Mr. Speaker.

What we have in this piece of legislation, we now need to incorporate the

position of associate director. There was not an associate director before. Mr.

Speaker, this is one of the positions that I wanted in there and I wanted in

there for a particular reason. I wanted while we have a director at the helm,

Mr. Darrin Pike, we have Mr. Jeff Thompson as the associate director. Mr.

Thompson's role is that role of dealing specifically with people in the field as

it relates to programming.

Mr. Speaker, in the act now it says under

section 79, I believe it is, what

it talks about is the number of directors and staff at the office. What we have

done is we have gone from four directors in the previous boards to one director

now. We have implemented the associate director, that being a new position. The

assistant directors previous were I believe it was thirteen, now we have gone

down to seven. That adjustment is made within that. We have the directors,

assistant directors of finances, operations, HR, and we have four regional

directors, Mr. Speaker.

As well, there is some I do not think these are huge amendments, these are

consequential amendments adding the definition of associate director, and

amending the definition of teacher, as it applies to

section 2, as required for

other executive level positions, such as director and assistant director; and

applies to

section 75, duties of boards; 79, directors; 92, around salaries and

compensation; and 93, adjustments in salaries.

We also will have to make amendments to the Teacher Training Act, and the

Teachers' Pensions Act. I want to be clear here, this is not about opening up

the Teacher Training Act or the Teachers' Pensions Act. What it means is simply

that we are incorporating the title of associate director in the revised

legislation.

Of course, director duties; amendments are necessary, as schools now have one

director who is responsible for the schools. The current legislation notes that

a director shall, under the direction of the board, visit each school as

frequently as feasible, at least once in the school year. Well, we are going to

make an amendment to that. We are saying now that a director may designate a

person to visit a school on his or her behalf.

I know Mr. Pike will make every effort to get to as many schools as director.

He will make every effort to get to as many schools as he possibly can, but in

the event he does not get to certain schools, he can certainly designate a

person to visit the school on his behalf, or if the director changes in the

years and we get a female there, on her behalf. This applies to subsection

80(1.1). Mr. Speaker, one final point on this is that this does not apply to the

Francophone school system.

I have to say, I know I have an hour, but I am not going to take my full hour

on it. Mr. Speaker, I started out by saying that I think the message of what we

are attempting to address here is getting out there. When you get a cab driver

who mentions it to you, it is indeed a pleasure to know that he has become very

much aware of this issue.

If I were to speak to my colleagues here on our side and the members

opposite, I imagine most of them would be very much aware of it because we have

spoken about this in the House on several occasions and we have had questions

during Question Period on it, but when someone, such as a cab driver on the

street mentions it to you, it means that those of us who have been involved in

trying to get that message out there, have been doing a good job at it.

We know we have made major gains in the schools. All you have to do is,

during pink day in February, go and visit one of these schools and see how much

these young students, as young as kindergarten and Grade 1, are becoming very

much aware.

As much as we focus on the anti-bullying message, we are starting to hear

people talk about, let's not just focus on that. Let's focus on respect so that

I, as a Grade 1 student, learn what it means to respect all of those in my class

and in my school. It is about positive reinforcement. It is about engaging and

involving the students in the rules that happen within a particular school. Now

what this document will do is standardize the type of process that we are

entering here.

When I leave government, one of the things I will be proud to say is that I

had a

part in bringing in a Safe and Caring Schools Policy, revised edition,

2013. We have had in place, I think for the last six years, a Safe and Caring

Schools Policy. What we did when we brought it in is we committed that after

five years we would review it, and that is in fact what we did.

I can tell you that the people in my department who were involved in doing

this, I said to them this morning, take pride in what you have developed here

because these people come at this with a passion. They take their role in this

very, very seriously. They want to get the message out there. This document, I

will be proud to tell anyone out there that I had a small

part in bringing this

forward. Certainly, as I said, when I came into the department, it is one of the

things that I wanted to address. I am very pleased to say that we have this

document. It is a wonderful document.

I would encourage all members to take a look through it. I would also

encourage them to go and take a look at the Web site to see what a document we

have here for our schools.

Mr. Speaker, with that, I will take my seat. I look forward to the debate on

this. I am expecting that there will be some questions when we move into

Committee, but I thank all the folks for their time and attention. I

particularly want to thank the staff that worked to bring this together; and,

finally, those who are most important on the ground in making this happen, that

being teachers, students, school councils when I say school councils I speak

about the role of the parent, the role of the parent in this, which is of

critical, critical importance.

The school board office and we, as the Department of Education, will work

with all of those stakeholders to ensure that as we bring this policy forward,

it becomes an effective tool that schools can use in seeing that our schools

operate with appropriate behaviours, and that we do add to the gains that we

have made encountering bullying.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER (Littlejohn): The hon. the Member for Cartwright L'Anse au

Clair.

MS DEMPSTER: Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for an overview on that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS DEMPSTER: I am happy today to be able to speak to Bill 28,

An Act to

Amend the Schools Act, 1997. Mr. Speaker, I have no problem supporting the

amendments in this act today. There are some areas of concern that I will

outline as I go.

I come from a background where I have spent fifteen years with the school

council in Charlottetown, heavily involved in education and concern about the

aspects of bullying and things like that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS DEMPSTER: Right up front, I want to mention that the critic today, Jim

Bennett, the Member for St. Barbe, will not be able to speak because he had a

death in the family and he is out. I just want to be on record saying that is

why there will be no response today from the critic.

Mr. Speaker, we had a principal at WGA, sadly for a short time and he moved

on. When he walked into any school council meeting, no matter what we were

dealing with he would say: Folks, it is all about the children; and if we forget

the children, folks, what are we doing here anyway?

Really, that is what it is all about. I can speak as a parent of a

sixteen-year-old. I said here that we have talked a lot this week in the House

about children with adoption acts, with acts relating to crime and things like

that, lots of focus around children.

When I was the lead in our community when we desperately needed a new school

for the children, I met with the minister for Burin. On April 26 in 2012, what I

said to him that day was: You have the most important job in this Province right

now. He kind of smiled, because he knew I was looking for something.

I said: You absolutely do, because where would we be in this Province, in

this country, in society, without educated people? Where would we be in oil and

gas? Where would we be in health? Therefore, it is important that our children

learn in an environment that is safe and that is free of mould infestations. An

environment that is conducive to learning. It is very, very important. We say it

all the time, but there is a lot of truth in it. They are our most valuable

resource.

One of the things that I was a little bit concerned in, as I have been

following this and reading the press releases and listening to the media. I did

not see any time frames around the implementation, and I was closely noticing

the no extra resources. I am concerned about on the ground. A lot of times we

bring in amendments to acts and in order for this to happen, on the ground,

boots on the ground, in the schools I know in our small rural communities our

staff, our administrators, are really, really taxed.

We have lots of schools where we have multi-grading in classrooms, small

schools like Normans Bay who might have one teacher who is preparing courses for

several grades; and then when we want them to help do their part to implement

something like this, a lot of times, for it to have a successful outcome, it is

imperative that we put the extra resources in place.

I noticed that this act allows some provision for extra directors and people

to be hired at the top. I have always been a person who has been more concerned

about having the support right into the schools.

This act also proposes that each school have their own individual policy. I

feel, Mr. Speaker, that it is important that right now we have just moved under

did not have good support with the school board that we had, so I was not going

to cry over the fact that we are now moved to one. For us, it was a bit of a

barrier there in moving to what we really needed, a school in my town that we

had been fighting for, for fifteen years, the fifteen years I was on school

council and perhaps longer before I came.

Right now, we have one board that is bringing down lots of policies that will

be consistent for everybody. I do not understand, and I have concerns about

that, why there is some leniency here for each school to have their own

individual policy. I believe it is very, very important with something as

serious as bullying and something as serious as Safe and Caring Schools that we

have consistency.

Also, there is concern, and I have had a number of e-mails, about the

implementation and the funding piece, as I mentioned earlier around that. We all

know about the administrators and the teachers who are overworked. They are very

stressed. If we want to see successful outcomes from this we have to make sure

the supports are in place for the people to be able to carry this out. I think

everybody here in the House will agree that we all want the same thing here, and

that is what is best for the children.

The NLTA, parents, and councils have some concern about the resources and the

funding not being announced, we do not seem to know a price, and about the

resources that will be there for this. The Goss Gilroy report said that the

former Safe and Caring Schools Policy was okay, but that it was not implemented

as it was not individually funded and there was no one specifically responsible.

Mr. Speaker, they also said that some of the small amount of schools' money that

was already there was directed to other programs. We really want to ensure that

does not happen in this case.

In that report, it also said that each school district should have a safe and

caring champion, and there is a lot of merit in that. I would love to see that

followed up, Mr. Speaker. We can put out all these things, these rules, and

these wonderful things to follow, but you have to have a champion. You have to

lead.

In my own background and my own experience, I led a number of files that we

were successful on. Not that I was brighter and not that I was smarter, there is

a lot of expertise on the ground, but not everybody is comfortable picking up a

file and leading. Everybody needs a go-to person, someone who has to be

responsible for that.

would ask the minister to go back and take another look at that. This new Safe

and Caring Schools Policy, I felt, was a little bit short on detail. We will see

how it rolls out as it goes.

Mr. Speaker, because the Safe and Caring Schools Policy came about primarily

because of bullying and how bullying has escalated in recent years, I think it

is important that I take a few minutes to talk about for those who are

viewing, the listening audience bullying and exactly what it is.

There was a time when we thought bullying was when there was a physical fist

fight on a playground or something like that. We now know that bullying entails

much more than that. I am just going to run (inaudible) stats and some things

that I have been aware of and some things that I have researched myself.

Research shows that half of all children are bullied at some time during

their school year half, Mr. Speaker. It is very important, it is very

necessary that we amend and update the Schools Act, 1997 and to get serious

about implementing a Safe and Caring Schools Policy. Of the half who is bullied

at some point in their life, we know that 10 per cent are bullied on a regular

basis. I am sure that many parents who are watching today have their own

stories, very sad stories. We know for some parents the outcomes have been

fatal; they have been permanent. They would certainly support us promoting

awareness.

It is hard to fathom, Mr. Speaker, that some parents I doubt it has

happened in this Province have actually allowed their children to undergo

plastic surgery to combat the bullying. It is hard to fathom.

Over 30 per cent of children who suffer a food allergy report having been

bullied at school. Anybody who has lived with children, it is scary carrying the

EpiPens and things like that. That is stressful enough, but just to know that

you have these limitations

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS DEMPSTER: in your life already through no fault of your own, you

were diagnosed with allergies. Because of that, 30 per cent of children who

suffer from a food allergy will be bullied.

Bullying is an international problem, Mr. Speaker. We hear about it often in

the news. Sadly, a lot of times we hear about it in the news when there has been

a tragic ending.

One of the things that we are all aware of as well, Mr. Speaker, is that

bullying victims are students who can be both a bully and a victim. They often

have been victimized and then they begin inflicting the same behaviour on

others. That is why, Mr. Speaker, this education piece and this awareness piece

is so, so important that we can stop the generational negative behaviour.

It is very sad that children who have a learning disability, or attention

deficit, or a hyperactivity disorder are more likely to be bullied than other

children, and they are also slightly more likely than others to bully. So,

people who are already at a disadvantage in society are victims of bullying, and

then because a lot of times maybe they do not know who to go to talk to, they do

not know how to respond, they will turn around and bully others in return.

Researchers note, Mr. Speaker, that if a victim fights a bully and the bully

wins, this loss will only make matters worse for the victim. Consequentially,

researchers argue that fighting back should not be encouraged; instead, the

child should be encouraged to walk away. Now again, I go back to my own

childhood and growing up we were taught to fight back, you pick up for yourself,

and sometimes that is what we want to do now for our own children. I believe if

we look at this research, this is why it is important to have the resources in

schools so that if our children are bullied, they are able to go to the

administrator, they do know that there is someone there for them to talk to,

because we know that bully victims can suffer lasting psychological harm.

Those who felt bullied in sixth grade were more likely to report feelings of

loneliness six years later, and those who bullied in sixth grade felt more

overtly aggressive in the twelfth grade. Mr. Speaker, children with medical

conditions that affect their appearance, such as spina bifida and cerebral palsy

are also more likely to be bullied.

I share this information to make people aware that we are just not talking

about a physical altercation at the playground any more, bullying is a real

problem, and that is why we need to get serious about the Safe and Caring

Schools Policy. Everyone has a role to play in this, Mr. Speaker, if we are to

improve and minimize and counteract the negative behaviour that is happening.

Children who are obese are more likely to be bullied. Diabetic children who

are dependent on insulin are more prone to peer bullying, and over 83 per cent

of adults who stuttered as children said they had been teased or bullied. This

is a very wide problem, Mr. Speaker, as it branches out into a number of other

problems that cost our society, because bullies are more likely to engage in

vandalism, shoplifting, and we know that there is a direct correlation between

substance abuse and gun violence and bullying behaviour.

So that is why it is important that supports be put in place, not just in a

Safe and Caring Schools environment but in other areas as well. Again, I go back

to the story that we have been talking about all week here in the House the

story of boys like John, who ended up in a home with adults with complex needs

and addictions, and John needed supports in place himself.

Mr. Speaker, it is very, very important that we talk about those things.

There is a connection between bullying and being exposed to violence. We live in

a society now, we are talking about the technological age and the media and we

all rely on these handheld devices and things ourselves; but, unfortunately, one

of the negative sides of that, with the games that have been introduced, by the

time the average child enters kindergarten he or she will have witnessed 8,000

murders on television, Mr. Speaker.

This is just a changing society that we are living in. Some cyberbullies

think they can use a fake name. Mr. Speaker, the minister alluded to it when he

was speaking, but one of the rising forms of bullying in society is through the

to get the message out that even if you do use a fake name, there are many ways

to track cyberbullying. We need to be serious about ensuring that they pay the

price.

Only one in ten victims of cyberbullying will tell their parent and fewer

than one in five cyberbullying incidents are reported to the police. So, far

more of it is happening than we are even really aware of.

I will just mention the three types of bullying for the benefit of people

watching. Sometimes parents might think they do not see physical signs, but it

is much deeper than that. Social bullying, excluding victims from activities,

rumouring about the victim; verbal, includes threatening, taunting, teasing,

hate speech; and then physical, which we are probably most familiar with, the

kicking, hitting, punching, and choking.

Mr. Speaker, the Columbine massacre, it is important to mention that today. I

have read a number of books on that. The two students that were involved in the

1999 Columbine massacre, they were described as gifted students and they had

been bullied for years. During that school shooting, the boys killed thirteen

people, injured twenty-four, and then we know they took their own lives.

Academically gifted students, especially those with high verbal aptitude,

they are often targeted, maybe through jealousy and other things. They are often

bullied and are more likely than less gifted students to suffer emotionally.

We know, Mr. Speaker, that students skip school every other day because of

this problem of bullying and not knowing where to turn. We know that it is very

important for people to understand that it is a myth that bullying will most

likely go away when it is ignored. Ignoring bullies reinforces to them that they

can bully without consequences.

It is very, very important as we go forward with the amendments of this act,

Mr. Speaker, that the administrators in the schools are very educated, that they

know the signals, that they know what to watch for so there are not things

happening in the schools that they are not aware of, so we do not have some of

these negative actions continue. We know an estimated 40 per cent to 75 per cent

of bullying in schools take place during breaks such as during recess, at

lunchtime, in the hallways, or in the restrooms. It is very, very important.

A lot of times, as I mentioned earlier, in rural schools especially, because

you have a small number of teachers and administrators who are responsible for a

lot of things, they cannot be everywhere at once. Yet, it is important they

understand the places where bullying is most likely to happen so they are able

to be there and move around at times like recess and lunchtime in the hallways

and in the restrooms.

Mr. Speaker, just in clueing up, I want to say I am happy to see the

amendments. We do have some concerns about the no extra resources on the already

stressed and overworked administrators who are there. I am not sure about the

time frame on when this is going to be implemented, but it is very important it

be done in as timely a manner as possible. We even see the NLTA often quoting,

"safe and caring schools are a responsibility of all partners involved in

education." As I said earlier, we all have a role to play.

My fifteen years that I served on the school council, for fifteen years I was

elected and re-elected as the community representative on our school council. I

was there for a number of years before my daughter even actually entered school.

I was there because it was important, very important to me to play an active

partnership role with the community. It was always important to me that our

school and our community was not a separate entity in the town.

In any way we could build partners that would help the children, whether that

was providing means for them to travel out to sports, to bring people in to

speak about different programs, and to give them whatever opportunities we could

in small communities where a lot of times we do not have the extracurricular

opportunities, the resources, and the recreational facilities that larger towns

would have. To be able to support the students in any way we could because it is

all about the holistic part of the student. It is not just about having the

supports in place for them to do well academically, but for them to have other

opportunities as well, like school sports, music, drama, and things like that.

I believe our school council that I can speak directly to, played an

important role at William Gillett in the school development process. We

recognize that it takes both education and community partners to nurture

positive behaviours and reduce the likelihood of bullying and other

inappropriate behaviours.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to hearing what other members in this hon. House

have to say today about the Schools Act.

Thank you.

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As Minister of Health and Community Services I am really happy to stand here

and speak to this piece of legislation today. Mr. Speaker, more so than as

Minister of Health and Community Services, I am happy to stand here as a mother

of three children, as somebody who taught for thirty years in this Province

through a number of means actually.

I taught in a regular classroom setting for a long time. Then I had the

ultimate privilege in the latter years of my career of teaching through an

organization called CDLI, the Centre for Distance Learning and Innovation.

Through that particular modem of teaching, I taught online into many, many

communities throughout this Province.

It was a really interesting vehicle from which to teach as well. When we are

teaching online, first of all it was a unique way to get to know students in

this Province. I remember at the outset, I had some of my own reservations about

whether or not this would work when I was introduced to the whole notion of

teaching online. I had conversations with others who had actually done some work

in this area. They affirmed for me that in actual fact you could have a very

good working relationship with students. Mr. Speaker, that certainly was my

experience in dealing with students online.

The interesting part of dealing with the students online were the number of

various applications they had available to them. The numbers and kinds of

different modes of communicating they had available to them, not just in the

platform in which we operated our classrooms virtually, but also from the

texting they were doing at the time, as a result of the e-mailing that was

happening at the time and so on.

It was a really interesting introduction for me to a world in which students

were at the outset much more comfortable. Maybe even at the end of that seven

years I was there, much more comfortable than was I because it was something new

for me in a way of learning. It was a mode for them to communicate and they did

that so very, very well; however, within that we all know there are traps as

well. It was not very long before I began to see some of those, particularly in

some of the ways in which students could message back and forth, inside of a

classroom situation virtually, and outside of that situation too.

It was exceptionally interesting to see some of the innuendo that would float

back and forth, some of the various kinds of things that we now know and call

cyberbullying, Mr. Speaker. It was not as prevalent, I do not think then, as

what I am hearing now in terms of statistics. It was so easy to do, and

something that I think a lot of our children had slipped into at that particular

point in time without realizing exactly what was happening.

In some senses you do not have to put a face or your name to what it is you

are doing when you are into that kind of bullying and we know that it goes on.

That is one of the most important things about bullying I think, Mr. Speaker, is

that we have to acknowledge it. We cannot ignore this. We cannot say this does

not happen in our society.

This is not a problem that is owned just by the young people of our society.

This happens right throughout society, Mr. Speaker, but the place to arrest it

is certainly with our young people. To teach about this, to understand about it,

to learn why it is that we ought not do it, to talk about the ultimate problems

that are created as a result of what happens here. That was my first

introduction in some senses to cyberbullying, but as a teacher for thirty years

and certainly as the mother of three children, I think I was afforded some very

unique opportunities to see in other venues, in other ways, how bullying happens

and the effects of bullying.

Even as a Brownie leader at one point in time, I recall a couple of stories,

and I do not need to share the stories I do not think because I do not think

there is anyone who doubts about bullying happening. I was able to see at some

very early ages some of what I have now come to understand were probably learned

behaviours. They were behaviours they had seen other people fall into and use.

Therefore it had, in some senses, become acceptable means of treating another

person in their lives, most often somebody who were important to them in many of

the respects of how they bullied.

It was a little disconcerting to watch and to figure out, how do I intervene,

not just from the perspective of looking after the person who was being bullied,

but how do I intervene and also help the person who is the bully here, because

the bully also needs some help. That is something that we need to recognize and

we need to respond to as well.

As I said, through my thirty years in a classroom, through many volunteer

organizations, from my time on school councils as well, from my time with CDLI,

and certainly as a mother and hearing children come home and relate the little

stories of things that would have bothered them during the day, that sometimes

did not seem like very much but over a period of time, story after story after

story would mount and you would soon start to see there are causes here and

there are effects, and we need to identify both. We need to respond to both and

we certainly need to acknowledge that this is happening.

That is one of the things about this bill that I see as being so important.

Bill 28 requires, I believe, a fair bit of ownership about this issue because it

requires schools to first of all put into place a school code of conduct, some

conduct that says we do not tolerate this here. This is not how we want to treat

each other. This is not how we want to be treated, therefore there are

consequences. There are ways we are going to show you that we are not going to

accept that. That is a very important part of what this bill is going to do.

It requires teachers, principals, school councils, school boards, and

directors to promote that safe and caring environment where students can feel

safe, Mr. Speaker. That is so important, because if a student does not feel safe

within the environment of education then we can rest assured that everything

else that a school ought to be about is not happening.

If a student goes to school and does not feel it is a welcoming environment,

that there are people there who care for them, that they will be safe while they

are there, then you can be guaranteed without looking any further that they are

not going to succeed in any way in that environment, because we all need that,

wherever it is that we are. It is not just children. We all need to know that we

are safe. Once we are safe, then we know the ability to move forward certainly

lives with us.

That part of this bill in terms of what the Schools Act amendments would look

like, for me is exceptionally important. Increasing the number of people we are

going to have available in our schools to help and so on is another aspect of

it. Certainly, allowing the minister to issue those policy directives related to

safe and caring learning environments, all I think are amendments that will help

to make those differences in creating the environment we want to have.

Mr. Speaker, when I had the opportunity to speak to this I was very happy to

do it from the perspective of Health and Community Services as well. Our

government is always interested in providing safe environments for our people

but we also want to ensure that the people of this Province are as healthy as

they can be in every respect, and our mental health is as important as any

aspect of our overall health and well-being. We all need that sense of feeling

secure and non-threatened, free from harm and so on. Policies and legislation

that will help us to ensure that, to strive for that ultimate protection for

each other, they are so very important.

Mr. Speaker, we know there are some repercussions of bullying that happen

inside of a classroom in the sense of people become fearful of going to school.

They do not want to go. They skip school quite often, learning does not take

place. Families are affected as a result of all of this.

In the extreme incidents we know that depression sets in, that anxiety

happens with people who are constantly bullied. Then the ultimate extreme, we

know of many cases unfortunately where people have taken their lives. Young

people have taken their lives as a result of the aggressive behaviour that

happened, the bullying that happened.

When I speak with some of my former colleagues who are guidance counsellors

in the school and still working in the schools now, they talk to me about how at

one time a large portion of their job as a guidance counsellor had to do with

guidance in the areas of career development, for example. That does not happen

very much any more for these guidance counsellors because their days are really

taken up with problems that are much more serious and they have to devote the

time to students who need help with regard to the bullying that takes place in

their lives.

We have, within the Province, Mr. Speaker, a number of issues around the

stigma related to some of what happens. People get labelled. The bullies will

often assign labels to these people, and those stigmas are oftentimes things

that follow them for long periods of time in their lives. We have stigmas as

well that are attached to mental health and addictions issues. We know too that

bullying can lead, not only to anxiety and depression in a person's life