May

25, 2011 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVI No. 30

The House met at 2:00 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Fitzgerald): Order, please!

Admit strangers.

Today, the Chair would like to welcome fourteen Grade 6 students attending

Cabot Academy in the District of Trinity-Bay de Verde. The students are

accompanied by their teachers, Jackie King and Ed Chafe.

Welcome to the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Chair would also like to welcome twenty-eight Grade 7

students attending Tricentia Academy in the District of Bellevue. The students

are accompanied by vice-principal, Cathy Bailey-Reid; teacher, Crystal Penney;

and bus driver, Vic Romaine.

Welcome to the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

Statements by Members

MR. SPEAKER: The following members' statements will be heard: the hon.

the Member for the District of Fortune Bay-Cape la Hune; the hon. the Member for

the District of Kilbride; the hon. the Member for the District of Bellevue; and

the hon. the Member for the District of Lewisporte.

The hon. the Member for the District of Fortune Bay-Cape la Hune.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS PERRY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this hon. House today to recognize the remarkable achievement of

Mr. Misel Jeddore, one of our outstanding youth from Conne River.

Misel has been awarded the 2011 Cultural Scholarship from the St. Anne's

School for his commitment to the Mi'kmaq culture. He became active in preserving

the traditions of his people from a very early age, participating in the

school's drumming group and even learning how to make the caribou skin drum. As

part of this group, he has travelled around the world representing the school

and community at various events.

Today, Misel is attending Memorial University and continues an active role in

preserving and promoting the tradition and cultures of the Mi'kmaq people. He is

a member of Memorial University's Aboriginal Student Task Force, and serves on

the Board of Directors for the Native Friendship Centre in St. John's.

Mr. Speaker, Misel has shown notable leadership at very young age, and I am

confident that we will see him achieve much more success in his future. I ask

all members of this hon. House to join me in recognizing Misel Jeddore for his

contribution to the Mi'kmaq people, and to Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Kilbride.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DINN: Mr. Speaker, I stand in this hon. House today to inform members

and the general public that the Goulds Atom All-Star Team that participated in

the Provincial Atom C Tournament in Grand Falls-Windsor from April 28 to April

30, 2011 were successful in winning the gold medal by beating St. John's 5-2 in

a very exciting championship game.

The Goulds Pacers team went undefeated in this tournament. The young players

made their parents and grandparents, who attended the tournament, very proud.

They were the talk of the Goulds Minor Hockey community some 500 kilometres

away, as results unfolded daily throughout the three-day event.

Members of the Goulds Pacers Atom winning team are: Eric Parsons, Brandon

James, Parker Clements, Tyler Jenkins, Joshua Sloane, Ryan Maher, Adam Martin,

Brandon Coady, Ryan Howlett, Ryan Raymond, Justin Croutcher, Jake Herritt,

Cameron Forward, Roland Power, Riley Spurrell, Brendan McCarthy, Mathew

Templeman, and their coaches.

A very special mention has to go to Grand Falls-Windsor for hosting such an

excellent tournament. With the help and support of volunteers in this community,

120 players and coaches who participated were left with lasting memories of

friendship and fun. A sense of respect was evident both on and off the ice at

every game.

I ask all members of this hon. House to join me in congratulating the Goulds

Pacers Atom C team, their players and coaches.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Bellevue.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. PEACH: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this hon. House today to recognize five students from Tricentia

Academy in Arnold's Cove, and their leaders, in developing a safety program

called "Who Wants to Save a Life?" game show.

Mr. Speaker, SAFE Work NL's, "Who Wants to Save a Life?" is an innovative and

creative trivia game designed to educate high school students about workplace

health and safety. It was developed by the Workplace Health, Safety and

Compensation Commission in partnership with the Department of Education. It is

designed as a game show based on Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

Tricentia Academy in Arnold's Cove had a team involved in the competition at

Clarenville, which they won prior to Easter, and then moved on to the

competition in Gander on May 19, 2011 at the Joseph R. Smallwood Arts and

Culture Centre. Mr. Speaker, Tricentia Academy tied three times in the final

question showdown with Templeton Academy of Meadows, and both teams were awarded

first place honours. The ten students from both teams took home $1,000

scholarships and $5,000 for their respective schools.

The students from Tricentia who were involved were Kenline Hickey, Kayla

Tobin, Kenny Williams, Jody Hickey, and Mitchell Brewer. The team leaders and

teachers are Sandi Baker, guidance counsellor; Garry Walsh, technology

education, skilled trades; Cathy Bailey-Reid, Vice-Principal; and Russell

Peddle, Principal.

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

students and leaders on their win in Clarenville, and their great success in

Gander on May 19, 2011.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Lewisporte.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. VERGE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Calypso Foundation is a non-profit organization committed to providing

valuable work and learning opportunities to adults with developmental delays in

Lewisporte and in the surrounding area. One of the many services they offer is

the Living Skills Program. This program provides guidance and instruction to

individuals with severe disabilities, helping them to gain a greater level of

independence. The operation of this program depends heavily on donations and

fundraising, and especially the annual Calypso Fantasy Auction. Mr. Speaker,

this year's auction took place on Friday, May 6 after hundreds of hours of

planning.

I want to express appreciation to the Calypso board, to the many town

volunteers, and to the whole Central area for their generous support of this

event. This year's auction raised nearly $17,000. The monies raised will help to

ensure we have another successful year assisting people with developmental

delays so that they can enjoy a better quality of life.

Members of the House, please join with me in recognizing and showing our

appreciation to the Calypso Foundation and to the many people who make this

organization successful.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Statements by Ministers.

Statements by Ministers

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. F. COLLINS: Mr. Speaker, I rise today in this House of Assembly to

congratulate Chief Superintendent Richard Noble of the Royal Canadian Mounted

Police on his recent appointment to the Order of Merit of the Police Forces.

Superintendent Noble, who is sitting in the gallery today, who is the

Criminal Operations Officer for the Province, is one of forty-four new

appointments to the Order and, of these forty-four members, is the only RCMP

member stationed in Newfoundland and Labrador at this time to receive the award.

Mr. Speaker, Chief Superintendent Noble is originally from New Brunswick but

has a long history with Newfoundland and Labrador. He joined the RCMP in 1977

and began his career here in this Province. His first posting was in Holyrood as

a General Duty Constable, and he also served in the St. John's and Gander Drug

Section, Criminal Intelligence Section, Burin Customs and Excise, and the

Hopedale and Buchans detachments. In 1995, he was transferred to Ottawa and then

in 1998 to New Brunswick before returning to Newfoundland and Labrador in 2010.

The Order of Merit of the Police Forces was created in 2000 to recognize

conspicuous merit and exceptional service by members and employees of the

Canadian police forces whose contributions extend beyond protection of the

community. There are three levels of membership which reflect long-term,

outstanding service: commander, officer, and member. Chief Superintendent Noble

received the Member of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces and now joins

four other current members in Newfoundland and Labrador who have achieved this

great honour.

Mr. Speaker, this government is proud to support our police forces in

Newfoundland and Labrador and this is proven in the resources we have expended

since 2004. We have increased policing budgets by over $46.7 million and there

are an additional 144 uniformed police officers on the street. Budget 2011

Standing Strong: For Prosperity. For Our Future. For Newfoundland and Labrador ,

provided funding for an RCMP crime analyst in the Crime Reduction Strategy to be

located in the Trinity-Conception district and an RNC officer for the Child

Exploitation Unit in Corner Brook to build on the force's capacity to address

the exploitation and harassment of children.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all hon. colleagues to join me in congratulating Chief

Superintendent Richard Noble on his recent appointment to the Order of Merit of

the Police Forces.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Opposition House Leader.

MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement. We also would like

to congratulate Chief Superintendent Noble on being appointed to the Order of

Merit of the Police Forces. Chief Superintendent Noble, of course, is a great

example of the fine police men and women who serve with our forces throughout

Newfoundland and Labrador. We are happy to join in recognizing his exemplary

service. He may come from away but after some twenty years of his

thirty-four-year service being in this Province, we can all be proud and we

agree that Chief Superintendent Noble is indeed an honorary Newfoundlander and

Labradorian.

We look to the police, Mr. Speaker, to exemplify some of the highest moral

and ethical values in our Province. We expect them to be positive role models in

our communities, and I am happy to see Chief Superintendent Noble receiving

recognition for his excellent conduct on a national level. I hope Chief

Superintendent Noble continues to be involved in policing in our Province, and I

hope his exemplary conduct will continue to serve as an example for young

officers throughout our Province and our country.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Signal Hill-Quidi

Vidi.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

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

pleased to join with everybody else in extending congratulations to Chief

Superintendent Richard Noble on becoming a member of the Order of Merit which

recognizes his exceptional performance of duty over time at the provincial

level, most of it here in Newfoundland and Labrador.

This Order of Merit of the Police Forces honours a career of exceptional

service or distinctive merit displayed by men and women of Canadian police

forces. It is really wonderful when we see that members of police forces here in

this Province are also receiving this honour. There is no doubt from what we

know with Chief Superintendent Noble that he has an outstanding record which

made him very deserving of the honour that he has received today. Everything

that we can do - and these honours are one of the things - to support the police

forces of the Province in their work in the community is something that is for

the good of the people of this Province. Once again, I thank the Chief

Superintendent for his duty as he has performed it here in Newfoundland and

Labrador.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Further statements by ministers?

The hon. the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, for many years, women in Newfoundland and Labrador have been at

the forefront of community and economic development. In more recent times, women

are progressing into more senior leadership roles in a variety of sectors in

regions throughout the Province.

The fact that the hon. Kathy Dunderdale is Newfoundland and Labrador's first

female Premier, and that is she joined by very strong women in the House of

Assembly, represents some of the progress that is being made by women in

Newfoundland and Labrador.

To borrow a line from Premier Dunderdale, "women are no longer content with

knocking on the door for entry into the business community and leadership

positions but are knocking the door down. Women are showing degrees of

innovation and creativity that were unheard of years ago."

The outstand work of Leslie Galway of the Workplace Health, Safety and

Compensation Commission and Nora Duke of Fortis Properties led them to being

named to Ernst and Young's list of Canada's Most Powerful Women. In Grand

Falls-Windsor, Bernice Walker of Corona College is broadening her company's

focus to target opportunities in Northern Canada, the United States, and as far

away as South Africa.

The success of women is not limited to political circles or the business

community. The Province is home to women who are leading unions and women such

as Karen McGrath, Vickie Kaminski and Susan Gilliam are leading regional health

authorities. Many others have also assumed senior positions with the Royal

Newfoundland Constabulary and with the Newfoundland and Labrador Correctional

Centre for Women.

While we see progress, women still experience challenges entering and

excelling in non-traditional occupations.

To minimize these challenges and open the doors to bigger and better

opportunities for women, this Administration is committed to investing in

apprenticeship, science and technology programming, as well as training and

infrastructure to support females in skilled trades training.

Just last week, I experienced the outcomes of one such investment when I

participated in an appreciation dinner for those involved in the Women in

Resource Development Corporation's Techsploration program. Techsploration is an

innovative initiative where women mentor Grades 9 to 12 students and encourage

them to explore careers in trades and technology.

Through initiatives such as Techsploration, we are continuing to support the

development of future female leaders and introducing them to the wealth of

opportunities that exist for them in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an advance copy of her statement today. We certainly

join the government in recognizing and saluting the accomplishments of women all

throughout Newfoundland and Labrador. I want to recognize all women in political

office in this Province at all levels of government, municipal, provincial, and

federal. I also want to recognize the work of Leslie Galway and Nora Duke, as

the minister has outlined. These two women are synonymous names in Newfoundland

and Labrador and have had very successful and progressive careers leading the

way for many women.

Mr. Speaker, I also want to recognize the women who lead our regional health

authorities, as the minister recognized in her statement. They have no easy task

and we certainly recognize that. It is good to see that they work diligently to

try and carry out the responsibilities and the needs of health care in our

Province.

Mr. Speaker, women across our Province are doing outstanding work and they

are a source of inspiration to women everywhere. I want to recognize some of

them. Some of them are people like Zita Cobb and Cathy Bennett, who we see as

successful businesspeople creating jobs in our Province today. People like Janet

Gardiner, who was the first female CA in Newfoundland and Labrador and owned and

operated Chester Dawe, a company we are all familiar with. We look at people

like Katie Riche and Anastasia Qupee, who were the first chiefs and women

leaders in their Aboriginal villages. People like Isabella Payne, who played a

huge role in negotiating the first land claim agreement with the Nunatsiavut

Government.

Mr. Speaker, people in our judicial system as well, like Debbie Fry and

Margaret Cameron, and many others. Our union leaders, past and present, like

Joan Marie Aylward, Debbie Forward, Lana Payne and Cathy Furlong. All of these

women have made valuable contributions. Women like Professor T.A. Loeffler, who

has climbed five of the largest summits in this world, challenging young women

in this Province to reach new heights and to dream big.

Mr. Speaker, but what about all of those young women out there who work in

non-traditional trades? Today, Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize a couple of

them, if I could just have a moment.

MR. SPEAKER: Does the hon. member have leave?

AN HON. MEMBER: By leave.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. member, by leave.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

One of them is a young girl by the name of Jenny Jefferies, who works as a

marine engineer with Rolls Royce, and she works all over the world, even though

she is based right here in St. John's, Newfoundland. Women like Joy Green, who

drives a 300 ton haulage truck in the mines every day in Labrador West. Women

like Maryann Turnbull, who is the first woman electrician in Voisey's Bay and

now leads the electrical team at the Voisey's Bay mine. Mr. Speaker, last, but

not least, I want to recognize today Ms Trina Burden who has just been appointed

as the first female publisher of The Western Star in its 111-year history

in our Province.

Mr. Speaker, I salute all of the women, many whose names have not been read

into this record, for the work they do on behalf of the people of this Province

in leading the way for our women. Mr. Speaker, I salute them as they reach new

heights for all women in Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Signal Hill-Quidi

Vidi.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for the advance copy of her statement. I am very pleased

to stand here with the minister, with the other female leaders in the House,

with all the women in the House to recognize yes, we are strong and we are here

in this House, but we still are only 21 per cent of the whole group. We still

have a ways to go to get up to that 50 per cent or maybe even 52 per cent, Mr.

Speaker, of women here in the House.

We are not into competition today but obviously, the Official Opposition

Leader and myself had a similar thought, and I too would like to recognize some

other women. The danger of this, of course, as we all know, that the women of

Newfoundland and Labrador are wonderful women. The history of our women's

institutes, for example, is one of the things which tells us that.

I think it is important to recognize women, such as ones who have already

been mentioned. I would like to particularly mention Elaine Price, who was the

first female head of the Federation of Labour and now of course we have a second

one, Lana Payne. Carol Furlong has been mentioned, Debbie Forward the head of

the nurses' union.

I also would like to mention, if I may, Mr. Speaker, the nine women who have

been recognized with the national persons award in Canada. I think we should

recognize them. Their pictures are on the wall of the West Block of the

Confederation Building. They are: Nancy Riche, Joyce Hancock, Dorothy Inglis,

Frances Ennis, Phyllis Seymour, Ruth Flowers, Morag O'Brien, Frances Laracy and

Ella Manuel; nine women who gave so much to the history and some who continue to

give so much to our community here in Newfoundland and Labrador.

With my sisters and brothers here in the House today, Mr. Speaker, I am just

happy to recognize the strength and the role of women in this Province.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Further statements by ministers?

Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, recently we heard about a sixty-one-year-old mother who was

worried about who will care for her disabled adult son when she is no longer

able to. I am currently dealing with another case, almost identical, where the

parents are seventy-six years old and eighty-three years old and the daughter is

forty-seven. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, these situations are becoming more and

more common in our Province. People with disabilities do have a right to live in

their communities. Mr. Speaker, many families are experiencing mental,

emotional, and physical burnout.

I ask the minister today: What is it that your government is doing to address

the immediate concerns that are being raised by those families?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Yes, Mr. Speaker, I certainly have sympathy for individuals

who find themselves in these very difficult circumstances. Part of it, Mr.

Speaker, is as a result of our aging demographic, but this government has done a

lot. Individuals under sixty-five who have intellectual disabilities may access

up to $4,000 a month through the Home Support Program. We currently have

approximately 3,350 people in this program.

Mr. Speaker, home support for persons with disabilities has grown actually

from $50 million to $83.9 million, or a 68 per cent increase. Over the last five

years, Mr. Speaker, we have invested as a government over $102 million into the

Home Support Program. We also have alternative care homes in this Province.

Those care homes total 374 and look after approximately 435 clients.

Are we doing everything that needs to be done? No, Mr. Speaker. Are we trying

to serve the needs of our people? Yes, Mr. Speaker. Are we doing it? Yes.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In many of these cases there are no services available in the areas where

these people live. They are unable to find alternative care arrangements in many

cases, even foster care, and they cannot access the twenty-four hour Home Care

Program.

Mr. Speaker, I know that long gone are the days of institutional care;

however, the reality for many of these aging parents today is that they will be

able to put their son or daughter into a hospital or into a long-term care

facility because they have no other options. We know what the wait lists are

like in long-term care facilities. We know that our population is aging. We know

that demand will become even greater.

I ask the minister: What alternatives can you offer those families for

placing their adult children in facilities and in care knowing that they will be

well looked after?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Newfoundland and Labrador, Mr. Speaker, was one of the first provinces in

Canada to deinstitutionalize individuals with disabilities and provide options

for community living. Other provinces, like Ontario, still have institutions for

persons with intellectual disabilities.

Mr. Speaker, I referred to our Home Support Program. The program for

individuals under sixty-five with intellectual disabilities amounts to nine

hours a day self-managed support.

The alternative care homes, Mr. Speaker, are provided for people with

intellectual disabilities. It is a private residence which provides room and

board, supervision, personal and social care to an unrelated adult with an

intellectual disability. As I indicated, Mr. Speaker, we currently have 374

homes in the Province; there are 237 in Eastern Health. They are throughout the

Province and they serve 435 clients.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The reality, Minister, is that many of these families are crying out for

help. They are looking for somewhere where they can put their adult son or

daughter who has intellectual and physical challenges and knowing that they can

be looked after.

We know there are fourteen community care homes within Eastern Health that

care for about 170 people with severe and persistent mental disabilities. These

homes are an integral part to caring for these disabled individuals; however,

these homes are suffering financially and they have not received the appropriate

government attention. The homes have opened their financial records for the

government, yet the government is refusing to meet with them.

I ask the minister, if you will commit to a full review of these community

care homes immediately to try and address some of the needs of disabled clients

in our Province?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am aware of the issue surrounding community care homes. In fact, in this

year's Budget we set aside $792,000, Mr. Speaker, which amounted to $2,000 for a

small personal care home or a community care home that had less than fifteen

residents on average. That amounted to an extra $36,000 no, excuse me $24,000

a year. We increased the home care subsidy up to approximately $1,800 a month,

another $83. So, essentially, Mr. Speaker, those are two ways we are helping

community care homes.

Mr. Speaker, the day the Budget came out I spoke to the president of the

community care home association. I received an e-mail from her yesterday

indicating that she would like to meet. I certainly have no problem meeting with

this woman and discussing the situation; however, Mr. Speaker, I do not think it

is fair to state that this government is not doing anything. That is a

significant increase in one Budget year for these small homes.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, when the WikiLeaks documents on Muskrat Falls became public last

month it was clear that officials at Emera were worried that the deal they had

with Nalcor was too good to be true imagine, too good to be true. That is

partly because of the free power that the government has agreed to give Emera

for thirty-five years. The joint review panel looking into the project has ruled

the power is free. Nalcor President Ed Martin has admitted to us that there is

no revenue attached to that power that Nalcor can take to the bank for financing

purposes.

I ask the Premier today: Will you not come straight with the people of the

Province and tell them what it is you are giving away to Emera Energy in terms

of free Muskrat Falls power?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We are selling to Emera one terawatt of power for which we will receive $1.2

billion. Now, the Leader of the Opposition continues to try and spin that a

dozen different ways into free power, but $1.2 billion for one terawatt of

power, Mr. Speaker, does not compute into zero cents or zero dollars for that

power.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Premier knows the $1.2 billion is to build the link, Mr. Speaker, so

Emera can take their 20 per cent free power out of Newfoundland and Labrador

that you are giving them from Muskrat Falls.

Another reason Emera could not believe its good luck, Mr. Speaker, was

because of the sweetheart deal it was given on transmission rights right here on

the Island. Back in the 1990s, the people in this Province fought a very hard

campaign to ensure that no more of our hydro assets would be privatized;

however, under this deal with Emera the remaining publicly owned transmission

assets in this Province are being privatized.

We have asked you before but you would not answer the question, we will ask

you again today: How much money will Emera make transmitting Muskrat Falls power

to people on the Island of Newfoundland? How much money will they make off us

for our own power?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, first of all, the $1.2 billion that we will receive from Emera

will be used to build the Maritime Link, over which we have 67 per cent control

for thirty-five years. At the end of thirty-five years we will own 100 per cent

of that Maritime Link. On top of that value, we have transmission rights through

Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and into Maine, only paying a tariff when we are

using that transmission, unlike we would have to do in any other circumstance,

Mr. Speaker.

Second of all, Mr. Speaker, Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro owns transmission

infrastructure in this Province, as does Newfoundland Power. They are paid a

rate of return which is regulated by the PUB. Mr. Speaker, Emera has been given

an opportunity to also invest in that infrastructure. They are paying $600

million for that right and they will get an 8.2 per cent rate of return.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Emera, Mr. Speaker, is getting 29 per cent of our transmission capacity. They

are building a line called the Maritime Link to take out the power that we are

going to give them, 20 per cent of the power on Muskrat Falls. In addition to

that, Mr. Speaker, they are going to own the Maritime Link for thirty-five

years, after which time it will almost be obsolete before it comes back to the

people of the Province.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier today: Why is it that Emera is going to own

this link for thirty-five years but yet we are going to be on the hook for half

of the cost overruns that could occur as a result of constructing that link?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, Emera will own the link for thirty-five years. They have the

right to transmit one terawatt of power over that link. The rest of the

capacity, Mr. Speaker, is controlled by Nalcor. All our excess power, whether it

be from Muskrat Falls or other generation sources, can be transmitted via that

link, no charge, Mr. Speaker, to markets in Eastern Canada and the Eastern

United States. Mr. Speaker, they are the facts.

On top of that value, again, Mr. Speaker, I point out that we have

transmission rights, right from Nova Scotia into Maine so we can get to markets

in Eastern Canada and the Eastern United States.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, Emera is getting a Maritime Link for thirty-five

years for their investment. They do not have to pay all the cost overruns on it.

We are going to foot the bill if there are cost overruns. In addition to that,

we are going to give them 20 per cent of our power to take for free, to sell it

to make a profit. In addition to that, we are going to give them 29 per cent of

our transmission in the Province.

I ask the Premier today: Why is it that Emera Energy will not be on the hook

for any overruns on that 29 per cent of the transmission line if there should be

overruns with the construction cost?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Mr. Speaker, why would Emera be building a link for

$1.2 billion if it were not for the fact - we could take the $1.2 billion. We

could take the $1.2 billion in cash from Emera and build the link ourselves.

Now, Mr. Speaker, there is a cost-sharing on overruns on the Maritime Link,

shared between Nalcor and Emera. We need to establish that first of all, Mr.

Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we could take the money and we could build the link, the same

way that we will have to pay for or build transmission through Quebec, which is

your preferred route to sell the power.

Nobody transmits power for free, Mr. Speaker. There are costs associated with

it. Because costs are associated with getting Muskrat Falls power to this Island

is one of the reasons why we have to pay 14.3 cents a kilowatt hour here.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The truth is Emera cannot believe their good fortune, I say to you, Premier.

This is a giveaway in every sense of the word - a giveaway to a private

corporation and not to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. Mr. Speaker, Emera also

acknowledged as much in those WikiLeaks documents that government could have

gotten a better deal by going through Quebec.

I ask the Premier today: Is there anything in the term sheet to prevent Emera

from selling its shares to Hydro-Quebec?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Mr. Speaker, the answer to that is yes absolutely

yes. We protect our interests in everything that we do.

Now, Mr. Speaker, she continues to spin and spread misinformation about this

project. The truth is: no one is buying it. We have done a number of open houses

around this Province. One of the last ones we did was in West St. Modeste in her

very own district. One hundred per cent of the evaluations that came out of that

open house said their questions were answered, there was good information

provided, and that this is a good project for Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, she cannot even convince her constituents. She is hardly going

to convince the rest of the Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of The Straits & White

Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, it is rather ironic that the Minister of Fisheries was at a

luncheon yesterday talking about the brink of change that has taken place in the

fishery and practically at the same time out on the West Coast, our fishermen

have become so frustrated and angry with changes and cuts in their historic

quota sharing arrangement in the Gulf ground fishery that they have taken over

the DFO office in Corner Brook in protest.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier today: Given that you have decided to back

Stephen Harper and this government, do you see this decision as a slap in the

face to our fishermen and a reflection of the new relationship we can expect

with this new federal government?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, one thing I have to say is that I do agree with

the stand that the fishermen have taken on the West Coast. Nothing could be

clearer than to point to the fact that somewhere in this industry we have to

start to have a collective voice that we can go to Ottawa to deal with issues

such as this, there is no doubt about it. Mr. Speaker, I have already enacted

action on this.

On Friday I heard about this, I have written a letter off to the new

minister, I have copied it to Minister Penashue. I have written my Atlantic

counterparts, the minister of Quebec, the FFAW, ASP, and SPNL all expressing my

concern about this DFO decision. I have also requested a meeting with the new

minister to discuss this matter and hopefully have it addressed.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of The Straits & White

Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Mr. Speaker, we have heard of collective voices, we have heard

of letters and, quite frankly, that is not cutting it. Our fishery continues to

be in chaos. Mr. Speaker, when we see fishermen protesting or plant workers

protesting, we see fisherpeople taking over plants, offices and so on, we

realize that we are in dire straits.

Mr. Speaker, the MOU report that came out in February revealed quite clearly

that the West Coast fishery fishermen are the hardest hit in Atlantic Canada.

Now they are getting half of the historic quota while the Maritime provinces get

handed three or four times more than they have traditionally gotten.

I ask the minister again: How can this injustice be allowed to happen? I

realize what he just said but I ask again: What is his government going to do to

prevent this from happening and make sure that our quotas are back on a more

acceptable level?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, I do not know if the hon. member ever did come

clean with his answer on where we should have moved with the MOU. In fact, it

would have been very detrimental to his and the Leader of the Opposition's

districts if we had invoked measures that were suggested in the MOU.

Mr. Speaker, I say again if we look at the track record of where government

has gone with report after report after report, clearly, government cannot take

the sole responsibility of taking leadership in this. It requires that industry

- and that means the FFAW and the collective groups of ASP and SPNL - have to

come together and we have to collectively decide on where we are going with

this, Mr. Speaker. In this particular case, it means that we go to Ottawa with a

collective voice to address the issues. I certainly am open to sitting down with

those parties to come up with that direction, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of The Straits & White

Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Mr. Speaker, it is not a time to sit down. It is a time to

stand up. It is a time to be noticed. It is a time to take action. Mr. Speaker,

the minister has said to me on several occasions, in asking sincere questions

and looking for an answer: What would you do? What is your response to the MOU?

Mr. Speaker, I put it back in his hands again, because he is the Minister of

Fisheries, and say: You tell me what you would do with the MOU. Then we, as an

Opposition, will give you our ideas to where it should go as well.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier again today, quite sincerely: Will you take

this contentious issue of quota sharing directly to the Prime Minister's office

on behalf of the people, the fishermen of this Province, who have been slammed

badly by this government in Ottawa? Our fishermen need to know today that this

government is protecting their interests.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear. Let's see where the

inaction comes from: the hon. member and his party. A little while ago, I wrote

a letter on outside buying to the NDP, to the Liberals

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. JACKMAN: to the FFAW, to ASP, to SPNL. Do you know the only group

we did not get a response from? The Liberals. That will tell you, Mr. Speaker,

it is quite simple to get up here

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. JACKMAN: and spout off political manoeuvring, but when it comes to

action, they simply do not put their money where there mouth is.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Member for the District of The Straits & White Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would say the response to the crisis we are talking about this moment is

not a letter from the Opposition, but by action by this government. Mr. Speaker,

again, when the Minister of Fisheries, on behalf of this government, tells us

where they see the fishery going, we will happily jump on board and support

their initiatives if we feel they are in the right direction.

In terms of the letter, we thought about writing back and, quite honestly, it

was too silly of a letter to respond to.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. DEAN: Yesterday, the Minister of Fisheries spoke at the Rotary Club

in St. John's and he stated that the fishery is on the cusp of change. After two

years, the minister rejected the MOU that was supposed to be the cusp of change.

Now, he is talking about another cusp of change.

So, I ask the minister today: What new plans for the fishery are you

referring to when you say the fishery is on the cusp of change?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, there are going to be a lot of fisherpeople in

this Province who will hear the response that the hon. member just gave, because

I can assure you that a letter written to parties that they do not even see fit

to respond to around an issue such as outside buying, that will tell you, sir,

where their mentality is. Mr. Speaker, I have to wonder what their platform is

around the fishery in the upcoming election. If that is the kind of response

they are going to put out there, Mr. Speaker, I see them as having no sense of

direction at all. I have said, and I hope to be proven true to this in the

future, that

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the hon. minister to conclude his answer.

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, it is no trouble to tell when the blood

pressure of the hon. Opposition House Leader goes up, he starts to rant.

Mr. Speaker, I contend that the fishery in this Province will be strong well

into the future, despite any of the offerings that they seem to make.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Member for the District of The Straits & White Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Mr. Speaker, it is time for this minister to put his offerings

on the table. That is what the fisherpeople and the plant workers of this

Province are looking for is direction from this government, from this minister,

to understand where they want to take this industry.

Mr. Speaker, the minister has asked everyone in the Province to come up with

a plan. He asked the FFAW, he asked the ASP, he has asked SPNL, he has asked the

Opposition. Yesterday, according to his

article in The Telegram it seems

as though he is starting to ask the youth of the Province now what they would

do.

Mr. Speaker, I ask: Why do you continue to put off your responsibilities as

the Minister of Fisheries on these groups? Is it your way of deflecting the

attention away from your inability or your unwillingness to make decisions to

move our fishing industry forward?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Now it is the anti-youth, Mr. Speaker. The many youth who we

have visiting in the gallery, I contend, would not think too kindly of that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, there is one thing about it and I say it again,

the fishery of this Province is a renewable resource. I make no apologies or no

bones about it, what I said at the Rotary yesterday I will hold true and I

certainly hope it will come true. We see a fishery in this Province where plant

workers are paid more than $11 an hour for fourteen weeks. We see a fishery

where our young people go into boats and will make a wonderful living, and the

fishery will continue to be what it has always been to this Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Member for the District of The Straits & White Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, seven years after the creation of the Rural Secretariat, rural

communities continue to face serious challenges including crumbling

infrastructure, health care, and fisheries. While communities in rural areas of

the Province struggle, the Rural Secretariat's office expenditures and salaries

continue to balloon.

I ask the minister today: When will this government stop paying lip service

to investing in rural Newfoundland and Labrador and make some real challenges to

sustain communities?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural

Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, in terms of making investments into rural Newfoundland and

Labrador, this government is prepared to stand on record. Mr. Speaker, 70 per

cent of the investments we have made through all of our programs, including

RSDF, including through our infrastructure programs, including all of the

programs that we support in Innovation, Trade and Rural Development, have been

made in rural Newfoundland and Labrador, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of The Straits & White

Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker

Mr. Speaker, development groups, economic boards are basically scrounging for

resources to develop opportunities in rural Newfoundland and Labrador. Yet, Mr.

Speaker, this government has spent to date approximately $10 million on the

Rural Secretariat.

I ask the minister: What has the Rural Secretariat accomplished? Can you give

us one thing it has accomplished? Because most communities in rural Newfoundland

and Labrador do not even know they really exist.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural

Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN: Mr. Speaker, it was not so very long ago that members

opposite saw fit to put $2.6 million into rural Newfoundland and Labrador; $2.6

million in economic development. We are looking at now $130 million.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN: Mr. Speaker, I could stand here and list out all of the

different departments. If we look at what we are doing in terms of health care

and infrastructure, if we look at what we are doing in terms of Transportation

and Works and infrastructure, if we look at what we are doing in terms of

Education and infrastructure monies that are being spent there, if we look at

RSDF, the Regional Sectoral Diversification Fund that we are putting into rural

Newfoundland and Labrador, then we can stand on that record.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS SULLIVAN: We make no apologies for what we are doing in rural

Newfoundland and Labrador, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Signal Hill-Quidi

Vidi.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, ambulance operators did a survey on the number of vacant

emergency medical service positions in the Province, indicating we are short

approximately 150 paramedics. Unfortunately, because of the lack of quality of

life and smaller wages in private or not-for-profit ambulances, we are losing

our trained paramedics. Mr. Speaker, without a substantial increase in funding

we are continuing to lose paramedics to other provinces.

I ask the Minister of Health and Community Services: What is this government

planning to do to retain our paramedics so that we can have more of them in our

ambulances?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As I outlined yesterday, we have three different types of ambulance providers

in this Province. We have the public ambulance operators from the Health

Sciences and the regional health authorities, we then have private operators who

operate in rural Newfoundland and Labrador, and we have community ambulance

operators.

Mr. Speaker, as I again indicated yesterday, the first memorandum of

agreement was reached in 2000. Subsequent agreements, Mr. Speaker, have

increased the road ambulance budget by more than 300 per cent. We recently

reached an agreement with the ambulance operators, the private and community

operators, that was for approximately $30 million, and we provided $13 million

to the regional health authorities for ambulance services.

Mr. Speaker, our role as a government - and as long as the system is as it is

- is to provide money to the private ambulance operators who will hire the

qualified personnel. What I take from the comments of the member opposite is

that she is saying the people who operate in rural Newfoundland and Labrador are

not qualified to do the job.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Signal Hill-Quidi

Vidi.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

The minister knows quite well that is not what I am saying, Mr. Speaker. He

also knows that I understand the three types of ambulance services we have. We

have no problem keeping paramedics in the public service sector, Mr. Speaker,

because they are adequately resourced. It is people from the private sector who

are coming and talking to me and telling me how they cannot offer the same

service. The post-secondary schools graduate somewhere between sixty to

sixty-five paramedics a year and still we are short paramedics.

Why, Mr. Speaker, are they graduating and not staying here in our Province to

work? What the minister is saying is not helping the situation at all. I want to

know what government's practical plan is to encourage our newly graduated

paramedics to stay. How are they going to stay if all the jobs that are well

paid are taken?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I take from the comments of the member opposite for the last two days, that

she is suggesting that private ambulance operators in this Province cannot

fulfill the role they are paid to fulfill. If I understand her correctly, Mr.

Speaker, and I say this to all of the MHAs in rural Newfoundland and Labrador,

you go back to the people who run these ambulances and you say that the Leader

of the New Democratic Party wants a review of the ambulance system in this

Province. If that is what she wants, Mr. Speaker, I will certainly consider it

and we will look at having that review.

Mr. Speaker, to impugn that these people cannot do their job I think is

reprehensible and is consistent though with the attitude of this member when she

stated in her reply to the Throne Speech that Newfoundland and Labrador was in

the dark ages or backwards. I forget the exact term she used.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The time allotted for questions and answers has expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling of Documents.

Notices of Motion.

Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Opposition House Leader.

MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to present a petition on behalf of the residents of Cape Ray in

the District of Burgeo & La Poile and, of course, this is another petition

further to what I have already entered here concerning the road that leads from

the community of Cape Ray to the provincial park. The provincial park is

operated by this provincial government and maintained by it. The petition reads:

WHEREAS the Department of Transportation and Works of the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador is responsible for the funding and maintenance of

roads in the community of Cape Ray, in the Province of Newfoundland and

Labrador; and

WHEREAS the roads at Cape Ray are in deplorable condition, including the road

leading from the community of Cape Ray to the J.T. Cheeseman Provincial Park;

and

WHEREAS the citizens of Cape Ray demand that the roads be upgraded;

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

House of Assembly to urge government to provide sufficient funding to complete

the necessary repairs to the roads at Cape Ray.

Mr. Speaker, as indicated, this is not a lengthy piece of road but it is a

very valuable piece of road, very functional piece of road, that is utilized not

only the citizens in Cape Ray but also by the very Department of Transportation

and Works which this minister operates his equipment on that road. Part of the

reason that it is in the deplorable condition that it is, is because of the

equipment that his department is utilizing on the road.

The citizens certainly feel, quite rightly, that if the department are going

to use the road, they ought to maintain the road. You cannot expect the people

to have this deplorable condition when part of the condition is, in fact, caused

by the department that is suppose to maintain it.

As I say, it would not be an expensive proposition; we are talking

approximately one point five kilometres. Albeit it is only a fairly short piece

of road - it is a gravel road - they are not asking for pavement, they are

asking that a few dumps of fill be put on there and graded. The equipment is in

the area. The fill that they would have to put on the road is actually within

the community, yet the minister will not allow the department that is out in the

area that maintains the adjacent park road to put fill on this one point five

kilometre stretch of road. It is absolutely incomprehensible as to why this

would be in such a deplorable condition.

Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, I have no problem bringing these petitions

here. The minister needs to be made aware of it, maybe he does not communicate

with the department on the West Coast. We have certainly written the letters, we

have certainly had the petitions here, and hopefully we will get a response from

the minister. This is not a big humungous project that we are asking for here,

yet some of these little things as they would appear in the big picture are so

important to the residents who live there. Also, to the tourists who visit this

area; they pull travel trailers. We want them to come here, yet we expect them

to use roads that are not fit to drive on. It is just inconsistent.

I am sure the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, if he were to look

at this, would say: How can we expect anybody who comes here and spend their

hard-earned dollars to travel on such a stretch of road in the condition it is

in?

Again, we implore the minister: Please take it under hand, talk to someone,

and get this done. It is not moving mountains; it is a matter of grading a road

with a few loads of fill.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Further petitions?

The hon. Member for the District of The Straits & White Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am pleased today to be able to stand and present a petition on behalf of

the residents of Topsail and the school. They have asked that we present this

petition in the House of Assembly. It says:

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS Paradise Elementary is the newly constructed K-6 school located at 60

Karwood Drive, Paradise, Newfoundland; and

WHEREAS the current enrolment is over 600 students; and

WHEREAS there are approximately only fifteen parking spots remaining on the

school property once teachers park their vehicles; and

WHEREAS there are insufficient parking spots for parents to drop off and pick

up their children from school; and

WHEREAS at pick-up times the roads around Paradise Elementary are blocked as

there are often thirty or forty vehicles parked on Karwood Drive, on both sides

of the road and behind the school; and

WHEREAS there is a safety concern with all of the children crossing over the

parking lot and on Karwood Drive;

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

House of Assembly to urge government to put in more parking spaces.

As in duty bound your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, this is a brand new school as the petition suggests. It has been

sent with several hundred signatures of parents and so on who are concerned that

there are only a few parking spots in this school. Basically, the reason or the

justification behind the shortage of parking spots is the fact that it has LEED

certification which, I understand, is meant to be for a school that is in

walking distance. In this case, the school is not in walking distance. Most of

the students have to be bused or driven in by their parents. We have kids all

over the place when school is out. There basically needs to be a better system

for safety.

Mr. Speaker, I think back to all of the announcements made in this House of

Assembly over the past year in terms of last year's Budget which was entitled

The Right Investments For Our Children and Our Future . Mr. Speaker, our

children are our number one priority. There is a situation there that the

parents feel is unsafe and I would urge government to look into it and do

something before we have an accident or something that none of us today would

want to see.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Orders of the Day

Private Members' Day

MR. SPEAKER: This being Private Members' Day and it being 3:00 o'clock in

the afternoon, I now call on the hon. Member for the District of Baie

Verte-Springdale to put forward his private member's resolution.

The hon. Member for the District of Baie Verte-Springdale.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. POLLARD: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is pleasure to move the private member's resolution and initiate the

debate related to mental illness and addictions, which was seconded by

colleague, the Member for St. John's South.

Given that I read all the

WHEREAS clauses yesterday which highlighted our

government's numerous investments on mental illness, I will, for the record,

just read the BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED clause today.

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that this hon. House supports the significant

actions this government has taken and is continuing to take to advance mental

health and addictions services throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, just allow me to have a few general comments in the beginning

about the topic. Mr. Speaker, the mere fact that this motion is brought to the

floor of the House of Assembly today indicates how important the subject matter

really is to society and how important it is to our government. It is of very,

very high priority. It is a very complex issue and it is a very serious issue

indeed, Mr. Speaker. Just listen to some of the staggering, quick facts or

statistics on mental illness.

One in five Canadians will experience mental illness in their lifetime. The

remaining four will have a friend, family member or colleague who will. By 2020,

it is estimated that depression will be the second leading cause of disability

in the world. About 20 per cent of people with a mental disorder have a

co-occurring substance use problem. Everyday, 500,000 Canadians are absent from

work

MR. KELVIN PARSONS: A point of order, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Opposition House Leader, on a point of order.

MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Mr. Speaker, it has been brought to my attention, I

understand it was a ruling of the House on an earlier occasion. On a private

member's resolution, as in petitions, it was a requirement that the actual

resolution be read into the record as part of Private Members' Day. I am just

wondering if the member intends to do that.

MR. SPEAKER: The Chair does not recall making any ruling or being present

when any ruling was being made where a private member's resolution - it has

already been read into the record. It has already been printed on the Order

Paper. The Chair does not recall making any ruling or being present when a

ruling was made that it has to be completely read into the record again. It is

at the disposal of the House in a printed matter that is on every member's desk,

but if the hon. member wants to read the resolution and put forward the complete

resolution as stated, I will leave that to the hon. member.

MR. POLLARD: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will continue. By 2020, according to the WHO, the World Health

Organization, depression will be the single biggest medical burden on our health

system. No doubt, this will pose a major problem, Mr. Speaker, not only to

society in general but also to our government as well.

Out government is not reactive, our government is proactive in addressing

this very serious issue, Mr. Speaker. As we all know, mental illness and

addictions can include and take many forms, such as bipolar disorders, eating

disorders, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, depression, and the list

goes on. All of these illnesses or disorders will certainly impact how we feel,

how we think, how we behave, how we interact with each other, and how we behave

in our communities. It is a complex issue, because most mental disorders cannot

be diagnosed definitively with an objective medical test. We usually rely on

subjectivity, such as observation or the actions of the individual, or

self-reporting of the individual, and we rely on professional judgements of

psychiatrists, psychologists, or other professional people.

That process, Mr. Speaker, is very long. It takes time to assess because it

involves everybody and it leads to a little bit of frustration. It is not like a

person having a broken ankle where you just look at it, assess it and put a cast

on, and in two, three, four, five weeks it is cured. Coupled with that, Mr.

Speaker, with our lack of understanding from a general point of view, from our

society point of view, mental illness and addictions do pose a very serious

problem.

Now, having said that, our government has been very proactive and we are not

reactive in dealing with this situation. Having said that, we are making huge

advances on health care in general, Mr. Speaker. It is a top priority with our

government, health in general. That is the reason why we pumped $2.9 billion in

the Budget this year.

In fact, Mr. Speaker, if we look over the past six or seven years or so, our

government has made some key investments amounting to approximately $25.1

million on mental care issues and addictions only. Of course, we have been

focusing on initiatives that improve access, we have been enhancing long-term

care services, we have been expanding infrastructure, but our focus today, Mr.

Speaker, is no doubt on mental illness and addictions.

Mr. Speaker, mental illness and addictions impacts everybody. There is no

respecter of persons. We could come from an urban background, a rural

background, male, female, rich, poor, educated or the uneducated, tall, short,

young and old, it does not matter, everybody is impacted and affected in some

way. It impacts families, it impacts individuals, it impacts communities, and it

impacts all societies, no matter where we are from, Mr. Speaker. Indeed, our

government considers this a very, very serious complex issue and that is why we

are debating this today because mental illness does disrupt our daily living.

To combat and to confront this very serious issue, Mr. Speaker, our

government has taken a three-pronged approach. In other words, in our view we

are taking three progressive steps to combat this issue. What are these steps,

Mr. Speaker? They are: number one, we are investing in mental health

infrastructure; number two, we are enhancing public awareness and access to

mental health services; and, number three, we are increasing rural capacity.

Mr. Speaker, I will deal with each one of these in turn. Let's talk about

number one, investing in mental health infrastructure. In our 2011 Budget this

year, we put in $4.5 million just to initiate or begin the start of replacing

the Waterford Hospital in St. John's with a new state-of-the-art facility, a new

specialized facility for people who are suffering from mental illness. On top of

that, Mr. Speaker, in previous years we have invested in residential treatment

centres in Grand Falls-Windsor for children and youth with addictions. That is

an ongoing piece of work. We have invested in an adult residential addictions

treatment centre in Harbour Grace; that is ongoing. We have invested in a new

residential treatment centre in St. John's for children and youth with complex

mental health issues.

Mr. Speaker, one might ask: Well, what are these advantages? Why should we

invest in mental health infrastructure? Well, infrastructure is very important,

Mr. Speaker. Just listen to what a new facility would do. It would promote

recovery, it would reduce stress, it would reduce depression, it would support

independence, it would support a more modern approach to treatment, it would

provide a more functional floor plan, it would reduce maintenance costs, it

would better meet the program needs, and it would allow for future growth. All

of these advantages combined would certainly lead to better outcomes pertaining

to this severe problem, Mr. Speaker.

Step number two, our government is trying to enhance awareness and enhance

access to mental health and addictions services, Mr. Speaker. No doubt, this is

a huge challenge. We are determined as a government to demystify mental illness,

create public awareness, and promote understanding by the public.

As we all know, Mr. Speaker, there is a stigma attached to mental illness and

addictions. Would you believe, Mr. Speaker, that 50 per cent of Canadians will

tell their friends or their co-workers that they have a family member suffering

from mental illness, compared to cancer which is 72 per cent, or diabetes which

is 68 per cent? That magnifies or highlights the problem or the effect of stigma

attached to mental illness and addictions.

What are the effects of this stigma? Number one, it leads to exclusion. The

person or the individual feels left out of social activities. That will lead to

a person unable to get a job or difficulty in getting a job, difficulty in

maintaining a job, difficulty in getting timely access to health, difficulty in

getting a safe place to live, or really finding it very difficult to be accepted

by their family, by their friends, and by society in general.

Number two, another effect, Mr. Speaker, is that the individual would

internalize these negative effects or negative feelings they get from society,

from their family, or from their friends in general, which leads to a lower

self-esteem, a lower self-concept. They will believe the negative things they

will hear about themselves. They will internalize them.

The third problem with this stigma attached to mental illness, Mr. Speaker,

is people will keep the problems to themselves. They will keep it a secret. They

will not ask for help because of the stigma. So this compounds the problem, this

magnifies the problem.

In addressing that stigma issue or the public awareness issue, Mr. Speaker,

our government, through an investment of $1 million, will implement three new

initiatives for this purpose to create awareness and promote understanding by

the public. What are these new initiatives? Well, I will name them. Number one:

development of an interactive, web-based e-mental health service, which is an

innovative and engaging method that creates greater access and service delivery

of mental health services in areas that are geographically isolated; number two:

enhancement to tele-mental health services to increase rural and remote access

to mental health and addictions counselling; number three: creation of a

provincial public awareness campaign to decrease the stigma and discrimination

attached to mental illness and addictions, and increase understanding of how and

when to seek help. Mr. Speaker, we believe these three initiatives will

certainly make an impact on people who are suffering from mental illness and

addictions.

The third step, the progressive step that our government is doing to address

mental illness, is to increase the rural capacity $3.2 million invested this

year for this initiative. What will that $3.2 million do? They will hire five,

full-time mental health and addiction counsellors in Nain, Hopedale, Makkovik,

and Natuashish. These five, full-time mental health addiction counsellors will

live in the communities. That will provide greater access for people who are

suffering from the disease or the illness which will, in turn, reduce wait

times. That is significant, Mr. Speaker, because this government is trying to

grapple with the problem of wait times as well.

Mr. Speaker, I am going to come back later on. I am going to look forward to

listen to my other colleagues make some comments on this very important motion

that we are debating today. With that, I will take my seat for now.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER (Kelly): The Chair recognizes the hon. Member for Burgeo & La

Poile.

MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate an opportunity to have a few words with respect to this private

member's motion. Just for the record and I would like to set the record clear

this member will, with reservation, be voting in favour of the resolution. I

will explain the reservation piece as I go along here.

Mental health, of course, and how we deal with mental health in our

communities and in our Province is something that has impacted everybody.

Probably everyone in this House of Assembly has had a family member or a friend

who has been impacted in some way or other with some form of mental illness. It

is out there, a lot of times people do not recognize it, cannot recognize it and

for a lot of good reasons sometimes. Now, the member used the word demystify, I

hope I can demystify some of the commentary or statistical information and put

it in a proper perspective.

There is no doubt government is doing something for mental health issues in

this Province. That is why, ultimately, I will be voting in favour of the

motion. The difficulty I have is with the word significant that is mentioned in

the final clause there, the resolution clause: the significant actions. You can

get into filing amendments, trying to take out the word significant and so on.

That does not get us anywhere because the issue itself is so important you do

not want to detract from the issue by trying to play Wordsy with a particular

resolution. I will explain, if I may in my limited time, why I feel the word

significant is somewhat misleading here. It is misleading in the sense of how do

you quantify significant.

I went back and I went through the resolution and all the statistics are here

as to what this government has spent since 2004, all the Budgets are outlined:

2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. The government outlined very

specifically what it was doing with regard to mental health issues and

facilities in this Province for each of those years.

Now, Mr. Speaker, I took all of those figures and that covers an eight-year

span. If you total up every one of the figures that is in the private member's

resolution, that totals, over eight years, $2,952,000,071. Mr. Speaker, that is

not a lot of money that is over eight years. That works out to be, in neither of

those eight years, was there ever at least 1 per cent of our Budget being given

to mental health initiatives - never in any one year. The best we did, back in

2004-2005, for example, it was 0.06. Not a percentage point, 0.06 of a

percentage point. The following year it was 0.19 of a percentage point. This

year it is 0.29; last year it was 0.39. So that will give you some idea of - the

$8 billion in this year's Budget, for example, we are putting 0.29 into mental

health issues. Compare that to the commentary of the member who introduced the

resolution talking about how rampant and how urgent it is to deal with mental

health issues and facilities in our Province. It is not a very, quote,

significant contribution in terms of an overall Budget, not at all. It is a very

small portion actually.

In fact, I did some checking to see how we compared with other provinces. In

2008, Mr. Speaker, it was reported that Newfoundland and Labrador was spending

the second lowest per capita on mental health services, the second lowest in the

country. Now, how do we call ours significant? Do we compare it to what portion

it is of our provincial Budget? It is very small. It has never been a half of a

percentage point even. So, if you use that benchmark, it is not significant. If

you want to use the benchmark of how do we compare with other provinces in

Canada? We do not; we are the second lowest in the country.

It is fine to give a recitation of everything that we have done and nobody

is saying the government is not trying. You have to give a positive for trying,

but to try to suggest that it is significant in terms of the rest of the country

or in what proportion it is of our Budget, it is somewhat misleading, Mr.

Speaker. There are some concerns there but we would applaud the government for

at least trying.

Also, when you look at this, I pointed out, Mr. Speaker, that the highest

amount was in the 2010-2011 Budget. Not this year's Budget, last year's Budget,

and even then it reached 0.39 per cent of our Budget. There were three

facilities that were being talked about in these documents here. We are talking

about the facility for youth with complex needs, which was announced back in

2009; they talk about an addiction treatment facility, which was announced to be

placed in Grand Falls-Windsor back in 2009; and we talk about an addictions

centre to be built at Harbour Grace. Those totalled in those announcements is

$10.4 million, Mr. Speaker. The interesting thing is that $6.4 million of that

$10.4 million commitment was for three of the facilities. Neither of them has

been started yet, when we talk about facilities. Just those three alone were

$6.4 million of what was going to be spent for facilities.

For example, $5 million was committed for the facility for youth with complex

needs in 2009. They have settled, I do understand, to put that facility in

Paradise. They plan to build it after they demolish the Paradise Elementary

school. So far, Mr. Speaker, there has not been a shovel in the ground on that

particular facility.

Now, move on to the addictions treatment facility that was announced to be

placed in Grand Falls-Windsor back in 2009, Mr. Speaker. The site is still

undetermined. We do not know where we are going to build it. No designs or

programs have been announced by this government with respect to that facility.

Meanwhile, the facility was announced back in 2009. It was supposed to be

completed next year, Mr. Speaker. It was supposed to be completed in 2012, yet

there is no shovel in the ground, no site selected, no programs done, and no

designs done. This was a commitment that came from two years ago supposed to be

done and operative come next year. That was another major announcement that this

government has been trading itself on.

By the way, when it comes to the Grand Falls-Windsor one, I would be remiss

if I did not say I was not at the Estimates hearings myself for Health and

Community Services, but the Health critic who was there relayed back the

information and our researchers, that based on the comments of the minister,

these facilities issues, particularly the one in Grand Falls-Windsor, has to go

back to Cabinet again. Not only do we not have a shovel in the ground, no

designs done, and no site selected, Mr. Speaker, the minister acknowledges that

it has to go back to Cabinet again.

Now, of course, the Health critic, the Leader of the Official Opposition, the

Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair, probed the minister a bit and said: Could

you give us some information, Minister, as to what is going on here and why this

is going back? The minister would not elaborate. Maybe the minister will take an

opportunity today since we are specifically here in the public view, on cameras

talking about that facility. Tell us where we are with the Grand Falls-Windsor

piece that is going back to priority. Apparently, he said it is still

proceeding, but it does not indicate this is a priority with the government. We

have been since 2009 and it has not been done.

Now, the Harbour Grace addictions centre is another big piece in terms of the

facility piece in treating mental health issues and addictions in this Province.

According to our information, government cancelled its call for proposals to

design the treatment program for that centre. Again, maybe the minister can

elaborate for us: Where do we sit on this?

Maybe the member who introduced this, the Member for Baie Verte-Springdale,

was not aware of these things, because he proposed this as a private member's

motion and, no doubt, he took his information, I am sure, and put it into this

package to form his private member's motion. That is factual; I am not

suggesting anything here that is not factual. So, I would like for the member,

when he responds and clues up, which he will have an opportunity to do, maybe he

can tell us what his thoughts are on that issue.

Everybody acknowledges that we have issues in this Province, as everywhere,

when it comes to mental illness, how we deal with it, how we demystify it, how

we treat it, and what facilities we have to treat it. Maybe the member can

elaborate a bit based upon that fact. Where are we with the Harbour Grace

addictions centre? Did he know about that? What are his thoughts on the fact

that we announced the Grand Falls-Windsor one, which is pretty close to his

district, back three years ago? Not a shovel in the ground yet. What about the

facility for youth with complex needs, as I referred to, going to go on the site

of the old Paradise Elementary? Not a shovel in the ground yet. So, maybe the

member would like to elaborate on that, and where he feels that is going.

Everybody on the Opposition side, I do believe, wishes to have a few words,

so I will not take my full fifteen minutes today. I have made my point, I will

be supportive of the resolution, but I have a serious concern as to why the word

significant is in there. Now, I guess you can say $2.9 billion is always

significant. There are not a lot of us who have $2.9 billion in their bank

account. It is certainly significant in terms of a sum of money, but when you

look at it as being spent to deal with very serious issues in our Province over

a period of eight years and what percentage it is of our overall budget, it is

not significant at all. It is certainly not significant enough when we compare

to the rest of Canada. Now, maybe there are new statistics, the last statistics

we had was from 2008 saying we are the second lowest in Canada when it comes to

spending, per capita, on our mental health services in this Province.

So, that is just my point I wanted to take. I have some concerns with that. I

give the government kudos for at least dealing with the issues. I give this

minister kudos, by the way. We do not often see Opposition members patting

somebody on the back. We are usually Opposition and you are critical. I have to

say, in any issues that I have had in dealing with the current minister, no

problem. He has been punctual, he has been accessible, and he has dealt with it.

I believe he is dealing with the mental health issues in the same manner. It is

great to see that the government is being proactive on this, but I just question

whether - maybe we cannot afford to put more into this, maybe there are very

legitimate reasons why these facilities are not continuing with the rapidity

that we had hoped that they would be and that they would be up and running.

Maybe there are very legitimate reasons.

Again, people in this society are asking about this. The minister has always

been forthright, maybe he can take an opportunity to clarify some of this

unknown, shall we say, so that the people out there get some idea. A lot of

people are wondering: When are these facilities going to actually be built?

Maybe there are very legitimate reasons. The minister has usually been very

forthright in telling us, and if he can find it in himself to do so today, we

would certainly appreciate it because it would bring some clarity to these

issues that are out there right now.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: The Chair recognizes the hon. the Minister of Health and

Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, myself and the Opposition House Leader are both lawyers, so we

spend our lives dealing with words. The word significant, I guess, is one that

you can look at from a number of different ways. Whatever you cut it, Mr.

Speaker, the replacement of the Waterford Hospital at a cost of $250 million is

a significant investment.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: In fact, Mr. Speaker, I would challenge the member opposite

to go anywhere else in this country and find any province that is investing $250

million in mental health and in a new facility. Mr. Speaker, secondly, the

Mental Health Commission of Canada, who I will be referring to shortly, has, in

their recent newsletter, indicated that Newfoundland and Labrador is leading the

way in relation to our approach towards mental health and addictions.

I will touch briefly on our e-mental health, but when we do this we will be

the first in the country to have a system in place that reaches out to young

people through a media in which they speak, reaches out to rural Newfoundland

and Labrador, allows new ways of obtaining help, a type of tele-mental health,

Web-based mental health; again, we are leading the way. I am not going to get

into the issue of what is significant in terms of money, our investments are

significant.

Mr. Speaker, do you know what is also very significant? That this government

is tackling the issues that affect our society. I became the Minister of Health

in October 2009 and I indicated at that time that mental health and addictions

would be a major priority for me, along with five other priorities that I

identified.

The first thing I did was read Senator Michael Kirby's report, Out of the

Shadows at Last, which was written in 2006. Mr. Speaker, the complexity of

mental health issues and addictions issues is not something to be

underestimated. We have, Mr. Speaker, issues of lack of education, poverty,

issues related to housing, family issues. What none of us can ignore is the

significant impact that untreated mental health and addictions has on our

society in terms of its effect on the family, the lost workplace performance and

an economic cost to our society.

Mr. Speaker, what all of us in this House have to realize is that not

everyone has the same chance that we have had. What all of us have to realize,

Mr. Speaker, is that oftentimes it is a matter of luck what distinguishes me

from that individual who is on the street corner begging for that dollar. You

approach people's lives in terms of trying to offer help from that perspective

and you put yourself in their position. Mr. Speaker, one of the things we

realize is that there is a real stigma and discrimination - again, which I will

touch on shortly - that relates to mental health and addictions.

Mr. Speaker, as individuals we are formed by our life experience. Our

approach to life is based oftentimes on what we have learned from our parents,

what we have learned as children, and with me there is the experience of twenty

years in a courtroom where I watched people who suffered from mental health and

addictions issues. Oftentimes, these people did not have a whole lot of a

chance. I look at the person sitting behind me in that docket and oftentimes I

ask myself what is the difference between me and him or her? Oftentimes, Mr.

Speaker, it is the opportunity to receive help.

Mr. Speaker, I have estimated in the past, and this is just anecdotal, it is

not empirical, that up to 80 per cent of what I have seen go through the

courtrooms was alcohol, drug related and mental illness. A lot of times if we

can address mental health and addictions issues, we address the crime aspect

that affects our society. Also, Mr. Speaker, I realize that mental health and

addictions does not only affect people in the court system. It affects all of us

sitting in this House of Assembly. It affects all of our viewers, Mr. Speaker.

Who has not been affected either from a personal perspective, from a family

perspective or from a friend's perspective, by someone who has had difficulty?

The statistics are unnerving but it is not something that we have to shy away

from. It is not something that we have to not deal with.

Mr. Speaker, people need help, and as a government one of our obligations is

to provide that help. Yes, Mr. Speaker, as I indicated in the Estimates, those

two youth centres, I am not pleased with how long it is taking but they are

going to proceed and they will proceed as we have indicated. The planning is

taking longer than we expected but when you are dealing with youth with complex

needs it is a complex issue. We have identified our sites and we will be moving

ahead there.

The centre in Harbour Grace, Mr. Speaker, as the member opposite is aware, it

was announced a year ago. It takes a lot of planning. You have to look at

various aspects of what you are doing. Again, that is a much needed facility

that will proceed and will complement the Humberwood facility in Corner Brook.

Mr. Speaker, one of the things that I know, and all of us in this House know,

mental health and addictions knows no boundaries in terms of who it affects. It

does not matter how much money you have. It does matter what education you have,

we can all be affected by this.

Mr. Speaker, there is, however, a cost to our society that is a very

significant issue. I am talking about more the cost to our families, the effect

on our children. What we have to do as a government, Mr. Speaker, is offer the

hope people need, that there is a hope they can recover, they can get better,

there is counselling available, there is medication necessary if there is mental

illness, and we can hold out a chance of living a normal life. Do you know

something, Mr. Speaker? One of the first things I did as the minister was to go

to the community groups out there, like the Consumers' Health Awareness Network

of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Canadian Mental Health Association, Stella

Burry, Turnings, and the eating disorders. I brought all of those people

together and I said: What can I do to help you help us?

Mr. Speaker, this is the concept of peer support. These are people out in the

community who have gone through and lived the experience and who know what

others are feeling and experiencing. We put I think it was $400,000 or $500,000

out into those groups. That is money well spent, Mr. Speaker, let me tell you

that.

The next step, Mr. Speaker, we then funded an anti-stigma program within the

school system. The Canadian Mental Health Association - I forget the numbers,

but hundreds of students - have gone to and talked to high school students in

terms of education, making people aware. Do not be afraid of this issue. If you

have a problem, talk about it and deal with your issue.

Mr. Speaker, we also commissioned a one-man play by Joel Hynes, a local

writer, artist

MR. HUTCHINGS: Actor.

MR. KENNEDY: and actor, yes, the Member for Ferryland says.

Mr. Hynes, who is a brilliant writer and actor, went to the schools. He did

his one-man play called Incinerator Road . He went around this Province

and the reports I have heard back are nothing short of amazing, Mr. Speaker.

Students were sitting there enthralled as Mr. Hynes mixed autobiography with

fiction and produced a very powerful play. People started talking about it. The

kids, the teenagers started talking about what they heard. Mr. Speaker, that is

how we get our message across.

What we are doing now in terms of battling stigma, if you look at the Mental

Health Commission of Canada and Senator Kirby's report, he estimates that 15 per

cent of teenagers, our children, our youth are affected at any given time. It

may be some sort of depression, Mr. Speaker. There is a continuum, and there are

other issues. It could be attention deficit, it could be addiction; 15 per cent

of our children.

Let's speak to our teenagers, to our children, in the language that they

services. Mr. Speaker, there is this group in New Zealand that have put forward

this e-mental health and awareness program in their country and they are

assisting us in putting forward our platform here.

Mr. Speaker, if you are a teenager, or if you are an adult, if you are a

senior with questions about how do I access services, you will go into this Web

site, it will all be there for you. If you have basic questions: am I sad, am I

depressed? Then the signs of depression will be listed for you. Do I have a

problem with alcohol or drugs? Mr. Speaker, again it is pointed out by Senator

Kirby, in terms of the addictions, in any given year 8 per cent of all

hospitalizations and 10 per cent of the number of days in hospital are

attributable to substance abuse. Mr. Speaker, very significantly, the abuse of

legal substances, including tobacco, accounts for $11.8 billion of annual

productivity lost in Canada - $11.8 billion.

As I have indicated on other occasions, I happened to have the opportunity

last year to attend at the World Health Organization meetings in Geneva as the

co-chair of the federal-provincial-territorial task force. Mr. Speaker, the

biggest drugs they were talking about there were alcohol and tobacco in terms of

the effect worldwide. So, we have problems with alcohol, tobacco, illegal drugs

of course, and the other one that is very pressing in our society is

prescription pill use. Not to underestimate, Mr. Speaker, the impact of illegal

drugs, not for one second. We have all of these drugs, alcohol and tobacco

included, which contributes significantly, and that has a significant economic

impact on our society.

Mr. Speaker, if people need help, you are in a workplace and you need help,

we have to encourage you to speak out so there are not consequences. This is

what Senator Kirby has to say about the difference between how we deal with

physical illness versus mental illness, "People living with mental illness and

addiction have faced, and continue to face, stigma and many forms of

discrimination that compound the effects of their illnesses." So they do not

want to come forward, they are afraid of the impact on their lives, how people

will see them or potential economic impact on them in terms of loss of job.

Mr. Speaker, how often in our society have we heard people talk about their

public fights with - it can be cancer, it can be other drugs. How often do you

hear people talk about their public fights with addiction or depression or

schizophrenia? As a society, we are not there yet where people are encouraged. I

do not know if people are even aware of the impact we have or the stigma that

attaches. What Senator Kirby says is the commission was repeatedly told that the

factors such as income and adequate housing affect people's ability to recover.

By treating mental illness like physical illness, it is best understood to mean

that both types of illness must be treated with equal seriousness by providers.

People who are living with mental illness and addiction must be accorded respect

and consideration equal to those given to people affected by physical illnesses.

Now, Mr. Speaker, we are not there, but as a government what we are trying to do

is encourage discussion. So, when you use the word significant in terms of the

steps we are taking, that we have a government, Mr. Speaker, that is tackling

this issue head on, that is working with community groups, a government which

appoints a mental health advisory council, including stakeholders out there in

the community.

If the member opposite wants to talk about the significant impact or whether

or not we are having a significant impact, talk to Vince Withers who is the

chair of that committee; talk to Dr. Nizar Ladha who has been a psychiatrist in

this Province for forty years; talk to Jocelyn Greene from Stella Burry; talk to

Ron Fitzpatrick from Turnings; talk to Peter Ralph from CHANNAL. These people

will tell that what we are doing is significant, not only in terms of the

monetary aspect, Mr. Speaker, but the fact that we have a government that cares

enough about people who are suffering from mental health and addictions to work

with them and to offer them the support that they need, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Mr. Speaker, as we continue to move through this Budget,

let's also look at what we did. We all know the issues we have in Labrador, the

problems that are faced in Labrador. What did we do? I talked to the people.

They said: We need people in our communities on the ground. We need people in

Natuashish, we need people in Hopedale, and we need people in Nain. Mr. Speaker,

it is not enough to simply say here is a job, we are providing money so that

there can be living accommodations there, so that there can be transportation.

That $2.4 million, again, is not only a very significant investment in terms of

monetary; it is a significant investment, in fact, of a government that cares

what is happening to our Aboriginal people.

Mr. Speaker, as I have indicated, $250 million for the Waterford Hospital is

significant by any standard. The one issue that I am very pleased with is that

we are moving with the times into the e-mental health, into the Web-based mental

health, into tele-mental health, where we are recognizing the vast geography

that we have here, that people in rural Newfoundland and Labrador need to be

able to reach out.

Mr. Speaker, again, we can never forget there are people out there who do

recover. What Senator Kirby says on page 45 of his report, is: Recovery is about

hope. On page 37 he says: What is needed is a genuine system that puts people

living with mental illness at its centre, with a clear focus on their ability to

recover.

So, Mr. Speaker, what we are doing: we are investing money, we are investing

money in facilities, recognizing that there are people who need a different

level of treatment. What we are trying to say, and what we are saying clearly

with these investments, to people out there is: We are there to help you, and we

care.

Mr. Speaker, what more is a government to say to its people than we care and

we want to help? That, Mr. Speaker, is exactly what we are doing.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Chair recognizes the hon. Member for The Straits & White

Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is good to be able to stand this afternoon to speak to this private

member's resolution. It is certainly an important one, and one that, in terms of

the implementation and delivery of mental health care in the Province, impacts

all of us in one way or another.

Statistics tell us that one in five people in Canada experience mental health

in some shape or form. That would suggest, I am sure, that would bring it to all

of our doorsteps at some point or another. So, it is very important that we

understand it. It is very important that we as a Province, and more importantly

as a government, offer the appropriate services and funding and so on to the

implementation of same.

Mr. Speaker, again, the resolution that is put forward is lengthy. It is

certainly intent on detailing all of the financial pieces of the commitment of

this government since it has been in place. I guess that is fine, if that is

what you want to do, but more importantly I believe it is really to determine

just exactly how we are doing and how we have done and so on.

My colleague, the Member for Burgeo & La Poile, made note of the percentages

of the investments in terms of mental health care as it relates to the total

health care budget for our Province. While the numbers at times may seem

significant, certainly in terms of the percentage of the overall budget, it does

not seem to be very significant at all. When we talk millions of dollars,

sometimes it sounds like a lot of money; but, of course, we understand that in

terms of delivering programs and covering the cost of programs and the building

of institutions and so on, and the replacement of facilities, obviously those

kinds of funds do not go all that far.

Mr. Speaker, the minister said that in terms of mental health care, it knows

no boundaries. That certainly is true. As I said, sometimes it may seem to have

a greater impact on those who are less fortunate in society, probably, than

others. Yet, Mr. Speaker, it always seems to find a way to edge to one's

doorstep in terms of our circle of family, friends, acquaintances and so on.

Often, Mr. Speaker, we have lived and seen the unfortunate results of people

who have suffered with mental health issues and have not been able to, for

whatever reason, get the appropriate health care attention that they have needed

and so on. Certainly in terms of the investments of the government, I am sure it

is one of their priorities to ensure that people are able to get attention and

to get the medications and so on they need.

Mr. Speaker, mental health care is a crucial dimension of the overall health

of an individual. Mr. Speaker, when you go through times in your life when you

are stressed from work or whatever the case may be, or a little stress from a

family situation, or just things you do not have under your control, it affects

you mentally. There are so many things that can impact us.

Mental health is basically an essential resource for living, really. It

influences how we think, it influences how we feel, it influences how we

perceive things, it influences our moods, and it influences how we communicate

and how we understand. So being very clear mentally, so to speak, certainly

allows us to enjoy an overall well-being as a person. So it is more than just

the absence of an illness, Mr. Speaker; it is really the presence of good health

generally speaking.

Mr. Speaker, mental illness comes in all kinds of disorders, as we know,

whether it is depression, bipolar disorders, schizophrenia, and many others that

we are well aware of. They are all real diseases that you cannot just will away,

wish away, or just hope one day it will not be there. Mr. Speaker, they are a

real part of our life, unfortunately.

The good news is that they are often very treatable. When people with mental

illness get to see their doctors, are diagnosed properly, and get the attention

they need, whether it is through medications or whether it is through some type

of therapy, Mr. Speaker, when a person is going through the proper stage,

channel, and medical treatment, the result often is that the person's life

improves tremendously and they are able to function in somewhat of a very normal

fashion and enjoy a normal life that otherwise would be very disruptive and

would be very unfortunate in those situations. Mr. Speaker, without mental

health we could say there really is no health because it affects all the other

things that we do in our lives.

Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Burgeo & La Poile did a comparison of what is

spent across the country from one province or Territory to another in terms of

mental health and the dollar amount that is being spent per capita. We recognize

that just two or three short years ago, in 2008 the survey show us as a

Province, that we were the second lowest in Canada in terms of what we were

spending on mental health services per capita. It was roughly $143 or so, I

believe it was, compared to some provinces like British Columbia that were

spending upwards of $230 per capita into the prevention of mental health and the

treatment of mental health.

Mr. Speaker, it is significant to understand as well that if we are able to

prevent mental health and provide a good life for people who otherwise would

have mental health issues, then obviously from an economic and a financial

perspective we are improving and really creating efficiency in the delivery of

our health system in our Province. It is not to be dismissed or to be

underscored, the importance of supporting the mental health programs in our

Province with the finances that it takes to do it properly.

As I said, Mr. Speaker, one in every five Canadians, statistics tell us, will

have a mental health problem at some point in their lives. We do not know when

necessarily and we do not always know why, but, Mr. Speaker, experiences that I

have seen within my own family, in my own circle of people who have experienced

mental health issues, they come at times in their life when things seem to be

fine, things seem to be normal so to speak; yet, they have developed issues that

really affected them mentally, that affected them physically, and the outcome at

times has not been all that great.

In 2002, Commissioner Roy Romanow stated that mental health is the orphan

child of health care. As a result, he proposed several key recommendations that

if implemented would offer hope to those with serious mental illnesses.

Mr. Speaker, one of the challenges of mental health in a Province like

Newfoundland and Labrador, in terms of our geography, is the delivery of the

program. It is always good to hear of investments in our larger urban centres

but again when you get into rural Newfoundland and you get distance from those

facilities, when you get distance from medical expertise, it is very easy and

much easier to go without proper treatment, without proper diagnosing. You

basically get to the point where unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, people can go on

for years and not get the treatments that are there for them, were they in

another centre.

Certainly, as we expand our mental treatment capacities in the Province, Mr.

Speaker, it is important that we look at all of our different geographies, all

of our different communities, community-based services, so that we are able to

offer as much of these programs as possible. While some mental health services

are funded by the provinces or even at a community level, the access to them can

vary tremendously. Sometimes there are things that are not covered by insurance;

it is a lot easier to get things in terms of medications especially.

If you have an insurance program or an insurance plan that will cover the

medications for you, then obviously it is a lot easier for that individual to be

treated and to have the medications it takes to sustain a healthy life. That is

not always the case. There are lots who do not have the riches of others and

there are lots who are always deprived of the ability to pay for medications, to

take advantage of treatments, to be able to travel. Whether it is to leave your

own hometown and go to a larger centre where a particular therapy might be

available or particular medical advice or treatment might be available. It is

not always possible for everyone and I think that is one of the things that at

times it is easy to take for granted. We assume people can do this or that, or

they can afford this, they can access that, but that is not always the case.

Again, it is important that when we I mentioned yesterday about the health

travel subsidy that was cut from 5,000 kilometres to 2,500 kilometres. Mr.

Speaker, eliminating it would be the proper thing to do so that people can

travel. Whether it is from St. Anthony to Corner Brook, or from Twillingate to

Gander, wherever the case might be that someone needs to get to a larger centre

to get the attention they need from a specialist. There should be no one today

in our Province who is prohibited from doing that because they do not have the

finances and the necessary resources to do so.

Providing people living with mental illness with access to a full range of

services and supports in addition to those by physicians in hospitals and so on

is very important. Certainly, it is different options for them, ones they can

select freely, something they prefer to be involved with in terms of a program,

Mr. Speaker, and requires really just an adequate range of services being made

available, and made available to not only those who have the funds to pay for

them but those who do not have the funds to pay for them as well.

So, Mr. Speaker, those are some of the comments I would bring forward. I

certainly want to say that I, too, would support the motion. I would question

the word significant, but I do not believe it is important that we debate that

here this afternoon necessarily. Certainly, we want to see greater emphasis on

mental illness. It is great to see that there is a plan for the Waterford

Hospital to be replaced in our capital city. We know it is overdue. We know that

obviously it is going to be a tremendous improvement in our mental health

program. Mr. Speaker, quite frankly, the sooner we see that shovel into the

ground, so to speak, the better.

I am happy this afternoon to be able to stand for a few moments, speak to

this private member's resolution, and say that at the end of the day I will be

standing to support the same.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: The Chair recognizes the hon. Member for St. John's South

and Deputy Speaker.

MR. T. OSBORNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, just hearing some of the comments from members opposite saying

that the actions that this government has taken since we have formed government

are not significant, or to say what we are doing is not significant, is a little

bit disheartening. We have had a great relationship with the stakeholder groups

that deal with mental health patients, the Canadian Mental Health Association,

Choices for Youth, and others. Mr. Speaker, to ask any of those groups the

relationship they have with government and the work that we are, as a

government, doing to promote better mental health and to make better mental

health services available to those most in need and those who need them, they

would, I am sure, tell you that the advances since we have taken government have

been significant.

The Member for Burgeo & La Poile points out that the numbers in the private

member's resolution are very low numbers: 0.03 per cent of the total Budget.

This is not the total budget being spent on mental health, Mr. Speaker. These

are the new announcements and the new investments that have been forward by this

government in addition to the sustainable funding, the funding that has been

spent on mental health issues and addictions issues on an annual basis.

When we formed government in 2003, I remember sitting around the Cabinet

table, Mr. Speaker, and we had some tough choices to make, we had very tough

choices to make. Some of you will remember those tough choices. We had a public

service strike that year, we had very difficult decisions to make. One of the

decisions that we made was to put $1 million of new funding into mental health

and addictions issues. We understood the importance of addressing those issues,

we understood the importance of that funding. Even though we had tough choices

to make, we felt it important enough to put that new funding in to deal with

some long-standing gaps that we recognized.

Now, we understood that was not going to solve all the issues. Even today,

after the millions and millions of dollars that this government has put forward

in addressing mental health and addictions issues, have we solved the issues?

Have we solved all of the issues? Absolutely not, but we are doing the best we

can, and we are making great strides. The measures that we have taken are

significant.

Mr. Speaker, some of the issues that individuals with mental health and

addictions are dealing with is the stigma. We have taken steps, as a government,

to reduce that stigma. A number of steps: public relations campaigns and so on.

The minister, when he spoke, talked about a play and getting into the high

schools and educating young people about the stigma attached. It is not only the

stigma that the general public place on patients with mental health or

addictions issues, it is the stigma that the patients and those who are in the

most need of help place upon themselves, because of how society has seen mental

health and addictions patients over the years.

Mr. Speaker, it is the stigma that is often associated with mental health

issues that makes it more difficult for individuals to recover or to deal with

those issues, because they are not only battling mental health or addictions

issues, they are battling that stigma that goes with it. They are battling how

they feel the general public see them, and how they see themselves. So, it is a

very important part of mental health or addictions issues in dealing with that

stigma, in educating the general public and making more services available to

those most in need, and reaching out and helping to advise them of how and when

to seek help and reducing that stigma or the way the general public see it.

We understand that one of the biggest challenges in advancing mental health

and addictions is how not only the patients see themselves but how the general

public see the patients. So it is important to change that, Mr. Speaker.

It is also important to work with the stakeholder groups, as I have said, the

client groups such as the Canadian Mental Health Association, the Consumer

Health Awareness Network, Choices for Youth, and the group advancing eating

disorders. All of those very important stakeholders work closely with

government, and government work closely with those stakeholders to advance the

issues of mental health and addictions and to ensure that because sometimes in

government it is easy to think that we are addressing issues. By bringing in the

stakeholder groups, and dealing with stakeholder groups, we get their

perspective and we have a better understanding of the clients who need help,

their needs, the people who most need the help, and how to address their issues.

Mr. Speaker, talking about the stigma, it is not only people dealing with

mental health or addictions issues who have to deal with the stigma, but

oftentimes those individuals - and I represent a large part of the downtown area

where we have boarding homes and bedsitting units - because individuals have

faced challenges with their employment because of their mental health or

addictions issues, they often face economic issues as well. So they are battling

not only the mental health issue, the stigma, but the economic issue. That is

something that we as a society and as a government - and each and every member

of this House, I am sure, understands - the help that we have provided,

absolutely it has not solved every issue, but look at where we have come from

2003, when we first formed government, to 2011, today, in some of the services

and some of the benefits that we have provided as a government, and to say that

it is not significant.

Now, I would never advocate that we have solved all of the issues. It is like

any illness. You can put money into trying to prevent any illness, or trying to

solve the issues that people with an illness have, but no matter how much money

you put in it, you will never make the illness go away; but we have made great

strides. We have come a long way in helping to deal with the issues and in

understanding the issues.

You look at the new electronic methods that government is now investing in,

to get into the most rural and remote areas and to deal with younger people who

community where they cannot access the bricks and mortar where services are

provided, some of the new methods and the innovative ways we are reaching out to

individuals with mental health issues will get into those areas within the

Province and help address some of those issues. Again, I am not saying that we

are going to solve all of the issues, but to get in and address some of those

issues.

Mr. Speaker, mental illness affects people of all ages. It does not

discriminate against your cultural background, your social background, where you

are from, your education, or where you work. It does not see any of those

boundaries. Each and every member of this House, I am sure, knows of somebody, a

family or a friend, who has dealt with a mental illness. Yes, the statistics say

that one in five people in their lifetime will have to battle a mental illness.

So it is time that we as a society and as a government start to change the

focus, how we see individuals who suffer from mental illness. That has to change

as we move forward.

Mr. Speaker, there are many ways we can help people who are living with

mental illness and addictions issues. Our government is trying to provide

funding and supports that are needed, which is very important, and we have come

a long way in that, and much has been done by this government, and much money

has been invested by this government.

I will touch on some of the other things we have done as a government in a

couple of moments, but much of what we can do to support those who are suffering

from mental illness or addictions is to develop an increased understanding,

which is why our government has created the public awareness campaign that the

minister has spoken about and my colleague has spoken about, and why we are

getting into high schools, and why we are trying to develop new and innovative

ways of helping patients with mental illness or addictions issues, decreasing

the discrimination or the stigma, demystifying, as some of us have phrased it

today, and to promote that greater understanding.

Government has also reached out to increase the understanding for those who

suffer, on how and when they can seek help, where to seek help, and providing

access to help, even to those who do not have access directly to the buildings

and where the services are housed.

Mr. Speaker, as a government we have put a focus on enhancing mental health

and home and community supports. We have enhanced services for addictions, both

substance addictions and gambling addictions. During my time as Minister of

Health, our government enhanced primary mental health services throughout the

Province. We announced the new Humberwood addictions centre in Corner Brook

which is designed to enhance the treatment of persons with addictions, including

non-medical detox. We introduced a new Mental Health Care and Treatment Act. We

started the process of establishing a new Eating Disorder Program, which is now

up and running.

We also carried out public awareness campaigns on gambling awareness. As

well, under other Ministers of Health, my colleague, our government has enhanced

the prevention and treatment services for gambling addictions. We have enhanced

services to help prevent and treat substance use and addictions. We focused on

youth addictions, and we have provided funding for a treatment centre for youth

with complex mental needs.

Our government has planned for an adult treatment center in Harbour Grace. We

have enhanced the child psychiatry services available at the Janeway, and we

have provided funding for a new residential treatment centre for children and

youth with complex mental health needs here in St. John's. We have provided

funding for a new residential treatment centre in Grand Falls-Windsor, and we

have funded new community-based projects focused on mental health and

addictions. We have also increased rural capacity to address mental health and

addictions issues.

Mr. Speaker, in St. John's, we have also announced the replacement of the

Waterford Hospital and in this year's Budget have provided an investment of $4.5

million to begin the process for the replacement of the Waterford Hospital. We

have increased the rural programming and staffing for mental health and

addictions issues. We funded the development of an interactive e-mental health

service, that I have spoken about a little earlier, to enhance services for

people in rural and remote areas, and the younger people in our Province who

Mr. Speaker, we have made strategic investments in infrastructure. We have

made investments in community groups, in programs, staff and new and innovative

ways of dealing and providing services. Improving our focus and making the

investments that we have made in the area of mental health and addictions will

provide both immediate and long-term benefits.

So, we have come a long way, we have provided significant investments and

significant thought on how to help the people most in need. We have a long way

to go, we will all admit that, but what we have provided, Mr. Speaker, is

significant. I am proud to stand today and to support the private member's

motion as put forward by my colleague.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Chair recognizes the hon. the Member for Signal

Hill-Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I am pleased to stand today and to speak to the private member's motion that

has been raised by the Member for Burgeo & La Poile. I am sorry, that is a

mistake. The Member for Baie Verte-Springdale, I apologize to him. I was reading

from the wrong page of the Orders of the Day, but I do know the difference

between these two members, so thank you.

There is no doubt, Mr. Speaker, that this motion and the numerous WHEREASes

in the motion certainly does paint a good picture of what government has been

doing since 2006 really, since I have been in the House, with regard to mental

health and treatment and care of those with mental health problems. I say going

back to 2006, even though I think the first

WHEREAS in the motion well it does

go back to 2005, it talks about 2005. When it comes to the Budget, yes, it goes

back to 2005, so it is quite a picture that is presented here.

I remember very clearly myself when I came into the House; I came in the

by-election in 2006. One of the very first pieces of legislation that I dealt

with was the Mental Health Care and Treatment Act, which we assented to in

December of 2006. It was an excellent piece of legislation. Actually the Member

for St. John's South, who just spoke, was the Minister of Health and Community

Services at the time and I remember bringing to him an issue that was a concern.

It had to do