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April 30, 2024 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS Vol. L No. 70

The House met at 1:30 p.m.

SPEAKER (Bennett): Order, please!

Admit strangers.

Good afternoon, everyone.

Before we begin, in the public gallery I'd like to welcome students from Gander Collegiate Concert Band and their teacher, Stephen Ash. They're visiting today to perform at the Rotary Music Festival.

Welcome.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: Also in the public gallery, I'd like to welcome Miss Newfoundland and Labrador Megan Coles. Megan's here this afternoon.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: Megan's being recognized in a Member's statement.

Statements by Members

SPEAKER: Today, we'll hear statements by the hon. Members for the Districts of Terra Nova, Topsail - Paradise, Grand Falls-Windsor - Buchans, Ferryland and Cape St. Francis.

The hon. the Member for Terra Nova.

L. PARROTT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I stand to congratulate a group from the Glovertown area that contributed to an enjoyable multicultural social back in March. This event featured eight countries, each with a table for their cultural items, food, clothing, costumes, traditional dance and informative facts. Other volunteer groups and local businesses also attended. There was a decorative bag that was sewn by the Women's Institute and the 50-plus club, and other displays featured a mug rug, a colouring book made by three local artists and various other items.

The laughs and the smiles were a great indication of the event's success, along with songs, food and games. It was enjoyed by all.

While the event was intended for new immigrants to the area, it ended up being a very informative social community event, developing awareness for all of those who were in attendance.

Please join me in thanking the organizing committee, co-chaired by Denise Feltham, Linda Churchill and Janet Hounsell, for making this event happen.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Topsail - Paradise.

P. DINN: Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise and congratulate this year's recipient of Miss Newfoundland and Labrador, Megan Coles.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

P. DINN: Megan hails from the beautiful District of Topsail - Paradise and since winning her title has been very busy at many activities and events.

Outside of her role as Miss Newfoundland and Labrador, Megan works as a pediatric and neonatal nurse at the Janeway hospital. She is a medical first responder with St. John Ambulance, she volunteers as a camp counsellor with Candlelighters and has plans to complete her master's degree to become a nurse practitioner.

Megan is an inspiration to many young girls and women as she believes that with hard work and dedication you can achieve what you think is out of reach.

Competing in pageants was new for Megan, but since she was 12 years old it was something she wanted to do. Her then dance instructor was Miss Newfoundland and Labrador 2012 and Megan was inspired by everything that she had accomplished.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all hon. Members to join me in extending congratulations to Megan as she continues to inspire others with her positivity as she wears her crown with pride.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Grand Falls-Windsor - Buchans.

C. TIBBS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Danielle Mills from Grand Falls-Windsor is a high school teacher and an outdoor enthusiast. She has made an enormous impact throughout her community as a member of Cantus Silva Women's Choir, a broomball player with the Exploits Rush and the HNL female coordinator of officials.

Miss Mills started playing minor hockey at the age of 10 when someone suggested she try officiating and so began a path that would change history forever. Entering her 24th year of officiating, she has travelled to national championships, as well as the Canada Games.

On January 28 of this year, Danielle Mills made history at Joe Byrne arena as the first female official to referee a senior hockey game in Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

C. TIBBS: With overwhelming support from her family, friends and community, Danielle laced up her stakes and donned the stripes as the Cataracts took on the Jets.

This historical event took place just nine weeks after giving birth to her beautiful daughter Claire. Danielle hopes all females, including little Claire, looks upon the accomplishment as an opportunity to sort of break the ice for female officials.

Please join me as I honour Danielle Mills, a role model for many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians for years to come.

Thank you, Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Ferryland.

L. O'DRISCOLL: Thank you, Speaker.

I stand today to congratulate Michael Tobin, a student of St. Bernard's Elementary school in Witless Bay.

In November of 2023, Michael submitted a drawing, along with over 300 other students from Grades 4 to 6 schools across the Island, for a chance for their illustration to be chosen as the official mascot of the 2025 Canada Games.

It was suggested that the design should reflect the province's identity, culture and heritage. Michael's drawing did just that, a vibrant green coloured codfish called Gusty, with playful demeanor, a bright yellow jacket and colourful stripes and a sou'wester. Gusty captures the hearts of people of all ages.

As the official mascot of the 2025 Canada Games, Gusty will inspire participants and spectators alike, fostering a sense of unity, pride and excitement. Gusty's presence will leave a lasting legacy, inspiring future generations to embrace their heritage and pursue excellence with courage and determination.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all my colleagues in this House to join me in congratulating Michael Tobin on having his submission chosen for the mascot for the 2025 Canada Games.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cape St. Francis.

J. WALL: Thank you, Speaker.

I rise today to recognize an outstanding community volunteer Mrs. Peggy Roche.

Peggy proudly served the residents of Torbay for 24 years on Torbay town council, serving one term as deputy mayor and five terms as councillor. During that time, Peggy served on finance, human resources, planning and heritage committees and chaired the town Come Home Year celebrations in 2005.

Peggy continued to share her time and commitment to others as she chaired the Northeast Avalon Joint Council, was a founding member of the Killick Coast Chamber of Commerce and the Killick Coast Tourism Committee, metro area representative on the Eastern Regional Service Board and served as urban municipality representative with the Municipal Assessment Agency.

In her personal life, Peggy has spent a lifetime caring for her family and for her church, where she is a lifetime member of the Catholic Women's League.

Speaker, I ask my colleagues of this 50th General Assembly to join me in congratulating Peggy Roche, and thank her for the many years of service to the residents of her community and to the province. Your dedication and commitment is truly appreciated.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: Statements by Ministers.

Statements by Ministers

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture.

E. LOVELESS: Speaker, governments, communities and residents all have a role to play in protecting against wildfires. With the 2024 forest fire season set to begin May 1 on the Island and May 15 in Labrador, I would like to highlight our preparedness efforts and encourage the public to be vigilant in preventing forest fires. With the assistance of funds from Budget 2024 , $1.5 million has been invested in new wildland firefighting equipment, and a further $1 million has been allocated to match a shared federal funding program to train and equip wildland firefighters.

Forestry personnel were busy throughout the winter conducting training, testing equipment and planning logistics. Currently, we have fire suppression teams, waterbombers, helicopters and equipment strategically located throughout the province – ready to respond whenever and wherever they are needed.

Every one of us has a role to play in wildfire prevention. For instance, we can proactively protect our properties by removing leaves and other flammable debris and relocating it to a safe distance from dwellings. When planning an outdoor fire, check the online provincial forest fire hazard index maps on the Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture website; familiarize yourself with burning regulations and obtain a permit to burn when it is required.

Before concluding, I would like to thank everyone who puts their life at risk in this province to fight a wildfire. Your contribution to public safety is immeasurable.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Exploits.

P. FORSEY: Thank you, Speaker, and I thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement.

Speaker, while the minister speaks of preparedness, our province faces a stark reality: The readiness of our firefighting fleet is compromised by inaction as a vital waterbomber has been grounded for nearly half a decade. We acknowledge the efforts made, but the government's hesitancy to repair this critical asset has left us vulnerable.

Last year's wildfires were a grim lesson in the need for increased preparedness. We cannot overlook our resources at our disposals, nor can we afford delays when our forest communities are at risk. Repairing the fifth waterbomber is not optional. It's essential. We need all hands on deck and all equipment operational.

The hard-working people who protect our province deserve more than gratitude; they deserve full support of a government that's proactive in its duty. Actions speak louder than words. Now is the time for that action.

Thank you, Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Labrador West.

J. BROWN: I want to thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement.

We want to take this time to thank all personnel who work hard and put their lives at risk to make sure others stay safe. The least they could do is repay the favours by giving them the tools and supports necessary to do their job.

We ask that government hire full-time fire prevention officers and strategically place them throughout the province. We ask that they expedite the repairs to the water bomber that is damaged. And we ask for the return of the water bomber stationed in Western Labrador so that firefighters can do their best to protect us.

It's going to be a dry season this year.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: Further statements?

The hon. the Minister of Justice and Public Safety.

J. HOGAN: Thank you, Speaker.

I am proud to announce that on June 1, 2024, public safety radio will be in effect province wide.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

J. HOGAN: This system improves response times in crucial moments and enables all four Atlantic provinces to communicate immediately during an emergency.

Our government committed to this project four years ago. We recognized how this could bolster public safety in all regions and committed $181 million over 12 years to implement this and the associated communications infrastructure.

I commend officials for working together to ensure all facets of this emergency response system are ready to go live on June 1. This endeavour to implement a new system incorporates thousands of radio users, from police, to firefighters, to paramedics. This also includes radios for ground search and rescue teams, as well as volunteer fire departments across our province.

As we sit on the eve of Emergency Preparedness Week, I would be remiss not to acknowledge our first responders, whose compassion and selflessness to help others deserves our recognition and gratitude.

This is a significant day for public safety in Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Harbour Main.

H. CONWAY OTTENHEIMER: I would like to thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement.

I rise today to recognize and extend my congratulations on the implementation of the province-wide public safety radio system. This marks an important moment in enhancing emergency response capabilities in Newfoundland and Labrador and across the Atlantic provinces.

After making the commitment four years ago, it is encouraging the see progress finally being made in enhancing our emergency response capabilities. Thank you to all of the officials who worked together to make this project possible.

As we approach Emergency Preparedness Week, I would also like to express our deepest gratitude to our first responders and to thank them for their unwavering dedication and selflessness. Police, firefighters, search and rescue teams, paramedics, EMTs, all of our first responders go above and beyond to serve our province and we cannot thank them enough.

Thank you, Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

L. EVANS: Thank you, Speaker.

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

We, too, welcome this news and thank our first responders for their selfless dedication. It is vital to have proper communication supports in place so they can do their work quickly, effectively and safely.

As a first responder, myself, I know that every second counts and clear communication is critical to obtaining the best possible outcome. We also ask more to be invested into mental health supports so our responders are kept safe and healthy. We owe them that.

Thank you, Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: Are there any further statements by ministers?

Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

T. WAKEHAM: Thank you, Speaker.

Speaker, April is Cancer Awareness Month in Canada. The current length of job-protected leave in Newfoundland and Labrador is not adequate to cover the average length of treatment for many people with cancer. That's according to the Canadian Cancer Society. Today, unpaid job protection is just seven days. Yes, seven days.

So I ask the Premier: Will you extend unpaid job protection to those with serious illnesses from the current seven days to 26 weeks?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, and Labour.

B. DAVIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the hon. Member for the question.

It's something that we've been working with stakeholders on; look forward to continuing to work with those stakeholders. We understand that we have seven protected sick days in this province. We're looking at expanding that further. Stay tuned for something that will be coming, hopefully, in the future.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

T. WAKEHAM: Thank you, Speaker.

The average length of treatment and recovery is up to 36 weeks for breast cancer and 37 weeks for colon cancer but, in this province, patients who extend their leave, risk losing their jobs – 87 per cent of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians overwhelmingly support the extension of job protection to 26 weeks.

Again, I ask the Premier: Will you accept the recommendation of the Canadian Cancer Society and implement this job protection for anyone suffering from a serious illness, and when?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, and Labour.

B. DAVIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As I said previously, we look forward to working with the stakeholders. We've had several meetings with the Canadian Cancer Society, the Diabetes Association of Canada, as well as others, Heart and Stroke, to name a couple. We're very excited about what we're trying to achieve here with them.

Obviously, there are other jurisdictions across the country that are doing better than we are and there are others that are not doing as much as we are, so we're trying to find that balance. We are looking at that with the stakeholders. We're working with them, and we are going to continue to work with them.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

T. WAKEHAM: Speaker, again, I didn't see any timeline. I didn't see any commitment other than say: We're continuing to work, or stay tuned.

I think what we're looking for is some kind of commitment, will this legislation be introduced? If not now, will it be introduced in the fall? When? That's the question we're asking.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

T. WAKEHAM: Speaker, a study on lung cancer in Canada projects that, this year alone, 590 people from Newfoundland and Labrador will be diagnosed with lung cancer, and of those, 410 will not survive. We all know early detection has a tremendous impact on survival rates.

I ask the Premier: Will you accept the Canadian Cancer Society's recommendation by implementing a lung cancer screening program for high-risk populations?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

T. OSBORNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We certainly work with the provincial health authority and with stakeholders, such as the Canadian Cancer Society, and any suggestions or recommendations made by the Canadian Cancer Society are taken seriously.

They are reviewed, examined by the department officials and by the provincial health authority. Certainly, if this can be done, it will be done, but this is something that certainly warrants review.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

T. WAKEHAM: Thank you, Speaker.

I understand that this is actually being done in other provinces, so I look forward to seeing when it will actually start in this province.

Speaker, the financial burden that a cancer diagnosis impacts upon an individual is massive. The Medical Transportation Assistance Program is a lifeline for rural cancer patients who must travel far and wide to get the care they need. Patients often discuss the stress of accessing the program as cumbersome and inefficient for patients to deal with at a vulnerable time.

I believe that the Medical Transportation Assistance Program should be funded 100 per cent and covered for the people of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

I ask the Premier: Do you agree?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister Responsible for Indigenous Affairs and Reconciliation, and Labrador Affairs.

L. DEMPSTER: Thank you, Speaker.

We do certainly agree on this side that the Medical Transportation Assistance Program is a very, very important program in this province, one that has been in existence since 1998. It allows people who have to travel to access specialized services assistance to help them get there.

In Budget 2023 , the program came under the purview of Labrador Affairs, an extra million dollars. Since that time, we've made a number of enhancements, including when people have to travel now, in particular from far away like Labrador, 100 per cent of the first $1,000 is paid for upfront so that the individuals travelling don't have to put that on the credit card. We've recently made more enhancements eliminating the $400 deductible for the Island portion of the province, increasing the meals, the travel for in and out of the province –

SPEAKER: Order, please!

The minister's time has expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

T. WAKEHAM: Speaker, thank you.

Again, I did not hear an answer that they would cover it 100 per cent. Then we don't have to worry about all these deductibles and all this. Let's look after the people of Newfoundland and Labrador –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

T. WAKEHAM: – who need our help when they really need our help in case of medical emergencies.

Speaker, a family doctor in Grand Falls-Windsor has sounded the alarm bells over long waiting lists for cervical cancer screening. In March, almost 300 women were on the wait-list for cancer screening which can have – quote –dire consequences, according to Dr. Lynette Powell.

Speaker, why has the Liberal government allowed women's health to suffer so badly in Central Newfoundland?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister Responsible for Indigenous Affairs and Reconciliation, and Labrador Affairs.

L. DEMPSTER: Speaker, I just want an opportunity to address the

preamble and I didn't get a chance to talk about all of the enhancements that we've made to the program, the extra million dollars that came in Budget 2023 and because of the usage, it was up by 20 per cent, 30 per cent; 670 vouchers, I believe, we issued since last September. So there was another $700,000 that was added to the program. I think it's around $10 million, $11 million now in this province that we are providing to support people to access medical services.

That said, we are constantly reviewing the program and looking at where the needs are and how we can do more all of the time, Speaker.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

T. WAKEHAM: Speaker, I'll ask my question again. A family doctor in Grand Falls-Windsor has sounded the alarm bells over long waiting lists for cervical cancer screening. In March, almost 300 women were on the wait-list for cancer screening which can have – quote – dire consequences, according to Dr. Lynette Powell.

I ask the Premier: Why has the Liberal government allowed women's health to suffer so badly in Central Newfoundland?

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

T. OSBORNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

There are clinics for screening that, I guess, pop up, if you want to call it that, that are arranged by providers when there is a demand in areas. These happen in areas throughout the province. Women are able to self-refer for screening, as well, Mr. Speaker.

There is a wait-list. We are concerned about that wait-list. We've had some discussion as well with the provincial health authority to address Dr. Powell's concerns directly, Mr. Speaker, to determine what the wait-list is in Central and the facts as they were presented by Dr. Powell.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

T. WAKEHAM: That's 300 women, as of March, Speaker.

Speaker, many of these women have been waiting years without a key early detection screening for cancer – years. Dr. Powell has described routinely being approached in public by women wondering how to get a Pap smear or a mammogram.

Again, there is no one monitoring these women for continuity of care. Dr. Powell compares the situation – again, I quote – to a canary in a coal mine.

My question is this: Premier, is anyone paying attention?

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

T. OSBORNE: Mr. Speaker, women should not be waiting more than a year or two for cervical screening. If that is the case, there is a concern. Again, we've asked the provincial health authority to look at the facts as presented by Dr. Powell.

One thing that it does raise, Mr. Speaker, is the fact that more education and more public relation needs to be put forward to inform women of the ability to get screening, where they can get screening and how they can get it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

T. WAKEHAM: Speaker, again, we have also been told that it can take three to four months to actually get the results back once you get in for the screening. So, again, women are waiting years trying to get a Pap smear and then waiting months to get the results back.

I ask the Premier: Is he worried that he is jeopardizing the health of women in Central Newfoundland and Labrador?

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

T. OSBORNE: Mr. Speaker, in the last three or four years, the budget by this government for health care in this province increased from $3.1 billion to $4.1 billion. We are putting an additional $1 billion each and every year into health care over the past four years, Mr. Speaker.

We have a focus on improving health care in this province. There is nothing being ignored by this government, Mr. Speaker. We need to see the results for that additional $1 billion a year, each and every year, additional investment by this government. The results and the outputs and the health of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians need to be reflected in that additional investment, and that is what the Health Accord is for.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Opposition House Leader.

B. PETTEN: Thank you, Speaker.

I'm not sure what the minister was saying that time; we're all a bit confused, but the budget and the results don't add up. You can put all the money you want, but we're still not getting the results.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

B. PETTEN: That's what is an important point there, Speaker.

Speaker, another nurse in rural Newfoundland has left the health care system. Fed up with being unsupported and overworked. Stacey Button lived and worked in Springdale at a local hospital but left to become a travel nurse. Ms. Button described stress, forced overtime and poor quality of life.

Does any of these sound familiar to you, Minister?

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

T. OSBORNE: Yes, they do sound familiar, Mr. Speaker. That is the reason the health authority put in place travel agency nurses to deal with some of these issues, because there is a shortage of health care professionals in this province. One day the Opposition are saying we shouldn't have travel nurses; the next day they're wondering why these situations are occurring.

Mr. Speaker, the health authority put the agency nurses in place to deal with these specific issues to help lift the load that our valuable health care professionals in this province are carrying. Recruitment and retention is an issue across Canada, not just in this province.

The Member would like to have the general public believe that it's only in this province. That's not the case.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Opposition House Leader.

B. PETTEN: Thank you, Speaker.

We're the Official Opposition of Newfoundland and Labrador and we want people in this province to be treated with respect, unlike what the minister and his government are doing. Simple answer to that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

B. PETTEN: Speaker, it's an all too familiar story. A hard-working health professional in rural Newfoundland, living and raising family, has to walk away due to stress, frustration and no work-life balance.

When is the minister finally going to recognize that recruitment is no good unless you retain?

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

T. OSBORNE: Mr. Speaker, I believe the agreement reached by the RNU and the Minister of Finance recognizes retention. Significant items in that agreement. Same thing with NAPE and CUPE with those agreements. We also had the Nursing Think Tank where we are looking at systemic issues in the health care system, looking to address those. We have retention bonuses for individuals based on the length of time that they're serving in the health care system in this province.

Yes, we are focused on retention.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Opposition House Leader.

B. PETTEN: This is a question that goes back to yesterday. The minister said he had to wait for the budget to be approved before they could hire anyone. I guess we're still waiting. I guess we might get the budget passed soon and we'll get an answer then.

Speaker, it's no wonder we have thousands of vacancies in our health care system when hard-working professionals in rural Newfoundland are treated with such disrespect. Is anyone surprised the Green Bay Health Centre has been on diversions in the past?

Why is it the Liberals can't show these LPNs respect, yet can pay travel nurses $300 an hour?

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

T. OSBORNE: Mr. Speaker, I am probably the loudest advocate for reducing the reliance on agency nursing in this province. When I became minister, that is one of the things that I told the provincial health authority. When agencies had contacted me, I told them that we want out of agency nursing, not more agency nursing.

We are focused on retention. We put a retention office at the provincial health authority, one in the department, that are totally 100 per cent focused on recruitment and retention, as opposed to somebody doing it in addition to their many other duties.

We have people 100 per cent, day in and day out, focused on recruitment and retention, Mr. Speaker, so we can reduce our reliance on agency nursing. But agency nursing was absolutely needed to provide the time off to the health care professionals that we have in this province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Opposition House Leader.

B. PETTEN: I'm not sure if the minister has been listening or not. In Estimates, he acknowledged there's well over $100 million spent on travel nurses under his watch. So I guess he's not doing that good of a job getting it under control, Speaker, and it keeps growing every day.

Speaker, the government will pay Ms. Button half as much as an RN – half as much – expected to do the same duties and then replace her with a travel nurse making nine times the amount. Just think about that.

Does that make any sense to anyone in this House, Minister, especially yourself?

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

T. OSBORNE: No.

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Ferryland.

L. O'DRISCOLL: Speaker, a nurse practitioner has been removed from the clinic in Ferryland, leaving just one nurse practitioner to service the town and surrounding communities.

Minister, why are you leaving the people of Ferryland, Trepassey regions with just one nurse practitioner in their clinic?

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

T. OSBORNE: I find the question a little bit puzzling, Mr. Speaker. The Member knows I've had a number of conversations over the last couple of days with him about this; in fact, I had a conversation with him today saying that I am working with him to try and resolve this issue.

We have a meeting with the CEO, myself and that Member, at 3:30 today to talk about this very issue.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

T. OSBORNE: So I'm not sure that I'm actually ignoring the Member.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Ferryland.

L. O'DRISCOLL: Thank you, Speaker.

I think I asked you last Thursday if the question had come out and you responded today. So when it's in dire need, when there's neither nurse practitioner in Ferryland today and they're up there – and I'm getting emails. So where was the answer last week when I needed it? Now I need it today and now you're going to jump on it when you forgot about it.

Speaker, the clinic already has patients waiting weeks, yet you are now taking another health practitioner away. Now we learn this week that the facility is – quote – left with another one to steer the ship all week – left alone.

Minister, how can you justify the reduction in health services on the Southern Shore?

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

T. OSBORNE: Mr. Speaker, I do the best I can to try and not be political in this Legislature because there are 40 of us and we all advocate for our constituents. But when something is blatantly untrue, I have to deal with it because that is political.

The Member knows that I had discussions with him last week on this issue. I showed him an email that I had received from the provincial health authority, which had different information than the Member was providing me. I had asked him to go back and get some additional details and based on that, Mr. Speaker – so he wasn't ignored until just today. That is blatantly untrue.

Today, Mr. Speaker, I said I am going to help you get to the bottom of this and set up a meeting with the CEO. What more does he want me to do?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Ferryland.

L. O'DRISCOLL: Speaker, what I'd like him to do is put the doctor back that he took last year –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. O'DRISCOLL: Speaker, the minister and his Liberal friends have consistently let the people of the Southern Shore down. Two years ago, the Liberal government failed to successfully negotiate to keep a family doctor. You talk about retention bonus; you didn't do your job on that one.

Trepassey – they are now taking away a nurse practitioner in a health care system that is already stretched beyond the breaking point.

Minister, after eight years of Liberal neglect, why are you continuing to abandon the health care on the Southern Shore?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

T. OSBORNE: Mr. Speaker, again, very political. I don't remember driving up –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

I heard the question and now the response.

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

T. OSBORNE: Mr. Speaker, I don't remember driving up to the Member's district and packing the nurse practitioner's suitcase in my trunk and driving her away.

What I did offer the Member was to find out what was happening to work on the issue –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Are you ready now?

We will move on with the response. You have 20 more seconds, Minister.

T. OSBORNE: What I do remember doing is last week trying to address the Member's concerns and contacting the provincial health authority to find out what was happening. There was conflicting information between the Member and the health authority, and I told him that we would work together on getting to the bottom of it.

Mr. Speaker, tell me those questions are non-political.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Placentia West - Bellevue.

J. DWYER: Speaker, there are obviously issues in our health care system that need to be addressed, and recruitment and retention are at the top of the list.

There is a real epidemic on the Burin Peninsula and there just doesn't seem to be enough mental health and addictions supports to help people.

When can the people of the Burin Peninsula be offered wraparound supports so they don't end up in tents?

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

T. OSBORNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, I will say in the Legislature that over the last five years we have come light years in providing additional supports to the people of the province throughout the province, in all regions of the province.

There is much more that needs to be done, and I will acknowledge that. We have an all-party Committee put in place to help with further recommendations, to build on the recommendations of Towards Recovery , and I look forward to that work.

But we're not just simply waiting on that, Mr. Speaker, we have money in this year's budget for mobile crisis units. We have money in this year's budget for opioid treatment. We have money in this year's budget to expand on other services that have been put in place in this province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Placentia West - Bellevue.

J. DWYER: The minister mentioned about the mobile crisis unit.

When can the Burin Peninsula expect to have theirs on the ground running?

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

T. OSBORNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We continue to add, each and every year, to the mobile crisis units throughout the province, Mr. Speaker, we continue to expand on those. What I can say is that we will be looking province wide at providing mobile crisis units where they're required throughout the province as we continue to move forward, adding services in this province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Placentia West - Bellevue.

J. DWYER: Speaker, illicit drug use is continually on the rise, not only in my district but across the province. I receive many calls to my office regarding the influx of drugs and the impact it is having on crime in our communities. Seniors who have felt safe for years, no longer feel safe.

When can the people of rural Newfoundland and Labrador expect real action to combat crime and illicit drug use in our communities in rural Newfoundland?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Justice and Public Safety.

J. HOGAN: Thank you, Speaker.

These are similar questions that were asked yesterday and I'll give the same answer. I have a lot of faith in the RNC and the RCMP in this province. We continue to fund both those police agencies here. In fact, in the budget that we're going to vote on very soon, there's an additional $10 million for the RNC to provide new members, front-line members to police parts of this province and, of course, we funded the RCMP several years ago to the tune of $17 million.

Unfortunately, the RCMP is going through some recruitment issues throughout Canada and we've advocated – I've advocated – very strongly that Newfoundland and Labrador deserves its fair share of members. I'll continue to advocate with the RCMP, directly with the commissioner, when he comes here to Newfoundland and Labrador next month.

Thank you, Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Bonavista.

C. PARDY: Speaker, last week, I asked the Minister of CSSD when seniors in our province will see a targeted poverty reduction strategy, but I did not get an answer at that time. November 8, it was launched with much fanfare, knowing that in a couple of months it would be received.

I'd like to ask the minister, again: When will the targeted seniors' Poverty Reduction Plan be released?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Children, Seniors and Social Development.

P. PIKE: Mr. Speaker, our province is home to an aging population, as we all know, that requires targeted intervention to ensure seniors age well with dignity and are able to live in their own communities. Budget 2024 did provide $10 million for a comprehensive Social Well-Being Plan, which will look at prioritizing home repair, home modifications, will support caregivers of individuals who have high-care needs and will provide grants for low-income seniors.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Bonavista.

C. PARDY: Speaker, the media coverage said my question wasn't answered and again this week it's not answered.

Just let me ask the question again succinctly: When will the targeted senior's Poverty Reduction Plan be released?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Children, Seniors and Social Development.

P. PIKE: Yes, Mr. Speaker, we certainly are working on a targeted plan for seniors. We're hoping that we can release that within the next few weeks.

There is some work being done now, we're just in the process of finalizing it, but we are thinking within the next couple of weeks, before the House closes for sure.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Bonavista.

C. PARDY: Speaker, there are thousands of seniors out in our province between the ages of 60 to 64 years of age.

How many will benefit from the targeted poverty reduction strategy that will be launched in a couple of weeks?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Children, Seniors and Social Development.

P. PIKE: Mr. Speaker, our Poverty Reduction Plan does include a targeted basic income for people aged 60 to 64, who are both in receipt of income support and supports from Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services. The enrolment in that particular program, Mr. Speaker, is now open and our officials are doing that as we speak.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Bonavista.

C. PARDY: Mr. Speaker, I ask: How many seniors will avail of the Poverty Reduction Plan, the targeted basic income that will be launched in two weeks' time?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Children, Seniors and Social Development.

P. PIKE: We already have that program launched and, as I said, we are now doing the enrolment, so we will know our numbers really soon and we'll be able to provide them at that point in time.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Labrador West.

J. BROWN: Thank you, Speaker.

Speaker, last year, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change refused to enforce pollution laws after Tacora's dust exceeded legal threshold for nine days straight. Dust from the mine site has been an issue that spans decades. Labrador West thinks enough is enough.

I ask the minister: Will he start enforcing pollution laws and holding companies accountable for their inactions this year?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, and Labour.

B. DAVIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'd first like to say a big thank you to the hon. Member for asking the question. It's an important issue in Labrador West. It's an important issue that the community is facing each and every year, he says for a number of decades. We're continuing to work with the company and the community through a community liaison group that's been started.

The hon. Member brings this concern forward to me. I reach out to the proponents and the industries to ensure that they're working as hard as they can to mitigate those problems as they exist.

We know that this year is a little bit drier of a year than the previous years, so there may be a little bit more dust. We're going to double down on the industry to ensure that we're working very hard to ensure that they can mitigate as much of those concerns as possible.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Labrador West.

J. BROWN: Thank you, Speaker.

Speaker, during an event for the National Day of Mourning, I saw a list of miners that died from lung disease and silicosis in Labrador West. I knew many of them.

Residents of Labrador West are tired of government inaction on the dust that blankets our community every summer.

I ask the minister: Will his department investigate the continued failure of Tacora to control their tailings dust and hold them accountable for their inaction?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, and Labour.

B. DAVIS: As I said, Mr. Speaker, yes, it's very challenging. To have one life lost is one too many in any industry. We don't want to see that happen. That's part of the reason why we put in place a community liaison group that works with the proponent to try to mitigate those concerns that happen within those.

There are monitoring stations that exist in Labrador West and they will continue to be monitored. We're going to work with the proponent to ensure that they mitigate those concerns as quick as they possibly can for the community's benefit, for all of us.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. DINN: Thank you.

Speaker, signs prohibiting tents, essentially eviction notices, have gone up at the Colonial Building. Obviously, the next step in the province's housing strategy.

Despite what the minister says, there are no viable housing options and no guarantee that calling the emergency shelter line will result in a place to stay.

I ask the Minister of Housing: What neighbourhood, underpass, bridge, abandoned building or open space does he plan to relocate the tenters?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Housing.

F. HUTTON: Mr. Speaker, as I've said in this House numerous times – and I thank the Member opposite for the question – our staff, in conjunction with our community partners, are on site at the encampment near the Colonial Building on a daily basis offering options.

Over the last week – I've been in this position for about two months, I've also been touring some of the shelter areas to get a better look at what options are being offered. We're continually looking at new options, Mr. Speaker, including our initiative for transitional supportive living at 106 Airport Road.

There are options which are constantly being offered to people who find themselves either homeless or facing homelessness.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. DINN: Shelters, emergency shelters, are not the option people are looking for.

Speaker, the federal housing advocate, Marie-Josée Houle, says that homeless is a systemic issue and people are homeless because governments of all levels have failed them.

Will the minister admit that his government's unwillingness or failure to take a human rights-based approach to housing has forced people to live in tents or shelters and failed those unable to find an affordable place in which to live?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Housing.

F. HUTTON: Mr. Speaker, I'm proud to say that this year, in Budget 2024 , this government has almost doubled its budget and its focus on housing.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

F. HUTTON: We understand that there is an issue; there is no disputing that. As I have said before, this side, that side, outside the House, there is no disputing that there is a housing crunch in Newfoundland and Labrador and, for that matter, across Canada and around the world. A lot of jurisdictions are facing this.

We are, with concerted efforts and a dedicated staff, putting extra resources into providing safe and affordable housing for people in this province, Sir.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. DINN: Speaker, a travel nurse in Central Newfoundland accuses government of trying to have it both ways and blaming nurses for the nursing crisis. The Minister of Housing blames volunteers, advocates and those experiencing homelessness for people continuing to live in tents.

I ask the Premier: Is blaming others his government's new communication strategy to deflect from his government's failure to address problems before they become crises?

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

T. OSBORNE: Mr. Speaker, because somebody says something on the radio – I don't remember anybody on this side blaming nurses for a shortage of nurses. I don't remember anybody on this side blaming nurses for travel agency nurses, Mr. Speaker. In fact, what we did say is agency nurses were absolutely required to lighten the load for the valuable, dedicated health care professionals that are in the system.

So I am not sure where the Member is getting that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The time for Oral Questions has expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling of Documents.

Notices of Motion.

Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Bonavista.

C. PARDY: Thank you, Speaker.

Cancer patients served by Bonavista hospital have not had access to chemo treatments locally for approximately two years. These patients have to travel to the next closest site, over 1½ hours away. Travel becomes arduous and costly.

We, the undersigned, call upon the House of Assembly to urge the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to reinstate the chemotherapy service at Bonavista hospital immediately to better serve the residents of the Bonavista Peninsula.

We're all wearing the daffodil in our lapel in the House this week and that signifies Cancer Awareness Month. I think we're all in tune with the impact of cancer on many of the lives in Newfoundland and Labrador. Prior to the pandemic, anybody with treatment or requiring treatment in the Bonavista Peninsula would go to the local hospital and receive their chemo treatment locally.

Now, because of an operational situation, what they've got to do is they've got to travel to the next closest facility, which would be at G. B. Cross in Clarenville. For those people who've experiences cancer in the House, I would think that they would be well aware that the travel is arduous and it's tough. If it can be supplied in their local community to serve the people in the Bonavista area, that's the way it ought to be;

whereas now they've got to travel a significant distance, not feeling well and added to that would be the cost of the travel.

We have many operational issues within the system and it's not for the Member of Bonavista to say that the health care has operational issues. The minister himself said it and mentioned it no less that six or seven times here in the House that they do have operational issues.

This is one that, if given attention, we can remedy to make sure that those people don't have to travel that distance to get their treatment. They can travel 15 minutes or less to the hospital in Bonavista, receive their treatment and then be in the comforts of their own home to recover and not being on Route 230, travelling back and forth from Clarenville.

I would ask the minister to give it some attention, look into this operational issue that affects the people on the Bonavista Peninsula and let's reinstate chemotherapy at the hospital.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: Any further petitions?

The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

J. DINN: Speaker, a petition to amend the Citizens' Representative Act to include municipalities province wide in Newfoundland and Labrador in the Citizens' Representative Act Schedule.

WHEREAS municipalities province wide are self-governing and need to be more transparent and accountable to the general public – residents; and

WHEREAS including municipalities province wide to the Citizens Representative Act

Schedule will ensure that any wrongdoing by a municipality in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador that may be harmful, dangerous to the public or injurious to the public's interest will be investigated to prevent misuse of power and resources;

THEREFORE we, the undersigned, petition the hon. House of Assembly to urge the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to amend the Citizens' Representative Act to include all municipalities in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in the current Schedule.

Speaker, we have heard complaints from residents from several communities of town councils acting in conflicts on interest. Municipalities are self-governing organizations, with no mechanism for oversight. The Department of Municipal and Provincial Affairs, according to some, seems to be unwilling or unable to engage with the issues.

The Municipal Conduct Act is not functioning – again, to the people that have contacted us – as an adequate system to resolve legitimate issues of conduct. Also, it can be used as a mechanism to level vexatious claims against council or to attempt to formalize personal disputes, resulting in needless legal costs.

Residents and councils are looking for an impartial ombudsman or ombudsperson or ombuds office or other third party to mediate and investigate claims of conflicts of interest. So there is an opportunity here, what they're seeking for is some independent body to look into the claims and avoid potentially vexatious, expensive legal costs and also to makes sure that, indeed, concerns are addressed in an objective manner.

Thank you.

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

L. EVANS: Thank you, Speaker.

This petition is for improved inclusion for Northern Labrador communities to participate in the Newfoundland and Labrador incentive rebate programs.

We, the undersigned, are concerned citizens of Newfoundland and Labrador who urge our leaders to ensure that the residents in Northern Labrador communities are given due consideration when the provincial government develops or develops in collaboration with others, incentive programs such as the Oil to Electric Incentive Program and the Residential Construction Rebate Program.

Northern Labrador residents are excluded from qualifying for the provincial and federal governments oil to electric incentives, all because Northern Labrador communities are supplied with electricity from diesel generating power stations.

So, Speaker, I have presented this petition and, in actual fact, I have been presenting this petition since the rebate program has been issued to transition people off oil to electricity. When I raised the petition first, I know that the province was giving up to $17,000 to transition people from oil to electricity.

Now, the problem is, in my district, our diesel generating stations are the only way that our communities get electricity, so we can't qualify. People in my district who need to go to electricity because they can't afford the expensive oil, or they can't haul wood, so what they're doing is they're actually investing the money themselves, when the rest of the province gets this rebate.

I did ask the minister in budget Estimates, the Minister of Labrador Affairs, she did say that they have a voucher program in this budget for seniors so that they can use it for oil or for food. But the problem with that, Speaker, is what about the rest of the people in my district on low income or people who are struggling to meet their family budget demands. So for us, that's one of the problems.

Now, I'm not going to say no to the voucher program and our seniors, our elders, are going to be very grateful to get that money, but, in actual fact, this goes to the negative stereotyping that we've been experiencing. I said that in Estimates.

Unfortunately, if we get a voucher for our seniors and the rest of the province don't get a voucher, a lot of people are going to look and say, oh, they're getting a handout. That's another handout for Northern Labrador. That's another handout for Southern Labrador. The truth of the matter is, we're not getting any handouts at all. This voucher program pales in comparison to all the federal dollars and all the provincial dollars that the rest of the province can get.

In actual fact, this is a clear example of negative stereotyping for my district. Oh, give us a voucher, just for our seniors. The rest of our people in our province needs to realize that we need to be included.

Thank you, Speaker.

SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Member's time has expired.

Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.

J. HOGAN: Speaker, I call from the Order Paper, Motion 5.

SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.

J. HOGAN: Speaker, I move, seconded by the Deputy Government House Leader, that under Standing Order 11(1) this House not adjourn at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, May 13.

SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

All those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

SPEAKER: All those against, 'nay.'

Motion carried.

The hon. the Government House Leader.

J. HOGAN: Speaker, I call from the Order Paper, Motion 6.

SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.

J. HOGAN: Speaker, I move, seconded by the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology, that under Standing Order 11(1) this House not adjourn at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 14.

SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

All those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

SPEAKER: All those against, 'nay.'

Motion carried.

The hon. the Government House Leader.

J. HOGAN: Speaker, I call from the Order Paper, Motion 4.

SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.

J. HOGAN: Speaker, I move, seconded by the Deputy Government House Leader, that notwithstanding Standing Order 9, this House shall not adjourn at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 15, but shall continue to sit to conduct Government Business and, if not earlier adjourned, the Speaker shall adjourn the House at midnight.

SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

All those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

SPEAKER: All those against, 'nay.'

Motion carried.

The hon. the Government House Leader.

J. HOGAN: Speaker, I call from the Order Paper, Motion 7.

SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.

J. HOGAN: Speaker, I move, seconded by the Deputy Government House Leader, that under Standing Order 11(1) this House not adjourn at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 16.

SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

All those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

SPEAKER: All those against, 'nay.'

Motion carried.

The hon. the Government House Leader.

J. HOGAN: Speaker, I call from the Order Paper, Order 2, Concurrence Motion, Report of the Resource Committee.

SPEAKER: The motion is that the House concur to the Report of the Resource Committee.

The hon. the Member for Exploits.

P. FORSEY: Thank you, Speaker.

Again, it's a great opportunity here to stand up for the constituents in my district and speak of some of the issues, especially around the Resource Committee. There is some forestry there, I noticed, there was some Crown lands, some wildlife, all parts of my district and it's always great to get up and speak about parts of my district that make concerns and those resource issues were certainly part of it.

I think there's a constituent of mine in the gallery today and I would just like to say hello to one of the constituents that's here today from my district. So it's nice to see her here.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

P. FORSEY: In the Resource Committee, Speaker, we did some work on forestry. One of the big industries, we're known as the fiber basket in Central Newfoundland, but we have no secondary processing. There's some logging in there, we do have some logging permits. But we don't have any secondary processing.

We have multiple lots of fibre in there. We know that the permits are all taken up by the three bigger units in the province, which leaves no opportunity for secondary processing right now in Central Newfoundland. We see it every day. We see all the fibre being taken out of Central Newfoundland, gone outside of Central Newfoundland. We need government to put more access into forestry limits, especially permits, into Central Newfoundland.

There was 280,000 cubic metres unlocked by the old Abitibi permits back in 2018. All of those were issued and gone. There was allotment there for some sort of industry after the former Abitibi closed down. There was allotment of fibre there for some sort of industry, secondary processing to be taking place in the Central region. Access to that now is not there.

So we certainly need government to be paying attention to our forestry in the Central area and we need some secondary processing in there, especially today, jobs are sparce. We need industry in there and forestry can take place in there. We have lots of it and to see the logging going outside, that there's no secondary industry and people seeing they can't get no permits. Even domestic permits right now, just for even firewood, is getting depleted. So we certainly need the government to pay more attention to the forestry industry in the Central area.

When it comes to the forest industry, forest fires, we mentioned that earlier. We have all seen the devastation two years ago in the Central area. The forest fires in there were close to towns, close to properties, the emergencies taking place. So the volunteer fire departments, lots of groups and organizations stood up and took the place of some of the actions that were going on during the forest fires with regard to some mediations with regard to protecting the people of our province.

When we have a water bomber, they should be equipped and in the air and ready to go to protect our forests. To have the fleet down to four, to have the bombers as to hire wherever they're needed highest, that's where the bombers go. Sometimes they go out of the province and have to come back, so we certainly need that fifth. We had six one time and now we're down to four. Then we went down to five and one got damaged. So we certainly need that fifth water bomber in the air to protect the forest industry. If we're going to have a forest industry, we need to protect it.

So that's some things that government has to pay attention to, the fire protection in the area. So we need the government to step up and have more ground crews, of course, too. We certainly need ground crews to be coming in to protect our forest fires, so we need ground crews to have there.

We know that the staff in the area are doing a great job. They do a great job for forest fire protection. They do a great job for our forest fires and managing it, but they can only do what government provides to them and if government don't provide them with the tools to protect our forests, to do the work that they need, then they'll be fighting a losing battle. We certainly need government to step up, putting ground crews on the ground, give them their supports that they need so that they can do the work that they professionally do and do it proudly. We are proud of those people.

Crown lands is another big issue in the district, all across the province, certainly, we've heard of the frustrations of Crown lands. We need legislation brought to the House of Assembly to address some of those issues with Crown lands. We've heard the stories – every one of us has got them. People can't sell their property because they don't own their land, they don't have clear title to the land. They've got deeds, they've got documentations that they do own their land or their land has been transferred or they bought land but government won't accept that as a clear title.

They have to go back years to get proof of people who lived there at that time. Some of those people now are elderly. Some are not even there. They're deceased, some of them. Some of them can't recall what happened in those days, who owned the land or what happened to the land.

Government certainly got to bring in some legislation to cut back on the frustrations that people are finding in their Crown land situation right now. All they want to do, a lot of the elderly people especially, out around smaller communities, they want to move in further. They want to move closer to hospitals. They want to move closer to family. They probably just want to get into seniors' units so they need to sell their homes, but in order to do that, they have to prove, after living in that home for 50 years, that they own their home, own their land.

So we need government to bring in legislation that we can sort out some of those issues, to be able to make some documentations better and supports for those individuals that want to say that they own their land so that they can sell their land, sell their homes and just move on in a life that they want to.

We'd certainly like to see, Minister, to bring forth some legislation into that. They've done a review. There was a review done on Crown lands 2015. The PC government did a review in 2015. It's almost 10 years later. That review was never adopted. So they decided to go do their own review. Last January, they picked out a couple of points that can be brought to the House of Assembly for discussion – we certainly can. It might not solve everything, but we can certainly bring those points to the House of Assembly. We can sit here and have legislative discussion on that and maybe make things easier for the people in this province who want to sell their homes.

They have a couple of points that can be brought forward, bring forward the legislation, let's discuss it and let's make life easier for the people of the province, especially in the Crown lands sections.

Wildlife: Moose management is another thing that I hear in the district, the amount of moose and the licences that are being issued. Government, in the moose management areas, need to do a physical count of the moose that are there so we can have that industry – and there's a big industry in the moose, actually. The outfitters and the people who bring in those hunters, they want to make an industry out of the moose management areas. Moose management needs to be a little bit more active, a little bit more acted upon and those discussions.

I've had some emails along the way of some beaver licences, trap licences. People have concerns. The older trappers have concerns now of losing their licences. There've been some discussions that, next fall, it may go to an open draw for their beaver licence;

whereas they had those held on, their beaver trapping licences, for years.

We need government to pay attention to that. There are already rules and regulations in place for the beaver trapping licence. If they're not paying their fees, if they're not trapping beavers on those licences, if they're not reporting their activities, then someone else can take their place on the trapline or give it to somebody that's already using the trapline until somebody else comes into place. That certainly needs to be addressed. We all know beavers can do some devastation to the properties. We've seen it on our roadways. Just by driving along the highway, we have dams sometimes on our highways that can probably flood some of the areas there.

So yes, we need beavers controlled, no doubt we do. But we have to do it responsibly. We have to do it in a way that's manageable, in a way that can be taken care of. So we need government to look at those beaver management areas, those beaver licences and the traplines so that they can get back to what they want to do on their traplines. They can work with government and the traplines to be able to minimize the beaver population.

Agriculture is another big part of – we spoke about it in the Resource Committee. We have a big part of agriculture in our province. In Central Newfoundland, we have a big industry of agriculture in our area. Agriculture certainly is a big part of food security in our province. We need to increase food security in our province. That's one thing we need to do.

In a study, 26 per cent of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are living in food insecurity. We need to decrease that food insecurity. We can't keep relying on transportation, especially the boats and the planes or whichever way the food is getting here – mostly on Marine Atlantic at the time. When you look at the expense it costs to bring the food across Marine Atlantic, the freshness of it, the cost of it by the time it gets to the shelves, we're looking at expensive grocery bills. We're looking at food that's probably sometimes not fit to eat because it takes that long to get here, especially on fresh foods.

We certainly need to put more into the farming. I know government can attest to say that we've doubled our farmland. They've doubled the farmland, all right, but we're not getting no yield from that farmland. So we don't know where we're to with regard to food security. If we're not getting yields from those farms by the time – and they can also cut the red tape because, by the time somebody acquires farmland, by the time they get to have yields in that farm, in that agriculture section, it costs so much. The cost is up that high and they get tired. They say they get frustrated and they're out of here. Then they're out of here. No food being farmed, no yields coming out of that farmland.

They can say that they doubled our farmland, but we're not getting double production. It's not happening. So we certainly need government to reduce the red tape on that so we can have less than 26 per cent of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians living in food insecurity.

Also in the Resource Committee, we talked about the environment. We did the waters, and it was discouraging to hear that there are still a lot of communities throughout the province that are still on boil orders, still don't have water that's fit to drink, that they can make access to clear drinking water in those communities. I know government has some programs, some ways of doing it, but a lot of the smaller communities just don't have the funding. They do not have the opportunity to avail of some of the programs that's there.

Government needs to step up more to make sure that individuals, that people in those LSDs, smaller communities certainly have the necessity that they need of clean drinking water, instead of having boil orders in those communities. We need that addressed. We need government to do something with the water situations and not being on boil order.

We spoke about some industry in our province in the Resource Committee. We talked about the wind energy coming to Central Newfoundland. There's one on the West Coast, one in Central Newfoundland and one down in Burin. While we're introducing those wind projects, while they're all new energy, people got a lot of questions. There are questions that need to be answered.

As the Opposition, we encourage new industry, new development. But at the same time, we need to make sure that we protect our environment. We have to make sure that we are the beneficiaries of our resources, that we get the maximum benefits from our own resources, that we protect our environment and at the end of those projects, we have to make sure that we are not responsible for cleanup.

We have seen this in the past, we can look no further than Abitibi. Abitibi built some of the communities. So we have the Abitibi one there. ASARCO mines in Buchans was another one. By the time we went in there to clean up the tailings at ASARCO mines, it cost us millions. It cost us millions to clean up what Abitibi left behind.

Some of the land, right now, we can't even use because it's contaminated. The environment is not fit; the land is not fit. The environment is contaminated; we can't use the land. You look at the devastation that is around some of the forest areas, some of the wood's roads. We all see it. It is left there today. There are pieces, there are containers, there are drums, there are different vehicle parts. There are all kinds of stuff left throughout the forest part of it. It is even in our rivers in Central Newfoundland.

While we encourage the new industries, we have to make sure we have a detailed environmental assessment and we protect our properties. At the end, we have a good decommissioning fee in there so that we don't have to go back in there to clean up those industries.

We've seen it in the past. We shouldn't let the past haunt our future. We have to make sure all this is in place, like I say.

So that's one industry. It seems to be a new industry with a lot of questions and people are looking for answers. But we have to do it right. We just have to do it right. People welcome it sort of thing. I know there has been some response of people that don't want it, of course. But at the end of the day, we have to make sure that those projects are done right and that the environmental assessment is done to our own benefit. That we are the beneficiaries. That we are protecting our own properties.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

P. FORSEY: With that, Speaker, I'll leave the concurrence on the Resource and I'll have a chance to speak about my district on another day.

Thank you.

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, and Labour.

B. DAVIS: Thank you, Speaker.

I would be remiss if I didn't say thank you to the MHA for Exploits for attending Estimates with the Department of Environment and Climate Change, along with some of his colleagues. I think the MHA for Bonavista was there. I think the MHA for Torngat Mountains was there. I think the MHA for St. John's Centre was at those Estimates as well and I do believe the MHA for Mount Pearl - Southlands was there as well, for a few fleeting moments.

But I do want to take the opportunity to mention important investments that we're going to be making in Budget 2024 in the Department of Environment and Climate Change. I would like to point out a few highlights that we're going to be doing but also some things that, I think, need some clarification. I'll explain a little bit about that as I go through.

I do have a significant amount of material to go through but I'm not going to try to go through all of that material here today. I know that I may get other opportunities from time to time to get up and talk to my colleagues about what we're doing and what we're trying to accomplish. I think the long and short of it is most of us in this House of Assembly want to try to accomplish everything we possibly can, in all the different departments that we all represent.

I think, from my standpoint, I'd just like to highlight some of the Budget 2024 investments, just on a high level and I'll go through a little bit more detail as I go through the opportunity over the next number of minutes that I do have.

In the Department of Environment and Climate Change, we've made investments of some $81.9 million to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while addressing energy affordability as well. This funding includes the transition of people's homes from oil to electric, which is a much better opportunity for them, from a cost savings perspective. Also, it gives them the option in many cases for cooling options that could go along with that as well.

An additional $1.5 million for flood-risk mapping; $1.1 million to support electric vehicle infrastructure; $508,000 to enhance drinking water improvement initiatives, which I'll highlight that the MHA for Exploits talked about the fact that there are some boil-water advisories. I do agree with him, there are. It has been significantly reduced over the years. We're going to continue to double down and reduce that even further this year and into the next couple of years. We're focused on that, but it does take a partnership between the communities that we all represent.

I encourage every MHA in this House of Assembly to encourage their constituency to look at those options before they do – what I always say – the shiny arena or the shiny recreation complex. I think clean drinking water should be a priority for every community. I know that former municipal leaders have put significant investments into drinking water at the political expense of other things that the constituency would like to see.

I understand that takes leadership and I encourage every MHA in this House of Assembly to encourage their constituencies to look at that, their municipalities, their LSDs to look at that because it's not easy decisions to make, but they're very, very important decisions. I think every time those decisions are made, the constituency makes out better in the longer run than they could ever make out from a recreation complex or anything like that.

Not saying they shouldn't have a recreation complex as well, I think they should, but I think the first and foremost priority for any municipal or any leadership in the community level would be to provide the basis services that the constituents need and require. That $508,000 is going to help and I'll explain a little bit why that's going to help.

Also we have $654,000 to establish a permanent program through wastewater surveillance. You may say, well, why is that? You'll hear a little bit later in the opportunity about why we're doing that and the benefits of that from a government-wide perspective. It's not just from Environment and Climate Change perspective or community-based, but from a health care perspective, as well.

Speaker, protecting our environment and providing quality services to residents are key priorities for our government and we continue to implement these programs as we transition to a low-carbon global economy. We have a shared responsibility. We all have a shared responsibility to protect the environment for future generations and made the greener choices each and every day. The health and well-being of young people, our young families in our province, our country and, in turn, the global community, depends on the choices we make today.

One of the things I was a little disappointed in with our Estimates discussion that we had there last week was the biggest existential crisis that the world is facing, the global community is facing, climate change, never received one question – not one. It's our biggest line item in our budget, of the three divisions that we have, that's our biggest line item that we spend money on, not one single question.

I do understand that we were pressed for time. My officials and myself were willing to stay as long as it took to go through every bit of questioning that the Opposition parties would like to have. So I was a little disappointed in that because I think there are a lot of good news stories within that point. I think there's a lot of opportunity for us to be questioned and provide insight to the Opposition groups to understand what we're doing.

I think that was a little bit of a disappointment for myself as well as some of my staff that were very well prepared to answer questions on an issue that we're facing, not just in this province. We see it on our doorsteps, whether it be the Southwest Coast, whether it be coastal communities with erosion, we see it every day. Those are discussions that I wanted to have on, not just the budget, but the policy decisions around those budget decisions. So, hopefully, we will get the opportunity to have those questions, whether it be in the House of Assembly through Question Period or on the side.

My door is always open, as my critics know. They can reach out to me any time. I'm willing to sit down with them and walk through anything they have with questions to improve the back-and-forth nature of what this House of Assembly is. We all have that collective responsibility and I think as MHAs, the 40 of us – or 38 of us right now – all have that ability to work together, across the aisle, it's important.

One of the good things that I wanted to highlight in the Estimates was that we've taken action on all 45 of the items that were recommended in the Climate Change Action Plan that previous Environment Ministers brought forward and I had the pleasure of trying to move forward as well. That plan is now nearing completion and we're looking at having a new plan. We finished public consultations on the new plan. We look to hopefully have it in the fall of the year, releasing the new plan for 2025 and onwards for the Climate Change Action Plan.

But we're doing something a little different this year. This year we're actually adding another plan, which will be the adaptation plan.

So it's going to show communities and give some insight into a report card, for a lack of a better term, of recommendations that we can be held accountable to, to ensure that we're working as hard as we can with the communities and what communities can do to improve their ability to, not just turn back the clock a little bit on climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but also how we're going to adapt to what's already going to be on our doorsteps that we're seeing every day. So I am happy that those climate change adaptation plans and mitigation plans are going to be coming out this year.

I would be remiss if I didn't say a big thank you to the Climate Change Division in our department for the great work that they do each and every day to try to make a meaningful difference. As I've said before, Budget 2024 includes some $81.9 million to reduce greenhouse gas emissions plus another $2 million or so to support electric vehicles while addressing those funding. It is a really, really important thing.

With the time I do have left, Mr. Speaker, I would like to talk a little bit about the partnership between the Low Carbon Economy Leadership Fund, which is one of the many programs that we do have in the department that has made a significantly positive impact on the environment and to the people that we all represent.

We're going to be delivering some 830,000 cumulative greenhouse gas emission reductions over that time frame by 2030 and 650 direct person-years of employment. That's going to meet our targets for 2030. A large

part is because of the investments that we've been making over the last number of years and the Climate Change Action Plan and the people that are working really hard and diligently to do that.

Obviously, 2050 is the net zero we want to get. We have to do a significant amount of work across departments on this side of the House, but it's across all government, to make sure we hit our targets for 2050.

Over the 2018-2024 Low Carbon Economy Leadership, we spent some $89.4 million of federal and provincial cost-shared money to successfully do projects that were reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but also giving the options to make more energy efficient but more cost-effective structures for whether it be municipalities, individual homeowners or community groups.

In June 2023, we announced a further $157 million for greenhouse gas reduction initiatives for 2023-2027, that included $102 million for the residential Oil to Electric Incentive Program and an additional $55 million that we're yet to announce – we're working on that with our federal partners for $55 million – for the non-residential, which would be our churches, our community groups, our municipalities. Those are things that we're all going to be trying to move out the door as quick as we can, as soon as we get that agreement signed with our federal colleagues.

The Electric Vehicle Rebate Program is another thing that we've been moving forward because transportation accounts for some 41 per cent of our greenhouse gas emissions as a province, more than any other area in the province, more than industry, more than homes, all those things. So it is a significant driver of the greenhouse gas emissions in our province. We understand that. That's why we're moving as fast as we can to try to have people make those choices for our electric vehicles. We know the supply chain is getting stronger.

We've seen increases seven or eightfold over what we've done year over year for electric vehicles. Those are things that we're very excited about in our department and I think the general public are excited about as well.

An additional program was the oil to electric switch program for homes, which was an additional project that we started a couple of years ago. The first year we started I think it was 160 or so homes that were done. The next year was 1,700. This past year, as of April 1, we're at somewhere between 2,600 and 2,700 homes that applications have been received and approved and moving through that process. So we're very excited about that and as people staff up the industry, we're going to see that go a little further each and every day.

In Budget 2024 , we announced $1.975 million for electric vehicle charging infrastructure and incentives, that's $875,000 to support Electric Vehicle Rebate program, but I think the real important piece is – and all jurisdictions across the country are starting to move in this direction – making sure that we have the infrastructure in place to handle the vehicles as people buy them.

The supply chain is starting to sure up. There are more electric vehicles being made and available in Newfoundland and Labrador. We can see that from the numbers. We approved some 745 applications this past year versus, I think, 500 that was done last year. The year before, I think it was in the 100 to 150 range. So we've seen a significant increase in adoption of electric vehicles and we realize that the technology is getting better each and every day about battery life, the longevity of that.

Range anxiety is becoming less and less because people are getting more used to seeing charging infrastructure and understanding that about 95 per cent or more of your charging and your charging for electric vehicles is going to be done in your own home. So there's a significant amount of that.

In comparison, we're now averaging about two electric vehicles on the road every day, which is an impressive feat for a small province like ours. We've also established a Net-Zero Advisory Council in December of 2021. They've done some significant work on near term and foundational goals for the government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, looking at other jurisdictions across the globe and in Canada: New Brunswick, British Columbia; USA: Maine; UK: Scotland; as well as Australia. We're looking at all those options. I look forward to their reports coming in as they start looking at different areas of this.

One of the key pieces that, I think, is really, really important in our department is managing of water. I think the MHA for Exploits highlighted that in his talk that he wants to see investments in that. So we're happy to say we're doing some investments in that area. We're investing some $654,000 to expand the provincial Wastewater Surveillance program, which, as I said before, this is a partnership. This is done with the Department of Health and Community Services. It started out as testing the waste water to see where COVID was prevalent in the communities.

Now, it can be looked at in a variety of different health tools and it's an invaluable health and public policy monitoring tool that will allow health resources to be, I hope, deployed to areas that would require them, based on what they're seeing in the waste water.

It sounds an interesting way of doing it. It's probably not something that people would get excited about, but I know from a statistics standpoint and an information standpoint, I know the Department of Health and Community Services are fairly excited about it. Right now, we've expanded the number of communities from 20 communities with 24 sampling locations representing about 46 per cent of the total provincial population. So we're seeing growth in there. We're looking at expanding that even further over the next little bit.

One of my favourite things to talk about is flood risk mapping. I know the Minister of Municipal Affairs is very excited about flood risk mapping as well and we're very excited about the mandate that we have to expand that further, and I'd like to highlight some of the work that's already been done.

Flood risk mapping is an important planning tool. It gives government and communities opportunity in terms of land use development, where to build infrastructure investments, emergency management, climate change adaptation; all those things are very, very important. We're putting $1.5 million into that this year.

In the past number of years, we have developed flood risk mapping for over 40 communities in the province, which is important, but we have significantly more communities to do. The province does this with federal cost-shared funding and we're looking at expanding those every year as we move forward to conduct those flood risk maps to ensure the communities are well aware of what's going on.

In 2021-2022, flood risk mapping was undertaken in communities like Placentia, Carbonear, Victoria and Salmon Cove; and in 2023, were areas in communities like Ferryland, Brigus, Heart's Delight, Winterton, Hants Harbour.

This past year, 2023 and 2024, moving into this year, we're looking at areas in St. John's, Codroy Valley area, Channel-Port aux Basques, Burnt Islands, Isle aux Morts, Rose Blanche-Harbour le Cou, Burgeo, Stephenville, Kippens, Cox's Cove, Trout River and Parson's Pond.

Those are the areas that we're looking at putting flood risk mapping in and expanding even further, so phase two of this process will run from 2024 to 2028, and the province is currently planning those flood risk studies for the province. In 2024, we are looking at areas on the Northeast Avalon, Southwest Coast and various areas on the Eastern part of the Island, which is important.

All of that is based on where the need is, where it is required and where the data needs to be done for the communities because it's outdated or its changes in the climate or its coastal communities that we really need to do some work on. Having a reliable flood risk mapping allows municipalities to plan both for current and future climate conditions. It minimizes damage of property and infrastructure which is expected to result in cost savings over time.

As is part of the public safety against potential floods, the departments operate real-time flood forecasting systems on areas in Humber River, Exploits River, lower Churchill River – which is important – using state-of-the-art technology modelling that results in sharing with emergency services when it is appropriate.

These are just a few of the highlights of Budget 2024 for the investment in my department. I am happy that I had the opportunity to go through the Estimates process. I always liked that time of the year where we get the opportunity to have a good dialogue with Opposition Members about what's happening, hopefully educate them on some of the issues that we see from a policy perspective. Hopefully they give us an opportunity to answer the questions and listen to our answers and use that when they're actually communicating with their constituents or all of our constituents.

Because it's really, really important that the information is fact-based, which is what we try to do with our department. I would remiss if I didn't say a big thank you to the Department of Environment and Climate Change, whether it be from a labour standpoint, environmental assessment.

I would highlight, in the last minute or so that I've got left, I will say that the MHA for Exploits did talk about the hydrogen and wind projects that we have on the go. There is a fulsome, legislatively governed environmental assessment process that each of these programs will go through. The most recent one required some 60-plus release conditions; one of which of those conditions was a decommissioning plan that has to be approved prior to any shovels going in the ground, which is what was talked about.

I think it's really, really important that those things are put in place. We want to have an environment that's sustainable for our generations to come, our kids, our grandkids, hopefully, that will be doing significant amount of work in the area that we all live, love and want to be a part of.

All I can say is that that's our primary focus, as the Environment Minister and my department, is to make sure that we make the best environmental decisions for the province on the way we go forward. That's why I'm happy about the environmental assessment process which is legislatively governed and it's very fulsome in its coverage. Every industry has to go through it. I would like to just thank that division as well as Climate Change for their great work.

Thank you, Speaker, for the opportunity to speak today.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Bonavista.

C. PARDY: Thank you very much. Speaker.

It's on a rare occasion that I may say hello to a constituent in my district – on the rare occasion, I may, but this time I want to say a special hello to a viewer in Lake Melville District.

AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible.)

C. PARDY: Cartwright - L'Anse au Clair, okay. That's right. Rosalie Belbin is one who reaches out quite often –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

C. PARDY: – and I'd like to say hello to Rosalie because she doesn't miss a session of the House of Assembly and she likes to keep connected with all of the MHAs and the staff within the House of Assembly.

AN HON. MEMBER: She writes three letters a day.

C. PARDY: Yes, she writes three letters a day. That's awesome.

Rosalie is from Red Bay, Labrador. Sometimes Rosalie will post on my Facebook post and the residents and constituents in the District of Bonavista may not know about Rosalie or where she's from Red Bay.

If we go back to the 16th century , Red Bay was a bustling community which had the Basque whaling and it was a massive operation back in the 16th century – not whaling, but the fishing industry is one that I think we need to focus a little more on. I would hope in my short time remaining that I can at least throw out a few more suggestions to the government and in those suggestions then maybe it would stimulate some debate and some action. Allow me to start.

Glen Blackwood, who is quite knowledgeable about the fishery, had spoke at the sealing summit held in St. John's at the Convention Centre. He had stated a phrase which our leader from Stephenville - Port au Port has used several times in stating that the fishery is our only renewable megaproject.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

C. PARDY: Think about it. It brings in between $1.2 billion and $1.4 billion. A spike in the snow crab, which we are heavily dependent on, it might hit $1.6 billion, but generally $1.2 billion, $1.4 billion. Just slightly less than what we pay to service our provincial debt. Think about it. We believe that the fishery ought to be producing more and let me throw out a few things, items to you, that will hopefully inspire some decision-makers or the department to say here's some plausible action.

I would like to think, maybe after the next general election, the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, maybe on this side, asking questions to whoever runs Fisheries over there saying, well, how did you grow the fishery? Because we believe it should be worth a lot more than $1.2 billion, $1.4 billion.

We ought to be held accountable when we're saying we're going to do something, then we ought to be accountable for our actions towards growing the fishery. So the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure when on this side, after the next election, would ask: What actions have you done in the fishery to grow it from $1.2 billion to $2.5 billion?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

C. PARDY: Do you know what? Whoever stands up on the government side is going to say a very good question, but I would hope they're going to say here are the actions that we've taken and these actions will hopefully grow the fishery. The Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure now is going to sit down and say, well, that was a pretty good answer because we presented actions to grow the fishery. That is the direction.

Mr. Speaker, my time is running out. We've got 1,000 less people in the fishing industry according to the Budget Speech from last year to this year – 1,000 less people. At Estimates, I had asked a question. We didn't know where those 1,000 people are or what they did. There was no answer to that at that point in time. So that's an unknown.

But what I would state to you is the fact that when I asked in Estimates, the Minister of Immigration, Population Growth and Skills, is his department tracking the loss of population in rural Newfoundland, the department official said no, they're not. There is no tracking. Every one of us in rural Newfoundland can say we're losing population in rural Newfoundland. Thus, we would say: What action is being taken to try to prevent the erosion of rural Newfoundland? That's a fair question. All the constituents in the Bonavista district now watching this program are saying good question.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

C. PARDY: But there was no answer. There was no answer in Estimates.

Let me go into that. There was an

article in the paper and it was an opinion

article in CBC, and it was written by Derek Butler. Derek Butler is a common name that people well known in the fishery. But in that opinion article, here is what he had stated. He had said: “If the goal of Canadian fisheries policy is sustaining rural communities, and the fishery had produced some very strong economic returns in recent years, including in the COVID-19 era, we should be seeing change.” We ought to be seeing change.

I had asked at the Estimates: Can we have or can he inform us of what the policy is to sustain rural Newfoundland? What is the policy in the Fisheries Department that will sustain rural Newfoundland that we're acting towards? What is the policy? That's a fair question. Because without a policy or an action, we're left to try and say it's going to happen by chance. And we don't leave things to happen by chance. But the answer in the Estimates in Fisheries, there was no policy that they could state at that time. There was no policy on the rural sustainability or in fisheries policy that they could provide to stop the erosion or to grow the fishery. That wasn't the case.

I read there was a standing committee on Fisheries and Oceans and they had a fisheries expert there. I just wanted to read an excerpt from the fisheries expert. He states – and this is very significant: “I have looked at the official DFO data and, for a period of about 10 years ….” And remember, he was called to the committee because he was a fisheries expert out of Quebec and they called him in as an expert witness on the committee. He said: “I have looked at the official DFO data and, for a period of about 10 years, between 2012 and 2021, there have been 465 fewer fishing licences in Quebec, representing a decrease of 8%, while the number of fishers has increased by 34, or 3%.”

He had stated that: “The concentration of fishing licences, which has been under way for a number of years, is creating two major challenges for coastal communities with regard to the redistribution of wealth and the establishment of the new generation of fishers.”

Our department didn't have that data. They didn't know about fishing licences or any concentration of fishing licences. I would say, in your district, Mr. Speaker, there's a fisherman that I think a lot of us would be aware of, Mr. David Boyd and David Boyd has been corresponding for years on fishing licences. He's talking about the erosion of rural Newfoundland and the regulatory behaviours of our province in preventions that he would see is anti-rural Newfoundland, anti-sustainability.

The man recently was diagnosed with cancer. He wanted to be able to pass his licence down to his son who is a master mariner; his grandson who has been on the water since he'd been two years of age. But can he pass his licence down to his children? No, it's a regulatory procedure that he's got a lot of problem with it and he can't do it. The easiest thing to do is to sell it off to somebody else, and the fishing licences out there are being reduced and concentrated even smaller. That is what's happening. So the regulations from the department, sometimes, are counterproductive to maintaining rural Newfoundland.

Recently, there was a study that was released on mackerel and the predators who predate on mackerel. In the short time I've got, I just want to release a couple of points from the article. Elisabeth Van Beveren was the lead author. There were three others listed. Who is Elisabeth Van Beveren? Well, she is a DFO research scientist operating out of Quebec. She was the lead author. She authored other ones.

A couple of notable things I want to mention in that, there was no mention of harp seals. They focused on grey seals. Now we've got quite a few grey seals as well, but we've got lots of harp seals. Here are some things she found out about DFO science – a couple of things. During the last 10 years, mackerel consumption by predators became, likely, at least twice as high as the reported Canadian landings. That means what we catch in Canada, she is saying that the predation by predators out there is certainly at least twice as much – twice as much.

I'm going to skip ahead because I want to get to another one. She also mentions that when they look at the natural mortality, DFO had the natural mortality as a constant. They had a number in the computer that was a constant, it didn't change. She was saying there were so many variables, that is inaccurate. It didn't change, it didn't reflect the nine-million-plus harp seals out there. The formula doesn't take that into account. So she was saying that DFO needs to do a lot of work on natural morbidity or mortality and we need to work on that.

Seals: Not in this past Estimates but last year's Estimates, I remember that the minister at that time had made quite a comment, which I agree with, he says, in relation to seals, we have big problems and we are nowhere close to an answer – imagine. Because you ought to be able to ask government: What actions are you taking to control the predation and the predators that would be out there in the ocean?

Let me throw out some statistics and some figures for you when we come to seals. We have approximately, in our waters, 11.5 million seals, that's all types. That's DFO. That's not the Member for Bonavista's numbers. That is DFO's numbers: 11.5 million seals. When we look at our commercial fishery, we look at Iceland, Norway and those areas. Let me give you a comparison. Remember, we have 11.5 million in our waters. Norway will have less than 50,000. Iceland, less than 25,000.

Norway's fishery scientists refer to two fishery crashes, one in the mid-1980s and one in the 1990s, what they call fishery crashes. Both were attributed to a harp seal invasion. What did they do? They addressed it. They addressed the situation and if we look at what the commercial catch is from Norway to Iceland to Newfoundland and Labrador – huge, a huge difference in the commercial catch.

Is predation significant? The author of the latest study on mackerel would say it sure is. It is. It is very significant. But we ask government: What actions have you taken? We haven't taken any actions. It is to the point where we have a big problem and we are nowhere close to an answer. That's not the current minister, that's previously, and that's fine because that minister was right in that we have a big problem and we've got to address it.

The annual consumption, according to DFO, of our 11.5 million seals is in excess of 13 million metric tons – 13 million metric tons. To put that in perspective, all of the Canadian East Coast fishery, we harvest 586,000 metric tons. Newfoundland and Labrador, our commercial fishery harvests 180,000 metric tons. The Canadian fishery, 586,000 metric tons; Newfoundland fishery, 180,000 metric tons; and predation by seals alone according to DFO data, 13.5 million metric tons.

Everyone on this side of the House would say when we cross over in the next election, we're going to have our own stand-alone department of fisheries and aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

C. PARDY: Well, the Liberals had long enough to do it. It was a Liberal idea.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

C. PARDY: We are going to do that because it's so significant. If we look at that data alone and compare the quotas that we would have for Norway, Iceland and us, as Newfoundland and Labrador, we are no where close to what we ought to be doing.

In my closing 30, to Rosalie Belbin, thank you very much for watching. The constituents in the District of Bonavista, I would hope you seen some merit in what that is. You've got to be accountable for action or inaction.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

C. PARDY: Government has got to be accountable for inaction and our job is to call out the inaction.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

A. PARSONS: Thank you, Speaker.

I'm going to perhaps speak a little lower than the Member opposite. I was thinking as I was writing some notes that this is my 13th budget, and when I heard the Member on the other side I got, sort of, d é j à vu. I thought it was Vaughn Granter back here in the building, in the way that what he was saying could be heard out there in the Department of Fisheries, down the road, but I digress.

This is my first chance to speak to budget and speak to Concurrence.

E. JOYCE: (Inaudible.)

A. PARSONS: I say to the Member for Humber - Bay of Islands, I'll get my chance to thank you for all your support over the last year now in a second.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

A. PARSONS: I'll get my chance now in a second.

So it's a chance to speak to the Concurrence to the Resource Committee and it's, sort of, still fresh because we just had our Estimates the other day. A couple of Members across the way were a part of that Estimates Committee and we talked about the Department of Industry, Energy and Technology, so I'm going to go through a few different points of that and a few small comments that have been made throughout the last number of weeks in the House of Assembly.

With all the challenges we face when we hear the questions in Question Period every day and when we read news stories, there is no doubt that we face challenges, whether it be in housing, health care, you name it, a couple things that I would point out is, number one, that absolutely it is real. There is no doubt that we face these challenges, but as a person who does get to travel to other jurisdictions to have meetings with investors and when we talk about people within the various industries, one thing I like to do on every one of these trips is I like to look at a local newspaper, something that is being redundant in these times, looking at newspapers.

I can tell you, the front page in most other provinces or states or countries is the same as we're facing here. We're talking about health care recruitment, we talk about homelessness, things like that, it is being felt on a global basis. Now, again, we all have to find our way to address those challenges and that brings me to the next point.

While we do have those challenges, we do have a lot of positive things going on within this province and within this particular department. As I like to point out, these are some of the things that the revenues, the job creation and the economic spinoff is what's creating the ability to pay for some of the services that we provide in the social security network and web that we have that we provide people, this net that we've always provided that's what we're proud of in Canada and in Newfoundland and Labrador. A lot of that comes from the resources that are being developed here and the jobs that are created here.

So I'm just going to touch on a few different ones. Mining – again, mining continues to be that backbone throughout this province. It doesn't matter where you are. Being at the Lab West Summit, meeting with the Rio Tintos and we look at Tacoras and we look at what the MHA for the Third Party's background is and what he has experience with, the fact is there is a lot going on up there.

Again, no doubt, there are challenges that are faced in that area that come from employment, that come from increased development. It is same thing when I am down in Massachusetts, I met with the governor there, the same challenges: finding workers; finding housing; finding health care for these people that are there to build the developments that we want.

So we face that. That is what I call a good challenge that we need to face. When I mention that about Labrador, the fact is that there is a huge, massive opportunities for expansion in Labrador, for job creation, for power development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

J. BROWN: (Inaudible.)

A. PARSONS: What's that?

J. BROWN: Give me the power and I'll do the rest.

A. PARSONS: Give him the power and he'll do the rest.

And that's the thing though, that's the crux. The crux of this is power development. Now, the good news, compared to some other jurisdictions where their concern is greening their grid, their concern is getting off coal, we don't have those concerns. We have the resource; it is just the cost of development. It is about getting that power from point A to point B.

We're very lucky, whether we talk about Churchill expansion or whether we talk about Gull Island, which is a massive conversation everywhere you go – no doubt, that is one that is brought up everywhere you go. It is the most discussed – probably the largest undeveloped hydro resource in North America. It is talked about by everybody and that is, again, global. So that's a big deal and we're going to continue to talk about that.

Now, don't get me wrong; with that, comes conversations that have to happen with our Indigenous partners, that have to happen with Labradorians. But we would be remiss if we didn't discuss the options and possibilities.

When we look at the Upper Churchill and, again, we look at 2041 and what's going on there. You know, part of that is explaining to people outside our shores, explaining the history behind that, how we got from where we were to where we are and pointing out that 2041 sounds like a long time away but, in power development years, it is nothing. We need to realize that there are power needs and we are going to have to start developing that now. That's a conversation that Quebec is also having.

Part of our conversations that we have with people, especially along the Eastern Seaboard, as they talk about the electrons that they're getting from Quebec and we make them realize do you know where you're actually getting that from. That's a conversation that we are going to be a part of, making sure they know where that comes from. Again, the conversation of power demand is real and we have a resource here we're so fortunate to have.

Wind and hydrogen – a Member across brought it up today. The good news is he didn't say anything that I haven't heard or wasn't expecting, and it was good points. I'm saying that in a positive way. Decommissioning – absolutely, and the promise I can give there is that decommissioning is a part of the first release of the environmental assessment and it's probably going to be a part of the rest and it's a part of our plan. It was a part of the whole structure all along.

Like anything, we have a history of resource development in this province where, after it was done, the companies packed up, they take off, leave the mess for us to clean up. We are still doing it now. We are cleaning up messes from decades ago. No more – no more.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

A. PARSONS: That's been changed. These changes were brought by ministers of Natural Resources long before me and ministers of Environment who said no, if you want to come in, you're going to have to pay that bond. You're going to have to make sure that you have got the money there for the cleanup. This will be no different. We don't want to see that.

There are going to be lots of conversations as we go into this new, nascent industry for which there's huge opportunity but, at the same time, we have to realize that there are best practices we can look at. Again, the conversation that sometimes does not happen is people say, well, why are we doing it here – why are we shipping? There are reasons.

The rest of the world wishes they had what we had. They wish they had the available Crown land; the deep ice-free ports of which we have multiple; the workforce that we have here; the fresh water; the post-secondary institutions; and one thing I talk about that sometimes we forget about: stable government.

When I say stable government I don't mean, there's a Liberal government or a PC government. What they don't realize is that in other jurisdictions when I talk about – and, again, without putting any particular country out there but when there's a change in regime, we talk about massive changes in what happens to resources or businesses.

Here, the fact is that 40 Members in this House are of fairly like-mind. Yes, we share differences, but we all believe in the possibility of resource development and we all share in that we have to make sure that environmental concern is a part of that –

AN HON. MEMBER: Democracy.

A. PARSONS: Democracy.

Again, there's a lot of talk these days and it frustrates me to no end when we compare the loss of democracy and I hear comparisons tossed into what went on back in the '40s in Germany. That bugs me to no end because you only have to visit one site of atrocities to realize we are nothing, in this country, compared to what went on over there in World War II. We are nothing like that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

A. PARSONS: We are nothing like them.

I think I have the right ideas. My colleagues across the way, they think they have the right ideas. That's the whole point of it. That is the whole point of it, is that you get in and get to do what you can, hopefully make the right decisions, listen to the people that are around you, whether it's in departments, people, Opposition. I have no problem stealing good information from other jurisdictions as well. I've said that a million times going to FPT meetings, taking a great idea and moulding it to what we have.

I've talked to my colleagues across the way. I get their opinions and I think a lot of those have helped me in figuring out where we need to go. That's not just in wind and hydrogen; that's in anything. It goes right into oil and gas. Now, again, there's a bit more of a shift on this one. There are some people who believe we need to move out of it right away. Get out of it, you shouldn't be at it or you shouldn't be touching it. There are some people who believe we need to double down.

The fact is, what I continue to stick with, is that we still need the product for some time. We still have a large workforce that is doing amazing work. It was built from nothing and they're now being used on projects around the world because that expertise has been built. We need to find a way to help support them going further into the future because it's still needed. At the same time, recognizing that we also have the ability to have – if there is a transition – is supporting those workers as they move forward.

But either way, as a government, I think over the last three to four years, we've shown, whether it's convincing the federal government to provide $320 million on OGIRA funding, which we just expended, just finished that, the offshore oil initiative, when we talk about the Green Transition Fund, when we talk about West White Rose, all these different things we are still supportive.

I think the biggest challenge that I think we're – not afraid of, but recognize again, not a Newfoundland and Labrador challenge, is finding the people for all the jobs that we will have in this province across numerous sectors. Whether that is in construction, whether that's in health care, whether that's in the tech sector. That's a challenge everywhere. There's a global competition for staff, for people, for intelligence.

I'd like to think we're doing a good job here of trying to convince people to come home. We're doing a good job of convincing those who are not originally from Newfoundland and Labrador to make this their home and to bring their intelligence, to bring their skillsets to us. Memorial University, CNA, our other post-secondary institutions, Keyin, they do a great job of that, getting people here, taking advantage of the amazing education that we have, but then we have to make sure we have the jobs there for them and everything else that comes with that, that I named.

Moving forward: One thing we just announced in the budget actually, which is budget related, is Business Navigators. One thing which is amazing, and as someone who's been here in this department, even me, sometimes I don't quite grasp the number of business support programs that we have across the economic development side of the department. We have an amazing staff, amazing team, economic development officers throughout the province.

But one thing we want to do – and again because we need to help small business – the minister has taken steps to make positive change in business of the last number of years, the Minister of Finance, but this is one where we're trying to get people who directly work for business, small business, throughout our province, when they come in the door, how can we help them? Whether it's funding opportunities, whether it's permitting, whether it's dealing with the opportunity for lands, skills, workers, you name it, we're trying to provide someone directly to be that point of contact.

You're going to see more on that coming forward, but we think it's going to be positive for businesses throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, especially, small businesses.

One of the big things that I do every time I get a chance is say: Reach out to us, give us a call, email us. I'm proud to say – and if anyone wants to point out the difference I'd be happy – if someone emails me, it comes to me directly and they get a response and they get action.

Now, do we fund everybody. No, because it's taxpayers' money. We're not going to give it away. People have to have skin in the game when it comes to these things. Sometimes you get the people who, they like the idea of support and we want to be there to support, but we're not going to prop something up that doesn't have the ability to be sustainable and to survive on their own, but we do have a lot of funding. We are constantly supporting people because the biggest target for the talent we have here and the skills that are being created here and the products that are being created here is outside. We can't compete with the market.

If you're looking at health tech, if you're looking at Swiftsure Innovations that are over on the West Coast. Their market is not Newfoundland and Labrador. Their market is not Atlantic Canada. They're down doing work in the States and that market, the Phoenix market alone, trumps most of what we have here, just on one side of the entire country, just that market. When we look at Philadelphia or places like that. That's where we need to take our skills and go out. But they're keeping their offices here, they're keeping their staff here.

I like to think that it's a Newfoundland and Labrador idea that's being spread out throughout the world, great ideas, and we have to support them in doing that and we're going to continue to do that.

I want to toss out just a couple of other things. Again, I've already mentioned hydroelectricity. We have massive, massive opportunities there when it comes to this. We are looked at with envy by most other jurisdictions when they talk about renewable energy. They want renewable energy because they need to green their own grid. Here we are, we're already extremely close. Is Holyrood done yet? No. I don't need to get into that point and belabour why Holyrood's still in operation, but we do see a future without it, and we do see other opportunities to build on. We look at other renewable energy.

Again, the partners that we're bringing in, private investors, we're bringing in Indigenous partners, we're bringing in local companies. They're taking them elsewhere. I'll give a shout-out to Growler Energy, Newfoundland and Labrador company based downtown; projects up in Nunavut, projects up in Labrador, projects over in Iceland. Again, they bring all that expertise back here. They maintain that company here.

I'm getting down in time. I mentioned this yesterday in the House, I don't think – not this House, but I think people outside do not realize the extent of what went on out at Come By Chance. I don't think for a second they recognize the fact that when we came in here – so I came into this role in August 2020, came in the House, I barely had a question this session. Because most of the things, again, it's ebb and flow, high and low. Well, that was a low. That was a low. Most of those questions were coming for me.

Again, I don't blame that because that's where we were. We had thousands out of work. The rigs weren't in operation, projects were delayed, Come By Chance was shut down. It was like where are we going to go? What are going to do? There were a lot of