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Newfoundland and Labrador — Debates (Hansard)

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Province of Newfoundland and Labrador

50th General Assembly - 2nd Session - 2022-2025

Speaker Index

Debates of the House of Assembly (Hansard)

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ABBOTT, HON. JOHN (L) (ST. JOHN'S EAST - QUIDI VIDI)

All-Party Committees

All-Party Committee on Basic Income

Comments on, 1706

Answers to Questions For Which Notice Has Been Given

Children, Seniors and Social Development

Answers to two questions regarding income thresholds of social programs, 2243

Transportation and Infrastructure

Bridges—Schedule for replacing the Canning Bridge, 2831

Budget 2023

Motion to approve budgetary policy

Non-confidence motion

Sub-amendment

Debate, 1677–1678 , 1703–1706

Budget 2024

Motion to approve budgetary policy

Estimates

Resource Committee

Concurrence motion, 4410–4415

Committee, 3082–3084 , 3091–3092

Canadian Armed Forces

5 Wing Goose Bay

Debate, 5254–5255

Children, Seniors and Social Development

Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given

Answers to two questions regarding income thresholds of social programs, 2243

Budget 2023

Departmental initiatives, 1704–1706

Income support

How much more indignity and trauma must my constituent suffer before either the Dept. of Housing or Dept. of Children, Seniors and Social Development and city officials work together to secure accessible housing for her, 5759

What supports will be put in place so that my constituent can be reunited with her granddaughter and be able to care for her and herself, 5759

Why is government not being proactive with career counselling and job support to help give young people a start in life, 1601

Why is Minister satisfied to write cheques versus job offers, 1601

National Seniors' Month

Recognition of, 7422

Prenatal Infant Nutrition Supplement

Does Minister agree that $25,726 net family income is a reasonable threshold for the program, with the cost of living soaring, 1687

Why is Minister allowing pregnant mothers and families to go without help, 1687

Will Minister provide a firm timeline as to when the appropriate funds will be put into those families that need resources as soon as possible, 1688

Tabled documents

Report on Child Welfare Services to Indigenous Children, Youth and Families 2020-21—Tabled, 2296

Cost of living

Can Minister responsible for food security advise how much food prices will increase because of the fuel increase, 899

Has a home been found for the St. Vincent de Paul food bank formerly located at Corpus Christi, 2084

How many more children have had to experience poverty because government dismantled the poverty reduction program, 192

How much higher will Liberals' decisions push Mary's grocery bill, 1967

How will Minister responsible for poverty reduction prevent those who are food insecure from the greater likelihood of turning up in an emergency department, 842–843

Is Minister concerned that health outcomes will get worse with the high cost of food, 843

Seniors

Does Minister realize that by ignoring the rising cost of food, the Liberals are putting the health of our seniors at risk, 844

How does Minister Responsible for Seniors suggest constituent pay $2,000 to fill her oil tank, 783

What does Minister responsible for poverty reduction tell seniors who are compromising their health because they're forced to choose between food and medication, 513

What does Minister say to senior on a fixed income who will have pay almost $10,000 just to stay warm this winter, 844

Single parents

What can single mother do who asked how she can put a turkey on the table at Christmas, 651

What does Minister have to say to single parents on income support going hungry so that their children can eat, 99

Urging government to order a complete review of all taxes and fees, cutting or adjusting those that are hurting people; lead the charge to end the carbon tax for good; eliminate the sugar tax; continue the provincial gas tax relief, order a complete review of the Income Support Program and an evaluation of all programs and services intended to support vulnerable populations to ensure they deliver; index the Seniors' Benefit programs to inflation; and deliver a new poverty reduction strategy

Debate, 3348–3350

What are seniors and children in communities without food banks supposed to do, 1968

What does Minister say to those who have to choose between food and fuel, 191

What is Minister responsible for poverty reduction doing to prevent the high cost of food and home heating from making our health care crisis worse, 842

When are Liberals going to help people who can no longer afford to feed their families, 191

Why is government refusing to reinstate the Poverty Reduction Strategy that they cancelled, 1600

Will Minister admit government's lack of a poverty reduction strategy has left a generation of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians behind, 1600

Will Minister step in to ensure that every community in the province has access to a food bank, 2085

With Christmas season approaching and the demand for hampers surging, what is the Minister going to do to make sure that people have food on their table at Christmas, 651

Education

Schools

Urging government to see need for a high school in Paradise and plan a course of action, 5070

Finance

Carbon tax

Does Minister believe seniors and those facing poverty can afford a tripling of the carbon tax, 514

Gasoline tax

Comments on, 4414

Home heating

House to support removal of the provincial portion of the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) from home heating products

Debate, 5391–5393

Minister of Finance

Acknowledgement of hard work and discipline, 1677

Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture

Crown Lands

Appraisal Report and Estimate of Current Market Value, completed by Kirkland Balsom, of vacant land at Nils Way, St. John's—Tabled, 6533–6534

Appraisal Report completed by Altus Group for vacant land at Outer Ring Road at Logy Bay Road, St. John's—Tabled, 6533–6534

Can Minister table the documents showing how much the Kenmount Crossing land was worth when they paid $400,000 an acre and spent $23 million of the taxpayers' money, 6534

Does the Minister think that the Snow's Lane land is worthless, 6533

Has the Kenmount Road appraisal actually been tabled, 6534

Purchase & Sale Agreement between the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure and The Crosbie Group—Tabled, 6533–6534

Since when does land depreciate, as at Snow's Lane, and how can the minister justify that, 6533

Urging government to move expeditiously to bring forward legislative amendments to ensure fair reconciliation of existing claims for people seeking title to the land they have occupied in good faith for generations and which is recognized within their communities; and take steps in the interim to address Crown Lands' actions against occupied properties in the province

Debate, 5024–5026

Why did Cabinet approve to sell-off 32 acres of Crown land off Snow's Lane for $5,000 an acre, 6532

Why did the Snow's Lane transaction not go to public tender, 6533

Forest Fires

Can the Minister provide an update on the request for a quote for the fifth water bomber, 4573

How many pilots do we have on staff to provide our water bomber service, 4738

When will fifth water bomber be back in service, 4738

Future Fund Act (Bill 5)

Committee

Amendment—Clause 2

Debate, 235(20)–235(21)

Amendment—Clause 8

Debate, 235(50)–235(51)

Health care

Long-term care

Urging government to enact legislation that allows couples to stay together even as they age and even at the highest level of care, 2246

Mental health

Urging government to provide access to long-term mental health care that ensures continuity of care beginning with psychiatric and neuropsychological assessments being more accessible to the public so they can access proper mental health treatments on a regular and continuous basis, 5541

Social determinants of health

Comments in Budget Speech 2023, 1677

House of Assembly

Office of the Child and Youth Advocate

Appointment of Linda Clemens-Spurrell

Debate, 116–117

Office of the Seniors' Advocate

Does Premier agree with Seniors' Advocate who says government did not do enough for seniors, 1396

Housing

Are government evictions from tents on ground of Colonial Building and a drone surveilling protesters what Premier meant by courageous decisions and actions, 5104

Are we to assume that by reversing that separate status he is signaling that homelessness and affordable housing are no longer priorities for this government, 7222

Can Minister tell the people of Tessier Park, Livingstone Street where the community centre will go, or is he waiting until H3 Development puts a piece of land up for sale, 5698

Comments in Budget Speech 2023, 1704

Could government not have found an extra $10.5 million to carry out repairs on vacant NLHC housing units across the province, 43–44

Did government sell housing land to a private developer, 5697

Did lease agreement for the Comfort Inn also begin with a call to the Premier's office, 5302

Does Minister believe the private market is the answer when it comes to seniors' housing, 5376–5377

Given the lack of affordable housing, how are senior women who have received eviction notices expected to find a safe place in which to live, 368

Given the total cost to taxpayers at $13 million per year for the Airport Inn, is this a cost-efficient model, 5415

Has Minister reviewed the list of almost 3,000 people on the housing wait list to see if we can accommodate any of these families at the Airport Inn and get them off the street, 5416

Has the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Commission hired the additional staff required to complete repairs before winter, 196

Homelessness

How much has been budgeted for emergency shelters during this current fiscal year and is the Minister confident that it is enough, 7621

What does Minister say for failing to live up to his commitment to have people out of tents by Christmas Eve, 3646–3647

Why does government criminalize homelessness, 5105

Will government staff the Emergency Shelter Line appropriately or has the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary become the default housing strategy for the province, 368

How does Minister plan to collect the $500 fines for breach of regulations, and will it be reviving Victorian-era solutions such as debtor prisons, 4575

I ask the Minister to explain how this type of secretive property ownership of existing apartment buildings will help resolve the housing shortage, 7527

Leasing of hotel called Comfort Inn in St. John's at $21 million for three years with no tender is not defendable, 6534

Minister highlights affordable housing initiatives, 1729–1730

Renovictions

What happened to the housing review of eight years ago, 2573–2574

Urging government to ensure that vacant Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation housing units in Nunatsiavut are repaired and made available to those in need in a consistent and timely fashion, 2092 , 2156–2157

Urging government to immediately take steps to reduce the lack of social housing in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador

Debate, 3234–3236

Urging government to revisit Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation grant regulations, ensuring not to negatively impact the product but increase availability for those within the District of Bonavista who greatly need assistance, 1468

We've heard that there are negotiations ongoing to extend the Comfort Inn contract, is this true, 7215

What is being offered to municipalities to help them with affordable housing development, 5105

What is his plan to get people into deeply affordable homes and reduce spending on shelters to pre-2019 levels, 7223

What measures will government take to ensure seniors facing eviction are not rendered homeless, 368

What steps will the Minister take to ensure that rents and apartments owned by large, financialized landlords remain affordable, 7528

What steps will the Minister take to ensure that this mother and her five children have a place to live on July 1, 7576

What was government thinking when it sold land at bargain basement prices, 5697

When is government going to be accountable to the people at the tent encampment, 4115

When is Minister going to fix this mess of unusable, unsafe housing, 1463

When will Minister responsible for poverty reduction introduce specific measures to deal with our housing crisis, 362

When will more units be added to the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation stock in Labrador West, 5105

When will the Housing & Homelessness Coalition get core funding and funding to expand so that people can find shelter, 2241

When will you get serious about dealing with the housing crisis, 7223

Why has government turned their back on the seniors in our province, 1463

Why is Liberal government allowing seniors to live in such deplorable conditions, 1462

Why is Minister allowing our housing crisis to get worse, 1602

Why is Minister allowing wait-list to grow while almost 300 of his own units sit empty, 1602

Why is Minister going backwards on every housing measure, 1603

Why should the people in this province have confidence that this Minister will now act differently, 7222

Will department install electrical outlets so that people in tents will not have to rely on propane for heating, 4117

Will government commit to having all NLHC units in need of repair and currently vacant ready for people to move into before the end of the year, 312

Will Minister admit that our most vulnerable residents, like seniors and single parents looking for affordable housing, are being failed, 1601–1602

Will Minister commit to giving the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation the money it needs to hire the workers to complete the renovations and repairs of units before the end of 2024, 5760–5761

Will Minister commit to making the seven homes in Nain and the three homes in Hopedale available by October, 1743

Will Premier commit to immediately unlocking the necessary provincial funds and insist that his federal counterpart do the same so new constructions can get started as soon as possible, 312

Will the government stop waiting for the federal government to do something and start work on the 40 units for seniors this construction season, 7625

Will the Minister admit that his decision to remove the encampment was more to do with protecting property than people, 4575

Will the Minister commit that they will not sell the Livingstone Street properties that were destroyed by fire on March 27 to a private developer and will instead rebuild the homes on the site or turn it over to a not for profit, 7577

Will the Minister give support and resources to the municipalities of Labrador West to get housing building up off the ground, 7625

Will the Minister inform the House about plans for the former Grace General nurses' residence to be used for affordable housing, 3455

Indigenous Affairs and Reconciliation

Can government continue to justify cold, hungry, residential school survivors, our elders, and their descendants, post-apology, 3402

Report on Child Welfare Services to Indigenous Children, Youth and Families 2020-21—Tabled, 2296

Industry, Energy and Technology

Fuel

Why was fuel security not even mentioned in the Liberals' poverty reduction plan, 3331

Interim Supply Act, 2024 (Bill 63)

Committee, 3487–3489

Interim Supply Act, 2025 (Bill 105)

Committee, 6710–6712

Justice and Public Safety

Corrections

Is government's priority in replacing His Majesty's Penitentiary the workers and people of the province, or their investor friends, 4941

Is lack of political will the hang-up to replace the 164-year-old facility, 3205

When are Liberals finally going to come clean on this project, 3204–3205

When will we get answers on the replacement of the penitentiary, 3205

Why is it taking years of delays and excuses for Liberal government to finally tell people the truth, 3204

Members' Statements

Arts

Stained glass—Acknowledging presentation by York University Ph.D. student Megan Donoghue-Stanford on stained glass windows in St. John's Ecclesiastical District National Historic Site of Canada, 4772

Clubs/organizations

Chalker Place Neighbourhood Centre—Recognizing staff and volunteers, 3098–3099

Downtown Safety Coalition—St. John's, 6979

Sisters of Mercy—Thanking the sisters for their valuable contributions to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, 5745

Volunteers

Longstanding volunteer—Byrne, Blanche—St. John's East - Quidi Vidi (District), 87–88

Ministerial Statements

Children, Seniors and Social Development

Foster families

Recognizing October as National Foster Family Month, 7422

Housing

Minister highlights affordable housing initiatives, 1729–1730

Municipal and Provincial Affairs

Recognizing outstanding contributions to province—Rowe, Penelope, 1549–1550

Persons with disabilities

Minister highlights supports for persons with disabilities, 2228

Transportation and Infrastructure

Highways/roads

Highlighting government's commitment to advancing improvement in transportation and infrastructure, 4104–4105

Infrastructure

Western Memorial Regional Hospital—Minister announces completion of, 3321

Procurement strategies

New strategies helping support provincial suppliers and assure sustainability, 3656–3657

Municipal and Provincial Affairs

Housing

Why hasn't department recognized the cost of infrastructure development as a key problem in preventing housing development, and developed a plan to allow municipalities to put in new roads, water and sewer to bring down the cost of housing development, especially in places like Labrador, 3454–3455

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro

Extraordinary Debate Pursuant to SO 8(7)

Memorandum of Understanding Between Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro and Hydro-Québec

House of Assembly to support Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro proceeding with the Memorandum of Understanding toward the definitive agreements, as defined in the Memorandum of Understanding

Debate (Members), 6254–6259

Ocean Ranger

Debate, 5658–5659

"Ode to Labrador"; "Ode to Newfoundland"

Urging Memorial University to include the "Ode to Newfoundland" and the "Ode to Labrador" in all future convocation ceremonies so that Newfoundland and Labrador's one great university will properly honour the people, the legacy, the beauty, the uniqueness, the potential and the fallen of Newfoundland and Labrador

Debate, 828–829

Opioid Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act (Amdt.) (Bill 86)

Committee, 5559

Oral Questions