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May 24, 2018

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVIII No. 24

The

House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Trimper):

Order, please!

Admit

strangers.

I would

like to welcome several guests that we have in the Assembly today. First of all,

in the Speaker's gallery I'd like to welcome Mrs. Jean Hanley, who will be the

subject of a Ministerial Statement this afternoon. She's accompanied by Earl

Howell, chair of the Vera Perlin charitable foundation, and two of her

daughters, Vera Howard and Cathy LeDrew.

Welcome

also to members and clients of the Vera Perlin Society who are joining us in the

public gallery.

A great

welcome to you all.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Also joining us in the

Speaker's gallery today is a very esteemed gentleman; he happens to be the

husband of the Minister of Children, Seniors and Social Development, Mr. Gaius

Dempster.

Welcome

to you, Sir.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

And then to my immediate

right I would like to welcome, in the public gallery, a very special class. It's

Mme Ashleigh Hudson's grade 4 French Immersion class from Vanier Elementary

School in St. John's. I just watched a great video of them, along with the

Minister of Environment. It's a great group; they will be mentioned in a

Member's statement today.

Un grand

gros bienvenue, et bonjour tout le monde.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

Statements by

Members

MR. SPEAKER:

For Members' statements

today, we will hear from the hon. Members for the Districts of Torngat

Mountains, Fogo Island - Cape Freels, Cape St. Francis, Placentia West -

Bellevue and Virginia Waters - Pleasantville.

The hon.

the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

today to recognize the newly elected members of our Nunatsiavut Government. The

new members were sworn in at the Nunatsiavut legislature in Hopedale earlier

this month. Some of these individuals have gone on to take up Cabinet portfolios

in various departments.

Congratulations to Jim Lyall and Anthony Anderson of Nain, Rachel Saunders of

Hopedale, Tyler Edmunds of Postville, Kate Mitchell of Makkovik, Carlene

Palliser of Rigolet, Gerald Asivak and Marlene Winters-Wheeler of Upper Lake

Melville and Ed Rudkowski and Roland Saunders representing the Canadian

constituency.

Mr.

Speaker, although I represent many of these officials in the provincial

Legislature, they, in turn, represent me in our Nunatsiavut Government. I look

forward to working with these newly elected officials in advancing the lives of

the people we represent.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask all hon. Members to join me in congratulating all of the newly

elected officials of our Nunatsiavut Government and wish them well in their

governance over the next four years.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of

Fogo Island - Cape Freels.

MR.

BRAGG:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It's with a heavy heart I rise in this hon. House

today. Two years ago, I rose to highlight an outstanding volunteer from my

District of Fogo Island - Cape Freels – a guy who gave everything and expected

nothing in return.

Leo Blackmore was indeed a man amongst men. As a young

driver, Leo was involved in a car accident which left him a paraplegic. To say

it left him confined to a wheelchair would not be anywhere accurate to

describing his life. My best memory of Leo was his ability to tear up the dance

floor. I'm sure there were times he had that chair up on one wheel.

Seven years ago, cancer turned Leo's wheelchair upside

down. He fought the fight of his life. Unfortunately on May 16, Leo lost his

fight. At 56 years old, Leo left this world, but not before making his mark in

the New-Wes-Valley area. He will be fondly remembered for his love of serving on

the recreation committee and the Lions Club. He will surely be missed at the

local stores selling tickets.

I want his family to know how much Leo was appreciated

as we celebrate his life.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for the District of Cape St. Francis.

MR.

K. PARSONS:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to recognize the Torbay Lions Club for its

tremendous community service. Mr. Speaker, the Torbay Lions Club is the newest

club in the province and, in a short time, has contributed greatly to our

community. It is a very active club and is involved in many activities –

everything from concerts, parades, pancake suppers, dart tournaments, clothing

collection, dog walks, you name it, the Torbay Lions Club is there.

With the tremendous fundraising efforts, the club has

made donations to a wide variety of groups such as the Torbay library, the Holy

Trinity Elementary school breakfast program, the Gathering Place and the Fort

McMurray Relief Fund, to name a few. They have also assisted many area residents

with funding for medical travel and other emergency services, and have sponsored

an award for the graduating high school students.

But today, Mr. Speaker, I want to highlight the Torbay

Lions Club's most recent effort

– a $15,000 donation Juniper Ridge Intermediate school to purchase

Chromebooks and a charging unit. Mr. Speaker, this generous donation from the

Lions Club's legacy fund is a welcomed asset for the new school and will have a

profound and lasting impact on the entire school community.

I ask

all hon. Members to join with me in commending the Torbay Lions Club for its

incredible donation and thanking them for the valuable service and support they

provide to our residents and communities.

Thank

you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Placentia West - Bellevue.

MR. BROWNE:

Mr. Speaker, we are all

familiar with the adage “I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I

understand.” That is the underlying premise of heritage fairs in the province

and was most certainly evident at the Vista Regional Heritage Fair held in

Trinity earlier this month.

I was

pleased to attend the fair, along with the Member for Bonavista, and was

impressed by the visual presentations, but even more impressed when I spoke to

the presenters, including nine students from my district who attend Tricentia

Academy in Arnold's Cove.

In fact,

two of the students received the top honours. William Martin was named overall

winner at this year's fair for his project The Battle of the Boyne, highlighting

the role of Orangemen while wearing his great-grandfather's Orangemen regalia.

Hannah

Bannister won the Ambassador Award for her project, Women in Warfare, showcasing

the role of women in the First World War. She will be travelling with the Royal

Canadian Legion at the end of next month to France and Belgium to visit the

Trail of the Caribou.

Mr.

Speaker, passing on our history is crucial, and let me tell you I have full

confidence based on the displays at the Heritage Fair that our young people are

getting a full grasp of our past as they plan for their own futures.

I ask

all hon. Members to join me in congratulating the students and teachers for this

successful Regional Heritage Fair.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Virginia Waters - Pleasantville.

MR. B. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

in this hon. House to recognize a proactive and environmentally conscious group

of students. The grade four's at Vanier Elementary have been working on

environmental projects over the past number of years. Vanier has an active

community garden and is making every effort to recycle and reduce waste.

Recently, Vanier Elementary was awarded the Golden Broom Award by the City of

St. John's, which is given to a school which demonstrates a commitment to

engaging youth in Clean and Beautiful Youth Initiatives. This will be

accomplished through litter and unwanted graffiti reduction, installation of

no-idling signage and the beautification of school grounds that includes

painting, planting shrubs, trees and flowers.

This

would not be possible without the dedicated staff like Mme Hudson, the grade

four teacher. Mme Hudson is passionate about the environment. Her students have

shown great dedication and determination by working on an advertising campaign

using a green screen technology. What a fantastic job!

Their

job is entitled: Don't be that guy, aims to target many bad routines that we all

have each and every day involving single-use plastic. This grade four class

hopes this campaign will inspire others to reduce plastic consumption and

eliminate single-use plastics in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank

you to the students and staff for your passion and commitment to the

environment.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by

Ministers

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister

Responsible for Children, Seniors and Social Development.

MS. DEMPSTER:

Thank you.

Mr.

Speaker, since 1954, the Vera Perlin Society has provided quality service and

support for all individuals with an intellectual disability and their families

in the St. John's and surrounding areas. This work enables individuals to

participate in all areas of community living thereby supporting and creating an

inclusive society.

The

success of the Vera Perlin Society is based on their dedicated staff and their

many volunteers. In particular, Mrs. Jean Hanley has been at the forefront. She

started her career as the bookkeeper for the Vera Perlin Society in 1961,

working very closely with Mrs. Perlin and was instrumental in helping the

organization become what it is today. Mrs. Hanley continued working until June,

Mr.

Speaker, even after retirement, Mrs. Hanley continued her work with the society

and remains an active board member today. Mrs. Hanley has dedicated 57 years to

the Vera Perlin Society and, more importantly, to enhancing the lives of

individuals who have an intellectual disability. I am told there is not a client

that Mrs. Hanley cannot remember, which I believe after I experienced her

incredible memory myself while talking to her last month during Volunteer Week.

Mr.

Speaker, I thank Mrs. Hanley for her dedication to the Vera Perlin Society and

for her commitment to the clientele and the many people throughout our community

whom she has helped.

Today is

Mrs. Hanley's 95th birthday. Please join me in wishing her a very happy birthday

and recognizing this remarkable woman for her wonderful contributions to the

Vera Perlin Society.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Fortune Bay - Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

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

Opposition, I wish Mrs. Hanley a very special 95th birthday. Mrs. Hanley is a

vibrant example of the volunteers in our communities who work tirelessly towards

helping enrich the lives of others.

In Mrs.

Hanley's case, she continued to volunteer with the Vera Perlin Society well

after her retirement and continues to be an active volunteer even today.

addition to recognizing Mrs. Hanley, I'd also like to acknowledge the Vera

Perlin Society for their work with individuals with intellectual disabilities.

Their efforts enable these individuals to participate in all areas of our

society, and we are most appreciative.

Once

again, congratulations and thank you to Mrs. Hanley. We hope you join us again

to celebrate your 100th birthday.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of St. John's East - Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I, too,

thank the minister for the advance copy of her statement. It's more than a

pleasure to stand and wish you happy 95th birthday on behalf of our caucus, Mrs.

Hanley. Volunteers are the heart of the community and I cannot think of many who

have shown more dedication and heart than Mrs. Jean Hanley with her work with

the Vera Perlin Society.

Mrs.

Hanley remains an active board member. That is amazing, and I hope she serves

for years to come. Her depth of knowledge and wisdom must be a huge asset to the

society.

Once

again, Mr. Speaker, I congratulate her on her incredible career and wish her the

happiest of birthdays.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Further statements by

ministers?

The hon.

the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

today in this hon. House to recognize an important step being taken in response

to the recommendations of the Premier's Task Force on Improving Educational

Outcomes.

To build

capacity among K to six teachers, and to enhance mathematics pedagogy in primary

and elementary schools, I am pleased to announce that for the next five years,

the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development is providing $40,000

in funding annually for the K to six Mathematics Bursary Program.

The task

force identified mathematics as an area where there is a particular need for

improved teacher education. Mr. Speaker, it is important for primary and

elementary teachers and administrators to have a sound background in mathematics

and have ongoing opportunities to enhance their knowledge and their skills.

The

Mathematics Bursary Program is in response to Recommendation 37 of the task

force report that the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development

introduce a bursary program to encourage teacher participation in university

level courses in mathematics content required for grades K to six.

The

department welcomes applications from administrators and classroom teachers who

work with K to six students, including substitute teachers. The mathematics

bursary is a financial award that recipients may use to recover course costs and

related expenses for successfully completing a pre-approved bursary-eligible

course. I encourage eligible teachers and administrators to apply. Applications

are due on July 1 and November 1 of the each year.

As a

government, we believe that it is important for teachers to feel comfortable and

have a great skill level with teaching mathematics. Knowing more mathematics and

the latest techniques of teaching it is an important part of this program.

implementing the recommendations included in the Premier's Task Force on

Improving Educational Outcomes, we are bringing positive changes to the

education system. These changes will ensure students receive a high-quality

education that prepares them to succeed in whatever path they choose when they

graduate.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the minister for an advance copy of his statement. This side of the House is

anxious to see the implementations of the recommendations that have been

outlined in the task force on education. There is little doubt that the

government must strive to make improvements in the education system,

particularly in the area of mathematics. Hard working teachers in our province

must be given the supports that are required in order to aid our students and

make these academic improvements a reality.

This

side of the House will be paying close attention to how the $40,000 a year is

allocated and the level of benefit it will provide. We remain optimistic that

this bursary program will prove to be an incentive to teachers and to

administrators.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's East - Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I, too,

thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement. It's good to see the

government acting on this recommendation, which is a really important one as the

basis for the 11 other recommendations pertaining to math listed in the report,

which was submitted in July of last year. We know that we have a need for

assistance in our math program for the good of our children.

We're

looking forward to an update on some of the other recommendations such as

revamping the assessment framework, allocating new math program specialists and

revising the K-to-nine curriculum, as well as developing new standards of

practice for the teaching of math.

We await

the other announcements, Mr. Speaker.

Thank

you very much.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further statements by

ministers?

Oral

Questions.

Oral Questions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

A media

story this morning provided a troubling review of overcrowding at the Health

Sciences Centre. On March 6, three ambulances were unable to offload because

more than 25 people were waiting in emergency. There was a bed shortage and the

Health Sciences could no longer divert patients to St. Clare's.

I ask

the Premier: What actions has your government taken to address overcrowding at

the Health Sciences?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I think

it would be worthwhile using this opportunity to congratulate the staff at

Eastern Health and the Health Sciences Centre who managed a difficult situation

very well and went well above and well beyond what is usual in those

circumstances.

Further

to point out, that it's one of only four or five institutions in the country

that won the Gold Seal from Accreditation Canada at its last round of

accreditation. I think the score was 97 per cent.

experienced a very challenging flu season partly because of a lack of efficacy

of one of the components of the flu vaccine. The staff have dealt with it and

the situation is currently under control, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

doubt, this side of the House acknowledges the great work done by our health

professionals on a daily basis.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BRAZIL:

Cardiology beds were in need. The regional director of cardiology said in an

email: “I am at a standstill.”

I say to

the Premier, this is a critical issue. How many cardiac patients were impacted

by the shortage of beds?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

The

incidents to which the gentleman opposite refers were two, were isolated and

have been the only ones of that level of severity in recent times and were,

again, related to the flu issue.

With

regard to cardiac services in general, we actually have an outside reviewer

looking at data that came through from CIHI suggested there may be some problems

there. It is not clear yet whether that is problems with data collection or

problems with the service itself. I anticipate their report within the next

couple of weeks.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I ask

the minister: Were surgeries cancelled in March because there were no beds

available?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Mr. Speaker, when a hospital

is at overcapacity a triage system kicks in. Those people whose clinical needs

are the greatest are dealt with on a priority basis. There were some delays in

surgeries of an elective, planned nature and those have been accommodated in the

weeks subsequent to these events.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Closed

beds are used on an as-needed basis.

How many

closed-bed spaces exist at the Health Sciences today?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

There

have been some beds temporarily unavailable because of renovations. Those were

transient and were done as part of a planned series of renovations. My

understanding is that 100 per cent of the available beds on the roster at Health

Sciences and St. Clare's are available for patient use.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want

to note, this is not an isolated situation.

Premier,

on April 11 another serious issue with overcrowding took place. Why has nothing

been done to address serious overcrowding issues which may be placing people's

lives at risk?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Just for clarity, Mr.

Speaker, these two events were isolated. Twenty-four-hour episodes,

unfortunately, related to a significant spike in flu cases this year.

It is a

five-year maximum in our flu cases this year. It is due to an acknowledged

failure from scientists of one component of this year's flu vaccine. All these

extra cases were down to a lack of vaccine efficacy. We actually had out best

flu season in terms of vaccination, but unfortunately the vaccine didn't live up

to expectations.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We're

hearing this is happening on a daily basis, that there are people in corridors

and overcrowding in emergency facilities.

Premier,

tell us your plan to deal with serious issues with overcrowding.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Mr. Speaker, when you look at

the record of this government over the last three years and you compare that to

the record of 15 years by the prior administration, the news articles that we're

seeing today were in the news back when you were in government, but I will tell

you about some of the good things we've had when it comes to addressing wait

times, when it comes to addressing infrastructure.

As an

example, some of the overcrowding we're seeing in bed usages comes to how we

accommodate some of the long-term care patients that exist in acute care

settings. That is why we took a very proactive approach in making sure long-term

care facilities were available in Grand Falls-Windsor, Gander, Corner Brook, Mr.

Speaker, opening up beds in Carbonear, protective care units in Botwood. These

are some of the things we initiated, and with the work of this minister, the

work will continue.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

And

you've outlined a lot of the things that you wanted to do in your campaign

promises that you haven't lived up to.

Mr.

Speaker, the Premier needs to speak to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador

who on a daily basis are outlining the concerns and the lack of health care

availability they have. Something's not working here, and the Minister of Health

should be aware that it's his responsibility to improve health care here in

Newfoundland and Labrador.

Is this

a result of your expenditure reduction plan over the last three years?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I take

exception to the leader of the Opposition, Mr. Speaker, in some of the comments

that he just made. What we've done in less than three years they could not

accomplish in 13 years, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER BALL:

Let's talk about the hospital

in Corner Brook. Let's talk about the Waterford, Mr. Speaker, from 1855 –

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

Please

proceed, Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Mr. Speaker, in 1855 the

doors of the Waterford Hospital opened and they could not find a way in 13 years

with some of the most money that we've seen ever in the history of this

province. Well, I will tell you, it's this government that has found a way to

replace the Waterford Hospital. Also, to put in place better health care, better

addictive services for people all across this province and I did not mention the

wait times that the minister addressed yesterday. I'm looking forward to another

question because I love talking about health care and I love talking about

improving outcomes.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon.

the leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I hope

the Premier loves talking to the hundreds if not thousands of people in

Newfoundland and Labrador who are not receiving adequate health care because

they don't have access to it because of the programs and services you do not

have put in place.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BRAZIL:

How many people are taking up

beds in the health care facilities that are waiting for long-term care beds?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Okay, Mr. Speaker, I think

it's about time we got some facts out here instead of some rhetoric.

How

about 100 per cent of all fractured hips in this province receiving surgery

within 21 hours. The national benchmark is 80 per cent in 24 hours. How's that

for access?

How

about 192 people waiting in Corner Brook for mental health services last year

down to 19 this year? How about no wait time on the Burin Peninsula for access

to counselling services? How about that crowd had a wait time of seven years for

bariatric surgery, it is now 6½ months.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon.

the leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BRAZIL:

That's great for the minister

to pick and choose the groups that they've made some small advances on. Let's

pick the tens of thousands who are not receiving proper health care.

I ask

the minister: the former chair of the Canadian Medical Association, what are you

going to do to improve access to health care in Newfoundland and Labrador for

the people who need it?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I think

the minister just answered that question. I would challenge the leader of the

Opposition, to suggest that the number of people we've made significant

improvements in waiting for outcomes for mental health services is not

important? Because when you listen to your

preamble there basically highlighting

things that were important – I will guarantee you, in listening to the people of

this province mental health was a big concern and a priority for everyone that I

talked to.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER BALL:

There is no question – I will

say this, acknowledge this and accept the responsibility that we have to do

better, and we will do better. It's incremental.

Mr.

Speaker, I will tell you that from 2015 to where we are today we are seeing

better outcomes as the minister just highlighted.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order please.

The hon.

the Opposition House Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, the 2017 Supply Act indicated

that when money is moved from the contingency reserve in the Department of

Finance, public notice must be given.

Can the

minister confirm that Budget 2018

removed that requirement for public notice when government draws down on the

$22-million fund?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

contingency fund in this year's budget is not unlike the contingency fund that

was in many budgets under the former administration. It makes it easier for

departments who require funding, in a timely manner, to access the contingency

reserve Mr. Speaker. In all occasions, if there's funding provided to a

department, that information will be made public.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Opposition House Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, the former minister of Finance had the three-day requirement to report

to the House of Assembly under the Supply

Act in that particular budget.

I ask

the minister: Why did you change it? The necessity was there. It was in the

Supply Act that it would be presented

here within three days. Why the need to change it?

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of Finance and

President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

As I said, Mr. Speaker, the contingency fund is not unlike the contingency fund

that was put in place by the former administration in many of their budgets. The

same access applies. The same rules apply.

The

former administration, Mr. Speaker, had a contingency fund. The necessity for

that fund was there. We've got a contingency fund in this year's budget.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Opposition House Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Again, I ask, Mr. Speaker, the former minister of Finance in the current

administration in the last Supply Act clearly indicated there had to be three days' notice

given in regard to expenditures of the contingency fund. There's no guarantee

now that will be made public.

I simply

ask the minister today: Why did you make the change? What was the reason for

changing the accountability and public notice that was required in the prior

Supply Act ?

A very

simple question: Why did you change it?

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of Finance and

President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We've

seen in the past 12 months, Mr. Speaker, incidents in this province where there

have been flooding and other occasions. There are times that timely access to

funds is required. The former administration again had the exact same

contingency fund in their budgets. We saw the necessity to have a contingency

fund in this year's budget.

If the

funds are drawn upon, the reasons for that and the information will be provided

to the public, Mr. Speaker. There's absolutely nothing here to prevent the

public from knowing what those funds are used for.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Opposition House Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would

just advise the minister it was clearly stated in the previous

Supply Act what the requirements were

for notification. That has now been removed.

In the

2016 budget, the former Finance minister trumped the success which indicated

they had saved over $100 million in part by reducing the use of consultants. In

the 2018 Estimates, which you participated in, I asked if a list could be

provided comparing consultant savings for each of the last years beginning in

2016. I was told in Estimates that a list did not exist but officials would try

to find one.

I ask

the minister: Does a list actually exist? If not, how can you determine what the

savings were in those particular years?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Mr. Speaker, yes, officials

themselves in the Estimates process had volunteered to provide that information

to the Opposition. If that has not been done at this particular point, I will

ensure that it is.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Opposition House Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

So, obviously, through the

Estimates and budget process we looked for Estimates and actuals of what had

actually gone on over the past number of years and with the current year.

I ask

the minister, can he tell us: Since 2016 what have the savings been on

consultants? Surely it was estimated in your budget. Surely you would know.

What's the figure?

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of Finance and

President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

What I can say, Mr. Speaker,

is that I will get the information. But what I can say is under the former

administration there were a very large number of consultants around, in and

around the building and throughout our agencies. We have, through our attrition

process as well as other processes, eliminated 1,160 positions, many of those

consultants.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Opposition House Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Mr. Speaker, if he doesn't

have a list for prior years, how can he compare it to another administration? He

doesn't know how many, he doesn't know the cost, but he's saying it's better. It

doesn't make any sense.

Mr.

Speaker, a recent access to information request shows that the decision to split

Nalcor had been discussed in pre-budget discussions and months prior to budget.

Very few details have been publicly made available.

I ask

the minister: Is there an update on this actual announcement from

Budget 2018 ? At this point does the

new corporation even have a name?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

MS. COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

certainly made an announcement during

Budget 2018 that we are considering taking the oil and gas company, within a

subsidiary of Nalcor, and making it a stand-alone – all because we want to move

forward on the development of our oil and gas industry, Mr. Speaker.

We have

announced Advance 2030 which is an

ambitious plan, a very dedicated plan to developing our offshore in terms of –

more than doubling our production in terms of making sure that we have 100 new

exploration wells.

Mr.

Speaker, we're being very prudent. We're being very diligent. We're making sure

every consideration is in place. In due course, we will make the legislative

changes that are required to ensure that the oil company is stand alone.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Opposition House Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, this was announced with the 2018 budget.

I ask

the minister: She referenced legislation; will legislation be coming in this

particular sitting of the House? When, in fact, will the legislation be brought

forward to change the requirements in regard to it here in the House?

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of Natural

Resources.

MS. COADY:

I thank the Member for his

questions. As I just said, we're being very prudent; we're being very

reasonable. We all know what happens when governments do knee-jerk reactions,

Mr. Speaker. We can look at the Abitibi situation as a prime example of when

they do things too quickly.

We want

to be prudent. We want to be responsible. We want to do all the due

consideration to ensure what we're doing is in the best manner possible to

ensure that we have the best process possible for the people of Newfoundland and

Labrador. Therefore, we're taking our time and doing that. I will advise this

House when we have legislative change available for their review.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Opposition House Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I assume

the legislation won't be coming in this sitting.

In the

past, the minister has indicated there would be no new costs incurred for

establishing a new corporation, cognizing the change in executive structure,

administration and other operations. Is this still your position, Minister?

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of Natural

Resources.

MS. COADY:

I thank the Member opposite

for his question. Yes, Mr. Speaker, we would like to make sure that this new

entity, the new Crown corporation does not cost any more money. We are really

focused on the development of our offshore oil and gas industry.

We have

an incredibly great plan called Advance

2030 that over 150 stakeholders – 150 stakeholders – have supported, Mr.

Speaker. The insurance of having an oil company – instead of having a subsidiary

of Nalcor having it as its own Crown corporation is supported by many of those

stakeholders in and of itself.

So yes,

we don't anticipate any additional costs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Opposition House

Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, the Acting Minister of Education has stated that he has confidence in

decisions made by the former minister of Education.

I ask

the minister again today: Have you reviewed all the evidence on which the former

minister based his decision on the cancellation of the new school for Mobile in

the Witless Bay region?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I must

say in the last three weeks or so it's been interesting, as I've started to look

into the files that were current. The early evidence that I have from staff, the

numbers that were given, with the projections of the demographics for the next

number of years, my understating is the construction has already started.

Mr.

Speaker, I certainly am confident that the decision that was made by the school

board to move forward on this is something that should continue.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Ferryland.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want

to clarify something the minister said and something he said last week again. He

said the decision was made based upon the information the school board had

provided. That's incorrect.

The

extension on Mobile school. It always voted to build a new school in the

Mobile-Witless Bay region. Even this year in the 2018 budget, in their actual

capital cost, they're looking for a new school for Mobile. So with all due

respect to the minister, he's incorrect.

Mr.

Speaker, based on this and other things that have gone on over the past year, I

ask the minister: Will he review this and meet with the residents of the area

who have sent a letter to him asking him to have that meeting and discuss these

issues?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, I

just repeat what I had previously said that, in fact, the information that was

provided to me, there is actually construction that has begun on the Mobile

school. My understanding is that we do have an elected school board that's in

place and based on the information that's given, these decisions are made.

From the

ministerial perspective, Mr. Speaker, if they look at the numbers that were

provided by the statistics department, the demographic enrolment for those years

coming up that were in question, that an extension was the most cost-effective

measure or means to be able to provide the programing services to the students

in that area.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Ferryland.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

There

was a BAE-Newplan report done in 2014 – the minister apparently hasn't reviewed

that either, or his officials – which clearly indicated the options were to

build a new school for the Witless Bay region and that would meet the needs for

the next decade, so he hasn't read that.

As well,

extension to Mobile Central High. What they've supported was a new school. So

again, the minister is not updated.

I ask

the minister: Based on all of this, and some of the comments made by the

previous minister of Education in regard to this was a valid decision, can he

please meet with the school council and the people of the region once and for

all so he can discuss this and make sure the right choice is being done and the

proper expenditures are being done? That's all we're asking for.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, I

will repeat what I had previously said. Based on the information that we have

and the information that was given, the decision was made to do a build,

construction on Mobile school to provide and make sure that the proper – in a

most cost-effective manner, would provide the programming that would be

available in this particular area, Mr. Speaker.

The

construction, my understanding, the tender has been let, the construction has

begun in that particular area and according to the demographics that we were

given that this will satisfy the requirements in this area for the next number

of years without having to build a new school.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Cape St. Francis.

MR.

K. PARSONS:

think the hon. Member is only asking if he'd have a meeting with the

constituents in the area.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the Minister of Service

NL: When do you plan for a decision to implement caps on compensation for

injury?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Service NL.

MS.

GAMBIN-WALSH:

Mr.

Speaker, I guess the hon. Member is asking about WorkplaceNL and caps on

compensation. Mr. Speaker, that's under discussion and I can get back to the

Member on that question.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Cape St. Francis.

MR.

K. PARSONS:

apologize to the minister.

When does the Minister of Service NL plan to have a

decision regarding implementation on insurance and the caps on compensation for

injury?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Service NL.

MS.

GAMBIN-WALSH:

Okay, Mr. Speaker, now I have the question clear; he's actually talking about

automobile insurance. I'm sorry about that.

Newfoundland and Labrador has the highest rate for

automobile insurance in Atlantic Canada. As a provincial government we, in fact,

are now doing a review for that particular reason because we understand that

insurance rates are very important to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. I

believe in this hon. House not too long ago, I said that we would hope to have

an answer in the fall; however, we want to ensure that all stakeholders have

opportunity to have input into this review.

Mr. Speaker, as long as it takes for a review to be

completed, we will do it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Cape St. Francis.

MR.

K. PARSONS:

Will the PUB provide clear, defined recommendations to the minister on or before

June 30?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Justice and Public Safety.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'll certainly answer the question from the Member,

given that the PUB does fall under the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice

and Public Safety.

To reiterate what the minister said, this matter has

been referred to the PUB so we can have an independent review and study done of

insurance costs in Newfoundland and Labrador. Our goal as a government is to

take whatever action is necessary for the best interests of consumers and

citizens of this province.

By putting it to the PUB, we will get an independent

analysis that allows for full consultation, to hear from all people that are

involved. That matter may take some time. Again, whatever recommendations the

PUB does come up with, we will obviously, as a government, have a look at that

when it comes in.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Cape St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

I ask the minister: Will the

PUB's recommendation be binding?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Justice and Public Safety.

MR. A. PARSONS:

No, the PUB's recommendations

aren't binding. That's not how the PUB works.

What we

will do actually, though, which is a contrast to the Opposition, we'll actually

listen to the PUB and put into their purview, as opposed to taking things out of

their purview like Muskrat Falls.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Cape

St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

The government can take

action today in order to lower insurance rates.

Why

don't you just remove the excessive insurance tax that you implemented in 2016?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Justice and Public Safety.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I find it very

rich. This was an administration that came in, in 2003 and talked a big game

about what they were going to do and they did nothing during the 12 years that

they were in there.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. A. PARSONS:

They did absolutely nothing

and they're now talking about what we need to do.

The fact

is that a lot of the decisions that we have made and continue to make, as a

government, are based on the misdoings of the previous administration. Insurance

costs in this province are just another thing that we had to clean up their

mess.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

MS. ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

understand that a number of salaried-physician positions will be eliminated

around the province this year.

I ask

the minister: How many positions will be cut? What positions are they? How many

specifically are family physicians and where will the cuts take place?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

The

issue of salaried physicians is a negotiation between ourselves and the NLMA and

is part of our Family Practice Renewal and primary care efforts. The issue,

specifically, around where a physician will go. Where they are needed is the

answer, and that will be based on decisions made through the RHAs and in

conjunction with the Department of Health, which provides the funding for them.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

MS. ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker, I did ask the

minister how many positions he's going to be cutting. We didn't get that answer.

According to Statistics Canada, 50,000 people in this province do not have a

family doctor, that's 10 per cent of 33 per cent of people depending on the

region.

I ask

the minister: What is he going to do immediately to address the problem that

these people don't have a family physician?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

I can do no more than refer

to yesterday, in actual fact, Mr. Speaker, when the discussions with the NLMA,

the College of Family Practitioners and the academic lead of family medicine

produced the NLMA's 10-year vision for family medicine in this province.

Essentially, those items in there – and if I recall correctly there are eight

things – line up perfectly with, not only what we plan to do, but what we

actually started to do.

Just for

the record, in terms of numbers, we have the highest number of physicians in

this province we've ever had and we have the second highest per capita of any

jurisdiction in Canada.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

MS. ROGERS:

Well,

Mr. Speaker, that doesn't address the fact that we have 50,000 people in the

province without a family physician. That's a major health crisis for those

particular people.

Mr.

Speaker, we are losing many overworked family physicians to provinces that have

actual, true primary health care teams, where doctors are integrated with other

professionals resulting in a better work-life balance.

MR. SPEAKER:

Excuse me.

Order,

please!

Can I

have some order, please?

Thank

you; please proceed.

MS. ROGERS:

Doctors are saying that they

were promised a primary health care system, but the current government pilot

model does not fully integrate physicians with the teams.

I ask

the minister: When will he have a plan for primary health care teams in our

community health centres where doctors and other health professionals are fully

integrated as a team?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

Well,

again, just to put some facts out there rather than rhetoric. We have two fully

functioning primary health care teams. We had urban pilot in the downtown

collaborative. We have one in Bonavista, which in all but name is a primary

health care team. We have dedicated our efforts to bringing out at least three

more this year and possibly five.

We've

found ourselves with a system that suffered from malignant neglect for the last

12 years and we're in the process of fixing that problem, Mr. Speaker.

Read the

NLMA's document from yesterday. They and us are on exactly the same page. We've

got to get there, no argument about that, but we can't do it in one night, Mr.

Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

MS. ROGERS:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I have

read the document and met with these folks.

I ask

the minister once again: With the 50,000 people in Newfoundland and Labrador

without a family physician, what does he recommend that they do when they have a

health issue?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

Well, by

the end of this summer, we will have a further three primary health care teams.

We have acknowledged recruitment and retention as an issue. We were talking

about strategies for this last night. The medical school has an approach. The

residency program has an approach.

Recruitment is only part of our problem; retention is another part. There are

key stakeholders missing from that group and they're starting to come to the

table. I reference, specially, municipalities and I would like to take my hat

off to my own in Gander who have recognized this as a problem and have put

together a group to welcome professionals of all kinds, but, particularly,

health care providers.

There is

a role for all of us, and simply enunciating the problem over and over again

without any solutions becomes counterproductive after a while.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The time for Oral Questions

has ended.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling

of Documents.

Tabling of

Documents

MR. SPEAKER:

In accordance with

section

19(5)(

a) of the House of Assembly

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

of the House of Assembly Management Commission meeting held on April 18, 2018.

Further

tabling of documents?

Notices

of Motion.

Notices of Motion

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I give

notice now that I ask leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act to Amend The

Management Of Greenhouse Gas Act, Bill 27.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Further, I give notice that this House not adjourn at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, May

28, pursuant to Standing Order 11(1).

Finally,

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that this House not adjourn at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday,

May 29, again, pursuant to Standing Order 11(1).

MR. SPEAKER:

Further notices of motion?

The hon.

the Minister of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

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

An Act To Establish The Innovation And Business Investment Corporation, Bill 26.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

Further

notices of motion?

Answers

to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's East - Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

The

petition that I'm presenting today is entitled: Designated Parking for Cancer

Patients at the Dr. H. Bliss Murphy Cancer Clinic. Here are the reasons for this

petition:

Having a

designated parking area close to the hospital for cancer patients who are

receiving treatment is vital.

Cancer

patients often experience significant difficulty when walking long distance and

are having difficulty finding available parking spaces close enough to a clinic.

Providing designated parking permits and similar monitoring and enforcement

measures of these spaces could significantly improve access for cancer patients

to the Dr. H. Bill Murphy Cancer Clinic.

Designated parking for cancer patients is currently offered at a number of other

hospitals and clinics across the province.

Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the House of Assembly as follows:

We call

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

to encourage Eastern Health to provide a designated parking area for cancer

patients with at least 25 spaces at the Dr. H. Bliss Murphy Cancer clinic.

Mr.

Speaker, I'm very pleased to stand here today and present this petition on

behalf of the 390 signers who are concerned about the need for designated

parking at the Bliss Murphy centre and support the call of this petition.

Some of

these signatories are in the House today, Mr. Speaker, in our gallery and are

speaking from personal experience through this petition; an important way for

them to bring their concerns forward. Petitions bring the voice of people

directly onto the floor of the Legislature. I am happy to be doing that for them

today.

Being in

treatment for cancer, especially receiving chemotherapy is not an easy thing. It

can mean everything from weekly to daily treatments for various periods of time.

Depending on the stage or type of cancer, treatments can be quite taxing for the

individual. I have, myself, seen people after chemo treatment being transported

to their cars in wheelchairs.

asking for a designated parking area, the petitioners are looking for something

that would ensure that cancer patients will have secure parking spots and will

not have undue stress caused by long searches for a space, as some of them have

experienced. As I said, some of the signatories are in this room today, Mr.

Speaker, and have had that experience.

I think

it is important for government to support their call for recognition of the

difficulties facing cancer patients and to ensure the health authorities find

ways to improve access for cancer patients to the Bliss Murphy Cancer clinic, as

well as to other facilities in the House offering the same services.

behalf of the signatories of this petition I thank you very much, Mr. Speaker,

for the opportunity to present the petition.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

The hon.

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

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I'd like

to take this opportunity to just make some brief comments on the petition

opposite, now that we have the opportunity. I think it's useful and important to

acknowledge the difficulties that cancer patients face and the stresses alluded

to by the Member opposite in her petition.

We have

had discussions in our department with probably some of the signatories to this

petition and, certainly, we've also had discussions with Eastern Health. I am

pleased to make the House aware that Eastern Health has added 25 preferential

parking spaces at Eastern Health facilities and they are working to make sure

these are in close proximity to the building.

Access

to those parking spaces is on the basis of need and is available through passes

that can be accessed through the cancer centre. We also have an undertaking from

Eastern Health that if that number is insufficient, in the light of experience,

they're happy to revisit that. We'll keep an eye on it, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Further petitions?

The hon.

the Member for Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland

and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

Route 60 is the main highway that runs through the Town of Conception Bay South

and is a vital artery in the provincial road network; and

WHEREAS

Route 60 is one of the most heavily travelled roads in the province; and

WHEREAS

Route 60 has been deteriorating and requires major upgrades;

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

of Assembly to urge government to allocate funds to upgrade Route 60.

And as

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, once again this is, I think, every day this week. I'll say it every

time, I committed the –

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. PETTEN:

– previous concerns to the House of Assembly. Every petition is vital, it's of

equal importance. I'm just following through on my commitment. As I've said many

times – I've been on record saying – it's a huge issue. Without repetition, it's

the fifth busiest road in the province.

spurred me to bring this petition up again today because the minister will stand

in response to these petitions and he will say it's downloading this road on the

municipality, giving this road to the municipality. Basically with just a stroke

of the pen he can give this road back to CBS.

That's

not just a CBS issue, Mr. Speaker. That can be an issue right across this

province. There are provincial roads running right through our province that the

government can take that initiative and with the stroke of a pen can download

this on every municipality in the province where this applies. CBS is not unique

to this, which brought me to this petition today. I felt it's worth getting up

and speaking on.

At the

stroke of a pen, you're going to download this on the people of CBS, the town

council and taxpayers. It's another thing you're downloading on municipalities.

Be careful when you say you're going to download a road you don't think is the

responsibility of the province anymore. Maybe municipalities need a break too,

Mr. Speaker, because right now they're maxed out, most of them are. I know CBS

and other towns are struggling to make ends meet with the demands that are

placed on them.

The

minister can get up and say we don't have a responsibility, stroke of the pen

we're going to give this back to the municipality – and every other

municipality, maybe some of the municipalities in his own district. When he

refers to CBS, I hope he realizes that he's referring to a lot of the Northeast

Avalon and throughout the province.

My issue

is: be careful. If you're going to download this on municipalities, make sure

you bring the road up to scratch, up to the standards of where it needs to be

today. That's all I've ever asked for: upgrade the road. Then maybe you can sit

down and talk to the Town of CBS and to the people. Stroke of the pen to give

them a substandard road is not going to fly, Mr. Speaker.

Thank

you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works for a response, please.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I thank

the hon. Member for giving me the opportunity this afternoon to stand up and

address this petition.

First of

all, Mr. Speaker, I'm sure he'll afford me the opportunity to thank our crews in

Central Newfoundland and Western Newfoundland who were out last night and early

this morning again, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CROCKER:

Mr. Speaker, in a matter of

two days, our department was able to mobilize 82 fliers; almost one-third of our

fleet, actually. Our employees were out this morning providing late winter

snow-clearing services; being the 24th of May it's not unusual. Again, Mr.

Speaker, a big shout out to our crews for the great work they do.

Mr.

Speaker, it also gives me a great opportunity today to talk about our Roads Plan

and where we are so far in the 2017-2018 construction season.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. CROCKER:

To date, Mr. Speaker, we have

awarded 48 projects, 48 tenders in our province. We've also awarded $77 million

worth of roadwork this year so far, some of which is in the hon. Member's

district.

We're

doing some work on Peacekeepers Way. Some substantial work, actually, with the

mill and fill; over $2 million this year, Mr. Speaker, on Routes 1, 2, 3 and

Route 75. We're doing about $5 million worth of extra work this year, so we've

done some tremendous work.

As well,

Mr. Speaker, there are two bridge rehabilitations this year on Route 60. Bridge

rehabilitation is very important. We've done, I think, five bridge

rehabilitations on Route 60 in the last two construction seasons. We'll continue

to invest in Route 60 like the other roads in our province.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Opposition House

Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm

certainly pleased to rise today to present a petition on behalf of residents of

the district. The issue is an issue I spoke of here in the House a number of

times in regard to petitions, as well as public discussions in regard to the

Mutton Bay Bridge located in the Trepassey area.

It's

approximately 50 years old. In 2015 an inspection identified significant

structural issues with both the substructure and superstructure portions of the

bridge. The inspection urgently recommended a full replacement or significant

maintenance and repair.

We,

therefore, petition the House:

We call

upon the House of Assembly to urge the Government of Newfoundland to immediately

address the most serious issue that impacts the lives and safety of the

travelling public and make it a priority for the upcoming construction season.

Mr.

Speaker, I've had numerous discussions with officials and, as well, with the

minister in regard to this piece of infrastructure. It is not included in the

Roads Plan. We don't know where it is in the overall assessment because since

it's not in the plan, we don't get to see the assessments that are done on other

pieces of infrastructure, whether bridge or roads.

I do

know that I just received the bridge inspection that was done just recently.

Some of the findings of that: substructures referenced as poor; superstructure,

fair, inspection within a year; the decking is poor and that goes to the

handrail in different conditions for immediate repair. The region is looking to

have that replaced because the decking or rails on it now are pretty well gone;

they're gone over into the river. Really, in terms of traffic going by,

especially with the winter coming, if some vehicle was to lose control there's

no barrier there to keep that vehicle from going into the actual river.

We have

had discussions about putting guide rails up on an interim measure on both ends,

both sides, to make sure that element of safety can be introduced. I know in the

most recent inspection report, in regard to replacement and rehabilitation, it

does mention the structure should be – in the interim, install a new guide rail,

hazardous markers, maintenance and possibly resurface of the deck approaches and

fixed handrails.

This

needs to be replaced. It needs to be a priority. Ultimately, as I said, the

guide rails and these immediate repairs that are in the inspection report need

to take place and take place now. The department has gotten back and forth to

me. They've put up some two by four as a handrail, which is not appropriate. We

need some guide rail at least in the immediate measure to make sure safety is

there, and as well to get this replaced and replaced as soon as we possibly can.

As I

said, the minister is well aware. We've had discussions on it. He did indicate

that they may look at some costing this year but we certainly look forward to

that and getting it done this construction season.

Thank

you.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works for a response, please.

MR. CROCKER: Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the hon. Member for the petition. I recognize the

challenges we're facing with that particular bridge, the Mutton Bay Bridge. The

Member and I have had many conversations around that bridge. As he did allude

to, we have installed some temporary handrails on that bridge. I've asked the

engineering staff to go back and look for a more – I guess a more temporary

permanent solution because we do recognize that this piece of infrastructure is

due to be replaced.

Mr. Speaker, we are investing on Route 10 this year. In the

Member's district we are investing in two new bridges. An investment between $4

million and $5 million, which is a significant investment, but we do recognize

the challenge with this bridge.

Mr. Speaker, we all have to realize when you talk about

bridges, in this province we have over $800 million worth of bridges over 40

years old. There is a big infrastructure deficit when it comes to bridges. It

was outlined in the 2015 Auditor General's report, Mr. Speaker. It is a

challenge we have as a province, and one as a department we're certainly working

towards rectifying.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

Further petitions?

The hon. the leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the

undersigned residents of Newfoundland and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS opioid addiction is a very serious problem

affecting many individuals and families in our province and the Bell Island area

is no exception; and

WHEREAS the effects of this problem have implications that

negatively impact many people old and young; and

WHEREAS support and treatment programs have been proven to

break the cycle of addictions and have helped many into recovery;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray

and call upon the House of Assembly to urge government to establish a Suboxone -

methadone treatment plan for Bell Island which would include a drug addictions

counsellor at the hospital

and a drug awareness program at the local school.

And as

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, this is the ninth time I've gotten to present this and speak to it.

Again, I could reiterate the fact that we all had agreed and we all support that

we need to do more when it comes to addressing the issues around opioid

addictions and providing supports.

I am

happy to say that the last time I presented it, last week, I've gotten a call

from a Dr. Young who has, as a speciality, clinics that would look at Suboxone

and methadone clinics and being able to support that, but also the other

supports that go with it from a counselling point of view. He's reached out. I

will be having a full-fledged discussion with him tomorrow. There have been some

discussions with some of the other health professionals around how we address

this. So we are making inroads.

I am

happy to say that as part of this, the community has taken a big lead in this.

This past weekend they had what was called sober 2-4 camping. They had a big

area on Bell Island where people could come and camp, but sober. Sober from

alcohol and drugs and part of a whole counselling but a more therapeutic

counselling and outdoors, a more environmental therapy. It was well attended. It

was great for the organizers to put this together and hopefully this will be

continued and be part of how the community supports dealing with addictions, no

matter what the issue is.

Getting

back to the opioids, and particularly the services that are needed around

Suboxone and methadone clinics to ensure that people have the proper medical

interventions to start weening them off their dependency on the opioids and be

able to get them back to being more productive and get more control over their

own lives.

The fact

that we're having medical professionals from other parts of the province,

they're in Central and the West Coast, reaching out to me is a positive. It

tells me the medical profession out there, regardless of the demands they have

in their own clinics, are willing to take their resources and their expertise to

assist other areas that are in need.

I saw

that as a positive. I'm looking forward to the conversation I'll have tomorrow

and then hopefully we'll move forward and if I think I need to continue to do

this, I will so, Mr. Speaker.

Thank

you for your attention.

Thank

you.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further petitions?

The hon.

the Government House Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Yes, I call Orders of the

Day, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I move,

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

entitled,

An Act Respecting The Protection Of Intimate Images, Bill 12, and I

further move that the said bill be now read a first time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded the

hon. the Minister of Justice and Public Safety shall have leave to introduce a

bill entitled,

An Act Respecting The Protection Of Intimate Images, Bill 12, and

that the said bill be now read a first time.

Is it

the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

The

motion is carried.

Motion,

the hon. the Minister of Justice and Public Safety to introduce a bill, “An Act

Respecting The Protection Of Intimate Images,” carried. (Bill 12)

CLERK (Barnes):

A bill,

An Act Respecting The Protection Of Intimate Images. (Bill 12)

MR. SPEAKER:

This bill has now been read a

first time.

When

shall the said bill be read a second time?

MR. A. PARSONS:

Tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

Tomorrow.

motion, Bill 12 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker I move, seconded by the Minister of Finance and President of

Treasury Board, for leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act Respecting The

Control And Sale Of Cannabis, Bill 20, and I further move that the said bill be

now read a first time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that

the hon. the Minister of Justice and Public Safety shall have leave to introduce

a bill entitled,

An Act Respecting The Control And Sale Of Cannabis, Bill 20,

and that the said bill be now read a first time.

Is it

the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

The

motion is carried.

Motion,

the hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board to introduce a

bill, “An Act Respecting The Control And Sale Of Cannabis,” carried. (Bill 20)

CLERK:

A bill,

An Act Respecting The Control And Sale Of Cannabis. (Bill 20)

MR. SPEAKER:

This bill has now been read a

first time.

When

shall the said bill be read a second time?

MR. A. PARSONS:

Tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

Tomorrow.

motion, Bill 20 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and

Labour, for leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Liquor

Corporation Act, Bill 21, and I further move that the said bill be now read a

first time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that

the hon. the Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour shall have leave

to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Liquor Corporation Act, Bill

21, and that the said bill be now read a first time.

Is it

the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

The

motion is carried.

Motion,

the hon. the Minister of Advanced Education, Skills, and Labour to introduce a

bill, “An Act To Amend The Liquor Corporation Act,” carried. (Bill 21)

CLERK:

A bill,

An Act To Amend The Liquor Corporation Act. (Bill 21)

MR. SPEAKER:

This bill has now been read a

first time.

When

shall the said bill be read a second time?

MR. A. PARSONS:

Tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

Tomorrow.

motion, Bill 21 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Minister of Children, Seniors and Social

Development, for leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The

Smoke-Free Environment Act, 2005, Bill 22, and I further move that the said bill

be now read a first time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded the

hon. the Minister of Justice and Public Safety shall have leave to introduce a

bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Smoke-Free Environment Act, 2005, Bill 22,

and that the said bill be now read a first time.

Is it

the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

The

motion is carried.

Motion,

the hon. the Minister of Children, Seniors and Social Development to introduce a

bill, “An Act To Amend The Smoke-Free Environment Act, 2005,” carried. (Bill 22)

CLERK:

A bill,

An Act To Amend The Smoke-Free Environment Act, 2005. (Bill 22)

MR. SPEAKER:

This bill has now been read a

first time.

When

shall the said bill be read a second time? Tomorrow?

MR. A. PARSONS:

Tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

Tomorrow.

motion, Bill 22 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded

by the Minister of Service Newfoundland and Labrador, for leave to introduce a

bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Highway Traffic Act, Bill 23, and I further

move that the said bill be now read a first time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that

the hon. the Minister of Service NL shall have leave to introduce a bill

entitled,

An Act To Amend The Highway Traffic Act, Bill 23, and that the said

bill be now read a first time.

Is it

the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

This

motion is carried.

Motion,

the hon. the Minister of Service NL to introduce a bill, “An Act To Amend The

Highway Traffic Act,” carried. (Bill 23)

CLERK:

A bill,

An Act To Amend The

Highway Traffic Act. (Bill 23)

MR. SPEAKER:

This bill has now been read a

first time.

When

shall the said bill be read a second time? Tomorrow?

MR. A. PARSONS:

Tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

Tomorrow.

motion, Bill 23 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded

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

Act Respecting The Restraint Of Salary And Extinguishment Of Severance Pay For

Non-Represented Public Sector Employees And Statutory Officers Of The Province,

Bill 24, and I further move that the said bill be now read a first time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that

the hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board shall have

leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act Respecting The Restraint Of Salary

And Extinguishment Of Severance Pay For Non-Represented Public Sector Employees

And Statutory Officers Of The Province, Bill 24, and that the said bill be now

read a fist time.

Is it

the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

This

motion is carried.

Motion,

the hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board to introduce a

bill, “An Act Respecting The Restraint Of Salary And Extinguishment Of Severance

Pay For Non-Represented Public Sector Employees And Statutory Officers Of The

Province,” carried. (Bill 24)

CLERK:

A bill,

An Act Respecting The

Restraint Of Salary And Extinguishment Of Severance Pay For Non-Represented

Public Sector Employees And Statutory Officers Of The Province. (Bill 24)

MR. SPEAKER:

This bill has now been read a

first time.

When

shall the said bill be read a second time?

MR. A. PARSONS:

Tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

Tomorrow.

motion, Bill 24 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded

by the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board, for leave to

introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Other Post-Employment Benefits

Eligibility Modification Act, Bill 25, and I further move that the said bill be

now read a first time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that

the hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board shall have

leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Other Post-Employment

Benefits Eligibility Modification Act, Bill 25, and that the said bill be now

read a first time.

Is it

the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

This

motion is carried.

Motion,

the hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board to introduce a

bill, “An Act To Amend The Other Post-Employment Benefits Eligibility

Modification Act,” carried. (Bill 25)

CLERK:

A bill,

An Act To Amend The

Other Post-Employment Benefits Eligibility Modification Act. (Bill 25)

MR. SPEAKER:

This bill has now been read a

first time.

When

shall the said bill be read a second time? Tomorrow?

MR. A. PARSONS:

Tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

Tomorrow.

motion, Bill 25 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I call from the

Order Paper, Order 2, third reading of Bill 16.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded

by the Minister of Natural Resources that Bill 16,

An Act To Amend The Court

Security Act, 2010, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that

the said bill be now read a third time.

Is it

the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

This

motion is carried.

CLERK:

A bill,

An Act To Amend The Court Security Act, 2010. (Bill 16)

MR. SPEAKER:

This bill has now been read a

third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and its title be as on the

Order Paper.

motion, a bill, “An Act To Amend The Court Security Act, 2010,” read a third

time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 16)

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded

by the Minister for Service NL, that the House resolve itself into a Committee

of the Whole to consider Bill 18.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that

I do now leave the Chair for the House to resolve itself into a Committee of the

Whole to consider the said bill.

Is it

the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

This

motion is carried.

motion, that the House resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole, the Speaker

left the Chair.

Committee of the

Whole

CHAIR (Bragg):

Order, please.

We are

now considering Bill 18,

An Act To Amend The Corporations Act.

A bill,

“An Act To Amend The Corporations Act.” (Bill 18)

CLERK:

Clause 1.

CHAIR:

Shall clause 1 carry?

The

Chair recognizes – a little rusty here now because everybody has moved around a

thousand times – the hon. the Member for Ferryland.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I want

to ask a general question in regards to Bill 18 and the additional provisions of

titles as introduced, in particular, under the PNP. I notice this is not coming

into force until some time in the future.

What

outstanding negotiations or discussions or redefining of the current agreement

of PNP needs to take place with the federal government, the Department of

Immigration, before this can proceed?

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the hon. the Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and

Labour.

MR. HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank

you for the question. What we have done under the proposal for the amendment is

to ensure that all of the provisions are in place. We're looking for

implementation of this in the fall of 2018.

It was

important for us to put this legislation in place now. We have been talking to

the federal government. We have in principle, the two categories. As you know,

the entrepreneur and the international graduate entrepreneur categories are in

other provinces in Canada, and we were one of the few provinces that did not

have it.

What

we're doing now, of course, as you know, all of the regulations and criteria

around any program that we have are federal regulations. So we are anticipating

that under the federal guidelines and criteria, we're just making sure that all

the policies are in place. All of this should be done before the end of the

summer so we can have implementation of those two programs in the fall, versus

having to wait until the fall to bring the legislation in and then it will be

spring of 2019.

So we

just sort of expedited this in order to have all the provisions in place so we

can implement this in the fall.

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the hon.

the Member for Ferryland.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I thank

the minister for that. Just to be clear, are there any updates that need to be

done between the Newfoundland and Labrador and the Canadian government

Provincial Nominee Program? In that actual agreement, are there any amendments

required in that to reflect the change we are proposing here in this current

amendment?

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the hon.

the Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour.

MR. HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I thank

you for the question. No, there's not. The way in which the legislation – if we

pass the amendment to the legislation, it will enable entrepreneurs and also

graduate entrepreneurs the ability to set up a business within the province and,

of course, one of the commitments and criteria within that is they will have one

year in order to do that. That's one of the criteria. Then they will apply for

the Provincial Nominee Program.

There

are no impacts or no changes that have to be made. The whole idea of putting

that time frame in place is to ensure that we do have some longevity, giving the

companies or the graduate entrepreneurs the opportunity to have their business

set up. Then they make application under the Provincial Nominee Program and that

will work through the process. By that time, we expect them to be established

within the province.

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the hon.

the Member for Ferryland.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

As the

minister said, there are two new categories now under the Newfoundland and

Labrador PNP. Currently there would be three: express entry skilled worker,

skilled worker and international graduate. Now we'd add two more is my

understanding.

regard to the PNP process and the application process, now we have two new

application entities or processes that will be added to that list so there will

be five. Is there any preference given to the two that you're introducing today?

What will the expected timeline be for someone that enters or wishes to put in

an application under these two new

definitions?

I guess

my question is: Is there any distinction in those five that will exist in the

future and any way to expedite those recent two that we're talking about here

today?

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the hon.

the Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour.

MR. HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

It's a

very, very good question. As you know, of course, under the Provincial Nominee

Program now it roughly takes about 14 to 16 months. The application process

within the province, we have improved the application process – and I'm just

trying to check, if you'll give me a minute or two. The applications of the

current categories, we've reduced that to 32 days for processing at the

provincial level versus what used to be somewhere in the vicinity of 47 days.

Mr.

Chair, having said that, the processing of the application within the province,

then it has to go to the federal government because it has to be compliant with

the federal government regulations. What we're finding under the Provincial

Nominee Program is that these are taking somewhere between 14 and 16 months. So,

as a result of that, there are two other categories, and we have put a new

category in, which is the Atlantic pilot project which came in March 2017 to try

and expedite – and we have 442 immigrants that fall within that category. We are

able to expedite that process and get the amount of time from 14 to 16 months

reduced to somewhere between five and six months.

The

other category is the express entry, which of course again is a way in which the

federal government wanted to expedite the immigration process. Again, that's a

limited category because of the fact that it is express entry and they have to

be highly skilled in the labour force. They are in a special (inaudible) when it

comes to the federal regulations.

So those

three categories, they're in place now. The two categories we have, the two new

ones we're putting in place, we do have timelines in there. Because part of what

we're asking for in the amendment to this legislation is they do not require to

have the 25 per cent Canadian directorship. So an international graduate student

from either Memorial University of College of the North Atlantic that would be

interested in starting a business will make application upon completion of their

graduate program. They will go through that process, it will be monitored, we

will look at whether it fits into the categories we have; and if, in fact, it

does, then they will be given the permission to establish their business – and

of course there are different categories.

They can

get into the graduate entrepreneur program with one-third investment, versus if

you're looking at the international entrepreneur you're looking at 100 per cent.

Without sort of muddying the waters on that, because it can get a little bit

complicated, what would happen then is they would be required to be in business

for a year, because that's one of the requirements under criteria. Both of those

new categories, they would require to be in business for a year. Then at the end

of that year if, in fact, they are in good standing, and they will be monitored,

there's a stringent assessment in there on a periodic basis and if they're

meeting all of the requirements that are set out in those regulations, at that

point in time then after they've completed their year, they will make

application under the Provincial Nominee Program, then that starts the process

the same as if a Provincial Nominee Program person started today.

So the

whole idea of that, in these two categories, it will move the process out almost

anywhere between 32 to 36 months. The rationale for that is the fact that now,

by the time they've started their business, they're not leaving the province.

That's a capturing thing. That's a safeguard that's put in there to ensure that

if they're making significant investment within a company, within their company,

as an entrepreneur, that they are now working through that and that gives us a

safeguard so we know by that time that they're actually going to be staying in

the province and hopefully have a successful business.

So the

process is a little bit complicated but we feel that the safeguards are there to

enable us to be able to have a successful program in those two categories.

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the hon.

the Member for Ferryland.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I thank

the minister for that explanation. I'm just wondering in that particular example

of the graduate entrepreneur and leading up to I think that 12-month period, to

get to the point – and monitoring for a year – to get them to the point of

application for the PNP, if there's an outside investor that wanted to invest

and incorporate here in the province, that international graduate, is there a

point in time when they could represent the 25 per cent that's needed or the

residence requirement that's needed to fulfill the obligations of the

Corporations Act ?

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the hon. the Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and

Labour.

MR. HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Under

the provisions of the Corporations Act ,

that exists now and will continue to exist. The two categories that we're having

are specific to these two categories. So all of the previous – if an investor

wanted to make – of course obviously we cannot have passive investing because

that's something that we wanted to prevent happening, because passive investing

really does not bring a sense of ownership to a company. We wanted to avoid

that.

There

are no changes in the Corporations Act

with regard to starting a business. There are criteria set up into both of these

categories – of course that as being immigrant – and they will work through the

process. That's how the removing the requirement of a 25 per cent Canadian

directorship, that's the whole purpose in that so we can work through those two

categories to ensure that we're giving opportunities for immigrants to become

business owners within the province.

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the

Member for

Cape St. Francis.

MR.

K. PARSONS:

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Can you explain the purpose of the 25-per cent

residency, why it's required? Why is it included in the act in the first place?

CHAIR:

The

Chair recognizes the Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour.

MR.

HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

By the way, I just preface that by saying there are

some provinces that don't have that requirement. But the original intent within

the Corporations Act ,

to have that, there would be a part of a Canadian directorship involved.

I just go back to an example of a company I was

involved in several years ago that was an American company. We wanted to

incorporate within Canada and that exact regulation was there. It gave us and

gave that company the opportunity to have how the business would operate within

Canada. Of course, I not only worked for the company, I also became a director

of the company which satisfied that requirement.

The intent of it would be to have the Canadian

knowledge that would be required. Sometimes companies that are set up in Canada

and want to become incorporated in Canada and they're from another country, they

need to have that connection.

Mr. Chair, the two categories that we have, we

recognize and realize that really could create a bit of a challenge, if that

requirement was still there, for International Entrepreneurs and International

Graduate Entrepreneurs. Some of them may not have that direct connection so they

could fulfill the requirement of the 25 per cent.

That was the rationale that we used to make this

amendment. To ensure that in order for these two categories to be successful, it

would be necessary for us to remove that requirement. That's the reason. When it

comes to any other incorporation within Canada, there are no changes when it

comes to the requirements in that area.

CHAIR:

The

Chair recognizes the Member for Cape St. Francis.

MR.

K. PARSONS:

do understand, Minister, where you're coming from, but my question now is the

25-per cent residency rule. Has there been any consideration to either eliminate

the whole lot of it and say, no, like other provinces – and the majority of

provinces, may I say – in Canada have done?

In the briefing it was stated to us that the residency

wouldn't be practical. I don't know if you can explain that, why it wouldn't be

practical. Is there consideration in

the future that this 25 per cent will be completely removed?

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the hon.

Minister of Service NL.

MS. GAMBIN-WALSH:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

actual fact, the removal of the 25 per cent is just indicated for this

particular program. We're just isolating to this particular program. This is the

bill that we're discussing here today, so consideration for additional times has

not been discussed because we're discussing it in this particular program.

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the hon.

Member for Cape St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

My question is: The 25 per

cent is still in this program, right? It's still under this program?

Other

provinces, and the majority of provinces, have eliminated the 25 per cent

completely. In the briefing we were told that it wasn't practical for us to

remove it. The question was asked in the briefing: Why don't we remove it like

other provinces have?

question to you is: I don't know the reason why it wouldn't be practical. Is it

something that will be considered in the future?

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the

Minister of Service NL.

MS. GAMBIN-WALSH:

It's not something we have

discussed yet for the future. Right now it's in place as a modality to monitor

the Corporations Act and to ensure

people are residents of Canada at 25 per cent. It helps with efficiencies and

monitoring processes.

Right

now what we've been looking at is the removal specifically for this program.

We're testing it with this program to see if it should work with this program.

We're doing it specifically for this AESL program; we're not considering

removing it for future at the present time.

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the

Member for Cape St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

I think my understanding is

that the 25 per cent is still going to stay in this program. You're still going

to need 25 per cent. I think that's my understanding.

The two

new categories you added to the three that are already there will help

entrepreneurs to be able to get people to be able to get in the programs so they

will have 25 per cent. That's what other provinces did in Canada. I believe

that's my understanding.

It was

also mentioned in the briefing PEI was exploring the requirements just to

residents of PEI. I was wondering if Newfoundland was considering that also. I

think the program that you're talking about, the residency rule will still be

there. There's no removal of the residency rule. That 25 per cent will still

exist.

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the

Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour.

MR. HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The 25

per cent that's there will – my understanding – still be in place for

incorporation within Canada. That's not attached to the International

Entrepreneur and the International Graduate Program.

Under

the two new categories we will be hopefully putting in place – and every

indication is that it will happen – we have removed that. We felt that if we had

kept the 25-per cent requirement in, it would have a negative impact on

international entrepreneurs and international graduate entrepreneurs in setting

up a business in Canada because of the fact it would have to be incorporated

under the existing regulations. The 25 per cent has been removed for those two

categories and those two categories only.

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the

Member for Cape St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Minister, my understanding

with the briefing was that these two new categories were added to assist so that

entrepreneurs could find the 25 per cent. In the briefing it was told to us the

reasons why the 25 per cent was there was for the cultural aspect, the local

content and to be able to have immigrants that come to our province be able to

have to know our culture and stuff like that. They just wanted to make it easier

to make more people that could become directors within their corporation, and

that 25 per cent was added.

Also, in

your Way Forward documentation that

was released in March 2017 it was mentioned another category that you were going

to add – but I don't know why this was dropped, the question I'll ask – was

International Investor. That was in The

Way Forward in 2017. That was another category that you were going to look

at. I'd like to know why that was dropped, but I still believe that your 25 per

cent is there.

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the

Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour.

MR. HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I just

want to be very, very clear; the 25 per cent is not there for those two

categories. That's the reason why we're making the amendment today, to remove

the requirement for 25 per cent for these two categories.

The

whole idea of this International Entrepreneur graduate and International

Entrepreneur program is to ensure – because there are probably some graduates

that do not have connections with Canada, there are areas they do not know,

people that would be Canadian directors, or Canadian directors would have an

interest in investing. That piece has been removed. It has been removed for the

International Graduate and the International Entrepreneur.

When it

comes to international investment, I can't make a comment that that's dropped,

Mr. Chair, because that in itself – there are all kinds of investments. There

are provinces that have had problems with passive investment. So that's an area

we will be looking at, but right now we're concentrating on those two categories

so that we can find a way. We have quite a number of international graduates

that are coming to our post-secondary institutions and when they finish, right

now there is no opportunity for them to get involved in the business.

I might

add, Mr. Chair, we also are concerned because we do have private institutions

out there and right now when graduates from private institutions, when they're

immigrants and they had completed their post-secondary education at a private

institute, they have to leave the country and come back in.

I have

written my federal counterpart and asked that we would include private training

institutions as well because they are not included under the federal

regulations. We are trying to fill that void as well, Mr. Chair. We'll continue

to work on that, but that is very clear that that 25 per cent is eliminated.

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the

Member for Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

There

seems to be some confusion, Minister, on the 25 per cent, because based on

briefings and what we're reading in the bill we're not seeing what you're saying

there. I look for some clarification.

What is

your goal in modifying these categories and adding these new

definitions? What's

the department's goal with the new

definitions and the categories being added?

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the

Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour.

MR. HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The goal

is to increase immigration within the province and opportunities for

entrepreneurs. One of the areas we find lacking is the opportunity for

immigrants to be able to start business, to start their own businesses, to

create employment. One of the spinoff effects from anybody starting a business

is the opportunity to increase employment. This gives international

entrepreneurs an opportunity to come within this province, to be a part of the

province, to make an investment in the province, start a business in the

province, to hire people in the province.

That is

the goal of what we're doing. We're trying to make it such – we're trying to

make it as easy as possible for them to transition into an opportunity to start

a business and to run a business.

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the hon.

Member for Ferryland.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Minister, the two new

definitions, international entrepreneur and international

graduate entrepreneur, once that designation is obtained by an applicant they'll

become residential status of Canada, I assume. That's what the process is all

about. Then individually under the

Corporations Act here, they could invest their own funds and start their

company.

In that

example – and I think I asked this before but I'm not sure on the answer. In

that particular example where they've done that, could they also be the conduit

for someone from outside the country who want to invest, incorporate here, and

they'd be the conduit to be that 25 per cent under the

Corporations Act as it now exists today? It seems like once they get

that residency status they could be the 25 per cent that someone from outside

want to invest here but don't have that residency status.

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the

Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour.

MR. HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Again,

when it comes to the investing part, there are – I was just trying to look and

see if I had all of the specific details because when you look at the

international entrepreneur, there are certain criteria they have to meet with

regard to the amount of investment. I don't know exactly, I couldn't find it

there, but there are criteria in place.

I know,

in fact, with the international graduate entrepreneur they can do one-third or

33 per cent investment versus – I think the Province of Nova Scotia, for their

international entrepreneur, are requiring 100 per cent investment. They're

having some challenges in getting people interested investing at 100 per cent,

particularly from the international graduate section.

What we

did, when we put in and looked at some of the criteria, by putting it at

33-and-one-third per cent we felt it would give maybe other students an

opportunity. So it could be three students, it could be combined. When we look

at these two categories, the intent of that is making sure we have proper

measures so that they can make the investment that's necessary.

I'm

trying to remember the second part of your question, was with regard to –

MR. HUTCHINGS:

(Inaudible.)

MR. HAWKINS:

Thank you.

Again,

that would not be necessary under the graduate entrepreneur because we're

looking at immigrants who are coming into the country. That would not be

necessary because they could fall within the categories of an immigrant coming

in and if they wanted to start their business. If they wanted to become part of

a business, then that option could be there as well.

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the hon.

Member for Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Minister, I just go back to one point before my next question. You say about the

residency rule being removed for international graduate entrepreneurs and

international entrepreneurs, but where is it stated to in the bill? I am after

reading the bill again the second time. I'd like you to be able to clarify that

for us because that's something we're trying to get some clarity on.

What

measures are in place to ensure that these businesses will continue to operate

and be managed in the province?

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the hon.

Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour.

MR. HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

There

are significant monitoring tools that are in place as they work through that

process. As I stated earlier, once the 25 per cent Canadian directorship has

been removed they are not required to have that. So they'll come in, make an

application. The application will be reviewed. We will work through the

application process, and if they meet all the criteria that are established

under these two groups, then they would be given incorporation so they can start

their business. They will be clearly monitored as we work through the entire

process.

At the

end of one year – because that is one of the stipulations we put into the

criteria, they have to be in business for one year. At the end of that one year

then, they can start their process for the Provincial Nominee Program and

they'll go through the application. The intent of that is to make sure, as the

Member mentioned, that we do have the proper monitoring in place to ensure that

the people who are making those investments and starting their businesses, that

they indeed stay, that they have a stake in the province and they stay in the

province.

As they

work through the entire process, it's probably going to be up to maybe three

years from start to the time they get their permanent residency. That is

important in the sense that by that time they will have potentially other people

working in their company, their company is successful, the business is working

well and they have now been established within the province and they will stay.

There

were some problems back in 2011 – I believe it was 2011, the previous criteria

that were in place just did not work. They would pop into Newfoundland and

Labrador as a stepping stone and then pop out on the other end. The investment

program just did not work. The Auditor General made mention of that back in, I

think it was 2011-2012.

So what

we have done now in establishing these two categories and putting the proper

measures in place, we want to ensure that we have and we protect that

investment, an investment is made within the province and we have a business

that will be successful within the province.

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the

Member for Ferryland.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I just

want to ask the minister – he gave a really good example in regard to

international graduate entrepreneur in a post-secondary institution and the

process that individual would go through if they wanted to invest and start an

incorporated entity. He talked about the one-third, 33 per cent that could be

used.

I'm just

wondering, could you give an example from the international entrepreneur and how

that would work in regard to I guess it's just an individual that wanted to come

to Canada, wanted to invest in Newfoundland, wanted to get incorporated – what's

the process for that individual who wouldn't be tied to a post-secondary

institution? Could you just explain that and give an example?

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the hon.

the Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour.

MR. HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Part of

that process – that's a good question. My understanding is what they would do is

there would be an expression of interest. The expression of interest would be

forwarded to my department. Once the expression of interest has been looked at

and the categories, whether they would fit into the category that we have and

meet the requirements there, they would then be invited to apply, and they would

be invited to make application. Which roughly probably would take somewhere

between month three and month five, because they go through their expression of

interest in probably one to two months, and then we'd be able to evaluate that.

Then ask them to invite, and that would probably take another couple of months.

At that

point in time, once the invitation to apply has been done, there would be an

assessment done of the business creation. From months six to 19, they would go

through a monitoring process to ensure that once the business has been set up

and once the incorporation has taken place that we'll work through that. They

will be monitored on a regular basis to ensure that they're still satisfying the

requirements under the applications they made. So that's basically how that

works. Again, they would be in business for one year and, at the end of their

one-year period, they would be able to make application for under the Provincial

Nominee Program.

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the

Member for Ferryland.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I just

thank the minister for that. He mentioned in that particular case there would be

categories in regard to the application that would be considered after the

expression of interest is done and someone invited to come in and have a

discussion and indicated there were categories.

Would

that be particular industries that there would be a preference for in regard to

investment? How would that actually work? I'm just curious in regard to are

there preferential industries or business activities that would be looked on

more favourably than others.

CHAIR:

The hon. the Minister of

Advanced Education, Skills and Labour.

MR. HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Probably

it was the incorrect usage of the word categories. It would be criteria that we

have established. So that was probably my fault in saying categories; we're not

looking at specific categories. The correct term should have been criteria that

we would follow and what policies are there.

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the

Member for Ferryland.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Just

into that particular example, that investor comes in, is there a requirement, if

they're investing, to identify that investment and where it's coming from –

would it have to come from Canadian financial institutions or could funds be

transferred in from other jurisdictions, and how would that be monitored?

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the

Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour.

MR. HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Again,

not necessarily trying to restrict where their investment would come from, one

of the key areas that would be looked at, of course, under the international

entrepreneur – I know one of the requirements there would have to be 100 per

cent investment.

Certainly, that would be part of the analysis that would be done to ensure that

the proper mechanism is in place, to ensure where the funds are. So that will be

part of the whole process of going through that application, at which time, if

they satisfy all those requirements then they will be invited to make

application for that particular program.

All of

these details with regard to putting all those safeguards in place certainly

will be important. I think it's important for all of us to make sure that

whatever investment is made it's in the best interest of the entrepreneur as

well as the best interest of the province to ensure that everybody has a success

rate within these categories.

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the

Member for Ferryland.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Minister, I understand – I just wanted to clarify. That investment that's made

by the entrepreneur that comes in and gets status, I guess it would be like a

business plan. They would lay out what their intent was and look at investment

and where it's coming from.

I know

in some international jurisdictions now they're concerned in regard to things

like money laundering and those types of things, and funds coming in from

outside that jurisdiction. I'm just wondering – and that's why I mentioned about

investment by Canadian institutions or if there is banking or requirements that

would be done at a national level here – what safeguard would be there? Would

that be the monitoring process where you would have to demand to demonstrate

where the investment is coming from and where the dollars are coming from, if

they're financed or if they're coming from another jurisdiction?

I'm just

wondering if you can comment on that.

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the

Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour.

MR. HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Again, I

have every confidence that once this expression of interest – whatever category

that they're falling into, all of that will be certainly checked out, whether

it's banking or whatever the case may be, all of the safeguards are in place to

make sure that these are all legitimate investments. I can't see that being any

different, Mr. Chair. I have every confidence within our staff to ensure that

that will be done to meet all of the necessary requirements that's required.

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the

Member for Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr.

Minister, are there any other provinces bringing in similar categories to their

nominee programs?

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the

Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour.

MR. HAWKINS:

Yes, Mr. Chair, as a matter

of fact, we're probably one of the few provinces that have not put in an

entrepreneur, international entrepreneur or an international graduate program.

Different provinces have different programs. Some of them are working well; some

of them are not working so well. Hopefully within the requirements that we put

into these two categories, we have two programs that we feel very confident we

can look for long term – because obviously for us we're not looking for

short-term investment, we're looking for the long term and we feel that the

criteria in the categories that we have will satisfy that requirement.

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the

Member for Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

So what other provinces have

an entrepreneur category?

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the hon.

the Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour.

MR. HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

As I

said, some of them have varying models of the entrepreneur program. If you look

at Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, if you look at the Atlantic provinces, I'm not

at liberty to talk and criticize or talk about other provinces. There is an

entrepreneur program in PEI. There are some issues with that. I think the hon.

Member for the Third Party mentioned that in her remarks the other day as well.

I'm not

really getting into talking about what's good and what's not good, but within

the Atlantic provinces we do have these categories. That's one of the

discussions we had with the federal government, why we are so confident that

we're going to get it is because since other provinces have these two

categories, there's no reason why we shouldn't as a province as well.

That's

what we're working on, the premise that we're working on. We expect to have all

of that done by the fall. One of the things that we have to realize is the fact

that no matter which programs we put in, we have to, in all instances, follow

federal regulations and federal guidelines. These will become part of the

regulations that's under the entrepreneur program as well.

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the

Member for

Cape St. Francis.

MR.

K. PARSONS:

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

What consultations were done prior to proposing these

amendments?

CHAIR:

The

Chair recognizes the hon. Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour.

MR.

HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Of course, we consult in many cases with the

Association for New Canadians, with stakeholders that are certainly important

when it comes to looking at opportunities for immigration, so we would have

included these in our discussions. A lot of what we talked about not only within

our province, we've discussed and talked about with other provinces as well, to

make sure that the model we have will be an effective model and will work and

something that I think we will be proud of. I'm hoping there will be a

significant uptake on this as we move forward.

Again, I cannot overemphasize, one of the reasons we

are putting these two categories in place is to avoid having passive investment.

We know that passive investment does not really benefit the province. The

result, we are putting these two categories in place so that we can see

significant opportunities in this province going forward so that we can see

entrepreneurs coming into this province that see a potential to be able to grow

a business in the province and employ local people.

I think that's very important for all of us, Mr. Chair,

and I think we will certainly achieve that as we work through those categories.

CHAIR:

The

Chair recognizes the Member for Cape St. Francis.

MR.

K. PARSONS:

Minister, you mentioned people like the Association for New Canadians and

different groups. Can you give us any feedback that they have provided to you?

CHAIR:

The

Chair recognizes the hon. Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour.

MR.

HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Certainly, the indication I've had when I talked with

my staff is that this is a very progressive move. This is a very proactive move.

This is looking at future opportunities.

Mr. Chair, really when you look at it, it's an

opportunity for us to address some of the concerns we have and to attract more

immigrants to the province. This is just another tool, actually it's two tools,

that will provide an opportunity for that to increase our immigrant investment

in the province.

CHAIR:

The

Chair recognizes the Member for Cape St. Francis.

MR.

K. PARSONS:

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

I think all Members received an email this morning from

Vaughn Hammond, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. They were

concerned, while they support the bill, they were never consulted. Is there some

reason why they were never consulted?

CHAIR:

The

Chair recognizes the Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour.

MR.

HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

When

decisions are made within government as well, we're not necessarily compelled to

consult with every stakeholder or every group that's out there.

Mr.

Chair, the important part to this whole process – if Mr. Hammond has a problem

with creating employment in this province, then I would certainly invite him to

give me a call because this is not against employers, it's not against business.

This is a business opportunity and, as a result, Mr. Chair, it will give not

only the Canadian Federation of Independent Business an opportunity possibly to

get other businesses within their group and organization that will help to

finance their operations.

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the

Member for Cape St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

I just feel the association

is a very important business association in our province and it's probably one

of the ones that you should have provided for some income. Like I said, I'm sure

they're not against any business setting up in our province. I'm sure a lot of

their work is done to encourage investment and to encourage business in our

province.

Do you

have any concerns about the current economic climate and taxation regime brought

in by your government that might determine that immigrants don't want to come

here?

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the

Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour.

MR. HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Not at

all, because we're very competitive to any of the Atlantic provinces. As a

matter of fact, you'd probably have to go West of Ontario to find any rates that

are higher than what we have. We are very competitive. As I stood here before,

as I talked about the budget when it comes to business tax and incorporation

tax. We talked about personal income tax. We are certainly very competitive to

the rest of Atlantic Canada. As a matter of fact, I think Ontario, a few months

ago, reduced their business tax. Believe it or not, I think they reduced it to

what the rate was here in Newfoundland and Labrador.

So I

don't have any concerns with that, Mr. Chair.

CHAIR: