PDF Version

October 8, 2020

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLIX No. 52

The House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR.

SPEAKER (Reid):

Are

the House Leaders ready?

Government House Leader ready?

Opposition House Leader ready?

Third Party ready?

Admit strangers.

The hon. the Minister Responsible for the Status of

Women.

MS.

DEMPSTER:

Mr.

Speaker, I rise on a point of privilege.

Yesterday during debate the Member for Conception Bay

South remarked that I was laughing over there like a schoolgirl. Mr. Speaker, we

have certain protections within this House referred to as parliamentary

privilege. One of those privileges – and I will quote from the

Members' Parliamentary Guide – is “Freedom from obstruction,

interference, intimidation, and molestation in carrying out his or her

legislative duties ….”

The remark made by the Member for Conception Bay South

was intimidating, sexist, misogynistic and it has no place in the most tenuous

and heated debates, and certainly no place in this hon. House. Mr. Speaker,

using the term “schoolgirl” with the intent to belittle, condescend and scold

was wrong and it was a breach of privilege. I wonder has a male Member of this

House ever been admonished to acting like a schoolboy.

Our role as Members of the House of Assembly is

important. Together, we represent the people of this province in passing laws

that govern our lives.

Language matters, Mr. Speaker. It is how we express

ourselves and our belief systems. The words we choose impact our attitudes,

actions and behavior towards women. As Members of the House of Assembly who

represent the women and girls of Newfoundland and Labrador, it is incumbent upon

us that we elevate and empower their voices, not belittle them; that we lead

with our words and actions; that we acknowledge that gender inequity and

gender-based violence are directly tied to how we talk about, treat and value

women. And sadly it is all too often normalized and unchallenged. I rise today

to challenge it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS.

DEMPSTER:

am one of the longest serving members of this House, Mr. Speaker. I am a Cabinet

minister and I have worked so hard to get here. Along my journey, my

accomplishments have been reduced to being, and I quote, just a pretty face or a

schoolgirl. I would venture to guess the women in this room share with me

similar experiences enduring the brunt of sexist remarks, rhetoric and noise.

Ironically, I will be presenting a Ministerial

Statement today observing October 11 as International Day of the Girl, a day

that recognizes girls' rights and the unique challenges they face around the

world, a day in which I am asking all Members of the House to celebrate girls as

leaders and encourage them to find their voice and take their seat at the table.

It is so important, Mr. Speaker, that I challenge the Member opposite's comment

as one that runs so contrary to the spirit of this observance.

And I will take this opportunity to say wholeheartedly

that some of our greatest promise for the future of this provinces lies within

our schoolgirls.

Disrespectful and sexist remarks come at a harmful

cost, not only on me but my fellow women collogues, the women that work around

me; on the integrity, Mr. Speaker, of the office I proudly serve, an office

whose sole purpose is to advance the status of women and to the many women and

girls watching today and who aspire to sit in our seats.

I call on the Member for Conception Bay South to stand

in this House, withdraw his remark and apologize and reflect on how insidious

gender inequality is and his role to help end it.

I leave you all today with some questions that we all

need to ask ourselves. What is the message we are sending when we undermine and

belittle the strength, value and worth of women and girls through the use of

sexist comments? By challenging sexism, what are we teaching our daughters? By

speaking up today, what am I teaching my daughter about her value, her worth and

her status in this House and in this province? By acknowledging that what was

said to me is harmful and wrong, what are we teaching each other?

It is my hope, Mr. Speaker, that this can be a

teachable moment for all of us today. Let us take this opportunity to do better

for all girls and women who are working hard toward their goals, who are leading

in our communities and who are ensuring this province has a bright and better

future.

I move, Mr. Speaker, seconded by the Member for St.

John's West, that this House consider the violation of my privileges as a Member

by the disrespectful and sexist remarks by the Member for Conception Bay South.

MR.

SPEAKER:

I'm

going to open the floor for comments from other Members before I comment on

this.

We'll go to the Member for Conception Bay South.

MR.

PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Before I offer up any apologies or whatnot – I did

apologize yesterday in the House – I would be remiss and I probably wouldn't be

the husband, the father or the son I am without clarifying something for the

general public, whoever may be watching. My commentary yesterday was during

heated debate. There were actions on the other side and I'll leave that where

they're to. It's during the cut and thrust of debate with lots of things being

said back and forth. In that moment, with a lot of heckling going on, I did make

that comment. It was no way intended to be the way it's been portrayed. That's

very unfortunate, but it is – and I'm not saying how people react, because it's

said your words sometimes come out of your mouth but the receiver doesn't always

take them the way you mean them. So for that part, there's no problem there.

My integrity and, me as a person, who I am – and you

can go in through CBS and you can ask anyone in CBS, because I've lived 54 years

of my life in CBS. I don't get elected because I'm a Tory – and most people on

that side of the House can attest to that. In 2015, I should have never gotten

elected. I got elected because people believe in me and what I do, and a lot of

that is based on my integrity.

So I do feel here, if I don't say what I say, I'd be

abandoning my duties as a husband, a father and a son. I have two beautiful

daughters, when they were in younger years – I wish they were still young;

they're grown up now. I have two daughters and I'm very proud to say I'm a good

father. They could come in here and I'm sure they could attest to that. I know

every father could say that, but I'll put my credibility against anyone's. I'm a

devoted father and, my wife might not always agree, but I think I'm a pretty

good husband as well. My mother, I talk to her everyday. She just called me at

lunchtime.

Sometimes we misspeak, but I don't want this to turn

into some kind of a back and forth, that I'm this horrible person and that I

condemn women. I respect women. I have women that are in our caucus and in our

staff, and I think you could feel free to ask them without any coaching from me.

It's unfortunate, sometimes in this House we all say

things we may or may not feel bad about. I'll be the first to say, I went home

last night and listened to that, because that was one of those things and you're

– I get going and sometimes I'll blurb something out and I'll say I'll have to

go back and watch it that night and say, what did I say, and make sure it wasn't

anything too wrong.

We're all human. I'm sure a lot of people in this House

do that. That's fair play, and I make mistakes all the time. As I always say, in

a house full of women I'm always wrong, but I'm good with that in my house. I'm

very proud to say that, and I have a very happy home. So I think it's very

important to highlight that, me as a person, because I do feel to a point of

some of the commentary there that I feel like I'm somewhat under – my integrity

has been taken out of place because I made an inappropriate comment.

Sometimes me and the hon. Government House Leader have

many heated debates in this House too, and I'm sure some of the comments said

back and forth – I know I've said some sometimes and I've probably called him

aside after and said, you know – I do, I apologize because I don't mean it, but

you're caught up in the moment.

So taking all that into account then – as recently as

lunch hour, actually, I had an email from a constituent of mine and she

expressed her displeasure in my commentary. I responded to her and I

acknowledged, that's fair game. I explained to her what was going on, because

there was more than what you see on camera: but, that being said, I understood

where she was coming from. I explained to her the same sort of thing I'm saying

now, that I didn't mean any harm, and I apologized to her, too.

Life is about mistakes. Sometimes we misspeak; a lot of

times we misspeak. That's the nature of the beast. None of us are perfect.

Obviously, I misspoke. In no way – and I mean in no way – did I intend to cause

any harm or cause any grief to the Deputy House Leader. I do feel very sad that

she feels that way, and I am very sorry. I could have stood up and just said I'm

sorry and sat down, which some people have done in the past, but that wouldn't

be fair either. So I do offer my sincere apologies. It's not who I am. I got

caught up debate.

I'm not saying that I'll never apologize again, because

who knows. That's the nature of the beast we live in this House, but I do feel

very unfortunate that she feels that way. I do withdraw my remarks and I

apologize unequivocally. I just want people out there to know that contrary to

what you may think, this is a heated room sometimes, but as a father, a husband

and a son, I'm proud to have them in my life and I do a good job of it; I try to

anyway. I do apologize for anything disparaging that I may have said to the

Deputy House Leader.

Thank you very much.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Deputy Premier.

MS.

COADY:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate the opportunity to have a few words on

this very disappointing matter, I will say that. Having been involved in

business and in politics for quite some time, Mr. Speaker, I feel truly

aggrieved that this has occurred but I do think that we can't continue to move

past it. We can't continue to accept it.

I did hear the Member opposite make his apology. I also

heard him say, I think the quote was: in a house full of women I'm always wrong.

Which I don't understand how that – I'm concerned about how it can be

misconstrued.

Mr. Speaker, I will say this, we can't minimize this. I

hear and acknowledge the Member opposite's comment but let's reflect upon what

this language actually does do. It basically says that the minister – I'm going

to say that again – is childlike. A child cannot be trusted with major decisions

around finances, cannot be tasked with complex and meaningful work and cannot

really expect them to be self-sufficient or engaged in matters that are of

importance and be entirely responsible. I want all of us to reflect on this.

I accept the Member opposite said he was sincere in his

apology, but I think we all need to reflect on our language that we use in this

House. We have to reflect on our leadership. The language is denigrating, it's

disrespectful, it's disparaging, it's misogynistic, it's paternalistic, it's

patronizing and, Mr. Speaker, we all seem to hear it quite a bit. I can tell you

as a female, as a woman who's been very engaged in the highest levels of

business, very engaged in the highest levels of politics, both federally and

provincially, I hear it all the time and it must stop.

I plead to not just the Member opposite who feels his

comment was misconstrued or caught up in debate – he needs to reflect, as do we

all need to reflect, on the power of the language. That's what the Member asked

for. The minister clearly said what she wants and what she asked for was not

just an apology – you know my language was misconstrued – but that we reflect on

our language, that we reflect on our sense.

Even yesterday, Mr. Speaker, in the thrust of debate my

personal health information was raised on the floor here. First of all, I'm

going to say there were other Members in this House that were in that community

at the same time I was, but my personal information and my health information

came to this floor. We have to understand, we have to reflect and we have to

realize that this type of misogynistic, paternalistic behaviour is not

acceptable.

We want more women in this House, we want more women to

contribute and it's time that we all recognize the language that we must use to

ensure inclusiveness, to ensure that we are being respectful. I plead with all

of us, accepting that the Member opposite recognizes that he erred yesterday and

said he did not intend to cause harm, but the language is not – we just can't

move past it anymore, Mr. Speaker, and just accept this was not meant to be

harmful. It is harmful and we all must recognize it.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MS.

EVANS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It's kind of hard to put this all into perspective.

There's a lot at stake right now. A gentleman's reputation is actually at stake,

I think, just because of what's going on here. Also, somebody was offended and

deeply hurt. I could tell it by my fellow MHA's voice. When she was speaking,

her voice quivered and she was honestly hurt to be compared to a schoolgirl. My

fellow MHA, he did apologize.

I think we have to find balance here, because as the

deputy prime minister, Deputy Premier – just getting the words right – it's an

emotional time for all of us. She said it's important. Gender here is very, very

important. When we look around and we see less than 52 per cent of the Members

here are women. That's the actual make-up of the general population, so we have

to be careful.

When I introduced myself to the House of Assembly, I

talked about my role and where I came from. I spent 20 years in construction,

mining, exploration, all non-traditional jobs. I have friends who've told me

stories about being sexually assaulted, brutally raped. I've actually been at

meetings where people hit the desk and cursed and swore, and that was an

everyday occurrence. I've seen and I witnessed a lot. I know when women actually

enter the workplace, one of the positive things that comes out of that is the

decorum actually gets better. The male counterparts actually have told me they

appreciate that.

We have to be very, very careful, too. Myself, as a

woman, I have to be careful not to undermine the advances that have been done by

women. So I choose my words really carefully right here, right now, when I say

that my fellow MHA was talking on a very sensitive subject where people were

losing their jobs; families were losing their jobs.

I remember when we had a major hit to our economy where

people actually took their own lives. Families right now, because of Come By

Chance and the offshore and the loss of jobs in COVID, there are a lot of people

out there who may be contemplating suicide. I've lost people, so I need to

choose my words really carefully.

Yesterday was a heated time in the House of Assembly,

but one thing I want to say, when my fellow MHA looked across and saw an MHA

laughing, her gender was female, and he was hurt and upset and offended. He was

mad, and he referred to her as behaving like a schoolgirl. Now, I'm not

dismissing it. I'm not. I have to look at myself and say if I would have saw,

say, for example, the Minister of Transportation or some other person over

across the floor laughing, would I have referred to them as behaving like a

schoolboy? We have to be careful with our language. We have to be careful when

we're dealing with gender, because we have to make sure that we don't undermine

gender.

Also, we have to look at the intent of the words. I

have to tell you that is the only way I survived in my former profession. I

think I told the House about an old engineer that used to get out of the truck

and run around to the other side and open the door for me. When I was getting

abroad the pickup truck, if I was getting in the back, in the pan as we called

it, he would be there and he would run over and try and help me.

I actually spoke to women that were going into

non-traditional trades, and I told them – and I think I told the House this –

they were there and they were wondering: What did I say to that man who was

running around doing that? Because as a woman you would be offended to say:

Well, I could do as much; I'm as strong, I'm as fast, I'm as quick. In actual

fact, I was all that and more. He was an older man; I could run circles around

him. I could dead lift more than he could. I was in the prime of my life.

Do you know what I said to him, and I think I've told

you? I would say: Thank you, thank you. Because his intention was to make sure

that I didn't get hurt. That was the way he was raised, as a gentleman. This

gentleman was to help women. And you know something, if I would have said

something disrespectful back and showed that I was offended, I would have lost

that supporter that I badly needed at that time in my life.

I have to say, we have to be very, very careful because

we need allies as women. We have to look at the intention, and was there any

malice or any way that my fellow MHA was trying to undermine the MHA because of

her gender? I don't think so. We have to be careful, and as MHAs we have to have

balance. We really, really do. It's very, very important, because if we start

that then we could actually hurt our cause I think.

I'm going to end on that note.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

think I've heard from enough people on this motion.

I will take this matter under advisement. I'm not going

to rule right now. I want to take it into account that usually when a Member

apologizes and withdraws his comments that the matter is over, but I'm going to

leave this until I return on Monday to make my final ruling on this matter. I

want to review some of the transcripts and look at this a little bit further and

think about what Members have said here on this point of privilege.

I thank everyone for their comments.

Statements by Members

MR.

SPEAKER:

Today, we'll hear Members' statements by the hon. Members for the Districts of

Lake Melville, Stephenville - Port au Port, Mount Pearl North, Labrador West,

St. John's East - Quidi Vidi.

The hon. the Member for Lake Melville.

MR.

TRIMPER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Operating a golf club in Central Labrador, an area

described as having 10 months of winter and two months of bad skidooing, can be

challenging.

In these times of a worldwide pandemic, you have to

wonder if you could ever survive. However, 49 years after Ernie Funston led a

group of volunteers to clear several fairways out of the wilderness, the Amaruk

Golf & Sports Club is doing just fine.

Following the declaration of the public health

emergency in March, businesses, organizations, volunteers and others contributed

their time, money and know-how to improve the golfing experience. The

reinvigorated community facility, along with its physically-distance spaces,

resulted in a 125 per cent increase in golfers at this member owned and operated

facility during 2020.

Despite unprecedented challenges, the new executive

completed extensive renovations to the clubhouse. They turned fairways into

works of art under the supervision of key greens staff Colin Jacobs and James

Saunders, and they reactivated the junior golf program to provide quality

instruction for 28 youth in the community.

I would ask this hon. House of Assembly to congratulate

the Amaruk Golf & Sports Club as they prepare to celebrate 50 years of

successful operation in 2021.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Stephenville - Port au Port.

MR.

WAKEHAM:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As the week of October 4 to October 10 is being

recognized as Fire Prevention Week 2020 in Newfoundland and Labrador, I would

like to take this opportunity to acknowledge, recognize and thank the men and

women who provide the District of Stephenville - Port au Port with these

emergency services. There are currently five fire departments in our district

which cover approximately 925 square kilometres and serve some 6,000 households.

The Stephenville department consists of 10 full-time

and 13 volunteer firefighters, while the Town of Kippens currently has 16 active

volunteer firefighters servicing their area. The Port au Port Regional Volunteer

Fire Department has 26 active volunteer firefighters and covers Point au Mal

through Port au Port East and West, to Boswarlos and on to Front Road, ending in

Felix Cove. The Cape St. George department has a group of 17 volunteer

firefighters that cover the communities in their area. The Town of Lourdes has

37 volunteer firefighters that cover from Piccadilly to Mainland, including

Black Duck Brook.

The dedication of these volunteers deserves our thanks

and appreciation for their tireless efforts in helping to keep us safe. Thank

you for all your service to our district.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Mount Pearl North.

MR.

LESTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Mount Pearl Community Supper Group consists of

private, municipal and ministerial organizations in Mount Pearl who hold

community suppers twice a month aimed at providing hot meals to those

interested. However, during COVID-19 the group could no longer hold its sit-down

suppers and quickly realized they would need to change how they administered

their help to the community.

With the realization that all food donated had to be

disinfected and left for three days before being used, it was decided that

financial aid would be the best donation, so they began a vigorous fundraising

campaign. As of June 12 the fundraiser had received roughly $12,000 through

various donations, including a GoFundMe campaign and a $5,000 donation from the

City of Mount Pearl.

Please join me in thanking the Mount Pearl Community

Supper Group and all those who donated or helped during the Mount Pearl food

banks during the COVID pandemic.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Labrador West.

MR.

BROWN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to acknowledge Gateway Labrador for

hosting the fourth annual Fall Heritage Fair in Labrador West. It is a

celebration of art, culture, heritage and the abundance of local talent that we

have in Labrador West. The board members and staff at Gateway Labrador strive to

continue growing this event year over year and it has quickly become something

we look forward to as summer comes to an end.

This year posed many challenges, but Gateway Labrador

pushed forward with planning and worked hard to develop a

schedule full of

virtual and in-person events with strict guidelines adhered to. This year was

comprised of virtual storytelling, art demonstrations, live music every night,

virtually, and always the popular farmers' market, hosted by the community

gardens. Labrador West has seen the need for a cultural fall event where the

community comes together, and this year brought people near and far back home

after a very busy summer season.

I encourage all Members in this hon. House to join me

in thanking Gateway Labrador and everyone involved for making the fourth annual

Fall Heritage Fair a success and giving Labrador West a platform to showcase our

amazing culture.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS.

COFFIN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, St. John's East - Quidi Vidi is the proud

home of many fabulous locally owned and operated restaurants. Few have stood the

test of time quite like the Big R on Harvey Road. Renowned for its fish and

chips and homestyle comfort food, the Big R has been a feature in my district

for over 60 years.

Karen Lambert and her family have owned and operated

the business since 1960 when it was opened by her uncle. Karen's family is not

the only one who has fond memories. All you need to do is bring up the

restaurant's closing and folks will begin to wax poetic about the delicious

meals and top-notch staff. The Big R was loved.

The business was lost in the Harvey Road fire in 1992,

but it wasn't long before it was back, bringing us almost three more decades of

fantastic foods. I will note there is a location still on Blackmarsh Road, but I

know in my district we will miss the Big R on Harvey Road, while wishing Karen

and her staff a great next chapter.

I ask all the hon. Members in this House to join me in

celebrating the Big R, its owners and staff.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by Ministers

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister Responsible for the Status of Women.

MS.

DEMPSTER:

Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, October 11 is International Day of the

Girl. When this day was first recognized, there was an oath we were asked to

take. In

part it stated: We celebrate because girls are leaders; girls make a

difference; and girls' rights matter. Those words are as significant today as

they were eight years ago.

With this year's theme of “My Voice, Our Equal Future”

in mind, girls from all walks of life are working together to boldly demand

action against discrimination, violence and lesser learning opportunities.

Mr. Speaker, I want our girls to know that we are

listening and we hear their call. Our government supports girls in our province

and we are dedicated to ensuring their social and economic safety and wellbeing.

I encourage all girls in Newfoundland and Labrador to find your voice, tell your

story, be who you are and take your seat at the table.

I ask all hon. Members to join me in pledging to

support, mentor and sponsor girls dreams and ambitions at every opportunity. Let

us work to empower our girls and ensure a bright future for them all.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Harbour Main.

MS.

CONWAY OTTENHEIMER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for the advance copy of her

statement.

On behalf of the Official Opposition, it is my honour

to recognize October 11 as International Day of the Girl.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to take this opportunity to

encourage all girls in our province to follow their dreams, create opportunities

and seize their future. It is also equally important to take a moment to

acknowledge and thank the many organizations, the many volunteers in our

communities which provide invaluable support and inspiration to girls and young

women. Organizations such as Girl Guides and Big Brother Big Sisters provide

role models and empower our girls.

Together, let us all work together to empower girls in

our families and communities.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS.

COFFIN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the minister for an advance copy of her

statement.

Mr. Speaker, it's great to be a girl. We are smart,

vibrant, capable and can do anything boys can do, sometimes better.

As elected officials we lead by good example with

things like gender-balanced Cabinets. Girls' lives in this province will improve

when Gender-based Analysis Plus becomes a routine part of policy development.

Girls empower and support one another.

I stand in this Chamber because of the sage advice of

my mother, which all girls need to hear: There is nothing that you can't do.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture.

MR.

LOVELESS:

Mr.

Speaker, during a recent visit to the West Coast, I had the opportunity to tour

the new state-of-the-art provincial wildlife laboratory situated in Pasadena.

The lab will improve how provincial wildlife biologists conduct population

studies and research.

Mr. Speaker, my thanks to biologist Shane Hann and

ecologist Don Keefe for demonstrating how the wildlife lab allows them to

catalogue, process and analyze submitted specimens in a more timely and

efficient manner to support important studies such as recently relaunched Big

Game Jawbone Collection Program and the Canid Lineage Project.

The wildlife lab also provides additional services

critical to the sustainable management of our valuable wildlife resources,

including wildlife disease surveillance, DNA collection and mortality

investigations. Data collected is already being used in research that supports

the health of wildlife populations, including the pine marten, eagles, small

mammals and various inland fish species.

Mr. Speaker, the lab has equipment that provides for a

safe and sanitary working environment and is strategically located to take

advantage of other department supports available at adjacent wildlife and

forestry management offices and nearby Animal Health Division offices.

Healthy outdoor and wildlife resources are essential to

our culture, heritage and recreational pursuits. The opening of this wildlife

laboratory will assist in our sustainable management efforts on behalf of all

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Exploits.

MR.

FORSEY:

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

We are pleased to recognize the opening of the new

provincial wildlife laboratory. We certainly welcome any initiative that will

support and inform sustainable management of our wildlife resources. Wildlife

research is very important and I understand that the new lab offers the

necessary tools and equipment to better monitor and protect the province's wild

game populations.

Mr. Speaker, we are particularly pleased that two of

the key programs to be supported at the facility are the Canid Lineage Project

and recently reinstated Big Game Jawbone Collection Program, which we lobbied

for. As I have said before, analyzing the specimens collected through such

studies provides valuable insight into the health of our wildlife populations,

which are so critical and important to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, we appreciate the work being done to

support our wildlife resources and we look forward to being updated on the

various research projects being carried out at the new laboratory.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

MR.

J. DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

statement.

I commend the government for investing in a new

provincial wildlife laboratory. It is said that we do not inherit the earth from

our ancestors; we borrow it from our children. This new laboratory is as much an

investment in our children and future generations as it is in scientific

research. It's about stewardship of our planet, our home. Stewardship must also

guide government in developing its protected areas plan and providing a home for

nature and for wildlife.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Newfoundland and Labrador has the largest ocean economy

in Canada and we are capitalizing on this to generate economic growth. We have

outstanding education and research facilities and an impressive cluster of

companies to support the growing ocean industry in Canada and around the world.

Today, I want to give you a few examples of the leading, cutting-edge companies

that are proud to call Newfoundland and Labrador home. These companies are

making their mark not just locally, but around the globe.

years and provides production design and 3D modelling services to shipbuilding

and offshore industries. Most recently, they entered into a teaming agreement

with Seaspan Shipyards to create Canada's future Polar Icebreaker, which is

extremely exciting news.

Kraken Robotics, headquartered in St. John's, with

offices in Halifax, Toronto, Boston and Germany is a world leader in advanced

sensor technology and underwater robotics for unmanned maritime defence and

commercial vehicles. Just recently, Kraken announced two contracts with the

Danish and Polish NATO Navies.

SubC Imaging, headquartered in Clarenville with clients

in over 30 countries, creates technologically advanced and intelligent video

equipment for the offshore and subsea markets. Their products have been deployed

in the offshore oil and gas sector, deep-sea mining activity, archaeological

work and marine research.

These companies are just the tip of the iceberg and we

are proud to support and be a part of the collective efforts of all partners in

our ocean economy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Conception Bay South.

MR.

PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an advance copy of his

statement.

There's no doubt, when given the opportunity

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are able to compete on a world stage. Our ocean

technology companies are excellent examples of this. Companies such as Genoa

Design – I know these people quite well – International and Kraken Robotics and

SubC Imaging are a testament to the success which companies in this province can

have. However, I believe that our province has more potential in this area. This

is a sector which can be nurtured and grown. I call upon the minister to work

with industry and remove barriers to their growth, support start-ups and create

jobs for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Labrador West.

MR.

BROWN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an advance copy of his

statement.

I, 100 per cent, agree with the minister. We are a

world-class leader in ocean technology, and this dates back to the hundreds of

years of people from this province being on and making a living from the sea.

These companies have taken all this knowledge and continue to make more

breakthroughs in this sector. We cannot look at just the tip; we need to make

key investments in the whole iceberg.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Further statements by ministers?

Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR.

CROSBIE:

Mr.

Speaker, thank you.

Would the government provide an update to the House on

the status of the Husky layoffs and the status of Husky's plans for the 60 per

cent completed West White Rose structure?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

MR.

A . PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As the Member referenced, Husky did make a difficult

announcement in the last couple of days as it relates to their workforce, as it

relates to their business plan. What I can say is a few weeks back they did

announce a review of their operations. That review is ongoing and we have not

been apprised of any developments on their end.

What I can say is that we continue to work with them on

their projects here in this province. In fact, our staff will be speaking with

them this afternoon. We've advised that we will continue to do what we can to

help them in this difficult environment and we're prepared to do, as I say,

everything we can.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR.

CROSBIE:

Two

weeks ago the Premier said help is here and this is just the beginning; however,

help is not here for those who work on West White Rose.

When was the last time the minister spoke to Ottawa?

Workers are asking for an update.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

What I can say is, in fact, I was speaking with the

federal government last night and, in fact, our staff were speaking with them

yesterday and today.

Ottawa, as we all know, did come with $320 million just

very recently which we'll be working to deploy out there in the industry the

best way we can. In fact, we had an oil and gas council meeting this morning

with multiple people in the industry who have experience and, more importantly,

beyond the experience, have a desire to take this worldwide issue that we're

facing. They realize they have the experience. So we're going to work with them

and listen to their advice on how we best deploy that money and take other steps

to help this beleaguered industry.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR.

CROSBIE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Some Canadian statesmen have referred to the amount the

minister refers to as a smaller amount.

This is for the Minister of Health. When the government

changed the rules around self-isolation for returning rotational workers after

pressure from the PC Opposition and the workers themselves, a further relaxation

of the rules for these workers would be reviewed after a trial period of 28

days. This expired yesterday. There have been many complaints about mental

health effects, especially from workers on short rotations.

What further relaxation to the testing regime will be

issued?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

MR.

HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

The Member opposite may also recall that we said there

would be a period of about a week of evaluation after this pilot scheme closed.

That will take us to the end of next week.

Currently, there will be no changes to the requirements

for rotational workers, with the exception of those where outbreaks are ongoing.

If the situation changes in those areas we may have to revisit that before the

end of the evaluation period, but I would be happy to report back at the end of

the evaluation period.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Harbour Main.

MS.

CONWAY OTTENHEIMER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In media reports today the minister is quoted as

saying: There are other interested parties kicking the tires on the refinery.

Can the minister specifically explain that and update

this House on who he has been speaking with?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Just to correct the record, because when I'm quoted I

like to be quoted accurately, I don't think I actually said the words “kicking

the tires.” That might be used in some way to diminish the interest that's been

expressed.

One thing that I can say publicly is that Origin, a

company which is based in the United States, which has previously expressed

interest, has reached out to again express their interest in this. They were

surprised, like everybody, when the deal collapsed, but they've come forward. In

fact, we've been speaking to them yesterday, we've been speaking to them today

and I'll be speaking to them myself later on today as well.

So, again, there is a cautious optimism there. We'll

continue to do what we can to help the parties involved in this to see what kind

of deal they can come to. There has been other interest expressed, but at the

request of the companies, they still don't want to put their names out there

yet, but they're expressing their interest.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Harbour Main.

MS.

CONWAY OTTENHEIMER:

Mr. Speaker, entire communities are on edge and

families are fearing for their futures. The people of the province deserve to

know who the minister is alluding to and what the status of the talks is at

least.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I think I just indicated very clearly that Origin is a

company; they can be looked up online. The Premier has met with them, I believe

the previous minister did and I have had conversations with them as well. They

have begun their due diligence. We'll be speaking with them later today and

that's basically all we can say at this point.

The second company – I am not going to possibly place

interest in this project at risk because the Member asked. The company that has

indicated an interest has said they would prefer to remain unnamed. I will not

ruin a possible deal just to satisfy the Member's question here in the House of

Assembly.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Harbour Main,

MS.

CONWAY OTTENHEIMER:

Mr. Speaker, this is not about satisfying my curiosity;

this is about offering some hope to the anxious families and communities that

are out there.

Surely, some general information can be provided to

help them.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Mr.

Speaker, what I can say from my perspective, when it comes to the latter of the

companies I've mentioned, they were very clear and unequivocal. They said they

would prefer their interest not to be made public at this time. The reality is

that I would love to come out and say absolutely everything, but then I would be

getting blamed for ruining a possible deal. As it relates to the first

interested party, I have given all the information that I can.

What I can say is that I also spoke to the union this

morning again and we had an excellent conversation where they had the same

concerns. They're dealing first-hand with these individuals that are affected.

They thanked us for our energy on this file, for our attention to this. They

realize the implications here, the confidentiality and what we've promised, that

we will keep in touch with them because we have the same interests in mind.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Conception Bay South.

MR.

PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Can the minister provide the terms of reference for the

Oil and Gas Industry Recovery Task Force?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I do not have a finalized copy here. That was actually

discussed on a Skype call with the members this morning, between the co-chairs

and the rest of the members. What I can say is that they will be forthcoming

soon and they will be provided to the public once they've been decided by the

co-chairs and other members.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Conception Bay South.

MR.

PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The money which the federal government is providing is

not nearly enough, Minister.

Can you provide a list of the members of this task

force?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I guess there are two parts to this. As it relates to

the task force, I've indicated that the co-chairs are Karen Veitch Winsor and

Bill Fanning, two people that are also on the oil and gas council and, I would

note, are experts in this industry, well known and well respected in this

industry. As I've indicated on every call, I trust in their knowledge and

experience far more than I do my own, being very new to this file. We're going

to defer to the experts here and that will help guide us in our decisions.

As it relates to the rest of the composition, they will

be tasked with that. What I can say is I trust these individuals who have the

best interests of this industry in mind. I trust them with their decision. We

will be there to help and to guide and we'll work with them in a very expedient

manner.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Conception Bay South.

MR.

PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I know, Minister, you're not going to disclose but I

think it's worthy of putting this out there. The task force was announced two

weeks ago. The terms of reference are not available; the list of members is

incomplete. Trades NL represent 18,000 tradespeople in this province,

tradespeople who desperately need jobs.

Will Trades NL have a seat on this task force?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Some of the

preamble, again, I would take it as being

belittling to the members who are taking their time putting into these for the

interests of this province. I'm not going to do anything to criticize them.

What I can say is I spoke to Darin King yesterday with

Trades NL. We had a good conversation and we agreed to follow up. I realize the

importance of the group that he represents and someone that I have a history

with here in this very House of Assembly.

What I can say is when it comes to the composition it

will be left to the co-chairs because I trust their experience. But, again, I

think everybody realizes the importance of Trades NL when it relates to these

projects and to the health of our province.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Stephenville - Port au Port.

MR.

WAKEHAM:

Mr.

Speaker, the budget of a couple of weeks ago announced a $25-million fund for

small businesses. We as an Opposition had been lobbying for additional supports.

We're glad to see that, as were many small businesses I'm sure, but so far we

haven't seen any details.

I ask the minister: When will the details of the

program be released?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate the question from the Member and I'm glad

that they lobbied to do it, but it was this government that will deliver on that

promise. The same as with $25-a-day child care, I say to the Member for

Bonavista.

What I will say is that we're very happy to put a

much-needed $30 million into this. The details are extremely close to being

worked out.

One of the issues that we do deal with is given the

fact that this applies to literally thousands of possible opportunities here,

we're working with OCIO to do the finishing touches on an online portal system

so that businesses, no matter where they are in this province, will have online

quick access to these funds. That will be coming in the very near future.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Stephenville - Port au Port.

MR.

WAKEHAM:

Mr.

Speaker, I'm glad to hear the minister's acknowledgement of our contribution,

and I'm sure that he recognizes as well as I do that more and more jobs are

being lost every day. Again, as the Minister of Finance well knows as a former

businesswoman herself, businesses are the job creators. They are struggling and

they need help.

Who will be eligible to avail of the funding and,

again, what are the criteria?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

There's no doubt that anybody can recognize the

difficulties being felt by this province and others. In fact, I heard today that

the unemployment rate in Calgary is actually higher than it is in here in this

province, which is a startling fact. The reality is that it applies to the

offshore industry right down to one of the backbones, which is small business.

We've come out and done what we can during these

difficult times over the period of COVID. We've had $30 million in a Residential

Construction Rebate; $25 million into the tourism industry; $10 million in the

utility credits; tax payment extensions; and, right now, we've had the

announcement on $30 million.

I guess the criteria will be coming out very soon, but

we need to ensure that online portal is completed so that there are no glitches

in accessing and being able to apply for this much needed funding.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Stephenville - Port au Port.

MR.

WAKEHAM:

Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for his answer. I would only ask: Does very

soon mean next week, next month?

As we know, businesses are desperate for funding, and I

could quote Jerry Maguire and say:

Show me the money.

Thank you.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I emphasize with the Member opposite. I can remember

being on that side asking questions, and if you were talking about

Family Feud , the number-one answer

was: Soon.

I realize that soon is never soon enough, but what I

can say is, look, we realize the struggles that these small businesses all over

this province are going through. We realize that they need this access. I'm very

happy that the Finance Minister, as well as Cabinet and the Premier, were able

to come up with this funding. We are trying to get it out and ready soon, but we

want to make sure that everything is done right so that we don't have bigger

issues and glitches with an unfinished system.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Mount Pearl North.

MR.

LESTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm hearing from constituents who have applied for the

home renovation program but have yet to receive an answer.

I ask the minister: What update can the House provide

to these individuals?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Finance.

MS.

COADY:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, a very important question.

We were very pleased to have a construction rebate

program. It was very well prescribed; I think it was close on 12,000

applications. As you know, that closed in early August, Mr. Speaker. We've been

working with our partner in that, the Home Builders' Association, working

through the applications. Of course, all applications went to the Home Builders'

Association for review. We've put an extra team of people on this.

So anyone who is still outstanding, if they haven't

received anything yet, it will only be a matter of a very short period of time

to hear the results, because of just the backlog, the volume of people. That's

one of the reasons why I actually extended the end date of the program to June.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Mount Pearl North.

MR.

LESTER:

Mr. Speaker, I have constituents who applied before the deadline, but made

honest mistakes in completing their paperwork. They're now being told they

cannot appeal or reapply. These people should've qualified.

Will the minister put in place an appeals process?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Finance.

MS.

COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This program, as the Member opposite alluded to, was

very heavily oversubscribed, actually, and there were strict criteria that were

put in place. The review was done by the Home Builders' Association. A lot of

people have been working through the backlog of applicants, Mr. Speaker. I'm

sure that if it was a genuine error they could make a call, but there is a

process they have to go through in order to have access to this money. I'll

certainly take it under advisement if there's something else that we could be

doing.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Mount Pearl North.

MR.

LESTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This government is one that continues to leave people

in waiting. People are waiting to go back to work. Small businesses are waiting

for support. The oil industry is also waiting. And now people are waiting for

their renovation rebates.

I ask the House: Is the minister confirming that

individuals who are at home waiting but have yet to receive approval will not be

funded?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Finance.

MS.

COADY:

take umbrage to the

preamble to that question, Mr. Speaker. We have been very

active as a government. Immediately when we understood there was COVID, we put

in a COVID relief fund. We've put in a COVID relief fund for the Home Builders'

Association; we've now announced one for business and small business in

particular. We've announced one for tourism operators. We've helped with

workers, especially workers that are on the minimum wage. We have done so much

as a government to support people and we will continue to do so.

To answer the question that the Member just asked: We

are working through the backlog that we have. We had 12,000 applications for

this program, Mr. Speaker, well beyond what anyone imagined. It's great for the

industry; it's great for home builders, and we're going to do everything that we

can.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Topsail - Paradise.

MR.

P. DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, Route 60 through Topsail is riddled with

potholes, shoulder erosion and deteriorating storm drains. The previous minister

of Transportation and Works gave assurances that these areas would be addressed

this year.

I ask the current minister responsible: Will he give

the same assurance?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.

MR.

BRAGG:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Member opposite for the question.

The Member opposite should be happy to know – I guess

he already knows – this year on the Foxtrap Access Road we spent $1.2 million;

Route 60, we spent $1 million. We have an active group of maintenance from our

depots, ongoing maintenance. I'm hearing there are some subterranean issues in

that area that have yet to be decided. There are some underground issues that

had to be dealt with. The Member is probably sure of that by talking to the

depot.

Any time after the House is over he wanted to have a

sidebar meeting, no problem. My door is open to you, Sir.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Topsail - Paradise.

MR.

P. DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm taking that as there's no assurance as per the

previous Transportation minister?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.

MR.

BRAGG:

Luckily, Mr. Speaker, a little bird whispered in my ear. A lot of the issues

right there, right now are municipal infrastructure issues. Luckily, this

government has a great view and the insight to put both of our departments

together right now. I'm the minister of municipal infrastructure as well as

provincial infrastructure so in the future, on a go-forward basis, we'll look at

what infrastructure is in the ground before we would do the infrastructure above

ground.

A good example of that, Mr. Speaker, would be it would

be pointless to pave a road and next year come back and tear it up and put in

laterals for water and sewer services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MS.

EVANS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Some health care workers that are brought in to Central

Health from outside the Atlantic bubble self-isolate for 14 days before they go

to work.

I ask the minister: Is there a double standard between

Labrador-Grenfell Health and Central Health?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

MR.

HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

The decision as to whether or not self-isolation can be

provided beforehand depends on the operational requirements of the regional

health authority. The individuals that I'm aware of in Central Health who were

able to self-isolate from home were actually working from home because of the

nature of their clinical work could be done online. There is no double standard,

Mr. Speaker; it's one standard for all based on public health guidelines and

requirements.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MS.

EVANS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

When he was asked why locums are not required to

self-isolate in Labrador, the minister said it's the two weeks they can't commit

because that's their working time.

I ask the minister: Will he be able to table a

breakdown of how many health care workers were asked if they could self-isolate

and their response?

Thank you.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

MR.

HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

The issue around self-isolation that the Member

opposite refers to was in response to a question about whether or not the

problem with locums in Labrador was money. My answer to that was, no, it was

time. The people who come to work have a limited period of time during which

they can provide service. If they spend two weeks in a building somewhere

self-isolating and cannot provide service and then have to go home, neither the

locum nor the regional health authority benefits from that.

The answer that she quotes, the statement I made, was

taken out of context, Mr. Speaker, and refers to a slightly different accent on

the same issue.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Terra Nova.

MR.

PARROTT:

Mr.

Speaker, I ask the minister: What is the situation with propane in the province

and, specifically, how much propane is left at the refinery?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

While we have not been told by NARL, or North Atlantic,

how much propane is there, what I can say is they told me even prior to this

happening that the importation of propane had already started. So the supply is

not something that's in jeopardy. We haven't had any concerns in the short term

expressed to us when it comes to fuel supply, but it's obviously something that

we're cognizant of.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Terra Nova.

MR.

PARROTT:

Mr. Speaker, I can tell him how much is left: none.

What is the plan to get propane to the province?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As I indicated in the previous question, North Atlantic

had indicated that some weeks ago they had already begun the importation of

propane into this province via Marine Atlantic. So the supply is not an issue

and, certainly, I don't think there's any immediate fear that should be felt by

citizens out there as it relates to supply.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Terra Nova.

MR.

PARROTT:

Mr. Speaker, I will remind the minister that the refinery was processing 135,000

barrels a day just to keep up with the supply here in Newfoundland, so to expect

it to be trucked in is ludicrous.

I spoke to a new business operator who's concerned that

the shortage of propane will drive the price up. He had a specific question for

me; he asked if I thought he should switch from propane to electric in order to

be able to afford to move on.

I ask the minister: How would he respond?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

What I would say is that I would be interested in

hearing from any constituent that is facing concerns. My email is there, it's

pretty easy to get, and I would have no problem responding to your constituent

or any constituent directly.

The biggest thing that I would tell him, though, is I

understand what they're going through, but certainly now is not the time for

fear or panic. Our interest and our attention is being paid to coming up with a

solution.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Harbour Main.

MS.

CONWAY OTTENHEIMER:

Mr. Speaker, since 2017, this Liberal government has

promised to expand the Family Violence Intervention Court into Labrador and

Central Newfoundland. Four years later, this still isn't done.

Can the minister explain why residents of Central

Newfoundland and Labrador and in Labrador are not able to avail of this court

service?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Justice and Public Safety.

MR.

CROCKER:

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

I want to congratulate the Member who was in Justice

before me on the great work that he did when it comes to the Family Intervention

Court and when it comes to other courts, like the Drug Treatment Court, as well,

Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, as I explained to the Member opposite

about a week and a half ago in Estimates – I gave a very detailed answer in

about a three-hour-and-45-minute meeting – COVID has brought in so many

challenges for us in actually expanding services. There was a challenge previous

with the expansion of services. Once you move outside of metro or even the

Western part of the province, these courts, whether it be the Family Violence

Intervention Court or the Drug Treatment Court, actually require wraparound

services – one, for example, would be the John Howard Society – and individual

counselling.

What we find as we move out of the more, I guess, urban

areas, it's very hard to get these wraparound services in place but it's

something we're working to do, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

MR.

J. DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The second wave of COVID-19 is coming. As I understand

it, the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure has approved the use of

a disinfectant fogging machine to sanitize this Chamber. An independent school

and at least one other private, post-secondary college have purchased them to

help sanitize their facilities throughout the day.

I ask the Minister of Transportation and

Infrastructure: Will he provide disinfectant fogging machines to all schools

over 200 students to keep our schools sanitized and our students, teachers,

staff and their families safe?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Education.

MR.

OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I know this is an issue that the Member continues to

ask about. As I've continued to say, Mr. Speaker, we've provided additional

District and through all schools in the province. I haven't been made aware of

machines, Mr. Speaker, the success of the machines, there are varying views on

that, but I'm certainly willing to look into it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS.

COFFIN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Liberal government has delayed decision making by

establishing a hoard of task forces comprised of people outside of government.

I ask the minister: What are the terms of reference for

the task force on economic recovery?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Deputy Premier.

MS.

COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I don't think we've delayed decision making at all. I

think that we're asking the best and the brightest in the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador, some of our most esteemed colleagues that are

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians for their advice, for their consideration. They

have expertise to lend to the province. I think that we should always be open to

good suggestions and good discussions around how best to move forward in

Newfoundland and Labrador.

To her question, I did respond to her yesterday,

actually, privately, and said that as soon as the terms of reference are

available I would make sure that she had a copy of them and I'll make sure the

House has a copy of them, Mr. Speaker.

I will say that we are talking to the chair of the

committee and she is working with the task force to develop them.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS.

COFFIN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It would be lovely to write your own job description.

Given that that is happening, I'm wondering: Have we outsourced our decision

making to the United Kingdom? Are we back to being under British rule?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Deputy Premier.

MS.

COADY:

Quite disrespectful, Mr. Speaker. Here is a Newfoundlander and Labradorian, a

proud one, who has worked very, very hard, has an international reputation as a

change manager, change leader, who has volunteered her time to lend her

expertise to this province to ensure that we have the breadth and depth of her

knowledge.

Yes, Mr. Speaker, we are collaborative on this side of

the House. Clearly, Members opposite may not be, but we are collaborative on

this side of the House. When we ask volunteers to take on a task, we work with

them to develop a terms of reference, to develop the outcomes that we will have,

because we want to have the best possible outcomes for Newfoundland and

Labrador.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS.

COFFIN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I ask the minister: In years, what is the length of all

the P3 contracts currently held by the provincial government?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.

MR.

BRAGG:

Mr. Speaker, that's a very technical question right now for me to answer at this

time. I know that all of our P3s have come in on time, on budget; very much

respected professionals take

part in this P3 process. As I said here a couple

days ago, they do a mock-up when they're building it. The actual people who use

the building get a part of the mock-up and get a say in how the building is

being built. We give 30 years in which they run the maintenance on these

buildings. So in 30 years' time when we get these buildings they should be in

the condition they are today, except for they are 30 years older.

We are having good success, Mr. Speaker, with the

current P3s.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

time for Question Period has expired.

The hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and

Technology.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to provide some clarification to a

question and answer that was just provided, the question by the Member about the

production of 135,000 barrels per day to service Newfoundland and Labrador. I

can confirm that 135,000 barrels may have been produced, but the province

actually only uses 10 to 15 per cent and that the rest is and has been exported

in the past. I just wanted to put that out for clarification so that people have

the right information.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling of Documents.

Notices of Motion.

Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. Member for Placentia West - Bellevue.

MR.

DWYER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm presenting on a very familiar petition again today.

I was thinking about bringing in the petition for the refinery, but I guess my

opportunity to add solutions and add suggestions have past on that one. I guess

I'll keep going with Bull Arm and see if we can make sure a plan gets put in

place for that.

The people of my region of Placentia West - Bellevue,

Mr. Speaker, have been pretty decimated in that last while. With the news of

Husky in Argentia, the news of no movement on Bull Arm and the decimation of the

sale of the refinery, it's just one thing after another.

To me it seems like the whole issue, really, is about

planning. So I'm presenting this petition again today on behalf of the citizens

of Placentia West - Bellevue hoping that this will offer some solution or it

will offer some credence to the department to say that it's something that is

very important to the province and it needs to be acted upon now.

WHEREAS there are no current operations at the Bull Arm

fabrication site, there's a potential to rejuvenate the local economy, as well

as the provincial economy, Mr. Speaker. The lack of the local economy – it's

about the spinoffs. We just had the minister speak about the spinoffs.

We had a meeting with the industry proponents. We're

talking about bring your solutions and this kind of stuff; we didn't even get an

invite. So like I said, we would love to sit in on some of these meetings to see

where the direction is going for the province because that was the whole spirit

of asking for the debate.

I will say to the minister, thank you very much for

agreeing to the debate on the refinery. That was very well respected and it

provided some solace to the people in the immediate area and the province as to

our way forward kind of thing.

When it comes to spinoffs and support, this is

something that's for the world stage. These companies that we just heard in the

Ministerial Statement, I really don't know what to say to that because these are

the companies that are going to be impacted directly. Not only are we looking

for a Plan B we're looking for a Plan A.

Actually on the petition here today, Mr. Speaker, the

dates that the people signed were actually October 29 and October 30, 2019.

That's how long this file was minimum being in my possession. Like I said for

the people of the province, for the economy, for everything that we need, we

need leadership now and we need a team to follow. It seems to be that we have

more solutions then the other side. I'm asking the minister to please get a Plan

A for Bull Arm because the Plan A on the refinery hasn't worked.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Further petitions?

The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MS.

EVANS:

petition is for fair electricity rates for Labrador Indigenous communities, Mr.

Speaker. This is a petition I presented before.

We, the undersigned, are concerned citizens of

Newfoundland and Labrador who urge our leaders to ensure that fair electricity

rates be provided to Torngat Mountains residents in Northern Labrador Indigenous

communities of Nain, Natuashish, Hopedale, Makkovik, Postville and Rigolet.

The rates charged to Northern Labrador residents are

cost prohibitive to using electric heat and therefore rates are cost prohibitive

to adequately heating their homes. The rationale for this petition is to bring

electricity rates more in line with what our neighbour residents of the Lake

Melville region pay.

For the first thousand kilowatt hours, Torngat Mountain

residents are charged the same rate as neighbouring residents of Lake Melville

region; however, above the ceiling of 1,000 kilowatt hours, Torngat Mountains'

residents pay six times the rate of Lake Melville residents, jumping to 18.5

cents a kilowatt hour. The 1,000-kilowatt hour ceiling prevents many residents

from being able to afford to heat their homes with electric heat. Low-income

families and households don't have the manpower to haul wood. They are the

greatest impacted.

Poorly heated houses also result in damage, creating

expensive repairs from frozen pipelines, moisture damage and mould. Poorly

heated houses also create social and mental health issues that can be long

lasting. We strongly believe that changes to electricity rates need to be made

for the northern residents of Torngat Mountains.

Therefore, we petition the hon. House of Assembly as

follows: We, the undersigned, call upon the House of Assembly to urge the

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to increase the lifeline block up to

3,500 kilowatt hours when applying the Northern Strategic Plan subsidy to the

electricity rates of Northern residents of Torngat Mountains.

Mr. Speaker, I've already presented this petition

before, but I never got a chance to recognize the inclusion in the budget for

the prefeasibility study. I'd really like to thank the Deputy Premier and the

government for including that, because electricity rates, food costs and health

care, just basically the living standards in my district are tied now to

actually getting a road. That's very, very important.

I was also going to talk a lot about that life block

and the difference it would make if it was increased up to 3,500, just to be

able to have people to be able to use electric heat, not to heat their homes but

to offset the reliance on snowmobile to get wood and diesel fuel.

Also, one point I'd like to make today is about women.

It was raised in the House, the issue we just dealt with. Right now, females are

dependent on others – men – to actually haul wood to help them heat their homes

because electricity is too expensive. Diesel last winter cost a hundred dollars

more a drum than in Lake Melville. I'm asking for this petition to be

considered.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR.

CROCKER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I call Orders of the Day.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR.

CROCKER:

Mr.

Speaker, I call from the Order Paper, Motion 1, the Budget Speech.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

Budget Speech.

The hon. the Member for Harbour Main.

MS.

CONWAY OTTENHEIMER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is a privilege and an honour to sit here and speak

on this important matter this afternoon. It's a very huge responsibility that we

here in the House of Assembly have when we're discussing matters of the budget.

This opportunity that we have to speak, for example, today gives us time to also

talk about matters in our district.

I had planned on speaking about a number of issues,

but, of course, the most important issue that's facing the people of the

District of Harbour Main right now involves the oil and gas industry and the

jobs that are affected in the District of Harbour Main.

I was elected to speak on behalf of my constituents

over approximately 17 months ago and I take that responsibility very serious, as

I'm sure that each Member in the House of Assembly does. It's a responsibility

to try to improve the lives of the people that I represent. I take my leadership

from these people. I guess I can say that I see it that I am their voice because

many of them come to me and come to our office with their concerns and with

their issues, with their problems, with their challenges.

The people I talk to on a daily basis, the emails, the

phone calls that we receive. Just alone two days ago, our office had to return

30 messages just in the one day. These messages involve people primarily who are

now out of work; who are looking at going on income support; who are trying to

find jobs; who are very stressed, unbelievably stressed and anxious, Mr.

Speaker. They're worried about their futures. They feel like they've been

forgotten.

I've had workers, very experienced tradespeople, very

highly skilled tradespeople, who now really don't know where they're going to

turn. They're trying to cope; they're trying to manage. They're out looking for

work, sending résumés everywhere. They're all vying for the same jobs.

Mr. Speaker, from what we hear, I think it's important

to put it all in context. Let's look at first of all how important this industry

is to our province. It is no question the economic engine of our province. Over

20,000 direct and indirect jobs depend on the offshore oil industry. It's

estimated to be at about 30 per cent of our GDP. Thirty per cent of our economy

is dependent on this industry alone. There's no question of how serious this

matter is that we face and I think it's really important that we stress the

magnitude of this problem that is facing our people.

I see it first-hand in the community in Harbour Main,

especially over the last number of weeks. We perhaps have the highest percentage

of tradespeople in the District of Harbour Main. Again, they are hard-working,

they're educated, they're experienced and they've worked in not only the oil and

gas industry but spinoff industries from it.

As I said, they are facing incredible stress,

incredible uncertainty. The human cost, the mental health and wellness issue is

incredible. What we're seeing is that people really don't know what is going to

happen and they're reaching out to say, help us. What are we doing? And they

need answers.

Mr. Speaker, I have to express disappointment this week

when asking questions in the House of Assembly, and my questions have often been

described as ridiculous and things of that nature. Well, these are not

ridiculous questions. These are legitimate, valid questions that we, as Members

in the House of Assembly, ask of our government of the day. They have a

responsibility to answer, and they say we're playing politics. How is that

politics when I'm asking questions that I receive from people? They phone me up

and want to know what is happening. Are there negotiations going on? These are

valid, acceptable, legitimate questions that are treated as if they're

ridiculous; they're described as ridiculous. We have no place for that in the

House of Assembly, Mr. Speaker.

With respect to the specific issue that I'm just going

to talk about – there are so many issues in my district that I could speak on,

but the main one is the oil and gas industry and how the workers feel that they

have been forgotten and they can't get answers and they don't know where to

turn. I think it's important to put this in some context as well. I'm not even

talking about the Come By Chance Refinery yet. I'm just talking about some of

the other blows that the oil and gas industry has experienced over the last

number of weeks.

Canada's oil and natural gas producers, CAPP, had

released the community and business leaders call for federal investment in

offshore. I'm going to read from that report, Mr. Speaker: “Over the next 10

years, the estimated loss to the province due to deferment and loss of oil and

gas exploration and development projects could be substantial.”

What do they mean? They say: “$11 billion in provincial

revenues impacting programs, infrastructure, education and health care

throughout communities in” our province; “$59 billion” – $59 billion – “of total

provincial GDP; 90,000 person-years of employment, resulting in significantly

lower consumer spending in retail, restaurants, real estate, and other services;

and The province's best opportunity to be an international clean growth leader

and oceans technology hub.”

Mr. Speaker, that just in a

summary, indicates in

general the billions of dollars that will be lost in economic benefits that are

tied to these major offshore oil projects which are at stake. People need to

understand the magnitude. Our people need to know that, and I don't know if

they're getting that accurate picture.

We're going to lose thousands of good, stable,

well-paying jobs, which before had enabled Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to

own homes, to have a high-quality of life for themselves and their families. Now

they don't even know how they're going to pay their bills, and many are going to

have to leave their beloved province.

When we look at some of the impacts that we have seen,

the blows on our economy, let's look at West White Rose. A massive important

project, it's shelved. This project is shelved. It's mothballed. Yes, Husky is

reviewing this project and all other East Coast operations offshore, but this

was a very important and is a very important project to our economy.

Let's look at Hibernia. Hibernia has slowed production.

In terms of Hibernia, originally, it was thought that Hibernia contained 520

million barrels of oil and now it's expected to produce 1,644 million barrels of

oil, and only 1,158 have been produced so far. So there's so much abundance left

out there. There's so much potential; yet, they've stopped drilling, Mr. Speaker

– stopped drilling. It's gone, stopped, and production has slowed.

The Bay du Nord Project, shelved. Look at the Terra

Nova FPSO, more should be done on this, Mr. Speaker. We see that that has been

mothballed. It's floating out in Conception Bay awaiting, perhaps indefinitely,

its postponed dry dock work in Spain.

At the rally we attended a couple of weeks ago outside

Confederation Building, one of the chefs on the Terra Nova FPSO stated, and she

said this at the rally. She said: I've seen more layoffs in the last six months

than I have in the last 10 years. She said: Life is far from good. She said: You

can see the stress on people's faces. Mr. Speaker, I see the stress and I hear

it in their voices of the people in the District of Harbour Main.

Mr. Speaker, I look at some of the impacts that this

will have on the people. These are just the West White Rose, Hibernia, Bay du

Nord and Terra Nova, all of these projects. Can we just blame it on COVID and

global prices? I really think that is not appropriate. We need to look at – yes,

these are factors that impact it, no question. We all admit that, we all

acknowledge that, but that does not absolve the government here of

responsibility. They are the government. It is under their watch that these

things are happening and we need to see more action, we need to see more

innovation, we need to see concrete solutions.

Mr. Speaker, let me speak on the Come By Chance

Refinery closure. That is yet another fatal blow for this industry and for our

province. The oil and gas industry, as I've stated, and we all recognize it's

the backbone of our fragile economy, but now we have a repeated setback.

Thousands of jobs now have been lost. The estimate from Trades NL is that it

will be close to 2,000 jobs will be lost as a result of this closure; 500 direct

workers and approximately another 1,500 will potentially be out of work.

Mr. Speaker, these are very concerning facts. This is

not about playing politics. Government doesn't want us to emphasize it or stress

it but this isn't about politics. This is about the realities, the facts that we

are seeing here and the impact that this is having on the people of our

province.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to also point out on the issue of

the $320 million, the federal funding that's slated to support the offshore

industry. Yes, I will acknowledge it is a good first step but I will agree with

the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers who commented on the

announcement. They stated it's lacking in detail and they have concern of what's

going to happen in terms of operators making investments. They said the

situation in the industry is dire with thousands of jobs and projects at work.

Their concern, the Canadian Association of Petroleum

Producers, is will the support actually help the operators overcome the critical

challenges. Of course, what we ask, as the Official Opposition, is this going to

give jobs to our people. Is this going to happen?

Mr. Speaker, when we look at these circumstances here

we have to call upon the Premier for leadership, we have to call on the Premier

for immediate action and we have to urge upon the Premier that this offshore oil

and gas industry – this is a crisis. No matter what way you look at it, we are

in a crisis. I raise this issue again and I will continue to raise this on

behalf of the constituents in Harbour Main and the other constituents in

districts in the region that are affected.

Mr. Speaker, reviewing the budget, I guess the most

important number that comes out to me in this budget is the number of jobs that

is clear that will be lost this year that's slated in the budget – over 13 jobs.

Really, I don't see any evidence of a plan for how these jobs will be created.

It really is about jobs.

The budget is not just about numbers, and it really

lacks – I would say that what the people want to hear: Where is the plan? When

we look at different initiatives or the task force that is out – there are

studies and there are Committees and there are task forces, but where's the

plan? This stuff has been studied to death. We need action, we need vision and

we need concrete ideas.

When I look at the budget, the $25-a-day child care, I

think that's a great initiative. I might add that the PCs had this in our

platform in the last election. That, of course, gets unnoticed or unmentioned by

the government, but that is a fact.

Insulin pumps, as well, we were very strong in

mandating and advocating for insulin pumps. Again, where do we see it? In the

budget. I would even say their budget, in terms of presenting as an inspiring,

original document, I think it's quite lacking. When we look at what really is in

that budget it's perhaps a weak budget, lackluster at best.

Mr. Speaker, what we need now is stability in our

economy. We have to be concerned about the health and safety of our people. We

certainly will support the budget, however, because we need that stability in

our economy. We don't need an election or what we have gone through in the last

few days with respect to the election and the resistance from government on our

plea not to have an election until next year. They resisted that very strongly,

I might add, Mr. Speaker.

We are responsible in terms of how we look at the

situation in our province right now. We need to have stability of the economy.

We need to have political leadership through this pandemic. We don't need to be

diverting attention to election campaigns or anything of the sort like that. We

need to focus on what's important here.

Our caucus and the PC Party are concerned about the

health and wellness of people. We're concern about jobs. We need to see what the

new Premier will provide, what the new Premier is planning. Hopefully, we will

see that in the 2021 budget. They won't call another snap election like they did

the last time. So, hopefully, we will have an opportunity to see that budget

before the next election.

Mr. Speaker, looking at all of these concerns, I think

the people need reassurances; the people of our province need reassurances. They

need to have a government that is willing to answer questions, not deflect the

questions. Not get angry because we're asking questions.

We're asking legitimate questions. It's not about

politics. It's about real concerns of the people of our province. They have a

right to know information. We don't need secrecy. We need transparency, we need

accountability and we're willing to work on that. We want that. But when they

get defensive, when we see, like we did in Question Period this week, the

defensiveness, the condescension, the anger that comes from some of these

ministers when they're responding to our questions, we have legitimate

questions.

Mr. Speaker, I find that very disheartening, seeing in

the House this attitude and the tone that the government takes when we try to

get some information and when we try to get some honest, transparent information

about the status of our economy, of jobs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS.

CONWAY OTTENHEIMER:

What would we do differently, Mr. Speaker? We would

work hard to get the economy back on track.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS.

CONWAY OTTENHEIMER:

We would be champions. We are champions of our offshore

oil industry. We would take immediate action to get West White Rose project and

Terra Nova back on track.

We would be working with businesses to provide

incentives to support them. Businesses also are the economic drivers of our

province. Our small-business owners; we need to encourage them and to make sure

that they continue to be the job creators. We have to stop the population drain

but we need a reason for people to stay. Our focus is on jobs, jobs, jobs and

that's our plan.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation.

MR.

DAVIS:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I'm going to continue on the non-partisan direction

that we've just gone through. I'm going to consider on a non-partisan way. From

my standpoint, facts really do matter in a situation we're facing today. People

always have to be put before politics and I'm glad that many of us in the House

are doing that.

I also want to highlight the fact of some of the things

that we've been through as a global community. We're in the midst of a global

pandemic, a crisis. I would agree with my hon. colleague for Harbour Main that

we are in the middle of a crisis. Absolutely. Not just in this province, of a

global nature. Something the world has not seen in over a hundred or more years.

This is a price war that's occurred. It's

COVID-related. Oil companies right across the globe have lost over a trillion

dollars. That's 12 zeros. That's an amazing amount of money. It's difficult to

even fathom how important that is. It's hard to fathom how big that number is.

We ask about jobs, jobs, jobs and I would tend to

agree. We need that. That's part of the reason why we've created

The Way Forward . That's part of the

reason why you've heard the hon. minister responsible for innovation and

technology talk about some of the sectors that are doing very well in this

province, being the tech sector and the job creator that it is. We have to be

there to support them. We have to be there to try to encourage the schools to

increase enrolments. We have to be there to support that. We have to be there to

find transition for people that are underemployed or want to change their career

to move into something that is a growing career, that can be done anywhere in

this province. The tech sector has been very successful in that.

I've heard numbers from the sector itself of anywhere

between 3,000 and 5,000 jobs over the next three to five years. That's

substantive. We don't have the people currently right now that are educated

enough to take hold of those opportunities. I would agree with my hon. colleague

that we have to put parameters in place to ensure that success. That's a few of

the things we're working on with the tech sector. Whether it be forestry,

fishery, agriculture or aquaculture, even infrastructure, we've taken the

politics out of infrastructure spending and road spending to make sure that we

get more value for money, which is the important piece of it.

I'm a glass half full kind of guy and I have been for

my whole life. So I want to talk a few minutes about the investments that we

made in this province, not just in this budget but previous to this budget.

I had the pleasure of sitting on the All-Party

Committee on Mental Health and Addictions. The work that group of individuals

did right across this Island, meeting with hundreds of people with lived

experience – and I thank the hon. Minister of Health for giving me the

opportunity to lead, in some cases, on that file and work very closely with him

on it. From my standpoint, I can't imagine where we'd be if we didn't do the

All-Party Committee on Mental Health and then transition that information, what

we heard from the people right across our province, into what you see today,

Towards Recovery .

From our standpoint, we've made significant investments

in mental health and addictions. Is it enough? Absolutely not. I don't sit here

today to say that it's perfect because it's far from it, but we have made

significant improvements. Wait times are down significantly and in some cases

eradicated. What we've done as a group is focused our attention on making sure

we make smart investments.

I'm very proud. That's probably the single biggest

achievement that we've made as a government, our investments in mental health

and addictions. I'm so proud of what we've been able to achieve and I'm not

saying that it's over because it's far from over.

One of the things that I think is also understated – I

mean I live in the Avalon region, in St. John's, and I'm happy that I represent

the most easterly point in the St. John's region. I get the opportunity to drive

by, on a regular basis, the work that's happening where the new site of the

adult mental health facility will be located here in St. John's. I can't express

to you how important it is to replace a building that was built when Queen

Victoria sat on the throne. It's so important to the people that utilize the

services there, not just the individuals that are dealing with a difficult

mental health issue, but also the staff people that work in those facilities.

I've had the ability to tour that facility on a couple

of occasions through my involvement with the Department of Health and Community

Services and I'm very proud that we've decided to move forward on that project.

We can see the land being turned over; I think the berms are in place starting

there now. I'm looking forward to seeing the steel and stuff go up. It's going

to move fairly quickly now that we've got to that point. I'm excited about that.

In that same vein I'm also very excited about the fact

that I had the ability to go with the minister of the day, of Transportation and

Works at the time, and the minister of Justice and Public Safety to make an

announcement in 2019 about the replacement to Her Majesty's Penitentiary.

Anybody in this House of Assembly or in the public that have ever had the

ability or the displeasure, I guess, to go down and see that facility will

understand fully why we need to make an investment in a new prison for inmates

and for the staff that provide the services to those inmates.

It happens that the prison will be built in East White

Hills, which happens to be in my district. I'm excited about that part but, more

importantly, I'm excited about what that means for mental health and addictions

in our province, what that means for helping those individuals, that are

sometimes the most vulnerable in our society, get the help they require in a

facility that's a bit better – quite significantly better – than what they're in

today.

We have to remember – and anyone who listens to

Open Line or anything like that will

have heard Paddy Daly say on a number of occasions that the people that are

going into the facility are there for two years, less a day. We want them to

come out better individuals than when they went into that facility. I don't

think that's possible, given the situation – it's not as easy to do, given the

situation of the old infrastructure that we have there.

We've identified a need there. We're working through

that process, hopefully, to see that new facility built in a timely fashion. We

know these things take a significant amount of time, to do consultations, make

sure it's built to the way we need it to be and addresses the needs that we want

it to do.

We want to make sure those individuals that do offend

have the ability to get some support, get some help so they don't reoffend when

they do come out; which is we want them to be on the right path so they can

become upstanding individuals within the community, to make an advancement to

the community versus a detraction to the community. I think I'd be remiss if I

didn't highlight the fact that I'm proud of what we've been able to accomplish

there and what we've started. It's not accomplished, by no stretch, but what

we've been able to start.

I'd also like to take a page out of the Minister of

Health's playbook when I talk about my district. He tends to do that eloquently

every time he tends to speak in this House, and I'd like the opportunity to do

the same.

I represent one of the most ethnic, diverse districts

in our province. You don't have to look very far for that. When you go to East

Point Elementary, one of my elementary schools, over 17 countries represented in

the school population there. That comes with its concerns and issues, but our

teachers there work very closely, work very hard to make those students excel

within the school system. I'm very proud of the fact that I get the pleasure of

representing such an ethnic, diverse district and all that comes with that, that

we get to experience the melting pot that is the culture of the world in my

district.

Now, I know many of my colleagues in this House get the

ability to represent districts that have a lot of different – whether it be

nationalities or locations or products or services that are provided to those

communities, but I can tell you one of the biggest things that I'm happiest

about in my district is the ethnic diversity that I get to see each and every

day when I knock on a door or when I go to visit a school in pre-COVID times. So

it's interesting to allow you to do that.

I also have half of the Royal St. John's Regatta that

happens in my district. I say half, because my hon. colleague for St. John's

East - Quidi Vidi represents the other stakes. Maybe stakes one, two and three

and I have four and five. I would be remiss if I didn't say how big an impact

that had on my summer, the fact that the Royal St. John's Regatta didn't happen

this year, and disappointing from a tourism perspective. I know the Deputy

Premier in the province played a very large role in the Royal St. John's Regatta

for – I won't say many decades, but for a while.

HON. MEMBER:

(Inaudible.)

MR.

DAVIS:

Absolutely.

That's the single, biggest tourism event we have in

this province. Just for everyone's understanding, that's the single, biggest

event we have in this province for tourism. It's bookended by pretty unique

opportunities that didn't happen this year as well: the Folk Festival, as well

as the George Street Festival. A lot of people who tend to come to this province

then, during that time frame, tend to get a huge value from the culture we have

during that time, that 10, 12, 14-day period.

I'm really excited by what we see. They have a great

board at the Royal St. John's Regatta and those other organizations that were

impacted by COVID. I'm happy that our government was able to support them, to

help them continue into 2021, which is what we all look for. As Minister of

Tourism, that's what I'm looking for, the survival year of 2020 moving into,

hopefully, the growth year of 2021.

I'd just like the opportunity to say thank you to those

volunteers that sit on those boards and agencies that put off these great events

for the tourists that come here, but, also, our local people get the opportunity

to avail of that. I know many people's summers were impacted by what they used

to do and what they historically always did that they didn't get the opportunity

to do this year, but we always have to be mindful of the fact that it was always

done with the best interest of the public health and safety.

Like many of my colleagues in this House, I have three

schools. Some have many, many more than that in this House. I happen to have

three schools. One that I've adopted, that's not in my district, but I've

adopted and like to go in and support and provide any advice or funding that can

possibly happen from what I can help them transition to.

This is a difficult time for them as well. They've had

to struggle to get open, make sure their students are there. All of the teachers

that I've talked to in all of the schools in my district, I've had the

opportunity to touch base with and see how they're progressing. Obviously, it's

a different challenging time, but they're quite happy to have their students

back in school and working with them. It's not going to be the same until we get

past COVID, but what I can say is I'm very happy they've opened. It's going very

well at this point and I hope that continues.

I would also like to highlight some of the beautiful

trails we have in my district. I don't have to go too far but the Member for St.

Barbe - L'Anse aux Meadows, I think, has walked almost every trail in my

district, but almost every other district in the province too over the years. I

would like to say thank you to the volunteers who work on those trails to make

sure they're open for the people in our province to avail of them. Thank you to

the East Coast Trail that traverses many parts of our many districts on the East

Coast here.

With the little bit of time I have left, Mr. Speaker,

I'd just like to highlight a couple of things from 2020 from my Department of

Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation – or, as I prefer to call it, TCAR. As

announced in Budget 2020 , we are

broadening the eligibility for the Tourism and Hospitality Support Program to

include professional artists, as well as musicians that are impacted by

COVID-19. This is an important piece for those industry players that have

provided so much for the fabric of our culture.

Many of the country's finest artists, writers and

performers reside right here in this province. We don't have to go very far to

think about the names. I encourage everybody in this House to think of the

singers or playwrights or performers that have made an impact in their lives

each and every day or each and every performance they get the opportunity to

see.

As we know, the pandemic has had a direct impact on the

cultural community in our province. We are in a process of developing the

eligibility criteria to provide professional artists and musicians with access

to a support program. More details will come out in the next couple of weeks on

that. We look forward to moving that money out to those affected artists,

professional artists, as quick as we can.

One of the other highlights that are really interesting

from Budget 2020 for my department is

it also includes a $1-million increase to additional funding to ArtsNL. That is

a commitment we made and it's a commitment we kept as a government. I'm very

happy the provincial investment in ArtsNL has moved up almost to $4 million. The

requirement to go to $5 million is what we said we would do. We're working

towards that as we speak, and hopefully in budget 2021-2022, we will be able to

fill that full commitment that we said we would do.

I'd just like to say thank you to the artists and

ArtsNL for the great work they do, for reaching out to the people in our

province and providing that great service to those artists and people that

require it the most.

Also, for support for film and development, anyone who

was in our Estimates this morning would know how well I fully support the film

and television industry and how our government is trying our best to expand on

that and seize the opportunity that exists for, mostly, that untapped resource.

Currently, for the first time in our history as a province, we have two

prime-time shows shooting simultaneously. That didn't happen overnight. The

skill base had to be developed. I thank

Republic of Doyle for helping with that and many of the other productions

that have come after Republic of Doyle

to help develop the infrastructure. I don't mean physical buildings; I mean the

infrastructure, as in the skills, staff and labour that we have here in this

province.

Those two productions alone –

Hudson & Rex and The

Surrealtor – are going to employ almost 400 people in well-paying jobs for

families that are going to be supported. All that money is going to be spent

right here in Newfoundland and Labrador. We're leveraging not only the little

bit of investment we make with respect to the tax credits or the equity funds,

but we're going to leverage – I think in

Hudson & Rex 's case it's some $28 million or $29 million per season that's

going to be spent mostly in this province. We invest a little bit to help

leverage that money. I'm excited about what the prospects are as we move forward

on that.

I also had the ability to tour both

Hudson & Rex and

The Surrealtor , the sets there, to see

the huge benefits that exist for our staff that come directly from the

investments that we make in this industry. I'd encourage anybody, when you drive

around in St. John's when they're shooting in St. John's, or any community

around that they happen to be shooting in, just take a look at the

infrastructure that travels with each one of these shows and the people that

they employ. It's quite amazing to see and I'm quite excited about what lies

ahead for this industry.

Mr. Speaker, I only have a couple of moments left to

highlight a few things, but I'd be remiss if I didn't talk about how the tourism

sector has been negatively impacted, there's no doubt. I'm not going to sit in

this chair here in this House of Assembly and paint a rosy picture that every

tourism operator is happy and going to make money. 2020 was about a survival

mentality for our tourism operators and hospitality sector. We made strategic

investments where we could, given the fiscal constraints that we do have.

We've also lobbied hard with the federal government and

our colleagues in the federal government to elongate those programs that they

put in place to support the tourism sector, with great success I'd like to add.

Not just because I was advocating, but all of the federal and provincial

ministers were lobbying for the same thing. We met on a weekly basis and, in

most cases, when this first started we were talking with the minister almost on

a daily basis.

I could go on and on about some of the positive things

that are coming out of not just Budget

2020 , but the investments that this government saw fit to make. I do thank

the hon. colleagues on the other side of the House for supporting a good budget

here. Is it perfect? Absolutely not but we're not in perfect times, we're in

imperfect times and this is a budget for imperfect times.

We're trying our best to manage through a crisis. What

I can say is I'm looking forward to the bright future that is Newfoundland and

Labrador. I'll always stand up for the people of our province and the bright

future that exists with it.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I look forward to my

next opportunity to speak to this very important budget.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. Member for Mount Pearl North.

MR.

LESTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is a great privilege to speak to my third Address in

Reply of budget since I was elected in 2017. So now I've spoken to as many

budgets as elections I ran in.

Mr. Speaker, as I sit here today and reflect upon past

budgets and consider this one, when the Members say not a whole lot has changed

as it comes to the budget, I can agree with that. I can agree with what we have

dedicated our province's resources to being spent on largely is necessary.

Largely is necessary is far different from what we can afford.

Mr. Speaker, over 30 per cent of the money we spend

this year is now leveraged on our future, with no thoughts of ever paying it

back. When we talk about spending money in certain directions and certain

avenues, I really wish we could have a sober second thought. Right now, debt

service is our second-biggest expense in our provincial budget. If one of us or

any of us had that kind of debt ratio at home, we'd be pretty soon to start

cutting back and shifting things around.

Mr. Speaker, I was pleased to hear the previous

speaker, the hon. Minister of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation, talk about

leveraging the funds we have to maximize the spending in our province. That's

what we have to do. We have to try to get the biggest bang for our buck. We have

to try to encourage private business to invest in our economy, to invest in our

province. We have to encourage consumers to invest in business and their economy

themselves.

Mr. Speaker, the district I represent was incorporated

– basically, it straddles the two urban cities of Mount Pearl and St. John's.

Mount Pearl itself was incorporated back in the 1950s .My great-grandfather sat

around the table when those discussions were had. A lot of the residents who

originally settled in Mount Pearl back in those '50s still live there. It s a

great community and great community-minded people. We also have a demographic of

new to the district, both in the St. John's side and the Mount Pearl side. There

are young professionals or mature professionals, all contributing to our economy

through either the public service or in industry.

Mr. Speaker, this is the first time in our history that

I would hazard a guess to say that the population of Mount Pearl is declining.

We're seeing – and I've said this before – a resettlement in Mount Pearl. We're

seeing our youth and even some of our retired seniors leaving our province. They

question the future here. They question the future decisions of our government.

I got involved in politics not because I wanted to

become a politician, it was because I could see that in 2015 we were going to

elect an administration on the basis that it was their turn and not because they

had a solid plan. By no means do I mean this as a discredit to many of the

Members on the opposite side. I would like to consider many of them my friends.

I would like to consider many of them very well intended, but there's a

difference between intention and execution and that's where we have been failing

our people.

We have been failing our people in the execution of

well-intended ideas. I can remember when this government first came into power.

There were mass amounts of public consultations for which I commend them.

Cabinet Committees were set up to listen to industries and listen to community

groups so that this government could address the needs of those groups and

industries. Largely, The Way Forward

has been a dismal failure. A dismal failure not in production but a dismal

failure in execution.

I just recently listened to the Minister of Industry,

Energy and Technology, and I do understand he is in a difficult position. The

energy industry in particular, as we all know, is facing severe pressures beyond

our control, but how we react to those pressures is what's going to count. Are

we going to choose to be the victim or the survivor of this trillion-dollar

loss? Within every challenge there lies opportunity. So we as a province,

through our energy industry, we have to look to where we can capitalize on this

– I can say nothing more than a tragedy that has been brought on to our economy,

largely due to COVID, but also due to economic and, I guess, international

pressures on the oil industry.

We're talking about a $320-million investment which is

still in progress. Madam Speaker, I have to say that is too little too late. The

wheels of change have already been enacted within our oil industry. We often

hear the comment about we're closing the doors after the horses have left the

barn. Well, not only have we closed the doors after the horses have left the

barn, this administration has gone chasing after the horses and, meanwhile, the

barn is crumbling to the ground.

We need to salvage what we have left, and it's not

going to come from the federal government. It was only recently that it was

posed on the floor of the House of Commons if there would be any further funding

coming for our province. Sadly enough, the hon. Minister Freeland's comment was:

There will be no more funding coming for Newfoundland and Labrador.

Madam Speaker, that is disappointing. That is extremely

disappointing, and I can tell you why. Because what this province has

contributed to this federal partnership in the form of resources for the rest of

Canada to enhance their value, to employ their people is immeasurable, and it

will continue to be that way as long as we sit ideally by. Now, while I do

understand there have been some efforts and while I do understand there have

been consultations, but the only way that our province has ever, ever benefited

has been when we stand up and fight. Stand up and let them know not to mess with

our futures.

Madam Speaker, I also listened to the Minister of

Immigration, Skills and Labour when he was addressing the budget. He was

speaking of his own community and the district he represents. They're wonderful

people, industrious people, people that have contributed to the economy as well.

But on second glance and second consideration of what he said, all of those

industries and occupations were entirely reliant on government spending, right

from the Crown Lands Division, the forestry and lands division, even down to the

paper mill which is in existence largely due to a financial loan guarantee by

the previous administration.

Madam Speaker, when we start talking about our economy

being reliant on government, a government that had to borrow $3 billion to

remain in operation, we have big problems. The only way we're going to change

those problems is not by money. Money has never been the solution to our

problems; it has been working people with money. Working people with money with

confidence in our economy, working people with money willing to invest in our

economy, businesses with confidence in our economy.

That brings me to my own personal situation – not my

own personal situation but an industry which I have a deep personal interest in,

and that being agriculture. Madam Speaker, there's been quite the expression of

investment of funds into the agriculture industry and largely it has been on the

direction of a former ministry that may, again, have been well intended but ill

informed.

Madam Speaker, we're looking at $2.5 million being

dedicated to the establishment of one individual enterprise. If that $2.5

million was given out to industry partners, it would result in 35 per cent more

production capacity within our agricultural industry. Not only that, an

individual farmer qualifies for $3,000 per acre of land clearing in development

money, but within this $2.5-million project it is speculated that the contractor

for clearing the property was given over $5,000 an acre to prepare this land.

I ask, Madam Speaker, how can farmers be expected to

clear and develop industry at only 60 per cent of the funding as one super farm

that the government more than likely would like to have as their poster child?

I've said this time and time again, farmers and the industry are very practical

people. They have no time for political theatre. Political theatre does not feed

people. It is the practical work and approach of our farmers.

Madam Speaker, I think far too long have we been

accepting of the meager crumbs we get from Ottawa. I guess I'd be remiss and

wouldn't be very historic if I didn't include a farm story or farm analogy in

this. While I'm sure I'll probably raise a bit of laughter, I'd like you to

listen to the message.

One of the most, I guess, maligned creatures on my farm

is a pig. Their reputation is ill deserved. A pig is actually the fifth smartest

species known to man. So it's a pretty good chance that a pig is smarter than

many humans – no reflection on the present company. A pig is the only animal

that will never overeat. A pig will only eat till its belly is full. Why do we

say if you eat like a pig? When I'm accused of that I say, thank you very much,

a pig is a very clean animal. A pig looks after its affairs. A pig actually has

the ability to choose how many embryos it carries, depending on the food

availability.

That brings me to the subject of my story. A pig takes

three months, three weeks, three days and three hours to give birth. The ideal

number of pigs born is 12, and that being because there are 12 nipples on a

mother pig to drink from. How a pig's hierarchy and how well a piglet performs

is how aggressive it is. The pig's nipples closest to the heart are the ones

that produce the most milk and it is only one piglet's initiative that puts it

at that primary nipple.

If we're content to take the backend of the pig – and I

apologize for the expression if anyone finds it crude. If we're content to be on

the hind teat, that's where we'll always finish up. We will be the runt. We will

be the runt of Confederation. In order for that to change, we will have to stand

up for ourselves and never accept less than what we feel we deserve, not what

someone else tells us.

I had the opportunity to speak to one of my colleagues

across the way in reference to Muskrat Falls. It was a side conversation. I

said: This is the situation with Muskrat Falls. It is an asset to our province

that we must make the best of. It is an asset to our province that we should be

proud of at this point and turn the conversation. The conversation quickly

digressed to the expense of Muskrat Falls and the value of it in the future. I

happened to bring up Churchill Falls and the situation in which we have been far

the runt of the agreement.

That particular colleague from across the way said to

us: But did you know we've made money every year from Churchill Falls? I almost

passed out because how could we accept the meagre revenue from Churchill Falls

when we look next door to how much they have benefited. It is that exact

approach that we will accept little or nothing. That is what has put us in this

position, the continued interference with government into private business.

Government is not responsible for making jobs; government is responsible for

creating an environment for job creation.

Business owners have a particular characteristic. It's

the will to put everything on the line, to take those risks and invest. I can

tell you there are a lot of business owners questioning about investing in

Newfoundland and Labrador. Do you know why, Madam Speaker? It is because of

continued government interference in business. Government needs to put supports

in place for businesses. They need to put supports in place that foster the

normal expansion or establishment of commerce.

Madam Speaker, I am a big proponent of many social

programs that would enable those who are challenged working in modest or low

incomes enjoy a better quality of life. I've stood up in this House and

petitioned time and time again for bus passes for those who do find themselves

in modest incomes. I am not about handouts; I am about hand ups. I am about

giving people and families the opportunity to better themselves. That's why I

don't agree with the current situation with bus passes. I am a proponent that

everybody who is in subscription of the Newfoundland and Labrador Prescription

Drug Program should have access to bus passes. That includes the people of

Corner Brook. They also have a public transit system.

Enabling one to get out and work for their families,

enabling them to do their share, to feel pride in being self-supporting, that is

one of the best things we can do for the people of our province. We talk of the

new construction of the new mental health facility and the correctional

institute. I actually had the privilege of attending an announcement over the

summer of the expansion of overnight beds at The Gathering Place.

Madam Speaker, while those are great and while those

are much needed in our community, it is a reflection of our failure, not as a

governmen