October
16, 2017
HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS
Vol. XLVIII No. 25
The
House met at 1:30 p.m.
MR. SPEAKER (Trimper):
Order, please!
Admit
strangers.
Before
we start the formal procedures of the day, I did want to address and bring
attention to everyone in this House, and our strangers, that we've gone through
a little bit of a transition these last two months. I'd like to thank both staff
and all the hon. Members for their support.
I also
wanted to point out that we have some new faces, and maybe some others that are
familiar faces but they're in new roles. I'd also like to, first of all,
identify our presiding Officers: the Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committees is
the MHA for Baie Verte – Green Bay.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The Deputy Chair of
Committees is the MHA for St. George's – Humber.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
While they don't like me to
do it, I do like to acknowledge the great staff that exist in this House of
Assembly: Sandra Barnes, who's the Clerk; Elizabeth Murphy, who's the Clerk
Assistant; and I'd like to introduce, for many of you, Ms. Kim Hawley George.
She has been appointed in an acting position as the Law Clerk, consistent with
the House of Assembly Accountability,
Integrity and Administration Act.
Ms.
Hawley George was previously Chief Legislative Counsel and assistant deputy
minister in the Department of Justice and Public Safety. Prior to being
appointed Chief Legislative Counsel in 2010, Kim was a legislative drafter with
the Office of the Legislative Counsel for more than 15 years.
Previous
to that, she held a position as solicitor in the Civil Law Division, Department
of Justice. Kim is not new to this Table and this House. She has sat there in
that chair prior to 2007 when, as several Members will recall – not myself, but
perhaps others – the Parliamentary Counsel to the House was provided by the
Office of Legislative Counsel.
With
that, I'd like to welcome Ms. Hawley George.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
I also wanted to identify our
Sergeant-at-Arms, Mr. Wayne Harnum, in the back. We have a new and a former Page
joining us today: Mohammad Ali Bakhshi who is returning with us as a Page, and a
very new Page in Jeremy Cook.
Welcome
to both of them.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
I'd also like to, of course,
acknowledge all the other staff involved in information and financial management
with the House of Assembly service.
In the
Speaker's gallery today I'd like to welcome Superintendent Owen Brophy, who will
be the subject of a Ministerial Statement today remarking on his 35 years of
services to corrections and the justice system.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
I'd also like to welcome to
the public gallery, Ms. Bernice Morrissey, who will be the subject of a
statement by the Member for Windsor Lake, along with members of her family who
are also here with her today.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
Statements by
Members
MR. SPEAKER:
For Members' statements today
we have Members for the Districts of Conception Bay South, St. George's –
Humber, St. John's East – Quidi Vidi, Baie Verte – Green Bay, Windsor Lake, and
Lewisporte – Twillingate.
The hon.
the Member for the District of Conception Bay South.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. PETTEN:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr.
Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Town of Conception Bay South for hosting
the 2017 regional Scott FireFit Championships held from August 5-6, 2017, at the
Robert French Memorial Stadium.
Often
described as the toughest two minutes in sport, the Scott FireFit Championship
is a competition based on firefighting tasks commonly performed in emergency
situations. There are many different levels of competitors, from the seasoned
10-year veteran to first-time rookie.
Congratulations to the Conception Bay South Fire Department for their strong
finish at this competition. I would also like to commend all other fire
departments abroad and at home who competed in this great competition.
Mr.
Speaker, not all these individuals are career firefighters. We have a large
number of volunteers in our province who unselfishly protect us every day.
I ask
all hon. Members to join me in congratulating them for their performance and
thanking them for their continued dedication in making our communities a safe
place to live.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St.
George's – Humber.
MR. REID:
Mr. Speaker, we in the House
of Assembly have all met people who are the lifeblood of their communities where
they live. People, who do volunteer work, serve on town councils or in their
professional lives have a tremendous impact on the communities where they live
and the individuals that they come in contact with.
Recently, I had an opportunity to join the friends and family of one such person
in Pasadena as he celebrated his 90th birthday.
Mr.
Nelsen Bennett was the first elected Mayor of the Town of Pasadena. He was there
as the communities of South Brook, Pasadena and Midland joined together to form
the magnificent town we have today.
As well
as being the first elected Mayor of Pasadena, Mr. Bennett was actively involved
in regional economic development, and as a teacher he has had a lasting impact
on many of his students. Mr. Bennett is still active in the community and
continues to contribute to the town he was so influential in creating.
I ask
all Members to join with me in extending best wishes to Mr. Bennett on his 90th
birthday.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St.
John's East – Quidi Vidi.
MS. MICHAEL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I am
pleased to rise today to recognize Sister Corona Wyse, a constituent who turned
100 years old on July 15, 2017.
Sister
Corona was born in 1917 in Placentia and was a teacher from 1936 to 1960. She
taught in Grand Falls – Windsor and Corner Brook, and served as director of
religious education with the St. John's and Stephenville Roman Catholic School
Boards.
Sister
Corona has earned several degrees including a bachelor's degree, two master's
degrees, and a PhD in Education.
She is
also a published author. She wrote a book called
Not Words, But Deeds on the life of
Nano Nagle, Foundress of the Presentation Sisters in Ireland. The book is a
history of the Presentation Sisters before and after their arrival in
Newfoundland 1833.
Sister
Corona now lives at the Presentation Convent Motherhouse in St. John's.
I ask
all hon. Members to join me in congratulating Sister Wyse on her many
achievements on the occasion of her 100th birthday.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for Baie
Verte – Green Bay.
MR. WARR:
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to
pay tribute to storyteller, advocate and legend, Mr. Ed Smith, who passed away
on September 8 at the age of 76.
An
award-winning author, most of us will remember Ed for his extremely witting The
View From Here columns that appeared in many of the province's newspapers.
Reading the Telegram on Saturday
mornings with a cup of coffee will not be the same now that Ed has passed away.
Ed
taught in schools all over Newfoundland before finally settling in Springdale.
He had been a high school principal and administrator for many years. In fact,
Ed was my high school principal and a great friend. After he retired, he was
left paralyzed from the shoulders down from a car accident. He became an
advocate, often writing about life with quadriplegia and in 2001, Ed won the
Gabriel Award for writing that uplifts and inspires the human spirit.
Known
for his wicked sense of humour, Ed often wrote about his family, including his
wife of 54 years, Marian, his son Rob, daughters Michelle, Kathy and Jennifer,
and their families.
One
behalf of all Members of this hon. House, I offer heartfelt condolences to the
Smith family.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Windsor Lake.
MS. C. BENNETT:
Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to rise in this hon. House to recognize Mrs. Bernice
Morrissey of Airport Heights on 50 years of dedicated service as a health care
professional.
Having
completed a business program at Holy Heart of Mary in 1967, Mrs. Morrissey
attended a job interview for a temporary typing position at St. Clare's. After
the interview, the head sister approached her and asked if she would like to
train for electrocardiograph technician. Mrs. Morrissey accepted and completed
her distance learning course in 1970 when she became a registered technologist.
During
her 50 years at St. Clare's Mercy Hospital, Bernice gained a reputation for
compassion, care and empathy, always putting her patients first. Her work
provided her with the patient contact she loved, as well as the opportunity to
follow up with her patients.
Recently
retired, she already misses her patients, co-workers and her public service.
Days are now filled with family and friends and she is enjoying spending time
with her three-year-old grandson.
On
behalf of all those she served, I would like to thank Mrs. Morrissey for her
five decades of exceptional health care service and wish her a well-deserved and
equally rewarding retirement.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Lewisporte – Twillingate.
MS. D. BENNETT:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I rise
in this hon. House to offer a message of congratulations to all those elected in
the recent municipal elections and to say thank you to all candidates who had
put themselves forward to serve their communities as a member of council. You're
all to be commended. I hope you find the wisdom and the courage to do what is
best for the residents you now serve, and feel assured that I will be available
to help you achieve your goals.
I would
like to take this opportunity to acknowledge this province has Canada's longest
serving mayor, Mr. John Hamlyn, of Crow Head. Mr. Hamlyn was first elected to
Crow Head town council in 1962. The following year, he accepted the role of
mayor and has been serving the residents of Crow Head ever since. During his
long history, he has been instrumental in advancing the community.
I ask
all Members to join me in congratulating Mayor John Hamlyn as he begins his 55th
year in municipal governance and, indeed, all municipal councils across this
great province.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Before we continue, I did
want to also recognize in the gallery, Mr. Jim Bennett, the former Member of the
House of Assembly.
Welcome,
Sir.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Statements by Ministers.
Statements by
Ministers
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Justice – the hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.
MR. CROCKER:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I'm glad
not to take that portfolio.
Mr.
Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today to recognize the significant
achievement in the way our government upgrades road infrastructure in
Newfoundland and Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. CROCKER:
Last month, our government
began an innovative project that looked at ways that we could reduce slowdowns
at high traffic periods of the day on our highways during the construction
season.
As part
of our nighttime road construction pilot project, seven sections of the
Trans-Canada Highway from Kenmount Road to Salmonier Line were paved at night.
Work
began at 7 after the evening rush hour, and ended each morning by 6. Detours
were in place overnight to ensure the safety of the travelling public and the
men and women working on our roads.
Mr.
Speaker, I am proud to say this is the first time in our province's long history
that a provincial government has undertaken road construction at night.
Now that
this work has been completed, we will review the project in the weeks ahead and
look at things such as safety, productivity, costs and impacts on motorists to
determine if we will consider more nighttime paving in the future.
Mr.
Speaker, our government is committed to finding new ways to upgrade road
infrastructure that lessens impacts on residents and tourists alike. We look
forward to sharing the report on this project very early in the new year.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Conception Bay South.
MR. PETTEN:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank
the minister for an advance copy of his statement. I appreciate the minister
finally providing the people an update on this matter, considering the project
started far later than what government had promised. It got to the point where
people were actually wondering if it was going to happen at all. Many are now
wondering the same with other roads in this province that the government has
promised to pave.
It's
interesting that the minister should mention tourists because much of the
roadwork was promised for this year actually began after the tourist season,
with many annual visitors stating the road conditions this year were worse than
they'd ever seen.
I am
pleased to see the project completed, however, but I'm sure the same can't be
said for much of the other projects that will be carried over into next year.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St.
John's East – Quidi Vidi.
MS. MICHAEL:
Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker.
I, too,
thank the Minister for the advance copy of his statement, and I thank the
Minister for an update on the pilot project. I'm sure drivers are going to
appreciate not having so many slowdowns on the highways during the day and
better roads.
I'm glad
our province has finally recognized and begun to implement a practice that has
been in effect for many years in other parts of the country. I'll be surprised
if we find it doesn't work. I'm looking forward to the review, especially as it
pertains to road safety.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Further statements by
ministers?
The hon.
the Minister of Justice and Public Safety.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I rise
in this hon. House today to recognize the career and contributions of retiring
Superintendent of Prisons, Mr. Owen Brophy. With more than 35 years of
experience working in corrections in Newfoundland and Labrador, Mr. Brophy has
had a tremendous impact on the justice system in this province.
Mr.
Brophy began his career in adult corrections in 1981 and since then he has
worked in a number of capacities. In 2014, he was appointed as Superintendent of
Prisons for Newfoundland and Labrador, which made him responsible for all adult
custody facilities in the province. Mr. Brophy contributed expertise in the
areas of offender risk management, conflict resolution, and the provision and
delivery of varied programs and initiatives including employment equity.
Mr.
Brophy has shown extraordinary leadership in his role as Superintendent of
Prisons and has worked hard to maintain the safety and well-being of inmates and
staff within adult corrections in this province.
Mr.
Speaker, recently we announced a new policy on disciplinary segregation. This
would not have been possible without Mr. Brophy's dedicated work and his
commitment to collaboration with community partners. Under his leadership, this
province has been able to change the way that it deals with adult corrections
and to focus more on rehabilitation. He has created a framework for us to
continue to work with and I cannot thank him enough for his incredible
contributions to the justice system here in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Mr.
Speaker, I ask all hon. Members to join me in thanking Superintendent Brophy for
his many years of service. While we are sad to see him go, we wish him all the
best for a long, happy and healthy retirement.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Official Opposition.
MR. P. DAVIS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank
the minister for an advance copy of his statement today. We join with government
and Members of the House of Assembly in congratulating Superintendent Brophy on
a successful career and the contribution that he'd made to the province's
correctional system.
Mr.
Speaker, Superintendent Brophy's career of 35-plus years is noteworthy in
itself, but considering the difficult challenges that are often faced in
corrections in our province, decades spent in those challenging, demanding and
sometimes dangerous environments is to be commended for Superintendent Brophy.
While we wish him all the best, we know that the corrections system in our
province will miss his experience and his expertise.
We see
Superintendent Brophy here today surrounded by some very important people to
him. To Superintendent Brophy, I personally extend my congratulations to him on
behalf of our caucus and the people that we represent and wish him all the best
in the next chapter of his life. We can see already his focus has turned to the
importance of family. We wish him all the best in his next chapter of his life
together with his family.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
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 the advance copy of his statement. I'm delighted to
congratulate Mr. Brophy on his retirement after 33 years of service in the
corrections system, a difficult profession for sure.
Mr.
Brophy served many important managerial roles over his career, but we are
particularly grateful for his work on a more rehabilitative approach in our
corrections facility. So I'm pleased to join with my fellow Members in wishing
Mr. Brophy a very happy retirement.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Further statements by
ministers?
The hon.
the Minister of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation.
MR. MITCHELMORE:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I am
pleased today to rise to recognize the 25th anniversary of MusicNL. What started
as a group of musicians recognizing a need for a formal structure has evolved
into an organization that continues to promote, develop and advocate for the
music industry in our province.
Mr.
Speaker, last night at the annual awards show was capped off by an exciting week
of performances, showcases and training opportunities. I also had the pleasure
of presenting the Lifetime Achievement Award to Glen Tilley. The Kubasonics,
Steve Maloney and our very own Janet Cull – whose roots are in my district on
the Great Northern Peninsula – each won three awards. It speaks to the diversity
and the talent we have here in Newfoundland and Labrador.
This
year's MusicNL Week focused on export development, assisting our musicians and
performers with export opportunities including buyer education and business
development training. Our musicians had a chance to perform for buyers from
North America and Europe, helping them to gain exposure, learn about the
industry and grow an audience base.
Mr.
Speaker, the musical talent that exists in Newfoundland and Labrador is second
to none, and artists from this province deserve opportunities to reach as broad
an audience as possible.
That is
why the provincial government proudly invests $350,000 annually in MusicNL, and
proudly contributed $34,000 to help MusicNL expand on its robust export
development program this year.
By
helping local musicians foster their talent and business skills, our government
continues to cultivate a culture and style that is all our own, while
contributing to the growth of the music sector.
I invite
all hon. Members to join me in congratulating MusicNL and all the award
recipients on a successful 25th anniversary.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune.
MS. PERRY:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I'd like
to thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement. I, along with my
colleagues, join with government in congratulating MusicNL on their 25th
anniversary. In addition, we would like to thank all those who played a role in
its success, both past and present.
Mr.
Speaker, Newfoundland and Labrador is blessed with overwhelming talent and
musical ability. MusicNL helps support local musicians, allowing them to promote
and develop their craft and to reach audiences around the world.
We are
pleased to see the current government continue to support this organization as
past administrations have done, and we look forward to further future successes.
Again,
congratulations on 25 years of growth and success. To MusicNL, keep up the great
work.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St.
John's East – Quidi Vidi.
MS. MICHAEL:
Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker.
I, too,
thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement. I was pleased to
attend the awards last night and I congratulate MusicNL on an impressive,
top-notch award show and on 25 years of extraordinary professionalism in
advancing the music industry in this province.
It is
right that government continue to invest in this industry, not just because the
artists should be supported, but also because this industry's contribution to
the economy in this province is enormous.
Thank
you very much, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Further statements by
ministers?
Oral
Questions.
Oral Questions
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Official Opposition.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. P. DAVIS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
There
are many important issues on the minds of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians
today, and in the coming days as we sit here in the House we'll raise many very
important issues.
We're
here today to debate special ballots. As the House convenes here today, the
Chief Electoral Officer is in Supreme Court appealing a recent ruling by Supreme
Court Justice Butler.
I ask
the Premier: What are the implications of the Chief Electoral Officer appealing
the court ruling on special ballots? What are the implications to the
legislation before the House?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Justice and Public Safety.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yes, we
are certainly here today, I guess somewhat unexpectedly, to debate amendments to
the Elections Act which have been
brought on by the legislation from 2007 and the subsequent court case that was
just decided on September 6, which in all actuality basically negated the
special ballots provision, section 86 of our
Elections Act.
The fact
is that the CEO of Elections NL has commenced an appeal. He did so on Friday, as
is their right. The province is listed as an intervener as per the previous
case; however, there may certainly be implications, but the fact remains that
this House needs to debate the Elections
Act amendments to the special ballots provision specifically in order
for us to comply with the other parts of the
Elections Act which dictate that we must have a by-election within
60 days of the resignation of a Member.
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
MR. P. DAVIS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Well, I'll ask the Premier in this way. Is it possible that
changes being proposed in the bill being brought to this House by the government
here today, is it possible that those changes could be deemed unconstitutional
also by way of an appeal launched by the province's Chief Electoral Office? By
that very appeal that the Chief Electoral Office is in the court on today, is it
possible that his application is and the decision of the courts could impact and
deem this very piece of legislation to be unconstitutional?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Justice and Public Safety.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. A. PARSONS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Certainly, I guess whenever you draft any piece of
legislation to bring into this House you face the possibility, and one of the
concerns you must always remember is, does it pass constitutional muster? Does
it offend any of our charter rights that we have been granted?
In doing so, we rely on constitutional experts, solicitors,
experts in the field to ensure that we do not cross that. In this case, the
amendments that were made in 2007, pursuant to a 2011 case that was decided on
September 6, found that section 86 specifically the special ballots provisions
of our Elections Act were
unconstitutional and of no use. We have no choice but to move forward.
I am very confident and certain that the provisions, the
changes we're bringing forward here today will pass constitutional muster and
will survive any challenge.
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
MR. P. DAVIS:
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Well, I'd like to ask the Attorney General if he will be
applying for intervenor status as part of this appeal process; and, if so,
what's the purpose of and intent of intervenor status?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Justice and Public Safety.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The original piece of, I guess, litigation that was
commenced by an interested party back in 2011 listed the Attorney General of
Newfoundland and Labrador, at that time, as an intervenor, as a
party to that application and
to that case. The same thing is going on here.
So yes,
this province, the Attorney General and my office has been attached to this. We
are listed as intervenors. We have seen the notice of appeal that has been filed
by the Elections NL CEO. The Department of Justice will now do its analysis to
see what our stance is as we move forward.
What I
can guarantee you is that we are here right now to debate Elections Act
amendments to ensure that we can have a constitutionally valid by-election,
as dictated by the Elections NL legislation.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Official Opposition.
MR. P. DAVIS:
Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker.
Mr.
Speaker, in recent months, there has been numerous tragedies on the highways of
Newfoundland and Labrador, loss of life, impacting families throughout our
province, and has been devastating to many communities and individuals.
I ask
the Premier: What are you and your government doing to address highway safety?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Justice and Public Safety.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I stand
here to answer this question, but the reality is that there are a number of
Members on this side that could stand up and answer this question, whether it be
the Minister of Service NL who just recently brought in changes to drunk driving
legislation to make our roads safer than what they are, and certainly safer than
they are in other jurisdictions. It's a significant piece of legislation. What I
can say is when we come back here in the future we have more legislation that
she will be bringing forward to ensure that we have safer roads.
I could
speak for the Minister of Transportation and Works who has been doing a
significant job ensuring that we have safe roads to go on. The fact is we have a
number of roads in disrepair across this province. It's one of the issues that
we've been left to deal with. Again, it happens on a daily basis. We know the
challenges that go there.
Certainly, what I can say I'm doing as the Minister of Justice is working with
our RNC and our RCMP to make sure we do everything within our power to make
these roads safer for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Official Opposition.
MR. P. DAVIS:
Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker.
Mr.
Speaker, I ask the Minister of Justice to advise this House how many additional
police officers were deployed to Labrador this past summer, and how many of
those actually came from Traffic Services here on the Island.
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Justice and Public Safety.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
As the
Member opposite would know, operational decisions of the police, whether it be
the RNC or the RCMP, are not the mandate of the Minister of Justice. I do not
dictate police operations and which officers serve in which role. What I can say
is I have been assured that nobody from Traffic Services – there was no
disservice to Traffic Services anywhere in this province in order to fulfill the
mandate of the operation that was done in Labrador.
In fact,
we know that the RCMP reached out to police forces all across the country to
ensure that we had the necessary people on the ground in Labrador to ensure the
safety and well-being of all people in Labrador.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Official Opposition.
MR. P. DAVIS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I ask
the minister just to clarify his statement because it sounded like he began to
say nobody from Traffic Services, but then he changed his answer a little bit.
But just to clarify – and I understand that it's not your decision to deploy
resources; my question is about the impact on resources in our province while
hundreds of police officers were deployed to Labrador during the summer.
My
question is: Were officers from Traffic Services on the Island portion of the
province deployed in Labrador this summer?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Justice and Public Safety.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Certainly, there was a significant operation in Labrador this summer that was
done and, basically, as a part of a review done by the RCMP. This is their job.
Any police force's job is to measure any kind of scenario to ensure that we
weigh all the risks and make sure that we take all necessary steps to protect
the lives and safety of all people in that particular scenario.
In this
case, there were extra officers that were required in Labrador, which the RCMP
gathered through their own resources here and across the country. They even
reached out to the RNC, I believe. I know, again, they did reach out to other
provinces.
What I
can say is that there was absolutely no disservice to Traffic Services anywhere
in this province during that time. I've been assured that by the head of the
RCMP in this province.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Official Opposition.
MR. P. DAVIS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Just a
couple of quick points on this matter.
First of
all, I'd like to ask the minister: What was the total cost of this, what you
referred to as a significant operation?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Justice and Public Safety.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Yes, Mr. Speaker, I don't
have an updated cost here. What I can assure the Member opposite is that there
was a significant cost that was necessary here due to the expertise of the RCMP.
They said that this was a significant situation and would require extra
resources. I would estimate the cost actually will be in the millions.
Obviously, there was a significant expense. The positive side is that there were
absolutely no injuries reported and everybody was safe thanks to the hard work
of the men and women that did this job.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Official Opposition.
MR. P. DAVIS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Back to
the line of questioning which was specific to road safety, highway safety and
the safety of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, especially considering what was
experienced in our province in the last few months.
I ask
the Premier if he will commit to immediately call a round table of key
stakeholders to help identify a plan to address highway safety and the safety of
Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Justice and Public Safety.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
What I
can say is that everybody on this side of the House certainly takes road safety
and traffic safety very seriously. I can say that I meet on a very regular basis
with members of law enforcement, of both forces, to talk about this issue; in
fact, I've talked about this issue in the recent past.
I know
that other Members of this Cabinet and this caucus have done the same thing. I
know the Premier has done significant work reaching out and speaking to people
on this issue. This is what we do on a day-to-day basis, whether it's policy
change, legislative change, what do we need to do.
What I
can say is that there are a number of initiatives that are being undertaken,
being looked at right now. I cannot reveal them in the House right yet but,
hopefully, it's going to lead to an increase in safety amongst our roads. Again,
it's not coming down to an extra expenditure of funds; it comes down to just
doing things differently.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Conception Bay South.
MR. PETTEN:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr.
Speaker, the Liberals boast about their summer road maintenance program, yet in
many areas across the province potholes, bridge and shoulder erosion, as well as
severe rutting, have been ignored. Can the minister tell us why the summer
maintenance has occurred so late this year or not at all in some areas of the
province?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Transportation and Works.
MR. CROCKER:
Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker.
I thank
the hon. Member for the question. Mr. Speaker, what I can tell the hon. Member
is this construction season in this province we have paved 588 lane kilometres
of pavement in our province; 300 culvert replacements; over 90 kilometres on the
TLH. They are just some of the things we've done with construction. Mr. Speaker,
potholes didn't happen overnight and we're fixing them as fast as we can.
Mr.
Speaker, they ask questions about summer maintenance; let me remind them that it
was their government that closed 13 depots in this province and laid off 100
people.
Thank
you very much, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Conception Bay South.
MR. PETTEN:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I want
to remind the minister that I asked about summer maintenance, not a roads
program. Their roads program, there are roads being paved, but I have one
question for the House: How do you pave more roads with less money? How do you
get more paved with less money? Everyone wants to know the answer to that
question, but maybe you'll throw that in after this next one.
We are
being told that depot staff feel as though they are being denied proper
resources to carry out required road maintenance. The travelling public are
frustrated with unsafe road conditions.
Minister, what are you doing to address this resource issue?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Transportation and Works.
MR. CROCKER:
Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker.
Again, I
thank the hon. Member for the question. Mr. Speaker, what they have to realize
is that we're doing earlier tendering, better tendering. Our five-year roads
plan – if any person in this province wants to go today they can see 75 per cent
of the work that we're going to do next year. This allows contractors to better
plan. So that's why we're paving more roads with less money. It's because they
didn't plan, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. CROCKER:
They did not plan.
He talks
about workers in depots, but let me remind him again, as in my previous answer,
it was their administration in 2005 that closed 13 depots and laid off 100
people throughout this province. And I heard, Mr. Speaker, that was done on the
back of a napkin.
Thank
you very much, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Conception Bay South.
MR. PETTEN:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I remind
the minister we've been asking for the last year for 100 per cent of the roads,
not 75 per cent, 100 per cent of the roadwork planned.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. PETTEN:
So I ask the minister to come
clear on that one too.
Actually, unlike the minister, I talk to the people in the depots. I'm speaking
for them because their voice is not being heard. They're being heard by me. So
I'm going to be the critic and I'm going to bring it up here in the House of
Assembly.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. PETTEN:
Maybe the minister should go
back and talk to some of his own staff people and come back and give me better
answers.
There
have been an alarming number of accidents on our province's highways this
summer, many resulting in fatalities. Has any analysis been done by your
department in an attempt to identify the cause? Many are pointing to reduced
highway enforcement and lack of maintenance.
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Transportation and Works.
MR. CROCKER:
Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker.
Mr.
Speaker, there are many factors in the accidents we've seen on our highways this
summer. Mr. Speaker, I extend condolences to all the families that were affected
by this. Our department is working with groups.
If you
look at the Veterans, Mr. Speaker, a highway that's 20 years old, back in the
spring the previous minister reached out and met with the Conception Bay North
Joint Mayors Association to talk about some solutions there. In this spring we
did a traffic study. We found some numbers, and looking forward to going back in
the very near future and speaking again with the Conception Bay North Joint
Councils on some of the things we can do to help highways, such as the Veterans.
Mr.
Speaker, another one of our problem roads has been the area between Whitbourne
and Clarenville. This year, Mr. Speaker, we resurfaced 115 kilometres between
Whitbourne and Goobies.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. CROCKER:
Mr. Speaker, we're addressing
this. Again, there are many issues –
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
MR. CROCKER:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Conception Bay South.
MR. PETTEN:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
In light
of these tragedies, what immediate measures are you taking to improve road
safety for the travelling public?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Transportation and Works.
MR. CROCKER:
Well, Mr. Speaker, again,
this past season we paved 588 lane kilometres in this province. I know the
Minister of Justice has had conversations with the law, with the authorities. My
own department met with the RCMP this past Friday to see if there were any
suggestions they could bring to us.
Mr.
Speaker, I think it's an important time. We recognize this week is National Teen
Driver Week. Safe driving around our province is an issue for all of us. We all
travel the roads. We all have family members on the roads. One of the things I
would encourage all of our drivers to do in this province is remember safety.
Keep safety foremost, and drive to the best of your ability. We will continue to
upgrade the roads in this province.
Thank
you very much, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Ferryland.
MR. HUTCHINGS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr.
Speaker, the Premier has announced an inquiry into Muskrat Falls.
I ask
the Premier: When do you expect to release the terms of the inquiry, and when is
the anticipated start date?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
PREMIER BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
As I
have been saying now for a few weeks, we will look forward to and will start the
inquiry this fall. It is something that is long overdue. I think the people of
this province have a right to know how we got in the situation that we're into
with the Muskrat Falls Project. It means doubling of electricity rates. It
means, Mr. Speaker, extreme costs. I refer to it often as the Tory tax on
electricity. It's something that people realize today, that this will have a
profound impact on many generations in our province.
The
inquiry will be starting this fall. The people of Newfoundland and Labrador have
a right to know how we got into this situation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Ferryland.
MR. HUTCHINGS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I'm
certainly glad to hear the Premier is getting ready to call the inquiry finally,
but I do note to him that since March of 2016 there's been an additional $1.5
billion accrued under his watch, I say to the Premier. So we're looking forward
to it.
Mr.
Speaker, will the Premier commit to ensuring that the terms of reference is
drafted by an individual or group that is independent of government?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
PREMIER BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I think
if you look at the schedule – I just want to address the preamble. If you look
at the significant progress that's been made since we've made some changes on
the Muskrat Falls Project with the new CEO and new board, new Oversight
Committee that includes independent people, Mr. Speaker, you will see in the
last year there's been more work done than you've seen in any of the previous
years before. Some 48 per cent in the first three years, now it's up to over 80
per cent. So there's been significant progress that's been made under the
guidance and the leadership of this administration.
I will
say this, when it comes to drafting the terms of reference, who will not be
drafting the terms of reference and that is the group they called upon
regularly, and that's Nalcor. Nalcor will not be involved in the drafting of the
terms of reference.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
PREMIER BALL:
And, yes, we will get this
out there independently. People that were part of the decision-making process
will not be included in drafting of the terms of reference.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Ferryland.
MR. HUTCHINGS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I'm glad
to hear the Premier say that, but I point out to him that the current CEO kept
all the team in place at Nalcor. He said he had confidence in their management
skills and overseeing the project. So I'm glad to see that it will come out of
Nalcor and there will be a terms of reference set up, no problem with that.
I also
ask the Premier: At any time will the terms of reference or discussion come back
here to the House of Assembly?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
PREMIER BALL:
Mr. Speaker, there's one
thing for sure that we know right now. The Members in the Opposition Party,
clearly in the last few days, have articulated that they still support the
project. They support a project that means more than doubling of electricity
rates in our province. It's the single, biggest tax measure ever to be inflicted
on the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.
I will
guarantee you this, Mr. Speaker. We will not be putting the fox back in the hen
yard with those terms of reference. We will not allow that to happen. We will
put in a terms of reference that is all encompassing. We will get to the details
of what got us into this position. It will not be determined by the Opposition,
who actually got us in this position in the first place.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Ferryland.
MR. HUTCHINGS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I should
highlight for the hon. Premier, that there's a $1.6 billion increase since
they've taken power in regard to the project. So we're happy to see insight, a
review of the project and what actually has transpired and taken place.
I'll ask
the Premier: Will you commit to ensuring that before a full-blown inquiry is
done that a forensic audit of the project is completed, possibly by the Auditor
General's office that will look at the decision making that was done,
procurement of contracts and all of those things that could feed into an
inquiry?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
PREMIER BALL:
Mr. Speaker, we look forward to having a very intense, detailed, deep dive into
how we got into this situation. That will include everything from a forensic
audit. The commissioner and those people, they will have a broad width and they
will use whatever resources they need to get the real answers that were hidden
from the people of this province.
The
Member opposite just spoke of over a billion dollar increase, Mr. Speaker. These
are numbers that were hidden from the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. They
would not disclose them prior to 2015 because they were ashamed of it. They knew
in June of 2015, the former premier knew this and hid it from the people of
Newfoundland and Labrador.
Mr.
Speaker, our intention is to expose all of that and let the inquiry do the work.
Whatever measures they need, they will have the resources to do it.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Ferryland.
MR. HUTCHINGS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The
numbers weren't hidden. The current CEO announced them several times in the past
number of months. So they weren't hidden. Their own CEO announced the number.
I ask
the Premier, the timeline for looking at this project, we know it will go back
to – I think it has been referenced, a time when the decision was made to
sanction it even before that. As well, will the review take right up to date, in
terms of what decisions have been made to this date?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
PREMIER BALL:
Mr. Speaker, if there's anything I look forward to is getting in front of that
inquiry and laying out the things that we have had to clean up based on the work
of the prior administration.
Mr.
Speaker, what I would like to know, they had the ultimate opportunity to do
their own inquiry. It was called sanctioning, and they refused to do it. They
kicked the PUB out. They rejected the joint review panel, Mr. Speaker. They had
the opportunity to ask questions in the beginning and refused to do it, Mr.
Speaker.
We are
going to get the answers that are required. What I would like to know, knowing
what we know now, do Members of the Opposition still support the Muskrat Falls
Project? Stand up and let the people know: Do you still support the project?
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Conception Bay East – Bell Island.
MR. BRAZIL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
For
years, the Member opposite sat in Opposition and pledged and promised to change
the 1.6 kilometre busing route. Last week, the minister attempted to blame the
school board saying that the rule was a school board policy, but documentation
by the minister's own department clearly states that the rule is the policy of
the department.
I ask
the minister: Why haven't you made changes to the 1.6 kilometre busing rule?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Education and Early Childhood Development.
MR. KIRBY:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It's an
honour for me to be able to respond. The Member opposite is entitled to his own
fantasies, but he's not entitled to his own facts. The fact of the matter is we
do have problems at the beginning of the year with school busing. I never, at
any point, tried to say that the 1.6 kilometre rule was a rule of the school
district. That is a policy of the Department of Education and Early Childhood
Development.
Most of
the school busing problems are resolved with the courtesy seating policy at the
beginning of the school year. Sometimes parents decline courtesy seating. That
happened in one well-publicized instance.
That
happens and that's the choice of parents. They can take courtesy seating. If
that doesn't work for them, they're welcome to decline it as well.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Conception Bay East – Bell Island.
MR. BRAZIL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Why are
you playing politics with children's education? Last year, the minister said
government had no place getting involved with the school trustees, but all it
took was a trustee to criticize the Liberal government and the minister fired
off a letter telling them to keep quiet.
Why has
the minister flip-flopped on his policy?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Education and Early Childhood Development.
MR. KIRBY:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
As I
said before, the Member is entitled to his own fantasies, but he's not entitled
to his own facts. The fact is we have an excellent working relationship with the
school districts.
We are
in the second year of a wildly successful full-day kindergarten program that the
PC Party voted against. We are rolling out significant new professional
development initiatives with the school districts that the PC Party neglected in
government. We have opened, I believe it will be now, eight new schools since we
took office here, Mr. Speaker, to address overcrowding issues in schools that
the PC Party ignored in government.
So far
from what the Member is alleging, we have an excellent relationship with the
school districts and we are doing good work together.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Conception Bay East – Bell Island for a quick question, no preamble.
MR. BRAZIL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Will
there be a delay in the construction of the Mobile school extension?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Transportation and Works.
MR. CROCKER:
Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker.
I thank
the hon. Member for the question. The answer is no, there will be no delay. The
first tender was called and awarded a few weeks ago. That tender is due to be
completed on November 30.
Just
this past Friday, we called tender number two, which is the construction tender,
and the new section of the school will be occupied by the fall of 2018.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Third Party.
MS. MICHAEL:
Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker.
The
success of the long-overdue judicial inquiry into the disastrous Muskrat Falls
Project will depend on the terms of reference given to that inquiry.
I ask
the Premier: Will he ensure that a forensic audit precedes or is a part of the
inquiry?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
PREMIER BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
As I
said in the previous answer, we will use whatever efforts we have, whatever
tools we have available to us, for the commissioners and those who will be doing
the inquiry, use whatever they need to get the answers that's required, things
like a forensic audit, a detailed investigation into sanctioning decisions that
were made.
Mr.
Speaker, the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, they have a right to know what
got us in this situation – a situation that will lead to more than doubling of
electricity rates in our province, inflicting financial hardship on seniors, on
young families in our province, impacting businesses. So we will use whatever
mechanisms, things like a forensic audit, that are required to get the right
answers.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Third Party.
MS. MICHAEL:
Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker.
I point
out to the Premier that legislation gives him the responsibility for putting the
terms of reference together. If a forensic audit is going to get to the bottom
of things, he should see that as something that's important.
I go on,
Mr. Speaker. I ask the Premier: Will he consult with experts and concerned
members of the public before drafting the terms of reference for the inquiry?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
PREMIER BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
When you
develop the terms of reference of an inquiry so important as this Muskrat Falls
inquiry, it's important that you make them as broad as you can so that people
can be engaged and people will be put in place.
Mr.
Speaker, right now we have many departments that are looking at this, from
Justice and Natural Resources and so on. We are excluding people that would have
been part of the decision-making process going back to the sanctioning time.
Nalcor is not involved in the terms of reference. We are going to have those
terms of reference; they'll be ready soon and this inquiry will get started this
fall.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Third Party.
MS. MICHAEL:
Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker.
I didn't
hear from the Premier talking about experts and concerned members of the public
outside of government departments, and that's where we should be going.
Mr.
Speaker, the public recently learned that Nalcor has nearly 500 embedded
contractors working on the disastrous Muskrat Falls Project. While in some cases
this is normal industry practise, this issue has raised serious concerns about
government's competence in the oversight of this project.
I ask
the Premier: Why was there no public mention of these 500 contractors until
almost two years after his government took power?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
PREMIER BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
What we
expect from any agency, board and commission – if you remember, the legislation
now that has been discussed in the last few days around the embedded contractors
was legislation that was put in place by the prior administration. We will take
whatever measures that are required to get the information so that Nalcor is as
open and transparent as any other department within government. That's where we
want to be.
Right
now, we have the OIPC, the Privacy Commissioner, looking at this; they're doing
a review of where this is right now, Mr. Speaker. We want to get this
information out there. The people in our province, they have a right to know.
As the
Member opposite clearly said, in some cases, this occurs. I believe, when I look
at this, there's a disproportionate number, but we will get to the bottom of
this. Mr. Speaker, the CEO himself, Stan Marshall, wants to get this information
out there, too; let's not forget that.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Third Party.
MS. MICHAEL:
I ask the Premier: When did
he learn of these 500 embedded contractors and the number that was out of whack?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
PREMIER BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Well, a
lot of this information came out through the work that's been done in the media,
Mr. Speaker. It's been ongoing. We want to get the information out, how much has
been paid to embedded contractors. We will continue to ask questions on where
the commercial sensitivity is with all of this.
We're
working with the new board that we've put in place, Mr. Speaker. We're working
with the current CEO who has said that he wants to get this information out
there. Maybe legislation prohibits this. If it means that we've got to make some
changes so the information is available publicly, that is what we want to do.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Third Party for a brief question, no preamble, please.
MS. MICHAEL:
Very quick, Mr. Speaker, I
ask the Premier: Why is it only now that he's dealing with this issue? He says
that he's known for a while.
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
PREMIER BALL:
I think, Mr. Speaker, it's a
bit disingenuous when the Member opposite – I had already mentioned there is a
review that's currently undergoing right now. There has been correspondence back
to the board of directors.
Mr.
Speaker, this could require some legislative changes, but the premise and the
basis of all of this is to get Nalcor to a position where it is as transparent
and accountable as any department within government. That is where we need to
get.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The time for Oral Questions
has ended.
Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.
Tabling
of Documents.
Notices
of Motion.
Notices of Motion
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Service NL.
MS. GAMBIN-WALSH:
Mr. Speaker, I give notice
that I will ask leave to introduce a bill entitled, An Act To Amend The
Securities Act, Bill 15.
Mr.
Speaker, I give notice that I ask leave to introduce a bill entitled, An Act To
Amend The Prepaid Funeral Services Act, Bill 18.
MR. SPEAKER:
Further notices of motion?
The hon.
the Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour.
MR. HAWKINS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr.
Speaker, I give notice that I will ask leave to introduce a bill entitled, An
Act To Amend The Labour Relations Act, Bill 16.
I
further give notice, Mr. Speaker, that I will ask leave to introduce a bill
entitled, An Act To Amend The Labour Relations Act No. 2, Bill 17.
MR. SPEAKER:
Further notices of motion?
The hon.
the Minister of Justice and Public Safety.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. A. PARSONS:
Yes, Mr. Speaker, I give
notice that I will ask leave to introduce a bill entitled, An Act To Amend The
Elections Act, 1991, Bill 14.
Further,
Mr. Speaker, I give notice that I will ask leave to move the following
resolution:
Be it
resolved by the House of Assembly as follows:
WHEREAS
section 4 of the Seniors' Advocate Act
provides that on resolution of the House of Assembly the Lieutenant Governor in
Council shall appoint a Seniors' Advocate;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Dr. Suzanne Brake be appointed as the Seniors'
Advocate.
Finally,
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 11, I give notice that this House will
not adjourn at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 17.
Further,
pursuant to Standing Order 11, I give notice that this House do not adjourn at
10 p.m. on Tuesday, October 17.
MR. SPEAKER:
Further notices of motion?
The hon.
the Member for Virginia Waters – Pleasantville.
MR. B. DAVIS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I move
the following private Member's motion, seconded by the Member for Mount Scio:
WHEREAS
increasing immigration is key to prosperity of Newfoundland and Labrador; and
WHEREAS
Newfoundland and Labrador is facing significant demographic challenges that has
Canada's most rapidly aging population and lowest birth rate, and it is
projected that by 2025 the province will experience a 10 per cent decline in its
working population, resulting in 35,000 fewer people in the province's labour
market;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that this hon. House supports the Government of
Newfoundland and Labrador in its goal to increase immigration so that
Newfoundland and Labrador will welcome approximately 1,700 immigrants annually
by 2022.
Thank
you.
MR. SPEAKER:
Further notices of motion?
The hon.
the Government House Leader.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Pursuant to Standing Order
63(3), the private Member's resolution just entered by the Member for Virginia
Waters – Pleasantville shall be the motion to be debated this week.
Thank
you.
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
Answers
to Questions for which Notice has been Given.
Petitions.
Petitions
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St.
John's East – Quidi Vidi.
MS. MICHAEL:
Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker.
To the
hon. House of Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in
Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents humbly sheweth:
WHEREAS
deaf and hard-of-hearing children in the public education system of Newfoundland
and Labrador are not receiving full and equivalent access to a quality education
because of the lack of appropriate full-time resources; and
WHEREAS
from 1964 to 2010, deaf and hard-of-hearing children were provided with a
full-time equality education in the Newfoundland School for the Deaf, but deaf
and hard-of-hearing children currently placed in mainstream schools receive only
a fraction of a school day with a teacher qualified to instruct deaf and
hard-of-hearing children;
WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House
of Assembly to urge government to undertake an immediate complete and thorough
assessment of the supports in place for deaf and hard-of-hearing children by a
committee of at least two independent and recognized experts in the field of
deaf and hard-of-hearing education and to accept the recommendations of these
experts, and in the interim take measures to honour the support commitments made
to all current and future students upon closure of the Newfoundland School for
the Deaf in 2010 to ensure that all deaf and hard-of-hearing children are
provided with access to a quality education equivalent to hearing classmates, as
well as access to sign language.
As in
duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.
Mr.
Speaker, I know this petition has been generated by parents who are quite
concerned about the lack of resources their children are receiving in the school
system right now. It is their concerted effort and their commitment to their
children that has created this petition and which many people around this Island
are signing, I understand. Today, I have the early stages of that petition.
When the
School for the Deaf was closed in 2010, the government of the day promised that
children would continue to receive the same services they received in that
school. What we're learning is children are going into school on the first day
of school, which was what happened this September, and services aren't in place
for them. Everybody thinks it is okay that a child should go into a classroom
for a whole week and have nobody there with him or her to help them take part in
school. To not be able to communicate, to not be able to be with their
classmates, to not understand what's going on because of lack of services.
We have
a terrible situation, Mr. Speaker, going on. We had a task force on education
that supposedly had representations from people throughout the province, and I
know they had representation with regard to the issues around deaf and
hard-of-hearing children, yet we have one sentence in their report dealing with
what these children are going through.
Thank
you very much, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER:
Further petitions?
The hon.
the Member for Cape St. Francis.
MR. K. PARSONS:
Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker.
To the
hon. House of Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in
Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland
and Labrador humbly sheweth:
WHEREAS
school-aged children are walking to school in areas where there are no
sidewalks, no traffic lights and there are areas without crosswalks; and
WHEREAS
this puts the safety of children at risk;
WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House
of Assembly to urge government to ensure safety of all children, removing the
1.6 kilometre busing policy for the safety of ongoing children.
As in
duty bound, your petitioners forever pray.
Mr.
Speaker, I know today there were questions in Question Period concerning the 1.6
policy. I understand how the 1.6 policy came in years ago, and the reason for it
was safety. I walked to school every day and probably lived within a mile of the
school and other people got picked up by bus.
In areas
that I'm talking about, like on Torbay Road right now, we just opened a brand
new school on Torbay Road. The first couple of mornings I went up and helped
with the crosswalks and stuff like that, children coming to school. It's an area
where there are approximately 15,000 to 17,000 cars a day travelling on that
road. There are no sidewalks. Areas of the road, it's probably about 18 to 24
inches of area where they have to walk. I know there's a policy in place but
policies are made to be changed. I believe changing these policies will only
help in the safety of our children. It's going to be too late when something
happens.
I
applaud the Department of Transportation and Works. They went down and put some
signage up there, and I applaud the residents that volunteer every morning at
the crosswalks. Also the Town of Torbay, in this particular area, have a
commissioner that goes over there. He does three or four schools. He's there
also.
The
policy of children having to walk at this time of year is bad, but once the snow
gets on the ground it's even going to be worse. In those areas where, like I
said, 18 to 24 inches of the width of a sidewalk – which is no sidewalk, it's
just a gravel road. Once the snow comes this is going to be treacherous for
those children to walk along. We're talking children from, in this particular
school it's 4, 5 and 6. They're pretty quick and they can move out. In the other
schools in my area where there's a huge concern, we're talking little children
in kindergarten to grade four.
I
believe this policy should be changed and that government should really have a
look at this policy because it's all about the safety of the children.
Thank
you very much, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER:
Further petitions?
The hon.
the Member for Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune.
MS. PERRY:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
A
petition to the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and
Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents of
Newfoundland and Labrador humbly sheweth:
WHEREAS
the Adult Dental Program coverage for clients of the Newfoundland and Labrador
Provincial Drug Program under the Access and 65Plus Plans were eliminated in
Budget 2016; and
WHEREAS
many low-income individuals and families can no longer access basic dental care;
and
WHEREAS
those same individuals can now no longer access dentures;
WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House
of Assembly to urge government to reinstate the Adult Dental Program to cover
low-income individuals and families to better ensure oral health, quality of
life and dignity.
And as
in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.
Mr.
Speaker, I find it very unfortunate that we have to rise in this hon. House to
present this petition, especially given when the former administration was in
place and introduced the Adult Dental Program with one set of dentures, the
Members opposite, who today form government, screamed and yelled for two sets of
dentures.
What did
they do when they took power? They eliminated the set that people were already
availing of. So now they have nothing. While in Opposition, they said we feel
people deserve better and then once they took office, we're not giving you any
teeth at all. It's terrible, Mr. Speaker.
In terms
of primary health care, that is something that the current government is really
promoting. My understanding based on some preliminary consultations that have
started on this is that it's all about encouraging preventative health care and
raising money on health care down the road because we're going to make people
healthier today.
Every
person involved in the medical field knows that having healthy teeth means
healthy hearts and healthy gums. It really would have a big impact, I would put
forth, on lowering the cost of health care down the road by eliminating
potential serious problems with respect to other diseases that people will
develop as a result of poor oral health.
Again, I
implore this government to rethink their decisions, to go back to their thoughts
that they used to express in Opposition and give the people of this province the
dignity they deserve and restore dentures for people who need them.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER:
Further petitions?
The hon.
the Member for Ferryland.
MR. HUTCHINGS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
To the
hon. House of Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in
Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland
and Labrador humbly sheweth:
WHEREAS
an extension was approved to the Robert E. Howlett highway on March
25, 2014; and
WHEREAS the environmental assessment, design and engineering of this project is
completed; and
WHEREAS continued residential and commercial growth has increased traffic flows
on the Southern Avalon;
WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House
of Assembly to urge government to reinstate the approved extension of the Robert
E. Howlett highway to improve and ensure the safety of the travelling public to
the Southern Shore and, totally, to the Southern Avalon.
Mr. Speaker, this is a piece of significant infrastructure to meet the growing
residential, commercial and industrial needs of the whole Southern Avalon. It's
about a 9.6-kilometre extension that would revert away from one of the largest
water supplies serving the City of St. John's: Bay Bulls Big Pond. It would
alleviate environmental concerns in that regard; take it away from that body.
That's always been a concern.
It would bring it, like I said, about 9.6 kilometres, almost 10 kilometres, down
close to the intersection of the Town of Bay Bulls with the City of St. John's
boundary, reliving some of the traffic going through Middle Pond and that area.
As I said, what we've seen in the region is tremendous growth. Statistics Canada
just recently some time ago recognized regions of Witless Bay as one of the
fastest growing communities. So we've continued to build infrastructure over the
past decade. Unfortunately, this is the second piece of infrastructure that was
cancelled by this current administration. The other being the middle school for
Mobile Central High, but all of this basically shows the growth and the
requirement for the free flow of traffic for commercial reasons, certainly
residential reasons and it's a significant piece of infrastructure that's needed
now.
We hear on the other side the talk of all the infrastructure money that's
available from the federal government. I'd certainly like to see our two MPs who
serve that region step up and play a role, as well as this government, to get
this much needed piece of infrastructure built and built very quickly.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Further petitions?
The hon. the Member for Conception Bay East – Bell Island.
MR. BRAZIL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of
Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the
undersigned residents of Newfoundland and Labrador humbly sheweth:
WHEREAS
infertility is not an inconvenience; it is a disease of the reproductive system
that impairs the body's ability to perform the basic function of reproduction;
and
WHEREAS
infertility affects men and women equally; and
WHEREAS
treating infertility is excessively expensive and cost prohibitive; and
WHEREAS
infertility impairs the ability of individuals and couples to conceive children
and begin to build a family;
WHEREUPON the
undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House of Assembly
to urge government to implement the program that assists individuals and couples
allowing them to access affordable in vitro fertilization services.
And as
in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.
Mr.
Speaker, this is extremely appropriate now for a number of reasons. As just
noted by my hon. colleague across, the private Member's bill
coming this Wednesday is about growing our population here and the need for
growing our population. It emphasizes more about immigration, but it's connected
to the fact that we have a real need here in Newfoundland and Labrador to ensure
that we have a next generation and a following generation to provide services
here, to drive the economy and to, no doubt, care for an aging population.
We have
a multitude of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, couples themselves, who would
like to have a child but unfortunately, due to a medical condition, are unable
to be able to go through the normal process and have a child, and needs some
other medical interventions. The unfortunate thing here is the cost related to
that.
We spend
in excess of $3 billion in our health care system to provide services to people.
This is another health service. It's very important. It may not hit every
citizen, but it has a very important component to those families who want to in
a loving, caring environment, bring a child into this world, have them
contribute to our economy and to our society, be leaders in our environment and,
no doubt, take a leadership role.
Mr.
Speaker, we think this is an added program through our health initiatives and
our investments that would provide a service, not only from a health point of
view, but also provide a service in ensuring that our population grows in the
near future and gives every citizen here an opportunity to be parents in a
loving and caring manner.
Mr.
Speaker, I'll get to talk to this as the House sits over the next number of
months.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Government House
Leader.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Orders of the Day.
MR. SPEAKER:
Orders of the Day.
Orders of the Day
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Government House
Leader.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker.
As
everybody knows, we are here today in the House by virtue of having to be here
to debate amendments to the Elections Act.
That's something that was communicated last week.
As
anybody that follows parliamentary procedure would know, the standard procedure
is that you do various motions of a bill on different days: notice, first
reading, second reading, Committee. However, our Standing Orders allow, with
leave of the House, for a bill to skip stages in that.
In this
case, given that we've already given notice to that, I'm asking leave of the
House to do first reading of Bill 14, the
Elections Act amendments.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Does the Government House Leader have leave?
AN HON. MEMBER:
No.
MR. SPEAKER:
Leave has not been granted.
The Government House Leader.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Given that the Opposition is not here to do work today, I
would move, seconded by the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board,
that the House do now adjourn until tomorrow.
MR. SPEAKER: It
has been moved and seconded that this House do now adjourn.
All those in favour, signify 'aye.'
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.
MR. SPEAKER: All
those against?
This House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 1:30 p.m.
On motion, the House at its rising adjourned until tomorrow, Tuesday, at 1:30 p.m.