Newfoundland and Labrador Hansard — Members' Statements; Statements by Ministers — 15 June 2020 (49th General Assembly, 1st Session, Vol. XLIX No. 39)

2020-06-15

Newfoundland and Labrador — Debates (Hansard)

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June 15, 2020

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLIX No. 39

The

House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Reid):

Order, please!

Admit

strangers.

Statements by

Members

MR. SPEAKER:

Today we will hear Members'

statements from the hon. Members for the Districts of Fortune Bay - Cape La

Hune, Ferryland, Bonavista, Terra Nova and Grand Falls-Windsor - Buchans.

The hon.

the Member for Fortune Bay - Cape La Hune.

MR. LOVELESS:

Mr. Speaker, today I

recognize and congratulate a strong, young woman from my district who was

recently awarded the Loran scholarship worth $100,000.

Lydia

Hardy of Rencontre East – as all locals say round counter east – was one of 36

recipients chosen this year for the scholarship. Founded in 1988, the

scholarship is awarded to undergraduate recipients who show character, service

and leadership.

Lydia is

a tireless volunteer who has given her time and work to mental health issues,

human rights, environmental issues and also community development. Through huge

support from her community and her guidance counsellor at school, she won the

award. She is – and the people of the community are – Rencontre proud.

Mr.

Speaker, she also believes that you don't win anything without a fight.

Overcoming adversity and indifference is nothing strange for her as she

personally faced many challenges. Her advice is “to keep fighting, even if you

don't know what you're fighting for.”

Mr.

Speaker, her plan is to study neurobehavioral science and then continue on in

the field of medicine. She's hoping to start her post-secondary studies here at

Memorial University.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask all hon. Members to join me in congratulating Lydia Hardy and in

wishing her the best as she continues her journey to success.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Ferryland.

MR. O'DRISCOLL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

today in this House to recognize the St. Shott's Recreation Committee. On

February 15, I was honoured to attend a community supper in St. Shott's. St.

Shott's is a small town in my district with 58 residents. I was so impressed

with such wonderful community spirit, and to see a small town with such a big

heart and so much passion to do good for their area.

This

group organizes many activities such as dart tournaments, card games, dances and

community suppers, Christmas activities for all ages, fitness programs, et

cetera. They also organize the annual St. Shott's weekend that is held every

August and has an annual memorial Christmas mass for their deceased loved ones.

They host a fundraiser each year for the Trepassey Lions Club Sick Fund and are

currently in the process of preparing Come Home Year 2022.

The same

people have served on this committee for the past 15 years, and some for over

30. Present committee members are Anita Molloy, Sylvia Molloy, Joanna Finlay,

Elizabeth Molloy and Marie Gibbons. This committee is to be commended for their

accomplishments.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask all Members of this House to join me in congratulating the St

.Shott's Recreation Committee.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Bonavista.

MR. PARDY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It gives

me great pleasure to celebrate Lieutenant Colonel (ret.) Terry Stead's 38 years

of exemplary service to our nation.

Lieutenant Colonel Stead was born in Little Catalina in 1962 and joined the

Canadian Armed Forces in 1979 at the ripe age of 17 years old. His career

highlights included service in all three battalions of the Royal Canadian

Regiment, the Royal New Brunswick Regiment and the Royal Newfoundland Regiment.

He saw

operational deployments to Cyprus, Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia, Afghanistan and

Israel. His appointments included command team positions in all levels of an

infantry battalion up to the rifle company as both sergeant major and officer

commanding a dismounted infantry company.

In 2014,

he was appointed as commanding officer of the 5th Canadian Ranger Patrol Group,

the largest reserve unit in Atlantic Canada. Lieutenant Colonel Stead's training

included basic parachutist, advanced winter warfare instructor, advanced small

arms instructor, advanced reconnaissance patrolman, United Nations military

observer and army tactical operations, to name a few.

received numerous awards for outstanding merit and exceptional service, to

include the Queen's Jubilee Medal and commendations from the chief of defence

staff and commander of the Canadian Army. In 2010, he was recognized for

outstanding service to the military and inducted as a Member of the Order of

Military Merit.

I ask

the Members of the 49th House of Assembly to join me in issuing a sincere thank

you to Lieutenant Colonel Stead for his outstanding service.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Terra

Nova.

MR. PARROTT:

Mr. Speaker, I'm honoured to

pay tribute to a fallen comrade from the District of Terra Nova.

Mr.

Sidney Matthews was a Korean War veteran and a royal Canadian Army member who

served as a peacekeeper. Sadly, he passed away on June 8 at the age of 90.

Comrade

Sid was a founding member and charter member of the Legion Branch 48 in Port

Blandford. For over 60 years he was instrumental in building the Legion. In

1964, he nailed the first nail; he served the first beer and he was the first

bartender. In 1966, he was elected as its treasurer and through the years he

held numerous positions, including president.

During

his 60-plus years, Sid remained faithful to his community volunteering and was

recognized on many occasions: Lifetime membership award; 50 year gold service

medal; 55 year gold bar; Branch 48 service medal; 55 year certificate of

appreciation; Canada 150 Award, and charter member and founding member award

On July

1, 2018, a dedication stone was unveiled with the names of Sid's fellow veterans

and friends from the community of Port Blandford. As the last surviving Korean

War veteran, Sid was proud to be part of this unveiling. Mr. Sidney Mathews name

will now be engraved on the dedication stone.

I ask

Members to honour Sid for his years of service to our country, province and

community.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Grand

Falls-Windsor - Buchans.

MR. TIBBS:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, today I would like to recognize an everyday hero in Grand

Falls-Windsor, Terri-Lynn Barry.

Terri-Lynn's involvement with such programs as Welcome NL and Ride Don't Hide

are combined with her role on the Central Health Advisory Board and Central

Health and Addictions committee. As director of youth and community employment

services and the manager of the Youth 2000 centre, Terri-Lynn has become a

valued leader in our community.

During

COVID-19, Terri-Lynn delivered hundreds of hampers where needed, including Kids

Eat Smart food hampers, all the while delivering virtual programs so could kids

could remain engaged. Whether she is teaching children the fundamentals like

baking, reading to kids in the evening or giving our youth a safe place to go

when they feel lost, she is an asset and we are so lucky to have her in Grand

Falls-Windsor.

I have

had the pleasure of working with this amazing individual this past year, and I

ask you now to join me as we honour Terri-Lynn Barry, a true hero for our youth.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by

Ministers

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister

Responsible for the Status of Women.

MS. HALEY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, I am pleased to announce that our government and the Transition House

Association of Newfoundland and Labrador are partnering on a dedicated,

province-wide domestic violence phone line that will go live next week.

The

Transition House Association's membership consists of 10 provincially-funded

shelters in the province. These shelters are staffed by highly skilled and

compassionate individuals whose mandate is to counsel and assist women who are

facing violence.

The

Domestic Violence Help Line will have a single telephone number for the entire

province. The service will detect the region from which the person is calling

and route the call to the closest transition house. The caller will then be able

to immediately speak with a trained professional who will assist them directly,

or connect them to the appropriate service or organization in the community,

including our women's centres, Violence Prevention NL organizations, or medical

and/or policing services.

I am

also pleased to say this new phone line will have full texting capabilities.

Mr.

Speaker, more information on the Domestic Violence Help Line, including the new

toll-free number, will be released in the coming days as soon as details are

finalized.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask all hon. Members to join me in thanking our transition houses and

all women-serving organizations for the tremendous work they have done and

continue to do as we make our way through COVID-19.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Harbour Main.

MS. CONWAY OTTENHEIMER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would

like to thank the hon. minister for an advance copy of her statement. Mr.

Speaker, we, on this side of the House, join the minister in thanking the

Transition House Association in partnering on a new Domestic Violence Help Line.

Mr.

Speaker, we all know too well the very public and tragic cases of domestic

violence that have occurred in just the past few years. These have raised public

awareness and help to shine a light on this issue. Anything we can do as a

society to combat domestic violence is a step in the right direction.

Women's

advocates and groups have been lobbying for a dedicated service for months –

and, indeed, years – to have this resource to combat domestic violence. It is

very unfortunate, however, that we are three months into the COVID-19 and the

minister is still unable to provide specific details or even the telephone

number.

Government has been too late on this issue, and the lack of leadership is not

lost on women's groups in our province.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

MS. COFFIN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I, too,

thank the minister for an advance copy of her statement. I also thank the

minister for her commitment to helping women who are subject to domestic

violence.

Snowmageddon and COVID-19 have exacerbated the danger faced by those enduring

intimate partner violence. The presence of an understanding voice and a source

of needed information will be a beacon of hope for those feeling hopeless.

commend the minister on her work with transition houses and women-serving

organizations. This Help Line is another small step on the long road to

equality.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Further statements by

ministers?

The hon.

the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Normally, Mr. Speaker, around this time of the year I stand in my place and

recognize Public Service Week in Newfoundland and Labrador, but things are

different. Today, I sit in my spot to provide thanks in a different way.

Due to

the COVID-19 pandemic, we have postponed Public Service Week until such time as

we can safely undertake the activities that make the week a highlight of the

government calendar.

But this

does not in any way lessen the need to recognize our public service, and so

today I do just that.

This

year, more than ever, has demonstrated the talent, commitment and sacrifices

that public service employees make for the people of this province.

Amidst

the challenges of COVID-19, public service employees rose above and tirelessly

gave of their professional and often personal time during what has been an

especially difficult period. Mr. Speaker, it has been nothing short of

professional excellence.

I know I

speak for every Member when I say that we look forward to thanking you in person

for your hard work and dedication. But until that time, I ask all Members of

this Legislature to join me in reflecting on how members of the public service

support us each and every day in serving the people of Newfoundland and

Labrador, and to express thanks for the work that they do.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Stephenville - Port au Port.

MR. WAKEHAM:

I thank the minister for an

advance copy of his statement.

behalf of all Members of the Official Opposition, I would like to thank all

public service workers for their ongoing efforts and to wish them well during

this Public Service Week.

While

the activities are postponed, we do not need to postpone recognizing the

hard-working and talented individuals who helped to administer our government

services, provide policy advice and help individuals through their greatest

challenges.

To all

our public service workers, I offer a heart-felt thank you. I would also like to

acknowledge the great challenge which the public service has overcome during

this ongoing public health emergency. Working from home has its challenges and

the public service has risen above them to provide critical and important

services to the residents of this province.

I look

forward to the time when we can host the Public Service Week activities and

properly thank our public service for their efforts.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

MS. COFFIN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I, too,

thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement.

Mr.

Speaker, I remember my time as a public servant when Public Service Week brought

the annual softball tournament and the beginning of summer hours – lighter days

indeed.

This

year I am proud to have the opportunity to recognize the tireless work of our

public servants who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to keep this

province running during what are exceptional times. Their dedication and

professionalism has ensured our programs and services were delivered during this

pandemic.

We owe

them a debt of gratitude. Keep up the great work.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

MR. SPEAKER:

The Leader of the Official

Opposition.

MR. CROSBIE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Last

week, the Minister of Health told us that lack of PPE prevents our hospitals

from getting beyond 75 per cent bed occupancy.

Is this

a health care crisis?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much for the

question.

It is a

challenge, there's no doubt about it. We are a little different than other

jurisdictions and perhaps a considerable way ahead.

I'm

pleased to report to this House we've had a considerable delivery of both gowns

and masks over the weekend and I've been in discussions with staff today to

encourage further increase in activity within the RHAs to get to our 75 per cent

level by the end of Level 3.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. CROSBIE:

The question was: Is this a

health care crisis when you can't get beyond 75 per cent for the foreseeable

future?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

The

restoration of normal function is predicated on 75 per cent activity at the end

of Level 3. If and when we go to Level 2, we will set new targets and likely

that will see a further approximation to full occupancy.

We have

still not yet safely decided on what margin of beds we need to keep in reserve

against the second wave, but there will be a further increase in RHA activity

over the course of the next level.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. CROSBIE:

Many thousands of patients

and their families who can't get access to health care think that this is a

crisis.

Now, we

asked the Minister of Health when did he learn there was no stockpile of PPE and

he did not answer.

When

exactly did he learn there is no stockpile of PPE exactly?

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of Health and

Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I can't

give an exact date. What was left in the stockpile when I took office was

300,000 masks in various state of disrepair, some of which have been repurposed.

The

facts of the case are that stockpile had been left on the vine since 2009-2010

and been parked in a corner and left. Our proposal now is when supplies allow,

for us to build a stockpile, a buffer into the supply chain so that we're not

faced with that situation again.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. CROSBIE:

The minister must have missed

the point of the question.

When did

he find out about this?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I cannot

recall; I shall go back and check with my notes and briefing notes. The facts of

the case are we inherited a situation where all that was in the cupboard in

Carbonear, as I recall, was 300,000 masks, and that happened before my time.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. CROSBIE:

Well, Mr. Speaker, we'll look

forward to the minister addressing that when he reappears in the House tomorrow.

Business

leaders warned last week that we are on the precipice of a wave of irreparable

economic disaster – and I'm quoting that – and asked for immediate action.

Where is

the plan?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Mr. Speaker, there was a

letter that was addressed private and confidential that came to me last week.

Many of those business leaders that signed that letter were people that we

worked very closely with during this pandemic.

Mr.

Speaker, we're all aware of the challenges that this province has faced even

prior to this pandemic. The oil and gas industry, which represents nearly 30 per

cent of our GDP has been challenged, not by the pandemic as much as the result

in the collapse of oil pricing.

continue to work with the federal government; we continue to work with other

provinces as well, making sure that we can position the oil and gas industry

into its place where it can actually create revenues for Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians.

Mr.

Speaker, the Minister of Finance has been able to work with the Bank of Canada

and others to make sure that we continue to borrow in Newfoundland and Labrador.

There is some $200 million in the contingency fund, Mr. Speaker, that is part of

the recovery plan for the economy in Newfoundland and Labrador.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon Premier's time has

expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. CROSBIE:

Thanks, Mr. Speaker.

Perhaps

it's just me, but I didn't hear an answer to the question, where is the plan.

Now,

maybe the Premier can answer this one. Wayne Myles signed the business leaders'

letter. When the Premier's own appointee as chair of the biggest government

profit centre, the Liquor Corporation, warns of economic disaster, does the

Premier lose any sleep?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

people that would have signed that letter, Mr. Speaker, were a couple of things.

One, they wanted the province to ignore Level 2 and move immediately into what

would have been Level I; that is something that we would need to work with

public health officials. There were a number of things in terms of the request

in that letter but moving to Alert Level I right now, Mr. Speaker, all we need

to do – and I say to the Leader of the Opposition I'm not so sure if he's

ignoring what's happening around the world, if he's looked at what's happening

in Florida, Texas, California, Arizona over this weekend as people open up their

economies, you must do it very strategically.

I would

say there's overwhelming support from the people of our province to make sure

that before we move, we must be prepared to respond to a surge, if it comes.

We've only been at this program with the Alert Levels for a number of weeks. We

will move but only (inaudible) –

MR. SPEAKER:

The Premier's time is

expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Harbour Main.

MS. CONWAY OTTENHEIMER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We know

that times of high stress and economic instability increase rates of domestic

violence upon women.

Why has

it taken the minister well over 100 days into this crisis to implement a simple

province helpline to support women of domestic violence?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister

Responsible for the Status of Women.

MS. HALEY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the hon. Member for her question.

Most of

us would assume that it would take overnight to put in a phone line such as

this. That's not the case, Mr. Speaker. There were a number of factors that

needed to be considered, one in particular being the texting capability. Given

this day and age, we need to have texting capacity and, of course, we need to

have trained staff to work with the system. Women who will be at their most

vulnerable will be calling in to this helpline, so we have to ensure that all

factors were put in place.

It is

essential to understand that this won't only address the immediate needs, but

this line will be used post-COVID-19 and we wanted a service that would be in

the best in of the most vulnerable in our province.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Harbour Main.

MS. CONWAY OTTENHEIMER:

Mr. Speaker, this should have been done long ago, and it may very well be a case

of too little too late for many vulnerable women who have been in isolation over

these number of weeks.

Mr.

Speaker, I have heard from women and women's groups throughout the province who

believe that the silence of the minister has been deeply felt on important

women's issues.

How can

the minister stand idly by as women are struggling and trying to cope with

issues like the lack of affordable child care for example?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister

Responsible for the Status of Women.

MS. HALEY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I do thank the hon. Member for her question.

Affordable child care is a very important issue in this province, and I want to

ensure this hon. House and the hon. Member that I have worked closely with the

Department of Education and Early Childhood Development in the beginning days of

the COVID-19 pandemic when our government provided some $5 million to help those

early childhood educators and those who were using the child care services but

would not be having the service available to them. I will continue to work along

with my colleagues on this side of the House on that same issue.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Harbour Main.

MS. CONWAY OTTENHEIMER:

Mr. Speaker, as we

transition through this pandemic and continue to confront economic and social

issues, it is vital that we address the structural inequalities that exist.

What

plan does the minister have in place to address these inequalities and to ensure

that women also have the opportunity to recover and thrive?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister

Responsible for the Status of Women.

MS. HALEY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the hon. Member for her question. It's ironic when we have the chief medical

officer leading this pandemic a female. We have three CEOs of our regional

health authorities, Mr. Speaker, female. Our dean of medicine is female, as well

as many of the front-line workers of essential services are female.

I've

very proud of the leadership role that they have taken, Mr. Speaker, and I will

continue to work along with them.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Torngat Mountains.

MS. EVANS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Today,

the Child and Youth Advocate issued a statement of concern about the

unacceptable delay in establishing an inquiry for Innu children in the child

protection system. Additionally, this government still hasn't implemented all

the recommendations for Inuit children in care.

Why does

this government seem more concerned about the historical racism reflected in a

statue, Mr. Speaker, while they continue to procrastinate on addressing

institutional racism, especially when it is impacting our Indigenous children in

care?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well,

certainly we have not been procrastinating, Mr. Speaker, when you look at the

two different inquiries here. The Child and Youth Advocate this morning with her

statement – we were given two options, or there were two inquiries that would

need to be done, two reviews. One, working with the Nunatsiavut Government. They

were prepared to work with the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate to do the

investigation, the review of Child Protection Services, and that report has been

made public.

The

second was the Innu inquiry, Mr. Speaker. So we work very closely with both

Sheshatshiu and Natuashish and leaders within the Innu Nation to put in place an

inquiry. First and foremost, it was important that the federal government would

be involved. There was a lengthy process on the terms of reference. Secondly,

was to put in place a commissioner that could actually lead the inquiry. We need

to be able to work with the Innu residents to make sure they had the appropriate

commissioner in place. That is a work that is ongoing now.

I can

assure the Member opposite that this provincial government is committed to

making sure this inquiry is done, but we must be able to work with the

(inaudible).

MR. SPEAKER:

will they be expected to receive their cheques?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and,

again, I thank the Member for his question.

This is

a program where we will work with employers to get the money into the hands of

the employees as quickly as possible. We obviously need to rely on the employers

to apply for the program. We have provided 10 per cent of the amount provided to

the employer to cover their costs. So as employers get the information to

government, it will be processed as quickly as possible.

The

application time, as the Member has pointed out, will start the first week of

July. We expect the applications no later than the end of July, and as quickly

as they can be processed by government, they will be.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Topsail - Paradise.

MR. P. DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We've

seen issues with the commercial rent program whereby businesses would have

preferred to apply for the rent themselves as opposed to going through the

landlords. In this particular case, you have employers administering to the

employees.

Looking

at this, and given that these top-ups will take deductions such as EI, CPP,

personal income tax and the like, what would the actual essential worker receive

given he will be receiving $1,200?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The 10

per cent provided to the employer is to cover the employer's cost of the CPP and

EI deductions and so on. So, for the employee, Mr. Speaker, this is obviously a

taxable benefit. Their contributions to those programs would be deducted from

those amounts as well.

specifically say what an employee would receive is almost impossible without

knowing their personal deductions. Each employee would have a different amount

of personal deductions, but it is a taxable benefit.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Topsail - Paradise.

MR. P. DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Given

that we've had the luxury of looking at what other provinces are doing, is this

similar process being taken with other provinces?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Minister of Finance

and President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Different provinces have

provided a different program across the board, Mr. Speaker. Part of the reason

our province – it had taken so long to get this program approved by the federal

government. They provided the parameters in which we had to operate, such as the

$2,500 salary maximum. We negotiated that up to $3,000 on a monthly basis.

It was

initially intended for health care workers. They provided additional parameters

there, broadened it. We've gone with the most broad parameters we could, which

is Canada's Public Safety definition of essential workers, Mr. Speaker. We've

tried to broaden the benefit to as many people as we could.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Bonavista.

MR. PARDY:

Mr. Speaker, many parents are

reporting a very wide discrepancy in teacher-student interactions over the

course of this pandemic. Government had no plan to assure that there were

minimum benchmarks and standards of teacher-student interactions to ensure

achievement of these core outcomes and to assure that students who needed more

assistance received it.

What

grade would the minister assign to government's effort?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. WARR:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I

appreciate the question of my colleague.

Mr.

Speaker, at the beginning of this pandemic we were certainly thrown into a

situation here that we had absolutely no time to plan for. Given the fact that

we had an education system to continue to operate here, we did the best that we

could, given the time constraints we had.

Mr.

Speaker, I tip my hat to the educators. They've again – putting the resources in

place on the connectivity was a struggle. We want to ensure that we have a plan

going forward for September and, certainly, that plan would have all students

back in the schools.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Bonavista.

MR. PARDY:

In keeping with the plan for

September, Mr. Speaker, this morning the CEO of the Newfoundland and Labrador

challenges in the school system he does not have answers to. We still have no

plan or even basic information for September coming.

When is

government going to release a specific plan for the new school year?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. WARR:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Certainly, discussions and planning with the school districts, the NLTA, Public

Health officials have been well underway and we're working towards having a plan

in place as soon as possible. I've also been in contact, Mr. Speaker, with the

consultations with school councils, chairs and parent representatives this week.

A plan

will be provided; an approach and guidance for school districts to put into

operation, given the particular status of the pandemic come September. We are

focusing on having a full return to class come September and we'll take the

advice of Public Health officials as we get closer to that.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Member for

Bonavista.

MR. PARDY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Stack also revealed this morning that children may have to find their own way to

school in September and the district is still waiting on the information from

the department on provincial assessment, curriculum and graduation requirements.

Again,

when is the minister going to release a plan for September?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. WARR:

Mr. Speaker, my hon.

colleague brings up a good point with regard to our busing systems. I'd like to

be in a position to give concrete facts here today, but this all depends on

where the pandemic is in September.

Our

plan, Mr. Speaker, we'll hopefully have in place sometime towards the end June.

Our plan is to have the full student population back in classes in September. We

will take the advice of Public Health officials as we approach September.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Bonavista.

MR. PARDY:

Mr. Speaker, a constituent of

mine, Leah Hollahan, is a parent of two children in the K-to-12 school system

residing in Southern Bay. She has been advocating many years for improved

Internet service in her area. Ms. Hollahan states that if online learning is a

tool for her children's education, it should be an essential service. When

Google Classroom was in session this past year the screen was freezing up and

delayed.

Will

government provided funding to provide equitable access to technology and

Internet for our students?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. WARR:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Our

public school system, Mr. Speaker, is based on equity for all students. It's a

fundamental part of our education system and one that we're all working to

achieve during this extraordinary time.

The

school district, Mr. Speaker, distributed hundreds of devices to students this

school year and we found options to address connectivity issues such as portable

Wi-Fi devices, iPads with data cards. Our plan is have the resources put in

place for all students. We realize that there was an issue with resources this

year and I think most of us sitting here as Members today know that we have a

connectivity problem in the province as well. Hopefully, that will be addressed

at the same time, Mr. Speaker.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Opposition House

Leader.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister, are you buying all the PPE that is available in this province from

local companies?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

We work

closely with TaskforceNL, for example, to make ourselves pretty well

self-sufficient in face shields, for example. We have prototypes of gloves and

gowns with Health Canada awaiting final evaluation.

In terms

of supplies locally, any supplier that has contacted our department has had

their inventory assessed and, if suitable, we bought it. If it's not suitable,

we haven't.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Opposition House

Leader.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Our

understanding is that – fair enough – the department has bought specific pieces

of PPE off individuals, but on small amounts, even though these same providers

have massive amounts that could be provided.

Again, I

ask: Why would you not procure all of the PPEs that are available locally from

these companies? When you're providing small proportions of it, why not buy it

all? We're in a pandemic, as you had mentioned, and you had mentioned earlier

that the cupboard was bare when you started. Five years ago was an opportunity

to replenish that cupboard.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

The key

around PPE and these resources is whether or not they pass Canadian, or now even

European, standards to allow them to be used safely in our facility. The worst

situation we could find ourselves in would be to provide health care staff with

PPE that was not fit for the job. Those large batches of PPE of which we had

been made aware, a significant number of them have turned out not to meet the

appropriate standards; therefore, we will not spend public money on it.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Opposition House

Leader.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Will the

minister table the list of PPE purchases in the last four months, detailing by

supplier, quantity and the amount?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

That may be something of a

challenge, Mr. Speaker, in the sense that we're getting a significant proportion

of our PPE at the moment through national and through federal supply lines. I

have no way of knowing directly where that comes from. What I do know is that

these have been inspected at their point of purchase or at their point of

delivery and have been certified by the federal government and our agents as fit

for the purpose.

I cannot go back with any certainty to identify precise

sources for this equipment. I simply know that it's fit for the job and will

protect the people who need it.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

statement of concern calling government's foot dragging unacceptable.

I ask the ministers responsible: Enough is enough, will

he order this long-promised commission struck immediately?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Justice and Public Safety.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I believe the Premier previously addressed this in

Question Period. This is a commission that has taken some time, due to the fact

that it requires three partners. We've been working with the Innu communities,

as well as the federal government.

We are moving forward with this. One of the things that

we do need is a commissioner put in place, and that is something we have been

working with the Innu on; but, again, as the Premier stated previously, this is

something that will happen in 2020.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Labrador West.

MR.

BROWN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The term Discovery Day ignores the fact that Indigenous

people predates European arrival to our province. My wife's family have hunted

and trapped in Labrador for thousands of years as many other Labrador Innu and

Inuit.

I ask the Minister Responsible for Labrador and

Indigenous Affairs: Given that Indigenous organizations are asking for this,

will he consult with

Indigenous communities and governments and do away with Discovery Day?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Justice and Public Safety.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Sure, Mr. Speaker, thank you.

Again,

this is a topic that comes up and it's one I've had conversations with multiple

people about. It's something that – again, with Discovery Day coming up very

soon – will continue to be a discussion item and one that should be a discussion

item; however, I'm unable at this time to commit to such a plan, but what I will

say is it's something that our government will be willing to consider and have

multiple and further conversations with interested parties.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister –

Member for St. John's Centre.

MR. J. DINN:

Thank you for the promotion,

Mr. Speaker. Does it come with pay?

Mr.

Speaker, speculation as to what courses will be taught in the 2020-21 school

year is creating anxiety and concern for teachers. Teachers have informed me

that at recent staff meetings they were told to be prepared to teach or help

teach something else if a particular course was not going to be offered in the

fall. As one teacher noted, he and his colleagues never really know what's

expected of them.

I ask

the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development: What, if any, courses

are going to be dropped or what changes to the provincial curriculum are being

considered?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. WARR:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

appreciate the question coming from the hon. Member.

Mr.

Speaker, again, our plan is to have students back full-time in class come

September. We're looking at doing a full curriculum and having public exams next

year. Mr. Speaker, the school staff are delivering professional learning to over

appreciate, this is a huge undertaking.

Again,

Mr. Speaker, our plan is to be back in class and no changes in the curriculum.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MR. J. DINN:

Mr. Speaker, in order for

parents of school-aged children to fully participate in the opening of the

Newfoundland and Labrador economy, it's essential that the province has a fully

functioning education system that can operate under public health directions in

September.

I ask

the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development: As the government

spends the COVID-19 contingency fund, how much of the fund is government putting

aside to support the public education system so that students and parents are

not disadvantaged?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. WARR:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We're

certainly focusing on having a full return to class instruction this fall, but

we are also very aware that we must ensure, if needed, that remote learning can

be delivered to all students. There's considerable work, Mr. Speaker, underway

to determine what is required for September to support enhanced digital learning

for both students and teachers. We want to ensure that no student is

disadvantaged, Mr. Speaker, and that teachers are fully equipped for digital

learning regardless of the situation with the pandemic.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The time for Question Period

is expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling

of Documents.

Notices

of Motion.

MR. OSBORNE:

Sorry, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

We'll revert to Tabling of

Documents.

Tabling of

Documents

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker – one

of the benefits of not being able to stand in your place.

Mr.

Speaker, pursuant to

section 26(5)(

a) of the

Financial Administration Act , I am tabling four orders-in-council

relating to funding pre-commitments for the fiscal years 2020-2021 to 2024-2025.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further tabling of documents?

Notices

of Motion.

Notices of Motion

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Justice and Public Safety.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I give

notice that I will ask leave to move the following resolution:

Be it resolved by

the House of Assembly as follows:

WHEREAS

the Lieutenant-Governor in Council appointed a tribunal under

section 28 of the

Provincial Court Act, 1991 to make

recommendations on the salaries and benefits of judges and the chief judge; and

WHEREAS

the tribunal submitted its recommendations to the Minister of Justice and Public

Safety on June 6, 2019; and

WHEREAS

the Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial

Court Judges Salary and Benefits Tribunal Report was tabled in this House on

June 25, 2019, as required by

section 28.2 of the act; and

WHEREAS

the House of Assembly is required to approve, vary or reject the report; and

WHEREAS

government has decided to ask this hon. House to accept all the recommendations

of the tribunal as contained in its report of June 4, 2019;

THEREFORE

BE IT RESOLVED that this hon. House accept the recommendations of the

2018 Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Court Judges Salary and Benefits

Tribunal; and

THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the recommendations of the tribunal be

implemented effective April 1, 2017.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Stephenville - Port au Port.

MR. WAKEHAM:

Mr. Speaker, I give notice to

move the following private Member's resolution:

BE IT

RESOLVED that this hon. House urge the government to table and bring to debate

and concluding votes the 2020-2021 budget prior to any general election.

It's

seconded by the Member for Windsor Lake.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Opposition House

Leader.

MR. BRAZIL:

Mr. Speaker, the private

Member's resolution put forward by the Member for Port au Port and seconded by

the Member for Windsor Lake will be the private Member's resolution that will be

debated this Wednesday, June 17, here in the House of Assembly.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further notices of motion?

Answers

to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Humber - Bay of Islands.

MR. JOYCE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

present a petition here signed by residents of the Bay of Islands and some from

your own district, Mr. Speaker, to urge the Government of Newfoundland and

Labrador to direct the province's health care authorities to develop and make

public a plan that not only returns our health care system to normal operations,

but also deals with the significant backlog in appointments, surgeries and other

procedures.

I raised

this issue many times, that the biggest concern that I'm hearing is health care.

There are a lot of people that are in need and there is a lot of anxiety. I know

my colleague the Member for Mount Pearl - Southlands and myself were trying to

raise this and had some questions, but we were rejected. It's great to see that

the Opposition, after rejecting us, brought up these health care issues, Mr.

Speaker.

They are

major concerns. There are a lot of people I know that need heart surgery, some

waiting for some testing, some wondering about the cancer testing. This is

significant. I've been dealing with the minister on it, and he's well aware of

it and trying what he can.

Mr.

Speaker, last week I know I was told by the Leader of the Opposition that it was

a publicity stunt that we're trying to raise questions. I had a few calls over

the weekend and I say to the minister, next time you go to St. Mary's Anglican

church, a few of the people that you met there would like to speak to you about

this publicity stunt, that they're so concerned about their health care. If you

think health care is a publicity stunt, Mr. Speaker, there are a few individuals

can't wait for you to come back to have a few words.

I know

the Member for St. John's Centre said he works well here speaking to people back

and forth. Obviously, that person never represented anybody from rural

Newfoundland and Labrador, because when you deal with people in the rural parts,

a lot of times it's different trying to find out who your specialist is, how

you're going to get in. It's easier than running over to the hospital, running

to the minister. I don't think you realize about rural Newfoundland and

Labrador, because it's different.

Mr.

Speaker, I can tell you, everybody in this House works differently, but I can

assure you one thing. The anxiety of health care for people with heart surgeries

or with diagnostic testing is real. I call upon the government to work as fast

as they can to get something in place, to get a plan in place so that these

people can have peace of mind.

As I

said, Mr. Speaker, in a speech last week, one lady with her hip and the family –

this is before the restrictions were lifted. One family asked her mom not to

move, sit on the couch, because if she broke her hip they couldn't visit her.

That's what we're down to. This is real.

So I

call upon the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to find some way to start

this emergency surgery that's needed. I have another person here today who gave

me a consent form that I'm going to present to the minister. I just urge the

government to work on this as soon as they can.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services with a reply.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

The

Member for Humber - Bay of Islands raises a very topical and very important

issue and, certainly, it's one we in the department have been hearing about

expecting this. We tasked the regional health authorities some while ago now to

prepare a plan, both to restore, in a graduated way, to normal functioning as

the alert levels change, but also then one to address the backlog. Indeed, I

have a meeting with the Medical Association as well for next week, I think,

virtually to discuss that, among other concerns.

What is

happening is there is an increase in both testing procedures and in-patient work

across each of the regional health authorities. The priority for this is

determined solely by clinicians. As the capacity increases, so the ability to do

more will also increase.

It is

more than ever now a time where primary care doctors, their patients and the

specialists all need to get on the same page about individual cases so that no

one is overlooked. I would encourage physicians and nurse practitioners to do

this.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Topsail - Paradise.

MR. P. DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS

many students within our province depend on school busing for transportation to

and from school each day; and

WHEREAS

there are many parents of school-aged children throughout our province who live

inside the Eastern School District's 1.6-kilometre zone, therefore do not

qualify for busing; and

WHEREAS

policy cannot override safety of our children;

THEREFORE, we petition the hon. House of Assembly as follows: We, the

undersigned, call upon the House of Assembly to urge the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador to eliminate the 1.6-kilometre policy for all

elementary schools in the province, and in junior and senior high schools where

safety is a primary concern.

Mr.

Speaker, we brought this petition forward a number of times. I know my colleague

for Conception Bay South has also brought this petition forward, it's timely.

It's always timely when we talk about the safety of our children.

In this

particular instance of busing, this is in areas where there is nowhere for them

to walk or wait for a bus in a safe manner, especially when you have snow on the

ground and the roads are smaller again. If there's anything we've gotten out of

COVID is the huge, huge need to be concerned for safety.

I heard

the minister responsible for Education earlier today speak to that next year

it's expected to have full classes, no changes in curriculum. I believe the

news earlier about a hybrid, potentially. Regardless, the fact of the matter is

kids will be in some form of school in September. The minister noted it's a

complicated issue when it comes to enhancing digital learning but I would

challenge that providing safe school busing is probably not as challenging or

complicated.

I will

ask for the coming school year that this is on the agenda and that we are

looking at ways in which all children can get to and from school in a safe

manner.

Thank

you.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development with a response.

MR. WARR:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the hon. Member, I guess for his heartfelt petition, because that's certainly

what it was, Mr. Speaker.

I don't

think I need to make a further statement, other than the fact that the safety of

our students is paramount – it really is.

Having

said that, we, as the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, have one of the

best busing policies in the country. We will continue to monitor the busing

system; but, again, I certainly concur with the Member about the safety of our

students.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Harbour Main.

MS. CONWAY OTTENHEIMER:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

Whereas

there is a growing urgency for brush cutting in several communities in the

District of Harbour Main, specifically in Conception Harbour and Roaches Line,

Route 70. These roads are of high volume traffic with significant moose

sightings that pose a serious threat to motorists. Brush cutting maintenance on

these roads must be carried out as soon as possible to ensure the safety of the

people that use them daily.

Therefore, we petition the hon. House of Assembly as follows: We, the

undersigned, call upon the House of Assembly to urge the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador to immediately take the necessary steps of conducting

and maintaining brush cutting operations on the Conception Bay Highway,

specifically Conception Harbour and Roaches Line, Route 70, to ensure motorists

safety and to improve the sightlines for the driving public that use these

roadways each day.

Mr.

Speaker, I rose in the House of Assembly with a petition on this very issue of

brush cutting last year, December 5, 2019, with respect to areas of Conception

Harbour, Roaches Line and as well Hodgewater Line, Route 71. Mr. Speaker, I'm

disappointed, to say the least, to report that although the minister gave

assurances at that time that this important issue would be addressed, little has

been done in all this time.

Mr.

Speaker, in fact, the minister rose in the House of Assembly when I brought this

petition forward last year and stated in response to my petition, which I

presented on behalf of the people in these areas, he stated that he was going to

actually please the Member opposite. Well, Mr. Speaker, I can advise you that

the Member is not pleased. This work, he indicated, had been added, and that

would be to the contract. That was on December 5, 2019.

followed up, Mr. Speaker, on December 16 with a letter to the minister regarding

brush cutting for Conception Harbour and Roaches Line and I asked for an

expected time frame. Again, sad to report, little happened. My understanding was

that work was commenced in the Roaches Line area, but I'm advised it was only

approximately one kilometre which was completed and then it stopped because of

snowfall.

Mr.

Speaker, no work at all was started in the Conception Harbour area. Mr. Speaker,

this is of grave concern. The Conception Harbour area, it has clearly been

stated that there are many moose sightings in this area. The area needs to have

the brush cutting taking place. Those who travel through the community would

have a better chance of being able to avoid a collision. In fact, Mr. Speaker, a

collision occurred in this very intersection of the Conception Harbour area. We

attribute that – at least the residents in the area say it was caused because of

the inability to have appropriate sightlines by the vehicles.

Mr.

Speaker, this is a serious issue and this needs to be addressed immediately once

and for all.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works, for a response.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the hon. Member for the petition.

The hon.

Member mentions a few dates and they're all, I think, December. We did add that

work to a contract last year in December. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, we do have

to stop cutting brush once the snow falls. It's not practical to do so. If we do

continue to cut brush once there has been snow accumulation, what we find is

work is not of a good quality and you end up with brush that's two or three feet

high and it just doesn't work.

Mr.

Speaker, I would like to inform the Member, talk about immediacy. We do not cut

brush in this province until after, usually around the end of August due to the

Migratory Bird Act .

The

Member wrote me an email a few days ago. I explained that to her, that there are

no brush cutting tenders that would've been let as of yet, simply because it's

not something we've done as a department under this administration or previous

administrations. Brush cutting is a fall activity, Mr. Speaker, and we're going

to again this year invest some $2 million in brush cutting in this province and

we look forward to getting those tenders out early in the fall.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount

Pearl - North.

MR. LESTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

Adult Dental Program coverage for clients of the Newfoundland and Labrador

Prescription Drug Program under the Access and 65Plus Plans were eliminated in

the economy-killing fee and tax-adding budget of 2016. Low-income families and

low-income individuals, particularly seniors, are struggling with the cost of

living and struggling to meet some of their basic needs. Many seniors and

low-income individuals and families can no longer access basic dental care, and

those same individuals can now no longer access dentures, leading to many other

digestive and medical issues.

Therefore, we petition the hon. House of Assembly as follows: We, the

undersigned, call on the House of Assembly to urge the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador to reinstate the Adult Dental Program to cover seniors

and low-income individuals and families to better ensure oral health, quality of

life and dignity.

Mr.

Speaker, this, I believe, is my fifth time presenting this exact petition. And

while we see this administration continue to pass out funding and increases for

certain demographics of society, this one demographic continues to be ignored.

This is

not acceptable, Mr. Speaker. It's not acceptable that somebody is afraid to

smile. It's not acceptable that someone is prevented from getting a job because

they're afraid to smile, they're afraid to speak. It's not acceptable that

people are malnourished because they can't chew their food. This is a modern

province. While we have our challenges, when it comes down to the fact that we

are ignoring people's basic needs, such as access to dental care, I think that's

something we should all hang our heads in shame.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services, with a response.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

The

Member opposite raises an important area of concern. There's no point in going

back to discuss the financial situation of the budget of 2016. Quite frankly, it

can be summed up in the words it was a disaster that we inherited and we did

have to make some awkward choices.

Our

Dental Program is in the middle of what other programs across Canada look like.

We are better than five and not as good as another five. We would love to be

able to expand that, but there are dentures being provided. There are emergency

services being provided for dental care and there is a small allowance for

annual dental care for those eligible individuals, Mr. Speaker.

In the

fullness of time, would I like to see this expand? Yes, I would. But until and

unless we can solve our fiscal problems, we have to spend within the limits of

our budget and we are in the middle of the pack, Mr. Speaker.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Member for Exploits.

MR. FORSEY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, residents of the Exploits District have a great concern from the result

of the 24-hour emergency service cut to the Dr. Hugh Twomey Health Care Centre

in Botwood. All residents feel that the 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. service does not

adequately and efficiently address the emergency requirements of this district,

affecting both patients and residents to receive adequate care when needed.

We, the

undersigned, call upon the House of Assembly to urge the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador to restore the 24-hour emergency service to the Dr.

Hugh Twomey Health Care Centre immediately.

Mr.

Speaker, in 2016 the Liberal government stripped the 24-hour emergency service

from Botwood, giving them 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Stats show from October 2018 to

October 2019, 7,833 visits were made to the Dr. Hugh Twomey Health Care Centre

in Botwood. Another 4,620 visits were made to the Central Newfoundland Health

Care Centre in Grand Falls-Windsor. This is a total of 12,453 people of the

Exploits District needing 24-hour emergency service.

Mr.

Speaker, this is still an ongoing concern and the people are interested in

getting this 24-hour emergency service put back. Before that, there was millions

of dollars spent to upgrade the lab and X-ray service at the Dr. Hugh Twomey

Health Care Centre and they decided to cut that service. Doing this leaves added

burden now on the Grand Falls-Windsor hospital. People have to leave in the

nighttime to get to Grand Falls-Windsor, adding stress and time to patients,

staff, problem areas and lineups at the Grand Falls-Windsor Health Care Centre.

Mr.

Speaker, this is not good enough. They can take the stress off there by

replacing the 24-hour emergency service in Botwood. Not only that, last week the

minister blatantly acknowledged that he was taking the testing hub from Grand

Falls-Windsor and putting it in Gander with no justification only that he can.

He's going to protect his own area of Gander.

Mr.

Speaker, services can't be taken from the Exploits District or the Grand

Falls-Windsor - Buchans District just to satisfy the minister's need.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services with a response.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I would

suggest that investing $20 million in a state-of-the-art facility at the Hugh

Twomey centre is indicative of an interest in supplying services to the area of

Exploits.

The

issue of the emergency department that he references, those numbers that he gave

were people who did receive care. Central Newfoundland Regional Health Centre is

20 minutes away by ambulance from Botwood. The issue of the need for 24-7

emergency care, I have said, will be revisited when the new wing opens and we

see what staff is available and what the out-of-hours demand is.

Currently, it seems to be of the order of two patients a week presenting there

outside of hours. That was the last time I looked; those figures may be a little

out of date. I'll look again and see if the update would provide any more light,

Mr. Speaker. I would argue we have gone out of our way to make sure that

Exploits has the health care it needs.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount

Pearl - Southlands.

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

There

have been numerous concerns raised by family members of seniors in long-term

care throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, particularly those suffering with

dementia, Alzheimer's disease, other cognitive debilitating conditions, whereby

loved ones have experienced injuries, have not been bathed regularly, and not

received proper nutrition and/or have been left lying in their own waste for

extended periods of time. We believe this is directly related to the

government's failure to ensure adequate staffing at those facilities.

therefore call upon the hon. House of Assembly as follows: To urge the

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to instate legislation which would

include mandatory establishment of adequate ratio of one staff to three

residents in long-term care and all other applicable regional health facilities

housing persons with dementia, Alzheimer's disease and other cognitive

debilitating conditions in order to ensure appropriate safety, protection from

injuries, proper hygiene care and other required care. This would include the

creation of a specific job position in these facilities for monitoring and

intervention as required to ensure the safety of patients.

Mr.

Speaker, I have presented this petition I'm not sure how many times now – an

awful lot – on behalf of the group Advocates for Senior Citizens' Rights. I did

commit to them that I would present it again this sitting of the House of

Assembly, which is what I'm doing. For the next three days after, I certainly

want to talk about health care, education and daycare. I'll be presenting

petitions on all three of those topics in the next three days because that will

be my only opportunity, unfortunately, to bring these issues forward on behalf

of my constituents.

Back to

this particular petition, as I said, it's been raised numerous times. The issue

here is not about the staff or the quality of the staff or anything like that,

it's about the fact that there's not always enough staff available to deal with

residents. Perhaps on paper it may look good but if you're not calling people in

and replacing them when they're off sick or when they're on holidays or you're

using this approach of not to replace the first sick call, then you're impacting

the seniors. In particular, these are the most vulnerable seniors of them all. I

encourage every Member to go to the Facebook group, Advocates for Senior

Citizens' Rights; you will see hundreds and hundreds of postings from people

throughout Newfoundland and Labrador with seniors, with loved ones in long-term

care who have experienced some of the things that have been indicated here.

Again, they believe primarily due to lack of available staffing at all times.

certainly encourage the government to take a look at this. The federal

government now, they learned through COVID – we know what's happened in

long-term care homes on the Mainland. We're lucky that didn't happen here, of

course, and they've done a good job through the COVID-19, but during regular

times, there's certainly an indication that there's not enough staffing at all

It is moved and seconded that

Bill 25,

An Act To Amend The Social Workers Act, be now read a second time.

Motion,

second reading of a bill, “An Act To Amend The Social Workers Act.” (Bill 25)

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

speaking notes are so old that it says, I stand in this hon. House to commence

debate, but I'm quite happy to continue from a sitting position.

I think

it would be remiss of me, however, if I didn't note that originally I had

intended to bring this piece of legislation forth during National Social Work

Month and also to acknowledge the work that our health care providers, in

general, have done for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador over the last

three to four months. They have risen to an occasion which is truly a

generational kind of issue, and I really can't say enough good things about

them.

If you

ever wanted a moto for the health care system at a time of challenge, it is:

improvise, adapt and overcome. I think that has been the moto in the way they

have worked over the last little while and, indeed, continue to do so as they

deal with some of the issues we've heard about today, brining back some sense of

normalcy to one of our busiest public sectors.

The

rationale behind this is that in this province we have social workers in a wide

variety of departments. In actual fact, if I'm not mistaken, one of my

colleagues may address the fact that her department has more than anyone else's,

and it's not health care.

They

work in public service. They work in the private sector. They work with

children, adolescence; they work with their families. They work with seniors and

their families, both in acute-care settings and in long-term care, and, indeed,

they are instrumental in helping support seniors in their decision-making about

how to be cared for and care for themselves at a time in their life when they

need a little bit more than they can do totally by themselves.

They

also work in the education system. They work in the justice system. They have an

immense body of counselling skills. They use these skills for support of

individuals who find themselves going through these various services for

whatever reason.

Mr.

Speaker, social work has been a regulated profession in this province since

1992. The Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Social Workers is the

regulatory authority. It's responsible for licensure and it's responsible for

regulation of social workers in accordance with the

Social Workers Act , which is now what

we're setting to amend.

broad-brush terms, the association is responsible for acting in the interest of

the public and to do so by establishing and maintaining standards of

professional conduct, knowledge and skill amongst its member; ensuring

competency of social workers; protecting the public interest; and promoting,

increasing and improving the knowledge skill, efficiency and proficiency of its

members in all matters related to the profession and practice of social work in

the province.

The

association's mandate is potentially around, in this element, ensuring that

social workers are qualified to do the job and that they provide services to the

people of the province in accordance with standards of professional and ethical

excellence that really cover social work as a profession at large.

The

Social Workers Act amendment here,

Bill 25, does a couple of things. It's actually to remove the term “association”

from the name so that the name would henceforth be the Newfoundland and Labrador

College of Social Workers, to better reflect its public protection mandate.

If you

recall, we had similar amendments in the Nurses Act when we amended the name of

the Association of Registered Nurses of Newfoundland and Labrador to the College

of Registered Nurses of Newfoundland and Labrador. The title college is now

generally accepted in the public domain as being one that is involved with

standard setting and regulation,

whereas by and large associations have had a

more advocacy-focused role and that certainly, in the case of the registered

nurses, led to some confusion. I think here as well, the college would also like

to clarify that they are a regulator and a licensing body responsible for public

protection and standards, rather than necessarily an advocacy group on behalf of

social workers.

The

second thing the bill wants to do is update the definition of social work. The

logic behind that is that the scope of practice – they are a self-regulating

profession; their scope of practice has changed since the original act. As a

result of that, they find themselves needing to update, refresh their

definition. Whatever the changes here were during discussions with the social

workers, we have not removed its responsibility for public protection. That will

not change, nor is it the desire of any party to do that.

The

amendments around the definition of social work clarify that when individuals

provide service using the skills and training that they have, when they use what

they're taught to do they are actually doing social work. I think that needed

some clarity around reference to their knowledge theory and skills that they

accrue over the course of their degree and subsequent training.

It also

clarifies that these skills do not necessarily reflect those that are unique to

social work in the sense that others may possess them, such as counselling

skills and these kinds of things. Basically, it says that if you practice from a

social work perspective, then you are doing social work as reflected for the

purposes of the act.

It also

amends clarity around managing programs, so that when you're employing social

work skills and training that also is a managerial responsibility within the

definition of social work. The amended definition also reflects the role of

social work in the policy sphere of health policy in general. It aligns with the

interpretation of the definition by the association when they responded to

inquires.

There

are a couple of other elements here that were timely. What it was trying to do

was align the requirements for licensure under situations pertaining to a

pandemic that would remove any barriers should we find ourselves in a situation

challenged to deal with a workload that the existing licensed body of social

workers couldn't cope with, as it were.

There

was, however – particularly around the

definitions I've just mentioned – a

suggestion or a requirement that the bill would come into force at the end of

September. That would fit with the delay in proclamation that we had when we

amended the Nurses Act back last year. It requires some administrative changes.

It requires some publication changes, specifically around materials that would

bear a logo or their name and, obviously, this would be best done in a managed

transition.

Whilst

in a sense they may appear to be housekeeping, from the view of the social work

community they are viewed as very significant indeed; particularly in their

recognition of the regulatory role of social work college and also in

enshrining, I think, a little more clearly what the contribution is that social

workers make in their everyday activities around the support they provide to

people in the province. They are a very important part of our health care

system, our education system and our justice system.

This was

a very collaborative process. It's not something that we came up with in the

department and pulled out of a hat. This was driven by – in the same way the RNU

were keen to have their amendments last year, this is very much a parallel

process where the social-work community sat down on frequent occasions, as they

could in face-to-face circumstances in those days, to help draft the bill.

It has

broad support across the social-work community and certainly the association,

and what hopes to be the college very shortly, would have no doubt in standing

up and supporting this. Indeed, there had been a hope, when this was originally

presented, that social workers may actually have been present in the gallery to

show their support. Unfortunately, they are not able to be here because of the

chief medical officer of health response to COVID-19.

I think

it's another episode in legislation where we're ever greening and updating our

legislation to make it current and relevant to today, rather than necessarily

kind of stuck in the past, as it were. I really don't have an awful lot more to

add at this stage. I've only used a fraction of my introductory time, but I

think I would look forward to comments from my colleagues on either side of the

House.

With

that, Mr. Speaker, I will metaphorically take my seat once again.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Placentia West - Bellevue.

MR. DWYER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Bill 25,

An Act to Amend the Social Workers Act, this is a very big part of the public

sector, obviously, and it's a very important role in carrying out a system of

care, as opposed to any kind of silos or anything.

I think

with the changing of the name from association to college, it's more coming in

line, I guess, with a national standard. As the minister pointed out, it makes

it more current and relevant as a regulatory body. The regulatory body is

setting standards and regulations, and it's a self-regulating profession. There

needs to be some checks and balances in there to make sure, I guess, that vacant

positions are becoming filled in a timely manner, because as we know our social

workers are working with the vulnerable of our society, from seniors to youth,

and they have to keep the public interest at heart as well.

It's a

fine balance, and I very much respect social workers. When they go into that

profession, it's a level of care that you're willing to provide. A lot of times

I think it goes over and above anything you learn in theory, because not always

does theory relate to the real world. So it's a system that we'd like to see

probably more acknowledgement of what's going to happen in the workplace and

stuff like that, because as we know there are many challenges in many different

areas.

Like I

said, social workers obviously are an integral piece of our system of care. They

deserve government support to bring their professional expertise to the

residents of the province. Social work being defined in the act differentiates

these professionals from other types of counselling. So to work with society's

most vulnerable social workers' counselling is needed, and this is most times

the initial consultation that brings confidence to the client that they are

entering a system of care that is actually willing to help.

These

changes, as we see, are definitely necessary. When it comes to the board itself,

it's setting forth instead of having a president-elect, the president-elect will

be considered then the vice president. Then when that term of vice president is

ceased, the vice president moves into a two-year term of president. Then

consequently after that mandate, turns into a two-year term of past-president.

Which I think is a good part to the system, for the simple fact that you have

the same people looking at the regulatory process for six years and know what

goes on there and then the more people that come into the system are more apt to

know where the college at this time, once we pass the amendment, will know to go

forward with their legal system.

So it's

welcome news. Like I said, it includes the reference to social workers with not

only their knowledge and theory but their skills. A lot of times these are

tertiary knowledge of how you grew up yourself, probably, that you bring to the

table that can make the difference in somebody's life.

As the

minister stated, this is one of the busiest pieces of our public sector, for the

simple fact they deal with the vulnerable in our society, from youth to seniors

and people living with disabilities, anything like that. So it's definitely some

welcome changes to the act. They are necessary to go by more a well-developed

system, I guess, that brings them more inline with a national standard. It's

something that we, as the Official Opposition, are willing to support.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Children, Seniors and Social Development.

MS. DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

enjoyed listening to the comments from my critic, actually, the Member for

Placentia West – Bellevue. I do agree with lots he had to say, certainly, when

it comes to the checks and balances that should be in place for folks that work

in this profession.

Mr.

Speaker, it comes down to accountability. I believe we've never been in a time

before in our province more than where the people of the province expect that

accountability across departments, but perhaps none more so than when we talk

about things. I'm going to speak for a moment through the lens of child welfare,

that's in my department.

colleague, the Minister of Health, said he believed I had the highest number of

social workers, but I will say to him of the 1,600 registered social workers, I

believe I am in a close second to health. I think he's beat me on this one item

here.

Mr.

Speaker, today we're talking about sort of a minor change here to Bill 25, a

bill that would amend the Social Workers

Act . Basically, we're changing the name from Newfoundland and Labrador

Association of Social Workers to the Newfoundland and Labrador College of Social

Workers.

This

bill proposes to change the name to better reflect its public protection

mandate. The association, Mr. Speaker, carries out a critical role of protecting

the public by licensing social workers who have the necessary education,

training and competencies to practice in this province. Changing the name to the

Newfoundland and Labrador College of Social Workers will help to better identify

their role.

The bill

also proposes to update and clarify the definition of social work, including

adding a specific reference to social work knowledge, theory and skills.

Clarifying that managing programs when employing social work skills and training

is social work and acknowledging the role of social work in the health policy

sphere.

These

amendments, Mr. Speaker, it is hoped, will clarify any confusion regarding the

association's role as regulator and will update and clarify the definition of

social worker to avoid confusion as to the application of the act.

In our

province, the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Social Workers is the

legislated authority responsible for the regulation of social workers who work

throughout our province. Mr. Speaker, when we look across Newfoundland and

Labrador, where do social workers work? We see them in hospitals, in schools, in

child welfare, mental health, addictions, housing, palliative care, corrections

and policy development, so just like we've been hearing this afternoon.

Social

worker is a profession that does work with some of our most vulnerable. They

work often in very, very difficult circumstances. People look to them often when

something is very broken, when they need support.

Mr.

Speaker, NLASW holds all social workers accountable for offering the highest

quality professional services to their clients, specifically the NLASW standards

of practice outline the practice requirements for social workers in our province

to ensure safe, ethical and competent professional practice.

Many

times since I've been in the Department of CSSD – it'll be three years next

month; time goes fast, Mr. Speaker – I've been on my feet commending and

applauding the difficult work of social workers, but there's another side as

well and that's why it's important that we talk about and that we have in place

the checks and balances. Because while we may have nine of every 10 social

workers that are out there that are going above and beyond, sometimes for

various reasons – and you know we all make different career choices – sometimes

we might have somebody in that field perhaps that were not meant to be. They

might have been meant to be somewhere else. That's why it's very, very important

that we have standards of practice in place, Mr. Speaker, that hold folks in

this profession today, in particular that we're talking about, to the highest

standard in the areas of competence, documentation, confidentiality, ethical

decision-making, advocacy and social policy, professionalism and accountability.

Mr.

Speaker, I mentioned at the beginning the 1,600 social workers that are

registered with the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Social Workers and

one-quarter of those who are currently working in my department. We also have

social workers over in Housing that do very valuable work out in some of our

eight community centres that would be around the province and that work with

very vulnerable families.

The

mandate of CSSD – it's a large social department – is to support individuals,

families and communities around this province in achieving improved health and

social well-being and reduced poverty, and to ensure the protection of children,

youth and adults from abuse or neglect. We would have children on one end with

child welfare that would work with social workers and we also have the

Adult Protection Act which is housed

in CSSD. We would also have social workers working with – sometimes there are

adults that may lack capacity and need supports, et cetera. The department

promotes the values of inclusion, diversity and healthy active living and are

working for the well-being of all.

Mr.

Speaker, CSSD could not carry out its valuable work for the people of this

province without the skills, knowledge and professional practice of social

workers. Each and every front-line child protection social worker in my

department and also the staff managing these programs are required to be

registered with the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Social Workers as a

condition of employment.

Mr.

Speaker, I'm going to say that again because we are only, I believe, the third

or fourth province in the country that requires this. They are required to be

registered with the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Social Workers as a

condition of employment. What this does is it ensures that CSSD social workers

are held to a very high standard from the moment they are hired, and so they

should be. No disrespect to some of my other colleagues across departments but I

say it all the time, it's not roads, it's not water and sewer, it's not

infrastructure, it's lives. It's very important decisions dealing with lives

every day that folks in this profession would be doing.

We are

one of only four provinces in Canada – I misspoke when I said three – which

requires regulatory registration for child protection social workers. This means

that CSSD social workers must meet the strict requirements to be a registered

social worker and they are held accountable to meet the professional criteria

set by the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Social Workers.

Mr.

Speaker, I will also say social work is not easy work. It takes patience and

compassion. It takes a dedication to helping people, families and communities.

People who enter this profession, they do so because of their strong commitment

to help others, and I've seen this first-hand. I often say to social workers

when I travel around the province, it's a work of heart.

I've had

the opportunity to be in Central, to be on the West Coast, to be in a number of

communities in Labrador, Mr. Speaker – some very remote communities where the

work is extremely challenging, some places where we have social workers that fly

in as teams, two weeks in, two weeks out – yet people step up for this job all

the time and, actually, instead of focusing on the challenges, they focus on the

reward they receive from helping others. I've always been impressed with the

level of commitment that I have seen as I have visited many of the offices

throughout the province.

In each

of these visits, Mr. Speaker, I make a point. Once the business is done,

whatever reason I'm there to visit, I usually pull the social workers into a

boardroom; sometimes I meet individually with social workers because I want to

hear from them. I want to hear what their challenges are and I want to hear what

we can be doing in the department, Mr. Speaker, to better support them.

Every

day, I have a great executive team that works extremely hard and I should give

them a shout-out because they have certainly worked hard through COVID.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS. DEMPSTER:

Most of the people in CSSD would be considered essential workers, Mr. Speaker.

But still, every day when I sit with the executive in the department, they are

giving me a view through one lens. That's why it's always been important for me,

right from day one, that I get out into community when I have the opportunity to

also sit and speak and talk with the social workers. They give me another

perspective; they give me another view, and when I come back into the

department, sometimes I ask different questions based on those conversations.

Let's

just it leave at that. Each time I get out and I talk with them, I'm always left

with a very profound respect for the people who have chosen this profession and

the stellar job that they are doing serving the people of our province, Mr.

Speaker.

Social

workers throughout Newfoundland and Labrador strive to promote and demonstrate

excellence in the profession and practice of social work, but as I mentioned,

sometimes it only takes one. When you're on a team, Mr. Speaker, nine can be

doing a great job and it only takes that one sometimes. It is unfortunate, but

it can taint the whole team. That's why I say when – I was going to say when

they fail or if they fail, but they are only human as well. When social workers

fail to meet the standards expected of them, the Newfoundland and Labrador

Association of Social Workers is our check and balance – that's what we're

talking about here this afternoon – through its complaint and discipline

process, designed to professionally and objectively review allegations against

professional social work practice.

We get

them sometimes, Mr. Speaker. We have around 350 social workers in my department

that are spread all across this province and while the majority are doing great

work, periodically we do get a complaint. One thing I can tell you is that when

a complaint is received, there are levers in place and there are checks and

balances. There are things that get pulled. There is an investigative process

that happens on a number of levels within the department, and sometimes we see

that the Advocate, when things are made public, she does her own investigation,

but any time we get feedback within the department on an area that someone has a

concern about, we start to dig and investigate into that very timely and we take

it very, very serious.

The

purpose of this process is to provide clarity regarding professional obligations

and responsibilities. Mr. Speaker, it's all about holding them to a higher

standard and to ensure social work clients have their right to skilled, ethical

and professional services affirmed. Social workers are expected to maintain the

public trust in social workers and the social work profession.

People

trust them, Mr. Speaker. They are held at a very high standard because of the

type of work they do. So our social workers, they are not to discriminate

against any person due to culture, religion, social economic status, gender,

age, sexual orientation or disability. They are to carry out their work with

honesty, reliability and diligence.

The

Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Social Workers is the organization

which holds social workers in our province accountable to meet these

expectations. While the majority of social workers will meet and exceed these

expectations, it is the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Social Workers

in its regulatory role that is able to address those that do not. I cannot

underline how important that is.

I want

to say I am pleased to stand – I feel like we're on all the COVID couch those

days, because after seven years of saying I'm pleased to stand and support, I am

sitting, but very happy to support Bill 25. I believe it will strengthen the

overall accountability of the social work profession in the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador and that's very, very important, Mr. Speaker.

I want

to thank my colleague for bringing forth this piece of legislation and thank him

for the opportunity to speak to the bill today.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Topsail - Paradise.

MR. P. DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It's a

pleasure to speak to this bill as well. It's been covered by previous speakers

but just to clarify what this amendment to the act is doing. It's essentially

changing the name of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Social Workers

to the Newfoundland and Labrador College of Social Workers. It's updating

terminology used to describe the executive members of the board of directors and

it's also to clarify the roles and responsibility of the board of directors and

the college.

These

changes, to some, may seem miniscule but they are very important. Ensuing the

act is updated is important, just as the profession of social work is extremely

important.

Social

work, as has been touched on, is a profession. It's concerned with helping

individuals, families, groups and communities to enhance their individual and

collective well-being, so they serve a huge role. They help people develop

skills and they, as a result, require a unique blend of skills and knowledge.

The Minister of Health and Community Services, I believe, mentioned that it's

unfortunate that we're not speaking to this during National Social Worker week

because it's a good opportunity to throw a bouquet and applaud the work they do

in a wide variety of ways.

actually had the benefit or the opportunity of working the front lines in the

social work department through my public service career: twice during two work

stoppages and, of course, once through 9/11. It was extremely eye-opening. I

don't think the general public has a good understanding of what some of our

social workers go through on a daily basis and some of the clients they have to

deal with who are in dire need and in extreme situations.

Our

social workers deal with quite an array of areas. Just think about it. Many deal

with long-term care issues. We heard about some of that today in a Member's

petition. They have to deal with our elderly and the families of our elderly in

specific situations. Primary health care: Social workers are involved in primary

health care on a daily basis. Family service agencies: Dealing with family

issues, and family concerns and family court. Think about it. I mean really,

think about your own family, but then you're dealing with multiple issues of

other families that need a skilled, and knowledgeable and independent

individual, professional individual, to help them out.

Child

welfare: The Member for Torngat mentioned – Torngat?

MS. DEMPSTER:

Cartwright - L'Anse au Clair.

MR. P. DINN:

Cartwright - L'Anse au Clair,

right, mentioned that earlier as well, talk about child welfare; investigating

concerns around family violence, investigating child abuse and neglect, going in

and taking a child from a home. Really, think about it. Then recruiting a foster

home and foster parents to look after this child in an interim period. I can't

do that. I had the opportunity, like I said, to be on the front lines for a

couple of times, during a couple of work stoppages and 9/11, and that was only

for a short period of time. Our social workers do this on a daily basis.

They

also deal with issues around mental health, psychiatric hospitals and school

boards. Some of the most stressful jobs in the world to have – and I hesitate to

say this because I'll never hear the end of it from my brother – but one is

teaching, and up there with that is social work. Social work as well up there in

the top of the list.

Dealing

with correctional facilities and correctional institutes; helping offenders,

young and old, to rehab back into the community – huge, huge responsibility;

helping some to readjust to the community. I think of the movie

The Shawshank Redemption when one of

the long-term occupants of the prison was released and just could not deal with

being out in the real world as I'll call it. You have social workers that have

to deal with that.

When

you're dealing with the schools – and our school, our education system has

changed. We have more and more children of special needs. We have social workers

who are in the schools dealing with children with aggressive behaviours,

children who are not showing up for school, children who have family problems at

home, children who come to school to get a lunch, really. You have social

workers who deal with those individuals as well.

The

department I worked many of my years with, Advanced Education, Skills and

Labour, of course deals with welfare administration, income support. To see some

of the individuals who come in to see a social worker on that and the situation

they are in – and you're following policy and following regulations and here's

the most I can give you – I don't know how their heart works for this. I don't

know how their heart can't break every day when you look at some of the

individuals you have to deal with, but you have guidelines to deal with it.

Really,

it really takes a special person to become a social worker. To become a social

worker, when you go in and you want to help people – and it's a strong

commitment that was said earlier as well. You need a strong commitment to help

people. Just on the other side of that, when you talk to social workers – and I

mentioned earlier about stress – it's not an easy occupation. I think unless

you're involved in it on a daily basis or see it on a daily basis, you do not

realize what they go through.

Depression, anxiety, emotional issues are substantially higher as social

workers. They have issues with their poor psychological well-being if they're

there too long and it's stress related. They have issues with their physical

well-being. They are important. This legislation is good in making it more

accountable in how we help clients and how we deal with the board or the college

now. I think, at this time, we also need to take a closer look at what we do for

social workers.

Social

workers, I guarantee you, need supports. Because you say to yourself: What are

they getting out of it? Most, being the professionals they are, will say

satisfaction. If I could take one child out of an abusive environment and place

he or she in a loving home, then that's satisfaction. But I would suspect there

are a lot of other negative issues they deal with in order to get to that one

file that gives them satisfaction.

addition to this here going ahead, I think it would be also prudent on our part

to look at what supports we give our social workers, what toolbox we give our

social workers, what we can do to help them in a proactive manner to be the

professionals they are and to do and provide the services they can to the wide,

wide variety of clients that they help. Again, they're helping individuals,

they're helping groups, they're helping communities and they're helping them all

to be more than they can be.

certainly, on this side, have no issue with this bill going forward, this act to

amend. I just hope that in future discussions we dig a little deeper into what

we can do to assist our social workers in the job that they do on a daily basis.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER (Bennett):

Seeing no other speakers,

if the Minister of Health and Community Services speaks now he will close the

debate.

AN HON. MEMBER:

(Inaudible.)

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount

Pearl - Southlands.

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker

Just for

the sake of Hansard , and for the

record, I will be supporting this bill, to change the name and the other couple

of changes that are associated to it.

certainly want to recognize, as others have, the great work that social workers

do in our province.

Thank

you.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Cape

St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I really feel privileged here again today to represent the

beautiful District of Cape St. Francis and say a few words on this bill. I

wasn't going to speak, but I felt like I had to. I have a daughter who's a

social worker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. K. PARSONS:

I think when we talk about

social workers in this House of Assembly that it would be a great opportunity

for me to get up and acknowledge the great work they do.

I see it

first-hand, and I see the passion that a lot of our social workers have. Like my

colleague from Paradise mentioned, it's such a wide variety of work in which

they do, from taking care of our elders in seniors' homes to in hospitals and in

everyday life when it comes to taking care of the most vulnerable people in our

society. So to make any changes that will make social workers' lives a little

easier or to give them the tools that they need to perform their duties, it's

important.

First

when my daughter told me she wanted to be a social worker, I was trying to talk

her out of it because I said, no, you're way too soft to be at that; that's not

the type of job that I think you should be involved in. As he became a social

worker and I watched her over the last number of years do her job, I'm very

proud of her and very proud of the job that she does because I do realize that

it takes a special person and it takes a person that is a very caring person. I

have to say, she's a very caring person.

I just

wanted to say today to all social workers in our province, we appreciate – it's

a hard job it's a very difficult job. The Member from Paradise also mentioned

the duties sometimes that they have to do. When you're dealing with family care

and you're dealing with abusive situations and where children are involved, when

there are drugs involved or domestic abuse and whatnot, sometimes that's the

person who has to go and make the hard decisions. The Member for Cartwright -

L'Anse au Clair mentioned some of that also.

It's

very important that we, as a government, be there for those people and be there

to make sure that they have the supports that they need in order to carry out

the work that they need to carry out.

I was

there a couple of times when they came down to my daughter's house; I was

speaking to a lot of social workers. There are a lot of young social workers in

this province. I know, as a social worker develops, it seems like their career

develops also. When you're becoming a social worker, sometimes it's hard to get

into what you want to do, so you start off in the most difficult jobs there are,

and the younger they are.

I tell

you, the people that I have seen involved in social work, that I've been around,

are all dedicated and they start right at that front-line work. I always

remember when my daughter had an opportunity to work, that's where she wanted to

work. They're eager. A lot of our young social workers in this province are very

eager and they want to work, and I commend them all.

Like I

said, I just wanted to give my support to all the social workers in this

province and I really want to say thank you for the great job you do. Sometimes

the appreciation is not there when you're dealing with hard situations, but as

long as your heart is there, that's all that matters.

Thank

you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

MS. COFFIN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I won't

belabour this. This is an excellent bill. This amendment brings the

Social Workers Act into current times.

It reflects their roles and responsibilities appropriately, and it reflects the

changing nature of their work. I would just like to go on record as saying the

New Democratic caucus does support this bill. We laud the work of social workers

here in the province, and any opportunity we get to help them ease their burden

in a lot of the work they do, we wholeheartedly support that.

Thank

you very much for this opportunity, Mr. Speaker, and you will have our support

in passing this bill.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

If the Minister of Health and

Community Services speaks now, he will close the debate.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

It's

great to hear the contributions from Members opposite, including a nice personal

touch from the Member for the beautiful District of Cape St. Francis.

I look

forward to any questions in Committee, as long as they're simple ones, and I

commend this bill to the House.

MR. SPEAKER:

Is the House ready for the

question?

The

motion is that Bill 25 now be read a second time.

Now.

motion, a bill, “An Act To Amend The Social Workers Act,” read a second time,

ordered referred to a Committee of the Whole House presently, by leave. (Bill

25)

MR. SPEAKER (Reid):

The hon. the Government

House Leader.

MS. COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I move,

seconded by the Minister of Health and Community Services, that the House

resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole to consider Bill 25.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that I do now leave the Chair and that the House be

resolved into a Committee of the Whole.

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against?

Carried.

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

left the Chair.

Committee of the

Whole

CHAIR (Bennett):

Order, please!

We are

now considering Bill 25.

A bill,

“An Act To Amend The Social Workers Act.” (Bill 25)

CLERK:

Clause 1.

CHAIR:

Shall clause 1 carry?

The

Chair recognizes the Member for Placentia West - Bellevue.

MR. DWYER:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

clause 1, it reflects the expanded role of practice for a social worker. In some

cases, individuals who are social workers may also practice a different type of

therapy.

How does

the college regulate an individual who may be trained in more than one

discipline?

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the hon.

the Minister of Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

The

college only regulates those people who are practicing social work in the

context of social work. Anything outside of that would fall outside their

mandate.

In the briefing, we were told

that an individual is elected to the position of president-elect where they

spend two years, then they serve as president for two years and then past

president for two more years. This bill will change the office from

president-elect to vice-president, but the succession plan, planning rotation

will no longer be contained in the legislation.

Previously, it appeared in

section 10 of the act but it appears to be removed.

Is the succession plan

schedule contained in the regulations or the college's

by-laws, and why is it being removed from legislation?

CHAIR:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

That's a general trend across

legislation is to leave the regulatory, the by-law piece outside of the act.

One of

the challenges with the Social Work Act

and with a couple of other acts is we've had to come back into the House for

this body,

whereas if you looked at say another self-regulating profession,

there's an umbrella piece of legislation then there are regulations which LGIC

or the minister would proclaim and then by-laws written under that. That is the

logic behind this. It would still be encoded in the by-laws which are the

property of the college.

From our

point of view, we have no firm stance one way or another on whether these terms

should be two or three years, for example, if they wish to change them. The plan

they have there used to be certainly a very well established way of establishing

continuity over time.

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the hon.

Member for Placentia West - Bellevue.

MR. DWYER:

Due to COVID-19 there have

been some delays, obviously. The date contained in the draft legislation was

September 30, 2020. The bill is supposed to come into force on September 30,

Given

that this legislation was supposed to be debated in March, will it still come

into effect on September 30?

CHAIR:

The hon. Minister of Health

and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

This delay was to accommodate

the association/college's request to do the administrative work behind it. I

have not heard that that has changed. Absent that, I would stick with the date

there.

CHAIR:

Any other questions to clause

Shall

clause 1 carry?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

CHAIR:

All those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

motion, clause 1 carried.

CLERK:

Clauses 2 through 34

inclusive.

CHAIR:

Shall clauses 2 through 34

inclusive carry?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

CHAIR:

All those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

motion, clauses 2 through 34 carried.

CLERK:

Be it enacted by the

Lieutenant-Governor and House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as

follows.

CHAIR:

Shall the enacting clause

carry?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

CHAIR:

All those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

motion, enacting clause carried.

CLERK:

An Act To Amend The Social

Workers Act.

CHAIR:

Shall the title carry?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

CHAIR:

All those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

motion, title carried.

CHAIR:

Shall I report Bill 25

without amendment?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

CHAIR:

All those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

Motion,

that the Committee report having passed the bill without amendment, carried.

CHAIR:

The Chair recognizes the

Government House Leader.

MS. COADY:

Thank you.

I move,

Mr. Chair, the Committee rise and report Bill 25.

CHAIR:

The motion is that the

Committee rise and report Bill 25.

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

CHAIR:

All those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

motion, that the Committee rise, report progress and ask leave to sit again, the

Speaker returned to the Chair.

MR. SPEAKER (Reid):

The hon. the Member for

Lewisporte - Twillingate.

MR. BENNETT:

Mr. Speaker, the Committee of

the Whole have considered the matters to them referred and have directed me to

report Bill 25 without amendment.

MR. SPEAKER:

The Chair of the Committee of

the Whole reports that the Committee has considered the matters referred to them

and directed him to report Bill 25 without amendment.

When

shall this report be received?

MS. COADY:

Now.

MR. SPEAKER:

Now.

When

shall the said bill be read a third time?

MS. COADY:

Tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

Tomorrow.

motion, report received and adopted. Bill ordered read a third time on tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MS. COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I call

from the Order Paper Order 4, second reading of Bill 27.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I move,

seconded by the hon. the Government House Leader, that Bill 27,

An Act To Amend

The Personal Property Security Act, be now read a second time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that

Bill 27,

An Act To Amend The Personal Property Security Act, be now read a

second time.

Motion,

second reading of a bill, “An Act To Amend The Personal Property Security Act.”

(Bill 27)

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Service NL.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm

pleased to speak in the hon. House again today to introduce amendments to

legislation within the mandate of Service NL. Mr. Speaker, my department

provides a wide range of services to residents of Newfoundland and Labrador,

including licensing and inspections related to public health, public safety and

environmental protection, as well as the provision of vital documents.

regulates the health and safety of employees in the workplace in Newfoundland

and Labrador, and also safeguards consumer interests. Through the Motor

Registration Division it performs driver testing, issues driver licences,

vehicle registrations and other photo identification cards. It is also

responsible for achieving safety on public highways through a number of program

areas.

Mr.

Speaker, Service NL was created with the aim of consolidating, to the extent

possible, the licensing, permitting, inspecting and regulating functions within

government and providing a single window access point to the public for those

services. The authority to carry out its functions comes from over 150 pieces of

legislation, standards and codes of practice.

So, Mr.

Speaker, one of these pieces of legislation is the

Personal Property Security Act . It regulates the creation and

registration of security interests in Newfoundland and Labrador, such as an

enforceable legal claim or a lien in collateral that is placed against a loan.

As an example, a consumer may borrow money to purchase a vehicle and that lender

typical registers a lien on the vehicle. If an individual defaults on the loan,

the lender can repossess or take the vehicle back. Once the loan has been paid

in full, the lender then releases their interest on the vehicle.

In other

words, when an individual secures a loan, assets are placed against the loan

which gives the lender the right to repossess all or part of the property if the

borrower stops making loan payments. This practice allows the lending industry

to reduce the risk on a loan, which in turn allows for a lower interest rate and

borrowing costs. It is a mutually beneficial agreement in that the borrower can

take advantage of lower financing and the lender has security that the debt will

be repaid.

Back in

2007, amendments were made to the uniform

Securities Transfer Act , another piece of legislation under the mandate of

Service NL. This act provided for uniform laws for the transfer of all

securities and focused on facilitating the electronic transfer of those

securities. Securities are defined as financing or investment instruments which

are bought and sold in financial markets, such as bonds, options, shares,

stocks, warrants, just to name a few. As a result of the changes to that

legislation, there were unintended consequences to the

Personal Property Security Act . These

unintended changes altered the description of collateral, thereby reducing the

options of what can be used as collateral in a security agreement.

Mr.

Speaker,

section 11 of the Personal

Property Security Act provides a list of what can be considered collateral.

Prior to the 2007 amendments, it stated: by item or kind, or by reference to one

or more of the following: goods, document of title, chattel paper, security,

instrument, money or intangible. When the changes to the uniform

Securities Transfer Act were made in

2007, the description in

section 11 of the

Personal Property Security Act was changed to “by item or kind as 'goods',

'chattel paper', 'investment property', 'documents of title', 'instruments',

'money' or 'intangibles' ….”

The

insertion of “as” before the list of categories and the removal of the final

clause including the “or” indicates the collateral must be one of the categories

listed. It reduced the options of what can be used as collateral in a security

agreement by changing the description. Because of the amendment, acceptable

securities have been limited specifically to only goods, chattel paper,

investment pro

Document details

Collection	Newfoundland and Labrador — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	2020-06-15
Type	hansard
Volume / chapter	2020-06-15
Language	en
Format	htm
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	a53a7fba3607c6c96f43d1573e235a78dcd4bcdf

Source file is stored in the law ingest library (htm).