No. 29/2021
House
of Assembly
Province of Newfoundland & Labrador
_______________________________________
1st Session – 50th
General Assembly
________________________________________
Wednesday, November 3rd,
2021
ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS
(a) Statements
by Members
(b) Statements
by Ministers
(c) Oral
Questions
(d) Presenting
Reports by Standing and Select Committees
(e) Tabling of
Documents
(f) Notices of
Motion
(g) Answers to
questions for which notice has been given
(h) Petitions
ORDERS OF THE DAY
1. – Address in Reply
Third
Reading Bills
2. – Third Reading of a Bill - “An
Act To Amend The Securities Act.” (Bill No. 16)
(Digital Government and Service NL)
3. – Third Reading of a Bill - “An Act To
Amend The Lotteries Act.” (Bill No. 18)
(Finance and President of Treasury Board)
4. – Third Reading of
a Bill - “An Act Respecting Off-Road
Vehicles”. (Bill No. 22)
(Digital Government and Service NL)
5. – Third Reading of a Bill - “An
Act To Amend The Automobile Insurance Act”. (Bill No. 23)
(Digital Government and Service NL)
6. – Third Reading of a Bill - “An Act To
Amend The Liquor Corporation Act”. (Bill No. 32)
(Finance and President of Treasury Board)
7. – Third Reading of a Bill - “An Act
Respecting The Office Of The Auditor General And The Auditing Of The Public
Accounts Of The Province”. (Bill No. 36)
(Government House Leader)
Bills
Referred to Committee of the Whole
8. –
Committee of the Whole on a Bill – “An
Act To Amend The Licensed Practical Nurses Act, 2005”. (Bill No. 26)
(Health and
Community Services)
9. –
Committee of the Whole on a Bill – “An
Act To Amend The Pharmacy Act, 2012”. (Bill No. 27)
(Health and Community Services)
Second Reading
Bills
10.
– Second Reading of a Bill - “An Act To Amend The Elections Act, 1991”. (Bill
No. 1)
(Government House Leader)
11. – Second Reading of a Bill – “An Act
To Amend The Corporations Act”. (Bill No. 24)
(Digital Government and Service NL)
12. – Second Reading of a Bill –
“An Act To Amend The Management Of Information Act”. (Bill No. 25)
(Digital
Government and Service NL)
13. – Second Reading of a Bill – “An Act
To Amend Various Acts Of The Province Respecting The Publication Of A Summary
Of A Decision Or Order Of An Adjudication Tribunal”. (Bill No. 28)
(Health and Community Services)
14. – Second Reading of a Bill – “An Act
Respecting The Requirement For A Balanced Budget”. (Bill No. 30)
(Finance and President of Treasury Board)
15. – Second Reading of a Bill – “An Act
Respecting A Future Fund For The Province”. (Bill No. 31)
(Finance and President of Treasury Board)
16. – Second Reading of a Bill – “An Act
To Amend The Services Charges Act”. (Bill No. 33)
(Finance and President of Treasury Board)
17. – Second Reading of a Bill – “An Act
To Amend The Memorial University Act”. (Bill No. 35)
(Education)
18. – Second Reading of a Bill – “An Act
Respecting The Protection Of Adults”. (Bill No. 40)
(Children,
Seniors and Social Development)
19. – Second Reading of a Bill – “An Act
Respecting A Province-Wide 911 Service For The Reporting Of Emergencies”. (Bill
No. 41)
(Justice
and Public Safety)
20. – Second Reading of a Bill – “An Act
To Amend The Law Society Act”. (Bill No. 42)
(Justice and Public Safety)
21.
– Second Reading of a Bill – “An Act To Amend The House Of Assembly
Accountability, Integrity And Administration Act”. (Bill No. 43)
(Government House Leader)
MOTIONS
1. –
THE HONOURABLE THE GOVERNMENT HOUSE LEADER – To Move:
“THAT notwithstanding Standing Order 9, this House shall not adjourn
at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 3, 2021, but shall continue to sit for the
conduct of government business and, if not earlier adjourned, the Speaker shall
adjourn the House at midnight.”
2. – MR. JAMES DINN (St. John’s
Centre) – To Move:
“WHEREAS the 2016 Census showed that St.
John’s has the highest level of income inequality in all of Atlantic Canada,
with the top one percent taking home nine times more than the bottom 30%, and
seven times more than the bottom 50%;
AND WHEREAS Canadians from all parties and all
walks of life, including CEOs, Senators, doctors, community support workers,
and economists, are now championing some form of basic income program;
AND WHEREAS federal Finance Minister Chrystia
Freeland has called for a new New Deal in light of the vast transformations
occurring in our economy due to automation and information technology, which
see the bulk of the productivity gains going to the wealthiest while real wages
stagnate and an insufficient number of jobs are created to replace those lost
to automation;
AND WHEREAS former Governor of the Bank of
Canada Mark Carney echoed Minister Freeland’s comments in 2018, explaining how
technology has decimated the share of income going to workers, increased
poverty, and underemployment, with the effect of hollowing out the middle class
and replacing their work with more lower-skilled jobs and the vast majority of
productivity gains going to the wealthiest as a result;
AND WHEREAS the federal government is already
pioneering in the provision of income support to those who most need it through
the Canada Emergency Response Benefit;
AND WHEREAS evidence from the Alaska Permanent Fund found that when low- and middle-income families
receive extra money every year, they bought more education, clothing,
recreation, and electronic purchases for their children, while giving more
money to the high-income families did not result in increased investment in
their children;
AND WHEREAS the current income support system
amounts to a poverty trap and still leaves many to fall through the cracks;
AND WHEREAS Canadian data from basic income
pilot projects has shown that such programs increase public health, foster
improvements in nutrition, improve mental health and well-being, lower the
immense public costs associated with poverty, encourage entrepreneurship, and
allow people to pursue education and training;
AND WHEREAS the Canadian Centre for Policy
Alternatives has calculated that poverty costs this province a total of $959
million dollars, in preventable health problems, crime, lost productivity,
foregone public revenue, and intergenerational costs;
AND WHEREAS a poll conducted by The Gandalf Group on behalf of The Maple Leaf
Centre For Action On Food Security (June 28-30, 2021) indicated that
significant support exists among Atlantic Canadians and among all demographics
for a basic minimum income floor that would provide a safety net for all
Canadians.
AND WHEREAS a 2017 study by the Roosevelt
Institute showed that even a $1,000 payment to all adults once a year would
expand the American economy by 12.56% over the baseline after eight years and
permanently raise the level of national economic output;
AND WHEREAS this House voted last year to set
up a committee to study a pilot project on basic income and create a timeline
for its implementation;
THEREFORE BE IT
RESOLVED that this House consider truly ending
poverty in this province by establishing an all-party Select Committee on Basic
Income, with a mandate to review and make recommendations on: eligibility and
minimum income amounts, interaction with existing income supports, additional
poverty reduction initiatives, cost-benefit analysis, potential models for such
a program, and a timeline for implementation;
BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED that the House ensure this Select Committee
has the resources it needs to conduct its work;
BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED that the Select committee engage Federal
Members of Parliament from Newfoundland and Labrador to participate.”
3. – MR. PAUL LANE (Mount Pearl –
Southlands) – To Move:
“WHEREAS the cornerstone of any democratic
society is the right for citizens to choose their representatives to serve in
the legislature;
WHEREAS the process for electing their representatives
must not only be carried out in a fair and impartial manner with all of the
appropriate checks and balances to ensure this principle is upheld, it must be
perceived as being conducted that way;
WHEREAS the recent NL Provincial General
Election has brought serious allegations, numerous concerns and inconsistencies
to light including but not necessarily limited to the following:
-
Certain
individuals knowingly being permitted to vote by telephone in contravention to
the Elections Act.
-
Ballots
being hand delivered by the Chief Electoral Officer to acquaintances and
neighbors.
-
A
number of computer and phone line crashes at Elections NL, including on the
final evening to apply for ballots, leading to numerous citizens who applied
within the established time line, not receiving a ballot.
-
An
under-resourcing of Election NL’s Call Center which lead to citizens having to
call numerous times to get through to apply for a ballot and some simply giving
up out of frustration and not getting a ballot at all.
-
Individuals
being provided ballots in person and over the phone without any verification of
identity and/or address.
-
Individuals
receiving incomplete ballot kits.
-
Individuals
receiving multiple ballots.
-
Ballots
being sent to the wrong civic address.
-
Individuals
applying for ballots on-line or by telephone not receiving their ballots and
upon inquiring with Elections NL being told they had no record of their
application and were subsequently denied their right to vote.
-
Indigenous
citizens being denied their right to vote due to language barriers not
addressed by Elections NL
-
Numerous
concerns with the process implemented by Elections NL relating to the
scrutinizing and witnessing of the opening, counting and recording of the
ballots.
-
Allegations
of Elections NL staff taking ballot kits and other related materials to their
homes, as well as further allegations of individuals being permitted to print
their own ballots which were subsequently accepted by Elections NL.
WHEREAS in a VOCM news story of April 9,
2021 an anonymous whistleblower inside Elections NL was reported as making the
following observation:
“The
former employee claims that an apparent lack of direction exacerbated an already
difficult situation, comparing it to a “three-ring circus.” That included the
sudden change in Election NL’s in-house voting software and a registration
process that they say left the door open to potential voter fraud.
The
worker tells VOCM News duplicate and even triplicate ballots were sent out
after some voters reported they hadn’t received their ballots and because of
the volume of requests, verification of a voter’s name, age and address became
difficult, if not impossible, especially in households with more than one
voter.
Their
conclusion? “This election should have been delayed,” says the worker, because
decisions were made “hastily, with no forethought” and that the election was
not “well planned” or “well-executed.”
WHEREAS the Chief Electoral Officer stated
publicly prior to the election that Elections NL was prepared and able to
successfully conduct a pandemic election and this was obviously not the case.
WHEREAS the Chief Electoral Officer has
the ultimate responsibility for the carrying out of fair, democratic elections
in the province of NL in accordance with the provisions of the Elections Act, 1991 but preliminary
evidence suggests that he has fallen short in this regard;
WHEREAS the Chief Electoral Officer
reports directly to and is responsible to this
Honorable
House;
WHEREAS we as Members of this Honorable
House have a responsibility to the people of NL to ensure that all of our
Officers of the House of Assembly, including the Chief Electoral Officer, are
carrying out their duties in an ethical and competent manner;
AND WHEREAS Section 5.3 of the Elections Act, 1991 which states:
The Lieutenant-Governor in Council,
on resolution of the House of Assembly passed by a majority vote of the members
of the House of Assembly actually voting, may suspend or remove the Chief
Electoral Officer from office because of incapacity to act or for misconduct,
cause or neglect of duty.
THEREFORE BE IT
RESOLVED that the
House of Assembly approve the following actions:
-
Development
of a terms of reference for and Initiation of an independent investigation of
the recent provincial general election to be carried out by an individual or
entity as agreed to by all parties and Independent Members of the House.
-
Upon
completion of the investigation, tabling and debating of the report in the
House of Assembly including whether or not section 5.3 of the Elections Act, 1991 should be applied
based on the findings of said report”.
4. – MR. EDDIE JOYCE (Humber – Bay
of Islands) – To Move:
“WHEREAS the Commissioner
for Legislative Standards presented a report, the Joyce Report of October 18th,
2018;
WHEREAS
the
Report was presented in the House of Assembly and concurred by a majority in
the House of Assembly;
WHEREAS the findings were
that I violated Principle #10 of the Code of Conduct;
WHEREAS the Complainant
was the MHA for Placentia-St. Mary’s, an elected official;
WHEREAS Principle #10
states, “ Relationships between Members
and government employees should be professional and based upon mutual respect
and should have regard to duty of these employees to remain politically
impartial when carrying out their duties;
WHEREAS the Commissioner
for Legislative Standards stated in the Report, “In the manner in which he dealt with the Complainant, and particularly
during the call on April 8th”.
“Relationships
between Members and government employees should be professional and based upon
mutual respect and should have regard to the duty of those employees”.
“I find that the
conduct of MHA Joyce is a violation of Principle #10 of the Code of Conduct”.
“I find that the
manner in which he addressed this issue was unprofessional and showed a lack of
mutual respect towards members of the public service”.
WHEREAS it is very
obvious that the Commissioner for Legislative Standards defined the
Complainant, a MHA, as a public sector government employee, contrary to
Principle #10. This was a deliberate and
malicious attempt to mislead the House of Assembly by the Commissioner for
Legislative Standards, Bruce Chaulk;
WHEREAS former MHA, Dale
Kirby appealed to the Information and Privacy Commissioner in December, 2018,
for a copy of the Rubin Thomlinson report;
WHEREAS testimony in the
Report by the Information and Privacy Commissioner is as follows:
-
The
Commissioner for Legislative Standards reversed his position and gave testimony
that Members are not government employees, less than two months after he
presented the Joyce Report to the House of Assembly;
-
The
Clerk of the House of Assembly gave testimony that Members are not government
employees;
-
The
Information and Privacy Commissioner’s ruling states Members are not government
employees, Report A- 2019-004
WHEREAS other evidence to
support the position that MHAs are not government employees are:
-
the
letter from the Law Clerk who stated Members are not government employees;
-
On
November 2nd, 2018, former Speaker and Member for Lake Melville, in his letter
stated, “Members of the House of Assembly
are elected officials. They are not
employees”.
The
former Speaker’s statement was before the debate occurred in the House of
Assembly on November 6th, 2018 and he was Chair of the Management Commission.
The
Commissioner for Legislative Standards reversed his position again, contrary to
what he presented in the House of Assembly, in a letter dated November 27th,
2020 to the Honorable David B. Orsborne and I quote, “Members of the House of Assembly are not employees”.
Supreme
Court of Newfoundland and Labrador, Justice Frances J. Knickle, stated in a
ruling on June 10th, 2021, “The
appellant, Mr. Dale Kirby, MHA, is neither an employee in the traditional
sense”.
WHEREAS the Executive
Council of the Liberal government mandated public sector employees to be fully
vaccinated;
WHEREAS Members of the
House of Assembly are not government employees, the government introduced a
resolution on October 18th, 2021, in the House of Assembly that all
MHAs must be fully vaccinated;
WHEREAS the Government of
Newfoundland and Labrador distinguished by mandating public sector employees to
be vaccinated, and the motion of October 18th, 2021 that Members of the House
of Assembly are not government employees of the public sector and must be
vaccinated by bringing forth the Motion.
This is an admission by Premier Furey and the government that MHAs are
not government employees, contrary to the findings of the Joyce Report of 2018;
WHEREAS the House of
Assembly, by concurring with the Joyce Report of 2018 has established that
Members of the House of Assembly are government employees which now the
Government is admitting was a wrong conclusion;
WHEREAS former Premier
Dwight Ball, stated on August 23, 2018 to the media in a public statement, “There’s no room form political interference
in the reports, said Ball, I’ve not received any information from the
Commissioner neither have I went looking for any”;
WHEREAS the Commissioner
for Legislative Standards stated on many occasions, “I am an independent Officer of the House of Assembly and these reports
are independent”.
WHEREAS in a letter on
May 31st, 2019, Dwight Ball stated, “I
can confirm there were limited occasions whereby my office contacted the Office
of the Commissioner for Legislative Standards”.
WHEREAS the Commissioner
for Legislative Standards made false and misleading findings in the Joyce
Report; and
WHEREAS the Commissioner
for Legislative Standards was not independent and had political influence,
which he did not declare in the House of Assembly,
I
call upon the House of Assembly to rescind the Kirby Report of October 3rd,
2018, and the Joyce Report of October 18th, 2018. Furthermore, I call upon the House of
Assembly to ask for an
independent
review of the process and make recommendations on how to strengthen the House
of Assembly Accountability, Integrity and Administration Act to ensure that all
Members will have confidence in the process.”
5.
– MR. PERRY TRIMPER (Lake Melville) – To Move:
“WHEREAS the Secretary-General of the United
Nations recently stated ‘the alarm bells are
deafening, and the evidence is irrefutable: greenhouse-gas emissions from
fossil-fuel burning and deforestation are choking our planet and putting
billions of people at immediate risk’;
WHEREAS scientists estimate that by 2050, if GHG
emissions are not reduced, the average winter temperature will be 3.4 0C
above pre-industrial levels in St. John’s, 6 0C warmer in Happy
Valley-Goose Bay, and 7.3 0C warmer in Nain (Government of NL 2018);
WHEREAS the Province is already experiencing
significant warming resulting in the reduction of ice cover particularly on the
north coast and across Labrador for example;
WHEREAS NASA (2021) states that the “Earth’s surface continues to significantly
warm, with recent global temperatures being the hottest in the past 2,000-plus
years” and “Nineteen of the hottest
years have occurred since 2000”.
WHEREAS Newfoundland and Labrador, as a partner
in the Pan Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, is obligated
to aggressively reduce provincial emissions despite increases over the past 20
years (NIR 2021);
WHEREAS Hibernia crude oil emits 0.487 metric
tonnes of CO2 per barrel, the 1.7 billion barrels of oil extracted
from the Province since 1997 (Government of NL 2018) would represent 830
million tonnes of GHGs based on EPA (2020);
WHEREAS oil and gas development represents 25
percent of provincial GDP, 41 percent of exports, thousands of direct and
indirect jobs, and over $20 billion in cumulative royalties to the Province
since 1997 (Government of NL 2018);
WHEREAS in advance of COP26 in Scotland, the
Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance (BOGA) calls on the world to “Create an international community of practice that can support
governments in delivering their commitment to a managed and just phase-out of
oil and gas production” and “Strengthen
global climate ambition by aligning oil and gas production with the Paris
Agreement goal of well below 2oC, pursuing efforts for 1.5oC”;
WHEREAS Newfoundland and Labrador is facing an
unsustainable fiscal situation that requires immediate action (PERT 2021)
including being ‘at risk of not being
able to make its financial commitments such as paying salaries, operating
hospitals, offering other public services or making payments to pension plans
which it is legally obligated to do.’
AND WHEREAS the primary means of addressing fiscal
imbalance and quality of service delivery across Canada, that of equalization
payments based on the fiscal capacity of each Province, has been inadequate for
Newfoundland and Labrador particularly as a result of how oil and gas revenues
are calculated.
THEREFORE BE IT
RESOLVED that the
House of Assembly urge Government to:
·
Cease
oil and gas exploration on inactive licenses and any further provincial
investment in the exploration of active licenses;
·
Move
to complete planned production on the existing operational fields of Hibernia,
Terra Nova, White Rose and Hebron;
·
Initiate
discussions to join the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance with Denmark, Costa Rica
and other national and sub-national signatories and
·
Secure
a climate crisis agreement with Canada that recognizes the value of leaving oil
and gas reserves undeveloped. The carbon offset agreement would calculate
projected emissions for commercially viable hydrocarbons AND the federal price
per tonne of CO2 directed as $170/tonne by 2030.
For example, Equinor estimates the Bay du
Nord field to have commercially viable reserves of 300 million barrels of oil
that would represent 146 million tonnes of GHGs representing $24.8 billion of
carbon offsets based on $170 per tonne.”
______________________
Published under the authority of the Speaker of the
House of Assembly by the Queen’s Printer