The House met at 2:00 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Wiseman): Order, please!

Admit strangers.

MR. SPEAKER: Today we have members' statements from the Member for the District of Exploits; the Member for the District of Bay of Islands; the Member for the District of Mount Pearl North; the Member for the District of St. John's North; the Member for the District of Mount Pearl South; and the Member for the District of Port de Grave.

The hon. the Member for the District of Exploits.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. FORSEY: Mr. Speaker, for the second year in a row, Botwood Collegiate's senior robotics team captured first place at the Provincial Skills Canada competition held at the College of the North Atlantic in St. John's. In May of 2011, the team travelled to Quebec City and posted a fifth place finish.

Mr. Speaker, team coaches Mr. Brian Antle and Mr. Brian Ball were instrumental in the team's success and have been recognized for their efforts.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Ball was offered and accepted a position with the Provincial Technical Committee, and Mr. Antle accepted a position as the National Technical Committee Member for Robotics representing the Atlantic Provinces. This position also means that he is chair of the Provincial Technical Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of this House to join me in congratulating Mr. Brian Ball and Mr. Brian Antle for their contributions and accomplishments in the Robotics Skills competitions.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. JOYCE: Mr. Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today to recognize the many volunteers of the Meadows thirty-forth annual Winter Carnival which was held from March 5 to 11.

This week long event offered many activities for the residents of the town including a kitchen party, card games and bingo, dart tournament, community breakfast, a hockey skills competition and many other events. I had the opportunity to take in some of these events and enjoy the hospitality of the residents. The carnival was a tremendous success and all the monies raised were shared between the Meadows Volunteer Fire Department, Holy Trinity ACW group, and the recreation committee.

Mr. Speaker, in the past few weeks, I also had the opportunity to attend carnivals in the Town of Cox's Cove, Summerside, Humber Arm South, and Lark Harbour, York Harbour. Again, each carnival was a tremendous success and each event was well attended and offered activities for all ages. The volunteers who came together in these towns to organize these carnivals are to be commended for their dedication and service. They give freely of their time, doing their part to make a difference in the towns.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of the House to join me in recognizing these volunteers and indeed all the volunteers throughout Newfoundland and Labrador for their tremendous contribution to their communities.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this hon. House today to congratulate the Mount Pearl Sport Alliance for honouring those who are involved in sporting in Mount Pearl. I congratulate all those who were inducted into the Mount Pearl Sports Hall of Fame at a ceremony that was held in January of this year.

Mount Pearl has always been a leader in promoting sports, health and fitness. The Mount Pearl Sport Alliance maintains a strong working relationship with all sporting organizations and helps to support and co-ordinate events and activities that promote positive involvement. The Mount Pearl Sports Hall of Fame is a great example of this support.

I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to Pat O'Keefe Jr., the family of Nellie Devereaux, the family of Janet Maher, Don Kelly as well as Gary Martin as this year's inductees. Their dedication to sports and athletics in Mount Pearl is evident by this honour.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of this House to join me in congratulating all inductees of the Mount Pearl Sports Hall of Fame as well as the Mount Pearl Sport Alliance for their continued commitment to sport and athletics in Mount Pearl.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Further members' statements?

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

MR. KIRBY: Mr. Speaker, I rise to celebrate the long and happy marriage of Norman and Phoebe Clarke, who live on Nascopie Crescent in my District of St. John's North.

Norman and Phoebe have been married for sixty years, celebrating their anniversary on February 25. They started their life together in the beautiful town of Dunfield, Trinity Bay, and raised one son, John, a retired Department of Education employee. Both Phoebe and Norman are also retired public servants. Norman was a carpenter by trade, and finished his career with the provincial government. Phoebe was in the public service for thirty years, retiring eventually from the Department of Finance.

While they have lived in St. John's since 1965, they spent thirteen summers back in Dunfield after retirement operating a popular bed and breakfast. They have been doing plenty of celebrating in the last month, Phoebe turned eighty on March 11, and Norman was eighty-six on March 15.

Mr. Speaker, Phoebe has told us that she watches the House of Assembly proceedings in the afternoon when she does her knitting, so I ask all hon. members to join me in enthusiastically celebrating the sixtieth wedding anniversary of Norman and Phoebe Clarke.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. LANE: Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise in this hon. House to recognize the accomplishments of four individuals who have given their time and talents to the sport of soccer in the City of Mount Pearl. Three of these individuals: Roger Ruttgaizer, Tom McGrath, and Bob Hillier have been inducted into the Mount Pearl Soccer Hall of Fame in the category of Builder, and the other, Raeleen (Dunne) Baggs, in the category of Player. Raeleen also has the distinction of being the first female to be inducted into the hall.

Soccer, like many other sports, provides tremendous benefits to our youth, not only from a health and wellness perspective, but also in providing lifelong lessons such as the value of hard work and commitment and of working as part of a team.

I would therefore ask all members of this hon. House to join me in commending these individuals for their contribution to this great sport and congratulating them on being inducted into the Mount Pearl Soccer Hall of Fame.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.

MR. LITTLEJOHN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Today, I rise in this hon. House to recognize the Town of Bay Roberts for sixty years as an incorporated municipality.

Mr. Speaker, at the Annual Christmas and Volunteer Dinner, the town celebrated sixty years of continued growth and development. The town, now the largest community in Conception Bay North, took the time to honour and recognize one of its founding fathers, Mr. Eric Dawe, a former mayor, councillor, and an hon. Member of the House of Assembly. Now ninety years old, Mr. Dawe spoke to the gathering of those humble beginnings and how by referendum the people of the area chose to incorporate as a town. Initially there were only two taxes, Mr. Speaker, a vehicle tax and a resident tax, with a total budget of $50,000.

As well, that evening the town recognized its longest-serving mayor, Mr. Wilbur Sparkes, who served in that capacity for twenty-four consecutive years. Mr. Sparkes, prior to his election as mayor, served six years on the Community Council of Bay Roberts East and was instrumental in amalgamating Bay Roberts East with the Town of Bay Roberts.

I ask that all members of this House join me in congratulating these two gentlemen for their service and foresight in the building of their community.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Statements by Ministers.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Innovation, Business and Rural Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HUTCHINGS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, in Newfoundland and Labrador, women-led businesses are standing tall. They are at the forefront of any number of industries and driving business activity in all regions of Newfoundland and Labrador.

As exciting as this progress has been, we as a government firmly believe that the opportunities on the horizon for women-led businesses are even greater.

With supplier development opportunities attached to large industrial projects, as well as increasing access to supply chains of larger corporations and public sector organizations with supplier diversity policies, the prospects for business success are growing larger.

To help support women entrepreneurs, the provincial government, through the Department of Innovation, Business and Rural Development, has formed a valuable and outcome-focused partnership with the Newfoundland and Labrador Organization of Women Entrepreneurs.

In recent years, we have jointly led export development initiatives and hosted supplier development workshops. Together, we are also implementing Business Connections, which is a program designed to assist women business owners expand their operations. The program provides entrepreneurs with greater access to growth industries in this Province, and supplier diversity and export opportunities in international markets. Our shared goal is to create an environment where women-led business can excel and certainly flourish.

This partnership achieves that goal. It provides women entrepreneurs and business professionals with insights into how they can best identify target audiences and new export markets, as well as build entrepreneurial skills and market capabilities.

The response among women-led business to Business Connections has been extremely positive. Recent events throughout Newfoundland and Labrador have attracted more than seventy women who have left with valuable information and are taking steps to expand their business interests. Many of these entrepreneurs will go on to complete the entire training program.

Mr. Speaker, the collective sum of this activity is that women entrepreneurs will continue to grow and prosper and further contribute to the economic vibrancy of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. Barbe.

MR. BENNETT: Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement.

Mr. Speaker, it is encouraging to see that the government is encouraging women entrepreneurs in the Province. I think it is a very good thing to be encouraging women entrepreneurs or any entrepreneurs in the Province.

The shortcoming that I have, the issues that I have with encouraging women entrepreneurs or any entrepreneurs in the Province is that this government has done far too little for small business in this Province. If we do not have a proper small business climate, how does that encourage any entrepreneurs, whether they are women entrepreneurs or other entrepreneurs? We have a staffing crisis, so that if anybody wants to establish a small business, they will find it almost impossible to find staff to work. We have issues in the apprenticeship program, so that newcomers to the workforce – women or otherwise – are unable to get into the workforce. We have major issues in Workers' Compensation; we have sky-high Workers' Compensation rates that all businesspeople would have to pay, including women entrepreneurs. So, while I applaud the minister's initiatives in supporting women entrepreneurs in the Province, I am not encouraged that the government has not done more for small business in the Province.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for The Straits – White Bay North.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. MITCHELMORE: I would like to thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement.

Congratulations to the achievements of NLOWE and the work that they do.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. MITCHELMORE: It is important to continue to foster these strong relationships with community groups and non-profits; however, having shared goals does not necessarily mean that women-led businesses will succeed. There must be more. Government must provide strong support. I would like to see more hard details on exactly what tangible measures government will provide to achieve these goals. Simple partnership is not enough.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. McGRATH: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to provide an update on the status of the Northern Strategic Plan for Labrador. This dynamic, multi-faceted, cross-departmental strategy is considered a living document and has evolved with the changing needs of Labradorians.

The Northern Strategic Plan for Labrador was launched in 2007. It demonstrates government's focused commitment to improve the health and well-being of all Labradorians through expanding infrastructure, improving the delivery of programs and services, and encouraging economic prosperity.

Mr. Speaker, at its inception, the Northern Strategic Plan had an initial investment of $250 million with 145 commitments; however, our government continued to build on the plan and as a result, since 2007, approximately $630 million has been invested in Labrador to support 235 commitments.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. McGRATH: There have been several major accomplishments since the Northern Strategic Plan's inception. The most notable would include a new hospital and a new College of the North Atlantic campus in Labrador West Coast –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. McGRATH: – the opening of Phase III of the Trans-Labrador Highway, new schools in Port Hope Simpson and L'Anse au Loup, a francophone school in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, a year-round ferry service between Labrador and the Island across the Strait of Belle Isle and electricity subsidies for Coastal Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. McGRATH: Mr. Speaker, government has made Labrador's needs and opportunities a provincial priority and by the end of this current fiscal year, we will have spent more than $3 billion overall in Labrador since our first Budget in 2004.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. McGRATH: The Northern Strategic Plan has been a huge success with unprecedented spending in Labrador. We will continue to engage the people of Labrador in meaningful discussions on this plan, Labrador's plan, to strengthen the social and economic future of all Labradorians.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement. First of all, I would like to say what a difference a day makes because a year ago, Mr. Speaker, the member opposite would have been sitting back mocking the Labrador Strategic Plan when his predecessor, Mr. Hickey, would have been standing up in the House of Assembly giving the statement. Now today he stands up and reads it almost verbatim of what was in Hansard a year ago, Mr. Speaker – almost verbatim. What a difference a day makes I say to the hon. member.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS JONES: A different hat, a different day, I guess.

Mr. Speaker, let's talk about the Labrador Strategic Plan, because when you talk about strategic plans you talk about developing industry, you talk about having vision, you talk about the long-term focus and direction of where you need to go in a region. That is what the Labrador Strategic Plan is lacking, I say to my hon. colleague opposite.

You tell me where in the Labrador Strategic Plan it talks about bringing Muskrat Falls power for industry in Labrador. You tell me what it does to promote the fishing industry on the North and South Coast of Labrador. Go Google the plan and see how many times you will find the word (inaudible) –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The member's time has expired.

MS JONES: By leave?

MR. SPEAKER: Does the member have leave?

AN HON. MEMBER: By leave.

MR. SPEAKER: A few moments to clue up.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you to the Premier for giving me the time today to clue up my remarks, Mr. Speaker. I want to say that there are very serious issues around industry development in Labrador that need to be addressed, especially in the areas of transportation, mining development, and power availability. There are also infrastructure needs. Today, Mr. Speaker, I have two community centres –

MR. SPEAKER: I remind the member, she is on leave.

MS JONES: – closed down in my district that need to be replaced. I have a school, Mr. Speaker, that needs to be replaced. I say to the minister, if you want to have a good plan for Labrador, start looking at all the needs and incorporate them into it, and have a vision for where we are going in the northern region.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I, too, thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement. I would like to point out to the minister, Mr. Speaker, that since the Northern Strategic Plan was announced in 2007, there has been an unforeseen expansion of the industrial resource sector in Labrador. As of now, we almost have a hospital but we do not know what is going to go in it. My question to the minister is, or what I am saying to the minister, will it accommodate the needs of a much larger industrial workforce that was there in 2007?

There is also a new college with no residence, while you have a housing crisis across Labrador and especially in Labrador West where the new campus is, Mr. Speaker. There is almost a Trans-Labrador Highway with no end in sight for pavement, so it is not a highway until it is paved. I am surprised that the plan did not foresee any of these issues, Mr. Speaker. I hope that in the future, the wonderful, meaningful discussion –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS MICHAEL: – that the minister is talking about is going to lead to real plans looking at Labrador in the future, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Oral Questions.

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

MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, today we have heard that there is a Cougar helicopter waiting offshore on the Terra Nova rig to determine why an indicator light has gone off. In terms of offshore safety, we have not seen any movement from both levels of government on the implementation of Recommendation 29 of the Wells report for an independent offshore safety regulator. We have asked repeatedly in the House, but have failed to get any concrete answers.

So I ask the Premier: Why have we not made any progress on Recommendation 29, which Justice Wells called his most important?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, offshore safety is extremely important to every person in Newfoundland and Labrador. There is hardly a community or a family that have not been affected by the terrible tragedy of the Ocean Ranger or by the Cougar helicopter crash. My family, Mr. Speaker, earns their living offshore, as many people do in this House, and all across this Province – nothing more importantly. If we could act independently and set up an independent regulator, Mr. Speaker, we would move. We cannot; we are bound by the Atlantic Accord Act. We support it. We are recommending it to the federal government, but they have to concur, because legislation has to be passed in the Parliament of Canada to allow it to happen.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In last year's Throne Speech, this government promised to bring forward amendments to the Atlantic Accord to allow for the establishment of an independent safety regulator.

So I ask the Premier: Did you forward any proposed amendments to the federal government, and if so, what were they?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

No, Mr. Speaker, and the Leader of the Opposition ought to know that this is not how this process works. Mr. Speaker, we are clearly on the record in supporting an independent regulator. We are asking the federal government to support the recommendation as well. Once they concur, Mr. Speaker, we will both prepare the appropriate legislation – us for our legislature here in Newfoundland and Labrador, and they for the Parliament of Canada.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is common for a critical care nurse to be physically monitoring three to four bedside patients, as well as using a wireless system to monitor several patients a few floors up. The minister yesterday said that patients were disconnected from the wireless network for just a few seconds, but we have been told that on occasions, this connection has disappeared for up to thirty minutes.

I ask the minister: Are you aware of this thirty-minute lapse, and if not, does this change your opinion that this is just a Wi-Fi problem?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, what we know about this particular equipment is that this is very, very safe patient monitoring equipment, and that would be our focus and always will be our focus. There are 2,600 such monitors in use. You talked yesterday about a clinical review and the fact that we had skipped the clinical review. In fact, we did not skip the clinical review. This patient monitoring system has been tested and it has been approved in Canada, in the United States, and in Europe, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yesterday the minister indicated that the problem with the patient monitors was associated with the wireless network. Meanwhile, there are bedside monitors that are not connected to a wireless network that are still causing problems.

I ask the minister: What is the problem with these bedside monitors?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN: Mr. Speaker, these particular monitors – and I am just going to repeat this, because they are not getting it on the other side – these monitors are exceptionally safe. The monitor is still working on the patient. The part that is not working is the linkage with the Wi-Fi, and it is not necessarily that it is not working; it is that there are glitches. We are working through those glitches just as other areas have had to do, but the benefits, Mr. Speaker, of these particular patient monitors are extraordinary. They will allow cardiologists in St. John's to monitor patients right throughout this Province. That is something we are looking forward to. That is something that we will continue to implement.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BALL: I would like to remind the minister that we do know what is going on; the bedside monitors are not dedicated to a Wi-Fi network. We do understand exactly what is going on over there, and thirty minutes is not a glitch. We understand that the staff at Eastern Health have been placed upon a gag order, and not allowed to speak about the patient monitor issue. I ask the minister: Why are they being prohibited from speaking out on this issue?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN: Mr. Speaker, there is no gag order put on anyone over at Eastern Health in terms of speaking out. Not by my office, and I am certain not by Eastern Health, is there any gag order, and I really take exception to that statement, Mr. Speaker.

We talk about working in collaboration with our staff, Mr. Speaker, and that is precisely what has happened. There were eighty-two people involved in the clinical review of this particular system, Mr. Speaker, sixty of those were nurses; 91 per cent of them agreed that this is clinically acceptable monitoring.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Burgeo – La Poile.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Member for Burgeo – La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS: Mr. Speaker, last month, government indicated an independent review of the Safe and Caring Schools Policy will be completed this spring.

I ask the minister: As the leader in education in our Province, can you report on whether bullying incidents are declining and what do you think are the shortcomings in this policy?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased that questions are being asked about bullying because if we are ever going to get to a point where we rid ourselves in society of bullying it is that we have discussions on it. I heard that this morning on the Open Lines there were talks of it. So the more we talk about this, Mr. Speaker, the better it is.

In terms of the question being posed, an independent review is being conducted. Mr. Speaker, we want to look at under our Safe and Caring Schools Policy what things are working, what things are not working, and we look to improve that. Mr. Speaker, if they want to take a look at the types of things that have been carried out in education in terms of bullying, all they need to do is - I can provide the member with a list of things, Mr. Speaker, from investments in tuition vouchers for students that more and more of these –

AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Burgeo – La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS: Mr. Speaker, I have raised the need for government to take action to improve the availability of cellphone service in rural areas numerous times in this House. A Ski-doo accident this weekend near the Burgeo highway again emphasizes the importance of this issue because the lack of cellphone service was a factor in the rescue.

I ask the minister: When is government going to do something to address the issue of cellphone service in rural areas of this Province?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Innovation, Business and Rural Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HUTCHINGS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the hon. member for his question.

Mr. Speaker, this is a highly regulated federal industry. We, as a Province, and most jurisdictions across the country, are working with partnerships with the private service providers. We will continue to work with them. We have invested as a Province since 2003, partnering with the private sector and with the federal government. We have increased high-speed Internet to communities across Newfoundland and Labrador by 312 per cent. We will continue to do that.

Recently, I had meetings with my federal counterparts from across the country. It is an issue that Canada is dealing with, all provinces are dealing with. We are committed to it. We committed to it in October in our Blue Book to the people of the Province that we would continue to improve telecommunications. We are committed to it and we will continue to work towards it, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Burgeo - La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS: Mr. Speaker, I would remind the minister that there is a difference between broadband and cellphone service, which was the question I asked.

Mr. Speaker, it is clear from recent media reports that the Harper government in Ottawa is not planning any swift action to address issues related to cellphone service in rural areas.

I again ask the minister: Given that their federal cousins are not doing anything to address the lack of cellphone service in rural areas, can you tell us what your plan is and when can we expect to see some results?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Innovation, Business and Rural Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HUTCHINGS: Mr. Speaker, I just want to correct the hon. member.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. HUTCHINGS: Last week, the federal government did make some announcements in regard to wireless spectrum and making it available like never before to small service providers with less than 10 per cent of the market. It also allowed foreign investment into these companies which we hope – we do not know, but certainly reaches of the country when that spectrum goes to auction. It will be purchased. That will hopefully drive the service providers to access that spectrum to go into more remote, rural areas to provide cellphone coverage.

With that, the federal government has indicated that with that purchase of spectrum, the requirements that they would meet that area over five years, not just hold the spectrum if they get it, but certainly to move forward with cellphone coverage. It is a possibility. We are hopeful for it and we will continue to advocate the federal government to play more of a leading role.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Today we know there are people from our Province who are in Ottawa lobbying to keep the sub-centre for search and rescue services in St. John's open. We also know, Mr. Speaker, that there are mixed reports coming out of Ottawa today. One says the search and rescue sub-centre in Quebec will stay open indefinitely, and another one says any closure there will be postponed for at least one year.

I ask the government today if they can clarify what the case is with regard to Quebec. Why is it that Quebec is not closing, yet Newfoundland and Labrador is still slated to close come April?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I have been tasked by the people of Newfoundland and Labrador to lead our party and our government as Premier. I do not make decisions federally, nor do I answer on behalf of the federal government, so I respectfully ask you to redirect your question to the federal government as to what their intentions are. That is what I do on a regular basis on behalf of this government and on behalf of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, Mr. Speaker.

We have asked the question with regard to Quebec, we have been told that is not the case. Mr. Speaker, we press this issue on a weekly basis through the Prime Minister's Office, as well as every opportunity we get with federal MPs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would say nice try but it will not fly here, Premier. This is a very serious issue on search and rescue in this Province. When the federal government makes a decision to close down sub-centres for search and rescue in Newfoundland and Labrador, and in Quebec, and then retracts on that decision to close Quebec, there is a level of accountability to the people of the Province. You are the Premier, we expect you to ask the questions, we expect you to lead the issue, and we expect you to deliver the answers on behalf of the people of this Province.

I ask the Premier today: What has been the feedback from the federal government on why they are pushing ahead to close the sub-centre in St. John's next month, but are prepared to leave open the one in Quebec?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the House Leader for the Opposition should leave her lectures for the federal government and for her own Liberal MPs who are elected to advocate on behalf of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: These are people who have a duty to represent us in Ottawa. I do not hear any calls for accountability from the members opposite to their partisan MPs in Ottawa. We certainly, on this side of the House, would like to see more action from them, other than speaking to the converted in Newfoundland and Labrador, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the federal government has an obligation to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. They have a responsibility to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, Mr. Speaker. This government holds their feet to the fire. We do not have the means to make them always act the way we want, Mr. Speaker, but we are always going to make sure they know how they ought to act.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. EDMUNDS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the 2012 George River harvest season has officially closed, and it has shown a drastic decrease in the population due to the numbers out of last year's census.

My question is to the Minister of Environment and Conservation: Given the dangerously low numbers, will the government initiate a new census of the George River caribou herd within the next year?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!|

MR. FRENCH: Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for his question. It gives us a chance as government to highlight some of the concerns and some of the things that we have been doing when it comes to the George River caribou herd.

It is of great concern to us as a government, Mr. Speaker, that is why last year we brought in a number of measures for conservation reasons, and this year we have expanded on those numbers, Mr. Speaker. We are very much aware that the herd was at one time a herd of 800,000 or 900,000 animals, and before this year it looked like around 55,000. We are also doing a $1.9 million study over three years. We have collared a number of animals. We are going to continue to do a number of censuses, Mr. Speaker, into the future to do what we can to preserve the George River herd. I encourage the hon. member, Mr. Speaker, who is a leader in that community, to do the same.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. EDMUNDS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the government has been contacted by many organizations around this Province in respect to formation of a co-management board, which is the only way to address inter-jurisdictional harvesting by the Provinces of Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Environment and Conservation: When will this government begin leading in the formation of this co-management board that is much needed?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. FRENCH: I just want to say to the hon. member, I believe he actually attended some of the forums that we have had down there with the general public. So, I am sure he is aware of the amount of consultation that we have been doing. He talks about a board, Mr. Speaker. An advisory board is who we have been meeting with for quite some time now, Mr. Speaker. We have met officials in Quebec. We have met with the Quebec Innu. We have met with various Aboriginal groups in Labrador. We have met with the Nunatsiavut Government, which I am sure the hon. member is aware of. The Torngat Wildlife and Plants Co-Management Board, Mr. Speaker, we are in regular contact with. NunatuKavut Community Council, Mr. Speaker, we have met with. The Newfoundland and Labrador Outfitters, we have met with. The Newfoundland hunting and fishing group, Mr. Speaker, we have met with.

So, Mr. Speaker, we have covered all bases, and it is important that the stakeholders get together and discuss our initiatives.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. Barbe.

MR. BENNETT: Mr. Speaker, the coyote population in this Province has increased so much that people are finding them on their doorsteps. These animals are becoming more urbanized and brazen, creating a concern. Many believe that the twenty-five dollar bounty is not enough to effectively reduce coyotes.

I ask the Minister of Environment and Conservation: Will he increase the bounty to help control the coyote problem?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. FRENCH: The next thing, we are going to have a Coyote Ugly in Newfoundland and Labrador, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, let me just say, the coyote population came here in the 1980s, as we know – in the mid-1980s. We believe it crossed on the ice floes, Mr. Speaker. It is an animal that got here on its own, so it is a native Newfoundland and Labrador animal. It is a wild animal; it is something like any wild animal, Mr. Speaker. Just last year, I sat in my office here in Confederation Building and watched a moose running around the tennis court at Gonzaga High School in the middle of St. John's, Mr. Speaker. I would have taken my chances on a coyote over that moose, but nevertheless.

Mr. Speaker, it is very, very important – that is why, as part of our caribou strategy right now, we have tagged fifty coyotes throughout the Province, in excess of fifty. We collect the $25 bounty for these animals; I will finish on the next question.

MR. SPEAKER: The Leader of the Third Party.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, this morning we became aware of an incident regarding a Cougar S-92 helicopter as being grounded on the Terra Nova FPSO due to a malfunction. C-NLOPB also reported that an engineer was being sent to the vessel to investigate. Mr. Speaker, I ask the Minister of Natural Resources if he can give this House a more detailed update on what is happening.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I can inform the Leader of the Third Party that as these incidents occur, notification comes to my BlackBerry. It comes to the department where we become aware of the situation and the seriousness. What I am told about this situation – it is not unusual that a light comes on; it is being checked right now.

Mr. Speaker, in terms of reiterating the Premier's comments on safety, I met with one of the operators of Terra Nova today, and they went through their safety record out there on the rig. The offshore industry takes great pride in its emphasis upon safety, Mr. Speaker, and I can assure the Leader of the Third Party that so does the C-NLOPB and the government of this Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the minister for his update.

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health and Community Services. We have heard in the news that parents of a thirteen-year-old boy cannot get enough funding from the Newfoundland and Labrador Prescription Drug Program to help them pay for their son's diabetes test strips and medications, which cost $2,900 a year. Diabetes is a heavy financial burden on families who do not qualify for aid because their incomes are just above the eligibility cut-off.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Minister of Health and Community Services: Will her government expand the insulin pump program to cover universally the cost of test strips that must be used with insulin pumps?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to chronic diseases – and there are a number of chronic diseases that we face in Newfoundland and Labrador, and perhaps more so than any other jurisdiction – this government has been very committed. Through our recent release of the chronic disease strategy, we have highlighted some areas where we want to continue to pay attention; diabetes is one of those areas.

In the question that you asked yesterday, I responded by saying that we currently are, through the NLPDP, spending about $5.7 million annually to provide test strips for about 16,000 beneficiaries in Newfoundland and Labrador. For others who need special authorization, then there is a process that can be followed. There is also a threshold and, Mr. Speaker, I will speak to that in the next question.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It seems it is not going to matter what my question is, she is going to continue with what she was just saying. My question is dealing with the fact that last year, the former Minister of Health and Community Services said government would consider complete coverage of glucose test strips in the 2012 Budget.

I ask the minister, without any flowery language: Will she tell us whether or not this government is going to completely cover glucose test strips and insulin for diabetics who have no private insurance?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will try to keep down the flowery language, but I do not find this at all flowery. It is a very disconcerting concern, or very disconcerting issue, when we are talking about the health and the safety of people in Newfoundland and Labrador. I do not try to dress that up in any way. I am telling what the facts are, Mr. Speaker, of this particular issue.

The facts are that we are at this point in time doing what we can within the purview of the sustainability of our own budget. To do what the hon. member opposite wants, Mr. Speaker, would cost an additional $11 million – $11 million, when at the same time, they are talking to us about always being sustainable, about looking to budgets, about making sure that we have budgets within which we can work. This is something we take very, very seriously. There is a special authorization process in place, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will get at some of those points another time, but I want to go back to something else the minister mentioned a few minutes ago. The long-awaited chronic disease strategy is only a policy framework for chronic disease prevention and management. There are no actual commitments by government to do anything to improve services so that we can do better in treating, managing, and preventing diabetes across the Province.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the minister: Where is the real plan and how is government actually really going to help people with diabetes?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

If I could take a line from across the room today: what a difference a day or a year makes. I do recall last year when we were told they did not want any more strategies from us. They did not want any more plans from us. Now we are asked: What is the plan? Where is the strategy?

There is a strategy in place. There is a framework document in place and it is dealing with eight of our most serious chronic diseases. We have just invested $500,000 in the first phase of that, Mr. Speaker. Now, if we are going to do it, we are going to do it right, so we are going to work through it step by step, ensuring that we can meet the needs of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

Step one of that has to do with prevention and management, Mr. Speaker. When we are talking about these chronic diseases, that has to be the first step. That is where we have spent our first bit of money.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's Centre.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS ROGERS: Mr. Speaker, the Newfoundland and Labrador tourism campaign highlights not only our geographical splendour, but our tangible culture, and invites tourists and our own people to see and experience our cultural events. Many of these events are produced by under-funded volunteer organizations who financially are just hanging on by a thread.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation: Because of the delay of the Budget, when will these arts and culture organizations receive notification of their funding?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY: Mr. Speaker, our government has a great appreciation for the groups and organizations that contribute greatly to our tourism industry, particularly in the area of recognition, promotion, and protection of our most treasured heritage in this Province, both the tangible and intangible. We work with these groups. We provide funding. They know we are going through a Budget process. As soon as we are through that exercise, they will be notified of how much we are able to support them this year.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's Centre.

MS ROGERS: Mr. Speaker, it is imperative that they know how much funding they will receive so they can plan, publicize, and staff their events.

Mr. Speaker, will this government guarantee that there will be no cuts to any arts and culture funding in this upcoming Budget?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY: Mr. Speaker, we have a great working relationship with the many, many volunteers in this Province who are dedicated to the protection and preservation of our heritage.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY: Mr. Speaker, since 2006 and the development of our cultural plan, we have invested $56 million into culture and heritage in this Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY: We will continue to do so, Mr. Speaker, working with our groups and continuing to ensure that they are able to achieve the objectives in partnership with us in the future.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's Centre.

MS ROGERS: Mr. Speaker, we are all proud of our artists and our cultural organizations and industries. At $400 million annually, they play a significant role in the economy, particularly in rural areas.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS ROGERS: Present arts and culture funding programs cannot meet the demand. The Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council has among the lowest per-capita funding in the country.

Mr. Speaker, I ask: When will there be a new cultural strategy released with regular, predictable increases to meet the needs in this expanding sector in our economy?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY: Mr. Speaker, the comments are quite interesting, because they are asking us to spend more and more when everybody in the Province expects us to be fiscally responsible. Within that framework, Mr. Speaker, and within our Budget exercise, we will continue to respect and show our appreciation for the heritage sectors in this Province, and we will continue to ensure that they are viable and sustainable into the future.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's East.

MR. MURPHY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

My question is for the Minister of Transportation and Works.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday in the House it was stated that no bridges were left uninspected for more than a year, while the Auditor General's annual report for this year states there are some twenty-eight bridges in Labrador that have not had inspections in more than two years, and one bridge with no inspections for more than four years.

Can the minister please explain the discrepancy between what was said yesterday in the House and what is being done to correct the problem of a lack of bridge inspections in Labrador?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HEDDERSON: Mr. Speaker, when we took over government in 2003, there was a terrible infrastructure deficit, including bridges and roads. Since that time, we have put in place a regiment of inspections to ensure that our bridges are inspected over a two-year period. Sometimes, we do find – especially in Labrador, where the season is so short – that we do have to extend into the next spring. Again, Mr. Speaker, we do due diligence to make sure that the safety of these bridges is looked at, and that we are looking after the safety of people throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's East.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. MURPHY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This next question is also for the minister. Mr. Speaker, in Budget 2010, the government announced a fleet replacement strategy for the replacement of the Province's fleet of ferries.

Can the minister please give us an update as regards to how that strategy is going to be affected, with regard to talking about the government's next round of cutbacks and the restraints in the next two years that we are going to face.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: There is time for a very quick answer, Minister.

The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HEDDERSON: Mr. Speaker, we are continuing on with our ferry replacement strategy, a key strategy. We have two in the water, one in the works in Marystown. We have the Winsor replacement under design. We have the six ferries for the South Coast, one of which is for Labrador. They are in design. We are moving along as expected, and, Mr. Speaker, that is as short as I can make it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The time for Question Period has expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling of Documents.

Notices of Motion.

Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Burgeo - La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I have a petition to the hon. House of Assembly in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled. The petition of the undersigned residents humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS hundreds of residents on the South Coast of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, including residents of the communities of Burgeo, Ramea, Grey River, and François use Route 480 on a regular basis for work, medical, educational, and social reasons; and

WHEREAS there is no cellphone coverage on Route 480; and

WHEREAS residents and users of Route 480 require cellphone coverage to ensure their safety and communication abilities; and

WHEREAS the Department of Innovation, Business and Rural Development recently announced significant funding to improve broadband services in rural Newfoundland and Labrador; and

WHEREAS the residents and users of Route 480 feel that the Department of Innovation, Business and Rural Development should also invest in cellular phone coverage for rural Newfoundland and Labrador;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House of Assembly to support the users of Route 480 in their request to obtain cellular phone coverage along Route 480.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

As many people in the House will know, this is my fifth or sixth time rising now to present a petition for the two roadways in my district that do not have cellphone coverage. This has been highlighted by the fact over the weekend we had a very serious accident on the Burgeo highway, where we had two people, actually from the St. John's area, who went out skidooing and had a very serious accident. The problem was, when they got hurt they could not call anybody. They had no cellphone coverage. They were just lucky to be near an area where they found somebody with a satellite phone. Again, the problem with the satellite phone is you can make a call out but you cannot make a call back. Thankfully, this story has a happy ending. These people were airlifted out by Cormorant, brought to the Health Sciences Centre here in St. John's, and they are doing well now. Again, we are not always going to have a happy ending. Cellphone coverage has to happen, it has to happen soon.

Now, I have a letter gone off to the minister. I certainly look forward to his reply and perhaps even a meeting where we can sit down and maybe it can be explained to me how the Province has no role to play here. It seems that we are putting it off on private business or the federal government. I do not think that is the case, I think the Province can be a leader in this and the Province can take the lead and make sure that this happens on the roadways here. It affects us every day, this is not a luxury. We cannot talk about how things were in 2003, it is 2012. Cellphone service is a necessity, we need it now and I will continue to rise in this House and present these petitions.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. Barbe.

MR. BENNETT: Mr. Speaker, I rise today again to present a petition asking for high-speed Internet:

WHEREAS with declining enrolment distance education by Internet is now an accepted way to delivery educational services to students living in small communities; and

WHEREAS students have little to no say in where they or their families resident; and

WHEREAS many families do not have the ability to relocate so that their children can access educational opportunities in larger centres; and

WHEREAS many small businesses rely on Internet to conduct business; and

WHEREAS high-speed Internet permits a business to be more competitive than the slower dial-up service; and

WHEREAS no high-speed Internet service exists in the communities of Bellburns, Portland Creek, St. Pauls or Sally's Cove; and

WHEREAS there are no plans to offer high-speed Internet to residents of these communities;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to partner with the private sector and offer high-speed Internet service to these communities.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for The Straits – White Bay North.

MR. MITCHELMORE: I present a petition for the removal of the Englee fish plant, Mr. Speaker. Public safety and environment is a concern.

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament Assembled, this petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS the provincial government has not acknowledged that they have a role to play in the removal of the condemned Englee fish plant; and

WHEREAS the Town of Englee has exhausted all avenues over the past seven years, lobbying government for the removal; and

WHEREAS inaction has resulted in economic loss for the town, delay of new infrastructure and has become a concern of public safety as large debris has fallen in a major shipping route;

We, the undersigned, petition the House of Assembly to urge government to immediately order full removal and environmental clean up of this condemned property which is a former fish plant in order to restore public confidence in the system, and to settle land issues to permit new wharf development, providing residents of Englee with a mechanism to revitalize a presently devitalized economy.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will every pray, sincerely the undersigned.

Mr. Speaker, the minister and the government is well aware of this issue. It has been something that has been presented quite a number of times. The Town of Englee in 2004 lost its key employer. That was because of health and safety concerns that the plant was closed, and there was a loophole in the system that allowed the fish plant processor to close up shop and leave and not take on its own obligations. Now it has been seven years later and counting, and we have a dilapidated building that is collapsing, the roof is falling, there has been shingles and things like that. There are lots of measures that need to be taken, and I am looking for great action from government and I hope that the Minister of Municipal Affairs is listening to this.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. JOYCE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I present a petition on behalf of the undersigned. It is about family caregiving. The petition reads:

WHEREAS home care allows the elderly and people with disabilities to remain within the comfort and security of their own homes. Home care also allows people to be discharged from hospital earlier; and

WHEREAS many families find it difficult to recruit and retain home care workers for their loved ones; and

WHEREAS the PC Blue Book 2011, as well as the 2012 Speech from the Throne, committed that government would develop a new model of home care and give people the option of receiving that care from family members; and

WHEREAS government has given no time commitment for when government plans to implement paying family caregivers;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to implement a new home care model to cover family caregivers in the 2012-3013 Budget.

Mr. Speaker, I am sure as I look across the House, and on this side also, there are a lot of people we know who can use this new home care plan by the government. This was a commitment that was made by the government in the Blue Book, and I know the minister stood several times in the House and said it will be done, but these people are asking that it be done as soon as possible because it will keep a lot of people in their own homes, keep a lot of elderly people in their own communities, and it is one proposal that we all can support.

I, personally, dealt with a lot of families who were looking for family caregivers to help out in their own homes, especially in the smaller rural Newfoundland and Labrador areas where they cannot get home care workers. The problem becomes a bit worse because there is no one in the area who can actually give the care that is needed for the person who needs it.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the people here – and it is just funny, Mr. Speaker, one of the people is a senior citizen, Minnie Vallis, who has been a long-time promoter for home care family caregivers in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. She is an advocate for a lot of seniors and family caregivers in Newfoundland and Labrador, especially in the Bay of Islands in the whole area. I am sure Ms Vallis would be very pleased if the government brought that in, in the 2012 Budget, as was committed in the Blue Book, because I am sure there is a policy somewhere and there is a plan, and there is some kind of policy that we can deliver upon and we can make them speed this up. I ask the government, and I urge the government to bring it in as quickly as possible to help the most vulnerable people in this Province.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am pleased to stand today to present a petition on behalf of people from my district, as well as other regions of Labrador. I think Goose Bay and Sheshatshiu people have signed this petition, as well as some people in my colleague's District of Torngat Mountains. Anyway, Mr. Speaker, it is with regard to search and rescue services. It says:

WHEREAS Labrador is a vast land mass with many isolated communities; and

WHEREAS unfortunately search and rescue assets were not adequately deployed during the search for Burton Winters; and

WHEREAS it is clear that permanent search and rescue assets are required in Labrador;

WHEREUPON your petitioners call upon all Members of the House of Assembly to urge government to do a full investigation into the Burton Winters tragedy and search and rescue in Labrador, and lobby the federal government to establish permanent search and rescue capability at 5 Wing Goose Bay.

Mr. Speaker, search and rescue has become a huge issue in Newfoundland and Labrador, not just for the people of Labrador who have been very significantly and personally touched by the tragedy of Burton Winters but certainly by many people throughout Newfoundland and Labrador who have had to make that call, that call of desperation to search and rescue at one point in their lives, or someone they love have had to do it. They know how important that response mechanism was to bringing home their loved one and bring them home safely.

So, Mr. Speaker, they are petitioning the House of Assembly today to improve the search and rescue services in this Province. They are asking the federal government to be more attentive to what our needs are, and to ensure that we have the proper services and the proper infrastructure to do what needs to be done in search and rescue in the Province.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: This being Private Members' Day, I now ask the Member for St. John's East to introduce the motion that is on the Order Paper in his name.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. MURPHY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It gives me great pleasure and it is truly an honour to bring forward today's motion for debate, seconded by the hon. Member for The Straits – White Bay North. I read in the following:

WHEREAS small businesses are the backbone of this Province's economy; and

WHEREAS about 2,000 small businesses operate in the Province today, employing over 40 per cent of all paid workers; and

WHEREAS small business revenues and profits stay in the communities where they are generated; and

WHEREAS the present level of taxation can be a barrier to anyone starting a small business today; and

WHEREAS small businesses in the Province need as much support as possible;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Assembly urge government to immediately help stimulate the economy in a manner that helps every part of the Province by reducing the Province's small business tax by 25 per cent, dropping it from 4 per cent to 3 per cent.

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure again to speak to this issue. I guess this is first and foremost, a lot of businesses mind the amount of taxation they have to deal with. It is really time to recognize where our true economic strengths of the Province lie. This is one of the important cornerstones in helping to build and maintain this Province. We know we have various numbers of large private industries that carry on in the mining, the oil sectors, but it is not a lot of time that anybody spends in thinking on the actual importance of small business. We would like to bring this motion forward for debate and we are hoping to hear lots of input on this one today.

Small businesses and co-operatives, Mr. Speaker, have demonstrated over and over their importance to Newfoundland and Labrador's ongoing economic wealth. You can tell by the power of a few people, what a few people can do to change immeasurably the economy in various regions of the Province. For example, we have the St. Anthony SABRI model and we have the Fogo Island Co-op, which I guess had to start off basically with nothing, and look where they are today. They are literally carrying those areas of the Province. The benefits those areas are actually gaining are immeasurable, not to mention that it is actually keeping people here in the Province. There is more to a healthy economy than big profits of corporations and banks, Mr. Speaker. I think that these two, basically co-op models, are truly representative of that.

During the last election, and indeed before that, we did manage to do a lot of consulting with small businesses to determine ways to give them the best break that they could possibly have to their own bottom line in Newfoundland and Labrador, Mr. Speaker. One of those suggestions was basically a drop in business taxes overall and to help combat that bottom line that some small businesses used to face. One of the ways they suggested, of course - next to tackling some issues when it comes to sales tax, for example - would be through the actual removal in some cases, or dropping of the small business tax. In this case we are looking at a 1 per cent drop, which is rather insignificant, I guess, when it comes to the fiscal amount, the budget that the provincial government is dealing with. We are talking approximately a $4 million savings to small businesses. That can have an immeasurable impact on the economy of the Province. I guess the Province this year is going to be dealing with a budget that is going to be based in the billions of dollars.

As we note in the motion, small businesses are the backbone of this Province's economy; and again, if you are a small business owner, congratulations to you because you are all very intrepid individuals. I know that it takes an awful lot of your time, a lot of personal time, a lot of personal sacrifice when it comes to running a small business and keeping an economy going. In some cases I guess it is a lot of sacrifice when it comes to keeping family going and everything, too.

Small business revenues and profits stay mostly in the communities where they are generated, so it is in that essence we can say they are essential for regional economic development. Again, I will quote the simple fact of the Co-op on Fogo Island being one of those examples on how much it has led to the overall growth of Fogo Island and indeed, when it comes to the SABRI case on the Northern Peninsula, how much it has led to growth, and the growth in revenues particularly as well, through the various streams of government that are dealing with small businesses.

The question has to be asked that if we are entering a time of provincial fiscal uncertainty - I guess these are government's words over the last couple of months, we have been hearing about cuts, the possibility of cuts and the possibility that the Province's finances are going to be restrained for the next two years - then it is incumbent that we make it easier to ensure small businesses survival to help them carry the load of the Province. In this I mean that if we are talking roughly about 40 per cent of the businesses in this Province having to carry the load - if you listened to one of the speakers the other day who had me absolutely enthralled when it came to the growth that some of these sectors were showing, I think it was the Member for Humber West who was talking about the growth. For example, last year in the tourism sector I think the number was about 17 per cent growth, if I am not mistaken, that he said the other day they saw in the tourism sector alone last year. Either way, it sounded to be substantial in the face of some of the economic conditions that were out there. We have to look at this as saying for a small business that is carrying such a load in the Province perhaps they should be allowed to carry that load a little bit easier by seeing this very small tax break to help in some cases these home operations continue.

We know for some of these regions in the Province exactly how much a home-operated business, a small business like this, can help when it comes to, for example, municipal debt loads and everything. We need to attract more people into that sector; we need to develop more ideas for people in small businesses so that they can help carry that municipal load, whichever community they are in.

Let's look at some of the costs that they are facing right now. For example, one cost that is near and dear to me happens to be fuel costs. This could be a massive effect, for example, on the tourism sector. High fuel costs may in fact inhibit any potential increase in tourism this year, basically, if you are looking at the pump price. We are looking at the potential in some cases, some media reports are reporting anywhere from $1.50 a litre and upwards for gasoline prices, which can have a massive effect on incoming motor vehicle traffic into the Province.

You could be talking about higher diesel prices, which could have the potential to cause fuel price increases to Marine Atlantic; we do not know how they are going to be able to deal with that yet. Indeed, it is probably a bit early to even speculate on how high that price is going to go, except for some of the media reports out there. We already know that the groundwork has been set for $1.50 a litre for gasoline. Some of these businesses are going to have trouble.

I think attracting more people into the Province – there are barriers being set up in some cases when it comes to the attraction of more people in the Province. At the same time, of course, the small businessman is not only dealing in the tourism sector here in the Province, Mr. Speaker; he is also – the small business operator, for example, is driving the taxi out there; he is driving the tractor trailer; or else he is fishing out there in his boat. All these three operators are being tackled with high fuel costs. As regards to that, Mr. Speaker, I think that if it is going to be a long time project in order to get fuel prices addressed and have the HST agreement addressed on the part of the federal government and get them at the table to talk about it, this is the best way that the Province can deal with some of these costs on an as-now basis.

This tax reduction, further to that, will help absorb that cost of high energy costs. It also allows small business owners to return money into investment in their business ventures, which will help secure their survival. We all know that – I think it is well known in the small business sector that it can take upwards of five years to ensure a small business's survival, or indeed, in some cases, to actually show growth. I think that everybody knows that one well, and I think that we all know somebody who has been into the small business sector who had to work at it long and hard before they actually started to show any growth in that business.

So, I think that this is a positive message to be sending to the small business operator out there, that government would be on their side when it comes to such a venture, and I can see nothing but positive to those companies' bottom lines when it comes to investment in other things. When we are talking about their survival, we are also talking about the simple fact that it is probably going to allow them to go and do some more hiring into their own companies. It ensures employment levels in the Province, and indeed provides the ability for a small business to go out and supply jobs to a demographic that probably was not there beforehand. For example, the disabled community may have better access to employment opportunities when it comes to such a venture.

This cut helps more struggling start-ups get through the critical first few years. I just touched on that, Mr. Speaker, by saying the simple fact that we are talking about keeping more revenues in these small home businesses – any business that has a sales value below $500,000 in the run of a year. It allows money to stay in the Province, and allows the strategic investment, and allows that decision to be made by the important decision-maker there, the owner of the small business.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business did a study of more than 3,000 businesses and individuals across the country, and said more than 90 per cent said that they admire small businesses and their products and would like to see them as key to the future. Of course, I think that we all know that when it comes to the future of Newfoundland and Labrador, it is not only built on the strong resource base that we have here, but as well on the simple fact of small businesses, because small businesses are pretty integral to supporting some of these larger businesses. Of course, we all know well how many small businesses, for example, are associated with the offshore oil industries here, and how much they mean as regards to employment. So, we are talking, again, the possibility of government here putting an extra, or leaving an extra $4 million in a very important sector of the economy.

Having said that, we are hoping that this afternoon, the government will not undervalue the actual value of small businesses here in the Province, and we are hoping that government will support this motion and that we will see this important leg-up to small business here in the Province. This tax cut for small businesses was, in fact, an election commitment, and we would like to be doing more for small businesses besides just this 1 per cent cut, but I guess in this particular case every little bit helps. The four key words that we can say to this one all along are: every little bit helps.

We could be redirecting funds from the Business Attraction Fund to an investment fund for co-ops and small businesses and use it as a seed capital fund for social enterprise. We could introduce a new immigrant small business loan guarantee program to help newcomers obtain credit from Canadian financial institutions, for example. There are so many things that we could be doing that we are not. In some cases, while some of the tools are there in the federal chain, sometimes they are not utilized enough in attracting small business to this Province.

We need to ensure that all communities have access to reliable, high-quality, high-speed Internet. This is important as well to small business with regard to access, and if you are talking about the tourism trade, for people to be able to do online bookings of tours or something, for example, or bookings for hotels. It is not only the hotel in St. John's that would be important; it is also the hotel in the little community of 500 people or the bed and breakfasts operating there that should have an equal shot and an even playing field. It is probably one of the more important reasons as well why government should be making those strategic investments.

We are looking forward to hearing in the future that government will be making those strategic investments into high-speed Internet access, particularly in rural areas. We do know how important it is, of course, to maintaining the economy, and indeed for those small businesses to be tied in with an umbilical of some sort to the outside world and to keep up what is going on in the changing world economy.

Mr. Speaker, I will sum up and pass the debate on. The tax cut itself, first of all: We are proposing to reduce the small business taxes by 25 per cent in the first year, from 4 per cent to 3 per cent. We are looking to offset what government collects by only $4 million. It is not a lot of money to be asked for. This may seem like not very much money, but it is money that would be invested directly into small businesses back here, of course, in Newfoundland and Labrador; it would help maintain the economy and give it a little bit of a stronger backbone right now with tough financial times coming, or at least a restraint put on our fiscal spending over the next couple of years.

Money that stays in the communities where businesses operate means money that is going to stay right here at home. It means an awful lot to the small business owners that they would have support from government in this venture. We are hoping on getting government support on this particular motion today.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Before the Speaker recognizes the next speaker, I wonder could the member identify who seconded the motion that he is introducing today?

MR. MURPHY: Sorry, Mr. Speaker, I thought I mentioned at the start that it was the Member for The Straits – White Bay North.

MR. SPEAKER: Thank you.

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. MARSHALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is always a pleasure to speak in this House about matters that affect small business, because we all know how important small business is to the country. Even though the business is small, what small business does is that it creates a lot of jobs. That of course is very important.

It is tough being in small business. It is hard for a lot of small businesses to survive. I understand that 99 per cent of new small businesses fail within the first five years and that is pretty tough, but we take pride in our small business community and what they are attempting to do. That is why this government provides a special tax break, a lower corporate income tax to small business, than it does to larger businesses who earn over $500,000 a year.

We recognize the importance of small businesses to this Province, particularly in rural parts of the Province where they are the lifeblood of the community. That is why we have significantly invested in small business since we came to power eight years ago. I think when we came into office, the spending on small business or on economic development was about $2.6 million a year and it is now $185 million a year. We will continue to make strategic investments to try to grow our economy and diversify our economy as long as we have the fiscal capacity and fiscal means to do so.

In terms of the small business tax rate, in 1983 it was set at 5 per cent and I believe before then, the regular corporate income tax was 14 per cent and the small business tax rate was 12 per cent. There was not much of a difference – a 2 per cent difference. In 1983 it was set at 5 per cent and it remained unchanged until 2010 when we lowered it to 4 per cent at a cost to the Treasury of $4.4 million. We currently have, along with Nova Scotia, with the exception of PEI, the lowest small business tax rate of all provinces east of Manitoba. PEI is the leader in Atlantic Canada –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. MARSHALL: We also have been helping small business in other ways. The corporate income tax threshold has steadily increased since 2004; it was then $250,000, but in our years of office we have doubled the threshold to $500,000 as of 2009. We also increased the exemption threshold for payroll taxes. Now, the small business groups that come to see me – the Federation of Independent Business and so on – their major concern is not so much the small business tax rate. Their concern is more in the payroll taxes they pay. They call them payroll taxes but we are talking about here the HAPSET, the Health and Post Secondary Education Tax. What we do there, any business with payroll in excess of $1.2 million pays a payroll tax of 2 per cent. That is a tax on jobs, and I am so proud that our government has indicated its intention over time to ultimately remove that tax from the tax rolls of this Province. Since 2008, this threshold has more than doubled and currently sits at about $1.2 million per year as in last year's Budget. Of the approximately 23,000 employers in the Province, less than 4 per cent now pay the payroll tax.

We have also since 2007, when we brought in the biggest tax cut in the history of this Province – I think the cumulative tax rate to the people of this Province is that this year people will pay about half a billion dollars less in taxes than they were paying when we first came into office, and that is a remarkable, remarkable accomplishment. What it does, it takes government's hands out of people's pockets, it gives people money in their pockets so they can pay their bills, it helps us attract skilled workers from other parts of the world who look at not only what their gross salary is going to be, who look at how much they are going to have left over in their pockets. Also, certain people with tax breaks will use that money and they will invest and invest further in the economy to create jobs.

We have also lowered various fees and various levies. For example, the commercial electrical permit fees have been reduced, and there has been an elimination of the liquor licence levy. Also, we removed the Retail Sales Tax on insurance premiums and that was also a great benefit to business in this Province. We all remember the hated tax on insurance and we removed that tax. We have also been helping small business and will continue to do so along with our fiscal capacity.

Indirectly, our efforts to improve the overall tax regime in the Province have also had a very positive impact on small business. Newfoundlanders and Labradorians now pay, as I said, $500 million less in taxes each year compared to 2007 – half a billion dollars less a year coming out of the pockets of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. By taking our hands out of those pockets, they are left with more disposable income to help them cope with the rising cost of living.

Employment is also up, Mr. Speaker. There are more people working in Newfoundland and Labrador today than in any other point in our history; there are over 225,000 people working. Also, what is very interesting is that they are earning more than ever. Personal incomes continue to rise each year at very robust growth rates, and disposable incomes are rising at the same rate – I think it is about 6.5 per cent this year. That means people are working, it means they have money in their pockets, and we are seeing the effect of that in our retail sales, which are growing. We are seeing in car sales, which are growing. We see it in housing starts, which are very robust throughout the economy. Our efforts in developing our natural resources, combined with the $5 billion that we intend to spend on infrastructure in this Province, have been real drivers of growth.

A government raises revenue through taxation. We need taxation in order to provide the infrastructure that we are providing, the long-term care facilities and the hospitals. We need the money to fund our progressive social programs that we want to bring in for the benefit of the people. So, we have to strike an appropriate balance, an equitable balance, one that is fair to our residents and fair to the businesses in the country and in the Province, but gives us revenue. Any tax cut that we make – and we have made a lot of them – has to be considered with an eye to what is affordable.

So we now know that over the next two years – we certainly know this year that the Atlantic Accord is coming to an end, which means there is $556 million we are receiving this year in 2011-2012, we are not going to receive in 2012-2013 or at any time in the future. We now know that the FPSOs for White Rose and Terra Nova are going to be offline – I think is the word – one is going for repairs in Marystown, the other one is going for refit in Belfast, I understand, in Ireland. That means we will have less revenues coming in; therefore, like any family, like any small business and like any organization, we have to adjust our fiscal expenditures to be in line with the fiscal restraint that we are going to be facing this year, and we have to make sure that our spending, of course, is sustainable for the future.

So, Mr. Speaker, as I travel extensively each year for pre-Budget consultations and I listen attentively to the requests that are brought forward, they fall into two categories. There are those that have to be done, that are very important, like public health and public safety that has to be done; and, there are many which are really nice to do, but perhaps we can delay them while we focus on what are our true priorities. All of them make sense, and while it would be great to do them all, it is simply just not possible, and we all know that.

Now, Mr. Speaker, we have to draw the line. The request to lower the small business tax rate – the Third Party, I have heard them in this House. They call for universal child care, universal pharmacare, and complete cell coverage. They have identified the housing crisis in the Province and they want 911 throughout the Province. I believe the Leader of the Third Party said with respect to the demands of the municipalities: Just give it to them. Just do it. Just give it to them. You cannot do both. If you want to do all of these wonderful things, you need revenue and we are very, very conscious of that.

So, Mr. Speaker, I am going now to move an amendment to this legislation. The amendment is as follows:

I move, seconded by the Minister of Innovation, Business and Rural Development, that the private member's resolution currently before the House be amended:

(1) by deleting the fourth recital clause;

(2) by adding a new recital clause that reads: "WHEREAS the government has already made decisions to reduce business taxes and to invest in measures to grow businesses small and large throughout Newfoundland and Labrador;" and,

(3) by deleting the resolution clause and replacing it with the following words so that it reads: "THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Assembly calls on the government to consider reducing the small business tax rate by 25 per cent, dropping it from 4 per cent to 3 per cent, or by a greater amount, provided that the province is in fiscal surplus or makes budgetary provisions to replace the foregone revenues or to reduce expenditures accordingly, as is fiscally prudent."

MR. SPEAKER (Verge): Order, please!

We have an amendment to the resolution put forward by the hon. the Minister of Finance. This House will now take a brief recess to consider whether the amendment is in order.

This House is now in recess.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

We have considered the amendment as put forward by the Minister of Finance and we have deemed that the amendment is in order.

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

First of all, it is my privilege today to stand here and speak on behalf of the many small businesses across Newfoundland and Labrador. Just briefly, as we review the amendment here – it is obviously on my record, I guess, for many weeks now, speaking about the financial sustainability and viability of our Province, and it is certainly something that we do support as a Liberal Caucus, and I personally support it and will continue to do so. For us, it is usually a matter of priority and that. By looking at the amendment, what I read here is that we would actually have to find the money somewhere in another program, which would mean somewhat of a reduction to somebody else.

This is not necessarily something that we could actually support, because in a lot of ways, as you make investments into small business, you actually do stimulate growth in many other areas. The original motion put forward by the Third Party did mention that the small business is the backbone of our provincial economy. There is no question about that. When you look at what small business does – for instance, a micro-business is defined as being one to four employees, whereas a small business is typically seen to be less than fifty employees. In some cases, it is defined as doing about $30,000 in business a year, or up to $5 million. It is a broad range of what a small business is able to do and actually as it contributes to our economy and to the communities where they actually do their business.

In actual fact, Mr. Speaker, about over 97 per cent of businesses in the Province as a whole are considered to be small business or medium-sized business. It really essentially takes up most of the business activity within the Province.

We have what is considered to be just around 20,000 people who are even self-employed. What they have done is taken a fair amount of risk, and personal risk, in actually doing business in our Province. It is also about – I think the original motion says about 40 per cent of our total workforce are employed with small businesses in the Province.

Small businesses, what they do – and one previous member spoke about the contribution that they make not only to the Province in general, but they make a significant contribution to the communities where they actually do business. For instance, we spoke yesterday in this House about the value of fire departments in our communities. It goes without saying that most of our small businesses in our Province right now are significant supporters of groups like our fire departments and our sports programs. What they do – and with my own history, I know – small businesses that I am certainly familiar with, and the people that I know, is that they actually make significant investment right back into their communities. The profits that they make on an annual basis are indeed re-injected right back into the communities. In a lot of cases, they actually support other businesses as they build on and make their own businesses more successful.

So, in actual fact, the money does stay in the community where they exist. So that is important, as we integrate the business growth within certain regions or in the communities themselves. What I know, I find with my own experience, is that most businesses, when they have the opportunity and when they can – when they do have the opportunity to invest profits back into the business, their decision is typically made to invest in their employees and into business development, which actually leads to growth. This is particularly important in many of our rural areas.

As many of us know, if you ask a young person – and I have had the opportunity to go into many JA classes over the years in high school; even in elementary school, there are a lot of people, and sometimes they are actually – they want to be a business owner; they want to be an entrepreneur. You can actually see that in some people at a very young age.

A particular note is that with a small business, to actually take a small business and make it successful, there is an awful lot of risk that is associated with it. As was already said, 50 per cent of businesses, small businesses in particular, usually do not survive past the five-year mark. So, needless to say, when you make the personal commitment, and in a lot of cases, the personal guarantee, you put a lot of your own personal assets on the line to actually support your business. So that 50 per cent survival rate is actually something that we see as a deterrent. So, lowering taxes is one way that I think anybody in business would welcome – the fact that you pay less tax. We already know that we have one Atlantic Province that actually pays less than we do; that would be PEI, and that is 1 per cent. In actual fact, Manitoba has made a very significant step in investment where they actually have – there is a zero tax rate on small businesses in Manitoba.

It is not the small business tax rate that most businesses have a problem with. In most cases it is the actual overall general tax rate, and in our Province it is at 14 per cent. This is certainly not near the lowest in Canada. When you do the surveys of businesses and you ask, what is the biggest impact on their business growth? Typically, a response in particular would be around the general tax rate.

There are lots of other issues that I know as small businesses they see as deterrents in their business and something obviously that many, many business groups have been lobbying for years, be it chambers of commerce or the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. What constantly comes up is the impact of Workers Compensation. It is almost unheard of in a lot of jurisdictions, that people would pay in advance based on an estimate or an assumption of what your payroll would be that year. There is no question that in difficult months, where cash flow becomes a problem for many businesses, the Workers Compensation - those payments can actually be a cash flow killer. It puts many small businesses at risk in not making other payments because Workers Compensation payments are due. Even the category itself, where many of our employees get put into a broad category, this could mean that your Workers Compensation rate is one that is higher than anticipated.

The big tax that always gets mentioned when it comes to the success and the impact on business, no question, it is the payroll tax. Even though the government has made a commitment to get rid of that payroll tax over time, this indeed is seen by most business owners as a job killer. That 2 per cent tax over and above the $1.2 million payroll is something that is prohibitive and is actually seen, as I said, as a job killer. When you take that and you look at the associated payroll burden costs that go on top of that, things like EI, things like CPP and the Workers Compensation, as I already mentioned, you can see they are a significant burden when you come to operating a small business.

On top of that, one thing about business as you try and drive revenue - and with many small businesses you actually compete in some small markets where we are seeing population declines and an aging workforce - one of the things is the operating costs. In order for any business to be successful, they always have to keep a very constant and diligent look at where the operating cost is. We know in the next few years we are going to see operating costs, things like electricity rates will start seeing increases, will add an added burden to small businesses. Needless to say, we have seen significant debate over the years on things like credit card costs, debit fees, and those sorts of things. These all add operating costs to small businesses.

Again, one other thing that is being highlighted, and I know many of the people I talk to are small business owners, what they see is a shortage of labour right now. I know on the West Coast, in Central in particular, and on the Burin Peninsula, I have spoken to many business owners. What they have noticed is that the shortage of labour has become a very big problem for them and that we have a very highly competitive market. Some of it is our mobile workforce, even in Alberta right now. This is becoming more and more of a problem. With the aging population and the population declines in rural Newfoundland, it is becoming a problem that is very hard to overcome. We have seen many businesses, actually, that have decided to actually take the opportunity of moving on themselves.

In particular, Mr. Speaker, we know in a lot of areas of our Province right now, and this is information that comes from the Rural Secretariat, from 2003-2011 we have seen business losses in Labrador, we have seen business losses on the Northern Peninsula, in the St. Anthony and Port au Choix area. We have seen fewer businesses in 2011 than there was in 2003, in the Corner Brook, in the Stephenville area, in the Grand Falls-Windsor area, Baie Verte and Harbour Breton. We actually see fewer businesses in those areas now than there were in 2003. In actual fact, what we are seeing is a decline in the number of small businesses in our Province; in the Gander, New-Wes-Valley area, a decline. Clarenville and Bonavista, we are seeing a decline in small business, and on the Burin Peninsula. The only area where we have seen any growth at all would be on the Avalon Peninsula. I think the growth there is somewhere in the 2 per cent range.

As we try to foster and put in mechanisms that would actually support small business, what we cannot lose sight of is that many small business owners are indeed getting discouraged right now and actually closing up their businesses. Why is this happening? What we have seen is that general taxation is considered to be the major barrier, the biggest barrier that we are seeing in business growth.

We know right now that in many communities, a lot of the municipalities and communities have actually increased business taxes as a way to sustain their own revenue. So businesses often pay a disproportionate amount of taxation. Small businesses become a tax collector for many communities and for government agencies. We know that from communities that use poll tax or with HST. Indeed, what happens is they become the administrator for communities and for indeed, in this case, the provincial and federal governments, and they get nothing in return for the work they do. As a matter of fact, we have often seen very strict demands on small business owners when it comes to the collection of some community taxes. Mr. Speaker, these are all things that small business owners do in our Province that actually helps facilitate the growth of the Province as a whole and our communities; but, indeed, they get nothing back in return for that.

We also know that throughout the Province that waste management fees are becoming a cost to do business. These are increasing. We actually, on the West Coast, have no idea where these amounts will be. Even though small businesses do support and want to protect their environment, we cannot lose sight of the extra cost that this is putting on many of our small businesses. It is very tough to compete when you look at all the pressure that businesses have to face these days. That is not to say, that is not even to mention what is happening with Internet shopping and the impact that has had. For instance, I know in our own situation of recreational stores that have actually had to close up simply because their major competitor was Internet shopping.

We all know the major challenges that businesses are facing, but one thing for sure, and I know in particular in many of the rural areas, you keep asking business owners what it is that they would like to see, things like high-speed Internet, these things, they always come up because it actually helps facilitate the way they do business.

Mr. Speaker, before I finish up here, I will say that when you ask about the future of the Province and where most people, especially from a business point of view, what their view is on doing business in Newfoundland and Labrador, most large corporations, most large companies, will actually say that they are positive and that they do have a positive outlook, but the small business barometer is one that it is a little different. We have seen a steady decline in the confidence of actually doing business in our Province from many of the small business owners, and the reason why they feel this way is because of the extra competition for workers. They actually refer to Workers' Compensation and, often, they refer to payroll taxes.

One other thing, Mr. Speaker, as I finish, is that one of the big problems that is facing small business owners in rural Newfoundland right now and in small markets is that they feel that there is actually no succession plan for them; that there is no one really ready to come behind them to step into their business. Right now the succession planning for small business, especially in rural Newfoundland, as we deal with an aging population and a decreasing population, it is a major problem for them.

Mr. Speaker, as I sum up today, even though we are in a situation here that what we are discussing is a reduction in taxation for small business, any reduction in taxes, of course, is welcome; but, we do know that there are significant impediments in doing small business in Newfoundland right now. In general, the payroll tax, the general taxation rate of 14 per cent, is seen as a deterrent.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to the debate on this small business tax momentarily.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: I recognize the hon. the Minister of Innovation, Business and Rural Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HUTCHINGS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am happy to have the opportunity to speak to the motion by the hon. the Member for St. John's East. As a department, and certainly as an elected official, all of us know how important small business is to Newfoundland and Labrador, and certainly rural Newfoundland and Labrador. It plays a key role in my district and in all districts around the Province, Mr. Speaker.

I know I work with small employers in terms of advancing issues that are important to them. As was mentioned by someone earlier, we know that small business makes up 95 per cent plus of all businesses in Newfoundland and Labrador and is very integral to the economic well-being of all of our communities, all of our regions, and is key to economic development. It certainly plays a key role in the prosperity of our Province and how we move forward and how we have moved forward.

Mr. Speaker, I know the Member for St. John's East, as well, when he made his comments he talked about small businesses and co-operatives. Certainly, as a government, we are very engaged with co-operatives, supporting them, supporting that infrastructure, a lot of them in rural Newfoundland and Labrador. I have a Petty Harbour co-op in my district. I am quite familiar with it; the importance that plays in building capacity, assisting with business and driving economic development – very successful.

This year, as we know, is the International Year for Co-operatives and I had the pleasure awhile ago of declaring this year in Newfoundland and Labrador the Year of Co-operatives. We have an MOU with the co-operative association here in this Province that has worked very well. We are going to look again this year to renew that MOU, and continue the work we are doing with co-operatives and the work they do for economic development in our Province and certainly continue that work.

I certainly appreciate the efforts of the co-operatives, the volunteers on the boards, the work they are doing in terms of generating economic activity, Mr. Speaker. I certainly wanted to recognize that.

I know the Minister of Finance, in his comments, talked about things we have done from a financial perspective in terms of significant reduction in the payroll tax we have seen over the past number of years and how important that has been for employers and small employers. That threshold now is up to approximately $1.2 million. That money has gone back into the business owners, into their companies so that they can reinvest and help them with operating expenses and growing their business, which is so important. As well, the corporate tax has been reduced down to 4 per cent. I do believe that is leading the way east of Manitoba. Maybe PEI is the other exception, doing quite well as well, in terms of leading the way and doing those things that we need to do to continue to drive business in all areas of our Province, which is so important.

I think, if I remember correctly, there are only about 845 employers that are left now which are under that threshold. Certainly, as we move forward, as the amended motion talks about, within our fiscal framework and what we can do, we are committed to working with small employers through our programs, through our taxation system to ensure we do what we need to do to continue to improve – as we have done – the business environment, Mr. Speaker.

I wanted to touch on in my department, IBRD; obviously, we are focused on business, economic development, partnerships. Government is certainly there as a partner, and we have been in terms of driving all aspects of economic development, and we continue to do that. I talked about tax incentives, Mr. Speaker. There is approximately $71 million that is provided to businesses in tax credits and incentives. Such things as: Small Business Tax Credit; Manufacturing and Processing Profits Tax Credit; Scientific Research and Experimental Development Tax Credit; Film and Video Tax Credit; Economic Diversification and Growth Enterprise Program – EDGE status – that we still have; Direct Equity Tax Credit; and Resort Property Investment Tax Credit. So there is a whole range of initiatives that we use as a government to entice investment, which is so important in the overall business community.

Mr. Speaker, as well, we have Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Fund, SMEs, in my department. Anybody who is familiar with the business community and working with their constituents out there in terms of small and medium business, know how important this is and has been in terms of growth for those small businesses; $12.8 million is available through this program. That enables local businesses to strengthen their operation and target new opportunities around the world.

A lot of times, Mr. Speaker, businesses are out there operating, they are doing well, but with some help they can get to the export market and get their services and products to market. We have worked with, and I have visited with a number of small and medium-sized businesses since being in this portfolio, and they have demonstrated quite well that they have the ingenuity, they have the entrepreneurial spirit, and they have engaged in export, because the products they are developing, the technologies they have are second to none. They are exporting to parts all over the world. Certainly into the US, which, as we know, is our biggest export country; I think it is about 85 per cent. I have met with companies that are exporting into Brazil, into Ireland, into China, especially in the ocean technology area, and doing great work. It is driving innovation through research and development and doing quite well.

Ocean technology, I mentioned under that program, driving that industry small and medium businesses; over $6 million available through our oceans opportunity. That is a five-year strategy that we distinctly put in place to drive and diversify our economy. To use the funds from our non-renewable resources to diversify and build sustainable industries and we are doing that. The ocean technology cluster now is over fifty small and medium businesses that are exporting all over the world. Some state-of-the-art, whether it is digital technology that you hook on to ROVs; that is second to none. It is just amazing work being done. That industry right now is exporting about half-a-billion dollars in terms of export sales. It is growing and we are certainly supporting it. You can see the value in it, and it is doing quite well. We are projecting by 2015 that we will be up to approximately a billion dollars in terms of export. Dealing with the industry association, they tell me they expect to be beyond that. That is another example of our government intervening and assisting small business.

Mr. Speaker, the other (inaudible) we are quite familiar with is the Regional Sector Diversification Fund. It is a $5 million fund, which again builds capacity on the ground. I am sure all members here are quite familiar with it in terms of non-profit organizations. Again, the work they are doing is building diversification and sustainability in a lot of areas of the Province. I would say mostly rural areas of the Province that are creating that environment to promote industry, whether it is in the tourism sector, manufacturing; a good spectrum of activity. As a department, we drive that and continue to work with the stakeholders out there in that regard.

On the oil and gas service development fund, as well, to look at exporting in terms of the oil and gas industry expertise and continue to grow that industry; as well, oil and gas manufacturing and services export, looking at export, our technology and our expertise here and creating new wealth, creating new jobs, and doing quite well in that area.

I had an opportunity, as I said, to visit a number of areas in terms of small employers and the work they are doing. I was at sub-sea in Clarenville a little while back, and a young man, twenty-seven years old, had developed a unique digital imagery in terms of you could connect to an ROV underwater. Certainly, second to none anywhere in the world in this technology that he had developed. He is in the process of going to market now with that. It was sought after in the industry, the oil and gas industry and any other area where you would send an ROV down, but the technology was created here and the incubation for it was here with a young man who is twenty-seven years old. There are many stories like that. Our programs certainly support that and that is what we continue to want to do for small businesses in the Province.

Mr. Speaker, Carol Lake Metal Works in Lab West is a company that was started by a young man as well. The same type of thing – we assisted with that, and I think they are now up to twenty-plus people. So it is a great project, yes, indeed, innovation moving it along. We were there to assist. A great story, and there are many of those, Mr. Speaker, right across the Island and through Labrador, right through our Province, that are doing great things.

I also had an opportunity to visit with another company, NAVSEA, an ocean technology company which develops software for pilot vessels that they can connect to and bring vessels into various ports. This can be used around the world and is being used. It has been done very well. It is very good technology, but it was here and we swore to provide those supports as well.

Skilled training is so important, Mr. Speaker. We are certainly involved with that through our Workplace Skills Enhancement Program for employers. It is very popular with employers, Mr. Speaker. Approximately $4.5 million we have invested. That allows the workforce in any business to bolster their expertise and their productivity, and it helps with retention and expansion for all types of enterprises. It has certainly been a very popular program, Mr. Speaker, and it continues to be quite successful in terms of employers. We get a lot of uptake on it and are certainly very interested in it. It could be training, it could be for industry certification, or other essential skills, but it is all directed to growth and sustainability and is working quite well, Mr. Speaker. It is a very good tool indeed. I know the employer community is very pleased with it.

Examples we have seen where that is being used: the Newfoundland and Labrador agriculture industry association looked at training in the Coast of Bays in regard to staff and in terms of new technology with various employers; and the St. Alban's-based Aqua Service is another area where it is being used in terms of the upgrading of skills. That is sustaining employers and it is enhancing the delivery of services they were providing, so it is all positive. Again, in Labrador West, the Carol Lake Metal Works was another company that used that program. Industrial Rubber Labrador Ltd. is very good in terms of a program to assist small business.

So that is driving our economy, Mr. Speaker, as I said – ninety-five-plus small employers. All of these programs which we deliver: we fund, we direct towards them, and are there for them. My staff around the Province – the sixteen regional offices, the Economic Development officers, and others – are there to assist those, to provide those services, and engage with those small employers to assist them. We cannot do everything for them, but the programs we have, we can certainly assist them with it.

Dynamic Air Shelters down in Grand Bank in Fortune, some of the great work is being done down there in terms of that; a new business, doing quite well, continuing to grow. Through supports we have, continue to help them to do the type of things they need to do to sustain, improve. If they need to export and get it out, help them to do that as well; it is very important.

The other key component that we work with, Mr. Speaker, and it is very important for small and medium business, is procurements. We look at both provincial and government procurements in terms of making small and medium-sized business aware of contractual work, purchased services they could receive from the provincial government and as well the federal government; there is a huge pool that is there that different companies can avail of, which is so important. We have programs to support that, to make that linkage between the employer that is there and possible services they can provide to the provincial and/or federal government and promote that supply chain.

We have programs to develop that supply chain. That is working well; we need to continue to work at it, from the perspective of new projects, projects that are currently underway in our Province, projects that will come in the future – working with the small and medium-sized business community to make sure they are aware of what is available to them, to help them in preparatory work to get ready to engage in that type of activity so they are ready, when the time comes to go and look for that type of work, that they are able to get it and they can be successful. They certainly are being successful. Some of the work that is being done by the entrepreneurs, all our businesses, is outstanding, second to none in what they are doing. In terms of their technology and different things they are doing, doing quite well in leading the Province in economic development, Mr. Speaker.

So with the incentives in terms of taxation, which the finance minister has referred to, as well as programs we have – not only in this department but all other departments – it is a collective approach. We recognize the importance of small and medium business in Newfoundland and Labrador. The economy, the driver it is, the driver it has been in the past, it is today and will be in the future in all industries, whether it is aquaculture, mining, ocean tech I mentioned, new areas that we diversify our economy, film and television, all of those areas are so important. It is about our traditional ones, and certainly ones that we are allowed to use to diversify our economy. In the fisheries, we have our Fisheries Loan Guarantee Program, again helping fishing enterprises, business enterprising, access capital when needed to drive their enterprises and to build as needed.

Mr. Speaker, as I said, speaking to this motion, it is a good motion because it allows us to talk about -

AN HON. MEMBER: Amendments.

MR. HUTCHINGS: – amendments – what we are doing in terms of working with the small business community. We know how important they are; we are going to continue to work with them. We have had great success to date. Hats off to the business community for the work they are doing. We are going to continue to work and expand through research and development, innovation. We are pleased to work with them. We certainly take the hats off to the business community; a job well done. As a government, we are certainly looking forward to working with them in the future for even greater success.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I recognize the Member for the District of The Straits – White Bay North.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. MITCHELMORE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It gives me great pleasure to speak today about an out for small business, about lowering small business tax. Small to medium businesses in Newfoundland and Labrador are drivers; they are drivers to diversifying the rural and urban economies. We need to give further consideration to small business in providing more incentives to them to set up in these small towns and these rural centres and really start looking at adding to the local economy and creating jobs there. It is about taking our tax dollars and investing them very strategically in areas where we can have further growth. It is not just about giving money to large-scale oil companies, consortiums, and corporations, we need to look at small businesses and this small measure, this tax incentive, can greatly assist them.

There is an abundance of opportunity when we look at small business in Newfoundland and Labrador, and even on the Great Northern Peninsula. I had the opportunity to, at the age of sixteen, start up a small business. That was a museum and a miniature golf course and, from there, we added a summer festival. From there I looked at small businesses as being a driver and I started mentoring other youth and other young people to get into starting small business, and it was quite a success. Over the course of two summers, I helped encourage sixty-three youth start up businesses. Then, I worked for a Community Business Development Corporation. The Community Business Development Corporation services fifteen communities in Newfoundland and Labrador and 269 across Canada, and this partnership servicing rural areas help supply and start up small business and help them expand. One of the greatest barriers in my role of working with small businesses, helping them get in and start up, was looking at the taxation level, and we do need to have better rates and looking at what they can do in economies.

If you look at the Great Northern Peninsula, we have the beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Tablelands there and L'Anse aux Meadows, and we look at the national park, Gros Morne, which attracts 180,000 people annually according to the Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation. With that, they have an immense amount of small business in and around that park. There are accommodators, there are B&Bs, there are grocery stores, and there are all sorts of things starting up because it is unique. If a place is unique, then they start building more business and they are able to give back to their local economy.

I had the great pleasure of helping out a lot of the small businesses get started up, but we have to be really reasonable about the policies that we are putting forward to foster further investment in small business. Small business and co-operatives have proven over and over again how they can be net creators of jobs and really, really help out the economy.

New Democrats have consulted with small businesses and they determined that we need to give them a tax break in Newfoundland and Labrador, and believe that one mechanism of relief is lowering the small business tax by 25 per cent. We are talking about lowering it from 4 per cent to 3 per cent. The Minister of Finance has stated that the only province east of Manitoba has a lower tax rate, that is Prince Edward Island, and they have a 1 per cent rate. There are a lot of provinces that are Manitoba and west. Manitoba has a 0 per cent small business tax rate. Saskatchewan has a 2 per cent small business tax rate. Alberta has a 3 per cent small business tax rate. British Columbia has a 2.5 per cent small business tax rate. Quebec, according to the Canada Revenue Agency, also has a 3.9 per cent small business tax rate. This is lower than the 4 per cent that we currently have in the Province. They are very progressive in their tax rate and having small business growth.

If we look at Manitoba and we look at the success that they have at 0 per cent for small business, I was in Winnipeg just two years ago attending a cultivating co-operative conference – and I am very happy that the Minister for the Department of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development has been talking about co-operatives and making such a commitment because this is the international year, but according to the Web site of INTRD we do not have that many co-operatives in Newfoundland and Labrador. There is certainly room for a lot more growth and they have a higher level of success. They stand over corporations by about 40 per cent over the 20 per cent range for small business.

We really need to look at co-operatives on that level. Manitoba has a number of them. I was able to go to a Neechi Foods, which is an Aboriginal food co-op, which is a retailer but they also have added services when it comes to food. They also take in local artists and carry their products. They take in items like moccasins and locally made products, so they are really supporting the community and they are able to grow. Having a progressive tax rate allows small businesses to thrive; it really looks at building home-based businesses, smaller businesses. We need to look at doing more and be like provinces that are to the West: Manitoba, Alberta, Quebec, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. They have a very, very thriving small business community. We need to look at those types of things.

There is a place like Mondragon, it is a workers co-op and they have three different outlets. Together they have ownership. They are able to provide unique food items, a bookstore and carry local book publishers. They also sell unique food items, but because of that, because of different options, they have entrepreneurs who want to join and be part of this organization.

Ireland is a country that has a very low tax rate. They have 12.5 per cent as a country for their trading business income. This 4 per cent that is the small business tax rate is in addition to the federal tax rate, so we have to look at that. I was in Ireland in November of 2010, and I had the ability to rent a car and drive all around Ireland. When I went to this little community of Kinsale, it has about 5,000 people; it is a very unique, creative town that has a cultural revolution when it comes to food and cuisine. They have farmers markets, fish markets, they have small businesses that are there and it is thriving. The local people support it. Lots of tourists come in and influx into this town because they are unique, they are creative. We need to do this; we need to have small business. This is why we are getting in part 180,000 people –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Speaker is having difficulty hearing the member speak.

MR. MITCHELMORE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for helping with the noise there.

We have 180,000 people who are going to Gros Morne National Park. We have 30,000 people going to L'Anse aux Meadows, because we have some very unique offerings. Small businesses are drivers; they are not large businesses and big-scale corporations there.

We need competitive taxation to really help with the business cycle. The governing party in 2011 in their election platform promised, they campaigned that they were working for Newfoundland and Labrador to have one of the most competitive tax regimes in North America. That is not only across Canada but looking at the US as well. When we see where we stand right now when it comes to the small business tax, we are nowhere near being the most competitive.

There is much work to be done to ensure – and April 2010 was the first time that we went from 5 per cent to 4 per cent for small business. It is two years later and there has not been a plan. There has not been any movement on lowering this tax. We really do need to take further action in making sure because small businesses not only have to content with small business tax but they have to contend with property tax, they have to contend with withholding tax, payroll tax, as the Minister of Finance had outlined, as well as value-added taxes and other common taxes.

In 2013 the Municipal Assessment Agency, as the Minister of Municipal Affairs is aware, will be doing an assessment on all property values across Newfoundland and Labrador. Now with the heated economy in some areas we are going to start seeing valuations and increases. Our small business is going to be prepared to bear that brunt. Many small towns are struggling across Newfoundland and Labrador to have tax revenue and a tax base to pay for this. What we need to do is we need to have a government that is progressive and encouraging small businesses to give them a tax break so that they can contend with other increases to really spur a good business cycle and foster growth in our rural and urban economies. We really need this type of approach so that money can go back into the hands of people and into consumers. We really do need good fiscal policy.

Business investment in the Province continues to remain high but for the past five months the Canadian Federation of Independent Business has noted that there has been a decline in the Province. We are at about 56 per cent according to them, and nationally across Canada business confidence is at 66 per cent. Being someone who is very much in going forward and talking about how we are very much on the top of the game, there are areas where we can have improvements and we need to look at small business as being that driver.

New Democrats believe that having a competitive tax rate is a method to really stimulate investments, stimulate growth in the economy. It is a way to look at adapting new technologies, looking at ways to reduce taxes and increase wages. This is a way to look at making a small measure so that we can look at affording multi-year minimum wage increases. These are mechanisms that we need to start looking at.

There are about 2,000 small businesses in Newfoundland and Labrador that employ 40 per cent of all paid workers. Small business revenue and profits stay in the communities where they are generated. If we look at the opening of big box stores and what they do for communities, they do not really put money back into the community the same way as a small business does.

The big box stores displace as many jobs as they create. Not only that, we do not get as much tax because if we look at instead of increasing the revenue of a community the big business is shifting it away. They are doing that because their headquarters are not located in the community where they are shifted. They are not hiring insurance companies, they are not hiring the local business attorney, and they are not going to the local hardware store. They are not looking at supporting the local business in the same way, so we really do need to look at that "business builds business builds business", and the domino effect of having a big business coming into some of the communities really takes away the jobs. It really does have an impact.

Local businesses are more likely to supply locally produced products as well, and no further can that be true than in my District of The Straits – White Bay North, where we look at L'Anse aux Meadows and we look at a place like Norstead, or we look at the Grenfell heritage shop, or we look at the Grenfell Interpretation Centre; in their gift shop, they carry locally-made product. They look at artists and artisans that are there, people who are doing rug hooking. They carry stained glass partnered through the College of the North Atlantic. These are places that are net generators. They have painters there who are local and who have a studio. That is fostering other business being created in the rural economy. All of this is created when we have more and more competitive tax base.

So let's get more progressive, let's be a Province like Manitoba, and let's put the small business tax down to zero per cent. We are only asking for a small amount right now to reduce it by 25. We do need to have a target and have a plan. The amendment that has been put forward is saying: Well, maybe we will do it, but maybe we will not. It is saying to consider. That is really not strong.

If we look at a lack of diversity in a community, and I have touched on this a little bit earlier – when towns are not interesting, they do not attract people there. We have to really create interesting towns and interesting towns are created by having small business and having local business, looking at farmers' markets and looking at other places like that where we really do tap into our culture and the best resources of the people.

Oftentimes, these small independent retailers will carry local products. If we look at a bookstore, they are more likely to carry local retailers and their products there, right? If we look at high fuel cost, high fuel cost is really impeding small business. If we look at the fishing corporations that exist in the Province and the costs that they have to contend with – we need to encourage more local business networks.

On the great Northern Peninsula, we do have a local business network where we do have partnerships and this is one of the great things. On the great Northern Peninsula, we see co-operation; we see a lot of collaboration and communities working together trying to create unique items. If we look at the French Shore and the North Eastern Heritage Corridor, looking at the partnerships that they try with the seven communities and towns that exist there, they partner to facilitate tourism attractions across that area. They have partnered to sell postcards and different things like that. They are looking at finding ways to attract people into their towns. Having small business tax reduced is a way to encourage that.

A measure like a tax cut could also employ and allow extra hiring. These are types of things – we look at job creation, but there are other barriers when we look at needing to adapt new technology, such as the lack of broadband Internet. No further true as that in my district, where we have eleven communities; out of the thirty-five, thirty-six communities – because of the way some are termed – do not have broadband Internet. It is really important that we have a reasonable idea in this proposal to really start rural revitalization. We really need to look at, and we really hope that government would have supported the original motion, because to build stronger communities and to really build a stronger Canada, a greater focus must be placed on small business and co-operatives and what they can really do in an ever-increasingly urbanized world. If we do not focus on them, we are going to suffer.

We must encourage small business development across the Province, and the proposed tax cut would allow small business owners to really look at thriving. It is not a large sum of money – we are talking of about $4 million – and I think this should be a priority of this government.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Chair recognizes the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JOHNSON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is a pleasure to speak to this amendment today. Mr. Speaker, we hear time and time again from the NDP: spend more, spend more, health care, universal child care, universal pharmacare. Today we heard about the arts community, and the list goes on.

It is not to say that these things are not important, because they certainly are, but at the same time, Mr. Speaker, on the other side then they are asking for tax cuts. If they ever should get to the point where they had to do a budget, I would say somebody would have to come in and give them a tax cut to bail them out from being in the red, because I do not think they have one clue about what it is to do a budget. Anyway, I digress, Mr. Speaker.

I wanted to speak today about the motion and the amendment, and speak particularly about women in business. I did not see it in the motion – which was a bit surprising from the NDP - I did not hear it from the Leader of the Opposition when he spoke, so I thought I would take the opportunity to raise awareness around women in businesses, Mr. Speaker, because it is quite significant.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JOHNSON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am not sure how many people are aware of this, and I am sure quite a few are, but 39 per cent of the businesses in Newfoundland and Labrador are either wholly-owned or partially-owned by women. That is a significant number, 39 per cent. Mr. Speaker, 56 per cent of women-owned businesses are in rural Newfoundland and Labrador. When you speak of the significance of businesses and small businesses with 56 per cent owned by women in rural Newfoundland and Labrador that is quite significant, and I thought that would be something interesting that our listeners might want to know. Another interesting fact is that 6 per cent of women-owned businesses export the goods and services. So, not only do they provide goods and services for people of the Province but they are actually exporters on the national and international stage.

I would like to take the opportunity, Mr. Speaker, to speak to the amendment and specifically the piece that says: WHEREAS the government has already made decisions to reduce business taxes and to invest in measures to grow businesses small and large. I wanted to take the few minutes that I have to talk about how we are trying to grow businesses, Mr. Speaker.

In fact one example of how we are trying to grow businesses today, on this very day right now as we speak, in Hopedale, the Women's Policy Office, the Department of Innovation, Business and Rural Development in partnership with NLOWE, is hosting a business development workshop in Hopedale for Nunatsiavut women. This will provide Inuit women with the opportunity to explore their entrepreneurial skills and interests so that they can avail of the emerging opportunities that are going to happen in Labrador, Mr. Speaker, with the Alderon mines, with Muskrat Falls and so on. This is one concrete example of how we as a government are partnering with stakeholders to grow businesses in Newfoundland and Labrador, and particularly in this case women-owned businesses.

Mr. Speaker, another way government is helping grow businesses in Newfoundland and Labrador, and particularly women-owned businesses, is next month with the support of government, NLOWE will be leading a trade mission of women-owned businesses to New Orleans. There are tremendous opportunities at these trade shows to gain international contacts and to generate international contracts. Mr. Speaker, as well the Department of Innovation, Business and Rural Development – and I know the minister just spoke eloquently – has numerous examples of businesses that they have funded and government has funded. I just wanted to mention a few of those because I think they are very worthy of note for listeners to know what is actually going on with small businesses but how entrepreneurial women are in this field.

The first one I would like to speak to that IBRD did fund to the tune of over a half million dollars is a lady by the name of Hilda Broomfield-Letemplier. She is an Aboriginal woman and she owns Pressure Pipe Steel Fabrication in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Mr. Speaker. She has been involved in numerous industrial projects in Labrador, including Voisey's Bay, and she is making the most of the resource development there in Labrador. She has participated in a number of supplier diversity trade missions and these have resulted in international partnerships with many international companies. In fact, she is one of the speakers that we have in Hopedale for the business conference there today. She has ten core staff and then she hires a number of seasonal staff. As I mentioned, the department has funded her to the tune of over $535,000, and has also funded her for trade missions.

Another really interesting female-led business is the owner of Headline Holsteins, which is a dairy farm in Deer Lake, and the Leader of the Opposition would know this, being in his district. Dr. Pauline Duivenvoorden is the owner of the second largest dairy farm in all of Atlantic Canada. Mr. Speaker, she is the largest producer of industrial milk in Newfoundland and Labrador.

What is really interesting to note is her involvement on positions such as the Board of Directors of the Dairy Farmers of Canada. She is the only woman to currently sit on this board and she is currently the Chair of the Dairy Farmers of Newfoundland and Labrador. She is the only woman in the organization's history to hold this position. She was also named the NLOWE Entrepreneur of the Year in 2011.

Mr. Speaker, we also have examples with Corona College in Grand Falls – and all of these examples that I am using are examples of businesses that are in rural Newfoundland and Labrador. There are numerous examples and the list is too exhaustive to go into. I just thought I would highlight some of these and how non-traditional they are was what I found interesting. Bernice Walker is the owner of Corona College and she has been heavily involved in training workers in the mining industry. The government has funded her to help develop specific training programs to meet the demand for labour, Mr. Speaker. She has been very proactive in the development of the training programs and seminars aimed at employing more women in the mining industry.

A few years back, the Premier and myself had the opportunity to visit Duck Pond Mine and a lot of the people who go through the training obviously go through the Corona College there in Grand Falls. It was very interesting to see that the college is led by women, but it was very interesting to see how many women were actually doing the course. When we toured the area, it was amazing to see the number of women operating the equipment at the facility. In fact, the operators at Duck Pond Mine and the management in charge said that they were so impressed with the women operators because they took great care of the equipment, they had less maintenance costs and less replacement costs and so on. It was quite interesting, and all of that training is held at Corona College by Bernice Walker.

Mr. Speaker, another example of our government being very strategic to ensure that all new resource development-based projects – that these projects have women employment plans attached to them and they have business access strategies. Mr. Speaker, it is this Premier, when she was the Minister of Natural Resources and the Minister Responsible for the Status of Women, who was instrumental in introducing the women's employment plan into all of the resource development activities. Elross Lake, Hebron, the mining projects in Labrador, the upcoming Alderon mining projects, all of these resource type developments, it is now a requirement that women's employment plans be part of that, Mr. Speaker. In fact, the Hebron Diversity Plan and the Women's Employment Equity Plan is the first of its kind not only in Newfoundland and Labrador, not only in Canada, Mr. Speaker, but it is the first of its kind in the entire world. That is huge and significant when it comes to talking about growing small businesses but particularly growing businesses that are led by women. This is a huge milestone and it speaks to the commitment of this Premier and the government in terms of advancing women and providing the opportunity for women to get their fair share of the action that is going on in our resource developments, Mr. Speaker.

One of the highlights is around supplier diversity, and particularly around procurement and having more women –

MS MICHAEL: A point of order, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Third Party, on a point of order.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am questioning the relevance of the speaker at this moment talking about resource development, which as far as I know is certainly far from small business in this Province.

MR. SPEAKER: There is no point of order.

The hon. the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

MS JOHNSON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is absolutely appalling that the Leader of the NDP, who always goes around the Province purporting to be the leader for advancing women in business and advancing women in this and advancing women in that, is now asking the relevance of this when we are talking about resource development and small business.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MS JOHNSON: Mr. Speaker, as a female leader of a party I would certainly think and hope that she would want to advance women in business –

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS JOHNSON: - just as much as this government does. Again, it is absolutely appalling. As we see many times, speaking out of both sides of their mouth. One time you want to talk about spending money, the next time you are talking about cuts. They are all over the map. It is absolutely shameful to the women of the Province that she would stand on a point of a order to question the relevance of this, when we are talking about small business, when we are talking about 39 per cent of small businesses are owned by women; 56 per cent of the businesses owned by women are in rural Newfoundland. The opportunities for women are endless in this Province when it comes to (inaudible).

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JOHNSON: How about this for relevance, Mr. Speaker, we talk about child care and we hear about child care all the time. I mentioned that 70 per cent of the child care operations in the Province are private operators, and the majority of those operators are women. These businesses are run by women. Here in the eastern part of the Province, Mr. Speaker, 90 per cent of the child care operators are owned by women.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS JOHNSON: Mr. Speaker, talk about a private –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask members for their co-operation, please.

MS JOHNSON: Mr. Speaker, talk about a private member's motion on tax cuts. Well, talk about a tax cut, the Leader of the NDP would like to see that the private operators in child care pay no taxes. Do you know why they want them to pay no taxes? It is because they do not even want them in the business, Mr. Speaker. They would just as soon see all the private operators, which are mostly led by women, gone from child care. There is a tax cut for you, 0 per cent, because you do not even want them in the business. So that is relevance for you, Mr. Speaker.

Anyway, Mr. Speaker, to get back to the main motion –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JOHNSON: To get back to the amendment, Mr. Speaker, this government has a proven track record of supporting small business. We heard that today by the speakers on this side on this of the House, and we have a proven track record in supporting women-led businesses. Mr. Speaker, we are going to continue with the stakeholders, including NLOWE, including the support that we give to NLOWE. The Department of Advanced Education and Skills certainly support NLOWE, Mr. Speaker, and I can speak to the commitment of this Premier when it comes to supporting small businesses, and particularly around supporting women-led businesses, because it was her foresight when she was Minister Responsible for Status of Women, when she was Minister of Natural Resources, to make sure that there are opportunities for women and that women have a fair opportunity in all of the resource developments in this Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JOHNSON: As I said, nobody else in the world can brag about the type of agreement that we have from the Hebron Diversity Plan and the Women's Employment Plan, Mr. Speaker. So, we can certainly speak to her commitment to small businesses and to women-led businesses.

Mr. Speaker, as I said, we will continue to work with stakeholders, we will continue to assist small businesses, and we will continue to assist women-owned businesses so that they will have the access to opportunities not only today, but to all of the opportunities that are on the horizon. With all of the economic prosperity that is going on in this Province, Mr. Speaker, we want to make sure that for the projects of today, the projects of tomorrow, and the projects of the future, there are numerous opportunities to come for small businesses in this Province.

We have a proven track record, Mr. Speaker, and we continue to provide support to small businesses.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER (Wiseman): The hon. the Member for St. Barbe.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. BENNETT: Mr. Speaker, in dealing with the bill before the House, I think the first thing we would have to ask is: What is a small business? What does a small business provide for a person? A small business happens when a person identifies an opportunity to fill a need, determines a product or service, and supplies that need hopefully at a profit and preferably not at a loss.

Many people who have not been in small business do not really understand how small business works. Unless you actually have been in small business or any kind of business, it is sort of like being a chicken and laying an egg; you can sit and watch a chicken lay eggs from now until eternity, and unless you actually are a chicken and you lay an egg, you do not know what it is like to lay an egg.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Speaker acknowledges the Member for St. Barbe.

MR. BENNETT: If you claim to know what it is like to be in small business or any kind of business, and you have not been in small business, then you are mistaken. You cannot possibly know what it is like to be in small business unless you have actually been in small business.

Now, what does it bring to the table if a person wants to be in small business? For many years I worked with people, long before the legal profession, who had secure –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Speaker acknowledges the Member for St. Barbe.

Could we have order in the Chamber please?

MR. BENNETT: – jobs and who were adamant that they wanted to enter business because they thought, well, I will have all this autonomy if I am a small business operator. It is true, you will. You will also have all of the risk involved in small business if you own a small business. You can work as little as you want, but you will have to work as long as it takes to make the business successful. You can be your own boss, but you are going to be your own paymaster. If you are your own paymaster, not only will you be your own paymaster, you will be everybody's paymaster. At the end of the week it will be your signature on those paycheques and there needs to be enough money in the bank so all those cheques cash, or on Monday morning, the doors will be closed and it will be all over.

We are told to determine if a small business is successful, you need a minimum of five years before you even know if you are successful or not. This motion deals with taxes for small business; taxes are on profits, and that is great and I have no issue with supporting a motion – first an amendment, and a motion – that deals with lessening the tax rate for small business in this Province. In fact, in everything that we do, we should attempt to be at least in the middle of the pack or the best in the field in small business in this Province in order to develop our economy.

Small business is the most fluid part of our economic infrastructure in this Province. What do I mean by that? Only small business can move. There is no way tomorrow that Joe Kruger is going to pick up his stuff and go from Corner Brook to Grand Falls; he is not going to go from Corner Brook to Baie Verte. He is in Corner Brook and that is where he is. If it was a small business, he likely could fold up, take his five, six or seven employees, go to another town, and start again. Small business is mobile; it can move back and forth. Small business is what we can have in this Province to help rebuild our regional economies.

Some of the issues that we have in small business in this Province is that we do not recognize small businesses as small businesses. What would you call somebody who would take $500,000 or more, or borrow that much and get a boat, a bunch of licences, and depend on the weather, DFO, DFA and everybody else, and hope to make a profit. Some people will call him crazy. Some people will call him a fisherman – I guess a fish harvester nowadays; we do not have any more fishermen, they are all fish harvesters, but they are still fishermen to me. I would call that person a business operator because that person has to respect all of the principles of business because if you do not respect the principle of business, you go out of business. Cheques have to cash, revenues have to be more than expenses, and you have to watch the overhead.

There are areas to deliver economic prosperity in many parts of this Province that are not being pursued or not being adequately pursued. All of these areas will benefit from a reduction in the tax rate if they are profitable. The most recent annual report from the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture says there are 114 small processors, 114 small processors are businesses. If these businesses turn a profit, that profit will be distributed through our entire Province and it will be distributed in hard-pressed towns.

When we look at large business transactions, if we look at something that is happening in the mill in Corner Brook right now, it is not the loss of the 250 or so jobs or 300 jobs that will be gone if the mill closes, it is the loss of all of the revenue for the stores, all the revenue for the professionals, all the revenue in the woods industry. All of those jobs which are far more than the bigger business, they are all small businesses, they will all be put out of business or at least severely disadvantaged.

A few months ago I walked through the mall in Marystown and discussed with people how business was, and it was not very good, and what their biggest concern was. Their biggest concern was not the global recession, their biggest concern was whether OCI would last in Marystown or not.

The mandate for government is to make sure that small business benefits whenever big business turns a profit. Big business can look after itself, small business is much more subject to the vagaries of the marketplace and every time you see a small business, and particularly a new small business, you can pretty much count that somewhere some person has a name on a document called a personal guarantee, which means that person has pledged their personal assets, maybe even their home, to make that business successful.

When we talk about fleet separation, we are talking about small business because if we have a policy such as the fleet separation policy which keeps small businesses active –

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I remind the member this being Wednesday, Private Members' Day, and it is 4:45 p.m., according to Standing Order 63.(6) I now have to acknowledge the member who introduced the motion, the Member for St. John's East, who is now entitled to close debate.

MR. MURPHY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

First off, I would like to thank all members for their input into this motion today, the government, the Official Opposition, and my comrades here, in particular the comments from the Member for The Straits – White Bay North.

The government has made some valid points, the Opposition party has made valid points, but I think ours are more pertinent to today's condition, knowing what we do know now with regard to government's ongoing work. Government refers to pharmacare, child care, and health care as being ongoing things from the NDP money tree. I say to the hon. members across the floor from me: These are strategic investments in people and should not be held as regards to something that is being picked off the money tree.

We tend to think of these things as important. We think an investment in child care would tend to free up an available labour force. We know that, of course, there is a shortage of labour in this Province and it is something that could aid in government. So we do not make these comments willy-nilly or anything. These are important things that government should be looking at from time to time. That is why we press forward with them.

I have to say that, really, I have to be disappointed because this is only a $4 million investment, but still at the same time government sees the prudence to go ahead and make a $7.1 billion investment in Muskrat Falls which they say is going to be prudent in the long-term and is going to have some real tangible results for the people –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Chair has recognized the Member for St. John's East as he is concluding his comments on the motion. I would ask members of the House to listen with some attention and be silent while he is making his comments.

Thank you.

MR. MURPHY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, I will say it: This is a $4 million investment in people again that we were talking about, but government is talking about a $7.1 billion investment in Muskrat Falls that is supposed to pay off in the long run for people. There is an awful disparity here. It is, like I said, such a small investment. Is there risk in government losing a $4 million investment to people? Well, I do not know if there is any kind of a risk when you are talking about making an investment in people here, and still, we are talking about such a small dollar amount. We are talking about the ability to support small business – and I will give government full credit for what it has done in the past, because no doubt, they have probably listened to some NDP policies in the past and incorporated them into their own ideas.

Again, like I said, it is disappointing, because at the same time, government says that there are going to be two years of hard times, that there is going to be fiscal restraint in everything, and all of it depends on oil investments and that sort of thing, and with platforms and everything being down. Let me tell you, it is not going to be two years for platforms being down when it comes to retrofit; big oil is going to want to get their monster rigs out there on the Grand Banks to start grabbing more revenue, and the price of oil is going to be up, let me tell you. Those boats are not going to be in for long, when it comes to retrofit. We are not going to be talking, I do not believe, about a two-year time frame that we are going to see happening.

Government has been talking for a while, too, about the fiscal challenges that it faces, but at the same time, it says that they can also handle it. We know, and we recognize that government has got a plan in place to handle its debt load and to be carrying on regular payments when it comes to making their debt load – but they also have to recognize at the same time what an investment in small business can be, as regards to supporting that person who owns the business, and keeping that business viable, and keeping that person in their own household as well. We are talking about – viability goes two ways here. Again, for a $4 million investment, not only were we talking about Nalcor, for example, in the last Budget, getting $356 million, and to be held to no account. We could be talking about Parsons Pond with a $23 million investment and a road to nowhere, and we are still talking about a $4 million miniscule investment. It is not asking very much, it is really not.

So, the disappointment goes deep when it comes to my end of things, when it comes to looking at what the government's amendment would be. I take it as a slap in the face to all small business owners who are operating here in the Province, that we cannot do this now. Again, focus on the dollar amount here; this could be a trying time, it could be an uncertain time that government talks about, but at the same time, doesn't that road go two ways, that we could be talking about uncertainties when it comes to high energy, high food prices, the possibility of rising interest rates. There could be uncertainty that small businesses are going to be dealing with, too, and we have to remember that a $4 million investment can go a long way to keeping those businesses going.

I can only hope, for the sake of people struggling, that they would be able to keep their businesses alive in the face of knowing what conditions they are going to be faced with a year or two down the road. Again, if government says that we are okay – I do not think that we have to rely on government saying that we have to wait for prudent time to do it, because I think government has been showing some prudence when it comes to the spending of their monies, but on the other hand, they have not been showing prudence when it comes to a $7.1 billion investment in Muskrat. Again, there is an awful difference between the range of numbers here.

Mr. Speaker, I guess I will sum up on that particular note, but again, I have to reflect on the volatility of government's own fiscal projections when they are talking about the numbers. We have seen projections, for example, last year; I think it was the finance minister, last September, who stood up and said that all of a sudden we had $756 million when we were projected to be in the red last year; $750 million and we cannot afford $4 million to make that strategic investment into small business.

Again, I guess I will just leave it at that, Mr. Speaker, but I have to say, when it comes to this, we can put all we want to in it, but it is time that for a $4 million investment, that we ask government to have done here –

AN HON. MEMBER: It is a small amount of money.

MR. MURPHY: It is a small amount of money and we are not asking the world here. We are going to the government's money tree to ask for a strategic investment, again, in people. It is just disappointing. I cannot support that amendment that the government has brought forward.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

All those in favour of the amendment, ‘aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, ‘nay'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Nay.

MR. SPEAKER: The amendment has been carried.

On motion, amendment carried.

MR. SPEAKER: All those in favour of the motion as amended, ‘aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against the motion as amended, ‘nay'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Nay.

MR. SPEAKER: The motion is carried.

AN HON. MEMBER: Division.

MR. SPEAKER: Division now has been called.

Please summon the members.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

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

All those in favour?

CLERK: Mr. Kennedy, Ms Burke, Mr. King, Ms Sullivan, Mr. O'Brien, Mr. Jackman, Mr. French, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Hedderson, Mr. Felix Collins, Mr. Dalley, Mr. Verge, Mr. Kent, Mr. Forsey, Mr. Granter, Ms Johnson, Mr. Hutchings, Mr. Davis, Mr. McGrath, Mr. Sandy Collins, Mr. Brazil, Mr. Little, Mr. Hunter, Mr. Osborne, Ms Perry, Mr. Dinn, Mr. Cornect, Mr. Littlejohn, Mr. Crummell, Mr. Pollard, Mr. Cross, Mr. Peach, Mr. Lane, Mr. Russell.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against?

CLERK: Mr. Ball, Ms Jones, Mr. Andrew Parsons, Mr. Joyce, Mr. Edmunds, Mr. Bennett, Ms Michael, Mr. Kirby, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Mitchelmore, Ms Rogers.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

CHAIR: Mr. Speaker, the ayes thirty-four, the nays eleven.

MR. SPEAKER: I declare the motion, as amended, carried.

Motion, as amended, carried.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: It being Wednesday, in accordance with Standing Order 9, this House now stands adjourned until 1:30 p.m. tomorrow, Thursday.