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March 10, 2016

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVIII No. 4

The House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR.

SPEAKER (Osborne):

Order, please!

Admit strangers.

Before we start today's proceedings, I would like to

welcome and recognize Mary Hodder in the gallery. Ms. Hodder is a former MHA and

the first female Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly.

Welcome.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

have consulted with the House Leaders of the three parties and with the consent

of the hon. Members, starting today, the House will introduce a temporary

proceeding immediately after Statements by Members entitled Honour 100, to

remain in effect for the duration of the commemoration of the First World War

and Battle of Beaumont-Hamel by the House of Assembly.

Statements by Members

MR.

SPEAKER:

have Members' statements today by the Member for the District of Exploits,

Cartwright L'Anse au Clair, Stephenville Port au Port, Burin Grand Bank,

Terra Nova and Labrador West.

I recognize the Member for the District of Exploits.

MR.

DEAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the efforts of

the Seaport Skaters Club of Botwood. Between February 26 and 28, the Seaport

Skaters hosted the Skate Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Skating

Championships, the pinnacle event of the provincial skating calendar.

This year's competition saw over 225 participants,

approximately 40 coaches and 25 officials travel to Botwood. Along with the

members of the Skate NL Board, family, friends and local residents, it's

estimated that some 1,200 people visited the Harry Ivany Arena to see our best

skaters in competition.

An event like this is only made possible through the

dedication and hard work of many people. Over 75 volunteers including parents,

grandparents, club alumni and organizing committee members contributed to help

make the competition an overwhelming success.

As the former Mayor of Botwood and a past president of

the club, I am so proud of my community and our skating club. This was an

impressive accomplishment for a community of our size and a skating club with

less than 90 members typical of our can-do attitude.

I ask all hon. Members to join with me in

congratulating the Seaport skating club of Botwood on a job well done.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

Member for the District of Cartwright L'Anse au Clair and Deputy Speaker.

MS.

DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Famous footballer, Alex Karras, once said, Toughness

is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles.

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

tribute to one very tough constituent of mine, one who has shown true strength

in the face of steep adversity, an individual who, like many others, battled

cancer and after an intense and difficult journey won.

Since 2009, Yvonne Jones of Mary's Harbour has waged

war against breast cancer. She underwent two surgeries, endless rounds of

chemotherapy and radiation, and after four years of oral prescription, she has

won the war.

Last week, Yvonne was granted the privilege of ringing

the bell to signify that she is now cancer free. Mr. Speaker, throughout her

journey, sometimes at her lowest points, I marvelled at how she continued to

reach out to others.

Yvonne has been involved in numerous initiatives to

raise awareness of breast cancer and to raise funds for individuals travelling

from Labrador for treatments. An excellent example is Air Daffodil, a program

that's provided over 300 flights for Labrador cancer patients to date.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all hon. Members to join me in

celebrating Yvonne's good health and her continuing contribution to other

people. She is an inspiration to us all.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for the District of Stephenville Port au Port.

MR.

FINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, it was wonderful to see you yesterday

acknowledge the athletes who competed in the Special Olympics visiting this

House.

It is with great pleasure that I rise today to

acknowledge a phenomenal athlete and fine young man from the beautiful District

of Stephenville Port au Port. Twenty-six-year-old Christopher Dugas of Kippens

took home a silver medal in the 100-metre snowshoe race and a bronze in the

200-metre race.

As a seasoned competitor, Christopher is no stranger to

the award podium. In 2012, he took home a gold medal in the 800-metre race, and

in 2014 in the Summer Olympics he received two gold medals while also setting a

new Canadian record. Christopher credits his success to his rigorous training

and coach Rosie Ryan Forsey. Rosie, who has been coaching athletes for over 30

years, was also a co-founder of the Bay St. George Special Olympics

chapter in

I ask the Members of this House to join me in

congratulating both Chris and his coach Rosie as their achievement proves that

the road to success is paved with hard work and dedication.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for the District of Burin Grand Bank.

MS.

HALEY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Leon Slaney of

St. Lawrence in my District of Burin Grand Bank.

In February of this year, Mr. Slaney and his friend,

Mike Edwards, were crossing a local pond on their way ice fishing when the ATV

on which Mr. Edwards was travelling broke through the ice, immersing him in the

frigid waters.

Although Mr. Slaney had no rope at his disposal,

through quick thinking he retrieved a set of booster cables from his ATV, and

carefully approaching Mr. Edwards on the ice, used the cables to pull him from

almost certain death, Mr. Speaker.

With Mr. Edwards facing hypothermia, Mr. Slaney gave

him his dry snow pants, built a fire and called the local fire department, which

had members on the scene with dry clothing within an hour. Mr. Edwards was then

transported to the US Memorial Health Centre where he was treated for low blood

pressure from being in the cold water, and a shoulder injury. He was released

later that day.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all Members in this House to join me

in thanking Leon Slaney for his quick thinking and courageous actions in

ensuring a potentially disastrous outcome was averted.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for the District of Terra Nova.

MR.

HOLLOWAY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this hon. House today to recognize the

Clarenville Area Chamber of Commerce.

Formed in the 1960s, the Chamber of Commerce has become

a business and economic development voice for the region, and it includes a

membership of more than 140 individuals, businesses and organizations.

Each year, the chamber board hosts three signature

events, including its Newfoundland and Labrador Christmas Ornament Project, the

Annual Craft and Home Trade Show and the Annual Business Excellence Awards

Ceremony.

In 2007, the chamber's board of directors introduced

the Business Excellence Awards Program to promote and recognize the exceptional

achievements of its members. There are four award categories.

For the year 2015-2016, the award recipients are:

Business of the Year, Eastlink; Small Business of the Year, Community Vet

Hospital; Corwin Mills Community Cares Award went to Habitat of Humanity

Clarenville; and Mr. Owen Blundon was inducted into the Business Hall of Fame.

The Clarenville Area Chamber of Commerce has provided

great business leadership to the community for more than 55 years.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all hon. Members to join me in

congratulating this year's award recipients and the Clarenville Area Chamber of

Commerce for its outstanding contributions to the business community.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for the District of Labrador West.

MR.

LETTO:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today to

recognize a pioneer of Labrador West who celebrated her 90th birthday on March

Mrs. Joan Stamp moved to Labrador West in 1963 and

continues to make Labrador City her home.

On Saturday, I had the privilege of attending a

celebration with her family and friends where she was showered with

congratulations from the Premier, Prime Minister, the Governor General,

Lieutenant Governor and, yes, even a papal blessing from Pope Francis.

Mrs. Stamp has been deeply involved in Labrador West

over the past 50-plus years and continues to be an active member of the Twin

Cities Seniors Club and the Seniors Resource Centre in St. John's. She has truly

left her mark on the region.

For her volunteerism, Joan was awarded Woman of the

Year, the Provincial Outstanding Volunteer Award and the Town of Labrador City

Builder's Award.

I ask all hon. Members to join me with this birthday

wish for Joan. We know the road has been long, with many unexpected twists and

turns, but we hope that the rest of your journey is a walk in the park on a

beautiful, sunny day.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

The Commemoration of the First World War and the Battle of Beaumont-Hamel

MR.

SPEAKER:

Today, we start the Commemoration of the First World War and the Battle of

Beaumont-Hamel in the House. It's going to take 35 or 40 minutes today, followed

by the reading of names each day until all names are read; but I believe all

hon. Members will agree that, while this is unprecedented to spend this much

time in recognition of these events, these events are very important to the

people of the province.

As the Speaker of

the House of Assembly, it is an honour and a privilege for me to rise today and

speak to a significant and noteworthy piece of history of Newfoundland and

Labrador. I would like to recognize Andrea Hyde of the Legislative Library and

Marie Keefe in my office, who has spent countless hours doing research, in

collaboration with some other individuals that I will recognize today in the

Speaker's gallery as well.

2014 to 2018 marks

the centennial of the First World War and this year, 2016, marks the 100th

anniversary of the Battle of Beaumont-Hamel.

Throughout the

First World War, the sons and daughters of the Dominion of Newfoundland, now

Newfoundland and Labrador, sacrificed and served bravely in: the Royal

Newfoundland Regiment; the Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve; the Newfoundland

Mercantile Marine; the Newfoundland Forestry Corps; members of the Nursing

Sisters and the Volunteer Aid Detachments; as well as other units of the Allied

War Effort.

I believe it is

incumbent upon this House, and all of us sitting here as Members and

representatives of the people of our province, to give due recognition to those

who lost their lives during the First World War.

We must ensure that

the names and deeds of these heroes are forever remembered and celebrated not

only by our present generation, but by all future generations of Newfoundlanders

and Labradorians.

At this time, I

would like to recognize and welcome the following guests joining us in the

Speaker's gallery for this occasion: Mr. Frank Sullivan, President of the

Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Command of the Royal Canadian Legion; Mr.

Frank Gogos, Chair of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment Museum and Public

Relations Officer, Newfoundland & Labrador Command, the Royal Canadian Legion;

Mr. Dean Brinton, CEO of The Rooms Corporation; Mr. Greg Walsh, Director,

Archives Division, The Rooms; Mr. Larry Dohey, Manager of Collections and

Projects, The Rooms Provincial Archives; Mr. Gary F. Browne, author/historian,

former Spokesperson for the Royal Canadian Legion NL Command, and former Chair

of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment Advisory Council; and J esse

Wilkins, a Canadian peacekeeper.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

During the period from 1914 to 1918, this Legislature referenced the

significance of the First World War on several occasions. I think it's important

to highlight what was said 100 years ago; it is just as valid today.

On May 24, 1917, His Excellency, Sir W. E. Davidson,

Governor of Newfoundland reported, Honours, Awards and Distinctions have come

to the Regiment in extraordinary profusion. Perhaps no other Battalion on the

battlefield has been so abundantly recognised for its valour, its steadfastness

and its resourcefulness.

The 1917 report to this Legislature identifies three

outstanding occasions on which the Regiment has won renown: 1. The campaign in

Gallipoli, including the wining and defending of Caribou Hill; the stout-hearted

endurance through the blizzard in November 1915; the patient struggle against

the ravages of enteric fever and dysentery; and the honoured place of the

Regiment in the rearguard at the evacuation of Suvla Bay and of Cape Helles.

2. The re-making of the Regiment after Gallipoli on

the sands of the desert of Suez, when Colonel Hadow laid the foundations for the

disciplined success in France.

3. The charge on 1st July, 1916, in the frontal attack

on the defences of Beaumont Hamel, when the Regiment moved out and faced death.

That was the fateful day which first won for the name of Newfoundland the honour

of the world. Sir Douglas Haig telegraphed: 'The heroism and devotion to duty

they displayed on 1st July has never been surpassed.' I believe that is still

true today.

Part of what was said, and I quote from the Throne

Speech of May 30, 1917: It must be a source of intense pride to every

Newfoundlander that the participation by this country in the struggle, through

its gallant sailors and soldiers, has earned for them undying glory and the

recognition by their Sovereign, their commanders and the British public.

Again in the Throne Speech of April 2, 1919, our

survivors were welcomed home, and I quote: I avail myself of this opportunity

to extend a hearty welcome home to our sailors and soldiers who have represented

Newfoundland so valiantly and well during the past four years amid the changing

fortunes and bitter hardships of war. Mere words cannot express our feelings of

appreciation and admiration of their wonderful work. Their deeds are eloquent

and pass to judgment before them. On sea and land and in the air their worth has

been proven and their fame has spread far and wide.

That same Throne Speech paid tribute to our fallen

heroes, and again I quote: Those who have died for the Right have bequeathed us

a precious legacy the undying memory of duty performed even to the death, and

the eternal fragrance of that love which exceeds all others that a man lay

down his life for his friends. Their loss to the country can never be fully

estimated because it is impossible to compute the value of the chivalry, honor,

self-sacrifice and devotion to duty which these men possessed in the highest

degree. We can only endeavor to prove worthy of the glorious heritage which they

have purchased for us at such a cost.

Now a century later we will honour this heritage once

again and recognize this significant piece of our history, by entering into the

official record of our Legislature the names of those from the Dominion of

Newfoundland who lost their lives.

The names are compiled from the Commonwealth War Graves

Commission records, which are believed to be the most accurate and complete

listings available.

During 2016, the 100th Anniversary of the Battle of

Beaumont-Hamel, special attention will be given to the bravery, suffering and

loss our people experienced on July 1, 1916 the first day of the Battle of the

Somme.

On July 1, 2016, The Rooms will open the Royal

Newfoundland Regiment Gallery and the Fortis Courtyard and Amphitheatre on the

grounds of the former Fort Townshend, where the first Newfoundland Regiment was

formed in 1795. These are the largest First World War centennial projects in all

of Canada. The July 1 ceremony will be simulcast nationally by the CBC and will

form part of Canada Day programming on Parliament Hill.

I encourage all of you to visit The Rooms and

experience this display when it opens on July 1.

Today, some of you may have recognized or noticed, the

Royal Newfoundland Regiment Museum has created a display here in our lobby of

Confederation Building. I encourage all Members, employees and visitors to take

a few moments and visit this display.

While I am mentioning specifically the 100th

Anniversary of the tragic Battle of Beaumont-Hamel, we also honour the

contributions of our people at all battles in the First World War.

Lieutenant Colonel (Padre) Thomas Nangle, who was the

subject of a Member's statement earlier this week, Chaplain to our Regiment

during the First World War, who was most recently named by our federal

government as A Person of National Historic Significance, summed it very

appropriately when he said, and I quote, Ours was a Regiment of Heroes.

I must also recognize and mention the outstanding

efforts of those on The Home Front, who too contributed and suffered so much

throughout that time.

During the First World War, women from across

Newfoundland volunteered their time, energy and expertise to help Allied forces

overseas and to boost morale at home. They raised enormous sums of money; they

made and shipped clothing, medical supplies and other goods to troops overseas;

they visited families who had sons, brothers, fathers, or husbands on the front

lines; and they volunteered in local hospitals. They were more than 15,000

strong, those women of the Women's Patriotic Association (WPA).

Following the First World War, the Veterans'

Association asked the people of the Dominion of Newfoundland to adopt the

delicate, but hardy, forget-me-not as an enduring symbol of the sacrifice made

by those who served. Today, I am providing to each of the Members of the House

of Assembly a forget-me-not lapel pin, very similar to those worn 100 years ago,

to remember our heroes. After I'm finished my remarks, I will ask our Pages to

deliver these forget-me-not pins to each of the Members.

To honour our fallen heroes from the First World War,

on each regular sitting day a different Member will rise and read 40 names from

the list of over 1,600 from the Dominion of Newfoundland who paid the ultimate

sacrifice. This tribute will continue until all have been rightfully honoured by

this House of Assembly.

To begin the Legislature's commemoration of the First

World War, we will now hear remarks from the Premier, followed by the Leader of

the Opposition and the Member for St. John's East Quidi Vidi. Following these

remarks, I will read 40 names into the record, again followed by the Premier,

the Leader of the Opposition and the Member for St. John's East Quidi Vidi.

Following that, we will have a moment of silence.

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

First of all, I want to begin by thanking you for

taking on this initiative. I want to welcome your guests to the galleries here

today. Also to The Rooms for the great work that you are doing in preserving

this proud time in the history of our province, what was then, of course, the

Dominion of Newfoundland.

Honour 100 is a time for us to reflect and to pay

homage to our brave soldiers who were lost in World War I. It represents our

government's commitment to commemorating Newfoundland and Labrador's First World

War story.

During World War I, over 35 per cent of the men from

this province between the ages of 19 and 35 left for war. When you think about

it, this is a staggering number. Many of those were lost in the various major

World War I battles. Newfoundland and Labrador's role in World War I touched

every community across our province, and has since influenced the very fabric of

our culture and it has shaped our history.

The people of this province answered the call, both at

home and abroad, doing what they could do for their allies and for each other.

That's who we are as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. We answer the call, we

rise to the challenge and we fight for what's right.

Honour 100 will ensure that the sacrifices made were

not made in vain. I encourage everyone to come together as a community to

commemorate those lives that were lost and the incredible role that this

province played in an important part of our history.

I encourage you to please attend the various events,

the anniversaries, and learn more about our role and share our stories. In a few

moments I will have the privilege of reading in 40 names.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MR.

P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I share in the sentiments of the Premier in

acknowledging and commending you for paying this tribute, and to honour those

who paid the supreme sacrifice. Some say it's difficult to try and imagine what

it must have been like a century ago. I believe it's impossible for us to

imagine fully what it would have been like when the call went out for volunteers

to travel to Europe to fight alongside Britain in the Great War.

In communities, we all know, throughout our province,

they volunteered by the hundreds. They marched proudly down the streets of St.

John's to waiting ships and they embarked on a journey to the unknown. We know,

Mr. Speaker, that far too many never returned.

It's also very difficult to imagine what it must have

been like a century ago when the messages started rolling in about the

devastation, the terrible losses of life, the horrific injuries. Newfoundlanders

and Labradorians have gone to great lengths since that time to keep the memories

alive of those soldiers.

Sadly, it's not been easy to forget the horrors of war

because there have been so many incidents since then that drive home the reality

of war and its impact, not only on soldiers and families, communities, our

province and our country. People recall far too well the horrors of the Second

World War, the Korean conflict. All of us remember how we felt on hearing that

yet another soldier had been killed.

In these and other conflicts, not only soldiers made

sacrifices but nurses, medics, merchant mariners, foresters, police officers.

Even today, Mr. Speaker, many people continue to sacrifice their lives, their

physical health, their mental health to defend our families, our country and our

friends, and defend our freedoms.

What an amazing thing it is that so many

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians continue to demonstrate the courage to step

forward for what our forefathers did a century ago and to continue to do the

legacy that they created. Many of those volunteers were just teenagers. Some of

them were even prepared to pretend they were old enough or met the requirements

because they wanted to represent our country.

As we read the names we'll try to imagine some of who

they were. We'll think of their families, their moms and dads, their brothers

and sisters and friends. We'll try to imagine some of their personalities,

things that made them happy, things that made them sad, and stories they knew or

stories they told, dreams they may have had for the future. Perhaps it was

looking forward to coming home to marry or settle down, have their children, to

raise a family. Had so many of them not died, think of the great-grandchildren

and families that would have come after them. Think about their neighbours, the

impact on communities. What a tremendous loss. What a tremendous sacrifice.

We do owe it to them, not only to remember the price

they paid, but also to make their sacrifice worthwhile by taking full advantage

of the freedoms and opportunities that they won for us.

As our children travel to Europe to visit their local

cenotaphs or spend a moment in silence to pay tribute to their heroes, I believe

they really get it. Quite often when we visit our memorials and attend events,

you can see it on their faces.

Just as we've taken the time to educate them, they will

educate the generations that come after us. This Honour 100 project will give

them the resources to do that.

I want to commend everyone, our guests that are here

today and all those that are involved in the Honour 100 project and its value to

us as a people. It really matters and I think it's a very fitting tribute to

those who gave so much.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for St. John's East Quidi Vidi.

MS.

MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I'm very pleased to join with you, the Premier and the

Leader of the Official Opposition in welcoming our guests and in thanking all

those who worked on what we're doing here today. We will stand in this House

over the next few weeks to read the names of the men from this province who were

killed in the First World War.

It is important that we always remember the horrors of

that war and of other wars, and that we all do everything we can to protect our

people from other conflicts. Neville Chamberlain himself said, In war,

whichever side may call itself the victor, there are no winners, but all are

losers.

For this province, the Great War proved the truth of

that, hundreds and hundreds of men, some of them so young that today they would

still be attending high school, died on the battlefields of Europe. Hundreds

more were injured, many so severely that they never truly recovered. If they had

the term in those days, we would know they were suffering post-traumatic stress

disorder.

While I am honoured, Mr. Speaker, to stand with my

colleagues and read the names of the men who were killed, I would also like, at

this time, to do what you did, to recognize the contributions and sacrifices

made by women, and those were many. Women, too, went to the front, as nurses

mostly, but they were there. They contributed at home, too, knitting for

soldiers in the trenches, adding the work the absent men would have done to

their own heavy loads and taking on new roles in society. Of course, it was

largely the women in the decades after the war who cared for the men, the

husbands and sons who returned.

Mr. Speaker, when I stand and read the names of 40 men

who died, I shall do so with the heartfelt wish that we will all work together

to keep our young men and women from the horrors of war, that we will work for

peace.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

will now read into the record the following 40 names of those who lost their

lives in the First World War in the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, the Royal

Newfoundland Naval Reserve or the Newfoundland Mercantile Marine.

Lest we forget: Arthur John Abbott, Eli Abbott, Fred

Abbott, George Abbott, Stanley Abbott, John Thomas Adams, Otto Herbert Adams,

William Adams, Augustus Alcock, Joseph Alexander, Walter Ernest Alexander, A.

Alflsen, Israel Anderson, James Anderson, Joseph Andrews, Walter Andrews,

Gilbert Antle, R. Gordon Armstrong, Chesley Gladstone Arnold, Archibald Ash,

John Joseph Aspell, Arthur Atkinson, Michael Atkinson, George Attwood, Duncan

Atwill, James Atwill, Hezekiah Avery, Alexander Ayles, Edward Alphonsus Ayre,

Eric S. Ayre, Gerald Walter Ayre, Wilfred Douglas Ayre, William Thomas Babstock,

Arthur Badcock, Arthur Baggs, Esau Baker, George Baker, Nero Baker, Gilbert

Baldwin, Henry Herbert Baldwin.

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Lest we forget: Uriah Baldwin, Mathias Ball, Arthur George Ballam, Ralph Norman

Balsom, Samuel Bambury, George Barbour, Horatio Barbour, Lester D. Barbour,

Wilfred Hedley Barbour, Enos Barnes, Herbert Bramwell Barnes, John C. Barnes,

Lawrence Barnes, Maxwell Barnes, William Edward Barnes, Harold George Barrett,

James Barrett, Leonard Josiah Barrett, Frank Barron, James Barron, Daniel

Barrow, Alexander Barter, a young woman Bertha Bartlett, Isaac Bartlett, Joseph

Patrick Bartlett, Mac Bartlett, Rupert W. Bartlett, William Washer Bartlett,

John Barton, Albert Chesley Bastow, Frederick Donald Bastow, Gordon Clarence

Bastow, Herbert Belbin, Herbert John Belbin, Stewart Bellows, James Alexander

Bendell, Rance Benger, Charles Bennett, Chesley Bennett, Edward Bennett.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MR.

P. DAVIS:

Mr.

Speaker, I will also now read into the record 40 names of those who lost their

lives in the First World War in the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, the Royal

Newfoundland Naval Reserve or the Newfoundland Mercantile Marine.

Hector Bennett, James Bennett, Leonard Joseph Bennett,

Peter Francis Bennett, William Bennett, William Bennett, Peter Bennoit, Benjamin

Benoit, James John Benoit, Joseph H. Benoit, Peter Benoit, Victor Joseph Benoit,

Walter Benoit, William J. Benson, Wilson Benson, John Thomas Berrigan, Patrick

Beson, Frank Gordon Best, Edward Bewhey, Simeon Billard, Archibald Walter

Bishop, Caleb Golding Bishop, George H. Bishop, Wilson Bishop, Herbert William

Blackall, Edgar Blackmore, Thomas Blagdon, John Blake, Zachariah Blake, George

Blandford, Allen Blundon, Michael John Blyde, Matthew Bobbett, Patrick J.

Boland, George Edward Bollard, Joseph Boone, Stephen M. Boone, Stewart Malcolm

Boone, John Booth, and Harry Hooper Bourden.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for St. John's East Quidi Vidi.

MS.

MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will now read into the record the following 40 names

of those who lost their lives in the First World War in the Royal Newfoundland

Regiment, the Royal Newfoundland Naval Reserve or the Newfoundland Mercantile

Marine.

Lest we forget: John W. Boutcher, Hugh Pierson Bowden,

Walter Bowe, E. C. Bower, Charles Bowman, Alphonso Boyd, Albert Brace, William

James Brace, Malcolm Bradbury, Wilfred Bradley, George Philip Bragg, George

Edward Brake, John Breen, David Brent, Albert Brenton, George Brenton, John

Brest, Duncan Briely, Lewis Brinson, Alison Brinston, Angus Brinston, Augustus

Perry Brinston, George Brinston, Leslie Brinston, Thomas Brinton, George

Augustus Brocklehurst, Michael Broderick, Bertram Brown, Edmond Brown, Edward

John Brown, Ernest Brown, George Brown, Henry Brown, James G. Brown, James

Michael Brown, John W. Brown, Louis Brown, Orlando Brown, Patrick Joseph Brown,

William Brown.

MR.

SPEAKER:

moment of silence.

(Moment of silence.)

MR.

SPEAKER:

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by Ministers

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

MS.

COADY:

rise today in this hon. House to remember the Cougar Flight 491 tragedy, which

happened seven years ago on March 12, 2009.

I, along with fellow Members of this House, offer my

deepest sympathies to the families and friends of the 17 victims who were taken

from us far too soon as a result of the crash.

Mr. Speaker, such a tragic event reminds us of the

harsh environment and conditions faced everyday by the women and men working in

our offshore.

Government and our partners have made major progress on

implementing the Wells Report recommendations and we will continue to improve

regulations. Safety must always be the first priority of government and of

industry.

Mr. Speaker, we understand the risks and dangers

associated with working in the offshore and we are working to ensure everyone is

provided with the safest working conditions possible.

Thank you.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Opposition House Leader.

MR.

HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minster for an advance copy of the

statement. Certainly the 12th of March will forever be remembered as a dark day

in Newfoundland and Labrador when Cougar Flight 491 went down some 55 kilometres

southeast of St. John's. Our province was changed forever.

The helicopter, as we know, was destined for an

offshore platform where so many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians depend on for

their livelihood. Saturday brings a sombre reminder that with all the bounty

that comes from our sea, so, too, does heartache, tragedy and loss.

My District of Ferryland, as well as many districts

here, lost a number of people to this tragedy. This weekend I will have the

honour of attending a minor hockey atom tournament, which is in memory of those

that lost their lives from the Southern Shore. It will certainly be a pleasure

for me to do so.

My colleagues on this side of the House, along with the

government side, want to remember those that lost their lives on March 12, and

send along heartfelt condolences to their families and always remember them.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for St. John's East Quidi Vidi.

MS.

MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I, too, thank the minister for the advance copy of her

statement, and offer my condolences to the loved ones of the men and woman who

died that day. None of us will forget it.

I remind the minister, though, seven years later the

key recommendation of the Wells report remains not done: the creation of an

independent offshore safety authority. S-92 helicopters still do not have 30

minute run-dry capacity. I ask that government do everything to not allow risky

night flights over the fears of the offshore workers if we really believe in

health and safety.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Further statements by ministers?

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

MR.

HAGGIE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise to recognize March as Pharmacist Awareness

Month. This month is celebrated every year across Canada to recognize and raise

awareness of the contributions that pharmacists make to the health care system.

The department participated in the Pharmacists'

Association of Newfoundland and Labrador's kick-off event last week, held at the

Hampton Inn and Suites in St. John's. Attendees included Memorial University's

School of Pharmacy, the Canadian Association of Pharmacy Students and Interns

and the Newfoundland and Labrador Pharmacy Board.

Newfoundland and Labrador has approximately 700

practising pharmacists. These highly-trained, capable professionals provide a

wide range of front-line services on a daily basis.

I would like to acknowledge in the gallery Glenda

Power, the executive director of the Pharmacists' Association of Newfoundland

and Labrador; Dr. Carlo Marra, dean of the School of Pharmacy at Memorial

University of Newfoundland; and Mr. Richard Coombs, past president of the

Pharmacists' Association of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Allowing health care professionals such as pharmacists

to work to their full scope of practice provides an opportunity to enhance a

patient's access to care. We will conduct a thorough legislative review to

identify ways to ensure all health care professionals work to their full scope

of practice.

At its very core, being a pharmacist is about

understanding the needs of residents. It is about offering support and guidance

as people navigate the primary health care system.

Please join me in thanking our province's pharmacists.

I encourage everyone to talk with their own pharmacist to learn more about the

services they can provide.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MR.

P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

statement today. We in the Official Opposition join with the government in

recognizing Pharmacist Awareness Month, and thanking the approximately 700

highly trained professionals who live and provide services to Newfoundlanders

and Labradorians throughout our province.

We know in a recent survey released by the Canadian

Pharmacy Association, it outlines and highlights the respect people have and the

importance they put on pharmacists in Canada and in our province: 95 per cent of

respondents had a positive impression of pharmacists; 83 per cent believe that

allowing pharmacists to do more for patients will reduce the cost of health

care; and 92 per cent believe that pharmacists have a key role to play in our

health care system. Pharmacists throughout our province are highly respected.

They are a vital spoke in the wheel of health care.

Mr. Speaker, our administration had recognized the role

they play. We've expanded those roles. We believe it's a good example of private

business contributing to health care and benefitting Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians.

We join with the government in acknowledging March as

Pharmacist Awareness Month and offer our sincere congratulations and thanks to

pharmacists throughout our province.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for St. John's East Quidi Vidi.

MS.

MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I, too, thank the minister for the advance copy of his

statement. I am very pleased to recognize and thank pharmacists for the work

they do. Their role is essential in areas such as drug interactions and

counselling to clients, and now includes vaccination, which is so convenient for

people, especially in communities without a doctor.

I remind the minister that as the scope of practice

widens, these services must be covered by MCP. If not, we have a two-tier

system.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MR.

P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Here in the House of Assembly yesterday, I asked the

Minister of Finance, and she stated without qualification, that their government

has, since December, achieved $100 million in savings from the reduction in

discretionary spending and travel.

I ask the minister: Can she assure the House of

Assembly today that her statement and answer given yesterday, that they've saved

$100 million since December, is accurate?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services sorry.

The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of

Treasury Board.

MS.

C. BENNETT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I have plenty of portfolios; thank you for not

assigning another one.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take the opportunity to

answer the Member for Topsail Paradise's question. I'm proud to stand in this

House of Assembly and confirm that, through the work of this government in just

88 days since taking office, we have identified more savings of $97.5 million

for 2015-16.

These savings, which include discretionary savings,

have been realized through things like no reallocation of dropped balances or

savings, the reduction of parliamentary assistant salaries, the reduction of

political staff, restrictions placed on hiring, restrictions placed on

consultants and the elimination of discretionary travel as per the directive our

government issued back in December.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS.

C. BENNETT:

have the document here, Mr. Speaker, that I'm happy to table at your discretion.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MR.

P. DAVIS:

Mr.

Speaker, the Member yesterday said that it was roughly in the vicinity of $100

million that's been saved since December. When being pressed by reporters

outside the House yesterday, she went on to explain this $100 million was

annualized.

Mr. Speaker, annualized means year-over-year savings

and I'm sure she can explain some of that. She talked about travel and

discretionary spending, quite often, has to do with purchasing of furniture,

such as a chair. If you purchase a chair or don't purchase a chair for $200,

you've saved $200.

How do you annualize the savings of the purchase of

such things as furniture? How does that become a year-over-year savings when

once you've saved it and never made the purchase, you've saved it?

Can the minister explain that accounting to the House

of Assembly?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MS.

C. BENNETT:

Mr.

Speaker, some of the furniture that was taken out were the seats in this House

of Assembly. In response to the Member opposite's question, our measures go

further than the previous government. We have realized more savings in a shorter

period of time.

I remind the Members of this hon. House that the Member

opposite announced on November 27, 2014, that measures they had undertaken in a

full six-month period, I believe, they anticipated to save $90 million. In the

short time we've taken office we've found almost $100 million, as I said

yesterday, and we're not done yet.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MR.

P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

And so they should save more, because the circumstances

in the province are much worse than they were on November 30, on election day.

As a matter of fact, the Premier himself is on the record as saying hundreds of

millions he said $400 million at one point in time worse than it was when

they took office in December; $400 million additional debt put on our province

since they took over. So not buying shares and utilizing resources and abilities

to cut is a good thing for them to do.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Minister of Finance one more

time: How do you annualize a trip you didn't take? How does that get annualized

year over year? She hasn't explained it. I will ask her again: Can she explain

the accounting to us?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MS.

C. BENNETT:

Mr.

Speaker, I'm happy to answer the Member opposite's question.

Colleagues on this side of the House who participate in

Treasury Board with me have been meeting continuously for the last several weeks

with officials. We have met with every single department, the majority of

agencies, boards and commissions, and we will continue to do our comprehensive

line-by-line review of the budgets so that we will continue to realize these

savings on a go-forward basis and find even more.

Mr. Speaker, these actions we are undertaking and the

details of the things we found of where we can save money like parliamentary

assistants and political staff I look forward to sharing with these hon.

Members when we present our budget for 2016.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MR.

P. DAVIS:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Again, yesterday in the House of Assembly I was asking

questions regarding the very important matter of sterilization challenges that

are being faced by Eastern Health. Yesterday the Premier said here in the House

he's very proud of the work that's been done. He went on to say, Mr. Speaker,

that all ORs are functioning and surgeries are proceeding.

Well, Mr. Speaker, we've learned that last Friday

orthopaedic surgeons ran out of instruments and were not able to perform any

further surgeries. In fact, they said, they declared it as a dangerous situation

at the only trauma centre in the province, warning that potentially dire

consequences could result.

So I ask the Minister of Health: Were you aware of this

last Friday? When did you become aware of it, and when were you going to share

this with the people of Newfoundland and Labrador?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, what I said yesterday is about the communications

and the work that the Minister of Health and Community Services has been doing

in working with Eastern Health to get an answer to what is a very difficult and

complex situation that we're facing. One thing that we will not do is compromise

patient safety in this serious situation.

We know that there are many people impacted by delays

in surgeries. Today, what we're seeing is that surgeries are continuing as

scheduled. Yesterday, there were a few delays in surgeries; there's no doubt,

where this situation is affecting multiple sites within Eastern Health. There's

been even new equipment that's been put in that's been impacted.

This is not new or unique to Newfoundland and Labrador.

We've seen similar circumstances in other jurisdictions and what we've done is

reached out through the work of the Minister of Health and Community Services

and his group, they've reached out and tried to learn from some of the lessens

that other jurisdictions have found from this.

We're going to get to the bottom of this. It is a

difficult situation impacting Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR.

P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I remind the Premier that patient safety was

compromised. He said they want to protect patient safety and make sure it's not

compromised. Well, it was compromised. It was compromised on Friday when they

ran out of instruments. If there had of been an emergency surgery required,

orthopedic surgery required, they couldn't complete it, Mr. Speaker. The manual

handwashing process that's underway at Eastern Health has not kept up with the

demand. Orthopedic surgeons, I can tell you, are not happy about this.

I again ask the Minister of Health: When did he become

aware of this? When did he plan on sharing this with the people of Newfoundland

and Labrador?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

HAGGIE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

At no time since the sterilizing issue arose has

patient safety been compromised. The Chief of Surgery for Eastern Health quite

clearly stated yesterday that Eastern Health always had equipment for emergency

surgery. Even if they run into a situation where they might not have, they had

contingency plans.

I would draw the Member opposite's attention to the

fact that the operating rooms at St. Clare's are working at 100 per cent for

elective and emergency surgery, and that no emergency surgeries have been

cancelled at all during this entire exercise at the Health Sciences Centre.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR.

P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, it's a good thing there wasn't an emergency

because they wouldn't have been able to do it. That's not what the minister

said. If there had have been an emergency surgery, they couldn't complete it.

That's what we're told, Mr. Speaker. That's what's being reported to us, that on

Friday afternoon there were no instruments available should an emergency have

resulted or had occurred at the province's only trauma centre.

I ask the minister once again: When did he become aware

of this crisis on Friday afternoon that did jeopardize patient safety? When was

he going to share that with the people of Newfoundland and Labrador?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

MR.

HAGGIE:

Mr.

Speaker, I have been in contact with the CEO of Eastern Health and the surgeons

at Eastern Health on a very regular basis. Had the gentleman opposite and his

team done their research and read beyond the first 140 characters, they would

have found the answer to that question.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR.

P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I have to tell you this is a very serious matter and to

have the arrogance coming from a new minister like this across the House, Mr.

Speaker, is shameful. This is a very serious circumstance. We are told that

surgeons did not have equipment available should an emergency have taken place.

I have asked the minister several times. He is not going to give us an answer of

when he became aware of this. He is not going to give us an answer and he won't

admit that it is a risk to patients, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, this has to do, quite often, I believe,

with the processes. We know Eastern Health is working very, very hard to try and

rectify this circumstance, but they have to resort now to manual handwashing to

sterilize surgical equipment.

So I will ask the minister this: Can he assure

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians that handwashing and sterilizing medical

equipment, OR surgical equipment, thousands of pieces, has not compromised

safety of patients in any way? Can he tell me can he assure us that these

processes are protecting patients?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

MR.

HAGGIE:

Once again, Mr. Speaker, there has been no issue related to patient safety. The

cleaning and sterilizing of surgical equipment is a very complicated exercise.

Handwashing and manual sterilization may be an old technique, but it still

works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for the District of Mount Pearl North.

MR.

KENT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

On January 28, Marine Atlantic announced an increase to

its passenger and vehicle rates by 2.6 per cent effective April 1 of this year.

Mr. Speaker, over the past two decades, the Minister of Advanced Education and

Skills has been an official watchdog for Marine Atlantic. At every opportunity

the Member, while an MP, would take to the media. He would call the open line

shows and lash out against rate increases and question service delivery.

However, Mr. Speaker, to everyone's surprise, he is now silent on the issue and

nowhere to be found.

So I ask the Premier, Mr. Speaker: Why has this

minister's advocacy stopped? Is the issue no longer important to him and his

West Coast constituents?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development.

MR.

MITCHELMORE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is certainly a pleasure to answer the question for

my colleague opposite. Marine Atlantic plays a very vital, important role when

it comes to the transportation of consumer goods and to passenger traffic in the

Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

I've had engagement with my federal colleague, the

counterpart of Small Business and Tourism, when she was here in the province

just last week at the Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador Conference. We had a

meeting and discussed Marine Atlantic, about how important it is to have

competitive rates.

We're very pleased to see that Marine Atlantic has

discounted its rates by 50 per cent passenger traffic for a period of time at

the Port aux Basques ferry service. As well, they've decreased their surcharge

from 21 per cent down to 15 per cent on this matter.

The Department of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural

Development works with our federal counterparts to have dialogue on how we can

improve the customer experience.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR.

MITCHELMORE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for the District of Mount Pearl North.

MR.

KENT:

Mr.

Speaker, I'm glad that the Minister of Tourism acknowledges that Marine Atlantic

is important, and that he had a discussion with the federal minister at the

recent Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador Conference. The little sale that's

now on is little comfort, I think, to people in the province.

Residents of this province expect action and, more

importantly, they want the results they were promised promised by our new

Premier. He sold the electorate on this cozy relationship with the new federal

government.

Now I will ask the Premier: I'd like to know what

specific actions that you, as Intergovernmental Affairs Minister, have taken to

address the rising ferry rates issue beyond the Minister of Tourism having

dinner with a federal minister at the HNL Conference.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development.

MR.

MITCHELMORE:

Mr.

Speaker, I'm very proud of the relationship that we have with our federal

colleagues on this matter.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

MITCHELMORE:

I've been minister for only 80-plus days and I've had the opportunity to meet

with my federal colleagues. I wonder how many meetings the Members opposite

would have had with Marine Atlantic on this particular matter.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

MITCHELMORE:

Last week, I did not have more than a discussion; I had a sit-down meeting with

my counterpart. It was the Small Business and Tourism minister. I've had

multiple meetings with my federal colleagues in Ottawa.

We have a very strong relationship when it comes to

looking at how we can improve the services and delivery at Marine Atlantic

because we see how important it is to the people and to the businesses of

Newfoundland and Labrador and to the tourism industry. We're going to continue

to work with our counterparts in Ottawa

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR.

MITCHELMORE:

so that we can continue to have a strong economy in Newfoundland and Labrador.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR.

MITCHELMORE:

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Mount Pearl North.

MR.

KENT:

Mr.

Speaker, lots of friendly chats and meetings and dinners and photo ops, but no

action, no results and the ferry rates are still going up. This new relationship

that the new government is promoting means that the provincial Liberal

government will not rock the boat with their federal cousins under any

circumstances.

Mr. Speaker, Prime Minister Trudeau is on record as

saying his government would work to ensure Marine Atlantic remains affordable.

I ask the Premier: Are rate hikes affordable? Does the

cozy federal-provincial Liberal coalition feel the recent Marine Atlantic rate

hikes are affordable?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development.

MR.

MITCHELMORE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I made myself very clear that the rates at Marine

Atlantic are going down by 50 per cent for the period of time at the Port aux

Basques ferry, as well as the fuel surcharge has been dropped from 21 to 15 per

cent, which means the difference of about a dollar in the fare overall. What

we're doing is we're continuing to work with Marine Atlantic and working with

the federal government, as our department has been doing over the last number of

weeks, to improve customer service and make sure we're enhancing the experience.

We have a productive relationship with Marine Atlantic,

as well as with the federal government, and we'll continue to do everything we

can to make sure that experience is enhanced and we can add to the economy of

Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Mount Pearl North.

MR.

KENT:

The

cozy relationship between the provincial and federal government, Mr. Speaker, is

leading to higher ferry rates for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. So he's

happy to accept higher rates in order to keep the peace with the Trudeau

Liberals.

The Throne Speech earlier this week stated that we all

have to make sacrifices, Mr. Speaker. Are rising Marine Atlantic rates one of

the sacrifices the people of Newfoundland and Labrador have to make because of

our government's warm and fuzzy relationship with the federal government?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, one of the things in speaking of the relationship

with Ottawa, I'm not so sure the group opposite, in particular the former deputy

premier, could actually speak to what that relationship in any way could be,

because all we've seen from at least reports in any of the successes they would

have had has been really a goose egg. That's what we've seen with the

relationship they had.

So we're very proud. It's been just a few weeks into

this. When we get into March 22 and the budget, of course, there will be things

for Newfoundland and Labrador that will be included in that. The doors in Ottawa

right now are certainly open. There has been lots of engagement and lots of very

productive meetings will occur. It usually starts with very productive meetings.

The former deputy premier would not be used to that, of course, in Ottawa, as he

would prefer to do his meetings over Twitter.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MR.

P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, during the election campaign last year,

and in the Liberal red book, it stated that a new Liberal government will

establish an Independent Appointments Commission to take the politics out of

government appointments.

Well, yesterday the government tabled the

Independent Appointments Commission Act ,

Bill 1, which I can tell you is a non-binding commission. They can't make

appointments. They can make non-binding recommendations to government, so

government can secretly select from a pool of candidates who they want to

appoint to commissions.

I ask the Premier: How does this take the politics out

of appointments?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm very proud to answer that question from the former

premier because if there's anyone in this room who would have experience in

putting politics into political appointments, it would be the former premier. He

had his share of them.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER BALL:

would not have any experience in that, and I will not. Because what we will put

in place, and very proud to be able to bring legislation in place I'm taking

from what the former premier is saying that he's not going to support this

because he would not see this as an improvement over the process that he was

used to.

I believe it is a big improvement. We're going to see

highly skilled Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who will volunteer their time to

make sure that the politics are taken out of government appointments. We will

see people who have the technical skills and the abilities to actually do their

jobs. This is exactly what Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are looking for.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MR.

P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will remind the Premier that his signature bill that

he's brought to the floor of the House of Assembly has sections in it, such as

section 9, which enables Cabinet to completely sidestep the commission and make

their own appointments.

As a matter of fact, Mr. Speaker, under

Schedule C

there are six pages of entities where appointments can be made through this

legislation that don't even go to the Independent Appointments Commission. It

completely sidesteps the Independent Appointments Commission. The Public Service

Commission makes a pool and it goes to the minister to hand-pick who they want.

How does that take the politics out of appointments?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you.

I look forward to the debate from the former premier as

he defends his process and as we defend our process.

The Public Service Commission, first and foremost

contrary to what the former premier may feel, I value the work the Public

Service Commission does. They do a great job. So for the former premier to ever

question the integrity of that group is shameful, I say, Mr. Speaker. They do a

great job. They will do the vetting, as part of the selection committee that

will actually recommend names to Cabinet. The decision will then be made there.

I will guarantee you, if you ever saw a Cabinet that

will actually dismiss this group of skilled, intelligent Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians they will do what Newfoundlanders and Labradorians always do.

They will reject that and they will stand up for us. That will not happen with

this government, I say, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MR.

P. DAVIS:

Mr.

Speaker, I'm on the record many times here speaking loudly and proudly of the

great work that public servants do for Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

P. DAVIS:

I'm

not worried about the process they are going through. What worries me is when

they create the pool of potential candidates for committees, commissions and

entities and they send it over to the secret Cabinet decision, Mr. Speaker,

because this bill here legitimizes the secrecy around decisions.

In fact, the Premier said today that if they sent three

names over for senior positions in government, they don't have to say who those

three names are. They don't have to say if they picked one of the three names

and they don't have to say who the two are that weren't eligible.

It's a legitimate bill, certainly, Mr. Speaker. It's a

bill that legitimizes the secrecy process of Cabinet. It gives them a pool to

choose from and allows them to make their own choices so they can look after

their friends when they campaigned last year.

I ask the Premier one more time: When the process leads

to secret decisions by Cabinet, how does that take the politics out of this

decision-making process?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

When you look at the selection process and when the

former premier gets a chance to read the legislation and as we debate it here,

maybe there will be a better understanding of how this process works.

In the past, the pool was this. The pool was a list of

names that Cabinet, or the Premier that's the list, that was their pool. The

Public Service Commission, an Independent Appointments Commission, no, they were

all of that. The decision was made by the Premier primarily, or by Cabinet, or

some Cabinet friends. That was the pool.

I will tell you right now that this Independent

Appointments Commission is a huge, better way. This is a much better way of

putting Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, qualified Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians, into key positions. The Independent Appointments Commission is

volunteering their time to do this, and we look forward to working with them.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Cape St. Francis.

MR.

K. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It gives me great honour here today to stand up to be

the official spokesperson for the fisheries department from the Official

Opposition. Never before in our history have we seen and we have seen in our

history that the fishery has been so good to the people of Newfoundland and

Labrador. It was never important like today, to make sure we have strong

management and we maintain the control of our fishery.

On February 1 and February 2, the fisheries licensing

board met to discuss the proposed transfer with Quin-Sea licen c e to Royal Greenland.

I ask the Minister of Fisheries: Have you received the

recommendations from the board?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

MR.

CROCKER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is my honour to stand here today as the Minister of

Fisheries and take the question from the Member opposite.

Yes, we have received a recommendation from the board.

We are continuing to do due diligence as a part of my role as the minister. A

part of that due diligence, Mr. Speaker, has been listening to many groups, many

different individuals, even in the expression of interest from the Official

Opposition in their letter that they submitted to the licensing board. I'll let

the hon. Member know that he can expect our decision in the very near future.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Cape St. Francis, for a very short question.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

K. PARSONS:

Mr.

Speaker, Royal Greenland is not a Newfoundland company; it's not a Canadian

company. In fact, it's a company owned by the Government of Denmark.

I ask the minister: Will allowing Royal Greenland to

operate Quin -Sea go against long-standing principles of fleet

separation and having control of our local fishery?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

MR.

CROCKER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I think there were two questions. The first one, Royal

Greenland is not owned by the State of Denmark; it's owned by the

self-government of Greenland. That's question number one.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Very quickly.

MR.

CROCKER:

to the second part, the fleet separation, Royal Greenland will not have control

of the quotas in Canadian waters if if their application is successful.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for St. John's East Quidi Vidi.

MS.

MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

It is my turn now to speak to the Premier. This

government did promise they would be removing politics from the appointments

process, yet Bill 1 stipulates that government retain the power to appoint

anyone they want, despite the recommendations of the new Independent

Appointments Committee.

I ask the Premier how this notwithstanding clause

squares with his promise to take politics out of appointments. He's keeping it

in his hands.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Two things I think there's a step that the Leader of

the Third Party didn't mention. There would be an activity report that would be

reported to this House of Assembly. The IAC, the commission themselves, the five

names would come to the floor of this House of Assembly. That's a very open

process.

They will be given the opportunity to actually, through

resolution, debate the selection of those five names. Then at the end of the

year, which we will anticipate somewhere between 200 and 300 appointments so

it's going to be a very active commission, as you would tell this activity

report would make it to the floor of this House of Assembly as well.

The other option, of course, would be to stay and

continue to do it the way things were. We are not satisfied with that. This is a

big improvement, and no other province in the country right now is doing

something like this. I'm looking forward to working with the IAC and the

resolution on this floor.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for St. John's East Quidi Vidi.

MS.

MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I'm asking the Premier, if Cabinet ignores

recommendations of the IAC on a particular appointment, will they disclose the

names of the nominees and why they are refusing to accept the nominees?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

One

of the things and we've put considerable time into thinking about the three

names, if there were three names that went to Cabinet as part of the selection

process either through the PSC, then through the IAC as they vet this and then

into Cabinet. It's really a three-step process here.

When you consider people that put their names and allow

it to be vetted in this particular process, if there are three names there, two

people would be rejected. Initially, I felt that maybe we should post the three

names. In retrospect and thinking about it that people allow this there will

be two people rejected.

We thought for the protection of privacy of those

individuals, the encouragement for them to get involved in other positions it

could even influence work-related positions that they might be looking for. We

felt that it would be better to protect the names of those individuals that were

rejected. Then at any time, if they so felt, they could actually make their

names public themselves.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for St. John's Centre.

MS.

ROGERS:

Mr.

concerning closure of Holy Cross Junior High, one of the few remaining schools

in centre city. While in Opposition the now Minister of Education said the

current board is, quote, 'Appointed trustees, hand-picked trustees, it really

removes accountability. They are accountable to those who appointed them as

opposed to accountable to those people that elected them.'

Mr. Speaker, I ask the minister: Will he honour his

word and stop this process immediately, until a duly elected board of trustees,

elected by the community, is re-established?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR.

KIRBY:

Mr.

Speaker, I thank the Whip of the two-person NDP caucus for the question. A

little bit of a history lesson here. Back in 2013, the previous administration

chose to amalgamate the four predecessor school districts: the Labrador School

District, the Western School District, the Nova Central School District and the

Eastern School District.

The previous administration said they would hold a

school board election in 2014. Well, there was no school board election in 2014

and there was no school board in 2015.

Members of the Liberal caucus sat there repeatedly

asking questions about the school board election. I'm delighted today to see now

the NDP, after three years, has finally come around to our way of thinking. So

I'm really delighted that you're joined up with us now in agreeing that we need

to have a school board election.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for St. John's Centre.

MS.

ROGERS:

Mr.

Speaker, I ask the minister: How could he allow this appointed board, with no

moral authority and accountability to the people of the community, to make these

crucial decisions? When will he do the right thing and call an election of

school board trustees?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR.

KIRBY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, it gives me great pleasure to know that now the

NDP, after three years, has decided this is an important issue. I'm not sure if

it's so they can make a bit of political hay about it at the expense of parents

and students in the Member's constituency, but I'm glad they've come around to

our way of thinking on this.

During the provincial election campaign last fall, we

committed to holding a school board election within 12 months. After the

election, the Premier wrote a letter to me, a mandate letter, suggesting we have

the school board election within 12 months. That's exactly what we intend to do.

School District, of the French school district. We've reached out to the

Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of School Councils. Last week I had a

meeting with the Chief Electoral Officer to find out how they could assist us in

this process. We're going to have a school board election, we're just going to

do it the right way and we're not going to rush it.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

time for Question Period has expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR.

EDMUNDS:

Mr.

Speaker, on behalf of the Select Committee appointed to draft a reply to the

speech from His Honour the Lieutenant Governor, I am pleased to present the

report of the Select Committee, which reads as follows:

To His Honour, the Lieutenant Governor, the Hon. Frank

Fagan.

May it please Your Honour, we, the commons of

Newfoundland and Labrador, in Legislative Session assembled, beg to thank Your

Honour for the gracious speech to which Your Honour has addressed to this House.

MR.

SPEAKER:

When shall the report be received?

The hon. the Government House Leader.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Mr.

Speaker, I move, seconded by the Minister of Natural Resources, that the debate

be deferred.

MR.

SPEAKER:

it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

All those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR.

SPEAKER:

All

those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

Further I should ask, before I do that, if there are

any further reports by standing or select committees?

Pursuant to

section 16 of the

House of Assembly Accountability, Integrity and Administration Act ,

a Members' Compensation Review Committee of not more than three individuals must

be appointed at least once during each General Assembly to prepare a report

respecting salaries, allowances, severance payments and pensions for Members of

the House of Assembly. This report is presented to the Speaker, who brings the

recommendation to the House of Assembly Management Commission for review.

I am now reporting to the House in accordance with

subsection 16(2) of the same act that I have consulted with the Government House

Leader, the Opposition House Leader and the Third Party on the appointments and

on the terms of reference which will apply to the committee. Three

well-respected individuals have been solicited to serve on the Assembly's

Members' Compensation Review Committee, and I understand the Government House

Leader will now be giving notice of a resolution for the appointments to this

committee.

Tabling of Documents.

Tabling of Documents

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MS.

C. BENNETT:

Mr.

Speaker, as I referred to in Question Period and as I promised from yesterday's

Question Period, I'd like to table the two documents that I referenced today.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Mr.

Speaker, I give notice that I will tomorrow move the following resolution:

WHEREAS subsection 16(1) of the

House of Assembly Accountability, Integrity and Administration Act

requires that an independent committee, called a Members' Compensation Review

Committee, be appointed at least once during each General Assembly; and

WHEREAS in accordance with subsection 16(2) of the

House of Assembly Accountability,

Integrity and Administration Act , the Speaker has consulted with the

Government House Leader, the Opposition House Leader and the Third Party on the

appointment to the said committee; and

WHEREAS the Government House Leader, Opposition House

Leader and Third Party have agreed with the introduction of this resolution; and

WHEREAS under subsection 16(4) of the

House of Assembly Accountability,

Integrity and Administration Act , a Members' Compensation Review Committee

appointed under this resolution must report to the Speaker on its

recommendations within 120 days of its appointment;

BE IT RESOLVED that Sandra Burke, Kathy LeGrow and

Jeffrey Pardy are appointed to the Members' Compensation Review Committee, with

the appointment to be effective on July 7, 2016; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in accordance with

section

16 of the House of Assembly

Accountability, Integrity and Administration Act the Members' Compensation

Review Committee shall inquire into and prepare a report respecting the

salaries, allowances, severance payments and pensions to be paid to the Members

of the House of Assembly and in particular the Committee shall:

(1) Recommend the annual salary for Members of the

House of Assembly;

(2) Review and make recommendations regarding the additional

salary provisions for positions identified in subsection 12(1) of the

House of Assembly Accountability,

Integrity and Administration Act ;

(3) Recommend a formula or means for

making annual salary adjustments for salary amounts referenced in clauses 2 and

3 above;

(4) Review and make recommendations regarding the current severance pay

policy for Members of the House of Assembly;

(5) Review the current provisions

for Members' pensions and provide recommendations for adjustments;

(6) Review

and make recommendations regarding the Intra-Constituency Allowance for each

district establishing a

schedule to the Member's Resources and Allowances Rules.

This review should take into account the provision of services by Members as a

result of the increase in the size of some districts, as a result of electoral

boundary reform in 2015; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Members' Compensation

Review Committee, as part of its inquires, consult with appropriate persons who

can assist the committee with respect to its required duties and shall;

(7) Consult with Members of the House of Assembly,

review and make recommendations with respect to the Members' Resources and

Allowances Rules, including but not limited to: current accommodation provisions

for Members and whether other alternatives are available from a cost-benefit

perspective; travel and living cost for training and orientation of Members

following general elections and by-elections; clarification of the parameters

regarding usage of the constituency allowance; and clarification of the

parameters for the use of rental cars.

(8) Consult with the House of Assembly Service

regarding issues in administering the current regime as well as impacts,

legislative and otherwise, of proposed recommendations; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that research and administrative

support to the Members' Compensation Review Committee will be provided by or

arranged by the House of Assembly Service; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Members' Compensation

Review Committee deliver its report to the Speaker on or before November 4,

2016; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the House of Assembly

Service shall conclude the contractual arrangements required to carry out the

intent of this resolution.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Further notices of motion?

Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Conception Bay South.

MR.

PETTEN:

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland

and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS the federal government should be reducing, not

increasing, Marine Atlantic ferry rates to drive tourism growth and stimulate

the economy of Newfoundland and Labrador;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge government to press the

province's federal Members of Parliament, the federal government, to reduce

marine ferry rates.

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

As my colleague just spoke in Question Period, the

Marine Atlantic rate increase has a great impact on tourism, Mr. Speaker, on the

rubber tire traffic, the travelling public of the province who travel outside

the province for vacations or just to get off the Island. It's such a vital

link.

It also has an impact on our grocery shelves and many

other services we as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians expect to receive. By

these rate increases, it's unfair with such a vital link. We do want the

government to press the federal Members to get those rates reduced.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Fortune Bay Cape La Hune.

MS.

PERRY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This petition is to the hon. House of Assembly of the

Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of

the undersigned residents of Newfoundland and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have an

interest in participating in the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered

Indigenous Women and Girls;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge government to press the

sessions in communities in Newfoundland and Labrador in which grieving

Aboriginal families live.

Mr. Speaker, as a resident of Newfoundland and

Labrador, like so many of us, I've often been very frustrated at the fact that

sometimes Upper Canada seems to think the country stops at Nova Scotia. I think

there are a lot of people in this province who had high expectations, given the

cozy relationship, this would no longer happen. Mr. Speaker, we see evidence of

it continuing to happen today, despite the cozy relationship.

Newfoundland and Labrador has been left off the list of

meetings to seek public input on the design and scope of the National Inquiry

into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. We are part of this

nation, Mr. Speaker, and our indigenous people are just as important as any

other person across this country.

A primary reason for holding this inquiry is to shine a

spotlight on the tragedies, the people and the communities that have for far too

long been ignored, so that justice could be served. It is inexcusable that the

schedule of meetings ignores our province where so many of these tragedies have

occurred.

Indeed, the oversight is all the more difficult to

understand, Mr. Speaker, in light of the fact that the late Loretta Saunders,

whose tragic death was the galvanizing event that triggered this inquiry, was an

indigenous woman who called Newfoundland and Labrador her home. A significant

portion of Newfoundland and Labrador's people identify as indigenous, and they

have an interest and a right to be part of the process of designing and scoping

this inquiry.

Many of Canada's indigenous peoples live in rural

communities and many of these communities in our province are particularly

remote. To be effective, the inquiry must go to places where people live. The

people of these rural communities will surely tell you this and explain why, if

they are given the opportunity to be heard in their communities during the

inquiry's development phase.

Mr. Speaker, our leader has written to Carolyn Bennett,

federal Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs, expressing disappointment

on this matter. As the critic for women's policy and an MHA who represents many

Aboriginal constituents, I express my disappointment as well, and urge the

provincial government to call on Ottawa to include Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for St. John's Centre.

MS.

ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the

undersigned residents humbly sheweth:

close down Holy Cross Junior High school and send students to a distant school;

and

WHEREAS the board has arbitrarily and without

consultation reduced the Holy Cross Junior High school catchment area and

students will have to be bused to a far more distant school; and

WHEREAS Holy Cross Junior High is an important

neighbourhood school with programs, community partnerships and extracurricular

activities designed to meet the particular needs of the inner-city students who

attend it; and

appointed body and no longer accountable to the people who elected them; and

WHEREAS the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray

and call upon the House of Assembly to urge government to ensure that Holy Cross

Junior High school remains open and to immediately arrange for a democratically

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

Mr. Speaker, I was absolutely astounded by the Minister

of Education's response to my questions in Question Period. This is a very

serious, critical issue. And the minister, while in Opposition, a number of

times berated government by the fact that the trustees of the school board, the

amalgamated school boards, were these are his words, Mr. Speaker, his very

words 'Appointed trustees, hand-picked trustees, it really removes

accountability. They are accountable to those who appointed them as opposed to

accountable to those people that elected them.'

This government, Mr. Speaker, keeps talking about

accountability and transparency, yet this is a very clear issue. For the

minister to just flick this off and think he was funny and entertaining in the

House when this affects the lives of students and their families at Holy Cross

Junior High.

Now, as well, Mr. Speaker, it means that almost every

single student at Holy Cross Junior High will have to be bused. There are no

students right now being bused in Holy Cross Junior High. I'm sure the current

Minister of Education is aware of the book

Boston Against Busing . And we know that busing is not good for children,

that it is a last resort.

This minister is going back on his word when he so

vehemently opposed the fact that there is now a board of trustees who are

appointed. Their term had expired, yet he is doing nothing about this. He is

letting them make the most crucial decisions that a school board of trustees can

make, and that's about the closure of schools in our community, neighbourhood

schools.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Cape St. Francis.

MR.

K. PARSONS:

the House of Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament

assembled, the petition of the undersigned humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS the federal government cannot justify

discriminating Newfoundland and Labrador when determining the dates of the

recreational ground fishery;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge government to be vocal in

in Newfoundland and Labrador to promote fairness, safety and tourism to our

province.

Mr. Speaker, this really goes to the heart of who we

are as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. We settled here to be able to catch a

few fish, and that is what we have done for years and years and years. It is

very important. It is one of the things that I think I enjoy most in life, going

out and being able to catch a cod, because it is what we are as people.

I come from a fishing community, grew up all of my life

around the fishery. I cut out cod tongues. My father used to fight with me

because I wanted to go to the cod trap and haul traps with him when I was so

young. Just to be around the fishery was important to me. But it is important to

so many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. I know down in Flatrock I have people

who come down and want to go out to the fishery. It is something that they

really, really enjoy. It is part of who we are.

Again, Mr. Speaker, we look at the way today is and

tourism is a very important part of Newfoundland and Labrador. For people to be

able to come here and catch a cod is so important. But more so than anything

else, Mr. Speaker, I watched several times now when I'd see people go out in

small fishing boats and risk their lives because the recreation fishery is based

on a three-week fishery. It is unbelievable. People want to go out and catch a

cod; they feel it's their right. But do you know what? There are times when it

is very, very rough.

I know the wind was blowing last year and I watched a

boat go out the harbour in Flatrock and I said, oh, my God, I hope he don't go.

He did turn around and come back. But we should never be put in that position.

We should never be put in a position where people lose their lives to go catch a

few cod fish that is our God-given right.

I believe we really have to push it to the federal

government and make sure that the cod fishery is fair to us here in Newfoundland

and Labrador, that the dates are changed, that people have the right to go out

and catch the fish when it is a safe time to do so.

Thank you very much.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Mount Pearl North.

MR.

KENT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

A day of firsts: a first question in Question Period

and now my first petition in this hon. House.

To the hon. House of Assembly in the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the

undersigned residents of Newfoundland and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS greater food security ought to be a priority

for Newfoundland and Labrador;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge government to set targets for

improving the food security of Newfoundland and Labrador by promoting the

growing in this province of more of the food that we consume.

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

Mr. Speaker, food security has to be a high priority

for any government. As it was for our government, I'm sure it will be for the

new government as well. We all know that we have a province that relies heavily

on outside food sources, and we need communities and families in our province to

have access to fresh and nutritious foods. Despite the fact that a lot of effort

has been made to improve the conditions in this province in that regard, there's

still a lot of work to do.

Many families struggle with the cost of purchasing

healthy food. There's an ever-growing reliance on processed as well as fast

foods that are due in part to the rising costs of imported foods. There has been

lots of controversy recently about the cost of fruits and produce, for instance.

The drop in value of the Canadian dollar has resulted

in the skyrocketing costs of nutritious foods. We also know and I know Members

on both sides of the House would acknowledge that we have many health

challenges in this province: diabetes, heart issues, obesity. The government

often has talked about, in recent months, proactive measures. I think all

Members of this House have an obligation to our people to actually put those

words into action.

We have lots of tradition in this province. When you

think about the traditional way of living in Newfoundland and Labrador, we've

made a living from the land and from the sea. Historically, we've grown our own

fresh food and we've eaten our wild protein from fishing and hunting. We don't

do a lot of that in Mount Pearl, but some of my constituents are taking those

activities outside of the geographical confines of the District of Mount Pearl

North.

This historical foundation is something that we can

capitalize on. I urge the government to put into place a local farm-to-table

approach via our agrifoods industry. That will reduce our reliance upon imported

foods and fatty fast foods.

I know government has committed in its Throne Speech to

a new strategy for agriculture. I look forward to supporting that effort because

this is an issue that desperately needs to be further addressed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

Orders of the Day

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Mr.

Speaker, I move, seconded by the Minister of Health and Community Services, for

leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Parliamentary Assistant

Act And The Parliamentary Secretaries Act, Bill 3, and I further move that the

said bill be now read the first time.

MR.

SPEAKER:

is moved and seconded that the hon. the Minister of Health and Community

Services have leave to introduce a bill,

an act entitled,

An Act To Amend The

Parliamentary Assistant Act And The Parliamentary Secretaries Act, Bill 3, and

that the said bill be now read a first time.

Is it the pleasure of the House that the minister have

leave to introduce Bill 3 and that the said bill be now read a first time?

All those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR.

SPEAKER:

All

those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

Motion, the hon. the Government House Leader to

introduce a bill,

An Act To Amend The Parliamentary Assistant Act And The

Parliamentary Secretaries Act, carried. (Bill 3)

CLERK:

bill,

An Act To Amend The Parliamentary Assistant Act And The Parliamentary

Secretaries Act. (Bill 3)

MR.

SPEAKER:

This bill has now been read a first time.

When shall the said bill be read a second time?

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Tomorrow.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Tomorrow.

On motion, Bill 3 read a first time, ordered read a

second time on tomorrow.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Mr.

Speaker, I move, seconded by the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury

Board, for leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Financial

Administration Act, Bill 4, and I further move that the said bill be now read

the first time.

MR.

SPEAKER:

is moved and seconded by the hon. the Government House Leader that he shall have

leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Financial Administration

Act, and that the said bill be now read a first time.

Is it the pleasure of the House that the minister shall

have leave to introduce Bill 4 and that the bill shall now be read a first time?

All those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR.

SPEAKER:

All

those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

Motion, the hon. the Minister of Finance and President

of Treasury Board to introduce a bill,

An Act To Amend The Financial

Administration Act, carried. (Bill 4)

CLERK:

bill,

An Act To Amend The Financial Administration Act. (Bill 4)

MR.

SPEAKER:

This bill has now been read a first time.

When shall the said bill be read a second time?

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Tomorrow.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Tomorrow.

On motion, Bill 4 read a first time, ordered read a

second time on tomorrow.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Mr.

Speaker, I move, seconded by the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services,

for leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Interprovincial

Subpoena Act, Bill 5, and I further move that the said bill be now read the

first time.

MR.

SPEAKER:

is moved and seconded by the hon. the Government House Leader that he shall have

leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Interprovincial Subpoena

Act, Bill 5, and that the said bill shall now be read a first time.

Is it the pleasure of the House that the minister shall

have leave to introduce Bill 5 and that the said bill now be read a first time?

All those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR.

SPEAKER:

All

those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

Motion, the hon. the Minister of Justice and Public

Safety and Attorney General to introduce a bill,

An Act To Amend The

Interprovincial Subpoena Act, carried. (Bill 5)

CLERK:

bill,

An Act To Amend The Interprovincial Subpoena Act. (Bill 5)

MR.

SPEAKER:

This bill has now been read a first time.

When shall the said bill be read a second time?

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Tomorrow.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Tomorrow.

On motion, Bill 5 read a first time, ordered read a

second time on tomorrow.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Mr.

Speaker, I move, seconded by the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, for

leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Professional Fish

Harvesters Act, Bill 6, and I further move that the said bill be now read the

first time.

MR.

SPEAKER:

is moved and seconded that the hon. the Government House Leader shall have leave

to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Professional Fish Harvesters

Act, Bill 6, and that the said bill be now read a first time.

Is it the pleasure of the House that the minister shall

have leave to introduce Bill 6 and that the said bill shall now be read a first

time?

All those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR.

SPEAKER:

All

those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

Motion, the hon. the Minister of Fisheries and

Aquaculture to introduce a bill,

An Act To Amend The Professional Fish

Harvesters Act, carried. (Bill 6)

CLERK:

A bill,

An Act To Amend The Professional Fish Harvesters Act. (Bill 6)

MR.

SPEAKER:

This bill has now been read a first time.

When shall the said bill be read a second time?

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Tomorrow.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Tomorrow.

On motion, Bill 6 read a first time, ordered read a

second time on tomorrow.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Mr.

Speaker, I call Order 1, second reading of Bill 1.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Mr.

Speaker, I move, seconded by the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury

Board, that Bill 1,

An Act To Establish An Independent Appointments Commission

And To Require A Merit-Based Process For Various Appointments, be now read the

second time.

MR.

SPEAKER:

is moved and seconded that Bill 1,

An Act To Establish An Independent

Appointments Commission And To Require A Merit-Based Process For Various

Appointments, be now read a second time.

Motion, second reading of a bill,

An Act To Establish

An Independent Appointments Commission And To Require A Merit-Based Process For

Various Appointments. (Bill 1)

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To say that I am very pleased today to stand in this

hon. House to introduce Bill 1, I would say this is something we have been

thinking about and we have had on our agenda for quite some time. It's gotten

considerable discussion on the election campaign. The feedback has been very

positive.

Essentially what it is, it is an Independent

Appointments Commission and it will require a merit-based process before

appointments. Why is this important, I guess, some people would ask? But if you

think about in Newfoundland and Labrador, our agencies, our boards and

commissions, they actually make up 43 per cent of the total of government's

expenditures. That is 75 per cent of the total public sector employment. So that

is a considerable piece of the activities and the action that goes on within our

province.

To consider that these appointments to those boards,

commissions and agencies should be done in an independent and based on merit is

something that is extremely important to us as a government, because these

associations and these organizations play an essential role in delivering a wide

range of programs and services, including things like health care, education and

housing, and a lot of the services that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians use on

a day-to-day basis.

So to support the work of these agencies, the boards

and the commissions, what we're looking for and what this bill will do is it

will give a consistent, inclusive process, making sure that it's essential to

ensure that the making of the decisions the decision-making process that

impacts the people of our province is done in a very best and a very open and

transparent way, and it's done by individuals who are the most qualified and

experienced people that we have available to us to fill those roles. So it

really raises the concern and raises the level of accountability within our

province.

As I said, we made this commitment during the election

of 2015. Today, we are fulfilling that commitment by taking the necessary steps

that are needed for government to modernize the current process for all those

agencies, boards and commissions. As I said, they take a very active role in our

society and an active role in what they do within our government and within our

province.

We are focused. Our focus is to ensure that the

appointments process is one that is based on merit and appointing the most

qualified Newfoundlanders and Labradorians that are available to us.

I believe that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians support

this approach. I also believe because this is something that you really do not

see in other provinces and within other jurisdictions this is something you

will see other provinces and other areas do something similar by nature, because

this piece of legislation is not something that you could go in and research and

pull off the shelf. It has really not been done to the extent that we are doing

this in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Last fall, as we travelled the province and over the

last four years, I would argue, many people have approached me as we talked

often about this and talked about working on their behalf. They made it very

clear to me that those appointments should be merit based, not political based,

not done with a political bias or through a political lens. This here indeed

would be a much better way to attract the most qualified Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians who can do the work.

This is why we made the commitment and our government

will change what has become a very tired practice of placing politics before

qualifications. In the past, what we've had is a process that allowed for

entitlements. It allowed for people to actually do favours for their friends, do

favours, in some cases, for their family members. It really was not done on the

merit-based process that it should be where we could get better decision-making

processes within those boards and agencies.

So I am pleased today to announce we are launching this

process. This essentially is step one in clearing a path that we would attract

the most qualified people. They would be encouraged to apply and considered and

then selected based on their merits and their experience.

Today in the House of Assembly we have brought in, and

I am speaking now, to Bill 1. This is a fundamental piece of my work as a

government. Now, there have been some people that have looked at this process

that we've outlined today and they have argued and said we could go further and

on and on it goes. It's like most legislation you see within any government. You

start with a piece of legislation, which is groundbreaking, I would suggest

and of course you could argue, and some will probably argue, that the best thing

to do is go back to the old way of doing things.

As a matter of fact, we had the former premier today

actually suggest this is not the best way of doing things. Well, I would say if

you compare the former administration, their way of doing things, their

practice, based on what we are suggesting here and we would hope to do, I think

this is quite different. This is a much better process. This is a process all

other previous administrations had the opportunity to implement. Often people

talked about it, but there was no action on this until today.

We have made this a priority and we have expressed to

Cabinet we would like to see this move swiftly. This is important. There are

some big decisions to be made in this province. And as fast as we can get this

process established, it is then we will get the people in place to represent us

on those boards and agencies that can do the best job, based on merit, based on

the experience, based on their technical abilities to make decisions and to help

inform Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

What will happen is, upon passing of this legislation,

we will set the wheels in motion to have this independent commission in place.

Once it is in place, Newfoundland and Labrador, as I said, will be the first

Canadian province to establish a legislated, merit-based appointments process.

This will be a fully accountable and transparent process, which is the bedrock

of my government and guides us in our actions. This legislation and the

accompanying work reflect on that commitment.

As part of this legislation what you will see is this:

you will see a five-person, non-partisan, Independent Appointments Commission to

be created. So a question would be: Why is it five people, and how do we get to

the start line with those first five people? Well, once we identify who those

suitable candidates will be, those five individuals, we will bring their names

forward to this House of Assembly where there will be a vote among all Members.

This team will review candidates and recommend the three most qualified

individuals, adding a level of independent review to the government appointment

process.

Once we bring the five names to this floor, each and

every single Member in this House of Assembly will have an opportunity to say

aye or nay to support those individuals or not. This will be the opportunity

because this will give you your say in the selection of the Independent

Appointments Commission.

There are five people, five names that will be brought

forward. From that, the chair of this commission will then use three people as

part of the selection committee for the individuals that would be considered or

screened through this. The Public Service Commission, of course, will play a

huge role as well.

I have insisted that the members of the commission be

accountable, have the necessary qualifications and use their experience and

adhere to the objective to uphold the principle of a non-partisan, merit-based

appointment process.

You could find yourself at some point where you have

five individuals in what is relatively a small province and people know each

other. If at any time any of those five individuals feel that they would be in a

conflict or should not be part of this selection process, well, then they would

declare that conflict and exclude themselves from that.

So you will see three people that would be included:

the chair and two others. Even at some point the chair might decide that he's

not appropriately placed to it. So they have the flexibility, two extra people,

two extra commissioners, that we would use those three people then.

The first step would be that the Public Service

Commission would screen out the list of candidates. There will be a website that

we put in place for people to put their own names forward, based on the criteria

and the skills and the technical needs that this would be developed and put in

place by the various departments. The departments will look at the positions

that will need to be filled. They will put the necessary skills, what you would

need to do the job, at this particular board, agency or commission. You could

actually then self-nominate. That would be put into the selection process.

The Public Service Commission would be the first point

of entry. Then any names that would come out of this would be given to the

Independent Appointments Commission and they would do further screening, further

vetting and then there would be up to three names that would go to Cabinet as a

recommendation.

Added to this, they will also recommend individuals for

the head of the province's statutory offices. These are people like the Child

and Youth Advocate, the Privacy Commissioner, the Consumer Advocate and so on.

These are people, too, that we will add to this process, once again taking the

politics out of some of those appointments.

That's not to say, Mr. Speaker, that we do not have

some good people already in those positions. We have Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians who have done a great job for many years, but it's been through a

very different process. I think this particular process we are outlining today

adds a very unique touch to this and it's one that we are very proud of.

The agencies, the boards and commissions, it will be

tier one. When you think about that there are about 1,200 board members that

could be affected here or that would be affected here and well over 200 every

year. So you can tell there are quite a few people who are impacted by this.

As I said, they represent a large part of the work that

has happened within government; 43 per cent of the total expenditures and 75 per

cent of our total public employment. So it is a big task when you look at the

numbers of boards and commissions and agencies that we will be filling those

positons on. These are the tier one agencies. So you say really what is tier

one? How do you define a tier one? What makes tier one different than, let's

say, a tier two or so on?

Well, these would be the boards that would actually

handle quite a bit of money. They would have big influence on the affairs and

the future of our province. They handle quite a bit of the activity, as I say.

They would be boards like Nalcor, like NLC, like Housing and so on, many, many

boards and they are listed in this piece of legislation.

They are chosen to be tier one. It's based on a number

of factors, as I said, including their authority to make decisions. We have

empowered many of those individuals to make some very important decisions on

behalf of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, and they impact the public. Their

decisions impact the public in a significant way.

Some examples, as I just mentioned, that being Nalcor,

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, Newfoundland and Labrador Housing, the Liquor

Corporation, MMSB, the College of the North Atlantic, Regional Health

Authorities and so on. So you can tell just by the magnitude of the boards I

just mentioned the number of people in Newfoundland and Labrador they impact.

For these organizations, the Public Service Commission

will provide a list of individuals to the Independent Appointments Commission.

What would happen is if you were interested in being a chair of a health

authority or so on, you would submit your name, self-nominate. There would be

people, I'm sure I would expect Members in this House would do their own and

encourage people and recommend individuals within our province to think about

putting their name forward.

The names would be recommended. You would put your name

forward to the Public Service Commission. The first step vetted there. Once you

identify the group that would have the technical experience, merit based, to

move on to the Independent Appointments Commission, well that would be step one,

and the Independent Appointments Commission would be step two.

Once the Independent Appointments Commission has made

their decision, they would make their recommendations to Cabinet. The final

decision would be made there with the authority on these decisions. We've been

receiving some questions today such as why won't you just not let Cabinet make

any of those decisions? The recommendations would go up and the Independent

Appointments Commission would not really appoint three at all; they would just

appoint those individuals.

Mr. Speaker, we go through an elections in our province

right now and the authority and I heard it just yesterday in this House here

when many Members opposite said get on, govern, do the job of government, do

your job. Well, part of doing your job is making sure that you have the right

people in place.

The selection committee through a two-step selection

committee, one through the Public Service Commission, then into the Independent

Appointments Commission and they make the recommendations to Cabinet. So then

they would say the Cabinet has the last say. They're just going to give people

the boot. They're not going to accept the list from the group that we had a

discussion for in this House of Assembly.

You think about the message that would send to those

people who volunteered, those five people, not paid, as I said, not compensated

for the work they do. I can tell you, Newfoundlanders and Labradorians that I

know, they will tell that Cabinet where to go because this is where they would

be going after putting in hours and hours of volunteer work, making

recommendations to a Cabinet. If at any time Cabinet was repeatedly rejecting

those names, well, I'll guarantee you, I'm willing to bet now that those people

would not stay there. That would ruin the integrity.

The people that I know on this side of the House, this

is not where they're going. This is not where we're going with this. It would

be, if at all, a very rare occurrence when you would see names that would be

selected from the IAC, that those names would be rejected.

The objective here is to help us with a selection

committee so that we can put the best people in place to help inform Cabinet, so

Cabinet Members, like we've seen in the past, cannot go out and tap on the

shoulders of their friends, call up their buddies, call up their family members

in some cases, and say, come on, I've got a little job here, you're entitled to

it because you've helped on my campaign, or you've done this here, or you've

done something for us so it's now my time to give back to you. This selection

process here takes all of that out of the way.

HON. MEMBER:

Merit based.

PREMIER BALL:

is merit based.

Our objective here is to give Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians the confidence in the actions of their government. It is now time

to take the politics out of these government appointments. It ensures

accountability, it ensures transparency and there will be an open communication

process.

What happens there is on an annual basis. What you will

see is an activity report that will come to the floor of this House of Assembly

that will give us some idea of the work this commission has done. It will be

here on this floor that that report would be submitted.

Following the Cabinet and ministerial appointments, the

names of the individuals then would be posted on the website. An Order in

Council would also be issued for appointments made by the Lieutenant Governor in

Council which are available for the public online. These names will then be made

public once the recommendations and the selection has been made.

These appointments will be fully public. There will

also be an activity report, as I just mentioned, in accordance with the

Transparency and Accountability Act .

A review of the Independent Appointments Commission;

there would be an automatic review of the Independent Appointments Commission

after five years. So let's not lose sight of that. On an annual basis you get

your activity report, and then there's an automatic review of the Independent

Appointments Commission after three years.

They are appointed for three years. So the first

appointment you would see Independent Appointments Commission, their names

would come here for a debate on this floor. So your first commission gets put in

place. Subsequent commissions would be this or if somebody resigned for some

reason or had to move on, which will happen over time. What will happen is you

can be reappointed for a second three years but any new Independent Appointments

Commission will go through the Independent Appointments Commission process

themselves. So there are lots and lots of belts and braces, as they say, here to

be open and accountable to the people of our province.

When I talk about how we would see vacancies, of course

this will happen over time, if indeed through the Independent Appointments

Commission. So this actually closes the gap and provides a process for even that

to occur.

To support the Independent Appointments Commission,

there's a group that I really want to spend some time talking about because

they've done a great job providing a very great service for the people of our

province and that's the Public Service Commission. They will serve as the

secretariat and will work with government departments to develop skill and

qualification processes for each agency, board and commission.

What this group will do, they have the knowledge of all

our boards, all our commissions and our agencies. They will develop a profile so

that anyone who's interested in giving back to their province in a volunteer

capacity, or in some cases serving on those boards, what they would do is put

their name forward along with their resume, as an example. It is there, then,

that the Public Service Commission will do the job that they have been doing for

years, and will do a very good job in making sure those people have the right

skills, merit based, for this appointment.

By availing of the experience of the Public Service

Commission we are creating an independent commission process that won't incur

costs associated with recruiting additional employees, finding office space or

purchasing equipment. What we did not want to do in all of this was put a layer

of expense on the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

We used what's working for us already: the Public

Service Commission. It is working; it has the resources within that to be the

secretariat for this Independent Appointments Commission.

We will use the expertise, the equipment and the people

who are already there, rather than go out and set up a layer of bureaucracy. It

is something that we did not want to do. This is a very cost-efficient way to do

this and we still have the independency of the Public Service Commission. I

would say it's not a very popular room to be in, if you had someone on this side

of the House suggesting we should spend more money. I assure you that the

current Minister of Finance would be clamping down on that anyway.

The Public Service Commission Act they protect the

merit principle in all appointments. They do this already. There is legislation

in place for them to do this. They protect the merit principle in all

appointments and promotions within the public service and are, therefore,

already well positioned to take on the additional role in this process that we

are suggesting here today.

Departments and agencies are required to adhere to

standards and procedures. We already know that. These procedures are outlined

and in many cases it is already publicly known. The Public Service Commission

seek qualified candidates. As we know right now and we see this with the

Government Renewal Initiative we are seeing many, many people reaching out on

our Dialogue App, through email, through our website and engaging in the work of

government these days, putting forward many ideas.

What we would see here, in an electronic sense, is a

website where people can bring their resumes forward. You'd create that library

of people, those long lists of names; people who are interested in giving back

and feel qualified to give back to their province so that we can get better

informed, better people making the decisions that impact the lives of

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

The Public Service Commission, as I said, will hold

this open call. This is ongoing because what we see at various times in boards

and agencies, the board members expire at different times in different years and

different times of the year, as an example. So all the information based on when

terms expire, what is required for individuals to serve in these capacities

all that information would be available on the website.

You could also look at using platforms, of course,

within our own communities and within our own business and labour organizations.

What happens is many of those boards and agencies impact the business community.

They impact organizations that advocate for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians and

our communities there as well. It is important they be part of all of this as

well.

Through them, and links through their own websites, as

an example, we can actually broaden the reach substantially by adding to the

networks that already exist within our province. Mr. Speaker, the boards and

agencies such as I mentioned earlier, many of the groups that work and provide

services such as advisory councils well, just as an example and disciplinary

boards, they also go through the Public Service Commission that we are seeing

right now.

I've talked a bit about tier one. Then we have another

group which would be tier two. There is a long list. If you go through the

legislation you would see various pieces of legislation that actually connect to

the boards and agencies within our province. These lists are extremely long.

Appointment to the tier-two bodies will be subject to the Public Service

Commission as well, who will then make recommendations to the respective

minister for his or her approval.

As mentioned earlier, the process for tier