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December 4, 2017

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVIII No. 40

The

House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Trimper):

Order, please!

Admit

strangers.

In the

public gallery today, I'd like to welcome several guests who are here for the

second reading of Bill 27,

An Act to Amend the Highway Traffic Act.

With us

today, we have Gail Thorne, Levi Thorne and Karen March of the STAND For Hannah

Foundation; Joe Davis and Sherri-Lin Davis of the Sunshine Squad; Chris Blundon

and Duane Antle of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Fire Services;

and a special welcome to two people I know well, Sarah Pittman and Frances

Ralph.

Welcome

to the gallery.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Also in the public gallery,

I'd like to welcome the Stella's Circle Inclusion Choir, including members of

the Stella's Circle management team Lisa Browne and Rob McLennan, and volunteer

director Helen Murphy, who are here for a Member's statement.

Welcome

to you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

Statements by

Members

MR. SPEAKER:

For Members' statements today

we will hear statements from the hon. Members for the Districts of Terra Nova,

Ferryland, Harbour Main, Mount Pearl – Southlands, Virginia Waters –

Pleasantville and St. John's East – Quidi Vidi.

The hon.

the Member for Terra Nova.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. HOLLOWAY:

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this

hon. House to recognize a former educator and community pioneer.

Originally from Hickman's Harbour, Mr. George Martin moved to Clarenville to be

principal of the former Horwood Regional High School. Later, he became principal

of Clarenville Integrated High School, a position he held until his retirement

in 1988.

I met

Mr. Martin in 1980 and I saw him as a dedicated volunteer, being involved in

numerous charities and local organizations, including the Clarenville Co-op

Society and the men's softball league.

For 26

years, as its chairperson, the George Martin Charity Golf Tournament raised in

excess of $500,000 for the Discovery Health Care Foundation.

Sadly,

at the age of 86, Mr. Martin passed away on November 4, 2017.

I think

George's neighbour, Victoria Best, sums it up best when she said: George is one

of those great humans that didn't just make the people around him feel better,

but hugely impacted his whole community, province and made the world a better

place.

I ask

all hon. Members to join me in recognizing the passing of a community icon,

mentor and educator, Mr. George Martin.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Ferryland.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, I stand to recognize a group of male athletes from St. Kevin's Junior

High who won the Junior High School Soccer Championship for the Eastern District

on October 30, 2017.

The

accomplishment of these young people was heightened by the fact the team

consisted of many underage players whose contribution helped in the championship

despite playing against many older players for much larger school populations.

This is the second soccer banner for the school, which reflects the growing

soccer program in the region.

I would

also like to congratulate and recognize Coach Charlie Simmonds, who has been

running a soccer program in Goulds for almost 20 years. This was indeed a very

proud moment for players, coaches, parents, students and friends.

The

youth started playing soccer with the Metropolitan United Football Club,

formerly called Goulds Kickers Soccer Association. For several years, this club

has operated in Goulds. This club has complemented the youths' involvement in

their school soccer, is an integral part of the community and, no doubt, we will

see more soccer success for both boys' and girls' teams over the next few years.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask all Members of this House to join me in congratulating St.

Kevin's Junior High School soccer team for their outstanding accomplishments.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

I'd also like to welcome in

the public gallery today Pastor Crane and his wife, Kathy, who are joining us

here for a Member's statement, too, today. Welcome to you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Harbour Main.

MS. PARSLEY:

Mr. Speaker, as we head into

another holiday season, it is important for us to remember the many blessings

which we are privileged to enjoy throughout the year. Sadly, there are many

people across the province and in my district who find themselves alone or

unable to provide a hot meal to themselves or their families.

Thankfully, Mr. Speaker, such individuals living in the town of Clarke's Beach

and surrounding area need not fear this type of Christmas, as every year Pastors

David and Kathy Crane – son-in-law to John Crane, former MHA for Harbour Grace –

provide free turkey dinner meals to people in the basement of the Pentecostal

Church in the town. Now an annual tradition for the parish, each year dozens of

individuals and families join together to celebrate the magic of Christmas,

regardless of religious beliefs or financial situation. Following the Christmas

Eve service, volunteers from the church stay behind to help cut and peel

vegetables and prep for the feast that so many people will enjoy the next day.

I would

like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Pastors David and Kathy for their

service to the community of Clarke's Beach and wish one and all a blessed

Christmas and a happy new year.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Mount Pearl – Southlands.

MR. LANE:

Mr. Speaker, it gives me

great pleasure to rise in this hon. House to recognize the accomplishments of

six individuals who have given their time and talents to the sport of soccer in

the City of Mount Pearl. Four of these individuals, Don Coaker, Wally Lawrence,

Ron O'Neill and the late Sam Pretty, have been inducted into the Mount Pearl

Soccer Hall of Fame in the category of Builder; Lana (North) Burns in the

category of Player; and the late Dave LeGrow as an Honorary Life Member.

Soccer,

like many other sports, provides tremendous benefits for our youth, not only

from a health and wellness perspective, but also in providing lifelong lessons

such as the value of hard work and commitment, and working as part of a team.

Through the tireless efforts and unwavering commitment of these Hall of Fame

inductees, many young people in my community have benefited from a physical and

social point of view and have gone on to be very healthy, well-rounded and

productive citizens.

I would

therefore ask all Members of this hon. House to join me in commending these six

individuals for their contribution to this great sport and in congratulating

them on being inducted into the Mount Pearl Soccer Hall of Fame.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Virginia Waters – Pleasantville.

MR. B. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

in this hon. House today to wish a very happy 103rd birthday to a man who has

given over nine decades of service to the youth of our province.

Major

William G. Tilley joined the CLB in 1926, served in both C Company and its Naval

Company before becoming regimental band's drum major in 1939 for some 63

consecutive years.

Tied to

the steps at his Plymouth Road residence as a child, he watched drummers leave

the old Princess Rink and longed for the day he would lead the parade. Over

these years, he has indeed led the band for thousands of miles and through many

significant events.

retired from CN in 1977 and was asked to preserve the history of the CLB, which

he has done meticulously, ensuring the information is available for everyone in

our province for many generations to come. Major Tilley is a mentor for

thousands of young men and women who have had the pleasure of marching behind

him all these years.

I ask

all hon. Members to join me in wishing my mentor, Major William G. Tilley, a

happy 103rd birthday and thanking him for his years of service. Keep the flag

flying, Major Tilley.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of St. John's East – Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I'm

delighted today to congratulate an organization that has been creating positive

community empowerment for the past decade. The Stella's Circle Inclusion Choir

is a place of acceptance where there are no auditions and people sing for the

joy of it. The choir is comprised of Stella's Circle participants, staff and

volunteers, has 35-plus members and 100 performances under their belt.

Stella's

Circle has a mission to transform lives for people facing barriers to successful

inclusion in the community. The Inclusion Choir increases social

connections for the members and can be a step towards engaging in other

community activities.

The choir's original song “Be the Change” was written this

past spring with Juno award-winning, singer-songwriter Amelia Curran. I was

delighted to take in the screening of a video documenting the songwriting

process at the St. John's International Women's Film Festival. MusicNL recently

presented the Inclusion Choir with a community award. The philosophy of the

choir is that every one of us can sing when encouraged and given the

opportunity.

I ask all hon. Members to join me in congratulating

Stella's Circle staff and volunteers, all choir members and volunteer choir

director, Helen Murphy, on the 10th anniversary of the Stella's Circle Inclusion

Choir. I encourage you to find the time to go listen to them.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by Ministers

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Children, Seniors and Social Development.

MS. DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

in this hon. House to recognize yesterday, December 3, as International Day of

Persons with Disabilities. Twenty-five years have passed since the United

Nations proclaimed this observance to promote the rights and well-being of

persons with disabilities.

As a

government, we have accomplished much, including new government-wide policies

for accessible communications and inclusive engagement practices, recent changes

to the program for Hunters and Anglers with a Disability, Buildings

Also, Mr. Speaker, we are working with community and other partners in the

design of an Individualized Supports Funding model, a commitment from

The Way Forward .

We are

proud to partner with organizations like Empower, the Coalition of Persons with

Disabilities Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Newfoundland and Labrador

Association for Community Living to improve employment opportunities and inform

and support our work. We are pleased to provide funding to individuals, taxi

Mr.

Speaker, we know there remains much work to be done. Barriers still exist and,

unfortunately, discrimination is still not a thing of the past, but our

government recognizes inclusion is both a process and a goal, as the slogan

'Nothing about us without us' articulates so well.

We know

an inclusive planning and decision-making process is important to ensuring

everyone can avail of programs, services and opportunities. Our government is

committed to consulting and collaborating with the community of persons with

disabilities to achieve, as this year's theme envisions, a sustainable and

resilient society for all.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the minister for an advance copy of her statement. The Official Opposition also

wishes to recognize December 3 as the International Day of Persons with

Disabilities and we celebrate the theme of transformation towards a sustainable

and resilient society for all.

On the

25th anniversary since it's proclamation by the United Nations General Assembly,

we have come a long way. We observe this day to encourage the public to have a

better understanding of disability issues and promote support for the dignity,

rights and well-being of persons with disabilities.

We all

have a responsibility to increase awareness of gains to be derived from the

integration of persons with disabilities in every aspect of our society. The

resilient spirit of these individuals must be met with not just understanding

but absolute encouragement.

Much has

been done, but much more is required. I commend all efforts that work towards a

more sustainable and resilient society for all.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

I thank the minister for an

advance copy of her statement. Mr. Speaker, on this day I want to congratulate

the incredible organizations and persons living with disabilities for the work

they have done leading us all in the advancement of the inclusion of all people

in our community.

We all

know there is so much more work to do. The deadline for a new act is looming.

Poverty among persons with disabilities is growing because of government's

regressive policies and inaction. We need inclusive procurement in our

Procurement Act and organizations need to sustainable multi-year core funding to

continue their important work. We must keep moving forward.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Further statements by

ministers?

The hon.

the Minister of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in

this hon. House to acknowledge the Grammy Award nomination for the Broadway

musical Come From Away .

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Specifically, the musical has

been nominated for best musical theatre album.

Mr.

Speaker, the previous winners in this category are a who's who of the world's

famous Broadway musicals; T he Colour

Purple , Hamilton and

West Side Story , just to name a few.

This

nomination is just another in the long list of achievements for

Come From Away , and the accolades and

triumphs continue to grow.

Just

recently, Come From Away grossed the

highest eight-show week in the history of the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre in New

York, earning just over $1.52 million. The previous record was held by

It's Only a Play , which starred

prominent Broadway actors Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane and Stockard Channing.

And now,

Mr. Speaker, maybe the grandest accolade of all – a film adaptation of

Come From Away is in development.

While

still in the very early stages of planning and writing,

Come From Away creators Irene Sankoff and David Hein told the media

they are bursting with ideas for the cinematic version of their Broadway

musical. Ms. Sankoff said she looks forward to showing “more of the world, more

of the characters and the place itself.”

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Mr. Speaker, I attended

Come From Away in March, and it is an excellent portrayal of our

province's genuine kindness, generosity and acceptance during one of the darkest

moments in recent history.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask all that hon. Members join me in wishing

Come From Away the best of luck at the 60th Grammy Awards on January

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the District of Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the minister for an advance copy of his statement. On behalf of the Official

Opposition, I wish to congratulate the cast and crew of

Come From Away on being nominated in the category of best musical

theatre album at the upcoming Grammy Awards. We're all very, very proud.

The

creators, Irene Sankoff and David Hein, have created a special depiction of our

province's kind and caring nature, which is now being shared throughout the

world. For their efforts and hard work, they are very much deserving of this

accolade.

I also

wish to congratulate the creators for having their stories chosen to be adapted

into a film. Through this, more people will learn the story of how communities

in our province opened their lives and their homes to those who found themselves

here due to terrorist attacks in the United States of America.

Mr.

Speaker, I once again congratulate the cast, crew and creators of

Come From Away and I look forward to

viewing the film when it is finished production.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

I thank the minister as well,

Mr. Speaker. We are all delighted at the continued success of

Come From Away . I'm sure the minister agrees this is what happens

when there is investment in the arts community.

This is

an industry where truly the more you sow, the more you reap.

As for

the success of Come From Away , well,

we have a million more stories from our province to tell and our storytellers

need that support. Standby world, you ain't seen nothing yet; and bravo, Irene

and David and cast and crew of Come From

Away .

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Further statements by

ministers?

Oral

Questions.

Oral Questions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, an Access to Information request revealed a dramatic drop in the number

of Highway Traffic Act tickets issued

in August 2017 in our province, compared to the same month in 2016.

I ask

the minister to inform this hon. House what the total number of officers was

that were deployed to Labrador during this past summer?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Justice and Public Safety.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

understanding is that the total number was somewhere in the range of 120, which

would have come from all different aspects of the RCMP, both here in province

and out of province, but the latest numbers I have is roughly 120.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

understanding is there were 120 at any given time.

Can the

minister clarify: Were those numbers of officers rotated out on a rotational

basis?

The

numbers at any given time were 120, but there were actually more officers than

that deployed to Labrador.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Justice and Public Safety.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

number that I've been given is about 120 officers. I do know they were doing

two-week shifts. Again, that number could have fluctuated, but the number that

I've been given by the RCMP is in the 120 range.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

October 16, here in the House, the minister stated that there was absolutely no

disservice to traffic services anywhere in the province during this period of

time.

So I ask

the minister if he stands by those statements.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Justice and Public Safety.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, I

did answer a question from the Leader of the Official Opposition during the

House back in October, I think it was, where the information I had at that time

was there was nobody taken from the highway traffic division of the RCMP. Now,

I've since learned that has changed. In fact, I said that on province-wide news

just a couple of nights ago that there were some officers taken.

Again,

it was an operational decision made by the RCMP. It was done with the

intelligence and the expertise of the RCMP and done on their advice, and that's

where we are.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Our

understanding is a significant number of traffic officers from the Island were

deployed to Labrador during the summer.

So,

minister, your comment that there was absolutely no disservice to traffic

services anywhere in the province, again I ask: Do you stand by that statement?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Justice and Public Safety.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, I

stand here now and say that there were officers from the highway traffic

division along with officers from other aspects of the RCMP within the province

and outside the province that did go to Labrador based on instructions from the

RCMP, based on the need that was identified in Labrador to do with the Muskrat

Falls Project.

The fact

is that this was an operational decision by the RCMP. That information has been

provided and was done on their advice.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, my

understanding is the minister actually signed off on the deployment to Labrador.

So I ask

the minister: Did you ever ask the very simple question of the RNC or the RCMP

if the deployment of officers to Labrador could impact safety here on the

Island?

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of Justice and

Public Safety.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I've

been clear in my conversations with the media that as the Minister of Justice, I

do not direct the RCMP as it relates to operational matters. When the RCMP

identified the need for extra security in Labrador for the Muskrat Falls

Project, they would have come to me based on the intelligence that they

acquired.

What I

would have had to sign off as responsible minister was the requirement for extra

funding to allow for this. Again, I certainly wouldn't want to see it done to

the detriment of anybody else, but that's the way that our policing agreement

operates with the RCMP, and it was an agreement that was signed in 2013.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Leader of the Official

Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

appreciate the information from the minister.

So,

Minister, I'll ask you this: Before you signed off on the extra funding, did you

ask the very simple question, if the deployment of officers could impact safety

here on the Island?

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of Justice and

Public Safety.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, I

signed off on an operational request from the RCMP who identified the need for

extra security in Labrador along the roadway for the transformer move for the

Muskrat Falls Project. What I signed off on was a request for extra funds to

allow for this, extra funds that were above the normal allotment for the RCMP.

Again,

it was my belief that it was not to be done at the expense of anywhere else in

the province. They would require extra resources from elsewhere, and this is why

the extra funds were allotted.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Leader of the Official

Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Just a

few days ago, the minister told the media that the information he's received

since September confirms that there was, in fact, a smaller presence on our

roadways this past August. The minister says he signed off on the operational

plan for additional financing. He's now said there were a smaller number of

officers on our roadways during August.

So I'll

ask the minister very clearly: What was the impact of officers on our roadways?

How many fewer officers were on our roads here on the Island because of the

deployment that he signed off on?

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of Justice and

Public Safety.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

first thing I need to clarify – I would ask the Member opposite to please quote

me accurately. I did not sign off on any operational requirement for the RCMP or

direct where officers go. That's simply not within the purview of the Minister

of Justice.

What I

would have signed off on is a request to the federal department for extra

funding under the RCMP policing program. There's a contract that we have in

place, a 20-year contract, and when you go outside of that, I have to sign off

on that.

The

request for extra resources would have come from the RCMP. This would have been

operational issue that they identified that was needed for the safety of

Labradorians as it related to the Muskrat Falls Project.

Again,

just to make this clear, I would have signed off on the extra resources,

requesting the extra resources in terms of money, but it's the RCMP that direct

the operational mandate and not the minister.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

These

questions are not difficult questions; the questions are about safety of the

public on the highways, the safety of not only Newfoundlanders and Labradorians,

but visitors that come to our province, especially in the summertime and in the

fall.

The

minister has changed the information that he provided in the House earlier when

he spoke publicly. He's changed it. He says it confirms there was a smaller

presence.

Minister, if you can't tell me what that presence was, when were you made aware

of the accurate information?

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of Justice and

Public Safety.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would

have been made aware of this information – I can't give an exact date right

here, but I think it would have been sometime in October. Again, there's a

process behind this.

Back

some time in the spring, the RCMP identified the need for extra resources as it

related to the Muskrat Falls Project when it came to the safety of the

transformer move that was going on, a significant operation that took weeks.

Last year there was quite a disturbance at the Muskrat Falls site in October so,

again, the RCMP were being proactive here in ensuring the public safety of all

involved in this process.

The

information I would have received after, but it wouldn't have been done, in my

mind, at the expense of highway operations.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

minister confirms that he was made aware of a smaller presence in our province.

The

question I have for you, Minister, is: What was that impact? What was the

smaller presence in our province? How many officers were taken off our roads

because of the deployment to Labrador?

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of Justice and

Public Safety.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

At no

point was I made aware, as the minister, that there was any significant

disservice to the highway traffic services for the RCMP over the summer. That's

certainly not something that I would have been made aware of.

There's

a highway traffic division that basically operates – it's not based out of any

detachment; they operate all across the province. The RCMP said they needed

extra resources to ensure the safety as it related to this move and the public

roadway in Labrador.

There

was no information given that it would have any effect on the roadways here in

the province, and that's the information – I rely on the RCMP for that

expertise, and that's how they make their decision.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

So the

minister has said that there wasn't an impact – as a matter of fact, the

minister had said earlier that he was told by the RCMP that the deployment would

not have an effect on regular operations.

Well,

Minister, who provided that information to you and what exactly is it you were

told that wouldn't be impacted?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Justice and Public Safety.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again,

this is a process that's been ongoing for some time. The original, I think,

notification of the extra resources that were needed in Labrador would have been

sometime in the spring, and I'll ask for forgiveness here that I don't remember

the specific date. There were a significant number of people in that meeting. It

would have been RCMP, myself and individuals from the Department of Justice and

Public Safety.

At that

point, it was indicated that there was a significant need for extra resources in

Labrador and in order to enable this that we, as a department, that I, as

minister, would have to sign off on a funding request to the feds to allow for

this to happen outside of that normal agreement.

certainly would not have been done at the expense of funding here in the

province. It was to allow for extra funding for extra resources.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

questions I've asked, the minister has not been able to be specific on the

impacts, the numbers of officers that were deployed, if it was 120 in total or

120 at the time.

I'll ask

the minister: Minister, will you endeavour to get the specific numbers from the

RNC and the RCMP? The operation is over, the impacts on the operation are passed

and the time is passed for that. Will you get the specifics from the police in

Newfoundland and Labrador and make that public so people can understand what

changes happened and make their own decisions if there was a risk or not?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Justice and Public Safety.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Certainly I have no problem – again, the Member opposite should know that I

wouldn't have an update day to day on how the operations of RCMP operate. I have

no problem trying to have that information put out there for the public. It is

taxpayer dollars, so we should know. As long as it doesn't compromise any

current operations, I have no issue with that.

What I

would point out, though, is that the Member is trying to draw a direct causation

here, one that he should know does not exist. The RCMP will certainly tell you

that there are a number of factors that lead to issues on our highways more so

than just enforcement. Again, the Member should know this; I hope he's aware of

that.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, I was ready to

move off on this topic, but I have to speak to the Member's comment right now

and put this question to him because there's a significant loss of life on our

highways in a short period of time.

In the

first 30 weeks of this year – my understanding is there were seven facilities in

the first 30 weeks of 2017. In a seven-week period, starting in August, there

were 18.

I've

been quite clear to say that I'm not going to say the lack of resources were a

cause of this increase. I've been quite clear on that. I stand here today; I'm

not prepared to say that.

I ask

the minister: Are you prepared to stand in your place and say the lack of

resources were not the cause?

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of Justice and

Public Safety.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm glad

the Member opposite is not going to stand here and say it because he knows it's

not the case, but I think he's certainly implying it.

What I

will say is the same thing that the RCMP says: there are multiple factors,

unfortunately, that cause accidents on our roadways. Sometimes it's distracted

driving. Sometimes it's impaired. Sometimes it's road conditions. There are a

number of factors here. This is just one possible factor, but I think one would

point out that the number of tickets that are written by the police on our

highways does not equal to less facilities. There is simply no causation or no

correlation there.

Either

way, my concern is for the safety of our roadways and I'll continue to work with

the ministers, caucus and Cabinet to ensure that.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Leader of the Official

Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the minister for his answers and I look forward to the specific information that

he is going to endeavour to obtain for this House.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask the Premier: Will your government issue a request for proposals

for the supply of marijuana to this province?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Justice and Public Safety.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm

happy to stand up and speak to this impending change in policy that's going on

across the country. Just last week or the week before, we stood here and spoke

to the RFP process that will allow for private industry to be involved in this

upcoming industry.

One of

the issues that comes with this, however, is there is a supply that is needed

here in the province. What I will say is that we are aware that there is a

significant amount of interest as it relates to the need for production here.

We will

be ready for supply. As a government, and certainly the Minister for TCII will

say to you, we're always looking at ways to encourage and spur on economic

development here in the province.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Leader of the Official

Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'll ask

the Premier if he will commit for his government to ensure that local

Newfoundland and Labrador companies are given first priority to supply marijuana

product to NLC.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Justice and Public Safety.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

One of

the first things I would say to the Member opposite is that when it comes to

licensing for this, this is a federal aspect. It's one that's not just

controlled by the province. The feds decide on the licensing and production.

There's a significant process they have to go through to get that.

What I

can say is that this government is always committed to helping Newfoundlanders

and Labradorians prosper here in this province. The fact is we have to have a

supply here. So, hopefully, as a government we can make that happen. Come July

2018, with the legalization of cannabis, we have to ensure there will be supply.

We'll continue on working to make sure that happens.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Leader of the Official

Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We don't

have to provide the supply if the rules are in place and the province is ready.

You've already raised concerns about our province not being ready.

So I ask

the Premier to advise this House if your government is in discussions with a

mainland company for a seven-year incentive program to sole-source marijuana

production for the Newfoundland and Labrador market.

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of Justice and

Public Safety.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm

happy to stand up and speak to this. I know this government has entertained a

number of different options and offers as it relates to the production of

cannabis here in this province, the same way that there's been a number of

contacts made as it relates to the distribution.

What we

can say is that there are significant regulations when it comes to this and it

is federally controlled who gets production, but we will continue to work with

entrepreneurs to ensure we have production here in this province. So we'll

continue to work on that and to ensure that we have supply here for when July

2018 comes.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Leader of the Official

Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Is the

minister saying that the province, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador,

will not have control as to who the supplier is for this province, who is the

supplier, who's doing the production and that the province will not have control

of that?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As you

know, within the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador there are certain

procurement rules. There are certain trade rules that are in place for people

who actually work within government. As this government, we're prepared to work

with Newfoundland and Labrador companies to whatever extent it takes to make

sure they get fair opportunities, Mr. Speaker.

I could

point to many decisions made by the Member opposite. I point no further than the

ferries that we're actually dealing with in our province right now that were

procured outside of our province.

The

Leader of the Opposition stands here today suggesting otherwise, that things

could be done in our province when on his watch we saw ferries being built in

Romania. We saw foreign companies coming in to do Muskrat Falls, Mr. Speaker.

There

are tons of opportunities when they gave up on Newfoundland and Labrador. We

will not give up on Newfoundland and Labrador (inaudible).

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Leader of the Official

Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

Premier likes to change the channel very quickly, doesn't he?

We're

asking about marijuana. We're asking about the supply of marijuana. Who is going

to produce it, manufacture it and supply it to NLC when the government rolls out

their distribution next summer?

So I'll

ask the Premier this, if he wants to get up and talk. We've asked him several

questions. It's the first time he got up today.

I'll ask

the Premier this: Are you or your government or anyone in your office having

discussions with a mainland company? Let's use an example: Canopy Growth, for

example. Are you talking to Canopy Growth about supplying marijuana for

Newfoundland and Labrador?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Mr. Speaker, going back to

the earlier comments when he talked about this particular procurement model, the

fact is the truth hurts. The Members opposite do not want to hear the truth;

they do not want to accept the responsibility of ferries that were built outside

of this province.

When we

remind them – I know it's a sore spot for them. I know it's a sore spot because

not only did they build the ferries outside of Newfoundland and Labrador, they

forgot about the wharves that went attached to that, Mr. Speaker.

We are

willing to work with companies no matter where they are from, Mr. Speaker, if it

means that we can create economic development for Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians. Companies like Canopy and others right across this province, we

are willing to work with them to create jobs for Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm

going to ask the Premier again – he doesn't want to talk about it, but I'll ask

him again: Are you talking to Canopy Growth? I'll use them as an example. Are

you talking to them about a seven-year incentive program over a longer term

contract to supply marijuana here in this province?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Justice and Public Safety.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As a

government, we've entertained a number of offers from people that are interested

in this. In fact, I can say that one half hour ago up in my office I met with a

Newfoundland and Labrador company that's interested in production here in this

province. We're willing to sit down and have those conversations.

What I

can say is that no decision has been made on this; there's a lot of work to do

it. But I can guarantee you that the guiding factor for any decision made by

this government is what's in the best interests of Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Leader of the Official

Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

minister is saying there was no decision made. They made no decision last night

on this. I'm glad he's telling us now there's no decision made because it's

important for Newfoundland and Labrador companies to also have an opportunity to

compete. Canopy Growth is an example of a national Mainland company that is a

supplier and producer of marijuana.

I'll ask

the Premier very carefully and very clearly: Are you talking to them about a

seven-year incentive deal on a longer term contract to supply for Newfoundland

and Labrador?

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of Justice and

Public Safety.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm

happy to stand here and speak to this issue. It's a huge issue here in this

province. I can guarantee you that there are multiple companies that this

government has been in conversation with as it relates to the production of

cannabis here in the province.

There

are a number of incentives for this. People want to come here and see the jobs

here. We are one of the few provinces that don't have production in the

province. We're working on that and we're speaking to companies that are

interested.

In fact,

like I just said just prior to coming down to the House, I spoke to a

Newfoundland and Labrador company that wants to get in here. What I can

guarantee you is that no decision has been made, but when we make a decision, it

will be in the best interests of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians and we will be

ready for July 2018.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Leader of the Official

Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Yes, Mr. Speaker, there's no

doubt from what we're hearing they're going to do whatever they can to make sure

they're ready for July 2018.

So I'll

ask the question very simply: If they're going to provide opportunity to other

businesses, such as those interested within Newfoundland and Labrador, to be a

supplier and producer of marijuana, would they also have the opportunity for a

seven-year incentive program?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Justice and Public Safety.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again,

at the end of the day, whatever decision is made by this government as it

relates to production in this province, there are a lot of moving parts to it,

but what I can say to you is that we will do what's best for this province and

for the people, what is the best approach to take. There's no decision to make;

there are no barriers being put in place. In fact, I think as the minister likes

to say, we are open for business and we want to have business here in this

province.

The

decision has not been made. I cannot be any clearer, we will be ready for July

and whatever decision that this government makes will be in the best interest –

again, I can only state this, that the only thing that we're concerned about is

what's best for Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I only

rise again to be clear, and I hear what the minister is saying; I just want to

make sure it's accurate and correct.

Is the

minister telling this House that the government has not made a decision on the

production and supply of any marijuana, whatsoever, for this province? No

seven-year incentive programs, no 20-year contracts – they haven't done any of

that. Is that what the minister is saying?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Justice and Public Safety.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again,

I'm happy to stand here and say that we have entertained offers from multiple

companies that want to do business here in Newfoundland and Labrador. Some of

those are from out of province and some of those are from here, right in the

province. I just met with one.

What I

can say, again, is that no deal has been struck as it relates to production here

in this province. There is no deal that has been struck. We will be ready for

July and we'll make a decision that is best for the people here in the province.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Opposition House

Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, in the fall fiscal update, the Finance Minister indicated that he would

be bringing legislation mandating agencies, boards and commissions to cut their

spending. There are possibly only four days left to the Legislature calendar and

no sign of legislation.

I ask

the minister: When can we expect to see this legislation?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will

say to the Member I thank him for the question because it's important. The

agencies, boards and commissions in this province account for about 60 per cent

of the spending in the province, 80 per cent of the salaries. So it is important

that we get the spending within agencies, boards and commissions in line with

what government departments are doing.

But, Mr.

Speaker, I will say that since that announcement, I've had conversations with a

number of the agencies who have indicated that they are interested in sitting at

the table again and looking at the information that we need to look at and

working with government. If that is indeed the case, we will determine what

exactly is needed in the legislation. I feel it's more important in getting

results than getting legislation on the floor of this House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Opposition House

Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I remind

the minister, talking about results, you haven't hit the results or targets that

you had in your Budget 2017 . That's

why he said he was going to bring in legislation.

I'll ask

the minister: Are you backtracking what you said in your fiscal update and

you're not bringing in legislation now related to these agencies and boards,

which you indicated you were going to do in the fiscal update?

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of Finance and

President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Mr. Speaker, I will say I

haven't ruled it out, but what I am indicating is that I want results. Whether

that is through legislation or whether it's through co-operation, we need

results.

What I

will also say to the Member, I read his letter last week in the

Telegram , Mr. Speaker. I could hardly continue to sit on my seat. I

almost laughed myself off the seat. Spending in the province is down. Well, in

the fiscal fall update, if you had read that, spending in the province is up by

1.2 per cent.

Mr.

Speaker, household incomes are up by 2.1 per cent. Mr. Speaker, we're off our

revenue targets by less than 1 per cent. Part of the reason for that is a

decline in oil prices, something that they pointed to as their reason for not

hitting their targets for years.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

November 30, the Minister of Transportation and Works sent an email to parents

and guardians of Bishop Feild Elementary School pupils responding to their

questions asking when the structural assessment of the school is to begin and

how long they can expect the school to be closed to their children. Surely, the

minister could have estimated whether the wait for the assessment to begin is

days, weeks or months rather than merely offering broad strokes.

I ask

the minister if he is ready today to give the very concerned parents and

guardians a better sense of what to expect around timing than he did last

Thursday.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I thank

the hon. Member for the question.

Mr.

Speaker, back on November 5 we had an initial report come back from Nova

Consultants on their initial engineering assessment at the school, at Bishop

Feild. We took a couple of weeks to look at that to make sure we are covering

all the necessary engineering things that we need to look at. We are dealing

with an 89-year-old building. We want to make sure we get this right, Mr.

Speaker, because there's one thing we're not going to do: we're not going to

send kids back into a school that's not safe, Mr. Speaker.

Nova

Consultants will start tomorrow on the more in-depth engineering, Mr. Speaker,

and we have to make sure we're getting this right because this is about the

safety of the students.

Thank

you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

The

minister in his email talked about ensuring that all necessary steps are taken

before allowing students, teachers or staff to return to the school. We're not

complaining with that, but that open-ended statement does not bring any comfort

to parents and guardians. They have no idea of what really is going on regarding

the school and gossip is running wild out there, Mr. Speaker.

I ask

the minister if he will notify the parents and guardians publicly about what

exactly those necessary steps are in an effort to allay their concerns and their

fears.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I thank

the hon. Member for the question.

First of

all, I would encourage her, like my grandfather used to tell me, stop listening

to gossip.

Mr.

Speaker, this is an 89-year-old building that we have students that need their

education processes of this. It's important to us that we get this right. It's

important that we make sure this building is safe for students. The engineering

consultants are going to go in, we're going to remove all the ceilings in the

building, we're going to look for what structural challenges there are. We're

going to make sure this building is safe for our kids when they re-enter this

building.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker, the federal

government announced it will be delivering its new legislation for persons

living with disabilities in spring 2018, meaning all provinces must also be

ready and have their legislation aligned.

As part

of this process, presumably the minister will want to obtain real substantial

input from organizations and people with lived experience to ensure this

legislation is responsive to the real needs of people and has teeth regarding

resources and enforcement.

I ask

the Minister of CSSD: What is her process for moving forward on our provincial

legislation, and what is her timeline?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Children, Seniors and Social Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS. DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the Member for the question to talk about this important topic of disabilities.

We are

certainly, Mr. Speaker, engaging with stakeholders. We know what happens. We've

seen lots of examples in the past, when you go out and you rush to get something

out the door and it's not done right. We will be engaging with a broad range of

stakeholders right across the province. Staff in the Disability Policy Office is

putting a lot of work into this, and something will be coming very soon. I say

to the hon. Member: stay tuned.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker, the national

poverty rate for persons with disabilities is 23 per cent, compared to 9 per

cent for people without disabilities. Poverty is growing for people with

disabilities in the province due to lack of affordable accessible housing, low

levels of income support, the cutting of home care hours, cutting the adult

dental program and over-the-counter drug program.

I ask

the minister: What is she going to do to lift the growing and debilitating

burden of poverty experienced by people living with disabilities?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Children, Seniors and Social Development.

MS. DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want

to start by correcting the record. Last week, the hon. Member asked a question

about what we were doing. I misspoke, I lowballed a number. In fact, Mr.

Speaker, budget '17: $270 million in more than 100 poverty reduction

initiatives.

Mr.

Speaker, I checked. It's actually the most money that has ever been invested by

any government into poverty reduction initiatives and we're going to continue.

Mr.

Speaker, this is a government that's very sensitive to the needs of the low

income, the marginalized. We're going to work with them; we're going to continue

to build on things like the Premier's Task Force, our Health in All Policies and

the All-Party Committee on Mental Health and Addictions.

So I say

to the hon. Member: Stay tuned, there's a lot to be done, but we are doing –

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The time for Oral Questions

has ended.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Presenting Reports

by Standing and Select Committees

MR. SPEAKER:

I have something.

Pursuant

section 273(3) of the Elections Act,

1991 , I hereby table the annual report of the Chief Electoral Officer on

Election Finances for January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.

I also

have a document – pursuant to

section 8 and

section 10 of the

Public Tender Act , I hereby table reports of

Public Tender Act Exceptions for June and July 2017 as presented by

the chief operating officer of the Government Purchasing Agency.

Tabling

of Documents.

Tabling of

Documents

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Municipal Affairs and Environment.

MR. JOYCE:

Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to

table today the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 annual reports for the Newfoundland and

Labrador 911 Bureau.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further tabling of documents?

The hon.

the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Pursuant

section 26(5)(

a) of the Financial

Administration Act , I am tabling one order-in-council relating to a

funding pre-commitment for the fiscal year 2018-19.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further tabling of documents?

The hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture, Industry and

Innovation.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm tabling a document in response to a question posed last

week by the Member for Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune to payments made to Mountain

Consultants at the Marble Mountain Development Corporation. An ATIPP request was

filed and it had outlined, and is publicly available, all payments since

January 2015. This is a

contract that has been in place for the last 20 years.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

In the spirit of saving the

best for last, I recognize the hon. the Minister of Advanced Education, Skills

and Labour, who has tried four times to stand.

MR. HAWKINS:

Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to

stand today in accordance with the requirements of the Transparency and

Accountability Act, 2006 to table the activity plan for the Council on Higher

Education. This plan outlines the activities for the council for the next three

years for the period from September 1, 2017 to August 31, 2020.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further tabling of documents?

Notices

of Motion.

Notices of Motion

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Bonavista.

MR. KING:

Mr. Speaker, I, seconded by

the Member for Placentia West – Bellevue, will be bringing forward the following

PMR on Wednesday:

WHEREAS

the provincial government recently released

What We Heard document on social

enterprises; and

WHEREAS

supporting social enterprise development is vital for advancing development

opportunities that benefit the economy, supports sustainability, tackles social

and economic issues and encourage entrepreneurial models;

THEREFORE

BE IT RESOLVED that this hon. House take action to be responsive to

the feedback received from this document to increase the number of social

enterprises in Newfoundland and Labrador and to enhance services for existing

social enterprises.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to

Standing Order 63(3), the PMR just read by the Member for Bonavista shall be the

one to be debated this coming Wednesday.

Further,

I give notice that I will ask leave to move the following resolution:

BE IT

RESOLVED by the House of Assembly as follows:

WHEREAS

section 4 of the Auditor General Act

provides that on resolution of the House of Assembly, the Lieutenant Governor in

Council shall appoint an Auditor General;

THEREFORE

BE IT RESOLVED that Julia Mullaley be appointed as the Auditor

General.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further notices of motion?

Answers

to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's East – Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

To the

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

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

WHEREAS

deaf and hard of hearing children in the public education system of Newfoundland

and Labrador are not receiving full and equivalent access to a quality education

because of the lack of appropriate full-time resources; and

WHEREAS

from 1964 to 2010 deaf and hard of hearing children were provided with a

full-time, quality education in the Newfoundland School for the Deaf, but DHH

children currently placed in mainstream schools receive only a fraction of a

school day with a teacher qualified to instruct DHH children;

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

of Assembly to urge government to undertake an immediate complete and thorough

assessment of the supports in place for DHH children by a committee of at least

two independent and recognized experts in the field of DHH education and to

accept the recommendations of these experts, and in the interim, take measures

to honour the support commitments made to all current and future students upon

closure of the Newfoundland School for the Deaf in 2010, to ensure that all DHH

children are provided with access to a quality education equivalent to hearing

classmates as well as access to sign language.

And as

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

What an

appropriate day, Mr. Speaker, to present this petition, a petition signed by

people from the St. John's area, from the Bonavista Bay area, from the Southern

Shore of the Avalon Peninsula, people who are concerned that the human rights of

people and children with disabilities be recognized by this government in every

way possible.

continue to wait for legislation with regard to recognition of the human rights

of people with disabilities and we continue to have parents fighting for the

needs of their children in our school system, an inclusion school system which

is excluding children at the same time as calling it inclusion, Mr. Speaker. It

is very, very disturbing.

On the

weekend I met with parents, again, who have children who are deaf and who have

needs in our school system. One set of parents are very happy that finally their

child will have a deaf teacher for the rest of this year, but told by the school

board, well, we can't assure you that it will happen after this year.

The

parents of children going to school, generally speaking, don't have to guess

from year to year if there's a teacher for their child. But the parents of

children with special needs, especially this child who is deaf, are being told

he's got his teacher this year and we have no idea if he'll have his deaf

teacher next year.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further petitions?

The hon.

the Member for Mount Pearl – Southlands.

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

petition of the undersigned residents humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

the inshore harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador have serious concerns about

their current union representation; and

WHEREAS

the inshore fish harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador want the right to vote

on which union will represent them;

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

of Assembly to request that government urge Newfoundland and Labrador Labour

Relations Board to proceed immediately to a vote of the inshore fish harvesters

to decide which union will represent them.

And as

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, like I said, I have this petition here again today. This one is signed

from people from Red Head Cove, Bay de Verde, Port au Choix, Port Saunders,

Summerside, Irishtown, Frenchman's Cove, Lark Harbour, Benoit's Cove, New

Ferolle, Bartletts Harbour, Reef's Harbour, Castor River South, Plum Point and

Lab City. Mr. Speaker, the bottom line is we have numerous people here

throughout the province.

It's

interesting that some of the Members over there find this petition funny. I can

assure you that the individuals who are involved here, they certainly don't find

it funny.

The

fishery has certainly been the mainstay of our province for years and years;

it's what brought people to this province. There are many areas of the province,

many rural areas in particular, that still depend on the fishery. We've seen a

lot of decline in a lot of the rural areas because of the challenges within the

fishery. We know the fishery is important, not just to rural Newfoundland and

Labrador, but to the province as a whole.

I look

even in Mount Pearl and St. John's – you look at Mount Pearl into Donovans

Business Park, as an example, there are many businesses there that exist because

of the fishery. So it's important to us all.

The last

thing we need, with all of the challenges we have, is a division amongst people

within the fishery itself. Currently that's what exists, unfortunately. What the

people here are asking is to solve the issue of who will represent the inshore

fish harvesters, one way or the other.

doesn't matter to me, Mr. Speaker. I'm not a fisherman; I couldn't care less

which union it is. It's irrelevant to me, but it is important to put this issue

to bed so that they can be united and everyone can work together for the benefit

of the fishery overall.

That's

what is being asked here. I was asked to bring it forward, that's what I'm doing

and glad to do so.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further petitions?

The hon.

the Member for Cape St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

This is

a petition that I presented before and I'm going to present it here again today

because I have over 300 names of people that came out and asked me to present

this petition.

To the

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland

and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

the Indian Meal Line and the Bauline Line are maintained by the Department of

Transportation and Works; and

WHEREAS

these roads have very narrow shoulders, particularly for pedestrian traffic; and

WHEREAS

excessive speed is an issue on these roads;

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

of Assembly to urge government to implement traffic calming measures such as

speedbumps, electric signage, et cetera, to reduce speed and ensure safety of

all residents.

And as

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, like I said, I presented this petition now –

either it's the third or fourth time. It's a very important issue, and I even

expand it to other districts. I know it's important in my district and important

in other communities because there are so many provincial roads out there that

are basically maintained and controlled by the provincial government. A lot of

these roads in particular are small roads, but especially on the Northeast

Avalon where the growth over the last number of years, some of these roads have

become major thoroughfares now.

Indian Meal Line, and the Bauline Line in particular,

one time used to be mainly dirt roads and there was very little traffic flow on

it, but an example for Indian Meal Line, it's a road that a lot of people will

take between Torbay and Portugal Cove-St. Philip's. There are a lot of new homes

and there are a lot of subdivisions. Like I said the last time, on Indian Meal

Line there were probably 50 or 60 homes, 20 or 25 years ago. Now, I would

estimate there are a couple thousand people, maybe 3,000 or 4,000 people living

off those roads.

So it's very important. Provincial roads – most of the

main roads have a shoulder on it that's probably about three or four feet where

there is opportunity to push a stroller or walk a dog or anything like that, but

on these particular roads, which government does control, does snow clear and

does maintenance on these roads, it's important that traffic slows down.

We're going to do a bill later on today and it's about

safety on the roads. Again, this is another part of safety. Mr. Speaker, what

I'm talking about is that we need some mechanisms put in place. I know it works

on roads in communities in my district like speed bumps or speed humps they call

it and also signage, like electronic signage.

I know in the new school in Torbay there are electronic

signs on each side of the school. When you come up to that sign and you see how

fast you're going, it will help you reduce your speed. So I'm calling on the

provincial government to look at these measures on provincial roads.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Further petitions?

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

MS.

ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the

undersigned residents humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS a 2013 risk assessment report made public in

June 2017 makes it clear that initial cost estimates and financial risks for the

Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project were understated; and

WHEREAS the Muskrat Falls Project is way over budget,

diverting funds from other needs and potentially doubling electricity bills, and

it has raised serious concerns about damage to the environment and downstream

communities; and

WHEREAS Nalcor and the provincial government have not

been transparent or accountable as to why the 2013 report was not previously

made public, and the people of the province are left with many unanswered

questions;

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

of Assembly to urge government to immediately conduct a forensic audit of the

Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project.

And as

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Now, Mr.

Speaker, I know and we all know that an inquiry has been called, but there are

still many people who are mystified as to why government didn't call for a

forensic audit. It's now within the scope of the inquiry to call for a forensic

audit, but government could have done this, could have enacted this much earlier

than it has. Now the people of the province will have to wait two years for a

report from the inquiry.

Fair

enough that the inquiry will take a long time for it to be able to do its work

accurately and precisely, but the forensic audit, people are really concerned;

they want to know what their government did, both in the previous administration

and in this current administration. It's not only important for this project,

but it's also about restoring the confidence of the people in government.

Without that confidence, how can we go forward?

So, Mr.

Speaker, I am happy to present this petition on their behalf, on the behalf of

all the signatories. Again, this petition was signed before the inquiry was

called. But I believe it's still relevant, because the people who signed this

petition are saying they want a forensic audit – a very specific, targeted

forensic audit – with the results to be released as soon as possible.

Mr.

Speaker, I will take my chair and thank you once again.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further petitions?

The hon.

the Member for Conception Bay East – Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland

and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

the Adult Dental Program coverage for clients of the Newfoundland and Labrador

Provincial Drug Program under the Access and 65Plus Plan were eliminated in

Budget 2016 ;

WHEREAS

many low-income individuals and family can no longer access basic dental care;

WHEREAS

those same individuals can no longer access dentures;

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

of Assembly to urge government to reinstate the Adult Dental Program to cover

low-income individuals and families to better ensure oral health, quality of

life and dignity.

And as

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Well,

Mr. Speaker, we've had some discussion around this over the last number of years

since the program was cut, and we're continuously hearing horror stories from

individuals and family members about lack of access to dentures and the impact

that's having around oral health, around quality of life and around dignity.

I only

recently met with a constituent and their family. Their loved one has lost

nearly 40 pounds because they haven't been able to access dentures, being able

to eat certain foods and that has had a detrimental effect on them. Even their

general practitioner doctor has intervened and said we need some specialized

help here to be able to support them.

I'm

happy to say that, within this community, they managed to fundraise to help out

that individual, but that's where we've gotten. When we start looking at

dropping quality of life and dignity for people to save a few dollars, yet it's

going to be more costly from a health point of view, then I think we've got it

wrong. We totally have it wrong.

This is

about providing – particularly people at the 65-plus, those who have been

contributors to our society, those who need a little bit of our extra supports.

It's not a big drawdown on the Health budget of nearly $3 billion; it's a small

proportion for a small number of our citizens to be able to have a quality of

life, proper health and dignity in here.

The

impact, if you look at it, from an investment point of view, being able to

address some of those issues to ensure that people are still eating the proper

foods because of the dentures, that obviously has an impact on the cost

associated with not having proper health care and the effects that may have. The

other thing is about quality of life. It's about people having dignity, being

able to be active in their communities. This has an effect mentally on people.

They don't feel the same going out because they don't have dentures there. They

hide away from stuff; they don't engage in the same atmosphere as they normally

would.

I think

we, as a society, have a responsibility to ensure that everybody has basic

access to certain things. So when you cross over health, proper dental hygiene

and you cross over dignity and quality of life, then, Mr. Speaker, I think this

is very important. The government should reconsider in reinstating this.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further petitions?

Orders

of the Day.

Orders of the Day

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Deputy

Government House Leader.

MS. COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I call

from the Order Paper, Order 5.

I move

pursuant to provisional Standing Order 11(1) that the House not adjourn at 5:30

p.m. on Monday, December 4, 2017.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

All those in favour of the

motion, please say 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

Those against?

This

motion is carried.

The

Deputy Government House Leader.

MS. COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I move,

seconded by the Minister of Children, Seniors and Social Development, for leave

to introduce a bill – sorry, I have to turn my page, Mr. Speaker – entitled An

Act To Amend The Child And Youth Advocate Act, Bill 26, and I further move that

the said bill be now read a first time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that

the hon. the Minister of Children, Seniors and Social Development shall have

leave to introduce a bill entitled

An Act To Amend The Child And Youth Advocate

Act, Bill 26, and that the said bill be now read a first time.

Is it

the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

This

motion is carried.

Motion,

the hon. the Minister of Children, Seniors and Social Development to introduce a

bill, “An Act To Amend The Child And Youth Advocate Act,” carried. (Bill 26)

CLERK (Barnes):

A bill,

An Act To Amend The

Child And Youth Advocate Act. (Bill 26)

MR. SPEAKER:

This bill has now been read a

first time.

When

shall the said bill be read a second time?

MS. COADY:

Tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

Tomorrow.

motion, Bill 26 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Deputy

Government House Leader.

MS. COADY:

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded

by the Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour, for leave to introduce

a bill entitled

An Act To Amend The Independent Appointments Commission Act,

Bill 28.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that

the hon. the Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour shall have leave

to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Independent Appointments

Commission Act, Bill 28, and that the said bill be now read a first time.

Is it

the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

This

motion is carried.

Motion,

the hon. the Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour to introduce a

bill, “An Act To Amend The Independent Appointments Commission Act,” carried.

(Bill 28)

CLERK:

A bill,

An Act To Amend The

Independent Appointments Commission Act. (Bill 28)

MR. SPEAKER:

This bill has now been read a

first time.

When

shall the said bill be read a second time?

MS. COADY:

Tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

Tomorrow.

motion, Bill 28 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Deputy

Government House Leader.

MS. COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I call

from the Order Paper number 8, second reading of a bill,

An Act To Amend The

Highway Traffic Act No. 2, Bill 27.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Service NL.

MS. GAMBIN-WALSH:

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded

by the Minister of Justice and Public Safety, that Bill 27,

An Act To Amend The

Highway Traffic Act No. 2, be now read a second time.

Motion,

second read of a bill, “An Act To Amend The Highway Traffic Act No. 2.” (Bill

27)

MS. GAMBIN-WALSH:

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to

rise in this hon. House to speak to Bill 27, an amendment to the

Highway Traffic Act .

This is

my second opportunity to stand during this session of the House to introduce

amendments to help increase safety on the roadways in our province. I cannot

state often enough how important it is that we keep the dialogue going on road

safety.

It is

also important that we, as a government, regularly review the act to keep

current with changes in safety codes, vehicle design and other highway safety

improvements, as well as responding to driving behaviours. A couple of weeks

ago, I attended an event to honour the many individuals in our province who have

lost their lives or been seriously injured on our highways.

The

National Day of Remembrance for Road Crash Victims is a stark reminder of the

significant toll that is taken on families and communities all throughout our

province. I doubt there is anyone in our province who has not been touched in

some way by a motor vehicle accident.

In many

cases, it may have been the unimaginable loss or injury of a parent, a child, a

sibling, a partner. For others, it may be a friend, a neighbour or a colleague.

Whatever the relationship, individuals and families must live with the loss or

suffering of their loved ones. I've met with individuals and families who have

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

affected me in a very profound way. It has certainly made the attention our

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

Every

time I have to consider making changes to strengthen the

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

their stories of pain and loss. Words cannot express the devastation that

families live with every day, and I commend people like Gail and Levi Thorne and

the STAND for Hannah Foundation in their efforts to spread their road safety

message despite their suffering. These are the stories and these are faces that

we must keep front and centre every time we make changes to the act to help

increase road safety.

In June

of 2016, the Highway Traffic Act was

amended to increase the fines for using a handheld cellular phone while driving

a motor vehicle.

Mr.

Speaker, in September, amendments to the

Highway Traffic Act came into effect, which include tougher penalties for

impaired drivers in this province. I want to acknowledge the support of all

Members of this hon. House for Bill 68. These amendments include new rules that

would help steer our young people in the direction of safe and sober driving

habits.

Just

last month, I introduced further amendments to the act to increase penalties for

a number of offences that were less than $100. It is our expectation that

increasing these fines will help deter a number of behaviours that continue to

pose risks on our roadways such as driving too slow, driving with an obstructed

windshield or illegally modifying a vehicle, but we also know there are many

other unsafe driving practices that endanger lives every day.

Time and

time again, we've all witnessed blatant disregard for safety on our roadways.

We've seen the driver who carelessly weaves in and out of traffic, or heard the

news stories about the person who has been caught speeding excessively. It is

startling to know that an average of five people die on Canada's roads every

day. This equates to over 1,800 people losing their lives every year and more

than 160,000 people being injured, some very seriously.

Today,

Mr. Speaker, we are continuing our efforts to improve road safety in our

province. We are introducing amendments today to strengthen the act regarding:

excessive speeding; street racing; stunting; Move Over provisions; creation of a

new offence for driving without due care and attention or without reasonable

consideration for other persons causing bodily harm or death; increase fines for

the existing offence of driving without due care and attention and driving

without reasonable consideration for other persons; modification to proof of

insurance requirements; and, an addition of an appeal process for certain

drivers' licence suspensions, as well as clarification that these suspensions

are imposed by the legislation and not by the registrar.

Mr.

Speaker, I will now speak to the specifics of each of these amendments. There

are daily occurrences of motorists who travel at high speeds, which place the

general public at risk. The posted maximum speed on a highway is determined by

highway design and motorists are required to adjust their speed to suit the

weather and road conditions.

Currently, under

section 1(10) of the act, speeds exceeding the posted speed

limit by more than 30 kilometres per hour carry the same penalty, unlike most

other jurisdictions, which have more severe fines and increments above 50

kilometres per hour or 60 kilometres per hour over the limit.

Drivers

who are convicted of speeding in the province have to pay a fine and depending

on the rate of speed, will accumulate demerit points. Currently, drivers face

fines of between $50 and $360 for speeds exceeding the speed limit by one to 10

kilometres per hour, between $100 and $450 for speeds exceeding the limit by 11

to 20 kilometres per hour, $200 to $600 for exceeding by 21 to 30 kilometres per

hour, and $300 to $750 for speeds in excess of 31 kilometres per hour over the

posted limit.

The

changes we are introducing include separate speeding offences for 31 to 50

kilometres per hour and greater than 50 kilometres per hour over the speed

limit. This also involves a 7-day driver's licence suspension for exceeding the

posted speed limit by greater than 50 kilometres per hour to be effective on the

second day after the notice of suspension is given.

Vehicles

operated by drivers that exceed the posted speed limit by greater than 50

kilometres per hour will be impounded for three days. Fines for exceeding the

speed limit by greater than 50 kilometres per hour will be set at a range of

$400 to $850, while fines for speeding in school zones and construction zones

will be set at $800 to $1,800.

Mr.

Speaker, racing on a highway is a high-risk activity that disregards the safety

of the general public. Unfortunately, we have witnessed tragedy on our roadways

because of such reckless behaviour, tragedies that could have been avoided.

Groups

like STAND for Hannah have lobbied government to strengthen the province's

regulatory regime in order to deter racing and travelling at extremely high

rates of speed on our highways. With these new amendments, a driver that is

charged with the offence will receive a 7-day driver's licence suspension

effective on the second day after the notice of suspension is given. Drivers who

are charged with racing will also have their vehicles impounded for three days.

Mr.

Speaker, currently there is no provincial legislation that prohibits the

execution of a stunt on a highway or in a public area, such as a vehicle doing

doughnuts or motorcycles travelling on one wheel. A separate offence for

stunting has now been created with penalties being the same as those associated

with racing on a roadway. A driver that is charged with the offence will receive

a 7-day driver's licence suspension effective on the second day after the notice

is given. Drivers who are charged with racing or stunting will also have their

vehicles impounded for three days.

Mr.

Speaker, we will also strengthen our Move Over provision in an effort to help

ensure the safety of our first responders. We are adding a speed reduction of at

least 30 kilometres per hour below the speed limit to a minimum speed of 30

kilometres or less for vehicles passing stopped emergency vehicles. We are also

providing the ability to charge the registered owner for such offences.

Mr.

Speaker, we are also creating a new offence under the

Highway Traffic Act for driving without due care and attention

causing bodily harm or death. With this new offence come new penalties as well.

The offence will carry a minimum fine of $2,000 and a maximum fine of $20,000,

or up to two years in prison or both. It also includes a licence suspension of

not more than five years and six demerit points. The fines for the existing

offence of driving without due care and attention and driving without reasonable

consideration for other persons will rise from a range of $120 to $480, to that

of $300 to $1,000.

We're

also modifying insurance provisions so as to place the onus on the driver to

prove the vehicle they were driving was insured at the time the offence

occurred. This will also include placing the onus on the person charged with an

offence to prove there was a valid insurance policy when the offence was

committed.

Mr.

Speaker, another amendment we have made to the act involves an appeals mechanism

to appeal a 90-day driver's licence suspension for impaired driving. The

Highway Traffic Act provides authority

for peace officers to require the roadside surrender of a driver's licence for

impaired driving, alcohol and drug, and sets time periods for suspensions. The

act does not currently provide an avenue for a person to appeal a 90-day

driver's licence suspension, blood-alcohol content of 0.08 or greater, or

failure or refusal to provide a sample; however, highway traffic legislation in

all other provinces and territories contains provisions for review of driver's

licence suspensions.

October 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada released a decision in which it held

that the fail provisions of British Columbia's automatic roadside prohibition

scheme infringed

section 8 of the Canadian

Charter of Rights and Freedoms because a 90-day suspension could result from

an ASD rating alone. It also stated that the limited review mechanism available

did not allow an individual to challenge the accuracy of the ASD result, even

though there were potential concerns about the reliability of ASDs.

The

Highway Traffic Act now provides a

mechanism for drivers in Newfoundland and Labrador to appeal a 90-day driver's

licence suspension for impaired driving. Grounds for an appeal will be identity

of the driver or medical explanations for failure or refusal to comply with a

demand. The appeals process will not be retroactive.

Mr.

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

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

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

priority.

I also

want to recognize the input of groups such as the Newfoundland and Labrador

Association of Fire Services and their president Duane Antle. Input from

community stakeholders like his association, STAND for Hannah, individuals whom

I have personally met with, as well as law enforcement personnel in our province

is all very important as we continue to develop amendments to the

Highway Traffic Act .

I want

to express my gratitude for their willingness to continuously work with us in

our efforts to improve road safety in the province. Through the changes we have

introduced here today, along with other changes to the act, our objective is to

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

respectfully move these amendments to the

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

in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Cape St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

It's

indeed a privilege to get up here today and to speak to this new bill. I have to

say before I start and talk about the bill, times in society that we have people

that advocate for different reasons, they work on different projects and I

really want to applaud the groups that are here with us today. It's because of

you people that we're doing this today. I understand that loss of life in

families is so hard. What you're doing today, your loved ones will always

remember and be with you to know that you're making a difference.

behalf of everybody here in the House of Assembly, I would really want to thank

you for your advocacy.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. K. PARSONS:

I personally don't have a

family member or anybody, but I do have friends that through highways and

excessive speeds and everything else have lost members of their family, and I'm

sure we all do here in the province. We understand what we're doing here today.

I applaud the minister. I have a fine lot of questions for the minister later on

when we do get into Committee about this act. It's not to criticize or anything,

but it will just be some clarification basically.

I also

want to advocate to the minister that as we do the

Highway Traffic Act – the last time we did it, it was Bill 68

and everybody in this House supported it – we need to do things now to make sure

that the general public understands what we're doing as a House and what we're

doing out there. Advocate groups like we have here today, I know they've been

speaking out. We've heard them in the media. We've heard them everywhere. Now

it's time for government to really put this forward and let people understand

that these are the reasons why we're changing and making changes to the

Highway Traffic Act is to protect our

loved ones so that when people go home in the nighttime they are assured that

their children come home after them or before them and are safe on our highways.

We had a very hard year in this province ,

a very difficult year in this province when it comes to fatalities on our

highways. Mr. Speaker, one is too many, and this year we've had way too many. We

need to address it. Part of this is what the minister is introducing here today.

If this saves one life, we're all in it for the right reasons and it would be

great for this province.

The bill

itself, I'm just going to go through a couple of the amendments, just a couple

of the new things that are in the bill. We're talking about stunts. Sometimes it

may be done in fun. I meet it all the time; you meet a bike on the road and

they're on their back wheel. Like the minister said, there are all kinds of –

doing donuts and stuff like this. We saw it last year on Kenmount Road.

people really took the time to look to see what they're doing, they're putting

not only themselves, but they're putting so many other people in jeopardy of

either injury or some damage they may do to a person. Please God, not death, but

it's something that we really have to address. That's what we're trying to do

here today.

As you

look through this bill, it has an explanatory note just to explain to the people

here today, each one explains why we're doing what it is. Under the explanatory

note, this is a new offence, this one here and it's associated with penalties.

It includes car suspension. It's all about stunts. So this is something new that

the province has brought in. It's a good piece of legislation because it's

something we really do need to address.

The

other part, which is also pretty new, is excessive speeding. We always do have

fines for excessive speeding, but this one really emphasizes it. I travel the

Outer Ring Road sometimes and I drive as close as I can to the speed limit. I

see vehicles passing me by. It's like I'm stopped. Now, I'm going 100 kilometres

an hour and they're passing me by like I'm completely stopped. I believe,

Minister, it's from 51 kilometres on is what the new regulations are bringing in

that the car can be impounded and suspensions can be brought in also.

We all

see it. We all understand how dangerous it is for cars to be travelling on our

highways at the speeds – and it's not only the Outer Ring Road. It's Torbay Road

sometimes. Sometimes it could be a road going through a community. We've seen

lots of that through our province where excessive speed kills.

somebody is travelling at 51 kilometres over the speed limit, whether it's 100

kilometres or it's 60 kilometres, it's way too fast. Again, I think, Minister,

this is another really important part that we get out to general public and let

them know, listen, we're not tolerating this anymore; your car can be taken from

you and you could be suspended. You could be going to jail because of it, and

that's what we really want to emphasize to the general public.

The

other thing is – I know that there's a group here today and this one here is

important to them – causing death or bodily harm. Sometimes things that we do on

the highway – and I hate to bring it up – there can be something in a vehicle.

It can be something that is not secure. It can be something that was just not

thought of before a person really gets in that vehicle and makes the decision

whether to drive on the Trans-Canada Highway or drive up where I'm from, Torbay

Road.

People

have to understand that you're responsible for that vehicle. It's your

responsibility that that vehicle goes to wherever you're going to and it's your

responsibility that you really have to caution what you're doing and making sure

that anything you have in that vehicle is your responsibility. So that's another

part.

The

other part of this legislation – I'm just going to go through a little bit here

now – is racing. Again, too many times we hear it in the news, we hear it in the

courtrooms and we see it on TV that this causes death. And usually the death

that we hear of is younger people. I know that there are all kinds of awareness,

schools have it, we have Young Drivers of Canada, we have different driving

schools and everything else; but sometimes I don't know if it's emotion, someone

in the car with you or whatever happens, this seems to occur and there's never a

good result.

Again, I

really call on the minister to – I think while this is a great piece of

legislation, that suspension can be done, there are new penalties, any grounds

to believe that a person is racing on the highway, traffic enforcements can come

out and say listen, this is what it's going to be, you're going to be suspended

and stuff like that; but again, it all comes back to education and it comes back

to making sure that our young people are well educated.

I know

that once a tragedy happens everybody realizes then that it's too late, maybe

this should have been done, maybe that should have been done; but we really want

to emphasize that while there are penalties in place, suspensions and taking

vehicles, there is more to it than that. We should let everybody know but, in

particular, it seems to me that we see it's usually young people that are

involved in this. Again, as a parent and most of us are here in the House, we

all look forward to our children coming home every night safe and sound. So it's

really important.

I want

to talk a little bit about the Move Over legislation. Again, it's an important

part. Minister, my understanding is that say if you're in a 60-kilometre zone,

it will drop down to 30, but if you're in a 50-kilometre zone, it still drops

down to 30, I think. So the speed limit in those different zones is 30

kilometres.

Sometimes we go through the 30 kilometres, but if there are people there

that are working and you're in close proximity, just crawl through them because

these people probably have other jobs to do and they're looking at doing their

work on the road. It could be an accident there and it could be our law

enforcement officers which we have here today also and I want to applaud them.

They need to be able to do their work, they need to be in a safe environment and

we need to make sure they're protected.

We've talked about school zones here in the House of Assembly now for the

last number of weeks. We brought in a private Member's motion last week, and the

Member before that, and it was all to do with school zones. Sometimes in our

communities, we're dealing with children. Sometimes we don't really realize what

they're doing and we don't understand whether – sometimes they can run out,

maybe it's not a crosswalk, maybe there's a friend across the way. But it's

important that we make sure these regulations are put in place and that people

really do slow down in these zones.

Mr. Speaker, the legislation also talks about insurance and proof of

insurance. While a person is driving a vehicle, sometimes somebody else could be

driving that vehicle. It's important that the vehicle is insured itself. I guess

that's where the minister is coming through on a bit of this here also. It

requires the insurance policy be produced to the police. So it's making sure

that vehicles are insured. Too many vehicles are on our roads today that are not

insured. I mean, there's no excuse for that whatsoever.

When it comes to the appeals process, I think this has more to do with

the Charter of Rights – and I'll talk a little bit about it later on, the 90-day

appeal process. It allows for there to be an appeal, and there are different

reasons for them, which I'll read right now in a few minutes.

I'm just going to go through the overview of each amendment that the

minister introduced. On Bill 27, it increases the fines for driving without due

care and attention or for driving – a reasonable consideration for persons from

which the current range now is gone; the fines are gone now from $120 to $480.

They're gone to $300 to $1,000. You'll find these in

section 1. Some of this

bill there are different sections that talks about two or three different

things. So it's important to know where they're coming to in the bill.

Causing death or bodily harm; this is a new offence for driving without

care and attention or without reasonable considerations for persons causing

death or bodily harm. It sets out the following penalties: a minimum of $2,000

and a maximum of $20,000. Up to two years imprisonment and licence suspended for

not more than five years. Again, accompanying regulations will also outline that

you lose six demerit points.

Mr.

Speaker, bodily harm sometimes can be – there's a definition that's in there,

bodily harm sometimes can be hurt or injury of a person of their health or their

comfort is what it's called. Any time there is some injury that is involved,

this is important because while people don't realize what their actions are and

the causes of these actions, so it's important that we introduce that also.

Excessive speeding; in this bill, there are a lot of clauses in here where it

talks about excessive speeding. It is clauses 6, 8, 9, 10, 14 and 16. The bill

includes a separate speeding – and it's for offences from 30- to 50-kilometre

zones and then greater than 50, which means 51, past the posted speed limit.

Some of the fines for greater than 50 kilometers an hour posted, there would be

up to $400 to $850 and now fines will be set at $800 to $1,800 for construction

zones or school zones.

Again,

like I just spoke that time, Mr. Speaker, it's important for people to realize

that when you're in a school zone there are children around. When you're in a

construction zone there are people around also that are doing construction.

They're going to work in the morning. They have a job to do. It's important that

we slow down and make sure of the safety of these people. Again, too often we've

heard of accidents and reports of people being injured in both of these zones.

It also

imposes a seven-day driver's licence suspension for speeding greater than 50

kilometres an hour. Again, Mr. Speaker, this is something that I really find

myself. I know travelling our roads and travelling –whether it's the

Trans-Canada going as far as Whitbourne, where I go to quite often, that going

along the highway and you're going your 100 kilometres an hour and someone

passes you by like you're stopped. I mean, it's just so unsafe and for everybody

else that's on the road. You often heard the term it's an accident waiting to

happen. Well, that's what has happened here. It's important we bring it in, but

it's also important that we educate the general public that we're not going to

tolerate it.

Other

regulations will make it so that vehicles can be impounded for three days for

speeding over. That's pretty important because once you take a vehicle away from

a person hopefully it sends the right message to them also.

Mr.

Speaker, racing on our highway in this bill is clauses 12 and 16 and it poses

additional penalties. In the legislation there is a

section on racing. It's not

new, but this is new of the penalties of what we're putting in. There's a

seven-day driver's suspension for racing on a highway, and effective the second

day after the notice of suspension.

I have a

question for the minister when we get into Committee on that, just to get an

understanding. I know during the briefing it was explained, but there are a

couple of questions I have to ask about that also; also, impounding the vehicles

for racing, up to three days. Hopefully, this will send a message that we need

to send out there to society that we're not going to tolerate it.

Stunting

is in clauses 13 and 16. The bill

creates a new offence for what department officials call stunting. As the

minister explained, that's someone doing wheelies or doing some kind of

unforeseen driving act that you shouldn't be at on a highway, and you're putting

other people in danger. Again, this is new. It will impose a seven-day driver's

licence suspension; again, the fact is on the second day after the notice of

suspension has been given. Added to the regulations is making authorities being

able to impound vehicles for up to three days.

Again,

when it comes to stunting, reading the bill, I'd like to see a little bit more.

I think if we talked to our law enforcement officers or talked to the people out

in the general public, there's a whole list of things that we should inform the

general public that you're just not allowed to do this.

Sometimes stunts can be like – again, you'll see people sometimes on motorcycles

going on their back wheel. Another stunt is you'll see them weaving into traffic

and out of traffic, and going back and forth like this. It puts everybody in

danger because it takes the attention away for people who are actually driving.

I believe something like this should be – anything that takes my attention or

driver's attention away from what another person is doing, maybe that could be

some consideration of what it could be also.

Mr.

Speaker, I spoke a little while ago about the Move Over one, but I'm just going

to talk about the – and this is under clauses 11 and 15. The bill strengthens

Move Over provisions, adding speed reduction of at least 30 kilometres per hour.

That's at least a minimum speed 30 kilometres over for vehicles to pass

emergency vehicles and designated vehicles.

I know

sometimes on the highway we come upon very unfortunate scenes. We're so lucky to

have the emergency response people that we do have, because sometimes, I don't

know; I have friends who are ambulance drivers, I have family members that are

firefighters and I know a lot of police officers. I tell you, I don't know how

sometimes they do it when they come upon a scene as what they see every day and

what they see on our roads and stuff like this.

So while

they are attending people and people who really need their help, we really need

to make sure we pull over or just let them do their jobs and be careful when

we're going through zones. When we see an ambulance or a fire truck or a police

vehicle coming towards us, I have a tendency to almost stop and pull in to make

sure they have lots of adequate room.

Sometimes you'll see people, they drive on a four-lane highway and they think if

they're on the inside lane that they can go on and give it to her, you're okay,

he's out in the outside lane; but listen, just take your time, slow down and

make sure these people get through because you don't know what another driver

could do, maybe somebody is going to come up and pass, but just get over so

everybody realizes it's an emergency vehicle. It's important that somebody here

may need to get to hospital really, really quick or it could be a vehicle that's

going to a scene where a life can be saved.

Again, I

applaud these people. It's something that I know from speaking to friends of

mine who are involved in it that it takes a special person to be able to go and

be able to be on these scenes, to see what they see and be able to do what they

do to make sure that we're protected and our loved ones get all the due care and

everything else they need because minutes save a life. Every minute that they

can either get to a scene or a minute they're coming away from a scene or while

they're at it, they don't need to worry about oncoming traffic or anything else

so it's important that we do that.

Mr.

Speaker, proof of insurance: Bill 27 modifies proof of insurance provision. What

it does is it puts the onus on the driver to prove the vehicle they were driving

is insured at the time, when requested. I'm not sure, the minister can probably

correct me on this, before it was either the RCMP or RNC had to prove that you

didn't have it. This is proof that the vehicle itself is insured. If you don't

have that proof in your vehicle then it's their jurisdiction to say, okay, there

are going to be fines at their request. It also places onus on persons charged

with an offence to prove that insurance was on that vehicle at that time, so

that's important.

These

are some of the safety reasons and, like I said, proof of insurance is a safety

reason because everybody should be insured and now an appeal process is also

added in this. There is a huge

section in the bill that just takes out the word

“registrar” and that's just, as we say in the House, basically a housekeeping

type thing.

The bill

adds the process where there is an appeal to the registrar of 90 days for an

impaired driving suspension where a blood alcohol of 0.8 or greater, refusal or

failure to provide a sample. This is added as there is no appeal process in the

act. The absence of an appeal process as a mechanism could result in a challenge

to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In a model in Ontario, which has had the

effect for a number of years, there's no successful Charter challenge to date.

Grounds

of appeal: Now, I don't know how it will be appealed, but I guess it's more or

less that there is a mechanism in place so that there is an appeals process.

That's why it's done. Grounds for an appeal could be: Identify the driver. Maybe

there's a medical explanation for failure for proof of example or failure to

refuse your blood sample. Again, Mr. Speaker, I think it's something that has to

be added to the bill with the appeal process because someone can appeal under

the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Like I

said, most of the legislation is to impose operation of the legislation and not

the registrar itself. Mr. Speaker, the last part of this bill is to do a lot

with timing; amendments to be clarified, as mentioned, proposed operations,

legislation. Most of the registrar will come in force under Royal Assent. The

appeal process will come into force 30 days after Royal Assent and the rest of

the bill comes in six months after Royal Assent.

Mr.

Speaker, that's just a background of everything that's in this bill. It's a

pretty intense bill. I just want to go back to how I started speaking about this

bill. Anything that we can do in this House so that people are not at risk when

we're on the highways, to make sure that our families get home safe to us in the

evenings, to make sure that we don't hear of incidents of people doing stupid

things, really, that are costing people's lives.

Some of

this stuff that's brought in here today, I hope that the minister and this

government will do a lot more education. I think that the consensus, everybody

out in the general public, really does a good job. There's a very small minority

that are on our highways today that are not abiding by the rules. As we get into

the winter months, sometimes you'll see incidents where black ice is a huge

problem. Later in the mornings and early in the evenings when the sun goes down,

that kind of happens. People have to slow down. I really believe it because we

all want to get home safe and sound.

I know

that a police presence is a big part of our highway safety. I know we had

questions here today in Question Period and everything else, but I believe that

our law enforcement and our RNC, the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, really

have to be given the resources to do what's needed to be done out there to make

sure that our roads are very, very safe. I do believe in police presence. I

think police presence does make a difference, really makes a difference. I know

this summer I travelled on the highway and I just notice it all the time – I

really do. If I go and I drive to Clarenville or I drive to Gander, I always

note if I met a RCMP vehicle on the road and I know there's other people out

there that do that also.

there's a lot that we can do as a society. There are a lot our law enforcements

– because we really got to get the minority of people that are going too fast on

our highways and not doing it with dear care and control of the vehicle.

Again,

we have groups here today that are paying the price for what happens on the

highways. I applaud them. I started by thanking them for all that they do. Your

advocacy work is noticed and we really appreciate it, the general public, not

only politicians. I appreciate it as a parent and I appreciate what you do for

us. It's unfortunate that you were put in a situation that you have been put in,

but I really appreciate everything you've done to bring this bill in here today.

Thank

you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER (Reid):

The hon. the Member for

Virginia Waters – Pleasantville.

MR. B. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm

delighted to stand here and join my hon. colleagues on this very important topic

of road safety. Thank you to the hon. colleague from across the way for the

beautiful District of Cape St. Francis for support of this legislation. As

always, he's very well read on his bill, which is great and he's done a great

job of going through it.

As the

Minister of Service NL said earlier, this is our second opportunity to stand on

our feet in this session of the House to speak to amendments to the

Highway Traffic Act – a topic that has

great impact on all the people of our province. Service NL is committed to doing

what it can to make the roads as safe as possible for the travelling public and

part of that commitment is to periodically review the amendments of the

Highway Traffic Act , as required, to

ensure it keeps current with the purposes of protecting highway safety on our

highways.

We are

all too familiar with the devastating effects that accidents can have on our

roadways, with the many individuals and families and friends who've had their

lives drastically altered as a result. Over the past several months, I've had

the opportunity to attend a number of events that recognized and honoured the

individuals in our province that have lost loved ones or suffered great injury

on our roads. This is devastating to see and I could only imagine how the

families feel and how they cope with this devastating occurrence.

I've

seen many tears shed. I've looked at the many photos of people whose lives have

ended far too soon because of the actions of those people behind the wheel. I

read the comments by one family member who talked about the crash that took the

life of a loved one out of their lives instantaneously and that it was 100 per

cent preventable, which is the hardest thing to take.

Since

coming to Service NL, I cannot tell you the impact that these many stories of

loss and injury on our roadways have had on me. I've met many individuals and

families who have had their lives forever changed because of incidents on our

highways.

That is

why it is so very important – and it seems we have great consent in the House –

that we continue to take action to promote awareness in an effort to improve

safety on our highways and roadways. We know there are many unsafe driving

practices on our roadways that are putting our people in danger each and every

day. When you hear statistics like the minister provided which states in Canada

approximately 1,800 people lose their lives each year and over 160,000 of those

Canadians are injured on our roads, that's startling.

recently read information provided by the World Health Organization that says

more than 1.25 million people throughout the world die each and every year as a

result of road traffic crashes. Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of

death among people aged between 15 and 29. Nearly half of those dying on the

world's roads are vulnerable road users, meaning pedestrians, cyclists or

motorcyclists.

It also

states that without sustained action, road traffic crashes are predicted to

become the seventh leading cause of death by 2030. Mr. Speaker, that is

unacceptable. That is why our government will continue to make public safety a

priority.

Mr.

Speaker, we made a commitment to continue to identify opportunities to improve

highway safety with input from community stakeholders and law enforcement at

every step of the way. We have developed strong working relationships with the

STAND for Hannah campaign, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Royal

Newfoundland Constabulary, the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Fire

Services and many, many others who have offered different views on what

amendments were needed.

We're

happy to take their opinions and suggestions into account when making

legislation because it can only make our legislation stronger. This is exactly

what we're doing here today. When you look at the areas that are covered with

these latest amendments – I'm not going to go through all of them, but I will go

through some – you realize how necessary these changes are to help improve road

safety.

Mr.

Speaker, let's take a look at racing on highways as an example. This is

completely avoidable action and needs to start educating people as soon as they

get their licences about the impacts this can have on people's lives. This

action is one that disregards – total disregard for the safety of our residents.

The new penalties will hopefully deter such behaviours, but it's our hope not

only that – I hope nobody receives any fine for this because I hope it never

happens again, but that's pie in the sky, I guess dreaming, but we will make a

difference by bringing forward legislation like this.

With

these changes, a driver that is charged with an offence will receive a seven-day

driver's licence suspension and their vehicle will be impounded for three days.

This is meant to discourage people who street race and keep new drivers from

ever thinking about trying it.

Another

action that disregards safety on our roadways is stunting. Everyone remembers

the individual in the corvette on Kenmount Road. I think it was in the District

of Mount Scio, in May of 2015, doing donuts in the middle of Kenmount Road. It's

unacceptable and this cannot happen. I know the individuals that are in a

corvette club spoke out heavily against that at the time. We need more people to

make sure that this is unacceptable behaviour.

Before

these amendments, there was nothing in legislation to deal with this action on

our roadways. Bill 27 creates a new offence for stunting on our highways, and

I'm very happy to applaud this addition.

As with

street racing, drivers who are charged with stunting will also have their

vehicles impounded for three days and face a seven-day suspension of their

licence, a significant addition to the legislation in this new offence for

driving without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration for

other persons causing bodily harm or death. Undoubtedly, every Member in this

hon. House will agree to the necessity of such a change in our legislation.

Mr.

Speaker, this fine carries a minimum of $2,000 and a maximum fine of $20,000, or

up to two years imprisonment or both; licence suspension for not more than five

years and six demerit points. I hope we never again see anything like this

happen in our province, but this sends a clear message.

I'm also

pleased with the changes for the Move Over provisions. Unlike previous

amendments, which did not specify how much someone should reduce their speed by,

now they have to reduce their speed by 30 kilometres per hour to a minimum speed

of 30 kilometres per hour. The Move Over legislation, officers are now able to

charge the registered owner of the car with failure to move over. This means

there's no chase or distraction from the initial move over. They are able to

send out a ticket when they return to their office.

We all

know the great risk that first responders face each and every day when they're

called into action. It is incumbent upon us to do our part to ensure they're not

put in any further risk while carrying out their duties.

Mr.

Speaker, one of the discussions we talked about earlier was excessive speeding

on the highways in our province. I would tend to agree with both the minister

and the Member for the beautiful District of Cape St. Francis. Many times you're

on the highways or on roadways in our province and you're passed like you're

standing still. That's unacceptable. We've tried to address some of those

concerns within this legislation. Especially on the Outer Ring Road, people can

be careless. I want the public to know the consequences of their actions.

The

updated Highway Traffic Act increased

the fines for excessive speeding and introduces a three-day impoundment for cars

caught doing over 50 kilometres an hour, which is new. The current fine for

excessive speeding ranges between $300 and $750, but the change has been made to

raise that to $400 to $850 and having them up to $1,800 in school zones and

construction zones. We all know that's very important to focus on those two

areas in particular. These are only a couple of the highlights of the amendments

that were put forward today, but there are many others that will have great

impact on the travelling public and in our province.

As with

the changes to drinking and driving regulations, we are trying to make

generational changes. Safe driving should not be limited to when you have

company in the car; it is our goal to live in a province of safe and defensive

drivers.

As I've

said, Mr. Speaker, these amendments are another important part of the evolution

of the Highway Traffic Act to ensure

it provides the protection needed for the people of the province who use our

roads each and every day. Driving is a responsibility and we need to be cautious

of what can happen when we're not abiding by the law.

I heard

the Minister of Service NL state over and over again how important it is to keep

the conversation of road safety going, and continually look to ways to improve

safety in our towns and communities right across our province.

Within a

few short days the Christmas season will be upon us, and the