Newfoundland and Labrador Hansard — Members' Statements; Statements by Ministers — 27 May 2015 (47th General Assembly, 4th Session, Vol. XLVII No. 21)

2015-05-27

Newfoundland and Labrador — Debates (Hansard)

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May

27, 2015

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVII No. 21

The House met at 2:00 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Verge):

Order, please!

Admit strangers.

Today I am very pleased to welcome to our public

gallery Ms Jocelyn Greene, a former Executive Director of Stella Burry

Community Services; and Ms Lisa Browne, the Chief Executive Officer of

Stella's Circle.

Welcome to the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Seeing that the people from Stella Burry were not in the gallery when I

welcomed them, I will welcome them now: Ms Jocelyn Greene, the former

Executive Director of Stella Burry Community Services; and Ms Lisa Browne,

the Chief Executive Officer of Stella's Circle.

Welcome to the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

Statements by Members

MR. SPEAKER:

Today we will be hearing members' statements from members representing the

Districts of Humber Valley, Exploits, Baie Verte Springdale, Conception

Bay South, Lake Melville, and the Bay of Islands.

The hon. the Member for the District of Humber Valley.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this hon. House today to recognize students

in my District of Humber Valley named as award recipients by the Royal

Canadian Legion. Every year the

legion holds poster, poem, and essay contests as part of the Remembrance Day

activities.

Mr. Speaker, this year Branch 3 of the Royal Canadian

Legion in Deer Lake recognized two students in the senior literacy category:

Racheal Paddock, a Level III student, and Noah Burnett, a Level I student,

at Elwood High School. Racheal

took first place and Noah took second place in the provincial senior

literacy category.

Mr. Speaker, Racheal and Noah now join other members

from across the Province as they travel to Beaumont Hamel this summer.

The trip to France is sponsored by the provincial command of the

Royal Canadian Legion and will include July 1 memorial activities.

I ask all members of this House to join me in

congratulating Racheal Paddock and Noah Burnett, along with the Royal

Canadian Legion and its veterans, for continuing to educate our youth on the

importance of the legion and its programs.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the District of Exploits.

MR. FORSEY:

Mr. Speaker, we are all aware of the commitment of the volunteer

firefighters; they give their time unselfishly to their community.

However, to be an active member for fifty years is an amazing act of

passion and dedication as a volunteer firefighter.

Well, Mr. Speaker, at the fiftieth anniversary of the

Peterview Volunteer Fire Department, Mr. Woodrow Hibbs (Woodie as he is

commonly known) was recognized for his fifty years of volunteer service.

As an active member, Woodie is still ready to respond to emergency

situations, volunteering in community events, and helping those in need.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of this House to join me

in congratulating Woodie Hibbs for fifty years of dedicated service to the

Peterview Volunteer Fire Department.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the District of Baie Verte Springdale.

MR. POLLARD:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

On May 23, 2015, I had the privilege to attend the

Springdale Royal Canadian Air Cadets 837 Northeast Squadron forty-first

Annual Ceremonial Review.

Commanding Officer, Captain Jonathan Edison and his personnel are to be

commended for their outstanding leadership and dedication to the program.

Mr. Herb Pike, the last remaining active veteran of the Royal

Canadian Legion in Springdale, was the reviewing officer.

Since 1975, hundreds of cadets have been instilled with

the motto, To Learn, To Serve, To Advance empowering them to become active

and contributing members of society.

Lifetime memories have been forged.

Lions, parents, and communities have made a monumental difference in

the fertile ground of the lives of our youth.

They have been the wind beneath the wings of the air cadet program.

Congratulations to Flight Sergeant Brandon Oxford for

capturing the best cadet award and to Joel Locke for the Royal Canadian

Legion Medal of Excellence.

Furthermore, congratulations to Jarod Locke, son of Mark and Corinne Locke

of Beachside, who was the only air cadet chosen provincially to represent

Newfoundland and Labrador in the 2015 Pilgrimage to Europe, Trail of the

Caribou.

I proudly ask all members to join me in applauding the

837 Northeast Squadron upon their achievements.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Conception Bay South.

MR. HILLIER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, residents of Conception Bay South are very

well known for assisting those in need.

Most recently, schools, community organizations, and individuals have

shown an amazing effort to help fourteen-year-old Makayla Puddicombe and her

family.

Last summer, Makayla was excited for school to close

and enjoy the summer break.

Unfortunately, her plans were interrupted as she was diagnosed with an

aggressive cancerous brain tumour rarely found in children.

Mr. Speaker, with the support of the community, Makayla

and her family have been fighting the battle, but that fight just got a

little longer. Makayla is now at

the Sick Children's Hospital participating in clinical trials with

fifty-eight other youth from around the world.

A lengthy stay in Toronto and considerable travel has placed a

financial burden on the family.

Again, in order to reduce that burden, residents of our

town are continuing with support and have organized 'Sing for Makayla' which

is taking place this Friday evening in Conception Bay South.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of this House to join me

in wishing Makayla Puddicombe a speedy recovery and thank all the residents

for their support and generosity.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon. the Member for Lake Melville and Minister of

Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs is requesting leave to make a member's

statement.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Leave.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Lake Melville.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. RUSSELL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you for that leave.

Today, I pay tribute to Mr. Bruce Pardy, a true

gentleman of Labrador who passed away last Wednesday.

Mr. Speaker, Bruce was a seasonal employee of the

Labrador Affairs office working on the Labrador Transportation Grooming

Subsidy. He lived in Rigolet

during the winter season and maintained and operated the groomer for the

region.

Bruce's true legacy will always be his extraordinary

ability to fix things. Usually,

the bigger and more complicated the machinery, the more Bruce's talents came

to the forefront. Bruce was very

well respected by his peers, and this can also be said of his dedication to

assist anyone who called with a mechanical issue.

All the groomer operators and snowmobile clubs in Labrador knew that

they could call on Bruce literally day or night for guidance and assistance.

I have always admired and respected Bruce's

determination to better the lives of not only his home community, but also

the people of Labrador as a whole.

Mr. Speaker, I offer the condolences of the entire

Province to his wife Irene, and his children, Denise, Bobbi, and my good

friend, Teddy. Bruce was taken

from us much too soon, and we will remember him forever.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the District of Bay of Islands.

MR. JOYCE:

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today to recognize Rachel Barnes of

Curling, a Level II student at Corner Brook Regional High.

Last fall, Rachel received top honours at the regional

Royal Canadian Legion's Remembrance Day art contest in the black and white

category for her depiction of an aged war veteran overlooking a battle

scene. This scene included a

grieving uniformed man at a gravesite to the veteran's side and comrades at

his back.

This was Rachel's second year in a row for winning the

regional contest and in March, she was notified that she also won

provincially. For her first

place win, she will be travelling to Europe on June 27 and will be visiting

France, Belgium and England and touring First World War battlefields and

historic monuments and memorials.

Rachel has always had a passion for drawing and

thoroughly enjoys what she does.

She also has an appreciation for what the soldiers experienced and as quoted

in a recent interview stated, It's really hard to express on paper what

they had to go through.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members to join me in extending

congratulations to Rachel on her achievement and recognizing our veterans in

such a touching manner.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

Statements by Ministers

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister Responsible for the Office of Public Engagement.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to compliment the Member for St. John's

East on his new haircut. It

looks very good.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this hon. House to celebrate the

success of an organization which has been helping people move forward in the

areas of residential and non-residential counselling services, employment

services and supportive housing for seventy years.

Stella's Circle began with Emmanuel House in 1945.

The organization was incorporated in 1995 and now offers residential

and non-residential counselling services, employment services and supportive

housing. Annually, the programs

at Stella's Circle help over 1,000 people overcome challenges related to

poverty, illiteracy, incarceration, as well as mental health issues.

Mr. Speaker, when the provincial government partnered

with Stella's Circle to launch the Social Enterprise Training program in

2011, we were excited about the possibility of helping the organization

increase their training capacity.

Through the original Social Enterprise Training program, and its

subsequent iteration, Stella's Circle provides workplace-based training in

three distinct program areas: food services, trades helper and commercial

cleaning.

As an example of the organization's employment-based

work, 450 students last year were engaged in a variety of programs and

services. Many successfully

found work and acquired the skills needed to improve their employment

prospects, which also improved the quality of life for themselves and their

families.

Mr. Speaker, last year, we proudly supported the

organization through an investment of over $5 million which they utilized

to break down barriers and help individuals in making the kinds of

connections that enhance their future.

As we celebrate seventy years of success for Stella's Circle, I want

to acknowledge two pillars of strength within the organization, both past

and present. Earlier this month,

Jocelyn Greene, the former Executive Director of Stella Burry Community

Services, was given the Order of Canada.

Ms Greene is credited with transforming the Emmanuel House

residential treatment program into Stella's Circle and making it one of the

largest non-profit organizations in the Province.

When Ms Greene retired last year, Lisa Browne stepped

in as Chief Executive Officer and continued to lead the charge, raising the

organization's public profile and focusing on sustainability and innovation.

Ms Browne is also a recipient of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal

for her contributions to the community.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my hon. colleagues to join me in recognizing the

work of these two individuals, and the success of Stella's Circle, in

providing services that are transforming people's lives.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am honoured to stand here as well today and recognize

Stella's Circle, to recognize Jocelyn Greene as well as Lisa Browne.

Any of the MHAs from the St. John's area are very familiar with the

work of Stella's Circle. They

are familiar with the valuable services provided by Stella's Circle.

I know the Member for Virginia Waters, my colleague, earlier

mentioned and recognized Jocelyn Greene in this House for the work she has

done.

Stella's Circle provides the services to those who are

homeless, with educational challenges, and periods of long unemployment.

The125 staff at Stella's Circle has certainly made a dent in poverty

reduction in this city. They are

a model organization when it comes to poverty reduction.

The Queen's Jubilee Medal that was afforded and the

Order of Canada were well, well deserved for the numbers of people who were

helped by these two individuals.

Mr. Speaker, I say to Stella's Circle and to the staff

at Stella's Circle: bravo bravo.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MS ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker, seventy years of

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker, seventy years of incredible, innovative, often life-saving

service what an honour to stand in this House today to acknowledge such an

amazing legacy started by Stella Burry and what an honour to stand in this

House to celebrate the wisdom, the vision, and the sheer courage and

determination of Jocelyn Greene as she carried on that legacy.

Jocelyn and the team she gathered around her are the epitome of

Stella Burry's vision.

Thank you for the thousands and thousands of lives you

have touched and empowered through the belief that we are all valuable

members of society and with a home, a job, and a friend we can all be the

best that we can be and no one is left behind.

Bravo, Jocelyn Greene and welcome, Lisa Browne.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

I think, as Speaker, I would be remiss if I did not

say: bravo.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this hon. House to highlight the first major delivery

of nickel concentrate from Vale's operations in Labrador to Long Harbour.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

This is a significant milestone for Vale and their operations in Long

Harbour.

On May 25, the Umiak 1 an arctic class vessel

delivered about 2,000 tons of high-grade nickel concentrate for Voisey's

Bay. Vale is bringing in this

concentrate to be blended with nickel matte from their operations in

Indonesia. By January 2016, Vale

will have the necessary impurity removal circuits in place to switch

production to 100 per cent nickel concentrate from Voisey's Bay.

Vale expects to receive several more shipments of concentrate by the

end of the year.

Since construction of the processing facility in Long

Harbour began, more than 30 million hours of employment have been generated

with 80 per cent occurring in the Province.

There are an estimated 700 people supporting operations in Long

Harbour today. Congratulations

to the work of the Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who constructed this

facility, including Vale management and skilled workers who are

professionals with world-class expertise in the development of megaprojects.

Mr. Speaker, we are very pleased that the first load of

concentrate has been delivered to Long Harbour and we are looking forward to

the day that the plant will be processing 100 per cent nickel concentrate

from Voisey's Bay a deposit considered to be one of the most substantial

mineral discoveries in this country in the last forty years.

Currently, the Voisey's Bay operation in Labrador

employs about 450 people. It is

We now see that it has developed into a successful secondary, processing

project. We need more projects

like this in our Province. I

want to congratulate Vale, their employees, and wish them continued success.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon. the Member for Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for the advance copy of his

statement. I too congratulate

proudly the hard work of the workers, mainly from this Province, who built

this facility. The project was

first predicted I point out, to finish construction before 2012, then 2013.

Now we have it in 2015.

We were led to believe the plant would smelt Labrador

ore right off the mark. Then we

were told they were not ready for that ore.

Now we are told they will smelt and import, with the hope of Labrador

ore finally in 2016. Here is

hoping Vale gets the process right and smelts Labrador ore, making nickel

and decent royalties for the owner of the resource, the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador.

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. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Government is taking a page from Stephen Harper's

playbook on elections and turning taxpayer-funded ads to promote their

Budget.

I ask the Premier: How much taxpayers' money are you

spending on those Budget ads?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

What we are actually doing is we are providing the

information, details, and messages to the general public who are looking for

details and the facts about our Budget, Mr. Speaker, because there has been

some rhetoric that has been presented by some people.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, this is not new.

What has happened in the past is government has spent investments in order

to send out flyers and home flyers, that is the approach government has

taken in the past to provide highlights and information regarding the

Budget. What we found is by

using current means, using electronic means

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

The partnership we have with municipalities throughout Newfoundland

and Labrador, investments we are making in education, in all areas of

Newfoundland and Labrador, and we are giving people an opportunity.

Directly go to the government website so they can learn the facts of

the Budget, Mr. Speaker.

Information is valuable to the people of the Province and we are providing

it to them.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Premier has been saying that this Budget, and the

Minister of Finance has been saying that this Budget is all about balance,

and he has been saying that it is about choice, but his Budget ads tell a

different story because it does not mention the increase in HST or the fact

that government is running the highest deficit in the history of our

Province.

I ask the Premier: If you believe in balance, if you

believe in choice, why are your Budget ads leaving out critical facts like

your plan for higher taxes?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

about the Budget they have not done much of that lately, but they can

certainly ask questions about the Budget.

We will be more than happy to answer them, something like they are

asking today.

We did find a balanced approach, Mr. Speaker, because

instead of gutting the public service and putting 2,000 people on the

streets, like members opposite did, we created an attrition plan so that we

do not shock the system, so we do not have a negative impact on thousands of

families throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

We saw in 1993, when they put 2,000 people out, they

shocked the system, and our economy collapsed.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, the Premier mentioned about members on this side

of the House laying out a plan.

I say to the Premier: What about the plan for the election?

Do you have that date in mind?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BALL:

Mr. Speaker, over a year ago the former Premier said government was working

on a new Energy Plan. We have

heard very little since. In the

Estimates Committee this year, the minister indicated the document would not

be released until the election was called.

I ask the Premier: How do you justify using government

resources and public employees to craft a document that will be clearly used

for political purposes?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The minister was very clear in Estimates that the new

Energy Plan would be rolled out as part of the PC election platform.

This comes after public employees have been working on the plan for

well over a year.

I ask the Premier: If this long-promised document will

not be used for political purposes, when will it be released?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, I just want to correct the Leader of the Opposition because we

can check Hansard, I do not believe I said it would be rolled out as a part

of the PC election platform.

When I was asked the question, when we are going to get the Energy Plan, I

said we will probably roll it out the same time he rolls out his economic

plan. That was the answer to

him, Mr. Speaker.

When the Energy Plan is done and worked on, we will

roll it out. We are very proud

of the Energy Plan and the work that has been done.

I can probably guarantee the people of the Province now, they are

going to roll out one too, but you can bet it will mirror the Energy Plan

that is driving this Province for the past ten years.

They will have the same thing in theirs, non-renewable and renewable

resources, what is important for the people of the Province, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In this House this week the Minister of Natural

Resources said that Nalcor made the decision to not finish the dome at

Muskrat Falls, but yesterday the Vice-President of Nalcor said something

that was quite different. He

said the decision was made by Astaldi.

I ask the Premier: Who is wrong here?

Was it Nalcor's decision to scrap the dome, or is it Astaldi's?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, I correct the Leader of the Opposition once again.

If he would read Hansard and my answer, and I think yesterday I stood

to clarify that government did not make the decision.

Nalcor is the project manager.

They are the ones managing the project, a great project on behalf of

the people of the Province, and the contractor is Astaldi.

Between the project manager and the contractors, there

are lots of conversations; but, ultimately, the decision to not finish the

Integrated Cover System was made by the contractor, Astaldi.

I said it yesterday, Mr. Speaker.

I have no problem saying it again today.

Astaldi made that decision.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In Hansard it quite clearly says the minister said

this that Nalcor made the decision as the project manager in the best

interests of the project.

I say to the minister today: Why are you saying today

that it was Astaldi's decision when this is what you said in Hansard just

recently?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, I think if he read all of Hansard, and obviously he never, he

would see that I also indicated in the same reference that Astaldi had made

the decisions. I stood on my

feet yesterday to make sure that I clarified it for the people of the

Province. Obviously, I will need

to clarify it again for the Leader of the Opposition and the Liberals.

Muskrat Falls, Mr. Speaker, is an absolutely wonderful

project being built

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. DALLEY:

for the people of the Province.

It is a massive project.

There are thousands of people working, thousands of Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians day in and day out building a project, a legacy for the people

of the Province, Mr. Speaker, as we transition from non-renewable to

renewable. Within that, there

are a lot of decisions that have to be made, but the decision on the

Integrated Cover System was made by the contractor Astaldi.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The VP at Nalcor would not give an update on when the

next cost update for the Muskrat Falls Project would be delivered.

It is important that the people of the Province understand what is at

stake here. Last year, the

update was given on June 26 saying that Newfoundland and Labrador was

responsible for $7 billion.

I ask the Premier: When will the next cost update be

delivered?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, this is a big project, a very important one for the future of

Newfoundland and Labrador. We

have committed, through various means of oversight, in making information

available. More information has

been available on this project than any other project in our history.

There is an Oversight Committee as well that is providing

information.

The number, Mr. Speaker, is $6.99 billion.

As we have committed to do when the number changes, we will gladly

make that available, and again as I think the VP had indicated.

As this changes, as work progresses, as contracts are

awarded and when we are in a position to do so, Mr. Speaker, we will gladly

reveal all that information to the people of the Province.

They have a right to know.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

My question to the Premier was this this is an

important project in the history of this Province.

We are at a critical juncture in the

schedule there.

I ask the Premier: You are the one who said you were

going to keep an eye on Nalcor, that you would provide the oversight here,

when will the people of this Province expect the next cost update to be

delivered?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, we will make that information available, as I just explained,

Order, please!

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Today's private member's resolution will condemn and

seek a reversal to the recent DFO decision on halibut quota sharing.

Interesting, our Province owns a significant quota resource which is

leased to Icewater, who, in turn, subleases it to a Nova Scotia company to

harvest and land the halibut in that Province.

So I ask the Premier: Will you take corrective action

to ensure that this quota remains here for the benefit of Newfoundlanders

and Labradorians?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As the member opposite does every time he gets up, he

talks about two different topics.

So I am going to go back to his first topic he talked about, which

was on Muskrat Falls in response over here, Mr. Speaker

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

PREMIER DAVIS:

because he wondered, he said he will do it when the time is right, Mr.

Speaker. Well, I am glad his

colleague sitting next to him believed in this project, and said now was the

right time to do it, and we are doing it.

That is what we are doing, and we are doing it for the best interests

of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, as the member opposite

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

PREMIER DAVIS:

As the member opposite is well aware, Mr. Speaker, last week the federal

government made an announcement that had a significant impact to this

Province. I can tell you, Mr.

Speaker, as soon as I learned of it I picked up the phone, I contacted the

President of the FFAW I can tell you, we are certainly on the same page on

this.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

PREMIER DAVIS:

When I get the chance, I will get up again to respond further.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, I have to remind the Premier one more time, how

can you be on the same page with FFAW when the Newfoundland and Labrador

quota, being leased to Icewater, subleased to Nova Scotia, fished by Nova

Scotians, landed in Nova Scotia?

I ask the Premier: Is that what you support?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

One of the things that I have worked very hard at since

I became Premier last year is to build relationships with our partners.

If it be union leaders and those who represent workers, if it be

harvesters or processors in this Province, or if it be businesses throughout

the Province, I have worked very hard to build relationships with some of

those people, and the FFAW is one of those.

I can tell you last week when we heard the Federal

Minister Gail Shea made the changes to sharing of quotas as she did, Mr.

Speaker, one of the first things not one of the first things, the first

thing I did was I picked up the phone and I contacted the FFAW.

It is important that we work with partners, we work with business and

companies, we work with unions as well, and that goes for the very broad

fishery of Newfoundland and Labrador, Mr. Speaker, because we want to grow

the fishery for many years to come.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

While the Premier was on the phone last week talking to

FFAW and condemning the feds, why weren't you on the phone to Icewater and

condemning Icewater for the lease to Nova Scotians?

Why don't you make that call?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

activities they have worked hard on all year.

I ask the Acting Minister of Education: Were you aware

that we have been reduced to asking kids to sell chocolate bars and fish

cakes to pay for school secretaries?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Acting Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, school is out on June 26 and our kids will be going home and

hopefully enjoying the summer after another great year.

If we look at our school system, I guess, in looking at what we have

been able to do to try and support schools and to cut back on the amount of

fundraising and things that have to be done in the schools and the cost to

parents around school fees, school textbooks, millions and millions of

dollars is having a very positive impact.

With respect to some of the changes in the allocations

to secretarial hours, I do not have that in front of me.

I will gladly go back and check.

I can assure you that this government does not expect children to go

out and raise money selling chocolate bars to pay for salaries in schools.

It is not going to happen.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

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

MR. KIRBY:

Mr. Speaker, the acting minister does not have the school calendar in front

of him either because June 27 is an administration day.

They need secretarial support.

It is bad enough that parents and children are already

fundraising for essential school items like iPads, SMART Boards, reading

materials, and gymnasium equipment.

Now they are being asked to fundraise so that their school

administration can have a secretary to do essential work after June 26.

I ask the Premier: Will you cut your self-serving,

taxpayer-paid radio ads and use that money to restore funding for vital

school secretarial supports that they need to wind up school after the

twenty-sixth? Cut your taxpayer

self-serving radio campaign and put that money towards secretarial support.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon. the Acting Minister of Education and Early

Childhood Development.

MR. DALLEY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Obviously they are smart answers, Mr. Speaker.

He has not spent much time in the school because the twenty-seventh

is an administrative day, but as I said the kids go home on the

twenty-sixth. Kids are not back

in for administrative days.

So it just points out those smart answers.

When you really do not have all the details or know what you are

talking about, it hurts, Mr. Speaker.

What you need to do is stick with the facts.

Do you know what, Mr. Speaker?

I will gladly go back and check the allocations of secretarial time,

absolutely. Again, I will

reiterate, I am very proud of the work that we are doing in schools, the

initiatives to support parents.

When you talk about raising money for SMART Boards, I am not sure how many

millions of dollars have been invested in SMART Boards for the kids to

better their education.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MR. KIRBY:

I encourage the Acting Minister of Education to visit a school, Mr. Speaker,

because it all does not end when the kids go home.

When I compare my experiences to his at the end of a school year

because it is my understanding he has not been in the K-12 system.

I spent twenty years in the K-12 system.

We are very dedicated to the schools and have a long

list of accomplishments that we were able to do, but I can tell you at the

end of a school year when the kids go home, that is when the work starts for

administrators, Mr. Speaker, in making sure that when September rolls around

things are in place

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. DALLEY:

parents know what is happening, teachers know what is happening and the

secretary, without question, is very valuable in the work that they do.

I have experienced it personally.

Again, I will reiterate; I do not expect to go out and raise money

through chocolate bars to pay for secretaries ridiculous.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, we have been told by the lawyer for the Dunphy family via the

media that the forensics in this case will not be completed until

mid-August.

Given that is has been well over a month with no update

on this very serious file, I ask the Minister of Justice: Can you provide

this House and the general public with an update on the investigation into

the death of Donald Dunphy?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Justice and Public Safety.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As the member opposite would know, I have been very

clear and very forthright in my answers to questions around that case.

I cannot provide an update.

I am not privy to an update in that case.

The only knowledge I have about that case is the same knowledge the

member just shared through the media today.

Any information that will be shared by an update would be through the

RCMP or the lead investigators on the investigation; it will not come

through me as the Minister of Justice in this House.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Justice knows full well that he has the

authority to ask the RCMP, RNC, or the Chief Medical Examiner for

information. He has that right.

I ask the minister: Have you made any inquiries to

either of these groups to ask for an update on the matter?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Justice and Public Safety.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KING:

I am fully aware of the rights I have as minister, Mr. Speaker.

I think we had a great discussion about a month ago, my colleague and

I, and Hansard will reflect that the member opposite presented some very

skewed and off-the-mark views of what the responsibilities and the rights of

the Minister of Justice are. I

very clearly laid out then, as I will again today, that I do not intend to

have any discussions with the RCMP around this investigation.

When the RCMP is ready, they will provide an update to

the public. This is an

operational issue that has no right for the Minister of Justice to be

involved in, and I do not intend to debate it here on the floor of the House

of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

The Premier and his government have taken a

Harper-esque approach to spending public funds in tough times by taking out

self-promoting ads, flying in the face of their own austerity Budget.

I ask the Premier: How can he justify this totally

unnecessary spending?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Every year governments utilize resources available to

share the details of budgets and planned budgets with the people of the

Province, in the respective provinces.

It is done throughout the country, Mr. Speaker.

We have taken a different approach this year.

Instead of sending out tens and tens of thousands of flyers to

people's home mailboxes, we have decided to take a different approach this

year. One that is interactive.

One that allows for people, at the click of a mouse, to bring them

right to the Budget site so they can get all of the correct information, the

facts of our Budget, so that information is available to more people in the

Province.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

PREMIER DAVIS:

I believe this is a good approach, Mr. Speaker, to reach out to more people

throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I point out to the Premier, they can press on that

button on the computer without either the ads or mail outs.

This government has the resources to pay for those ads, but they do

not have the resources to put a workplace plan in place for the St. John's

long-term care facility.

The Minister of Health and Community Services said last

week they will continue to use beds in the Chancellor Park for-profit

facility to cover some of the beds that will not be open in the St. John's

long-term care facility, at least until the fall.

I ask the Premier: Will he confirm this government is

using the occasion of their poor management of the new long-term care

facility to bring in privatization of long-term care by the backdoor?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Right now in Canada, we are the only jurisdiction that

does not regularly engage in private-public partnerships, especially in

long-term care, Mr. Speaker. In

Ontario, 60 per cent of long-term care beds are operated by a private

partnership. It is not a lot

different than partnerships we have with personal care homes throughout

Newfoundland and Labrador. It is

different, but not a lot different, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we know there are backlogs in emergency

rooms. There are people lying on

stretchers in hallways in emergency rooms.

We know that surgeries get delayed because there is not a bed

available. People cannot go from

an emergency room up to a hospital room because acute care beds are occupied

by long-term care patients.

Our plan is to build 360 new long-term care beds

through partnership with the public or not-for-profit.

We are going to build 120 in West, 120 in Central, and 120 in

Eastern, and it is going to go a long way to improve health care in the

Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I ask the Premier: How can you justify making this

fundamental change to our health care system without a mandate from the

people of this Province?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, we have been working at long-term care and improvements to our

health care for many, many years.

We have been doing that at length, Mr. Speaker, and we have made

great improvements. We have some

of the best wait times in the country today because of a concerted and

focused effort by our government in partnership with our regional health

authorities.

Hip and knee replacement is one of the fastest growing

surgeries required in Newfoundland and Labrador today, and we have the best

wait times in the country.

Cataract surgeries, as an example, we have made great improvements.

We have shortened wait times in emergency rooms.

We do that, we make those decisions,

and we roll out those plans and we execute those plans because that

is our responsibility to do that in the best interest of Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians throughout the entire Province.

That is what we are here to do, and we are doing it, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MR. MURPHY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The fracking review panel will be holding only two

public consultation sessions over the summer, both as of yet unscheduled and

both on the West Coast of the Province.

I ask the minister: Does he think that two public

consultation sessions are good enough to cover off a very important

provincial, environmental and health issue in this Province?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, I would agree with the member that hydraulic fracturing is a

very important issue for the people of the Province.

When this issue came about, our government made a decision that we

would not accept any applications for hydraulic fracturing.

I met with those who are opposed to hydraulic

fracturing on the West Coast.

They wanted a process to be able to have an opportunity to voice their

concerns. We have provided a

process, and I have indicated in this House it is a very independent

process. I am not going to

interfere with the panel, Mr. Speaker.

They are very credible people, very professional, and will do a great

job on behalf of the people of the Province.

I want to reiterate, Mr. Speaker, they are doing the

work independent of me, as minister, or government.

I want to assure the people of the Province that our government has

not made a decision on hydraulic fracturing.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The Member for St. John's East has time for a very

quick question.

MR. MURPHY:

Mr. Speaker, surely the minister agrees that fracking and all its

implications is a major issue.

I ask the minister: Will he ask the panel to include

public consultation in St. John's, Central Newfoundland, and Labrador as

well?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources has time for a quick reply.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, it is a provincial policy.

I think we need to recognize that as well, but the focus is obviously

on the West Coast, for the reason that if fracking is to take place where

there are potential oil discoveries, it is on the West Coast of the Province

and the geology over there.

Again, Mr. Speaker, the panel can make up their minds

whether they are satisfied with the amount of information they receive.

If it is not in person, Mr. Speaker, there are websites, and there is

an opportunity to write letters.

I invite all the people who have a concern to make sure to make those

We go to the hon. the Member for Port au Port to begin debate on his private

member's motion.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CORNECT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I would say I am pleased to have a chance

to speak in favour of this private member's motion this afternoon, but that

would not be true. This motion

should not be necessary. It is

totally discouraging that yet again federal Fisheries Minister Gail Shea has

made a decision on resource allocation that negatively impacts our Province.

Once again, for the benefit of those watching on

television, or online, or may be just tuning in, the motion we are debating

reads as follows:

BE IT RESOLVED that this hon. House condemns and seeks

the immediate reversal of the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans

decision to divide the 172.8-ton increase in the halibut quota equally among

eight groups instead of respecting this Province's traditional share of 29.1

per cent a decision that will reduce the additional share available to

Newfoundland and Labrador from fifty tons to about twenty-one tons.

Mr. Speaker, the decision on Gulf halibut quota

allocations made by Minister Shea last week is just the latest in a growing

trend of federal government actions that negatively impacts Newfoundland and

Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, this is an important issue.

I want to take a few moments to go through the history and to set the

stage for today's debate.

A sharing arrangement on Gulf halibut was established

in 2007 by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and was based on

historical catches, resulting in 32 per cent for Newfoundland and Labrador

fixed-gear fleet. Despite this

arrangement between 2009 and 2011, on two occasions quota allocations were

split equally among the eight inshore fixed-gear fleets in the Gulf

resulting in a reduced share for our Province's fleet.

In 2011, DFO initiated an external review to address

this issue. Its own review

confirmed the sharing arrangement put in place in 2007 was consistent with

DFO policy and with those established for other groundfish fisheries in

Atlantic Canada. Following the

review, DFO announced that the sharing arrangement would be stabilized at

2013 levels going forward.

These shares, Mr. Speaker, did not respect the original

2007 arrangement of 32 per cent for the Newfoundland and Labrador fleet and,

instead, Newfoundland and Labrador's share was stabilized at 29 per cent.

Mr. Speaker, it is totally unacceptable that the federal minister has

ignored the established sharing arrangement for Gulf halibut quotas and

continues continues to erode our Province's share.

DFO has stated that this is about more equitable

sharing of the resource.

Nothing, Mr. Speaker, could be further from the truth.

The established sharing arrangement is based on each of the eight

Atlantic Canadian fleet's historical catches in the competitive fishery.

Of course, we all know what this is really about.

It is not about equal sharing.

This is strictly a political decision in an election year to provide

for a disproportionate increase in halibut allocation to benefit Minister

Shea's home Province of Prince Edward Island.

Of course, history shows us that playing one province

or region of this Province off against another for political benefit is

nothing new for the current federal government.

It is a game they play every day.

Minister Shea herself has shown from past actions and past decisions

that she is not above this type of petty politics.

We are asking Minister Shea to reverse this ill-advised politically

motivated decision immediately and to provide us with our established share

of the quota.

Mr. Speaker, it is the right thing to do.

It is the just thing to do.

Instead of adhering to the established allocation formula in

allocating shares of this year's increase in quota, the federal minister is

sharing this year's Gulf halibut quota increase equally among the eight

inshore fixed-gear fleets in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

As I noted earlier and I am sure other speakers this

afternoon will reiterate this as well, but it warrants repeating, Mr.

Speaker this means the Newfoundland and Labrador fleet operating out of

the West Coast and Labrador Straits will receive approximately twenty-one

tons of the increased quota instead of the fifty tons it should receive

based on the established sharing arrangement that we have established.

This will result in further erosion of the allocation for the

Newfoundland and Labrador inshore fixed-gear fleet.

Mr. Speaker, our West Coast harvesters face challenges

and uncertainty as many other harvesters throughout our Province do.

We all know fishing can be a very tough business.

Most of our districts have fishing

villages right around this Province.

This decision strikes at the very heart of the West Coast and

Labrador Straits fleet and removes opportunity for them to get a better and

fair share of the increase in quota based on an established allocation

method.

Mr. Speaker, this method was supposed to provide

certainty and predictability to the industry.

Instead, Minister Shea has thrown established policy to the wind and

is striking yet another blow to Newfoundland and Labrador inshore fish

harvesters, and we are not going to stand for that.

We need to look no further than Minister Shea's refusal

to date to implement an alternative to the federal LIFO policy for Northern

shrimp quota allocations. Mr.

Speaker, she has repeatedly made decisions to the detriment of halibut

harvesters in both 3Ps and the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

She is continuing the trend of slowly chipping away at the livelihood

of inshore harvesters throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, with the quota

allocations announced just last week.

Or course, we are all aware of the impact of LIFO on

our harvesters and our Province's economy.

In 1997, when access was provided to shrimp fishing Area 6 for the

first time to inshore harvesters, access was granted on a temporary basis.

Then, in 2007, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans converted all

temporary permits to regular licences, meaning that the inshore shrimp

harvesters had all the same rights and privileges associated with a

permanent licence as the offshore.

The federal government has also made provisions to enable harvesters

to use the licences as collateral so that they could finance buying and

combining of enterprises.

Since the inshore harvesters were provided access to

the Northern shrimp fishery, we have seen more than $200 million of private

sector investment in both vessels and plants.

That is $200 million in the economy of Newfoundland and Labrador,

$200 million in the pockets of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, $200

million to harvesters in our Province.

It was federal government policy that granted permanent

licences to these harvesters and then encouraged them to take on more debt

to participate in a Northern shrimp fishery.

LIFO now threatens the very survival of these same harvesters and the

plants that rely upon on them.

In a similar way, Minister Shea is cutting the legs out

from under harvesters who are trying to plan for their future and make

informed decisions around investments in their enterprises.

Like with the Northern shrimp, Minister Shea is applying the rules to

suit the interests of one group at the expense of another.

With LIFO, we are trying to get a federal minister to

establish a sharing arrangement based on adjacency and history to create

stability in the shrimp fishery for both the inshore and the offshore

sectors.

With Gulf halibut, Mr. Speaker, there already exists a

stable sharing arrangement based on history, and we cannot get her to honour

it. What we need is a federal

minister and a federal government who right the things that are wrong and

stand by the things that are right.

Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, the federal minister and

the federal government we already have today seems hell-bent on doing the

opposite. Once again, we are

asking not asking, Mr. Speaker, we are telling Minister Shea to reverse

this ill-advised, politically motivated decision immediately and to provide

us with our established share of the quota for Atlantic halibut in the Gulf

of St. Lawrence.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to hearing what other

people have to say in this hon. House this afternoon as we move through this

afternoon's debate.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon. the Member for Carbonear Harbour Grace.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SLADE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I look forward to sharing a few thoughts and concerns

on this issue raised in this PMR today put forward by the Member for Port au

Port.

Mr. Speaker, as this one pertains to the fishery, of

course, it is very near and dear to my heart, given my background in the

fishery and especially as the MHA responsible for fisheries in the Official

Opposition.

Everyone understands the importance of the fishery to

our Province; everyone that is, except the federal government.

Perhaps in this case, to quote somebody rather famous, They know not

what they do.

Seriously, how can the decision-makers in Ottawa really

and truly understand the industry and our challenges when they are so far

away? How far away, Mr. Speaker?

Well, to be precise, these people who control our fishery, our lives,

our futures, live and breathe 2,727 kilometres away from where we stand in

this Legislature here in St. John's.

That is a long distance if you want to hear someone.

It is a long distance when you want to understand what somebody is

going through or hear what their concerns are.

It is a long ways to try to look each other in the eye and see the

frustration and the anger when you make decisions that are unfair and unfit.

Imagine to place it in a little bit of a context trying to parent

a child from 2,727 kilometres.

There certainly would be disconnect between the parent and the child, now

wouldn't it?

Well, we have to stop kidding ourselves about the

'twenty-seven-twenty-seven' problem, as I call it.

It is weakening us. It is

frustrating us. If we are not

careful, it will destroy us, slowly but surely.

We stand in this House here today and we are talking

about one issue where we feel we have been shafted by the federal

government. Today, we are

talking about the federal government not giving us a fair historical share

of halibut quota increases of 172.8 metric tons.

Last month, we stood here and complained about inshore

fishers not getting their fair share of the Northern shrimp quota because

government unilaterally imposed a decision-making tool called LIFO, that

they unilaterally pulled out of a hat.

Last year, some of us stood railed against the food

fishery and how each year Newfoundland and Labrador gets unfair treatment

from the federal government compared to the rest of Atlantic Canada.

We get the shortest season.

We get to catch the least amount of cod.

Several years ago, we all stood against the loss of our

vital search and rescue centre.

Several years ago, we invested millions of dollars into our own centre for

scientific fisheries research because the federal government is not carrying

out vital fisheries science.

Just this week, we talked about the federal government

reneging on the promise of a $280 million fisheries fund under CETA, while

we gave up a key fisheries policy called MPRs, which was created to ensure

benefits remain in Newfoundland and Labrador from our seafood.

Is the federal government listening today?

Did they listen last year?

Did they listen yesterday?

Will they listen tomorrow?

The answer is clearly, no.

Do you know why?

It is called the 'twenty-seven-twenty-seven' problem.

It has been there since we joined Canada in 1949, and that distance

is not going to change any time soon.

Which is why, Mr. Speaker, we need to regain a great deal of control

over our fisheries resource and its management.

We need to aim to be, at the very least, co-managers

and collaborators of this important fishery resource.

Some have called it joint management.

As Liberals, we have stated that one of our policies will be to

achieve implementation of a joint management board when elected to

government. In fact, the Liberal

Party of Canada passed a resolution last year, at their AGM in Montreal,

because they understood the importance of closing the distance and working

together on decisions related to science, conservation, marketing,

harvesting, and processing of our fishery resource.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the House that in

April, 2011, the Harper government gave a solemn commitment to the Premier

at about that time, giving a promise to the Province of a formal role in

management of the fishery, but that did not happen.

Why? Because I believe

our own provincial government is a big part of the problem.

It has failed to keep Harper's feet to the fire on this issue and a

great many more issues.

While this government stands and talks about the

fishery and how they are doing everything for the fishery, the fact of the

matter is the government also has a very poor record of providing real

leadership for this vital industry.

This is a government that has missed many opportunities over the past

twelve years to grow the fishery, instead it slid backwards last year.

This is a government that is content with the status quo when it

comes to the wild fishery. This

is a government that had a revolving door of ministers, so that just as a

minister gets in to learn the ropes, he goes and the fishery suffers.

I will give you an example, Mr. Speaker.

Take the issue of direct sales of our fish by harvesters.

Government commissioned a report five years ago and has failed to act

on it. When I asked the minister

in Estimates last week why the report is collecting dust, his response was:

Well, I have to get my head wrapped around it.

It is not good enough, Mr. Speaker, it is not good enough at all.

This is the fallout from having too many ministers.

Nothing moves ahead, the fishery stagnates, our economy and people

suffer.

There is a lack of vision, a lack of strategy, and a

lack of investment. Just to

illustrate, the fisheries budget has been cut $30 million since Budget 2012,

when nearly $50 million was allocated, while this year's Budget earmarked

$21.5 million. That is a 56 per

cent cut to the department that used to be the most important department in

government, before this government got oil in their eyes.

Mr. Speaker, there has been a long pattern of missteps

and failures by this government, including the failure of RMS, the

dismantling of FPI, and the selling off of our marketing arm, the loss of

fish plants signing, supposedly, ironclad agreements that turn out to be

not worth the paper they are written on.

We only have to think of the Fortune plant to know

where I am getting to here, Mr. Speaker.

Government has been wishy-washy because we know, they know, and the

workers know that OCI has blatantly broken the 2012 agreement.

What kind of message is this sending to the businesses that want to

come in and sign agreements?

That they can run roughshod over us because we do not hold their feet to the

fire. It is absolutely

unbelievable.

I think one of the more serious failures by this

government has been the lack of effort to develop and nurture a

federal-provincial partnership and collaborative approach that would better

serve our fishery. Under this

government's watch we have had the feds show no mercy to Newfoundland and

Labrador or our fishery. Yet

this government has not had the interest nor the political clout to fight

strategically and successfully against the many wrongs inflicted upon us

like cuts to search and rescue, staff at federal science, and a whole host

of fisheries conflicts.

This is a government that supported our PMR in 2012,

which they claimed confirmed the provincial government committed to the

principles of disallowing the shipping out of unprocessed resources.

Well, lo and behold, a year later in 2013 they were signing away MPRs

under CETA. To make matters

worse, they could not or would not place any values on our MPRs.

Mr. Speaker, this is a government that has been

reactive, not proactive. They

have not shown the leadership needed to help close the distance between us

and Ottawa. They have not gained

any ground in addressing the 'twenty-seven-twenty-seven' problem, which is

why we are standing here today talking about unfairness of the federal

government in dividing the halibut quota increases equally amongst eight

groups, instead of the Province getting its traditional share which would

have been 29.1 per cent this year.

Mr. Speaker, I support the spirit of this PMR.

I support our West Coast fishers getting a fair share of the

fisheries resources, the fifty tons instead of twenty-one.

I support that quota sharing arrangement be reinstated in this year's

quota increases.

The thing is we can no longer sit back and just condemn

the actions of the federal government and plead for mercy.

I believe that we have to become outraged to the point that we must

be more proactive on this issue rather than just all standing in this House

and having our say. I believe we

have to take a firmer, more decisive and substantive stand legal action if

we have to if we are to reverse decisions handed down by the high from

Ottawa like this one on the halibut quotas.

I have to state the unfairness of the halibut is not an

isolated issue, Mr. Speaker. We

have a serious federal-provincial disconnect going on and we need to figure

out how it can be addressed.

Until we face up to the larger issues, we will forever continue to stand in

this House and condemn how we are being treated by the federal government.

There is a saying: If you keep doing what you are doing

which is nothing then you will get the same outcome.

I think that this will require a dedicated team of people to help us

strategize on how we can overcome our dysfunctional relationship with

Ottawa.

In the meantime, I will conclude with a message that

our office has received from fishers in the 3Ps area, which I believe

applies to the West Coast halibut harvesters: We need to have a plan to

build and support our multi-species enterprises.

We need support from all levels of government and the union.

We need to access our resources, such as halibut, haddock, et cetera.

We need our best interests to be considered.

We need decisions to be made with conservation in mind.

We need communication, transparency, and collaboration.

Mr. Speaker, there can be no progress, no closing the

'twenty-seven-twenty-seven' problem until there is true collaboration.

Right now, this is the biggest problem facing the Newfoundland and

Labrador fishery. The lack of

partnership is stunting our growth.

Newfoundland is a ship that is not meant to be anchored but to be

free to sail.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER (Cross):

The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

MR. GRANTER:

Mr. Speaker, thank you.

It is a pleasure this afternoon to be able to stand to

speak to this motion. I just

want to say thank to the hon. member for his words this afternoon, but a

thought was going through my mind as I listened to him this afternoon.

He had some very good points, I would say.

A thought came to my mind before I get into the crux of what I am

going to say a handshake only becomes complete when the person receiving

the handshake puts his or her hand out to receive the one that you are

giving him or her. That is the

same thing with regard to relationships that we might have with the federal

government.

You work through your ministers, you work through the

Premier's Office, with the Prime Minister, you work through

Intergovernmental Affairs, and you reach out to the federal government and

they reach out to you and hopefully you can find common ground; but, we have

not been able to find the common ground on many issues in relation to the

federal government in the last little while.

I know my colleague who spoke first for Port au Port

articulated some, and I know the hon. colleague across the way for Carbonear

Harbour Grace also articulated in very fine fashion some of the issues

that we have with regard to the federal government.

Just before we move on, just to respond to one of the

statements from the hon. Member for Carbonear Harbour Grace with regard to

the MPRs and Fortune and those kinds of things, the yellowtail agreement, as

an example, Mr. Speaker, companies offered up yellowtail quotas for anyone

in the Province that might want to come and harvest the yellowtail, and

there were no takers absolutely none.

Mr. Speaker, I want to take a few minutes to talk about

this motion on the floor of the House today.

I was taken back last Thursday as I came to the House and just

received the press release from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in

Canada. First, when I started to

read it, I was a bit elated when I read on May 21, 2015 that the Department

of Fisheries and Oceans today announced the total allowable catch for the

Atlantic halibut in the Gulf of St. Lawrence Northwest Atlantic Fisheries

Organization division 4RST a total allowable catch of 1,036.8 tons and

that was established on May 15, 2015.

So, I was a bit elated by that, knowing that there was

a total allowable catch increase.

In the very next sentence that is when my elation was broken.

The sharing formula, stabilized in 2013, will be used to distribute

the first 864 tons of quota, and the remaining 172.8 tons of quota will be

shared equally between the eight regional inshore fixed-gear fleets

currently involved in the directed Atlantic halibut fishery in 4RST.

So you brought up in one part of the paragraph, Mr. Speaker, and you

are actually deflated in the next part of the paragraph.

That is what I want to talk about in the next twelve or thirteen

minutes.

Mr. Speaker, as the provincial Minister of Fisheries

and Aquaculture, I would like to take some time this afternoon to go over

some of the background leading up to last week's decision by the federal

Minister Shea to further erode the share of Atlantic halibut quotas in the

Gulf of St. Lawrence available to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians and our

harvesters on the West Coast and the Labrador Straits.

This decision is truly not even short of an outrage.

I said it last week here in the House, and I encourage all members

and I know we will this afternoon here in this House of Assembly to

support the motion that we are debating when we vote on it a little later in

the next hour or so. Mr.

Speaker, some of the background was already touched on by my colleague for

the District of Port au Port, as well as my colleague across the way for

Carbonear Harbour Grace, but I would like to take some time over the next

eleven minutes or so to get into a little bit more detail about what has

transpired.

Mr. Speaker, in the mid-2000s, the federal Department

of Fisheries and Oceans announced its intention to create more stable and

predictable allocations of fisheries resources by stabilizing sharing

arrangements for the commercial fisheries in Atlantic Canada.

The purpose was intended to ensure that decisions were made through a

transparent and rule-based process.

DFO also committed to establish stabilized shares for competitive

fisheries, where no such arrangements existed at the time, Mr. Speaker.

Following that announcement in 2007, DFO announced the

stabilizing shared arrangement for the inshore fixed-gear fishery for

Atlantic halibut in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in NAFO division, commonly

known as 4RST. This fishery,

which involves eight fixed-gear fleets from all four Atlantic Provinces

include: the Gulf of New Brunswick; the Gulf of Nova Scotia; the Gulf of

Prince Edward Island; Western Newfoundland, of which we are part; Quebec

North Shore; the Gasp Peninsula; the Magdalen Islands; and Scotia Fundy.

That was shared, based on each fleets historical catches in the

competitive fishery. That is

absolutely key, historical catches in the competitive fishery.

The Newfoundland and Labrador inshore fixed-gear fleet

received 32 per cent; however, two years later, Mr. Speaker, after a sharing

arrangement was implemented or established by, yes, the federal Department

of Fisheries and Oceans, they backed away from the shares they put in place

and began splitting several quota allocations equally amongst the inshore

fixed-gear fleets in the Gulf, rather than in accordance with the shares.

This occurred in 2010, and it also occurred again in 2011, which the

hon. Member for Port au Port articulated earlier.

These decisions, which were made by the hon. Minister

Gail Shea, resulted at the time in a reduced share for this Province's

fleet. While those from Nova

Scotia and New Brunswick, and her own Province of Prince Edward Island,

received increases above the historical percentage shares.

Our Province strongly opposed these decisions, as they did not

reflect the established sharing arrangement or the fleet's historical

participation in the Gulf halibut fishery.

Mr. Speaker, we asked the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in

Ottawa at the time, and on numerous occasions, to reverse these decisions.

In 2011, Mr. Speaker, we were encouraged when DFO

announced it would undertake an external review of the sharing arrangement

for Atlantic halibut to be conducted by Ernst & Young.

Our Province provided input for that review, noting there is no

rationale for reopening the sharing arrangement and that DFO should simply

respect the shares established in 2007.

The Ernst & Young review, which was released in 2012, confirmed that

the sharing arrangement put in place in 2007 followed the federal policy and

was consistent with those established for other groundfish fisheries in all

of Atlantic Canada.

Following the review, DFO announced that the shares for

Atlantic halibut had been recalculated and stabilized, not to the 2007 level

but to the 2013 levels, and for there on going forward.

As a result, Mr. Speaker, the Newfoundland inshore fixed-gear fleet

was reduced from 39 per cent to at least 29 per cent.

We did not agree with that decision at the time as it did not fully

respect the 2007 shares, but DFO's announcement, at the very least,

indicated that future allocations for this stock would be distributed to the

inshore fixed-gear fleet in this predictable manner.

Mr. Speaker, as we all know, last week Minister Shea

announced that in 2015, and again for 2016, the total allowable catch for

Atlantic halibut in the Gulf of St. Lawrence has been increased from 864

tons to 1,037 tons. DFO

announced, however, that the increase of approximately 173 tons will be

split equally amongst the eight inshore fixed-gear fleets, the ones that I

announced a little earlier, rather than in accordance with the stabilized

shares.

The Newfoundland fleet will therefore receive

approximately twenty-one tons of the increase, instead of the historical

fifty tons it should be, based on the 2013 shares.

Minister Shea has again made a decision that is in total violation of

the established shares, Mr. Speaker, and in no way reflective of

Newfoundland and Labrador's catch history or DFO's allocation principles of

stable resource access.

Given the outcomes of the Ernst & Young report, the one

I alluded to earlier, their external review and DFO's previous announcements

of stabilized sharing in the Gulf of St. Lawrence on Gulf halibut, DFO has

absolutely no rationale for the decision that was made last week.

When it comes to halibut in the Gulf, Mr. Speaker, this

decision implies that established shares can be ignored, despite DFO's

commitment to stabilizing sharing and transparent decision making.

Minister Shea has defended her decision on the basis of equity among

fleets.

Where is the equity, I would say, Mr. Speaker, in the

Southern halibut stock? Where

the entire 3Ps inshore fleet has less than 3 per cent of the total allowable

catch,

whereas Nova Scotia-based fixed-gear fleets hold 50 per cent of the

total allowable catch, forty-seven percentage points different, Mr. Speaker.

Due to their small share and DFO's removal of the 10

per cent bycatch announced, our Province's inshore harvesters in 3Ps, whom I

met with on numerous occasions on the South Coast, now are forced to throw

away halibut or cease fishing for other groundfish due to the increasing

presence of halibut in the area.

This is occurring at the same time, Mr. Speaker, while

the United States and Saint-Pierre and Miquelon are arbitrarily setting

their own quota and increasing their catches of the same stock at the same

time while they build their historical numbers of catch.

We have repeatedly asked for a review of the sharing arrangement for

halibut off the South Coast in 3Ps as the existing shares have not been

stabilized or do not reflect the history of the fishery over the past

fifteen years. DFO has

completely ignored requests on a number of occasions.

Mr. Speaker, I also question where equity can be found

in the allocation policy for Northern shrimp.

Although separate, we can link them together.

The Newfoundland inshore fleet is taking most of the quota cuts and

if the shrimp resource continues to decline, will likely be removed from the

fishery in another few years under the Last In, First Out policy.

Minister Shea has so far refused to rescind LIFO and

establish an approach to the allocation of Northern shrimp which respects,

Mr. Speaker, adjacency and the history of the inshore fleet.

LIFO has resulted in the inshore losing 46,000 tons or 57 per cent of

their allocations adjacent to the Province, while the offshore has been

reduced by 12,000 tons or 16 per cent of the Northern shrimp allocation.

Atlantic halibut, Mr. Speaker, is one of the most

valuable fish species per pound in Atlantic Canada.

The price of halibut this year is in the order of $6.50 to $7 a

pound. Minister Shea has decided

to use this value as political currency.

She has put fisheries management in Canada back thirty years when

politics and lobbying determined quota allocation decisions instead of sound

resource access principles and policies.

The fishery is where this Province got its start

several hundred years ago. The

fishery will continue to be a major part of the Province's economy and our

collective story long into the future, Mr. Speaker.

With an annual value of approximately $1 billion last year, the

seafood industry is a major economic contributor benefiting individuals,

families, and communities throughout all of Newfoundland and Labrador.

We are trying to support and grow this industry to reach even greater

success and to create more benefits for our people and our coastal

communities, Mr. Speaker.

While we continue our efforts to grow this industry,

Minister Shea and the federal government continue to cut resources out from

under our harvesters, processors, plant workers, who are trying to make a

living from the bounty of the ocean off our coasts.

To abandon established, stable, and sensible quota

allocation methods in order to give an unfair share to one group over

another for one's own political benefit is really conduct unbecoming of a

minister of the federal government.

As noted previously, Mr. Speaker, Minister Shea has so far refused to

implement an alternative to the federal LIFO policy for the Northern shrimp

quota allocations and has repeatedly made decisions to the detriment of the

halibut harvesters in both 3Ps and the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Mr. Speaker, she is continuing this trend with the

quota allocations announced last week.

These decisions, along with the federal government's decision to go

back on its commitment to share in a fisheries investment fund as part of

CETA, show an ever-growing contempt for the people and economy of

Newfoundland and Labrador.

The people of Newfoundland and Labrador, Mr. Speaker,

and indeed the people of Canada, deserve a federal government that makes

important decisions that impact individuals, impact families, communities,

and economies for the right reasons and that are made in accordance with

established and predictable policies.

Once again the federal government is showing that it

does not believe Canadians should have an expectation of consistency and

fair treatment and that it is prepared to pit the interest of one region in

this great country against another region in this great country, Mr.

Speaker.

We will continue to call upon the federal minister to

reverse this ill-advised, politically motivated decision immediately and to

provide Newfoundland and Labrador with its established share of this

important Atlantic halibut quota.

Mr. Speaker, on that note, and seeing I have six

seconds left, I will conclude my remarks and look forward to hearing the

rest of the debate by my colleagues on both sides of the House.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for The Straits White Bay North.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I stand here today to speak to the private member's

resolution by the Member for Port au Port, because yet another fishery

inequity has been cast upon Newfoundland and Labrador waters by the federal

government. I certainly see that

in this scenario, in this situation, we have yet again seen where our fish

harvesters are not getting its fair share of halibut quota.

I listened intently to the Minister of Fisheries and

Aquaculture because he has claimed to be coming out swinging at this issue,

but we have not seen him go to Ottawa yet and have a meeting with the

minister because he does not have relationship with Ottawa.

This is the Tory government's approach and their Tory economics and

actions, and they continue to be the blame, really.

If we look at that side of the House

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. MITCHELMORE:

the only elected Premier on that side, Premier Dunderdale, stood hand in

hand with Stephen Harper at a campaign rally.

This is what the Minister of Fisheries talked about: the importance

of that handshake. I think

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians know that this government was there with

their Premier, Premier Dunderdale, shaking hands with Stephen Harper.

They are trying to have a family feud right now but they might even

have a family feud

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. MITCHELMORE:

within their own caucus because I really wonder where the Member for

Gander is he going to stand up and condemn the federal government for this

decision? The Member for Gander

has said I am not running for re-election under this PC government here.

I am going to run for the Conservative Party for Stephen Harper.

The Member for Gander wants to run in an area that is heavily

dominated by fishing and fishing activity here.

Will he stand up in Ottawa for the fishers of this Province in

Newfoundland and Labrador? We

will see where he stands in this House of Assembly.

We will see where that happens.

We do not need to be sending people to Ottawa who are not going to

speak up for the issues of Newfoundland and Labrador.

As we are aware, and we see, recently we have been

subjected to the unfair sharing of the Northern shrimp quota reductions in

which our onshore fishermen and fisherwomen have taken the brunt of the cuts

under the principle of the last-in, first-out policy, LIFO.

As well, when we look at the inequity when it comes to the food

fishery, we are one of the provinces that do not have parity with the rest

of Atlantic Canada when it comes to the length of time we are permitted to

engage in the food fishery.

Where does the minister stand on that?

Let's not forget that our fishers are more at risk now

since Ottawa has decided, in its infinite wisdom, to close the marine search

and rescue sub-centre in St. John's.

They have also said that they would close and have closed the Coast

Guard radio in St. John's and will close in St. Anthony, putting more

fishers at risk.

The minister can get up and talk about a relationship,

but it was this government that shook that hand.

Of course, we do not forget the $280 million promised fish fund,

after the minister here has granted exemption after exemption for minimum

processing requirements.

Where is the custodial management that was promised in

the 2005 election from the feds, or the promise in 2011 of giving the

provinces a greater say in fishery management?

All broken and this government, and this Minister of Fisheries and

Aquaculture, or the Member for Port au Port, are not doing their work when

it comes to building that relationship, getting that co-operation and

collaboration.

DFO decisions have affected groundfish harvesters in

3Ps over several years. Of the

allotted quota, 50 per cent that is allotted as bycatch and other directed

fisheries, with the remainder being taken in a direct Atlantic halibut

fishery. There is no longer

or permitted that the halibut bycatch have been subjected to unfair quota

allocations and

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. MITCHELMORE:

thus has been shortchanged vis--vis other harvesters from Nova Scotia in

the 3Ps area. Last week we get

to what we are debating here today.

It is the final injustice that is being inflicted upon us where if

the fair stable sharing agreement was instituted, we would have fifty more

tons

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. MITCHELMORE:

of quota rather than just twenty-one tons.

For our halibut fishers off the Coast of Labrador, off the West Coast

of this Province, this is really an impact.

I go back to the historical piece just for the

timeline. In 2007, DFO

implements the stable sharing based on historic catches, 1986 to 2004.

Based on that method used to calculate the 32 per cent, even this

percentage was low in comparison to the historic pattern for Newfoundland

and Labrador which was closer to 45 per cent.

In 2009, what happened?

DFO, under Minister Shea, reduces the share down to 27 per cent,

going back to a stable sharing agreement.

It was cut in 2009 under Minister Shea.

Then in 2011, following significant protests and a two-day sit in the

Corner Brook DFO office, DFO announces new Minister Keith Ashfield.

They would return to the stable sharing agreement.

Keith Ashfield becomes Minister of DFO and acknowledges the mistake

and returns to the stable sharing agreement.

In 2012, the quota remains status quo.

In 2013, the quota is increased and shared based on a stable sharing

agreement. In 2014, the quota is

unchanged and the stable sharing agreement is continued.

In 2015, when we an increase in the quota, we do not get the fair

share based on the stable sharing agreement.

This, in my view, is quite frankly unfair.

I am not seeing the action that is needed by this government on the

other side of the House when it comes to what they are doing to correct the

injustices that are happening when it comes to the fishery.

So last week the overall 2015 quota for halibut in the

Gulf region was 1,036.8 tons.

One portion is based on 864 tons while the second portion is the increase of

172.8 tons. What happened is

that the increase for the year was shared equally among the eight regional

inshore fixed-gear fleets harvesting halibut in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and

a complete ignorance to the management tool already used, already

established.

Consequently, Newfoundland and Labrador's share of

halibut resources are reduced from 32 per cent down to 24 per cent.

So we are at a loss. We

will get twenty-one tons instead of fifty tons if the sharing formula had

applied across the board. So you

can see we are at a loss here.

Harvesters say this is completely unacceptable.

I say it is unacceptable too.

It really goes back to show the poor management style of the

provincial government, because based on blasting the federal government in

their decisions, as well, we have to look at what the Province is doing.

Because the provincial government and as the Leader of the Official

Opposition has pointed out today has a 130 ton quota of halibut.

That 130 ton quota is leased annually for twenty years to a Nova

Scotia-based fish company.

The Province acquired the quotas in June, 2004, in what

was called a resource repatriation move, geared to keep the plant in

Arnold's Cove operating. Now, I

heard the minister say this is not true.

So if he is calling me a liar, then I would attest he get up and

state in the House of Assembly where I am incorrect.

Our approach ensures that the quotas and the

historical rights to this fish will remain in Newfoundland and Labrador.

That is what the government's October 25 press release says.

The quotas are listed under a government-owned company

called the Newfoundland and Labrador Industrial Development Corporation and

Icewater. The provincial company

pays $50,000 a year to lease the quota.

It is worth well over $1 million.

The Province has no escalation clause.

So this comes into a piece of history where you do a

bad deal and you do not learn from it.

You do a bad deal and you do not recognize the cost of energy is

going to go up and you get a bad deal; a bad deal like the Upper Churchill.

You get a bad deal agreement.

The same thing is happening with this halibut fishery

and our provincial quota as to what we own.

The Province signed a long-term deal with Icewater for $50,000 for

all the quotas, not just halibut, and there is no escalation clause.

The value of halibut, turbot, and other fish species have increased

in price and value. It is an

important fishery. The Province

placed the quotas this was back a while ago to be valued at around $20

million.

What is the provincial government getting, collecting

for the Treasury for our resource that is being processed, being shipped,

and workers from Nova Scotia are earning the value from it? $20 million.

We are getting $50,000.

It is completely shameful. It

shows mismanagement on the other side of the House when it comes to the

public resources we have, when it comes to the control of the resources that

we have in the fishery.

We have control over that quota, that resource, how it

can be processed, and how it can create economic value for the public

Treasury and for the people of the Province; yet, this minister and this

government chooses to give it to Nova Scotia.

It is unacceptable, really unacceptable.

The more the taxpayers of the Province see this Troy

economics, these bad decisions, the PC math that is happening, they are

going to continue to see that this government is not fit to manage the

fishery. The minister got up and

said the fishery was valued at a billion dollars, but a little less last

year. It was worth a little less

last year. Despite other

resources, the fish prices going up and increasing, increasing, but we are

not able to see growth in the fishery.

It is just poor management.

It is more than double the amount of the halibut quota

available to smaller enterprises.

This provincially-owned quota is more than double the amount

available to smaller enterprises on the South Coast of Newfoundland and

Labrador. They have a total of

sixty tons to catch between all of them.

We see where the government's approach is, it is give it to the big

company so they can sell it to the Nova Scotians and make lots of money on

that, but where are we going to be?

The deal that is currently with Icewater runs for a

number of years. It runs for

seven, eight, or nine years that are left in this particular deal.

It is an example that it is a lack of due diligence in ensuring that

maximum benefits are obtained from our provincial resources.

Time and time again this government has not done its

homework. They did not do their

homework on MPRs. They did not

do the value on it, despite their own report saying that back in 2010 they

should have assessed the value of MPR.

When they go to bargain and negotiate, they do not have

the ammunition in their pocket because they do not have the information.

They are not doing the research.

This is a government that is more willing to sell out their

resources, not do their homework, not have the value, and then place blame

on someone else because they did not do their homework.

This is a time when we need to see

maximum benefits from our resources that we have complete economic control

over.

I find it rather challenging to see the Member for Port

au Port and the minister get up, and I would like to know where the Member

for Gander is going to stand on this particular issue when it comes to

condemning the federal government.

Because I truly believe we should get our share and we should

definitely get that extra fifty tons, but in addition to that, we should put

to use and get more value than $50,000 for 130 ton quota that we own, the

people of the Province own in Newfoundland and Labrador.

We have so many harvesters who are not getting that value.

They are not even getting half of what is there in that quota.

Governments have to be nothing less than partners,

collaborators, and co-managers.

This is where I can agree with the Minister of Fisheries when he talked

about that relationship. You

actually have to have the action; you actually have to show it.

You have to have those partnerships.

My colleague, the Member for Carbonear Harbour Grace,

talked about that. He talked

about the positon of our party, of the Official Opposition caucus, and the

resolution that was passed by the federal Liberal Party of Canada on how we

could achieve. Do you know what?

It is the federal government's legal, constitutional, and moral

obligation. We must hold them

responsible, and as the Official Opposition, we must hold the provincial

government responsible. You have

to call to action the others.

The Minister of Fisheries got up not too long ago in

Estimates and in the House talking about how proud Newfoundland and Labrador

should be because we are the only Province that is funding 100 per cent of

research; yet, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency funded basic

research for the Province of PEI under halibut.

We are not getting ACOA funding the research when it comes to what we

are doing when it comes to cod, in CFER.

That is a real problem.

We have to spend $15 million of our public money to do

that when we are not reaching out to ACOA to help fund.

What are we doing to defend our position in the resource and get

maximum information? What

outreach has the provincial government done to secure research in halibut

from ACOA and from the federal government?

They have not done their work, Mr. Speaker.

They are so easy to condemn others, but they are not willing to do

the work, the hard work, and they are here in this House debating this piece

of legislation. We will support

this motion, but we want to see greater action done by the minister.

We want to see him up in Ottawa meeting with the federal minister.

He made no initiative in saying he had secured a meeting with

Minister Shea on this matter, and we certainly need to fight for the

community, fight for the people of the Province, and it is revealed time and

time again, there is absolute mismanagement by the people of the Province.

The harvesters will not stand for it; the fishermen's union will not stand

for it. The FFAW should be

slamming this government for their lack of decision and management of the

fishery. It is incredible what

is happening when it comes to all of these decisions that have been made.

To see the approach that is taken by the provincial government we

need to see a lot more.

I will make sure that on behalf of the people I represent, and the Official

Opposition, who are all members that we represent on Labrador and the Island

of Newfoundland, and across the Province we will be speaking loudly, and

we will call you out every single time you make bad management decisions.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Baie Verte Springdale,

MR. POLLARD:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

First of all, I just want to say a great big thank you to the people of the

District of Baie Verte Springdale for sending me to the House of Assembly.

It is always a pleasure and a humbling experience to stand here and

represent them every single day in the House of Assembly, or even outside

the House of Assembly, Mr. Speaker.

I want to thank the Member for Port au Port for bringing this private

member's resolution to the floor.

Today, it is important to him, to the West Coast, it is important to

the Northern Peninsula, and it is important to the Minister of Fisheries as

well. In fact, Mr. Speaker, it

is important to all of us across this great Province of ours.

It is a pleasure to speak to this private member's resolution today.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. POLLARD:

Mr. Speaker, I have had some attachment to the fishery, but rather

indirectly. My mom was born in

Hooping Harbour and my dad was born in Williamsport.

Both worked in the industry at a very young, tender age, but I might

add they did not go into the fishery as a career.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. POLLARD:

It was not their chosen career, Mr. Speaker.

My father went on and worked in the lumber woods, then he was

employed with Imperial Oil, and then he went on and started his own business

as self-employed.

As a boy I have fond, vivid memories of my grandfather

Charlie Randell and my grandmother Beatrice Randell who fished in Hooping

Harbour. I have memories of me

and my brothers and sisters going out in his boat, his wharf, and standing

on the stage watching him haul his nets, watching him gut the cod, Mr.

Speaker. It was a good

experience, I must say.

I do have a deep appreciation for the fisher people of

this Province, Mr. Speaker. It

is a very dangerous occupation; we all know that.

It is very challenging indeed.

I applaud my forefathers and all the fisher people for their

perseverance, for their tenacity, and for their bravery.

It is not easy.

Making a living on the water is certainly not easy.

It is a dangerous occupation, Mr. Speaker, as we all know that.

I would like to thank all the fisher people of this great Province of

ours for adding to our heritage, adding to our culture, and carving out our

identity. Fisher people are very

hard-working, resilient people for sure.

I have the utmost respect for the fisher people of this Province

the utmost respect. They are

very hard-working, resilient people.

Since I became MHA of the Baie Verte Springdale

district, Mr. Speaker, I have had the opportunity to meet and converse with

many fisher people, of whom I admire very much in our district.

The fisher people in my district, especially on the Baie Verte

Peninsula, have contributed immensely to the overall economy of the

Province. Yet, at the same time,

we all know they work very hard to eke out a living.

Some struggle; some did very well in the fisheries.

We all know, Mr. Speaker, fisher people in our

districts, but some notable people in my district, for example, Leo Seymour

I visited him one day he said I will take you out in boat and you watch me

haul capelin. I said yes, but to

this day, I admit, I have not gone out yet.

I am not very brave, but I would really like to go out and see

first-hand and experience what they go through.

I really want to him up on that offer.

We have the Ray Wimbletons of the world, we have got

the Perry Burtons, and the Keith (inaudible), these are just a few among

numerous fisher people in my district and across the Province of ours who

get a good living from the fishing industry but they work very, very hard

and are experiencing very, very challenging times.

I have to reiterate how much I respect them.

I am confident that the fishing industry will always remain a very

important sector to our economy, to our region, and to the way of life for

our Province, not only to the Baie Verte Peninsula but the entire Province.

They will always add to our culture, our heritage, and to our economy

for sure.

Mr. Speaker, we are again hit hard with another blow

from DFO with Gail Shea's recent decision.

In the words of President Keith Sullivan of FFAW, he said this

particular move was disgraceful.

He calls this move another tough blow to the fisher people of Newfoundland

and Labrador.

It certainly is unacceptable, it is outrageous, and

very, very disappointing, Mr. Speaker.

I do empathize and I do sympathize with the fisher people of this

Province. Like I said before,

they are so resilient. No matter

how many hard knocks our fisher people receive, or no matter how many times

they are pushed down, or receive setbacks, they seem to rebound, they pull

up their socks, they get through it, they innovate and they make a go of it.

I really see that and admire that characteristic in fisher people.

At the end of the day, Mr. Speaker, I suppose we are

only human, so it must get tiresome after a while.

My question is: Why do the fisher people of the Province always have

to fight DFO for everything? Why

do they have to fight, scratch, claw, bawl, and shout over trying to get

some fair treatment, Mr. Speaker?

I do not understand that because we are not second-class citizens.

We are not third-class citizens. We

are equal to our counterparts in the Atlantic Provinces right across this

Nation of ours. We do not take a

back seat to anybody.

Over the years, we all know there has been a steady

erosion of federal presence in Newfoundland and Labrador: like the federal

jobs have reduced; the closure and downsizing of high-profile offices or

centres; and senior executive positions, when they become vacant, are not

filled. So I ask the question

again: Why it is that policies developed by DFO and the federal government,

why are they not adequately addressing the needs and the concerns of the

people of the Province, especially the fisher people of the Province?

Take for example the LIFO policy, which was alluded to

earlier. Let me ask this

question: Why can't the federal government discontinue this policy and

replace it with a new sharing arrangement that is fair to both the inshore

and offshore fleets of the Northern shrimp fishery?

I pose that question again.

Both sectors are important as economic drivers not only to the

regions, but to the entire Province of ours.

With respect to the private member's motion on the

floor today, let me zero in on that, Mr. Speaker.

Minister Shea's recent decision, as alluded to earlier, to ignore the

established, stable sharing arrangement for Atlantic halibut in the Gulf of

St. Lawrence and reduce our Province's share of the quota from 32 per cent

down to 24 per cent will undermine the considerable efforts made by the

Province in our fishing industry to develop a Gulf-wide research program for

the Atlantic halibut. While we

are providing funding for research, our share of the stock, on which we are

helping to provide that valuable scientific data, is being eroded, much to

our dismay. I might point out

that we are the only Province that solely funds our research.

DFO, the Province, and the industry all have a role to

play, Mr. Speaker we know that in managing our fisheries, particularly

in light of the ever-increasing demands for sustainable seafood from the

marketplace. We are more than

willing to work together, but recent decisions by DFO's minister,

especially, is making this very difficult for us to work together, to

collaborate, and to come to a consensus when we are sort of ignored and not

invited to the table and ask for our input, and valued.

To put it quite simply, Mr. Speaker, Minister Shea's

decision not to respect the established shares in the Gulf halibut fishery

compromises the federal, the provincial, and the industry partnerships on

fisheries science, which is something DFO has been promoting for a number of

years. This decision today must

be reversed and our harvesters be allocated their historical share of

Atlantic halibut in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Mr. Speaker, as we pointed out earlier, the decision on

Gulf halibut quota allocations made by Minister Shea last week is just the

latest of a growing trend of the federal government to make steps to

negatively impact our Province.

That is very disappointing, I might add.

I know others have already spoken about the LIFO

policy, and I did earlier, and the Northern shrimp; but just to reiterate,

this key issue will help to illustrate this trend of decisions, particularly

by Minister Shea, that has significant negative impacts in our Province.

In a similar way, this latest decision on the Atlantic

halibut in the Gulf of St. Lawrence discounts historical participation of

harvesters on the West Coast of the Province and Labrador Straits in the

halibut fishery. It discounts

the need for predictable, fair, and transparent established allocation

methods and pits one group of harvesters against another.

The policy framework by the federal government always

said that they want to create more stable, predictable allocations of

fisheries resources, and decisions would be made in a timely, concise manner

and conflicts would be resolved through a fairer, transparent, rules-based

process. That is a noble

mandate, that noble policy framework on which you can build any policy; but

the actions of this federal minister do not bode well.

It is opposite, Mr. Speaker.

It undermines our opportunities for our Province's harvesters to make

returns on our investments and efforts according to an established quota

allocation method.

I do not think we can take this quietly.

As the saying goes, we cannot take this sitting down or lying down.

I think all of us, like we did in the All-Party Committee, I am sure

we will get support I am assuming and I am anticipating unanimous support

here today on this private member's motion.

We cannot stand idly by and allow the federal government to continue

to undermine our Province's fish harvesters and the efforts of our

provincial government to continue to further develop and improve our

world-class fishery, which we know now is approximately a billion-dollar

industry, Mr. Speaker.

Whoever thought that since 1992, when the cod fishery

collapsed, we would still have a billion-dollar industry?

Because of our diversification of our investments, we have made that

today, and we are quite proud of that.

I would certainly encourage all of us, Newfoundland and

Labrador Members of Parliament, and Senators to pressure our federal

government and Minister Shea on this rather cold, callous, indefensible

decision in the House of Commons.

I think we need to stand together on this issue as we have on the

issue of the LIFO policy on the Northern shrimp.

I look forward to other members on this side of the

House and on the opposite side of the House to continue this debate.

Like I said earlier, I think we will have unanimous support on this

very, very important private member's motion today, Mr. Speaker, which

really affects, directly or indirectly, every fisher person across this

great Province of ours. I

consider it a real privilege to stand today and represent the people of the

District of Baie Verte Springdale to have my say on such a very, very

important issue.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I am glad to stand and speak this afternoon to this

private member's resolution which condemns the recent decision of the

Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and seeks the immediate reversal of

their decision to divide the 172.8-ton increase in the halibut quota equally

among eight groups, instead of respecting this Province's traditional share

of 29.1 per cent. I am happy to

go on and speak to this and explain why I am so upset over this, why our

caucus is upset over this, and why we will be voting for this resolution.

What Minister Shea because it is the minister

ultimately. What Minister Shea

has done with regard to the halibut quota is extremely disheartening.

It is especially disheartening because after the All-Party Committee

met with her and her officials in Ottawa not too long ago, our second

meeting with her the first meeting here in St. John's back in 2014 was

something that was very disappointing.

At our last meeting in Ottawa the All-Party Committee

felt that things had softened a bit and that the minister was understanding

the position of us here in Newfoundland and Labrador, and of the people who

are part of the fishing community.

Now, we were there, of course, on the Northern shrimp

issue and the quotas around the Northern shrimp, but the principles that we

were dealing with were the same as the ones that we are going to be dealing

with here today. We thought she

was softening and she was understanding our position a bit.

It is clear that nothing has changed with Minister

Shea. It is clear that she is

making decisions, not based on policies of the Department of Fisheries and

Oceans, not based on past practice, not based on what has been historically

acceptable here in Atlantic Canada with regard to quotas.

She is basing her decisions always on decisions that would benefit

people in her own riding in PEI, and that, Mr. Speaker, is despicable.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for intervening there.

For a federal minister to be making decisions based on

doing a favour for people in his or her own riding is completely

unacceptable. I cannot get over

the blatant way in which this minister flies in the face of policy and

changes policies through new practices and twists policies to her own

interpretation.

An 87 per cent increase to Gulf PEI harvesters, from

24.79 tons to 46.38 tons is a breathtaking reversal of the traditional

longstanding, stable sharing arrangement of the Gulf of St. Lawrence halibut

quota. That is a really

important phrase: stable sharing arrangement.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has a policy

called stable sharing arrangement designed to avoid exactly the kind of

controversy that we are dealing with, by enshrining as permanent existing

percentage shares for the various fishing fleets engaged in a particular

fishery. This decision, the

decision to change that balance, flies directly in the face of this policy,

Mr. Speaker.

However, a government like the Harper government, which

is willing to use hundreds, if not millions, of dollars of public money in

advertising to promote their own partisan agenda, certainly would not think

twice of apportioning a public resource to their own ends as well.

That is what has happened here.

Make no mistake that PEI harvesters benefit from this unfair,

arbitrary allotment of a long-established halibut quota.

We are not against the PEI harvesters.

What we are against is what the minister has done.

Changing a relationship, a sharing of

the quota that has been a permanent sharing of the quota and that has been

fair.

The principle of adjacency is a bulwark of the

fisheries policy but Minister Shea seems to have misunderstood what the

principle of adjacency is all about.

In this instance it works, but it works because she seems to think

the adjacency means who is most adjacent to her as the minister, and the PEI

harvesters are the ones who are most adjacent to the minister.

So that is the principle she is working out of, Mr. Speaker.

It is very disgraceful.

The head of the FFAW has said of this unexpected,

unwarranted, and unfair quota cut, This is a disgraceful and desperate

attempt by the Conservatives to maintain their federal seats in the Maritime

Provinces, at the cost to the economic sustainab

Document details

Collection	Newfoundland and Labrador — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	2015-05-27
Type	hansard
Volume / chapter	2015-05-27
Language	en
Format	htm
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	f71ad464580a47d8420fbd7b539dc1294c712f55

Source file is stored in the law ingest library (htm).