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June 7, 2021

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. L No. 11

The House met at 1:30 p.m.

SPEAKER (Bennett):

Order, please!

Admit strangers.

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER A. FUREY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Today, it is with a heavy heart I pay tribute to a

former MHA, colleague and dear friend, George Murphy.

Like many people across this province, I woke up

yesterday morning and was shocked to learn of George's sudden passing.

George Murphy had a strong voice, a large social

conscience and an even bigger heart. His love of Newfoundland and Labrador was

just who he was, and it was the centre of everything he did. He worked for over

30 years in the taxi industry as a driver, dispatcher and, most recently,

manager of Jiffy Cabs in St. John's.

In 2011, George was elected as the Member of the House

of Assembly for the District of St. John's East. Those who served in the House

of Assembly with George instantly recognized his passion for making this

province a better place for all of us. His generosity and kindness knew no

bounds, and his laughter was infectious. He was always smiling, always ready to

put a positive spin on whatever challenge lay ahead of him.

George was known to many as the Gas Guru. He spent over

15 years as the spokesperson for the Consumer Group for Fair Gas Prices. We all

looked forward to hearing George on when to head to the pumps every week. His

knowledge in oil and gas was extensive and truly appreciated by everyone in the

province. Most recently, George worked with our Liberal caucus and staff in the

Government Members Office where his sage advice, wise counsel and calmness was

respected by all of my colleagues.

But, Mr. Speaker, beyond those he helped, he was a

husband, a father and a grandfather. I'm sure we are all thinking of his wife,

Joy, children and grandchildren who have lost someone they loved dearly. I spoke

with Joy yesterday; I passed along condolences to her and to his whole family on

behalf of this House and the entire province.

Joy told me just moments before he passed, George

posted a picture from his firepit. With it was the attached message: “Nudding

like it…” That was George. He was able to simplify things to what's important,

to what is meaningful to people he loved and to those who loved him.

He did that in his professional life as well, Mr.

Speaker. We should all look to the example George Murphy set to help make this

hon. House, this province and, indeed, this world a better place to live.

We should do that to honour his memory. We are all

stronger and blessed to have known George Murphy and I am lucky to have called

him my friend.

10-4, Sir. Over and out.

SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the Premier for a copy of his statement. On

behalf of the Official Opposition and all residents in my district, I send my

deepest and most heartfelt condolences to George's family and friends.

George was a proud resident of this province and was a

friend to everyone he encountered. His friendliness and his smile was always a

welcome presence in the hallways of this building. George's tenure as an MHA,

his dedication to keeping drivers updated on gas prices and his passion for life

truly made this a better place.

But most of all, George was a true gentleman. While

politics can be decisive, it can also show you a person's true character. I

recall vividly that George ran against me in my first election. On election

night, he came to my headquarters to congratulate me, offered me advice and made

sure I would act in the best interests of the district. At that moment, I didn't

consider him an opponent but considered him a friend.

My heartfelt condolences go out to George's wife, Joy,

his family and many friends. Rest easy, big fellow. You'll be missed.

SPEAKER:

The

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

DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We, the Third Party caucus, were deeply saddened this

weekend when we heard the news. Many tears were shed as we saw tributes pour in

from across the province.

We knew George through his daily visits to our office

to deliver minister statements for a response. We knew him from the chance

encounters on the fifth floor hallways and the precincts of the House of

Assembly. He was always friendly and willing to engage in conversation.

According to Gerry Rogers, a former colleague, George was a person of great

integrity and compassion. She says it was an honour to work with him while he

was an MHA.

He loved being an MHA and his commitment to the people

of the province was strong. Why else would he take it upon himself to research

price fluctuations in gas and oil week after week and let people know, free of

charge, so they could adjust their fill-ups accordingly? It was a privilege for

him to serve the people of his district and of the province, and he took his

duties as an MHA seriously and with pride, joy, humour and humility. He also

enjoyed Committee work and loved serving on the Public Accounts Committee; he

was good at it. He also worked tirelessly to bring people together; he believed

it was necessary for all of us to work together, despite partisanship.

He was very proud of his work on the Move Over

legislation; the legislation requires drivers to slow down and move over to

another lane when approaching a stopped police vehicle, ambulance, tow truck or

municipal or provincial vehicle on the side of the road. That was his piece of

legislation and he felt it was important to the safety of workers and first

responders.

He loved Newfoundland and Labrador and its people. For

years, he was dedicated to the Duke of Edinburgh's Awards in Newfoundland and

Labrador, advocating for youth programming. George truly was a man of the

people; he was a fierce defender of fairness and justice for everyone. He was a

magnet and drew people to him wherever he went.

He loved his wife, Joy, his young twin boys and his

lovely daughter. To his family we say thank you for sharing him with us and with

the people of this province that he loved. Our thoughts and prayers are with you

at this difficult time and we carry you and the memory of George in our hearts.

Thank you.

SPEAKER:

I'll ask all Members to rise for a moment of silence for the late George Murphy.

(Moment of silence.)

SPEAKER:

Thank you.

Statements by Members

SPEAKER:

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

Bonavista, Stephenville - Port au Port, Conception Bay South, Burin - Grand Bank

and St. George's - Humber.

The hon. the Member for Bonavista.

PARDY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is my pleasure to honour the memory of master boat

builder Henry Vokey of Trinity who passed away on January 27 of this year at the

age of 91 years.

This giant of the province's boat building was born in

Little Harbour in 1929. Following in the footsteps of his grandfathers and

uncles, he built his first full-size vessel at 25 years of age.

At 35, when his family moved to Trinity, he and his two

brothers opened Vokey's shipyard, an enterprise he proudly ran for the next

three decades.

Henry Vokey built over 1,000 vessels – punts and

rodneys, trap boats and dories, speed boats and sailboats, longliners and

schooners, including the famous schooner J

& B and the schooner Leah Caroline ,

launched in 2012 as documented by CBC Land and Sea .

As a master boat builder for more than 55 years, Henry

was honoured in 2007 with the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is said

that no one in this province built more boats than Henry Vokey.

I ask the Members of the 50th House of Assembly to join

me in honouring Henry Vokey, a master boat builder from Trinity, Trinity Bay.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Stephenville - Port au Port.

WAKEHAM:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I take this opportunity today to recognize Mr. Don

Gibbon Sr. for the dedication and contributions he's made to the Stephenville -

Port au Port area over the past 65 years.

Don was born in St. John, New Brunswick, but moved to

Stephenville in 1956. Here he met and married the love of his life Kay and

raised three children, seven grandchildren and one great grandchild.

Don spent over 40 years as a radio host with CFSX

radio and was known locally and provincially as Dynamite Don.

In his career as a hockey broadcaster and news

reporter, Don ranks as “one of the best” commentators in Newfoundland and

Labrador. His coverage of every level of hockey from high school to senior was

always exciting when Dynamite Don called the play-by-play. It earned him a place

in the Hockey Newfoundland and Labrador Hall of Fame in 2014.

Don has been an avid volunteer over the years with

various associations which earned him the distinction of being named Citizen of

the Year in 2014. He has served on council for the past 16 years with the Town

of Stephenville.

Please join me in recognizing and congratulating

Dynamite Don Gibbon on a long and distinguished career.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Conception Bay South.

PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak about a long-time

community volunteer in my district, Mr. Gerald Kelly.

The Town of Conception Bay South recently named the

community room at the new CBS Arena in his honor. Gerry Kelly is great

gentleman, well known for his volunteer work and involvement in the community

and province, which is evident through his many contributions, achievements and

awards.

He's been an outstanding contributor to various

organizations like: St. Thomas of Villanova Parish, Knights of Columbus, CBS

Monument of Honour Committee, Canadian Peacekeeping Veterans Association,

chairman of Poppy Campaign, Holy Spirit minor hockey, CBR Minor Hockey, CBS

Parks and Recreation Committee, CBS softball association, NL amateur

championships and Hockey Newfoundland and Labrador.

Gerry has been recognized as Coach of the Year, CBS

Sports Hall of Fame inductee, Canada Games Mission Staff representative,

lifetime member of the Hockey NL Hall of Fame, CBS Lions Club Citizen of the

Year, Top Recruit of the 57 Platoon of the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada and

Legionnaire of the Year by the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 50.

Congratulations to Mr. Gerald Kelly for his commitment

and achievements. I ask hon. Members to join me in recognizing his contributions

to our community and the province.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Burin - Grand Bank.

PIKE:

Mr.

Speaker, we are so fortunate in this province to have so many people involved in

our communities doing wonderful things and this is no truer than in my District

of Burin - Grand Bank.

The Grand Bank - Fortune running group led by Nancy

Douglas boasts a membership of over 25 people who either run or walk twice a

week. The participants' age is anywhere between 20 to 75 years of age.

The group, through their relationships and connections

to their communities, are great ambassadors and volunteers, taking a lead role

in the organization of events such as the Terry Fox Run and the kids' run during

Halloween in which the kids dress up and get medals for their efforts. This past

year saw the group organize a Remembrance Day run dedicated to war veterans,

placing signs of our veterans along their running route.

One of everyone's favorites is their Christmas Doorstep

Challenge where they leave gift cards on the doorsteps of those less fortunate,

those who have lost a loved one or experienced sickness in the past year.

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

thanking the Grand Bank-Fortune running group for their tireless community

efforts.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for St. George's - Humber.

REID:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Today in the House, I would like to recognize one of

the oldest residents of the Bay St. George area, Ella Olive Smith of

Stephenville Crossing, who recently celebrated her 103rd birthday.

Ella Olive Smith moved to Bay St. George Long Term Care

Centre in Stephenville Crossing in 2015. She was born in St. Anthony and is one

of 10 children: six girls and four boys. Three of her brothers were navy

veterans of the Second World War. She is now the only living member of her

family.

Ella was married to Max Smith and they had four

children: two boys and two girls. Her husband passed away in 1974. Ella moved to

Stephenville in 1980 and lived in the Manor on base until 2006, when she moved

to Acadian Village seniors home.

Ella's children tell us that she is a believer in luck

and would often spend time searching for a four-leaf clover when times were

rough in her life.

I ask all Members to join with me in recognizing Ella

Olive Smith for her long life well lived, and to wish her the best of luck in

coming years.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by Ministers

SPEAKER:

The

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

CROCKER:

Mr. Speaker, today in this hon. House, I want to highlight our province's

tourism industry.

In a time of great uncertainty, our tourism industry

has continued to be resilient, revamping themselves and pushing forward despite

being one of the hardest hit industries throughout the pandemic.

Last week brought a renewed sense of optimism with the

release of Together.Again. , our plan

to safely reopen Newfoundland and Labrador. It has been wonderful to see and

hear the enthusiasm and excitement from our tourism operators as they begin to

prepare to welcome Canadian travellers back to our beautiful province.

Mr. Speaker, I want to say thank you. Thank you to

Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador, the Premier's Advisory Council on

Tourism, the Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Tourism Board, as well as all

our tourism operators and stakeholders. They have been passionate, determined

and innovative, collectively working with government on a solid path to

recovery.

Our tourism industry is a vital economic driver. Prior

to COVID-19, the tourism industry generated $1.14 billion in visitor spending,

supporting 20,000 employees and 2,800 businesses.

Budget 2021 provides considerable support to the sector including

$30 million for the Tourism Hospitality Assistance Program and $13 million for

the continuation of the province's award-winning marketing campaign.

Mr. Speaker, there is a clear light at the end of the

tunnel and, together, we will rebuild our incredible tourism industry. We are

also very excited about the initial plans for Come Home Year 2022, which will

benefit the industry and help us all reunite.

The work and the tireless efforts put forth by the

entire industry, is truly commendable. As we prepare to welcome back our family,

our friends and new and returning travellers, I encourage everyone to remain

resilient and celebrate being “together again” in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Bonavista.

PARDY:

thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement. On behalf of the

Official Opposition, I want to recognize Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador

and all tourism operators for advocating for their industry, for being vocal and

for seeking support to increase our tourist authentic experiences.

With that being said, I want to take this opportunity

to tell all those who work in tourism, hospitality and cultural sectors that we

support you. We continue to listen to your accounts of how your businesses have

been impacted by the ongoing pandemic and we will continue to support you.

In order for the tourism sector to rebound, we will

need to continue promoting staycations and also ensure that tourists have

cost-effective ways to visit our province. This means the necessary air access

routes and affordable ferry assistance. I believe the government should do more

to ensure that when it is safe to do so, visitors have access to our beautiful

province.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Labrador West.

BROWN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

statement. I would like to commend the tourism operators across the province,

urban and rural, on their resilience in the face of overwhelming adversity since

the onset of COVID-19. It's going to take a lot of time and work to rebuild

after our time in isolation, but I hope you all can come back stronger than ever

before next year.

I call upon the people to consider exploring our own

province, to see what our local tourism sector has to offer and helping in the

rebuilding. As exciting as it is for the world to reopen, we must remind

ourselves to be safe and truly deeply appreciate our chance to be together

again.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

Further statements by ministers?

The hon. the Minister Responsible for Indigenous

Affairs and Reconciliation.

DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It gives me great pleasure to formally congratulate

Justice Stacy Ryan on her appointment to the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and

Labrador. This is a tremendous accomplishment in its own right, but even more

noteworthy is the fact that Madam Justice Ryan holds the distinction as the

first Inuk woman from Newfoundland and Labrador to hold such a prestigious

position.

In the company of a small group of family members and

friends, Justice Ryan was sworn in last week during a special ceremony at the

courthouse in Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

The road to the Supreme Court is marked by hard work

and perseverance. Born and raised in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, she practiced

criminal and family law in Labrador with the Legal Aid Commission for more than

20 years. Her contributions to her community are also noteworthy, as she served

on various boards and volunteered her time with sports-related activities.

Madam Justice Ryan has spoken about the challenges many

Labradorians like her face in pursuing their career goals, but her message to

others is that education and diligence can take you a long way.

As a Labradorian and as an Indigenous woman, I am

extremely proud of Madam Justice Ryan and many others like her who have broken

through the proverbial glass ceiling. Well done, Madam Justice Ryan. Your

achievements are an inspiration. You are an important role model for Labrador,

for women and, indeed, the Indigenous community.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

EVANS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an advance copy of her

statement. On behalf of the Official Opposition, I congratulate Justice Stacy

Ryan, a beneficiary of the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement, on her

appointment to the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador.

It's important for us to acknowledge the true benefit

to Newfoundland and Labrador justice for this first appointment. Justice Ryan

has spent most of her legal career working in our Labrador communities, so she

is aware of the many issues impacting access to justice.

To quote Nunatsiavut Government President Johannes

Lampe, Justice Ryan has spent “20 years practicing family and criminal law

throughout Labrador, and certainly has a grasp of the justice issues and

concerns facing the region ….”

I feel that this is a very proud moment for all

Labradorians and one of renewed hope for those who feel disenfranchised by the

justice system.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Labrador West.

BROWN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

statement. On behalf of myself and the rest of the Third Party caucus, I want to

congratulate Madam Justice Ryan on her appointment.

It may have taken until 2021 for us to reach this

milestone of diversity in our justice system, but we should not let that

diminish our pride and joy in Justice Ryan's accomplishments. Diversity is key

to the continued evolution of our justice system, and I hope we can continue to

make steps like this going forward into the future.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

Are

there any further statements by ministers?

Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

There are only days remaining until a decision will be

made on the future of the Terra Nova FPSO. Last week, we released documentation

that the province offered to buy 15 per cent of Terra Nova.

Can the minister confirm that this offer is still on

the table?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the question from the Member opposite; it

certainly is an important topic.

What I can say right now is that we continue to engage

in discussions, negotiations and talks with all of the partnership group to try

to figure out a way forward for this asset. There has been a deadline put

forward of June 15 by the ownership group, by the operator Suncor.

We've done everything we can within our power to try to

make this happen. We fully realize the importance of it to our Treasury and to

our people in a multitude of ways. But what I can say is that I'll continue not

to negotiate in public, as I don't think it would be in the best interest of

making something positive happen.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Like so many citizens of this province, I hope that the

negotiations go in the right direction and this valuable asset gets to move to

the next level. Newfoundland Power has asked the Public Utilities Board for an

increase on electricity rates that will only inflate their guaranteed rate of

return.

Does the minister think that the interest of

shareholders should be put ahead of ratepayers?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I, again, thank the Member for another very

important question; one that affects all of us in the province as we talk about

electricity rates.

As people know, Newfoundland Power has applied to the

PUB for a rate increase and we do know that the Consumer Advocate has spoken out

about that rate increase. Generally, we let the Public Utilities Board do their

work.

We do know that Newfoundland Power has an obligation

every three years to do a general rate application; in this case, they have

asked for that rate increase. I don't believe there have been any for the past

six years. At this point, we are obviously very observant, watching and will

continue to let the Public Utilities Board do their work on the interests of

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Newfoundland Power already has a guaranteed profit

built into their rate. They don't need an increase. The Public Utilities Board

has the power to deny this request.

Will the government do the right thing and direct the

PUB to deny the shareholders' cash grab?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As we do know, Newfoundland Power does have an

application in; one that they have to do every three years. We also know that we

have a Consumer Advocate, an independent party, that we appointed here in

government to represent the interests of all consumers. What will happen now is

we have this process that will play out. Basically, a semi-judicial matter will

play out here where both sides will be looked at. The facts and evidence will be

taken into consideration and we will see what comes out of it.

Obviously, it's difficult for government to intervene

in this because if we do, we will be expected to intervene in every single

matter that comes forward. At this point, we are able to watch.

Again, we always share the concerns of citizens as it

relates to power rates.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate the answer by the hon. minister, but we're

all aware of the financial stresses that are on the citizens of this province,

and particularly those on fixed incomes, when it comes to electricity rates. We

have a responsibility to ensure the right thing is done here and a cash grab is

not taken by a major corporation.

The purpose of the equalization program is to provide

“reasonable comparable levels of public service at reasonably comparable levels

of taxation.” The Greene report forecasts increases in taxation and cuts in

public services.

I ask the minister: Given the purpose of equalization

and Greene's commentary, have you asked for equalization assistance from the

federal government?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

COADY:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Again, another important question, I think, on behalf

of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

As the Member opposite knows, the equalization formula

is reviewed in a cycle. We've certainly been, as this government has been, very

vocal to the federal government asking for changes to the equalization. They

will be brought forward, again, when the time is appropriate for another review

of equalization.

I did indicate last week, I guess, Mr. Speaker, that

the federal government's appropriations to this province are on par with what we

received when we were on equalization. We will continue to work with the federal

government to continue to make the right overtures to the federal government to

make sure that we are equal in this federation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As we're all aware, the equalization process has been

pushed out a couple of extra years at the detriment to the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador, and that supports provinces like Quebec, where they

get over $13 billion in equalization every year.

When Greene is fully implemented, public services like

health care and education will be cut, while people pay more to live here, is

the government satisfied to do this without challenging their federal friends

for equalization support for the people of this province?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I think the Member opposite has misspoke. We continue

to put pressure on the federal government with regard to equalization. I do know

in the past, when he was a former minister, the province did not make overtures

to the federal government on equalization, Mr. Speaker. We, however, in this

government have worked very hard to make sure the federal government understands

why the formula is flawed, why it does not work for Newfoundland and Labrador.

Indeed, it doesn't work for many jurisdictions across this country and have

asked for a review of that formula, Mr. Speaker.

We'll be continuing to press the federal government to

ensure we get our fair share of being a member of this Confederation.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Terra Nova.

PARROTT:

is fine to give reassurances, Mr. Speaker, but all the people of the province

hear is silence from the federal MPs and the provincial MHAs.

Mr. Speaker, Come By Chance Refinery will be kept in

warm idle until the end of this month. Time is ticking.

What assurances can the minister give the people of the

province that this refinery has an operational future in this province?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Member for another question as it

relates to this portfolio, one that does have a significant importance to this

province.

I guess I could reiterate what I've said all along is

that it is hard for us, as a provincial government, to provide 100 per cent

insurance that this deal would happen, given that the asset itself is not owned

by the provincial government.

Now, what we've shown in the past by an agreement that

was applauded by virtually everyone – I heard nothing but good about it – is we

came to an MOU with Silverpeak to allow for funding to keep it in warm idle, to

ensure employment levels were met, which they have been.

We continued to engage in discussions with the owners

as well as prospective interests to see what we could do and we will continue to

do that for the hope of a future for the refinery.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Terra Nova.

PARROTT:

Once again, that's fine, Mr. Speaker, but we do own the indemnity, all the

licence agreements and environmental responsibility should this deal fail.

There are only days until a decision is expected on the

future of Terra Nova FPSO and I understand the minister's statement that he

doesn't want to bargain publicly.

What I'm asking for is: What assurances can he give the

men and women who work diligently on this rig in order see success in

Newfoundland and Labrador?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Industry, Energy and Technology.

PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Member knows full well that it is impossible to

give a full assurance that this asset is going to continue to operated. The fact

is it has been offline since December 2019. I don't think it would be

responsible for me to go out and promise something to anybody, no matter how

much I want to say it or they may want to hear it, it would not be responsible

for me to promise something that I simply cannot.

What I can promise is that this government is doing

absolutely everything we can to ensure a future for that asset, and believe me

when the opportunity comes and, hopefully, it comes after a positive or

successful resolution, we will be able to show what this province was prepared

to do. Until that point, what I can say is that we will continue to do the work

in the hopes for a positive resolution.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Terra Nova.

PARROTT:

hope the minister is right, Mr. Speaker. The entire province wants to see a

positive resolution.

This government has failed to develop a long-term plan

for the Bull Arm facility.

Why hasn't this government used Bull Arm to attract

more activity for our offshore industry?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate the question from the Member opposite.

Certainly, Bull Arm is something that is an asset for

this province, but the reality is that it's been hard during the last –

certainly during the last couple of years to be able to do much in the

circumstances like to find it here in this province and throughout the entire

globe. The reality is that we're faced with a challenging time.

We do know that DF Barnes, a local contractor, is out

there with lease arrangements and they do have people on site and they're

spending money. But it's not being used to its full potential.

What we can say is that we'll continue to do what we

can. I don't think anybody doubts our commitment to energy in this province, to

opportunity and to industry, and that includes Bull Arm. We will continue to do

what we can in trying times to ensure futures for the men and women of this

province.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Terra Nova.

PARROTT:

I remind the minister that the EOI for Bull Arm went out in 2016 and Hebron

actually set sail June 3, 2017. That's five years for the EOI and four years for

the Hebron leaving; still no activity.

West White Rose is at a standstill, the future of Bay

du Nord is uncertain and the Terra Nova FPSO and Come By Chance are in peril.

Minister, the clock is ticking on all of these.

Why haven't you been able to resolve any of these

problems?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I wish I could just click my fingers and make

everything right, make COVID go away, make the oil crisis go away and deal with

OPEC and all of these things. The reality is that a lot of this is out of our

control.

What I will say to people, while some people on the

other side like to dwell on the negative, and certainly there are challenging

times out there, how about I just talk about one positive? Last week, there was

speculation that Bay du Nord, which looked like it had significant findings

already. There's significant speculation that it's far more than that and it

could be a huge, huge resource developed here in this province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PARSONS:

will also point out that same company, just this year, moved its entire

operations from Calgary to St. John's.

What I would say: While they see negative, we will

continue to see the positive.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

EVANS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

What the minister is referring to as negative has grave

impacts to our people for jobs. I just want to add that.

Labradorians have stopped hunting caribou in order to

promote the recovery of the herds, but they still witness the continued illegal

hunt by Quebecers coming in to Labrador year after year. Without real deterrents

these illegal hunts will continue.

I ask the minister: When will people be held

accountable?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture.

BRAGG:

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

question.

The Member opposite, I'm sure, is quite aware of the

happenings from last year; no one was very pleased with the outcome of the

illegal hunt. But I think I've been on the record here in Estimates saying a

couple of days ago at no point do we want to jeopardize someone's life when it

comes to the actual enforcement of the illegal hunt.

We had officers in the area in helicopters in which

hunters on the ground would have tarps. They would have tarps underneath a

helicopter, which you would see as being very dangerous and it's a remote

location, Mr. Speaker. In our case, the way to get there was by helicopter, and

being able to get and land on the ground was very, very – well, it was

dangerous, let's just put it that way.

We're going to look forward, we're going to make a trip

this year when COVID permits. We're going to get to the Coast of Labrador and

North Shore of Quebec.

SPEAKER:

Your time has expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

EVANS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

According to a briefing note, almost 40 per cent of the

resource environmental division officer positions were vacant, yet to protect

Muskrat Falls development from peaceful protesters, the government dispatched a

small army of RCMP officers around the clock.

I ask the minister: Will government take steps to

protect our endangered caribou herds before it's too late?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture.

BRAGG:

Thank you once again for the question, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, we're going to do everything we can within our

power. We're going to do everything humanly possible that we can. We're going to

meet with the groups. Our plan is to meet in Quebec as soon as we can with the

people. If COVID keeps going the way it's going, I would anticipate later this

summer, early in the fall, we're going to have a conversation with the community

leaders.

We need this to be led by the community, Mr. Speaker.

Enforcement is one part of it, but we need to educate the hunters, the people

that are abusing this, that this cannot be tolerated. That's our plan going

forward.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

EVANS:

certainly hope so, because year after year the same thing is said. Year after

year, the same answers are given and nothing happens.

Mr. Speaker, the final report of the Missing and

Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls inquiry was released two years ago last

week. This landmark inquiry report included 231 calls for justice.

I ask the minister: What is the status on each of the

calls for justice specifically directed toward government? Will she table the

status of each of these calls, please?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister Responsible for Women and Gender Equality.

PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank my colleague, the hon. Member.

Of course, it's a very important topic, as we all

agree. I was pleased to see the commitment that the prime minister had made just

last week at $2.2 billion. That said, we're working collaboratively with the

Department of Justice and Public Safety and Indigenous Affairs and

Reconciliation, as well as the Office of Women and Gender Equality. We will work

with Indigenous communities across Newfoundland and Labrador to take those

initiatives and to make them fit here for our province, for Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians.

Mr. Speaker, I want to be clear that we will take our

lead from the Indigenous people across our province.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Topsail - Paradise.

DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, according to the Canadian Mental Health

Association, the number of Canadians who have contemplated suicide has more than

doubled.

What initiatives will be launched this year to address

the COVID-19 mental health crisis?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

HAGGIE:

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

COVID has stressed a lot of people beyond where they

were already stressed from some of their own challenges. We have our

stepped-care approach in place. Bridge the gApp has been boosted for step zero,

step one. We are working hard to make sure Doorways is accessible. It's

available in over 70 communities.

In terms of going forward, we will have a suicide

action life-promotion plan to present to the public later on this summer, which

has been part of the recommendations from

Towards Recovery.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Topsail - Paradise.

DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Access to long-term supports remains a barrier for

people of Newfoundland and Labrador. It's one thing to get short-term

counselling, but access to long-term treatment remains a problem.

I ask the minister: What is being done to increase

access to long-term mental health supports?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

There are several thrusts to that; firstly, the

emphasis on more community supports rather than institutional provision of

services. As part of Towards Recovery ,

we're moving resources over the next year or so out into the community. That

has already been started.

With specific reference to the stepped-care model, we

have recognized that we have a challenge with cancelling services. We're working

with the regional health authorities to address issues around recruitment,

retention and then also provision of services, Mr. Speaker.

Again, it's a work in progress and because of COVID,

it's gone a little bit slower than we would have liked, but we are at it.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Topsail - Paradise.

DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I note in the Budget Speech this year that I think

mental health is only mentioned a couple of times. The solution mentioned in

there is eHealth. Of course, a recent study that just came out from the Canadian

Medical Association suggests that eHealth is not working for the most vulnerable

population here, who do not have the ways and means to access. So time is urgent

in this particular case.

Mr. Speaker, we know the Premier's report is

recommending an overall 25 per cent cut to health care in Newfoundland and

Labrador.

I ask the minister: Will you commit here today that not

a single dollar of funding for mental health services will be cut as a result of

the Premier's recommendations?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I think he kind of got it a little bit wrong there with

the idea about reduction of services. We put significant money into CHANNAL; we

have bolstered provision of services in rural areas. We've set up mental health

and addiction hubs in a variety of locations, which are new to the province.

We've seen an increased enrolment in addictions services and opioid-dependence

treatment. At the end of the day, we will have a system that is really second to

none.

We are not simply relying on eHealth, Mr. Speaker; we

have a stepped-care program, which is the envy of the world. Step zero is mental

health provided electronically. The other steps will be provided in person.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Topsail - Paradise.

DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I assume, somewhere in there, there was an answer to

not a single dollar being cut.

Mr. Speaker, during the election campaign, Dr. Janine

Hubbard raised a question of whether there should be a stand-alone mental health

portfolio.

I ask the minister: What analysis has been completed on

this recommendation?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

For the Member opposite, he may be interested to know

that the percentage of the health care budget that's gone on mental health has

actually increased year on year as part of the targets from

Towards Recovery .

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

HAGGIE:

address the specifics about organization of mental health portfolios, to quote a

very sage hospital administrator who's working currently on Health Accord NL:

Let's design the model. You don't pick a wrench, a tool like governance and then

build the engine around the wrench, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Stephenville - Port au Port.

WAKEHAM:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In Estimates, in response to questions about mass

layoffs, the minister said, and I quote: I don't think there is a definition and

I can't give you a number on what's mass or not mass. I don't want to get into

quantifying numbers.

I ask the minister: Can you confirm there will be job

losses. If so, how many?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

COADY:

goodness, Mr. Speaker, he continues to think there's going to be job loss,

despite the many times I have said that we are not contemplating job losses.

In fact, there are over 500 jobs within government

today that people can apply for. We're going to have about 24 per cent of our

core civil service available to go to retirement within the next number of

years, Mr. Speaker. We are, indeed, attracting people to come to work in our

civil service. We're not anticipating and we're not working towards job loss;

indeed, we're attracting people to work in the civil service.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Stephenville - Port au Port.

WAKEHAM:

take it from that answer, Mr. Speaker, that there will be no job losses with the

Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health Information when it's brought into

government, there will be no job losses with 911 when it's brought into

it's brought into government.

Mr. Speaker, the chair of the Public Service Commission

said in Estimates, quote: The number one issue that's going to be coming up now

when all employees return to workplaces across the country is anxiety and mental

health issues.

With the Newfoundland and Labrador public service

facing so much uncertainty and no details provided in the budget around layoffs,

what proactive measures are being taken to support employees who provide vital

public services to the people of the province?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As I've said, time and time again, it is not

government's intent to do layoffs – it is not government's intent to do layoffs.

We are working towards modernizing and transforming government. I am sure all of

the people in this province – including Members opposite – would want to have

the best quality civil service, providing the best quality of service to people

in this province, Mr. Speaker. We must continue to transform and modernize, and

we will do so.

Mental health is very, very important and within the

civil service we have – as was discussed in Estimates that the Member is

referring to – the Employee Assistance Program and we look forward to making

sure that people in the civil service have access to the services they need

should they be suffering from any type of stress or mental illness.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Stephenville - Port au Port.

WAKEHAM:

Mr. Speaker, the minister also said in Estimates that discussions about

returning to work and long-term work from home arrangements are under way.

Can the minister confirm that she has consulted with

union leadership in these discussions?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

COADY:

Mr. Speaker, as we emerge from COVID everyone fully recognizes that some people

can work from home. We will be engaging with discussions, internally and

externally, and unions will be involved in those discussions, as we move and

transform from COVID-19 to looking at alternate ways of people being able to

provide the services that are required by the people of this province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Conception Bay South.

PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

Way Forward

proposed reducing government's footprint for office space.

I ask the Minister: What action has been taken to

reduce its leased building footprint?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.

LOVELESS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

That's a very important question. At this time, I can

say to the hon. Member that we're taking a look at all of our infrastructure and

assets that we have within the, I guess, the umbrella of TI and we will do our

best in making that assessment for the people of the province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Conception Bay South.

PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, this government spends almost $21 million

for external lease space aside from the 800 government managed buildings around

the province, yet they could not find an office space to accommodate the

Premier's Economic Recovery committee.

I ask the Minister: Why wasn't this team accommodated

within existing government buildings or leased office space?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This is an important question and I am happy to answer

it. I will say, too, the Premier's Economic Recovery Team was an independent

committee and we wanted to ensure that they were removed from government. We

wanted to make sure that they could operate without any influence of government,

Mr. Speaker.

Since 2016, the provincial government has reduced its

office-leased space by about 200,000 square feet, Mr. Speaker. We're saving

about $5 million a year because of that. When we went out to look for space for

the Premier's Economic Recovery Team, who were volunteers, Mr. Speaker, we had

to look for temporary lease space and we did so.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Labrador West.

BROWN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Over the last few days there have been a few forest

fire call-outs in Labrador West, the water bomber that is normally stationed in

Wabush Airport is again being stored at 5 Wing Goose Bay.

Will the minister confirm this service cut and explain

to the people of Labrador West why safety is being disregarded and why there

will no longer be a water bomber stationed in Labrador West?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture.

BRAGG:

station our water bombers wherever the need exists. Right now, there are three

in Gander and one in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Last week, the hon. minister behind

me made a statement, we sent two out to Ontario because we could. We position

them in the best possible place given the need.

We're ready to go along with the Department of TI,

we're ready to go, we're mobile and if we have any emergency in this province

anywhere, anytime, we're ready to respond.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Labrador West.

BROWN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Greene report mentioned cuts to ferry services, and

the Premier has targeted the service in the House of Assembly by saying there

are 4,000 empty ferry crossings a year.

Will the Premier be forthcoming about the communities

targeted for resettlement in the Liberal plan, or is his intention, as he

stated, to save the patient by cutting off a limb?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

COADY:

Mr.

Speaker, that was above the top, I think, in the request for information about

the 4,000 ferry runs that run empty every year.

I can say that I think every community that is serviced

by a ferry looks for modernization, looks for transformation and looks for

improvements. We're going out to ask for solutions on how best to provide that

service.

I also say to the Member opposite that 4,000 empty runs

a year means that something needs to be improved. The cost to the province is

about $80 million, Mr. Speaker, for providing ferry service. I think it'll be

important for us to go out requesting solutions for some of these challenges,

and we'll be doing so in the coming months.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

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

DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, as has already been stated, Newfoundland

Power is seeking a rate increase of 80 cents for every $100 so they can have a

better rate of return for their shareholders. This will represent an unnecessary

hardship for seniors on fixed incomes and families and businesses struggling to

get back on their feet from the pandemic.

I ask the Premier if he will contact the executives of

Newfoundland Power and ask them to be good corporate citizens and withdraw their

application.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

PARSONS:

Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate the question from the Member opposite and

I appreciate his concern for seniors. It's a concern that's shared by us all.

But I will remind him that as a regulated utility, Newfoundland Power has to

file a general rate application every three years. We have no control over that.

We cannot tell them not to do it or what to ask for. That's not how it works.

What we do have is a Public Utilities Board that looks

at that and acts based on all the evidence put forward. We have a Consumer

Advocate, a person, an independent office appointed by this government to

represent the interest of consumers. We have to go to this quasi-judicial board

to allow the process to play out and we will be watching very carefully.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

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

DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the Consumer Advocate calls Newfoundland

Power's rate increase application offensive and will make rate mitigation

efforts even more challenging. There are people in my district struggling to

make ends meet already, as there are across this province. For those living on

fixed incomes the application is indeed offensive.

Will the Premier agree that this application from

Newfoundland Power is reprehensible, objectionable and keep his commitment to

keep electricity rates stable, affordable and in check in this province?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, I would say that we have a process here that's

playing out as it's supposed to. Newfoundland Power has a duty under regulation

to apply for their rate increase or decrease or for nothing, depending on what

they want to do. It's based on the information. They had to file this in the

court. This is very similar to me going to a court and telling a judge how to

rule. It's a very slippery slope I would say, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, while I think every single one of us in this House

can talk about the needs of seniors and the effect of power rates and rate

mitigation, the reality is that we simply cannot go in as a government and tell

them how to do this process or else we're going to end up in a lot of courts

telling a lot of people how to operate. I'm not sure that's a slippery slope

that we want to engage on.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

time for Question Period has expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling of Documents.

Notices of Motion.

Notices of Motion

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I give notice that I will move that the House resolve

itself into a Committee of the Whole to consider a resolution respecting the

imposition of taxes on carbon, Bill 21.

SPEAKER:

Further notices of motion?

The hon. the Member for Topsail - Paradise.

DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'd like to move, and seconded by the Member for

Conception Bay South:

BE IT RESOLVED that the House urge the government to

implement an approach to collaborate with stakeholders so as to directly deal

with improving access and removing barriers to mental health and addiction

services in response to the unprecedented impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Conception Bay South.

PETTEN:

Mr.

Speaker, that will be the private Member's resolution which will be debated this

coming Wednesday.

SPEAKER:

Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister Responsible for Women and Gender Equality.

PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm back today now just to give the specific details to

my hon. colleague, the Member for St. John's Centre, in the question that we

talked about last week when he said there were cuts to the budget in the

department of Women and Gender Equality, which is not true. We have the specific

details and I will read this into the record, Mr. Speaker.

In response to a commitment to women and gender-diverse

people in our province, this government allocated additional funding to the

office's budget into 2020. That funding of $425,000 was earmarked for projects,

such as the expansion of the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program, the

Premier's Roundtable on Gender Equity, our work on women in leadership and

additional grant opportunities, just to name a few.

In Budget 2020

documents, that funding was all placed in the Grants line. In the

Budget 2021 documents, that funding

has now been allocated to the proper initiatives, which could explain for the

confusion that the Member may have experienced.

Again, I want to reiterate: Absolutely, under no

circumstances, there are no cuts to this department.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

Petitions.

Petitions

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Humber - Bay of Islands.

JOYCE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm presenting a petition again today on the election.

I won't go through the prayer, I'll just read the bottom part: Upon completion

of the investigation, to table and debate the report in the House of Assembly

with a view of seeking accountability for any inappropriate decisions made, and

ensuring a legislative review of the

Elections Act, 1991 , is conducted in order to restore the public's

confidence in our electoral system.

Mr. Speaker, after people heard me speak last week, and

a few others times, on the election in Newfoundland and Labrador, a lot of

people were calling me wanting to sign the petition. I'm presenting another

petition, I have another one, so I made a commitment that at least twice a week,

or whenever I can, I'll present a petition in this House.

Mr. Speaker, the big concern people are hearing is they

want answers – they want answers. I understand, totally, about changing the

Elections Act and making it more suitable and bringing it into conformity if

there is another pandemic. I understand that totally. But that does not give the

right to anybody in this province to take the legislation and use it as they see

fit.

This is where laws are made in this House of Assembly;

laws are made in this House of Assembly. We make laws for everybody, everybody

in the province, including ourselves and that we must follow. For an Officer of

the House not to be held accountable to answer questions in this House of

Assembly shows a lack of respect for the people of this Province of Newfoundland

and Labrador who wanted to vote, who tried to vote and who did everything

proper, but still never received their ballot. It also showed a lack of respect

when you can get people, supposedly, Mr. Speaker, getting phone calls and being

able to vote over the phone, which no one else can, and supposedly, Mr. Speaker,

being able to go up to the Chief Electoral Officer on election day and vote in

person when no one else can; to be able to drop off ballots, which nobody else

can.

I just want to put this in perspective. There were

about 100,000 special ballots this year, or 120,000, and the Chief Electoral

Officer, the person responsible, just coincidentally had three or four laid on

his desk out of that 100,000, coincidentally. Yet, there are people in this

province, seniors and others, who could not get a ballot because they did not

have access to a computer and a camera to download a picture. There are many,

many people in this province who applied properly to get a ballot but never ever

received a ballot and never ever got any reason why they never received a

ballot.

Mr. Speaker, I think it's incumbent on this House of

Assembly to do our fiduciary responsibility and hold the Commissioner for

Legislative Standards responsible, to bring him before this House and have an

investigation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Ferryland.

O'DRISCOLL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The background to this petition is as follows: The

Witless Bay Line is a significant piece of infrastructure.

WHEREAS many commute outside the Avalon on a daily

basis for work as well as commercial, residential and tourism growth in our area

has increased the volume of traffic on this highway.

THEREFORE we petition the House of Assembly as follows:

We urge the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to upgrade this significant

piece of infrastructure to enhance and improve the flow of traffic to and from

the Trans-Canada Highway.

Mr. Speaker, I spoke on this several times, I'm going

to say in the last session, and I'll continue to do it in this session as well.

We travel that road a fair amount. Visitors for sure in tourism going to the

district. They'll come into the boat tour area. The marine base, as well, is

very important in Bay Bulls and Fermeuse – the proposed one in Fermeuse.

It's very important that this infrastructure – I'm

going to say – get looked at. There's about eight kilometres left, I think, in

the process to finish the road. Certainly, I would venture to guess, the last

time I mentioned that the amount they spend on cold patch during the year would

be incredible to – I'm not going to say enough cost to fix the road but over

time and over the last 15 to 20 years this certainly should have been looked at.

It's now time to look at it. I get numerous calls from

people with motorhomes; not calls, but you meet them on the highways talking

about the roads. Motorcyclist, when they heard me make this petition last year,

brought out a point to say when they're going on a motorcycle swerving in and

out over the potholes and over the cold patch, it's a pretty rough ride to go

through.

I think it's incumbent on the government to be able to

put this in their budget and keep it on track. Once it's done, we'll have a

great piece of infrastructure that will be good for years and years to come. I

know they did four kilometres last year and we are really appreciative of that

in our district.

I ask the minister, in his plans, to keep this

important piece of infrastructure right on the radar so that we can see the

completion of it.

Thank you very much.

SPEAKER:

Further petitions?

The hon. the Member for Bonavista.

PARDY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The 8,000 residents of the Bonavista area who require a

medical procedure in Clarenville or St. John's currently have to drive to

Clarenville beforehand to receive a required COVID pre-op testing. Many of these

patients are seniors with mobility issues and social services recipients who

find the travel physically and financially challenging.

We, the undersigned, call upon the House of Assembly to

urge the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to offer COVID testing in

Bonavista, which would negate the requirement of three hours of travel to and

from Clarenville in advance of a procedure.

The petition serves to provide a service to the many

seniors who have to travel extensively for medical procedures and, as stated, in

three hours, some to St. John's. But before travelling for the procedure, many

of them of poor health will have to travel, not feeling well, make a trip a day

or two in advance of the pre-op or the procedure in order to have this procedure

done, or the COVID testing.

We're fully aware – or I am fully aware – that the

logistics of the COVID testing, from watching on the news it can be done in the

parking lot, it can be done safely in an office. We have available space in

Bonavista; we have large parking lots. I'm assuming that we then need to have it

transported to the testing, which happens. We have daily transmittal of lab

testing in Bonavista to Clarenville and I would think probably and beyond.

The only thing I would say, operationally and

logistically one would hope that for the benefit of serving the 8,000 residents

in the Bonavista area, we could have that pre-op, that COVID testing occur in

Bonavista. We do have the staff and we do have the expertise to offer that test.

All it is, is we need the operationalizing of it.

I just heard that Jeff Bezos was planning, when he

retires from Amazon, to go on a space rocket to up and away. We're not talking

about anything related to Jeff Bezos's adventure; we're talking about

operationalizing so the seniors in Bonavista can have their COVID testing in

their area. That would save them financially, physically and mentally.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

CROCKER:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I call from the Order Paper, Motion 1.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Terra Nova.

PARROTT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It's always an honour to have the opportunity to speak

in this House for the fine people who live in my District of Terra Nova. Just a

slight overview of the district, my district is made up of about 6,125 square

kilometres. While it's not the largest district in the province, it's one of

them.

We have 10 LSDs, 11 town councils and 40 communities.

The population is 14,275. There are 13 fire departments, all volunteer; eight

schools, from primary, elementary to high school; and approximately 1,800

students in the school system. We have one full-time hospital in G. B. Cross and

several long-term care facilities, some senior homes and some clinics.

I would argue that my district is no different than

most districts in the province with regard to issues that we have. Obviously, we

are all struggling with the same stuff. On a daily basis, we're hearing of

doctors leaving our district and multiple phone calls from families and seniors

alike that they are having trouble finding a family physician. With only one

hospital in such a vast district, going to the hospital is not quite as simple

as dropping aboard your car in the middle of the night or making an appointment.

It just doesn't happen that way.

We have a scenario that we always see where people have

had lifelong doctors and those doctors leave. I don't know if it's necessarily a

trust issue, but they really struggle to find new doctors and they struggle to

get involved with those doctors once they come on board. It's a big issue in my

district and I'm sure it's a huge issue throughout the entire province, because

we hear about it all the time.

The other issue that we see an abundance of is the

inability to get specialists at the hospital. Not just the inability to get

specialists; certainly the ability to retain specialists once they come.

Government really needs to have a hard look at retention with regard to

specialists and doctors in our province. We have beaten it to death.

At the end of the day, we have doctors who come here

for a very short time and they leave rural Newfoundland to go to larger centres.

I don't know if it's a recruitment issue where we don't take into consideration

the spouses or the families that are coming with these specialists when they get

here, but we have to put it under a microscope and have a tighter look at it and

see how we can get specialists to stay when they come here.

Like every district throughout the province, we have

severe issues with roads. I would say, not proudly, but we have a community in

our district that was voted to have the worst road in Atlantic Canada. That's

definitely not a badge of honour; it's a big deal. We have those issues

throughout our entire district. I would argue that the Town of Terra Nova is in

desperate need of a new road, but I'd also say that it perhaps might not be the

worst road in my district. Anyone who's driven across the entire Island knows

that we have roads in serious disrepair everywhere, but my concern is my

district.

We can drive down Southwest Arm and we can see

guardrails, I like to say, that are asleep. What I mean by that is we have large

sections of guardrail, probably 200-300 metres, which have been lying down on

the side of the road for multiple years. It didn't happen this spring; it didn't

happen as a result of snow clearing. These guardrails are all lying in towards

the road. They haven't been broken off and lying out. I'd also say it's in one

of the most treacherous sections of road going down Southwest Arm and it's in

desperate need of repair.

We have roads throughout the entire district that are

very similar. We have some dirt roads that need regular grading that they don't

get. They need class A added. They certainly need calcium and dust control and

they just don't see it on a timely fashion. It appears as if the department is

undermanned and they don't have the ability to deliver the proper maintenance.

Maintenance is the key issue I see with regard to the roads. It's okay to go out

and do a repair, but we need to maintain our roads on a regular basis to get to

a point where the repairs aren't as necessary.

One of the things that we heard during the budget and

throughout all of the conversations over the last two years is eHealth,

Telehealth and Internet broadband and cellular service throughout the province.

COVID has really brought to light a lot of issues and we've had a lot of

conversations in here around that.

I have several communities throughout my entire

district that don't have either cellphone, broadband or cellular service. It

creates a huge issue and it creates a big span between the children – and not

just children in school but everyone. You have seniors who want to utilize

Telehealth because there is no other opportunity out there as a result of COVID.

We have kids that have been sent home to do schooling at home. Again, they have

no access to online education because of the lack of Internet.

There's no question that we have to get better and that

is the path forward. Me and the minister had a conversation about it last week

in Estimates. I believe there is a plan; it's just how quick can it happen? I

think the quickness is what concerns people throughout the entire province.

In my district, I have areas where it's the strangest

thing, high-speed Internet providers actually go right through communities. They

actually go through the middle; the line goes right through the middle of the

communities. The people that live in those communities don't have access to

high-speed Internet. It bewilders me why it's like that but it's been like it

for a long time. We've written letters to the providers. We've tried to find a

solution and it seems as if there is no solution. To me, it would be one of the

easiest and cheapest solutions that are out there; if the wire goes through the

community, why not utilize it?

There's a huge uptake. You look at Port Blandford, Long

Beach, communities all through Random Island that would love to hook up to this

high-speed Internet and they just don't have the opportunity to do it. It's a

big, big problem throughout the entire province, but it's certainly a huge

problem in my district and one that needs to be addressed.

We've all seen businesses close as a result of COVID.

The unfortunate thing is that it's going to take some while to get over this.

But the reality of it is that we've had businesses close prior to COVID and we

forgot about what was going on before COVID happened.

There are a lot of people out there who were struggling

to get ahead. Certainly, from a tourism standpoint we talk about the air access

strategy all the time. Air access was failing prior to COVID. COVID certainly

pushed things along but it was a big deal. We started losing flights to regional

airports in Halifax and other places. Our ability to attract airline carriers

here was diminished somewhat. Obviously, it's left a large portion of the

industry in peril, because without people visiting, we certainly don't have the

way for these businesses to operate on a regular basis.

We announced here this afternoon that we're going to be

doing a private Member's motion on mental health. Mental health and certainly

hospital wait times are a huge issue throughout my entire district also. It

bewilders me how two years ago if you saw your doctor and routine blood work was

ordered, you could have it done the same day. Now we have people waiting two and

three weeks for the same blood work.

I understand that with COVID there's a requirement to

make appointments and stuff, but those appointments should happen much faster

than two or three weeks. If we could keep up with the demand on a daily basis

prior to COVID, then we should be able to keep up with the demand with

appointments during COVID. It's slipped off the rails. I know cancer patients

who have called me who are waiting two and three weeks to get in to get blood

work done. It just doesn't make sense. I don't know how we've gotten here but

there we are.

One of the big things we heard in the Greene report or

the Premier's Economic Recovery Team report talks about collaboration. There's

no question, as a government, people have heard me in this House talk about

collaboration and our need to get along. Now, that doesn't mean we're not going

to sit in here during Question Period or other times and banter and bicker at

each other, but that's part of what we do. When it's over we move on and we do

our jobs.

I will say since the 27th of March, I've had ministers

reach out to me and tell me about issues in my own district. They have called me

and they've said: Hey, this is what's going on. You need to know about it. We're

calling to fill you in. I'll also say that we shouldn't have to beg for answers

and that happens too. There are lots of occasions when I send text messages,

phone calls and emails and don't even get the courtesy of a reply. It's a bit

ridiculous when we're talking about collaboration and we won't talk to the

Members opposite. I would say at the end of the day, as an MHA our job is to

represent our district, but it's also to represent the entire province to some

degree. As a minister, the job is to represent the entire province there's no

question.

If we look at the vote breakdown form the last

election, the reality of it is that government received 48 per cent of the vote;

everybody else, between the Conservatives, the Third Party and independents,

received 52 per cent of the vote. The bulk of the votes were for the people on

this side of the room. We have a responsibility to represent this entire

province and it's incredibly important for us to do that. Part of that starts

with collaboration and collaboration starts with our ability to communicate.

We need to get past the bickering. That's a part of

what happens here. I guess some of it is theatrics and some of it is to get

points across, but when questions are asked, they're asked specifically for a

reason. They're not asked to question a minister as to whether or not they're

able to do their job, they're asked to find answers.

I find it funny that last week it was said in this

House it's our moment to come together, and there was Chinese proverb that came

out and said: “The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the

person doing it.” I'll say this: Sometimes when questions are asked of the

people who are doing it, it's not because they don't think they're doing it,

it's because they think there may be a better way to do it.

Those questions aren't asked to alienate people,

they're asked to try to find the proper way to do things or a better way to do

things. I suggest that if you want to lead, then you need to listen. Questions

shouldn't be taken personally; questions are there to find a better path

forward.

This province – the people have heard me say in here

before – is everything to me. When I joined the military back in 1990 and I

left, the very first thing I did was try to find a way to come back here. I love

our province. This province is everything to me. To me, I believe that we're

lucky, fortunate and somewhat entitled to live here. Not only do we have the

best people, but we have some of the best conditions for lifestyle that the

country has. All you have to do is look to the current pandemic and how we've

come through that to see just how fortunate we are as a people and as a

province.

Sadly, we don't take advantage of it. At the end of the

day, the future of Newfoundland and Labrador belongs to us all, everybody in

this room; it belongs to the people that put us here. We have a responsibility

to make sure that we not only better that future but we need to look at what's

happening in the present and make sure that we don't make the same mistakes over

and over and over again. We do make those mistakes on a regular basis and I

would argue that some of that comes from a lack of communication, collaboration

and our inability to listen to what other people have to say.

I will say, while I'm not a minister, if I were a

minister one of the first things I would do would be to direct my department

that if you get a question from any MHA in this House, then you have a

responsibility to get back to them on the same day. If you don't have the

answer, just let them know you don't have the answer and let them know you're

going to get the answer to them in the coming days. It's important; that's why

we're here. We're here to get answers for people.

If I get a call from a constituent, the first thing I

do is try and let them know that I don't have the answer and I'll get it for

them as quick as I can. Now, if I get a call from a constituent that's in

Labrador West, or Goose Bay, or St. Anthony or anywhere, I don't deflect those

people back to their MHA. I do what I can to help them and if I can't, I let

them know I can't, I give them the numbers to the people in their district, be

it their federal or their provincial counterparts, and I try and help them in

any way I can. To me, that's our job.

Over the last two years we've seen a really, really

tough time for rotational workers. Now, rotational workers are a big part of

what the province is and they pay such a huge amount of tax into the province.

They don't leave Newfoundland and go to Alberta to work because they want to

work in Alberta; they go away from Newfoundland to work because they want to

live in Newfoundland. They want to be here. They choose to be here. Right from

the very beginning of all of this, certainly, the Conservative caucus was very

bullish on point-of-entry testing and finding ways to make things more

comfortable for them. I just think that we've really overlooked what they

contribute to not only the economy, but to the province as a whole and to who we

are.

They go away every two weeks and they represent us.

They go away and people want Newfoundlanders to work for them. That's a big

deal. When you have companies – when you fill out an application to go to work

and a company says where are you from, you say Newfoundland and that gets your

foot into the door, that's huge. It is such a big deal, not just for us as a

province, but it's looked upon nationally. It brings tourism and it does so much

more from a spinoff standpoint.

The best that we could do for rotational workers in

this budget was add a 1 per cent tax onto their pay. That's the best we could do

for them; we didn't do anything else. We told them that they had to spend more

money to stay here in Newfoundland. To me, it's ridiculous. We haven't even

looked at doing anything for them and they're a huge part of what we do.

If they leave – because I don't know about anybody

else's district, but in my district I'm getting phone calls on a daily basis

from rotational workers who say, when the dust settles, they will no longer live

here. They don't want to be here. They say it's costing too much to live here.

The thing is that the economy is suffering everywhere,

so these individuals that used to get flown, they didn't pay for their own

flights. Now, as a rotational worker, most of them are paying for their own

flights. They're paying higher taxes; they're isolating for long periods of

time. Why would you want to be here? It's easier for them to live in another

province – much easier. They can go and forget about Newfoundland. They can

bring their families; they can settle in and they don't have to worry about any

of this stuff that I just said. Here we are with an opportunity to look at a

bunch of people and say thank you for what you do; instead, we punish them a

little bit more.

Again, it's a group of people who have sacrificed so

much so they can stay, and government continues to do nothing. This is a

province that has it all and, for some reason, we don't want to do anything with

it. We miss opportunities all the time.

I look to the oil industry and I look at the West White

Rose. It's not gone, but it's just barely holding on by a thread. The Terra

Nova: I was pleased to hear the minister today say that he's hopeful. I'm very

hopeful, too. If we don't come through, the Terra Nova is on the brink of

extinction. If the Terra Nova goes, unfortunately, I believe that has a huge

ripple effect on our whole oil economy, an economy, I will add, that the Greene

report says is essential for our survival – essential. An order of magnitude of

5:1 per dollars that come in and are spent – 5:1. There's no other industry in

Newfoundland that gives us those types of returns. It's a big deal.

The Henry Goodrich: cold stacked. West Aquarius: cold

stacked. The Barents: gone. You look to these rigs, and I tell you, it's the

first time, I believe, since 1979 that Newfoundland has not had a drill rig

offshore. First time. Right now, Stena Forth is out there doing one hole.

The whole catch with all of that is while it all sounds

like there's a whole lot of exploration going on – and I applaud the

government's plan for seismic; seismic is huge; it's important; it's a path

forward; it gives us a blueprint of what may or may not be out there – we have

to be drilling holes. Our exploration has to be expanded. We have to keep up

with the rest the world. If we don't, they're going to continue on by us.

If we have a major incident offshore today, we don't

have an ability to go do a recap or a work order, because we don't have a rig

here that can do that. I don't know about anybody else; that concerns me huge.

If we have a blowout offshore, we may not be able to cap it. It's going to take

time to do. For somebody to say to me that we could use the Henry Goodrich or

the West Aquarius, well, it takes months to cold stack it; it takes a hell of a

lot longer to get it up and running – a hell of a lot longer. It's a big deal.

Refinery: I look to the Come By Chance Refinery. Again,

very, very pleased to hear the minister say today that – well, he wouldn't say

it's good; it's promising and I do believe that there's some hard work going on

out there.

We don't have a plan B. I don't know, a lot of people

may not realize this, but that refinery made 100 per cent of our propane and100

per cent of our jet fuel. The first thing is we're all bullish and big on

getting air access back, but now we have to start shipping jet fuel in. We don't

have jet fuel here. It all came from the refinery. We have to consider that as a

part of our strategy to get the air access up and going, we need to be able to

supply fuel.

Propane: 100 per cent. Now, we're in a situation where

the ferries coming across the Gulf, all of our propane is shipped in via truck.

It can't come in via ship, there's no way to offload. I don't know that there

are enough trucks on the East Coast of Canada to keep up with the demand. We

kept up with the demand initially because the refinery had a full tank out

there. Now, that tank is empty so all propane that comes to this province is

coming in via truck.

Here's the catch: Every truck that comes in, gets on

that ferry to cross the Gulf, it's now TDG. We've got transportation of

dangerous goods and we have a ferry that can't be fully loaded. Now, we're going

to try and convince tourists to come here. We don't know what our capacity is to

bring people to the Island because we don't have propane. We don't know if we

can keep up with the level of propane that is going to be required, but we also

don't know if we can get tourists to come in via ship. It's a big deal.

Gasoline: Just recently we heard from people at the

refinery – there was some talk in the media that it was a switch from winter to

summer fuel, but that's just the refinery's spin on it so that didn't sound

good. We had a ship come in, I believe the 24th of April, with 52 million

barrels of gas. When that ship comes in every bit of that product has to be

tested. If it fails, that ship gets turned around. We could have ran out of

gasoline at that point.

We need to have a plan B and we don't have it, not one

little bit.

Mr. Speaker, it's easy to be critical, and our job, I

guess, as Opposition is not to oppose but to look for better ways and ask

questions. The one thing I will say is that we need to make better decisions.

Twenty years from now, we're going to be a whole lot more disappointed by the

things that we didn't do than the ones that we did.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Ferryland.

O'DRISCOLL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It's my honour to sit in this House and represent the

beautiful District of Ferryland. I certainly thank the constituents in my

district for putting me here. It's certainly a great honour to be able to sit

here and speak.

I'm going to touch on some budget subjects, I guess, in

this section, and I'll also touch on my district as well. So I'll be going back

and forth.

First, I'd like to start: I'm going to give kudos to

the government when they came out with the ban on plastics last year. It's like

seat belt rules and everything else. We talked about masks – everybody adapted

to it, now it's hard to get a plastic bag. You're going to bring a lunch in, you

don't know what to bring it in if there are no plastic bags around. People have

adjusted to it pretty quick. I have to give credit where credit is due on that.

I certainly appreciate that.

I get people talking about it all the time and they

say: I haven't got a plastic bag for this, haven't got a plastic bag for that.

So I think that's a good move, I really do. In the long run, that's going to be

a great move.

In my district – and I've touched on it before and I'll

touch on it again – one issue along the way would be cellphone coverage. I live,

obviously, in Bay Bulls, and I drive Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove right to St.

Shott's. Once I leave Tors Cove, I'm going to say the conversation ends there.

You either have to haul in on the side of the road to carry on a conversation,

or you continue on and call them back two or three times with dead zones. I

think it's really important that the government get to – and it's not only my

district. There are 40 districts here and everybody has the same issue, I'm sure

of that.

But it's very important that we get to that and be able

to – you get people with high-speed Internet that are calling you about

high-speed Internet. When you're in an area that has it, you're sitting there

saying, wow, they can't do it. You have students that are trying to complete

university courses, they live in Ferryland and they move out to CBS where their

aunt or uncle is to live with them, just so they can get online and be able to

do their courses. I think it's incumbent that – at least give us an update as to

where it is or how far we're going to get or what we're going to do in the next

little while.

Because sometimes we sit here and we – I've been here

two years and I said to one of the guys this morning: I don't know if I used the

word collaboration any time before I came in this House. We keep continuing to

throw it out there, but I don't see it. We say we're going to collaborate and

get together and sort things out. Yeah, there might be some Committees that are

doing that, but, generally, it's not happening. The people in all districts have

to know that we're here trying to represent our constituents and, I'm going to

say, it's not collaboration. Yes, there are certain things that are being done,

but there are lots of times you get no answers.

To speak to the Member's point there from Terra Nova,

I'm going to say since the election happened and the government in power – and

I'm not here to go pick on people. That's not my job. My job is to answer to the

constituents that are asking me questions. When they ask me a question, I'll

say: Well, I'll see if I can get a hold of the minister. Well, I've emailed or

texted ministers, I'm going to say, three or four times – I realize that they're

busy. They're the same busy as we are. They're busier than we are because

they're ministers, obviously, and taking care of the Province of Newfoundland

and Labrador.

There are previous ministers that I look at, that when

I called them they would call you back. Since the election happened, I see a

decline in that. Hopefully that gets changed. Hopefully it gets changed because

it's important that they get back to us with an answer. If it's no, then it's

no, but we need to get an answer. Somebody has called one of us to ask a

question, so we're trying to get some answers on it. It is very, very important

that they get back to us.

Listen, I'm not saying they have to call you right

away, but I'm saying in a week's time if somebody hasn't answered you, it's a

long time. If somebody calls me, I try to answer the phone as much as I can,

right away. If I don't, I see the missed call and if there's a number there, you

call them back. It is important that you get back to people.

I worked in the service industry forever, for 22 years

in service and in selling cars. When somebody called you, if you didn't get back

to them, you didn't make a living. We're making a living and you have to get

back to people. If the answer is no, it's no. Sometimes there are good stories,

sometimes there are yes answers to what we're asking and it could be pretty

simple, but we just need to get an answer on it. I certainly reiterate what the

Member had said there on that already.

I will speak to a cleanup that I had attended a couple

of weeks ago I'm going to say. I told them I would reach out. I have a list of

40 names; I'm going to put all the names on record, as some of the Members here

say. I wanted to say what a great job they did. There were a couple of young

guys that did one

section of Witless Bay. There is another group that organized

it on Facebook. There were 40 people showed up and some of the same guys that

showed up.

I'd like to read some of their names just to put it on

record and certainly thank everything they did. I'm going to say they probably

had five or six loads of debris that they brought to Robin Hood Bay. We had a

company that came in, Newco metals – Newco it is; I don't know if it is metals

or not. Newco came in and took all the scrap units that were there; they towed

through the woods or lifted with a forklift on the front of a loader. They

brought them to a certain point. We had two ministers showed up to see the

actual mess that was in the area. It was incredible how much dirt was there.

They did a great job; it has been all collected, so I'd like to recognize those

people.

The way he sent them to me, I'll read them out. There

is: Jeremy Alyward, Jeff Earle, Jacob Hayden, Trevor Croft, Robert Keating,

Blake Waddleton, Ryan Waddleton, Justin Payne, Blaine Melvin, Jonathan Carter,

Christian Rodgers, Charlie Rodgers, Rick Carew, Brandon Whelan, Tom Crocker,

Allan O'Driscoll, Allan O'Driscoll Sr., David Brinston, James Croke, Andy Walsh,

Rod Sears, Ron Kavanagh, Terry O'Brien, Terrence O'Brien, Victoria O'Brien,

Chris Swain, Bobby Dowden, Kyle Dowden, Nathan Dowden, Chris Guest, Don Drew,

John O'Rielly, Vessie Cahill, Steven Ronayne, Darryl Stanley, Eugene Bishop,

Peter Maloney and son, Eugene Carew and Collin Chaytor as well. Those are the 40

people that were involved. If there was anybody that I missed, then I didn't get

them on my list. So I apologize if I missed somebody that may have been there

and he may not have gotten it as well. I thank all the people that were involved

in that cleanup.

In a district issue, I'd like to speak on some brush

cutting that was done last year, which was a great help, especially on the

Witless Bay Line. I keep talking about Witless Bay Line but it was a great job

done on that. Hopefully we can get some areas of the district, especially areas

further south down in Trepassey, in the town itself, through the town and just

outside the town; different areas along the Irish Loop that need to be done.

It's a safety factor for sure and something that should be looked at. It's

certainly greatly appreciated.

Certainly, again, it's something else that you'd like

to see a list that's been completed or what their plans are on doing it or when

we can get on the list. It's a four-year plan – well, it's four years we're

going to be here, so hopefully we'll be able to get it done in four years and

keep all districts happy. We'd love to see the collaboration on that to get

done.

I'll just touch on a budget item. I know that when they

won government they're talking about their budgets and saving money and all

those issues. When we come back in, the government comes in and names two new

Cabinet ministers. Now, congratulations to the two new Cabinet ministers, but to

create two new positions, how much did those positions cost for the government?

They were done before we got here. Now they create two new ministers and all the

people that work underneath them. It's a big cost to the taxpayers of

Newfoundland and Labrador.

A lot of people – not a lot of people but there are

people that mentioned how do they go about trying to save money? Everybody keeps

saying the dire straights that we're in with regard to our economy, but then to

go put two more ministers in? I think it was something that – it's not going to

change now – you'd lead by example. To go do that, I don't know. It's just

something that, I think, should have been looked at and something more thought

out than what they did. I don't know how many million that's going to cost, but

I'm sure it's going to be up there. Every penny saved is a penny earned. If you

save a couple of million dollars here and there, then very good.

You talk about service and, again, we talk about

collaboration and how we're going to get things ironed out. If you go to an

emergency – and hopefully it never happens but I have a couple of constituents

that go to the emergency department at the Health Sciences. I'll use that as an

example. I haven't been there for many years and hopefully I don't be there. But

you go over there and you sit down. When you go in the first time, you hear your

name called: Good, I'm going in. No, you're only going in to get your vitals and

go back out in the waiting room – we all know how that works. But for

efficiencies, I just think that somebody from the government should be going

over there and sitting in these waiting rooms for seven hours themselves just to

see how do we make this better? I don't know the answers.

Listen, I'm not here to criticize again, but I'm just

giving you the facts from a general person in the population, what they go

through to go through emergency to get served. You go in there and after six,

seven hours they get up, leave and go home. That's not good service. In the

industry I was in before, if your service was like that, you wouldn't be at the

job very long because you'd never make a living. It's just the way it is.

The people that are in charge of these departments, in

my mind they have to get out of the building and go over in that building to see

what they can do to make it better. That's my opinion. I don't know how to make

it better. I had been over there 10 or 11 years ago; I had issues with kidney

stones. When you go in, you're going in right away; the service was great. But

to go in there at 4 in the morning and there's no doctor coming on until 7

o'clock, well, I wasn't going to be good at the state that I was in at that

time. That's only me. That's not life threatening. It felt like it at the time,

but it's not life threatening.

You get people that go over there; there are big

issues. If you're going in there at 4 in the morning, you have some issues. To

wait four or five hours before you actually get inside, I just think that

there's something we can do to make that better. All of our constituents are

over there – not all of them; we have constituents who are over there at all

times and you'll get calls on that. So it's something that I think we should

really be looking at.

I'll touch on rotational workers, because the Member

here for Terra Nova touched on that. I think he was reading my paper half the

time when I was looking it over. I said he's touching on everything that I was

going to touch on, but he did a good job.

Rotational works: We all have them; again, every

district has people that work in this industry. International workers are the

ones that are really hit hard now because we're sort of in a little – I'm going

to say a better area because within seven days, I think, you can get some COVID

testing and after the seventh day, if I'm not mistaken, then you're good to go

after your test, I think. I haven't been through it because I'm not a rotational

worker.

The ones who are international workers – and we come

over here and the first response we're going to get is that's a federal

jurisdiction. Well, if we're the acting government and we have constituents that

are living here and bringing back their tax money, then we should be, as a

government, acting on their behalf to speak to the federal government to see if

we can get some of these regulations changed.

They are, I'm going to say, the cleanest ones when it

comes to COVID. On their job sites, they get tested before they go on the rig;

they get tested when they come off. They have to prove their test is negative

before they get on a plane. When they hit Canada, they can get on with different

people that are coming back here to Newfoundland. We, as a government, really, I

think, have to go back to the federal government to see if we can help these

people out in their industries.

They come back here and it's very frustrating. They

can't go off their land; they can't go trouting. We get people that live in my

district, and they can get on their bike and go in the country and see no one,

but they're not allowed to do it because they have to answer a phone. That's

important. Again, every district has that issue. I'm sure that all our Members

on our side, for sure, have fielded questions regarding rotational workers, and

certainly international rotational workers, because the best that we can tell

them on our end is that's a federal issue and we can't touch it. Well, we have

to help those people, from the provincial end, to try to get an answer.

Listen, I see where Dr. Fitzgerald has these rules, and

I couldn't agree more. Sometimes we have to have a little more common sense in

looking at some of that stuff. I'm not saying it's not common sense, but we have

to have a little more intake in to it to explain the situation. If they're

coming from overseas, then why is it that they can't, after seven days, if

they're tested negative all the way here – they have more of a chance catching

COVID once they come back into Canada than they do coming from over there,

because they're tested so often over there. They're tested nearly every three or

four days.

I just think it's something, and I really hope that the

minister can just help and just speak for the people. Every district has it;

every MHA has that issue in their district. That is certainly something, I

think, that we should speak on, for sure.

I had the pleasure, I'm going to say, of going out

Friday evening. I'll talk locally now, just as entertainers or local

establishments, to go out; it's great to see that with some of the new

restrictions. I was down to a restaurant, and the place was full based on the

restrictions. It was good to see. We were there on Friday night, and the place

was absolutely full. It was walk-in service. You didn't have to book. It was

that full that people came in through the door, turned around and went back out.

I think it's great. I'm sure we all are, as MHAs, supporting our local

establishments and our local entertainers, if possible, in any way, shape or

form. I really think that's something that we should be looking at.

I'll touch on another one. I keep going back to

cleanups, but there is a group that is in the area that's called Avalon Pond

Cleanups. They're not only in my district; they've been a l l over, I'm going to

say, the Avalon. They go in and the guy has scuba gear or diving gear. He goes

in and cleans out ponds and stuff like that. I'd just like to like to throw him

a little bouquet there. I know that there are people who've sent him some gift

cards and stuff like that, and some help for buying some air for his tanks and

stuff like that. He's done a great job taking tires out of ponds and beer cans.

I will encourage anyone, if you're off and happen to go

camping or trouting – and I'm sure there are people that do all that kind of

stuff – that if you can truck it in, you can truck it out. If you bring grub in

and you bring plastic in, bring it back out. Put it in your knapsack and take it

back, because it's very important. Every time you go somewhere, and I'm sure

there are people here after doing it, go somewhere, whether it be moose hunting

or whether it be camping or trouting, every time you go somewhere you see cans.

It's just the – I'm going to say – old way, but the old way is no longer. So if

you can bring it in you should be able to bring it out.

Also I'd like to touch on tourism in my area. It's

getting to that time of the year and I'm sure glad I got some call from one of

the tour operators. He asked me to pass on thank you to the government for

opening up on July 1. He's really encouraged and, hopefully, we'll be able to

get our planes and that in order. He was really happy to see this go. They

operated last year together. I don't know how they're going to do it this year,

I'm not sure what their plans are. But they're encouraged to see that it's going

to open up, and, hopefully, we do and that their industry can at least get some

sort of revenue generated this year to get back in.

When you go from the Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove to St.

Shott's and look at some of the tourism area. It's a big tourism area. I've

spoke on it before, and I'll touch on it again that you see these tour buses

going when the cruise ships come in. They would be taking people to boat tours

and they'd be taking them to the Colony of Avalon. There's a Folk Arts Council

up in Ferryland as well.

There are people who come in here, they fly in to do

our East Coast Trail. They start on one end and go right to the other. It's

amazing.

For anyone that hasn't done it, Mistaken Point is

another big gem in our area. There are people from all over the world. Because

it's a UNESCO site, there are people that come from all over this world to go

visit that site. I had a minister last year that asked me about the area and she

went up and visited. I would encourage people to certainly go look at these

attractions. There are some great areas to look at.

When you go down through Petty Harbour, we have some

local restaurants down there as well. Zip lining is down there. That's another

big attraction. I'm not sure if they operated last year or not, but I was on it

the year before. That is a great attraction. It's a lot of fun to do, so I would

encourage people to get out all across this province to go look at some of their

tourism and stuff like that.

Also, I'll touch on the – well, I did already – East

Coast Trail. Like I said, from Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove in our area right up to

St. Shott's, Trepassey and Portugal Cove South, they're in doing some trails

now. It's not the East Coast Trail but they're in upgrading some trails. They're

looking for some help from the government to be able to enable more tourists and

more people to go up and take care of that, or to be able to avail of that, I

should say.

The other important one, I'll touch on it again; I

touched on it once before, would be our fishery. It wasn't mentioned much in the

budget but it's a very big industry. I live in an area that there are fishermen,

right from Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove, right up to St. Shott's, there are people

in the fishery. We have some crab fishermen, they're pretty well finished for

this year; some of them, not all of them.

Hopefully, COVID will go away that can help these fish

plants process some of this crab. Some of the fishermen, their issue was, that

they could only go out on certain days and only bring in so much crab. That's a

big issue for those guys. Especially based on the weather and the wind that

we've been having since January restricts their time to go out.

I see that my time is up. I'd certainly like to thank

the people in my district, again, for putting me here.

Thank you so much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Harbour Main.

CONWAY OTTENHEIMER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

First of all, I would like to say as the Member for the

District of Harbour Main, how very sad I was to hear the news of George Murphy's

passing. On behalf of the constituents of the District of Harbour Main, I would

like to extend our sincere condolences to the family.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

CONWAY OTTENHEIMER:

Mr. Speaker, George Murphy was not only a constituent

of mine living in Seal Cove, he was also the Liberal candidate in the last

provincial election, running in the Harbour Main District.

I have to recall the afternoon that the election

results were released, he called me at home; he called to congratulate me. I

thanked him for the well-fought campaign that he ran. It was a campaign that was

respectful, that was dignified and it made me very proud to be running with such

a formidable, yet respectful candidate.

What really touched me in that phone call, Mr. Speaker,

was obviously that would have been a difficult call to make, not having won the

election; however, he asked me to pass along his condolences to my husband,

John, who had just recently – during the election as well – lost his mother. I

really thought that was so thoughtful and so caring, that he thought of others

and though of someone else, despite that moment, I'm sure, of disappointment.

Again, I think that speaks volumes of what a caring, kind, true gentleman he

was.

Mr. Speaker, I wanted to mention that because there are

many people in the District of Harbour Main who cared and thought very highly of

George Murphy and are thinking of him and his family today.

I want to move on now and speak a little bit about my

District of Harbour Main. I will have another opportunity throughout this

session to speak about the budget, in particular, but I wish to focus today on

certain issues that are facing the District of Harbour Main.

First of all, I want to, again, thank the people that

elected me in the last provincial election; how honoured I am to be here and to

represent their interests as we go through the 50th Session of the House of

Assembly. I first of all want to recognize the hard work and dedication of the

officials that worked on the budget within Department of Finance and within the

Department of Justice and Public Safety.

In particular, the Department of Justice and Public

Safety, we had our Estimates last week. These were my third Estimates that I

attended. In that meeting, I found, after a three-hour period, we were provided

with clear, accurate information by the minister and his officials. We thank him

for providing that information to us.

I also would like to thank the members of the Premier's

Economic Recovery Team who prepared the Greene report; that would be Dame Moya

Greene and her team. I do think it's appropriate and necessary to acknowledge

and thank them for the hard work and their genuine efforts to weigh-in, as

policy advisors, on our financial state of affairs. I think that's something

that should be recognized. We thank them. I'm sure the people of the province

thank them for their efforts in this regard.

Because I believe, Mr. Speaker, it is important that we

have stakeholders, we have experts; we have a variety of stakeholders and policy

advisors. We need to have engaged scholarship as we move forward with the very

difficult financial circumstances that we find ourselves in.

I believe that as we become more knowledgeable and

engaged, more educated about the serious financial issues that we're facing,

then, perhaps collectively, through having all of these stakeholders and others

to advise, that we will, hopefully, be able to develop a financial plan and a

financial future.

I think it's really important that we look at our

collective progress. It's been stated that we are all in this together. We've

heard that expression throughout COVID and throughout the pandemic. We're in

that together and we're also in the situation of facing the financial problems

that we have ahead.

Mr. Speaker, that brings me to COVID. Before I get into

talking about my District of Harbour Main and some of the concerns and issues

that are there – that are worrisome, I do believe that when we look at – with

respect to the budget and with respect to the decisions that are being made –

that we need to have a common sense approach.

The Minister of Finance did mention this in her Budget

Speech that we need to have balance going forward. I don't think anyone would

disagree with that. We have to be reasonable. We have to have a common sense,

balanced approach. Well, we've had 15 months of the pandemic, that the safety

and the health of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians come first.

On that point with COVID, I've spoken about COVID

before when I've spoken in the House of Assembly, we have proven results, Mr.

Speaker. The people did what needed to be done. We are smart people.

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are smart people. They know what needs to be

done. They followed the rules. I think that is important to note.

We see now the vaccines are rolling out. We see the

reopening plan, so we do see that there is hope. There's anticipation. There's

relief. It seems like we can breathe again, although, albeit with masks on, but

we can breathe again.

It is so great to see how people are going to be

reunited with family members who live away and who are coming home. I can't

imagine what it would have been like, when I lived away, in Ontario, I lived for

the time to come home at least once, if not twice a year, to come home to see my

parents and my family. To not have been able to do that, I feel for the people.

The hardship they had to endure being separated from their families. This is

really great that that's going to happen.

On another note as well: people, especially seniors,

who have been so isolated and have found this so difficult throughout the

pandemic; not being able to be with family members as they would have liked. We

are not doom and gloom. There are many things that we have to look forward to.

Those are some of the things: the vaccines; the travel

that we'll be able to do hopefully soon; being reunited with our families and

friends, I think that's really big. As well as our seniors being able to see

their families and not being so isolated, because we see the hardships that has

caused our elders throughout the last 15 months.

Mr. Speaker, I do want to mention with respect to some

of the big issues in the District of Harbour Main. This isn't fear mongering, as

the government has been quick to respond and say whenever we raise a difficult

issue we're fear mongering. Well, the facts are the facts: we have to deal in

reality. There is a lot of concern and worry amongst my constituents in Harbour

Main and I know from my other colleagues throughout other districts.

The District of Harbour Main has one of the highest

numbers of tradespeople working in the oil and gas industry in all of the

province, Mr. Speaker. I am hearing and seeing many people that are unemployed

throughout the communities and towns of Harbour Main District. I have seen and I

have talked to many individuals who are struggling to make ends meet and who are

trying to pay the bills. They're feeling the financial stress due to a reduced

income. This stress is real, Mr. Speaker. So we're very concerned about the

impact upon tradespeople in Harbour Main District and other areas who work in

the offshore oil and gas industry.

I think we need to point out a couple of important

facts, first of all, when I talk about the oil and gas industry. The increased

oil and gas royalties is over $1 billion; I believe it's $1.4 billion, to be

exact. You know, that's really great. That's good news, Mr. Speaker – wow,

that's really good news. I think we need to recognize the contribution that our

oil and gas sector makes, the contribution to our Treasury. As well, in 2021-22

the budget forecasts oil prices at $64 a barrel.

Mr. Speaker, our offshore oil and gas provides promise,

there's no question about it. There's promise and hope for jobs for tradespeople

in this industry, but the thing is we need to and we must develop our oil. Yes,

we have to develop it responsibly; it makes good, smart sense to pursue

responsible development of our oil, period. We can look at the oil and we know

that there's a lot of controversy about transitioning to a green economy, but

the oil will be with us for perhaps decades to come. For now, the demand is

there and I think that is very important for us to recognize.

Today, in Question Period, I listened carefully to the

Minister of Energy's responses to our questions, and I have to say, first time

in a long time, Mr. Speaker, I feel encouraged. What I mostly feel encouraged

about was the tone of the answers, because there was an acknowledgement that we

do ask legitimate questions over here in the Opposition. I think that

recognition is important because, sadly, I have not felt that so much in the

past.

I'm glad to hear that the government is recognizing

that these are legitimate questions we ask. We're not asking for the sake of

just asking a question. We – each of us – represent constituents. As has been

pointed out by the Member for Terra Nova earlier, the Opposition in its totality

represents over, I think, 52 per cent of our population. Questions that we ask

are relevant, are important and are legitimate.

I was pleased to hear some of the responses from the

Minister of Energy today. These are things that I can bring back to my district.

The phone calls that I receive about what's happening, for example, with the

Terra Nova Project – we know that there are only days remaining until a decision

will be made on the future of it.

I take some comfort from the fact that the minister

said they are continuing to engage in negotiation talks. Yes, the deadline is

June 15, but they're engaging, and talking and speaking to them, and that

they've done, quote, everything in our power. Well, that's great. Please, we

urge you to continue to utilize that power, to utilize that power on behalf of

the people who are working, the workers in the oil and gas industry.

I recognize when asked about the future of the Terra

Nova Project – when we asked him what assurances he can give to the people who

would work diligently on the Terra Nova for the benefit of us all, he replied it

was impossible to give full assurances, but, again, there's a promise. There's a

promise that this government is doing everything it can for a resolution. That's

what we have now. It means that we have to trust. We have to trust that our

government – this government – will effect a very positive resolution for the

people in the oil and gas industry and, ultimately, for the people of the

province.

Mr. Speaker, I think at this point in time I will now

move – I have other matters that I will discuss but I'm going to move now a

subamendment, seconded by my colleague, the Member for Exploits, that the

amendment that was previously presented, the non-confidence motion, be amended

by changing the period at the end thereof to a comma, and also by adding

immediately thereafter the following words: “and that this House also condemn

the government for its failure to demand fair and proper treatment of

Constitution of Canada.”

SPEAKER:

This House will now recess as we review the amendment.

Recess

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

Upon review of the subamendment, it is deemed that it

is in order.

The hon. the Member for Harbour Main.

CONWAY OTTENHEIMER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm going to continue on talking about an issue that is

so critical to the people of the District of Harbour Main, in particular the

tradespeople who work in the oil and gas industry.

I'm calling upon the Premier and his government and the

minister responsible for true leadership. We need to have immediate action. The

offshore oil and gas industry, we are facing a crisis. That's not fear

mongering; those are the facts. This is very serious. I'm raising this issue on

behalf of the many constituents in the District of Harbour Main and, as I say,

in particular the workers who work in this sector.

I mentioned earlier that we have, perhaps, in the

District of Harbour Main the highest percentage of tradespeople in the oil and

gas sector, in many of the communities and towns of the Harbour Main District. I

hear from constituents in Conception Harbour, in Colliers, in Avondale, Holyrood

– so many areas – that are deeply, deeply impacted by loss of jobs. There's no

denying the stress that they're facing. It's incredible. Mr. Speaker, we all

know there's probably nothing really – I mean there are many things worse but it

is very difficult when one has to deal with financial stress and strain.

We know that these workers are proud workers. They are

hard working. They are skillful. They are experienced; highly technical in terms

of their qualifications. But what I am hearing, Mr. Speaker, is people are

worried and they're tormented. Many of them have already lost their jobs and are

facing very serious financial situations.

I've heard from constituents that are on the brink of

bankruptcy. That say they have their backs to the wall. They don't know where to

turn. They need certainty. They need some indication that things are going to

get better.

Now, when the Minister of Energy was asked questions

today by Opposition, he gave indications that he's doing everything that they

can. They're engaging in conversations and they're having discussions. They

can't disclose to the people because it's a commercial transaction and it can't

be discussed publicly.

What we're left with, Mr. Speaker, is trust. We have to

trust that they are acting in the best interest of the people of Newfoundland

and Labrador.

The future of the Terra Nova project is in serious

jeopardy. Yes, it's true, as we stated earlier, the time is ticking. I think the

deadline that the minister indicated earlier in Question Period is June 15.

We do know that this has been ongoing for a long time.

The facts are the facts. They failed to secure a deal so far to maintain this

project. People are trying to be patient. We're trying to be hopeful that a

solution is going to be found. The minister said today that unless all industry

partne