Newfoundland and Labrador Hansard — Members' Statements; Statements by Ministers — 21 November 2017 (48th General Assembly, 2nd Session, Vol. XLVIII No. 37)
2017-11-21
Newfoundland and Labrador — Debates (Hansard)
PDF Version
November 21, 2017
HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS
Vol. XLVIII No. 37
The
House met at 1:30 p.m.
MR. SPEAKER (Trimper):
Order, please!
Admit
strangers.
In the
public gallery today, I would like to recognize April White, who is an
award-winning artist whose accomplishments will be the subject of a Member's
statement today.
Welcome.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
I would also like to welcome
to the public gallery Mr. Jon Sturge, who's with the Salvation Army; a very
important organization throughout our province. He is based in Springdale.
Welcome
to you, Mr. Sturge.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Today I'd like to make a
special tribute, if I may, to Marie Keefe.
I'd like
to recognize Ms. Keefe. She has been an employee of the House of Assembly
Service who retired on October 31, 2017, after more than 30 years with the
provincial government.
Marie
began her career in the public service with the Pensions Division, Department of
Finance. She served in various roles there before moving on to the Centre for
Learning and Development. While working with the CLD, she delivered training to
both elected Members and government employees and also provided facilitation
services to various public consultations undertaken by government.
September 2007, Marie joined the House of Assembly Service as the Policy and
Communications Officer, a position established as a result of the implementation
of the Green report. In this role, Marie has provided extensive policy, planning
and communication support to the Speaker, House of Assembly Management
Commission, the House of Assembly Service and the statutory offices. She has
also been responsible for overseeing the development of the policy manuals
provided to Members and staff of the House, coordinating parliamentary
conferences and providing public education and outreach services.
I ask
all hon. Members to join me in thanking Marie for her service to the Province of
Newfoundland and Labrador and wishing her well in her retirement.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
Statements by
Members
MR. SPEAKER:
For Members' statements
today, we will hear from the hon. Members for the Districts of Cape St. Francis,
Harbour Grace – Port de Grave, Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune, Conception Bay South,
St. George's – Humber and St. John's Centre.
The hon.
Member for Cape St. Francis.
MR. K. PARSONS:
Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker.
I rise
today to recognize the Pouch Cove Volunteer Fire Department for the tremendous
40 years of service they have provided to the residents of Pouch Cove and
Bauline.
Mr.
Speaker, this department consists of 35 highly trained volunteer firefighters,
as well as three junior firefighters. Members have weekly in-house training to
supplement the provincial training in defensive and offensive structural
firefighting, motor vehicle and machinery rescue, rope rescue, first aid and
many other operations.
This
year, the addition of a new medical van also allows the department to respond to
the medical needs in the area.
At this
year's annual ball, firefighters Barry Murray, Rodney Ryan and Mike Noseworthy
each received 20-year pins for their long service.
Mr.
Speaker, the Pouch Cove Volunteer Firefighters, along with the firettes, also
provide many other volunteer services in their community, such as the Santa
Claus parade, breakfast with Santa Claus, and this weekend they served the
dinner for the Pouch Cove Lions Club Charter Night. These men and women are
always there when called upon.
Mr.
Speaker, I ask all hon. Members to join with me in congratulating and thanking
the Pouch Cove Volunteer Fire Department for their many years of valuable
service.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Harbour Grace – Port de Grave.
MS. P. PARSONS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I rise
today with great pride to recognize John Drover of Upper Island Cove.
October of 1981, John was born with spina bifida, paralyzed from the waist down.
Along with other health complications, there was a major buildup of fluid on his
brain. The medical team predicted John would live for two weeks. Doctors
installed a brain shunt, a dangerous surgery for an infant, but he pulled
through and embarked on a long road of recovery, involving a series of
surgeries.
John was
six months old when he first came home from hospital and, Mr. Speaker, he hasn't
stopped since. He loves and enjoys life to the fullest. Following graduation at
Ascension Collegiate High School, he became an honorary member of the Upper
Island Cove Fire Department. He is a big supporter of all community events and
initiatives.
Canada Day you can see him, front and centre, on his grandmother, Enid's, patio,
sporting the Maple Leaf in red and white, while greeting the annual Canada Day
parade.
special moment for John was meeting Prince Charles and Lady Diana in 1983, while
at the Janeway hospital awaiting another surgery.
John
recently celebrated his 36th birthday with family and friends. So please join me
in wishing him a happy birthday and many more years of good health and
happiness.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for the
District of Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune.
MS. PERRY:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I rise
in this hon. House to extend congratulations to the very bright students who
received Electoral District Scholarships this year from the Department of
Education and Early Childhood Development.
Recipients from King Academy were: Nicole Langdon, Matthew Skinner and Taylor
Stone. Recipients of the Centenary for Responsible Government Scholarships were:
Melanie Collier of Bay d'Espoir Academy, Rebecca Day of King Academy, Patricia
Hammond of Fitzgerald Academy and Kyle Poole of John Watkins Academy. We are
very proud of their achievement and wish them the best of luck in their future
studies.
Achieving academic excellence is an important part of preparing these fine young
adults for their future. I also commend their families, their teachers and all
those people who encouraged them to be the very best that they can be. They have
proven their tremendous work ethic and we know their dedication and great
initiative will serve them very well in whatever career path they choose.
I ask
all hon. Members to join me in congratulating these gifted and very hard-working
individuals. With what they have achieved already, there is no doubt that they
have very bright futures ahead of them.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. Member for the
District of Conception Bay South.
MR. PETTEN:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr.
Speaker, on Friday, October 20, my colleague, the MHA for Topsail – Paradise,
and I attended the sixth annual Bright Business luncheon awards ceremony at the
Manuels River Hibernia
Interpretation Centre.
This
event is hosted by the Town of Conception Bay South and it's a great opportunity
for local entrepreneurs to network and showcase their individual businesses in
our community. This year, 36 nominations were received.
The
Bright Business Achievement Awards help recognize the contributions of local
businesses that have gone above and beyond. This year's award winners are:
Beautiful Business – Hickey's Greenhouses and Nursery, single tenant, and Funky
Island Decor, a multiple tenant; Community Pride and Partnership – Tim Hortons;
David Murphy Chamber Leadership – Dawe's Plumbing and Heating; Glenda Noseworthy
Award – Anita Brown, Sobeys; Established Business of the Year – Taylor's Fish
Fruit & Vegetable Market; Main Street Business Improvement Member of the Year –
Ocean Quest Spa; New Start Up of the Year – Ovation Music Studio.
I would
like to extend my congratulations to the award winners, nominees and sponsors.
Conception Bay South has grown significantly and it's great to see the business
community has also shown tremendous growth.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. Member for the
District of St. George's – Humber.
MR. REID:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Encounters with Canada brings together young Canadians from all provinces and
territories to our nation's capital to discover – through innovative,
experiential learning activities – our nation's diverse culture, heritage,
institutions, history and leaders, as well as to explore potential career
options.
This
month, Josh Fiander from the Codroy Valley was one of the youth from this
province to participate in this program.
Encounters with Canada is our country's largest and foremost youth forum. Every
week of the school year, over 100 teens from across Canada participate.
Introducing Canada's youth to our country's diverse cultures, heritage, beliefs,
contemporary issues, institutions and leaders opens their eyes to the vast
potential of their own lives, as well as that of their communities, their nation
and the world.
conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate Josh Fiander of the Codroy
Valley on representing the province in this program and also commend the
organizers for providing youth with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for the
District of St. John's Centre.
MS. ROGERS:
Mr. Speaker, this has been a
large year for interdisciplinary artist April White. She was named 2017 Emerging
Artist of the Year by Visual Artists of Newfoundland and Labrador and just
recently named recipient of the Cox & Palmer Pivotal Point Grant, valued at
$5,000.
April's
work finds wonder in moments that might otherwise feel unremarkable, while
investigating our relationship to our own bodies. She was awarded the grant to
create a new series called I Didn't
Volunteer for This , which examines involuntary bodily actions like sneezing,
yawning, laughing and crying through performance, drawing, watercolour and
watercolour animation.
The
series builds on April's 2016 solo exhibition at The Rooms Provincial Art
Gallery, A Day in the Life Of , as well
as a watercolour series called Sneeze .
Part of
what inspires her to make this work is an interest in challenging historical
representation of women, by painting herself in moments of lost composure. She
troubles a history of women being treated as beautiful objects in art. April
holds a bachelor of fine arts degree in visual arts from our very own Grenfell
Campus at MUN.
I am so
excited to see what incredible work April has in store for all of us, and I
encourage everyone to give April White a bravo!
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Statements by Ministers.
Statements by
Ministers
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation.
MR. MITCHELMORE:
Mr. Speaker, I was pleased to
join representatives of the arts community today to recognize an important piece
of legislation that will be debated in this hon. House. The
Status of the Artist Act recognizes the important role artists play
in contributing to the cultural, social and economic well-being of the province.
Mr.
Speaker, the Status of the Artist Act
is intended to enhance the recognition and support of professional artists and
to ensure that they receive fair compensation. Through the act, the provincial
government encourages everyone, with government departments and agencies leading
by example, to pay artists fairly and equitably based on existing industry pay
scales for their genre.
The
provincial government is also committed to revitalizing its approach to
supporting culture through a new cultural plan renewal to be completed by
January 2019. This is in support of the
Status of the Artist Act and will involve broader consultation with
stakeholders from both the arts and heritage sectors. This renewal process will
offer the opportunity to explore government programming and support, and ways to
improve opportunities for artists in the province.
developing the legislation, the provincial government consulted with
representatives from the various art sectors including: visual arts, craft,
music, literary and publishing, dance, theatre and film. In addition, 256
professional artists provided their perspective through an online survey.
Mr.
Speaker, I am pleased to bring forward legislation that formally recognizes the
important contribution artists make to our province. Recognizing and supporting
professional artists is a key priority for our government, as outlined in
The Way Forward . This legislation is
just the beginning; through the cultural plan renewal, we will ensure continued
support to improve the lives of artists in our province.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune.
MS. PERRY:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I want
to thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement. Mr. Speaker, we,
too, are pleased to see this piece of legislation. Artists make a tremendous
contribution to the culture and economy of Newfoundland and Labrador. We see
evidence of this every day in communities all across this great province. This
legislation is a good start in recognizing the unique value of artists.
I am
also pleased – yet somewhat surprised – to hear the minister say that he is
committed to a new cultural plan renewal, particularly given that it was his
government that shamelessly cut culture from the department title.
Mr.
Speaker, I look forward to this plan's completion, but we certainly would like
to see it much sooner than 2019.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St.
John's Centre.
MS. ROGERS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Our
artists and art organizations are producing incredible award-winning work and
are economic drivers for our province, yet funding for ArtsNL is still at 2009
levels. Our artists have among the lowest incomes in all of Canada and cannot
live on praise alone. Artists are waiting for real commitment and concrete
economic support from government. There are many models internationally that
show creative ways to support artists.
Let's do
something real to improve the status of the artists.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER:
Further statements by
ministers?
The hon.
the Minister of Children, Seniors and Social Development.
MS. DEMPSTER:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I rise
in this hon. House to recognize the tremendous contributions foster families
make to the well-being of children and youth in our province.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MS. DEMPSTER:
Recently, our province
celebrated Foster Families Week to show our appreciation for foster families,
and to acknowledge the great work of social workers and the Foster Families
Association.
Mr.
Speaker, foster families willingly open their hearts and homes to children and
youth during a time in their lives when they need it most. Living and thriving
in a supportive family environment is so important for a child – it is comfort,
stability and love.
There
are approximately 605 foster families located throughout Newfoundland and
Labrador that are dedicated to helping children and youth by providing safe and
nurturing homes.
Author
and award-winning youth speaker Josh Shipp said, “Every child is one caring
adult away from being a success story.” Children flourish when they have caring
and reliable foster parents to help support and guide them, and help them
maintain family connections.
Mr.
Speaker, being a foster parent is a rewarding experience and has many positive
aspects, not only for the children in their care, but also for the family
itself. To help us meet the need for new foster families, I encourage anyone who
is interested in becoming a foster parent to please reach out to our department
or the Foster Families Association.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune.
MS. PERRY:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I would
like to thank the minister for an advance copy of her statement. We join with
the government in recognizing the tremendous contribution of foster families to
our province's children, youth and families. Their importance and value cannot
be overstated.
Any
discussion regarding foster families has to include the structure that provides
valuable support to them. Both social workers and the Foster Families
Association are certainly two groups that offer vital assistance. I'm happy to
hear the minister acknowledge all parties, but mentioning isn't enough. I
encourage the minister to continue to work with all and provide necessary
support when requested, as the need is so great.
Mr.
Speaker, those individuals involved in foster care are passionate, caring,
empathetic and, unfortunately, in short supply. The reasons they get involved
are genuine and admirable. And, frankly, I can't imagine our province or our
society without them.
behalf of the Official Opposition, I wish to offer a heartfelt thank you to all
foster parents in our province as well as to those who support them in carrying
out their precious role.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St.
John's Centre.
MS. ROGERS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank
the minister for the advance copy of her statement. We all join in celebrating
our foster families and those who help them provide love, comfort and stability
for children. We know from examples across the country that foster families do
best when they get support in three key areas: adequate financial resources,
training and professional support, and respite care, when needed.
Government's foster family service is no place for economizing, and I trust the
minister will work hard to ensure foster families get all the support they need
to do the incredible work that they do.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER:
Further statements by
ministers?
Oral
Questions.
Oral Questions
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Official Opposition.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. P. DAVIS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr.
Speaker, there's been some significant policy decisions regarding the
development of Muskrat Falls since the Liberals formed government two years ago.
I ask
the Premier: Will all decisions made on Muskrat Falls in the past two years be
included as part of the inquiry? A simple question Premier: yes or no?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
PREMIER BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Well,
first of all, I was very pleased yesterday to be able to announce the inquiry.
What's unfortunate about all of this is we're now going to enter into a time of
public debate, a public debate that many people across our province were
expecting prior to sanctioning. We were pleased yesterday as a government to put
the terms of reference in place to call the inquiry.
As I
said yesterday when we introduced this, when we announced this, we will be
compliant, Mr. Speaker. Any Cabinet documents that are required and compelled by
the commission, we will put them forth.
What I
didn't hear yesterday when I asked the question, from the Leader of the
Opposition who was part of this decision: Are they prepared to put out all the
information that they had access to in their Cabinet deliberations?
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Official Opposition.
MR. P. DAVIS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr.
Speaker, I realize we asked questions in this regard yesterday, but the same as
yesterday, we don't get an answer to the question. So I'll be more specific.
I'll ask
the Premier if the management of the project, procurement and oversight
activities over the last two years will be included in the terms of reference
for the inquiry. Yes or no?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
PREMIER BALL:
We certainly, on this side of
the House, intend to comply with any of the questions that are asked by the
Commissioner. So, yes, we'll be making that information available.
For the
third time now – and I realize that we do not get a chance to answer questions
to the Opposition, Mr. Speaker, but I'd be very curious to know, we've answered
the question, but for the third time the Leader of the Opposition has not been
forthcoming and has not said publicly that they are willing to make sure that
the commission will have access to the Cabinet information that they used to
sanction the project.
intend, on this side of the House, to be fully compliant and make that
information available.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Official Opposition.
MR. P. DAVIS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I was
quite clear on that yesterday. I provided an answer to the minister or to the
government yesterday and spoke very clearly on it.
question is about what's going to be included over the last two years. That's
what's important here. That's what we're asking the government about today.
He just
said, again, if they're asked by the Commissioner. Now, it's not part of the
terms of reference, Mr. Speaker, is my point here – t's not part of the terms of
reference. The minister answered yesterday and tried to say it was.
So I'll
ask the Premier this: Will the Astaldi contract renewal be included as part of
the inquiry work? Yes or no?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
PREMIER BALL:
Mr. Speaker, I didn't hear
the answer yesterday from the Member opposite. So if he would like to clarify
his position in making all the information that they had available to make that,
to reinforce that and reiterate and repeat what he said yesterday.
Mr.
Speaker, as I said, the Astaldi contract, the contracts that were put in place,
I think the Commissioner would really like to see that. Mr. Speaker, they need
to see that. That information will be provided.
On this
side of the House, we intend to be fully compliant in any decisions that we had
made. Whatever the Commissioner needs, I can guarantee you we'll be co-operating
with the Commissioner, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Official Opposition.
MR. P. DAVIS:
Mr. Speaker, it says whatever the Commissioner needs, but it's not part of the
terms of reference. So therefore the terms of the inquiry, if they're not
included in those aspects, then the Commissioner won't need it.
I don't
know why the Premier is so specific on the matter previous to two years ago, but
not after they took office. It's not a difficult concept to understand, Mr.
Speaker.
So I'll
ask the Premier this: Will all the circumstances and details related to process
in Labrador, especially respecting the methylmercury, be included in the
inquiry? Yes or no?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
PREMIER BALL:
Mr. Speaker, it may be a very
simple argument or answer to all of this is just to say yes.
Now,
maybe the Leader of the Opposition will just simply say that, yes, they are
willing to provide all of the Cabinet documents to the Commissioner. Mr.
Speaker, just simply answer that, yes or no.
We are
prepared to do all of this. The Commissioner has a right to compel all of this
information, Mr. Speaker. We want to lay out publicly all of the information
that we have used, the decisions that we have made on behalf of the Muskrat
Falls Project, Mr. Speaker. I will tell you that this project is in a much
better position today than it was when we took office in 2015.
Will you
put out the information that you had access to?
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Official Opposition.
MR. P. DAVIS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I was
quite clear yesterday and I'll be quite clear again today. I'll use an answer in
a form that the Premier likes to use. I'll provide whatever the Commissioner
requires, Mr. Speaker, I'll assure you that. We will provide everything that's
required.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. P. DAVIS:
Mr. Speaker, when I asked the
Premier about the last two years, he continues to dodge the question and he
won't provide a clear answer without it being weighed down with rhetoric.
The
Project.
Will
their assessments and their review leading up to endorsing the project and
providing those loan guarantees be part of the inquiry?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
PREMIER BALL:
Mr. Speaker, absolutely, we will be very pleased. As a matter of fact, I'll have
that discussion if you want to talk about the enhanced loan guarantee, the
COREA. We had to renegotiate the cost overruns, that account. We had to extend
the date, Mr. Speaker, because they said there'd be no loss of schedule, which
indeed that was not the case. There were a number of things that we have been
doing.
I think
the Members opposite – why don't they want to talk about 48 per cent complete in
June of 2016, 85 per cent complete now in just over 15 months, Mr. Speaker? That
is the progress that we have made since we have taken over government.
All the
information should be out there. The Commissioner needs to see this. I am
looking forward to getting this inquiry started. Unfortunately, we're having
(inaudible) –
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
PREMIER BALL:
– but we will get it started.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
The hon.
the Leader of the Official Opposition.
MR. P. DAVIS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
We're
very interested to know how it went; an additional billion dollars in three
months, right after the new CEO, hand-picked and appointed by the Premier, said
no more surprises. No more increases, no more surprises, and within three months
a billion dollars extra. So we look forward to seeing all the details on that.
Yesterday, when we asked the government if Justice LeBlanc wanted to expand the
terms of inquiry, I asked if the government would approve that and will he allow
him to expand the scope as requested by the justice and will people know about
it.
couldn't get an answer yesterday, so I'll ask again today. Will it be made
public if Justice LeBlanc wishes to expand the scope of the inquiry and will the
government approve it?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
PREMIER BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Well,
the Leader of the Opposition likes to take the opportunity in
preambles to plant
seeds of doubt and rhetoric to the people of this province.
I want
to make it very clear that when the budget changed by the current CEO, he was
being very upfront with the people of this province. What that billion dollars
was about was legacy costs. What legacy costs means these are risks that were
associated with contracts that they put in place, that they were not forthcoming
with, Mr. Speaker.
He laid
out what would be the requirement, simply via a contingency fund, Mr. Speaker.
Laying out that the contracts they put in place were not accurate, needed
changes.
In June
of 2015, prior to the election, the Leader of the Opposition knew that and did
not share it with the people of the province. This government put it out there.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Ferryland.
MR. HUTCHINGS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr.
Speaker, recently we've seen a new royalty regulatory framework quietly
released.
I ask
the minister: Is there an update on who will pay the UN Law of the Sea royalty
related to oil and gas development beyond the 200-mile limit?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Natural Resources.
MS. COADY:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yes, we
have a Generic Offshore Oil Royalty Regime. It was announced two years ago and
we do have the regulatory framework around that Oil Royalty Regime.
Regarding UNCLOS, which is the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
and requirements posted outside of the 200-mile limit – just for the people
listening, Mr. Speaker, who would not understand that – we're not in any
negotiations on any projects that are outside the 200-mile limit, or outside the
continental shelf, I should say.
If there
is a project that is outside of the continental shelf, there is a requirement,
of course, to pay to the United Nations. And, Mr. Speaker, that's all part of
that ball of value and competiveness that I've been bringing to this House.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Ferryland.
MR. HUTCHINGS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr.
Speaker, as we know, Canada is the signature to the Law of the Sea agreement
with the incremental royalty, which could increase up to 7 per cent on
production value.
When
deliberating over the new generic royalty regime, I ask the minister: Did she
have any conversations about who would pay this 7 per cent?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Natural Resources.
MS. COADY:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for
the question.
It is an
important one because, as I've said to this House, there is more than just the
royalty regime that makes up the competitiveness and the requirements under this
whole ball of value. There would be taxation, there would be the UNCLOS, as the
Member just mentioned, there would be royalty and there would be equity. So all
of these things form part of the competitiveness and the ball of value.
There
hasn't been any direct discussions with anyone as to who is going to pay that
because we're not in any position at this point in time to have a project
outside that would be imposed by that, Mr. Speaker; but as we move forward in
our competitiveness, we are speaking with our colleagues in Ottawa about this
and, of course, the industry as a whole.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Ferryland.
MR. HUTCHINGS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr.
Speaker, in Estimates in 2017, the minister said: “We've left it to the federal
government who is responsible for UNCLOS and left it, at this point, as part of
their requirements. We'll continue to monitor this as we move forward.”
I ask
the minister again: As part of your recent work on the Oil Royalty Regime, have
you received confirmation from the federal government that they are willing to
pay the 7 per cent royalty without charging it to this province and affecting
our return on our offshore resources?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Natural Resources.
MS. COADY:
Mr. Speaker, thank you for
the question.
I'm
going to just again reiterate that the generic oil royalty is the royalty that
Newfoundland and Labrador would participate in, and would receive from the oil
companies on a project, on the bigger ball of value would come the UNCLOS. I
agree with the Member opposite: it is an important discussion. We have no
projects that are affected by this at this point in time.
I would
think that in part of our discussions, and as going forward on the
competitiveness review, that the federal government will be part of that
discussion, Mr. Speaker, because in my estimate, it is an agreement that the
federal government pursued and is required to do. Therefore, I would think it
would be part of the competitiveness requirements.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The Member for Ferryland.
MR. HUTCHINGS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr.
Speaker, with a mandated carbon tax from the federal government's commitment in
2018 and with the 7 per cent royalty, has an assessment been done to the total
cost of the oil industry in this province in future developments, such as
related to a Statoil development?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Municipal Affairs and Environment.
MR. JOYCE:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
As we
know, the carbon tax is a federal regulation that has been put in place, but one
of the positive things to that is they said you can have your own solution. So
we are trying to make a homemade, made-in-Newfoundland-and-Labrador solution.
On top
of that, and with that in mind, we are in consultation with all the offshore
industries, industries in Newfoundland and Labrador, to come up with a
made-in-Newfoundland solution that's going to help Newfoundlanders and
Labradorians and help promote economic development in Newfoundland and Labrador.
So we're working towards that with all industry partners in Newfoundland and
Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The Member for Ferryland.
MR. HUTCHINGS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank
the minister for his answer. He mentioned a made-in-Newfoundland solution. I
know here in this House some time ago we passed legislation related to five
industrial entities here in the province and their greenhouse gas emissions. At
the time it was passed, there were two years of monitoring to be done for
greenhouse gas emissions.
I ask
the minister for an update. What have been the results of that monitoring?
MR. SPEAKER:
The Minister Responsible for
the Office of Climate Change.
MR. JOYCE:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I don't
have the results on me, but I'll endeavour to get you the results on that. I can
assure you that we're in constant consultations with the federal government;
we're in constant consultations with all the partners in Newfoundland and
Labrador.
As I
said before, Mr. Speaker, we will make a Newfoundland-and-Labrador solution that
will help Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. That includes consultation with all
stakeholders, including the federal government that said here's the backstop;
you can find a solution yourself. We will have a solution in 2018.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The Member for Ferryland.
MR. HUTCHINGS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank
the minister, but just to remind him that the two-year monitoring was put in
place by your government. At the conclusion of that, there was going to be an
approval by Cabinet of what type of fees would be put in place in regard to a
carbon tax.
A recent
Hydro report entitled Near-term Generation
Adequacy Report indicated concerns with reservoir water inflow rates which
could result in low energy reserves at Hydro generation sites.
I ask
the minister: Can he provide an update on the reserves in the Hydro generation
sites in the province?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Natural Resources.
MS. COADY:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It has
been a dry fall; everyone in the province knows that, and some are even thankful
for that. The reserves are about 87 per cent today, Mr. Speaker. Hydro
Newfoundland and Labrador are quite confident they can supply the energy
required. They are monitoring the situation as they are with any electricity
asset, and we will certainly have the energy that is required and electricity
that is required for the coming winter season.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Ferryland.
MR. HUTCHINGS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I'll
just ask the minister again: Does she have confidence that power generation is
secure and there is no threat to water availability and power generation during
the upcoming winter months? We understand that there are 1,000 gigawatt hours
less than last year due to reservoir levels. Does she have concerns with this?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Natural Resources.
MS. COADY:
Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker.
I've
been assured by Hydro that they have no concerns. There are opportunities for
other generation in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. As I indicated,
we are about 87 per cent today, but we could be up again tomorrow. It depends on
our weather and on how much rain and how much snow we do get, but I don't think
there's any concern at this point. I've spoken to Hydro Newfoundland and
Labrador; they feel very confident for this coming winter.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Ferryland.
MR. HUTCHINGS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Some of
the concerns expressed looks at additional capacity to generate and, in
particular, the new turbine at Holyrood, which indicates that would have to run
at 80 per cent capacity or greater.
I ask
the minister: Is this her understanding, and is she confident this can actually
occur?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Natural Resources
MS. COADY:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
There
are thermal generation opportunities throughout the Province of Newfoundland and
Labrador. I've not been made aware of any concerns in any of the thermal
generation that are untoward or that need to be noted at this point in time. Mr.
Speaker, I've been assured by Newfoundland Hydro that they are prepared, and
well prepared, for this winter.
There
has been a tremendous investment in Newfoundland Hydro over the last number of
years and, therefore, I think we're in good shape for this coming winter.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Conception Bay South.
MR. PETTEN:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr.
Speaker, the combustion turbine in Holyrood is a backup system for power
generation. We've been told that it's been running constantly throughout the
summer.
I ask
the minister: Is this related to low reservoir levels or for some other reason?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Natural Resources.
MS. COADY:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I just
indicated there are low reservoir levels, as there have been throughout any
period of time. It fluctuates.
Newfoundland Hydro is putting some new asset generation. As you've seen on the
highway, Mr. Speaker, there have been some new transmission lines coming in from
other assets that we have in the province. We use thermal generation from time
to time; we use hydro generation from time to time in the Province of
Newfoundland and Labrador. Newfoundland Hydro has put in a tremendous plan over
the last number of years, including under the former administration where they
actually had DarkNL and required some investments.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Conception Bay South.
MR. PETTEN:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I'll go
back to that question again. My simple question is: Has it been running all
summer and, if so, what are the fuel costs this summer as compared to last
summer and previous summers?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Natural Resources.
MS. COADY:
Mr. Speaker, that's a very
specific question that I do not have the answer to at this point in time. I will
endeavour to get the information to how much fuel was consumed this summer and
how does it compare to other years. I will ask Newfoundland Hydro to provide
that to this House.
Thank
you.
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Conception Bay South.
MR. PETTEN:
My question was has it been
running all summer, and the minister never answered that question, Mr. Speaker.
It was a two-part question.
Has the
combustion turbine been used this past summer to provide power to the Island; if
so, why?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Natural Resources.
MS. COADY:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I just
answered the question. It's a very specific question as to how much has it been
utilized this summer, how does that compare to the previous year. I will get
that information for the Member opposite. I'll be happy to provide it to this
House. I've been made aware of no concerns in that regard, but I will certainly
ask Newfoundland Hydro to provide the information.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune.
MS. PERRY:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Can the
Minister of Tourism tell this House why the 2017 Public Accounts from Marble
Mountain have not been made public?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation.
MR. MITCHELMORE:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
certainly signed off on the Marble Mountain report to be tabled before the House
of Assembly. All the information is available.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune.
MS. PERRY:
The year ended on April 30,
2017. Can the minister tell us when he will be tabling that information and to
explain why the Public Accounts have been so late?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation.
MR. MITCHELMORE:
Mr. Speaker, the report was
provided to me, I signed off on the report, reviewed the tabled documents and
had lived up to the obligations that were provided by the accountability office
for this House.
So is
there some specific information the Member is looking for, for the Marble
Mountain Development Corporation?
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune.
MS. PERRY:
Well, Mr. Speaker, we'll look
forward to when he tables it in the House because we haven't seen that tabling
happen yet and we'd like to know when that will happen.
Does the
minister know the bottom line of Marble Mountain for the past fiscal year and
how much the operation has cost the taxpayers of this province?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation.
MR. MITCHELMORE:
Mr. Speaker, under their
House in 2015, they had not tabled the reports to the Marble Mountain
Development Corporation. We will make available any of the information to the
Marble Mountain Development Corporation. I made a very clear commitment to the
House of Assembly that we were working on a plan to bring Marble Mountain to a
sustainable level.
We have,
under the new board that's in existence with the Marble Mountain Development
Corporation – they've made significant changes. They've been listening to the
public and making sure that Marble Mountain is going to be operating and
improving customer service for the people of the province.
It is a
significant economic generator for the West Coast of the province and for all
other regions supporting major business. It is a good operation to have Marble
Mountain Development –
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
Your
time has expired.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The Member for Fortune Bay –
Cape La Hune.
MS. PERRY:
The report is not public, it
has not been tabled in the House and it's a simple question: When will you do
it?
Mr.
Speaker, my next question – last year, the Minister of Tourism said that he was
going to order an operational review to look at how the resort can be weaned off
a $930,000 subsidy from the government, which happens annually.
Can the
minister update us on the status of this review?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation.
MR. MITCHELMORE:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I'm very
pleased that just a few weeks ago, or a few months ago, actually, this
information became public in terms of the changes that were happening at Marble
Mountain. It was made public around different activities that would be taking
place, how the season-pass holder was going to have a reduction of $100 on a
season pass. There was a rate that was put forward for early bird passes.
There's going to be a change to food and beverage services.
There
was an operational review that took place so that we could focus on our core
services and also looking at improving the customer experience at Marble
Mountain Development Corporation. It operates its accommodations; it does a
tremendous amount of activity. We're working with the board of directors to make
sure that Marble Mountain Development Corporation is –
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The Member for Fortune Bay –
Cape La Hune.
MS. PERRY:
What the taxpayers of this
province want to know is how much the operation is costing them.
Can the
minister confirm that the chair of the board at Marble Mountain is also the main
supplier for maintenance at the facility?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation.
MR. MITCHELMORE:
Mr. Speaker, the Marble
Mountain Development Corporation is over a $12-million asset to the people of
this province. If you look at the liabilities and the assets that are there,
there is a book value to the people of this province. There's a tremendous
amount of base development that can take place and other economic activity. We
have interest in Marble Mountain. We're drawing upon partnerships and we're
doing it right.
They
neglected, they underinsured, they let the taxpayers pay $4.6 million for the
lift that was there. I can confirm, no, it is not the same person. The CEO is
not the same person as the operator that is the main contractor.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
First
and final reminder, again today, I will not tolerate interruptions when a Member
has been identified to speak.
The hon.
the Member for Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune for a quick question, please.
MS. PERRY:
Thank you so much, Mr.
Speaker, for your protection.
I ask
the Minister of Finance: Based on your fiscal update and comments on agencies,
boards and commissions, what is your expectation for Marble Mountain?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation.
MR. MITCHELMORE:
Mr. Speaker, we've been very
clear with our agencies, boards and commissions and myself as minister
responsible for Marble Mountain, we have done a review. We are finding better
ways to operate. We're doing the same thing with other agencies, boards and
commissions that are under my department and we are taking a very proactive
approach.
It is a
very important asset to the people of the province, but it is something that
their administration just ignored and they made sure that when they insured and
when the operations were there when lightning struck that Lightning Express, it
was underinsured and it cost the taxpayers $4.6 million.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Third Party.
MS. MICHAEL:
Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker.
Yesterday we asked –
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
MS. MICHAEL:
Yesterday we asked the
Premier to table the evidence he used in 2015 to decide the Muskrat Falls
Project was too far along to even pause for review. He talked about bills that
had to be paid and commitments that had to be met.
I ask
the Premier: Will he produce the concrete proof of what it is that made it
impossible to pause the project in 2015 to review where things were, or are we
just supposed to take his word for it?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
PREMIER BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Well,
first of all, the concrete proof is actually sitting in the Churchill River. Mr.
Speaker, when you think of it, this is a very serious issue that we're talking
about here. This equates to some $24,000 to every man, woman and child in this
province when you think of the magnitude, the impact this is having on our
province.
Mr.
Speaker, in 2012 at sanctioning there were a number of contracts that were put
in place – I remind people the Emera people were not even signed on as a partner
at the time of sanctioning. Regardless of all that, there were a number of
contracts that were put in place, commitments that were put in place, power
purchase agreements and it really didn't matter what the cost was, it was paid
for by the taxpayers and ratepayers of this province.
Mr.
Speaker, I say it, I've said it so many times, the bills were not going away –
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
The hon.
the Member for St. John's Centre.
MS. ROGERS:
Mr. Speaker, today government
launched its new Status of the Artist Act ,
but artists were not impressed. It only encourages government to pay scale rates
when hiring artists and provide some contract information. There is no
commitment for more investment in the arts. ArtsNL is operating on the same
budget since 2009.
Mr.
Speaker, I ask the minister: Can he explain exactly how this act will improve
the financial status of the artists?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation.
MR. MITCHELMORE:
Mr. Speaker, I take great
exception to the Member opposite saying that artists are not impressed with
Status of the Artist legislation. This was something that they had asked for,
there was significant feedback and consultation throughout this whole process:
256 responses, the arts advisory council, we consulted with the community.
The
Status of the Artist is an internationally recognized designation that looks at
improving the economic and social status of professional artists. This is a good
move for the people of the province. Four other provinces have enacted Status of
the Artist legislation.
But if
you look at your platform promises when it comes to what you're going to invest
in the artists, it was $526,000. This year alone we invested over $2 million
additionally in to the arts.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St.
John's Centre.
MS. ROGERS:
Mr. Speaker –
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
MS. ROGERS:
Mr. Speaker, the number of
artists is growing but funding the ArtsNL has not. This affects funding for both
established and emerging artists. Incomes of our hardworking, yet chronically
underfunded artists are among the lowest in the country.
I ask
the minister again: What really is his concrete commitment to artists, and will
he establish an additional funding source to help emerging artists?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation.
MR. MITCHELMORE:
Mr. Speaker, as I said
previously, if you look at the Third Party's election platform campaign for arts
funding, it totalled $526,000 in additional funding. If you look at this year's
budget, as to what the department is funding in to the arts, it's over $20
million – 9 per cent increase in funding.
You are
specifically looking at the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council, but if you
look at what we invest into culture in Newfoundland and Labrador, we invest the
most per capita than anywhere in the country and we have a suite of other
programs that we use to support the arts. We run more cultural facilities in the
province. If you heard the Member from BC, who moved to Newfoundland and
Labrador, he said we support the arts more –
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St.
John's Centre.
MS. ROGERS:
Mr. Speaker, Quebec followed
up their Status of the Artist legislation with concrete measures. A portion of
artists' copyright income can be deducted from provincial income tax and they
can average their income from a project over several years. These are concrete,
progressive measures.
I ask
the minister: Will he push government to offer similar measures for our artists
in this province?
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The Minister of Tourism,
Culture, Industry and Innovation.
MR. MITCHELMORE:
Mr. Speaker, we work with the
Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council, with all the industry associations like
MusicNL. One of the wonderful things we did with MusicNL was an export program
so that we could make sure professional artists were getting contracts, were
getting signed internationally.
provided a lot of additional support to artists to work with them. We want to
make sure there are ways of which government, when they hire an artist, are
paying fair wage. We want to encourage all the agencies, boards and commissions,
and everyone in the province, to make sure that artists are paid fairly and
equitably to the pay scales. We also want to – and we've announced that we're
renewing our cultural plan which is going to look at all of our programs and
supports of which we help –
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The time for Oral Questions
has ended.
Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.
Tabling
of Documents.
Notices
of Motion.
Answers
to Questions for which Notice has been Given.
Petitions.
Petitions
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St.
John's East – Quidi Vidi.
MS. MICHAEL:
Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker.
To the
hon. House of Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in
Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents humbly sheweth:
WHEREAS
deaf and hard of hearing children in the public education system of Newfoundland
and Labrador are not receiving full and equivalent access to a quality education
because of the lack of appropriate full-time resources; and
WHEREAS
from 1964 to 2010, deaf and hard of hearing children were provided with a
full-time quality education in the Newfoundland School for the Deaf, but deaf
and hard of hearing children currently placed in mainstream schools receive only
a fraction of a school day with a teacher qualified to instruct deaf and hard of
hearing children;
WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House
of Assembly to urge government to undertake an immediate complete and thorough
assessment of the supports in place for deaf and hard of hearing children by a
committee of at least two independent and recognized experts in the field of
deaf and hard of hearing education, and to accept the recommendations of these
experts and in the interim take measures to honour the support commitments made
to all current and future students upon closure of the Newfoundland School for
the Deaf in 2010 to ensure that all deaf and hard of hearing children are
provided with access to a quality education, equivalent to hearing classmates as
well as access to sign language.
And as
in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.
Once
again, Mr. Speaker, I'm presenting a couple of hundred names here of people
throughout the province, a lot of it in the Conception Bay North and St. John's
metro area. I notice some from the Northern Peninsula there as well; people who
are concerned.
In other
jurisdictions, sign languages are being reintroduced into the education of deaf
children where they were taken out previously. This government is just always
lock-step behind what's going on in everything. In this province, the official
position since 2010 is that cochlear implants are a cure for most deafness and
that sign languages should not be taught to children with these implants. In
actual fact, because others have learned that's not the case, it is coming back
in other jurisdictions.
Sign
languages don't impede the ability to learn a spoken language, they actually
enhance it. One researcher has put it this way: the language areas of the brain
have no preference for language input, which means language can be learned in
several different ways. Oral or manual doesn't matter in acquiring a language
base, but early learning of and facility in any language is an important thing.
Sign language is recognized internationally as the language of the deaf.
Thank
you very much, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER:
Further petitions?
The hon.
the Member for Conception Bay South.
MR. PETTEN:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
To the
hon. House of Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in
Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland
and Labrador humbly sheweth:
WHEREAS
the medical transport policy was changed in
Budget 2016 ; and
WHEREAS
the new policy does not provide medical transportation to those who travel less
than 60 kilometres or have less than eight trips per month; and
WHEREAS
in many parts of the province there is no public transportation system
available, thus making this inconvenient and expensive;
WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House
of Assembly to urge government to take immediate action to provide
transportation to those who require it.
And as
in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.
Mr.
Speaker, this issue affects a lot of us. I know me, personally, in CBS it's been
an issue I've dealt with on many occasions. Many people have struggled with this
policy change.
We don't
have any public transportation available, so you have the taxi service or find
your best way if you fall outside the criteria of eight trips per month or you
live closer than 60 kilometres. I've had cases where people have four
appointments a month and they have 57 kilometres to the nearest – that's when
the GPS systems kicked in, it is 57 kilometres and four trips.
question is: There's no public transportation; how do they get to those four
trips? It's 57 kilometres – it's not walking distance. There are no buses
available and they can't afford a cab. So what is the solution?
I've
written the minister on this broad issue of this medical transportation policy
change. I've actually represented people who have gone through appeals on it and
it's a tough one. What's the alternative? I don't want to get on a bus; I want
to get a cab. You have the alternative. You got a bus. Well, that's the cheap
route. If you can afford a bus, get on the bus.
Up in
CBS, Mr. Speaker, we have a cab or you're walking, in a nutshell. I've had
cancer patients who are in the 50-55 kilometre zone and then they're probably 60
years of age, they can't avail of the transportation provided by the cancer
clinic which is not always – sometimes there are gaps in that. They've had
trouble getting to their cancer treatment, plus associated medical visits as a
result of the cancer.
they're falling into this four to five trips a month at 55 kilometres, Mr.
Speaker. That's not just pertinent to CBS; that affects a lot of districts in
the province. It's a policy change. I know why they did it: to save money. I get
that. But you can't save money on the backs of people's health and safety.
Thank
you very much.
MR. SPEAKER:
Further petitions?
The hon.
the Member for Mount Pearl – Southlands.
MR. LANE:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
To the
hon. House of Assembly in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in
Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents humbly sheweth:
WHEREAS
the inshore harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador have serious concerns about
their current union representation; and
WHEREAS
the inshore fish harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador want the right to vote
on which union will represent them;
WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House
of Assembly to request that government urge the Newfoundland and Labrador Labour
Relations Board to proceed immediately to a vote of the inshore fish harvesters
to decide which union will represent them.
And as
in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.
Mr.
Speaker, I have approximately 60 more names on this petition that came in, and
it's coming from areas such as Port Saunders, Black Duck Cove, Port au Choix,
St. Barbe, Shoal Cove West, Reef's Harbour, New Ferrole, Conception Bay South,
Dunville, Red Head Cove, Shearstown, Grates Cove, Victoria and Seal Cove, so
various areas throughout the province.
Again,
Mr. Speaker, what this petition is basically calling for is for individuals to
have the right to decide who will represent their interests in terms of being a
union. As I said when I spoke to this yesterday, we have enough problems in our
fishery today. We've been riddled with problems and the last thing we need is
division.
I think
the time has come to settle this once and for all, whichever way it goes. And
certainly for me, I have no horse with the race here. I have no vested interest
in this. It doesn't matter to me one way or the other who the representative is,
but I think it's in all of our best interests, as a province, that we settle
this so that we can start working together to focus on the fishery in general,
which is having such a major impact on our province, particularly our rural
communities.
That's
what's being called for. I've been asked to present it. I will continue to do
so.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER:
Further petitions?
The hon.
the Member for Ferryland.
MR. HUTCHINGS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I'm glad
to rise today and present a petition on behalf of people from my district.
To the
hon. House of Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in
Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland
and Labrador humbly sheweth:
WHEREAS
Mutton Bay Bridge located in the Trepassey area is approximately 50 years old
and had a bridge inspection report completed in 2015; and
WHEREAS
the inspection report identified significant structural issues with both the
substructure and superstructure portion of the bridge; and
WHEREAS
the 2015 inspection report recognized substructure condition as poor and repair
within one year; and
WHEREAS
the superstructure condition was identified as fair and called for inspections
one year and expansion joints repaired within three years; and
WHEREAS
the deck is identified as fair and repair within one year, identifying immediate
repair of handrails; and
WHEREAS
the 2015 report advised repair date of 2015 and recommended that structure
should be rehabilitated or replaced with bottomless arch soon, and in the
interim deck asphalt and approach asphalt should be repaired, as well as
guiderails with hazard markers installed;
WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House
of Assembly to urge government to immediately attend to the repair
recommendations and confirm replacement date of bridge in accordance with the
2015 inspection report, as this is a serious issue that impacts the lives and
safety of the travelling public.
And as
in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.
Mr.
Speaker, this is an issue I've brought to the House of Assembly before. I've
also brought it to the attention of the officials in Transportation and Works.
The residents of the region in regard to the safety of this particular piece of
infrastructure on Route 10, I said before, for all kinds of reasons, people have
to use this highway, none more important than for medical treatment.
There
are no acute care facilities on the Southern Avalon, so all major diagnostic
testing and acute care requirements for hospital are used to travel over this
highway, as well related to commercial development, economic development, the
activities of the region. It's very important and it is a fundamental piece of
infrastructure for the region.
As I
said, in 2015 a report was done that clearly indicated that immediate repairs
needed to take place. To date, we have no indication any of that has been done.
There is a recommendation as well for replacement of this bridge. The Minister
of Transportation and Works has recently put out a request on their five-year
roads program, what will be put on the list for 2018.
We have
requested that this be immediately looked at and rectified in the upcoming
season, but in the interim there needs to be another look at this bridge by the
engineers to make sure that safety is paramount and anything that needs to be
done on a temporary basis is done to maintain the safety and security of this
bridge for the travelling public and for the safety of all those concerns.
certainly implore the minister and the department to look at this immediately on
the immediate repairs that are required and, in the long term, to replace this
bridge in their 2018 roads program.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER:
Further petitions?
The hon.
the Member for Conception Bay East – Bell Island.
MR. BRAZIL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
To the
hon. House of Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in
Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland
and Labrador humbly sheweth:
WHEREAS
provincial wait-lists for long-term care continue to grow; and
WHEREAS
hospital beds are increasingly being occupied by individuals who are in need of
long-term care; and
WHEREAS
this government cancelled the previous administration's plan to increase
capacity by 360 beds province-wide;
WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House
of Assembly to urge government to immediately develop a plan to address the
shortage of long-term care beds in order to ensure people receive appropriate
care and are treated with dignity.
And as
in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.
Mr.
Speaker, I want to speak to this and I do want to acknowledge that the
government has taken some steps forward on announcing the long-term care
facility in Corner Brook – a needed facility that was outlined by the previous
administration and the process was started. It's a welcomed addition to
addressing long-term care and particularly freeing up acute beds that would be
in our health facilities that would ensure people who go for immediate health
needs have a bed available so that they can address whatever particular ailment
that's being addressed and that the health professionals have at their disposal
the amenities they need, particularly it would be a bed available for intake and
then for recovery after the procedures are being done.
What is
lacking here – it was identified by the previous administration and still
identified – is that Central Newfoundland and Labrador is particularly a big
demand area for long-term care. Because it's a large geographic area, with a
spread-out populous, having a facility or a multitude of facilities that would
address that particular need would only enhance the two larger hospitals that
are there, particularly in Gander and Grand Falls-Windsor, to ensure that their
beds are freed up to be used for health interventions and acute care versus
having long-term care patients accommodate those rooms. It would make it easier
for travel for family members, because the geography dictates there is going to
have to be some travel as part of that.
The
other is here on the East Coast. We have an aging population and we have a
demographic here that the population is also increasing. There is a demand. We
have some aging long-term care facilities here that need major upgrades or may
be better facilitated in another more modern, upgraded facility. Only a number
of years ago, we opened a large facility in Pleasantville which started to
accommodate the real particular needs there, but what we need to do now is we
started to address, and give credit, the West Coast needs; we're now to address
Central Newfoundland and Labrador's needs and the East Coast of Newfoundland and
Labrador as part of it, in particular, so that we can take the strain off the
regular health care system.
Mr.
Speaker, I'll have a chance to speak to this again. We petition the government
to look at the other two geographic areas that need this type of service.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER:
Further petitions?
The hon.
the Member for St. John's East – Quidi Vidi.
MS. MICHAEL:
Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker.
To the
hon. House of Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in
Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents humbly sheweth:
WHEREAS
a 2013 risk assessment report made public in June 2017 makes it clear that
initial cost estimates and financial risk for the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric
project were understated; and
WHEREAS
the Muskrat Falls Project is way over budget, diverting funds from other needs
and potentially doubling electricity bills, and it has raised serious concerns
about damage to the environment and downstream communities; and
WHEREAS
Nalcor and the provincial government have not been transparent or accountable as
to why the 2013 report was not previously made public and the people of the
province are left with many unanswered questions;
WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House
of Assembly to urge government to immediately conduct a forensic audit of the
Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project.
And as
in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.
I'm very
pleased, Mr. Speaker, to present this petition from people in the Happy
Valley-Goose Bay area, from Port Saunders, from Happy Valley and – yes, and
Hopedale. I knew there was another community in Labrador that was involved.
These
people are very concerned about issues that the government has not specifically
put in the terms of reference for the review that's going to be done of Muskrat
Falls. They would have liked to have seen, obviously, concerns about the
environmental issues with regard to methylmercury. That is a big issue for
people in the Happy Valley-Goose Bay area and out as far as Rigolet.
Thank
you very much, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER:
Orders of the Day.
Orders of the Day
MR. SPEAKER:
The Government House Leader.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I call
Order 7, second reading of Bill 22, please.
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation.
MR. MITCHELMORE:
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded
by the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development, that Bill 22,
Status Of The Artist Act, be now read a second time.
MR. SPEAKER:
It is moved and seconded that
Bill 22, entitled Status Of The Artist Act, be now read a second time.
Motion,
second reading of a bill, “Status Of The Artist Act.” (Bill 22)
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. MITCHELMORE:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I am
extremely proud to stand here today in the House and begin second reading on
Bill 22, the Status of the Artist Act .
It's something that's been talked about in the arts community for some years now
and I am happy that our government will be delivering this legislation to the
professional artists of our province.
Mr.
Speaker, earlier today I was joined by many members of the arts community as
they showed their overwhelmingly support of our government's commitment to the
Status of the Artist Act. We gathered
today at the Arts and Culture Centre, a befitting venue considering its long and
vibrant history of providing inspiration and support and guidance to many of our
province's best-loved and most well-known artists.
It was
inspiring to look at the walls decorated with playbills and think about how many
artists passed through that building; however, Mr. Speaker, the ACC is more than
just a venue. It is a valuable resource for creators, performers and community
organizations as they continue to facilitate artistic engagement across our
province.
Newfoundland and Labrador, our traditional and cultural landscape, our identity
has been cultivated through song, music, dance, art and theatre. I was proud to
be at the St. John's Arts and Culture Centre today, especially as they celebrate
their 50th season –
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. MITCHELMORE:
– because the Centre
continues to play an integral role in sustaining, preserving and enhancing this
unique cultural identity.
When I
was appointed Minister Responsible for Culture by Premier Ball in 2015, part of
my mandate was to recognize that artists are essential to the preservation and
progression of our cultural identity in this province. That mandate included
collaborating with the arts community to help improve the social and economic
status of professional artists in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Mr.
Speaker, it has been my distinct pleasure today to announce that the provincial
government is enhancing the recognition and support of artists throughout
Newfoundland and Labrador by introducing
Status of the Artist Act. This is something that is internationally
recognized, describing the policies and programs intended to improve the
economic and social status of professional artists. This legislation
acknowledges the important contributions that artists make to our province and
government's role in supporting the creation and distribution of their work.
Mr.
Speaker, my parliamentary secretary will expand on these important contributions
shortly and what our government has done to support artists in the province.
Mr.
Speaker, I was very pleased to see representation today from the disciplines of
the arts, literary arts, performing arts and visual artists. These professional
artists, who create, perform and give artistic expression to the culture we hold
so dear.
I know
all Members of this House and everyone watching at home are wondering, what does
Status of the Artist mean to an artist in Newfoundland and Labrador? Mr.
Speaker, it means a commitment, a commitment from government to continue to
invest in culture. It means honouring scale agreements and developing and using
written contracts for professional artists, including work description, terms of
payment, dispute-resolution mechanisms and rights agreements, and it means a
continued dialogue on matters relating to culture with artists in this province.
Minister of Culture, I am so very proud to say that I've been connecting,
engaged and in tune with the arts community of this province. I've been
consulting with them. I've been going to the various shows, performances and
travelling all around this province to support artists that we have here in
Newfoundland and Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. MITCHELMORE:
And I encourage all Members
to continue to support the vibrancy of the arts here in this province.
Mr.
Speaker, to further build on the Status of the Artist, the provincial government
has also committed to strengthening our support of culture by renewing our
cultural plan. This will offer artists further opportunities to explore
government programming and funding mechanisms and offer artists even more ways
to improve their professional opportunities here at home.
Our
government proudly invests $20 million annually to culture in this province.
That is why, Mr. Speaker, the Department of Tourism, Culture, Industry and
Innovation worked very hard to get this legislation for Status of the Artist
right.
I want
to take a moment right now to recognize the staff at the Department of TCII that
have worked very diligently since I have become minister, who've worked very
closely with the community. There are a number of people from the assistant
deputy minister, to the Director of Arts and Heritage, to the manager of
Culture, to all of the staff in the department; they have worked very closely
with the community.
developing this legislation, my department consulted with various
representatives of the arts community through all the sectors, from visual arts,
craft and music, to literary and publishing, to dance, theatre and film. In
addition, we received over 250 responses to our online survey of professional
artists.
I was
very pleased to see the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council distribute the
news release, saying they were very pleased to share this with their members and
with people who they support all throughout this province.
Mr.
Speaker, we wanted to speak to all sectors to gain insight to what their
concerns were and how we, as a government, could help. I was very encouraged by
the feedback, the discussions and the dialogue from the arts community because
our government believes that this is the time for bold and forward thinking, a
time to look at our cultural assets and how we can enhance them. We have
tremendous cultural assets here in our province.
I was
very excited that I was at the Commissariat House this weekend. It's an 1830s
historic building that we have and to see the provincial historic site staff
engaged and involved and bringing together those who are creating embroidery,
dealing with bobbins, dealing with all kinds of aspects of how they engage the
community. That is very important because they do a lot of programming where
they engage and hire professional artists, whether it is musicians or people to
engage in dance or other artisan activities.
Just a
few weeks ago, or a couple of weeks ago I believe now, I had opened up the
Colonial Building to the media for a tour and to look at how we can utilize that
building as well to make sure that professional artists and professional art and
other activities can be incorporated into that cultural asset. We have
tremendous facilities here in our province, well beyond the network of our arts
and culture centres.
Mr.
Speaker, Status of the Artist demonstrates this government's commitment to the
artists of our province and the important role they play in society. We have a
truly vibrant arts community in Newfoundland and Labrador that consistently
punches well above its weight, nationally and internationally, and one that
makes a significant economic contribution to our province.
Our
artists are creative, innovative, entrepreneurial, vibrant, bold and very
community minded.
Mr.
Speaker, one of these fine artists is author Sharon Bala, a recent finalist in
the Journey Prize category at the 2017 Writers' Trust Awards. At our event
today, Sharon read a detailed passage from her nominated short story “Butter Tea
at Starbucks.” This intricate tale is about sisters, postpartum depression and
the politics of Tibet. Sharon is a three-time Arts and Letters Awards winner for
short fiction and twice has been long listed for the Journey Prize.
Mr.
Speaker, another great example of our artists' proficiency is Joel Thomas Hynes.
fiction category for We'll All Be Burnt in
Our Beds Some Night . In what some consider the most prestigious literary
prize in the country, Hynes' novel was one of 14 winners chosen from a list of
70 finalists.
Mr.
Speaker, along with being an acclaimed author, Joel Thomas Hynes is certainly
making his mark in the entertainment scene across the country. As an award
winning multi-disciplinary artist, he has worked in Canadian film and television
industry for more than 15 years as a writer, actor and director. In addition,
Hynes will soon be starring in a CBC TV series called
Little Dog set to be released in 2018.
Joel Thomas Hynes certainly punches above his weight.
Mr.
Speaker, how about the work of Rob and Peter Blackie who, along with their
involvement with the Republic of Doyle ,
created the smash hit Frontier . This
series is a gripping tale of the struggle and intrigue of the late 18th century
fur trade and was mostly filmed right here in our province. Through the
Newfoundland and Labrador Film Development Corporation, we proudly supported
this exciting project, along with the professional individuals associated with
its production, with an equity investment of $2,375,000.
Since
the creation of the Film Development Corporation as the Crown Corporation in
1997, more than $335 million in total production activity has occurred in this
province. Of that, more than $260 million has been new-industry-specific
investments leveraged into our province.
I was
really excited when I talked to the Film Development Corporation and their board
of directors about last year being major when it came to over $46 million in
production. We have films like Maudie
that was here in this province.
When I
was flying last week and travelling to do business on behalf of the government,
Maudie was on the entertainment system for multiple airlines, not just Air
Canada, and that was quite exciting because that film by Mary Sexton was
produced right here in Newfoundland and Labrador, various parts of the Bonavista
Peninsula.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. MITCHELMORE:
I remember travelling with
the Member for Bonavista through his district and he highlighted
Random Passage , which came from a book of Bernice Morgan and led to
a film.
Art
forms create different forms of art and create all sorts of economic development
for the region. Now from a tourism point of view, there are tremendous amounts
of bus tours coming to this region. It's almost like there's a little Hollywood
happening on the Bonavista Peninsula.
Mr.
Speaker, because of this support, Newfoundland and Labrador's film industry is
proudly home to some of the country's most talented actors, directors and
producers. When I speak of this talent, our musical ability, Mr. Speaker, is
unparalleled. Truly, the musical talent that exists in Newfoundland and Labrador
is second to none. I firmly believe many are on par with musicians from anywhere
in the world.
We were
delighted this morning by a performance by Rube & Rake. This dynamic roots duo
of Josh Sandu and Andrew Laite are busy promoting their album
Back and Forth and are certainly
making a name for themselves with their stripped-down arrangements and beautiful
harmonies.
helping local musicians like Rube & Rake foster their talents, skills and
growth, our government continues to cultivate a culture and style that is all
our own. Ultimately, this will lead to the success of communities, regions and
the entire province. That is why the provincial government has long been a
partner with MusicNL, and that great partnership has continued again this year
with an investment of $350,000. MusicNL has evolved into an organization that
promotes, develops and advocates for musicians and the music industry in our
province and we are proud to support this organization.
Just
last month, Mr. Speaker, along with my parliamentary secretary, I attended
MusicNL's 25th anniversary gala at the St. John's Convention Centre. What a
show! The artistry of our musicians was amazing and the performances were off
the charts. I must mention Janet Cull from my very home District of St. Barbe –
L'Anse aux Meadows. She took home three awards: Female Artist of the Year,
Pop/Rock Artist of the Year and Album of the Year.
The big
winners of the night were a Ukrainian folk-jam band called The Kubasonics. They
won every category in which they were nominated, including Folk/Roots Artist of
the Year, Group of the Year and Entertainer of the Year. I can tell you one
thing: They certainly please and entertain and know how to get the energy levels
up in any single room.
The
band, which started in 2011, has enthusiastically embraced Newfoundland and
Labrador audiences for their high energy and their lyrics. Audiences are amazed
by the level of musicianship displayed by The Kubasonics in their live
performances. To all Members of this House and those watching at home, I
certainly encourage you to check them out.
I also
encourage Members of this House and members of the public to support the
performance and visual arts spaces, attend theatre productions, dance and film
festivals, awards events, symposiums and workshops, readings and concerts. These
spaces provide significant multidisciplinary cultural programming for the
benefit of diverse audiences and we have shown our commitment to these spaces.
Just
last week, the Premier announced a $500,000 investment to help support the
construction of a new multifunctional theatre complex in Cow Head for Theatre
Newfoundland and Labrador. It's quite exciting, Mr. Speaker, when you have a
venue that is outgrowing its space, that's achieving such success.
I want
to also acknowledge a place that I love to go and that is one of which we made a
recent investment: almost $70,000 to the Resource Centre for the Arts, or more
commonly known as the LSPU Hall. It's incredible the work the LSPU Hall does and
the number of performances that they have booked. They have about 300 days
booked out through the year. That is quite significant for any venue. It shows
the diversity that's happening. It's incredible.
I say to
all Members of this House: Let's promote these venue spaces, let's continue to
do everything we can, along with leveraging investments from our federal
colleagues so that we can continually support professional artists involved with
theatre productions.
Mr.
Speaker, I also recognize that tourism and culture are intrinsically linked. Our
government remains committed to supporting these outstanding industries. That is
why we developed our 2017-20 Provincial
Tourism Product Development Plan . This plan is a provincial tourism
development road map for maximizing our tourism growth by effectively utilizing
all available resources from public, private and non-profit tourism partners so
that we can focus on collective priorities. I was very excited today to see
Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador attend today's launch and also to have the
Tourism Board chair in attendance.
The plan
that was put together collectively by business, by operators and by the
community strengthens our economic foundation by creating a strong business
environment for private tourism investment. I also focus on how that plan can
use public resources in product development areas to provide the greatest return
through increased visiting and spending. One of their priorities was certainly
how it can support and work with the arts. It is imperative that we continue to
concentrate on fostering, developing and enhancing products and experiences that
visitors are seeking to build on tourism experiences that tell a story of our
people, place and culture.
Mr.
Speaker, these are just some of the shining examples of many talented artists
and many exciting things that are happening here in our province, and how we as
a government support them. We do a tremendous amount of work to support our
artists and people who travel outside of the province to look at export
development, to look at a multitude of different investments. We've worked with
the Labrador North Chamber of Commerce to ensure that Indigenous artists and
artists from Labrador are present in Ottawa when it comes to the Northern Lights
Conference and raising the quality and standards of craft and supporting
sculpting and that level of activity that is taking place.
I had
the pleasure to be with the Member for Torngat Mountains to meet with the
president of the Nunatsiavut Government and the minister when I was in Nain just
recently, and had the opportunity to talk about culture and economic development
and how it is important that, government to government, we work very closely and
collaboratively so that we can support Indigenous artists as well. I look
forward to working with the Member for Torngat Mountains and also members of the
Craft Council and others to support these initiatives.
Mr.
Speaker, there is so much more that we can be doing and we're looking forward to
the Status of the Artist legislation
being passed. Newfoundland and Labrador has such a rich and unique artistic
community, one that works very tirelessly to create, to produce and showcase
some of the best works featured in this country and around the world.
We had
the opportunity to be at The Rooms and for
anyone to see the exhibit that took place with Gerald Squires and to see that
exhibit of visual artists and to see the professional artist and members like
Jane Walker and her exhibit
that took place at The Rooms recently. There is tremendous opportunity to
connect. I was at The Rooms when they had Bulgarian art, when they had a lot of
contemporary art that had taken place, so it's a great venue space for those to
come, create, share, exhibit and express themselves. Our professional artists
are the very foundation of our cultural identity and expression, and I look
forward to continuing to work with them as we develop a new cultural framework
for this province.
Before I
conclude, I must point out that prior to this morning's performance at the Arts
and Culture Centre, I want to say that Josh Sandu from the duo Rube & Rake
mentioned that he wasn't from Newfoundland and Labrador, that he was from
northern BC. He came to Newfoundland and Labrador and he was pleasantly
surprised by how much the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador supports the
arts community in this Province of Newfoundland and Labrador – far more, he
said, than he experienced when he was in British Columbia.
So I
want to say that I will have every opportunity to listen to the debate. I will
have the opportunity to close debate and make further comments, and I look
forward to everybody contributing to this important, significant bill that is
before the House of Assembly.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER (Warr):
The hon. the Member for
Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune.
MS. PERRY:
Thank you so much, Mr.
Speaker.
I have
to say I'm very pleased to stand today in support of this legislation. I come
from an area of the province that has quite an abundance of artists, Mr.
Speaker. The Coast of Bays region certainly has some world-renowned artists. I'm
sure everyone in this hon. Chamber and across the province as a whole has heard
of the great Simani and “The Mummer's Song.”
certainly would not be able to name them all because each and every community of
the 21 communities in my district has some fabulous artists. Some do their
artwork on a small scale and some do their artwork as a professional occupation.
Individuals like Stan Hill and Clyde Drew, we're quite proud to boast that they
are from the District of Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune; authors like John Nick
Jeddore, Chief Misel Joe and Colleen Dollimont, who recently wrote a book called
A Dreamer's Life . I might add it's a
great Christmas present for anyone who is looking for a good book to read over
the Christmas holidays.
Mr.
Speaker, I'm all too aware of the challenges that artists face, particularly
those who want to be an artist and not have to work at any other occupation to
supplement their income. We've all heard the term, in fact, starving artist.
Just
last week, when I was speaking with one of my nephews, he told me what he really
wants to do is to be a musician, but he knows it's something – he's only young,
he's just 19 – that he can't pay his rent and pay his groceries on being a
musician alone. So he also has a day job in the retail sector.
Through
measures such as the artist act that we see today, I certainly do hope to see a
strengthening of opportunities for artisans to truly be able to use the sector
as their sole means of earning a livelihood. Acts such as this one move us
forward in that regard, but certainly fall short, I do believe, of where we
actually need to be.
In terms
of the impact that artists have on the overall well-being of a people and a
place, one of my most vivid memories is of visiting Reykjavik in Iceland. It was
back in the '90s. I was in awe of, everywhere we went, the recognition that was
given to the arts community.
In high
school, all the children – art was a very important part of their education as
young children. Every street you walked down, there was an artist venue that you
could take in a theatre or you could view artwork. All of the youth centres, you
could go in and engage in artistic activities yourself. It was fostered from a
very young age, an appreciation of the arts and an encouragement to develop your
artistic abilities if you were so blessed.
I'd like
to see that stronger all across Canada – in particular, across Newfoundland and
Labrador. I'm sure each and every one of us in every community of this province
can point to a musician. We never have any trouble when we're trying to arrange
a dinner theatre as a fundraiser, I know in my communities, because there's
always someone who can do a skit off the cuff and there's always someone who can
play a guitar and sing a song of any genre. We certainly are very blessed in
that regard, and I truly believe we need to do more to support our artisans and
grow the industry, which does have significant potential for the people of this
province.
I'm
going to get in to the bill now in a little more detail. According to the bill's
Explanatory Notes: “This Bill would enact the
Status of the Artist Act ” to “acknowledge the important and dynamic
contributions that artists make to the economic and social well-being of the
province;” to provide a definition of what a professional artist is; to “set out
certain government undertakings with respect to artists in the province; and
recognize the importance of continued improvement to the lives and working
conditions of professional artists.”
Mr.
Speaker, the term Status of the Artist is an internationally recognized term. It
refers to legislation, policies and programs which give recognition and improve
the economic and social status of professional artists.
Under
this act, the definition of a professional artist is defined in
section 5 of the
legislation. For the public out there, I always believe in sharing as much as we
can of the details of the act, so the public is as fully informed as they
possibly can be about the various bills we're passing in the House and how it
pertains to them.
So for
the purposes of this act, going forward once it's approved, professional artists
in this province will be defined as those who satisfy any four of the following
conditions that I'm going to now list, and there must be at least one of (a),
(
b) or (c), plus any other three.
Item (
a) under
section 5 says that a professional artist to receive the designation must
be someone who receives or has received compensation which can be included in
their income; (
b) has a record of income or loss relevant to their artist work
history; and (
c) has received public or peer recognition. So at least one of
these three conditions must be met, plus any three others for a total of four.
So (
d) is listed as has presented his or her work to the public; (
e) is represented by
a dealer, publisher or agent; (
f) devotes a reasonable proportion of their
professional time to promoting or marketing; (g)(i) “has received professional
training in an educational institution …” or (g)(ii) “is self-taught within the
established practices of the person's cultural traditions;” (
h) has membership
in a professional association, or (h)(ii) trade union and (
i) holds copyright or
has received a royalty.
So these
are the conditions under which a person will be defined as a professional artist
under this legislation.
Mr.
Speaker, one of the drawbacks that we see in this legislation, one of its
shortcomings is it applies only to the Crown. In the briefing we were told it
would apply to core government departments, but it was really unclear regarding
agencies, boards and commissions.
The
officials noted during our briefing that there was nothing directing the ABCs to
follow it, but that the officials would work with them and the artists to
implement the principles of the act. It's great to encourage non-government
entities to honour the same pay scales and the components of the act, but there
is going to be nothing that makes it obligatory for them to do so because the
legislation only speaks to the Crown.
implements the following principles: “artists in the province make important and
dynamic contributions to the economic and social well-being of the province ….”
Another principle is “artistic creativity enhances the health, education,
quality of life and communal identity of the province ….”
As I
just spoke in my opening remarks about my impressions of Reykjavik, I strongly
believe that artistic creativity is key to a healthy community and a healthy
province. “Artistic diversity contributes to the strength of the province's
culture; and (
d) fair compensation of professional artists is important for the
creation and use of their artistic works.”
As I
stated a little while ago, the legislation includes the definition of a
professional artist and it is in line with the inclusive definition in the
Arts Council Act . It follows the Arts
Canada Council and the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council definition.
Section
6 of the legislation outlines the government's commitments, which will be
enshrined in legislation. These commitments I will list again for our listening
audience. These government commitments includes: honouring the scale agreements
of the artists' associations. Again, I reiterate, we strongly feel the
legislation falls short here because it does obligate the Crown to honour the
scale agreements, but it doesn't obligate a general buyer, like myself for
example, or any of the ABCs, municipalities. They will not be obligated to
honour the scale agreements. So we would like to see the act strengthened in
that regard.
Honouring the working condition protocols which are established by artists'
associations; seek input of artists and their associations on related government
matters; give consideration to cultural products produced in the province when
purchasing goods and services within the
Public Tender Act and other trade agreements; support access to education
and training relating to the arts and promote awareness of artistic activity;
conduct related research; provide investment for artists and artists'
associations; support the promotion and sale of cultural products from the
province; encourage public recognition; as well, to use a written contract when
government departments enter into a contract with a provincial artist.
Again,
these commitments are certainly ones we can applaud for the government, but we'd
like to see such written contracts and commitments enshrined for all
organizations and all people who purchase artists' services in this province.
Section
7 of the legislation notes that government will try to improve the working
conditions by encouraging appropriate labour standards – again, soft words: will
try, will encourage. We certainly believe it's a step forward, but we do hope we
will see some stronger mechanisms in place as we do truly work together to
improve the status of the artists in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Mr.
Speaker, when we were preparing to speak in second reading of this legislation,
we did do a jurisdictional scan across the province. The federal legislation
allows the Canada Industrial Relations Board to make regulations and rulings to
certify artists' associations and it outlines scale agreement and bargaining.
Nova
Scotia brought in
an act for the Status of the Artist in 2012. In fact, the act
for Nova Scotia is almost the same as ours, pretty much word for word in a lot
of cases. In Ontario in 2009, the minister designated one weekend in each year
to celebrate as artists' weekend. It does mention municipalities where they
encourage the promotion of the arts and a ministerial advisory committee is in
place for Ontario.
Quebec,
interestingly enough, in 1988 had legislation that spoke to this. They have an
Administrative Labour Tribunal to hear complaints from artisans. It governs the
associations for artisans and it spells out specific contractual requirements.
In New Brunswick in 2015, there was no legislation in place; PEI, no legislation
in place; and in Saskatchewan in 2010, they brought in
The Arts Professions Act ,
which mandates written contracts are required for all artisans.
Mr.
Speaker, again, I'll reiterate that we are supportive of this legislation. We
are very pleased to see strong recognition of the value that artists make to our
communities and to our province as a whole, but we'd like to see a little less
fluff in terms of words like encourage, acknowledge and we'll try; and we'd like
to see stronger teeth put in. As I said a little while ago, the act doesn't
include municipalities. We're really unclear of the extent to which ABCs are
going to have to follow it.
From
that point of view, we would like to see stronger legislation so we can
eliminate the problem of starving artists once and for all, and truly afford our
talented and artistic people of this province the opportunity to develop their
talent as a full-time profession, and one which they can afford to do as a
full-time profession and feed themselves and their families based on their
creativity.
Mr.
Speaker, the value of artists are recognized worldwide. Another
article that we
reviewed while preparing for this bill here today was an update on the 30th
anniversary of the UNESCO recommendation concerning the Status of the Artist. At
the Canadian Conference of the Arts in September of 2010, they prepared a
report. It was authored by Mr. Garry Neil of Neil Craig Associates, with some
Quebec research from a Mr. Sirois, and the book was published in September 2010.
In this
report, Mr. Speaker, it talks about how long artists have been struggling for
this recognition. Status of the Artist was
first used in the process launched by the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization that culminated in 1980 in Belgrade, when the General
Conference adopted the recommendations concerning the Status of the Artist. This
was the end of the process of consultation with civil society and discussion
among governments around issues of critical importance to the artists and
creators around the world.
The 1980 recommendation was certainly very comprehensive in
its survey of the issues affecting artists and here we are 30-plus, almost 40
years later, and we're still
talking about some of these recommendations, Mr. Speaker.
I'm
going to list as well some of the recommendations that came from this UNESCO
report, more so for the purposes of highlighting where we still have some gaps.
This recommendation, as defined at the UNESCO conference, addresses issues and
recommends government actions on the following: employment, working and living
conditions of the artists; recognition of the rights of their professional and
union organizations; social status, including measures to ensure equivalent
status to other workers in areas such as health and insurance; protection of
freedom of expression and protection of intellectual property rights; the
education and training of artists; the importance of arts education; and
measures related to income, support during periods of unemployment and
retirement issues.
Mr.
Speaker, you can see from the list as defined at the UNESCO convention that our
legislation certainly falls short of some of these recommendations and is
indeed, in some cases, very fluffy. We hope that through the course of the
debate, the minister will be open to looking at areas where the legislation can
be improved.
Mr.
Speaker, this 2010 report looks at best practices from other countries. In some
countries, particularly the Nordic countries and former socialist countries that
are now in the European Union, social programs have been adapted to deal with
the reality of the work of artists.
countries such as France, Belgium and United States, some categories of artists
are deemed to be employees. This enables them to obtain relevant benefits. In
virtually every country there are some provisions that have been designed
uniquely for some categories of artists, Mr. Speaker. We see that this
legislation is going to require contractual arrangements with the Crown, but it
doesn't require other entities, the private sector and other levels of
government to do the same. I do hope that's something the minister will
consider.
In 2008,
the Conference Board of Canada did a groundbreaking study that looked at the
culture sector. They concluded that the value of the sector to the Canadian
economy was far greater than anyone had previously thought. I would suggest that
the case is the same for Newfoundland and Labrador.
The
Conference Board estimated that the economic footprint of Canada's culture
sector was $84.6 billion in 2007, or 7.4 per cent of Canada's total real GDP,
including direct, indirect and induced contributions. The culture sector
employment exceeded 1.1 million jobs in 2007. Now, I don't have the current
figures, but I'm certainly anticipating that number is much higher today, 10
years later.
The
report also states: “The government of Newfoundland and Labrador got it right
when it placed artists at the very centre of The Culture System and when it said
developing and nurturing creative talent is a fundamental requirement for
developing the creative economy. They were right when they said that it is
essential 'to support excellence in artistic endeavour' and 'to improve the
conditions under which professional artists and other cultural workers create
and produce.'”
So, Mr.
Speaker, Newfoundland and Labrador is recognized for the value it places on
artisans. I'm sure that we will continue to be applauded for the bill that we
are bringing into this House here today, but again, it does have shortcomings
and it does need to be strengthened. With respect to the cultural strategy
renewal, 2019 is a very long time for artisans to wait. So we're hoping that can
be expedited and, throughout that process, maybe recommendations will come
forward for strengthening this bill that we do truly hope government is open to
considering. Because, at the end of the day, we have some outstanding, excellent
artisans in this fine province of ours – some of them even serve with us right
here in this hon. House.
One day
I, myself, hope to write a book based on my experiences of the last 10 years;
although I'm not sure if that's a good idea, sometimes. But everyone in this
province has a particular skill, whether it be in drawing, whether it be in
writing, whether it be in music, whether it be in carving – so many special
skills that the people of this province have.
I'm so
happy to see this bill brought forward and happy to work with government to
continue to do what we can to support the fine artisans of Newfoundland and
Labrador.
Thank
you so much, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Labrador West.
MR. LETTO:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It's a
pleasure for me to stand here today and to speak on this bill, Bill 22, the
Status of the Artist Act . First of
all, I have to commend the minister and the department for moving forward with
this, as it was one of our election commitments and it was reconfirmed in
The Way Forward document.
I know
it was either in his remarks or the answers in QP, he had stated that he was
very much interested in the arts. We can all attest to that on this side of the
House because I don't know if there's a show or an event that he's missed over
this past two years. If he has, it hasn't been very many. We know what he's
presenting here today is something he's been working on for some time.
As has
been stated by the minister and the Member opposite, I won't get into the act
itself, but the Status of the Artist is an internationally recognized term which
applies to legislation, policies and programs. We were very pleased to follow in
footsteps of provinces like Quebec and Saskatchewan and others to implement
legislation to address this.
The
intention of this act is to improve the economic and social status of
professional artists in the province. We hear comments from the Member opposite:
starving artists. Well, what I will say to that, Mr. Speaker, is that there is
probably no other province in Canada that supports its culture and heritage as
well as Newfoundland and Labrador does. That goes as well for the artists who
take
part in these events.
We are
very supportive of our artists in the province. Whether they're singers, whether
they're comedians, whether they're carvers, whether they're actresses or actors
or whatever they do, we are very supportive of our arts in Newfoundland and
Labrador.
What I
wanted to do today, Mr. Speaker, as the Member for Labrador West, I represent my
colleagues from Labrador here in the House of Assembly when we talk about the
arts in Labrador. There is probably nowhere more evident than that than in the
Member's district from Torngat when it comes to Aboriginal art or whatever and
carvers because carvings from that part of the country are world renowned. It's
sold all over the world. It's respected all over the world.
I know
in my time that I've seen many carvings from artists on the North Coast of
Labrador that have had some great prominence, not only in this country, but in
the world. There are artists like Gilbert Rich and John Terriak from Nain.
MR. EDMUNDS:
Gilbert Hay.
MR. LETTO:
Gilbert Hay – you put down
Gilbert Rich – Ross Flowers from Hopedale, Bronson Jacque from Postville. Mr.
Speaker, you depend on your colleague to give you some information and then they
all throw you under the bus. Anyway, there are people on the North Coast of
Labrador, Inuit carvers, who are world renowned.
There
are people like Billy Gauthier, for instance. Billy Gauthier is somebody that we
all know as a great carver and a great artist. I've seen some of his work.
Actually, my brother had some done for him specifically of different pieces,
whether it's ptarmigan, snow birds or whatever. It's absolutely beautiful.
As you
know, Billy Gauthier is one of the artists that has gained world recognition for
his work. He lives in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, of course, and he's a very
well-known sculptor out of Labrador. He's carved many pieces in galleries in
Labrador and New Brunswick, and participated in many exhibitions. He's always
been fascinated by the human faces and their individual expressions, so he's
been at this for some time. He's gained a lot of prominence in that field.
Mr.
Speaker, again, the crafts, there's nowhere probably in the world where the
production of crafts is more prominent than in this Province of Newfoundland and
Labrador.
AN HON. MEMBER:
(Inaudible.)
MR. LETTO:
Yeah, there you go.
There
are craft producers from all over Labrador as well when you talk about the Inuit
crafts, the quilting, you name it. There are many, many professionals all over
the world from Labrador that have gained recognition.
Mr.
Speaker, when you talk about art in this province, the earliest examples of art
in this province were produced by Aboriginal people. The oldest known object of
this type is a small ivory carving of a bear found in Labrador and now is in the
collection of The Rooms provincial Museum Division in St. John's. It has been
identified with the Dorset Eskimo people and it was possibly created around 800
AD.
Mr.
Speaker, when you talk about the artists and here we are today in 2017
implementing the Status of the Artist Act ,
it is something that we certainly recognize is long overdue but we, as a
government, have said that this is something that's needed and we are moving
forward with that today.
When you
look at some of the art that's been found around this land, certainly from that
time, Labrador's influence in artistry has remained very strong, as I've stated.
Art and craft in Labrador has its roots in both the Aboriginal cultures and the
European contact period of the 18th to the 19th centuries. In the
1700s the Moravian missionaries came to Northern Labrador and, in the late
1800s, Grenfell's Medical Mission to Southern Labrador and Northern
Newfoundland. It was during the 1970s that contemporary visual arts actually
began to flourish in Labrador.
We've
been at this for a long time and Labrador, you could probably say, is the
birthplace for the arts in Newfoundland and Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. LETTO:
For 20-plus years of
development and growth, a strong and vibrant visual arts association continues
throughout Labrador. In Labrador West, for instance, in my own district, you
have people like Sheilagh Harvey, Marjorie O'Brien, Ed Owen, Mary Jacobs and all
those people who've been certainly very active in the arts industry, whether
it's through paintings and other types of art.
I wanted
to just mention that a very big part of our culture and heritage and the arts in
this province is our system of Arts and Culture Centres throughout the province.
I'm very pleased to stand here today and say that Labrador West has such a
facility that is well used, not as much as we'd like to see it, but certainly is
well used and we've seen a lot of good artists come and go through that centre.
Because
we have centres like that is the reason why we have a strong drama presence in
Labrador West. In fact, I don't know of anywhere else in the province probably
other than St. John's where you would have two theatre groups operating out of
the same facility. We have the Carol Players and we have the Northern Lights
Theatre Company.
Mr.
Speaker, the point I'm trying to make is that arts is a very important part of
our everyday culture, everyday economic survival and feasibility and viability.
It's something that we need to pay very close attention to.
I just
want to mention a couple of more people in Labrador that have gotten national
recognition and, in some cases, international recognition for their contribution
to the arts. One of those people I think that we need to mention is Harry
Martin, a great folk singer, who has written many songs about his life and the
life of a trapper in Labrador.
As a
wildlife conservation officer, he would have had good exposure to that and he
certainly took that knowledge and turned it into art. He has become a very, very
successful singer and songwriter. Of course, many of the songs that we hear
today – “This Is My Home” is the one that comes to mind, which is probably one
of his most famous songs, a song that is well-known and certainly often played
by many outlets.
When you
talk about the arts, and not only in the paintings, but photography itself is a
great art. When you look at Labrador and all the scenery that has been taken –
people like Geoff Goodyear, for instance, who captured the scenes of Northern
Labrador and the Torngats, and has produced a book of pictures from the Torngats
itself, from Northern Labrador. It's people like that who certainly have made –
whether they've made a living on it is not important; it's the fact that they've
been able to contribute to the culture of our region.
People
like Larry Jenkins, a self-taught photographer, who is known for his Northern
Lights prints and pictures. If you see his collection, it's just amazing how he
can portray the great Northern Lights that we are so famous for. So there are
people like that.
There's
Scott Pynn, another artist from Labrador, who has a unique style of painting. He
started at a very young age and he was being taught from his grandfather.
Scott's art is inspired by the beautiful Labrador landscapes, the trees, the
snow and how the cold air magnifies the sun. Most of Scott's paintings exist in
the area right between night and day, so I've never been able to tell if the sun
is coming up or going down. It's just a unique culture that these people have
acquired over the years and they put their own stamp on their work.
course there are people like Shirley Montague, who has become a world-renowned
singer as well. She now lives in Gros Morne. She's the founder of the annual
Trails, Tales and Tunes Festival that I'm sure the minister has attended on
occasion. She's managed to carry her expertise, her experience and knowledge
away from Labrador, being a Labradorian herself. She's moved on, but she hasn't
forgotten her heritage, she hasn't forgotten her culture and being able to share
it with the other people of this province – that's something that's she's very
proud of.
Mr.
Speaker, I just wanted to put that Labrador perspective on what we're trying to
do here today with this bill because it's not something that we can take
frivolously; it's an important bill. It's a bill that allows those people to now
become sustainable in their own right with the work that they love to do and
that they continue to do. But this bill will give them some security in their
work and certainly allow them to continue on to do the work that people
appreciate and respect them for it.
What's
the definition of an artist? When you look at it, that can include many things.
In the act, the definition as established by this act is similar to the
definitions in Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan in their Status of the Artist acts:
individuals who create, perform or give creative expression. Mr. Speaker, that's
a pretty broad definition when you talk about singing, acting, painting and
carving. That's what those people do; they create an expression that people
really appreciate.
This
includes the literary arts, the visual arts and crafts, digital and multimedia
arts, as well as performing arts such as theatre, opera, dance and music. It's a
pretty broad definition and there are a lot of people – if I were to name
everyone, not only in the province, but in Labrador, we'd be here for a long
time. That's what happens when you start naming people, there's always somebody
you forget. There are a lot of people in this province who could be put into
that classification. We all know who they are and we're all eager to support
them in what they do.
This is
an inclusive definition and it's consistent with the definition of the
Arts Council Act . This definition may
also include individuals who receive compensation through income. That's what
this act is all about. It's about securing these people, securing their income.
Receive
public or peer recognition, and the minister also alluded to that. There are
people who receive recognition, not only on the national stage, but on the world
stage for the work they do.
Presented work to the public; you look throughout government offices, these
government buildings, the art that's displayed in those, and in The Rooms for
instance. There are a lot of people who have presented their work to the public,
to the public galleries and for public viewing. There are a lot of people.
Represented by a dealer, agent or publisher and receive professional training or
designation.
Mr.
Speaker, this act really goes a long way to identifying who the artists are and
who needs to be recognized in this act. We think we've done a very good job of
identifying the people who need to be recognized and need to be recognized in
this act.
This has
not been done haphazardly, as the minister again alluded to. There were a lot of
consultations done in developing this act. In the fall of 2016, the ArtsNL and
the Arts and Culture Advisory Committee were consulted.
We heard
during Question Period, as well, Members of the Third Party referred to that the
artists weren't happy with this act. Well, the ArtsNL were quite eager today to
come out and support the work that the minister is doing. There were other
people at that news conference this morning. Stan Hill, for instance, was there.
They complimented government on moving forward with this
Status of the Artist Act . So to say
the artists and the people who are affected by this don't respect this and don't
appreciate this, I think it needs to be corrected.
January 2017, for instance, the arts stakeholder round table consultation was
held. In the winter of 2017, the online questionnaire was provided through the
department which had 256 responses – 256, Mr. Speaker. So to say that people
weren't consulted, I beg to