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March 26, 2015 HOUSE

OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVII No. 68

The

House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Verge):

Order, please!

Admit strangers.

I am

pleased to welcome to the public gallery today Miss Gina Hartmann,

Information Officer with Epilepsy Newfoundland & Labrador, and Gail Dempsey,

the Executive Director.

Welcome to the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Today I would also like

to recognize and to welcome four individuals in the Speaker's gallery:

Shalyn Rousseau, Derrick Lepine, Damien Bolingbroke, and Krystal Lewis

thank you, Krystal, for having that easy name.

They

are all visiting from the Saskatchewan Legislature Internship Program.

During their visit here they will be meeting with representatives

from our Legislature, as well as select ministries, departments, and

independent agencies related to their research topics.

Welcome to the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

Statements by

Members

MR. SPEAKER:

Today we will hear

members' statements from the Members for the Districts of Humber East,

Exploits, Port de Grave, Torngat Mountains, Labrador West, and Bay of

Islands.

The

hon. the Member for Humber East.

MR. FLYNN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, I rise today to commend the Corner Brook Rotary Music Festival,

which recently ran from March 13-24.

This year marks the fifty-third edition of the festival and during

the years since its inception in 1962, the Corner Brook Rotary Music

Festival have been nurturing and promoting the musical talents of young

people from Corner Brook and surrounding area.

This

year, Mr. Speaker, the Corner Brook Rotary Music Festival awarded

approximately $11,000 in cash and prizes, including a $2,000 scholarship

awarded to a student who will pursue further study in a registered music

program.

Congratulations to this year's winner, Stephen Eckert.

I would also like to extend congratulations to the winners in the

Rose Bowl competition: Rebecca Davis in the senior category, and Gina

Spencer in the junior category.

ask all hon. members to join me in offering sincere congratulations to the

Corner Brook Rotary Club, the Festival Committee (President, Mr. Bernd

Steaben, his executive and other directors), all the volunteers and

sponsors, and most importantly, the young participants, on another very

successful Corner Brook Rotary Music Festival.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

the District of Exploits.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. FORSEY:

Mr. Speaker, Kirsten

Dalley of Bishops Fall's is this year's recipient of the Lester B. Pearson

Scholarship for Newfoundland and Labrador.

She is being recognized for her outstanding academic achievement and

exceptional volunteer activities.

Kirsten is very passionate about volunteering, such as fundraising for the

Ronald McDonald House. She ran a

campaign against bullying called Silence for Change, and is involved in the

many other community activities.

She says being part of the community is very important the stronger the

people, the stronger the community.

Mr.

Speaker, the Lester B. Pearson Scholarship is valued at $80,000 for two

years of pre-university study at Pearson College, a United World College in

Victoria, BC.

ask all members of this House to join me, along with Kirsten's family and

community, in congratulating Kirsten Dalley on receiving this outstanding

achievement award, the Lester B. Pearson Scholarship.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

the District of Port de Grave.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. LITTLEJOHN:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

would like to congratulate Anna Mercer of Coley's Point, a Grade 8 student

of Amalgamated Academy and the 2015 Junior Rose Bowl winner at this year's

Kiwanis Music Festival held in Carbonear.

Through the guidance of her vocal teacher Sonya Gosse, Anna amazed audiences

with her larger-than-life vocal performances singing songs in Latin, German,

Leonard Bernstein.

Anna

Mercer is a wonderful example of Newfoundland and Labrador's rich tradition

of music. She comes from a

musical family with her grandfather being a fiddler and traditional music

champion, Rendell Mercer. Like

her pop, Anna is an active fiddle player and takes

part in her school's

award-winning traditional music program.

Anna

musicians perform. Her

performances have received in excess of 15,000 views on her YouTube channel.

Anna

Mercer is a shining example of how our young people are taking ownership of

our rich musical culture, building on strong family and community traditions

and bringing our music into the twenty-first century.

ask all hon. members to rise with me and wish Anna all the best as she

continues her musical journey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

the District of Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS:

Mr. Speaker, I rise in

this hon. House today to recognize a very important day for the Inuit of

Labrador.

Today, March 26, marks the fortieth anniversary of the incorporation of the

Labrador Inuit Association.

While the LIA was officially established in October 1973, it was not

formally recognized until it was incorporated on March 26, 1975.

The

LIA transitioned into the Nunatsiavut Government on December 1, 2005

following the ratification of the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement.

The

Inuit owe a great deal of gratitude to the early founders of the Labrador

Inuit Association people like Sam Andersen, my father Bill Edmunds, Jerry

Sillett, Martin Martin who had a vision to promote the culture, health and

well-being for their people.

Many

leaders have followed in their footsteps and much progress has been achieved

in those forty years. However,

governments at all levels need to respect all agreements that have been

implemented to ensure that Inuit people receive their rightful benefit from

the lands they inhabit.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask all hon. members to join me in congratulating the Labrador

Inuit on this momentous milestone.

There is still work left to be done and it will only be achieved by

all governments working together.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Labrador West.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. MCGRATH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

stand in this hon. House today to recognize the Under 18 girls curling team

from the Carol Curling Club in Labrador West.

Skip

Kayleigh Casmey, third Rebecca Goulding, second Tessa Cole, and lead Kelsie

Fry coached by Rick Casmey will be travelling to Montague, Prince Edward

Island to represent our Province at the Atlantic Under 18 curling tournament

from April 3 to April 5. Teams

from the four Atlantic Provinces will participate in this tournament.

The Stephenville team will represent the Under 18 boys.

Kayleigh and her team competed at the provincial Under 18 playoffs in Gander

from March 5-8 where they took silver in the competition.

Labrador West is no stranger to competitive curlers as we boast being the

home of Olympic curlers Mike Adam and Mark Nichols.

These girls work hard training in their sport and are another example of the

dedication needed to aspire great things in their personal goals.

Youth such as the Girls Under 18 curling team from Labrador West will

continue to represent our Province well for the decades to come.

ask all hon. members to join me in wishing them well in the Atlantic Under

18s in April.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Bay of Islands.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JOYCE:

Mr. Speaker, I rise in

this hon. House today to recognize a group of volunteers from the Town of

Mount Moriah who came together to help a family.

Last

Saturday, I attended a fundraising event for William Hussey of Mount Moriah,

an eighteen-year-old man who was recently diagnosed with cancer.

William is currently in St. John's undergoing tests and will be

returning in April for treatment.

Upon

hearing the news about William, family friends, Robyn Butt and Anthony

Basha, wanted to do something to help the family.

Joined by other volunteers, a fundraiser was organized which began

with a card game and supper, and continued into the evening with a silent

auction and a variety show featuring many local entertainers.

say the community came together to help this young man would be an

understatement as the event was an overwhelming success with over $7,000

raised and donations continuing to be received.

ask all members to join me in extending a thank you to Robyn Butt and

Anthony Basha, the many volunteers who came out to support this family, and

wish William the very best as he deals with this medical issue.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by

Ministers

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, I rise today in this hon. House to recognize Purple Day for

Epilepsy in Newfoundland & Labrador.

Purple Day presents an important opportunity to raise awareness, and

reduce social stigma experienced by individuals who are affected by this

condition.

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders in the world.

It affects over 300,000 Canadians and more than 10,000 people here in

Newfoundland and Labrador.

Approximately one in every twenty-six people is expected to develop epilepsy

in their lifetime.

Mr.

Speaker, recently I was fortunate to hear the story of one creative young

man who is raising awareness and fundraising for this cause in his

community.

Evan

Newhook is an innovative and artistic nine-year-old boy living in Dildo.

When he learned that his mother was diagnosed with epilepsy, he

wanted to take action. Evan is

an avid reader with a passion for art, which is how he came up with the idea

to create his own bookmarks and sell them.

All of the money he collects will be donated Epilepsy Newfoundland &

Labrador. Evan has also

motivated his school, Woodland Elementary, as well as employees of the TC

Square Mall in Carbonear, to wear purple on this day.

Evan's passion for this cause is truly inspiring and it has earned

him his title as official Purple Day Ambassador this year.

Mr.

Speaker, Evan's dedication is also echoed by the members of Epilepsy

Newfoundland & Labrador, some of whom are joining us in the gallery today.

For decades, their organization has provided support and information

about epilepsy to individuals and families in our Province.

I encourage individuals to visit the Epilepsy Newfoundland & Labrador

website at

www.epilepsynl.com to learn more about the organization and about living with epilepsy.

part of the provincial government's continued commitment to the health and

well-being for residents, in May of last year we added coverage of the drug

Fycompa under the Newfoundland and Labrador Prescription Drug Program.

This drug helps some patients manage partial-onset seizures that are

not satisfactorily controlled with conventional therapy.

Today, we will show our support by lighting Confederation Building purple in

an effort to raise awareness for this deserving cause.

I ask all residents to join me in wearing the colour purple and

participate in Purple Day activities taking place in their communities to

support those living with epilepsy.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement.

Members of the Official Opposition are pleased to wear purple today

in order to raise awareness, show our support, and reduce stigma by those

affected by epilepsy.

Evan

Newhook, our Purple Day Ambassador this year, we really want to acknowledge

his efforts, us here in the Official Opposition; he truly is an inspiration

to all of us. He is to be

commended for his work in raising awareness and for fundraising in his

community.

Each

day in Canada, an average of forty-two people learns that they have

epilepsy; 44 per cent are diagnosed before the age of five.

It is important to raise awareness because of how it affects those

living with epilepsy, their family, and their friends.

have about 10,000 people in this Province today with epilepsy which, when

you think about our population, is a very huge portion of our population.

It is the fourth most common neurological disorder and there is no

known cure yet. Right now, the

cost can often be managed through medication and through surgery, but

medication is not a cure.

All

the Opposition here, we hope that you will do what you can to bring

awareness to epilepsy, to check out the website referenced by the minister

and, hopefully, one day we will all better understand it and work towards a

cure.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

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

It is great to hear this story of someone living with epilepsy who

has been able to reach his potential, as well as to raise awareness and

money for Epilepsy Newfoundland & Labrador.

I am proud, along with the rest of us in the House today, and others,

to stand wearing purple in support of Evan.

Epilepsy Newfoundland & Labrador has done great work over the years, helping

and advocating for people with epilepsy.

One of the successes has certainly been the approval of the drug

Fycompa, for which they advocated, because anything that helps with seizures

is so important for managing this condition.

all join in celebrating the achievements of Evan and Epilepsy Newfoundland &

Labrador.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Advanced Education and Skills.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

rise today to congratulate 756 Newfoundlanders and Labradorians from around

our Province who achieved journeyperson certification this year.

The certificates received by these individuals symbolize a

significant milestone, and are a testament to the hard work and dedicated

effort that they have put into their trade programs.

Tonight, I will have the great pleasure of addressing a journeyperson awards

and recognition ceremony being held here in St. John's.

This ceremony was organized by the provincial government in

partnership with industry, and it is just one in a series of ceremonies that

have been held in communities throughout the Province this month to

acknowledge local apprentices and trade qualifiers who have achieved

journeyperson certification.

Mr.

Speaker, ceremonies have taken place in Wabush, Corner Brook, and Grand

Falls-Windsor. I look forward to

joining industry employers, members of the Provincial Apprenticeship and

Certification Board, and past and current graduates and their families

tonight to mark an important step as they continue their careers and

contribute to the labour force in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Increasing the availability of skilled trade workers has been a top priority

for our government since the release of the Skills Task Force report in

2007. Since that time, we have

committed over $100 million to support initiatives outlined in the report.

We have invested heavily in programs that assist apprentices to

advance to journeyperson status, and we will continue to invest in the most

innovative of programming to ensure opportunities are available for the

people of this Province.

Apprentices are a fundamental component of the economic future in

Newfoundland and Labrador, and we are currently training and advancing more

apprentices to become journeypersons than ever before.

Since 2007, investments by this government have helped to more than

double the number of journeypersons certified annually; 2014 was a record

breaking year with 756 journeypersons becoming certified.

The

Province's resource industries hold the promise of long-term employment

opportunities for many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, including

opportunities in the skills trade sector.

Congratulations once again to those individuals who have achieved

journeyperson certification this year and are pursuing a career in the

skilled trades.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Cartwright L'Anse au Clair.

MS DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement.

On behalf of the Opposition, I want to say too, congratulations to

those 756 Newfoundlanders and Labradorians on achieving journeyperson

status. This is a wonderful

accomplishment; but, Mr. Speaker, there are many barriers still that face

apprentices in this Province to achieving journeyperson status.

There is virtually no case management to help them along their path.

Last

year, at one job site alone, 150 apprentices had worked hundreds of hours

only to have those hours denied because ratios were exceeded.

Many apprentices leave the Province in frustration and in search of

work, many do not come back.

The

minister is touting their innovative programs.

How about the journeyperson mentorship program designed to help up to

200 apprentices per year? They

trained five in year one.

Mr.

Speaker, government has been promoting and funding the trades without

up-to-date labour market information.

Training people without having any idea of our labour market needs is

risking training Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to leave.

With a declining population, I say this is reckless and

irresponsible. There is no

alignment between training and labour market needs.

Mr.

Speaker, every day as MHAs we hear from apprentices who were promised

lucrative careers here in this Province, yet they cannot find work.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The

hon. member's time has expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

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

Yes, it is good to see so many more apprentices reaching

journeyperson status and I hope the barriers will continue to be addressed,

but there are still hundreds of youth who are having to leave the Province

to find work.

urge government to follow the advice of the Federation of Labour in their

pre-budget presentation and revisit the 2009 Youth Retention and Attraction

Strategy to develop new policies and programs for youth retention that

address the diversity of young worker's needs, including the need for

affordable child care and housing to keep youth in our Province.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Environment and Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CRUMMELL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, I rise today as the Minister Responsible for the Office of Climate

Change and Energy Efficiency to encourage residents throughout the Province

to participate in Earth Hour 2015.

Earth Hour is an international event organized by the World Wildlife Fund to

demonstrate the importance of taking action on climate change.

The event first took place in 2007 in Sydney, Australia, and has

since grown to be one of the largest grassroots environmental initiatives in

the world. Each year, millions

of people from more than 162 countries and territories participate in the

event.

Mr.

Speaker, to participate in Earth Hour 2015, Newfoundlanders and Labradorians

must turn off all non-essential lightening on March 28 for one hour between

8:30 and 9:30 p.m., local time.

By switching off our lights, we are raising awareness about climate change,

which is one of the most significant challenges facing the world today.

Climate change is having a substantial effect on areas throughout the

world and minimizing this impact requires taking global action to reduce

greenhouse gas emissions.

The

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador recognizes that climate change is a

shared challenge and we have committed to being a part of the solution.

The Province came within 0.4 per cent of meeting its target to return

provincial greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2010.

This was a significant achievement given that our economy grew by 65

per cent over the same period.

In September 2014, we released a mid-way progress report for our 2011

Climate Change Action Plan. This

report showed that sixty-four of the seventy-five commitments contained in

the plan are completed or underway, including the award-winning Turn Back

the Tide campaign.

While these achievements demonstrate the provincial government's dedication

to tackling climate change, as individuals, we all have a part to play as

well. Participating in Earth

Hour is just one way to do so. I

encourage everyone to learn more about Earth Hour 2015 by visiting

www.earthhour.org

and for further information on taking action on climate change in

Newfoundland and Labrador, please visit our website

www.turnbackthetide.ca .

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

The Straits White Bay North.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Mr. Speaker, I thank

the minister for an advance copy of his statement.

Our planet is our universal home and anything we can do to protect it

is a step in the right direction.

Earth Hour is an international collective effort to tackle climate change.

We on this side of the House of Assembly certainly commend and

support this event.

The

minister says that sixty-four of seventy-five commitments in the Climate

Change Action Plan are completed or underway.

When we look at that, it is very vague, because we see with the

energy audits that only a small portion of them are currently done.

It also means that eleven recommendations from the 2011 plan are not

completed and we do not know where the commitment is on that.

One

that is very scathing is around the fishery and the fishing sector where an

expert advisory committee was to be set up for the harvesting sector

promoting fuel-efficient vessel designs and also for the processing sector.

We certainly see where the commitment is from this government on the

fishery.

Also, the progress report there on the action plan highlighted around

energy-efficient vehicles. The

Auditor General's report says that the normal fleet is not properly

monitoring fuel consumption to reduce greenhouse gases.

look forward to the update from the large industrial sector for climate

change in the minister's mandate letter.

In the meantime, I hope the public will shut off their lights because

we are very used to doing this here in Newfoundland and Labrador with

DarkNL.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. John's East.

MR. MURPHY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

here today. Earth Hour is a

grassroots movement and I encourage everyone to observe it, as well as what

the minister is saying here.

The

minister is pretty much right.

We have seen adverse weather conditions happening not only here in

Newfoundland and Labrador, but worldwide as well.

We have seen Atlantic Canada getting pounded with snow.

We saw a very powerful typhoon in the Pacific affecting little

islands like Vanuatu.

will make a suggestion to government at the same time.

This is also recognition of the green economy, the role of the

participation of the government in the green economy.

I would like to see government be more aggressive in promoting a

green economy. Why not create

like other provinces, have an arm's length agency to promote energy

efficiency. As well, an agency

that could make home energy retrofits more affordable to people,

particularly with low incomes, and make it more affordable to everybody so

that we can all participate.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. MURPHY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker,

yesterday the Minister of Health mentioned that he has still not brought in

legislation needed to fully implement Cameron's recommendations.

ask the minister: It has been six years and it is still not done, could you

please explain what this legislation entails and why you have not brought it

to the House yet?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As I

reported to the House once again yesterday, we are proud to say that

fifty-five of sixty Cameron report recommendations have been fully or

substantially completed. There

are five that still require work.

What I can assure members of this House is that the work is ongoing.

Some do require legislative change, and we are actively working on

patient safety legislation that we intend to bring into this House later

this year.

addition to that, we are working on our electronic health record, which is

another important component. We

have been working on it through the Centre for Health Information for

several years now, progress is continuing, and I will continue to provide

updates to the House.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

Well, the minister continues to get it wrong, even after I gave him the

information to show that there are more than five recommendations not done.

Senior management is a key part of any functioning organization.

The latest information that we have shows at least six vacant

positions within the program, including regional manager, a division chief,

an operations manager just to name a few.

So I

ask the minister: Why, after your government continues to talk about the $43

million invested, are these positions vacant?

Why can't you fill them?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, during the

recent review completed by the University Health Network, the staffing

concerns in the lab has been addressed.

There is a laboratory HR plan that has been updated, and we are

constantly trying to recruit for various positions, especially specialty

positions within the health care system.

Addressing the vacancies in the lab is a high priority.

We have a new management structure in place in the laboratory,

working with the University Health Network, and I am happy to continue to

provide updates as progress continues.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, six

years later and they still do not have the legislation, there are still

issues going on in the lab, and there are still positions not filled.

I do not know what kind of leadership we need over there.

We have a lab program with a lack of leadership.

An external auditor says there is a critical need for a workplace

satisfaction program.

Given the amount of money that has been invested and the number of problems

that still exist six years later, I ask the minister: What is the real issue

going on in these labs, and why are you not able to fix it?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, a major

transformation has occurred in the health care system since the Cameron

report. It was a watershed

moment for health care in Newfoundland and Labrador, and it inspired a lot

of change in the health care system.

fact, I have lots of evidence to share that suggests the roots of Cameron

really have taken hold. We have

created a culture of safety. We

have made improvements in our laboratories.

All of our labs are now nationally accredited.

We have put in place, as well, other systems that are making a real

difference in terms of ensuring patient safety on an ongoing basis.

I am

pleased with the progress that has been made, and it is an ongoing process,

Mr. Speaker, and the work continues.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker,

government announced its family caregiver program on March 24, 2014.

It was supposed to provide increased choice and flexibility for those

in need of home support; $8.2 million was allocated and 250 subsidies were

available.

One

year has passed, so I ask the minister: What is the current status of the

program? Is it meetings its

goals?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, the Paid

Family Caregiving Option is a commitment this government made that I am

quite proud of. It was a

commitment that was launched in 2014.

We initially started with about 250 funded spaces to get a sense of

what the uptake would be like and see what the response to the program would

be.

of January, over 200 clients have been assessed.

There are approximately 100 families active in the program.

There is no wait-list of this program.

So if there are other families out there who are interested in the

Paid Family Caregiving Option, the regional health authorities welcome

hearing from them.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, the

minister's comment is telling.

He says there is no wait-list for it, and there is a reason for that.

There is less than a 50 per cent uptake on the subsidies.

There is less than 10 per cent of the budget $755,000 used of the

$8.2 million allotted. There are

only three clients eligible in all of Labrador, and only twenty clients

eligible in the Western portion of the Province.

It sounds to me like a pilot project that was set up to fail because

of the strict eligibility requirements.

ask the minister: Is this what you consider increased choice and flexibility

for those families in need of home support?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, it is

important to remind members that the Paid Family Caregiving Option is

leading edge, so we could not really benchmark against other jurisdictions.

This is something brand new.

We did not know what the uptake would be.

have asked officials within my department to look at the criteria, to see if

there are ways we can encourage more families to avail of this program.

It is a program that I would love to see expanded in the future,

depending on demand.

The

demand has been manageable to date.

We are actively working with the regional health authorities.

I want to give credit to staff within the regional health authorities

who have adopted this new approach.

will keep monitoring the program.

If there are changes we can make in the future to expand and improve

it, we certainly will.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Mount Pearl South.

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, food inspection reports on private restaurants are posted on the

Service NL website to protect the interests of consumers, but inspection

reports for public institutions like hospitals, schools, and Memorial

University are not posted to protect the interests of taxpayers.

ask the minister: Why the double standard?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Service NL.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CRUMMELL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Food

safety is a very important issue to this government and we take that very

seriously. Mr. Speaker, we have

our Environmental Health Officers out in the field all the time checking out

and making sure that everybody is in compliance: institutions and

restaurants.

Mr.

Speaker, the member opposite is correct; we only have restaurants online

right now. I have asked my

officials to look into the possibilities of institutions coming online as

well. We are looking into that,

Mr. Speaker; we will advise the House in short order.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Mount Pearl South.

MR. LANE:

Well, Mr. Speaker, I

certainly hope that does happen because I think that this is a very

important public safety issue.

Mr.

Speaker, there is a story in the media this week which highlights the

concerns of students at Memorial University regarding undercooked food,

mouldy food, and questionable food preparation practices.

ask the minister: Given that inspection reports for public institutions are

not on the government website, will he table the inspection reports for

MUN's dining hall from the last two years, including yesterday's inspection?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Service Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CRUMMELL:

Mr. Speaker, we do at

least two inspections a year in this institution.

The member opposite has contacted my staff looking for this

information. We are happy to

provide it. As soon as we get it in

our hands, we will hand it over to him and you can have a look at it then.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The

hon. the Member for Conception Bay South.

MR. HILLIER:

Mr. Speaker, local

non-profit organizations which are dependent on government funding have

trouble with planning when they are waiting from year to year to see to what

degree they are funded.

ask the minister: Given that you are planning a Budget for the next five

years, will government commit to multi-year funding for non-profit

organizations so that they can do long-term planning?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This

government appreciates and really values the tremendous work that the

non-profit sector continues to do and will do in the future on behalf of

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

We are very much aware that particularly those organizations that

rely on core funding from government to continue their operations in

providing those valuable services we are very cognizant of that.

We hope, actually before the Budget comes down, to be able to provide

some comment to those organizations so they can continue to plan, not only

for next year but into the future.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay South.

MR. HILLIER:

Mr. Speaker, the Seniors

Resource Centre is a charitable organization depending on partnerships to

support the well-being and independence of older adults throughout the

Province. Last year one of the

partners, the provincial government, this government, cut its contribution

by $73,000; that is 38 per cent.

ask the minister: In the coming Budget, can the Seniors Resource Centre

expect further cuts or will it just have to survive with the same reduced

funding as last year?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Seniors, Wellness and Social Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

are very much aware of the work of the Seniors Resource Centre, Mr. Speaker.

It has been on the go in the Province for many, many years.

We do provide a grant to them of a little over $100,000 a year.

As a

matter of fact, it is only within the last week I sat down and met with the

Seniors Resource Centre. We are

having discussions as to they are taking a look at their organization.

We have provided them with some funds to do that.

We look forward to continued co-operation with that group.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. John's South.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Many

properties that are owned and operated by Newfoundland and Labrador Housing

are boarded up for extended periods of time.

Many other units that are still occupied require extensive repairs

and renovations to the exterior and interior.

After more than a decade in government I ask: How come there are still so

many housing units in such disrepair?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister

Responsible for Newfoundland and Labrador Housing.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, Newfoundland

and Labrador Housing if there is one thing that many of us as MHAs

recognize across the Province is the work that Newfoundland and Labrador

Housing does across the Province, rural and urban.

They manage and operate many facilities.

Mr.

Speaker, I have to say the investment in many of those over the years yes,

over the past number of years, we have seen major, major improvements in it.

We as a government will continue to work with Newfoundland and

Labrador Housing so that the facilities these people live in are right up to

standard.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. John's South.

MR. OSBORNE:

Mr. Speaker, I did not

ask the minister about the work they did do; I asked him about the work that

they have not done.

Roughly six years ago, Newfoundland and Labrador Housing began asbestos

abatement in all of its housing units that predate 1985.

Over half of its portfolio, 2,700 units, predates 1985.

What

percentage of government's housing stock is still awaiting asbestos

abatement?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister

Responsible for Newfoundland and Labrador Housing.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, I do not

have that stat in front of me, but I will certainly seek that information

from officials.

say to the hon. member, work is always ongoing with Newfoundland and

Labrador Housing, Mr. Speaker. I

think he probably knows that, but I will say it to him.

will say again, there has been much work done around the facilities that

Newfoundland and Labrador Housing operate, much extensive work that have

much improved those facilities, Mr. Speaker.

As I will say to him, the work is ongoing.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Trinity Bay de Verde.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This

is the third day in a row asking for a list of companies and the amounts

that have been written off totalling over $40 million by government's

Business Investment Corporation.

ask the minister once again: Where is the list?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. S. COLLINS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

As I

explained to the member from the first day he asked me the question, there

were a number of these that were related to the past Administration, so we

have to go back quite some years.

I have asked the officials in the department to compile that list and

once I have that list compiled, I had said I would bring it forward to the

House of Assembly and table it.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. George's Stephenville East.

MR. REID:

Mr. Speaker, yesterday in

the House, the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills said that protocols

were followed in the privacy breach of names, salaries, birthdates,

nationalities, and employee numbers of 600 employees at the College of the

North Atlantic in Qatar.

Protocol clearly states if there is a risk of criminal harm you should

immediately contact the RNC or RCMP.

ask the minister: Did government or the college notify the law enforcement

of this breach, and if so, will you table all documentation to demonstrate

this correspondence with law enforcement?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Advanced Education and Skills.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, as I said

yesterday

AN HON. MEMBER:

Phone Crime Stoppers.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, I expect no

less.

Mr.

Speaker, as I said yesterday in my response, the information I have, that

has been reported to me, is that protocol was indeed followed.

If there are documents that I can table here, I certainly will, Mr.

Speaker. I will follow up with

staff, and if that is indeed the case I will bring it forward here.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. George's Stephenville East.

MR. REID:

Mr. Speaker, it is our

understanding from the reading of the report is that law enforcement

officials were not contacted.

Mr.

Speaker, the college did not consider identify theft as a potential harm

when they exposed names, salaries, birthdates, nationalities, and employee

numbers of 600 people. Clearly,

there is a risk of identity theft and therefore criminal harm.

ask the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills: How can you allow the

college to downplay a privacy breach that poses a threat, not only to the

security of these employees but also to their families?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Advanced Education and Skills.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, I take

exception to the thing that he stated that the College of the North Atlantic

is downplaying a breach.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, is he saying

that the people who are working at the College of the North Atlantic, the

people who are in the administration over there, are downplaying something?

Mr. Speaker, I have full faith in the people who administer the

College of the North Atlantic, and from my inquiry and my discussion is that

protocol was followed.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Carbonear Harbour Grace.

MR. SLADE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, part of the December 2012 agreement government reached with OCI on

the Fortune plant was the employment of a minimum of 110 full-time positions

year round for five years.

ask the minister: Have there been 110 people working full-time since the

plant opened, and will he tell us how many are currently working there?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. GRANTER:

Mr. Speaker, we have done

a great deal of investment in the fisheries in the Province, including OCI

and the people of Fortune.

Mr.

Speaker, I do not have the exact numbers in front of me, over the last year

our current numbers that are there, but I have a meeting next week set up

with officials. I have a meeting

set up, or had meetings set up and discussions with OCI in the last number

of months. We will hold them to

their agreements and hold them to the contracts they had signed with the

provincial government. Further

details on the numbers that I can get with regard to the current people and

for the rest of this year, I will have to table it in the House.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Carbonear Harbour Grace.

MR. SLADE:

Mr. Speaker, on January

28, 2015, I wrote the minister to ask a number of questions including what

dates the Fortune plant had been opened and closed, and what fish were

processed. He refused to provide

the answer.

ask the minister: Will he disclose to the House the opening and closing

dates of the Fortune plant, as well as the fish processed there in the past

two years?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. GRANTER:

Mr. Speaker, the hon.

member would know that any letter that has been sent to my office from him I

have addressed and sent back to him.

Actually, I did so in a very speedy manner, Mr. Speaker.

the answer in the letter did not contain the information that he wanted to

his satisfaction, I will speak to officials, Mr. Speaker, in the department

and provide to the hon. member the details of which he requests.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS:

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday

in this House the Premier stated, regarding the sixth amendment to the

Voisey's Bay agreement, and Hansard will reflect this, there was no

requirement to consult in that circumstance.

Yet, under the Land Claims Agreement, which supersedes all agreements

dealing with the Labrador Inuit lands including the Voisey's Bay agreement,

there is a duty to consult.

ask the Premier: Why is your government failing to live up to its obligation

to consult under the Inuit Land Claims Agreement?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

have said this

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, I have

stated in this House before and I will reiterate again the importance in the

relationships that we value with partners in Newfoundland and Labrador,

especially members of the Nunatsiavut Government and also the Innu Nation.

We value their relationships very well.

have explained before our position on what the agreement requires, Mr.

Speaker. I have laid that out in

this House before. In the

not-too-distant future I will look forward to having face-to-face meetings

with leaders of both organizations so that we can have a very good

discussion about our relationship and how we move forward together.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS:

Mr. Speaker, that does

not answer my question.

Mr.

Speaker, any amendments to the Voisey's Bay agreement, whether it concerns

Voisey's Bay or Long Harbour, has a direct impact on the Nunatsiavut

Government and the Innu Nation based on its royalty sharing agreements.

Both Nunatsiavut and the Innu Nation are losing millions of dollars

under those agreements because of your decision on the sixth amendment.

ask the Premier: With millions of dollars of lost revenue to both the Innu

Nation and the Nunatsiavut Government, don't you think that is reason enough

to consult?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

reaching agreement on Voisey's Bay and the shipping out of ore, what has

happened is that we have a circumstance now where the mine can continue to

operate.

Mr.

Speaker, 475 people continue to work at the site of Voisey's Bay.

The majority of them are Aboriginal people from Labrador who continue

to receive good paying jobs that benefit not only them, but to use their

words opposite not only them but also it benefits their families.

well, as a result of that, the Nunatsiavut Government continues to receive

their share of royalties because the ore is being shipped out, Mr. Speaker.

This is a win-win situation for the people of Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

The Straits White Bay North.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Mr. Speaker,

expropriating an industrial site like the Abitibi mill in Grand

Falls-Windsor is one of the most dangerous and costly liabilities a

government can assume.

Given the demolition contract's scope of practice is only to knock down,

smooth over and walk away, I ask the minister: What is your remediation plan

for removal of the existing chemical hazards, and what is the cost of this

removal?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

have entered into a very unique contract with a proponent here

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. BRAZIL:

for Grand Falls and the dismantling of the mill.

There are a number of things that we have to keep in mind here when

we do this; one, is the historic significance out there.

It is the culture of that community.

We want to do it with dignity.

We have talked to the company to make sure that as we take down that

part of history, that it is done in a character way so that the people of

that community would have respect for what is being done, and particularly

the proponent.

are also going to be working with the municipalities in the region and with

the citizens to identify what is the best use of that land once the facility

itself is taken down. The

remediation then would be determined based on what the future use of that

land would be for.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

The Straits White Bay North.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Mr. Speaker, it is

obvious they have not done their work on the cost or a remediation plan.

Government is trying to sell good news by getting rid of the physical

structure, but the real cost of any environmental cleanup is below the

surface. No hazard assessment

has been publicly available.

ask the minister: Have you completed a report; and, if so, since you claim

to be open, why are you withholding a public release of a report on these

hazards?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

take very seriously every piece of property we have and the remediation and

the environmental concerns. In

this case, our first objective here is to take down the property.

We are working with the Department of Environment; we have

consultants on site. We have

construction equipment now on site to first do the first part of our phase

of remediating that site, of taking down the buildings.

Once that is complete and we have our stakeholders' roundtables, we

will then determine exactly what that site's future use would be, and what

type of remediation, and the costs associated with that.

Mr.

Speaker, I also want to note, this is a bigger picture here.

This is a $100 million asset that the people of this Province have.

So we are going to build all of this so that part of this Province

and the rest of this Province benefits from our investment here, Mr.

Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Humber East.

MR. FLYNN:

Mr. Speaker, government

released documents in January of this year stating that the new West Coast

hospital would open in 2019. We

received an ATIPP application this week saying it will open in 2020.

when will the minister finally nail down the date for the West Coast

hospital to open?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

have consistently said all along that it will take approximately five years

to complete construction of the entire West Coast hospital campus.

There are multiple buildings to be constructed.

The very first portion of the campus that will commence construction

is the long-term care facility.

We know in each region of the Province there is a great need for more

long-term care beds, and I am pleased to say that we are very committed to

delivering on the commitment to the people of the West Coast to create many

new beds on the West Coast hospital site.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Humber East has time for a very quick question.

MR. FLYNN:

Eight years ago

government promised to build a new hospital on the West Coast.

Government said it would be completed in 2014.

In 2010, it was 2016. In

2011, it was 2017.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. member has time

for a quick question.

MR. FLYNN:

In 2015, you are now

saying 2020. Is there a pattern

here?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services, for a quick reply.

MR. KENT:

No, Mr. Speaker.

We are very committed to making progress.

There has been millions of dollars now spent.

The

dates will be really firm as the design of the new facility continues, but

there will be construction later this year on the long-term care component.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

Yesterday, the Minister of Health and Community Services said that having

nurses collect blood samples in St. Clare's ER is about reducing wait times.

ask the minister: Where is the data showing by how much wait times will be

reduced?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, reducing

health care wait times for a number of services in our system has been a

priority for this government for the past decade.

There are lots of reports and updates available.

I will be pleased to provide any of the research to the hon. member.

Eastern Health did change the process for blood collection in the emergency

department only at St. Clare's to improve wait times and also to improve

health outcomes.

know this process works because it has been in place at the Health Sciences

Centre for ten years, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Obviously, there is no study that has been done of St. Clare's.

I point out to the Speaker that many ER departments in Canada and

elsewhere, in other jurisdictions, have gone back to using lab technicians

because the results were better and more cost effective.

ask the minister: Why are reliability and quality being sacrificed in the

name of efficiency?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, I take

exception to those suggestions.

I can also assure you that if nurses express any concerns about workload, I

have received assurance from folks at Eastern Health that they welcome the

input from nurses. They are

happy to sit down with nurses and address those concerns.

The

process that is being put in place at St. Clare's has been in place at the

Health Sciences Centre for about a decade.

It has worked well. It

has improved efficiency. It has

improved wait times. It has

improved patient flow within our facilities.

is the right thing to do. I

support Eastern Health's decision, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

will be happy to show studies to the minister that says otherwise.

ask the minister, since he seems to know what nurses are thinking: Who, if

anyone, was consulted before this decision was made?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, there has

been no compromise to quality here.

In fact, we are improving processes within our health care system

constantly. We had a consultant

called X32 that has done a great deal of work in this area and there is

information available, which I would be happy to provide to the member

opposite.

Consultation with nurses is ongoing.

In fact, this is an issue that has been discussed within the system

for several years. The changes

were first made at the Health Sciences Centre a decade ago.

I recognize that Eastern Health has a different view and a different

opinion than the unions involved, and I respect that, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. John's East.

MR. MURPHY:

Mr. Speaker, a research

group that includes public health professionals is going to be putting

together a presentation for the fracking review panel on the impacts of

fracking on public health.

Who

on the government appointed panel is qualified to interpret those findings

for the final fracking review report?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate

the member's only interest in this Province being fracking or the lack of.

I want to be clear, we are not fracking.

We are not accepting any applications.

We are not fracking in Gros Morne.

We have an independent panel, independent of me as minister, that

will do a piece of work for the entire Province.

There will be an opportunity for all of his friends to present.

Mr.

Speaker, the independent panel will do an evaluation of what is presented,

and what they do not know they will go out and reach out to some experts and

get some information. We want

them to do a fair, independent, and partial piece of work on behalf of the

entire Province, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. John's East.

MR. MURPHY:

Mr. Speaker, the minister

said they are not fracking in the Province.

Well, why bother to have a panel if that is the case?

Public health is a major concern to the people around the fracking

issue. The minister has to

recognize that.

So I

ask him: Why ignore public health?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, he does not

need to raise his voice to indicate that we do not have a concern about

public health in this Province.

The minister can stand here and talk about $3 billion we are spending year

after year for public health in this Province.

The Minister of Environment can talk about regulation after

regulation that supports the people of the Province.

So to suggest in any way that we do not care about public health is

absolutely wrong and foolishness, Mr. Speaker.

The

panel will be well represented, Mr. Speaker, and the people he is talking

about, I look forward to their report.

I am sure it will add greatly to the debate over fracking in this

Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The

time for Question Period has expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

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. Barbe.

MR. J. BENNETT:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

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 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 residents and

visitors; 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.

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. J. BENNETT:

Mr. Speaker, this is

a petition that I have presented repeatedly.

Because I have so many people who have

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

ask members for their co-operation as the Member for St. Barbe delivers his

petition.

The

hon. the Member for St. Barbe.

MR. J. BENNETT:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

is timely to present this petition this week considering that Trout River

Gulch was blocked with snow for two or three days over the past week, and a

significant part of the Northern Peninsula highway, Route 430, was blocked

for an entire day back when we had a storm on Monday.

The people who were trapped in snowdrifts were unable to receive

cellphone coverage. They had no

way to notify friends, family, or relatives, or emergency services of where

they were or what had happened to them.

This

has become a very serious public safety issue.

Mr. Speaker, I can also advise over the last two years I have had

discussions with Bell Mobility.

They are more than willing to establish a cellphone tower in Cow Head which

would provide substantial cellphone coverage, but no, they cannot get any

co-operation from government.

They

thought they had this proposal approved.

In fact, government has not committed whatsoever to providing

cellphone service to residents in this region.

This is critically important, if not for the residents, than at least

for tourists who come on an annual basis to visit the, what we call the gem

of the Great Northern Peninsula, Gros Morne National Park.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. John's North.

MR. KIRBY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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 Eastern School District is considering a 1.5 year plan to bus

Kindergarten to Grade 6 students to the Newfoundland School for the Deaf;

and

WHEREAS parents have expressed concern that long bus rides to school involve

dangers, such as congested streets and, busy intersections, especially

during winter weather conditions; and

WHEREAS review of the Holy Family school system to recommend that the

Department of Education consider an alternative to having children attend

the Newfoundland School for the Deaf; and

WHEREAS some parents suggest having Grades 5-6 attend Villa Nova Junior High

school to alleviate some congestion at Holy Family; and

WHEREAS parents are continuing to demand more flexible policies to meet the

current needs of school children;

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

House of Assembly to urge government to change the proposal of transferring

children from Holy Family School to the former Newfoundland School for the

Deaf building.

And

as in duty bound your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, I have presented this petition a number of times now.

There are about another 100 signatures on this collection here.

I have heard a lot from parents who have students at this school.

A lot of them are very concerned about the potential for having kids

in Grades 2-6 travelling for forty-five minutes to St. John's to go to

school.

Similarly, there are parents who are very concerned about the possibility of

another significant increase in the school population at Holy Family, when

that school was not built to accommodate a population of students as high as

perhaps 1,000 students. This

proposal to bring in some sort of portable toilet room or something like

that to accommodate the need for additional washroom facilities just seems

foolhardy to me.

As I

said before, Mr. Speaker, this is symptomatic of a larger problem that this

government has created by not paying attention to population growth

projections on the Northeast Avalon and basically letting everything get

away from them when it comes to new school construction.

Parents in Torbay have been promised a new school for September 2016.

Parents in Portugal Cove-St. Phillips have been promised a new school

for 2016. Parents in Conception

Bay South have been promised a new school for 2016, and the minister is

hopefully optimistic that the work is going to get done.

You

cannot live on hopeful optimism.

We cannot achieve the educational outcomes that we need to be a world leader

in education by being hopefully optimistic.

You have to do your job properly.

It has not been done.

That is the reason why we have signatures like these.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

remind the member that his time has expired.

MR. KIRBY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Cartwright L'Anse au Clair.

MS DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS most communities in the District of Cartwright L'Anse au Clair do

not have adequate broadband service; and

WHEREAS residents, businesses, students, nurses, and teachers rely heavily

on the Internet to conduct their work and cannot afford to wait until 2016

to access a potential plan in partnership with the Muskrat Falls

development; and

WHEREAS there are a number of world-class tourism sites in the region,

including UNESCO site at Red Bay, Battle Harbour Historic Site, and the

Mealy Mountains National Park;

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

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

work with the appropriate agencies to provide adequate broadband service to

communities along the Labrador Coast.

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, since I first started submitting this petition, we had made some

progress. As of the end of

March, we have seen most of the Labrador Straits upgraded.

I understand within the next two or three weeks we are going to be

see Red Bay and Pinware brought on.

I am very happy about that.

Somehow Capstan Island got overlooked there in the middle of it all,

and I understand that is being looked at.

Mr.

Speaker, we still have a very, very serious situation.

We are absolutely crippled down in Southeast Labrador when it comes

to broadband connection, Mr. Speaker, to the point that I just said to my

colleague businesses cannot run a basic Interac machine in this digital

age. When I am back in my

district, I am unable to do anything more than send or receive an email;

that is basically it. So I am

crippled from doing my work. I

understand the frustration of the people in that area.

Again, I am calling on government to work with the service provider.

I mentioned here that last time I stood on a petition there are

online petitions. Active

community groups are seeking legal opinion right now.

They are frustrated to see can a service provider actually charge us

for a service that we are not getting.

I am

asking the Province to work with Industry Canada's Connecting Canadians

program, look at partnerships there, and work with the service provider to

see what they can do in this digital age to improve the service in Southeast

Labrador for those communities.

will continue to petition for the residents in that area.

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Sr. John's Centre.

MS ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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.

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, I am happy once again to stand in defence of this petition, a

petition that has been signed by thousands of people in the Province.

In the mandate letters of the Premier that he issued to every one of

his departments, he wrote to the Minister of Justice and instructed her on

the Family Violence Intervention Court.

He said: In consultation with stakeholders, I expect you to explore

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, the Premier had instructed that Minister of Justice, which I assume

will also extend to the current Minister of Justice: In consultation with

stakeholders, I expect you to explore, and propose for consideration,

possible models for providing Family Violence Intervention Court throughout

Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr.

Speaker, I have not heard anything from any of the stakeholders that, in

fact, that consultation process has begun.

Perhaps it has, but here we are getting very close to the release of

the Budget, and one would assume that if in fact there was an intention and

a commitment from this Premier to seriously look at reinstating and

expanding the Family Violence Intervention Court, then that consultation

should be well underway.

As a

matter of fact, Mr. Speaker, one would expect that consultation would be

pretty well done by now, and that the recommendations would be done.

I have a document that proposes how to do the court with existing

infrastructure.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The

hon. the Member for Trinity Bay de Verde.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS many communities in the District of Trinity Bay de Verde do not

have cellphone coverage; and

WHEREAS residents of the district require cellphone coverage to ensure their

safety and communications abilities; and

WHEREAS cellphone coverage on many portions of the highway in the district

is poor or non-existent;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly call upon the House of

Assembly to urge the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to work with

the appropriate agencies to provide adequate cellphone coverage throughout

the entire District of Trinity Bay de Verde.

And

as in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, it is my pleasure to stand here today and introduce this petition

into the House on behalf of the residents of Trinity Bay de Verde.

It is time for the government to realize they have a role to play in

cellphone coverage for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

This

government has often boasted about our new 911 system in the Province.

Do not get me wrong, Mr. Speaker, I support a 911 system, but

unfortunately this system is not very effective for people in my district.

Unless you have access to a land line, 911 is no good to you.

Mr.

Speaker, this is a major safety issue when you are travelling on our roads.

You look at Route 80, you look at the Heart's Content Barrens, and

you look at Route 74 on the North Shore.

As the Member for Burgeo La Poile has pointed out in petitions

throughout the last few days about the people who were stranded on the

highways, and the Member for St. Barbe again today pointing out the same

issue in his district.

Mr.

Speaker, it is time for government to step up, work with the service

providers, look for new technologies, and look for ways to get it done so

that the people of the District of Trinity Bay de Verde and all regions of

this Province have adequate cellphone coverage.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. George's Stephenville East.

MR. REID:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

have a petition related to snow clearing on public roads.

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS the provincial government has changed policies related to snow

clearing in rural areas of Newfoundland and Labrador in an arbitrary way

without proper consultation; and

WHEREAS this policy change did not establish procedures for determining when

new roads could be added to those eligible for snow clearing in

unincorporated rural areas; and

WHEREAS there is a significant problem created in relation to the provision

of services such as garbage collection and emergency services;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your

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

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to review and update policies

related to snow clearing.

Mr.

Speaker, this petition was started by a gentleman in St. David's who has a

house which is just a little ways down from where the road is cleared.

When he built his house the road used to be cleared.

He moved away to get work for a while and when he came back he found

out that the road in front of his house was not being cleared.

So, it is a circumstance that has happened in a number of places

around this Province and it is an issue that I think government needs to

look at.

think the whole idea of the way we do snow clearing needs to be looked at in

rural areas of this Province and a review is necessary.

I think a review might even save the Province money if we look at

what roads are being plowed that maybe do not need to be plowed, and the

ones that are not being plowed that should be plowed.

I think we need to have a look at that.

There are no provisions for new roads to be added to the list and other

roads to be taken away. So I

think we need to have a look at that.

This is especially interesting in cases of emergency service and

collection of garbage and things like that.

The

local service district in the area has intervened on Mr. King's behalf and

asked that the department clear this road because he is still expected to

pay for those services.

Although, because the road is not cleared, the local service district is not

able to do things like collect his garbage or respond to any emergency in

his area. This is something that

needs to be looked at. It is a

serious issue for many people in rural areas of this Province.

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.

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 Tordon 101 contains the chemicals 2,4-D and picloram; and

WHEREAS the chemical picloram is a known cancer causing carcinogen; and

WHEREAS the provincial government has banned the cosmetic use of the

pesticide 2,4-D; and

WHEREAS safer alternatives are available to the provincial government for

brush clearance such as manual labour, alternative competitive seeding

methods, and/or the mechanical removal of brush; and

WHEREAS the provincial government is responsible for ensuring the safety and

well-being of its citizens;

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

House of Assembly to urge government to cease the use of chemicals covered

under its own cosmetic pesticide ban and begin using safer methods of brush

clearance that will not place its citizens in harm's way.

And

as in duty bound your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, this is Earth Day. We

recognize the Minister of Service NL stood up and talked about climate

change but, even more importantly, what we are doing to our own planet.

What we are coming to realize is the more chemicals we put into our

own environment, the more challenges this world is facing; and, indeed, I

guess for its own survival in some cases.

Mr.

Speaker, this petition talks about the use of chemicals in such a way that

they are meant for good intentions.

There are obviously good intentions behind it.

In actual fact, for the purposes of roadside brush clearing, but we

do have other methods out there that are a little bit safer and less

damaging to the environment, if you will.

The

most important line in this petition, Mr. Speaker and this petition today

is signed by people in the minister's own district, by the way, from Bell

Island, and from another area known in the Province for heavy traffic when

it comes to roadside brush clearing, Long Harbour, as well.

These are people who are very concerned about what is going into our

environment, otherwise they would not have signed it.

I consider that to be part of the public interest.

Government's responsibility, of course, is to look after the public

interest.

The

important line here in the petition:

WHEREAS the provincial government is

responsible for ensuring the safety and well-being of its citizens.

Mr.

Speaker, like I say, if these are cancer-causing chemicals that we are

putting into the environment, we can use other methods so that we do not

have to be putting cancer-causing chemicals into the environment and causing

future, potential health problems.

What is the future bottom line for people's health when it comes to

the use of these chemicals? They

always come back to us. They end

up building up in our own bodies and end up causing grief.

Mr.

Speaker, I present this petition again.

Like I said, it is not going to be the last time I am going to be

standing up on this, but it is a consideration that government has to make.

We know the Budget is going to be coming down shortly.

Exactly when that is going to happen we are not sure because even the

federal government is talking about releasing the Budget now in the first

week of May. So we could be

going extremely late on this.

Mr.

Speaker, I will bring this to the government's attention as regards to the

use of chemicals. Look at safer

methods of doing this.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. MURPHY:

Look at better ways of

doing this.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

Before we proceed to Orders of the Day, I just want to make a ruling on a

point of order that was raised yesterday.

point of order was raised by the Minister of Health and Community Services,

who stood after Question Period to state that he had found comments of the

Opposition House Leader to be offensive and inappropriate.

Yesterday's Hansard and video recording of the proceedings of this House for

the relevant period have been reviewed.

Any comments which the Opposition House Leader may have made are not

audible on the video clip and they are not recorded in Hansard, which is the

official record of the House.

Consequently, I find there is no point of order.

Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Deputy

Government House Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Mr. Speaker, I want

to move to Motions 5 and 6. I

move

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The

hon. the Deputy Government House Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Mr. Speaker, I move,

seconded by the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services, Motion 5,

pursuant to Standing Order 11, this House not adjourn at 5:30 p.m. today,

Thursday, March 26, 2015.

Further, Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Minister of Child, Youth and

Family Services, Motion 6, pursuant to Standing Order 11, that this House

not adjourn at 10:00 p.m. today, Thursday, March 26, 2015.

MR. SPEAKER:

The motion is that this

House not adjourn at 5:30 o'clock today and, furthermore, the motion is that

this House not adjourn at 10:00 this evening.

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

The

hon. Deputy Government House Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Mr. Speaker, I would

like to move again to the Orders of the Day to Motion 3.

Mr.

Speaker, I move, seconded by the Minister of Natural Resources, for leave to

introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Provincial Court Act, 1991,

Bill 43, and I further move the bill be now read a first time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded

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

introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Provincial Court Act, 1991,

Bill 43 and that the said bill be now read the first time

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

Could members please take their conversations outside?

Important business is being conducted in the Chamber.

it the pleasure of the House that the minister shall have leave to introduce

Bill 43 and that the said bill be now read for the first time?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

Motion, the hon. the Minister of Justice and Public Safety to introduce a

bill,

An Act To Amend The Provincial Court Act, 1991, carried.

(Bill 43)

CLERK:

A bill,

An Act To Amend The Provincial Court Act, 1991.

(Bill 43)

MR. SPEAKER:

This bill has now been

read a first time.

When

shall the bill be read a second time?

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

Tomorrow.

motion, Bill 43 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Deputy

Government House Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Mr. Speaker, I refer

to the Order Paper and go to Order 1, Committee of Supply.

MR. SPEAKER:

The motion is that this

House do now resolve itself into a Committee of Supply to further consider

the Interim Supply bill.

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

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!

are continuing to consider the related resolution to Bill 44,

An Act For

Granting To Her Majesty Certain Sums Of Money For Defraying Certain Expenses

Of The Public Service For The Financial Year Ending March 31, 2016 And For

Other Purposes Relating To The Public Service.

The

hon. the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. S. COLLINS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

is always a pleasure to rise in this House and this will be my third time

speaking to Interim Supply, and I wanted to share a few thoughts first

before I get into the crux of my talk with regard to something that I

attended just this past weekend out in the district and it is something very

important. It is the Loyal

Orange Lodge in Charlottetown.

Actually, they were celebrating their 119 th anniversary and it

was a great gathering for people not only from the community, but from

people right across the Province.

many of you know, the Loyal Orange Lodge has been around for a number of

years in Newfoundland and Labrador.

I think it started in 1863.

About thirty-four years after that, the lodge in Charlottetown

formed. At the turn of the

century, Mr. Chair, an interesting fact is that Bonavista Lodge #4 actually

had the largest membership in all of North America, with 475 members.

has a rich history here in the Province, so it is nice to celebrate that.

Any time I have an opportunity to go out to my district, out into the

communities, to celebrate such things it is always nice to do so.

Mr.

Chair, which brings me to my next point, while at the celebration of the

Loyal Orange Lodge I also had the opportunity to wish two fine constituents

Doug and May Simmonds a happy fiftieth anniversary.

There is a large gathering home now in Charlottetown, Bonavista Bay

for a meet and greet for their fiftieth anniversary, and I would just like

to say to Doug and May, happy fiftieth.

Mr.

Chair, if you went corner to corner of this Province, all four corners, you

would not meet a better crowd, you would not meet a friendly couple, someone

who are so sincere and giving, so I want to give them my heartfelt

congratulations on fifty years of marriage.

Someone who has only been married for six years, I certainly

appreciate fifty. I look forward

to my fiftieth someday as well.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. S. COLLINS:

Mr. Chair, if I can

get into the reason why I stood today, it was only a few short days ago the

Member for CBS got up. He said

something that really struck home for me.

Actually he says a lot that strikes home with me.

There was one thing in particular he said that really kind of got my

back up because I was thinking now what is he talking about?

had said over the past ten years there is nothing that has really changed.

There has not been really any change in the last decade in

Newfoundland and Labrador. I

said imagine, he said it. What

makes it even better he said it with a straight face.

kind of thought back. Of course

over the past decade there have been a number of things that have happened,

a transformation in this Province unprecedented as any member here I

thought, would be able to agree.

I went back to an article.

Actually I spoke about this one.

One

of the first times I rose in this House, I guess about six years ago, I

spoke about this because it is very interesting when you read about before

we comment where we are, we should always look on where we came from and

where we were.

I go

back to an

article that Margaret Wente wrote in

The Globe and Mail .

Many of you are probably aware of it.

It was January 2005, I believe.

It is an interesting point because of course 2005 is about a decade

ago. That is our rule that the

Member for CBS, that is the groundwork he laid out.

He said over the past decade there has been very little change.

wanted to read a couple of quotes from Margaret Wente, and while I am not a

big fan of her opinion, she is a fine writer.

She is renowned right across this country and probably throughout the

world. I want to read a few

excerpts from that article.

Again this

article was written in 2005, not that long ago.

It was a decade ago, so I think it is a good base point to where my

conversation is going.

you would indulge me I will read a few excerpts, the sensation on this

side is of a deep and painful bite to the hand that feeds.

Mr. Williams referring to the Premier at the time reminds me of

a deadbeat brother-in-law who's hit you up for money a few times too often.

He's been sleeping on your couch for years, and now he's got the

nerve to complain that it's too lumpy.

Now

imagine she is speaking about the Premier at the time talking about of

course he was looking for our fair share with regard to equalization

payments in the Atlantic Accord and all those things that were going on at

the time. Let's put this in

perspective; so he is a deadbeat person, sleeps on your couch, and complains

it is too lumpy, handouts.

She

goes on to talk about, Over the years, those of us not blessed to be born

on the Rock have sent countless cakes its way in the form of equalization

payments, pogey, and various hare-brained make-work schemes In return, the

surly islanders have blamed us for everything from the disappearance of the

cod stocks to the destruction of the family unit, because if people had to

work more than 10 weeks before they could collect EI, they might have to

move away.

This hallowed policy of siphoning money from the haves to the have-nots

and of course in 2005 we were the have-nots; others in Canada, middle Canada

probably were the haves, that has changed so that everyone can be equal,

has turned Canada into a permanently aggrieved nation, in which every region

in the country is convinced that it's being brutally ripped off by every

other region. No one is better

at this blame game than the Newfs, egged on by generations of politicians.

we send more money so that more people can stay in the scenic villages where

they were born, even though even though, Mr. Chair, the fish are all gone

and there's no more work and never will be, there never will be any work

unless they can steal some telemarketing from Bangalore. Bangalore is in

India, for those who do not know.

Rural Newfoundland and Labrador is probably the most vast and scenic

welfare ghetto in the world.

one will ever buy a scenic postcard of a strip mall.

But Scarborough supports itself, Scarborough, Ontario, which the

member from across the way is well familiar with, he travels there often

and Newfoundland does not, and I wish Danny Williams would explain why it's

a good idea to keep picking the pockets of Chinese drycleaners and Korean

variety-store owners who work 90 hours a week in order to keep subsidizing

the people who live in Carbonear, no matter how quaint and picturesque they

are.

Now,

Mr. Chair, that was an

article that was written in a national newspaper ten

years ago, only ten years ago.

Do you know what the most shocking thing about all of this?

Now, the opinions were gross, and many things borderline racist, if

you would, but the opinions were based on a logic, and of course that was a

logic that we were a province that heavily depended on EI.

We heavily depended on transfer payments, and those types of things.

That is where she based her opinions.

Now,

I would ask any members I would specifically ask the Member for CBS do

you think anyone could or would write an

article with such gibberish in it

ten years later? Of course, they

would not. Why wouldn't they?

Because they cannot. Why

can't they? Because it is a

changed Province. Ten years, ten

years where we were, Mr. Chair, versus where we are, two very different

places. They pale in comparison

to one another.

Why

is that? There are a number of

reasons. Some would say oil and

gas and of course that obviously was a large determinant of it, but it was

all about governance as well, Mr. Chair.

You only have to look at who has been in these chairs, who sat on

this side of the House over the past ten years and it gives me more reason

to get up here and be very proud of the work that this government has done

over the past decade, and even a little bit more than that.

So,

Mr. Chair, do challenges remain?

Absolutely. I am from rural

Newfoundland and Labrador. I

lived there; I spend every weekend home.

When I am not in this House, I am out in rural Newfoundland and

Labrador. I am very aware of it.

I started off by speaking about Charlottetown, Bonavista Bay.

That is the quintessential rural Newfoundland and Labrador community.

So I am very familiar with it.

challenges do remain, but I can tell you and I can tell everyone in this

House the great things that are happening in rural Newfoundland and

Labrador. It upsets me, and I

take exception to it when I hear members such as the the one from CBS who

was on council, who I believe was an educator in his previous life as well,

someone who is informed, I would hope would be informed, can talk about such

things and say such things, such fallacies.

also concerns me, particularly from the Member for CBS, he is from an area

that has seen some of the most unprecedented growth in all of the Province.

A community, I guess it borderlines it is almost a city it is going

to become I am sure in a few short years with all of the communities coming

together. He has seen first-hand

all the progressive work, the Progressive Conservative work, that has gone

on in his district. He was on

council. He was there taking the

cheques when money was rolling into the community, as housing permits were

going out, as industry was moving in and commercial areas were getting built

up.

This

is the member who has the gall to stand to his feet and say nothing has

changed in the past ten years.

Mr. Chair, I do not know if he was saying it just to score political points

and if he actually believes what he said.

I hope he does not believe what he said.

I do not believe what he says and I do not think any member on this

side of the House does.

People around the Province people always say you have short memories.

I do not believe the folks of Newfoundland and Labrador have that

short a memory. I think people

can realize where we have come in the last ten years.

I can stand here as a proud Progressive Conservative and someone who

has been part of this government for the past six years and in various other

forms since 2004, I am proud of the work that has happened.

I am proud of the investments we have made.

Many

and the vast majority I would argue are in rural Newfoundland and

Labrador. The work that has gone

on and the work that will continue to go on, again, is fantastic.

It adds so much to the life to those, particularly again, in rural

Newfoundland and Labrador. That

is certainly not to leave out the metropolitan area and the Northeast Avalon

because we all know the boom that they have seen is off the charts.

I go back to the Member for CBS.

He has seen it first-hand; he just must have forgotten it.

only get ten minutes to speak during this, but I just wanted a few moments

just to lay that out and to remind people where we were ten short years ago

versus where we are today, two very different spots, and it is for some very

important reasons.

AN HON. MEMBER:

(Inaudible).

MR. S. COLLINS:

If the Member for St.

John's Centre would allow me to finish, I have seventeen seconds left and I

would like to take the last seventeen seconds to actually wish my

colleague's colleague, the Member for Signal Hill Quidi Vidi, a very happy

birthday. I understand that

tomorrow the Leader of the Third Party will be having her birthday, and I

would like to wish her a happy birthday as we will not be in the House

tomorrow. Happy birthday.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

CHAIR:

The hon. the Member for

Bay of Islands.

MR. JOYCE:

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and

I just want to rise I heard the minister speak just then, talking about

the Member for CBS. Mr. Chair,

everybody knows I have been passionate about the hospital in Corner Brook.

I will show you transcripts where this minister got on because he was

ordered to get on Open Line and say there should be no radiation in Corner

Brook. There should be no PET

scanner in Corner Brook. Ordered

to get on Open Line. I say, tell

your Premier right here and now that it should not be done.

Let's see if you have the guts, because you were ordered.

He was Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Health and ordered

to get on and tell the people in Corner Brook they did not deserve

radiation, they did not deserve a PET scanner.

Here he is talking about Margaret Wente, and you expect us to sit

down and listen to him.

Mr.

Chair, do you know what the minister reminds me of?

A puppet, someone pulling his string: now go on Open Line and say

this, say that. Mr. Chair, if he

really believed what he said, walk over and tell the Premier radiation

should not be in Corner Brook, PET scanners should not be in Corner Brook.

Guess what? He does not

have the intestinal fortitude to do it.

He does not have it, he just do not have it.

What

is he going to do? Stand up here

and talk about Margaret Wente, but he will not go out and face Corner Brook,

because I offered. I was on Open

Line, Mr. Chair, and I offered the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister

of Health: Come to Corner Brook, face the people.

Guess what? He did not do

it, but he can stand up here and criticize one of ours because of Margaret

Wente and something she said.

Mr.

Chair, it is shameful, because there is nothing more important to the people

of Newfoundland and Labrador than their health and their health care system.

When I was fighting for the long-term care facility in Corner Brook,

the extra 100 beds, when I was fighting for the hospital, when I was

fighting for the radiation, this minister got on Open Line and said I was

foolish, were his words. It

should not be done, it should not be done, Mr. Chair.

Guess what? It is being

done.

Let

him tell the Premier of this Province, let him tell the Minister of Health

that they are foolish too, Mr. Chair.

Do not go criticizing members from our side when we are fighting for

health care. This member is like

a little puppet.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JOYCE:

It upsets me, Mr. Chair,

when you do not want to support the people in this Province.

You do not want support the people in Western Newfoundland health

care because you are a Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Health.

Now you have to go on Open Line and criticize Eddie Joyce because

Eddie Joyce does not know what he is talking about.

Eddie Joyce did know what he was talking about and this caucus here stood up

for people of Western Newfoundland.

I will still invite the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services

to come out and have a public meeting with the people be a man.

Be a man and tell them they do not deserve it.

Anytime you want to stand up here and criticize someone, just remember, you

did not stand up for the people of Western Newfoundland.

You did not stand up for radiation.

You did not stand up for a PET scanner when they needed you.

So do not go trying to lecture anyone over on this side of the House,

because you are not the person to do it.

Mr. Chair, he is not the person to do it.

Now,

Mr. Chair, I will get back to what I was going to say originally.

Mr.

Chair, I heard the Minister of Health today talking about the hospital in

Corner Brook. Then again, I know

the Member for Humber East asked questions today.

Do you want to know why people are skeptical?

We put in two freedoms of information.

One came back, and it was concerning the radiation.

In the report that was given, the information from the government, is

that the hospital is going to open in 2019.

We have a second report that was done on the functional plan, it says

Mr.

Chair, I always said if I am ever going to say anything in this House, I am

willing to back it up. Look at

Hansard, the minister said in this House that the hospital will start in

2016. It is going to take five

years to build. That is 2021.

They just cannot be honest with the people in Corner Brook and

Western Newfoundland. I do not

know why. I honestly do not know

why. I do not know why they just

cannot stand up and say look, it is delayed, but here is where we are now.

Stand up and be honest.

know the Minister of Health met with the action committee in November.

He promised to have floor plans to them in two weeks.

Guess what? The members

of the action committee have been trying to reach him ever since.

Mr.

Chair, there is a conference call tonight at 6:30.

I am not invited to it. I

am not allowed to it. I ask the

Member for Humber West, the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, will you

ask your minister if I can attend as an MHA, and the Member for Humber East,

if they can attend a meeting tonight about this health care facility in

Corner Brook.

Here

is a chance for the Member for Humber West now to stand up for his people

out there also. He is the same

one, Mr. Chair. The Member for

Humber West in 2011 went out, sent tractors out and the former Premier and

the Member for Humber East.

Guess what? He sent tractors out

in 2011, plowed off some land, a nice big dog park out there, a nice big

skidoo facility. He got up at a

public meeting in Corner Brook during the election in 2011 and said

construction will start in 2012.

AN HON. MEMBER:

I never said that.

MR. JOYCE:

No, you never, the Member

for Humber East. You were there,

but you did not correct him. You

were part of the government.

you know who the honest one was in all this, out of this whole group over

here with this hospital? It is

the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Health.

He was the Minister of Transportation and Works who came in here in

Estimates. I said to him show me

the Harbour Main Whitbourne member.

I said show me where the money is spent on the functional plan.

He said Ed, we do not even have the predesign done yet.

I nearly fell off my chair.

AN HON. MEMBER:

When was that?

MR. JOYCE:

That was in 2012.

That was after the Member for Humber West and the Member for Humber

East were in a public meeting, after sending tractors up, levelling it off

so they have a nice dog park up there.

After they levelled it all off, Mr. Chair, saying the construction

will start. I walked in and the

Member for Harbour Main Whitbourne, who was the Minister of Transportation

and Works, at least he was honest.

I have to give him credit, he was honest and all throughout the way.

ask the Member for Humber West who is over there sitting in his seat, who is

the Minster of Fisheries, can myself and the Member for Humber East attend

that meeting tonight, or is it barred now and we are going to be told all

this information, like they were told in November, they will have something

in two months? Like the minister

just gave us on the freedom of information, the functional plan, he stood up

in this House and said: oh, no, that is not the functional plan.

just want the Member for Humber West know, I sent a copy out to the health

care committee. I know the minister

is supposed to do it but I guess it slipped his mind.

They are still waiting for it.

So I sent it out for him, Mr. Chair.

That is all I am going to say about that.

Mr.

Chair, once again, I will ask the Member for Humber West, the Minister of

Fisheries and Aquaculture, will you get permission so that we can attend the

conference call tonight at 6:30 in Corner Brook about the health care

committee? I am asking him

publicly if that can be done.

Even if it is just to sit in to listen.

Mr. Chair, like I always said, what this government says out in

Corner Brook, it changes when they get back here in St. John's.

The two people who know what has been said in Corner Brook is myself

and the Member for Humber East.

Here is an opportunity. I beg

you to do that, I ask the Member for Humber West.

Mr.

Chair, I will stand up here on Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday and say if I

got an invitation to that meeting, because I think I should be there as a

member. I think I should be

there to ask questions. I think

the Member for Humber East should be there.

I am pretty confident the Member for Humber West, with such an

important issue, will be there also.

I will be shocked if the Member for Humber East is not at the meeting

tonight, that teleconference tonight.

I will be shocked.

Now,

do not be surprised if I stand up here on Monday or Tuesday and says the

Member for Humber West never attended that meeting.

Do not be shocked if I do that.

I am asking to be there.

AN HON. MEMBER:

We should all be

allowed.

MR. JOYCE:

Right, we have members

here the Member for St. Barbe should be there.

The Member for Burgeo La Poile, the Member for Cartwright L'Anse

au Clair, and the Member for The Straits should be there.

Why can't we all go on the teleconference to find out what is going

on? Why not?

Isn't this an open government now?

Isn't this the type of government now who wants to share all the

information?

The

Member for Humber West, the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, is

sitting in his seat. He is the

minister now for Western Newfoundland.

We are asking you on behalf of caucus: Will you get us permission to

attend that teleconference tonight so we can tell our residents exactly

where this hospital stands? What

is the functional plan? When is

it going to be ready? When is

all the construction going to start for the long-term care, for the acute

care? Let's give all the right

information to the people of Western Newfoundland and Labrador.

ask the minister once more. Here

is your opportunity to stand up for the people of Western Newfoundland.

I doubt very much if he is going to do it, but I will come back on

Monday or Tuesday and say if I got it, Mr. Chair.

I am sure the minister is going to give us an update on it anyway.

Mr.

Chair, I just have another fifty-five seconds here.

There is one thing that I want to speak about, the family caregiver

program. I was absolutely

shocked when I received the information about how restrictive this program

is absolutely shocked. When

they stood up in election 2011 and promised the family care program for all

people of Newfoundland and Labrador, it took them two-and-a-half or three

years to come up with this restrictive program, knowing people could not get

the funds out of it. If you want

to talk about a sham, they made it so restrictive that very few people can

even get the funds out of it very few.

The most vulnerable people in this Province cannot use it.

urge the government to go back and look at your criteria and change it.

There are a lot of people suffering out in the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador who would like to use it

CHAIR:

I remind the hon. member

his speaking time is expired.

MR. JOYCE:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

CHAIR:

The hon. the Member for

Kilbride.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DINN:

Mr. Chairman, when I

walked in I just came from the Department of Health with a constituent who

had a meeting, and I thank the minister for the great staff you have.

Actually, we met with three representatives from your department, and

very professional, very co-operative people, I must say.

We came away from the meeting feeling very good.

Thank you very much.

When

I walk into the House of Assembly, a bit late, I was hearing things about

Newfoundlanders, and I kind of thought back to how hard workers

Newfoundlanders have always been.

Newfoundlanders have a reputation of being hard workers.

They have always had it.

AN HON. MEMBER:

What about

Labradorians?

MR. DINN:

I am sorry

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians; you are right.

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have always been hard workers.

remember when I grew up, there were twelve of us in a family, we had a dog

that starved to death because there were no scraps, as you can imagine.

There was not very much left.

When the pot was emptied out, there was nothing to throw out, very

little. I came from a family of

hard workers. My mom and dad

worked like slaves to keep twelve children fed.

I can remember my grandparents worked very hard.

We, as Newfoundlanders, have a history of being hard workers

AN HON. MEMBER:

Labradorians.

MR. DINN:

and Labradorians, yes.

We have a history of that, and I hope we keep that history.

have been sitting in the House of Assembly for the last couple of weeks

hearing the back and forth about Interim Supply, especially about

this $20 billion oil revenue we have had in the last ten years.

I wanted to talk a bit about that.

I am not going to negative.

I was tempted when I was getting up to be a bit negative.

If I could get some people's attention, it would be nice.

AN HON. MEMBER:

Tell us about the Member for CBS.

MR. DINN:

No, I am not going to say anything about the Member for CBS.

I was going to be

CHAIR:

Order, please!

MR. DINN: I

had a temptation to be a bit negative, but I am not going to be that way.

I think I am going to focus on all the good things that came from

this $20 billion and especially in my district.

took $2 billion of that $20 billion over the last five or six years and we

gave wage increases to the people who work for the public service: teachers,

nurses, doctors, police people, people who operate our plows, people who

work here at the Confederation Building, people who work in all the

government buildings throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

We were able to give those people that decent wage after they waited

so long and so many years of austerity.

I am

sure if I picked up the phone or any Member of the House of Assembly picked

up the phone tomorrow and phoned the union leaders and asked them what do

they think about us squandering or spending that money giving them wage

increases what do you think their answer would be?

I am sure they would not say that this was money wasted.

Then

if I wanted to carry it a bit further and pick up the phone and call the

nurses and doctors and teachers, social workers, NAPE employees who work

from my district with the government, I am sure if I said to them we wasted

money giving you wage increases, I can imagine what I would hear.

I am sure I would not be treated very well.

I do not think this was $2 million wasted; I think this was money

well spent for people who deserve those raises.

spent $20 billion on infrastructure, building new schools, fixing roads,

reconstructing roads that were bad, building new roads, building health care

facilities, and treatment centres.

We built town halls, and public buildings were fixed all over the

place. We helped municipalities

all over this Province with our new formulas to put in water and sewer

projects and other capital works.

I am

sure the Member for St. John's South would agree because he worked with me

on this project for a number of years.

I am sure that there would be very few people in the west end of St.

John's and in Kilbride who would say that the new west end high school was a

waste of money; that almost $40 million was something that the people

wanted. From 1999 to 2000 when

Beaconsfield quit being a high school in the west end, people in that area

always felt aggrieved; they felt that there should be a school in the west

end of St. John's. Guess what?

That new school is going to open in September of this year.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DINN:

People are very happy

with that.

Another project in my area that this money was spent on, or some of it, was

building a new community centre for Southlands.

I have been at the opening of that place.

We worked on it for ten or twelve years trying to get that.

We had community groups in the area of Southlands trying to get a

community centre because that was one of the features missing in that whole

area.

Southlands people are very appreciative.

They use this community centre to the maximum.

It is very much appreciated.

None of them would be against this going on.

have contributed to Bay Bulls Big Pond water supply system being upgraded.

The Petty Harbour Long Pond water system was upgraded.

We have contributed to the Goulds Arena upgrades, the paving and the

warm room in there. We have

helped with the sidewalks on the main road, and the upgrades on the main

road in the Goulds and Kilbride.

We are cost sharing the Team Gushue Highway Extension, which will take

people from the west end right down across town.

heard in the last two weeks that this government did not put away any money

for a rainy day. I beg to

differ. I think that the west

end high school and any other new schools that were built in this Province

by this government are not built for the next two or three years, they are

going to last nearly fifty years.

We have put money away in the way of infrastructure.

Roads that are done will last ten-plus years.

Ferries and water bombers that we bought are not going to give out,

we hope, in two or three years; they should be good for nearly twenty years.

Water and sewer projects should be good for fifty-plus years.

This is all investment into the future.

carry on, that is $8 billion gone out of that $20 billion.

We put $3 billion on the public debt.

Now, how important was that?

I heard some people say the other day it does not make a difference;

we are still going to owe $11 billion in the public debt.

If we had not put $3 billion on the public debt and bring it from $11

billion down to $8 billion then if we do have deficits for the next three

years and it goes up to $11 billion it will not be $14 billion; it will be

$11 billion.

Because of this paying down the debt

AN HON. MEMBER:

(Inaudible).

MR. DINN:

Can we listen over there

now or do I have to go over?

AN HON. MEMBER:

(Inaudible).

MR. DINN:

I have done that too.

CHAIR:

Order, please!

MR. DINN:

I am not very big but

anyway I am just joking now; do not take it seriously.

paying down the debt, by doing the fiscal stuff that we did over the last

ten years, we did something that was very important for this Province.

We were able to get a high credit rating, probably one of the highest

credit ratings this Province ever had.

Guess what that means?

That means you get lower interest rates on your debt payments which saves

you millions of dollars in the future.

So that was a very wise move.

A move that was praised, not only by us bragging about ourselves, but

banking institutions. Financial

people all over the world praised us for what we were doing.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DINN:

We came into a situation

that was bleak. We fixed it, and

if the people elect us again this fall, we will do the same thing again.

Now,

that is $3 billion on the debt.

We also gave people in this Province a $3 billion tax break.

We cut income tax, provincial income tax rates, we eliminated taxes

on all kinds of insurance and other things, and we did away with a lot of

fees. This put $3 billion-plus,

over the last seven or eight or ten years, into people's pockets a lot of

money.

put $2 billion into the public pension funds.

It is something that needed to be done.

We took about three-quarters of a billion and put it into the

university so that we could keep

CHAIR:

I have to remind the hon.

member his speaking time has expired.

MR. DINN:

Already?

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

CHAIR:

The hon. the Member for

St. Barbe.

MR. J. BENNETT:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

thank the members, but I have not spoken yet.

Mr.

Chair, you can imagine my surprise when just a few minutes ago the Minister

of Child, Youth and Family Services was up and quoted Margaret Wente from

ten years ago in order to launch an attack on the Member for Conception Bay

South on a transportation issue, when he is the Minister Responsible for

Child, Youth and Family Services.

That is a surprise to me.

would like to, through the Chair, relate to the people of the Province

another one of the tales from the crypt of Child, Youth and Family Services

and child protection in this Province.

There was a report done by the Child and Youth Advocate and it's

called: Turning a Blind Eye. In

Turning a Blind Eye, the Child and Youth Advocate related to the people of

the Province and complained to the minister, to the department.

She looked at a case that lasted a span of thirteen years.

Not thirteen months which is the one I spoke about the last day

thirteen years.

She

said in 2005, the Child and Youth Advocate undertook this investigation

following the conviction of a mother for numerous offences against her

children, namely her two girls, Jane and Mary.

The woman was subsequently sentences to several years in prison.

She said the events span a thirteen-year period, wherein multiple

professionals and agencies had contact with the family on a continuous

basis.

Why

this is important, Mr. Chair, is because the same circumstances exist today

because this government does not take child protection seriously enough.

The same circumstances exist today, where what happened in this case

could again happen. What

happened in this case? This was

only the beginning where this mother was convicted.

the courts, comprehensive notes were logged from the early 1990s forward.

So if you go back from the 2005 conviction to the early 1990s this

closed in 1993. Three of the

children that mother had from her first relationship had been apprehended by

child services. So child

services took three children into protective care in 1993.

Then following the notes and looking at what happened thereafter,

that same mother went forward in a second relationship, had six more

children who were neglected and abused to such an extent that the mother

faced criminal charges.

The

Youth Advocate said three of the children, including the Jane and Mary, had

been taken into care for the first time in 1995, and they were returned to

their mother. She went on to say

that when extra vigilance, reviews and analysis should have happened over

the next several years, file documentation did not mirror the safeguards

that were reportedly in place not were in place, were reportedly in place.

The

same issue that I discussed on Joey, The Child Upstairs, Recommendation No.

2 of this report is one of the recommendations not implemented by this

government. That recommendation

is: The Department of Child, Youth and Family Services must develop policy

to ensure all children in a family are physically and critically

observed during a referral and during every home visit.

What

does the department say? The

department said, well, we are not really going to do that.

We are really not interested in all the children.

We are going to have some visits.

The

Child and Youth Advocate says you must see every child in every visit.

Doesn't that make sense to most people?

Doesn't it make sense to the people of this Province that if somebody

has gone far enough to report an abuse situation, a neglect situation, an

abandoned child, a beaten child, a starved child, a child who is in need of

protection that when the child worker attends at that home, shouldn't it

be mandatory that the workers should see every single child?

The

law of averages does not work in child protection.

It must be the law of absolutes when it comes to seeing children.

This government refuses to put in place a recommendation of the Child

and Youth Advocate which says that when a referral is made, every single

child must be critically observed by the worker who attends at that family.

Another recommendation that flowed from this report, and also flowed from

the report that I discussed a few days ago, and after giving the minister a

few days to settle down, I was encouraged, I could come back and speak about

another case. The Child and

Youth Advocate said in one of the not implemented response or inadequate

or inappropriate. So the Child

and Youth Advocate said, a protocol must be developed with Child, Youth and

Family Services and the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate to ensure

immediate reporting to the OCYA of any critical incidents or sentinel events

occurring with children and youth throughout the Province.

had a private member's resolution and it passed, but the government is doing

nothing. If we look at some of

the legislation from other provinces and if the minister is looking for some

guidance he seems to need some guidance because he does not seem to be

able to move the ball forward himself.

Nothing seems to emanate from him except points of order which are never

sustained; or he gets u