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March

19, 2014

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVII No. 4

The House met at 2:00 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Wiseman):

Order, please!

Admit strangers.

Today, before we start

proceedings, I want to welcome some special guests to our gallery.

We have the mayor and deputy mayor from the Town of New-Wes-Valley: Mayor

Grant Burry and Deputy Mayor Kent Hoyles.

They are accompanied by some councillors and staff: Winston Perry, Kelvin

MacDonald, and June Linehan.

Welcome to the House of

Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

Statements by Members

MR. SPEAKER:

Today we will have members' statements from the

Member for the District of St. Barbe; the Member for the District of Conception

Bay East Bell Island; the Member for the District of Terra Nova; the Member

for the District of Port au Port; the Member for the District of Bonavista

North; and the Member for the District of Cartwright L'Anse au Clair.

The hon. the Member for the

District of St. Barbe.

MR. BENNETT:

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

congratulate Colleen Kennedy on being inducted into the Order of Newfoundland

and Labrador. The Order recognizes

individuals who have demonstrated excellence and achievement in any field of

endeavour benefiting in an outstanding manner Newfoundland and Labrador.

Ms Kennedy has certainly

achieved that over the past twenty-three years of service to the well-being of

her region. Colleen Kennedy's

vision, integrity, and determination have been instrumental in the success of

the Gros Morne Cooperating Association, Friends of Gros Morne, which has become

recognized as one of the Province's leading social entrepreneurial groups.

Through her remarkable skill

for building capacity through co-operation, she has been instrumental in

ensuring that the successes of Gros Morne National Park were also the successes

of the surrounding communities. Her

contribution to the people and communities of Western Newfoundland has helped

secure employment and vibrancy in this part of the Province.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all

members of the House to join me in congratulating Colleen Kennedy on receiving

the highest honour of this Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Conception Bay East

Bell Island.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I stand to recognize an

organization in my district who continues to promote tourism as an industry for

my district and this Province, while developing programs to engage citizens of

every background; I speak of Tourism Bell Island.

This organization has, for

the past three years, negotiated with all three levels of government to secure

funding to enhance the tourism potential of Bell Island and Portugal Cove area.

They have developed Bell Island Fest, a musical weekend that includes

some of the Province's best musicians.

They have constructed five kilometres of walking trails around the island

for scenic walking and a photographer's dream.

This organization paid

tribute to the late Harry Hibbs by constructing Harry's Lookout, which is a

stage area that overlooks Conception Bay where artists can perform for tourists

during the summer. They have just

acquired the lighthouse keeper's home, which is being renovated as a cafe and

interactive museum. This will be

another major tourism attraction for the island.

They sponsored the ABE

program for students on the island and have formed the island's 50 plus club,

all organized and ran by volunteers.

I ask all members to

congratulate Tourism Bell Island on the great work they are doing.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the District of Terra

Nova.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. S. COLLINS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to recognize a

tremendous accomplishment by a group in my district.

On February 27 of this year,

the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 41 Eastport was awarded the very exclusive and

prestigious Prime Minister's Volunteer Award for a community leader in the

Atlantic region.

This award was created,

first, to recognize exceptional contributions that individuals, organizations or

businesses make to improve the well-being of their communities; and, secondly,

to highlight the best practices in community leadership.

The group was nominated by

Mayor Squire and the town council of Eastport.

While the competition was staggering with over 500 nominees this small,

but very dedicated group was justifiably chosen.

From my own experience, I have witnessed first-hand the tremendous work

done by the hands of these wonderful volunteers.

They are truly second to none.

Mr. Speaker, with the award

was a $5,000 grant that the legion donated back to Gander's James Paton Memorial

Hospital a long-time recipient of the legion's charity.

I want to congratulate President William Duffett and the branch's

eighty-two members. Thank you for

your service you provide not only to veterans but many others in the twenty-six

communities you serve. You truly are

to be commended on your community service.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the District of Port au

Port.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CORNECT:

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

congratulate Marigold Benoit of Stephenville for her accomplishments thus far

competing in the sport of cross-country skiing.

It takes great sacrifice,

Mr. Speaker, and determination to excel in sports.

Marigold has committed many hours to her training and conditioning.

Mr. Speaker, at the Newfoundland and Labrador Cross-Country Provincial

Ski Competition held in Plum Point held on February 22-23, she took first place

in the Junior Girls' 10km Free-style race and in Junior Girls' 10km Classic

race.

Mr. Speaker, at the

Newfoundland and Labrador Winter Games held in Clarenville, Marigold, as a

member of the Western Region Relay team, finished first, yet giving her another

gold. Her latest competitive

accomplishment was a first place ranking at the Junior Girls' 20km at the

forty-fourth annual Coleman's Newfoundland and Labrador Cross-Country Ski

Marathon which was held at Whaleback Nordic Ski Club in Stephenville on March 8,

Mr. Speaker, I ask all hon.

members of this hon. House of Assembly to join with me in congratulating

Marigold Benoit for her dedication and commitment, and of course her

achievements.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the District of Bonavista

North.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CROSS:

Mr. Speaker, I stand today to honour the late

Gerald C. Batstone.

Gerald paraded into the

world at Nipper's Harbour on June 7, 1938.

Upon completing school he went to Memorial University, and in 1958 he met

his love and soul mate, Shirley Carter, of Badger's Quay.

She was visiting her aunt where Gerald was boarding at St. John's, and

the rest they say is romantic history.

In 1967, they moved back to

her home and Gerald started teaching schools at Pool's Island and Badger's Quay.

In 1972, Gerald Batstone, with other local leaders, initiated and founded

the Lions 2910 Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corp.

He remained active with this group for forty-two years, spending more

than two decades as commander of the corp.

He impacted hundreds of youth who paraded at Bishop Meaden and Pearson

Academy, and went on to attend various summer camps at New Brunswick, around

North America and Europe.

On February 28, 2014, the

Lions 2910 cadets and their alumni throughout many parts of the world closed

their eyes and in a personal moment of silence imagined the playing of

The Last Post as tribute to one of

their personal heroes. Major Gerald

C. Batstone was laid to rest at Badger's Quay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Cartwright L'Anse au

Clair.

MS DEMPSTER:

Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this

hon. House today to pay tribute to a gentleman who was a Labradorian by choice,

Mayor D. Blair Gillis of Cartwright.

Arriving in Labrador three

decades ago to manage the Hudson Bay Company, Blair became heavily involved in

volunteer work. He spent twenty-six

years on the Eagle River Development Association, twenty-one years as president,

fourteen years with the Southeastern Aurora Development Corporation, and ten

years as president. He also served

on a host of other boards and committees.

Blair was elected as Mayor

of Cartwright in September, 2013, but his term of office was cut short with his

untimely passing on January 7, 2014.

Mr. Speaker, Blair's legacy

lives on! His passion for youth, his

community, and Labrador will never be forgotten, and others will now take up his

torch to bring his dreams to reality.

Two weeks ago, I had the

privilege to attend the opening of a new rink in Cartwright, one of the last

projects Blair tirelessly worked on to see to fruition.

In his honour, the rink has been named the Gillis-Davis Rink.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all hon.

members to join me in paying tribute to a true Labradorian and a man who was a

great confidant and friend Blair Gillis.

Rest easy my friend, you

have certainly earned it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by Ministers

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Advanced Education and

Skills.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. O'BRIEN:

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to inform this hon.

House that March 17-23 is Multiculturalism Week in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Since the introduction of

the Provincial Immigration Strategy in 2007, and the launch of the provincial

policy on Multiculturalism in 2008, the provincial government have supported

initiatives aimed at building a more diverse society and increasing the number

of immigrants who choose Newfoundland and Labrador as their home.

Through our Office of Immigration and Multiculturalism, we have been

building an awareness of the benefits of living and working in Newfoundland and

Labrador, and continue to promote this Province as a destination of choice to

prospective immigrants.

Mr. Speaker, since the

launch of the strategy in 2007, annual immigration to Newfoundland and Labrador

has been steadily increasing from an average of 450 immigrants to well over 700.

The increase is due mainly to the Provincial Nominee Program that is

focused on addressing difficult to fill positions in our labour force.

With our unique and diverse

cultural traditions, an abundance of natural wonders and expanding economic

opportunities, Mr. Speaker, Newfoundland and Labrador is the ideal place to have

a career and raise a family. This

week we celebrate new traditions and cultures, and the contributions made by

people of all cultures within our Province.

This year, to mark

Multiculturalism Week, the Office of Immigration and Multiculturalism is

supporting a variety of events being hosted by Grenfell Campus of Memorial

University, the Newfoundland and Labrador Multicultural Women's Organization,

St. Andrew's Elementary School, the Association for New Canadians, the Baccalieu

Trail Welcome Home group, and the fifteenth annual Sharing Our Cultures event

taking place at The Rooms this weekend, which I am looking forward to attending.

I would like to acknowledge our partners and the countless volunteers who

will have organized these events and the many other celebrations taking place

across the Province this week.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of

the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, I encourage everyone to celebrate

diversity. I welcome all newcomers

to our Province, and look forward to seeing many more who I am certain will

contribute to Newfoundland and Labrador's bright and prosperous future.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Cartwright L'Anse au

Clair.

MS DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to thank the

minister for an advance copy of his statement.

Mr. Speaker, Census 2011 showed positive population growth for the

Province for the first time in decades.

Statistics Canada attributed this growth in part to immigration.

Immigration is key to combatting the fact that we have the second-lowest

fertility rate in the country and the oldest median age.

This government claims to

support initiatives around immigration and multiculturalism, but I have to

remind the minister that this government cut the Office of Immigration and

Multiculturalism in half in Budget 2013.

We certainly hope that Budget 2014 will rectify this.

The Provincial Nominee

Program helps facilitate this population growth and address labour mismatches.

Our Province has one of the lowest annual nominee limits in the country,

and we would encourage government to consider expanding this.

Aside from growing our

population, immigration is positive in bringing diversity to our Province.

Learning about other cultures helps us appreciate the diversity of the

world and the uniqueness of our own culture as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I, too, thank the minister

for the advance copy of his statement.

Newfoundland and Labrador has about 700 new immigrants each year, which

is fewer than PEI with a smaller population, as noted by the Population Growth

Strategy report. There is much room

for improvement, Mr. Speaker.

The Provincial Nomination

Program has begun to increase slowly the number of immigrants this Province

receives each year, but we need more resources to increase our extremely low

retention rates so that new Canadians will want to stay in the long term.

courses for only a few months and ESL programs offered otherwise are quite

expensive.

The Province needs to

support all organizations whose volunteers do so much work to help remove

barriers in housing, education, employment, and inclusion for immigrants to our

Province. There is much to be done,

Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister Responsible for Fire and

Emergency Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today in this

hon. House to provide an update on the implementation of Province-wide Basic 911

Service.

Expanding 911 Service to all

residents of the Province is a priority for our government, and we have made

significant progress to date on this critical project.

Beginning with the establishment of a four-person Implementation Team, we

have undertaken a number of activities towards the establishment of Basic 911

Service. The next stage of this

process, which will commence shortly, is to undertake a series of consultations

with municipalities and emergency service providers to establish emergency

response zones.

Mr. Speaker, we have cast

our net wide to ensure that this new service will meet the needs of stakeholder

groups across the Province. The team

at Fire and Emergency Services Newfoundland and Labrador has held discussions

with many groups including the Hearth and Stroke Foundation, the Combined

Councils of Labrador, the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association, Newfoundland and

Labrador Chapter, and representatives from the deaf and late-deafened community.

As we continue to move

towards full 911 implementation, officials are looking at how we can implement

the best solution possible for our residents.

One way we are doing this is exploring with telecommunications service

providers the possibility of receiving text messages through the Basic 911

Service. We have also begun

negotiations with the St. John's Regional Fire Department call centre to expand

the Basic 911 Service call-taking services on the Avalon Peninsula.

We are also exploring the location of a second centre elsewhere in the

Province.

Mr. Speaker, approximately

40 per cent of the Province is covered by Basic 911 Service on landline

telephones. The expansion of this

service was outlined as a priority for our government in 2012.

I am very proud to announce that we are well on our way to delivering on

this service by the end of December 2014.

As our next step towards

full implementation, I plan to introduce enabling legislation in the House of

Assembly this session which will allow for administrative and logistical setup

of the Province-wide 911 service.

Once the bill has passed and implementation work has been completed, Basic 911

Service will be available to all those who have landlines and for mobile phones

where a cellular telephone signal is available.

Mr. Speaker, this service

will benefit all residents and is an important building block and a necessary

step towards establishing Next Generation 911.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Bay of Islands.

MR. JOYCE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an

advance copy of his statement. I

heard the minister say that it is a priority for the government.

I think this is my seventh ministerial statement and press release on 911

since they first announced it.

Mr. Speaker, you can almost

hear the announcement coming out from the government, here is what we are going

to do next but you cannot see any concrete examples of the service.

Mr. Speaker, what the

minister forgets to mention in his press release is that this will be paid for

by the taxpayers of the Province. At

$1 per month per line, with 600,000 phones, it is going to cost the taxpayers of

this Province $7.2 million. That was

information given by the previous minister at his last press conference when he

was talking about it, Mr. Speaker.

We also know that people who already have cellphone service already pay a

monthly fee for this service, so it is going to be a double fee.

Mr. Speaker, I will just

mention this here, this has been delayed so long, the service itself, the basic

service. Here is what the President

of the NL Association of Fire Services publicly stated, the basic 911 service

is dated and limited in its capabilities.

I quote. So here we are now

and the basic service is 20 years behind the technology.

I do not think there is a

lot to be thankful for here now when this has been delayed so long.

It will not be new technology; it will be something that taxpayers will

have to pay a lot of money for, Mr. Speaker.

I am looking forward to see where the centre is going to be.

The next centre was supposed to set up last year.

The centre was supposed to be set up, Mr. Speaker

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

I remind the member his time

has expired.

MR. JOYCE:

So I look forward to the new announcement

MR. SPEAKER:

The member's time has expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St. John's East.

MR. MURPHY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I also thank the minister

for an advance copy of his statement.

Even more disturbing when I hear about the progress of 911 we are glad

to see the government is working towards the end of it, that we will see some

finalization of 911 being implemented in the Province, but we are not hopeful

right now at this juncture with the work that has been undertaken so far that

911 is going to be in this Province before December of 2014.

Here is a good reason why:

The Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission recently published a

report on 911 saying how 98 per cent of Canada right now has access to the basic

911. The other 2 per cent, the

federal government is putting their initiative up North.

They are not looking East at all.

So it is going to be trouble, number one, getting help from the feds.

The second thing that this

government has to do is offer more money to municipalities so we can address the

numbering system as regards to civic addressing in this Province.

So we have a lot of work to do before we see 2014 (inaudible)

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

I remind the member that his

time has expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Service NL.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CRUMMELL:

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today in this

hon. House to acknowledge today, March 19, as Check Registration Day.

This day is an initiative of the Canadian Securities Administrators and

takes place every year during Fraud Prevention Month.

As an important part of

Fraud Prevention Month, Check Registration Day increases consumer awareness

about investment fraud. It promotes

doing research to gain knowledge in self-defence against fraud, and encourages

consumers to check for legitimate licences and/or registrations for individuals

and companies in the real estate, insurance, mortgage brokering, and securities

industries before entering into any investment agreement or business

transaction.

Mr. Speaker, protecting

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians from all types of fraud is a primary concern of

the Consumer and Commercial Affairs Branch of Service NL.

To check the legitimacy of any financial services provider, consumers can

visit the Consumer and Commercial Affairs page of the Service NL Web site at

www.servicenl.gov.nl.ca , where they

will find a list of all currently licensed or registered service providers.

It is important that

investors have confidence in trusting an individual or firm with their money,

and one of the best ways to establish trust is to check registration.

To check the registration of the securities provider, investors can visit

the Canadian Securities Administrators Web site and use the national

registration search engine at

www.aretheyregistered.com

or they can contact the Financial Services Regulation Division of Service NL at

709-729-4189.

Mr. Speaker, knowledge and

awareness are the best defence against fraud.

In recognizing the signs of potential scams and being familiar with the

resources available to defend against it, consumers can protect themselves and

their families from what can potentially have a financially devastating impact

on their lives.

Consumers may also report

any suspected cases of fraud to the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, the RCMP,

or of course to the Financial Services Regulation Division of Service NL.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount Pearl South.

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

First of all I would like to

thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement.

I would like to join the government in recognizing Check Registration Day

and congratulate the Canadian Securities Administrators on this initiative.

Investment fraud happens way

too often in our society. While the

vast majority of individuals in this industry operate with honesty, integrity,

and professionalism unfortunately, like in every industry, there will always be

those among us who operate outside the law to take advantage of the most

vulnerable in our society, particularly our seniors.

Anything we can do to bring

awareness to this issue and encourage consumers to properly investigate the

credentials of individuals and companies in the real estate, insurance, mortgage

brokering, and securities industries before entering into any type of an

agreement is a good thing. I would

certainly encourage all consumers to do just that.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St. John's East.

MR. MURPHY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would also like to thank

the minister for the advance copy of his statement.

The minister has to be congratulated, I guess, in this part for the

recognition of Check Registration Day.

At the same time as that, Mr. Speaker, we also have to recognize that an

ounce of prevention here is worth a pound of cure.

What this government did in the last Budget was institute a lot of

layoffs, in particular to the Justice department, Crown Attorneys, that sort of

thing.

If you want to make sure

that somebody is going to be convicted for fraud and we congratulate the

police forces for the work that they are doing in stopping this and enforcing it

at the same time, we would hope that the Department of Justice would see a

top-up of the financial resources available for expediency sake.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

I remind the member his time

has expired.

MR. MURPHY:

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER:

Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This afternoon we will be

discussing a motion calling for energy conservation programs that will target

all ratepayers in the Province.

Government only has one program and only targets 500 homes.

Yet, in the 2007 Energy Plan they said that they would create a culture

of conservation.

I ask the Premier: How does

cutting the only program you have in Budget 2013 and offer no incentives to the

vast majority to conserve help create a culture of conservation?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Environment and

Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS SHEA:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, energy

efficiency and conservation is something that is extremely important for this

government. It goes across various

departments. There is no one

department that looks after all issues with energy efficiency.

We have the REEP which is in Newfoundland and Labrador Housing, we have

the Home Heating Rebate Program which is in the Department of Finance, and we

have the Turn Back the Tide which is through our Climate Control Office.

Mr. Speaker, there are

various initiatives across government to encourage people to understand what

energy efficiency is, to understand why it is important to conserve energy, and

a lot of information for homeowners and people to take on initiatives to help

support this cause.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The minister is saying this

is extremely important and then she goes and quotes about the home rebate

program, which is really about the strategy reduction program.

In the 2007 Energy Plan, government stated that energy conservation

measures would ensure we had sufficient electricity until the completion of the

Muskrat Falls Project. We all know

that government did not follow through on the energy conservation plan and they

placed our Province in a dangerous position of limited power supply.

I ask the Premier: If you

recognized in 2007 that energy conservation was key to bridge us to 2017, why

did you ignore and even cut the program last year?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Advanced Education and

Skills.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. O'BRIEN:

Mr. Speaker, as the minister previous stated, the

REEP has always been a priority since it was first introduced back in 2009 as a

pilot project. Sometimes you make

difficult decisions in any Budget year.

You have your priorities; you identify your priorities in the process.

Having it budgeted to the

tune of $2 million, which supported about 500 homeowners last year, attests to

the importance of energy efficiency for this government and how we have

supported people right across Newfoundland and Labrador in regard to making

their homes more efficient. We will

continue to do so, Mr. Speaker.

As I said, it was a pilot

project, but we will continue it up until this year.

They will have to wait in regard to this year's Budget and see if we are

going to re-budget it again.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This is from the same

minister who actually said there were higher priorities in last year's Budget.

The government claims that

conservation is key to our energy supply, but when power supply issues were

identified in January, Nalcor only provided the public with two hours' notice to

conserve. Nalcor knew days in

advance but only told the public two hours in advance of the rolling blackouts.

I ask the Premier: If energy

conservation could have helped prevent the blackouts in January, why didn't you

ask the public to conserve days in advance when you knew about it first?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, I would certainly like to

acknowledge the events in January.

It was obviously a very difficult time for many people in the Province.

During that period of time there was much discussion.

There were many questions asked and many

questions raised, Mr. Speaker.

As well, I publicly stated

that we too have questions about the event in January and we will work very hard

to restore the confidence of the people of the Province in our auxiliary system.

As a result of that incident in January, Mr. Speaker, the Public

Utilities Board are doing an investigation.

They will do a complete and thorough review of what took place.

Many of the questions, and certainly some that the hon. member raises,

will be addressed at that time.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We will certainly look

forward to seeing that process all unfold because the answer did not come.

I did not hear the answer about the two hour notice, and Nalcor knew days

in advance of course.

Mr. Speaker, Autism Spectrum

Disorder is affecting one in eighty-eight children in our Province.

Families are struggling with wait-lists in order to get their children

diagnosed and treated for autism.

Children are waiting for up to two years to be diagnosed.

I ask the Premier: Why has

your government failed to address wait times for children with autism?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community

Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member

opposite is correct, there are a growing number of diagnoses of autism in this

Province and in this country. That

is something we are truly concerned about in the Province of Newfoundland and

Labrador, and certainly in the Department of Health and Community Services it is

a concern of ours.

Mr. Speaker, we have

invested a fair dollar in autism at this point in time and we will continue to

do that because we too understand the significant importance of making a

difference and of early intervention.

We have had some dialogue now with Eastern Health and we have also

commissioned, or we are using research from a report that was done to help us

identify ways in which we can more efficiently do the assessments that need to

be done. So, Mr. Speaker, we are

very concerned, and we are moving forward.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Mr. Speaker, moving forward would not mean that

the wait-list is growing, and that we know.

It is not bad enough that children would have to wait two years to get a

diagnosis with autism; there is also a wait-list for children to receive the

treatment that they need, and we all know that early intervention is extremely

important.

Eastern Health has confirmed

that it takes about one year to see an occupational therapist after they have

been diagnosed. So, you wait to get

the diagnosis then you have to wait to get the treatment.

I ask the minister: Why are

children with autism having to wait for access to such valuable services?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community

Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we continue to

invest to the tune of about $10.9 million annually in terms of services, and we

will continue to do that because we do see this as important, as members

opposite see it.

We have invested in several

of the last Budgets and that has enabled us to put more people in place, both in

terms of the assessments that are being done and certainly in terms of the

numbers of occupational therapists that we have.

We are seeing now four new occupational therapists positions at Western

Health, Mr. Speaker. We are seeing

two new speech language pathologist positions at Eastern Health and at

Labrador-Grenfell. We are seeing

other social worker positions put in place and so on.

Mr. Speaker, we are

continuing to do the work

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, in November 2013 there were 379 children on a wait-list to

be diagnosed with autism at the Janeway.

Eastern Health said last week that the wait-list is so long because there

are too little staff and position resources to meet the needs.

I ask the minister: Why

haven't the sufficient resources been provided by government to deal with these

long wait-lists?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community

Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I can only

reiterate that this is a concern of ours and we continue to work on ensuring

that we have the people in place to make a difference here; but he is right,

that the numbers of children who are presenting with autism are growing and so

we are working to meet those needs.

That is precisely why we have a 20 per cent increase in the number of

physiotherapy positions, that we have a 30 per cent increase in the numbers of

occupational therapy positions, that we have a 29 per cent increase in the

number of speech language pathology positions, and that we have a 14 per cent

increase in the number of audiologist positions, Mr. Speaker.

As I said, we will continue

to do this work; we, too, understand the importance of this.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I again quote that number: 379 children still waiting to be

diagnosed. We can quote these

percentages; it takes almost two years to see a speech language pathologist in

some parts of this Province two years.

Can you imagine telling a parent with a son who has a broken leg, go home

and take care of him and bring him back in two years, and we will take care of

him then? That is what this

government is doing.

I ask the minister: Why

can't government provide the services that these children so desperately need?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community

Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we have four,

right now, developmental teams who are working out of Eastern Health in terms of

the assessment process. We also have

a number of other pediatricians, psychiatrists, and psychologists who are able

to diagnose and who are making the diagnoses as they can.

We continue, as I said, to work on seeing, and we are putting in a new

program or a new process in place to work with Eastern Health around seeing that

we can more efficiently and more quickly get the diagnoses done.

We are working with the

Autism Society of Newfoundland and Labrador.

My colleague, the Minister of Education, and I are working forward on

some initiatives around the ABA program that is now in as far as Grade 3 in our

school systems, and so on, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, autism is a medical disorder and without the proper medical

diagnosis and treatment, these children and their families continue to suffer.

Last year, in November the minister said she was working with Eastern

Health to see what they could do about wait times, the same answer we have

gotten here repeatedly today.

Parents have been e-mailing us, telling us they have been hearing the same thing

for months now.

I ask the minister: When are

you going to finally stop talking about it and actually do something concrete to

address the wait times issue for children with autism in our Province?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community

Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the member

opposite makes it sound as if we have been standing still and doing nothing, yet

I have given statistic after statistic and I have talked about the differences

that have been made. The numbers are

high, there is no question about that, and we are aware of that.

We are also diagnosing more than we ever did before as well in this

Province. So those numbers are being

addressed. They are then seeing the

speech-language pathologist they need to see, the audiologist they need to see,

the occupational therapists, and so on.

As I said, we will continue

to make a difference in terms of autism for the people of Newfoundland and

Labrador. I will continue to meet

with the society as we find options and ways to move forward, and with my

colleagues, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St. John's North.

MR. KIRBY:

Mr. Speaker, teachers tell us while they welcome

inclusion in schools government has failed to resource it properly.

Children with special needs and their classroom peers are not getting the

attention they deserve as a result of the under-funded inclusion model.

I ask the minister: When

will you do the right thing and fund inclusion to make it work for all of the

students in our classrooms?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Education.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, as I have said many times in this

House, I do not think there is a government before that have committed to the

education that this government has.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, we recognize that our children are

our future, and that means all children.

Mr. Speaker, we have teams

that are in place. We have spent,

since the recommendations of 2007, Mr. Speaker, $7.8 million supporting

inclusive education. We continue to

work with teachers, and the program specialists work with teachers.

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of the record that we have as a Province for

inclusive education.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St. John's North.

MR. KIRBY:

Mr. Speaker, on top of this failure to provide

adequate classroom resources and supports, government is forcing students on the

wait-list for up to a year before they finally receive in-school assessments to

determine their educational needs.

I ask the minister: When

does he intend to end this discrimination and address these long wait-lists for

in-school assessments?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Education.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, there is a process that we go

through, schools go through. They

sit as a planning team and they work out that particular plan.

Again, I speak to our record

of inclusion in this Province. Mr.

Speaker, we are as good as and better than many provinces in this country.

We will continue to support the teachers and the parents in these roles

because our aim is to have inclusion for all students, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS:

Mr. Speaker, we have raised the issue of a lack

of resources in the justice system in Labrador on several occasions which this

government fails to recognize.

Today, Mr. Speaker, we hear of Crown attorneys leaving Labrador, adding to an

already existing crisis in the Labrador justice system.

I ask the minister: When are

you finally going to admit that we have a resource deficit in Labrador and when

are you going to get serious about this crisis?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Attorney General.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. F. COLLINS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the hon. member for his question.

We are currently going

through a turnover issue with Crown attorneys in Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

There is a requirement of one senior Crown and four Crowns in the Goose

Bay office. As a matter of fact, in

last year's Budget we added an additional Crown.

We are currently undergoing

a recruitment process there. The

senior Crown has requested a transfer after many very valuable years of service

in Labrador. A recruitment candidate

has been found and will replace him next month.

In the meantime, we have measures in place to offset any vacancies that

are there. With an active

recruitment program in place, Mr. Speaker, we fully intend to have that office

up to speed as quickly as possible.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS:

Mr. Speaker, resources that were there in the

past were not enough. The people

affected by this crisis are the victims themselves.

Because of all the delays, justice is being denied to victims while

offenders continue to go unpunished.

I ask the Attorney General:

Why are those victims being denied justice because of your failure to provide

adequate resources to the justice system in Labrador?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Attorney General.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. F. COLLINS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Department of Justice,

the Attorney General's office is not aware of any discrepancies in terms of

recent activities in the justice system in Labrador.

We are providing the services there that we have always provided.

With respect to the Crown

attorney's office, which was the root of his question, Mr. Speaker, we fully

expect to have that office up to speed in short order.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St. Barbe.

MR. BENNETT:

Mr. Speaker, recent news reports say that Happy

Valley-Goose Bay will soon be down to two Crown attorneys from a normal

complement of five. This is partly

because a senior Crown attorney recently transferred to the Island to work.

I ask the Attorney General:

Why did he transfer a senior Crown attorney from Labrador to the Island before

having a replacement to take over his caseload?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Attorney General.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. F. COLLINS:

Mr. Speaker, it is not uncommon in this department, or any agency for

that matter, to undergo turnovers and transfers of people.

The senior Crown requested a transfer and has been transferred back to

the Island. We have recruited a very

senior Crown from Ontario who will be on the job up there next month.

With respect to the two

vacancies, we have two people assigned from St. John's who are handling the

district circuit courts of Natuashish and Nain.

Mr. Speaker, we have a Crown prosecutor over in Wabush who comes over

regularly. We are prepared to send

any extra Crowns we need from the Island to handle any excess files or excess

workload they have in Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St. Barbe.

MR. BENNETT:

Mr. Speaker, the Attorney General seems to

overlook the fact that criminal procedure is far different in Ontario than it is

in Newfoundland and Labrador. In

Ontario, Justices of the Peace handle bail hearings and handle traffic court,

and retired lawyers handle small claims matters that our Provincial Court judges

are saddled with. One of the reasons

that there is staff turnover is the crushing caseload for Crown attorneys in

Labrador.

I ask the Attorney General:

How many cases are these two remaining Crown attorneys forced to handle in

Labrador today?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Attorney General.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. F. COLLINS:

Mr. Speaker, I do not have numbers for actual files that the Crown

prosecutors have. I do know as a

result of last year's Budget, we added an extra Crown to Happy Valley-Goose Bay

in light of the need there. Mr.

Speaker, it is our intention to keep that full complement of five Crowns in

Labrador up to speed.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Carbonear Harbour

Grace.

MR. SLADE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, government

signed the CETA deal for our Province in a shroud of secrecy and without any

input from the people. The same goes

for the $400 million fishery investment fund.

People are starved for information.

I ask the minister: When

will government begin the first round of public consultations on this fund?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and

Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we are very

delighted in terms of Canada, the EU, and the agreement that was agreed to, and

certainly what it holds for Newfoundland and Labrador.

The hon. member requested last week that he meet with me and my

officials. He had some questions in

regard to CETA. There are three

documents online from the federal government, quite extensive in terms of the

agreement in principle and what it holds.

I certainly encourage him to take a look at those.

In addition, at that time he

indicated to me that he was speaking to people in his community and other areas

who had questions on CETA. I told

him I would be happy to meet with them, or my officials would.

That was seven or eight days ago.

To date, I do not think I have received any of those messages in regard

to those people who wanted the information.

If there is information he

wants, certainly ask us and we will provide it.

If we do not have it, we will certainly find it for him.

Thanks very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Carbonear Harbour

Grace.

MR. SLADE:

Mr. Speaker, that information should come very

willingly from the minister, I would just like to add.

Mr. Speaker, other than a

program to deal with the fallout at the fish plants folding, it is clear that

government has no clear answers on what affect CETA will have on processing

jobs.

I ask the minister: What is

the long-term strategy to ensure the viable processing sector after CETA is

implemented in 2015?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and

Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, first and

foremost, the benefits of it is that it is going to drive the fishery of

Newfoundland and Labrador. That was

the intent of signing the agreement, and that is what is going to happen in the

years to come.

The negativity and pessimism

that we have seen from the other side, seen from this Fisheries critic, seen

from the prior Fisheries critic, is not the direction this government is going

in. We believe in trade agreements.

We believe it expands opportunity for our harvesting sector, for our

processing sector, for those who are investing in the processing facilities in

Newfoundland and Labrador.

There is a wide market.

Seafood is wanted around the world, certainly farming and wild.

We are going to continue to grow this fishery.

We have a $400 million fund to do it.

How this hon. member can stand up and somehow be critical of that is

unbelievable, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I look forward to those

public consultations.

Last year's scaling back of

the adult dental plan was done with zero consultation with dental health

professionals. Denturists cannot

make dentures fit properly when beneficiaries can only be approved for half a

set of dentures per year.

So I ask the minister: Will

you amend this absurd policy in Budget 2014 so people needing upper and lower

dentures are treated with dignity?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community

Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, again, the

member leaves the impression that there was a cut to the Adult Dental Program.

There was not. It was a $6.7

million program last year; it is a $6.7 million program this year.

So there is no financial cut to this program whatsoever.

We will continue, Mr.

Speaker, to find ways to make this program as good as it can be.

Right now, it is one of the most comprehensive programs in Canada.

There is no program in Canada that compares or is as good as the Adult

Dental Program that we have in this Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile, time

for a quick question without any

preamble.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I had asked the minister: Why would you give low-income

residents a false hope that they can finally get their teeth fixed with your

adult dental plan?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community

Services, for a quick response.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I do not know

how they would do budgeting over their way, but $6.7 million from our

perspective is not false hope.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

An Ontario business,

successful in landing a provincial government contract to relocate a long-term

care facility, has been blocking the release of its tender information, aided by

Bill 29.

So, Mr. Speaker, I ask the

Premier: Do not the people of the Province have the right to know how their

money is being spent?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER MARSHALL:

They certainly do, Mr. Speaker, and when the Budget is down, they will

know exactly where every penny is going.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will ask the Premier then

to be more explicit: Does that mean we are going to find the exact money that

went to this company?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER MARSHALL:

Mr. Speaker, under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy

Act, anyone who requests information has a right to that information; but there

are reasonable limits on it, just like in our Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Our rights and freedoms are not absolute; they are subject to reasonable

limitations, as one would expect in a democratic society.

People will be entitled to

the information the people of the Province are entitled to know where their

money is being spent, but obviously if there is certain confidential

information, privacy information involving people, private business information

that government has, government cannot release that.

It is the same with Nalcor.

We cannot do anything that is going to hurt Nalcor.

It is owned by the people of this Province.

Anything that improves Nalcor helps the people of this Province.

Anything that hurts Nalcor has an adverse effect on the people of the

Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We get a booklet two or

three times a year that shows all the tenders that go out.

Why not this one?

I am asking the Premier:

Should not a company that wins a government contract expect the public to know

the cost of that contract?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER MARSHALL:

Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding every public tender that goes out

and anything purchased has to be found in a book that is tabled in this House of

Assembly. I assume that one as well

will also be in that book.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

If it is not, I will come

back to the Premier about it.

I now ask the Premier: Was

he aware when government introduced Bill 29 that it would stop the people of

this Province from learning how their money was spent?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Municipal Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, we made a very important

announcement earlier this week to appoint an independent, impartial review

committee to review our Access to Information and Protection of Privacy

legislation in its entirety to ensure that the public has full confidence in our

Access to Information and Protection of Privacy legislation.

That review is going to start very soon.

From what I hear, the public has great confidence in those we have

appointed to do that work.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Government's minister for

Labrador Affairs has told people in Labrador that once Muskrat Falls' power

comes online the Province will be interconnected and rates will go up.

I ask the Premier: Does this

mean government will charge a uniform power rate for everyone in the Province?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Transportation and

Minister Responsible for Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. MCGRATH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I am assuming

the hon. member from across the House is speaking about some dialogue at the

Combined Councils. The comment that

I made is that the third transmission line was being built and that it will be

part of a connecting grid to the rest of the Province.

The comment that I made was to distinguish between the PUB and the

government in that the PUB, as a separate arm from government, has the control

as to say who will increase rates, if there will be any increase in rates, and

that government does not make those decisions.

It is done by the PUB.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MS ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker, in Budget 2013, the minister cut the

Residential Energy Efficiency Program by 50 per cent.

Last April 30 and May 9, I asked the minister if he would reinstate that

funding. He did not answer my

questions. The people of the

Province desperately need this program and now government and Nalcor are begging

people to conserve.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the

minister again: Will he reverse the short-sighted cuts to this program and

reinstate funding to at least the 2012-2013 levels?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Advanced Education and

Skills.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. O'BRIEN:

Mr. Speaker, I am not going to answer her

question now either, to tell you the God's truth, because she is going to have

to wait for the Budget like everybody else in the Province, which will be

brought down by the Minister of Finance in short order.

I will tell her what has

been done under that program. Over

4,500 homeowners in Newfoundland and Labrador are being supported in regard to

making their homes more energy efficient, and we believe in the program, Mr.

Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MS ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker, this program was cut by 50 per cent.

Mr. Speaker, last April I

asked the minister if he would put a freeze on the sale of all underutilized

provincially owned vacant land and buildings until he comes up with an actual

plan. He did not answer my question.

Mr. Speaker, we are in the middle of a housing crisis Province-wide,

particularly for seniors and young working families.

I ask the minster again:

What is his concrete plan for these properties?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Environment and

Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS SHEA:

Mr. Speaker, any time Crown land is used in

Newfoundland and Labrador there is a process that we go through.

Any time there is a need identified for the land, whether it is through

housing or government buildings or private enterprise or cottage lots, whatever,

Mr. Speaker, there is a process that we go through.

If there is a need to free up land for housing, Mr. Speaker, we certainly

welcome any applications and we will go through the process that is set up.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MS ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker, I ask the minister again: Where is

his promised home ownership assistance program?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Advanced Education and

Skills.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. O'BRIEN:

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is going to have to

wait for a little while, a few days or so to witness the Budget, and a great

Budget that this government will bring down on behalf of the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador.

We have invested heavily in

regard to Newfoundland and Labrador Housing.

We have assisted homeowner's right across this Province, and we will

continue to do so in each and every Budget that we will bring down on and into

the future. She is going to have to

wait and see exactly what we are doing with the Budget like anybody else.

In due course, we will have that Budget tabled in this House by the

Minister of Finance.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

quick question without

preamble.

MS ROGERS:

I ask the minister: Will he make rent sups

portable to help seniors?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Advanced Education and

Skills for a quick response.

MR. O'BRIEN:

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member certainly does not

understand the Budget process. There

is a Budget day. The Minister of

Finance stands in her place in this House and brings down a Budget for the

people of the Province and this government.

She is going to have to wait just like everybody else in this House,

including ourselves, in regard to the details of that Budget.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The time for Question Period

has expired.

Presenting Reports by

Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling of Documents.

Tabling of Documents

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

As a requirement under

section 51 of the House of Assembly Accountability, Integrity And Administration

Act, I am pleased today to table the Annual Report of the House of Assembly

Management Commission for the 2012-2013 fiscal year.

Notices of Motion.

Answers to Questions for

which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St. John's North wins the

standing prize.

MR. KIRBY:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of

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

the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland and Labrador humbly

sheweth:

WHEREAS Autism Spectrum

Disorder has been estimated to occur in as many as one in eighty-eight children;

and

WHEREAS individualized and

intensive early interventions are important for improving outcomes for children

with autism; and

WHEREAS long wait-lists are

forcing many parents to wait up to two years before their children receive

needed pediatric assessments and diagnostic services; and

WHEREAS the Intensive

Applied Behavioural Analysis Program is not available for children after Grade

3, while research supports the use of applied behavioural analysis throughout

the lifespan; and

WHEREAS a co-ordinated

multi-agency approach among key government departments and agencies is needed to

ensure that individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder are provided with services

that will promote independent living; and

WHEREAS a comprehensive

Province-wide strategy for Autism Spectrum Disorder will decrease the lifetime

costs of treating and providing services for persons with autism;

WHEREUPON the undersigned,

your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge

government to develop a comprehensive Province-wide strategy for Autism Spectrum

Disorder in consultation with parents, advocates, educators, health care

providers, and experts in the autism community.

As in duty bound, your

petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, this idea is

something that has come forward from the community from those who are advocates

for persons with autism. I do know

that several years ago the Minister of Health at the time he no longer sits in

a seat here in the Chamber did say that government would not go in the

direction of creating a comprehensive strategy for Autism Spectrum Disorder.

I think government is well

aware that this is something that is needed, because at least on one occasion a

minister of the Crown has said it is not something that he will do, but I still

believe this is a good idea. The

people who signed this petition still believe this is a good idea.

Advocates in the community still believe this is a good idea.

Health care providers still believe this is a good idea.

Our educators believe this is a good idea, Mr. Speaker, and I believe it

is a good idea.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount Pearl South.

MR. LANE:

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:

WHEREAS there are many

individuals within our Province who have mobility issues; and

WHEREAS it is extremely

important, as an inclusive society, to ensure appropriate access to both public

and private facilities and institutions; and

WHEREAS a key component in

the provision of access for persons with mobility issues is the provision of

regulated blue zones; and

WHEREAS our provincial

government implemented new blue zone regulations two years ago but has failed to

adequately enforce them; and

WHEREAS this failure of our

government to adequately enforce blue zone regulations has resulted in the

continued denial of appropriate access for persons with disabilities to make

public and private facilities;

WHEREUPON the undersigned,

your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge the

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to start enforcing its blue zone

regulations in order to provide appropriate access for persons with mobility

issues.

As in duty bound, your

petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, as indicated by

the petition, this is a piece of legislation which was passed in this hon. House

two years ago. It was a piece of

legislation that was endorsed by all members of this House.

It was endorsed unanimously, but, Mr. Speaker, like any piece of

legislation, if you are not going to enforce what is said in the written word,

then it is not worth the paper it is written on.

Mr. Speaker, in terms of

this legislation, it is very important for persons who have disabilities to be

able to gain access to both public facilities, to be able to gain appropriate

access to basically, anywhere where you and I and anyone else would want to

go, to have that access. The

regulations are there. They are not

being enforced.

If you drive around the City

of St. John's you will see there are numerous examples where this legislation is

not being followed. If you drive

around the City of Mount Pearl you will find it, and if you drive around CBS.

I have actually gone and taken a look when I was out in Clarenville,

Whitbourne, and so on, Mr. Speaker.

It is time for the government to start enforcing these blue zone regulations.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The time for petitions has

now expired. It is now 3:00 o'clock,

Wednesday, Private Members' Day. I

call upon the Member for St. Johns' South to introduce the motion that is on the

Order Paper in his name.

Orders of the Day

Private Members' Day

MR. SPEAKER:

It is now 3:00 o'clock, Wednesday, Private

Members' Day, I call upon the Member for St. John's South to introduce the

motion that is on the Order Paper in his name.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The motion is: THEREFORE

IT RESOLVED that this House urge government to consider developing and

introducing energy conservation programs for all rate payers in our Province.

Mr. Speaker, I know what

government are going to come back with.

We know the messaging that they have, that 4,500 homes have taken

advantage of the Residential Energy Efficiency Program, that the program is

available, but that program has been cut in half.

There were 1,000 homes a year that were able to take advantage of that

program and it has been cut down to 500 programs.

Mr. Speaker, I am going to

Their energy efficiency and conservation plan was as follows, Reducing

our energy use is the most direct way of reducing our energy footprint.

They talked about the difference between energy efficiency and

conservation. We can be more

efficient in how we use energy.

The advantages of both

energy efficiency and conservation are clear: they help protect the environment

locally and globally by minimizing pollution and GHGs.

They also decrease energy costs both for individuals and businesses, and

help us make our resources go further, benefiting our people today and in to the

future.

Such measures can also help

to ensure that we have sufficient energy and electricity until the completion of

the Lower Churchill development and transmission link to the Island.

Now that is from the Energy

Plan in 2007, but they did not follow through on the promises in that Energy

Plan. Mr. Speaker, they promised to

establish an energy conservation and efficiency partnership to develop a

co-ordinated and prioritized five-year energy conservation and efficiency plan

by March of 2008. We did not see

that. Other provinces have done

that, Mr. Speaker, but we in this Province did not see that.

They say, The Provincial

Government will continue to promote and facilitate energy efficiency and

conservation programs to encourage energy consumers to make the efforts and

investments required.

The ECEP will be chaired by

the Department of Natural Resources.

It will investigate and develop collaborative approaches, share best

practices and coordinate the measurement and evaluation of various efficiency

and conservation initiatives. The

first major task of the ECEP will be to develop, by March of 2008, a detailed

plan for energy conservation and efficiency programs, including priorities and

targets. That did not happen.

This plan will include consideration of whether energy

conservation/efficiency programs, and potentially other climate change programs,

would be best delivered by a dedicated agency, as is the case in a number of

other Canadian jurisdictions. We

did not see that, Mr. Speaker; that did not happen.

They say, NLH and

Newfoundland Power have jointly commissioned a study to examine the conservation

and demand management potential within the electricity market.

In addition, the ECEP will also ensure a focus on conservation measures

for oil heating and transportation and recommend appropriate actions in these

areas.

Now, the only program they

have, Mr. Speaker, is the Residential Energy Efficiency Program, and that is not

available to people who heat with oil.

The promise that was made in 2007 has not been kept.

They did not follow through and have not included oil heat, even in the

program they had. I am going to talk

a little bit later about how that program does not measure up to what other

provinces are doing.

They say, The Provincial

Government, through the Department of Natural Resources, will also continue to

work with regional and national counterparts to investigate and develop

collaborative approaches, share best practices and coordinate the measurement

and evaluation of efficiency and conservation initiatives.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to

know where the plan is, because they did not develop a plan.

The only thing this Province has is the Residential Energy Efficiency

Program and they cut that back from 1,000 households to 500 households in last

year's Budget. It only includes

low-income households, or a household with a maximum income of $32,500 a year.

It only includes people who heat with electricity, not with oil heat, so

there are many gaps even in that program.

It says: Efficiency and

Conservation Programs, To encourage reductions in energy consumption through

conservation and increased efficiency, the Provincial Government will establish

a series of targeted programs, following a focused set of consultations.

Different energy consumer categories have very different energy

efficiency and conservation needs.

We did not see any such program in this Province, Mr. Speaker.

They talk about, In

assisting industrial energy users, so not only residential were they talking

about, but industrial as well work is required to examine new

energy-efficient technologies, it is also necessary to assist with energy

auditing and to introduce innovation through Provincial Government partnership

with companies to determine best management and specific energy consumption

practices.

I am going to talk a little

bit more once I stop reading from their Energy Plan, Mr. Speaker, about a local

company that I know of and there may be others as well called Blue Line

Innovations that I know have made representation to government on several

occasions. Guess what?

In other provinces of Canada they have made headway.

They have been putting their smart meters in homes in other provinces of

Canada. They are located in St.

John's. It is a locally-owned and

operated company. It cannot get

smart meters in the homes in this Province because government does not support

it.

Mr. Speaker, you talk about

residential in their Energy Plan of 2007, For residential consumers, we will

focus on reducing total energy consumption.

As we develop a detailed plan I would like to see that detailed plan

for energy efficiency and conservation, we will consider a variety of

mechanisms, such as retrofit rebates, new heating technologies, basic home

weatherization, programs to switch to more energy-efficient lights and net

metering.

They even talk about net

metering, Mr. Speaker, but they have not done it.

They have not focused on providing rebates or programs to residential

owners to switch to energy efficiency lighting, new heating technologies, or

other retrofits or rebates. They do

have a program, not the government, Newfoundland Power does, Mr. Speaker, and I

am going to talk a little bit about that as well.

Mr. Speaker, The Provincial

Government will also implement a variety of public education and awareness

initiatives. I think that is the

only part of the plan they followed through on.

We do have some advertising that takes place that government has invested

in.

As part of this Energy

Plan, the Provincial Government will support residential pre- and post-retrofit

energy audits. In addition, the

Provincial Government will provide significant funding to the Newfoundland and

Labrador Housing Corporation for energy audits and retrofits in low-income

households and continue to support the Provincial Home Repair Program.

That program has been cut in half as I have already mentioned, Mr.

Speaker, the program that they promised to continue to support in the 2007

Energy Plan.

Mr. Speaker, in Newfoundland

and Labrador we have your ENERGY STAR your program provided through

Newfoundland Power. They will

provide rebates for windows if you purchase windows, for thermostats, but, Mr.

Speaker, it is only for people who heat with electricity, not for people who

heat with oil. It is only if you

have a detached or semi-detached property.

They will not cover you if you are in row housing or condo or an

apartment, like they do in other provinces.

It is only if your electricity usage is greater than 15,000 kilowatt

hours.

They will look at insulation

for your basement, Mr. Speaker. The

rebates range between $240 and $480 for that.

We are going to talk a little bit about, for example, what is available

in other provinces as well, Mr. Speaker.

They will cover a heat recovery system with a $175 rebate.

Let's look at what they

offer in Nova Scotia, Mr. Speaker.

In Nova Scotia and this is from the Nova Scotia Web site.

We recognize many Nova Scotians may not have the funds upfront to take

on energy efficiency upgrades.

That's why we offer zero percent financing (OAC) for Home Energy Assessment

upgrades, solar hot water equipment and green heat projects.

The choice is yours financing or rebates.

You can choose what makes the most financial sense for you.

Efficiency Nova Scotia has

partnered with TD to offer zero percent financing anywhere from $2,500 up to

$15,000 a year, or they offer rebates, Mr. Speaker, on products that you

purchase for your home.

Efficiency Nova Scotia

covers part of the cost of the assessment

So you are only paying $200 for your assessment.

Now while the cut-off in Newfoundland and Labrador, Mr. Speaker, to

qualify under our program is $32,500, in Nova Scotia they will cover you up to

$53,894. They are taking in

middle-income families as well.

Mr. Speaker, in Nova Scotia,

as an example and I will talk about some of the other provinces as well but

in Nova Scotia, Mr. Speaker, they offer a rebate on doors.

Here it is only windows, insulation, thermostats, and a heat recovery

system, do not forget. They will

offer rebates on doors in Nova Scotia.

They offer rebate on light bulbs.

They offer rebate on programmable thermostats, such as they do in

Newfoundland and Labrador as well, but not on light bulbs, not on the doors.

They offer rebates on light timers, or timers for your appliances or

other timers.

They offer rebates on

appliances such as refrigerators, washers, and even on clothesline kits, Mr.

Speaker, to help reduce the cost of drying your clothes in a dryer.

They offer rebates on weatherproofing.

They offer rebates on solar heating.

They offer rebates whether you heat by electricity or other methods, such

as oil. They will look at row

housing,

whereas they will not here in Newfoundland and Labrador.

They will include insulation for your attic.

The rebates, Mr. Speaker,

are considerably higher with the Nova Scotia program than they are for the

program in Newfoundland and Labrador.

They offer rebates up to $1,875.

For skylights they have rebate programs.

They offer rebate programs on a number of other initiatives as well.

I want to talk a little bit

about Blue Line Innovations. The

local company that has not been able to make any headway with the provincial

government here or to get their smart meters into homes here or to have the

provincial government or Newfoundland Power or Newfoundland Hydro provide

incentives for people to put smart metering in.

In Ontario, Mr. Speaker,

they use smart meters. A

Newfoundland and Labrador company, Mr. Speaker, have received many contracts in

Ontario. I wonder why they have not

been able to get headway here.

According to the 2007 Energy Plan, I would have thought they would be putting

smart meters on all of the properties in Newfoundland and Labrador because that

was one of the things they talked about in the Energy Plan, Mr. Speaker.

If you look at the program

in Ontario, Mr. Speaker, they even have peaksaver PLUS.

By enrolling in peaksaver PLUS you will receive a free energy display

unit for your property which will help you to determine how to reduce energy

consumption.

In Ontario, Mr. Speaker,

they have time of use electricity prices, which means if you use electricity in

off peak hours that electricity is cheaper than using electricity in peak hours.

They are using that program in British Columbia as well, and I would say

other provinces are looking at it.

Why is this Province not looking at it, Mr. Speaker?

If we are going to offer

true energy conservation initiatives we need to offer it on things like

appliances, on light bulbs, on insulation, on smart metering and on time of day

usage of electricity. There are ways

this Province can help energy consumers in this Province reduce their

electricity costs, Mr. Speaker.

There are ways this Province can save and conserve energy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I know my time is up. I will

have another opportunity to speak.

MR. SPEAKER (Verge):

The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate the opportunity

to have a few words today around conservation.

As we all know, it is certainly a very important topic and a very

important aspect of our utility system in this Province.

I will say I appreciate the opposite member's comments and I am

certainly, Mr. Speaker, supportive of the spirit of the motion today without

question.

I will acknowledge and I

appreciate the opposite member reading from our Energy Plan, Mr. Speaker.

It was developed in 2007. It

is extensive. I appreciate the fact

he is reading from it. I would read

from theirs, but I do not know if they have one.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate

system, and issues around net metering.

We are working on a net metering policy, but we are always trying to find

ways as well to support the ratepayers of this Province, whether it is through

encouraging conservation or whether it is upfront subsidies on the backend to

help offset some of the cost to their utility bills.

Mr. Speaker, the motion

today references two WHEREASes in terms of government asking for energy

conservation to prevent rolling blackouts, as well as, Nalcor has issued two

energy conservation requests to the general public in 2014.

It further goes on to talk about the need for more programming.

Mr. Speaker, I want to give

it a little context here for the people of the Province so they understand a

little bit about our utility system and give that overview because ultimately

that is what has driven the hot debate around conservation.

As well, when you consider government and the decisions we make,

particularly around budgeting and so on, the complexity of the system and how

that influences the decisions we make.

Let me, Mr. Speaker, talk a

little bit about our electrical system in the Province so people can understand

that there are times when there are challenges and there are issues, and there

will be times when there is a call for conservation, understanding and knowing

that we have the generation capability in this Province to provide power to the

people of this Province. We ran into

some issues in terms of generation problems.

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro has addressed those.

There will be times when we need to make sure we pay extra attention to

conservation.

Mr. Speaker, we have a very

complex system in this Province. We

have an Isolated Island system where there is a system in Labrador that operates

on its own. We have a system in this

Province. Added to that, we have

15,000 kilometres of transmission line.

That is an amazing amount of transmission line that reaches out to all of

our rural communities. Again, I

think it highlights that there are times when there is potential for damage and

potential for trouble, Mr. Speaker.

Add to that, those systems,

in terms of hydro, diesel, and thermal generating in Holyrood, Mr. Speaker, and

gas turbines, we also have twenty-one diesel systems operating in Newfoundland

and Labrador. We have six on the

Island and fifteen in Labrador. We

have pilot projects going on in Ramea.

We are doing work in Natuashish.

We are doing work with Menihek as well around hydro and development for

mining activity in the northern part of Labrador.

We see the complexity of it,

Mr. Speaker, and all of this is interconnected in one way or another in terms of

trying to operate a system to make sure that you are able to meet demand,

particularly to meet peak demands from 4:00 to 8:00 in the evenings, and

certainly from 6:00 to 10:00 in the morning.

Added to that, Mr. Speaker,

when we look at a breakout of our utility systems, we have two distinct groups

that manage that. We have

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, which is primarily responsible for generation.

They provide about 80 per cent of the generation in the Province, but

they are also responsible for some transmission and distribution, particularly

in the southern part of the Province, in the northern part of the Island, as

well as in Labrador.

As well, Mr. Speaker, we

have Newfoundland Power who is responsible for approximately 253,000 residential

and commercial customers in the Province.

They as well have some generation, but they primarily get their power

from Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro.

Again, they are responsible primarily for transmission.

I highlight those things,

Mr. Speaker, because when you look at the system and there is so much to the

system and so much feeds into the system, it is easy for there to be challenges

and breakdowns. Weather has an

impact, Mr. Speaker. The age of the

infrastructure has an impact; all kinds of things can impact from one day to the

next.

There are times and I kind

of want to point that out, particularly in January, we had a difficult time in

this Province, no question. It is

very unfortunate. There was a lot of

conversation about it. We look

forward to the PUB and their work around that particular issue, but the call for

conservation at that time again, what we saw in January, some of the coldest

temperatures we have had this year for sure, but we had the highest demand in

the past eight to ten years of our power.

The demand was high.

Added to that, Mr. Speaker, there were some unscheduled repairs that had

to be done to the generation. As a

result of that, there was a concern that we would not be able to reach the

demand, particularly during peak time.

The call went out and as a result we were not able to meet peak demand

and rolling blackouts had to occur.

Added to that, not only the

generation issues, but there was a fire that impacted the transformer which

ultimately knocked out the entire system, add to that the severe winter storms

that impacted certainly the wonderful people at Newfoundland Power and the

wonderful people at Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro as we all know, regardless

of the weather, are always there to be very proactive and go out and address any

issues that may impact our utility system.

Mr. Speaker, that is the

reason for the call for conservation at that time.

There were multiple issues and that is being looked into by the Public

Utilities Board.

As well in March, we had

cold temperatures and a concern around conservation was raised again, good

public awareness. There were some

concerns around other generating issues that did not create a problem, but it

was important to make that call around conservation, particularly around peak

times. The hon. member opposite

referenced peak times and some strategies around peak times.

At that particular time, particularly in January and again a couple of

weeks ago when the call was made for conservation, the people of the Province,

residential customers, the ratepayers, industrial commercial customers, they met

the call on conservation and we certainly saw a decline in our usage and it

helped get through the system.

With respect to

conservation, Mr. Speaker, again, understanding there are times when we need to

conserve but generally, broadly across government, as outlined in our Energy

Plan, we have seen the need for conservation.

One, in terms of conserving energy, particularly to save energy, but as

well the importance of conserving energy on your utility bill.

We hear lots of concerns about the cost of power.

It is important that we not forget the message, the importance of

conserving, not only conserve energy but also to save on your electricity bills,

Mr. Speaker.

Back in January Newfoundland

and Labrador Hydro consulted through a telephone survey to get some feedback on

their call for conservation; 86 per cent of the people contacted practiced

energy conservation and 76 per cent of the individuals who took

part in

conservation measures around the time in January indicated that their activities

of conservation would continue.

Mr. Speaker, there is an

important message here for all of us that the public have a better understanding

of conservation. They play a role.

It is not just government, it is not just the utilities, but the general

public play an important role as well, and they have responded.

I want to thank the public for that.

In terms of talking about what government can do, in terms of

programming, programming is only one aspect of it, Mr. Speaker.

I want to say that it is a culture, it is an education, it is an

awareness, and ultimately the people of the Province have to buy in to that.

Regardless of the program, regardless of the funding, it is a commitment

that the people of the Province have to make.

Mr. Speaker, from our

perspective and government perspective on a commitment that we have made, we

have established the Climate Change and Energy Efficiency office, which is an

important office for the Province.

That office was set up by this government to focus on opportunities, to ensure

that we have sustained in climate change and energy efficiency, to focus on

research and analysis, to work with the departments across government, as well

to advance the Province's interest and priorities with respect to climate change

and energy efficiency.

There is an Energy

Efficiency Action Plan that we developed, Mr. Speaker, and we follow as a guide.

Ultimately, when it comes down to making decisions around programming

and I would agree with the member opposite, there are tremendous programs across

this country. My colleagues today

will outline some of the programs that we have invested in this Province and

some opportunities that hopefully will come in the future.

Ultimately, as a government,

we do have to make some fundamental decisions around budgeting and where we

invest. We have made a conscious

decision to make investments in climate change and energy efficiency through

programming. We have also made a

conscious decision to support the people of the Province in terms of the impact

on their utility bills, whether it is the 8 per cent Provincial Sales Tax rebate

on heating oil bills. That is a $42

million program. That is $42 million

that goes back into the pockets of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

That is another way in which we can help support, Mr. Speaker.

The other program I will

draw reference to outside of what my colleagues will speak about today is

certainly the Home Heating Rebate subsidy, which again is a very important

subsidy; it is a $15 million program.

I know there are many people out there - some people - the working

people, who are challenged to pay some of these bills.

The seniors are at home, Mr. Speaker.

It makes a big difference for them.

The rebate is up to $500 in

coastal Labrador, and it could be up to $250 in the rest of the Province.

These are key initiatives to help support all these ideas of energy

efficiency and conservation, but ultimately supporting the cost that has to be

paid by the homeowners. We know many

people are struggling in trying to keep up with that, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, again I want to

reiterate the fact that whether it is programming or otherwise, it has to be a

commitment across government. It has

to be a commitment across the Province for people to buy into, to accept the

culture, the understanding, and the awareness of the importance of conservation,

Mr. Speaker, and the impact that will have.

I do want to say, Mr.

Speaker, that when we look at energy conservation, we look at the issues around

January and so on, it is about an increased demand in power.

We have said it was going to come.

We are seeing it. It is very

important, Mr. Speaker.

When we talk about

conservation, we talk about the need to save energy, but we also talk about the

concern that people are paying high utility bills.

Well, Mr. Speaker, this government, for some time, has been firm in our

initiative, our approach, in developing Muskrat Falls.

Now, Mr. Speaker, I am not

going to go into a big tangent about Muskrat Falls today, but I do want to say

to the people of the Province, it concerns your utility bills and the future.

One is where we are going to get that power, Mr. Speaker and we need

more power; and number two, how are we going to manage and control the costs of

your utility bills?

Mr. Speaker, the answer for

that has been very clearly researched, proven, validated by independent

research, that the answer for that is Muskrat Falls.

It is the least-cost option in the future that will help people pay their

utility bills, Mr. Speaker, and keep it from rising 5 per cent, 6 per cent, or 7

per cent a year. Secondly, it will

give us the power that we need. That

we have identified we need, that we have experienced already this year.

We need that power, Mr.

Speaker, and Muskrat Falls will provide us that power.

Absolutely important, and I look forward to hearing from members

opposite. Maybe finally they now see

the importance of Muskrat Falls and why we need to do it.

I understand, Mr. Speaker, they may not agree with how it is being done,

but surely they have to agree that it needs to be done.

Mr. Speaker, there are so

many things we can talk about in programs, but again, to reiterate our

government's commitment to conservation, we invest in programs.

I understand there is new technology, clean tech out there that is going

to enhance our ability to work with the ratepayers of this Province to conserve,

to lower their bills, but continue to make sure that we have a dependable,

reliable system. Something that is

affordable for the people of the Province, something that makes sense to do.

We are going to continue to

do that. Not only that, Mr. Speaker,

the opportunities to get the revenue back from the sale of surplus power of

Muskrat Falls will allow us to make good, strong budget decisions that support

the people of the Province, not only in conservation and energy efficiency, but

in all aspects of what we need to do here in this Province.

So, Mr. Speaker, on that

note, as I said in the outline, I certainly support the spirit of the motion

today. I think my colleagues will

demonstrate clearly our government's commitment to conservation.

I will say, full support going forward that we continue to find ways to

support the ratepayers in this Province and support the seniors who are at home

and are challenged to meet some of those bills.

That is a firm commitment that we make as a government, Mr. Speaker, and

it will be outlined today.

What I would like to

propose, in support of the spirit of the motion, is a slight amendment.

If I could read it, Mr. Speaker, the amended resolution would read:

WHEREAS government has

recently indicated that energy conservation was necessary to prevent rolling

blackouts; and

WHEREAS Nalcor has issued

two energy conservation requests to the general public in 2014;

THEREFORE

BE IT RESOLVED

that this House urge government to build on the initiatives it has already taken

in developing and introducing energy conservation programs for all ratepayers in

our Province.

Mr. Speaker, I submit that

because I think it is important to recognize our government has been committed,

and we certainly want to build on that going forward.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

We will take a few minutes

to circulate the amendment and we will take a brief recess to consider whether

or not the amendment is in order.

The House now stands in

recess.

Recess

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

We have considered the

amendment as put forward by the Minister of Natural Resources and the

resolution, as amended, is in order.

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

First of all, I want to

speak to the motion and, I guess, the amendment to the motion now that this

House urge government to build on the initiatives.

Well, it is not hard to build on the initiatives.

Our initial resolution called to consider developing and introducing

energy conservation programs, which primarily would have been new programs as

well. So, building on the existing

programs this government would have is not really that difficult because we all

know if you plan on building something, you are actually going to need some

inventory.

When the Energy Plan was

introduced in 2007, it was all about the energy warehouse and what was in that

warehouse would be used to actually supply energy, not only to Newfoundlanders

and Labradorians but it would then be sold to other markets.

We all know that since 2007

the world and energy has changed significantly.

In that Energy Plan in 2007, there was a

section that talked about

conservation of energy. It speaks

not only to conservation, but it also speaks about the efficient use or energy

efficiency. So there were two

different things.

Before I go into this, the

minister spoke at great length about what happened with what has been known in

January as DarkNL. I want to say

before I go too far into this that we really appreciate, as all people in the

Province did, the great work that was done by the staff and the employees of

Newfoundland Power and Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro during that very

difficult time. It was not their

issue. They could deal with what

they had to work with. As a matter

of fact, it was Newfoundland Power themselves who said: You get us the power and

we will deal with this. So, it was a

generation issue at that time.

When we look at what

conservation measures would do we see lots of this in jurisdictions, not only

in other parts of Canada, and there are lots of example that we could use, but

we see it around the world where conservation measures actually challenge

people. They challenge people to be

creative, to be innovative, in the way that they would use their own energy, no

matter what it is, if it is residential or if it is the business world.

They look for those conservation measures so that they can be more

efficient and they can conserve energy simply because it makes the business

world that they work in, it makes them more competitive.

That is important that we have those measures in place.

In Newfoundland and

Labrador, one of the things that have been a disadvantage to us is Bill 61.

This was a piece of legislation, along with Bill 60, where we had a

filibuster in this House in December 2012, that piece of legislation is a

significant, what we would call, game changer in the supply of energy to people

in this Province; because what it does is it really gives Nalcor a monopoly on

the supply of energy in our Province.

In doing so, it takes away the creativity and the innovative solutions

that you would actually see as they would evolve in the energy world.

I spoke about the

resolution, and there are two things in the Energy Plan in 2007.

It speaks about conservation.

That, of course, is about avoiding the use of power.

So how do we put programs in place where people could actually avoid the

use of power? The second part of it

is about energy efficiency. How do

we make wiser use of our energy? How

do we be more efficient in the use of our energy?

This is important.

The minister spoke about many seniors right now in our Province.

When you look at their electricity bills every month, this is a

significant portion of their income.

They have to make a very difficult decision, whether they buy food actually I

have seen many seniors, even in my own district and other districts around the

Province, where they have actually taken curtains and they petition off parts of

their house just so that they can actually control their heat.

That was their way of using their energy more efficiently.

That was their way of conserving energy.

Well, in 2014 it is not my view of what seniors in Newfoundland and

Labrador should be using.

You ask yourself the

question: What have we done so far in energy conservation, as a result of the

Energy Plan in 2007? Well, we have a

takeCHARGE program and, essentially, that takeCHARGE program really lacks a lot

of substance. It is a PR campaign,

it is an educational campaign, and it gives us some idea how we could actually

use our energy more wisely; but it is not the conservation and the incentives

where people would actually get a benefit from conserving or avoiding the use of

energy that we are suggesting needs to be put in place.

Essentially, it is the

takeCHARGE program, but I want to talk for just a minute or two about how that

program works. What we have here

and this is not to take anything away from Newfoundland Power or Newfoundland

and Labrador Hydro; they are the ones that actually deliver that program.

Now, keep in mind that they are retailers of energy; they sell energy.

So, really, it impacts them if there is less energy use.

They become less profitable; that is the world that they live in.

What we have seen in other

jurisdictions, in places like Nova Scotia as an example, they have set up

separate entities, Efficiency Nova Scotia as an example, non-profit, and they

actually promote the conservation of energy.

That is a stark difference in what we see right here in our Province.

We have the energy retailers in our Province that are actually delivering

the program.

Right from the Energy Plan

of 2007, when you use your own words, it says the advantages of both energy

efficiency and conservation are clear.

They help protect your environment, locally and globally, by minimizing

pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

When you look at this, what they talked about in 2007 as being the

foundation for all of this, when you talk about building on projects, you have

to have a strong foundation. This

was the idea behind the Energy Plan.

There was a lot of great words in it, but there was very little action.

Even though they want to build on this today, there is no problem in

actually building on this because there is not a whole lot there now to build

on.

I talked a little bit about

the takeCHARGE program. There is

also one other program which is called the Residential Energy Efficiency Program

known as REEP. We all know that in

last year's Budget in 2013 when you talk about building on programs and those

programs being extremely important to us, as they should be, what happened last

year in Budget 2013? We saw this

program cut. Where in the past we

had 1,000 people who took advantage of this, in the last year we had just 500.

As the minister said earlier, it is down to $2 million right now.

When you also look at the other incentives that are based on that, they

really do not add up to much, when you look at potential savings for energy

users in our Province.

When you go back to the

Energy Plan in 2007, there were a lot of nice stories that were told about where

we should be; things about improvement in transportation, we would use our

energy wiser in transportation, industrial use, commercial and institutional

use, and residential use. The words

were all there I say, Mr. Speaker, but they were not backed up with action.

When you talk about building

on a plan, if you take this foundation there was very little done.

That was seven years ago. As

an example, residential audits, where you would go into someone's house and you

could promote and suggest areas in those houses where you could save money

those programs are now cut as well.

I want to go back to when

you talk about building on a plan now, as we receive this amendment to the

resolution that was there. There is

no problem to build on a plan. There

is lots of room for improvements.

I want to go back to energy

efficiency. This comes from a

document that was updated on February 24, 2014.

It is from the Office of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency.

Energy efficiency, as it says, refers to using less energy to provide

the same or better level of service.

It also improves our energy security.

It improves our energy reliability.

We do not want to go back

into January, in the days of DarkNL, because we know the crisis that caused in

our Province. This is what the

Office of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency said in February, 2014.

It says this, Despite the potential to reduce costs, many households and

firms are often not realizing the full potential of energy efficiency.

It goes on to say, The

barriers to action include: low awareness, knowledge and confidence in new

processes and technologies; lack of availability of new technologies; long

payback periods; budget constraints; and listen to this weak incentives.

As an example, it goes on to say, building owners lack no incentive to

invest in energy efficiency improvements where tenants pay the energy bill, and

it goes on.

This is the Office of

Climate Change. They are saying the

work of this government is just not working.

The incentives are just not there for people to go in and bring those

creative and innovative ideas so they can actually use energy more wisely and

use less energy.

Now what we have done,

however, is in January we indeed sent out public advisories.

I asked earlier in this House about the conservation measures and why it

was just a couple of hours before the people in this Province knew about the

rolling blackouts, when indeed they knew well in advance this crisis could

occur.

When you have the debate,

and we have said now publicly on many occasions, the 2007 plan, which is now, as

I said, almost 7 years old, it is really an outdated plan.

It needs to be updated.

Conservation needs to be more of a focus in that plan right now if indeed we are

truly committed to using our energy wiser.

The minister was talking

about the solution to all of this being the Muskrat Falls Project.

The less energy we use, no matter what the source is and no matter where

it is generated, will give us power that we can use more wisely or use to create

economic development in other ways.

There is no way you could ever make an argument that using more electricity is

the way to be.

When you look at the options

we have, you do not have to go very far.

There are options in Nova Scotia and lots of options in Ontario.

You can go to just about every other province right now, and we are not

seeing those things occur right here in this Province.

As an example, time-of-day usage, we see this in Ontario.

We see smart meters being used in many different provinces right now.

You say: Well, what is the point of smart meters?

What smart meters do is it helps you plan and it helps the consumer

conserve and make better use of the energy.

We are seeing this in

Ontario with time of day. They have

three different ways to price power.

Of course, it lets the consumer involved be part of the decision.

They can make better choices and, indeed, save money, and it is working.

We have the off-peak hour, mid-peak hour, and the on-peak hour, which is

the highest and most expensive.

The key to all of this is,

what I found very interesting, that in Ontario what they have done is they have

taken ownership and looked for ways to save money in the way they use their

energy. In terms of the off-peak

use, right now 64 per cent of the people in Ontario take advantage of off-peak

use hours. What they have bought

into as the minister mentioned earlier, the people in Newfoundland and

Labrador would have to buy into this program.

It is quite obvious that the people in Ontario, no different than the

people in Newfoundland and Labrador, have bought into that program, if those

programs were available to them.

This is the time-of-day use.

It is happening in many, many parts of the world right now.

There are lots of ways, even in our own residential units, we could use

the less expensive time. People, I

believe, would do that. Just like in

Ontario, where 64 per cent of the power is used there.

As an example, in the

off-peak it is at 7.2 cents a kilowatt hour, mid-peak it is 10.9, and in the

on-peak, which is the most expensive time, it is at 12.9.

So it goes without saying why people would take advantage of those

savings; therefore, that is more money they could use, that they have in their

pockets to spend on other things in their lives.

That is what I mentioned earlier about seniors.

Nova Scotia and I know I

only have about a minute or so left here.

Nova Scotia has been very creative.

They have extended their conservation plans and efficiency uses in Nova

Scotia way beyond. They are even to

the point where they have put in financing.

If people were interested in making home improvements they would help

with the financing. They have put

programs in place with various chartered banks at a zero rate of interest.

The list is very extensive

in Nova Scotia. It talks about even

appliance retirement, air conditioners, financing assistance, as I said, home

energy assessments, home heating reports, home heating solutions, and the list

goes on and on and on. There is an

aggressive piece there on low income, and new homes are included.

They are not included right here in our Province.

Mr. Speaker, as my time runs

out, I just want to remind the people of the Province right now that this

particular government has said that conservation they talk the talk about it,

it is part of the Energy Plan, they have not delivered.

It is no problem at all to build on the programs, because there is not a

whole lot there right now. You need

to put the foundation in place, put the programs in place.

I believe Newfoundlanders and Labradorians would indeed take advantage of

that.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Humber West.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. GRANTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Indeed, it is a pleasure for

me to be able to stand and be back here in the House of Assembly with all my

colleagues and be on the floor of the House to debate over the next number of

weeks leading into the spring, issues for the people of Newfoundland and

Labrador.

It is a pleasure this

afternoon to get up and speak to the resolutions that are on the floor, and

indeed speak to the amendment that we brought forward.

Just to follow up on what the Leader of the Opposition just said, that is

the sole purpose really of the amendment that we have put forward: to build on

the good initiatives that the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has

implemented in the last number of years.

The two speakers on the

other side of the House this afternoon, Mr. Speaker, have already spoken to the

good things that are taking place in Nova Scotia.

I can imagine today somewhere in Nova Scotia that there is a member of

the Legislative Assembly over there looking at some of the good things that we

have in Newfoundland and Labrador, that we have implemented in Newfoundland and

Labrador, and they are saying to the people of Nova Scotia: Why don't we copy

some of the things that Newfoundland and Labrador is doing, as the Opposition

want us to do?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. GRANTER:

We all have a Budget to bring down.

Nova Scotia will bring down their Budget and they will set their

priorities. The Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador will bring our Budget down in the next number of weeks

and we will set our priorities.

What this amendment does,

Mr. Speaker, it looks at the good things we have done in the past, but it gives

us the opportunity to build on the good things that we have done in the past

and, indeed, we could implement programs in Newfoundland and Labrador that are

currently in Nova Scotia or currently in other provinces of the country.

So, this is why I will support the amendment that the minister brought

down this afternoon.

Mr. Speaker, I want to take

a few moments to talk about energy conservation and sustainability and

efficiency; but, at first, I want to try to put it all in perspective in my own

way. As most of you know and most of

the people in Newfoundland know, I was an educator for nearly twenty-five years.

I started teaching in Stephenville, but the second year I was in Corner

Brook at the G.C. Rowe Junior High school.

There was a class at that particular time that we called extension and

challenge.

They were students that

challenged teachers, they learned in a different way, and they were always

questioning and they were always looking for different ways of doing things.

I remember, Mr. Speaker, going to one of the very first science fairs

that was taking place and keep in mind that this was nearly quarter of a

century ago when I started teaching in Corner Brook.

I remember seeing all of the science fairs that were lined up along the

wall and up and down the gymnasium of that particular school.

This young gentleman had a

science fair project that caught my eye; he had developed a model of energy use

and consumption of a city block that had three dimensional figures.

Homes were lit up, businesses were lit up, while others had lights that

were dim and businesses had lights that were dim, Mr. Speaker.

Some businesses had their exterior signs on and exterior signs off during

business hours.

I recall a lamp post that

was there in this particular project that said 4:00 a.m., indicating that it was

in the morning. He was comparing

energy consumption with houses that still had lights left on and businesses that

had their lights left on, and it was about a change in mindset, what this young

gentleman was trying to portray to all of us.

It was about a change in mindset.

I would argue, Mr. Speaker,

that twenty-five years ago many of us were not concerned about energy use or

energy conservation. Electricity was

cheaper. Furnace oil, as an example,

could be purchased at cents a litre.

In actual fact, Mr. Speaker, when I bought my first home in Corner Brook I was

paying twenty-six cents a litre for furnace oil and now, when I purchased it

just a little while ago, it was over $1 a litre.

With the exception of David

Suzuki on one of the CBC programs back nearly twenty-five years ago, the

residents of the Province back then never had the luxury to have the computer

technologies or the Internet to be able to go, look up, and understand what

energy efficiency was or conservation was, and we often would listen to what

David Suzuki would have to say. That

is the only means by which, for the most part, the regular Newfoundlander and

Labradorians and, indeed, the regular Canadian sitting in their homes would have

had twenty-five years ago to talk about conservation and energy.

It is all about a change in

mindset. I would argue, Mr. Speaker,

that issue of energy usage and conservation is a mindset that is in its infancy

here in the Province for many of us, but has evolved over the past few years.

Pardon the pun; in the last few years, some of the initiatives that we

have introduced here in the Province, over the last half-a-dozen years or so, it

has actually picked up energy.

Mr. Speaker, we have seen

evidence of that in this Province with the establishment, for example it has

been recognized by the speakers across the aisle the other day of the Office

of Climate Change in 2009 here in Newfoundland and Labrador.

I would also argue, Mr.

Speaker, that energy efficiency and energy conservation is a social

responsibility. The minister alluded

to that in his words that he had this afternoon.

The Energy Efficiency Action Plan, released by this government in 2011,

illustrates the social responsibility in a number of ways and in real terms.

It includes forty strategic commitments to improve the Province's energy

efficiency. It also includes a

target to reduce energy consumption in the Province, or 20 per cent below

business as usual practices by 2020, Mr. Speaker.

In 2013, the Office of

Climate Change and Energy Efficiency released a guide to building

energy-efficient homes, Mr. Speaker.

This guide assists people in understanding minimum standards, following an

update to the national building code across the country, that requires all new

homes in Newfoundland and Labrador and all small buildings to be built to meet

energy-efficient standards, Mr. Speaker.

We all have a part to play;

every single one of us has a part to play.

When you and I, Mr. Speaker, and Newfoundlanders and Labradorians,

appreciate fully our responsibility towards climate change, that is when we will

see the full benefit of what we are talking about on the floor of this House

today.

Mr. Speaker, what that young

fourteen-year-old student in Grade 8 was trying to show us back nearly a quarter

of a century ago in that science fair was about social responsibility, to

conserve energy for today and future generations.

Mr. Speaker, I am no

scientist. In actual fact, I did not

even teach science in school, but I concur with the experts in the energy field

about conservation being a mindset to preserving and improving our lifestyle

with less energy consumption.

Climate change is a real

thing. Just a few years ago it was

something in the future, but today we all know that climate change is taking

place. As climate becomes

increasingly solidified in our mindset and conversations, we will judge each

other on the use of our power. We

will judge our towns and our cities on the use of its power.

We will judge our corporations' effort and contribution to a sustainable

world environment, Mr. Speaker, on the use of our power.

By placing energy conservation in a different mindset for ourselves, our

towns, and our corporations, we will be on the way to contribute a greener

community.

Mr. Speaker, what are some

of the benefits? We have highlighted

some of them today. I want to talk a

few minutes about some of them.

There is a financial benefit. Energy

conservation, whether at home or in our businesses, helps reduce the total

overall cost of operating that business and makes it more competitive.

Changing lighting, as an example, will give you long-term savings.

A number of buildings in

Newfoundland and Labrador today are being constructed for energy-efficient LEED

status. I understand twenty-seven

provincial buildings and nine municipal buildings in the Province already have

LEED status in the Province. I

remember going to an event last fall in Corner Brook where Corner Brook city

hall was granted LEED status.

Nalcor's new employee residence in Churchill Falls, Mr. Speaker, has silver

certification under the LEED program.

Mr. Speaker, another benefit

would be prolonging equipment lifespan.

A very simple concept in science, energy conservation will prolong

equipment lifespan. In order to save

energy equipment has to be maintained well to operate efficiently.

Equipment that uses less energy will experience less wear and tear, and

by experiencing less wear and tear, using less energy thus saving energy for

that business or corporation and for a homeowner, and saving money at the end of

the day.

I heard someone say a while

ago or I read somewhere, I cannot remember exactly where it was.

The statement was something along these lines: The least expensive energy

is the energy we do not use. That

kind of caught me. It made a whole

lot of sense to me, and it still makes a whole lot of sense.

We have debated in this

Province, in this House of Assembly over the last number of months about the

least-cost power. The minister

talked about Muskrat Falls today and we debated Muskrat Falls on the floor of

this House. The least-cost power is

the power we do not use, Mr. Speaker.

I want to put that into a little bit of a mindset for all of us as I

speak to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador today.

I can tell you, Mr. Speaker,

that I was guilty of not understanding this: overusing the washer and dryer,

keeping lights on in rooms of my house that were not occupied, having

televisions on in rooms where there was no one watching, not turning the

thermostat back a notch or two in the nighttime, and doing all of these things.

We do not need much training or much education to understand these

things, but doing these simple things can have a huge role to play in energy

conservation in this Province and indeed in any province in any nation of the

world.

Turning back your

thermostats, adjusting your thermostats; some of us like warmer temperatures and

some of our seniors may want it even warmer, but adjust it in your home such

that you are comfortable, Mr. Speaker.

Retrofit your home through new windows, if you can afford new windows.

When you do through the programs we have in the Province and national

programs, the thousands of dollars that have been given out to others in the

Province to help replace windows, siding, and insulation in their homes are good

programs.

Seal your home with caulking

around windows and doors. These are

all common, easy things for people to do, Mr. Speaker.

Insulate hot water tanks, especially if your hot water tank is located in

a cooler portion of your house or your garage, if you have it located in a

garage.

Electronics and appliances,

Mr. Speaker; turn those off, unplug them, have a power bar and turn them off.

Buy equipment that is blue label, Energy Star-compliant equipment.

I read somewhere a while back by just unplugging or turning off

appliances in your house can save you about $20 a month, overall $20 a month

by just unplugging the technology in your house.

Mr. Speaker, that young

student at my school twenty-five years ago had it right.

Today, the scientific evidence is clear that the earth is warming and

that human activity is playing a pivotal role there.

I said at the beginning that

I wanted to talk a little bit about what we have done, and the motion on the

floor today reiterates what the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has done

in the last number of years. This

new amendment to the motion will talk about and give us the ability to be able

to move forward, to be able to adopt some of the good things that are probably

taking place, as the Leader of the Opposition brought forward, in Nova Scotia

and other provinces of Canada.

I want to say to the people

of Newfoundland and Labrador; I have sat with residents since I have become

elected in Humber West. I have sat

with residents in Corner Brook, and gone through applications with them, Mr.

Speaker, as they filled in programs for retrofit.

I am glad to say that when I would get a callback from them a week, a

month, two, or three down the road, they would tell me they got the money to be

able to put in new windows, put on new siding, put in new insulation, or to

outfit their home to make it a little more comfortable.

Many of these were seniors,

and it gave me a great deal of pride to be able to sit down with these seniors

so they could avail of such programs that we have had in the Province and that

we will continue to avail of for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: