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March 23, 2015

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVII No. 65

The

House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Verge):

Order, please!

Admit

strangers.

Today we

are pleased to welcome to the public gallery a gentleman by the name of Josh

Hancott, a world record holder in powerlifting.

Josh is from Torbay, and I believe he will be the subject of a member's

statement in a little while.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

Statements by

Members

MR. SPEAKER:

Today we have members'

statements from Members for the District of Torngat Mountains, the District of

Burgeo La Poile, the District of Cape St. Francis, the District of Bellevue,

the District of Fortune Bay Cape La Hune, and the District of Baie Verte

Springdale.

The hon.

the Member for the District of Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

in this hon. House today to congratulate the organizers and athletes who

participated in the 2015 Winter Sportsmeet in Rigolet on the weekend of March 6

to March 8.

This

Sportsmeet brings together athletes from the five Inuit communities of Rigolet,

Postville, Makkovik, Hopedale, and Nain, as well as the Innu community of

Natuashish. They participate in such

sports as cross-country skiing, badminton, ball hockey, and a number of

traditional native games like snowshoeing, leg wrestling, and the famous owl

hop.

The

Sportsmeet can become a family affair, as we saw this year, with three members

of the Dyson family from Makkovik participating in many of the events.

especially want to congratulate the team from Makkovik who finished first

overall and was recognized as the most sportsmanlike team at the meet.

Makkovik

will now attend the regional championships for badminton and will hopefully

persevere to go on to the provincial championships.

I would

also like to congratulate Mandy Smith of Makkovik who was the recipient of the

individual sportsmanship award.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask all hon. members to join me in congratulating the organizers and

athletes who participated in the 2015 Winter Sportsmeet.

Well

done, Rigolet!

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

today to recognize and congratulate the Port aux Basques YBC Girls Bantam Team

on winning gold at the provincial YBC tournament held at Port aux Basques on

February 21.

The

four-girl team initially competed in a three-team tournament at the zone

competitions in Corner Brook on February 7.

They captured gold at that competition which earned them the right to

compete in the provincials.

I had

the pleasure of attending the opening ceremonies for this tournament and

watching some of the games. The

excitement and enthusiasm at the Bruce II during this competition was

exhilarating. The Port aux Basques

YBC did a first-class job of hosting this event.

The

girls will now be representing Newfoundland and Labrador at the national

competition in Oshawa, Ontario on May 2 to the 4.

They are extremely excited to compete at this level and are really

looking forward to the trip.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask all members of this House to join me in extending congratulations

to the Port aux Basques girl's bantams, Leah Leamon, Ashley Ingram, Chloe

Buttery, and Emma King and their coach, Carla Buttery on winning gold at the

provincial YBC tournament and wish them well at the Nationals.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Cape

St. Francis.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. K. PARSONS:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I rise

in this hon. House today to recognize a world record holder, Josh Hancott.

Mr.

Speaker, Josh recently represented our Province, and the entire country at the

Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio, where he competed against the best

power lifters in the world.

He broke

four world records: he hit a squat of 573 pounds, breaking the World Record for

both Open and Junior Divisions; he bench pressed 374 pounds, breaking the World

Junior Record; he broke the World Junior Record total, setting it now at 1,520

pounds!

Overall,

at this event, Josh won gold medal for the 74 Kilogram Open and Junior Division;

he also won the Best Junior Award.

On top

of all this, Josh lifted his way to the status of world champion in his weight

class at the International Powerlifting Federation Championships in South Africa

last June.

He is

also a full-time fourth year Business Major at Memorial University.

started lifting in his teens; to have broken as many records as he has, it takes

great discipline and focus.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask all hon. members to join with me in wishing Josh all the best as

he competes at the national competition here in April in St. John's.

Thank

you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Should the Sergeant-at-Arms

need backup, Josh, we will call on you.

The hon.

the Member for the District of Bellevue.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. PEACH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

in this hon. House today to recognize Evan Newhook who has been designated as

this year's Purple Day Ambassador.

Each year, Epilepsy Newfoundland and Labrador chooses one individual as an

ambassador for epilepsy in our Province.

Evan is nine years old and is from Dildo.

He is the son of Lisa and William Newhook.

Because his mother, Lisa, was diagnosed with epilepsy, Evan began to

raise money for this disease at an early age.

Several

responsibilities of this young boy include: going to each class in his school to

inform students about epilepsy.

Another project which Evan has undertaken is the creation of a bookmark about

epilepsy. Evan wrote all the

information and illustrations himself, and these bookmarks are now being sold

with the proceeds going to epilepsy research.

March is

Epilepsy Awareness Month and on March 26, Evan is requesting that we all wear

purple to show our support. He will

also be doing an interview this week with KIXX Country to promote epilepsy

awareness.

I ask

all members of this House to recognize Evan Newhook for his important role as

the Purple Day Ambassador, and wish him all the success in his new role.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Fortune Bay Cape La Hune.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS PERRY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

in this hon. House to recognize the outstanding community service provided by

the St. Ignatius Knights of Columbus Council 13763.

Last year at the Knights' ninety-sixth State Convention, Grand Knight

Kevin Organ was extremely proud to accept the Supreme Council Family Award.

I am

honoured to extend congratulations to our Knights for also receiving first place

in the categories of Family and Council and second place for Culture and

Community at the provincial level.

Their dedication and outstanding citizenship is also evidenced by their recent

accomplishment of being granted Fourth Degree Assembly status.

commend these individuals for the care and commitment they dedicate to improving

the lives of everyone in their community.

We thank them wholeheartedly for all their activities, such as organizing

family days; working the barbecue during local fundraising efforts; holding

dances for local teenagers to raise money for a new playground; and an ice

resurfacer for the arena; working with youth for drug and alcohol awareness;

holding speak-outs the list is endless.

I ask

that all hon. members join me in congratulating these dedicated men for their

outstanding service to their community, and I encourage them to keep up the

fantastic work.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Baie

Verte Springdale.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. POLLARD:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

with great pride to congratulate H. Norman and Sons upon its 100 th

anniversary. Established in 1914,

Herbert started his career with H.L. Strong on Little Bay Islands and moved to

Woodstock to help them set up a business, purchasing flake-dried salt cod from

local fishermen. This led to the

opening of his general store that serviced the surrounding communities.

At the

beginning of the year, fishermen were given credit to purchase fishing gear and

salt, and in the fall they would sell their salted cod to Mr. Norman and settle

their account at his store. The

Normans would then pack the fish and ship it to St. John's, where it was sold to

city merchants. Over the years, the

business grew to include a cannery which canned local salmon, a cod liver oil

factory, and homemade ice cream using iceberg ice.

After

the passing of Herbert in 1943, ownership was kept in the family.

Wayne, his grandson, along with his wife, Evelina, has been operating

business for the past thirty-five years.

I ask

all members in this hon. House to convey congratulations to H. Norman and Sons,

and wish the family well in their retirement.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by

Ministers

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Seniors, Wellness and Social Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this

hon. House today to recognize March 23-29 as Unplug and Play Week, and to

challenge Newfoundland and Labrador families to take the pledge and unplug and

play for at least sixty minutes a day.

Research

shows that the majority of young people in Canada are not getting enough

physical activity on a daily basis.

We live in a world where many of our young people have access to computer games,

television, and various electronic devices with the average Canadian child

spending close to eight hours a day in front of a screen.

We need to change that.

Mr.

Speaker, as a government we recognize the need to encourage young people to get

out from behind these screens on a regular basis, to get up and get moving,

playing, and involved in a more healthy, active lifestyle.

This past January, the provincial government announced a partnership with

ParticipACTION in its new Make Room for Play campaign, which calls on Canadian families to

step away from their screens to encourage more active play.

Mr.

Speaker, some people probably have seen our screen ads, that just being one part

of the overall plan, Mr. Speaker.

Unplug and Play

is a continuation of the Make Room for Play campaign, and is another great reminder of how

important it is not only for young people but for entire families to put down

their electronics for at least sixty minutes a day and get outside for some

physical activity. There are some

great resources available online at

www.participaction.com

that will help families and encourage participation in this fun and worthwhile

initiative.

Mr.

Speaker, we all know life can get busy, but I sincerely believe that monitoring

our young people's screen time and replacing it with physical activity is

essential for healthy development.

With the

support of the Province's sport and recreation partners, the community,

organizations like ParticipACTION and, most importantly, parents, I believe we

can help our young people get moving.

Efforts such as Unplug and Play Week will help develop active, healthy

lifestyles and habits that will serve them well throughout their lives.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay South.

MR. HILLIER:

Mr. Speaker, I thank the

minister for an advance copy of his statement and congratulate the minister for

promoting physical activity, something that we certainly need to focus on here

in our Province.

Mr.

Speaker, ParticipACTION, Unplug and Play, Nutrition Month, Make Room for Play,

these are catchphrases that have to be sustainable.

We have to be able to measure their outcomes.

Take

ParticipACTION for an example; ParticipACTION came into effect when I was at

university doing my physical education degree.

That is forty-five years ago.

The people who ParticipACTION was aimed at are the same people that the

Conference Board of Canada talked about in February as suffering from lifestyle

diseases. That is what I mean by

these programs need to be sustainable and need to be effective.

Mr.

Speaker, I could go on and talk about failures in government and so on, but I am

not going to. We have an epidemic

here. We have an epidemic in this

Province that needs leadership to solve.

We are the forty-eight people in this Province who can step up and do it.

We have

people on the opposite side who

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. HILLIER:

I challenge people

MR. SPEAKER:

I remind the member his

speaking time has expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the minister for an advance copy of his statement.

This is

a great initiative. We all know how

difficult it is when we are all plugged in all the time.

I know that all of us in this House feel it; however, awareness campaigns

are not enough. Government must

support the need for more time for real physical education programs and

extracurricular sports in the schools and government must allocate resources

necessary to make this happen. The

well-being of our children and our communities depend on this so children and

families can plug in to what is actually good for them, and this would be good

for the economy, Mr. Speaker.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. GRANTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

in this hon. House to recognize our government's continuing contribution to the

future of the fish harvesting sector in our Province.

As many know, the Fisheries Technology and New Opportunities Program

provides funding to support innovation in the seafood industry and has fostered

growth for a number of years.

Mr.

Speaker, since its inception in 2007, this program has invested an impressive

total of approximately $13.4 million towards innovative projects in the seafood

industry and I would like to draw attention to how this program has specifically

benefited harvesters.

support of the harvesting sector, the program has helped enable such endeavours

as research for under-utilized species development, gear assessment and testing

of trawls that reduce seabed impact and improve fuel efficiency, underwater

camera research to monitor fish behaviour, development of an on vessel whelk

sorting technology and various projects related to resource sustainability and

occupational safety.

Mr.

Speaker, I am proud to highlight that one-third of all projects undertaken

through the Fisheries Technology and New Opportunities Program has benefited the

harvesting sector directly.

Specifically, $4.6 million or 34 per cent of all funding under this program has

supported harvesting projects.

The

program has also supported the development of a great deal of work undertaken by

the Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation as well as the Marine Institute's

Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Resources in co-operation with harvesters.

Through co-operation and collaboration between harvesters and academia,

valuable research is being undertaken and shared for the benefit of the entire

industry.

The

seafood industry continues to be an important economic driver providing

employment in more than 400 communities throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr.

Speaker, providing funding support to processors and harvesters encourages

innovation and the pursuit of new opportunities.

Our government is proud of the great work that has been accomplished

through the Fisheries Technology and New Opportunities Program and will continue

to work with all of our partners to strengthen our world-class seafood industry

and to support continued economic and social benefits for all the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Carbonear Harbour Grace.

MR. SLADE:

I thank the minister for the

advance copy of his statement.

It seems

this government never tires of trying to defend its FTNOP.

Innovations in our fisheries sector is most certainly needed; but,

several reports, including one by government, have concluded that improvements

are required in promoting the program to the small harvesters and producers, as

there is no concluding evidence that the program provides equal benefits to the

majority of the boats in the inshore fishing section.

Government's own reports also conclude that FTNOP is not suited to

support a fishing transition from shellfish to groundfish.

Mr.

Speaker, I urge the government not to rest on its laurels but to get active in

trying to improve this program to meet the needs of those who want to get back

into the groundfish business, and ensure that FTNOP benefits not just one-third

of the harvesters but at least half.

I also suggest that there is little use of innovation if we cannot market our

fish. We know government has a lot

of work to do on that file.

Good

work, Mr. Minister, but when it comes to our fishing industry, we need to do

better than good; we need outstanding.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I, too,

thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement.

I applaud government's efforts to support innovation and the pursuit of

new opportunities in the Province's fishery, our largest sustainable natural

resource. I am very glad to hear

what has been done for the harvesting sector.

I know there is more that needs to be done.

I look

forward to hearing another statement from the minister on how the other 66 per

cent of the programs funding was spent on helping processors.

I cannot sit down without reminding the minister once again that one of

the best ways this government could best help the fishing industry is by

developing a viable provincial seafood marketing plan so long overdue.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MS SULLIVAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today to congratulate three principals from

Newfoundland and Labrador who were recently honoured at the eleventh annual

Canada's Outstanding Principals Gala in Toronto.

This

year's winners will join eighteen others from our Province who have been

recognized since 2005. The winners

for 2015 are Elizabeth Churchill of Elizabeth Park Elementary in Paradise, Della

Healey of Mount Pearl Intermediate, and Wilson Warren of All Saints All-Grade

school in Grey River.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN:

These individuals have all

created a safe and caring school environment allowing their students to grow and

achieve their highest potential, while providing the guidance and leadership

their teachers, staff, and parents depend on.

They truly embody leadership, creativity, and innovation.

Mr.

Speaker, the Outstanding Principals Awards are sponsored annually by The

Learning Partnership, a national organization dedication to strong public

education systems. Each year the

awards recognize forty principals who have demonstrated innovation, have an

entrepreneurial spirit, and are creative in finding solutions and opportunities.

Mr.

Speaker, a strong principal is the key to an active and engaged school

community. Principals set the tone

for the school, provide direction for staff, and ensure our students receive a

quality education in safe and nurturing learning environments.

Being

named as one of this country's outstanding principals is a testament to

leadership and administrative skills, commitment to the school community, and a

desire to make a difference.

We are

fortunate to have so many dedicated principals and teachers working at schools

throughout Newfoundland and Labrador who take the time to nurture and inspire

our students.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask all hon. members to join me in congratulating this year's

winners. They have the qualities of

leadership and innovation that influence the lives of young people and the

school community.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's North.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KIRBY:

Thanks to the minister for an

advance copy of her statement. I

would also like to congratulate Ms Churchill, Ms Healey, and Mr. Warren on this

recognition. We are fortunate for

their dedication to their students and their schools, and we are also fortunate

to have so many dedicated principals in our schools as we are to have dedicated

teachers; but, we are less fortunate to have a government that is unable to

provide proper school facilities for our students and teachers, especially on

the Northeast Avalon in communities like Paradise, Portugal Cove-St. Phillips

and Torbay.

It is

unfortunate that, for example, this government decided to push ahead and tender

for the construction of a Grade 5-7 school in Torbay after the school board

changed Torbay's new school to a 5-8 school.

It is also unfortunate this government appears completely oblivious to

school board decisions such as that one.

I hope,

Mr. Speaker, that the minister had the time to do homework on the weekend on

this because if they keep building schools smaller and smaller, teachers will

have to have confined-space training added to their professional development

days.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I too,

thank the minister for an advance copy of her statement.

S OME

HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS MICHAEL:

I am also delighted to stand

and congratulate three more wonderful principals from this Province

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS MICHAEL:

receiving this national

award, this award which recognizes the many roles of principals in providing a

nurturing environment for students and guidance for teachers, staff, and

parents. We have so many in the

Province who do that, Mr. Speaker.

In order

to ensure high-quality administration in our schools, it is important that

principals, vice-principals, and teachers have the backup they need, including

enough support staff. We now know

that principals are doing work that secretaries used to do before the staff

cuts. That is not fair to anyone in

the school environment, Mr. Speaker.

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.

This

weekend a fire destroyed a crab processing plant in Cottlesville on New World

Island. It was the economic driver

in the area, with over 150 people expected to start work next month.

I ask

the Premier: What is the government prepared to do to help those people in this

area who are affected by this fire?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I was

shocked, as most people were, this morning to learn of the disaster that impacts

that entire region, not only Cottlesville but the people in that region.

We know there are a large number of citizens in a broad ranging area who

depend on that facility for employment for themselves and to provide employment

to their families as well.

I can

tell you, between the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture and also the

Minister of Natural Resources, the MHA for the area as well, we have already had

discussions. The MHA and I have had

a couple of conversations now as well.

We are assessing the circumstances there, Mr. Speaker, the impact it is

going to create, and we will be responding to the people in that area.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, I

am certainly happy to hear that, but I would encourage the Premier to be very

responsive. As we know, many of the

people in that area right now will be without EI benefits shortly.

So a fast and appropriate response, I believe, is what is required.

Mr.

Speaker, on December 11, government finalized the Public Service Pension Plan

reform. As part of this plan, a

board of corporation is supposed to be set up and running, fourteen members, by

April 1.

I ask

the Premier: Given that this is really just one week away from the deadline, why

is it taking so long to put this board in place?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN:

Mr. Speaker, as a part of

that process, there are two boards that were put in place.

The first one is already in place; representatives of both the employee

groups and the employers are represented there.

The other one, the trustee board, is in the process of being put in place

as we speak. Some members have been

identified and will be appointed to that board, all at the same time.

The

operative thing that the member raised is that it needs to be in place by April

1. It is not April 1 yet.

That board will be up and running before the end of the month.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

Supreme Court documents show that since December, there has been ten claims

filed against Humber Valley Paving or subsidiary companies.

I ask

the Premier: Has there been any claims against the $1.18 million holdback?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As I

noted in the House previously, the mechanics' lien is still in place.

We are in the process now of encouraging people to make those claims.

We are working with the court system to identify the best process so that

people who have a legitimate claim against that contract will be reimbursed for

those claims, Mr. Speaker.

This

process is unfolding. Over the next

couple of weeks, I will have something to announce in the House of Assembly

about the full end of that process.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Just for

clarification to the minister, is he saying that there are no claims against the

$1.18 million from any company at all?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

No, that

is not what I am saying. What I am

saying is that there is a process in place.

We have identified that there are a number of claims that have gone

through the court system.

We have

had a number of companies that have contacted the government.

We are in the process, through my department, to identify which one of

those claims are directly connected to that contract with Humber Valley Paving.

Some, as we have identified, are related to other contracts that have

nothing to do with this particular mechanics' lien.

As we

have encouraged people to go through the court system, file their claims as we

fold out exactly what it is going to be, the process we will use with the court

system, we will then be in a better place to be able to outline exactly who is

entitled to what money and how those payments will take place.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

Auditor General made five recommendations from his review of the Humber Valley

Paving contract.

I ask

the Premier: Have all those five recommendations been fully implemented?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Out of

the five, four were related directly to Transportation and Works.

All four of those recommendations either have been implemented or there

is a process being put in place to actually address those issues.

A response was put back to the Auditor General and we have received

favourable response from that.

The

fifth recommendation is relevant to a budgetary process and that is going

through a line process there. So

everything is in place to satisfy the Auditor General.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Recommendation 4 of those five protocols was basically it just really simply

said, Departments should ensure that normal protocols are followed when dealing

with sensitive matters. It would

lead people to believe that there was something abnormal before, but I think we

all know that.

I ask

the Premier: Will you please table a copy of the protocol that your minister

just spoke about?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As I

mentioned, we have gone back to the Auditor General and outlined exactly what

our process will be that we are putting in place.

We are finalizing certain parts of those elements to make sure that the

industry is aware of it, that our legal department understands exactly, and

outlines exactly the best process to protect the taxpayers of this Province and

to protect those subcontractors in any contract we put out.

Mr.

Speaker, when everything is in place, I will be ready to table it in this House.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I remind

the Premier and the minister that Recommendation 4 does not really require a

legal opinion because it goes on to say, Deputy Ministers should not assume

that a Minister will convey sensitive information in a timely manner.

If the

protocol is in place to prevent that from happening, why will you not table it

in this House?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As I

noted, the protocol process is in place.

We are reviewing everything to make sure we are probably going to go a

bit further than what the Auditor General has asked for.

We want to make sure that the people are protected in this Province and

that those contracts that we have in place are very clear for the subcontractors

and the main contractor, the general contractor, to ensure that any monies owed

to individuals, the process is in place to do it and that the process used

making decisions around that is very clear to everybody involved.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, if

the minister is prepared to go further as he said, why doesn't he just go far

enough and table a copy of the protocol that he says is in place?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BRAZIL:

Well, Mr. Speaker, because of

this process and how it unfolded, we have learned that we want to make sure that

we have the best protocol in place and we cover every element of everything we

do in contracts. What we are doing

here is putting a second lens on it; we are taking a second look.

respect what the Auditor General has said but we want to take it to the next

level and make sure that everything that should be covered in these contracts

and the protocol is covered, Mr. Speaker, and that is what we will be doing.

When the time is right, I will be tabling exactly the protocol.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Bay

of Islands.

MR. JOYCE:

Mr. Speaker, our office

received a copy of the functional plan for the new regional hospital for Corner

Brook. On page 11 it states that the

report includes final direction from the department and the health board.

In the media recently the minister stated that he is not prepared to meet

with the health care action committee until he receives the final functional

plan.

I ask

the minister: That copy of the report we received, is it the final revision of

the functional plan for the new hospital in Corner Brook?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, I have to let

the member know that I am not physic.

I have not seen the document he has, but I can say that it is not the

final functional plan. The plan has

not been finalized. It is very close

to being final. We had some final

pieces that we have been working on over the last number of weeks, and I suspect

in the next number of weeks we will be in a position to publicly release the

final functional plan. I have no

idea what document the member has, but if he wants to share it I would be happy

to review it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Bay

of Islands.

MR. JOYCE:

Mr. Speaker, it is amazing

that we get this Freedom of Information from the Department of Health, and you

are saying that you have not seen a copy of this report?

You wonder why the people in Corner Brook were astonished with the

delays, Mr. Speaker.

Apparently you have a teleconference Thursday night with the action committee in

Corner Brook.

I ask

the minister: Will they have a copy of the final functional plan, as you

committed in November, as your executive assistant committed to the group just

two days ago?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, I am glad the

Member for the Bay of Islands acknowledges that I am in ongoing discussions with

the citizens committee in Corner Brook.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

In fact, I have made it quite

clear to the leadership of that committee that on my very next visit to Corner

Brook I will be happy to sit down with them again, as I did in December.

Once we have a final functional plan, I will be happy to meet with the

committee and anybody else on the West Coast who is interested in talking more

about it to discuss the implications of that final functional plan.

At this

point, the plan is still in draft form.

Work is ongoing with Stantec, the consultant who is working on that plan,

but I do anticipate that it will be finalized very soon.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Bay

of Islands.

MR. JOYCE:

I will go up to the office

and get a copy for the minister because he is in the dark about the new hospital

in Corner Brook.

In the

words it says the final, the final, Mr. Speaker, and I am astonished that the

minister and I wonder why the people out in Corner Brook has no confidence in

this government.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask the government; the government committed to restart a long-term

care facility in Corner Brook this summer.

I ask

the minister: When will construction begin, and what is the expected date of the

construction of this long-term care facility?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, we have

long-term care needs that must be addressed not only in the Western region but

in other regions of the Province as well.

That is a high priority for our department.

Our

commitment to the people of the West Coast was to commence construction on a

brand new, long-term care facility in 2015.

We will follow through on that commitment, Mr. Speaker.

There has been no change to that plan, and we look forward to seeing

construction start on the long-term care facility in 2015.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's South.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

Minister of Transportation confirmed that the announcement of a new ferry vessel

being built in Romania, that tariffs were included in the $51 million cost.

If the federal government does not waive the $25 million in tariffs, the

contract bid for the two ferries will not be the lowest cost bids.

I ask

the minister: Do you have a commitment that the tariffs will be forgiven and, if

not, will you include $25 million in the upcoming Budget to cover those costs?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We had a

very in-depth process when we went to the market to find out what kind of

vessels we needed to service the people of Fogo Island, Change Islands, and Bell

Island.

We went

through that process and it was determined that Damen Shipyards would supply the

best vessels that we needed to be able to service people, with the ice class we

needed, and with the horsepower that we also needed, Mr. Speaker.

Built

into that, and I have noted it publicly, that there is a tariff because we do

not have a trade deal with Europe, as part of the process.

My officials have made application to the federal government.

I have had conversations. We

have outlined exactly where the precedent has been set.

We have outlined some nuances why we feel Newfoundland and Labrador are

entitled to have the tariffs eliminated.

Mr.

Speaker, we will watch and see how that unfolds; but while that is happening, my

officials are talking to the federal officials, and in the new year we will then

determine exactly where we are (inaudible)

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

I remind

the member his time is expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's South.

MR. OSBORNE:

Many months later and the

tariffs are still not waived.

Mr.

Speaker, there has only been one exception where the federal government waived

the tariff, and that was to purchase an existing vessel to quickly replace a

sunken ferry. The federal government

has never waived tariffs for newly-built ferries similar to those purchased for

this Province.

I ask

the minister: You still do not have a commitment that these tariffs are going to

be waived, and I ask him why. Why

are you still telling the people of this Province that those tariffs are going

to be waived, included in this year's Budget?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will

reiterate, we are going to get the best product for the people of Newfoundland

and Labrador

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BRAZIL:

with the best return on our

investment, Mr. Speaker. That is

what this exercise was all about: to finalize that process.

What I

will tell you, there is a process, a federal process, where you make

application, you make and outline your argument.

We feel that we have very strong arguments as to why these tariffs should

be eliminated from the ships that enter our waters.

Mr.

Speaker, we will go through this process.

I have taken a lead with the federal minister and I have taken a lead

with the association of Canadian ferry operators, and we are moving this process

forward. Over the next number of

months, I will have more to report to the House of Assembly.

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.

Mr.

Speaker, we learned from this weekend's

The Telegram that in November of 2014, the former Minister of Service NL

called for an external investigation into possible security breaches at the

Office of the Chief Information Officer.

This followed an incident report submitted by a former employee.

The external investigation was apparently conducted by EWA-Canada Ltd.

I ask

the minister: When will this report be released to the public?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister

Responsible for the Office of the Chief Information Officer.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN:

I am delighted he learned

about it on the weekend, since it is news that broke the fall.

However, the report itself and the critique will be released publicly

before the week is out.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount

Pearl South.

MR. LANE:

Mr. Speaker, playing fast and

loose with the facts is disturbing.

This particular incident was reported and according to the newspaper the

incident report was acknowledged, but it just sat there.

For a full week, no one did anything.

I ask

the minister: Is this a standard protocol?

What procedures are in place to protect the information that flows

through your office?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister

Responsible for the OCIO.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN:

Before the member opposite

gets all exercised and excited over what might or might not be in a report, why

doesn't he wait until he sees the report?

This was a renowned organization that came in and did a review.

I think the member opposite and the people in the public will find it

interesting when they read the report and the critique that was done.

Let me

be assuring the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, the excitement expressed by

the member opposite and the fears expressed, when they read the report, they

will find it is all for nothing.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount

Pearl South.

MR. LANE:

Yes, Mr. Speaker, back to my

question. The other issue that we

have here, as I said, is that this breach was reported, and it sat there in the

department for a full week before any action whatsoever was taken.

I ask

once again: Is this standard protocol?

What procedures are in place to protect the information that flows

through the minister's office?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister

Responsible for the OCIO.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN:

Mr. Speaker, again, we have

the member asking questions that are hypothetical.

He read a report in The Telegram

this past weekend. There was a story

that broke five months ago, he is only now catching up on it, and he assumes it

is all gospel. He assumes it is

actually accurate.

Let me

tell him and other people, why don't you wait until the report comes out and you

will find that this critique that was done, this evaluation that was done

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. WISEMAN:

will assure the people of Newfoundland and Labrador that there are protocols

in place. Any time there is a breach

of confidentiality

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. WISEMAN:

and there is information

that gets released, there is a protocol in place to deal with that.

I think this report will show that the Office of the Chief Information

Officer has mechanisms in place.

There are some recommendations that have been made that have been implemented to

improve the system.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, on March 12,

Eastern Health released an audit report of their lab medicine program.

They noted five key recommendations in the release.

What they did not note was on the last page in the last paragraph of the

report it stated that there was an issue with low morale and trust within the

lab. It required immediate

attention.

I ask

the minister: It was not mentioned in the release and it was not mentioned at

the news conference; do you think by covering up or ignoring the issue it will

go away?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, at Eastern

Health and within all our regional health authorities we have an accreditation

process in place to ensure that all testing practices are both sound and

accurate. In this case, the quality

assurance procedures within our regional health authority worked as they should

and they identified a problem that needed to be addressed.

At no time has there been any issues identified related to patient

safety.

There

are concerns in the pathology lab.

That is exactly why we brought in the University Health Network.

Eastern Health has a comprehensive plan in place to make changes at that

lab to ensure the concerns the member is raising are in fact addressed.

The

University Health Network has been engaged and progress is being made, Mr.

Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, the auditor said

that staff satisfaction was a critical first step in enhancing the quality and

sustainability of the lab services.

The auditor said there needed to be a workplace satisfaction program for the

labs. The minister has a

responsibility to exercise due diligence to ensure our labs are running properly

and efficiently. No one wants

another Cameron inquiry.

I ask

the minister: Has it been done? When

will this program be fully implemented?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, my critic is

raising a very important issue. It

is one that I have been monitoring very closely.

I am in regular communication with Eastern Health about this very issue.

Eastern

Health has entered into a management contract with the University Health

Network. They are providing a number

of things that the member referenced: interim management oversight, educational

opportunities for staff. They are

instituting process improvement initiatives within the laboratory as well.

All of

this work is ongoing and from the reports I have received from Eastern Health,

progress is certainly being made. It

is an issue that I will continue to monitor.

Again, I stress that at no time have there been any issues raised related

to patient safety.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, there has been

several media reports in recent weeks concerning the conviction of RNC Constable

Sean Kelly and the investigation that took place.

disposing of the case, the judge questioned the appropriateness of the RNC

investigating one of its own and referenced the Supreme of Canada case Wood v.

Schaeffer, which states: Having the police investigate the police can create the

unavoidable appearance that officers are protecting their own at the expense of

impartial investigations. It is

well-established in this Province that incidents such as this are investigated

by an independent police force.

I ask

the Attorney General: In view of the judge's comments and the need to ensure

public confidence in the RNC, will you order an independent review of this

matter?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Attorney

General.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. F. COLLINS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

understanding is that the investigation in this case was carried out by a senior

officer from St. John's, not someone from the local detachment in Corner Brook,

and had no connection with the individuals involved and also no connection with

the council.

With

regard to the request for an independent or outside investigation; Mr. Speaker,

we are prepared to discuss that with the Chief of Police.

He was out of town and only just got back, and when he does we expect to

have a conversation with him.

Mr.

Speaker, in the meantime, it is still before the court, because there are more

charges coming as I understand, plus the fact that the gentleman is not yet

sentenced. So we will be doing that

in due course.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Humber East.

MR. FLYNN:

Mr. Speaker, it recently came

to our attention that a full 28 per cent of our tourism operators have been left

out of the 2015 tourism guide. The

tourism guide is one of the first things that a potential visitor will read when

planning a trip to Newfoundland and Labrador.

Today, nearly one-third of our operators are left out.

I ask

the minister: Is he aware of the increasing number of tourism operators being

left out of the guide, and can he explain what happened?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. S. COLLINS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

recognize, obviously, to remain competitive in the tourism industry.

We have a wonderful product here to offer Newfoundland and Labrador, but

we must offer that consistency. We

have ensured that with a TAP program, a Tourism Assurance Program.

Over 70 per cent now have met that requirement.

When operators do not meet that requirement, they would not go in the

booklet; however, if they do come onside afterwards they would be added to the

website, and on a go-forward basis would be in the next year's program.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Humber East.

MR. FLYNN:

Mr. Speaker, operators are

advising that they have been dropped for minor things like not filling in a

policy number for their insurance, even though there is no place on the forms to

put that on the application. The

department should have worked more closely with the tourism operators to avoid

damage to their businesses.

I ask

the minister: How does he propose to lessen this impact in places like Harbour

Breton and Ramea, where no tourism accommodations are now listed in the guide?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. S. COLLINS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Getting

back to my point of consistency and, of course, we have a wonderful product.

The member offered a number of places around this Province that offer

wonderful products and tourism; however, we must be consistent.

The member brought up

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. S. COLLINS:

If I can answer, please.

The

member brought up with regard to insurance.

That is something that is very important, not only for the Province but

for the person who is offering that as well with regard to liabilities.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. S. COLLINS:

Consistency is what is

important here. We want to make sure

that the product that is advertised we always talk about our advertisements as

being so wonderful. The product here

has to match those advertisements, and it is through these programs of

consistency that we will achieve it.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for The

Straits White Bay North.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Mr. Speaker, Burnt Cape

Ecological Reserve is home to thirty rare plant species, including a plant found

nowhere else in the world.

Government itself calls Burnt Cape one of the most important botanical sites on

the Island. However, government cut

all

interpretation at Burnt Cape resulting in environmental degradation of what

is meant to be a protected area.

I ask

the minister: How do you justify neglecting an ecological reserve and potential

tourism driver for the Great Northern Peninsula?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Environment and Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CRUMMELL:

Mr. Speaker, our government

is certainly committed to protecting our beautiful landscapes and our ecological

sensitive landscapes as well.

With

regard to Burnt Cape, we do have some oversight being provided at Pistolet Bay.

We have park rangers go down there on a regular basis to make sure that

things are not going on down there that should not go on.

I might add, Mr. Speaker, that in all our jurisdictions, in all of our

areas in the Province where we have sensitive areas that are protected by law,

and these areas are protected by law, we want the citizenry of the Province to

also take ownership and help protect things that are going on in that area.

I have seen that time and time again right across this Province.

Mr.

Speaker, we all have a responsibility to make sure we protect these areas.

We take the responsibility very seriously as well, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

The

Cottlesville crab plant fire has left the 150 plant workers expecting to start

work next month facing serious financial difficulties.

I ask

the Premier: Will he waste no more time in meeting with community leaders as

government develops its plans to help the workers and the local economy that

depend on the plants operation?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, it is obviously

quite devastating to the Town of Cottlesville and the plant workers involved in

the plant. It has been a main

economic driver in the region for many, many years and certainly a difficult

time for area residents.

I will

say to the member opposite, we did not waste any time.

I met with the mayor yesterday morning.

The fire was still smoldering, basically, when I had a good conversation

with the mayor and certainly committed our support on behalf of government.

I spoke with plant workers as well, Mr. Speaker, but I think we need to

recognize this is early days. There

are still a lot of questions and obviously a lot of concerns.

I have

had discussions with the Premier, the Minister of Fisheries, the Minister of

Municipal Affairs, the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills, so that we are

all aware of the concerns and we will certainly work together to support the

people in the region.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Last

week a mobility-impaired client of the Province's privatized home care system

went nineteen hours without care, including food, when her home care workers

failed to show up.

I ask

the Minister of Health and Community Services: What is he going to do about this

callous failure of the privatized system?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, the Provincial

Home Support Program provides valuable services to some of our society's most

vulnerable people on a daily basis in this Province.

In large part, it is a very successful program that provides high-quality

excellent care.

I am

unaware of the incident that the member is referring to.

If she would provide the details to my office, I will surely investigate.

If there is any concern around safety or service quality, then we have

processes in place, through our regional health authorities, to investigate.

I will ensure that happens, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I have

been waiting for weeks, by the way, for the meeting that the minister is

referring to. I will be happy to

have that meeting set up.

Mr.

Speaker, there is a policy manual on how to provide home care to people in need.

I ask

the minister: What is he doing to ensure that private companies offering home

care are following what is in that manual?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, the private home

support providers who do great work in our system on a daily basis are

monitored. There are rigorous

standards in place. We have

professionals working in each of our regional health authorities who are engaged

in making sure that processes are followed and standards are followed.

To the

issue that the member is raising, if she knows of a concern related to an

individual who is in receipt of home support services, the onus is upon her, Mr.

Speaker, to bring that matter forward so it can be investigated.

I sit in this

MS MICHAEL:

(Inaudible).

MR. KENT:

Listen to my response.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. KENT:

I sit in this House of

Assembly each and every day with the member.

I was with her in person on Friday, there was no mention.

If she has a concern related to safety, she has a responsibility to this

House and to the constituents she represents to bring it forward.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker, Kyra Rees needs

to change the gender markers on her birth certificate.

It is a matter of dignity, human rights, and safety.

Our

legislation requires her to have full sex reassignment surgery before she can do

that. Other provinces require only a

supporting letter from a physician.

Kyra has launched a human rights challenge and government has chosen to fight

her in court.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask the minister: Will he show leadership and fix this outdated

legislation?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Environment and Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CRUMMELL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank

you for the question. It is a very

good question.

Our

government wants to protect all the rights of every citizen in Newfoundland and

Labrador, and we think that is a fundamental priority for our government.

We need to make sure that does happen.

certainly understand that everyone does have the right to be free from

discrimination, no matter of their gender, their identity, physically or

otherwise. Making sure that we do

the right things as a government, we look at our legislation all the time to

make sure that we are doing what the people of the Province want.

We are

looking at the legislation, Mr. Speaker, I let the member know opposite.

In the coming days and weeks, there will be more information about

exactly where we are going to go with this.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The time

for Question Period has expired.

MR. JOYCE:

A point of order, Mr.

Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Bay

of Islands, on a point of order.

MR. JOYCE:

The Minister of Health,

during Question Period, asked for a copy of the functional plan.

I brought down a copy and it does not say draft.

I have a copy for the Member for Humber West because obviously you never

seen it either.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

There is

no point of order.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling

of Documents.

Tabling of

Documents

MR. SPEAKER:

Pursuant to

Section 8 and

Section 10 of the Public Tender Act, I hereby table reports of the Public Tender

Act exceptions for the month of November 2014, as presented by the Chief

Operating Officer of the Government Purchasing Agency.

Further

tabling of documents?

Notices

of Motion.

Notices of Motion

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Trinity Bay de Verde.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to introduce the following private member's resolution:

BE IT

RESOLVED that the House of Assembly urge government to immediately consider

terminating compensation for parliamentary secretaries.

Mr.

Speaker, this motion is seconded by the Member for St. John's South.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Pursuant to Standing Order

63, the private member's resolution just entered will be the one to be debated

this Wednesday.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further notices of motion?

Answers

to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for The

Straits White Bay North.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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 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 midwives are no

longer able to care for the people here.

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

stated by the 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, I have had the opportunity to table this position in the House, signed

by residents of Blue Cove, Anchor Point, Bear Cove, Savage Cove, Green Island

Cove, Sandy Cove, Flower's Cove, and St. Anthony.

It is a concern for families, for women who are expecting, who received a

level of care previously by having prenatal, postnatal care.

For residents who are in low-risk pregnancy, the delivery and use of

midwives have been proven to be the most effective means of delivery.

There

has been very little action taken by the government.

I would like to hear an update from the Minister of Health and Community

Services, since the former Minister of Health and Community Services announced

that midwifery was under review and that we would see something in a year.

Well, it

has been past a year and we still have not heard anything from government as to

where they are going. The focus at

the time was privatizing midwifery.

We certainly would like to see it in a public setting.

So, I table this on behalf of my petitioners here.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Cartwright L'Anse au Clair.

MS DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

the community of Cartwright will be a gateway to the upcoming Mealy Mountains

National Park Reserve; and

WHEREAS

the establishment of a National Park Reserve, a tourism demand generator, will

significantly increase the potential for tourism development in all communities

of southeastern Labrador; and

WHEREAS

developing tourism in southeastern Labrador will contribute to the economic,

social, and cultural well-being of the communities and people throughout the

region;

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

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

land transfer agreement with Parks Canada so as to allow for the establishment

of the national park in the Mealy Mountains of Labrador to occur before the 2015

tourism season.

As in

duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, it is sad that I have to stand today and I have to bring a petition on

the Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve.

This file has been ongoing since 2007.

In December when I stood, I understood shortly after that that there was

an agreement signed between Parks Canada and the NunatuKavut Community Council.

That was initialled. It was

called a shared understanding agreement, I guess similar to an IBA.

Nothing

has moved forward on this, Mr. Speaker, because they are waiting on the land

transfer from the Province. As I

said, it has been ongoing. Every day

we see press releases and headlines going out talking about tourism and what a

wonderful economic generator it is going to be.

Mr. Speaker, here is an example of something that is going to really

increase the rubber tire traffic. We

all know that little communities need all that they can right now to help them

become sustainable in some of these tough economic times.

Mr.

Speaker, I am urging government to come on, if we are going to promote business

and increase opportunity for communities some of these communities are going

to be dead and they are still going to be waiting for government to move.

Seven years for a file and seven years waiting for a piece of land to be

transferred is unacceptable.

Thank

you.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Carbonear Harbour Grace.

MR. SLADE:

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

the local service district of Freshwater, Carbonear is expressing ongoing

concerns regarding the need to make repairs to the beach breakwater which has

been severely damaged by storm waves and this has caused major concerns to the

local service district of Freshwater as it pertains to fire protection and

safety; and

WHEREAS

this lack of repair by government constitutes a fire and safety hazard to the

community since the residents could be trapped in if a fire ever took place; and

WHEREAS

the damaged breakwater/roadway is also creating an environmental concern as the

Atlantic Ocean has washed over the roadway and out into a freshwater pond where

there are fish in that pond; and

WHEREAS

this area serves as a capelin run each year which attracts a great many local

residents and tourists to the site; and

WHEREAS

the federal government refuses to assist with this repair as they deem there is

no associated fishing activity to justify investment;

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

of Assembly to urge government to respond to pleas from the community's

residents and their legislative representative to have this breakwater structure

repaired so it can once again properly protect the road infrastructure from

being more severely damaged and once done, to call upon the government to repair

the road.

As in

duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, I am here I think a little bit better than fifteen months, and many

times I have stood on my feet here in this hon. House and presented this

petition on behalf of the residents of Freshwater.

Up until three, maybe four years ago, this road was being taken care of

by the Department of Transportation.

It was being taken care of by the Department of Transportation, and for whatever

reason the Department of Transportation would ever decide on not doing that to

this road and splitting the community into two halves, where if a fire took

place that somebody could actually be caught inside of that, is absolutely

amazing. I cannot believe it.

Now, Mr.

Speaker, as for the environment aspect of it, you have a pond there on the other

side of this road that is infilling now with beach rock and everything else and

its inhabitants in that pond. First

and foremost, Mr. Speaker, it is about the safety of the people in Freshwater.

Up to this point in time, this government has played a deaf ear to it.

What they have done is shirked their responsibility to the people of

Freshwater, I say, Mr. Speaker.

Thank

you very much.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Humber East for St. John's East, I am sorry.

MR. MURPHY:

I am 500 miles closer

already, 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

Tordon 101 contains the chemicals 2,4-D and Picloram; and

WHEREAS

the chemical Picloram is a known cancer causing carcinogen; and

WHEREAS

the provincial government has banned the cosmetic use of the pesticide 2,4-D;

and

WHEREAS

safer alternatives are available to the provincial government for brush

clearance such as manual labour, alternative competitive seeding methods, and/or

the mechanical removal of brush; and

WHEREAS

the provincial government is responsible for ensuring the safety and well-being

of its citizens;

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

of Assembly to urge government to cease the use of chemicals covered under its

own cosmetic pesticide ban and begin using safer methods of brush clearance that

will not place its citizens in harm's way.

As in

duty your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, you were closer than what you think when you said I was the Member for

Humber East because this petition, ironically, comes from the residents of Lark

Harbour and Corner Brook area. They

do have a voice as well when it comes to this issue.

Of course, if you know the road down to Lark Harbour, there is a lot of

brush and everything on the side of the road.

These

people are susceptible, Mr. Speaker, to the use of these dangerous chemicals as

much as any other region of this Province.

We already know, of course, that public safety is fast becoming an issue

for this government. We know the

government is coming out with new ATIPPA legislation.

already know that in that legislation, Mr. Speaker, under

section 9 there is a

good talk I guess we will call it, a talk that the three members of the

committee gave when it came to public health and public safety.

Mr. Speaker, that would not be in the report if public health and public

safety was not a concern, and I would expect that this government would respond

to this petition.

We have

been standing on our feet on this particular issue now for the last year and a

half. If public safety and public

health is indeed an issue with this government, they will address these concerns

on behalf of the people who have been signing this petition and sending this in

over the last couple of months and years, Mr. Speaker.

I will

leave this again with the government.

Public health and public safety is a concern.

Hopefully, government will address it.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I have a

petition 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

hundreds of residents of the Southwest Coast of the Province of Newfoundland and

Labrador, including residents of the communities of Margaree, Fox Roost, Isle

aux Morts, Burnt Islands, Rose Blanche-Harbour Le Cou, Diamond Cove and La

Poile, use Route 470 on a regular basis for work, medical, educational and

social reasons; and

WHEREAS

there is no cellphone coverage on Route 470; and

WHEREAS

cellphone service is an essential safety and communication tool for visitors and

residents; and

WHEREAS

the residents and users of Route 470 feel that the provincial government should

invest in cellphone coverage for rural Newfoundland and Labrador;

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

government to partner with the private sector to extend cellphone coverage along

Route 470.

As in

duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, I present this one today on behalf of the residents of Route 470.

I cannot present it on behalf of the residents of Route 480 because those

petitions cannot get up over the highway due to weather.

It just goes to illustrate the need for what we have.

We have rough winters. We

have people who are trying to drive.

The weather can pick up like that and people are stuck; yet, we have no means of

communication along these two major roadways.

I could

talk about the economic impact that it has for people who are trying to work,

especially on Route 470, the people living along these roads.

If they are outside their house, they are not going to get a call from

work because there is no cellphone coverage.

I could talk about the people down in La Poile who are without power for

the land line coverage, but, again, no cellphone coverage.

I could

talk about the tourism impact that it has.

We have these mobile Apps that are developed.

It was brought up today again, our Department of Tourism with their ads

and these Apps. The problem is you

cannot use these Apps in many places because of no cellphone coverage.

We need to do something else.

Unfortunately, the department is woefully behind.

They have done absolutely nothing to get themselves ready.

They will not share any information to show: what are the efforts we are

trying to take? What are the

measures we are trying to take? They

will show nothing. I have asked

numerous times. I do not know what

else you are supposed to do.

It is

either they are not putting it out there because they do not want to, which

shows their negligence, or they do not have it done, which again shows their

negligence and their ignorance. We

need to do something. It is a matter

of life and death in many cases.

Let's hope it does not come to that.

We need to do more to showcase these places.

We can do a lot better if we had cellphone coverage along these roadways.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS ROGERS:

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 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 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, I have been presenting this petition now for almost two years.

The petitions keep coming to my office.

Currently, I have almost 2,000 signatures yet that have not been

presented in this House. I am

determined to present this petition as often as I can until we do have the

reinstatement of the Family Violence Intervention Court.

This

government is saying that it is listening to the people of the Province.

Well, every women's centre, every transition house, every group involved

in violence against women has asked the government to reinstate the Family

Violence Intervention Court. Every

member on this side of the House has asked the government to reinstate the

Family Violence Intervention Court.

Not on a whim, Mr. Speaker, because the evidence shows that the court worked,

and that the court protected. This

is not just a program that would be nice to have.

This is about people's lives, and the court protected and made the lives

of women and children victims of domestic violence safer.

Mr.

Speaker, there is no good reason why this court is not being reinstated.

Government said because it was not Province-wide.

Well, Mr. Speaker, I presented a plan, in consultation with experts in

this area in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, on how it could be

expanded Province-wide with very little additional funds, working with existing

infrastructure.

Mr.

Speaker, what would happen is that we would simply reinstate the court in St.

John's, hire a court administrator-facilitator, and then use infrastructure that

is in Corner Brook and in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, already existing

infrastructure that is there to serve the courts, the Child, Youth and Family

Services, and the police.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Trinity Bay de Verde.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

the road located on Green's Harbour West Side is in deplorable condition; and

WHEREAS

small vehicular traffic is having difficulty travelling on this road without

incurring damage; and

WHEREAS

good transportation infrastructure is crucial to the stability of the community;

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

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

condition of Green's Harbour's West Side road.

As in

duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

It is my

pleasure this afternoon to stand here in my place and read in the petition on

behalf of the residents of Green's Harbour.

I want to make a special thank you to Mr. Vernon Simmons for his efforts

in bringing this issue to light.

I have

met with the Minister of Transportation on this important issue and other

important issues in the District of Trinity Bay de Verde.

I do want to thank him for his time and the attention he has shown with

regard to the issues facing the residents.

Mr.

Speaker, last fall as we were campaigning in the district, we heard day in and

day out about the poor conditions of local roads and the need for a better plan

when it comes to summer maintenance.

On behalf of the residents of Trinity Bay de Verde I encourage the government

to take a proactive approach to road maintenance, not a reactive one in this

coming construction season.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Deputy

Government House Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, I move to Orders of the Day, Order 1, Committee of Supply.

MR. SPEAKER:

The motion is that the House

do resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole to further consider Bill 44,

Interim Supply.

All

those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, nay'.

Carried.

motion, that the House resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole, Mr. Speaker

left the Chair.

Committee of the

Whole

CHAIR (Littlejohn):

Order, please!

We are

considering the related resolution on Bill 44,

An Act For Granting To Her

Majesty Certain Sums Of Money For Defraying Certain Expenses Of The Public

Service For The Financial Year Ending March 31, 2016 And For Other Purposes

Relating To The Public Service.

The hon.

the Member for Humber East.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. FLYNN:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank

you very much. I get up today to

review the Budget of last year and to look at what government likes to tout as

being the great fiscal managers but I think, increasingly, the people of this

Province is seeing that government really has an inability to manage our

resources in this Province.

When I

was here on Thursday, the Minister of Transportation and Works stood up to state

very proudly, waving his papers, how much money was spent in Humber East in the

schools. I think it really shows the

minister's arrogance in that that is his job to provide services to the people

of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Because guess what, Mr. Chair? Mr.

Minister has that responsibility to look after every resident in this Province,

regardless of what district they live in.

Believe it or not, the people of Humber East pay taxes the same as any

other district in this Province, so they do deserve the service as much as any

other person in the Province.

While we

are talking about the schools, let's talk about Corner Brook Intermediate School

which is now eight months past its opening date, and we really should be looking

at this whole series of false dates being given, false expectations given to the

people of the Province. I would be

ashamed, as a minister, if I had to really cram people into G.C. Rowe school in

the small space that they have because of the poor planning and not being able

to open the school as promised to the people in Corner Brook.

Then, if

you move to health, we have cut 100 beds from the long-term care for the people

in Corner Brook. Is this really

being fair? As I walked from door to

door in Humber East over the past number of months, seniors are stressed by the

fact that we do not know what is coming next.

I think the people of the West Coast really deserve some straightforward

answers. Listen when is the

hospital going to start construction, when is the school finished, and stop

misleading the people with false dates.

The

Member for Bay of Islands has spoken passionately about the construction of the

new hospital for Corner Brook and the struggles that the people have endured to

keep this project on the front burner.

I will add that through all of this, the Member for Bay of Islands has

done a superb job, along with our leader, Dwight Ball, in keeping this to the

forefront

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. FLYNN:

not for the people of

Corner Brook but for the people of the West Coast, because this is going to be a

regional job.

During

that time, when oil was at its highest in selling prices, we should have seen at

that point the commitment that you made to the people of Corner Brook, and that

that hospital should be started now and the steel should be in the ground now,

and we really should be looking forward to an opening of a hospital that was

promised some almost ten years ago.

Shame on

this government for that. It has

been endless excuses and endless delays where people are forced to come out into

public meetings and not one being called by government, either, mind you.

It has been people who have lobbied for this long and hard.

I only wish, sometimes, that the cameras would go to the back of the

hospital and see the crumbling infrastructure and the falling cement from some

of the buildings on the back, because it is truly an example of why that

facility needs to be replaced. I

think this is an example of fiscal mismanagement that you have put before the

people of this Province.

Some

time ago we learned, a couple of months ago, that we were going to go from

thirteen obstetrics beds down to six.

I have gone in and I have spoken to some of the people on the front

lines, some of the doctors and some of the nurses, and they are saying that it

is not enough. So, what am I to do

now, Mr. Chair? Am I going to go

back and advise all the couples on the West Coast when you plan to have a child

just think about it now before you have sex tonight, that when you plan to

have a child, you should really book your bed at the hospital first, because I

think that is what we are putting the people down to.

We all have to realize that having children is not necessary like

planning for a holiday, Mr. Chair.

Since

2007, the West Coast has been misled.

They have been promised a hospital.

I think the minister has to, hopefully, go out very soon and meet with

the action committee on the West Coast to take a serious look at and give them

an honest answer of when this is going to be done.

Because the only thing we have heard every time there has been a

by-election or election, is just that the hospital is going to start.

The

government has spoken numerous times about diversification of the economy.

Well, after a decade and more of being in power, I believe this

government needs to tell the people of Newfoundland and Labrador how well they

have done on this score. During a

time of unprecedented wealth coming to our Province, we have to ask, did this

diversification actually happen? We

have to ask, are we better off today than we were ten years ago?

I think

the greatest threats we have as a Province is the loss of our human resources to

provinces like Alberta, Ontario, and so on.

What really surprises me even though as a government we preach that we

are serious about rural economic development.

I had spoken to a senior bureaucrat some time back and I said to them,

what in the name is the Province going to do when we have lost so much of our

fishing interests?

At that

time the senior bureaucrat said to me, there are two options.

One is we can do the resettlement like we did in the 1960s and physically

take the house and move it to another cove; or, we will let it die a natural

death, which meant that our young people would leave the community, the school

would close, the post office would close, the churches would close, and finally,

you would have to move out.

Members

across the House can laugh, but in actual fact that is what is happening if we

can get out. It is unfortunate that

this has happened, because without consideration, without consultation this

government took away every bit of funding that the rural economic boards had to

put support and plans in place for economic diversification.

Mr. Chair, it is clear to me that the direction this government has taken

is to leave rural Newfoundland and Labrador to die a natural death.

At the

recent pre-budget consultations in Corner Brook, the Chair of the session, who

happened to be Minister Crummell, was told by representatives from the greater

Corner Brook Board of Trade that regions outside of the Avalon Peninsula,

especially the West Coast, have not enjoyed a fair share of the benefits from

the royal resources that were infused into our economy over the past decade.

After unprecedented wealth, I have to ask: How much better are we off

now? Certainly, on the West Coast

and other regions of the Province, we can see where there is a deficit.

This

government has taken unlike Texas, I guess we could call it, who looked at the

oil from the ground. We have looked

at oil from the bottom of the sea.

What we have taken is our oil from the sea, but we have really wasted almost $20

billion into projects as we go across the Province and we see very little

benefits from it.

It is

amazing that the second largest city in the Province, not the minister going out

to the West Coast, but he sent one of his junior ministers after he cancelled

the meeting there. I think it is a

little bit surprising that you would see such representation sent to our second

largest city in the Province and sending the junior minister there.

Mr.

Chair, I could continue, but I look up and I see my time is expired.

I think I have highlighted a few of the activities where I think this

government certainly lacked in the past ten years.

Thank

you, Mr. Chair.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CHAIR:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

It is

interesting, as I listened to the Member for Humber East talk about the woes of

the West Coast and how this government has not treated the West Coast well, and

that the West Coast and other parts of the Province have not veered well from

the prosperity that we have enjoyed in the last ten years.

I have to wonder where the member has been.

I know

he is not originally from the West Coast.

He is originally from Labrador, but he has been on the West Coast and had

an exposure to the West Coast and other parts of Newfoundland and Labrador long

enough to realize that in the last ten years if you just think about it for a

moment. In the last ten years, when

he says that we, meaning the people on the West Coast and other parts of the

Province, have not gotten any value and benefit from the prosperity that we have

enjoyed as a result of increased revenues from oil and gas.

I ask

the member, and I ask the members of this House, if you consider what we have

invested in the last ten years for example, let's take infrastructure.

When we made significant investments in long-term care in Corner Brook

and the West Coast, where do you think that money came from?

When the people of Newfoundland and Labrador have enjoyed what has

amounted to about $700 million on an annual basis in tax reductions

MR. JOYCE:

A point of order, Mr. Chair.

CHAIR:

A point of order, the hon.

the Member for Bay of Islands.

MR. JOYCE:

I will just let the minister

know that you were a Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Health when you

cut 100 beds in a long-term care facility and there are people who still cannot

stay in Corner Brook because of the decisions you made.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

CHAIR:

There is no point of order.

The hon.

the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. WISEMAN:

You can always tell when you

hit a nerve when members start jumping up on points of order that are not really

relevant, Mr. Chair.

Let me

continue. Is the Member for Humber

East suggesting that the people on the West Coast did not enjoy the tax

reductions that have been provided by this Administration?

Is he suggesting that those tax reductions were only applicable to

certain parts of Newfoundland and Labrador?

Every resident of Newfoundland and Labrador got the benefit of those tax

reductions.

When he

drives on the roads, on the highways, is he suggesting that there has been no

investment in transportation infrastructure on the West Coast of Newfoundland

and Labrador? Would he suggest that

there has been no investment at all on the West Coast?

I mean how foolish and how ridiculous is it to suggest that

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, regardless of where you live, have not

benefited from some of the increased revenues we have had in the last ten years.

I am

going to ask the same question that he asked.

He posed a question: Are Newfoundlanders and Labradorians better off

today than they were ten years ago?

Absolutely yes!

He talks

about $20 billion that have been wasted.

Let me tell you, I will not account for every five cents of the $20

billion but let's take a couple of items.

We have put some $6 billion into infrastructure in Newfoundland and

Labrador, building schools, building health facilities, building transportation

infrastructure. That is six of the

twenty.

Look at

what we have done with tax reductions.

That has accumulated in the last ten years to over $3 billion.

That is nine of the twenty.

That is almost one half of it.

Look at

what we have done with poverty reduction.

When we came to power ten years ago we had one of the highest rates of

childhood poverty in the entire country.

We made a commitment, that was something that Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians should not be proud of.

That is what we inherited from a Liberal Administration, but look at what we

have done. Look what we have done in

the last ten years.

Our

Poverty Reduction Strategy has been touted as being the leading strategy in the

entire country. We have

policymakers, we have academics coming to Newfoundland and Labrador to talk with

us because they want to understand how we did it.

They want to learn from us when it comes to an approach to poverty

reduction. Look at the data today

compared to what it was ten years ago.

That is another notch, that is another chunk of the $20 billion.

I could

go on, Mr. Chair; look at education.

When we came to power back in 2003, individuals going to school had to pay fees,

they had to pay taxes, and they had to pay their books.

We have eliminated all of the taxes, all of the fees, and the cost of

textbooks for all of our children going to the K-12 system.

That is another chunk of the $20 billion.

That is another chunk, I say, Mr. Chair, of that $20 billion.

We will

not be long getting to the $20 billion.

I heard an echo from the other side talking about the Cameron inquiry.

Do you know what the Cameron inquiry was all about?

We had to call an inquiry into what was happening at testing in this

Province because it was something that happened on a Liberal watch.

The

issues investigated by the Cameron inquiry were not issues that happened in the

health system during our watch, I say, Mr. Chair.

I happened to be the minister who called that inquiry, so I will take

credit for calling the inquiry.

called the inquiry because we wanted to get to the root of the problem.

We wanted to get to a better understanding of what happened with lab

testing in this Province on a Liberal watch.

We found out about it. We now

understand it. We have made

significant investments in improving diagnostic services in Newfoundland and

Labrador.

We had

to invest to correct a problem and a legacy of the Liberal Administration, I

say, Mr. Chair. Just look at the

timelines. Anybody who has ever read

the report on the Cameron inquiry, look at the timelines.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

CHAIR:

Order, please!

MR. WISEMAN:

The issues that happened and

the issues that were identified in that report all started before 2003 when we

assumed power. Who was in power when

it happened? It was the Liberal

Party.

Don't

stand in this House talking about and raising the Cameron inquiry as if it is

some boogeyman and something that we created as the Administration.

We fixed the problem. We

investigated an issue, better understood it.

We took some of that $20 billion that people keep talking about and

invested it in improving diagnostic services.

When

members stand in this House and start talking about mismanagement of money and

where did the $20 billion go

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

CHAIR:

Order, please!

MR. WISEMAN:

It does not take long.

I have only been on my feet for some six minutes and I have already

accounted for $13 billion of it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN:

The list can go on.

I just started and I am only about one-third through the list of

investments we have made to account for that $20 billion.

Mr.

Chair, members opposite may stand and start talking about $20 billion.

They should do their research.

They should better understand what has happened in this Province over the

last twenty years.

Mr.

Chair, very clearly, in the last ten years, we have made some significant

investments in infrastructure and significant improvements in infrastructure

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

CHAIR:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

CHAIR:

Order, please!

I ask

the hon. members if they have a discussion and they wish to have a discussion,

if they would take it to either outside the Chamber or in a quiet area.

The hon.

the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN:

Thank you for that

protection.

Members

opposite obviously get a little bit sensitive when they are criticized for their

party that they are a part of today when they were in power less than fifteen

years ago and the kind of mistakes that they made and the mess that they handed

off to us. They are a little bit

sensitive when I remind them of that reality, and they are a little bit

sensitive when I remind them about the investments that we have made

MR. FLYNN:

A point of order.

CHAIR:

The hon. the Member for

Humber East, on a point of order.

MR. FLYNN:

The Minister of Finance just

got up a few minutes ago and he said we provide free books for every student in

this Province. That is misleading

the House because that is not accurate, Mr. Chair.

CHAIR:

There is no point of order.

The hon.

the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. WISEMAN:

Let me correct myself, Mr.

Chair, all students who are in schools that are covered by the Schools Act and

I apologize if the member opposite got a little bit sensitive to my misstep or

my misspeaking about those who are covered by the act.

Mr.

Chair, my time is starting to run out and, no doubt, I will get a chance to

stand on my feet over the course of the next few days and I will account for the

other $7 billion that we have been talking about.

I do want to take the time, in my last couple of minutes here, to thank

the people of Newfoundland and Labrador who participated in the consultation

process as we travelled around Newfoundland and Labrador.

It was an effort by a number of Cabinet ministers who travelled to

various parts of the Province to engage people in a discussion.

We had a

tremendous response with our dialogue app, a number of people have signed on,

provided their comments. We have

received reports and submissions by a number of people and that information is

available online. For those who are

interested, we released on Friday past a

summary of the comments we received in

our survey. We did a telephone

survey of some over 400 people a couple of weeks back and we asked several

questions and we have posted the results of those questions online, together

with the community consultations that we did.

There

are a number of very specific questions we asked during those discussions and

we, again, posted the responses to those questions online interesting comments

from many people, varying points of views around what government should do with

the upcoming Budget, what might be a strategic response to some of the issues

that are facing Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

I say,

Mr. Chair, I want to thank everybody for their participation in that process.

MR. JOYCE:

A point of order, Mr. Chair.

CHAIR:

A point of order, the hon.

Member for Bay of Islands.

MR. JOYCE:

I did not want to interrupt

the minister but when the minister said that we should do our research on the

radiation unit, we did do research.

That is why there will be radiation in Corner Brook for the people of Western

Newfoundland, Mr. Chair, because of research on this side.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

CHAIR:

There is no point of order.

The hon.

the Member for St. Barbe.

MR. J. BENNETT:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr.

Chair, through you, I would like to speak to the people of the Province who may

be tuning in today. They may be

wondering why we are able to discuss such diverse subjects.

It is because it is a money bill, so members will get up and speak to

whatever is the area that interests them the most.

In my capacity as the critic for Child, Youth and Family Services that is

what I will be discussing today.

The

government likes to throw around large numbers of windfall profits that came

from oil revenues that they had nothing to do with generating.

They are entitled to do that.

There is no issue with them doing that, but the issue that I am more concerned

about is how well they have done in protecting the most vulnerable people of our

Province, the children of our Province.

One

document that I am referring to is referred to as a minister's mandate letter.

It is dated December 8, 2014, so it is just a few months ago.

This is a letter from the Premier.

The Premier is a former Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

Hopefully, if time permits, I will have an opportunity to go into his

sorry reputation as the minister, his sorry results as minister.

The

briefing letter, or the marching orders it was referred to in the newspaper,

says the Premier says to the minister: The most fundamental responsibility of

society is to ensure the safety and well-being of our most vulnerable children

and youth and provide an environment for all children to grow and thrive.

Under

child protection, he goes on to say: Under your leadership, your department

will continue to build the best possible child protection program and ensure a

system of continuous quality improvement.

He also

says: In consultation with the Child and Youth Advocate, you will develop and

introduce legislation considering the request of the Advocate regarding

mandatory reporting by all department and agencies of government of deaths and

critical incidents involving children and youth.

Mr.

Chair, a report was provided by the Child and Youth Advocate and it is available

for people who want to read it. It

chronicles the record of five separate cases under this government that the

Child and Youth Advocate examined.

Mr. Chair, the first one that I will refer to is called The Child Upstairs

Joey's Story. The reason this is

important is because this government has a policy whereby child protection

workers do not actually need to see every child when they go to a home.

They can go to a home on a report.

The report can be from a teacher or a grandparent or the child himself or

herself, something bad is happening, and the child protection

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

CHAIR:

Order, please!

I remind

hon. members and this is the second time if you want to have a private

conversation, could you please take it outside the Chamber because we have other

members here speaking to Bill 44.

Thank

you.

The hon.

the Member for St. Barbe.

MR. J. BENNETT:

Mr. Chair, thank you very

much for that.

I do not

mind the ongoing the people listening cannot catch it on microphone that

government members really are not interested in child protection.

They certainly are not interested in hearing about child protection.

In the

case of Joey's Story, in 2006, the Child and Youth Advocate undertook the

investigation after learning of a court sentence imposed on Joey's parents for

failing to provide the necessities of life.

While all four children in the family were apprehended, it was Joey, the

youngest, who was deemed to be in the most severe condition.

Joey required hospitalization.

The

Advocate went on to say, The primary deficiencies identified in the system

were: 1) non-adherence to policy or lack of policies/protocols; 2) lack of

communication and collaborative practice between the stakeholders, and 3) an

ambiguous records management system and lack of documentation.

In short form, most people would take that to mean they did not know what

was going on, they really did not care, and they did not talk to each other.

Consequently, the children suffered.

Eight

recommendations came from that. The

minister has been so busy patting himself on the back that I hope he has a good

chiropractor to get him straightened out because he is sure going to need it.

Eight recommendations were made and five of the recommendations have been

implemented.

Now,

this is something that goes back to August 2011.

Over that time, we have had five Ministers of Child, Youth and Family

Services. The two that were not

implemented, one was Recommendation No. 2, Policy must be developed by CYFS to

direct that all children in a family be critically observed during a referral

and during every home visit.

Mr.

Chair, when I have spoken to regular people, parents, people who have any

inclination to be concerned about a child, when you explain to them that this

means a child protection worker can show up at a home on a referral, on a

complaint, and the parents are going to produce some of the kids but not all the

kids, then the children protection workers will have satisfied the government's

policy if, in fact, there is a policy because the policy does not require them

to see all the children individually.

That child could be in the attic, could be in the basement, could be

buried in the backyard, and the child protection worker would not know.

MR. S. COLLINS:

A point of order, Mr. Chair.

CHAIR:

The hon. the Minister of

Child, Youth and Family Services, on a point of order.

MR. S. COLLINS:

I understand the member has

ten minutes to go on, but before he speaks about such topics, I would love to be

able to give him a briefing from people in the department.

He obviously has no idea he is insulting our workers, particularly our

front-line workers, our social workers.

Disgusting disgusting; get your facts right.

CHAIR:

There is no point of order.

The hon.

the Member for St. Barbe.

MR. J. BENNETT:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

As an

aside, I have been well-briefed by members of the department, and the ones I was

briefed by did a good job within the resources that they have.

However,

when the minister refers to a briefing, that brings me back to the issue of

briefing books. The minister is

still sitting on briefing books, even though after the Wells report was done I

made an Access to Information request so I could receive the briefing books,

because this is one of the top secret departments in government.

They really do not want anybody to know what is going on.

They do not want you to know the bad news, and that is probably why they

could not figure out last year how many children died on their watch.

They had to keep going back and checking to see how many had died, and

then we were somewhere approaching three dozen dead children, and no adequate

information, no adequate feedback, and the government still does not require

that child protection workers see every child when they visit.

If this

were not true, why would the child advocate in 2014 just a few months ago say

and this is in bold, red, highlights Policy must be developed by CYFS to

direct that all children in a family be critically observed during a referral

and during every home visit.

Mr.

Chair

MR. S. COLLINS:

A point of order, Mr. Chair.

CHAIR:

The hon. the Minister of

Child, Youth and Family Services, on a point of order.

MR. S. COLLINS:

Mr. Chair, as I pointed out

in Question Period two days ago or a couple of days ago, that is underdeveloped,

but right now I believe that has met those requirements.

It is a matter of semantics, not of practice.

Those children, youth, are being visited in the homes.

So, when he says that it is completely untrue, he is making politics of

it disgusting.

CHAIR:

There is no point of order.

The hon.

the Member for St. Barbe.

MR. J. BENNETT:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Actually, I am only just beginning and to let the people watching know that

ultimately I will get through explaining the sorry record of this government on

child protection and secrecy, and while our children are not safe under the

watch of this government and the reason I know that is because we will

continually have opportunities to debate for ten-minute increments until Interim

Supply has passed and all through the Budget.

So one way or the other, this information will come to the people of the

Province, what this government is doing, or rather not doing in child

protection.

As for

the government has no policy their comments were in June, 2012 now this is

almost three years ago. The

Department of Child, Youth and Family Services reported that new child

protection legislation and new policies and procedures were implemented, but we

are not seeing the visits. We are

not seeing the guaranteed visit.

Isn't every little child in every home, where there has been a complaint made to

a child protection worker, entitled to see that child protection worker and show

that worker the bruises, if there are bruises, malnutrition a properly

qualified worker to be able to interview that child and make sure that child

even exists, is alive, because that may be the only chance for intervention in a

positive way that will provide an opportunity for the child to be apprehended

and properly cared by. I believe

that the people of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador have a much higher

concern and a much higher regard for our children than this government has

demonstrated to date.

There

are significant other issues to be pursued.

The next recommendation of the eight that is not implemented whatsoever

so the minister may think that out of eight recommendations here if he does five

and he gets one partly done and two not done at all, well that is kind of like

getting about sixty-five or seventy on your test.

That is good enough in our education system because minister will say

well we give them adequate education.

We have

gone from providing first-class education or excellent education to inadequate

education. Now we think that when we

see most of the children most of the time, that is good enough.

Mr. Chair, it simply is not good enough.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

CHAIR:

The hon. the Minister of

Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. S. COLLINS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I did

not plan on getting up today. I was

up just a day or so ago, but after the hearing member across the way I felt I

had to get up. As I had said on my

point of order, I stood twice, it is absolutely disgusting to hear him play

politics with such a sensitive and important issue as child protection.

really bothers me, Mr. Chair. It

particularly bothers me because I am well aware of the work that is underway in

the Department of CYFS. I am well

aware of the progress we made and the improvements we have made.

When we

are talking about CYFS we are not talking about me as a minister, we are not

talking about my deputy or my ADM; we are talking about the front-line workers.

We are talking about social workers.

It is particularly troubling during Social Work Month, March, when we are

celebrating the great work by social workers over 1,500 registered social

workers in Newfoundland and Labrador and this is the type of rhetoric.

minister, I am interested in results.

AN HON. MEMBER:

(Inaudible).

MR. S. COLLINS:

If the Member for Bay of

Islands would please keep his mouth shut, Mr. Chair.

CHAIR:

The hon. the Member for Bay

of Islands.

MR. JOYCE:

I ask the minister to

withdraw. Plus, it was not me who

was speaking. The minister should

stand up because if the Member for St. Barbe is just saying that every person

who comes to the home should be checked, should be seen physically, that is

policy. That is not the social work.

That is policy.

I ask

the minister to withdraw his comments, please.

MR. S. COLLINS:

I will withdraw my comments,

Mr. Chair. I ask that all members

across the way please pay attention while I am speaking because it is very

important.

As I was

saying, Mr. Chair, Social Work Month being March

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. S. COLLINS:

Again, please, Mr. Chair.

If I could please have some protection, I would like to be able to finish

my thoughts. As soon as they are

finished I will continue.

CHAIR:

The hon. the Minister of

Child, Youth and Family Services.

MR. S. COLLINS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I will

proceed if I can get by without any further interruptions.

Mr.

Chair, it is very important to know the amount of work that has been going on,

and you only have to look at the announcement that came out just a short time

ago with regard to the recommendations made by the Child and Youth Advocate.

Again, as I had said in Question Period only a few short days ago, the

member opposite, my critic was nowhere to be found, and it is odd that he was

nowhere to be found. It is because I

believe

MR. J. BENNETT:

A point of order, Mr. Chair.

CHAIR:

A point of order, the hon.

the Member for St. Barbe.

MR. J. BENNETT:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The

minister keeps saying that I was nowhere to be found.

In fact, if he represented a rural district and lived in a rural district

like I do, he probably would not be here, but considering he lives in here and

does not even bother to live in his district, that is a good reason not to be

around.

CHAIR:

There is no point of order.

The hon.

the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

MR. S. COLLINS:

Ironically enough, unlike the

member who spends a lot of time in Ontario, I spend a lot of time in my district

when I am not in this House doing the people's work.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. S. COLLINS:

Do not bring up district

related matters because I am sure the member does not have a great one, as will

be evident in the next general election.

Anyway,

I digress. I would like to be able

to go back to what I was saying with regard to the

MR. J. BENNETT:

A point of order, Mr. Chair.

CHAIR:

A point of order, the hon.

the Member for St. Barbe.

MR. J. BENNETT:

The minister is not telling

the people that in fact my leader, the Leader of the Opposition, actually looked

after and handled this issue. That

is how important this issue is to the Opposition.

The Leader of the Opposition actually stood in for me when I could not be

here.

CHAIR:

There is no point of order.

The hon.

the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

MR. S. COLLINS:

Absolutely, there is no point

of order. I would say they had the

Leader of the Opposition do it because the inept critic is not able to handle

the issues. It is oh so clear when

he stands today and he speaks to those recommendations and not having the

awareness of them.

I would

like to go over the recommendations and the story that it was, Mr. Chair.

What we had is when the Advocate released a report it was a good

report. Any time you get feedback,

obviously, it is good. With regard

to the results that we have seen, I am very proud as the Minister of Child,

Youth and Family Services, and I would like to point out what the results of

that report were. Obviously, he

spoke to some of those just a short time ago.

There

were 179 total, and that was across all government departments.

There were ninety-nine recommendations that specifically dealt with CYFS.

Of those, eighty-eight are complete.

They are done, so we do not have to discuss those.

There is another ten that are under development, and the Advocate has

said in her report that obviously she sees the progress in those.

They are considered under development.

They are not considered, not done or whatever the case, but they are

under development. So she sees the

progress.

We have

two left. Of those two, one, as the

member alluded to, is with regard to all children being critically observed

while a social worker is in the house.

We have come to a place now I am meeting with the Advocate tomorrow,

actually. I have quarterly meetings we

have set up since I have taken this position.

We have met quarterly, and those have been very fruitful.

I am meeting with her tomorrow.

We are going to go over that.

I am going to make sure that satisfies her; I believe it will.

So then we are down to one.

When the

member gets up and says children are being critically observed while in the

house, social workers, it is clearly not true.

It has always been the case and when you talk about reports that have

happened in the past, the very reason this department, the very reason I stand

here as the Minister of CYFS, is the creation of the department came out of many

of these reports and we saw the deficiencies.

I acknowledge upfront everything in the past has not been perfect.

The reason it has not been perfect, there are a number of reasons, but we

are looking at addressing those.

Through these recommendations and the good work that has been done, obviously,

that is taking place.

With

regard to that one, I had said in the House the other day that it is more to do

with semantics and wording as opposed to practice.

To question our social workers in saying there might be a child in the

attic or a child buried in the backyard, how disgusting, Mr. Chair, how utterly

disgusting. Again, that does not

insult me as minister. I am not out

critically observing these children.

I am not in the homes visiting the parents.

It is our social workers; it is our front-line workers.

So to say a comment as gross as that, I really take offence of it.

I really do, I have to say.

Again, I

am very happy and very pleased with the work the department has done with regard

to the ninety-nine recommendations.

Once we have this one figured out, and I believe we are at a place now and I

will be able to confirm after I meet with the Advocate tomorrow.

I believe once we get that there is one recommendation the Advocate

considers not satisfactory with regard to the work done, and that is with regard

to youth who are receiving services.

The

Advocate is of the opinion that for each program the youths receive, he/she

should have a separate worker. Our

clinical opinions and our expertise in the department would say that they should

have one worker for the continuity.

We have gone back and forth with this, and I am really hopeful we will be able

to meet some middle ground. Again,

it is clinical decision versus clinical decision.

So there are opinions, both very well informed.

I respect, obviously, where the Advocate is with her thoughts.

We have

ninety-eight done, I am very confident, or in progress.

We have one remaining, and I am very confident.

Again, we both had the same intentions.

We both had the same with regard to where we want to be at the end of the

day, and obviously it is with regard to the best possible care for children and

youth. I think we can get past that

one more.

We have

a case of ninety-nine recommendations.

I am very confident we are going to have 100 per cent compliance.

Either they will all be done or they will be in progress to the

satisfaction of the Child and Youth Advocate.

I would

like to paint a picture for the public, because people watching the House of

Assembly, obviously, they do not tune in perhaps every day.

They do not read everything that is in the paper, or they do not know all

the inner workings that happen in a department.

So it is very important we put out a picture that is accurate.

Again, I

go back and not to hark on it, but I go back to our front-line workers.

We have some of the most capable people working in Child, Youth and

Family Services, our front-line workers.

They operate under very challenging circumstances.

We talk about how stressful our jobs here in the House are as

legislators, as ministers. It pales

in comparison to what social workers see on a day-to-day basis.

The most

vulnerable people in population, the most challenging situations, and that is

what they have to work in. It is

very easy for us to sit on our high horse, as the member across the way does,

and criticize the day-to-day operations of the department, in particular the

work done by front-line workers. I

take great offence to it. I say that

there is great work happening in the department and great work will continue to

happen.

understand where we were. Our

government understood where we were.

That is why this department was created, to address those deficiencies.

When you look at the recommendations put forward by the Child and Youth

Advocate, I think that speaks hi