May 9,

2011 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVI No. 21

The House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Fitzgerald): Order, please!

Admit strangers.

Before we begin today's proceedings, I would like to recognize the untimely

passing of Mr. Paul Reynolds, which occurred on our last sitting day of the

House of Assembly, Thursday, April 21.

Mr. Reynolds served as an officer of this House in two capacities since May

2007. He was the Chief Electoral Officer and also the Commissioner for

Legislative Standards. Paul performed both roles with skill, diplomacy, and

fairness. He directed a number of changes to our Elections Act, such as those

respecting special balloting. He was also the Chief Officer for the 2007 General

Election, as well as a number of by-elections since that time.

Members would also have worked with Paul on their financial disclosure

statements and will remember his patient assistance in those matters. Paul

Reynolds was always a gentleman in his dealings with members of this House

generally, and he will be deeply missed.

On behalf of the House of Assembly, I extend the House's condolences to the

Reynolds family, and I would also like to recognize a number of Mr. Reynolds'

co-workers who are present in the public galleries today.

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today to express condolences on behalf

of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to the family of Paul Reynolds.

We were sorry to hear of the passing of Mr. Reynolds, who served as the Chief

Electoral Officer in Newfoundland and Labrador since May 2007.

Mr. Reynolds had a distinguished career in the public and private sector and

served the people of Newfoundland and Labrador as Chief Electoral Officer and

Commissioner for Legislative Standards with impartiality, sound judgement and

utmost integrity.

Mr. Reynolds had an extensive private sector and volunteer background,

including serving on the Wedgewood Park Recreation Commission, as councillor and

Deputy Mayor for the Town of Wedgewood Park, and later as councillor for the

City of St. John's. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the YM/YWCA and

the St. John's Port Corporation, as well as a Director for the Drivers Licence

Review Board and the Pippy Park Commission.

I ask all Members of the House of Assembly to join with me today as we

remember Mr. Reynolds' contribution to the Province and extend our deepest

condolences to his family.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to take this opportunity as well to pass along our condolences

and thoughts to the family of the late Mr. Reynolds.

I did not actually know him until after he became the Chief Electoral

Officer, but of course anyone who knew him well before I did, and certainly my

experience after was that he was a perfect gentleman and he was very kind and

considerate to anyone who had any involvement with him. I did find out he was an

avid golfer and, in fact, we attended the same gym together, so it was a great

opportunity to keep up on what was happening in the electoral system through Mr.

Reynolds.

There is no doubt that he was very involved in community life and improving

the community of Wedgewood Park. I understand he was actually the mayor. He was

very proud of his town and very proud of this Province.

He was fair to all of those he dealt with, regardless of what your political

stripe might be in this Province, and we extend our condolences to his family.

Thank you.

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

Vidi.

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

I am pleased to have the opportunity to add my voice of condolence to yours,

to the Premier, and to the Opposition House Leader, to passing on to the family

of Mr. Paul Reynolds and his co-workers my voice of condolence, and saying that

he really was a very fine person to work with.

I, too, had not met him before he took on his role as Chief Electoral

Officer. I found him committed and dedicated in his role. In any discussions

that I was involved in with him, I understood how much he wanted to help the

democratic process be accessible to everybody and to be fair and to be just. I

really admired that in him.

As well as the Speaker, yourself, has mentioned, on a one-on-one as an MHA in

our dealings with him, I found him to be very understanding of his role in

helping us be open and transparent with regard to revealing our financial

situations, and I just found him understanding and a very personable man in

every way.

I know that his family, his friends, and his co-workers must miss him

terribly, and I am very sorry that we had to lose him in such an untimely way.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: I thank members for their commentary.

Today, I would like to welcome two Deputy National Commissioners of Scouts

Canada, who are attending meetings here in Newfoundland and Labrador with the

National Leadership Team. I would like to welcome Mr. Jason Anderson and Ms

Kathleen Provost.

Welcome to the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Today, the Speaker would also like to welcome fifteen

members of the Templeton Branch of the Women's Institute here in St. John's.

Welcome to the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

Statements by Members

MR. SPEAKER: The following members' statements will be heard: the hon.

the Member for District of Cape St. Francis; the hon. the Member for the

District of Burgeo & La Poile; the hon. the Member for the District of Mount

Pearl North, and the hon. the Member for the District of Humber West.

The hon. the Member for the District of Cape St. Francis.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KEVIN PARSONS: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this hon. House today to congratulate the Holy Trinity Senior

Concert Band and Senior Jazz Band. They participated in the Heritage Music

Festival in Anaheim, California.

Mr. Speaker, with 1,700 other students from seven states in the US and bands

from British Columbia, the Holy Trinity Band represented our Province and our

country very well.

Mr. Speaker, the students had fun visiting amusement parks, beaches, they

walked along the Hollywood Walk of Fame, they visited the Walt Disney Concert

Hall, and they toured the Grammy Museum and saw many other different sites.

With the guidance of their instructor, Mr. Ron Collins, the groups achieved

Silver Awards. Their school and their parents are very proud of how they

performed, and how respectful and well-behaved they were.

I ask all hon. members in this House today to join with me in congratulating

the Holy Trinity Concert Band and Jazz Band on their Silver Award, and also in

congratulating Mr. Ron Collins on a job well done.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to recognize ten bright and talented students from St. James'

Regional High School in Port aux Basques. Nine of the students under the

direction of teacher-mentor, Ms Vanessa Hillard, travelled to St. John's to

compete at the Marine Advanced Technology Education Centre in the remotely

operated underwater vehicle competition which took place on May 6, this past

Saturday.

This year's competition was based on oil spills and the four tasks assigned

to these small-scale ROVs must simulate what real life ROVs would do. An example

of a task is the capping of an oil well, which involves using one of the ROVs

claws to carry the cap and cover an apparatus. The St. James' ROV team has named

their robot El Capitano.

Since January, these industrious students have spent a great deal of their

spare time in the classroom and at the local swimming pool building to test

their robot and their project. This project was completely extracurricular and

the students, as well as Ms Hillard, are to be commended for voluntarily

participating in this highly educational undertaking.

I had the opportunity to meet with the students and view their work on

Saturday, and was very impressed by their intelligence, their creativity, and

their enthusiasm. They totally enjoyed the competition and were looking forward

also to a tour of the simulator at the Marine Institute.

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

congratulations to Ms Hilliard and her students, Marcus Carter, Rebecca Carter,

Neil Mauger, Joel Goodyear, Liam Carter, Myles Green, Arshad Razack, Julia

Skinner, Patrick Mercer, and Kyle Standing on participating in this worthwhile

and educational project.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Mount Pearl North.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this hon. House today to congratulate Gail Brittain on her

outstanding achievement on being named a lifetime member of the Kin Club of

Canada. I attended a celebration in February of this year. It was a celebration

of Gail and her significant contribution to the Kinettes in Mount Pearl.

Mr. Speaker, the Association of Kinsmen, Kinette and Kin Clubs is proud to be

an all-Canadian service organization made up of outstanding community

volunteers. From coast to coast, members are enhancing quality of life in their

communities by promoting service, fellowship, positive values and national

pride.

It is important and significant to note that Kin members have proudly

contributed more than $1 billion to Canadian communities since their association

was founded in 1920.

Mr. Speaker, there is not one person who knows Gail Brittain personally who

would not attest to the fact that Gail is a great Kinette. She epitomizes the

essences of what it means to be generous and giving in her community. Her

contribution to the Kinette Club of Mount Pearl has been acknowledged by this

recent honour bestowed upon her.

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

long-time resident of Mount Pearl and a friend of mine, Gail Brittain, on her

Lifetime Achievement Award from Kin Canada.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Humber West.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. GRANTER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I stand in this hon. House to congratulate yet again an exhibit

of the great theatrical talent coming from the Corner Brook area.

What started out nine years ago as a pet project of Stephen Perchard

culminated in fine fashion on Saturday, April 30 at the Newfoundland and

Labrador Drama Festival held in the beautiful Town of Grand Falls-Windsor. Eight

amateur theatrical groups from across Newfoundland and Labrador participated in

the festival.

The staging of Sam Sheppard's play True West earned Corner Brook's

Off-Broadway Players the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador's Drama

Festival Award for best presentation of a full length play.

In addition to this award, individual awards were handed out to members of

Corner Brook's Off-Broadway Players. Troy Turner took home best male performance

for his role as Lee, the shady brother in Sheppard's tale of sibling rivalry.

Along with Elwin Murley, Turner was also co-winner of the Oz-FM Award for

excellence in sound.

Off-Broadway members Sandy Wiseman and Erin Smallwood took home the Award for

Excellence in property management. Greg Davis rounded out the impressive haul by

winning the Allan Power Memorial Trophy for lighting design.

Mr. Speaker, Corner Brook has become a rich and inviting place for amateur

and professional theatre, and it is through the work of people like Stephen

Perchard and others that this tourism draw will only grow and foster.

To that end, Mr. Speaker, I congratulate all members from Corner Brook's

Off-Broadway Players for their promotion of theatre in our city and region and

ask all members of this hon. House in sending best wishes and congratulations on

their impressive individual and collective accomplishments at the most recent

Newfoundland and Labrador Drama Festival.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Statements by Ministers.

Statements by Ministers

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This part Friday I had the opportunity to attend the Municipalities

Newfoundland and Labrador 2011 Municipal Symposium in Gander. This conference

brings together municipal leaders from across our Province and I was pleased to

have my first opportunity to speak to them as the Minister of Municipal Affairs.

There was a very positive energy at the symposium and while there I had the

opportunity to highlight the many initiatives contained in Budget 2011 for towns

and communities. Clearly, our budget measures have been well received and

reflect our commitment to the municipalities in Newfoundland and Labrador.

In particular, Mr. Speaker, those in attendance were pleased with our $4.6

million injection into Municipal Operating Grants. All towns and communities

will receive increased funding, while municipalities with populations below

1,000 people will receive a 50 per cent increase in their current grant. As

acknowledged at the symposium, this will make a substantial difference for

smaller municipalities which are mostly contained in rural Newfoundland and

Labrador.

Through Budget 2011, we are also continuing our commitment to help

municipalities improve infrastructure. This year, we have allocated over $140

million for new and ongoing municipal infrastructure projects. This funding will

leverage further funding and bring total spending to $219 million in this

current year. As well, we have allocated an additional $14 million for the

continued implementation of the Provincial Solid Waste Management Strategy, for

a total of about $116 million for the total commitment to date, Mr. Speaker.

Budget 2011 also allocated $30 million for recreational and multi-purpose

facilities in Newfoundland and Labrador. Our government recognizes the

importance of such facilities and set aside this specific block of funding which

is expected to allow us to leverage an additional $40 million, for a total of

approximately $70 million.

One of the major themes of the symposium, Mr. Speaker, was co-operation. As a

government, we encourage municipalities to work together to achieve positive

benefits for our residents. It was stated that the relationship between the

provincial government, this government, Mr. Speaker, between Municipalities

Newfoundland and Labrador and the towns and communities is stronger than it has

ever been in the history of Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. O'BRIEN: As I said to the delegates, they have my commitment as

minister to continue building this strong relationship, and I look forward to

working with them in the coming months and also to joining them at their annual

convention this fall.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of The Straits & White

Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I, too, attended the symposium this weekend in Gander. It was a good

symposium, it was well attended. The minister is right when he says municipal

leaders were pleased with the increase in the MOGs and the investment in

municipal infrastructure, and so they would be. They are concerned that it is

for only one year and not certain of what to expect the following year, but we

trust in good faith that we will see at least what we see this year on the

table.

Mr. Speaker, I have to say as well, there were also many concerns expressed

by municipal leaders in the Province over these past few days in Gander. I could

mention many, but just one or two, the waste management strategy or lack thereof

and the frustration that exists throughout the Province about the operating

costs that may arise from this strategy and the uncertainty of it being dragged

out as long as it has been. There is a lot of concern about that. Mr. Speaker, I

also heard concern about the over 200 boil orders that are still in place, many

of them for years, decades actually for some, and again, really no direction or

initiative to address those issues.

When it comes to sustainability, probably the largest concern municipal

leaders have in this Province is the sustainability issue about their

municipalities. Many are in small municipalities, as we know, and with the

limited funding and the uncertainty of MOGs and so on, they have certainly put

that issue forward. The MNL had taken the initiative to have Dr. Wade Locke do a

study and come up with some suggestions, some of which were presented on Friday

morning by Dr. Locke at the MNL.

It is great; there is a lot of money going there. Listening to the minister

today, it would sound like all is well but there are a lot of issues and I would

urge the minister in his new capacity and his commitment on Friday evening, in

his lengthy speech, I would urge him to make sure that he follows through on

those commitments.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

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

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

I thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement. Unfortunately, I

was not able to get to the Municipalities NL symposium. I always liked being

with the municipalities and I too look forward to the fall.

Obviously, I was pleased to see in this year's Budget that municipalities

will be receiving an increase in their operating grants and that more grants

will be available for infrastructure. Obviously, the municipalities were

pleased. They were not going to say we are unhappy to receive more money,

especially with all the needs they have. We are all aware that many

municipalities, especially the small ones, have faced big challenges trying to

pay their bills, keeping fire departments open, rebuilding water systems, trying

to have clean water for their people, not to mention the extra cost this year

associated with

Hurricane Igor, and then what they are facing with regard to the new waste

management regime.

So, the needs are great, Mr. Speaker. I encourage the minister and this

government to put into effect an operating grant formula similar to the old

formula, something permanent so that municipalities will have a steady,

predictable revenue increase to cover the steadily increasing costs they have as

municipalities so that they do not have to see what is in the Budget as a gift.

It is the money of the Province; it is the money that they need to run the

municipalities.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Further statements by ministers?

The hon. the Minister of Justice and Attorney General.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. F. COLLINS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure today that I announce that Ms Kelly

Rowsell has been appointed Assistant Superintendent of the Newfoundland and

Labrador Correctional Centre for Women. This is a senior appointment reporting

to the Superintendent of Prisons and now makes Ms Rowsell the highest ranking

female correctional officer in the system at this time.

This is a great achievement, Mr. Speaker, and shows the dedication and

professionalism that Ms Rowsell brings to her duties everyday. Ms Rowsell has

held successively more responsible positions since she first became a

correctional officer in 1992. She has worked at the St. John's Lockup, Her

Majesty's Penitentiary, the Labrador Correctional Centre, and at the

Newfoundland and Labrador Correctional Centre for Women, both when it was

located in Stephenville and now in Clarenville. Now as Assistant Superintendent,

she is responsible for the planning, organizing and directing day-to-day

operations of the centre under the direction of the Superintendent.

Mr. Speaker, the Department of Justice now has seventy-three women working as

correctional officers throughout the Province in the Adult Custody Division of

Corrections. Just recently, I attended the graduation for the Correctional

Officer Recruit Training Program, and of the eleven proud recruits I presented

certificates to, six of these recruits were women. Since October 2008, the

department has hired ninety-three correctional officers, twenty-five of them

women. It is becoming clear to me, Mr. Speaker, that more and more women are now

seeing corrections as a valuable and rewarding career path.

Women such as Assistant Superintendent Rowsell are an inspiration for other

women entering the field. In these senior positions, they are able to provide

advice and insight to these recruits and demonstrate that women hold an

important role in the corrections system.

Since the 2009 release of Decades of Darkness: Moving Towards the Light, the

provincial government has made significant strides toward revitalizing

corrections. This could not have been done without the commitment, dedication

and co-operation of our correctional officers. Officers such as Assistant

Superintendent Rowsell have made a positive impact on work to improve the

delivery of corrections in this Province.

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate Ms Rowsell on her appointment, and I wish her all

the best in her new role.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

We also would like to congratulate Ms Rowsell. We are pleased to see that

more women are engaging in the professions and also pleased to see, of course,

that women are rising in those professions to take positions of prominence as it

should be.

The minister mentions the Decades of Darkness report, and he says while the

department has taken what he calls revitalizing moves as a result of that

report, we would suggest, Mr. Speaker, that yes, some actions have been taken

but we would not necessarily call them revitalizing. That same report noted, for

example, that HMP here, the Penitentiary, has outlived its life expectancy, was

in decrepit condition and in desperate need of repair. A number of other

correctional facilities throughout this Province as well were noted to be in

dire need of repairs.

It is great to see some things happening in corrections, but of course you

have to start with the foundation. I mean here literally the foundation when we

talk about where we house people who are incarcerated and people who work in the

system. If the department truly wants to revitalize corrections, Mr. Speaker, it

should start with addressing these conditions.

In addition to the physical conditions that exist, of course, the recent

citizens' call to replace the current prescribing psychiatrist at the HMP is

another example of where revitalization can take place.

Again, we offer our congratulations to Ms Rowsell. We hope that her example

motivates even more women to become involved in corrections and in professional

capacities in general.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Vidi.

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

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

I am happy, very happy, to congratulate Assistant Superintendent Rowsell on

her new appointment. She has quite an impressive work history in our

correctional system and brings an experience that I know will serve very well

the facility where she will now be in a particular role.

It is wonderful to see women moving into the high ranks in our correctional

system, as they are coming up at the bottom. The minister has indicated they are

certainly increasing the numbers coming up from the bottom. It is good to see we

are breaking the glass ceiling that exists for women in many systems and that

she is moving now into the upper rank of management.

I also join the government and the minister in applauding the commitment of

our correctional officers. The work they do is extremely important for our

society and they do it well, but we do have to give them the facilities and the

resources that they need to do their work.

I, too, have to mention the crying need that we have for a new penitentiary

to replace Her Majesty's Penitentiary here in St. John's. I have heard at least

two ministers say that something has to be done about it and that we will even

move ahead without Ottawa if necessary. So I am looking for action from this

government, Mr. Speaker, on the need for a new penitentiary.

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER: Further statements by ministers?

Before the Chair calls Oral Questions, the Chair would like to recognize a

former Member of the House of Assembly who I think was elected in 1989 in the

former District of Twillingate and Fogo. I welcome Mr. Sam Winsor and his wife

Issabelle.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Premier. The partners in the Hebron

project announced last week a 66 per cent increase in the cost of the project.

Instead of $5 billion, the construction cost is now pegged at about $8.3

billion.

I ask the Premier today if she can give an update to the House on what that

means for the Province's equity stake in this project and also outline for us

how much we have paid to the partners to date, and how much more we will have to

pay in total?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, Hebron costs are driven by reserves, as are most projects in the

offshore. So as we do our delineation work and we find out exactly how much oil

is there, then capital costs increase or decrease accordingly.

Mr. Speaker, as a result of this work on Hebron, reserves have gone up by 11

per cent. Our costs in capital construction have increased from $360 million to

$480 million, Mr. Speaker, and it will also mean an increase of over 50 per cent

to the Treasury of Newfoundland and Labrador in royalties and benefits.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I understand that Newfoundland and Labrador, through Nalcor, obviously owns a

4.9 per cent stake in the project and the stake is actually managed by Nalcor.

I ask the Premier today if she can clarify how our share of the Hebron

construction cost is being paid, will the money flow directly from Nalcor or

will it first flow from the provincial Treasury into Nalcor to be distributed?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the costs that we are responsible for are directly related to

the amount of equity we own in each of the three projects. If we own 4.9 per

cent of Hebron, then we are responsible for 4.9 per cent of the capital costs.

Mr. Speaker, it depends what equity is built up in Nalcor at the time. It will

be done through a series of instruments, money that is already within Nalcor,

financing that might be available to Nalcor or financing from the provincial

government, Mr. Speaker. Either which way, through either one of those different

agencies or governments, our commitments to the project will be met.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Given the fact that Nalcor is managing the 4.9 per cent stake in Hebron, can

you clarify for the House where the profits will go from that project? You were

unable to clarify for us whether we would be investing the money from the

provincial Treasury or if it would actually come out of Nalcor itself. I find it

ironic that the government has not thought that far ahead to know where that

investment is coming from. Having said that, Mr. Speaker, I ask if they have

thought far enough ahead to see where the actual profits will go once they are

paid out on the project.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Yes, Mr. Speaker, we will set the irony to one side

for a few moments and remind the Leader of the Opposition that when we negotiate

these projects we negotiate royalty and benefits agreements that state quite

specifically where the different benefits will go. The bulk of the benefits will

come to the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador through royalties. The rest

of the benefits, Mr. Speaker, are arrived at through employment by the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador and by companies who do business here in the Province.

Mr. Speaker, in terms of the profitability of the project, that is paid out

because of the equity you own, that will go directly to Nalcor of which the

people of Newfoundland and Labrador are the one shareholder and own 100 per cent

of.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Maybe the Premier could outline for me how much money we may have paid

already from the provincial Treasury into Nalcor for investment into the equity

shares in Hebron and if there is any money forecasted in the Budget for this

year and if there is any immediate forecast in the next couple of years for

investment in that project?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I would be more than pleased to table that information in the

House. This is public information. We have disclosed every inch of the way in

terms of what we have committed to on these projects, what the responsibility of

the Province is going to be in terms of their commitment, and what the return to

the people of the Province is going to be as a result of that investment.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

What we are seeing with Hebron in terms of the increase in capital cost

rising to 66 per cent more than was forecasted when the deal was signed is not

unusual for large projects which brings me to the concern that I have with

Muskrat Falls.

I ask the Premier today if she can clarify for the House of Assembly what

would happen to the economics of Muskrat Falls if you experience a cost increase

along those lines that have affected almost all big industrial projects like

this.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the fundamental flaw in the reasoning of the Leader of the

Opposition is she is comparing apples to oranges. The cost of Hebron has risen

because reserves have risen by 11 per cent. We have much more oil than we

originally anticipated, so it is going to cost more to extract it and we are

going to earn more once it is extracted. Those returns are going to come back to

the Province.

In terms of Muskrat Falls, we know exactly what the output of Muskrat Falls

is going to be. We know the type of infrastructure that is going to be required

and we have made the best estimations that we can do with this amount of time,

and we have also allowed for overruns in those estimates.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The public's concern is that this particular project on Muskrat Falls is

structured very poorly when it comes to overruns and who is on the hook. We are

on the hook as a Province, not Emera and not the other partners.

The Joint Review Panel on Muskrat Falls raised some questions around the

financial information that Nalcor presented. Nalcor outlined to them that if the

cost goes up by 10 per cent on Muskrat Falls then the profits would drop by 32

per cent. Under that scenario, Mr. Speaker, Nalcor would have to raise

electricity rates even higher to guarantee a rate of return on its investment or

on this project.

I ask the Premier: That was with the information we got on the 10 per cent

overrun, can you provide to us what that would mean if the overrun was 20 per

cent, 30 per cent, or even 40 per cent on this project?

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, we could go on and on and on to infinity I expect, Mr. Speaker, in terms

of what we might be able to do in projecting overruns. It is only a mathematical

exercise after all. Mr. Speaker, what is important here is we have brought the

best financial minds and the best minds that do the work around these kinds of

projects, not only here in Newfoundland and Labrador but in the Americas and the

world, to construct a project that is very solid, Mr. Speaker. We have had two

independent audits of this project and the methodology used to arrive at our

conclusions.

Mr. Speaker, anyone paying attention to the paper would have seen that we are

now advertising for a completely independent third audit just so that we can

provide assurance to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador that the planning

that has gone on around this project is absolutely solid.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I need to remind the Premier that it is more than a mathematical exercise

when you are asking people in this Province to reach into their pockets and pay

more for electricity costs. Now, if Nalcor is outlining that with a 10 per cent

overrun on the project the profits could drop as much as 32 per cent, I think it

is important for the government to put their head around what that would mean to

the consumers and what that will mean to people in this Province who have to pay

for that electricity at the end of the day.

So, I ask the government whether you consider it a mathematical exercise or

not I ask you today to provide to us what it would mean if there is more than

a 10 per cent overrun on this project; what that transfers into for the price of

electricity for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition assumes

that work has not been done. Mr. Speaker, she also assumes that whatever the

next best option that might be available to provide the generation of

electricity here in Newfoundland and Labrador would not be subject to the same

triggers that would cost overruns. The biggest issue is going to be commodities

and labour in terms of driving overruns.

Mr. Speaker, we have to build new generation in this Province; we either do

it through Muskrat Falls or we do it through the refurbishment of Seal Cove, the

development of more small hydro, the development of wind, and even the addition

of more thermal generation here in the Province. Mr. Speaker, if we have to go

that route, those projects will also be subject to overruns if it affects

commodities and labour. So, Mr. Speaker, that is the situation we find ourselves

in.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We are debating the deal that you have on the table, Premier, not the other

options that are out there right now. Our concern with the deal that you have on

the table is that the people in Newfoundland and Labrador will have to pay the

greatest amount of the cost towards this project.

What we are saying is: What are you going to do to ensure that the price is

stable, that it is sustainable, and that people do not get gauged even further

than what you are proposing if you go ahead and end up with overruns on this

project? What protection is there for the ratepayer in Newfoundland and

Labrador?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, a great deal of work has gone into the assessment of the needs

of the people of this Province for power and how we might best meet that need

over the next twenty to thirty years. Muskrat Falls is the answer to the energy

needs of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2016, and beyond.

Mr. Speaker, there are two variables that are hard to predict. They are the

price of labour and the price of commodities. Now, whatever we do - and it is

relevant if we are not going to go with Muskrat Falls because we have to go

somewhere else and do something else - whatever that something else might be,

still has the same dependence on commodities and labour and will run the same

risk of overruns.

Mr. Speaker, we have done the best analysis that we can do. We have had it

audited externally. We will audit it again. It has been endorsed by the banks

and our lenders, Mr. Speaker. It is a good project.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of The Straits & White

Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, as we have all heard in the news, the people of the Northern

Peninsula have taken to peaceful protests along Route 430 to bring attention to

an emergency situation that is happening in their communities. There are

millions of pounds of unprocessed fish being shipped past their idle or

underutilized plants, destined for other parts of the Province. During a

four-hour highway protest last week, protestors snared more than 100,000 pounds

of product being trucked out, Mr. Speaker; something that we feel is simply

unacceptable.

I ask the minister today to tell us in the House: How many million pounds of

unprocessed fish can the plant workers expect to be shipped off the Peninsula

this year?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, I cannot give him the exact amount that is

going to be shipped off the Northern Peninsula this year. All I can say to you

is that we monitored the situation on the Northern Peninsula over the past

couple of years. On a percentage basis, the Northern Peninsula, if we were going

to share everything up evenly across the Province, they get more than their

share. They have and I expect they will do the same thing this year.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of The Straits & White

Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, in 2005, all regional shrimp landings were processed in the

region under what was referred to as a regional processing protection mechanism

to ensure employment opportunities were not exported out of the region. During

the Raw Material Sharing debate of 2006, this restriction, or what was known as

a cap, was lifted by this government.

I ask the minister: Will he commit here today to reinstate the processing

restrictions which prevent the raw materials from being exported out of the

region and deny the people of the Northern Peninsula much needed jobs?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, my understanding is since that policy was

lifted, in fact, the Northern Peninsula is doing more processing of shrimp than

they would have done previously.

I go back to my point that we have companies that opt to buy here in the

Province. Fogo Island, for example, they land product there, they take it from

Fogo Island, ship it to different parts of the Province. The Province's

requirement around the minimum processing is that if it is landed in the

Province, it has to receive processing in the Province. It has not specified

where it has to be processed. So, unless we are willing to look around changes

into that entire structure, as it stands, Mr. Speaker, it will remain in place.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of The Straits & White

Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Mr. Speaker, that process was in place and it was changed. I

can assure the minister, in the past three years that the plant in Black Duck

Cove, in particular, has not seen an increase in their production numbers. As a

matter of fact, this went from about 16 million down to about 8 million, and

this year they have absolutely no idea where those numbers can be.

Mr. Speaker, the fish plant workers of the Northern Peninsula feel they are

being totally abandoned by this government when it comes to the fishery, in

particular. To add insult to injury, the minister was on the media last week

chastising the people for their protests. He said it was their rite of spring -

he referred to it - and he belittled them by saying it was their little

problems.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the minister today: Even though their problems are so

little in nature, as far as he is concerned - he had a meeting scheduled with

them in February which he cancelled and has not rescheduled as of yet - will he

commit here today to meet the frustrated workers, to listen to their concerns

and try to get this matter resolved?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, it seems the hon. member is playing some

politics here now. He may not have known it, and he may not be in tune enough,

but I met with a delegation from the Northern Peninsula, in fact, two people

from Black Duck Cove, people from the shrimp processing, about a week and a half

or so ago.

I do not know if the man is in tune with it or not, Mr. Speaker, but I do not

choose not to meet with people because of a particular issue, Mr. Speaker. I met

with them

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. JACKMAN: - and my point to them is that I am not willing to meet and

be held ransom by someone saying that they are not going to stop their protest.

When they get past that, Mr. Speaker, I am more than willing to sit down and

meet with them.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Member for the District of The Straits & White Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Mr. Speaker, I would suggest to the minister that if he were

handling things properly, there would not be a protest on the Northern

Peninsula, or anywhere else in the fishery for that matter.

Mr. Speaker, the people of the Northern Peninsula are facing the uncertainty

of the interim Northern shrimp quota cuts that were announced during the federal

election last month. As we have heard, the inshore sector will face having their

quotas slashed by up to 40 per cent.

I ask the minister today: What representation, besides the letter he informed

the House about some weeks ago, has he made with the federal counterpart on this

matter? Has he been informed of the final quota numbers? When can we expect an

announcement coming?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: I am glad he straightened that out in his question because

in the first part of it he said it had been announced during the election.

Clearly, it was not. The number of 40 per cent was put out there, Mr. Speaker.

My information tells me there will be a cut, but it is likely to be in the area

of 10 per cent to 15 per cent, Mr. Speaker.

While we recognize that any cut has an impact on the work that will come to a

particular area, we are more than willing to work with the people. We know the

capacity issue is there. We know for the resource that is declining we have more

processing facilities than we probably need in the Province. That is going to

mean working together with the industry, Mr. Speaker, to find the way forward

and as well working with the people who are on the ground.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of The Straits & White

Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Mr. Speaker, the minister must be confused as well because my

understanding of what came out was an interim quota. It was an interim quota,

and that is what I said in my

preamble to the question. The interim quota came

out and the quota numbers in that particular announcement were 40 per cent less

than what they had last year.

My question to the minister again is: Are you speaking to anyone? Is it a

concern? What can we expect to be done?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Yes, Mr. Speaker, if he said interim in the initial part, I

missed the interim. Clearly, it is an interim, no different than in the past

three years previous. Prices were set in May, and in 2008, I believe it was, it

was set in July.

Mr. Speaker, we have been making the inquiries and the indications are it

will be to a 10 per cent to 15 per cent cut.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of The Straits & White

Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the lobster industry in the Province is also in a crisis, as we

know, with the association SPONL representing the majority of processors

rejecting the standing Fish Price Setting Panel's decision on pricing. The

association to date has not been willing to buy lobsters this season at the

price set by the panel, although we did hear today there may be some who are

buying. Some fishermen, as we know, have taken their product to buyers outside

the Province to salvage some income.

So I ask the minister: What is his government's involvement again in this

crisis? Is he prepared to offer any solution to the problem?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, I hope in his next question he will lead off by

telling me if he is in favour of outside buying or not. Mr. Speaker, on Friday

we had

AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. JACKMAN: That is it, Mr. Speaker.

On Friday we know that both parties met and there was a small reduction in

the price that was going to be paid but not enough to make a difference. This

morning at 11:00 o'clock, SPNL members met to discuss how they are going to move

forward. I do not know what the outcome of that was, but I think everyone would

hope that they can reach an agreement.

As to the outside buying, it is something that we are considering now. It is

not something that is simply you can decide today, you are going to have outside

buying and that it be in place tomorrow. If we are going to have people who are

going to come into this Province, then they are going to have to be on the level

playing field, Mr. Speaker, and we will decide whether or not we will go that

route in short order.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of The Straits & White

Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, last month I asked the minister a question on a lobster licence

buyout proposal that was presented to the government by the FFAW. The minister

stated that his department was reviewing the proposal which would help

rationalize the industry. Our understanding in that proposal is that the federal

government supports it.

I ask the minister today if the Province has made a decision and if so what

it is? If not, when can the FFAW and the fishermen expect to receive an answer?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, to this point my understanding is that the

approval that they have from the federal government is a verbal approval. Mr.

Speaker, I certainly will not be moving until we see the thing that is in

writing. In the meantime, it is something that we are very seriously looking at,

Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of The Straits & White

Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, a number of the protesters at the rally last week included those

who are totally fed up with what is happening at their plant in New Ferolle, the

only multi-species plant for most of the Northern Peninsula. The plant was sold

to Deep Atlantic Sea Products owned by Greg Mullowney for $1 back in 2009. It

has been basically inactive pretty much ever since. It is clear that Mr.

Mullowney has not lived up to the terms of his agreement which states that he

must use the crab licence by April of 2011 or lose it.

I ask the minister to reassure the people of New Ferolle this licence will be

taken back from Mr. Mullowney immediately and given to another processor or the

community to ensure the plant reopens and that plant workers get back to work

this season.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, I suppose if we were not going to work with Mr.

Mullowney and the community up there that licence would have expired by now. We

have met with Mr. Mullowney and there were certain prerequisites, I suppose, put

to him; those were that he had to do some work around the plant; that we had to

see signs that he was moving ahead. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Mullowney, to my knowledge,

has installed equipment on site, he is looking for workers, and, I am assuming,

he will be in production this year, which means his licence will be valid and he

will be able to continue on into the future.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Before the Easter break I asked the Minister of ITRD some questions about the

NewLab Life Sciences issue that was unfolding in the media.

My questions today are for the Minister of Health and Community Services in

that regard. Why are thousands of dollars, I ask the minister, of medical

testing going to labs outside the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador when

there are fully accredited labs, staffed by fully qualified technicians here in

this Province?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I have had the opportunity to explore this issue with Eastern Health and I am

informed that there are issues there in relation to Newfound Genomics.

Mr. Speaker, it does not come as a surprise to anyone that after the Cameron

report and the Cameron inquiry that the emphasis on quality in the labs in this

Province is one that has to be given prominence and great consideration, Mr.

Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I am informed by Eastern Health that they have looked at all

aspects of this proposal. That what they looked at, Mr. Speaker, when it came

down to it was that this appeared to be monies looking for start up costs as

opposed to increasing what this company was doing in this Province, Mr. Speaker.

There were also, I have been told, operational issues which caused concern.

Eastern Health, as they govern themselves in terms of operational issues, has

made certain decisions. I, at this point, have no reason to question that

decision.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

Vidi.

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

Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, April 28 after much delay government released

Captain Mark Turner's report on this Province's offshore oil spill prevention

and response practices. The revelation in Mr. Turner's report, subsequently

confirmed by the Minister of Natural Resources, that there is no plan in place

to deal with a deep water blow out came as a shock to many in this Province.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier: What is government doing to ensure that the

C-NLOPB immediately addresses this very serious oversight?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SKINNER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I do not know where the hon. member opposite gets the

information that I confirmed something related to no plan in place. In the media

interviews that I did upon release of the report, I indicated that there are

plans in place, that the companies themselves have plans, that the C-NLOPB has

plans. The C-NLOPB, as per Captain Turner's report, is one of the best safety

regulatory agencies in the world, based upon the review that he had done.

We do not direct the C-NLOPB; we work in conjunction with them, and we will

use the information in Captain Turner's report to ensure that the high level of

safety that they have built in to the systems that currently exist is only made

more safe, Mr. Speaker, as we move forward.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

Vidi.

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

Well, the minister and I have read a different report, because Captain Turner

does say that there are no plans in place for a blowout. So, I would like to

have the clip from the minister where, supposedly, he did not say that he agreed

with what was in the report. I ask for that clip, Mr. Speaker.

I ask the Premier, now, in the face of the disaster

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS MICHAEL: in the Gulf of Mexico, questions from this side of the

House and public debate, do you not think that it is prudent that there are

concrete plans in place, and people in this Province know what those plans are?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SKINNER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, again, I must emphasize for the people who are here in the

House, and for the people who will be watching this proceeding at home, there

are plans in place. I would not leave them with the false impression that there

are no plans in place should something happen in the offshore. There would not

be approval given by the C-NLOPB if the companies that are looking to do work

out there did not have plans in place. There are plans in place, Mr. Speaker.

Relative to the hon. member's point about the interviews and looking for a

clip, she made the assertion that I had somehow confirmed what Captain Turner

had said, and I indicate again, Mr. Speaker, that what I had indicated is that

there are plans in place. Captain Turner has indicated that there are plans in

place, so I am moving forward on that assumption. I did read the report, I

assume it is the same report that the hon. member read as well, Mr. Speaker.

He did indicate that we have a good safety regulatory regime. We will use his

recommendations to improve upon that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

Vidi.

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

We will pursue this one further, but there is another point I want to get at

today.

A report, to be thorough and balanced, Mr. Speaker, must examine and report

on all aspects of the topic it addresses. In his report, Captain Turner did not

speak with any of the Province's most prominent environmentalists or seabird

experts. Their concerns are not included in his report, despite being widely

reported in the local, national, and international media. Mr. Speaker, it

appears he was not interested in what they had to say.

So, I ask the Premier: Does government accept Captain Turner's rejection of

the concerns and opinions of our Province's internationally respected

scientists?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SKINNER: Mr. Speaker, Captain Turner's mandate was to assess our

ability to be able to respond in the event there was an incident that occurred

offshore. Captain Turner did that review; he did it with other assistants and

other experts who were able to assist him in determining our ability to respond

should we have an offshore incident. He came forward with twenty-five

recommendations. Those twenty-five recommendations covered four key categories:

offshore response, pollution from the marine transport, offshore activity, and

offshore prevention. He has indicated that we have a good safety regulatory

regime in place. We will use the information in his report, Mr. Speaker, to

build upon that and to incrementally make our regime even safer. That is what we

are hoping to do with the report. That is what we intend to do with the

recommendations from the report.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The time allotted for questions and answers has expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees

Tabling of Documents.

Tabling of Documents

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

Board.

MR. MARSHALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Pursuant to

section 26(5)(

a) of the Financial Administration Act, I am

tabling four Orders in Council relating to funding pre-commitments for the

2012-2013 to the 2014-2015 fiscal years.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Further tabling of documents?

Notices of Motion.

Notices of Motion

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HUTCHINGS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce the following private member's resolution;

introduced by myself and seconded by the Member for Topsail, the following

private member's resolution:

WHEREAS in the 2011 Budget the government introduced a $3.2 million two-year

pilot project focused on the development of child care spaces in family homes

throughout Newfoundland and Labrador; and

WHEREAS this initiative increases from $2,500 to $5,000 the start-up grant to

become a regulated family child care provider; provides start-up grants of

$7,500 for homes that care exclusively for children up to the age of two; and

provides for an ongoing stimulus grant to infant care homes of $200 a month per

infant space, in recognition of the higher cost of operation in terms of staff

ratios; and

WHEREAS this approach will help keep rates attainable for parents requiring

infant care, the very type of care that, right now, is in the shortest supply;

and

WHEREAS this approach is also of particular benefit for families in rural and

under-serviced areas because it is feasible on a small scale; and

WHEREAS this pilot project has the capacity to support the creation of up to

400 child care spaces over two years; and

WHEREAS since coming to office in 2003, this government has increased the

number of child care spaces by 50 per cent, adding 168 spaces in just the last

couple of years, and in addition to the 400 targeted in the new pilot project,

the government is planning to continue with the capacity initiative next year to

provide for yet another 460 child care spaces; and

WHEREAS because of the $3 million the Province has invested this year under

the Child Care Tax Credit to complement the federal child care tax credit, two

parents in this Province earning minimum wage and raising two children will pay

only $5 a day for child care, less than the $7 a day that this family would pay

in Quebec;

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that this hon. House supports the government's

decision to proceed with the two-year pilot project focused on the development

of child care spaces in family homes throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Further notices of motion?

Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I stand today to present a petition on behalf of the people in Labrador with

regard to the Trans-Labrador Highway. Mr. Speaker, the prayer of the petition

reads:

WHEREAS the Trans-Labrador Highway is a vital transportation lifeline for the

Labrador communities, providing access, generating economic activity, and

allowing residents to obtain health care and other public services; and

WHEREAS Route 510 and connecting branch roads of the Trans-Labrador Highway

are unpaved, in deplorable condition and are no longer suitable and safe for the

traffic volumes that travel this route; and

WHEREAS Labrador cannot afford to wait years or decades for upgrading and

paving of their essential transportation route;

WHEREUPON the petitioners ask the House of Assembly to urge government to

provide additional funding for much needed improvements to Route 510 and

connecting branch roads of the Trans-Labrador Highway.

Mr. Speaker, this petition is being circulated all throughout Labrador. It is

a concern not just for Labradorians but for all people in the Province who have

to use that

section of highway. Every single day I am bombarded with e-mails

from people who have to use that particular

section of road. The horror stories,

Mr. Speaker, the horror stories of travelling over this

section of gravel road

at this time in the year. It is absolutely ridiculous that people in this

Province could be left and expected to travel over such a road in such a

deplorable condition.

The government and the Department of Transportation and Works have not

deployed people to that part of the Province, Mr. Speaker, to look at these

sections of roads and to address what the need is. People there are beating up

their machines, businesses are doing extensive damage to their trucks and

tractor-trailers, and they have gotten no response from the government.

Now, Mr. Speaker, it is unreasonable and irrational even for government to

expect this area of the Province to continue on and carry out the kind of

business and traffic volumes they have without having suitable roads. The people

are desperately asking government to look at this

section of road and to do

something about it.

One truck driver in the Corner Brook area just started his own Facebook site

because he travels that road with one of the largest trucking companies in the

Province. He goes in and out of that

section of the Province on a weekly basis.

He has done that much damage to their trucks in the last number of weeks they

even started a Facebook site so he could continuously update people in the

Province about every one of his trips and the sections of highway that are the

worst. People by the dozens are signing onto that site and writing their own

experiences. That is what the people in this part of the Province have had to

come to, to try to get the attention of government to address the need to

upgrade the highway in that area. It is a gravel road. It is in bad condition.

It needs at the very minimum to have crushed stone put on it and to have it

grated so that the volumes of traffic that have to depend upon it, Mr. Speaker,

have a suitable road to drive over.

I do not know how many members realize this, but all of those small clinics

along the Coast of Labrador have no other choice but to take all of their

patients out by road ambulance to a larger hospital, ones who are not air

medevaced. In order to do that, Mr. Speaker, they need suitable roads. Last week

there was one gentleman

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I remind the hon. member that her time for speaking has expired.

MS JONES: Thank you.

May I have leave to clue up, Mr. Speaker?

MR. SPEAKER: Does the hon. member have leave?

AN HON. MEMBER: Yes.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. member, by leave.

MS JONES: Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, just two weeks ago I had one patient from the Coast of Labrador

who had major back surgery at the hospital, Western Memorial, in Corner Brook.

They were trying to transport him home to Labrador. They got him to St. Barbe

and the ambulance operators would not pick him up in St. Barbe, take him across

on the ferry, and take him over the road because the road was too bad. It was

too bad for a man in his condition, who had just had this surgery, to be

transported by road. That is how bad these roads are.

I think it is time for someone to start opening their eyes, Mr. Speaker,

paying attention to what the plea and the need is for people in this area, and

address the road concerns that have been raised by these individuals.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of The Straits & White

Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am pleased again this afternoon to stand and present a petition on behalf

of residents of Newfoundland and Labrador. I would like to read the prayer of

the petition into the record.

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

Parliament assembled. The petition of the undersigned humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS we the students of French Shore Academy in Port Saunders from the

towns of River of Ponds, Hawke's Bay, Port Saunders, Port aux Choix and Eddies

Cove West appreciate the facility we currently learn in; and

WHEREAS unfortunately the sense of fairness and equality existing at school

is absent on the outside due to essential services not equally available in all

our towns; and

WHEREAS the lack of high speed Internet in River of Ponds, Hawke's Bay and

Eddies Cove West, put some students or our school in an unacceptable

disadvantage at learning today in the twenty-first century.

WHEREUPON your petitioners call upon all members of the House of Assembly to

urge government to direct funding to ensure high speed Internet services are

provided in these towns to allow equality and fairness for all members of our

student body.

And as in duty bound your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, it was interesting to listen to the minister give his statement

on the MNL symposium last week and it was interesting to be there. It was a very

good week.

Mr. Speaker, one of the sessions in the very early stages of the symposium,

one of the speakers talked about the importance of communication, basically

talking about cell phone service and the high speed Internet as well. How in

this day and age it is a given, it is a must it is one of the fundamentals of

doing business; it is one of the fundamentals of education, or really of

progressing and advancing as individuals, as communities, as schools, as

businesses and anything else that is in the communication field today, as we

all, at one stage or another, talked about the importance of communication from

that perspective.

In response to that presentation, one of the people in the question and

answer portion of the symposium was the Mayor from Hawke's Bay, Mayor Bennett.

He spoke to the disability from a communication point of view that his community

is experiencing today because of the fact that high speed Internet is not

available.

Mr. Speaker, what is ironic is that there are actually two fibre optic cables

that run through the community of Hawke's Bay, for example. They run straight

through the middle and yet for some reason or another there is no access. I

realize there is a lot of regulation and so on around all of that, and that is

not the concern that I bring to the House of Assembly. It is not the concern of

the regulation that governs the process and so on. The concern that I bring is

the concern that is in the prayer of these students, in particular, that really

represents a concern throughout this Province. That, Mr. Speaker, is the absence

of high speed Internet.

I present it again because of the importance of the issue. Mr. Speaker, I

would only urge the government again, and the minister who is responsible for

this, government members, the Premier of our Province, to ensure that what can

be done is being done, and that very soon we will see high speed Internet being

available to all of our communities.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

That is not good enough to accept that, by the way.

MR. SPEAKER: Further petitions.

The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I stand today to present a petition on behalf of the people in the District

of the Isles of Notre Dame.

WHEREAS there were fifteen acute care beds in the Notre Dame Bay Memorial

Hospital Health Centre and I know the member stood up on a point of order last

week. In fact, the only time he spoke to address this issue. He stood up on a

point of order prior to the House closing, and saying that it should be

seventeen acute care beds, but I have to read what is in the prayer of the

petition, I say to the member from the district. So, if your constituents, the

thousands who signed this, are wrong, Mr. Speaker, he should take it up with

them.

Anyway, Mr. Speaker, I will read the prayer of the petition as is stated:

WHEREAS there were fifteen acute care beds in the Notre Dame Bay Memorial

Hospital Health Centre; and

WHEREAS five of the acute care beds closed last summer and did not reopen in

the fall; and

WHEREAS the availability of acute care beds is critical to the people of

Twillingate-New World Island; and

WHEREAS the shortage of acute care beds is resulting in people being denied

admittance to Notre Dame Bay Memorial Hospital Health Centre; and

WHEREAS the people of Twillingate-New World Island do not want to see their

health care services cut;

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

House of Assembly to reinstate the five acute care beds in the Notre Dame Bay

Memorial Hospital Health Centre.

Mr. Speaker, the people who have signed this petition, from communities all

over the district, and I have read a number of these communities already into

the record; the bottom line is they want to have the five acute care beds that

were in their hospital put back. They did not want to lose these services. They

feel that there is still a need for acute care beds in this particular hospital,

and they feel that there is a need for them in the region. They find that

government made the wrong decision. Government made the wrong decision,

supported by their MHA, to cut these beds at a time when they were needed in the

area. What they are saying, Mr. Speaker, is that they want government to put

these beds back.

Now what government did is they actually reclassified the beds from acute

care services, Mr. Speaker, to beds that would be used for other services in

this particular area.

People may have expressed the need to have alternate services but they

certainly did not want to have their acute care beds converted to restorative

care beds. That was not the solution that they saw to the growing need for

services in that particular area. In fact what they wanted, Mr. Speaker, was

their government to listen, to listen attentively and to act in a manner that

would have provided for enhanced services in the region and not decommissioning

of services. That is exactly what they have received.

They feel that they do not have a voice on this issue because their MHA did

not stand up, Mr. Speaker, and fight for them, but rather participated in the

plot by government and participated in the announcement on the ground that was

made in a very public way out there to take the five beds that they had closed,

to reconvert them to restorative care beds and to try to make it sound like a

good news story for the people of that area, for the people of Twillingate and

New World Island area. Instead what they were actually doing is taking five beds

that were used for acute care services directly out of the region, leaving less

beds for less people who depend upon that service. They certainly feel that is

not the direction that government should be moving in with regard to health care

in that region. They are asking government to put those beds back.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Further petitions?

The hon. the Opposition House Leader.

MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to table this petition on behalf of the residents of the Cape

Ray area in the District of Burgeo & La Poile.

The petition of the undersigned residents humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS the Department of Transportation and Works of the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador is responsible for the funding and maintenance of

roads in the community of Cape Ray, in the Province of Newfoundland and

Labrador; and

WHEREAS the roads at Cape Ray are in deplorable condition, including the road

leading from the community to the J.T. Cheeseman Provincial Park; and

WHEREAS the citizens of Cape Ray demand that the roads be upgraded;

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

House of Assembly to urge government to provide sufficient funding to complete

the necessary repairs to the roads at Cape Ray.

And as in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, for the last couple of years we have been approaching

government, particularly the Minister of Transportation and Works and the

personnel who he has on the ground working in Western Newfoundland about the

road condition in Cape Ray. It is not only this member presenting this petition

on behalf of his district; we have seen here today the Member for

Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair, for example, has a similar type issue in her

district.

Despite the fact that government are saying they are putting super amounts

and record amounts of money into infrastructure and roads and so on, there are

still a lot of problems that exist in this Province that are not getting dealt

with. You just cannot ignore people who have these needs by saying we are fine

when it comes to St. John's.

I heard the Minister of Transportation and Works on the radio out in central

talking about the four major projects that are underway here in and around the

Outer Ring Road. Well, the Outer Ring Road does not help people who live out in

Western Newfoundland and South Western Newfoundland, and places like Cape Ray.

They have needs as well in their communities, and they ought to get their fair

share of the pie.

Now, I know we have some government members here who will not stand up and

speak for their districts, but we have to stand up and speak for our districts.

That is why we are here, Mr. Speaker. In particular, the justification that

government has in the classification not the community of Cape Ray, but the

road from the community to J.T. Cheeseman Park, which is, by the way, a

provincially-funded, provincially-operated provincial park. People go in through

one end of the park, they drive around through the community of Cape Ray, yet,

the road that connects the park to the community is absolutely deplorable.

Government will say, oh, we are doing this for tourism; we want to attract

people to the area. They attract them in through the front door of the J.T.

Cheeseman Park with a nice paved road, no problem, but you kick them out through

the back door of the park onto nothing but ruts; inaccessible.

I call upon the Minister of Transportation and Works to get your head around

this topic, for God's sake, and try to do something for these people, not only

who live in the area, but people who come here and put money into our economy as

a result of tourism. If we are going to have a good product, make sure that it

is a good product and that it is useable. It is great to have fancy ads and

everything else on TV to get people here, but once we get them here we have to

give them roads fit to drive on.

So, Mr. Speaker, this is just my one of many I will be introducing throughout

the remainder of this sitting, and I appreciate the indulgence of the House for

allowing me this opportunity to present this.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Further petitions?

Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

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

MS BURKE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We will continue where we concluded business or adjourned before the Easter

break. I call from Orders of the Day, Order 2.

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, to clarify, from the Order Paper, Order 2, the

Ways and Means Resolution and Bill 26, the Loan and Guarantee Act oh, no. I

thought it said in progress. I meant the Budget Speech.

Mr. Speaker, Motion 1, Budget Speech.

MR. SPEAKER: Motion 1, the Budget Speech.

The hon. the Opposition House Leader.

MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate an opportunity to continue having a few words on the Budget

Speech. I am just looking at the clock up over me here. I am not exactly sure; I

think I ended off before Easter

AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).

MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Pardon?

I am not quite sure here, Mr. Speaker, what the Government House Leader is

AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).

MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Yes. I am just assuming it clicks over onto the new

time after I enter the sub-amendment, Mr. Speaker. I just wanted to confirm

that. I doubt if I will be speaking a full hour. I am not given to longwinded

speeches or whatever. I usually try to keep what I have to say, Mr. Speaker,

concise, accurate, and certainly relevant to the topic at hand. Now, needless to

say relevancy has been given in this House, and other Legislatures, of course, a

broader berth when it comes to conversations.

Mr. Speaker, I had a first-hand experience. You talk about experiencing

reaction to a Budget so close in time to when the Budget was actually delivered

in this House, and I had that opportunity during the Easter recess. Some people

may have chosen to spend time with their families or relax and have a vacation.

That is great. People need an opportunity to do that as well.

Mr. Speaker, I took the first week of the Easter break from the House of

Assembly and went back to the district, as I do at least every second weekend

and whenever the opportunity provides when the House of Assembly is open. It was

a real eye opener and really informative because it is where, as they say, the

rubber hits the road. That is when you can see the impact or what is likely to

be the impact of the government's Budget on people. It is all about people. You

govern because you want to govern people, govern in their best interests, and do

what you can for them as best you can.

That is where you see it, of course, is when you get up close and personal

and you are face to face with these people. You have an opportunity to see what

they heard from the media, what they heard from the government about the Budget,

and how they think it is going to impact them; how it is going to impact them in

their pocketbook, what they think it is going to do maybe on a provincial basis,

and what they think it is going to do for their children, their families, and

their neighbours. So that opportunity was there.

I went to Burgeo. I do what they call clinics in my district. I have been

doing them now for over a dozen years. I find them very beneficial because

albeit you can have a constituency assistant and albeit you can be in your

communities in your district as often as you want to be, there is always a

circumstance where somebody, whether it be a council in your district or whether

it be an individual who wants to sit down and meet face to face, usually, quite

often in the privacy of their own home. Sometimes it is shut-ins who cannot get

out and would like to have the member drop by, have a chat, have a cup of tea

and they can express confidentially, privately, what the nature of their

concerns are, and they prefer to do that. It is more personal to them. I had the

opportunity to do that, besides doing a clinic, for example, where I usually use

a town hall or a facility in the community to arrange for people to drop by when

I am there to visit and go through their problems and issues. I also take the

time to visit these people who want one on one in their homes, for example, or

people sometimes as I say, shut-ins who just cannot get out. They cannot easily

access where you are.

I must say, in terms of the constituency assistants, over the last dozen

years we have kept a record of every phone call that has come into our district.

We are averaging somewhere between 7,000 and 8,000 phone calls a year. Now I

spoke to some of the members who live in urban areas, like the St. John's

region, for example, and they were flabbergasted that we have so many phone

calls in rural Newfoundland when you represent a rural district compared to what

they have in the city. Besides the geographic challenges of course that you face

- it takes me, for example, if I leave home in Port aux Basques and go to

Burgeo, it is a three-hour drive, minimum. Then, of course, if you are going to

Ramea that is an hour on the boat; if you are going to Grey River, it is another

two-and-a-half hours on the boat. Besides the geographic challenges - members in

the city, for example, can buy a Tim's coffee on one end of their district and

before they have their coffee drank they can walk through their district pretty

well, but we as rural members do not always have that luxury.

Anyway, back to the clinics again. I had that opportunity. I did them in

Burgeo; I did them in Ramea. I visited in Burnt Islands, Isle aux Morts, Fox

Roost, Margaree, and Port aux Basques of course where I have a constituency

office. I was there for a few days as well. I met with councils; councils had a

lot of issues. Basically, the concerns of most of the councils right now are:

What is in the Budget for us? Verifying what is in there for them. What about

our project that we applied for? What is the status on it? Where is it going to

go, for example, and is it going to get done? Sometimes it does and sometimes

the government cannot do it all. Nobody is suggesting that the government do it

all, but people like to have an answer, of course, if you cannot do it.

When it comes to the municipalities, I say to the Minister of Municipal

Affairs, we had a conference before the Budget came out saying he knew what we

had requested throughout my district for various projects, sewer projects, and

water projects and so on. I must say it was a very helpful discussion and

obviously some of these things will get done. We cannot get it all done for

everybody, but you try to be fair about what you do get done.

I believe he is in the process now - the Budget was just delivered a few

weeks ago. So, now that the minister knows what was requested from Burgeo & La

Poile, for example, and he knows now what the Minister of Finance has delivered

as a Budget and what is in his department, he has to make some decisions around

those issues. Then, of course, notices go out to these various municipalities

saying this is what is done and proceed to get your tender calling done, your

engineering done, for example, and proceed with the project.

In terms of the clinics, very helpful besides understanding what is going on,

you get an appreciation of some people's issues. I visited with one lady in

Burgeo who asked specifically that I come to her home to discuss the problem,

and I will not mention any names, of course, because of privacy issues and

whatever. She said the reason she wanted to meet was she needed more home care

for her son. I attended at her home and it is worth two days of reading and

listening when you actually visualize and see with your own eyes what some of

these people live with today and who are asking for some help from government.

Here was a young man who was in his mid-thirties and he has been

incapacitated. He was a healthy, active worker for years and years. He has a

disease - apparently it was genetic - and he has not been himself since,

sometimes in a near vegetative state. Here is his mom who has some home care,

trying to have a life for herself as well, yet cannot get outside the door to

even engage in any kind of expected social activity, some shopping that you need

to do, or looking after payment of your bills and so on. Seeing that stuff

first-hand, really lets you know what people have to live with sometimes - that

is no fault of their own, absolutely no fault of their own - and they need and

deserve to have government assistance for it.

I am pleased to say that is one thing, as an MHA, you take pride in. Once you

understand what the needs of your district are and of the people who you

represent are, then you know where to take that to in the system, what are the

options that individual or that family has, and being able to point out where

they can go to look for help.

Sometimes the help is readily available and it is just that the person is not

aware of where to look. There is nothing more pleasing than being able to help

someone find out where they need to go, to tell them where they need to go, but

also to help them get there. Not just to say you have to call such-and-such and

this is what you can do. Once you understand the nature of their problem, to

actually give them that information but also work with them, and your

constituency assistant to work with them, so that you actually walk them through

the process if need be.

A lot of people are intimidated by the system; a lot of people are not into

understanding complicated forums. A lot of people are very shy about even

calling up someone who works in the health care system, for example, to ask what

is available for me, what can you do to assist me. Sometimes it might be

embarrassment, not only intimidation; some people are embarrassed that they

might even have to ask for help. Giving these people a level of comfort, giving

them some information and helping them walk through the system, that is probably

the most important role of an MHA because that is all about helping people.

A lot of people do not see that. You hear of people debating sometimes: Well,

we have not seen such-and-such in a long time, we do not know what he is doing

as an MHA. Of course, they do not see the 7,000 or 8,000 phone calls that you

and your constituency assistant deal with on a yearly basis. Some days it might

be forty, fifty, other days it could be ten. It always keeps you extremely busy,

but the busyness does not matter, your job is to look after these people.

So, I had a very successful visit throughout the district. I say to the

Minister of Finance, some of the things that were in the Budget were quite

pleasing to some people, for example, the HST. The HST percentage is going to be

removed from home heating and electrical. People were pleased with that, and so

they should be. God knows it is tough enough to make a living and to pay your

bills. There is no question, people were pleased with that.

I am sure members opposite and the government are going to say: Well, it is

about time that you finally found something that is positive to say about the

Budget. It is not the first thing I have said positive about Budgets because God

knows you cannot spend $8 billion and not do something to it. If you can spend

$8 billion and not do somebody some good, you have a real poor track record. So

sure, there should be some things in there that are positive.

That is not to say that we are all in love with the Budget or that the Budget

is everything it could be and should be far from it. That is why I brought the

non-confidence motion. Albeit there are some good things there, albeit there is

a pile of money being spent, there are a lot of questions as to about what it is

being spent on and are the priorities proper.

For example, I have stood up here in this House, Mr. Speaker, on eight

occasions now. I know some government members do not get up and bring petitions

forward from their district. For whatever reason, they might feel they have to

toe the government line. There is a concern that comes out of their district and

they will not get up here on the floor of the House of Assembly and bring the

concerns of their petitioners to the floor of the House of Assembly.

Mr. Speaker, that is one of the ultimate responsibilities that you have as an

MHA. If you, as an MHA, are provided with a petition from someone in your

district with a legitimate concern, whether it be health care, roads or

whatever, and you do not have the courage to bring it before this House of

Assembly; you are failing as an MHA I say. You are failing as an MHA if you

refuse to do that. We have had it right here in this House on numerous, numerous

occasions where government members who represent districts for example, who are

on the government side, have refused to do that.

I have been approached myself to deliver petitions for districts in this

Province that are not mine because their own MHA would not do it. We had one

today again. The Member for The Straits & White Bay North was up here presenting

a petition in this House on behalf of the residents of the St. Barbe district.

Now, their member is sitting in this House for a number of years - ten, twelve

years - and will not stand up and do that.

I think there is some concern, Mr. Speaker. Maybe the MHAs do not understand

their role when they sit on the government side. For example, if you sit in

Cabinet and you are a Cabinet minister, there is a principle called Cabinet

solidarity. You were invited to be in that Cabinet by the Premier and once the

Cabinet makes a decision, you are solid in your decision. You do not get the

right, as a minister, to run outside to the media and say although Cabinet said

this, this is what I think and it is different from what they did. You do not do

that because if you did that, you are no longer a part of Cabinet.

That Cabinet solidarity and that solidarity principle are not binding upon

members of government. You can agree with the general government policy, but

when you disagree you have to stand up for your people. You just cannot, because

the government decides as a general policy they are going to do something that

you have to accept it. You have to stand on your own two feet and represent your

people. That is who put you here. You cannot ignore them, Mr. Speaker, which we

see often happening here from many of the government MHAs. That is not good

enough.

Anyway, we discussed, as I say, face to face some of the implications of this

Budget with people in my district. I had a meeting with the mayor and

councillors down in Isle aux Morts. In fact, they had several concerns ongoing.

I have to pass out a bouquet here to an individual who does work within the

Department of Municipal Affairs. I will not mention his name but he will know

who I am talking about. I am sure the people of my district will know,

particularly the councillors who have met him. He probably has his hands full,

overworked on the West Coast, trying to look after all of the municipalities.

Anyway, before I went to the clinics and before I went to the districts'

councils to discuss their concerns, I arranged for this gentleman to travel with

us. The council takes the information. The MHA was advised of it. We forwarded

it to the right sections of the department. Then you start the process to try to

get it to evolve, hopefully, to a successful conclusion. This gentleman in

particular has been more than helpful when it comes to helping expedite that

system, absolutely helpful. He attended the meetings in Fox Roost-Margaree; he

attended the meetings in Isle aux Morts. His level of knowledge and his

commitment to his job was very evident and very obvious. He could cut through

two hours of conversation because he knew the issues. Get rid of the guff, this

is what you need, this is what your options are, and this is what I can do for

you. That is very good to see when you are dealing with people within the

bureaucracy and you get that level of commitment and dedication to their job.

Hats off to that gentleman for what he did during those particular visits.

There have been other things, of course, that have happened positively for

the District of Burgeo & La Poile. Like dialysis, for example. I was here in the

House; I think I gave over 100 petitions over the course of three or four years

on behalf of the District of Burgeo & La Poile for people who needed dialysis

and could not get it.

Governments, of course, will take credit when governments do something to

solve a problem and help people. That is all part of the political game. Of

course, you do not get to that point where a government can take credit

sometimes, not because of their own thoughtful, wishful, considerate thinking;

sometimes they get there because of criticism, because of opposition, because

Opposition members inform them about what is going on and what is going wrong,

and what needs to be fixed. One of the ways, of course, of bringing that to

government attention is through petitions here in the House of Assembly.

I gave, as the Member for Burgeo & La Poile, over 100 petitions here in this

House of Assembly concerning dialysis, or the lack of dialysis in the Port aux

Basques area. We were every day, day in and day out, in fact, I have no doubt

we saw it going to some places. The ministers or successive ministers in the

Department of Health always told me: well, we cannot do it because you do not

have the numbers. We cannot justify it; you do not have the numbers. Well, sure

enough, we ended up with the numbers. The Minister of Health, the current

Minister of Health actually, came through with the commitment on the dialysis

for the Port aux Basques area. You would not believe the trouble and the

aggravation that that saves people, and the anguish.

I described here day after day, and I am sure anyone who lives in

Newfoundland and Labrador, or probably in Canada, knows about the famous

Wreckhouse and the notorious winds that blow there. Literally, folks, there are

days when you cannot go through the Wreckhouse. They flip tractor-trailers like

cooks flip pancakes. It is that simple. We are easily getting a dozen, two dozen

tractor-trailers a year just flipped off the road because of the winds. People

had to drive through that. People actually had to try to leave their homes in

Rose Blanche, Burnt Islands, Isle aux Morts, Fox Roost-Margaree, Port aux

Basques, Cape Ray, and drive through that kind of weather.

By the way, that just does not happen in the winter. It is tougher in winter,

of course, because you have the snow and you have the ice, but those high winds

happen twelve months a year. Twelve months a year you will get the same kind of

thing. People had to go back three times a week, drive from those communities

into Corner Brook, get their treatment, and drive back home. Can you imagine the

disruption that causes in your life? This is not like driving from Outer Cove to

the Health Sciences, or from the Outer Battery or Water Street to the Health

Sciences. You actually, physically, have to be sitting in a car for

two-and-a-half hours. Multiply two-and-a-half hours in, two-and-a-half hours

out. That is five hours of your day, plus the time of course you had to spend

for your treatment.

Finally, government came to the realization that one of the priorities we

ought to have in health care is for people who need dialysis, and they did come

through with that. I applauded the government at the time for coming through

with it because I think they did listen, and they did listen to an Opposition

member. They did listen to an Opposition member.

You hear people say out there: oh, you cannot vote for such and such because

if he is in Opposition he is not successful. Well, Mr. Speaker, I have been in

Opposition since 2003. I was in Opposition when the dialysis came. There has

been any number of fire trucks put in Burgeo & La Poile in the last few years.

We have always gotten our municipal projects done. It is not about what your

colour is politically or what party you represent. It is about whether or not

you are prepared to do the job. Nobody should be denied because of your

politics. If you have a need such as the dialysis which you can demonstrate to

government, nobody is foolish enough to leave people suffering. If you can make

your case, point it out and be persistent in your case, you will succeed. That

has been proven. At least it has been proven for the last eight years in Burgeo

& La Poile.

Now, talk about something else that is positive in the Budget, and this is

the fire departments. For years and years the fire departments have been asking

- and a lot of them in this Province are volunteers. For example, in the City of

St. John's, Gander, the bigger centres, Corner Brook, you have paid fire

departments. To my surprise, actually, the one in Stephenville is a paid fire

department; which I was not aware of until some time ago. It is a pretty onerous

responsibility to pay for a paid fire department. Most of them in communities

are volunteers. I would say in the last dozen or more years that I have been the

MHA I have not missed too many firemen's balls, not at all. It is a great

opportunity to know what is going on with the fire brigade but also, of course,

you have other guests in attendance besides the MHA; like town managers, town

mayors, town councillors and that gives you an opportunity to talk with them. In

one sitting you can get a lot of information and feedback. Of course, firemen,

in the eyes of this MHA, are the ultimate volunteer. I mean no disrespect to the

hundreds of thousands of people who volunteer in this Province, because if we

did not have volunteers our communities could not be as successful as they are.

We have people, for example, in Kinsmen's clubs, Lions Clubs and in Legions,

minor hockey coaches, teen sports and so on. If we did not have these

volunteers, our communities could not be the nice places that they are to live

in. You can have a good, economic base in your town, you can have a low crime

rate in your town, but if your citizens, and particularly the youth and children

in your community do not have volunteers you do not have the quality and

standard of a community that you need to have. We certainly have them in our

communities in this Province. Particularly, I can speak from personal experience

in Burgeo & La Poile, and in particular firemen.

I say they are the ultimate volunteer because they are prepared to make the

ultimate sacrifice. While most of us sit home, in our homes in the night time,

weekends, relax and whatever, it is the firefighter who gets called out 12:00

o'clock in the night, 2:00 o'clock in the morning, 4:00 o'clock in the morning

to go try to help someone put out a fire or save someone's life. You cannot

compare that to other volunteers and that is why I put volunteer firemen on a

whole different plateau than other volunteers.

It is not only a case that they sacrifice their time to be there when an

emergency happens, but what we do not realize is the countless hours that they

have to spend to be properly trained in order to do that when the occasion

arises. It is for these hours and hours of training that these people need what

the government has finally, after many years now, recognized and it is going

to be a tax credit for volunteer firefighters in this Province. I think it works

out to be about $231 or something per person. There are going to be certain

rules and regulations around it, as there should be. I have had volunteer fire

brigades in my district asking me about it.

From what I understand, Mr. Speaker, there is going to be a level of hours

that you have to commit to your brigade. For example, if it is 200 hours a year,

you have to attend at least the minimum to get the credit. Of course, it is

pretty easy to get the minimum, 200 hours for a volunteer firefighter; you go

through numerous training courses in the run of a year; you have your meetings;

you are cleaning your trucks; you are making sure your equipment is working

properly and is clean and so on. It is pretty easy if you are a member of a

volunteer fire brigade to get the 200 hours of volunteer time in order to

qualify for a credit. Albeit it is not a substantial amount of money, it is

recognition that these people are contributing a very important service to their

community.

Can you imagine what it would cost the government of this Province if you

replaced all the volunteer fire departments in this Province? We think we have

problems now. If you had to take the hundreds of volunteer fire brigades and

turn them into government funded whether it is the municipal government, or

whether it is through the provincial government, for example, pay the

firefighters we would never be able to do it; certainly not on the monies that

we have now. Albeit we have a lot of cash floating around, it would add

substantially to the problems that our Minister of Finance would have. It is

nice to see that we have this little perk, I call it, but it is a worthy perk

and it is a good perk. It is good to see that government has given this tax

credit.

The other thing is you talk about volunteers in your community. Well, I had

the privilege this weekend of spending some time with a group of young people

from the District of Burgeo & La Poile, specifically from St. James Regional

High School in Port aux Basques. As I mentioned in my member's statement earlier

today, you want to talk about energetic, enthusiastic, bright, intelligent,

young men and women who are seeing opportunities that exist in this Province

that my generation when I was in Grade 11 back in my day did not have. Even the

opportunity, for example, to come to St. John's to see where Confederation

Building is; to appreciate what the Marine Institute is all about, not even to

see it on a video, to physically be here; and to be involved in a remotely

operated vehicle competition with other youth from Labrador. Bay Roberts was

there. When I saw the demonstration from St. James Regional High, they were in

one part of the flume tank and the team from Bay Roberts was in other part; all

competitive friendly of course. Not like hockey competitive, it is

intellectually competitive.

Even the fact of engineering, they get to see, for example, the mechanics,

the engineering possibilities, the robotics possibilities that they have in

terms of employment opportunities done in a very serious environment. We are

talking, for example, about possibly what if one of our oil fields Terra Nova,

Hibernia what if something goes catastrophically wrong? How do we fix it? How

do we cap it? Now, to get youth of that age involved in those types of very real

life situations and we certainly had a humdinger of that situation down in the

Gulf of Mexico just some months ago.

To see that the youth of our district have those opportunities to take

advantage of and see and experience and actually work with that, it is actually

very inspiring because these are, of course, these are going to be the leaders

of the future.

The other thing I noticed about it when I was chatting with them, this was

absolutely voluntary again on their part, extracurricular. They were doing this

because they have an interest in it. They actually took the time to design this

machine, test it in the swimming pools. Had to do the research on it to see what

they needed, what was required in terms of materials. Researched the issue that

was being looked at what if you had a major catastrophe in the oil industry

and you had to cap a well. All of that initiative, it was amazing to actually

see that take place.

The other thing, just to stay on the district thing for a moment, because we

often take time in this House, this member does anyway, people hear you up

shouting and screaming and protesting and opposing government and it might have

something to do that they feel well what is our MHA doing up talking about the

oil industry? That does not impact us out here in Burgeo & La Poile. Of course

you do that as an MHA, particularly in Opposition because you have to; that is

part of your job as Opposition House Leader, in my case, to oppose the

government because the government does not do everything right. They think they

do, and they would have you believe that they are doing everything correct, but

there are lots of things that they do not do right. As an MHA you have to do

that part of your job but of course people like to hear about what you are doing

for your own district as well. One thing, I have to say, albeit a minor issue,

that I have not been successful in resolving so far - and I say so far because I

refuse to relent and give up until it is solved - is the restroom situation for

the people of La Poile. Now, people here might shake their heads and laugh. I

see certain members nodding their heads and laughing. It is no laughing matter

to the people of La Poile. I called it the porta-potty petition before, and that

happened, of course, in the incidents at Ramea and Grey River, who took the

ferry systems to Burgeo and had no washroom facilities while they were waiting

for or came off the ferry. It is absolutely deplorable and unacceptable that

anyone who uses our provincial ferry system should have to put up with that kind

of inhumane, unhealthy, inappropriate, unacceptable circumstance.

Now, of course, I shouted and bawled enough and delivered enough petitions

that the former Minister of Transportation and Works got tired of hearing from

me, and sure enough, today, on the wharf in Burgeo, just up from the wharf, is a

nice little facility. It is nothing like you would see here maybe in St. John's,

no marble floors or stuff like that, but it is what they need. They have a

little building there now just recently built two years ago, and guess what? It

has running water, it has lights, and it has a washroom it has a toilet. Can

you imagine in this day and age that you would feel so proud because you have a

room with a toilet that your public can have access to when they are using

public facilities?

So, as minor as that might seem, it was pretty important to the people of

Burgeo, and Ramea, and Grey River and the tourists, by the way, who came to

visit our Province each year. They think it is a great little facility. It has a

nice little parking lot. It actually has a little patio on one end of it. So, on

nice sunny days while they are waiting for the boats to come - because the boats

are not always on schedule, sometimes there are mechanical issues. It is a nice

little facility.

There is no reason in the world that the people who live in La Poile should

not have the same kind of facility for their ferry. I do not think the member

for the new name of the district escapes me, but I will call it

Twillingate-Fogo Island.

AN HON. MEMBER: The Isles of Notre Dame.

MR. KELVIN PARSONS: The Isles of Notre Dame, I think they call it now,

Mr. Speaker. I bet the people of Fogo do not have to stand in the snow bank if

the ferry is late and they need to use the washroom. I do not think the people

on Bell Island who have to wait for a ferry to get to Bell Island have to worry

about that. I do not know of anywhere else in the Province where they have to

wait and have nowhere to go if they do not have a washroom facility.

Mr. Speaker, I have talked to the Minister of Transportation. I do not know

if it is in the Budget for this year, but it is not for want of trying. It will

not be for want of trying that I will keep talking about it, making the

government be aware of it, and not just once because government tends to forget

you see, Mr. Speaker. You can tell this government something one day, but it is

like Pavlov's dog: Unless you consistently, deliberately, and relentlessly pound

the question home and pound the issue home, they turn a blind eye and a deaf

ear. They just do not listen. Once they see the absolute embarrassment of it and

the necessity for it, I must say government ministers have usually delivered. It

is just too great an embarrassment to have someone like myself up in the House

of Assembly every day pointing out to the public in this Province what it is:

such a trivial matter to most people that is not being done. We are not asking

for The Rooms. We are not asking you to build a new penitentiary out there. We

are not asking for a multi-million or even a $1 million facility, folks. It is a

basic human need: a washroom.

So, the people of La Poile know. Again, it is another area of my district, as

I say, that you have these concerns and you go out around and do that. You make

sure that you constantly informed. You just do not listen to them. It is not

good enough just to be a good listener; you have to actually take their concerns

and go do something with them. I do not get a report card based on the fact that

I listen. I can be a great listener, but your report card usually comes back

based on what you achieved and what you did. That is why it is important that

you keep going to government when you have these concerns.

Now, that is just a few comments about the district. Another one that is

going to hit us very soon is the Burgeo road. For those who do not know the

history, of course, we had a paved road in Burgeo from the Trans-Canada to

Burgeo of some 153 kilometres. Back in 1988, when the Peckford Administration

agreed to get rid of the Newfie Bullet, they took a chunk of money from the

federal government. They said: Yes, we will give up our railway; in return, you

give us a chunk of money. The feds said: Great because we do not ever have to

worry about the old railway any more, it is off our hands. Government took that

money and the intention was because you are getting rid of your railway that you

upgrade your highway to a point where you would have a good transportation

system. As part of that as well, trying to develop properly the road

infrastructure in Labrador which never existed basically.

There are other places in this Province as well such as the Burgeo road. It

was put there back in 1989-1990. There are a few very rough spots there. Now I

say, and you have to be fair about this too, I have travelled on roads in some

other parts of this Province that are absolutely worse, there is no question

about it. For example, the Baie Verte-Springdale area, I can understand why the

people up in Baie Verte-Springdale would be absolutely frustrated with their

road systems. We have bumps in the Burgeo road, there is no question. We got

nine or ten kilometres one year, we got nine or ten kilometres another year.

Government is saying: Well, we cannot do it all on the same road one time and we

are going to try to fix the worst that exists. That is fine. We need you to work

at it at least, you cannot ignore it. The problem has to be dealt with.

Baie Verte is no more improved now than it was when they had their former

member. That was when the former member who was a former Premier left the

government because he got in a racket and supposedly beat up on the minister for

Mount Pearl, the Minister of IGA. Apparently, he said he wanted an extra $1

million. So anyway, he got flicked. He was flicked out of government. We came in

here one day and here was the former Premier, former Minister, former House

Leader, down in the corner hanging off the end of the benches here in the House

of Assembly.

I went over several times to console him. I could not figure it out. I said:

What happened? He said: I asked for more money for my district for roads. He

said: I asked for $1 million and he kicked me out. Now, can you understand why

the man was frustrated and left politics? I think I would leave too if my

buddies treated me that way. He is a member of the government; I do not know but

at the time he was Deputy Premier. No, I do not think there was anybody Deputy

Premier under the former Premier's watch, Premier Williams, because some people

did not want to share that kind of a responsibility either.

Anyway, I do not want to digress because I have been trying to explain what

it is you need to do as an MHA and what I have hopefully done. I am sure there

are some things that we wanted to achieve that we have not been successful with,

and there is a lot more to be done.

Of course, you have to make sure that you get your share of the budget, which

is exactly what we are here talking about today. We usually take the Budget in

our office, Mr. Speaker, and we do a Budget comparison, we call it. None of this

stuff here is made up; this is all very factual stuff. What we do is take every

department and we break it out for all the years, so each year, of course, it

just becomes an exercise of adding on to the facts when the new budget comes

out. You just look at it to get an overview of where you are. We take all of the

departments and break them out. For example, we have Consolidated Revenue

Services, Executive Council, Finance, Government Services, Labrador and

Aboriginal Affairs; you just list them all down and you put down what their

budgets were and then you do some comparison. We have actually gone back, we

actually started in 2005 first, we have 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and, of

course, now we are into the 2011-2012 budget, but we went back as well to 2002

so we would have a ten year comparison; where we were ten years ago; how much

were we spending? What are we spending today? It gets into the issue of

sustainability.

I have heard the Minister of Finance myself speak about it and it must be a

matter of concern. Albeit you might be sitting on a pot of change right now, a

big, big pot, because of some fortuitous circumstances that we are having in the

mining industry and in the offshore industry, but we have to hope, of course.

When the oil runs out, where are we going to be? When the minerals in the ground

run out because they are not renewable; I have not found anyone yet who has

ever talked about being able to renew the oil, or renew the silver in the mines,

or the copper, or the iron ore. That is going to be gone one of these days.

Meanwhile, just to take an example, if you look at, and we break these out

into what we call one certain group, we have Consolidated Fund Services,

Executive Council that is the Premier's shop, by the way; they call it

Executive Council; that is where the show is run up top by the Premier. Then we

have the Department of Finance, Government Services; Labrador and Aboriginal

Affairs; the Public Service Commission; Transportation and Works and then the

Legislature itself, the House of Assembly. They have all of those lumped

together. If you were to lump those together, since 2002 we have had an 82 per

cent increase in those sections of government, 82 per cent. That is a pretty big

increase in ten years.

If you take another, what they call general government and legislative

pieces, you take the Department of Business, for example; that is my favourite

department for having a conversation about because I call that the department of

they call it business but it is the department of do nothing'. There is no

question about it. That is the red tape department that has existed; the

department that pays out more for staff to keep the department running than they

do putting out to businesses to start businesses. Now, can you figure out the

logic of that? We pay more to keep a staff around to try to attract business

than any business we have ever attracted. I think for most people, certainly in

the private sector, that would be a losing proposition. I do not think you would

have your doors open very long if you were running a business like they run the

Department of Business.

Anyway, if you look at those sections of Business; Environment and

Conservation; Fisheries and Aquaculture; Innovation, Trade and Rural

Development; Natural Resources; and Tourism, Culture and Recreation if you

take those groupings, since 2002 we have increased the government expenditures

for those groups 266 per cent; 266 per cent increase in ten years in those

departments of government.

If you take Education and by the way Education is, I believe, the second

biggest expenditure in the government behind Health Education; Child, Youth

and Family Services; Health and Community Services, which is the biggest by far;

Human Resources, Labour and Employment; Justice; Municipal Affairs; and

Newfoundland and Labrador Housing what they call the social departments in

ten years we have had a 79 per cent increase in those departments. In the social

sector department we have had 79 per cent increase in ten years; resource

departments we have had 266 per cent increase; and in general government and

Legislative 82 per cent. That is where we come to the sustainability piece.

Overall, I do believe that is a total 87 per cent increase in government

expenditures in ten years. I just wanted to break it out so you have an idea of

just how much some of them have increased. This government spends more today

87 per cent more today than it spent ten years ago. There is no doubt we are a

bit better off, no doubt the price of a barrel of oil has gone up. It used to be

around $25 if you received $30 a barrel back then you were doing pretty good.

You had to make a certain basic amount to recover your investment to build the

thing. We have been very fortuitous in the sense of what we are getting for a

barrel of oil in terms of what goes into the government coffers because it

allows government to do more things.

Can you continue to do that? I know the Minister of Health and Community

Services, he is left scratching his head sometimes because he must be. No

matter what you try to do in the Department of Health, there always seems to be

a more urgent, greater need. At what point do you ever run out of enough money

to do all the things that you need to do?

I am sure the Minister of Health, if he had all of the money in the world,

there would not be anybody in this Province who had a need that did not get

satisfied. I have no concern about that in terms of his compassion and

understanding of being helpful to people, none whatsoever. Unfortunately, the

dollars are not all there to do that. You cannot do everything for everybody and

sometimes you have to what is it they say? You cut the cloth to fit the

garment. That is what government has to do. I am not here as an apologist for

government because they do not satisfy everybody's needs, far be it. I think I

usually, amongst others, give a few bricks to government from time to time too,

whenever I feel it is warranted. Not often, but I also think I give credit where

credit is due.

Back to the sustainability piece how are you ever in this Province going to

sustain 87 per cent growth every ten years? Where are we going to be ten years

out if we do not have the Voisey's Bay project, if the oil runs out or there is

a catastrophe, for example? That is where I am sure the minister has but we have

not heard; he must be having this debate with some people. It is great to say:

well, we are going to develop our hydro, for example, so that is a renewable

resource because we will have a Muskrat Falls, a Gull Island, and we will have

the Upper Churchill back. Hopefully that is all going to come to fruiti