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May

14, 2015

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVII No. 15

The

House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Verge):

Order, please!

Admit

strangers.

I am

pleased to welcome to the public gallery today several members of the Radhoc

Youth Leadership, members: Jennifer Crowe, Ryan Murphy and Sean Kennedy.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

Statements by

Members

MR. SPEAKER:

Today we will hear members'

statements from members representing the Districts of Cartwright L'Anse au

Clair, Kilbride, Bay of Islands, St. George's Stephenville East, Cape St.

Francis, and Port de Grave.

The hon.

the Member for Cartwright L'Anse au Clair.

MS DEMPSTER:

Thank you.

Mr.

Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today during National Nursing Week to

recognize the nurses who provide extraordinary service to the residents of

Cartwright L'Anse au Clair.

The

theme, Nurses: With you every step of the way, emphasizes how important nurses

are in our lives at every age, in all health situations, for all Canadians.

Throughout the district, we have a health care centre in Forteau and six

community clinics along the coast.

Isolated communities, some that are often only accessible by helicopter,

snowmobile, or boat but, Mr. Speaker, it is all part of being a health

provider on the Labrador Coast.

In many

cases, nurses work in the absence of a physician during all hours of the day and

are expected to deal with all medical situations, including emergencies,

medivacs, births, and deaths.

Nurses

in these coastal communities are our neighbours, family, and active members of

our communities. They are indeed

with us every step of the way, and are committed to making our communities

healthier places to live.

behalf of the people of Cartwright L'Anse au Clair, I want to thank those

nurses and let them know that we genuinely appreciate their tireless efforts and

applaud them for the valuable service they provide.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Kilbride.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DINN:

I stand in this hon. House

today to recognize an outstanding individual from the District of Kilbride.

Len

Mooney was born and raised in Kilbride and comes from a family of ten children.

His father died at the age of forty-nine.

Len attended school in Kilbride, and then moved on to St. John's to

attend high school and university.

After graduation, he entered the insurance business and helped many individuals

and families.

When

finding out his daughter was legally blind, he helped form the Newfoundland and

Labrador Visually Impaired Children's Association where he served as President

for seven years.

Through

the years, Len has been active at his church as a ward representative and has

been a member of school PTAs. In

1984, he received the Donald S. MacNaughton Award presented by Prudential

Insurance to an agent who has done exceptional volunteer work.

In 1988,

Len joined the St. John's Lions Club and since then has served in many

positions, receiving many distinctions.

On April

19, 2014, he was elected District Governor of District N4 at the Annual Lions

Club Convention held in Gander.

I ask

all hon. members to join me in commending Len Mooney for his many years of

dedicated volunteer work.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Bay of Islands.

MR. JOYCE:

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this

hon. House today to recognize Olivia Perry, a Level I student at St. James

All-Grade School in Lark Harbour.

April, Olivia won the national poetry reading championship at the Poetry in

Voice competition held in Montreal.

This competition involves choosing a poem from an online anthology, reciting and

discussing it in front of your classmates, and then presenting it before the

entire school. Olivia had to submit

a video to the national competition on her reading three poems selected from the

anthology.

Approximately 40,000 students from 400 schools across Canada participated with

thirty-nine students from the online entries selected for the final competition.

twenty-one competed in the French and bilingual categories.

Olivia

was the only finalist from Newfoundland and Labrador, and this was her second

year in a row to attend the competition.

For her great accomplishment, Olivia received a $5,000 cash prize for

first place, and her school library will receive $1,000 to purchase new

material.

I ask

all members to join me in extending congratulations to Olivia on her

accomplishments and wish her every success in her future endeavours.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

George's Stephenville East.

MR. REID:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Today I

rise to congratulate eighty-eight members of the Stephenville High School

Concert Band, which recently won the Gold World Strides Heritage Performance

Award and an Adjudicator Award at a major competition in New York City.

The band

was one of thirty-six performing groups including choirs, orchestras, and

concert bands who competed and performed at Riverside Church, one of the

largest churches in the United States.

While in

New York, the group also had an opportunity to visit Times Square, the Statue of

Liberty, the Ground Zero Memorial, Radio City Music Hall, and Broadway.

They also took in a playoff hockey game, a soccer game, as well as the

Blue Man Group.

This is

the second time a band from Stephenville has visited New York under direction of

teacher Howard Larade the last time was in 2011.

The band members were not intimidated by New York and were well behaved

on the trip.

Mr.

Speaker, in closing, I would like to congratulate the members of the

Stephenville High School Concert Band on their accomplishments, and also

recognize those who helped make this trip such a success.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Cape

St. Francis.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. K. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

in this hon. House today to recognize the newest Lions Club in the Province.

The Torbay Lions Club had their first charter night on May 2, 2015.

Mr.

Speaker, there are twenty-five members led by President, Lion Nancy Codner.

The club is looking forward to begin community service and are hoping to

attract new members in the future.

They are determined to do their best to help individuals and families in the

area. They are now members of the

largest international service organization.

There are 1.4 million Lions with 46,000 clubs, in 202 countries around

the world.

Mr.

Speaker, the Pouch Cove Lions Club sponsored the Torbay club and their first

charter night was held in Pouch Cove with Lions Roland LeGrow and Herb Hudson as

Guiding Lions. The Torbay Lions Club

will be in good hands under the guidance of one of the most active Lions Club in

the Province.

I ask

all hon. members to join with me in congratulating our twenty-five new Lions and

thank them for stepping up to help their fellow citizens.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Port

de Grave.

MR. LITTLEJOHN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

today in this House to recognize the Town of Upper Island Cove on the occasion

of their fiftieth anniversary of incorporation on May 9.

The town, Mr. Speaker, dates back to the late 1600s when according to the

Berry Census of 1675 the population was fourteen.

Today, it is a bustling town of over 1,800, known for its dedicated

volunteers.

The

evening was highlighted by the presence of their Honours.

His Honour, Lieutenant Governor Frank Fagan, spoke of his roots to the

community and commended those who have served the town since its incorporation

in 1965. He paid tribute to the many

volunteers who give their time and effort to enhance the services and attributes

of this scenic town.

Mayor

George Adams spoke of the advances the town has made particularly, with physical

infrastructure, noting the town is nearly 100 per cent water and sewer serviced.

He noted the absence of the first mayor, Mr. Will Greeley, who was a

leader in having the town seek incorporation.

Mayor Adams was proud to announce the town will be debt free later this

year.

I ask

all hon. members to join me in congratulating the Walled City on fifty years of

incorporation.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by

Ministers

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. S. COLLINS:

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in

this hon. House to celebrate how collaboration and research is supporting and

encouraging youth volunteers throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

On April

22, representatives from the Office of Public Engagement, Radhoc Youth

Leadership, and Memorial University's Department of Political Science, the

Community Sector Council, and Memorial's School of Social Work joined forces

through an interactive workshop to discuss ways to foster youth involvement.

Mr.

Speaker, volunteers have long been an integral

part in Newfoundland and

Labrador, but we need new volunteers and fresh perspectives to help ensure our

communities remain strong and welcoming places to live.

The more connected that someone feels to a community, the more likely

they are to stay, work, and raise a family.

For rural communities, this is what contributes to their long-term

sustainability and viability.

Through

the workshop, which was inspired by a collaborative initiative underway in the

Gander New-Wes-Valley region called Uniting Community Leaders, forty-five

young people from diverse backgrounds spoke about ways to strengthen rural

communities in this way. They are

also exploring research collected by Radhoc Youth Leadership members Jennifer

Crowe, Ryan Murphy, and Sean Kennedy who are joining us today in the gallery.

Mr.

Speaker, working together, the Radhoc team reached into the community to gather

information and unique experiences from more than 180 youth over the past few

months.

It is

also worth noting that one of the founding members of Radhoc is working with us

in the Youth Engagement Division of the Office of Public Engagement, where she

is focused on building strong partnerships with youth organizations.

As we speak, the office is also preparing for tonight's URock Volunteer

Awards at the Glacier in Mount Pearl, where we will celebrate the incredible

volunteer efforts of young people. I

invite everyone to join us in person, or through the webcast at

urockvolunteerawards.ca.

Mr.

Speaker, with their skills, enthusiasm, and ingenuity, youth are helping

Newfoundland and Labrador move forward at a critical point in our history.

By providing them with forums to connect and explore ways in which they

can contribute, we will help to ensure they have the supports needed to remain

true leaders in their communities.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Order, please!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

Barbe.

MR. J. BENNETT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the minister for an advance copy.

Mr. Speaker, Radhoc is a social justice youth leadership program based in

Newfoundland and Labrador. One of

its biggest projects is the annual youth leadership conference.

I have had the privilege of attending two of the last three conferences,

along with members of certain other parties.

The

conference is an exciting and inspiring leadership development experience for

high school students in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Through this conference, Radhoc aims to educate high school students on

social global issues in the hope they will be able to return to their schools

with the motivation and skills necessary to make their own positive change in

the world.

Radhoc's

approach is arranged according to five principles: innovative, interactive,

independence building, inspiring, and impact making.

Mr.

Speaker, Radhoc started in 2007 when seven Memorial University global social

justice groups got together and used the acronym, Radhoc, which stood for Rights

and Development High School Outreach Conference, but has since abandoned the

acronym to simply say Radhoc.

Radhoc

does wonderful work in our Province to bring high school students into the

volunteering mode and to give them an opportunity, in some cases, to visit St.

John's and experience Memorial University.

Mr.

Speaker, I think today belongs to Radhoc.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's East.

MR. MURPHY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I too

thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement here today.

Mr. Speaker, I hope this workshop provides opportunities for youth to

speak out about what they and their communities need to thrive in the future.

Congratulations to the organizers and to the Radhoc team that gathered the

viewpoints of so many youth across the Province.

More importantly, Mr. Speaker, it is important to honour youth volunteers

with events such as the URock Volunteer Awards.

So we commend them on that initiative.

Mr.

Speaker, government also has to keep in mind that it is also important to take

concrete steps to keep young adults in their communities and in the Province

with accessible education, good jobs, and good services.

We wish

all the best to the Radhoc volunteers and to the award winners tonight in

advance.

Thank

you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Further statements by

ministers?

The hon.

the Acting Minister of Education.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this

hon. House today to recognize fourteen students from across the Province who

have received the Safe and Caring Schools Graduating Student Awards.

The Safe

and Caring Schools Graduating Student Awards program was established in 2006 and

recognizes youth who have taken a leadership role in their schools.

Each student will receive a $500 post-secondary tuition voucher for their

efforts.

This

year's recipients are Amber Whiteway and Julia Catherine Barry of Menihek High

School; Hannah Hepditch of Corner Brook High School; Selina Morris of St. Mary's

All Grade; Aimee Rideout of Gros Morne Academy; Mackenzie Susan Dawe of Jane

Collins Academy; Julie Goudie of Indian River High; Ashely Mackeigan of Exploits

Valley High; Randi Burke of Marystown Central High School; Ashley Drover of

Tricentia Academy; Marshall Miles of John Burke High School; Caitlin Pike of

Ascension Collegiate; Leah Denise Walsh of St. Catherine's Academy; and Lucas

Walters of Clarenville High School.

This

award program goes hand-in-hand with the Safe and Caring Schools Special Project

Awards, which earlier this year saw forty schools receive $500 each in

recognition of their individual efforts to establish safe and caring learning

environments. A total of $27,000 is

allocated annually for both initiatives.

Mr.

Speaker, ensuring the students of Newfoundland and Labrador have a positive,

safe and caring school environment in which to learn is a key priority for this

government. The Safe Caring Schools

Policy helps to establish and maintain a positive school climate which is

essential for our students.

I ask

all hon. members of this House to join me in congratulating and thanking these

students for making a positive difference in the lives of their fellow students

and their communities. I commend all

of these students for helping us carry out this very important initiative.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

Barbe.

MR. J. BENNETT:

Mr. Speaker, I thank the

minister for the advanced copy of his statement.

In the

case of these fourteen students, just as a pebble is dropped into a pool of

water and a wave emanates washing on shore everywhere, when people do good deeds

and in particular when they follow along with Safe and Caring Schools concept

and when they treat other students accordingly, the goodwill that is generated

from these fourteen young people and all of their schools, and all of the people

who have yet to be recognized, this is the way that it seems most appropriate

and most effective to be able to generate Safe and Caring Schools.

cannot legislate something, we cannot impose, we cannot force people to behave

in a certain manner but when we encourage and when we motivate and when we

reward, these are the results that we see.

The Opposition is quite grateful that this award is working very well,

and I would like to point out one of these students, Aimee Rideout, is from the

St. Barbe district.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I, too,

thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement.

I applaud the fourteen students receiving the Safe and Caring Schools

awards. I hope they have a great

post-secondary experience and I am sure their skills in fostering safe,

inclusive learning environments will carry over to those settings.

The Safe

and Caring Schools Special Project Awards are also an important, if somewhat

modest, incentive for schools. I

encourage the minister and this government to follow the lead of the students in

schools and provide the necessary resources to ensure that schools can respond

to students' need for safety and inclusion.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon.

the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

today in this hon. House to recognize Sunday, May 17, as International Day

Against Homophobia and Transphobia.

The

theme of this year's campaign is Stand

with LGBT Youth , and it calls on all of us to support young people as they

advocate for visibility, respect, and equality for persons of all genders and

sexual orientations.

Mr.

Speaker, this day is dedicated to raising awareness of homophobia and

transphobia, and campaigning against it by celebrating gender and sexual

diversity.

Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, vulnerable populations, including gay, lesbian,

bisexual and transgender people are subjected to acts of violence in schools,

workplaces and communities, and experience higher rates of violent victimization

than heterosexual individuals.

The

first step toward preventing these types of violence is to educate our residents

on the importance of diversity in all sectors of our society.

Women, children and youth, Aboriginal persons, older persons, persons

with disabilities, LGBT individuals, persons of varying race or ethnicity and

persons of differing economic status have the right to live free of the fear of

violence or abuse.

Mr.

Speaker, as part of the Violence Prevention Initiative, our Regional

Coordinating Committees Against Violence are planning and participating in

events throughout the Province to recognize International Day Against Homophobia

and Transphobia. For example, the

Bay St. George Coalition to End Violence is joining with Western Pride to hold a

flag-raising and proclamation signing in Stephenville.

In addition, Burin Peninsula Voice Against Violence is working with the

local high school to create information displays, and distribute pride flags to

students.

Also, on

Sunday May 24, Planned Parenthood Newfoundland and Labrador Sexual Health

Centre will hold a breakfast to recognize the International Day Against

Homophobia and Transphobia, and I encourage everyone to find out more about this

event.

Mr.

Speaker, I invite all of my colleagues to join me in recognizing International

Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, and in acknowledging the hard work that

Planned Parenthood and our Regional Coordinating Committees Against Violence do

on a daily basis. The Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador remains fully committed to working to prevent all

forms of violence so that residents of Newfoundland and Labrador can live in

violence-free communities.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

George's Stephenville East.

MR. REID:

I thank the minister for an

advance copy of his statement. I am

happy to join with my colleagues in recognizing the International Day Against

Homophobia and Transphobia in this hon. House.

Such observations bring the challenges and triumphs of the LGBTQ

community to front of mind.

LGBTQ

persons have faced and continue to face considerable persecution here and

abroad. The LGBTQ community

continues and there are achievements to celebrate.

That we recognize the International Day Against Homophobia and

Transphobia in this hon. House is testament to a society that is increasingly

embracing diversity.

commend the community organizations throughout this Province, including the

group in Stephenville, that are recognizing May 17 and promoting non-violence

throughout the year.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker, I thank the

minister for an advance copy of his statement.

I am so proud to stand in this House to recognize International Day

Against Homophobia and Transphobia.

Wow, have we come a long way.

In my

own lifetime, people were rounded up and imprisoned for being gay.

People were lobotomized, thrown in asylums, thrown out of jobs, thrown

out of their families. Today, many

of us can proudly say: I am here.

LGBTQ

folks are everywhere: teaching, healing, winning Olympic medals, standing in

Legislatures. We are mothers,

fathers, brothers, sisters, and on a whole gender spectrum.

There is

still much work to do, and I honour those who do it with passion and compassion.

Bravo, Planned Parenthood and the Regional Coordinating Committees

Against Violence.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Municipal and Intergovernmental Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today to highlight a significant announcement

that my colleague, the hon. Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, and I

recently participated in the official opening of the new Corner Brook water

treatment plant.

Through

an investment of approximately $50 million from the federal, provincial, and

municipal governments into the water treatment plant and associated

infrastructure, quality drinking water will be provided to the residents of the

City of Corner Brook and adjacent communities of Massey Drive and Mount Moriah.

The new

Corner Brook water treatment plant was made possible under the Canada Strategic

Infrastructure Fund, and I am pleased to say the provincial government

contributed $12 million to bring this project to fruition.

The new

water treatment plant is designed to meet the Canadian Drinking Water Quality

Guidelines, has an above ground storage reservoir system located adjacent to the

plant, and a reservoir sized to meet the needs of fire and emergency services.

The plant is designed to produce a maximum flow rate of 30 million litres

per day.

Mr.

Speaker, the City of Corner Brook working in partnership with our officials

procured this infrastructure through a design-build process.

This process enabled the city to evaluate proposals not only on the basis

of up-front capital cost, but on life-cycle cost as well.

As a result of the process, the cost of completing the plant was reduced

by approximately $15 million when compared to the traditional design-bid-build

approach that was initially explored.

It is important we continue to explore innovative approaches such as this

to ensure we are maximizing the value of our investments.

Mr.

Speaker, as a government we have been making progress in addressing

infrastructure needs through our municipal capital works program, with key

priority areas including improving drinking water and waste water systems.

In fact,

between 2008 and 2014, we have approved in excess of $800 million in provincial

funding for municipal infrastructure projects, resulting in new and improved

infrastructure in communities throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

Approximately $184 million of this funding has been invested in water

projects.

Mr.

Speaker, in recognition of the need for continued investment in municipal

infrastructure and building on a three-year $200 million municipal

infrastructure program announced in 2014, as announced in this year's Budget our

government is committed to another $175 million investment in new projects for

the period 2017-2018 to 2019-2020.

This is in addition to provincial funding that will be provided over the coming

years to leverage federal funding under the new Building Canada Fund.

These

significant investments and levels of funding are enabling our communities to

secure, develop, and improve infrastructure to support long-term growth and

sustainability.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Bay

of Islands.

MR. JOYCE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the minister for an advance copy of his statement.

People on this side also would like to commend the city council of Corner

Brook, government, the federal government, and Gerry Byrne for his support on

this to ensure there is safe drinking water, Mr. Speaker.

This

safe drinking water, Mr. Speaker, is important to everybody.

I noticed down through some of the notes the minister made, this will

bring this water up to the Canadian Drinking Water Quality Guidelines which is a

good initiative for all the residents of Corner Brook.

Mount Moriah and Massey Drive also uses this water supply.

noticed the minister mentioned the design build talking about the design

build.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. JOYCE:

There is one difference with

this design build as to what the Premier is asking for the long-term care

facility. There are city workers in this

design build. The City of Corner

Brook sets the rates, not like the Premier is saying, that the business will set

the rates and they will supply their level of service.

That is the difference with this design build and what you are asking

about the long-term care.

You

talked about, Minister, all the money you spent.

Why are there still over 200 boil-order advisories in the Province?

What we are doing with the money, we had to find a different way, Mr.

Speaker, because it is just not working with all the money.

Mr.

Speaker, when I look down here and we talk about the money they are going to

spend in 2017-2018

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. JOYCE:

It is just like Stephen

Harper

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

I remind

the member his time has expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's East.

MR. MURPHY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the minister for the advance copy of his statement here today as well.

Mr. Speaker, we know that Corner Brook has had a lot of issues with

giardia. We know that these problems

have been ranging now in the years.

While this is a good announcement, we cannot forget about other municipalities

with a huge ask for funding directly attributed to water.

According to MNL, almost $6 billion is needed over the next ten years to meet

operational requirements and upkeep of present infrastructure.

Mr. Speaker, a lot of this ask is to deal with water issues that are

quite problematic in the Province today.

While government may be making some progress, they have to remember that

clean water is everybody's right and should remain priority number one for any

government that sits in this Legislature.

Thank

you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

Oral

Questions.

Oral Questions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In the

first nine months of fiscal year 2014-2015, government increased the amount of

untendered work by 55 per cent over the same period a year earlier.

I ask

the Premier: Why have you allowed this increase of untendered work in our

Province?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Service Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CRUMMELL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, there is a reality to the situation here.

The reality is exactly this: exceptions are part of the act.

Exceptions are part of every bit of

legislation around public tendering in this country.

So that is why you understand why these things happen.

Mr.

Speaker, there are 1,470 exceptions that were filed last year.

They are available. They are

posted here in the House every thirty days.

When there is a pressing emergency, that is when we go out there and get

the work done; that is when it is done.

If we are purchasing textbooks for schools, and there is only one

textbook. That is the one you have

to go get.

When you

talk about sole providers, that is where the public tendering act comes into

play. It is there for a reason, Mr.

Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

noticed the minister talked a lot about textbooks, but what he did not talk

about were gym memberships by NLC at $11,000 for four months.

He kind of missed that one as a sole source.

Maybe we will get that explanation later.

The

Government Purchasing Agency is responsible for government's oversight, the

procurement of goods and services.

On March 5, 2012, that is over three years ago, government tabled a bill to deal

with procurement in government. The

contents of that bill were never released and it died on the Order Paper.

I ask

the Premier: Why isn't having good, proper, procurement legislation and ensuring

that money is spent properly a priority for this government?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

certainly is a priority for us as a government.

We made great progress on improving on plans and polices and legislation.

We continue to bring new legislation to the House of Assembly here, which

helps to improve on how we do business on a day-to-day basis.

Procurement, as well, is a piece of legislation that, as the member opposite

said, was on the Order Paper at one point in time.

We are still doing work on that, and we will be bringing that to the

House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is in

the mandate letter. It was over

three years ago to put a proper procurement process in place for this Province,

one that was committed by this government.

Over a

year ago, in April 2014, the minister said this: We are working diligently to

come up with legislation that would make sure taxpayers' dollars are being used

more wisely in public procurement.

In Estimates Committee just a few days ago, he confirmed that the legislation

will not be introduced in this session of the House of Assembly.

That is three years. The

Premier says they are working on it.

Three years later, it is still not done.

I ask

the Premier: Why are you delaying this legislation if you know it would save

taxpayers' money?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Service Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CRUMMELL:

Mr. Speaker, there has been a

significant amount of work done on this legislation.

It is very complicated.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. CRUMMELL:

We are finalizing it, Mr.

Speaker. There is new information

that is becoming available. We are

trying to understand the RFP processes that are being used in other provinces

and other jurisdictions, that are becoming more prevalent day in and day out in

government's business right across Canada, so we want to have the most effective

legislation possible. This

legislation will stand for years, Mr. Speaker.

The

legislation we have in place right now is very effective, Mr. Speaker.

It is very good legislation.

We are following that legislation and when we are ready, we will bring this

forward.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Three

years ago they were ready with something, so what happened to that piece of

legislation called Bill 1 over three years ago?

Why was that withdrawn from the Order Paper?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Service Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CRUMMELL:

Again, Mr. Speaker, it is a

very complicated piece of legislation.

We have to make sure that we do this right.

We have looked at that initial document that we were prepared to bring

forward, the initial legislation. We

pulled it back because we found that it was not as good as it should be.

Mr.

Speaker, we do recognize in this House that we bring amendments forward to

change legislation that has been on the books in the past.

The best legislation possible is legislation that does not require

amendments and lasts a long time; but, again, we want to make sure we do the

work and we do it right. We are

still gathering information in finalizing that document.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. CRUMMELL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Certainly 2012 was a watershed year for this government when it comes to good

legislation because just a few months after that it was Bill 29.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BALL:

This government, in the 2003

Blue Book, committed to a new procurement process.

That is twelve years ago.

They committed to it again in 2007, in the 2007 Blue Book, and again in the 2011

Blue Book Bill 1, over three years ago now.

I ask

the Premier: Why have you failed to act in twelve years?

Don't you think that twelve years is long enough to make the changes

required to ensure taxpayer money has been better and more wisely spent twelve

years I say, Mr. Speaker?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, he is asking me

why I have not done it for twelve years.

The first thing I remind him is that I have not been here for twelve

years, but I can tell you the length of time that I have been here

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

I ask

members for their co-operation.

The hon.

the Premier.

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As I was

going to say but

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon.

the Premier.

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As I was

saying before I was rudely interrupted by members opposite, Mr. Speaker, this is

something that I personally myself have had my eye on for some time.

I can tell you there has been a considerable amount of work done on it

and if you look across jurisdictions across the country, different provinces

have found different ways. Some have

made numerous changes to the legislation and processes, Mr. Speaker.

It is a field that is evolving regularly and evolving very quickly, and

we want to make sure that we get the best legislation.

We look

and review as to what other jurisdictions are doing, what works for them and

what does not work for them, and I can tell you there is a broad array existing

across Canada on procurement. We

have a piece of legislation right now that is working for us.

We want to work and we are committed to work towards providing the best

legislation

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

PREMIER DAVIS:

possible and the best

processes that are going to get us best value.

Until we land on what we feel is the best legislation we can bring

forward, we will not bring it forward, Mr. Speaker, but we are continuing to do

the work and we will continue to do so.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, it

is interesting to see how the Premier is trying to distance himself from the

mistakes, yet he wants to take credit for some of the other announcements that

past governments have made.

Speaking

about past Premiers, for three years we have been calling I have been calling

for any revenue realized from the sale of surplus Muskrat power to be used to

offset the high power rates in our Province.

There has been conflicting comments from various Premiers, and we have

had 3.5 or so in the last year.

I ask

the Premier: Will you do the right thing and commit to using the money from

surplus power to offset high power rates in our Province?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, Premier Marshall

was quite clear in his position and I share in his position on this in that he

said we will use some of that revenue to offset those costs.

I believe that is the right thing to do as well.

When we

get to the point in time and the point of the day where we know exactly what

those revenues are, we know exactly what the costs are of those days, we will

finalize those decisions or the government of the day I am sure will.

I agree with what the member opposite is leading on in that we have to

take steps to ensure we keep rates as best and lowest as possible for the people

of Newfoundland and Labrador and that means returning those revenues back.

In that regard, Mr. Speaker, I certainly support that belief.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS:

Mr. Speaker, fourteen cases

of tuberculosis since October in the Inuit community of Nain is causing some

concern. TB is a serious disease and

can easily be spread through the air from person to person.

I ask

the minister: What extra resources have you provided to the community of Nain to

control further spread of tuberculosis?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Advanced Education and Skills.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, as a matter of

fact just before the House sitting, I sat with some officials from Health.

It is a very serious situation, no doubt.

Mr.

Speaker, Labrador-Grenfell Health is working very closely with the Nunatsiavut

Government. We will provide what

services as we see fit and as they see fit, and that is needed in Nain at the

present time.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS:

Mr. Speaker, the increase in

the number of cases of TB in Nain is part of a national trend that is showing an

increase in TB cases across Canada.

For example, Calgary has seen an increase of 42 per cent in active infections

since 2010.

I ask

the minister: Given this disturbing trend, what steps are being taken to prevent

the spread of TB to other communities in Labrador?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Advanced Education and Skills.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, what I would

like to point out to the member is that the agencies, the groups, Nunatsiavut

Government, and Labrador-Grenfell Health are all working jointly to address the

situation. I am certain that

together they will come up with a plan to looking to contain it and find a

resolution to it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Humber East.

MR. FLYNN:

Mr. Speaker, there are

deficiencies in the newly renovated Corner Brook Intermediate school and rumours

abound on the West Coast.

I ask

the minister: Will he inform the school council, parents, and indeed this House

of these deficiencies?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I do

want to note to the House here that our contractors are on site.

There were some issues around the fire suppression system.

We had looked at it. We

brought in an outside consultant to ensure that the adhesive process had been

put on properly.

When we

determined that it was not to our liking, we went back to the contractor and

asked them to reassure us that it was going to be brought up to par.

The contractors are on site.

We are confident it will be completed and the school would open this fall, Mr.

Speaker.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Humber East.

MR. FLYNN:

Mr. Speaker, when the

contract for the renovated Corner Brook Intermediate school was awarded in March

of 2013, parents were assured assured that the school would be ready for

September 2014. Since then, we have

seen delay after delay in the opening dates.

So now the minister is saying that in 2015 the school will open.

Are you

assuring, with certainty, that the school will be ready for opening on September

8, 2015?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want

to note that because of the oversight by my staff and the contractors consulting

onsite, we have determined that there were things there that we were not pleased

with. We wanted to ensure that the

safety and the quality of that school were second to none, Mr. Speaker.

That is

what we ensured here, Mr. Speaker.

We are working very closely with the contractor and the subcontractors.

We have a consultant onsite, and our staff travel there on a weekly basis

to assess the situation. We are

confident we will have that school open for this fall, Mr. Speaker.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's South.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Government announced an education incentive program in 2006 to provide

Newfoundland and Labrador Housing tenants with a monthly stipend of $50 for each

student attending school in Grade 7 and higher, including post-secondary

education.

In 2013,

Newfoundland and Labrador Housing said high school graduation rates were not

improving for tenants despite the program.

They said just 50 per cent of tenants were graduating high school.

Provincially, the rate is 95 per cent.

Another two years have passed, and still no improvements.

I ask

the minister: Will you confirm that this program has not been effective in

improving high school graduation rates for Newfoundland and Labrador Housing

tenants?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister

Responsible for Newfoundland and Labrador Housing.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, it is a

follow-up question to Estimates the other night.

As officials from Newfoundland and Labrador Housing pointed out to them

at that particular point, Mr. Speaker, it is a program that they are

continuously monitoring. They are

putting every effort toward improving the graduation of students in Newfoundland

and Labrador Housing, and they will continue to do that, Mr. Speaker.

I am

certainly not ready, as a minister, and Newfoundland and Labrador Housing are

not ready to give up on the program.

It requires monitoring, which they are doing, and we will look forward to better

success down the road.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's South.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Nobody

is asking the minister to give up on the program, but ten years of monitoring a

program with no improvements should mean that you will have another look and

find improvements. You have known

for some time that this program is not working.

You have had ten years to improve the program.

You have had ten years to improve the graduation rates of Newfoundland

and Labrador Housing students, there has been no improvement.

Why

hasn't high school graduation rates for Newfoundland and Labrador Housing

tenants been a priority for government?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister

Responsible for Newfoundland and Labrador Housing.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, this program is

similar to other programs. This is

about supporting the people who live in Newfoundland and Labrador Housing.

It is about supporting those people who find challenges on a day-to-day

basis. We are not ready to give up

on this program, and I hope he is not suggesting the same thing.

We will continue to monitor, seek ways to improve, and then hopefully

improve upon graduation rates.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay South.

MR. HILLIER:

Mr. Speaker, recently,

government voted against our call for an independent seniors' advocate.

The minister responsible for seniors said he believes that seniors have

access to enough groups and individuals.

I ask

the minister: Given that we have a Child and Youth Advocate, why can't we offer

the same protection to the seniors of this Province?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Seniors, Wellness and Social Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, I will repeat

what I said to the hon. member in questions that he has offered of this nature

before. We feel that seniors have a

variety of avenues through which they can address issues that they have a

concern. They have the 50 Plus clubs

that are out there. We have an

advisory

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. JACKMAN:

We have an advisory council

to the minister, Mr. Speaker. The

seniors have avenues. The resource

centre for seniors that distributes and disseminates information all across the

Province, these people are another avenue.

I reiterate that we have the avenues whereby seniors can have their

issues addressed.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay South.

MR. HILLIER:

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure if

I want to put the concerns of seniors solely on the backs of a group of

volunteers.

Recently, the Member for Exploits dismissed the seniors advocate as a greater

cost to the government. At the very

same time, government was repealing Bill 29 a mistake that cost taxpayers over

a million dollars.

I ask

the minister: What is an independent voice for seniors' worth to your

government?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Seniors, Wellness and Social Development.

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, I have yet to

see anything from the members opposite that indicates what their plan forward is

for the seniors. I would ask

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. JACKMAN:

I would ask anyone, Mr.

Speaker, to take a look at all of the programs that we provide to seniors.

I will say that our record on supporting seniors is better than any that

has ever been in this Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon.

the Member for Conception Bay South.

MR. HILLIER:

Mr. Speaker, as you are

aware, we brought forward a private member's resolution several weeks ago

indicating that we will appoint a seniors advocate.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. HILLIER:

I ask the minister: Will your

government do the same?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Seniors, Wellness and Social Development.

MR. JACKMAN:

We spoke to your private

member's motion a few weeks ago and we still take the stand that there are

avenues through which seniors can address their issues.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Cartwright L'Anse au Clair.

MS DEMPSTER:

Mr. Speaker, government just

released its Job Vacancy Report.

Their key sources were Jobs NL, Career Beacon, and local newspapers.

Government's conservative cousins in Ottawa were ridiculed last year for

relying on online job posting sites to inform labour market development.

Job vacancy data released by the feds turned out to be out of sync with

other sources.

I ask

the minister: Why would you repeat Harper's mistake and irresponsibly release

unreliable job vacancy data?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Advanced Education and Skills.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, I have said

here, the Job Vacancy Report reports on and gives businesses the opportunity to

plan, gives individuals the opportunity to plan.

Mr.

Speaker, within the next few weeks the labour market report will be coming out

and I ask her to keep an eye because our Population Growth Strategy is coming

within the next short while. It is a

plan that will take us out many years.

I have not seen anything from the members opposite yet, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Cartwright L'Anse au Clair.

MS DEMPSTER:

Considering the office was

created in 2012, I will be excited to see that, Mr. Speaker, coming soon.

Government says the report is a comprehensive information resource that clearly

identifies job opportunity trends.

Based on their key sources, the top job ad requiring a diploma or trade is cook.

Electricians, plumbers, pipefitters do not even make the top ten because

government is too tired and apathetic to actually develop a comprehensive job

vacancy report.

I ask

the minister: How is this report supposed to help people make informed choices

about career paths when the data is incomplete?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Advanced Education and Skills.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, we hear from the

people that we consult with that these are the types of reports they are asking

for, so that a Job Vacancy Report is called upon throughout once a year.

The Labour Market Outlook is presented on an annual basis; therefore,

indicating what skills are required across the broader community and also looks

at the job prospects across the larger community, Mr. Speaker.

It is called planning. We

have not heard anything from the other side to that effect.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for St. George's Stephenville East.

MR.

REID:

Mr.

Speaker, last week I asked the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills about

the future of the Marine Institute's search centre on the West Coast.

The minister demonstrated he did not have a handle on his department,

mistaking the centre for the College of the North Atlantic.

Now that he has had an opportunity to be briefed on

this issue, I ask the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills: Will the Safety

and Emergency Response Training Centre be negatively impacted by the budget cuts

to Memorial University this year?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

JACKMAN:

Mr.

Speaker, I said to him then, yes, that is a slip of the tongue.

I had hoped that he would not think that is all judging as I said to

him in my response, we continuously review programs that are offered across

Memorial, across the Marine Institute, and across the College of the North

Atlantic. We are always looking for

ways to find improvements and we will continue to look at this particular site.

If there are efficiencies that can be found, we will do

so. If there are ways that programs

can be improved upon, we will do so.

We will continue to examine so that we have the best program offering in the

Province, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for St. George's Stephenville East.

MR.

REID:

Mr.

Speaker, rather than just waiting for proposals to come forward, the minister

should be taking some initiative rather than waiting for things to happen.

I ask the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills:

Will he take the initiative and work with Memorial University to explore

possibilities for a partnership that can help this centre expand rather than see

it contract? Will he do that?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

JACKMAN:

Mr.

Speaker, would he call reviewing and looking at ways to improving, waiting?

Not in my book that is not.

That is not waiting, that is being proactive.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Trinity Bay de Verde.

MR.

CROCKER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

A recent ATIPP request shows that as of March 31, 227

of the government's Business Development Corporation's accounts were more than

ninety days past due.

I ask the minister: How many accounts do you have on

the books and what efforts does your department make to ensure timely

collections of the outstanding debts?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We have a very thorough process of dealing with

business loans. There is regular

contact between our economic development officers, the Business Investment

Corporation, and clients. Regular

contact is followed with them to make sure that repayment is on track.

On occasions where that does not occur, then alternate arrangements are

explored to find ways to collect the money.

The member is right; there is any number of loans

outstanding on any given time. I

tabled a document last week where we indicated just shy of 2,000 loans had been

written off by government; 97 per cent of those were from the Liberal

Administration where there was recklessness and money lent throughout this

Province with no due diligence, no scrutiny, and no oversight whatsoever.

We are trying to fix the ills of past governments.

We are doing due diligence.

We are monitoring the public money in a very safe manner.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, last year government contracted Power

Advisory LLC

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MICHAEL:

to examine the operation management and

regulation of the current electricity system to ensure reliability and security,

as well as a smooth transition into an interconnected system.

I ask the Premier: When can we expect to see the report

most recently promised in the Speech from the Throne?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

DALLEY:

Mr.

Speaker, as part of the process, as we advance our electrical system in this

Province to move from an isolated system to an interconnected system, there is a

great deal of work that has to be done around that.

What we did is we contracted a company, Power Advisory,

to do some work around governance, legislation, regulation, reliability, as well

as other issues that are going to impact as we switch and get connected with

North America.

That work is ongoing.

It is being done in three phases.

It will be one report. The

member opposite will have the report when it is completed.

We will certainly make it public.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supposedly, this $280,000 review complements rather

than duplicates reviews completed by the PUB, Nalcor, and Newfoundland Power.

I ask the Premier: What does he expect from Power

Advisory that he has not already seen in those reports?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

DALLEY:

Mr.

Speaker, her supposedly suggestion is a bit concerning, but the reality is we

have a very complex system. It is

expensive to operate. We have aging

assets. We have to make decisions.

We have not only to make decisions today, but our government has a vision

where we are going to build on the future for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians

for many, many years to come decades.

Muskrat Falls is obviously a key platform or plank towards that

development.

Within that, there are all kinds of reviews being done.

The PUB are doing some.

Liberty is doing some. Newfoundland

and Labrador Hydro, Newfoundland Power, and we are also having work done by

Power Advisory. We are doing our

best to ensure that it does not duplicate the work of the PUB.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

So I ask: Why is this government waiting for this one

report when there are so many other reports before taking tangible actions?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

DALLEY:

Tangible actions, Mr. Speaker we have made a decision to sanction Muskrat

Falls and build Muskrat Falls, which she do not support, which she do not

understand, and she wants to say for us to take tangible action.

We are taking action for the future of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

We are protecting ratepayers, Mr. Speaker.

We are building a revenue stream, and we are building an opportunity to

be able to export power and build economic opportunities in this Province.

That is the action we are taking, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

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

ROGERS:

Mr.

Speaker, the provincial housing crisis is not abating, especially for seniors,

single people on low income, and people with complex needs.

At Estimates, we learned Newfoundland and Labrador Housing is considering

selling assets, including housing units and land.

I ask the minister: Will he instruct Newfoundland and

Labrador Housing to freeze the sale of all assets until a thorough consultation

has been done with municipalities, community advisory boards, and community

groups to explore potential use of these assets to help with the housing

problems in their areas?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. Minister Responsible for Newfoundland and Labrador Housing.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

JACKMAN:

Mr.

Speaker, we have completed an OrgCode Report.

After much consultation with the larger community, a committee was put in

place and have submitted their report back to me.

I received it about a week or so ago.

We will now go through that, Mr. Speaker, and that will establish our

plan forward around housing and homelessness and supportive housing.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

ROGERS:

Mr.

Speaker, a slum landlord moved Doug out of his boarding house room without

notice and against his will, saying he was doing repairs.

Doug's room is paid for by taxpayers' money, but his landlord is not

accountable to the Residential Tenancy Act.

I ask the minister: Will boarding and rooming house

landlords now be subjected to the new act, when we see it?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister Responsible for Newfoundland and Labrador Housing.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

JACKMAN:

Mr.

Speaker, I have prided myself on responding to individual situations.

If she has one, I would ask her to bring it forward.

I will tell you, Mr. Speaker, that what I have dealt

with through Newfoundland and Labrador Housing and the people who work there,

they are committed. They are

committed to finding the best accommodations for people and working with the

clients that they serve.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The time for Question Period has expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

The hon. the Member for Trinity Bay de Verde.

MR.

CROCKER:

Mr.

Speaker, during Question Period the Minister of Business, Tourism, Culture and

Rural Development referred to past Administrations or past Liberal

Administrations doing 97 per cent of the loans that have been written off by

government in the previous ten years . Mr. Speaker, I would

encourage the minister to go back and redo those numbers.

These loans date back to 1969, before I was

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

Is the

member standing on a point of order?

MR. CROCKER:

Yes, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The member, to continue.

MR. CROCKER:

I would encourage the

minister to go back and look at these numbers, Mr. Speaker.

These numbers date back to 1969, before this member was even born.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

There is no point of order.

Tabling

of Documents.

Notices

of Motion.

Answers

to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for The

Straits White Bay North.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland

and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

Route 434, Conche Road, is 17.6 kilometres of unpaved road; and

WHEREAS

the current road conditions are deplorable; and

WHEREAS

the Canadian Automobile Association ranked Route 434 the seventh worst road in

Atlantic Canada; and

WHEREAS

it is government's obligation to provide basic infrastructure to all

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians; and

WHEREAS

an improved paved road would enhance local business, fish processing operations,

and tourism, which is vital to the health of the communities affected;

We, the

undersigned, petition the House of Assembly to urge the government to allocate

funds in the provincial roads program to pave Route 434.

As in

duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, this is signed by residents of Roddickton, Conche, St. Anthony, Bide

Arm, and Englee all constituents of mine.

I point out that the provincial roads program in the Budget has over $68

million or $60 million, as the Minister of Transportation has been touting in

the House this week.

The

petition itself points out that the CAA ranked this the seventh worst road and

that is true but this year on the ten worst roads in Atlantic Canada, Route

434 ranked sixth. It ranked sixth

this year. It has been getting lots

of media attention when it comes to the CBC and NTV, and other outlets have been

talking about it and local newspapers.

Anybody

who has travelled Route 434 will know, that you really do need to take gravel

roads out of provincial inventory, especially one to a town that is vibrant,

that has an economy with a regional fish plant that employs dozens of people.

Hundreds of commercial trucks, thousands of tourists come to Conche to

see the tapestry the only of its kind in all of North America.

The French history, the archeological excavations that are taking place.

When it comes to icebergs and whale watching cruise ships come to

Conche. Conche is a vibrant town

with lots of benefits to the local economy, but it is being hindered from future

economic development because this government has made investments in the road,

but failed to deliver the blacktop that is required to further enhance the

economy on the Northern Peninsula East.

I will

continue presenting petitions on behalf of my constituents, the residents of

Conche, and the region that want to see this development move forward.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's East.

MR. MURPHY:

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 humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

in 2011 the provincial government announced that it would lift the 8 per cent

provincial portion of the HST off residential heat and light by introducing the

Residential Energy Rebate; and

WHEREAS

heat is a necessity of life and a health concern, particularly for seniors; and

WHEREAS

the provincial government has projected oil prices to increase in the next five

years;

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

of Assembly to urge government to stop taxing home energy and to reverse its

decision to abolish the Residential Energy Rebate.

As in

duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, this petition comes from signatories from Grand Falls-Windsor, from

Badger, from St. John's, and a little community called Silverdale.

This is of grave concern to the people of the Province of Newfoundland

and Labrador. We have a lot of

people here who are seniors, a lot of people who are on fixed and middle

incomes, lower incomes as well.

Mr.

Speaker, this directly takes away disposable income right out of their pockets.

Whereas before they were getting a rebate right away every month whenever

they were getting their electricity bills, now they are not going to be seeing

that.

I can

remember back in 2000-2001 at the time when the petition was presented in the

House of Assembly here, what kind of winter it was.

At the time the heating oil, for example, was about sixty cents a litre,

and we were looking at electricity costs that were well down below what they are

now. It was back then that 55,000

people signed that petition. Over

six days in the malls, about three weeks altogether when it came to the

petitions that we had signed out and the ones that came back, about 55,000

names.

Government at that particular time said that they could not do it; however, the

two Opposition parties at the time, the New Democratic Party and the Progressive

Conservatives, both addressed it and said that they would remove it.

Mr. Speaker, it was a considerable consumer victory back in 2011 when we

saw this happen. The New Democrats

had proposed it, had pushed it all this particular time, and we had a small

victory in the Budget. It was a

great victory for consumers. It put

money back in people's pockets and at the same time gave them relief from higher

prices.

Mr.

Speaker, government is projecting again that prices are going to increase.

With the price of oil, we know that refined commodity prices are going to

go up along with it. Put money back

into people's pockets. Do not tax a

necessity of life. They do not tax

food. They should not be taxing

people's heat and light.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Trinity Bay de Verde.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

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

coverage; and

WHEREAS

residents of the district require cellphone coverage to ensure their safety and

communication abilities; and

WHEREAS

cellphone coverage on many parts of the highway in the district is poor or

non-existent;

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

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

appropriate agencies to provide adequate cellphone coverage throughout the

entire region of Trinity Bay de Verde.

As in

duty, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, it is my privilege to stand this afternoon and present this petition on

behalf of my constituents in the District of Trinity Bay de Verde.

It is time that the government realize there is a role for government in

cellphone coverage in this Province.

The last

time this government mentioned cellphone coverage, I think it was the 2011 Blue

Book. They seem to mention a lot of

issues around Blue Book time, but it is in a Blue Book and it never really moves

past the Blue Book stage.

Mr.

Speaker, in the District of Trinity Bay de Verde, we have four community-based

ambulance services. I meet regularly

with the organization because these community-based ambulance services are run

by volunteers. We have one on the

North Shore. We have another one in

Old Perlican, one in Winterton, and one in Heart's Delight-Islington.

There is

a common theme when I talk to the people involved in these ambulance services.

It is the fact that in their daily routines or daily jobs as ambulance

attendants and emergency service providers, they lack the ability to

communicate.

Quite

often if there is not a paramedic on an ambulance when it leaves one of the

communities in Trinity Bay de Verde, it has to be intercepted.

So this ambulance is intercepted typically somewhere on Route 74 or Route

70 by an ambulance with a paramedic from the Carbonear General Hospital.

There is no timing this intercept.

Cellphone coverage is not there.

They just met up. They just

come together and they have to do the patient transfer without proper

communication abilities, Mr. Speaker.

There is

some irony in communications or tele-communications in the District of Trinity

Bay de Verde. In 1867, we landed a

transatlantic cable in Heart's Content.

It will be 150 years next year.

Today, in Trinity Bay de Verde, we do not even have basic cellphone

coverage.

Thank

you the opportunity to enter this petition this afternoon.

I will have another one next week on cellphone coverage for sure.

Thank

you.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Cartwright L'Anse au Clair.

MS DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

most communities in the District of Cartwright L'Anse au Clair do not have

adequate broadband service; and

WHEREAS

residents, businesses, students, nurses and teachers rely heavily on the

Internet to complete an increasing number of everyday tasks online; and

WHEREAS

there are a number of world-class tourism sites in the region including Battle

Harbour Historic Site and Mealy Mountains National Park;

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

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

appropriate agencies to provide adequate broadband service to communities along

the Labrador Coast.

As in

duty bound, your petitioners, will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, I continue every week, every chance I get to stand and keep the issue

of broadband or the lack thereof, the service of broadband in my district front

and center to this government.

In the

Labrador Straits we have made progress, Mr. Speaker, where we have increased

speed and there has been some new infrastructure recently put into some

communities, but down in South East the service continues to be absolutely,

almost unworkable.

Mr.

Speaker, unless you are trying to send and receive a basic email, everything

else is inadequate. I understand the

service provider has a new proposal that they have submitted to government.

So I am urging government to lobby the feds to access whatever monies

they can from the feds on the broadband, Mr. Speaker, to work with the service

provider to bring the cluster of communities in South East, St. Lewis, Mary's

Harbour, Charlottetown, Port Hope Simpson.

I am not

talking about the small unconnected communities.

Those residents have already gone out and they are getting their Internet

services through a satellite dish.

That cluster of communities is getting a very poor service right now.

There are people who are losing business because they are only able to

get online and check bookings at hotels and things like that at 2:00 and 3:00

a.m. Businesses are buying their own

Interac cannot even run unless they have extra supports there that they are

paying for themselves.

I will

continue to stand in this technological age everything that we are doing, for

everything we require the Internet, we require technology, yet we are very, very

crippled in South East Labrador.

Thank

you.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

To the

House of Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament

assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

privatized nursing homes lower operating costs by paying lower wages,

de-unionizing, laying people off and cutting staff in these facilities; and

WHEREAS

studies have established that for-profit nursing homes are associated with lower

quality of services and poorer resident health outcomes, including an increased

risk of hospitalization; and

WHEREAS

Auditors General of the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Ontario have

reported that P3s cost taxpayers more;

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

of Assembly to urge government to immediately stop the privatization of

long-term care.

As in

duty bound your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, in duty bound I stand here and present this petition on behalf of the

petitioners signing what I have in my hand.

Petitioners from all over the Avalon Peninsula, from the South Coast of

the Island, Bonavista Bay, Placentia Bay, communities throughout the Island who

are concerned that government is moving in a direction that is not going to help

the people of this Province but is going to harm the people of the Province.

Putting public monies into profit-making companies to take care of the

long-term care patients in our Province.

Most of them seniors, some of them people who are chronically ill, some

of them with disabilities they have lived with all their lives but requiring

long-term care.

Mr.

Speaker, this government seems to constantly be moving into a direction that

others are moving away from. There

are many studies in this country that link for-profit nursing homes with lower

quality services and poorer resident health outcomes, as the petition says.

One of

those examples is in Alberta, Mr. Speaker, where long-term care shifted from

public and non-profit agency delivery to care by for-profit businesses.

A 2013 study by the Parkland Institute found that staffing levels in

for-profit facilities fell short of what is needed to ensure reasonable quality

of care and were significantly worse than the public facilities.

This is

repeated everywhere, Mr. Speaker.

People go into these homes and they see how understaffed they are.

They see how patients are not being taken care of.

The for-profit facilities that were studied in Alberta were understaffed

by ninety minutes of care per resident, per day.

An hour-and-a-half of care missing every day in for-profit facilities.

That puts both the seniors who are in the facilities at risk, as well as

the workers.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon.

the Member for St. Barbe.

MR. J. BENNETT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

petition to the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and

Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned humbly

sheweth:

WHEREAS

the communities of New Ferolle, Shoal Cove West, and Reefs Harbour have always

relied on the fishery as a means to earn a sustainable income; and

WHEREAS

the main employer for these three communities has been a fish seafood processing

plant located in New Ferolle; and

WHEREAS

this plant was seized by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador as a result

of mortgage arrears; and

WHEREAS

the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador then permitted an outside operator

to operate the plant when that operator became insolvent and closed; and

WHEREAS

the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador then sold the plant to another

operator for the sum of $1 and who has not operated the plant and has stripped

most, if not all of the equipment from the plant instead of operating it;

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

of Assembly to urge the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to find a local

operator for this plant so that people can go back to work.

As in

duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, out on the Ferolle Point, there are not many work opportunities outside

of the fishery. There is a pretty

good fishery in the area, a number of small boat fishers.

There is a wharf which was up to a very good standard up to a few years

ago, and then when it fell into disuse, the wharf is gradually falling away into

the water. All the blacktop is

starting to fall into the water because of the underneath the shoring rotting

away. There is no reason to repair

it because there is no industry there.

However,

there are a total of four buildings in addition to the wharf.

There is a very substantial cold storage which operates, there is another

large shed which is used as a buyer's shed, there is an office building which is

quite suitable to be able to accommodate a substantial size of a business, and

there is a fish plant.

Mr.

Speaker, the fish plant is and was the very heart of that operation and the

government ripped the heart out. The

government ripped the heart out with seizing the plant for mortgage arrears.

Now, they did not actually get any money.

It is one of the loans they ended up writing off.

So then they turned it over to an operator, and then another operator

sold it off for $1 and literally walked away from it.

The most

recent operator stripped the plant, took all the equipment out of it, and lugged

it off to another location. There

were no proper safeguards for the people.

To sell off the heart of a fish processing operation for $1, Mr. Speaker,

to an outside buyer from hundreds and hundreds of kilometres away and let that

buyer then devastate this community, it is absolutely (inaudible).

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

I remind

the member his time has expired.

MR. J. BENNETT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

At this

time I would like to call

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon.

the Government House Leader.

MR. KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

At this

time I would like to call Order 3, third reading of a bill,

An Act To Provide

The Public With Access To Information And Protection Of Privacy, Bill 1.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Bay

of Islands.

MR. JOYCE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am

just going to stand for a few minutes on this bill because I just want to

explain to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador what is happening here today.

This was originally Bill 29.

This was the Bill 29 that they brought in, this was the great legislation they

brought in here in this House of Assembly that we got vilified over, that we

were just doing it because the Opposition were too lazy to do our own work.

That is why there was no big need Bill 29 to scrap it.

I go

back to Hansard. I love Hansard I

know the Minister of Finance does not like Hansard, but I love Hansard, Mr.

Speaker, because I can go back almost three years ago now when this was brought

in. What happened then?

They went around Canada this government went around Canada.

They took the most draconian measure in every bill in Canada concerning

privacy, they put it in this bill, they made it even more draconian, and then

they brought it in here and introduced it as Bill 29.

The part

about this and I just go back and will just give an example under this Bill

29. I put a Freedom of Information

in about the hospital. I cannot

remember exactly the information

AN HON. MEMBER:

Which hospital, Eddie?

MR. JOYCE:

The hospital in Corner Brook,

the new one, since 2007.

There

was a little discussion on it, Mr. Speaker.

What I got back, and I even brought it to he was the minister at the

time; it was Tom Marshall. What I

got back at the time was pieces of information that were totally black totally

black. The part that made me so

amused with this here, and realized how we had to have this changed, was the

part that was totally black was a CBC report that you could go online and get.

You could go online, click on CBC, you could see the interview on CBC;

but because the minister used it in a Cabinet deliberation, the public CBC

document, which you could go online and get, was completely blacked out under

Bill 29 because Cabinet used it for a Cabinet decision.

MR. HILLIER:

How much of that was there?

MR. JOYCE:

How much of that I remember

I put in another request, Mr. Speaker.

I got back fifty-three pages.

Do you know how I knew it was fifty-three pages?

Because I counted them. They

even had the number of the pages in there blacked out.

This is what this government brought in.

The sad

part is they really, really feel that the people of this Province thinks they

are doing everybody a great favour by bringing in Bill 1 doing everybody a

great favour. We are bringing this

forward because we want to be leading in this in Canada.

We want to be the bunch that is going to lead in the freedom of

information across Canada, Mr. Speaker.

That is what they are trying to spin on the people of Newfoundland and

Labrador.

Mr.

Speaker, I am going to speak about the hospital in Corner Brook under this Bill

29. I hear the Premier standing up

here talking about this bill. Do you

know that I had to stand on a point of privilege in this House?

I could not get the information under the Freedom of Information.

We were

in Estimates and the minister was the Minister of Transportation and Works and I

asked for the Stantec report. It was

going on sixty days now, probably ninety days, I cannot remember but it was well

beyond the time limit. I said to the

minister at the time, I stood up in this House and I said: You promised a report

in the Estimates. The minister, who

is the Premier of the day, stood up and said: How do you know that?

Hansard is not even transcribed yet.

How do you know that? How do

I know that I can believe you?

Mr.

Speaker, I went downstairs and I got an audiotape of it.

I got it transcribed. I stood

up on a point of privilege and guess what?

A few days later, I got it.

people want me to stand here and pat this government on the back because they

are bringing in Bill 1, when the people out in Western Newfoundland, in Corner

Brook, the Bay of Islands, all the Humber Region, all through Western, and

Labrador, are trying to find out what is going to be in their hospital.

Guess what? One of the people

hiding the information here was the Premier of the Province that I could not

bring out to the people of Western Newfoundland.

I am

supposed to stand up today and clap and all this government says is oh, look, at

the great things we are doing. That

is the kind of things the other part of all of this is, just look at the cost.

I know some members opposite are saying tell us some costs, tell us a few

million dollars you would save. What

wouldn't you do? Bill 29.

Mr.

Speaker, I am not saying this because the man is here now.

It was about 5:00 in the morning, Bill 29, five or six days later, when

they finally brought in this bill.

The Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Speaker, we were out in the caucus room.

The first thing he did was send out a press release: We are going to

rescind Bill 29. That was the first

thing he did and the first order of government that we were going to put in as

the Opposition was rescind Bill 29.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JOYCE:

Mr. Speaker, I can tell you,

there are times in this Legislature that you stand tall.

There are times that you are proud that you stood up and you fought the

battle. This Bill 29, behind our

Leader of the Opposition, I tell you we stood tall.

There were six of us here. We

started the filibuster. When we were

in here, when we started this filibuster, we stood in this House and we made a

commitment. We are not going to give

up this fight. We are going to take

this fight there were six of us.

Mr.

Speaker, on behalf of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador we said we will

fight this. We broke up in shift,

twelve hours on for three and twelve hours off for the other three.

We did not stand and just criticize.

We put in amendments. We

stood in this House and we said here is what we would do.

Here is how we would change this bill.

Here is how we would make it more accessible but keep keep people's

privacy intact. That is what we did

as the Official Opposition.

Mr.

Speaker, we did that day after day after day after day.

At the time it was the longest filibuster in Newfoundland and Labrador's

history. We were proud, six of us,

to stand over here. We were proud to

stand as a group. We were proud to

say that we were standing up for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador because

when you allow a minister of this Crown to send out information that is blacked

out that you can get publicly on any CBC Radio, Mr. Speaker, what is next?

I can go

back on numerous occasions where I asked for information and I could not get it.

Mr. Speaker, do you know the telltale thing in this?

Mr. Speaker, I know you were

part of it. Do you know the telltale

thing of all this Bill 29? When this

government seen the resolve of the Opposition, the resolve of the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador, seen how many people in this Province thought that

this here was so draconian that they could not stand for it, guess what?

To muzzle the Opposition, to muzzle the people of Newfoundland and

Labrador, I would say to muzzle all the people of Newfoundland and Labrador,

they brought in closure. They are

bringing in a bill that is going to be open and accountable, that is going to

bring in new information, and they brought in closure.

Mr.

Speaker, here is an opportunity for any member across, opposite in government

who did not vote for this, stand up now.

Here is your opportunity. Mr.

Speaker, I can see they are putting their heads down in shame, and I do not

blame them because if I had to do that, I would put my head down in shame also.

I can

tell you one thing, Mr. Speaker, do not stand up here today and expect people

like me, and this Opposition that I am so proud of, don't expect me to go up and

give you a clap and be all this praise because you brought in this Bill 1.

What a great government we have.

What a great government. Look

at what we are doing. We are the

leaders across Canada and this was nothing but shame.

This government was shamed into bringing in Bill 1 because of Bill 29.

Let me

talk about the $1.3 million, Mr. Speaker, just as a little example.

How much does it cost, is the increase going to be for the students from

rural Newfoundland going to Memorial this year?

Just over a million dollars.

They always ask, where would you find the money?

Here is

just one example, Mr. Speaker, just one.

I think the Member for St. Barbe was the critic at the time, and I think

it was in Labrador. I think it was

Nain. Eight to ten students went on

this geology little outing and they put a freedom of information in just to say,

okay, what curriculum would you be doing for the outdoors?

Just something simple, just so we have a little idea so we could pass it

around the Province. What did they

do in Nain? Guess what?

Eight students went and got it back, everything was blacked out.

They were out looking at different little walks and all that.

It was actually blacked out.

That is how shameful this was. That

is how shameful it is, Mr. Speaker.

When you

go to Bill 29 and you look at the Budget and other things, you say: oh, boy, it

wasn't us. We did not know the oil

was going to fall. We did not know.

We did not know Bill 29 was going to be so draconian either.

They will not listen anymore.

They are out of control, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, when I look back, and the government at the time I will not go

through Hansard. I can get Hansard

up here and I can go all day about what the members opposite said on that.

I can see how much we were vilified.

I can see how much they said the people of Newfoundland and Labrador

really did not want this.

Mr.

Speaker, I remember in the hospital in Corner Brook and I will go back to that

because the people know I speak about that and I am very passionate about it.

The reason why I speak about it is because and I look at the radiation

unit in Corner Brook. I was very

passionate about it. The Leader of

the Opposition was very passionate about it.

We spoke

to people all across Canada, the people who had experience in Australia, people

who had experience all over on radiation.

We, on several occasions, put in a freedom of information to try to get

information about radiation.

Something that is going to protect lives in Newfoundland and Labrador, and we

were denied.

This is

not about not getting us information, Mr. Speaker.

This is not about giving us information.

This is about things that are going to save people's lives.

This is about something that was so passionate for the people in Western

Newfoundland who have to leave their homes in Port aux Basques, people all up

the Northern Peninsula, all over Corner Brook leave their homes, come in here,

set up in here, and in here for months living in hospital.

AN HON. MEMBER:

Paid for by taxpayers' money.

MR. JOYCE:

Paid by taxpayers' money, Mr.

Speaker. All this here and we were

trying to get information to support our cause and it was denied.

It was denied under Bill 29.

The government members wonder why we fought so hard on this.

Can you imagine that when you have people out in Western Newfoundland who

call you and say, I have to travel to St. John's again

AN HON. MEMBER:

They said they did a poll on

it.

MR. JOYCE:

They said there was

information that there was a poll being done.

There was never any such thing done, Mr. Speaker.

We asked for the information about it.

I remember when we were looking for the PET scanner in Corner Brook, we

asked for information about why it could not be done, the isotopes could not be,

or the 'radiotopes' I think.

AN HON. MEMBER:

Isotopes.

MR. JOYCE:

Isotopes could not be

transferred. They actually could not

be taken from one spot to the other spot because it was too dangerous.

They could not travel across the roads in Newfoundland because it is too

dangerous.

Myself

and the Leader of the Opposition the University of Saskatchewan I think it

was. We went and got information

from the director and we brought it over then to Tom Marshall.

We got information that isotopes were being taken from Hamilton, Ontario

to the University of Saskatchewan 2,500 kilometres.

brought it over to the minister and we said boy, information we cannot get any

information that you are getting is absolutely false.

He said to myself and the Leader of the Oppositions, boys, the

information I am getting is not this.

He said do it. He went back

and asked the minister at the time and they had a little frank discussion on the

other side of the House, Mr. Speaker, because we not only gave them the

information, we gave them the person to call.

The

information on the radiation, this is something dear to my heart, Mr. Speaker.

This is why I have to stand and put this on record.

When we were looking at a radiation unit in Corner Brook and the Leader

of the Opposition, we spoke to doctors in BC, we talked to them in Sudbury,

talked to them in Ontario, Nova Scotia, PEI, all over the Province, all over

Canada, some people had international experience.

We tried to get information on it, we were denied.

We were

saying, how did you come up with this conclusion?

Mr. Speaker, do you know what we had to do?

The Leader of the Opposition is sitting there now.

Do you know what we had to do?

Do you know what produced this $500,000 radiation study for Newfoundland

and Labrador which showed that the people of Newfoundland and Labrador should

have radiation, and there should be one in Corner Brook?

Do you know what we had to do, myself and the Leader of the Opposition?

We walked over to the Premier at the time, Tom Marshall, and we said:

Premier, do us a favour, call this guy in Sydney, Nova Scotia, to say that

single bunkers can be used. They

used it for years and now they are up to two bunkers.

To give

Tom Marshall credit, the Premier at the time, do you know what he did?

He phoned this man and he said, I am the Premier of the Province, I need

to know this. He confirmed what we

had been saying the information we could not get.

Mr. Speaker, to Tom Marshall's credit, and the Leader of the Opposition,

I have to give credit to him also because I was after him too, give him credit

too, because we did the research. I

said we have to go over and share this, and he said you are right.

Tom

Marshall called this man in Nova Scotia, and a few days later we had a $500,000

radiation study for Newfoundland and Labrador which showed that there was going

to be radiation

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JOYCE:

Mr. Speaker, all the

information government had, they used to put out on this spin, that you cannot

do it. I can go through all of it

that I have here. All the denials

and all the information. You could

not do radiation because it is unsafe.

You could not have isotopes going back and forth through 'radiotopes.'

There are not enough people to use the service; you do not have enough

specialists out there. I can go

through the whole list that I tried to get the reasons for under Bill 29, that I

could not get off the government.

I know

the Member for Humber West is sitting over there, Mr. Speaker.

I shared the information with him also.

The information that he said he had from government, I used to walk over

because this was so important. This

was so important to the people of Western Newfoundland and Labrador, all people

of the Province and I will explain why after, because I could not get any

information from government.

I used

to go over to the Member for Humber West and I used to say I cannot say his

name I used to say, Member, here is the information, please discuss it.

Look, here is what we are getting, and I used to share it.

I used to share it with Tom Marshall, Mr. Speaker.

The Leader of the Opposition was with me when we did it.

The information that this government was having as to why there should

not be radiation at the hospital in Corner Brook and a PET scanner, they would

not share, and we could not get under Bill 29.

So I am

supposed to stand up here today under this Bill 1 and say, government, you are

doing a good job, after what they put the people of Western Newfoundland and

Labrador through? Am I supposed to

do that today, Mr. Speaker?

Let me

tell you why I am still more proud.

If you go through that radiation study, one of the reasons why we should have

one in Corner Brook, just think the Leader of the Opposition, when we met with

the doctors here in St. John's about it at the Murphy Centre, take a guess why

they said we should have one there.

We could not get any information from government.

Do you know why, Mr. Speaker?

What if there is a flood down there?

What if there is a flood? They need

a contingency; they never had one.

For years they never had a contingency plan for emergency radiation in this

Province.

MR. BALL:

The action committee in

Corner Brook.

MR. JOYCE:

The action committee in

Corner Brook is another group that tried to get information, Mr. Speaker.

They tried. The action

committee, I can name who started it: Israel Hann, Gerald Parsons a lot more:

Wayne Rose, Barry Wheeler a few more.

They took the cause up also because they could not get any information.

They could not.

As I put

in a Freedom of Information or say here is where I am trying to get a report

through, I used to go back and show it to them.

I used to go to the Premier.

I used to go to the Member for Humber West and show it to him and say: Look, can

we get something here? This is

bigger than me. This is bigger than

all of us. This is bigger than

anybody in this House of Assembly.

I hear

the House Leader: It is irrelevant.

When you cannot get information for cancer treatment in Corner Brook, it is

relevant. It shows the difference

now of how we fought to make sure that we can get the information.

When you talk about someone like Israel Hann and Gerald Parsons who were

trying to get information from this government under the old Bill 29 and could

not get, is it relevant? I suppose

it is relevant.

If you

want me to go up here now and start bringing in some of the Freedom of

Information requests that I had it would be no good, Mr. Speaker.

All I would hold up is a piece of paper with marker nothing but black.

So it would be no good, but the denials that were made.

Mr.

Speaker, I am going to sit down now because I just wanted to make sure that it

is on the record that I am glad Bill 1 is put in here, but I just want to let

this government know some of the hardships they put people through in Western

Newfoundland, some of the delays they put them through, the lack of information

that was supplied to the people of Western Newfoundland, supplied to the action

committee, supplied to the Opposition, all because of this Bill 29.

Mr.

Speaker, I know there is going to be no one over there speak up today and say

no, boys, we made a mistake. I

understand that. I have no problem

with that whatsoever.

AN HON. MEMBER:

(Inaudible).

MR. JOYCE:

No, Mr. Speaker, I know they

will not, but I can tell you one thing this was a good learning experience for

me. This was a great learning

experience for me. People who knew

me back home, and the people here, when you are passionate about something, do

not give up.

When it

comes to this hospital and you need a hospital for the people, Mr. Speaker, so

they do not have to travel in here, do not have to travel into St. John's.

Although the people in St. John's, when they got here, they were very

good, the staff was good, their centre was great, and they were treated with the

best care possible, Mr. Speaker

MS DEMPSTER:

Geography (inaudible).

MR. JOYCE:

The geography it is all

about geography, Mr. Speaker, being home and being able to have loved ones

around. That is what it is all

about: having loved ones around.

Mr.

Speaker, I will sit down. I will

take my seat on this here now. I am

just glad and, of course, I thank the Committee, Clyde Wells and his Committee

for doing this. I thank Clyde Wells

and his Committee for bringing in this legislation.

I think it was Tom Marshall Tom Marshall brought it in when he was

Premier and said he was going to review Bill 29.

Mr.

Speaker, I have another little thing it was when Tom Marshall was Premier and

on Bill 29, I had a few discussions with him.

I put in the Freedom of Information and I went over to the Premier and I

said here is what I got back. My

God, Eddie, he said that is what Tom Marshall told me, Mr. Speaker,

personally. Tom Marshall, the

Premier of this Province, he said: Eddie, this is not what this is supposed to

be.

Mr.

Speaker, not very often I like giving people credit on the government, only when

they do good things. When they do

good things, I give credit. Not very

often I do that because there is not a lot of good things in the last couple of

years going on with this government, but I have to give Tom Marshall credit

because when you walk up and give Tom Marshall, the Premier of this Province,

information that is contrary to what the Department Health has given to him,

contrary to the decision that he was making around Cabinet, and when that man

phoned the person over in Nova Scotia, he came to me and he said: Eddie, I was

not getting the right information.

That is what the Premier of the Province said to me.

Do you know what I said to him?

I said: Premier, it does not matter.

Let's get it right. That was

when he started the radiation unit.

When he

brought in this Bill 29, the information that he was probably given but myself

and the Leader of the Opposition were going over giving him the information that

we were getting from government on something so close and dear to his heart

also, he said: Eddie, this is not what we were planning on doing.

This is not what we agreed to do.

So I am going to see what I can do.

Mr.

Speaker, I have to give him credit.

When he asked for that review by Clyde Wells, he knew that this was going to be

taken and tossed out the door. He

knew that. I have to give Tom

Marshall credit for doing that.

AN HON. MEMBER:

He wrote the new legislation.

MR. JOYCE:

He wrote the legislation.

I just want to say: Tom Marshall, you are not here today but because of

the work that myself, you, and the Leader of the Opposition did together, the

information that we were supplying to you, brought about this change here today,

this change that we are bringing in Bill 1, scrapping Bill 29.

challenge anybody on the opposite side, as I always do, stand up, anything I

said here today, disprove it with any information because I can go up and get

every bit of information that I have from all the clinics that I was dealing

with across Canada across Canada I can get it and I can show the difference

in the Freedom of Information that I got.

There

are a lot of staff that was in our office I should not mention any names, but

there were some staff in our office that helped us with this cancer stuff.

I am not allowed to mention no names, but Joy Buckle was a proud lady

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JOYCE:

I cannot mention any names,

but she was a proud lady when Tom Marshall announced that he was going to do a

radiation unit and a radiation unit was going to be put in Corner Brook because

that lady stood with us. She saw

what was coming back from the government.

She stood with us and she said: They are wrong.

We have to show this. We

started by phoning a cancer doctor out on Vancouver Island and we asked him: Is

this information correct? He said:

No.

This is

where it started. It started in

Corner Brook with two doctors and I brought information to them.

Information that I got under Bill 29, I brought it out.

It was very little. I said:

What do you think? There were two

doctors in Corner Brook, in particular.

I have to give them credit.

They know who they are. I spoke to

them. They know who they are.

They said, call this guy.

I called

this doctor on Vancouver Island, this oncologist, Mr. Speaker.

He said, Eddie, it is absolutely wrong absolutely wrong.

Then he put us onto another doctor up in Sudbury.

Joy Buckle I know I am not supposed to mention her name; we keep staff

out of it. It is staff, so it is not

a Member of the House of Assembly.

She got us in contact with all these that proved the information we are getting

from this government that we are supposed to be working together on all this

cancer treatment for the people of Western Newfoundland.

I am a

proud man, Mr. Speaker. Not because

this is coming in today, but because we fought this Bill 29, that it would not

be implemented. When it was, we

proved how bad it was for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

When we proved it to Tom Marshall, he said it has to change.

So Tom Marshall, I do not know if you are listening today or not, but for

you to initiate this review by Clyde Wells, it was a good move.

It is

too bad you had to vote for Bill 29 in the first place, but after you saw how

bad it was because of the information we were giving you.

I say to Tom Marshall, it was a good move.

It is good for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

It is good for all of us who want information.

It is good for all of us. I

know and I can attest personally, Mr. Speaker, the hard work that we had to do

just to get information to try to make this a better place.

I know

the Member for Humber West is there because we gave him the information too.

The stuff that we could not get back, Mr. Speaker, I used to go over and

say, look, what is going on with this?

Ah boy that is right. I said,

no, it is not.

Mr.

Speaker, I want to give all the Opposition here credit.

I can tell you why. We fought

tooth and nail to stop Bill 29. It

was ran through. We fought Bill 29.

It did not work, but then we had to go around Bill 29 and all the

information that we could not get from the government to prove them wrong.

Do you

know what I am proud of? I am proud,

myself and the Leader of the Opposition in this caucus every bit of

information we got from all the cancer units that we discussed with doctors

around Canada, we walked behind that curtain where you are sitting, and we gave

it to the government. I am proud of

that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JOYCE:

I am proud of it because when

we could not get when the minister stands up and says, oh, the isotopes, they

cannot be transferred, you cannot transport them.

When you walk over, Mr. Speaker, and you give it to the Member for Humber

West and the Member for Humber East and say, look, here is the email, here it is

right here, and they stand up and say, boys, that is not what we have been told.

I said go check. They come

back and say, you are right, it can be done.

I said we have been telling you that.

Mr.

Speaker, when we stood up about the single bunker units up in Sudbury, when you

have satellite units, what did we do?

We walked behind that screen and called the Member for Humber West and

the Member for Humber East and said come over here, and we gave it to them.

The information that your government is putting out is absolutely false.

I am

proud of that, Mr. Speaker. I am

proud of the information that we had to fight for behind Bill 29, because Bill

29 kept the big walls up, the big black walls.

We wanted to fight for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

We wanted to do the right thing for the people of Newfoundland and

Labrador and we got the information and we shared the information.

Today,

when that hospital is built

AN HON. MEMBER:

(Inaudible).

MR. JOYCE:

That is another issue, but

when that hospital is built, because it took me a long while to even get any of

the reports, and the action committee and the people of Corner Brook, when that

hospital is built, I am proud that there is going to be a radiation unit there.

I am proud there is going to be a PET scanner in that new hospital.

The proudest day will be the first patient who goes through that

hospital. A proud day is when they

do not have to travel to St. John's to face this crisis without their families.

That is what I am going to be proud of, Mr. Speaker.

Bill 29,

delayed that process. It delayed it.

For me to have to stand up today and say to the government, you are doing

great guys, bring in this Bill 1 knowing what the people in Corner Brook

wanted, knowing how much pain they have to go through.

How hard it is, first of all, to be diagnosed, and then having to leave

your family. Then the financial cost

of it. Knowing that we were denied

the information, I am supposed to stand up now and say, oh, what a great bunch.

It is a

good day for Bill 1, but for two and a half years it was a sad day for the

people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The people we fought for on this side for radiation and the hospital in Corner

Brook, it was a sad two and a half years.

Mr.

Speaker, I am a firm believer that no one in Newfoundland and Labrador should

have to fight with their government to get information they deserve and need to

protect themselves and their health.

That is not what governments are for.

It is definitely not what governments are for.

Governments are supposed to be there to help people.

Governments are supposed to go out and I understand politics, but when

you hide this critical information from the people of Western Newfoundland and

Corner Brook, and all the people of Province, it is a sad day.

When Bill 29 was brought in it was a sad day.

Bill 1,

today I am proud it is going to get third reading, but I have to say, Mr.

Speaker, it is hard for me to forgive the government for the hardships they put

the people of Western Newfoundland and Labrador through and all the other ones

who are going to use this service out in Corner Brook for cancer and the

hospital. It is hard for me to stand

up now and pat the government on the back because I could tell you, if you had

as many cases of people who came to me who have to travel to St. John's for

cancer treatment and saying: I wish we had it out here.

I would not have to leave my loved ones.

I can assure you it is pretty hard.

Mr.

Speaker, I will take my seat. I want

to thank the Opposition for standing up.

I thank Tom Marshall for finally understanding.

We all make mistakes. We are

all human. Every one of us in this

House of Assembly makes mistakes. It

is too bad Tom Marshall is not here today, because I would have said: I am glad

you brought it in because it is better for Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr.

Speaker, the good thing about it, I am proud, as a member of this Opposition,

who gave him the information to show that what we were getting from government

was incorrect and we had to supply him with correct information.

He said to me personally: Eddie, that is not what I am being told.

I said, well, here is what I am getting.

It is the same thing you have been told, but here are the facts.

When he

made that call to Nova Scotia, I said to the action committee, there will be a

study done. We will have radiation.

Mr. Speaker, when the report came out, there is going to be radiation in

Corner Brook. It is a proud day for

me, personally. It is a proud day

for the Opposition.

I thank

the Leader of the Opposition for keeping up the flight, for not letting the

government keep on hiding, putting out this false information about the hospital

in Corner Brook and the radiation. I

thank Tom Marshall for finally stepping up to the plate and saying, we need

changes. I thank Clyde Wells and his

committee because Newfoundland and Labrador today will be a better place than it

was yesterday without this Bill 1.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER (Littlejohn):

The hon. the

Member for Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I am

really happy to have another opportunity in this third reading to speak to Bill

1. Third readings are important, I

think, because we get time in between the second and the third reading, very

often, a good period of time to have a second look at the piece of legislation

that we are passing and to see if there is anything in it that we missed during

second reading and Committee that we would like to revisit and speak to.

Obviously, I am very happy that we have this piece of legislation and we, of

course, will be supporting it, as we have said already in the debates around

Bill 1. Supporting it because it is

undoing the damage that was done by Bill 29, the very serious damage that was

done by that bill.

Damage

that was recognized not just by us here in the Opposition part of this Assembly,

but by people throughout our Province and people in organizations throughout our

country, and even by people outside of our country.

This government eventually came to be shamed by what they did through

Bill 29. It took them a while.

It took them a long while. I

guess we have to be glad that we came into an election period because maybe we

would not have gotten the commission put in place.

Maybe we would not have gotten to be where we are today, finally, with a

bill that is undoing the damage that was Bill 29.

This

Bill 1, Mr. Speaker, puts in some new things which are really powerful but also

undoes some things that were unbelievable.

One of the things that it has undone, or it has brought back, this bill

is renewing the power of Information and Privacy Commissioner, something which

is really important. Because what

Bill 29 did through two sections in that bill,

section 43(1)(

a) and

section

52(2), it took away the powers of the Commissioner to determine what was an

official Cabinet record and put that power into the hands of the Clerk of the

Executive Council, which was really unbelievable.

I mean,

at that time we and not only we, but organizations throughout Canada and

elsewhere said that what Bill 29 did was basically put the fox in charge of

the hen house; that phrase was used by many people at that time.

What has

happened now with Bill 1 is that the sections that were in Bill 29 that took the

power away from the Commissioner and put it into the hands of the Clerk, those

sections have been removed. We will

be reverting to what was originally the act and that will now allow the

Commissioner to determine what a Cabinet document is.

So if somebody is refused a Cabinet document from a department, that

person can make a complaint to the Commissioner and the Commissioner will

determine whether or not the document that has been refused is in actual fact an

official Cabinet document.

This is

extremely important and of course we have a much healthier definition and

determination of what is an official Cabinet document.

It is not every single piece of paper under the sun that might have the

word Cabinet on it that is a Cabinet document because that is the way it was.

Bill 29

that we took hours and hours and hours of debate about in this House that we

stayed overnight to fight, was something that shamed us.

It was something that shamed us.

I am happy that we can get stature back, not for the government but for

all of us as a Province. We were all

made to look like fools by this government with Bill 29.

Stepping backwards is not where one wants to go, it is moving forward.

One of

the most important things that this bill is doing is now reinstating some powers

of the Commissioner that were taken away, so that you do not have to have

ordinary citizens now going into a court to try to get access to information.

They can go to the person they should have been able to go to and used to

be able to go to before Bill 29, go to the Commissioner and the Commissioner

will make the determination. That is

the role of the Commissioner. That

is why putting a Commissioner in place is treated so seriously in the bill.

The people who together make a decision on the Commissioner it is very

high level.

The

office of the Commissioner shall be filled by the Lieutenant-Governor in

Council on a resolution of the House of Assembly.

(3) Before an appointment is made, the Speaker shall establish a

selection committee comprising (

a) the Clerk of the Executive Council or his or

her deputy; (

b) the Clerk of the House of Assembly or, where the Clerk is

unavailable, the Clerk Assistant of the House of Assembly; (

c) the Chief Judge

of the Provincial Court or another judge of that court designed by the Chief

Judge; and (

d) the President of Memorial University or a vice-president of

Memorial University designated by the President.

These

are people whom we place a lot of trust in the roles that they play in our

Province. These are the people who

come together to seriously choose the person who is the Privacy Commissioner in

our Province. So the person who is

being put in that position now will be respected for the position that he or she

is in. They will be given enough

years in their role to be able to be effective.

They will know now that they have faith and trust in them from the

government, whether it is the party that is in power, or the Opposition.

The people of the Province are saying we have faith in you.

The

person who is put in that position has to be somebody, and will be somebody, and

is somebody in the present whom we know deserves that faith and trust because

they he or she is being chosen because of their track record, because of

their background, because of having proven throughout their professional life

that they can be trusted with this serious job.

Now, we are recognizing that we trust them by putting back in their hands

the powers that had been there and had been taken away.

So that

is one reason why it is so important that we pass this new bill and that we undo

the damage of Bill 29. It is for

that reason we spent hours in this House of Assembly debating.

It is for that reason we spent hours talking to people outside of the

House as well. That is why people

came here at 1:00, 2:00, 3:00 o'clock in the morning, and whether they were here

in the House of Assembly or watching on television, people were watching around

the Province and around the country what was happening here in Newfoundland and

Labrador.

Now, Mr.

Speaker, there is one thing in the act that is good many things, actually, but

one that I want to mention today. It

has an implication in it that I want to speak to.

The part that I want to talk about is

section 112 in Bill

Section 112 in Bill 1 is very, very good.

It says,

(1) A minister shall consult with the commissioner on a

proposed Bill that could have implications for access to information or

protection of privacy, as soon as possible before, and not later than, the date

on which notice to introduce the Bill in the House of Assembly is given.

(2) The commissioner shall advise the minister as to whether the proposed

Bill has implications for access to information or protection of privacy.

(3) The commissioner may comment publicly on a draft Bill any time after

that draft Bill has been made public.

This is

an extremely important piece in this bill.

Note, that it says a minister shall consult with the Commissioner, and

the Commissioner shall advise the minister.

So this is not something that they may do it, they may choose to do it

they have to do it according to this legislation when it is brought into play.

So let's

take an example, Mr. Speaker. We

have a bill on the floor of this House now, Bill 2

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER (Littlejohn):

Order, please!

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker; I appreciate that.

Bill 2

has pieces in it that have to do with what this talks about, pieces that have

implications for access to information and for protection of privacy.

If Bill 2 were in place under this new legislation, the minister would

have to go to the Commissioner and say here is our draft bill, please read this

from your perspective as the Commissioner for access to information and privacy

protection. That is your job as

minister and you have to read this bill for us.

What I

am concerned about is how soon is this piece of legislation going to be

pro