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May 9,

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVIII No. 15

The

House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Osborne):

Order, please!

Admit

strangers.

I would

like to welcome to the Speaker's gallery today Mr. Patrick Collins and his wife,

Shirley, who are the we'll start again.

I would

like to welcome to the Speaker's gallery today Mr. Patrick Collins and his wife

Shirley who is the subject of a Member's statement.

Welcome.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Also in the Speaker's gallery

today we have Andrew Abbott and his father Jim Abbott. Andrew is the subject of

a Member's statement.

Welcome.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

We welcome to our public

gallery today former MHA Jim Bennett.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

We also welcome Ken Buckle of

Forteau, Labrador, along with his wife Tracy and his parents Truman and Rowena

Buckle. Ken is the subject of a Member's statement.

Welcome.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

We have Superintendent Owen

Brophy and members of the correction staff at Her Majesty's Penitentiary, the

subject of a Ministerial statement.

Welcome.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

As well, in the public

galleries we have Dr. Christopher Smith and Jen Smith from the Memorial

University School of Social Work, as well as Laura Moores and Em Wadden, who are

the subject of a Member's statement today.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

Statements by

Members

MR. SPEAKER:

For Members' statements today

we have the Members for the Districts of Harbour Grace Port de Grave, Fortune

Bay Cape La Hune, Topsail Paradise, St. George's Humber, St. John's Centre

and Cartwright L'Anse au Clair.

The hon.

the Member for the District of Harbour Grace Port de Grave.

MS. P. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It's an

honour to recognize Mr. Patrick Collins of Riverhead, Harbour Grace. Mr. Collins

is a writer and a retired educator, who taught in various communities throughout

our province.

Pat

finished his career as a curriculum program specialist. He is now an instructor

at the Canadian Training Institute in Bay Roberts. Pat is well known for his

special talent a talent which he displays passion and brilliance, and that's

writing.

He is

getting ready to publish his eighth book entitled,

What Lies Below , with DRC Publishing. Patrick's stories are based on

significant historical events, especially those involving his hometown of

Harbour Grace.

Since

2010, Pat's literary works include a biography of

Dr. Charles Cron: A Doctor for All Time; A

Man Who Cured Our Hearts ; The Harbour

Grace Affray ; The Spirit of the S.S.

Kyle ; Murder at Mosquito Cove ;

Belonging ;

Forsaken Children ; and Gibbet

Hill.

Born and

raised in Riverhead, he continues in his retirement to enjoy researching and

writing. Pat is also a fan of healthy living and you can often see him jogging

the streets of Harbour Grace.

I ask

that all hon. Members join me in congratulating Pat Collins an amazing, gifted

local author from the strong District of Harbour Grace Port de Grave.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Fortune Bay Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

in this hon. House to commend a remarkable woman whose career has a place in the

hearts of all who knew her.

Beverly

intelligence, compassion and strong work ethic made her career choice a natural

fit; however, she would chose a path six years later that would impact hundreds

of lives along the South Coast.

In April

1990, Beverly became community health nurse for her hometown area in the Coast

of Bays. She delivered health services to people in private homes, clinics and

resource centres in nine communities from Belleoram to Rencontre East.

Individuals who have been cared for by Beverly attest that she possesses an

unparalleled level of care and compassion and her kind nature and ability has

made her a beloved professional in our region.

After

decades of service, Beverly recently embarked on her well-deserved retirement. I

ask Members of this House to join me in recognizing Beverly for the outstanding

care she provided and salute her dedication and commitment to the people.

Beverly

is the embodiment of what it means to be a community nurse and we thank you for

the lives you have touched.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Topsail Paradise.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

today to acknowledge 26-year-old Andrew Abbott of Conception Bay South. Andrew

has been a volunteer member of the St. John's IceCaps' staff since 2011.

Andrew,

who has Down's syndrome and autism, is well known to be assisting the players in

the dressing rooms, supplying towels, ice bags, water and I'm sure whatever they

needed. Accompanied by his father, Andrew would collect the pucks off the ice,

after which he would take his place inside and outside the dressing room handing

out hugs and fist bumps as the players headed on to the ice for games.

Andrew

was more than just a helper to the players. Over time, he grew into a role from

being helper to becoming more of a member of the coaching staff. He joined the

staff for pre-game meetings and on the bench before the games. IceCaps coach

Sylvian Lefebvre described Andrew as an inspiration and someone who has so much

love to give.

Lefebvre

said that if another team comes to St. John's, it will benefit from Andrew's

presence. He says that he knows how much the team has meant to Andrew, but

Lefebvre says the IceCaps got the much better deal.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask all my colleagues to join me in acknowledging and congratulating

Andrew Abbott.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

George's Humber.

MR. REID:

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to

pay tribute to Agnes McCarthy of Corner Brook who passed away suddenly last

month.

Agnes

spent countless hours doing what she loved best, volunteering in the community.

She volunteered with her church at All Hallows, the Cancer Society, food banks,

the Western Health Care Foundation and many other organizations.

She is

also remembered for her wonderful sense of humour and her amazing spirit.

Whenever I saw her she always had a smile on her face, and many others have told

me of the fun they've had spending time with her. Many have also told me how

important she was to them during times of sickness and the passing of loved

ones.

Agnes

has a loving family and many friends. She had a tremendous impact on her

community and the whole West Coast. Through her volunteer work, she had a direct

impact on the lives of many individuals. She will be missed by us all.

I ask

all Members of this hon. House to join me in recognizing the community work of

Agnes McCarthy and celebrating the contribution she has made to this province.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Friday, May 5, in response to the current fentanyl crisis in the province, MUN

Social Work professors, Dr. Christopher Smith and Jenn Smith, and Social Work

students Em Wadden and Laura Moores, who started a local

chapter of Canadian

Students for Sensible Drug Policy, sprang into action and took to the downtown

streets of St. John's to save lives. They designed handouts with information

about the arrival of illegal fentanyl, warning people who use drugs and the

general public that Fentanyl is here. People are dying and here is what you

need to know.

They

spoke with hundreds of people that day, educating people about how to save

lives. They are a great example of how important community involvement is in

addressing this opioid crisis.

commend these folks for their commitment, their generosity, their passion and

compassion, and life-saving efforts. Bravo, Christopher, Jenn, Em and Laura.

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, it is with tremendous pride that I rise today to recognize a fellow

Labradorian on an outstanding achievement.

Following graduation from Mountain Field Academy in 1996, this individual who

won an IODE Labrador scholarship, along with receiving four consecutive

scholarships at UNB, earned a degree in chemical engineering. Since graduating,

he boasts an impressive resume with past employers which include the Marine

Institute, North Atlantic Refinery, and Husky Energy.

Mr.

Speaker, with the completion of the Hebron platform, I am especially proud of a

resident from my district, hailing from the Town of Forteau, Ken Buckle, was the

engineering lead on the Hebron project.

Ken has

overseen this massive endeavour through to fruition with the recent tow out and

installation of the Gravity Based Structure platform, a platform that he was

instrumental in building. As preparation gets underway to tow the rig to the

Jeanne d'Arc Basin, we wish Ken and everyone associated with the project every

success.

I ask

all Members of this hon. House to join me in congratulating engineering lead Ken

Buckle and his team on a job well done, and we thank him for his hard work.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by

Ministers

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Justice and Public Safety.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you.

Mr.

Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize May 7 to 13 as

Corrections Week and acknowledge the exceptional correctional staff in the

Department of Justice and Public Safety. Throughout this province, the dedicated

members of our correctional staff have contributed to the well-being and safety

of our communities.

Mr.

Speaker, over the past year, I have had the opportunity to observe the

significant effort of those working in the field of corrections to maintain safe

and secure correctional facilities for the benefit of inmates, staff, visitors

and members of the public. It has been a pleasure to witness the positive

approach they bring to their work, particularly given the demanding nature of

the job.

Corrections staff make every effort to ensure that inmates have the training,

tools and programs required to integrate successfully back into society and to

become contributing citizens. I have great confidence in the professional and

hard-working staff we have at our correctional facilities.

addition to their work, correctional staff are integral members of their

communities. They give time and effort to several fundraisers and patriciate in

events that support non-profit organizations.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask all hon. Members of this House to join me in thanking our

correctional staff for their service and their contributions to the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the minister for an advance copy of his statement today. We join with the

minister and government in recognizing Corrections Week and all the staff who we

all hold in very high regard.

The

minister alluded to the environment in which these employees work every day.

They do an admirable job under very challenging circumstances. Government must

make every effort to ensure their safety and improve their working conditions.

Again, the minister alluded to that.

All too

often we hear of occupational stress injuries impacting those dedicated women

and men working in corrections as well as other front-line services. I'd be

remiss if I didn't again today encourage government to amend workers'

compensation legislation to reflect what's known today and bring forward

presumptive coverage legislation for those working in corrections.

Again,

we want to recognize the importance of correctional staff undertake in our

communities. We thank all of them for their contribution to Newfoundland and

Labrador.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker, I, too, thank

all the staff and administration of the corrections system for the incredible

work they do under very, very difficult circumstances with commitment and

dedication.

I'm

astounded the minister can stand in this House and say that inmates have all the

training, tools and programs required to integrate successfully back into

society. Most inmates are in for drug-related crimes. There's only one

addictions counsellor for the whole of HMP and a wait-list of four months. There

hasn't been a permanent full-time teacher at HMP since last December and inmates

can only get three hours of schooling a week. That's not rehabilitation, Mr.

Speaker, that's warehousing.

The

minister must must commit more rehab resources so that the people at Her

Majesty's can do the incredible work that they do.

Thank

you.

Bravo,

Superintendent Brophy and his staff!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Further statements by

ministers?

The hon.

the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. KIRBY:

Mr. Speaker, this year marks

the 20th anniversary of heritage fairs in our province.

This

year's theme, Keeping our Stories Alive: Celebrating 20 Years of heritage fairs

in Newfoundland and Labrador, presents valuable opportunities for our youth to

connect with our history and culture.

I had

the pleasure last weekend of attending the Regional Heritage Fair at Waterford

Valley High School which featured over 200 projects by students from across the

Avalon Peninsula. Projects included many inspiring and creative topics that

ranged from the Blue Puttees, our role in world wars, the role of women in

wartime, indigenous traditions, local fishing techniques, Viking visitors and a

winning project on outhouses in Newfoundland and Labrador with the tagline: To

Go or Not to Go.

I'm

especially pleased to say that 19 outstanding heritage fair projects about

Newfoundland and Labrador's role in the First World War received accolades this

month through the Ambassador Award Program. Award recipients will have the

opportunity to visit First World War battlefields of Western Europe where many

of our soldiers gave their lives.

Mr.

Speaker, I would like to acknowledge the preparation and organization of the

fair's program that involves many hours of dedication by hundreds of volunteers

throughout our province. I would also like to thank the Historic Sites

Association of Newfoundland and Labrador and Historica Canada for their

constructive partnership and for continuing to successfully offer these

opportunities for the benefit of students.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask all hon. Members of this House to join me in congratulating all

participants and wishing luck to all students who will represent our province

well in Western Europe.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay East Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the minister for a copy of his statement. Heritage fairs are invaluable to

preserving our roots and keeping our stories alive for the next generation.

I want

to thank the Historic Sites Association of Newfoundland and Labrador and

Historica Canada for their partnership on this initiative and for highlighting

the important role that such events play, especially as it relates to our youth.

Anytime

that we are able to educate our young people on the valid sacrifices that were

made by the Royal Newfoundland Regiment in the First World War is one that

should be commended. I congratulate the participants on their award.

It is

heartwarming to know that our young minds have dedicated their energy and their

efforts into showcasing what defines us as the people we are today.

Congratulations to all.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's East Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I, too,

thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement. Thank you, too, to the

students, teachers and volunteers who worked so hard on projects this year. I've

been struck by projects where students relied on grandparents and other

relatives for stories about livelihoods and traditions, one of the best ways to

keep our cultural heritage alive. Heritage fairs encourage students to take

advantage of older family members to learn new things about the past.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Municipal Affairs and Environment.

MR. JOYCE:

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to

talk about Emergency Preparedness Week, taking place May 7 to the 13 and to

encourage municipalities and residents to be ready for emergencies.

Our

government is encouraging awareness of emergency preparedness and supporting

activities at the local level. We continue to collaborate with federal and

municipal governments and stakeholders in the emergency management sector,

encouraging everyone to take three simple steps to prepare: know the risks; make

a plan; get an emergency kit. Information on the emergency toolkit is available

www.getprepared.gc.ca

I would

like to acknowledge and thank our community partners who continue to work with

us whenever we are faced with an emergency. The staff of the Fire and Emergency

Services Division work hard every day in assisting municipalities as they deal

with, respond to and recover from fire, emergencies and disasters.

During

the Thanksgiving rainstorm event in the Central region and the March wind event

on the Avalon Peninsula, emergency management partners and all levels of

government came together quickly and appropriately to support impacted

individuals in their time of need. Municipalities were well prepared in these

instances following their emergency management plans. The quick and efficient

response at the community and volunteer level made the greatest difference in

ensuring that residents were cared for and safe.

I would

also like to extend appreciation to all our province's emergency management

partners, including volunteer firefighters, ambulance operators, and 911

operators, just to name a few. It is our hope that they will be called upon for

their services less often, as we ensure preparedness through awareness

initiatives such as Emergency Preparedness Week.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Cape

St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the minister for an advance copy of his statement. Mr. Speaker, I would also

like to acknowledge Emergency Preparedness Week. As a former municipal leader, I

know the importance of having community and residents ready to deal with

emergencies. It's important that council and municipal leaders are prepared, and

it's equally important that community groups are involved in the planning.

Whenever

a disaster hits, it is vital that all partners work together to ensure residents

know there's a plan in place and that people know there are people they can rely

on. I have a huge respect for all emergency management partners, and I encourage

all municipalities and residents to have a plan for emergencies.

Thank

you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's East Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I too

thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement. The emergency response

to the Thanksgiving rainstorm event shows how much we have learned since

Hurricane Igor. Trouble can come at any moment. We all need to be prepared as

individuals, as municipalities and as a province.

commend the continuing work of the department, but I especially applaud our

many, many volunteers who are there when we need them. Their quick response and

selflessness always makes a difference in a crisis.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

Oral Questions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Opposition House

Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, in November 2015 our administration announced a new generic royalty

regime. The Liberal government of today promised to implement a new generic

royalty regime by March 31, but then they extended the deadline to today. This

still isn't done.

I ask

the minister: With the opportunity to promote investment and encourage growth in

industry, why no royalty regime?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

MS. COADY:

Thank you very much.

Members in this House know, and as people around the province know, this has

been a very challenging and significantly changing times within the oil and gas

industry. A lot of the work has been done.

From my

department, all that work has been done around the generic oil royalty regime.

The next step is to consider the generic royalty regime and all other components

of the ball of value. So things like taxation, benefits, equity: those types of

things in the entire ball of value to ensure that we're internationally

competitive.

I can

assure the Member opposite this is consuming our time in the Department of

Natural Resources, and with our partners in the oil and gas industry, to ensure

that we are the preferred location for offshore oil and gas development in the

world today.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Opposition House

Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, the regime announced in November 2015 was a result of significant

consultation with industry and with the stakeholders in that industry.

I ask

the minister: Do you know what that regime is about, that statutory? Are you

considering changes to that 2015 proposal?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

MS. COADY:

As I just indicated to the

Member opposite, we have done a tremendous amount of work and completed our work

around the generic oil royalty regime. We're also now looking at that in terms

of the whole entire ball of value. We have to ensure that we remain competitive

in our global environment.

I'm just

back from Houston, Mr. Speaker, at the Offshore Technology Conference where we

looked at our competitors around the world today. We want to make sure that we

are really top notch when it comes to our opportunity here in Newfoundland and

Labrador. Our prospectivity is incredible. Now we have to make sure that we are

the preferred location.

consideration to his question, Mr. Speaker, we're looking at all aspects of the

ball of value and we'll report to this House as we do that. We are working with

our partners in the oil and gas industry.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Opposition House

Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, the White Rose Extension benefits agreement, I understand, is not

approved yet. Is the delay in the royalty regime related to that in any way?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

MS. COADY:

Mr. Speaker, the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador continues to encourage Husky to develop the Wellhead

Project. We really want to have the West White Rose Extension Project undertaken

and the Wellhead Project to maximize benefits and opportunities to this

province, and we are encouraging Husky, encouraging its partners and Suncor to

move forward on that. I know that Husky and Suncor are continuing to have

discussions.

Mr.

Speaker, the generic oil royalty regime would not apply to this particular

project. As the Member opposite knows, the negotiations around the fiscal

framework of that particular project were done some time ago.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Opposition House

Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, in June 2016 the Liberal government promised that the final EY report

on Muskrat Falls would be released last fall. In January, the Premier said the

report would be released in a couple of weeks. The time has now passed.

Minister, when will the report be released?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

MS. COADY:

Thank you very much for the

question.

The EY

report was an important first step, I say, from this government's perspective in

making sure we can bring the Muskrat Falls Project on track sorry for the

distraction, Mr. Speaker to bring Muskrat Falls Project on track.

We have

worked diligently. The EY report when it was introduced to the province, all the

recommendations, we worked very diligently to implement them. As the Member

opposite knows, one of the recommendations or one of the considerations in that

was the Astaldi renegotiation, or discussion with Astaldi over how it can

continue to advance the project. Those discussions were finished in December.

At that

point in time, we did meet with EY. The oversight committee is continuing to

develop, what I'm going to call the framework for the go forward for EY.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Opposition House

Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I remind

the minister that EY was involved with it prior to her sanctioning a million

dollar report, which to date we've still no idea when it's going to be completed

or what the cost of the report is.

Can the

minister advise the people of the province: When is the report going to be

finished and released?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

MS. COADY:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I didn't

get a change because of the distraction to complete the answer.

Mr.

Speaker, the oversight committee is engaged with EY as we speak. There are two

avenues going forward. One is the completion and review of the outcomes of the

2016 report that the Member opposite is referring, and how we ensure that

independent assessment going forward. So it's not just the static, what have we

done in the past, but how do we continue to work with EY forward to ensure that

we have the right type of independent assessment.

Mr.

Speaker, that work is continuing today. I know the oversight committee, as the

Member opposite knows, we've just recently introduced four independent members

who will bring great value to the oversight committee, and that work is ongoing.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

Before I

recognize the hon. the Opposition House Leader, it seems to be electronics day

in the House of Assembly. I ask the Commissionaires, or whoever it is who has

electronics going, to please lower the volume.

The hon.

the Opposition House Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I know

they want to hear me over there. So I certainly appreciate it, I really do.

Mr.

Speaker, I'll ask the Minister of Natural Resources: Originally it was estimated

at $1 million, what has been spent to date on this report?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

MS. COADY:

Mr. Speaker, I'll have to

come back to the Member opposite. I know that it was a million dollars up to the

point where we had the report. I'd have to investigate further through the

oversight committee as to what further expenditures there are.

Mr.

Speaker, I will say this, we have worked very diligently to put the Muskrat

Falls Project on track. We have a new and very competent CEO. We have an

expanded and very, I think, an envious board of directors. We have new members

on the oversight committee. You can see that methodically and diligently we've

been making sure that that project's on track.

I think,

Mr. Speaker, the people of the province will agree that we worked very hard and

that we are bearing the results of those actions.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Opposition House

Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, I wonder if the minister could advise: Has a draft report been received

by your department?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

MS. COADY:

Mr. Speaker, I'd ask for a

draft report from EY at this point in time, the oversight committee is working

with EY. I have not received any drafts of any reports from EY that would relate

to the Muskrat Falls Project.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Opposition House

Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, there have been no oversight committee reports on Muskrat Falls posted

online since 2016, absolutely none.

Where is

the openness and transparency promised? When will you release all of the reports

for 2016?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

MS. COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We take

the oversight committee very seriously. They've been working throughout the last

year on a number of things. They're now currently reviewing, for example, the

reports of the first quarter of 2017. We've expanded the oversight committee.

We've added some independence, which we think was lacking. We have worked very

diligently, as I've said, Mr. Speaker, to increase oversight, to improve

governance within the project, to have a new CEO as well looking at the project.

Mr.

Speaker, we're working very hard. We know that the former administration, when

they committed to the Muskrat Falls Project, first of all, the amount of money

they committed to we've almost doubled in terms of cost, and that was under the

former administration. When we took on the project they were behind schedule.

Mr.

Speaker, we have been working very diligently to make sure this project works

for Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Opposition House

Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Everything the hon. minister

has described would be validated if she released the reports from 2016.

While

she gave a great description here in the House of what apparently could be in

the report, I ask her: Could you release the reports so all of the province can

validate exactly what it is you're saying?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

MS. COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm sure

the oversight committee is doing their work. We have a new chair of the

oversight committee. We have an expanded oversight committee.

Mr.

Speaker, these are important questions that the Member opposite is asking. It's

too bad he didn't ask enough questions when Muskrat Falls was being considered

earlier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Opposition House

Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Well, she could ask some of

her colleagues who sat on the board. There was someone who chaired it on that

side and someone else who sat as a minister of the board. So they (inaudible)

sure of what happened on the board, if you want to go there.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Mr. Speaker, I ask the

Minister of Natural Resources if the new Canada Free Trade Agreement, or

agreement on internal trade which the Premier has hailed: Will that guarantee

Newfoundland the right to wheel power east to west in this country?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The CFTA

agreement, as we know, which was signed on April 7, was really updating and

modernizing to replace the old agreement on internal trade across Canada, Mr.

Speaker.

What is

unique to this particular agreement is something that we've not seen before

this came with national support from other provinces, Mr. Speaker and that was

a timeline that was put in place to work with the Province of Quebec to put in

place what would be a mechanism to transport power, wheel power through Quebec.

These

are early days. This agreement was only signed just a few weeks ago. There have

been no discussions with Quebec on this to date, but I will tell you that across

the country this agreement actually impacts all provinces, just not Newfoundland

and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Opposition House

Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The new

Canada Free Trade Agreement says that Newfoundland and Quebec will talk. It does

not promise us any kind of free flow of electricity.

I ask

the Premier: Why did you sign an agreement on electricity with the only promise

is to talk to Quebec rather than ensure that the provisions of the Canadian

Constitution are upheld regarding electricity?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well,

we've asked about 50 questions, I think there has been so far in this House, why

we would even talk to Quebec. So the Members opposite, first of all, had an

issue that we should never talk to Quebec for a start, Mr. Speaker.

What a

lot of people in the province would know and sometimes forget maybe the

Members opposite would like to forget this, but our number one provincial

trading partner is actually the Province of Quebec. So not to have a discussion

which was supported by the other Canadian provinces in the Canadian Free Trade

Agreement to talk about wheeling power through Quebec, Mr. Speaker, that is how

you actually have those discussions. You have to talk.

A few

weeks ago, they were of the suggestion and saying that we shouldn't talk. They

forgot about the talks that they tried to get going in 2015. Mr. Speaker, there

are no secret deals here. We're just exploring what mechanisms we would have

with power generated in Newfoundland and Labrador, how to wheel that through

Quebec, but only for the economic benefit of Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Opposition House

Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Mr. Speaker, we never said

don't talk to Quebec; we said talk to Quebec with a precondition, before those

talks begin, that we would be allowed to wheel power east to west in accordance

with the Canadian Constitution.

Why are

you negotiating with Quebec when they hold the cards and are denying us access

to wheel power east to west? That's the question, Mr. Premier; you haven't

answered it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

When we

look at success, I could speak to the Members opposite if they were saying it

was okay with Quebec and I guess they did they might have had some secret

discussions with them; it wouldn't surprise me, given the history that we saw

with the Members opposite.

Mr.

Speaker, when you look at what we're discussing here that they are now accusing

and blaming us for not having success with actually having the ability to wheel

power through Quebec, when they lived through 12 years with this issue next

door.

Mr.

Speaker, 12 years ignored; called Quebec the enemy; failed to have any success

at all, just like we saw in the press conference this morning when they were

hailing and saying well, why didn't you do this sooner. They forgot about it for

12 years.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Fortune Bay Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Today,

the Liberal government announced a Cabinet committee on job creation, with

untapped potential for tourism and agriculture, as well as significant growth

potential for aquaculture on the South Coast, along with the opportunity to

eliminate the need for one of the province's expensive ferries.

Will the

Premier consider upgrading the road link under construction by Nalcor to the

Burin Peninsula from the Coast of Bays?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well,

first of all, I will speak to the announcement. I was surprised actually that

the Member opposite wasn't there supporting this. We saw Members from the

districts of Mount Pearl; they weren't too keen on it. As a matter of fact, they

stood up after and really didn't agree with what we announced this morning. Two

leaders within the agriculture industry, the aquaculture industry as well as

Food First NL were sitting at the table. Mr. Speaker, the response came from the

Member for Mount Pearl there suggesting that this was not going to work.

The

announcement that we made today to create jobs in Newfoundland and Labrador

focusing on sectors like agriculture, sectors like the aquaculture industry, I

would suggest that the Member opposite lives in a district that brings

significant jobs from aquaculture; I'm surprised that she's not standing there

with us today supporting this announcement.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount

Pearl North.

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, the previous

administration made great strides in growing the aquaculture industry in

Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

The Member for Fortune Bay

Cape La Hune is well aware.

This

morning after 18 months in government, two-thirds of the Cabinet is going to

talk about jobs finally and talk about announcing a plan, to come up with a

plan, to create jobs in two sectors. It makes no sense, Mr. Speaker.

Newfoundland and Labrador was standing tall as an international epicentre of

marine technology. Just months into the Liberal administration's mandate, the

epicentre was moved to Halifax when Dalhousie was named the leader of the

Atlantic province's Ocean Frontier Institute.

Did the

centre for the Ocean Frontier Institute should be right here in Newfoundland and

Labrador?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

Before I

recognize the hon. Minister of Tourism, I'm hearing some voices. I can't tell

exactly who it is but I'm asking for the co-operation of Members. I don't want

to name any particular Member.

The hon.

the Minister of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

certainly value our ocean tech sector. We have hundreds of companies that are

involved in the ocean tech sector. We just announced our Regional Innovation

Systems pilot project for the Avalon Peninsula that will be a focus on ocean

technology.

I can't

believe the Member opposite is continuing to bash the Ocean Frontier Institute,

which is a partnership between UPEI, Dalhousie and Memorial University that's

going to create upwards of 162 jobs right here. The largest single federal

investment in Memorial University in its history that's creating jobs, that's

partnering with the Marine Institute and is also working out ways to expand

aquaculture that's going to lead to job creation and R & D activity.

I can't

understand what the Member opposite has when you look at the Atlantic provinces

and you look at Atlantic growth, you look at that strategy. We have tremendous

opportunity and we're getting value from the Ocean Frontier Institute right at

Memorial University.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Member for Mount

Pearl North.

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, we spent a

decade working with the ocean technology sector and building it and seeing it

grow.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Now we're seeing it slip

away. Our province was the Canadian leader in marine technology and when that

edge was taken from us and given to Nova Scotia, this government said absolutely

nothing to make the case for Newfoundland and Labrador.

Why not,

Minister? Why did you simply let that edge slip out of our hands with not a word

in defence of our ocean technology industry?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Advanced Education, Skills and Labour.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BYRNE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

Yes,

Memorial University of Newfoundland is a world leader in first-class research,

including ocean industry research. The hon. Member is referring to a consortium,

a collaboration of several universities not only in Atlantic Canada but around

the world.

This was

a project that was years in the making. The collaboration between not only the

universities here in Atlantic Canada but internationally, especially those in

Europe of course, they were a long time in generation I would like to point out

to the hon. Member opposite.

The

actual workflow, the tasks associated with each and every component of this

project was developed by the universities, amongst the universities, in the fall

of 2015. Who was in government at that point in time?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount

Pearl North.

MR. KENT:

The decision related to the

centre we're talking about was made on their watch.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

However, that said, it's

really nice to finally hear the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills say

something nice about Memorial University

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

instead of making

inflammatory, slanderous statements in the media and in this Legislature.

Can the

minister confirm that he's eliminated the position in Tourism, Culture, Industry

and Innovation that was responsible for the promotion and development of ocean

and Arctic technology?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We have

a team of people at the Department of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation

that's promoting sector diversification. When it comes to looking at the oceans

area, we work very closely with Oceans Advance, one of the industry clusters,

working with the federal government to partner with the industry and academia,

which we can leverage significant dollars so that we can look at capitalizing on

the super clusters that's happening with the federal government.

Under

their watch, there was time and time again when there were federal programs put

in place, like the Connecting Canadians Program under rural broadband Internet,

$225 million federally, zero dollars drawn down; they used 100 per cent

provincial dollars when they could have used federal monies. This is what's

happened under their watch, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount

Pearl North.

MR. KENT:

The only super cluster we're

seeing, Mr. Speaker, is the super cluster of mismanagement and a lack of

leadership.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

The only positions dedicated

to ocean technology in Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation have been

eliminated as a result of recent cuts.

In 2011,

the Government of China designated Guangdong Province to be a pre-eminent ocean

economic development zone. In 2013, our Premier and Memorial signed a memorandum

of understanding for exclusive partnerships in marine technology and other

disciplines.

Can the

minister assure us that with the decision to shift the marine technology

epicentre to Dalhousie, those landmark agreements with China are not in jeopardy

and the opportunities we secured will not also be lost to Nova Scotia?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Mr. Speaker, there has been

no shift. Newfoundland and Labrador is a premier location when it comes to ocean

technology and our pathway to the Arctic, and all the initiatives and MOUs that

have taken place, whether it be with Nunavut or other MOUs that we're entering

into.

Memorial

University has a headquarters for the Ocean Frontier Institute of almost $40

million that's going to be leading to 160-plus jobs affiliated with that. When

it comes to our international outreach, our team at TCII, as well as with the

Department of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour, and other departments,

we're always looking at expanded opportunities of which we can attract

investment into the province. Inward investment is very important and we'll

continue to foster those relationships.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Member for Mount

Pearl North.

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, Auk Island

Winery is concerned that the Liberal tax that allows them to harvest iceberg ice

may put them out of business.

I ask

the minister: How can you justify increasing the iceberg tax from $200 to

$5,000? How does this tax help small business and support economic growth?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Municipal Affairs and Environment.

MR. JOYCE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the Member for the question because it is an issue that I've been dealing with,

with several stakeholders. I've been speaking to stakeholders on this.

We had

to put a value on water in some way but we also have to initiate and help

businesses. So I will be working with the industry, working on this issue.

It is

something that was brought to our attention. It is something that the industry

is pleased that I'm discussing with them. We will be looking within the

department on ways how we can help mitigate this and also help the industry

themselves to thrive.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Member for Mount

Pearl North.

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, it's great to

hear they're now working with industry but this is the government that brought

in the $5,000 tax.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

I ask the Health Minister:

What changes are coming to the Medical Transportation Assistance Program? Will

the eligibility and benefits to those who depend on the program be reduced?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Parliamentary

Assistant to Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. B. DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, thank you for

the question to the hon. Member.

The MTAP

program is a very big program for our province. It's important to us. Any of the

changes that we make will be made in the best interests of the taxpayers of this

province and we're going to continue to do that. Our department is working quite

heavily on that and we'll report back when we're ready to make that

announcement.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Member for Mount

Pearl North.

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, we can expect

cuts to the Medical Transportation Assistance Program. In a recent Estimates

meeting, the minister alluded to the fact that the rapid response teams were

underutilized.

Instead

of simply cutting the service, will the minister instead commit to improving the

existing service in an effort to increase public use?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Parliamentary

Assistant to Health and Community Services.

MR. B. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The hon.

Member would know for sure about cuts. One of the things we're trying to do in

the department is find best ways to do the information that get the

information out to the public as we possibly can. One of the things about these

teams that we're creating, we're working within the department to find best ways

to do those and find the best communities in which we should have those teams

operate.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Member for Mount

Pearl North.

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, we didn't cut

the Adult Dental Program, we didn't cut home care hours. Now we're about to see

cuts to Medical Transportation Assistance as well.

This

government is quickly approaching its two-year anniversary and many of the

election promises have not moved any further than just empty words on a

brochure.

Can the

minister give us an expected date for the completion of the diabetes registry?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon.

the Parliamentary Assistant to Health and Community Services.

MR. B. DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, thank you very

much for the question, to the hon. Member.

The

diabetes registry is moving forward. We have the privacy assessment, as the

Member would know who was for a very short period of time as the Health

Minister would know that it's moving forward. The privacy assessment is with

the department. They're evaluating it. They're hoping to make an announcement in

the very near future. It's going to mirror a lot of what we've dealt with, with

the cancer registry.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount

Pearl North for a quick question, no

preamble.

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, in 2015 there

was a commitment to a specific diabetes strategy. Why have you backed away from

that commitment?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Parliamentary

Assistant to Health and Community Services.

MR. B. DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, we haven't

backed away from any commitment here on this side.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. B. DAVIS:

Our government is committed

to finding a better health care system for the province, unlike the previous

administration.

One of

the things we're doing is we have a step-by-step process the department is

moving through. We are not going to move willy-nilly through this. We're trying

to do it differently. We can't expect to get different results in the health

care system if we're going to continue to do things in the same way.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

Thank you.

Mr.

Speaker, during this opioid and fentanyl crisis, a good majority of inmates at

HMP are there because of drug related crimes. HMP has one addictions coordinator

and no other drug rehab counsellors or facilitators for 170 to 180 inmates. Many

want help but must wait at least up to four months to see the additions

counsellor. Some serve their sentences without having ever received any rehab

treatment at all, only to end up right back in because of drug use.

I ask

the minister: Will he immediately make resources available so all corrections

facilities provide meaningful drug rehab programs?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm very

excited to stand up and speak about the people who are working within our

facilities. In fact, they were here today, and it was great to recognize them. I

look forward to going down to HMP tomorrow and working with them.

It's

also another opportunity to recognize the quick work they did last week when,

unfortunately, we did have an episode in one of our facilities. The quick work

they did was lifesaving in nature and they should be commented for that work.

The

problem is the Member opposite is talking about the things we should be doing

inside the facility, but where we're going with this one of the things I'll be

talking about very soon is another positive announcement from this government is

the drug treatment court, because the fact is we need to do things differently.

It's not

about putting more people in institutions. It's about keeping people outside so

they can get the treatment they need in the community rather than in an

institution.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker, inmates are not

getting the drug rehab programs they need, that they desperately need, and this

government is warehousing inmates not rehabilitating them.

Mr.

Speaker, newly incarcerated inmates with drug addictions who aren't already

using methadone or suboxone are forced into involuntary withdrawal. Other

prisons prescribe methadone or suboxone to help new inmates with drug rehab.

It's the standard of care to help deal with opioid addiction.

I ask

the minister: Will he work to change this policy immediately so inmates have a

better chance of rehab and decrease their risk of reoffending?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm

certainly happy to stand up and speak about our facilities. The fact is that we

as a government are trying to change the justice system and to make it better

for all people in this province. One thing I've done actually I'm the first

minister in decades to actually go down and sit down with inmates to talk about

these issues

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. A. PARSONS:

and this wasn't one of the issues that was brought up to me.

I sat

down in a room with the coordinator and with the inmates and talked about, what

are things that we can do to work with you to make sure that you're not coming

back in here? They brought up a number of issues. This is not one of the issues

they mentioned to me, but the fact is I'll be back down at HMP to talk to them

again tomorrow, as I'm going to continue to do, as I have done, because the fact

is we're going to continue to work on solutions and not just identifying

problems.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker, the solution is

more drug rehabilitation programs for the inmates already incarcerated. Drug

court is good, but for those already incarcerated.

So I ask

the minister: Will he immediately start the process of transferring health

services for all correction services to the Department of Health as recommended

by the All-Party Committee on Mental Health and Addictions?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again,

the Member opposite fails to note that we can't just deal with the people

inside. We have to work on why are they there in the first place. We have to

have some upstream thinking here and not just again, it's very easy to

identify the problems here.

We know

what a number of the problems are but we have to come up with different

solutions. I actually sat in on the all-party committee as well. I know this is

one of the recommendations, and we are going to work with the Department of

Health to make the necessary changes. It's not just a justice issue.

In fact,

in the number of meetings that I've had, what we've identified is that justice

issues often involve Members from various committees and various departments.

We're not going to do the silo-based approach that we've seen in the past. We're

going to continue to work amongst departments to make sure that we provide the

best treatment going forward, but we need to work on keeping people out of jail

and not just dealing with it when it's inside.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

I'll allow a quick question

with no

preamble.

The hon.

the Member for St. John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker, I ask the

minister: In light of the absence of proper addictions programming and

schooling, what exactly is he going to do to ensure, as he stated today in his

minister's statement, that inmates

MR. SPEAKER:

I ask the Member to get to

her question.

MS. ROGERS:

have the training, tools

and programs required to integrate successfully back into society and to

becoming contributing citizens?

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The time

for Question Period has expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Presenting Reports

by Standing and Select Committees

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Baie

Verte Green Bay.

MR. WARR:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

Resource Committee have considered the matters to them referred and have

directed me to report that they have passed without amendment the Estimates of

the Department of Fisheries and Land Resources; the Department of Tourism,

Culture, Industry and Innovation; the Department of Natural Resources; and the

Department of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour.

It was a

pleasure, Mr. Speaker, to chair the Committee with Members: MHA for the District

of Cape St. Francis; MHA for the District of Conception Bay East Bell Island;

MHA for the District Exploits; the District of Fogo Island Cape Freels; the

District of Harbour Grace Port de Grave; the District of St. John's East

Quidi Vidi; and the MHA for the District of Stephenville Port au Port.

behalf of the Committee, Mr. Speaker, I'd like to say a very big thank you to

the Table Officers and to the staff of all the departments mentioned.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Tabling of Documents.

Notices

of Motion.

Answers

to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's East Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

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

the US Center for Disease Control now estimates that autism spectrum disorder

affects one in 68 children, which represents a 30 per cent increase from the

estimate two years ago; and

WHEREAS

early diagnosis of ASD is essential because there is a critical developmental

period when early intervention is vital for future success of children with ASD;

and

WHEREAS

in other provinces an ASD diagnosis can be made by specialists certified and

trained in ADOS;

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

of Assembly to urge government to allow other specialists trained and certified

with ADOS to make the autism spectrum disorder diagnosis.

And as

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, once again, I stand with petitions here signed by people from different

parts of the province, actually, as I look at it, from Goulds, from St. John's,

from Clarenville, from Paradise. People who are so concerned. Many of them, I

would imagine, who either have somebody in their family on the autism spectrum

or know friends who have children or adults in their family on the autism

spectrum.

It is

such a serious situation in our province, Mr. Speaker, that the hundreds of

names continue to come to me in petition on this issue. I fail to understand how

this government is not responding to the crisis and taking action.

I've

mentioned a number of major issues

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I've

mentioned a couple of the major issues here in the House already in speaking to

other petitions, and it seems like we have to keep doing it. One of the big

ones, of course, is the evaluation of children on the autism spectrum. The

government continues to use in our system, the intelligence quota, the IQ 70, as

a way to evaluate whether or not children with autism require or qualify for

treatment.

We all

know, Mr. Speaker, that the evaluation of intelligence is not the way to go

because people on the autism spectrum can have very, very high IQs, but not able

to function within society. And so what the Autism Society calls for is testing

of functionality. That is what will say whether or not a child, in particular in

a classroom in school, should have treatment. If the child can't function with

others then the child should not be in school.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Member for St.

John's East Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

appreciate your calling order in the House because this issue is a very, very

serious issue. For us not to listen to the people of the province who are

calling for action from the government is unconscionable actually. I can't

believe that it continues to go on.

Then we

have the issue as well of the lack of resources in our schools for inclusion

models. That really affects children on the autism spectrum.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Member for

Conception Bay East Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

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 of Newfoundland

and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

smaller class sizes, adequate learning environments and effective curriculum are

paramount to success of our youth; and

WHEREAS

recent budget decisions have negatively impacted student supports, education

resources and teaching allocations; and

WHEREAS

the provincial education system should ensure that each child has the ability to

reach his or her full potential;

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

of Assembly to urge government to enhance the education system in Newfoundland

and Labrador; introduce initiatives which ensure smaller class sizes which will

provide sufficient personal space per child and allow more individual learning

opportunities; develop efficient curriculum which enable youth to develop both

life skills and optimal academic achievement; provide resources to ensure a

fully beneficial inclusive model is in place and to ensure all children in our

province have equal standard education in their learning environment.

And as

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, we saw in last year's budget the dramatic cuts to the education system

that were made and the adjustments that parents, educators, administrators, the

agencies that support the education system, but particularly the students

themselves had to make to try to keep an acceptable standard of education and to

try to succeed and move forward in their education desires.

Unfortunately, some thought and some were under the illusion that this would

just be a temporary setback. That the government would come to their senses and

they would eventually see that we needed to put money back into the education

system.

There

are certain key things in government you have to be responsible for; education

is one of the key ones. And not to invest in that properly but particularly to

take away programs and services that have not only proven to be beneficial but

have been proven to be necessary are so important to the development of a young

persons' lives and in some cases are the pillar of whether or not they're going

to succeed as adults and what that means to society to take away a lot of

those potential avenues for success is devastating to everybody.

To see

class size increase, to see lack of investment in resources, to see the changes

for counselling services, to also look at the fact that facilities that are

overcrowded are no longer conducive to learning, not having proper rooms for

counselling services, not having proper rooms for being able to deal with

certain issues particularly around inclusive education obviously is a detriment

to our education system.

What the

people are saying here and there are hundreds have signed these petitions in

different regions. Thousands have since signed their own particular types, and

we've been presenting them in the House of Assembly here to outline the outrage

by people about the devastating loss and impact that the cuts to education are

having.

It's not

in the best interest of anybody in this province, the taxpayers, the people who

avail of the services, but particularly the future of Newfoundland and Labrador

not to be investing properly in the education system here.

Mr.

Speaker, I'll have an opportunity again to speak about what's outlined in this

petition and many other petitions relevant to education.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

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 of Newfoundland

and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

the provincial government has mandated the Eastern Regional Service Board to

implement modern waste management practices in the Eastern Region; and

WHEREAS

the Eastern Regional Service Board has opened a waste recovery facility on Old

Brigus Road in Whitbourne to receive bulk items such as appliances, furniture,

electronics, cars, truck tires, construction and demolition debris, shingles, et

cetera;

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

of Assembly to urge government to insist mitigation measures be established to

contain waste held at the facility and improve esthetics surrounding the

containment area.

And as

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, local residents in Whitbourne who reached out to me on this issue

raised the concerns, and valid concerns, actually. It's a transshipment facility

for waste that's on the Old Brigus Road in Whitbourne. It's located adjacent to

the community. It's a drop-off area, as I stated, for bigger it's not just

your household garbage. It's the bigger items of appliances, furniture,

electronics, cars and what have you.

The

problem now is there's a tender being called. Eastern Waste Management is going

to erect a fence and put some trees up to mitigate some of the problems they're

faced with now of garbage and stuff blowing around. The residents, and also the

town out there, have concerns that it's not going to be adequate to meet the

needs. A fence and trees will not cover up what tourists are seeing when they

pass by that. It's adjacent with the TCH, it's becoming a bit of an eyesore.

One

example, recently there was actually a mattress that blew from this area out on

the TCH in the median. So they contacted Eastern Waste Management to remove it

and they said, no, it's the responsibility of Transportation and Works. When

they called Transportation and Works they said, no, it's the responsibility of

Eastern Waste Management. That's an actual true story. In the meantime, the box

spring stayed in the median.

Mr.

Speaker, what they're looking for is better containment areas. The town was of

the impression there would be closed bins in this containment area to keep stuff

from blowing around out in the community and out on the sides of the road. So it

kind of defeats the purpose. A transshipment facility for waste, yet the waste

that's being dropped off is blowing all around the community and the highway. So

with the right mitigation the fence will help and the trees will help, but the

fencing needs to go around and you need to have more covered containers to keep

this waste intact.

The

residents of Whitbourne have asked of course, I have numerous petitions on

this issue. They've asked me to bring it to the House of Assembly, which I'm

doing, and I hope government will give this some serious consideration.

Thank

you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland

and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS government has removed the provincial point-of-sale

tax rebate on books, which will raise the tax on books from 5 per cent to 15 per

cent; and

WHEREAS an increase in the tax on books will reduce book

sales to the detriment of local books stores, publishers and authors, and the

amount collected by government must be weighed against the loss in economic

activity caused by higher book prices; and

WHEREAS Newfoundland and Labrador has one of the lowest

literacy rates in Canada, and the other provinces do not tax books because they

recognize the need to encourage reading and literacy; and

WHEREAS this province has many nationally and

internationally known storytellers, but we will be the only people in Canada who

will have to pay our provincial government a tax to read the books of our own

writers;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray

and call upon the House of Assembly to urge government not to impose a

provincial sales tax on books.

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

Mr. Speaker, I've stood in this House on several occasions

to present this petition on behalf of the thousands of people who have signed it

right across the province. We've also heard from people right across the country

who are astounded and surprised that, in fact, government would raise such a tax

on books. It feels like a tax that is against the people of the province rather

than a tax that actually helps the people of the province.

Now, this also goes hand in hand with the Minister of

Education's intention to close half the libraries in the province. Again, we are

a province that has the lowest literacy rates. It all flies in the face of

reason.

Again, one must ask: What exactly could government be

thinking? What exactly was the Minister of Finance thinking when she decided to

impost this tax on books, particularly in light of the fact that we do have the

lowest literacy rates in the country?

It would be like putting an extra tax on food because

people needed it. We know that people need books. We also know what an

incredible heavy tax burden this is for students in post-secondary education,

whether they're in universities or whether they're in colleagues or our own

fabulous private college.

Some students, depending on the faculty they're in and

their line of study, may be paying a few hundred dollars per semester extra in

taxes on their school books. That doesn't make sense at all. These are essential

tools for students.

Again, one must wonder: What is the thinking that went on

to impose this tax, and how is government measuring and assessing whether or not

this is a successful tax that helps anyone. It certainly doesn't help the

economy that much. It certainly doesn't help students. It certainly doesn't help

our people at all. So, why?

So far

no one has given us a good reason as to why this very regressive, unfair,

unproductive tax has been imposed. Once again, people across the province are

asking the government to do the right thing and to not tax books.

I know

that many Members on the other side also realize that this is not a good tax.

This is not a tax that benefits the people of the province.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount

Pearl North.

MR. KENT:

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 of Newfoundland

and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

government recently cut vital funding to many of the provinces youth

organizations; and

WHEREAS

the cuts to grants to youth organizations will have a devastating impact on the

communities as well as its youth and families; and

WHEREAS

many of these organizations deeply relied on what was rightfully considered core

funding for their day-to-day operations;

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

of Assembly to urge government to immediately reinstate funding to the

province's youth organizations.

And as

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, a number of us on this side of the House have continued to raise this

issue. This is not a new cut. This is a continuation of the cuts that were

experienced coming out of the 2016 budget. Going into the 2016 budget there was

some fanfare around an announcement that the Minister of Finance made to say:

Hey, everybody's core funding is going to be fine. All community organizations,

you have nothing to worry about, your core funding will be fine.

Well,

unfortunately, through the Estimates process and through asking questions in

this House and then confirming with organizations affected, we learned that

general, broad, sweeping statement did not apply to many community youth

organizations all over this province, some provincial, some regional and some

local.

For many

of these organizations, the amount of funds that were received through the fund

called the Grants to Youth Organizations Program, it was core funding. They

filled out a form annually and received, basically, the same amount of funding

every year in some cases, for decades.

This is

funding that sustained the operations of many of our youth groups and

organizations in the province. Organizations like the Boys and Girls Club in

many different communities; different youth centres in various communities in

the province; Allied Youth, which has chapters, has posts, in various places in

the province, Air Cadets, Army Cadets, Navy League Cadets, Sea Cadets, Girl

Guides and the list goes on and on and on. These organizations have all been

negatively impacted the Duke of Edinburgh's Awards program. It goes on and on.

Young

people throughout the province have been negatively affected by these cuts.

What's most troubling about it is that these cuts happen retroactively halfway

through last fiscal year, so groups counting on the money they get annually from

government and hearing the Finance Minister stand and say: Don't worry,

everybody's core funding will be fine assumed their funding would be fine and

carried on. Then in July or August of last year they find out, oh no, you're

only going to receive, in many cases, half your funding; in a couple of cases,

no funding at all.

That had

a devastating impact on programs last year. We found out through the process

this year that government has no intention to reinstate any of those funds and

has not provided any assurances to those groups that they'll be treated fairly

in the future.

It's a

shame. It's dishonest, given the commitments that were made to community

organizations. Young people and youth organizations in this province deserve

better, Mr. Speaker.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Yes, Orders of the Day, Mr.

Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

I call from the Order Paper,

Order 3, the Concurrence Motion on Social Services Committee.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Service NL.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. TRIMPER:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

It's

always an honour to stand in this House and represent the good people of Lake

Melville up in Labrador and speak to a few topics. What I thought I would do is

first of all just speak a little bit about a couple of key things in my

district, some things that I've been doing lately. Then I wanted to talk a

little bit about the budget and some of the discussion that's going on in the

House.

First of

all, Mr. Speaker, I was back in my district last week and very pleased to drive

it's 100,000 square kilometres; it's a big piece of terrain. It was

interesting to make that drive. My wife and I and dog headed over to Churchill

Falls for the annual graduation ceremony at Churchill Falls.

It's

quite an interesting community. It's a company town but they sure know how to

send off their graduates in style. The MP Yvonne Jones, myself and others

watched some 12 graduates go through an amazing ceremony. I spent a good night

in the cabin. It was all great.

Last

week, I represented the Premier at the 176th graduation ceremony at Queen's

College. It was my first time ever in that institution and it was absolutely

fascinating. It's a divinity school and you tended to have and why I'm

mentioning both of these two events is I found equal excitement. Now, certainly

the folks up in Churchill Falls they were probably 16, 17, 18 years of age.

Well, last week at Queen's College I had folks who were graduating who'd worked

equally hard, equally as proud of their accomplishment and some as old as into

their 80s. Anyway, it was just fascinating that transformation the

juxtaposition between the two ages, yet the equal excitement and satisfaction

for having done a job well.

Speaking

of doing jobs well, I did want to make a plug. I've mentioned this several times

when I've spoken, but I find as the minister representing a district that's not

within commuting distance on a daily basis up in Labrador, you tend to rely

heavily on your constituency assistant and mine is extremely able and capable.

Her name is Bonnie Learning. She is absolutely a clone to myself and in fact, in

many ways, she leads the charge on many things that my office is dealing with in

Labrador.

One

thing I wanted to mention is that on Monday she was actually working she has

an amazing dedication to the SPCA and her, with other volunteers, actually

gathered up some 19 dogs from various communities. The dogs have basically been

neglected and abandoned and they managed to gather them together and get them on

a plane, through some great corporate partnership, and get them out to

communities elsewhere in Atlantic Canada. It was great and way to go, Bonnie,

you're always doing double duty.

What I

wanted to speak about is something that I've noted. Since we released our

budget, I've been watching very closely I sit here, I work away, but I'm

always listening closely to what my great colleagues from across the way are

saying about what we're doing, but in particular on the budget, and I've noticed

a very consistent trend. Without exception, each Member on the other side of the

House, I would suggest that they're struggling finding key areas and manners and

means of attacking this year's budget.

It's

very much a historical; let's go back to what happened in 2016. I don't hear a

lot of complaint about what is happening now in this government and the

financial plan and approach that we are using as a government going forward.

somebody was paying attention to me closely and sitting in Cabinet, as I do,

about two weeks, maybe 10 days before we announced the budget, I talked about

The Wealthy Barber written by David

Chilton. He talks about the simplicity, yet the effectiveness, of having a plan

and sticking with it.

Mr.

Speaker, as you may know and may recall, and I certainly do and all Members on

this side of the House recall, last year we launched a plan. That was the plan

in response to an amazing fiscal mess that we encountered when we entered into

office. I found having gone through my second budget now as a Cabinet minister

how fascinating it was. Once you understand the process and go through it,

frankly the what's the best way to describe it? I don't want to say ease

because nothing is easy in this job, but I do want to say that sticking with a

plan actually can produce results.

When I

look at our forecast from last year and I refer everyone to the Budget Speech

to page 6, the bottom of the page; there's a nice, little chart there talking

about how we approached that amazing deficit that we faced last year and then

how by 2022, 2023 we will be back in a place where we can now say we're in the

plus, we're actually starting to bring in more than we're spending and we're

getting this House back in order.

As we

all know, it was a great challenge for us, leading up to the election. I came

down on several occasions to be with my colleagues who had already been elected,

as I wanted to understand how this world works and what was going on. I note and

I can recall, watching either from those seats or from a TV camera, my

colleagues of the day as they kept asking the government of the day: What is the

financial update?

In the

budget of 2015, I believe the forecasted deficit was $1.1 billion. Well, we all

know how that grew so rapidly. First of all, there was a great reluctance

frankly, there was a refusal to provide any kind of financial update leading up

to those weeks prior to the election. Certainly during that campaign, we were

operating in the dark but our eyes were wide open, especially and I've spoken

about this as well in public. I liken the Cabinet experience to having about two

hours of, wow, that was pretty interesting how we ended up in this place, to

having that first cold shower from the Department of Finance and then realizing

the state of affairs and what were we going to do with that.

As we

all know, had no action been taken and these words are sort of going to be the

theme for the rest of my presentation. Had no action been taken, we would have

been facing some $2.7 billion worth of deficit. As I and others have noted, that

would have become and, frankly, I'm sorry to say, it is still the second

largest area of expenditure in our government.

Number

one, health care and community services; number two, deficit, interest payments;

number three, we get over to education and other things that are important. But

just imagine if we didn't have some 11 per cent of our annual budget thrown back

to the banks to pay for past debt.

I can

just hope to see the day when the Minister of Finance might come to me as a

minister, and say: Well, guess what? You can increase your budget this year.

Some of those things you'd like to get done through greater expenditures I'm now

going to provide that opportunity to you, because guess what? We are getting

back on financial footing.

I remain

an optimist; you have to in this job. As I look at the situation again, I look

at page 6 on our Budget Speech and I see progress towards that.

Another

thing I'm interest in, Mr. Speaker, is history. I find

Hansard is an interesting, historical medium or vehicle to use. As I

say, I started paying close attention to what goes on in this House some two

years probably before the election, as I started to think about this adventure.

I thought I would read a few quotes because, again, since we've launched our

budget this year there's been nothing but criticism of it, but if you look at

the phrases, the statements and so on, it's all about the tough decisions we all

had to make last year.

As the

Minister of Transportation and Works said one night, and I recall, it was a

really good line. He said we are not doing this for popularity. This is not a

popularity contest. I'm sure you remember that, Minister. I must say, they've

been some of the most difficult days of the last year and a half is making those

decisions and seeing how they affected lives.

The good

news we can offer everyone is that we are making progress. Again, looking at the

history of what's gone on in this hallowed room, I thought I would read a couple

of lines. I'm not picking on anyone in particular

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. TRIMPER:

but I found a couple of

interesting quotes. Here's one from the Member for Conception Bay East Bell

Island. On May 29, 2014, he said: You have to look at the economics of the day

and you have to be able to plan for the future. You have to be able to build on

the past, what worked and what did not work.

AN HON. MEMBER:

He didn't write that?

MR. TRIMPER:

Oh, he did. Well, he said

that. It's quite eloquent.

He said:

There is a whole process here of a balance of financial responsibility and

proper investments and we have done that. We have done it for the last thirteen

Budgets. I know we will continue to do it after the next election when we are

the government again.

Well,

that didn't quite turn out that way. I bring these points up because, again, I

go back to my

preamble of a few minutes ago and talked about the forecast from

the spring of 2015 was for a $1.1 billion deficit. I suspect, as I realize now

in the capacity of a Cabinet minister, you have a pretty good handle on your

finances, especially if you have a very capable Finance Minister, as we do and

are blessed with, one that does understand mathematics, that you actually know

the seriousness of your situation.

reference that commentary from the Member for Conception Bay East Bell Island

and his wanting to do the right thing with what he knew at the time, but I would

argue that in fact we ended up with a deficit of some-$2.7 billion. So it sure

would have been nice to have seen action started a lot sooner. Frankly, we

wouldn't have had to go through the serious set of decisions that we made at

that time.

Here's

another comment from that same Member. Mr. Speaker, unfortunately last year was

one of those and he's referring to a restraint budget. We dealt with it

analyzing what was in the best interest of the people here, and how we could

best still serve people but economically not hurt our rating internationally

now I find those very interesting words so that we did not pay more interest

which meant less money to go into social programs for people. We did that.

Well, I

would argue that in fact they did just the opposite, Mr. Speaker, because we

find ourselves in a heck of a situation. I'm seeing the progress, but I'm

finding reading back on these quotes and I compliment our staff on the fifth

floor that do a lot of work to pull this kind of information together.

Here's

another one from the Leader of the Opposition, who is now the Member for Topsail

Paradise. He was Premier at the time. This is from June 8, 2015. He said, and

I quote: When you face a loss of more than a billion dollars in revenue on a

Budget that is less than $10 million, it says million, I would assume he'd

said billion it is a significant impact and it is an enormous task to

overcome. When you put up your hand and you say you want to sit at the table,

you want to sit at the decision table and you are dealt a hand, you have to play

that hand. It is as simple as that, and that is what we have done.

I would

suggest, Mr. Speaker, those words could have been said by anyone on this side of

the House.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. TRIMPER:

I would say, Mr. Speaker, and

I look at the difficulty of the budget from 2016, and yes, this is perhaps why

the Opposition continue to dwell on it because there were a lot of tough

decisions, a lot of bad news had to be delivered there. We looked at those same

words and had that same feeling but we took that action.

The good

news I can offer to the people out there listening and watching is that if you

look at page 6 of the Budget Speech, you will see that in fact those actions are

starting to work. I'm actually pleased to say we are actually moving ahead of

our forecasted schedule. I think that's just dramatic and I find it quite

fascinating.

What I'd

next like to speak about, Mr. Speaker, is talk a little bit about some good

news, some good things that are going on in Service NL. I'm very pleased to say

that this morning I was at the Motor Registration Division in Mount Pearl; a

very busy place. On average, it's something like over 5,000 people visit that

facility every month, and during the busier months we have some 10,000 people.

Today,

Mr. Speaker, we announced two new enhancements that do not exist anywhere else

in the country, all part of our digital by design, our

Way Forward , so I was very pleased. One of these involves an online

reservation system, where if you choose that you still want to go in and conduct

your business in person you can do so, but now you can actually reserve that

time. Show up, know when your slot is going to be there, go to the kiosk, pick

up a number and lo and behold, you will be served within some few minutes after

arriving.

The

second enhancement is that if you happen to go in and you find there is an

extremely long line and we've set it at more than 45 people you can actually

make a reservation for a time later, perhaps in the next hour or so, such that

when that line gets less, guess what? The system will send you a text message,

so you can be at some other facility, some other task in your daily routine. I

think there are a lot of things I'd rather do than sit and wait in a line. We

will let you know and you can come back and grab that ticket. The staff will

know you're there and away you go, you'll be served.

It's all

about streamlining the delivery of our service. There were no HR impacts with

this; it's all about looking at it from the customer's perspective. By the way,

I think it's a good thing to do. So for an investment of some $17,000, we've got

two enhancements that do not exist anywhere else in the country.

compliment Alan Doody, the registrar at the Motor Registration Division and all

of his staff, two of whom are retiring. I also look forward to their retirement

party at the end of the month of May. They've promised me that they're going to

give me a call.

Lots of

other good things going on in Service NL, whether it be looking at building

Residential Tenancies Act , it's a very busy office. I have been

getting a few questions and looking forward to standing in the House as soon as

possible and speaking more to actions that we're going to be taking to making

livelihoods much better.

I noted

this morning, I was reading comments by the deputy mayor, Ron Ellsworth, who's

just suffered an injury and finds himself now very much challenged with his

mobility as he tries to get around. I was just reading his comments and then

realizing how tough that is. I get that. I must say, I look forward to working

of our department.

finally wanted to end up because I always like to come back to Labrador, and I

look to my colleagues for Labrador West, the Torngat Mountains and Cartwright

L'Anse au Clair. When we were preparing in the budget activity last year and

certainly across the Big Land, the number one issue that everyone asked us to

think about, if we had any money at all and to dedicate, was the Trans-Labrador

Highway.

You'll

hear myself, you'll hear my three colleagues for Labrador, you'll hear all of my

colleagues from across the province, frankly, speak about the importance of this

facility and getting on with it. I'm very pleased to say, Mr. Speaker, that this

year and again thanks to the support of the entire government, the entire

caucus in our budget we allocated some $55.7 million. It's going to do a great

deal of work.

This

year, I'm pleased to say and I know the Member for Cartwright L'Anse au Clair

is very pleased because a lot of the activity is going to be going on in her

backyard there are some substantial contracts that have been already awarded

and will get started. These are everything from pulverizing and paving to

resurfacing to widening.

I also

look forward to other contracts and opportunities I'll just back up a second.

None of this work, of course, can be possible without our partnership with the

federal government and under the leadership and co-operation of the hon. Judy

Foote, probably those Sunday night conversations with the Premier, a great

strong leadership, great use of provincial dollars, great use of the federal

money. We are getting a lot done, Mr. Speaker.

The

Minister of Transportation and Works spoke of the efficiencies he's finding now.

We're actually getting more kilometres of highway paved for less dollars, just

through some of the strategies he's announced. I see those same strategies at

work in Labrador.

Having

just made a long trek across a paved section, I will note, nevertheless a long

trek from Churchill Falls to Happy Valley-Goose Bay on Saturday and Sunday,

that's some 6 to 7 hours of driving do you know what? There's not a single

aspect of a facility in place. There's all matter of need there, everything

from, I would suggest, signage to restroom facilities to other emergency

facilities.

Mr.

Speaker, myself, my Labrador colleagues, and all of us in the caucus, will

continue to look for ways and means that we can protect the public and make the

driving across the Big Land a great pleasure. Because you know what and as I've

said many times, this is not a Labrador project. This is a provincial,

nation-building project.

This is

how the Island of Newfoundland is going to gain improved access to goods and

services to Central Canada and vice versa. With the partnership that I'm seeing

and I'm feeling all kinds of opportunity with the rest of Atlantic Canada, I see

this great circle route coming up through Cape Breton, across Port aux Basques,

on up through the Northern Peninsula, and into Labrador, and of course,

throughout the Island of Newfoundland lots of great things happening, Mr.

Speaker. I look forward to hearing the Opposition talk about this year's budget

and the plan forward.

Thank

you.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The

motion is that the Report of the Social Services Committee be concurred in.

Is it

the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Nay.

MR. SPEAKER:

Carried.

motion, Report of Social Services Estimates Committee, carried.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

I would call the Concurrence

Motion for the Resource Committee, which is deemed to be on the Order Paper.

Thank

you.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

George's Humber.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. REID:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I just

want to take a few minutes to add to this debate as part of the Concurrence

Motion. The debates that we have during the Budget Speech, usually wide ranging,

lots of opportunity to talk about various issues that you have in your district

or that you feel are important. So it's great to have an opportunity to

participate in this debate.

I'm

going to start off by talking a little bit about things directly related to the

budget, a few items there. Then I want to touch on a few items from my district

as well, the district I represent, Mr. Speaker.

One of

the things about this budget I think that's worth mentioning and related to this

budget is the idea of openness and accountability, Mr. Speaker. We've seen

changes in the way we report the Public Accounts of this province within the

last year. We've changed the legislation, which requires government to put

forward information on the finances of this province that tells us exactly where

we are in terms of the amount of spending.

This

type of legislation prevents governments maybe approaching an election, as it

was in 2015, from hiding or holding back information related to Public Accounts

that the people would need to help inform them and inform their public debate

about the finances of this province. So that's a very important piece of

legislation that was passed within this past year to sort of make these Public

Accounts more open and to allow for a more informed debate about the way we're

going.

that's one thing. It's interesting to note that this change has been recognized

by the organization such as the C.D. Howe Institute. The C.D. Howe Institute is

a well-respected think tank in Canada and what they've done is each year they

look at the state of public accountability in financial affairs across the

provinces of Canada. They look at the way the budget is presented to the House,

the way the Estimates are done and they look at the way information is released

through the Public Account statements of the province.

They've

recognized the improvements that have been made since this new administration

has come to power less than two years ago and the things that we've done. In

fact, they rate the provinces in terms of how well they do on fiscal

accountability. This C.D. Howe Institute has given this government a higher

rating than they had in the past because of the changes that have been put in

place in that short period of time.

It's

very interesting that these advances are being made in terms of accountability.

The more information that people have, the more informed public debate that we

can have, hopefully that results in better outcomes for the province. I think

that's a very important thing to note about this year's budget and the changes

that have been made in the way we do things here in this province.

That's

one item that I wanted to mention, Madam Speaker. The other thing that I wanted

to mention in relation to the budget was the adoption of zero-based budgeting

methodologies as a way of determining how much money is going to be allocated to

each department, to each item within a department.

We've

seen some changes in the whole culture of spending and the way we allocate money

in terms of spending. The adoption of zero-based budgeting, it's not a difficult

concept, but it's an important change that has occurred here because, in the

past, the starting point was: How was money spent in the past? How much was

spent? What was it spent on? There was an assumption built in there that we

don't have to re-examine it each year. We don't have to re-examine how we're

spending money; we'll just take what we spent last year as a starting point. We

may identify a few things that we can tinker with or add to but the whole

concept had a bias towards things that are already being spent on.

When

this government came to power, when this new Finance Minister came to power, she

began to sort of take a different approach to spending. This zero-based

budgeting, it's interesting because it's not a new concept in the area of

business. It's been around since the 1970s in business.

Jimmy

Carter in the US was the first president to start using zero-based budgeting in

government, so it's interesting that it's been around for so long. I think the

question we might want to ask ourselves is: Why did it take so long for us to

adopt this process here in this province? Why did it take so long for us to

start using zero-based budgeting?

Basically, zero-based budgeting starts from zero. And every dollar that's spent

has to be justified each year. You have to look at where the money is going and

what the requests are for money and then, you start and build what is needed. I

think that's an important process, especially in today's world where things are

changing so quickly and new ways of doing things and new expenditures.

AN HON. MEMBER:

Not rocket science.

MR. REID:

Yeah, it's not rocket

science. It's hard to believe that we haven't been using this process in the

past. It's hard to believe that a government would not use it, given the fact

that it had been used in the 1970s within government, within business, within

other places.

When you

add up, you go through, you look at how many cellphones do you need in a

department, how many answering machines. Everything has to be justified and

everything has to be re-examined and built up. The amount of savings that would

come from a process like that, it's not insignificant; in fact, it's really

significant.

The

savings that were generated from that process were $65.9 million throughout the

whole government. It's a significant amount and it's a significant change in the

way we're doing things here. So I have to compliment the Minister of Finance and

officials in the department on adopting this process and putting it in place.

Zero-based budgeting, we sort of used it in this province as new administrations

came in place and they sort of looked at the overall of government and how we

were spending money, but it hasn't been implemented to this degree on an annual

basis in this province. So it's a significant change in the culture of the way

we spend money. I think that's an important thing that's happened in this year's

budget.

That's

something else I wanted to mention as well. Another thing I wanted to mention

about the budget is we've seen in previous years I think it's well recognized

that we had overdependence on oil revenue. We sort of thought that we were going

to have a $150 barrel of oil forever. I think if you look at other countries in

the world that have successfully managed oil wealth, it usually involves taking

some of the revenue and putting it aside for future use, paying down debt, those

sorts of things.

If you

look at the countries that have had tremendous oil wealth, in some cases, places

that have had tremendous oil wealth end up worse off than places that did not

have oil wealth. It's called the paradox of plenty. It's well documented in

academic literature, the paradox of plenty. Some places that get a big influx of

money end up worse off in the long run. Usually it involves a huge megaproject

started on the assumption that oil is going to last forever, and I think we were

heading down the wrong direction in this province in terms of how we managed our

oil wealth.

I think

we have to continue to change that culture of spending. We have to think about

ways of going forward in terms of legacy funds that we've talked about in this

House in the past. I think we need to look at those things, Madam Speaker. Those

are some things I wanted to mention in relation to this year's budget. I'll

probably have an opportunity to talk about some other things later on in the

budget debate as we continue to debate the budget.

I wanted

to mention some other things that are happening in my district as well and I

just wanted to bring attention to a few items that

AN HON. MEMBER:

Agriculture is big in that

district.

MR. REID:

Yeah, agriculture is one of

the things that I intended to talk about because there are a lot of things

happening that are very positive, Madam Speaker. For example, a few weekends ago

I attended an event in Corner Brook. It was called Startup Weekend. I don't know

if anyone is familiar with that sort of concept. Basically what it was, it was a

group of entrepreneurs, people who got together to discuss starting a business.

started off Friday night with a few warm-up activities. One of the ones that was

interesting was groups were given two words. They put these two words together

and then they had to come up with a business that they could develop around

these two words. It was just a sort of an exercise to get warmed up and thinking

about being an entrepreneur.

Even

from that, there were lots of ideas coming. But the whole of the concept of the

weekend is you have these people come together and individuals get up in front

of the group and they pitch their idea for a business. Then they have everyone

else in the group decide if they want to work with that person over the weekend

to further the idea related to the business that they pitch.

So they

take a number of the ideas, they work on them for the whole weekend, and try to

develop them to the point where they can be launched as a business. This was

very interesting to watch over the weekend as people sort of came forward with

these ideas. Some of them were related to agriculture, some of them were related

to the food industry, others related to recreation and things like that, so it

was a very interesting sort of concept.

Some of

these businesses are moving forward now and being developed. It will be

interesting to see what will happen there. But it was very energizing to see

that whole process and I'm looking forward to maybe working with the organizers

of that event to have something out in the Stephenville area maybe, to get

people thinking about how they can further develop their ideas and start

bringing some people together to start businesses.

So that

was a very interesting sort of thing. Another thing in relation to agriculture

and my district is probably one of the most agricultural districts in the

province. A lot of the Crown land that is going to be released is going to be in

and around the district that I represent. So it's going to be interesting there.

One of

the things I think we need to do is we need to engage with people who are

interested in agriculture to let them know what supports are available to them

if they want to pursue an agricultural enterprise.

I met

with the Area Development Association in Bay St. George South. They asked that I

organize a seminar with people from the department of agriculture to come out,

to meet with them and to allow the public to come in and get more information

about agriculture.

We had

that meeting. There were a number of people there and a lot of enthusiasm there

about it. So I think we have to do those sorts of things and we have to have

that sort of dialogue between people who want to get involved in the industry

and the officials in the department so that we get to a point where the services

being offered by the department match the needs of the people who want to start

these enterprises.

I'm very

encouraged by that sort of thing happening. I'm looking forward as well to good

response. I'm looking forward to expanding that to other areas in the district

as well.

Another

thing I want to mention, one of the great parts of the job of being an MHA, as

many of you know, is visiting schools, talking at graduations and other special

occasions and things like that. We had a statement from the Minister of

Education here today about heritage fairs. This past weekend I had an

opportunity to visit the Western Regional Heritage Fair in Corner Brook.

I must

say, I was very impressed with the type of activities that were happening there.

The presentations that the students were making, and the level of thought and

the work they had put into these and the amount of interaction they had with

their parents and grandparents in coming up with these ideas and developing them

a bit more. So I think that's a very positive sort of way of looking at things.

I'm very, very encouraged by that.

I'm

always encouraged when you see so many smart, young people together at schools

or at events like heritage fairs or graduations. I'm always encouraged about the

future of the province when you see that type of knowledge and those types of

activities.

I've got

a few minutes left. I want to talk about some of the things in the budget that I

guess relates to the districts. One of the programs that the government has is

the Healthy Living Fund. The district that I represent has been fortunate enough

to receive some funding from this program. It's small amounts of funding that

partners with groups and organizations, and volunteer organizations and

individuals in the community to deliver very important programs.

For

example, the Lions Club in Pasadena is doing some renovations to their building

there. One of the things that I was able to access some funding for that

renovation was through the Healthy Living Fund, which provided funding to make

the building more accessible, to put a ramp up to the building and to make the

washrooms accessible. So a small amount of money, but partnering with community

groups having a big impact on people's lives.

Another

project that was funded through that funding was the Accessible Taxis program.

That's very valuable for people who have mobility issues or other issues in

terms of using taxis, public transportation. That's a very important project. A

small amount of money in the grand scheme of things but had a very important

impact on individual lives. That's a very important program, and I think it has

a big impact on people's lives directly. Those are some things in the district,

some things related to the overall budget.

I'll

conclude my comments there, Madam Speaker, and thank you very much for your

time.

MADAM SPEAKER (Dempster):

Order, please!

The

Speaker recognizes the hon. Member for Cape St. Francis.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. K. PARSONS:

Thank you very much, Madam

Speaker.

Again,

it's a privilege to get up here today to represent the beautiful District of

Cape St. Francis and the beautiful people in the District of Cape St. Francis.

It is

interesting today, very interesting and to let people know that there are

three committees in government that we all do Estimates for and sometimes we get

this one we're debating today is the Resource Committee which I'm on, but

sometimes we have to be moved in and out of different committees because our

critics for those are not necessarily the resource ones.

Today

I'm going to speak a little bit about my critic role and where Estimates are for

my critics, which are Service NL, which the minister was up earlier today and

spoke and did a great speech, I listened to him. It will be interesting to see

later on tonight when we do the Estimates on Service NL there are some

questions we have there, but I'm sure the minister will have all the answers and

I'm sure it will be a good session.

Actually, Estimates are a great session. It's a great time to find out the few

ins and outs. There are some questions there that sometimes they'll answer it,

but most times, I give ministers credit, they do get back to you. Especially the

officials in the department do get back to you and let you know what the answers

are to the questions that you have, because sometimes we spring some questions

that they don't know.

Other

critic roles I play a role in is Municipal Affairs, and we've done that one

already again, very interesting. We went a full hour over the three hours that

were allotted and there were lots of questions. Again, that's a department that

had a lot of changes this year. There was some stuff taken out. Also,

Environment's included in there. The Lands part was taken out; Crown Lands was

taken out. So it was pretty hard to follow when you compare it from year to

year. So that was an interesting one also.

The

Department of Fisheries was the first one I did. The Department of Fisheries, we

went over the other day and we had some questions, and I thank the deputy

minister and officials in that department. We had some questions and we went

over. We got briefed just yesterday, I do believe. Was it yesterday? Yeah, just

yesterday we got briefed, and I thank them again for doing that. There are some

more questions that we do have and they're going to get back to us.

That's

how this all works with different committees and stuff like that. So if people

are wondering at home what it means by the committees, they are just Estimates

committees that we do, and as critics we get the opportunity to come in here and

ask ministers and their department the whole department gets in here and

answers the questions.

Now,

before I get into that, I listened to the previous Member get up and he I

didn't really want to do it, but he said a culture of spending. Sometimes I look

at that, and I know, no matter if it's your own household or whatever you do,

sometimes you spend money that you go back and you look at it down the road.

Most

times when you spend money or you spend on different things no matter if

they're household or here in government, there are results, there are great

results. I know they have a role to play and we also have a role to play, but

over the last 12, 13 years and just recently in my district, a new school was

opened.

I'd like

to ask Members across the way, what wouldn't you have done? What schools would

you not have built? In the early years we had a lot of, I call it deficit in

infrastructure, and the infrastructure needs in this province. Madam Speaker, in

your district there was a lot of infrastructure in schools. I think there were

two new schools just recently built in your district, and so they should. Just

like the two that were built in my district, so they should. But when you say a

culture of spending, this spending was done for I just wrote down a few things

while he was talking there. I was wondering what roads you wouldn't want built.

Let me

tell you something, Madam Speaker, there are lots of roads in this province

right now that need to be done. There are ones in my district that have potholes

and everything else, but I understand. I spoke to the Minister of Transportation

and his officials and they're doing their best. I just noticed last week that a

patching crew came through the Town of Flatrock and did a real good job on a lot

of holes, but there are a lot of holes that need to be still filled and that's

in every district. Every district in this province has that but there are a lot

of roads that were built.

I always

look at the Torbay bypass road that was built in the last number of years and

what that's done for my area. It's made each community in the area I think the

growth in the communities really went up high.

The road

itself cost $23 million. Veterans Memorial Highway out your way, Member, was a

very important road for Harbour Grace and Carbonear. It needed to be built and

cost a lot of money. Those are investments we need to make. Investments in the

Team Gushue Highway now are investments that we need to make. Are there more?

Yes. Do we need more money? Yes. These investments are not a culture of

spending; these investments are great investments.

I also

look at recreation facilities. I look at the recreation facilities that are

built right across this province. I can remember, Madam Speaker, being a minor

hockey coach. I coached minor hockey right from this age at squirts, right on up

to midget and then I coached in high school. Obviously, I had a son that played

hockey and like most hockey players, they still get involved now. I don't know

if I was a good coach or a bad coach; I was lucky that my son was a goaltender

because I never had to fight with parents over ice time and stuff like this,

like a lot of coaches do.

travelled to Baie Verte. I was in Springdale, played in a hockey tournament in

Springdale. I played in Bonavista.

AN HON. MEMBER:

You lost there.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Yes, we did. We did lose in

Springdale. I played in Goose Bay and different things. But our recreation

facilities and every Member in this House of Assembly can attest that the

facilities in our districts have improved. Yes, they have improved.

Is that

a waste of spending? I don't think so. I think any time that we go and we do any

kind of investment in our youth I always considered our youth, even though if

you go down to Jack Byrne Arena on Wednesday nights and see me playing, it's not

your youth playing anymore, it's kind of old fellows trying to get around the

ice. Those are good investments. They're real good investments.

I'll

also look at investments we made in our health care. I know that Members

opposite, they'll all get up and say: Oh, we're spending a lot of money in

health care. We're after coming a long ways in our health care. We're after

coming a long ways when it comes to diagnostic machines. We've come a long ways

in the medical care that we can give the residents of Newfoundland and Labrador,

and we do have a big issue. I'm sure the Minister of Finance and the Minister of

Health talk about it on a regular basis.

We just

saw something come out last week to say that we have the oldest population in

all of Canada for a province. That's a huge issue because, obviously, as you get

older, your medical needs are more and more. As the medical needs get more,

obviously the increased cost is also more. That's a huge issue in our province,

but over the last number of years we've made huge investments. We've made

investments in hospitals and clinics right across this province. In Labrador,

we've made huge investments in medical care.

Again, a

culture of spending, I think they're good spends. Now, have all spends been

good? I don't know. I really don't know, but I know that you do need to invest

in our communities, we need to invest in our people and we need to invest in

what we have here in Newfoundland and Labrador, which is the greatest province

to live in all Canada.

Now, I

went off on a wing there because I wanted to talk about my three areas that I'm

the critic of. The first one I'm going to speak to is Municipal Affairs. I heard

the Member for Lab West get up this week and he talked about Gander this

weekend; they were out to meetings in Gander with MNL. Again, he also mentioned

about our municipal leaders. This year there is a municipal election coming in

September. I can honestly say that it was one of the best things I ever done in

my life was running for municipal politics. It's difficult. It's very, very

difficult because it's a little different than what it is in here; you're

dealing more with your neighbours and your friends than you are with anything

else. Sometimes it can be so difficult that you can lose a friendship over it.

When

you're talking about approving a building lot or approving something for a

family member who's probably your buddy, it's difficult. We have community

leaders and municipal leaders in this province that are unbelievable. They are

great people. We need to attract more.

The last

municipal election I think there was a good few communities that didn't have a

full slate of candidates and stuff like that. It's important because I tell you,

for people out there, municipal leaders you're the heart and soul of your

community. I'd say in 90 per cent of the cases, you're a volunteer and it takes

a lot of time. Not only are you a volunteer because what happens with most

people in small communities they are not only the volunteers as a minor hockey

coach, they are probably the deputy mayor of the town or some other role that

they do play. So they play a huge role in all their communities.

I know

the Member mentioned the other day three mayors that have been there for a long,

long while, the mayor of Gander, Appleton and Bonavista. I believe that neither

one of them is running again this year, so I really want to thank them, and all

mayors. I know that the mayor of Torbay, in my district, Ralph Tapper, has said

that he is not running again. I really want to thank all those people that put

years and years of service into their communities. Sometimes it's not easy;

sometimes it's very difficult.

Like I

said, it's the form of politics that you deal with that is so close its family

members, its friends and everything else. Not that we don't have family members

to deal with in here and friends, but it's a different form. It's a real

different form. There's so much you can do for your community. I really

encourage young people I know in the community I'm from we have three ladies

on the council and they bring so much to the table, it's unbelievable.

So I

encourage everybody to get into it and if there's something anybody wants to do

for their community, there's nothing better you can do than run for municipal

politics. There'll be people who will think that you have an agenda, there'll be

people who think you're on it for this reason or that reason, but the reason

that most people run is because the love their communities, and that's a real

good thing.

Again,

this week is Municipal Awareness Week. I'm going to be down tomorrow with the

minister. We're going to be down in Torbay. Tomorrow we've got a couple of great

announcements. There's a new fire truck in Torbay. The Town of Torbay has worked

since 2008 to get this depot in place and that's going to be open tomorrow.

There's also an agreement between my colleague for Conception Bay East Bell

Island and communities in my area the communities in his area and mine, they

work very closely together. There's the Killick Coast Games. They meet on a

regular basis. They're sharing an