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April

1, 2014

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVII No. 11

The House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Wiseman):

Order, please!

Admit strangers.

Statements by Members

MR. SPEAKER:

Today we will have members' statements from the

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

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

the Member for the District of Exploits; the Member for the District of Humber

West; and the Member for the District of Harbour Main.

The hon. the Member for the

District of Cartwright L'Anse au Clair.

MS DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this

hon. House today to recognize a young lady from Red Bay, Labrador, who at the

age of fourteen is already a volunteer extraordinaire in her community.

Michelle Brown attends

Basque Memorial All Grade School in Red Bay, where she volunteers with

anti-violence activities, Kids Eat Smart program, Junior Achievement, DARE

program, seniors' groups, and the Red Bay Recreation Committee.

She also participates in sports and has attended sports camps for soccer

and volleyball.

Now that Red Bay is a UNESCO

World Heritage Site and a preferred destination for cruise ships, Michelle is

very active on the Stakeholder Committee and is part of the welcome committee

for cruise ships. Most recently, she

is sitting on the Red Bay Come Home Year Committee.

She also appeared on the Land and

Sea episode on Red Bay this past weekend.

Michelle has volunteered

with the Janeway since the age of seven, raising over $10,000 since that time.

She has participated in Shave for the Brave in 2013.

Michelle attended the 2011 Regional Youth Leadership Conference and the

Forum for Young Canadians in Ottawa in 2014.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all hon.

members to join me in recognizing Michelle Brown a young lady who is already

making a huge difference in her community.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Bonavista North.

MR. CROSS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is indeed a privilege to

take my place today.

Robert Tulk, Bobby, was

born in 1945 at Dover, but most recognize him as a long-time resident of

Newtown, Bonavista Bay.

Bobby endured a very painful

school experience. Due to a hearing

impairment, his enunciation was affected and he was a target of many an insult.

Even though he left school at Grade 8, books and reading were a daily

passion. After a lengthy experience

as a fisherman, Bob took the moratorium in stride and enrolled in the FFAW

sponsored school at Templeman and, in his fifth decade, he resumed a love affair

with reading and gained confidence finally in his own writing ability.

The opportunity arose for

him to become the community correspondent for the Gander Beacon.

The news from New-Wes-Valley became a growing column, which spawned into

his weekly mini rant on topics of the global village which he called Too

Foolish To Talk About. He also

published two volumes of Tales from the

Kittiwake Coast .

Bob never owned a car, and

rode his thumb everywhere he needed to travel on shore.

On March 13, he hitched his final ride through the pearly gates.

Please join me in a collective condolence to his family.

Rest in peace, Robert Tulk.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS:

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

congratulate several young people from my district who recently attended the

Newfoundland and Labrador Winter Games in Clarenville.

Amanda Dyson, Taylor Jacque,

Dylan Anderson and Sydney Ford from Nunatsiavut displayed their talents in

badminton and came home with the gold.

Erin Gear, Eric O'Brien, and William Forsey from Labrador were part of

the badminton team as well.

Kirsten Dicker, Sophie

Jararuse, Louisa Lampe, and Natasha Pilgrim from Nain won gold in the table

tennis competition.

Mr. Speaker, these young

athletes were part of the Labrador team that garnished the highest number of

medals for a region at the Winter Games.

In the past, athletes from

the North Coast of Labrador were often overlooked because of logistics and were

considered to be non-competitive.

Mr. Speaker, we have proven them wrong on many occasions.

Nunatsiavut athletes can compete with the best and they look forward to

participating in the provincial and national events.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all hon.

members to join me in congratulating the athletes from Nunatsiavut and the rest

of Labrador on their tremendous success at the Newfoundland and Labrador Winter

Games and wish them every success in the future.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Exploits.

MR. FORSEY:

Mr. Speaker, during February 13-15, Bishop's

Falls hosted the Junior Provincial Broomball Championships.

The tournament featured players aged twenty and under.

On Saturday morning, Bishop's Falls defeated St. Anthony by a score of

one to nothing; this advanced Bishop's Falls to the finals against Corner Brook.

Mr. Speaker, in the

championship game the Bishop's Falls boys put up a strong effort and won the

2014 Junior Provincial Championships by another close score of one to nothing,

holding onto the title for the second year in a row.

Bishop's Falls captain,

Tyler Tremblett, was awarded the team MVP; top defenceman Kevin Rose, top

goaltender; Jeff Thornhill, MVP of the playoffs.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all

members of this House to join me in congratulating Bishop's Falls on winning the

Junior Provincial Championships.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Humber West.

MR. GRANTER:

Mr. Speaker, I stand in this hon. House to

congratulate Dean Kean and Pat Fewer on their most recent recognition last fall

by the Corner Brook West Sports Club.

The West Side Sports Club has had a long history of community sport

involvement and at this year's award ceremony recognized these two strong

supporters.

Dean, who is a member of the

executive as well as a member of the Corner Brook West Side Monarchs Senior

Men's Broomball Team, was awarded the Crown of Achievement Award which is

presented to a person or a group who has made outstanding contributions through

service or otherwise during the past year or number of years.

Pat, who is a member of the

West Side Monarchs Senior Men's Soccer Team, was awarded the Terry King Award,

presented in memory of the former monarchs athlete to a person who exemplifies

the combination of sportsmanship, leadership, dedication and effort while

participating on the field of play.

I ask all hon. members to

join with me in congratulating Mr. Dean Kean and Mr. Pat Fewer on their recent

recognition by the Corner Brook West Side Sports Club.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Harbour Main.

MR. HEDDERSON:

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

congratulate forty-three brave souls who participated in the Holyrood Crystal

Carnival Dip on Maloneys Beach on Saturday, March 22, 2014.

Mayor Gary Goobie kicked off

the event, thanking the volunteers for not only taking up the challenge, but

doing it for a good cause. All

proceeds from the event were donated to Heavenly Creatures, a registered charity

dedicated to the care and protection of Newfoundland and Labrador animals.

The chair, Ms Jessica Rendell, accepted a cheque for $10,883.70.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. HEDDERSON:

She thanked the town for organizing the event,

indicating all proceeds would be used to further the aims of her organization.

Mr. Speaker, it was a sight

to see as forty-three scantily attired individuals lined the shore, eagerly

awaiting the count down. At the

count of ten, a stampede ensued and all hurriedly did the customary dip into the

cold waters of the North Atlantic. I

am happy to report all survived, and none the worse for the experience.

Mr. Speaker, I will say that

I am so glad the hon. members will rise and congratulate all members and the

Town of Holyrood for supporting this event in aid of Heavenly Creatures.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by Ministers

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Service NL.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CRUMMELL:

Mr. Speaker, that is a hard act to follow.

I do rise today to recognize

April as Records and Information Management Month in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Effective and proper information management and protection is critically

important to organizations large and small.

It is particularly important for governments because of the types of

information they collect and create.

It also supports our government initiative by making information more readily

available to anyone wishing to see it or to use it.

Guided by the Management of

Information Act and related policy and guidelines issued by the Office of the

Chief Information Officer, public sector information management professionals

play an important role in managing and protecting provincial government

information. This includes the

personal information of citizens collected to provide services to them, as well

as the records that document and inform the business and policies of government.

As Records and Information

Management Month is recognized here and around the world, it is a good time for

all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to think and learn more about managing and

protecting information, both in the workplace and at home.

Some general measures include: understanding the legal requirements

around managing information; setting up a filing system for paper and electronic

records and avoiding keeping duplicate records; completing regular back-ups of

electronic records, and, where appropriate, securely destroying both paper and

electronic records.

It is also a good time to be

mindful of cyber-threats that might jeopardize information.

For example, never reveal usernames or passwords; avoid sending

confidential information via e-mail where possible; be extra vigilant when

viewing unsolicited or suspicious e-mail and never click on unrecognizable or

unfamiliar links or attachments; lock computers and other electronic devices

when not in use; and, ensure that up-to-date security software is installed on

such devices.

In this digital age, the

practice of information management and protection continues to evolve in the

and sophisticated online threats.

Our government will continue

to review new developments and best practices to stay on the leading edge in

managing and protecting information.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount Pearl South.

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

First of all, I would like

to thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to

congratulate all of our public employees working at information management and

record keeping during Records and Information Management Month.

I concur with the minister that this is a great time to bring attention

to the issue of cyber-threats to private information and to ensure that public

institutions, private entities, and people in general are taking the necessary

precautions to protect their private information online.

I note, the minister

indicates in the release that effective and proper information management and

protection support their so-called Open Government Initiative by making

information more readily available to anyone wishing to use it.

As my colleague for The

Straits White Bay North indicated the other day, it is not just important for

government to release information but to release accurate information, which is

not necessarily the case on the government's current Web site.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MR. MURPHY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would also like to thank

the minister for the advance copy of his statement.

Just reading his statement

today, I was wondering about the handling of government information, the way it

has been going. I know the general

public has been susceptible in other areas too.

I know some of the health agencies, for example, had leakages of personal

information over the last couple of years.

I would also like to point out too that Bill 29, that deals with

information people should have readily access to, needs to be dealt with by this

government. I know it is going to be

reviewed by government.

We also have to remember

that in the pursuit of protecting information, sometimes we can become a little

bit overzealous, such as, what I believe what we believe is what we saw in

Bill 29. Hopefully this will be

addressed by government and people will also at the same time be able to avail

of information that they should be privy to.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Municipal and

Intergovernmental Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am pleased to rise today

in this hon. House to provide an update on our Hazardous Material Response

Training program.

As our Province continues to

attract new and diverse industries, it is important for the safety of our

residents that our firefighters are prepared to respond to any type of emergency

situation that they may face, including those involving hazardous materials.

Risks include ammonia leaks, chlorine leaks, and mercury spills.

Mr. Speaker, since 2002, the

provincial government has supported a Hazardous Material Response program in

this Province, involving nine fire departments from the following communities:

Channel-Port aux Basques, Clarenville, Conception Bay South, Corner Brook,

Gander, Grand Falls-Windsor, Labrador City, Marystown, and St. Anthony.

There is also response capacity elsewhere in the Province, including the

St. John's Regional Fire Department, and Serco Facilities Management at 5 Wing

Goose Bay.

In the fiscal year just

ended, Fire and Emergency Services Newfoundland and Labrador committed $62,000

for a ten-day Hazardous Material Technician course that took place in Grand

Falls-Windsor in March of this year that would be last month.

Firefighters from seven communities participated in the course, which

trained eleven new technicians and updated skills for six existing technicians.

Mr. Speaker, participants

were trained in a number of areas, including: scene management; chemical and

physical properties; container identification; personal protective equipment;

and, decontamination of hazardous materials.

These training areas equipped participants with the knowledge and skills

to deal with a host of potential hazardous material situations which they could

face.

Mr. Speaker, we have heard

from the participating fire departments that were seeking predictable, annual

funding support for hazardous materials training.

This government has listened, and through

Budget 2014: Shared Prosperity, Fair

Society, Balanced Outlook , we have responded.

The provincial government is

allocating $120,000 annually, beginning in this fiscal year, to provide

hazardous materials response training to support the fire departments that

manage this necessary program. This

funding will support the ongoing training requirements for these departments,

and will help address their occupational health and safety needs.

In February of this year

also 2014 officials from Fire and Emergency Services Newfoundland and Labrador

participated in an orientation seminar and tabletop exercise in Ottawa,

alongside emergency management representatives from other provinces and

territories. During this session,

each province and territory provided an update on chemical, biological,

radiological- nuclear, and explosive capabilities.

From this discussion, it was clear that Newfoundland and Labrador ranked

highly in capabilities and preparedness when compared with our provincial and

territorial counterparts, and for this we should be very proud.

Mr. Speaker, providing fire

protection and emergency services is a top priority for this government, and

through the financial commitments made in Budget 2014 we will continue our work

to protect and safeguard the residents of this Province.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the District of Bay of

Islands.

MR. JOYCE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for the

advance copy of his statement. We, too,

on this side would like to recognize mostly the volunteers, Mr. Speaker, I might

add. I do not think the word

volunteer was in the minister's statement.

Most of those individuals, some paid, but most of those individuals who

are going through this training are volunteers in our Province.

I must recognize the volunteerism by the people in departments to make

their towns safe.

To the government, I think

we as a government have downloaded, and rightly so at times, because these

people act very professionally, these fire departments, to help in any situation

we can to protect all residents across Newfoundland and Labrador.

This is one step that is being done that was asked for.

I must note that taking the garbage from Corner Brook now and Port aux

Basques out to Central, we are going to need more of this here because there is

going to be more hazardous waste travelling across this Province without proper

consultation and without a proper plan in place for this, Mr. Speaker.

To all the volunteers who

are keeping our towns safe through this program thank you very much.

To all the other firefighters, from

Corner Brook, Gander, and all the other places, thank you very much.

Government, it is a great first step to help in training of this.

We must continue this training because they are keeping our residents and

our people safe, and I think we should continue to support them in any way

possible.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MR. MURPHY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would also like to thank

the minister for the advance copy of his statement.

At the same time when he is talking about hazardous materials training,

the first thing that came to mind, of course, was the volunteer firefighter out

there who is handling and sometimes is probably the first responder at some of

these sites wherever a spill occurs of hazardous material.

One thing that occurred to

me, and it is question again that I will ask the minister in Estimates later on

this evening, is about the training for some of these volunteer firefighters who

are out there responding. Sometimes

we have trouble getting the volunteer firefighters to a course.

Sometimes I think government should have the consideration, too, of

bringing the course to some of the volunteer firefighters.

We know sometimes they do a job for absolutely nothing and they deserve

our undying gratitude when it comes to that, so hopefully government will

consider that.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yesterday, the Premier said

the Muskrat Falls Project will pay $3 billion in dividends to the Province in

the year 2040 that is one year but Nalcor's own documents to the PUB show a

profit of $517 million in the year 2040.

I ask the Premier: Will you

please clarify the difference of the $2.5 billion that was presented yesterday?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER MARSHALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I became aware last night

that there was an error in my comments.

I was answering a question on borrowing and we talked about the $1

billion. You had asked me what we

were borrowing the money for and I said that part of it was to pay off two debt

issues that were coming due that had been taken out years ago.

I also talked about half a billion dollars, $551 million in

infrastructure investment, and I also started to talk about the investment in

Nalcor for oil and gas and Muskrat Falls.

The figures I was referring

to were for all of Nalcor. I

inadvertently used the word Muskrat Falls, but it is all of Nalcor.

I talked about how the investment that is being made in a company that is

owned by the people of Newfoundland will pay dividends and create wealth for the

people in the future.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I accept the apology from

the Premier that in fact the numbers were wrong, but these are the same people

we depend on to make big budget commitments.

Mr. Speaker, accurate information from any government is important.

This is one of the reasons why we have asked for the oversight committee

on the Muskrat Falls Project to include the AG.

I ask the Premier: Will you

revisit this as well and bring the AG into the oversight process for Nalcor?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER MARSHALL:

First of all, the half-a-billion-dollar figure was right.

It is actually $450 million in 2019.

The figure was right. It is

coming from Nalcor. If I said

Muskrat Falls that was through inadvertence.

The other night when you

were being interviewed here you referred to the Finance Minister as Tom

Marshall. We all make mistakes.

The numbers are right.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER MARSHALL:

I do not know how you could have mixed the two of us up.

Mr. Speaker, with respect to

the AG, the AG is an independent officer of this House.

As government, we do not order the AG what to do.

I have a great respect for the AG.

I know him; I have great respect for him and his predecessor.

The AG is welcome to go into any government office and any Crown

corporation, including Nalcor, anytime he wishes to do so.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We all know that the AG can

go into Nalcor; we all know how the reporting process works when the AG goes

into Nalcor on his own. What we are

asking for is to include the AG as part of the oversight process so that we do

get his impact in what is happening in the external oversight, I say, Mr.

Premier.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of

Health is saying the former Abitibi mill will be torn down this year and that

the tender for the work will be released soon; but when we asked the Minister of

Transportation and Works yesterday, he was noncommittal.

I ask the minister: Will the

former Abitibi mill be demolished this year and, if so, at what cost?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Transportation and

Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. MCGRATH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, as I stated

yesterday, there are several projects that are the property of the government

that are being considered for demolition, the Grand Falls Abitibi mill being one

of those. We prioritize those.

The mill is on the top of the priority.

I am very surprised.

Yesterday I did not get into it deep, but I am surprised that someone

with such a strong business background would not know the difference, that you

cannot release prices when something is going to be tendered until after it is

tendered. It would defeat the

purpose of the tendering process.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Absolutely, I say to the minister, but you have

to know that you are out there on record as saying you would expect this cost to

be $100 million. That is the number

that has been out there for quite some time, which includes the environmental

impact.

Environmental costs at this

site have been estimated, as I said, to be about $100 million because of the

government's botched expropriation of the Abitibi mill.

The taxpayers of this Province are certainly on the hook, so we need to

know the timeline for this. People

in Central Newfoundland the minister is on record for this.

Is this something that will

be done this year, I say to the minister?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Transportation and

Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. MCGRATH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, as I stated

before, right now we are in the process of talking with different companies and

organizations that have shown a great interest in the Abitibi mill.

We have narrowed it down now to two or three possible prospects, and we

are going through the process of dealing with them.

As soon as we make our decisions, then we will start the process.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In November, the Minister of

Natural Resources said that Harvest Energy was in phase two of selling the

refinery in Come By Chance. In

January, it was revealed that a Swiss group is considering buying the facility,

but no details have been released.

I ask the minister: What is

the status of the takeover of the Come By Chance refinery?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Yes, Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question from

the hon. member. We are not in a

position to reveal any details, other than to say the company continues to work

with other proponents who have an interest in the refinery.

We are optimistic we will see some conclusion soon.

Suffice it to say there are no details available as to the negotiations

between the owners of the refinery and interested parties.

Outside of that, we are not in a position to make information public.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MR. KIRBY:

Mr. Speaker, according to

The Telegram newspaper, the government

provided $10,000 to the School Bus Operators Association so they could hire the

past-president of the PC Party to lobby government about their concerns.

I ask the Minister of

Education: When you approved the $10,000 grant, did you know that the consultant

hired by the association had such close ties to the PC Party?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Education.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, I guess the question would be is Mr.

Lundrigan qualified?

Mr. Speaker, we have been

working with the School Bus Operators Association certainly since I have come

into this department in two-and-a-half years, and I know that ministers previous

have been trying to find a solution.

I make no apologies in providing support to see if we can find a solution to

this annual problem.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MR. KIRBY:

Mr. Speaker, all this seems very suspicious.

A former PC Party president hired on the advice of a senior PC Cabinet

minister to lobby his own government, all through the use of public funds

provided by the Minister of Education.

I ask the minister: How do

you justify using your department's funds to pay a high-level PC Party member to

lobby you about school transportation?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Education.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, anyone who has followed the busing

situation over the past number of years knows that every September we have this

annual problem. Usually it starts in

around the spring. I have met

personally with this association on numerous occasions.

Mr. Speaker, it was up to

the association who they hired. I believe

the total amount they invested was $36,000, so they put $26,000 into it

themselves. We offered up a support

to see if we could find a solution to this.

Who they chose as their consultant was entirely up to them.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MR. KIRBY:

Mr. Speaker, the school bus operators have

When they asked how they could raise their concerns, it was suggested

that the operators pay $100 per ticket for five-minute meetings with Cabinet

ministers at a PC Party fundraiser.

I ask the Premier: How does

paying for access to Cabinet ministers square with your idea of open government,

or is it open wallet?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Education.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, absolutely untrue.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, I have been to political events, I

have been to other events when people have come up and raised concerns of their

various associations. They ask, can

we get a meeting with you? They will

preliminarily discuss their item then we set up a meeting afterwards.

I can outline for the hon.

member a list of things that we have tried to do with this association over the

number of years, Mr. Speaker. They

have asked us to extend their contracts by five years, and we did.

When fuel prices were rising, we put in an escalator clause to help

offset the cost of that.

Documentation was always an

issue for these operators. Through

working with them we found solutions to that.

Mr. Speaker, we are working to find a solution.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount Pearl South.

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, when I asked

school board to develop more suitable options for the Mount Pearl school system

than the ones promised he refused, saying he did not want to interfere.

I ask the minister: Since

you were willing to interfere and hand-pick the board, can you now provide the

financial support needed to arrive at options that better suit the Mount Pearl

school community?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Education.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, the board is going through a

process. They have met with the

parents. There is a meeting that is

coming up; they will again discuss with the parent community what are the best

options to go forward. They will lay

them on the table before the board.

Mr. Speaker, we have not

interfered with a process previous and we will not.

We are not putting limitations on the district.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount Pearl South.

MR. LANE:

Mr. Speaker, I am not asking him to interfere

with the process. I am asking for

some financial flexibility which they do not have.

At the same time the minister refused to provide financial support to the

Mount Pearl school system; ironically he listed all the money he put into

schools in other communities, which are all good investments.

Mr. Speaker, will he now

provide that same level of support to the Mount Pearl school system so they too

can have the benefit of more suitable options than the ones on the table?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Education.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, in all of the schools that we have

constructed and all the major renovations that we have carried out, it went

through a process. This is going

through the same process, nothing different.

The board is meeting with

the parent community. They will lay

out the plan, a vote will be taken.

Mr. Speaker, as I have said to him I do not know if the man is just not getting

it or whatnot, we have not placed limitations on the board.

They will roll out their plan.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. JACKMAN:

Hopefully, one day, Mr. Speaker I thought he

understood it on this side, but, hopefully, now that he has crossed the floor he

will come to understand that on the other side as well.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, government's ambulance review was released in 2013.

Centralized dispatch is a critical component to improving service

delivery and it will cost roughly $5 million.

The consultant said that central dispatch should be up and running in

spring 2015 and that this was a very doable timeline.

I ask the minister: Given

you have only budgeted $400,000 towards central dispatch this year, will

dispatch be up and running in spring 2015?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community

Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, central

dispatch is in fact central to all that we will do in terms of providing a more

efficient ambulance service here in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

We have budgeted money in this Budget to start the study and do the

preliminary work on that.

Until the study is done, it

is premature to say exactly when we will have things up and running.

We understand the importance of it, and we are working forward to ensure

that we can do that as quickly as we can.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, they just paid consultants who said this could be done in

spring 2015 and what the cost was.

I ask the minister again,

can you confirm: Will this be done in spring 2015 like your consultant said it

should be?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community

Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, once again I

will tell the member opposite, we understand the importance of this, we are

working towards that. When we nail

down an exact date then we will have them asking questions of us as soon as they

get the chance next year.

Our plan is to do this as

efficiently, as effectively, and as quickly as we possibly can.

Our job is not to rush it so that we meet a target date.

Our job is to do it right and make sure we have the best central dispatch

that we can possibly afford the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, that is what we will work toward.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS:

Mr. Speaker, we acknowledge that the

administration of justice in Canada's North is challenging, which is why it

requires additional resources to function properly.

The justice system in Labrador is on the verge of collapse because the

necessary resources are not in place.

I ask the Attorney General:

When will you finally take responsibility as the Attorney General for the

collapse of the justice system in Labrador?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Attorney General.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. F. COLLINS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

With respect to investments

in the Labrador justice system, this government has made significant investments

in the justice system in Labrador in recent years.

As a matter of fact, there have been no cuts, which have been suggested,

Mr. Speaker, to the Crown Prosecutor's Office.

We added one in Budget 2013.

There have been no recent cuts in Legal Aid.

We have made significant investments in a new Supreme Courthouse,

renovations to the Wabush courthouse, twenty new policing positions in Labrador,

a provincial court judge in Wabush, upgrades to video-conferencing equipment,

and permanent Aboriginal court clerks.

We have continued to invest and we will continue to do so, to make sure

everybody has reasonable access to justice in Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS:

A clean courthouse, Mr. Speaker, and no action.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday in

the House, the Attorney General stated, the criminal litigation process is the

responsibility of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

I remind the Attorney General that he is responsible for the Director of

Public Prosecutions. Justice in

Labrador is collapsing under this government's watch.

I ask the Attorney General:

Why is he washing his hands of the justice system in Labrador and blaming

somebody else for the mess?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Attorney General.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. F. COLLINS:

Mr. Speaker, there is a set of parameters and protocols that governs

criminal litigation. It is governed

by the parameters of the Criminal Code of Canada.

It is governed by the parameters of recent case law.

It is governed by the particular circumstances of individual cases and

presentations made by the parties in court.

The judge makes the decision based on all of this consideration.

That is something that is set.

The same protocols are followed in Labrador as it is in Newfoundland and

as it is in every other province in Canada.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Cartwright L'Anse au

Clair.

MS DEMPSTER:

Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, this year's

budget for Advanced Education and Skills quoted numbers from Budget 2013 that do

not match up with the actual budget for 2013.

In fact, completely different numbers are stated for 2013 than were

actually budgeted last year. In

Estimates yesterday, when asked the minister said he changed the numbers from

last year because of departmental reorganization.

I ask the minister: Will you

table an Estimates document that actually reveals how almost $1 billion in

taxpayers' money was spent?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Advanced Education and

Skills.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. O'BRIEN:

Mr. Speaker, with a budget of about $1.5 billion,

including Newfoundland and Labrador Housing, we try to get every dollar we

possibly can out the doors of Advanced Education and Skills to support our

students in this Province, to support the most vulnerable in our Province, and

to support people in this Province in each and every way they want to avail of

the services within Advanced Education and Skills.

I explained to the hon.

member yesterday in Estimates that, yes, we did have to make an adjustment in

regard to this year's Estimates. The

simple fact is we reorganized the department.

We collapsed certain divisions, three into one, two into one, whatever it

may be, and it is reflected in the estimate, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Cartwright L'Anse au

Clair.

MS DEMPSTER:

Mr. Speaker, we are just looking to get a copy of

those Estimates tabled.

Mr. Speaker, three years ago

the Department of Advanced Education and Skills released a report that

anticipated 70,000 job openings in the Province by 2020.

Last year, the ADM for Workforce Development and Immigration stated those

numbers are now outdated. In

Estimates yesterday, the minister was unable to say when those numbers would be

revised.

I ask the minister: When

will you release updated labour market information so employers and students can

better plan for their future?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Advanced Education and

Skills.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. O'BRIEN:

Mr. Speaker, we support people in this Province

who want to avail of the great opportunity that this government has created, the

economy that this government has created.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. O'BRIEN:

Mr. Speaker, we will continue to do so.

As I explained to the hon.

member yesterday in Estimates, that 70,000 job openings by 2020 is actually a

moving target. That is over a period

of time. We are not going to see

70,000 jobs in 2020, Mr. Speaker. We

are going to see that over the next five or six years when we bring things to

fruition, such as Alderon, the Alderon investment in Lab West, such as Muskrat

Falls and all the other big items we have in the hopper, Mr. Speaker, that the

people of this Province can avail of, and have meaningful lives.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon. the Member for St.

John's South.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, in April, 2012,

Inclusion.

Equality. This strategy was

to guide departments across government to prevent and remove barriers.

One of the concepts outlined in the strategy was to promote a design of

visit ability, including a barrier free entrance, wider doorways and accessible

washrooms.

I ask the minister:

Considering the strategy is two years old, how many housing units have been

renovated since the strategy was introduced to make them more accessible?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Advanced Education and

Skills.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. O'BRIEN:

Nine million dollars' worth, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MR. OSBORNE:

Maybe I am not great at math, Mr. Speaker, but I

will ask the minister again.

How many housing units were

refurbished, renovated, to make them more accessible?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Advanced Education and

Skills.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. O'BRIEN:

Nine million dollars' worth, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MR. OSBORNE:

Now, Mr. Speaker, the minister can play cute if

he wants, but the people of this Province who need accessible housing units are

watching today. The people of this

Province who need accessible housing units are not impressed with that type of

answer.

I will ask him again: How

many housing units have been renovated or remodeled to make them more accessible

since this strategy was put in place?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Advanced Education and

Skills.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. O'BRIEN:

Mr. Speaker, playing cute.

I take exception to the hon. member referring to me as playing cute in

this House today because he certainly played cute yesterday using a constituent

for his own means in regard to political means in this House, Mr. Speaker, when

I was absolutely trying to help that particular person.

I will answer his question,

Mr. Speaker. We have a little over a

thousand units in this Province that support seniors, in regard to having

disabilities alone within our inventory in Newfoundland and Labrador Housing, I

say to the hon. member.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. member for a quick question without any

preamble.

MR. OSBORNE:

Mr. Speaker, I asked the minister responsible how

many housing units have been renovated since this strategy was implemented to

make them more accessible.

I will ask him: How many

housing units

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

I asked the member to be

very quick.

The hon. the Minister of

Advanced Education and Skills for his response, very quickly, please.

MR. O'BRIEN:

Mr. Speaker, we continue to support seniors and

people with disabilities in this Province.

As a matter of fact, I referenced in Estimates yesterday, $600,000 in

Mr. Speaker

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

In today's media, the

Minister of Education says he is grappling for a solution regarding school bus

contracts and is willing to sit with anyone who can show him how to make it

work.

I ask the minister: Why not

put effort into coming up with a solution rather than contributing money to a

lobbying process forced on the School Bus Operators Association?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Education.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, as I said previous, I believe I have

met with this group more than I have met with any group since I have come into

government, and that is about trying to find a solution to this annual problem.

We have sat with them, we have found solutions to many of the issues,

but, Mr. Speaker, the one that we are grappling with is the requirement seeking

more money. This is a tendering

process, Mr. Speaker. We cannot

simply open up tenders after the fact.

Mr. Speaker, as I have said,

and I said in The Telegram , I am more

than willing to sit with anyone, and if we can come up with a solution here I am

more than willing to support that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I ask the minister: Does he

think that encouraging operators to buy $100 a plate dinner tickets to get a

chance to talk to politicians is an open and transparent process?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of

Education.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, it is up to individuals what tickets

they buy and what events they go to.

Mr. Speaker, I have been to numerous events where people have approached and

discussed certain issues and we have set up meetings afterwards.

I will do this with this group, as I have done with many other groups.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I say to the minister, the

group was advised to buy the tickets and go to that dinner.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the

Premier noted he expects the Muskrat Falls

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS MICHAEL:

hydro project to return half a billion dollars

a year to the Province in 2019 and by 2041, $3 billion a year.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the

Premier: Can he show us documentation that backs up his statement?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER MARSHALL:

Mr. Speaker, this government under the leadership of Premier Williams

and Premier Dunderdale set out a strategy, set out a plan, to bring wealth to

the people of this Province. It is

being done through a vehicle called the Newfoundland and Labrador energy

(inaudible)

AN HON. MEMBER:

(Inaudible).

PREMIER MARSHALL:

I am delighted you asked, because it is time you learned.

That company, Nalcor, has

invested in oil and gas, where it is in our interest to do so.

It has also invested in electricity and it has invested in Muskrat Falls.

That investment will pay off.

You cannot get anything out until you put it in, and like the oil companies and

the electrical monopolies that make a lot of money, it is time the people of

Newfoundland who own the assets, who own the water, who own the power, who own

the oil and gas, it is time they got wealth out of it, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I ask the Premier: Will his

new oversight committee of bureaucrats have access to the information so that

they can determine what we are going to get from it?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER MARSHALL:

Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, one thing I

have learned since I have been in this House is that the more information we

give to the people of the Province, they will be able to tell us better what

they want and that will help us make better decisions.

I want more information to go to the people of the Province, they own the

assets, they own the water, they own the power, they own the oil and gas, they

own the trees, and they own the land.

It is their assets; they should know what is going on.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Will the Premier ignore Bill

29 so that the people of the Province and the committee reviewing the work will

get the information they need?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER MARSHALL:

Mr. Speaker, the ATIPP legislation was brought in when the members

opposite were in office. They did

not proclaim it. They did not have

to live under it. They brought it in

and kind of left it there.

We proclaimed it and we have

lived under that legislation. It

called for a statutory review after five years.

A statutory review took place; recommendations were made with Bill 29.

People have concerns about Bill 29 so we have established a blue-ribbon

panel to go out and tell us, to do the research, go ask whatever they want to do

and then come and tell us. I am not

going to prejudge what they are going to say, but maybe they are not going to

say revoke it. Maybe they will say

there are some good things in it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MR. MURPHY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

What is this government's

plan for the Wilderness and Ecological Reserves Advisory Council?

It has been long enough now; the committee has not met since 2006?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Environment and

Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS SHEA:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, one of the

priorities that I had when I became Minister of Environment was to ensure that

the WERAC was activated. There had

been a number of people who sent in their names in interest or referrals came

in, and I felt at that time there was not sufficient youth representation on

WERAC.

We have since gone out and

solicited people who may be interested to put their names forward.

Mr. Speaker, I would think probably in the next couple of weeks we will

be able to announce the new appointees to the WERAC.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MR. MURPHY:

Mr. Speaker, I have it on good authority that the

WERAC, if it was in place, that it would be issuing an opinion on the Big

Triangle Pond project.

What is the minister using

to get an opinion as to whether this project of exploration, or any other,

should be going ahead?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Environment and

Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS SHEA:

Mr. Speaker, the environmental assessment process

allows public input into any of the decisions that lead into an environmental

assessment. Whether an individual in

Newfoundland and Labrador, which there would only be eleven on WERAC, but there

are 500,000 others, along with those eleven, who can provide input through the

public consultation process for an environmental assessment.

So, Mr. Speaker, no one person has to be a member of any committee.

We certainly welcome submissions from anybody in this Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St. East, for a quite

question without

preamble.

MR. MURPHY:

Mr. Speaker, in the Budget they announced $2

million for the clearing of brush.

Are they still intent on using chemicals at the roadside for brush clearing?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Transportation and

Works, for a quick response.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. MCGRATH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the $2 million

that is put aside for brush clearing will be used for brush clearing.

Then it will be decided, through another

department, whether or not they will use chemicals.

MR. SPEAKER:

The time for Question Period has expired.

Present Report 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. the Member for St. John's North.

MR. KIRBY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of

Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled,

the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland and Labrador humbly

sheweth:

WHEREAS autism spectrum

disorder has been estimated to occur in as many as one in eighty-eight children;

and

WHEREAS individualized and

intensive early interventions are important for improving outcomes for children

with autism; and

WHEREAS long wait-lists are

forcing many parents to wait up to two years before their children receive

needed pediatric assessments and diagnostic services; and

WHEREAS the Intensive

Applied Behavioural Analysis Program is not available for children after Grade

3, while research supports the use of applied behavioural analysis throughout

the lifespan; and

WHEREAS a co-ordinated

multi-agency approach among key government departments and agencies is need to

ensure that individuals with autism spectrum disorder are provided with services

that will promote independent living; and

WHEREAS a comprehensive

Province-wide strategy for autism spectrum disorder will decrease the lifetime

costs of treating and providing services for persons with autism;

WHEREUPON the undersigned,

your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House of Assembly to develop a

comprehensive Province-wide strategy for autism spectrum disorder in

consultation with parents, advocates, educators, health care providers, and

experts in the autism community.

As in duty bound, your

petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, this petition,

it looks like we have petitioners from around Labrador City on this particular

one and I note that this petition, I have presented it on a number of

occasions before, it continues to come in and people are interested in a more

co-ordinated way of dealing with the issues associated with autism.

It is interesting that the prevalence in here says one in eighty-eight

children, but I think the Centre for Disease Control in the United States

actually said last week that the prevalence is actually higher than that.

I know government did

provide a couple of things in the Budget this year there was not a lot.

I know they talked about hiring another developmental pediatrician who

could do diagnoses and help shorten the waitlist, but the proof is in the

pudding. That is going to take some

time to do, and we will have to wait and see if there is any evidence that the

wait-list will actually be reduced.

I also note that tomorrow is

World Autism Awareness Day, and there will be a demonstration here in front of

the Confederation Building prior to us taking our seats here in the House of

Assembly tomorrow to bring attention to this particular issue.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the District of Bay of

Islands.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JOYCE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again I present a petition

to this House on behalf of the residents of Western Newfoundland:

WHEREAS we wish to raise

concerns regarding the recent delays of the construction of the new hospital in

Corner Brook, Newfoundland;

WHEREUPON the undersigned,

your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge the

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to commit to the planning and

construction of a new hospital in Corner Brook as previously committed and in a

timely manner as originally announced without further delay or changes.

Mr. Speaker, once again, I

have petitions from people from all over, from Lark Harbour, Pasadena, and in

the Corner Brook area. This is a

petition I have been presenting for a while, and I presented one yesterday.

I heard some disturbing

comments from the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Health.

I do not know if she is speaking on behalf of the Minister of Health, Mr.

Speaker. After I presented the

petition yesterday and I challenged the people to come out to the meeting, I was

being called a fool.

Mr. Speaker, I take those

comments rather personally. When the

Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Health is calling me a fool for

presenting petitions on behalf of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, I

take it rather personally.

Mr. Speaker, I find it

insulting to the people of Western Newfoundland that I cannot stand in this

House and I have yet to see the Member for Humber West or the Member for

Humber East presenting these petitions also on their behalf.

Yet this government and this Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of

Health who we had a meeting planned with the oncologists.

We had meetings with oncologists from all across Canada.

The only one that was cancelled was through the minister's department,

through the minister's office somehow.

She is saying she had nothing to do with it.

It was here in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Here we have a minister's

office cancelling meetings they were not even invited to and were not notified

of. Now we have the minister's

Parliamentary Assistant calling me a fool for presenting petitions?

That just shows how insulting it is, Mr. Speaker, to the people of

Western Newfoundland. I find it

insulting when we are trying to get information for those people.

I find it rather insulting and I take it personally.

Like I said before, if the

Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Health and Member for Terra Nova

wants to come out and tell the people of Western Newfoundland I am a fool, there

is a meeting on April 24. Here is

your opportunity. Hide behind the

minister, but if you want to call me a fool for doing this on behalf of the

people of Western Newfoundland and Labrador come out and say it to their face.

If not, sit down and give them the proper information, Mr. Speaker,

because this is a very serious issue.

I do not care who calls me a fool, I will stand there every day and

present the information, Mr. Speaker, until I get the right answers.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

Your time has expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MS ROGERS:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of

Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled,

the petition of the undersigned residents humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS with the passage of

Bill 29, the Access To Information and Protection of Privacy (Amendment) Act,

the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has weakened citizen's access to

information and has reduced government transparency; and

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador has moved towards greater secrecy and less openness;

and

WHEREAS the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador is breaking its own commitment for greater

transparency, accountability and freedom of information, which it said at one

time was the hallmark of its government;

WHEREUPON the undersigned,

your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge the

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to repeal the passage of Bill 29.

And as in duty bound, your

petitioners -

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The Speaker has recognized

the Member for St. John's Centre to present a petition.

While other members want to carry on a conversation across the floor of

the House, I would ask them to take their conversation outside.

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS ROGERS:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

To finish up this petition:

WHEREAS the undersigned,

your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge the

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to repeal the passage of Bill 29

And as in duty bound, your

petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, I have stood up

in this House on numerous occasions since Bill 29 was first passed in this

House, and one wonders does Bill 29 affect the lives of the people of our

Province. Does Bill 29 affect how we

govern as legislators in this House?

I would say absolutely.

Since Bill 29 the democratic

deficit that this government faces has increased.

It has increased because we do not have all-party standing committees.

Because we do not have all-party standing committees, a place where

information is given, citizens and experts can testify, members of all three

parties are there to look at specific issues that really affect people's lives,

then that information is public.

How this government is

operating, Mr. Speaker, is that any kind of information and it is all about

government listening. This

government says they are open and transparent and that they want to listen.

They are talking over every single word I say right now.

This is about the lives of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador

We cannot get information.

For instance, we cannot get information on why the Minister of Justice

closed the Family Violence Intervention Court.

There was a report done, but if we had all-party standing committees we

would know on what basis decisions were made.

We would have the information; we would be listening to the people of the

Province. We would be listening to

experts on issues that affect the very lives of the people of the Province.

For that reason, Mr. Speaker, I ask that this government repeal Bill 29.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount Pearl South.

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

A petition to the House of

Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled,

the petition of the undersigned residents humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS there are many

individuals within our Province who have mobility issues; and

WHEREAS it is extremely

important as an inclusive society to ensure appropriate access to both public

and private facilities and institutions; and

WHEREAS a key component in

the provision of access for a person with mobility issues is the provision of

regulated blue zones; and

WHEREAS our provincial

government implemented new blue zone regulations two years ago but has failed to

adequately enforce them; and

WHEREAS this failure of our

government to adequately enforce blue zone regulations has resulted in continued

denial of appropriate access for persons with disabilities to many public and

private facilities;

WHEREUPON the undersigned,

your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge the

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to start enforcing its blue zone

regulations in order to provide appropriate access for persons with mobility

issues;

And as in duty bound, your

petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, we presented

this now a number of times. We will

continue to do so. All you have to

do now is look outside today, on a stormy day, a wintery day, and in particular

it really drives home the point behind the petition, the point behind the

legislation really, when it was drafted and passed unanimously in this House of

Assembly.

If you were a person today

with a disability and you went looking for the blue zone you would not be able

to find it because it would be covered in snow.

You, as the individual looking for the blue zone could not find it.

You, as an individual who does not require a blue zone could possibly end

up parking in the blue zone because they cannot see it, it is covered in snow.

Hence, the reason why the regulation was put in place that for every blue

zone there would be permanent signage put in place.

Mr. Speaker, there are

numerous properties throughout the Province, certainly throughout this region,

the city, and the general area that are not in compliance.

We are asking the minister to take further action to bring us in

compliance with our own legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I do not even see any major cost to it.

I am sure it is not even going to interfere with the Minister of

Finance's billion-dollar shopping spree.

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Cartwright L'Anse au

Clair.

MS DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of

Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled,

the petition of the undersigned humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS the Strait of Belle

Isle is a very important transportation link between Labrador and the Island of

Newfoundland; and

WHEREAS both commercial and

residential traffic is continuously increasing because of the opening of the

Trans-Labrador Highway and increased development in Labrador; and

WHEREAS the existing ferry

service can no longer effectively handle the traffic; and

WHEREAS there have been many

interruptions in the ferry service, especially during the 2014 winter seasons;

WHEREUPON the undersigned,

your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge the

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to complete a comprehensive feasibility

study for a fixed link across the Strait of Belle Isle that would include a

geological assessment and a full cost analysis.

As in duty bound, your

petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, Tom Kierans, I

think he lived to be 100, and right up until the day he died he advocated very,

very strongly for a fixed link across the Strait of Belle Isle.

This year we have had a

really, really difficult year with ferries, where in January, February and March

people have been disrupted. They

have been out of pocket hundreds and thousands of dollars because of the ferry

woes.

We look at Norway and we see

that they have over 900 tunnels. We

are spending millions of dollars, Mr. Speaker, in ferries.

The ice is unprecedented. How

long are we going to continue? This

is impacting tourism, it is impacting medical, and it is impacting businesses.

I know the minister stood

the other day and said we have an Air Foodlift Subsidy.

By the time I got back to my office, I had a call from a businessman who

runs a bakery flour is one of the examples. Flour

is very essential in a business like a bakery, yet that is not included in the

Air Foodlift Subsidy.

So all of the stuff, Mr.

Speaker, is just a band-aid solution; it is not getting at the problem.

We have $1 billion that is going in a subsea cable across the Strait of

Belle Isle and because there was no vision and no planning, sadly that is not

running through a tunnel when it could be.

It is time, Mr. Speaker, to

get at these figures.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS DEMPSTER:

We have a prefeasibility study eight years ago;

those figures are now dated. It is time

for us to look at this once and for all and see.

People are telling us it is going to cost less than $500 million.

Let's have a look at that and let's see.

Somebody mentioned today

that I am not smiling enough here in the House.

I can tell you, I am not here to play house and smile; we have big

issues. The people elected me to try

to get to the bottom and to try to be instrumental in bringing some positive

change, especially to Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair, but it very, very difficult,

the travel arrangement that we have right now.

I drove over a mud highway to fly in here on Sunday and when I got to

Goose Bay, I could not even get out of vehicle (inaudible)

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The member's time has

expired.

The hon. the Member for St.

Barbe.

MR. BENNETT:

Mr. Speaker, to the hon. House of Assembly of the

Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of

the undersigned humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS there is no

cellphone service in the Town of Trout River, which is an enclave in the

community in Gros Morne National Park; and

WHEREAS visitors to Gros

Morne National Park, more than 100,000 annually, expect to communicate by

cellphone when they visit the park; and

WHEREAS cellphone service

has become a very important aspect of everyday living for residents; and

WHEREAS cellphone service is

an essential safety tool for visitors and residents; and

WHEREAS cellphone service is

essential for business development;

WHEREUPON the undersigned,

your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge the

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to partner with the private sector to

extend cellphone coverage throughout Gros Morne National Park and the enclave

community of Trout River.

As in duty bound, your

petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, I was in Trout

River on Saturday for most of the afternoon and one of the serious issues for

people in a community that is not as remote as it is isolated it is isolated

because you have to go through Trout River Gulch from the Woody Point area.

The signs say when the lights are flashing the road is closed, and the

road is closed in this kind of weather fairly often.

The snow level immediately

inland from Trout River is measured by the roadside markers; the snow is higher

than the markers. In fact, I would

suspect that Transportation and Works may have to invest in twelve-foot markers

next year because the snow is up past the eight-foot markers.

So if you cannot find an eight-foot tall marker, then you know there is a

fair bit of snow in that area.

Mr. Speaker, in meeting with

constituents in Trout River on Saturday afternoon, I found myself in a situation

of running late for appointments on other side into the Bonne Bay area.

When you are sitting in the home of a constituent, somebody who is on

Income Support and it is no disgrace to be on Income Support; it is fortunate

that they have Income Support to look after them.

How do I say to them I would like to use your telephone to make a long

distance call so that I can tell other people that I am going to be late because

I have a cellphone, a government-issued cellphone, sitting here that I cannot

use, and I would expect this person on Income Support to support my telephone

call to say I am late for an appointment?

That is the type of obstacle

that the people in Trout River face on a daily basis.

When 911 becomes widespread through the Province, they will be left

behind. They certainly feel like

they are being left behind, and this petition is on their behalf.

I did ask them to get more petitions when

I was there.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I have a petition.

To the hon. House of

Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled,

the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland and Labrador humbly

sheweth:

WHEREAS hundreds of

residents of the Southwest Coast of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador,

including residents of Margaree, Fox Roost, Isle aux Morts, Burnt Islands, Rose

Blanche-Harbour Le Cou, Diamond Cove, and La Poile use Route 470 on a regular

basis for work, medical, educational, and social reasons; and

WHEREAS there is no

cellphone coverage on Route 470; and

WHEREAS residents and users

of Route 470 require cellphone coverage to ensure their safety and communication

abilities; and

WHEREAS the Department of

IBRD announced significant funding to improve broadband services in rural

Newfoundland and Labrador; and

WHEREAS the residents and

users of Route 470 feel that the department should also invest in cellphone

coverage for rural Newfoundland and Labrador;

WHEREUPON the undersigned,

your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge the

government to support the users of Route 470 in their request to obtain

cellphone coverage along Route 470.

As in duty bound, your

petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, this is a

petition I have presented before on numerous occasions, but I felt today I had

to put it in again. I just received

a Facebook message, actually, from a constituent in Rose Blanche who told me

about the night of March 26. This is

a citizen who lives in Rose Blanche, but he spent the night of March 26 sleeping

in his truck that was blocked in by snow on Route 470.

Now, it would have been

fine, but the fact is we know plows cannot get back and forth.

The weather has been unusually bad.

He could not make a phone call and he was stuck there in that truck all

night. God forbid if there was an

emergency situation and this person had a health issue.

Thankfully, he did not. He

made it home okay, but I am coming back to the same story here.

This is not just a want any

more; this is a need. We have people

who are being trapped and the next thing you know I am going to be presenting

this petition and talking about someone who has lost their life because they

could not access this cellphone that should be natural.

Now, we all have them.

They should be able to be used everywhere.

I have asked for information

on this repeatedly. I have received

none. People want service; they need

it. If not, we are going to have

something terrible happen. Thank God

this individual from Rose Blanche made it out safe.

I say this today: I have

roadways in my district that are blocked in with snow.

We have people who cannot get back and forth.

There is not enough equipment on the roads to take care of this snow.

We have people with emergency situations that cannot get to the hospital.

I have people who are losing days of work because they cannot get over

this road. Again, all of that pales

in comparison to the person who gets stuck and cannot use their phone to call.

If an emergency comes up, somebody is going to be liable for it.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for The Straits White Bay

North.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of

Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled,

the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland and Labrador humbly

sheweth:

WHEREAS Labrador-Grenfell

Health employs a nurse practitioner at St. Anthony able to take appointments and

operate a full scope of practice for which nurse practitioners are licensed to

operate; and

WHEREAS Western Health at

Port Saunders and Norris Point on the Great Northern Peninsula has similar nurse

practitioner practices; and

WHEREAS nurse practitioners

have advanced education and training beyond the Registered Nurse level and

provide comprehensive care ranging from health promotion and prevention to

diagnosis and treatment, including ordering diagnostic tests, prescribing

pharmaceuticals, and performing procedures within a legislated scope of

practice; and

WHEREAS nurse practitioners

are alleviating physician shortages in rural areas across Canada and

Newfoundland and Labrador by operating clinical practices in collaboration with

physicians and other health practitioners, leading to better access to service

and shorter wait times;

WHEREAS residents from

Eddies Cove East to Reefs Harbour deserve to have regular nurse practitioner

clinics that is available to other residents of the Great Northern Peninsula;

WHEREUPON the undersigned,

your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge

government to ensure that a nurse practitioner clinical practice be established

at the Strait of Belle Isle Health Centre to be fully integrated with clinical

practices of physicians.

As in duty bound, your

petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, we see that our

health care budget is just shy of $3 billion in this Province, in Newfoundland

and Labrador, and we have at the Strait of Belle Isle Health Centre in Flower's

Cove a nurse practitioner that can certainly practice the full scope, and there

are many instances where there is not a full complement of physicians.

To have better health outcomes we could have a regular nurse practitioner

clinic operating Monday to Friday, and this would help provide a better

continuity of care to those who are utilizing the service at the Strait of Belle

Isle Health Centre.

We have this established in

St. Anthony. It is established in

Port Saunders, and other areas. This

is a great opportunity for the Minister of Health and Community Services to look

at implementing nurse practitioner clinics at Labrador-Grenfell Health at the

Strait of Belle Isle Health Centre.

It will save money, and it will improve health outcomes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I have a

petition. To the hon. House of

Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled,

the petition of the undersigned residents humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS there is a waste

recovery facility being proposed by Eastern Waste Management in the Peak Pond

Reids Pond area; and

WHEREAS such a site will

drastically impact the pond and general area in a negative way from an

environmental perspective; and

WHEREAS there are many

species of wildlife that will be negatively impacted by such a site, such as

moose, rabbit, loons, ducks, Canada geese, et cetera; and

WHEREAS such a site will

result in litter and strong odours in the general area; and

WHEREAS there are a

significant number of cabins and permanent homes in the Peak Pond and Reids Pond

area which will be negatively impacted by this site; and

WHEREAS Eastern Waste

Management has many sites available to them for such a facility, including

former dumpsites in the area;

WHEREUPON the undersigned,

your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge the

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to intercede in this matter and advise

Eastern Waste Management to withdraw the proposal and find a more suitable

location for this waste recovery facility.

As in duty bound your

petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, there is a

concern with this site because the site is approximately 100 feet from a pond.

The site not only with concerns of leachate from the site getting into

the pond, Mr. Speaker, but because of permanent residents and cabin owners in

the area we are asking that government and Eastern Waste Management look for an

area that is more suitable, that is not in very close proximity to cabin owners,

the homeowners in the area.

Mr. Speaker, we are

concerned because this facility will attract rodents.

It will attract other animals.

It will attract nuisance animals to the area.

There are children who use that pond and families who use that pond for

recreational purposes, Mr. Speaker.

There are children and families in the area who would be negatively impacted by

rodents and nuisance animals in that particular area, not to mention the odour

that may come from that facility which would have a negative impact on the

enjoyment of those who are living in the area and those who have recreational

cottages in the area.

Mr. Speaker, I ask

government to reconsider and to intercede, and ask Eastern Waste Management to

reconsider this particular proposal and to look for an area this is a much

needed proposal, but it is not needed in this particular area.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MS ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of

Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled,

the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland and Labrador humbly

sheweth:

WHEREAS the Family Violence

Intervention Court provided a comprehensive approach to domestic violence in a

court setting that fully understood and dealt with the complex issues of

domestic violence; and

WHEREAS domestic violence

continues to be one of the most serious issues facing our Province today and the

cost of the impact of domestic violence is great both economically and in human

suffering; and

WHEREAS the Family Violence

Intervention Court was welcomed and endorsed by all aspects of the justice

system including the police, the courts, prosecutors, defence counsel, Child,

Youth and Family Services, as well as victims, offenders, community agencies and

women's groups; and

WHEREAS the recidivism rate

for offenders going through the court was 10 per cent compared to 40 per cent

for those who did not; and

WHEREAS the budget for the

court was only 0.2 per cent of the entire budget of the Department of Justice;

WHEREUPON the undersigned,

your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge

government to reinstate the Family Violence Intervention Court.

As in duty bound, your

petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, this particular

part of the petition I have been presenting, I do not know how many times.

I am sure I can almost repeat it in my

sleep. I know the members across the

floor have heard me stand and present this on behalf of the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador several times.

Perhaps they even could repeat it in their sleep.

This is signed by folks from Norris Point, from Baie Verte, from

Peterview, and from St. John's.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I

stood up and I presented this same petition again.

What I said was that it was a mystery because so many people I encounter

keep wondering. They shake their

head and they wonder: Why was this court closed?

Why was it cut when it was so effective and was such an effective tool in

the area of domestic violence?

Last week, the Minister of

Justice said in a press conference that perhaps the decision was not made in the

best interest of the courts. I

raised this in the House and he said I was wrong, that he had not said that,

when in fact I have testimony here that is what he did say.

This past week, there was a

continuing education session that was sponsored by the Law Society of

Newfoundland and Labrador. The

participants there, from judges to lawyers, were talking about this court and

how important it is. Mr. Speaker, it

is a mystery.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

First of all, I want to do

something upfront I forgot yesterday.

I just remind members of the House that tomorrow, Wednesday, April 2, the

Social Services Committee for Estimates will meet here in the House at 9:00 a.m.

to review the Estimates of the Department of Child, Youth and Family Services.

Also, the Government

Services Estimates Committee will meet tomorrow in the House at 5:30 to review

the Estimates of the Department of Finance and Treasury Board.

This afternoon, the Social

Services Committee will review the Estimates of the Department of Municipal and

Intergovernmental Affairs, commencing 6:00 p.m. right here in the House.

Right now, Mr. Speaker, I

would like to call from the Order Paper Motion 7.

I move, seconded by the Minister of Environment and Conservation, the

following resolution:

WHEREAS subsection 20(7) of

the House of Assembly Accountability, Integrity and Administration Act provides

that a change to the level of amounts of allowances and resources provided to

members not be made except in accordance with a rule that has been first laid

before the House of Assembly and adopted by resolution of the House; and

WHEREAS an amendment to the

Members' Resources and Allowances Rules, which would change the level of the

amounts of allowances and resources has been laid before the House by the

Speaker;

THEREFORE

BE IT RESOLVED

that this hon. House of Assembly adopt the amendment to the Members' Resources

and Allowances Rules, as approved by the Management Commission of this House on

March 13, 2014 and tabled by the Speaker of this House on March 31, 2014.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House Leader, to the

motion.

MR. KING:

Yes, I will speak to the motion, Mr. Speaker, for

a few moments. I want to thank you

very much.

Just to give a little bit of

context to those who are following the debate either here or at home, Mr.

Speaker, the House of Assembly Management Commission is a group or a committee,

if you will, that is represented by all three parties in the Legislature here:

the government, the Progressive Conservative Party; the Opposition Liberal

Party, the Official Opposition; and the New Democratic Party.

The Management Commission

has a broad range of responsibilities, but in effect it is about running the

affairs of the House. So, it would

deal with members' benefits and allowances, policies, procedures, regulations,

those kinds of things that affect all members of this House and the House of

Assembly itself.

With respect to the

resolution today, an issue was brought before the Management Commission.

Just by way of some process background, the Management Commission would

have had an issue presented to it; the issue today in particular, of course, is

on travel allocations per district.

That would have been debated at the Management Commission meeting.

For the benefit again of the people who are paying attention to the

debate, it would have been debated, a decision would have been made by the

Management Commission, and the process requires that the decision, the document

if you will, be tabled here in the House of Assembly as you did on March 31.

It also requires a full

debate in the House of Assembly and support of this entire House before the

change that the Management Commission is recommending can actually be

implemented. That is why we are in

this particular debate today.

I want to just share some of

that by way of process. What we are

talking about today is a small piece of the Members' Resources and Allowances

Rules. In particular, it is

Schedule

A which talks about the intra-constituency allowances of members.

That schedule, Mr. Speaker, essentially lays out a dollar figure of what

each member of this particular House of Assembly is allocated.

It also talks about, under

section 38, further details on eligible

expenses; for example, what members can claim for travel allowances, for living

allowances, and any other pertinent allowances that members are allowed to claim

as part of their daily work on behalf of the people of the Province and the

people of their district when they are travelling within their own particular

district. It also makes reference to

the ability of a member to claim some outside of district travel if it is for

business related to representing a constituent in some manner or another, or

constituency business.

The resolution that we are

bringing forward today basically deals, in particular, with the dollar value

the budget total, I should say, for each of the forty-eight districts in the

Province. I want to say again, just

to be clear, what we are doing is we are realigning some of the allocations for

some of the districts. So, in some

districts that I will present to you in a moment, there will be a reduction in

their budget; in some other districts, there will be an increase.

That is a result of a piece of research that we had conducted by staff

here from the House of Assembly who looked at the past number of years and the

trends, and how much of the budget allocation members were spending over the

past number of years.

What it revealed, Mr.

Speaker, is in some cases there are a number of districts here, based on the

kilometres that members have to travel, that really maxed out the budget and

members were really being challenged to live within the budget and still serve

the needs of their constituents; while, at the same time, there are other

districts within the Province where there was an extremely high dollar figure

attached to the budget, and at no time were members able or showing that they

were spending even close to, in some cases, 50 per cent or 60 per cent of the

budget.

The changes we are making

today, they are a budgetary decision with respect to allocations per district,

but it is all within the overall budget that is allocated within the House of

Assembly. So, in other words, there

is no increase in the overall travel budget for members; it is just a

rearranging of the allocation per district within the global budget, Mr.

Speaker. I want to just make sure

that people understand that. There

is no budget increase here in the big budget of members' travel; it is just a

reallocation. So we are seeing some

districts reduced in their travel allowances, and others increased.

Specifically, for the

record, there is a document I do not think I need to table it, I think it is

probably already with the Clerk; but for the benefit of anyone who want to see

it, the document is a public document.

The affected districts that we are going to discuss and vote on today are

as follows: Baie Verte Springdale district will see an increase of $1,800 in

the budget; the District of Grand Falls-Windsor Green Bay South will see an

increase of $700; the District of Terra Nova will be increased by $2,500; and

The Straits White Bay North will be increased by $2,500.

In addition, Mr. Speaker, there are four districts: the District of

Conception Bay South, Humber West, Kilbride, and Labrador West will all be

decreased by $1,100.

Mr. Speaker, as I said a few

moments ago, what we are talking about is a global budget dollar amount that is

attached to members' travel, that has not changed if memory serves me, it is

has not changed for the seven years I have been here.

I think when the budget was set, probably with the Green report, if I am

not mistaken, that budget has not changed.

What we are doing is we are essentially moving money around within that

budget to help members who require extra travel assistance to better serve their

constituents, recognizing, in other areas where there are reductions, members

have not been using even close to the full amount of the budgetary allocation.

So, Mr. Speaker, with that,

on behalf of the members of our party and members of government, I am very

pleased to stand in support of this motion and urge my colleagues, as well, to

vote in favour of the motion.

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Opposition House Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the member opposite

for his opening commentary on this resolution.

To provide some backdrop, I guess, I am speaking as the Opposition House

Leader; I have only been here since the October 2011 election.

I know the member opposite has been here longer, and I under the Leader

of the Third Party have been here and is going to speak to this she may have a

better understanding or grasp of the entire time.

What I can say is that it

seems to be a very simple notion, in that since the time the Green report came

out and we looked at the allocations of travel that were allotted to each

member, what we now have and I guess I have to give credit here to the staff

who did the analysis of over seven years' time of travel patterns what we

realized is that the allocation may not be realistic with what people are

actually travelling; and that could be due to travel habits, that could be due

to actual size of districts, roadway, et cetera.

So what we had is we had

certain members who were going over 80 per cent of their travel budget.

Some people were actually hitting 100 per cent and some people, I know,

actually exceeding the amount of actual travel and going into their own pocket

to do the travel necessary with the job.

Again, we have gone back and we have a great record of this, done by the

staff, and I appreciate that, to show that in certain cases we needed to

increase the allowance that was provided to these members.

The Government House Leader

stated that it is the Districts of Baie Verte Springdale, The Straits White

Bay North, Grand Falls -Windsor Green Bay South, and Terra Nova.

Just to give you an idea, I know the monetary amount was there, but for

instance, Baie Verte Springdale had an allocation of 15,000 kilometers; now it

is 20,000. If you look at the chart,

every year prior to that the member for that district was hitting that mark.

On the flip side of that, you had districts where due to size of roads

and maybe if there is a Cabinet minister there, et cetera they were not coming

anywhere near close to the allocation.

What we have done here, there have been requests to increase certain and

in return we are going to decrease certain districts.

The part that I really think

is important to get out there is twofold.

Number one, since the Green report we are doing this on camera, here in

the House of Assembly. It is all

recorded. It shows the openness and

transparency that I think is incumbent on us and necessary since the release of

the Green report. Anybody who can

watch this despair we need to show integrity.

It was a tough time. I do not need

to get into that, but going forward we need to show the decisions that are made:

How do we get there? We are showing

this.

I would say to people out

there, if they ever have questions on expenditures and expenses, everything is

online. You can look at how I

travel, where I travel, when I travel, and the cost for said travel.

We need to put that out there so the public can be maintained, that the

integrity is there and people can see, look, everything is happening for a

reason and it is above board is the main thing. I

want to put that out there that these changes are happening on the record as it

should be.

The second part; and I

thought this was very important. We

talk about expenditures and how much money is spent.

The big thing to me, too, was that should the district allowances be

adjusted as outlined and it is being proposed here there would be a net

budgetary impact of $3,100 which can be absorbed within existing budgetary

allocations. To me that is important

here.

For the amount that it is

increasing, there is almost an equivalent decrease, therefore it is not costing

taxpayers any more than was already allocated, and I think taxpayers want to

know that. It is not a case of

people getting extra money to travel, it is a case of taking these allowances

that are put out there and making sure they are accurate, which we have been

able to do through tracking this over seven years.

I want to make sure that is out there.

It is something we all go

through. I do not think it can be

sometimes I think you have to be in this job to really realize the amount of

travel that goes into it and how important it is for people, especially outside.

It is important in the capital region but take anybody who services a

rural district or has to travel a lot.

Travel is a part of the job.

You have to do it. It is necessary

to do it, so therefore we have to have something that is reasonable and makes

sense.

This might be something that

comes up again down the road as new members come in, as districts may be

realigned in the future. These

things need to be changed. Chief

Green came in and made his allocations but we have now had the benefit of time

and experience to show if there is necessary changes.

When it comes to making

claims, all this travel is reasonable.

It is necessary, and is proven to be necessary.

We all go through a very rigorous claims process in putting this forward.

Everything is checked, double-checked, and triple checked to make sure it

falls within the guidelines that Chief Justice Green laid out.

So I think that it is important that this be on the record.

I think the member opposite

laid out why we are doing this. I

think I have added a little bit to that. I

do not think I need to go on any further.

Obviously, we as the Official Opposition will be joining in supporting

this resolution that needs to be made.

I think it is going to help us do a better job, and at the same time do a

better job of representing people in this Province without there being extra

expenditure of funds, which is obviously very important to taxpayers in this

Province.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I am glad to have the

opportunity to stand today and to make some comments with regard to the

resolution that is before the House.

I am not going to repeat everything that has been said by my two colleagues.

I am sure people have been listening to them as well.

When people go to Hansard, if they want to check on this they will be

able to read everything that was said prior to what I say.

So I will not do a lot of repetition, but I do think it is important to

repeat what the role of the House Management Commission is.

It is a serious

responsibility that members of the House Management Commission hold, because

they are responsible for maintaining the integrity of the process that we went

through beginning in 2006, when Chief Justice Green first took on the role of

Commissioner to study the whole situation of members' salaries and

disbursements, et cetera, at a time when we had been through a very rough time

here in this Province with regard to what turned out to be, in some cases,

actually illegal use of public funds.

That process which began with Chief Justice Green continued over the year

and a half and resulted in a wonderful piece of legislation which is the House

of Assembly Accountability, Integrity and Administration Act.

First of all, it is the

House Management Commission that has the responsibility to study on a regular

basis the disbursements that happen in this House, to study those disbursements

and to monitor them according to the regulations that come out of the

legislation. The legislation itself

is very descriptive and prescriptive, but besides the prescriptions that are in

the legislation, there are other regulations as well that this House has

approved. The House Management

Commission has the job to make sure that we are living up to the regulations,

living up to the prescriptions of the legislation; yet, even with the work of

the Commission, everything still has to come back to this House for final

approval.

The work we did with regard

to the intra-constituency allowances and the work that was done by the House

management staff, because they did the bulk of the work in figuring out how much

was being spent in the various districts and if there were any anomalies or

something that did not look logical to do that work and then to bring it to

the House Management Commission.

We then took that

information, analyzed it, and discussed in an open process, open to the public

and with cameras on us so that everybody could access the information we were

looking at. If anybody to this day

wants to, they can go and find those reports as well, the reports of our

meetings. We then took in that open

process the information that was prepared for us by the staff and came to the

conclusion that the recommendations they were making were very logical.

I think it is very important

we know that Commissioner Green understood the report he would make and

recommendations he would make back in 2007, the spirit of them would be

maintained but there might be, over the years, details that would have to

change. For example, changing the

actual amount of the allowances under the intra-constituency travel.

It is our responsibility to continually monitor to keep things up to date

so the MHAs can do their work, and do the work their constituents expect of

them.

I really liked the process

that the staff used to try to determine whether or not there were sufficient

monies allowed in each district. In

actual fact, what they found was that the kilometrage was not always correct,

adjusting for correct kilometrage, and also using logic.

For example, the one I am going to pick and I hope my colleague from

the District of Kilbride will not mind my picking on his.

The District of Kilbride,

which is within the City of St. John's, in actual fact, had a larger amount of

money allowed for it than the other districts within the capital city.

When you looked at the travel that was done by the member for that area,

it was the same as what was happening in the other districts in the capital city

area. So it did not make sense that

the District of Kilbride had more money attached to it than the others.

That was the kind of thing

we did. As I said, it was openly

discussed in the Commission. We are

now openly discussing it here again today.

I am sure that the public listening to us will understand why we are

agreeing to these changes for the districts that have been outlined by the

Government House Leader and the Opposition House Leader, and will also

understand that in making these changes we are not in any way changing the

overall budget line. We are just

reassembling the money throughout the districts where changes needed to happen.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I

will take my seat and will look forward to voting for this resolution.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

You have all heard the

motion.

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, nay'.

Motion carried.

On motion, resolution

carried.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

At this time I would like to

call from the Order Paper under second reading, Order 5, second reading of a

bill,

An Act To Repeal The Printing Services Act, Bill 5.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Service Newfoundland and

Labrador.

MR. CRUMMELL:

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Member for

Cape St. Francis, that Bill 5,

An Act To Repeal The Printing Services Act, now

be given a second reading.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that Bill 5,

An Act To

Repeal The Printing Services Act, be now read a second time.

Motion, second reading of a

bill,

An Act To Repeal The Printing Services Act.

(Bill 5)

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Service Newfoundland and

Labrador.

MR. CRUMMELL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, in terms of

legislation Service NL is responsible for approximately 180 statues and

regulations, standards, and codes of practice.

When it comes to legislation, our department has one of the most

extensive portfolios in all of government.

As such, we are continually reviewing, updating, and performing general

housekeeping measures to ensure our legislation is current and meets the needs

of our citizens. As part of this

ongoing review, it was discovered that the Printing Services Act was still on

the books but it is outdated and no longer required.

Mr. Speaker, Service

Newfoundland and Labrador is responsible for the Office of the Queen's Printer

and the Printing and Micrographic Services division, which handles printing

services for the provincial government.

The functions and responsibilities of the Queen's Printer and division

are outlined under the Works, Services and Transportation Act including the

requirements to publish the Newfoundland and Labrador Gazette, official

government reports and other documents, legislation and regulations, other

orders and anything else directed by government.

Mr. Speaker, these functions

continue on a daily basis and we are very proud and appreciative of the high

quality and efficient work that our staff at Printing and Micrographic Services

and the Office of the Queen's Printer do to support this essential work,

especially their support of the work of this House.

The Printing Services Act,

on the other hand, was created in 1996 for a very specific purpose; that being

to facilitate a potential agreement for the provision of printing, microfilming,

and electronic services for government by the private sector.

It is my understanding that this legislation was created to specifically

exempt any potential agreement with Kodak Canada Incorporated for these services

from the provisions of the Public Tender Act, provided the agreement was entered

into within thirty days.

Mr. Speaker, I understand

that this measure was undertaken as a result of a proposal brought forward by

the private sector to establish a document imaging centre that they had

indicated had the potential to offer substantial savings to government and bring

new business to the Province, which could in turn have had a positive impact on

the local printing industry. It was

this latter potential benefit on local industry, which I am again given to

understand because it was 1996, under the Liberal Administration almost twenty

years ago that was the rationale for seeking an exemption from the Public

Tender Act.

Mr. Speaker, I also

understand that for a number of reasons the agreement did not come into fruition

and the thirty-day expiry date outlining the Printing Services Act passed and,

as such, the act is defunct and needs to be repealed.

Again, this is very much a housekeeping matter.

It is something that in our research we found was still on the books and

it is just a simple procedure here today, Mr. Speaker, to repeal the act.

As such, Mr. Speaker, I

propose that the Printing Services Act be repealed.

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER (Verge):

The hon. the Member for Mount Pearl South.

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am not going to be very

long in my comments. I think the

minister explained that it is simply a piece of housekeeping really to remove

this act which is no longer applicable.

I would note, though, before I sit down that exemptions from the Public

Tender Act certainly is something that has continued on in recent times through

this government, as we have seen by the AG's report with Eastern Health and so

on. Certainly, that is something

that we want to see remedied for sure.

With that said, Mr. Speaker,

I will take my place and we certainly support this piece of legislation.

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Cape St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to thank the

minister for giving me the opportunity to get up today and say a few words on

Bill 5.

Mr. Speaker, this bill,

Printing Services Act, was introduced back in 1996 and basically it was with a

company called Kodak to have them come in and do special services at the Queen's

Printer. Back in 1996, I had the

opportunity I used to work with a company similar to Kodak, called Cannon, and

did a lot of work at the Queen's Printer.

Back then what used to happen were the companies used to come in and they

would offer services that would take care of everything you were doing in

whatever it was, microfilms, printing, or whatever needed to be done at the

time. They would come in and they

would offer the complete services and take over.

I guess that is the reason government looked at a company like Kodak to

come in and take over that.

Mr. Speaker, I had the

opportunity to work with a lot of people down in the Queen's Printer and I am

sure today the same expertise and the same quality is there.

I know Mr. Tucker was the person in charge back in 1996 and I used to

spend a lot of time in there. I was

the one who used to come in and take care of all of the colour machines that

were down at the Queen's Printer.

The one thing that amazed me

the most was how dedicated these people were.

There were documents that had to be out the next day and there would be

no doubt that you would see the people working down in the Queen's Printer

office until 12:00 o'clock, 1:00 o'clock some nights, and even all night long

just to make sure the documents got out the next day.

Mr. Speaker, like I said, they would be there until late in the mornings

making sure everything got out and everything got out on time.

Their quality and the quality of work they did were amazing.

We have some great public

employees here in government.

Sometimes it is nice to be able to get up and recognize them.

Today I am really happy to be able to get up and speak a little bit on

this bill and recognize our workers down in the Queen's Printer.

I know there are a few of them still down there; Judy, Don, Arlene, and

the whole lot of them are still down there working.

I used to be always amazed with their quality of work and their

dedication to this government. I

think today is an opportunity for me just to get up and say what I saw and the

quality of their work.

Mr. Speaker, when it comes

to printing services, microfilms, and stuff like this, like I said, back in 1996

there were a lot of companies out there that basically offered this service.

I think whatever happened at the day, Kodak must have fallen through

because it was only thirty days they had to do this agreement.

Again, all we are doing is

just taking this bill off the table altogether and repealing it.

I will be fully supportive of this bill.

It gives me the opportunity just to get up here today and to thank the

people who are down in the Queen's Printer for the great job they do, the hard

work they do, the dedication they have, and the quality of work they do, Mr.

Speaker.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MR. MURPHY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is a pleasure to rise in

the House today to have a few words to say on this bill.

At the same time, to the minister, I would like to thank his staff for

the briefing on this bill and what the purpose of this bill is.

As was said at the briefing, we did not get enough time to pour up a

coffee on this one. Recognizing it

for what it is, it is the repeal of a bill, but it did have a few questions for

me. I thought this was kind of

interesting at this particular time, because, Mr. Speaker, I said to myself,

government back in 1996 saw fit to entertain a proposal by a private company

in this particular case Kodak. I am

still doing some research on this one by the way.

I have asked staff to look

this one up, about the actual process of how Kodak ended up being a supplier of

a service to government when there were so many other companies out there, just

for argument sake, to see if everything was done properly when it comes to

procurement. Because at that time I

can particularly note three other manufacturers of paper products, for example,

and microfilming. I can think of

Polaroid, I can think of Minolta, I can think of Fuji that was out there in the

markets as well.

I do not know, while one

would be happy in seeing the repeal of this act, that is one of the things I had

noted. Then I came upon this one.

I will ask the minister again about the new procurement act we are

still waiting for it and hopefully, Mr. Speaker, I can see where there are

times when government will take a proposal, for example, for something that

would be unsolicited by government in an attempt for a company to go ahead and

pursue the sale up, a particular service or a product.

It may be good for the

taxpayer, it may be good for the consumer out there, but at the same time, what

is going to happen in the procurement process in the future?

Government may be able to save themselves in a process like this, where

they entertained the Kodak company at the time and we know what happened to

Kodak of course, with modern changing times I guess and with the changes to the

Internet and the printing industry and everything, it has found itself in some

severe difficulties.

What is going to happen to

the new procurement act, and when are we going to see that?

Because at the same time, while one company might entertain something for

the sale of a particular item, a service, hopefully government will be able to

look at other companies out there that are also offering that same service.

While we agree with the act

itself, with this one being repealed, it still brings a number of questions as

regards to the advent of the new act, to the new procurement act.

Hopefully, we will see that one coming up shortly.

That is about all I have to say on this one.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

If the hon. the Minister of Service NL speaks now he will close the debate.

The hon. the Minister of

Service NL.

MR. CRUMMELL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

First of all, I would like

to thank my colleague from Cape St. Francis for his very kind words for the

people who work in the Queen's Printer's office.

Thank you very much for that.

I am sure they appreciate that. I

would certainly like to thank the Member for St. John's East.

I would just like to say a

few words about the public tendering process and the new public procurement act

we are working on, and working very diligently on, Mr. Speaker.

We are getting very close to being able to bring it to the floor of the

House. We have had a (inaudible)

experience under the strategic procurement project where we used new processes

to make sure the taxpayers' dollars are being used more wisely in public

procurement. We are taking those

learnings and incorporating it into the new act.

It is a Blue Book commitment

that we made, Mr. Speaker, and within our term we said we would bring it to the

floor of the House. I am confident

in standing up here today and saying that we will be bringing this to the floor

of the House in the future, so you can mark that down.

Mr. Speaker, I would just

like to reference something the Member for Mount Pearl South referred to in

terms of this piece of legislation that came into place was unique and it is

an interesting piece of legislation.

We are not sure why exactly, what happened.

I think we will probably have to go back through Hansard to see exactly

what happened here. There were

questions that were raised, but that was twenty years ago under another

Administration.

With regard to public tender

exceptions, Mr. Speaker, that the Member for Mount Pearl South referenced.

He mentioned the Auditor General has mentioned a couple of times in his

reports about exceptions and he has called them out, but the reality of the

situation is this, public tender exceptions are rarely used, Mr. Speaker.

The AG report clearly shows that tender exceptions account for less than

2 per cent of the annual expenditures.

These exceptions, Mr. Speaker, are only done under very strict situations

and conditions. It is outlined in

the Public Tender Act.

The Public Tender Act is a

good act, Mr. Speaker. It was good

for its time, but the advancement of procurement in this Province is what the

new procurement act is going to be all about, and we certainly look forward to

putting that to the floor of the House.

The strict condition that we

want to reference is due to sole-sourcing, where there is a pressing emergency.

That happens on occasion, Mr. Speaker, when we have a hurricane and we

have to put a bridge in, or we need a piece of equipment that only one vender

can provide to the government. That

does happen on occasion. It

represents less than 2 per cent of our purchasing.

Mr. Speaker, there is

nothing untoward going on with our procurement in our government right now.

I know for sure that when we bring this new act to the floor of the House

it will be a solid piece of legislation.

It is going to be well researched.

It will be a benefit to all in the Province, Mr. Speaker, and certainly

for the taxpayers. I look forward to

the day when we do bring that into the House of Assembly.

Mr. Speaker, the repeal of

this act is pretty straightforward.

I will just leave it with my colleagues in the House to approve it.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

Is it the pleasure of the

House that the said bill be now read a second time?

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, nay'.

Carried.

CLERK:

A bill,

An Act To Repeal The Printing Services Act.

(Bill 5)

MR. SPEAKER:

This bill has now been read a second time.

When shall the bill be

referred to a Committee of the Whole House?

MR. KING:

Now.

MR. SPEAKER:

Now.

On motion, a bill,

An Act

To Repeal The Printing Services Act, read a second time, ordered referred to a

Committee of the Whole presently, by leave.

(Bill 5)

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

At this time I move,

seconded by the Minister of Environment and Conservation, that the House resolve

itself into a Committee of the Whole to consider Bill 5,

An Act To Repeal The

Printing Services Act.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that I do now leave the

Chair for the House to resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole to consider

the said bill.

Is it the pleasure of the

House to adopt the motion?

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, nay'.

Carried.

On motion, that the House

resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole, Mr. Speaker left the Chair.

Committee of the Whole

CHAIR (Littlejohn):

Order, please!

We are now considering Bill

5,

An Act To Repeal The Printing Services Act.

A bill,

An Act To Repeal

The Printing Services Act. (Bill 5)

CHAIR:

The Clerk.

CLERK:

Clause 1.

CHAIR:

Shall clause 1 carry?

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

CHAIR:

All those against, nay'.

Carried.

On motion, clause 1 carried.

CLERK:

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant Governor and House of Assembly in Legislative

session convened as follows.

CHAIR:

Shall the enacting clause carry?

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

CHAIR:

All those against, nay'.

Carried.

On motion, enacting clause

carried.

CLERK:

A bill,

An Act To Repeal The Printing Services Act.

CHAIR:

Shall the title carry?

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

CHAIR:

All those against, nay'.

Carried.

On motion, title carried.

CHAIR:

Shall I report the bill without amendment?

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

CHAIR:

All those against, nay'.

Carried.

Motion, that the Committee

report having passed the bill without amendment, carried.

CHAIR:

The hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. KING:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I move that the Committee

rise and report Bill 5 without amendment.

CHAIR:

It is moved by the hon. Government House Leader that we rise and report the bill

without amendment.

On motion, that the

Committee rise, report progress and ask leave to sit again, Mr. Speaker returned

to the Chair.

MR. SPEAKER (Verge):

Order, please!

The hon. the Member for Port

de Grave.

MR. LITTLEJOHN:

Mr. Speaker, the Committee of the Whole have considered the matters to

them referred and have directed me to report Bill 5 without amendment.

MR. SPEAKER:

The Chair of the Committee of the Whole reports

that the Committee have considered the matters to them referred and have

directed him to report Bill 5 without amendment.

When shall the report be

received?

MR. KING:

Now.

MR. SPEAKER:

Now.

When shall the said bill be

read a third time?

MR. KING:

Tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

Tomorrow.

On motion, report received

and adopted. Bill ordered read a

third time on tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

At this time I would like to

call from the Order Paper, Motion 1, to move that the House approves in general

the budgetary policy of the government, the Budget speech.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is my privilege to stand

again and to speak to the Budget speak, actually, to the non-confidence motion

that we tabled yesterday. The reason

why we did this is because going through the Budget process, as I mentioned

yesterday in my first opportunity to speak to the Budget, there were some

concerns for us as the Official Opposition about presenting a fiscally

responsible program and the non-confidence motion, as it reads, present a

fiscally responsible program which addresses the immediate economic problems of

rural areas of our Province as well as the serious social needs that exist in

this Provi