April 13, 2004 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS Vol. XLV No. 15


The House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Hodder): Order, please!

This afternoon we would like to welcome to the gallery, Mr. John Crane, up in the top gallery here. Mr. Crane was a former MHA for District of Harbour Grace, and former Chair of Committees. I do believe he was elected in 1989 and 1993.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Chair would like to rule on a point of order raised by the Opposition House Leader on Thursday, April 8, 2004, concerning protocol and pertinent practices regarding the recognition of visitors in the galleries.

In their presentations, both the Opposition House Leader and the Premier acknowledged that the issue was one more of clarification than a substantive point of order.

The Speaker has reviewed the practice of our House and finds that Premiers and Cabinet Ministers have, from time to time, extended greetings to persons in both the Speaker's gallery and the public galleries. In fact, it has not been uncommon in the past for ministers to invite individuals and groups to the public galleries at a time when Ministerial Statements were being read or bills were being introduced, and at that time to recognize these persons as being in the gallery.

Our Standing Orders are silent on this matter and the Chair is not sure that past practices should be classed as tradition in our House; however, all parliamentary references including Erskine May, Beauchesne, and Marleau and Montpetit clearly indicate that recognition of persons in the galleries to be the exclusive prerogrative of the Speaker. In general terms, all members should refrain from conversing with visitors from the floor of the House and this includes references in speeches or Ministerial Statements or at times when legislation is being introduced. On the other hand, the Speaker is always happy to welcome visitors to the public gallery and, to that end, encourages visitors to view our proceedings from the galleries.

Thank you very much.

Statements by Members

MR. SPEAKER: Members' statements today, we have statements by the hon. the Member for Grand Falls-Buchans, the hon. the Member for Humber Valley, and the hon. the Member for Bay of Islands.

The hon. the Member for Grand Falls-Buchans.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS THISTLE: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to extend congratulations to the Randell family of Grand Falls-Windsor on an outstanding accomplishment, which I believe might be a first for Central Newfoundland.

On March 19, Mervin and Tina Randell, along with their sons Ryan and Joshua, received their black belts in the sport of Tae Kwon Do. The Randell family work out at the local Tae Kwon Do Club of Coombs, Scott and Associates which started six years ago in Grand Falls-Windsor.

The Randell family attended a testing session in St. John's on March 19 and were presented their Black Belts by The Grand Master, a fourteen-time Korean National Champion and two-time World Champion in Tae Kwon Do.

Tina Randell indicated that the five guiding principles of Tae Kwon Do - perseverance, self-control, indomitable spirit, integrity and courtesy - are what really sold her on this sport, and highly recommends it as a family activity.

I ask all hon. members to join with me in congratulating Mervin, Tina, Ryan and Joshua Randell on this remarkable family achievement.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Humber Valley.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS GOUDIE: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Deer Lake Red Wings Girls Hockey Team who won their first provincial hockey tournament in Baie Verte last weekend.

The girls played the host team of Baie Verte in the championship game and won by a score of four to one. These girls range in age from thirteen to seventeen years old. They have only been playing together for two years and were successful against five other teams.

Last night at the opening of the Midget Tournament in Deer Lake, a banner to commemorate the first female provincial hockey tournament win was raised in the Deer Lake Arena.

These girls were not the favorites to win the tournament; however, their dedication, their coaching, and the support of their parents was strong and they were able to play great hockey.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all hon. members to join me today in congratulating the Deer Lake Red Wings Girls Hockey Team on their win.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Bay of Islands.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JOYCE: Mr. Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today to extend congratulations to a group of students from my district who are members of the Pallister Players of Templeton Collegiate High School's drama club. This group recently won best production in this year's School District #3 drama showdown for their performance of the play, Reality Check. The play, written by the school's drama coach and festival co-ordinator, Steve Perchard, also received recognition in playwriting.

The three-day festival was held April 1 to April 3 at the North Shore Elementary auditorium in Meadows. Eight drama clubs competed at the festival for a chance to represent the Humber-Bay Of Islands district at the 2004 Newfoundland and Labrador High School Drama Festival to be held May 6 to May 8 in Woody Point.

In addition to this win, Templeton actors Andrew Ricketts and Adam Pardy were named the best actor and best supporting actor, respectively. The Templeton cast also included Michael Barriault, Amanda Kennedy, Robert Park, Matt Squires, Judy Wells and Chastity Wickens, with backstage support from Glenn Marsden, Andrew Oxford and Sherry Wilcox. The Players also won adjudicator's honours for outstanding stage lighting.

I ask all members of this House to join me in extending congratulations to this group of talented young people and offer them and all participants best wishes as they prepare to compete in the provincial high school drama festival next month.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

Statements by Ministers

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. T. OSBORNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to inform my hon. colleagues that my department is seeking nominations for the Fifteenth Annual Newfoundland and Labrador Environmental Awards.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Environmental Awards Program, which is a joint initiative of my department, the MMSB and the Newfoundland and Labrador Women's Institutes, is a great opportunity to honour our outstanding leaders in environment and conservation. The annual awards program acknowledges the proactive actions being taken by Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to protect our environment, and also creates an awareness of the importance of our environment and natural heritage.

Mr. Speaker, we commend all individuals and community groups who dedicate their time and effort to preserve, protect and enhance our environment. It is through their dedication that important projects in environment and conservation are happening in Newfoundland and Labrador to improve our quality of life, thus making our Province a better place in which to live.

We have many environmental champions in communities all over our Province who give tirelessly to protect our environment and natural heritage. Mr. Speaker, we are proud to be able to recognize the hard work and accomplishments of these leaders through our annual awards program.

All Members of the House of Assembly have received a nomination form and a brochure regarding this year's environmental awards. I encourage members to nominate an individual or group from their district for these awards. Nominations must be received by May 10 and winners will be announced during the Environment Week, which is May 30 to June 5 of this year.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Bellevue.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. BARRETT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to thank the hon. minister for a copy of the statement ten or fifteen minutes ago. It is nice to see the minister get up again. Over the last number of weeks we have seen minister after minister get up and re-announce great initiatives of the former Liberal government. Here we have another example today, it is the fifteenth anniversary of the awards. It is great that you are recognizing the great work done by the Liberal government.

We have had great people in Newfoundland and Labrador in terms of environmental work. It comes to mind of one individual, not in my district, but in Trinity-Bay de Verde, Mr. Allan Williams, who has done great work in terms of the New Harbour dump. As a matter of fact, the last time I spoke to him he said that the minister, before he became minister, met with him frequently and now he does not know the number of the minister. So, I would like for you to call Mr. Williams and let him know where you are.

Thank you very much.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.

MR. HARRIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This is a very positive recognition program that recognizes the efforts of the many hundreds and thousands, if not thousands of individuals, groups and organizations, who care passionately about the natural environment and who work hard to try and do something about it. It is a positive to see that on an annual basis, individual groups, school children, are recognized for their efforts to preserve and protect and clean up our environment. So we will be, again, participating by nominating people from our district.

Oral Questions

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. GRIMES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately this is day thirteen of the largest strike in the Province's history. From all indications, from government and the unions, there are no talks planned to try to end this strike. Will the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board please update the House as to why government does not feel it necessary to approach the unions for some real face to face meetings in an attempt to end this impasse?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We gave a proposal on Friday that counteracted their proposal on Friday. We have been indicating publicly, in response to their public requests, that we are prepared and we are open. We have not heard a response back on our proposal to them. I certainly hope we will hear something back on the proposal to them as soon as possible because we want to see a settlement to this negotiation in the best interest of the people of the Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: A supplementary, the hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. GRIMES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, on day twelve of the biggest strike in the Province's history, the Premier acted surprised that the union leaders told him they would not accept concessions such as having sick leave benefits changed. I believe the quote outside the Legislature, Mr. Speaker, was something like: Oh, if Mr. Puddester said that than I guess we have a problem.

The question really is, where has the Premier been for the last two weeks? Didn't he know, like everybody else in the Province, that we had a problem before the strike started? Will he admit, and when is he going to finally admit, that his current negotiating style is resulting in a complete lack of negotiation and communication and now is the time to move past his childlike antics and get to some real face-to-face negotiations in an attempt to end this dispute?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, over the last two weeks I can assure the Leader of the Opposition, and hon members opposite, that we have been attempting to get an agreement to the best of our ability. We, quite honestly and sincerely, put a very, very good offer forward on March 31, which we felt was an extremely good offer at that particular point in time.

With regard to concessions, we took sick leave for current employees off the table; we took pension indexing off the table; we took severance off the table. We have done everything we can to try and reach an agreement. The situation right now is that there is, in fact, an offer on the table which was presented on Friday past. It is now Tuesday, we have no response. We are doing everything possible that we can to try and reach an agreement.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: A supplementary, the hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. GRIMES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

On day two of the strike the Premier personally visited the picket lines, waved a signed newspaper ad, I believe, something like this one, and said: There are no concessions. We took them all off the table. This is signed by me.

Mr. Speaker, last week in this Legislature, in answer to questions, he repeatedly stated - and it is in the record of this House - there are no concessions; they are all gone. The unions are being unreasonable.

Today's headline, Mr. Speaker, blares: Government defends concessions.

Mr. Speaker, no wonder there is some confusion. Who is it that is right? Which is it? Are there concessions that the government is now defending, or are they all off the table, like the Premier wanted people to believe ten days ago, and like he said in this Legislature last week? How does he expect, Mr. Speaker -

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the member now to please get to his question.

MR. GRIMES: Yes, Mr. Speaker.

How, with those kinds of antics, does he expect anyone to trust or believe anything that he is saying to the union leaders and to the people of the Province about the concessions that are still on the table?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I will repeat the answer that I said before. With regard to the concessions that we have taken off the table, it is very clear that we have taken sick leave for current employees off the table, we have taken pension indexing off the table, we have taken severance off the table.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: The Leader of the Opposition and hon. members opposite -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Leader of the Opposition has posed a question and the Premier is attempting to answer it. I do believe we should extent the courtesy to each other so that we can conduct this dialogue in a reasonable manner, respecting the integrity of all members.

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, all government members, the Cabinet, everyone present in this House, realize that we have a very serious fiscal situation in this Province, that was not created by this government. It was created by your government, Sir. We are trying to act responsibly. We are trying to reach an agreement that we can afford.

With regard to the issue on sick leave, if it is considered a concession that we are seeking, sick leave for future employees, then we are in fact seeking reduced sick leave for future employees; there is absolutely no doubt about that. We have to correct the systemic and structural deficit that we have in this Province. Something has to be done about it. The Royal Commission has said it is unsustainable. John Efford, the federal Minister of Natural Resources, has said that we have inherited a financial nightmare from your government. As well, senior officials of the banks and the bond rating agencies have said the same thing.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the Premier now to complete his answer.

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We do represent all the people of Newfoundland and Labrador and we have to act in their best interest.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. GRIMES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we finally have an admission from the Premier. Unlike he tried to suggest at the picket lines, that there are no concessions, they are all gone, trust me, I just signed this piece of paper, my name is on it, he now admits there are concessions. Thirteen days into a strike and he tries to define them.

Mr. Speaker, lets talk about another concession for a minute. Yesterday, the President of Treasury Board, in his daily update, talked about the pension concession that government admits it now wants as well, instead of no concessions as they were talking about two weeks ago. He said this, Mr. Speaker: Employees should rest assured that government has no intention of changing employee benefits or contribution rates. The strike continues, Mr. Speaker, because the unions say: We want that in writing. We would like to have that in writing. They don't believe a word the government is saying.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the member now to complete his question.

MR. GRIMES: Yes, Mr. Speaker.

The Premier, himself, says: If we are going to continue, I want everything in writing. Why will he not put it in writing right now and get that concession off the table so we can move closer to a negotiated settlement?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. REID: (Inaudible) worth the paper it was written on.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

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

MR. SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We currently have the right, this government, to reduce benefits, increase benefits, to reduce premiums, increase premiums. We have that right now, Mr. Speaker. To change that would certainly be considered a concession on government's part. I want to add that we don't have any intention, over the course of the next agreement, to do that. We have no intention. The plan now is showing some experienced gains, and we hope it will continue. Since 1980 we have experienced over 10 per cent.

We don't want to give, in fifteen or twenty or thirty years, whoever happens to be there, the guarantee that you can protect the future recipients of that plan. We are safe during the next period of time, we have a comfort level in that, Mr. Speaker, but we cannot guarantee it in the future. Whatever government is here may mismanage the money of the Province and not do a proper job. We don't want to do that on behalf of the people who deserve -

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the minister now to complete his answer.

MR. SULLIVAN: We don't want to do that, Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the people who have paid into this plan and deserve to get a pension at the end of the day. We want to protect that right. I can tell you we have no plans whatsoever to do anything to change that. It hasn't even occurred to us. The only plan has come from the people on that side of the House.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. GRIMES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I think it is pretty clear. We are seeing a double standard. They want everything in writing from the unions. He will say that but he will not put it in writing because, just like everything else, we have seen in Newfoundland and Labrador for the last six months, they probably do have a different plan after the fact than the one they are talking about right now. That is why people do not trust them. They is why they do not believe them, and that is why we are in the mess we are in today in this bargaining.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday it was said by the government that the services that are provided to the people, they are not suffering in the health care system. They are being managed. Everything is under control so far. They are checking every day. Mr. Speaker, let me ask this question: If that is the case, why has government directed public relations people in the health care corporations to develop key messages that will be used to try to garner and maintain public support? Is that the sign of a government that is trying to get a settlement, or the sign of a government that is trying to -

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the member now to complete his question.

MR. GRIMES: - prolong a strike, turn the people against the unions, and then have an excuse to legislate the concessions that they plan to have? What is the real answer, Mr. Speaker? What is the real answer?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

Again, the Chair reminds all members that, when a question has been asked, there has to be an opportunity for the minister to reply.

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

MR. SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

First of all, I never made the statement that services are not suffering in this Province.

AN HON. MEMBER: Yes, you did.

MR. SULLIVAN: I never made that statement.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SULLIVAN: I have indicated that essential services - the minister has indicated that essential services are being provided to the people of the Province.

Mr. Speaker, we take advice from the people in the health system, managers and the expert medical people who provide advice to them. I do not care in this House to make a judgement on a medical situation. I think that is best left to experts. We will take advice from people in the system and so on and we will follow the best possible advice. I am being told that urgent and emergent cases are being dealt with. There are, obviously, strains on the system. There always is, when it is not at full capacity. We understand that and we do sympathize with anybody out there who cannot get access to routine services and have cancellations. We certainly understand that the system has to deal with emergency and urgent cases as a priority in any labour dispute, and hopefully people will understand. I would like to thank people -

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the member now to complete his answer.

MR. SULLIVAN: - for their co-operation today in dealing with the problem as best we can under a system that is trying, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. GRIMES: Mr. Speaker, yesterday, as well, speaking on behalf of the Premier, the President of Treasury Board said: We respect the practice of discussing changes rather than imposing them.

Again the question, Mr. Speaker, is: How does he, the Premier and the government, how do they expect anyone to believe them when they announced the wage freeze with no discussion - not even with their own Cabinet and caucus - after promising to discuss it with the unions, and threatened layoffs in the public, layoffs or a wage freeze, when he promised not to bargain in public, and again went directly to the picket line in an attempt to bypass and undermine the leadership of the unions and to break them when he said he would respect the collect bargaining process?

Mr. Speaker, when will the Premier realize that he has lost his credibility and, instead of using cheap words and insincere phrases, why won't he now, he and his government, restart the negotiations in good faith, call upon the unions for a face-to-face meeting and get about the business of settling this completely unnecessary strike that has been caused by the Premier and his government?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We are dealing with a very difficult financial situation in this Province, that was slated to get progressively worse when you compound and annualize what has happened.

We responded to requests to the Premier to explain -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Chair asks for the co-operation of all members. Again, I know that Question Period is a very intense time; however, it certainly has to provide for an opportunity for the minister to be able to answer the questions. I ask members for their co-operation.

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

MR. SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We responded to a request to explain our position. I have said it before and the Premier has said, that if we are asked to explain a position that we have put to the people, we will do that. One of the problems that arose initially is because different interpretations got out in the public on March 31 about what was offered, and we wanted to follow a process where there would be no mistaking what we have said. We did that, and we put it -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SULLIVAN: We asked to have it in writing, Mr. Speaker. The unions responded in writing and we responded to them. They came back with another offer and we responded to them. That is why we want to make sure that there is no confusion in the public. We will follow that. We would like to see a settlement, Mr. Speaker -

MR. SPEAKER: I ask the minister now to complete his answer.

MR. SULLIVAN: - and we certainly hope that can occur very quickly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. GRIMES: Mr. Speaker, let me ask one final question of the Premier and see if he might answer this one.

It is well known that the credibility of this government is absolutely gone, because the leader has none. He has absolutely destroyed his credibility in six short months. Let me ask about the Labrador ferry service, Mr. Speaker. How does the Premier and his government expect anyone to believe him and them when he promised to implement an independent report based on the lowest cost, because we have no money - it will not be political, we will not spend money unnecessarily - and then turn around and yesterday announce the exact opposite of what he promised the people just three short months ago? What about that question, Mr. Premier? Would you like to try to be a man, stand up and answer that one, the commitment that you personally made?

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. GRIMES: He will not get out of his seat.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works and Aboriginal Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: Mr. Speaker, this government announced a decision yesterday that is favoured to serve the most people in all of Labrador. That is the decision that was announced.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: That is what members on that side of the House wanted, Mr. Speaker. That is what the people in most of Labrador wanted. That is what everybody who is using this service wanted, and that is the decision that was announced by the government.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cartwright-L'anse au Clair.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, it is so obvious -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

With the calls going back and forth across the House, the hon. the Member for Cartwright-L'anse au Clair cannot be heard. I recognize her now to ask her question.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is so obvious that this Premier is suffering from a credibility deficit. In the fall, government commissioned a Public Policy Division of Memorial University to do a study of marine services in Labrador. Mr. Speaker, in a teleconference with the people of Labrador back on November 26, the Premier said to the people, and I quote him today: You have to go in with an open mind on this and the choices and the decisions have to be left with this group of consultants who I have complete faith in. I want it done properly and fairly.

Mr. Speaker, the people accepted the word of this Premier yet he did not accept the recommendations from the consultant but rather devised a system to meet his own political agenda. Why did you go back on your promise? How do you expect people to believe anything that you say at any time, Premier?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works, and Aboriginal Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: Mr. Speaker, there is enough of political innuendo in that preamble that if you were to allow me, which I know you will not, I would consume the rest of Question Period trying to respond to it.

But let me say this, Mr. Speaker, the government asked the public policy institute of Memorial University to identify options, to analyze those options and to present them to us. We took that report and we made a decision that we believe, and that most of the people in Labrador believe, serves the best interest of the most people who use the service.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: A supplementary, the hon. the Member for Cartwright-L'anse au Clair.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, it is unbelievable that the minister would stand here today and say that the author of the report had no idea what he was asked to do, because the authors of this report were quite clear in what they had to do.

Mr. Speaker, this Premier continues to make commitments that are not worth the paper they are written on. Once again, this Premier has swallowed himself whole on this issue. That government professed that they must tighten the bottom line in spending. They have cancelled hospitals. They have increased ferry rates. They have laid off thousands of public servants and they are removing concessions from unionized workers. Yet, he has ignored the recommendations on Labrador Marine Service in favour of an option that will cost an extra $5 million to $6 million over the next three years.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the member now to complete her question.

MS JONES: I ask the Premier, Mr. Speaker: Tell us, Premier, is it okay to break open the treasury and to spend the money if it meets your own personal agenda?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Transportation and Works, and Aboriginal Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the minister.

MR. RIDEOUT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, this reminds me of a Jackal and Hyde situation. One day if we announce we are not spending money, the Opposition are all over us. If we announce we are going to invest a little bit of extra money -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Chair recognizes the hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works, and Aboriginal Affairs. I ask the cooperation of the House so we can hear the minister.

The hon. the minister.

MR. RIDEOUT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

If we announce we are prepared to invest a little bit of extra money to get the best possible service to the most people in Labrador, then they are all over us for that, Mr. Speaker. What, in God's name, do they want at all?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: A supplementary, the hon. the Member for Cartwright-L'anse au Clair.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, it is hard to sit here and be patronized by the minister opposite, I can tell you that.

Maybe the Premier will get up and answer this question. Mr. Speaker, maybe the Premier can tell me: Is it true that government will pay to operate this marine service out of Lewisporte on the backs of the people of Labrador, using money from the Labrador transportation fund to create the most expensive make-work projects ever in history in the Lewisporte region?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works, and Aboriginal Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: Mr. Speaker, not because somebody in the Opposition calls this the most expensive make-work program in history, not because they say that, it is true. This is not true, Mr. Speaker. The fact of the matter is, the numbers show that it will be about an additional $600,000 investment. An investment into a service that is designed to give the most people in Labrador access to the service. So, Mr. Speaker, all that innuendo will not wash, it will not fly, it is not true, it was not true yesterday, it is not true today and it will not be true tomorrow!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. ANDERSEN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

My question is for the Minister of Transportation and Works, and Aboriginal Affairs.

Minister, during the campaign your blueprint suggested that the people in Labrador felt alienated by the past government. Well, minister, since your recent Budget you and your government have driven a deeper and wider wedge into the hearts of the people in Labrador. The most recent marine service report suggested shipment costs should be decreased and could be decreased. Your government chose to increase it by 10 per cent. Minister, why the cash grab by your government on the backs of the people in Northern Labrador?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works, and Aboriginal Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: Mr. Speaker, the government announced in the budgetary process that there would be a 10 per cent increase in ferry travel within this Province. That applies to all the Province, Mr. Speaker. That applies to all of the Province, but let me say to the hon. gentleman, the freight cost of that 10 per cent will add less than one cent to an item in Nain. Now, Mr. Speaker, is that being unfair to the people? Is that being unfair to anybody in this Province, when that hon. gentleman asked for that?

As a result of the Sir Robert Bond hauling the freight out of Lewisporte to Cartwright, we will be able to service the north coast of Labrador on a seven day cycle, which the Trans Gulf could only do on a fourteen day cycle last year. We will provide a better service, a more frequent service to his constituents, which he asked us to do, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: A supplementary, the hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. ANDERSEN: Mr. Speaker, the people on the north coast can now put the fear of the 10 per cent increase aside and I guess go through the fear of a 25 per cent increase.

Minister, your government had commissioned, at the expense of the taxpayers, a report you and your government completely ignored. Rumor has it, it cost well over $100,000. It outlined eight options of which all eight recommended that the freighter, the Trans Gulf, run directly from Lewisporte to the North Coast of Labrador. This run would not involve goods being unpacked and repacked, being exposed to the elements and causing unnecessary damage and hardship for the people on the North Coast of Labrador.

Minister, why did you and your government once again betray the people who depend upon that service moreso than anyone else in this Province?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works and Aboriginal Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, offering a frequency of service that is twice as good as it was last year, in other words a seven-day turnaround out of Cartwright, vis-à-vis a fourteen-day turnaround out of Lewisporte, that betrays nobody, I say to the hon. gentleman, that improves the service to his constituents. It is a better service than they had last year when this hon. crowd bungled the service that had been provided previously, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains, on a very short supplementary.

MR. ANDERSEN: Minister, everything in this report pertaining to the North Coast of Labrador was completely ignored by you and your government.

How can you and your colleague, the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture and Minister Responsible for Labrador Affairs, along with your government, deny the people on the North Coast of Labrador the service they so rightfully deserve?

Minister, how could you and your government, without having the guts and decency to even set foot on the North Coast of Labrador, understand the impact your decision is going to have on the people in my riding?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works and Aboriginal Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: Mr. Speaker, let me remind the hon. gentleman that I am no stranger to the North Coast of Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: I am been on the North Coast of Labrador many, many times. I have been there on boat, Mr. Speaker, I have been there in the air, and I know what the transportation challenges are on the North Coast of Labrador.

I say to the hon. gentleman, that providing a seven-day turn around -

AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).

MR. RIDEOUT: Why wasn't it there? Do you want to tell the House why we didn't get there in the last few months? Because of sickness in your family, that is why, and I respect that, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. RIDEOUT: I had to cancel a trip and rightly so, but don't go flipping that kind of flippant nonsense across the House.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please! Order, please!

The hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.

MR. HARRIS: Thank you, Mr Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please! Order, please!

The Chair recognizes the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.

MR. HARRIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

My question is for the Premier.

Given the fact that both the Premier and the Leader of NAPE are on record as saying that their offers that are currently outstanding in the strike are not their final offers, why, Mr. Speaker, with 20,000 people on strike and public services suffering, doesn't government abandon its amateurish and perhaps Mickey Mouse approach and tactic of demanding a written response to a proposal when there is a deal to be had?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, for the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi, we were in a process of face-to-face negotiations. We went through that process in good faith, even leading up to the time just before the strike.

There was an advertising campaign that was put out, that was actually misleading. It was inaccurate. The wrong information was being put out. We chose to ignore that. We went into face-to-face negotiations. We went into the meeting rooms. Offers were put on the table; oral offers were put on the table. They were subsequently denied when we went outside of the room. So, in order to prevent any confusion, any misconception whatsoever, in order to have clarity and to make sure that the offers were definitive, we asked that they be produced in writing. I am sure the hon. member can understand why that would be the request.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HARRIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Experienced labour negotiators know and have told me, Mr. Speaker, that at this point in negotiations written offers mean nothing. There has been an offer to accept mediation through the Department of Labour, to try to resolve this issue and come to a conclusion. Why is the government pretending that they do not understand this process and pretending that we can only have ships passing in the night, package deals, sent back and forth through writing? Why don't they go and work with the mediators, as has been suggested by NAPE, and try to solve this strike?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, this is not a process that is strange or new to labour negotiations. In fact the unions, as the hon. member knows, agreed to this process. In fact, we responded. They had their offer put forward, I think it was probably Tuesday, and we responded the following day. They responded again and we responded again. The ball is now in their court. We cannot respond to our own offer.

They did agree to that process. They bought into that process. They participated in that process, and every single time there was an offer and a counter-offer, there was improvement in the negotiations. Everybody advanced their position. We are doing this in good faith.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The time for Question Period has expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Chair wants to refer to the rules that we practice in this House. We want to note that while Question Period is one of cut and thrust, it is freewheeling, we have to be always careful that what we say does not undermine the integrity of members of the House. I am reminded of the quotation from Marleau, page 525, which says: Personal attacks and insults are not in order.

I remind members that when we are engaged in the cut and thrust of Question Period we allow some latitude, but I caution members that we have to be always careful that what we say does not undermine the integrity of this House or undermine the integrity of Parliament.

Thank you very much.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cartwright-L'anse au Clair.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The House will recess until order can be restored.

Recess

MR. SPEAKER (Hodder): Order, please!

Before we were obliged to recess the House, the Chair had recognized the hon. the Member for Cartwright-L'anse au Clair on a petition. The Chair deems that her time will start from now.

The hon. the Member for Cartwright-L'anse au Clair.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I stand today to present a petition on behalf of the people of my constituency, in the District of Cartwright-L'anse au Clair, as it relates to the Labrador Coastal Marine Service, Mr. Speaker.

Yesterday, government made an announcement on a new configuration of marine services for Labrador. Mr. Speaker, that announcement came after they had hired a consultant, paid out over $100,000 for a study to give them what would be the best option of marine service delivery in Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, we were very disappointed yesterday when we found out that this study, compiled by three very credible individuals at the university, was completely ignored by that government, completely ignored.

Mr. Speaker, we were also very disappointed and very disillusioned by the fact that we had taken the commitment of the Premier, we had taken him at his word; at his word when he told us that we are going to hire this consultant group, they will do what is fair, and at the end of the day we will implement what this group comes back to government with.

 

Mr. Speaker, this group, these individuals, Mr. Ron Sparkes, Mr. Dave Vardy and Mr. Merv Andrews, three very credible individuals in this Province, three individuals who have put a great deal of time and energy into looking at what was the best option for the marine services in Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, I want to read this because it is important that people understand that these individuals knew exactly what their work was. Their work was to examine -

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I remind the member that when we are speaking on a petition the member should confine herself to the statement of the parties from which it comes, the number of signatures, and material allegations it contains. I am not sure that the member, before we had the recess or now, has read through the prayer of the petition. I am wondering if we could have the prayer of the petition and then get to the commentary that supports the prayer.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In the interest of time, I prefer not to read through the prayer of the petition. There are two WHEREASes in here. It will be tabled for the House of Assembly. All members can have a look at it. Instead, Mr. Speaker, I would like to use my time to put forward the arguments in support of this petition.

Mr. Speaker, these particular individuals knew exactly what their job was. Their job was to examine how the marine fleet can best be deployed to meet the transportation requirements in Labrador, including the freight transportation needs of isolated communities and the passenger requirements of people moving to and from these isolated communities, as well as to and from the Island.

Mr. Speaker, not only did the Public Policy Division of Memorial University and those three researchers go out and consult with people all over Labrador, not only did they take the time to re-valuate every single study ever compiled on marine services, but they went out and engaged a naval architect to look at the ships themselves and if they could meet those specifications. They also went out and engaged the services of an economist to look at what was the most economically feasible option for the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to look at.

Mr. Speaker, their conclusion arising from all of that analysis pointed to the operation out of Cartwright being the most cost-effective, in terms of vessel operating costs, fuel, and shore based cost, along with the Trans Gulf operating out of Lewisporte to provide freight services to the people of Northern Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, they did not come by that recommendation lightly. They came by that recommendation after consulting and gathering a great deal of information and expertise.

Mr. Speaker, in addition to that, in addition to the fact that the consultants recommended that the Sir Robert Bond should operate out of Cartwright to Goose Bay, and that the Trans Gulf should operate out of Lewisporte points to the North Coast, they also recommended that the Lewisporte freight service should only be maintained for three years, at which time it should be phased out and all operations would be based in Cartwright.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The member's allotted time has expired.

MS JONES: May I have a couple of minutes to clue up, Mr. Speaker?

MR. SPEAKER: By leave?

AN HON. MEMBER: By leave.

MR. SPEAKER: Leave has been granted.

MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, to top it all off, in a teleconference with the Premier on November 26, he indicated, point blank, to the people in my district that he would uphold the recommendations of this report. He has broken his commitment and he has done so only to satisfy a member in his own Cabinet who is looking after his own constituents and not the better interest of the public and the public purse. I think that is wrong. It is terribly wrong.

AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

Leave has been withdrawn.

The hon. the Opposition House Leader.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It gives me great pleasure today to introduce another in a series of petitions that I have been provided with by the residents of Southwestern Newfoundland in the area from Rose Blanche to South Branch. This petition, again, in view of the review that is currently underway by the Department of Health and this Administration, of the health care facilities and services in Southwestern and Western Newfoundland, actually, that there may be some anticipated reduction or integration of services leading to - the greatest fear in our area - closure of clinics and the downgrade of the Dr. Charles L. LeGrow Health Centre in Port aux Basques to a clinic status from its current hospital facility status.

We brought this matter to the attention of the Minister of Health. Again, there are 700-plus names on this particular petition which has been forwarded here. In fact, the minister and the Premier were invited recently to a public meeting to be held in Port aux Basques for that area and did not attend. I understand the meeting has been postponed, and we trust that they will attend; because it is no good and you cannot do your duties as a minister in any department if you do not understand the nature of your department and, more importantly, if you do not understand the people you are working for. It is fine to live in an urbanized area where you have bigger facilities that people can access in short notice on good roads. It is quite a different thing if you have to utilize facilities that are working at a bare minimum, such as exist in my district in rural Newfoundland in places like Rose Blanche.

This is of concern, of course, to the Member for Stephenville East, as well, because in her particular district there are clinics slated right now in the Codroy Valley area to close if this transition and this integration goes through.

I bring it to the minister's attention that we understand, we know the process is underway, that the integration and the realignment of the services in Southwestern and Western Newfoundland will go ahead, but we just urge the minister not to let the dollar sign govern the day. Yes, you have to be fiscally responsible in your capacities as a government, but you also need to have a social conscience, and I would urge the minister to make sure, in her deliberations, once she receives the report, to look at it from the perspective of rural Newfoundland as opposed to urban Newfoundland. We do not have a lot in any case. We would just like to keep what we have, and that is not too much to ask.

Please, we would urge the minister, once you get your analysis of the reports done, once they are submitted, do not let the dollar sign govern the day, because fiscal responsibility is one thing, and it is admirable, but you must have a social conscience when you make these decisions. We only have $500,000 of us here on this rock and we have to try to do the best we can for all of them. The bare minimal services that we have in some of these rural areas must be and have to be maintained, because not to maintain them leads to negative effects that none of us need or want. For example, these people have to move from their rural settings to urban centres in order to access these services, and that is not to anybody's benefit -

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. member's time has expired.

MR. PARSONS: - particularly if when they are moving they get a U-Haul and move right out of here all together.

That is what we need.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Lake Melville.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HICKEY: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

It is indeed a great pleasure for me today to bring forth this petition on behalf of constituents and concerned parents in my district, the great District of Lake Melville. The petition reads as follows, Mr. Speaker:

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled. The petition of the undersigned residents of the District of Lake Melville.

WHEREAS the Auditor General of Newfoundland and Labrador 1997 report that the Labrador School Board is paying directors and assistant directors above the salary scales approved by the Lieutenant- Governor in Council as well as receiving a remuneration; and

WHEREAS the Schools Act 1997, Section 92. (1) states that all salaries shall be paid in accordance with scales approved by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council and Section 92.(2) states that a board shall not pay remuneration to directors, assistant directors in amounts greater than those specified under subsection (1); and

WHEREAS the Auditor General of Newfoundland and Labrador has stated that the board is ignoring the policy of government and the law; and

WHEREAS the Schools Act, 1997, Section 73.(2) states that where satisfied that the affairs of a board are managed in an irregular, improper and improvident manner the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may dismiss one or more of the trustees of the board;

THEREFORE request the minister to reduce the salaries of the Labrador School Board directors and assistant directors in accordance with approved scales effective immediately and that the minister reduce or withhold future payment of salary or money until salary overpaid is recovered,

THEREFORE request immediate dismissal of all Labrador School Board Trustees and call for an enquiry into the operation and management of the Labrador School Board District 1,

THEREFORE ensuring that accountability and integrity is restored to our education system in Labrador.

That is the prayer of the petition, Mr. Speaker, and I am very pleased to be able to present that on behalf of over 825 citizens and parents of my district.

Mr. Speaker, thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Humber Valley.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS GOUDIE: Thank your, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition on behalf of 512 residents of the community of Hampden and surrounding communities. The prayer of the petition reads as follows:

WHEREAS the Western Health Care Corporation, in a report submitted to the provincial government, cites the closing of Hampden Medical Clinic as an option to be pursued in balancing its operating budget -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS GOUDIE: - and eliminating its existing deficit over a specified period; and

WHEREAS the closing of Hampden Medical Clinic would mean the end of physician/medical services to the affected communities....

Mr. Speaker, I met recently, at a meeting in my District of Humber Valley, with the District Advisory Council for White Bay, and representatives from the community of Hampden and surrounding communities to discuss health care. We discussed the health care that they receive in the rural communities today, and I assured the people that the goal of this government is to improve the health care in rural communities.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS GOUDIE: As a former front line health care provider, I have seen first-hand the need to not only plan but implement health care programs to improve health care in rural Newfoundland and Labrador.

We discussed the need for preventative health care services, such as mental health services, diabetic education, arthritis and cardiac programs, and home care services, as I assured them that they would be included in the process which would see quality sustainable and accessible health care in rural Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

Orders of the Day

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. E. BYRNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, Motion 1. We move that this House approves in general the budgetary policy of the government.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Bay of Islands.

I do understand that you have about six minutes remaining.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JOYCE: Six minutes? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Member for Humber Valley, who just stood and presented a petition on behalf of the people of her area, I just want to let the member know - I am not sure if she realizes it or not - the Health Care Corporation of Western Newfoundland, when they were asked to present some information to the government proposing on how to cut down on the deficit that they had, they asked the Minister of Health for an extended period of time so they could do a proper analysis. They were denied this delay, Mr. Speaker. They were denied by that government, by that minister sitting opposite.

If the minister really wants to help the people of her area, she should ask the minister to treat the people on the West Coast and the health care board with some respect.

Concerning the Budget, Mr. Speaker, I would say to the Member for Humber Valley - and I know she is a concerned member for the area - why doesn't she read the article that was sent out from the person who ran against her for the PC Party, Mr. Gary Gale, who is Chairman of the Humber Economic Development Board?

It was a black day for Newfoundland and Labrador when they brought in the Budget. That was with the Mayor of Hampden, where she had her meeting - the Mayor of Hampden, Chairman of the Humber Economic Development Board for the whole of the Humber Valley area, the Bay of Islands, Corner Brook region - so she should go back and check with the mayor.

Mr. Speaker, I would just like to spend a few minutes today on education throughout the Budget. Of course, when you go through the Budget there are always ins and outs and what is proper and what is not. There is always smoke and mirrors, especially in this Budget, Mr. Speaker.

I will just give you one example, Mr. Speaker. I just want to give you one example. The Minister of Education came out and announced in the Budget, in part of the Budget, that the school on the North Shore, that they will proceed with the budget on the school on the North Shore, the expansion to the North Shore Elementary to include the high school students. I should let the hon. minister know - and I know he is an hon. member, but I should let him know because obviously he does not spend a lot of time on the West Coast - that tender for that school has been awarded. The materials have been ordered. The materials are on site. So, when he comes up and says, we are going to go ahead with that, it is already ongoing. The materials are already on site, I would say to the minister, but thank you very much for your concern.

Mr. Speaker, the next thing we have to work on is Herdman Collegiate, because during the election the Premier and the Minister of Justice, in their brochure, the number one priority, Herdman, deferred. Deferred, Mr. Speaker, the number one priority on their brochures during the election. Then again, I say to the Minister of Justice, what you should do, Minister of Justice, and I will even help you do it, let's have a rally in Corner Brook. Let's have protestors, because the last time the Premier spoke to protestors, he told the people in Gander that the hospital is not deferred. Do not mind the Budget; we will go ahead with it.

So, let me and you go ahead and have a rally in Corner Brook. Let's have a protest and we will get Herdman on the go. I will even work with you, I say to the Minister of Justice. I will even work with you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JOYCE: The Minister of Education, in the Budget, is cutting 475 teaching positions, Mr. Speaker. On the West Coast, they always want to know who said it.

I have something here from the media, Mr. Speaker: Centralization hurts rural areas. This is in the Western Star, April 3, 2004. Back in January, Education Minister John Ottenheimer, while on a visit to Western Newfoundland, told reporters that any integration or amalgamation of the board districts would not take place in the near future.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. JOYCE: That is what that minister said.

AN HON. MEMBER: When was it, January?

MR. JOYCE: April 3. That is when he (inaudible) out.

Mr. Speaker, I can say to the hon. minister, this was not the same reporter that you said you did not say that to in Deer Lake. This is a different reporter.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. JOYCE: This was only two months ago, and already that is on the table and will be in place by September 1.

There were also plans to consolidate more health boards and integrate the Health Care Corporation and its services. It is ironic how political parties speak out against consolidations but when they are in government they work together, the same thing, under the guise of being fiscally driven. Save money, but at what cost? The cost seems to always be on the backs and the rural areas of this Province, Mr. Speaker, the rural areas.

Mr. Speaker, this is the minister who stood in this House last year and said that one teacher taken out of the school system is one too many - one teacher.

MS THISTLE: Who said that?

MR. JOYCE: The Minister of Education, when he was critic. He said that here in this House, Mr. Speaker.

In the schools in the Bay of Islands, with 475 teachers being eliminated, in one school there are going to be two-and-a-half teachers taken out. In another school there are going to be two positions eliminated, two teachers. In another school there is going to be a position and a half; they are not sure. In total, for District 3 in Corner Brook this year, I was told that twenty-nine teaching positions will be eliminated from District 3. That is with the addition of the people from the school board who will have to go back into the classroom. That is what I was informed.

My question to the minister, when he gets a chance to speak, I would just like for him to justify this and answer me one question. How can he expect to live up to the Premier's commitment of not having any classrooms in the elementary school over a twenty-five to one ratio? How does he expect to do that in the Blue Book?

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. JOYCE: How would he expect to do that, to keep up with the Premier in this Province who said none over twenty-five to one, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. member's time has expired.

MR. JOYCE: By leave?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Again, I ask for members' co-operation.

Leave has been requested. Is leave granted?

AN HON. MEMBER: No leave.

MR. SPEAKER: No leave.

Leave has been denied.

MR. E. BYRNE: A couple of seconds to clue up, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I do understand that leave has now been granted to the hon. Member for Bay of Islands.

The hon. the Member for Bay of Islands.

MR. JOYCE: Thank you to the House Leader.

Mr. Speaker, I just want to thank you for the opportunity to carry on with the Budget Debate and how it affects the Corner Brook and Bay of Islands area.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Education.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. OTTENHEIMER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is certainly an honour and a privilege to be able to stand here today, Your Honour, as the Minister of Education and participate in the Budget Debate of 2004.

Mr. Speaker, as many of the hon. members in this House have done, at this particular time, although most members obviously have had an opportunity to speak, but we take this opportunity, I think, first and foremost, to thank the constituents that we represent. In my own case, I wish to once again thank the constituents of the provincial District of St. John's East who, a number of months ago gave, I guess, a vote of confidence to myself to once again represent them in the House of Assembly as their member. I am sure I speak for all of us when I say that is something we all share. It is a moment in our lives that we are all proud of and it is an accomplishment that we can all, in unison, say, jointly, to the constituents that we represent that is is a privilege, Mr. Speaker, it is something that we obviously take great pride in, and it is indeed an honour to represent 8,000, 10,000, 12,000 Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, represent their interests in this honourable Chamber. Mr. Speaker, it is something that we cherish, it is something that we share and, I would say, it is something that makes us all special, the fact that we share that particular privilege in the representation of those whom we represent.

Mr. Speaker, shortly after that election, I was given, I guess, an additional honour and that is when the Premier appointed me as the Minister of Education. At that time, Mr. Speaker, it was two departments, the Department of Education and the Department of Youth Services and Post-Secondary Education.

As I look at members opposite, it is surprising to see how many members opposite also shared that particular title. For example, the Member for Twillingate & Fogo was my predecessor in the Department of Education. The Member for Grand Bank sat for a series of years, as I understand it, as the Minister of Education. The Member for Grand Falls-Buchans sat for an number of years and held the Ministry of Youth Services and Post-Secondary Education. The Premier was, at one time, the Minister of Education in our Province.

AN HON. MEMBER: The former.

MR. OTTENHEIMER: The former Premier, I should say. In fact, first when I was elected, if I am not mistaken, in 1996, or shortly thereafter, for a two or three year period, the former Premier, the now Leader of the Opposition, occupied the Ministry of Education. If I am not mistaken, Mr. Speaker, at one time the Member for Bellevue worked, before his days in politics, in the Department of Youth Services and Post-Secondary Education. So, there is indeed a wealth of knowledge and experience on the opposite side of this House as it relates to educational endeavors and as it relates to a variety of educational positions held within their political lives.

As I look around at my own colleagues on government side, Mr. Speaker, we have a number of teachers, school administrators, former principals. My parliamentary secretary, for example, was a former school principal in the community of Brigus. The Member for Burin-Placentia West, a former program consultant with the Burin Peninsula School Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. OTTENHEIMER: So, Mr. Speaker, this House, in many ways, is blessed with solid representation from those individuals who, in their past, have had a very successful history and experience within the educational system of our Province.

Mr. Speaker, there is one thing that, certainly I have observed in the last number of months, and it became very evident to me upon assuming the position in the Department of Education, that there is a very real or there is a statistic and a reality that we must accept, as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, and it is a reality that we must face as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians on a day to day basis, particularly as it relates to the delivery of educational services in our Province. I am talking -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. OTTENHEIMER: Mr. Speaker, I am talking about a very serious reduction in the numbers of students that exists in our school system, and how rapidly that decrease is taking place. Members opposite will certainly be aware of the fact that we are seeing, almost on a weekly basis, certainly a monthly basis, a decline in our student enrollment throughout our K to 12 system in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Let me just give hon. members one statistic, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. OTTENHEIMER: Mr. Speaker, let me just give one statistic. In the last five years we have seen a reduction in just one school board, the Avalon East School Board, a reduction of 3,350 students -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

Again, the Chair is asking for all members' cooperation. The hon. the Minister of Education is giving an address on the Budget. I will ask that members permit the minister to give his address without too much by way of interruption. I ask all members on all sides of the House for their cooperation in that regard.

The hon. the minister.

MR. OTTENHEIMER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

One example of a significant decrease in our school population is an example that I have used from the Avalon East School District where in the last five years, Mr. Speaker, we have seen a reduction of 3,350 students. That is in our K to 12 system. One school district, the Avalon East School District, in the last five years, a reduction of approximately 10 per cent. An example of what is taking place in this particular school district, the Avalon East School District.

Mr. Speaker, that is typical of and representative of what is taking place throughout all of Newfoundland and Labrador. Let me just give a few other examples. In the Labrador School District, in 1999, in the academic year of 1999-2000 a total pupil enrolment of 5,300. In the 2003-2004 school year, the present school year, a total school enrolment of 4,800. A reduction from last year, Mr. Speaker, a loss of 2.8 per cent. In the Northern Peninsula/Labrador South School Board, in the academic year of 1999-2000, a total pupil enrolment of 3,500. This year, the academic year of 2003-2004, a total pupil enrolment of 2,900; for a loss, Mr. Speaker, just in that short five year period, a loss of some 5.3 per cent in the Northen Peninsula/ Labrador South School Board. Another west coast board, Mr. Speaker, Corner Brook/Deer Lake/St. Barbe, 1999-2000, total pupil enrolment of 8,300. This present year, 7,100. Again, a drop of well in excess of 4 per cent. The Cormack Trail School Board in the Stephenville, Port aux Basques, south west coast area, Mr. Speaker, Port au Port area as well, in 1999-2000 a total pupil enrolment of 6,100. This year it has dropped to 5,100. Again, for an almost 5 per cent decrease.

Mr. Speaker, we can go through the numbers. We see in the Baie Verte/Central/Connaigre School Board a drop of 2.7 per cent in the last four or five years. In the Lewisporte/Gander School District a drop of well over 4 per cent in that same time period. The Burin School District numbers - I will just share these numbers, Mr. Speaker, in the academic year of 1999-2000 total pupil enrolment 4,600. This year, total pupil enrolment 3,700. The Vista School Board, which of course takes in the Clarenville, Bonavista South area, parts of Trinity Bay as well, total population in 1999 of 4,700; this year 3,900. Avalon West, 10,900; this year 9,100. A drop of almost 2,000 students in a five-year period. As I mentioned, the Avalon East Board, I mentioned those stats a little earlier.

So, Mr. Speaker, the delivery of educational services, in this Province, within the delivery of educational services in this Province, we all must be mindful of the context in which we live. Mr. Speaker, it is that sort of significant and dramatic decrease of the numbers of students in our Province that we must be mindful of. I will give you another statistic, Mr. Speaker, just going back a series of years. In the academic year of 1970-1971, in this Province, we had a total pupil population of 162,000. That was in K to 11, because in the early 1970s we did not have a Grade 12. Today, of course, and since the 1980s we have a school system that goes to Grade 12. But in the early 1970s, Mr. Speaker, we had a total pupil enrolment of well over 160,000. Today we have a pupil enrollment, K to 12, of 80,000 students. A drop of one-half. It is an alarming statistic, Mr. Speaker. It is one, obviously, of significance and concern, but it is also a disturbing statistic because it is proof of what is happening in our Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is a result of two things: a dramatically decreased birth rate and obviously a product of out-migration. These are the two factors that have resulted in a pupil population being reduced by approximately 50 per cent in some thirty years.

The challenge therefore, Mr. Speaker, is to provide an education, the delivery of educational services, to the pupils and the young people of Newfoundland and Labrador with that reality. The providing of programing to the students of our Province, regardless of where they may live, whether it is the largest school in the most urban centre of our Province, or if it is the smallest or most remote school. It could be in the district, for example, of my critic. I remember last year in the House of Assembly, when we discussed the issue of pupil-teacher ratios he would often use an example in his own district of Change Islands. There is still an obligation in the delivery, Mr. Speaker, of educational services and programming to ensure that a student in school A, who may be in an urban centre, is given an opportunity equal to, similar to, and representative of what a child in the most remote community of our Province may receive. That is the challenge. That is a challenge, I say, Mr. Speaker. It is not always necessarily or easily accomplished. That is the challenge.

Mr. Speaker, a couple of weeks ago a decision was made with respect to the consolidation of school boards that, in some ways, may help address that reality of a declining student enrolment with a view to the department and the school boards providing that educational opportunity and providing those educational services to each and every student of our Province.

Mr. Speaker, the western board is a merger of three existing school boards. The western board will incorporate the Northern Peninsula/Labrador South School Board, the Corner Brook/Deer Lake/St. Barbe School Board and also the Cormack Trail Board. In that particular board, Mr. Speaker, there are some eighty-two schools and it will have a total or projected pupil population of close to 15,000. The central board will be the merger of the two existing Central Newfoundland boards, the Baie Verte/Central/Connaigre School Board and also the Lewisporte/Gander School Board which will service some seventy-five schools in both central districts. The projected total is almost similar to the numbers in the board that I referenced earlier, close to some 15,000.

The merger, Mr. Speaker, involving the greatest number of boards will be the new Eastern School Board of the Province which will, essentially, be the combination of, and the consolidation of, four existing boards: the Avalon East School Board, the Avalon West School Board, the Vista School District and also the Burin School Board. That particular board will service some 127 schools with a projected enrolment of between 44,000 and 45,000 students.

The Labrador School Board will remain intact, and also the Conseil Scolaire Francophone Provincial, our French school board, will remain intact. Obviously, constitutionally that is a reality that we deal with and accept in this Province, not unlike situations in other provinces of this country.

So, Mr. Speaker, we will have a total of five school boards, reduced from the original number of eleven. Interestingly, let's keep in mind that it was only a few years ago, in approximately 1996-1997, that we had in this Province some twenty-six or twenty-seven school boards. That number was reduced by the government of the day to the eleven school boards that we now have. So, in one sense, this is the continuation of a trend in merging and consolidating the numbers of school boards in our Province.

In any event, we have made a decision as a government, and it is a decision that members opposite may find somewhat surprising. It is a decision that is being very well received, I say, publicly. We have had great cooperation with existing school boards. We have had constant communications between the department and the school board offices and the school board trustees over the last number of days. We are in the process, right now, of making decisions with respect to the transitional boards or the transitional committees that will come into being in the very near future. The existing school boards, as we now know them, will cease as a legal entity to exist as of October 31 of this year, Mr. Speaker. As of September 1 of this year the newly-formed, the newly-merged or the newly-consolidated school districts will legally take effect on September 1 of this year.

The process, Mr. Speaker, is one of transition, obviously, but it is one that surprisingly has been received in the community, because those involved in education appreciate and recognize the fact that where efficiencies can be realized and where decisions can be made in a more consolidated manner in the interest of providing an education system to the children and the students of our Province - which is ultimately what this is all about. This is not about whether we should have fifty-five boards or five boards. It is not about whether we should have one director per board or six directors per board. It is not about having X number of program consultants or X number of assistant directors. It is about ultimately providing the best possible educational and the delivery of educational opportunity and the delivery of educational services to the 80,000 students that we have left in the K to 12 system throughout all of Newfoundland and Labrador. That is what this consolidation is all about. That is what this merger is all about.

Once these decisions are made and once the final consolidation process is complete, it is in keeping that all stakeholders, Mr. Speaker - that include obviously the newly consolidated school districts, the School Boards Association of Newfoundland and Labrador, the School Council Federation of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers' Association. These groups, in concert with one another, will strive towards the excellence in education that the young people in our Province deserve. To a large part, from what I have had an opportunity to witness going throughout this Province over the last number of months, are receiving. I say that quite genuinely, Mr. Speaker. I have had the opportunity over the last number of weeks and months to visit with ten of our eleven school boards throughout the Province and to visit perhaps some twenty-five or thirty schools throughout Newfoundland and Labrador. I have seen firsthand, great things happening in our schools.

The challenge to us, as a government, is to continue that excellence and to enhance where and when possible the delivery of educational services through examples of merger and consolidation, for example, to ensure that the young people of our Province receive the educational programming that they so richly are entitled to and deserve. That is our mandate as a government, Mr. Speaker. That is our responsibility as a group of individuals on this side of the House, and as a relatively new Minister of Education, Mr. Speaker, that is something I am going to work towards, to ensure that our young people receive what they so truly deserve as young people in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, my commentary to this point has been largely dedicated to the K to 12 system. We must not forget what is taking place -

AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).

MR. OTTENHEIMER: It is not an afterthought, I say to the hon. member opposite. We can only talk about one topic at one time.

Mr. Speaker, equally important -

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. minister's time has expired.

MR. OTTENHEIMER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Could I just have a moment to conclude?

AN HON. MEMBER: By leave.

MR. SPEAKER: Leave has been granted.

MR. OTTENHEIMER: Thank you.

We must recognize as well that we have, as a part of our culture and as a part of our society, excellent post-secondary institutions that garner to the needs of our young people, obviously our university and obviously a public college system with some seventeen campuses that deliver the programming to our young people - programs, colleges and institutions that today represent what our young people are seeking as part of their post-secondary experience. Hopefully, as this debate continues, not necessarily the Budget Debate, I will have an opportunity to perhaps accentuate the very many positive realities that have taken place, not only in our K to 12 system but in our post-secondary system as well.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cartwright-L'anse au Clair.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want to make a few comments on the Budget today. My only regret is that I only have twenty minutes and I have an awful lot of things I would like to cover. I will get right to the point and try and highlight as many of them as I possibly can.

Mr. Speaker, I have to start today by talking about the Labrador marine services. This is another example of a commitment that has been made by this government that has not been upheld, a commitment made directly by the Premier to the people of my district and has been dismissed casually, without consideration, due consideration, for what the impacts are going to be on people in that particular part of the Province.

Mr. Speaker, it is another example of this government running roughshod over the people of Labrador, which we have seen since the day that they took office in this Province. These are not just words; these are the feelings of people throughout Labrador when it comes to this government. People feel that they are not being heard, they are being misrepresented, and they certainly feel that their issues have not been given any priority whatsoever, whether it is marine services or other issues that have been addressed in this House.

Mr. Speaker, the Labrador marine service study was a report, as I said earlier, that was compiled by a very professional group of people within our Province at Memorial University, a group of people who took every study ever compiled by governments, this one and past governments, on marine services in Labrador, did a full evaluation of every one of those studies. They consulted with people in all regions of Labrador and then they engaged the views and perspectives of an economist at the university, along with a naval architect, to look at what could possibly be the best configuration of service.

They came forward, Mr. Speaker, with a report that was very thorough, very well researched by some of the best educated people in our Province, to this government, and government ignored it. To add insult to injury, they ignored it for another configuration of service that would not only meet the wishes and the need of the member and the minister for that area, Mr. Speaker, but also was going to cost the taxpayers of this Province an additional $5 million to $6 million over the next three years.

Mr. Speaker, what is even worse is that this money will come out of the Labrador Transportation Fund, a fund that is there for the communities in Labrador to build their infrastructure, to build on their transportation infrastructure, the same fund that we would use to build roads to communities like Williams Harbour which desperately needs a road, Mr. Speaker, at a cost of only $5 million. The amount of money that is being spent to run this ferry, the passenger ferry into Lewisporte, to satisfy the wishes of the member and the minister, is being done at a $5 million expense to the taxpayers of this Province.

What we have is a government that commissions studies, pays top dollar for them, hires the best people in the Province, and then they shelf it, they don't follow it, they don't take the advise of their own work that they commissioned. In addition to that, Mr. Speaker, they break open the Treasury, they spend the money when it suits them to spend the money.

Today we have a public service strike because of fiscal restraint. We have thousands of jobs that will be eliminated in the public service. We have ferry rates increasing in the Province. We have every fee ever collected in this Province going up. In addition to that, now we have a government that says: Alright, we have to do all these things to save money, but it is okay to spend the money to put a passenger ferry in Lewisporte, Mr. Speaker, because the Minister of Transportation, and the member, promised it to the people in his district during an election, and we have to make sure that it is done because this is what he is committed to. Mr. Speaker, when it is acceptable to them and their own members, they can go out and do just that.

Mr. Speaker, do you know what is even more disturbing about all of this? What is more disturbing, Mr. Speaker, is back a couple of months ago when the tourism guide came out in this Province, they announced at that time that Lewisporte would be the major service and transportation centre which can catch the car ferry traffic going into Happy Valley-Goose Bay. At that time, Mr. Speaker, they had officials - not themselves, they didn't go before the cameras - they had officials in their departments go down to the lobby of Confederation Building and say: Oh, no, that is an error. It should not have appeared. Then, Mr. Speaker, on February 28, on the government procurement website, they were tendering for laundry services for the Sir Robert Bond in Lewisporte. A week later it was hauled off the site because it was an error, it shouldn't have shown up there.

Mr. Speaker, they have known for months. Before this report ever landed on the desk of the minister, the decision was made and it was withheld from the people. This has been a sham, Mr. Speaker, a complete sham for the people of the Province. That is all it was, Mr. Speaker. It was a sham to try and cover-up, that is all it was. We know it today. We know that the information in the tourism guide today, Mr. Speaker, that officials tried to defend at the time and say it was wrong, was actually right. We know the ads that ended up on the procurement site and got pulled a week later were meant to be there. But, Mr. Speaker they did not have the gall at the time to come out and tell the people that the decision was made and that they were going to spend another $5 million in taxpayers' money to be able to honour that request. No, Mr. Speaker, they drew everybody through a process; a process that had the people in my district out peddling to this commission, putting forward reports and everything else in very legitimate fashion, only today to be seen that they have been made a complete fool of. That is exactly what has happened here.

Mr. Speaker, the Premier got on a teleconference with people up in Cartwright on November 26. He committed to them, at that time, that he would honour the recommendations in the consultants report; giving all kinds of accolades to these consultants saying how credible they were, how fair they would be, and that he would honour the request. Well did he do that, Mr. Speaker? No, he did not do that! He did not do that, Mr. Speaker. He has again broken a commitment to the people of the Province, to people in my district, that he communicated that message to.

Mr. Speaker, we talked about the Labrador Transportation Initiative Fund. We talked about the fact that this money is there to be spent on communities in Labrador.

MR. MANNING: (Inaudible).

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS JONES: I ask the Member for Placentia & St. Mary's if he could stop shouting at me across the floor.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Chair again asks for the cooperation of all members. The floor is being held by the Member for Cartwright-L'anse au Clair.

The Member for Cartwright-L'anse au Clair, continue your debate.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we talk about the Labrador fund. The Minister for Labrador Affairs got on Labrador Morning CBC in Happy Valley-Goose Bay on March 31 trying to defend the Budget. He said: There is only about $70 million left in that fund. That has to provide for ferry and freight services for people in Labrador. Well, we know right now it has to provide for job creation initiatives in Lewisporte around the marine services as well. So that is additional money.

Mr. Speaker, that was right after his member, his colleague, the Minister of Finance tabled in this House of Assembly the actual amount of money that is left in the Labrador Transportation Initiative Fund. The Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board told the House that this fund's balance of cash investments and accrued interest was $107,442,312. Mr. Speaker, it was obvious the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, and Labrador Affairs, and the Member for The Straits & White Bay North, did not have the correct information, was not well researched, did not understand how the fund worked, how it was being spent. Yet, this is the individual who is sitting at the Cabinet table defending Labrador. Defending the issues in Labrador and he cannot even read a report that tells him exactly how much money is there, where it has been spent in the last year, how much interest accrued on it, and so on and so forth. So, Mr. Speaker, I submit that to the House, just so we establish what we are dealing with in Labrador and the kind of representation we have to tolerate.

Now, Mr. Speaker, the other thing the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, and Labrador Affairs outlined that day, he said this: You know, as far as you know, as for the negatives there are some positives in this Budget. We did manage to continue on with our Forest Access Roads Program that will see a significant amount of that money spent in Labrador; on the south coast of Labrador and in Central Labrador. Then in a release the minister went on to say that government will invest a certain amount of money in the construction of resource roads, which provide access to hard to harvest forest stands in Labrador and so on. He also went on to say, we will also maintain funding which provides access to timber stands to provide fibre for our paper mills and logs for the sawmilling industry.

Mr. Speaker, that is what we got out of the Budget in Labrador. We got more forest access roads in order to maintain the timber stands that are going to be cut and delivered to pulp and paper mills on the Island. I could not believe it, Mr. Speaker. I was listening to the Minister of Labrador Affairs on the radio saying this, when a member in his caucus, the Member for Lake Melville in a news release not too long ago - actually, right before his election, when he was the Mayor of Happy Valley-Goose Bay - was on the news saying that he was opposed to the idea of shipping raw wood to Stephenville.

Mr. Speaker, I can go on with a litany of it because there is a whole litany from the Member for Lake Melville on where he stands on wood out of Labrador. Yet, he is in a government for six months whose priority initiative for Labrador - the only initiative, Mr. Speaker, the only initiative for Labrador is to build forest access roads. Now, can I honestly believe that member has any input in the government? Can I honestly believe that, Mr. Speaker? He either has no input in the government or he has done a complete flip-flop and all of this shemozzle was a shemozzle to lead into an election; so he could win an election, Mr. Speaker. Because his opinion today is quite different from his opinion that was there a few months ago.

We would like to know, Mr. Speaker, is the Member for Lake Melville either bit effective whatsoever, or has he just changed his mind and flip-flopped on the forestry issue? Just like he did on the Labrador Metis, Mr. Speaker. Just like he did on the Labrador Metis Nation. Boy, it is unbelievable. It is unbelievable. The Metis Messenger has a full booklet just on how this government has treated the Aboriginal people and the Labrador Metis people in Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, this is a group of people, a Premier, who, in the middle of an election, went out - words, that is all they are, words - in the middle of the election, saying the thousands of Metis members who would be voters in the election in the Upper Lake Melville area, went out and said to them: A Progressive Conservative government will acknowledge that the decision in the Powley case applies to the Metis.

That is what he said, Mr. Speaker. He put it in writing. In the middle of an election, he put it in writing to try and garner support for the Member for Lake Melville. That was why he did it. Do you know what he did right after the election? Do you know what he did? I will tell you what he did, because it is all in the Metis Messenger. It is all in the Metis Messenger. This is what they said, on February 2: Tom Rideout and John Hickey delivered Premier Williams' message -

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The member is carrying on an interesting debate, but I remind the member that even when you are referring to members who are in the House we always refer to members, if you are quoting from other papers, by either their district name or by their position in the House.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I was quoting from a booklet, the Metis Messenger, in which they actually named the individuals. It was a direct quote, but I will certainly try and avoid doing that in the future.

Mr. Speaker, let me tell you, in the middle of an election when the leader of the party was trying to garner the support from the thousands of Metis people in Labrador, trying to get them to come out and support the Member for Lake Melville, in a desperate move, a desperate move, he gathered in the four or five lawyers in his caucus who were running for him in the election and they interpreted the court decision on the Powley case. Then they wrote a letter to the Labrador Metis and they said: We will recognize the Metis in the context of the Powley decision. Yes, we will. We will be your hero. We will carry the torch for the Metis Nation.

Do you what they did in February, Mr. Speaker? Do you know what they did? They turned their backs on the Labrador people. They turned their backs on the Metis people. That is what they did. They betrayed them. They betrayed them. Do you know something? I am the only Metis member in this House of Assembly, and I am a proud member of the Labrador Metis Nation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JONES: A very proud member, Mr. Speaker. I served on their Board of Directors for years before I got into politics, and I am proud of my roots, but I say to the Member for Lake Melville, he should hang his head in shame. He should hang his head in shame, Mr. Speaker, shame to know that he went out and coerced people to vote for him on an empty promise, on a false promise.

Mr. Speaker, I will tell you that this is only one - one - of many commitments that we have seen this government break to people. It is only one of many things that people in this Province have been betrayed on by this government. Not only that; they have misled people. They have misled them in the wrong direction.

When we talk about a Rural Secretariat, I cannot help but mention the Rural Secretariat. There was $1.7 million in this Budget for a Rural Secretariat. Do you know what it is going to do, Mr. Speaker? It is going to fund the Strategic Social Plan groups across the Province, an initiative that was started by a Liberal government, and that is their solution to creating employment in rural Newfoundland and Labrador.

I was appalled, Mr. Speaker, when I heard the minister stand one day and say that nothing had happened in rural Newfoundland and Labrador. I am going to educate that minister today. I will tell her what has been happening. We have some of the most self-reliant regions in this Province, Minister, in rural Newfoundland and Labrador, and one of them happens to be in my district. Mr. Speaker, it did not get that way by accident. It got that way because there was a government who understood rural Newfoundland and Labrador. It was a government who was willing to put money into rural areas in this Province and not use every opportunity to rip the guts out of the rural areas, close down hospitals, move school boards, and give people pink slips and send them on their way.

Let me educate the minister on this: In 1996 there were zones in my district that were dead last, Mr. Speaker. They were dead last with economic growth. Do you know something? Four years later they were leading the Province when it came to growth in rural areas across Newfoundland and Labrador. I did not hear the minister up talking about that, Mr. Speaker. I did not hear her get up and say that in one of the most ruralist zones in my district, in four years we grew the revenue from the local economy from $15 million to $27 million, Minister. I did not hear you on your feet talking about that. All of these things happen because you work with rural areas. You work with them, you have a plan. We had a plan of jobs and growth, we followed it and we saw the benefits from it.

Mr. Speaker, I only have two or three minutes left and I want to touch on a couple of things within the health care sector, because what the people of the Province do not know is what was not in the Budget, what is going to happen to health care in this Province. That is what is not in the Budget, Mr. Speaker. What we do know is that there is a full-scale plan and a review going on all across this Province, and we know, Mr. Speaker, from the Budget itself what the four main priorities are going to be for the health blueprint in this Province. Those priorities, Mr. Speaker, will only spell the elimination of boards, the closure of clinics, the downsizing of hospitals, the re-evaluation of staff and layoffs within the service.

We also know, Mr. Speaker, that we would have had to have seen a tremendous increase of almost 8 to 10 per cent in the health care budget this year just to maintain a flatline in health care spending right across the Province, and that didn't happen. What we had, Mr. Speaker, was an $80 million increase, $50 million of which will go to pay the physicians' salaries increase that was granted last year and a lot of the other money will go to drug costs.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. member's time has expired.

MS JONES: May I have a couple of minutes just to clue up, please?

MR. SPEAKER: By leave?

AN HON. MEMBER: By leave.

MR. SPEAKER: By leave.

MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, over $8 million will go to drug costs.

What was very evident in this Budget, Mr. Speaker, is that there was no money for the Alzheimer's drugs. No, Mr. Speaker! A group that went out there and lobbied aggressively in this Province to have drugs added to the formula for their patients.

Now, Mr. Speaker, that government, not unlike the previous government, is participating in an Atlantic policy review. An atlantic policy review suggested that Alzheimer's drugs should be funded. The Member for Trinity North knows all this, Mr. Speaker. He has been following the file. They have recommended that these drugs be added to the formula. Mr. Speaker, Nova Scotia has added them, New Brunswick has added them, and Newfoundland and Labrador is still waiting. It is an unfortunate situation and I want to say to the Member for Trinity North, I will speak further on this issue at a later date, but I know he knows the file and he should do the right thing and push government to fund that.

Mr. Speaker, I know my time has now expired and I will certainly clue up, but I will be speaking further on the Budget in the days to come. I think we need to make something really clear, Mr. Speaker, that this is a government that speaks of one thing but reaps something else. That is what we have seen to date, that is what the people of the Province will continue to see, Mr. Speaker. What they have reaped so far is nothing only chaos and disillusionment amongst the people of this Province right from the health care sector to the school board sector to the ordinary Newfoundlander and Labradorian out there in our Province.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works and Aboriginal Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: Mr. Speaker, I sat for twenty-five minutes and didn't utter a word of interruption, not a word.

Mr. Speaker, let me begin by saying this: If ever there was an honourable crowd that had the face of a robber's horse, it is that crowd over there.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: Mr. Speaker, they have had a greater conversion than Paul on the road to Damascus.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: In six months, Mr. Speaker, every political sin that you could commit, they committed it. They were given the royal order to boot, and you would not say anything happened to it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: Mr. Speaker, let me begin by referring to some of the personal attack that just came my way from the hon. member who took her seat. Let me remind the House, Mr. Speaker, what position did this hon. member occupy in the government of the day when she helped craft a decision to discontinue the ferry service out of Lewisporte and put it exclusively into Cartwright? Was she a private member?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: No.

MR. RIDEOUT: Was she a backbencher?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: No.

MR. RIDEOUT: No, Mr. Speaker, she was Parliamentary Secretary to then Minister of Works, Services and Transportation, with special responsibility for Labrador transportation issues. Now, that is the member who gets up with, like I said, the face of a robber's horse, contrition written all over the place, and talks about other people being in a conflict of interest. Well, Mr. Speaker, conflict of interest can cut both ways. If the hon. member had input into the decision that was taken, this decision that was taken by this government was taken by the Cabinet.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: Taken by the government of the day.

Mr. Speaker, let me point out another discrepancy in the argument that the hon. member makes. She talks about the study. Well, the study - whatever we think of the study or whatever we do not think of the study - we had the conviction to make the study public.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: I, as minister, or any other minister that is asked will stand in this House and defend our decision, Mr. Speaker, defend the decision that the government has taken.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: We did not take the study, like that they took the SGE study, and hide it away on a shelf in the Department of Works, Services and Transportation, to find the light of day on November 6, when I went in and asked for it, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: Why did they do that, Mr. Speaker? Because that study contained the recommendation that hon. crowd did not want to implement.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: That study, Mr. Speaker, contained a recommendation that the freight and passenger service continue to operate out of Lewisporte until Phase III of the Trans-Labrador Highway was completed between Cartwright and Happy Valley-Goose Bay. That was the recommendation of that study. They took a different decision, which they had a right to do, but they did not release the study and defend it, did they?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: That is the difference, Mr. Speaker, between the leadership being provided by this side of the House and the leadership provided by that side of the House when they were the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: A real difference, I say, Mr. Speaker!

MR. GRIMES: A point of order, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

There is a point of order being raised by the Leader of the Opposition.

MR. GRIMES: Mr. Speaker, I am listening intently to what the minister is saying. With the new approach the big difference is this. He acknowledges that a government, the previous government, exercised its right to make a decision. We had a report and a study done to help guide us. We made what we felt was the best decision. The difference, Mr. Speaker, is this: The Premier of the new approach government said to the people, we will get a study done by an independent group and whatever the study says we will implement it.

He did not say we would then study the study and do whatever we feel like as the government. He promised the people that they would implement the recommendations of the study. They made another commitment to the people that has been broken. Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Transportation and Works and the Minister Responsible for Aboriginal Affairs has just confirmed that they did the exact opposite of what their Premier said they would do. That is the difference.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. E. BYRNE: To the point of order, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: To the point of order, the hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. E. BYRNE: That is the forty-second point of order or point of privilege this member has made in the House and I would bet you dollars to donuts, Mr. Speaker, that when I am finished you are going to rule there isn't one. The only point to this is a point of frustration and anxiety because of what my colleague has pointed out about what they have done.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. E. BYRNE: The only point, Mr. Speaker, that this member has raised not only demonstrates anxiety and frustration but demonstrates the point clearly what my colleague has done. The other point that he is trying to make is trying to interrupt the excellent presentation that the Member for Lewisporte is making. That is the only point the Leader of the Opposition is getting on with.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: As members know, points of order have to do with some procedural irregularity. The Chair will rule that there is no point of order because there is no procedural irregularity.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works and Aboriginal Affairs.

MR. RIDEOUT: Laid on the canvas for the forty-second time, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

AN HON. MEMBER: TKO.

MR. RIDEOUT: TKO this time.

Mr. Speaker, as I was saying, the real difference in approach and the real difference in leadership is that we had the political courage and the political backbone to release the report. People can question us on the report. That hon. crowd would not let it see the light of day because they did not want it to fly in the face of the decision that they made.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: Mr. Speaker, let me just say, I just want to quote from an e-mail I received today: I was sitting down watching the supper hour news on CBC this evening and heard the fantastic news about the decision to include Lewisporte on the Sir Robert Bond schedule. I would like to say: Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: And that is from Labrador, Mr. Speaker!

Now, Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about the representation that was made. This report that we made public yesterday contained some very interesting information, if anyone would read it all. In chapter two of that particular report the consultants talk about what they heard from people, the stakeholders - in particular, people in Labrador. What did they hear, Mr. Speaker? They heard from the Member for Labrador West, for example, who said publicly only a few days ago in a press release: That no matter what the report recommends, I want government to do the right thing and include Lewisporte as an option for my constituents.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: That is what he said, Mr. Speaker, in a press release that went out on March 24: I want the government to do the right thing for my constituents. I want the government to give them an option. I want the government to provide them with a choice.

Mr. Speaker, his constituents told that to the consultants and this government listened to that advice.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: Mr. Speaker, what about our colleague from Lake Melville? Our colleague from Lake Melville told us that as he knocked on doors in his district he had person after person, family after family say to him: We would like an option. We would like to go into Lewisporte on the Sir Robert Bond. Well, Mr. Speaker, we listened to his constituents!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: We listened to our colleague. What about the gentleman from Torngat Mountains, Mr. Speaker? That gentleman almost got politically fried last year, politically roasted last year because of the decision made by the then government to try to send the north coast straight out of Cartwright, at a cost of 300 per cent or 400 per cent higher to his constituents than it would be out of Lewisporte. That is what they tried to do to him, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: This configuration that we announced yesterday, Mr. Speaker, allows the Sir Robert Bond to take the freight out of Lewisporte into Cartwright; not tranship it three and four times as the hon. member said, but tranship it once onto the Trans Gulf in Cartwright, take it on to the North Coast of Labrador on a seven day turnaround, Mr. Speaker, a seven day turnaround that is twice as quick as a fourteen day turnaround out of Lewisporte. Now, you tell me what is wrong with that?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: That freight, Mr. Speaker, in Lewisporte will be put into containers, it will be put on pallets if necessary. It will be taken off the same container and lifted into the Trans Gulf. There is no need to repackage it or anything. So all of the foolishness and nonsense and ‘rumor-mongering' that the hon. member was trying to get on with, Mr. Speaker, in the face of what happened to his constituents last year, is nonsense. It is not going to happen, and we are hoping to provide a better service for his constituents than last year.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

AN HON. MEMBER: Is it back up?

MR. RIDEOUT: You should know whether it is back up. Can you spell it?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. RIDEOUT: Mr. Speaker, I want to say a few words about Cartwright and some of the misinformation that has been espoused by the hon. member who represents the area, and some of the misinformation that has been espoused by some of her friends in the area. One person was on the radio - I believe it was last night - said: This decision took 90 per cent of the business away from Cartwright. That was the bold statement that was made. This decision took 90 per cent of the business out of Cartwright in one night.

Mr. Speaker, the decision that we announced in this House yesterday has three landings a week in Cartwright this summer, which is exactly the same as last summer. Exactly the same. Not one more or not one less.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: As a matter of fact, Mr. Speaker, it is more than the previous summer, when they were the government. Now, does anybody believe that giving the people in Western Labrador and Central Labrador and providing a better freight service for the people of Northern Labrador by having one freight and passenger service a week into Lewisporte is going to take 90 per cent of the business out of Cartwright? Does anybody believe that, Mr. Speaker? If business people in Cartwright invested -

AN HON. MEMBER: The Queen Mary.

MR. RIDEOUT: The Queen Mary? You would want the new Queen Mary that was built the other day, Mr. Speaker.

It is just not going to happen. It is fearmongering. It is playing to the fears of people. It has been done by the hon. member and some of the people around her and, Mr. Speaker, it serves nobody's purpose because Cartwright has not been downgraded one iota in the announcement that was -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: Why can't we all come together, Mr. Speaker, and admit that everybody is a winner with the option that we announced yesterday?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: Labrador West is a winner, Mr. Speaker. Northern Labrador is a winner. Central Labrador and Happy Valley-Goose Bay is a winner. Lewisporte gets a pick out of it, Mr. Speaker, one trip in seven. We all are winners!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: It is such a foreign concept to the hon. people opposite, this winning concept, Mr. Speaker, that they do not know what it means.

Now, Mr. Speaker, the last refuge of scoundrels has tried to fearmonger. Wrap yourself in the flag. That is the last refuge, Mr. Speaker. The last refuge coming from the people who do not support this decision on the other side is $4 million or $5 million in cost. Mr. Speaker, it is not on. The number of $4 million or $5 million never appeared anywhere in any of the analyses that were done for us. It was a figment of that hon. member's imagination. She has been spooking it, spouting it and saying it in the media for the last two or three months. I have heard her say it many times. Mr. Speaker, I am sorry to disappoint her. I am sorry to disappoint the hon. member and some of her friends and colleagues, that $5 million or $6 million, $3 million to $5 million sometimes they say, is not on. We have done our numbers. We are comfortable with our numbers and we believe that we can provide a better service to more people in Labrador for an additional modest investment of $600,000.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: Mr. Speaker, as one member of this government, I make no apologies for helping make that decision. I make no apologies for investing an additional $600,000 in the Labrador service so we can help out my friend's constituents in Labrador West so they can come to the Island or go back. We make no apologies for that, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: We make no apology for providing a better freight service to the Northern Coast of Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: If that decision costs us a few shackles more in tough economic times, well we will bite it and do it, Mr. Speaker. I make no apology to my colleague and to his constituents. This government made a very, very good decision. This government is prepared to stand up in the face of the report, in the face of the analysis, and defend that decision, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. RIDEOUT: The previous government had the convictions of a - I will not say it, but you know what the convictions were, Mr. Speaker. The report that did not tell them what they wanted, it could not be touted out, it had to be hid, it had to be put away, because we did not want to go out and defend doing something else. Mr. Speaker, we are not like that. We make the right decision for the right reasons and then we will defend it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.

MR. HARRIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is my pleasure to rise today and speak on the motion before the House, that this House approves in general the budgetary policy of the government. That is the motion before the House, generally known as the Budget Debate or the main motion.

Mr. Speaker, contrary to the previous speaker, I certainly do not have confidence in this government's budgetary policy in general. The previous speaker talked about a lot of winners, and certainly on the particular issue of providing options for the Labrador service, I think they have done the best they could in terms of providing options to both travel through Labrador West and Labrador directly to the Island or by way of Cartwright. In that sense, they have made the right decision, but, Mr. Speaker, there are many people who have listened to this Budget and have responded with a sense of depression and despair and shock and, in fact, the lack of hope that is expressed throughout this Budget. This very negative Budget for the future of the Province has caused many people, many businesses, to sit on their wallets, to stop spending money, to consider other options than staying here.

One example, Mr. Speaker, of people who were shocked and surprised by government's decision were the people involved in the Alzheimer's Society of Newfoundland and Labrador. They have called the decision of the government not to fund drugs to treat Alzheimer's disease as heartless. We are calling this the broken promise Budget, said the executive director of the society. This government broke a promise and it broke the hearts of individuals with Alzheimer's disease across the Province. That is the reaction of people to this Budget. This isn't a matter where there have been studies showing and demonstrating that, in fact, not only would the government assist people with Alzheimer's by providing approval of drugs, approval which was announced in September by the previous Administration: aricept, exelon, and reminyl. These drugs are already funded for 85 per cent of the people in the rest of Canada and it is done, Mr. Speaker, for a very good reason: because it provides relief for Alzheimer's patients, delays the onset of Alzheimer's, and the worsening of symptoms. Not only that, it has been suggested that to fund these drugs would actually save the Province $3 million a year, a figure that does not factor in the savings that will be achieved by having to admit fewer people to nursing homes. That is the reaction of one group to one decision in this no-hope Budget. That is a bit of an indictment, I think, of a government and a ministry that pretends and states that it is out to be fiscally responsible. Not only are they being fiscally irresponsible but they are also being heartless, as has been pointed out by the Alzheimer's Society.

The College of the North Atlantic, for example, Mr. Speaker: They have taken $2 million away from a budget that has already gone down from $87 million a year in 1993 to $62 million a year in the year before. They are taking $2 million out of the main public post-secondary non-university institution. What is that going to do to young people who are looking for an opportunity to increase their possibilities for the future?

Yesterday, Mr. Speaker, the government released figures on unemployment. The thing that jumped out at me, Mr. Speaker, and I know there are hon. members opposite who must be concerned about this, was that 25 per cent of young people under twenty-five who are in the labour force - in other words they are not students, they are not going to school, they are actively seeking work, Mr. Speaker, because they have very tough rules. These statisticians don't put you into the labour force and count you as unemployed unless you are out there actively seeking work. Twenty-five per cent of young people under twenty-five years of age who are in the labour force do not have a job. Why is that, Mr. Speaker? We hear all kinds of stats saying that if you have a good post-secondary education your job opportunities are terrific. Obviously, Mr. Speaker, these young people have not got the kind of education that they need to get jobs in our economy.

What does this government do? It says: We will take $2 million away from the College of the North Atlantic, the school that has the most success in ensuring that young people get affordable education when they can get access to it and get the jobs that they need, and get the training that they need to get those jobs. Another example of no hope for the future, Mr. Speaker.

When we look at what is happening in our public sector negotiations in the last thirteen or fourteen days and the approach that government has taken there - what are they doing, Mr. Speaker? What are they saying to public sector workers? You know, this famous PricewaterhouseCoopers report that the government released in January, the report with the exaggerated negative that this government has taken into the Budget - and I will get into some of the details later - this particular report has an Appendix VI, Mr. Speaker, and notes the projections for the future for the consumer price index. If you look at the projections in the increase in the consumer price index or the cost of living over the next several years, Mr. Speaker, the average rate of inflation or increase in the cost of living from 2003 to 2007 is 2.1 per cent per year. Over four years that is 8.5 per cent.

What happened in the negotiations, Mr. Speaker? The public sector unions walked in on March 31, and said: We will agree. We will agree to a wage freeze for year one and year two of a four-year agreement.

They gave this government a window of opportunity to do the things that they campaigned on last fall: to increase the revenues of this Province, to build prosperity, to create jobs, to turn the Province's future around -

AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible) economic tiger.

MR. HARRIS: - to create what the minister claimed in the Budget to be an economic tiger.

Well, Mr. Speaker, I was on TV the night of the Budget, and Andy Wells was there, who is a big fan of the government's fiscal policy, and when I raised this point about the no-hope Budget, and where is the economic future, he said to me: Well, give them a chance; they have only been in six months.

Mr. Speaker, a fair point, a fair point of argument. What happened on March 31, was the leadership of the unions, the bargaining committees, walked in and said to the government: We are prepared to give you two years of zero and zero, without a wage increase, but we want something in year three and year four. They asked I think is was for six and six, 12 per cent. Six and six or whatever way it was worked out, three, three, three and three, 10.5 per cent, adding up to approximately 10.5 per cent over four years, but it would be in the fifth year that it would be12 per cent. A little bit better than inflation. Inflation over that period would be 8 per cent or 8.5 per cent, so we are talking about a 1 per cent, a .5 per cent, per year real increase in wages over a four-year period. A bargaining position as well, Mr. Speaker, a bargaining position, so they gave this government an opportunity to have effective policies, to have optimism about the future, to recognize that the problems of this Province are not going to be solved immediately.

We had a mantra going on for awhile when we used to hear the Member for Lake Melville say it one day and we would hear another member say it another day. It was like they had been given a script: The problems of the Province were not created overnight and they are not going to be solved overnight. That is what we heard from members opposite. It must have been part of the pre-Budget spin. It must have been part of the pre-Budget spin, but it did not appear in the Budget, Mr. Speaker, and it does not appear in the approach that this government is taking to the public sector workers of this Province, because what do we have now? We have an offer on the table of zero, zero, two and two. Mr. Speaker, when I went to school, two and two equaled four, 4 per cent over four years. When PricewaterhouseCoopers tells us that 4 per cent over two years is going to be swallowed up and eaten alive by inflation so that the 4 per cent over four years is actually going to remain a 4.5 per cent decrease in real wages over four years. That is the position that this government has taken with the public sector workers, and they wonder, Mr. Speaker, why there is doom and gloom in the land. They wonder why young people are saying: Where do we go from here? They wonder why people who studying education at Memorial are saying: Now what am I going to do? There are going to be 250 less - 256 to be precise - teaching positions next year and the prospects for the year after that are to lose another 210 or more teachers. They are saying to themselves: What am I doing here? I have just gone and gotten an education. I have been studying at Memorial University for several years. I am about to graduate. Where am I going to go? They are going to go elsewhere, Mr. Speaker. Those young people - and these are not part of the 25 per cent of young people on the unemployment rolls. These are the ones who are in school. These are the ones who have managed to go to university, who have taken on the debts that go with that and are looking to a job and to a future in this Province. What have they been told by this government? Slam the door. The door is closed to them. They are going to have to join others who had to leave.

Mr. Speaker, we have 20,000 people who, since January 5, knew that there was a substantial likelihood that they were going to be on strike. We have another 4,000 people facing the prospect of leaving the public service in the next four years and not being replaced. Again, a lack of opportunity for young people. We have no attention paid in this Budget to the revenue side that needs to be improved if we are going to have the public services that we need.

I have said a number of times in this House that the problems of Newfoundland and Labrador, of the government, is not that we are overspending. Now, I am not saying that every dollar that is spent is spent properly, either, by the way. There have been lots of examples of government wastage, and we can deal with that on a specific base, but the problem is not that the Newfoundland and Labrador Government is, in general, overspending. The real problem is that we do not have enough revenue. The real problem is that we do not have enough revenue and we do not get enough taxes from the sources of revenue that other provinces receive.

I will just give you one example, Mr. Speaker, corporate income tax. We do not collect corporate income tax even at the rate of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Mr. Speaker, if you go down on Water Street, there are not very many business down on Water Street that are there because the corporate income tax rate is lower in Newfoundland and Labrador. They are not going to be on the streets of Halifax or St. John, New Brunswick, or Moncton because the corporate income tax rate is lower here. The businesses out in Donovan's Industrial Park who are benefitting from suppling services to the offshore oil industry, or who are working in the retail trade or working in the wholesale business, or who are involved in mining in Labrador, they are not here because of the goods and services and resources and market that is here. Yet, Mr. Speaker, if we were charging the same rate of corporate income tax as Nova Scotia and New Brunswick there would be an additional $65 million worth of revenue in our coffers.

We had an income tax cut a few years ago, Mr. Speaker, an income tax cut that was announced in two or three phases - we did not do all three phases - and that cut was criticized at the time by the NDP as being favourable to the wealthy, to the better-off, Mr. Speaker, compared to those on the lower end of the income tax scale. That income tax cut was obviously something we could not afford. We needed the revenue, Mr. Speaker. We needed the revenue because we do not have enough revenue to meet the needs of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. If that cut were reversed, Mr. Speaker, there would be an additional $70 million in our public coffers. Those two items alone, Mr. Speaker, $135 million.

The general agreement, Mr. Speaker, whether it be PricewaterhouseCoopers, whether it be the Minister of Finance himself making statements made last November, whether it be the report done by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and the distinguished economist, Hugh Mackenzie who has been working with the alternative federal budget for many years and who has a reputation, this group has a reputation, of being able to predict economic forecasts, budget deficits, budget surpluses. They have said, Mr. Speaker, in one voice, that there is a structural cash - current account and capital account deficit, of about $260 million to $280 million a year in this Province. That is the issue, Mr. Speaker, not the billions that people want to talk about.

If you look in the Estimates of this Province and you look at the public sector direct debt - in other words, what we have borrowed to run the services of the Province, that we are going to pay back - that is on the books. It is about $6.5 billion. It has virtually been flat for the last five years, so that is not the problem, Mr. Speaker. That is not the problem. That is not the issue.

You can look at another section of the public sector debt and you will come up with figures like $1.4 billion that is owed by Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro. You can throw that into the public debt if you want but I, for one, think that is a good thing. I wish it were more, because the Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro debt represents assets that are worth about twice as much as the debt that is there, and I do not see that we should pay that down. I do not see that as something we should get rid of, that somehow it is a burden, because that is fully funded and paid for by the cost of electricity that is being sold by Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro. That is how they built the plant that provides electricity that generates heat in our homes and electricity for industry in our Province, and that pays for itself.

Every time the City of St. John's borrows $1 million or $2 million, that gets included in the public debt. Why? Because the Province has guaranteed that debt. Is the Province going to pay it off? No, Mr. Speaker, the taxpayers of St. John's are going to pay that off. Yet, if you want to frighten people, if you want to scaremonger and say, oh, we have enormous public debt, the per capita debt is outrageous, well it may be large if you want to add everything together and say there is a problem. If you want to make things look bad, if you want to frighten away investors, if you want to tell people that we are awash in a sea of debt down here, as the Premier told a national audience, and scare them all away, then you will throw all of that in. If you want to add another $200 million you will say, oh, yes, we have a student loan portfolio that we were guaranteeing last year; it is now a direct public sector debt because we just brought it in under the umbrella, so we have just increased our debt; but, Mr. Speaker, we all know that there is also an asset that goes with that, and that is the ability of students to repay that debt.

So, if you want to make things look bad you can do it, and you can put on a stern face and you can wave around accountant reports and say, oh, look how terrible it is - but let me tell you about some of the assumptions in that report. Some of the assumptions in that report are that the CHST transfer payments from Ottawa will not grow - will not grow - in the future.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I remind the member that his time has lapsed.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: By leave.

MR. HARRIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

If I may have a few minutes to clue up, Mr. Speaker?

MR. SPEAKER: By leave.

MR. HARRIS: By leave, thank you.

It is pretty clear, Mr. Speaker, that there is going to be an increase in the CHST because the Government of Canada made a commitment in February, 2003, to increase the CHST for health by 7.8 per cent per year. PricewaterhouseCoopers ignored that.

They also assume, Mr. Speaker, that there would be no other transfers except CHST and equalization. Everything else will be eliminated. No more federal-provincial agreements on forestry, on roads, on agriculture, on aquaculture. On all of those things that we have had intermittently over the years for the past twenty years. They also assume, Mr. Speaker, that our oil revenues will not increase beyond $250 million. All very negative assumptions which has led this government to conclude that we have no hope for the future, that we do not even have confidence enough in our own ability to change things around to be able to say to public sector workers, having accepted zero and zero, we are prepared to recognize that you need, in year three and year four, a modest increase to recognize that there will be prosperity in this Province and you are entitled to share in that. That is all people want, Mr. Speaker, for the future. They want some hope that things are actually going to be getting better and not be getting worse.

This is a government that ran last fall on the prospect of improving things for Newfoundland and Labrador; creating wealth, generating prosperity, increasing the revenues. In fact, Mr. Speaker, they delivered, unfortunately, a doom and gloom budget with no hope for the future and broken promises for many who thought that they were going to get better from this government.

Mr. Speaker, I do not support the motion. I intend to vote against it because I do not have confidence that this Budget represents -

MR. E. BYRNE: Have you ever supported a budgetary Budget?

MR. HARRIS: I will say to the Government House Leader, I supported his position on the last eight budgets, Mr. Speaker. I hope that he will return the favour and support mine on this one.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Mount Pearl.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DENINE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Today I rise to do my inaugural speech in this hon. House of Assembly. It has been a long time coming, I must say. As like every other hon. member here today, their first time in the House of Assembly was memorable and mine is certainly rememberable. There is no question about it.

Mr. Speaker, I first want to thank the people of my district, of Mount Pearl. Since 1989, when I first entered politics when running for Council in Mount Pearl, they gave me an overwhelming mandate then and they did again in four successive elections, plus the provincial one. I want to say thank you to them for their support and their confidence in me.

It is very honourable to be here. I am very proud, I have to say. There are not many words that can describe how I feel here today. When people vote you into this House they are putting all their confidence in you to do the right job, and that is my commitment to the people of Mount Pearl. I am here to make sure that they are well represented in the government and in this House, to the best of my ability. I have done that since 1989 and, Mr. Speaker, I will continue to do that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DENINE: Mr. Speaker, not only do you get here by the support of the voters, but you get here by the support of your family. Today I have to mention my wife, Shirley, and my sons, Mark and Keith, for their undying support of me, their tireless efforts. When I had to be out in the public eye, out doing things, out at different functions and not at home, they have been the biggest supporters of me and I think them very, very much for that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DENINE: Mr. Speaker, the people of Mount Pearl, my group that worked for me during the election, worked tirelessly on my behalf. It is very humbling that this number of people would come out to support you and say: You are the person we want to send to the House of Assembly to represent us. That is unbelievably important to me and to them, and I will not let them down. The people who supported me, going out knocking on doors, my campaign workers, a sincere thank you to all of them. They know how I feel because I see them every day, I talk to them every day. Communications back and forth are open and we do it quite often, so they know how I feel and I really appreciate them.

Mr. Speaker, I am going to digress a little bit about the rhetoric that has gone on here today, because it being my first speech I need to say a few things that are important to me. Mr. Speaker, some will say: Well, Dave, how did you ever become interesting in politics? That is a very interesting question. Both my parents, Phyllis and William Denine, were people who were always involved in the political scene. I can remember as a little boy going to Craigmiller Avenue to a debate. I think Hugh Shea was involved with that one, and he was running for the PCs at the time. Some people are laughing and they probably can remember that. I was there with my father and my mother and they were cheering him on and they were rabble-rousing as they could. They were the ones who got me involved in it.

One of the things that got me, Mr. Speaker, was that, ever since I can remember, as a small boy, my father and I would watch the results coming in. I cannot go back to the date it was, because it is so far back - I am not that old, but if I say ten years ago people would know I was lying. The thing is, Mr. Speaker, my father and I watched every result as far back as I can remember. That started me in politics. That has gotten me interested.

One other thing that got me interested in politics, Mr. Speaker, is to make sure that I become involved in the community in which I live. That is the most important thing to me. When you are part of a community you want to build the community. You want to make is a better place for everyone in your community to live in that community, as do all the hon. members here, from their own communities which they represent. Mount Pearl has given me that opportunity to do that. Again I reiterate that they know what to expect from Dave Denine. They know what to expect from the member. The hard work and dedication will be second to none when I finish up in politics, whenever that may be.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DENINE: Mr. Speaker, not only do I believe in my district, but I believe in Newfoundland and Labrador. In Newfoundland and Labrador, people will say, well, the weather sometimes is not that great. That is okay, we get a harsh winter, and every now and then we do; but, Mr. Speaker, it is the best place to live in Canada, if not the world. Newfoundland and Labrador is the place to live, there is no question about that.

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to improving the fiscal environment of our Province. That is something we need to do to get our house in order. Mr. Speaker, it is very easy to lead in good times but it takes real leadership, real integrity, to lead in tough times, and that is what we are doing, Mr. Speaker. We are showing real leadership in real tough times.

You look around the House, the government side in this side, we have a lot of people who have a lot of talents. We are only six months in, Mr. Speaker. We cannot change things overnight because it did not happen overnight. We will make the tough decisions for the betterment of this Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. We have made some tough decisions and we will continue, because making the tough decisions will bring us back to prosperity.

Mr. Speaker, there are some things that, when people look at the Budget, say it was this, this and this and so on - they had varied views on it - but, given the fiscal restraints that we had, we had to create a good balance with what we had to work with. That, in itself, I know Cabinet met for hours and hours and days and weeks and so on, putting their heads around how to present a Budget in tough times, and I congratulate each and every one of them for doing a great job in tough times.

There are things that we could not do, Mr. Speaker. Everyone in this House could say: Well, we would love to have done that. I don't think anyone on this side of the House would disagree with it. The issue here, Mr. Speaker, we have to relate to our fiscal times and our fiscal management to make good decisions. That is what we have to go back on. We cannot go back and say: Let's do it because it is good. We have to say: Is there money there to do it? That is when the hard choices are being made.

Mr. Speaker, there are some major initiatives that have gone through the Budget almost relatively unnoticed because people will take out what they want to take out. The Opposition will take out the bad things. They will say, that has not been included. Today, I am going to try to focus on some of the good things that are in this Budget, Mr. Speaker, and there are quite a few.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DENINE: Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Education is here, and I had a little chat with him prior to giving my speech here today. I told him I was going to talk about the government White Paper on Post-Secondary Education. That shows vision on behalf of this government.

Mr. Speaker, we talk about the post-secondary, how much it is going to cost, and jobs for our young people. We talk about our Voisey's Bay, we talk about our Churchill Falls, we talk about the oil industry, which are great major resources, but our fundamental important resource that we have here are our young people. We have to have the vision to go into the future to look for ways and means to give job security, reduce the cost of university so it can become available to every Newfoundlander and Labradorian, every one of them, because they are our future. They are the people who are going to be the ones to whom we are going to pass on the torch. They are the ones, and I look at this here as not a lack of faith. I see this as a strong faith in our young people. I know that the Minister of Education is going to do a good job on this and I am looking forward to the report because there are initiatives in that. How are we going to keep our young people here?

Mr. Speaker, I am a former teacher. If you go back to my secretary, in the City of Mount Pearl, and ask her how many references I have written for young people in this Province, or the people I have taught, to other parts of Canada, there is a significant number. I am tired of people moving out of this Province. This government is tired of people moving out of this Province. We want to make an economic environment to keep them here. That is what that paper will look at, ways and initiatives to be able to work with all the partners, every partner, to make this happen. Then, Mr. Speaker, I will not be writing references for people leaving this Province. I will be writing references for people in this Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DENINE: One other thing, Mr. Speaker. How does that relate to my community? Well, it relates to my community very well because I have a significant number of young people in my community who are attending post-secondary institutions. They are always - I see them everyday. I am a frequent visitor to Tim Horton's. I hate coffee but I am a frequent visitor to Tim Horton's. People do not understand that but, I guess I go there for the conversation. As you might note -

AN HON. MEMBER: For the donut.

MR. DENINE: But, Mr. Speaker, I run into them everyday and they are saying: Look, I am graduating with my Bachelor of Arts degree or my masters in such a degree. I am looking for a job. That is something very important for us to take in. We need to listen to that and we need to make sure that when they graduate from either university or the College of the North Atlantic, or whatever the institution that they graduate, that there is employment there for them to live here and grow the economy of Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DENINE: Mr. Speaker, in this Budget - it wasn't in the Budget, I am sorry, and if it was, I would probably make a mistake on it but that is okay. I am allowed a mistake when you do your initial speech here. I mean, I have listened to people make mistakes since I have been here. So I am not going to be the one who is going to be different to that. I will make, maybe, my first mistake here today, but that will probably be one of many.

Mr. Speaker, we have also taken action on car insurance. That was a commitment made by this government during the election. Now, some people say it was not enough. We should have gone a little bit further but - pardon the pun - we set the wheels in motion. We set the wheels in motion to make this happen. I think that is an initiative. That is what we call visionary.

Mr. Speaker, there is also - and I am going to talk about a few other things that are very important to me. You will probably remember, probably a week or so ago, I had sixty seniors from my community. The Speaker here, both he and I, got together and brought in sixty seniors from this community. They came in and they enjoyed it thoroughly.

Now, in Health and Community Services there is going to be a department created for seniors and division of the aging. I believe in that and I think that is visionary. That is visionary. Given the change of demographics that is occurring in this Province, that is a very important issue. We need to be able to say: Well, the population is getting older. What do we need to have in place to make sure that they had the quality of life when they were working, the quality of life when they are older? We are all getting there. That is something that is very important to me.

In the community of Mount Pearl - go back a little bit. In the community of Mount Pearl the 50s Plus and the Seniors Independence Group started, say, approximately ten years ago. There were about twenty people there. The Speaker and I have been engaged in many functions at the Reid Centre and other buildings or facilities within the City of Mount Pearl and let me tell you, Mr. Speaker, they are a strong, vibrant group today. You saw it here, everyone saw it here, and witnessed the number of people who came out and thoroughly enjoyed the day out, and thoroughly enjoyed the support that they are getting from my colleague, Mr. Hodder, the Speaker, and myself. They are important because they have the experience. They have the wisdom and they have knowledge. They are vibrant. They are not people sitting back, taking things and taking one day at a time - sitting back on their behind and not doing a thing. They are very active. They want to be proactive. They want to do something for the community. Let me tell you, Mr. Speaker, in my community they are strong, they are vibrant and they are a force to be reckoned with.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DENINE: I am not sure how much time I have, but I think I am on - I notice the Speaker is pretty relaxed so he is not -

Mr. Speaker, with no disrespect to you, but I have to recognize - and I am going to digress a little because I was going to do it at the beginning of my speech. The Speaker here today brings back a lot of memories to me. When I first started in politics he occupied another chair, but that chair was the Mayor of Mount Pearl and I was a rookie councillor. Today, he occupies that Chair and I am a rookie MHA. We have had our times and we have had our moments but we have been tremendous supporters of each other and the community of Mount Pearl because both of us represent the City of Mount Pearl. We know that is the number one that we have in our minds.

Mr. Speaker, he has been elected as the first Speaker of this House, and that is an honour in itself. I joke with people saying, the best place to have the Speaker is in the Chair because sometimes he is limited in what he can say, because I have been witness to some other occasions where he had to speak at length at different occasions. Let me tell you, in all sincerity, to my hon. colleague from Waterford Valley, Mr. Hodder, the Speaker of this House, congratulations. It is an honour to be here in this House with you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DENINE: Mr. Speaker, there is another thing, and then I am going to go back to the Budget again. We have introduced, or will be introducing, tax reduction for low income earners. People say, you are only taking up to $12,000, but they will get an extra $416 per year. A family earning $19,000 will get $464 a year. That alone puts $5.3 million back into the economy. If I would ask the hon. members here in this House, would they like to see more? Yes, we would like to see that increased, that threshold increased, but there is only so much we can do with such limited, fiscal realities that we live here today. Those are some of the things which we need to do.

Mr. Speaker, I am also going to talk about government's expanded supported employment program for persons with disability. That is another thing that is very important to me, because I work with the Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment. I am the Parliamentary Secretary to that department. That issue itself, that is $400,000 of new money. There are some twenty groups that will probably avail of that. That, in itself - some will say, well, twenty into that is not a lot of money. Mr. Speaker, I take the positive aspect of that. I look on the positive side of that. Given our fiscal reality when we came in as government, and what we had to do, to see what they already had and to put $400,000 more, I think that was a job well done. I congratulate the minister on doing that, and government, because it will go to the people, as the minister pointed out, the vulnerable in our community. These are people who need assistance to find permanent employment and, let me tell you from first-hand experience, Mr. Speaker, it works. It works. It is a great program.

Mr. Hodder, the Speaker, and I have had many - and Minister Whalen - have already had numerous meeting with Visions Employment, that takes in Mount Pearl and Paradise, and the amount of good work that group is doing.

Mr. Speaker, again, as I said, it takes a little bit of initiative to make something happen, and I am delighted to see that happening with this Budget, because the fiscal restraints that we had to endure during this first Budget that we presented, and we were able to put $400, 000 into that to what is already there. I thought that was a good move on our part.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DENINE: Mr. Speaker, when we look at the Budget, I know there is no doubt - and I thank the Opposition for bearing with me here today, and all hon. members - I have no doubt that they could drive a lot of holes through what I have said today and they could say, but you did not do this, and you did not do that. We realize that. We know that, but again I say to you, and I say to this House, we can only play the cards we are dealt, and what we were dealt was a very heavy fiscal debt, and we had to do something about it because many, many reports had shown that we had to take an initiative to address those concerns.

Mr. Speaker, again I look at all the things that we have done, all the things that we have been part of since we have been in six months. It is so easy to criticize here, when six months - I did not realize it was so long, but anyhow.... It is so easy to criticize, but it is very difficult to be proactive in what you want to do. It is very easy to criticize, but it takes a lot to put action into words.

Mr. Speaker, again I say this to you and to this House: We came in with a deficit, an enormous, enormous deficit. After this Budget we still left the largest deficit in our Province's history on the table. I talked to one business person and he said to me: Dave, look. I know you had to do things, but the problem here with your Budget is, you left a deficit of $300-odd million on the table. Mr. Speaker, we had to leave that there because we could not cut and slash everything so there is nothing left. I pointed out things here today that I think help the social fabric of Newfoundland and Labrador, and we contributed to saving that and we contributed to making it better.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I remind the hon. member that his time has lapsed.

MR. DENINE: By leave, Mr. Speaker?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: By leave.

MR. SPEAKER: By leave.

MR. DENINE: This may be the last time in my history that I ask for leave, and if you believe that you will believe anything.

To clue up, Mr. Speaker, even the previous government commissioned a report, Our Place in Canada. Now, that was commissioned - I notice people talking about reports coming back and forth, and the waste of money. It says, and I quote: The provincial government should take immediate action to put the Province's fiscal house in order.

Mr. Speaker, that is what this government is challenged with. That is what this government is going to do. That is what real leadership is, Mr. Speaker. Anyone can lead, as I said, in good times, but it takes real leadership to lead in tough times.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Bellevue.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. BARRETT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want to compliment the hon. Member for Mount Pearl in terms of giving his maiden speech. In this House of Assembly we refer to it as a maiden speech. He said it with great conviction but I am not too sure he was too convinced, but I want to compliment him.

It is an honour to stand in this House and it is an honour to speak on behalf of the people who elected you to this great Assembly, and I want to compliment him on his address. As a matter of fact, there was a time in my life when I thought he was going the right way and he was headed in the right direction, and he had the right objectives and what have you, and he was a very caring and compassionate person and did not celebrate the fact that we had 4,000 people laid off, but I did vote for the individual a couple of times. As a matter of fact, at that time I thought he was a very good individual and had the community at heart, and was fair in the way he treated people, but when he said today that he was delighted to hear that we were laying off, or the government was laying off, 4,000 people - I lived in Mount Pearl for a considerable part of my life and know that a lot of the residents and the people in Mount Pearl work with the provincial government, Mr. Speaker. I am sure right now they are very, very concerned about what is happening in this Province and where their jobs are going to be. He indicated that he spent a lot of time doing references for people, people moving off to the mainland and that sort of thing. I assure you that you will have to open a constituency office in Mount Pearl now because you will be full time at writing references for people who are leaving the Province.

AN HON. MEMBER: Guaranteed.

MR. BARRETT: Guaranteed. That is one guarantee, because of what we saw in this particular Budget.

MR. GRIMES: Predicted in your own Budget.

MR. BARRETT: Predicted in his own Budget that there would be 4,000 people, and I really sympathize with the people who are involved.

In 1986, I worked with the provincial government and one day was told that the position was going to become redundant. I came in every day not knowing when my job was going to be gone. A young family with a high mortgage, high payments, wondering if the next day was going to be my last day. The people who are gone out through the door - on Budget day, believe it or not, I saw a lot of the people I have worked with over the years in this Confederation Building packing up their boxes, their bags, their personal belongings, and going out through the door with tears in their eyes - people who were laid off on Budget day. It was amazing. I went through that. It is very terrifying. What we have now, the 700 or so who are gone, I guess, they can go out and start a job search, but we have the next four years in this Confederation Building and around this Province where people do not know if they are going to have a job or not. That is a very terrifying experience for people. They do not know if they are going to have a job because they are going through a program review, they are going to be wiping out positions within the public service.

If you go down through this Budget that was presented - and we will do a further analysis as we get through the Estimates of the departments - in every one of the salary votes in the department we see less money. Even though there were raises, even though there were people who had step progression, there is less money in a lot of the salary subheads or account centres this year than there were last year. These people now do not know if they are going to have a job.

They said that they were going to reduce $2 million within the Memorial University and $2 million in the College of the North Atlantic. The studies, in terms of the health care, has not gone on yet. The axe has not fallen on the health care system in this Province yet because we are waiting for the Hay group to do their report. So, it is very, very distressing to the people who work for the provincial government, and a lot of these jobs are in rural Newfoundland. We see what is happening with this government and the direction they are heading.

I listened with great attention to the hon. Member for Lewisporte and the Minister of Transportation and Works, and Aboriginal Affairs. I was sitting there and he put on one of his great performances that he was so used to putting on in the House of Assembly. It was very interesting, when he sat on this side of the House for three or four years, or four or five years, I do not know if he participated in a debate or not, but back in the old days in this House of Assembly, he did put on a performance like he did. I was sitting here and I was reminded of a hymn that we used to sing in the Methodist Church on Woody Island, was: Almost persuaded, now to believe. The performance that he put on - what he was trying to do was justify the misrepresentation and how his Premier misled the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. He indicated when they set up the commission study to look at the marine services on the Labrador Coast and within Labrador, the Premier indicated that whatever this independent commission came back with, they would do.

That was a commitment the Premier made to the people on the South Coast of Labrador. It was on the public airways, and the Premier said: Whatever the study comes in with, that is what this government will do. What we saw now was a minister who did things, and they did it in a political way. He said that the new approach would not be done for politics. We are not doing it for politics. Politics has nothing to do with the way this government is going to be run. What we saw yesterday by the Minister of Transportation and Works, and Aboriginal Affairs was a blatant use of politics; politics in its purest form. The Premier was left out on the limb, again, misleading the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Something else that the Premier indicated - I want to go through today some of the misrepresentations that the leader and the present Premier made to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. He signed his own name to this particular document where he said: There will be no layoffs. No layoffs. Now, Mr. Speaker, I do not know about you, but where I came from if you are getting rid of 4,000 jobs there has to be a layoff. I do not know what you might indicate to it, but there are 4,000 people going to be laid off. As a matter of fact, he was so personal with it, he did not sign it Danny Williams, he said Danny. He was so adamant about it that he signed just his first name to it. He did not put Danny Williams, Leader of the PC Party. It was Danny, a personal note. This is what I would call a personal note to the public servants of Newfoundland and Labrador from Danny, saying: I am not going to lay you off. Then he comes in and says: We are going to lay off 4,000 people; 4,000 people we are going to lay off. That is not counting the people who are going to be laid off in terms of the health care because we are still waiting for the Hay group. This government says one thing and does another.

We look at what they indicated in the Blue Book, in terms of: We are going to eliminate - the ferry rates in this Province, we are going to put them equivalent to what it would be for a person to drive their car. That is one of the big issues that was in the Blue Book or the blueprint. When the Budget came down, do you know what they said? We are going to increase the rates by 25 per cent.

AN HON. MEMBER: 26 per cent.

MR. BARRETT: Twenty-six percent we are going to increase the rates. This is the people in the remote areas of Newfoundland and Labrador - on the islands, in the communities, in Labrador - who are going to have to pay 25 per cent.

When the minister was on his feet today talking about the 10 per cent increase in the ferry rates for Labrador, he said: They are the same rates that were in the Budget. Now, he talked about only a 10 per cent rate for the North Coast of Labrador in terms of the freight. That is what he said yesterday in his ministerial statement. Today we found out it is something different, that the ferry rates and the freight rates for the north coast and for Labrador is going to go up by 25 per cent. Therefore, a family of four getting on the Sir Robert Bond in Happy Valley-Goose Bay and taking the thirty-six hour trip to Lewisporte, before it cost roughly about $800 for the return trip. In two years' time that return trip is going to cost over $1,000.

We are talking about increasing and accessability for the people in Labrador and trying to make it more convenient for people to travel out of Labrador. What they just did was say, we are putting the freight service on, the ferry services on, and we are going to increase the rates by 25 per cent. For a family of four leaving Wabush, Labrador City, taking their vehicle and going to Lewisporte, it is going to be over $1,000 in terms of freight in the next two or three years. It is the hard-working people of Newfoundland and Labrador who are out there saving their money for their holidays and trying to take some time off to be with their families. This government is slapping them in the face with another increase.

If you go through the details of the Budget, there was a great big fanfare in the Budget about all the money they were putting into the Provincial Roads Program; that we are doing a major, major Provincial Roads Program and we are going to increase the Budget. They increased the motor registration fees by $40; $12 million or $14 million. They said: We are going to put that money into the Provincial Roads Program. An analysis of the Budget figures indicates that the extra money this year which will be spent on the Provincial Roads Program is not $7 million, but $2.5 million. Again, they have misrepresented what they said in their Budget. There is not $7 million in the Provincial Roads Program extra, over and above last year, there is only $2.5 million. It is there in black and white in the Budget figures.

The hon. Member for Trinity North never stops, when I am on my feet, interjecting, shouting out, bawling and what have you. The hon. Member for Trinity North went around - if he wants me to get on the Member for Trinity North - Trinity North during the last election campaign, campaigning and saying: I am going to be a Minister of Health. I am going to be the Minister of Health in the new government, he said.

AN HON. MEMBER: What?

MR. BARRETT: I am going to be the Minister of Health.

AN HON. MEMBER: Guaranteed.

MR. BARRETT: Guaranteed to be the Minister of Health in the new government, he said. I am going to be the Minister of Health. Of course, when the Cabinet was announced we found out that he was not made the Minister of Health, but he does carry the briefcase for the Minister of Health. That is a good job, I must say. It is a very indication - it is a bit disappointing that you did not get the Minister of Health because I am sure if you got the Minister of Health you probably would have been able to start construction of the chronic care facility that you so adamantly advocated for the Clarenville area that would be there to service the people in my district as well as yours.

I want to get back to that particular issue. We have seniors in my district who have to come into St. John's, leave their families and come into St. John's. One member of the family might come into Hoyles-Escasoni and the other family member stays home. That happens in two areas of my district. In the Clarenville area we always wanted, and the planning is already done, the engineering studies are already done, the plans are being drawn up for the chronic care facility in Clarenville. It is all ready to go, all ready to go in the chronic care facility, but this government decided that our seniors are not important; our senior citizens are not important in our society. That is what this government is saying. They tapped on their desks and rejoiced in the Budget, and gave a standing ovation because there was not going to be a chronic care facility in Clarenville. The hon. Member for Trinity North stood and gave a standing ovation to the Minister of Finance when there was going to be no chronic care facility in Clarenville.

The other part of my district, we were looking forward to the new facility in Grand Bank. The people in the Fortune Bay part of my district, great distances from St. John's, and they have to send their seniors into the Hoyles-Escasoni or one of the homes in St. John's, and they live on the Burin Peninsula. When the Premier and the leader were campaigning in Grand Bank, right on tape we have it, where he promised that the Grand Bank health care facility would be built. The Grand Bank health care facility would be built. What did he do?

AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).

MR. BARRETT: They did not defer it. No, they did not defer it. They said, we are going to take down the steel.

Now, I do not know if any of you have been in the facility in Grand Bank, but the facility that we have to put our seniors in there is just ridiculous. It is absolutely ridiculous, and what we have here is a government that does not have a heart. It is unbelievable what this government is able to do.

When you look at the Estimates of the Budget, the Premier was able to increase his travel by $135,000. The Premier increased his travel by $135,000. One hundred and thirty-five thousand dollars extra for the Premier to travel this year, and we cannot have a bed for a senior citizen. We cannot have a facility for a senior citizen, but the Premier insists that he has to go to these Grey Cup games. I guess he will be going to the Super Bowl now because he has an increase in his budget of $135,000. I guess he will be going further this year; he will be going to the Super Bowl.

They say there is not enough money to be able to do and provide services for our seniors and drugs for our seniors. I mean, the hon. member for Labrador has talked about them. We see in the Budget an expenditure of $350,000 for an Ottawa office. Now, tell me, tell me, tell me, why do we need an office in Ottawa? Why do we need an office in Ottawa? I mean, the Premier has such a good relationship with the unelected Prime Minister of Canada - he has such a good relationship with the unelected Prime Minister of Canada - then why would he need an office in Ottawa? Why would he need an office in Ottawa?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Member for Bellevue.

MR. BARRETT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The hon. members opposite insist on shouting and bawling and screaming, but I guess the truth hurts. The truth hurts.

Do you know something else, Mr. Speaker, $350,000 for an office in Ottawa, $350,000 for D. MacDonald or one of his buddies to occupy an office in Ottawa. Mr. Speaker, $200,000 in salaries, and do you know how much they have allocated for the Ottawa office for travel? Fifty-five thousand dollars. If you have a person in Ottawa, what are you going to be doing? Driving back and forth to Newfoundland? No, no. They will not be taking the Labrador ferry. No, it is too expensive. Fifty-five thousand dollars. Why would you need a travel vote in the office in Ottawa? What, are you going to live in Toronto and commute back and forth to Ottawa? I mean, come on. Give me a break. You are talking about laying people off. You are talking about -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. BARRETT: Mr. Speaker, can you keep the hon. members quiet?

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask that the member be heard. He has twenty minutes, like every other member here. If you would be kind enough to refrain from shouting and bantering back and forth across the House.

The hon. the Member for Bellevue.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. BARRETT: Mr. Speaker, I have been in this House for fifteen years and I have to say, the behavior of the government members leaves a lot to be desired. The behavior on the opposite side leaves a lot to be desired, I can tell you that.

I was talking about the Ottawa office. We have MPs, seven very capable individuals from both parties, in Ottawa, who represent us in Ottawa who can present our cases. Why do we need to waste $350,000 of the taxpayers' money for an office in Ottawa? I think what it is, is to provide a job for one of his buddies. That is what it is, just to provide a job for one of his buddies. Fifty-five thousand dollars, I suppose, for him to fly back and forth from St. John's to Ottawa. That is the only thing I know of.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I remind the member that his time has lapsed.

MR. BARRETT: By leave?

MR. SPEAKER: Does the member have leave?

MR. BARRETT: Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, there wasn't time for me to get into what they are doing with the school boards in this Province, but I will have an opportunity at a later date to talk about the massive layoffs that took place with the school boards in our Province. As educators, we all know, Mr. Speaker, that the decision making process in education should be as close to the learners as possible. In this case we are having the St. John's government run everything.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Trinity-Bay de Verde.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JOHNSON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It certainly is a pleasure to speak to this Budget today. I must say there are quite a few things in this Budget, a lot actually, which do bring a lot of positive light to the District of Trinity-Bay de Verde, and I will get into those later.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS JOHNSON: First, I would like to say that I am very honoured and very privileged to represent the people of Trinity-Bay de Verde. I certainly thank them for their support that they provided to me on October 21. I also want to thank my campaign managers, my family, and a special thank you to the members so the Youth PC Party in the district. They were instrumental in getting out there and helping me to knock on doors, and organized my campaign. It was such a good thing to see, young people getting involved in the political democracy.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JOHNSON: I would certainly like to congratulate all members of this hon. House. I think it is a huge privilege and honour to want to be a voice for the people of your district. So, I would like to say congratulations to the members across the way and to all of my colleagues here. It is one of the highest callings, I would have to say, and I certainly congratulate all of you for that.

I want to say a special thank you to my colleagues, the government members and the ministers. I am certainly new to the political field and I have had a very, very different career in the past, approving water treatment plants and working with water rates and that sort of thing, so I have had to rely on the guidance and advice of these thirty-three members and I can certainly say that I am learning from the best people in this Province, and thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JOHNSON: I also want to thank your staff and also the staff at the Premier's Office. I would like to congratulate our Speaker, Mr. Hodder, for being the first elected Speaker of this House.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JOHNSON: Mr. Speaker, I entered politics because I wanted to be part of a positive change in this Province and I would also say that I have an education, a background in engineering, my first degree in Forest Engineering, a Masters in Environmental Engineering, and I want to say that under a Liberal government I had to go to Nova Scotia to get a job, but I would also like to say that under a PC government and this great team I am back in this Province working. I am back at work for the people of the district.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JOHNSON: A lot of things that I learned in my education, some of the aspects that you learn in Environmental Engineering and certainly in some of the business courses that I took were principles of sustainability, and certainly in my business courses I learned a lot about accountability. Being a student, I had to learn very quickly about money management. What I had to learn is that you cannot spend what you do not have. That is something that we have to realize in this Province, and in fact people are realizing that. I am going around the district talking to people all the time and they understand what we are going through right now.

The former government did not understand that you cannot spend what you do not have. In fact, they spent and spent and spent, particularly just leading up to an election. So, those are some of the principles that I think I bring to this and all these people bring to this, the principles of accountability. This team, we will be accountable. This team, we will be sustainable.

The other reason I ran in politics is because I did not like where we were heading as a government. I did not like the fact that I had to leave, that many of my friends had to leave, and that people all over the world benefit from our great talented resource, and that is the young people of this Province. I have many friends in Ottawa, in British Columbia, and they are as far away as Louisiana and Venezuela. Why is it that we cannot benefit from them right here? I can tell you, I keep in touch with them and they are always sending very encouraging e-mails. They realize that we are here six months but they are very encouraged by what we are doing as a government. We are taking control of the spending. We have a multi-pronged approach and we are trying to grow the economy. They are certainly looking forward to coming back home, and I am looking forward to when they come back home too.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JOHNSON: The hon. member across the way, the Leader of the NDP, asked a question about youth, and he asked; Where do we go from here? The question that I would ask is: How did we get here? That has a very obvious answer. I do not want to focus on the past too much, but I think that on October 21 the people of this Province made a very loud and very clear statement as to what we are going to do about it in the future. They elected us to represent them and get us back on the right track.

Mr. Speaker, the last six months, being new, has been a very huge learning curve for me. In fact, it has not even curved yet; it is actually shooting straight up. One of the things that my colleagues continue to impress upon me is that the district always comes first. Always return your phone calls, always be visible and, most importantly, be accessible. On October 21, the people of Trinity-Bay de Verde were there for me and I want to ensure them - those who are listening today - that I am here for you. I will return your calls, I will be visible, and I will be very accessible, as I have been in the past six months.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JOHNSON: Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to be the Member for Trinity-Bay de Verde. I can actually go and take a mini-vacation right in my district. From Broad Cove and Dildo to Old Perlican and Bay de Verde, right up the North Shore to Kingston, there are so many things. We have so much to offer. I can stay at many of the beautiful bed and breakfasts. I can have lunch at some of the quaint coffee shops or dinner at the restaurants. I can go shopping at the gift stores, and oftentimes the items in these gift shops are homemade items, made by the people of the district or, in fact, the people of the Province. I can rest at picnic stops and overlook the ocean, or I can go camping and hiking in many of the beautiful parks there. So, I am certainly proud to be the member for there. I can definitely say that the entrepreneurial spirt is alive and kicking there. The people are very friendly, very dedicated and I certainly invite each and everyone of you to come and check us out this summer.

Mr. Speaker, over the last six months I have been meeting with a lot of the councils, the local service districts, the heritage committees, the recreation committees, the fire departments and, let me say, these people are very dedicated and very compassionate to their cause. Right now, as we speak, I know there are many groups out there planning their annual summer festivals and their garden parties, which I cannot wait to be part of this summer.

Mr. Speaker, next week is Volunteer Week and I just want to say, in advance, that I want to recognize all of the dedicated volunteers who continue to work so hard for their communities in my district and, of course, for all of the Province.

One of the biggest concerns for my district is the condition of the roads, and I would like to speak to that for a moment. At least, I would say, one-third to one-half of the roads in the district are in desperate need of replacement. I say replacement because they are beyond the state of repair. Once again, the sustainability principles are at work, or should I say the lack of. Because of the previous administration, regular maintenance had not been conducted on a lot of these roads, which proves to be a lot more costly to taxpayers today. Because of wanting to save money in the short-term, we end up having to pay more today. It is this government who are going to be planning for the long-term. It is not about short-term gain. We are all about long-term planning.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JOHNSON: As I said, the roads are the biggest issue for the district. The importance of road infrastructure ties into the importance of tourism, which then, in turn, ties into the importance of growing our economy. I am out and about a lot in the district and it is very, very disheartening when you speak to tourists in the summertime who say: what a beautiful area, what a beautiful part of the Province but, unfortunately, I cannot come back next year because I almost lost my trailer down in a pothole, the roads are so terrible. So, I want to assure the members of Trinity-Bay de Verde that I have spoken to the Minister of Transportation and Works and by committing an additional $7 million this year to our provincial road infrastructure we are on the right track to improving that infrastructure which, again, will keep our tourists here and keep our economy growing.

I would like to speak to a couple of specific issues in the Budget, specific issues that are definitely going to benefit the people of Trinity-Bay de Verde. The first of those is the tax reduction for low income families and individuals. I would like to say that there are a lot of people - people who work part-time, stay-at-home moms or dads, students and people who work at minimum wage - who can certainly benefit from this new initiative that this government has brought forward, and should have been brought forward a long time ago.

People in the Province who make up to a net of $12,000 will pay no provincial income tax. I want to stress that these figures are net, so the gross is actually higher. They will receive partial relief if they make up to $14,600. Again, for families, they will have a tax exemption for a net income up to $19,000 and partial for up to $21,900. I know there are a lot of people in the district who are very appreciative of this. I have already received the e-mails and the phone calls and they think it is definitely the right step into helping the vulnerable of this society.

I would like to speak a little bit to the increased funding for the women's advocacy groups. The Provincial Advisory Council on the Status of Women and eight women's centres located throughout the Province will receive $80,000 this year; $40,000 additional to those eight centres around the Province. We all know the challenges that women face today. I think this initiative is one that is very welcomed by these groups so they can research issues relating to the social, economic, and health burdens that face women today. Again, I commend our government for that, and that particular minister.

I would like to talk to something that has been a personal beef of mine for a long, long time, and that is our relationship with Ottawa. I am very, very proud that this government is going right up there, face-to-face with Ottawa, and putting $350,000 into setting up the office there to improve federal and provincial relations. I strongly believe, for a long time now, that we have not received what we rightfully deserve as a Province in terms of issues such as equalization, oil and gas revenues, and from Hibernia. We need to have a more effective presence in Ottawa so that we can get what we rightfully deserve. I am certainly enthusiastic about that office. I feel that already relations have improved since October 21 with the federal government. So we are already on the right track.

I am going to speak to something that my colleague spoke to earlier - again, it is because I am a recent graduate - and that is the $250,000 to be spend on a White Paper on Post-Secondary Education. This is to address the issues of affordability and accessability and the opportunity to create more employment for young people in this Province. Certainly, a great initiative, and I know our minister will do a great job with this. I am certainly looking forward to having my say into it as well. We all know that the young people of this Province are the most valuable resource ever. It is great that we have an excellent mix of people here, but I really feel that I have to be the voice for youth. I do know that nobody wants to leave this Province to go away to work. I did not want to go, but when you come out of university and you are faced with many, many student loans you have no other choice. At the same time, when you are faced with those loans you have to make decisions on how to pay them off quickly or not. Again, that all ties back into government. We do not want to pay any more interest than we have to, so we take measures to try and reduce the interest; just as we do in government. So it all ties in there.

I would just like to say that I am very, very proud to be part of such an excellent group of people. It was not a tough decision to go into politics. I am putting aside an engineering career, but it is certainly something that I can use in here. There are a lot of natural resources that have been continuously, continuously mismanaged in this Province, but I am confident - under the Minister of Natural Resources and the Minister of Environment - with this new Sustainable Development Act, which I am very proud that we are bringing that in, I am very confident that we are going to get control of the mismanagement of these resources.

Some of the other items in the Budget which pertain particularly to my district is the implementation of year five of the personal care home strategy to increase the personal care home rates. There are five personal care homes in Trinity-Bay de Verde District that will benefit from that particular item in the Budget. I know personally a lot of people who are fighting cancer. I am sure each and everyone of you here have had a family member or a friend, or somebody you know, who has been trying to fight that. Again, I am very proud of the $800,000 we are putting into that chemotherapy drug, Gleevec, and also the $8.6 million in the increase of the provincial drug program.

I know Minister Shelley spoke the other day about the increase in $1 million for the Tourism Marketing Strategy, but I want to re-emphasize it again, because coming from a rural district, small businesses are the backbone of Trinity-Bay de Verde and a lot of those small businesses depend on tourism. A lot of people come in to buy up the homemade items, as I said, in the gift stores and to see the scenic sights we have there. Again, I commend the minister for this initiative and the fact that $1 million will be spent every year until we get in line with all of the other governments in Atlantic Canada.

Tying into small business, the item in the Budget, the Department of Business, $1 million allotted for that, to be led by our Premier, somebody who has been a very, very successful businessman. I can think of nobody better there to head up that department. Again, that is to have some direction for small and medium size businesses to look to. Again this is a new creation, something that is long overdue. Finally somebody has realized that we need a Department of Business. Once again, I think we have an excellent leader there to run that.

The $1.2 million to assist in the Broadband expansion, I know this is going to be something that will definitely benefit members in rural districts. Having small businesses but not being able to get out there and market what you have is very difficult and it is very difficult to do that when you don't have those internet services. Again, another great initiative for rural Newfoundland.

The $2.5 million allocated to encourage and support the growth of artists and cultural industries in this Province is one that I am very, very proud of. As you all know, we have many talented artists and musicians and we have a lot of culture and heritage in this Province. That again is something that everybody in this Province is going to benefit from; not just the District of Trinity-Bay de Verde, but every single person in this Province will benefit from that.

With my background in forestry, I am very pleased to see the continuation of funding for silviculture of $10.8 million and for the construction of forest resource roads. We all know that as we use this resource we have to replenish this resource, and it very, very encouraging to see that we are continuing to do that and to be good stewards of the environment and of the forest sector.

I would just like to say that time and time again people are asking why I got into politics. The answer is very easy. We were headed down a road of despair and of no hope, but finally people are realizing that we have a new government here with a new outlook, with a new agenda, with a new approach, who has a vision for the future, and we realize that it cannot be done overnight because we did not get there overnight. We have heard that over and over again but in actual fact we got there over the last fifteen years and that is by mismanagement and outrageous spending and not being accountable for the money. I think we have a great group of people here who will get us on track, who are providing hope for the people in this Province, for the young people who want to come home.

I would just like to say again, thank you to each and every one of you and I look forward to working with the people of Trinity-Bay de Verde, addressing their needs, their issues. I will be accessible and I am very honoured that you have me here. I will continue to be a voice for you in this House of Assembly. I must say that one of the biggest fears I had in speaking in the House of Assembly was to get up and speak after the Minister of Transportation and Works. He is certainly a hard act to follow, as are all the members here today, and the hon. member across the way who spoke before me, but I will never pass up an opportunity to speak on behalf of the residents of Trinity-Bay de Verde, despite who spoke before me. I have a lot to learn but again, like I said, I am learning from the best so I would like to say thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER( Hodder): The hon. the Member for Labrador West.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. COLLINS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to say a few words on the debate that is taking place in the House but, before I get into the comments that I want to make specifically, I would like to make a couple of comments to respond to some of the things that were mentioned by the previous speaker, the Member for Trinity-Bay de Verde.

When we talk about the young people in our Province, you know, this is not a new phenomena that they are proposing. If we go back to Brian Peckford's day, we talked about: Some day the sun will shine and have not will be no more. That was the Tory slogan when Peckford took over office. When we had Clyde Wells come on the scene, the former Premier, it was: Bringing home every mother's son.

The slogans change, but the situation never seems to. We are still in the same position today and the same problems facing us today as we have faced for generation after generation, Mr Speaker. I do not believe it is because people in this House of Assembly may not be doing the best that they could do. It is more about the giveaways that have been taking place in this Province to large corporations and people who are not paying their fair share to the Province by way of revenues.

You know, we talk about the roads in this Province, Mr. Speaker. The Member for Trinity-Bay de Verde talked about potholes in the road. Well, I would like to invite her to Labrador. We have potholes there that, if you get in, you almost have to ask for directions to get out. So, this is nothing new for us and we have no pavement whatsoever, the most deplorable roads in this Province, and it is time that they were addressed. We are not taking about pavement with a hole in it every 500 feet. We are talking about the lack of pavement altogether, with craters, where people sustain heavy damage to their vehicle when they are travelling that road.

To give you an example, Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Transportation was in Labrador in November and I had the privilege of driving, along with the Member for Lake Melville, the Minister of Tourism and the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, and Responsible for Labrador. We were driving the Trans-Labrador road and the Minister of Transportation and Works said: Randy, I cannot believe this. Last week I was watching the news. There were 15,000 caribou on the Trans-Labrador Highway. Where did they all go? I said: I hate to tell you this, Minister. They found the road too rough; they have gone back in the woods.

That about sums up our conditions, Mr. Speaker, because they are deplorable and attention has not been paid to it.

We have a program now - our of 600 kilometres of gravel road - we now have a program that is going to use chipseal for eight kilometres east of Labrador West and seven kilometres west of Goose Bay, on a 600 kilometre road. Now, Mr. Speaker, you can figure out the number of years that is going to take before that road is complete. We do have a lot of problems in Labrador and this Budget did not go near addressing, to any degree, providing any of the answers and solutions.

Somebody spoke earlier today and talked about spending money you do not have, and you cannot do that. I will say to that member, I would not have a house to live in today if I did not do that. I would not have a car today to drive if I did not do that. Students would not be going to university and getting degrees if they did not do that. It is not about borrowing money and spending money you do not have, Mr. Speaker. It is about paying it back over a period of time so that you can buy groceries, put gas in that car, and do the other things that you need to do in life as well.

When we say the problems here were not created in a day, a week, or a year, that is true, Mr. Speaker, and they cannot be corrected in that time frame either. It is all about management and having a plan to put you back to square one, and not trying to do it all at one time.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to also talk about the ferry service to Labrador which was a pretty heavy topic here today. I want to start my remarks on the ferry service by saying that I represent the District of Labrador West. I would also stand here in this House and say that priority for any ferry service to and from Labrador has to go to the people who live on the North Coast of Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. COLLINS: That has to be the priority, Mr. Speaker, because we use the ferry from my district, not so much for freight. We use it for vacation and recreation, whereas the people on the North Coast of Labrador depend on that ferry to provide them with their daily essentials. That is important, and I think it has to be put in that perspective. Having said that, Mr. Speaker, the people in my district are happy with the announcement by the minister yesterday that ferry service will return to Goose Bay.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. COLLINS: I had many calls, Mr. Speaker, many calls when that ferry service was discontinued to Lewisporte. People who were from my district were very upset with the fact that they would not be able to travel that route again.

Mr. Speaker, I also want to make it clear that this had nothing whatsoever to do - and there was no talk in my district about dropping Cartwright from that schedule. Cartwright will still be a port of call. People who want to get off in Cartwright will have the ability to do so, but if they do not want to get off and want to continue to Lewisporte they will be able to do that as well.

Mr. Speaker, they also have the ability to go one way and come back another or vice versa. I think it is a good thing for Labrador, certainly for people of my area who will have an option now they did not have last year.

Mr. Speaker, I know that the transportation issues surrounding Labrador are great but I do believe that there has to be a plan put in place to deal with them. I do not see that in this Budget, Mr. Speaker. We know about Phase III. That has been on the go since 1997 and that is an ongoing program. There are monies allocated there by the federal government to work on that road, and, Mr. Speaker, I believe that there should be additional funding sought by this government when they meet with their federal counterparts in Ottawa. Until that road is brought up to an acceptable standard with a black top service, then it is not going to be anything more than a road. I will never be a highway until that is done. If you spend money one year repairing one section of the road there is another section deteriorating as you do that. It is a no win situation. You are playing catch up all the time without ever having a stretch of road that is decent all the way across. That has to be a priority for this government, and it is certainly a priority for the people in Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, when I look at this Budget and see what it means to people in Labrador, I have had a few disappointments. There was, Mr. Speaker, no mention of the Captain William Jackman Memorial Hospital, a terrible facility that our sick people have to stay in. As I mentioned earlier, in the House, it is a building that is over forty years old. It is a building where you freeze to death in one section and you cook in another section. There are people spending their last days in a room, Mr. Speaker, where they have to use, actually use, toilet paper to chinch the windows to keep the draft out. That is totally not acceptable, Mr. Speaker, in this day and age. There should be a new facility built in Labrador West to accommodate the people who get sick, and build on a convalescent home so that people can be treated for their illnesses and have a place that is suitable to their needs.

Mr. Speaker, I also, in the last while, mentioned the air ambulance; very, very important to the people who live in Labrador. I have talked to people from all over Labrador, Mr. Speaker, about the need for a policy change. This is not money we are talking about, Mr. Speaker, this is an attitude, a policy change that would necessitate the air ambulance being put on to bring patients back to their homes, back to their families, patients that are under palliative care that need to get home, Mr. Speaker. They have been discharged from the hospitals for all intents and purposes, and they are being told that they have to wait there for a week, two weeks, a month, until air ambulance receives a call to respond to an emergency in Labrador West. Mr. Speaker, the sad part about all of that is that a lot of patients in that situation do not have that kind of time. They need immediately to be transported back to where there families are, where they are more comfortably and where their love ones are ready to surround them.

Also, Mr. Speaker, I have raised many, many times in this House, by way of Petition, Question Period and other means, the lack of a provincial drug program that meets the needs of our residents. We are the only jurisdiction, Mr. Speaker, the only Province in this country, that does not have such a plan. We are forcing hard-working people in this Province to suffer untold financial anguish. They have to sacrifice their financial well-being, and that of their families, in order to purchase drugs that will treat their illness; illness, Mr. Speaker, that they did not ask for. The previous administration had approved the drug for the treatment of Alzheimer's. That has been put on hold or cancelled outright, Mr. Speaker, and that is not good enough. Other drugs, such as those required to treat MS, are expensive drugs that people cannot afford on their own. Mr. Speaker, rather that looking at the cost upfront, government should be looking more seriously at the long-term cost to our health care system when people go without medication that can treat their illnesses and can provide them with a better quality of life, a longer life, and one that is less costly to our health care system in the long run.

There are people, Mr. Speaker, that I know personally who have left this Province, actually uprooted, quit their employment and moved to another province, so that they could get a job, even with less money, but their drugs were covered and they could have a better quality of life. That is a sad reflection on our government, Mr. Speaker, when we require our citizens to do that.

We also require them, Mr. Speaker, to spend any RRSPs that they may have saved, any money that they may have put aside for their children's education, to spend all that and to reduce themselves to income support level, and then this government will pay. So, Mr. Speaker, it is not a question of whether government can afford to do this, because once a person destroys themselves and their families financially, government will then step in and help out; or if a person has a good job and decided this is not worth it, throws down their employment, then government will step in and provide it. So, it is not a question of whether or not they can afford to pay, it is a question of what they require people to do to themselves and their families before they will.

We have heard some comments, Mr. Speaker, today from the government side of the House talking about young people and the future it offers for them. I would like to be that optimistic. I really would, but I really do not see it happening. With the number of jobs that are going to be lost and, probably the biggest employer in the Province in the public service, the number of positions that will be eliminated, where are the young people going to find work?

Students today, who are graduating from Memorial with a degree in Education, what will they be doing in two, three, four years time? The people who are graduating from nursing school or from RNAs, what are they going to be doing? Where do they go from here? The hospitals will not be hiring. The school boards will not be hiring. So where are they going to go? They are going to leave the Province, the same as we have been doing for decades and decades when young people left this Province to go to New York or Boston or Toronto, and lately Fort McMurray or Calgary and that area. That is going to continue under the Budget which was announced a couple of weeks ago. There is no encouragement there. None whatsoever.

I do not know where the Member for Trinity-Bay de Verde and the young people that she has talked to, I do not know what they are coming back to. I do not see the jobs advertised. I do not hear it all over the news. There is no great influx coming back on the boats or U-Hauls returning to this Province. They are still going in the opposite direction. They are still going west. So I do not know where all of this is taking place. I can tell you, when the young people leave this Province, the same as in years gone by, and they get situated and married and have children, they are not coming back then, Mr. Speaker, no matter what opportunities may be here. Some may, but the majority are situated and settled down. They have children who do not want to move, and they will never return to this Province again. Mr. Speaker, these are not good times for someone to be young and in the process of obtaining a good education and looking forward to getting employment in this Province. I do not believe that, Mr. Speaker.

When we look at our educational system - I questioned the minister a couple of weeks ago: What is he going to do about the elimination of the early French Immersion program in Labrador West? They can direct it and deflect it to the school boards if they want, but the bottom line is that the minister and this government are ultimately responsible for the delivery of education in this Province. That is where the buck stops, Mr. Speaker, not with the school boards, with the government. They should intervene and put into place a permanent early French Immersion program, not only in Labrador, but throughout this Province where there is a need demonstrated.

We live in an area in Labrador West where we live within seventeen kilometres of the Quebec boarder. We have three major mining companies in that area. We have a lot of suppliers who cater to these mining companies, Mr. Speaker, and guess what? Each and every time that one of these supplier companies wants to hire an employee you have to be bilingual. You have to be bilingual because you are dealing with three major mines, one of which is located in the Province of Quebec. To drop an immersion program in an area that is so dependent upon knowing the French language is ludicrous. It does not make sense. When you add to that, Mr. Speaker, that in September of this year, September coming, there are 100 students registered in Labrador West for kindergarten, fifty-four of whom are signed up for French Immersion. It is not like there is no demand. It is not like there is not any need. It is demonstrated, Mr. Speaker. This is what the people want.

Mr. Speaker, this government would be irresponsible to let a school board decide a question of this importance. It should not be, Mr. Speaker. They should override the school board. They should demand that the school board continue to offer the early French Immersion program in Labrador West and indeed, in Labrador and throughout the Province where there is a need for it.

Mr. Speaker, there are many other things but I am looking at the clock there. I see the time is running out - according to clock - for the day, so I can adjourn debate and pick it up again for the little bit of time I have left, maybe on tomorrow.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The motion to adjourn the debate has been made.

All those in favour, aye.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: Contra-minded, nay.

The motion is carried.

The hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. E. BYRNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I move the adjournment but, before I do, we are back tomorrow, Wednesday, being Private Members' Day, at 2:00 p.m., where we will be debating the motion put forward by my colleague, the Member for Lake Melville, on the future of 5 Wing Goose Bay and, in many ways, the future of that region and that community and the district itself. We look forward to that debate tomorrow afternoon, and members on all sides of the House being given an opportunity to participate in it.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I move the adjournment until 2:00 p.m. tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER: It is moved that the House will adjourn until 2:00 p.m. tomorrow, Wednesday, April 14.

All those in favour, aye.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: Contra-minded, nay.

This House now stands adjourned until tomorrow, April 14, at 2 o'clock in the afternoon.

On motion, the House at its rising adjourned until tomorrow, Wednesday, at 2:00 p.m.