April 28, 2005 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS Vol. XLV

No. 18

The House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Hodder): Order, please!

Admit persons to the press gallery.

Statements by Members

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Speaker has knowledge of two member's statements. The hon. the Member

for the District of Terra Nova and the hon. the Member for the District of St.

John's North.

The hon. the Member for Terra Nova.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. ORAM: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a group of individuals and

families who go widely unnoticed to many people. Foster parents, Mr. Speaker,

play a vital role in the lives of hundreds of children in this Province that

find themselves in difficult predicaments. These caregivers open their homes and

their hearts to children from all parts of this Province. In 2004, a total of

688 children came into the care of a Director of Child, Youth and Family

Services and were given residence with a foster family.

I know firsthand, Mr. Speaker, just how important foster families are. My

Aunt Geraldine is a foster parent. A number of years ago, when her own children

were raised, she and her husband Aubrey, opened their home to children who were

in need. In opening her home, and her family to these children she has given

them a stable and loving environment, something that every child deserves. While

a loving family should not be a privilege, it is easy to see that these children

consider it just that and their appreciation is quite evident. The children

affectionately refer to her as Aunt Ger and consider her to be a family member.

Mr. Speaker, my Aunt Geraldine tries to instill a sense of morals and

Christian values in these children. Whether that involves going to church each

Sunday, making sure that they take

part in household chores or checking their

homework. She has a genuine care and concern for these children.

While I mention my aunt, Mr. Speaker, I realize there are many others doing

the same thing. I would ask all hon. members to join with me today in paying

tribute to all foster parents in this great Province that go above and beyond

the call to ensure that these children receive the care and love they deserve.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's North.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDGLEY: Mr. Speaker, yesterday I was very pleased to attend the

first annual Premier's Athletic Awards ceremony held at the Holiday Inn here

in St. John's. During the ceremony, some ninety-five athletes were recognized

for their accomplishments in their various sports and they were awarded grants

in the amounts of either $500, $1,000 or $1,500 to help offset the cost

associated with training, based on an athlete's experience in competing at

local, national or the international level.

Most of us know just how difficult it is for any athletes to dedicate

themselves to excellence in their sports because if they are to reach the elite

level, there has to be an unwavering dedication to rigorous training. Indeed,

over the past few years athletes from Newfoundland and Labrador have

demonstrated that, even with our small population, we can compete and we can win

at the national and international level.

Mr. Speaker, our young athletes need our support and encouragement.

Therefore, I am delighted today to congratulate four of yesterday's group of

athletes who live in St. John's North. These are: Mike Pottle for baseball,

Hannah Moffatt for athletics, Laura Murray for swimming, and Nicholle Hamlyn for

rowing.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of the House to join with me in congratulating

these and all the athletes who were recognized yesterday.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: A further statement by the hon. the Member for St. John's

West.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS S. OSBORNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to commend the students, staff and student council of Cowan

Heights Elementary School on a read-a-thon held at the school last week.

This read-a-thon was sponsored by the school council and its purpose was

twofold. It served as a fundraiser for the school but, more importantly, it

promoted reading among the students. The event was embraced by the entire school

and the community. The read-a-thon was opened by the town crier and I, myself,

had the pleasure of reading the first story book to the students. A lantern was

passed from class to class for the entire week to signal reading time for the

students. Children were entertained by celebrity readers at various points as

representatives from local media, police forces, the arts and music industries

and sports teams participated in this worthwhile event.

Over the course of the week, the almost 500 students at Cowan Heights

Elementary School raised over $8,000. Perhaps more importantly, the read-a-thon

served as a wonderful learning tool as students embraced reading on a new level.

Mr. Speaker, I want to commend Cowan Heights Elementary School and all those

involved with this novel idea for their participation in this successful event

and ask all hon. members to join me in doing so.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Statements by Ministers.

Statements by Ministers

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to inform this hon. House, and young Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians, about the Council of the Federation Youth Internship Program.

This internship is aimed at encouraging Canadian youth to become actively

involved in public policy development, public service, government and political

life.

The Youth Internship Program is a paid internship for a period of twelve

months and will be located in the nation's capital, Ottawa. Applicants must be

twenty-five years of age or younger, graduated from either an undergraduate or

graduate program from a recognized university, and legally able to work in

Canada. They must also demonstrate an interest in Canadian politics, federalism,

and be able to communicate in both official languages.

Mr. Speaker, the Council of the Federation was formed in December of 2003 and

many strong initiatives for our country's youth have been developed. Last

June, young people from our Province participated in the Youth Forum which took

place at Niagara-on-the Lake.

I believe this internship will provide an invaluable experience for youth of

Newfoundland and Labrador. To work in the heart of the Canadian federation is a

great opportunity, and I strongly encourage young Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians to apply.

All of us in this House of Assembly realize what a tremendous privilege it is

to serve your fellow citizens. The Council of the Federation Youth Internship

Program is a positive initiative to allow our future leaders an early

opportunity to experience this privilege.

Mr. Speaker, the application deadline for the internship is Friday, May 20,

2005. Further information and application forms can be viewed at the Council of

the Federation Secretariat's Web site www.councilofthefederation.ca.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Further statements by ministers.

The hon. the Minister of Government Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS WHALEN: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge April 28 as National

Day of Mourning.

It is on this day each year that our thoughts are with the families of those

workers who have been killed while on the job.

Mr. Speaker, this day is recognized across Canada in all workplaces as a day

to remember those workers who have been killed or injured in some way as a

result of their employment. It is a solemn occasion, particularly due to the

fact that workplace accidents and illnesses can be prevented when we take

responsibility for health and safety.

While much has been accomplished over the years to greatly improve working

conditions, there is still much left to be done. Workplace health and safety is

an ongoing challenge. We must never let our guard down in our pursuit of safe

and healthy workplaces where every employee returns home safely at the end of

each shift.

Mr. Speaker, we must all do our part to eliminate job-related deaths and

injuries. Government, employers and employees all have a role to play in

ensuring that Newfoundland and Labrador workplaces are safe and injury free.

This can be accomplished if we all work together and make safety our priority.

As Minister of Government Services, I have responsibility for overseeing the

Occupational Health and Safety Branch.

I can assure this House and the people of the Province that we have an

extremely professional group of people dedicated to protecting the health and

safety of workers in this Province.

As a government, we also take our responsibility in this area very seriously.

We will continue to foster the development of an environment where employees can

go to work and know their safety is of the utmost importance.

Mr. Speaker, today I laid a wreath, on behalf of the government, at the Day

of Mourning ceremony.

I ask all members of this hon. House to take a few moments today to reflect

on the importance of our collective responsibilities in working together to make

the workplaces in our Province as safe as possible.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Further statements by ministers.

Oral Questions.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling of Documents.

Tabling of Documents

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Placentia & St. Mary's.

MR. MANNING: Mr. Speaker, the Government Services Committee have

considered the matters to them referred and have approved, without amendment,

the Estimates of Expenditure of the Department of Finance, the Department of

Transportation and Works, the Aboriginal Affairs segment of the Department of

Labour and Aboriginal Affairs, and the Public Service Commission.

MR. SPEAKER: If we could have consent of the House to have that included

under Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

AN HON. MEMBER: Yes.

MR. SPEAKER: Agreed.

Further Tabling of Documents.

Notices of Motion.

Notices of Motion

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury

Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I give notice that I will on tomorrow move that the House resolve itself into

a Committee of the Whole to consider certain resolutions relating to the

advancing of guaranteeing of certain loans made under the Loan and Guarantee

Act, 1957.

MR. SPEAKER: Further notices of motion.

The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources and Government House Leader.

MR. E. BYRNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

"An Act Respecting the Management of Government Information for the

Province." (Bill 16)

MR. SPEAKER: Further notices of motion.

Answers to questions for which notice has been given.

Petitions.

Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

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

MR. E. BYRNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Motion 1, in the name of the hon. Minister of Finance and President of

Treasury Board, to move that this House approves in general the budgetary policy

of the government, commonly known as the Budget Speech.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Education.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HEDDERSON: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about and in support of

the Budget that has been put forth by this government at this particular time. A

Budget, I might add, Mr. Speaker, that is certainly pointing a strategic

direction of this government as we move forward into 2005-2006. After eighteen

months in government, we certainly see our direction going in the best interests

of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Along that road, Mr. Speaker, there have been challenges, as there remains to

be challenges, but this government is prepared to meet those challenges head on,

as is demonstrated by this Budget which we put forth in this particular fiscal

year. A Budget, I might add, Mr. Speaker, that is entitled: A New Future. A

Renewed Pride . I, as a member of this Assembly, certainly take great pride

in our ability to move forth in any number of different areas. As in any budget,

it is a Budget that looks to the future, that looks at the needs of the people

in the various parts of this great Province of ours and moves in a direction

that can provide the services, the direction that is needed to move us along as

we go forward as a people.

In a general sense, Mr. Speaker, we have been able to, this year, move forth

in a number of the initiatives of our plan, our strategic planning for the

future of this particular Province. Overall, of course, our fiscal situation

certainly looks a lot different than it did with the presentation of our first

Budget last year. I say, positive, because we have certainly brought down the

deficit, which gave us the opportunity to move forward now with the money that

has become available because of the measures that we have taken to move forward

with initiatives that are initiatives, I say to you, Mr. Speaker, of investment,

that are initiatives for future growth and that are initiatives which are going

to bear well as we move forward with, again, our vision of where we should be as

a people, as a Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Again, we are investing strategically in any number of different areas. I

would say to you, Mr. Speaker, a Budget that looks at all the sectors of

Newfoundland and Labrador. Whether you live in a small community or whether you

live in one of the larger cities, this Budget certainly will look at the

specific needs that these different parts of the Province would present to us

and moving forward.

One of the main thrusts that I see as following from the aspect of a renewed

pride, a new future, is our aspect of culture. I specifically reference the

tourism, culture and recreation initiatives that are coming forward to, again,

build up in us a sense of a people, a people for whom we are moving forward in

an identity of who we are and what we might become.

Looking at the different ministries - and, of course, I could go down through

the Highlights, but given the time, Mr. Speaker, I would look at, first of all,

the people who I directly represent, which is my District of Harbour Main-Whitbourne,

and the some 12,000 constituents who fall in that particular area. I say, Mr.

Speaker, that, as a rural district, there are certainly many, many challenges

that present themselves to me, as a member, as I move forward.

I am delighted to say, Mr. Speaker, that this government has come forth with

a strategy, and not only a strategy but an action plan, that certainly would put

my district, a rural district, in a good position to move forward in any number

of different initiatives. One of the initiatives that the people, not

necessarily of my district but of my region, have been lobbying for over the

last number of years has been a dialysis unit in the Carbonear hospital, a

dialysis unit that would serve not only the needs of the greater Carbonear area

but certainly into my district as well. I am very pleased that the acting

Minister of Health and Community Services could be available last Friday to go

out and officially open the dialysis unit at the Carbonear hospital. Let me tell

you, Mr. Speaker, there was certainly a great sigh of relief throughout all of

the district, because we know that was a priority and a priority that certainly

has been delivered by this Budget, and we would thank the government for

bringing forth that particular initiative.

As well, when you look at my particular district, Mr. Speaker, when you are

serving the number of communities that my district consists of, there are other

issues as well. Another area in my district is our personal care homes. These

personal care homes have been lobbying for some assistance, as they provide such

a valuable, valuable service, Mr. Speaker, to the people not only in my district

but the surrounding area. Again, with regard to their ability to upgrade their

homes through things like sprinkler systems and so on, this government is moving

forward to ensure that the proper assistance is put in place so that these

personal care homes can deliver the quality service that is absolutely necessary

in order for our seniors to be properly cared for. Again, another initiative

that I am delighted to be able to stand on my feet and talk about.

The cultural pieces there: Roads, again, Mr. Speaker, seem to be an area

which - obviously, with my district being so close to the capital city and the

City of Mount Pearl and Paradise, this general metro area, there is a lot of

commuting back and forth between my district and the larger city area, and roads

play a very, very important part. Again, I am absolutely delighted to see this

government put forth $33.7 million to address the needs certainly not only of my

particular district but the Province at large, and being able to meet certainly

not all the needs - there are a great many needs, I know - but, again,

maintaining a steady stream of funding that would see the roads in my district

undergo some improvement in this particular fiscal year. Again, kudos to our

government for seeing it as a priority, searching out the needs and putting the

money in place that can certainly take care of a lot of those particular needs.

Again, Mr. Speaker, as a rural district, I do not have to remind the hon.

members in this House how important it is with regard to the Municipal and

Provincial Affairs Ministry and the great needs that are out there as we try to

address municipal services to our population. Harbour Main-Whitbourne are no

different from any other district in the sense that, with the rising cost of

this infrastructure, in particular water and sewerage - again, I am delighted

that the Minister of Municipal and Provincial Affairs has seen fit to

incorporate into his planning this year basically three different funds that

will see great improvements to our municipalities. We have the Municipal Rural

Infrastructure Fund, we have the Community Enhancement Program, and we have the

Multi-Year Capital Works Program, again putting funds into these three, I guess,

areas to ensure that the municipalities, the local service districts throughout

Newfoundland and Labrador, have an opportunity to move forth on their agenda in

trying to provide services to their constituents.

Mr. Speaker, I could go on and on as we talk about the initiatives, but I

leave it up to other members in this House to bring forth, I suppose, their look

at how progressive this particular Budget is in moving forth with initiatives

that are adequately addressing the needs of our particular Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, I would be remiss as well, given the time limit, as I move from

my responsibility as the Member for Harbour Main-Whitbourne - I move to the

ministry that I represent, which is, of course, the Department of Education. As

Minister of Education, I was absolutely delighted to see our government move

forward in such a bold and progressive manner with regard to education.

Mr. Speaker, as in all things, there are great needs that present themselves

to our government, and education, as I think everyone can truly attest, is, I

suppose, the heart, the backbone, the main way that we can prepare not only our

young people - because this Department of Education looks not only at specific

areas such as the K to 12, or simply post-secondary - this department is

responsible for the lifelong learning of every man, woman and child in this

Province. So, when we look at the learners that are there, Mr. Speaker, we are

talking about in excess of half a million Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who

have specific needs.

I say to you, Mr. Speaker, that I am confident that the Budget that has been

put forth with regard to education - I say to you that it is the second in

regard to the amount of money that is dedicated in the ministries, next to

health, and it is an important component. When we look at how we can distribute

those funds to make sure that the priority needs of the learners out there are

met, we certainly can talk about strategic planning.

On that, Mr. Speaker, I first of all would address the early childhood

learners. As most people are aware, it is a key area because the patterns that

are established in early childhood, the readiness skills that are established in

the early childhood years, are key to entry into the more formal education

system of K to 12 and beyond. So it is important, as a government, that we

realize the importance of early childhood care, early childhood learning.

On that point, again, the Ministerial Council that was a commitment of this

government last year is in place, it is up and running and moving forward along

with a secretariat; a division of childhood learning established within my

ministry to support that ministerial panel, that Ministerial Council, as we move

forward in filling in that gap of early childhood learning that is so, so

important.

With regard to the K to 12, and certainly with the K to 12 - I think if we

talk about the K to 12, Mr. Speaker, one of the main areas that has come back to

us as a need is to make sure that we have safe, secure learning environments;

that our schools are healthy; that our children are cared for and that they are

safe. We have to, as well, ensure that the resources are there.

With regard to that, Mr. Speaker, we have put in place $16 million provided

for the maintenance of the school buildings; an increase of over $8 million over

the budget of last year. With this $16 million, Mr. Speaker, I am confident that

the learning environments - in particular, the roofs, the windows, the doors,

that these particular needs will be met, and we are moving forward with that

initiative even as we speak. We have had challenges, and these challenges are

going to be addressed with this certain amount of money.

As well, with regard to school construction, the Herdman, the Mobile school

systems, $9.5 million to complete these previously approved projects and,

certainly, to move forward as we go into other projects as well.

On that as well, Mr. Speaker, I have to certainly congratulate the government

for their vision because part of what we are doing is trying to meet the

immediate needs, but, as importantly, to have the vision to get out ahead of the

needs that are going to be there in two years time, in three years time,

certainly in five and ten years time. We have asked the boards to bring forward

a strategic plan with regard to the buildings, with regard to the structures,

with regard to the systems, the configurations.

As we speak, Mr. Speaker, the boards are putting together their long-term

plans. As a matter of fact, central nova have already presented to their school

communities a vision, a draft plan, of where they, as a school board, would like

to see their school systems go over the next five years. That is generating good

discussion, consultation, and certainly at the end of that, we should have an

idea, a solid idea, as to where we should be going in that particular area.

As well, Mr. Speaker, the Budget set aside $250,000 for me, as a minister, to

use, to put together not only the plans of the individual boards, but of the

comprehensive plan for Newfoundland and Labrador so that we can properly

resource that over the next five or ten years.

Within the schools, Mr. Speaker, we certainly listened to what the school

communities were telling us. One of the commitments that this government made in

our Blue Book - if I could go back to that - eighteen months ago, was that we

were going to put in a strategic plan to bring down the class sizes in the area

that would be most beneficial. Of course, no one would disagree that the area

would be in the Primary, in the K to 3.

In this our second year, Mr. Speaker, we have redeployed fifty-two teachers

back into the system to move us along in that strategy, so that by 2007 we will

have in the primary grades no class beyond twenty-five. We see that as very

strategic planning and one which I am delighted to be able to say that we are

one year closer to that particular initiative.

On the other side of it, Mr. Speaker - just to go back to what I spoke about

when I first got on my feet - that an important part of where we are going as a

Province has to do with who we are as a people. Again, I reference the minister

with regard to culture, tourism and recreation and the cultural strategy that

his department has put in place, which we are a part of that in the education

ministry. We have put forth a cultural strategy in our schools, a $9 million

commitment over the next three years, that will see us, again, build up a

capacity within our young people to truly understand who they are, where they

came from, who they are as a people, and that will carry them on as they go on

into the future. We have deployed twenty-three teachers to help to augment the

teacher resources that are already in there, but apart from teachers, Mr.

Speaker, we have also put in a professional development component, we have put

in teaching resources, and we are engaged with the arts community to make sure

they come into the schools.

Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that we are restricted by time, and I believe

I am probably into the last minute or so of the time that is allotted to me. In

saying that, I didn't get into other aspects of the Budget.

Let me just say this, Mr. Speaker, that as a member of this government, as a

member who represents a rural district, I am more than pleased with the

initiatives that are put forth in this Budget. It is a budget that I believe,

Mr. Speaker, we have turned the corner on, not only in education, but we have

turned the corner in many different ways. As we go forward, this Budget will

allow us to fulfill the commitments that we made to the people of Newfoundland

and Labrador, commitments that are going to make this Province stronger, to make

our people stronger, and to make sure that we are the best province in this

great Country of Canada.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. T. MARSHALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is indeed a pleasure for me to rise in my place again today to take

part

in the speech commonly known as the Budget Speech. The last time I spoke in this

House was during the debate on Interim Supply. At that point I talked about the

items in the Budget that would have an affect on Western Newfoundland and, in

particular, the district I am pleased to represent here, the great District of

Humber East, and the communities that are contained in that district.

Hon. members, of course, will recall my remarks at that time. I called the

Budget a Corner Brook Budget in the sense that it was allowing the District of

Humber East, it was allowing the City of Corner Brook, an area that feels it may

have been forgotten over the past number of years by provincial governments in

terms of the allocation of its spending - I want to congratulate the Premier and

the ministers of this government for recognizing that and allowing the Humber

East area, allowing the Humber Valley area and the Bay of Islands area, a chance

to catch up with the government resources that have been allocated to different

parts of the Province. As I say, Humber East has been, in my view, not getting

its fair share over the last number of years, and I am certainly delighted that

this Budget intends to rectify that.

Building on the new MRI machine that the government announced and the Premier

recently opened at Western Memorial Regional Hospital in Corner Brook, I am

pleased to see that this Budget provided ample funds for additional world-class,

state-of-the-art, diagnostic equipment for Western Memorial Regional Hospital.

This will provide enhanced health care not only for the people of Corner Brook

and not only for the people of Western Newfoundland and the people of Humber

East, but indeed enhanced health care for the people of Newfoundland and

Labrador, the Island and Labrador.

Building on this new MRI machine, there was $260,000 for new ultrasound

equipment, modern ultrasound equipment. There was $800,000 provided for a new

nuclear medicine gamma camera at that hospital, which will certainly help. There

was $700,000 allocated for an endoscopy unit at the hospital, and monies were

also allocated for laparoscopic equipment at that hospital. In addition, and

what is very important, Mr. Speaker, this government has finally allocated funds

to enable the long-term care facility in Corner Brook to start.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. T. MARSHALL: Mr. Speaker, the long-term care facility in Corner Brook

has been talked about for many, many years. Finally, in this year's Budget, we

have funds to get the thing started.

Mr. Speaker, SGE Acres were contracted to examine the various sites that

would be available in the Corner Brook area as a suitable site for the new

long-term care facility. That study has now been completed. Two sites have been

selected, or at least have been designated for final selection by government.

One of the sites is a site behind the Sir Wilfred Grenfell College in Corner

Brook. This site is at the back of the college, near the parking lot. The other

site is a site on Elizabeth Street, in a residential

section of Elizabeth

Street.

Mr. Speaker, I am sure everyone will be interested to know that there have

been arguments for and against the two sites. I believe that health officials

would make the argument that a long-term care facility should be in a

residential area with obvious other residences. For that reason, there would be

a preference for the Elizabeth Avenue site.

The problem with that site is that there is a zoning difficulty. If that is a

site that is selected, the project will be delayed for about a year in order to

allow the rezoning process to be undertaken and in order to allow a full public

consultation process. As a result of that, the initial construction will not

start until the following year. That is not the case with the Sir Wilfred

Grenfell College site. That particular site is zoned so that most of the project

could proceed now. There would still be an area of land, maybe 30 per cent or 40

per cent of the land, that would have to be rezoned; but, given the zoning of

that property now, that rezoning, with the support of the Corner Brook City

Council would not take as long as a year and the rezoning would be completed in

a reasonable period of time so that the facility could proceed and site work

could start this fall.

I know I am looking forward to the Minister of Health, or the Acting Minister

of Health - I understand that a decision could be made as early as next week and

the final site selection will take place. I am optimistic that tenders will be

called for the initial site work, the site plan and the site work. I understand

that will involve site preparation and, I would imagine, water and sewer and

storm drainage as well. Hopefully that work will be done this fall and put the

project in a position that it could be completed fully, or at least the bulk of

the construction could take place next summer.

In addition to that, Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased - and, as I mentioned

before, the redevelopment of Herdman Collegiate will start. There is $3 million

allocated in that Budget. This will be a redevelopment. It is not a new school

but it will involve a redevelopment, and I am looking forward to the Minister of

Education, when he comes out to Corner Brook and holds a press conference and he

will show us the plans and everything that is intended for that school.

Certainly, I know everybody in the Province would agree that school had to be

redeveloped, and I am delighted that $3 million was allocated to get that going.

I assume - and maybe the Minister of Education will be able to tell us this -

that the work will start hopefully as soon as the kids are out school, as soon

as the summer vacation arrives, and we can get the workers in there right away

to start the redevelopment of this facility.

Mr. Speaker, as I spoke before on many of the items that affect the district,

I thought I would take this opportunity to speak about the department that I

have the honour to be the minister for, and that is as Minister of Justice and

Attorney General.

The justice system is one of society's most important institutions; but,

like other public institutions, it does face challenges. This year, the

government will make strategic and sustainable investments to enhance justice

services with improvements in technology and in infrastructure planning and in

security. We will build on measures that were commenced last year to enhance

policing services and strengthen our justice system.

When most people think of the justice system, Mr. Speaker, people think of

policing. I think that, as Minister of Justice and as Attorney General, the

biggest request, the most frequent requests I get are to meet with members of

municipal councils and Chambers of Commerce and local concerned citizens who are

concerned about the level of policing in their communities and would like to see

enhanced policing services.

Obviously, people want to feel safe in their homes and they want to see more

of a police presence. Because of this, we have worked closely with the RCMP. I

understand that, in the year 1995 - I know all hon. members will certainly be

interested in this - there were 424 RCMP officers in the Province. That year,

unfortunately, fifty-one officers were removed from the system. I think that we

are feeling the effects of that decision today with reduced police presence

throughout rural Newfoundland.

Between 1995 and the time that this government took office, there was a net

of forty RCMP officers taken out of the system. There were fifty-one, as I said,

taken out in 1995. More came out. More were put back in by previous governments.

The net result was that forty RCMP officers came out of the system. I was

therefore very pleased that, when this government took office last year, one of

the first things we did in the Budget was to put four new RCMP officers in the

system and, subsequent to that, with the consent of the Members of this House of

Assembly, an additional seven went in the system, so that was a total of eleven

RCMP officers last year, and this year, Mr. Speaker, there will be an additional

six RCMP officers, in this Budget, put back in the system. Four of them will be

deployed in rural Newfoundland and Labrador, as determined by the executive of

the RCMP. One will work with the new National Sex Offender Registry that will be

established, in addition to an RNC officer and a public employee who will be

hired by the RCMP to work there. Also, there will be an RCMP officer allocated

to Conne River. That is a total of seventeen new RCMP officers in two years, the

bulk of whom will be in rural Newfoundland.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. T. MARSHALL: Mr. Speaker, in addition, the Royal Newfoundland

Constabulary, we discovered, when we took office, had real needs. They had needs

for new equipment, they had needs for new manpower, and they had needs for

training, and a plan was put in place to deal with those needs over a period of

three years.

I was extremely pleased that the government has established, with Memorial

University of Newfoundland and Labrador, a program that will result in

seventy-five new police officers over the next three years. The first class will

be deployed, we anticipate, in September of this year.

That first class that is in training - there were originally thirty recruits

accepted into that training. I think one withdrew, that leaves twenty-nine;

fifteen of them are women and fourteen are men. We have a majority of women

making up the first year class, which I was very pleased to see. The government

has given a commitment to hire not less than 25 per cent of that class. When the

class is deployed, possibly we might even hire more than that. The first class

of recruits, a minimum of twenty-five new RNC recruits will be deployed in St.

John's, in Corner Brook and in Labrador West - again, rural Newfoundland, we

anticipate, by September of this year.

I recently met with Chief Deering. Chief Deering told me how pleased he was

with the program. He told me that morale of the force is high and he is

extremely pleased with the quality of the cadet that they have attracted as part

of this new effort with Memorial University, and we are pleased as well.

Next year there will be another twenty-five. The government has also

committed to a third year of twenty-five. Last year the government also put in

resources to obtain six new

RNC officers. That will be a total of eighty-one new RNC officers over a

three-year period. Now, we realize, Mr. Speaker, that through attrition there

will be retirements as well, but the net effect is that there will be forty-five

new officers over a three-year period. That will certainly help address the

resource needs of the RNC.

In addition, Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to say that the government has put

additional resources for training for the RNC. I think evidence that was

presented at the Lamer Inquiry, and at the Reid and Power Inquiries, certainly

showed that there was need for more training. I am glad the government has

stepped up to the plate there to provide that training. There will be training,

not only in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, but training from outside

the Province as well. This will all be extremely helpful in ensuring that we

have, or we continue to have, a first-class police force. We are fortunate to

have, in fact, two world-class forces here in Newfoundland and Labrador, where

we follow the two-force policing model.

Mr. Speaker, in addition, the RNC have been provided with equipment

resources. They were provided with money to acquire new vehicles; they were

provided with funds to repair old vehicles, which is a problem they were having;

they have been provided with money for bulletproof vests; for Tasers; for

semi-automatics. The revolvers will all be replaced and there will be training

on new semi-automatics for the police as well. Also, with recommendations coming

out of the Reid-Power Inquiry, there will be collapsible batons.

The hon. Member for Labrador West had a concern about the fact - he wanted to

make sure that all our RNC officers had cellular phones, and there will be a

cellular phone in every RNC vehicle. I believe there are thirty-five more

cellular phones that have recently been ordered for the RNC.

So, it is important that the RNC be given the resources that they need to do

the job we are asking them to do, because here on the Northeast Avalon, we all

know that because of drugs there has been an increase in property crimes. The

property crimes have gone up quite drastically in the last number of years.

Thankfully, there has been a decrease in violent crimes.

I have met with Chief Deering of the RNC and I have met with Assistant

Commissioner Lynch of the RCMP, and we have discussed that situation. The Chief

of Police has indicated to me that the plan that was put in place is a good one

and he says it will work. Now, he also said that, obviously, if we could give

him an extra 300 police officers he would love to have them. He feels the plan

will work, and we will ensure, to the best of our ability, with the help and

assistance of all members of this House of Assembly, that the police will be

provided with the manpower they need, with the training they need, and with the

resources they need to be a first-class police force for the people of this

Province

Mr. Speaker, another thing we are doing in the Department of Justice this

year, is that we are rolling out to the Western

section of the Province a court

security program. Most members will know from times that they go down and visit

the courts or they might see on the nightly news, that we have a deputy sheriff

system in Newfoundland that provides court security to the courts. You will

probably see these officers in their uniforms and in many cases wearing the

Kevlar vests for protection. They are seen on television taking people who have

been remanded to the courts, in and out of the court.

This system only exists - this resource has only been provided to the courts

in the City of St. John's, the courts on this side of the Overpass. And, Mr.

Speaker, that is not acceptable. We ask the people who work in the court system,

we ask our judges to perform a very, very important service. These judges

adjudicate disputes between members of society. They incarcerate people. We call

upon them to be independent and to perform that role, and we have to make sure

that in performing that role that they are truly independent and impartial. We

cannot have a system where our judges, the people who will resolve disputes

between our citizens, can be harassed or threatened or intimidated in anyway.

Therefore, we have to make sure that there is a court security system in place.

I understand, in 1994 it was the intention of the government of the day to bring

this court security system out to the court in Corner Brook, but for budgetary

reasons that didn't happen. I am extremely pleased that this government is now

bringing this out to the Provincial Court in Stephenville and to the Supreme and

Provincial Courts in Corner Brook, and I am very hopeful and optimistic that

next year we will bring it out to the courts in Central Newfoundland, that is

Grand Falls and Gander, and thereafter to Labrador and to the Eastern

section of

the Province other than the Northeast Avalon. We are doing it on the basis of

the number of cases that are taking place in these courts. The courts in the

Western region are the courts that have the highest number of cases, apart from

the courts here in St. John's, so we are starting on the West Coast, next

would be Central, and hopefully we will get it done in the reasonable future.

Mr. Speaker, we are also continuing with the RCMP telecommunications system.

This is an officer protection issue. It is the building of a new

telecommunication in order to improve police response time and the delivery of

services to Central Newfoundland. The Budget provided $50,000 to prepare for

implementation, while subsequent budgets will provide $635,000 on an annualized

basis for ongoing equipment and operational costs. This initiate will build on

the expansion that we announced last year that benefitted the Avalon Peninsula,

the Bonavista Peninsula in rural Newfoundland, and the Burin Peninsula in rural

Newfoundland. This year it will be extended into Central Newfoundland and next

year we hope to bring it to Western Newfoundland and to the balance of the

Province.

Mr. Speaker, the Budget also provides for planning for new courthouses, in

particular for a new combined supreme and provincial court building in Corner

Brook. There is $400,000 in the Budget for that. Mr. Speaker, the Department of

Justice set up a new Courts Administration Advisory Board. This was a new

approach, it has never been done in this Province before. I have to say the idea

wasn't mine. We are following a model that Manitoba initiated. Sitting on that

committee will be the Chief Justices of the three courts in the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador. There is Chief Judge Reid from the Provincial Court

of Newfoundland and Labrador, there is Chief Justice Derek Green of the Supreme

Court of Newfoundland and Labrador Trial Division, and there is Chief Justice

Wells of the Newfoundland Court of Appeal. That committee set up sub-committees

dealing with the needs of the courts in the future. We have looked at the

planning needs for courts in Corner Brook, for Stephenville, and for St. John's.

Also, I should mention that the planning for the courthouse in Clarenville was,

in fact, completed a number of years ago. Those plans are done and we intend to

complete the planning process; because, as Chief Justice Derek Green did, in

fact, indicate in an address at the opening of the court last fall, and in a

further address to the Canadian Bar Association, he said: Even if it does take

ten years before we get the courts, the time to start the planning is now.

We have heeded the call. This government has heeded the call of the Chief

Justice, and we will do the planning to provide for the courts of the future.

Mr. Speaker, another initiative of the Department of Justice this year - and,

by the way, Mr. Speaker, I think it is important to point out that initiatives

from the department this year will create approximately twenty-seven new

positions in the Province. I just want to say briefly, Mr. Speaker, where those

positions will be. There will Victim Services new positions in Carbonear, in

Clarenville, in Grand Falls-Windsor, in Corner Brook , in Stephenville, in Port

Saunders, and in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. That is rural Newfoundland, Mr.

Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. T. MARSHALL: In addition, there will be court security people hired

in Corner Brook; four in Corner Brook and two in Stephenville. There will five

new Provincial Court positions, two Supreme Court positions, the RNC officer

that will be assigned to the National Sex Offender Registry, the new RCMP

officer assigned to the National Sex Offender Registry, a public service

employee working with the RCMP as well, four regular members of the RCMP, and

one in Conne River. These are twenty-seven positions, most of which will be in

rural Newfoundland -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. T. MARSHALL: - because this government recognizes the importance of

rural Newfoundland, and this government will continue to ensure that resources

are made available to all people in Newfoundland and Labrador, regardless of

what part of the Province in which they may live.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Human Resources, Labour and

Employment.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS BURKE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am quite pleased to be able to stand today and speak to the Budget and

highlight some of the initiatives that are happening within the Department of

Human Resources, Labour and Employment and, as well, in my capacity as Minister

Responsible for the Status of Women, some initiatives in the Women's Policy

Office.

Mr. Speaker, before I address some of these issues, I would just like to

build on some comments just made by the Minister of Justice. Certainly,

representing the area of St. George's-Stephenville East, to hear that we will

be having court security in our courthouse in Stephenville is something that is

very welcome; because the courthouses right across this Province, no matter if

they are located in an urban or more rural setting, deal with all kinds of

offenders on a regular basis, and to be able to introduce security in that

courthouse, I think, is a move in the right direction.

Another initiative by the Minister of Justice that was just spoken to, as

well, is in relation to being able to provide victim services to children. That

is also very important, Mr. Speaker, because Victim Services certainly provide

the assistance that people need as they move through the court system. As a

Province, we have not been able to offer these services to children who are

probably some of the people most traumatized by the whole legal system. I also

support that as a move in the right direction. As Minister Responsible for the

Status of Women, I certainly feel that being able to provide victim services to

children is something that was long overdue in this Province.

Mr. Speaker, we have victims, unfortunately, in this Province because we

continue to have violence within the Province. One of the initiatives of this

government is the Violence Prevention Initiative. We came in on a previous

Violence Prevention Initiative in the last couple of years, and we had a look at

the initiative and what was working and how we could improve that initiative,

and we held a forum in March where we brought together people from across

Newfoundland and Labrador, from the grassroots, who are involved in the various

regional councils that deal with violence prevention. From that forum we have

some suggestions and some ideas, but, most importantly, we heard in that forum

what is working, and the support that we have in this Province for our rural and

regional councils to be able to deal with violence; not just in rural

Newfoundland, but these councils exist throughout the Province and certainly

here in St. John's as well.

We will continue with the Violence Prevention Initiative. This year we

announced $500,000 to continue with the initiative basically as it has been set

up, but we will be looking at ways of coming together, with the information that

came from the forum and an evaluation that was done on the program, and put

together a Violence Prevention Initiative that will bring us into the future.

Mr. Speaker, I certainly look forward to having that initiative finalized so

that we can present it to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, but I feel

there is support for a further Violence Prevention Initiative, and some of the

good work that is being done across this Province certainly needs to continue.

One effort that comes to mind, that I felt was a very positive message, a

very good tool to use with children, was a book that was written by the Grand

Falls-Windsor Regional Council for the Violence Prevention Initiative, and I

urge anyone who would like to deal with the issues of bullying to access that

book that was put out by that regional council. I think it was work very well

done, and something that will be in this Province for quite some time.

Mr. Speaker, last summer, in August, I had the opportunity to tour Coastal

Labrador, and we visited the coastal communities. When I was in Coastal

Labrador, I had the opportunity to meet with women and women's groups, and

health providers, particularly nurse practitioners who provide health services

to women. I listened to their concerns and their issues and tried to integrate

some programs, some services, that would help meet the needs in the Aboriginal

community.

Mr. Speaker, the meetings that were held in Labrador last summer fed into a

federal-provincial conference that we had here in Newfoundland and Labrador in

September, where we had the federal Minister Responsible for the Status of Women

as well as the provincial ministers here. One of the agenda items that was

discussed was certainly issues regarding Aboriginal women, and the fact that

women who live in our Aboriginal communities are at a much higher risk or have

been victims of violence.

Mr. Speaker, that is just not right. No one in Newfoundland and Labrador, or

in the country of Canada, should become a victim of violence, and in no

circumstances should we accept the fact that certain communities experience more

violence than others. I think it just gives us more ammunition to go in and be

able to support these communities to deal with their own issues.

Mr. Speaker, as a result of my meetings in Labrador last summer, and from the

emphasis that was put on issues regarding Aboriginal women, this year in the

Budget we have been able to put aside $20,000 - we announced $20,000 - for a

conference to deal with Aboriginal women's issues, particularly around

violence. This will be a conference that will be held in Labrador and that will

be planned by the women leaders in the Aboriginal community. It will be a forum

for them to come together to do some capacity building to identify their issues

and to assist us, as government, to be able to prioritize and see what is

important in the Aboriginal community and what types of efforts will be

necessary to deal with some of the issues.

Mr. Speaker, in addition to that, we have also announced this year, through

the Women's Policy Office, that we have $70,000 for the shelter in Hopedale. I

had the opportunity to visit the shelter in Hopedale. They had no operating

funds and were unable to open. It is a very needed facility in Hopedale. The

women in that community, if they were victims of violence and needed to get away

from an abusive partner, really had no place to go for support within the

community. The centre was there and the women's movement, the women's

community in Hopedale, really wanted funding to be able to get that place open

to offer a safe haven for women in Hopedale. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to

say that we announced $70,000 for the shelter in Hopedale so that the women of

that community will have a place of safety.

In addition, Mr. Speaker, during our forum that we held in March here in St.

John's, where we looked at the violence prevention initiative, there were some

suggestions at that time that the Aboriginal community felt that some of the

literature and some of the information that was available regarding violence

prevention was not necessarily available in the Aboriginal languages in

Labrador. They felt, because of that, there was some - in some way, they felt

that they were at a disadvantage.

Mr. Speaker, we have also been able to announce $100,000 to address some of

the issues within the Aboriginal communities. Particularly, being able to

transcribe some of the information, some of the pamphlets, some of the public

education into the Aboriginal languages so that the people of Labrador do not

feel that they are at a disadvantage when it comes to being able to access this

information from any other person who lives in this Province.

Mr. Speaker, another important initiative that we were able to fund was an

increase in the grants to the women's centres in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The women's centres were originally funded by the federal government, who

pulled away from the women's centres, and the Province had to step in and step

up to the plate when the federal government walked away from this Province and

no longer funded these centres. These centres have been funded for a number of

years at $50,000 a year grant. Last year, despite our fiscal situation and the

fact that we had to practice such restraint, we were able to increase the

funding to the women centres last year from $50,000 to $55,000.

Mr. Speaker, I am really pleased to indicate this year that we are able to

increase the funding for each of the eight women's centres in this Province by

another $10,000. They have gone from $50,000 to $55,000 to now $65,000. This is

an area where I think we can still continue to work to be able to recognize the

work being done by the women centres across Newfoundland and Labrador. These

centres provide a valuable service to our communities. They provide front line

information and support to women, and the women who need to figure out what

services are available and where they need to go for support. They also provide

advocacy within the women's movement as well. They fill a very important role

within our communities. The workers and the board members who operate these

councils certainly need to be commended for the work that they are doing.

Mr. Speaker, other than the Women's Policy Office, we have certainly had

some initiatives within the Department of Human Resources, Labour and Employment

that I feel are very worthy to mention to the people of Newfoundland and

Labrador, because we have been able to look at that department. This department,

in essence, for the last seven or eight years has moved forward. In 1997 this

department was created. It came from the former Department of Social Services,

where income support and other services - whether it is child protection or

young offender services - were lumped in one department. The break was made and

the Department of Human Resources and Employment, at the time, was created and

has now expanded to be considered the Department of Human Resources, Labour and

Employment. This department focuses, primarily, on the Income Support Program

and being able to assist people who are on income support to move into the

labour market. The primary focus of this department is the labour market

attachment for people receiving income support.

Mr. Speaker, we can continue on with passive measures with regards to

offering income support to people in Newfoundland and Labrador. I do not think

we need to focus our efforts solely on determining if somebody is eligible for

income support and then making sure they receive their cheque. This is an

administrative function that is very important that we need to process, but I

think the real efforts, the more active measures, need to be into employment and

career services. There is more to this department than providing an income

support cheque. This department has to also work with people who are receiving

income support to be able to address the barriers and be able to help people

work through these barriers so that they can make a realistic attachment to the

labour market. To enable us, as a department, to be able to do that, we

announced that over the next three years we will be investing $2 million into

our employment and career services. In order to do that, we need to be able to

make sure we have the staff to do it and they have the right skills to be able

to offer the employment and career services. Mr. Speaker, that could be

assisting clients in the identification of barriers to pay for supports, to help

them address the barriers or it could be working with the employers to ensure

that there are appropriate subsidies that they can take people into the

workforce for a certain period of time and making that labour market attachment

would be very important for the long-term success of that particular individual.

So, to be able to invest $2 million over the next three years, I think, is a

very positive initiative for this department.

Mr. Speaker, another problem that was noted within the Department of Human

Resources, Labour and Employment deals with our young people. When a young

person turned eighteen years old, they were no longer eligible for income

support as a family unit. So, what was happening, is when a person turned

eighteen years old, whether they were in school or not, a family would actually

lose approximately $250 off their income support monthly payment. The young

person could then apply for income support in their own right, which would

amount to, approximately, $96 a month. So, the family would be out about $146 a

month, for basically no reason, other than the fact that a young person turned

eighteen. What is troubling about that is that a lot of times young people turn

eighteen while they are still in the high school system, while they are in Grade

12 or Grade 11. The family has the same needs, they have the same number of

children in school, but they have their income drop for no apparent reason.

Mr. Speaker, commencing in September this year, we have announced that we

have $600,000 for our high school initiative program. What that means is that a

family who is receiving income support and have a young person who turns

eighteen years old, they will not see any reduction in their income support

while that person remains in high school. That will also include the months of

July and August when the person actually finishes school. I think that is a very

positive move for families, and the fact that young people need to stay in

school and complete their high school education.

Earlier this year, or last year, we had a study done on the intergenerational

dependency on income support, and it showed that the key determining factor as

to whether or not a person continues the cycle of income support with their

family, or is able to break it, hinges primarily with high school education.

Mr. Speaker, we know how important high school education is, in order for

some families to be able to break the cycle of receiving income support;

therefore, this initiative is based primarily on that research and is there to

assist families and to assist young people.

Mr. Speaker, we also have announced an additional $250,000 for the

Newfoundland and Labrador Child Benefit, and there will be an increase in the

first child rate for families who do receive this benefit.

Mr. Speaker, over the years, the families receiving income support, or

low-income families, have seen some increases in the Child Benefit, but it seems

there is another group of individuals in our Province who probably have not seen

much increase in any rates over the years. Mr. Speaker, I am referring there to

single people, or couples without children. In order to address the fact that

they have not had increases for quite some time, we have announced $1.8 million

to address single people and childless couples. What that amounts to is a 1 per

cent increase in July of this year, and a further 1 per cent increase in January

of this year.

Although a modest increase, it is a move in the right direction, and it is

recognition that there is a group of people out there who have not seen

increases certainly to the same extent of people with families. In saying that,

we continue to have an increase in the Child Tax Benefit and we still recognize

the importance of being able to meet your needs when you do have children.

Mr. Speaker, we also have announced over $6 million in the Student Investment

and Opportunities Corporation, which will primarily help the youth of this

Province. Certainly, with their career moves and as they move into the labour

market, we will be able to address some concerns through the SIOC.

Mr. Speaker, last year when the departments were reconfigured, the Department

of Post-Secondary and Youth Services moved, with Post-Secondary going into the

Department of Education and Youth Services coming into the Department of Human

Resources, Labour and Employment.

Mr. Speaker, Youth Services provides a very valuable service in this

Province. We certainly have some employment programs and career and employment

programming that addresses the needs of our youth. What was really disturbing,

as I looked at some of the numbers and statistics for our employment programs,

was the fact that a lot of our youth at risk, a lot of youth from low-income

families, or income support families, were not availing of the programs that

were set up for these very people, for the youth at risk.

Mr. Speaker, the take-up on the employment programs of Youth Services for

youth at risk was approximately 7 per cent. So, Mr. Speaker, we have set a goal

that in the next three years we will address, through our youth employment

programs, youth at risk, and we will increase the take-up on this program from 7

per cent to 50 per cent. I think that is quite a goal for us to set. Mr.

Speaker, there is a lot of work that needs to be done, but if we are providing

services to youth at risk in this Province then we need to ensure that we are

actually targeting the people for which this program is set up, and the needs

there.

Mr. Speaker, we have also announced, this year, something that I am very

proud to be able to announce: $200,000 to develop a strategy on poverty

reduction. Mr. Speaker, we need to make links between poverty and gender,

poverty and health, poverty and housing, poverty and education, poverty and

taxation and financial policies, and we need to do it in a co-ordinated way.

Mr. Speaker, there are many departments of government that need to address

poverty reduction, and it seems that we have been able to do it with one

department addressing it in a certain way and another department making another

announcement; but, Mr. Speaker, we need a cross-departmental strategy so that we

are all working together, so that a housing policy does not affect a financial

policy, or a taxation policy does not affect Child Tax Benefits. We need to be

able to look to make sure that we have a comprehensive way of dealing with

poverty. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to say that the Department of Human

Resources, Labour and Employment will be taking the lead in this particular

strategy.

Mr. Speaker, this government feels that we have had the highest rate of child

poverty in Canada, and in ten years we want to reduce that so we have the lowest

rate of child poverty in the country. Mr. Speaker, there is no way that can be

accomplished without a strategic plan that we need to follow and guide us as we

continue to address poverty. Mr. Speaker, the numbers will be quite high. The

initiatives that we need to address down the road will come with a price tag,

and, Mr. Speaker, as a government we will be able to look at it and see what

initiatives will actually help us reduce the amount of poverty. Mr. Speaker, in

saying that, we also have to be consistent in what we are saying, and there are

a number of different ways to measure policy. I think that we are probably going

to focus on the LICOs after tax statistics for poverty. As I say that, Mr.

Speaker, people often look at information which could be the LICOs pre-tax or

the Market Basket studies. We need to be consistent and we need a strategy that

provides the consistency and provides us with targets and measurable outcomes. I

am certainly looking forward to development of that strategy as we try to move

this Province into prosperity.

Mr. Speaker, I also want to comment that this Budget has seen an increase of

$411,000 under the Labour Market Development Agreement that will assist people

with disabilities, and it will assist people with disabilities in making an

attachment to the labour market. Our focus is certainly on helping people move

into the labour market. Mr. Speaker, some people experience far more barriers

than others, whether it is people with disabilities, whether it is physical or

mental challenges, and we need to be able to address that and provide the added

support that people need if they are going to make an attachment to the labour

market.

Mr. Speaker, there are also other people who have a lot of difficulty making

an attachment to the labour market, and we need to work with those people as

well. We will certainly be expanding our pilot project where we work with single

parents here in St. John's to another part of this Province where we will be

able to address some of the barriers that single parents face as they try to

move into the workforce. We all know that in order to move into the workforce

you need to be able to provide the equipment and the clothing that you need to

go to work. You also need certain education and training. Mr. Speaker, single

parents always have to deal with the issue of child care and transportation.

Mr. Speaker, this year we have $500,000 in grants to address child poverty.

One initiative is $250,000 to the Kids Eat Smart Program. Mr. Speaker, there was

some question as to why that was reduced from the $500,000 grant last year.

Based on our information from that foundation, we felt that a $250,000 grant was

sufficient to maintain that program in the Province for this coming year.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I remind the hon. minister that her time has expired.

MS BURKE: By leave?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: By leave.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the minister, by leave.

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, the Kids Eat Smart Program has corporate sponsors

and has a financial surplus right now, and with our grant they certainly will be

able to meet their $899,000 budget for next year.

Mr. Speaker, we also have $250,000 set aside to offer services - I am not

sure how it is going to be set up right now, but we are actively working on it.

It deals with social inclusion and it will deal with youth who are unable to

participate in extra curricular or recreational activities because of issues of

poverty.

Social inclusion is a part of poverty that sometimes gets overlooked. If we

want young people to grow with confidence, feel part of their community, be able

to contribute to the community and we want to build capacity within that

community, these people need to realize that they are very much a part of the

community and they need to participate in these activities in order to develop

self-esteem and confidence.

Mr. Speaker, I think this is a move in the right direction. It addresses

poverty. It addresses social inclusion, and I am also proud to say that these

initiatives will primarily be based in rural Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, I feel that the Women's Policy Office and the Department of

Human Resources, Labour and Employment is moving in the right direction. We

certainly have a strong social agenda and I think social policy, along with

economic policy, developed together and not mutually exclusive is what this

Province needs in order to move towards prosperity.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER (Fitzgerald): Order, please!

The Chair has to ask if the hon. Member for Gander has already spoken in the

Budget Debate?

The hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. E. BYRNE: By leave, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Does the hon. Member for Gander have leave to speak again?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: By leave.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Gander.

MR. O'BRIEN: I thank my hon. colleagues for the opportunity to speak in

this hon. House again today -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. O'BRIEN: - and stand and speak in favour of this Budget. I must

agree with my hon. colleague, the minister who spoke just in front of me, that

we are definitely - not only is her department on the path in the right

direction we, as a government, are on a path of prosperity and a path of a

bright future for Newfoundland and Labrador. I firmly feel in my heart that is

where we are headed, and I think we will achieve it. It has been a long haul in

eighteen or so months that we have been government, but I will tell you now,

that it has been a short haul. I have always been a firm believer - in business

for close to thirty years - that the best laid plans are the plans that will

succeed. We have to, as a government, make sure that we do things in a slow,

strategic, precise way where we can achieve those goals, because if you do not,

as I said before, things will come up on a day-to-day basis that will throw

those plans off. If you have it well laid out those things can be dealt with in

a timely manner and we will move forward in regards to Newfoundland and

Labrador.

As a past pharmacist, Mr. Speaker, in my profession that I entered many, many

moons ago - I would hate to say how long ago it was, then people will know

exactly what my age is. I have seen a lot in health care over the last thirty

years. I have seen this government - and I think one of our hon. colleagues

across the House spoke at one time in this House and said it was the largest

influx of cash ever inserted in health care since the 1960s. Now, I would not be

able to confirm that because, for the simple reason, I was not involved in

politics then. I was quite young and would not be able to remember, but I think

the hon. member is right, that is what we have to do. We have to follow the

guidelines of Health Canada and we have to reduce the wait times. As a

pharmacist, over the counter, as I said before, I listened to the customers and

listened to my patients say that the thing they wanted was to access service and

diagnostic services in a timely manner and at a reasonable distance. I think

that is very, very important to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Also, Mr. Speaker, we have been cognizant and receptive and we have done a

fair number of consultations with the medical field in regards to adding

twenty-five new drugs to the Newfoundland prescription drug program. That is

very, very important to me, as a pharmacist, because time and time again I had

patients come up to the counter with their prescriptions and we had to turn them

down because the drug was not on the Newfoundland prescription drug program. Now

those twenty-five drugs are there, so they can not come up. They might have to

fill out some special authorization forms, doctor wise, and send it in for

approval and what not. That is only a very short process and a timely process.

We should be cognizant that we are spending our monies in the right way and each

and every one of the patients are getting their drugs in a timely manner, but we

also have to be very, very careful that we are not over prescribing or

prescribing the wrong thing.

So that process is in place as a check balance, and I agree with that because

at times, over the thirty years I have seen a lot of things happen in pharmacy

and what not. The doctor can only respond to what has been said to him in the

office. They are very, very professional people and are helping us out in

regards to their advice to all the drugs. We would have wished that we could

have added more, but that was not possible at this particular time. We will get

to it, because as I said earlier, we are on the right path and a path of a

bright future for Newfoundland and Labrador. Part of that path is health care in

Newfoundland and Labrador.

It brings to mind, only just a week ago we had an issue in Central

Newfoundland in regards to cancer treatment. Even though it was not in the

Budget at that particular time, this government reacts and shows that it has a

compassionate side. We had various officials go out to Central Newfoundland,

review the situation out there, and then we made an announcement on Wednesday

past, I think, in regard to a cancer treatment centre in Grand Falls-Windsor and

the hospital there, and also an insertion of about $350,000 worth of cash in the

James Patton Memorial Hospital, to create a new cancer treatment centre there

that is really equal to the one in Grand Falls.

Mr. Speaker, I must say at this point in time, from my own professional point

of view, that the cancer treatment centre, a true sense of a cancer treatment

centre, could not work in Central Newfoundland to the region that regional

authority, that health authority, covers, because the geographic land mass is

the size of New Brunswick. The people are not densely populated in one place so

you need to stretch it out in service. There are two really densely populated

areas, one to the west and one to the east. We see fit to put two in to service

all of the people there where they would not have to be away from their homes

and they could access their loved ones which is very, very important in that

process. We recognized that need and we announced that last Wednesday. I am

very, very proud of that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. O'BRIEN: I must also say, at this particular time, that my hon.

colleague from Terra Nova, my hon. colleague from Bonavista North, and my hon.

colleague from Windsor-Springdale, were at the Caucus table. They were advising

the minister, the Acting Minister of Health, and also, really, the minister,

because we had all talked to the minister prior to him getting sick, I guess,

out in Gander. He was well taken care of out there, Mr. Speaker. In the

meantime, we were all there and we were, I guess, very, very broad-minded in

regard to the region. We were not only just thinking about our particular

districts but we were thinking about all of the people that live in Central

Newfoundland. We reacted to that and I think the government has done very, very

well.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. O'BRIEN: Education, Mr. Speaker, is very important in this Province

as well, and I am glad to see there is $26 million that is being carved out of

the Budget this year for infrastructure. That is going to be very, very

important, because during the election campaign in October, 2003 I heard, and

heard loud, that the teachers wanted to reduce their class size, they needed

better schools, they needed a better system and they needed to offer more

programs. Working on 500,000 people and - I cannot remember exactly how many

students are there, 170,000 or 200,000 students in a Province. We have to react

to that in infrastructure and get new schools strategically located where we can

offer the full range of programs within the educational system. That is what we

are trying to do, Mr. Speaker, is make sure that our young are well educated and

well educated to go out into the world. Hopefully some of them will become the

leaders - and I know they will - of this great Province of ours, Newfoundland

and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, Innovation, Trade and Rural Development is very, very, very

important to this Island of ours and Labrador. The minister has worked very,

very diligently in regard to going across the Province, meeting with various

groups, listening to their needs, and making sure she understands what is

happening outside in rural Newfoundland and outside in Labrador. She has done

that over the last year. As I said previously, the best laid plans are the plans

that succeed, and that is exactly what she has done. She has laid out her plans,

she has her foundation there, I suppose, if you want to put it there, if you

want to compare it to building a house. She is in the process now of building

that house, building that structure. I think, when she is finished over the next

little while - and that will not take as long as building the foundation,

because she aims to move forward now in a timely fashion in regard to growing

the economy of rural Newfoundland, and diversifying that economy, and giving the

people out there a fighting chance to have their businesses survive and have

their dreams and expectations of the world realized. That is what they are

looking for, and there are great entrepreneurs out there.

I have heard, time and time again, that the backbone of the economy, the

backbone of Newfoundland and Labrador, the backbone of Canada, is the

small-and-medium sized business, but when it came done to actually supporting

that small-and-medium sized business, there was no support for it, Mr. Speaker.

That is what I see, very limited at the least, especially for the new, young

entrepreneurs with new ideas to bring to the table. It was very, very hard to

get it from, if you are going to compare the baseball from the dugout to the

home plate or first base.

Mr. Speaker, the minister and the department and the Cabinet have seen fit

that they are going to top up the existing $2.1 million existing Small Business

Seed Capital Equity Program by another $7.9 million, giving a $10 million

revolving fund that will provide investment and provide small loans in regard to

the small-and-medium sized business. They can go there and access that fund when

they meet the criteria that is set down by the department, which is going to be

upfront. They will have access to that money and they will go to work in their

small communities, in rural Newfoundland. That is very important, you know, to

this city, very important to Corner Brook, very important to Grand

Falls-Windsor, and very important to Gander, in regard to growing our economy,

Mr. Speaker, because if their economy does not grow, ours does not grow. That is

the way it is, because my business was built not only on Gander, but it was

built on rural Newfoundland. They came in and supported me, so I am proud to say

that this government is moving in that direction.

Yes, our tourism and our fishery, especially our fishery, are very, very,

very important to this Province, but we have to diversify, Mr. Speaker, because

it is a moving world, it is a world that changes by the day. You know, one time

you could put your eggs in one basket, but in this day and age, you cannot put

you eggs in one basket. You have to have your eggs in many baskets, and that is

exactly what this minister is trying to do. That is why she went across the

Province and established a Rural Secretariat, which is very, very important.

There are going be nine councils with one provincial council advising Cabinet,

advising the Premier, in regard to rural Newfoundland and what rural

Newfoundland needs.

They will go to work. I think they are going to be established after April

29, and then they will move forward. They will gather their information and put

their information in a document fashion, I suppose, and they will advise the

minister and advise the Cabinet in regard to that. These are the people who see

things in rural Newfoundland that we cannot see on a day-to-day basis, because

we are carrying on the government for Newfoundland and Labrador. It is very,

very important that we have this communication outside of this House, outside of

this government, because they are the people on the ground who see things and

see the opportunities that are out there. They will be in the process of having

a look at those opportunities, identifying those opportunities, and actually,

also, trying to capitalize on opportunities that were there but were lost and

fell through the cracks. They will move forward on that, as well.

We will also move outside the box in regard to moving out globally. We have

our Ireland partnership. The minister, I believe, just got back from Chicago

leading the trade mission down there which is very, very successful. I heard her

on Open Line, and I heard one of the Ministerial Statements. I read that and it

sounded very, very, very, very promising. I think Newfoundland and Labrador has

come to a new place in its history. There is a new awareness, globally, on

Newfoundland and Labrador. People are aware, not only in the United States but

Europe, and these places are asking about Newfoundland and Labrador. I think

they are starting to realize that this is a place that they would like to do

business and they also would like Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to do

business there.

You know, many, many Newfoundlanders have gone out from this land, they have

traveled all over the world, and all you hear across Canada, and anywhere that

you go, is how good Newfoundlanders are in their workforce. They bring a lot to

the table. They are very, very well educated, they are energetic, they do not

mind taking on a challenge and they will continue to take that challenge, Mr.

Speaker, and we will continue to take the challenge in Newfoundland and

Labrador. We will make this a Province of prosperity and a brighter future for

Newfoundland and Labrador, a great place for our children and their children's

children to live. That is very, very important to this government and very, very

important to me, Mr. Speaker. I have three kids in this Province, and I am going

to work as hard as I can within this government in influencing the path that we

are taking, and influencing our investments in the business world to have every

opportunity presented at their feet, where they can succeed, survive, and make

this their home. This is their home, and I do not want to have that change any

time in the future.

Mr. Speaker, there is also a $5 million Regional/Sectorial Diversification

Fund. This is going to build on the prime sector strategies. It will partner

with federal programs and the like, and then we will grow on that. I must say

that our federal side is very, very important as well. We depend on the federal

government. We appreciate their help in growing our economy. I think that is

very, very important. We have forged a relationship, a very, very good

relationship on the federal side. They have a new awareness as well of

Newfoundland and Labrador, and what Newfoundland and Labrador means to Canada,

Mr. Speaker. We are a part of Canada. We entered Canada in 1949 as proud

partners in this great land. We will continue that, we will move forward on

that, and we will strengthen Canada as a whole. That is exactly what we are

going to do.

Transportation is very, very important to our infrastructure and growing the

economy, Mr. Speaker. Two years in a row now we have increased our budgeting to

years previous by $10 million. That is an extra $20 million going into roads and

transportation issues in this Province, and that is very, very important.

I take the example that every dollar that is spent on the Gander Bay Road

coming into Gander is very, very important to the small business sector and the

business sector in general in Gander. Every time that is upgraded, it makes it

more conducive and easy for people to drive in because people worry about the

wear and tear on their vehicles and whatnot. We have to be able to provide every

opportunity for them to move and get into Gander. Also, in saying that, we have

to make sure that we move out in their area, for the simple reason that they

support us and we have to support them.

Then, we get to tourism in regard to transportation and moving these people

out into the small rural areas. People out there right now, as in the past, and

in the recent past, want to see rural Newfoundland. That is what Newfoundland is

all about, rural Newfoundland. Yes, they do come into St. John's, and we all

appreciate St. John's and its history and whatnot, where everything is

located, such as The Rooms, which is a beautiful facility, but, in the meantime,

they want to see rural Newfoundland. They want to see the scenery, they want to

meet the people, because this people have a name all across the world, their

friendliness and the way they treat their fellow man, Mr. Speaker. So, we have

to give them every single opportunity to move out there, and that is one of it,

because if we turn them off in regard to bad roads - which we all understand we

have; we have really bad roads across the Province - it is imperative that we

deal with that. Based on our finances today, the Cabinet has seen fit to

increase that by $10 million for the past two years. Twenty million dollars

might not be a lot of money in transportation, but at least it is a start and a

good start. It is part of a long-term strategy in regard to that.

Also, I think there is some monies there in regard to ferry services and

replacing ferries, getting new ferries to our islands, which is very important

as well, because I think they have a role to play and I think they have a place

there in Newfoundland and Labrador in regard to tourism. I think they can

actually enter the business world. I firmly believe that things can be produced

in places like Change Islands, on a small basis, and exported out of

Newfoundland and Labrador. A fine example of that is out in Point Leamington, in

regard to their plant out there. I had the opportunity to export a lot of their

product, Mr. Speaker, over the last three or four years - gloves and that kind

of gear. I used to access that out of that plant and then sell it globally-wise.

They actually said, and I had reports back, that it was the best product that

they ever had and ever dealt with, so we did very, very well there and that can

continue, Mr. Speaker.

I think that small manufacturing can happen in rural Newfoundland. It is just

that we have to do it right and we have to provide, I guess, the roads and the

transportation and the infrastructure to get that product to market, Mr.

Speaker. That is very important, because if you actually produce a product then

you have the challenge of getting it to the market at the right price. So, part

of our strategy and our long-term strategy is to get that product out there and

out to the global world, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I must also speak in regard to the $850,000 that we invested in

the protection of our inland waters. That is very, very important as well, Mr.

Speaker. I believe the Member for Terra Nova was talking about how important

that was to his area, as well as my area, because the great, mighty Gander River

is a well known river around the world and a part of my district, Mr. Speaker.

It employs a lot of people. A lot of people go there not only to catch the

salmon, but just to look at the scenery. It is beautiful down there, and I would

recommend any of the members, any of my hon. colleagues, if they ever get the

chance to do down the Mighty Gander, please do. That is very, very important.

I heard the hon. Member for Terra Nova mention that, and I was hoping - I don't

think it was picked up by Hansard - but I was hoping that he was actually going

to start to eat salmon, because I understand that he doesn't eat too much

salmon. If he is talking about the inland waters and how important it is, I am

going to hope and pray that he starts to eat salmon as a part of his diet. We

will get him up there and we will get all of these people down on the Gander

River, and it is very, very important that we do that, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I have been out in my district and have talked to many, many

people out there with regard to what they thought of the Budget, and all the way

around they thought it was a great budget under the circumstances we have as a

government. We hit a financial wall when we got in here in 2003. We have dealt

with that in a timely fashion, Mr. Speaker, and we are on the path to overcoming

that hurdle. We have moved forward on that. They have said it is a good Budget

all around, it was fair, it was balanced, and it tried to take into account all

of Newfoundland and Labrador. There were some great investments in Labrador

itself. That is a great land up there; a Big Land I think is what it is called.

I have been there a few times myself, not in a business way but in a pleasurable

way. I was salmon fishing and whatnot, and just seeing the land itself. Labrador

is so important to this Island, and we all - at least I do - love it so much. I

would love to be able to go up there more and more, I guarantee you, because

that is so important to our economy.

Mr. Speaker, when I was out in the district, all walks of life, to be honest

with you, not just business people who I meet and have coffee with and whatnot,

but just the ordinary person, and how important it was. It was only just a few

months ago that we had an announcement in Gander on the Multi-Year Capital Works

under Municipal Affairs, of $3.6 million. They now can plan out, and plan in

advance, just what they are going to do. There is a lot of road construction and

street construction moving now, and they can plan it out, not as in previous

years. They don't have to wait for the last minute and then go out to tender,

costing them more. They can plan themselves. They can actually sit down and plan

it out in a very strategic way.

We are moving forward, Mr. Speaker, and it is very important that we do. We

have other projects in the hopper and whatnot. I will be working very, very

closely with my district in regard to moving the economy of Gander forward. I

think this Budget is very, very good for Gander. I think we will move forward in

regard to the location of services in our health field and we will grow the

economy.

Mr. Speaker, I thank you for this opportunity to speak in the House and I

thank my hon. colleagues for the opportunity to speak again on this Budget. It

has been a pleasure and I hope to speak again in the House. I probably won't

get a chance to speak on the Budget again, but I will speak in the House shortly

and will move forward, Mr. Speaker, to a bright and wonderful future in

Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is a pleasure to stand here this afternoon and speak for a few minutes on

the Budget Debate and reflect a little on government's actions and performance

over the past sixteen, eighteen months, I guess, since we took power, and to

look to where we are going in the next sixteen to eighteen months, or certainly

in the next twelve months as a result of what we laid out in our Budget back

about a month ago now, I guess, it was.

Mr. Speaker, I would just like to start - I guess before I get into what the

Budget was all about and some of the specific issues in the Budget - to speak

for a few minutes on what has been accomplished by this government, all of its

members, and the Premier, in particular, over the past year. Certainly,

everybody will remember - if you go back to January of 2004 it was clearly

articulated to the people of the Province the fiscal situation of the Government

of Newfoundland and Labrador and the kind of debt levels that we had encountered

as we took over office; the projections on deficits and the projections on what

our accumulated debt, how that would ramp up over the coming years. I think most

reasonable people would - anybody who looked at it objectively - have to say

that the road we were on had some pretty fearful things involved. Mr. Speaker,

we confronted that back in January of 2004 and laid out a plan in April of 2004

on how to deal with that. I think if people look at where we are, just twelve

months later, on the fiscal situation, while we have a tremendous way to go, we

have certainly come a long way in a very short period of time.

If you look back to January of 2004, there were projections at that time of

government deficits running in the order of $1 billion for the foreseeable

future. We were at a $10.5 billion, $11 billion accumulated debt with a

projection over the course of the next four years - or looking from 2004 to 2008

- we would hit over $15 billion in accumulated debt. Mr. Speaker, the kind of

debt load that that would leave to - not only to the present generation but

probably, more importantly, to future generations of this Province would have

been extremely cumbersome and really would have undermined any possibility that

future generations would have to have a prosperous future in this Province.

Since that time, what has happened? Well, there have been a number of very

successful negotiations on the part of government. The Premier being the lead on

that, with the federal government, resulting in a substantial improvement in

funding on the health care front, in a substantial improvement in the way

equalization is dealt with for our Province and protection on that front for the

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and the people of Newfoundland and

Labrador.

Certainly, if we look at the highlight of the past twelve months, the

successful conclusion and negotiations on the Atlantic Accord, we see a dramatic

change in not only the immediate fiscal situation of the Province, but also in

the long-term prospects for the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. If you

look back to last year, the deficit was projected at that time to come in at

around $840 million and we actually came in at $473 million. Now, personally, I

think a $473 million deficit is still a pretty scary scenario and something that

we still have to work on, something that we have to grapple with, something that

has to be wrestled under control because we cannot continue on down that road.

We have to achieve a balanced budget, not only for the people who currently

reside in Newfoundland and Labrador, but for the people who will pick up the

reins after we are all long gone.

Mr. Speaker, if you look at our actual cash deficit, we were projecting last

year a cash deficit of $362 million and we came in with a $14 million deficit.

That is a pretty phenomenal improvement in a very short period of time, but of

course there is a long way to go yet.

Mr. Speaker, I am sure if we go back to a year ago there was certainly a

great deal of concern and a great deal of questioning by a lot of people in this

Province about the route that the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador had

taken - the route that we had taken and some of the positions that we had taken

at that time. I would suggest that it is not terribly different from some of the

policies as it relates to the fishery for example. Twelve months later, I think

the vast majority of the people in Newfoundland and Labrador look back on the

past twelve months, and while they had great concerns and substantial questions

twelve months ago and fourteen months ago about the path that the government was

on, twelve to fourteen months later many of them see the merit and see the good

judgement that was exercised by this government over the past twelve to fourteen

months and see, for the first time in many, many years, the hope of a better

future and a more stable fiscal situation and therefore more security and

services, and what have you, for the people of this Province.

Mr. Speaker, as I said, I do not think that is terribly different from what

we see presently in Newfoundland and Labrador. Out in the lobby of the

Confederation Building right now, and throughout the past eight weeks, we have

seen considerable opposition to a plan that we have laid out as a government for

restructuring the fishery. If people could give it the time - if people would

take the time to try and work with this, as we did with the plan that we laid

out twelve and fourteen months ago as it related to our fiscal situation, if

people could take the time and work through this for the next twelve to

twenty-four months, maybe people would see the utility in what we are advancing

right now as it relates to fisheries management. It is not always easy for

people to look at change and see what it will hold for them in the future. It is

not always easy to accept what that change will be. It is not always easy to

understand what that change will mean for individuals or communities or groups

or associations or unions or what have you - or fleets, in the case of the

fishing industry.

Mr. Speaker, you can never find out what change will bring unless you try.

That is all we are suggesting right now is that we try, just as we said twelve

to fourteen months ago on our fiscal situation. We recognized then that there

was a tremendous problem on the fiscal front in Newfoundland and Labrador. We

recognized that the financial situation of the Province and the government was

precarious and that it had to be dealt with. We laid out a plan back then that

caused a lot of people concern. It caused a lot of people to question our

wisdom, and twelve to fourteen months later a lot of people, as I said, have

seen that the plan that we laid out had a great deal of merit. It is putting us

on the road towards sustainability and self-sufficiency.

Mr. Speaker, I want to speak just very briefly to a couple of the issues in

the Budget. I am going to try, to the extent that I can coming from a rural

district, to touch on issues that are primarily, in my view, or certainly

significantly impact the future of rural Newfoundland and Labrador. I will start

in Tourism, Culture and Recreation - only because that is the way my notes run,

not because I see tourism as anything greater than fisheries or forestry or

whatever. They all contribute substantially to the present situation in

Newfoundland and Labrador, in rural Newfoundland and Labrador and to the future.

I think if there are, probably, three cornerstones for rural Newfoundland and

Labrador, three pillars that rural Newfoundland and Labrador will live on going

forward, three of the most important ones will be tourism, the fishing industry

and the forestry industry. Mr. Speaker, I say that, because all three of those

are renewable and, when managed properly, can do a great deal for our people in

rural Newfoundland and Labrador.

Just on Tourism, Culture and Recreation, if we look at the investments that

this government has identified in the Budget that we just laid out before the

people, that we are debating here today, there has been $2.4 million allocated

to support the growth of cultural industries in Newfoundland and Labrador. We

have added an additional $1 million for tourism marketing, bringing the total

tourism marketing budget to $8 million. That is in addition to the $1 million

that we added in last year's Budget, the first substantial increase in tourism

marketing expenditures by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador in many

years. An additional $160,000 was allocated for the Newfoundland and Labrador

Arts Council, and $500,000 was provided to support the 2006 Labrador Winter

Games.

Government is providing $1.3 million over the next two years toward the

future development of the Provincial Training Centre. That, Mr. Speaker, while

it will be located in St. John's, will be for the benefit of all people in

Newfoundland and Labrador, to allow our athletes throughout Newfoundland and

Labrador, who are training and planning on participating in national

competitions, international competitions and what have you, the opportunity to

avail of a first-class facility in order to advance their aims and objectives in

sport.

Beginning this year, the Department of Tourism will be providing $100,000

over the next three year and each year to implement Destination Labrador.

In rural Newfoundland and Labrador, we all recognize that there is a

substantial problem for small and medium size businesses in particular, but for

the vast majority of people who want to advance economic development in those

areas it is a great deal of trouble to raise the necessary capital to advance

their business interest. If you look at what the government has laid out in

Innovation, Trade and Rural Development, what we have laid out is over $8

million in additional funding provided for IT initiatives to assist in

fulfilling government's commitment to streamline and enhance service delivery,

and $7.9 million, in addition to the $2.1 million previously allocated to the

Small Business Seed Capital Equity Program, will be used to establish a $10

million Small and Medium Enterprise Fund. This fund will be used to provide

loans and equity investments to small and medium size businesses.

Mr. Speaker, it has been recognized, it has long been talked about by many

people in Newfoundland and Labrador in the small business community,

particularly in rural Newfoundland and Labrador, that there is a great deal of

trouble trying to access the financing that they require to move their

businesses forward.

Mr. Speaker, we see here, clearly, evidence that this government recognizes

that. We recognize that the future of Newfoundland and Labrador, the future of

economic and employment growth in rural Newfoundland and Labrador, is going to

be based on the advancement of the small business community. Mr. Speaker, this

is how we have responded and we believe that will be a great initiative.

Five million dollars is provided to establish a Regional/Sectorial

Diversification Fund that will provide contributions for economic development

initiatives that address regional and sectorial development, diversification and

innovation. Funding for the Business and Marketing Development Program has been

doubled from $500,000 to $1 million annually, and $1 million has been allocated

for the implementation of the provincial Innovation Strategy.

Again, Mr. Speaker, just to reflect on that, we look at major issues that

have been debated widely and for a significant period of time by the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador, the people in rural economic development, people in

the small business community, people throughout Newfoundland and Labrador who

have been calling for these types of initiatives, and at the first opportunity,

after going through the difficult time that we had last year from a budgetary

perspective, trying to get our spending under control, trying to generate more

revenues both through increased royalties, through better deals with the federal

government on health care, better deals on equalization, a better deal on the

Atlantic Accord, we have managed, Mr. Speaker, very quickly to be able to get

ourselves in a position where we can start to respond to some of the needs of

people in Newfoundland and Labrador from an economic development perspective.

Mr. Speaker, that is what this was all about. That is what we said last

winter, that is what we said last spring, when we were talking about getting the

fiscal situation in this Province under control. We talked about, if we do not

get the fiscal situation under control, if you do not get to a point where you

have a balanced Budget, if you do not get to a point where your expenditures are

less than your revenues, then you will never be able to free up the type of

finances required to foster economic development, to foster innovation, to be

able to invest in infrastructure, to be able to build our roads and maintain our

ferry services, to be able to keep our health care system and our education

system and all of those things that government has to do. If you do not get your

fiscal situation under control, we will never be able to do the kind of job in

that respect that we need.

Mr. Speaker, that is the plan that we laid out. That was not immediately

obvious, I am sure, to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador last year, but I

think it is becoming, after twelve months, very apparent to the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador that this government knows what we have to do and is

willing to take the difficult decisions that are required in the short term for

the long-term benefit of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: Mr. Speaker, I have to say this: You know, it is very easy,

very, very easy, to be a popular politician in Newfoundland and Labrador. It is

very easy to be popular if you want to tell people every day, every hour of the

day, every week while you are in politics, what they want to hear. If you want

to tell people that yes, we have money for this, and yes, we have money for

that, and no, we are not going to make the changes in the fishing industry that

you say we do not want, and we are not going to do this and we are not going to

do that, anything that you see that might be confrontational, that is the easy

way to be popular in Newfoundland and Labrador in politics - or anywhere for

that matter, not only in Newfoundland and Labrador - but, Mr. Speaker, people

get elected, people vote for change, people put governments in to make the

decisions that are required to look after their best interest for the long term,

not to look after anybody's, necessarily, best interest in the short term, to

look at the bigger picture, to look ahead as far as we can see to try and see

what the future holds for us, to try and determine how best to position

ourselves, how best to make decisions in the short term to position ourselves in

the long term. That, Mr. Speaker, is how we have approached government over the

past sixteen, eighteen months. While we have made some difficult decisions, it

has always been with a view of trying to position the Government of Newfoundland

and Labrador, the economy of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador, in a position where, in five years, in ten years, our

economy, our financial situation and our people are sustainable.

We cannot - and I just want to switch gears away from the Budget a little bit

and talk, if I could, for a few minutes on the situation in the fishing

industry. You know, I have said this many times and I think it bears repeating.

I have to say again today, it bears repeating, that the decisions that we take

today, while they have, in some cases, a direct, an immediate, impact on people

in the fishing industry and in communities, in boats, in fish plants, in trucks

and on wharves and what have you, we also have to bear in mind that, either by

design or default, whatever we do as a government will have an impact on the

industry and communities in five to ten years.

We saw, Mr. Speaker, if we go back to 1989 when the evidence was clearly on

the wall, when the writing was clearly on the wall for the Northern cod stock or

for many groundfish stocks around Newfoundland and Labrador, at that time

governments could have made the decision to look to where the resource was

going, to look to where the industry was going, and to try and lay out a plan to

deal with that reality, to deal with that eventuality. Mr. Speaker, what was

done, clearly, was governments of the day decided that they did not, could not,

would not, for whatever reason, take the difficult decisions that were required

to position the industry, to ramp down production, to ramp down harvesting, so

that we could maintain a suitable groundfish stock that hopefully would be

around for the long term. The wrong decisions were made at the time. Maybe there

was no other way of doing it, but the wrong decisions were made at the time and

we ended up with the total annihilation of the vast majority of the groundfish

stocks around Newfoundland and Labrador; because the right decisions were not

made. Like I said, maybe there was no way of making the right decisions at that

time.

Today, Mr. Speaker, we can choose to do the same thing. We can choose to lay

our hands off. We can take a hands-off approach to this. We can allow the market

to determine what happens, which is essentially what happened in 1989. We can

allow communities to go wherever communities go, and plant workers to go

wherever plant workers go, and fishermen to go wherever fishermen go, but we

have to recognize that, clearly, all of the evidence, in crab in particular,

points toward a declining resource. We have to acknowledge that all of the

evidence points, clearly, towards a declining market. We can choose to disregard

all of that, but we disregard it at our peril. We can choose to let the market

forces determine what happens in our fishing industry this year. We can choose

to let the market forces determine what happens in our communities this year. We

can choose to let the market forces determine what happens in all of it for the

next two and three and four and five years.

Mr. Speaker, we can only expect from that a very similar outcome to what we

saw in 1989. Everybody knows what happened after 1989, where we ended up in 1992

with a Northern cod moratorium, where we ended up in 1993 with a moratorium on

just about every other groundfish stock, or we can try and have a managed

approach to this. We can try and lay out a plan where we stabilize everything,

we freeze everything in time for the next two years as we laid out in our raw

material sharing system, we freeze everything in time, everybody knows what they

are going to get, everybody knows they can deal with the market on that basis,

and people know when they are going to work. We fix the Fishing Industry

Collective Bargaining Act so we do not have continual disputes over prices, we

freeze it in time and we take the next two years to fix the problem, we take the

next two years to deal our rationalization, to deal with our regional issues,

and what have you.

Mr. Speaker, I speak about that today because, as we all know, our crab

fishery is worth somewhere in the order, depending on the market, depending on

where we go with the resource, somewhere between $300 million and $500 million

to the Province. That has, of course, a substantial impact on the coffers of the

provincial government. Any response that government would have to deal with the

fallout from a collapsed fishery would have to be factored in.

Mr. Speaker, so it is important for all of us to recognize that the fishing

industry and the management of the fishing industry has to be looked at very

carefully. It has to be done in a planned way, Mr. Speaker. If not, the

implications for not only communities, but for the provincial coffers, can be

very substantial and very drastic.

On that note, Mr. Speaker, I think I am just about out of time. Hopefully, in

the coming days I will have an opportunity to talk on this further.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Trinity-Bay de Verde.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JOHNSON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is certainly a pleasure today, Mr. Speaker, to speak on behalf of the

Budget this year. I will probably be a little while because there are a lot of

great things in this Budget to talk about.

What a difference a year makes? Last year was probably one of the most

difficult budgets that any of us members ever had to face; certainly no fault of

our own. Again, like I said, what a difference a year makes! This year, as I am

sure everybody in this room would agree and everybody in the Province would

agree, this one of the best Budget's that has come down in the history of the

Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JOHNSON: Mr. Speaker, today I would like to talk about a few

initiatives that have tremendous positive impact on my district, which is

certainly a rural district in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Firstly, I would like to speak about health care. This year, in the Budget,

our government announced $650,000 for a dialysis unit in Carbonear General

Hospital. Mr. Speaker, this announcement was a very long time coming, certainly,

despite all of the fears that were raised by the Opposition about this time last

year. Mr. Speaker, this time last year a lot of people in my district were

concerned, a lot of people in the surrounding area of Carbonear General Hospital

were concerned, about speculation about closures to a floor of the hospital and

closure to the obstetrics and gynecology department. In fact, Mr. Speaker, I

have a news release here dated July 29 where the Member for Port de Grave says,

"I am hearing from very good sources within government that a whole floor

of the hospital in Carbonear may close." "...I am hearing that

Obstetrics may close..."

Mr. Speaker, I would ask if any of that was done. Was obstetrics closed? No,

Mr. Speaker, it wasn't. Gynecology is still there and that whole floor is

still there. Instead of taking away things, as was suggested by the Opposition,

we have added a tremendous amount of equipment to that hospital that will

certainly be a positive impact to the people of my district.

For one, I mentioned the dialysis unit, $650,000 for that. In fact, I had the

opportunity on Friday past to go to the grand official opening of the dialysis

unit in Carbonear. Actually, one of my constituents was there at the time

receiving dialysis treatment and I spoke with him and his wife. They were both

very, very pleased with our government's initiative and, certainly, they are

very relieved that they no longer have to travel to St. John's. Going into St.

John's adds a lot of stress in terms of road conditions in the winter time,

and the financial burden, the cost of going to St. John's. They were quite

pleased.

Actually, there is a patient from the Trinity-Conception-Placentia area who

has been traveling to St. John's since 1979. Twenty-six years he has been

going to St. John's to receive dialysis, so you can imagine how pleased he was

with our announcement.

The dialysis unit will accommodate about twenty-four people for now in our

area. There are thirty-two people right now on the list to be treated, and it is

very hopeful that the additional eight people, in time, will also be able to be

treated.

Mr. Speaker, in addition to the dialysis unit, the $650,000 which will

certainly go to salaries for nurses and some of the operational expenses, our

government also announced $260,000 for new ultrasound equipment to replace some

of the old equipment at Carbonear Hospital. This equipment is some of the most

recent technology out there, so certainly has tremendous impact in helping to

diagnose some of the problems that people may have. In fact, our government

announced a total of $1.3 million for new ultrasound equipment, not only in

Carbonear but also in Corner Brook, St. John's and Labrador City. This

announcement of $1.3 million will have a significant impact on the wait times

for the people to get an ultrasound. In fact, it is expected to reduce wait

times by nearly one-half. When I was elected about eighteen months ago, one of

the first calls I remember receiving is people complaining about the wait times

for various services in the health-care industry, and we are very pleased that

we have had a significant impact on reducing those wait times.

I would also like to take a few moments to speak about some of the

initiatives that we have in the Department of Natural Resources. Certainly, any

investments that we have in our natural resources will ultimately end up being

investments in our human resources. There are a lot of exciting things going on

in the Department of Natural Resources. For example, the announcement of

$900,000 to develop a provincial Energy Plan. At a time in the world when there

is consistent blackouts and power outages in major cities, our hydro potential

here in this Province is certainly a gold mine for us.

We also have a lot of potential to develop wind energy initiatives, wind

power initiatives. I am sure we will all agree here in this Province that we

have no shortage of wind and, certainly, along with the development of wind

energy, there is a potential for positive impact on the environment in terms of

greenhouse gas emissions and whatnot.

Also, the Department of Natural Resources has continued to provide $7.3

million for silviculture initiatives. This goes towards replenishing the wood

supply so that we can ensure that future generations, people who would like to

harvest the wood supply in the future, that this resource will be there for

them.

Of particular interest to me is investing $4 million for new agricultural

initiatives. They are certainly to build upon initiatives that were already

there. This morning I had the opportunity to attend the official opening of the

Youth Agricultural Entrepreneurship Program, which is at St. Francis school in

Harbour Grace and is partnered up with the Spruce Hill Farms organization. Our

government is certainly a supporter of this. This project has a greenhouse at

the school in St. Francis. So students at that school will learn hands-on

agricultural techniques. They will learn the ins and outs of it. I watched a

video today and the opportunities that even exist today, since I have been out

of school twelve years ago, are just tremendous right now. I would suggest that

it is probably a lot more fun planting seeds than history class was for me.

Also, as part of this project, students anywhere in the world can view the

techniques of agriculture via the Internet. There are cameras set up there, so

anywhere in the world students can