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October 27, 2020

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLIX No. 58

The House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR.

SPEAKER (Reid):

Are

the House Leaders ready?

MR.

CROCKER:

am, Sir.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Yes, Government House.

Opposition House, Third Party House Leader almost

ready?

HON. MEMBER:

Almost.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Okay.

Admit strangers and start the broadcast.

Order, please!

Statements by Members

MR.

SPEAKER:

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

Harbour Main, Windsor Lake, St. John's Centre, Topsail - Paradise and

Stephenville - Port au Port.

The hon. the Member for Harbour Main.

MS.

CONWAY OTTENHEIMER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This past weekend I had the honour of attending the

committee. This memorial was in memory of a young man from Brigus, who passed

away in Ontario on October 14 at 33 years of age.

Sergeant Herman Williams was a member of our Canadian

Armed Forces and although I did not have the privilege of meeting Sergeant

Williams, I departed this event feeling like a part of him was with me.

Sergeant Williams joined the Canadian Armed Forces at

the young age of 18. He completed four missions overseas, three front-line

combat mission tours in Afghanistan and one in Latvia peacekeeping throughout

his 14-year career.

I am sure we are all aware of how hard and mentally

draining these deployments can be on our young servicemen and women. I have

learned from Sergeant Williams' family many things about him, including that he

had an infectious smile and wore the uniform with pride and honour.

I ask all Members to join me in honouring Sergeant

Herman Williams for his service to his country and for the sacrifice he and his

family made for all of us to live as we do.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Windsor Lake.

MR.

CROSBIE:

Mr.

Speaker, I rise today in this hon. House to acknowledge October as Breast Cancer

Awareness Month – an annual campaign that aims to educate the public on the

importance of early screening, testing and treatment for breast cancer.

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer

among Canadian women, with one in eight expected to be diagnosed in their

lifetime. I learned the importance of quality of testing when I saw what its

absence did to the lives of breast cancer patients and their loved ones. Not a

Member in this House is without friends or family who have fought a battle with

breast cancer.

Wear pink to show your support. October is dedicated to

all those who have lost the fight and all those who won't quit the fight.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

MR.

J. DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul – St. Teresa's

Conference has been serving the poor since 1968. Part of an international

Catholic lay organization founded in 1833, the conference is one of several

throughout the province.

Guided by the principle that no act of charity is

foreign to the society, the conference serves monthly food hampers to those in

need. Despite COVID-19, the members continued to serve their clients.

The conference is more than a food bank. It advocates

for the poor and offers financial assistance. It also established education

bursaries for the Murphy Centre and a Seeds of Hope initiative to help clients

set up RESPs for their children.

Eight years ago, in response to the deplorable housing

conditions witnessed by members, the conference took the bold step of building a

six-unit affordable housing project with support from the municipal, provincial

and federal governments. As the first conference to do so, it was unknown and

challenging territory, but necessary to provide safe affordable housing that

respects the dignity of people.

I ask Members to join me in recognizing the valuable

work the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul – St. Teresa's Conference does in

serving those in need.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Topsail - Paradise.

MR.

P. DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As the Member for the District of Topsail - Paradise, I

would like to wish Mr. Nelson Murphy, or as everyone knows him Nels, a very

happy 90th birthday.

Born in 1930 to Robert and Ester Murphy and one of 11

siblings, Nels lived his entire life in Paradise and has been married to his

wife Rose for 64 years. Together they have six children, 12 grandchildren and

eight great-grandchildren.

Nels worked all his life at construction. He worked at

building the roads and highways of the City of St. John's and portions of the

Trans-Canada Highway. He cleared snow off the Gaff Topsails to keep the trains

going on the railway and there were times at the end of shifts where it was so

stormy that they required guide ropes to get back to where they came from.

Farming is another passion of Nels. At the wonderful

age of 90, you will still see him tending his vegetable garden. Nels is a

well-respected member of the community and also a proud Korean War veteran.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all Members to join me in wishing

Mr. Nels Murphy a wonderful happy birthday.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Stephenville - Port au Port.

MR.

WAKEHAM:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

When it comes to the youth of our region, Vanessa Lee

is a force to be reckoned with. She's an advocate on many levels and helps our

youth benefit directly or indirectly in whatever she does to help impact their

growth and development.

Vanessa is the Youth Engagement Coordinator at the

Community Youth Network in Stephenville. She considers herself lucky that her

work provides her the chance to support many organizations in our area with

which she has a personal connection. Her involvement with these programs

include: Kids Help Phone, Bay St. George Coalition to End Violence, the Bay St.

George Pride Committee, Stephenville Winter Carnival and Block the Bus,

providing school supplies to youth and families in need.

Vanessa works with and supports many community partners

in our district. No matter what function I attend, Vanessa is there. Along with

working and supporting all these groups and organizations, Vanessa finds time to

volunteer with the Leo Club, is a member of the local Lions Club and is a board

member of Stephenville Theatre Festival.

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

congratulating Vanessa Lee of Kippens for her vision and dedication to the youth

of our district.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by Ministers

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Justice and Public Safety.

MR.

CROCKER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, as we approach International Human Rights

Day on December 10, the Human Rights Commission of Newfoundland and Labrador is

seeking nominations for the annual Newfoundland and Labrador Human Rights Award.

This award recognizes an individual, living or

deceased, who has made and/or continues to make meaningful contributions to

advancing and furthering human rights in our province.

Mr. Speaker, each year the selection committee has a

difficult task of choosing between very deserving individuals. In 2019, the

Human Rights Award was presented to Jessie Lawrence, a 2SLGBTQ+ advocate and

youth activist, while Bridget Foster was named Human Rights Champion for her

over 30 years of service in the immigration and settlement sector. Other recent

award winners included disability advocate Kim White; Innu Leader Anastasia

Qupee; and Joanne Thompson, best known for her work at The Gathering Place.

Mr. Speaker, our province is full of people who work

tirelessly to advocate and advance human rights for marginalized populations in

our communities. I encourage people to take some time and consider nominating

community members, professional contacts and anyone who has contributed to the

diversity of our great province. The deadline for nominations is October 31, and

details are available online at

www.thinkhumanrights.ca .

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Harbour Main.

MS.

CONWAY OTTENHEIMER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an advance copy of his

statement.

Mr. Speaker, our province is fortunate to be the home

of many activists, volunteers and champions who diligently and tirelessly work

towards progressing human rights. Jessie Lawrence and Bridget Foster are two

such individuals who have made positive impacts in our communities.

As the minister noted, the nomination deadline for the

2020 Newfoundland and Labrador Human Rights Award is quickly approaching. There

are only four days left to submit nominations. I ask all Members of this House

to reach out to organizations and contacts in their districts to ensure that

they are aware of the nomination deadline and to encourage them to submit a

nomination.

I look forward to hearing about the successful

recipient in December.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS.

COFFIN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an advance copy of his

statement.

All individuals must be guaranteed the same fundamental

rights of equality, dignity and respect free from discrimination based on sexual

orientation, religion or race. Too often, the rights we have fought for are

taken for granted. From classrooms to artwork to advocacy to protests to climate

marches and so much more, the struggle to advance human rights is laudable and

often goes unrecognized, unfortunately.

I encourage all Members to nominate worthy individuals

in their communities.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Further statements by ministers?

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

MR.

HAGGIE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I wish to highlight to this hon. House a new e-mental

health program to be piloted this fall in Newfoundland and Labrador by the

Strongest Families Institute.

Strongest Families is an award-winning charity,

endorsed by the Mental Health Commission of Canada and the Governor General of

Canada, which leverages technology and skilled coaches to deliver evidence-based

programs across the country to children, youth, adults and families.

Approximately 800 children and families here will

benefit from the Parents Empowering Kids – The Early Years program. The program

is designed to promote positive parenting skills and prevent behavioural

challenges in early childhood for children aged three to 12.

Funding of $520,000 for the program, which is free for

interested parents, was provided to the Strongest Families from the Public

Health Agency of Canada's Mental Health Promotion Innovation Fund. For more

information, visit the Strongest Families website, bridgethegapp.ca or call

toll-free: 1-866-470-7111.

Through Towards

Recovery , since 2017, the provincial government has secured $1.1 million

annually through the federal health accord for e-mental health programs. This

includes annual funding for Strongest Families.

Increasing access to evidence-based services via

technology has made Newfoundland and Labrador a leader in e-health and a prime

test ground for expanding these kinds of solutions.

We appreciate the work of Strongest Families and our

ongoing partnership. Good luck with the program. We look forward to hearing the

results.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Opposition House Leader.

MR.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I would like to thank the minister for an advance

copy of his statement.

Maintaining good mental health is important now more

than ever. A new e-mental health program will be quite beneficial to the people

of our province.

It is great to see 800 children and families that will

benefit from the Parents Empowering Kids – The Early Years program, but we must

find ways that allow more children and parents to become involved in this

crucial program. Programs such as Bridge the gApp allow our residents to connect

with the mental health professionals who can help with both children and adults

with their mental wellness. We must see more development to programs like these

as people such as rotational workers rely on these resources while in

self-isolation.

I join the minister in acknowledging the work of

Strongest Families and I wish them the best of luck with their new e-mental

health program. We also look forward to hearing these results so we can work

together and make changes that enhance the mental health of all Newfoundlanders

and Labradorians.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS.

COFFIN:

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

statement.

It is uplifting to hear additional resources are being

made available to parents and children. The challenging times in which we live

have strained our mental health and well-being as well as our education system.

I thank the federal government for contributing

$500,000 to promoting parenting skills and to help prevent behavioural

challenges. I look forward to seeing how this e-program dovetails into our

existing mental health system to ensure a continuum of supports for parents and

children.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Further statements by ministers?

Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR.

CROSBIE:

Mr.

Speaker, thank you.

Cenovus and Husky laid out their plans in a conference

call on Sunday. In an audio recording we obtained, the CEO says unless something

new happens West White Rose is not accounted for in their business model and

will not proceed.

Mr. Speaker, how can the Premier say yesterday that

this merger was hopeful and positive news for our workers?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Premier.

PREMIER FUREY:

Mr.

Speaker, the CEO of Cenovus also said that the economics of this project are

okay and favourable. We will be working together with them and their partners,

Husky, to further advance this project for the women and men who work in this

incredibly important industry for the future of Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR.

CROSBIE:

That's a selective quotation, Mr. Speaker, because he also said the project

would be decommissioned over time unless something new happens. This is

devastating news to our oil industry and the many families who rely on it.

I ask the Premier: What help can he offer them?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Premier.

PREMIER FUREY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

That's selective memory for sure and

interpretation of

that call. We are continuing to work with – as the Minister of Industry, Energy

and Technology suggested yesterday – the partners to ensure that this project is

moving forward and we're committed to doing so.

In the short time that I've been here, we've secured

$320 million in order to help families through this tough time, and that's what

I'm committed to doing. That's what our government is committed to doing. That's

the right and prudent thing for the future of Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR.

CROSBIE:

Mr.

Speaker, the Husky business plan is looking at the scenario of decommissioning

unless something new happens, and there are only two new things that can happen:

one, the oil price increases or, two, there is government intervention.

I ask the Premier: What is he going to do under number

two, which is under his control?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Premier.

PREMIER FUREY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As the Member opposite correctly identified, this is a

global commodity issue. Newfoundland and Labrador is not facing this issue

alone. We're hearing it from Aberdeen; we're hearing it from Houston. We're

hearing it from all oil-producing jurisdictions around the world.

What I will tell you is that we're looking to be

creative and using that $320 million to unlock new opportunities to support

families, not only now but well into the future. The oil and gas industry is so

incredibly important, not only for the economy but for society and the future of

Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR.

CROSBIE:

Mr.

Speaker, oil patch workers in this province are having to deal with this alone

because their government is missing in action.

I'm asking the Premier: What safeguard does his

government have on the $100 million of equity investment they've made?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Premier.

PREMIER FUREY:

Mr.

Speaker, thank you for that question.

We're continuing to work with the stakeholders and with

the operators to ensure that we're protecting that investment moving forward.

That's paramount. More importantly, right now, we need to protect the workers in

the oil industry. We're looking at ways to do that, through the use of this $320

million, and other ways to protect this industry moving forward.

It would be very nice if we were in a different fiscal

situation; we weren't burdened with billions of dollars in other off-the-scale

debt from other projects, but the reality is we are. We need to work within our

fiscal envelope to ensure that we're developing good decisions now for the

future of this industry moving forward.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR.

CROSBIE:

The

executive director of Trades NL said yesterday there's not a lot on the horizon

over the next couple of years that we can count on for employment opportunities.

To the Premier: What is the way forward for these

workers?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Certainly, it's a concern that we're well aware of.

We've been in touch with Trades NL. In fact, we also heard from Noia who talked

about how they still have optimism. The fact is that this deal that was struck

over the weekend was not unexpected. In fact, if you look at any of the analysts

that talk about it, this is a move that, basically, created a stronger company,

one that we welcome into our offshore.

We continue to work with the workers, we continue to

find ways – and, again, we have $320 million. In fact, Husky has a proposal in

to us right now that we're working through that would, hopefully, see 2021 work

in the hopes of a 2022 start-up back at West White Rose.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR.

CROSBIE:

Mr.

Speaker, these people are without jobs, without income, many without hope.

Yesterday, the minister said legislation to unlock pensions will not happen

until next spring. I commit here today on behalf of our caucus, the PC caucus,

to sit as long as it takes this fall to pass this legislation.

I'd ask the Premier: Will he immediately bring forward

legislation to unlock pensions so people can access their own money to provide

immediate help and hope for their own families?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Digital Government and Service NL.

MS.

STOODLEY:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

After Question Period yesterday, I did talk with staff.

We are looking at if we can expedite it. I've been speaking with the House

Leader and we will certainly bring the House back, if possible, if we have a

recommendation around unlocking pensions.

I would, though, remind Members and the general public

that we're talking about pensions; we're not talking about extra money to buy

Christmas gifts. While many families are hurting, especially at Christmas, when

you think about pensions it's really about long-term financial stability, which

is something that will be taken into consideration in the consultations.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Conception Bay South.

MR.

PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The director of the Harris Centre said that the decline

in the oil economy is comparable to the cod moratorium and he would not be

shocked that a similar mental health, family crisis impact is happening today.

Minister, what specific supports have been put in place

to help those that have lost employment?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, I'll speak to the bigger issue, which is we do

have a serious situation that we face as a province. When you have a government

and a workforce that has been very dependent on this one resource, when we see a

worldwide pandemic like this, the fact is that we are especially hard hit. We

feel that here and we certainly feel for the workers. We've been speaking with

the various unions talking about the things we can do.

I'll leave it to the Minister of Health to talk about

the mental health supports that we can provide, and certainly I'll leave to the

minister responsible to talk about the employment side. What I can say is that

we have a scope of work in front of us that we're working through right now

where, hopefully, we can see some of the $320 million provided by the federal

government go to these workers in hopes of getting West White Rose and any other

project – again, we're working with multiple companies to see these workers back

to work, which is where we all want them to be.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Conception Bay South.

MR.

PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Come By Chance is at risk of permanent closure. The

West White Rose project is at a standstill. Bay du Nord is deferred. Bull Arm is

now an aquatic storage facility. Workers are getting anxious; people are calling

our office every day looking for help.

Will the minister implement specific supports for those

who have lost their jobs as the result of the collapse of our oil and gas

industry?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Well, certainly, Mr. Speaker, what I can say is that speaking with the unions

and different groups, that's not where they've asked us to go at this point.

What they've asked us to do is to work on the things

that we have in our control in order to get these projects up and going, and

that's what we've committed to; speaking last night with the various community

members regarding Come By Chance and we have work ongoing to deal with that.

Again, we're speaking to Husky every day; we're speaking to Suncor.

I can say that I do appreciate the fact that I do

believe union members realize we're doing what we can, how we can. I have an

email from the head of Unifor, it says: Thank you for the continued support for

the workers in the oil industry. It's greatly appreciated and not going unseen.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Conception Bay South.

MR.

PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We have emails too, Minister, to the contrary from

workers who are wondering where their next paycheque is coming from.

Individuals who are out of work are now asking

themselves: What do we do now? Mr. Speaker, I feel for those individuals who are

struggling to pay their mortgages, make their car payments and pay their bills.

Where is the help for these workers?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Immigration, Skills and Labour.

MR.

BYRNE:

Mr.

Speaker, as the minister responsible for the energy sector said, our plan (

a) is

to get the industry back in good form, productive form and that is what we are

concentrating on; however, as the hon. Member opposite did point out, there have

been job impacts and job losses.

What I can report to this House is our work with the

federal government through our Labour Market Transfer Agreements, our work with

our federal colleagues to make sure that we have the resources in place to be

able to respond to increased training needs to be able to allow workers to

pivot, not only within the industry, but potentially in some instances, outside

of the industry, but most importantly to be able to pivot within the industry.

We've been able to work with our federal partners to

gain additional millions in training benefits that we will be applying to areas

which we've seen job losses or job insecurity.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Conception Bay South.

MR.

PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

One union president, Mr. Dave Mercer, said: “The

biggest thing we can do for mental health right now is – guess what? Let's get

back to work.”

Minister, workers need help; they need hope. Minister,

where is the job-creation plan for this industry? Those are all fine words just

said, but workers are looking for more than that.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Certainly, I've had an opportunity to speak to Mr.

Mercer on a number of occasions. In fact, that's who I quoted previously, saying

that they realize that we're doing what we can. They fully realize that we're

not responsible for the price of oil; they fully realize that we're not

responsible for the pandemic.

At the same time, they've been very strong in

advocating for their members, which is why we're at the table every single day

trying to ensure that these companies come to us with a scope of work that can

be ongoing as soon as possible, involving hundreds of millions of dollars for

the direct purpose of getting these people back to work. That's what we're going

to do. However, that requires due diligence. That requires some effort.

We're not just going to hand the money out. We've had

Members opposite suggest just give everybody money, and we realize there that

sometimes that leads to bad decisions. We're going to do the due diligence to

make sure things get done properly.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Opposition House Leader.

MR.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'll ask a question I didn't get an answer to

yesterday. In September 2019, the minister advised that the new paramedicine

delivery model with an effective date of April 1, 2020, would be delayed for two

years, adding more stress to the workers in this industry. We've had the Fitch

report of 2013, Grant Thornton audit of 2018, and the Ernst & Young report of

Is the minister going to ensure it sticks to the new

deadline and delivers a new model as promised?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

MR.

HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Out of hospital, community-based paramedicine, these

are key pillars of moving forward with our community-based approach to health

care delivery. I'm pleased to be able to inform the House that the regulatory

apparatus around paramedicine will be moving into the Department of Health and

Community Services as soon as this budget process is completed. That way we can

align our algorithms and support our community paramedicine organizations in

terms of expanding their scope of practice and generally developing what has

been a very much underdeveloped resource.

I look forward to being able to present the House with

further information as that plans rolls out, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Opposition House Leader.

MR.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The union representing the largest portion of the

private operators are currently in negotiations and at an impasse.

I ask the Premier: Does he accept the inaction of the

minister over the past year with respect to private ambulance workers being

forced to take job action and strike?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

MR.

HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

The private ambulance operators are currently in

negotiations with the department over a new agreement. Whilst I will not be

negotiating in public, these are going very well. I would hopefully be in a

position to announce a resolution to those negotiations to everyone's

satisfaction very shortly.

The issue then of how the operators are negotiating

with their unions actually lies outside the control of the regional health

authorities and the department, Mr. Speaker. Obviously, we watch this with

interest.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Opposition House Leader.

MR.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We've been hearing for two years that they were getting

close to a deal. We're not hearing that from industry and I'm hopeful that it

happens but it doesn't seem to be the case.

Premier: Are you comfortable that the ambulances will

be parked in rural Newfoundland and Labrador because of your government's

inaction and will you intervene to show leadership on this issue immediately?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

MR.

HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Again, from the point of view of the department, we are

confident that these negotiations are in what one of my staff called a very

happy place and will actually be concluded very shortly.

We obviously watch with interest the negotiations

between those private operators and their unions, and if there's any role we can

play to facilitate what is a negotiation between a private company and their

trade union members, we would be happy to do that. As yet, Mr. Speaker, neither

party has approached us for any assistance.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Opposition House Leader.

MR.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

That happy place can't come soon enough for the private

operators from the discussions we've had.

Transport Canada's recent rule forcing travellers to

exit their vehicles on provincial ferries is putting our travellers at a higher

health risk, as proper social distancing is not possible. The Premier of British

Columbia has stated that this is an unwelcome intrusion from Ottawa and has

committed to reverse this policy.

I ask the Minister of Health: Will he commit to doing

the same to keep our citizens safe?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.

MR.

BRAGG:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the Member opposite for his question. Some time

ago I wrote the minister responsible for transportation, Transport Canada, to

ask them to reverse the decision. At this time, they have not decided to reverse

the decision.

We're advising everyone to practice social distancing

where possible, wear their masks, and get on the ferry and off the ferry in a

safe manner. Transport Canada had ruled it's safer for people to be in the

lounge and in the ferries because they are a closed-deck capacity. Open-deck

capacity ferries would be different, but these vessels we have in our province

right now, the vast majority are closed-deck vessels. Should there be an

emergency and evacuation, the safest place would be in the lounge so they could

reach the muster station areas.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Opposition House Leader.

MR.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As the minister is aware from travelling on these

ferries, it's not possible to do safe distancing safely on these boats with

social distancing because of the fact that the lounges themselves have been

taken up by crew members. This is not a safe endeavour there. We also ask that

you lobby your cousins in Ottawa to do the right thing when it comes to safety.

We've done it on the travel ban here in Newfoundland and Labrador.

In the past five years, not one inch of pavement has

been laid on Bell Island roads; barely a pothole has been filled. Portugal Cove

- St. Philip's has one of the highest traffic volumes on trunk roads in the

province; yet, roads like Bennetts Road, Old Broad Cove Road, Thorburn Road and

others are in deplorable condition.

Will the minister commit to investing resources to make

these roads safe in my district?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.

MR.

BRAGG:

Mr. Speaker, I didn't know when I could get the opportunity to respond to a

question such as this. The hon. Member yesterday for Mount Pearl North referred

to our provincial roads as over-paved. Not something that we support on this

side, Mr. Speaker. He referred to those provincial roads as being over-paved.

The hon. Member for Conception Bay East - Bell Island

knows that there's an active tender right now in the process of being finalized

for his district. We're committed to doing that work. The tender work will be

done. The money is in the budget to do it. Sometime in the near future the hon.

Member should be proud to be able to take a picture of a piece of equipment

laying asphalt in his district, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Opposition House Leader.

MR.

BRAZIL:

I will be, but the early tender process obviously hasn't worked, because we're

into November now and very unlikely we will get something laid for safety for

our roads. I do welcome it, so do the people in my district, Mr. Speaker.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.

MR.

BRAGG:

Was that a question?

Mr. Speaker, in the House last week, the hon. Member

for Terra Nova got up and asked a question of why we put all the tenders out the

one time. Today I'm asked why we're separating it. Which is it, Mr. Speaker?

Which works best?

We try to get the work out in a timely manner to

accommodate the people of this province, to do it the best way we can. Any time

there's construction, there's never a good time, Mr. Speaker. It will always

disrupt the service. The flow of traffic will always be disrupted. All I can say

about any time we're doing work in this province: Look forward to the end

result. I refer to it as something like making bread. I have flour all over the

kitchen table, but when it comes out of the oven it is well worth the reward,

Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Ferryland.

MR.

O'DRISCOLL:

Yesterday, the minister stood in the House and spoke about the important role

highway enforcement officers play in enhancing road safety in our province.

Can the minister explain why 10 of these positions are

currently vacant?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Digital Government and Service NL.

MS.

STOODLEY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'll certainly take away and look at those 10 positions

in particular. I know many of the highway enforcement officer roles are

difficult. There's a unique skill set that's required and there are often roles

that go unfulfilled. I do know that I believe there's an external competition in

Stephenville opening up next week for a highway enforcement officer position. So

I encourage – if you know anyone, to encourage them to apply on the government

website.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Ferryland.

MR.

O'DRISCOLL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We have to be aware that wintertime is coming and these

tractor-trailers and every other vehicle that's on the highway should be checked

out for safety inspections for sure. We should get on that right away.

Especially with the amount of jobs that people are looking for, it should be

easy to fill those positions.

Minister, how have these vacancies impacted road safety

across the province and what impact will these vacancies continue to have as

winter approaches?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Digital Government and Service NL.

MS.

STOODLEY:

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

Safety of residents in our province, especially on the

highways, is incredibly important. I'll be on the highway this year with my new

little guy, so safety is incredibly important for everyone.

To my knowledge, there is no disruption to service for

the highway enforcement officers. The highway enforcement officers take a very

unique role to enforcement, in partnership with the RNC, and we do not believe

that resident safety in the province is impacted by any vacant positions.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Ferryland.

MR.

O'DRISCOLL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister, what priority is the department putting on

filling these positions that they are so critical to ensuring public safety?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Digital Government and Service NL.

MS.

STOODLEY:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Like I mentioned before, highway enforcement officers

are a unique skill set to hire. In many cases, we have roles that go

unfulfilled. We do have a role in Stephenville that's opening to the public next

week. I'd encourage anyone who believes they might be eligible, to apply, as

well as any other jobs that are currently or will become available.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Ferryland.

MR.

O'DRISCOLL:

What would this unique skill set be that we can't fill these positions?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Digital Government and Service NL.

MS.

STOODLEY:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I know it's a bit nuanced but the highway enforcement

officers, I think there's a mix of technical – like ability with the vehicles.

For example, they're the experts who can say whether or not a muffler has been

modified, in consultation with the RNC. There's that technical and mechanical

expertise, plus then the enforcement side.

I'd be happy to get the Member additional information

on that.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Grand Falls-Windsor - Buchans.

MR.

TIBBS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the tourism industry creates a billion

dollars in revenue and creates some 20,000 jobs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

TIBBS:

This year the industry lost 6,300 jobs, so I wouldn't clap too loud. Ninety per

cent of operators have seen reduced revenue and 70 per cent would not be

operating without assistance.

Will the minister commit to an enhanced tourism-focused

support package as requested by Hospitality NL?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation.

MR.

DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the hon. Member for the question of a very

important industry to our province's future, as well as our past. I've worked

very closely, and this government has worked very closely with Hospitality

Newfoundland and Labrador, almost on a daily basis to work through issues that

the operators have been having. We incorporated a Tourism and Hospitality

Support Program, the biggest, single investment a government has ever made in

the tourism industry in our province of $25 million. We're working through that.

I think at this point we have 900 operators that have

already received funding. We look forward to receiving even more. I encourage

every hon. Member to encourage those tourism operators and hospitality operators

to apply to that program. It gets the money out very, very quickly, and I look

forward to having that out very, very quickly.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Grand Falls-Windsor - Buchans.

MR.

TIBBS:

thank the minister for telling us where we've gone, but we need to know where

we're going.

Mr. Speaker, the vice chair of Hospitality NL says the

industry is decimated.

What specific action will this minister take to help

the tourism industry in this province to survive?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation.

MR.

DAVIS:

Well, Mr. Speaker, I'm not going to repeat the Tourism and Hospitality Support

Program, because that's one aspect. One of the other things we've done is work

with our federal colleagues to enhance those programs that would be impacting

those employees that would be affected, making sure those programs are extended.

We've been very successful on increasing the wage

subsidy, as well as increasing the duration of that, which is going to be hugely

beneficial to the tourism operators in this province. I understand their

concern; I feel their concern. That's why I'm on the phone with them almost on a

daily basis to try to best –

HON. MEMBER:

(Inaudible.)

MR.

DAVIS:

the hon. Member would stop heckling me, I'd be able to answer the question a

little bit better.

From the standpoint where I sit, we're working very

close with Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador and the operators and we're

committed to this industry, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Exploits.

MR.

FORSEY:

Outfitters rely heavily on out-of-province hunters and many are telling me that

their businesses have all been stopped. The outfitting industry brings a lot of

revenue and employs a lot of people, particularly in rural areas of the

province.

Premier: What action will your government take to help

the struggling outfitter industry to survive?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture.

MR.

LOVELESS:

thank the hon. Member for the question.

It is a question of concern, and the outfitting

industry, like many industries, has certainly been affected by the global

pandemic. We referenced even in our debate last night around that. I met with

them yesterday. We had a good discussion around some of the options where we can

help that industry, and I'm committed to doing my best to certainly help them in

their time of need.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

MR.

J. DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we're two months into this current school

year and the Minister of Education has already decided to cancel public exams

for semesterized courses.

Will he now make the decision to cancel all public

exams and do what teachers are telling me and level the playing field for all

students?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Education.

MR.

OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I have indicated publicly, as well as in this

Legislature, that, yes, we did cancel public exams for January and we have a

very open mind about the public exams for June. We haven't made a decision on

that yet. We want to do what is in the absolute best interest of our students in

the province. I've been speaking with officials in the department and we will

have a decision on the June public exams very early in the new year.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

MR.

J. DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

When schools closed in March it disrupted learning for

high school students and effectively brought many courses to an end. This

created knowledge deficits, which places teachers and students under enormous

pressure to make up this year.

I again ask the Minister of Education: Will he cancel

public exams? Make that decision now for all students and allow high school

teachers to focus on making up gaps in learning and on keeping students safe and

on nurturing their emotional well-being.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Education.

MR.

OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This question is coming from the same Member that

wanted us to have half a school year this year for students by having students

go on a rotational basis: half the students one day, half the students the next.

Mr. Speaker, public exams is an important issue. We

want to do what is in the absolute best interest of our children in school. As I

said, we will have a decision on this very early in the new year, but I'm not

going to rush to a decision such as having rotational classes without having it

well thought out.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

MR.

J. DINN:

Mr.

Speaker, I'm not talking about rotational classes. This is a Member who

supported rotational classes because of the lack of a plan by this government as

a way of easing into the school year, instead of putting teachers and schools in

such an untenable position.

I again ask the minister: What is preventing him from

making the decision right now? Make a simple, straightforward decision in this

unprecedented time that will not only remove unnecessary stress from students,

parents and teachers, but will save the department money as well.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Education.

MR.

OSBORNE:

Mr.

Speaker, I appreciate the question. I'm not sure why the Member is getting so

upset. I know he's gone madly off in pursuit of problems and asking people to

provide pictures of problems in schools. I haven't seen any of those yet, Mr.

Speaker.

What I will say to the Member is we will make the

decision in the best interest of the children. I'm not going to rush to a

decision and regret it later. I'm not going to make a hasty decision and repent

at leisure. We will make the best decision for the children this school year and

it will be made very early in the new year.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

MR.

J. DINN:

Mr.

Speaker, I do what all good leaders and people who have an interest and

experience in education, and seek out information, speak directly to people who

are affected by decisions.

Mr. Speaker, primary and elementary teachers are

struggling to bridge the grade-level gap from the amount of time lost last year;

thus, making formal first-term reports challenging to prepare.

Will the Minister of Education use his authority to

cancel formal term-one evaluations for primary and elementary students for this

school year and allow primary and elementary teachers to use their professional

judgment and to focus on outcomes and getting students where they need to be

academically?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Education.

MR.

OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will take that question under advisement. Again, even

with this topic, we will make a decision that is in the best interest of the

children. I do acknowledge that they've lost several months of school last year,

which is why we didn't make the hasty decision that the Member opposite was

demanding we make in having half of students go on Monday, the other half on

Tuesday and following the first half on Wednesday; having the children lose

another half a school year through that process.

Mr. Speaker, I'm glad we didn't make that decision. We

will make that decision, if and when necessary, based on COVID in the schools.

We are not going to rush into hasty decisions at the Member's demand.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for St. John' Centre, time for a quick question and a quick

answer.

MR.

J. DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

If we weren't trying to make hasty decisions on this

government side, we'd have none.

Formal first-term evaluations are coming up soon, when

will that decision be made because that will save teachers an enormous amount of

strain, worry and stress for their students and their families?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Education.

MR.

OSBORNE:

Mr.

Speaker, as I said, I'll take the question under advisement, the recommendation

by the Member under advisement. Mr. Speaker, I will speak with officials in the

decision in the best interest of the students in this province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

time for Question Period has expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling of Documents.

Notices of Motion.

Notices of Motion

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR.

CROCKER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I give notice that I will on tomorrow move in

accordance with Standing Order 11(1) that this House not adjourn at 5:30 p.m. on

Thursday, October 29, 2020.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Further notices of motion?

Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Harbour Main.

MS.

CONWAY OTTENHEIMER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Whereas there is a growing urgency for brush cutting in

several communities in the District of Harbour Main, specifically Conception

Harbour and Roaches Line, Route 70. These roads are of high volume traffic,

significant moose sightings. They pose a serious threat to motorist. Brush

cutting maintenance on these roads must be carried out as soon as possible to

ensure the safety of the people that use them daily.

We petition the hon. House of Assembly to call upon and

urge the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to immediately take the

necessary steps of conducting and maintaining brush cutting operations on the

Conception Bay Highway, specifically Conception Harbour and Roaches Line, Route

70, to ensure motorists' safety and to improve the sightlines for the driving

public that use these roads each day.

Mr. Speaker, I have raised this petition two previous

times in the House of Assembly in my short time as a Member of the House, which

is approximately 16, 17 months. I rose in the House with a petition on this same

issue on December 5, 2019. I rose in the House of Assembly with this same

petition on June 15, 2020.

I am disappointed beyond belief to report that although

the former Minister of Transportation and Works gave assurances, at that time,

that this important issue would be addressed for the people in this district,

little has been done in all this time. In fact, the minister had previously

stated in response to my petition on behalf of the people that I'm going to

actually please the Member opposite, and that the work would actually be added

to the contract.

Well, Mr. Speaker, that was December 5, 2019. December

16, 2019, I followed up with a letter to the minister. I asked for an expected

time frame and I am sad to say that little has been done.

Let me say what has been done. As far as the work in

Roaches Line, I've been advised by the residents there that only approximately

one kilometre was completed and they had to stop because of snowfall. As far as

Conception Harbour is concerned, no work at all was even started.

Now, given the safety concerns at play and the risk

involved, this is very concerning to the people in Conception Harbour, and not

only Conception Harbour and Roaches Line, but the people who pass through these

communities.

Mr. Speaker, we need to know, the people in these areas

need to know: Are these issues going to be addressed? Is the brush cutting going

to take place? We know that there was a concern with this issue as far as a

collision that had occurred in the Conception Bay area, specifically where the

brush cutting needs to take place. There was difficulty with the sightlines for

the driving public that use these roadways. Yet –

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MS.

CONWAY OTTENHEIMER:

– this seems to be funny, Mr. Speaker. There's a lot of laughter –

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS.

CONWAY OTTENHEIMER:

– but it's not funny to the people in this district.

It's a serious issue, Mr. Speaker. We're asking for a commitment. Once and for

all, can you address this issue for the people who are affected, in Conception

Harbour in particular?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.

MR.

BRAGG:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Member opposite for her

petition.

Anybody who drives this highway knows brush cutting is

the most important thing. Next to fixing a pothole, brush cutting is, I would

think, the next level to (inaudible).

I just sent a text over to my staff who assured me that

I will deliver on the promises made by the former minister. Your tender goes out

this week – so that everybody is hearing now, the tender for the Harbour Main

District will go out this week. I will provide you with the exact locations, but

this says we have the exact areas that the MHA wants. I can only tell you what

I'm being told. The Member should be very proud of that.

I know it's a long time coming. I understand the

frustration of anybody driving that road. I saw a moose accident a couple of

weeks ago in the middle of the day when there was no brush by the side of the

road, so I can imagine the frustration of driving where there's brush by the

side of the road.

I'm happy to report, the promise made will be a promise

kept from that minister to me, to you and your district. I will give you all the

details, because it's going to be emailed to me shortly, so you can report it

back. Another promise will be kept, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MS.

EVANS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm presenting this petition for fair electricity rates

for Labrador Indigenous communities. I think it's my third or fourth time

presenting it.

We, the undersigned, are concerned citizens of

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

rates be provided to Torngat Mountains residents in the Northern Labrador

Indigenous communities of Nain, Natuashish, Hopedale, Makkovik, Postville and

Rigolet.

The rates charged to the Northern Labrador residents –

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

I'm having trouble hearing the Member. The noise level

in the House is too high.

The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MS.

EVANS:

The

rates charged to Northern Labrador residents are cost prohibitive using electric

heat and therefore rates are very cost prohibitive to adequately heating their

homes. The rationale for this particular petition is to bring electricity rates

more in line with what our neighbouring residents of Lake Melville region pay.

For the first 1,000 kilowatt hours, Torngat Mountain

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

Melville region. However, above that ceiling of 1,000 kilowatt hours, Torngat

Mountains' residents pay six times the rate of Lake Melville residents – six

times the rate – jumping to 18.5 cents a kilowatt hour. The 1,000-kilowatt hour

ceiling prevents many resident from being able to heat their homes with electric

heat. Low-income families and households that don't have the proper manpower to

haul wood are the greatest impacted.

Poorly heated houses often result in damage, creating

expensive repairs for frozen pipes, moisture damage and mould. Poorly heated

houses also create social and mental health issues that can be long lasting. We

strongly believe that changes to electricity rates need to be made for the

Northern residents of Torngat Mountains.

Therefore, we petition the hon. House of Assembly as

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

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to increase the lifeline block to 3,500

kilowatt hours when applying the Northern Strategic Plan subsidy to electric

bills of Northern Labrador residents of the Torngat Mountains region.

Mr. Speaker, this petition is important because it

impacts the quality of life for residents in my district. That's why they signed

the petition and that's why I'm presenting it so much.

The first 1,000 kilowatt hours, we pay the same rate as

Lake Melville, but after that it jumps up to the highest in the province: 18.5

cents a kilowatt hours. We can't use electric heat to heat our homes. Actually,

we can't afford to. Even people – I'll take an example of people working in

Voisey's Bay, they make a good income; they can't afford electric heat.

What's the alternative? Going out and getting wood.

Long distances for people to drive and also gas. The price of gasoline on the

North Coast – highest in the province: $1.53 a litre with the price fees. Stove

oil is $100 more per drum in the winter than in the Lake Melville region.

I had a lot of stuff prepared, but one of the problems

I'm dealing with in my district is people will say: If it's so problematic, why

don't you move? I say: The thing about is we have problems because they're never

addressed. This would greatly go towards helping address some of our costs.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR.

CROCKER:

call Orders of the Day, Mr. Speaker.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR.

CROCKER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I call from the Order Paper, Motion 13.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Deputy Government

House Leader, that under Standing Order 11(1) this House not adjourn at 5:30

p.m. on Tuesday, October 22, 2020.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

motion has been moved and seconded.

It is the pleasure of the House –

MR.

CROCKER:

October 27, sorry, Mr. Speaker.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

27th.

The motion has been moved and seconded.

All those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR.

SPEAKER:

All

those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

The hon. the Government House Leader.

MR.

CROCKER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I move, seconded by the Deputy Government House Leader,

for leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Radiation, Health

and Safety Act, 2020, Bill 23, and I further move that the said bill be now read

a first time.

MR.

SPEAKER:

is moved and seconded by the hon. minister that she shall introduce a bill

entitled,

An Act Respecting The Protection Of The Health Of Persons Exposed To

Radiation And Respecting The Safety Of Persons In Connection With The Operation

And Use Of The Electrical And Mechanical Components Of Radiation Producing

Equipment And Associated Apparatus, Bill 23, and that the said bill now be read

a first time.

Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

All those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR.

SPEAKER:

All

those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

Motion, the hon. the Minister of Digital Government and

Service Newfoundland and Labrador to introduce a bill, “An Act Respecting The

Protection Of The Health Of Persons Exposed To Radiation And Respecting The

Safety Of Persons In Connection With The Operation And Use Of The Electrical And

Mechanical Components Of Radiation Producing Equipment And Associated

Apparatus,” carried. (Bill 23)

CLERK (Hawley George):

A bill,

An Act Respecting The Protection Of The Health

Of Persons Exposed To Radiation And Respecting The Safety Of Persons In

Connection With The Operation And Use Of The Electrical And Mechanical

Components Of Radiation Producing Equipment And Associated Apparatus. (Bill 23)

MR.

SPEAKER:

This bill has now been read a first time.

When shall the said bill be read a second time?

MR.

CROCKER:

Tomorrow.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Tomorrow.

On motion, Bill 23 read a first time, ordered read a

second time on tomorrow.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR.

CROCKER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I call from the Order Paper, Order 3, Concurrence

Motion, report of the Government Services Committee.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

motion is that the report of the Government Services Committee be concurred in.

The hon. the Member for Burin - Grand Bank.

MS.

HALEY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you for the opportunity to speak about the

work of the Government Services Committee.

As Chair of the Committee, it was a job made easy

because of the seriousness and the professionalism of the other Committee

Members. I want to say thank you to the Members of the Government Services

Committee who put in so much time with the staff of various departments over the

past few weeks as we went through Estimates of several departments and discussed

throughout relevant policies of the departments in question.

Estimates Committee work gives all Members the

opportunity to, not only meet staff of the various departments but also to learn

the important work of the departments in question. Those women and men are so

thoroughly versed in all aspects of work at their departments and their

involvement in the Estimates process ensure that we, as MHAs, have the answers

to our questions so we can make decisions in a very thoughtful manner, Mr.

Speaker.

The procedure allows for a clear understanding of what

is happening at the departmental level, so it's essential that all Members

participate at the Committee level. Mr. Speaker, I assure you, with the

Government Services Committee, we were all certainly engaged. There was

certainly no appetite for rushing through the process and many questions put

forward by the Committee Members were certainly answered thoroughly, Mr.

Speaker.

Those Members who served with me on the Government

Services Committee were: the Members for Ferryland; Harbour Grace - Port de

Grave; Lake Melville; Placentia - St. Mary's; the Member for St. Barbe - L'Anse

aux Meadows; the Member for St. John's East - Quidi Vidi; the Member for Terra

Nova; and, of course, I proudly represent the good people of Burin - Grand Bank.

The Estimates we were tasked with examining pertained

to: Finance; Consolidated Fund Services; the Public Service Commission;

Transportation and Infrastructure; Public Procurement Agency; and Digital

Government and Service NL. Certainly, a good cross-section of departments and

agencies and a cross-section that allowed Committee Members insight into their

workings, Mr. Speaker.

I want to say thank you to the staff of the various

departments who also put in a lot of preparation and time into instituting

government policy and taking measures to ensure the wise spending of the

taxpayers' money is carried out.

We realize there is a lot of work and hours in the time

during the run-up to the budget, often requiring time away from family. So we

thank the departmental staff for the sacrifice they make in ensuring this

province keeps moving forward. The budget is more than a document of numbers and

statistics; it is a blueprint for the direction of the province for the coming

fiscal year.

Thank you as well to the Table staff who are essential

to the smooth operation of the Estimates Committee. The degree of knowledge and

professionalism they demonstrate every single day is indeed commendable, Mr.

Speaker. I also want to send a shout-out to the people at Hansard who recorded

the Committee workings for posterity and public record. Some of our sessions

went late into the evening and they patiently listened and recorded the

proceedings while we learned of the direction government will be taking going

forward. They are indeed an important part of the democratic process.

Mr. Speaker, I will take some time in highlighting the

measures in the budget. It becomes obvious through the Estimates process that

besides the findings of how the money is spent on behalf of the taxpayers and

residents of this province, there are good things happening here in the

departments as we chart our future.

There is no denying that we are in very difficult times

as we are battling a global pandemic, while trying to keep our province moving

in the right direction; however, we cannot be held hostage by this pandemic. Mr.

Speaker, we will all adjust our ways of doing things to ensure we remain safe

while still getting on with business of running this province.

Transportation and Infrastructure is one department

where residents of the province are acutely aware of what is happening, and next

to Health and Community Services, I would say, Mr. Speaker, probably the most

visible. Everyone depends on our transportation system and it is not surprising,

of course, that this department does get a lot of attention.

This past year, work by the department has been

extensive and varied with everything from road and bridgework to work on

ensuring the safety of schoolchildren and residents within our province are kept

safe. I know the installation of digital speed signs were put in place in school

zones and new signage warnings of the dangers of distracted driving. A busy

department, indeed, Mr. Speaker, and not one solely fixated on the

transportation element.

The Infrastructure component is equally important as

that department oversees the building of new government facilities, such as

hospitals and schools, Mr. Speaker. I know in

Budget 2020 the Government Services Committee was informed that

government had budgeted $609 million towards provincial roads, as well as $80

million towards health care facilities. The investment in new health facilities,

whether the mental health facility in St. John's or the acute care hospital in

Corner Brook, is critical to people right across this province.

The Committee found that these are essential needs of

the residents of this province and will provide long-term benefits. I don't

think will be saddened when this new mental health facility is completed, which

will replace the present Waterford Hospital. This is a major, major step forward

for the province and another acknowledgement that mental health is as critical

as physical health to a person's well-being.

We have ongoing construction of new schools in Gander,

Paradise, Bay Roberts and St. Alban's. The new Francophone school in St. John's

area will be also a highlight, Mr. Speaker. It will be a proud day when the

doors of that facility will open.

Those new schools will allow children attending there

not just a new roof over their heads, Mr. Speaker, but modern facilities to

enrich the lives and educational experience of the children attending those

schools. No doubt, it will make the teaching experience more satisfying for

those tasked with working with our children. These investments in Education

being carried out by the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure are

essential for the well-being and ongoing education of our children, as well as

providing modern instructional facilities for our educators.

We were also pleased, Mr. Speaker, to see the

Department of Transportation and Infrastructure took the time to pay respect to

several people who have made a significant contribution to society by renaming

bridges, especially after Innu Leaders in Labrador. We are a proud people and we

will always remember those who have given so much for the betterment of

Newfoundland and Labrador.

I am also pleased the contract has been let for the new

mental health unit in Labrador, Mr. Speaker. This will be a modern, six-bed

facility at the Labrador Health Centre in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. It will

feature private rooms for patients, as well as room for recreation and group

therapy. It is certainly appropriate that an Indigenous health team is busy

developing a plan for Indigenous land-based wellness programming. I understand

they are also involved in the design of the new unit, Mr. Speaker.

Of course, I would be remiss if I did not mention the

Trans-Labrador Highway. Not so long ago more than a dream but now nearing

completion. The final leg of that highway between Happy Valley-Goose Bay and

Southern Labrador will soon be paved, with the contract to do so already

awarded, Mr. Speaker. While that highway addresses basically an east-west

transportation link for the Big Land, government is also looking at the

possibility of a roadway to Northern Labrador; $200,000 has been set aside for a

feasibility study of such an undertaking of this project.

As I have already suggested, the work of this

department is multi-dimensional, with roads being just one piece of a large pie,

Mr. Speaker. The significance of the role of the department to the health and

educational services we require cannot be overstated. It's not just the

department, and the work of the employees there on behalf of the people of the

province is fundamental to the everyday lives of each and every single one of

us, Mr. Speaker. That became abundantly clear as we worked our way through the

Estimates for the department.

As an MHA for a rural district, working with various

ministers responsible for transportation has always been an important part of

the work I do on behalf of my constituents, Mr. Speaker, the constituents of the

beautiful District of Burin - Grand Bank. Given our climate, we will always have

to deal with maintaining and repairing our roadways, especially at a time where

climate change is impacting our coastal communities. As an MHA, I feel that I

have been able to accomplish a lot in the time I have been here, but some of the

most satisfying for me have been in the area of roadwork.

One of the first challenges with which I was presented

was the constant flooding of an area in the Lamaline area commonly known as the

Meadow, with flooding becoming more severe every single passing year, Mr.

Speaker. I worked with the then minister of Transportation and Works and had a

commitment within the first few weeks to have this work done and it was. It's

proving to be successful.

I also got a commitment from the minister at the time

to include the highway between Grand Bank and Fortune in the department's

five-year Roads Plan. At the time there was a very dangerous turn on that

section of road, Mr. Speaker, becoming more dangerous with each passing year as

the heavy seas ate away at the embankment by which the highway passed. I'm also

happy to say that work has been completed, Mr. Speaker, as has work on the

highway between St. Lawrence and Lawn, a

section of road that had not seen

significant upgrades since being built. As well, stretches of the highway

between Marystown and Grand Bank have seen significant work and the situation

for the driving public has improved substantially.

There has been an acknowledgement by this government

that it recognizes the Burin Peninsula is in the midst of an economic rebirth,

Mr. Speaker. A good highway system is imperative in accommodating the needs of

the area as we go forward.

I say thank you to the previous minister of

Transportation and Works for the installation of a new highway camera near

Terrenceville. Though not technically in my district, nonetheless it is a

valuable tool for everyone travelling the Burin Peninsula, especially during the

winter months. I have heard many, many positive comments from residents of my

district since it's been installed, Mr. Speaker.

Has all the necessary roadwork been completed in the

District of Burin - Grand Bank? Of course not. There are still projects that

need to be undertaken. While I am the MHA for that district, I will continue to

strongly advocate for its completion. That said, I want to thank the ministers

with whom I have worked to have the aforementioned projects carried out. It

certainly has positively impacted the residents and the constituents I

represent, Mr. Speaker.

Among the highlights of the Department of Digital

Government and Service NL, Mr. Speaker, government was asked to step up and make

services more readily accessible to the residents of the province. We have made

enormous strides in bringing government closer to those who use those same

services in attempting to overcome the challenges of distance and availability

of services.

Technology can be a great equalizer of the gap between

rural and urban areas, especially as more reliable and faster Internet services

become more readily available in rural areas. That said, the continued expansion

of quality Internet will be something with which government will continue to

work with service providers until province-wide coverage has been given. This

will become increasingly important as more and more government services are

provided online, Mr. Speaker.

The Committee learned through

Budget 2020 that since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,

registration through MyGovNL has grown by a significant percentage – some 1,400

per cent, in fact, Mr. Speaker.

The formation of the Department of Digital Government

and Service NL has already made huge advances on the technology side, and I'm

sure there's still much more to come. This fact ensures residents of the

province have fingertip access that could only have been dreamed about some

short 15 years ago, Mr. Speaker. The fact that we have done it right here should

also reflect on the skill set we have developed in this province. We are

embracing our technology sector, and this should serve as an incentive for those

interested in that particular field. We can do it right here, and the Committee

learned the focus will also be put there going forward. A renewed focus on

technology and our role in it.

Mr. Speaker, not only has the Minister of Digital

Government and Service NL made advances within her department, but she's here in

the House with her son, Alexander. One of the highlights of our time in the

House this year is certainly the little reminder of who we work with just a

couple of seats over from me.

Mr. Speaker, the Department of Finance Estimates were

interesting, as we learned of the changes made to enhance governance such as

changes to the Treasury Board and Finance. Government has given a clear

definition to Treasury and Finance. I thank the Finance Minister for the

experience of learning of these changes.

It has to be challenging work in the department – very

challenging, Mr. Speaker – especially during the pandemic and the resulting

downturn in the economy worldwide, but I believe we still have a bright future

ahead – a very bright future. We are by nature a resilient people, and I have

every confidence that resilience will get us through this period as well.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. House for this

opportunity to bring forward these observations which relate to the work of the

Government Services Committee. Having the opportunity to examine this work of

the various departments and agencies under our scope of reference was certainly

enlightening.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Ferryland.

MR.

O'DRISCOLL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

First of all, I'd like to speak on behalf of my

district, just to say thank you to all the people who put me here and

representing the beautiful District of Ferryland. Since I came in here 17 or 18

months ago, I'm going to say it's a pleasure to be involved with government

Service NL.

Since I came in here, I've been through three

ministers. I'm sure the ministers on the other side looking at this department –

so many bills since I came in. It is unbelievable how many bills are in this

department, and I'm sure all three ministers in that department are saying it's

a lot of work. I certainly appreciate the time they put into it. I appreciate

that.

I served as a critic for this department, like I said,

17 months ago. The department is no longer called workplace health and safety.

It's now called Digital Government and Service NL. It's even had a name change

and three ministers since I got in here. I don't know if I'm the problem but

it's certainly changed.

Even with those responsibilities, the department

delivers a wide variety of services. When I first came in, my colleague to the

left of me here said when you come in this department you get a birth

certificate and you leave with a death certificate. That's what the department

covers, so I thought it was a pretty wide variety of things it covers. I'll go

down through some of the stuff in some of the departments, just some of the

stuff it covers. In my short time here I learned, as the expression goes,

everything from a needle to an anchor that you're getting permission to or get

to speak on. There's so much legislation to deal with it all, it's incredible.

In that department in Service NL, or Digital Government

– I'm going to keep saying Service NL, I'm sure I am because it's been 17 months

at it so it's going to be hard to get away from it. It includes Motor

Registration; it includes highway safety. Just to touch on highway safety; I've

asked some questions today on highway safety as well but one of the things that

I did speak on long ago, and I thought when I brought it up it raised a few

eyebrows over there, nothing bad, but just something that I think we could look

at going in the future.

When I was in Portugal, probably a year ago now – it

seems a long while ago – driving through a street, no schools, no intersection.

You drive through a street and a light comes on, it stops you right where you

are. We were three or four days there and every time we'd drive through a light

would come on and go red. We're looking around saying, what is going on? I think

it's something we could put in our school zones.

An example would be in my district in the Goulds where

there's an elementary school. You're driving down a nice little street and the

speed sort of gets up. The speed is 30 kilometres there, and it's pretty easy –

and we've all done that – going through communities that you drive around

Newfoundland, and you're driving around – you're going through a community and

the next thing you're going 50 or 60 kilometres and the zone is 30.

In this instance, when I was in Portugal, the light

would come on. Anytime you went 10 kilometres over the speed limit, a light

would flash on and stop everything. You see a red light; you stop. Stop for 10

seconds, the light changes and goes green. There's nothing there, other than

stopping anyone that's going fast. I thought it would be a great idea for a

school zone, just to keep the people and the kids safe and all the traffic that

goes through these zones.

I'm thinking here in the city itself that some of these

streets where people are in a hurry and sometimes I worry about that. They're

always in a hurry going somewhere, but when you're going through a school zone

you have to be careful. I think if you had something like that, and I'm not sure

what the cost is on it but if you had something there that if you went 10

kilometres over the speed limit, a light flashed on, you stopped for 10 seconds

and away you go again. I just think it would be something that would be great in

school zones. I think it's something the government should look at. I remember

the minister the last time I brought this up, he looked at me and he was nodding

his head. I just think that maybe – again, I don't know the cost but it may be

something you can look at.

Also in my area, in the school zones and in the

community I live in, we have some speed zones. I did call our council in one of

the communities I was in. You're driving in the community, the speed limit is

50, and in the nighttime you can really see it. You're driving, you're coming

down the highway on a little stretch and you're going 70 kilometres an hour. The

light flashes on, there's like a cop car there and you really slow down. You're

really conscious of it. I think it's really important that you look at that.

Now, it's expensive for the communities. It cost $7,000

or $8,000, but it's safety and that's something they put there out of their own

coffers, I'm going to say, in their community, but I thought it was a great

idea.

I know that the department did put it in the school

zones from the government. They did put it in a school zone where we are. Again,

you come a hill, you go down over the hill, no problem to go 70. We have

residents that complain about it, and rightly so, because you're coming to a

school zone. There are some kids that have some disabilities in the area as

well. It really brings you to a good slowdown, I have to say, with that flashing

light, for sure.

I think it's a great initiative and the government

should probably look at that, especially in school zones. It's from here,

Newfoundland and Labrador, all over, wherever they can be. I'm sure some places

probably don't need it, but I think in some of these school zones, and I know

that a lot of Members – I'm just looking around at them – knowing where some of

the school are that I'm familiar with, they could certainly use them in their

area.

Another few divisions that are in there. There's

Occupational Health and Safety, Vital Statistics, lotteries, residential

tenancies, the registries of deeds and companies, consumer and financial

affairs, the real estate and mortgage broker regulation. We went through that

last year in detail and questioned some of the stuff. The legislation in some of

this stuff is so outdated that it needed to be tweaked and needed to be looked

at.

I thought we did some good work on that and didn't let

it pass through just be sailing it through. We had some questions, what both

sides thought on it. We did some good work on it, myself on this side and the

Member for CBS. Also, the Queen's Printer and many more are also included in it.

The department is responsible for 175 pieces of

legislation. I can tell you from experience, this means the critics get a lot of

inquiries and also have a fair number of bills to address in the Legislature. I

have a bill coming up tomorrow that's on radiation equipment. I had one on

credit unions last week that the Member for Cape St. Francis filled in for me.

Just to touch on that, I wasn't here last week to do Estimates, I was sick and

the Member for Cape St. Francis filled in. I certainly appreciate him doing

that. Thank you very much.

I'm sure that the minister over there, after a couple

of months, certainly recognizes how important and how busy it is in just only

two months. Looking at the legislation, I'm sure it's pretty tough for her.

I also have a variety of topics covered by the

department that makes my job as critic very interesting and it means you're

learning so much about the department. You're learning so much about highways

and, I'm going to say, motor vehicle.

I came from a motor vehicle salesperson, I guess. Well,

I started as a service consultant in a car dealership and then I went on to be a

sales consultant. If anyone ever aspires to be a sales consultant, I think they

should learn and live in the service department first, because once you take

care of a customer and you take care of them in service, picking up their

vehicles, dropping it off and getting the required work done, you have a

customer for a lifetime, if you take care of them, and that's what it's all

about.

That's what government does. Government provides

services and if you can treat the people the way they're supposed to be treated,

obviously you got them for a lifetime. If you can treat them the way they should

be treated, then we try to stay clear of getting stuff in the gutter. We try to

treat people with the utmost respect. That's what we need on our front lines.

If you ever work on a front line and serving customers

– so you have people that are in motor vehicle – and it's like I said, it's such

a wide variety. I'm trying to sit here and think of all the departments where

you go in and you actually meet people that – it's a tough job.

Dealing with the public is a tough job. They got stuff

on their mind when they're coming in: their families, their car payments, their

mortgages and everything else that goes with it – daycare and their kids in

school and doctor appointments. The person on the front line that you get

greeted by is the most important for you to start your day off right. When you

go to some of these car dealerships, it's not only the one I worked at, if you

go there you really understand that dealing with the public is a pretty tough

job. I think it's the second highest, if I'm not mistaken, stressful job out

there, besides air traffic controllers.

If you ever go into a car dealership you have to keep

them in your mind. I mean, I got the advantage, I worked there, so I can go in

there and give them a hard time and move on. But when you go in there, you have

to remember, it's a stressful job. They got to try to get the vehicles in, they

got to try to get them ready, try to get them out and then they got to ask to

get them paid for, which every time somebody brings in a vehicle, most times you

never want to pay for anything other than your maintenance. There's stuff that

got to be charged and they got the unenviable task of having to ask you for

money. That's not easy, so I sort of pity them in that way.

Also, just some other things in my district I wanted to

touch on, one was a rotational worker that I got an email from and it just hits

home a little bit, I guess. We all got this issue. Every single person in this

Legislature got this issue for sure.

He writes me an email and, obviously, I'm not going to

use his name, he said: I'm writing this letter to explain my situation to see if

anyone can do something. I'm a rotational worker; I work in Malaysia on an oil

rig. Since the pandemic came in, I've seen my family for seven days. As an

example, he left home on May 11.He did three weeks in quarantine in Malaysia

before going to the rig where he did another five weeks or more, until he got

home in July, and did two more weeks quarantine when he got home. He spent seven

days with his family before he had to travel back to Malaysia to quarantine and

start all over again.

I know the rules are there for a reason and we respect

that, but sometimes you have to look at it. These families, along with all – I'm

sure they're glad they have a job at this point in time, but you really do have

to put into consideration their marriages and how all that affects the family

and they get to see them. They come home and they can only look at them through

a window for 14 days and in seven days time they're gone back. It's pretty

tough.

I know that Dr. Fitzgerald has a job to do. It's a

tough rule, but I think that we can – I listened to the gentleman this morning

on the radio talking about rotational workers. If they could have rapid testing

and do five to seven days, well, that gives them some extra time that they're

not getting right now. You sort of have to look at that, and we as people in

here have to put ourselves in their shoes and what they're going through.

Sometimes we take calls but we neglect to do that and think about that. That's

one of the ones that I wanted to bring up.

Just speaking on the locked-in pensions, which was

another question that I had yesterday and spoke on it before, I don't want to

belabour the point but these people are in dire straits. Their cars could be

repossessed and lose their house.

I know that the rule says that in dying circumstances

or you're nearing death, but nearing death is no good when everything is gone.

They need it now and we have to respect that, I think, as MHAs here. I think

that the government side really should push through that legislation and try to

get it ready, and government officials get it ready so that we can act upon it,

and hopefully help these people out and get them through some struggling times

because they are going through struggling times.

Some other stuff that I'd like to touch on, another one

would be – and I heard the minister speaking over there so I'll touch on a

couple of them as well. She mentioned bridges. In an area where I am, I have a

bridge, Mutton Bay Bridge in Trepassey. I know it's on the list; it looks like

it's going to be done.

If you haven't seen it – hopefully you don't ever cross

it because it's a bridge that's in desperate need. It really needs to be done.

I'm glad to see that they're onside to get it done. The previous MHA before me,

I'm sure, was advocating for that. The people of the area in Trepassey certainly

need it. Again, I'm getting a lot of calls this week on the conditions of the

road in the area as well, so we need to pay attention.

There's a letter here. It says: I'm sending you this

note to complain and question about the condition of the main roads on each side

of Trepassey, especially the barrens from Trepassey to Peter's River.

I had a discussion with another MHA across the House

yesterday on it, and we argued over who's responsible for it and who gets the

blame, I guess, if it's not done. She said: We're retired, so we travel to St.

John's on a weekly basis for doctor's appointments. Many people have done damage

to their vehicles travelling the roads. I personally watched the highway crews

come and patch 10 bad holes and leave three or four behind.

It's not easy, and I see another minister over there

nodding his head. We've seen it happen. Sometimes they run out of asphalt or for

some other reason they can't go, or they don't have enough people to stay there

or whatever the case, but we have to pay attention to this stuff. If we do the

small things like that, that will make our jobs much easier and that stuff will

go away.

I'm sure something else is going to come up, but we

really have to take care of the people. If they call you, you call them back and

say we'll see what we can do. If we can get that done, then that goes off your

radar and you move on to your next issue. Hopefully, there is none, but I know

there will always be something, but you move on and get it done.

We just let it dwindle and go and go and don't get any

answers, and then we have irate people. You have to deal with it; I have to deal

with it. Sometimes I think some of these problems can be done and handled. I

know it's not easy. You have departments and equipment and there are big areas

to cover, but I'm thinking if you get the little problems out of the way, you

can deal with the big ones. That's the way I look at it. If you can get rid of

some of these small problems, then you can move on to some other stuff. That's

where I'll leave with that.

When you did your Estimates, Digital Government and

Service NL – with the Committee itself, there's Transportation and

Infrastructure, the Public Procurement Agency, Finance, the Public Service

Commission and also Consolidated Fund Services. These are all the ones under

Government Services. It's a big area for sure. I listened yesterday for six

hours on all the other concurrence. There are a lot of issues for sure. We'd

certainly like to get some of these problems – like I say, I'd like to get them

put to bed so we can move on to some bigger things.

One other thing before I finish. All of us, I'm sure,

do it; but I'd like to put it on the record to thank my CA who keeps me out of

trouble. That's a big job, I'm sure. She does a great job answering people back

and taking care of everything that needs to be done. I'd certainly like to thank

her for that.

That's it. Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Deputy Government House Leader.

MS.

DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I just enjoyed listening to the Member for Ferryland.

He was quite interesting. Actually, as I was listening to him, he gave me

several things of which to talk about today. One I love, Mr. Speaker, every time

I have an opportunity to speak about my district, but I always do also have a

habit of quickly running out of time.

Sometimes my colleagues say it's hard to fill 20

minutes. I go back to the early years when I started here in 2013. I remember

one day sitting over there and I said, at that time, to MHA Jim Bennett: Time

goes some fast when you're up. We would stand then. It was pre-COVID. He said:

No, 20 minutes goes fast when you're wound up and you're always wound up.

Perhaps I was back in those days when I think about my

district, and I reflect on it all the time on my drive. When I fly in to Blanc

Sablon, most folks who have a rural district, it requires hundreds of kilometres

to get from one end to the other. We do spend a lot of time on the road alone,

Mr. Speaker, as you would know, serving our constituents.

Often, when I cross over into L'Anse au Clair and I'm

heading north to my hometown in Charlottetown, I'm quite fully preoccupied with

the different drive that I take now than the drive that I used to take in these

early years. I would stand in Opposition and I would hammer out the petitions.

I'd come back on Mondays after being in my district in the Labrador Straits

driving through terrible road conditions, almost 40-year-old pavement.

Then I would leave Red Bay and in the fall and in the

spring, which ironically was when the House was sitting, that was when the road

would be the worst. I would be on gravel road. It was absolutely terrible. I

would fly in to my district, Mr. Speaker, and it wasn't uncommon to be

surrounded by people protesting, maybe 150 people – I have those memories –

because they were fed up.

Now, when I go, thanks to the progress, thanks to the

investments of this government, the picture is a very, very different one. We

have so much to be thankful for. We've made tremendous progress. We're not where

we need to be yet; we're going to continue to build on that.

Mr. Speaker, sometimes we go out and we make an

announcement, we're going to put cell coverage in six communities. There will

always be a community that says what about us. I share a quote that my

grandmother often said: Never let perfect be the enemy of the good. We have to

start somewhere and we build on that. That's what we've been doing.

Mr. Speaker, I've said it here before, I never aspired

to be where I was – never. I moved back. I was just moved away long enough to do

some post-secondary. I moved home, started a young family and lived in a little

community. I didn't really have the luxury to say: I wonder when someone's going

to put a playground up there for the children. So you got involved. My husband

got involved in recreation. I got involved in municipal and literacy. We look

back now and we could almost say the rest is history.

Then, Mr. Speaker, I guess 14 years sitting as a

community rep on the school council, day after day, year after year lobbying for

a new school for the community. Then, the whole ceiling caved in while I was at

a Combined Councils meetings, actually, in Goose Bay. A bunch of people reached

out; we started a real intense lobby that spring for a new school. Shortly after

that, an opportunity opened up in a by-election and here I am.

One of the things I always say is the only thing

constant around me has been change. I think about the all-male team that I

joined in 2013, the different players around me that were always changing; when

I think about the different views that I have as an MHA in this Legislature.

I had the opportunity to serve for a couple of years in

Opposition. I remember a Member of government on my first or second day that I

was in the House said, you're very, very fortunate as an MHA to get the

privilege to serve in Opposition. I thought that was kind of a funny comment at

the time. I understand now what he meant. It gave me some time to learn, to get

established. Later, we would form government. I would share a view that you're

sharing today, Mr. Speaker. I would get to be, to date – depending now, my

colleague from I want to say –

HON. MEMBER:

Harbour Grace.

MS.

DEMPSTER:

Harbour Grace, thank you.

Depending how long she serves, to date I am only the

second female Deputy Speaker and the longest serving. Once she gets 20 months,

then she will surpass me. I had that view. Then, in 2017 I was afforded the

privilege to sit at the Cabinet table and now I have that view. There's lots of

experience.

When I look back to the Opposition days and the

Estimates process, I think the first time our chief of staff said you have to

get ready for Estimates, I was wondering what that was. Later, I would now be a

minister in a department and bring in my officials and we would go through the

Estimates process. Very, very important, Mr. Speaker.

No matter who the government is, sometimes government

will say to Opposition or Opposition will accuse government of looking back: Why

are you looking back? It's important that we look back, just to have some

learnings, Mr. Speaker, from the past. There's no doubt about it, there's a

reason why our windshield is bigger than our rear-view mirror. We are moving

forward and the main focus is on moving forward, but we have to glance back and

we have to learn.

I represent a beautiful part of this province,

Labrador, a big, vast land. It's a tremendous privilege to be the minister for

Labrador. I sometimes feel the weight of responsibility that comes with that,

but also there's an excitement and there's an energy around the tremendous,

untapped potential that's in Labrador.

Just yesterday morning, myself and the Premier, the

Premier did a keynote address to Expo Labrador and I had the opportunity to join

him in Q & A. I have to give a shout out to the Labrador North Chamber of

Commerce who've been doing phenomenal work around bringing businesses together,

whether within this province or across the country, with showcasing what

Labrador has to offer, showcasing the business opportunities at events like

Expo, at events like Northern Exposure.

This year times are very different, as we hear almost

on a daily basis, so kudos to them. They have taken their conference online, and

we had an opportunity to participate virtually, Mr. Speaker. Also, the Premier

in his address had the opportunity to share some of the ways that Labrador is

benefiting from our government's commitment to grow the economy in areas like

tourism, agriculture, forestry; lots of good things happening. The big one being

mining, Mr. Speaker.

There are lots of questions in this House around

offshore. We're a heavy, resource-based, offshore-dependent province, and

COVID-19 have changed the absolute world. It's changed things globally.

When we look to mining, I'm very proud to live in an

area where mining contributes so much to the GDP of this province, to the

provincial Treasury, to people that work, not just in Labrador but, Mr. Speaker,

every weekend when I'm on a plane coming from Goose Bay, like this past weekend,

and lots of workers getting off the plane in Deer Lake; lots of workers getting

off the plane in St. John's. We're going to continue to build on that.

One of the questions yesterday was what's our plan? I

went back to July '19 when I had the privilege to be in Labrador City and

participate in – I believe the investment was around $6 million for an

industrial line that was for Tata. We now see Tata, their plant is fully

operational, fully commissioned, 300 jobs, 150 contractors; 450 jobs, Mr.

Speaker. IOC, I just sat down with the chamber there a few weeks ago and I think

they told me they hired 150 new jobs during COVID. So there are things to be

optimistic about.

I had started down this road with a focus to talk about

my district. When I take that drive – and you know how different it is from what

it used to be. I would stand up in this House – Clyde Jackman used to sit where

the Deputy Premier is sitting now, sometimes he would shake his head when I

would talk about leaving my home town to head back to the House. My husband

would say stick to the high roads when you're driving to Goose Bay. Folks here

might not have known what he meant, but I was trenching through such terrible

conditions, that's what you had to do. It was mucky and when it froze, you had

to stick to the high roads.

Mr. Speaker, what we see now with investments from this

government since 2017, 300 kilometres of new pavement; 100 kilometres in just

2019. We saw 56 kilometres on the Goose Bay end with Johnson's – fell just a

little shy of the 80k for this year. They have assured me that they will be back

and they expect to get about 100 kilometres done next season, modestly speaking.

They have 150 to do, and perhaps they will do more than the 100.

Mr. Speaker, we were in L'Anse au Clair last week, last

Saturday, I believe. We had a wonderful day there celebrating the grand opening

of a beautiful community centre that that community will get lots of work from;

a new fire truck that was parked beside that.

The first principle of economics really – I haven't

really studied economics, just a little – is that money should be allocated

based on need. I represent a district where that was not always the case, Mr.

Speaker. Prior to the Liberal Party forming government in 2013, we had 12 years

of what I would say in the wilderness, at a time when this province was very,

very rich and wealthy. We had all of these issues. Now, I can leave and drive

through community after community. I can see new community centres going up, I

see new fire trucks. Not luxuries, things that were needed.

Just this past Friday, I had the opportunity to join

some Nalcor folks from the Fire & Security Division in Churchill Falls. We flew

in to Black Tickle and we donated to Black Tickle an emergency water pump, a

250-gallon-a-minute water pump, and 400 feet of hose. I can tell you, Mr.

Speaker, it's heartwarming to listen to an individual from that community on the

radio this morning say they last a house to a fire there in February. They just

had to stand and helplessly watch as that home burned. There was a family pet

that lost their life in that fire and, fortunately, the individuals got out.

They're very thankful that this small donation was able to be made to the

community.

Sometimes when government is in the very difficult

fiscal situation that they're in right now, it doesn't always mean that we have

the funds or we have to go to departments and look. Sometimes we're able to

achieve the goals and helping communities meet what their needs are by

partnership. That's what happened on Saturday.

Also, this past weekend, I had the opportunity to sit

down with Dr. Ashlee Cunsolo. She is the director right now of the School of

Arctic and Sub-Arctic Studies; wonderful amazing things happening there around

higher learning.

She shared many stories of individuals that may have

felt that they attempted post-secondary and that they failed, and the assurance

that we need to give them that you did not fail, but a system failed you. Now,

discussions are happening around if the Innu wants a social work program; why

can't that happen right there in Labrador in Happy Valley. If the Innu want

another nursing program; why can't that happen right there in Happy Valley.

A lot of things to be excited about as we see this

academic unit that is right now in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. There is a vision

working with many partners that the academic unit will transfer to a Labrador

college and that there will be synergies across with other campuses in the North

looking to Yukon and looking to Nunavut. So lots of exciting things happening

there, Madam Speaker.

The Member for Ferryland was talking about his time as

a salesperson and the importance of keeping your customers happy. That's not

really unlike what we do, Madam Speaker. As MHAs, we work for our constituents.

Right now, my fill-in CA is currently working in my office; I have a new lady.

She said to me when I was in the district last week: I had no idea that your

office was such a busy office. I had no idea so many people reached out.

Yes, Madam Speaker, I know that your office is a very,

very busy district office as well. I talked earlier here about the changes that

I've seen around me over the last 7½ years. That's why it's essential that all

of us as MHAs, that our first loyalty be to our district. They are the people

that hire us. It's not exactly fun often on election night waiting to see if a

few thousand people that gave you the job interview is going to hire you, but

some of us have been through it a number of times and we must not forget the

people that put us here. One of my former colleagues, Sammy Slade, often would

refer to this place as the people's House. That is true. It's the people's

House; it is the people's purse.

I want to give a shout-out to Aggie Cabot who is right

now working in my constituency office, while my long time, who's been at my side

since day one, Michelle Normore-Ryland is taking a well-deserved break. She's

off with her grandchild somewhere on the Island. It's a very busy office.

Madam Speaker, when you're a rural MHA, and some of my

other colleagues in this House will appreciate this, when you don't have

government services in these communities, when you don't have cell coverage in

all the communities, when you have transportation issues, when you're dealing

with helicopters, planes and ferries, folks will always be reaching out to you.

I often say to people, if I see a busy person, I say: Take care for yourself.

Someone the other day said, what are you saying? Like, take your advice because

you're not using it. Well, perhaps, Madam Speaker, I could find a better

balance.

One of the things that's important to me and that I

pride myself on is I always try and be available to my constituents. Many folks

will know that if they're calling me 11 o'clock on Saturday night, I'm answering

the phone; if they're calling me 7 o'clock on Sunday morning, I'm answering the

phone. I'm not telling people in this House to do that, but that's pretty much

how I have operated. It's a busy district but we've made progress by working

together. We're going to continue to do that, Madam Speaker.

I want to give a shout-out to the leadership in the

communities that I serve. I went home on the 15th of March for a couple of days

on a Sunday with a piece of carry-on luggage, and I wasn't back here until some

time in May when the House resumed. During this time in Labrador, a small

population spread over a large landmass, no ICU beds. We have ventilators and

things there now, Madam Speaker, but there was a lot of uncertainty in this

community.

To put it into perspective, Madam Speaker, it's easy

for people to say: Oh, just follow the Public Health measures. Why are they so

worried? But when you visit places like I have in North River near Cartwright

and you walk through a cemetery and you see as many as five family names on one

tombstone, you realize that's what the Spanish flu did to Labrador years ago

when you see a husband and a wife and a son and a daughter all died within short

time frames. Those elderly people that we represent, that we serve, there was a

reason why they were concerned about this virus. As they tuned into briefings

each day they would hear there are many things we don't know about this virus.

We're still learning. They were concerned.

Communication is paramount. Whatever you're going

through in life it's absolutely essential, from relationships in the home to

with your colleagues, to community. I want to commend the leadership, because

right out of the gate in March we held weekly calls with the leadership in the

community. There was a call on Saturday mornings that took place with the former

minister responsible for Labrador Affairs, and on Tuesdays the four Labrador

MHAs and the MP. The leadership in the communities, the mayors, the AngajukKâk,

we got on a call. They raised their concerns and we did our best, Madam Speaker,

to address them. That is how we got through this.

Madam Speaker, that brings me back in my closing

moments to Budget 2020 that my

colleague, the Deputy Premier brought in to the House:

Today. Tomorrow. Together . As we find ourselves in this really

unprecedented time, every day there's discussion in this House about individuals

that have lost jobs due to plummeting oil prices. We hear too often about mental

health concerns.

Like our current Premier of the day often says, Madam

Speaker, there's no us and them, there is we. We are in this together. We are a

small province of 526,000 people and I believe that the people don't want

politics at this time. They want us to work together. They want to know that our

focus is on keeping them safe.

I want to thank the Deputy Premier for bringing down a

great budget. She closed the budget with a quote: “We cannot change the past but

we can shape the bright future that our province and its people deserve.”

I just want to close on a note of optimism. The Premier

talked about his storied journey to get where he is. In many ways he feels like

he's just at the base camp of the mountain and there's a mountain ahead of us,

but, Madam Speaker, we're going to go up that mountain together. The encouraging

thing is we're going to come down the other side and we're going to be all right

because we're resilient people here in Newfoundland and Labrador. There are many

things still to be hopeful about.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MADAM SPEAKER (P. Parsons):

Thank you.

The hon. the Member for Humber - Bay of Islands.

MR.

JOYCE:

Thank you, Madam Speaker.

I'll just rise again and have a few words on this.

First of all, I want to – something that happened, I got a letter today from the

Speaker. I appealed a decision on an expense account for $185 and it got

approved today.

I just want to explain to people that it was for the

Special Olympians in Corner Brook who had an event – they couldn't have the

event because they couldn't stop the Special Olympians from clapping and hugging

and things like that. What they did, they decided to go door to door. They asked

me to go along with them, and I did. It was refused, and on principle I appealed

that decision and the decision was done today. So I will be making a donation to

the Special Olympics of $185. It wasn't on the money, it was on the principle;

thinking I was going to buy

votes with Special Olympics and knowing very well.

The Members that voted for it and understood it, thank you very much for that

because it is standing up for it.

One of the Members stated a bit of advice that I should

check. Just to let that Member know that the products were bought. They were

planning on having a little function but because of the restrictions they

couldn't have it. They decided not to have their function. So I just wanted to

put that on the record. I want to thank the Members who supported it. I spoke to

the Leader of the Third Party and explained it, and she's very supportive of

that now.

That was on principle for Special Olympians. I spoke to

the president very much and he was very upset that people didn't understand

that. So I just want to say that was done. When you stand on principle, which I

have, Madam Speaker, on that, I will continue to do so for the underprivileged

and I make no apologies whatsoever for it.

I'm going to speak on the Government Services part,

Madam Speaker. I just spoke on Service NL, and I know the Member for Ferryland

was bringing this up on a regular basis about the LIRA fund. I'm going back

probably two or three years now when I was doing some work on it also to have

that loosened up for a lot of people in dire circumstances. There has been a lot

of work done on it. There has been a lot of work done on it, I can assure you

that. I got moved out of Service NL back to Municipal Affairs and Environment at

the time. I was doing both then, but just took over that. So it was very close.

There were some of the unions that were saying, no, no

we want to ensure that the fund is there for when they retire. Also, who I was

dealing with a lot were some of the retirees from the City of Corner Brook. Just

to give an example, when they had $200,000 or $300,000 in their pension fund and

for some reason it was done well before – the maximum they could take out of

their pension fund, I'm going on memory, is 6 per cent a year, period. They even

asked to increase it to 13 per cent, so at least they can – if you take out 6

per cent of $220,000, Madam Speaker, and if you get 4 or 5 per cent interest on

it, you'll never use the fund.

A lot of people that transferred funds out work with

the government. It's their money. The LIRA fund is actually what the people who

are working paid into the fund. This is coming from the City of Corner Brook

workers and people and government employees. I agree with the Member for

Ferryland, who's been very strong on this, that it's the people's own money.

This idea that it may crash because of the pension fund; part of this LIRA fund,

it's very little of this government pension plan; very little, Madam Speaker. I

just hope that will be looked at and that, hopefully, we can get that done.

The only way right now that you can tap into the LIRA

fund is – I hate to say this – you have to show someway that you have a terminal

disease or that you passed away. That's the only way to tap into your own money

that you have.

Again, for the people that are going through these

tough times right now, I just agree with the Member for Ferryland and the

government. I'm confident that the government Members are also receiving calls

on it and that we can work together to expedite this here in this House because

that is what we're here for, to try to help the people in times of need. This is

one of the times of need that we can definitely put that through, Mr. Speaker –

Madam Speaker, I'm sorry. I'll get it.

It's a time of need and this is a great time for all of

us that we can definitely help out with the people in need through this

pandemic. We trust that the government will work on this. I'm sure you're going

to have unanimous consent in this House to help this through. I'll be one

supporting it because I've been working with that. Even after I left Service NL,

I've been writing and trying to get it done. I know a lot of employees of the

City of Corner Brook and others have that major concern and major issue.

I'll just give people a good example: You're working

with the City of Corner Brook; you're retired; you want to do your roof. You

can't get enough money out of the LIRA fund to do your roof, to do renovations

to your house. It's your money. It's your money. It's what you paid in to the

fund. I'm hoping to get that done very soon. I support the government on doing

that.

I mentioned earlier Transportation and Infrastructure,

and I know I mentioned it earlier in a speech, I say to the Minister of

Transportation and Infrastructure that he has a huge department, whichever

minister goes into that department, it's a huge, huge department. I don't know

what the logic is or the rationale.

Whoever took the infrastructure from municipal affairs

and put it in to make that department larger, I just don't feel – and it's just

my opinion on dealing with Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador and dealing

with a lot of rural districts and a lot of rural communities. They understand

how much that department should have stayed with Environment, Climate Change and

Municipalities now.

The Infrastructure division, I feel, is a bit of a

downgrade to the department and to the municipalities. It's not that the

minister is not from a rural district and it's not that he can't do the job, but

it's just the department is so big, a lot of the municipal affairs issues are in

that Climate Change Department right now.

I just feel, before it's too late, I think they should

look at it and bring it back, because right now if you're going to put an

application in for a capital works or Canada build fund, it has to go to the

Department of Climate Change, Mr. Speaker. They have to do an assessment, send

it over to municipal affairs, get it approved and send it back to see if they

can come up with their share of the funding to do the evaluation. The other

thing about it is – and this is nothing on the minister, because no matter who

is in that department, I know the former minister the same thing, they put the

extra work on them.

What would take a priority? I'll just ask this, throw

this out because a lot of us have rural districts. What would take a priority?

Would a small infrastructure project in Ming's Bight take a priority over a main

road in St. John's or Corner Brook?

MADAM SPEAKER:

remind the Member to direct his comments to the Chair, please.

MR.

JOYCE:

Pardon me?

MADAM SPEAKER:

remind the Member to direct his comments to the Chair, please.

MR.

JOYCE:

thought I was, sorry.

I'm just saying Ming's Bight and I could use Lark

Harbour and York Harbour, any different town or community in the area, the

priority list would go down because the major infrastructure is what would take

it. Again, it's in no way in the world any reflection on any minister in either

department, because I think both of them work hard at it and they will do a

great job at it, but I just have to bring that up. If someone could explain the

rationale.

I know three or four years ago that was tried and we

put a stop to it because that's who is going to suffer, is the smaller towns

across the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The ones, for example, that

would need an engineer to come down and have a look at something. Now, what's

going to take the priority?

That's just my opinion from dealing with it. That's my

opinion speaking to the smaller towns. Now, for a small town, you have to deal

with three different departments right now – three different departments. So if

you have infrastructure, you deal with Transportation and Infrastructure. If you

have firefighting equipment or a fire truck, now you deal with the Department of

Justice. Then if you have some other issues with a municipality, you deal with

it with a third department.

So if you want to talk about issues for smaller towns;

that is one. I just ask if someone can explain the rationale or someone can

explain to me why that's done. I would definitely look for the rationale to help

out on that, to satisfy my own mind.

Madam Speaker, I also know the Department of Finance is

part of this Government Services. Again, I understand the role that the minister

has and the government has and the difficulties that they do have. So we're all

faced with it, and I see the Opposition again, they're doing their job today

asking on certain aspects of the economy and then government has to come up with

an answer: What are you going to do with the funds? Then when the critic for

Finance is asking the government: How are you going to get it under control?

This is normal. Just to let people know, this is normal. When I was in

Opposition, we were asking questions on finances. The critic for Finance would

stand up and say: Well, how are you going to manage all this? So this is normal.

This is how Opposition works and I understand it. I

understand it totally, that's how government works. I understand it totally. We

as legislators have to try and find a balance.