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March 19, 2015 HOUSE

OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVII No. 64

The House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Verge):

Order, please!

Admit strangers.

Today we are pleased to welcome to the public gallery a group of

students from St. Bonaventure's College, Careers Class, with their

teacher, Mr. David Martino.

Welcome to the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

I understand you

have a young lady in your group by the name of Jane, whose proud father

sits as the Minister of Municipal Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

Statements by

Members

MR. SPEAKER:

Today we have

members' statements from the Members for the District of Port de Grave,

from the District of Labrador West, from the District of The Straits

White Bay North, from the District of St. John's East, from the District

of Exploits, and from the District of Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

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

MR. LITTLEJOHN:

Thank you,

Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to recognize and congratulate Dylan Bradbury, a

sixteen-year-old resident of Shearstown.

Dylan is legally blind, but this has not stopped him from

participating in his favourite sport: hockey.

Dylan was the only athlete selected from this Province to

recently play in the 2015 Courage Cup at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

Dylan got this opportunity when Courage Canada came to St. John's to

seek out potential players for a camp in British Columbia.

Dylan attended this camp with a dozen other players to hone his

hockey skills. From this

camp, Dylan was selected to Team Atlantic to compete in the 2015 Courage

Cup.

Dylan says playing blind hockey is different.

Players follow the sound of the puck on the ice and in the air.

On faceoffs, players shoot the puck to the other end of the ice

and the goalie relies on hearing the puck, with the top half of his net

covered, and there are no slapshots.

I ask all hon. members to make some noise for this courageous and

determined young man to play the game he loves: hockey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Member for the District of Labrador West.

MR. MCGRATH:

Mr. Speaker, I

stand in this hon. House today to congratulate and recognize a Labrador

City Winter Carnival Committee on another successful event.

This year's carnival, chaired by Labrador City Recreation

Director Evelyn Ryan, along with a committee of eighteen dedicated

volunteers, provided the citizens of Labrador West with ten days of

fun-filled events and showed the meaning of true family and community

spirit.

From March 6-15, over seventy-five events were available, starting with

a night of performance by some very talented high school students from

Menihek High. During the

week, young ambassadors showcased their talents and in the end Bradley

Leonard and Keisha Ryan were crowned as teen ambassadors and both

received a $1,000 scholarship for further education.

During the past year, seven families competed in many different

challenges hoping to be crowned Labrador City's first royal family.

The winners are Jennifer and Michael Byrne and their daughter,

Ellysa.

Labrador City's winter carnival started in 1962 and fifty-three years

later, it is still going strong.

It is a way to celebrate the long winter, welcome the upcoming

spring, and bring families and the community together.

I ask all members to join me in congratulating Labrador City on another

successful carnival.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Member for The Straits White Bay North.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Thank you,

Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to recognize the spirit of a fighting Newfoundlander.

Gavin 'Guv'Nor' Tucker, a twenty-eight-year-old Ship Cove native, on

February 28 won MMA Featherweight title in an Extreme Cage Combat in

Halifax, Nova Scotia taking his record to 8-0.

It was a long journey as just two weeks from the title fight in

2013, he got injured. He

remained focused on the future, trained hard, and was ready for his next

fight. Tucker hopes his

performance will enable him to be the first Newfoundlander to fight in a

UFC match-up.

Coming from a tiny rural community on the Great Northern Peninsula,

Tucker's opportunities for intense training was limited, but his

determination aided in his success.

He also showcased his talents as a musician, being heavily

involved with the Stephenville Festival it was his love for music that

initially brought him to the mainland.

Tucker is an example of how people from small places can make big things

happen, but their hearts are never far from home.

He was quoted after his significant win, The only thing I can

think about is getting a trip back to good old Newfoundland.

I ask all hon. members to congratulate Newfoundland's own MMA

Featherweight champion.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Member for the District of St. John's East.

MR. MURPHY:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

There are many fine high schools in the Province, but I will confess to

a little bias by saying the finest is probably Gonzaga High School in

St. John's East, of which I am a proud alumnus.

Today I rise in this House to congratulate Darcy Taylor, a Grade 12

French immersion student at Gonzaga, who has been selected as one of

just thirty Canadian Loran Scholars for 2015.

Mr. Speaker, 3,800 people applied for the award this year; fewer than 1

per cent passed through the rigorous selection process.

Their applications are screened, and that is followed by two

separate interviews. They

are assessed based on character, commitment to service and leadership

potential as well as academic achievements.

Darcy, for example, is involved in several fundraising activities as

well as sports. He

represented this Province as a tennis player at the Canada Summer Games.

In addition to the Loran Scholarship, valued at up to $100,000, Mr.

Speaker, Darcy has also been offered a $24,000 award by the University

of Ottawa and $78,000 by Queen's University.

It is quite remarkable.

So far, he has been offered in excess of $208,000 in

scholarships.

I ask all hon. members to join me in congratulating Mr. Darcy Taylor, an

outstanding Grade 12 student at Gonzaga High School and a future leader

in this Province.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Member for the District of Exploits.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. FORSEY:

Mr. Speaker, on

September 27, the Botwood Collegiate Warriors Girls Softball team

competed in the Girls 4A Regional Softball Championships, hosted by

Lewisporte Collegiate.

The Warriors opened the tournament with a win against Exploits Valley

High Eagles and after the round robin the Warriors went on to face the

host team in the finals.

The Warriors took to the field with determination in the championship

game against the host team, Lewisporte Collegiate Lynx, and defeated the

host team 10-4 in the final to claim the regional banner sorry, Mr.

Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the girls attribute their win to their experience of

playing together as a team for a number of years and to their coaches

Jerry Woolridge, Denise Woolridge, and teacher sponsor Shawn Reddick.

I ask all members of this House to join me in congratulating the Botwood

Collegiate Warriors on winning the 4A Regional Softball Championships.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Member for the District of Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very

much, Mr. Speaker.

I was delighted to hear this year that the Newfoundland and Labrador

Folk Festival will be returning to its traditional home in Bannerman

Park, one of the jewels of my district of Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

Bannerman Park has always been special to many of us, for the Folk

Festival and many other reasons.

Earlier this month, archivist Larry Dohey informed us that

Bannerman Park was redesigned in 1891 by Johnny Burke, the Bard of

Prescott Street and famous for wiring songs like The Kelligrews

Soiree.

Bannerman Park has been used by the public since at least 1864, making

it the oldest and most historic park in the Province.

The City of St. John's created and worked with the Bannerman Park

Foundation to restore this Victorian gem and how successful they have

been!

The Park is popular year-round.

In the summer, you will see swimming, softball, slacklining, and

splashing. In the winter,

now, The Loop is a huge attraction for outdoor skaters.

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

John's, the Bannerman Park Foundation, and all the hundreds of

volunteers and donors who contributed to revitalizing Bannerman Park and

restoring it for future generations.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Statements by

Ministers.

Statements by

Ministers

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. KENT:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

I am pleased to rise in this hon. House to provide an update on our

Province's Cancer Control Policy Framework.

Over the past decade cancer control has seen a total investment

of more than $172 million and we continue to work to honour our

commitment to enhance prevention and screening, as well as diagnosis,

treatment and support.

Cancer touches all of us at some point in our lives, if

not directly as a patient, then as a relative or friend of someone with

cancer. The impacts of this

disease are multiple and far-reaching, affecting people of all ages.

Our department works closely with the Department of Seniors,

Wellness and Social Development and other government departments,

regional health authorities, school districts, and community partners to

implement programs and policies aimed at cancer prevention including

smoking cessation and other healthy living initiatives.

Mr. Speaker, the provincial government has achieved a

number of important goals to date with respect to cancer prevention and

screening in Newfoundland and Labrador.

In 2011, we introduced a ban on smoking in vehicles with a

passenger present who is under the age of sixteen.

Between 2013 and 2014 we brought in further changes to more

closely regulate tanning bed facilities, to cover the cost of smoking

cessation medications for people with low income, and to expand the

Province's Colon Cancer Screening Program.

The provincial government has also made achievements in

recent years with respect to diagnosis, treatment, and support of those

with cancer, as well as their families and support networks.

In 2011, we launched the Cancer Patient Navigator Program to

provide support to patients and their families by helping them access a

variety of medical and community services in a timely and efficient

manner. In 2012, we

supported the launch of the Cancer

Transitions: Moving Beyond Treatment program, which provides

invaluable support to cancer survivors and empowers them as they

transition from active treatment to post-treatment.

Mr. Speaker, tele-oncology has also seen increased

uptake in recent years as cancer specialists have offered patient

consultations through Telehealth.

Finally, we have made strategic investments in reducing endoscopy

wait times and wait-lists to ensure residents can more quickly and

easily access these diagnostic services.

We continue to strive for increased awareness and

cancer prevention, while at the same time working as a government to

find new ways to mitigate risks and provide timely diagnosis,

appropriate treatment, and support.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want to thank the minister for an advance copy of his

statement. I would like to

begin by recognizing the work of health care professionals working in

cancer care. Living on the

West Coast, I, like many on this side, have many people who have to

travel back and forth to St. John's for treatment, and they always

comment on the compassionate care that they receive.

Telehealth is something that we could certainly do a

little more of. Again, it is

something that has a huge impact on those who have to travel for care.

We were once a leader in Telehealth; it is something we need to

utilize more, given just our geographic spread and the impact it would

have on those who are forced to travel for care.

I am very proud of the work that our caucus has done,

especially our leader, and the Member for Bay of Islands on pressing the

need for radiation services on the West Coast to enhance access to

diagnosis and treatment.

This government gave many excuses in refusing to do it, but once they

finally commissioned the report, they realized the need was there.

We should also thank the health care committee in Corner Brook

for the work that they did advocating for this.

Again, the minister's opening statement was on the

money spent on cancer control but not on the outcomes.

The Conference Board of Canada talks about the D-minus ranking.

We have the highest incidence of cancer in the country, the

poorest outcome in lifestyle factors.

We should be talking about the outcomes, not just on the money.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

statement. Yes, we have made

good progress in providing support for cancer prevention and support,

but since not all treatment can be available everywhere, and people

understand that, people need adequate financial support to travel for

treatment. Although medical

travel grants have expanded, there are still barriers such as the need

to pay upfront, the lack of coverage for shorter distances, and the need

for more accommodation coverage, which is very stressful.

We hear from families who are suffering a lot of stress

because of these barriers, trying to come up with the money for travel

for treatment. I ask the

minister to put that on his list.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. S. COLLINS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Our government recognizes the importance of ensuring

that children and youth in Newfoundland and Labrador have an opportunity

to grow, thrive, and succeed in a safe and nurturing environment.

In fact, our Premier has made public safety and protection,

particularly that of children, among his highest priorities.

On an ongoing basis, we continue to reinforce and

enhance the child protection system in our Province, investing more than

$140 million in the past year alone.

An important element of this work is the vital role that foster

families play in providing a positive and supportive environment for

children and youth in care.

Fostering provides temporary and sometimes longer-term care for children

and youth who are unable to live with their own families.

Foster parents are key members of a team dedicated to helping

children and youth through difficult situations by offering supportive

and caring environments.

That is why, Mr. Speaker, it is critical that our

government and community partners continue to raise awareness of the

significant need for additional foster families in the Province.

To this end, we launched a targeted foster family recruitment

campaign in 2012. I am

pleased to report that since its launch, the

Foster a Future campaign has helped to create approximately 115 new

foster families, who have opened their hearts and homes to approximately

175 children and youth in care.

We must continue to raise awareness of this important

issue, Mr. Speaker, as there is still a critical shortage of foster

homes in our Province. We

have children and youth in our Province who have complex needs and

require caring families while they are unable to live at home; others

need foster families who share their Aboriginal culture; and some need

foster placements a little closer to their home communities.

The decision to become a foster family is a significant

one. There are numerous ways

families interested in fostering can help, even if it is just for a

short period

of time. I encourage anyone

who is considering opening their home to become a foster family to

contact my department or the Newfoundland and Labrador Foster Families

Association.

It is only by continuing to raise awareness that our government and

community at large can ensure we have a loving foster family for every

child and youth who need one, perhaps at the most vulnerable period in

their lives.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Member for St. Barbe.

MR. J. BENNETT:

Thank you,

Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement.

I am pleased to take this opportunity in the House of Assembly to

recognize the critical role that foster families play in helping meet

the needs of some of our most vulnerable children.

Opening their homes and hearts to children is kind and commendable.

More foster families mean fewer children in Alternate Living

Arrangements. ALAs are less

than ideal environments for children.

Providing stable nurturing home environments for these children

is a critical piece in child protection.

Mr. Speaker, the Foster a Future

campaign has been a great success.

I extend my sincere thanks to any foster parents who have already

accepted the challenge and made the commitment to foster vulnerable

children. Further, since

they already fully understand fostering, I would ask them to spread the

word about the rewards of fostering so we can engage more families in

fostering.

Finally, anyone interested in learning more about fostering call the

Department of Child, Youth and Family Services or your Member of the

House of Assembly. Any one

of us will help you get involved.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Member for St. John's Centre.

MS ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

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

I want to thank the additional 115 foster families who have

opened their homes to the children of Newfoundland and Labrador since

the campaign began in 2012.

I want to thank the staff of CYFS and the foster care association who

are part of the success of this campaign.

Bravo to them, Mr. Speaker.

We know there is a need for more social workers to provide more support

to the generous foster families and to ensure the continuity of care for

our children in care. We owe

it to the foster families and to our children.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Minister of Municipal and Intergovernmental Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today in this hon. House to speak to

the Department of Municipal and Intergovernmental Affairs review of the

current Lands Act and associated service delivery model.

The Lands Act guides the management and allocation of the Province's

Crown lands. A comprehensive

review of the Lands Act and its service delivery model is required to

ensure it is relevant, and it is the most effective way to manage,

administer, utilize, and protect our Crown lands for the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador.

Some of the specific areas we are looking to address through this review

include: ways to make the act clear and concise so it is well understood

by those who use it and can be interpreted and applied consistently;

internal business processes and policies to determine their necessity

and if changes are required to improve timelines; internal referral and

consultation processes; as well as current technology used to support

the operations of the act.

An independent review committee has been established of three

individuals who are educated, experienced and knowledgeable in the areas

of law, policy and business process review.

An advisory committee supporting the review committee by

providing input and information sharing throughout the process.

We are pleased to have the Law Society of Newfoundland and

Labrador as a key partner in this review given the significant

interaction their membership has with this legislation in their

day-to-day work.

The consultation process is about to begin and the locations of the

eight consultation sessions throughout the Province can be found on the

department's website. The

page also outlines the various ways interested parties can get involved

and submit their feedback, including through online and written

submissions. The Terms of

Reference for the review can also be found on the department's website.

I encourage all residents to either participate in the in-person

sessions or provide a written or online submission.

When consultations are completed, a What We Heard document will be

released on the Department of Municipal and Intergovernmental Affairs

website.

The provincial government is committed to its focus on listening,

collaborating and innovation.

This review demonstrates this commitment and will lead to

practical and informed recommendations to ensure the Lands Act aligns

with best practices to better meet the needs of residents and

shareholders of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Member for Bay of Islands.

MR. JOYCE:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

I thank the minister for the advance copy.

When I saw the Lands Act review, I was happy for two reasons.

First, it is going to save the taxpayers money by having Don

Downer, who wasted over half a million dollars in a Land Use Advisory

Committee which had no role out in Corner Brook, just because he was on

the payroll, Mr. Speaker. So

I assume he is gone now and this here has meaning.

Mr. Speaker, I compliment the minister on putting this forward.

It is something we all asked for, for a number of years.

We desperately need the inventory for Crown lands across the

Province. Mr. Speaker, MNL

has been asking for this for a number of years for Crown lands within

their town as an economic generator that they could use in their towns.

I compliment the minister for initiating this.

Having affordable Crown lands within municipal boundaries, Mr. Speaker,

is something that is going to benefit all of the Province.

With this comprehensive review, I just ask that when the report

is completed that the government will follow and act upon the

recommendations of the report because it is better for all the Province.

I say great job to the minister because it is well needed.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Member for St. John's East.

MR. MURPHY:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

I thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement here today.

Mr. Speaker, I hope the government hears from and, more

importantly, listens to the many interest groups on the issue of the

Lands Act. We will be

listening to these groups express their views on the need for better

protection of valued lands, particularly traditional rights-of-way,

ecologically sensitive areas, the protection of coastal trails, and the

important issue of land use within municipalities.

We look forward to hearing the outcomes, Mr. Speaker.

Again, we would like to thank the government for opening up the

consultations when it comes to the Lands Act.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

It has been almost a year ago since the news broke of a potential deal

with Rentech to develop timber resources in Central Newfoundland and the

Northern Peninsula. We have

heard very little since and there is nothing in the minister's mandate

letter on this potential development.

I ask the Premier: People in Central Newfoundland are finding it odd

that we have not heard anything in months and there is nothing in the

minister's mandate letter; so why didn't you include finalizing a deal

with our timber resources as part of the minister's mandate?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture and Minister Responsible for the

Forestry and Agrifoods Agency.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. GRANTER:

Mr. Speaker,

discussions have been ongoing with Rentech in the last number of months,

over the last fourteen or fifteen months.

They continue. It is

a very sensitive negotiation that is taking place for Central

Newfoundland, as well as the Northern Peninsula, Mr. Speaker.

We are looking very closely at those negotiations and hopefully

we can finalize a deal in the not too distant future.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

The question, I guess, directed to the Premier, was more about him

mandating his current minister to deal with that, just as he did in

other mandate letters on issues affecting the various departments.

In the mandate letter for the Department of Justice several

infrastructure initiatives are mentioned, but missing from the mandate

for the Department of Health and Community Services and the Department

of Transportation and Works is anything on the new hospital for Corner

Brook or the new Waterford Hospital.

I ask the Premier: Since infrastructure developments like courthouses

and new penitentiaries are mentioned, why did you leave out the

development of these hospitals out of the mandate letter to your

Minister of Health and Community Services?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Premier.

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

I am glad the member opposite is asking this question and I am glad he

has taken the time to review the mandate letters, which have been made

available publicly for the first time in history of Newfoundland and

Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Made available

online to the public and listed under all of the minister's websites, if

anybody is interesting in looking through them.

Mr. Speaker, mandate letters, in many ways, are based on discussions of

priorities, concerns, issues, and matters that have been discussed

between myself and directly with ministers.

They are, in no way, all-encompassing of the roles and

responsibilities that are placed upon ministers.

They highlight some general overview and, as well, some specific

projects that I, as Premier, wish for those ministers to look at.

In reality, Mr. Speaker, they are in no way encompassing of all

responsibilities placed upon them.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

When you review the mandate letters and we have taken our time to

review all of them, I say to the Premier one of the things that is

missing, and since the Premier brought it up about various discussions

and it being a priority, will you please clarify then why such a

priority for the people in Western Newfoundland and Labrador and why the

Waterford Hospital it being a priority for everyone that I am talking

to and all the members opposite that has gotten up and spoke on this

issue. Why are they such a

glaring absence from those mandate letters?

Why are they not there?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

I can tell the member opposite that infrastructure, and certainly health

care infrastructure, is very important to us as a government.

We have had many successes in projects that we have undertaken as

a government major projects, like Corner Brook.

I am on the record very clearly with where I stand and the commitment we

have for the people of Western Newfoundland and the commitment that we

have made for a hospital for Corner Brook.

So, Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt about that.

Again, infrastructure is important.

These mandate letters are not exhaustive lists of

responsibilities, Mr. Speaker.

They vary from minister to minister depending on discussions and

priorities and, in some cases, a change in focus for those departments

from when I took over, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

It is very clear that to the Minister of Justice and Public Safety, you

will see clearly in that mandate letter that infrastructure is mentioned

but is absent from the Minister of Health and Community Services.

The Premier and the Minister of Natural Resources have said they will

not be bound by the mandate letter ordering a deal with Statoil by the

end of this year.

I ask the Premier again: Why did you mandate a deal with Statoil for

this year, 2015, if you had no intention on following through on that

directive?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

It is amazing to sit over here I have to be honest and to look at

the spin that quite often is put on comments by members opposite.

It is certainly interesting to watch for sure, I can tell you,

Mr. Speaker.

What I said here yesterday to this House was that if the deal is not a

good deal for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, mandate letter or no

mandate letter, it will not be a deal that we are going to support, I

can tell you that, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, what

is important is that we pursue our discussions with Statoil.

What Statoil discovered off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador in

2013 was the largest oil find in the world in 2013.

It was the largest find that Statoil ever had outside of Norway,

Mr. Speaker. I can tell you

they have a solid foothold here in Newfoundland and Labrador.

They are taking a long-term view, Mr. Speaker, and they are going

to be a partner with the Province and this government for years to come.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

I can certainly say to the Premier and all members opposite, this is not

spin, this is a very critical deal and important to the future of all

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

To weaken a negotiation on that by clearly saying that you want a

deal by 2015 is not the right place to be, I say to the Premier.

The Premier's mandate letters were only written three months ago, but

now we understand that ministers and even the Premier are not following

through on those directives, the words have just been spoken.

I ask the Premier: What is really the point of those mandate letters?

Are they just a PR exercise?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, mandate letters are a part of a course of business.

I can tell you now that there has been a change in the roles and

responsibilities for several ministers and ministers in my government

have now accepted additional responsibilities.

For most all the ministers of my government, they have accepted

those additional responsibilities.

Mr. Speaker, in the weeks to follow I can tell you the mandate letters

there will be new mandate letters issued that will reflect those new

additional responsibilities.

That is an ongoing process.

When you assign ministers their roles and responsibilities we are going

to do that.

I will tell you what is important to us.

When these mandate letters were issued

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

PREMIER DAVIS:

We put these

available for public consumption, Mr. Speaker.

It is the first time in the history of our Province that we want

to make these available, reflective of conversations.

They have an overview I invite people to look at them, an

overview of roles and responsibilities.

Again I have to reiterate, they are certainly not an exhaustive

list of those responsibilities.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Member for St. Barbe.

MR. J. BENNETT:

Mr.

Speaker, in her Status of Recommendations report last month, the Child

and Youth Advocate expressed concern that as of November 2014 the

Department of Child, Youth and Family Services had no plan to develop a

policy requiring every child be critically observed during every home

visit.

I ask the minister: Has he since directed such policy be developed as

recommended?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. S. COLLINS:

Thank you,

Mr. Speaker.

I am happy to have the member weigh in on this because I know when the

Advocate came forward with her recommendations and the great news that

it was, he was nowhere to be found.

I am glad he is weighing in now.

There were 179 recommendations brought forward, ninety-nine of which

were CYFS. I am happy to say

and report to the House that eighty-eight have been fully completed, ten

are under development, and one I can talk a little bit about in a

supplementary question, if he wishes.

With regard to the question he had put forward, I am happy to say we are

working with the Advocate.

That is actually one of the ten that is under development now.

I think we have come to a place and I should know very shortly

whether it satisfies her needs as well.

I think it was just a matter of semantics and language and I

think we have gotten by that.

Anyway, I will be happy to report when we finalize it.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Member for St. Barbe.

MR. J. BENNETT:

Mr.

Speaker, this department and this minister has delayed and deferred and

ignored recommendations for years now.

The Advocate said it was obvious that if the children in two of

her investigations had been critically observed during every home visit,

identification of abuse would have occurred earlier and the children

would have been removed earlier.

In one of those cases, turning a blind eye, several children

suffered thirteen years of abuse in the family home while Child, Youth

and Family Services was involved.

I ask the minister: Will he get moving on this recommendation so he can

rescue abused children earlier?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. S. COLLINS:

Thank you,

Mr. Speaker.

Once again, I thank the member for bringing it up and talking about the

progress we have made in the department.

I think it is important at this point to talk about why the

department was created. We

talk about a number of studies and the cases that were in the past, and

certainly that is something we have reflected on.

That is where those recommendations were born out of.

It is because of those very recommendations, in part, that this

department was formed. So,

many of those efficiencies have been dealt with.

There are a couple, like I said, that we are working on.

The one in particular you have mentioned, I think we have come to

a resolution, but once I can confirm with the Advocate I will be

meeting with her actually next week, our quarterly meeting.

I will discuss that with her then, and if it satisfies her I

would be happy to report to the House and the member that that

recommendation is satisfied.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Member for St. John's North.

MR. KIRBY:

Mr. Speaker, last

September the school board changed the promised new school for Torbay

from a Grade 5-7 school to a 5-8 school, effectively adding a fourth

grade of students and classrooms.

Parents in the Torbay area are left wondering what this will mean

for their children.

Will the minister responsible say which communities are being affected

by this decision, and how this changes the plan for the new Torbay

school?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MS SULLIVAN:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the goal always, with the Department of Education and Early

Childhood Development, is to ensure that adequate education and adequate

school facilities is provided to all of our students.

In Torbay there was a recognized need, and the need was for a Grade 5-7

school, Mr. Speaker. That is

what we are proceeding with, and that is what we have guaranteed to the

people of that area. The

exact communities he is asking about, I can certainly get and provide

for the House.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Member for St. John's North.

MR. KIRBY:

Well, Mr.

Speaker, despite this government's board deciding the change, the new

Torbay school from a 5-7 to a 5-8 school last September they made that

decision the tender was still issued months later for the construction

of a 5-7 school anyways.

This government's record of building schools too small is bad enough

already, now they are planning to squeeze an extra grade of students

into a school that was built for three grades.

I ask the minister: Why can't you get new school construction right?

Does the left hand, the government, know what the right hand, the

school board, is doing with our education system?

Do you know?

It does not sound like it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MS SULLIVAN:

Thank you very

much, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, in response to his first question in terms of the

communities, it would be Torbay, Pouch Cove, Bauline, and Flatrock.

The decision was made around a 5-7 school, and that is exactly

what it is that we are tendering for and will be constructing in that

area, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS SULLIVAN:

Mr. Speaker, in

terms of the right hand knowing what the left hand is doing; I can tell

you that my colleague in the Department of Transportation and Works and

I work collaboratively on all of these schools.

We have 261 schools in the Province, Mr. Speaker, for which we

provide oversight and for which we ensure the best education for our

students as possible.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Member for The Straits White Bay North.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Mr.

Speaker, the Manolis L sank in 1985 near Change Islands with 500,000 litres of

oil and fuel, and has been leaking since 2012.

In two years, the provincial department has confirmed writing

only four letters.

I ask the minister: Have you met with or spoken to the federal minister

since your last telephone call made December 16, 2014?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Minister of Environment and Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. CRUMMELL:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

Thank you for the question.

Mr. Speaker, everybody in this Province is onside.

The Manolis L either

has to go or the oil has to come out of that ship.

We all agree.

Everybody in the Province is onside.

The Opposition is onside, our federal politicians are onside.

We are onside over here, Mr. Speaker.

I have spoken to Minister Shea; I spoke to her just before Christmas.

Her tone had changed in terms of how they are going to go about

with the future plans for the Manolis L . It sounds

like now they are talking about a long-term plan.

It is exactly what we have asked for.

I have asked her for timelines around that, Mr. Speaker.

She was not ready to offer that up, but, Mr. Speaker, we are

going to continue to put her feet to the fire.

I suggest that we are going to hear something in the coming

weeks. It is an election

year for them as well. So I

think, Mr. Speaker, we should hear some good news.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Member for The Straits White Bay North.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Mr.

Speaker, I would say months of not taking any follow-up call or action

shows gross negligence in this matter.

The Manolis L bunker

fuel must be removed immediately to avoid ongoing environmental and

economic damage due to chronic leaks, and potentially a catastrophic oil

spill if the wreck breaks up.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. MITCHELMORE:

The lack

of action shown by this government is gross negligence and bad

management.

I ask the minister: What is your plan to ensure that the Canadian Coast

Guard is held accountable and that the oil is removed?

Because your current action is pitiful at best.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Minister of Environment and Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. CRUMMELL:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, everybody knows what needs to be done here.

We all get that, we understand that.

The federal government has taken responsibility for this.

They have said overtly that it is their responsibility.

We know that, and you know that as well.

I did not see you in Twillingate when we had a protest march.

Myself and the minister next to me were in Twillingate a month

ago

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. CRUMMELL:

in the dead cold of winter.

Mr. Speaker, we are working with the people of the communities.

We are working with the people of the region.

We are working with the concerned citizens committee.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. CRUMMELL:

Mr. Speaker, we

will do everything we can

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. CRUMMELL:

to keep the federal government to their responsibilities, and make

sure they take care of their responsibilities just like they should.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon. the Member for Mount Pearl South.

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

I say to the Minister of Environment, I did not see anybody from the

government at the meeting that the

Manolis L committee had in St. John's.

We were there and the NDP were there, but there was nobody from

the government.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. LANE:

They did not even

know what was going on.

Mr. Speaker, last year we found out Service Newfoundland and Labrador

was not collecting all audited statements for funeral homes engaged in

selling prepaid funerals as required by legislation.

We have now learned that government amended its insurance

legislation so that agents no longer have to submit audits of their

trust accounts. The

Insurance Brokers Association of Newfoundland and Labrador feels this is

a step backwards in protecting consumers.

I ask the minister: Why are audits no longer required of insurance

agents?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Minister of Service NL.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. CRUMMELL:

Mr. Speaker,

Service NL, our officials in our department, we think we do a very good

job of protecting consumers in this Province.

We have oversight in all our departments and all areas of our

commerce in this Province.

Mr. Speaker, when we look at the prepaid funerals, when we realized

there were some funeral homes that were not in compliance, we put their

feet to the fire as well. We

are now close to 100 per cent compliance there.

When it comes to the situation that you are talking about there, the

oversight we are providing at our level within government, we are making

sure that they are doing all the right things.

There are audited statements that are followed up on.

Mr. Speaker, we are doing the right work at the right time.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Member for Mount Pearl South.

MR. LANE:

Mr. Speaker, I had a

meeting with the insurance brokers and that is not what they are telling

me.

Mr. Speaker, Service NL held public consultations for amending the

Residential Tenancies Act.

It also held consultations for a statutory review on workers'

compensation.

I ask the minister: Why did you amend the key

section of your insurance

legislation without consulting key industry stakeholders?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. S. COLLINS:

Thank you,

Mr. Speaker.

I thank my colleague for the question.

With regard to consultation, obviously we know how seriously we

take consultation as a regular part of practice for us.

With regard to the statutory review, we take the recommendations very

seriously, the consultations that went forward with that.

In the very near future, we are going to be coming forward with

an action plan, and that obviously will be borne out of that statutory

review and the consultations being part of that.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Member for St. John's South.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

The long-term care facility being built in Carbonear has had significant

cracking in the concrete.

When myself and the member for the area met with two officials at the

site, we were told that the top layer of wire mesh was not installed in

the floor. However, a

spokesperson for the Department of Transportation has said it is not

accurate to say that the top layer of wire mesh was missing.

I ask the minister: Why would the company say the wire mesh was missing,

but government say it is not?

Who is right? How did

you miss this?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

I thank the hon. member for that question.

Obviously, our oversight on any project is to make sure that the

people get what it is that they pay for.

In this case, our individuals, our consultants, on site noticed

that there was a hairline fracture in the flooring.

That was not acceptable to us.

We wanted to make sure that product was done to our specifications.

We went back to the contractor and said that this has to be

repaired. As part of the

repair process, the skewing is done, the repairs were made and I know

you went on site and you saw it when it was skewed out, which was great

for me, because I knew they took the due diligence to do it properly.

It is a norm in the curing of concrete that you will have hairline

fractures. That has been

since rectified. The

contract was being done up to spec.

Our engineers and our consultants were quite happy that the job

was being done right

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. BRAZIL:

and has been

rectified, and that contract is moving forward.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Member for St. John's South.

MR. OSBORNE:

The reality, Mr.

Speaker, is the wire mesh missing their department said that was not

the case, which was not accurate.

Mr. Speaker, there were obviously issues with the wire mesh.

There were issues with the drywall, Mr. Speaker, that was

installed and had to be removed because it was put in place before the

roof was on or the windows were in and guess what?

It rained; the drywall got wet.

Mr. Speaker, with a government office on site to oversee the

construction of this facility, I ask the minister: How is this bad

management happening?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we hire very due diligent individuals.

Our own staff and our civil servants were very proud of the

qualifications they have and the great work that they do to make sure

and to ensure that the taxpayers' money is protected, and that is what

has happened in this case.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. BRAZIL:

Mr. Speaker, this

is a prime example on how the officials in my department and the

consultants that we have in place did their job, to ensure that what was

not up to spec got repaired and got put back the way it was supposed to

be as part of the contract.

Drywall, that is the contractor's responsibility.

Our responsibility is to ensure that the contract is done to our

specification. If the

drywall gets wet, it is told to be replaced, brought up to our

specifications, at the cost of the contractor not the taxpayers, Mr.

Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Member for Carbonear Harbour Grace.

MR. SLADE:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, government just released the seafood industry in review for

2014. Rather than seeing our

fishing industry grow, as it should, it has taken a nose dive in value

by 13.1 per cent, a loss of $150 million.

I ask the minister: Wh at

is your plan to correct this serious decline and

mismanagement?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. GRANTER:

Mr. Speaker, we

all know the total value of the fishery in the Province of Newfoundland

and Labrador and how important the fishery is to all of the rural

communities, and we saw there here on the floor of the House in the

debate that we had yesterday.

I can tell you that the problems that we had last year, the difficulties

we had last year in some of the fisheries and the total value was a

decrease of less than $1 billion, but keep in mind and I spoke to

this, this morning that the total value of money that went into the

harvesters pockets last year was more than it was in 2013.

The total value that went to the processors was down, but the

total value in the pocket of the harvesters in the Province went way up,

Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Member for Carbonear Harbour Grace.

MR. SLADE:

Mr. Speaker, what

the minister said that time is about as clear as mud.

Mr. Speaker, since the RMNS fiasco this government has absolutely no

interest in the wild industry, especially on marketing or diversifying

the fishery.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. SLADE:

Mr. Speaker, the

2014 review also showed job losses in the fishing industry and are down

by close to 5 per cent.

I ask the minister: What are you planning to do to stop job losses,

missed opportunities, and properly manage and grow our fishery?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. GRANTER:

Mr. Speaker, it is absolutely

appalling to hear a member from the opposite side say that the

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is not interested in the fishery

of the Province. The

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador in the last number of years,

more so than anyone sitting on the other side, has invested heavily in

the fisheries of this Province, wild fisheries and aquaculture

fisheries, Mr. Speaker.

We cannot help if in the aquaculture industry last year that there were

some diseases.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. GRANTER:

We have invested

heavily in the fishery. We

are looking forward to more investments in the fishery, to look at the

CETA fund. That is where our

fishery is. The fishery of

the future is bright for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. GRANTER:

It is appalling

it is absolutely appalling that you would say, Mr. Speaker, that the

fishery of the Province is not a priority for the people of Newfoundland

and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Member for Carbonear Harbour Grace.

AN HON. MEMBER:

(Inaudible).

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Member for Conception Bay South.

MR. HILLIER:

It is the same

bay, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the Provincial Wellness Plan, Phase 1, is dated 2006-2008.

Seven years later, in his mandate letter, the minister is tasked

with developing Phase 2.

I ask the minister: Why has it taken seven years to begin Phase 2 of the

Provincial Wellness Plan, and when can we expect to see it implemented?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Minister of Seniors, Wellness and Social Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, all

we have to do is to take a look at one thing, in particular: This year,

the Premier set up a new department.

I will outline to the member: Seniors, Wellness and Social

Development. Very keen on

that is the whole wellness component.

If you look at what we have done, Mr. Speaker, over the course of the

last number of years around smoking cessation, the programs that we put

in the schools and so on and so forth, we have made tremendous advances.

The development of this plan is underway, Mr. Speaker.

When it is near completion, I will announce it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Member for Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very

much, Mr. Speaker.

Yesterday the Premier gave examples of where private business has done,

in his words, a very good job at providing services and programs to the

people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

I ask the Premier: Does he really believe that a privatized child care

program is working for the parents and children of this Province in the

face of blatant evidence to the contrary?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, I am

not sure if the member opposite is trying to suggest that private child

care operators are not providing a good service to the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador.

Is the member opposite trying to suggest that hard-working

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who work careers in childcare, Mr.

Speaker, in Newfoundland and Labrador are not providing good service to

the children of Newfoundland and Labrador?

Is she trying to suggest that the training and benefits that are being

provided to some of those workers now, with investments by this

government so they can be better trained and better qualified to deliver

services to the children of Newfoundland and Labrador is she

suggesting they are not providing a good service, Mr. Speaker?

I ask the member is that what she is trying to suggest, that private

business operators, child care operators in this Province, are not

providing good service to the people of the Province?

Outrageous, Mr. Speaker, terrible.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Member for Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very

much, Mr. Speaker.

He can try to sell that to the parents who are giving up jobs because

they cannot afford child care.

So, let's try another one.

Can the Premier show evidence that a privatized home care program is

working for seniors and other people with home care needs?

Let him try that one.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Yes, Mr. Speaker,

I certainly can. She only

needs to go down the road to Chancellor Park where private operators are

providing quality services to long-term patients in Newfoundland and

Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

PREMIER DAVIS:

She only needs to

speak to operators throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, Mr. Speaker,

who provide quality services in personal care homes in this Province to

the people of our Province.

If she wants to talk about quality child care, we have a ten-year plan

on child care in this Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

PREMIER DAVIS:

It is about

quality, it is about sufficiency of spaces, Mr. Speaker, and it is about

affordability. We have

invested heavily in child care in this Province.

Just a couple of years ago we were investing $26 million a year.

This year, Mr. Speaker, we are up to $42 million and our goal is

to reach $56 million a year by the end of our ten-year strategy.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

That is

investment in the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

That is investment in the future of this Province, Mr. Speaker.

We stand by working Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Member for Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon. the Member for Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you.

If he is being so generous, maybe he can give me more time now.

I ask him another one: Where is the Premier's evidence that privatized

ambulances

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS MICHAEL:

work for the people who need them and the emergency workers who staff

them? Where is that

evidence?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, I

caught a bit of her

preamble and then I did not catch the rest of her

question. I can tell you

that we are investing heavily in child care.

The facts are clear.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

PREMIER DAVIS:

We established in

2012, Caring for our Future.

It is a ten-year plan for child care in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, a decade ago there were about 4,600 regulated child

care spaces in this Province.

Today there are about 7,800, a significant increase.

We have provided opportunities for workers who have careers in child

care to expand their own training, Mr. Speaker, so they can go back to

school and they can become better educated and better skilled so we can

provide better services to those children.

We are supporting that.

We are investing in that.

We are also investing in family care homes, over 150 new homes now with

over 800 family care spaces in our Province, Mr. Speaker.

We are making progress in child care.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Member for St. John's East.

MR. MURPHY:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

The fracking review panel has not announced its

schedule for public

consultations yet. I wonder

if the minister can update the House as regards to what is going to be

happening.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Yes, Mr. Speaker,

as we know, we have an independent panel put in place to do a review of

the fracking, particularly on the West Coast of the Province.

It is an independent panel.

I know the panel have met and I expect them to have a website up

and running real soon.

It is my understanding that they will give a ninety-day notice of when

their consultations will begin.

I assume they are waiting until the spring, Mr. Speaker, so

everybody can have a chance.

I think it is important that I reiterate that.

When the panel do start and consultations begin, everyone out

there who has a view on fracking will be given an opportunity to have

input and an opportunity to share their views with the panel.

From our perspective as a government, that is really important

that people be given that chance to have their input.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The time for Question Period has expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling of Documents.

Notices of Motion.

Answers to Question for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Member for St. John's North.

MR. KIRBY:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

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

Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned

residents of Newfoundland and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS many parents have expressed concern about the impact of

overcrowding at Beachy Cove Elementary on the student's mental and

physical well-being; and

WHEREAS many parents have questioned the impact of major space

restrictions at Beachy Cove Elementary

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

I ask all members for their co-operation, please.

The Member for St. John's North to continue.

MR. KIRBY:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

and the ability of the school to continue delivering quality

curriculum to their growing student population; and

timelines to plan, tender, and construct the approved intermediate Grade

5-9 school in Portugal Cove-St. Phillips;

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

the House of Assembly to urge government to provide all necessary

resources in Budget 2015 and beyond to have the Portugal Cove-St.

Phillips intermediate Grade 5-9 school constructed, commissioned, and

operational for students in September 2016.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, myself and the Minister of Transportation and Works

attended a meeting last night in Portugal Cove-St. Phillips where

parents discussed a number of issues related to the delay in

constructing the new school.

The new school was promised about four years ago.

Over that period of time, instead of building a new school, they

have almost built a new school within a school because there are almost

a dozen temporary or new classrooms after being added to Beachy Cove

Elementary over that period of time to accommodate the growing school

population. That school was

designed to accommodate somewhere in the order of 400-odd students; now

they are approaching 700-plus.

Last night, some of the stories we heard from there were just absolutely

mind blowing, the things that are going on in the school.

For example, thirty-four students in a class with two teachers

and no windows, in a temporary classroom cut out of a cafeteria.

Other stories about, if this school and the minister said he was

hopefully optimistic that the school would be ready for September 2016.

The school council people who were there said if that is not

ready for 2016, they are going to lose their learning resources centre

and their computer labs.

They are going to lose the library, basically, which is the heart of the

school. It is one of the few

places they have to have professional development, or if the public

health nurse is coming in, or they are doing some other sort of

co-curricular or outside of curriculum activity.

That is the only space they have now, because the cafeteria is

classrooms. All they have is

the gym. We heard all kinds

of stories about that.

I would say in Question Period today I really was not very impressed

with the responses. In

September of last year the school board decided to change that Torbay

school to a 5-8 school, and they do not seem to know that.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

I remind the member his time has expired.

MR. KIRBY:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Member for Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very

much, Mr. Speaker.

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents humbly

sheweth:

WHEREAS Newfoundland and Labrador has the greatest percentage of the

workforce earning the provincial minimum wage in Canada, with women,

youth and those from rural areas making up a disproportionate number of

these workers; and

WHEREAS there has been no increase in the minimum wage since 2010, which

has had detrimental impacts on the purchasing power of the most

vulnerable members of the provincial workforce; and

WHEREAS minimum wage earners do not earn enough money for the

necessities of life, and even full-time minimum wage earners barely meet

the Low Income Cut-Off (LICO) of $19,496 a person; and

WHEREAS government ignored the recommendations of its own 2012 Minimum

Wage Review Committee for an immediate increase to reflect the cost of

living, and annual adjustments in line with the consumer price index,

and instead legislated a twenty-five cent increase in October 2014, and

a twenty-five cent increase in October 2015, with no indexing; and

WHEREAS other provinces and territories have been raising their minimum

wages, leaving Newfoundland and Labrador on the low end;

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

the House of Assembly to urge government to implement the

recommendations of the 2012 Minimum Wage Review Committee and legislate

an immediate increase in the minimum wage to reflect the loss of

purchasing power since 2010, and an annual adjustment beginning in 2015

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

I ask all members again, please, if you have to have private

conversations take it outside the Chamber.

The Speaker is having difficulty hearing the person who is

talking.

The hon. the Member for Signal Hill Quidi Vidi to continue.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very

much, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS government ignored the recommendations of its

own 2012 Minimum Wage Review Committee for an immediate increase to

reflect the cost of living, and annual adjustments in line with the

Consumer Price Index, and instead legislated a twenty-five cent increase

in October 2014, and a twenty-five cent increase in October 2015, with

no indexing; and

WHEREAS other provinces and territories have been

raising their minimum wages, leaving Newfoundland and Labrador on the

low end;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

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

the recommendations of the 2012 Minimum Wage Review Committee and

legislate an immediate increase in the minimum wage to reflect the loss

of purchasing power since 2010, and an annual adjustment beginning in

2015 to reflect the cost of living index.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, people have been speaking out to us about

the minimum wage issue for a long time.

I think the last

WHEREAS here is extremely important and that is

WHEREAS other provinces and territories have been raising their minimum

wages, leaving us far behind.

We were leaders when changes were made back from

2008-2010 where over a two-year period the minimum wage was brought up

significantly. Now, Mr.

Speaker, we have six provinces that are ahead of us in the line-up.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

I remind the member her speaking time has expired.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I

will have to bring this in again.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Cartwright L'Anse au Clair.

MS DEMPSTER:

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 humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS most communities in the District of Cartwright

L'Anse au Clair do not have adequate broadband service; and

WHEREAS residents, businesses, students, nurses, and

teachers rely heavily on the Internet to conduct their work and cannot

afford to wait until 2017 to access a potential plan in partnership with

the Muskrat Falls development; and

WHEREAS there are a number of world-class tourism sites

in the region, including an UNESCO site at Red Bay, Battle Harbour

Historic Site, and the Mealy Mountains National Park;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

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

Newfoundland and Labrador to work with the appropriate agencies to

provide adequate broadband service to communities along the Labrador

coast.

Mr. Speaker, what is happening right now in my area in

a part of my district, I feel, is that a lack of sufficient access to

communities in my district has contributed to a digital divide that is

exasperating a lot of the inequities between the rural and the urban.

I am going to put it that way.

I will give some credit, Mr. Speaker.

I have been petitioning for

improvements to broadband in my district from my first day in the House

and we have seen improvements.

I believe by mid-April from Red Bay to L'Anse au Clair we are

going to see some improvements and that area is going to be open to

sales. That is half of my

district. However, we have some

very, very serious issues going on down in southeast, in the area, St.

Lewis, Mary's Harbour, Charlottetown, Port Hope Simpson, Pinsent Arm.

So I am going to urge the government because, right

now, people cannot carry out their basic daily activity.

Businesses are suffering because of it.

Professionals are suffering because of it.

We see the government, Mr. Speaker, departments like Service NL,

Motor Vehicle Registration, we see fishermen have to renew their

licences online, we see things like BizPal being promoted; yet we have

rural communities that are far from government services that have not

been given the infrastructure that they need to keep up with the times.

Mr. Speaker, sometimes, yes, you have an area of vast geography

and a sparse population, but we can look at many other successful models

in other countries where this was overcome.

I am urging government to work with the service

provider, to work with the federal government, to connect the

communities in southeast Labrador.

Right now there are a lot of disgruntled people.

I know there are petitions out; they are circulating.

They have contacted lawyers to see if they would have a case to

sue the service provider. It

is very sad, Mr. Speaker.

I hope the government will continue to work with us in

this area and that we will see improvement to the speed and that we will

be able to open up this handful of communities to sales again.

I will continue to petition for the same.

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Humber East.

MR. FLYNN:

A petition to the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland

and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned

humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS the 2009 Throne Speech clearly states that the

government has provided free textbooks to students; and

WHEREAS this is an investment in education; and

WHEREAS unfortunately, students attending independently

funded schools have been deprived of equal access to this assistance;

and

WHEREAS the Department of Education is perceived to

show discrimination towards parents who exercise a choice of schooling

for their child; and

WHEREAS all schools operate under the guidelines of the

Schools Act;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

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

beginning immediately, to ask the Department of Education to provide

free textbooks to all students who attend any schools that follow the

requirements of the Schools Act, 1997 (amended)

Chapter S-12.2.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, I am asking that the minister get involved

in this. The Premiers, both

now, have promised to the people of the independently funded schools

that these textbooks will be provided free.

I am asking that the minister stop discrimination and provide

these textbooks free to the people in the independently funded schools.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St. George's Stephenville East.

MR. REID:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I have a petition today on health care in St. George's

and surrounding area.

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the

undersigned humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS there is not a permanent doctor in the Town of

St. George's; and

WHEREAS this absence of a permanent doctor is seriously

compromising the health care of people who live in the town and

surrounding area causing them undue hardship; and

WHEREAS the absence of a doctor or nurse practitioner

in the area leaves seniors and others without a consistency and quality

of care, which is necessary for their continued good health;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

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

Newfoundland and Labrador to take action which will result in a

permanent doctor or other arrangements to improve the health care

services in St. George's and surrounding area.

Mr. Speaker, this is a serious situation that has gone

on for a long time in St. George's.

St. George's lost its doctor in December, but other communities

in the area such as Jeffrey's, the Jeffrey's clinic, and the communities

served by the Jeffery's clinic lost their doctor over a year ago.

So this is a serious situation that is developing in the area.

Lots of people are suffering because of the unavailability of a

doctor.

I have talked to officials at Western Health.

I have talked to the minister.

He is aware of the situation there and the urgency of the matter.

It is important to note that the people in the area are

concerned that they do not have a continuity of care.

They had some locums who come to the area on a periodic basis,

but they have not had a continuity of care that allows them to have good

health and good service at the clinic there in St. George's.

It is important to note that the people are not

requesting new positions.

These are positions that have been budgeted for in the area.

These are positions that have been in place for a number of

years. So this is not a new

position that people are looking for.

It is the filling of an existing position.

It is a recruitment issue that the people want dealt with as soon

as possible.

Some of the concerns that have been raised: people who

have to have prescriptions filled; people who need to get testing back

or be sent for tests are having trouble getting

those things done because of the unavailability of a doctor in a

reasonable time.

What has happened is they have had to travel long distances, sometimes

in inclement weather, wait in a waiting room for sometimes all day to

get service.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I

look forward to this problem being dealt with soon.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you,

Mr. Speaker.

I have a petition. 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 the Applied Behaviour Analysis, ABA program for children with

autism, is funded by the Department of Health and Community Services;

and

WHEREAS the program was introduced in 1999 and is in serious need of

revision; and

WHEREAS with the advances made in early diagnosis of autism, the number

of high functioning children being diagnosed with autism has drastically

increased; and

WHEREAS the current ABA program does not take into account that children

on the autism spectrum are involved in many educational, recreational

and social activities outside of the home; and

WHEREAS the current ABA program requires that the therapist be

accompanied at all times by another adult which is not only inconvenient

but can be quite costly when a parent is unable to be that second adult

due to work or other obligations; and

WHEREAS the current ABA program ends at Grade 3 but autism is a lifelong

social disorder;

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

the House to urge the government to implement a review of the ABA

program with considerations given to alternate programming options, and

to extend autism programming beyond Grade 3.

Mr. Speaker, I have entered this petition in the House before, and I

have done so after meeting with parents in the Autism Involves Me aim

group out in Port aux Basques.

They represent the Southwest Coast, but I have taken the

opportunity to meet with members of the Autism Society, to meet with

FEAT group, again, generally just to get calls from parents with

children with autism all over this Province.

The fact is that ABA is a great program, but it is in serious need of

revision. It was done in

1999; it is now 2015. The

numbers since then, the increase in diagnosis has skyrocketed.

I believe right now the number is one in sixty-eight.

That is a huge change even from just five years ago.

These parents are looking for help.

We are looking for a review of the program.

The program works, but right now it stops at Grade 3.

The problem with autism being on the spectrum is that it does not

stop at Grade 3. It is a

lifelong disorder. We need

to work with parents and work with children to make this happen.

Again, the first start is to review it.

It is a good start but we need to make sure this happens.

I have had ministers on the other side talk about how much money we have

invested but they are not talking about outcomes, and that is the

problem. They try to throw

money at a problem money is good, money is necessary, but you have to

talk about the outcomes here.

That is the important part.

I am calling on government to heed what these parents are saying.

They are trying to talk; they are just hoping that you are

listening.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

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 of Newfoundland and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS the Family Violence Intervention Court provided a comprehensive

approach to domestic violence in a court setting that fully understood

and dealt with the complex issues of domestic violence; and

WHEREAS domestic violence continues to be one of the most serious issues

facing our Province today, and the cost of the impact of domestic

violence is great both economically and in human suffering; and

WHEREAS the Family Violence Intervention Court was welcomed and endorsed

by all aspects of the justice system including the police, the courts,

prosecutors, defence counsel, Child, Youth and Family Services, as well

as victims, offenders, community agencies and women's groups; and

WHEREAS the recidivism rate for offenders going through the court was 10

per cent compared to 40 per cent for those who did not; and

WHEREAS the budget for the court was only 0.2 per cent of the entire

budget of the Department of Justice;

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

the House of Assembly to urge government to reinstate the Family

Violence Intervention Court.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, we know, everyone in this House has acknowledged, that

family violence is one of the major societal problems in our Province

today. Every member of this

House, I am sure, takes it very seriously and wants to see an end to

family violence.

Wouldn't it be great, Mr. Speaker, at this point if we did not need a

Family Violence Intervention Court?

The hard reality is that we do need a Family Violence

Intervention Court.

It is a curious thing at this point in our history to know that the

police have endorsed the Family Violence Intervention Court.

Prosecutors have endorsed the Family Violence Intervention Court.

Defence lawyers have supported the Family Violence Intervention

Court. Even the judiciary,

Mr. Speaker, has endorsed the Family Violence Intervention Court.

Social workers have endorsed the Family Violence Intervention

Court. Child, Youth and

Family Services have endorsed the court.

Victims of domestic violence have endorsed the court.

Mr. Speaker, the government knows how effective this court was in

addressing the root causes of domestic violence, which is what we all

want to do. We want to

address those root causes.

The research on the court has shown that the recidivism rate has dropped

drastically, which means in cases in families where there has been

domestic violence, that because of the programs through the court, the

repeat of that violence has been minimized by the effectiveness of the

court and its programs.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Member for Carbonear Harbour Grace.

MR. SLADE:

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 humbly

sheweth:

WHEREAS on average, there are over 700 moose-vehicle accidents in the

Province of Newfoundland and Labrador each year; and

WHEREAS approximately 10 per cent of those accidents result in serious

injury or fatality; and

WHEREAS moose-vehicle accident mitigation measures like moose fencing,

brush cutting, and hunting quotas have reduced accidents in other

provinces, in particular, New Brunswick;

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

the House of Assembly to urge the Government of Newfoundland and

Labrador to increase moose-vehicle accident mitigation measures,

including moose fencing, brush cutting, and increasing quotas, and to

provide financial assistance to those most seriously injured as a result

of said collisions.

As is duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, I brought this here earlier in the week.

I am going to continue to bring it here.

This particular gentleman worked with the Wildlife Division.

He was a wildlife officer, a very young man, and his standard of

life is certainly after changing.

Right now he is a paraplegic.

Mr. Speaker, we have to continue on here and we need to really seriously

take a look at what we are doing.

I am not sure exactly what the sum of money was we spent on this

moose lighting on the Trans-Canada and down across the Island, but it

certainly did not work. We

need to look at other avenues where we can do it, probably more so the

most heavily populated areas in moose sightings, or something like that,

to make a start on it. Then

continue something each year to make sure that this kind of thing we

do whatever we can here on this end to make sure that we bring down the

numbers on that.

Now, I am of the understanding there has been fifteen accidents right

now in the park already this year, over in the park there.

So it is certainly something we should look at and do something

with. Of course, all those

victims I do know there have been a number of deaths, too.

I can go back and think of a couple there from our area.

Actually, one of them was an MP at one point in time or other.

He ran into one there in Clarenville.

So it is a serious issue, and it affects each and every one of us who

sits in this hon. House, Mr. Speaker.

It affects every one of us and it is happening in our communities

all across the Province, and I think that this government should take an

initiative to start doing something with it and start doing it now.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Orders of the

Day.

Orders of the Day

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the

Deputy House Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I call from the Order Paper, Order 1, Committee of Supply.

MR. SPEAKER:

The motion is

that the House do now resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole to

consider Bill 44, Interim Supply, and that I do now leave the Chair.

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those

against, 'nay'.

Carried.

On motion, that the House resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole,

Mr. Speaker left the Chair.

Committee of the

Whole

CHAIR (Littlejohn):

Order,

please!

We are considering the related resolution in Bill 44,

An Act For

Granting To Her Majesty Certain Sums Of Money For Defraying Certain

Expenses Of The Public Service For The Financial Year Ending March 31,

2016 And For Other Purposes Relating To The Public Service.

The hon. the Member for Cape St. Francis.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. K. PARSONS:

Thank you

very much, Mr. Chair.

It is indeed a privilege to get up here today and represent the

beautiful District of Cape St. Francis.

Mr. Chair, this session of the House is a session that I really

enjoy. We have a lot of

money bills that are on the go and it gives us an opportunity to talk

about so many different things related to our district and related to

government in general. It is

an opportunity once we do Interim Supply, we do the Budget, and the

Thorne Speech, it gives us all a chance to really be able to get up and

express ourselves and let the people out there know what we do as MHAs,

know what our concerns are, and where our priorities are to.

Interim Supply is a big bill, there is no doubt about it.

When you are talking about granting funds of $2.7 billion, it is

a lot of money. I know it is

very important to the people, but it is important too that we pass this

bill and make sure that monies go forward to the different departments.

Mr. Chair, this session, I am going to just try to talk a little bit on

different topics and today is a great day to talk on a topic because

there was a question already asked in Question Period today that I was

very interested in it was from the Member for St. John's North and

it had to do with education.

That is where I would like to go today about education because, as an

MHA, I like to focus on a couple of different groups of people.

Now, I represent everybody; but, to me, I think our youth, our

young people, are a major concern for me.

I know that every opportunity I get to visit a school or

whatever, I take it. Also

our seniors if a senior calls me to complain about home repair

programs and stuff like that, I like to visit their houses and help them

fill out the application if that is what needs to be done.

I take great pride in that as an MHA.

I just want to talk about education today.

The member brought up a question about the school in Torbay.

I have to say it is probably the number one priority for me since

I have been elected. It is

probably the biggest file I have had since I have been elected because

it is a huge concern. My

area is a very fast-growing area.

We have come so far in education in the District of Cape St.

Francis that it is unbelievable.

Yet, our growth is high and the concerns down there I am not

saying we have all the problems fixed, but we are after fixing an awful

lot of problems when it comes to education in Cape St. Francis.

Mr. Chair, I just want to go back because the tender went out on our new

school that we are going to have there.

It is a Grade 5, 6, and 7 school.

I have to give credit to the school councils in the area.

We had a focus group first when we started and we came together

with three school councils; one from Holy Trinity Elementary, one from

Holy Trinity High, and the other one from Cape St. Francis Elementary.

We got together. We

set up a committee. We went

to the school board. We did

all the consultations and presented our case.

The school board did agree that, yes, they definitely do need a

new school in the area.

We wanted to do it in a way that K-4 would be at Cape St. Francis and

K-4 would be at Holy Trinity Elementary, and we did not want to take too

much out of the high school because a lot of times the principals were

all involved. The curriculum

they could have in their school is based sometimes on the population of

the students. So we were

worried about the high school, which was really 7-12, and the concern

was that we did not want to take too many students because there are

different courses that could be offered because of the number of

students. That was very

important. That is the

reason why it is a Grade 5, 6, and 7.

I wanted to let the member across the way know that.

Again, the tender is after being called.

It closed only the other day.

I really look forward to, hopefully in the next week or so,

talking to the school councils and doing some kind of announcement on

that new school because it is needed in the area, there is no doubt

about it.

I have to go back because there are a lot of times people will say,

well, it is very poor planning in the area.

Mr. Chair, I was the Mayor of the Town of Flatrock in 2005 when

the former MHA, Mr. Byrne, was here.

He was so proud to get the new school for Torbay.

At that time, there were 563 children at Holy Trinity Elementary.

As the Mayor of the Town of Flatrock, you look at all your growth

in your town and everything else; we never anticipated the growth that

went ahead.

The school was planned in 2005.

At the time, the housing starts, when I was the Mayor of

Flatrock, were like eight, seven a year for the three years.

Then all of a sudden in 2008 we jumped from seven in 2007 to

about thirty-five the next year.

The growth is just unbelievable.

The Town of Torbay in the last four years has grown by 20 per

cent. I do not know if

someone did not predict it or whatever, but when you look at an area

where the growth is like that, you are looking at young families coming

in, young families and young children, and that is why the growth in the

school.

I really have to thank the Department of Education and the school board;

they have done a fantastic job in the area.

People, I laugh when I went to trade school, we used to go out

to the portable classrooms and you put your coat on before you went out

there because they were cold and the windows were open, but these new

modular classrooms that they built in the schools there are four now

at Holy Trinity Elementary and one at Cape St. Francis they are great

classrooms, I have to say, and the parents are very, very pleased with

them.

Mr. Chair, I just want to say that the growth in the area and what is

happening there, we are very, very lucky with the investments that this

government has made in education since 2003.

I go back to 2003 and I am not blaming any government.

There were different circumstances in the 1990s than what were in

the 2000s, different circumstances altogether.

The money was not there like it was there for the last ten years;

I am not blaming that at all.

In 2003, there were a number of schools in this Province that the

biggest issue was mould.

When you listen to Open Line shows in 2003 and 2004, it was about our

education. It was about

people calling in with mouldy schools, leaky windows, roofs where the

water was running in, and there were buckets on the floor.

We saw it all the time.

That was the number one conversation.

We do not hear that any more.

I am going to give a real good example now of that too, Mr. Chair.

In the Town of Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove, there is a gem.

There is a beautiful little school down there.

There are 263 children there this year.

I have to say, the people in the community are so proud of their

school and the support that they get from the parents and everybody

else. It is a great little

school, but in 2003-2004 that school even thought about shutting down

because there were so many issues with it.

This government invested a million dollars in putting a new roof on the

school, new windows, new siding

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. K. PARSONS:

Hear,

hear!

When you walk inside that school today, it is an absolutely beautiful

school. The teachers are so proud

of it. The parents, they

just love the school. Like I

said, it is a fantastic school, but it was a great investment to make.

Since 2004, there have been 1,900 repairs or maintenance to schools in

this Province 1,900, $236 million.

That is just in maintenance and repairs of schools.

That does not include the fourteen new schools that have been

built since, nor does it include eight schools that are also in

planning.

I know the hon. Member for Virginia Waters got up the other day and she

was wondering what we did with our money.

Well, I can tell you what has been done with money in my

district. In my district,

there has been a huge investment in schools.

There is a million dollars invested in St. Francis of Assisi for

repairs. There were also a

bunch of other repairs that were done.

A new parking lot was paved down there.

Holy Trinity Elementary, a $15 million school that was built and opened

in 2011. That is not a

waste. Granted, the

population has gone up and there are issues there, but there are four

new modular classrooms that were put on there for a cost.

We also have another great school in my district.

Cape St. Francis just had a modular classroom.

I am hoping now, Mr. Chair, in the near future, that the tender

comes out and we will have another school.

It will address the needs of the growing population because we

are seeing now that the K-5 has stabilized.

The growth is not going up like it was.

The numbers are there, and they have a great idea of what we need

in the area. The new school

is going to have about 450 children in it to about 500, and that will

elevate all of what is happening in the area.

Mr. Chair, I want to talk about some other things too.

As a parent growing up and having two children who were going to

school and I was a single parent, Mr. Chair.

The biggest thing I think that this government has done for

education and I heard the minister the other day talk about his life

as a principal of a school and how they had to address the needs of some

of the parents who were coming through who could not afford to go to

school.

I tell you, Mr. Chair, I am not ashamed of it, I was one of those

parents who had a hard time.

The day two of mine came home with their list I was worried because I

wanted to know how I was going to pay for those books.

Before then, I was after talking to my friends or someone else

who had a child in the grade before to try to work on getting books for

them.

I remember one time there was a scientific calculator that came home,

and it was $120 for the calculator.

I was trying to figure out where I was going to get the money for

it. Do you know what?

Parents today then the Member for Virginia Waters is wondering

where the money has gone to.

I would like to tell her, talk to all the parents who now today do not

need to worry about when they come home from school to see that they get

free books in the school.

Mr. Chair, I can go on talking about education for a long while.

I am hoping they are going to give me an opportunity to speak

again because I want to talk about seniors, I want to talk about

municipalities, I want to talk about a lot

CHAIR:

I remind the hon.

member his time has expired.

MR. K. PARSONS:

All right,

Mr. Chair.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

CHAIR:

The hon. the Member

for St. John's North.

MR. KIRBY:

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

I am happy to stand and speak to this bill.

I find all this very interesting.

The member who spoke just then, the Member for Cape St. Francis,

talked about the Torbay school that is going to be constructed, well,

sometime between now and 2017 or something like that.

In 2011, the former Eastern School District decided that they needed to

have

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

CHAIR:

Order, please!

MR. KIRBY:

a Grades 5-7 school in Torbay

to serve the surrounding communities.

Last September, according to the September 19 minutes of the

District, they changed the designation of that school from Grades 5-7 to

Grades 5-8. I do not know if

they unchanged that decision since then, but I am surprised to hear that

from the member.

MR. K. PARSONS:

A point of

order, Mr. Chair.

CHAIR:

The hon. the Member

for Cape St. Francis on a point of order.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Yes, I

would like to just address the member's statement there that time.

It was always considered to be a 5-7 school.

I think there was some consideration given, too, that it could go

to Grade 8. When they looked

at the curriculum that was there, they decided to go from 5-7.

CHAIR:

There is no point of

order.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Okay.

CHAIR:

Thank you.

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. KIRBY:

Mr. Chair, I just

want to clarify, because the Executive Committee of the Newfoundland and

The tender, I understand, is soon going to be issued for that, or

it is going to be awarded.

They issued it in January for a 5-7 school.

Months after the board changed it from a 5-7 to a 5-8 school, the

government went ahead and issued the tender for the smaller school, not

the larger one that the board has changed it to.

I hear what the member is saying, but the member over there is

not deciding what kids in what grades and what ages are going to go to

that new school. The

because they are going to designate the catchment areas for that school

and it is going to have Grades 5-8.

Basically, you are going to be trying to shove four grade levels into a

school that was tendered.

Well, if the tender is issued for 5-7, it is one grade level less than

what the board decided last September 19 for that school to be

designated as. That is what

I understand. Unless the

a different decision, then that is a problem because you are trying to

put additional grade levels into a school that is going to be built too

small.

Now, it is interesting because at the same meeting on September 19,

that they had a problem with Holy Family School out in Paradise.

At the same meeting they made that decision that they would

potentially bus kids from Holy Family out to the Newfoundland School for

the Deaf.

Now, if the member is not aware of that decision, I am not surprised

because parents of kids who go to Holy Family Elementary never found out

about the board's decision until January, when one of their children

came home from school and said, mommy and daddy, guess what?

I am going to be taking the bus into St. John's now for

forty-five minutes to school, that is what somebody said.

I think at least the Department of Education and Early Childhood

Development, somebody there should read the minutes of the school board

that they appointed several years ago.

This is symptomatic of a larger problem that we have around

school planning.

Out in Paradise, it is projected to have a student population going up

somewhere around 1,000 students, I believe, in a school that was built

for several hundred fewer students than that.

One of the options they are talking about, which makes no sense

to me, is to bring in no less than four portable classrooms and some

sort of, I do not know, I will call it a portable toilet room.

It is like a washroom on wheels.

They do not have enough washroom space for a school with that

many students, so they are going to try and have a portable washroom as

well. I do not know how any

of this is going to work.

The other option to that is they are talking about busing kids from

Grade 2 to Grade 6 into St. John's in the former location of the

Newfoundland School for the Deaf.

That is really not a reasonable option either.

I had a gentleman call me the other day and said: I have one

child who is in Grade 2, and another child is in Grade 1, one is going

to be going one way and one is going to be going the other way; how am I

going to deal with child care in that instance?

That is going to be a real problem.

It is going to put a real burden on parents, and it is

symptomatic of the larger problem that we have had.

Basically, if you paint a line from Mount Pearl over to Torbay,

school planning on the Northeast Avalon has been, for lack of a better

term, a shemozzle for a good while now, and largely under this

government's watch.

I presented a petition on behalf of the parents out in Portugal Cove-St.

Phillips, and like I said, in that school, in Beachy Cove Elementary

there, they were promised a school four years ago four years ago.

The Minister of Transportation and Works said last night that he

was hopefully optimistic that that school would open in September 2016.

Now, my colleague, the Member for Cartwright L'Anse au Clair, was

supposed to have a school, a new school that was promised to be open in

Charlottetown in September 2014.

Do you know how many students, Mr. Chair, are going to school at

that school right now? None,

no students in that that was supposed to open last September.

Like I said in the debate, Beachy Cove Elementary has had eleven

temporary, reconfigured, modular, portable, all of these sorts of

classrooms

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

CHAIR:

Order, please!

MR. KIRBY:

There is one

classroom out there they call the hallway, it is so narrow.

Parents were saying last night, and I cannot corroborate this,

but parents were saying, basically they had to move the students from

side to side because they get a sore neck because they are leaned

against the wall one way or the other.

That is how narrow they have them jammed into that space.

Thirty-four students with two teachers trying to do French in a

cafeteria classroom with no windows.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

CHAIR:

Order, please!

MR. KIRBY:

You have to

question the air quality too, with no windows.

The cafeteria was never meant to be occupied all day long like

that.

All kinds of these situations existing in Paradise, in Portugal Cove-St.

Phillips, and now government is going to do the same thing all over

again when it issues this tender for a 5-7 school in Torbay, where the

board decided last September they are going to put an extra grade level

and nobody over there knows anything about it.

They are saying oh, you are wrong, you are wrong.

It is written right there.

In the minutes of the board, September 19, 2014, they said the decision

we made the former school district, the Eastern School District, made

a decision to have a 5-7 school.

Now we are going to change that decision.

We are going to change it to a 5-8 school.

What did the Minister of Transportation and Works do?

He went and issued a tender call for a 5-7 school.

Now soon, he is going to award that tender for a 5-7 school and

then they will have Grade 8 show up.

Where are they going to go?

Mr. Chair, unfortunately, do you know where they are going to go?

They are going to go in portables, in modulars.

They are going to cut the cafeteria up.

In Portugal Cove-St. Phillips if the minister's hopeful

optimism does not work out, because I am sure the Member for Cartwright

L'Anse au Clair was hopefully optimistic that government would keep

its commitment to open that school in Charlottetown in 2014.

If there is not much to that hopeful optimism, then they are

going to lose their learning resources and computer lab out in Portugal

Cove-St. Phillips at Beachy Cove and they will have thirteen temporary

classrooms in that school.

Kids out in Torbay, in Pouch Cove, in communities all along there, they

can look forward to having that from day one when they put all of these

Grade 8's in a school that was never designed to accommodate them.

That is unfortunate.

How much consultation was there with parents about changing that school

from a 5-7 to a 5-8? There

clearly was no consultation with the member from the area.

That shocks me. I do

not even know if there was any consultation with the Minister of

Education because she is sort of shaking her head, I do not know.

None of that makes any sense to me.

You cannot continue to make these mistakes over and over and over again:

Paradise, Portugal Cove-St. Philips, now Torbay.

We have had all kinds of problems with Carbonear, when they moved

into that school.

Practically the next day they brought in portable classrooms to

accommodate the number of students who were there and they said, well,

we cannot project the population growth.

I tell you what, the guy who used to sit in that seat over there, the

former Premier of the Province, Danny Williams, he had no problem

projecting the population growth on the Northeast Avalon, so much that

he is building a subdivision the size of Gander or something out on the

outskirts of Mount Pearl.

Now, he has no problem figuring out how many people are moving in this

area. He never told the rest

of you before he left?

It makes no sense to me. You

cannot continue to build schools too small.

It creates too many problems and it has a long-term impact on

educational outcomes and the curriculum.

That is the facts, folks, and we have to change this way.

We have to change this; this is not working.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

CHAIR:

The hon. the Member

for Cape St. Francis.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. K. PARSONS:

Thank you

very much, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Chair, I had to listen to that for about ten minutes and it almost

made me sick just to listen because he has no idea what he is talking

about. When you talk about

consultation, I can tell you that the school councils in my area were

involved right from day one.

The parents in my area and parents were so involved in what happened.

We decided to get a group together right at the start of this when there

were problems coming. As

soon as the school was built down in Torbay, yes, we understood there

were going to be problems with issues with the number of Kindergartens

that were coming in and down the road, there was going to be a major

issue and there was going to need modular classrooms.

The school councils are the people who put their proposal

together to the school board for a 5, 6, and 7 school.

The high school down at Holy Trinity High right now is not at full

capacity, and that has Grade 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, the reason being

that they wanted a 5, 6, 7 and not a Grade 8 for a larger school.

They wanted to keep the students down to about 500 which would

be, right now today if it opened tomorrow, I think it is about 440

students.

MR. JOYCE:

Is the school

board wrong?

MR. K. PARSONS:

I do not

know if the school board is wrong or not, but I tell you the parents and

the school council are getting what they asked for.

The parents in the area and the school councils asked for a 5-7

school and that is what is going to be built in Torbay.

In Torbay, Mr. Chair, it is going to address three schools, three areas

that we have problems with right now.

It is the K-6 school that is in Pouch Cove, a K-6 school that is

at Holy Trinity Elementary, and the high school itself.

Because as the students come from 5, 6, and 7 the increased

numbers are going to be in the high school.

They have looked at all this, and the parents and the school councils

are in full agreement with the type of school that is getting built.

They are very happy that it will be built, and it will take care

of a lot of the issues in the area.

Mr. Chair, I just want to talk about another thing too.

I looked into investments that we have made in schools in my

area. I have been fortunate

over the last couple of years that we have received some grants from the

Department of Innovation, Business and Rural Development.

They got different grants and each school got $20,000 to improve

their resources, like laptops and iPads and everything else.

These schools are just so happy with those grants.

That is something that I would like to thank the government for,

the investments.

I talked to a teacher who just retired last year.

She told me she was twenty-eight years a teacher and she never,

ever saw investments in schools like she has seen in the last number of

years.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. K. PARSONS:

When I

walk into classrooms today and I can remember walking in.

I went down last week.

Like I told you, I was down with a Grade 5 class.

They had two students did an interview and then teachers asked me

to stay around. Then all the

students had a chance to ask some questions and we got talking about

everything.

To look up and I think they are called SMART Boards or whiteboards or

something like that. All the

classrooms with the technology that they have today, I am very proud of

those investments. I think

the money that this government spent on education, last year I think the

budget was $1.2 billion; I think it is a very good investment in our

children. I think that we

have to continue it.

In my district, sure, there are issues and it is issues with population

growth, but we are addressing those issues.

In 2003 the issues were completely different.

They were mould and leaky windows and leaky roofs and everything

else. This government, like

I said, has done 1,900 repairs and maintenance to different parts of the

school, major projects that have been done to our educational

facilities. I am very proud

of that for this government.

I am very proud that we do the job we do.

Education is a very important part of all of us here in this thing.

We want to make sure that the children today get the best

possible education that they can, and they are.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

CHAIR:

The hon. the Member

for St. John's North.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. KIRBY:

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

I am happy to respond to those comments from the Member for Cape St.

Francis. Look, I understand,

this is an issue that is close to him.

It is his district; of course he is concerned.

School District decided last September that they are going to send an

extra grade level into the school that parents were under the

understanding was going to be 5-7.

Of course he is concerned.

We are all concerned about that.

He says he does not know if the school board look, go onto the school

board website, look at the executive minutes of September 19.

It says the former Eastern School District in 2011 made a

decision to construct a 5-7 school in the Town of Torbay.

We are changing that now to a 5-8 school.

That was in September.

Then in January, I understand it, the Department of

Transportation and Works went ahead anyway and issued a tender for a 5-7

school.

The member is right, the parents are going to get what they asked for.

They are going to get a 5-7 school, but it is going to have Grade

8s in it too. It is going to

be too small, okay, unless they build it.

He said it made him sick to sit there and listen to me.

Now, that is fine, but do you know what?

If he wants to see sick, go out for a month in a school that was

constructed for 400 students; go in a windowless classroom in a school

that has 700-odd students in it and sit there with that lack of air

circulation and all of that; eat your lunch at your desk; watch movies

for gym because you do not have any gym class; be crammed up in a room

that was never constructed for that.

Go out to Paradise, go to Holy Family Elementary.

Go to school there for a week and see how sick you feel after

that, because it makes me sick.

Parents think it is unsanitary for children.

Kids with all sorts of anxiety problems and everything, they

cannot go to the washroom; lineups for the washroom.

All the horror stories that I have heard from parents in

Paradise.

I say to the member, I have been to all of the meetings when it comes to

this stuff here on the Northeast Avalon.

I have been to those meetings and I heard firsthand.

I have a notebook here full of the notes that I made of what

people said. I am not making

this up. These are the

facts.

Then he talks about consultation; they were not consulted with.

Okay, he was not consulted with, clearly, on this decision to

change it from 5-7 to 5-8. I

do not know if the Minister of Education was.

I guess the Minister of Transportation was not consulted because

he issued a tender for something other than what the school board is

planning to deliver.

The Minister of Transportation and Works came out to the school meeting

in Portugal Cove-St. Phillips last night and he rolled out the plan for

the school. He rolled out

the plan for the new school.

Somebody said to me, no one consulted any of us.

The architects are out there and they are drawing all of this up.

No one talked to a single parent, no focus group, no survey, no

consultation whatsoever.

This government has a whole department dedicated to public engagement.

No parents who have kids at Beachy Cove Elementary, or are going

to have kids at this school, were consulted on that plan, not that I

understand. None of the

people who were there last night were consulted on that plan.

That was the consultation: Here is the plan, look at it.

There you go. I do

not know.

We have not seen the tender call, despite four years ago this government

promising people in Portugal Cove-St. Phillips that they would get a new

school. Four years have gone

by, and the minister said: Oh, these school developments, all this

process has four stages.

They said: Well, how come it did not happen in four stages over there?

He said they did the four stages all at once.

Why didn't they do the four stages all at once in Portugal

Cove-St. Phillips?

I was out at that meeting in Paradise the other night.

You talk about trying to get yourself out of trouble, which I

believe that is where this government is on this issue, because as I

have said, I am not making any of this up.

It is all there in black and white for people to read.

We were at that meeting.

There were probably a couple of hundred parents there who are very

divided on whether their Grade 2 to Grade 6 kids should spend forty-five

minutes on a bus to go into St. John's now.

All these people bought their homes in Paradise, many of them, so

their kids could walk to school.

Now they have been told that their kids are going to be bused.

People are talking about selling their homes out there.

People are irate.

Then the other option is have four more portable classrooms jammed into

this space with some sort of washroom on wheels set up to accommodate

kids going to the washroom and so on during the school day.

So we are sitting there, and the meeting was scheduled to begin

you cannot make this stuff up, Mr. Chair, you cannot make this stuff up.

The meeting was scheduled to begin at 6:30, and I have the press

release right here. At 6:20,

the Minister of Transportation and Works issues a press release saying:

tender awarded for the new school in Paradise.

Ten minutes before the meeting was going to be begin, and not an MHA

from the government side at that meeting ten minutes.

I went up and showed it to the trustees, and people just like

Newfoundlanders say, you have to laugh, because what is the alternative?

I went over to the mayor and I showed other people and said,

look. The meeting is going

to begin in five minutes and they just issued a tender for the new

school, more or less trying to back your way out of a problem.

There is no way of backing your way out of that problem.

The minister, as well intentioned as he may be, he can be as hopefully

optimistic as he likes about that school being constructed and open

there by Octagon Pond for September 2016.

All you have to do is talk to the Member for Cartwright L'Anse

au Clair, she will tell you, because no one is in that school yet, the

one that was promised for Charlottetown.

Talk to the Member for Carbonear Harbour Grace, he will tell

you, because they built that school way too small.

That is a new school full of portable classrooms, basically.

It is absolutely incredible what has been going on.

I know the Member for Cape St. Francis wants to serve his constituents

well, but he is not serving his constituents very well by getting up

there and advocating what the Minister of Transportation and Works has

done, because what he has done is wrong.

The school board decided to change that school in Torbay from a

5-7 school you can almost say it right along with me over there, I

have said it so many times here today change it to a 5-8 school.

They made that decision months before the Department of

Transportation and Works issued a tender for a school that is too small.

They must be tired of hearing people over here saying stop building

schools too small. They must

be tired of hearing school councils say stop building schools too small.

They must be tired of hearing teachers say stop building schools

too small. They must be

tired of hearing students say stop building schools too small, and

parents saying stop building schools too small, because that is what you

are doing. You cannot

continue to do it.

You cannot say, yes, now they are going to get what they asked for, and

we have changed the rules all of a sudden.

The board is going to send an extra grade level there.

So we are going to build another school too small and they are

getting what they deserve.

I would not do that to my constituents.

I would not say that to my constituents, you are getting what you

deserve. Those parents do

not deserve that. Those kids

deserve a good education.

Those people work hard; they pay taxes in this Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. KIRBY:

They deserve to

get a decent education, and that is not what they are going to get by

doing this. It is the wrong

decision, and if the minister is going to award that tender I would say

take it back. Take it back,

because I am going to say there might be a legal challenge, who knows,

and you continue to fool this up.

You continue to fool these tenders up.

Do you know what is going to happen if you continue to fool up

these tenders?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

CHAIR:

Order, please!

MR. KIRBY:

Do you know what

is going to happen? Then

there are going to be further delays, and there goes your hopeful

optimism. There goes hopeful

optimism, because you have to issue the other point about all of this,

it is this government's appointed school board trustees who made that

decision. The member over

there appointed all those people.

So there is no communication at all no communication at all, it

seems.

I do not know what to say about it.

It is very frustrating.

I apologize again to the Member for Cape St. Francis if he feels

ill about this, but I am telling you, talk to those parents about this.

Talk to those parents, because they are sick with worry.

They are sick with worry about what the long-term impact on their

kids is going to be, jamming them all in these spaces that are too small

to accommodate the number of kids that the Newfoundland and Labrador

The member over there does not decide that.

The Minister of Transportation and Works does not decide that.

The Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development does

not decide that. The school

board has decided to add an extra grade level to that school, so it is

just as well to build a school that is big enough to accommodate Grade

8's out in Torbay.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

CHAIR:

The hon. the Minister

of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

I had the opportunity to listen to my colleague from the Opposition here

who would be the critic for closing schools.

That is all I heard from that rant for the last ten minutes.

This Administration is about opening schools.

It is about offering better quality education.

It is about working with the stakeholders.

Contrary to what the hon. member has said over there, we work with the

stakeholders. We work with

municipal councils. We are

working with the school district.

We are identifying.

That is why we have built twenty-four schools in our Administration

twenty-four. We have

repaired fifty-six other schools.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: