May 8, 2007 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLV No. 9

The House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Hodder): Order, please!

Admit strangers.

This afternoon we are very pleased to welcome eighteen Level III students

from St. James Regional High School in Port aux Basques, in the District of

Burgeo & LaPoile. These students are accompanied by their teachers, Ms

Joanne O'Brien and Mr. Ian Adey, and their chaperone, Mr. Paul Graham.

Welcome to the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Before we begin routine proceedings this afternoon, the

Speaker wishes to comment on a matter which was brought before the House late

Monday afternoon, May 7, by the Opposition House Leader. Specifically, the

question raised on a point of order was the procedures to follow with regard to

Standing Order 55 and the methodology that would be required for the member to

place two substantive motions on the Order Paper.

Since the House has not used Standing Order 55 in its routine proceedings as

a methodology for the placement of substantive motions on the Order Paper and,

although the Speaker is aware of similar provisions in other Legislatures, he

wished to consult with both the Table Officers and other jurisdictions before

making a decision. These consultations occurred, in part, over the past few

hours. However, the advice has been less than consistent.

The Speaker can find no examples in our House since Confederation in 1949

that give clarity as to the correct manner to interpret Standing Order 55. I

therefore wish to inform the House that I am not ready today to decide the issue

raised by the Opposition House Leader and that my discussions will continue. In

the meantime, the Opposition House Leader has the option to place his notice or

notices under the routine proceedings to have them stand as per Standing Order

Statements by Members

MR. SPEAKER: This afternoon we have members' statements as follows: the

hon. the Member for Burgeo & LaPoile, the hon. the Member for Ferryland, the

hon. the Member for Port de Grave, the hon. the Member for Labrador West, the

hon. the Member for Carbonear- Harbour Grace, and the hon. the Member for

Trinity-Bay de Verde.

The Chair recognizes the hon. the Member for Burgeo & LaPoile.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

On Thursday past I had the pleasure of attending a ceremony at the Health

Sciences Complex here in St. John's called a Celebration of Courage. It was

sponsored by Eastern Health, the Kidney Foundation, and the Organ Donor Program.

I was there as a guest of Mr. George Short and his family of Port aux

Basques. The Short family were being honoured for the gift of life given by

their son Stephen who died suddenly in March, 2005, at the age of thirty-one.

Stephen received his post-secondary education at the University of St. Anne in

Nova Scotia and returned to teach in Port aux Basques in 2001.

Mr. Speaker, Stephen was enthusiastic, committed and made significant

contributions to his students and his profession in his brief time. The Organ

Donor Program is a unique and necessary program. Stephen donated several of his

vital organs, including his heart to a lady in New Brunswick. George has met the

lady in question who received and now lives with his son's heart and is very

pleased to know, even through his pain with the loss of Stephen, that another

person is enjoying a healthy life.

Congratulations to the Organ Donor Program, not only for the valuable service

they perform but for the thanks and respect they show donors and donor families.

Thank you to George Short and his family for the decent and human traits they

themselves have and have instilled in their children. Thank you George for

allowing me to be a part of this wonderful experience.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Ferryland.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HUTCHINGS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to recognize and congratulate the Southern Shore Breakers Pee

Wee B Team for capturing the All-Newfoundland and Labrador Championship on April

14, 2007. The tournament was held at the Southern Shore Arena in Mobile and saw

teams visit our region from St. John's, Gander, Labrador West, Bay Roberts and

Clarenville.

The Southern Shore has long been recognized for the athletic abilities of our

residents and the participation and competitive nature of our hockey teams. Over

the past number of years, the Southern Shore Senior Breakers teams have won the

Herder Championship five times and represent the highest level of competitive

senior hockey in the Province which allows our young Breaker players to see the

results of years of dedication and hard work.

In addition, Mr. Speaker, any young hockey player dreams the ultimate dream

of competing for the pinnacle of hockey supremacy in the world, Lord Stanley's

Cup. Young hockey players from the Southern Shore, and all regions of our

Province, have cheered on our own native son from the community of Fermeuse on

the Southern Shore, Ryan Clowe, who until last night was competing in the

Western Conference Semi-Finals of the NHL with the San Jose Sharks.

Mr. Speaker, such an individual like Ryan Clowe is a tremendous role model

for our young hockey players, and he is living proof that: if you can dream it,

you can become it.

I want to recognize each individual player and congratulate the coaches and

team staff of the Southern Shore Breakers Pee Wee B Team who give so freely of

their time to help in teaching our young people to compete in sport and develop

skill sets that they will use in all facets of their lives.

The members of the Pee Wee B Breakers All-Newfoundland and Labrador

Championship Team are: Keegan Aspell, Rebecca Bidgood, Colten Breen, Josh Carey,

Jordon Carter, Carl Fennelly, Ryan Grech, Liam Hynes, Colten Kavanagh, Peter

Kavanagh, Brianna Mulcahy, Andrew Oates, Terrence O'Brien, Jacob Power, Ryan

Swain and Jeffery Walsh, and coach Loyola O'Driscoll, and assistant coaches

Darrel Carey and Megan Frizzell.

Mr. Speaker, I would ask all hon. members to join me in congratulating the

Southern Shore Breakers for winning the All-Newfoundland and Labrador Pee Wee B

Championship and as well to congratulate all of the teams who participated, and

for the exciting tournament held at the Southern Shore Arena.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BUTLER: Mr. Speaker, the Battle of the Atlantic began on September 3,

1939 and ended on May 8, 1945, lasting a total of 2,075 days. The Royal Canadian

Legion District # 2 held the Battle of the Atlantic Parade and Wreath Laying

Ceremonies at Dildo in Trinity Bay on Sunday past.

Mr. Speaker, 85,000 ships in 2,900 escorted convoys carried the lifeblood of

the British war. Thirty thousand merchant seamen and 70,000 men of the Royal

Canadian Allied Navies lost their lives during that battle. Over 7,100

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians were involved in that particular battle.

Mr. Speaker, I was honoured to lay a wreath on behalf of the federal

government in memory of those who paid the supreme sacrifice. My hon. colleague

from the District of Bellevue, Mr. Barrett, laid a wreath on behalf of the

provincial government. The names of the ships that were lost were read as a

solemn bell tolled.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of this House to join with me in extending

congratulations to The Royal Canadian Legion District # 2 in recognizing the

Battle of the Atlantic. Remembrance, Mr. Speaker, pass it on.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Labrador West.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. BAKER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In honour of National Nursing Week, I rise today to recognize the vital role

that our nurses play in the Province's health care system. They are essential

to our hospitals and long-term care facilities; they are active in our

communities and schools; they provide counselling and advocacy aimed at

preventing illness; and they involve themselves in a variety of social issues

and the promotion of healthy child development. Nurses truly are the heart of

health care.

This year's theme, Take a Closer Look at How Nursing is Part of Your

Community, is very appropriate, particularly within the Province of Newfoundland

and Labrador. Given our vast and often challenging geography, nurses working in

our rural communities play an expanded role in providing a broad scope of health

care services for people.

Mr. Speaker, in Labrador in particular, it is often the nurse practitioner or

regional nurse who provides many health care services that are customarily

supplied by a physician in our more urban areas. Our nurses work hard to ensure

that care of only the highest quality is given to the residents throughout our

Province.

I ask all members to join me in commending our nurses for the invaluable and

outstanding service they provide each day to the people of Newfoundland and

Labrador.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Carbonear-Harbour Grace.

MR. SWEENEY: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate St. Francis School

from Harbour Grace, who recently won second place in the Alliance Expo at the

World Festival in Atlanta, Georgia.

Mr. Speaker, with a second place finish in the Alliance Round, four teams

were grouped together in Alliance Expo where all four teams competed against

each other at that competition. Teams from Alaska, India, Maryland and, of

course, Newfoundland and Labrador, were in the final stage of the competition.

At the end of the competition, St. Francis was awarded second place for a

score of 368 out of a possible 400 points. This was an outstanding performance

and one that gave St. Francis a trophy of which there is only one like it in

Canada and only four of its kind in the world. This unique trophy is made from

Legos, from the Lego Corporation in Denmark.

Mr. Speaker, at the closing ceremonies, St. Francis was given an honourable

mention, fourth place in the world, in the Innovative Solution Award. A special

bonus this year saw the St. Francis team participating in the Opening Ceremonies

representing Canada in a Robot Parade of approximately 500 teams.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of this House to join with me in extending

congratulations to St. Francis school from Harbour Grace who won second place in

the Alliance Round at the World Festival in Atlanta, Georgia.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Trinity-Bay de Verde.

MS JOHNSON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to extend congratulations to Cassandra Sellars, a Grade

12 Canadian Law student of Baccalieu Collegiate in Old Perlican, who recently

was one of three winners in Canada in the Law Day 2007 Competition. Cassandra is

the daughter of Selby and Penney Sellars of Western Bay.

Mr. Speaker, this competition is hosted by the Canadian Superior Courts

Judges' Association in recognition of students enrolled in high school civics,

law, and/or social studies. Students submit an essay, poem, poster, et cetera,

depicting their

interpretation of the role of the judge in Canada.

As a result of her success, Cassandra and her teacher, Mr. David Barrett,

will be flown to Ottawa from May 13 to May 17 and meet with Chief Justice

Beverley McLachlin, tour the Museum of Civilization, and have a special seat in

the gallery at the House of Commons during Question Period.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all hon. members join with me in congratulating

Cassandra on this wonderful achievement.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Statements by Ministers.

Statements by Ministers

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to advise my hon. colleagues that Drinking Water Week is May

6-12 and the theme this year is: Only Tap Water Delivers. During this week, I

encourage all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to reflect on the fact that we

are all responsible for protecting our drinking water supplies.

Mr. Speaker, water plays a vital role in our daily lives. This government is

fully aware of the importance of protecting our water supplies to ensure clean

and safe drinking water. While my department works closely with other government

departments and municipalities to protect our water supplies, it is imperative

that we all do our part to preserve this natural resource.

Approximately 40 per cent of the world's population presently faces water

shortages. However, this Province is fortunate to have an abundant supply and we

must act in ways to preserve the precious resource for future generations.

Drinking Water Week is an opportunity to promote public awareness and encourage

everyone to be more conscious of how we use water.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to mention a few of the ongoing activities

undertaken by my department to provide safe drinking water to the people of our

Province.

We continue to sample tap and source water and test them for chemical and

physical parameters and report the results to municipalities and the public; we

are continuing to protect new water sources, especially in the area of

groundwater supplies; we held a drinking water safety workshop in Gander in

March and the theme was Emergency Preparedness Planning and Preparation; we

continue to provide operator training and certification programs; we issue

permits to construct all new water distribution and treatment facilities, as

well as upgrades, to existing systems; we have undertaken numerous website

enhancements including a list of accredited labs, chlorination equipment

selection guidelines and a list of protected water supply areas; and we have

developed geographic information system (GIS) based tools for the management of

data related to drinking water safety.

Mr. Speaker, as you can see, my department is working hard with

municipalities and stakeholders to protect our water supplies. A safe, reliable

water supply is critical to any community and provides for the health and

welfare of its residents. Drinking Water Week reminds us all of the need for

safe, clean and reliable sources of drinking water. A healthy future depends on

a safe and reliable water supply.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Fortune Bay-Cape la Hune.

MR. LANGDON: Thank you.

I want to thank the minister for an advance copy of his ministerial

statement.

There is no doubt about it, that water does play a vital role in all of our

lives.

In the second line of the ministerial statement that the minister just read

it says: Only tap water delivers. I am not sure if that caption means that all

tap water in the Province delivers good drinking water. I would like to know

first of all, if that is the case, do we have any municipalities now that are

still on boil order. We did and I believe that we still do.

The thing that is very important to remember here is that a few years ago we

recognized the problem for the THMs and government brought in a program called

Disinfection Assistance Program, or DAP as the acronym, where we paid out to

small rural municipalities up to $100,000 grants to fix their chlorination

systems because they could not afford it. It is my understanding that program

does not exist in government today. Probably government should reconsider those

small rural communities that are still on boil orders and cannot drink the water

from the taps because it is not passed by Health Canada to do so.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. member's time has lapsed.

MR. LANGDON: Just a minute to -

AN HON. MEMBER: By leave.

MR. SPEAKER: Leave has been granted.

MR. LANGDON: As the minister said in the second-last paragraph, a number

of initiatives that government is doing to protect water supplies, that is good.

Some of them, for the first time I believe it was, that we did the chemical

testing but it is good to see that they are continuing and that there are

workshops, there need to be, and on Web sites so that people can see the

importance of having clean drinking water. Nevertheless, if small rural

municipalities do not have the money whereby they can upgrade their chlorination

systems and have the money to buy the chlorination to protect it for the people

in the region, then that is a different story that I think government should

address, and in time they probably will.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.

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

I thank the minister for the advanced copy of his statement. Yes, we do not

have anything I think any more precious in our society or here in Newfoundland

and Labrador as our clean water. I feel confident there are actually places we

could go in the Province where the lake water, we could actually drink it. Not

many places can say that.

As my colleague has mentioned, we still have places in the Province where we

have communities on boil orders. In the drinking water annual report for

2005-2006, the latest report, there were 222 communities that year. So I hope

that the efforts the minister has outlined will show us in the report for

2006-2007 that we have improved. If not, then we will have to look at what we

are doing and beef it up, but we cannot take this for granted. We always have to

be on top of it, and the more work we can do in public education with people the

better. Also, we have to look at how our industries affect our water -

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. member's time has lapsed.

MS MICHAEL: By leave, Mr. Speaker?

AN HON. MEMBER: By leave.

MR. SPEAKER: Leave has been granted.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you.

I do not think we can take our water for granted. Therefore, I do not think

that we can take any body of water in Newfoundland and Labrador and allow it to

become polluted by industry or by anything else that may cause the pollution.

So, I just ask the minister to also take that into consideration in his

department when thinking about our clean water.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Further statements by ministers?

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Mr. Speaker, I rise in this House today in recognition of

Mental Health Week, which takes place from May 7-13, 2007. The theme of this

year's Mental Health Week is Work-Life Balance: It's a Matter of Time.

Mr. Speaker, often individuals are so overwhelmed with work, family and other

responsibilities that finding an appropriate work-life balance becomes a

challenge. This year's Mental Health Week serves to remind us that it is

important to take time for ourselves. It is also important for employers to

recognize that a good work-life balance results in enhanced productivity and

reduced absenteeism in the workplace.

Government recognizes that a person's mental health is as important as

their physical health. When we have good mental health we are able to enjoy life

to the fullest and become more productive, creative and capable citizens. That

is why we are making investments to create a stronger mental health and

addictions services system in our Province.

During the past three years, we have invested $5.7 million to assist persons

with mental health and addiction issues in leading healthier lives. In 2005, we

officially released a new policy framework which sets out a comprehensive

strategy for the mental health and addictions system. A new Mental Health Care

and Treatment Act, scheduled to be proclaimed later this year, will focus on the

protection and treatment of people living with a severe mental illness.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to say that Budget 2007 builds on our commitment to

an improved mental health and addictions system. We are investing $1.6 million

this year to implement both the policy framework and the new legislation. We are

also introducing a new provincial eating disorders program so that the majority

of patients will no longer have to travel outside the Province to receive

treatment.

In recognition of the importance of providing appropriate infrastructure for

mental health and addictions services, we are investing another $1.3 million

this year, as part of an overall $4.8 million project, to redesign and redevelop

the forensic developmentally delayed units at the Waterford Hospital. And, we

will continue the construction of a new provincial addictions centre in Corner

Brook.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my colleagues in this hon. House of the

importance of the appropriate work-life balance by asking them to fill out a

very quick work-life balance quiz that the Pages will distribute a little later,

that has been provided by the Canadian Mental Health Association, but I caution

them not to be surprised if you fail.

Furthermore, I ask my colleagues and residents of the Province to join with

me in recognizing Mental Health Week in our Province.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Humber Valley.

MR. BALL: First of all, Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the minister

for the advanced copy of the ministerial statement. Of course, Mental Health

Week from May 7-13 and their theme of: Work-Life Balance: It's a Matter of

Time.

I challenge any of us who has not been, from time to time, challenged with

finding a balance between the responsibilities of work, family and, I guess,

life in general. I think we all realize, too, that we do feel better when our

mind is clear. Physically, we do feel better. I think that is kind of natural.

Even though we have made advancements, we still have huge gaps, though.

This Budget in 2007, as the minister suggested, did make some advancements in

mental health, but I think of the people now who suffer from diseases, like

schizophrenia, who still today cannot easily access the proper treatments and

the treatments of choice. So I think of those people. I also think, as the

mental health sufferers themselves, that as a society we have come a long way in

breaking down some of those walls but there are still lots of walls to come down

yet.

As the minister said, I would encourage my colleagues, too - although I do

not expect anybody on this side of the House to fail the quiz, I would encourage

you to fill out that quiz as well. I think we will be surprised with some of the

results we see.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I, too, thank the minister for his advanced copy of the statement.

Being Mental Health Week, I would like to use this opportunity to

congratulate the staff of the Canadian Mental Health Association in this

Province for the great work that they do, both on an advocacy level and the

practical work that they do. We will remember that they did co-operate, along

with other groups, but especially the CMHA co-operated with government in

working on the new mental health care and treatment act that we will be passing

before this year is out.

They also do wonderful work with regard to training. It comes to my mind that

just as we have gender sensitivity training going on within government and

departments being offered the ability to get training on gender sensitivity,

that it might be very good -

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. member's allotted time has expired.

MS MICHAEL: By leave, Mr. Speaker?

AN HON. MEMBER: By leave.

MR. SPEAKER: Leave has been granted.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you.

It might be good if we also had training sessions within the government on

the work-life health balance and get the CMHA to work with us in doing these

training sessions, because it is one thing to do a quiz, but it is another thing

to become aware of, practically speaking, how to live by that quiz.

Just one more point, how to live and work with people who do suffer from

mental illness. The CMHA could help us, I think, in those training sessions. I

recommend that to the minister.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Further Statements by Ministers.

The hon. the Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SKINNER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to inform this hon. House of the significant

investments being made by government in the development of the Province's

labour market. This government is firmly committed to improving opportunity for

our people, providing them with the tools to succeed and access to the means to

achieve their goals.

That is why in Budget 2007 close to $4 million is being invested through my

department to expand career and employment services and strengthen connections

for people and employers in the labour market. Let me outline the approach.

For our K-12 system this means $500,000 to hire ten career information

officers to work with our teachers -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SKINNER: - to work with our teachers, guidance counsellors and

students to provide them with current and accurate career and labour market

information and insight into the many diverse opportunities available within our

Province.

For our post-secondary students, Mr. Speaker, this means a $1 million

investment and doubling of our commitment under the Graduate Retention Program -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SKINNER: - doubling of our commitment under the Graduate Retention

Program so that an additional 100 graduates will have access to that critical

first job in this Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SKINNER: For job seekers, Mr. Speaker, this means approximately $1

million to expand career and employment services into rural areas with the

establishment of five new career information centres across this Province.

For communities this also means over $1 million in new funding to direct

employment and business development projects. Our government is committed to

providing our people with the tools they need to directly and successfully

participate in today's labour market.

As a province we need to reach the point where our people are not only highly

skilled but right-skilled, and that employment and career programs and services

are widely available, relevant and targeted to meet their needs.

That is why government recently launched LMIworks, the most comprehensive job

and training website ever to be established in this Province, so that everyone

can now access the same labour market information and make more informed

decisions regarding their work and their training prospects.

This government recognizes the tremendous opportunities on the horizon as

well as those that are happening now. We will not waiver, we will invest in

areas that matter to people and together with our community partners, Mr.

Speaker, will continue to work hard and ensure a prosperous and self-reliant

future for all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BUTLER: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I want to thank the minister for the advance copy of his Ministerial

Statement and to say that we on this side of the House, I can assure you, Mr.

Speaker, commend the government when any money goes into help with training of

young people or what have you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. BUTLER: We know that career information officers is a way to go. The

Graduate Retention Program is a good program, and the five new career

information officers around the Province is a wonderful thing. Mr. Speaker, it

is wonderful to train the people, but this government has failed in this

Province to hang on to our young people.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. BUTLER: What are we training them for? To see them in the long

lineups here in St. John's to head out West? The Premier himself travelled out

West and he said: Our people are prepared to come back.

Mr. Speaker, we have hundreds of thousands of skilled labourers but all they

need is a one-way ticket back home. We commend the government on putting the

money in there, but what has to be done, the economy in this Province has to

turn around so they can work here in their own Province.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I know government does not want the second person from this side of the House

saying what my colleague just said, but I am afraid it is true.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS MICHAEL: There is no sense. We can have all the career specialists we

want, we can have all the centres we want, but unless we have jobs for our young

people they will not be staying here.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Chair is having difficulty hearing the hon. member.

The Chair recognizes the hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will say just one more thing, Mr. Speaker, that I hope that the LMIworks

will do more with regard to keeping people here. I hope that it is magically

going to come up with jobs to have on that Web site, jobs in this Province.

Maybe that is what is going to happen, so that the next time there is a job fair

in this city we do not see thousands of people in a lineup.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. member's time has lapsed.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Further statements by ministers?

Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

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

MR. PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In March, the Premier tabled information related to the fibre optic deal in

this House of Assembly. We have completed our review of that information and we

feel the documentation in the boxes confirm that this deal and the process used

was flawed from day one. We will begin unfolding that information today, and in

the days to come, to show the people of this Province how the decision to spend

$15 million of taxpayers' money was made.

Mr. Speaker, in this Province we have laws that outline a process that must

be followed when awarding public money for contracts. That process usually takes

the form of the Public Tender Act and the Request for Proposals.

I ask the Premier: Why was neither the Public Tender Act nor a Request for

Proposals used in this instance?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural

Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: Mr. Speaker, I do not know how many times and in how many

forums or how many ways you have to explain to the Opposition House Leader and

members of the Opposition why the Public Tender Act was not utilized, why there

was no Request for Proposals. It was spelled out quite categorically last fall

on any number of occasions in this House and outside by EWA and by others, that

the only reason you go for an RFP was if there were other people who had come

forward and could conceivably bid on this project or offer to build this project

in conjunction with government.

It was determined that nobody else would do it. It was determined that it

would cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not into the millions of

dollars, to develop a prospectus to be able to offer up in a Request for

Proposals in order to do the technical work and the engineering work that was

needed in order to do it, Mr. Speaker.

That explanation was given in November. It was given in December. It was

given over the course of the winter. It was in the papers that they have been

provided with. It was given to the Auditor General. Mr. Speaker, I do not know

what more they require.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Unfortunately, the excuse to avoid those laws was only developed after the

project was approved by Cabinet, I say to the minister, and that will be proven

in the e-mails.

Mr. Speaker, in e-mails and briefing notes in the boxes tabled by the

Premier, it confirms that government was planning a Request for Proposals but

cancelled it upon the objections of officials at Persona Communications. As a

matter of fact, the Deputy Minister of Industry discussed this issue with both

Paul Hatcher and Dean MacDonald of Persona who suggested they would not

participate in this project if it went to public tender.

I ask the Premier again: Why did the government change its policies regarding

public tendering on the advice and objections of Persona, who submitted an

unsolicited proposal to government?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural

Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: Mr. Speaker, Memorial University, the College of the North

Atlantic, the Board of Trade, the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of

Technology Industries, various people involved with the call centre business,

people involved with our research facilities, people involved with our health

and educational facilities, the wide range of people involved in technology

industries in Newfoundland and Labrador, everybody who has any interest

whatsoever in this industry, Mr. Speaker, has commended the government for the

initiative of building a second fibre optic link in this Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: We have had praise heaped on us from people outside of the

Province, in New York City - in New York City, Mr. Speaker - telling us that

this was a good deal, that this was absolutely required if we were going to move

forward on research and development and economic development in Newfoundland and

Labrador.

In the face of all of this praise, Mr. Speaker, for this deal, the Leader of

the Opposition and the Opposition members continue to diminish it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Long on talk, short on answers.

Mr. Speaker, it is very apparent that government was concerned with the media

spin that was going to be put on this project. We will get into that in the

coming days as well; however, after the deal was announced, the following e-mail

was sent by Mr. Robert Parsons in the Department of Industry to Mr. Paul Hatcher

of Persona, "What has the consortium spent so far in engineering studies or

environmental studies?" Now, this was after the project was approved.

"We might be able to put our decision..." - that is the decision not

to go RFP - "...to tender in perspective of the cost of preparing an RFP

and then assessing it."

I ask the Premier: If this project was so well thought out and squeaky clean,

why are officials trying to make excuses for the media on why there was no

public tender call?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural

Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: Mr. Speaker, EWA started their assessment in June, I believe

it was, in June or July - I am not sure exactly when it was, Mr. Speaker - but

well in advance of a decision being made on this project. Along the way, Mr.

Speaker, in the year-and-a-half, roughly, that this type of project was being

contemplated, from the time that it initially surfaced, there were discussions

with Industry Canada. I personally had a conversation with one of the senior

people with Industry Canada, here in the Province, who absolutely thought that

we should pursue this initiative, Mr. Speaker.

The Leader of the Opposition knows full well why Industry Canada did not put

any money into it: because they did not have any budget to do so, Mr. Speaker.

He knows full well why the federal government did not go into it: because, Mr.

Speaker, there had to be an extensive environmental assessment and business case

analysis done, just like is done with the Torbay Bypass Road, just like is being

done with the Team Gushue Highway and any number of initiatives here, Mr.

Speaker, that were recommended almost two years ago August coming, two years ago

August coming, and still no decision from the feds.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Chair recognizes the Opposition House Leader.

MR. PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Others in the Public Service were also concerned about the lack of details

regarding this deal. Last fall, we questioned in this House: Was there a report

compiled by the Department of Finance that, as we were told, did not paint such

a rosy picture of this fibre deal?

Let's talk about openness, accountability and transparency. Mr. Speaker,

the Assistant Deputy Minister of Financial Planning and Benefits Administration,

Donna Brewer, asked a host of questions regarding this deal in an e-mail dated

June 16, 2006, and raised concerns about what the Province would be getting from

this deal. Instead of addressing the concerns of the finance officials, this was

the response from the officials in the department, quote, "I was going to

give the info out to Donna et al, but on second thought I figured that would

only throw a monkey wrench in things." The Deputy Minister responded:

"Yes, keep her out."

I ask the Premier: Upon whose advice were these officials in the departments

making a decision to freeze senior public servants out of the meetings because

they were asking too many questions?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural

Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, it is not uncommon for questions to be answered from department

to department. At the same time these questions were being asked, there was a

contract, or an arrangement being made with EWA and the associated company,

(inaudible) I believe is the name, to do an extensive review of this proposed

development to see how many strands were required in order to get our $15

million worth, if this was a good economic development initiative. There was

consultations with people in the College of the North Atlantic.

Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, when it comes right down to it, it is not the

responsibility of the Department of Finance to determine economic policy in this

government or in this Province, it is the responsibility of the line

departments. Once we decide on what the economic policy objectives of the

government are, it is up to the Department of Finance to find the money and the

appropriate way to fund it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. PARSONS: I say to the minister, that is part of the problem. Your

department might make a decision of what is economic development but this lady

here, Donna Brewer, who was the Assistant Deputy Minister in the Department of

Finance, has an obligation under our laws to see that the law is followed, and

you show very little respect for that in the fibre deal, sir.

Mr. Speaker, let's follow a time line here. Government received an

unsolicited proposal. A decision was made not to put it out to public tender on

the advice of the company involved. Officials were raising too many questions on

the weak business case. The project became tangly for government at that point.

What did they do next? In late June or July, 2006, they decided the project

would go through the back door. Instead of going through government, they

decided to put it through Memorial and College of the North Atlantic.

I ask the Premier, my question is to the Premier: Why was the decision made

to take this project out of government's hands and attempt to force the

post-secondary education systems, MUN and CONA, to take the lead to flow the

money to Persona? Why was the decision made to flow the money to -

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Chair recognizes the hon. the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural

Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, my father used to use a phrase a long time ago when he was alive

that I think applies to the hon. member opposite. He is more holy than

righteous, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is, we had discussions with the College

of the North Atlantic and Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador to

see if there was an appropriate way, yes, of providing funding for this project

if they deemed it necessary for their research needs. It was determined upon -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. TAYLOR: Mr. Speaker, could you please quiet down the Leader of the

Opposition? If he wants to have anything to say, why doesn't he ask the

Opposition House Leader to sit down and he can stand up and ask the questions?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: If not, Mr. Speaker, I suggest he do the hon. thing and keep

quiet.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Chair asks the House for its co-operation. We are trying to keep the

questions and the answers to approximately a minute. There are about fifteen

seconds left to the hon. the minister.

MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, Mr. Speaker, it was determined, subsequent to that, that there was a

need. There was a further utilization of this fibre optic that could be

accomplished as part of governments broadband initiative and it would be in the

public interest if the government owned it and accommodated Memorial University

and the College of the North Atlantic's needs as part of government's

broader requirements for IT.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Chair recognizes the Opposition House Leader.

MR. PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is very obvious when the minister gets into defensive mode and cannot have

the answers, he bellows and screams and accuses others of being righteous.

I have another one for the minister - and this is all factual, by the way. On

July 17, 2006, Donna Brewer, Assistant Deputy Minister of Finance, raised

concerns on the MUN and the CONA proposal. Again, from Ms Brewer. She stated

that she had fears that pushing MUN and CONA into this deal would draw the

attention of the Auditor General and would break the Financial Administration

Act. Now, that is from within this government.

I ask the Premier again: Why would government place our post-secondary

institutions in this difficult position against the will and against the advice

of officials in finance?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural

Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: Mr. Speaker, I do not know what the point of the Opposition

House Leader is. He says that our officials raised these concerns. He knows

full-well that we never did put the College of the North Atlantic or MUN in any

type of a predicament where they would -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. TAYLOR: Mr. Speaker, will you please quiet them down?

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. TAYLOR: Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is, the concerns of

finance officials, the concerns of senior officials in INTRD and Justice and the

relevant departments were dealt with in the course of the evaluation of this

project. And, Mr. Speaker, as I said previously, and I will say it until the day

I go to my grave, that this project has been defended by everybody in the

information technology industry, research and development institutions in this

Province and outside, as being a good deal for economic development and for the

people of Newfoundland and Labrador, and I do not know why they cannot answer,

why they have a problem with it, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Chair recognizes the hon. the Opposition House Leader.

MR. PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Not only Ms Brewer, but another senior government official, Ms Rachelle

Cochrane, Assistant Deputy Minister of Education, raised concerns in an August

15 e-mail about what was happening here. A whole host of issues about breaking

the Public Tender Act and the lack of funding available to these two

institutions to do this project.

Mr. Speaker, the project never did go through MUN or CONA. As a matter of

fact, it remained uncertain. There was no future for the project, Mr. Speaker,

until a fire took place at the Aliant facilities on Allandale Road in October.

Once the fire took place the whole process ramped up once more and brought the

program back into the public view. Cabinet papers were prepared within two days.

However, here is how one PR person in government described those events.

"Couldn't have thought of a better way to get an initial positive spin on

this if I had thought of orchestrating the outage myself." I ask the

Premier -

MR. SPEAKER: I ask the hon. the member if he could put his question now.

MR. PARSONS: Mr. Speaker, I certainly would.

I ask the Premier: Was the Aliant fire a convenient way for you to sneak the

deal through the backdoor of government and give out the $15 million of

taxpayers' money? It is obvious.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Chair recognizes the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development.

MR. TAYLOR: Yes, Mr. Speaker, and with the course that the Opposition

House Leader is on right now the next thing you know he will be up suggesting

that I dodged down on Allandale Road with a gallon of gas and a pack of matches

in my hand and caught her on fire, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: What foolishness! What drivel coming out of the Opposition

House Leader, Mr. Speaker.

Now, Mr. Speaker, does he have a problem? If he does -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

Colleagues, the Chair is having difficulty hearing hon. members. There is

about thirty seconds left in the hon. minister's time.

The hon. the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development.

MR. TAYLOR: Mr. Speaker, if you follow that, I suppose the next thing he

will suggest is that Wally Young, the Member for St. Barbe - I apologize, the

Member for St. Barbe - in order to get a bit more construction in his district

this year, was up with a pick and shovel knocking the bank down in Daniel's

Harbour. Now, that is the nonsense that is coming out of the Opposition members.

Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is - and I will say it again - what is

the problem with this deal? The only problem with this deal is, no, it did not

go through the Public Tender Act; but, Mr. Speaker, the Public Tender Act says

that if you do not tender you have to table an exemption to it, and that is what

we are doing.

No, Mr. Speaker, it does not comply with the Agreement on Internal Trade, but

you are allowed again to file an exemption there.

These things have to be done. This thing is done legally and, Mr. Speaker, it

is a good deal for the Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Chair recognizes the Opposition House Leader.

MR. PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

All of which justifications were created by this government after the fire

and without giving the answers to their own government officials to do it, all

of which - you cannot deny the evidence and the facts.

I say to the minister who knows so much, I do not know what he knows about

gas, but this is the same minister who talked here last fall about the fibre

being kept together with duct tape. The minister of duct tape.

On October 26 the project was finally approved. Officials in the department

stated, and I quote: We have our instructions. It is no longer hypothetical. We

had been instructed to prepare a submission, substantially along the lines of

the first option.

Now, that was to the deputy minister at the time. I ask the Premier: Did you

give this instruction to the deputy minister in that department, and was the

first option referred to here the same option that the Finance officials had

vis- B -vis

the Public Tender Act?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural

Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: Mr. Speaker, the first option and the only option that made

any sense in this has been articulated by me and others consistently over time

since we started down this road last October or November when we had the press

conference on this initially. The only option that made sense was an untendered

contract because it made no sense, as was evident in the EWA report, for us to

pursue an RFP. There were only the companies that were involved and the

incumbent, Aliant, who could conceivably come forward to build this

infrastructure, and obviously Aliant was not going to do it.

As well, Mr. Speaker, he wants to talk about the fire on Allandale Road.

Well, that fire on Allandale Road, plus two cuts two years before, so two

failures in the fibre optic communications of this Province, I think that is

justification enough for spending $15 million to restore investor confidence in

Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

My final question for today - we have a whole pile more of these. This box

was loaded - just a few. I will leave with this question today.

Even after Cabinet approved this deal, there are many important financial

details that were not finalized. As a matter of fact, on November 6, Paul

Hatcher of Persona wrote government and stated the following - now, we have

agreed to put $15 million bucks into this, and you talk about the term sheet -

quote: I have not really discussed the routine maintenance number that they

would have to pay after they started to use the fibres. Let's propose $750,000

a year. As was pointed out by government officials, accepting this would be a

public relations disaster for government, as the cost would balloon to $30

million.

I ask the Premier: Why was this deal possibly approved when simple financial

deals were not even finalized and the deal was absolutely still in flux?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural

Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: Never let the facts get in the way of a good argument; that

is the view of members opposite.

The fact of the matter is, Mr. Speaker - and they can go and talk to the

Auditor General if they want to find out what is in the Cabinet Paper, or they

can go and get the transcript from where I read it, on VOCM one day. It is not

much trouble for them to find out what was -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. TAYLOR: Mr. Speaker, maybe he should be quiet. How would you know

what -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

Colleagues, time is passing.

I ask the hon. the minister to complete his answer.

The hon. the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development.

MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, what Cabinet decided on was an agreement in principle to proceed

with this project subject to a long list of conditions being met. Over the

course of the past number of months, we have been working to address those

conditions that were laid down by Cabinet.

As the Auditor General knows, and as everybody else has been told in this

Province, until those conditions are met, until there is a final agreement that

is able to be brought back to Cabinet for final approval, there will not be any

money put forward, there will not be any cash flow.

Mr. Speaker, the consortium can carry on building, but until they meet the

requirements that were provided to me, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of

Justice and the Clerk of the Council as part of the MC in October, then they

will not be getting their $15 million.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MR. REID: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

My questions are for the Premier.

Yesterday, I asked the Premier if he had an ownership position in either

Persona or Bragg Communications. At that time, he said he did not know but he

would check with the trustee of his blind trust to ascertain that information.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier if he could provide us with that information

today?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, the hon. the Leader of the Opposition

continues to try and imply that there is something wrong with this. On a daily

basis he leans over, when the mikes are down, and says: You are trying to hide

something here.

We are not trying to hide anything. He has tried to disparage business people

in this Province, people like Mr. MacDonald, Mr. Hatcher, and other people who

are involved, people who I have had a business relationship with for over thirty

years. It is a low, scurrilous, rotten tactic that is being used.

From my perspective, I can say quite clearly there is no interest in my blind

trust in any of these transactions, as I said yesterday. I had to confirm that

with the trustee because it is truly a blind trust. There is no interest in

Bragg Communications, no interest in Persona, and no interest in anything else

that is involved in it.

It is beneath the Leader of the Opposition to conduct himself in such a

manner in this House of Assembly, Mr. Speaker. When it becomes personal attacks,

he not only demeans himself but he also demeans the process and he demeans the

people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: I suggest he take an audit. With all of the important

things that are going on in this Province, all the good things that are being

done, and all of the important things that need to be addressed, he should leave

Persona alone and accept the fact that this is, in fact, a good project.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. REID: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I find the Premier's answer amusing, talking about the personal attacks I

launch against him. I say to the Premier: Look at yourself in the mirror

sometimes.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I asked the Premier who the trustee of his blind trust

was. He looked at me and said it was none of my business. I ask the Premier: Is

your trustee -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. REID: I say to those opposite, it is the business - when he is

spending taxpayers' money - of the public of this Province.

I ask the Premier: Is your trustee in any way associated with any of the

proponents of the fibre optic deal or Bragg Communications?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, I said it yesterday and I will say it

again: It is none of your business.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

There is time for one short question.

MR. REID: Mr. Speaker, for the last two days in the House we have been

debating whether or not Mr. Paul Reynolds will be appointed the Chief Electoral

Officer and Commissioner of Members' Interests. In the meantime,

advertisements are appearing throughout the Province in the newspaper

advertising for returning officers for various electoral districts. These ads

also state that Mr. Paul Reynolds is the Chief Electoral Officer for

Newfoundland and Labrador. It states, underneath that: a non-partisan office

responsible for the conduct of provincial elections.

I ask the Premier: How can Mr. Reynolds be on the payroll and calling himself

the Chief Electoral Officer when he has not been officially appointed by this

House?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: Mr. Speaker, I do not know about the Leader of the

Opposition, but I know the Opposition House Leader would know that there is

provision in the act for the government, through an Order in Council, to appoint

a person to that position when the position becomes vacant; pending, of course,

a resolution by the House of Assembly confirming that appointment. That is what

has taken place here, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Reynolds has been legitimately appointed,

according to the law and according to the process, and legitimately holds the

job. Mr. Speaker, we have every confidence on this side of the House that Mr.

Reynolds will do his job with honour, integrity and unbiased towards anybody.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

My question is for the Minister of Environment and Conservation.

Mr. Speaker, our energy poverty rate is the highest in Canada. The poorest 20

per cent of our households pay 16.5 per cent of their income on energy, three

times what the average household pays. Non-energy efficient housing is one

reason for the difference.

Mr. Speaker, when the federal government cut its energy retrofit programs,

all other Atlantic provinces introduced energy efficiency measures to make up

for the loss but this government cancelled its program even before it began.

My question for the minister is: When will the government decrease dependency

on providing home heating rebates that do nothing to save money in the long term

by reintroducing the home energy refit program to help households, especially

those on low incomes, to save up to 30 per cent on energy costs in the long run?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the member for her question. We are partaking in several initiatives

in that regard. First and foremost, it is something that we are very

disappointed with in the federal government that they saw fit to revamp their

program and, in fact, does very little for the low-income family. We have

expressed our concern in that regard.

Secondly, through the poverty reduction, we are addressing issues around

that. Also, through the energy plan, we are working through that process to

develop more efficiencies within the home, therefore saving homeowners more in

the long run.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL: Mr. Speaker, let's look to what some of the other provinces

- well, our three Atlantic province partners are doing. New Brunswick has a

program that subsidizes energy audits, provides grants and industry loans,

including low-income discounts. P.E.I. sends contractors into low-income

households to do simple things like weatherstripping and insulation. Nova Scotia

offers grants to householders for retrofits after they pay a small amount on the

initial audit. All of these programs are also creating local jobs and expertise.

My question for the minister is: Will the long overdue energy plan include

measures of this type for energy efficiency, as well as energy generation, and

when will it be released?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Through our poverty reduction initiatives we have seen and we will see more

unfold for low-income families.

Secondly, I would just like to inform the member that this Thursday past, I

met with Elizabeth Weir of New Brunswick and spoke to her about the things they

are doing and to see if we can engage in some of those types of initiatives,

recognizing what she has pointed out across the country. This government is very

proactive in addressing the needs of low-income families around energy

efficiency. We will continue to do that, and across the government spectrum, we

will continue to address the needs of low-income families.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the member has time for about a thirty-second

question.

The hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I, too, met with Ms Weir and I am delighted that the minister did. So I am

going to ask the minister then - I was very impressed with her: Will this

government consider sitting up a similar corporation to the one they have set up

in New Brunswick to really deal with energy efficiency?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: We are open to any suggestions, Mr. Speaker, and we will

continue to work in that regard. Anything that we can bring forward to help

people in low incomes, we certainly will do.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The time allotted for Question Period has expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling of Documents.

Notices of Motions.

Notices of Motion

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

MR. PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

You caught me off guard there. Unusual.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. PARSONS: Unusual, but you did.

I would like to give notice of a substantive motion, one of the motions

concerning the Reynolds appointment. I move the following motion:

"Be it resolved that Mr. Paul Reynolds be appointed Chief Electoral

Officer and Commissioner of Members' Interests only after it is verified that

he meets the requirements for the appointment equivalent to a DRO under

section

21 of the Elections Act."

I appreciate your comments earlier, Mr. Speaker, that you had to check out

and see what the standard is, or the procedure should be, vis- B -vis

section 55 and its application and so on, but I do understand there is no

question of this being in order since it was the number one amendment that I put

forward on the Reynolds motion, and as part of your decision you said even

though it did not meet an amendment qualification it did meet the criteria in

terms of a substantive motion.

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER: Further Notices of Motions?

Answers to Questions for Which Notice has been Given.

Answers to Questions for Which Notice has been Given

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

MR. WISEMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In the House yesterday, and again last week, the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi

Vidi was asking some questions around the number of child care spaces that our

government has created. I said I would be very proud to table those results in

the House. I have that report today. I do, indeed, stand very proud to be able

to table this report that shows a significant growth in the number of spaces

created, but also reflects a significant investment and growth in that

investment since we formed government in 2003.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Further Answers to Questions for Which Notice has been

Given?

Petitions.

Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

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

MR. RIDEOUT: Mr. Speaker, motion 4, the first reading, I guess, pursuant

to the motion of

An Act To Amend The Income Tax Act, 2000.

MR. SPEAKER: Motion 4. It is moved and seconded that the hon. the

Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board shall have leave to

introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Income Tax Act, 2000. (Bill 3)

Is it the pleasure of the House that the hon. Minister of Finance and

President of Treasury Board shall have leave to introduce this bill?

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, nay'.

Carried.

Motion, the hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board to

introduce a bill, "An Act To Amend The Income Tax Act, 2000," carried.

(Bill 3)

MR. SPEAKER: It is moved and seconded that Bill 3,

An Act To Amend The

Income Tax Act, 2000, be now read a first time.

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, nay'.

Carried.

CLERK: A bill,

An Act To Amend The Income Tax Act, 2000. (Bill 3)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 3,

An Act To Amend The Income Tax Act, 2000 has now

been read a first time.

When shall this bill be read a second time?

MR. RIDEOUT: Tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER: On tomorrow.

On motion, Bill 3 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

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

MR. RIDEOUT: Motion 5, Mr. Speaker, leave to introduce a bill,

An Act To

Amend The Retail Sales Tax Act And The Tax Agreement Act. (Bill 4)

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

President of Treasury Board shall have leave to introduce a bill entitled, An

Act To Amend The Retail Sales Tax Act And The Tax Agreement Act. (Bill 4)

It is the pleasure of the House that the hon. the Minister of Finance and

President of Treasury Board shall have leave to introduce said bill?

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, nay'.

Carried.

Motion, the hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board to

introduce a bill, "An Act To Amend The Retail Sales Tax Act And The Tax

Agreement Act," carried. (Bill 4)

MR. SPEAKER: It is moved and seconded that Bill 4,

An Act To Amend The

Retail Sales Tax Act And The Tax Agreement Act, be now read a first time.

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, nay'.

Carried.

CLERK: A bill,

An Act To Amend The Retail Sales Tax Act And The Tax

Agreement Act. (Bill 4)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 4,

An Act To Amend The Retail Sales Tax Act And The Tax

Agreement Act, has now been read a first time.

When shall this bill be read a second time?

MR. RIDEOUT: On tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER: On tomorrow.

On motion, Bill 4 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

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

MR. RIDEOUT: Mr. Speaker, Motion 6, that the Minister of Finance and

President of Treasury Board ask leave to introduce a bill,

An Act To Amend The

Public Service Pensions Act, 1991. (Bill 5)

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

Finance and President of Treasury Board shall have leave to introduce a bill

entitled,

An Act To Amend The Public Service Pensions Act, 1991. (Bill 5)

Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that the Minister of

Finance shall have leave to introduce said bill?

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, nay'.

Carried.

Motion, the hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board to

introduce a bill, "An Act To Amend The Public Service Pensions Act,

1991," carried. (Bill 5)

MR. SPEAKER: It is moved and seconded that Bill 5 be now read a first

time.

It is the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 5 be now read a

first time?

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, nay'.

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill,

An Act To Amend The Public Service Pensions Act, 1991.

(Bill 5)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 5 has now been read a first time.

When shall this bill be read a second time?

MR. RIDEOUT: On tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER: On tomorrow.

On motion, Bill 5 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

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

MR. RIDEOUT: Mr. Speaker, Motion 7, that the Minister of Finance and

President of Treasury Board have leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To

Amend The Income Tax Act, 2000 No. 2. (Bill 10)

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

Finance and President of Treasury Board shall have leave to introduce a bill

entitled,

An Act To Amend The Income Tax Act, 2000 No. 2. (Bill 10)

Is it the pleasure of the House that the Minister of Finance shall have leave

to introduce said bill?

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, nay'.

Carried.

Motion, the hon. the Minister of Finance to introduce a bill, "An Act To

Amend The Income Tax Act, 2000 No. 2," carried. (Bill 10)

MR. SPEAKER: It is moved and seconded that Bill 10 be now read a first

time.

It is the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 10 be now read

a first time?

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, nay'.

Carried.

CLERK: A bill,

An Act To Amend The Income Tax Act, 2000 No. 2. (Bill 10)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 10,

An Act To Amend The Income Tax Act, 2000 No. 2, has

now been read a first time.

When shall this bill be read a second time?

MR. RIDEOUT: On tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER: On tomorrow.

On motion, Bill 10 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

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

MR. RIDEOUT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Motion 8, that the Minister of Justice have leave to introduce a bill

entitled,

An Act Respecting Safer Communities And Neighbourhoods. (Bill 9)

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

Justice shall have leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act Respecting Safer

Communities And Neighbourhoods. (Bill 9)

Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that the Minister of

Justice shall have leave to introduce said bill?

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, nay'.

The motion is carried.

Motion, the hon. the Minister of Justice to introduce a bill, "An Act

Respecting Safer Communities And Neighbourhoods," carried. (Bill 9)

MR. SPEAKER: It is moved and seconded that Bill 9 be now read a first

time.

Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 9 be now read a

first time?

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, nay'.

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill,

An Act Respecting Safer Communities And Neighbourhoods.

(Bill 9)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 9,

An Act Respecting Safer Communities And

Neighbourhoods, has now been read a first time.

When shall this bill be read a second time?

MR. RIDEOUT: On tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER: On tomorrow.

On motion, Bill 9 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

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

MR. RIDEOUT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Motion 9, that the Minister of Government Services have leave to introduce a

bill entitled,

An Act To Repeal The Certified Public Accountants Act And The

Chartered Accountants And Certified Public Accountants Merger Act. (Bill 7)

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

Government Services shall have leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To

Repeal The Certified Public Accountants Act And The Chartered Accountants And

Certified Public Accountants Merger Act. (Bill 7)

Is it the pleasure of the House that the hon. the minister shall have leave

to introduce said bill?

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, nay'.

Carried.

Motion, the hon. the Minister of Government Services to introduce a bill,

"An Act To Repeal The Certified Public Accountants Act And The Chartered

Accountants And Certified Public Accountants Merger Act," carried. (Bill 7)

MR. SPEAKER: It is moved and seconded that Bill 7 now be read a first

time.

Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 7 be read a

first time?

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, nay'.

Carried.

CLERK: A bill,

An Act To Repeal The Certified Public Accountants Act And

The Chartered Accountants And Certified Public Accountants Merger Act. (Bill 7)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 7,

An Act To Repeal The Certified Public Accountants

Act And The Chartered Accountants And Certified Public Accountants Merger Act,

has now been read a first time.

When shall this bill be read a second time?

MR. RIDEOUT: On tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER: On tomorrow.

On motion, Bill 7 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

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

MR. RIDEOUT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Motion 10, that the Minister of Government Services have leave to introduce a

bill entitled,

An Act Respecting The Transfer Of Securities. (Bill 12)

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

Government Services shall have leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act

Respecting The Transfer Of Securities. (Bill 12)

Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that the hon. the

Minister of Government Services shall have leave to introduce said bill?

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, nay'.

Carried.

Motion, the hon. the Minister of Government Services to introduce a bill,

"An Act Respecting The Transfer Of Securities," carried. (Bill 12)

MR. SPEAKER: It is moved and seconded that Bill 12 be now read the first

time.

Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 12 be read a

first time?

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, nay'.

Carried.

CLERK: A bill,

An Act Respecting The Transfer Of Securities. (Bill 12)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 12,

An Act Respecting The Transfer Of Securities, has

now been read a first time.

When shall the said bill be read a second time?

MR. RIDEOUT : Tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER: On tomorrow.

On motion, Bill 12 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

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

MR. RIDEOUT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Motion 11, that the Minister of Justice have leave to introduce a bill

entitled,

An Act To Amend The Human Rights Code. (Bill 8)

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

Justice shall have leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Human

Rights Code. (Bill 8)

Is it the pleasure of the House that the hon. the Minister of Justice shall

have leave to introduce said bill?

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, nay'.

The motion is carried.

Motion, the hon. the Minister of Justice to introduce a bill, "An Act To

Amend The Human Rights Code," carried. (Bill 8)

MR. SPEAKER: It is moved and seconded that Bill 8 be now read a first

time.

Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 8 be read a

first time?

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, nay'.

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill,

An Act To Amend The Human Rights Code. (Bill 8)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 8,

An Act To Amend The Human Rights Code, has now been

read a first time.

When shall the said bill be read a second time?

MR. RIDEOUT: Tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER: On tomorrow.

On motion, Bill 8 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

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

MR. RIDEOUT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Motion 12, where I seek leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend

The Internal Economy Commission Act. (Bill 11)

MR. SPEAKER: It is moved and seconded that the hon. the Government House

Leader shall have leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The

Internal Economy Commission Act. (Bill 11)

Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that the hon. the

Government House Leader shall have leave to introduce said bill?

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, nay'.

The motion is carried.

Motion, the hon. the Government House Leader to introduce a bill, "An

Act To Amend The Internal Economy Commission Act," carried. (Bill 11)

MR. SPEAKER: It is moved and seconded that Bill 11 be now read a first

time.

Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 11 be read a

first time?

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, nay'.

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill,

An Act To Amend The Internal Economy Commission Act. (Bill

11)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 11,

An Act To Amend The Internal Economy Commission

Act, has now been read a first time.

When shall this bill be read a second time?

MR. RIDEOUT: Tomorrow, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: On tomorrow.

On motion, Bill 11 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

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

MR. RIDEOUT: Mr. Speaker, Motion 1, resuming the Budget debate.

MR. SPEAKER: Motion 1 is that this House approves in general the

budgetary policy of the government.

I do believe, by rotation, the Chair recognizes the hon. the Member for Port

au Port.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. CORNECT: Mr. Speaker, I am very honoured and privileged to speak on

this Budget: touted as the greatest Budget for everyone in the history of the

Province.

Monsieur le Pr sident,

laissez-moi d'abord, je vous prie, remercier les gens de la merveilleuse

circonscription de Port au Port qui m'ont investi de leur confiance en me

permettant de les repr senter

B la

Chambre d'assembl e.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. CORNECT: First, let me thank the people of the great District of Port

au Port who have placed their trust and confidence in me to represent them in

the House of Assembly.

I also want to thank my campaign workers for their support, commitment and

hard work. I thank my family, relatives and friends for their support. To the

Premier and caucus members, thank you for your encouragement and your

endorsement. To my wife Stacey and son Marcus, thank you for your patience,

understanding and love.

I also want to congratulate the hon. members for the Districts of Kilbride,

Ferryland, Labrador West and Humber Valley for their victories and the right to

represent the people of their districts in this honoured institution.

Mr. Speaker, the District of Port au Port is rich in history and culture. We

are a very proud and friendly people. In the Stephenville, Kippens, Port au Port

areas, we have an active French, Acadian and Mi'kmaq culture. Our people, like

the pitcher plant, are a resilient people. We have endured the weathering storms

and now are alive and well, and we are very proud of our heritage and our

history.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. CORNECT: The district can boast to have the only bilingual

municipality in the Province. We have come a long way in securing our future in

this Province and country. Encore une fois merci au premier ministre et le

gouvernement pour votre support avec les c l brations

de la 400e anniversaire de notre pr sence

Terre-Neuve et Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, in 2003, our government was elected in a time of great challenge

to chart a course for economic prosperity in our Province.

Since initiating our eight year blueprint for the Province, we are now on the

journey to self-reliance.

This Budget spends wisely and carefully public money while making major

impacts on the social and economic climate in this Province.

Mr. Speaker, we are investing in our people. This government and our Premier

have always said that our greatest resource is our people. This is why, Mr.

Speaker, this Budget invests for a healthy climate, infrastructure, resource

development, and new strengths through innovation.

With our vision and action, our people will be able to avail of the skills to

seize the opportunities that lie ahead.

Mr. Speaker, with careful and prudent investments, with decisive and

strategic spending and with an open and honest dialogue with our stakeholders,

we will become masters of our own house.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. CORNECT: I am especially happy to be part of a government that has

spent, invested and well planned and still record a $76 million surplus and

reduced net debt by $70 million in this Province.

Monsieur le Pr sident,

Ce budget est tenu pour celui qui comporte les plus importantes r ductions

d'imp ts

de l'histoire de la province. Les Terre-Neuviens et les Labradoriens b n ficieront

de diminutions de l'imp t

sur le revenu des particuliers qui leur feront r aliser

des conomies.

Dans ma circonscription de Port au Port, les gens en sont heureux. Ils me disent

que gr ce B

ce budget ils auront de l'argent dans leurs poches.

Mr. Speaker, this Budget is regarded as a budget with the largest tax

reduction in the history of the Province. Newfoundlanders and Labradorians,

through decreases in the personal income tax, will be saving money. In my

district alone, Mr. Speaker, in the district of Port au Port, people are very

happy. They are telling me that this Budget will put money in their pockets.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. CORNECT: As fortunes continue to grow, Mr. Speaker, the healthier and

greener our environment will be.

Again, Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are a buzz with the reduction or

elimination of over 170 fees. This government knows full well the impact that

these savings will have and we are prepared to continue working with others to

realign the remaining fees.

Mr. Speaker, we all know that having more money in our pockets is just not

good enough. People in the Province have been asking for improvements to health

care and we have delivered.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. CORNECT: For the past three years, our government continued the

increase for the provincial drug program, adding new therapies while expanding

the number of people covered through a new low-income drug program. Enhancement

to the Newfoundland and Labrador Prescription Drug Program will make drugs more

affordable and cover more new drug therapies.

Mr. Speaker, this government is investing $1.4 million to provide children

under eighteen diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes with insulin pumps and supplies.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. CORNECT: We are also expanding dental health services for children

between the ages of thirteen and seventeen by offering dental coverage for

children in low-income families.

Investments to telehealth services, Kids Eat Smart Program and the launching

of a Recreations and Sport Strategy and Action Plan to name some of the great

initiatives and investment in personal health.

Mr. Speaker, one initiative very important and very well received in my

district is the investment of a CT scanner or CAT scan machine for Sir Thomas

Roddick Hospital in Stephenville.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. CORNECT: Again, Mr. Speaker, it demonstrates government's

commitment to rural Newfoundland and Labrador, and in particular, the

Stephenville-Port au Port-Bay St. George areas.

L'engagement de notre gouvernement envers l' ducation

depuis 2003 est remarquable. Monsieur le Pr sident,

pour la premi P re

fois dans l'histoire de notre province, l'investissement dans l' ducation

Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador a maintenant d pass

le milliard de dollars. Merci Monsieur le premier ministre et merci Madame la

ministre.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. CORNECT: Our government's commitment to education has been

tremendous since 2003. Mr. Speaker, investment in education alone in the

Province has now exceeded $1 billion for the first time in the history of our

Province.

Thank you, Mr. Premier! Thank you, Madam Minister!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. CORNECT: We will see investments in new school constructions,

maintenance and repairs, additional information technology support specialists,

computer software and funding for provincial libraries, and we are only now on

the roll.

Mr. Speaker, although student enrollment is on the decline, our government is

committed to retaining 137 teaching positions in the system, and in fact,

creating an additional thirteen positions.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. CORNECT: This will certainly benefit rural schools in the Province.

Mr. Speaker, to ensure that all students in the Province are on the same

level and to alleviate financial burdens, our government and our minister again,

will extend the provision of free textbooks in core courses to include all

students from Kindergarten to Grade 12 in this Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. CORNECT: We are enhancing the curriculum to include Cultural

Connections Strategy, Futures in Skilled Trades and Technology programs,

extension to the Physical Education Equipment program for K to 6 and a

commitment for a review of the Grades 7 to 9 programs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. CORNECT: Mr. Speaker, what a Budget for post-secondary students again

this year. The tuition freeze is maintained at Memorial University of

Newfoundland and the College of the North Atlantic. This government is

implementing an upfront, needs-based grant to offset student's borrowing costs

and, Mr. Speaker, the interest rate charged on provincial student loan debts

will be decreased to prime.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. CORNECT: Mr. Speaker, since taking office and come April 2008,

minimum wage in this Province will be $8 an hour. This government is committed

to review the minimum wage in consultation with stakeholders, and this will be

concluded by early 2008 - next year, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. CORNECT: These are huge gains, as it was about $6 in 2003. It is

forecasted, Mr. Speaker, that employment will increase by 1.2 per cent and the

unemployment rate will decline, again.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. CORNECT: Last year, our government invested over $60 million in road

work initiatives and again this year the Provincial Roads Improvement Program

will increase to $66.5 million.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. CORNECT: I am proud and happy to announce that my district will see

an investment of $1 million for the paving of roads in Cape St. George, Port au

Port West and Port au Port East. We will see road cut-overs improved and road

protection in Fox Island River.

Mr. Speaker, the impact of this budget will be great for every Newfoundlander

and Labradorian and I can tell you that the policies and investments of our

government has been very positive for the residents of the District of Port au

Port.

Monsieur le Pr sident,

Les gens de ma circonscription et de la Province savent tr P s

bien dans quelle voie s'engagent notre premier ministre et ce gouvernement et

ils partagent notre vision et appuient nos actions. Monsieur le Pr sident,

nous serons ma tres

chez nous.

Mr. Speaker, the people of my district and this Province know full well the

course of our Premier and this government is charting and they share our vision

and endorse our actions. Mr. Speaker, we will be masters of our own house.

Merci. Thank you. Way La Lin.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Bay of Islands.

MR. JOYCE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I am sure that all members, as we always do here, want to offer

congratulations to the hon. member on his first introductory speech; however, we

do wish to proceed with the proceedings of the House.

The Chair recognizes the hon. the Member for Bay of Islands.

MR. JOYCE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I congratulate the Member for Port au Port on his maiden speech. It is always

exciting to hear someone on their maiden speech here in the House of Assembly. I

guess I can say that it was nice to hear; but, Mr. Speaker, now that his maiden

speech is over, as we say, he is fair game in everything that he is after

saying.

My thing is, it is too bad we did not hear his mouth going so big when they

closed down the mill out in Stephenville with 300 workers out of work.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. JOYCE: It is too bad, Mr. Speaker, he wasn't up touting the

government then, 900 jobs gone, Mr. Speaker, 900 jobs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Chair asks that the House give the Member for Bay of Islands the courtesy

of being able to speak without undue interruption.

The Chair recognizes the hon. the member.

MR. JOYCE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I know the truth always hurts.

The Member for Port au Port, a great job, a good speech. Welcome into the

House of Assembly, and welcome to your first speech.

Mr. Speaker, we have a Budget here in front of us, and there are some good

things in the Budget. There is absolutely no doubt there are good things in the

Budget.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JOYCE: I have always said that you always give credit where credit it

due, and I will be the first person - I know there are members opposite who know

I have always given credit where credit it due. I always work with the

government to improve the lives of the people of Bay of Islands, and I will not

stop now.

MR. DENINE: Will you vote for the Budget?

MR. JOYCE: Mr. Speaker, the Member for Mount Pearl is saying: Will you

vote for the Budget?

I ask the member: How can I vote for something that is putting $15 million in

one of the Premier's friends pocket? Tell me, how?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. JOYCE: Untendered.

The Group Telecom, once you look at the Group Telecom, the exact same thing

was done then. Before the deal was even signed they had it sold, they had an

agreement to sell the company, not one job kept in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Why don't you look at the history of it?

AN HON. MEMBER: Say something positive (inaudible).

MR. JOYCE: I will say positive things, if you want to keep on heckling

and have no idea what you are talking about, just like a little puppet over

there, told to hit your hands. That is fine, you just sit down.

Mr. Speaker, I know you want to be fair, and I know you usually ask people if

they could give you the courtesy of speaking, so I ask that you give me the same

courtesy as you ask us to give the people opposite.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. JOYCE: We have a major Budget here, and the increased spending with

it all, but the question is: How are you going to sustain this? How are you

going to sustain the high level of spending that you are giving? How are you

going to sustain it?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Chair's attention is drawn to members to his left. Some members are

interfering with the hon. member, in his presentation, and the Chair asks hon.

members for their co-operation. Every member has a right to speak in the House

and not to be interfered with unduly.

The Chair recognizes the hon. the Member for Bay of Islands.

MR. JOYCE: Mr. Speaker, I just remind you, as the Speaker, that this is

the fourth time I have been interrupted and you have had to stand, so I ask that

you start carrying out your duties by starting to name people if I have to stand

again.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Chair will handle all manners as they occur. Therefore, the Chair has

recognized the hon. the member and I ask him to go ahead with his speech.

MR. JOYCE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Interrupted again.

Mr. Speaker, my question is: How are you going to sustain this? If you keep

looking at the projects that bring us to this level with our revenues - look at

Hibernia, White Rose, Terra Nova - all initiatives set out by the former Liberal

government.

I remember Voisey's Bay, the big discussion on Voisey's Bay, when the

people opposite were over this way. One of the deals they committed to do was to

cancel Voisey's Bay as soon as they get in, that they were going to cancel

Voisey's Bay. In the Premier's statement - we have it in Hansard - you could

drive a Mack truck through it. As one of my colleagues said: The only Mack truck

that is driving through this is the one bringing the money down to the Treasury

here in St. John's - $300 million in minerals. Three hundred million dollars.

Look at the Voisey's Bay newsletter that was sent out, the demonstration

plant - done. They are in the process now of setting up their smelter here. Name

for me one step along the way that Voisey's Bay Nickel did not do as they

committed in the deal. How come the members opposite, when they were over here,

were going to cancel the project - cancel it, drive Mack trucks through it?

The question is: How are you going to sustain? Now, we just heard from the

Member for Port au Port and the Member for Stephenville East. When the Premier

was out there during the election: This will not close under my watch - to the

mill out in Stephenville - this will not close under my watch. Did you hear any

words from him since?

The Premier also went out and he met with the executive out in Stephenville.

He said to the members of the executive in Stephenville: I will expropriate the

assets of the mill for the Town of Stephenville for this region. He told the

executives; they have it in their minutes. There were eleven people present, and

here is the Premier, once again, commitments made, going up to the federal

government - if you want to talk about the Budget - going up to the federal

government talking about: you have made a promise, you have to keep your

promise.

Here we are, people on the opposite side now in government, how come Voisey's

Bay is not cancelled? How are you going to sustain the high levels? How are you

going to sustain it? By driving every company, every business possible, driving

them out? You cannot sustain it because you do not have the ability to negotiate

and create projects here in Newfoundland and Labrador.

In this Budget here we have $15 million for fibre optics, just like the Group

Telecom deal. I can assure you, I will show you documents, it was in Discovery

up in Toronto where it was admitted by Dean MacDonald, in Toronto, that before

this deal to sell the assets, before it was done, that they had to sign the

telephone contract with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and they had

to come back and sell it.

I asked the media and I asked every member opposite, ask any member in

Cabinet here, when they split that contract to keep it for Newfoundland and

Labrador companies, to create jobs here in Newfoundland and Labrador, were any

of them - any of them - ever told that the Premier and Dean MacDonald were up

there and they had that contract already sold up in Ontario?

Not one of them knew it, that the deal was done, not one of them.

AN HON. MEMBER: Talk about (inaudible).

MR. JOYCE: So, you want to talk about the $15 million? Because it is in

the Budget. I say to the Member for Mount Pearl, it is in the Budget.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. JOYCE: Mr. Speaker, you have to exercise your right. This is the

fourth time, or the fifth time, that I have been interrupted.

So, you want to talk about what is in the Budget. We have the Group Telecom.

We hear the minister today, that we set out a bunch of guidelines for Persona

for this fibre optics. The minister said it himself here today. He said it

himself, that we set out a bunch of guidelines, and before we finalize the final

deal they have to meet a bunch of criteria.

So, here they are selling their company, part of the $15 million contract,

which again is going to be about a $200 million contract if they ever go through

rural Newfoundland and Labrador, if they ever do. Here is Group Telecom, here it

is, Persona, just like the Group Telecom deal, before it is even signed on the

dotted line, got the company sold. D j B

vu all over.

Before this government, as the minister said today -

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Yogi Bear over there.

MR. JOYCE: The Premier is singing out Yogi Bear. At least, Premier, if

you want to spend some more of your foundation money during the next election

like you did the last election, you go right ahead, Mr. Premier.

MR. SPEAKER (Fitzgerald): Order, please!

MR. JOYCE: You go right ahead during the election. You go right ahead and

spend some more of your foundation money during this election like you did the

last election.

When you want to stand up here and you want to criticize me, let's put all

the facts on the table, I say to the Premier and I say to the Government House

Leader. You go right ahead. If you want to talk about the Budget and things

going on with the election, let's talk about it. Let's talk about it. The

Premier stood in this House and said there was no money spent and no money

committed from his foundation during the last election. Do you want to talk

about it? Let's talk about it. I have no problem with it. Absolutely, no

problem with it.

If the Budget is so good and the economy is so good in the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador, if it is all so good, why were 9,000 people lined up

at one job fair? Everything is so rosy, the big rosy outlook. Everything is

going just fine. Everything is doing fine; 9,000 at one job fair; 7,000 people

at another job fair. At the next job fair there were 4,000, and the most

condescending statement that was made -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Chair is having great difficulty in hearing the Member for the Bay of

Islands deliver his speech here. I ask members to my left if they would be kind

enough to show co-operation and allow the member to speak. Every member will be

recognized who wants to stand here and be identified by the Chair and have a

chance to talk about whatever it is that is called in Orders of the Day. Right

now the Member for the Bay of Islands has been recognized. I ask members for

their co-operation.

The hon. the Member for the Bay of Islands.

MR. JOYCE: Mr. Speaker, that is the fifth time that the Speaker had to

stand, so it is time to take action. If you are going to be fair about it, it is

time to take action. That is the fifth time, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. JOYCE: The most condescending statement that was made was by the

Premier when he was up in Fort McMurray. He said they are like homing pigeons.

Can you imagine a Premier of this Province saying that the residents away are

like homing pigeons? It may take ten or fifteen years but they will find their

way home. What a statement to make, a Premier of a Province, when you are down

here touting how everything is all good, everything is all fine. What a

statement to make, that we are all like homing pigeons; that we are going to

come home.

If you want to make a statement that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are

like homing pigeons, that they are going to come home in ten or fifteen years,

and then you get every member opposite saying how everything is so good in

Newfoundland and Labrador; how everything is so rosy; how everything is so

sweet; everything is just fine; what a wonderful budget; everything is going

great. Yet, we have the Premier out saying that in ten or fifteen years time we

may be able to bring the people back home, they may be homing pigeons, they may

find their own way home. So, you cannot have it both ways. You cannot have the

Premier out in Alberta saying one thing and have the members saying another

thing here in Newfoundland and Labrador. You have to speak the way it is. If

things are not going good, fine. If things are going good, let's speak it. Let's

speak the way it is. Like I said earlier, there are good things in this Budget.

I will be the first to admit it. There are things - I commented on ministers

with positive things in their budgets.

Mr. Speaker, once again we see the Member for Mount Pearl who will not stand

on his feet but he always - I ask you again, Mr. Speaker, to honour your duty as

Speaker of the House. I ask you, Mr. Speaker, once again.

Mr. Speaker, look at the projects. Hebron Ben Nevis, what happened there?

They are gone south, as if now they are going to come back on bended knee to the

Premier of this Province. Any time you bring any comment up about it: Oh, we are

selling out Newfoundland and Labrador. We are not allowed to go ahead - we are

not allowed to talk about it. We are not allowed to speak about it. We are not

allowed to say one word about it. We are selling out Newfoundland and Labrador.

Can I guarantee you will get a deal if you are sitting down with the

government of this day? No. Can I guarantee you are going to get a great deal?

No. But I can guarantee you one thing, here is one thing I can guarantee you. If

you do not sit down and negotiate there will never, ever be a deal. One of the

things you have to do, if you are going to work on any project, you have to sit

down and negotiate. At the end of the day, if you do not come up with a deal, a

proper deal, that is fine but I can guarantee you, if you are not sitting down

face to face and trying to work something out, there will never be a deal. You

can stand up and beat your chest and say no giveaways, while all of our youth

are moving away.

A big trend is happening here now, Mr. Speaker, in Newfoundland and Labrador.

It is not only our youth moving away, we are getting our grandparents moving

away because their kids and grand kids are out west. That is the phenomenon that

is moving in rural Newfoundland and Labrador. That is the saddest part of it

all. Here are grandparents who hopefully keep their kids home - if they cannot

do that, that is fine, we all understand that. There are people going to move

for different reasons, no problem with that, but now the grandparents are

starting to move away. That, again, is an erosion from rural Newfoundland and

Labrador.

I look at the Stephenville Mill. Once again, the Stephenville Mill is a prime

example of how this government here had everything under control when they were

in Opposition; never going to close under my watch. My personal guarantee. The

Premier made his guarantee. How many members opposite stood up against the

Premier and said, fulfill your commitment? How many? Not one. Not one member

opposite stood up and said, Premier, you made a commitment out there, stick to

it. Not one! How many members opposite stood up to the Premier when he went out

and met with the union executive - and the Member for Port au Port and go ask

and see the minutes of the meetings - when the Premier made a personal

commitment to the union executive: I will expropriate the mill assets for the

Town of Stephenville and for the Port au Port Peninsula? When he didn't do it,

how many members opposite stood up against the Premier? Not one.

I just want to let the residents of the towns and the town councils know - we

hear of Stephenville doing so well. I mean, sure Stephenville got some jobs

brought in from government and got other things. There are about twenty-three or

twenty-five businesses after being shut down. Last year they gave a one-shot

deal; not a problem, a one-shot deal. Six hundred thousand dollars they gave in

a grant for the taxes to the Town of Stephenville; $600,000. Fine, the mill shut

down, they had the flood; not a problem. Guess what, Mr. Speaker? Again this

year the town has put in a deficit of $600,000, and the minister himself said

they are in negotiations as to how much they are going to give them. That is how

good they are doing.

When the members opposite get up, oh, Stephenville is doing great, it has

rebounded - how many towns in this Province, as we speak right now, are even

allowed to put in a deficit budget? How many are allowed? Ask the mayor in

Marystown. Because your revenues are low, because there is no work in Marystown,

are you allowed to put in a deficit budget and ask the government to bail you

out? Ask Harbour Breton. Did you know that the Town of Stephenville got $600,000

last year? That is fine, a one-shot deal, a lot of circumstances there. This

year they are putting in another $600,000. Did the mayor of Harbour Breton know

that, I wonder. How about Fortune? How about the rest of the rural communities

in Newfoundland and Labrador?

When you talk about how great the Port au Port Peninsula is doing, fine. It

is going to take time, but at least say it the way it is. When you are getting a

town with a $600,000 deficit coming back, considering how much of that $600,000

- I mean, they can't be doing that well there if they have a $600,000 deficit.

They just can't be. When the Premier is out now saying, oh, the Port au Port

Peninsula is fine, and the Member for Port au Port saying, oh, everything is

fine out there, everything is rosy, let's not forget the $600,000 deficit they

are putting in; in the minister's own words, that they are out negotiating.

Look at FPI, another prime example, FPI here in this Province again, and the

minister himself knows that they can force FPI to do a lot of things, but do you

know what? They are not doing it. The destruction of rural Newfoundland and

Labrador.

Even, Mr. Speaker, you yourself, is the new crab plant being built down in

Bonavista this year that was committed to under the Income Trust? I bet you

there is no tractor tearing up any ground down there. That was a commitment that

was made to this Legislature. There is no new crab plant being built down there.

You know it, I know it, and again this government is just letting....

So, is everything rosy in Newfoundland and Labrador? Of course not, so don't

stand up and say this is the best Budget going, rural Newfoundland is doing

well, and Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are doing just great. Why is

out-migration the highest ever? Why? Just tell me, why? This is the problem that

you run into. If you do not realize that there are major problems....

We went to the Estimates last night with the Minister of Business. The

Minister of Business went through the Estimates last night. I have to give the

minister credit; he was forthright in his answers and we had a great

conversation back and forth with it. The Premier set this up four years ago, in

2003; that was his little baby. He is after spending, what? Millions upon

millions of dollars in this department.

I asked the minister last night: Name for me one job that the Business

Department created in Newfoundland and Labrador. Do you know what he told me? I

said: Name me one job, one business. Do you know what he told me? Can't do it.

That is what the Minister of Business said last night. Millions and millions and

millions of dollars after being spent in this department, the Premier's own

little baby - that is the one the Premier was going to set up - the Business

Department, and I asked him, point blank: Name me one job. He couldn't do it.

Then I turned around and tried to give him a little way out - because, you

know, at times we do get along pretty good, so I tried to give him a way out, to

save a bit of face - I said: Name me one business that you helped in the grant

subsidy loan somehow through your Minister of Business for the last year. Do you

know what he said? Not one. In Hansard: Not one.

So, here we have the Minister of Business admitting last night in the

Estimates that his department never created -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. JOYCE: He admitted last night that his department - the Minister of

Business has been on the go now for four years - never created one job.

So you wonder why people think that things are not rosy, and it is too bad we

don't jump up and down like the members opposite, when you are handed a

script; go read a script now and take it easy.

I remember the Member for Terra Nova. I don't know if he remembers when he

got on Open Line about Rogers Grimes and the Minister of Transportation and

Works about the suing case, and Bill Rowe said to the Minister of

Transportation: What did he say? Oh, I don't know. Well, you are saying that

what he said was wrong; what did he say? Oh, I don't know what he said. Well,

you have to know what he said if you are saying that you don't agree with it.

So, the same thing happened. Someone takes a script -

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I remind the hon. Member for Bay of Islands that his speaking time has

lapsed.

MR. JOYCE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am sure I will have lots of opportunities to put out the points that this

government missed during this Budget.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Member for Topsail.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS E. MARSHALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Before I get into my discussion on our wonderful Budget, I would like to

congratulate our Member for Port au Port on his maiden speech. He did a fine

job, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS E. MARSHALL: Mr. Speaker, I would like to start off talking about the

Budget and the area that I am receiving the most comments on from constituents

in my district, and that is the area of tax cuts. Everybody is very, very

pleased with the tax cuts, and I think that is because it is probably the

highest or the largest amount of tax cuts that we have experienced in the

history of this Province.

We all know, Mr. Speaker, that we have a very high level of personal

taxation, and these changes that were made in th Budget actually change us from

the highest personal tax structure in Atlantic Canada - that is where we were,

at the highest - and it is now going to make us the lowest in Atlantic Canada,

so that is good news for the residents of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, this government was very progressive in that they effectively

reduced the taxes for the three tax brackets in the Province, so it really did

not matter what your income earnings were, that you will feel the impact of

these tax reductions.

The other thing that this government did was that they eliminated the surtax

on middle and high income earners. That, Mr. Speaker, I feel, was a very

progressive step; because one of the things that this government would like to

see is that high income earners, we do not want them moving away from this

Province. We want them to stay in the Province, pay taxes in the Province, and

support the programs in this Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

One of the other things that the Budget did was index the personal income tax

system, and that also was a very progressive step. Even though the tax rates are

still high when you look at other provinces in Canada - like, we all know that

Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia have lower tax rates and people are

attracted to move there - we are moving in the right direction. I can't even

say these are small steps, because really this was a big step in the history of

this Province.

The other thing that the tax cuts did was, the low income tax reduction

threshold has been increased so that low income earners again are feeling the

benefits of the tax cut. These tax cuts will become effective January 1, 2007.

Mr. Speaker, I have heard quite a few commentaries now on the Budget,

especially as it relates to the tax cuts. There have been quite a few people on

the airwaves and also in The Telegram giving the government very positive

reviews on this aspect of the tax.

Again, I would like to congratulate the Minister of Finance for implementing

the largest tax cut in the history of the Province. As I say, we were the

highest taxes in Atlantic Canada; we are now the lowest. Of course, this comes

at a cost to the government. This year it will be $111 million, but when it is

annualized it will be $160 million, so effectively there is $160 million going

back into the pockets of the residents of Newfoundland and Labrador. That is a

very positive thing.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to move on now. I am going to touch on a couple of

departments and some of their budget initiatives which I think are really good

initiatives. The first department I would like to talk about is the Department

of Health. That department now has a budget of over $2 billion. One of the

things that I would like to comment on is the new diagnostic and capital

equipment that was approved in the Budget. There is over $22 million that has

been approved for that. Of course, the objective is to improve wait times.

I would like to comment that there was a press release that was issued by the

Minister of Health a couple of days ago. We spend extra money on health care,

and we can spend money, but I think, as my mother used to day, the proof is in

the pudding. We wonder, what impact are these extra expenditures having in the

Province? I would like to say that wait times - for example, we spent a lot of

money on diagnostic equipment in the past couple of years - wait times are

gradually being improved.

As I said, the Minister of Health and Community Services did issue a press

release - actually, it was on May 1 - and what it says is that there are

straight A's for Newfoundland and Labrador in wait times report. That goes to

show that this Province is now on the leading edge of improving our wait times.

What the press release says is that Newfoundland and Labrador received an A

grade, according to the report card released by the Wait Time Alliance for

Timely Access to Health Care. Apparently, the progress report assesses the

progress of provincial and territorial governments in achieving wait time

benchmarks. It did give the Province an A grade, but I would like to go on and

mention something else that was in the press release that maybe some people may

have missed. That is, that the report card also recognizes Newfoundland and

Labrador as one of only three provinces to report trends in wait times by

procedures, and one of the few provinces to consistently report performance on a

quarterly basis in terms of the percent of patients treated within the

benchmark.

Mr. Speaker, not only are we making the A grade, but actually we are doing a

little bit better than that. Of course, now with this additional investment of

over $22 million, we will see further improvement. So, I am sure the minister

will be keeping us informed. Possibly next year there will be another press

release as to how we are doing.

The other area in the Department of Health that I am very interested in, Mr.

Speaker, and probably because I worked in the old Department of Social Services

and at one point in time that department was responsible for child protection

and youth services. There has been quite a significant amount of extra money put

into that area this year. It is now in the Department of Health and Community

Services, but there is $6.5 million being put in this year for that program,

Child, Youth and Family Services. Annualized, there is going to be an addition

of $9 million. This additional investment was put into the department because

over the last year or so the department has had a number of reviews done which

has recommended that additional investments be put into this area.

The three reports, specifically - I will just list them off. Two of the three

I have read. The third one, I will confess that I have not read, but I am

interested in reading and will make an effort to do so. The Minister's

Advisory Committee on the Child, Youth and Family Services Act. There was a new

act brought in a number of years ago and it required that there be this review

after so many years. Of course, that review has now been offered. The report was

released, I believe it might have even been released last summer. It makes

recommendations as to improvements that can be made in that area. Of course, we

are all familiar with the Turner review and recommendations that came from that

review. The third review was the Organizational and Operational Review. Really,

what has happened is that these three reviews which have taken place over the

last one or two years, that the minister has now used this to determine what

direction the department should go in.

Mr. Speaker, that $6.5 million; some of the areas that are going to see

improvements as a result of that investment. There is going to be a significant

number of new social workers. Also, a behaviour management specialist; also

support workers. I know from being in that department a number of years ago, and

more recently around 2003, that area is definitely in need of new investments in

staff. I see that is quite a progressive step with regard to the Department of

Health and Community Services.

The other thing that is included in that $6.5 million, Mr. Speaker, are

things like training and professional development. There is no point in hiring

100 additional staff if you are not going to train them and provide for

continuing development.

Mr. Speaker, one of the other areas that I would like to speak to in the

Department of Health, and I know the Minister of Health and Community Services

did rise in the House earlier today and speak to the fact that it is Mental

Health Week. There are a few areas in the Budget that I would like to speak to,

but before I do, I would like to say that there was a commentary or an editorial

in The Telegram on Saturday referring to the Executive Director of the

Mental Health Association and referencing how pleased he was with various

aspects of the Budget as it relates to mental health.

I spoke on mental health in this House before, Mr. Speaker, and I know over

the years there has been a tendency not to put resources into this area, but

since this government came to power in 2003 there has been a significant

investment into the area of mental health. I would just like to go through a few

of them because I feel that these are very positive steps. The first one, Mr.

Speaker, there is money there for renovations to the forensic and

developmentally delayed units at the Waterford Hospital. I visited that unit on

at least two occasions and I agree that it has been a while since that unit has

seen some improvements and it definitely needed to be improved. So, I would like

to congratulate the minister on that initiative.

There is also an additional $1.6 million for mental health and addictions

services. Again, a good move. There is $575,000 there for problem gambling.

Another area that was mentioned earlier today, there is $228,000 there for an

eating disorders program. Mr. Speaker, I have three children, all in their early

twenties, and I was very surprised at how prevalent eating disorders are. So, of

course, Mr. Speaker, I was very, very pleased to see that initiative in the

Budget.

A couple of other initiatives I was very pleased with. One was the insulin

pumps for children with Type 1 Diabetes. The Budget provided funding for both

insulin pumps and also for supplies.

The other area I would like to speak to is the dental health program for

children. It has now been expanded. Actually, we expanded it in the Budget

either last year or the year before. This year we have expanded again, now it is

going to include youth from ages thirteen to age seventeen. The budget for that

program is now up to about $11 million. I think when this government came to

power in 2003, I think the budget was about $4.4 million.

The comment I would like to make on this one is - I mentioned this before in

the House. I used to be a teacher. It was many, many years ago. I taught school

in Bishop's Falls, and one of the things that I remember quite vividly about

teaching in that wonderful community of Bishop's Falls - one of the issues

that I remember, one of my most vivid memories of teaching in that school are

the children there, because their families could not afford dental health for

the children, and the children coming to school with toothaches and problems

with their teeth. I am very pleased to be part of a government that has put a

program in place to look after the children, look after their dental health,