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June 3,

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVII No. 37

The

House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Wiseman):

Order, please!

Admit

strangers.

Before

we start today's proceedings, I want to welcome some special guests to the

gallery. We have the Mayor of

Harbour Main-Chapel's Cove-Lakeview, Ms Elizabeth Parsley, together with her

daughter, Kim.

Welcome

to the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

We are also very pleased to

have joining us today Ms Connie Pike.

Ms Pike is the Executive Director of the Coalition Against Violence,

Newfoundland and Labrador.

Welcome

to the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

Statements by

Members

MR. SPEAKER:

Today we will have members'

statements from the District of Kilbride; the Member for the District of Torngat

Mountains; the Member for the District of Port de Grave; the Member for the

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

Member for the District of Baie Verte Springdale.

The hon.

the Member for the District of Kilbride.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DINN:

On May14, 2014 Hazelwood

Elementary celebrated Literacy Day with over twenty guests attending to help

kick off the annual event.

Among

District, Mayor Dennis O'Keefe, yours truly, and various other personalities

from TV, radio, and other community leaders.

These guests read to each class in the morning; then the day continued

with emphasis on other forms of literacy as a Stop, Drop and Read was played.

It was a wonderful day celebrating good books and stressing the

importance of reading.

I would

also like to acknowledge some students of Hazelwood Elementary on their recent

accomplishments. Brayden Chafe and

Andy Knight took

part in the Can Lan Classic Hockey Tournament in Toronto in

May. Their teams represented Xtreme

Hockey and were made up of children in Grades 2 and 3.

Andy's team took home the gold medal in his division, while Brayden's

team placed silver in their division.

Connor

and Carter Belbin, students at Hazelwood, attended a bowling tournament in

Winnipeg recently and both did quite well.

Jacob

Shortall, a Grade 6 student, won three silver medals recently at an Atlantic

Diving Championship in Halifax.

Please

join me in commending Hazelwood Elementary.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS:

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this

hon. House today to recognize Kayla Torarak who has just received her commercial

pilot's licence.

Kayla

was born in Hopedale on April 9, 1991.

She attended school there and graduated from high school in Happy

Valley-Goose Bay in 2009. In

September of that year, she enrolled at the First Nations Technical Institute in

Deseronto, Ontario where she studied Aviation Technologies and graduated in 2012

with a Multi-Engine Pilots Licence.

Immediately after graduation, Kayla was hired by Air Labrador and worked as a

Flight Dispatcher where she gained valuable experience in the company's

operation. Just three weeks ago,

Kayla completed her first commercial flight to the Labrador Coast as a

Commercial Pilot to become the first female fixed-wing pilot from Nunatsiavut to

fly with Air Labrador.

Having

grown up with her parents in Hopedale, I can understand the pride they and all

her family feel for Kayla. All the

people of Nunatsiavut appreciate the confidence Philip Earle of Air Labrador has

for Kayla and her ability as a pilot.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask all hon. members to join me in wishing Kayla Torarak safe travels

and Godspeed as she navigates the beautiful skies of Northern Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Port de Grave.

MR. LITTLEJOHN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

today to recognize three young athletes from my district who last week received

the Premier's Athletic Award for athletic achievement.

Table tennis brothers Michael and Nick Hiscock and figure skater Jenna

Efford were honoured at the ceremony.

The

table tennis Hiscock brothers capped off a very impressive year.

They represented our Province at the Atlantic Championship, bringing home

five silver medals, and both captured gold at the 2014 Newfoundland and Labrador

Winter Games. They now have their

sights set on making Team Newfoundland and Labrador for the 2015 Canada Winter

Games next February.

Jenna,

who is an up and coming figure skater, trains six days a week.

She will be leaving the Province this summer to train at the Sports Study

Program of Excellence in Chambly, Quebec, under renowned coach, Jose Picard.

Jenna was on the podium in multiple competitions as well, winning

sectionals and provincials in 2014, and a bronze at the Newfoundland and

Labrador Winter Games. She also has

her sights set on Team Newfoundland and Labrador for the upcoming 2015 Canada

Winter Games.

I ask

all members to join me in congratulating these young athletes on their success

and dedication to their sport.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Humber West.

MR. GRANTER:

Mr. Speaker, I stand in this

hon. House to pay tribute to a daughter, sister, aunt, cousin, and my partner

for the past twenty-six years.

On her

journey through life, Eileen Gibbons Miss Gibbons, to all of her students

made a huge impact on the many lives that she touched, including the thousands

of young minds she helped mould during her thirty-year teaching career at

Templeton Collegiate and G.C. Rowe Junior High.

Her

belief in students and her talent to bring out the best of all of them on a

daily basis earned her a teaching reputation unparalleled.

For Eileen, good was never good enough, and there was always a little bit

more she could squeeze from her students.

As one

former student described her, She was a phenomenal teacher and mentor and

admired by so many. She took on many

roles in her years as a teacher and took so many under her wing as well.

Seemed she could never do enough for her students she was small but

mighty.

Her

grasp of the written and spoken word was amazing.

Just about now she would be correcting my grammar, correcting my

spelling, correcting my voice, enunciation, and delivery.

learned much from Eileen over the past twenty-six years, but little did I know

the lessons she would teach me over the past six months.

She confirmed to me she was the most selfless person I have ever known.

The medical staff told me that she cared more for their well-being than

she did her own health. She was

deeply personal, with a strength, courage and fight like which I have never

known. She was steadfast in her

belief of family, and if she was your friend you had a friend for life, with a

bond that was secure and unbreakable.

Taken

much too early, she will be remembered by her unwavering sense of humour, her

beautiful smile and selflessness.

To my

butterfly, I love you always.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Harbour Main.

MR. HEDDERSON:

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to

pay tribute to a remarkable individual, a true gentleman, Mr. Raymond Edward

Parsley from Harbour Main who passed away on May 11, 2014.

Raymond

had a very successful career as an inspector with the Canadian Food Inspection

Agency. At fifty-five he retired and

took on the role of mayor for the Town of Harbour Main-Chapel's Cove-Lakeview.

He served as mayor from 2008 up until his passing just a few short weeks

ago.

Mr.

Speaker, his loyalty and devotion to the town he served was evident to all who

witnessed it. He persevered through

many, many personal challenges, never once wavering from his responsibilities to

the people he served, the people of Harbour Main-Chapel's Cove-Lakeview.

Raymond was a strong spokesperson for his town and a champion for

community improvements, providing leadership, dedication, and sensitivity in all

that he did. His loss was felt not

only in his home community, but indeed the region, and I would say throughout

the entire Province.

His

commitment to community life was only surpassed by his commitment and love for

his family. Raymond is survived by

his wife Elizabeth, daughter Kimberly, son Tommy, and grandson Brandon.

I ask

all members to join with me in honouring a true champion, an extraordinary

Newfoundlander and Labradorian, Mayor Raymond Edward Parsley.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Baie Verte Springdale.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. POLLARD:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

There is

no shortage of high school graduations in the District of Baie Verte

Springdale.

I rise

in this hon. House today to recognize all 2014 graduates from the six high

schools. They are: Indian River High

School of Springdale, Copper Ridge Academy of Baie Verte, Valmont Academy of

King's Point, MSB Regional Academy of Middle Arm, Cape John Collegiate of

LaScie, and St. Peter's Academy of Westport.

There

were thirty-six graduating students from Indian River, twenty-six from Copper

Ridge, fifteen from Valmont Academy and MSB Regional Academy, eighteen from Cape

John Collegiate, and three from St. Peter's Academy.

From the

tasty meals, to the beautifully decorated gymnasiums, it was evident that a lot

of hard work, pride, and preparation went into each ceremony.

Teachers, students, and parent volunteers are to be commended for such

outstanding work to ensure that everyone would have a fantastic, enjoyable,

memorable evening.

With the

exception of Valmont Academy, my wife and I had the pleasure to attend all of

the ceremonies in each school. I was

very impressed with the high caliber of valedictorian speeches and the strong

leadership displayed by the graduating students.

Teachers have done an outstanding job in developing the gifting's of each

graduate.

I invite

all hon. members to join me in congratulating all the graduates in the six high

schools.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Statement by Ministers.

Statements by

Ministers

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Service NL.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CRUMMELL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to recognize June 3 to 5 as Roadcheck 2014.

Enforcement officers will be out in full force this week participating in

a road check blitz for commercial vehicles.

Roadcheck 2014 is an initiative of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance and

represents a major undertaking by vehicle safety enforcement personnel across

Canada, the United States, and Mexico.

Mr.

Speaker, for the next three days, highway enforcement officers and weigh scale

inspectors from the Motor Registration Division of Service NL will be conducting

commercial vehicle road safety checks and inspections to spot-check vehicles and

remind owners and operators of safe operating practices.

Officers will be checking for mechanical deficiencies, driver records,

cargo securement and compliance with other legislation.

These roadside inspections are conducted in accordance with nationally

developed inspection criteria for commercial vehicles.

Road

safety is a primary mandate for my department and Roadcheck 2014 provides an

excellent opportunity to raise awareness among commercial vehicle operators

about safe driving practices and the need for full compliance with provincial

and national laws.

Mr.

Speaker, Service NL is responsible for monitoring commercial vehicles on our

Province's roads and highways to ensure they are in compliance with legislation

and regulations and are being operated by qualified and safe drivers.

We also check that vehicles transporting

cargo and passengers in this Province are mechanically fit and comply with

federal and provincial legislation.

Newfoundland and Labrador's continued participation in Roadcheck demonstrates

our ongoing commitment to enhancing road safety in the Province.

While our dedicated enforcement officials continue to perform their

duties every day, our annual participation in Roadcheck helps to raise awareness

of the importance of safety in the commercial transportation sector, as well as

to educate operators on safety requirements and precautions.

encourage all hon. members to join me in spreading the message of the importance

of road safety and correct practice in commercial transport for Roadcheck 2014.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount

Pearl South.

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the minister for the advance copy of his statement.

Mr. Speaker, we certainly are very supportive of Roadcheck 2014 and thank

the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance for this great initiative.

Mr.

Speaker, I think nobody can argue, anytime you have something like this

initiative taking place in our Province I think it can only be a positive thing.

We all want to ensure that our roads are kept safe, and one of the ways

we can do it is to ensure the heavy vehicles and so on that are travelling our

highways have been inspected, that they are not subject to mechanical failure

and so on, that they are not overloaded and all the other issues that come with

it.

We are

very dependent upon truck traffic in our Province coming across to bring goods

to our Province. We see an increase

in that year over year and certainly that is why we support the need to ensure

that the vehicles that are delivering those goods are in good repair and safe

for the general public.

Mr.

Speaker, I guess tied into this was an issue I raised yesterday in terms of all

of the debris and the safety issues on the Outer Ring Road.

One of the causes of that, of course, is the fact that maybe vehicles are

not

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The

member's time has expired.

The hon.

the Member for St. John's East.

MR. MURPHY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would

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

Every

day, of course, we are presented with new road hazards.

I would like to thank the minister I guess in this particular case I

would like to thank the staff out there, the highway safety workers who are out

there practicing their work as they carry on with highway enforcement, but I

have to ask the question. I do not

know if anybody else in the House here has noticed it, Mr. Speaker, but it seems

like there are an awful lot of vehicles pulled in on the side of the road

with apparent front-end problems, because you are looking at pretty much tires

hanging out of wheel wells half the time from some vehicles that are broken

down. It appears that we are

encountering more problems when it comes to people who are looking after their

own vehicles vehicle maintenance problems.

I have to ask the question on the part of government,

on the part of the drivers who are out there practicing safe driving and safe

vehicle maintenance: Are we headed down the road again, for example, where we

are going to be asking about the need for the potential of more vehicle

inspections happening every day

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR.

MURPHY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Innovation, Business and Rural Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SULLIVAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today in this hon.

House to highlight our Youth Innovation Projects, an initiative that engages

youth in creative activities throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

Newfoundland and Labrador's youth are vital to the

Province's future prosperity and it is incumbent upon us to provide

opportunities to encourage innovation and creativity and to build essential

skills for our young people.

It was for this reason, Mr. Speaker, that this past

March the provincial government invited proposals for projects that support and

promote youth innovation and contribute to valuable learning experiences of our

Province's students, not-for-profit organizations, youth organizations,

municipalities, and industry associations.

These projects relate to science, technology and engineering, and

identify opportunities in a number of knowledge-based industries as well as

areas of interest such as robotics, digital media, and other emerging

technologies. Many of these projects

investigate new technologies and how they relate to traditional industries and

future opportunities.

We received a significant number of Youth Innovation

Project proposals, all of which reflect to the goal of creating awareness among

youth of the tremendous opportunities that exist in our Province.

I am very pleased to announce that our government has invested over

$400,000 in support of thirty-two projects under this initiative.

Mr. Speaker, this past Friday, I had the opportunity to

visit Mill Crest Academy in Grand Falls-Windsor, one of the schools which will

benefit from this initiative.

Students at Mill Crest will be introduced to technologies that will enhance

creative learning through the introduction of a new robotics program.

Since the initial call for proposals in 2009, the

provincial government has invested over $2 million in 136 projects that support

youth innovation.

Mr. Speaker, the ability of our youth to find creative

solutions, use leading-edge technologies, and produce adaptive solutions is so

inspiring to our government and we are committed to supporting the youth who

represent a bright future for Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for The Straits White Bay North.

MR.

MITCHELMORE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an advance copy of her

statement. Youth Innovation Projects

is a great initiative by the Department of Innovation, Business and Rural

Development.

Technology is one of the fastest growing sectors in our

Province. The promotion of

technology and engineering is wonderful.

We need to encourage and build these essential skills in our young

people, especially since after a few years of in-migration, we have once again

returned to a Province where young people are leaving, post-graduation.

Last year, we experienced a net loss of interprovincial migration, and

the data for the first few months of this year reveals we are on target for

another year of out-migration.

We need to have programs that encourage innovation and

investigate new technologies and how they relate to the traditional industries.

They are not only beneficial to our young people, but they benefit the

Province as a whole. They are good

investments.

I thank the minister for that statement.

I would certainly like to see in future more investment in Western

Newfoundland and Labrador as well as in Labrador, given that only two of the

thirty-two proposals were from those regions of the Province.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

MR.

MURPHY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would also like to thank the minister for the advance

copy of her statement today.

Congratulations to all the recipients of the government money in the thirty-two

projects under this initiative this year.

Mr. Speaker, one of the things that we would like to

see government do a little bit more is put a little bit more money, for example,

through the funding of science fairs in high schools.

We know that education is key to innovation.

We also know that our education system is where it starts.

Just to pass it on to government, a little bit more funding, for example,

through schools would probably spur more projects that government would be able

to pour money into.

At the same time, we would also like to see government

put more funding itself into the initiatives.

We notice that government has put in $2 million over 136 projects.

This could be $20 million, for example.

We do not know where some of these young innovators are going to be going

next and what they can be doing as regards the development of our economy in the

future.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Further statements by ministers?

The hon. the Minister of Justice.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

FRENCH:

Mr.

Speaker, I rise in the House today to recognize Environment Week, which runs

until June 7.

Since 1972, people across the world have celebrated

June 5 as Environment Day. Here in

Canada, we have designated the entire first week of June as Environment Week

and use it as a time

to celebrate accomplishments in protecting the environment, as well as to

promote and educate people about ways they can become involved and make a

difference.

Globally, Environment Day was created by the United Nations to generate action

on environmental issues and empower people to become more active in what is

happening around them when it comes to the environment.

Mr.

Speaker, tomorrow I will be presenting this year's Environment Awards to

well-deserving recipients for their outstanding environmental and conservation

achievements. Their demonstrated

commitment is evidence of the good work groups and individuals are doing to

protect the environment in their own backyards, in schools, communities, and

workplaces.

Our

government is committed to working with individuals, groups, communities, and

businesses that are dedicated to the protection of our natural areas and the

development of our resources in an environmentally appropriate and sustainable

manner. We are making progress in

reducing waste, increasing recycling, and taking action to protect and preserve

our environment, and we will continue to raise awareness about sustaining our

Province for generations to come.

Mr.

Speaker, I encourage more Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to do their part and

participate in activities that promote Environment Week.

A healthy and sustainable environment yields healthy people, a stronger

economy, and more vibrant communities.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's South.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the minister for a copy of the statement prior to the announcement.

Government talks about protection of our natural resources, Mr. Speaker, but we

are also seeing a government who have allowed 5,000 people to trample through a

natural area within a provincial park.

We see a government who refuses to take money from the federal government

to protect the marine conservation area in Burgeo.

They talk about reducing waste, but, Mr. Speaker, the last time there was

major progress on reducing waste and creating curbside recycling and waste

diversion programs was when I was Minister of Environment.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. OSBORNE:

Mr. Speaker, they talk about

conserving energy. The 2007 Energy

Plan, Mr. Speaker, promised a plethora of initiatives and incentives to reduce

energy consumption, but we see no signs of progress on that, none.

None of those incentives or initiatives was put in place.

We see

garbage along our highways and the Outer Ring Road and other areas of the

Province, Mr. Speaker. We talk about

protecting the environment, Mr. Speaker, talk is cheap.

Happy Environment Week, indeed.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon.

the Member for St. John's East.

MR. MURPHY:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

observance of Environment Week this week, on June 7 there will be a provincial

day of action against Tordon 101 use in the Province, Mr. Speaker.

Three very important groups in this Province, environmental groups, the

Social Justice Co-op of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Coalition for the

Alternatives to Pesticides, and the Friends of Grand River are holding a

petition drive to gather names to stop the government use of Tordon 101 in this

Province. Our environment does not

just connect with garbage, this sort of thing that we all can connect with, but

it also deals with what is happening in the future, in this case the banning of

pesticides.

Mr.

Speaker, I will leave that with government, hopefully they will notice that.

Congratulations to these three groups here, and hopefully one of these

groups will be a recipient of one of these awards this week.

Thank

you very much.

MR. SPEAKER:

Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well the

first stage of the construction of the Hebron Project has been completed and the

dry dock at Bull Arm, as we speak, is currently being flooded.

The budget for this particular project was $14 billion and the Province,

through Nalcor, has a 4.9 equity stake in the project.

I ask

the Premier: Can you provide an update on the total amount of money that the

government has already spent on this project?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER MARSHALL:

Mr. Speaker, obviously we

would be delighted at the appropriate time to file in this House a list of all

government expenditures. This

project is another massive project, a capital investment in this Province.

Capital investment, I think, last year was the highest it has ever been.

It is going off the roof and it is driving employment.

We have

employment numbers we have never had in our history.

The unemployment rate is the lowest it has been in forty years.

I understand we are no longer the worst

in the country. People are working

and they are working with high weekly wages, and that is causing people to have

more labour income, more household income, more disposable income.

Because of that, we are seeing it in retail sales and we are seeing it in

car sales, we are seeing it in housing starts.

The

Leader of the Opposition is a businessman.

He is in the retail business.

I think he is in the car business.

You are going to have a hard job going up against this government.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, I

am in business and usually when I am in business I understand what it takes when

you have to make the equity investment.

What I

asked was: How much have we spent on this project to date?

That was a very simple question, and hopefully we will get the answer.

I am going to go back there, because during the Estimates with the

Minister of Finance I asked this very same question.

What I

was looking for at that time was not only how much have we spent but how much

have we committed to this project.

At that time, obviously I was expecting an answer.

We did not get one then but hopefully today we can get an answer.

How much

has been spent on this project, and how much have we committed of taxpayers'

money to the project?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER MARSHALL:

Mr. Speaker, this provides me with a

great opportunity to convey to the members of the House, and through them to the

people of the Province, what this government is doing as result of the Energy

Plan.

We are

not just sitting back and taxing oil companies.

We are not just sitting back and collecting royalties.

We have made a conscious decision that the people of this Province are

going to invest in some of these oil fields and we are going to get a return

from those oil fields.

The oil

companies make massive wealth. It is

time for the people of Newfoundland to make massive wealth as well.

That money will come in. It

will pay back our investment. It

will pay back any loans we have taken out to make that investment, and it will

provide a stream of revenue to the people of this Province.

We can use it for health care.

We can use it for long-term care.

We can use it for education.

We can use it for initiatives to fight family violence for years and years and

years and generations to come.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

With all

due respect, and I understand the response, but what I do not get is this is a

massive project that requires millions and millions of dollars from the

taxpayers' of this Province.

All I am

asking: How much money have you committed to this project?

How much has already been spent on this project?

If the Premier does not want to answer the question, I ask the Minister

of Finance: Will you please answer it?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate

standing up following the Premier, who so eloquently laid out to the people of

the Province that this equity investment, we will get that return and more, Mr.

Speaker, which is significant, because we are always talking about how we are

going to move from non-renewable to renewable, how we are going to go beyond

2017. That is the vision of the

government and how we are going to get there.

To date,

Mr. Speaker, these has been $188 million gone into the Hebron Project.

There is another $360 million as the project progresses, but it is

expected, Mr. Speaker, as a result of the investments and the process with

Nalcor, that they will be self-sufficient come 2015 and will not need government

money to do so.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

March, the Minister of IBRD said that the mill in Grand Falls-Windsor would be

demolished this year; however, the Minister of Transportation and Works would

only say that it will be considered for demolition.

I ask

the Premier: Will the mill in Grand Falls-Windsor indeed be demolished this

year?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. MCGRATH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, the commitment was made to put out an RFP this year to demolish the

mill in Grand Falls-Windsor. That

RFP is out now. As soon as the RFP

closes, then we will sit down with the bidders, go through the normal process,

and when we award the tender that process will start this year.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well,

based on the response, the demolition would be on the taxpayers' bill here, but

we already know and the minster has said there are a couple of companies

looking at this the former Abitibi mill sits empty, waiting to be demolished,

as I said, while other mills in Eastern Canada have been sold as scrap to metal

companies for millions of dollars.

I ask the Premier: Did you ever think about or did you

try to sell the mill to a scrap metal company that would indeed create revenue

for this Province?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

MCGRATH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I guess in answer to that question, yes, we have.

In the process of putting the RFP together, the Cabinet met on several

occasions to discuss that very process.

Within the RFP what we have done is we have put an RFP

together that will actually the demolition and then the sale of whatever

assets are there could be part of saving money for the people of Newfoundland

and Labrador. That is what this

government is all about, Mr. Speaker, is saving money and making things better

for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR.

BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

There is an ongoing issue with the canal seepage in the

Town of Deer Lake. There has been

assessment by engineers from the Department of Environment and recommendations

that would help residents who are dealing with even mould problems in their

homes right now.

I ask the minister: When will you be sending officials

to the town to complete the assessment that has been requested?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Justice.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

FRENCH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I had heard of the issue a couple of weeks

ago, but I became involved with it a little more intimately this morning when I

had an e-mail from an area resident.

Being someone who has had an issue with water problems over the years I

actually had to move out of a property one time I can certainly sympathize

with these people. It is something

that I have asked staff to have a look at since I received that e-mail this

morning.

As a matter of fact, Mr. Speaker, we have already had

an environmental scientist visit the site.

I have asked officials as well to work with Kruger with actually Deer

Lake Power and have them also assess the canals that run from the lake down to

the powerhouse.

I think these have been in place probably somebody

told me this morning they were built probably in the 1920s.

Obviously, it is something that should be checked.

I have asked our officials to write their light and power, like I said,

and have that assessment done.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR.

EDMUNDS:

Mr.

Speaker, despite an accommodation crisis in Lake Melville, the minister

responsible says he is not at liberty to say whether or not the Paddon Home will

be used for affordable housing or long-term care.

Meanwhile, Labrador-Grenfell Health is allowing the RCMP to use the

building for training exercises.

I ask the minister: Why is the Paddon Home being used

for training and not housing in a community with affordable housing and

long-term care needs?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

O'BRIEN:

Mr.

Speaker, it is only a week ago I addressed the same particular issue here in

this House. I told the hon. member,

in response to his question, that we were looking at all options for the people

who were displaced in regard to Newman's in Goose Bay.

We keep in mind as well in regard to the housing issues

in that particular part of our Province going forward, and we want the right

solution for those particular people, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, we are absolutely looking at the Paddon building, and if the RCMP

can make use of it in the interim until we can make a decision, I am all for

that as well. I am all for making

use of infrastructure wherever it is in the Province.

So, certainly, we will be looking at the Paddon Home as a possible

solution to Newman's, but also in regard to going forward, addressing the issues

in and around Goose Bay.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR.

EDMUNDS:

Mr.

Speaker, this is not just about Newman's; this is about hundreds of residents

who are looking for homes in the boomtown.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister Responsible for Housing said

an engineering evaluation has to be done on the Paddon Home before it can be

considered suitable for housing. Its

original purpose was to house seniors.

If the roof and sprinklers were upgraded, as promised,

and the RCMP find it and I quote perfect for training, I ask the minister:

Why are you stalling on using the Paddon Home, when Labrador has a housing and

long-term care needs crisis?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

O'BRIEN:

Mr.

Speaker, I thank the hon. member for referring to Happy Valley-Goose Bay as

being a boomtown, because it is absolutely a boomtown by the work that this

government has done in stimulating the economy in Newfoundland and Labrador.

We realize that there are issues up in that area.

I have worked with the MHA from the area as well in regard to certain

options. I will tell the hon. member

that we are looking at various options, and also Grenfell Health is looking at

options in regard to Paddon Home. We

want the right options for the right application, and I will not tell the hon.

member that I am delaying the issue.

I just want that resolved, and I want it resolved in the right way, I say to the

hon. member.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for the District of Bay of Islands.

MR.

JOYCE:

Mr.

Speaker, the Premier indicated in the House yesterday that there would be no

reduction in ultrasound services at the new Corner Brook regional hospital.

I ask the Premier: Will commit to the people of the

West Coast and Labrador that there will be six ultrasound machines at the new

hospital in Corner Brook?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER MARSHALL:

Mr.

Speaker, as I said yesterday, the functional program is being completed by

experts at the Department of Health and at the Western Regional Health

Authority. They are finalizing that

plan. No decisions have been made.

That plan has not been brought to government for approval.

I would imagine these experts will complete their work and then it will

come forward to the minister, and then in due course the minister will bring it

forward to government to make a decision.

What I said yesterday is that the hon. member's number

was incorrect. I do not doubt that

is a number he may have hear there is rumour; there is speculation that goes

around but until such time as that proposal, the final plan, comes to the

minister and gets his approval and then comes on to the government, it is then

that we will know what is going in that hospital.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for the District of Bay of Islands.

MR.

JOYCE:

Mr.

Speaker, I was not wrong on the radiation units.

I say to the Premier, you are the government; you can make sure that

services are not reduced. It is not

the consultants who are doing the work, Mr. Speaker; you are the Premier.

Mr. Speaker, the new hospital in Corner Brook is still

going through the final design stages and obviously, as with the radiation unit,

it is open to change.

I ask the Premier: Will you commit to having public

consultations with the residents of Corner Brook before any final decision is

completed?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER MARSHALL:

Mr.

Speaker, let me be very clear on this: We have to rely on experts who know

something about hospitals and know what ought to be there.

Obviously, there will be a public consultations and obviously the people

of the area will get to have their input and their say and what they think

should be there. In the end, we have

to listen to the experts, too. We

will listen to the citizens of the area.

We will take it, government will give it every consideration, but the

ultimate decision on what is going in that hospital will have been made by this

government.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Mr.

Speaker, Bill 12 on the Order Paper deals with raising tobacco tax.

As a result, government will take in $165 million this year in tobacco

tax alone; however, government only plans to reinvest $700,000 into a smoking

cessation program.

Given that smoking costs our health care system

millions every year, I ask the minister: Why hasn't government committed more to

decreasing smoking rates in our Province?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The smoking cessation program, which was announced in

this year's Budget, has been well received by stakeholder groups throughout

Newfoundland and Labrador. It is a

significant step forward to provide supports and assistance to eligible

individuals throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, who are eligible under the

guidelines of Newfoundland and Labrador Prescription Drug Program to avail of

this program. It is a significant

program. The focus of this program

is on creating an avenue and an opportunity for those who wish to participate to

find better health.

Mr. Speaker, this is very much what this government is

about, is working with Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to find opportunities

for them to improve their own health.

We are assisting in doing that by this program.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Mr.

Speaker, as the minister knows, we are one of only two provinces that are not

providing coverage. I am glad to

hear that it is there, after years of asking for it.

We also have amongst the highest rates of smoking in Canada.

The Minister of Health in 2011 said that smoking costs

our health care system about $300 million to $400 million every year, yet we are

still not making any meaningful change and this program is just the start.

I ask:

Why haven't you committed to an enhanced smoking cessation program that would

see drastic reductions in smoking rates, help improve the health of our

population, and decrease health care costs?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, there are a number of different programs throughout the country, as the

member opposite has referenced in his comments before the House this afternoon.

We are taking an approach that we want to implement this new program.

We want to make it available to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

As we

have done in programs before this, as we roll this out it is very important that

we monitor the program, we monitor it as it is delivered, and we evaluate the

success of the program. Then we will

be in a position to be able to modify and make improvements to the program so it

can be the best possible result.

That is

what we seek when we look at programs such as this, when we initiate programs

regarding health care, better lifestyles, and healthier lifestyles for the

people of the Province. Our goal is

to do that. What we will do is we

will be doing an evaluation as this goes on.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Cartwright L'Anse au Clair.

MS DEMPSTER:

Mr. Speaker, this season has

proven beyond any reasonable doubt that any new vessel serving the Strait of

Belle Isle will require significant ice breaking capacity and increased

horsepower. The new RFP issued for

ferry service fails to designate ice breaking capacity or increased horsepower

from the existing vessel.

I ask

the minister: Knowing the challenges with ice facing the present ferry service

June, yesterday, she was still not crossing because of ice why did the RFP go

forward without specifying A1 ice class and increased horsepower?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. MCGRATH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, I suggest she read the RFP again.

In the RFP it states that the vessels will be icebreaker class, right in

the RFP. I am not quite sure what

the member across the way is talking about.

It specifies that right in the RFP.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Cartwright L'Anse au Clair.

MS DEMPSTER:

It is not specific.

I am saying it needs to be at least medium, it needs to be at least A1.

We are here in June month and the ferry is not crossing.

Mr.

Speaker, the operation of the ferry service on the Strait of Belle Isle has

proven there are glaring omissions in the fifteen-year RFP.

It could be twenty-five because there is room for two five-year renewals.

There have already been four addendums to the RFP.

Obviously it is not clear sailing on the other side either.

I ask

the minister: Knowing that those same ice conditions will persist in the future,

what assurance can you give the ferry users that the RFP will address the

challenges being faced? There is

nothing specific there, it is very vague.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. MCGRATH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, the hon. member across the way is comparing the ice conditions with the

ships that are sailing today. If

those ships, if we felt they were capable of the weather that is changing as it

is, then we would not put out an RFP for new ships.

That is what we have done.

We have

a ferry replacement strategy in place.

We are very aware of the conditions that are coming down through and the

changing conditions. This is

something we have been watching very closely.

It is only in the past five years that we had year-round service on the

Strait of Belle Isle and that was determined after the changes in the weather

over the last decade. So I am not

quite sure how she can dictate what the weather is going to be like for the next

decade. It is something we watch

very closely, and in the new RFP we have addressed all of that.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS DEMPSTER:

(Inaudible).

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

I ask

the member to wait until the Speaker acknowledges her.

The hon.

the Member for Cartwright L'Anse au Clair.

MS DEMPSTER:

Because we do not know, I

would say that is all the more reason for planning and to be prepared.

We are going to end up with just a newer version of the

Apollo with the way this stands, I

say, Mr. Speaker, because a contractor will come forward with a minimum 8,000

horsepower and we will be locked in for a long time, still dealing with those

problems. You have time to right the

ship, minister.

I ask

you: Would you be willing to go back and look at the RFP?

Thank

you.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. MCGRATH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, I can say very clearly that government on this side of the House has a

lot more confidence in our business people than what they have on that side with

the comment she just made. I feel

very assured with the RFP that is out there and with the conditions we have in

that RFP, that when new vessels go on the water they will be ice class and they

will serve the people on the Strait of Belle Isle.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of St. Barbe.

MR. J. BENNETT:

Mr. Speaker, last week

government suffered another loss at the Newfoundland and Labrador Court of

Appeal. This time the court ruled in

favour of former residential school students who filed a class action against

our government, the federal government, and certain schools based on abuses they

suffered as school children. A full

trial is scheduled for later this year.

I ask

the minister: Has he been briefed by our lawyers as to the viability of this

case, the likelihood we may lose, and the how much the Province may have to pay

in damages and costs?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Attorney

General.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. F. COLLINS:

Mr. Speaker, our Crown

prosecutors and lawyers keep us advised and apprised of the various cases and

results going through the court.

With

respect to obvious impacts, or financial impacts and whatnot, that is to be

worked out later. I have not had the

opportunity to discuss the details as regards the hon. member's question.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

Barbe.

MR. J. BENNETT:

Mr. Speaker, most residential

school claims are successfully proven in court and governments and other

defendants are usually ordered to pay large damages plus legal costs.

Sadly, the court process also re-victimizes many survivors.

Now seven years after this case began, government has lost the limitation

period argument at the Court of Appeal.

I ask

the minister: Will he now commit to review this case to determine if it is

appropriate to pursue good faith settlement discussions to avoid a long

expensive and risky trial?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Attorney

General.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. F. COLLINS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

With

respect to the gentleman's question, I have to take it under advisement and

discuss it with my officials. If

there is anything I can give with regard to an appropriate answer in this House

given that the matter is in the courts then I will certainly do that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for The

Straits White Bay North.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Mr. Speaker, this government

had a big launch when it announced its open government initiative.

Although there is a Web site that says open government initiative, little

has changed. This government is just

as closed as it ever was.

I ask

the minister if there is an actual open government strategy; and, if so, will it

be posted on this Web portal?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Municipal and Intergovernmental Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, we are into

reruns with the questions again.

I have

made it quite clear to the member opposite that it is going to take several

months of consulting with the people of Newfoundland and Labrador to build our

open government action plan. We

announced that it will have four pillars.

We have launched the consultation process.

There will be extensive consultation with the public in the months ahead.

We will, by the end of this year, have an open government action plan in

place that will lead the country, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for The

Straits White Bay North.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Mr. Speaker, information

should be dynamic, and the Province has an inventory of communities with

broadband Internet which the minister made a commitment to make available.

I ask

the minister: Will this be posted on the open government initiative, and will he

consult with other departments to ensure that there is proactive disclosure so

that we do not deal with just static information?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Innovation, Business and Rural Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, during Estimates the hon. member opposite did ask me if I would table

those documents. In fact, it was

just this morning that I met with officials to try to ensure that, that

information was put together. As I

explained during Estimates, that information is with the providers.

The providers have given us the information and we are now in the process

of getting it assembled so that it is in a reasonable document.

When I have that work completed, as said, I will certainly table that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

After

consulting with unions and employers for four years, in 2012 government changed

the Labour Relations Act to allow card-based certification in creating a new

bargaining unit. Now, with Bill 22

it is repealing card-based certification and saying stakeholders requested it.

I ask

the Premier: Since no union was consulted, who are the stakeholders that told

government to get rid of card-based certification?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Service NL.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CRUMMELL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, we went through a lengthy consultation process back in 2009 and leading

into 2012 when we made the amendments that we brought forward.

During that process, it became very clear where the union stood on

card-based certification. It has

been validated again in correspondence in recent months with my predecessor.

We know exactly where the unions stand on card-based certification.

Mr.

Speaker, the changes we are making today, the change we are making as we speak

to Bill 22 later on, is about secret ballot voting.

It is bringing democracy back into the certification process.

It is about the workers of the Province and it is about the people of the

Province. We know we are doing the

right thing.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We have

constantly heard from government that it consults with the labour relations

committee made up of government, unions, and employers and they make decisions

together at the tripartite table.

Unions had no idea that government was backtracking on a decision made only two

years ago. The tripartite table lost

a leg apparently.

I ask

the Premier: What happened to the third leg of the tripartite table, the unions

that are supposed to be at the labour relations committee?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon.

the Minister of Municipal and Intergovernmental Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

Office of Public Engagement is very much committed to working with business and

labour in Newfoundland and Labrador, both on a provincial level and on a

regional level as well. As minister,

I have had numerous discussions with business and labour leaders.

We have

met with representatives of the Business Coalition, and I have had a couple of

meetings with the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour.

We are committed to developing new models of how business and labour will

be engaged with government moving forward.

The

Strategic Partnership has served us well.

It is now time for a new model; it has been under review for some time.

I look forward to working with business and labour to move that forward.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Mr. Speaker, when amendments,

including card-based certification, were introduced in 2012, government called

it a modernization of labour laws reflecting a balanced approach.

There was a considerable amount of input from labour organizations and

employers.

Given

the lack of consultation of all stakeholders at this time, I asking the Premier:

Will they take back Bill 22 from this House?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Service Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CRUMMELL:

Mr. Speaker, back in 2012

when we brought the amendments to the floor of the House, we thought we were

coming in with fair and balanced legislation.

Since then, we have heard concerns.

We have heard concerns from employers and we have heard concerns from

workers.

Mr.

Speaker, we decided to review that legislation.

When we did the review, we looked at the polls.

We looked at the research behind what is happening in the labour

movement, what is happening with card-based certification and with union

certification. What we found is that

workers overwhelmingly want that vote on the ballot, in a secret-ballot vote,

and they also want to be informed throughout the process.

So, all the research out there shows exactly that.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker, the Premier's

defence for not reinstating the Family Violence Intervention Court was that it

only served St. John's, but that is the fault of his government.

I will keep this simple. Five

women were murdered by their partners last year.

Domestic violence is a major issue across the whole Province.

Addressing it is government's responsibility.

The Family Violence Intervention Court is the best way to do this I

know this, and the Premier knows this.

I ask

the Premier: Will he do the right thing and reinstate the Family Violence

Intervention Court that he started, and expand it to serve families at risk

across the Province?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER MARSHALL:

Mr. Speaker, violence against

vulnerable people is one of the most serious issues we have in this country

today. It is a very complex issue.

When I first became the Justice Minister, I think eleven years ago, ten

years ago, one of the first things I did was meet with members from the women's

community, and I established a committee called the Attorney General's Committee

on Violence Against Women.

I met

with that committee and I said: Given the complexity, given that there is no one

thing that you can do, let's come up with concrete measures, a concrete action

plan, where we can provide tools to help deal with this issue.

The first thing we did was the Family Violence Protection Act, and the

committee came out with that. It was

not a panacea, but it provided an important tool.

The next thing we did was the Family Violence

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

That

committee only recently advised the Minister of Justice once again that they

wanted to see the Family Violence Intervention Court reinstated and expanded.

Mr. Speaker, I have letters here from individuals and women's groups all

across the Province addressed to the Premier asking him to reinstate and expand

the court.

behalf of these groups, I plead I ask the Premier once again: Will he listen

to them?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER MARSHALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

If I can

continue after we did the Family Violence Protection Act, the next initiative

was to bring in the Family Violence Intervention Court.

It was a pilot project and supposed to run to see how effective it would

be, and then whether or not there was justification, based on the results, to

bring it, to establish it right across the country.

After that, we brought in our Family Violence Initiative, and this year

we are going to bring in part two of the Family Violence Initiative.

Mr.

Speaker, the court is just based in St. John's.

That is fact. We were looking

for another tool, a new mechanism, given the fact that the numbers were going

down they were not as robust as the number of people completing the program.

We went with a new initiative this year, another tool to add to

MR. SPEAKER:

The time for Question Period

has expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Presenting Reports by

Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling

of Documents.

Tabling of

Documents

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, as promised and

certainly our commitment to open government, I want to table the benefits

agreement between the Province and the Kami Mine Limited Partnership.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further tabling of documents?

Notices

of Motion.

Notices of Motion

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I give

notice, under Standing Order 11, that I shall move that the House not adjourn at

5:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 5, 2014.

further give notice, under Standing Order 11, that I shall move that the House

not adjourn at 10:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 5, 2014.

MR. SPEAKER:

Answers to Questions for

which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's North.

MR. KIRBY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland

and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

autism spectrum disorder has been estimated to occur in as many as this says

one in eighty-eight, Mr. Speaker, but I believe the statistics have been updated

recently; and

WHEREAS

individualized and intensive early interventions are important for improving

outcomes for children with autism; and

WHEREAS

long wait-lists are forcing many parents to wait up to two years before their

children receive needed pediatric assessments and diagnostic services; and

WHEREAS

the Intensive Applied Behavioural Analysis Program is not available for children

after Grade 3, while research supports the use of applied behavioural analysis

throughout their lifespan; and

WHEREAS

a co-ordinated, multi-agency approach among key government departments and

agencies is needed to ensure that individuals with autism spectrum disorder are

provided with services that will promote independent living; and

WHEREAS

a comprehensive Province-wide strategy for autism spectrum disorder will

decrease the lifetime costs of treating and providing services for persons with

autism;

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

of Assembly to urge government to develop a comprehensive Province-wide strategy

for autism spectrum disorder in consultation with parents, advocates, educators,

health care providers, and experts in the autism community.

As in

duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, I am not sure that this is a whole lot to ask.

We have been presenting this petition over and over and over again.

I had

the good fortune to attend spring convocation at Memorial University last week

with the hon. Leader of the Official Opposition and there we heard a number of

speeches about the work of Dr. Joyce Churchill in the autism community and

building an awareness of the needs of persons with autism in this Province.

Dr. David Vardy and Ms Elaine Dobbin were also present.

These are other people who have been standing behind this call for a

comprehensive strategy for Newfoundland and Labrador.

In order

to bring together all of the levers and all the pieces that we need to ensure

that young people and older people who have autism spectrum disorder have their

needs met, so that we can have early interventions, so that people can lead

productive lives and can contribute to their communities.

That is all people are asking, and this is a necessary first step.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The

member's time has expired.

MR. KIRBY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am

happy to be on my feet in this House once again to present this petition.

To the

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland

and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

the Family Violence Intervention Court provided a comprehensive approach to

domestic violence in a court setting that fully understood and dealt with the

complex issues of domestic violence; and

WHEREAS

domestic violence continues to be one of the most serious issues facing our

Province today, and the cost of the impact of domestic violence is great both

economically and in human suffering; and

WHEREAS

the Family Violence Intervention Court was welcomed and endorsed by all aspects

of the justice system including the police, the courts, prosecutors, defence

counsel, Child, Youth and Family Services, as well as victims, offenders,

community agencies and women's groups; and

WHEREAS

the recidivism rate for the offenders going through the court was 10 per cent

compared to 40 per cent for those who did not; and

WHEREAS

the budget for the court was only 0.2 per cent of the entire budget of the

Department of Justice;

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

of Assembly to urge government to reinstate the Family Violence Intervention

Court.

As in

duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, there is no justifiable reason anymore for not reinstating this court.

It cannot be based on budget.

At Estimates I asked the Department of Justice, I asked the minister, was there

an impact analysis done in terms of what is the cost to the justice system by

not reinstating the Family Violence Intervention Court?

I asked if there was an analysis done on what the cost to the court was,

what the Family Violence Intervention Court actually saved the court.

We know it did save the court because offenders had to plead guilty right

away which meant we did not have to have a court proceeding after court

proceeding after court proceeding.

Mr.

Speaker, one would ask in this time of prosperity for the St. John's branch of

the Family Violence Intervention Court it was $500,000.

What is that compared to the cost of extreme suffering and the rollout

costs of victims of family violence who need services and who need housing.

In fact, this was a cost-savings measure.

I have

letters here that have been addressed to the Premier; they came in yesterday and

today. They are asking the Premier

to do the right thing, to reinstate the court and to expand it.

That would not cost a lot, Mr. Speaker, because the infrastructure for

the courts are available all over the Province.

It is

not building buildings. It is not

hiring new people. It takes a little

bit of political will, it takes a little bit of training, it takes a little bit

of co-ordination, and I believe this government can do it.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Bay of Islands.

MR. JOYCE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I stand

again today, Mr. Speaker, on the hospital in Corner Brook.

WHEREAS

we wish to raise concerns regarding the recent delay on the construction of the

new hospital in Corner Brook;

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

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

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

committed to in a timely manner as originally announced without further delay or

changes.

Mr.

Speaker, I have names here today from Mount Moriah, Kings Road, Marcelle Avenue,

Elswick Road, Curling. Once again I

have a bunch of petitions here to present on behalf of the people of Western

Newfoundland and Labrador concerning the hospital.

I have

asked questions today to the Premier about the ultrasound machines, Mr. Speaker,

if they will be reduced. The Premier

did not commit they would stay at the current level as we speak.

The wait time is 147 days. If

the machines are cut down to three, which is proposed, we are looking at almost

a 300-day wait time.

The

Premier stated today in the House there will be public consultations before

final design. That is positive.

That is very positive. I am

going to inform the people of Western Newfoundland and Labrador that the Premier

committed today in the House that there will be public consultations before the

design of the hospital is completed.

That is a first great step for the people of Western Newfoundland.

At least we will have a chance to ensure the services that were committed

back in 2007 will be in the new hospital.

There

are a number of other concerns for the hospital, and each concern as they come

up, Mr. Speaker, I will address them on behalf of the people of Western

Newfoundland and Labrador. It is

great to hear the Premier saying there will be two radiation units in the

hospital. There will be a PET

scanner in the hospital, Mr. Speaker, but we have not convinced Mr. Coleman yet

of the PET scanner. So that is on

our next list of things to do.

I just

want to thank the House of Assembly for the opportunity to present a petition on

behalf of these people, Mr. Speaker.

Once again, this is something we are going to build for the next sixty, seventy

years, so we have to do it right.

The first step, having public consultations before design is done, I say to the

Premier, that is a great first step and hopefully we will get it right so we do

not have to make changes.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

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

Newfoundland and Labrador has the greatest percentage of the workforce earning

the provincial minimum wage in Canada, with women, youth and those from rural

areas making up a disproportionate number of these workers; and

WHEREAS

there has been no increase in the minimum wage since 2010, which has had

detrimental impacts on the purchasing power of the most vulnerable members of

the provincial workforce; and

WHEREAS

minimum wage earners do not earn enough money for the necessities of life, and

even full-time minimum wage earners barely meet the low-income cut-off of

$19,496 for a single person; and

WHEREAS

government ignored the recommendations of its own 2012 Minimum Wage Review

Committee for an immediate increase to reflect the cost of living and annual

adjustments in line with the Consumer Price Index, and instead legislated a

twenty-cent increase in October 2014, and a twenty-five cent increase in October

2015, with no indexing; and

WHEREAS

other provinces and territories have been raising their minimum wages, leaving

Newfoundland and Labrador on the low end;

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

of Assembly to urge government to implement the recommendations of the 2012

Minimum Wage Review Committee and legislate an immediate increase in the

minimum wage to reflect the loss of purchasing power since 2010, and an annual

adjustment beginning in 2015 to reflect the CPI.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

I am very pleased today to stand on behalf of the

petitioners, Mr. Speaker, to raise in this House once again the issue of the low

minimum wage in this Province and the difficulty that people have who are trying

to live on minimum wage, taking into consideration that a lot of people who are

earning minimum wage do not even work full-time; they are in part-time

positions.

In this Province, Mr. Speaker, 20.4 per cent of minimum

wage earners are women. So, women

are heavily impacted by the low minimum wage.

Youth from ages fifteen to twenty-four make up 31.1 per cent of minimum

wage earners. So, together, these

groups make up 51.5 per cent of minimum wage earners.

This is really tragic, Mr. Speaker; one, because youth

are trying to get themselves established in life and are trying to make it on

this minimum wage as they try to move forward.

In the case of women, many of these women are single parents who are

trying to take care of families. So,

we have a pretty awful situation for these people.

There are more workers over the age of thirty-five

making minimum wage in Newfoundland and Labrador than anywhere in Canada.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for The Straits White Bay North.

MR.

MITCHELMORE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We, the citizens, serviced by Curtis Hospital located

in St. Anthony, Newfoundland and Labrador, petition the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador and Labrador-Grenfell Health to retain the midwives

and allow them to continue to perform all of their duties at Curtis Hospital.

Our midwives offer services that cannot be duplicated

and which cannot be replaced. The

level of care they offer and the knowledge and training they have in the area of

obstetrics is immense. It will be a

great disservice to the people of the area if our midwives are no longer

available to care for the people here.

Privatizing midwifery or waiting five to seven years for regulation, as

stated by government, is unacceptable.

We have an operational model of midwifery here in St. Anthony that has

been delivering outstanding care for over ninety years.

We urge the House of Assembly to implore the Government

of Newfoundland and Labrador and Labrador-Grenfell Health to preserve our

midwifery services at Curtis Hospital.

Mr. Speaker, it is certainly something that government

has been failing the people of the Great Northern Peninsula, Southern Labrador,

and even the Lower North Shore of Quebec that has been serviced by midwifery

care for quite some time.

If we look at the level of care that has been offered

through midwifery for families at the post and pre-natal care level, as well as

delivery, if we look at the number of babies that have been delivered by

midwives I myself have been delivered by a midwife, and there has been over

3,000 people that joined a Facebook group in advocacy: A Midwife Helped Me Out.

It is important to acknowledge the cost savings that will happen in

health care by having a publicly-funded model of midwifery care versus having to

call in a doctor or an obstetrician that would be taking in when we look at

the number of pregnancies and deliveries they are very low risk; they do not

require that level of physician care.

So, this is something that government has the health

care act, they acknowledge midwifery, but they have not done the regulation, and

it is completely shameful and unacceptable to the people of the Great Northern

Peninsula, Southern Labrador, and the Lower North Shore of Quebec that we do not

have and will not see midwifery in a publicly-funded setting for five to seven

years, as the former Minister of Health has said, and that the focus is on

privatized midwifery care.

I am not opposed to the privatization service that

would be offered in larger urban centres, but in very rural areas it is just not

practical. We had a model that

worked Labrador-Grenfell Health, and under the Grenfell model it worked

extremely well, and it should be something that government takes great pride in

restoring. I implore and ask the

Minister of Health and Community Services to make this a top priority.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Cartwright L'Anse au Clair.

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 Route 510 from L'Anse au Clair to Red Bay is in

deplorable condition and requires immediate upgrading; and

WHEREAS the condition of the highway is causing undue

damage to vehicles using the highway, and has now become a safety hazard for the

travelling public; and

WHEREAS both residential and commercial traffic have

increased dramatically with the opening of the Trans-Labrador Highway and

increased development in Labrador; and

WHEREAS cold patching is no longer adequate as a means

of repair;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge the Government of Newfoundland

and Labrador to immediately allocate resources to Route 510 from L'Anse au Clair

to Red Bay that allows for permanent resurfacing of the highway.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, I have been up many times petitioning for

the resurfacing of Route 510 from L'Anse au Clair to Red Bay.

Since I began the petitioning, we have once again seen the cold patch

come out and many of the holes have been filled.

It did lesson the emergency situation that was there.

It was absolutely atrocious I know, because I am driving on it every

single weekend myself when I am back in the district.

I was just amazed and thankful that nobody was killed on that road this

spring, although we did have four accidents in a span of about a

week-and-a-half. We were fortunate.

Mr. Speaker, pulling out the cold patch and every

spring doing that on a stretch of highway where the pavement is thirty-five

years old activity is ramping up very, very much in all of Labrador and much

of the traffic is coming that way.

There is a very heavy flow of traffic every single day on the road, heavy, heavy

equipment and what was left of the pavement is just getting a tremendous

beating.

It is wonderful that we have had the pavement announced

from Red Bay to Goose Bay. Hopefully

that is going to come in an expedient manner.

I know another tender has closed today, Mr. Speaker.

We will be anxious to have that awarded.

Here is a stretch, Mr. Speaker.

We are coming into the tourism season.

People are going to be coming and towing their motor homes and things.

There are people travelling every single day on that stretch.

We have our medical facilities situated in Forteau.

People are driving from Red Bay and Pinware, and people from Southeast

Labrador are driving up. It is a

very, very dangerous piece of road right now.

You are just throwing good money away after bad when you constantly have

to redo and fill it in. It is a

temporary fix.

When we talk about the millions and the billions in

this Province, I would love to know where the priorities are.

Yes, we have a lot of roadwork that is needed in the Province.

I think if you look at priorities, pavement that is heading up to four

decades old in a very, very busy area right now certainly needs to be revisited,

Mr. Speaker. I will continue to be

on my feet with this petition.

Thank you.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

MR.

MURPHY:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the

undersigned residents humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS consumers and businesses in Newfoundland and

Labrador pay some of the highest automobile insurance rates in the country; and

WHEREAS part of the recent increases in automobile

insurance is due to uninsured automobile coverage, which could increase by 329.3

per cent in 2014 for taxis and limousines insured by the Facility Association;

and

WHEREAS consumers may see an increase in taxi fares and

limousine rates as a result; and

WHEREAS consumers insured by the Facility Association

could see their own auto insurance rates increase partly due to uninsured

drivers;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge government to establish a

procedure for insurance companies to co-ordinate with police, highway

enforcement officers, and the Motor Registration Division to remove unlicensed

and uninsured vehicles from our Province's highways.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, it has been a number of times that I have

risen and spoken in the House on this particular issue.

I want to thank particularly the taxi industry out there for asking me to

present this petition on their behalf.

Today it is probably about the largest of the bunch so far, about fifteen

pages of names and addresses here.

Mr. Speaker, the taxi industry is on the threat of

paying probably the highest insurance cost in this Province.

Let me just give you an example of the proposal that has gone through the

Public Utilities Board right now.

For taxis and limousines, effective August 1, 2014, if the next round of

increases come into effect, the third-party liability insurance, for example, is

going to be going up by 50 per cent, an extra $1,400; accident benefits, 294.3

per cent, an extra $235 on top of their insurance bills right now; an uninsured

automobile right now by 329.3 per cent.

It does not look like a big dollar amount but the huge increase of 329

per cent puts it in perspective of what we are dealing with out there in the

market, and what we are dealing with out there every day on the roads.

Mr. Speaker, all I can say to this is that if

government does not want to address this, then there is one other option and

that is going to be a public insurance type system in this Province that I am

pretty sure that government, and a bunch of their supporters, are not going to

want to see.

We see accident benefits, Mr. Speaker, gone up in

third-party liability. One of the

cures, the last time we dealt with these problems back in 2005

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR.

MURPHY:

was to boost the deductible. That is

no longer acceptable because the amount of dollar claims, for example, went up

as a result of that just to account for the deductibles.

The only people who benefited were the people who were handling the

claims at the same time.

We have the chance here of consumers now who are going

to be lumped in under the Facility Association, who are going to be seeing these

massive increases, too, coming down the road.

It is coming at them like a freight train because, of course, the higher

the insurance rates that go on, the more the government is going to have to deal

with the problem.

Thank you.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon. the Member for St. Barbe.

MR.

J. BENNETT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

A 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 there is no cellphone service in the Town of

Trout River, which in an enclave community in Gros Morne National Park; and

WHEREAS visitors to Gros Morne National Park, more than

100,000 annually, expect to communicate by cellphone when they visit the park;

and

WHEREAS cellphone service has become a very important

aspect of everyday living for residents; and

WHEREAS cellphone service is an essential safety tool

for visitors and residents; and

WHEREAS cellphone service is essential for business

development;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge government to partner with the

private sector to extend cellphone coverage throughout Gros Morne National Park

and the enclave community of Trout River.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, Trout River has definitely been in the

news in the last month to month-and-a-half or so on account of the massive blue

whale having come there. Trout River

has now had international news, international attention, and international

focus. Mr. Speaker, the blue whale

is now gone. The blue whale in Rocky

Harbour is gone. Both are off to the

ROM, and one hopefully coming back to MUN, but cellphone service is still

missing. We have gone through a

whole cycle of blue whales, exploding blue whales, the whole world watching

Trout River, and Trout River pleading and begging for cellphone coverage, for

the government just to work with the private sector to see what sort of a

proposal could come forward.

Clearly, I offered to the minister some time ago that I

would absolutely be keen to put together a group to make a proposal, if

government would only endorse that we want to do this sort of proposal.

Mr. Speaker, this is just a simple request by people from Trout River to

ask if government will work with the private sector, as they worked with the

private sector in many communities for many needed and good faith ventures, to

work with the people of Trout River for cellphone coverage.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am happy to be able to stand and enter this petition.

The petition of the undersigned residents

humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS hundreds of residents of the South Coast of the

Province of Newfoundland and Labrador including residents of the communities of

Burgeo, Ramea, Grey River, and Franois use Route 480 on a regular basis for

work, medical, education, and social reasons; and

WHEREAS there is no cellphone coverage on Route 480;

and

WHEREAS residents and users of Route 480 require

cellphone coverage to ensure their safety and communication abilities; and

WHEREAS the Department of IBRD recently announced

funding to improve broadband services in rural Newfoundland and Labrador; and

WHEREAS the residents and users of Route 480 feel that

the Department of IBRD should also invest in cellphone coverage for rural

Newfoundland and Labrador;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

pray and call upon the House to support the users of Route 480 in their request

to obtain cellphone coverage along Route 480.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, this is obviously something I have

presented on numerous occasions here in this House, and I will continue to do

so. I have no choice because

government refuses to live up to their promise that they made.

It is funny because sometimes we, as MHAs, get offers to speak to school

kids and to people in high schools.

One of the things that I have done and it is not just Route 480; it is also

Route 470. I have two routes in my

district that have not gotten service.

I have actually gone to the high schools and talked to

the kids about this. That is one of

the things that again I get asked every single time, they say: Why don't we have

it? Wasn't it promised?

How does that work? They do

not understand really how it works.

I explain: Well, it was a promise, but sometimes government does not live up to

their promises; maybe they are just platforms.

The bigger problem that I have beyond that is that I

have asked for a number of years now, very simply: What areas of the Province do

not have it? I understand the

private aspect to it. I get that,

but every time you ask a question you get shouted at and told: Well, you just do

not understand it. I get that part.

My question is: What is government doing to work on this with private

partnerships to see if we can address this very necessary issue?

I have even asked: What areas of the Province are not

covered? I still do not get

anything. Lately, government has

sort of gone down to the final point of saying: What would you do?

We are going to have to work on this.

We have asked simple questions and until we get this basic information,

it is hard to address it. It is an

essential service.

I hope the members on the other side who have the same

issue would address it as well because it affects all of us.

I look forward to continuing to enter these with the hopes of actually

getting something done and making government live up to a promise.

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.

Mr. Speaker, I move Motion 7 from the Order Paper,

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

Tuesday, June 3, 2014.

MR.

SPEAKER:

has been moved and seconded that this House do not adjourn at 5:30 p.m. on

Tuesday, June 3, 2014.

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR.

SPEAKER:

All

those against, nay'.

Motion carried.

The hon. the Government House Leader.

MR.

KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, I move Motion 8, pursuant to Standing Order 11,

that the House not adjourn this evening at 10:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 3, 2014.

MR.

SPEAKER:

has been moved and seconded that this House do not adjourn at 10:00 p.m. on

Tuesday, June 3, 2014.

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR.

SPEAKER:

All

those against, nay'.

Motion carried.

The hon. the Government House Leader.

MR.

KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I call from the Order Paper, Order 1, third reading of

a bill.

I move, seconded by the Minister of Natural Resources,

that

An Act To Amend The Income Tax Act, 2000, Bill 13, be now read the third

time.

MR.

SPEAKER:

has been moved and seconded that the bill be now read a third time.

Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion

that Bill 13 be read a third time?

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR.

SPEAKER:

All

those against, nay'.

Motion carried.

CLERK:

bill,

An Act To Amend The Income Tax Act, 2000.

(Bill 13)

MR.

SPEAKER:

This bill is now read a third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and

its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill,

An Act To Amend The Income Tax Act,

2000, read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper.

(Bill 13)

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR.

KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This time I call from the Order Paper, Order 2.

I move, seconded by the Member for Lewisporte, that An

Act To Amend The Dispensing Opticians Act, 2005, Bill 19, be read the third

time.

MR.

SPEAKER:

is moved and seconded that the bill be now read a third time.

Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion

that Bill 19 be read a third time?

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR.

SPEAKER:

All

those against, nay'.

Motion carried.

CLERK:

bill,

An Act To Amend The Dispensing Opticians Act, 2005.

(Bill 19)

MR.

SPEAKER:

This bill is now read a third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and

its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill,

An Act To Amend The Dispensing

Opticians Act, 2005, read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on

the Order Paper. (Bill 19)

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I now

move to Order 3. I move, seconded by

the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board, that

an Act to Amend

The Income Tax Act, 2000 No. 2, Bill 20, be now read the third time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that

the bill be now read a third time.

Is it

the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 20 be read a third time?

All

those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, nay'.

Motion

carried.

CLERK:

A bill, Act to Amend The Income Tax Act, 2000 No. 2.

(Bill 20)

MR. SPEAKER:

This bill has been now read a

third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and its title be as on the

Order Paper.

motion, a bill, Act to Amend The Income Tax Act, 2000 No. 2, read a third

time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper.

(Bill 20)

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

At this

time I call from the Order Paper, Motion 1.

I move that this House approves in general the budgetary policy of the

government, the Budget Speech.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER MARSHALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am

certainly delighted to have the opportunity to say a few words on this year's

Budget debate.

I have

had the opportunity to be here for, I think, eleven Budgets and I have had the

privilege now to deliver five of them.

Four of them were surpluses, I might add.

This is my first, and I guess the only opportunity I will have to speak

on the Budget in the capacity as Premier.

Having

served as Finance Minister for so many years, I am intimately aware of the

extensive work that is required to go into preparing a budget.

I think maybe a lot of people who may be watching, and maybe even some

members do not recognize how much work actually goes into preparing this Budget.

Most people never get to see the work that is done behind the scenes.

It is a lengthy process. It

draws together literally dozens upon dozens of officials of the Department of

Finance and in every department and agency in government.

It is not just the Department of Finance.

Not only

do they work with a vast array of data and dollar figures, but they also have to

explore the implications of each and every choice we weigh as we try to arrive

at the document that you see before you.

I can tell you there is a lot of argument that goes into that.

Some people say sometimes there is even blood on the floor in the

difference of opinions as to which proposals, which initiatives we are going to

fund. Because in many cases there

are a lot of initiatives, a lot of proposals that we wish we could fund but we

just simply cannot because as high as our revenues are you cannot do everything.

I think

that is why they call economics the dismal science.

You have unlimited wants and needs but you only have a fixed amount of

resources. Therefore, we are left

with that famous question; you have to make a decision as to how, what and for

whom those resources we do have get allocated.

As I

said in the House yesterday, there is a arising amount of discussion and public

debate in the world about inequality and about ensuring that given the fact

that after the Second World War there was great economic growth and the economic

growth seemed to get distributed equally amongst all people; but lately, since

the 1980s, growth has not been that strong.

It seems the upper 1 per cent or the wealthier people are taking more and

more of that economic growth and, therefore, less of it is available for the

middle class which is shrinking and less is available for lower income

people.

We have

been very fortunate here. We have

been very fortunate in this Province that we have been blessed to have these

resources, the oil, the gas, the hydro to make electricity, the wind.

We are sitting here with all of these resources, most of which have not

even been developed yet. We are

sitting next to the biggest market.

The biggest market in the world is going to be demanding; the biggest energy

market is going to be demanding those resources.

I think that augurs very well for the future of this place and the future

of our children and grandchildren.

It is wonderful, wonderful news.

As each

Budget Day approaches, the parking lots out here are full and the lights are

burning into the wee hours as our officials work to produce a budget that will

stand up to the scrutiny of the Comptroller General, which is the government's

chief accountant, the Auditor General, who is an independent officer of this

House not the government but this House of Assembly the banks and the bond

rating agencies, and, of course, the Opposition parties, the news media and

organizations, and citizens throughout the whole Province.

Our public employees work tirelessly to produce their very best work and

that attention to detail gives us confidence as we defend the Budget.

Let me

start today by giving my thanks and congratulating our very competent Finance

Minister and her officials.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER MARSHALL:

The officials and our

colleagues throughout the entire government for everything they have done and

everything they continue to do on behalf of the people of our Province to enable

us to manage public spending in this Province responsibly and accountably.

I also

want to acknowledge the work of the Opposition.

The Opposition caucuses, the Official Opposition and the NDP, because

they too have an important role to play in this annual Budget process, which we

do every year. Parliamentary

democracy is grounded on a principle, and is grounded on the principle that

effective opposition serves the public good.

The work that we as a government do must pass through the fire and be

tested, and when our choices are challenged they must bear up to the scrutiny,

and if better options emerge, then we can adjust course.

If the

choices we have made prove to be the best options, the better options, and I

believe this year they have been, then we can proceed with confidence, secure in

the knowledge that all of us, as the people's representatives, have done our

part to serve the public good. Let's

never forget that scrutiny is very valuable, and let us never fear scrutiny

not because we are perfect, because we are not, we are human.

That means we are all prone to make mistakes from time to time.

No one likes to have their errors held up for public display, but in

conducting the business of the people, scrutiny is essential.

More

important than protecting our dignity is the importance of getting it right.

That is why we welcome scrutiny, own up to mistakes when they happen, and

take corrective action where appropriate to yield a better product.

That is good governance in action.

Scrutiny keeps us on our toes.

It probably keeps some mistakes from happening in the first place, and

that is a good thing.

In the

Estimates committee, and in this Chamber, just as in the Cabinet room, and in

our respective offices, we have all been examining this year's Budget with the

finest of fine-tooth combs. That is

why I have even more confidence now in this year's Budget than when it was first

delivered, because it has endured the scrutiny of those most motivated to find

flaws and it has stood the test.

Every

dollar is important, and let's never lose sight of why scrutiny is so important.

Every dollar we budget is a dollar we have been entrusted to manage by

the people of the Province, the people who placed us here, and we owe them our

full attention. We owe them our full

attention to detail and to our very best judgement.

Every

dollar we spend from the public Treasury is the people's money, it is their

children's money, and that fact should weigh heavily on our hearts, no matter

what our respective roles may be. We

serve the people of the Province, let us never forget that.

In a democracy such as ours, the power resides with the people and our

overriding obligation is to serve their best interest.

That is why we are here.

That is

why it is so important we abide by the highest standards of fiscal management,

but it is also why we need to abide by the highest standards of long-term

strategic planning. As we dig down

into the numbers, we cannot lose sight of the bigger picture.

Our government remains focused to make Newfoundland and Labrador even

stronger, ready to seize opportunities that are all around us, ready to lead

both nationally and ready to lead internationally as well.

Now, over the years we have been fortunate to have seen

many surpluses. In the last ten

years, I think we have had six surpluses.

I was lucky enough to be able to present four surpluses in the five

Budgets I delivered; but, at the same time, we were able to intensify our

investments, through the strength, through the fundamentals of our economy, and

spread the wealth, distribute the wealth around to the people who need it.

Isn't that why we are in government?

Isn't that why we want to see the economy grow?

I think all of us, regardless of what political party we represent, we

want to grow the pie so that we can distribute wealth to people who need it, to

vulnerable people.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER MARSHALL:

Mr.

Speaker, that is why I entered public life, that is why I am here, and I think

that is why most of you are here as well.

This year, unfortunately, circumstances have changed

somewhat, but we understand why they have changed and why the change is only

temporary. That is why we are

confident that we have made the right choice this year to respond accordingly.

Instead of abandoning the successful course we are on, we are not going

to operate year to year. We have a

plan. We have a ten-year strategic

plan in place and when times toughen a bit, we are not going to slash and burn.

I have used that expression before and I know the communications people

hate it when I say that, but we are going to take a ten-year plan.

We know where we have to get to, and we can do a little bit at a time,

but we have to make sure we do not hurt people in the process.

It is a 10-Year Sustainability Plan.

We understand this year's borrowing is the means of maintaining our

momentum, retaining our strength, but we will return to surplus in 2015 and the

year after. We are going to be

stronger for making the choice than we would have been if we had simply

panicked.

We recognize that the trajectory our Province has

taking is from record debt towards fiscal sustainability.

We are going from weakness to strength, from decline to growth, from

poverty to prosperity. You have seen

the graphs in the Budget and you have seen the graphs in the Economy documents,

and the trends are unmistakable. The

Province's circumstances are improving steadily, and the people are better off

now than when we started because of the choices that we have made.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER MARSHALL:

let's remain focused on the prize, which is long-term sustainability.

Mr. Speaker, on January 24, I was sworn in as Premier

of this Province, much to my surprise; indeed, much to my shock.

There was not a heck of a lot of time for me to think about what I would

do if I ever became Premier. I was

Premier before I knew it, but I made several commitments when I was sworn in.

I said that the important work of government would

proceed unabated, and it has. I said

we would continue to govern responsibly, and we have.

I said we would continue to fulfill the mandate that we were given by the

people of the Province in the 2011 general election to foster growth, to

strengthen communities, and to meet the needs of Newfoundland and Labrador

people and our families, and so we have.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER MARSHALL:

said at the time that the motto of my time in office would be words in

Deuteronomy that the prophet Moses used to try to set the highest standard for

all those who would serve in public office.

What he said was, Justice, justice shall you pursue.

Justice is not criminal justice in this sense.

Justice means that all people of the Province, all Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians should share fully and fairly in the benefits of our new-found

prosperity. They should have a voice

in the way that prosperity is distributed.

Justice means intensifying our fight against poverty, against inequality,

and never forgetting the needs of those who are elderly, those who have

disabilities, those who are infirmed, and those who live on fixed and low

incomes.

Fundamental justice demands that we govern not just

with our head, but with our heart and with our conscience.

We must listen. We must plan.

We have to do the right thing.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER MARSHALL:

the weeks following my swearing-in, my colleagues and I worked together

developing a Budget plan that would reflect those principles through practical

choices with tangible benefits for the people of the Province.

What choices did we make and are they defensible?

We have been criticized for the choices we have made.

After all the scrutiny, I feel more strongly than ever that the choices

are the right ones. I want to recap

some of those, and I know that my colleagues have raised these in the House.

I do not think people are going to say that these were bad choices.

We extended the freeze in tuition at Memorial and the

College of the North Atlantic. We

announced the elimination of provincial student loans and the replacement with

up-front grants that graduates never have to repay.

Isn't that wonderful?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER MARSHALL:

When we talk about inequality, the first way to get people out of poverty is to

make sure they are educated. If you

are educated, if you have early child care, if you have early learning, if you

have things like all-day Kindergarten, and if you can go to university or to

trade school and get the skills you need and get the education you need to

survive and to prosper in a complex but vibrant economy, that is the way

everybody no matter what family you come from, everybody has the opportunity

and everybody has the chance to do well.

We invested $40 million to train and advance

apprentices in high demand skilled trades so they can get the many jobs that are

opening up. We put $170 million in

initiatives under our Poverty Reduction Strategy.

We have invested a billion dollars in poverty reduction.

Isn't that wonderful?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER MARSHALL:

Minister Shea retired yesterday and she spearheaded that.

I remember very well when that came in and it was a strategy we said we

were going to take this Province from a province having one of the highest

poverty rates or the highest poverty rate of the country to a province that had

one of the lowest rates. Ten years

later, we have the second lowest rate.

That is wonderful. That is

awesome.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER MARSHALL:

all the things, Mr. Speaker, that we have done here in the last ten years, that

is the one that means the most to me and, I would suggest, to most of you as

well.

I believe in a wise investment of public money to help

our most vulnerable citizens to escape the grips of poverty, and I think

everyone in this House agrees.

Although fewer people now than ever before are on Income Support, some of the

Province still continued to need this assistance so we did the right thing by

raising the basic rate. We also

raised the low income tax reduction threshold, taking more low-income families

completely off the provincial tax rolls, completely off the burden we are

removing the burden of personal income tax.

The Senior's Benefit, low-income seniors I do not

know how many times we increased this, but we made this program five times more

in value than it was ten years ago, helping seniors.

help improve the lives of people with disabilities.

We expanded the Home Modification Program to provide greater reliance

among persons with disabilities and seniors who live at home, enabling them to

remain in their homes and not have to be moved to institutions.

We extended the Residential Energy Efficiency Program

to lower homeowners' energy costs.

We expanded the Rent Supplement Program and the Supportive Living Program.

We invested in new affordable housing and the Provincial Home Repair

Program, and we invested more funding to help fight homelessness, so that we

have a budget each year now that is over $5 million to help combat homelessness

in Newfoundland and Labrador.

We are starting to work on a new prison.

We are trying to get the feds to join with us on that.

Many Justice Ministers have tried and were not successful, but now it is

time and we are going to do the job alone because, obviously, that facility is

needed.

Police officers: After the Lamer Inquiry, we invested

very heavily in police officers this year, new police officers for the growing

and booming Labrador, and expanding Memorial's Police Studies program to train

more officers for the RNC.

We are investing in police services aimed at preventing

intimate partner violence, and I tried to get to that during Question Period and

I did not have the opportunity to do so.

This is another arrow in the quiver, in the

fight against family

violence.

It is

not a panacea, it is not a cure, but it will certainly help.

It is money for additional police officers in both forces to go around

the Province and train our police forces throughout the whole Province not in

one area but throughout the whole Province to help them recognize women and

families who are at high risk to having violence perpetrated against them.

It is a preventive measure.

It is not intended to replace the Family Violence Intervention Court.

It is another tool, along with the Family Violence Protection Act, and

along with the court. More tools to

help deal with this very complex and very serious issue.

We are

launching part two of the Violence Prevention Initiative this year to build on

the many initiatives that were taken out under Phase I.

We are bringing social workers into the communities that need them.

We are investing finally in providing a new courthouse in the Provincial

Court in Stephenville. Stephenville

is one of the busiest courts in Newfoundland and Labrador and the courthouse

that is there is long past its life.

It is totally inappropriate for a courthouse for that town.

I was very pleased that we have taken the decision to start with the

planning and build that courthouse.

We are

investing in training and support for foster families, in early childhood

learning. We are moving to full-day

Kindergarten. We are investing to

retain teachers in the K-12 and maintain the best pupil-teacher ratio of any

province in the country. We are

increasing student assistant support for students with identified need.

There is $128 million in K-12 infrastructure.

We are expanding access to assessment and treatment for children with

autism and other development conditions.

health, we are expanding the home dialysis program.

The Medical Transportation Assistance Program is being enhanced now I

think for the third time. We are

extending coverage under the Prescription Drug Program.

We are increasing the allowable benefit for basic adult dental services.

There are new drug therapies for cancer, a second methadone maintenance

treatment team to help people battle addictions, and invest in programs to help

people quit smoking.

We are

growing the Home Support Program. We

are increasing personal care home and community care home subsidies.

We are expanding the Basic 911 service Province-wide.

We are investing in new and expanded health care infrastructure.

We are moving to replace Western Memorial Regional Hospital in Corner

Brook and offering new services in that hospital.

Mr.

Speaker, there has been a Cabinet shuffle.

Some Cabinet ministers have been in positions for a long period of time.

It is always a good thing to shuffle Cabinet and let the ministers take

on additional responsibilities or new responsibility.

I want

to take this moment to pay tribute to the Minister of Innovation, who was

formally the Minister of Health. She

is one of the most conscientious and diligent ministers that this Province has

ever known.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER MARSHALL:

She is capable of running any

department in government, including the one I run.

She has spearheaded initiatives in the Department of Health that have

made the health care system better for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER MARSHALL:

Under her watch we have

become a Canadian leader in wait times for cataract surgeries, hip and knee

replacement surgeries, certain cardiac procedures, and radiation therapy.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER MARSHALL:

Under her leadership we have

improved ER wait times. We have

introduced a generic drugs policy, which saves Newfoundlanders and Labradorians

their hard-earned money, helps seniors have lower drug costs, built long-term

care facilities across the Province, introduced the Province's first long-term

care strategy and, as I said, expanded the medical care transportation program

which is one that is important to me I think three times.

She has

been a tireless advocate around the Cabinet table for dialysis, cancer care,

diabetes care, and a host of other health and wellness issues affecting the

people of the Province. She has

served the people of Newfoundland extremely well and they are lucky to have her.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER MARSHALL:

As I finish up with health, I

can say that after all the scrutiny, Mr. Speaker, I still believe that these are

good choices, they are sound choices, and they are the right choices for

Newfoundland and Labrador.

Shared

Prosperity, I mentioned some of the initiatives.

What about the initiatives to share our prosperity and spread the wealth

around so that all regions will reap the benefits of growth, diversify, and come

into their own?

brought forward major initiatives this year, and I am sure members have raised

these: $81 million in provincial roads, highways and bridges; financing on

ferries, marine terminals and wharves.

We invested in brush cutting to make our highways safer; hundreds of

millions of dollars invested in our municipalities, and announcements are going

to be made this summer. The largest

investment ever in our volunteer firefighters throughout Newfoundland and

Labrador will be made this year.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER MARSHALL:

Mr. Speaker, these people are

not paid. These people are

volunteers who every day are on call to serve their community, and protect their

homes and protect their families. I

am delighted we can make this investment in order to show our appreciation for

what they do every day.

We have

talked about just about $5 million has gone into high-speed Internet; $4.9

million. We have already invested

$29 million, that has leveraged $115 million, and 95 per cent of houses in the

Province now have access to broadband.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER MARSHALL:

We have streamlined programs

that provide direct investment in business and regional development, and proving

their productivity, giving them a competitive edge because these are the keys to

their success and continuing prosperity.

We are

teaming up with the Atlantic Provinces to invest in a Build Ventures fund.

We are establishing our own seed capital fund, Venture Newfoundland and

Labrador Fund, because we are going to provide the start-up funds that new

companies, new businesses who have done their research and development in the

information industry so that they can take their ideas, develop new products and

new services that can create new business and provide opportunity and wealth and

jobs for the people of the Province.

growing industries in the ocean technology, Arctic technology and, as I

mentioned, the knowledge based sector.

In the Arctic, that is going to be the great frontier.

I was at the Houston offshore oil show, and we announced there that St.

John's, Newfoundland has been awarded the Arctic Technology Conference for 2016,

beating out Moscow. That is great

news.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER MARSHALL:

We reduced our small business

corporate income tax rate to 3 per cent, the lowest in Atlantic Canada.

About 6,000 small businesses are expected to benefit.

We all know about CETA that is going to breathe new life and new

opportunities into our fishing industry.

I am

going to go up in a few minutes and talk to the Italian Consulate-General and we

are going to talk about CETA. We are

going to talk about fish entering that market and what that is going to do for

the fishing industry here.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER MARSHALL:

We have helped negotiate

that. We have been criticized for

this by some but the fisheries union representing fisheries workers and the fish

processors agree with us, that this is a good news story and a wide open door of

opportunity.

We are

investing in fishery science. We are

investing in fisheries research and development, in marketing, in capacity

building, so we will be ready for the opportunities once they emerge; $5 million

is going into the aquaculture capital equity investment program; $25 million in

public investment; and aquaculture has leveraged $400 million from the private

sector and has rejuvenated entire regions of the Province; $12 million is going

to grow and diversify our agriculture and agrifoods industry.

I cannot say enough how exciting the agriculture and agrifoods industry

and I want to encourage youth in this Province to take a look.

I want them to look at it very seriously because there are some very

exciting opportunities in that sector that young people should take a look at,

and I think they will be very interested if they do.

forestry, we know the problems the forestry industry is facing.

We know there is 5,500 Newfoundlanders and Labradorians involved in that

industry and we know they are all interconnected.

So, we know the importance of the mill because it was not an investment

just of the mill; it was an investment to the entire industry.

Tourism

marketing: We have all talked about the ads.

We are also investing to drive new oil exploration.

The geoscience had to come first.

Because with the geoscience, after the geoscience, more people come in,

they are interested and then they start exploring and drilling.

In the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico 3,000 or 4,000 wells have been

drilled. Offshore Newfoundland and

Labrador, guess how many? A little

over 200. There is a connection

between geoscience and when the oil comes out the other end.

You start with a geoscience.

We also

are changing our land tenure licensing in order to encourage additional

companies, because we are seeing a lot of the same companies applying each year.

We are happy with that, we are glad they are there, but we would like to

see some more come. We are doing two

or three wells a year, we want to see that up to six or seven, and then we would

like to see it to ten or twelve.

course, as everyone knows, we are investing to develop our hydro power

potential, giving the people the cleanest power at the lowest and the fairest

rates, meeting the demands that the people of this Province are going to have

here on the Island and in Labrador; but, generating profits, because we are

going to have a surplus, we are going to have more than we need.

Now, for the first time in our history, we are going to be able to take

that surplus to market without going through the Province of Quebec, and seizing

those opportunities and generating revenues that will come back to the people of

the Province to be used as government sees fit, to either lower hydro rates or

invest in new hydro projects, or invest in general revenues, health care,

education, family violence protection, housing, and the list goes on and on.

The

choices we have made are good ones, they follow on years of good choices, and we

are reaping benefits that demonstrate their effectiveness.

How do we measure how well the Province is doing after a decade of

governance? We are light years ahead

of where we were a decade ago. Our

public debt is billions of dollars less than when we took office.

Most of the remaining debt is due to the unfunded liabilities in the

various public sector pension plans.

Addressing these liabilities in co-operation and collaboration with our public

sector unions is a priority for this government, and I know the Finance Minister

is working on that. Consistently, we

have made this clear, and we remain committed to finding a solution that will

put these pension plans on a sound and sustainable basis.

So, what

do the bond rating agencies say about us?

What do they say we are doing?

I know the Leader of the Opposition and I, we get up and we have two

different views. I look at the

positive; he looks at the negative.

So what do the experts say?

Moody's,

Standard & Poor's, Dominion Bond Rating Service all place us higher than we have

ever been rated before.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER MARSHALL:

Dominion Bond Rating Service

in December acknowledged our 10-Year Sustainability Plan illustrates the

Province's willingness to tackle its pressing challenges and committing to

fiscal soundness. The Conference

Board of Canada: On May 15, the Conference Board of Canada issued its economic

report card for the provinces. Using

hard data, they ranked Newfoundland and Labrador alongside Alberta and

Saskatchewan as the top performers of all provinces the top.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER MARSHALL:

They gave us an A +

rating, so we are not only ahead of Ontario; we are ahead of Quebec, BC,

Manitoba, and the Maritimes. We are

also ahead of Canada, its national performance, and ahead of twenty-si