May

15, 2012 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVII No. 32

The House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Wiseman): Order, please!

Admit strangers.

Statements by Members

MR. SPEAKER: Today we have members' statements from the Member for the

District of Torngat Mountains; the Member for the District of Humber West; the

Member for the District of Mount Pearl North; the Member for the District of

Mount Pearl South; the Member for the District of Bay of Islands; and the Member

for the District of Cartwright L'Anse au Clair.

The Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today to pay tribute to the founding

fathers of the Nunatsiavut Government.

Mr. Speaker, it was the efforts of people like Mr. Martin Martin, Mr. Jerry

Sillett, Mr. Sam Andersen, and I am very proud to say, my father, Mr. Bill

Edmunds, who originally pushed for recognition of Inuit in Northern Labrador.

Their efforts began early in the 1970s and it was through their persistence and

their dedication on behalf of Inuit that there is now a regional Inuit

government in our Province.

Mr. Speaker, although those individuals did not live to see the results of

their efforts, they laid a solid foundation for the future through challenging

times and personal sacrifice. They had a vision for their children and their

grandchildren a vision that would provide them with improved health

facilities, a better education, and more career opportunities.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all hon. members in this House to join me in honouring

these Inuit elders who paved the way for the foundation of the Nunatsiavut

Government.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Member for Humber West.

MR. GRANTER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to stand in this House and

congratulate Terri Woods-Boone on being selected to sail to the Arctic this

summer, as the 2012 Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation scholarship

winner. The award is an all-expenses-paid, two-week expedition to the Eastern

Canadian Arctic with eighty other youth from around the world.

The Grade 9 student from Corner Brook won the award because of her commitment

to the community and as a peer role model. Terri volunteers as a tutor at

Dunfield Park Community Centre; helps supervise the Kids Eat Smart Program; and

has attended several workshops on teen suicide prevention, drug awareness and

prevention, bullying awareness, mental health and addictions, and first aid.

The expedition program educates students on climate change and other

environmental, social, and geopolitical issues. Terri will participate in

hands-on research activities while accompanied by a team of scientists,

historians, educators, and polar experts.

I ask all hon. members to join me in congratulating Terri Woods-Boone on her

achievements to date, and wish her well on her Eastern Arctic Summer Expedition.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Member for Mount Pearl North.

MR. KENT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this hon. House today to congratulate the members of the Girls 4A

Provincial Indoor Soccer teams from O'Donel and Mount Pearl Senior High for

respectively placing first and second in the Provincial Indoor Soccer

Tournament.

Being involved in sports and athletics is vital in ensuring a healthy

lifestyle. Young people are challenged today more than ever to be active. In a

world that is largely based on technology, it takes effort to encourage our

youth to get off the couch, put down the game controller, the mouse, or the

cellphone and get moving.

I was thrilled to hear that both O'Donel and Mount Pearl Senior High

represented Mount Pearl and Paradise in such high form at the recent Provincial

Indoor Soccer Tournament, taking both first and second place. I would also like

to congratulate all teams who attended the provincial tournament.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of this House to join me in congratulating the

Girls 4A Provincial Indoor Soccer teams from O'Donel High and Mount Pearl Senior

High for a great showing at the provincial tournament, and I wish them all the

best for their future competitions.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Member for Mount Pearl South.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. LANE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to stand in this hon. House to offer

congratulations to a group of individuals who have made a tremendous

contribution to sport in my community. The Mount Pearl Sports Hall of Fame was

founded in 1995 by the Mount Pearl Sport Alliance. Since that time, it has

inducted sixty-one tremendous individuals.

Today, I would like to acknowledge the achievements of five others. Gary

Martin and the late Nellie Devereaux have been inducted into the Athlete-Builder

category; Don Kelly in the Builder category; and the Special Olympics', the late

Janet Maher; and hockey, soccer, and ball hockey player Patrick O'Keefe in the

Athlete category. I would also like to acknowledge the 1990 Mount Pearl Under 16

Girls All-Star Soccer team who have been added to the team honour roll.

Mr. Speaker, I would ask all members of this hon. House to join me in

congratulating these individuals on this significant accomplishment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: The Member for Bay of Islands.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JOYCE: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the contribution of the

McIvers Community Improvement Club.

Forty years ago, a group of women came together with the objective of raising

money to improve the Town of McIvers, an objective which they have certainly

achieved. Mr. Speaker, the club has raised over $100,000 and funds raised are

used to cover the general maintenance cost and upgrades of the town hall. They

give yearly donations to the McIvers Volunteer Fire Department and the Epiphany

Anglican Church. The club also provides assistance of up to $500 a year to

residents who have to travel outside the area for medical reasons. The club has

also established a scholarship valued at $500 awarded annually to a Grade 12

student from McIver's attending Templeton Academy in Meadows.

Current members of the club include: Bernetta Park, Angela Lawrence, Ester

Park, Vivian Blanchard, Glynis Park, Tina Pennell, Patsy Lovell, Beverly White,

Kim Lovell, Marjorie Lovell, Vonnie Lovell, Krista Ricketts, Chris Blanchard,

Rhoda Blanchard, Marion Pitcher, Marlene Lavhey, Karen Parsons, Bernice Parsons,

Linda Wells, Doilie Burridge, Sheila Wheeler, Pauline George, Millie George,

Maxine White, and Cindy Park.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members to join me in offering congratulations to the

club as they celebrate their 40th anniversary and thank them for their continued

service to the town and its citizens.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cartwright L'Anse au Clair.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in the House to congratulate Ms Regan Burden, a fabulous young woman

from my district who was awarded the URock Volunteer Award this past weekend in

St. John's. This award recognizes the outstanding ways that young people give

back to their community.

Regan, a Level I student at Bayside Academy in Port Hope Simpson, has

certainly given back tremendously at such a young age. She has been volunteering

on behalf of her community and her school since she was eleven years old.

Regan is a member of the Port Hope Simpson Recreation Committee, the student

council, she sits on the advisory committee for preventing the cycle of drug

use, and she is the founder and president of the Port Hope Simpson Environmental

Club. She also organized the Shave for the Brave in 2011 and 2012, and

participated by shaving her head. She is a member of the Junior Canadian Rangers

and her team has done numerous cleanup projects in the community, and

participated in bringing firewood to the sick and the elderly. Regan has been

involved in various fundraising and recreational events for her community. She

volunteers twice weekly with younger children's recreational activities, and she

helps daily with the Kids Eat Smart Program.

I ask members of the House to join me in congratulating Regan Burden on being

such a well-deserving recipient of the URock Volunteer Award.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Statements by Ministers.

Statements by Ministers

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Education.

MR. JACKMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today, Mr. Speaker, to provide an update on an important early

childhood learning initiative presently underway in this Province. As I have

noted previously in this hon. House, we have begun implementation of an early

childhood learning strategy, called Learning From the Start, which will include

initiatives for children up to age six. Last year, we committed $4.8 million

over three years with an initial focus on programs and services for children

from birth to age three.

Mr. Speaker, one of those initiatives involves the distribution of resource

kits to parents at key points in their child's early development. We have

recently begun a pilot project in partnership with regional health authorities,

where the first three resource kits are being provided to parents as their child

turns two months, four months, and six months old, as part of their normal

public health clinic visits. About seventy-five nurses received orientation and

are participating in the pilot project, which is currently being offered at

twenty public health sites. Following an evaluation of the pilot, Province-wide

distribution of the kits will occur next year.

Meanwhile, we are finalizing the development of more resource kits aimed at

parents of children aged twelve, eighteen, twenty-four, and thirty-six months

old. They too will be piloted, with a view to Province-wide implementation over

the next three years.

Mr. Speaker, these kits contain vital information for parents on how to

ensure their child has the best possible start in life. They also include play

materials, books, and CDs designed to support parents in their efforts to help

their child develop the emotional, social, and language skills that will form

the foundation of all future learning.

There is more brain development between the ages of birth and age three than

at any other time in our lives, Mr. Speaker. So, while we are just at the

beginning stage of this project, we look forward to seeing these important

resources eventually get into the hands and homes of every new parent in this

Province.

It is parents, Mr. Speaker, who are every child's first teachers. It is

therefore important that we give them information and tools which will help

their child develop skills that will prepare them well for school and for life.

Thank you, 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 thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement. Certainly, I am

glad to see this early childhood learning strategy program starting up. I think

we can all agree that with parents being the first teachers, the better parents

that we have, the better children that we are going have moving up through the

system.

I hope the pilot is proven successful and I hope that it is going to be made

available to everyone in this Province. I think overall it is a good it is a

good strategy. I have some questions as to certain aspects of it, such as the

blankets, which is a $60,000 price tag which might be better useful maybe in

school lunch programs or something along those lines. Certainly, the fact that

the blankets are being sent to everybody, regardless of income bracket, again I

might question as to whether it could be better served to place that money

elsewhere, but overall I think the strategy is a step in the right direction.

The studies are showing that this brain development is occurring between zero

and three. Anything we can do to make our parents better parents and provide

better support for our children is only going to help this Province in the long

run. I am happy to speak to this.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's North.

MR. KIRBY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement.

I welcome this initiative but it is one small measure towards where we need

to go with early learning and care in this Province. We know that any investment

in early childhood education brings a big return. We also note this Province is

currently ranked lowest in the country in this area. I agree with this minister

when he says that children must have the best possible start in life, and I hope

this minister will agree with me when I say that parents should not have to pay

$60-and-more per day for one single, regulated child care space, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.

MR. FRENCH: Mr. Speaker, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is

dedicated to the conservation and management of wildlife in the Province, built

on the common principle of sustainability. An important component of our

conservation efforts is our health monitoring programs for big game which

provide essential information on harvested animals.

Resident caribou hunters in Labrador were asked to participate in the caribou

health monitoring program by submitting carcass samples from George River

caribou killed during this year's hunting season. I am pleased to report the

success of our campaign this season, Mr. Speaker, with a total of 181 sample

kits returned to the provincial government for analysis.

With the recent decline of the George River herd, it is crucial that as much

information as possible be collected and analyzed to ensure the long-term

sustainability of these animals. The monitoring program is an important

mechanism through which we gather information on the age and overall health of

the declining herd.

For the past several years, Mr. Speaker, hunters in our Province were

provided with kits and asked to provide samples from the harvested animals, the

most common of course being the jawbones. Hunters also responded to the request

this year in Labrador to collect other samples such as leg bones and blood

samples. These additional samples will allow estimation of pregnancy rates,

pathogen/parasite information, as well as genetic analyses - important

information for a population in decline.

In 2010, Mr. Speaker, the population of the George River herd was estimated

at approximately 74,000 animals, representing a significant decline from the

previous census estimate of 350,000 animals in 2001. Conservation measures for

the herd were announced including the suspension of the commercial caribou hunt,

non-resident caribou hunting through the use of outfitters, and the resident

caribou licence transfer system for Labrador residents. Additionally, the

allowable harvest was reduced to one caribou per licensed hunter from the former

limit of two. Conservation measures were further enhanced in the 2011-2012

season with the overall length of the hunting season for resident licence

holders shortened from eight months to three months.

Mr. Speaker, we must continue to work collaboratively with hunters and all

stakeholders to help ensure the future of this important herd and its place in

the lives of Labradorians and the Province as a whole.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement. Mr. Speaker, I am

glad to see initiatives being undertaken by the department to gain as much

insight into the health of our caribou populations, especially since the George

River caribou herd is still in decline.

Mr. Speaker, I agree that this information is crucial, and it is much needed

as we strive to play our

part in the health of our caribou. I again would like

to thank the hunters for participating in this program. It greatly contributes

to the biology of the caribou.

Mr. Speaker, one thing that we have seen in the form of conservation that has

never been mentioned, is sadly with the decline in the caribou populations,

purely on the numbers that are out there now. Mr. Speaker, the George River

caribou herd is an important part of the food supply to the Aboriginal community

of our Province as well as others. I feel comfortable in saying that the

Aboriginal community in this Province are prepared to co-operate with government

in trying to protect this food resource, Mr. Speaker, so it does have much more

importance.

I think, Mr. Speaker, there is still room for more measures. I think a total

allowable harvest, as the minister stated in Estimates, is an option that is

being considered. The other issue, Mr. Speaker, is the people in our Province

are prepared to come forward but there are still issues with harvesters outside

of our Province harvesting in Newfoundland and Labrador with very little or no

regulation. These are just some of the issues that I have brought forward, and I

am glad to see the department is taking measures to work towards conservation of

our caribou.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's East.

MR. MURPHY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would also like to thank the minister for the advance copy of his

statement. My thanks as well to those hunters who have participated in this

study along with government; it was a great collaborative measure. Caribou

amongst other species are under extreme pressures, not only by nature's forces

like coyote but also through the pressure being exerted on them by humans. We

should be aware that part of the pressure to the Labrador herds will be by the

Muskrat Falls Project, as well as through hunting and their own changing

environment.

We must be ever vigilant in caring for our natural resources like wildlife

and be aware that they own this earth too. We may be the stewards, but we have

to do all that we can to protect them from harm.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

MR. SPEAKER: The Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I have asked the government in this House several times now about the

debt-to-equity ratio for Muskrat Falls on the financing for Muskrat Falls. As

you know, this is very important because it will let the people of the Province

know how much they will eventually be on the hook for.

I ask the Premier: Do you have a better understanding now of what the

debt-to-equity ratio is for Muskrat Falls?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I have had discussions with Mr. Ed Martin of Nalcor as to the financing model

being used in this particular project and the debt-equity ratio. Mr. Martin has

indicated that the way the project is proposed to be funded is not unusual in

utilities, in that essentially what you have is a situation where the asset will

pay for itself over a period of time. What you try to do is ensure that neither

at the beginning or the end does one group of people bear too much of a burden.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL: The reason why I ask the question is because the burden, the

financial responsibility, will be within the next five years. It is going to be

extremely important to this Province how much we will have to put into that,

either through loan or through cash.

The debt-to-equity ratio is not about the Decision Gate 3 numbers or the

Decision Gate 2 numbers, really. This would have been established through the

initial meetings with the financial institutions. The CEO of Nalcor stated that

it would have been from 57 per cent to 43 per cent equity, and that is if indeed

it stays on budget. This would mean about at least $2 billion in equity.

Can you provide us an update on how much has been spent to date and how much

of this will be considered our equity portion?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury

Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. MARSHALL: Mr. Speaker, I met with the bankers in Toronto in terms of

the funding of the Muskrat Falls development. What they have indicated to me

and I have said it previously in this House is that until they are ready to go

to market, until that point is reached, that final numbers will not be known.

Until they know the final numbers, these ratios cannot be calculated.

The other thing they told me is that they have looked at the project and they

have complete confidence in Ed Martin and his team at Nalcor. They told us that

it would be likely our bonds would sell very briskly. One even said they would

likely be sold out in fifteen minutes.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL: Really what I was looking for was an update on what Mr. Martin

had said about two months ago, and that was his comments about the 57 per cent

to 43 per cent.

Nalcor also owns 4.9 per cent equity in Hebron, meaning that we will be

responsible for 4.9 per cent of the development cost. Now, as Hebron moves into

construction, Nalcor will have to start obviously writing some cheques.

I ask the Premier: How much money will Nalcor spend on the Hebron development

over the next five years, and where will this money come from?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Nalcor, indeed, has 4.9 per cent equity in the Hebron development, and that

is a very significant equity share for the Province, Mr. Speaker.

The member opposite will note that in the money that was set aside for the

equity investment for Nalcor this year, there is $75 million; that $75 million,

Mr. Speaker, will go to oil and gas in terms of capital investments and

operating expenses.

Last year, there was $348 million set aside as an equity investment in

Nalcor, some of which was to go to oil and gas, Mr. Speaker, but Nalcor earned

enough money through its other revenues to not need any of that equity. So the

$348 million, none of it was used. We are hoping the same will happen again this

year, but there is $75 million there available, if needed

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL: Mr. Speaker, over a year ago government paid $32.8 million and

assumed another $40 million loan obligation for properties through the

expropriation of the Abitibi mill. I think that was through SunLife or

something, the $40 million. The only company that has been left out of the

settlement was Fortis, and government stated that they were the last piece of

the puzzle, but the negotiations were ongoing. It has been over a year now since

we settled with the other companies.

The question is: What is standing in the way now of a settlement with Fortis?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Opposition Leader asked this question in Estimates yesterday and it was

explained to him that discussions are still ongoing with Fortis. There is no

resolution of the matter at this point, but that we are always moving towards a

resolution and that those discussions, when they are finalized, will be

announced.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL: The minister is right, we did ask that question; but, we too

understand that Nalcor has taken the lead in that negotiation.

So, the question is: Why is Nalcor doing the negotiation since it was

government that expropriated the property?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Yes, Mr. Speaker, one of the reasons that Nalcor was set up

like it is was to ensure that we have the expertise required in Nalcor. Nalcor

then has a number of branches. We have Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro and we

have the oil and gas company; we have, Mr. Speaker, expertise in various areas.

When it comes to negotiations as to hydro, they are the ones, Mr. Speaker, that

are in the best position to deal with that. They are the ones who deal with it

on a daily basis.

In fact, it is interesting, last week or it might have even been yesterday,

in an

article out of Nova Scotia, there were some complaints that their power

had been turned over to a private company and whether or not it should be made

public. What we tried to do in this Province, Mr. Speaker, is incorporate the

best of the private and the public. We have Nalcor there, owned wholly by the

taxpayer of this Province, so that we will benefit and the Province will benefit

as a whole.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL: I guess in negotiations what you have also done, in all

fairness to the minister, is you have given them the chequebook, because they

will determine what the final settlement would be.

Mr. Speaker, in August 2009, government made a $10 million investment in

Holson Forest Products to set up a pellet plant in Roddickton. The plant started

at reduced production, and only a short while ago, we understand that the plant

is not operating at all; there are some operational issues, we understand.

I am just wondering if the government has had any discussion with the owner

and what it is going to take to get this operation back on track.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The member opposite is indeed correct that there was a $10 million

investment, I think a $7 million loan and a $1 million grant. Mr. Speaker, what

we have done over three years is we have provided that money. We wanted to

sustain the forest industry in the Northern Peninsula and we went a long ways

towards that. As a government, there is only so far you can go; our role is to

help people get their businesses going. They then have to find the markets and

determine where those markets are. It is my understanding from the Holson

situation that there are issues with markets in terms of finding and getting

their product to market. We have done what we can; it is now time for that

business to stand on its own two feet.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is really nice that if we were in a position, we could actually provide

some oversight just to see what the operational issues were.

For a number of years this government has introduced a residential wood

pellet rebate program. This was to encourage people to diversify from home

heating into wood pellets. We learned in Estimates this week that this program

has been cancelled.

I ask the minister: Why was this rebate cut at a time when the forestry

industry is looking for government to help with these diversification

initiatives?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The reality is that the wood pellet industry in this Province is so small

that there is no major industry going to develop. The industry, Mr. Speaker, or

the markets, I understand, are in Europe. What we did is we provided the rebate

program to get people going and encourage people to use wood pellets, but like

anything else in the Budget, decisions have to be made, Mr. Speaker. We have to

look at where we are going to put our money. This year we decided not to

continue with that program; the pellet industry should be on its feet by now and

we are hoping that it will continue to develop and it will find the markets

needed.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Opposition House Leader.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, many people have to travel outside of the Province to access

medical services and procedures that are not available in Newfoundland and

Labrador, or the wait-list in our Province may be too long. I am dealing with

several cases today where the financial burden of medical travel has left

patients and their family members without the ability to pay for services like

child care, medical supplies, accommodations, and many of the other

out-of-pocket expenses. I notice that government did not allocate any additional

resources to the program this year.

I ask the minister if there is any review of the out-of-Province medical

travel program ongoing, or if she is prepared to have a look at this program to

see if it is continuing to meet the needs of the families and patients who are

using it.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, our MTAP, the Medical Transportation Assistance Program, is one

of the most comprehensive programs in the country. We continue to provide

transportation assistance, assistance for accommodations, and assistance for

meals, depending on certain eligibility requirements and so on. We continuously

evaluate our programs, Mr. Speaker, and we had done that this year, in fact.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Opposition House Leader.

MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, with the in-Province medical program, we are

always getting a number of issues raised with us as well. One of them is that

under the program, people can claim sixteen cents per kilometre for each

kilometre they drive in excess of 2,500 kilometres. Meanwhile, a round trip from

Port aux Basques or from St. Barbe to St. John's is less than 2,000 kilometres,

so people can only make a claim part way through the second trip.

I ask you, minister: Have you given any thought to eliminating the 2,500

kilometre barrier or at least lowering it so that people are eligible to make

claims under this program when they have to travel back and forth to St. John's?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we in fact did reduce the kilometres. At one point not very long

ago it was 5,000 kilometres; it is now reduced down to 2,500 kilometres. We are

continuing to make investments in this program on an ongoing basis.

When it comes to doing this, we are talking about budgeting; we are talking

about making decisions. In health care, we have to make some tough decisions

sometimes. We are constantly reviewing this program. We consider it to be one of

the best programs in Canada and others throughout the country have told us it is

one of the best programs as well.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Opposition House Leader.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

More and more people in our Province are having to seek medical services in

the St. John's area. More and more people in our Province are being referred

outside of the Province for key procedures and services. We are commonly getting

those complaints in terms of the medical travel program not meeting the patient

and their family's needs at this time. One of those examples was with regard to

the amount of money that is paid out for meal allowances or per diems. If you

are in the Province it is $29 a day, if you go outside of the Province it is $43

a day, for example, in Halifax; yet, Mr. Speaker, when we looked at the consumer

price levels between Halifax and St. John's, there was absolutely no difference.

I ask the minister: Why would there be such a discrepancy in terms of that

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, MTAP the Medical Transportation Assistance Program is one of

the ways that we continue to help patients in Newfoundland and Labrador who need

to avail of services in other communities.

Mr. Speaker, one of the other things that we do, and one of the other

investments that we continuously make is to invest in infrastructure and health

care facilities right throughout rural Newfoundland and Labrador. A great

example of that is what we are doing with dialysis. At one time we had seven

sites in Newfoundland and Labrador where dialysis was available, we now have

fourteen.

Mr. Speaker, we look at a variety of means to try to accommodate the needs of

patients in Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS: Mr. Speaker, last week the minister said that while they

signed youth service agreements with sixteen year olds in need of protective

intervention, the youth are responsible for finding their own accommodations. At

the age of sixteen you cannot buy alcohol or vote, but you can live on your own;

however, the department assumes that the youth are responsible for finding their

own accommodations.

I ask the minister: Do you think it is acceptable to ask sixteen-year-old

youth, who are already in need of protective intervention, to find their own

living accommodations?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JOHNSON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The research around this shows it is best to enable youth to help them to

make their own decisions. Not only do we help facilitate accommodations, but we

do so with life skills, job hunting skills, and all sorts of things. We have

gone ahead and helped youth find accommodations, Mr. Speaker, but oftentimes

they then turn them down. So, again, it is an enabling role, and yes, Mr.

Speaker, we will certainly be there to help them.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS: We asked some questions on this last week, Mr. Speaker,

in terms of enabling. We had a social worker at the department who actually

found an apartment for a sixteen year old that turned out to be a safety hazard,

the window would not open and the door had no lock.

I would ask the minister: How is it that officials from your department are

involved in locating the rooms for the youth but there is no one providing

oversight on the actual quality of these accommodations?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JOHNSON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is very difficult to speak to individual cases, and there are a lot of

youth under our Youth Services Agreement. Certainly if he does have a

constituent who has an issue like that and safety is of concern, absolutely,

contact my office. He has done it before. I have helped him in the past. That is

what we are here for, is to help the youth of the Province, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Burgeo - La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS: Mr. Speaker, many of our youth and most vulnerable

populations live in boarding houses; meanwhile, the Residential Tenancies Act

does not provide protection for tenants in boarding houses.

I ask the minister: What is being done to address this gap in the Residential

Tenancies Act, which provides no protection to our vulnerable populations?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Service Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DAVIS: Mr. Speaker, the Residential Tenancies Act in Newfoundland and

Labrador is designed to operate and function for all landlords and all tenants.

Any time there is a relationship between people who rent properties and people

who own the properties, the Residential Tenancies Act applies and helps develop

and guide the relationship that occurs between the two. It also has a dispute

solving resolution process as well that is available to both landlords and

tenants who have a grievance against the other party.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS: Mr. Speaker, home inspectors in this Province are not

required to be licensed. Anyone can call themselves a home inspector without

proper training and education. Mr. Speaker, we have heard many times of

consumers buying homes and getting caught with houses that are full of

deficiencies, including mould, because they were not properly inspected.

I ask the minister: Will this government step forward and introduce licensing

of home inspectors to protect homebuyers in this Province?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Service Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DAVIS: Mr. Speaker, the investment in a home, in most cases for

people, is the most important investment and most significant investment people

in Newfoundland and Labrador will ever make for themselves and for their

families. It is a very serious process.

We encourage all people who are engaging in the process of purchasing a home

to engage professionals who are qualified and competent to deal with the

different aspects of purchasing a home, if it be legal services, financial

services, and home inspection services. We depend on the consumer in

Newfoundland and Labrador to ensure that they are receiving and availing of the

proper services that are going to meet their needs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS: Mr. Speaker, the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta

have already introduced mandatory licensing of home inspectors, and Quebec is in

the process of doing so, to protect consumers.

I ask the minister: Does he believe that this Province deserves the same

level of protection as those in other provinces when it comes to buying a home?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Service Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DAVIS: Mr. Speaker, the people of Newfoundland and Labrador are

afforded protection in this Province, and so they should be afforded protection

in this Province. It is also incumbent upon the people who are engaged in

activities for all types of consumer transactions to ensure that they are

engaging in those transactions that are going to protect their own best

interests. That is the regulations and the processes we have in this Province. I

have spoken to home inspectors. I am aware of some of the concerns that are

expressed by some home inspectors in Newfoundland and Labrador, and I have had

discussions with them.

It is a good matter that the member brings up today. I encourage the people

of Newfoundland and Labrador: if you are going to engage any type of

professional service that you, for your own protection, ensure that the company,

the business, the individual that you are retaining to operate on your behalf is

the right person who is going to meet your needs.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

In 2008, the Auditor General noted his concerns regarding contaminated sites

in the Province and the impact that these potential liabilities may have on the

Province's overall financial picture. He recommended recording the clean up cost

in the Province's financial statements. It is now four years later and we still

have no accountability.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier: Will this government commit to presenting the

Province with a clear financial picture that takes into consideration the true

cost of environmental liabilities for the clean up of these sites?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. FRENCH: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want to thank the hon. member for the question, because it gives me a

chance to explain to the hon. member some of the things that we have done over

the last number of years when it comes to clean up sites in this Province, Mr.

Speaker. It is very unfortunate that we have a legacy of some of these sites in

the Province.

This is a government, Mr. Speaker, who reacts. I say to the hon. member

opposite, she only has to go to Buchans, for example, and see what we have done,

a significant investment by government over a number of years. Mr. Speaker,

speak to my fellow colleague from Torngat, where we see the community of

Hopedale with an over $6.25 million investment; $6.25 million spent last year,

$2.05 million this year, and $2.05 million next year.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

In Estimates yesterday we learned that there is an interest expressed in the

mothballed Abitibi paper mill in Grand Falls, an ongoing interest, I understand.

Clean up of that site has been estimated as costing over $100 million. The

dispute with the former owners over who pays the tab remains unresolved.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier: Will the $100 million clean up costs be

included in the price paid by any future operator, or will the cost be borne by

the people of this Province?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we would not move to clean up an industrial site until it has

been decided that site would no longer be used for the purpose it was intended.

The business case, what we are trying to do is encourage another use for that

facility in Grand Falls, something hopefully to do with the forestry industry.

We are going to make that as attractive as we can based on a cost benefit

analysis to the people, particularly of the central part of the Province. At the

end of the day we are left with the responsibility, unless the Supreme Court of

Canada rules something different, and the site will be cleaned up eventually.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This summer we will see oil companies drilling in the Orphan Basin, possibly

setting another record for deepwater drilling in Canada. Mr. Speaker, a report

commissioned by government and released last year showed this government to be

utterly unprepared to deal with a deepwater blowout off our coast.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier: What steps is her government taking to

address this possible threat to our fragile marine ecosystem?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The protection of the environment is one of the primary concerns of this

government. It is one of the reasons, Mr. Speaker, we are promoting the Muskrat

Falls project: it is clean, green, renewable energy.

In relation to the oil exploration that is ongoing, let me remind the member

opposite that right now, oil revenues are accounting to 30 per cent, 40 per cent

of our revenues, so all of these programs that the NDP ask every day for us to

put in place everything from our poverty reduction to our medical

transportation, Mr. Speaker that money comes from oil. There has to be an

environment where we balance the protection and safety of the individual first,

secondly the environment, but we also have to ensure that we are open to do

business.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Let us have a little lesson in history and the dangers of deepwater drilling.

It has been two years since the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of

Mexico. Mr. Speaker, no matter what the industry says, they have yet to prove

that they have the ability to deal with a Deepwater Horizon-type incident, the

effects of which are still being felt all over the Gulf of Mexico, yet this

government is still willing to let these companies endanger our oceans.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier: Is our government closing their eyes to the

risks and hoping for the best, or is this simply a case of out of sight, out of

mind?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure if the Leader of the Third Party is proposing that

we shut down our offshore projects. It sounds like it. We are going to have to

double the size of that calculator then, Mr. Speaker, given that over a third of

our revenue comes from oil and gas. One of the reasons we laid out our vision of

the economic future of Newfoundland and Labrador being in green energy, Mr.

Speaker, is for the very fact that we know that these are non-renewables and in

twenty years or thirty years, our children will be asking, what is a Hibernia.

We have to find alternate ways to drive our economy. One of our greatest

resources is the ability to generate green energy, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Member for St. John's East.

MR. MURPHY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is a great segue, talking about green energy and green jobs, Mr. Speaker.

The tires that have accumulated in this Province are an excellent opportunity to

create employment in areas that are plagued with unemployment.

Mr. Speaker, Alberta, amongst other provinces, has figured out what to do

with their stockpile of used tires. Companies have been provided with incentives

to use recycled tires in producing walking tracks, rubber mats, asphalt, and

other products.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the question: Rather than waiting to ship these tires to

Quebec, why hasn't government taken action and created incentives for industry

to use these tires and create green jobs in this Province?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. FRENCH: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am delighted to get up and speak about the tire situation, Mr. Speaker. We

have taken all kinds of questions over the years about tires here in the House

of Assembly. I am proud to report we finally have a solution for our tires. We

have a yard in Placentia, Mr. Speaker, that is costing this government about $1

million a year. We are now in the process of moving these tires to Quebec. We

are in the process of shipping them out.

Hopefully, Mr. Speaker, I invite the hon. member that some time next year we

will watch the last tire truck through the gate and we save $1 million a year,

Mr. Speaker. I welcome the hon. member out for the last truck to wave goodbye to

it.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Member for St. John's East.

MR. MURPHY: Mr. Speaker, by the way the minister is talking, I will have

a nice green space to set up my pup tent.

Mr. Speaker, at any given moment in this Province there are over 100 boil

water advisories issued by this government. Many of these boil water advisories

have existed for years and many people have had to resort to using bottled

water, springs, and other untested water supplies.

Mr. Speaker, it is unacceptable in this day and age to expect people to

continue living in this way, so when does the government plan to address this

ongoing problem and can they give us an update on the situation?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Municipal Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. O'BRIEN: Mr. Speaker, the hon. member obviously has not been

following the investments of Municipal Affairs in municipal infrastructure over

the last number of years $500 million in municipal infrastructure mainly in

the water area, I say to the hon. member. He certainly has forgotten about our

PWDU system in regard to providing proper water to the residents of municipal

communities in our Province.

Mr. Speaker, as I said and I will finish off maybe I should say it to you

in this way, and I should have probably said it first: If you need a pup tent, I

will buy you a family tent, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Member for St. John's North.

MR. KIRBY: Mr. Speaker, not surprisingly, the word green does not appear

anywhere in government's Outlook 2020 labour market report. Any forward looking

government would have a plan to prepare for a green economy workforce.

So I ask the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills: What worker training

programs are in place for energy efficiency, green waste management,

environmental mediation, and other green industries?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, I think the hon. member who

just asked a question has no idea what Outlook 2020 is all about.

The document that was produced last year by this government for Outlook 2020

is able to position the Province and explain do the analysis of where we are

in our economy today, and as we look out, where the labour market gaps will be,

to help us prepare for the future.

Mr. Speaker, we have some major resource developments on the horizon in this

Province. We also have an aging population where people are going to retire. As

a Province, we need to understand that. So we developed the appropriate policies

and programs to help the people in this Province have the opportunity to attach

to the labour market.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Member for The Straits White Bay North.

MR. MITCHELMORE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, 50,000 tons of pellets produced at Holson Forest Products can

take approximately 11,000 homes off the grid. Mr. Speaker, after a $10 million

investment, this government has cancelled its rebate plan, despite a promise

revamped plan in the Tory Blue Book.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the minister why this government is not protecting their

investment, pursuing and converting to pellets public buildings to create a

local demand and save on energy costs.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the rebate program was in place for a period of time, and we

invested money in it. From 2008 to 2011, there were 562 rebates at an average of

$582 each. As we pointed out earlier in the question asked by the Official

Opposition, Holson Products, there was a $10 million investment. What is it that

we are supposed to do as a government? What our role is, Mr. Speaker, is to

encourage development, to assist where we can, but you do not continuously bail

someone out. The markets have to be found, Mr. Speaker. After a $10 million

investment, I think it is not unfair for us to say, stand on your own two feet.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Member for The Straits White Bay North.

MR. MITCHELMORE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the Residential Energy Efficiency Program has been successful in

helping a limited number of people who were able to avail of this program to

save on their energy costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Minister of Environment and Conservation, why hasn't

he offered similar grants for non-profit groups so that they too can save money

on their energy costs, freeing up money in their often constrained budgets and

help reduce their ecological footprint?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works, for a

quick answer.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HEDDERSON: Mr. Speaker, in response to the question from across the

way, our REEP, which we deliver through housing, is one of the most successful

programs that we have.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HEDDERSON: It is geared to

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The time for Question Period has expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling of Documents.

Notices of Motion.

Notices of Motion

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I move, seconded by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, for leave

to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Ensure Access For Service Animals Used

By Persons With Disabilities, Bill 17, and I further move that this said bill be

now read the first time.

MR. SPEAKER: It is moved and seconded that the hon. the Minister of

Justice have leave to introduce a bill,

An Act To Ensure Access For Service

Animals Used By Persons With Disabilities, Bill 17, and the said bill now be

read a first time.

Is it the pleasure of the House that the minister shall have leave to

introduce Bill 17, and that the said bill be now read a first time?

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, nay'.

Motion carried.

Motion, the hon. the Minister of Justice and Attorney General to introduce a

bill, "An Act To Ensure Access For Service Animals Used By Persons With

Disabilities", carried. (Bill 17)

CLERK: A bill,

An Act To Ensure Access For Service Animals Used By

Persons With Disabilities. (Bill 17)

MR. SPEAKER: This bill has now been read a first time.

When shall the bill be read a second time?

MR. KENNEDY: On tomorrow, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: On tomorrow.

On motion, Bill 17 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. KENNEDY: Yes, Mr. Speaker, I just read the first bill this bill

should have more appropriately been read under the Orders of the Day. There is a

second bill, will I leave that for the Orders of the Day or read it now?

MR. SPEAKER: Read them now.

MR. KENNEDY: Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I move, Mr. Speaker, seconded by the Minister of Justice and Attorney

General, for leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Legal Aid

Act, Bill 18, and I further move that the said bill be now read the first time.

MR. SPEAKER: It is moved and seconded that the hon. Minister of Justice

have leave to introduce a bill,

An Act To Amend The Legal Aid Act, Bill 18, and

that the bill now be read a first time.

Is it the pleasure of the House that the minister shall have leave to

introduce Bill 18 and that the said bill be now read a first time?

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, nay'.

Motion carried.

Motion, the hon. the Minister of Justice and Attorney General to introduce a

bill, "An Act To Amend The Legal Aid Act", carried. (Bill 18)

CLERK: A bill,

An Act To Amend The Legal Aid Act. (Bill 18)

MR. SPEAKER: This bill has now been read a first time.

When shall the bill be read a second time?

MR. KENNEDY: Tomorrow, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Tomorrow.

On motion, Bill 18 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER: Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I table the following petition.

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

Parliament assembled. The petition of the undersigned humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS there is an identified need for all levels of care in all regions of

Labrador; and

WHEREAS the Paddon Home is suitable for all levels of care;

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

House of Assembly to urge the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to conduct

a needs assessment to identify the needs of all levels of long-term care in

Labrador, and to reopen the Paddon Seniors Nursing Home, located in Happy

Valley- Goose Bay, to provide all levels of care.

As in duty bound your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, it was good to see initiatives by this government with respect

to making allowances for seniors, especially in the areas of licensing and

servicing. This is the fourth time that I have tabled this petition, Mr.

Speaker, and the level of need for seniors care in Labrador has not diminished

by any standards. I am sure the Member for Lake Melville and the Member for

Labrador West, as well as my colleague, the Member for Cartwright L'Anse au

Clair would attest to, Mr. Speaker. There are very little resources in Labrador

for our seniors and we are still seeing a line up for people who are trying to

get into the existing seniors facility in Goose Bay.

Mr. Speaker, every Thursday on my way home I drop up to the seniors home in

Goose Bay and spend some time with the seniors.

Actually, Mr. Speaker, my grandmother is a resident there. It is good to see

the level of care. When you talk to some of the attendants, Mr. Speaker, they

inform me about the backlog of people that are trying to get into a seniors'

care facility. I point out again that there is a facility there that is not

being used; it is a facility that is designed for seniors' care. Mr. Speaker, I

urge every member of this House to call upon this government to certainly

address the seniors' care issue in Labrador and to reopen the Paddon Home.

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's East.

MR. MURPHY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise again on behalf of the Burin Peninsula area to present the petition

for the installation of cameras on the Burin Peninsula Highway.

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 Burin Peninsula Highway is long and desolate, varying in

elevation, with highway conditions that are often difficult, and

WHEREAS this stretch of highway does not have adequate cellphone coverage to

allow for quick response times for people in distress who need help; and

WHEREAS this highway has innumerable hazards that have led to the death of

travellers in this area; and

WHEREAS no highway cameras are currently operating to let travellers know

about road conditions and warn of possible hazards.

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

install cameras on the Burin Peninsula Highway that will allow travellers to

check on the road conditions in the area.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, I guess this is probably about the sixth or seventh time that I

have risen in this House to present this petition, and it is a very important

matter to the people of the Burin Peninsula and, in general, the motoring

public, as well as tourists that would probably be availing themselves of this

particular service.

I think it is important to remember that there are ever-changing conditions

on the Burin Peninsula Highway, and at present, there are no cameras that are in

the elevated areas of the Burin Peninsula Highway so that travellers and the

motoring public would be able to avail themselves of advance notice of road

conditions in the area.

This petition, again, is signed by residents of the area: Garnish, Marystown,

Mortier Bay, people from St. John's have even signed this one, Lewin's Cove,

Burin; I can go on, Mr. Speaker, but I will not. The simple fact is that I

believe that it would be a great safety measure and a great, positive step that

this government can make by using the effective measure of installing safety

cameras for the residents in that area and making them available on the

Internet, as they do with other highway cameras. It was a great venture that

government started, and we hope that government continues this venture,

particularly with the next installation of cameras on the Burin Peninsula.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. Barbe.

MR. BENNETT: Mr. Speaker, I bring this petition:

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS with declining enrolment, distance education by Internet is now an

accepted way to deliver educational services to students living in small

communities; and

WHEREAS students have little to no say in where they or their families

reside; and

WHEREAS many families do not have the ability to relocate so that their

children can access educational opportunities in larger centres; and

WHEREAS many small businesses rely on the Internet to conduct business; and

WHEREAS high-speed Internet permits a business to be more competitive than

the slower dial-up service; and

WHEREAS no high-speed Internet service exists in the community of Highlands;

and

WHEREAS there are no plans to offer high-speed Internet to residents of the

community of Highlands;

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

House of Assembly to urge the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to partner

with the private sector and offer high-speed Internet service to these

communities.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, the government has made certain strides in producing high-speed

Internet to various parts of the Province. When you drill down, as they speak,

and look at the numbers, what has been done, and what the cost has been, in 2003

approximately 60 per cent of the people of the Province had high-speed Internet.

Now, after spending millions and millions of dollars, 85 per cent of the people

of the Province have access to high-speed Internet. Over this period of time,

for the last nine years, on the basis of population, we have been able to move

up the scale from 60 per cent to 85 per cent. The 15 per cent of the people who

are left behind are extremely concerned that they may be left behind forever.

Mr. Speaker, as people observe the Opposition bringing petitions from

residents of communities within their own districts, they are coming from other

districts. In this case, this is a petition from the community of Highlands

asking for high-speed Internet to be extended to their community. The concerns

are the same. The reasons are the same. People with children at home clearly

want to be able to use high-speed Internet for distance education to obtain

educational opportunities not available in smaller communities.

People in small businesses need high-speed Internet to make them competitive.

Only within the last few days, we have heard of a small business in a town in

this Province closing up because they had to have high-speed Internet. That is

why this petition is brought.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's North.

MR. KIRBY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise to present a petition regarding needed changes to the Department of

Education's school bus transportation policies.

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 school district restructuring has resulted in longer bus travel times

and more hazardous winter travel for rural students of all ages; and

WHEREAS due to recent school closures, children living within 1.6 kilometres

of school face increased barriers of congested streets and busy intersections in

the walk to school, and parents without cars are having more difficulty getting

children to different schools on foot; and

WHEREAS only those child care centres outside the 1.6 kilometre zone and

directly on bus routes are included in the kindergarten noontime routes, causing

hardship for working parents; and

WHEREAS the 1.6 kilometre policy has been in place since 1975 and student

transportation policies have not been reviewed through public consultation since

1996; and

WHEREAS parents are expressing the need for more flexible policies for

student transportation and school restructuring to meet the current needs of

school children.

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

conduct a review of school bus transportation policies and school restructuring

to ensure safe and quality education for all school children in the Province.

As in duty bound your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, I have spoken in the past about the need for, perhaps a

graduated system of school busing as opposed to the regulations that we have

now. So you begin to think about it, children from kindergarten to Grade 3 would

have one regulation, or one distance that would apply to them, then children in

the next set of grades, let's say Grades 4 to 6, would have another applicable

school bus regulation and children who are older would have another regulation.

That way, those children who are smallest, the littlest ones who have the most

difficulty navigating the dangerous streets and busy intersections would have an

opportunity to be bused. Also, one of the things that is becoming clear to me as

more and more parents contact me about this petition is that we need set rules

for children who are being bused to and from child care and we need rules that

really are more friendly to today's working parents.

I urge the members of the House of Assembly to hear the pleas of these

petitioners and call this review as soon as possible.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for The Straits White Bay North.

MR. MITCHELMORE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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 need for cellular coverage is far reaching in the District of The

Straits White Bay North; and

WHEREAS there is limited cellphone coverage in Route 430 from St. Anthony

Airport to St. Anthony and there is little to no cellphone coverage in the

communities surrounding Route 432, Route 433, Route 434, Route 435, Route 436,

Route 437, and Route 438; and

WHEREAS residents of these communities require cellphone coverage to ensure

their safety and communication abilities; and

WHEREAS the residents of The Straits White Bay North district feel the

Department of Innovation, Business and Rural Development should also develop

incentives for further investment in cellular phone coverage for rural

Newfoundland and Labrador;

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

support the residents of The Straits White Bay North district in their request

to obtain adequate cellular phone coverage in rural Newfoundland and Labrador.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

I present this petition on behalf of the petitioners from Conche, from

Roddickton, from Hawke's Bay. We have quite a number of people who realize that

cellular phone coverage is a basic need today in terms of being able to

communicate and for safety. The residents who live in the district and also in

many parts of Newfoundland and Labrador are calling for this action, Mr.

Speaker. It certainly is essential and we should be able to work out a plan to

provide better inclusive coverage of cellphone service.

Just in debate last night when we were talking about you have to be careful

what you say on the Open Line shows and what you are promoting about there, the

level of service we have, that it could impact the tourism industry. Mr.

Speaker, I certainly would not want tourists coming to my district with the

anticipation that they are going to get phenomenal cell coverage, because they

are not. If there is a medical emergency, if there are different things that

need to be there, they are not going to get it. It is the same thing with many

other aspects of the district.

We do not want people coming to the district and then going back and

Facebook or Twitter, in that forum, and letting people know once they get to a

cellphone area how poor the coverage is, or how inaccessible it is for certain

providers. Certain competitors here have a true monopoly when it comes to

building a ubiquitous network. We do not have that in the entire Province. I

present this on behalf of the petitioners as a call to truly develop an advanced

telecommunication strategy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. KENNEDY: Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I move, seconded by the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills, pursuant

to Standing Order 11, that the House not adjourn at 5:30 o'clock today, Mr.

Speaker, Tuesday, May 15, 2012.

I further move, Mr. Speaker, seconded by the Minister of Advanced Education

and Skills, pursuant to Standing Order 11, that the House not adjourn at 10:00

o'clock today, Tuesday, May 15, 2012.

MR. SPEAKER: It has been moved and seconded that the House not adjourn at

5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 15, 2012; and, it has been further moved that the

House not adjourn at 10:00 o'clock p.m. on Tuesday, May 15, 2012.

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, nay'.

AN HON. MEMBER: Nay.

MR. SPEAKER: Motion carried.

The hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. KENNEDY: Mr. Speaker, I call from the Order Paper, Motion 1, to move

that this House approve in general the budgetary policy of the government, the

Budget Speech.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Port de Grave.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. LITTLEJOHN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am very pleased to stand here today and speak to this amendment and the

Budget of 2012, People and Prosperity .

Mr. Speaker, yesterday it was interesting to be here and listen to the

various members speak pro and con on Budget 2012. As I reflect on yesterday, it

is always interesting to see the pros and the cons. Some of the things that I

reflect on yesterday and sometimes it just kind of blows me away when I hear

it; it is nearly like the Nike commercial, only it relates to money: just spend,

just spend it, do it, get it done, spend it. Whether it be ferries, whether it

be on social programming, whether it be on housing, it was just a matter of

spending it, Mr. Speaker. I do not know if the Nike saying is just do it; but it

seems to be the way: just do it. That is the way it is, just spend it and have

it over with; no matter what the cost is, no matter what the implications, just

spend it.

AN HON. MEMBER: Who said that?

MR. LITTLEJOHN: I do not know. I heard that here yesterday.

Again, it is just that old attitude of just spend, spend, spend, Mr. Speaker.

The other comment I heard yesterday was that this government is flush with cash.

Well, when you are running your household, Mr. Speaker, you always try to have

cash on hand for the unexpected. You could have to repair your roof, you may

have to replace your car, unexpected travel, or someone could get sick.

AN HON. MEMBER: Education for your kids.

MR. LITTLEJOHN: Education for your kids all these things, unexpected

things, Mr. Speaker. You know at the end of the day you always want something to

go back to. I have to compliment the Minister of Finance for doing just that,

because you never know. We do not know what the world is going to throw at us or

the Province is going to have to deal with come a day, a month, a week, a year

from now, Mr. Speaker.

I recall Hurricane Igor. Look at the damage that Igor did. Mr. Speaker, if I

recall correctly there was mass devastation in your district when Igor came

through. If we did not have the ability to respond to that with some much-needed

cash in reserve, I do not know what we would have done during Igor. Your

district was a good example of that, Mr. Speaker.

You cannot just go about emptying the cupboards. The cupboards cannot always

be empty. You have to have some reserve. I think we have made the point here

today that we do not know in life in general when we are going to need that

reserve. You cannot empty the cupboards.

We have a record since we came to government in 2003 of being responsible:

being responsible to the people of this Province, and being responsible to the

people who elect us. Mr. Speaker, let me assure the people of this Province that

we will continue to be responsible with our money. We will certainly be

responsible with our money and we will keep money in a rainy-day fund, if I

could use that word.

Also, Mr. Speaker, I heard the Minister of Municipal Affairs speak so

passionately yesterday about being sustainable. We hear it all the time from

that minister. It is so important that we be sustainable and that we sustain

what we can do. You cannot live beyond your means, Mr. Speaker; therefore you

cannot spend beyond your means. I think it is a good point that everybody out

there listening today needs to understand: you cannot live beyond your means.

As well, Mr. Speaker, when you are responsible and you are sustainable, I

think that gives you credibility with the people. That makes you credible with

the institutions you work with. I am sure when the Minister of Finance goes to

the banks, the money markets, and all the rest, they look at how credible he is

and this Province is. They are not going to give us money, Mr. Speaker, if we do

not have credibility. The minister has been very clear when he spoke to the

lending agencies. Standard & Poor's has given us our highest rating ever. Those

people believe that we are doing a good job and they believe that the Minister

of Finance, the Premier, and this government is doing a good job in being

responsible with our money.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. LITTLEJOHN: Mr. Speaker, I do not know where this doom and gloom

attitude comes from at times. I do not know where it comes from at times;

because, to be fair, I do not hear it a whole lot. Most people who I speak with

are pretty happy with how Newfoundland and Labrador is progressing. Most people

are happy with how they are seen by the rest of this country and the world at

this point in time.

Mr. Speaker, we just went through, and we are continuing to go through, a

debt crisis throughout Europe and the money markets in fluctuation all the time.

Do you know what? We have survived those, Mr. Speaker. We are a beacon, Mr.

Speaker. We really did not get hit with the debt crisis. I do not know where the

doom and gloom comes from all the time.

Mr. Speaker, when you get down to it and you pull on the heartstrings and you

do all that stuff, yes, I understand it. We would like to be able to do more,

Mr. Speaker. We would like to be able to solve all the problems. I have heard

the Minister of Transportation and the Minister Responsible for Housing say here

many times: We would love to do more. Doing more is not the responsible thing;

we are doing more than any other government in the history of Newfoundland has

already done, and we will continue, Mr. Speaker, to do more than any government

in Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. LITTLEJOHN: Mr. Speaker, we went through the doom and gloom, we went

through an election campaign, and guess what? We were elected, Mr. Speaker. We

were elected because we are responsible, we are sustainable, and we are credible

to every person in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday my colleague for Conception Bay East Bell Island

talked at some length about what we have done, what this government has done in

terms of recreation, poverty reduction, the physical activity, and all the rest.

He also talked about his time in the public service during the 1990s. Mr.

Speaker, I was also a public servant in the 1990s and I have my own

recollections of what those days were like. I have my recollections very

clearly. I remember being so happy back in the early 1990s, mid-1990s, when we

had signed a new collective agreement, Mr. Speaker, had a significant wage

increase and felt really good. Upon the election, Mr. Speaker, and all the rest

we lost that increase. I can never forget that because that put a shadow of doom

and gloom over the public service and it lasted a long time.

In fact, during that period in the 1990s, I lost my job. I had to go through

the process of bumping and all the other things that goes on in public service,

Mr. Speaker, and that is a very difficult thing to do. Not only did I lose my

job and lose a job that was close to my home, I lost a job and I had to find one

back here in the city and start commuting. In the last fifteen years, Mr.

Speaker, that is what I have done every day of my life: I have commuted. Mr.

Speaker, that is tough to do when you have to leave family and friends and a job

that is fifteen minutes away and commute every day.

Also, Mr. Speaker, it made us relocate. We had to move, we had to change

where we lived and become a little bit closer to here, but I continue to

commute. I remember also, Mr. Speaker, in those days and those days are not

long forgotten, and I am sure my hon. colleague for Conception Bay East Bell

Island would agree with me. There is always some apprehension around Budget Day,

Mr. Speaker. There is always apprehension and a sense of insecurity, because you

are never quite sure what is going to happen after the Budget.

Mr. Speaker, I know leading up to this Budget there were a lot of people in a

little bit of worry. There were some references made in the media to job cuts

and all the rest, but, in essence, the Minister of Finance minimized that

because he talked about his vision again. He talked about it cannot be crash and

burn every time we have a downturn and every time we go into a deficit; it has

to be a more long-term solution, Mr. Speaker. Because of the Minister of Finance

and the Premier and this government's commitment, we do not need to do a slash

and burn when we have a little downturn in our economy.

Mr. Speaker, I remember those days as well and I do not know if my

colleague for Bellevue remembers it, but I remember it very well. At the time,

my colleague for Bellevue was the chairperson of a recreation commission in his

district, Mr. Speaker, and he used to call me Mr. Nothing Littlejohn. He used to

call me Mr. Nothing Littlejohn because every time he called me and he said, can

I get a bit money for a playground, or can I get a bit of money for a swing, or

can I build a ball field, my answer was: We do not have a program for that. He

went around and for years later I recall a colleague of mine, a former

colleague of mine in recreation and sport went out and he said: Are you going to

be the same as that fellow Nothing Littlejohn? Are you going to tell me there

are no programs? Well, I remember it very fondly, and we had a good

relationship. He would call, and I would give him the standard answer, we would

have a great conversation, and we would go on our merry way. Six months later it

would start all over again I see my hon. colleague nodding his head; he

remembers that as well as I do.

So, Mr. Speaker, those days were difficult, because as a public servant in

those days, we did not have a whole lot to work with and it was very difficult.

We were the front-line people. We were the people who were out there every day

working with communities, dealing with people, and we were the people giving the

message. In a lot of cases, Mr. Speaker, it was not like my hon. colleague,

there was a little bit of nastiness on the other end of the line and sometimes

it got into a heated conversation. Those were difficult days.

Mr. Speaker, I spent my last fourteen years basically working in sport in

this Province. I thought if my hon. colleague could speak about community

recreation, I should speak about what this government has done for sport in our

Province, and what this government has done for sport in our Province

particularly since Active, Healthy Newfoundland and Labrador, the strategy for

Recreation and Sport in the Province was introduced, Mr. Speaker, is

significant.

Mr. Speaker, we have been doing something in this Province that many other

provinces are not doing. We are bucking the trend once again, Mr. Speaker. In

actual fact, and I checked again today with my former colleagues in recreation

and sport, we are bucking a trend. Sport in this Province, Mr. Speaker, is

growing. When you think of it, sport in our Province is growing. I believe, Mr.

Speaker, it is the initiatives that this government has taken through Active,

Healthy Newfoundland and Labrador that continues to do those things.

It is easy, Mr. Speaker, to talk about Muskrat Falls. We have discussed

Muskrat Falls and I am still not sure where our hon. colleagues on the other

side of the House are. Some days I believe they are in favour, some days I think

they are against, but they are getting closer, Mr. Speaker. They are still over

there; they are doing a little bit of a waffle. Mr. Speaker, in sport we have

held our own.

Mr. Speaker, if I could digress just for a second to pass along condolences.

Mr. Speaker, when I first came to government back in 1987, Mr. Don Johnson was

the Assistant Deputy Minister of Recreation and Sport in this Province. As we

all know, Mr. Johnson passed away a few days ago. Even though Mr. Johnson has

been retired for a number of years, I have had the opportunity to get to know

Mr. Johnson. Periodically, we would bump into each other at the arena, at a

recreation facility, at a softball field, maybe in the mall, wherever we would

be. Mr. Johnson was always there, Mr. Speaker. During the election, and just

after my election, I would receive words of encouragement. He was one of the

first people who sent me a note congratulating me on my election and telling me

on a job well done. Mr. Speaker, sport will be poorer in this Province for the

loss of Don Johnson. He was probably our most famous sport ambassador. To his

family and friends, I want to pass on my condolences today.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to talk a little bit about sport. Time is quickly

slipping by but I just want to go through some of the programs and some of the

money that this government is investing in sport in this Province. Mr. Speaker,

we have a travel subsidy program. Our travel subsidy program is for teams that

travel to national competitions. In the run of a year, Mr. Speaker, we support

about forty teams travelling to national competitions to the tune of about

$275,000. Mr. Speaker, this is money that parents do not have to raise. This is

money that parents do not have to raise so their athletes, their children can go

and compete against the best in Canada, and I think that is very important.

Mr. Speaker, we do not talk a whole lot about our elite athletes in this

Chamber. We do not talk about our elite athletes in this Chamber and we need to

talk about our Canada Games program. For anyone who is not familiar with Canada

Games, the Canada Games program has been in existence since 1967 and it

alternates summer and winter, alternating every two years. This Province, Mr.

Speaker, has been sending teams to the Canada Games since 1967 and we saw some

great, great results. We invest on an annual basis $500,000 to our elite

athletes to go out there and compete against the best in the country during

Canada Games. Mr. Speaker, the next set of Canada Games comes up next summer,

2013, in Sherbrooke, Quebec and I encourage people to go out and support our

athletes.

Mr. Speaker, eight years ago we were looking to support our elite athletes,

because these kids are out there and these athletes are out there and they are

training very hard. To do the proper training, to have the proper nutrition, to

travel to get to the proper sites, Mr. Speaker, is very expensive and we

instituted the Premier's Awards Program. It started out with $50,000. Today, in

its ninth year, we support it to the tune of $85,000 and that supports about

seventy athletes annually, our elite athletes who compete in every sport and

compete internationally, nationally, all over the world.

I would like to highlight, Mr. Speaker, athletes like Karen Hearn in rugby,

who played for Canada at the World Rugby Sevens Championship. Our Paralympian,

Katarina Roxon from my colleague's district here next to me in Port au Port, has

competed at the Commonwealth and Olympic Games in Paralympic games. That program

supports those athletes.

Mr. Speaker, as well, our Labrador Travel Subsidy program is two components.

We have $500,000 to support athletes and teams coming from Labrador, youth

coming from Labrador to participate in provincial competitions in over thirty

provincial sports.

As well, Mr. Speaker, we provide another $250,000 through School Sports

Newfoundland and Labrador to support school sport in our Province and enable

schools from Labrador to come to the Island. We support this program to the tune

of $750,000, Mr. Speaker $750,000 to support athlete travel from Labrador to

the Island for competition and provincial championships.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. LITTLEJOHN: As well, Mr. Speaker, we provide in excess of $150,000

for hosting grants, long-term athlete development, and coaching development. All

these programs enhance opportunities for our athletes to participate in national

and international competitions at home.

Mr. Speaker, a number of years ago we had a Capital Grant Program and it only

had about $343,000. It was for small things; you might be able to buy a swing,

you might be able to fix a fence, you might be able to buy one piece of

playground equipment. In the last couple of years, Mr. Speaker, we have enhanced

that program. We now have grants of $15,000 and $3,000, and we have invested

over $1 million in hundreds of communities all across this great Province in

recreation infrastructure.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. LITTLEJOHN: Mr. Speaker, we do not realize the number of playgrounds,

softball fields, tennis courts, and swimming pools, indoor and outdoor, that

avail of this money that goes towards the livelihood of making our children more

physically active, being better citizens. I think, Mr. Speaker, sometimes we

undervalue the importance of these small grants to our communities and what that

money really does.

As well, Mr. Speaker, this year we are supporting our Newfoundland and

Labrador Games Program. If people are not familiar, our Newfoundland and

Labrador Games Program supports over 800 athletes, summer and winter alternating

every two years. We are putting $350,000, Mr. Speaker, into that program. We

have the Newfoundland and Labrador Summer Games this summer in the great

District of Carbonear Harbour Grace. I hope the people will come to see it.

As well, Mr. Speaker

MR. SPEAKER (Verge): Order, please!

MR. LITTLEJOHN: I have run out of time. I thank you for your comments,

Mr. Speaker, and I look forward to speaking more on the Budget.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Member for Cape St. Francis.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. K. PARSONS: Thank you kindly, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this hon. House today to speak on the amendment to the Budget.

First of all, Mr. Speaker, I would like to give special thanks to people in my

district. Over the last few months we had a very hard time in our family, and

the support that I received from the people in my district was unbelievable.

Today I would like to just thank them for that.

I would also like to thank the different organizations, because there were

different events that I could not get to, and stuff like that. It is the one

thing as a politician that I really do enjoy, getting to all of these events. I

apologized to some of them, but they all understood. They were very

compassionate and understanding to my family and me. I thank them very, very

much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. K. PARSONS: I would also like to thank, Mr. Speaker, the members in

this House on both sides of the House, and all parties. I must say, the support

that you people gave me over the last number of weeks was very encouraging and

was very supportive to me and my family. I think you kindly and very much too.

Mr. Speaker, today, I know the hon. Member for Port de Grave just mentioned

Mr. Don Johnson. Mr. Don Johnson was a good friend of mine. I happened to attend

the last two events he did. I spoke at one, the TELUS Cup, and had a great talk

with him. I also went to the Don Johnson tournament where he was the honourary

person.

He was a great individual with not only hockey, but he was really into sport

in Newfoundland. I know that he really appreciated what this government was

doing. I would just like to give my condolences to his wife Florence, Peter,

Michael, Cathy, and all of their family. I played hockey with Peter for about

ten years and I played hockey with Michael for a couple of years, too. It was

great to know the family. They are a great family. Like I said, Mr. Johnson was

an outstanding Newfoundlander and Labradorian, and he will be sorely missed.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to start today speaking on this amendment. First of

all, when we started this session, we started with our Throne Speech. That is

what government sees for the future of this Province and what we see in the

future of this year, basically. So we set out a couple of goals. We said there

were three things we were going to look at.

First, we were going to refocus our government's approach to delivering

services, making sure that we deliver everything we can in cost-effective way

and making sure that our people get the best bang for their buck. That is what

we did in this Budget.

Mr. Speaker, secondly, we said that we were going to give Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians support that they need to seize the opportunities that are in front

of them. That is what we did. We invested in our apprentice program and we

invested in education. We never cut a thing when it comes to our young people

and making sure they and all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians seize the

opportunities that are here in front of them today.

Thirdly, we said we were going to improve the businesses and the communities

to make sure they get the power to grow. Mr. Speaker, we did that and we are

continuing to do that with all of the investments we are doing in Municipal

Affairs, the Department of Business, and everything else. We are doing a great

job there also.

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I am going to talk about what our minister did.

Our Minister of Finance, he set out a plan, a plan to make sure that this

government and this Province, in the future, are going to be in a great fiscal

position. He explained to the people of the Province that this year coming up we

could have a little bit of difficulty, we may run a deficit. The reason why we

are going to run a deficit and he explained it pretty clear we have two

productions that will come in for retrofit, so we are going to lose the monies

that we are going to have that they produce in oil. We are also losing the

Atlantic Accord which is some $532 million.

Last year, forecasted was $59.1 million, but commodity prices and

strengthening offshore production meant that we have a surplus of $776 million,

which was outstanding. Mr. Speaker, what that enabled us to do was to reduce our

debt by $361 million. The biggest thing that this government is doing, and most

proud I am sure that most of the members here in the House of Assembly are, is

how we are reducing our debt. For the last six out of last seven years, we have

run surpluses and we have reduced our debt by $5.5 billion down to $7.8 billion.

We have a long way to go. The Minister of Finance stated in his speech that is

going to be the goal of this government, we are going to set that we can make

that even lower and lower. We know the next couple of years it is going to be a

little bit difficult, but hopefully commodity prices can go up and the

production whatever it is, and maybe we will not run too big of a deficit. When

you look at $258 million, it is not too bad when you look at the surplus we had

last year.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by just talking about different

departments and what this government is doing in supplying services and what we

are doing for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. First of all, I would

like to talk about the Department of Health. The minister, last night, I think

she had about ten minutes extra, but I am sure she could have gone on for a

couple of hours with the facts and figures that she delivered here. Mr. Speaker,

we are looking at $3 billion that we are spending in the Department of Health.

That is huge. That is 40 per cent of our Budget. Mr. Speaker, there are

investments that we are doing to make sure that we have great long-term care

facilities, we are supporting our communities, breast cancer screening, and we

are making sure we have shorter wait times in our emergency units. Eight hundred

million dollars is going into infrastructure projects alone in the health care

system.

Mr. Speaker, we are doing projects all over this Province. There is not one

part of this Province that we are not affecting people. We are doing projects in

St. John's, Flower's Cove, Glovertown, Paradise, Harbour Grace, Grand

Falls-Windsor, Corner Brook, Labrador, Carbonear, Lewisporte, Bonavista, on the

Northern Peninsula, on The Isles of Notre Dame, on the South Coast, you name it,

we are investing money into health care. That is very important because that is

what we have to do and that is what we want to do as a government.

Mr. Speaker, I would say our biggest investment, by far, in the health care

system is the investment we are making in the people who supply the health care

system to us. Mr. Speaker, as I said, I had the experience now the last little

while I think since November I have been that popular at the Health Sciences

and St. Clare's that I could give everybody here a tour. I was on a first-name

basis with the boys at Tim Horton's and the ladies at Tim Horton's. So, if

anybody wanted to know anything about those two hospital facilities, I could

surely tell you. Mr. Speaker, I just want to talk about the people who provide

the service. Right now in this Province we have approximately 1,100 doctors, and

since the last five years we have increased that by 125 doctors, which is an

increase of 13 per cent. That is amazing. Now, our population at that same time

has only gone up by 1 per cent. So, Mr. Speaker, we are increasing and making

sure that we have care for our people.

Mr. Speaker, I want to tell a little story. Basically, I was at St. Clare's

and the young people, the young doctors, we have coming through the system, and

I am sure that most people agree with me, are unbelievable. I am so proud of

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. I think it is the greatest place to live, and

I think we are a caring people. I think that we care more than anywhere else in

all the world. Mr. Speaker, when I looked at a young doctor who came in, she was

an intern with medicine, and she was called down to the emergency unit, she

leaned in over the rail and she had a talk with my mother, who was in the bed.

She reached down, she held her hand, and that is all she had to do. She told her

what she was going to do, and when she left my mother said: Wasn't that a lovely

doctor? That is what I was so proud of: She was a lovely doctor, she was a

Newfoundlander and Labradorian, and we have to proud of the people that we have

in our health care system.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. K. PARSONS: Mr. Speaker, right now we have 6,300 nurses, 2,700 LPNs

that is the second most nurses per population ratio in Canada. In the LPNs, we

have the largest LPN population in all of Canada. Now, those are stats, Mr.

Speaker, I am very proud of. Doctors and nurses give us a great service, and

they are doing a fantastic job in our health care system; but, we have support

staff, we have the girls and fellows who come and take the blood, and we have

people that do the X-ray equipment. There is so many different support staff,

but you know what? They are caring people; they care about Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians.

I had an aunt who came from away and she was home two or three times, and she

was just remarking to me all the time how caring our health care workers were.

It is something I really wanted to get up today and say that I am very happy to

be a Newfoundlander and Labradorian, and I am very happy to see these people

working in our system. Thank you very much.

Mr. Speaker, I am going to move onto another department now; I am going to

talk about the Department of Municipal Affairs. I would just like to say to the

hon. Member for The Straits White Bay North, if he gets a transit system up on

the Northern Peninsula, I want one down in Torbay, Flatrock, and Pouch Cove too.

Mr. Speaker, Municipal Affairs is doing a great job for our municipalities. I

represent five small municipalities and part of St. John's in my district. If

you look at the investments that they are doing over the last number of years,

last year there were twenty-one fire trucks that were given out to different

municipalities. There was a total request of seventy-four. I am sure if the

minister had his way he would give out seventy-four fire trucks for everyone,

but it is all common sense; you have so much money to spend, you would like to

do what you can but twenty-one fire trucks.

I heard the hon. member from the Northern Peninsula, The Straits White Bay

North, last night complain about what we are doing with our fire departments and

stuff like that. Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity on Saturday night to speak

at the fireman's ball and their appreciation night down in Logy Bay-Middle

Cove-Outer Cove. I had the opportunity to speak with the mayor. Last year they

received, I think it was, seven bunker suits. He was so happy with just that

investment of seven bunker suits in the department, and he said that is a really

good investment. They have a request in for a fire truck also, but he was

impressed with the seven bunker suits.

If you look at some of the releases that I have seen from the Department of

Municipal Affairs, as far as I know, I do not think there is a fire department

in this Province that has not had any support from this government. It is

important, Mr. Speaker, it is very important that we support our volunteer

firefighters. Our volunteer firefighters are the key to most of our communities.

They go out on a regular basis and they put their life in danger. They go out

and they go to accidents. They can be unsafe. They do a lot of different things.

They are the first ones there all of the time.

Any fundraising, anything at all I know the ones in my district, I have

Pouch Cove Volunteer Fire Department, I have Torbay Volunteer Fire Department,

and I have the Logy Bay-Middle Cove. They are great areas. It is unbelievable

what they do for their towns, no matter if it is a Santa Claus parade or if it

is breakfast with Santa Claus. They are there all of the time in the community.

Mr. Speaker, when I spoke the other night I said it is so important that we

support the volunteer fire departments, but we also have to support their

families, because when they leave at night and they go to a fire or whatever, it

is the family members at home that are really concerned about whether their

loved ones, whether it is him or her, are going to get back. It is very

important that we do support our firefighters because we are supporting the

families and we are supporting the communities.

Mr. Speaker, like I said, we have made huge investments. I had the

opportunity last year to go with the Minister of Municipal Affairs and we did an

announcement down in the Town of Bauline. Bauline is the smallest town in my

district and it has a population of about 500. They had a town hall down there

that was condemned due to mould and whatnot and they were told they were not

allowed to use it any more. Anyway, they went and they applied through Municipal

Affairs for some funding to build a new town hall. Now, this place they had

before was a sixty-six-year-old school that they used to have their dances in;

they had their seniors' dinners in it, and any event that went on in the

community, no matter if it was a fiftieth anniversary or a ninetieth birthday or

whatever. Once that went, they had nothing in their community.

Mr. Speaker, our government it does not make any difference, whether you

are a big community, large community, or whatever; we prioritize and make sure

that we take care of our residents. We last year made an announcement down there

that we were going to build this year. They have it started already. It is an

investment of over a million dollars into a new community centre for those

people and it is outstanding. I was so proud of that. It made me just feel proud

that our government did that. It is something that all communities need; we need

a place to gather, it is very important. They have their meetings now down in

the church, so to go to a new community centre I cannot wait for it to open,

to tell you the truth. It is going to be really good.

Those are the investments that the minister and this government are making

when it comes to municipal affairs, but not only in little things like that; we

are investing in roads in our communities and we are investing in water and

sewer in our communities. We are investing, making smart investments, and it is

all over Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, those investments are key. I listened to the Member for St.

John's East when he talked about a new fiscal arrangement and stuff like that

for municipalities. Now, I was a mayor and I understand that, yes, there are a

lot of needs. If you look at the needs versus what we can actually do, we are

probably doing 10 per cent or 15 per cent of it. We have to all be realistic; we

cannot take every cent we have and just give it out. We cannot take it out

because there will be nothing left for our children and our grandchildren.

Mr. Speaker, I know the minister is working with Municipalities Newfoundland

and Labrador to make sure that we do our best, but we have to be smart, because

there are fire trucks needed, there are water and sewer things needed, and we

cannot just give it out and make sure that there is no money for all

municipalities.

Mr. Speaker, the next department I would like to speak a little bit about is

the Department of Education. This department over the last number of years has

made huge investments huge investments, Mr. Speaker. We had new schools this

year in Happy Valley Goose Bay, Placentia, Port Saunders, Port Hope Simpson,

and Bay de Verde, and we also have a new school in Torbay. Mr. Speaker, I have

been down to the new school; I walk in on a regular basis, every event that I

can go to, and walk into that school and meet the teachers.

The teachers were in Holy Trinity Elementary who were sixty years old. When

you walked in the library, all you saw was books on top of you. Now you walk in

a resource centre with a beautiful whiteboard down at the end, computers on

every desk, and it is just unbelievable. A beautiful gym, a cafeteria, it is

absolutely beautiful. Talk to the teachers and they are amazed with the facility

they have.

Mr. Speaker, they are amazed with it, and the parents, when you talk to them,

they just cannot believe how beautiful it is. Beautiful classrooms, everything

in there is clean and tidy. It is so tidy it is unbelievable. The teachers and

the parents are not the ones; the ones who are the happiest are the students who

are getting an opportunity to learn in a number one, top-class facility. That is

what we have been providing with all of these new schools. Mr. Speaker, we have

five more new schools under construction in St. Anthony, Carbonear, and here in

St. John's. If you take St. Teresa's and Virginia Park, once they get the

situation straightened out, I am sure they will get a new school too, and the

west end high school.

Mr. Speaker, if you look at the investment that we are putting into our

children like I said, education is so important we are investing almost $867

million. Mr. Speaker, that is an increase of 44 per cent since 2005. That is

amazing. If you look at the investments we are putting into our pupils, per

pupil, the average per pupil was $7,400. Today, it is $13,229, an increase of 78

per cent. Those are huge investments.

Mr. Speaker, I heard yesterday, and we talked about poverty reduction and we

talked about different investments we are making. I know myself, as a parent,

when school started it was hard enough getting them dressed and everything else

because they wanted top-of-the-line gear, but coming home and not knowing what

the cost was, not knowing what the books would cost, and not knowing what the

fees were going to be that year. Mr. Speaker, that is all eliminated. It is

eliminated for everybody. It is a big worry off so many people. That is a big

thing we are doing for all the families in this Province.

Mr. Speaker, another big thing we did in education was the new models of

allocations with teachers and how many students are in the class. What we are

doing means we have an additional 822 teachers who are still in the system, who

would not be there today. That is huge, 822. That is a lot of teachers.

Now, Mr. Speaker, in my district, the growth down there is unbelievable. The

growth in the Town of Flatrock this year was 20 per cent, Torbay 17 per cent,

and Pouch Cove and Bauline were both in double digits. This government has put

money in this Budget this year for major infrastructure

projects for planning and design work for schools in Portugal

Cove-St. Phillips, Paradise, Conception Bay, like I said, Torbay, Flatrock, and

Pouch Cove. We are very happy with that investment. I thank the minister and I

thank the government for that investment. The ball is rolling and we are going

to keep it rolling, and I am sure that we will get a new school in my area.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to just talk a little bit about post-secondary. I

know that post-secondary education - when you look at what has happened in

Quebec, the riots and the people are on the streets. The students are all upset

about what has happened in Quebec. That is not happening in Newfoundland, Mr.

Speaker, it is not happening at all. There are lots of smiles on people's faces

who are going to MUN and CNA. Since 2005, Mr. Speaker, we have spent $183

million to ensure that we have a tuition freeze for our students. Mr. Speaker, a

huge investment, and we guaranteed them that they were going to get it again

this year.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to talk a little bit about the fishery. Most of you

guys do not know, but I have a pretty good background when it comes to the

fishery. I heard the hon. minister on Issues and Answers , I think it is

called, on NTV on Sunday. I will challenge anyone here to say that they cut out

more cod tongues than I did, because I cut out a lot of cod tongues in my day, I

guarantee you that. Mr. Speaker, I will tell you, at twenty-five cents a dozen,

I wasn't getting a lot of money for them, but I cut out a lot of cod tongues.

Mr. Speaker, I grew up in a family where my father fished, and we owned

AN HON. MEMBER: I have fifty cents.

MR. K. PARSONS: You have fifty cents; wow.

We owned a trucking company. We trucked fish out of Torbay, Flatrock, and

Pouch Cove. We trucked on an average about 30 million pounds of cod a year and

15 million pounds of capelin. I do have a pretty good background when it comes

to the fishery. My very first job, I used to drive along with the driver and I

would receipt the fish slip to the fisherman, give him his copy and make sure

that the weight was right on the truck.

Mr. Speaker, when the moratorium came in, the community of Flatrock and our

trucking company and everything else, we just said she is gone; there is nothing

we could do about it. Mr. Speaker, like the minister said Sunday, there are a

lot of changing times in the fishery. The fishery has changed, but I am looking

at the fishery

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. K. PARSONS: Can I have a little bit of leave?

MR. SPEAKER: Does the member have leave?

AN HON. MEMBER: By leave.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cape St. Francis, with leave.

MR. K. PARSONS: Just to clue up.

My point is, Mr. Speaker, that there are hard times in the fishery, there are

real hard times in the fishery. I look at the fishermen who are in my area and

they are doing very well today in the crab fishery. Actually, they are doing

better today than they did before the moratorium came in because they

diversified, they moved to a different thing. That is what we have to do in the

fishery. The fishery is never going to stay like it is. We have to make changes

and when the changes are here we have to come with them, too.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Member for Mount Pearl North.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is great to get another opportunity to participate in the debate in this

House on our provincial Budget; the Budget Speech was delivered on April 24 by

our Finance Minister. This Budget, Mr. Speaker, is all about making responsible

investments and securing a better future for Newfoundland and Labrador. It must

be driving the Opposition members crazy to have to sit there and listen to all

the good news, to listen to all the positive investments, to listen to all the

positive decisions that are being made to secure a brighter future for this

place that we call home. We will continue, despite the fact that they may not

like it, to talk about many of the good things that are happening here in

Newfoundland and Labrador. There is certainly much work ahead of us in many

areas; nonetheless, I think we have a bold plan that will lead to a brighter

future for all of us.

The Opposition Parties are always quick to be critical, but they are ignoring

the fact that we are providing the very services that they accuse us of

neglecting. This kind of short-sightedness, Mr. Speaker, demonstrates that they

are really only focused on the issues of today, in their minds; they cannot

possibly lay strategic groundwork for the future. I want to talk about the

groundwork that we have been laying over the last eight-and-a-half years and the

groundwork that we continue to lay through a number of initiatives in this

Budget.

Someone said that the hallmark of maturity is to delay gratification for

future reward. Mr. Speaker, we are a government that demonstrates maturity, that

shows fiscal responsibility, and that demonstrates sound planning for the

future. We are prepared to make the necessary sacrifices and the necessary tough

choices that need to be made today to ensure that we have a strong future. It is

all about fiscal responsibility, Mr. Speaker. We are ensuring fiscal

responsibility while at the same time investing in infrastructure in key areas,

investing in social programs, paying down our debt. All of those things that we

are doing do require difficult decisions today, but there will certainly be many

rewards reaped by this Province in the future. Our responsibility as a

government is to provide for today and also prepare for tomorrow. That is why we

are not going to allow ourselves to be swayed by the negative voices coming from

the Opposition. We have set a strategic course for this Province, we are on

course to reach our destination, and we intend to support the people in

Newfoundland and Labrador, the families in Newfoundland and Labrador, as they

create their own prosperous futures in this place.

Mr. Speaker, I was going to talk about health and I was going to talk about

municipalities, but the hon. Member for Cape St. Francis has done a fine job

just a few moments ago speaking to a number of issues related to health care and

communities in this Province. I really applaud his honesty and his sincerity and

his compassion that he just demonstrated, Mr. Speaker. The member is certainly a

great man who cares for the five communities he represents, cares for his

family, and I certainly was pleased to hear his comments, not only on health and

on municipalities but also on education, on the fishery. I can certainly not

claim to have cut out as many cod tongues as he has, Mr. Speaker, because I have

not cut out any. I have eaten a few and did not particularly enjoy it, actually.

So I will leave that to the Member for Cape St. Francis who I affectionately

refer to as the member for Flat Rock.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. KENT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for your protection.

I do want to talk about Tourism, Culture and Recreation, because I was

frustrated by some of what I heard on one of the Open Line call-in shows today,

Mr. Speaker. I heard the member from the Third Party for the District of St.

John's Centre talking about all the things we are not doing for the arts

community and for cultural workers and to support the arts and cultural

industries in Newfoundland and Labrador. I just find that hard to understand and

even harder to accept, Mr. Speaker. So I thought I would share a few facts with

the hon. member and with my colleagues in this House.

Mr. Speaker, the provincial government's allocation to the Newfoundland and

Labrador Arts Council in 2006 was under a million dollars a significant amount

of money, but the amount of money was about $960,000 back in 2006. Mr. Speaker,

at a time where we are being accused by the Third Party of abandoning the arts

and not investing in the arts, I can tell you that today's investment is more

than double what it was back in 2006 at $2.11 million. Mr. Speaker, that is

our allocation today to the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council, yet certain

members opposite would tell you that we are doing nothing or we are not doing

enough.

The fear mongering continues. I heard comments about how funding is being cut

to artist programs and grants. Well, Mr. Speaker, I have heard the minister say

multiple times that efforts are being made to minimize any impact on artist

programs and grants. In fact, I have also heard that funding directly to artists

is not expected to change in this fiscal year, Mr. Speaker. In fact, at a time

when the Third Party would tell you that we are gutting funding to the arts

community and to the cultural community, we are investing over $20 million this

year in the arts alone.

Mr. Speaker, since 2006 and the Third Party will not want to hear this

either we have invested $56 million in arts and culture. We are a government

that is all about co-operation and partnerships and empowering people in our

communities and working directly with stakeholders in our communities to get

results. We continue to work closely with the arts and cultural industries in

this Province, and we are putting our money where our mouth is, Mr. Speaker.

Since 2004, our investment in the Cultural, Economic Development Plan in this

Province has tripled. In 2004, the funding in the plan was about $825,000. In

the Budget this year, Mr. Speaker, that the members opposite are so unhappy

with, our investment is about $2.9 million, which demonstrates how committed we

are to putting our money where our mouth is, continuing to invest in the arts

and in the culture and in the incredible talent that exists here in Newfoundland

and Labrador. There are all kinds of economic spinoffs to those investments, Mr.

Speaker.

The global budget, actually, for Tourism, Culture and Recreation has gone

from just over $26 million back in 2003 to $66.8 million this year, Mr. Speaker.

That is an increase of 156 per cent, but the crowd opposite will tell you we are

not doing enough.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENT: Thank you for your enthusiasm.

Mr. Speaker, lots of good things are happening in Tourism, Culture and

Recreation to support the arts and cultural communities in this Province, and

that is all making a difference in growing our economy.

Mr. Speaker, the Member for Cape St. Francis did a good job talking about

some of our investments in education. Some of them are worth repeating. If you

listen to the crowd opposite you would think we are a government that has not

invested in education, but nothing could be further from the truth. You only

need to look at the investments outlined in this very Budget that we are

debating in this House today, the continuation of our enhanced free textbook

policy. We are continuing to provide funding to school boards to ensure the

continued elimination of school fees, and we have invested over $37 million in

that since we launched that initiative back in 2006. Government provides close

to $538 million, more than 62 per cent of the entire K-12 budget for teachers,

substitute teachers, student assistants, professional development and other

services for teachers. I challenge any member opposite, Mr. Speaker, to show

this kind of commitment to education when they were at the helm. The truth of

the matter is they will not because they cannot. There is more money being

invested into our K-12 school system in this Province than ever before in our

history.

Mr. Speaker, I want to also talk about early learning because we are just not

limiting those investments to students and educators in the K-12 system. Again,

the Third Party will tell you that the sky is falling, that this government is

not concerned enough about early learning. In this Budget alone, which is a

fiscally responsible and progressively conservative budget, I would argue, Mr.

Speaker, we are seeing an investment of almost $1.7 million for the second year

of implementation of our Early Childhood Learning Strategy, which is called

Learning From the Start. Just today in this House, we heard another announcement

from the Minister of Education relating to this very strategy. The Budget

commitment is part of a three-year, $4.8 million investment, with a focus on the

years from birth to age three.

We are also implementing a 10-year Child Care Strategy, Mr. Speaker. It is

going to allow parents to pursue education or employment by increasing child

care spaces in this Province, particularly for children under two years of age,

which is outlined in our Family Child Care Initiative that was announced last

year. We are now in the second year of the two-year pilot Family Child Care

Initiative, and regularly we are hearing announcements by the Minister of Child,

Youth and Family Services on new spaces and new investments that are being made

in child care around this Province.

We are also committed to maintaining the Child Care Tax Credit. You certainly

will not hear the Third Party talk about that. We are also focused on