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May 15,

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVII No. 28

The House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR.

SPEAKER (Wiseman):

Order, please!

Admit strangers.

Today, before we start proceedings, I want to

acknowledge some guests we have with us.

Today we are very pleased to have with us some students all the way from

the West Coast, from St. George's Stephenville East district.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

have twenty-nine Grade 7 and 8 Social Studies students from Our Lady of Mercy

Elementary. They are accompanied

today by their teachers: Darlene Sexton and Heather Locke; together with some

chaperons: Gerald LaSaga, Gerald Sexton, Ruth Gough, and Samantha Pitcher.

Welcome to our galleries.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

are also very pleased today to be joined by Mr. Gerald Anderson, who is the

Director of Development and Engagement of the Fisheries and Marine Institute of

Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador.

We will hear a little more about him in a few moments.

Statements by Members

MR.

SPEAKER:

Today we will have members' statements from the Member for the District of Mount

Pearl South; the Member for the District of Bonavista South; the Member for the

District of Port de Grave; the Member for the District of Signal Hill Quidi

Vidi; the Member for the District of Torngat Mountains; and the Member for the

District of St. John's East.

The hon. the Member for the District of Mount Pearl

South.

MR.

LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise in this

hon. House to recognize several outstanding young people in my community.

The twenty-fifth Annual Mount Pearl Focus on Youth Awards, held at the

Glacier yesterday evening, was a tremendous success and highlighted the great

talent, athleticism, and intellectual ability possessed by some very amazing

youth.

These individuals included: Mount Pearl Female Youth of

the Year, Lauren Winsor; Male Youth of the Year, Colin Hunt; Youth Volunteer of

the Year, Mallory Pitts; Male Youth Athlete of the Year, Deepal Deshpande;

Female Youth Athlete of the Year, Meghan Earle; Youth Sports Team of the Year,

the Junior Girls Pearlgate YBC bowling team; Official of the Year, Andrew

Preston; RNC Youth In Service Award Winner, Natalie Hiscock; Youth Group of the

Year, the Mount Pearl Senior High Husky Nation Soup Kitchen; Performing Arts

Individual Award winner, Ashley Hunter; Performing Arts Group Award winners, the

O'Donel Jazz Band and Mount Pearl Show Choir; Visual Arts Award winner, Miranda

Saunders; and Literary Arts Award winner, Emily Hepditch.

There were also two wonderful adult volunteers

recognized at the gala: Adult Volunteer Working with Youth Award winner, Lynn

Lyver-Sparks and Adult Volunteer Working with Youth in Sport Award winner, Gayle

Cave.

I would ask all members of this hon. House to join me

in congratulating all of these individuals on their accomplishments.

Our future is in good hands.

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:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am delighted to rise today to recognize Tom Maddox

for the countless hours of dedication he has given to the Town of Kings Cove.

He has contributed numerous hours to committees and organizations over

the years.

Tom was a teacher and principal at St. Mark's School in

Kings Cove for thirty years. He is

Mayor of the Town of Kings Cove with forty-five years of service.

Mr. Maddox was an executive member of the Bonavista-Trinity Minor Hockey

Association. He was the founding

member of the Kings Cove Recreation Committee and historical society.

Tom is the Chairperson and Treasurer of the Kings Cove and area Waste

Disposal Committee.

Tom was a founding member of the Kings Cove and area

Volunteer Fire Department, and is currently Treasurer.

He received the provincial and local Knights of Columbus Knight of the

Year Award. Tom served two terms as

Grand Knight and is presently Deputy Grand Knight, and always held an executive

position. He is a member of the

Board of Directors of the Discovery Regional Service Board and Canadian Rangers.

Tom was also presented with the Queen's Jubilee Medal in 2002.

Mr. Speaker, hon. colleagues, please join me in

honouring Mr. Tom Maddox for his dedication and contributions to his community.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.

MR.

LITTLEJOHN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today in this House to recognize two individuals

from my district who recently received Recreation Volunteer Recognition Awards

from Recreation Newfoundland and Labrador.

Angela Norman of Bay Roberts and Robert Clarke of Upper Island Cove were

two of nineteen recipients from across our Province.

Robert Clarke has been a tireless recreation volunteer

with the Town of Upper Island Cove.

He has been instrumental in the revitalization of the Recreation Centre in Upper

Island Cove, calling bingo on Wednesday evenings and organizing the children's

playgroup. Robert recently oversaw

renovations to the centre, which received new washrooms, an enlarged fitness

room, and an outside play space.

Angela Norman is an active volunteer in her community,

serving on the Bay Roberts Recreation Commission as their secretary, a key

organizer of other town events, the St. Matthew's Church Anglican Auction

Committee, a member of the Conception Bay North Ladies Volleyball League, and

the list goes on.

The old adage, Mr. Speaker, if you want something done,

call someone who is busy, would describe these two individuals to a T.

I ask all members to join me in congratulating Angela

and Robert, two tireless recreation volunteers.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I am happy today to congratulate one of my favourite

singer-songwriters and in this Province, that is saying a lot.

Colleen Power may be best known to many Newfoundlanders

and Labradorians as the genius behind hilarious hits like

New Townie Man and

Na Na Song , but I have a special love of the music she has done in

French.

She released her first full-length French CD,

Terre-Neuvienne, in 2006, and her second, Le Bonheur Domestique, last year.

She has received many varying awards and recognitions for her multi-

faceted talent.

Recently, we learned that Colleen has been selected to

take

part in the World Acadian Conference, a grand reunion of the Acadian

diaspora which takes place just every five years.

This year, Le Congrs Mondiale Acadien will be in

Edmunston, New Brunswick. Colleen

will join musicians like Lennie Gallant, Nathalie Renault and Daniel Lgre to

perform in showcases throughout the festival.

Her song Mon Copain will be

included on a musical compilation from The Francophone Centre of the Americas to

promote emerging Francophone artists.

Felicitations, Colleen!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR.

EDMUNDS:

Mr.

Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today to congratulate Constable Justin Lyall

of Nain on being recognized as the Police Officer of the Year for the Royal

Canadian Mounted Police by Newfoundland and Labrador Crime Stoppers.

The award was presented on May 2, 2014 by His Honour, the Hon. Frank

Fagan.

Constable Lyall, who joined the RCMP in 2005, and now

stationed at the Bonavista detachment, was born and raised in the Inuit

Community of Nain, the son of George and Bonnie Lyall.

He spent most of his young life hunting and fishing in Northern Labrador,

an experience that has prepared him well for his policing career.

I personally had the opportunity to spend a lot of time

with Justin and his parents and shared with them the wonderful experience of

being out on the land.

Constable Lyall is an active volunteer for the

community with Special Olympics. He

actually started the Special Olympics

chapter in Clarenville-Bonavista.

Justin also spearheaded Unite the Bight campaign to secure a new

playground for the area.

Mr. Speaker, Constable Lyall's commitment to community

and policing earned him this prestigious award, and I ask all hon. members to

join me in congratulating him on this achievement.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

MR.

MURPHY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

One of Canada's most innovative educational

institutions celebrates its fiftieth anniversary this year.

The College of Fisheries, Navigation, Marine

Engineering and Electronics opened on Parade Street in 1964.

In 1992, by now relocated to Ridge Road, it became the Fisheries and

Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Marine Institute or MI to its friends offers diplomas,

certifications, degrees and specialized industry training in the schools of

Fisheries, Marine Studies and Ocean Technology.

The facilities at MI are more than impressive.

The flume tank is the largest in the world and the ship's bridge

simulator is an incredible experience.

I would venture to say that in fifty years of its existence, there has

not been an important advancement in any of our marine industries that the

staff, students, faculty, and the alumni of the Marine Institute has not been

part of.

The anniversary celebrations were launched on January

15, there was an official anniversary reception on April 30, to which I had the

pleasure to attend, and there will be events throughout the Province during this

coming year.

I ask all hon. members to join me in congratulating the

Marine Institute on fifty great years as an integral part our most important

industries, fifty years in advancing education in the same.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by Ministers

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Municipal and Intergovernmental Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

KENT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you to my colleagues as well; they are very

spirited today.

I rise in this hon. House to provide an update on the

consultations we are undertaking together with Municipalises Newfoundland and

Labrador and the Professional Municipal Administrators on the review of the

provincial-municipal fiscal framework.

The goal of this review is to examine the existing

provincial-municipal fiscal framework to identify options for efficient and

effective ways for services to be delivered, paid for, and shared in the

Province.

Mr. Speaker, as part of the review, government

committed to consulting with various stakeholder groups and the general public.

These consultations were designed to ensure that the views of

municipalities, local service districts, residents of unincorporated areas, and

all who utilize municipal services are considered.

I am pleased to say that phase one of the stakeholder

consultation process is now completed.

Sixteen roundtable discussions were held across the Province from January

to April involving over 470 registrants from organizations such as

Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador, Professional Municipal Administrators,

local service districts, and Rural Secretariat Councils.

The views expressed by these individuals have been invaluable in

determining key areas of concern, and illustrating how the framework can support

our communities into the future. The

Office of Public Engagement was instrumental in assisting us to facilitate these

sessions across the Province.

Mr. Speaker, my department has conducted a

jurisdictional review of other provinces and territories, to obtain information

about their fiscal relationships between provinces and municipalities and their

governance structures. As we move

into phase two of the consultation process, meetings will be held with targeted

stakeholders that are involved in municipal service delivery such as economic

development, recreation, waste collection and disposal, environmental

protection, infrastructure, firefighting, bylaw enforcement and land-use

planning.

I would also like to encourage residents who have not

already participated to complete our online survey by visiting the departments

Web site. Residents and other

interested stakeholders can submit their feedback either by mail or

electronically until the end of June.

Mr. Speaker, we have made great progress with this

review, and by continuing to work together to collect, engage, and consider the

views of municipalities, local service districts, residents, and other

stakeholders, we will gain a clearer insight into the priority areas across the

Province. These efforts will inform

our work, as we build a strong fiscal framework to guide us into the future.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for the District of Bay of Islands.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

JOYCE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an advance copy of his

statement. Mr. Speaker, this was

committed back in 2008. Six years

later and all members on this side would love to see a new fiscal arrangement

with MNL for all the municipalities.

When you speak to MNL and you speak to councillors, the time for consulting is

over. It is six years.

We are still getting boil advisories.

We still have systems that towns cannot afford.

I say to the minister, the consulting time is over; we

need action. Every year we delay

this, Mr. Speaker, municipalities fall further behind, the less water systems

are taken off-line, and we get major problems with our roads.

I know the minister has committed to have something done by 2015 in the

next Budget. Personally, I know the

Opposition feels very strong that anything we can do to help move this along, we

will.

This is so vital to all the residents of Newfoundland

and Labrador and all the municipalities of Newfoundland and Labrador that we

have to find a solution collectively.

We need answers. We need

something concrete.

We will hold the government to the commitment that it

will be in the Budget in 2015. We,

again, offer ourselves if there is anything we can do to help push this through

because this is provincial, for the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, to

ensure our residents that they can maintain the infrastructure they have and

improve the infrastructure they have.

Collectively, we must ensure that is done.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

MR.

MURPHY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would also like to thank the minister for the advance

copy of his statement. We will hold

his feet to the fire on the deadline they put forth for the 2015 Budget to have

this new fiscal arrangement in place.

We would like to offer a few suggestions, too, at the same time to the

minister, that we could see more investment done, for example, as regards to

municipal transit. We could see the

government give a break to some municipalities when it comes to taxes, for

example, on fuels to operate the busing system here in the Northeast Avalon when

it comes to Metrobus.

Breaks to the cities, for example, government paying

its own way for the use of government buildings that are in some jurisdictions.

My district alone is being tagged right now with taxes not paid, for

example, on four or five buildings right now that government uses.

They supply the service at the same time, the government services, and

jobs, yes, but still they are using the sources from the City of St. John's, for

example, to their benefit. So I

suggest to government that also be included in the formula of (inaudible).

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon. the Minister Responsible for the Status of

Women.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SHEA:

Mr.

Speaker, I rise today in this hon. House to recognize Saturday, May 17, as

International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.

The theme of this year's campaign is Same-sex parenting: I love my two

moms, I love my two dads, and it aims to reduce prejudice towards children who

grow up in same-sex parented families.

Mr. Speaker, this day aims to raise awareness of

homophobia and transphobia, to campaign against it, and to celebrate gender and

sexual diversity.

Celebrating the full diversity of our Province and

continuing to educate is the first step to preventing violence against all

vulnerable populations, including gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people,

or LGBT individuals.

Every day, Mr. Speaker, LGBT individuals are subjected

to acts of violence in schools, workplaces and communities, and experience

higher rates of violent victimization than heterosexual individuals.

Mr. Speaker, our Violence Prevention Initiative aims to

educate and increase awareness about the prevention of violence against women,

children and youth, Aboriginal women and children, older persons, persons with

disabilities, LGBT individuals, persons of varying race or ethnicity, and

persons of different economic status.

As part of the Violence Prevention Initiative, our

Regional Co-ordinating Committees have many events planned throughout the

Province to educate and celebrate International Day Against Homophobia and

Transphobia. For example, the

Southwestern Coalition to End Violence arranged a proclamation signing yesterday

in Stephenville. Violence Prevention

Labrador has arranged for an individual with same-sex parents to do an interview

tomorrow morning with CBC Radio's Labrador Morning Show, and the Western

Regional Coalition to End Violence has created stickers promoting facts about

same-sex parenting which will be placed on coffee cups provided by Brewed

Awakening in Corner Brook.

Mr. Speaker, I invite all of my colleagues to join me

in recognizing International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, and

acknowledge the hard work that our Regional Co-ordinating Committees do on a

daily basis. The Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador remains fully committed to preventing violence against

all populations so that residents of Newfoundland and Labrador can live in

violence-free communities.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an advance copy of her

statement. Certainly, we in the

Official Opposition would also like to recognize the International Day Against

Homophobia and Transphobia.

Gains made in the LGBT community have been hard fought

and won by the LGBT community. The

right to marriage, the right to raise children, are accomplishments we should

all celebrate because it is reflective of a society that is evolving.

These are rights we should defend in our daily conversations to uphold a

tolerant society.

We are all aware of the controversy surrounding the

application of Trinity Western University in British Columbia to establish a law

school that requires all students, faculty, and staff to sign a community

covenant prohibiting any sexual intimacy outside heterosexual marriage.

How can the pursuit of law proceed unhampered when lawyers are being

trained in homophobic institutions, when their institutional homophobia

conflicts with our Charter of Rights and Freedoms?

Law Societies across the country are grappling with

this issue and our own Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador are seeking

feedback from its members on how to deal with graduates from this school.

As a member of the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador, I will be

making a submission that emphatically states that attorneys educated under a

homophobic program lack the requisite, character, and fitness to practice law in

our Province.

I appreciate the opportunity to speak to this very

important day.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

ROGERS:

too thank the minister for an advance copy of her statement.

As a same sex parent, I am proud to stand in this House

to celebrate the incredible work LGBTQ activists have done throughout the ages

and around the world with passion, audacity, determination and style to bring us

to this point where our rights are enshrined in our human rights legislation.

Rights are not given but hard won.

Our Department of Education has become a world leader

with Egale Canada by developing and implementing a full education program to

deal with homophobia and transphobia in our schools.

This will benefit our whole society, Mr. Speaker, as these very students

come and teach us all about diversity and acceptance.

I invite all members here today to join me in the

anti-homophobia breakfast tomorrow morning, organized by Planned Parenthood.

It is at the Uptown Club on Kenmount Road at 7:00 a.m.

Bravo again to all the LGBTQ activists and bravo to

Planned Parenthood.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

S. COLLINS:

Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, Newfoundland and Labrador boasts a culture

that is rich in creative and theatrical talent.

Nowhere is it more evident than in our annual Provincial Drama Festival

organized by the Newfoundland and Labrador Drama Society.

Celebrating its sixty-fourth season this year, our provincial festival is

the longest running full-length play festival in the entire country.

Each year, it brings theatre to various areas of the

Province, and continues to showcase numerous outstanding performances and

entertain audiences filled with local residents, members of the arts community,

and tourists alike. The drama

festival is the ideal outlet to showcase the outstanding work of amateur theatre

groups who enjoy working together and sharing their artistic talents with

admiring audiences.

Mr. Speaker, this year's festival was hosted last month

in the Stephenville, Bay St. George, and Port au Port area a region well known

for its community and professional theatre.

A total of seven community theatre troupes gathered for the festival to

perform a variety of plays, from comedies to tragedies.

The performances were Jenny's House

of Joy , by the Bay Theatre, Stephenville;

Blasted by Off-Broadway Players of

Corner Brook; Giovanni's Women by

School Zone, St. John's; Everybody Loves

Opal by the Carol Players of Labrador City;

God of Carnage by Northern Lights Theatre Company, Labrador West;

Girl in the Goldfish Bowl , Mokami Players, Happy Valley-Goose Bay; and,

The Laramie Project by Avion Players,

Gander. I wish to offer my

congratulations to the Off-Broadway Players who received the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador's Drama Festival Award for best presentation of a

full-length play for Blasted .

As a government, we understand how important it is to

foster artistic production, and so we have been very proud to support this

festival through the years. We

recognize that it is through these amateur productions that many of our actors,

playwrights, directors, backstage personnel, and others hone their craft and go

on to pursue professional careers in the theatre industry.

Mr. Speaker, our Province has long been recognized for

our strong cultural community, and our theatre is an important aspect of this

recognition. We have a vibrant

professional and amateur theatre tradition in Newfoundland and Labrador, and we

place great value on both. Theatre

performers in this Province are an inspiration to us all, particularly to our

young people who are watching and learning from their mentors in the theatre

industry. Annual festivals like this

one, Mr. Speaker, are but one example of how our Province celebrates and

encourages these remarkable talents.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for the District of Bay of Islands.

MR.

JOYCE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an advance copy of the

statement. As we see here, the

festival has been on the go for sixty-four seasons.

So, just that alone shows how valuable it is to the community and the

towns and the people who play into it, act, and direct.

It takes up a lot of time and energy, and a lot of these volunteers must

be recognized for that.

Congratulations to all the winners at these awards.

I noticed, Mr. Speaker, that the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador

Drama Festival Award was presented by the MHA for Port au Port.

So I just want to recognize that he was at the festival, and he presented

the award. We, on this side of this

of the House, also commend all these actors, players, and production.

It is a great tradition in Newfoundland and Labrador; we do have a great

tradition. We do have a lot of

culture that does bring out and there a lot of these amateurs, as the minister

mentioned, who do go on to professional careers, and we do lay a base that a lot

of these people can get a professional career.

Anything government can do, anything the Opposition can

do to promote our culture, to promote our history, to help these amateurs to

receive their full potential and help our youth to get engaged, we are all

supportive.

Congratulations to all of the winners and to the

government for their support for this also.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

statement and bravo to the Provincial Drama Festival for its success, longevity,

and for enriching the lives of many.

I am glad to see government's commitment to fostering artistic production,

particularly live theatre which no matter how successful will always need some

form of public support to launch its productions.

Live theatre in this Province has created many

successes in film and television and has launched a career of many, but

government must provide more support to the creation phase, the seed money

needed by artists to write plays and screen plays.

These beginning steps are crucial.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council is the main

provincial source of support for original, artistic creation, but only half of

the eligible applicants are funded and only 18 per cent of those get the full

money they ask for, even though the budgets are so small.

Bravo once again to all those who participated and to

all the volunteers of the 2014 drama festival.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Oral Questions

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR.

BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yesterday, the Premier said that the details of any

warranty on the work completed by Humber Valley Paving are contained in what was

really an undated termination letter.

That letter only briefly mentions warranty and does not provide any

details at all; there is no reference to a specific contract or

section of a

contract. The minister yesterday

said that there was an agreement in place.

I ask the Premier: Is the current warranty the same as

the warranty that is outlined in

section GC 31 of the contract with Humber

Valley Paving?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

MCGRATH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, as I stated yesterday, during the

negotiations with Humber Valley Paving to terminate the contract, one of the

things that the government specified was that the two-year warranty on the work

that had been completed, the sixty kilometres, that the warranty would be as it

was written in the original contract, and that is as it stays.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR.

BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Contractors are continuing to tell us that bonds

support the warranty on a contract.

That is the normal way to do business in this Province.

Without a bond, there is little protection for Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians.

I ask the minister: Since you released the $19 million

in bonds, what warranty exists if Humber Valley Paving goes out of business?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

MCGRATH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I have to emphasize again today because I

really feel it is inappropriate to assume that a company is going out of

business. That is certainly not an

assumption that this government has and not an assumption that we took into

account, nor do we still take into account.

There was one contract due to unforeseen circumstances.

We have been doing business with Humber Valley Paving

since 1996. They have done exemplary

work. They have been very

professional in their work. We have

never ever and I did check with the officials with the department in the

history of the department used a bond to go against warranty work for any

company in roadwork. We have our

guarantees in place

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR.

BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am happy to hear that you have not had to do that.

Maybe the minister will clarify: Have you ever used a

bond to support a warranty?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

MCGRATH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, normally when a contract is put out, a

bond is kept there for two years afterwards.

Coincidentally, the warranty on the work is also two years.

One matches with the other.

That is not the reason the bonds are kept there.

When a contract is finished, a bond is kept there in

case there is something within the work that was done that was not up to the

performance value. In this

particular case with this contract, we have a warranty in place for two years

with a contract that was mutually terminated.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR.

BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I do not want to argue with the minister here today,

but it is not strictly a coincidence either, that you keep those bonds in place,

and the minister knows that.

Several months ago the Premier made a big announcement

of how this government was now going to be open.

Yet we have asked for several documents and they have not been

forthcoming with the information.

They have refused to table the information.

Yesterday, he said that the documents would be released when the timing

is appropriate.

I ask the Premier: Why are you delaying to release

those documents? What does

appropriate mean? Please define

appropriate to this House.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

MCGRATH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, when I was asked that question the

department said that we would go back, we would get legal advice as to what

could be released. Since the request

was put out, we have invited the Auditor General in.

The Auditor General has requested the exact same

information as part of the information that the Auditor General is asking for.

As I stated yesterday, we have the utmost respect, on this side of the

House, for the Auditor General and the report that he will put out.

I think it is only fair that the department will

provide the Auditor General with the information, allow him to do his

investigation, file his report, and then whatever information the Opposition

wants we will provide it to you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR.

BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is very obvious the minister is hiding behind the

announcement of the AG. That has

become extremely obvious today.

Mr. Speaker, it has been revealed that government does

not keep track of what they spend on various health care procedures.

When government was asked for the cost of specific procedures, they said

that they do not keep such information.

I ask the minister: Shouldn't proper management of

health care include actually knowing what we spend on various procedures?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the hon. member for his question.

This came up yesterday during an interview I did with CBC Radio in the

morning.

It is not as simple as pushing a button to find out

information to particular cases and particular circumstances.

Our health care is not set up that way.

It is not set up in a for-profit manner, whereby we produce bills on a

regular basis or statements on a regular basis for individual users.

It is set up under an umbrella of a budget.

It is set up under an umbrella where areas of health care different

areas of service provisions are set up with different budgets and they operate

within those budgets.

We do have reciprocal agreements with other provinces

so that when people visiting Newfoundland and Labrador, or Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians are visiting other provinces, there is a reciprocal agreement where

each province bills each other.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR.

BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We have a health care budget of $3 billion,

thirty-eight cents of every dollar that government spends.

This is not unusual. Many

jurisdictions would have what we are asking for here or what is being suggested

here. With such a very high level of

spending proper management, of course, is the key if you want to get to

appropriate health care.

I ask the minister: How can you actually manage health

care costs if you are not keeping track of those various procedure costs?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

His question is appropriate to the continuation of

information I was going to provide.

Through these reciprocal agreements, we have set

billing standards, billing processes where each province charges the other

province when they have a visitor.

If a visitor from another province comes to Newfoundland and Labrador and has to

go to an outpatient service or an inpatient service, there is a set standard of

what is billed to each other's province.

The Canadian Institute for Health Information is an

organization that is fed into by all provinces.

We submit information to that as well.

They have actually an estimator, a patient-cost estimator, on their Web

site where people can go in and look at various issues or various matters of

health care they may need in various provinces, and that will provide generally

the cost for each procedure, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

MR.

OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the Colonial Building Act clearly states

that not only the Colonial Building but also the grounds around the building are

declared a Provincial Historic Site.

When government announced the refurbishment of that site, the overall goal was

to respect the historical integrity.

I ask the minister: Why are you destroying a part of

our historic vegetation on such a valuable historic site by destroying the trees

on that site just to make room for a fence?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

S. COLLINS:

Mr.

Speaker, thank you, and I thank the hon. member for my first question.

I enjoy the opportunity to be able to stand up today

and talk about the restoration, and the significant restoration, that is going

on with the Colonial Building, a significant piece, certainly, of our historical

fabric in this Province worth $22.3 million, a significant piece.

I will mention to the member, though, it was done for a couple of

reasons. It was not done to destroy

nature, as he had suggested. There

were two reasons: remove to reinstate the original landscape design, which was

an important piece, obviously; and the other piece of that is construction

issues, which necessitated their removal.

Each tree was not removed haphazardly; it was done with

intent and reason. Certainly, that

is why it was done. I think if you

look across with regard to stakeholders who were talked to prior to this, they

were all in agreement with it.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

MR.

OSBORNE:

That is funny, Mr. Speaker. Those

trees were probably as old as the building.

If he is going to return to the original landscape, I would have thought

the trees would have been part of it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR.

OSBORNE:

Mr.

Speaker, the City of St. John's

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR.

OSBORNE:

was not aware that trees were being destroyed.

Not only does the minister have such blatant disregard for the value

these trees offered that historic site, but the government continues to show

blatant disregard to municipalities, especially the capital city.

I ask the minister: How could you have such little

foresight for these historic trees without even consulting the capital city?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

S. COLLINS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will speak about foresight and research the hon.

member should have done because I have looked at pictures, the original intent,

and what the building originally looked like.

We are looking at a building that was built in the 1850s, approximately,

and if he looked at pictures I looked at one earlier today from a riot in

1932, a significant time from when the building was first built there were no

such trees in front of the building.

It was not part of the original design.

They were added later, perhaps even as much as 100 years later.

That obviously is not the case.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for The Straits White Bay North.

MR.

MITCHELMORE:

Mr.

Speaker, the Minister of Transportation and Works has confirmed roadwork for the

Southern portion of the Great Northern Peninsula and Cartwright L'Anse au

Clair.

I ask: Given the condition of the hundreds of

kilometres of roads in my district, when can the residents expect their fair

share of the Provincial Roads Program?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

MCGRATH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I have been very proud to say in this

House we had $81 million this year in our roads improvement budget this year.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

MCGRATH:

The

department, Mr. Speaker, has had requests from all forty-eight districts.

I listed off a list to some of the Opposition the other day with work

that is being done. There are more

tenders coming out. Stay tuned and

you will see what is coming into your district.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for The Straits White Bay North.

MR.

MITCHELMORE:

Mr.

Speaker, in addition to the condition of the paved roads, gravel roads are going

to ruin, especially Conche, Croque, St. Julien's, Boat Harbour, Wild Bight,

Deadman's Cove, and Bear Cove given the region has lost grading equipment.

I ask the minister: Since you have no plans to pave

these routes, will you commit to replacing the obsolete grading equipment and

remove the tree stumps from Croque Road?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

MCGRATH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

After just listening to the hon. Member for St. John's

South, I am not sure I would remove the tree stumps.

We work constantly, Mr. Speaker, on all of the roads.

We have over 10,000 kilometres of roadway that the government is

responsible for throughout the Province.

We realize there is a lot of work to be done on some.

Just a couple of weeks ago I met with one of the

mayors. I had a very productive

meeting with the Mayor of Conche. We

are meeting with the people in the district.

We are doing our best, and we will continue to do that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR.

EDMUNDS:

Mr.

Speaker, the court circuit in Labrador is back up to two Crown prosecutors until

July, and then it is back to one again.

The prosecutors currently have at least 300 active cases each and

growing. The required complement for

Crown prosecutors for Labrador is five.

I ask the Minister of Justice: What is your department

doing to fill the vacancies we have in Labrador?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Attorney General.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

F. COLLINS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The hon. member is right; the complement of Crown

prosecutors in Happy Valley-Goose Bay is five.

The new senior Crown took his office last week, Mr. Speaker.

I had a grand chat with him.

He is a Newfoundlander who has been away.

He is happy to come home and make his home in Labrador.

I am looking forward to working with him in Labrador.

We have an articled clerk on staff there now.

We are still taking the Crown prosecutor over from Wabush who is helping

out. We are sending two Crowns from

St. John's to look after the circuit courts.

The advertising has been completed in the public service, Mr. Speaker.

There have been a number of applicants and we are hoping, in the next

week or so, to look at what applicants are there to fill the vacancies.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR.

EDMUNDS:

Mr.

Speaker, still no answer there.

Mr. Speaker, last month one of the two judges in

Labrador retired, leaving only one Provincial Court judge to handle the Labrador

court circuit. I have discussed many

shortcomings in Labrador within the justice system with the Attorney General.

I ask the minister: What are the short-term and

long-term plans to provide an acceptable level of comfort to victims of crime in

Labrador?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Attorney General.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

F. COLLINS:

Mr.

Speaker, we have had a number of discussions with the hon. member about the

delivery of legal services in Labrador.

There is no doubt, there are challenges in delivering legal services in

Labrador but they are not unique to Labrador.

There are challenges all across Canada's North in recruiting people and

being able to properly resource that particular field.

Mr. Speaker, with respect to Labrador, we have invested

a significant number $13 million, as a matter of fact, over the last eight

years in Labrador, in the provision of legal services, and we are going to

continue to do that.

Mr. Speaker, the issue of delivering legal services in

Labrador has challenges but they are not all met with bricks and mortar and

dollars and cents. There are

challenges with geography and challenges of culture.

Mr. Speaker, we are dealing with them every day and we will continue to

do that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for St. Barbe.

MR.

J. BENNETT:

Mr.

Speaker, after the 2005 Lamer Inquiry it was recommended that government create

a prosecutors guidebook that permits the Director of Public Prosecutions to

appoint special prosecutors to work with the police in complex investigations.

I ask the Minister of Justice: How many special

prosecutors have been appointed to work with the police over the past seven

years?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Justice.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

FRENCH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Let me assure the hon. member, the investment in

policing in this Province over the last number of years, since 2004, has been a

billion dollars. Our concern for

policing in this Province goes back to the first day we formed government a

number of years ago. We have

invested not only with mind and policies, Mr. Speaker, we have also invested

with the people's resources here in the Province.

Just in this last Budget, Mr. Speaker, we saw five new

RCMP officers go to Labrador alone.

Mr. Speaker, this is something we are extremely concerned about, so much so that

we have actually increased the budget for policing in this Province by $50

million since 2004.

So we are very concerned about policing in this

Province. It is one of the staples

that this government was elected on, and we stand by it, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for the District of St. Barbe.

MR.

J. BENNETT:

Mr.

Speaker, in Estimates last week the Minister of Justice heard the Director of

Public Prosecutions say he did not know the answer to that question and

threatened to leave Estimates if I did not stop asking questions like that.

So let's try one from 2008.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR.

J. BENNETT:

Mr.

Speaker, the 2008 report on our prisons, Decades of Darkness, recommended hiring

a psychologist and a mental health nurse who would regularly visit the women's

prison in Clarenville. On February

20 I wrote to the minister asking if these professionals have yet been hired.

To date, I have no response.

Today I ask the minister: Have these professionals been

hired, and if so, how frequently do they attend the women's prison in

Clarenville?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Justice.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

FRENCH:

Mr.

Speaker, I am struck amazed, as a former member of this House used to say.

This hon. gentleman my learned colleague, as I will call him, as many

in the profession refers to has a bee in his bonnet about Public Prosecutions

in this Province, Mr. Speaker. I

think the hon. member should stand up in this House and apologize to the people

of this Province who work in Public Prosecutions.

He stood up in debate last week while we were talking

here and he managed to manoeuver it around, and he was taking shots at the

Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr. Speaker, in this House.

I think it is absolutely ridiculous.

These people are hard-working people, they have a tough job to do, and

they do a darn good job at it, Mr. Speaker.

If the hon. member had any class at all, he would stand in this House and

apologize to the people who work in Public Prosecutions.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon. the Member for the District of St. Barbe.

MR.

J. BENNETT:

Mr.

Speaker, maybe if the Minister of Justice had any notion of how the law is

supposed to operate he would be able to answer the question.

I asked the Director of Public Prosecutions the

question before that, and he directed me to the guidebook, which obviously he

has not read.

I asked the minister a question, I am still going to

ask the minister: How many occasions has the Government of Newfoundland and

Labrador appointed prosecutors to work with the police in complex

investigations? so we do not have more Lamer Inquiries.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Justice.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

FRENCH:

Mr.

Speaker, I really want to apologize to the member.

It seems like he is upset that I am not as knowledgeable as my learned

friend opposite. He references that

we do not know much about law on this side, Mr. Speaker.

Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, what the hon. member has to realize is the

investment we have made in policing in this Province.

I still believe he should stand and apologize profusely

to the Director of Public Prosecutions in this Province, and the people who work

in Public Prosecutions. I would also

suggest that he go back and read, since 2004, the investments that we have made

in policing. Like I said, the annual

operating budget increased by $50 million

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR.

FRENCH:

Mr.

Speaker, 145 new police officers in the system since 2004; a $1 billion

investment since 2004.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

MR.

KIRBY:

Mr.

Speaker, parents and teachers are increasingly frustrated by the lack of

classroom space that is plaguing Portugal Cove St. Phillips and other

communities on the Northeast Avalon.

In an interview with The Telegram

in a sweat when he sees new neighbourhood development because he questions where

those children are going to find the space in a school.

I ask the minister: Why does his government not have a

long-term plan to address the infrastructure deficit in our schools?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

JACKMAN:

Mr.

Speaker, if the member is getting up and questioning our commitment to

infrastructure, I do not know where he has been in the last four or five years.

The number of new schools, Mr. Speaker, that we have

constructed in the Paradise area, out in Torbay, work is underway in Gander.

There has not been a government previous that has invested in school

infrastructure in the Province to the tune that this government has, Mr.

Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

MR.

KIRBY:

Mr.

Speaker, that minister was shuffled out of Education.

I am sure it is because of things like having to wait up to a year to get

portable classrooms in schools like Beachy Cove Elementary.

This government has been dragging its feet on building

the new schools that are promised for the Northeast Avalon.

Now some parents, like parents out in Portugal Cove St. Phillips, are

being told that their children may not have full-day Kindergarten in 2016

because of the shortage of classroom space that this government has created.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR.

KIRBY:

ask the minister: Will all Kindergarten-aged children have access to full-day

Kindergarten in 2016 as you promised, and if not, which communities do you plan

to leave out now?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

JACKMAN:

Mr.

Speaker, let me assure the member, and he is throwing out information that he

knows nothing about.

In our commitment to full-day Kindergarten, Mr.

Speaker, we said that in 2016 all students who are eligible for full-day

Kindergarten will have it.

I would encourage the public to disregard that type of

fear mongering and throwing out rumours, Mr. Speaker.

What I speak to about is fact, Mr. Speaker.

All students who require full-day Kindergarten will have it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

We continue to be told of people admitted for

operations or emergencies being parked in beds in hallways because of hospital

beds being occupied by people waiting for long-term care.

I ask the Minister of Health and Community Services:

What is he doing about this critical situation?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yesterday, the member opposite rose and criticized us

for initiating a pilot project in personal care homes.

She criticized personal care homes and personal care home operators, Mr.

Speaker. I am going to tell you and

set the record straight: Personal care homes and personal care home operators

provide a significant and valuable service to the seniors of Newfoundland and

Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

DAVIS:

well, yesterday, Mr. Speaker, the member opposite stood in this House and stated

that our pilot project includes moving Level IV patients to personal care homes.

Even though I stated in the House yesterday that was not accurate, she

issued a press release yesterday saying Level IV patients are being moved to

personal care homes.

I say to her: Do the hon. thing; rise in your place,

and correct the information.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

The minister seems to totally ignore the issue that I

brought forward, so I ask him: Will the minister do the hon. thing

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I ask the minister: Will he do the hon. thing and tell

the people of this Province whether or not he thinks having people on public

display when they are weak, sick, and often very stressed an acceptable thing to

be going on?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

DAVIS:

Mr.

Speaker, I even offer to table a copy of this press release that was issued by

the NDP caucus news as it is entitled yesterday where it indicates, The

Department of Health and Community Services has a pilot project using for-profit

personal care homes for Level Three and Four seniors who need high levels of

care.

Mr. Speaker, I can tell you that is not what the pilot

project is about. It is about

providing opportunities for seniors to stay in their homes longer in their own

communities and for them to have out-of-home care that is second to none.

Personal care home operators are very proud of the service they provide

to seniors, and so am I.

The member opposite, if she was the hon. member she

claims to be, will rise in her place, admit her mistake, and correct the

information, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Four years ago, an Eastern Health patient flow study

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MICHAEL:

found that a shortage of home care and rehabilitation services had caused a

backlog of patients in hospitals waiting for these services so they can leave

the hospital. Four years later, this

problem still exists.

I ask the minister: What percentage of hospital beds

are currently occupied by medically discharged patients waiting

for long-term care?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It just goes to show that the member of the NDP stands

in her place and she will stand by the fact of never let the facts get in the

way of a good story. That is what I

say, Mr. Speaker. She issued this

press release yesterday. It goes on

to say, Mr. Speaker, across the country

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

I remind the minister not to be quoting or reading

directly from a citation. You may

reference it or paraphrase it.

MR.

DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will table it.

She goes on to say that across the country, studies have shown that

public and not-for-profit facilities provide better services.

Mr. Speaker, I ask her to stand in her place and table

those studies to the House of Assembly.

I have stood here in my place when I have made errors and I have

apologized for errors that I have made.

We have tabled information when we can and when we are asked to table

information.

I ask her, rise in her place, correct the information,

and say she made a mistake. Be a

powerful and hon. person, say she made a mistake and provide that information,

Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

ROGERS:

Mr.

Speaker, the youth in the Stephenville group homes are being moved Monday.

Blue sky does not have a house ready for them.

Reports are that the staff Blue sky hired have already been laid off.

The children are confused and worried about their fate.

This is total chaos.

Mr. Speaker, will the minister prove he cares and

personally intervene to sort out this mess?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

JACKMAN:

Mr.

Speaker, the service provider, we have very much confidence in.

I am wondering if she still has the same confidence that she had in here

when she made a statement in this House on April 2 that she was willing to sit

with these entrepreneurs who are leaders and examples of women in business and

such who are making such a contribution to this Province.

Mr. Speaker, I have full faith in the service provider

here. They are working through it.

I read her transcript that she had on Open Line the other day.

It is shallow when you create fear and chaos, or attempting to create

fear and chaos on the backs of these youth.

I would ask her to discontinue it and support us and these people as they

move forward in finding the house and then housing these youth.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

ROGERS:

Mr.

Speaker, these youth have been entrusted to our care.

Government has put them at further risk because of the misguided desire

to save money. Stability is crucial

to these youth.

I ask the minister: The buck stops at his desk; what is

he going to do to ensure their safety?

It is in his hands.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

JACKMAN:

Mr.

Speaker, I can only shake my head.

When I think about the people who I have met in this department over the last

couple of weeks and the people who work on the ground who commit not only their

hours of work, they commit their soul to these youth.

Mr. Speaker, nothing will be different in this particular case.

There will be a resolution to this.

The service provider is working with the community to work out the

issues. We will find the

accommodations, and this issue will be resolved in the best interest of these

youth.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

ask the Member for St. John's Centre to have a quick question.

ROGERS:

Mr.

Speaker, I ask the minister: Why is he moving all these youth before the end of

the school year, putting their lives in total upheaval?

Why?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services, for a quick response.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

JACKMAN:

Mr.

Speaker, I wish the member would take a look back in Hansard.

I addressed that exact question a few weeks ago when she raised it.

My answer at that time, Mr. Speaker, is the same as it is now.

If there are accommodations that need to be made for these children, it

will be made. This is nothing but

trying to make political hay on the backs of vulnerable youth.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

time for Question Period has expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling of Documents.

Notices of Motion.

Notices of Motion

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Deputy Government House Leader.

SHEA:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I give notice, under Standing Order 11, I shall move

that the House not adjourn at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20, 2014.

Further, I give notice, under Standing Order 11, I

shall move that this House not adjourn at 10:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20, 2014.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Further notices of motion?

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

MR.

DAVIS:

Mr.

Speaker, I give notice that I will ask leave to introduce a bill entitled, An

Act To Amend The Dispensing Opticians Act, 2005, Bill 19.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for The Straits White Bay North.

MR.

MITCHELMORE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the

undersigned residents of Newfoundland and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS government has a responsibility to ensure that

Internet access is broadly available so people have a right to be able to access

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

expression and opinion and other fundamental human rights; and

WHEREAS Bide Arm was bypassed under the Broadband and

Rural and Northern Development initiative, which saw high-speed Internet added

to thirty-six communities on the Great Northern Peninsula in 2004; and

WHEREAS nearly a decade later Bide Arm still remains

without broadband services despite being an amalgamated town with Roddickton;

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 government to assist providers to ensure Bide Arm is in receipt of

broadband Internet services in Newfoundland and Labrador.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, I have been speaking out about the need

for broadband Internet for quite some time.

I have nine communities in my own district that do not have access.

I have taken it a step further to file with the Inquiry Officer with the

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission on behalf of the

Official Opposition when it comes to reviewing matters related to transport

services provided by satellite.

Satellite Internet can be something that can provide

service, as long as it is fair. If

we look at the United States and the distribution that they offer, the fees are

comparable to broadband Internet by a fixed wire line; but right now, for

somebody who is using satellite, they are caps, they pay high fees of up to $200

for residential. When you look at

operating a business, it is completely unacceptable that way.

So I am part of the inquiry process of obtaining

information from providers of satellite services and purchase of satellite

services, and it is focused on rural Northern communities.

If we look at the parties that are on the list: the Government of the

Northwest Territories is there, the Government of Nunavut, the Government of

Yukon, the Province of British Columbia and myself, as Member for The Straits

White Bay North, with the Official Opposition.

The Department of IBRD or the Province of Newfoundland

and Labrador is not present there, but I would be happy to have dialogue and

share information because we do need to make sure that we are utilizing all

options whether it is wireless, wire line, cellular, or fixed opportunities here

when it comes to Internet.

It has to be done, Mr. Speaker.

This is a great opportunity and I think something that can serve the

residents of Bide Arm quite well.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

MR.

MURPHY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

A petition to the House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador:

WHEREAS Tordon 101 contains the chemical 2,4-D and

Picloram, and

WHEREAS the chemical Picloram is a known cancer-causing

carcinogen; and

WHEREAS the provincial government has banned the

cosmetic use of the pesticide 2,4-D; and

WHEREAS safer alternatives are available to the

provincial government for brush clearance such as manual labour, alternative

competitive seeding methods, and/or the mechanical removal of brush; and

WHEREAS the provincial government is responsible for

ensuring the safety and well-being of its citizens;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge government to cease the use of

chemicals covered under its own cosmetic pesticide ban and begin using safer

methods of brush clearance that will not place its citizens in harm's way.

Mr. Speaker, it is spring and thank God really that the

weather is starting to warm up, but it is also a time for people to get out and

do their gardening. They know that

these chemicals covered under the pesticide ban cannot be used, so they have

gone and sought a safer alternative.

These signatories expect government to follow that same example by leading by

example.

Let me give you an example of leading by example, Mr.

Speaker. I will go to the corporate

world on this one and I am going to give a high five to Bell Aliant who, in

their 2006 Sustainability Report, said and it is worth mentioning to

government and for government to make note of Our practice is to control

weeds and other nuisance vegetation using mechanical techniques (cutting,

chipping and mulching), organic lawn care, alternative landscaping and site

naturalization. This practice helps

prevent water pollution and protects people, ecological processes and useful

organisms such as earthworms and bees.

We are under a threat here by pesticides.

We are under a threat by herbicides.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR.

MURPHY:

Here is a unique way, Mr. Speaker, of the message from government about the safe

use of pesticides and herbicides lead by example.

Let's choose mechanical over pesticides and herbicides, let's make this

safer for our Province, and more particularly let's protect our people.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

MR.

KIRBY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembly, the petition of the

undersigned residents of Newfoundland and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS the lack of services and supports in school

system is a serious obstacle for learning for children and youth with autism

spectrum disorder; and

WHEREAS long wait-lists for pediatric assessment and

diagnostic services are preventing many children with autism spectrum disorder

from receiving needed early diagnosis; and

WHEREAS the Intensive Applied Behavioural Analysis

Program is currently not available for children after Grade 3; and

WHEREAS applied behavioural analysis has been shown to

be effective for many individuals beyond Grade 3; and

WHEREAS there is a lack of supports and services for

children and youth with autism spectrum disorder after they age out of the

Intensive Applied Behavioural Analysis Program; and

WHEREAS it is unacceptable to expect parents in

Newfoundland and Labrador to pay thousands of dollars out of their own pockets

to cover the cost of privately delivered applied behavioural analysis after

Grade 3;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

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

eligibility for the Intensive Applied Behavioural Analysis Program beyond Grade

3 in consultation with parents, advocates, educators, health care providers, and

experts in the autism community.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, I have presented this petition a number of

times before, and I assure you I will continue to press government by entering

this petition in the House of Assembly until we get some action on this.

We have not seen any to date.

We have people on this petition today who have signed it from Cox's Cove, Corner

Brook, and from neighbourhoods around St. John's.

There have been a good number of people who have signed this so far and

we continue to see people completing these and sending them in.

As I said before, there is a good bit of research out

there to support the provision of applied behavioural analysis after Grade 3 and

certainly well beyond that. I did

see an academic

article some time back that suggested it works for sure up until

young adulthood, so it is an effective strategy and it is one of the few things

people have available to them. I

hear it all the time.

I saw a parent in my District of St. John's North

yesterday who lives off Thorburn Road who mentioned again when something was

going to happen. Her son, who goes

to Larkhall Academy, is aging out of the program this year because he is going

on to Grade 4. I saw parents who are

my constituents in front of the Confederation Building here some time back who

also have the same concern. I urge

government to act, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Mount Pearl South.

MR.

LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the

undersigned residents humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS there is a waste recovery facility being

proposed by Eastern Waste Management in the Peak Pond-Reids Pond area; and

WHEREAS such a site will drastically impact the pond

and general area in a negative way from an environmental perspective; and

WHEREAS there are many species of wildlife that will be

negatively impacted by such a site, such as moose, rabbits, loons, ducks, Canada

Geese, et cetera; and

WHEREAS such a site will result in litter and strong

odours in the general area; and

WHEREAS there are a significant number of cabins and

permanent homes in the Peak Pond-Reids Pond area which will be negatively

impacted by this site; and

WHEREAS Eastern Waste Management has many sites

available to them for such a facility, including former dump sites in the area;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

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

and Labrador to intercede in the matter and advise Eastern Waste Management to

withdraw this proposal and find a more suitable location for this waste recovery

facility.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, I have presented this petition now a

number of times on behalf of it certainly started out as cabin owners at Reids

Pond and Peak Pond. There are some

permanent residents there; a lot of them are cabin owners.

It was brought to my attention by some people who actually live in my

district who own some of these properties.

Today, Mr. Speaker, on this particular petition we have

residents here of Dildo, Old Shop, Blaketown, Green's Harbour, New Harbour,

Spread Eagle, and so on.

Mr. Speaker, as it is being stated here in this

petition, Eastern Waste Management is proposing to put a waste recovery facility

here at this location where people can drop off bulk garbage, and also being

proposed is a test compost site.

This is going to have many negative impacts on that particular area.

Mr. Speaker, nobody is disputing the need for a site

for people to drop off their bulk garbage.

There are other ones around the Province, we totally agree with that, but

there are other locations available in that general area.

Such as former landfill sites, for example, or industrial sites.

It makes all the sense in the world that if you have areas of land that

have already been exposed to industrial use and garbage and so on, why would you

want to destroy another pristine area, destroy that area and cause all these

negative impacts on people living in the area.

Again, we call upon the government to intercede and to

speak to Eastern Waste and ask them to find a more suitable location.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

(Inaudible) of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament

assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS the residents of the community of Margaree-Fox

Roost of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador must use Route 470-10 on a

regular basis for work, medical, educational and social reasons; and

WHEREAS Route 470-10 is in a deplorable condition, such

that the shoulders of the road continuously wash away and there are huge

potholes on the road; and

WHEREAS the condition of Route 470-10 poses a safety

hazard to residents and visitors to the community; and

WHEREAS the Department of Transportation and Works is

responsible for the maintenance and repairs in the Province; and

WHEREAS the local division of the Department of

Transportation and Works does make periodic repairs to this route but these

repairs are only temporary patchwork and this road needs to be resurfaced;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

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

uses of Route 470-10 in their request to have this route resurfaced.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, this is a petition, again, that I have

spoken on numerous times in this House before as it comes to most of the roads

in my district, which are in dire need of some work being done.

Yesterday, I spoke about Route 480 taking you down to

Burgeo and also servicing the communities of Ramea, Grey River, and Franois.

Today I am talking about all of Route 470, which is in very tough shape

in many places, but in particular, the road that goes into Margaree-Fox Roost.

Now I have had the complaint brought to me by citizens.

I have had the complaint brought to me by the school bus drivers who feel

they are putting the kids in jeopardy.

I have had the complaint brought to me by taxi operators and business

owners who have a hard time getting in and out and are damaging their vehicles.

I went down myself most recently to go to the firemen's

ball. It was absolutely amazing to

go down again after a long winter and to see how I had to swerve in around the

potholes and break most of the rules of the Highway Traffic Act just to stay

safe. I had to go from one side to the

other and back again. Obviously, at

some point something is going to happen.

Somebody is going to get hurt and then there will be a reaction I am

sure.

What I am suggesting is that we do these things in some

kind of semblance of an orderly fashion where people have an idea of what to

expect, and we start the work now rather than leaving it to the point of no

return. I have asked the members of

the department, what is going to happen here?

Is this going to get taken care of?

I get back: It is on a priority basis and as resources allow.

I would say that obviously means we are not a priority and the resources

are not allowing very much because we have not seen a lick of it in a long time.

I am going to continue to make this fight.

I could be up every day on the roads in my district

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR.

A. PARSONS:

which for some reason do not seem to get the attention and I would ask, why?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Mount Pearl South.

MR.

LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the

undersigned residents humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS there are extreme overcrowding issues in St.

Peter's Elementary and Mount Pearl Senior High, a direct result of poor planning

by the Department of Education; and

Board to deal with this now crisis situation will have a devastating impact on

many students, families, and teachers in Mount Pearl Senior High, Mount Pearl

Intermediate, St. Peter's Elementary, and Newtown Elementary; and

WHEREAS there are other less disruptive solutions which

can be introduced to alleviate this overcrowding issue, including capital

investment as the preferred option, as well as catchment area realignment; and

WHEREAS the school board was not provided with the

financial flexibility by the Minister of Education to explore other more

suitable options; and

WHEREAS the government has intervened in board

decisions in the past such as in 2005 in Bishop's Falls reversing the closure of

Leo Burke Academy;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

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

and Labrador to intervene in this matter and commit appropriate resources to the

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to I should not say I am

pleased; I am disappointed to have to stand in this House again today to present

this petition. This is the first

petition of eighty-four petitions which was presented to me by a Grade 4 student

from Newtown Elementary in my district who actually went out door-to-door in the

neighbourhood in my district getting these signatures.

I can tell you there is a litany of people in my district who are not

very pleased with this decision that has been made, and none too pleased with

either the former Minister of Education or the new Minister of Education in not

addressing these concerns, Mr. Speaker.

Now, I was hopeful that the new Minister of Education

would be a fresh set of eyes perhaps, and he would look at it in a different

light. That he would be prepared to

listen to the people, to listen to the parents, to listen to the teachers, and

to actually revisit this issue.

Unfortunately, like his predecessor before him, he is not prepared to listen and

he says it is going to be status quo.

If he is not going to change his mind I guess he is not

going to change his mind, but I will continue on a daily basis to remind him of

the poor decision which he has made and to remind him of this Grade 4 student

from Newtown, to remind him of the fact that he is not very pleased that his

education is going to be jeopardized by this government.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

MR.

MURPHY:

Mr.

Speaker, to the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and

Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents

humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS consumers and businesses in Newfoundland and

Labrador pay some of the highest automobile insurance rates in the country; and

WHEREAS part of the recent increases in automobile

insurance is due to uninsured automobile coverage which could increase by 329.3

per cent in 2014 for taxis and limousines insured by the Facility Association;

and

WHEREAS consumers may see an increase in taxi fares and

limousine rates as a result; and

WHEREAS consumers insured by the Facility Association

could see their own auto insurance rates increase partly due to uninsured

drivers;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge government to establish a

procedure for insurance companies to co-ordinate with police, highway

enforcement officers and Motor Vehicle Registration Division to remove

unlicensed and uninsured vehicles from our Province's highways.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, I rose on this petition before, and I keep

getting these petitions coming in, mostly from the taxi industry but indeed from

some concerned citizens around the Province who are deeply concerned about their

insurance rates. It seems to be an

easy fix here. I think the

government can pair up not only with Motor Vehicle Registration as it does, but

Motor Vehicle Registration can pair up with the insurance industry itself so

that we can set together a format for reporting of uninsured drivers.

Mr. Speaker, it is kind of surprising really that I

have to rise in this House to make a comment on the role of the Consumer

Advocate. It was surprising to hear

from some officials within the taxi industry that the question being asked of

the Consumer Advocate was not that it was not an automatic thing where the

Consumer Advocate was stepping in to look at this.

What was really surprising was when they approached the Consumer Advocate

about this issue, the Consumer Advocate said to them that he did not know if it

was under his purview or not. There

is a question here as regards to the role of the Consumer Advocate as well.

When does the Consumer Advocate act in the best

interests of consumers? Taxi drivers

are consumers as well. The Consumer

Advocate goes and he would contest companies, for example, like Fortis and

whatever when it comes to rate increases and everything.

He is also representing, I would say, the best interests of the

companies. That is another role the

Public Utilities Board has, too, at the same time equality, if you will, when

it comes to representation.

When it comes to the role of the Consumer Advocate, we

should not have to ask as citizens that the Consumer Advocate step in here.

It should be a clear pathway for him to step in at any time.

If he is short of resources, we should be giving him more resources at

the same time to be looking after not only businesses, but taxpayers like taxi

drivers and other small businesses that are out there.

Mr. Speaker, knowing that the Advocate is looking at

this I will still table these petitions and I will still rise on their behalf.

Thank you very much.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon. the Member for The Straits White Bay North.

MR.

MITCHELMORE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the

undersigned residents of Newfoundland and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS Labrador-Grenfell Health employs a nurse

practitioner at St. Anthony, able to take appointments and operate a full scope

of practice for which nurse practitioners are licensed to operate; and

WHEREAS Western Health at Port Saunders and Norris

Point on the Great Northern Peninsula have similar nurse practitioner practices;

and

WHEREAS nurse practitioners have advanced education and

training beyond the registered nurse level and provide comprehensive care

ranging from health promotion and prevention to diagnosis and treatment,

including ordering diagnostic tests, prescribing pharmaceuticals, and performing

procedures within a legislated scope of practice; and

WHEREAS nurse practitioners are alleviating physician

shortages in rural areas across Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador by

operating clinical practices in collaboration with physicians and other health

practitioners, leading to better access to services and shorter wait times; and

WHEREAS residents from Eddies Cove East to Reef's

Harbour deserve to have regular nurse practitioner clinics that are available to

other residents on the Great Northern Peninsula;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge government to ensure that a

nurse practitioner clinical practice be established at the Strait of Belle Isle

Health Centre to be fully integrated with clinical practices of physicians.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, this is not the first time I have

presented this petition and it will not be the last time.

If you look at the concurrence that was put forward when we talk about

the social service sector, we are spending an increasing amount on health care

$3 billion of our Budget 37 to 38 cents to every dollar government brings in;

and if we are not doing things like fully utilizing nurse practitioners, it only

goes to show the complete waste of our health care dollars when it comes to not

being more efficient, and not having better health outcomes.

There is a nurse practitioner currently on staff unable to operate in a

9-5 setting. This completely does

not make sense, it is poor practice on behalf of the Minister of Health and

Community Services, and these are the types of things that certainly need to

change. If we are ever going to have

better health care outcomes for the residents of The Straits White Bay North,

we need to make sure that we have a nurse practitioner clinic.

People want fairness.

This government should be providing fairness to people.

We have it in other areas of the district; it should be operated in

Flower's Cove as well.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Deputy Government House Leader.

SHEA:

Mr.

Speaker, we will move to Orders of the Day.

Mr. Speaker, from the Order Paper, we will do Order 2.

I move, seconded by the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills, that

Bill 16,

An Act To Amend The Student Financial Assistance Act, by now read a

third time.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Before we move that one, the Deputy Government House Leader called for Orders of

the Day, so we need a motion to do that.

SHEA:

Okay.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of

Advanced Education and Skills, that we move to Orders of the Day, and then the

order that I read.

MR.

SPEAKER:

is has been moved and seconded that we go to Orders of the Day.

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR.

SPEAKER:

All

those against, nay'.

Carried.

Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

MR.

SPEAKER:

we will now move on to the Third Reading of

SHEA:

(Inaudible).

MR.

SPEAKER:

No,

that is fine. We would not want you

to repeat yourself.

So it has been moved and seconded that the bill now be

read a third time.

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR.

SPEAKER:

All

those against, nay'.

Motion carried.

CLERK:

bill,

An Act To Amend The Student Financial Assistance Act.

(Bill 16)

MR.

SPEAKER:

This bill has now been read a third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass

and its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill,

An Act To Amend The Student

Financial Assistance Act, read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as

on the Order Paper. (Bill 16)

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Deputy Government House Leader.

SHEA:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I call from the Order Paper, Order 10,

second reading of Bill 18.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

MR.

HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I moved, seconded by the Minister of

Child, Youth and Family Services, that Bill 18,

An Act To Amend The Fish

Processing Licensing Board Act, be now read a second time.

MR.

SPEAKER:

is moved and seconded that Bill 18,

An Act To Amend The Fish Processing

Licensing Board Act, be now read a second time.

Motion, second reading of a bill,

An Act To Amend The

Fish Processing Licensing Board Act.

(Bill 18)

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

MR.

HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I am certainly pleased to stand today to

speak to Bill 18,

An Act to Amend the Fish Processing Licensing Board Act.

This is an amendment that is based on past experience in regard to the

functioning of the fish licensing board.

It is not a very in-depth amendment.

It is a minor adjustment to the operations of the licensing board related

to experiences and what has been seen over the past number of years.

It allows members of the board to continue in office

upon the expiry of their terms until they are reappointed or replaced to ensure

that we have those individuals in place if they are not replaced at the

immediate termination of their term.

As well, decrease the required minimum number of

meetings per year from six to two.

That is the minimum. What we have

found is that there is not often a requirement to have that minimum of six, so

it would change now to a minimum of two and then, after that, it would be called

at the discretion of the Chair. That

is just from an administrative perspective, both of those, that they would flow

more easily in terms of the board.

That is based on recent experience in terms of the volume of licensing requests

and what we have heard. As I have

said, it is not sufficient to require six meetings per year, so reducing the

requirements to at least two certainly will meet the requirements of the board.

The other one, as I said, is to allow members to

continue their service until replaced.

It certainly eliminates the possibility that the board would cease to

function, which you would not want to happen, if some issues prevent a timely

replacement of board members at the end of the term.

These amendments are certainly very straightforward to

make the operation of the board simpler, and certainly in no way would impact

the stakeholders in regard to the provincial fishery.

Mr. Speaker, I am not going to get into a lot of detail

in terms of addressing the amendment.

The bill is fairly straightforward in terms of what the amendment is

doing here in terms of some administrative adjustments in regard to how the

board functions in those two areas related to replacing someone once their term

is up, and as well, related to the minimum number of meetings that are required

during the year. Outside of that,

obviously, the board can meet at any time at the call of the Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR.

SPEAKER (Verge):

The

hon. the Member for The Straits White Bay North.

MR.

MITCHELMORE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the opportunity to speak to Bill 18,

An Act to Amend

the Fish Processing Licensing Board Act.

It is certainly a pleasure to hear what the Minister of

Fisheries and Aquaculture had to say.

I would have liked to have heard more details on the actual Fish

Processing Licensing Board, why it was established and to go through that

process and to have quality debate in the House here.

We need to have a broader understanding of the act.

What the intention of the board act was and why the board was set up,

given the changes will have an impact and what that could mean to, I guess, the

small processors we have here, especially in Newfoundland and Labrador.

I, myself, have had the privilege, I guess, being a

Member of the House of Assembly, I appeared before the Fish Processing Licensing

Board. I will get into that as I go

through my particular debate here this afternoon.

I want to put before the House that the board itself

came from a recommendation of the Dunne Report.

This actual report was called the Fish Processing Policy Review

Commission. They had looked at a new

policy framework. This dates back a

decade now, in 2004, so that we could have a very open, transparent, and an

attempt to eliminate any type of complacency that may happen in the industry.

If we look at the intent of what this amendment is

looking at doing and I will get to these points as I go through the debate

it is allowing members to stay in their terms long after the expiry.

It could lead to latency, and it also reduces the accountability because

you are looking at reducing the number of meetings from six to two.

The intent of the board was to make processing plants

more accountable to government, not less.

If we look at access and we look at what the role of the board does in

terms of being able to have information put forward, to have licensing

applications put forward and reviewed, this is something that is really

important because the review will mean a processing plant will either get

accepted or rejected.

If you have only two meetings, then where is the clear

appeal and the delay? We all know it

is important, and sometimes very urgent, to have meetings because of the fishing

season and being able to be ready, having a plant ready.

The equipment that will need to be installed in this type of operation is

something that needs to be looked at, and that whole business plan needs to take

place.

I am going to get into all this over the course of my

debate that I have here this afternoon in talking about the Fish Processing

Licensing Board. I think it is

something we need to make sure of, the intent of why it was established and to

ensure that we do have accountability because the fishing sector in our

Province, Fisheries and Aquaculture, is critical.

We are talking about a $1 billion industry where you have many

stakeholders. We have seen just in

recent years the number of processing facilities that have closed.

There have always been concerns around licensing and the politics around

that.

By establishing an arm's-length Fish Processing

Licensing Board as a formal industry-government policy advisory committee so

they are giving advice. They give

the advice to the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

They focus on the active processing licences that are there and they

adopt a species of licensing systems that are linked to a resource threshold.

We all understand there are challenges when a resource goes beyond a

certain threshold. That is a

decision that the Fish Processing Licensing Board has to make.

If we look at just recently in terms of the northern

shrimp allocations and the quotas as to how that resource threshold from the

federal government has said these cuts have to happen; that Area 6, for example,

is losing over 9,000 metric tons, Area 7 is going down by half, and there is

also a 10 per cent cut to Area 5.

This has an impact when we look at it.

It is very important that this committee is meeting and they meet on a

regular basis because of the accountability that must be put at play in the

intent of the original report that established them, what was in the Dunne

Report.

The board itself and the minister did not get into

this was about establishing criteria for new licences.

The board needs to make those criteria clear, whether it is based on a

resource threshold. If it gets to a

certain level, what happens at that point?

Will boards look at revoking licences because the resource threshold is

not there? We have seen where

licences have been transferred.

They look at licence transfers.

That has always been an area of contention when we look at what the

licensing board when an application comes forward.

Sometimes as members, when a licence comes up and we see that maybe there

is an increase in a resource. We see

in our local papers sometimes, there are applications they are filing with the

board, and they have to give notice through that process, the processors do.

Many times there are a number of processors competing for the same

licence, and there is that process.

We want to look at, it is stated that it is a

requirement for processors to submit annual processing plans.

This is a level of accountability.

Depending on when companies have their financial year-end, if they have

to submit a processing plan to the board they may be submitting them at

differing times of the year, which would mean there would be a greater level of

meeting time.

The board was not just established to meet to discuss

the new licences and licence transfers; they are also talking about processing

plans. If you are talking about

processing plans, you are really talking about the value added and the value we

have in our industry so we could see, maybe, some of our processing plants look

at more secondary and tertiary processing.

Yet we have seen things change on that level because

that is not always the discussion at these meetings.

If you are looking at reducing the number of meetings to a minimum of

two, we may really get into a period of complacency here where we may not see

the activity we need to. We know how

important the fishing and aquaculture sector is in Newfoundland and Labrador to

our rural communities and to our economy.

We talk about it. Every

member here knows the importance.

There was a statistic in my very own district that 25

per cent of the population are directly linked to the fishing sector.

That is critical. We have

seen the number of processing plants close.

We have seen plants close. I

have seen that in my own district.

Sometimes there is not the adequate explanation and maybe you would like to get

that sometimes in more thorough detail from the Fish Processing Licensing Board.

I only have to go back to 1992.

I was not that old in 1992, but we had a very active fish processing

plant in the community of Green Island Cove, in which I grew up.

There was one in Green Island Brook.

There was one in the community adjacent in Pines Cove, then one in Sandy

Cove, and one in Savage Cove. We had

one in Flower's Cove. We had one in

Bear Cove. We have one in Anchor

Point. Now we see that all of those

primary processing plants have all closed up shop.

All the licences have either been transferred or cancelled, despite

having fishers there that have to catch their raw material, they have to bring

it to shore and we are talking small scale here; but is the resource threshold

there when it comes to looking at the type of product and is that a

responsibility of the Fish Processing Licensing Board to look at small-scale

fisheries and look at finding solutions as the operators, the small- and

large-scale operators, that are in the industry looking at how we can grow and

how we can create those value added?

I do not understand why the minister would get up and

say that there would not be reason to have six meetings, and they have not met

that often. There is a lot of

opportunity to utilize these boards and attract the expertise and make sure that

we have that level of expertise there to advise and give good suggestions to the

department and make recommendations to the Department of Fisheries and

Aquaculture, but ultimately we know that it is the minister who makes the

decisions at the end of the day.

They have final authority.

That is something that we look at: the annual

processing plans. Because if people

are not submitting the annual processing plans, there is really a lack of

innovation. A lack of innovation in

the industry when it comes to being able to seek new opportunities.

I think the board plays a critical role in that, but if you are going to

change the amendment and add to the act that there is no transition, there is no

deadline to ensure that there is renewal on a board or that you keep experience

surely, we can find a number of people to sit on the Fish Processing Licensing

Board who have the expertise, who have worked in the industry: retired fishers;

there would be a number of people who work in processing plants who would have

that expertise, who work in management positions.

There should be a great recruiting effort put in place to make sure that

we do not allow terms to expire.

Mr. Speaker, I sat on the Public Accounts Committee for

over two years. When it came to the

Auditor General's report, one of our first public meetings was on Marble

Mountain, and in it we questioned why all the terms of the board members were

basically expired. There were people

there, their terms had lapsed, yet decisions were still being made.

There needs to be thorough follow-up and accountability to make sure when

somebody's terms is approaching to be expired, there is a recruiting process put

in place so that the term does not lapse, so that a year prior or so there is a

member or an alternate set there.

You do not have to just recruit one member.

There could be multiple people so that if somebody ends up having a

medical emergency or something changes, they leave the Province or they lose

their job, they were laid off in last year's Budget cuts or impacted in that

way, then I am sure we can put better mechanisms in place than just simplify the

legislation to say that we are going to extend the term indefinitely.

Where is the accountability in doing that when it comes to something as

important as the Fish Processing Licensing Board?

They have a very critical role to play.

Mr. Speaker, they also have an annual requirement to

report corporate shareholders in fish processing companies.

That is important to make sure that when we look at the share and the

holders that are responsible, that are investing in our processing sector, and

to also be accountable when things go wrong.

Things went ultimately wrong when it comes to looking at the Town of

Englee, when they had one of the first fresh fish processing plants in the

Province. It pre-dated the town,

actually.

They were processing fish there and up until the early

2000s, they lost their licensing.

These were decisions of the fish licensing board.

It became a very political statement, and it became a huge issue that

this government has to be accountable for in the decision and what has

ultimately happened when it comes to the Englee decision of losing the licensing

that was associated with it. At the

end of the day, the licensing was cancelled or transferred out of the area, and

now we see that a community that was thriving, that had robust employment there,

is now quite vulnerable economically.

What we did see is we did see the removal and

remediation of that plant, but the shareholders and the company who was

responsible did not remove that plant and were not held liable.

There is a process, I believe, going through with Justice and several

other departments of Service Newfoundland and Labrador to collect.

I have made my point many times in Fisheries Estimates about how there

needs to be appropriate auditing put in place, whether it be through Service

Newfoundland and Labrador; and maybe that is an authority that the Fish

Processing Licensing Board needs to look at when it meets and when it looks at

accountability of licences and it looks at these processing plans, that the

quality of the site itself because it is the responsibility of the CFIA to do

the audits on the food and the security around it, making sure that there is

compliance.

When it comes to the overall site structure and when it

comes to making sure that the owners, the shareholders, are making sure that

they are investing in the community because ultimately this is a public

resource and that the community would see the spin-off benefits that would come

from this. That is something that is

key, and I think is very important.

I wanted to point out that the intent of what is

happening here with this amendment will have changes.

I think it will, not necessarily, improve the current situation when it

comes to the fish processing that is happening in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The policy review of the Province's management and fish

processing sector was commissioned all the way back in June of 2003 and if we

look at the commissioner at the time, there was a lot of consolation.

There were fifty meetings held with the industry members and various

concerned citizens for close to 100 communities, so it has far-reaching impacts.

We do not want to just

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR.

MITCHELMORE:

Yes, Mr. Speaker.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

Speaker is giving the member a far bit of latitude to discuss the bill that is

at hand. The bill at hand has two

clauses and I would ask him to make his comments relative to the bill.

MR.

MITCHELMORE:

Yes, Mr. Speaker.

I have certainly been trying to do that in debate,

talking about how the decisions of the board, the changes to this piece of

legislation, is looking at extending the term indefinitely, so there is an

accountability piece for the long-term and the recruiting and the transitioning

for new members. I am also looking

at the minimum number of meetings from six to two.

Establishing that, I have to go back and look at some of the groundwork

that was done and the role of the fish licensing board to show the importance of

why there necessarily would have to be more than a minimum of two meetings per

year.

These are the statements that I am putting forward, and

that is how these statements are relative.

When we look at the appointments to the board and I

want to make this clear the appointments are all about equality, equity, and

impartiality. On some levels maybe

this makes it more challenging when we look at how people are selected, who is

selected, who is appointed, and why the terms may need to be extended longer.

I wish the minister would have gotten more into that

and explained it. This is why I am

here asking more questions and putting that out there.

I am going to need a response on these types of things.

These board members are going to be appointed by the

Lieutenant-Governor in Council. We

are only talking about five members on the board.

The chair of the board is designated by Cabinet.

One position on this board is designated by Cabinet.

If the term is set up for a period of so many years then is there a

process to extend that term or should Cabinet be able to appoint somebody else?

We are talking one position there.

Another position on the board itself is elected by an

internal vote. The other members of

the board there are a total of three other members who are on the board.

The board is already established.

I am very interested to see and review.

I always like following up on fishery issues because they are so

pertinent to rural Newfoundland and Labrador.

The board issued its activity plan for 2014-2016.

The board itself when we go and look at the review of what it is doing

reviews and makes recommendations to the minister on all the requests for new

processing licences and transfers, and the changes of operators.

If we are looking at a business or an operator that is looking at

changing its name or changing its company format, changing the number of

directors or shareholders who are there, because of the complexity of the board,

we are going to need to make sure there is knowledge and there is expertise on

that board.

We look at the appeals for reinstatement of licences

cancelled due to inactivity. We have

seen that at times when it comes to certain species.

On the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture Web site it lists all the

processors, it lists the licence holders that are there, whether they are

independent, whether they are fish buyers, and the role that they have.

In it they list all the species and not every plant would be a

multi-species plant. Some of them

would have just pelagics. Some of

them just have seal. Some of them

would have the shrimp, crab, and other shellfish.

There is a requirement, and I want to make this clear;

there is a minimum of two years where if the threshold is not met for

processing, then the minister basically has the authority to cancel a licence.

They have that authority to cancel a licence, and that goes through the

processing board.

When we look at this, we need to ensure the public and

members interested have the opportunity to provide feedback because this impacts

all of our rural communities. We

have eighty or ninety fish processing plants in the Province and sites that were

stated. We also have a number of

aquaculture sites that are designated.

There are over 100 of those and future sites proposed for development.

All of these applications and all of these activities need to go to the

Fish Processing Licencing Board.

If you only have a minimum of two meetings per year,

whenever there is a decision for growth and opportunity in the fishery, whether

it is at the primary, secondary, tertiary, buying level, marketing, or other

opportunities go into this board, if there is just a minimum, it is really

limiting public engagement. In an

era of open government, you want to make sure our citizens are engaged, the

stakeholders are engaged, and that it follows the appropriate timelines and

timeliness when we go through looking at the number of meetings.

We have seen this before where government wants to look at limiting

participation by setting the standard very, very low at a minimum level.

In my view, that is not that acceptable.

If we look at the fish processing licencing

applications and before I get into those, I will go in particularly to the

meetings. I have taken some time to

do some research in the matter when we look at meetings and when the licensing

board actually met. I have a review

of the last six years. We look at

all of the significance that has happened in the fishery and the aquaculture

industry, in some sectors some very robust growth.

A lot of licences looked at approved or transferred.

If we look at 2009, and we take a quarterly approach to

the meetings that took place, on January 12 the Fish Processing Licensing Board

met. That is the first quarter of

the year, so they met. They met

again on April 2, 2009. They also

met again on June 24. They met again

on July 17. They met again on

September 10. They met again on

September 19. In doing so, we look

at that the board had a minimum requirement of six meetings per year.

In 2009, the board itself fulfilled its requirement.

We only have to look back at 2009 and the activities

that were happening, and the significant challenges that were being faced in the

industry in 2009. My goodness, the

industry was in a real uproar. There

were tie-ups when it came to the crab fishery.

When it came to shrimp, really low prices, a slow start to the season.

There was a real challenge and turbulent times.

Looking at the processing sector as to how we look at growth, and we look

at companies that may have amalgamated or grew, or we look at when it comes to

quota allocations and resources that have happened, we have seen increases that

have come up. With that, we have

also seen growth in certain sectors.

Sitting on the all-party committee for shrimp with the

Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture we know there was a period of time where

there was significant growth in the shrimp quota, and with that there were

processing plant after processing plant that opened.

These were decisions that were made by the Fish Processing Licensing

Board because they met. They met on

a regular basis. They looked at the

resource thresholds, they looked at all the requirements, and they looked at the

applications that were coming in.

Then if we go into 2010; I do not know why, if you have

such a consistent approach in 2009 holding your regular meetings, there was not

a meeting that happened in the first quarter of 2010.

They did meet in the second quarter prior to the fishing session and

you are getting things really close then at that point.

On April 27 the licensing board met.

They met again in the third quarter on August 11.

Then just two weeks later they met on August 26.

We only have to look at the number of times the board meets and how close

they meet because there is not really a consistent approach to meetings.

If we look at the legislation, previously the board was

supposed to be meeting a minimum of six times a year.

They did it in 2009. They did

not do it in 2010. In 2011, it is a

lot worse in terms of them trying to meet the legislative requirement in the

current act, not as the bill amended.

They only met in the second quarter, April Fool's Day of 2011.

I wonder why only one meeting per year.

If they unable to meet at all, what happened in 2011 that this board

itself could not either get a quorum or could not there should be an

explanation as to why. Because if

that is the case, if they met only once in 2011, why then hasn't the minister

put the minimum down to one? They

are already breaking their own rules of the act itself.

If they feel that one meeting is sufficient they have done it in the

past. I do not think it is

acceptable that there was only one meeting of the board for the Fish Processing

Licensing Board, because this is a real opportunity for growth.

They play a pivotal role.

I will say maybe 2011 was an anomaly because it was an

election year, but in 2012 things did get a lot better.

It got a lot better for the Fish Processing Licensing Board.

In the first quarter of March 27, they met.

I think it is important for the board to meet early.

When we look at the actions of DFO when they announce resource thresholds

and they look at licensing, the first quarter meeting is definitely important

when we are looking at getting our processing sector ready, getting the plans in

place, so that we can experience growth, so that we are not in a period where we

look at, seeing that the price is low, we do not have an alternative plan, we

are not going to process this species or this sector, we are not going to buy

from these fishers in this area or whatnot because we do not have an alternative

plan. We do not have that option.

If we push things up too late into the season, we do

not have an opportunity to allow the processors then to put forward an

alternative plan. Alternative

planning is important because things do happen.

We do see challenges. We see

challenges this year where fishers are not able to get out on the water because

of the ice. The ice conditions are

preventing them. This is having an

impact on processors. Surely, their

plans now, on some level, will have to change if they are not bringing in the

product and there is going to be further delay.

This is why, as we move forward, we look at the number.

Then we go into the second quarter.

They met on June 15, they met August 15, they met October 11 in 2012

four meetings took place. We go into

2013, and we look at last year. Last

year, the Fish Processing Licensing Board met on April 9.

Not only did they meet on April 9, they met again on May 6.

Then they met again on May 28, so they met three times in a very short

time frame. There was a lot

happening during that time of the year when it comes to the activity.

I think that you would see a lot more activity in the earlier part of the

season because you want to have your work done prior to the start of any season,

and then meet during the season to deal with any anomalies that come forward and

to make sure that the processors are certainly in compliance and up to date with

the information that they are required to do.

We have multiple meetings.

When you sit on a particular issue, you may have to have multiple

meetings to make sure that you get through it.

I think meeting just a minimum of two times is not much, to be honest.

The bar should be set higher.

They also met on August 28, and they met on October 10.

So there were five times they almost met the minimum amount of six last

year. We look at where we are going

this year, Mr. Speaker. It is 2014;

in the first quarter, the board has met on March 6.

On March 6, there was a first-quarter meeting.

If we look at the span of the last six years, there has only been, in the

first quarter, a meeting only half the time.

Then if we look at the second quarter, there are more meetings

consistently. It seems like there is

always a meeting in the second quarter sometime between April and June there

is a meeting, up to three meetings.

This year we have not seen a meeting yet in April or May, and we are getting

through May. So what is that saying

about the state of where we are going for the fish processing sector?

Then we look at the third quarter.

The third quarter has been relatively pertinent as well, except in 2011,

where there was no meeting, and we do not know where things are headed this

year, Mr. Speaker. The worst time,

when the committee has failed to meet, is typically in the fall of the year.

They have only met three times in the last six years as well in the fall.

It seems like the most robust activity happens during

the highest peak in the fishing season.

I guess that is not unusual, but maybe we should set a minimum of one

meeting or two meetings that would happen, one meeting per quarter.

A meeting that would happen during the first quarter and at least the

last quarter, so that you can deal with getting the share information, also

getting the details. Make sure that

everything is up to date so that the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture can

have the most up-to-date, robust information, so that when we are selling our

product and marketing Newfoundland and Labrador brand seafood that information

is made available, and that it is online.

It is already made online in the Department of

Fisheries and Aquaculture when it comes to who the owners are.

Maybe we can take that one step forward when it comes to the Open

Government Initiative. We may be

able to put the minutes of the meeting up in a more timely fashion, maybe they

could be more thorough, and made available publicly through proactive

disclosure. We may be able to see

where there are spatial maps of where our processing facilities are.

Maybe there is also the ability to broaden the

opportunity of the board to be integrated to look at other opportunities where

we have closed facilities and there is not, pursuant to the past owners, to

either remove, remediate, demolish, create other opportunities, or how to help

towns look at utilizing that space to create economic wealth.

That is what we are talking about here.

This is exactly what we are talking about, the

responsibilities of these people on this board to be making recommendations to

the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture on the licence processing which is

our provincial responsibility. We do

not have the responsibility when it comes to the quotas itself, but we do have

the responsibility when it comes to the processing.

This is the expertise that we have on the panel that

are making the recommendations to say this is how our processing sector

resources should be allocated. How

we can thrive, how small operators can thrive.

It links back then to the employment that is created in terms of each

individual community in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Also looking at the harvesting sector, looking at

fishers, and looking at that whole corporate network and the responsibility that

is put in place, because if we look at the responsibilities and duties a board,

when it considers the application of the fish processing licence, if it has been

properly made in the application for a new licence, or a consolidated licence or

a transfer of licence.

We are looking at a very complex issue that we have

seen and we saw it last year. We saw

it last year where a company looked at buying up a number of fish processing

assets in the Province. It closed

down multiple plants, but it was a consolidation, a consolidation where another

player in the industry got larger.

We saw where people were able to still I would imagine in the plan that was

put forward, the processing plan, it also looked at the economic benefits, it

also looked at the employment and the negative impacts.

The board itself needs to look at these decisions.

When we look at the fishery, we are always talking about rationalization.

That always comes up.

I attended a meeting on a fisheries policy launch at

Memorial University with Dr. Barb Neis.

The FFAW was there, Earl McCurdy, and Craig Pollett was there with MNL,

talking about the piece of the fishery and how to transform it.

This board plays that role.

They play that role in economic development.

Because if we look at corporate concentration, mergers, acquisitions,

issues, and processing licences it matters.

We may need to look at the reason why the minister is proposing to go

down from six to two because of the complex issues they deal with over the

course and action of the matter in order to fulfill its mandate o