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May

28, 2015

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVII No. 22

The

House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Verge):

Order, please!

Admit strangers.

I am

very pleased today to welcome to the public gallery a group of students from

Holy Name of Mary Academy in Lawn.

They are here with their teachers Lori Strang, Hannah Annebury and

Jean Ann Lambert.

Welcome to the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

I am also very pleased

today to welcome to the Speaker's gallery Mrs. Cyrilda Poirier, President of

the Provincial Francophone Federation; Mrs. Roxanne Leduc, Assistant

Executive Director of the Provincial Francophone Federation; Jim Prowse,

Manager of the Office of French Services; and, Natalie Matthews, the Office

of French Services.

Welcome to the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

Statements by

Members

MR. SPEAKER:

Today we will hear

members' statements from members representing the Districts of St. John's

North, Mount Pearl South, Bonavista South, Port de Grave, Labrador West, and

St. John's East.

The

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

MR. KIRBY:

Mr. Speaker, today I

would like to recognize the tremendous efforts of the committee of

volunteers who organized the Safe Grad at Prince of Wales Collegiate which

was held on May 15.

As a

result of their hard work and dedication throughout the 2014-2015 school

year, these school volunteers ensured that this year's Safe Grad was an

amazing time for this year's graduating class.

There were about thirty parent volunteers involved this year and their help

was immeasurable. This

incredible team of parent and school volunteers were exceptionally generous

with their time. They could be

counted on anytime where they were needed to help out.

would like to single out the following individuals who were leads on the

subcommittees for Safe Grad 2015: Co-Chair and Secretary Irene Batstone,

Co-Chair and Decorator Kathy Pretty, Past Chair and Treasurer Carol O'Keefe,

Food and Refreshments Co-Chairs Bev Preston and Susan Jackman, Entertainment

Co-Chairs Christine Wheaton and Enid Pendergast, Fundraising Co-Chairs Ruth

Mandville and Ruth Power-Blackmore, and Teacher Representatives Elizabeth

Tuff and Jennifer Gibbons.

ask all hon. members to join me in recognizing the hard work of all of the

Prince of Wales Collegiate Safe Grad committee volunteers.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Mount Pearl South.

MR. LANE:

Mr. Speaker, it gives me

great pleasure to rise in this hon. House to recognize an individual who has

made a tremendous difference in my community.

Long-time Mount Pearl resident, Mr. Reg White is the very definition

of what it means to be a community leader.

Whether it be through Mount Pearl Minor Hockey, baseball, softball, the

First United Church, the Frosty Festival, or anything else that is going on

in the City of Mount Pearl, you will find Reg with his sleeves rolled up

making a contribution to the cause.

This has not gone unnoticed in our community, as Reg has been

inducted into the Mount Pearl Sports Hall of Fame and has been honoured as

one of Mount Pearl's Citizens of the Year.

addition to his great work in our city, Reg has volunteered with Habitat for

Humanity for the past seventeen years and in that time has worked on nearly

thirty builds, including a Global Village build in Thailand two years ago.

He can also be found volunteering almost daily at the Habitat for

Humanity ReStore in St. John's.

May 15, in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Reg was honoured nationally as

Habitat Canada's Volunteer of the Year.

ask all members of this hon. House to join me in congratulating Reg on this

accomplishment and thank him for the significant contribution he has made to

our community.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Bonavista South.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. LITTLE:

Mr. Speaker, hon.

colleagues, I rise today to recognize Bonavista native, Adam Pardy, on his

career as a hockey player in the National Hockey League.

Adam

is the son of Stan and Lorraine Pardy.

He has two older brothers, Neil and Todd, currently working at Long

Harbour. The family is very

close and they had to make many sacrifices in order to commit whatever they

could towards Adam's hockey career.

Prior to his hockey career, Adam played ball hockey as a junior.

In 2003, he was named the most valuable defenseman in the junior

nationals by the Canadian Ball Hockey Association.

In 2004, he won a bronze medal with Team Canada at the World Ball

Hockey Association championships in Slovakia.

Adam

turned professional in 2005 and started his career with the American Hockey

League, playing with Omaha AK-Sar-Ben Knights.

He appeared in seventy games in his first full American Hockey League

season in 2006-2007. Adam made

his debut in 2008-2009 into the NHL.

He began his career with the Calgary Flames and subsequently played

with the Dallas Stars and Buffalo Sabres.

In 2013, he signed on and is currently playing with the Winnipeg

Jets.

Mr.

Speaker, hon. colleagues, please join me in recognizing Adam Pardy on his

accomplishments as a professional hockey player and another person from this

great Province who represents us all on the national and international

scene.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Port de Grave.

MR. LITTLEJOHN:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

rise today to give thumbs up to the Grade 2 classes of All Hallows

Elementary for their involvement in a national agriculture program called

Little Green Thumbs.

this program, students planted various kinds of vegetables like tomatoes,

beans, cucumbers, and peppers in earth boxes set up in their classrooms.

Each class was linked to a Department of Agriculture coordinator who

worked with the students to facilitate the garden classrooms.

The students then took care of their plants, watering, snipping, and

cutting when needed. The

excitement and eagerness of experiencing nature in the classroom was very

evident.

When

the plants were ready for harvest, the classes had tasting parties and

shared the vegetables with others in the school.

This helped them understand where their food comes from and

encourages healthier food and nutrition choices in their daily lives.

The

students also grew along with their plants.

Their teachers say they showed positive growth in reading, writing,

observing data, and overall a better caring of their environment.

They are now eagerly planning a year-end celebration in the Little

Green Thumbs program.

ask all members to join me today in congratulating the Grade 2 classes of

All Hallows Elementary on their Little Green Thumbs.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Labrador West.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. MCGRATH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

stand in this hon. House today to congratulate the organizers of the

community rally to support laid off workers at IOC in Labrador West.

Monday evening, several hundred residents of Labrador West gathered at the

Union Centre parking lot on Hudson Drive to walk in unison supporting and

showing their support for those affected in the upcoming layoff in June.

This layoff, of course, will add to the recent list of adverse

downturns in the economy within the iron ore industry and have a very

negative effect on our communities.

It was somewhat uplifting to see the community come together in such

a strong show of support for the people and the community as a whole.

Walking alongside the employees of IOC and listening to the effect this will

have on their daily and day-to-day living puts a different perspective on

what many of us take for granted.

I applaud the United Steelworkers of America Local 5795, and all

those who helped organize this event.

It showcased the comradery, the loyalty, and the tenacity of the

people of Labrador West.

ask all members to join me in recognizing the efforts of the communities in

Labrador West.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. John's East.

MR. MURPHY:

Mr. Speaker, unlike my

beloved Montreal Canadiens, the Gonzaga Vikings have had a golden year in

hockey this year with some silver thrown in for good measure.

The

Vikings won the City Championship, they won the Confederation Cup for the

first time since 2008, and they won their regional championship to compete

in 4As. They won silver in the

Darryl Reid tournament, a Grand Falls-Windsor tournament, and the Dragon's

Lair tournament in Chicago.

Head

coach Ryan Morgan, assistant coaches Kris Abbott and Peter Keough, teachers'

representative Krista Grimes, and team manager Kelly Hutton should all be

commended on their work with these boys who, in addition to their great

playing, have also been involved in the Canadian National Institute for the

Blind Courage Canada Program, helping children with visual impairments to

skating at Mile One.

Congratulations to Captain Adam Caines, Assistant Captains Coady Barron,

Michael Connors and Cameron Dunn, and the other great Vikings of the team:

Joel Bishop, Sam Bishop, Iain Gamba, Brady Holwell, Eric Hutchings, Matt

Hickey, Jack Hutton, Zack Fitzpatrick, Ben Jessome, Matty Marshall, Eric

McKay, David Penney, Henry Power, Daniel Rice, Robin Schilg, Ryan Shea, John

Simms, Chris Smith, Joey Walsh, and Owen Winsor.

ask all hon. members to join me in congratulating Gonzaga Vikings on an

outstanding hockey season.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by

Ministers

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Service Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CRUMMELL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, I rise in this hon. House to note that next week, from June 2 to 4,

the provincial government will carry out Roadcheck 2015.

During this period, Service NL enforcement staff will engage in a

road check blitz for commercial vehicles.

Roacheck 2015 is an initiative of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance,

and represents a major undertaking by vehicle safety enforcement personal

across Canada, the United States, and Mexico.

Mr.

Speaker, during these three days, highway enforcement officers and weigh

scale inspectors from the Motor Registration Division of Service NL will

conduct spot checks of commercial vehicles to promote road safety, and to

remind owners and operators of safe operating practices.

Staff will be checking for mechanical deficiencies, reviewing driver

records, inspecting cargo securement, and monitoring compliance with other

legislation. These roadside

inspections will be conducted in accordance with nationally developed

inspection criteria for commercial vehicles.

Mr.

Speaker, road safety is a key concern of our government.

Roadcheck 2015 provides an excellent opportunity to promote safe

driving practices among commercial vehicle operators, and emphasize the

significance of provincial and national laws that promote road safety.

Service NL is tasked with that responsibility of ensuring vehicles

transporting cargo and passengers in our Province are mechanically fit,

operated by qualified personnel, and compliant with federal and provincial

legislation. We take that

responsibility very seriously.

Newfoundland and Labrador's continued participation in Roadcheck

demonstrates our ongoing commitment in this regard.

we prepare for Roadcheck 2015, I want to take this opportunity to recognize

the great work of our dedicated enforcement staff, who perform their duties

faithfully every day. Their work

is greatly appreciated by our government, and vital to the safety of

motorists throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

I also want to applaud the efforts of everyone in the commercial

transport industry who promote road safety and best practices.

These professionals always perform well during Roadcheck, and

throughout the year, and I thank them for setting a strong standard of

practice for others.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Mount Pearl South.

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

would like to thank the minister for the advance copy of his daily

Ministerial Statement.

Mr.

Speaker, over here in the Official Opposition we want to also recognize next

week as Roadcheck 2015. We are

certainly very supportive of this initiative.

Anything we can do to keep our highways safe is a good thing.

encourage the government to continue down that road of making our highways

safe, and not just with this initiative but initiatives such as working with

MADD Avalon to improving issues around impaired driving, working with SOPAC

to improve moose safety on our highways, and to ensure that we get the lines

painted on our roads so we can actually see where we are going.

That would certainly go a long way in avoiding accidents and dealing

with all the ruts and all the potholes.

We even have communities like Rose Blanche where they are actually

canoeing in the potholes. So we

certainly need to address things like that.

thank the minister for this initiative.

Obviously, there is a lot of work to be done.

I ask the minister to roll up his sleeves and get it done.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. John's East.

MR. MURPHY:

I thank the minister for

the advance copy of his statement here today, Mr. Speaker.

There is no doubt that the staff at the National Safety Code do some good

work in protecting our fellow motorists out there.

The dedication of the enforcement staff is second to none in

sometimes very trying conditions.

I think the minister recognizes that.

Roadcheck 2015 ensures compliance with the rules of the safety of our roads

but government also should recognize our roadways have become hazards in

their own right, Mr. Speaker.

Good roads themselves help keep maintenance costs down, especially to heavy

equipment operators out there.

That in itself, Mr. Speaker, coupled with a good maintenance program, leads

to a culture of safety in its own right.

Thank you very much.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Acting

Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, I rise in

this hon. House to recognize May 30 as Provincial Francophonie Day.

Mr.

Speaker, since 1999, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has been

recognizing Francophonie Day in the Province.

Each year Francophones, Acadians, and their many friends and

partners, including the provincial government, have come together to raise

the Franco-Newfoundland and Labrador flag just outside the House of

Assembly.

Once

again this year a ceremony is organized by the Francophone Federation of

Newfoundland and Labrador to be held tomorrow just outside the East Block of

the Confederation Building. My

colleague, the MHA for the District of Port au Port, will attend the

ceremony and join the Francophone community in raising their flag.

There are also other ceremonies taking place around the Province in

areas such as the Port au Port Peninsula and in Labrador to mark this

important day.

Mr.

Speaker, I am very pleased to inform you that an important milestone has

been reached by the Francophone community centre in St. John's this year.

The School and Community Centre des Grands-Vents is celebrating its

tenth anniversary. This centre

has become the heart of the Francophone community in the St. John's area

serving as a place where the Francophone community's arts, heritage, and

culture truly come to life.

This

year also marks the twentieth anniversary of the Office of French Services

in the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The office provides French language training, translation, linguistic

support, and community liaison services to government departments.

It also provides a vital link between the Government of Newfoundland

and Labrador and the Francophone and Acadian community in all regions of the

Province.

For

their many accomplishments and their contributions to the historical,

cultural, linguistic, and economic fabric of our Province, I ask all hon.

members to join me in congratulating the Francophone and Acadian community

of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

The Straits White Bay North.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Mr. Speaker, I thank

the minister for an advance copy of his statement.

[Speaks French.]

dsol if I did not get that out absolutely right.

It has been about thirteen years since I have taken a French course.

It may be an opportunity to go back and look at the services that we

do offer here within the Confederation Building and encourage others.

The

Official Opposition joins the government in celebrating Francophonie Day.

Despite the small and scattered Francophone and Acadian population in

our Province, almost 25,000 Newfoundlanders and Labradorians speak both of

our official languages and more and more children are opting for French

immersion. We must strive to

make these opportunities more readily available.

The

French Shore Historical Society in my district highlights Croque as once the

administrative headquarters for the French migratory fishery on the French

Shore. Conche has a 222-foot

Jacobean tapestry. I

congratulate the centre and the French Services for marking these milestones

and welcome the dignitaries here today.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

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

remember well when I was on the Ministerial Advisory Committee on French in

Education, established by then Education Minister Gerry Ottenheimer in the

1970s, looking into, for the first time, the inclusion of French in our

school system. How delighted I am to stand here today and see how far this

Province has come in recognizing the existence of French language, French

culture, and the people of the French-speaking community.

Monsieur, je dis flicitations tout le monde les Francophones de

Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador, le Centre Scolaire et Communautaire des

Grands-Vents, et le Bureau des services en franais.

Merci.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Bonjour to the minister.

The

hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

stand to inform this hon. House of a new innovative approach to road

maintenance. I am pleased to

announce today that through a Budget 2015 allocation of $600,000, we will

purchase four asphalt recyclers to enhance our ability to make

longer-lasting repairs to roads during colder months.

The

period of time between late March and early May is the most difficult time

for road conditions. After the

winter, we see large potholes appear.

People are anxious to have them repaired and we want to make sure

that these repairs are done and are long lasting.

Spring is difficult, Mr. Speaker, due to regular freezing and thawing.

A pothole forms when water soaks into the ground beneath the

pavement. The water freezes,

then it expands, causing the pavement to break apart from underneath.

When the temperature rises, the water melts and leaves a hole

underneath the pavement. The

pressure of many vehicles driving over it pushes the pavement down and

creates the potholes.

the warmer months, permanent repairs can be made.

However, in the colder months when the asphalt plants are not open,

crews use cold patch. This

product is not as flexible as the hot asphalt mix and does not last as long.

The

purchase of asphalt recyclers will enable us to reuse old asphalt and to

make longer-lasting repairs to provincial roads during the cold season.

This not only benefits those who travel on our provincial roads and

highways, but will help keep old asphalt out of our landfills.

Mr.

Speaker, this is one of the many strategic investments this government is

making in key areas of our transportation network.

Over the past three years, more than $400 million has helped

maintain, upgrade, and enhance hundreds of kilometres of roads, as well as

replace twenty-three bridges, and repair forty others.

The

asphalt recyclers will be purchased for the upcoming winter season and

placed in four regions of the Province.

I will be pleased to provide an update on their use as we continue to

work to provide safe and reliable transportation networks throughout

Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. John's South.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

After twelve years in government, this is what they come up with as a new

and innovative way of improving our roadwork.

I will agree with the minister, however, that cold patch does not

last very long. Potholes and the

need for patching, however, are indicative of a much bigger problem.

I am hoping that the minister does not see this as a measure to put

off infrastructure spending where roadwork is needed.

Mr.

Speaker, while asphalt recyclers should be a better remedy to cold patching,

it should not be considered as an option to further delay necessary

roadwork. I am happy to see that

there is an effort being made to recycle asphalt, as opposed to sending it

to the landfill, so we look forward to seeing the results of these asphalt

recyclers.

will say, though, on a lighter note, Mr. Speaker, I have noticed that the

minister has been a little bit edgy lately.

I understand now why. I

am delighted to see that he is finally coming off the patch.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. John's East.

MR. MURPHY:

I am not going to top

that one.

thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement here today, Mr.

Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. MURPHY:

While this is a good

announcement, it does not belittle the fact that government has neglected

road issues for a long time.

Even the Auditor General says that they have been playing catch-up with the

amount of neglect of our roads out there.

think, Mr. Speaker, he tagged it at the time as something in the order of

$800 million that we needed to see back in the roads and bridges.

That is shameful in itself.

A proper road maintenance

schedule for our roads would have prevented

these problems from happening in the first place.

So I

ask the minister, perhaps he can address this a little bit further in the

future and come out with a plan for roads and bridges so that we can deal

with that.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. MURPHY:

Thank you very much.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

Oral

Questions.

Oral Questions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of

the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Estimates this year, the minister said that he has accepted a closure plan

for Wabush Mines. He said we

have accepted their plan and it will now go through various stages.

However, a community that is directly impacted by this this is of

course the Town of Wabush says that they have not been consulted on this

plan.

ask the Premier: Why did you accept a closure plan that did not include

consultations with the Town of Wabush?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, in order for

anyone to operate a mine in this Province they have to go through various

steps and stages around getting their licensing.

One aspect of that, which is covered through the legislation, is that

they have to provide financing for rehabilitation and closure.

the event that the mine closes, Mr. Speaker, their environmental obligations

they have to provide funding, proof of that funding.

We have that funding from Cliffs Resources to ensure that the rehab

and closure plan is implemented.

Discussions are ongoing all the time, Mr. Speaker, with these aspects.

for whether the town are aware of the full plan, I would have to check that

out, Mr. Speaker. If they are

not, I have no problem letting them know what the stages are because it is

important for the people on the ground and important for the town as well.

We will certainly work with them, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of

the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

think the people in Wabush would be some of the first people that you would

think who would be included in this round of consultations.

They are the people who are impacted the most.

big issue in Labrador West is dust control from this site, and already this

year we are seeing an increase in dust in this area.

We understand that with the closure plan accepted, there is a limit

to the amount of dust control in this region.

Not only is this an environmental hazard but this is a health hazard

as well, and the minister said at the time they are monitoring the

situation.

ask the Premier: Aside from monitoring this, looking at this, what are you

doing to actually control the high levels of dust as a result of the closure

of Wabush mines?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, the Leader

of the Opposition raises a very important issue for residents of Wabush.

It has been an ongoing issue, but the responsibility and the

obligation rests with the company.

What

we have been doing, we have gone back to the company with respect to their

obligations as well as their closure plan, and how it fits in that

particular aspect of the environment.

As well, we are also considering internally whether the company

complies or whether we take the actual money for the rehab and closure and

get the work done, but we are in consultation with the Town of Wabush.

We understand it is very serious for the people of Wabush and we will

be proactive in working with them to ensure that we do what we can to

mediate the dust issue in Lab West I am sorry, in Wabush.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of

the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, the responsibility actually cannot be left to this company and it

cannot be left to the responsibility of the Town of Wabush.

The responsibility for dust control in Lab West, in the community of

Wabush, squarely lies, clearly lies with this government I say, Mr. Speaker.

Government spent $65,000 for insurance on the idle Roddickton pellet plant

last year. They spent $84,000

the year before. When asked last

year, the minister said the $84,000 insurance payment would be the last that

this government would make.

ask the Premier: Why did you spend another $65,000 on the insurance for this

private company when you said last year that there would be no more

payments?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, there are

two points to his question. The

Minister Responsible for Forestry can answer the second part, but I just

want to clarify a point he made, that the responsibility of this dust

cleanup is not with the Town of Wabush.

That has never been implied.

It has never been indicated by this government, Mr. Speaker.

is the responsibility of Cliffs Resources, the owner-operator of the Wabush

Mines. There is money in place

to take care of this. We are

working through a process. We

have been clear to the company that they have a responsibility.

We have been clear to the people of Wabush that, as a government, we

will work with them, we will work with the company, and if we have to use

the money to clean up the dust, we will use the money, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of

the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, as I mentioned, $65,000 on an idle Roddickton pellet plant last year,

another $84,000 the year before, this to pay insurance for a private

company.

ask the Premier: Why are you spending $65,000 again this year for insurance,

when clearly last year you said it would be the last payment that was made?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister

Responsible for the Forestry and Agrifoods Agency.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. GRANTER:

Mr. Speaker, the

provincial government has invested nearly $10 million to diversify, or

attempt to diversify, the forestry on the Northern Peninsula, and especially

with regard to Holson Forest Products.

There is an asset down there that is sitting there.

invested again this past winter, or the company did some investments this

past winter for a new business plan.

They are shopping that around now, Mr. Speaker, a new engineering

plan, a new business plan. We

hope someone out there in the market will pick up, with regard to the pellet

industry, and advance that along.

have an asset down there, Mr. Speaker, without any insurance on it.

It was imperative that the government would provide the insurance

cost this particular year, just in case a travesty or a disaster would take

place.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of

the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

need some clarification here.

The minister just said that after a $10 million investment they are now

shopping this investment around to see if there is any interest.

Can

the minister please explain what it is you are shopping around?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister

Responsible for the Forestry and Agrifoods Agency.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. GRANTER:

Mr. Speaker, it is

interesting that on a day in, day out basis the Opposition parties stand in

this House and they talk about rural diversification in the economy.

This

government stepped up to the plate a number of years ago to assist Holson

Forest Products on the Northern Peninsula, to help diversify the economy in

that particular part of the Province in the forestry industry.

We stepped up to the plate.

Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, it has not worked to date.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. GRANTER:

The company has gone back

this past January and redesigned the business plan.

They had engineering work done.

Let me be clear, the company is out shopping their business plan

around to see if they will get any partners, Mr. Speaker, to advance the

forest industry on the Northern Peninsula.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of

the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

will ask the minister, or the Premier, whoever decides to answer the

question $10 million you talked about investment in rural Newfoundland.

ask the minister, or the Premier: How many jobs has that $10 million

created?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister

Responsible for the Forestry and Agrifoods Agency.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. GRANTER:

Mr. Speaker, as I said,

we have invested in that particular company on the Northern Peninsula.

I am sure that the members of the Opposition and in the Third Party

would ask all of us as governments, and as we move things along, to invest

in rural parts of the Province.

They stand on their feet on a day-to-day basis to invest in rural parts of

the Province. We stepped up to

the plate, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. GRANTER:

We stepped up on the

South Coast in the fishery, we stepped up in the fishery around the coastal

parts of the Province, we stepped up in the forest industry, Mr. Speaker,

and we will continue to do so.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, I guess we will find out how many jobs were going to be created when

the second business plan gets done because government is now spending

$120,000 for this company, the very same company, to do another business

plan and an engineering study.

ask the Premier: After $10 million in taxpayers' money given to this private

company, why are you spending another $120,000 on yet another business plan?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, if you

listen to the member's opposite, it sounds like it is a bad thing to invest

in business and partnerships in Newfoundland and Labrador.

We have invested in numerous opportunities in Newfoundland and

Labrador and we have created thousands of jobs, Mr. Speaker.

Just

yesterday, we asked the member opposite if he supported a great project that

is underway in Labrador, Mr. Speaker, one called Muskrat Falls.

He could not say yesterday if he supports it or not.

He is not sure if he supports it, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

PREMIER DAVIS:

That project is

creating thousands of jobs in Newfoundland and Labrador and it will create

revenue for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians for generations to come, Mr.

Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

The minister just

mentioned about the great success story that has happened on the South

Coast. Aquaculture on the South

Coast is providing more jobs than anyone could ever imagine, Mr. Speaker,

and members opposite are opposed to it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of

the Official Opposition.

Order, please!

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Since the Premier is on his feet talking about investment in rural

Newfoundland and Labrador, I ask the Premier: How many jobs of this $10

million investment in the Roddickton pellet plant create?

How many jobs?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, I will

stand on my feet all day long, if member's opposite want, and talk about the

diversification in the economy that we are creating over on this side of the

House.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

We will talk about

the jobs that we are creating, Mr. Speaker.

We will talk about the jobs that we are creating.

We are not afraid to make a decision.

They can stand in the House all day long and stand behind their

secrets because they have lots of them over there.

There are lots of secrets over there.

are tested every single day on our policies.

We are creating an economy.

We are creating growth and development in businesses.

We are creating jobs and opportunity in rural and small parts of the

Province. We make no apologies

for it. As a matter of fact, Mr.

Speaker, we celebrate it and we will continue to do our best efforts to

partner with businesses throughout Newfoundland and Labrador to drive our

economy.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

story in Roddickton continues because government also gave this very same

company a power-generating asset at a very nominal cost.

In turn, what did the company do?

It sold the asset to a Quebec competitor for millions of dollars.

ask the Premier: Why did you allow profits from the sale of a public asset

to go to a private company? Why

did you allow this company to flip this asset?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, I would ask

the member perhaps to check his facts.

It is a wood chip plant I assume he is referring to.

I will stand to be corrected too, but it is a plant that was opened

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. DALLEY:

It was a plant that was

opened in 1990, a five-megawatt plant in the St. Anthony, Roddickton, and

Main Brook area, Mr. Speaker.

Through the efforts of government at the time and the federal government,

there was some money supported to interconnect the Great Northern Peninsula

to access lower-priced, more reliable electricity.

Through that process then, as a result of that, there was no need for the

facility. So it went through the

PUB in 1996 and, Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government approved the sale in

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The

hon. the Member for The Straits White Bay North.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Mr. Speaker, the

Office of Public Engagement Estimates were not debated in committee as

scheduled. I have written the

Government House Leader's staff, minister, and asked Office of Public

Engagement officials when the committee will get the opportunity to question

their spending. These requests

have been ignored.

Mr.

Speaker, since the government claims to have an Open Government Initiative,

when will the minister

schedule an Estimates meeting for the Office of

Public Engagement?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister

Responsible for the Office of Public Engagement.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, even members

opposite may acknowledge that I answer every question I am asked in this

hon. House.

I say to the hon. member, there are three hours of Concurrence debate coming

up. There is also going to be, I

believe, about two-and-a-half hours dedicated to debate of Executive Council

Estimates, of which the Office of Public Engagement is a part.

There will be ample time in this House.

I would be happy to answer any of the questions the member has

related to the budget for the Office of Public Engagement.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

The Straits White Bay North.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Mr. Speaker, it is

very clear that being an open, accountable, and transparent government is

not a priority of this government or this minister.

If that was so, he would call an Estimates committee meeting that was

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. MITCHELMORE:

already scheduled

when you have access to ministerial

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. MITCHELMORE:

staff, office

staff, to ask line by line questions.

All other Estimates committee meetings that were scheduled were

debated here in the House of Assembly in committee, and they have been voted

on. This government hallmarks

the Office of Public Engagement, but yet will not bring it into an Estimates

committee meeting where you can have staff and debate that for three hours

in the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. MITCHELMORE:

So I ask the

minister: Will he reconsider his answer and have an Estimates committee

meeting for the Office of Public Engagement?

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. MITCHELMORE:

We should know, and

we should have that ability to question where spending is.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The

hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

The

minister has clearly articulated the opportunities and abilities that exist

here in the House of Assembly to ask questions.

That opportunity is going to exist, Mr. Speaker, as we go through the

Budget process.

There are many hours of discussion left, Mr. Speaker.

There will be opportunity for open discussion and transparency, and

all the questions they have.

can tell you, Mr. Speaker, it is somewhat in contrast to members opposite

who are building a very strong history of secrecy.

They have secret leadership funding.

They have secret $10,000 Toronto balls

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

PREMIER DAVIS:

The secret ball in

Toronto, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Now they are secretly

writing off their debts, Mr. Speaker, and not saying who is responsible.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

PREMIER DAVIS:

When are members

opposite going to start to live by their own policies, Mr. Speaker, and be

open and transparent?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

The Straits White Bay North.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Mr. Speaker, the only

thing open and transparent about this government is their unwillingness to

be open and transparent for their Open Government Initiative.

Mr.

Speaker, the sunken Manolis L is a

serious threat to our environment and the economy of Newfoundland and

Labrador. Correspondence from

the City of St. John's confirms that the federal government has no intention

of being proactive and remove the 600,000 litres of fuel and oil.

ask the Minister of Environment: Has he met personally with the federal

minister, as committed, on May 4, and did he get a commitment to remove that

oil permanently?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Environment and Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CRUMMELL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, the Opposition continues to play politics with something that

fundamentally everybody in this Province is onside on.

He knows exactly where I stand on this issue.

He knows where everybody on this side of the House stands on this

issue.

have spoken with Minister Shea.

I have spoken with Minister Aglukkaq just the other day, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. CRUMMELL:

They are all onside

looking for a long-term solution, Mr. Speaker.

need to have timelines built around removing that oil.

That is the solution we are looking for, Mr. Speaker.

We will continue to put their feet to the fire.

A long-term solution is what everybody is looking for.

We will work with the people of the

Province to make sure that happens.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

The Straits White Bay North.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

So he has confirmed

for the House that he has not met personally as committed.

Mr.

Speaker, the Minister of Fisheries has not received a response from the LIFO

report given in person five weeks ago, and has been ineffective in getting

the feds to pay for fisheries research, retaining Coast Guard radio, and

keeping valuable halibut quotas.

I ask the minister: Given your

poor track record and inability to get results from DFO, why would the

people of this Province accept that you can deliver on mitigating an oil

spill to protect the commercial fishery in Newfoundland and Labrador?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. GRANTER:

It is interesting, Mr.

Speaker, when he talks about a poor track record.

We talk about the committee that we sit on.

He was hammering and knocking on the door to sit on that committee

with us so it cannot be about a poor track record.

Mr.

Speaker, yes, he is a part of the committee, as well as Members of the Third

Party. We went to Ottawa and we

did a presentation to the hon. federal minister.

We have requested a report back.

know that the situation with regard to LIFO this particular year has been

transferred over, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. GRANTER:

We expect a decision to

be made on LIFO from now until the next season starts, Mr. Speaker.

As soon as we get that decision, he will be notified.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Humber East.

MR. FLYNN:

Mr. Speaker, government

announced they were consolidating administrative support functions with the

four health boards and the Centre for Health Information.

They said it would mean a loss of 180 to 230 full-time equivalent

positions. We are hearing

Western Health is going to lose over 100 positions as a result of the

consolidation.

ask the minister: Can he confirm

if this is true?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, what you are

seeing here today is once again misinformation being spread by members of

the Opposition for their own cheap political gain, and it is offensive.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. KENT:

We have made it clear

what our plan is around a new shared services organization to make our

health care system more efficient and more effective.

I have outlined that there could be a reduction of between 180 and

230 full-time positions system wide, Mr. Speaker.

At this point there is no precise determination on how many positions

will be affected in each region.

This is a plan that will roll out over the next five years towards full

implementation. At the end of

the day, it will allow our regional health authorities to focus on what

matters most, delivering quality health care.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Humber East.

MR. FLYNN:

Mr. Speaker, my colleague

asked about the loss of positions in each region a few weeks ago, and at the

time the minister said the location of the losses has yet to be determined.

People in the region are very concerned about the number of potential

job losses, given the poor track record of promises they have made to the

people of the West Coast.

ask the minister: Will he table a list of all the anticipated job losses in

each of the regions as a result of this

AN HON. MEMBER:

Amalgamation.

MR. FLYNN:

amalgamation? Sorry.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, a

minister referenced that this is a plan that is expected to roll out over

the next number of years, a five-year period.

We have initiated a number of five-year plans to create efficiencies

in government and government operations.

The people of the Province asked us to find better ways of doing

business, more effective ways

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

PREMIER DAVIS:

to deliver services, and we are doing that.

Instead of laying off people, we are doing it in large numbers in

one day, Mr. Speaker

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

PREMIER DAVIS:

we are laying out

plans, we are developing plans.

We are trying to find, and we will find, the most effective way to do those

back operations, Mr. Speaker, that are most effective, gets best value for

the people of the Province, and will also allow us to continue on delivering

quality health care in Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Mount Pearl South.

MR. LANE:

Mr. Speaker, we have been

informed that Memorial University sets its own parking fines.

Consequently, illegal blue zone parking fines are currently set at

only $20. This creates no

deterrent and is inconsistent with the City of St. John's where fines are

set at $400.

ask the minister: Will you direct Memorial University to raise its fines for

illegal blue zone parking to $400 in order to discourage this illegal

activity and ensure proper access for persons with disabilities at MUN?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Service Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CRUMMELL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, we are absolutely committed to the inclusion of persons with

disabilities in all aspects of our society.

Our government has shown time and time again examples of exactly

that.

Mr.

Speaker, our hiring practice here within government is exemplary right

across this Province. We are

held up as a model to include people in all aspects of our society.

When

it comes to Memorial University, Mr. Speaker, they do have different

statutes that oversee their operation.

We have had consultations with Memorial University and we are looking

at exactly that.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Mount Pearl South.

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

would suggest to the minister that he stop looking and start doing.

When

government brought in its new blue zone parking regulations, it set a range

for fines from $100 to $400.

Despite feedback from disability advocates that an across the Province fine

of $400 should be applied to ensure consistency, government ignored this

good advice. The Province's

three cities did not ignore that advice.

On their own initiative they opted for the higher fine.

ask the minister: Will you reconsider your approach and amend the blue zone

parking regulations to reflect higher fines Province-wide for those who

disregard the needs of people with mobility issues?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Service Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CRUMMELL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, this past year we partnered with the Coalition of Persons with

Disabilities. We are working

very closely with them on education and awareness when it comes to blue zone

parking. We are hearing

different things out there from the disability community, but that is not

one of the things that I have heard.

Municipalities do have the ability to set their own fines.

That is their right. It

is within their legislation, Mr. Speaker.

just increased fines in 2012. We

are satisfied with the level of fines.

We have no plans to change them at this point in time.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. John's South.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

are hearing from local food banks that more and more people are showing up

at their doors. We are also

hearing from soup kitchens that more and more people are showing up at their

doors.

The

Newfoundland and Labrador Housing and Homelessness Network has reported a

steady rise in homelessness and hidden homelessness.

In 2003, 300 people; in 2005, 600 people; in 2007, 1,200.

The OrgCode report estimates 5,500 people in 2012.

ask the minister: Do you consider this to be a successful outcome of the

Poverty Reduction Strategy, the fact that this number has doubled every two

year?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Seniors, Wellness and Social Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, anytime we

hear of people who have to avail of food banks and other people find

themselves in difficult situations, it is certainly something that is cause

for concern.

will say that working through the OrgCode, as we have done, working with the

various stakeholders that are involved, we certainly look forward to

improving on those stats, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. John's South, has time for a quick question.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Rental allowance is not enough to support rental rates

MR. SPEAKER:

The member has time for a

quick question.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

ask the minister: The number of people who are homeless, are they added into

the statistics of people on social services?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Seniors, Wellness and Social Development, has time for a quick reply.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, that is

something I will check into and I will report back to him.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

Yesterday, the Premier declared that we are the only jurisdiction in the

country that does not engage in private-public partnerships, especially in

long-term care. Obviously, he is

not doing his homework.

ask the Premier: How can he justify the proposed policy change without a

thorough, transparent investigation into the implications of privatization

of long-term care in this Province when it is now proving to be the wrong

choice elsewhere?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

Through this process, we have engaged with Partnerships BC.

It is a Crown corporation of the Province of British Columbia that

have proven that public-private partnerships can be done very, very

successfully, very effectively, and deliver good services to citizens, not

only in British Columbia but in other provinces where Partnerships BC have

partnered with those who have less experience, as we do with such

arrangements, Mr. Speaker.

have engaged with them because they have a considerable depth of knowledge

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

PREMIER DAVIS:

and have had great

success in public-private partnerships, Mr. Speaker.

They are giving us good advice and leadership on the development of

long-term care.

know that long-term care is required in our Province.

We know we need more long-term care to alleviate the backlogs in our

hospitals, Mr. Speaker, and we are moving forward to provide better services

to those in hospital, and need hospital beds, and also to our aging

population.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

ask the Premier why he has not taken time to study the reports of the

Auditor Generals of Ontario and Saskatchewan not the companies that are

involved in the delivery of private operations indicating that

private-public partnerships are not working economically or any other way in

those provinces?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

can tell you that the department, the minister, and government have looked

closely at the experiences in other provinces.

As I have said, and I have just clearly articulated here moments ago,

we are partnering with Partnerships BC that have a good track record, Mr.

Speaker. They have a wealth of

experience and knowledge. As a

result of that, they provided a very good plan and a very good partnership

model that we are following.

This

is about long-term care for our aging population, Mr. Speaker.

This is about alleviating people who are sitting in stretchers in

emergency rooms because there is not an acute care bed available. This is

about people who have surgeries cancelled because there is not an acute care

bed available.

all know there are backlogs in hospitals.

Roughly 15 per cent of acute care beds are being occupied by the

people who require an alternative level of care.

Our project is going to ensure that those alternative levels of care

are available, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Mr. Speaker, I ask the

Premier: Does he stand by his minister's scathing attack on the workers in

our health care system which is being used to justify the privatization of

long-term care?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, the

member opposite is well aware that I, myself

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

PREMIER DAVIS:

the Minister of

Health, and ministers in my government have stood here in this House on

countless occasions and praised the work of public servants in Newfoundland

and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

I have done it over

and over and over again. I have

stood here right in this House, Mr. Speaker, and I have done it.

I have done it publicly and I have conveyed the same sentiments to

public servants themselves.

hold our public servants in high regard.

They provide good services to the people of Newfoundland and

Labrador, Mr. Speaker. It has

nothing to do with what the member opposite is talking about unfortunately.

We do great work.

tell you our hospitals are second to none, our health care is second to

none. Our doctors do good.

Our nurses do good. The

professionals who work in health care do a fabulous job and they provide

good care to the people of the Province, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. John's Centre.

MS ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker, when we all

leave here this evening we all have a home to go to.

Many at-risk youth who age out of care end up in the most deplorable

boarding houses where they are in danger.

Their places are like your worst nightmare.

Does the minister even know how many vulnerable youth are living in these

unsafe conditions?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, housing

and homelessness is a significant issue.

I can tell you it is a matter for us, and it is a priority for us as

a government. I can tell you we

do significant work in dealing with people who need assistance and support

in housing, and not only just the housing itself, but individuals need

assistance and support in maintaining housing.

have partnered with numerous organizations throughout the Province, Mr.

Speaker, especially for young people.

The member brings up the youth in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Choices for Youth is probably the best example I can come up with.

It is a fabulous organization, Mr. Speaker.

It takes young people who need supports and assistance in

Newfoundland and Labrador. I can

tell you they have countless success stories of turning around the lives of

young Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, not giving them a handout, but

giving them a hand up, and they become contributing members to society.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

We have many partners

that do the same

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

Bonavista North.

MR. CROSS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

Resource Committee has considered the matters to them referred and have

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

Department of Advanced Education and Skills, Department of Business,

Tourism, Culture and Rural Development, Department of Environment and

Conservation and Office of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, the

Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, the Forestry and Agrifoods Agency,

and the Department of Natural Resources.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further presenting

reports?

Tabling of Documents.

Tabling of

Documents

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Child, Youth and Family Services.

MR. S. COLLINS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

I am

pleased to stand today in this hon. House to table the 2014 Annual

Performance Report of the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation

Commission.

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further tabling of

documents?

Notices of Motion.

Notices of Motion

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government

House Leader.

MR. KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I give notice under Standing Order 11 that the House will not adjourn at

5:30 p.m. on Monday, June 1, 2015.

further give notice under Standing Order 11 that the House not adjourn at

10:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 1, 2015.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further notices of

motion?

MR. DALLEY:

A point of order, Mr.

Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources, standing on a Point of Order?

MR. DALLEY:

Yes please.

Mr.

Speaker, in Question Period as much fun as it was, there was some

information that I conveyed around a question from the Leader of the

Opposition. We talked about the

wood chip plant on the Northern Peninsula.

had indicated, Mr. Speaker, that the PUB approved the sale in 2000.

It started under the Liberal government, the sale process, but it was

not sold until 2011.

it was our Administration but it started under the Liberal Administration,

Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. DALLEY:

The process never got

done for ten years. I certainly

would like to apologize to the Leader of the Opposition because we believe

that the information should be accurate.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

There is no point of order.

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. KING:

Mr. Speaker, with the

House's indulgence I gave a notice of motion, but

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

With

the House's indulgence I just want to clarify a notice of motion I just gave

around the closure of the House at 5:30 p.m. Monday, June 1.

I think I inadvertently said 10:00 p.m. on Tuesday.

The intention was not to sit from Monday to Tuesday night.

So it is 10:00 p.m. Monday night 5:30 p.m. Monday and 10:00 p.m.

Monday.

Thank you very much.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

Further notices of motion?

Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

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

Parliament assembled

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS MICHAEL:

the petition of the undersigned residents humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS privatized nursing homes lower operating costs by paying lower

wages, de-unionizing, laying people off, and cutting staff in these

facilities; and

WHEREAS studies have established that for-profit nursing homes are

associated with lower quality of services and poorer resident health

outcomes, including an increased risk of hospitalization; and

WHEREAS Auditors General of the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and

Ontario have reported that P3s cost taxpayers more;

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

House of Assembly to urge government to immediately stop the privatization

of long-term care.

And

as in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

I am

very pleased, Mr. Speaker, to stand today on behalf of the people who have

signed this petition. They come

from Central Newfoundland, from Grand Falls, and from Lewisporte it seems

from these two communities: Grand Falls-Windsor and Lewisporte.

They

are expressing a concern that I personally have expressed here in this House

I questioned the Premier on it today the concern that people have

throughout the Province, and the concern that this government needs to hear.

Sometimes we stand to present a petition, whether or not we agree

with it, because it is our obligation to do that.

I agree with this petition, Mr. Speaker.

have reports that have been done here in Canada and reports that have been

done in Great Britain that show us why P3s do not work, Mr. Speaker.

The report I have in my hand is a report that has been done in

England. This study shows that

without any doubt there are many points about P3s that do not work.

One is that the private sector does

not assume the risk. The

governments assumes the risk, they assume all of the risk.

If things go bad, the private sector can walk away and leave the

government holding what they were once running.

P3s

do not guarantee better value for the money.

That has been proven, one of the reasons being they are for profit.

So, part of the money that comes in has to go to help them make money

for themselves and for their shareholders.

Another thing that studies show is that the normal public sector option is

not always considered. What

happens is we stop going for what we always did, which is our public option,

and P3s become the norm.

Another thing is that P3s are not better at finishing projects on time or on

budget than ordinary contracts.

We actually have examples of that here in Canada.

If the Province and if the Premier would only study the reports in

some of the other provinces they would find that is the case.

They do not necessarily finish projects on time.

Also, the rules of P3s do not ensure complete transparency.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

remind the member her time has expired.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Trinity Bay de Verde.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS many communities in the District of Trinity Bay de Verde do not

have cellphone coverage; and

WHEREAS residents of the district require cellphone

coverage to ensure their safety and communications abilities; and

WHEREAS cellphone coverage on many portions of the

highway in the district is very poor or non-existent;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador to work with the appropriate agencies to provide

adequate cellphone coverage throughout the entire District of Trinity Bay

de Verde.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to stand this afternoon

and enter this petition on behalf of the residents of Trinity Bay de

Verde. I have entered this

petition probably at least a half a dozen times, and I will continue to do

so.

The government has to realize they have a role to play

in cellphone coverage in our Province, Mr. Speaker.

It was quite evident this week in a statement made by the Member for

Lake Melville that the government is not taking this situation seriously.

Just back a couple of days ago in debate, the member

said, When you are dealing with large urban centres and there are markets

in there for cost recovery for the companies, it is very easy to get the

investment in those types of districts when you want to expand coverage.

As you get out into the more rural areas, Mr. Speaker,

everybody knows it is exponential, that graph, that costing model is going

to go through the roof, because when you get out there you need to engage

the federal government . Now,

Mr. Speaker, that is an interesting statement from the Member for Lake

Melville that we need to engage the federal government.

I have an ATIPP request here from February 12, 2015.

The requestor is asking the Province, I am requesting, under the

Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, any briefing notes

regarding cellular coverage in Newfoundland and Labrador, since January 1,

2014. Almost eighteen months,

Mr. Speaker. They want to know

what the Department of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development is

doing when it comes to cellphone coverage in the Province and the

communications with the federal government.

The Member for Lake Melville clearly says we need to

engage the federal government.

In an eighteen month period, here is what the ATIPP request found.

Through our search we have found no responsive records that directly

address your request . So in

eighteen months, Mr. Speaker, the Province has not spoken to the federal

government.

Now, the Member for Lake Melville admits that we need

to speak to the federal government.

Why aren't we doing it?

Why aren't we going to the feds?

Why aren't we saying to the federal government, it is time for you to play a

role in cellphone coverage in our Province?

He also goes on to say, I tell you what you get.

You get the complaints over here

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

I remind the member his time has expired.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Conception Bay South.

MR. HILLIER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

petition 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 Town of Conception Bay South is the second largest municipality

in the Province with a population of approximately 26,000 people; and

WHEREAS recent dangerous incidents on community streets have highlighted

concerns of high speed and inadequate traffic control in Conception Bay

South; and

WHEREAS residents, organized groups and the town continue to raise awareness

about pedestrian safety along main streets and the lack of police presence

in the town;

the undersigned, petition the House of Assembly to urge government to review

the level of policing in Conception Bay South with an objective to increase

policing services and improving public safety for residents.

Mr.

Speaker, this is a petition that I brought forward on any number of

occasions and I will continue to bring forward on behalf of the people of

Conception Bay South.

would like to first point out, Mr. Speaker, that in no way am I criticizing

the work the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary do in the Town of Conception

Bay South. They continually

present themselves in a most professional manner as they go about their

daily work. Mr. Speaker, in

speaking with residents I feel the issue here is tied more to a degree of

policing perception of residents in not seeing a police presence in their

neighbourhoods and in the community.

Mr.

Speaker, the Premier should be fully aware of these issues.

He is a former member of the RNC.

He was a ward councillor in the Town of Conception Bay South, and

also the MHA for Topsail. He has

been kept in the loop regarding council's concerns regarding policing in the

town. As late as in the last

couple of weeks, the mayor of our town expressed concerns on the Conception

Bay South Bypass when we had several serious accidents within a matter of a

couple of days.

Mr.

Speaker, this petition came about as a result of speeding and dangerous

driving in our community. Route

60 and the Foxtrap Access Road, we have eight schools on those two highways.

That is students walking 1.6 kilometres or miles every morning on

these highways, poor shoulders, very little room to walk and, unfortunately,

people disregard the speed limits and residents are concerned that they are

not seeing a police presence there to get involved.

Mr.

Speaker, at one point in time the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary had a

neighbourhood policing office in the Town of Conception Bay South, that has

since closed. It closed in 2013,

and there is no indication that it will reopen at any time soon.

The

Minister of Justice talks about the philosophy of policing.

Mr. Speaker, I ask government to look into the perception

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

remind the member his time has expired.

MR. HILLIER:

of the low degree of

policing in our town.

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. John's East.

MR. MURPHY:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents humbly

sheweth:

WHEREAS in 2011 the provincial government announced that it would life the 8

per cent provincial portion of the HST on residential heat and light by

introducing the Residential Energy Rebate; and

WHEREAS heat is a necessity of life and a health concern, particularly for

seniors; and

WHEREAS the provincial government has projected oil prices to increase in

the next five years;

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

House of Assembly to urge government to stop taxing home energy and to

reverse its decision to abolish the Residential Energy Rebate;

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, I anticipate that I will be getting a few of these petitions in the

mail. This one comes from the

residents of Bird Cove, and I am pleased to say that to a T they have signed

this petition calling upon government to reconsider its decision to get rid

of the Residential Energy Rebate program.

Mr.

Speaker, when we heard about it in 2011, that the government will no longer

be applying the provincial tax to a portion of everybody's home energy, I

think it was a great day. It was

a good decision that government made.

They listened to this side of the House.

They listened to about 55,000 residents who had signed a petition

initially in 2001 to have the necessity, we know as heat and light, not to

be taxed.

Having said that, we do know government has done other things at the same

time. They have decided to come

out and expand on the HST rebate to some families.

As one person said to me, they said they would rather see government

outside of their own pockets in the first place by having government

actually give back a little bit of money, rather than giving them the full

amount of money they would have deserved in the first place.

They are a lot less well off than what they would be had the tax gone

the other way.

So,

Mr. Speaker, it is going to be a couple of more times that I will be

presenting this petition in the House, again asking government to reconsider

its motion to get rid of the Residential Energy Rebate.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. MURPHY:

I will table this on

behalf of the people of Bird Cove.

Thank you very much.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

The Straits White Bay North.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

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 a responsibility to ensure that Internet access is

broadly available so that people have the right to be able to access the

Internet in order to exercise and enjoy their rights to freedom of

expression and opinion and other fundamental human rights; and

WHEREAS the Town of Goose Cove still remains without broadband services; and

WHEREAS residents rely on Internet services for education, business,

communication, and social activity; and

WHEREAS wireless and wired technologies exist to provide broadband service

to rural communities to replace slower dial-up service;

We,

the undersigned, petition the House of Assembly to urge the government to

assist providers to ensure the Town of Goose Cove is in receipt of broadband

Internet services in Newfoundland and Labrador

And

as in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, this petition once again is signed by all residents of Goose Cove,

quite a number of people. All

residents, I believe, in the community of Goose Cove have reached out to my

office at one point or another, or in form of a petition, via a telephone

call, Facebook post or message you know reaching out in some way, shape,

or form, however they can, to highlight their concerns, whether it is

through a friend's house, family house, or at the public library.

Sometimes the Internet service is so poor in their own community, which is a

municipality. You would think

that greater preference would be given to municipalities that are trying to

deliver services and deal with public infrastructure that have taxpaying

citizens, for those services that are there and they are not being looked

at. They are going to be some of

the last communities to receive broadband Internet.

We are not talking about miles here.

It is not an exponential distance.

The

Town of Goose Cove is only seven-point- something kilometres away from St.

Anthony. It is not an

exceptional distance. It is not

a huge barrier. There are a

couple of hundred-plus people who live in that community, eighty-four

households. I see that we need

to advance telecommunications there.

There is a real reason for it, from a municipal perspective, from a

residential perspective, and from a business perspective.

So I

say, Mr. Speaker, with the federal Broadband Canada program, with provincial

rural broadband and carryover dollars, and the provincial providers that

offer this service interested in providing broadband, I see no reason why

the barrier is there. We should

form that partnership, we should be collaborative, and we should allow our

communities to thrive. Not just

survive, they should thrive and develop and be around for the long term.

petition and put that out on behalf of my constituents.

It is not the first time and it probably will not be the last time.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. George's Stephenville East.

MR. REID:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

have a petition on health care from the residents of Heatherton to

Highlands, Mr. Speaker.

The

petition reads: To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the

undersigned humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS there has not been a permanent doctor in the clinic in Jeffrey's for

almost a year; and

WHEREAS the absence of a permanent doctor is seriously compromising the

health care of people who live in the Heatherton to Highlands area and

causing them undue hardships; and

WHEREAS the absence of a doctor or nurse practitioner in the area leaves

seniors without a consistency and quality of care which is necessary for

their continued good health;

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

House of Assembly to urge the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to

take action which will result in a permanent doctor, or other arrangements,

to improve the health care services in the Heatherton to Highlands area.

Mr.

Speaker, this is a situation that has gone on for quite a while now in this

area. The petition says over a

year, but the petition was circulated earlier.

It has been about a year-and-a-half now since there has been a

permanent doctor in the clinic at Jeffrey's.

It is a serious situation that has gone on for quite a while, too

long. It is a serious matter

when people do not have access to primary health care such as a doctor in

their community.

The

same situation exists in the community of St. George's.

For the last six months they have not had a permanent doctor there.

Mr. Speaker, the absence of these doctors is having implications for

the hospital in Stephenville, in the emergency room.

People do not have a doctor in their own community.

They have to travel a long distance and wait for long periods of time

in the waiting room in Stepehnville to see a doctor.

is not blowing it out of proportion to say that this is a health care crisis

in the Stephenville, Bay St. George area.

It is a situation that needs to be addressed.

It has gone on for too long.

People have to wait long periods of time before they can get their

tests back for serious illnesses.

They have to travel long distances to have simple things like a

prescription filled, Mr. Speaker.

It is a serious matter that has gone on too long.

People are actually thinking of leaving the rural areas of the district

because of the lack of good medical care in that area, Mr. Speaker.

I have talked to several constituents who have told me stories about

their grandparents who have had to travel long distances and wait in waiting

rooms in Stephenville.

is a crisis and I hope that it is addressed soon, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government

House Leader.

MR. KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

move, pursuant to Standing Order 11, that the House do not adjourn at 5:30

p.m. today, Thursday, May 28, 2015.

MR. SPEAKER:

The motion is that the

House do not adjourn at 5:30 p.m. today.

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

The

motion is carried.

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

move to Motion 8, I move, pursuant to Standing Order 11, that the House not

adjourn this evening at 10:00 p.m., Thursday, May 28, 2015.

MR. SPEAKER:

The motion is that this

House not adjourn at 10:00 p.m. today.

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

this time I would like to call from the Order Paper, second reading, number

four,

An Act To Amend The Canada-Newfoundland And Labrador Atlantic Accord

Implementation Newfoundland And Labrador Act, Bill 2.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

is certainly a pleasure to stand today as Minister of Natural Resources to

speak to Bill 2,

An Act to Amend the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador

Atlantic Accord Implementation Newfoundland and Labrador Act.

Mr.

Speaker, this act applies to our offshore

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

would ask the minister to move the second reading of the act, as the first

order of business.

MR. DALLEY:

I move, seconded by the

Minister of Health and Community Services, that it be now read a second

time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded

that Bill 2,

An Act To Amend The Canada-Newfoundland And Labrador Atlantic

Accord Implementation Newfoundland And Labrador Act, be now read a second

time.

Motion, second reading of a bill,

An Act To Amend The Canada-Newfoundland

and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Newfoundland And Labrador Act.

(Bill 2)

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I apologize again on behalf of our House Leader.

Today, Mr. Speaker, as the Minister of Natural Resources, I have an

opportunity to speak to a piece of legislation that has been around for some

time, I guess, with respect to our offshore, but there are improvements in

our offshore. It is an

opportunity to share with the people of the Province as to what we are

putting forward today. Hopefully

we will get support as well from the other side.

Mr.

Speaker, over the past number of years we have taken significant steps to

improve the regulatory system in our offshore and to ensure that our

offshore workers operate in a safe environment.

I have said it many times in this House and I know all members of

the House our offshore is important to the Province, but we also know,

more importantly, the people working in our offshore are most important.

Offshore safety or anything we can do to improve our offshore is important.

As I said, we have made some initiatives, Mr. Speaker, around

occupational health and safety to improve the working environments

recognizing it is a risky work environment.

Today, I want to turn our attention to modernizing our liability

regime.

Newfoundland and Labrador's environmental record, Mr. Speaker, over the past

twenty years in the offshore has been outstanding overall.

We have a strong record, but it is important that, as a government,

we continue to focus on the offshore, the environmental risk and the

responsibilities in the offshore, in making sure that we have a world-class

liability regime in our offshore.

Mr.

Speaker, this comes to light I think most of the people would recall the

issue in the Gulf of Mexico back in 2010 when they had a major oil spill.

Some 4.9 million barrels of oil created quite a mess, quite a scene.

At that time it was a tragic event.

Eleven people had died.

Oil was spilling for some eighty-seven days.

Not only was the offshore engaged, but the entire world was engaged

to try and deal with that environmental tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico.

was some $40 billion cost to get it all cleaned up with the liabilities,

recognizing of course, Mr. Speaker, as well to point out that it is very

close to shore. It was just some

forty-one miles from offshore.

We are talking about, in our offshore development, some 300 to 500

kilometres offshore.

Nonetheless, the environment is important.

It is important that we look at how we are going to do things to

ensure that operators in our offshore are responsible for the work they do

and we are able, collectively, to find ways to protect the environment.

Mr.

Speaker, as a result of what happened in the Gulf of Mexico, the federal

government, and indeed many jurisdictions went back and reviewed their

liability levels and looked at international requirements.

We have had a Turner report here as well in the Province that made

some recommendations around offshore liability.

Natural Resources Canada has been involved.

We have been involved.

The Government of Nova Scotia has been involved.

well, the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development with

the federal Auditor General's Office has also made comment around offshore

liability, Mr. Speaker. As a

result of that, collectively, between the provincial government, the Nova

Scotia government, and the federal government, we have come together to

strengthen the offshore liability.

The

reason we are all involved, Mr. Speaker, is because we are all partners

here. The C-NLOPB, the

Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board, is a joint board

between the federal government and Newfoundland and Labrador.

So we share that joint responsibility.

Nova Scotia, they have a similar board where they share with the federal

government. As a result of that,

what we are seeing in terms of looking at offshore liability is that all

three entities, Mr. Speaker, have been involved in trying to develop a

stronger liability regime for the Newfoundland and Labrador offshore, and

indeed for the Nova Scotia offshore, with the support of the federal

government.

Mr.

Speaker, many would recall that this was announced back in June of 2013 that

the boards would come together to develop a new joint policy.

It was announced in 2013 about how this would look.

We would collectively harmonize our legislation between Nova Scotia,

Newfoundland and Labrador, and the federal government.

Nova

Scotia and the federal government, Mr. Speaker, have already had their

legislation put through. It has

received Royal Assent. What we

are bringing forward here today is essentially mirror legislation to what

the federal government has developed.

We have been a part of that process.

I would like to lay out some of the things that we can anticipate

going forward, what the companies would expect, and more importantly, what

we are prepared to lay out to ensure we enhance and strengthen the support

for environmental responsibility in our offshore.

Right now, Mr. Speaker, essentially, one of the biggest issues with this

current legislation is that the liabilities around an oil spill there are

two aspects to it. There is what

we call absolute liability.

Right now that is capped at $100 million.

Companies are required to provide a letter of credit upfront for $30

million which allowed the C-NLOBP to have immediate access to that amount of

money in the event of a spill.

Beyond that, Mr. Speaker, they have to provide some sort of promissory note

of around $70 million that could also be accessed in the event of a spill.

That is absolute. That is

without determining fault or negligence.

Built into the legislation once fault or negligence has been

determined, it is unlimited liability.

For now, it is $30 million upfront in a credit, and a $70 million

promissory note. Beyond that,

with the proof of fault or negligence, there is unlimited liability.

Mr.

Speaker, what we are proposing through the amendments to the legislation is

that we would amend the Newfoundland and Labrador accord act to include the

following provisions. One key

important issue that we have heard discussed before in this House is the

issue of polluter pays. That is

in the current act, but it is not as clear and pointed as we would like it

to be.

The

amendments will establish the polluter pays principle explicitly, Mr.

Speaker, so that it is not open for

interpretation.

We will also increase the absolute liability to $1 billion.

We will move from $100 million to $1 billion.

That is absolute liability without any proof of fault or negligence.

Companies in our offshore operating will be required to provide proof

that they can have the financial capacity and demonstrate that so they can

handle an absolute liability of $1 billion.

The

deposit, Mr. Speaker, currently is $30 million.

The deposit under the new amendments would be $100 million.

The opportunity will be there for the operators to create an industry

fund, a pooled fund of $250 million that can be drawn down on as well.

Mr.

Speaker, the other aspect that is being proposed is that we are going to

ensure that the operators are responsible for liabilities incurred by their

contractors. The operators who

operate out there will contract others to come in and be a part of their

work, but the responsibility and the liability will rest with the operator.

If the operator has an issue with a contractor through fault or

negligence, it will be a requirement of the operator to deal with the

contractor, not the C-NLOPB or government.

The C-NLOPB will deal with the operator.

Those are some changes that we will see.

I will get into a few more in probably a little more detail.

One

of the other aspects of the current act, Mr. Speaker, that we would like to

see changed are issues around improving transparency and the clarity of the

operations. One of the things

that will be added here in this amendment is permitting the use of

spill-treating agents, STAs. It

is disbursements that will be allowed to be used in the offshore.

I will speak to that.

They will not arbitrarily be allowed to go make these decisions because we

are looking to protect the environment and look at the net impact of

environment. That is an issue

with spill-treating agents, but again it is another tool that will be

provided to operators in the event of a spill that will allow them, with

proper approvals, to be able to deal with a potential spill.

The

other amendment we will make, Mr. Speaker, is to create a situation where

the C-NLOPB can release some of the information, particularly around spill

response and emergency response plans.

Currently under the act, they are not permitted to do so without

consent from the other side.

This will allow them to release information to the public, but also to the

federal government, or to share with other governments, and share with the

Nova Scotia board.

Down

the road, Mr. Speaker, if we potentially get more development in the Gulf

region where we will have transboundaries, there will be an opportunity for

sharing. Right now under the act

you cannot do that. We will make

some changes to allow them to share information.

Mr.

Speaker, as well, through some changes through the federal environmental

act, we will make amendments here now to allow the C-NLOPB to be a

responsible authority to deliver and engage in environmental assessments.

So, it will designate the C-NLOPB to be an environmental agent, to be

able to do the assessments as a regulatory body involved with the offshore.

Let

me speak about, Mr. Speaker, some of the drill down a little bit into some

of these amendments for clarity, and I am sure if there are any questions

later we will get to them.

Again, explicitly we are going to we are making amendments here to

reference polluter pays, to make sure that is clearly defined.

are changing the absolute liability from $100 million to $1 billion, but it

is remaining in place right now, as it is in the current act.

Despite the amendments, this is going to stay the same, is that the

at-fault or negligence, once it is determined, it is unlimited liability.

So, regardless of what is upfront, the billion dollars upfront if

it is $2 billion, or it is $20 billion, Mr. Speaker, whatever might be the

case, once fault and negligence has been proven, then the company, the

operators, will be required to be responsible for damages.

well, Mr. Speaker, as part of the amendments, the proof of financial

resources, because sometimes companies come in and they have to provide

proof of the financial resources around the absolute liability; even if they

do their work and they did not find oil, and they cap and move on, there is

still a responsibility to keep the financial resources in place for a year

after, just in case there is any environmental issues.

It is just added protection there.

So, once they are gone from a site, or if they did some work and they

were unsuccessful in finding oil, they would still have to keep their

financial resources in place for a year.

The

other issue here is around the absolute liability, because there would be a

little bit of debate, Mr. Speaker, one way or the other, whether it is an

opportunity to increase the liability, or decrease the liability, in the

event of a smaller company or a different situation.

There are provisions there to do that, but it is very strict in that

the board can consider whether they need to increase liability, or if there

is a situation where they feel the risk is minimal, an opportunity to

decrease liability.

That

provision alone will involve the signature of the Minister of Natural

Resources for the Province, as well as the Minister of Natural Resources for

the federal government. So there

is a fairly rigorous process there, Mr. Speaker, in the event that some

flexibility may be needed, but the intent of the amendment is to ensure

there is added strength to environmental protection in the offshore with the

absolute liability at $1 billion.

Within that $1 billion, as I said, they have to provide financial proof for

the $1 billion, but upfront they will have to provide a letter of credit for

$100 million. So that has moved

from $30 million to $100 million.

They also have the option, if they want to create an industry-pooled

fund of $250 million where operators get together and create that pool,

either way the C-NLOPB will still have immediate and unfettered access to

the $100 million or the $250 million in the pooled fund.

will move on here, Mr. Speaker.

Another point that is covered under the amendments is the recovery of loss.

Again, learning from what took place in the Gulf of Mexico, it is a

$40 billion cost, because in the event of an oil spill there are multiple

things to consider. Not the

least of which is the value relating to public resources, the impact on the

fishery, the impact on tourism.

All of that, Mr. Speaker, can have a significant impact in the event of an

oil spill, as we saw in the Gulf of Mexico.

are making some amendments here, Mr. Speaker.

That companies or persons who are at fault, or negligence is

attributable to some of their actions, once it is determined we have fault

or negligence, they are also responsible for any actual loss or damage

incurred by any person, the costs and expenses reasonably incurred.

Whether it is by the board, by the federal government, or by the

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and they are also responsible for

the loss of non-use value relating to a public resource that is affected by

a spill or the authorized discharge, emission, or escape of petroleum as a

result of their action.

That

means, essentially, that even though you have the $1 billion absolute, if

fault and negligence is proven, then they are also responsible for the other

costs that are related, not just to the cleanup.

We are also going to protect the economic value that could be lost as

a result of a spill.

With

respect to the spill-treating agents, there are a few points here that are

very important. Currently, it is

not authorized to use spill-treating agents in our offshore, nor are you

arbitrarily going to be able to.

The amendments will provide the opportunity or permit the use, Mr. Speaker,

where it is likely in using spill-treating agents there will be a net

environmental benefit.

That

is important to consider, because if you are going to add chemicals to clean

up chemicals, then you have to be responsible and concerned about that.

It has to be evaluated that if there is a net environmental benefit

and it is a tool that can work, and it is a tool Mr. Speaker,

spill-treating agent disbursements were actually used in the Gulf of Mexico,

but there is a process.

is important to note, Mr. Speaker, the spill-treating agents will be

established by the federal Minister of Environment.

It is not done in the Province or by the C-NLOPB.

It will be done by the federal Minister of Environment, but the

regulations respecting the spill-treating agents will be made by the federal

Minister of Natural Resources, the federal Minister of Environment, and

through my department, Natural Resources.

There will be input, and no doubt our own Department of Environment will be

engaged as well. The federal

minister will identify the spill-treating agents and then the regulations

will be developed by the various levels of government and departments that

are involved and responsible.

The

other thing that is built in here, Mr. Speaker, is that in the event of a

spill, if a company wants to use a spill-treating agent, first they have to

get permission from the C-NLOPB.

They have to do a small-scale test, do some scientific research, Mr.

Speaker, and provide proof.

There has to be a test. There is

an element there to make a request to the board, test it, and prove it

before you can use it on a larger scale.

Another amendment we are making and proposing here today is through the

addition of, I guess, another regulatory compliance tool where the board

right now has a responsibility to ensure compliance of legislation and

regulations with the offshore.

Mr. Speaker, they do not have a lot of tools to force this.

If you are not in complaint, really the only hammer they have is to

take the license and shut down production.

all know, Mr. Speaker, in the event of that, there are people laid off.

It has an impact on provincial revenues.

It has an impact on a company, besides the actual logistics of

operations. What we have done

here, Mr. Speaker, we have modelled after the National Energy Board Act for

non-accord areas under the administrative jurisdiction of the National

Energy Board. What we are doing

is adding in penalties for violations.

we have a company that is in violation and it may not be a significant

violation, maybe something just small, but at the same time it is important

that we strengthen the ability of C-NLOPB to ensure that companies are

compliant but at what cost and how do you do that?

One thing we have added here, Mr. Speaker, is that penalties for a

violation for individuals will be up to $25,000, or in the case of a company

up to $100,000.

Again, the intent here, $25,000 for an individual who is at fault, or a

company who is noncompliant, it is not about punishing or trying to collect

money; but it is about trying to promote compliance, that there is something

else there to consider. Again,

it may be relatively insignificant, but it is incumbent on the board and the

expectation, Mr. Speaker, that the laws, the rules, the regulations, the

guidelines that are in place are going to have to be followed.

That is another piece that will be added through this amendment.

The

other point that I made earlier is that the board will be designated a

responsible authority under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012.

They will be given that authority to conduct public hearings in

relation to its powers and performance of its duties as they engage in

environmental assessment; and if they do, they have twelve months to provide

a statement on any EA application, Mr. Speaker.

As well, they will establish a fund to facilitate public

participation in the EAs.

Basically, the board does some strategic environmental assessments now and

with the change to the act we will revert to they were taken out for some

reason in 2012, but the boards will go back now as the regulator responsible

for environmental assessments as well.

Mr.

Speaker, I want to point out that does not absolve the responsibility of the

provincial Department of Environment or the federal Department of

Environment and their acts, and the requirements for environmental

assessments and so on. That is

still in place. We are not

changing that. All we are doing

here, with the co-operation of the federal government, and under the

Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, is adding some responsibility to the

C-NLOPB, both in terms of functionality and efficiency, Mr. Speaker, as well

as a regulator to be able to work through the environmental aspects of any

application or development plan that may come forward from operators.

All

of this stuff, particularly four areas around cost recovery and financial

responsibility, the monetary penalties that I talked about and the

spill-treating agents, that will come together under regulations.

That will be laid out under the regulations.

The laws around that are the regulations have to be in place one year

of the federal bill coming into Royal Assent.

I think that was February 26, so we have until February 26 of next

year, collectively, to work together with the federal government and the

Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board to harmonize the legislation, try and

harmonize our regulations and guidelines there may be some changes with

guidelines, Mr. Speaker, depending on Nova Scotia and where we are in terms

of development of our offshore.

That is the intent and the regulations are being worked on now.

The federal government is leading this.

We are working with them, but again it should be in place by February

Mr.

Speaker, those are the number of amendments that are laid out here, and I

know when we provided briefings to the Opposition, one of the issues raised

was around the release of information.

Based on what was in the act and the fact that we have new ATIPP

legislation and access to information of how that would be interpreted and

where would you go if you could not get information, if it was denied, we

looked into that as well.

Currently under the act, under

section 115(2), the act severely restricts

the C-NLOPB to releasing information to the public.

It is very clear in the act.

When we look at that, Mr. Speaker

AN HON. MEMBER:

(Inaudible).

MR. DALLEY:

What it means is they

cannot release information obviously, commercial or scientific

information, they are still not in a position to release publicly, but there

is other information that they may want to release with respect to emergency

response plans, spill response plans filed by the operators.

They cannot share that information under the current act.

Mr.

Speaker, when we looked at the work of Mr. Wells and the commission, with

respect to this act, they were very clear.

They were very clear that

section 115(2) of the current Accord Act

should continue to prevail over ATIPPA.

Basically they said that is okay.

That should be allowed to stay there.

They should have the right and that should stay in there.

What we have done in discussion with the board as well and in the

interests around some of this information is that we will increase, through

amendments, the ability of the board to release more information around

spill plans or response plans and so on.

Mr.

Speaker, in doing that, in changing it, I guess the issue then becomes if

someone wants to challenge that when the board says yes or no, where do you

have to go to challenge it whether you go to the Privacy Commissioner in

this Province or you go the Privacy Commissioner of the federal government.

We have checked into that, Mr. Speaker, both here and federally as

well. The information we have

been given is that if you want to challenge this under ATIPP, you would have

to challenge it under the federal ATIPP legislation and the federal Privacy

Commissioner because the boards are set up under the federal legislation.

There is an avenue. Essentially

what we have done here, despite the position of Mr. Wells and the

commission, we are going to make some amendments.

Again, this is mirror legislation with respect to the federal

government and Nova Scotia, consultations with the board themselves being

able to release some information.

We are providing some flexibility there to be able to do that.

As well, just to point out that should there be some issue with that

then you have to deal with the federal Privacy Commissioner, there is an

avenue available and that is what we have been advised.

Again, understanding that this mirrors legislation with the federal

government, Nova Scotia, and ourselves involving the C-NLOPB.

So it is a group that have joint responsibilities here.

That

highlights, Mr. Speaker, what the new amendments are.

I think if we look at what we have seen in the development of our

offshore, we have had twenty good years for the most

part in our offshore.

There are some issues.

There are always risks, and what we are doing today in bringing forward new

legislation that has been worked on since June 2013 is to find a way to

strengthen our offshore, always looking for new ways, whether it is land

tenure, whether it is schedule, whether is occupational health and safety

and this piece is about environment, strengthening the obligation and

responsibility of operators in our offshore, protecting our environment,

protecting the economic opportunities that exist.

That

is what this legislation is about.

That is what the spirit of it is about.

I think it is very progressive.

I think it is very good for our offshore.

We have so much potential in our offshore.

We have 5 per cent under licence; there are over 1 million square

kilometres out there, a tremendous amount of seismic work going to happen

over the summer. We believe and

we are confident that the work that has been done we have much, much more

activity that is going to take place in our offshore and, collectively, we

have to hold up to our responsibility as well to do all we can to protect

what takes place in our offshore for many, many different reasons.

This

legislation does that, and hopefully we will have the support of the

Opposition as well. Again, I

emphasize the fact that it has already been given Royal Assent in Ottawa, it

has already got Royal Assent in Nova Scotia, and hopefully in a few days we

will have Royal Assent here, and again strengthen the environmental

protection in our offshore.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER (Littlejohn):

The hon. the

Member for Mount Pearl South.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

is certainly an honour to stand in this hon. House today and speak to Bill

2,

An Act to Amend the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord

Implementation Newfoundland and Labrador Act.

It is quite a mouthful.

Mr.

Speaker, first of all, I just want to say upfront that I am certainly 100

per cent in support of this piece of legislation, of these amendments.

So, I look forward to taking my time now to expound upon that and

talk about all the reasons why I am supportive of it and sort of go through

some of the points here.

Regardless what piece of legislation it is, I think it is important that we

all do our due diligence. We

certainly saw that in this House of Assembly it was before my time, but I

can remember something about an expropriation of a mill and so on, and

something never got due diligence.

So, it is important that we do our due diligence.

Mr.

Speaker, as has been said, this is really dealing with the C-NLOPB and the

C-NLOPB, there are different jurisdictions involved in that that being the

federal government, the Province of Nova Scotia, and the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador. As

the minister has explained, the federal government apparently has already

passed these amendments to the legislation, and the Province of Nova Scotia

has already passed these amendments to the legislation, and now, of course,

it comes to this House of Assembly, which is basically mirror legislation of

what they have already passed, and it would be up to us now to debate this

particular bill and make sure we all understand what is being proposed here.

should never take it for granted just because the federal government and

Nova Scotia happen to agree with everything here that that means everything

is hunky dory. We certainly do

not believe in rubber-stamping things around here any more, for sure so

it is important that we talk about these things.

Mr.

Speaker, for us as a Province this is very important and when you look at

all the activity that has occurred

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, as we look at all of the activity that has occurred in our offshore

over the last number of years and of course we can remember back many

years ago when we first heard of Hibernia.

At the time, a lot of us where certainly pleased and surprised by

that announcement and we waited for a long time for it to come to fruition,

but finally since it came to fruition and we had Hibernia developed, since

that time we have had other discoveries.

We have had other projects that have been ongoing in our offshore and

we have had other wells that have been discovered.

We have a number of areas in the Province certainly where exploration

is currently taking place.

know there has been a lot of seismic data that has been collected and we

certainly believe that there are many opportunities for us in our offshore

when it comes to the development of offshore oil and hopefully, at some

point in time, gas as well.

Because we have a lot of natural gas out there and we have not reached the

point in our history because we are still really in the infancy of our

offshore development. We have

not reached the point yet where we have been told it is feasible to start

moving into production and so on with natural gas, but that day will come as

well.

are seeing it all throughout the Province, and I actually attended a

luncheon a couple of months ago now and it was held by the Mount

Pearl-Paradise Chamber of Commerce and Mr. Bob Cadigan was the guest

speaker. He was there

representing the C-NLOPB or sorry, NOIA, and he was outlining to everybody

at that luncheon during this speech all of the current activity, the

activities that are going on off our coast currently, of the discoveries,

looking at some of the timelines when some of these other discoveries will

actually see production, and of course that news is very exciting.

It is not obviously going to happen this year.

It is too bad it never happened this year because we could certainly

use the money as

MR. SPEAKER:

I remind the hon. member

to speak to the bill, please.

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, the point I am making is that there is lots of activity taking place

in our offshore and there is a lot of activity, according to Mr. Cadigan,

that we will be seeing in our offshore as it relates to exploration, and to

which this legislation will certainly apply.

Mr.

Speaker, those are just the things that are on the horizon now.

That is not to mention all of the things beyond that and the

expectations beyond that, that they feel there is going to be a lot more to

come. With that said, it is very

important that as we develop our natural resources and as we bring these

companies in to develop our natural resources and in this case whether it

be offshore oil or gas and so on, it is important that we have the proper

legislation in place to govern that activity, if you will.

That

relates to occupational health and safety, as well as the environment.

Really, the environmental piece is primarily what we are dealing with

here today in terms of the amendment, but certainly I can recall debating in

this House, I do not know if it was last year or the year before, or what

have you, a piece of similar legislation which was amendments to the

legislation as it relates to the activity in our offshore and the C-NLOPB

around safety and enhancing safety of employees.

This

kind of ties in with the safety, because we are talking safety and

environment I come from a background, prior to getting involved in

politics, where what I worked at was occupational health and safety, and

tied very closely to that was environment.

Actually, in some programs you will actually see health, safety and

environment sort of tied together as one entity and others that they sort of

separate them; but they are very similar from the perspective of it is all

about ensuring that, first of all, there is legislation in place.

From that legislation we are going to develop regulations.

From that we are going to develop policies and procedures.

It could be policies or procedures relating to employees safety, or,

in the case of these amendments, we would be developing policies, procedures

and so on as it relates to environmental protection in the offshore.

With

those policies and procedures, it is obviously going to be critical and

even with these amendments it is going to be critical that all of this

information is shared with the companies, shared with the contractors that

are being contracted out by these companies, shared with the supervisors,

and shared with the employees.

It is going to be important that training programs are put into place, or

existing training programs are going to have to be updated to include these

provisions.

Policies and procedures are going to have to be updated and shared with

everybody. Of course, Mr.

Speaker, the other piece is going to be the enforcement piece.

I found, certainly in my career in the field of health and safety,

which again is very similar and in many cases tied to the environment, some

aspects of it at least, that you can have all the procedures you want, you

can do all the training you want and awareness you want and so on, there is

also the need to ensure that the regulations, the policies, procedures, and

so on are enforced.

They

have to be enforced internally by the companies' supervisors to make sure

that the employees are in compliance with all of the regulations, including

the regulations that will flow from this piece of legislation, these

amendments. It is important that

that enforcement take place, but it is also important from a regulatory

perspective as well, which is tied in and directly referenced in here, that

it has to be enforced by the governing agency, the authority, which in case

is the C-NLOPB.

would certainly hope that these amendments and so on that we are seeing here

that there will be a plan in place by the C-NLOPB to ensure that this is all

properly communicated to the operators, to ensure that the operators

communicate this to their contractors, to ensure that there are appropriate

resources with the C-NLOPB in the form of inspectors or whatever they may be

called I am going to call them inspectors.

They may have a slightly different name, but to have enough

inspectors out in the field to review the policies and procedures of the

companies to ensure that their policies and procedures are updated based on

this to ensure that supervisors are enforcing the rules, to ensure that

employees are following the rules.

That is going to be critical.

certainly all trust that is going to happen.

It is important that it happen, Mr. Speaker, because what we are

talking about here is protecting our environment.

We own these resources.

We are very fortunate in this Province to have a number of renewable

resources such as the fishery and such as forestry and agriculture and so on

MR. SPEAKER:

I am going to remind the

hon. member to speak to the amendments of the bill, please.

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

are also very fortunate to have our offshore oil, our non-renewable

resources; offshore oil that belongs to us.

We are very fortunate to have it, but if we are going to have

companies coming in to develop these resources and to derive all the

benefits and there are a lot of benefits; we know there are a lot of

benefits through the oil companies.

When they come in and they develop these resources, there is a large

profit margin at the end of the day there for them and there is nothing

wrong with that. Profit is not a

dirty word. It is important that

we partner with these organizations, these corporations, to make this happen

because without them, it could not happen.

the end of the day, it is our resource.

We own it, and yes, we will get a return from that resource whether

it be through royalties, whether it be through employment opportunities,

whether it be through spinoff and so on; but when they are actually doing

the work, providing those benefits to themselves, providing those benefits

to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, it is important that we ensure

that as that is being done that they are doing it safely, that they are

protecting our workers who are out there on the rigs and on the supply

boats, but also important that they are protecting our environment.

is critical that while they are doing this that they are protecting our

environment. Because if they do not

protect our environment, there is going to be all kinds of ramifications for

us, whether it be to our tourist industry

MR. SPEAKER:

I ask the hon. member for

third time and the final time to speak to the amendments of the bill.

The amendments for the bill are very

specific, I remind the hon. member, and I ask the hon. member for his

co-operation.

Thank you.

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

certainly intend to do that. I

was just trying to give some context and some background to why this is so

important to us, and the impact it will have on us if it is not done

properly. That is the point I am

trying to make, Mr. Speaker.

One

of the things here, of course, the principles that we see here, that we

heard the minister speak to, is the principle of polluter pays.

We have the polluter-pay principle, which basically means, of course

MR. WISEMAN:

(Inaudible).

MR. LANE:

Mr. Speaker, if the

Minister of Finance would like to speak to this bill, he is certainly

welcome to when I sit down. I

look forward to his words of wisdom and wit, as normal.

When

we talk about polluter pays here and the amendment to the act that relates

to that, really what we are talking about here is that if a company is out

in our offshore developing our resources and as a result of the activities

that are taking place, that they are doing, that there is a spill, then this

amendment is basically sort of chiseling in stone because I would

have thought that it was always their responsibility anyway.

It should have been.

Perhaps I think that they are saying it is just sort of cementing that,

putting it quite clear, the concept that, look, you are responsible.

Now, whether or not the spill results as a result of

negligence, whether or not the spill is a result of poor policies and

procedures, whether the spill is a result of poor training, failure