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November 7, 2019

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLIX No. 15

The

House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Reid):

Admit strangers.

Order,

please!

In the

Speaker's gallery today I would like to welcome Harold and Evelyn Carberry,

visiting today for a Member's statement.

Also in

the Speaker's gallery I would like to recognize former MHA, MP and Cabinet

minister, John Efford, and his wife, Madonna Efford. They are also joining us

this afternoon for a Member's statement.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

In the public gallery today I

welcome Gail Thorne from the Stand for Hannah Foundation, as well as Sarah

Pittman and Frankie Ralph.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

I would also like to rule on

a point of order raised by the Member for Lake Melville yesterday regarding the

reference, by name, during Oral Questions by the Member for Terra Nova to a

member of the general public and to another person, not by name, but easily

identified by the information given.

The

parliamentary authority, Bosc and Gagnon, states the following regarding

reference to members of the public: “Members are discouraged from referring by

name to persons who are not Members of Parliament and who do not enjoy

parliamentary immunity, except in extraordinary circumstances when the national

interest calls for this. The Speaker has ruled that Members have a

responsibility to protect the innocent not only from outright slander, but from

any slur directly or indirectly implied, and has suggested that Members avoid as

much as possible mentioning by name people from outside the House who are unable

to reply in their own defence.”

In a

ruling delivered on May 3 of 2017, our own Speaker ruled as follows: “… where

facts and comments respecting a named individual who is a member of the general

public … are clearly already in the public domain, a Member may comment upon

those issues in this House.

“However, a Member will not be able to stand in this Chamber and make personal,

defamatory or derogatory comments about a member of the public ... where those

comments originate with that Member and not by a member of the public ....”

“Members

in this House have the protection of parliamentary privilege and a freedom of

speech during debate …. Individuals who are not Members of the Legislature have

no such protection and it is therefore unfair to make unsubstantiated

allegations or comments during debate under the protection of the House when the

person about whom those comments are made did not themselves initiate the

remarks and do not have the protection of the House or a defence against the

unfounded allegations.”

On March

20, 2019, the Speaker ruled similarly as follows: “I do want to just read a

little reminder to all Members of this House, and this is regarding reference by

name to members of the public.

“Members

are discouraged from referring by name to persons who are not Members of

Parliament and do not enjoy parliamentary immunity, except in extraordinary

circumstances when the national interest calls for this…. The Speaker has ruled

that Members have a responsibility to protect the innocent, not only from

outright slander but also from any slur directly or indirectly implied. It's

suggested that Members avoid, as much as possible, mentioning by name people

from outside the House who are unable to reply in their own defence.”

It is

the Chair's opinion that the comments made by the Member for Terra Nova

yesterday were inappropriate for the reasons given in the Bosc and Gagnon

commentary and by my predecessors in the Chair, and I now ask the Member for

Terra Nova to withdraw his comments.

The hon.

the Member for Terra Nova.

MR. PARROTT:

I withdraw my comments.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

Statements by Ministers

MR.

SPEAKER:

Today we have Members' statements from the Member for the District of Conception

Bay East - Bell Island, the Member for Bonavista, the Member for the District of

Cape St. Francis, the Member for Terra Nova and the Member for Harbour Grace -

Port de Grave.

The hon. the Member for Conception Bay East - Bell

Island.

MR.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Every community has a resident who is a unique

character, an individual who is appreciated for their contributions to those

they have touched. Portugal Cove-St. Philip's had such an individual. I speak of

the late Hubert Driscoll.

This past Sunday, I had the honour to speak to a large

number of Hubert's family and friends who gathered to celebrate his life at the

Legion in Portugal Cove-St. Philip's. Herbert was a lifetime member of the Royal

Canadian Legion, the Lions Club and a number of other organizations in the

community. His love of volunteering with disabled athletes and travelling to

competitions across this country speaks to his character to ensure all citizens

are included in activities that enrich their lives.

Herbert's real talent was that he could enter a room of

people and no matter the situation, have the room completely relaxed and in high

spirits with a story or a joke. He had what I would label an infectious

personality where once you met him, you would never forget him.

His love for his wife, Monya, his family, the groups he

volunteered with and his community is a testament to his character. Hubert asked

society for very little but appreciated everything he got. Rest in peace, my

friend.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Bonavista.

MR.

PARDY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

On the heels of a day when we celebrated the community

sector, it gives me great pleasure to celebrate Harold Carberry, a former trade

school instructor and lifelong resident of Burgoyne's Cove.

Harold's father, Herb Carberry, was a veteran, having

served as a merchant seaman in World War II. About 12 years ago, at first alone

and then with family, Harold reactivated Remembrance Day ceremonies at the

Burgoyne's Cove War Memorial, which was first erected in 1923.

Harold personally restored and tended to the graves of

14 local veterans and has researched the backgrounds and service records of

nearly 50 late local veterans. He has compiled their biographies and collected

memorabilia to create a photographic wall of remembrance in the local community

hall.

A gifted carpenter, he framed the portraits collected

and hand made the flag box and display lectern himself. Harold helped found the

Burgoyne's Cove Veterans' Commemoration Association in 2012, which became

incorporated in 2018 to acquire a plot of land to permanently site a new war

memorial. Their next goal is to commission slabs to commemorate current and

future local veterans.

I ask

the Members of the 49th House of Assembly to join me in issuing a sincere thank

you to Harold Carberry for his outstanding and commendable community service.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Cape

St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I rise

today to recognize Paul Whelan, a revered rink attendant who passed away late

August at the young age of 57. Paul worked for many years at Feildian Gardens,

Prince of Wales and the Jack Byrne Arena. He was a special person in the lives

of generations of skaters, hockey players, coaches and parents who were lucky

enough to spend time in Paul's rinks.

Paul was

a very friendly, encouraging person. He was always respectful of his job, worked

hard and would always go the extra mile to make sure everything was okay at his

rinks for the users. Whether it was a nervous child or an angry parent or a

senior who simply needed guidance to a seat, Paul had the amazing ability to put

people at ease and make their experience at the rink better. It was clear to see

the pride Paul took in his home away from home. He kept he rink spotless and the

dressing rooms well stocked. Many of us in the recreational leagues were very

thankful for his efforts.

Mr.

Speaker, Paul was a true gentleman with a heart of gold. Many people were

touched by his genuine kindness and continue to feel the same loss. I ask all

hon. Members to join with me in offering sincere condolences to Paul's entire

family and his many, many friends.

Thank

you, my friend, for keeping the mountains blue.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Harbour Grace - Port de Grave.

MS. P. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

in this House to recognize a very special individual here today. The hon. Ruben

John Efford of Port de Grave first served as the Member of the House of Assembly

for the District of Port de Grave from 1985 to 2001. Mr. Efford served as

Minister of Social Services; Works, Services and Transportation; and Minister of

Fisheries and Aquaculture. In 2002, Mr. Efford was elected to the House of

Commons as Member for the Avalon riding for two terms, serving as Minister of

Natural Resources as well.

Born in

Port de Grave, the son of a proud fisherman, John's passion and dedication to

community, his province and the fishing industry will forever be a testament to

his life's work.

Last

evening in Port de Grave, an elegant event hosted by the Port de Grave Heritage

Society, and complete with the Shearstown Brass Band, was held in his honour to

recognize the contribution he made to our province and country, all while doing

so with the strong support of his wife, Madonna, and family.

Mr.

Speaker, I'm proud to call him a true leader and friend. I ask that all hon.

Members join me in thanking Mr. Efford for the outstanding contribution he has

made to our province through his political career.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Terra

Nova.

MR. PARROTT:

I rise today in this hon.

House to honour a veteran of the British navy from my district. Born January 20,

1920, Harold Chesley Bull at the age of 19 enlisted in the Royal Navy and served

on a corvette and a minesweeper.

During

this time, he was involved in several tragic accidents. He was attacked by a

barracuda receiving extensive damage to the bones in his leg, which he still

suffers from. After being hospitalized for 40 days, he was stationed in South

Africa on a minesweeper where he witnessed and suffered the loss of his comrades

after their minesweeper was torpedoed.

After

the war, Mr. Bull returned to Eastport. He married and built a life there. He

became the first mayor of Eastport and is still very active in the community. He

is a charter member of the Lions Club and the Royal Canadian Legion. He was

instrumental in the formation of the Eastport Volunteer Fire Department and has

held positions on many community boards.

Mr. Bull

will turn 100 in January. He is not only a national war veteran but continues to

be an inspiration to his community and the province. Mr. Speaker, as a veteran

myself, it gives me great honour to say thank you to Mr. Bull and all veterans

for their service.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by

Ministers

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Advanced Education, Skills and Labour.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is an

honour to rise in this hon. House during National Skilled Trades and Technology

Week to congratulate Evan Rideout of St. John's who recently became the first

Canadian competitor in Cloud Computing at WorldSkills 2019 in Kazan, Russia.

Evan

demonstrated commitment and a high work ethic in his particular skill area when

he competed against countries from all over the world. This was a culmination of

dedication and learning a new technology that is very much evolving and just

starting to take off. That learning involved in-house training with CNA Computer

Systems and Networking instructor and Canadian Cloud expert, Richard Spencer, as

well as trips to Ottawa to participate in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) GameDay

competitions – an interactive team-based learning exercise designed to give

players a chance to put their AWS skills to the test in a real-world, gamified,

risk-free environment.

Evan

accepted the challenge and earned the right to go to Russia as a member of Team

Canada by demonstrating a work ethic like no other and an innate ability to

understand and implement Cloud solutions. To do this in such a short amount of

time is commendable.

Evan

represented his province and country exceptionally well as a member of Skills

Canada's Team Canada. His accomplishments are a timely reminder of the very

exciting potential of careers in skilled trades and technology right here in

Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr.

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

Evan Rideout.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Topsail - Paradise.

MR. P. DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the Member opposite for an advance copy of his statement.

Mr.

Speaker, all the Members of our caucus join the hon. Member in congratulating

Evan Rideout on becoming the first Canadian competitor in Cloud Computing at the

WorldSkills 2019 championships in Kazan, Russia.

Mr.

Speaker, to reach a pinnacle such as Team Canada is certainly indicative of

Evan's work ethic and creativity in the IT industry to produce new custom

solutions to modern problems. As Evan noted himself, I choose to pursue Cloud

Computing because I believe it is the future of the IT industry.

Mr.

Speaker, this is yet another example of our best and brightest competing on the

world stage. Evan joins many other individuals from our public and private

institutes throughout the province in excelling in these international

competitions.

Special

note of recognition to his instructor and coach at the College of the North

Atlantic, Richard Spencer, as well as his father, Daryl, with whom he attributes

his work ethic.

closing, I ask hon. Members to join me in congratulating Evan Rideout and

wishing him every success in the future.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Labrador West.

MR. BROWN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the minister for an advance copy of his statement. I join all hon. Members in

congratulating Evan Rideout in representing the province on the world stage and

showcasing his talents in IT and cloud computing talent. This is yet another

reminder of the importance of continuing to invest in our post-secondary

institutions to strengthen our skills in IT, coding, cloud computing and

research capacities.

I join

with everyone in congratulating Mr. Rideout, his family and his instructors,

because it's very important that we continue this.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Further statements by

ministers?

The hon.

the Minister of Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

in this hon. House to advise that this government has completed all of the

initiatives outlined in its Opioid Action Plan, and that despite this

accomplishment we will continue to work with our partners to address addictions.

It was also my pleasure to share this information with delegates attending a

provincial opioid dependence treatment conference today here in St. John's.

To date,

Mr. Speaker, we have developed a safe prescribing course for prescribers,

implemented a provincial Pharmacy Network and a prescription-drug monitoring

program. We have developed a provincial opioid awareness and education program.

We provide coverage for Suboxone with the Newfoundland and Labrador Prescription

Drug Program and we have distributed over 3,000 naloxone kits.

Throughout this process, we have had tremendous success working with

communities, such as Bell Island, to offer opioid dependency treatment services.

We are continuing to build on community-based services and supports throughout

the province so people can receive the care they need and live in recovery,

closer to home.

We know

people living with opioid dependency are experiencing great pain, and so are

their families and our communities. We can no longer treat this problem in a

piecemeal fashion. We need to ensure a harm reduction and person-centred

approach is the foundation to all these services.

Stigma

cannot get in the way of effective treatment, Mr. Speaker, or in the way of

access to programs and services, and our collective efforts to address this

devastating disease.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay East - Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I wish

to thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement. I rise in this hon.

House to speak about the devastating issue of opioid addictions.

This

crisis has washed over our country and continues to plague our friends, families

and love ones. We need to work together for the betterment of our communities in

an open and transparent way. All of us in this hon. House have a responsibility

to our communities and to the province at large to bring forth the message that

seeking help is not a weakness, but the show of true strength.

I wish

to thank the hundreds of health professionals and volunteers who are leading the

charge in fighting the opioid crisis in our province. The Official Opposition

looks forward to working with those in the health care system for the betterment

of all people.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's East - Quidi Vidi.

MS. COFFIN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the minister for an advance copy of his statement and I applaud the ongoing work

of the department. Opioid addiction is a serious problem in this province and

people are struggling with this terrible disease. They need help now.

I agree

with the minister that harm reduction must be a top priority. As he knows, this

province has a province-wide problem affecting every community. I look forward

to learning how many communities are currently receiving these supports and

services and of the rollout for the remainder.

Thank

you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

MR. SPEAKER:

The Opposition Leader.

MR. CROSBIE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The RNC

is investigating the sudden death of a 33-year-old inmate at Her Majesty's

Penitentiary shortly in afternoon on Wednesday, apparently after an altercation

with guards. I would express my sympathies to all concerned, including the

correctional officers.

Is there

anything more the minister can tell us about the fatality? Could he describe

what investigations are underway?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. WARR:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Nobody

wants to get up here today, Mr. Speaker, and talk about a death at one of our

correctional facilities, but the hon. Member is correct. On November 6 at Her

Majesty's Penitentiary, there was a sudden death of a male inmate.

The

matter, Mr. Speaker, is under investigation by the Royal Newfoundland

Constabulary. Out of respect for the family, no further details regarding the

inmate's identity will be released at this time. Correctional officers are

co-operating with the police as they investigate the matter.

saying that, Mr. Speaker, I certainly want to tip my hat to the correctional

officers. I had the opportunity to work with them for many years and they do a

fabulous job in our facilities.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Opposition.

MR. CROSBIE:

Mr. Speaker, Marlene Jesso

was called in to do a Deaths in Custody

Review after four deaths in the recent period. She made 17 recommendations

which the government accepted.

Is the

minister confident that all 17 systemic problems Jesso identified have been

rectified or are being rectified in a timely way?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. WARR:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, Ms.

Jesso did a report that we received several months ago. The report actually says

to ensure that we have a safe and healthy living and work environment in our

correctional facilities. This is certainly a top priority of this government.

acknowledge that there's much work to do and there is a lot of important work

ongoing to address many of the issues identified in the report, Mr. Speaker.

Some of the challenges that we face are even bigger than changing just the

policies, but I'm sure our system will ensure that these policies are followed

as time proceeds.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. CROSBIE:

I don't doubt the minister's

sincerity in being optimistic that the recommendations are being followed.

However, many of the institutional shortcomings surrounding previous deaths

involve communication breakdowns and improper procedures that could not be

blamed on the advanced age of the facility.

Is the

minister going to satisfy himself and the House that protocols and procedures

have been rectified and not breached in any way that placed the deceased

inmate's life in this case in jeopardy, or in a way that compromised the

integrity of the investigation into the death?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I rise

to answer this question on the basis of communications and the issue of mental

and physical health of residents and inmates in correctional facilities. Prior

to Ms. Jesso's report, it had been determined the best way of dealing with this

was for health in correctional facilities to fall under the jurisdiction of the

Department of Health rather than the department of corrections.

Our

departments have been working very closely together. Ms. Jesso's report really

further strengthens the recommendation from

Towards Recovery . This process is well

advanced. I would draw the attention of the Member opposite to the fact that in

Alberta, which led the way in this endeavour, it took a couple of years to do.

We will have this done by the end of the calendar year, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Opposition.

MR. CROSBIE:

Does either minister from the

government see wisdom in engaging Ms. Jesso to do a follow-up and report whether

she is satisfied with the progress that has been made to address the

recommendations and the systemic problems she identified?

MR. WARR:

I'm sorry; I didn't get the

question, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Leader of the

Opposition.

MR. CROSBIE:

The question was: Will the

government engage Ms. Jesso to do a follow-up and report on her level of

satisfaction with the progress that has been made to address the recommendations

she made and any systemic problems she uncovered.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. WARR:

To the hon. Member's

question, I apologize; I didn't hear it in the beginning. I'm sure there will be

a follow-up, Mr. Speaker, from the department to the Member's question.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount

Pearl North.

MR. LESTER:

Mr. Speaker, I have a

constituent in my district who will be homeless by the end of the month. This is

a senior. He has applied to Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation for a

unit but there are no units available. He's been on application to the

corporation since 2014. The senior has also inquired about the availability of

the Rental Supplement Program, but has learned the program is exhausted. The

senior has been advised to go an emergency shelter upon his eviction.

I ask

the minister: How can she justify paying up to $350 per night versus increasing

the rental subsidy program which could only be $800 per month?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Children, Seniors and Social Development.

MS. DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

Member tied a lot of things there together, I think, that's not really tied.

There is no doubt that there's an ongoing wait-list in Housing. There are a lot

of needs out there, not all of them that the Housing staff is able to meet.

What I

can tell you is that people are prioritized up the list. They make an

application and if people are willing to live in a broader area, sometimes that

moves them up, as I talked about yesterday. People in domestic situations are

number one and then there are individuals who are in shelters.

We have

been having good success with moving them out of shelters even though we've only

had the program for 16 months, moving them into more stable environments, moving

them along the continuum, which is the whole reason why this program folded in

under Housing, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Member for Mount Pearl

North.

MR. LESTER:

Mr. Speaker, the staff and

management of NLHC are doing a tremendous job with the resources they have

available, but the reality is we are experiencing a housing crisis partly caused

by the highest rate of insolvency, the highest rate of addiction issues and

family breakup in our history. I have learned there are almost 70 people on this

same list as my constituent with similar circumstances and similar needs.

I ask

the minister: With another almost 70 people entering the emergency shelter

system, will the budget still be 38 per cent lower than last year and why is

there no additional funds allocated to the rent subsidy program?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Children, Seniors and Social Development.

MS. DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I talked

about, yesterday, some of the complexities. We've certainly put an increased

focus on moving people into non-profits. Sometimes if they need emergency

accommodations, we've certainly been focused on non-profits because that's where

the wraparound supports are for these individuals, because we want to work with

them to move them into some of our units. We've had success in that area.

I don't

know the particular situation that the hon. Member is talking about, but I'm

certainly open to having a conversation. If there's someone that has been in the

system a long time and he's concerned about them, my door is always open. He can

come and talk to me and we do what we can to meet the needs, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount

Pearl North.

MR. LESTER:

Mr. Speaker, for decades

farmers have been able to protect their crops, livelihoods and viability of

family farms through permitted shooting of moose which destroy crops. Through

the minister's own admission, there has never been an incident of concern. Yet,

the minister, by his own hand, amended the permit to no longer shoot moose at

night.

Why were

farmers and the agricultural industry left in the dark and not consulted about

this change, nor informed when it actually came into place?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries and Land Resources.

MR. BYRNE:

No, no, no, Mr. Speaker, to

suggest that there has never been an issue of concern. Let's be clear to this

hon. House, all of us: The discharge of high-powered rifles or shotguns with

slugs in the middle of the night should be a matter of concern. The

Wild Life Act specifically prohibits hunting at night. There is

probably a very good reason for that, Mr. Speaker. There is a safety issue that

is always of paramount concern.

So when

I say to the hon. Member that we have to look proactively to consider safety

concerns and the general well-being of all of us around us, then I say to the

hon. Member, Mr. Speaker, he should adopt those same principles.

This was

a change that occurred in 2016. There are provisions that are available to

farmers, including calling conservation officers to be able to deal with issues

at night.

MR. SPEAKER:

I ask the minister to

conclude his remarks.

MR. BYRNE:

But farmers still have the

ability to be able to dispatch animals on their farms during the daylight hours,

from sun-up to sunset.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Next question.

The hon.

the Member for Mount Pearl North.

MR. LESTER:

While the minister may

highlight some areas of concern, I'd also like to point out that people hunt

moose day and night, and a bullet goes just as far in the day as it does in the

night.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. LESTER:

The reality is the solution

that the minister has offered to the farmers is not working. Farmers are having

to wait up to two hours for a conservation officer to show up to dispatch a

moose. We have farmers on the brink of insolvency because they've lost their

whole entire crops. Every time a moose puts his head down and takes a bite,

that's $5 off the bottom line of a farm and a farm family.

How can

the minister speak out of both sides of his mouth saying he supports new

entrants, supports the agriculture industry and takes away the very mechanism

they have to defend their livelihoods and their futures?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries and Land Resources.

MR. BYRNE:

I'm sure, Mr. Speaker, some

in this House, somewhere, might appreciate his active defence of poaching.

Dispatching animals, hunting animals at night is a violation of the

Wild Life Act and has been for a very, very long time.

So, I'm

not sure who the hon. Member for Mount Pearl North is referring to, but if he

has any evidence, any information about poachers and poaching activity, which he

seems to be endorsing, he should report it to the authorities. Then again, maybe

this hon. Member is not always on the side of the law himself. I don't know, but

what I can say is that he really needs to be more cautious and careful about

hunting at night.

MR. BRAZIL:

Mr. Speaker, a point of

order.

MR. SPEAKER:

We'll wait until after

Question Period to deal with the point of order.

The hon.

the Member for Mount Pearl North.

MR. LESTER:

Mr. Speaker, it's quite

evident that some Members of the opposite side do not value the agricultural

production and the initiative that farmers have taken.

Mr.

Speaker, I challenge any one of those Members who are currently heckling me

about this situation to work 16 hours a day for six months of the year then have

to sit all night in the cab of a pickup or patrol their fields to protect their

incomes, protect their families livelihoods. I bet you they have never done

that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. LESTER:

Has the minister ever sat in

a truck? Has the minister ever faced a bull moose, chased it out with his bare

hands? Because that's what our farmers are having to do.

I've

become partially aware of a situation where a farmer called the conservation

officer several times. The conservation officers show up, the moose are still

there, they drive the moose away and the moose comes back. Finally, one time he

called the conservation officers, they showed up without a gun, only to leave

the farmer with his own devise –

MR. SPEAKER:

I ask the Member to ask his

question.

MR. LESTER:

Give me the same gratitude as

him, Sir. Only to leave the farmer to his own devise to take care of that moose,

while the conservation officers hid in the woods only to come out and arrest

him.

Now, Mr.

Premier, you stood yesterday and said you support agriculture. Do you support

this minister?

MR. SPEAKER:

I ask the Member to take his

seat.

The hon.

the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

I do support agriculture and

I do support the minister. I don't support hunting at night. It's illegal.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Member for Terra

Nova.

MR. PARROTT:

Mr. Speaker, I'm wondering if

the minister can shed some more light on the secret $40-million cannabis deal

with Canopy Growth.

Did the

Liberal Party receive any donations from Canopy Growth 80521 Limited or anyone

else on 7 Plank Road?

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of Tourism,

Culture, Industry and Innovation.

MR. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm very

happy to stand, as I was yesterday, to talk about the important issue of

cannabis in our province. We've been very successful as of now, developing three

projects in this province for the betterment of people in our province.

We've

created 800 jobs when they're at full production, many, many

construction-associated jobs and tax bases for the municipalities that they're

existing in. Alone in St. John's, it's about a million dollars tax revenue

coming from the Canopy Growth facility in East White Hills. It happens to be in

my district.

I'm very

excited about the staff and the amount of people that are going to be hired for

that project and the two others that are on the go. I hope that there are a few

more coming through the pipe in the near future.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Terra

Nova.

MR. PARROTT:

Mr. Speaker, the

Financial Post reported yesterday that there's a massive oversupply

of cannabis in Canada.

Why is

government continuing to hand out lucrative deals to their friends in a market

that may not exist?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Minister of Tourism,

Culture, Industry and Innovation.

MR. DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, I hope the hon.

Member will talk to his colleague from Stephenville who has a production

facility being built in that community and see if he's in favour of creating

jobs in his community alone. I know that there are at least three cannabis

operations being built in this province. There are an additional several in the

pipeline that will hopefully be coming to fruition in the future.

encourage the individuals that have received the briefing to follow what they

were briefed on in the cannabis industry, and if they need another one, please

reach out to the cannabis industry to see if they'll give them one.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Member for Terra

Nova.

MR. PARROTT:

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the

minister quoted 400 jobs and today it is 800, so I'd like to know where those

400 jobs came from.

The

unfortunate part of this is that the people who have these deals, there's no

secondary processing. We probably created 800 jobs but we probably left 2,000 on

the table. Product produced here will be shipped to the Mainland without

value-added processing – fact.

I ask

the minister: Who's benefiting from these deals, except the people who bought

tables at the Premier's dinner?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Minister of Tourism,

Culture, Industry and Innovation

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation.

MR. DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, I don't

understand why they're trying to make a very positive issue like this cannabis

industry that didn't exist a little over a year ago, that we built in this

province as a success. No other province in this country is feeling the success

we are. We actually made money in the cannabis industry last year. We created

employment. We have tax revenue coming in to our municipalities and created a

substantial amount of employment, not just from the construction-related jobs,

not from the production-related jobs, all the spin off employment jobs that are

created as a result of these facilities being built.

I look

forward to a follow-up question on that topic because I can talk about it all

day, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Topsail - Paradise.

MR. P. DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

During

the provincial election campaign, TradesNL asked all parties if they would

implement a community benefits agreement policy. The Liberals replied as

stating, and I quote, “as a party we are not opposed to taking a closer look at

moving in this direction.”

I ask

the minister: What work have you done in the last five months to deal with this

issue?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation.

MR. DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, we're about

developing the economy, making sure there are opportunities for individuals to

participate in that economy. Obviously, we want to create employment for

individuals within our province but you can't dictate that every job has to be

filled by individuals in the province.

Sometimes, I'll use an example, in the tech sector there may not be a person to

fill that job right away. That's why we have the minister of immigration working

so feverishly to try to increase our immigration numbers; like we've had great

success, great opportunity for individuals to work in our province. That's what

we want to create, an opportunity for those individuals to do so.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Topsail - Paradise.

MR. P. DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

So I

assume the answer is no, they have not looked at implementing a benefits package

for the province.

I ask

the minister: Will you be implementing a community benefits agreement policy to

ensure that the people of this province benefit from construction and the

development in our province?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Mr. Speaker, thank you for

the question about generating benefits and providing employment to people in our

province.

All you

have to do is go and ask the people in Botwood today who will be working on

their project. Go to Corner Brook and see who is working on that project. See

who will be working on the projects in Grand Falls-Windsor and Gander. These are

provincially-driven projects and employing in our province, Mr. Speaker, 96 per

cent of the employment on all those projects are Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER BALL:

These are people who are

directly working.

Mr.

Speaker, that is a community-driven benefit right there – 96 per cent of all the

employees working on those projects and others, Mr. Speaker, working from

Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Topsail - Paradise.

MR. P. DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again,

we don't have the answer to my question, but let's go to the 96 per cent.

Can the

Premier tell us here in this House that the 4 per cent of jobs that are not

filled by local people could not be filled by local people?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Mr. Speaker, when you look at

community benefits, if you're a senior in this province and you've been waiting

for a long-term care facility – because this group over here who had billions of

dollars of money available to them ignored the request. As a matter of fact,

when they talk about community benefits and talk about unionized workers, it was

the previous administration that said we are not even going to use unionized

workers to staff those facilities.

They

made a decision that it would be done privately. That was their decision. That's

what they ran on. We took a position that it would be unionized workers that

would fill the positions in those institutions, Mr. Speaker, and providing

benefits to those seniors.

Mr.

Speaker, I also want to talk about the acute care centre in Corner Brook that

was ignored and announced seven, eight, nine times and couldn't get it done.

This administration did it. That is community benefits for Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Topsail - Paradise.

MR. P. DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I could

toss these three questions because I have yet to get an answer, but I can go to

this. It's amazing how you have a party with a motto

The Way Forward and they keep talking about the past. Time to move

forward – time to move forward.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. P. DINN:

Mr. Speaker, earlier this

week the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development announced a new

Skilled Futures program to foster careers in skilled trades and technology;

however, currently the Bull Arm site lacks a major tenant and there are no major

projects on the horizon. In fact, Trades NL continues to run a public awareness

campaign about the lack of jobs and benefits for Newfoundlanders.

When is

the government going to focus on the desperate state of this economy here and

now, of which they had five years to deal with?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

MS. COADY:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

Allow me

to inform the Member of the benefits plans that we do have in this province. All

major natural resource – as a matter of fact, all natural resource projects have

benefits plans. Mr. Speaker, there are tremendous benefits coming from our

natural resources and I can be happy to share that thousands upon thousands upon

thousands of jobs are being created by our oil and gas industry and by our

mining industry. I know my hon. colleague would love to stand up and talk about

the many contributions that the investments in infrastructure are bringing to

this province.

We are

going to continue to ensure the maximum benefits of all projects, especially

around natural resources, and I know there are community benefits about

infrastructure as well. I can assure the people of this province, we are

maximizing every opportunity we have to ensure benefits are coming to the people

of this province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Torngat Mountains.

MS. EVANS:

Mr. Speaker, the

Kamutik W has been subject to many weather delays directly impacting

freight and passenger service in the communities in my district. Communities

have been omitted due to last-minute ad hoc route changes to their

schedule and

this is creating panic; panic not only amongst the citizens in my district, but

panic among the business owners and the Inuit and Innu community governments.

Will

this government admit that the 2019 ferry service has failed my people and

replace this stupid ferry?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

certainly won't be replacing it with something built in Romania. Mr. Speaker,

this season has not been a failure. To date, we've shipped 34 per cent more

freight than we did the last season; 2,712 tones more freight this year than

last year. Just think about that number.

Mr.

Speaker, for the first time ever, we've had over 300 roll-on and roll-off

opportunities with vehicles. The freight that's going north on the ferry is not

even included in the tonnage numbers if you're putting it in the trunk of your

car or in the back of your truck.

Mr.

Speaker, the reality here is there have been some challenges, mainly shore

based. One of the things we'll be doing this coming winter is working with the

company, working with the Innu and working with the Nunatsiavut Government on

ways that we can improve this service going into next year.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's East - Quidi Vidi.

MS. COFFIN:

Mr. Speaker, budgets are about choices. Government has chosen to hold $111

million in reserve for Equinor while Equinor decides if the Bay du Nord project

is viable.

I ask

the Premier: How does this choice address our immediate needs related to rate

mitigation, homelessness, emergency shelters, mental health, senior care, rural

diversification and development?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MS. COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

Member opposite is referring to an equity stake that we have proposed to take in

Equinor should it advance. Mr. Speaker, it is a project that is in our offshore,

as we have other equity stakes in other opportunities within our offshore.

Mr.

Speaker, they are generating tremendous income for this province. I can assure

the Member opposite that we are working through, with Equinor, the arrangements

around that equity investment so that we can ensure that we have a good return –

a very good return – from our offshore assets.

I will

assure the Member opposite those discussions are continuing and that we're

making sure that the project will advance before we invest any money.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Member for Labrador

West.

MR. BROWN:

Mr. Speaker, seniors have to

leave my district to avail of assisted living or to reside in a seniors' home.

My district has neither of these vital options for seniors and home care is

virtually non-existent.

I ask

the minister responsible: What is the plan to provide these important services

to the seniors and residents of Labrador West?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

We have

commissioned and are in the process of receiving a needs assessment on locations

and numbers for personal care home beds. The Member opposite is correct, the

demographic in his district has changed from people who worked and lived in what

was a mining town and then left, to an area where there is a retirement

community.

The

challenge around the personal care home sector, particularly, is this is a

private business. I would encourage the dialogue that the local municipalities

have already started with private providers to continue until we get the results

of that report, which I'm hoping will be here before the end of the year.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MR. J. DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, in a 2018 ATIPPed application from Northern Harvest, a plan for dealing

with high water temperature and low oxygen levels was blacked out.

I ask

the Minister of Fisheries and Land Resources: Is this because there was no plan?

Since we certainly didn't see one in the recent fish die-off at their farm.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries and Land Resources.

MR. BYRNE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

appreciate the question. The Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act

is paramount in these decisions. When there is considered harm to third parties,

there can and should be a redaction. This was an instance where there was a

determination there could be potential harm to third parties and so there was a

redaction based on that basis.

However,

what I will say, Mr. Speaker, is that it gives me an excellent platform now,

today, to be able to speak to specific measures to deal with environmental

issues, environmental mitigations. Our new suite of policies, procedures and

licence conditions speak to several specific initiatives which require

prescriptive measures to deal with environmental mitigations and we're very,

very proud of that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MR. J. DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The only

harm to third parties that I could see were to the fish harvesters, people who

depend on the aquaculture industry and to the wild Atlantic salmon stocks.

Mr.

Speaker, yesterday the minister said he takes the words and the knowledge of the

Mi'kmaq seriously, yet in an interview on

Mi'kmaq Matters , the Miawpukek First Nation chief said he only found

out about the die-off in the media three weeks after the minister knew.

So, if

the minister truly values our Mi'kmaq citizens, why didn't he pick up the phone

and tell the chief as soon as he knew?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries and Land Resources.

MR. BYRNE:

Mr. Speaker, that same

interview, Chief Mi'sel Joe said I commend the minister for the work he's done

and acknowledged the government's good, hard work on this.

What I

have found a consistent practice from this hon. Member, which I disagree with,

is that he continues to marginalize. He has never phoned Chief Mi'sel Joe. I

just got off the line with Chief Mi'sel Joe, just about an hour ago. I have had

several conversations with him. What I'll say is that that hon. Member right

there has never, ever picked up the phone to phone him to ask any questions.

I've been down to Conne River, I've been down to the First Nation and spoken to

him several times.

What

I've constantly found from this hon. Member – and it is a pattern of behaviour –

MR. SPEAKER:

I ask the Member to direct his comments towards the Chair.

MR. BYRNE:

A pattern of behaviour of

marginalization of Indigenous, and I will speak to that.

MR. SPEAKER:

Time for Question Period has

expired.

MR. J. DINN:

Point of order.

MR. SPEAKER:

Point of order by the Member

for St. John's Centre.

MR. J. DINN:

I think, Mr. Speaker –

actually I know that the hon. Member –

AN HON. MEMBER:

(Inaudible.)

MR. J. DINN:

Pardon me? I'm talking about

the point of privilege here. I would assume that you have to address all

comments to the Speaker. Would that be correct?

MR. SPEAKER:

Yes.

MR. J. DINN:

Thank you very much.

I'd ask

you to remind the hon. Member across to do that.

Secondly, I think it might be worthwhile for the hon. Member to have a refresher

course in the anti-harassment and bullying.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

To that point of order, the

hon. the Government House Leader.

MS. COADY:

Mr. Speaker, I can't find in

the Standing Orders where his point of order is; I know he changed it to a point

of privilege. Again, I don't know where we would find the particular Standing

Order or the particular phrase in order to be able to address his particular

issue.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

To that point of order, the

hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Land Resources.

MR. BYRNE:

Mr. Speaker, through you, I

would say to the hon. Member he should be very, very mindful of his own conduct,

his past patterns of behaviour of conduct because they are not in keeping with

the spirit of reconciliation with our Indigenous. I have been in his company in

the past where he has marginalized the interests and importance of Indigenous

peoples and nations in our province and it's not acceptable.

MR. SPEAKER:

This is not related to the

point of order that was raised. I'll give the Member a short – if he's speaking

specifically to his point of order.

The

Member for St. John's Centre.

MR. J. DINN:

I was speaking on a point of

privilege that if the minister wants to go down that road, he better make sure

he has his facts straight, because I can tell you this right now, that was

totally uncalled for. Anything about my past history with Indigenous or anybody,

as president of the Teachers' Association, was always respectful regardless of

who I was dealing with.

I'd ask

for a retraction of that because it's just unacceptable and unparliamentary.

Thank

you.

MR. SPEAKER:

While there's no point of

order here, it's a disagreement between two hon. Members, I would take this

opportunity to remind all Members of the House that comments should be directed

towards the Chair. This is the past precedent in our House and all Members

should abide by that. It's designed to depersonalize the questioning and the

answering and I ask all Members to follow that precedent.

Thank

you.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling

of Documents.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

Tabling of

Documents

MR. SPEAKER:

In accordance with

section

19(5)(

a) of the House of Assembly

Accountability, Integrity and Administration Act , I hereby table the minutes

of the House of Assembly Management Commission meetings held February 20, March

13 and July 23, 2019.

Also in

accordance with

section 18(9) of the House

of Assembly Accountability, Integrity and Administration Act , I'm informing

this House that the current Members of the Management Commission are: the

Speaker, the Government House Leader, the Opposition House Leader, the Minister

of Health and Community Services, the Member for Fortune Bay - Cape La Hune, the

Member for Conception Bay South, the Member for St. John's East - Quidi Vidi and

the Clerk.

Further

tabling of documents?

Notices

of Motion.

Notices of Motion

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I give

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

An Act To Amend The

Liquor Corporation Act, Bill 15.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further notices of motion?

Answers

to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount

Pearl - Southlands.

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

There have been

numerous concerns raised by family members of seniors in long-term care

throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, particularly those suffering with

dementia, Alzheimer's disease and other cognitive debilitating conditions,

whereby loved ones have experienced injuries, have not been bathed regularly,

not received proper nutrition and/or have been left lying in their own waste for

extended periods of time. We believe this is directly related to government's

failure to ensure adequate staffing at those facilities.

THEREFORE we

petition the hon. House of Assembly as follows: To urge the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador to instate legislation which includes the mandatory

establishment of an adequate ratio of one staff to three residents in long-term

care and all other applicable regional health facilities housing persons with

dementia, Alzheimer's disease and other cognitive debilitating conditions in

order to ensure appropriate safety, protection from injuries, proper hygiene

care and all other required care. This law would include the creation of a

specific job position in these facilities for monitoring and intervention as

required to ensure the safety of patients.

Mr. Speaker, I

present this petition again today. I did so pretty much every day during the

last sitting and I will continue to do so on behalf of a group which has been

established called Advocates for Senior Citizens' Rights.

Today, we have

signatures here from people in the St. John's and Mount Pearl area, primarily.

As I have said in the past, and will continue to say on their behalf, these are

people, primarily, who would have family members who are in long-term care

facilities.

I absolutely

commend the government for the work they have done in the creation of new

long-term care facilities. They've seen the need and they're reacting to that

need. Nobody is disputing that. This group is not disputing that. What this

group is disputing, though, is that there are many occasions where they have

gone into these facilities where

a loved one has been there, and that loved one has apparently, allegedly,

not been receiving the care they deserve. Not because the staff are not doing

their job, not because the staff don't care or they don't know what they're

doing. None of those things. Far from it, but the issue quite often has been

lack of staffing.

Now,

there may be appropriate staffing on the books, but if you don't replace people

when they call in sick and things like that, then you don't have the appropriate

staffing at all times. Someone should not be going into a facility where they

have a loved one who has Alzheimer's disease or dementia or something, walk in

to the room, lunchtime, to see breakfast on the table that hasn't been eaten

because there was no one there to actually feed that person. Those are the

issues; or, for someone to be strapped into a chair all day or overmedicated. We

know we have issues with overmedication that have been raised, because there's

not the staff to take care of these seniors.

These

are our mothers, our fathers, our grandparents; one day it could be you or I.

It's an important issue. I ask the government to please do everything you can to

ensure we have appropriate staffing at these facilities.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Placentia West - Bellevue.

MR. DWYER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

in this hon. House today to present a petition on behalf of the communities and

citizens adjacent to the Bull Arm Fabrication site. The background of this

petition is as follows:

WHEREAS

there are no current operations at the Bull Arm Fabrication site; and

WHEREAS

the site is a world-class facility with the potential to rejuvenate the local

economy; and

WHEREAS

residents of the area are troubled with the lack of local employment in today's

economy; and

WHEREAS

the operation of this facility would encourage employment for the area and

create economic spinoffs for local businesses; and

WHEREAS

the site is an asset to the province, built to benefit the province, and a

long-term tenant for this site would attract gainful business opportunities; and

WHEREAS

the continued idling of this site is not in the best interest of the province;

THEREFORE we, the residents of the area near the Bull Arm Fabrication site,

petition the hon. House of Assembly as follows:

We, the

undersigned, call upon the House of Assembly to urge the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador to expedite the process to get the Bull Arm

Fabrication site back in operation. We request that this process include a

vision for a long-term, viable plan that is beneficial to all residents of

Newfoundland and Labrador. Furthermore, we request that government place an

emphasis on all supply, maintenance, fabrication and offshore workover for

existing offshore platforms, as well as new construction of any future

platforms, be they GBS or FPSO in nature.

Mr.

Speaker, this is something that while it's in my district, yes, it does speak to

the fact of our economy. We need work for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. This

is evident. The quality of work by Newfoundlanders and Labradorians and the

quality of our tradespeople is second to none worldwide.

We have

a world-class facility that's deteriorating. We've already made that capital

investment, Mr. Speaker. Why are we now considering making other capital

investment with other proprietors, instead of getting this site back up and

going and make it a world-class facility again?

There

are many economic spinoffs. Look at all the towns that benefited from it the

last time it was up and running and had more full-time employment. There are

more tax dollars in the coffers for the economic development of our towns that

also need some long overdue infrastructure.

We've

propped up many other jurisdictions in our past, so it's high time we prop up

our own. Let's show that rural Newfoundland is and can be more vibrant on the

world stage.

Thank

you.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Minister of Natural

Resources.

MS. COADY:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I'm

pleased to inform the Member opposite, the Member for Placentia West - Bellevue

– I listened very carefully to his remarks – that there is indeed work in Bull

Arm today. There is, for the second time, a thruster swap out that's happening.

This is new for our province, new work. There is another rig brought in to Bull

Arm. This is new work for Bull Arm.

course, we are looking to – and I'll quote his words, Mr. Speaker: a vision for

a long-term viable plan. That's exactly what we've been working on, a reliable

plan for continuous work at Bull Arm. We have gone out for a request for

proposals; we have been reviewing those proposals, speaking to the proponents of

those proposals.

One of

those proponents, Mr. Speaker, is a fabricator who is doing the work on the rig

that I just mentioned. The other is a supply centre, and we're continuing

discussions with that supply centre for further long-term work. I agree with the

Member opposite, we're going to continue to maximize benefits to the people of

the province.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount

Pearl North.

MR. LESTER:

Mr. Speaker, people on Income

Support in Newfoundland fall way below the national poverty line.

In 2016,

Advanced Education, Skills and Labour changed their policy to specify that in

order to qualify for a bus pass people need to have a minimum of eight specified

medical appointments a month. This creates a barrier for low income and

vulnerable people to obtain basic necessities like food and essential medical

services.

The

requirement of eight doctor's appointments a month ignores the need of those

living with chronic illnesses and disabilities who may not need to see the

doctor, but often have no ability to travel by their own means. This also limits

their ability to socialize.

THEREFORE we petition the House of Assembly as follows: we, the undersigned,

call on the House of Assembly to urge the Government of Newfoundland and

Labrador to allow bus passes to all Income Support recipients, all seniors who

receive the Income Support supplement and all low income recipients who are in

receipt of the NLPDP.

Mr.

Speaker, when you look at our overburdened health care system, many of these

appointments that are being filled are being filled by people who need to

maintain that quota of eight medical appointments per month in order to maintain

their bus pass. This creates far more financial drain and far more financial

cost to our system than the issuance of a bus pass.

Not only

does the issuance of a bus pass make financial sense when it comes to the

Provincial Treasury, it also makes environmental sense. It's been proven time

and time again that mass transit is far friendly to the environment than

individual taxi or own personal vehicle.

Mr.

Speaker, this is another decision that was made in 2016 to save money and it

hasn't. It has actually cost our system more. I, therefore, support this

petition and I look forward to the reply.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Advanced Education, Skills and Labour.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm more

than happy to advise the Member opposite that during election 2019, it was the

Liberal Party that committed to providing bus passes to all people on Income

Support in the St. John's metro area.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. MITCHELMORE:

That is a commitment that we made in election 2019 that in early 2020 this would

be established and I'm firmly committed, as minister of Income Support, in

making and delivering upon that. That is in my mandate letter from the Premier

of Newfoundland and Labrador as well.

One

thing I'm very proud to report upon is that you look at the vital signs here in

Newfoundland and Labrador that the caseload for Income Support has declined

significantly here in Newfoundland and Labrador. We will continue to take

actions so that we can continue to create economic opportunities for people on

Income Support to attach the labour force, to get new skills and add more to the

economy here in Newfoundland and Labrador. Giving them transportation, via a bus

pass, is a great thing, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's East - Quidi Vidi.

MS. COFFIN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This may

sound a little repetitious but this is absolutely important and speaks to my

question earlier in the House. The background to this petition is as follows:

There have been numerous concerned raised by family members of seniors in

long-term care throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, particularly those

suffering with dementia, Alzheimer's disease and other cognitive debilitating

conditions whereby loved ones have experienced injuries, have not been bathed

regularly, have not received proper nutrition and/or have been left lying in

their own waste for extended periods of time. We believe this is directly

related to government's failure to ensure adequate staffing at those facilities.

THEREFORE we petition the hon. House of Assembly as follows: To urge the

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to instate legislation which includes

the mandatory establishment of an adequate ratio of one staff to three residents

in long-term care and all other applicable regional health facilities housing

persons with dementia, Alzheimer's disease and other cognitive debilitating

conditions in order to ensure appropriate safety, protection from injuries,

proper hygiene care and all other required care. This law would include the

creation of a specific job position in these facilities for monitoring and

intervention, as required, to ensure the safety of those patients.

Mr.

Speaker, I'd like to point out that I have received this petition and I will

continue to pass along every instance of this petition that I get. Today, to

complement the Member for Mount Pearl - Southlands, I have signatures from St.

Stephen's, St. Vincent's, Peter's River, Gander, St. John's, Grand

Falls-Windsor, Clarenville, more from Gander and Marystown. This tells you that

this is a province-wide issue.

I can

talk to this from a very different perspective as well. I was very fortunate to

have a mother who was a nurse and my mother worked in long-term care for an

extended period of time. Now that she has retired, I've had ample opportunity to

sit with many of her friends who are still working in health care. I say: How

are working conditions for you? They say it is very, very hard for them to do

their job, to adequately perform their roles and to care for their patients in

their wings.

The

reason for this they say is largely because there is less staffing and patients

weigh more. They have more disabilities. They have more cognitive impairments.

They have more physical impairments. While we may still have the same number of

patients – although I do not think that is the case – those patients require

more and more care, so maintaining the same levels of staffing that they've had

all along is really counterintuitive. That means that patients are actually

receiving less care when they go into these facilities.

I would

like to continue to press this point. This is absolutely vital. This is hard on

the patients who are delivering the services, as well as the people who are

receiving those services.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Placentia West - Bellevue.

MR. DWYER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm not

sure if I'm allowed to –

AN HON. MEMBER:

(Inaudible.)

MR. DWYER:

Okay.

I've got

a second petition. It's from another part of my district. The reasons for this

petition are that: Highway 210 is the main road going through the picturesque

community of Swift Current. The Department of Transportation and Works currently

are working on a two-year project on Highway 210 from Garden Cove towards

Piper's Hole. The current tender for the highway work includes Highway 210 only.

The side roads of Swift Current are not included. The side roads of Swift

Current are in deplorable condition. The side roads have not been repaved since

the initial paving in the early 1970s. The side roads, which were used to divert

traffic during the current tendered construction contract, are in worse shape

now due to extensive traffic it endured.

THEREFORE we petition the hon. House of Assembly as follows: We, the

undersigned, call upon the House of Assembly to urge the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador to considering paving/upgrading of the side roads,

including Darby's Cove, Sharpe's Lane, Maple Crescent, Old Church Road, Academy

Hill, Hollett's Point and Shoal Cove Heights in Swift Current to the current

existing road upgrade project as an add-on.

Mr.

Speaker, I have actually talked to the Minister of Transportation and Works on

this, these roads were used as diversions to put in a culvert on the main road

and thus has really deteriorated one of the roads, especially Sharpe's Lane.

What

these people are looking for at this point in time, really, is to help them get

through the winter. They're looking for some Class A and to be graded, but these

are not big one- or two-kilometre roads. We're talking about little crescents

that are adjacent to the main road.

I'll

remind the House that this main road that goes right through Swift Current is

actually Route 210, the Burin Peninsula Highway. So, it does see a lot of

traffic. They're concerned, also, about the speed on that, but that's something

that we can get into a little bit later. I'll bring a petition forward on that

as well.

In the

nighttime, a lot of the equipment belonging to the construction company is

actually being parked on Old Church Road, which houses the post office and the

playground in the middle of the community. When they house that equipment there

at night, obviously, it takes up not only space but it's using those roads and

deteriorating those roads as well.

I have

talked to the minister about it and I'm awaiting a response. This is something

that's going to be done over two construction seasons, so what I'm really

petitioning the minister for is that he would consult with us, as a group, about

what's going to happen in the next season, but get two lanes at least done this

season.

Thank

you.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the hon. Member for the petition.

Mr.

Speaker, to his remarks about the challenges that the roads have suffered from

the diversions, that's something, certainly, that the department will look into

and will provide some grading this fall to alleviate the immediate concern.

Mr.

Speaker, the Member opposite highlighted the value of Route 210 and this

government certainly sees the value in 210. If you look at the aquaculture

industry, the fluorspar mine in St. Lawrence and the dockyard, the new hub for

aquaculture, the amount of economic activity that's happening right now on the

Burin Peninsula is excellent and it's something that we've recognized.

Back, I

think, under the previous Member, we put forward a business case to Ottawa to

actually do some substantial upgrades to Route 210 in the coming years. I

believe the most recent business case we had approved from Ottawa was somewhere

in the $20-million range, Mr. Speaker, to provide upgrades to this very

important highway in the province, and we will continue to look at this. This is

going to become one of the main trade corridors in our province.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

Orders of the Day

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MS. COADY:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I move,

seconded by the Minister of Transportation and Works, for leave to introduce a

bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Forestry Act, Bill 10, and I further move

that this said bill be now read a first time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It has been moved and

seconded by the hon. the Government House Leader that she shall have leave to

introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Forestry Act, Bill 10, and that

the said bill be now read a first time.

Is it

the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

Motion,

the hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Land Resources to introduce a bill, “An

Act To Amend The Forestry Act,” carried. (Bill 10)

CLERK (Barnes):

A bill,

An Act To Amend The

Forestry Act. (Bill 10)

MR. SPEAKER:

This bill has now been read a

first time.

When

shall the said bill be read a second time?

MS. COADY:

Tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

Tomorrow.

motion, Bill 10 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MS. COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I move,

seconded by the Minister of Service NL, for leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Automobile Insurance Act, Bill 9, and I further move that

the said bill be now read a first time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that

the hon. minister shall have leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend

The Automobile Insurance Act, Bill 9, and that the said bill be now read a first

time.

Is it

the pleasure of the House to adopt this motion?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

Motion,

the hon. the Minister of Service NL to introduce a bill, “An Act To Amend The

Automobile Insurance Act,” carried. (Bill 9)

CLERK:

A bill,

An Act To Amend The

Automobile Insurance Act. (Bill 9)

MR. SPEAKER:

The bill has now been read a

first time.

When

shall the said bill be read a second time?

MS. COADY:

Tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

Tomorrow.

motion, Bill 9 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MS. COADY:

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded

by the Minister of Service NL, for leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act

Respecting The Regulation Of Real Estate Trading In The Province, Bill 13, and I

further move that the said bill be now read a first time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that

the hon. the minister shall now have leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act

Respecting The Regulation Of Real Estate Trading In The Province, Bill 13, and

that this bill be now read a first time.

Is it

the pleasure of the House to adopt this motion?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

Motion,

the hon. the Minister of Service NL to introduce a bill, “An Act Respecting The

Regulation Of Real Estate Trading In The Province,” carried. (Bill 13)

CLERK:

A bill,

An Act Respecting The Regulation Of Real Estate Trading In The Province.

(Bill 13)

MR. SPEAKER:

The bill has now been read a

first time.

When

shall the said bill be read a second time?

MS. COADY:

Tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

Tomorrow.

motion, Bill 13 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MS. COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I move,

seconded by the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board, for leave

to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Income Tax Act, 2000, Bill 14,

and I further move that said bill be now read a first time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that

the hon. minister shall have leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend

The Income Tax Act, 2000, Bill 14, and that the said bill be now read a first

time.

Is it

the pleasure of the House to adopt this motion?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

Motion,

the hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board to introduce a

bill, “An Act To Amend The Income Tax Act, 2000,” carried. (Bill 14)

CLERK:

A bill,

An Act To Amend The

Income Tax Act, 2000. (Bill 14)

MR. SPEAKER:

The bill has now been read a

first time.

When

shall the said bill be read a second time?

MS. COADY:

Tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

Tomorrow.

motion, Bill 14 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MS. COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Order 2,

the third reading of Bill 8.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MS. COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I move,

seconded by the Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour, that a bill,

An Act To Amend The Labour Standards Act, Bill 8, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It has been moved and

seconded that the said bill be now read a third time.

Is it

the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

CLERK:

A bill,

An Act To Amend The

Labour Standards Act. (Bill 8)

MR. SPEAKER:

The bill has now been read a

third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and that its title be as on

the Order Paper.

motion, a bill, “An Act To Amend The Labour Standards Act,” read a third time,

ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 8)

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MS. COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Order 3,

second reading of Bill 5.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Service NL.

MS. GAMBIN-WALSH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I move,

seconded by the Minister of Transportation and Works, that Bill 5,

An Act To

Amend The Highway Traffic Act, be now read a second time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and the seconded

that the bill now be read a second time.

Motion,

second reading of a bill, “An Act To Amend The Highway Traffic Act.” (Bill 5)

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Service NL.

MS. GAMBIN-WALSH:

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to

rise in this hon. House to speak to Bill 5, an amendment to the

Highway Traffic Act . I cannot state often enough how important it is

that we keep the dialogue going on road safety in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Since I

became Minister of Service NL, I've had numerous opportunities to stand in this

Chamber to introduce amendments to the act to help increase safety on the

roadways in our province. The Highway

Traffic Act regulates drivers and motor vehicle use on our province's

highways. It is a significant piece of legislation with 215 provisions and a

detailed Schedule; as well as 17 associated sets of regulations. It is important

that we, as a government, regularly review the act to keep current with changes

in safety codes, vehicle design and other highway safety improvements, as well

as responding to driving behaviours.

Every

time I have to consider making changes to strengthen the

Highway Traffic Act , I am reminded of the people I have met and

their stories of pain and loss. I've met with individuals and families who have

had their lives forever changed because of incidents on our highways. It has

certainly affected me in a profound way. I am also reminded of the blatant

disregard for human life that is apparent when people choose to disobey the

rules of the road and make a decision that impacts not only their own lives, but

that of others travelling on our roadways.

Words

cannot express the devastation that families live everyday, and I commend these

individuals in their efforts to spread their road safety message despite their

suffering. In many cases it may have been the unimaginable loss or injury of a

parent, a child, spouse or a sibling. For others it may be a friend, a neighbour

or a colleague.

A number

of individuals, along with groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the

STAND For Hannah foundation, for example, echo the same message that we try to

communicate everyday, take your driving privilege seriously. Their stories and

their faces are what we must keep front and centre every time we make changes to

the act to help increase road safety. It has certainly made the attention our

government has been giving to road safety very personal for me.

Mr.

Speaker, over the past several years the

Highway Traffic Act has been amended to increase the fines for using a

handheld cellular phone while driving a motor vehicle. We have introduced

tougher penalties for impaired drivers in this province, including new rules

that we hope to help steer our young people in the direction of safe and sober

driving habits.

increased penalties for a number of offences that were less than $100, in hopes

of deterring a number of behaviours that continue to pose risks on our roadways,

such as driving too slow, driving with an obstructed windshield or illegally

modifying a vehicle.

We also

introduced amendments regarding excessive speeding, street racing, stunting,

move over provisions and created a new offence for driving with due care and

attention or without reasonable consideration for other persons causing bodily

harm or death. Additionally, we increased fines for the already existing offence

of driving without due care and attention and driving without reasonable

consideration for other persons. We made a modification to proof of insurance

requirements, and we introduced a one-metre rule for cyclists and pedestrians.

Despite

our best efforts, Mr. Speaker, there continued to be –

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS. GAMBIN-WALSH:

– many reported incidents of

unsafe driving on our highways.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

There's

a little too much noise in the House. I ask Members to keep the conversations

down so we can hear the Member speaking.

Thank

you.

MS. GAMBIN-WALSH:

As my colleagues in the

Departments of Education and Early Childhood Development, Transportation and

Works, Municipal Affairs and Environment will speak to today, these behaviours

are particularly challenging when it comes to trying to protect our children

travelling on school buses or workers on a highway in a construction zone.

Last

year, Mr. Speaker, the Department of Transportation and Works conducted a pilot

project using speed cameras which indicated that 43 per cent of all vehicles

were speeding at least 10 kilometres per hour over the speed limit in

construction zones.

It has

also been well documented that vehicles passing a school bus when its stop arm

and flashing lights are activated is a prevalent problem in Newfoundland and

Labrador. Traffic cameras will provide a solution in this scenario as well, as

they could capture video evidence of vehicles that disregard the safety of our

children and illegally pass the bus.

Last

spring, when I stood in this House to introduce amendments to the

Automobile Insurance Act , I also

committed to develop amendments to the

Highway Traffic Act –

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER (Bennett):

Order, please!

MS. GAMBIN-WALSH:

– to allow for the use of

cameras as another measure to curb dangerous driving habits.

With all

of this in mind, Mr. Speaker, today we are introducing amendments to the

Highway Traffic Act which will allow

for the use of camera technology as another means of enhancing road safety.

These amendments will permit us to move forward to allow the following offences

to be eligible for enforcement by an image capture enforcement system: failing

to stop at a red light, speeding offences on all highways, speeding in

construction zones, speeding in school zones and passing a school bus while

embarking or disembarking children.

The act

will also be amended to allow for registered owners to be charged for those

moving violations in order to facilitate administrating penalties for

infractions. Technology, such as cameras, for example, would only be able to

target vehicles and not drivers, making this change necessary.

Mr.

Speaker, it was also necessary for us to add three new offences to the act

related to image capture systems. These are: prohibiting the obstruction of a

plate to prevent the plate from being captured by an image capture system;

damaging the image capture system; and, altering or removing the image capture

system. These offences have fines ranging from $100 to $400. The City of St.

John's has also expressed its support of deployment of this technology by law

enforcement within city limits.

Mr.

Speaker, we recognize the importance of continuously working toward improving

road safety in Newfoundland and Labrador. The amendments we are debating today

will enable us to move forward by enabling this image capture technology.

I would

like to highlight, Mr. Speaker, that the technology we propose involves only an

image capture of the licence plate of a vehicle. This, of course, is linked to

the system that the provincial government already has in place, namely that of

our Motor Registration Division, which is designed to enable us to manage the

motorized vehicles and the people who drive them on our roadways. However, as

the details of this initiative are developed, a significant part of our due

dialogue will involve working closely with the Information and Privacy

Commissioner as we develop regulations. We have given the commissioner our

commitment that we will do so.

We will

complete privacy impact assessments as the commissioner recommended and will

take all necessary measures to inform the public as the process unfolds. We did

such assessments in the pilots that were conducted in the construction zones.

This demonstrates that the protection of personal information is always at the

forefront of our decision-making process.

Mr.

Speaker, it was our goal to find a solution which best mirrors our government's

road safety objectives. As such, our amendments are modelled on Manitoba's

legislation, given it aligns with our goals, while also providing the

flexibility to adopt new processes and technology. I have also said many times

in this House, Mr. Speaker, that it's important that legislation be clear and

modern, responding to the people it saves.

Aside

from amending the act regarding the use of camera technology, there are

housekeeping amendments which are also necessary. We are consolidating previous

changes regarding increased penalties for select offences to the

schedule of the

act for consistency purposes. Additionally, impaired driving sections of the act

needed to be reordered for readability and understanding. For example,

suspensions related to impaired driving will be consolidated by driver type,

such as novice drive or commercial driver.

Mr.

Speaker, as you can see, the amendments put forward today help us continue our

ongoing focus on strengthening road safety in Newfoundland and Labrador. They

are further proof of our government's dedication to making public safety a

priority. These amendments provide us with the ability to now move forward and

develop the necessary regulations that will capture the details for the

implementation of camera technology.

I want

to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the many advocacy groups and

individuals, enforcement agencies and all stakeholders for their willingness to

continuously work with us in our efforts to improve road safety in this

province. Some of these individuals and groups have joined us in the gallery

today. Through the changes we have introduced here today, along with other

changes we have made in recent years to the act, our objective is always to help

the people of our province develop safe and sober driving habits.

respectfully move these amendments to the

Highway Traffic Act to ensure continued support of road safety for everyone

in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Ferryland.

MR. O'DRISCOLL:

Good day, Mr. Speaker.

I'd like

to take this time here just to thank the minister and her briefing committee

that did a great job yesterday when we were over – I think it was yesterday or

the day before. They did a great job in giving some information, so I appreciate

that.

It's my

first time up here speaking on a bill and to look at the

Highway Traffic Act , it was a pretty big bill. Speaking to a former

critic here, he said you start there with the baptism certificate and then you

end with a death certificate and everything in between, between marriage

licences, driver's licences and everything like that. It's a pretty broad

department and I could see a lot of amendments being made.

First of

all, we will certainly go along with the safety part. That is something that

we're definitely interested in. We agree totally that safety is first and

foremost and it's something that, when we're looking at this, we believe in for

sure.

Some of

the stuff that we looked at was just organizing paperwork and putting fines in

different orders. That's just housekeeping, so that seemed to be not too bad,

but the one that really caught our eye would be the imaging and how the cameras

would work or whatever you're going to call them, whether they're cameras or

radars or whatever there may be. It's just interesting that we look at those and

see how that's going to play out.

I did

have an experience when I was in Portugal only a couple weeks ago. We were

driving for, I'm going to say, three days, going back and forth to a condo. We

were just driving along and a red light would come on, on the road, no

intersections, no nothing and they're all roundabouts.

It took

us three days, we were there and couldn't figure out what's happening. What was

happening was when you're driving you're going the speed, some technology in the

road was picking up you're going too fast, the red light would come on, you'd

stop and it would slow everything down. Ten seconds later, the light went off

and you'd just drove your business. I thought it was pretty interesting, and it

took us three days to figure it out. We didn't know what was going on, no train

tracks, no nothing, and no crosswalks so it took us, like I said, three days to

figure it out and it was pretty interesting.

I think

that's something, going forward – they have more roundabouts than we do and

they're probably the ones to initiate that. They're bigger than what we have

obviously, but they moved traffic. They do slow down when they come into it, so

in those areas they move the traffic but they do slow it down. So, safety-wise

it's pretty good, except for when you get in one with six lanes, that can be

pretty harrowing if you're not used to it. That was pretty difficult to get

through.

Also

there was some pitfalls – when you were saying about the survey on the road when

they were doing the construction zones, the number was pretty high; it was 43

per cent. That's pretty eye-opening that 43 per cent of the people driving

through construction zones are 10 kilometres an hour over. We're after doing a

lot of education on that. People somehow are not listening to it or taking heed

to it, and it's interesting that's where that number was.

Where

they machines that they're using, what they were using is probably some

questions that need to be asked, but it was pretty eye-opening to see that 43

per cent of the people were going over that. That's something that certainly

needs to be looked at and more questions need to be asked in that regard.

Some of

the other stuff that we were talking about was the department officials noted

there were a variety of such systems that were used across Canada and across the

world in using these systems. Some places had them; some places had taken them

out. Which is the right one? Which system is best to use? So, a lot of work

needs to go into that and a lot of information. We certainly need to look at

that.

Government has also chosen to give Cabinet authority to make the decisions on

the bulk of the detail regarding the image capturing enforcement system through

regulations. So that's where we have to be careful, where the regulations are.

Where you're going to put them, is one thing, if they're going to be at

intersections. Are they going to be in rural communities? Are they going to be

on highways? Are they just going on intersections here in the city? Are they

just taking plates? Are they taking them through the windshield? I guess, those

are some of the regulations that you look at.

Sometimes with bikes you have smaller licence plates. I know the rule there is

that the owner of the vehicle will get the fine. So if I'm driving your vehicle,

Mr. Speaker, then do I get the fine or do you get the fine? Are you going to

come after me? Those are some of the questions that we need to ask. How are they

going to be calibrated? What system is it? Is it radar? What technology is it

going to be? So there is a lot of stuff there that we really do need to add

questions to and to ask questions.

According to the officials, the official equipment piece to the legislation

change has not been decided and regulations will have to be developed regarding

that. That's very important that we get that right and get it proper and,

obviously, get that in the proper places. So it's very important that way.

Also, I

had some briefing notes myself there. No definition is set in regard to the

regulations of the system. Installing them, the one thing with vehicles itself

and coming from a vehicle industry, if it's going to be taken through the front

window, if you start doing that, if that's the way it's going to be or it's

going to be a licence plate, it's coming through the front window, do you look

at how the drivers are tinting their glass? Can you see the driver, if that's

going to go that way or is it going to be the licence plate? Right now, it seems

like the licence plate but will it come in through. That's something that

they'll have to explore as well.

I'll do

my best to get most of these questions out there. Hopefully, we will be able to

move on and get some of these questions answered.

Thank

you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

It is

absolutely a pleasure to stand today and speak to this bill,

An Act to Amend the

Highway Traffic Act. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to thank the advocates,

some of the people in the gallery today, who have put so much time and effort

into highway safety over the last number of years. It's truly heartwarming to

think that they've taken their loss and their sacrifice and actually helped

others.

As well,

from the Transportation and Works side, the Heavy Civil Association of

Newfoundland and Labrador have been strong advocates in the Department of

Transportation and Works for improvements of safety for their workers, Mr.

Speaker. I can speak first-hand, as the Minister of Transportation and Works,

when it comes to what our own employees in our depots around the province go

through year after year when it comes to safety issues.

I had

the opportunity this summer, along with the Minister of Justice and Public

Safety, to be on the West Coast and actually drop in to the depot in Doyles.

Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, a number of years back, the Doyles depot lost one of

our employees to a needless accident on the highway of speeding in a

construction zone. That's not acceptable in today's age. The amendments that

we're looking at today about image capturing systems will certainly help

increase highway safety on our roads throughout the province.

Our

department, Mr. Speaker, does a substantial amount of work on the highways

throughout the years. This year alone some $130 million worth of money, of

investment, was made on the roads throughout our province. Since we formed

government, we've invested over $700 million in road construction in our

province. Just last year, we were able to secure a new investment agreement with

the federal government to address some of the local roads issues, some of the

more northern and rural roads in our province as well.

One of

the pillars of our Roads Plan has always been early tendering, Mr. Speaker. I

bring this into the discussion this afternoon to talk about the amount of

investment that we're making, the number of lane kilometres over the last number

of years since 2015, over 2,100 kilometres. I think I'm on record this week in

the House talking about, if you think about 2,100 lane kilometres, that's paving

from St. John's to Corner Brook three times.

To the

point here, there's a lot of roadwork happening and being completed in our

province. One thing that we want to ensure is that when the men and women in our

province are going out in the morning to take on a construction project, whether

it's maintenance staff with the Department of Transportation and Works, some

800, actually, that go out day in and day out and maintain the roads in our

province and an endless number of contractors in our province that go out and do

our work throughout the year, that they're safe and they return home.

Unfortunately, in my time in Transportation and Works, we've had a number of

incidents, fatalities happening because people just don't pay attention to their

driving and their driving habits.

I had an

experience myself this past summer. It was a sunny Friday morning and I was

heading out of the city back home, I was nearing the Roaches Line overpass, and

we went into a construction zone. If you ever get caught up in a line of traffic

in a construction zone because somebody is going 50 in front of you, that's me.

I don't apologize for going 50 in a construction zone.

Somebody

zoomed by me, Mr. Speaker, and if anybody is familiar with – there's a little

crest when you go over the overpass at Roaches Line; this was a paving project,

ongoing. Just over that crest in this construction zone, there was a Department

of Transportation and Works truck with two staff members checking the quality of

the asphalt that had just been laid. The vehicle that passed me in that

construction zone, Mr. Speaker, went by me like I was stopped. I heard a

screeching stop come from that vehicle, and we're so lucky that day that we

didn't have a tragedy on our highways again.

Mr.

Speaker, to say that I'm pleased today to stand here and take a few minutes to

talk about that we're going to have an ability to ticket a vehicle and – the

Member opposite just said, if he's driving your vehicle, Mr. Speaker, and we

capture your licence plate, well, that's between you guys. At the end of the

day, we just want to make sure that we use every single tool that we have, every

single ability, to make sure that our highways are safe.

Mr.

Speaker, the story I referred to is my own personal story, but I hear these

stories every time I go into a depot, or every time I sit down with the

Construction Association or a contractor in this province. I hear these stories

of vehicles whizzing by in construction zones, and it's just not acceptable.

This type of behaviour is not acceptable.

understand that there are some privacy issues, and I know the department, along

with our department, and even through our pilot project back in the fall of

2018, we extensively talked to the Privacy Commissioner because privacy is

important, extremely important, Mr. Speaker, but so is safety and so is public

safety and so is the safety of everybody on our highways.

The

actual project that we did last year on the construction zone cameras was

actually supposed to happen in the summer. The reason why we actually had to

delay it into the fall was simply because we had to make sure that we had all

the privacy boxes checked. We did and we'll certainly make sure that is a part

going forward.

What we

found in that report was extremely alarming; 43 per cent of vehicles over 10 –

we gave an allowance. In the pilot project we did, we actually did an allowance

of 10 kilometres over. So if you passed by the image capturing system in that

pilot project and you were going 59, we gave that. We were capturing 43 per cent

of the vehicles going over 60 kilometres, so this is 10 kilometres and over. Mr.

Speaker, it bears repeating: That's not acceptable. In no way, shape or form is

that acceptable.

When we

looked at the technologies involved – and the Member opposite addressed this –

we'll evaluate those from Transportation and Works' perspective. We'll evaluate

those over the winter to make sure that we are getting the best technology, but,

at the end of the day, we want to make sure, from the department's perspective,

that when our employees go to work, when our contractors go to work, we want to

make sure that it's a safe workplace.

We often

hear people talk about workplace and workplace safety, but I think sometimes we

forget that for a person out, whether they're filling a pothole or doing some

shoulder work, or a contractor out doing major capital work, this is their

workplace and they have every single right to be safe in that workplace, as you

or I or anybody in this province deserves to be safe in their workplace.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CROCKER:

Mr. Speaker, one of the

things that commonly comes up – and I'll just stay on the construction side for

a minute – relates to, well, the construction signs were up and there was nobody

there. I went through a construction zone and there was nobody there, the signs

were up. There's a reality in that. The only sign that should come down in a

construction zone is the sign that indicates people working.

Mr.

Speaker, once a construction site starts, it's a construction site. I thought

about this on the weekend. I was walking through the Avalon Mall – obviously

under construction – and there was an area roped off with yellow tape and there

was nobody working, but there was a reason that was roped off because it was a

construction site.

When you

go through a construction zone the next time and there's nobody working, it's

still a construction zone and there are many reasons for that. It could be

guiderail down, it could be a large piece of heavy equipment parked on the side

of the road. There are all kinds of factors. It could be uneven shouldering. It

could be uneven paving.

That's

why these zones are construction zones. We've worked with the Newfoundland and

Labrador Construction Association and their members to make contractors more

cognizant that when they are finished a construction site these signs should

come down. Again, just because workers are not present doesn't mean it's not a

construction site, no different than you would see in any environment.

Mr.

Speaker, we tried three different systems. They will be evaluated further as we

make a final decision in which system we will be using next year. I'll repeat

this: The Department of Transportation and Works in the 2020 construction season

will be using construction cameras and image-capturing cameras. I look forward

to the day we lay the first charges, because for far too long these things have

been happening on our highways.

Mr.

Speaker, I'll conclude my remarks but I do for a second want to thank the

Department of Service NL. In my time in Transportation and Works, Minister

Gambin-Walsh and her staff have made tremendous efforts when it comes to highway

safety.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CROCKER:

I don't know of any time that

I'm aware of a department that has taken so much of an emphasis on highway

safety. A lot of it is because of the day we live in and people's attitudes and

people's behaviours.

Mr.

Speaker, I would think that we have some of the most progressive, robust

legislation in the country right now. I can assure you from my perspective on

our government is that we will continue to do everything we can to ensure safety

on our highways.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Speaker recognizes the

Member for Labrador West.

MR. BROWN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It's

great to see this kind of initiative taken with Service NL and in co-operation

with the Department of Transportation and Works. That we start looking at the

importance of finally using technology to capture those who are speeding in

construction zones, who are passing school buses, running red lights and things

like this. It's a problem.

There's

a lot of research even backing the use of this technology. There's a report

there that the City of Edmonton collected $32 million alone with only an

investment of $6 million. The system does work. It's renowned.

We have

to find use of technology this way, but we have to look at the privacy of

individuals as well when we are implementing technology and make sure that all

the boxes are checked and that everyone is protected, individuals, who may be

there. We have to make sure this technology is also used correctly and properly.

Cameras,

like I said, especially with the school buses – I've witnessed it myself in my

own district. People just feel like they can pass a bus. The stop sign is out,

the red lights are flashing, but it just seems that for some cognitive reason

people just see this as okay and they don't place themselves in the shoes of a

child who is trying to cross the street to catch the bus to go to school. We do

have tragedies in this way and we need to find ways of using technology to

capture offenders and also deter offenders.

Like I

said, the minister said as well, about the use in construction zones. I worked

partially in the mining industry, but also in the construction industry for a

little while. I have witnessed people speeding through construction zones and

placing the workers of said projects in jeopardy. These things are very

important that we try to deter this behaviour.

We also

have the behaviour, for some reason, that we don't any longer take our time and

we no longer follow the rules of the road. I think this would be one of the

biggest deterrents that we could place out there, knowing that your licence

plate will be captured if you offend.

With the

licence plate capture, too, we also have to be cognizant of our weather in this

province and ways that sometimes salt, snow and stuff do build up over licence

plates. Hopefully we can use other technologies as well to identify vehicles

with that.

Other

jurisdictions have been using this for a while. Ontario has been using this for

quite some time. Manitoba, BC, Alberta, Quebec and I believe, unless I'm

mistaken, I've even seen it in New Brunswick on their large highway. This

technology is useful. It is great that we can start to move ourselves towards

using this thing, because we just can't afford any more lives in the

construction industry, lives of children on school buses. This is why it's

important to move forward.

I really

do want to reiterate that it's very important we also protect the privacy of

individuals to make sure that it's not used incorrectly or jeopardize any

individual with this image-capturing technology. We have to make sure that we

work with the Privacy Commissioner; we make sure that we work with individuals

in that industry to make sure that this is used for what it's intended to be

used. That's where I feel with it.

I know

when we built the Trans-Labrador Highway, when we paved it, there would be long

sections with construction signs put out and people had their signs saying

there's construction, there's fresh asphalt put down and it might be – if

they're having a good day, they're moving along expediently.

noticed, though, travelling back and forth between where I live and my wife's

hometown, that they'd pass a construction sign. It seemed like their mind was

just blank and thought there was no construction, and they'd zoom on through. I

don't know how many times I saw the flag person with their flag sign swaying it

just to get the people to slow down, because they would drive past a lady with a

sign that said stop.

I don't

know where this behaviour came from in this province but it is rampant. It is

absolutely rampant that we have individuals who drive these highways without due

care and caution. This is good. This will protect lives. This will protect

people, and this is what we need here in this province.

Also,

the sections with this bill, too; it's good to see the legislation for fines and

that is all being straightened out to improve expedience through the legal

system, to clean up the language and make it easier for prosecutors to read this

legislation and to abide by it.

All in

all, this is what we need. We need to make highways safer. We need to have the

legislation easier to read and to bring this forward into this province.

I'm glad

to see this, but I want to make sure that when it comes to the image technology

and the way it's used, we have to make sure that the privacy and the importance

of individuals is adhered to.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The Speaker recognizes the

Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. WARR:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It's

certainly my first opportunity to rise and speak to a bill, so I haven't had the

opportunity to congratulate you on your position as Deputy Speaker. I held the

position for a couple of years and it was really a great experience to be able

to sit in the Chair and watch over the proceedings of the House of Assembly. I

know you will do a great job, as well as Speaker Reid as well. I pass along my

congratulations to him as well.

Mr.

Speaker, what we're doing today is we're debating a bill with regard to the

Highway Traffic Act and the amendments

to it. “This Bill would amend the Highway

Traffic Act to correct inconsistencies between sections of the Act and the

Schedule to the Act; reorder the impaired driving sections of the Act to improve

readability; authorize the use of image capturing enforcement systems; and move

penalties listed in

section 175 of the Act to the

Schedule to the Act.”

While

it's not my intention, Mr. Speaker, to speak to all of that, I'm going to wear

two hats today: one as the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development

and, certainly, in the absence of our Minister of Justice, I'll have a few notes

on his behalf as well.

Mr.

Speaker, I'm pleased to have the opportunity today to speak to Bill 5,

An Act to

Amend the Highway Traffic Act, and, specifically, the amendment to allow the use

of camera surveillance in school bus zones. This amendment is another important

measure to curb dangerous driving habits. Unfortunately, there is still a great

need for such a measure to protect and enhance the safety of students across

this province.

Mr.

Speaker, it's not uncommon to witness motorists speeding in school zones and

passing a school bus, even when the bus is at a full stop with the red lights

flashing and the stop arm extended. We see this happening when students, some

only primary age, are getting off or on the bus.

It was

just last week – and my colleague across the way had mentioned today in one of

his questions with regard to Skills Canada NL. We had the opportunity to attend

CNA just here on Prince Philip Parkway to make those announcements last week.

Myself, my EA and director of communications were actually on the lot waiting

for the students from Gonzaga to disembark from the bus, lights flashing, stop

arm out, engaged. I think people just don't realize that whenever that happens

and wherever it happens, it's the law. It doesn't necessarily have to happen on

a highway, it can happen in a parking lot.

I think

for the most part, Mr. Speaker, people just need to get in touch with the laws

of the Highway Traffic Act , especially

when it comes around school buses, because the vehicle actually never even

slowed down. If he was driving 20 kilometres on the lot, he drove 20 kilometres

an hour when he passed the school bus. There's no ignorance for the law. That

person, to me – and, obviously, I should have taken the licence plate and

actually reported it, and not thinking fast enough because I was so concerned

about the students.

This

behaviour is despite current school bus safety laws. Under the

Highway Traffic Act , fines for

illegally passing a school bus range from $500 to $1,200. Excessive speeding in

school zones can lead to vehicle impoundment for up to three days and fines from

$400 to $1,800.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. WARR:

Still, we are all aware of incidents where drivers are simply not following the

law and are putting the safety of school children at risk. Mr. Speaker, this is

unacceptable, and it is our duty and our responsibility as a government, school

districts, busing contractors, bus drivers, parents, students and, most

importantly, the motoring public to obey the law and make the safety of students

our top priority.

To this

end, my Department of Education and Early Childhood Development partnered with

enforcement agencies across this province in September to raise awareness about

school bus safety laws and to remind everyone to be vigilant when driving

through school zones.

Mr.

Speaker, the message was simple: to remind drivers, parents, students and the

general motoring public to keep safety top of mind, to share safety messages

rules when travelling in and around school zones. Again, we still see incidents

where drivers are ignoring the rules and the law.

Mr.

Speaker, in the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, we have

been exploring the use of cameras to help identify drivers who do not stop for a

school bus and at potential legislative changes that would be required. This has

included discussions with the school districts and vendors.

I am

very pleased, Mr. Speaker, that our government is now able to bring this

amendment forward and to have Bill 5 debated in the House today. The use of

camera technology in school zones and on stop arms will help improve safety and

is an important measure to help curb dangerous driving habits around school

buses. As my hon. colleague, the Minister of Service NL, noted, cameras in

school zones and on school bus stop arms would capture video evidence of

vehicles that disregard the safety of our school children and illegally pass a

bus.

This is

another means of enhancing safety in school zones. The amendments will follow

such offences as speeding in school zones and passing a school bus while

children are getting on or off, to be eligible for enforcement by video

evidence. With these proposed amendments in place, we look forward to

discussions with our partners and stakeholders on the development of

regulations.

Mr.

Speaker, one incident in a school zone is one too many and Bill 5 will provide

us with another tool to keep our children safe. When I talk about one incident

in a school zone, I want to talk about an incident that I witnessed 30 years

ago. It was in my hometown and my hon. colleague for Labrador West actually

referred to it in his comments about winter driving and we all need to be

cognizant of the fact that we need extra time to slow down.

Mr.

Speaker, I was going to work, actually just walking and passing a school bus

that was stopped and saw a young child crossing the road to get across to the

bus. That young child was knocked down by a vehicle that couldn't stop. That

child was a grade kindergarten student, five years old and my daughter's best

friend.

It was

horrific. Like I said, I deal with it even today. The story ends well. She was

in cast for quite some time. I took the opportunity to go over and stay with her

until the emergency response team arrived and took her to the hospital. I

remember picking up her schoolbag and taking it with me. I told her parents,

some time after that, that I had her book bag and they just said we've got her

another one. Mr. Speaker, I hung on to that schoolbag and proudly presented it

to her when she graduated from grade 12.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. WARR:

It was a special time for me

and she had no idea that I had her schoolbag. I kept it for those 12 years; she

was in grade kindergarten as I said. Again, to my colleague's comments, we got

to be cognizant at all times of exactly the type of roadways that we're driving

on. It can sneak up on you pretty fast. It's only a drop in the temperature and

the roads become very slippery.

Mr.

Speaker, I'm very proud of our government's continued commitment to ensuring the

safety of drivers and passengers on our province's roadways. Public safety is a

top priority for the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and improvements to

the Highway Traffic Act are designed

to make our roads and highways safer, as well as to help ensure compliance with

the act. The changes we are debating today follow a long list of improvements

our government has made to the Highway Traffic Act , with

the travelling public of our province in mind.

As the

Minister of Service NL stated, we have amended the legislation within the last

several years to reduce excessive speeding, stunting and street racing. Move

Over provisions were enhanced by requiring drivers to reduce their speed by 30

kilometres per hour below the speed limit and to move to an adjacent lane when

approaching law enforcement or other emergency stop vehicles at roadside.

Mr.

Speaker, also, a new offence for driving without due care and attention or

without reasonable consideration for other persons causing bodily harm or death

was also added. These are but a few of the significant changes we have made with

increased safety top of mind. All of these changes were made in consultation

with safety advocates including Mothers Against Drunk Driving Canada, the STAND

for Hannah foundation and victims' families. They were also made with the

support of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary and the Royal Canadian Mounted

Police.

Mr.

Speaker, our government will continue to work with stakeholder groups in seeking

ways to raise awareness about road safety. These changes to the

Highway Traffic Act speak to our

government's commitment to safe and sustainable communities throughout

Newfoundland and Labrador. It is our job as a government to do our best to

further the protection of the people of our province.

Today,

government is building on these amendments to further protect the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador through the introduction of camera technology. In an

effort to increase safety for all road users in the province, changes to the act

will allow for highway cameras to be used as a means of increasing compliance

with the rules of the road. We recognize this is a first step, as these

amendments simply enable us to move forward and develop the details on the best

use of this technology.

We are

confident, Mr. Speaker, that we are moving in the right direction, as every

means of improving road safety is a win for all of us. I'm happy to stand in my

place today to support the amendments to this bill and I thank the hon. minister

for allowing me the opportunity to do so.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Stephenville - Port au Port.

MR. WAKEHAM:

Mr. Speaker, I'm glad to be

able to stand here in this House today and talk about safety on our roads and

highways. It's an honour to do so.

As the

Minister of Transportation eluded to earlier, any day that we can add more tools

to our toolbox is a good day and we need to focus on that. It is alarming to

think that even today as we stand here, there are people out there right now who

are passing school buses in school zones, who are speeding through construction

zones.

It hard

to imagine how anyone cannot see a big, yellow school bus with red lights

flashing and not understand that that means stop. It is extremely difficult to

understand how anyone could still proceed to drive through that. But, at the

same time, it's happening. As a result of that, again, we have to take

additional measures to try and fix it. This idea of a camera system is one of

those.

The same

thing on our highways. All of us, or m