Newfoundland and Labrador Hansard — Members' Statements; Statements by Ministers — 5 April 2006 (45th General Assembly, 3rd Session, Vol. XLV No. 8)
2006-04-05
Newfoundland and Labrador — Debates (Hansard)
April 5, 2006 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
PROCEEDINGS Vol. XLV No. 8
The House met at 2:00 p.m.
MR. SPEAKER (Hodder): Order, please!
Admit strangers.
Statements by Members
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
This afternoon we have members' statements as follows: the hon. the Member
for the District of Grand Bank; the hon. the Member for the District of Lake
Melville; the hon. the Member for the District of Carbonear-Harbour Grace; the
hon. the Member for the District of Gander; and, the hon. the Member for the
District of Port de Grave.
The Chair recognizes the Member for the District of Grand Bank.
MS FOOTE: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to extend congratulations to the Lawn
Mustangs. The senior boys at Holy Name of Mary Academy in Lawn claimed the 2006
provincial 2A high school basketball championship banner last weekend.
Nine teams participated in the tournament which was co-hosted by the
champions and the St. Lawrence Academy Blues. The Mustangs captured a thrilling
59-58 home court victory over Dunne Academy of St. Mary's. It was their first
provincial basketball title since 1991.
James Grant was named the team's Most Sportsmanlike Player for the
tournament. Team members include: Robert Lambe, Travis Edwards, Andrew Strong,
James Grant, George Edwards, Jonathan Dunphy, Kenny Edwards, Justin Keating,
Justin Power, David Baggs, Gerard Lundrigan, Lyle Edwards, and coach Scott
Bishop.
Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of this House to join me in congratulating the
Lawn Mustangs on their provincial win.
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Lake Melville.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. HICKEY: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to acknowledge the hard work and
dedication of a constituent of mine, Mr. Don Davis. Mr. Davis first came to
Happy Valley-Goose Bay as a young man of eighteen, back in 1956, and as of March
7 of this year has lived in the area for fifty years. For the last forty-eight
years he has been employed on the Base in a variety of positions which I would
like to recognize today.
He first went to work as a cleaner, for nine months in 1956, and in January
of 1957 went to work as a trainee in the steam plant on the Base in Goose Bay.
He worked there for a year before being promoted to turbine operator, where he
stayed for ten years. He then moved into the position of lead boiler operator,
where he stayed until 1991, before becoming maintenance foreman at the Steam
Plant until his retirement in 1996.
Mr. Speaker, however, he did not stay idle for long as he came back to the
Base in 1998 as an employee of Serco, as a 3 rd Class Engineer at the
Steam Plant. In total, he has worked sixteen-and-a-half years for the Americans
at Goose Bay, twenty-three-and-a-half years for the Department of National
Defence, and the last eight year with Serco.
Mr. Davis is a credit to his employers, past and present, and to the Base as
a whole, for his strong dedication and commitment to his career.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask all Members of the House of Assembly today
to join me as we congratulate Mr. Davis on fifty years of employment at the Base
in Goose Bay.
Thank you very much.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Carbonear-Harbour
Grace.
MR. SWEENEY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I am please to rise today to congratulate the Carbonear Collegiate male and
female wrestling teams who have each won banners at the 2006 School Sport
Newfoundland and Labrador High School Provincial Wrestling Championships held on
February 17 and February 18, hosted by Templeton Academy.
The Boys Sentinels captured seven out of eighteen possible gold medals, along
with four silver and two bronze. The Ladies Sentinels secured three gold, three
silver and two bronze medals for forty-six team points. Twelve senior high
schools from around Newfoundland and Labrador attended the two day tournament.
Mr. Speaker, wrestling has come a long way in the Trinity-Conception area in
recent years. According to their coach, Randy Ralph, wrestlers leave school, go
on to universities and compete at national levels. Over the past four years,
Carbonear Collegiate has won a total of five provincial banners.
Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of this House to join with me in
congratulating the Boys and Ladies Sentinels on winning banners at the 2006
School Sport Newfoundland and Labrador High School Provincial Wrestling
Championships.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Gander.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. O'BRIEN: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life of a
long-time resident and accomplished educator from Gander. Mr. Eric Norman
recently passed away after a four year battle with cancer. Mr. Norman was
sixty-eight years old and lived each day to the fullest, as he kept active
within the Town of Gander and within the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
He was the Chair of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities and he
Mr. Norman was also well respected in the field of education. As a teacher
and an administrator in the Province, Mr. Norman spent many years leading his
colleagues in the development of the best possible educational options for
students. He has often been called an innovator and a leader in curriculum
development. Mr. Norman's commitment to Newfoundland and Labrador also came
through in his work with this Province's artists. He established a visiting
artists program that saw people like Fergus O'Byrne and Cassie Brown visit
schools to read and speak with students.
It was not only in his passing that Mr. Norman drew praise. When he retired
fifteen years ago, a book of tributes was published. In one contribution Ms
Helen Porter said it all. She wrote: Eric Norman's name should be known to and
remembered by everybody interested in the literary history of this Province. I
cannot think of anybody else who has made such a valuable contribution.
Mr. Speaker, I ask that all members of this hon. House join me in recognizing
the life and accomplishments of this tremendous Newfoundlander and Labradorian.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.
MR. BUTLER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I am pleased today to rise to congratulate Jessica Mercer, a student of Holy
Redeemer, Spaniards's Bay, who is the regional winner of the Brown Bag
Project, sponsored by the Citizens' Crime Prevention Association of
Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Brown Bag Project is an anti-drinking and driving awareness project
carried out with Grade 4 and Grade 5 students throughout the Province.
The Citizens' Crime Prevention Association of Newfoundland and Labrador
heads up the competition. This association is committed to identifying and
eliminating problems, such as drinking and driving, and providing supports
wherever needed.
Mr. Speaker, students were asked to draw a picture on the brown bags that
expressed anti-drinking and driving messages. Each regional winner is selected
at random. More than 12,000 brown bags were distributed to the schools. Those
bags, Mr. Speaker, will be redistributed for use to the liquor stores throughout
the Province to promote the message during Victoria Day weekend.
I ask all members of this House to join with me in congratulating Jessica
Mercer, regional winner in the Spaniard's Bay area.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Statements by ministers.
Statements by Ministers
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Education.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, tonight teachers from across Newfoundland and
Labrador will gather in St. John's for the inaugural Arts Work Conference.
Teachers from every region of the Province will connect with the many
dedicated artists who bring our rich culture and heritage to life.
Over the next two days, teachers will interact with artists through workshops
and presentations. This, in turn, will help them deliver exciting and innovative
classes in art, music and theatre arts.
In addition, Mr. Speaker, I am especially pleased today to inform my hon.
colleagues that we will invest $25,000 to bring back the Visiting Artists
Program - which was the victim of funding cuts in the mid 1990s. We have heard
that this program was highly valued by our teachers and students and that
exposure to different artists can have a tremendous impact on our students.
In response, we will partner with the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers'
Association and the Arts Council to establish a Visiting Artists Program. It
will significantly increase the number of local actors, writers and visual
artists who will visit our schools and work directly with students and teachers.
The aim of this work, Mr. Speaker, is to make it possible for teachers in every
school in Newfoundland and Labrador to invite artists into their classrooms. It
will also complement our ArtsSmarts and Learning Through the Arts programs.
The new Visiting Artists Program and the Arts Work Conference are excellent
examples of the many initiatives stemming from our three year, $10 million
Cultural Connections Strategy.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS BURKE: We are making great strides in increasing cultural content in
the school curriculum and fostering links between artists and students in the
school environment.
I am very proud of the investments this government is making in arts and
culture, from the Cultural Connections Strategy, to the recently announced
investment of over $17 million for the Province's first cultural plan.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS BURKE: We have much to celebrate during this Month of the Arts,
declared yesterday by my colleague, Minister Tom Hedderson.
I would like to acknowledge the organizations that have worked tirelessly on
our first Arts Work Conference: the Arts Council, the Newfoundland and Labrador
Teachers' Association, the Eastern School District and The Rooms. I wish all
teachers an exciting and informative session.
We are already looking forward to future conferences to be held in different
regions of the Province and, of course, the launch of the new Visiting Artists
Program later this month.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Port de Grave.
MR. BUTLER: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
First of all, I want -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The Chair recognizes the Member for Port de Grave.
MR. BUTLER: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
I want to thank the minister for an advanced copy of her statement and to say
that we, on this side of the House, welcome all the teachers to the Arts Work
Conference here in St. John's this weekend. I can assure you that we are very
positive and welcome anything for the cultures and arts in this Province of
ours.
Mr. Speaker, I know that the minister announced they are putting $25,000 back
into the program. I hope that the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers'
Association and the Arts Council will be putting more money than that into it,
because if they are going to try to get artists to every school in this
Province, I do not think the $25,000 will go very far.
The other thing, I would also like to acknowledge the other organizations and
thank them for their support in organizing this conference this weekend.
I will also say to the minister and the hon. members opposite, if they would
give me another second, I want to say, Mr. Speaker, she said that they were
pleased to bring back the funds that were victimized during the mid-1990s. Well,
I say, Madam Minister, we would like for you to bring back some of the 500
teachers you slashed over the last two years, and then this program will be a
truly good announcement, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
Colleagues, we have only just begun the afternoon and we are doing statements
by ministers.
The Chair recognizes the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.
MR. HARRIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It is nice to -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. HARRIS: Perhaps I should ask for leave first, Mr. Speaker, before I -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MR. HARRIS: Perhaps I should ask for leave -
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
I am asking members -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please! Order, please!
I am asking all members for their co-operation.
The Chair recognizes the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.
MR. HARRIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It is nice to see the Minister of Education with a smile on her face when she
delivers a statement in the House. It is a lot more fun than tearing up
consultants' reports or speaking in Answers to Questions on school closures.
Mr. Speaker, this is clearly a positive statement and a positive step.
Support for the arts and the arts community has been a long-standing part of our
Party's policy, and this member's. In fact, Mr. Speaker, you might have
noticed that the story, the film biography of Tommy Douglas, noted at the end
one of the firsts for the Saskatchewan government was that the Saskatchewan
government or Tommy Douglas was the first provincial government in Canada to
provide funding for the arts and an arts council. It is something that we
support very much, Mr. Speaker.
You are looking at your stopwatch. I am going to ask for leave in advance of
your statement, Mr. Speaker. May I have leave to continue, ladies and gentlemen?
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The member's allotted time has expired. Does the member have leave?
AN HON. MEMBER: By leave.
MR. SPEAKER: By leave.
MR. HARRIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The arts, particularly the arts in the classroom, is a very important part of
our cultural heritage. Not only do students get a chance to experience, through
the ArtsSmarts program and other programs, actual participation in arts
activities themselves, whether it be visual arts or otherwise, but the visiting
artists who travel around, whether it be performing artists, visual artists,
playwrights or whatever, are able to not only show students parts of our culture
but also inspire them to have an interest in our culture, and potentially being
artists or writers or performers themselves.
It is a very positive hands-on program that offers a lot to our students
across the Province, and I, for one, am very glad to see that this program is
continuing and being restored as the minister has said.
MR. SPEAKER: Further Statements by Ministers?
Oral Questions.
Oral Questions
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MR. REID: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
My questions are for the Premier.
Mr. Speaker, there are 350 people without work at the Fortune FPI plant since
last April, I believe. There are another 650 people who have been without work
in Marystown since early January. That is when they normally go back to work.
The Premier involves himself personally in the oil and gas industry, but he says
and does nothing about our fishing industry.
I ask the Premier: What discussions has he personally had with FPI in the
last couple of weeks to try and do something to get those 1,000 people on the
Burin Peninsula back to work?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, unlike previous administrations we have very competent Ministers
of Fisheries, and they handle the affairs in the department. They are interested
in finding out what is going on. They know what is going on. As a matter of
fact, our Minister of Fisheries today is attending a very important meeting on
behalf of the people of the Province to deal with a very important industry,
which is the sealing industry.
You can see by the results that we have had from the Larry King show, you can
see by what is happening with Costco, you can see by what happened to Pamela
Anderson the other night, that we are winning this war on seals, and he is at a
very important meeting (inaudible).
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Having said that, as recently as last week, we had a
senior level meeting in government with senior ministers, caucus members, with
regard to the FPI matter. When it comes to dealing with the company directly,
the Minister of Fisheries has been dealing on that matter.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MR. REID: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Premier always resorts to personal attacks when he does not want to
answer a question. I asked him if he had any meetings himself, personally, with
FPI. He just answered no, he has not.
Mr. Speaker, the Premier is willing to do battle with the largest oil
companies in the world, but he allows FPI and its board of directors to run
roughshod over thousands of people in this Province.
I ask the Premier: When are you going to stand up for the people in towns
like Marystown, Harbour Breton, Fortune, Bonavista, Burin, Triton, and Port au
Choix? I ask the Premier: When are you going to do something for those people?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: We stand on our record, Mr. Speaker.
The Member for Bellevue, for example, knows what we did in Arnold's Cove to
stand up for the people in his district. Three hundred people, basically, saved
their jobs. Never had an approach from you, never had a conversation with you.
You never knocked on the door, you never inquired, you never bothered. Now, all
of a sudden, every pretends they are really interested. Well, we are extremely
interested in the people in Marystown, extremely interested in the people in
Burin, and extremely interested in the people in every community in this
Province, and we will stand up and we will fight for every single one of them.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: The minute I sit down and I have a meeting with FPI,
you will be on your feet saying I am a buddy of Mr. Risley.
Well, let me tell you very clearly for the record, I am certainly not a buddy
of Mr. Risley or anyone on that board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MR. REID: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Premier talks about his and his government's record. We have
Stephenville closed, we have Harbour Breton closed, we have Fortune closed, and
we have Marystown closed. Most of the areas in rural Newfoundland today are
closed.
Mr. Speaker, the Premier's Minister of Fisheries has said on several
occasions, both in and out of the House, that he is prepared to amend the FPI
act to strengthen it for the people of this Province.
I ask the Premier: Is this just another one of the Minister of Fisheries'
many rants, that he is apt to do in recent days, or can we reasonably expect to
see amendments to the FPI legislation before this House closes, or are we going
to be called back later in the summer, when FPI itself wants to amend the act,
like we did last summer?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I will just remind the hon. Leader of the Opposition that, when
the FPI Board of Directors changed in 2001, his Premier, the Premier that he was
the Minister of Fisheries under, when he was visited by the new Board of
Directors, informed everybody in Newfoundland and Labrador that he did not have
enough interest to ask the people any questions about their plans for FPI.
Maybe, Mr. Speaker, if the Premier of the Province in 2001, the hon. Roger
Grimes, and the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture at the time, the Member
for Twillingate & Fogo, had enough interest to ask some questions, we would
not find ourselves in the situation that we are here today.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. TAYLOR: As it stands, Mr. Speaker, this government has been
consistently asking questions of FPI. We have had access to their books. We are
doing an evaluation of the financial state of FPI. We have indicated our
willingness to amend the FPI Act, if required; and, if we have to come back the
middle of July to do it, we will. I do not know if they are willing to be here
but we will be, Mr. Speaker!
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MR. REID: A final question, Mr. Speaker.
I say to the minister, in the words of his leader, the Premier: Harbour
Breton did not close under my watch. Fortune did not close under my watch.
Marystown did not close under my watch.
When are you going to do something? Don't say, if the legislation is
required. When are you going to change the legislation so we can put those 1,000
people back to work? - something they were doing when I was the minister!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I will say to the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Speaker, that he sowed the
seeds in FPI. He sowed the seeds. He and his government sowed the seeds of
destruction that we are seeing in the fishing industry today.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. TAYLOR: It was his government that licensed all the shrimp plants. It
was his government that licensed all the crab plants. It was his government that
sat and did nothing about the structural problems in the fishing industry while
the Canadian dollar was at sixty-five cents and they could get away with it, and
the price of crab was at $2.50, and the price of foreign-sourced cod was at
$2,000 a ton.
Mr. Speaker, the world has changed. The price of foreign-sourced cod is
$3,500 a ton today, and the Canadian dollar is at eighty-six cents. If he does
not recognize that, make no wonder he did no more with the fishery when he was
Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture than he did.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
My questions are for the Premier. They relate to the cessation of
negotiations between the Province and the Hebron-Ben Nevis ownership group.
Premier, you were prepared to accept a 4.9 per cent equity position - and
apparently that was acceptable to the partners, according to your statements.
Would we have compromised any managerial and operational input by accepting a
4.9 per cent equity state versus your original request for 8.5 per cent?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
In your own works, hon. House Leader, we do need the equity position. That is
what this hon. gentleman said in an interview just two nights ago: We do need
the equity position. The Premier is quite right on that. We should wait if we
have to wait.
Two nights ago you agreed with the fact that we are looking for an equity
position. We have a 4.9 per cent agreement on an equity position. That was a
number that could have facilitated a deal. If we had that equity position, we
could probably get, on a return from it, with above $50 oil - probably $140
million a year from a 4.9 per cent equity position. If that is ten years, that
is $1.4 billion. What else do you want?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: Premier, I guess you did not get the question I asked. It
had nothing to do with the economic return we would have on the equity share.
My question was: Does it make a difference in terms of the Province's
managerial and operational input if we have a 4.9 per cent share versus an 8.5
per cent share? That was my question. It is not related to the economics of what
the share would generate.
This was my question: Does it make a difference to us if it is a 4.9 per cent
versus 8.5 per cent in terms of managerial and operational input? Because it is
my understanding that if you own less than 5 per cent - and I stand to be
corrected, that is why I am asking the question. If you have less than 5 per
cent, you do not have any say in managerial and operational operations.
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, the hon. gentleman does not need to be
corrected or stand to be corrected. He knows what I said when I was asked
questions over the last two days.
The reason we went from 8.5 per cent to below 5 per cent was because 5 per
cent was a critical turning point in the joint venture agreement. The partners
could not unanimously deliver more than 5 per cent to the Province of
Newfoundland. Under that circumstance, there would be absolutely no agreement
whatsoever. Four point nine percent is critical because when you get to 5 per
cent there is an absolute veto right on all decisions.
This Province, in order to achieve 4.9 per cent, which could probably give us
$1.5 billion additional return over time, was prepared to concede a veto right.
We are not interested in a veto right on the project. That is the reason.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: Thank you.
I appreciate the straightforward answer.
Premier, you told this House yesterday, when questioned about the
negotiations, that the negotiations ended because the Hebron-Ben Nevis ownership
group had reverted to the January 26 position. Two answers later you said that
the group had gotten cute - was your word - and they tried to change their
January 26 agreement. Given your use of these two, very different words, the
January 26 position and the January 26 agreement, which is it? Because depending
on whether January 26 was a position of theirs or an agreement that you had, it
makes a lot of difference, and I think we ought to know what was what.
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, if we had an agreement on January 26, what
did we spend the next seventy days talking about? Really, (inaudible).
It was a January 26 position. That is exactly what it was. It was a position
that had been negotiated down from their position over the course of two months.
That is what was done between Mr. Martin and Mr. Bates, with intervention by us
at certain points in time. What they did on last Thursday night, when we finally
got down to the two final issues - which was equity and super royalty. When we
had agreement on those issues, they reverted to the January 26 position, which
included investment tax credits, which would have cost the Province about a half
billion dollars. So, you had four companies that, collectively in revenues last
year, made $590 billion and were looking for our Province to give them another
half billion dollars. That simply was not on.
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Premier, could you tell the House if it is correct that the Hibernia
ownership group are now not going to go forward with their planned expenditures
in the tune of millions of dollars? As I understand it, they had a planned
expansion of the Hibernia production facility to develop the Hibernia south
project. Is it correct that they do not intend to go forward with that now?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. E. BYRNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I do not know if the member opposite is taking a shot in the
dark or if he has some information, but there is no planned expenditure for
Hibernia, in what he is talking about. If there is, it would be coming forward
to the Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board as the regulator. Following
that, they would have to file a development plan application. Following that,
with the decisions on that, they are all fundamental decisions, it would have to
come to the desk of the provincial government, who have absolute control and
right over fundamental decisions.
To the best of my knowledge, and this is to the best of my knowledge that was
updated very recently, there is no development plan application before the
Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board. There is no plan for the further
expansion yet, I might add, from the Hibernia Management Development Company,
and when and if that comes, we will deal with it on its merits and on the face
of it. But, if the member has some additional information that he would like to
offer, that he believes he has, than I would like to hear it.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair.
MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
My questions are for the Minister of Health.
On Tuesday the minister misinformed the House, saying that drugs for MS
patients and for patients suffering from various forms of arthritis are fully
covered by the Province.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MS JONES: This only applies to people - Mr. Speaker, the minister knows
that this only applies to people on social assistance and with drug cards.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The Chair recognizes the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair.
If the member is putting a question, I would ask her to do so.
MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, the minister fully knows that this applies only to
people on social assistance with drug cards. Mr. Speaker, of the 1,030 people in
the Province diagnosed multiple sclerosis, only 400 of them actually -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
I am asking members for their co-operation and I ask the member now if she
would put her question.
MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Of the 1,030 people in the Province diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, only
400 of them actually receive the therapies that are prescribed. The rest cannot
afford it.
I ask the minister, was this a right choice to exclude the other 600
patients?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. T. OSBORNE: First of all, Mr. Speaker, let me say that I take great
offence to the member's comments. There was no misleading of the House here.
MS drugs and drugs for arthritis - which is what she asked about last week in
the House. MS drugs were made available eight years ago. Arthritis drugs were
made available last year. They are available under the Prescription Drug
Program, as are any other drugs available under that program, to everybody in
the Province who qualifies. This year, Mr. Speaker, in this year's Budget, we
doubled the number of people who qualify under the Prescription Drug Program for
those drugs.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair.
MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, I ask the minister to qualify his statement by
saying these drugs are only available to people on social assistance, and that
is the fact of the matter. There are 600 people out there today in our Province
who cannot afford these drugs which cost them anywhere from $17,000 to $28,000
annually.
I ask the minister: Every other province in Canada has a co-pay system for
all patients who want to use those drugs, why isn't he prepared to implement
the same?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. T. OSBORNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, drug cards in this Province are provided on an income-tested
basis, not only to social services but on an income-tested basis. In this year's
Budget we increased the threshold to allow for people who earned an income, so
that the number of people in this Province go from approximately 20 per cent to
approximately 40 per cent. That is a huge number of the people in the Province
who now have access to affordable drugs.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair.
MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, can the minister confirm that the threshold that
has been raised to $30,000 for families with an income of $30,000 does not
provide them free drugs, but in fact only provides them a subsidy, and in some
cases that subsidy is as low as 30 per cent.
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. T. OSBORNE: Again, Mr. Speaker, drug cards are provided on an
income-tested basis. Under what we have announced in this year's Budget, the
subsidies for people who are working who will now qualify for drug cards on an
affordable basis are as high as 70 per cent as well. They range from 30 per cent
subsidy to a 70 per cent subsidy. The fact of the matter is we have now made
available, to 20 per cent of the people of the Province, drugs on an affordable
basis, up from approximately 20 per cent. Now, 40 per cent of the people of this
Province have access to affordable drugs. It is a heck of a whole lot better
than they provided when they were in government, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair.
MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, in light of the government's new fiscal wealth,
not only are these patients going without drugs, but many of them are losing the
nursing resources they have. As of Friday, the multiple sclerosis nurse who
provides services out of St. John's to a large part of the Avalon, to the
Burin Peninsula, is having her position terminated.
Can the minister tell me why that is?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. T. OSBORNE: Mr. Speaker, I am not aware of that. I will certainly
look into it. I do know that under this year's Budget we are providing an
additional thirty-nine nursing positions throughout the Province. I will look
into this particular situation because I am not aware of it.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair.
MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, maybe the minister would like to tell patients
like Brenda Hickey of Harbour Breton that her arthritis medication is covered,
because it is not. The mother of two is laid off from FPI, no longer with any
health insurance, and now she finds herself in a position where she has to buy
very expensive drugs and therefore she is going without them.
Mr. Speaker, this program is not looking after middle-income and low-income
earners in the way that it should. When are you going to use some of the surplus
money that you have, to ensure that people like Brenda Hickey have the coverage
they need?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. T. OSBORNE: Mr. Speaker, this government is committed to providing
quality health care and to providing affordable drugs to people in this
Province.
Mr. Speaker, I have great sympathy for the person that the member opposite
has just inquired about. I have great sympathy for any individual in this
Province who has to face the cost of catastrophic drugs. The reality is, we are
moving in the right direction. We can only do so much within available
resources. We have increased, this year, the number of people who qualify for
affordable drugs by 100,000 people.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MR. T. OSBORNE: This individual, hopefully, this year, Mr. Speaker, under
the new program, will qualify for a subsidy under the provincial drug program.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair.
MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, Brenda Hickey has psoriatic arthritis, and
Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are three times the national average when it
comes to this disease. So, given the fact that there are about 2,500 people in
our Province affected by this disease, today 150 of them are going without
medication, I say to the minister. That was information confirmed by the
physicians. One hundred and fifty of them affected by psoriatic arthritis today
are going without medication, three times greater than the national average. Can
I ask the minister if he will provide the money to cover drugs for these people?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. T. OSBORNE: Mr. Speaker, I will remind the member who, at one point,
was the Minister of Health, of two things. First of all, I find it very
unfortunate that she will bring personal cases to the floor of the House of
Assembly without first approaching me and asking me to look into these
individual cases. Furthermore, when the member was Minister of Health, they did
not double the number of people who qualified for affordable drugs in this
Province.
This government, in this year's Budget, has increased the number of people
who qualify for affordable drugs by almost 100,000 people. This government is
showing compassion for the people who cannot afford drugs. We are making drugs
affordable.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Labrador West.
MR. R. COLLINS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
My question is for the Minister of Health and Community Services as well.
I want to ask the minister what his department is doing about the fact that,
in this entire Province, there are six orthodontists who mainly travel through
the larger centres of the Province so that people can come in and have access. I
want to ask the minister if his department is actively seeking the services of
more orthodontists to come into the Province?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. T. OSBORNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank the member for his question. This is an important question.
There are services of an orthodontist provided in Happy Valley-Goose Bay.
Unfortunately, I know residents of your district have to make travel
arrangements from Labrador West to Happy Valley-Goose Bay. It is a serious
issue.
Unfortunately, the orthodontists are a fee-for-service provided throughout
the Province. I will undertake to look into your question, to look into the
issue. Unfortunately, as well, specialized services such as this, retention and
recruitment is an issue. It is an issue for every province in Canada. We will
look into it, and we are trying to improve specialized services throughout the
Province where the services are not up to what we would see as acceptable
standards.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Labrador West.
MR. R. COLLINS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I raised this with the minister this morning, earlier, during the Budget
Estimates Committee meetings, but I want to ask the minister this question: If
we cannot bring the orthodontists to where people are - there are over 100
people in my district who are going without this service today. I want to ask
him: If the orthodontist can travel to one region of Labrador, to Happy
Valley-Goose Bay area, will the minister allow people from other regions of
Labrador to access the medical transportation subsidy to get their kids to where
the orthodontist will be?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. T. OSBORNE: Yes, Mr. Speaker, we will look into that. Obviously,
there could be implications for all services in all regions of the Province when
we take a move like this. I understand the implications for your constituents,
and it is an issue that we will look into.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Grand Falls-Buchans.
MS THISTLE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
In the past two years we have witnessed this government throwing career civil
servants out the door to make way for their political cronies. In fact, another
assistant deputy minister was fired on Monday. The amount allocated in the
Budget for severance has gone from $7 million to $8 million a year, to $13
million to $17 million a year.
I ask the Minister of Finance: How many civil servants were fired last year,
and how many are you firing this year with the extra $6 million severance of the
taxpayers' money you have in the Budget?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury
Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I will tell her, as a result of this Budget, out in health boards and
elsewhere, and in the direct government departments, probably 400 people more
will be working in this Province over last year. I will tell her that.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SULLIVAN: I will tell her that some appointments of government are at
pleasure and the responsibility of individuals in that position. When they were
in power they had a track beat. Three got a call at their supper. Deputy
ministers got a call at suppertime from somebody else in the Province, from
staff in the Premier's Office, telling them not to come to work any more. That
is the way they treated people here. At least people here have the courtesy to
talk to individuals if services may not be needed any more, and do it in an
appropriate manner.
There are always changes in government. On any given day there could be 100
people change within government, within the public service generally. We have a
large public service. Changes occur on an ongoing basis there, and whatever we
did is not a fraction of the way that they treated individuals and people here
when they were in power.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Grand Falls-Buchans.
MS THISTLE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
There can't be too many out there now without a job, by the sound of
things.
Mr. Speaker, a few short years ago the current Minister of Finance and others
on that side of the House stood shoulder to shoulder with public sector
pensioners in this Province and told them they deserved an increase in their
pension. Now in the third year of their mandate and flush with cash, this
government has once again ignored pubic sector pensioners.
I ask the minister: When is he going to live up to the commitment he made to
those retired workers?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury
Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Pensions are determined on two things. They are determined on amount of years
of services, and are based on a percentage of the salary for each of the years
you work. That is what pensions are based on, and there is also an indexation of
pensions in our Province.
What we have done, what that government failed to do - they raided the
pension plans of the Province - we are prepared to put in excess of $3 billion
into the pension plans, Mr. Speaker -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SULLIVAN: - to ensure that the people who are getting a pension today
will be able to get one in the future. That is what we are doing here, to an
unprecedented level in the history of our Province.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The hon. the Member for Grand Falls-Buchans.
MS THISTLE: Mr. Speaker, I say, thank God we are surrounded by oil,
because there was nothing this crowd over there did to create a revenue surplus
here.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MS THISTLE: Mr. Speaker, public sector pensioners have been left out of
this year's Budget. Despite the massive increase in severance costs, there is
not even a token increase for pensioners. Those are the same pensioners who got
no break on heating costs, no break on government fees, no break on gas prices.
I ask the minister - his Budget slogan is called: The Right Choices. Do you
think you have made the right choices when you forgot those retired workers and
so many other average working people in our Province?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury
Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SULLIVAN: Mr. Speaker, the hon. member and others have become so used
to being in a deficit that they have become comfortable and they do not want
success when it hits them.
What we have done in this government - and I met with pensioners and I
explained to pensioners in the last few months - I have indicated that what we
are trying to do is not just assist pensioners -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SULLIVAN: They don't want to hear the answer, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MR. SULLIVAN: We do not just want to assist the pensioners who worked for
government. We want to assist the pensioners, and people who have no pensions,
who have incomes of $10,000, $15,000 and $20,000 and $30,000. We have addressed
all low income people in the Province, regardless of their source of income.
That is the honourable way to go! It is the appropriate way to go! Treat
everybody alike, regardless of where their cheque comes from. That is the
philosophy of this government.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
We have time for one short question and a short reply.
The hon. the Member for Fortune Bay-Cape la Hune.
MR. LANGDON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
My question is for the Minister of Municipal Affairs.
Mr. Speaker, the problems facing these rural municipals are serious and
solutions have to be found. My question is: Given the government's enhanced
financial position, will the government consider raising the Municipal Operating
Grants to small rural communities?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Municipal Affairs.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. J. BYRNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The hon. member knows full well that when they were in power they cut the
Municipal Operating Grants from $40 million down to $21 million. Two years ago,
when we found the mess the previous Administration had, that we had to face when
we took over government, we announced that there would be an impact of $5
million over three years for fourteen municipals.
Mr. Speaker, we are doing what we can for the rural municipals in the
Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. We have been committed to that and we
will continue to work with the rural communities in Newfoundland and Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The time allocated for Question Period has expired.
Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.
Tabling of Documents.
Tabling of Documents
MR. SPEAKER: In compliance with the Public Tender Act, I am tabling the
Report of the Public Tender Act exceptions for the months of November and
December, 2005, and for the months of January and February 2006.
Notices of Motion.
Answers to Questions for which Notice has been given.
Petitions
Orders of the Day
Orders of the Day
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.
MR. E. BYRNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Motion 1, that this House approves in general the budgetary policy of the
government.
MR. SPEAKER: Motion 1.
I do believe that the last speaker was the Member for Fortune Bay-Cape la
Hune. I believe his time had expired.
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.
MR. E. BYRNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure - I want to take a few moments to speak to the
Budget, and particularly to the Department of Natural Resources today, about
some of the initiatives that we are moving forward. These initiatives all relate
to rural Newfoundland and Labrador, Mr. Speaker.
But, before I do, before I go there, I think it is important to ask some
questions. We know today, for example, that the Member for Bay of Islands said
that he would not resign his seat, only for Premiers. The Member for Grand
Falls-Buchans said her seat is her seat. So, throughout the course of the day we
will all get a chance to talk to members on which one of them - because the new
Leader of the Liberal Party, in his condemnation of government, in combination,
Mr. Speaker -
AN HON. MEMBER: You are not as good as Roger.
MR. E. BYRNE: And nor would I want to be as good as Roger at what he did
either, let me say to the member opposite.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. E. BYRNE: As a matter of fact, I say to the -
MR. JOYCE: On a point of order, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
A point of order has been called by the Member for Bay of Islands.
MR. JOYCE: Mr. Speaker, what I did say is that I would do it for certain
Premiers, but it would not be for that Premier. That Premier waltzed into the
Bay of Islands during the last election and made about five commitments that
they are still waiting to meet. So, it would not be for that Premier, I can
guarantee you that.
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
There is no point of order.
The Chair recognizes the hon. the Government House Leader.
MR. E. BYRNE: It is always nice to provide an opportunity for members
opposite to swallow themselves whole, because what he just said - nor would we
expect him to do it for our Premier, but what he really just said is that he
would not do it for his own leader, Mr. Speaker. That is exactly what he said.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. E. BYRNE: Now, let me get back to the point that one member opposite
raised. He said: You're not as good as Roger Grimes was. You know, I think if
I were to leave politics today, or someday when I do, I would have to put that
on my resume, I say to the member opposite.
Mr. Speaker, the most important matter between us today is the Budget. I want
to talk about some of the initiatives that we have taken with respect to the
Department of Agriculture and how those initiatives lends itself to the further
expansion and development of rural parts of our Province.
I would like to speak, first of all, to the Department of Agrifoods and the
agrifoods initiatives that we are undertaking.
Mr. Speaker, last year we put in place the largest Land Consolidation Program
in the Province's history. Why did we do that? We did it for a specific
reason. Because there was an opportunity to double the size of an industry. In
doing so throughout the course of the last year, over a five-year period, we
have taken the opportunity to continue to purchase that land and to put more
acreage into production. I am happy to report, Mr. Speaker, that we built upon
that this year. This year we increased, to historic levels, the limestone
assistance program, we have increased resource agricultural roads, all in rural
parts of our Province, and we added capacity and salaries to veterinarians at
the animal health division.
I say to the Member for Port de Grave - one second - was it you singing out
to me there? Was it the Member for Port de Grave? I thought he might have been
talking to me. Maybe the Member for Port de Grave is going to resign his seat
for the leader. Is that what you were saying?
MR. BUTLER: No. (Inaudible).
MR. E. BYRNE: Oh, so the Member for Port de Grave is not going to resign
his seat either. Okay.
Mr. Speaker, I was right in the middle of talking about agrifoods - I will
get back to it in a second - and the Member for Port de Grave was saying
something. Now we know the Member for Grand Falls-Buchans is not going to resign
her seat. The Member for Bay of Islands, the Member for Port de Grave and the
Member for LaPoile - when the Premier asked, are you going to resign your seat,
you said no. Who is it? That leaves Carbonear-Harbour Grace. Is the Member for
Carbonear-Harbour Grace going to resign his seat for his leader? He is not
saying anything. He has been around a while. He is smiling.
AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).
MR. E. BYRNE: I'll bet ya! I don't think the Member for
Carbonear-Harbour Grace - as a matter of fact I heard that he wouldn't. In the
absence of any retort, I can assume that he wouldn't. So that is one, two,
three, four of them. There are not many left.
MR. PARSONS: A point of order, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
A point of order has been raised by the Opposition House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: Just so the hon. Government House Leader doesn't
unintentionally have a false rumor out there with respect to me saying no, I
would like to clarify that I did not say that I would not resign for Mr.
Bennett. I am not usually taken to egotistical rantings, but I would like to
think enough of myself, and that I am so valuable to caucus, that the member
wouldn't ask me to resign for him.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
There is no point of order.
I recognize the Government House Leader.
MR. E. BYRNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I think we are on to something. It think we are on to something here. We have
lots of time to talk about agrifoods but this important, and I am going to tell
you why it is important in a few moments.
We have the Member for Burgeo & LaPoile, the Member for Port de Grave,
the Member for Grand Falls-Buchans, the Member for Bay of Islands, and the
Member for Harbour Grace-Carbonear who we know will not give up the seat for his
leader, because their leader said: A number of caucus members - let me quote it,
so we all understand. Here is what he said: I had offers from members in our
caucus that I would run in a seat if I wanted to run.
All right, so there are five right now. Now, the Member for Bellevue is not
going to give up his seat for nobody, because I am not convinced he would find a
seat anywhere else, to be honest with you. I do know for a fact, I say to my
colleagues, and the Member for Bellevue is not going to challenge me on it, that
seat he is not giving up because he is not going to have it for much longer;
and, if he did give it up, he does not know what seat who would end up in.
So, that is Grand Falls-Buchans, the Member for Bellevue, the Member for Bay
of Islands, the Member for Port de Grave, the Member for Burgeo & LaPoile,
and the Member for Harbour Grace-Carbonear, who are not going to give up their
seats for their leader. Now, that leaves only three more. That only leaves three
more. Four more, sorry, four more. That is, the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse
au Clair -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. E. BYRNE: Now, who is it? Is it the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au
Clair?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: No, no.
MR. E. BYRNE: Who has heard that?
My colleague from Lake Melville tells me -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. E. BYRNE: One second now, this is important. I am going to get
through them all.
My colleague from Lake Melville tells me that he has heard, on good
authority, that she is not going to give up her seat. That is what I heard. So,
we now know it is not the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair, because if
what I am saying was incorrect she would be the first one over there standing to
her feet to correct me, wouldn't she? Absolutely.
What about the Member for Grand Bank? We do know she wanted to run federally,
and that is fair enough. That is not a slight, because that is what a politician's
life is like, but it begs the question: Did the Member for Grand Bank offer to
give up her seat for Mr. Bennett, the new Leader of the Liberal Party?
AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. E. BYRNE: Oh, she won't tell me. Now, Mr. Speaker, do you know
something? With a new leader coming in - and I have been in that position myself
- when it starts to happen and you want to give up a seat.... I was a student at
university when the hon. Clyde Wells was elected, and the member for, I think it
was Exploits -
AN HON. MEMBER: Windsor-Buchans.
MR. E. BYRNE: Windsor-Buchans, right. Windsor-Buchans, Graham Flight,
said, I will give up my seat - and they were proud to do so. They were proud to
do so, because they were going to be elected the next Premier.
Now, the Member for Grand Bank will not tell me if she did or she did not,
which tells me she did not.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. E. BYRNE: Exactly right, exactly right, because she might be of the
same view as the Member for Bay of Islands, that they only give it up for
Premiers, not for people who will never be Premier, Mr. Speaker.
So, who else do we have left? The Member for Torngat Mountains. Now,
absolutely not. I know that for a fact myself, for a fact myself, that the
Member for Torngat Mountains will never give up his seat. He is going to stay,
that is what I understand, and stay until the next general election. That is my
understanding. Now, if I am wrong I am sure he will tell me if I am wrong, but
that is my own personal understanding.
Now, who else is left? I think that is all of them.
AN HON. MEMBER: No, no, they have one more.
MR. E. BYRNE: There is one more? Who is it?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MR. E. BYRNE: Hold on. The Member for Fortune Bay-Cape la Hune. You know,
the Member for Fortune Bay-Cape la Hune, I will say, was elected in 1989 - I was
elected in 1993 - was always a courteous member to new members coming in. I can
say that honestly.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. E. BYRNE: I can say that honestly and without fear of contradiction,
that he is an hon. gentleman and was always courteous. Specifically I can speak
for my own experience, but I do know that he is here until the next general
election, because he is the type of hon. man who is not going to desert his
constituents once they gave him a mandate to do it.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. E. BYRNE: So, it cannot be him.
Now, we have the Member for Torngat who is not doing it, the Member for Grand
Falls-Buchans who said to the Premier: My seat is my seat.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. E. BYRNE: I can tell you, the Member for Twillingate & Fogo, who
is now the Parliamentary Leader, the Leader of the Opposition, having sat in
that seat, I know he is not going anywhere.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. E. BYRNE: I know he is not going anywhere, absolutely not. The Member
for Twillingate & Fogo is not going to give up his seat. The Member for
Burgeo & LaPoile basically just told us he wasn't going to. The Member for
Grand Bank said: You would never know.
I can tell you this: If they thought that the new leader was going to be the
next Premier there would be a stampede. We would know then, wouldn't we? So,
we know she is not. We know the Member for the Bay of Islands - because he said,
himself: I don't give up my seat. I only do it for Premiers. That is what he
said. The Member for Port de Grave is not going to do it. The Member for
Bellevue will not stand up and correct me when I say that he is definitely not
going to do it. The Member for Fortune Bay-Cape la Hune, because he is an hon.
man, will not do, and the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair is not going
to do it.
Let me say, Mr. Speaker, it begs the question, when Mr. Bennett says, I had
offers from members in our caucus, I could run in their seat - no wonder he
asked the Premier to appoint my colleague Wally Young so he could run in his
seat. No wonder!
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. E. BYRNE: No wonder!
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
I want to remind members - it happened earlier this afternoon and it just
happened again - we should refer to members of this House by their electoral
district or by their position in the House, and refrain from referring to people
by their ordinary names.
The Chair recognizes the hon. the Government House Leader.
MR. E. BYRNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I apologize to the House. It is an oversight. When you are dealing with close
personal friends, it is natural to call them by their first names.
My point was this: The new Liberal leader said that members in his own caucus
were willing to give up their seats, and not one of them today stood and said
they would do it. As a matter of fact, there is a serious point in all of this.
While there is a bit of a jest going back and forth about it, the fact of the
matter is this: When you say outside of here, or in the political arena, that
there are people willing to give up their seats, and people are denying it in
the place today, I make the point strongly, and as strongly as I can, is it any
wonder that he got on provincial TV and asked the Premier of the Province to
appoint my colleague from St. Barbe to a public service position somewhere? I
think - what did he say?
AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible) nice appointment.
MR. E. BYRNE: If the Premier would like to make a nice appointment and
Mr. Young, our present member, would let me run, then I would be happy to run in
St. Barbe.
The fact of the matter is this: Nobody offered to give up their seat for the
Liberal leader, not one person opposite. That is why he probably asked the
Premier to make a nice appointment for Mr. Young.
The fact of the matter is this -
AN HON. MEMBER: They only give it up for Premiers.
MR. E. BYRNE: They only give it up for Premiers.
The fact of the matter is this: When it comes down to the type of life that
we live in this House, as elected people, sometimes if you put yourself out
there you have to deal with the consequences and the realities of what putting
yourself out there means.
Mr. Speaker, I did not want to digress too much from my conversation today. I
know that the Leader of the New Democratic Party did not give up his seat for
him, because that was announced some time ago, and I wish him well.
Mr. Speaker, back to the Budget debate. I will say that some of the
initiative taken within the Department of Natural Resources, and I just talked
about some in agriculture, are extremely important. They are important for the
dairy industry. They are important for the fur industry. They are important for
the improvement and expansion of infrastructure, on farms and producers in this
Province. They are important in the support that we provide to the Newfoundland
and Labrador Federation of Agriculture, and the support and leadership that they
provide on behalf of their membership in working with our department. Where do
those activities take place? All in rural Newfoundland and Labrador.
Last year, for example, the provincial agricultural industry was worth $550
million; employed directly and indirectly 6,000 people; expected to double in
size for a couple of reasons, but expected to double in size over the next four
to five years, driven by the expansion in the fur industry. Talk to my colleague
from Bonavista South or talk to my colleague in Exploits, and talk to my
colleague in St. Barbe or my colleague in Trinity North or Trinity-Bay de Verde.
Talk to my colleagues in rural Newfoundland and Labrador and they will tell you
about the expansion that is happening in agrifoods, being driven by the industry
and the opportunity, being supported, like never before, by a government that
has instilled confidence in them to make the type of investments that they want
to make. Mr. Speaker, that is what this Budget is about with respect to the
Department of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. E. BYRNE: If you want to look at the agrifoods industry, this year in
June we will be hosting the Federal-Provincial Territorial Ministers' Meetings
on the agrifoods side in St. John's. A little known fact when I first became
the minister in travelling to these meetings, most people outside of this
country, and I would even bet my bottom dollar that many people in the Province
today do not know how, comparatively, our agrifoods industry stacks up against
the rest of the country.
Last year, the national average for growth in agrifoods was about 1.2 per
cent. Last year the growth in the agrifoods industry in Newfoundland and
Labrador was 7.7 per cent. We led the country in growth; anticipated to lead it
again this year, the year after and the year after that. Most people do not
realize, for example, that we have the most diversified agrifoods industry in
the country and amongst the most diversified agrifoods industry in North
America. Just think about what that means. Unlike other jurisdictions across the
country, we are not overly or singularly dependent upon a single commodity. For
example, in Alberta, Alberta beef is the big player in the industry. So, we are
not overly dependent upon one commodity. There is a diversification that is in
the industry that allows us to roll with the changes and fluctuations in the
market.
Here is another interesting statistic. Nationally, 13.2 per cent of every
producer's income in the country comes from the federal government or from the
industry. So, they are dependent for about 13 per cent of their income in other
jurisdictions on federal income support programs for the agrifoods industry;
less than 1 per cent in Newfoundland and Labrador. That talks about how
innovative we are. It talks about how determined our producers are, but it also
speaks to the diversification and how diversified our industry is.
Do we have things that we have to do? Do we have challenges in front of us?
Yes, we do. Are we on a path to overcome those and to take the industry from
here to another level? Yes, we are. And that is where we are headed to and we
are doing it in partnership and in co-operation with the industry itself, with
the organizations; whether it be the livestock council, Fur Breeders
Association, the dairy industry, the egg industry, the poultry industry, the
horticulture association. We are doing it from -
MR. FITZGERALD: (Inaudible).
MR. E. BYRNE: Exactly, as my colleague from Bonavista South said, and he
hears it. He represents a district where significant agrifoods producers in his
area - like I do. The district I represent has sixty-six different producers in
agrifoods. You would not think that for on the outskirts of the city. Sixty-six
different producers exist in the District of Kilbride - in the Gould-Kilbride
area - from a variety of backgrounds. But, the point that the Member for
Bonavista South said - and he is absolutely correct - that we are building this
industry in partnership with producers, with their associations, from the ground
up and will continue to do so.
You want to have a look at the mining industry today and some of the
initiatives that we have just undertaken. The exploration that is about to occur
in mining in this Province this year will hit some 50 per cent to 55 per cent. A
significant increase over last year. A significant increase over two years ago;
about a 60 per cent rise, in many ways. Analysts will tell you - mining analysts
and people who have been around in the industry for some time - that once you
get into that level of exploration commitments in the Province, and once that
sort of level and capacity of exploration money starts to be spent, that it is
not a matter of if anymore, it is just the matter of time of when some huge
developments are going to occur.
Now this year, what did we do for the mining industry? I know earlier this
year I appointed a ministerial advisory committee on mineral matters
representing all facets of the mining industry to work with the department, to
work with government, and, in particular, to work with myself as the minister,
to look at the types of programs and incentives that we could enhance or look at
that was needed in the industry.
Here is what they told us: Minister, we need to be a leader in the mineral
incentive program. We are competing, in particular, with the Province of Quebec
and the Province of Manitoba when it comes to exploration commitments. So, we
need to incent - and we understood that. If you look at the marketplace and the
price for base metals and the price for gold and the price for uranium, for
copper, for zinc, it is on the rise; being driven by an insatiable Chinese
market, primarily - other reasons, but primarily that - being driven by that
insatiable appetite. So now is the time, we felt, to invest in a significant way
to try to incent more exploration.
They told us that we needed to invest in our geoscience and our geotechnical
capability, that we needed to get up to scratch, or more capacity, from that
point of view. These are things the department was looking at anyway, but it was
nice to hear it back from the industry.
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MR. E. BYRNE: Yes, Mr. Speaker?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. member's time has expired.
MR. E. BYRNE: Just a second to clue up?
MR. SPEAKER: Leave as been asked to make some concluding comments.
AN HON. MEMBER: By leave.
MR. SPEAKER: Leave has been granted.
MR. E. BYRNE: Thank you.
I will clue up on the mining stuff and I will have a chance, maybe at another
point, to talk about the other divisions.
It was nice to hear the feedback from the industry in terms of what they
needed and what they wanted from us. We did two of those things: Historic
commitment on funding to the Mineral Incentive and JCEP Program. For every
dollar that we invest in that program we know that there is $1.41 invested back
in the Province. Not a bad return, I say to my colleagues.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. E. BYRNE: Two-and-a-half years ago there was about 2,400 people
employed in the industry. Today, we anticipate it could reach 3,200 to 3,300.
Where is that taking place? It is taking place in Labrador. It is taking place
in Central Newfoundland. It is taking place in rural Newfoundland and Labrador,
and we will continue to invest in that industry. We will continue to work and
watch the markets, and work with our ministerial advisory committee on mineral
matters; continue to work in partnership with the industry, so that maybe next
year, if we need to move in another direction to incent other opportunities,
then we will be a position to do that, Mr. Speaker.
So, on two fronts, with respect to the initiatives within the Budget, from
agrifoods and mining. These are tremendous industries that bring tremendous
wealth to rural parts of our Province; that help diversify and level out, in a
bigger way, and spread wealth out in a bigger way, to every nook and cranny in
Newfoundland and Labrador. The more that those industries grow, Mr. Speaker, the
more that rural Newfoundland and Labrador grows, and that is what we are about.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Grand Bank.
MS FOOTE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I consider it a privilege, actually, to have an opportunity to stand and
speak to the Budget. I have to say, I would have thought that most members in
the House of Assembly would have felt the same way, but having listened to the
Government House Leader today take thirteen of his twenty minutes - wasting
thirteen of his twenty minutes I would suggest - trying to determine who had
offered to step aside for the Liberal Party Leader to sit in the House of
Assembly, begs the question, Mr. Speaker, how serious they actually consider the
problems facing Newfoundland and Labrador, particularly rural Newfoundland and
Labrador. The Government House Leader, of all people on the other side of the
House, who would have wasted so much time on such a frivolous matter, to suggest
that he needs leave now or needed leave to focus on other divisions - when he
wasted thirteen minutes pointing to each member in the Opposition asking such a
ridiculous question when it is nobody's business but our own, who decided what
to do and for whom.
The reality of it, Mr. Speaker, is that of anybody, I would have expected
better from the Government House Leader. Maybe the Member for Lake Melville
would have gotten on with that foolishness, maybe the Member for Trinity North
or the Member for Gander, but not the Government House Leader, the person who is
supposed to be a role model, to set a standard in this House for the people in
this House, particularly those in the government side. Is it any wonder, Mr.
Speaker, that we have to question the sincerity of this government when it comes
to dealing with the serious issues facing the people of Newfoundland and
Labrador. They are serious issues, but you would never know that the government
understands these issues or even appreciates them from the time that the
Government House Leader took today to spend on such a frivolous matter, when you
have so many issues and so many people leaving this Province. It is really a sad
reflection on the Government House Leader in whom we have a lot of respect, whom
I had a lot of respect for, Mr. Speaker, up until I saw that charade today. I
have to question his understanding and appreciation for what is truly happening
in rural Newfoundland and Labrador.
I stand here because I represent a rural district, I represent the District
of Grand Bank, and I can tell you that there are hundreds of people, if they are
watching today, who would be amazed by the display that they saw by the
Government House Leader; a gentleman who will stand here and talk about
different initiatives that his department has undertaken that will help rural
Newfoundland and Labrador move ahead, that will help rural Newfoundland and
Labrador survive. To waste thirteen of twenty minutes doing nothing but that
silly charade, again people who are watching this, particularly rural
Newfoundland, would have to question the government's sincerity.
Lets talk about rural Newfoundland and Labrador, because that is what we have
to be concerned about. We have to talk about the thousands of people who are
leaving our Province, and it is primarily from rural Newfoundland and Labrador.
We talk about job fairs taking place in this Province where you have about 2,000
men and women lined up trying to find a job, looking to Alberta, looking to
Ontario, looking everywhere but in Newfoundland and Labrador, because the jobs
are not existing here, particularly when you look at what FPI is doing in this
Province. We have men and women leaving and taking their families with them. I
do not understand why the government does not understand the impact this will
have on our Province. It will have an impact on our Treasury, certainly, because
once the people leave that impacts on our equalization formulas, of course, and
the money that we get through our equalization formula. The fewer people, the
less money we get in this Province from the federal government, and of course,
the fewer people we have, the less money being spent in this Province, the less
money going back in the provincial Treasury to help with things like roads and
infrastructure, water and sewer, all of these very important services that are
needed in Newfoundland and Labrador.
I do not understand why the government is not acknowledging that this is a
serious issue. To have spent thirteen of twenty minutes talking about anything
but the serious issues facing this Province, when speaking to the Budget, shows
me, again, that this government does not have an appreciation for what is
happening, particularly in rural Newfoundland and to people whose families are
so adversely impacted by what is happening, and the fact that there are no jobs
here and people are lining up by the thousands trying to find employment
elsewhere.
We talk about shortage of skilled labour. Well, why is that? I know the
minister, when he read a Ministerial Statement the other day, talked about, you
know, how we are no different than any other province in this country. I will
bet you any money that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians would be working here in
Newfoundland and Labrador if the jobs were here. I do not know what would happen
in New Brunswick or what would happen in P.E.I. or Ontario or Alberta or any
other part of this country, but I know that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians
would much prefer to be working here at home where a lot of their family members
are. If we want to talk about the reality of the situation in terms of the lack
of a skilled workforce, it has nothing to do with the fact that people do not
want to be here or we haven't trained enough people. We have trained hundreds
and hundreds and hundreds of people to work in the trades in this Province, but
where are they? They are working in the trades in other parts of this country.
Why is that? Because jobs just do not exist here for them.
Here we have a government that says it is committed to helping create
employment opportunities, to working with the private sector to identify job
opportunities, in trying to diversify the economy, but it is not happening. If
it was happening, we wouldn't have a shortage of skilled workforce, we wouldn't
have 2,000 people lining up in the last number of days at various job fairs
wondering how they are going to support their families. We wouldn't have so
many people in Alberta wondering when they are going to be able to come home,
people by the way who were hinging every hope on the Hebron/Ben Nevis pilot
project going ahead, people who were hoping that they would be able to come
home. Now, of course, they are having to rethink their futures as well.
It is a serious issue and I would expect the government to take it seriously.
After today's display by the Government House Leader, I have to question
whether or not they are really taking this seriously. Anybody watching today
would have to be of the same opinion.
Let's talk about the fishery, because the fishery today is a shadow of what
it has been in the past. We have so few people actually working in the fishery
that we would have to question why that is and why this government hasn't been
more aggressive in dealing with one of the largest employers in the Province,
and that is Fisheries Products International.
I heard the MP for Random-Burin-St. George's actually say this morning that
he was shocked that the Speech from the Throne federally had no mention
whatsoever of the fishery, none whatsoever, despite Prime Minister Harper coming
to this Province and talking about offshore jurisdiction, that he really was
going to push that, that he was going to make sure that was taken care of. We
talked about, when he was here, an early retirement plan, but we are not hearing
it now. There was no mention in the Throne Speech federally - but we shouldn't
be surprised, Mr. Speaker, that there was no mention of the fishery in the
Throne Speech federally, because if we look at our own Throne Speech here, two
lines on the fishery. Two lines on the fishery in the Throne Speech. It says,
"Together, we will also work to ensure that we benefit from our natural
resources, particularly our important fish resources, through increased
investments and resource, product and market development." That is one
line. Second line, "We will also contribute to the recovery and future
management of cod, which have been, and will continue to be, vital to our
Province's future prosperity." Two lines about the fishery, the fishery
that has been the backbone of the economy of this Province since this Province
existed.
Lo and behold - well, today we finally managed to get the Premier to his feet
on the issue. I expect that is probably the first time in a long time because,
even though the questions have been put to him, he has usually let the Minister
of Fisheries take them. Today he stood, and I was actually hoping that he would
answer my colleague's questions; but, no, no answers about this most important
resource industry in our Province. No answers that people could take any comfort
from, anyone watching out in the Province, looking at this today, expecting to
hear from their Premier what exactly his plans are with respect to the fishery.
No answers. In fact, it became more of a personal attack.
What I have said time and time before, personal attacks say more about the
person making them than about the person about whom they are being made. I say
that the Premier, whenever he gets on with his foolishness of, instead of
answering questions, being personal in his responses.
I know that on the Burin Peninsula people are hurting. I know that people are
leaving, and that is hurting even more. It is hurting the Burin Peninsula, it is
hurting the entire Province, because you have to realize that when an area of
the Province is doing well, and because, of course, we do not have all of the
different services available in rural parts of our Province that you would find
on the Avalon Peninsula, you will find people coming in from the different
peninsulas, in to the Avalon Peninsula, to shop, to spend their hard-earned
money, and it is not happening. It is not happening because the money is not
being made, and there is no money to be made, on the Burin Peninsula, especially
when you consider that FPI said it is getting out of the groundfish fishery.
They have closed Fortune, just like they closed down Harbour Breton.
We have maybe half a workforce being considered for Marystown, and then only
because there are 115 positions - not 350 positions, but 115 positions. So, what
does that tell you about the length of time that these people will actually get
in terms of work? Very little. FPI has just washed its hands of the workforce on
the Burin Peninsula, people who have worked so hard to help build this company.
What is the government doing about it? Absolutely nothing. Rhetoric, that is
all we get. Promises to do this, and promises to do that. Then they talk about a
Budget and talk about, in glowing terms, what they are doing to build rural
regions.
Well, I read it and I can tell you that, as I read all of these points with
respect to building rural regions, all I could think about were the people in my
district, in Burin-Placentia West, on the entire Burin Peninsula, who do not
know but any of this is good to eat. They know it is not good to eat, though.
They know, because they know, as good as the government makes this sound, or
wants it to appear to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, especially those in
rural Newfoundland - and they talk about, you know, aquaculture. That is
primarily for rural Newfoundland and Labrador but, be realistic, it is going to
take time. It is going to take time.
What happens in the interim? What happens to all of these people that FPI has
put out of work? So, while you can speak in glowing terms about your
initiatives, and how important they are, you must acknowledge that this is not
going to help people who are hurting today. What do we do? Cut them adrift? It
is not their fault.
We have a piece of legislation in this House of Assembly that governs FPI, an
act. It is the only company, so far yet, anyway - I don't know what the
Premier plans to do about oil and gas, but so far it is the only company - that
is governed by
an act of this House, and that is for a very good reason. That is
for a very good reason. This company was created by taxpayers' dollars. Both
federal and provincial governments came together and created a company that
would ensure stability of employment in this Province, in rural Newfoundland and
Labrador in particular. That is why we have the FPI Act. That is why the
government has authority. That is why the government can come back to this House
and amend that act, and strengthen it, to make sure that FPI does not continue
to ride roughshod over Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. But what is this
government doing? Absolutely nothing. Absolutely nothing. They will stand in the
House and say: Oh, we can do this. We can do this. We keep saying: Well, if you
can do it, do it.
MR. REID: What are they waiting for?
MS FOOTE: What are you waiting for? Until we turn off the lights and put
the gate up to the Burin Peninsula? We know what is happening on the Connaigre
Peninsula. Harbour Breton doesn't have a prayer, and it is going to happen on
the Burin Peninsula as well. FPI has already said: No plans for Fortune.
Do you know something? The employees of FPI at the plant in Fortune are still
hopeful, are still hopeful that this government will come back and make
amendments to the FPI legislation, that they will say to FPI: If you want to
continue to operate in this Province and enjoy the access to the quotas that you
have, then you have to consider reopening the plant in Fortune. You have to
consider making sure that the workforce continues in Marystown. You have to
acknowledge that these people are the ones who helped to build your company.
Instead, we are not seeing that, and I can only imagine what the powers-to-be
at FPI - I think the committee now actually are kind of making all the decisions
at FPI, actually comprised of John Risley, Rex Anthony, a good Newfoundland, and
George Armoyan. Those are the three individuals now who are determining what is
going to happen with FPI, and it begs the question: When is the government going
to step up to the plate, just like the Premier has done now with the oil and gas
sector? He is being forceful, he is being determined, and he is playing his
cards right, but why can't he do the same for the fishery? Why is it that he
does not have the same level of commitment or show the same interest in the
issues around the fishery as he does around oil and gas? Maybe it is not as
sexy. Maybe it is not something that you can get as excited about if you have
never lived in rural Newfoundland and Labrador; if you have never stood shoulder
to shoulder with people in rural Newfoundland and Labrador; if you have never
had a discussion with someone from rural Newfoundland and Labrador about how the
crisis in the fishery is impacting their lives. Maybe that is why the Premier
cannot relate to what is happening in the fishery. But I am begging him, I am
imploring on behalf of the people that I represent, and the people on the entire
Burin Peninsula and the Bonavista peninsula - because if I were in Bonavista
today, I would have no level of comfort that I would there tomorrow working at a
plant for FPI. No level of comfort whatsoever.
So, on behalf of rural Newfoundland and Labrador, those communities that
survive because of the fishery, I am asking the Premier to get personally
involved. I know Allan Moulton of the FFAW has said that they have asked the
Member for Burin-Placentia West to speak to the Premier, to get a meeting with
him; not with the Minister of Fisheries or the Acting Minister of Fisheries, or
with their member, for that matter, because they speak to him, I understand,
fairly often, but they want to speak to the Premier. They need to hear from the
Premier.
I understand that the Member for Burin-Placentia West was actually put in
Cabinet because of the dire situation on the Burin Peninsula. I do not know what
that says about the member from the Northern Peninsula or Bonavista, but,
particularly, the Northern Peninsula because that is a serious, serious issue,
what is going on in the Northern Peninsula as well. But, anyway, I am pleased we
have someone from the Burin Peninsula in Cabinet, but it is not producing
results. Two weeks and no meeting with the Premier, when you have a peninsula
that is dying down there. The meeting still hasn't happened. So, I do not know
what it is, what is going on here, why the fishery is not getting the same
attention as the oil and gas sector, but both, I would venture to guess or I
would say, at least in my opinion, are equal, and should be receiving the same
treatment. Because I can tell you, that you can be flushed with cash but when
you look at rural Newfoundland and Labrador -
MR. SPEAKER (Fitzgerald): Order, please!
I remind the hon. Member for Grand Bank that her time for speaking has
lapsed.
MS FOOTE: Leave, Mr. Speaker?
MR. SPEAKER: By leave? Does the hon. member have leave?
AN HON. MEMBER: By leave.
MR. SPEAKER: By leave.
MS FOOTE: Thank you.
I appreciate the time to clue up.
Again, I say when you talk about the fishery and oil and gas and all the
money that will flow to this Province, or is expected to flow to this Province -
I guess it will not be as much if we do not get the deal on the Hebron-Ben Nevis
- but with the oil and gas money that we are looking forward to, you know, so
little of that - the benefits of that are not seen in rural Newfoundland and
Labrador.
The fishery is important. I do not know how many more times or how many ways
I can say it. It is important. I do not know if you have to be from rural
Newfoundland and Labrador to understand that, to appreciate that, if you have to
actually live among people who work in the fishery to understand that and
appreciate that, but it is. Take my word for it, it is important.
When we talk about tourism being an alternative; sure, tourism is important
to this Province, but, you know, we don't get a lot of tourists in this
Province during the winter season, not as many as we would like to get, and they
are selective about where they go. In terms of the fishery, it has been and
should remain the backbone of the economy in rural Newfoundland and Labrador,
and it can if this government will make the right decisions, be more aggressive
on this file, and if the Premier will give this file the same attention he has
given to the oil and gas file. They are equally important. One shouldn't be
getting the Premier's attention more than the other. That is what I am asking
the Premier today.
You talk about your Budget, you talk in glowing terms about the money that
you are putting into initiatives that you say will be helpful to rural
Newfoundland and Labrador. Well, maybe they will be down the road, but I am
asking you today to think of the people who are lining up at job fairs looking
for employment opportunities because they want to work. We all know that the
majority of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are hard-working people and they
want to work. The reality is they want to work in their own Province. I repeat
again, there wouldn't be a shortage of skilled labour if the jobs were here.
There wouldn't be a shortage of skilled labour if this government, working
with the private sector supporting existing businesses in this Province, came
out with a strategy, because they are really good at strategies. Why don't you
come up with a strategy to help existing businesses in this Province to maybe
hire more Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, maybe to even pay them more. At
least our people would have employment opportunities at home and we wouldn't
have to worry about a shortage of skilled labour.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The hon. the Member for Mount Pearl.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. DENINE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Today, I am pleased to get up and talk on the Budget that was presented last
week.
Mr. Speaker, I listened to the hon. Member for Grand Bank and all of the
sudden for two and a half years we were responsible for everything that is
happening here today. The out-migration occurred in the mid-1990s, on through
the mid-1990s, and into the early 2000s. Mr. Speaker, what happened was, they
never had any vision beyond one year at a time. That was evident in all of their
budgets that they brought in, because all of the budgets that they brought in
were either on one-time money or false expectations. They know themselves that
when they brought in budgets they would take from the roads agreement, the Roads
for Rail agreement, one-time equalization payments, with no thought, Mr.
Speaker, of where the money is going to come tomorrow. They spent the money as
they saw fit.
Mr. Speaker, they also mentioned, over there across the way, they talked
about different places like Harbour Breton. What they want to do is, they want
to leave the impression that we have closed the door on Harbour Breton. Mr.
Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth. We have not closed the door on
Harbour Breton. As a matter of fact, we are actively pursuing every opportunity
we can to help Harbour Breton.
They talk about Stephenville, the number of people, when the plant closed
down there. The Stephenville mill was not closed down because of the lack of
effort of this government.
MR. E. BYRNE: We actually signed a deal.
MR. DENINE: We signed a deal. We gave it everything they wanted. Then
they went to the union to see what else they could get. It was not the fault of
this government. All of our efforts that we put on the table, all of the things
that they wanted on the table, were there because that is what they asked for.
That was not this government's fault; that was Abitibi.
Mr. Speaker, right after the Budget Speech, I had to do an interview with CBC.
It was myself, the hon. Member for Grand Falls-Buchans, and the hon. Member for
Labrador West. The hon. Member for Grand Falls-Buchans, who is the Finance
critic -
MS THISTLE: Buchans.
MR. DENINE: Buchans, that is what I said. Put on your earpiece, because
you are probably not hearing correctly.
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MR. DENINE: Her first comment was, Mr. Speaker, there is nothing here for
the ordinary Newfoundlander and Labradorian in that Budget Speech. She says it
is true, but she never once, in her speech for four hours, mentioned that,
because she did not want to defend that issue, because there is an awful lot in
here for ordinary Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.
This speech was a good speech, a good Budget Speech, and it was accepted very
well, Mr. Speaker, in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. DENINE: They said, tell us a few things. If the hon. Member for
Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair would stop there and listen, I will tell her a few
things on what went on in this Budget.
What happened, Mr. Speaker, in this Budget, there was a one-time infusion of
money of $100 million into education, the biggest infusion of money in the
history of Newfoundland and Labrador - one-time money. We saved 151 teaching
positions in Newfoundland and Labrador. I ask you: Are they not ordinary
Newfoundlanders and Labradorians? The answer to that is yes, they are. Ask the
NLTA and they are 110 per cent supportive of this.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MR. DENINE: Mr. Speaker, we are also reviewing the teacher allocation
formula. There will be an independent committee to look at that. They will come
back with recommendations to the minister, and that will be brought forth to
Cabinet and on to caucus for consideration
Mr. Speaker, when they do that review, are they doing that for the ordinary
Newfoundlander and Labradorian? The answer to that is, yes, they are doing that
for the ordinary Newfoundlander and Labradorian. So that is another thing that
is there for ordinary Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.
The next one is the review of the ISSP. The Pathways system that is in our
current education system, they need support. We listened to the teachers. We
listened to what they wanted, and we are going to put a committee together to
come back with recommendations.
Mr. Speaker, those are children within our system who need a different stream
of education to achieve their goals in life, to become educated, to become
productive members of society, to feel good about themselves, to get their
morale up, and their ideas about themselves moving forward. Is that not ordinary
Newfoundlanders and Labradorians? The answer to that is, yes, of course it is.
There is no question about it, they are ordinary Newfoundlanders and
Labradorians, because they cover every part of this Province of Newfoundland and
Labrador. Every district represented by every member in this House has some sort
of affiliation with all of that. The teachers, the ISSP, and the allocation
formula, that is for ordinary Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.
AN HON. MEMBER: Some of our most vulnerable Newfoundlanders and
Labradorians.
MR. DENINE: The most vulnerable is right, my colleague.
Mr. Speaker, we are also looking at school fees, $6.3 million elimination of
school fees within our school system. That is a very, very excellent strategy,
an excellent announcement, and I know the hon. critic from Port de Grave would
certainly support that because, when he got up to speak on the Budget - and I
will tell you right now, I think when it comes to the vote on the Budget he is
going to support this. He is going to support the Budget because there are a lot
of good things in that, and he is nodding his head. There are a lot of good
things, and I thank him for that.
The school fees elimination does an awful lot of things, and I want to take a
little thing the minister said during the press conference. She alluded to the
fact that, when children go to school in September, they are all dressed in
their fine clothes. The parents, the guardians, are going out buying new clothes
for them to go to school. Mr. Speaker, that is a financial burden on each parent
and each guardian in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. When they go to
school, what happens is that they feel good about themselves because they are
back talking to their friends. Then, all of a sudden, what happens is that they
then have to say to their parents or guardians: We have to come up with $50 or
$60 or $70 for school fees.
All of a sudden, because of the fact that they had to spend the money on all
the new materials that they needed for school, like clothes, et cetera, et
cetera, the parents are saying: Well, what is going to happen? Where am I going
to get the other money to come with that? Where am I going to get the money to
come up with the school fees? Then they go back to the school the next day and
they feel bad because they do not have money for school fees.
Mr. Speaker, that now is eliminated. That now is no longer in existence. As
of September, there will be no more school fees. I ask the question to the
Finance critic from Grand Falls-Buchans: Are they not ordinary Newfoundlanders
and Labradorians?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. DENINE: They certainly are ordinary Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.
Do they all come from urban areas? The answer to that is, no. This is
Province-wide, urban and rural, so when they get on the bandwagon over there,
the soapbox, and say there is nothing there for rural Newfoundland, I just
mentioned four or five things that are both for rural Newfoundland and urban
Newfoundland, Newfoundland and Labrador as a whole, not just segregated in any
way, shape or form, but Newfoundland and Labrador as a whole. That is what we
are doing over here, and we have vision because we are doing that.
Mr. Speaker, we are also doing a task force on skills, a Skills Task Force,
and that is going to basically lay the ground work for us to see what we are
going to need for skills in the future.
AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).
MR. DENINE: No, hon. Member for Port de Grave: You may be used to putting
reports on the shelves but we are not. Check our Blue Book and we are there.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. DENINE: Mr. Speaker, that Skills Task Force will come back with a
vision of where we want to be in the future. Now, if the previous government had
any vision, we would not be in a lot of the problems we have here today. They
talk about out-migration and lack of skills. Lack of skills did not occur in
exactly two-and-one-half years when this government took over. It never did.
There was a long term lack of interest in developing skills, and that was the
thirteen years by the previous government: No vision, no forethought, nothing to
see what would happen to Newfoundland and Labrador in the future. That is
exactly what happened, lack of vision and lack of leadership.
Mr. Speaker, we are also putting millions of dollars into the university and
the College of the North Atlantic; $45 million approximately going to the
College of the North Atlantic and Memorial University -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. DENINE: - long time overdue! - for infrastructure and operating
expenses.
Now, what happened is that I was talking to a gentleman the other day - I
will not tell you who he was, but there was a new building built in the St. John's
area and since the building was opened there has not been one dollar spent on
the infrastructure of that building. It was left to decay. They built it and
ignored it. That is what happened, and that is what happened, Mr. Speaker, last
year when we had an infusion of $16 million to do with the envelope of the
schools in Newfoundland and Labrador because they were neglected for so many
years. Mr. Speaker, did we not do that for ordinary Newfoundlanders and
Labradorians? We certainly did.
Mr. Speaker, there is another thing that we did. A couple of weeks ago we
made an investment that was never made before in the history of Newfoundland and
Labrador, and that was the $17.6 million provided for the cultural grant.
AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).
MR. DENINE: Yes, capital expenditures; $17.6 million to our cultural
societies of Newfoundland and Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. DENINE: Mr. Speaker, that was for ordinary Newfoundlanders and
Labradorians, both urban and rural.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. DENINE: Mr. Speaker, if you had to see the announcement that was made
and see the expression on their faces - there was people literally with tears in
their eyes. It was the first time that they were recognized by the government as
an investment in the future of Newfoundland and Labrador. That was important.
Mr. Speaker, I would love to be one of those people who could sing and dance
and whatever, but unfortunately I lack those skills. Probably some people say I
lack a lot of other skills, but that is okay, that is up to question. Mr.
Speaker, I look at this as an enhancement of Newfoundland and Labrador. Think
about the accolades that all our performers have given. I look at my own school
that I retired from, O'Donel High. I witnessed AIDA that they put off and, Mr.
Speaker, it was absolutely fantastic. It was great skills, excellent
workmanship. The people who put it on, the directors were fantastic, the kids
sang, the actors were just superb. That is only one small minute overlook of
what the talent of Newfoundland and Labrador is. The Ennis Sisters, Great Big
Sea, Kevin Collins, Buddy Waisname and the Other Fellers, and I hate going on
because there are so many more there that are excellent embassadors of
Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.
Mr. Speaker, I ask you again: Is this not for ordinary Newfoundlanders and
Labradorians? Yes, sir, it is. I hope the critic, the Finance Critic, the Member
for Grand Falls-Buchans, will have the -
AN HON. MEMBER: Fortitude.
MR. DENINE: - fortitude - that is a good word, thank you - to come back
and say that Budget was for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, the ordinary
people.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. DENINE: Mr. Speaker, then we go on to a number of other issues. Our
strategy was to put more money into health care. That is a strategy that - I
hate to use the word strategy because it is foreign to the other side. As the
Finance Critic pointed out, she could not understand the word surplus. What was
surplus or a balanced budget? They never brought in a balanced budget with any
vision. They brought in balanced budgets on one time money. That had no vision,
Mr. Speaker.
Fifteen point six million dollars in new funding to be invested to prevent
and treat cancer; $3.3 million, Mr. Speaker, for two new bunkers to house two
new radiation treatment machines at the Dr. Bliss Murphy Centre for Cancer, two
- not one, two. Mr. Speaker, we did not put one dialysis machine in Newfoundland
and Labrador, we did not put two, we put three. The reason why I put it that way
is because it brings back the vision of Mr. Smallwood, and they will certainly
understand that part of it. We put three dialysis units in Newfoundland and
Labrador, one in Happy Valley, one in St. Anthony and one on the Burin
Peninsula. Now I ask them again: Is that not for ordinary Newfoundlanders and
Labradorians? That is what it is. That is for ordinary Newfoundlanders and
Labradorians, let there be no mistake about it.
Mr. Speaker, a number of years ago, in our first Budget when we came in, it
was a very difficult budget. There was no doubt about that, it was difficult.
AN HON. MEMBER: No.
MR. DENINE: Now they say no. See will they agree with this part of it,
because they never owned up to this agreement. What about the $900 million
deficit that they left? Do I hear no on that one? No, because they have not
owned up to that, they totally disowned that. Mr. Speaker, when there is
something announced on this side: Oh, that was a Liberal initiative. Well, what
about the $900 million deficit? Wasn't that a Liberal initiative, I ask you?
MR. TAYLOR: They had lots of initiatives, they just did not get around to
implementing them.
MR. DENINE: That is right. Exactly.
Mr. Speaker, if you remember when our Budget came in, the cancer unit had to
be postponed in Grand Falls-Windsor. We sat back on that and they hammered us on
it.
AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).
MR. DENINE: From Windsor-Springdale - that hon. member put an awful lot
of thought, an awful lot of exercise and an awful lot of energy, into getting
that for Grand Falls-Windsor. Let me tell you, it was not the other side.
Mr. Speaker, the point I am going to make on this is very simple.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order please!
The hon. the Member for Mount Pearl.
MR. DENINE: I guess the truth hurts, Mr. Speaker. What was that movie? An
Officer and a Gentleman , you cannot handle the truth.
Now, Mr. Speaker, go back to my point. That had to be postponed and they were
up dancing on their chairs. This side of the House understood that because we
knew the necessity for that. Now, what do we have today? What do we have today
for our money? We have two, one in Grand Falls-Windsor and one in Gander. A
better vision than was put over there.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. DENINE: Again, I ask you, because the Finance critic from Grand
Falls-Buchans said there is nothing here for ordinary Newfoundlanders and
Labradorians. I ask the question again: Is that not for ordinary Newfoundlanders
and Labradorians? The answer to that is, categorically, yes.
Mr. Speaker, there has been a significant number - I am going to move on to
another topic, if I could. I see you looking at your watch and I know the time
is drawing near, but that is okay. I have a few more other things to talk about.
I am glad the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair is here to listen. She
asked me: Enlighten me as to what was in the Budget. I hope I have done that so
far. There are a few more things to come, so do not turn me off just yet.
Mr. Speaker, there will be an unprecedented investment in excess of $2
billion to modernize the Province's infrastructure and continue to grow our
economy over the next six years. Two billion dollars! Not millions, two billion.
Not one, not two - yes, it is two. I am sorry, I thought we had three.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. DENINE: I thought we had three!
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MR. DENINE: Mr. Speaker, thank God they are alive over there because I
said that with vision. I said that statement with vision.
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
I remind the hon. Member for Mount Pearl that his time for speaking has
lapsed.
MR. DENINE: By leave?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
Does the member have leave?
AN HON. MEMBER: By leave.
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. member by leave.
MR. DENINE: I said that for two reasons. One, I know we put $2 billion
over the next six years, but I know there will be another billion over the next
six years, so there is your three.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. DENINE: There is your $3 billion. It is not because it was not there,
it is that we had vision for the future.
One-hundred and forty-two point two million dollars for road construction
programs. Mr. Speaker, this is a very integral part of the whole infrastructure
of the Province. When we talk about economic development and how we are going to
grow this Province, we need a road network to make it happen. This here -
AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).
MR. DENINE: One minute, okay.
Mr. Speaker, the spinoff from that $142.2 million is going to be enormous.
Where is that money going to go? One, it is going to help the transportation
network of this Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Two, it is going to help
the workers who work on those projects of Newfoundland and Labrador. The third
one I am going to get to because that is a bit of vision and they do not know
that.
Mr. Speaker, I am going to clue up with this. The critic from Grand Falls-Buchans
said: There is nothing here for the ordinary Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. I
have spoken for twenty minutes on this - and probably a little bit longer
because of leave - but I ask this question, and I ask it very sincerely, because
this is a Budget that is embraced by all of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. Is
this Budget not for ordinary Newfoundlanders and Labradorians? The answer to
that is, categorically, yes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MR. REID: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I always enjoy listening to the Member for Mount Pearl because I am supposed
to speak for an hour here this afternoon and I said to my colleague across the
floor there, the Government House Leader, I did not know what I could fill an
hour with, but listening the Member for Mount Pearl, I guarantee you, we could
speak for days. But, Mr. Speaker, before I get into that - maybe I will bring up
his name throughout this speech in reference to some of the comments that he
just made, especially pertaining to education.
First of all, I am a student of history, and in order to figure out where we
are today in this Budget, I guess, you have to look at where we came from or
from where we have come. In thinking about that, and having been around awhile
and studying politics along with history, I realize more and more everyday that
today's Premier - in campaigning and the promises that he has made, that he
made during campaigning - probably pulled the biggest con game or shell game in
the history of democracy. Because it is well known, Mr. Speaker, and it is a
well-known trick - I say to Member for Mount Pearl, if he would listen he might
understand or learn something. But it is a well-known trick of politicians that
when you form a new government or when you defeat a government, the first thing
you have to do - because you have made so many promises you know that you cannot
live up to the commitments or the promises that you have made. So the first
thing you have to do is come in and get someone to look at the books and then
tell them, when you get them in to look at it, make sure that you come out with
such an astronomical deficit that we cannot honour our promises, and that is
exactly what this Premier did. He campaigned and made promises all over the
Province.
In fact, Mr. Speaker, there was a lady on Fogo Island who told me, she said:
Gerry, the next time you campaign, go out and make the same promises that the
Premier made because whenever he ever ran into a group or an individual who
asked for something during the election, he checked it off and said: No problem.
I will do this.
What did he do just after forming government? The first thing he did was hire
a group of financial so-called experts on the mainland, chartered accountants,
to come down here and change the way of accounting; inflated deficits, showed a
totally different set of books that were ever there before. Then, all of a
sudden - then he made the famous speech on provincial-wide television talking
about the state of the economy -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
There has been a lot of shouting back and forth the House as members have
been identified by the Chair. I say to all members, that every member of this
House is entitled to speak for at least twenty minutes on the Budgetary Debate.
I ask members if they would hold their comments and hold their enthusiasm until
they are recognized by the Chair and show the member who has been identified to
speak some courtesy in being allowed to speak in silence.
MR. REID: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, because that is what I tried to do when
they were up speaking.
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. REID: Mr. Speaker, that January evening when the Premier came on
provincial-wide television and talked about the massive debt that his
great-grandchildren were going to end up paying off and as a result of that
massive debt, not only was he not going to be able to honour his commitments,
but here is what he had to do. The first thing he said was the civil service -
right out of nowhere, after telling the civil service that he would not do
anything without consulting them first. The first thing he said was: there would
be no raise for the civil service ; on that night in January.
Well, the Minister of Finance and the Premier got together shortly after that
and in the Budget of 2004, as we will all remember: What happened? First of all,
while the Budget was coming down I think we had somewhere in the area of 20,000
civil servants out on the street here in the Province. And what did he do? He
laid off how many civil servants? I ask the hon. members opposite, who are in
the government, who sit with the Minister of Finance, how many did he lay off?
Because, at one point, he was talking 4,000. At one point he was talking about
laying off 4,000 civil servants in this Province. I know for a fact that he laid
off 500 teachers, or 489 teachers. That is what he laid off, Mr. Speaker. What
else did he do? What else did he do because of his inflated Budget deficit? He
went around the Province, especially in rural parts of the Province, and what
did he do? He started closing things, cutting services, and raising fees.
Let's talk about what he cut. He walked into my district, for example, and
he closed the courthouse. He walked into my district and he closed the social
services office, and my district was not the only one, I say. There were many on
the other side, on the government side of the floor, who lost social services
offices, who lost courthouses, because I know that my colleague, the Member for
Bonavista North, whose district abuts mine, lost a social services office. I
think you probably lost a courthouse, too, I say to the hon. member. No, because
you never had one, that is right. You lost a driver examiner and a whole host of
things. Besides cutting these services that were provided under Liberal
governments in the past, besides cutting those services, what did they do? They
raised the fee for every other service that was provided to Newfoundlanders and
Labradorians, but especially those in the rural parts of the Province.
Mr. Speaker, what else did they do? They closed thirteen highways depots in
the Province. Where are they closed, I say to the Member for Mount Pearl, the
one who gets up and waxes eloquently about all this government has done for
rural Newfoundland and Labrador? It is not difficult to do that, sitting in
Mount Pearl. It is not difficult to do that, sitting in Mount Pearl, when he
gets up and he cannot even pronounce the word Buchans because he has never been
there and does not know where it is, Mr. Speaker.
What did he do? He cut the services. He cut the highways depots. You have all
heard, this winter, what has happened as a result of those highway closures. We
all know what has happened. In fact, Mr. Speaker, some people went so far as to
say that some fatal accidents were caused this year as a result of some of those
highways depots being closed. Some people have gone that far, to say that, Mr.
Speaker.
He increased every single fee that government had charged the people of this
Province. In fact, he even went further than that because, knowing the Minister
of Finance, he is not going to be outdone. He is a competitive individual. I
know; I go to the gym with him. The people over there are worried, the people
who work at the gym, because he is so competitive that, after not going to the
gym for years and years and years, he goes over, jumps on a treadmill, puts her
on bust, and he goes flat out. His color is so purple that they are worried that
someone is going to have to do mouth-to-mouth on him one of these nights. I am
not kidding you, they are worried about him.
Anyway, Mr. Speaker, not to be sidetracked -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
If the shouting continues across the House, the Chair will have no other
recourse but to identify the people who are causing the disturbance. I ask if
members would show respect to the member who has been identified, and allow the
member to be heard in silence.
MR. REID: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I hope you do identify them. Maybe I will do it.
Mr. Speaker, not to be outdone, because he has such a competitive spirit, not
only did he raise every single fee that an individual in this Province has to
pay for a government service, but he had to come up with a new one. He had to
come up with a new fee that was never charged before. He had to find one. Now,
where did he go to find it? Because, from the day you are born, you pay for a
birth certificate and you pay for everything that is provided by government in
some fee or another, right to the rabbit licence and the polar bear licence. He
had to outdo everybody else and not only raise every fee but he had to dream up
a new one. Guess what he came up with, Mr. Speaker? He knew that he got you
coming into the world but, guess what? Every politician before him in the
history of this Province forgot about getting you on the way out. So, what did
he do? He brought in a new fee. He brought in a new fee, a death certificate.
Now, can you imagine? Personally, that doesn't bother me because I would go
out laughing, after I die, and say, well, that is one fee the government did not
get from me; but, unfortunately, if I leave anything - my house, to my children
- in order to settle the estate with government, they are going to be caught
with the fee.
So, what did they do? They cut civil servants, they fired teachers, they
closed courthouses, social services offices, highways depots. They jacked up
every fee. Instead of decreasing the ferry rates, like the Premier promised, on
every island community in the Province, he raised them. Then what happened?
By the way, in the Budget of 2003, the government of which I was a part, and
proud to be a part - because, contrary to what the Member for Mount Pearl says
about we did nothing for education, I beg to differ. In the last three years
that we were in government we spent in the area of $250 million in those three
years on new school construction and school renovations alone. I