April

21, 2010 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVI No. 8

The House met at 2:00 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Fitzgerald): Order, please!

Admit strangers.

Today the Chair would like to welcome thirty-one Level II students from Cloud

River Academy, Sacred Heart School and the Mary Simms All-Grade School for the

District of The Straits & White Bay North. Students are accompanied by their

teachers: Rhonda Martin, Hollis Cull, Jeff Strowbridge; and bus driver, George

Caines.

Welcome to the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

Statements by Members

MR. SPEAKER: Today the House also welcomes the following members'

statements: the hon. the Member for the District of Labrador West; the hon. the

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

for the District of Grand Falls-Windsor-Green Bay South; and the hon. the Member

for the District of Mount Pearl North.

The hon. the Member for the District of Labrador West.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. BAKER: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate the

Labrador West contingent of athletes for a superb showing at the 2010 Labrador

Winter Games held last month in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Our athletes competed in

a broad range of athletic events and walked away with a total of sixteen medals.

Gold medals were won by Rhonda Lawrence for cross-country skiing, by

Chantelle Bursey for the Northern games, by Tyler Hollett for snowshoeing and by

the team of Danielle McLoughlan, Mike Brooks, Tyler Hollett and Taylor Ryan for

the snowshoe relay event. Silver medals were won by a young Konrad Kuhne for

cross-country skiing, by Rhonda Lawrence and Stephen Pearce in the cross-country

skiing relay, and by Danielle McLoughlan in the snowshoe race. Bronze medals

were won by Danielle McLoughlan actually, she had three bronze medals for

snowshoe biathlon, cross-country skiing, and the cross-country skiing relay -

and by Mike Brooks for the snowshoe biathlon, and by Konrad Kuhne for the

cross-country skiing relay.

I attended the closing ceremonies and had the honour of presenting the most

outstanding athletic awards for my District of Labrador West. The winner in the

female category was Danielle McLoughlan of Labrador City with an incredible

total of five medals. Mike Brooks, also of Labrador City, was the winner in the

male category with a gold and bronze medal.

Labrador City and Wabush placed fifth and sixth respectively out of

twenty-four communities in the overall standings. I want to offer

congratulations, as well, to Team Cartwright as the overall winners.

Mr. Speaker, I invite all members of this hon. House to join me in

congratulating all participating athletes from Labrador West, as well as all

athletes from all over Labrador, and the hundreds of volunteers who made the

2010 Labrador Winter Games such a resounding success.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this hon. House today to acknowledge the Noddy Bay, Straitsview,

Hay Cove and L'Anse aux Meadows Volunteer Fire Department who recently

celebrated twenty years of service. This fire department has fourteen active

firefighters, eight of whom are under the age of thirty years. They are

individuals who volunteer their time and their lives to ensure the safety of the

residents within their communities.

Mr. Speaker, I applaud this fire department for its outstanding contribution

to their towns, and I ask all members of this House today to join with me in

congratulating these individuals and to extend them best wishes for their

future.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

Falls-Windsor-Green Bay South.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HUNTER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in this hon. House to congratulate Master Seaman

Darren Young, son of Mr. and Mrs. Donald Young of Grand Falls-Windsor for

receiving the Chief of Defence Staff Medal of Excellence for outstanding work

with the Canadian Naval Forces in Haiti.

Master Seaman Darren Young and the crew of the Athabaskan have been on

the ground in Haiti since three days after the earthquake devastated Haiti. They

are working to ensure that the survivors have proper shelter and necessities.

The Athabaskan crew were involved in rebuilding three orphanages in

Haiti.

I ask my hon. colleagues of the House of Assembly to join with me in

congratulating Master Seaman Darren Young and his family in Grand Falls-Windsor

on an exceptional award.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Mount Pearl North.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this hon. House today to congratulate a resident of Mount Pearl

and, in my opinion, one of our aspiring community leaders, Megan Drodge. In

November of last year, Megan was selected to be a participant in the Order of

Canada Mentorship Program.

Anyone who knows Megan Drodge needs no clarification on why she was selected

from a long list of applicants for this program. However, I would like to bring

attention to some of Megan's accomplishments thus far. Megan is active in Mount

Pearl in many community groups and activities. Her level of volunteerism is

second to none. This long list includes the 1 st Mount Pearl Scouting

Group, Girl Guides of Canada, the Mount Pearl Youth Action Team, Frosty

Festival, Mount Pearl City Days, the local Crime Prevention Committee, and so

much more.

Megan has also been selected as Female Youth of the Year in Mount Pearl for

2008. Although only nineteen years of age, Megan is a wonderful example of how

youth are making a difference and playing leadership roles in our communities.

In everything she does, Megan strives to promote the exchange of ideas among

youth and to increase the progress of social change.

Under the Order of Canada Mentorship Program, twenty-five youth are paired

with twenty-five members of the Order of Canada who share the same passions and

interests. Megan's mentor is Kathy LeGrow of St. John's. Kathy and Megan both

share a great interest in community work and volunteering. This match will no

doubt be a successful one.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of this House to join me in congratulating

Megan Drodge on this honour of being selected for the Order of Canada Mentorship

Program and wish her and her mentor, Kathy LeGrow, all the best for a wonderful

mentoring relationship.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Statements by Ministers.

Statements by Ministers

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Human Resources, Labour and

Employment.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to update this hon. House about our success to date

in making Newfoundland and Labrador a Province of choice for young people to

live and work. I am proud to say we are achieving very positive results since

launching our Youth Retention and Attraction Strategy just a few short months

ago.

Mr. Speaker, this government considers investments in our youth a key

priority. We are focused on making sure our young people, both here at home and

around the world, know that Newfoundland and Labrador is a place where you can

grow your family, build your career and follow your dreams.

Already this year, we have taken action on thirty-four initiatives identified

in the Strategy valued at $1.9 million. This includes significant investments

aimed at increasing access to employment opportunities. During this winter

semester alone, approximately 130 young people benefited from expanded job

placements through initiatives such as the Graduate Employment Program, the

expansion of work-term placements for engineering students, and new internship

opportunities within the public sector.

This is just part of the picture, Mr. Speaker. The provincial government has

also provided funding to expand the Government Apprenticeship Hiring program for

skilled trades workers. Through this program, we will be helping fifty young

apprentices gain the work experiences they need in order to achieve their

journeyperson certification. Mr. Speaker, we will continue to invest in this

program with another $1.5 million over the next two years.

Along with these investments, the provincial government recognizes the

critical importance of encouraging an entrepreneurial spirit for our young

people with our Youth Retention and Attraction Strategy.

With that goal in mind, Mr. Speaker, we have invested in community

organizations, such as SIFE Memorial and Junior Achievement of Newfoundland and

Labrador, to expand access to financial literacy and career information, foster

entrepreneurship and increase young people's awareness of the culture,

lifestyles and benefits of living and working in this Province.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage all members of this hon. House to stay tuned for

more exciting youth initiatives as we work to fulfill our commitment to

implementing all forty-one of the strategy's initiatives in 2010. These

initiatives will ensure that we have the solid foundation we need to attract and

retain young skilled workers, as we continue our future growth and prosperity in

Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.

MR. BUTLER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want to thank the minister for an advance copy of her statement and to say

that we are very pleased to see major results from the Youth Retention and

Attraction Strategy and we hope that this, not only the investment but the

success will continue into the future. I am sure none of us want anything any

more than to see our young people who have left this Province return here to

find employment. I am sure every district has seen the benefits of the Graduate

Employment Program and the workplace extension.

Mr. Speaker, I think, not that one is any more important than the other, but

the Government Apprenticeship Hiring program is very crucial. I notice here that

fifty young people will be assisted this year. That is where we get a lot of

calls from, and I am sure all honourable members do. Young people, when they

come out of the colleges they cannot get hired on here in the Province and they

leave and they go out west. Once they get settled there for a short period of

time, the difficulty then is getting them back here when we want them.

Hopefully, the fifty will grow in numbers over the next two or three years so

that we will not have to worry about them coming back home, that they will be

able to get their jobs here once they graduate.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the minister for a copy of her statement. I

think it is very important that we do focus on our young people so that they can

find the jobs and live in the Province where they want to live.

Thank you.

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

Vidi.

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

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

am in full support of the Youth Retention and Attraction Strategy and I am glad

to get this update from the minister on where things are at the moment. I do

look forward to the promise in her statement that she plans on making sure that

everything that is in that strategy gets put in place in 2010. I will be looking

forward to that.

I would like to bring up something that has been in the news today, for the

minister. I know it is not totally her responsibility, but it is part of it. If

young people are going to make the effort to get into training and to become

apprenticed and to try to get into skilled trades in particular, we need to make

sure that there are places for them to work.

We have in the news today a story of two young women who have tried to get

hired as firefighters here in St. John's and, according to the story that I have

received, and I have received an e-mail from one of those young women, they have

gone through everything, passed every test. Yet, when it came down to the final,

all men were hired and neither one of these two women. This is very

discouraging, especially when we have a program in the Province called Camp

Glow, which the government does co-operate in with the College of the North

Atlantic and Women in Resource Development in delivering. As one of the women in

her e-mail said to me, there is no sense in having a Camp Glow if young women do

not know that they are going to be able to get a job down the road. So I

encourage the minister to look into this issue with other ministers who should

be concerned about this one, especially the Minister Responsible for the Status

of Women.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Further statements by ministers?

The hon. the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SKINNER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, today I am pleased to rise before this hon. House to acknowledge

a new generation of entrepreneurs and future business leaders.

Recently, thirty post-secondary students gathered in Corner Brook for the

Newfoundland and Labrador Community Business Development Corporations' Angel

Business Development Program. The provincial government contributed $25,000 to

the program which links industry professionals with post-secondary students that

have entrepreneurial aspirations. Through promoting the fundamentals of business

and encouraging collaboration, these students had direct access to knowledge and

expertise of local business leaders.

Mr. Speaker, the business ideas of youth are becoming increasingly

innovative, more technologically advanced and globally targeted. From region to

region, their energy and innovative ideas are taking root into full-fledged

businesses right here in Newfoundland and Labrador.

For example, Jason Oakley, co-founder of RECESS! and recent recipient of the

Atlantic Canada's 2010 Student Entrepreneur Award has taken an old-fashioned

concept of a print publication and modernized it for the technology-savvy

student population. As showcased by Mr. Oakley and the Angel Business

Development Program, today's youth focus on the opportunities for success - not

the challenges.

Some of the innovative businesses highlighted at this two-day event include

spa products, adventure tourism, publishing, and personal services from budding

entrepreneurs throughout Newfoundland and Labrador. The opportunity also existed

for some of these young entrepreneurs to pitch their business to a group of

angel investors for financing. It is impressive and exciting to see the rise of

a new generation of entrepreneurs.

To further support their development, we are working with our partners to

provide youth with the market knowledge and practical experience needed to

succeed. Educating and inspiring youth, to not only start a business but to open

their eyes to the vast possibilities that exist in an increasingly

knowledge-driven economy is an important part of this government's economic

development agenda.

As part of our work we also continue to advance initiatives that highlight

the exciting career opportunities that are available in science, technology, and

engineering through the implementation of the provincial innovation strategy.

Additionally, we continue to employ the Getting the Message Out program that is

an important tool in creating awareness of some of the Province's brightest and

successful entrepreneurs to students, educators, community organizations, and

industry groups.

Mr. Speaker, the energy of youth can only contribute to the economic engine

that drives our Province - that being small business. By helping them advance

their vision, we are creating an economic future with exciting possibilities and

an environment where youth want to build their careers.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

First of all I would like to thank the minister for an advance copy of his

statement.

The sentence in his final paragraph, I should say, the energy of youth can

only contribute to the economic engine, certainly that is true. It is exciting

to watch a generation passing the baton if you will on to the succeeding

generation. It is a bit of a clich to say that youth are our future but in this

case it certainly is true. Entrepreneurs, as we know, face long odds when it

comes to - in the best of times and in terms of success. I think that five-year

failure rate is very high up, towards 80 per cent or so. Success for

entrepreneurs, they often have to try, attempt two or three times to make it

work for them. The younger they get in, I guess, then the greater opportunity

for their success. So, I just want to acknowledge the program today and wish

every young person, every young entrepreneur in our Province the greatest

success.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Vidi.

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

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

advance copies always help us to be ready to respond.

This is an exciting initiative, and I am glad to have the minister speak to

it. I would actually like to learn more about it because I think it was new for

me today when I first saw the statement. So I will be looking at getting more

information about this initiative.

It is important that we link up young people with people who are established

in the business world. These angel investors, if I may put it that way, are

important to the economic growth in the Province and to encouraging the young

people in the Province to build businesses and to do that here in the Province.

I would like to say to the minister, and I do not know because I do not know the

program well enough, just really having learned about it today, the degree to

which there is also encouragement to link up young people with co-operative

businesses because co-operative businesses for me are also entrepreneurial

efforts. Entrepreneur just does not mean an individual, and the minister is

nodding. So I think he understands where I am coming from. The entrepreneurial

spirit also comes out in co-operative businesses. So, if that is not a focus I

would encourage the minister to look at the degree to which co-operative

businesses might get involved in this program so young people become aware of

how co-operative businesses work.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Before the Speaker proceeds to Oral Questions, the Speaker

would like to ask the co-operation of all hon. members when posing questions,

providing answers and taking

part in debate, if they would direct their

commentary to the Chair. Far too often within the past number of weeks we see

members asking questions, personalizing debate, personalizing questions, both

answers and both questions asked.

I refer hon. members to an authority that we use here in this House. I refer

them to Marleau and Montpetit, page 513, and it clearly states: "Any Member

participating in debate must address the Chair, not the House, a particular

Minister or Member

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

"the galleries, or the television audience. Since one of the basic

principles of procedure in the House is that the proceedings be conducted in

terms of a free and civil discourse, Members are less apt to engage in direct

heated exchanges and personal attacks when their comments are directed to the

Chair rather than to another Member. If a Member directs remarks towards another

Member and not the Speaker, he or she will be called to order and may be asked

to rephrase the particular remarks."

I ask members when they pose questions, when they provide answers, that they

speak in the third person, speak to the Chair, and that way the debate is less

personalized and it causes much less disorder in the House. The Speaker is not

going to stand and rise every time somebody's eyes might glance in a direction,

but I say to hon. members, from here on forward the Speaker will stand when

members directly make commentary to a member or make accusations to a member. I

ask them to do it to the Chair and speak in the third person about the person

they are speaking to.

I ask all hon. members for their co-operation.

Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Premier.

Yesterday, I questioned the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture about the

impasse that was occurring within the fishing industry, in the crab industry in

the Province. At that time, Mr. Speaker, he said he was on the way to meet with

processors and harvesters, and we know from media reports that that was a

fruitless meeting yesterday that derived very little result at this stage.

My question, Mr. Speaker, today is for the Premier, and I ask: Is the

government prepared to commit funds to try and get past this situation we have

in the crab fishery today to ensure that we have an industry that works in

Newfoundland and Labrador for the 2010 fishing season?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, future questions I will direct to the

minister on this, but I just wanted to let hon. members know that the minister

and his department have been very, very close to these issues. It has been

commendable the way that the minister has documented everything

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: has documented every single thing he has done. He has

made sure that meetings that were called were held when they could be held. At

any time there was a request for a meeting, he has even gone out into the field.

He has talked to individuals who are involved in the industry, whether they

happen to be harvesters, whether they happen to be processors, whether they

happen to be fish plant workers.

We are doing everything we can, and he is doing everything he can as a

minister and as a department to try and resolve this issue. As he said

yesterday, it is up to the parties, first of all, to try and bring this

together. Government has a role here, but it is a limited role. I think it is

important that and the members of the House I think already know and the

people of the Province know and the people in the industry know that we are

restricted by countervail issues, we are restricted by issues with NAFTA and we

have to be very careful what our involvement is in resolving this process. The

problem is by attempting to resolve the process - an interjection of money in

some areas is fine, it is within the rules, but if we go too far as a government

and we inject a significant amount of money, that is deemed to be in violation

of free trade or a countervail issue, then we open up Pandora's box. That can

create huge problems in an awful lot of areas, in an area where we do not want

to go. Now we all know that across the country, whether it happens to be the

pulp and paper industry or other industries, cross border industries, that there

are subsidies that go on, but it is a very, very delicate area.

So I have certainly been involved as Premier. Cabinet has been involved and

fully informed. We have a Cabinet meeting tomorrow. It will be a matter of

discussion, but I have full confidence in the minister and his department and I

will direct future questions to the minister.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We did not give a whole lot of thought to NAFTA when we looked at Abitibi and

what we were doing in that particular industry, Mr. Speaker.

My question remains, and that is, Mr. Speaker, today we have 20,000 people in

this industry in the Province. We have communities that are affected by the

impasse that is occurring. Yesterday, we had the Minister of Fisheries in this

House state that he has two studies that show him that the viability of the

industry for processors and harvesters do not exist under these current

conditions.

Based on all of that, I ask the Premier again today: When will the government

get involved in a substantial way and make investments in this industry to

stabilize it and sustain it for the people that depend upon it?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, exactly the point of the exercise that has been

entered into under the MOU. Let's take for an example, Mr. Speaker, an

announcement a couple of weeks ago said that the Gulf stocks had been reduced by

63 per cent. Mr. Speaker, imagine the impact if we said in this Province that

the crab stocks were reduced by 50 per cent. What an impact that would have on

the Province.

Mr. Speaker, we have no control over what happens through Mother Nature but

we need certainly to plan for the future. We also can influence how things are

marketed. Mr. Speaker, these are the things we are talking about within the MOU

process. That is the long-term sustainability of this fishery. The most

important thing now, Mr. Speaker - after our meeting she said nothing came out

of it. I certainly do think something came out of it, but parties agreed to

continue to talk. The processors and the union spoke last night. I am informed

that their meeting again today at 1:00 o'clock, and I hope, Mr. Speaker, that

something can come out of that because they are sitting at the table. These are

the ones that have to make the decision to open this fishery, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, I want to remind the minister that we do not

always have a lot of control over markets either and we have seen that in the

last eighteen months in this country, but it has not stopped governments from

investing in General Motors, in Chrysler, your government from investing in

Kruger and Rolls-Royce.

I ask you today, Minister - stop being an observer; take some action in this

industry - will your government invest in the fishing industry in Newfoundland

and Labrador?

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, she is wrong. We do have control. We do have

control.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, we do have control over marketing.

The Department of Tourism - a successful campaign, successful marketing. Do

you know why, Mr. Speaker? The partners that were involved came together as a

unified group. Mr. Speaker, I am hoping that the processors, the union and

government, through this MOU, can work that out so that we can be successful on

the global stage around marketing, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We are not talking about marketing; we are talking about markets, Minister.

Put your head in the right place here. Put your head in the right place in this

industry. You know yourself that -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Speaker just ruled and gave some information here that he asks for the

members' co-operation in asking questions and posing questions. I call on the

Leader of the Opposition to be mindful of what the Speaker had brought forward

to the House in asking her question or I will have to ask the hon. member to

take her seat.

The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to pose my question to the Minister of Fisheries and

Aquaculture. I would like to remind the minister that we are talking about

markets here, not a marketing campaign for tourism.

Mr. Speaker, my question for the minister is this: We know that when you take

no action you get no results. I would like to ask him today, Mr. Speaker, if his

government is prepared to bring something to the table in the fishing industry

in this Province and start putting some money into this industry like they have

done with other industries.

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, you find markets, and then you market. That is

how you become successful.

The more important thing right now, Mr. Speaker, is that we have plant

workers and harvesters that need a change in this industry. That is what the MOU

was about; that is why we as a government invested $800,000 into that process.

Before us right now, we need both parties, who are hopefully meeting right now,

and we need a resolution to get this fishery started.

The other issues, once we get that fishery started, I can guarantee you that

I, as minister, will push the agenda of that. I have to say that in our meetings

yesterday some of the things that we discussed and that they are looking at

putting forward, I think there is merit to it, and they can be added upon

through this MOU process. Right now, the important thing is let's get the

fishery started.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We know what all that means: No money, no action for the 20,000 people that

are affected.

Mr. Speaker, my next question is for the Minister of Finance. Yesterday, in

the House of Assembly, in response to questions regarding the Newfoundland and

Labrador Medical Association he stated that he had submitted a proposal to them

to encourage negotiations, and he was hopeful that they would be able to enter

into a discussion. Mr. Speaker, I have since learned that the letter clearly

indicates that the proposal that has been offered must be accepted or rejected

in its entirety.

I would like to ask the minister today, Mr. Speaker: What type of approach is

this to encourage discussions and negotiations and to get a settlement with the

Province's doctors?

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

Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. MARSHALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yesterday we submitted a proposal to the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical

Association. We outlined the terms of an agreement that would be certainly fair

and reasonable to the doctors and addresses a number of the concerns that they

have, but would also be a deal that would be reasonable and fair to the

taxpayers of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The proposal has gone

forward, we are encouraging the doctors to review it and to get back to us. We

look forward to their response, and we feel that, in due course, an agreement

will, in fact, be reached.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I think the take it or leave it approach is not the ideal approach for

negotiations.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Minister of Finance as well today, because he

indicated in the current letter that he sent to physicians in the Province that

the offer being made by his government was 46 per cent better than the 2002

arbitrated decision.

Mr. Speaker, this being the case I would like to ask the minister: Why have

they flatly said no to arbitration for doctors when that is what they have been

asking and what they wanted?

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

Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. MARSHALL: Mr. Speaker, what we do in this Province is we have

elections every four years in which the people of the Province elect

representatives to represent them and to govern this Province. That is how we

are going to do it; we are not going to slough this off or devolve this to an

arbitrator. Somebody has to stand for the public interest, for the interests of

the people of the Province. This Province

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. MARSHALL: Mr. Speaker, this Province has always needed someone to

champion the public interest against very powerful economic forces such as the

those who have economic might. One thing I have learned in the last six years is

that this government and this Province now have that champion in the current

Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Yes, Mr. Speaker, we saw the champion yesterday when he was

reading the e-mail from his hockey buddy who was a doctor talking about the

Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association being a house divided.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, we have seen houses divided here before. We have

seen members on the other side divided when the Member for Lewisporte had to

come back and apologize to the caucus, and Mr. Manning was kicked out of the

caucus. I say, Mr. Speaker, they know a little bit about houses divided.

My question to the Minister of Finance, Mr. Speaker, is certainly this, I ask

the minister: How does he expect to have a fruitful negotiation with physicians

in the Province when he is offering them a take it or leave it deal? What room

is there for discussion in a deal like that?

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

Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. MARSHALL: Mr. Speaker, we have offered a complete package to the NLMA

in response to a complete package that they forwarded to us. What we are sending

here is not something that can be cherry-picked, that they can take parts of it

and reject other parts of it. This is a total package.

We look forward to them coming back to us and sitting down at the table with

us so we can have a discussion. We can have what is called collective

bargaining. That is the way we do things in this Province.

We accept our responsibilities that we have been elected to do. We are going

to negotiate and we are going to protect the public interest. We are not going

to pass it on to some arbitrator because we are responsible to the taxpayers of

this Province; we are responsible to the people of the Province. We are going to

be accountable. We are going to stand in this House and respond to questions

from the Opposition and respond to questions from the people of the Province as

to what we do. We are not going to devolve that to some arbitrator who is

responsible to no one.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, when government brought forward legislation to expropriate

AbitibiBowater's assets in Central Newfoundland, the Premier assured the people

of the Province that our Legislature was paramount and that the company would

receive their own legal opinions advising them of that authority. We now know

that AbitibiBowater has filed an NAFTA lawsuit seeking $500 million in

compensation for those actions.

I ask the Premier today: Why are we facing this legal challenge under the

North American Free Trade Agreement if our Legislature was paramount and you

were so confident that AbitibiBowater did not have a case for compensation?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, we never thought for one minute that

Abitibi would just accept this and that would be the end of it, and that we were

going to go in and basically expropriate their assets and they would say thank

you, very much and walk away.

You know why this is done. We called you and your colleagues to a meeting in

our office, and we explained to you the full implications of this. I remember

you being in the boardroom in the office whereby you agreed that this was a good

idea. We then had all of our officials available and we made them available to

you, I think, in the caucus room whereby we explained all the implications. The

House Leader was there at the same time; he had some very good questions which

were asked and answered. This was a process that we were all in agreement with,

and it was a good process.

Let me tell you, if we had not expropriated those assets, we would be in a

mess today because what they would have done is one of two things. They would

have sold them off to some other interest, and we would have been left high and

dry and our workers and the environmental issues, none of those would have been

resolved; or otherwise they would have gone bankrupt and they would have lost

everything and we would not have had anything.

Now, we have it all. We have expropriated the assets. If we have an

obligation for some of the plant and equipment, as is indicated in the

legislation, then we will pay that. The hon. member opposite was completely in

agreement with this, and she knows that this is probably one of best actions

this government has ever taken in the interest of the people.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the Premier to direct his remarks to the Chair from here on in Question

Period.

The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the Premier, I can assure him, that there was no discussions on

those days in his boardroom about 500-million-dollar lawsuits under the NAFTA

agreement.

Mr. Speaker, the federal government acts as a representative in fighting this

matter before the courts, and they will be responsible for the $500 million

should we lose the case; however, we also know that they will be seeking

reimbursement from the Province.

I ask the Premier: What recent discussions have you had with the federal

government on this matter, and have they indicated how any legal bills or

compensation will be paid out?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, if the hon. member opposite thinks we are

going to pay $500 million to Abitibi she must be losing her mind. Under no

circumstances do we have any intention of paying out any 500-million-dollar

lawsuit. Now if they want to rely on her questions to the House when they

present their NAFTA argument, that is all very fine, but it will not carry any

weight or any water, I can tell you right now.

The chair of Abitibi himself at one point in time indicated that this was

worth $300 million. At another point in the negotiation, they agreed to

negotiate for less. At another point, the federal government had been involved

in trying to get this resolved, because the federal government are the ones that

are on the hook for this at the end of the day. They have indicated that they

are prepared to put some money up to get it resolved. What we are trying to do,

and we have throughout this negotiation, is protect the interests of the people

of Newfoundland and Labrador because Abitibi owes us anywhere from $200 million

to $300 million in environmental liabilities for the mess that they left us, in

addition to the severance for the workers that have paid, in addition to what we

as a government have put into Grand Falls-Windsor and the Central Newfoundland

region.

So we have done, if I might say so myself, an exemplary job of protecting the

interests of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador and they can take it to The

Hague or the Supreme Court of Canada, or whatever court in the world or in the

galaxy they want to take it to, and we will fight them to the very end, I can

guarantee you that.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I certainly hope we never have to pay out $500 million to Abitibi because,

judging from the situation we find ourselves in now, we are going to have to pay

out a great deal in environmental cleanup as it is.

Mr. Speaker, in the Estimates for the Department of Natural Resources, it

lists a figure of $8.3 million spent last year for professional services under

the energy policy. This jumped dramatically from the $373,000 that was

originally budgeted. As confirmed by the Department of Natural Resources, this

money was used for legal fees related to AbitibiBowater's NAFTA challenge and

associated litigations.

I ask the Premier today: What is the breakdown of these legal fees, who was

paid with this money, and does it include any third party legal costs that the

Province was ordered to pay?

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

Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we going to do the Estimates early this year; we are going to do

them during Question Period.

Yes, Mr. Speaker, there were $8 million of professional costs associated with

the expropriation of the Abitibi assets in the Province. Mr. Speaker, a

considerable amount of that was with regard to legal advice we received, first

of all, around the expropriation itself with regard to the NAFTA challenge. Mr.

Speaker, there were also costs associated with remediation issues left behind,

particularly in the Buchans area with regard to the environmental situation that

we are dealing with there.

Mr. Speaker, I am not at liberty at this point in time to release any more

detail than that. There is an established process for accessing that

information, and I encourage the Leader of the Opposition to use it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Mr. Speaker, yesterday in the House we questioned the Minister

of Health about the plane that was owned by Nalcor, and in response the minister

said he saw no reference to or had any reason to believe that the Nalcor plane

was utilized for air ambulance. Meanwhile, health board notes from back in 1982

state that a number one priority for the plane stationed in Labrador was for

medical evacuation.

Clearly, the mandate for the plane was for air ambulance service. It can be

air ambulance ready today. In light of this information, I ask the minister:

Will you initiate a new review taking into account this plane was placed in

Labrador, is there today, and can be used for medical emergencies?

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

Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, let me begin my answer by providing information that I was

requested yesterday. The CF(L)Co's King Air had 400 hours of flying time last

year. Mr. Speaker, that plane is owned by CF(L)Co and is used to do the business

of that company in Labrador. From time to time, Mr. Speaker, that plane, when it

has been available, has been used for medical emergencies.

Mr. Speaker, that practice will continue, but this plane is primarily for the

use of that company, as you can tell from the 400 hours of airtime. It is used

extensively to ensure that the operations in Churchill Falls are done in an

efficient way, and that generation station is maintained and the business of

CF(L)Co is done properly in the Province. The plane is not always in Labrador,

Mr. Speaker. Sometimes it is in Montreal, sometimes it is St. John's, nor is it

maintained at twenty-four hour readiness. If the plane is in Labrador, and it is

available, and it is needed for medical emergencies, Mr. Speaker, it will

continue to be used for such.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Mr. Speaker, the Rural Secretariat is a government entity that

is meant to advance the sustainability of rural Newfoundland and Labrador.

According to government, the vision of the secretariat is to sustain regions

with healthy, educated and prosperous people living in safe, inclusive

communities. It is supposed to be a focal point for the provincial government to

work with the regions of the Province, and we understand the Rural Secretariat

was not consulted in the moving of the air ambulance out of the St. Anthony

region.

So I ask the minister again, today: Why were they not consulted, and why was

the mandate of the Rural Secretariat ignored in the decision that leads to the

demise of this region of our Province?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

As I have indicated on numerous occasions, Mr. Speaker, this review arose as

a result of two incidents in Labrador prior to December, and then unfortunately

we had a third incident in the recent past.

Mr. Speaker, the situations in Labrador resulted in questioning of the

provision of air ambulance service. So what we looked at, Mr. Speaker, was a

situation that required urgent attention. There was no indication at that time

that there were any problems elsewhere in the Province, and subsequent we have

found out that the St. John's aircraft and charter aircraft more than adequately

serve the Island portion of the Province.

The problems were in Labrador, Mr. Speaker. So the review was conducted in

relation to: How do we provide services in relation to Northern Newfoundland and

Labrador? That was the context of the review. The review came back, Mr. Speaker,

clearly indicated that the central location for this plane would be Happy

Valley-Goose Bay. Again, as I have explained on numerous occasions, that is

justified both by the flight statistics, the population statistics and also the

industrialization in Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Mr. Speaker, thank you.

We live in a harsh environment and there are many instances when planes can

take off out of St. Anthony but cannot land. I know just this weekend we did

three medevacs out of St. Anthony where the plane that needed to come to St.

Anthony airport could not get in, and therefore these three medevacs obviously

could not take place.

I ask the minister: Why weren't these environmental conditions examined and

the impact that removing the air ambulance service will have on the Northern

Peninsula, especially during the winter and spring months?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Yes, Mr. Speaker.

Again, as I have indicated on numerous occasions, what we have to look at is

the use of our resources in the best possible way and the most efficient and

effective way to serve the residents of the Province of Newfoundland and

Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Chair is having difficulty hearing the hon. minister. I ask members for

their co-operation.

Order, please!

The hon. minister.

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

What we have to look at is how do we best serve the residents of this

Province? Mr. Speaker, we cannot place an air ambulance in every town, city and

village in this Province. What we had to look at is how do we address the

situations that arise? We have a situation, Mr. Speaker, where there are

approximately 26,000 people in Labrador. We have five mining sites in Labrador

West. We have the potential development of the Lower Churchill where there could

be 2,000-3,000 people working. We have the North Coast of Labrador, Mr. Speaker,

which is isolated many times.

So what we have, Mr. Speaker, is a harsh environment and a harsh land. We

have to use these scarce resources to best protect our people. We feel, Mr.

Speaker, that the move of this airplane and the medical flight services team to

Happy Valley-Goose Bay will protect the interests of the people of this

Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

Vidi.

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday in the House of Assembly the Premier continued to make

inflammatory comments regarding the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical

Association, comments that do nothing to solve the contractual dispute that they

now find themselves in. Mr. Speaker, these types of actions will not help us to

retain doctors in the Province and that, Mr. Speaker, is what I am most

concerned about.

Mr. Speaker, my question for the Premier today is: Will he change his

attitude to a more conciliatory one and work towards a resolution with doctors

so that we can move on and focus on patient care?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask members for their co-operation. The Chair is having difficulty hearing

the questions asked and in some cases the answers provided.

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, I have no control over e-mails or

correspondence that are sent to me that represent the views or the opinions of

doctors within the NLMA and issues that are long-standing issues that they have

had with the association. So, that is not an attempt by me. The e-mail is not

solicited. It is not attempted by me to be divisive in any way whatsoever, but

from a perspective of a change of attitude, I mean we have put $79 million on

the table, a significant offer, a significant amount of money.

The hon. member opposite - and I will speak through you, Mr. Speaker, if I

can control myself today - thinks that money grows on little trees that we have

up in the Department of Finance and that there is always all kinds of money to

go around. As the Minister of Finance has said, we have a responsibility to the

people of the Province, but we also have a responsibility to the medical

profession, to be fair. We put a very generous offer on the table, an offer that

is significantly in excess of what the arbitration award was the last time; that

covers their issues, that deals with Atlantic parity. I think if I remember

correctly, we are up to 98 per cent Atlantic parity. We have even put in money

that they did not ask for, for malpractice and for reimbursement, for continuing

legal education. We are doing everything we can to get this resolved but we have

to do it within the limits and the restraints of the public purse. So it is up

to us to protect the health care system in the Province, but also to protect the

financial interests of the people of the Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

Vidi.

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

I did not ask the Premier about financial issues, but that was his answer.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS MICHAEL: The Premier, in his responding to me, Mr. Speaker, talked

about you get an e-mail and we have no control over what we get, but we do have

control over how we use things, Mr. Speaker. I, too, get all kinds of e-mails. I

do not bring them here to the House of Assembly. The Premier chose to use the

e-mail that he used yesterday.

My question to him, Mr. Speaker, is - and through you I ask this question:

Will he stop his tactic of trying to pit doctors against one another and allow

his Minister of Finance to negotiate with the NLMA?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, the hon. member opposite does not

understand collective bargaining. Collective bargain is a difficult enough

exercise as it is, but we have a united front here. We agree as a Cabinet, we

agree as a caucus, we agree as a government as to exactly what our position is,

and we put that forward to the other side. Now, when you are dealing with a

House that is divided then it is impossible to have them in a situation whereby

they can accept an agreement. So, divisions and differences of opinion within an

organization are very, very important.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: The doctor in question here, who represents, I would

suggest to you, a significant number of doctors, has had these long-standing

issues for over a decade, as far as I know. He can be asked, he can confirm

that. So, when we are trying to reach an agreement with the doctors and the

physicians in the Province we need to be dealing with an association that has a

mandate from its members.

Now, Rob Ritter and company do not have a mandate from its members, because

we happen to know that there are members that do not agree with what they are

doing. So to the best of our ability we are putting our best position forward to

try and get this resolved. We cannot do anything else, but these

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

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

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

The Premier has answered the question that I asked, and his answer is no, he

is going to continue the tactics that he started.

Mr. Speaker, if the government is so open to negotiations with the NLMA, then

why did the letter that went to them yesterday start with an ultimatum? I have

to ask the Premier, does he really consider a letter that starts with an

ultimatum as bargaining in good faith with an organization that has been elected

by its members to represent them?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. MARSHALL: Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, we are conducting a

negotiation here, and in the negotiation we have offered a package to reach a

deal. We cannot have the other side going back and saying that we are going to

take (

a) or we are going to take (

c) or we are going to take (

d) but nothing

else. We want to get a complete deal. We want to get an agreement so this comes

to an end and life can go back to normal for everyone, and I am sure the doctors

want that as well.

So, what we do is we put forward a proposal in response to their proposal,

and we have invited the doctors to come back to the table. We will sit, we will

talk, we will negotiate, and hopefully we will get a deal that is, as I said,

that is fair to the taxpayers of the Province and also addresses the concerns

that the doctors have raised.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The time allotted for questions and answers has expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling of Documents.

Notices of Motion.

Answers to Questions for Which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

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

North.

MR. DEAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is my privilege to rise again today and present this position on behalf of

the air ambulance service from St. Anthony, the district that is being taken

away.

I would like to read again: To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the

undersigned residents:

WHEREAS it has been brought to our attention that the air ambulance service

is being removed; and

WHEREAS St. Anthony airport can provide the most optimal service to the whole

of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador;

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

House of Assembly to support and maintain air ambulance service in the St.

Anthony area and furthermore will proceed with strengthening the service with

the placement of a Flight Specialist Team located in St. Anthony, and as in duty

bound your petitioners will ever pray.

I present that today in this House. I would like to just refer back to some

of the comments or the

preamble, if you will, to one of the questions that I

asked the Minister of Health regarding the inclusion or the exclusion really,

of the Rural Secretariat being involved in this decision making process.

I recall being a part of the Rural Secretariat when it was formed back two

years ago. I took time to go on the Web site and pull off the vision and just

look at what it was supposed to be all about. Certainly, as you read that you

would think that it would be one of the government bodies in this Province that

would be consulted and would have a valued opinion in terms of the decision

being made before it was made, as in this case.

It says: "The vision of the Rural Secretariat is of sustainable regions with

healthy, educated, prosperous people living in safe, inclusive communities."

Then it lists its mandate. First of all, it talks about promoting "the

well-being of all regions of Newfoundland and Labrador through a comprehensive

and coordinated approach to economic, social, cultural and environmental aspects

of regional development." It says that the Rural Secretariat should "Act as the

focal point for the provincial government to work with local and regional

partners to build strong and dynamic regions and communities." Then it says that

the Rural Secretariat, the mandate is to "Ensure that regional concerns are

considered throughout the provincial government and promoted at the federal

level." If that was not enough, it also says that it is to "Carry out research

and analysis of economic and social issues affecting all regions of Newfoundland

and Labrador."

One has to ask the question, when you read that and understand the vision and

the mandate, and then also come to the conclusion or come to the realization

that this piece of government, if you will, this arm of government's advisory

was never consulted in terms of the consultation process by Mr. Dodge being

consulted by the department, being consulted by the board. Certainly, it brings

you back to the conclusion which I have made in this House before and which I

will continue to make, and the case that I will continue to make on behalf of

the residents of my district, on behalf of the employees of the air ambulance

service who are being impacted by this decision having to relocate from St.

Anthony to Goose Bay, that this process is anything but a sound researched, well

thought out, methodical process. Again, it is just one other reason, another

reason why today I would call upon government again to be open and honest and

realize that this consultation just did not go where it needed to go.

It is my pleasure to present that petition. It will not be the last one, Mr.

Speaker.

Thank you for your time again today.

MR. SPEAKER: Further petitions?

Orders of the Day

Private Members' Day

MR. SPEAKER: It being Private Members' Day, the Chair now calls on the

Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural

Development, the Minister Responsible for the Rural Secretariat, and the hon.

Member for St. Barbe.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. YOUNG: Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to stand here today and present

this motion to the House and have it debated. It is certainly a very important

motion for us to be discussing. It is an industry that will bring us all kinds

of opportunity as it has in the past.

Mr. Speaker, first I will read the motion into the records:

WHEREAS the provincial government, on June 5 last year, released "Oceans of

Opportunity", a five year, $28 million strategy to expand our Province's ocean

technology sector; and

WHEREAS Newfoundland and Labrador's ocean technology sector is a cluster of

more than fifty world-class institutions, companies and industry organizations

which are harnessing the power of innovation and entrepreneurship to achieve the

common goal of growing the industry's value by 600 per cent to $1 billion with

more than 6,600 employees by 2015; and

WHEREAS this strategy builds on the Province's investments in the School of

Ocean Technology at the Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University to

advance technology transfer and applied research in ways that provide

opportunities in both our graduates and our Province to take a leadership role

in this sector; and

WHEREAS this strategy includes provisions for the Ocean Technology

Development Fund with components to advance the work of private sector

enterprises, post-secondary institutions and industry associations;

International Marketing Assistance; the Polaris Program; Business Incubation;

and the Northwest Atlantic Ocean Observation System Partnership;

THEREFORE

BE IT RESOLVED that this hon. House expresses confidence in the

government's initiative to position Newfoundland and Labrador as a global leader

in ocean technology by putting into action "Oceans of Opportunity: Newfoundland

and Labrador's Ocean Technology Strategy."

Mr. Speaker, this Province has always been about the ocean. If you take a

look at where we are in this Province, you will certainly see that the vast

majority of us are dotted along the coastline. It has gone back - the reason why

we came here. When we came to this Province in the beginning it was primarily

for the fishery and the sealing industry. I know from where I come from, when my

grandparents and great-grandparents had settled it was certainly an ideal

location for the sealing industry. Of course, we have the fishery as well.

One of the things that we have had, and that I have always noticed and where

I ended up to, it is not far from where my grandparents had come and settled in

this Province. One of the things that had come was always the change in

innovation that has gone out there and taken us from where we were to places

where we are today. In some cases that may not seem far. In a physical sense it

was probably rather close, but in one sense it was certainly a great distance

because we have seen through innovation, through the change in technology and

the things that we have through the fact that even fishing equipment had changed

to the point that we could go out there and we could catch in different ways. It

was also an opportunity for us, through technology, through having the

technology that changed that gave us - to be able to take us from being able to

row to your fishing grounds to be able to have the engine to be able to do what

you need. So, that has been always a part of what we were about in the history,

but we primarily settled around the coasts because of the fishery and that kind

of opportunities.

The only thing that brought us inland was our forestry, and of course the

mining industry, but that is where we are. To take a look at us and the

opportunities that face us in the future will certainly be where we have to go.

In thinking about it today and presenting this motion, you think about some of

the things that are relevant to me and being out there as you take the

industries that do come from those sectors.

I think of someone like Lam Kennedy who is out there, who had built an

industry around boat building. It is an industry that we have always been in and

it is certainly a relevant one. You see as times have changed, that man had seen

the time and change when he had gone and when the fishery had changed in many

ways. I remember seeing a picture of him beside an enterprise that was one of

the larger enterprises here in the shrimp industry, as that technology has

changed and gone. That was a very important change in my time and in his time as

he had seen it from the beginning to the end. Then he had seen the Marine Centre

in Port Saunders, which saw an industry grow to be able to have the technologies

and the changes. To be able to service that industry and what it takes to have

that industry serviced is very important changes. In some ways, what we have

here with those industries is that we were taking what were others and taking

that and making do with it.

As we have come to this Province and in this government and seeing the

changes that have happened in the oil and gas industries is that they have now

said, let's take charge of our own destiny, let's get out here and take what we

would have to make a change so that we control the agenda, that we can make the

investments, that we gain the information, the technology to be able to set the

agenda, to be able to go there and be a leader in an industry that surrounds us,

that has always been there. We have been, so many times, just having a challenge

to make ourselves a living from the oceans with the technology that we have, but

in so many ways, what we have done and to be able to create the wealth has been

limited. So, by being able to have the technology, being able to drive the

industries has certainly been able to put us in the driving seat, Mr. Speaker.

There are many things that are out there that we would be able to go from

climate change as well as the fishing industry. I know that the technologies

that are changing, that are going continuously are ever so important, but now

those technologies and some of those things that we have changed have been

significant strides in the fishing industry to be able to make it more

friendlier, to be able to do less damage to the bottom of the floor, to be able

to do less damage to the resources we are catching so that we can go in there

and take one species without doing a whole bunch more damage.

Those are the things that are out there that are better ensuring that the

technology and the investments that we are making are out there, that is

preserving what we have as well as having this innovative way of going out there

and having this new technology that will put us in the forefront of where we

have to go, Mr. Speaker.

From some of the things that we have, there are a number of private sector

companies that have increased by 57 per cent from 33 per cent in 2001 to 52 per

cent in 2005. Between 2001 and 2005 sixteen new ocean technology companies were

incorporated. The total revenue generated by private sector nearly doubled from

$117 million to $201 million, to approximately $230 million in 2005. Private

sector employment totalled 1,470 people in 2005, an increase of more than 65 per

cent from 2001. The public sector accounts were approximately $35 million

annually in the ocean technology related activities. The combined revenue of a

private and public sector is more than $264 million, Mr. Speaker.

Our educational and research initiative institution, Ocean Engineering

Research Centre, Ocean Science Centre, and of course, the Bonne Bay Marine

Station - the Bonne Bay Marine Station is something that is in my district, and

I certainly see the value of what it has had to do when it comes to the

industries and the contribution that it makes from a science point of view. It

is also what we have and how we can bring that into and have it make a

contribution to the community today, because as you know, it is in the community

of Norris Point, which is in the center of Gros Morne, so it is one of the

highest tourism areas of the Province, and having that as an attraction is

certainly one thing, but it is also being able to have the opportunity to bring

a community benefit, because it can be there for more than just the tourism

season. To be able to have an opportunity to develop on that is certainly very

important, Mr. Speaker.

One of the things that we have, as well, we have focused in on, and that is

to being the Northern Gateway, and it is certainly something else that has been

effective on the Northern Peninsula and certainly affected me. Because of our

strategy toward the Northern Gateway, it has given us an opportunity to be able

to bring back into another industry. We have looked at ports like St. Anthony,

and being able to have that ability to be able to look north and to be able to

go to other markets, it has brought it back into the forest industry, and it is

a little different industry that comes in. Because we are able to do that, we

are able to look at changing the forest industry, as it has gone through the

crisis, to be able to bring in a pellet plant in a place like Roddickton,

because we do have the initiative to go out there. So, to have a container ship

that would come through a place like a port of St. Anthony, this gives us,

certainly, a good opportunity to do other things.

So, as you can see, the impacts as we go out there, and to be able to develop

this industry that is primarily our oceans, and the reasons, as I said, were

there, but it is also as we look inland and to be able to have other industries

be able to develop around them, and to be able to bring that in it is certainly

very important. It gives us an opportunity, through all of it, to bring it

together, Mr. Speaker.

One of the other major investments that we made was the second line across

the Gulf, the fibre. It is certainly an initiative that has gone out, and it has

certainly given the research institutions an opportunity to be able to do what

they have. It brings me back to the marine biology station, the fact that we did

have it there, but it was not in the community. So the investment that we are

making into broadband and the fibre is certainly paid back in being able to go.

It shows where the government is taking a lead in being able to bring the parts

that are missing so that industry can come in and have the ability to be able to

foresee how to be connected to the world without having any restrictions from

the physical point, and also from a cost point, to be able to bring that in line

wherever we can with the rest of the world, Mr. Speaker. That is ever so

important.

One of the other reasons why it is important as well, Mr. Speaker, is that it

gives an opportunity for our youth because what we are talking about is an

opportunity to create a new world and that new world is going to be created by

the young people in this Province. They are the ones that are going to come out

and be able to find a way to take what is not there today and to create that and

be able to create the wealth and create the living for themselves and for the

communities that are dependent on them.

So, by being able to bring this fibre to as many of the communities as

possible - and we have certainly made great strides in that. I know, from my

district, we have certainly made significant strides in bringing that there. I

know there are communities that are without, but it is an ongoing process that

we bring together. They are the ones that will have the interest. They are the

ones that are looking at the technology. They are the ones that are sitting down

today and looking at a world completely different than what you and I are. They

are the ones that will create that economy. The supports that we are going to

put in and that initiative that we have are certainly a very important

development that we are doing with this initiative.

If you look to the opportunities that we have, it has always been the ocean

that we have had those opportunities in. We are surrounded by water; we are an

island. Coastal Labrador and many of our communities are along the coastline and

they have always gone to the ocean as well. So, by looking at what is out there

in the ocean and being able to say that there are opportunities where there are

challenges - and we are certainly looked at as having challenges when you think

about the Labrador current that is coming down and with the ice situation that

follows along hand in hand with that and being able to exist and to prosper in

that kind of environment takes a lot of technology and skills. Things change, as

we find through the oil and gas industry. Those are things that have thrown us

challenges. We have met them, surpassed them, and that will certainly give us an

opportunity to be leaders and it has been. We have taken on that challenge. So,

instead of pulling back from them and saying that it is not with us, it is

something that is out of our control, we have looked the other way, we have said

that yes we can take those industries, those challenges, and create industries

for ourselves and for our future.

Mr. Speaker, I really believe that where we are going today, the investments

that we are making will certainly bring a solid footing to the new industries

that will generate much of our wealth. It is also taking care and looking at

solutions to some of the problems that we have in the ever changing industries

that have brought us this far. It is certainly a win-win from that way, and as

you do that there are all kinds of other challenges out there that we have that

will certainly bring us in the forefront. We have climate change, one of the

things that (inaudible) and some of the impacts that we are going to see in our

coastal communities. So we are taking a lead in those ways, by bringing industry

and our research institutions together and marrying them to a point where we can

go out there and create the wealth in the future that we want for ourselves and

for our children.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER (T. Osborne): The hon. the Member for the District of The

Straits & White Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is a privilege again to rise and to respond to this private member's

motion this afternoon. Ocean technology is certainly an important sector, and a

lot of research to be done, a lot of development to be understood and so on. It

is certainly important to the Province.

You know, I kind of found it a little bit odd, to be honest, when the Member

for the District of St. Barbe got up and presented this. I said to myself: I

know this strategy is important, it is relevant to a certain sector of this

Province, but I wonder if today we could not be presenting a motion that might

be a little more relevant to the people of our own districts. The fact is that

we are neighbouring districts and really have a lot of the same issues, a lot of

the same concerns pretty much identical, really.

I have been in my district, and I am sure he has been in his, stepping onto

the wharves and chatting with fishermen and talking to plant workers and sitting

at a kitchen table and talking to a mother whose children and young men have had

to hightail themselves off to Alberta again and so on. I am not sure that this

is the private member's motion that I would be presenting if I had the

opportunity to do so.

Nevertheless, that is certainly where it is. I say this because our office

my office in my district - has received certainly many calls from constituents

of my district and of the hon. member's district as well, and I can tell you

that ocean strategy technology, as important as it is, is the furthest thing

from their minds. You might as well be talking about a strategy to get you to

the moon, if you would, as something that would be of a concern to them.

Our office received a number of calls on issues that are not being addressed

in that district, perhaps. I just compiled a list of some of the things.

Certainly, we have been talking about the fishery and it should not come, and I

would suggest it does not come, as any surprise to any of the members, but the

fishery is in a crisis. The people on the Northern Peninsula are especially hit

hard by the downturn and the downfall of this industry. There are hundreds and

hundreds of people who have received their last paycheque. It will be two weeks

Friday coming that many of residents on the Northern Peninsula will have been

two weeks without an income - waiting on government to understand, waiting on

government to take the necessary steps to address the obstacles that are now

tying up our crab fishery through the Province, the majority of our boats and so

on. As union officials and as processors are working out a compromise and so on,

our people are looking to this government to take the leadership role. The

people of St. Barbe, the people of The Straits & White Bay North, are looking to

this government to take the lead role and to bring in solutions; yes, for the

long term under the MOU has been suggested and so on, but certainly in the short

term. You do not look long-term when you have been two weeks without a

paycheque. You do not look long term when you have bills to pay and you have no

money coming in. Long term is not all that relevant to you at that point in

time, so I would suggest today that we need to understand these issues.

Just for the hon. member - I am sure he has seen it, but it was not mentioned

in his motion, in his response to the motion, so I would just like to share some

of what was in our regional paper just last week, if you will. The headlines

read: Peninsula faces year of economic devastation. The

article says: She's gone

b'y, she's gone.

It might sound a little bit funny, if you will, or whatever the case is, but

when you read the

article and you listen to some of the commentary that is being

presented there by the writer, by the editor, Aaron Beswick, you realize just

the situation that the Northern Peninsula is facing in our Province.

I quote from a couple of people that are quoted in the article, a gentleman

by the name of Dwight Spence, who is the owner of the sixty-five footer Cape

Ashley , and he says that in his forty-four years of fishing it never

looked so grim as it does now - certainly indications of the fact that all

things are not well.

Look at the community of Conche where there are four teachers, a post office

and two small businesses. Members from their council were here today as we met

with the hon. minister about some other issues, in a community of approximately

300 people completely relying upon the fish plant and the crab fleet composed of

two sixty-five-foot boats, 400 forty-five-foot licences and numerous others

under thirty-five. To go into that community today and talk about the ocean

technology sector you probably may not get a lot of attention from them, I want

to assure the hon. member today.

I could go on with this story just of how the situation in River of Ponds in

the member's own district, it is quoted there as noting that nearly 13,000

people who live north of the River of Ponds, the FFAW estimates that some 2,400

of those are directly employed in the fishery. That is a significant chunk of

the population when you have close to 25 per cent of the population in total

being involved directly, being employed directly in the fishery.

When we have a year as we are having right now, with no income and no

movement, plant workers, harvesters and so on, then certainly this, I would

think, would be something that would be of a concern to all of us. It is a

significant piece. We all know a downturn in the fishery does not affect just

the fishers and fish plants. It affects our businesses, it affects our

communities, and it affects our morale. It just affects our whole well-being, so

certainly this year is of concern.

Speaking about the fishery, again the hon. member presenting the private

member's resolution today might be, I am sure, aware of New Ferolle plant and

the fact that our office has been receiving numerous phone calls from residents

of that district - people who work at New Ferolle plant, people from my own

district who work at New Ferolle plant - wondering why the plant is still not up

and running. The community plant was bought by Greg Malone for $1 with the

condition that the plant would be operational. Apparently, back in 2005 and 2006

it was going all out, if you will. In 2008 the workers only got twenty-five

days' work. In 2009 it did not have one hour of work, and it looks like again in

2010 that there probably still will not be another hour's work through one of

the greatest plants in the Province, one of the leading processors of fish

certainly on the Northern Peninsula and indeed around the Province, looking at

another year with nothing opening.

The committee at the plant there, Mr. Speaker, just for his information, have

another operator all lined up to process multi-species from River of Ponds to

Eddies Cove East. In fact, there is a petition - we have a copy of it in our

office - of 1,500 to 2,000 names that the Member for St. Barbe, I am sure, would

have a copy of as well. I am not sure if he plans to present that in the House

but the members, the constituents, the people who have signed that petition,

would be interested in seeing that presented.

Another issue that I have been harping on and I have not heard our member

mention has been the air ambulance and the lives of the constituents in the

District of St. Barbe represented by this hon. member, are now compromised by

this decision of his own government to remove the air ambulance service.

MS BURKE: A point of order, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. Government House Leader, on a point of order.

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, the private member's motion that we are debating

today certainly addresses the ocean strategy. The point of order we are making

is that it is felt that the Member for The Straits & White Bay North is talking

about issues that are not relevant to the motion today, Mr. Speaker.

AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

Is the hon. member speaking to the point of order?

AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).

MR. SPEAKER: Okay.

Order, please!

On the point of order raised by the hon. the Government House Leader, I would

ask that members take into consideration the issue of relevance in debate.

The hon. the Member for The Straits & White Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

If it is a little off track I apologize to the House for that. Nevertheless,

it is an important issue and most of my presentation at this point has been

about the fishery, and the ocean technology sector I would think would be

relevant. Again, I would seek your guidance in that if you will.

If I could just regain my train of thought here if you will, but again, as we

consider the spending of government by the $28 million strategy to expand our

Province's ocean technology sector and so on, that there certainly needs to be

that consideration and so on of the fishery as a whole.

Anyway, I thank you, Mr. Speaker, for your time this afternoon in being able

to present and respond to the private member's resolution.

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Justice and Attorney General.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

It is a pleasure today to be able to rise and speak on this resolution that

has been put forward by my colleague from St. Barbe. This is a significant

resolution on a very important government strategy that was released by my

colleague, the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development on June 9,

Before I get into my comments, Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this

opportunity to express my congratulations to the newest member of the House, the

hon. Member for Topsail -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. F. COLLINS: - and wish him well in his new seat. If he enjoys working

with people and if he enjoys working on behalf of the Province of Newfoundland

and Labrador, I am sure he is in for a very rewarding career in politics, and I

welcome him.

Mr. Speaker, the people of Newfoundland and Labrador and the culture of

Newfoundland and Labrador has been shaped by our relationship with the sea, as

was pointed out very eloquently by my colleague from St. Barbe. It was the

assets of the ocean, Mr. Speaker, the fisheries that brought our ancestors here

in the first place. It was the assets of the ocean that kept them here. In spite

of current problems with the fishery, I am sure it will continue to be one of

the mainstays of the economy of this Province.

Our relationship with the ocean, Mr. Speaker, has been historically

documented and it has been the center the ocean and our relationship with the

ocean has been the center of our economy. It has defined who we are, it has

defined where we have come from, it has defined where we have always been, and,

Mr. Speaker, it will define the future. It continues to play a key role in the

economy of this Province, with considerable activities in oil and gas

developments and now merging into the ocean technology sector.

As I mentioned, Mr. Speaker, the ocean assets will define our future and that

is why the Province's $28 million strategy is called Oceans of Opportunity,

opportunities for future development. It is this historic and cultural

connection which has enabled us to develop a level of knowledge and expertise

that positions us as leaders in ocean technological developments.

Mr. Speaker, it is not my intention today, in the short time we have, to

delve into all the aspects of the Province's strategy, but suffice it to say

that it is designed to develop and accelerate development and enhances the

growth of business and technological development in this industry. It will

position the Province to identify and develop new opportunities in ocean

technology.

Mr. Speaker, we are all aware of the fact that there has been an explosion of

offshore activity over the last twenty-five, thirty years. As this activity

grows and expands, it creates the need for advanced technology. It increases the

demands for better weather forecasting. It increases demands for better ocean

observations and better ocean management, and more research.

What has happened, Mr. Speaker, this activity has resulted in a thriving

ocean technological cluster of companies and academic institutions and

government institutions represented by a group called OceansAdvance Inc. Mr.

Speaker, that consists of over fifty companies with a goal to grow this

industry, as the resolution points out, to $1 billion by 2015 encompassing

some 6,600 employees. Mr. Speaker, that is a significant development, a

significant direction, a significant strategy. It augurs well for the future

development of this Province.

Now, these fifty companies include world-class institutions, world-class

industry leaders with some of the most innovative ocean technologies in the

world. This cluster, Mr. Speaker, has become a leading force in the development

of ocean technology. It has highly skilled professionals in research and

development. It represents a strong alignment or network of institutional and

academic interests and industrial interests. In this cluster, Mr. Speaker, the

private sector component of that cluster employs over 1,400 people, while the

public sector and the not-for-profit sector has an additional 350 people. So

this whole cluster, this whole network, this whole alignment is making a major

contribution to this Province.

Mr. Speaker, with respect to our own Memorial University, if you look at the

leading expertise and the innovation that is associated with that institution in

recent years and I have just mentioned some of the components of that

university that are involved in this sector: the Ocean Engineering Research

Centre, the Ocean Sciences Centre, the Landmark Graphics Visualization

Laboratory, the Bonne Bay Marine Station as was mentioned by my colleague

and most importantly, the Fisheries and Marine Institute, which is a world-class

leader in ocean development. These are just some of the components of Memorial

University and the Marine Institute that are involved in this sector. So you

have this whole new emerging sector in this Province in which industry will take

the lead, but this government, through this strategic release, this strategic

program, government will play a very important role, a very crucial role, in

setting the environment for this industry to grow. It will be proactive in that

support. This government likes to be on the leading edge, Mr. Speaker, likes the

new directions, likes to pursue new dimensions and new frontiers and to make

prudent investments to secure the future of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians,

and that is what it has done in this strategy. That is what this government is

all about.

Mr. Speaker, I previously mentioned the Fisheries and Marine Institute, a

world-renowned oceans institution that sets world standards in education,

training, innovation and research. I want to mention a project in Placentia Bay,

which where I come from - the far greater bay as been referred to on occasion,

also probably the foggiest bay on the Island. That SmartBay project is a product

of the Marine Institute in partnership with other groups, and it is worth

referencing in this debate because it is an example of where we have come from

and where we are in terms of ocean technology development.

Placentia Bay, Mr. Speaker, is one of the busiest waterways in the world.

Hundreds of tankers ply the waters of Placentia Bay every day as they steam in

and out of the Come By Chance and Whiffin Head locations. More than 320 million

barrels of oil a year are brought in and out of Placentia Bay; $7 billion

dollars worth of product every year. These tankers, Mr. Speaker, navigate

alongside the smaller fishing vessels and the pleasure crafts. In the near

future, Mr. Speaker, we expect to see that increase by additional ore carriers

coming in and out of Long Harbour in connection with the Vale Inco project. You

also have the potential of ports of Burin and Marystown on one side of the bay

and Argentia on the other. So, you can see the potential for increased marine

traffic in Placentia Bay; that is why Placentia Bay is referred to as the

industrial heartland of the Province.

Mr. Speaker, it also has wildlife reserves and it creates an active fishery.

All that activity, Mr. Speaker, creates challenges for traditional users to

navigate alongside the non-traditional users of the bay. So much traffic, Mr.

Speaker, that the possibility of a major oil spill is always on the radar;

pardon the pun. The danger, Mr. Speaker, of a massive oil spill would be

catastrophic. That would have disastrous results on the ecosystem of Placentia

Bay not only on the local fishery but on the transportation industry and the

ecotourism industries. Local authorities are always involved with the federal

government in trying to find ways and means in convincing the federal government

to improve the safeguards for safety in the event of such a spill in the bay.

Mr. Speaker, it is in that context that I want to mention this SmartBay

project, a development in technology that works to keep Placentia Bay safe for

all users. SmartBay provides customized weather and sea state forecast

information using data gathered by four oceanographic buoys strategically placed

in Placentia Bay. Mr. Speaker, I have a problem with that word buoys. We always

called them boys, but I guess the proper pronunciation is buoys. I have always

called them boys so I am going to continue to call them boys. There are four

boys strategically located in Placentia Bay. This information, Mr. Speaker, is

updated four times daily and provides information to assist the users through

its Web site: smartbay.ca. It is available to all the public in their real time.

Fishers, shipping companies and the users routinely take advantage of SmartBay

to help them make decisions about their operations in the bay.

In addition to the information, Mr. Speaker, available on the Web site, the

SmartBay project also involves putting automatic identification systems aboard

small fishing vessels and large ones as well so that they know where they are in

relation to each other in the foggy conditions of Placentia Bay.

This project, as I mentioned, is led by the Marine Institute in partnership

with a team of private sector companies, AMEC, Earth & Environmental, ICAN, and

Earth Information Technologies. Every month, Mr. Speaker, over 7,000 people

visit smartbay.ca - 7,000 people every month - for information with respect to

the management and expansion of local fishery and transportation.

Mr. Speaker, government has invested $700,000 in total in SmartBay, and last

year it won the distinction in innovation award for its outstanding contribution

towards Newfoundland innovative culture.

Mr. Speaker, SmartBay is only one example of the truly innovative spirit and

expertise we have developed in this Province. Placentia Bay is also being mapped

to provide information about what the seabed is like in the bottom of the bay.

With the current level of innovation and ocean technological developments, it is

still only the tip of the iceberg; again, if you will pardon the pun.

Mr. Speaker, all of this means that we are well positioned to be

front-runners; as a matter of fact we are already front-runners in leading the

world in the development of ocean-related industries. The Oceans of Opportunity

strategy is another example of the great future, and the investment is another

example of the foresight and prudent investment by the Province in the future. I

compliment the minister for this initiative.

Mr. Speaker, we have always looked to the ocean; we continue to do so. It has

been our past, it is our present and it will be our future.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

Vidi.

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

I am quite pleased this afternoon to be able to stand and speak to the motion

that is in front of us, brought in by the Member for St. Barbe. Private members'

motions are always very interesting, you never know what they are going to be or

where they are going to come from, what they are going to focus on.

This one is an interesting one since it is dealing with the strategy, Oceans

of Opportunity: Newfoundland and Labrador's Ocean Technology Strategy. The

Member for Placentia & St. Mary's who just spoke did mention two or three times

how important the ocean is to the life of this Province, how important it is to

the people of this Province, and as is said in the strategy itself, that we have

a 500-year connection with the ocean. There is no doubt about all of that, Mr.

Speaker, the ocean is extremely important to the lives of the people in this

Province.

I notice that the Member for Placentia & St. Mary's also talked about how the

government of the day - the government that represents him, represents all of us

really, the government that he is part of though - likes to be on the leading

edge, it likes to be out front, it likes to be leading the way. I think this is

the language that he used, that this government is all about being on the

leading edge of new things. That is fine. I like that. I like looking to the

future. I like being out there. I am all for that. When it comes to ocean

technology, I think that it is really important that in being on the edge, and

being a front-runner, and being out there, that the government does not lose

sight of what it is leaving behind. Unfortunately in our history, in our very

present history, one of the things that we have been global leaders in I am

not blaming this government for it, it goes back long before this government.

What we have become the global leader in is the destruction of one of the

greatest fish stocks on earth, the Northern cod stock. This is something we are

always going to be carrying as a blight. We have no idea what it is going to

take for that cod stock to come back to where it ever was. It probably never

will. Unfortunately, this is something that we will always carry but we cannot

allow the new frontier, that of oil and gas, lead us so far down a path around

technologies with regard to the ocean that we forget we still do have a fishery.

I find it very troublesome that here in the Province now, and it comes out in

language all over the place, almost an assumption that we do not have a fishery

in the future, I mean the way the traditional fishery the fishery based on the

wild stock. This is completely unacceptable. How can we in this part of the

world, in this ocean which has so much life in it and with the history that we

have, accept the fact that we do not have the technology and we do not have the

know how to make sure that these stocks continue? There is something wrong here,

Mr. Speaker.

It is very important that in pursuing ocean technology and in pursuing the

strategy that the government has set out in Oceans of Opportunity that we not

forget that we can use technology with regard to our wild fishery as well. Not

just technology to create aquaculture, but technology based on building up and

maintaining stocks out there in that ocean that will go on forever, which never

will be the case with oil and gas. It will not be the case with our fishery

either, and with the stock out there in that ocean, unless we use our

technologies to make it happen. Now, there are other things that are involved,

it is not all just scientific technology. Obviously, how we market and how we

get our fish out there in the world is all part of that, and how our fishery is

structured is all part of that. The use of technology is not just use of

technology for oil and gas; it is the use of technology to also make sure that

we build up our fish stock.

There are some areas of research that I do not see happening as part of our

strategy, and this is something that does concern me and something that makes it

a bit difficult for me to say that I have confidence in the government's

initiative to position Newfoundland and Labrador as a global leader. One of the

things I would like to see this government really being on the leading edge

about and being there in the forefront about is looking at how we can make sure

that a new industry like oil and gas can be made to work for the people of the

Province, not just work for business, not just work for people in the oil

industry and related to the oil industry, but we need to be using our scientific

research to also look at what is the impact on the people of this Province, on

the people in our rural communities in particular. What is the impact on them of

the technologies that we are using?

One area that concerns me, and I have raised it in the past in this House and

I would like to raise it again today, Mr. Speaker, is the whole area around

seismic exploration off the coast of the Province. People do not know a lot of

the ocean technology that is going on, and one of the things is seismic

exploration, because seismic exploration is used particularly with regard to

finding strains of gas, in particular, but used for oil as well. We have not

been taking seriously the possibilities of the impact of seismic technology on

the life of fish stocks in our ocean. We do know that there is a large body of

evidence to show that seismic activity is environmentally harmful.

I am not saying that we do not search for oil and gas, but I am saying that

we need to find exploration technologies that do not potentially harm fish

stocks. If we are going to be doing this exploration in our oceans, and if we

are going to be saying we are promoting ourselves as being on the leading edge,

that we are out there ahead of everybody else, well let's really be ahead of

everybody else and find out if we can have oil and gas and fishery exist side by

side. It is extremely important that we be able to do that, because oil and gas

is not going to be here forever. That industry is not going to be hear forever.

If we do not have communities that are based in the fishery and communities that

are alive and vibrant, then having ocean technology that is focused mainly on

the industry of oil and gas is not going to be helpful. So let's really get out

there. Let's really be the leading edge and see how we can marry the exploration

that is needed to discover more oil and gas, along with maintaining our fishery,

maintaining the lives of the people in the industry. People in the fishing

industry are concerned that we have moved ahead into exploration and production

phases of oil and gas industry while they still have unanswered concerns over

seismic operations.

We have seen from its actions that the government in many ways has turned its

back on the Province's traditional fishery. This has to stop. We need a lot more

science. We need to pressure the federal government to get involved in this area

as well. Let us find the new ways to explore. Let us look at the evidence around

seismic exploration. I know myself personally for many, many years questioned

seismic exploration and some people I would speak to would say pooh-pooh to me

and I said: well, it does not make sense to me that we can have seismic

exploration going on - and I am sure everybody in the public who is listening

knows what that is. If they do not, it means using waves in the bed of the ocean

to look for gas, for example, and these electronic waves can help find pockets

of gas. Now, it has always seemed to me that those waves that would be happening

must have some impact on the creatures that live on the bottom of the ocean. The

thing is, now there is evidence that in actual fact there are impacts from

seismic exploration and there impacts on the life of everything that lives in

that ocean. So let's pursue that, let's find out for sure that we are not doing

more damage to our stocks. Did the seismic exploration have a role to play in

some of the loss of our stocks? Was that one of the factors? It was not the only

one, we know that, there are many, many factors to the loss of our Northern Cod

stock, but could that be one of the factors?

The other thing that I am concerned about, Mr. Speaker, is that we need more

social science research. We do not have enough social science research going on

with regard to what is happening out there in our ocean with regard to the

exploration that is going on and with regard to the production of oil that is

going on. The impact on people in the Province, not just people in the fishery,

but the overall impact on people in our Province on their lives, on the cost of

living is all related to what is happening out in our ocean. So it is not just

looking at the technology of finding oil and gas and getting it out of the

earth. We have to make sure that we have the technologies that look at the

environment but we also have to come up with the technologies, because

technologies can relate to social science research as well. Come up with the

technologies and use the tools that are there to do social research, to do

research into what is happening to the people of the Province.

The government right now is promoting aquaculture, and I am not against that.

We have jobs that are being created because of aquaculture et cetera, but the

traditional fishery is potentially our best resource. The loss of our cod stocks

is just a classic example of what happens when we do not stay in touch with all

aspects of what are going in an industry. So if we are really looking to a

future, Mr. Speaker, if we really want a future for this Province, let's use the

resources from oil and gas, let's use some of the money that we are reaping in

from oil and gas, to be sure that we are on the edge of coming up with

technologies that show us how we can keep our fishery going, keep a live

traditional fishery going based on the wild stock out in that ocean, while at

the same time we develop oil and gas. Let's become leaders in showing how those

two things can go on at the same time; because if we do not, Mr. Speaker, what

we are doing around ocean technology will be meaningless if in fifty years' time

there is not a future here in this Province because oil and gas has gone.

Because we know we are not going to be here in fifty years' time - there are

very few of us in this House, for example, who are going to be here in fifty

years' time, and very few in any governing party that might be sitting in this

House who are going to be here in fifty years' time - we run the danger of only

looking at the present in making our decisions, especially around something like

oceans technology, looking only at the present. We have to think of that, fifty

years down the road.

If we want to have a government, and if this government really wants to be on

the leading edge and really wants to be in the forefront, that is what I ask

this government to start doing. How can we make sure that all the technologies

we are using, how everything that we are exploring, that all of our research is

showing how we can do what we need to do around oil and gas while at the same

time not just maintaining our traditional fishery but bringing that to a point

where it I am not going to say where it was; that is not a way to go

bringing it to a point that we are getting the full potential from a fishery

based on the wild stock in the North Atlantic.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

Before I begin the main parts of my remarks, I would like to respond a little

to the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi. She referenced the demise of the cod

stocks. I think most of us would at least like to think that most of that

results from what could be termed bad science, incomplete information, the type

of situation where we guess what is going on beneath the ocean's surface without

really knowing. Obviously, it did not work. The stocks were not managed well and

it begs to question: When do we get the good science?

Now, she also talked about the effects of seismic activity. Well, we can put

parameters into computer modelling, we can take best guesses, and we can sort of

go on what we think could happen, but really, until we have developed a capacity

to know what goes on beneath the ocean surface, we really will not know. To my

mind, that is the thrust of this conversation today.

Mr. Glenn Blackwood, the Director of the Marine Institute, has stated many

times that 90 per cent of the time we concern ourselves with what is going on

above the surface and not nearly enough time looking at what is going on below.

In the last number of years we have come to appreciate that the ocean and

what goes on underneath the ocean is a very real dynamic that we do not

understand well enough. We can sort of look at the cause and effect, we can look

at things that have happened in the past, but do we really understand it? The

answer to that question, really, is that we do not understand it well enough.

This is where Oceans of Opportunities comes in; this is where the development

of ocean technology really speaks to the types of issue that the Leader of the

NDP referenced just a few minutes ago. Does seismic activity damage fish stocks?

We do not know today, but if ocean technology and the types of initiatives that

this government has brought in gives us the ability to have that answer, gives

us the ability to look, gives us the ability to measure, gives us the ability to

create and to advance the science, then we will be in a good place to have real

hard answers to those questions down the road. So I just wanted to start off by

going there.

If you look at the evolution of any kind of a science, you have to step back

and not fall into the trap of taking a snapshot and saying: Here is where we

are; look at how deficient it is. If you look at a lot of the things that are

happening, even in our everyday lives, a lot of it really revolves on the

science that has taken place in the past.

I remember, as a young boy, watching NASA and watching rockets go up, and

watching the lunar module land on the moon. All fantastic stuff, but anyone who

has kept up an interest in that can follow at a very, very good line where those

advances, where those pushing of the boundaries, have brought us in terms of

technology today. All we have to do is look around at things like microwaves,

computers, laptops, wireless transmission, and miniaturization. All of the

things, all of the benefits that has created in terms of our daily lives, in

terms of our technology, in terms of our health care, all of this can be traced

back to the technology that at its infancy, by today's standards, was very crude

but in fact very leading edge.

I honestly think, Mr. Speaker, that is where this Province is heading, and it

is never a bad thing to be on the leading edge of creating technology where you

know that a void exists, where you know that you have the ability; and, by you I

mean our government supporting our industries and our academic institutions and

our businesses that can recognize there is a very, very tangible benefit at the

back end of making sure that our technology is recognized, evaluated, created,

refined, and finally commercialized to a point where it brings very, very

tangible benefits.

Mr. Speaker, I really look forward to the day and maybe twenty, twenty-five

years down the road, who knows when we can look at this initiative that we

have put forward, Oceans of Opportunities, and we can point to how that allowed

us to advance from a place of thinking we know what is going on, to a place of

actually knowing what is going on, and from there plan and make decisions as to

what is the best utilization of a resource that, quite honestly, I do not think

we really understand.

Mr. Speaker, innovation is a wonderful thing. Innovation comes from

imagination. Innovation comes from people saying: What if, or why not? A lot of

times that innovation comes from and we have seen this pattern over and over

and over innovation comes from young people with good, solid education, with

good, solid technical training being willing to push beyond what their teachers

even thought of or even dreamed of. They take the information they have been

given, that good, solid background, and they move it forward to the benefit of

all involved.

Here in Newfoundland, and more particular in St. John's East, we have the

benefit of one of the premier ocean technology institutes in the world. The

Marine Institute, located on Ridge Road here in St. John's, is certainly a model

that we can all be proud of. Here was an institution that started off as what

was affectionately known as the Cod College. My apologies to Mr. Blackwood - I

know he does not like that term - but it has grown into something that is

worldwide recognized, something that is noted for innovation, for leading edge,

and I would just like to highlight some of the things that go on up there.

Now, in the spirit of honest, Mr. Speaker, I can say that I saw the Marine

Institute being built up there on the hill when I was in university. It was just

this structure; no one knew what it was. No one knew what it was for; it was

just there. For many years, and being born in St. John's, the fisheries was not

the highest priority for what was going on, on Monkstown Road, to be quite

honest with you, but there it was, a wonderful building, nice architecture, the

whole business, but what was it?

Very fortunately, after I was elected in 2007, Mr. Blackwood invited me to

come up and to see just exactly what it was that he had really the privilege of

being in charge of. He took me on a tour of the facility and, to be quite honest

with you, I was blown away. I just cannot believe that the types of things that

are happening up there are happening hundreds of metres just up here from the

Confederation Building.

I would like to take some time now to go through some of the things that they

have been involved in and some of the areas that is going to provide the

foundation. When we look at the advances made in ocean technology and when we

look back in twenty and twenty-five years, we are going to be able to trace that

direct line to the Marine Institute, and in particular, to the School of Ocean

Technology.

The School of Ocean Technology is charged with the responsibility of

developing and delivering education and training, and applied research and

development programs in various aspects of ocean technology. It is probably a

mission statement, but it encapsulates what it is they do and the platform from

which they expand.

The other day the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development talked

about a wheel and about the spokes of the wheel, and very much so, this strategy

is one of those spokes. We are an ocean Province; we understand what goes on.

While, right now, the oil and gas takes most of the headlines, or at least the

positive headlines, we understand the value of the fisheries, this government

understands the value of the fisheries and we are working to make sure that it

is sustainable. Everything we do talks about a time when perhaps oil is not

going to be there as we expect. What is going to go on after oil? Fisheries will

be there.

The School of Ocean Technology has a number of different partnerships which

allows it to go out and to network and to create partnerships with industry,

other governments, our own government, and other academic institutions. One of

those is a signed MOU with the University of Limerick, in Ireland. This focuses

on ocean mapping and underwater vehicles. Now, Mr. Speaker, anyone who has had

the privilege of going up to the Marine Institute when they have the ROV

competition, remotely operated vehicle competition at the Marine Institute, will

see that the opportunity for young people to get turned on to, to become

interested in the whole concept of ROV and the technology and the applications,

will find that this is a wonderful opportunity for young people to say hey,

there is stuff going on here. There is actually a future in this, and it is a

future that will keep our Province on the forefront of ocean technology.

Just this past year, a Marine Institute instructor went on a research mission

with a research boat from Ireland undertaking ocean mapping activity. This

August coming up, another Marine Institute instructor and an ROV student will be

going to Ireland to perform similar work.

Mr. Speaker, we share this continent with the United States and this Eastern

Seaboard with the United States, and in that light and given that we have

similar ocean dynamics in play, the School of Ocean Technology has created some

MOUs with the University of Rhode Island, with the Woods Hole Institute and part

of that is with ROV.

I have a former student from Brother Rice, where I used to teach, who is now

currently down at MIT. I am not sure if he is doing his masters or his doctorate

in ROV technology. I have already had discussions with him. I am already trying

to get him back for when he completes the job. A brilliant young man, and I am

very proud to call him one of my favourite students, and still working on him

coming back to make sure that he is part of this ocean technology. In fact, when

the minister announced the Oceans of Opportunity, I e-mailed the press release

to him right away and said: Let this be a warning, you are on my list.

The Ocean Innovation conference is a national conference sponsored by the

Marine Institute every year. It brings together all of the players from ocean

industries. It has really become a focal point, not only of innovation, but it

has become a focal point of discussion, it has become a focal point of pushing

the envelope and asking what if, and where the participants walk away and say:

You know, that what if, maybe that should turn into a can do.

I should point out that the high school ROV competition is actually part of a

global competition that the Marine Institute is very much a participant of.

There are seventeen ROV competitions that take place across the United States,

in Canada, Hong Kong, and Scotland. Teams from each of these seventeen regions

compete for the chance to go to international competitions. These competitions

provide students with the opportunity to meet up with employers, industry and

educational institutions that will, at some point say, here is a program we

offer, and it will, I think, take like to the students' imaginations to a point

where they will consider going and being part of it.

As the Minister of Justice mentioned earlier, the Marine Institute won the

Distinction in Innovation Award in 2009 for the Export and Innovation Awards.

Again, recognition by this Province, and also through the publicity it

generated, that initiatives like SmartBay are timely, they are topical and that

we need to put forward these types of initiatives if we are going to become

leaders in ocean technology.

Mr. Speaker, we have set out some pretty realistic goals in terms of how we

want to increase the amount of ocean technology, the value of the ocean

technology, when we want to have it by. For what exists now, I do not know that

it will get us there, but through institutions like the Marine Institute, the

fact that they put out students who are innovative, creative, brave, willing to

go beyond the frontiers of what they have learned already, they will become the

people who bring Newfoundland and Labrador to the forefront of ocean technology.

They will bring Newfoundland to the place where, when people have questions

about ocean technology, they will come to our doorstep to see what it is we have

done and what we have to say.

Mr. Speaker, just in conclusion, there are a lot of parallels that can be

drawn with the way that things work whether it be in social situations,

mechanical or physics, but often what happens is if you do something in a harsh

environment, if you train or over train you get results that you can use when

the time is necessary. The type of work, the type of research that we are doing

in the environment that we offer off our coasts will enhance ocean technology,

will push our boundaries to a point where, when we perfect the technologies,

when we perfect the knowledge, and then when we go to export it to places that

do not have such a harsh environment, we will show ourselves as being total

leaders, as being world leaders. When we look back in twenty-five years, I can

say it started here, it started with this government and I am proud to be a part

of it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER (Mr. Kelly): The Chair recognizes the hon. the Leader of the

Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am certainly pleased today to rise and speak to the motion that has been

put forward. However, Mr. Speaker, I hardly feel that the motion is necessary in

the House of Assembly. I think all of us in the Province support ocean

technology. We are a Province that has built ourselves on the ocean and on the

sea. Even before we were able to coin fancy phrases like technology in the

industry, innovation was being used in the oceans and in occupations and

industries associated with the oceans in this Province for a very long time.

Mr. Speaker, the ocean technology sector in Newfoundland and Labrador has, no

doubt, been a growing sector. It has been an initiative that has been the

brainchild of the Harris Institute of Memorial University, in which they have

looked at and studied some various cross sections of businesses that have been

very innovative not only in technology but in scie