The House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Fitzgerald): Admit strangers.

Order, please!

Before we carry on with routine proceedings, I would like to observe an old parliamentary tradition. I have the pleasant task of formally welcoming two new members who have been duly elected in by-elections since the House closed in June 2008. These new members are: Mr. Kevin Pollard in the District of Baie Verte-Springdale, and Mr. Kevin Parsons in the District of Cape St. Francis.

I have been advised by the Clerk of the House of Assembly that these new members have taken the Oath of Allegiance to the Crown as required by the Constitution, and have signed the Members' Roll.

Mr. Premier.

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present to you Mr. Kevin Pollard, the Member for Baie Verte-Springdale, who claims the right to take his seat.

MR. SPEAKER: Allow the member to take his seat.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Mr. Premier.

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present to you Mr. Kevin Parsons, the Member for Cape St. Francis, who claims the right to take his seat.

MR. SPEAKER: Allow the member to take his seat.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: I welcome all members back to the continuation of the First Session of the Forty-Sixth General Assembly, with a special warm welcome to the two new members who have just been introduced: Mr. Kevin Pollard and Mr. Kevin Parsons.

As Speaker, I look forward to the co-operation of all members as we ask questions, provide answers and participate in debate on issues important to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, the people who have allowed us the privilege to sit in this House of Assembly.

Today, the House of Assembly would also like to welcome some special guests who are seated in the Speaker's gallery. Joining us are the parents of the newly-elected Member for the District of Cape St. Francis: Mr. Kevin Parsons Sr., and Mrs. Mabel Parsons.

Welcome to the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: We are also happy to have visiting with us, and again sitting in the Speaker's gallery, Mr. Aidan Maloney, a long-time former Member of this House of Assembly.

Welcome to the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I stand today on a point of privilege.

I would like to address some recent statements by the Leader of the Opposition that certainly attack, or reflect, or challenge, or question the impartiality of the Speaker.

I would like to refer to §71.(1) of Beauchesne which indicates, "The Speaker should be protected against reflections on his or her actions."

Further to that, Mr. Speaker, I also want to address §168.(1) of Beauchesne which indicates, "The chief characteristics attached to the office of Speaker in the House of Commons are authority and impartiality." As you come down through that section it further states, "Reflections upon the character or actions of the Speaker may be punished as breaches of privilege. The actions of the Speaker cannot be criticized incidentally in debate or upon any form of proceeding except by way of a substantive motion." It further reads, "Confidence in the impartiality of the Speaker is an indispensable condition of the successful working of procedure, and many conventions exist which have as their object, not only to ensure the impartiality of the Speaker but also, to ensure that there is a general recognition of the Speaker's impartiality."

Mr. Speaker, certainly it is the responsibility of all members to ensure that the confidence in the Chair or the Speaker of the House is maintained at all times. Confidence in the Speaker keeps the parliamentary process ongoing. Any time we question or reflect upon the actions of the Speaker we certainly impede or certainly attack the whole parliamentary process and what we stand for in the House of Assembly.

Mr. Speaker, the role that you play as Speaker certainly represents the dignity of the House of Assembly. An attack that is attached to the Speaker certainly attacks all members of this most Hon. House.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to draw attention to some information, some quotes that have been recently in the media by the Leader of the Opposition. I want to certainly draw attention to a news release by the Office of the Official Opposition on November 18 of this year. It says - it is attributed to the Leader of the Official Opposition: It is unfortunate that the Chair – which would be you, Mr. Speaker – was willing to participate in such an attack on the democratic principles of our democracy. This was the third time that the Chair voted with government to defeat a motion that would provide additional resources.

Again, on November 18, 2008, CBC News has the Leader of the Official Opposition quoted as saying: "He…" – meaning you, Mr. Speaker –"…broke the tie and he sided with the government on each and every occasion, which causes me to believe this is a biased process."

"He," meaning you, Mr. Speaker, "broke the tie and he decided with the government on each and every occasion, which causes me to believe this is a biased process."

Further, on November 19, 2008, The Telegram quotes the Leader of the Official Opposition as saying, "This is a biased process." Further, in the same news article in The Telegram attributed to the Leader of the Official Opposition, his failure, which certainly reflects on you, Mr. Speaker: "His failure to do so was to comply with the agenda of the government members (on the commission)."

VOCM on November 19, 2008, a reporter indicates, "a move in which the Opposition Leader, Yvonne Jones, is claiming biased."

Mr. Speaker, whether the statements were direct, indicating that you were biased or impartial, could be questionable, but what is not questionable are these statements, certainly, attack the impartiality of the Speaker and indicates that the Speaker is participating in a biased process, and any attacks on the Speaker like that are not acceptable in the House of Assembly or certainly under the laws that rule this land and how we operate as a House of Assembly.

So, Mr. Speaker, I am asking at this time that the Leader of the Official Opposition apologize for any attacks on the Speaker that would indicate that the Speaker in any way has acted biased or in a way that was not impartial.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Opposition House Leader to the point of privilege.

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

I respond at this point in a preliminary fashion just, of course, having been made aware of the point of privilege. We will, of course, as the Official Opposition, review the documentation that has been referred to by the Government House Leader and be in a position to respond in tomorrow's meeting of the House.

I would point out, however, I can tell right now, basically where the focus will be and that is that you function, the Speaker functions, not as the Speaker in the circumstances of the commission meetings. You may use the name ‘Speaker' generically but in your role, and I take it that is what the Government House Leader is alluding to here, is the comments that the Leader of the Opposition made about the Speaker's actions while he was Chair of the Management Commission. The rules that govern the conduct of MHAs in this House of Assembly, vis-à-vis how we should and ought to treat the Chair and do treat the Chair is with respect, has nothing to do with comments that a member might make in a separate Commission committee meeting, where you function as the Chair. So that is where we will be going, Mr. Speaker, but we will take that under advisement and we will certainly make our comments in due course.

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader, to the point of privilege.

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I would like to make one further point on that, because certainly in the Chair of the Management Commission, you would be there by virtue of being the Speaker of the House of Assembly, and the Speaker of the House of Assembly does not carry on as the Speaker of the House of Assembly only during proceedings of the House. Certainly, any role that you would play in the administration of this hon. House, you would always retain your position as the Speaker.

Further to that, even when as the Speaker that you leave the precincts of the House or you are not participating in the Management Commission, according to Beauchesne in section 168.(2) it further outlines the responsibility and how far reaching it is for the Speaker to be impartial. Subsection two in Beauchesne under section 168 reads, "In order to ensure complete impartiality the Speaker has usually relinquished all affiliation with any parliamentary party. The Speaker does not attend any party caucus nor take part in any outside partisan political activity." That just shows, Mr. Speaker, that I feel that all times you will be considered the Speaker of this House and in any actions that you perform either in the House outside or certainly as you chair Management Commission, that all the rights and privileges of being the Speaker should be upheld.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

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

We will not belabour the point, at this point. Suffice it to say, that your role as Chair of the Management Commission is an administrative role, as outlined by Chief Justice Green when he personally drafted the new House of Assembly Accountability and Transparency Act which we adopted in this House in June, 2007. There are no comments been made about anybody with respect to your role as Speaker in the House of Assembly. Any comments made by the Leader of the Opposition or anyone else were made about the Speaker in his role as Chair of the Management Commission. There is a proper way to deal with legislative interpretation and that is what we will be directing our comments to. If an apology is in order at the end of the day and we feel it is, you have no doubts that it will certainly be forthcoming but we definitely need to get an understanding of when the Speaker is the Speaker and when the Speaker is the Chair, because otherwise if we are going to start taking the rules that govern the House of Assembly into every committee of this House we are going to have big problems.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Chair takes points of privileges that are raised by any member of the House very serious. It reflects on, not only the independence but the autonomy of the House as well. The Chair would certainly give Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition ample time to respond and at that particular time, depending on the response, then the Chair will decide in consultation the point of privilege that is being raised by the hon. Government House Leader.

MR. SPEAKER: Members' statements today are from the hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave, the hon. the Member for the District of Fortune Bay-Cape la Hune, the hon. the Member for the District of Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair, the hon. the Member for the District of Port au Port, the hon. the Member for the District of Burgeo & LaPoile, and the hon. Member for the District of Mount Pearl North.

The hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.

MR. BUTLER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

On October 23, 2008, I participated with 200 others in Project Michael at All Hallows School in North River.

Fifty ladies of the Moving for Health exercise group formed a committee to honour Master Corporal Michael Neil, who is presently serving with the Canadian Armed Forces in Afghanistan.

The group decided to send Christmas boxes to Michael and his troops as a way to say thank you for their demonstrated loyalty to their country.

Michael's parents, Rosemary and Wilf Neil of Clarke's Beach, were elated with the tremendous support and the knowledge that twenty-four boxes filled with gifts and treats were on their way to Afghanistan.

The organizing committee and the staff and students of All Hallows School are to be commended on a very successful project.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all hon. members to join me in saying thank you to those who were involved, and to pray for a safe return for Michael and all those who serve with him.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Fortune Bay-Cape la Hune.

MS PERRY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this hon. House today to recognize the life of Mr. John Carter, who celebrates his 100 birthday tomorrow, November 26.

Fondly known as Jack, Mr. Carter was born in Cape la Hune, the most western community in my district, on our Province's Southwest Coast. He has led a remarkable life, and hails from a long line of fishermen. In 1930, he joined the crew of the Bluenose and is one of the last surviving sailors of this famous vessel.

Jack served in World War II with the Canadian Merchant Marines, then went on to become a Chief Engineer, and continued his life of sailing. At the age of eighty-two he married Violet Carter, and they continue to live happily together today.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of this hon. House to join with me to extend best wishes to Mr. Carter and his family as they celebrate 100 years of an extraordinary life.

Congratulations and Happy Birthday, Jack!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in the House today to highlight and recognize the continued growth and success of the Junior Canadian Ranger Patrols in my district.

Mr. Speaker, first of all I would like to congratulate the Junior Canadian Rangers, their corporals, master corporals and their sergeants from the Cartwright Patrol who were recently selected as Top Junior Canadian Ranger Patrol in the Province for 2007-2008. This represented the third consecutive year this patrol has been honoured with this award. Congratulations are also extended to Sergeant Roy Sainsbury, who was honoured as Sergeant of the Year for the Province's Junior Ranger Patrol as well.

Mr. Speaker, the Cartwright Patrol is one of ten Junior Ranger Patrols in Labrador, and one of five in my district. They just celebrated their tenth anniversary in Canada, and their mandate is to provide activities in remote and isolated communities across Canada.

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to welcome a new patrol that was recently established in my district, consisting of fifty-nine youth from the communities of Mary's Harbour, St. Lewis and Lodge Bay, and headed by Master Corporal Brad Rumbolt. This new patrol did initiation training, and held a banquet in Mary's Harbour this past weekend. There were over 250 people who attended the banquet, including other Junior Ranger Patrols from the Labrador Straits, Cartwright and Port Hope Simpson, as well as their Senior Canadian Rangers and military personnel from the 5 Canadian Ranger Patrol Group out of Gander.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members in the House to join with me in congratulating the Cartwright Junior Canadian Ranger Patrol on their success, and welcoming the new Mary's Harbour Patrol and their leaders to the Junior Canadian Rangers movement across Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. CORNECT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, on November 1 of this year I had the privilege to attend a solemn ceremony at Our Lady of Lourdes Cemetery in Lourdes to recognize fourteen forgotten veterans of the First World War from the Port au Port Peninsula who have finally received grave markers.

It was while researching an upcoming book on veterans from the Port au Port Peninsula that author Bill O'Gorman discovered a significant number of people had served but, most interestingly, fourteen soldiers had never had a proper and recognized headstone.

In working with family descendants of these men, information was given to the Last Post Fund officials and alas the ceremony was held honouring these brave soldiers.

They were ordinary individuals from small Newfoundland outports who made extraordinary sacrifices, driven by the belief that their actions in the present would make a significant difference for the future. No doubt they were all young, eager men off to fight in a foreign land so that we could live a life of freedom. We must never be allowed to forget the tremendous price paid by these brave souls, who have served to protect our society and freedom from those who have attempted to take it away.

They may not have had the headstones but we can thank Bill O'Gorman, the Lourdes Heritage Committee and the 3012 Lynx Army Cadet Corps for their hard work to amend the fact that these men will now have a resting place that is marked and placed for them.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all hon. Members of this hon. House of Assembly to join in congratulating and thanking all those who have made this commemorative ceremony possible and to forever remember our women and men who served and continue to serve our Province and country.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Burgeo and LaPoile.

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

I rise today to recognize and congratulate twenty-one-year-old Corporal Kirk Keeping of Port aux Basques on his service to our country and his safe return from Afghanistan.

Corporal Keeping is a member of the 1^st Field Ambulance Edmonton with the Canadian Armed Forces. He recently returned from a successful tour of duty in Afghanistan. Kirk's position with the military is a medic and during his mission he was attached to the platoon infantry unit from Shilo, Manitoba. Kirk went on foot patrol with his unit and attended to the wounded soldiers and Afghani locals. When he was not on foot patrol, Kirk worked out of the base where he also provided medication to Afghan civilians who could come to the base for medical attention. He was in Afghanistan for eight months.

He is the son of Melvin and Faye Keeping of Port aux Basques and Kirk is currently stationed at Edmonton, Alberta.

I ask, Mr. Speaker, all members of this House to join with me in extending thanks and congratulations to Kirk Keeping on his service and his safe return.

All the best to Kirk and his family.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this hon. House today to recognize the Mount Pearl Sport Alliance on a very successful thirteenth annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony and banquet. At the ceremony, four athletes from Newfoundland and Labrador were honoured and inducted into the Mount Pearl Sports Hall of Fame.

Mr. Speaker, the Mount Pearl Sport Alliance is very active in recognizing the achievements of those who participate in sport. It is an organization that is committed to ensuring that youth and adults alike have access to programs and services in the community that focus on active living and sport.

Mr. Speaker, this annual event hosted by the Mount Pearl Sport Alliance honours those individuals who have, and in some cases, still do, contribute to sports and athletics in a very significant way. It is through their individual commitment that we are able to continue the work and operation of sporting organizations in our communities in this Province.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of this House to join me in congratulating the Mount Pearl Sport Alliance in honouring the achievements of these individuals. I would also like to congratulate specifically the most recent inductees, under the category of Builder, Evan Ash and Cindy Sooley; under the category of Athlete, Dave Penney and Sherry Morrissey. Each of these individuals are very worthy of this honour. I would like to wish them all the best in their future endeavours and hope they continue their contribution to sport.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

First of all, Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge and apologize for the fact that my ministerial statement was late getting to the Opposition parties. I do apologize for that - little growing pains, first day back at work here in the House.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize, November 25, as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

This day has been marked by women's activists since 1981 and was recognized by the United Nations in 1999. This date came from the brutal assassination in 1960 of the three Mirabal sisters, political activists in the Dominican Republic, on orders from the Dominican dictator, Rafael Trujillo.

Mr. Speaker, women around the world are subject to sexual abuse, domestic violence and other forms of violence, and the scale and true nature of the issue is often hidden.

Our government is committed to reducing violence in Newfoundland and Labrador. We are into the third year of our Violence Prevention Initiative. This is a six-year, $9.2 million program to combat violence in this Province. It is a government-community partnership to develop and implement long-term solutions for those most at risk of violence in our society.

Mr. Speaker, early in 2009 we will launch our biggest social marketing campaign to date, which will focus on preventing male violence against women. Violence against women is also the theme of this year's Violence Prevention Stakeholders' Conference being held here in St. John's next Tuesday and Wednesday, December 2 and December 3. We are expecting over 150 community stakeholders and government partners of the Violence Prevention Initiative to attend, and we have lined up important and informative speakers on this subject.

We anticipate a powerful and thought-provoking presentation from Brian Vallee, the author of Life with Billy and War on Women, as he confirms this issue as one of international concern and importance.

Mr. Speaker, we are working together with communities to tackle this issue and to spread the message that violence in any form is unacceptable. We anticipate next week's conference will strengthen these relationships and will go a long way towards ensuring all our partners are equipped with the information they need to create real change in our Province.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I certainly want to recognize, as well, today as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

Not only, Mr. Speaker, are we reminded of the cases of violence against women around the world but also in our own Province as well. We also live in a society today where women are still suffering from sexual abuse, from domestic abuse, and from other forms of violence that exist within our community and oftentimes within our workplace.

Mr. Speaker, we recognize that there always have to be continuous efforts, not only to promote and enhance the programs and services but also, Mr. Speaker, we all have a role to play in eliminating the oftentimes external forces which lead to violence in the home or in society. I talk about poverty, I talk about mental illness, I talk about addictions, all of which we need to turn our attention to as well, because once we start to eradicate some of these other barriers that are in society oftentimes we see healthier communities, communities that are more free of violence both in the home, in the workplace, and in society in general.

Mr. Speaker, we are pleased to see that the event that will take place next week will engage community leaders and stakeholders and will provide a strong message, a message to all of the people of the Province, that there is a role that we each play to eradicate violence within our communities.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

[Applause]

MR. SPEAKER: Order please!

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

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

I thank the minister for her apology. A late arrival of the statements is a rare occurrence. We were wondering today what happened, so you are forgiven, Minister. Thank you very much for recognizing it.

I am pleased, as well, to stand and recognize the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. I was very pleased, actually, when I learned a couple of weeks ago that Mr. Brian Vallee would be taking part in the symposium that is going on. I have read the book, I have heard him being interviewed on radio, and I have to say that what he presents in his book, in particular The War on Women - although I have read Life With Billy as well, but especially The War on Women - is an analysis that is very jarring but is an analysis that is true. Many more women are killed on a regular basis in this country than our soldiers who die in war. That is a fact. That is not to say that we are saying anything against the soldiers dying in war, but if we recognize the reality of the death of our military, why aren't we recognizing to the same degree the death of women who are being killed regularly by their partners? That is his message, and I really would encourage all of us to read this book because it really does challenge one, when one reads it.

The other thing that came to me, not just when I read the book but as part of an ongoing analysis, obviously, by all of us, is that the vicious cycle does not begin with the woman who is married to an abuser. It starts when she is a child, and very often women have been children who are abused. So, when we talk about violence against women, we need to realize that we are talking about girls, little girls, teenage girls, and girls when they become married or in a relationship.

I just put all this out, Mr. Speaker. I know I am going on a little bit longer than usual. I beg your leave just for a few more seconds to say that anything that we can do to break that cycle is important, not just for those who are caught in it but for our society, because as long as this is going on in our society we are a sick society.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Before I recognize further comments by ministers, I just want to refer and speak to the people in the gallery and say that the Speaker welcomes everybody to the House of Assembly, and you are always welcome here, but I ask those who are visiting not to show their approval or disapproval if anything is said on the floor of the House of Assembly. I ask for your co-operation.

Further statements by ministers.

The hon. the Minister of Business.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. ORAM: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer some well-deserved recognition in this hon. House to the business students from Memorial University who won the 2008 Students in Free Enterprise World Cup.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. ORAM: Mr. Speaker, this was no small feat. At the competition in Singapore in October, this group of talented, ambitious young Newfoundlanders and Labradorians represented Canada in facing the best business students from around the globe - teams from more than forty different countries – and they walked away world champions.

I recently had the pleasure of attending and offering congratulatory remarks at a special reception at the university in honour of the team and their tremendous achievement. It was also a chance to enjoy a repeat performance by the students of their impressive winning presentation. It was not just their energy, professionalism, and top-notch presentation skills that won them the competition. It was also the commendable work that SIFE Memorial carries out on a regular basis: the inspiring entrepreneurial ventures and the community leadership projects that they were able to showcase in their presentation.

Mr. Speaker, this year alone, SIFE Memorial members gave over 26,000 volunteer hours to these projects, which help promote knowledge and practical experience among youth in important fields, including entrepreneurship and environmental education.

In Singapore, not only did they show the world how their initiatives enrich the community, but they also promoted Newfoundland and Labrador on an international stage to leaders in business and education, and peers from all over the world. So, while their work, their dedication and their success has a direct impact on our local community, it also resonates across continents and cultures.

Their success, Mr. Speaker, speaks volumes about Newfoundland and Labrador - our incredibly talented people, our world-class university, and our ability to compete with the best from around the world. In that respect, these students are true ambassadors for our Province.

The Department of Business and the Department of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development were pleased to support the SIFE Memorial team with $20,000 to facilitate their participation in Singapore, so they could show the world what we are accomplishing right here in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, I am sure all honourable members will join in acknowledging the world champs. They are shining examples of how young Newfoundlanders and Labradorians can be active leaders, and what can be accomplished with a little imagination, determination and teamwork.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

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

We, the official Opposition, would also like to congratulate Memorial University students who took part in this competition and, indeed, became the world champions.

I understand one part of the competition involved a group from my colleague's district of Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair back in Port Hope Simpson. It is a project called Moulder of Dreams. In fact, what they do is they have an established business now whereby they mould pottery and, in fact, it is being marketed on line.

Memorial business students have proven for some years now that it is not a fluke that they are very good and that they are indeed champions. They have been winning successfully, national champions for some years, and now, of course, they have proven what they really are, and that is world-class.

We, as well, would like to congratulate these students, congratulate Memorial University, for a fantastic program.

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

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Of course, I too am quite pleased to stand and congratulate the team from Memorial University.

I think we are all aware of the world-class standing by our university and we are all very proud of our university. This is just one example of the many programs that are noticed internationally with regard to the work that goes on in our university.

I don't have a lot of information right now about this year's team I have had about other teams, and unfortunately I can't name what it is they did this time. Knowing the success of the other teams that have won on an international stage from this program, I know that whatever they did had to have been quite innovative, creative and exciting. So, thank you to the minister.

MR. SPEAKER: Further Statements by Ministers.

Oral Questions.

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

My question is for the Premier.

As of today, eight of ten provinces have released updated financial numbers and economic forecast. Ottawa will release their numbers on Thursday, yet in Newfoundland and Labrador we have not seen an update.

So I ask, when will the people of the Province, or when can we expect an updated budget and economic forecast from the government?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, as everyone in the hon. House is aware, there are very volatile economic times in the Province and the country and throughout the world. Fortunately, in the Province we are probably one of the most stable jurisdictions in all of North America.

We are in the process though of evaluating and constantly evaluating and re-evaluating the information that goes into an economic update. I want to try and provide the best possible information to the people of the Province, and indeed, the members of this hon. House.

We can certainly assure this House that this update will be provided during this particular segment, during this particular sitting. Hopefully, we will be able to do it within a fortnight. I think the Minister of Finance hopes to have it available within a fortnight, but it will certainly be during this particular sitting of the House.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, last spring in the budget government announced a surplus of $544 million and projected also a surplus of $379 million for the next year. I guess because of the change that we are seeing taking place right now, maybe the Premier could tell me if they have at least looked at those numbers and if we will be looking at a deficit this year overall or if we will still be able to maintain that surplus position?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I can speak in very general terms. We certainly have looked at it. It is something that, of course, obviously we try and review as often as we can with the best information that we can put together.

Because of the higher oil prices in the first half of this fiscal year, which have now been tempered by the much lower oil prices – and I say higher or lower, that is in comparison to the $87 per barrel which we have used in our budget forecast. So we are certainly on the upper side in the first half, it looks like we are going to be on the down side in the second half. If it averages out in that $90 range, then we will be on target with our budget surplus. We certainly expect to have a surplus. We certainly expect to have a surplus of at least the projected surplus, at this time.

With regard to surpluses or deficits going out, it depends very much so on a couple of things. First of all, obviously, what our budgets are going to be and what our operating expenses are going to be over the course of the three years out, but as well, it is going to depend on the price of oil. For example, if we do have a $60 price of oil per barrel on average, over the next few years, then we can certainly expect to see deficits.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I heard the Premier say again today, and I have heard this a couple of times, that we are insulated from some of the activity that we are seeing happening on a national and global level within the economy, but I guess we do have to acknowledge the fact that we do depend heavily as well on export industries and being able to sell our commodities at fair prices all over the world. Mr. Speaker, nationally we are seeing right now the government put some plan and strategy around what is happening within the economy. They are holding discussions at different tables. They are seeking the advice of people in industry and business.

I guess my question to the government is: What are your plans to do that? Will there be consultation with industry, with the business community to look at how we mitigate some of this impact in Newfoundland and Labrador?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

All of our ministers and our caucus members are in constant discussions with members of industry at all levels, from the ground up.

With regard to our plan, our plan is going to be exactly the same plan that we put into our Blueprint five years ago, nearly six years ago I guess by the time it was prepared. Our plan has been the same one for basically good economic times as it has been for bad times. We started out with a very poor economic situation and that focused us. That made us sure that we were going to do the things that were necessary in order to get us through good times and also lead us into possible bad times down the road.

As a result of that very prudent, fiscal management we have done a lot of the right things and I am very proud to say so. We have done it as a team, we have done it together and we have talked about it and we have planned it. We have looked at putting a lot of money into infrastructure which has certainly fuelled the economy here in Newfoundland and Labrador. We have paid down our debt dramatically and hope to do that again this year which positions us. We have also reduced our taxes, our personal income taxes and also other taxes, like insurance taxes and school fees, and the list goes on. Final and a very, very important thing that we have done is we have also reduced our public pension, unfunded -

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the hon. Premier to conclude his answer.

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We have also reduced our unfunded pension liability which is something that I never, ever thought our government in a term or two terms would ever get a chance to do. We are now seeing that on a national basis pension funds are actually in trouble, having lost significant amounts of money. So we are ideally positioned, the same plan. We are going to stay the course.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, we certainly feel that an economic plan is warranted over and above what has been planned out and discussed within government. After all, we are facing a different climate, a different circumstance. Obviously, when there is money rolling in and government is able to spend to offset and increase the amount of activity ongoing in the economy it helps but right now we are dealing with a situation where the future of the Grand Falls mill is uncertain, where the proposed refinery is in a bankruptcy position before it ever got to see a hole in the ground out there. The Come by Chance expansion is on hold. The fishing industry has lost a major source of capital and the Alberta economy, Mr. Speaker, is rapidly slowing down to the point that many of the transient workforce in this Province may not be able to depend upon it for the rest of the year.

So I ask the government again, are you ready to sit at the table to start looking for the solutions and be able to put in place -

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS JONES: - an economic plan that will see the entire Province and all industry sectors get through this?

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As the hon. member opposite knows, the global reality now is that certain industries, particularly the forestry industry, are certainly in difficulty. No one can speak better to that than the Minister of Natural Resources.

We are meeting constantly with Abitibi officials. We are meeting with the union. We have met with community leaders and stakeholders, staying very, very close to that problem. What we have done is we have offered to enter into, obviously, an exchange for timber rights with the company, the company has rejected that and that would be a significant amount of money which could be infused.

We have also sat down and had detailed discussions with the members of the union as to what they see as solutions. We are prepared to basically use that money for the timber rights, to put it into the mill to give some longevity to the mill.

The reality of the fact here is that we have an owner who is not prepared to invest a cent in that property. So it would be wrong for government to start to throw cash at that in unlimited amounts of money when, in fact, that the owners, Abitibi, have not bothered to put a cent into it.

With regard to the oil refinery, there has been a real legitimate effort there by a great consortium of people, local and international, from Europe –

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the hon. Premier to conclude his answer.

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This is a multi-billion dollar financing effort. That financing, as I understand it, was to have come from the United States and because of what happened down there with the sub prime debt problem that funding was not available and they just did (inaudible).

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

My next question is for the Minister of Health and Community Services.

Mr. Speaker, over the past couple of months we have been in discussions with families whose children are suffering from mental illness. They feel the government and the health care system have failed in meeting the needs of their children. One of these deficiencies is the lack of adequate services for programs to address youth mental health. Two of these families have young children - and I know the minister is aware - who have spent months at the Janeway on the psychiatric ward without any long-term treatment plan.

I ask the Minister of Health today: What is government's plan to deal with the need of those youth who need treatment within our Province?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This government is very much aware of the many challenges facing our mental health system. That is why, back in 2005, we laid out a policy framework for mental health services in this Province. It was because of that recognition, because of that understanding of some of the challenges facing people living with mental illnesses. As a result of that policy framework, back in 2006 we introduced legislation in this House. In fact, it was enacted in the fall of 2007, I believe. It was the first time that the legislation was revamped for over thirty years, Mr. Speaker, and that was an initiative of this government. We did that in consultation with many of the stakeholders from the communities and individuals who are living with mental illness, individuals who are involved in providing supports to people with mental illness.

I say, Mr. Speaker, in the last three to four years this government has been very actively engaged with the community, with supporters of mental health services and other providers of mental health services, to ensure that we have a range of mental health services in this Province second to none, and we are continuing to build that, I say, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Order please!

I ask the hon. minister to conclude his answer.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I have no problem with the legislative changes that were made – they were needed - but we need services and we need treatment for these people as well.

Mr. Speaker, some of these young people have spent months, up to a year, at the Janeway. According to hospital administrators, this unit was designed as a short-term acute care unit for young people with behavioural problems, not as a treatment centre for mentally ill youth. There are no programs and services available here at home to help these children effectively deal with their issues.

I ask you, Minister, again: When is government going to recognize the seriousness of these problems, and why did these families have to go public and exploit their case in order to get the attention of you and your government?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate the significance of the question being asked by the hon. member opposite, but one of the things I would ask her, though, is: to suggest that there are no services available for people in this Province with mental health issues I think is a gross injustice to the many hundreds of people who are out there actively involved today in providing supports and mental health services in this Province.

We have about 280-290 people in the community-based programs and services, I say, Mr. Speaker, supporting people with mental illness. We have the Janeway with an array of programs and services, some of them in-patient and some on an out-patient basis. About 95 per cent of all the patients who have received care in this Province receive it on an out-patient basis, I say, Mr. Speaker. So, to stand in this House to say that there are no services available is a gross injustice to those hundreds of people who do a great job each and every day of the week providing supports to individuals with mental illness, and support for their families, I say, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order please!

The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

That does not give me any answer as to what this government is going to do, to deal with lack of services and treatment for youth who suffer from mental illness.

Mr. Speaker, the government does have a report. They received it in December 2003, at which time the minister was then the Parliamentary Secretary for Health, and it outlines significant problems related to youth mental health services in our Province. Many of these problems have worsened each year; yet, government has not made serious efforts to deal with this specific group or to implement most of these recommendations.

I ask the minister: Why have you not acted to address the problems that were highlighted in the report? It existed in the department. We have seen a number of people in treatment increase from seventeen youth in 2003 to over fifty today.

MR. SPEAKER: Order please!

I ask the hon. member to pose her question.

MS JONES: I ask you, Minister: What are you going to do to implement proper services and treatment for these people who need it immediately?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The hon. member opposite mentions a report that was written back in 2003. Yes, Mr. Speaker, I acknowledge that there was a report written at that time. I think half a dozen people were involved, some from the community, some from within the department and some from some of our regional health authorities. That report was, in fact, brought forward to the Administration at that particular time and the officials in the department looked at it and realized that there were some solid recommendations in there but at this particular time they were not prepared to move forward with them.

I can advise the members of this House and the member opposite that about three weeks ago I tasked three officials in my department with a program, or a process, rather, to pull out that report and actually look at what was recommended at that time to see whether or not those recommendations are valid today. If they are, we want to make sure that we are able to respond appropriately to the challenges we are finding in our mental health services. That is not unlike, Mr. Speaker, I say, with respect to the whole addictions piece as well.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the hon. minister to complete his answer.

MR. WISEMAN: I say, Mr. Speaker, you might recall the OxyContin Task Force indicated that the best approach at that particular time was to continue to send people outside the Province for addictions counselling. Again, I say, Mr. Speaker –

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This is a very serious issue and I cannot believe I am just hearing the minister say that it was only five weeks ago when he had officials take out this report and do some analysis on it.

Mr. Speaker, as I said, the recommendation in that report was to identify the need at that time that existed, which was seventeen youth in treatment outside the Province. Today, on any given month, we have fifty youth in treatment. We have seventy-five youth who are in independent living or group home arrangements, Mr. Speaker, and who are not getting the proper treatment that they require.

This report recommended that there would be a facility that could accommodate twelve youth with mental illness, emotional disorders and concurrent disorders.

I ask you, Minister: Are you prepared to look at that recommendation in light of the circumstance we find ourselves in, in this Province today?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Again, I say, Mr. Speaker, I am not treating this matter lightly. This government takes this issue very seriously. I laid out, in my first response, the kinds of issues we have done in this Province and, as a government, the issues we have taken on the challenge and responded to.

Mr. Speaker, when I made a comment about this report, it was not just that I took it out after 2003. In 2003 the report was looked at, the same way as I was commenting earlier. The OxyContin Task Force indicated that sending children out of the Province was more appropriate than establishing an addictions treatment centre in this Province.

Those two issues, and that was some time ago - one was in 2003 and the other was about 2004 – in both those issues officials in my department now are re-evaluating the recommendations of that time with a view of consideration for an addictions centre for the Province.

The same way with the 2003 report; at that time it was decided not to move forward. What I have done now, in light of some events in recent past with issues that have come to my attention, I have asked officials in the department to revisit that report to determine if there is merit in moving forward with the recommendations that were laid out in that particular program.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, in 2003 it was determined that it cost approximately $250,000 for an independent youth living in or out of the Province that was in placement. We are looking at those numbers today and saying it would cost about $12.5 million annually, or more, and this does not include the hidden costs: the costs that are associated with sending children out of the Province, the emotional costs of separating families, or the social cost of removing children from their communities and from their neighbourhoods and their friends.

I ask the minister: When he made the statement a couple of weeks ago that the numbers in this Province do not warrant a treatment centre, was he looking at the realistic numbers that we are dealing with today in terms of the number of people in treatment, and was he looking at the cost that our youth are paying, as well as the cost –

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Mr. Speaker, I would only be too glad to engage members opposite, or anyone for that matter, in a discussion around the recommendations that were in that report, when we have had a chance to review it and determine what our recommendations will be on a go-forward basis.

The data around the cost of sending people out – and the part of this analysis is one of two things. One, there is a financial piece of it, and I acknowledge that, but in this particular case here our focus is going to be on what is going to be in the best interests of those people who need mental health services in this Province. Do we have the capacity, from a human resource perspective, to implement a program and sustain it in the long term, is one of the questions we need to ask ourselves.

The other points that have been raised by the member opposite, in terms of the stress it creates for the individuals themselves and for their families, we acknowledge that; we recognize that. If I did not recognize, and we as a government did not recognize and acknowledge those issues, we would not be re-evaluating that report of 2003.

That is the very reason we are doing (inaudible}.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

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

My question is for the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

Over this past summer, the world has witnessed the financial meltdown of our fellow island neighbour, Iceland. In particular, their banks have collapsed and are now either in receivership or merging, or in buyouts or are liquidating. It is estimated that the banking sector, the Icelandic banking sector, provided roughly half of the capital of this Province's fishing industry. Meanwhile, industry watchers are predicting major declines in seafood processing and seafood demand.

My question for the minister is: Do you and does your government have any plans to stabilize the fishing industry in this Province given this serious credit crunch?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HEDDERSON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the member opposite for the question because obviously, as has been already alluded to in the House today, there are some very difficult times that industries are facing. The fishing industry is no different, especially given the type of industry that we have, which is global, and our markets very much dependent on, I guess the European markets, the American markets, Japan, China and all over the world. But, again, it is not a time for us to panic. It is a time for us to make sure that we are doing what we have to do as an industry to address these particular challenges. We have been in contact with the industry, we are monitoring it very closely and we are prepared to do what is necessary in order to make sure that that industry remains viable, sustainable and competitive.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

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

I guess it is quite clear; they do not have any plans.

My next question is for the Minister of Natural Resources.

Prices of almost all commodities have gone into steep decline. One of them, of course, is iron ore. Wabush mines has announced a 40 per cent cut in production. The company says that layoffs are guaranteed, temporary workers will be let go, overtime will be eliminated and contractual work will be cancelled. Other mines have already announced layoffs as well, Beaver Brook Antimony Mine and the mill near Glenwood has reduced their workforce by twenty.

My question for the minister is: Does the government have any plan to address the impacts of this downturn in the mining industry on the Province or are we pinning all of our hopes on Long Harbour, which was a good Liberal initiative?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources and Deputy Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, as we have said time and time again through this Question Period, we are in a very volatile time in the economics of the world these days and commodities are getting hard hit, there is no doubt about it. We are feeling the effect of it right here in Newfoundland and Labrador, in some of the instances that the Opposition House Leader referred to.

We are in regular communication with mining companies here in the Province. Wabush Mines met this week. We are waiting to here from them about what their go-forward plan is. They have indicated to us at this point in time that there is a reduction in their concentrate at about 40 per cent and that temporary layoffs - people who have temporary positions with them will be laid off and some contracts will not be followed through on.

MR. SPEAKER: I ask the hon. minister to complete her answer.

MS DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We continue to monitor this situation and work closely with the industry to mitigate the effects that they are feeling.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

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

My next question is also for the Minister of Natural Resources.

This past summer government signed the Hebron deal and government claimed that the announcement of this project would inject some-$20 billion into the Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order please!

MR. KELVIN PARSONS: We also understand that the government is negotiating the Lower Churchill deal. At the time of Hebron, oil prices were close to $150 a barrel. Now, of course, today they are hovering around $50 a barrel. We must hit at least $50 a barrel, as I understand it, before the super royalty regime would kick in under Hebron in any case. The Premier says that the project will survive without specifying what changes will be made to the project plans in light of the changed economic circumstances.

My question for the minister is: Do you anticipate that there will be any changes to the program, particularly in terms of project timelines and financing both for Hebron and the Lower Churchill, given the situation we find ourselves now in the economy? Will such an update be given publicly?

MR. SPEAKER: Order please!

The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources and Deputy Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am happy to report that I met with the vice-president for the America's of Exxon Mobil just within the last month. They do not see any amendments or restructuring of their planning at this point in time. Remember, construction on Hebron is not scheduled to begin until 2012. We will see first production around 2015, 2016. The company is in a very strong economic position now. It does not see any problem in meeting its demands and expects that the same is true for their partners. So, it is business as usual with regard to the Hebron project.

In our own planning for the Hebron project and our purchase of equity in that project and so on, we used a full range of numbers around oil, Mr. Speaker, ranging anywhere from $40 and beyond. So we are very sure of what we are doing around the economics of this project.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order please!

The hon. the Opposition House Leader.

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

My next question is for the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development.

In the last five years, the greatest source of employment for rural Newfoundland in this Province has actually been employment in rural Alberta. Estimates of the number of commuter workers have ranged up to 10,000 people from this Province working in Northern Alberta in the tar sands and other projects. Now the latest news from Alberta is cutbacks in investment, delays of projects, and actual layoffs of personnel.

We have heard the minister, in his former capacity, talk about the improved in-migration figures that we have for this Province. I just hope the in-migration is not based upon our Newfoundlanders staying home permanently.

Does the minister have any contingency plans –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the hon. member to pose his question.

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

I have never seen a group so anxious to give a non-answer before.

Mr. Speaker, does the minister have any contingency plans to deal with the fallout which the Alberta turndown in their economy is going to have, obviously, for the workers in rural Newfoundland –

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SKINNER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, unlike the member opposite, I hope that they all come home to stay.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. SKINNER: Mr. Speaker, unlike the member opposite, I do not intend for them to come home and stay on EI, which seems to be what the member opposite wants.

We have experienced in-migration. We have seen people return home to this Province for work. We have opportunities here in this Province. They are continuing to grow. The sectors that we have already spoken about in Question Period are employing people. We expect that there will be lots of opportunity for our people here in this Province who are currently working outside the Province, who are currently commuting outside the Province, to return to this Province to find gainful, meaningful employment, and we expect that will continue into the future.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

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

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

Mr. Speaker, during the spring session of the House, the Minister of Health and Community Services was continually asked about the need for improvements in the way home care is provided in this Province. Repeatedly, the minister said that a report on home care and long-term care would be available in the fall. Well, we are here now in the last week of November and the people of the Province, and I, are still waiting for this report.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Minister of Health and Community Services: Where is the report that you told us we could expect this fall?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

One of the challenges in this House, when the members opposite try to pin you down for a date and you give an approximate - you give a season, like fall - someone decides they want to pick a date on a calendar and hold you to that date.

I am very reluctant to say it is still going to be in the fall. I said last year, in the spring. It is a major piece of work, it is a comprehensive piece of work, and we want to do it right. We have still not concluded that process. I hope to have it finished in the very near future but I am reluctant, again, to give a time frame, not to be held to it as I am now in the House.

So I say to the member opposite: It is still being worked on, and when we get it concluded I will be only too glad to share it with you and others in the Province; because, as you have said, many people are anxious to see it. It is going to be a significant piece of work, I say, Mr. Speaker, and it is going to affect a lot of people. It will build on the significant investments that we have made in home support in this Province in the last five years.

We have taken a budget -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

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

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I point out to the minister that good planning usually involves timelines, and we are all used to doing that. I know that you cannot pinpoint a date but the fall is pretty broad and the minister does have until December 21, which I think is the first day of winter, so let's see if we might be able to get it done by the first day of winter, Mr. Minister.

I would ask you, since you seem to be far along in the process - and that pleases me - could you give us some specifics as to what we can expect with what the report is dealing with?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: If I were in a position to give you very specific information, the report would be complete. I am in a position to tell you that it is very broad. We are looking at all aspects of long-term care and community supports, whether it is a lack of home support services, whether it is long-term care homes, whether it is personal care homes, or whether it is the kind of equipment that is provided by people who are availing of home supports. It is the financial assessment process, dealing with the client contribution, so I say, Mr. Speaker, it is very broad.

To give a very specific answer about what might be the outcomes of that evaluation on any one of those points would be premature and it would be irresponsible of me, I say, Mr. Speaker, to start to speculate what might be in that report or what my colleagues may want to add to it when we as a department are finished and what government may want to endorse and bring forward for the people of this Province as they look at the kind of supports that they need to stay independently living, I say, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The time for questions and answers has expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling of Documents.

Notices of Motion.

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

MS BURKE: 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 7 of the House of Assembly Accountability, Integrity and Administration Act provides that the Law Clerk is to be appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council on a nomination by the House of Assembly;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Ms Lorna Proudfoot be nominated for appointment as the Law Clerk of the House of Assembly.

MR. SPEAKER: Further Notices of Motion.

The hon. the Government House Leader.

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I give notice that I will ask leave to introduce a bill entitled, An Act To Repeal The Pickersgill Fellowship Act," Bill 41.

MR. SPEAKER: Further Notices of Motion.

The hon. the Government House Leader.

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I give notice that I will ask leave to introduce a bill entitled, An Act To Repeal The Memorial University Foundation Act, Bill 42.

MR. SPEAKER: Further Notices of Motion.

The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources and Deputy Premier.

MS DUNDERDALE: Mr. Speaker, I give notice that I will ask leave to introduce a bill entitled, An Act To Repeal The Labrador Linerboard Limited Agreement Act, 1979, Bill 47.

Mr. Speaker, I further give notice that I will ask leave to introduce a bill entitled, "An Act To Repeal The Labrador Linerboard Limited Agreement (Amendment Act), 1979, Bill 48.

MR. SPEAKER: Further Notices of Motion.

The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

MR. TAYLOR: Mr. Speaker, I give notice that I will ask leave to introduce a bill entitled, An Act To Repeal The Newfoundland And Labrador Computer Services Limited Amendment Act, Bill 46.

MR. SPEAKER: Further Notices of Motion.

The hon. the Minister of Government Services.

MR. O'BRIEN: Mr. Speaker, I give notice that I will ask leave to introduce a bill entitled, An Act To Amend The Real Estate Trading Act, Bill 39.

I give further notice that I will ask leave to introduce a bill entitled, An Act To Repeal The Corporations Guarantees Act, Bill 43.

I further give notice that I will ask leave to introduce a bill entitled, An Act To Repeal The Certified Public Accountants Act, Bill 44.

I give further notice that I will ask leave to introduce a bill entitled, "An Act To Repeal The Chartered Accountants And Certified Public Accountants Merger Act, Bill 45.

MR. SPEAKER: Further Notices of Motion.

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

MR. KENNEDY: Mr. Speaker, I give notice that I will ask leave to introduce a bill entitled, An Act To Amend The Income Tax Act, 2000 And To Repeal The Financial Corporations Capital Tax Act, Bill 38.

MR. SPEAKER: Further Notices of Motion.

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

MR. JACKMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I give notice that I will ask leave to introduce a bill entitled, An Act To Amend The Arts Council Act. (Bill 40)

MR. SPEAKER: Further notices of motion?

The hon. the Government House Leader.

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, with mutual consent from the Third Party and the Official Opposition, we are asking leave to introduce a Private Member's motion today to be debated tomorrow in the House of Assembly. Ordinarily this motion would be introduced on a Monday but where this being the first day of the fall sitting, we are asking leave to introduce a Private Member's motion today.

MR. SPEAKER: Does the hon. member have leave?

The hon. the Government House Leader, by leave.

The hon. the Member for Grand Bank.

MR. KING: Mr. Speaker, I rise to move the following Private Member's Resolution:

WHEREAS Memorial University enjoys its well-deserved reputation as a world-class institution serving 18,000 students with a budget in excess of $400 million; and

WHEREAS the government's White Paper on Public Post-Secondary Education in Newfoundland and Labrador states that the government is committed to maintaining autonomy and academic freedoms and notes that Memorial University is an autonomous organization; and

WHEREAS the government recognizes that autonomy is a necessary precondition to the proper functioning of Memorial University and has accepted the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada's "Statement of Academic Freedom and Institutional Autonomy"; and

WHEREAS academic freedom is defined by the Canadian Association of University Teachers as: "…the right to teach, learn, study and publish free of orthodoxy or threat of reprisal and discrimination"; and

WHEREAS section 51 of the legislation governing the university – namely, An Act Respecting The Memorial University of Newfoundland, which has been in place since 1973 - defines a process whereby the Board of Regents, in consultation with the University Senate, must forward candidates for President of the University to the Lieutenant-Governor in Council for approval; and

WHEREAS the government recognizes that education is fundamental to Newfoundland and Labrador's growth and prosperity; is committed to a strong, vibrant post-secondary education system in our Province; and is willing to work collaboratively with the Board of Regents and the university's administration to ensure that Memorial is one of the best universities in the world with the best leadership in the world;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Assembly affirms its full support for the academic freedom and academic autonomy of Memorial University.

Seconded by Derrick Dalley, the Member for The Isles of Notre Dame.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

Further notices of motion.

Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to present a petition on behalf of the Long Island Causeway Committee.

Now, Mr. Speaker, this petition has been circulated not just in Long Island but in communities all over that district. It is regarding the committee's bid and lobby efforts to the government to have a causeway built to Long Island as opposed to a ferry service.

This causeway was committed to under previous administrations and was estimated at a cost of about $26 million to construct. In fact, Mr. Speaker, under the current government, they re-evaluated that and determined that the cost had escalated and was no longer prepared to honour the commitment that had been in place, and certainly made that known to the people in the area – but the people on Long Island are resilient people. They are like people in all other outport areas within this Province, and that is, when they see something worth fighting for they will continue to fight. Such has been the case for the last five years for the people on this tiny island. In doing so, they have engaged the support of the communities around them. Communities like Triton and Brighton, and Pilley's Island, and Springdale, and King's Point, and Grand Falls, and Windsor. All of these communities, Mr. Speaker, and those residents have signed this petition in support of this community. I guess all of this came to a halt back in the summer.

Back in the summer, when the Minister of Transportation, who did not go down to Long Island to announce a new ferry service for the people of Long Island and Little Bay Islands, and tell them that you will not get a causeway – very cowardly approach, I might add, but yet went down to Marystown, where they thought they might build a ship, and made the announcement. To me, that is totally disrespectful of the people of this area when you are looking at providing future services to them. The announcement of a new ferry was far-far distanced from a new causeway that they had wanted. Not only that, Mr. Speaker, the ferry is reducing the service to the people who live on Long Island.

When all of this came to a head, the one who was left out of the loop apparently in all this was the MHA for the area, who happens to sit on the government side of the House. The member who sits in the caucus with the minister was not informed that Cabinet had made a decision; that the minister was going out and making these announcements, that the bureaucracy had already coerced all the facts and laid it out on the table and sold the package inside of government. It was the member who was left out in the dark.

Now, I do not know how things function within that government. I guess I have a little bit more insight today, that you do as you are told and if you are not told, you do not do anything. That is the only approach that I can see. Mr. Speaker, in governments that I was a part of you were always informed, you were always consulted. The people who elected you had a real voice, your opinion counted. It is obvious that on that side of the House your opinion accounts for very little, if anything at all. Anyway, it came to a head.

Now the petition that I have has thousands of signatures on it. I will be presenting this petition over the course of the next four weeks that this House sits. Every day, that I have an opportunity, I will stand here to advocate on behalf of the people of Long Island because they are not getting enhanced services, or better services, or causeways. In fact, they are getting a new boat that is going to downgrade the level of service that they have been accustomed to, and that is not the right approach for government to be taking.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

Further petitions?

The hon. the Member for Port de Grave.

MR. BUTLER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want to present a petition today with regards to a long-term care facility for the Conception Bay North area. I will probably use the full three minutes today to read the prayer of the petition, but I can assure you between now and 2011, when the next election comes, there will be lots of petitions coming and I will not have to read the prayer of the petition:

WHEREAS a 2001 study determined that Conception Bay North and Corner Brook were the number one priorities for long-term care facilities for the entire Province and a second study by an external consultant in 2007 recommended a three-story long-term care facility for the Conception Bay North with capacity for 180 beds, three dementia bungalows with ten beds each, for a total of 210 beds; and

WHEREAS the Corner Brook facility is being built and government announced in October 2008 that two new long-term care facilities would be built here in St. John's; and

WHEREAS the present structures clearly need to be replaced with a modern facility, but in 2008, Conception Bay North's long-term care facility has slipped to at least sixth place behind Corner Brook, Clarenville, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Lewisporte and St. John's; and

WHEREAS government has recognized there is a tremendous requirement for additional facilities for our seniors and that there is a need to make a strategic investment into a long-term care facility for Conception Bay North, yet has failed to commit funds to this priority area;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, call upon all members of the House of Assembly to urge the government to reassess their decision to drop Conception Bay North on the priority list and commit to all residents of the area that the assessments completed in 2001, as well as in 2007, be implemented and a new long-term care facility be built in the Conception Bay North area;

As is duty bound your petitioners ever pray.

MR. SPEAKER: Order please!

I ask members for their co-operation. The Chair is having great difficulty hearing the Member for Port de Grave. I ask members if they would be kind enough to take their private conversations to the outside.

The hon. the Member for Port de Grave.

MR. BUTLER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I had a job to hear myself.

Anyway, Mr. Speaker, I want to make it very clear to all hon. members on both sides of the House, I am not standing here and arguing that the facilities that have been built in the other community should not go ahead. They deserve a long-term care facility, and I commend government for doing that, but I do know, Mr. Speaker, this has been on the table since 2001, and last year the Minister of Health and Community Services recommended to government – his department recommended - that $1 million would be in last year's Budget, 2008-2009, for this long-term care facility.

All I am asking government is this: If you can come up with the money, the $1 million, to do two long-term care facilities in St. John's, why not do one in Conception Bay North and one in St. John's? We are not against the two in St. John's; but, after being number one priority with Corner Brook, here we are now right at the bottom of the barrel.

I am calling upon the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board, the Member for Carbonear-Harbour Grace, the Member for Harbour Main-Whitbourne, the Member for Bellevue, and the Member for Trinity-Bay de Verde, three ministers in this government, I plead with you, on behalf of the people of that particular area, that they would see what they can do this year, at least that this study would be done and carried out for a long-term care facility in the Conception Bay North area.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Further petitions.

Orders of the Day.

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, the first order of business that we would like to address today is certainly an issue that I guess no one really felt we would ever have to come to this point in our General Assembly at this time; but, as everyone knows, last spring - I think the day we closed the House of Assembly – unfortunately, we had the death of our Member for Cape St. Francis, Mr. Jack Byrne. At that time, upon his death, the member was the Deputy Speaker here at the House of Assembly.

According to the Standing Orders, it reads, under Standing Order 5. (2), "The Member appointed as Deputy Speaker and Chairperson of Committees shall continue to act in that capacity until the end of the General Assembly for which he or she is appointed, and in the case of a vacancy by death, resignation or otherwise, the House shall proceed forthwith to appoint a successor."

Because, as I indicated, unfortunately, we lost Mr. Jack Byrne, a very valuable member in this Legislature, we are at a point where we need to appoint a Deputy Speaker. At this time, I would like to move that Mr. Tom Osborne, the Member for St. John's South, be elected as Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly.

MR. SPEAKER: It is properly moved and seconded that Mr. Tom Osborne be appointed Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly.

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

[Applause]

On motion, Mr. Tom Osborne appointed as Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly.

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, in following the fact that Mr. Osborne, Member for St. John's South, is the Deputy Speaker, that leaves the position as Deputy Chair of Committees of the House of Assembly vacant. In order to fill that position, I would like to move that Mr. Felix Collins, Member for Placentia & St. Mary's, be nominated as the Deputy Chair of Committees for the House of Assembly.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

It is properly moved and seconded that Mr. Felix Collins be appointed as the Deputy Chair of Committees of the House of Assembly.

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

[Applause]

On motion, Mr. Felix Collins appointed as Deputy Chair of Committees of the House of Assembly.

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, on Orders of the Day, we would like to go to the Address in Reply.

MR. SPEAKER: Before I recognize the hon. Minister of Transportation and Works, the Speaker will just read the names of those who have already responded to the Address in Reply. It is a continuation of the same debate. The members that have already spoken, for the information of members present, are: the hon. the Member for Exploits; the hon. the Member for Ferryland; the hon. the Member for Conception Bay South; the hon. the Member for Cartwright–L'Anse au Clair; the hon. the Member for Burgeo & LaPoile; the hon. the Member for Port de Grave; the hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi; the hon. the Member for Burin–Placentia West; the hon. the Member for Mount Pearl South; the hon. the Member for Bellevue; the hon. the Member for Grand Bank; and, the hon. the Member for Mount Pearl North.

The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, as I was listening to Question Period today I was thinking - well, I was thinking a lot of things, certainly - I thought, you know, what a difference five years make.

I looked at the two new members who came in here this afternoon to take their seats after two by-elections this summer or spring, whenever it was – summer, I guess – two new members who came into a radically different House than some of us walked into five years ago when we were first elected to government, and a radically different position for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, just to refresh everybody's memory, when we came in here five years ago as government, and took over from the hon. Opposition, the current Opposition –

AN HON. MEMBER: What is left of them.

MR. TAYLOR: What is left of them, yes.

- we inherited, it is no secret, a Province and a fiscal situation that was horrendous. I don't think that is too strong a word to use. We had a situation where we were approaching $12 billion in debt, the highest per capital debt in the country, which we still have, by the way, although some of the debt has been reduced. We still have the highest per capita debt in the country, twice as high as the next highest one in the country, that being Nova Scotia.

More importantly, Mr. Speaker, at that time we were, as everybody knows or most people would know, facing a situation where projected deficits were in the order of $1 billion. That was five years ago, so that would have been for fifty-four years of our existence in Canada we have been a have-not Province and have been depending on transfer payments from the federal government just to sustain basic services here in Newfoundland and Labrador. I say basic services because, as everybody knows, the services that the people of Newfoundland and Labrador have been able to avail themselves of are, in many respects, inferior – and we all acknowledge that – to the kinds of services that you see in many other parts of the country.

Fast forward, Mr. Speaker, as I said through the last five years to find ourselves where we are today in the fall of 2008 where, basically, at least the first part of Question Period today revolved around how Newfoundland and Labrador and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador were going to preserve the wonderful position that we had managed to get ourselves in over the course of the past five years, how we were going to manage to insulate ourselves from the global economic meltdown that is taking place, the crisis that is taking place in the financial markets throughout the world, the recession that has hit very hard in the United States and across Canada and other parts of the world, and how, Mr. Speaker, in the face of project cancellation and downsizing in Western Canada, in Alberta and Alberta oilfields, in the tar sands in particular, how, Mr. Speaker, we were going to ensure that our significant projects in energy development here in Newfoundland and Labrador, in Hebron, White Rose, Hibernia South, and what have you, how those were going to fare over the course of the coming months and years. What a difference in a matter of five years!

The question from the Leader of the Opposition to the Premier was: The five hundred and some old million dollars that you projected in a surplus last spring when you brought down your budget, do you have any idea where that is going to be this year? The Premier, even though we don't have the exact numbers right now and we won't for some time obviously, was able to stand up here today and say, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that we will, at the end of this year, host somewhere in excess of half a billion dollars in surplus for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: To be able to stand here today, Mr. Speaker, after five years and be able to point to people, to be able to demonstration not only to people in Newfoundland and Labrador but to people across this country, how we managed to take the $2 billion that was wrestled from the federal government as part of the Atlantic Accord negotiations with Prime Minister Martin, take that and pay down our unfunded pension liability and stabilize the pension plans of our public sector workers, our teachers, the people who work in these buildings, the people who work in our schools and our hospitals and what have you, Mr. Speaker, what a difference!

If these two members that walked in here today, the kind of debates that we had to participate in as a Cabinet and a caucus five short years ago, four-and-a-half years ago when we sat around our caucus tables, we sat around our Cabinet tables, and debated such things as cutting the School Milk Program, reducing funding for dentures, increasing vehicle registration fees, just to try and send a message to the bonding community and to the financial community that we took seriously the financial position of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and that we were not going to squander away any opportunity that we had to right the books in Newfoundland and Labrador and put this place back in a position where today, as the Premier said, we are one of very few, probably the only jurisdiction or one of very few jurisdictions in North America that is in the position where we – if the bottom does not go out of her any further than it already has, if it manages to hold together at all, that for the foreseeable future we should be okay. There are not very many people, not very many jurisdictions and not very many governments in North America that are able to stand in their legislatures and make that kind of a statement here in the fall of 2008. To consider where we came from is what makes it all that much more remarkable.

I hear from time to time people, commentators in the public, members in Opposition, you know some of their former colleagues - like former Premier Grimes talking about how the good fortune that we have had has been as a result of stuff they have done or as a result of high oil prices. Well, the fact of the matter is, we all know, whether they know or not, we all know and I think if you look at public opinion polls, I think the vast majority of people in Newfoundland and Labrador, somewhere in the order of 85 per cent of them, somewhere in that order, the highest probably approval rating that any government has ever seen in this Province at least, and probably even in the country, that the vast majority of people in Newfoundland and Labrador get it even though the three or four members in the Opposition do not.

The fact of the matter is, Mr. Speaker, the reason why we are in the fiscal position that we are, the reason why we see in-migration for the first time since – we see positive population growth, I should say, and in-migration for the first time since 1993, the first time in fifteen years here in Newfoundland and Labrador is as a result of the decisions that were taken by this government five years ago. The very critical decisions that were taken by the Premier, by the Cabinet, by caucus, when we said in the lead up to the election, and in the days following the election back in 2003, that there would be no more giveaways here in Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: I remember the former Leader of the Opposition and some other of his colleagues – and we all, I think, remember back in the fall or winter, whenever it was of – I cannot even remember the year now, but about three years ago when we were in the heat of battle, you might say, with the federal government over the Atlantic Accord and trying to make sure that the spirit and intent of the Atlantic Accord that was signed back in the 1980s, where Newfoundland and Labrador would be the primary beneficiary of any offshore oil development, that that spirit and intent was lived up to in practice. As a result of that, Mr. Speaker, as we all know, the Premier secured a $2 billion cheque from the federal government and substantially renegotiated the underpinnings of the Atlantic Accord and put us in a position where we are today.

At that time, let's just refresh our memories – at that time, members opposite will recall, and we will recall, and the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, I am sure, can recall. What happened down in the Baine Johnston Centre in front of a television camera, when there was a scrum taking place by our federal representative in the Cabinet at the time, supported by the Liberal Opposition here in this Legislature, who said that the $1.4 billion, you could take it or leave it. What was their response? Now, their response was we should take it. What was the Premier's response? The Premier's response and this government's response was: We will leave it. We will leave it. If you cannot do better than that then you can take it and, as the saying goes, put it where the sun don't shine.

So, Mr. Speaker, that was the approach that we took, and that was the same approach that was taken when Hebron – when we were going through, and the Premier and the Minister of Natural Resources were in the negotiations with the Hebron Consortium for the development of Hebron. There is such a radical difference - and as I said, the people of Newfoundland and Labrador know this. There is such a radical difference in the approach of this government to resource development, to negotiations with the federal government and what have you, to Opposition parties, to past Liberal governments in particular.

If you look at the Hebron deal – let's just look at the Hebron deal for a second. We all know what the approach of the previous government was. The previous government, because this was a heavier oil, because Hebron was harder to access, because it was going to be more costly to develop, the Opposition party, Mr. Speaker, the government of the day back prior to 2003, were prepared to enter into a deal with the Hebron Consortium to develop Hebron where there would be something less than, a royalty regime less than the base that had been established before; than the generic royalty arrangement that had been established and laid out as a policy of the government, but in order to see the Hebron development move forward they were prepared to sign an agreement that would have resulted in a royalty arrangement that was less even than that.

What happened here? What happened under the leadership of our Premier? What happened under the leadership of our Minister of Natural Resources and under the leadership of our Energy Corp? Mr. Speaker, what happened here? What kind of a deal did we sign? Well, I can tell you we did not sign a deal. Our team did not sign a deal and did not give any indication that they were prepared to sign a deal that would result in anything less than the standard formula and, as a matter of fact, insisted on a couple of other things that we were told we were foolish for insisting on by the Opposition. No way in the world were we ever, ever going to get an equity position in the development. Not a chance, Mr. Speaker. That is what we were told. We were foolish to be chasing it and that we were comprising the future of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the oil industry of Newfoundland and Labrador by even going to look for that and a super royalty arrangement.

Well, Mr. Speaker, what was the deal at the end of the day? The deal at the end of the day, Mr. Speaker, was 4.9 per cent ownership in the Hebron development; $120 million in research and development funding; a super royalty arrangement to kick in when oil is over $50 a barrel. Yes, we know there is some volatility in the markets right now, but over the life of that field just think where the price of oil is going be. I do not think there is any economist in this world, and I do not believe there are many people in Newfoundland and Labrador, Mr. Speaker, if any, who believe that over the life of that project, from 2015, 2016 onwards, when oil starts to pump out of Hebron, that anybody believes that the price of a barrel of oil is going to be less than $50 a barrel on average over the twenty-year life of that field. Mr. Speaker, that is the kind of approaches that have been taken.

Mr. Speaker, we all know, even though we have had good fortune and we are in a very good position right now, that we are not insulated from what is happening in the world. We know that the meltdown in the Icelandic banking institutions could have an impact on our fishing industry. We know that the decline in the economy in the U.S. will have an impact on consumption of seafood, of newsprint, of lumber, of oil, what have you. We are already seeing that. The evidence is in front of our faces. Mr. Speaker, we know, and we have over the course – the Leader of the Opposition today asked: What kind of a plan does this government have in order to deal with the volatility in the marketplace to make sure, to protect us to the extent that we can be protected going forward?

Mr. Speaker, as the Premier said, we laid out very clearly, over the course of the last five years, we are not - maybe they would take the approach that you need to make knee-jerk reactions to these types of events in the world economy. Yes, Mr. Speaker, we know that there might be adjustments required, but if you have thought out and articulated and laid out and implemented a very carefully crafted plan over the course of time, you will have built in to that plan for downturns in the economy.

We understand that we cannot depend on the oil and gas and the resource-based industries that we have here in Newfoundland and Labrador, that are driving our economy right now, indefinitely. We all know that the day that we start taking the first drop of oil out of Hebron we are one day closer to the last day that we will take oil out of Hebron.

Mr. Speaker, why do I bring that up? Well, I bring it up because over the course of the past five years we have laid out an innovation strategy. We have developed an infrastructure strategy. We have worked on a transportation strategy. We were criticized in our early days. The hon. members opposite criticized us, made fun at us, mocked us, for the first couple of years that we were in government because we were taking all this time to sit around tables and bring people in and debate about how, and strategize and plan. Get on with doing something, they said.

Well, Mr. Speaker, I think you reap what you sow, as they say. We sowed well in the first couple of years. No, we did not run off, we did not make a lot of investments, but we took the time to size up the landscape in Newfoundland and Labrador, to look at the world economy, to look at where we thought oil and gas was going, to look at the resource-based industries, and to have a very hard look at research and development, to have a look at our oceans, to have a look at where the opportunities might be in ten years' time for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

That is why a couple of years ago, back in August 2005, the then Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development, now the Minister of Natural Resources, released the Province's innovation strategy with funding of $5 million annually associated with that. That is why we introduced the IRIF fund, the Industrial Research and Innovation Fund, $5 million annually that our universities, our College of the North Atlantic and our Marine Institute access on a regular basis and lever it five to one for research and development activity here in Newfoundland and Labrador.

That is why, in the run up to last year's election, when we rolled out our policy platform, we announced that we were going to establish the Newfoundland and Labrador Research and Development Council with an annual budget in the early going, at least for the first three years, of $5 million annually.

We know that we have to invest wisely now, just like it was important to take the $2 billion that we got, back a couple of years ago, and invest it in the Teachers' Pension Plan, and invest it in the uniformed – I do not even remember all the plans, now, but anyway - the Newfoundland and Labrador Nurses' Union plan and what have you. The various pension plans that we have in government, we invested in them and look where we are today. While we see throughout North America, and throughout Canada in particular, that pension plans are in trouble, because we made the right decision back then – it was easy. I can remember members of the Opposition again, back a couple of years ago, questioning why we would take the $2 billion and pay it down on that debt, to fund up our pension plans. They questioned us: Why didn't we not take some of it and put it into infrastructure or into this, that, or the other thing?

We made a conscious decision at that time that it was important for the people, number one, the people who had worked for us for a lifetime, who had spent their lives working for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador and supporting the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, to ensure that they had stability and had security in their pension plans when they retired, and had no worries, when they got up in the morning on a Thursday or whatever it was, and they went to the post office or went to their bank, they could be sure that their pension was going to be deposited and not have to worry about it any time in the foreseeable future.

Mr. Speaker, we could have squandered away that $2 billion. Where would we be today, in the middle of a financial meltdown, with the debt that we were carrying – and we still carry a substantial amount? Where would we be today if we had squandered that away like some previous governments have done, when they had one-time payments?

Mr. Speaker, we all know Term 32, I believe it was – I forget the number now – in the Terms of Union, where we were supposed to get $8 million every year from the federal government in perpetuity. We all know what the previous government did back in 1998-1999, I believe it was; they took a one-time payment of a hundred and some-odd million dollars. I think it was $160 million, if my memory serves me correctly. They took twenty years' payments up front, had that term stricken from the Terms of Union, so the $8 million that we get annually, they took it all in one shot – not all in one shot, because it was in perpetuity, so $8 million for infinity, or as long as Canada exists anyway, we would have received. Now we do not receive it any more.

What did they do with it? They took it, and it is gone. They did not pay it down on the debt. They used it. I am sure they had legitimate reasons to use it at the time, but so could have we, with that $2 billion that we received, but we chose not to do that. We chose to take the money that we have been able to get our hands on over the past few years and pay off some of the debt that the Province has accumulated. As a result of that, Mr. Speaker, we are in a position today of much improved strength over what we could have been and would have been.

That is why, Mr. Speaker, as I said, it is important – the Member for Burgeo & LaPoile asked the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development, a little earlier, do we have any plans for - I guess basically what he was saying was for economic diversification or what have you.

The fact of the matter is, when we came into government five years ago there was just in that department alone, in Innovation, Trade and Rural Development, approximately two-and-a-quarter, two-and-a-half million dollars available in total for economic development in Newfoundland and Labrador. Not much of it in the way of grants, some of it in the way of loans or equity or what have you, but that was it, two-and-a-half million dollars annually.

Mr. Speaker, over the course of the first three or four years that we were in government we made conscious decisions and we knew that our revenue stream was starting to improve, that our fiscal situation was starting to turn around, but even when it was not, even in those first early days, we made a conscious decision to make capital available, to make monies available to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador so that they could engage in economic diversification.

Mr. Speaker, we developed a comprehensive plan for regional economic diversification throughout the Province. We looked at the various regions of the Province. You need look no further than Fortune Bay-Cape la Hune to see how successful that could be. We looked at Fortune Bay-Cape la Hune, that region, the Coast of Bays. We looked at it very closely, Mr. Speaker, and we identified aquaculture as being -

MR. SPEAKER (T. Osborne): Order, please!

MR. TAYLOR: By leave, just to conclude this one point, Mr. Speaker?

MR. SPEAKER: Does the hon. member have leave?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Yes.

MR. SPEAKER: By leave.

MR. TAYLOR: Mr. Speaker, there is so much good news I could talk here for hours this afternoon; there is so much to talk about.

Mr. Speaker, as I said, we looked at the Fortune Bay-Cape la Hune area, the Coast of Bays, even though there were troubles in the fishing industry. We all know the troubles that were plaguing Harbour Breton. The aquaculture industry in the form of the salmon farm - I forget the name of the farm now - but anyway it was in financial difficulty at the time. Mr. Speaker, there were all kinds of suggestions that we should walk in and bail out that salmon farm, you know, a one-time shot, prop it up and what have you; that we should do something to prop up Harbour Breton, find fish somewhere.

Mr. Speaker, we stepped back from it, we looked at what the Comprehensive Regional Diversification Strategy said, and what it said was invest in aquaculture. Encourage the industry down there. Do what you needed to do.

We developed an aquaculture loan guarantee program. We put funding in place for capital. We talked to Cooke Aquaculture. We worked with the Barry Group at the time, even though they have left the scene right now from an aquaculture perspective, from a farming perspective, but we worked with all of these people. We worked with Gray Aquaculture, Mr. Speaker, in New Brunswick, and Northland. Mr. Speaker, over the course of the past four years, we have essentially tripled the size of the industry down there, and that industry will triple in size again over the course of the next three years.

Mr. Speaker, that is what good planning does. That is why we are where we are. It is because we took the time in those early days when it was very difficult and we planned in difficult times, and that is why we are successful today, Mr. Speaker, in good times.

Thanks very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Port au Port.

MR. CORNECT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

First of all, let me start by saying it is indeed a privilege to stand here today in this hon. House of Assembly to reply to the Speech from the Throne which was delivered on March 10 of this year.

I speak today, Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the people of the great district of Port au Port, to whom I owe a lot. I express my sincere appreciation for their support and their confidence that they have entrusted in me.

Mr. Speaker, there are many exciting things happening in Newfoundland and Labrador. Our Province is abuzz around the country. Most of all, Mr. Speaker, there is a renewed and revitalized energy amongst us. Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have a proud, a determined, and a strong feeling of identity.

In the Speech from the Throne, Mr. Speaker, that was the first thing that was mentioned, the confidence the people of this Province have in our government as we move toward self-reliance and to become masters of our own house.

Mr. Speaker, in the words of former Premier A. Brian Peckford: Some day the sun will shine and have not will be no more. About 20 years ago, when that was said, there was a lot of optimism but that fell short. Then the Liberals took power in 1989 and the cut and slash took place. Guess what, Mr. Speaker? This Province, through our government's decision making, planning, and fiscal responsibility, have achieved this. In fact, Mr. Speaker, we achieved this tremendous accomplishment one year ahead of schedule. This is indeed remarkable. It is a cause for celebration, and this is a part of the reason why there is a renewed confidence in this Province.

Mr. Speaker, there are many opportunities here in this great Province of ours because of our diligent planning and our wise spending and investing. With the support of our people and with the strong and productive leadership of our Premier, our Cabinet, and indeed our caucus, we will achieve a new and bright future for ourselves, our grandchildren, and our great-children. Mr. Speaker, Newfoundland and Labrador is turning the corner and we are indeed very proud of that.

Mr. Speaker, the tide that has kept us at sea for so long has changed. We have seen an increase in our population. In fact, our Province has reported its first annual population increase in sixteen years, maybe twenty-five as the previous speaker alluded to. Newfoundland and Labrador's population increased by 1,436 over the past year, and we now stand, as of July 1, 2008, at 507,895 proud and strong Newfoundlanders and Labradorians in this Province. The population increase, Mr. Speaker, was the result of positive net-migration and the first net in-migration to the Province in twenty-five years.

More and more, Mr. Speaker, we are seeing our families and friends coming back to the Province because of the opportunities that lie here. We are equipping ourselves with the skills, the education, and the resources so that we can control our own destiny.

In 2003, we stood firm on a platform of no more giveaways. The agreement we have with Hebron is an example of this fact. We can say that we are a partner in this development and we stand to reap the benefits of this project that will be shared by all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. We are especially excited about the equity stakes we hold in Hebron and White Rose in addition to the super royalty and the industrial gains we will see from this project and projects to come. This means we have a greater ability to control our future.

In the Speech from the Thorne, Mr. Speaker, we also said that we would welcome new opportunities and partners. Well, through high quality and productive discussion Long Harbour will now see growth. As well, we will venture with Vale Inco in the construction of the Hydromet facility for the processing of Voisey's Bay ore. This is incredible news, Mr. Speaker, for the Province.

This was the government's preferred option, and through the hard work and dedication and commitment of the Minister of Natural Resources we have accomplished this. It will mean well-paying jobs for years to come, and hopefully, Mr. Speaker, bring our skilled workers and families back to the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Strategic investments, Mr. Speaker, have been made to address our Province's infrastructure that certainly needed to be fixed. After years of neglect, we were faced with this momentous challenge of needed improvements, but we didn't deflect it, we didn't ignore it, we addressed it, we took it head on. We met the challenges, we rose to the occasion, and now we are seeing the benefits of our decisions.

Mr. Speaker, we have invested over $100 million dollars in the Poverty Reduction Strategy, a model strategy that has been highly praised and is the envy of many anti-poverty leaders across the country and indeed across the Province.

Mr. Speaker, we have expanded the Newfoundland and Labrador Prescription Drug Program to include low income residents.

There are now free textbooks for all students from Kindergarten to Grade 12. What a great achievement, Mr. Speaker. I know growing up on the beautiful Port au Port Peninsula in a family of eleven I didn't have that luxury. Many times the school photo pictures were not brought because we had to buy school books. Mr. Speaker, a great accomplishment! Thank you to the Minister of Education and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The job start benefit program to assist people in leaving income support and starting a new job; there is the family Board and Lodging Supplement for people with disabilities; we also have increased the operating budget for the eight women's centres in the Province; and increased and will continue to increase the minimum wage.

Mr. Speaker, we are committed to working with stakeholders and partners as we work together to reduce, alleviate and prevent poverty in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

As you know, Mr. Speaker, half of our spending is dedicated to health care. As we face the challenges that lie within the health care sector, the people of this Province can rest assured that this government will continue to work hard and effectively so that the health needs of our people are met. I see in my district alone, Mr. Speaker, investment in CT scanners, in dialysis machines, health line, seniors' programs, and throughout the Province MRI scanners, machines and so forth, and the list goes on.

Mr. Speaker, never in the history of this Province has there been ever a greater influx of money and priority given to education. Our education system is no doubt as good as what is offered in the rest of this country, and I would say that our educational system probably surpasses many others in the rest of this country.

Now, Mr. Speaker, can you imagine, over $1 billion is allocated in budget for both K-12 and post-secondary education in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. So you tell me that this government is not trying to educate our students for the future. Yes, we are.

Since 2003, our government has repaired leaky roofs, drafty windows, rotten doors and dilapidated siding on many of our schools. We have built and constructed new schools, as well, across the Province. I know in my District of Port au Port, just this summer, new roofs were provided for schools in Cape St. George, Mainland and Stephenville.

Other significant initiatives were enhancements to the school aid program. Our Province leads the way as we reduce the provincial student loan interest rate to prime. That is a 2.5 per cent reduction. We provide up to 50 per cent of the provincial student assistance as an up front grant. The tuition freeze at MUN and the College of the North Atlantic will continue making our institutions affordable and accessible.

Mr. Speaker, the Skills Task Force that was established during our government's first term delivered an action plan to ensure the fulfillment of its recommendations because it is important to educate and retrain. We need skilled professionals to develop and expand new economic development projects such as Hebron, White Rose, Voisey's Bay, Lower Churchill, and the other developments that have yet to come.

Mr. Speaker, we are investing in roads. This year alone a record of $73 million was spent in the Provincial Roads Improvement Program. In my district, $1 million was allocated and some of the work completed was the replacement of a culvert in Red Brook, resurfacing of Route 460 from Queen Street to West Street in Stephenville, resurface of a section of Route 463 in Piccadilly, repairs to armour stone for the protection of Route 462 in Fox Island River, resurfacing of a section of Route 462 for Port au Port East, and repairs to roads that received damage caused by water line cuts throughout the district.

Mr. Speaker, these improvements in these roads will lead to creating a safer and smoother road system that will no doubt have an impact, a positive impact, on the communities and certainly the economy as we thrive to develop tourism in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Speaking of tourism, Mr. Speaker, investments in marketing are paying off both at home here and abroad. Investments in the Stephenville Theatre Festival, enhancements to the Arts and Culture Centre, improvements to the Stephenville High School Track and Field, and funding for the Stephenville Primary Recreation Facility will no doubt attract visitors and provide opportunities for the region.

Mr. Speaker, next year in 2009 the whole of the Port au Port Peninsula, communities like Cape St. George, De Grau, Red Brook, Marches Point, Sheaves Cove, Lower Cove, Ship Cove, Jerrys Nose, Abrahams Cove, Piccadilly, West Bay, Lourdes, Winterhouse, Black Duck Brook, Three Rock Cove, Campbells Creek, Felix Cove, Port au Port West, Aguathuna and Boswarlos will have the opportunity to host activities and showcase our culture and our traditions as we embark on hosting a Come Home Year 2009 for the great Port au Port Peninsula. I invite all my hon. colleagues in this House to join us next year in Port au Port for our Come Home Year celebration. Again, Mr. Speaker, no doubt this will attract family and tourists alike to come back home.

Make no doubt about it, Mr. Speaker, we are striving and working hard to make our Province better by making our communities safer and improving their infrastructure. To support this, the government increased its capital budget by $34.4 million annually to about $84.3 million per year. As part of this announcement, Mr. Speaker, government also introduced a new cost-shared ratio for municipalities of all types of required infrastructure work. In my district all communities, with the exception of Stephenville, qualify for the ninety-ten portion with Stephenville eligible for eighty-twenty.

This is great news, Mr. Speaker, exceptional news, remarkable news, news welcomed by Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador, municipalities right across this Province, local service districts. The business community is excited about this as well; and, most of all, Mr. Speaker, the people of the Province are excited about this news. It is going to improve the infrastructure that has been long waiting for improvements.

Other achievements, Mr. Speaker, of this government: we negotiated and signed a New Dawn Agreement which marks a new beginning for the Innu of Labrador and their relationship with the Province, Upper and Lower Churchill issues resolved. An agreement with the Innu, Mr. Speaker, means the Lower Churchill development is now on the radar screen for government to pursue.

Mr. Speaker, we agreed to receive $2 million in the Atlantic Accord when the naysayers said take what you can get, come back home and celebrate with that – but, we did not. We went for the pot of gold and we got the stars.

Who would have thought, Mr. Speaker, that we could own 5 per cent equity share in White Rose? We released, Mr. Speaker, for the first time in the Province, a long-term energy plan for Newfoundland and Labrador. Mineral exploration has also boomed in the Province. I look at, in my district, Atlantic Minerals in Lower Cove, which has been in existence for over twenty years, employs over 100 employees. What a remarkable story for Port au Port.

In the Speech from the Thorne it was said that government is promoting increased offshore and onshore exploration development on the west, south and east coast and on the Coast of Labrador. I look in my district, Mr. Speaker; we have lots of activity in oil and gas. We have seen CIVC do exploration, and now in Cape St. George we have PDI Production which we know in Cape St. George a few years ago we did hit oil and gas and now it is just a matter of finding out how much is there so we can produce.

Personal income tax reduction: Mr. Speaker, the Province brought down being the high taxed province in the country to the fourth-lowest in the country. What an achievement on that!

Mr. Speaker, we also awarded a $50.5 million contract for the construction of two intra-provincial ferries to be built right here in Newfoundland and Labrador. Mr. Speaker, we are also strengthening the child, youth and family services system. We invested $9 million in that program. The new teacher allocation model, which is based on two key elements, a focus on programming and teaching needs, and maximum size classes in the K-9 system.

We invested, Mr. Speaker, in the long-term comprehensive cultural strategy with an investment of approximately $17.6 million in new funding over three years for the further development of the arts, culture and heritage sectors; $2.4 million in recreation and sports strategy, to strengthen programs and services aimed at creating a healthy, more physically active population; $6 million in a comprehensive provincial immigration strategy. Mr. Speaker, an event that was hosted not so long ago, as we attracted over 160 youth of the Province. HRLE is leading the development of a youth retention and attraction strategy to address the effects of youth out-migration. What a great initiative, Mr. Speaker.

So, Mr. Speaker, this government has made numerous accomplishments or has achieved numerous accomplishments that can be talked about for hours, days, weeks, and months. You know that the work we are doing today will have a profound impact for decades to come and, Mr. Speaker, our successes today will have a legacy of a proud, a determined and a strong Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. VERGE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, it is indeed a pleasure to have this opportunity to speak for just a few minutes on the 2008 Throne Speech. As we all know, each year the Lieutenant-Governor gives a Speech from the Throne and the purpose of the speech is to outline the government's main objectives for the following year and beyond.

In reviewing the Throne Speech and in preparing for a few thoughts I wanted to give today, I selected a few quotes from the speech and I am going to use the allotted twenty minutes or so that I have here today to expand on these thoughts.

Quote number one from the Throne Speech says: "On the 9^th of October 2007, the people of Newfoundland and Labrador were given the opportunity to make a choice. Our people were asked if they want Newfoundland and Labrador to be the master of its own house and control its own destiny within the federation of Canada."

Quote number two from the Throne Speech says: "The overarching goal of the term ahead is to move Newfoundland and Labrador boldly forward to self-reliance."

Quote number three says: "As a result of our collective efforts to wrestle down the deficit, to ratchet up growth and to reach an agreement that fulfilled the promise of the Atlantic Accord, we are - for the first time in our history - poised to come off equalization very soon."

So I want to reflect on the past year and also, if I may, on the past several years that this government came into office, going back as far as 2003. I want to reflect from, first of all, a provincial perspective and then to look at the local, my own district, perspective.

Provincially, Newfoundland and Labrador has undergone a transformation in the past five years. When this government took office in 2003, the Province was on a path of destruction. Yes, a downward financial spiral. Our infrastructure was literally crumbling around us, as were many of our social programs. Our raw resources were being shipped out of the Province. Our people were leaving in droves and, yes folks, we were drowning in debt.

The challenges we faced at that time were indeed immense, but this government came in with a new approach. With prudent fiscal management, strategic planning with solid leadership, accompanied by the support of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador things have certainly turned around in a positive direction. We have gone a long way in five years, but that is not to recognize that we still have work to do, and we will continue on the right path.

Our future looks brighter than ever. There is a renewed optimism that you sense throughout the Province. We are stepping up and we are building on the many opportunities that exist right here in Newfoundland and Labrador. As a result of all of this, our Province reported the first annual population increase in 16 years. Our population increased by a little over 1,400 people in the past year, bringing our total now to almost 508,000.

Since 2003, employment has increased by 4,800 and the unemployment rate since that time has declined by 2.6 percentage points, down to the lowest level in twenty-six years. This year employment is expected to increase by another 1.5 per cent, adding another 3,300 jobs.

Fiscal health and economic strength go hand in hand. Last year, personal income in this Province grew by 4.3 per cent. While at the same time, the largest personal income tax cut in the Province's history put more money back into the hands of taxpayers, increasing disposable income. Of course, that ripple effect was exceptional sales in the retail industry is an increase of 9.5 per cent.

Mr. Speaker, it is no secret that the real estate market in Newfoundland and Labrador is booming. Residential construction investment increased by an impressive 9.9 per cent with gains in both new and renovation spending with over 2,600 housing starts in 2007. That momentum, although there is some economic uncertainty at this point in time, but that momentum is expected to continue.

Last year, Mr. Speaker, this government, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador reported a record surplus of approximately $1.4 billion. We are projecting, and we heard here today by our hon. Premier, that we expect to reach the $500 surplus again this year. Isn't that amazing, because after more than fifty years of deficit, this year represents the fourth consecutive surplus on a fully consolidated basis for Newfoundland and Labrador. While we recognize that a lot of this was due to the price of oil, it is also the result of economic growth, of sound fiscal management, as well as the Atlantic Accord that was negotiated by our Premier.

Are we on the road to self-reliance as outlined in the Throne Speech? Indeed we are. Just a few weeks ago our Province was officially taken off the equalization payments and we celebrated an announcement that we are, indeed, right now a have province. We are a have province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. VERGE: Newfoundland and Labrador is taking control of its future. The days of giving away our resources are gone. The signing of the Hebron agreement this summer marked a bold new era of partnership between industry and our government. We now have real and meaningful ownership of our resources in the form of an equity stake 4.9 per cent in this project as well as a super royalty regime. As well, Newfoundland has secured a 5 per cent stake in the White Rose project.

The historic New Dawn Agreement with the Innu Nations means full steam ahead for the Lower Churchill, we are hoping. As outlined in our Energy Plan, the Lower Churchill will play a key role in our renewable energy future with an estimated value of $6 billion to $9 billion.

It has been an exciting time in the mining sector - and this is a very interesting statistic. Since 2005, the gross value of mineral shipments has risen from - get this, Mr. Speaker! - $776 million in 2003 to a projected $5.5 billion in 2008. That is a growth of 706 per cent. Six new mining and processing operations have opened up during that period. There was a major $800 million expansion to the iron ore industry that is underway and employment in that sector increased by 156 per cent.

Effective July 1, 2008, at a cost of $75 million annually, personal income tax rates in each bracket were reduced by 1 per cent. That reduction will ensure that Newfoundland and Labrador will continue to have the lowest tax rates among the Atlantic provinces. Of course, that will ensure and enhance our competitive position within the Atlantic provinces.

These are but a few of the examples, Mr. Speaker, that have been taking place on the provincial scene. With the careful management of our current financial position, our government has been able to pass along many benefits to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

As I again prepared some thoughts for today, I could not help but look at the measures that we have taken in the last few years. Cutting income tax and increasing spending in infrastructure is really what we are hearing being talked about in the news today, about what other governments are doing on the national scene and the international scene, cutting income tax and improving spending on infrastructure. I think that bodes well for the decisions that our Premier and our Minister of Finance have made in the past, to do that so that we can find ourselves in a position today that is really positive compared to the world scene.

From a district perspective – I look now more locally, in my own area – earlier this year, the Minister of Transportation officially opened the new Marine Services Branch on Fairview Road in Lewisporte. That was an investment in my district of approximately $630,000, as well as some secure jobs.

Recently, as well, the Department of Innovation, Trade & Rural Development announced a $13,500 investment for the Town of Lewisporte and area, which will assist in developing a five-year business plan to enhance and market the local marina.

All you folks who have boats, you should come out to Lewisporte and visit the marina. It is a world-class marina and I know that the people who are working on that in our district will continue to make that a very important part of our economic base in the future.

This past summer in my district, $2.2 million of road construction was done. We saw improvements in roads in the Norris Arm North community. Some wheel rutting and that on the Trans-Canada was fixed. As well, down around the Gander Bay area there was in excess of a million dollars spent there.

Through the Municipal Capital Works Program the Town of Lewisporte has received $176,000 for road, water and sewer work; and the Town of Campbellton, $200,000 for road upgrades.

The new cost-sharing formula under this program now ensures that new and important infrastructure projects are much more affordable for the smaller communities. We often look at the community enhancement projects that come to our district, and they are welcomed in all of our districts, especially out in the more rural parts. Through these things in the district we have been able to see things like fire halls being improved on in the communities of Brown's Arm, Norris Arm North, the community hall in Laurenceton, improvements to a wharf in Loon Bay, a slipway in Boyd's Cove, improvements to the museum in Lewisporte, to a basketball court in Comfort Cove, and, of course, there have been lots of other jobs that have been created and improvements because of that program.

Just last month, my district was also awarded funds for the construction of ten kilometres of new forest access roads just off the existing main resource roads, a project valued at over $300,000. These projects are employing nineteen people for a five-month period.

Over a half million tree seedlings are being planted in the Lewisporte area as part of the 2008 silviculture program. In total, $213,000 is being spent on three silviculture initiatives in the area, and that will see 227 hectares of land planted, seventy-five hectares thinned to promote healthy, stronger tree growth, and another 300 hectares prepared for planting next summer. The tree planting project is valued at $80,000 and will employ twenty people for four weeks.

Another initiative in my district: the government further expanded the Career Work Centre network with the opening of a new centre in Lewisporte. This was officially opened just recently by the Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment.

As we look at the area, one of the things that we are looking towards in the future and we are anticipating - there is no greater priority in my district, of course, than health care. This government has made unprecedented investments in health care with the overall budget for Health and Community Services in Budget 2008 being a record $2.3 billion. We are focusing on building a health care system that provides quality care and services to the residents of the Province now and for future generations to come.

As part of the plan in Lewisporte district and in the Town of Lewisporte, there are plans to construct a one-roof health care facility. We were hoping, actually, that that project would be underway by now, but because of some escalating costs there have been some delays. We are assured, through the Minister of Health and his department, that that project remains a priority for government and we anticipate that it will commence as soon as possible.

I just visited last week, Mr. Speaker, a facility in Lewisporte that will be opening – well, it may indeed be opening today or within the next couple of days - and that is the new stadium. There was a stadium there before. I am calling this one a new stadium because it looks nothing like the old one. An investment of about $5 million in this project will see the whole facility modernized. Our groups, our minor hockey groups, our figure skating groups, our different recreational leagues around the district, will be able to come into that facility now to practice and to play in a modern, modern facility. It looks exceptional, and I think this is another example of investment in rural Newfoundland.

As we go forward into the future we will see greater investment in a Central Newfoundland waste management system at a site near Norris Arm, as we move into a newer, a better, and a greener way of dealing with household and commercial waste. That official site will be in my district.

Mr. Speaker, Lewisporte District has benefited from the Province's positive fiscal position. The examples that I have provided are just a few of the more noteworthy initiatives. Together we are building an economy in which people in communities throughout Newfoundland and Labrador can seize opportunities for themselves.

As I conclude my comments, I look back at the few quotes I have pulled out. Number one, "…the people of Newfoundland and Labrador were given the opportunity to make a choice. Our people were asked if they want Newfoundland and Labrador to be the master of its own house and control its own destiny within the federation of Canada."

Quote number two was, "The overarching goal of the term ahead – now this is in the Throne Speech – "The overarching goal," we said at that time, "is to move Newfoundland and Labrador boldly forward to self-reliance."

Finally, quote three said, "As a result of our collective efforts to wrestle down the deficit, to ratchet up growth and to reach an agreement that fulfilled the promise of the Atlantic Accord we are - for the first time in our history - poised to come off equalization very soon." Now, that was a quote from the Throne Speech, that was the plan for the future, and where are we today? We are on the right track. We have and are moving more and more towards becoming the complete masters of our own house, we have moved forward to self-reliance, and, Mr. Speaker, we are already off equalization and we are a have Province.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

It is certainly an honour and a privilege for me to be able to rise in my seat today on behalf of the good people of the District of Humber East, the great and historic District of Humber East, to say a few words on the Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne.

Sometimes when you can speak on a money bill or speak on a budget bill or the Address in Reply of this speech today, you can speak on any topic you want. Of course, sometimes the problem is not coming up with things to say but determining what you are going to leave out.

It is an honour to be here today and I have to refer today to the statement made by the Deputy Premier, the Minister of Natural Resources, on International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. I think it is extremely sad that, after all this time, violence against women still is a very serious and major problem in our society, and regardless of politics, regardless of political party, regardless of political philosophy, we all must come together in order to put an end, once and for all, to this very real problem.

I know, back in 2003, when I first became Minister of Justice, after the election of that year, to help the Government or to help me in my capacity as Attorney General and Minister of Justice to deal with the issue, we put together a broad-based community group with many representatives. One of the things I initially asked that group to do was to look at the whole issue of violence against women, and in particular bring forward a piece of legislation that would provide some additional tools for victims of family violence.

They did just one heck of a great job. They canvassed legislation in other jurisdictions throughout the country and they looked at family violence legislation. Obviously, you cannot fix everything at once, but I am a believer in doing bits at a time. If you put in the building blocks, before you know it you have that house built.

I know, as well, with policing, when we first looked at the problems that were facing the RNC and the RCMP when we first took office, the lack of resources and the number of vacancies, it was quite daunting and it was quite frankly overwhelming. By doing a bit each year and by doing it steadily each year, before you know it you have a lot of the problems taken care of.

This group came up with a piece of legislation that I think is probably the best in the country. They canvassed thoroughly. They looked at the other legislation, the other family violence legislation, in other jurisdictions in the country. They looked at best practices throughout the world. What they did is, they took that but they also applied it to what was happening here in Newfoundland and Labrador. As a result of that outstanding work we passed this family violence legislation which provided additional protection, through a protection order, to victims of violence. We said at the time it was not a panacea, but it was certainly a very, very important tool to help women and to help victims of family abuse.

We then discovered that there were, in different parts of the country, specialized courts that dealt with family violence. We announced that we were going to do research and look into that to see if a domestic family violence court might be a good thing for this Province. After due consultations by officials in the Department of Justice and under the leadership of my successor, the present Minister of Finance, we have decided to go with a model or with a pilot of a domestic family violence court in this Province, here in St. John's. Now what this specialized court does; it is more of a therapeutic court. The idea is not simply to punish, the idea is to try to get to the root cause of the problem. Accordingly, this court will be a treatment based model that will emphasize the treatment of abusive behaviour more so than the punishment, but also to not only emphasize treatment for the offender to help that person deal with the problem but also to provide counselling and supportive services to the victim and to the children. This pilot will focus on early intervention.

There has to be a guilty plea and the offender has to voluntarily choose to avail of the process. Once we have that guilty plea then the programming steps in and for a certain period of time the offender, the accused, will receive treatment to deal with the root causes of the family violence in the first place. This will be a problem solving court, and, as I said, it is based on principles of early intervention and there will be an enhanced response by the justice system to incidents of family violence.

The programming, as I said, will take several months. There will be different types of programming. It could be anger management, it could be drug counselling, and, of course, there will be the necessity of supervision by the probation office of the Department of Justice. After this pilot runs - it will run for one year - and after we have had a chance to review the results we will take a look at whether the program will be made a permanent one and what resources will be required to extend it, if it is in our interests to do so, to other parts of the Province such as Central and the West Coast and to Labrador.

The second thing that was announced today, Mr. Speaker, was by the Minister of Business who talked about the success of students from Memorial University, the business program at Memorial University, who won the 2008 Free Enterprise World Cup. Now, obviously most of us in this House who have attended university are proud graduates of Memorial University of Newfoundland, but I have to say that the business program at Memorial is obviously doing an outstanding job. I agree with the comments that were made by members in this House, the Opposition House Leader and the Minister of Business who spoke today. There is no question that Memorial's business program is just doing an outstanding job and that our students who study business and who study enterprise at the University, based on their record in these world competitions, are just doing an outstanding job.

I know in my hometown we grew up working for someone else, we grew up working for paper companies, we grew up working for large organizations, and it is obviously extremely important not only for Western Newfoundland but for all parts of rural Newfoundland, or all of Newfoundland and Labrador, to ensure that we inculcate in our youth the entrepreneurial spirit, the ability to go out and to create a new enterprise, to create a new business that will be successful in the world economy, because our students have shown that they can certainly do it. We must encourage the university and provide it with the resources to continue that type of programming.

I know that Sir Wilfred Grenfell College, a part of Memorial University, has instituted a Bachelor of Business degree at that campus in Corner Brook in which there will be an emphasis on entrepreneurship as well as an emphasis on regional economic development. I think that certainly augurs well for the economic future of this Province.

Speaking of the university, of course, Mr. Speaker, there is going to be a debate tomorrow, I understand, on the autonomy of Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. We did see some controversy involving members of the faculty at the university and the government over the selection of a president process.

I have had an opportunity to take a look at the Memorial University Act. The definition of academic autonomy – I can't remember the MHA who raised it today. The Member for Marystown, Grand Bank?

AN HON. MEMBER: Grand Bank.

MR. T. MARSHALL: Grand Bank. He defined what academic autonomy means, and that it is no interference with what a professor would say, teach or publish; the right of the professor to criticize the university and criticize the government.

I am sure that there is no instance of interference with academic autonomy under that definition at that university because I know that the graduates of Memorial, including the Premier, including the Minister of Education, including me as the Attorney General, would not stand for that. We recognize the autonomy of the university community and we are supportive of the autonomy of the university community; but, in addition to the autonomy of the university, I also happen to be a believer in the rule of law. I happen to be a believer in the principles of democracy.

Under the rule of law, the law applies to all of us and it applies to all of us equally, even those who make the law and even those who are required to enforce the law. This law, as set out in the Memorial University Act, was not made by a dictator. It was made by the elected representatives of the people of this Province. With respect to the selection of the president, I understand that section has been in effect since some time in the early seventies. It certainly wasn't a law recently passed by this Administration.

Mr. Speaker, the law made by the elected representatives of the people must be obeyed by the Minister of Education, it must be obeyed by the Premier, it must be obeyed by the Attorney General, but it also has to be obeyed by members of the Board of Regents of Memorial University. We are all equal before the law, and no one has the right to usurp the law, and no one has the right abuse the proper process.

Mr. Speaker, I notice that the wording of the section on the selection of a president – and I am going from memory here – says that there shall be a president of Memorial University of Newfoundland, appointed by the Board of Regents after consultation with the Senate, and with the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council – and the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, of course, is the government; it is the Cabinet of the government.

So it would appear, on a very straightforward reading of the legislation, that the Board of Regents must go through a process of examining candidates and coming up with the selection for president; but, before doing so, they must first consult with the Senate. The Senate has the right to be consulted but it does not have the right of veto.

Once the choice is made, the name is sent to the Lieutenant-Governor in Council for approval, and that is what the law says. That is what the law, as passed by the elected representatives of the people of this Province, states, and that law, until it is changed, is, of course, binding on government and it is binding on the Board of Regents, and I believe that the Board of Regents must follow that law.

It is my understanding, and I may be wrong on this, that the Board of Regents has decided that before it is prepared to enter into the selection process that it has made a condition precedent to that, and that it has established a committee – I believe it is an ad-hoc committee consisting of members of the Board of Regents and the Senate – and that committee is going to look at the issue of university autonomy and it is going to make recommendations to this government.

We will welcome that, and I am sure the Minister of Education will welcome that, and if a committee of the Board of Regents of Memorial University and a committee of the Senate of Memorial University are prepared to make recommendations to the government as to how the Memorial University Act should be changed then I am sure that those recommendations will be taken very seriously, but government will take seriously recommendations about the university from other groups and other stakeholders as well.

I know as a result of the discussions about the autonomy, another issue of autonomy involving Sir Wilfred Grenfell College in Corner Brook, I know what a great deal of interest most people have in the university. Whether they are graduates of the university, whether they work at the university, or whether or not, people have a major interest in the university because they know how important it is to all Newfoundland and Labrador.

I have said previously, and I remember saying at the farewell luncheon for Dr. Axel Meisen, the former president of Memorial, that I believe fervently that the university is probably, if not the – I think I said it was the - most important institution that we have in our society today, because someone could go to university and that could change their lives. People can go to university, and out of the university can come new ideas and new processes that can change our economy, that can change our whole province.

That is why it is extremely important that we all work together, that government and the Board of Regents and the Senate work together to do what is in the best interest of the university, but we have to obey the law. The law was set not by tyrants; the law was set by the elected representatives of the people, and until the law is changed we are all equally bound by the law, whether we are the government, whether we are the Board of Regents, or whether we are the Senate. To attempt to do otherwise, to attempt to read things into the legislation which are not there, to attempt to set condition precedents which have to happen before you carry out your statutory duties - and there is a statutory duty, in my view, here, for the Board of Regents is mandated to enter into a process to appoint a president.

I disagree with the ad hoc committee. I disagree with its belief that it has the right to refuse to carry out a statutory duty until such time that it sends recommendations to this government. Recommendations which, as I indicated, we will take very seriously, but I believe that the Board of Regents must carry out its statutory duty and go and appoint a president of the university so that great institution can carry on for the benefit of all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

Mr. Speaker, the Speech from the Throne talked about government's plans for Sir Wilfred Grenfell College. Sir Wilfred Grenfell College is an institution that came into existence, I think, over thirty-two years ago. It was set up originally as a junior college, to enable people from Western Newfoundland and Labrador to receive their education in their own area, or closer to their home area, without the necessity of having to travel on to St. John's or, in some cases, to universities in Atlantic Canada and Central Canada. I know at one time, before Grenfell College came into existence, there was a tendency for students in Western Newfoundland who were going on to university not to come to the university in St. John's but, instead, to attend colleges like St. Francis Xavier in Antigonish, Acadia University in Sackville, Mount Allison University, Mount St. Vincent in Halifax and Dalhousie University, with some, of course, going on to great universities in Upper Canada, like McGill and the University of Toronto and Queens and others.

The fact that Sir Wilfred Grenfell College went there, not only provided the students with the opportunity to do initially their first year and then their second year at that institution as well, but it also encouraged many of them to continue their education at the St. John's campus. So it certainly helped there.

The institution has grown. It started off as a junior college but it has now grown and now offers, I think it is sixteen or seventeen various degree programs in the arts, in the sciences, in business, fine arts, theatre arts, and I think that is very normal. I think we have seen in the report, the Kelly Davis report that was commissioned by this government, to look at the whole issue. I think we have seen how most junior colleges normally, after a period of time, evolve into full fledged universities. I think that that is what is happening in our west coast campus of Sir Wilfred Grenfell College and I believe that that is an evolution that should be encouraged and supported by the Members of this House of Assembly.

That debate will take place tomorrow and I think I will reserve the rest of my remarks for that debate. I hope to take part in that debate tomorrow when I will have the rapt attention of my colleagues, who I know are always paying close attention to what I have to say about the west coast and support me fully in those representations.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. T. MARSHALL: Mr. Speaker, I do not know how much time I have left. One minute?

MR. SPEAKER: Thirty-four seconds.

MR. T. MARSHALL: Thirty-four seconds. Well, with that, this would be then a good time to sit down and let someone else have an opportunity to talk. It has been an honour for me to speak in this debate and, obviously, I urge its passage.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Government Services and the Minister Responsible for the Government Purchasing Agency.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am very, very happy to get up in this House today. If I reference Hansard, and anybody can reference Hansard in this House or in the general public, I have never strayed away from talking about the past, talking about when we took government, talking about what the Cabinet and what the Premier faced in regards to the financial situation that we found ourselves in.

I remember in the spring of 2004, in regards to that budget. I remember even my own district being hit by that particular budget and it was understandably why, I understood why. The James Paton Memorial Hospital was cancelled in regards to the redevelopment. It was put on hold to reconsider at another date. There were a lot of projects around this Province at that particular time that were reassessed. We clearly understood, the Cabinet clearly understood, the Premier clearly understood that we could not go forward without having a plan. We heard time and time and time again we do not have a plan, but where do we find ourselves today? We find ourselves in a province that is best placed, best situated in regards to facing the economic storm and the downturn in the economy that we find ourselves in today.

As well, Mr. Speaker, there was foresight by the Premier in regards to the things that he said in caucus. He always talks to caucus. He always comes to caucus meetings and he references exactly what needs to be done in Newfoundland and Labrador. He asks for support in regards to the caucus, in regards to his vision for Newfoundland and Labrador to get us to where we need to be. Are we there yet? No, we are not but we are well placed to get there. We have seen now as early - as a matter of fact, referenced in the Speech from the Throne last year we suspected that we might be off equalization soon. Well, guess what? We are off equalization now.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. O'BRIEN: That is by the foresight and the vision of this Premier in regards to what he saw and in regards to what we had to do.

This government, particularly that Cabinet, saw the wisdom in regards to investing, creating jobs. They invested in infrastructure across the Province in various areas; $182 million in provincial roads that created many, many jobs and many job hours and work hours and man hours across this Province, Mr. Speaker.

We hear the Prime Minister, we hear the premiers talking about it. We have to spend. We have to consider deficits. We have to spend and stimulate the economy. Well, this government was doing just that when we found ourselves in a situation, a financial crisis back in 2003 and then into 2004.

The Minister of Transportation and Works referenced how important it was for the Premier to negotiate the deal on the Atlantic Accord and the $2 billion. Yes it was, but that was visionary. People have said no good of going down that path. We have gone down that path before and it is fruitless, it will not happen. Well, it did happen. It did happen and he invested that wisely. He invested wisely into the pension funds today that are under duress conditions in regards to the global market. People are seeing huge losses in regards to those pensions and we find ourselves in a situation that we would be totally worse off if he had not seen and foresaw the wisdom in regards to investing in those pensions.

There were a lot of things that happened in 2004. There were a lot of things happened in the spring of 2005 when we started to turn that corner. I look back at it, I reflect onto it and I was so proud to be there. In the meantime, it was absolutely frightening to be here in 2003-2004 because we found ourselves - and as a caucus and not being a Cabinet minister at that particular time, I was not privy to all the things that were happening in Cabinet in regards to the strategies, in regards to the discussions and what we had to do, what this government had to do in regards to turning Newfoundland and Labrador around and making it a good place for our children and our children's children to live, and the people of Newfoundland and Labrador to take pride in our Province. I was not privy to that, so it was frightening. It was frightening to be here. To the members that were not here, you found yourselves in a situation and a place in history in regards to the wisdom of the Premier and the wisdom of that particular Cabinet and government that you are seeing the fruition of that wisdom. That is what you are seeing. I envy you for that because there were a lot of us around here back then that we were actually scared of the future. As a matter of fact, I think many of us said I picked a bad time to go into politics because we were under criticism, not only by the Opposition by also by our constituents in our particular ridings that did not understand exactly where we were in regards to this Province and the financial situation that we found ourselves in.

This government, at that particular time, pulled up their socks and said: Well, we have to do something. So they developed strategies. They developed various strategies, infrastructure strategies, and on and so forth; strategies within the Department of Education to invest in our people, to invest in our children and make sure that they were positioned well for anything that we may do in the future in regards to future developments. These are the kind of things that we did. We invested in health care because that was paramount in regards to keeping our people well. Actually, really there is a morale issue too surrounding health care and the delivery of health care services, that when people have confidence in their health care system they can access health care. They become more and more confident in our own economy. That is what happens. Confident in their Province and confident in regards to the vision and direction that government was taking them in.

Now, have we been able to invest everything that we could invest or that is needed, which is more a right word for it? No. Certainly, we spent and this government has spent wisely. They invested in the different infrastructures but recognizing that we only have a certain capacity around Newfoundland and Labrador in regards to our local companies.

You know, I travel Newfoundland and Labrador at various times from west to east, east to west, and from south to north and north to south, and I know most of the construction people out there and people who own construction firms and engineering firms and all those types of people who are in that industry, and each one of them tells me that they were maxed out this summer in regards to work. They did not know what to do with themselves. The question was: were they able to address all the successful contracts that they had attained through the tendering process or whatever way they got their actual contracts. They did not know if they had enough hours.

Then we see through this year as well an in-migration of people who are recognizing that this is a good place to live, work and raise a family, and also it is a good place to get a job. I have never seen the likes, to be honest with you. My children now are twenty-four, twenty-one and sixteen, and I see now that my sixteen-year-old as compared to the twenty-four-year-old has her pick of jobs in Gander. Anytime, anywhere, she can get a job. She works constantly. She is called in all the time with regard to her place of work. She can work forty hours a week if they can get it out of her, but god bless her heart she recognizes too the value of education. She is trying to find a balance between education, work and the money that she likes to have in her pocket. What I am saying here is, there is no shortage of jobs for the youth of this Province especially when you are living in urban areas.

Yes, we do have challenges in regard to rural Newfoundland. There are not as many jobs in rural Newfoundland and Labrador as you would find in places like Gander, Clarenville, Grand Falls-Windsor, Stephenville, Corner Brook or the likes, and that is a challenge as well, but time and time again I also hear from people in rural Newfoundland that times are good. They can access services much, much better today. They have better provincial roads. They have challenges, yes, but they have job opportunities as well. As a matter of fact I was talking to one particular person in a particular area in the Province who said they have never before seen the housing starts in a small community as they have seen in rural Newfoundland in that particular part of the Province. I do not know if that is happening all over the Province. I am from rural Newfoundland and Labrador myself, down on the Southern Shore, and just recently I was down on the Southern Shore and saw a lot of new houses and new subdivisions.

As a matter of fact, I would say back in my day, especially around twenty-odd years ago, nobody would dream that you would have a subdivision going into a community down on the Southern Shore, but you are actually seeing subdivisions. Maybe that is the diligent work by the hon. member there at this particular time in regards to bringing confidence to the people there and investing in his district. I thank him for that, because that is where I came from. My home is Gander. That is where I came from and that is where I was born, so I take a certain pride in that.

Housing starts: Unbelievable in Gander this year! I believe there are up around 100. People are moving there. Big investments - I cannot remember the dollar value, but it is very, very high. A lot of commercial starts too, a lot of investment by the various retailers there. So, we see a growing economy.

We have challenges. In regard to the district that is next to me, certainly we feed off each other. The District of Grand Falls-Windsor-Buchans is the right term. I always kind of forget because I always associate it with Grand Falls-Windsor. I see the retail sector there flourishing and striving and growing. Housing is up again, as I saw in the papers there last week as well. I frequent the retail stores there quite often. As a matter of fact, I frequent one in particular in regards to what I am wearing today, because I can get it there, it is a good product and it is competitive. That is what we are seeing. That tells me that we have confidence in the future when you see those kinds of investments.

Yes, we have challenges. We have challenges in regards to Abitibi. We are concerned about that. It is not unique, it is global, but we are addressing that. We are partnering with the people in that area in regards to what we can do to stimulate the economy if anything goes wrong. Those are the kinds of things that we do. That is what we do, we partner. We are not saying that we know all but we go out there, we mesh with the community, we mesh with the leadership, we mesh with the unions, and then we see can we come up with solutions. I think that is seen over on the West Coast in regards to Stephenville when they went down this path before. Now I am hearing from the mayor there and various other community leaders who are good friends of mine, that particular area of the Province is doing very well. As a matter of fact, it is referenced as being booming.

Can we survive a hit such as we might see or may not see in Grand Falls-Windsor? I think we can, for the simple reason that you are seeing a period of time in the history of Newfoundland and Labrador where we see leadership, and people have confidence in leadership.

I remember one of my professors way back when – I will not tell you how many years ago – but he said that the first step in regard to growing an economy is having confidence in that economy, and that is what we see today; confidence in ourselves, confidence in the economy, confidence in Newfoundland and Labrador, and confidence in this government that is reflected in regards to the polls where we find ourselves time and time and time again. That is what we see, Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what we see.

We have not only invested in infrastructure, we have not only invested in regards to provincial roads and all those kinds of things, but we have also invested in people. We have invested in tax reductions, we have invested in the largest tax reduction ever seen in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2007, putting $155 million back into the pockets of people of the Province, the taxpayers of this Province, who certainly stimulate the economy. That is what we see. We invest in people.

We have removed the tax on insurance, 15 per cent of insurance. We pushed, I think, somewhere around $90-odd million back into the pockets of the people.

We saw a reduction in regards to your motor vehicle registration, from $180 to $140, putting more dollars back into the pockets of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, enabling them to do the things that they need to do. That is exactly what it is.

We have been doing, this government has been doing, this Premier has been doing the things that are now talked about around the tables in Ottawa; that we have to stimulate the economy by spending, spending and investing in the people. We have been doing that now for three years; four years we have been doing it. We could not do it in 2004, not to the degree that we wanted to, but that is exactly what you are seeing today, and you are seeing the fruition thereof. You are seeing a stimulated economy, you are seeing a confidence in the economy. That is exactly what you are seeing.

You know, we see investments in businesses. I hear investments coming from the Minister of Business. I have seen investments from Innovation, Trade & Rural Development. I have seen investments from Natural Resources. I have seen investments from the various departments that have economic pieces attached to their departments. They are out there. They are doing good due diligence in regards to making sure that the investments are wise. It takes time. Sometimes we are criticized that we cannot bring a file to fruition fast enough for the particular entrepreneur, the particular investor, but what we see is that we are investing strategically, and strategically in all areas of Newfoundland and Labrador. That is what we are seeing.

Certainly, when I reflect on the Speech from the Throne, which was some months ago, and the vision that this government has on a go-forward basis, it makes me proud to stand here as a government member, the MHA for Gander, which is a fine district. It has been good to me over the years in regard to business and in regard to the way I am treated as a MHA for Gander at this particular time.

Back to the spring of 2004 we had challenges as well with labour. We had challenges in regard to contracts. We had challenges that we had to have buy-in from our public service. We did what we had to do. They understood. Some of them disagreed with what we had to do, but we did it, and that is all that we had. That is the only option that we had at that particular time. What did we do afterwards, in regards to that contract? Yes, we gave them an extra 1 per cent, but I will tell you right now, I will be the first one to admit that prior to being an MHA, and certainly prior to being the Minister of Government Services and a minister in Cabinet, I had somewhat the same attitude as the people I have had arguments with since, that public employees were public employees. I often had a reference that they spent all their day playing games on their computers, and all that kind of stuff. If they really came out in the real world, they would know what work was all about, and that kind of stuff. Well, I beg to differ. I beg to differ because I have a wonderful executive in Government Services. I have a wonderful slate of public employees, right across this Province, who deliver very important services to the public of Newfoundland and Labrador. At no time have we ever been refused by any of the employees in my department when we needed something done and it was of the utmost importance to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. It had to be done within a certain time frame, and it was done without question. Certainly, I have had arguments since then with some of my friends in and around the district, and they are dead wrong.

Now, listen, at any given time in any given business your employee list, you might have some who might not be as diligent and as dedicated as the next, but overall our public employees are certainly dedicated to delivering those services to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, and they have certainly bought in to our vision in regards to making Newfoundland and Labrador the place to live in, the place to migrate to, the place to work.

As referenced in Question Period today in regard to the migration issue, yes, we do, we want everybody to come home. We want everybody to have that opportunity, but is that a reality? No, it is not because some of them have gone away years previous and they have laid down their roots in certain areas. They have married, they have raised children who are now really mainlanders, who were born to expat Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, so they might not move back, but we are going to give each and every one of them an opportunity to move back. We are going to give each and every one of their offspring an opportunity to move back.

You see in Long Harbour, only a short time ago, with an announcement in regard to that facility under construction, I cannot remember the numbers but I think there are like 1,600 jobs, or something of that sort, and 400 jobs in production. That is significant in Newfoundland and Labrador. That is significant in rural Newfoundland and Labrador, because Long Harbour is rural Newfoundland and Labrador. That is where we are seeing the investments. That is exactly where we are seeing the investments, and we are seeing the fruition thereof.

Here we are now, coming on Christmas, and there is a huge, huge concern down in the United States in regard to that period of time, in regard to the spending habits of people around various states and across the United States of America, but we are not hearing that in Newfoundland and Labrador. We are not hearing that. They are spending. They are spending and they are investing. They are investing in their children, and they are certainly confident in our retail sector, they are confident in our economy, and they are confident because of the vision of this government. That is exactly why they are confident. We will continue to do that. We will continue to invest and we will continue.

I want to end here this evening just to highlight that if anybody out there, or anybody across the House, in regard to the Opposition members who sit in this House, to think that this government does not have a strategy and a vision, they are sadly mistaken; because we have a vision, the Premier has a vision, that will go on and bring us to 2041.

MR. SPEAKER (Collins): Order please!

I would like to remind the hon. minister that his speaking time has expired.

MR. O'BRIEN: By leave for just a…?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: By leave.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. minister, by leave.

MR. O'BRIEN: By leave for an hour or so?

It is serious. We do have a strategy. It kills me to hear people, in regard to the various talk shows, be it the Opposition or whoever it is - and I know the job and the role they play - that we do not have a strategy, that we do not have a vision, that we do not have any plans.

Well, listen, we are sitting in a time in history, a time in Newfoundland and Labrador, that you are actually seeing the fruition of the plan. You are seeing the fruition because you find us, as a Province, the best placed Province in Canada, probably the best placed Province - that includes all of the fifty-two states of the United States - in that we are able to weather the storm. We are able, as it sits today, in regard to weathering the global storm and the economic climate that we find ourselves in, we are the best placed.

Listen: as the Minister of Transportation and Works referenced, we do not know where it is going yet, but if it bottoms out and it goes to $20 a barrel, and whatever else it does, then certainly that changes the water on the beans and we will address that as we go; but, as it sits today, and as we move our strategies forward and as we develop and expand our plans, then we will better be able to address any other issues that may come up in the future.

I thank you for the honour; I thank you for the time to be able to speak here today. It is always a pleasure, and certainly I will find the time, I hope, to speak again and talk in regard to the vision and the plans of this government that will get us to 2041.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SKINNER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, first of all, let me welcome back all of the colleagues into the House of Assembly. It is good for us to be back doing the business of government. There is a lot of business to be done in this session of the House of Assembly, and our legislative agenda as we move forward will indicate the amount of work that we need to do, and collectively I am sure we will be able to get us through all of that, but I want to talk today, Mr. Speaker, a little about the work that has already been done in the Province.

In particular, representing the District of St. John's Centre, I would like to talk a little bit about some of the things that have been done to benefit my district, but have also been done to benefit all districts in the Province; because a lot of the programs that this government has initiated, a lot of the initiatives that we have brought in, have been brought in to try and maximize and reach out to the most people possible and to make sure that the maximum number of people in the Province are able to benefit from some of the things that we have done.

In terms of some of the things that have been done, Mr. Speaker, again following along with some of my colleagues, I will try not to be repetitive on some of the information that has been brought out. My colleagues have been very forthcoming in terms of speaking to some of the initiatives that we have had, and some of the points that I was hoping to make, but I will try and, as I said, not be repetitive and mention a few others.

I first of all want to reference the fact that from a budgetary perspective we have been strong stewards of our fiscal responsibility as a government, and through successive Finance Ministers, through the leadership of the Premier, and through the leadership of Cabinet and caucus in terms of what we have been trying to do for the last five years, we have brought this Province from having deficits at the end of the budget year to being in a surplus position.

As a matter of fact, Mr. Speaker, for 2007-2008 we recorded a surplus of almost $1.4 billion for the budget year 2007-2008. I would suggest to you that we are going to have a good budget number for this year. The new Minister of Finance, I am sure, when he gives us an update in a little while, will be able to share some information with us on that.

One of the things that we have tried to do, Mr. Speaker, in terms of the overall picture and the benefit to the Province is to make sure that we reduce our debt. We keep talking about it. Sometimes I have people say to me that they think we talk a little bit too much about our debt in this Province, but I think it is important that we keep it on the front burner. I think it is important that we keep talking about it. We have the highest per capita debt in this Province, as a group of individuals, across the whole country and, as I understand it, we are double our next competitor. The next province to us has half the debt that we have on a per capita basis. That really is a stone around our necks. That really is difficult for us to be able to manage and for us to be able to manage our way forward on. So it is important that we, as a government, do try to do something with our debt.

I am happy to say that by the end of 2008-2009 we project that our net debt will be reduced down to about $10 billion. Now that is still an astronomical number, $10 billion with a B. Do not forget that we started off with almost a $12 billion deficit in terms of net debt. So we have reduced it over the past number of years by about $2 billion, and it is continuing to point downwards. So we expect that we will be able to see that debt that we have reduced down in successive years.

While we have been doing that, paying down the debt, while we have been good stewards of the Province's finances the other thing we have been able to do is make sure that the people of the Province have an opportunity to benefit in some of the monies that we have been generating through our natural resources. Not only have we been paying down that money on the debt, but we have been doing things like paying it into pensions, making sure that people's pensions are going to be there when they retire. We have invested a lot of money into pensions and have a lot of pensions now brought to a point where they should be self-financing.

We have also made sure that we have reduced people's income taxes. We currently have the fourth lowest income tax rates in the country. When this government formed office, we had the highest income tax rates in the country. We are not down to the fourth lowest. So we are doing some things, Mr. Speaker, to manage that millstone that I talk about, which is the debt burden that we carry, but we have been able to do it by ensuring that the burden is shared out and we have been able to do it by ensuring that people see some benefit from the amount of revenues that we have been able to generate.

In my former capacity as Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment, I was always interested in our unemployment rate. It was always a high number. We oftentimes had numbers up in the 17 per cent, 18 per cent, 19 per cent range. I am happy to say that this year we have our lowest unemployment rate that we have had for the past twenty-six years, Mr. Speaker. The unemployment rate today is the lowest it has been in twenty-six years. We have been making progress in finding ways to engage people into the marketplace, engage people into the labour market so that they are able to look after themselves. It is about sustaining ourselves. It is about being a proud, strong people. It is about being able to live to our potential and being able to maximize our potential. We have been able to do that by a number of initiatives that we have brought forward. I want to speak for just a second about some of those initiatives in terms of - I will refer, Mr. Speaker, just by way of example. I will refer you to our Poverty Reduction Strategy.

In my former role as Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment I was complimented on behalf of our government by many people, not only from across this country but from across the world on the Poverty Reduction Strategy that this government developed. As most of the people I hope who are watching this, and everybody in this room would know, we made a commitment in 2004 as a government. Our commitment was that we would go from the province with the highest level of poverty in Canada to the province with the lowest level of poverty in Canada in a ten-year period.

We brought in a strategy with a goal and we had a time frame attached to it. I am happy to say that we are making progress on that goal and we hopefully will reach the time frame that we have set. We have brought in a Poverty Reduction Strategy that is now in excess of $100 million per year. We have brought in a Poverty Reduction Strategy that has brought all kinds of benefits to the people of this Province.

Just by way of example, Mr. Speaker, in terms of some of the things we have done with the Poverty Reduction Strategy. We have basically brought in the initiative regarding textbooks. Now there are free textbooks from Kindergarten up to Grade 12, up to Level III in our schools. That benefits people who in the past were having difficulty when school time came around.

We have done things, Mr. Speaker, like increase the monies that we have put towards the Kids Eat Smart Program to ensure that the children in our schools have food in their bellies, are able to concentrate on their studies and are able to maximize their potential by learning as much as they can learn while they are in school.

We have done things, Mr. Speaker, like investing in the Canadian Tire Jump Start Program, so that young people can have an opportunity to experience social and recreational activities, where otherwise they may not be able to benefit from those kinds of things.

We brought in the provincial drug program, Mr. Speaker, various levels of the provincial drug program where we now have, I believe, another 90,000 people in the Province being covered under the prescription drug program.

These are just some small examples of that $100 million that we have brought in, that has been spread throughout the Province, through every nook and cranny of this Province, to benefit the people of this Province. The reason we want to benefit the people of this Province is because we believe, as a government, that if we have strong people we will have strong communities, and if we have strong communities, we will have a strong Province. We started at the grassroots. We started with every individual in this Province and tried to do something, through our initiatives, to make sure that everybody was able to benefit, everybody was able to realize their potential, everybody was able to maximize what it was they wanted to do and what they wanted to become.

We have done things, Mr. Speaker. For instance, Healthy Baby Clubs. In my district of St. John's Centre, I have two community centres, one in Buckmaster Circle, one in the Froude Avenue area. Both of those have baby clubs, Healthy Baby Clubs. That allows new moms an opportunity to go and receive some information, receive some services relative to their babies, socialize with other moms, socialize with other babies and be provided with information that will allow them to raise that baby in the best way possible. It provides for services that normally mothers may have difficulty accessing because it is not available in their local community and now they have it available in their local community.

We have done things, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned, we have done things like the air food lift subsidy into Labrador, to try and make sure that the price of food – I visited the Coast of Labrador just a little while ago and one of the things that I heard from people in my former capacity as Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment was the cost of food, the cost to access healthy food, fresh food and good food. So we have an air food lift subsidy of which this year we have provided $200,000 through the Department of Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs to try and keep the food prices down for people who live in Labrador.

We have done some wonderful things, Mr. Speaker, in terms of housing. We have an extra 500 rent supplements available this year for people who are looking for subsidized accommodations. We have another 500 that we will add in next year, a pre-commitment of funds. We have done about $24 million over six years, in terms of being able to do some maintenance and improvement to the social housing stock that we have in this Province. It is a huge investment that we have. There are over 5,500 social housing units in this Province, but we wanted to make sure that they were maintained because it is an asset of the government and we wanted to make sure that they were appropriate for people to be living in. There was a significant amount of money over a six-year period invested in the maintenance and improvement of our social housing stock. As well, we are looking to try and create more social housing. We are working with community based partners to try and make sure that we have more social based housing.

We are doing all kinds of things with youth, Mr. Speaker. One of the things that I was very proud of as Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment and the Poverty Reduction Strategy was the investments we made in the Community Youth Networks, the investments we made in the Boys and Girls Clubs, in the Cadet groups, in the Scouts, in the Girl Guides; all of those kinds of groups. These are the community-based groups that are found throughout our Province, in all of our communities in our Province, that work with our youth to try and provide them with some social interaction. It may be physical recreation, it may be an opportunity to learn through homework havens, it may be an opportunity to develop leadership skills, but it is an opportunity for youth to develop to their fullest potential. We invested a lot of money, Mr. Speaker, as a government, into trying to support our youth.

In terms of our Community Youth Networks, there were many hundreds of thousands of dollars that we invested. I believe it was just over half a million dollars, if memory serves me correctly, and we are now impacting over 14,000 more youth in the Province than we were before we took office, in terms of the expansions that we have made to the Community Youth Network. There is some great work being done there, Mr. Speaker.

We have also increased the funding to the women's centres. There are people here in this caucus and this government who could certainly speak more to it than I could, but one of the things we felt that we needed to do was invest in the women's centres throughout this Province. They provide valuable services to the women in our communities, and we needed to make sure that we invested in them so that they had an opportunity to maximize the impact that they could have in their communities. We have done that, we have put money into that, and the women's centres throughout the Province have been very strategic in what they have done in being able to use that kind of money to provide the kinds of services that needed to be provided.

I mentioned, Mr. Speaker, that we decreased personal income taxes, but we have also done things besides reducing personal income taxes for people. We have also done things in terms of trying to develop our economy. In my new role as Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development we have a number of programs. I am not versed on all of them just yet, so I cannot speak in great detail about all of them but I can say to you we have a number of programs within the Department of INTRD whereby we are trying to invest in our companies that exist here in this Province, in particular in the rural parts of the Province, and create economic opportunity for the people who are living in rural Newfoundland and Labrador. We have had some success with that. We have had some opportunities to invest in companies whereby we are able to do some good things.

As an example, one of my colleagues, the Member for Exploits, we have an investment that we just recently made into a palletizing plant out there whereby we are able to see them expand their operations and hire more people. There are other companies out there. I will mention just a couple as an example. I will mention High Point Industries and Newfoundland Styro which are basically out now in the District of Exploits through the initiatives of this government and the support of this government employing people from the Exploit's region, doing things that are not being done in other areas of the Province and competing on a worldwide stage in a lot of cases. They are not only competing in Newfoundland and Labrador and competing in Canada but they are competing on a worldwide stage. Sometimes it is small investments that we make in our companies that allow them the ability to be able to maximize opportunities that they see throughout the Province, throughout the country and throughout our global market place. We are happy to be able to do that and we are happy to be able to work with people on that.

As I indicated earlier, Mr. Speaker, when I stood in this House, we have also had a net in-migration. We have had a net in-migration of people into the Province, just over 2,000 people last year, and that net in-migration was the first net in-migration we had in many, many years. I believe it was sixteen years. I am not sure of the exact number of years but I believe it was sixteen years; the first real net in-migration that we have had. I have talked to some of those people, Mr. Speaker. I can tell you that they are coming back because number one, they want to come home obviously. They like the kind of lifestyle we have here and now they see opportunities for them. These are young professionals who have decided to return to this Province who are engaged in our economies, engaged in our communities and are allowing us to develop further, maximize our potential as I said, and provide employment for other people. I expect that that trend will continue. With some of the announcements that we have made over the last little while, some of the announcements we have yet to make, I think there will be opportunities for people to come back to this Province, to have work, to be able to work in this Province, to have careers and to be able to have long-term opportunities.

In some of the discussions I have had with the unions in my former role as Minister of Labour, they are now working with us as a government to make sure we are able to identify people who are going to come back to this Province, who want to come back to this Province and have the opportunity to work. The skilled workers we are going to need are out there. They happen to be, in some cases, in other parts of the country but they are willing to come back and the unions are working with us as a government to try and identify those people, identify the opportunities, identify the skill sets that are needed and make sure that we have the appropriate skill sets, that we have the appropriate people to be able to work on the projects as they are announced and to be able to see them to fruition.

There is a lot to be done and we are working with the people in the Province, we are working with our community-based groups, and we are working with our unions to make sure that we are doing as much as we can.

Two things, Mr. Speaker, I want to say in terms of concluding my remarks: The first thing is, I want to say that a couple of times when I have been out speaking people have asked me, you know, what does it mean to be a Progressive Conservative. When you say you are a Progressive Conservative, what exactly do you mean by that? What I have said to people is that I consider us to be socially progressive and fiscally conservative.

We recognize that we need to work on our social agenda as much as we work on our economic agenda, and I think the two cannot be separated, the two are linked. They are inextricably linked, and they are the kind of thing that you cannot operate one in isolation of the other.

We have done a lot of work on our social agenda. I mentioned the Poverty Reduction Strategy as an example. We have an Aging and Seniors' strategy. We have a Youth Retention and Attraction Strategy. This is the social agenda piece that we have been working on and we have been developing. As I said earlier, we have been creating stronger people in this Province, and because we have been creating stronger people in this Province we have been creating stronger communities and we have been creating a stronger Province overall.

It is like anything else, you are only as strong as your weakest link. We felt that we needed to work with the people, work with the communities, to make sure that we have a strong Province. While working on that social agenda, we also recognize that we need to be working on our economic agenda. Some of the comments I made earlier about working on trying to reduce our debt burden, making sure that we gave people some income tax breaks, making sure that we gave people some rebates on things like the insurance that was mentioned earlier, the 15 per cent insurance surcharge that no longer exists, reducing the costs of some of the permits and some of the licences and those kinds of things that people needed, we have put hundreds of millions of dollars back into the people's pockets, we have put it into the companies pockets, and we have put it back into our communities. That is why we have stronger communities and that is why we as a Province are a stronger Province. I make the point again, Mr. Speaker, that we have done it while also advancing our social agenda, and that is the strength of this government; we are able to manage a social agenda while we are also managing our economic agenda, and we will continue to do that on a go-forward basis.

This Province will be a better Province for that. This country, Mr. Speaker, I would go so far as to say to you, will be a better country because of that. What we have seen just recently happen in terms of us going from have not status to have status, is a result of some of those kinds of economic and social policies that this government has implemented over the last numbers of years.

Mr. Speaker, I am glad to have the opportunity to stand today and have a few words. As I said, I am glad to be back in the House of Assembly. There is a lot of work that needs to be done. We have a heavy agenda ahead of us. I am confident that we will be able to work collectively with the members opposite to advance that agenda, but I felt it was important to highlight some of the good work that has been done in previous sittings of this House and previous agenda items that we had. Legislatively, we have a lot to do. We are doing it, we have made progress, and I think it was important to highlight some of those things.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. BUCKINGHAM: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

First off, I would like to start by thanking the Government House Leader for giving me the opportunity to speak today, the Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne.

Mr. Speaker, one of the things that came across very clearly in the Speech from the Throne was the whole concept of self-reliance, the whole concept that we have within our grasp the ability, we have the assets and we have the knowledge to create a self-reliant Province, because, ultimately, to weather the storms of harsh economic times, such as we see right now, we need to be able to have a good understanding of what we have in our stable, how to use it, and most importantly, how to make sure that we maintain it for a good many years to come.

In my mind, the key to self-reliance is the ability to sustain what you have over the long term. That really occurs when we have balance, when we do not go to any particular extreme and say this is the basket we are going to put all our eggs in. We have to understand that some of the things that we are relying on are finite, some of these things are going to come to an end, and we have to look beyond when that day will come. This is where balance and sustainability come to the forefront.

Some of the things that are highlighted with regard to how we are going to achieve this self-reliance, there are a number of different industries that we have. Obviously, front and centre right now is oil and gas; and, Mr. Speaker, I am delighted that the oil and gas has provided us with the economic resources to achieve some of the objectives that we are trying to accomplish, but we also have to understand that oil and gas is finite.

Now, depending on who you talk to, it could last for ten years, it could last for 200; we don't know, so we have to plan as though it is going to run out. We have to use the money, we have to use the revenue that we generate from the current state of oil and gas, to build infrastructure, to build the industries that will allow us to, down the road, be able to sustain ourselves should oil and gas run out.

Now, there is a by-product to this, Mr. Speaker: if we create the stability, if we create other industries, if we broaden the base that allows us to move forward, and oil and gas does not run out, the need does not subside, then we have the best of both worlds. We have the newly created broad base and we also have the benefits of the oil and gas. I think this is probably where we are so well-positioned for what we intend to do down the road.

If you looked at the electricity, it might seem a bit of a contradiction that we promote electricity because here is another power source, but the reality is that electricity meets our needs on so many levels. If we do not need the gas or the oil to create electricity, because we have generated it through green sources, then that is a product that we can export, that we do not need to use ourselves to create energy.

The environmental side of it, hydroelectricity, windmills, tidal power, geothermal, all of these technologies that will enable us to generate power to create the energy warehouse that we are very consciously planning to have down the road are really going to stand us well in the long term.

Mr. Speaker, look at where we intend to go. The mining industry is stronger than it has ever been in terms of the infrastructure that is there. Granted, the prices today might not be catching everyone's imagination in terms of mining as the way to go, but we have to look beyond short-term thinking; we have to look beyond short-term investments. We know that the market is in an unusual situation, and that will correct itself. When that correction takes place, we want to be in a position to meet the needs of the market so that we can achieve revenue at the time when it is needed.

In terms of the things that we do traditionally, our agrifoods, our fishing, these are the staple industries that have attracted people to Newfoundland in the first place, that have brought us a certain amount of employment but really, when we look at the tradition of these industries, we do not get the value that is added to these products.

This government, to my mind, has brought forward a position where we cannot not only extract, we are not only the primary industries, but we are also able to layer on top of the primary industries the value that others had added through the years and then sold in the world markets. We have gone beyond a point of just being the hewers of wood and drawers of water. We have come to a point where we know what the markets are. We know that we have the ability to extract. We know that we have the ability to process, to manufacture and to sell. Consequently, that base that we are looking to broaden has been strengthened even further.

Also, we have some leading technology sectors, such as ocean technology and engineering. Previous to this, Newfoundland had a limited requirement for engineers, had a limited requirement for ocean technology, because the need was not seen. Consequently, you do not ask people to go into professions, you do not ask people to go in to different areas, where they do not see a future.

A number of years ago, I was at a dinner at Doyle House, when I was on the campus at Memorial University. They had a dinner, and the guest speaker was Joey Smallwood. Now, trust me, Mr. Speaker, I am not a great fan of Joey Smallwood, and the more I research his legacy the less I like it, but nonetheless.

Mr. Smallwood, if nothing else, was an orator, and he got up that night and he said, you know, when you look at Newfoundland, when you look at this great Province, when you look at this land we call our own - a little device Mr. Smallwood seemed to use quite often, he liked to say everything three times - he said, when you look at our resources, you can look at our fish and yes, it is quite valuable. You can look at our mining, it is quite valuable. You can look at our timber, it is quite valuable, but that is not the most valuable resource produced in Newfoundland and Labrador. The most valuable export from Newfoundland and Labrador has been its people.

Mr. Speaker, I really wish that someone had videotaped that speech, because I would bring it out into every social studies class, I would bring it out into every venue where people questioned what Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have contributed not only to Canada but to the world.

He went on at length to describe Newfoundlanders who had gone on to do great things, and he said: Don't be too quick to say they should all stay here. They never would have realized their full potential had they stayed in this one place, but they went out and they demonstrated that they were able, they were capable, they were innovative, and they had the strength of character to carry through wonderful, wonderful projects.

Mr. Speaker, that spirit is alive and well here in Newfoundland. We have the capacity to take whatever vision we have of the future and mould it ourselves, but we are not so into ourselves that we cannot see that there are times when we do not have the expertise, so we will go out and find the best people to give us help.

That is not a statement of weakness, Mr. Speaker. In fact, to my mind, it is a statement of strength, that we not think that we are the only possessors of solutions.

If you look at our education system, I think what you have seen is a generation who have taken their skills - they have brought it outside of the Province and not for a second found themselves wanting. In fact, I could probably update Mr. Smallwood's speech and go with a long, long list of people who have taken their skills and brought it to the world.

One of the things that I did in my twenty-two years as a teacher, Mr. Speaker, was to explain to students that if you do not have a definite idea of what you want to do, what you need to focus on is creating options. You need to create opportunities because if you only have one option then you only have one choice. However, if you look at what you can do, if you spread out, spread your wings, expose yourself to a lot of different ideas, a lot of different concepts, if you purposely expose yourself to people whose opinions are contrary to yours, it does one or two things. It will inform you that you are wrong and that you need to change or it will help you to come to the realization that your beliefs are even stronger because you have stood the test of criticism; you have stood the test of opposition.

I believe, Mr. Speaker, that we have done a great job of creating options for this Province. I think that any young Newfoundlander and Labradorian will find in this Province a place to grow, a place to work, a place to live a long, long time, a place to raise a family, a place to be a jumping off point for where you can go on to do other things. These long-term changes are done through education. They are done through infrastructure. They are done through a healthy population.

The Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development alluded to it a little earlier, talking about the Poverty Reduction Strategy. When I read the Poverty Reduction Strategy I was struck by how multi-faceted it was. It was not just throw money at it. It was not just say throw a big pile of money here to escape from this situation. Rather, it was a multi-faceted plan that addressed mental issues, social issues, economic issues, education issues, health issues. It was a total, total plan to make sure that we were headed in the right direction.

Mr. Speaker, when I look at the global financial crisis right now, and having a bit of a background in business study as opposed to business directly. When I see the approach that global leaders have taken to reduce the effect of the global crisis, to plan how to get out of it, some very striking similarities to what we have seen in this Province come to mind right away. For example, one of the big things that we see now is a dedication to providing money for infrastructure. It is not just to build infrastructure for infrastructure sake, because we know that that has to be done, but from an economic stimulus point of view it allows people to get to work, it allows suppliers to have a market for their goods and once this money gets into the economy, then the economy starts to move itself.

I was listening to the radio this morning, and while people are very hesitant to use the word recession, although the federal Minister of Finance said: Technically, we are in a recession. The term that was used this morning was deflation. In other words, people are holding onto their money waiting for the price to go down. That gets to be a mindset, Mr. Speaker. While they are waiting for that price to go down, while sales are not being made, companies are forced to layoff individuals. Individuals who are laid off and have no revenue, they decrease the money supply. The objective is to get money into the economy and stimulate sales, stimulate growth to keep business on an even keel. So investing money in infrastructure is certainly a very good way to do that. Yet, I believe that is what we have been doing for the last five years. We have recognized infrastructure needs to be done. Well, we are addressing it on that front, but we also recognize the economic stimulus that goes along with that.

A second thing that a lot of the global community is advertising, or suggesting is a good thing, is to reduce taxes. Well, why? It puts more money into people's pockets. When people have more money in their pockets and when they get over the idea that the price is not going to continually drop and wait, they will take that money and put it back in the economy. Oh, wait! We have done that two years in a row. We have reduced taxes.

Well, perhaps there are some other similarities - reduction of debt. Reduction of debt allows governments to make choices. Reduction of debt allows government to move forward with plans. Reduction of debt, in many ways, reduces the shackles of indebtedness and allows government to deal with stimulating its own economy. Yet, here we have a government who, in the last number of years, has put $3 billion on reducing debt.

Just to recap, Mr. Speaker, investment in infrastructure, reducing taxes and reducing debt. The global community has woken up to the formula that this government has put in place already. So, in many ways I think that is a compliment to the leadership that has been shown. I think it is a compliment to the strategies that this government has put together, and we look forward – we can see the impact it has had on this Province. We are, undoubtedly, a better place to live as a result of these strategies. I certainly think that when the global community takes these strategies and implements them, they will find similar results, and we look forward to that day.

One of the things that was also mentioned in the Throne Speech, Mr. Speaker, was a strategic cultural plan, and within that there is a real identification that culture is an integral part of who we are and what we do, and if you ignore it, you ignore it at your own peril.

Mr. Speaker, I think this is probably a lesson that Prime Minister Harper would have been well served to read up on and invest in. He decided that culture was not important. He decided, in particular, that in Quebec culture was not important. To my mind, the foundation that he had hoped to build a majority government on was swept away because he chose not to respect culture.

This government, time and time again, has demonstrated its commitment to culture; time and time again has demonstrated that the very fabric of who we are needs to be supported, needs to be embraced, needs to be exported. Really, if you look at some of the cultural events that have taken place and this Province has gotten behind, I think it speaks very highly to our commitment to culture.

One of the other highlights in the Budget was also the attention to health care. Now, Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister had said that – let's see if I can quote that a little more directly. There is no greater fraud than a promise not kept. Now, certainly we have heard this plenty of times. Certainly, in the context of the recent federal election, but while the Prime Minister may have gone against his own maxim, that does not take away from the truth of what he said, there is no greater fraud than a promise not kept.

Mr. Speaker, while the Throne Speech may not in and of itself be a promise, it is certainly a very, very strong statement of intention.

This government made some very strong statements about what it planned to do in the upcoming session, in the upcoming Budget, and truly I think the Budget that was delivered in April was a testament to how strong this government was to keeping the commitments, to keeping the promises that it made, particularly when you look in the area of health care. What are some of the areas that we have looked to improve on?

The Throne Speech did a very good job of highlighting what had been done; however, that is in the past. A Thorne Speech is about what will be in the future. We frame what has been done in the past to take a chance maybe to blow our own horn, to highlight some of our own successes, but the real proof in a Throne Speech is, what will you do down the road?

I think people can look at the Throne Speech, and then they can look at the Budget delivered by then Minister Marshall, and realize that we kept those commitments to the best of our ability. While we may not have been all things to all people - and honestly, Mr. Speaker, it is a fool's errand to try to be all things to all people - I think that this government has done a tremendous job. Look at some of the highlights.

Our commitment to facilities, and I will not go into too much detail about the money we have put in, but I think you can really see that this government has made tremendous, tremendous contributions to facilities, to equipment: $52 million in new equipment, millions of dollars in terms of the long-term homes, in terms of the hospitals, in terms of improving the hospitals.

When I saw the Budget consultations, former MHA Ms Bettney advocated for twelve new digital mammography machines. I think she ended off by saying: We know we are probably not going to get it but at least we can ask; we can put it out there. Well, Mr. Speaker, this government delivered on that.

There are so many other things that I could go on with, with what this government has achieved, that the Throne Speech mapped out. I am very pleased to be part of this, and I will just finish off by saying that within the last month I have heard from two different sources the same quote: The difference between a politician and a statesman is that a politician looks to the next election and the statesman looks to the next generation.

Mr. Speaker, this government, to my mind, is looking to the next generation. That supersedes all that we do, and it is my pleasure to be a part of it.

With that, I will conclude.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER (Fitzgerald): The hon. the Government House Leader.

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, with that, I move that the House do now adjourn.

MR. SPEAKER: The motion is that this House do now adjourn.

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

This House now stands adjourned until two of the clock tomorrow, being Wednesday.

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