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March 9, 2020

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLIX No. 30

The

House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Reid):

Order, please!

Admit

strangers.

In the

Speaker's gallery today, I would like to welcome Julia Evans, who is the subject

of a Member's statement this afternoon. Julia is joined by family members

Leonard Evans Sr., Len Evans, Michelle Evans, Stephanie Evans and Carol Evans.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Also in the Speaker's

gallery, I would like to recognize Mr. Dean Ingram, President of the

Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers' Association. He is visiting for a

Ministerial Statement today.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

In the public gallery, I

would like to welcome students from Mount Pearl Senior High school's consumer

studies class 1202. They are accompanied by their teachers, Mr. Jim Locke and

Dennis Keaveney.

Also in

the public gallery, Jenne Nolan, Policy and Partnership Coordinator of the St.

John's Status of Women Council here for a Member's statement today. Also, Deputy

Mayor, David Dove, of Crow Head.

Welcome

all.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

Statements by

Members

MR. SPEAKER:

Today we will hear Members'

statements by the hon. Members for the Districts of St. John's Centre, Topsail -

Paradise, Placentia West - Bellevue, Torngat Mountains and Mount Scio.

The

Member for St. John's Centre.

MR. J. DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Malala

Yousafzai said, “I raise up my voice – not so that I can shout, but so that

those without a voice can be heard.”

Since

1972, the St. John's Status of Women Council/Women's Centre has been a strong

feminist voice for women in the metro region. More importantly, it empowers

women to use their own voices to advocate for themselves.

The Safe

Harbour Outreach Project, or SHOP, advocates for the rights, mental health and

physical well-being of sex workers. The Right Here, Right Now program offers

drop-in counselling for women facing mental health issues, trauma, domestic

violence and other marginalizing issues. Marguerite's Place provides safe

supportive housing for women unable to live independently and helps them move

towards independence. The DV@Work NL project addresses the impact of domestic

violence on our workplaces.

Yesterday, we celebrated International Women's Day and the 25th anniversary of

the Beijing Declaration, which established a progressive roadmap for the

empowerment of women and girls everywhere.

I ask

Members of this House to join me in recognizing the progressive work of the

small but dedicated staff of the Status of Women Council/Women's Centre who

speak to the issues facing women and who empower women to raise up their own

voices.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Topsail - Paradise.

MR. P. DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. John

Lawlor is a lead hand with the Town of Paradise in the wonderful District of

Topsail - Paradise. In 2016, while on the job, Mr. Lawlor came across a pothole

that posed a danger to motorists. Having no way of fixing the pothole nor any

signage, the only thing in his truck were some sandbags normally used to provide

weighted bases to temporary signs. He took these bright orange bags from his

truck and placed them in the pothole. The bright-coloured sandbags would alert

motorists of the pothole and, at the same time, decreasing the chance of an

accident or vehicle damage.

This

process caught on as a way to manage potholes until they could be repaired

properly and, in fact, has been done by other municipalities throughout Canada.

Innovation does not have to be technical nor complex. It simply means thinking

outside the box to find a solution to a problem.

I ask

all Members in this House to recognize the ingenuity of Mr. Lawlor for a very

simple solution to a common problem that has saved motorists thousands of

dollars in damages and prevented potential accidents.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Placentia West - Bellevue.

MR. DWYER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

today to tell the stories of Mr. Max Eddy and Mr. Nelson Rose from our beautiful

District of Placentia West - Bellevue.

Max Eddy

was clearing snow near Arnold's Pond when he observed somebody fall through the

ice. Max ran to the pond, crossed the ice, calling out to the boy, Ethen

Mulrooney. Max fell through the ice, but got back on the ice and crawled to pull

Ethen onto the ice to safety. Once they reached safety, he got up and put Ethen

on his back and carried him to shore.

At Terra

Nova Lake, Nelson Rose, our second hero, observed three children playing on a

raft which had drifted into the middle of the lake, when the wind freshened. Two

children made it shore, but one child, Jenna Phillips, fell into the lake

holding the raft. Nelson noticed a Sea-Doo on the beach and owner Gary Briffett

launched it and raced to the child. They circled the area twice and saw no sign

of Jenna and feared the worst. Circling again, they saw a hand and an arm rise

up through the waves and pulled Jenna to safety.

Due to

selfless acts of these men, I had the opportunity to present them with their

bravery awards. I ask all hon. Members to join me in congratulating our local

heroes, Mr. Eddy and Mr. Rose.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Torngat Mountains.

MS. EVANS:

Thank you.

I rise

today to pay tribute to Julia Dicker of Nain. Julia graduated in 2019 from Jens

Haven Memorial School of Nain and is currently attending her first year at

Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Although

Julia is only in her first year of university, she has already demonstrated that

she's a tremendous role model to Labrador Inuit of all ages. Her dedication to

her Inuit culture and to her people is mirrored by her dedication to her

academic studies.

I stand

today to recognize this young woman. Her academic accomplishments to date

include being awarded the Memorial University 50-year anniversary scholarship,

the electoral scholarship for the District of Torngat Mountains, the Vale

scholarship for academic achievement, the Nunatsiavut Group of Companies

scholarship award, the top level III student award provided by Jens Haven

Memorial School and the last award has great emotional significance to the

people of Nain: the Jason Webb Pursuit of Excellence award presented to the top

graduating student in Nain.

Everyone

who knows Julia is very proud of her and we all wish her every success in her

future endeavours. Please join me in congratulating this young woman on her

accomplishments.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount

Scio.

MS. STOODLEY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

C-O-N-S-I-D-E-R-A-B-L-E, considerable, that is the word that my constituent

Julia Evans spelled a few weeks ago and won the provincial 2020 Telegram

Spelling Bee.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS. STOODLEY:

Julia out-spelled 87 other

finalist from 45 schools across Newfoundland and Labrador and I'm honoured that

Julia and her family are able to join us today in the Speaker's gallery.

As the

provincial spelling champion, Julia wins $2,000 and gets to travel to Washington

for the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Julia is

a student at Leary's Brook Junior High, also in Mount Scio. Julia was joined in

the finals by a fellow student who were both finalists in their school spelling

bee.

Julia

prepared for the spelling bee by studying words from the Scripps word list. She

was quizzed by her family, as they would say a word to her and she would spell

it back to them. Her favourite moment was when she heard the winning word,

considerable, and she knew that she had it.

I ask

the House of Assembly to join me in congratulating Julia and her family on this

incredible achievement and thanks to the organizers, volunteers, teachers and

families who supported students competing across the province.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by

Ministers

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, it

seems this is a day of champions in the House of Assembly today.

Congratulations, Julia.

Mr.

Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today to congratulate another champion, and

that's Team Gushue, on an exciting victory yesterday.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER BALL:

All of Newfoundland and

Labrador are beaming with pride today after Brad Gushue, Mark Nichols, Brett

Gallant and Geoff Walker raised the Brier Tankard for the third time in four

years.

The

final draw yesterday in Kingston, Ontario, was a thrill to watch as Brad and his

team threw shot after spectacular shot and showed everyone how it's done.

Mr.

Speaker, not only are Team Gushue the 2020 Canadian Men's Curling Champions,

they will also wear the proud Maple Leaf as they represent Canada at the World

Men's Curling Championships in Scotland later this month.

Brad

Gushue holds the record for winning the most games of any skip at the Brier and

his team is only the fifth in Brier history to win the Canadian Men's Curling

Championship three times.

I'm sure

I speak for all of us when I say that the team is an inspiration to all young

athletes and has shown us all what it means to stand proud on the world stage as

ambassadors for our beautiful province.

behalf of all Members of this hon. House and all the residents of Newfoundland

and Labrador, I congratulate them on their tremendous success and we wish them

all the best at the world championships.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. CROSBIE:

I thank the Premier for an

advance copy of his statement.

We, in

the Official Opposition, would also like to offer our congratulations to Team

Gushue on its third Brier championship. I know that many people across the

province and the country were following the team's progress last week and were

tuned in last night to watch Team Gushue raise the Brier Tankard. It was a proud

moment for the family, friends and fans of the team and it was a proud moment

for all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. To win a Brier championship is a

difficult and impressive feat; to win three Briers in four years is incredible.

Mr.

Speaker, the members of Team Gushue have proven themselves to be among the

sport's absolute finest and we wish them every success at the World Men's

Curling Championship later this month. I am certain they will continue to be

wonderful representatives for Canada and for Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Labrador West.

MR. BROWN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the Premier for an advance copy of his statement.

Three

times in four years, wow, that's some great curling. We all congratulate the

mighty Team Gushue in their latest triumph. My hometown hero is Mark Nichols. I

grew up watching him play and rise through the ranks, victory after victory.

Labrador

West is very proud, not only of Team Gushue's latest victory but for the role of

our hometown hero Mark Nichols. I can't wait for their next big win in Scotland.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Further statements by

ministers?

The hon.

the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. WARR:

I, too, Mr. Speaker, want to join the Premier in congratulating you, Julia,

especially on Education Week. It's nice to have you here.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. WARR:

Mr. Speaker, today I was pleased to join members of the Newfoundland and

Labrador Teachers' Association to proclaim March 8-14 as Education Week in

Newfoundland and Labrador.

This

year's theme is “20/20 Vision,” which encourages teachers to inspire and

transform purpose into action. For students, it conveys a time to plan, learn

and envision all that they can be.

Our

vision for the education system is reflected in the Education Action Plan,

through which we are focused on building teaching resources and ensuring

students have the supports they need. Mr. Speaker, in total, 350 new teaching

resources will be fully implemented by this coming September.

And to

date, 65 per cent of the actions of the plan are already completed or

substantially underway.

Mr.

Speaker, I want to thank the many dedicated teachers, staff and volunteers in

our schools who go above and beyond to inspire our students to do their very

best.

encourage everyone to take

part in the many activities happening this week, and

I ask all hon. Members to join me in celebrating Education Week.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon.

the Member for Bonavista.

MR. PARDY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to thank the hon. minister for an advance of

his statement. All my colleagues on this side of the House join the minister in

recognizing Education Week in Newfoundland and Labrador. As a former teacher and

principal, myself, I know first-hand the tremendous efforts our teachers put

into the classroom in shaping and nurturing the growth of students socially,

emotionally and academically.

I will note that this year's theme 20/20 Vision will,

hopefully, lead the minister to finally take a closer look at the teacher

allocation formula, which has not been reviewed in over a decade. We hear daily,

stories of the struggles with larger class sizes and the lack of appropriate

student supports and suitable resources for our schools.

Mr. Speaker, last year during Estimates Committee, the

minister committed to doing a review of the teacher allocation formula. Now is

the time for the minister to review – class size does matter.

Thank you, again, Mr. Speaker, and best wishes to everyone

for a successful Education Week.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear,

hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MR. J. DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I, too,

thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement and I join him in

recognizing Education Week and the important work of teacher, staff and

volunteers.

Whatever

technological changes or action plans teachers experience, at the heart of our

profession at its core is the student. The most valuable resource for a teacher

is time – time to provide individual attention to students and to meet their

individual needs.

Allocations that reflect the size and composition of classes is essential in

providing that time. We need a teacher allocation review to ensure that the

necessary human resources are there for our students.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Further statements by

ministers?

The hon.

Minister of Natural Resources.

MS. COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yesterday was International Women's Day; a time to celebrate the many

achievements that women make each and every day, and, of course, today we're

celebrating Julia Evans.

This

year's theme, #EachforEqual, called on us all to reflect how we will forge a

gender-equal world.

Our

government remains strongly committed to advancing the status of women and girls

in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. We'll continue our collaborative

approach to violence prevention, improving the economic and social well-being of

women and girls through our women's leadership initiatives and strengthening

gender-based analysis across all work of government.

applaud the efforts of women's equality-seeking and anti-violence organizations

who work to advance equality for women and girls in our province. We look

forward to continuing to work collaboratively with them.

Mr.

Speaker, it is important to have designated days such as International Women's

Day to focus attention on issues of importance, but women's equality is not a

topic for just one day a year. I ask all hon. Members to take the time each day

to celebrate women's achievements and accomplishments, raise awareness against

biases and take action for equality.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Member for Harbour

Main.

MS. CONWAY OTTENHEIMER:

I thank the

minister for an advance copy of her statement.

behalf of the Official Opposition, I would like to wish all women and girls a

very happy International Women's Day. I encourage everyone to continue the fight

for true equality within our province, country and world.

celebration of International Women's Day, there are many events being held this

week. I ask all Members of this House to support these initiatives.

This

past weekend, I attended an International Women's Day event in my own district

in the Town of North River, attended by over 200 individuals. I would like to

thank all organizers and volunteers for their dedication to gender equality.

Mr.

Speaker, we continue to see far too much gender-based violence in our

communities. It is simply unacceptable that many women continue to live in fear

day to day. Women deserve full equality. We have to achieve equal work for equal

pay and advocate every day for full equality amongst all genders.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

MS. COFFIN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I, too,

thank the minister for an advance copy of her statement.

The

#EachforEqual theme is commendable as we have equity work to do in this

province. Equal pay for work of equal value is a crucial goal. Other provinces

are introducing it, and it is time for us as well, too.

Equal

access to employment through affordable child care is another key goal in gender

equality, and I look forward to gender equity when the MeToo movement will be a

thing of the past.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Further statements by

ministers?

Oral

Questions.

Oral Questions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. CROSBIE:

Mr. Speaker, in 2015 – and

this is a question for the Minister of Finance – the Liberal government

campaigned on the slogan: Oil is not a policy. Panic is not a plan.

With

nearly 20 per cent of provincial revenue coming from oil royalties and the price

of oil falling by almost a half from what was budgeted, what is the plan?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Just for

clarification, we are about 13 per cent reliant for our revenues on oil

royalties in the budget of 2019-20. It's dropped considerably from – in 2015, it

was probably closer to what the Member mentioned.

It is

obviously very concerning to see oil drop the way it has. I've often used the

analogy in the media, I didn't pop the champagne corks when we saw a huge spike

in oil. While this is very concerning, we obviously need time to analyze it.

We've spoken with the folks that provide oil price projections; they haven't yet

changed those projections, Mr. Speaker. They will if this turns out to be a

trend as opposed to a blip in oil prices, but we'll continue to monitor.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. CROSBIE:

Mr. Speaker, on the

expenditure side, the government has had five years to get spending under

control and every indicator says they have failed.

Is this

what the minister calls a plan?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As a

government in 2016, when we outlined our plan to return to surplus there were

some unknowns, Mr. Speaker. What was unknown was the fact that we'd actually

have to borrow $3 billion to fund the project that was sanctioned by the

opposite side when they were government – the fact that we're paying $100

million in interest on that borrowing annually.

There

are a couple of other unknowns, Mr. Speaker, in terms of our return to surplus

plan. Our bond rating agencies have very clearly articulated that over the past

four years we've met targets, and, in fact, in most cases we've exceeded targets

in our return to surplus plan. This year, Mr. Speaker, and with the price of oil

as it is now, this is a global crisis. It's not something we created, but we

will deal with it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. CROSBIE:

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the

minister needs to pay more attention to what his own Auditor General says about

the return to balance plan.

The

result of five years with no plan is that the province is in a worse position to

weather oil price shocks.

Would

the minister please table immediately, all updated information and briefing

notes on the impact of the oil price shock which have been given to him over the

last week?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Mr. Speaker, we'd be happy to

provide – I believe there was one briefing note done on this. We've had

meetings. We did reach out to the Member opposite to meet with him later this

afternoon, as we did the Leader of the Third Party. I haven't yet had a chance

to speak to the Leader of the Third Party.

Mr.

Speaker, this is a global crisis. It is something that every nation in the world

is dealing with.

I will

address a comment made in the

preamble, Mr. Speaker. Yes, the Auditor General

said that the return to surplus plan is ambitious; it's in jeopardy.

The

other side of the Legislature refuses to acknowledge the position that this

government found the province in when we accepted government, Mr. Speaker – when

we were elected in December of 2015. We are dealing with it. We didn't get into

the situation overnight; we won't get out of it overnight.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. CROSBIE:

Mr. Speaker, the minister

says that every $1 drop in the price of oil costs the province $20 million in

annual revenues. With an approximately $35 drop from the budgeted price, this is

a potential $700 million loss for the year.

Has the

minister consulted with the province's banking syndicate to assess the

availability of emergency borrowing?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Mr. Speaker, the Member

pointed out that a $1 drop in the price of a barrel of oil is equivalent to $20.

What he didn't say is that is on a 365-day average.

The

spiral started to happen with oil prices with the coronavirus, Mr. Speaker. Then

we saw Russia pull out of a deal with the Saudis. We also saw OPEC make changes

on Friday and over the weekend, which has caused the downward spiral in oil

prices.

We don't

know if this is going to change and they're going to change policies or change

what they're doing next week or next month. The value of a dollar on – of being

$20 million on a barrel of oil, Mr. Speaker, is based on 365 days.

It is a

concern. We are obviously very concerned with what's happening, Mr. Speaker.

We're continuing to analyze.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Stephenville - Port au Port.

MR. WAKEHAM:

Mr. Speaker, last week, I

think, the Minister of Finance had a conference call with his federal

counterpart and provincial counterparts to talk about the financial impacts of

the coronavirus.

I'm

wondering if the minister can provide us any details on those talks and what, if

any, commitments have been made.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, we

did have a call with Minister Morneau, Mr. Speaker. The basic concept of that

call was the coronavirus, the impacts on each jurisdiction. I clearly

articulated that commodity prices are having an effect on our finances in this

province; in particular, oil, but even fish shipments to China.

We sell

about $800 million worth of product to China annually; we import about $40

million. One of the few jurisdictions probably globally where we export far more

than we actually import from China.

Mr.

Speaker, those were the concerns that I raised. The federal government is

looking at the concerns of all provinces and will address it in the upcoming

budget, maybe before.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Stephenville - Port au Port.

MR. WAKEHAM:

Mr. Speaker, the Premier

committed to deliver compensation for those affected by income losses during

January's state of emergency. More than seven full weeks have passed and bills

are due. People are looking for details about the financial relief that may be

coming as promised.

I ask

the Premier: What, if any, assistance will be available to minimum wage earners,

shift workers, small businesses and others hard hit by the income loss caused by

the state of emergency?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation.

MR. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

A very

good question. I thank the hon. Member for the question.

One of

the things that we've done is the minister responsible for Advanced Education,

Skills and Labour has reached out to his counterparts, both ministers in the

federal Cabinet. We're awaiting a response back from his letter requesting some

support for those individuals.

One of

the things we've done in my portfolio, which is Tourism, Culture, Industry and

Innovation, is about reaching out to businesses offering them opportunities to

expand, get into the marketplace, as the Minister of Finance and President of

Treasury Board did bring up just a second ago about the expansion of investment

in other jurisdictions from an international standpoint. So those are some of

the things that we can offer for businesses as an opportunity to expand with

respect to regional economic development.

I think

I ran out of time, Mr. Speaker, sorry.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Stephenville - Port au Port.

MR. WAKEHAM:

That all sounds great, Mr. Speaker, but I guess to quote Jerry Maguire: The

people of this province would like the minister and the government to show me

the money. These people are suffering.

Last

week, the Minister of Finance tabled the Interim Supply bill. He's asking this

House to approve six months of spending without the due diligence of a budget

process. However, we now see the potential for significant declines in our

provincial revenues.

I ask

the minister: In light of the unprecedented economic issues developing, will he

amend the Interim Supply bill to three months?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Mr. Speaker, I will amend the Supply bill to three months if the opposite side

will guarantee us that they're not going to try to bring the budget down and put

us to an early election.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Stephenville - Port au Port.

MR. WAKEHAM:

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance is playing politics with the province's

finances. What we are interested in is a three-month Supply bill and a budget.

We are in a volatile, uncertain and uncharted situation, and, yes, it maybe

beyond the government's control, but the government must take responsibility and

action to deal with it.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask again – the Interim Supply bill requested by the minister is

based on a steady-state spending; the request is obviously overshadowed by the

last 48 hours. It is irresponsible to spend based on previous revenue projection

without a full budget brought into this House. Will the minister amend the

Interim Supply request?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Mr. Speaker, we fully intend to bring a budget forward in this Legislature. The

opposite side were talking coalition; they were talking about bringing the

budget down. In fact, there were two Members opposite who spoke to our Members

in the hallways saying that we won't be governing for much longer, prior to

recessing for Christmas. Mr. Speaker, I would suggest that it is not us who are

playing politics; it's the opposite side.

If we

only brought in a three-month Supply bill, Mr. Speaker, and they voted the

budget down, we'd have public servants in this province that would not be paid.

We'd have hospitals that would not be able to operate. We'd have classrooms that

would not be able to open. I think it's reasonable to provide that certainty to

the people of the province.

If they

want to provide certainty that they're not going to vote the budget down, I

would be glad to change it to a three-month Supply bill.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Bonavista.

MR. PARDY:

Mr. Speaker, on the heels of

two international student trips as a result of the coronavirus, questions are

being asked about the preparedness of our schools to deal with the virus. With

the heightened awareness, we are getting reports questioning the schools'

readiness.

Can the

minister update the House on specific plans to prepare Newfoundland and Labrador

schools for the coronavirus?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. WARR:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

Member brings up a very serious situation that we have ongoing throughout the

world. The Member alluded to students who travel abroad and they participate in

various tours. He's correct in his statement that the district has gone out and

cancelled tours, Mr. Speaker, in northern Italy where a ban has been on any

travel to that particular area. This is a rapidly evolving situation and we are

districts.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Bonavista.

MR. PARDY:

Mr. Speaker, we have been

contacted by a number of parents of Holy Trinity High School in Torbay with

concerns over an upcoming 10-day European EF trip from Juno to Vimy. Parents and

administration have expressed unanimous support that the trip should be

cancelled, but the district has responded to wait and see the response of the

travel company.

This has

placed parents who have rightfully erred on the side of caution with respect to

the children's health and safety – it left them on the hook for significant cost

because insurance won't reimburse unless the trip is officially cancelled.

Will the

minister be proactive by cancelling all international trips for students for the

remainder of the school year?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. WARR:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm not

sure if the last suggestion by the Member that in order for parents to receive

insurance, that we would have to go out and actively pursue cancelling those

trips. I don't know if that's actually correct, Mr. Speaker, but I am aware of

the email that the hon. Member brought up with regard to Holy Trinity.

We're

having ongoing discussions with this district and working closely with Public

Health to ensure the safety of the students and the teachers. Staff who are

going on these trips, Mr. Speaker, are of an utmost concern to our department

and certainly to the district, and we will be working in close consultation with

Public Health as this moves forward.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Bonavista.

MR. PARDY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

That is

indeed correct that the trip must be cancelled by either the government or the

school district in order for full reimbursement to occur to the parents who have

invested in such trips.

Back to

my initial question when we talked about the readiness of schools, Mr. Speaker.

One of the specific plans would be proper hygiene practices, including enhanced

cleaning of high-touch surfaces in schools such as handrails and doorknobs,

being a key component to fight off the virus.

Will the

minister conduct an immediate review to ensure school districts have the

necessary procedures and plans now in place, rather than waiting until we have

to react?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. WARR:

Again, Mr. Speaker, I don't

know if the Member missed that, but I certainly did mention the fact that the

school district is working with provincial health officials on information to

send out to all the schools to make sure that students and staff properly have

the right information to be able to deal with this on a daily basis.

Mr.

Speaker, we'll continue to send out information as it becomes available, and we

will continue to monitor the situation, both in schools and in the daycare

centres as well. We will continue to deal with Public Health and we are working

with the chief medical officer of health, Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, on the

situation as well.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Grand

Falls-Windsor - Buchans.

MR. TIBBS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, MNL was recently caught off guard by a new rule from the Minister of

Municipal Affairs and Environment that municipalities on a long-term boil-water

advisory will get no money from government for any work until they fix their

drinking water problems.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask the minister: Why wasn't an organization as important as MNL

consulted about this decision first?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Municipal Affairs and Environment.

MR. BRAGG:

Mr. Speaker, it's too bad I

only have a few seconds to answer this question, because boil-water advisories

are very important to us in this province and should be important to every

Member of this House. Safe, clean drinking water under the United Nations, 2003,

has been known as being an international fact of what people are entitled to.

To have

safe, clean drinking water comes with a price. To have municipalities ignore

that to apply for money for pavement, for new buildings and not address the

situation of doing the work in the pumphouse where it's really needed – these

are not Cadillac systems, Mr. Speaker, that need to be repaired; these are basic

systems for $100,000 or less. We have the money; we have the funding. You guys

in this House all know. We just went through a round of funding. We have a pile

of funding available.

We met

with the president of MNL this morning, Mr. Speaker. I would hope the Member

would ask me another question because I would love to tell him more about how

the meeting went this morning.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Grand

Falls-Windsor - Buchans.

MR. TIBBS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and

trust me, these people are well aware of how important clean drinking water is,

seeing how they don't have it.

MNL has

said that this new rule will impact rural communities who are already struggling

to deal with a host of issues and with residents already feeling overtaxed.

I remind

the minister, there is only one taxpayer. How does he expect municipalities,

especially the rural communities, to address their important issues without

government support and funding?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Municipal Affairs and Environment.

MR. BRAGG:

I am a little anxious, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, I grew up in a municipality with less than 300 people. For 30 years, I

operated a water system. I prided myself on keeping off a boil-water advisory.

It was an embarrassment to our town when we had a boil-water advisory.

We are

tackling the issue that 144 municipalities in this province are on long-term

boil-water advisories and have not addressed those concerns, Mr. Speaker. Safe,

clean drinking water is the way to go. It's the way it has been; it's the way it

continues to be. We will make it a priority to fund these programs, to work with

these municipalities, to help these municipalities.

MNL were

caught a little off guard. They didn't even ask us when we made the

announcement. It was from an interview from CBC. I stand behind that and I would

expect everyone in this House and this province to stand behind me. Mr. Speaker,

I met with two other municipalities this morning who supported me 100 per cent.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. minister's time is

expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Grand

Falls-Windsor - Buchans.

MR. TIBBS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The fact

of not having money for clean drinking water is shameful, not embarrassing.

Mr.

Speaker, the minister is a former municipal administrator himself from a small,

rural community. He should understand that many of these towns don't have the

infrastructure and even for those that do, the financial burden is a challenge

for municipalities with a small tax base.

Does the

minister believe holding municipalities hostage with this new rule a realistic

approach to address the boil-water advisory issue in the province, or is it not?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Municipal Affairs and Environment.

MR. BRAGG:

Mr. Speaker, I have to ask:

Is the hon. Member opposite supporting continuation of boil-water advisories?

This

came from a round-table discussion of years ago with MNL. In 2015 there was a

report put to the table, tabled by MNL. I was a part of that report as being

president of PMA at the time, so nobody can tell me more about the small water

systems in this province than I know myself. I live it. I've been there. I know

99 per cent of municipal operators and clerks in this province. I know the

challenge.

If the

Member opposite is saying we ignore this and continue the boil-water advisory, I

would say the Member opposite would stand alone on that, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, the Kelligrews Medical Clinic has been in operation for decades,

upwards of 50 years, and provides a vital service to residents of CBS and

surrounding areas. Now it's shutting its doors, leaving the local area without

critical family doctors.

The

president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association has said that we

are already woefully short on family doctors. When we see these comments from

the NLMA and lack of family doctors in districts like mine, how can the

government claim the family doctor shortage is improving?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker, for the question. I doubt 45 seconds will be sufficient.

Kelligrews clinic is relocating. Three of the practitioners are literally moving

down the street because of issues with the lease and their landlord. One of them

is retiring; the other two are contemplating where they will relocate.

We will

keep an eye on the situation, Mr. Speaker. If there is a shortage of access in

that area, Eastern Health will work to address it.

The

issue of family physicians in this province, Mr. Speaker, and primary care is

one of access, not numbers. We have, again, increased year on year, from figures

from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the number of family physicians in

this province and the number of physicians globally with licences. We have never

been as blessed.

This

issue is about access. We are restructuring primary care across this province

through the use of primary health care teams. There are 12 out there at the

moment. We're examining nurse practitioners; we're looking at virtual care.

There is a list.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Member's time has

expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I guess

the hundred-thousand people without a family doctor, that's not an issue. So

removing the Kelligrews issue, we still have a hundred-thousand people without a

family doctor.

I'm

aware that's lease issues. I've always publicly stated that. The problem we have

is seniors; people with no transportation live in CBS. People have to realize

CBS is not Mount Pearl. We have no public transit. Some doctors went to the east

end and west end, Airport Heights and St. John's. There are some who actually

moved to St. John's. I do know that.

That's

the problem, that's the issue: access to service. You're absolutely right,

Minister. It's an important issue in my district and throughout the province.

Mr.

Speaker, the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association have revealed that

over one-third available family medicine residency positions in this province

remain vacant, all of which are outside the Eastern region.

I ask

the minister: What is the contingency plan to ensure we are training the next

generation of family doctors in our province?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

The

process by which graduates are assigned or allocated to residency programs is a

national one, called the Canadian Resident Matching Service. What the Member

opposite describes is a result of the first round of those.

Newfoundland and Labrador is in a similar situation to pretty well every other

jurisdiction across Canada. This year has seen a dip in the number matched on

the first round. There is, however, a second round which offers the opportunity,

for example, for Canadians training abroad to enter and compete for residency

positions.

We're

keeping an eye on it, Mr. Speaker. I met with the dean of the medical school two

weeks ago to talk about admissions. This is a priority for us. We do pretty

well, as a province, in retaining those people who we do graduate from our

family medicine program, Mr. Speaker.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Exploits.

MR. FORSEY:

Mr. Speaker, the residents of

Exploits are still outraged by the 24-hour emergency service cut to the Dr. Hugh

Twomey Health Centre.

When

will the minister listen to their concerns and reinstate the 24-hour emergency

service at the Dr. Hugh Twomey Health Centre?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

As the

Member opposite may recall, the decision to alter the hours of the emergency

service in Botwood were made around utilization. The Member opposite is also

aware that we're investing $20 million in a new protective care unit wing at the

Hugh Twomey centre.

When, at

the end of that, the staffing is completed, an assessment will again be made to

see if the decision was appropriate and valid. If the workload has changed, we

will change.

The

final feature is that each of the regional health authorities now is working

towards having an advanced care paramedic on every front-line rig. That means

that treatment will begin in someone's home or wherever the ambulance is called

to, not waiting the arrival at any particular facility, Mr. Speaker.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Exploits, for a quick question and a quick answer.

MR. FORSEY:

Mr. Speaker, the Premier

promised this in the 2019 election. The 2020-2021 budget is coming around now.

Mr. Speaker, the people of Exploits want to know if this is going to be in this

budget or is the Premier going to leave with an unbroken promise.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

commitment that we made to the people in Botwood was to actually put in place a

new protective care unit, which is exactly what they asked for. Part of that

commitment that was made in the 2019 election was about completion of that. The

Member knows that, Mr. Speaker. He is playing politics with a huge investment in

his own community.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

MS. COFFIN:

Mr. Speaker, International

Women's Day celebrates women, while shining a light on the hardships they face.

Domestic violence, human trafficking, income and inequality, unregulated sex

work and precarious employment are on the rise, to name a few. Having Canada's

own stand-alone minister responsible for the status of women does not seem to

have made a difference.

I ask

the Premier: While he is still in charge, will be commit to tangible action to

improve women's lives by increasing core funding for women's organizations?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

MS. COADY:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

listened intently to the Member opposite. There still is a long way for women to

go to have true equality in this world; it's sad to hear.

I will

say, Mr. Speaker, much has advanced under the leadership of the Premier,

especially setting up a stand-alone Status of Women I think is a really

important move forward.

I will

advise the Member opposite that we've made amendments to the

Family Violence Protection Act to

expand the definition of violence. We've made amendments to the

Residential Tenancies Act to better serve victims of violence. We

made changes to the Schools Act to allow for the provision for an alternate way

of learning. We made changes to the Labour

Standards Act , Mr. Speaker, to allow people who are experiencing family

violence to have leave.

We've

been introducing new changes and amendments to legislation. Is there more to be

done? Absolutely, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The minister's time has

expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

MS. COFFIN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yet,

core funding has not increased.

Mr.

Speaker, many women-serving organizations receive multi-year core funding. The

Safe Harbour Outreach program helps women who are most vulnerable and who face

unsafe working conditions.

I ask

the Minister Responsible for the Status of Women, or whoever else is in charge,

when will the Safe Harbour Outreach program be treated with the same respect as

other women-serving organizations and be granted multi-year core funding?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

MS. COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As a

former minister responsible for the Status of Women, I can say that we have

increased funding for organizations that provide service to women. Mr. Speaker,

it was very important, even during very difficult financial times for this

province, we saw and implemented changes to ensure that they had a little bit of

additional money; plus, we also opened NorPen Status of Women in the last year.

Even in difficult financial times, Mr. Speaker, this government has been

committed to ensuring the services for women are there.

With

regard to her question, this government has been working hard to have core

funding for a number of organizations, I'm sure this one is under consideration

as well.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MR. J. DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Most

teenage girls involved in sex work experience trauma at an early age and had

inadequate mental health supports in school and they often struggle with

addiction. School counsellors and educational psychologists are essential in

responding to the mental health needs of students, but the allocation of these

mental health professionals is woefully inadequate.

I ask

the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development: Will he ensure that

schools have the counsellors and educational psychologists they need to stop the

cycle of trauma and abuse?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. WARR:

Mr. Speaker, the Member

brings up a very good question and, certainly, it's all part of the

Education Action Plan that we launched in 2018. We've been adding

teacher resources ever since: a new reading specialist and new positions called

teacher and learning assistants. We will continue to increase our learning

resource teachers.

September of 2020, it will be the final year of the full implementation of this

Education Action Plan , Mr. Speaker. We

will be doing a review of class sizes and other things that we should be looking

at, at that particular time.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Labrador West.

MR. BROWN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

After

several deaths of Labrador Indigenous women who were forced to sleep outside,

what is the Minister Responsible for the Status of Women doing to protect

homeless women in Labrador?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Children, Seniors and Social Development.

MS. DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I

thank the Member for the very, very important question.

We've

been working, Mr. Speaker, certainly since I went in the department, with the

Out of the Cold Shelter in Goose Bay and working with a large community group of

concerned individuals in that community.

recognized initially, Mr. Speaker, we were doing year-to-year funding for the

Out of the Cold and I recently committed, while I was at Combined Councils

actually, that they won't have to worry about that because we're funding that

again. We're doing everything we can to support, recognizing that it's a very

complex broader community. We need to work with partners.

We've

recently set up an interdepartmental working group, Mr. Speaker. We're going to

continue to have important dialogue with Happy Valley-Goose Bay and,

provincially, to talk about this important topic.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The time for Question Period

has expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling

of Documents.

Tabling of

Documents

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

MS. COFFIN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

response to a point of order raised by the Minister of Natural Resources last

week in response to a Ministerial Statement, I think the minister was misquoted

in the media. I think the point of order came from me misquoting the media about

your own misquote.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS. COFFIN:

So I'm tabling the media.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

I'm not sure if the rules

allow for individual Members to table documents.

By leave

we can table the document.

AN HON. MEMBER:

By leave.

MR. SPEAKER:

There seems to be leave.

Further

tabling of documents?

Notices

of Motion.

Notices of Motion

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries and Land Resources.

MR. BYRNE:

Mr. Speaker, and I quote: I

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

An Act To Amend

The Forestry Act. (Bill 28)

MR. SPEAKER:

Further notices of motion?

The hon.

the Member for Stephenville - Port au Port.

MR. WAKEHAM:

Mr. Speaker, I rise to give

notice to introduce a private Member's resolution.

To move

the following private Member's resolution:

WHEREAS

a province facing the fiscal and economic challenges that Newfoundland and

Labrador is now facing must show leadership by producing a solid, fiscal and

economic plan for the 2020-21 fiscal year without delay; and

WHEREAS

Newfoundland and Labrador is experiencing significant population decline through

out-migration with Statistics Canada reporting the net loss of an estimated

1,430 people in 2017, 2,733 people in 2018 and 4,501 people in 2019; and

WHEREAS

Statistics Canada projected last fall that Newfoundland and Labrador is on track

to lose 65,000 people or 12.4 per cent of its population within the next 25

years under a medium growth scenario if urgent, corrective action is not taken;

and

WHEREAS

the government stated in its 2019 budget that it remains on a multi-year plan to

return to a sustainable surplus in '22-'23, although the details of this plan

have not been publicly disclosed; and

WHEREAS

the democratic principles of accountability and transparency demand that

expenditures be subject to scrutiny of the usual budget process;

BE IT

THEREFORE RESOLVED that this hon. House urge the government to deliver the 2020

budget at the usual time in the spring prior to a general election.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Opposition House

Leader.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I give

notice that the PMR presented by the Member for Stephenville - Port au Port will

be the PMR that will be debated this Wednesday.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further notices of motions?

The hon.

the Minister of Service NL.

MS. GAMBIN-WALSH:

Mr. Speaker, I give notice

that I will ask leave to introduce a bill, entitled,

An Act To Amend The

Personal Property Security Act, Bill 27.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further notices of motion?

Answers

to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Answers to

Questions for which Notice has been Given

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Municipal Affairs and Environment.

MR. BRAGG:

Mr. Speaker, I wish to

provide information to the Member for St. John's Centre who, in Question Period

Thursday, asked about the amount spent in legal fees and other resources to

fight court cases related to environmental assessments of aquaculture projects.

I can

report to the House of Assembly that these matters were handled by solicitors

employed by the Department of Justice and Public Safety. External lawyers were

not retained. Costs awarded by the court to the successful applicants have not

yet been finalized.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further answers to questions

for which notice has been given?

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Topsail - Paradise.

MR. P. DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS

there are many person who are unable to better themselves and are unable to

avail of government funding under the Skills Development Program; and

WHEREAS

there is a lack of flexibility to deliver programs because a circumstance does

not meet government policies, therefore falling through the cracks;

THEREFORE we petition the hon. House of Assembly as follows: We, the

undersigned, call upon the House of Assembly to urge the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador to look at the Skills Development Program to recognize

that these programs can be restrictive and, as a result, outcomes are limited.

Policies should be developed and applied to ensure there are mechanisms to

address specific and unique situations. There should be a greater level of

flexibility to accommodate a wider range of people seeking assistance.

Mr.

Speaker, this has been a long, long, ongoing issue with programming – not just

unique to Newfoundland and Labrador, any federal program for that matter. And

it's designed to meet a specific clientele. However, there are people that fit

every bill except for the last tick box, and they're falling through the cracks.

These are people that want to get out of a rut; want to be contributing,

effective members of society; and because of a policy are restricted from doing

so.

minister in the past once said to me: Policy should never override common sense.

I believe that to be true. When you see individuals that come in, our front-line

staff can determine that an individual may not meet all the policy, but it is a

good individual to invest in. Most people that come in want a hand up rather

than a handout.

In the

past I've spoke with the past minister responsible for Advanced Education and

Skills. We've had some good conversations. We've been able to assist some

individuals, but I think we need to take a closer look at some of these

individuals that come in to look for funding. We need some kind of an appeal

mechanism that lets us look more closely at their situation because there are

individuals who if they got that little hand up, they would be valuable,

contributing members to society, and that's what they want.

Most

individuals out there do not want to be on assistance all the time. They do not

want to have that handout; they want a hand up and they want to make sure that

they can be someone and have the dignity and respect to carry on and be a part

of our society and our economy.

I ask

the Members responsible to have a closer look at this. Take a close look at

individuals who come in and are turned down initially because of policy but they

may also have the opportunity, if we take a second look, to be successful.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation with a response.

MR. DAVIS:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I'd just

like to take the opportunity to respond to my hon. colleague from across the

House. We did have great meetings and I do share some of his concern about

making sure we reduce the barriers, make sure we give people the hand up they

require, not a handout. We've done that. Three years ago, the federal government

came in with over a $900-million investment over the next six years, at that

point. That's going to be well utilized in our province.

We've

seen great success in helping transition people to find gainful employment,

meaningful employment that's going to be beneficial to them and their families.

One of the things I do share his concern with is we want to make sure those

programs have that little flexibility that allows us to help individuals each

and every opportunity we can. Not every individual is exactly the same. We

understand that and we agree. That's why we're trying to expand that, working

with our federal colleagues on lots of files across this government, to find

that flexibility to support our made-in-Newfoundland approach on a lot of

different areas.

I'd just

like to say thank you for the petition. It's a great opportunity for us to work

together on these files. We have in the past and we will continue to do so.

Where we see opportunities to succeed, we will work as fast as we can to move

those initiatives forward, and get those successes that the hon. Member from

across the aisle brought up in the beginning of his remarks.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Placentia West - Bellevue.

MR. DWYER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

gave notice of a school closure, stating that the final decision would be made

on March 28, 2020.

Residents have expressed concerns about the potential closure of Pearce Junior

High in Burin. As a result of the projected growth, this is a premature decision

to close the school that could have the region without capacity to serve the

educational needs of the people.

Therefore, we petition the hon. House of Assembly as follows: We, the

undersigned, call upon the House of Assembly to urge the Government of

Newfoundland to ensure that Pearce Junior High School is to remain open.

Mr.

Speaker, this petition is very important, obviously; it comes in Education Week.

A couple of things that I'd like to bring to the attention of it is that while

this is an autonomous board, I think that the reporting of how they come to the

numbers that they come to is flawed in their formulation. I've been told that

there are different formulas for different grades, so it's hard to know if the

information that's being produced by the NLESD is actually legitimate.

I would

think that with the region of this district, it's actually over two districts

and the economy is burgeoning. It's probably the only place in the whole

province that has a burgeoning economy at this time, but we really don't

understand the numbers that have been produced and given to us. We've produced a

number of questions to be answered that weren't answered before the public

consultation, or we would have probably had some different questions at that

time.

behalf of these people and the students, the parents, grandparents, educators, I

would like to present this petition to the House and let the Minister of

Education know that – and we have had some consultations on this very topic –

there needs to be some other legislation around the autonomy of these boards,

just for the simple fact that maybe they're too autonomous and they need to

answer to a higher power.

With

that being said, I'm going to take my seat, Mr. Speaker. Today, being March 9,

I'd like to send a shout-out to my dad, actually. It's his birthday today.

Thank

you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development with a response to the petition.

MR. WARR:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the hon. Member across the way for his

petition.

He is

correct, Mr. Speaker, we had a conversation maybe a week or so ago, and he

brought his concerns – and I respect that, Mr. Speaker. The hon. Member brought

his concerns with respect to the people who are in his district or in his

hometown. He brings up a good point. It is the elected board who has the

authority under the legislation for organizing the schools and services, not

government.

Having

said that, I realize that schools are important to communities. Regardless of

what community you're in, schools are a focal point. The Member did bring his

concerns to me.

had some very good meetings in Marystown whereby the hall was full and the

community came out and spoke loudly and clearly and I'm sure they will take all

those concerns as part of the consultations.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Humber - Bay of Islands.

MR. JOYCE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

present this petition and have a few comments.

WHEREAS the successful proponents for the new hospital in Corner Brook are

scheduled to be announced – and are announced – this spring, with construction

anticipated to begin in the fall, it is estimated to be a four-year construction

period, and there are experienced local tradespeople and labourers in the area;

THEREFORE we, the undersigned, petition the hon. House of Assembly as follows:

We urge the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to encourage companies that

are awarded contracts for the new hospital to hire local tradespeople and

labourers, at no extra cost to the taxpayers, so that they can work in their own

area, support the local economy and be able to return home to their families

every evening.

I say to

the Minister of Transportation and Works, this is working very good, but I spoke

to a shop steward just the other day and the same company who had the mechanical

for the long-term care has the contract for the hospital. A lot of times they

were bringing people in through the back door from outside the province. They

were bringing them in and after the union was raising some of the issues, they

turned them around, brought them in and got them to do other work.

I just

want to highlight that to the minister. I know there are a lot of local people

working and did work on the long-term care, and thanks to the people of the

whole Western region and the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador that

supported me in presenting the petitions to ensure this.

Also,

now that the hospital is going to start – it's three or four years – I just ask

the minister to be vigilant. I know the commitment has been made and I know

there have been a lot of people who did the groundwork and did the concrete work

at the hospital, so I have to recognize that.

I know

there are a lot of great ironworkers and union, non-union people in the Cormack

area. So I don't know if there's any way to work out something with the union at

the same cost, because they are great experienced ironworkers. If they're local

people, that's all we can ask for, and to ensure that the project is done on

cost and on time.

recognize the work that has been done, but I just ask the minister, on behalf of

the residents that have brought this to my attention, to ask his staff to be

vigilant to ensure that wherever there's a possibility to have local people

hired to do the work, proper skilled tradespeople or labourers, or other people

who can do the work in the area, that wherever possible they hire local people.

I know there was a lot of work done on that and I know there was a job fair. The

job fair went well and a lot of people have applied.

Coming

up now there's going to be a lot of extra work with the hospital in Corner

Brook, and I ask the minister to be vigilant on behalf of the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works with a response to the petition.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker, and I thank the hon. Member for the petition.

Mr.

Speaker, I'll send a thank you to the hon. Member. He was one of the first

people to start bringing this up here in this House last year. Subsequently,

groups like Trades NL have also picked up on holding our department's feet to

the fire on this. Through the efforts, now what you see is as a department we do

a monthly monitoring of all the projects in the province to make sure that we

are getting as much work as possible for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

Mr.

Speaker, we anticipate strong employment in the new, acute care facility in

Corner Brook, and we will certainly watch and monitor that on a monthly basis to

make sure that's exactly what's happening. It's important that we do monitor

that.

We will

continue to work with Trades NL and other groups like the Newfoundland and

Labrador Construction Association to make sure that it's not only our workers,

but our companies that are doing this work, because if it's Newfoundland and

Labrador companies doing the work, it would be Newfoundland and Labrador workers

doing those jobs.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Exploits.

MR. FORSEY:

Mr. Speaker, the residents of

Exploits District have a great concern from the result of the 24-hour emergency

service cut at the Dr. Hugh Twomey Health Care Centre. All the residents feel

that the 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. service does not adequately and efficiently address

the emergency requirements of the district affecting both patients and residents

to receive adequate care when needed.

We, the

undersigned, call upon the House of Assembly to urge the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador to restore the 24-hour emergency service at the Dr.

Hugh Twomey Health Care Centre immediately.

AN HON. MEMBER:

Like it was promised.

MR. FORSEY:

Like it was promised.

Mr.

Speaker, this is still an ongoing issue. They closed it in the 2016 budget. It's

been an ongoing issue ever since.

The

residents of the Exploits District really need the 24-hour emergency health care

service. I'm hearing horror stories of people going there. Just this past

Saturday night, actually, there was a lady who took her husband to the emergency

services in a storm, Mr. Speaker, from Botwood, with the hospital right there,

and she had to leave and drive right to Grand Falls-Windsor in a storm. I think

it was a kidney stone infection; that's what it was at the time. To leave

Botwood – I know they say a 20-minute drive at the best of times, but not in a

storm like it was on Saturday night, not with a hospital just probably one

minute or two minutes away from their own door. I think it's ridiculous.

Anyway,

Mr. Speaker, the use of the 24-hour emergency service in October 2018 to October

2019, 7,833 people used the service from Botwood at the Dr. Hugh Twomey Health

Care Centre. Another 4,620 at the same period used the Central Newfoundland

Regional Health Care Centre. That's a total of 12,453 people in the Exploits

District needing 24-hour emergency care in one year.

Mr.

Speaker, I'm also hearing wait times at the Central Newfoundland Regional Health

Care Centre has increased. People are waiting there eight, 10 hours because of

the emergency service that's compiled in one area after the 8 p.m. service. This

has to be alleviated and take the stress off the entire system.

I'm also

hearing people going into Botwood at 5:30, 6 o'clock, being told to go on to

Grand Falls-Windsor for the Central Newfoundland Regional Health Care because

the lineups are getting long and they fear they won't be able to serve them by 8

p.m. Mr. Speaker, this is ridiculous. The stories keep going and going and

going. I've heard stories of elderly people needing assistance after 8 o'clock.

An 82-year-old person from Peterview had to go the Central Newfoundland Health

Care Centre until the wee hours in the morning.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker, and we'll speak on this another time.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Further petitions?

Orders of the Day

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MS. COADY:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I call

from the Order Paper, Order 3, third reading of Bill 24.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

MS. COADY:

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Minister of Finance and President of

Treasury Board, that Bill 24,

An Act to Amend the House of Assembly

Accountability, Integrity and Administration Act be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that

the said bill be now read a third time.

The hon.

the Opposition House Leader.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It's

indeed an honour to stand and speak to Bill 24,

An Act to Amend the House of

Assembly Accountability, Integrity and Administration Act. It's been nearly two

years since the first heavy debate regarding this particular issue came to the

forefront, where we would put together some particular type of structure that

would address the issues around accountability and integrity in the

administration of the House of Assembly.

Mr.

Speaker, it was on May 2 that the House debated a private Member's resolution

that our caucus put forward at the time that talked about the particular issues.

I'll just go through the resolution itself so people are familiar again about

how this helped formulate the Accountability, Integrity and Administration Act,

Bill 24, that we have put forward now in the House of Assembly, that we all will

abide by once it's passed.

It was

stated: “BE IT RESOLVED that this hon. House support the introduction of a

legislature-specific harassment policy, similar in principle to the policy in

effect in the Nova Scotia provincial legislature, where elected representatives

and their staff are held responsible for inappropriate conduct;

“BE IT

FURTHER RESOLVED that this hon. House, through the introduction of a

legislature-specific harassment policy, recognize all forms of harassment

including bullying, cyber-bullying and intimidation of all forms;

“AND BE

IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this hon. House develop this legislature-specific

harassment policy through the Privileges and Elections Committee of this House

in consultation with all Members and employees of the House and with independent

groups who have experience and expertise in handling harassment complaints.”

Mr.

Speaker, that was the process or the resolution that was put forward, and it was

unanimously passed and assented to by all in the discussion in this House. There

were no descenders to what was being proposed. It was an open discussion around

best practices, how we could move that forward. There were discussions around

interpretation. There were discussions around, in some cases, did it go far

enough. That's why it was being proposed, that the legislation itself would have

the mechanisms that would ensure that the principles of what the resolution was

put forward to do and what the act itself would do, would be able to be adhered

to. That's started the process to move forward.

The

motion was assigned and then, in November 2018, the Standing Committee on

Privileges and Elections issued an interim report to the House of Assembly. So

prior to getting to the report, the Committee themselves looked at other

jurisdictions, looked at what kind of a process would be put in play, what the

act itself would start to look like, the construction of it, the particular

principles around how you would meet those needs itself and what would be the

legislative responsibility as part of that.

That

came into fruition when we came back in the House in November and there was a

report. There was a great discussion in this House. The Standing Committee on

Privileges and Elections also reported relevant jurisdictional research and

there was a full, very comprehensive, nearly 600 pages of text that were

gathered to justify the approach being used here and to validate how we could

best address this particular issue and have a process and a policy in play that

would work for the betterment for people in the House of Assembly and employees

related to our humble House here.

Mr.

Speaker, then in April 2019 the Standing Committee on Privileges and Elections

issued the final report to the House of Assembly on developing a

Legislature-Specific Harassment-Free Workplace Policy. Again, there was a very

open and honest debate. There were discussions around the findings and the

information that had been put forward by the Committee relevant to what the

piece of legislation would look like. Then, it was put in play to move to the

next level.

December 2, 2019, the House concurred in the final report, which then opened up

the ability for the House then to approve the Harassment-Free Workplace Policy

applicable against complaints against MHAs, which is set out to be in effect

this April 1, 2020.

there's a fair bit of work that had been done by the Committee themselves, but

particularly the support staff and the Officers of the House doing

jurisdictional scans to ensure that our policy was reflective of our particular

needs. While it could take into account how other legislatures do it, and other

jurisdictions, it had to reflect the makeup of this House of Assembly and the

philosophy and inherent understanding of what a harassment-free workplace would

be all about, and keeping the integrity and accountability of the House of

Assembly and all of those who serve in this House of ours.

concurring, the House then approved several other recommendations including

amendments to the act itself. Bill 24 included amendments to the act that were

recommended by the Privileges and Elections Committee and are also concurred in

the House of Assembly. These amendments must be passed prior to the new policy

coming into effect April 1. That's what we're here to debate now, the final

amendment to the act itself. We're in third reading now.

What

that says for the people who may be listening here now: We've gone through an

open debate. We've had some great discussion. To this point, it's gotten through

Committee, so any questions for clarification or any amendments that may have

been wanted to be put forward have already been opened and debated. We have one

or more opportunities to add to that during this final parcel of debate, but I

personally, and I know us on this side are looking forward to getting the piece

of legislation passed so that on April 1, there is no delay. That the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador and the employees who are relevant to the House of

Assembly and directly connected to it and us, as MHAs, the elected officials,

would know what our policies are; would know the parameters and would know our

responsibilities; would also know the rights and privileges that we have when it

comes to being in an environment that's conducive to us being able to do the job

that people elected us to do.

Mr.

Speaker, there are a few things that change here that are unique. They were

contentious issues a number of years ago when this first debate started around

harassment policies that were necessary, because we didn't have the right pieces

of legislation to ensure the process would be fluent and that everybody would

understand the steps to move forward. As you know, we spent a fair bit of time

and a fair bit of our resources to get to this point. Again, it was a process

that needs to now get to a point where we have something in play that everybody

is comfortable with.

One of

the things that have changed here was the end of special powers for the premier.

One of the things the bill will do is to remove provisions of

section 36 and 38

that currently permit a premier to commission a Code of Conduct review of a

Member and have the results reported back to the premier but not to the House.

There is no need for such a provision. It's needed to be removed and the bill

will remove it.

So that

now says there can't be one full authoritarian decision-maker in this process

now, it will be back to the House. There's a process in play now that will

ensure the fluent mechanism for reporting or debating and discussion and the

mechanism to be used to address any particular issue that may be put forward.

That

will leave three avenues for a Code of Conduct review can be initiated. A review

can be triggered by a Member, by a Commissioner or by the House of Assembly by

way of resolution. So now it's three clean opportunities, which means everybody

in this House has the ability to move a motion forward to ensure that a Code of

Conduct initiated review starts in that process.

With the

amendment, any Member of the House of Assembly, including the Premier, the same

as any other Member, will still have the ability to request an option for the

Commissioner about another Member or in relation to the Code of Conduct. That

will not change. So what we had in before, the process of being able to initiate

it still stands, but it takes away from the Premier having sole input into

referring one or having to report back to them.

This is

gone, it's open and it's transparent. Everybody agreed to it in this House. We

all feel it's a move forward and it's a move on the integrity of the House

itself and openness.

So all

reports will be issued by the Commissioner to the Management Commission. We all

know the Management Commission is an all-party Committee that's made up to

oversee the management of the House of Assembly, from financial issues to

policy-related issues, to restitution or in any way shape – punishments, I

should say, or clarification on policies within the House of Assembly for all

the Members related to it.

The

Privileges and Elections Committee was on the view that it is not necessary for

the Premier to have the ability to initiate these reviews and now it will go

back to a proper process. That's a step forward and will be very positive in

what's trying to be achieved as we move this forward.

There

are some other amendments that people should be aware of. I want to clarify this

because this has been ongoing for over two years. People who were very

intricately entrenched in watching this and seeing how it played out – and there

are a number of service organizations that do great work to ensure there's

integrity of any organization, but the policies around harassment are totally

dealt with. It's about any other types of interference from an employee point of

view. They wanted to ensure that our legislation was reflective because they

want to be able to use that, in some cases, as a template.

More

importantly, from our perspective, we need to set the bar higher than what would

normally be thought of. This piece of legislation does that. We came together to

ensure that we had the pieces of legislation that had the proper amendments that

would reflect the changing times but, more importantly, reflect what we learned

in the issues that we faced in this House of Assembly for a period of time, Mr.

Speaker.

That, to

me, is a more important lesson because there was a lot of information gathered

here, there were a lot of discussions going on. Not everybody agreed with the

process. Some of the processes probably could have been done more efficiently,

other things could have been done and there was an open debate. But we wanted to

get into a mechanism now that ensures that everybody involved has the right and

ability to protect themselves, regardless on what side of the accusation or the

issue is, that that opportunity is there and that there's an open and

transparent process that everybody can adhere to.

Just

some of the things here; I just want to note some of the other amendments here

so people would know this was substantive in what we changed here in this new

piece of legislation. The Committee also recommended, and the House concurred in

December, that we need an amendment to make it mandatory for Members to annually

file a declaration with the Clerk reaffirming their commitment to follow the

Code of Conduct. This will be as such, because at the end of the day, when you

get elected and you're sworn in, there's a noted acknowledgement that the Code

of Conduct that you will follow is accepted by you.

Now,

three years later – 3½ years, depending on how long an election came – that may

fall by the wayside. People may not remember exactly what it was they had agreed

to, what the rules and regulations and what the responsibilities are on your

conduct. So this being put in there would remind people, would reaffirm their

commitment to ensure we have a safe environment, a good work environment here,

harassment free, so that people can have open debate but, at the same time, feel

that there's no intimidation and no harassment.

So that

was an added one there that I think just reaffirms where we are and reminds

people we have a responsibility in this House – again, as I said earlier – to

set the bar beyond what people would think would be the norm. Because we're the

example of how our society reflects on dealing with individuals and individual

circumstances.

The

Committee also recommended, and the House concurred in December, that an

amendment was needed regarding the confidentiality of the identity of the person

requesting an opinion. We talked about the ability for people to be private,

that people can make an inquiry as such and that there would be a mechanism

there so they wouldn't feel further intimidated as part of the whole process.

The

proposed amendment regarding confidentiality mirrors that existing in the

whistleblower provisions as we have it. We wanted people to feel comfortable

coming forward that they could make a statement, they could open up a discussion

on a particular issue around harassment or bullying and that they didn't have to

feel there would be more recourse from those who may be involved because of

their identity until proper research is done or proper investigation is done to

determine if there are any merits to the allegation being put forward.

Finally,

the bill essentially separates the treatment of harassment from other aspects of

the Code of Conduct. Because in a Code of Conduct it's about your behaviour, but

it's about your disclosure it's about some of your financial gains, all these

things that we have as part of the Code of Conduct. This one here would

specifically break out harassment and would have a set of guidelines and

processes and procedures that would be accepted and the followed norm for

individuals who find themselves on one side or the other when it comes to an

allegation, for example.

Just a

couple of things I wanted to note. The original Code of Conduct flawed from the

Green report. Those who may not know, Chief Justice Green, a number of years ago

after the spending scandal, sat down and looked at all the operational

procedures in the House of Assembly to ensure that there were checks and

balances and safeguards so that every MHA would know the parameters of what they

were entitled to; but, more particularly, what wasn't acceptable in the norm of

operations of an MHA. A lot of it was around the financial operations, but there

were other things that were outlined at the time.

Again,

because the emphasis was on the financial situation, the scandal at the time,

more things moved forward on that. That became the – I can't say the most

important thing of the day, but the most noted thing of the day. He did note, as

part of what was happening there, there needed to be a proper Code of Conduct

that included all aspects of behavioural operation in the House of Assembly –

financial behaviours, disclosure behaviours.

These

cases now, what we've since dealt with over the last number of years is around

harassment and intimidation. This is not something new. It's new that we finally

dealt with it, but it was something that was discussed over a decade ago as part

of the issue. It's now taken on a life of its own and getting to fruition, where

we'll have something that is workable across the board and acceptable by all

Members of this House.

talked about some of the things here, but to separate harassment – because it

all just became part of the long list of Code of Conduct operational headings.

To separate that, the bill produced new

definitions related to a

legislature-specific harassment-free workplace policy, because we had to come to

a definition of harassment-free workplaces.

Again,

sometimes there can be a fine line between harassing discussion and proper

political bantering, because we're in a unique scenario here. We're in a unique

stadium when it comes to the banter, the debate and the disagreements. Where is

the line to harassment and harassment-free work? This was a process that had to

be defined. My opinion, and the opinion of our caucus, we came to a happy

definition that clearly could be defined and clearly understood by all engaged

here of what harassment-free would be for the betterment of everybody here.

The bill

gives direction for separating harassment issues from the Code of Conduct issues

so the appropriate investigation can proceed. A financial issue in a Code of

Conduct is specifically done by those who have the skill set to do that. If it's

an accounting issue, if it's two plus two is four, there's a specific

intervention and an investigation into that. If it's around harassment or

intimidation, then obviously there's a different skill set for someone to do an

adequate investigation to ensure all information has been shared and that at the

end of the day what has been transpired would give you the evidence to determine

if there's validity to the allegation or if there's nothing to the allegation.

That was the key thing there, to ensure you had the proper skill set and the

understanding that it would be divided in a certain mechanism.

We talk

about harassment investigations will be conducted by the Citizens'

Representative. We had a major debate here when this whole process started about

who or what entity would be the best to do the investigative processes on the

allegations that were put forward. Mr. Speaker, you know, you were part of this

House here, there was a lot of debate on what was the best process. We never

really did come to an agreement at the time. We debated on this side versus the

government side versus the Third Party and some of the independents. We had

differing views of who should have or what mechanism should have been used as

part of that. This will clarify exactly the mechanism, and now everybody will

understand who will be engaged as part of that.

So the

Citizens' Rep here, as an independent arm of the House of Assembly, would have

the investigative skill set and the resource ability to take this, particularly,

around issues relevant to harassment and intimidation, anything relevant to

that. Other entities may take and deal with it. The Chief Electoral Officer

could deal with some of the financial things or the Code of Conduct, operational

issues that may fall within the realm of their

interpretation of what the act

itself says.

The bill

also defines the role of the Privileges and Elections Committee and the options

available to the Committee in recommending penalties and sanctions. There was a

whole debate – and I have the privilege of sitting on the Privileges and

Elections Committee, where we have some good, open dialogue about the roles and

responsibilities and trying to ensure that we, as electors here, have an

understanding of the impact it would have when, in any way, shape or form that

you're putting penalties or sanctions in on a fellow Member.

We would

know what it means from a financial point of view. We would know what it means

from a reputation point of view. We would know what it means to the impact on

this House of Assembly from the operational stuff, but also for the integrity of

every Member in the House of Assembly. That Committee itself is there. There are

policies now outlined in the bill that would give them certain specific powers

or responsibilities to be able to assess those types of things.

The bill

also includes provisions intended to respect the confidentiality of the

complainant and witnesses to the extent that this is possible. At the end of the

day, this is all ready to go so that we protect everybody involved as part of

this whole process, Mr. Speaker.

Those

were the additional amendments that were added to the act. I'm very happy to say

that the act we have here and Bill 24 has taken us to a heightened level here of

setting the bar high enough, that we're confident on this side of the House, Mr.

Speaker, that this will address the particular issues that we have in play and

that the integrity and the accountability of this House of Assembly will be

second to none. We all have a responsibility to ensure we act in the appropriate

manner.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Humber - Bay of Islands.

MR. JOYCE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and

I'm going to stand and speak for a few minutes on third reading on this

amendment, on this bill.

Again,

as I always do, I want to thank the people of Humber - Bay of Islands for their

support. I'm privileged to be standing here on their behalf. As I said, I will

bring all the issues forward that are brought to me by the people. They

petitioned on the hospitals encouraging government and last week on the roads –

asked some questions on the roads in the Humber - Bay of Islands area, so I'm

privileged.

Today,

I'm going to speak on this bill. I just heard the Member for Conception Bay East

- Bell Island speak about it. I really feel that this Member is a sincere

Member, he always was a sincere Member in the House of Assembly, but there are a

few things there I just have to bring to his attention.

Mr.

Speaker, the Code of Conduct, of course, came out of the Green report, and I was

a part of the Green report. Also, there were no infractions there whatsoever in

financials. In actual fact, I was the longest person – it went back to '99 up

until the report was done. I think there was $67 of some bible that was double

billed. That was it. I'm very familiar with the Green report and I'm glad that

the Member mentioned that, because I did partake in the debate in 2007 on the

Green report.

He also

mentioned that it's not just financial, that it's the operations of the House of

Assembly. This is where I have issue with a lot of the act itself, Mr. Speaker,

because when you make statements – and this is an example, I say to the Member

for Conception Bay East and the Government House Leader, also, who was in to the

meeting with Bruce Chaulk in 2017.

The

Management Commission falls under the Green report. The duty of the Management

Commission is to ensure that every Member is treated fairly in the House of

Assembly. When there are statements in the Management Commission that you refuse

to bring forth to the House of Assembly, you're not living up to the Green

report. You're actually not living up to the – it's not only the spirit, but the

intent to ensure that the House of Assembly is running smoothly and every

Member's rights are within the realm of the House of Assembly.

When the

Member for Conception Bay East – who wasn't at the meeting back in 2018; I have

to say that, but the Government House Leader was. When you have information that

was brought into the Management Commission that's not brought to the House of

Assembly, the Management Commission themselves, the one who's supposed to ensure

that the Green report is brought to the House of Assembly, is not even following

the act, Mr. Speaker.

I'll

just give you a good example. I wrote you, Mr. Speaker, a little while back and

gave you information about how the information that was brought in 2018 should

have been brought to the House of Assembly. You wrote back and said: The

Management Commission only accepts the report and brings it to the House of

Assembly. That's not true. The Management Commission at the time accepted a

technical briefing. Whatever was said in the technical briefing should be

brought to the House of Assembly if there's false information.

The

Minister of Justice, the Attorney General, give him credit; he has courage. He

stood up and said what was said in the technical briefing was false. We have

documentation. Guess what? It was never brought to the House of Assembly. How

can you have confidence in the House of Assembly when the Management Commission,

the same ones who are supposed to oversee the Green report for all Members, is

not bringing information?

The

letter you wrote me, Mr. Speaker – and I think you're sincere, I honestly do,

and I think the Management Commission was sincere. You wrote me on December 15,

you mentioned that we only just take the report and present it, which again is

not true. There was a technical briefing at the time. Then you also said that

we're sympathetic to your cause and we'll have staff of the House of Assembly

contact you to find ways that you can bring this forward. Guess what? I have yet

to be contacted, three months later – your letter, Mr. Speaker.

How can

you have confidence in the Management Commission when you, as Speaker, writes me

a letter, says I'm going to be in contact with staff of the House of Assembly to

help bring this forward or push the case forward? I've never been contacted,

three months – three months.

You have

a letter now from the lawyer that's representing me, saying that you had a

technical briefing. So whatever happened in that technical briefing, if you're

going to follow the Green report and everybody here stand and when the

Management Commission stands up on their horse and says we got to follow the

Green report, you should follow it. That's your duty, Mr. Speaker.

Now, you

weren't at the meeting either, Mr. Speaker, in 2018; I'll say that upfront. You

weren't at the meeting. Mr. Speaker, you have information now that you should

bring forth. Anytime that you don't bring the information forth, how can anybody

have confidence in the House of Assembly? The Member for CBS, who I have a lot

of faith in him because I've seen in this House on many times, in the

Opposition, I have a lot of faith in him that he do speak his mind and he do

speak with honesty; I have to say that.

He also

said in the Green report, a lot of it was financial, but the other part was the

management of the House, this whole House. How can we stand here with the

Management Commission and have faith in the Management Commission when you know,

Mr. Speaker, the Government House Leader knows, the Attorney General and the

Minister of Justice went out publicly and said there's false information, but it

can't get brought to the House of Assembly? Yet you're sworn to the Green report

and, in my opinion, when you don't bring information forward to the House of

Assembly, I lose confidence in the whole House.

This is

a reflection on the House of Assembly. The Member for CBS is there and I said

earlier, when you just left, to the Member that I do have confidence in you,

that you do speak your mind and you're honest and sincere. I did say that. I did

say that the letter that the Speaker wrote me and I'll say to the Member for CBS

that the Management Commission is sympathetic to my cause and will find a way,

I've yet to hear from any staff of the House of Assembly on how to bring this

forward in three months. That was right in the letter that the Management

Commission approved.

How can

you have a lot of confidence in the Management Commission when the Management

Commission themselves writes a Member a letter and says: We can't do anything –

which you can because you did receive a technical briefing, you received false

information – but we will have staff contact you to find ways to bring it back

to the House of Assembly. I have no contact in three months. I'm sure there are

Members of this Management Commission who didn't even know that was going on.

They thought we were in contact. That's what's you're dealing with in this House

of Assembly.

So, Mr.

Speaker, that's the kind of thing – and I'm glad the Member for CBS brought up

about the Green report because it does involve the management of the House of

Assembly, not just the financial part of it. When you lose the management of the

House of Assembly, because the Management Commission is supposed to oversee it,

follow the rules and are not following their own rules, we have a problem. That

is the issue that has been brought up.

There is

no doubt this policy, the Harassment-Free Workplace Policy, is a great policy,

no doubt, but I just want to step in and talk about some of the drawbacks of it.

I heard

the Minister of Municipal Affairs the other day, I think it was the Chair of the

Committee – and he can speak to it himself when he stands up, I guess – he stood

up and said we have to be to a higher standard; we all have to be to a higher

standard.

In 2018,

myself and Dale Kirby, absolutely no bullying and harassment whatsoever. The

Commissioner for Legislative Standards said there's no bullying and harassment,

but I'm going to have you to a higher standard Code of Conduct.

What

this House of Assembly just did is brought their standard down, according to the

Commissioner for Legislative Standards. If you have a higher standard and he's

involved and there's no bullying and harassment, yet he on his own can say

there's a Code of Conduct because there's a higher standard. Now you just took

that higher standard away. So it just doesn't make sense what the House did.

you're going to follow what the Commissioner for Legislative Standards did on

his own, against the advice of Rubin Thomlinson, and say we need a higher

standard; you just took that higher standard away. So you're bringing down the

bullying and harassment that was supposed to be here to protect everybody, now

you're saying it's a lower threshold for bullying and harassment because there's

no Code of Conduct.

I know

the Member for CBS just made a very interesting statement. I picked up on it and

I made a little note of it. This is startling, actually, from the Member for

CBS. I'll give the Member credit, I'm sure he didn't have all the information.

The

Member for CBS said: This would take the bullying and harassment away from the

Commissioner for Legislative Standards because he don't have the expertise. You

just said that, that's in Hansard ,

don't have the expertise, but when he went out and did the bullying and

harassment he hired Rubin Thomlinson. The man never had the expertise and the

Member for CBS agrees, and I agree he doesn't. So when Rubin Thomlinson comes

out and says there's no bullying and harassment, the Member who just said that

he doesn't have the expertise said: no, Code of Conduct. So can you understand

why the frustration in this House of Assembly, why this frustration?

What the

Member said, I agree with. He's on the Management Commission, so he's taking the

Commissioner for Legislative Standards – the Commissioner who doesn't have the

expertise, who went out and got somebody to do the expertise, but he decides on

his own there's a Code of Conduct and he doesn't have the expertise for bullying

and harassment. This whole thing in 2018 was bullying and harassment, but now

we're taking that away. We're lowering that step.

I just

find it strange that all this went on. We know what happened in the Management

Commission, we know what happened in the House of Assembly, and no one got the

courage to bring it up in the House of Assembly, except the Minister of Justice.

I know some of the people stood with it and stuff was said. I thank them all for

that, because it is right and I would do the same for anybody. But the Minister

of Justice and Attorney General has been out publicly stating what was said in

the Management Commission, you can't get it brought back to the House of

Assembly. You can't get it brought back.

I'm

awaiting the point of privilege, Mr. Speaker. I know you're doing your due

diligence on that and I respect that, but can you imagine anywhere else – can

you imagine a legislature in Canada where the Attorney General stood up publicly

and said: by the way, Officer of the House, you made false statements in the

Management Commission, and nothing done about it. Can you imagine? Absolutely

nothing done about it, nothing done. And some of the people are still sitting in

this House. Absolutely nothing. Strange, isn't it?

The

other part about that, now we have people on the Management Commission saying he

wasn't even qualified to do it, so we're taking it away from him. We gave it to

him and when the experts said, no, there's nothing to it, he said, yeah, I'm

going to find something else.

I'll

tell you something strange, go back to 2008 and look at

Hansard . I challenge anybody; 2008 when you talk about the Code of

Conduct that was brought in. If you look at the Principle 10, Principle 10 talks

about between government Members and public service employees. There's even a

debate about it. What do we need to do this for? We already have it in there;

yet, Principle 10, by a person who now we admit is not qualified for bullying

and harassment, not qualified, went out and said Principle 10 is among the

Members themselves.

Principle 10 is true – which I know it's not, and everybody knows it's not,

which it's going to be proven not – why are we changing it? Do you know why

we're changing it? Because Principle 10 doesn't include between Members; it

doesn't include it. We all know that; yet, no one has the courage to stand up

for it – no one. No one has the courage except the Minister of Justice, the

Attorney General, the only one. Strange isn't it, everything you go through.

It's all

factual, Mr. Speaker. You know it, Mr. Speaker, it's all factual. There is

absolutely nothing here that I'm saying that can't be proven and hasn't been

said in a Management Commission itself.

I look

at the part with the Premier being taken out of it. As I said before, Mr.

Speaker, on this part excluding the Premier: Do you know why that was done?

Because the Premier made the complaint. I even think the Member for CBS was the

one who was asking him questions at the time, talking about him putting himself

emerging in the process. He made a complaint to the Commissioner. I still

haven't got a copy of it. I have to go to court to get a copy of it. I can't get

it.

He stood

in this House and said he had no involvement whatsoever in this here. Guess

what? He did, and we hear talk about confidentiality. Confidentiality is a big

part, I agree, it should be. Do you know when the confidentiality was for myself

and Dale Kirby? On the House of Assembly April 25 when they asked questions.

Someone was leaking information. Questions asked in the House of Assembly.

That's the confidentiality.

I have

to ask another thing, Mr. Speaker, talking about confidentiality and the

independent process. What would people think if I – which I think the Member for

CBS, I don't mean to be picking on you but I'm just stating the facts; I don't

mean to be but you know it. You want to talk about confidentiality of Members;

you want to talk about the confidentiality of a person who is going through it.

Guess what – and no one wants to challenge this and no one wants to do this.

Guess what? I have a letter that the Premier of the province had his staff in

talking to Bruce Chaulk during this process. I have an actual letter that the

Premier admitted that he got his staff speaking to Bruce Chaulk during the

process.

Where's

my confidentiality? Where are my rights? Where are Dale Kirby's rights? Yet, no

one wants to touch it. No one wants to stand up and say there's something wrong

here. We should do an investigation. Absolutely, let's brush it under the rug.

This is where all this came about. Let's try to brush it under the rug. Let's

just take it and brush it under the rug, even though I think there should be

confidentiality. Too bad myself and Dale were the guinea pigs for it all, but

we're strong, we're tough.

I know a

lot of people are telling me confidentiality. I just have to say something here,

Mr. Speaker. Excluding the people in 2019 a lot of this information may be new

because they had no involvement – excluding the people that were elected in

2019. I have to say that because I'm not including all Members here because you

weren't even in the Legislature. I have to make that quite clear.

I know a

lot of my colleagues, a lot of people in the whole situation, now they know that

the Premier of the province was involved through his staff. What was his

involvement? I don't even know. I have to find out. I have to go to court now to

find out what his involvement was.

I heard

last week, Mr. Speaker – and I hate doing this but I have to. When I made the

point of privilege – and I thank the few people that stood up. I thank the

Member for Mount Pearl - Southlands for standing up and supporting it; I know

the Government House Leader. I heard the Premier of the province stand up and

say everybody should have equal rights. He's right but I have to ask the

question: Premier, where were you in September 2018, October 2018, November 2018

and 2019 when you were privately telling me that this can't go ahead; this is

wrong; this can't go ahead. Where were you, Premier? Where were you? Where were

you telling me that your rights have been violated? Where were you?

So when

he stands up last week and just says, oh, someone's rights, I take that with a

grain of salt because you had the opportunity, Premier, to get to the bottom of

this and you didn't do it because you wanted it pushed aside. Like you told me,

Premier, on October 28 at the airport in Deer Lake: I'm getting too much

pressure from women's groups; I'm getting too much pressure. So I said: You're

backtracking and he walked away from me. It's the last time he and I spoke.

When you

stand up there, Premier, last week and now that you're leaving you say: Yes,

b'y, his rights were violated. You had the opportunity, Premier. I can't forgive

you for that because for four months you were telling me it's going to be taken

care of, you were going to stand up for my rights and you wouldn't do it,

Premier. Excuse me if I take that with a grain of salt. I have to excuse you on

that.

I'll

just say to the Members of the House of Assembly, when you speak about this

whole issue – and it has to start with the Management Commission. I say to you,

Mr. Speaker, and I say to all the Members of the Management Commission: You have

information and all you have to do is call the Justice Minister. If you're going

to do your duty correct, if you're going to stand up correct and say you're

going to follow the Green report, which that was in 2007 and I was a part of –

if you're going to stand up and say we have to follow the Green report, it's

time for the Management Commission to do their duty.

I'll say

to the Members of the House of Assembly – all the Members of the House of

Assembly – it could be anybody in this House next when it comes to it. It could

be anybody whatsoever. People always ask me about bringing this up in the House.

I absolutely do. This is the bill that I'm speaking on now. I say to the people

of Humber - Bay of Islands, who even up to Saturday night when I was down to

Humber Arm South, two or three bunches in Humber Arm South said: Don't back

down. It's not only my rights that we're talking about; we're talking about all

the Members' rights here.

I can

tell you, when there are people's rights that I knew in Humber - Bay of Islands

outside that were violated, I was the first one to stand up. This is not just

me. It's Dale Kirby. It's for every Member. I say to all the Members of this

House of Assembly, if you're really going to talk about the Green report – I say

to the Management Commission: follow the Green report.

Mr.

Speaker, I don't mean to be looking at you but you are the Speaker now. You

weren't the Speaker in 2018, I'll say that, but you have information. The

Management Commission has the information that you're obligated under the Green

report to bring to the House of Assembly. It's up to the House of Assembly what

they decide on, but if you don't bring the information to the House of Assembly,

and when someone stands up on the Green report I'm just going to say it just

fits the bill whenever it feels good and whatever you want squeezed into it.

That's my thought on this.

I think

bullying and harassment absolutely should be separate, absolutely should be

confidential. Absolutely everybody should have the right to make a complaint if

they feel harassed, if they feel intimidated, if they feel that they're getting

a lot of extra pressure from somewhere. They absolutely should.

This

process, Mr. Speaker, I agree with, but when you stand up and you want to talk

about a Commissioner who didn't have the ability to do it – and the Minister of

Municipal Affairs is standing up now and saying we're separating it because

we're going to have a higher standard and the higher standard was keeping it

under the Code of Conduct. The higher standard was just something that was put

in that report and the Premier used it several times just in the report so they

can say we have to put ourselves to a higher standard. No one every explained to

me what the standard was.

I'll

take my seat now; hopefully I'll have another opportunity. Mr. Speaker, the

letter you wrote me back on December 5 – that contact. I think now if I had

contact with any of the staff now, it would only be because I raised it here in

the House of Assembly. It wouldn't be because it was legitimately trying to help

me to solve this issue.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Is the House ready for the

question?

Seeing

no further speakers, is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

CLERK (Barnes):

A bill,

An Act To Amend The

House Of Assembly Accountability, Integrity And Administration Act. (Bill 24)

MR. SPEAKER:

The bill has now been read a

third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and that its title be as on

the Order Paper.

motion, a bill, “An Act To Amend The House Of Assembly Accountability, Integrity

And Administration Act,” read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as

on the Order Paper. (Bill 24)

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Government House

Leader.

MS. COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

From the

Order Paper, Motion 1, Bill 26.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I wish

to inform the House that I have received a message from Her Honour the

Lieutenant-Governor. A wonderful message.

MR. SPEAKER:

All rise.

The

letter from Her Honour.

Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, I transmit a

request to appropriate sums required for the Public Service of the Province for

the year ending 31 March 2021, by way of Interim Supply, and in accordance with

the provisions of sections 54 and 90 of the

Constitution Act, 1867 , I recommend

this request to the House of Assembly.

Sgd.:______________________

Lieutenant-Governor

Please

be seated.

The hon.

the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I move,

seconded by the hon. Government House Leader, that the message, together with a

bill, be referred to a Committee of Supply.

MR. SPEAKER:

The motion is that the

message, together with a bill, be referred to a Committee of Supply and that I

do now leave the Chair.

Is it

the pleasure of the House to adopt this motion?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

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

the Speaker left the Chair.

Committee of the

Whole

CHAIR (Bennett):

Order, please!

We are

now considering the related resolution and Bill 26.

Resolution

it resolved by the House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows :

“That it

is expedient to introduce a measure to provide for the granting to Her Majesty

for defraying certain expenses of the public service for the financial year

ending March 31, 2021 the sum of $4,602,859,900.”

CHAIR:

Shall the resolution carry?

The

Chair recognizes the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Today we

are starting debate on Interim Supply, which is a bill that we have to pass if

we're going to allow for the financial administration of ongoing business of

government throughout the province, while we're waiting to bring in debate and

pass the budget.

As I had

mentioned earlier in the Legislature, Mr. Chair, Interim Supply is required to

keep snowplow operators on the streets or keep hospitals operating, pay nurses

for going into hospitals and performing the work that they do, or keep teachers

in classrooms so that we keep classrooms open, just to name a few. Essentially,

it's money to allow government to continue to operate beyond March 31, which is

the end of the fiscal year, into the new fiscal year while we're waiting to vote

on the next budget.

When we

introduce budget 2020, we'll be seeking approval for funding to spend for the

entire fiscal year, but it normally takes time to allow for that debate. During

this interim period, that is what Interim Supply is for.

This

year, Mr. Chair, we're looking for six months' worth of spending. We had

questions in the Legislature today as to why we require six months of spending.

Quite honestly, with the noise that we've heard about looking to form a

coalition or looking to vote against government or bring government down, if

that were to happen, if the opposite side of the House were to bring government

down, Mr. Chair, in May or June after we bring the budget in and vote on the

budget, without extending beyond June – three months, so you have April, May and

June if it's three months' Interim Supply – without having any ability to spend

money beyond June, if we were thrown into an election in the second or third

week of June, come the end of June, our public servants no longer get paid; come

the end of June, government stops writing cheques; it stops providing funding to

our health authorities without Interim Supply.

Interim

Supply is the legal ability for Treasury to continue to flow money to our health

authorities, to our schools, to our university, to whatever government service.

Wherever government sends money – Income Support recipients, Mr. Chair – it

allows money to continue to flow, legally because the House has said money can

legally flow for the continuation of government services. Quite honestly, the

only reason we're looking for it for six months is, if there's a disruption of

this Legislature, to allow for government services to continue.

Mr.

Chair, when calculating Interim Supply, we base it off the previous fiscal year,

but in some cases we make allowances for things that we anticipate in the coming

year. This amount represents roughly 53 per cent of the 2019-20 fiscal year

budget, and in some accounts more than half of the budget is required to provide

for those items that we need to expense earlier in next fiscal year.

The

Department of Finance estimates that the Interim Supply will provide departments

and public bodies with sufficient cash flow to manage their spending, Mr. Chair,

up to September of this year. Essentially, as I said, if there's disruption of

this Legislature, it allows sufficient time for an election and whomever should

become government to come in and either put another Interim Supply in or to put

a budget in place, should that be required, and have it passed by the

Legislature.

This

Interim Supply makes provision for the transfer of funds from the Department of

Finance to all departments, all agencies, boards and commissions; transfers from

the Consolidated Funds Services accounts to other departments for special

retirement and other payments should they be necessary; the transfer of funds to

and from various expenditure to facilitate the expenditures to facilitate the

expenditures for financial assistance as they may be approved from time to time

and set by Treasury Board.

Mr.

Chair, we've heard Interim Supply referred to in the past as routine business or

simply the administration of business in this Legislature. I don't want anybody

in the House or anybody who may be listening to the broadcast mistake this bill

as unimportant because it's administrative. The funds allocated through this

bill go towards the continuation of any and all government services, any and all

government payments throughout the province.

The bill

ensures that key government initiatives and programs continue without

disruption. I'd like to highlight just some of those key programs and services,

as I've done a couple of them, Mr. Chair, that we will see as ongoing funding

through the Interim Supply process.

If you

look at industry development, growing our economy is an important part of

overcoming the challenges that our province is facing today. In

Budget 2019 we allocated funding for industry development

initiatives; many of those will continue into this year, and these are important

job creation investments.

featured $13 million in provincial funding for employment and training programs.

We also continue to support the Drive Program offered through the Community

Business Development Corporations, which provides loans to young entrepreneurs

of up to $10,000.

Tourism

is an industry with limitless potential, Mr. Chair, throughout the province.

There's $13 million allocated during

Budget 2019 for tourism operations in and around the province. We also see

continued funding for Labrador Aboriginal Nutritional and Artistic Assistance

Programs, which in addition to supporting artists and artistic endeavours, the

funds also provide for nutritional programs, community fre