May 5, 2010                        HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS                    Vol. XLVI  No. 16


The House met at 2:00 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Fitzgerald): Order, please!

Admit strangers.

Today the Chair would like to welcome Futures in Newfoundland and Labrador Youth to the House of Assembly. The members are Greg Knott, Brian Ash, Jan Reid, Kate MacDonald and Anthea Allen, Jessica Clowe, Amanda Lush and John Mercer.

Welcome to the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

Statements by Members

MR. SPEAKER: The following members' statements will be heard: the hon. the Member for the District of Topsail, the hon. the Member for the District of The Straits & White Bay North, and the hon. the Member for the District of St. John's East.

The hon. the Member for the District of Topsail.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DAVIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today to recognize eight individuals who have completed the requirements for the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award. From Conception Bay South: Mr. Andrew Abbott, Ms Amanda Burry, Mr. Stephen Burry, Ms Sarah Fagan, Ms Stephanie LeDrew and Ms Laura Power. From Paradise: Mr. Michael Robson and Ms Kerry English. Successful completion of the Gold Award is dependent on the youth participating in the following: providing a service to others, expeditions and explorations, specific skill development and physical fitness.

The Duke of Edinburgh Program provides the youth of our Province the opportunity reach their full potential. We are very fortunate to have youth in our Province who strive to reach their goals. Their determination and dedication sets a positive example for all youth in our Province, in that anything they set their mind to they can accomplish. They are truly an inspiration.

With programs and opportunities like the Duke of Edinburgh there are no limits on what youth can accomplish when they are supported.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all hon. members to join me in congratulating these award recipients and wish them well for the future.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of The Straits & White Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Mr. Speaker, I rise in this House today to congratulate participants of the Northern Region High School Drama Festival which was held a short time ago. Four plays were performed onstage, three of which by students of my district and many awards were presented, recognizing the student's talents, hard work and dedication to drama in the region.

From Bayview Regional Collegiate, Eli Pilgrim won for Best Male Actor, Viki Burden received an award for her outstanding performance and Jeff Patey received honourable mention for his performance as well.

From Canon Richards High School, Staci LaValle received the award for Best Supporting Female Actor, Chelsea Patey won for her outstanding performance and Robyn Moores received honourable mention. Canon Richards was also the recipient of the Best Sound and Best Lights awards.

As well, Mr. Speaker, from Harriot Curtis Collegiate, Kathryn O'Reilly was awarded Best Supporting Female Actor, Chelsea Patey was recognized for her outstanding performance and Kimi Green received honourable mention.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of this House to join with me today in congratulating these students for their remarkable contribution to drama in this Province and to show appreciation for the teachers who work tirelessly with them in showcasing their talents.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. BUCKINGHAM: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This past February, the Newfoundland and Labrador Youth Parliament celebrated its fiftieth anniversary. During their session, delegates aged fifteen to twenty-three came from across the Province and were assigned a provincial riding to represent. The session's government introduced resolutions on various issues which were critiqued by the Opposition, and debated and voted on by the members.

One of the features of youth parliament, Mr. Speaker, is that even though they are assigned to various parties they are not required to go along party lines, and essentially it is an opportunity to express their opinions as they see fit. Individual members were also given a chance to present their own resolutions and vote on both serious and lighthearted topics.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Youth Parliament first met in 1960 as the Older Boys' Parliament of Newfoundland. In 1967, the name was changed to Newfoundland Youth Parliament to accommodate girls being permitted to sit as members, and this was the first time in Canada that this had happened.

Youth Parliament offers the youth of Newfoundland and Labrador a unique opportunity to become actively involved in the parliamentary process and opens many doors to those who attend. Many youth parliamentarians have gone on to become successful in their professional lives, some have sat in the House of Assembly and many work in the provincial government.

Mr. Speaker, Youth Parliament offers youth a chance to learn how the parliamentary system works and they are given the opportunity to offer their ideas in a forum where their voices can be heard and possibly influence change, as the result of each Youth Parliament is sent on to the government.

Mr. Speaker, it has been my privilege to sit in on a few sessions of Youth Parliament over the last few years. It is encouraging and inspiring to see these young people debate the issues presented, engage in the thrust and parry of parliament, and while keeping their composure and wits about them.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of this hon. House to join with me in congratulating Newfoundland and Labrador Youth Parliament on fifty years of operation. I do however leave you with a word of warning. Look over your shoulder, they are gaining fast!

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Statements by Ministers.

Statements by Ministers

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DENINE: Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House of Assembly today to acknowledge May 2-8 as Emergency Preparedness Week in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Recent events across the globe have heightened our awareness to the fact emergencies can happen at any time, anywhere, without any notice. However, we can look at our own communities across this Province for positive examples of how residents have learned that preparation is the key.

Earlier this year, a number of communities throughout the Bonavista and Trinity Bay areas were impacted by an ice storm, resulting in downed power lines and treacherous travelling conditions. While the municipalities worked in conjunction with the local emergency responders and Newfoundland Power officials to supply the power to community reception centres and eventually restored electricity, able-bodied residents showed that they were well prepared to take care of themselves until the necessary repairs were made. As communities across the Province continue to look at ways regional co-operation can assist in emergency planning, residents need to look at their own level of preparedness.

Emergency Preparedness Week is an opportune time for all residents to ensure that they are prepared for the many emergency situations that can arise. While Emergency Preparedness is a shared responsibility among all levels of government, being ready for the potential challenges truly begins at home.

This week is designed to heighten awareness and encourage Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to take concrete action. Everyone, Mr. Speaker, should be ready to cope on their own for at least the first seventy-two hours, to allow the first responders to help those in urgent need and residents are encouraged to follow three simple steps: know the risks in your region, make an emergency plan, and assemble an emergency kit.

There will be a number of opportunities this week throughout the Province to learn more about what you can do to help prepare yourselves and your family for emergency situations. I encourage families to make it an event – take advantage of the information and work together to develop their own emergency kit.

Disasters can strike at any time, but hopefully planning for the possibilities will help the residents meet their immediate needs during an emergency and assist in speedy recovery.

Mr. Speaker, residents, in order to get prepared, can visit two Web sites within the government Web site: www.gov.ca/fes and www.epweek.ca.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of The Straits & White Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

First of all I would like to thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement. Being prepared for an emergency is always wise; it is always an important exercise that we should go through. Having a week of awareness to focus the public on this issue is very important to the people of our Province.

We take so much for granted in life and our lives are so busy that it is easy to forget about being prepared for an emergency. This week should prompt all of us to think about the risk of any emergency as well as the emergency plan, the resources that we might need and so on.

Emergencies can happen anywhere and any time. Here in Newfoundland, where our weather can be severe and our geography diverse, it poses even more of a risk to our citizens. Living up on the Northern Peninsula, the type of outdoor life that we enjoy is not only treacherous just during the winter months but we are involved in fishing and skidooing in the winter, logging activities and so on, then emergency preparedness is very important.

I would be remiss if I did not say that we have enjoyed a part of that emergency preparedness in having our air ambulance there for the last fifty-five years. We will miss that and so on, but again to the point that emergency preparedness is very necessary. Yes, even having things like bottled water available might help you in that situation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

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

I, too, thank the minister for the copy of his statement. I am very happy to acknowledge, along with the minister, the Emergency Preparedness Week; it is an extremely important time of raising awareness. I encourage all communities, organizations, individuals and families to look at the measures that are being suggested by the minister to help them in time of emergency.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Chair is having difficulty hearing the hon. the Member for the District of Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.

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

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

I would like to point out to the minister as well that there are emergencies of a less catastrophic nature than some of the ones he has talked about. They are emergencies that sometimes require being able to call for emergency help; thus, I am bringing up the issue of our lack of universal 911 services in this Province.

In 2006, the Auditor General highlighted the lack of a 911 service in this Province and we know that we are the only Province in Atlantic Canada without province-wide coverage. We have been listening now for over two years. We are being told that studies are being done and we are still waiting. So, part of emergency preparedness for the whole Province, Mr. Speaker, will be getting 911 in place as soon as possible.

Thank you very much.

MR. SPEAKER: Further statements by ministers?

The hon. the Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to inform this hon. House about the great success of one our government's initiatives aimed at making Newfoundland and Labrador a Province of choice for our young people to live and work.

As part of our Youth Retention and Attraction Strategy, the Williams government recently committed $60,000 to help expose the Province's youth to the diverse cultures, traditions, and employment opportunities available to them in Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN: Mr. Speaker, we understand that the most effective way to understand diverse cultures is to ‘share space', and with that knowledge, earlier this month, twenty-four young people from the Island spent five days in Happy Valley-Goose Bay talking to Aboriginal elders, learning Inuktitut, taking survival instruction, visiting nearby communities such as Sheshatshiu and going on outdoor adventures.

These young people not only experienced the history and culture of Labrador first-hand, but they were also exposed to its present economic success and future potential as a result of attending presentations by Nalcor, the Iron Ore Company of Canada and Aurora Energy.

Mr. Speaker, to quote one of the youth participants, "Experience Labrador was amazing…the trip, the people, everything about it. I couldn't ask for a better experience, and I now know that there are many more amazing opportunities and things to see."

Mr. Speaker, this government considers investments in our youth a key priority – and this focus is a provincial one, not just here on the Island. I am sure I speak for my colleagues, the Minister of Labrador Affairs and the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, when I say that it is extremely important for our next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs to know that Labrador is a place where you can build your career and follow your dreams.

This trip was organized by the many enthusiastic employees of Futures In Newfoundland and Labrador Youth, known as FINALY. They strive to provide participants with rewarding experiences and awareness of future opportunities for employment across the Province.

This government's commitment to FINALY is another example of how we are creating a Province of choice for young people here in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I encourage all members of the hon. House to stay tuned for future initiatives aimed at ensuring we have the solid foundation we need to attract and retain young skilled workers, as we continue our future growth and prosperity in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BUTLER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want to thank the minister for an advance copy of her statement and to say that we agree, this is a great initiative, one that we hope will provide our young people with the opportunity and an incentive to stay right here and find employment in the great Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. To know that this is a part of the Youth Retention and Attraction Strategy, I think it is wonderful that they learn about the opportunities that are available in Labrador. As many members reference here from time to time, their future life, in my future life I had the opportunity to work in Wabush one time with Scully Mine, and I know what the Big Land is like and, hopefully, one of those days I will get the opportunity to visit the full coast.

Mr. Speaker, those young people, like they stated with regard to Experience Labrador, it was an amazing trip and they saw the amazing opportunities that are available. I guess we all know the famous Harry Martin, how he sings of the virtues of the Big Land, and I think in his song it says it all.

I join the minister, the two ministers for Labrador and my colleague, the Leader of the Official Opposition, in saying that we know there are tremendous opportunities in Labrador for future generations. We hope to see the investment continue with the Experience Labrador program and it is a wonderful way to educate our young people and to be able to find good paying jobs right here in our Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

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

I, too, thank the minister for the advance copy of her statement.

I am very pleased to learn about this great initiative. The youth retention strategy, using initiatives like this one and the others that they have, really has the potential to be an excellent opportunity for the young people of the Province. It also is good for the government to get involved in initiatives like this because I think it gives the government, as well, an awareness through the eyes of the young people what it is that we need here in the Province to help them with regard to the retention issues.

We also have to remember that we have many students out there with $50,000 to 60,000 debt loads and they are having trouble surviving in the Province, and we are losing some to out-migration. Recent polls have indicated that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians would like to see a continued reduction of the cost of post-secondary education until it is eliminated. So I do encourage the government to continue looking at the issue of moving towards not having any post-secondary tuition fees in this Province, as has happened in other parts of the world.

I was glad to hear today in the Estimates meeting, Mr. Speaker, that the government is going to be increasing the number of internships within departments and agencies in government. I think that is a real move in the right direction, and I encourage government to continue looking for ways, even through the government departments and agencies, to help graduates to find work and find the training that they need.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Further statements by ministers?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SKINNER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, as a government, we like innovators. Innovators are catalysts for strong and diverse economies. They have the ability to introduce new ways of doing things, to increase competitiveness, and to improve productivity across traditional and knowledge-based industries.

Newfoundland and Labrador has the ingredients to be an incubator for innovators. It is home to world-class research and academic institutions and to private sector enterprises rich with an entrepreneurial spirit. In an effort to support innovators and foster an environment that encourages greater levels of innovation, the provincial government has embarked on an aggressive course of action.

At the heart of our approach was the 2006 release of the four-year $20 million innovation strategy entitled, Innovation Newfoundland and Labrador: A Blueprint for Prosperity. This strategy laid the framework for a broad range of initiatives geared towards increasing the Province's communications capacity, establishing the Research and Development Corporation, developing a five-year strategy focused on stimulating growth of the ocean technology sector, and by creating a genetics research facility at Memorial University.

Through the innovation strategy's two funding programs – the Commercialization and Innovation Enhancement program – the provincial government has invested in organizations and small businesses in a variety of sectors, including life sciences, biotechnology, and information and communications technologies.

Examples of these investments have included $225,000 in Smart Labrador to collect and record traditional knowledge in a digital format; $100,000 for the purchase of testing equipment at the College of the North Atlantic in Port aux Basques - testing that measures the strength of materials in the automotive, aerospace and construction industries; and most recently, Mr. Speaker, $500,000 in Dynamic Air Shelters to increase its ability to satisfy requirements of its industrial customers.

The voice of the advanced technology sector – the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Technology Industries described the programs as adding value and enhancing business opportunities. Additionally, the strategy laid the starting point for important partnerships between the provincial government and industry to emerge – partnerships that assist industry to achieve its goals.

To ensure that the momentum garnered over the last four years continues, the Department of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development is currently reviewing the programs and examining potential areas of focus that may be targeted in the future. This process will include valuable dialogue with industry, research and educational institutions, and government partners to identify opportunities for improvements and our next steps.

Mr. Speaker, capturing the input of our partners will allow for a renewed strategy – one that furthers the success achieved in its first four years well into the next decade.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of The Straits & White Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement. Certainly, recognize the importance of government being in favour of innovation and supporting those who are involved in it any way they can. As he mentions, Smart Labrador in particular, seeing some of the advancements that they have done and the successes they have had is a great thing.

Innovation comes from a person who has an idea and a different way of addressing a problem, basically. Today's innovators most often come from today's students who are tinkering and dreaming and who eventually bring that to fruition and make it something of a reality. Thomas Edison, one of the twentieth century's greatest innovators said that innovation is 1 per cent inspiration and is 99 per cent perspiration. That certainly would bear true.

If government wants to foster innovation, then I would suggest it needs to ensure that the people have every opportunity to develop their skills and an innovative outlook. In that regard, I would suggest to the Minister of Education that it is important that our schools continue to offer that to our children and that we give them an exciting, interesting and stimulating educational environment. I am sure that we will see much innovation in years to come.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

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

I, too, thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement. I am going to make one point; people may not understand why we say that all the time. The ministers do not have to give us the advance copies and we appreciate getting them. I also appreciate having this update from the minister on the innovation strategy and the actions to promote competitiveness and innovation. I am glad to see important investments in the areas that he has talked about, the communications technology, testing equipment and other examples of advance technology.

I say to the minister, I would also like to see a more aggressive course of action to promote innovation in value-added production based on our resources in forestry and fishery. We need research and development to find better ways to market our resources. I am also concerned about government's recent decision not to expand broadband in rural areas. How are innovators in rural Newfoundland and Labrador supposed to thrive when they are hamstrung by this government's failure to live up to their commitment to provide broadband to all areas? This is a crucial component in the future of the Province and I hope that we are going to hear more word from the government on it, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER: Further statements by ministers?

Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, earlier today the Minister of Health launched into another tirade against the Province's doctors, even dismissing a letter from their association asking to get back to the negotiating table and to find a solution to the current impasse.

Mr. Speaker, adding comments like Mr. Ritter is publicly challenging the Premier. Mr. Speaker, we all know that Mr. Ritter is representing the doctors of this Province. The minister went on to say that Mr. Ritter is trying to show Danny who is boss.

Well, I say to the minister today: What kind of an attitude is this, and when are you going to discontinue with your unprofessional behaviour and start dealing with the doctors in this Province, work out a solution so that our patients can have good care?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I always welcome the opportunity from the Leader of the Opposition to allow me to put good news out there, and that is what I will do again today.

We currently, Mr. Speaker, have 1,075 physicians working in this Province, more than we have ever had in the past. In fact, Mr. Speaker, the number has increased significantly, at least by 18 per cent since 2003. Mr. Speaker, in the last year we have had now - the number has increased, for example, by thirty-three physicians in the last year. We have twenty-eight physicians coming into the next graduating class who will practice in this Province.

Mr. Speaker, we have heard that the shortage of psychiatrists – well, what we have seen since 2003 is that the psychiatrists have increased in this Province something from forty-five to sixty-eight. So, Mr. Speaker, there is a lot of good news out there, something that we are doing, it is working. We are recruiting and retaining physicians, Mr. Speaker. So with or without Mr. Ritter, we will continue to do the same.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The minister knows and the government opposite knows and they have said it on more than one occasion, we have to pay big dollars to get the best expertise, and that applies in the corporate world.

I say to you, Minister: Why doesn't it apply in the world of health care in this Province where we need to keep doctors and we need to keep professional services? I ask you today, Minister: Will you stop the nonsense that you have been getting on with and settle this particular deal with the physicians in this Province?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Yes, Mr. Speaker, I would say that if anyone knows about nonsense it should be that person over there, and there is no excuse for the way she gets on. We can see why she is at 6 per cent in the polls. I can only hope that she is around for the next election, so good luck to the Liberals when you elect your leader.

Mr. Speaker, in this Province right now we have a 24 per cent offer on the table, another $79 million. When you look at the salaries of our physicians, they range from up - there is one physician who makes as much as $1 million. We have physicians, Mr. Speaker, who makes $450,000 - I am looking at a list - $861,000.

So what we have, Mr. Speaker, is a situation where these individuals are well paid. We recognize that they have to be well paid, but, Mr. Speaker, let me put this to you, our recruitment and retention efforts are working and, despite the babbling of the Leader of the Opposition, we will continue to do the things we are doing and it is working.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

What the minister fails to point out is that there are many people in this Province without a family physician. There are many areas of the Province without psychiatric services. There are many people who are on a wait-list today, I say to you, Minister, to get diagnostic testing done in this Province, and what are you doing? You are the one who is babbling on in the public and in the media.

Mr. Speaker, this morning the minister indicated that Mr. Ritter, the CEO or the Executive Director of the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association, would be even unable to reach a deal.

I ask the minister today: Are you suggesting that Mr. Ritter will have to go before you are prepared and your government is prepared to deal with the doctors in this Province? Is that what you are saying, Minister?

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, what I am suggesting is quite simple. We have a 24 per cent offer on the table, but it is not quite as simple as 24 per cent across the board. What has to happen in order to attain Atlantic parity, some physicians may get 10 per cent or 12 per cent; some others may get 32 per cent. So, essentially, it is Mr. Ritter who will determine who is going to get what. All we are saying is that we have seen nothing to date with the attitude displayed by this individual, with his challenging ways, that he can reach a deal.

Now, I am pleased to say – Minister Marshall has just pointed out to me - that there will be a meeting between Minister Marshall and Dr. Lewis on Friday morning and we are hoping that we can get a deal. Mr. Speaker, we cannot forget what we have done. We have increased the size of the medical school from sixty to eighty seats. We are offering retention bonuses and recruitment incentives that are working. Mr. Speaker, what we are seeing are more doctors come to this Province and stay with a 72 per cent retention rate of doctors graduating from MUN (inaudible) -

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, it is obvious from the Minister of Health that it is all about getting control for him and not about getting a deal. In fact, if the Minister of Finance is wise at all, Mr. Speaker, he will keep him away from the bargaining table and maybe they will be able to get a deal.

Mr. Speaker, at the press conference this morning, the Minister of Health again attacked the psychiatrists in our Province and instead of addressing the huge gaps that exist in our mental health services, the minister prefers to launch into insults and attacks on this particular group of overworked and under resourced professionals.

I ask the minister: Why are you continuing to attack the very people who are trying to maintain stability in a system of health care that is filled with holes?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Mr. Speaker, I did not launch into an attack on psychiatrists. What I said today was that psychiatrists play a very important role in our society, but they are not the only way that we go about dealing with mental health. In fact, contrary to the information being put out by the Medical Association, we have seen an increase in our psychiatrists since 2003 from forty-three to sixty-eight.

Now, what I did indicate today that I think will be of significant interest to members of this House is that we recognize the difficulty with recruiting and retaining psychiatrists, for example, in Labrador and some of rural communities. So, we are going to aggressively pursue now a Telehealth and telepsychiatry project where we can look at having psychiatrists and counsellors provide Telehealth service and hopefully that will alleviate some of the concern, Mr. Speaker.

I have met recently with Dr. Ladha and Dr. Attwood. There is no launching of a tirade against the psychiatrists. What we are simply saying is that we recognize that there are still gaps, but we have gone a long way towards filling the holes.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The minister knows that there are gaps in psychiatry in whole regions of this Province. I say to you, Minister: At one point when there were actually psychiatrists in Northern Newfoundland and Labrador, Telehealth was the system they used to provide a lot of those services.

Mr. Speaker, in a new advertising campaign launched today by the government, they tout the fact that Newfoundland and Labrador spends approximately $4,500 per person annually for health care services; the most money spent of any Province on health care in the country.

Meanwhile, Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Consumer Health Index report also states that Newfoundland and Labrador's per capita spending is perhaps the most glaring case of throwing good money after bad in Canadian health care. They indicate that Newfoundland and Labrador –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS JONES: - Mr. Speaker, is at the bottom of the pack when it comes to providing –

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the hon. member if she has a question, if she would pose it now.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

They indicate that Newfoundland and Labrador is at the bottom of the pack when it comes to providing quality care.

I ask the minister today: Why are you not prepared to do a full review of the health care system in this Province? Obviously, there is a problem.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Mr. Speaker, this is a prime example of the Opposition Leader again speaking out of both sides of her mouth. On the one hand we are not spending enough money, give us a third airplane and spend money everywhere. On the other hand we are spending too much money.

Mr. Speaker, the statistics show that we are spending $1 billion more than when the Liberals were in power. Now, I will be the first to accept that we have to look at whether or not that $2.7 billion is being spent as effectively and as efficiently as possible. Mr. Speaker, let one thing be understood by the people of this Province, we are spending the money, we are trying our best and we will fix up this system.

Mr. Speaker, mental health and addictions is a prime example of the significant investment by this government where we are trying to get out there, not simply rely upon doctors but use community groups, use peer support groups and to help people help themselves; $300,000 out in the hands of those community groups goes a long way I am proud to say.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The minister knows it is not about spending more money; it is about spending money properly. This is a government that has continued to do one-off deals in health care and not deal with the real issues and do the reviews that are required to provide a better service for the dollars that we are investing.

I say to you, Minister, at the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association information session this morning, doctors highlighted the major gaps that exist in the Province's palliative care system. While there is some semblance of service in St. John's, in rural areas - rural areas, once again I say to the minister - there is a significant disadvantage.

I ask the minister: With an aging population base and aging family doctors who administer this service, why has your government not developed a succession plan to address this particular crisis?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Mr. Speaker, this is another example of the nonsense that comes out of the mouth of the Leader of the Opposition on a daily basis. On the one hand she is saying you are spending too much money, on the other hand you are not spending enough money; give the doctors everything they want. Well, we cannot do that without money.

The issue, Mr. Speaker, of health care in rural Newfoundland is one that we are addressing. We have an aggressive infrastructure budget and we are dealing with our infrastructure. For example, in all areas of this Province, be it Lab West, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Flower's Cove, Corner Brook, Grand Falls-Windsor, Gander, the list goes on. Mr. Speaker, what we are also looking at is this whole issue of our aging demographic and how we are best going to serve the needs of these people. We will, as I have indicated in terms of our long-term care strategy, engage in a consultation process in the upcoming months and hear what people have to say.

We recognize, Mr. Speaker, that there have to be creative and innovative solutions to the problems, but the fearmongering and scare tactics of the Liberals will not work with us, Mr. Speaker. We will continue to do what we have to do to spend money wisely.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

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

The Minister of Education has indicated that he will be launching an external review of the $5 million mistake related to the College of the North Atlantic in Qatar. We have yet to hear anything about this review.

I ask the minister: Has a consultant been hired, what are the terms of reference of this review, and when will it be completed?

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Education.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KING: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As the member opposite is fully aware, we announced about seven or eight days ago we would do an external review, and I do not have the name of a consultant to announce today. I will have that in a couple of days, and I will have a term of reference and more information I can share.

I can tell the member opposite and members of the House that we are engaged in discussions with the Qatari officials. Officials from my department, officials from the college, and other government officials have been engaged, and we have started collecting information and data that will be used to inform and to facilitate the external review. At this point in time, Mr. Speaker, I do not have all the information the member is asking, but at such a time that I do, I will certainly provide it here to the House.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

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

There is significant confusion taking place related to the $5 million overpayment at the college in Qatar. The more the minister speaks, the more he seems to contradict himself. As reported in Qatar's Gulf Times, Enid Strickland, the President of the College of the North Atlantic campus in Qatar, she says the errors originated in this Province. Yet, as reported today, Mr. Terry Styles, the Chair of the College of the North Atlantic, hand-picked by this government, could not answer specific questions related to the problems.

I ask the minister, as stated by Ms Strickland: Is the lack of oversight here in Newfoundland and Labrador what caused the problem in this case?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KING: Mr. Speaker, for the benefit of members of the House, I am having difficulty understanding the conclusion drawn by the member opposite that comments made by Ms Strickland and Mr. Styles can be attributed to me not knowing what I am talking about. I did not make the comments by either of those two individuals. I have been very clear from day one in this House that the action this government has taken has been very proactive.

I think the member opposite is fully aware as well by the press release issued yesterday by the college, Mr. Speaker, that the college themselves acknowledge it was their mistake. It was not a government mistake. They also acknowledge, Mr. Speaker, that the action being taken by this Administration is the appropriate action to try and determine exactly why the errors were made and, more importantly, what has to be done to correct the problem.

Now I say to the member opposite, if he wants to spend his time reading newspapers in other parts of the world: Go ahead, fill your boots. In this part of the Province, Mr. Speaker, we spend our time focusing on local issues that matter here in this Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

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

There is no doubt the reason for the confusion. We have Mr. Styles, the Chair of CNA saying one thing, we have Ms Strickland the Chair over in Qatar saying one thing, and we have the minister out saying something else. Yet, the only person who knows the truth and is not allowed to speak is Ms Madill, because she is muzzled by the government. So there is no reason, minister, why there is some confusion out there.

Mr. Speaker, in his press release announcing that problems had been found the minister stated, "I want to assure employees of the Qatar campus that they will continue to receive their current salary for the remainder of their contract." Meanwhile, Ms Strickland stated in the Gulf Times that new contracts had been signed with the affected staff and the situation had been addressed.

I ask the minister: Which version of events is factual, your statements or Ms Strickland's?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KING: Mr. Speaker, let me remind the member opposite and members of this House why exactly employees who have senior positions in government and in the private sector, why exactly there is a confidentiality clause in contracts, Mr. Speaker. It is because of the kinds of information that individuals deal with. It is the kinds of personal and private information, Mr. Speaker, that individuals deal with.

In the college system, for example, that employee will be dealing with sensitive information around student information, family information, challenges and issues that come before them on a daily basis. They would be charged, Mr. Speaker, with securing all of this information in the performance of their duty for the organization. They come about the information because they are under the employ of the organization. That is why the confidentiality clause is there, Mr. Speaker.

I say to the member opposite, he had no trouble in 2003, Mr. Speaker, when the Minister of Fisheries and the Minister of Justice of the day had contracts with confidentiality clauses in them for their senior officials.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

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

I see we got a long ways there with that answer, figuring out who is telling the truth, him or Ms Strickland. Anyway, we will leave that for another day.

Mr. Speaker, on Thursday the minister indicated that he may, may - he said first he would not, but he said on Thursday in the scrum last week, he said: We may look for repayment of monies that should not have been paid to staff in Qatar. The Chair of the College of the North Atlantic, Mr. Terry Styles, says: no action is likely to recover the cash.

Now I ask the minister: Why is Mr. Styles saying one thing and he saying the opposite? Will we be attempting to recover the money that should not have been paid or not?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KING: Mr. Speaker, it is becoming very redundant to provide the same answers to this House when the member opposite obviously has no interest in what is happening with the College of the North Atlantic and has no interest in protecting that college from what is happening here right now. The member is more interested in going on and on and on and fabricating things.

Mr. Speaker, I have been very clear from day one, and what I have said is if individuals have signed contracts and the contracts have been honoured then we will honour those contracts. If individuals have been paid monies that they have not been entitled to by contract, then they can expect that we will look for repayment, Mr. Speaker, the same as we would do in any instance in this Province.

I read the press release, Mr. Speaker. I have it right in front of me, and Mr. Styles has said nothing different. He said in the press release, I could quote it if you want me to: that the individuals who have contracts, and the contracts were honoured by the college, will continue to be honoured. Mr. Speaker, nothing different than I have been saying all along.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

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

I say to the minister, the only thing we are interested in pursuing is the truth and trying to get the facts out here rather than leaving the situation muddled and fuddled as this minister continues to do.

Now, Mr. Speaker, last Tuesday the minister stated: It is only about a month and a half ago when the former President of the College decided, without the proper authority and authorization, to sign a one year extension to the current contract in Qatar.

I ask the minister: What is the nature of this extension that you referenced? When did you first find out about it, and what actions did you take as minister once you were made aware of it?

Let's see if we can get some straight answers on this –

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Education.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KING: I say to the member opposite, if he would mind to sit back and listen to what I am trying to say, Mr. Speaker, you will get straight answers. The problem is not with the straight answers, it is getting straight questions that are relevant to the issue at hand, I say to the member opposite.

Mr. Speaker, I made the statement in this House that in the context of discussing the employment relationship and our relationship with the College of the North Atlantic. I made the statement to demonstrate – the question was asked at that time about the relationship between this government and the College of the North Atlantic and the kind of support, or lack of as the member opposite suggested, that we have been providing.

Mr. Speaker, I talked about that issue in the context of demonstrating that even in the face of adversarial or potentially adversarial situations, we have been there to work with the College of the North Atlantic. I am pleased to say to the member opposite – I am sure he is not going to be pleased to hear this - I met with the College of the North Atlantic board of directors only two nights ago, and they reaffirmed their commitment and support for the actions that this government has taken in support of the college.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of The Straits & White Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Mr. Speaker, the Premier recently received a letter from St. Anthony Mayor Ernest Simms outlining concerns about Health Minister Jerome Kennedy's behaviour at a recent meeting involving the Town of St. Anthony and the request of the air ambulance decision.

In the letter Mayor Simms stated: Council members were completely taken aback by the callous remarks and insinuations put forward by the minister, and we felt threatened. One of our councillors actually broke down and cried.

I ask the Premier: Is this the kind of behaviour you condone in dealing with people in this Province who disagree with your policy decisions?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

MR. KENNEDY: Yes, Mr. Speaker, I was present at the meeting with the mayor of St. Anthony and town councillors. There were, in fact, three different meetings; one that took place I think two weeks before the other.

Mr. Speaker, I indicated in an e-mail to the mayor after the first meeting that the decision was made, that we would not be changing that decision. They came in two weeks later, they had a report from Labrador-Grenfell employees that they wanted to provide to us.

Mr. Speaker, I was probing as to what the numbers meant. It turned out that the numbers being provided by the Labrador-Grenfell employees were not accurate. The numbers - that is all I said to the individuals there - they have to be accurate. In fact, Mr. Speaker, at the end of the meeting I complimented the mayor and the town councillors of St. Anthony for their passion and their commitment to the town and indicated that despite that decision, it would not change.

Whatever, Mr. Speaker, the perception might have been of the mayor, I cannot change that, but that is not what happened that day.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of The Straits & White Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Mr. Speaker, that is a totally different version of events than what the mayor has said in his letter. I have a copy there; I would be willing to table it so that each person can read it.

Also, the chief air ambulance pilot from the Province was a part of that delegation from Labrador-Grenfell. Mayor Simms states that this individual was contacted by the CEO of Labrador-Grenfell Health before the meeting took place and attempted to intimidate him. He also states that the Minister of Health attacked his delegation during the meetings and asked the pilot if he was willing to put his job on the line for his beliefs.

I ask the Premier again: Why is your minister threatening public servants in this Province for simply telling you that a mistake is being made in a policy decision?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, I am sick and tired of the tactics of the hon. members opposite. There is nothing further from the truth. I spoke with the minister before he went to that meeting. I spoke to him after he went to that meeting. Obviously, emotions are running high in that particular area; I understand that. The callous remarks – if you want to talk about callous remarks, we can talk about the remarks that were made by people in the lobby out there.

Those remarks were said and we just said fine, we will take them with a grain of salt, as difficult as they are. The remarks that were made, of course, by the NDP candidate up there on Facebook or whatever the heck she was on were despicable. The Leader of the New Democratic Party did not even stand in this House and separate herself from those remarks or withdraw those remarks or penalize the candidate, but those things went on.

I can tell you, categorically, under no circumstances did my minister behave in the way that you are alleging and that is not correct.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask members to direct their remarks to the Chair.

The hon. the Member for The Straits & White Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Mr. Speaker, I am assuming that is suggesting that our mayor and councillors and people who were in that meeting were lying because the letter very clearly states the tone and the tactics of the minister that day. I just accept it as it is suggested.

The Minister of Health and the Premier continually state that the Town of St. Anthony was consulted during this review. In actual fact, the mayor says a consultant and an official from the Health Department simply dropped by for a chat, as he put it in the letter, again, because he had a bit of spare time between flights from a meeting in Flower's Cove and going on to Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

My question again is: Why is this type of coffee break meeting – why is it sufficient consultation to be listed in the report by Wes Drodge?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the one thing I do know is that the hon. Member for The Straits did not request a meeting prior to the report being prepared. I did not hear any submissions nor did I see anything in writing from the Member for The Straits & White Bay North. So that is one thing we do know for a fact.

Mr. Speaker, in relation to the meeting, there was a –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. KENNEDY: We spent five or six hours in the meeting.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the hon. minister to conclude his remarks.

MR. KENNEDY: Yes, Mr. Speaker, there were other officials present at this meeting. We have received a lot of e-mails that have been very emotional from the people of St. Anthony. I certainly have not replied to any one in a way that is disrespectful. Mr. Speaker, on that particular day we certainly questioned and probed the numbers that were being put forward. Do you know what, Mr. Speaker? At the end of the day they accepted that the numbers (inaudible).

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

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

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

Mr. Speaker, the Premier said on Monday in response to questions about the current environmental assessment disaster in the Gulf of Mexico that he wants to –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask members to my –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Chair has recognized the hon. the Member for the District of Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi and the hon. member has four minutes to ask questions and receive answers here in this House. I ask members not to interrupt and allow the hon. member for the time that she has been allotted.

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

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

I was talking about a comment made by the Premier with regard to his belief in best practices and the fact that he is in constant contact with his C-NLOPB about what is happening in the Gulf of Mexico.

Mr. Speaker, being in constant contact with the C-NLOPB is not the same as questioning whether the C-NLOPB can do its job when it comes to safety and the environment. The Province's ownership stake in the offshore which I agree with, I agree with having an ownership stake, places this government in a conflict of interest when it comes to protection of workers and environment in the offshore.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS MICHAEL: Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier: Will he promote the establishment of an independent agency to protect our workers and environment in the offshore?

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her question.

I just want to clarify that I said the government was in contact with the C-NLOPB; I did not say myself personally. As I understand, I think some of the senior officials right now are in Houston.

From a perspective of monitoring this, we are monitoring it very, very closely. As a matter of fact just before I came to the House today, I was in a discussion, a conference call with senior officials to get an update as to exactly where we are, what our response protocol was, what we would do in the event of an oil spill. As I was going through that process, I was considering to myself it would not hurt to have someone independent, whether on a contractual basis or whatever, right now to look and see exactly where we stand vis-ΰ-vis best practices, where we are in our own offshore here in Newfoundland and Labrador and to monitor exactly what is going on in the Gulf of Mexico. So, I share your concerns generally as to what degree we go, but I do not think it hurts sometimes to have an objective analysis of exactly what is going on.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

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

Mr. Speaker, as I have mentioned in this House before, Norway set up an independent petroleum safety agency whose job is to protect workers and the environment, and it is separate from their petroleum board. One of the reasons they did that was to have a group that was objective with the companies they are working with. Because the petroleum board there, just as here, works to promote the offshore oil development through land sales and at the same time, being responsible for environment puts them a bit in conflict.

So, I ask the Premier: If the Premier would recognize that kind of an independent agency as a group that would be more objective with regard to working with environment issues and safety issues?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, I cannot react on the fly to that because there are some significant constitutional issues. For example, Norway is a country, and our country is Canada, we have the Accord issues, we have the constitutional issues that are there in the offshore. So what our jurisdiction would be to set up any kind of an independent board when it comes to issues such as safety, which are now governed by the C-NLOPB, we may be restrained. It is certainly something - I would certainly have a look at that model to see if, in fact, it works in any manner whatsoever.

However, what we can do within our authority as a provincial government - and as I said before, I would certainly like to have somebody now just exactly monitor what is going on to make sure that at the end of the day what we do here in Newfoundland and Labrador is as good or better than anywhere else in the world.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The time allotted for questions and answers has expired.

The Chair would like to remind hon. members when they are providing ministerial statements or when they are asking questions or answering questions, I remind hon. members again not to refer to members by their given names. Refer to ministers by the executive position that they hold, and refer to other members by the district that they represent. The Chair continues to rise on this situation that personalizes debate, and I hate to interrupt during Question Period, but I ask all members to kindly uphold that long tradition of debate in the House of Assembly.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling of Documents.

Notices of Motion.

Notices of Motion

MR. SPEAKER: 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 Accident And Sickness Insurance Act, The Automobile Insurance Act, The Insurance Adjusters, Agents And Brokers Act, The Insurance Contracts Act, And Life Insurance Act. (Bill 18)

I also give notice, Mr. Speaker, that I will ask leave to introduce a bill entitled, An Act To Amend The Insurance Companies Act No. 2. (Bill 19)

MR. SPEAKER: Further notices of motion?

Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of The Straits & White Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again today it is my pleasure to stand and present a petition in this hon. House of Assembly on behalf of the residents of my district who are requesting that we maintain our air ambulance service there.

It reads: The petition of the undersigned residents;

WHEREAS it has been brought to our attention that the air ambulance service is being removed; and

WHEREAS St. Anthony Airport can provide the most optimal service to the whole of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador; and

WHEREUPON the undersigned your petitioners humbly pray and call upon the House of Assembly to support and maintain the air ambulance service in the St. Anthony area and furthermore will proceed with strengthening the service with the placement of a flight team specialist located in St. Anthony.

And as in duty bound your petitioners will ever pray.

It is my pleasure to present that this afternoon. I go back again to the letter from the Mayor of St. Anthony that has been so discredited here this afternoon in the House of Assembly by our Premier suggesting that basically it is a pack of lies what is stated there.

Again, not being consulted properly further speaks to the insignificance and the injustice that is contained in this report that has been the premise of the Minister of Health's decision. For a delegation of professionals, retired school teachers, business people and other people who serve as volunteers on a town council, for them to be invited to this city, along with one of the professionals from the health care in operating the air ambulance program there, for them to be invited here and to be intimidated, accused and so on, as they were by the Minister of Health, I think it is a very sad thing. It speaks to the process, it speaks to the (inaudible) of it, it speaks to the incorrectness of it. I want to quote from that letter from the mayor, which I am willing to table.

It says, for the most part - and I speak truly, sir, in his reference speaking to the Premier. He says: We all felt as though we were on trial for a crime which we knew nothing about. If this is a fabricated story, then I want to suggest to this House today that it certainly would be out of character with Mayor Simms to put forth those things and to have the support of the town council. He talks about the arrival for the meeting on April 13 and 14 with the minister. In fact, he says: At 2:00 p.m. we met with Mr. Kennedy and honestly, he says - and here is a man who is sixty years of age or so, retired from his teaching career. He says: Honestly, I have never witnessed such an outburst of sarcasm, insinuation and accusations in all my life. We felt threatened, as I mentioned a moment ago, and one of my councillors actually broke down and cried.

I had the privilege of speaking to that councillor who cried that afternoon in a meeting with a minister of this government. I can tell you that she was very taken back by what took place and so on.

Again, on the second day - after having to leave and come back and to kind of help get some statistics to agree with the statistics of the department and so on. Coming back on the second day they again referenced the fact that they were severely attacked and Mr. Farrell was asked by Mr. Kennedy to put his job on the line for his beliefs regarding his response and presentation. Again, he says, you can probably understand why we felt as if we were on trial.

Mr. Speaker, the intensity and the fierceness of the attack was something that would be –

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I remind the hon. member that his time for presenting the petition has expired.

MR. DEAN: - not something this government would want to take forward.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Orders of the Day

Private Members' Day

MR. SPEAKER: It now being 3:00 o'clock and this being Private Members' Day, I call on the hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains to put forward her debate on her private member's resolution.

The hon. the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, and the Member for Torngat Mountains.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS POTTLE: Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to stand today and talk on this private member's resolution, as I indicated on Monday, which was a motion that was seconded by my hon. colleague for Topsail.

The member's resolution reads as follows:

WHEREAS innumerable women throughout history have suffered many forms of violence, and far too many continue to suffer today despite all the efforts to curb violence against women; and

WHEREAS the provincial government has been proactive in preventing violence against women and promoting non-violent behaviours through a range of initiatives, including the ongoing Violence Prevention Initiative, the Family Violence Intervention Court, support for transition houses and women's centres, and other measures; and

WHEREAS Violence Prevention Initiatives are most effective when individual citizens, families, organizations and communities take an active role in condemning violence against women and promoting non-violent behaviours at all ages;

BE IT RESOLVED that this hon. House expresses its support for the government's Violence Prevention Initiatives and urges all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to do their part in making our society safer by taking responsibility to condemn violence against women and promote non-violent behaviours at all ages.

Mr. Speaker, this year's Speech from the Throne highlighted the fact that many women in our Province are particularly vulnerable because of the violence they suffer. Mr. Speaker, violence is rooted in inequality and takes many forms. Beyond the physical, women in our Province experience sexual, emotional, psychological, spiritual and cultural violence as well as verbal and financial abuse and neglect.

All forms of violence, Mr. Speaker, against women are equally damaging. Our government's response to violence in the Province is our Violence Prevention Initiative. This six-year $12 million strategy is ensuring that we have the tools to help communities and agencies work toward the elimination of violence.

We know that there are many barriers to a woman leaving a violent relationship, and much victim blaming happens. Too often, Mr. Speaker, we hear questions such as: Why doesn't she leave the relationship? Why doesn't she just pack up her clothes, throw it in a suitcase; and, if there are children involved, why doesn't she just leave home?

The real question that we should be asking is: Why doesn't he just stop being violent? Why is he harming and abusing a woman that he claims he loves? Why does he do these things? That is the real question that we should be asking, Mr. Speaker: Why doesn't he stop being violent?

National data indicates that separation is a particularly dangerous time for women, and I know of an example of a lady that is in a relationship in my district. She was asked: Why don't you just leave? She is in a violent relationship. Her spouse would be physically violent, and there were children involved, so it is a very sad situation. She was asked: Why not just leave? Her response was: I am safer where I am. I am safer where I am.

That is pretty sad. At least at night, she said, I know where he is; he is not stalking me. She knew that, if she left, her life was in the danger. If she stayed there, she was going to get the physical abuse. She can tolerate that, but having to leave her children at the hands of a man who so-called loved her was the reason that she stayed. She stayed because she feared for her life.

Although more married women are killed by their spouses, the rate of homicide is greatest for women after separation. So, in the back of her mind, even though she may not have known this statistic, it is actually true: women are more susceptible to being killed by their spouse once they leave, or try to leave.

Mr. Speaker, only 4 per cent of women are unable to identify who their abuser is. Sadly enough, 85 per cent of the time when a woman is in an abusive relationship, or is abused, it is at the hands of the spouse or her partner – someone who is supposed to provide love, care, comfort and warmth. Eighty-five per cent of the time it is at the hands of a spouse or partner.

Mr. Speaker, some other statistics say that women are more than twice as likely as male victims to be physically injured by their partners – twice as likely. That is very sad, Mr. Speaker. They are six times more likely to receive medical attention. That is just heartbreaking, and I know of cases where women had to go for medical attention: gashes on their faces, or body parts broken.

I was in a community over the winter, and community members told how a woman was abused by her spouse and had to be medevaced to Happy Valley-Goose Bay for treatment - broken bones, broken ribs - very, very sad.

Women are five times more likely to be hospitalized due to injuries. Again, I know a lot of cases of women in these situations. I know of an incident where a young lady - and when I say young lady, I mean a teenager in a relationship - where the extent of her injury caused her to have to come to St. John's for treatment. The extent of her injury was so bad that she had to come for medical treatment in our major health care facility here in St. John's. Now, you can only imagine the extent of that injury if she had to be sent out here.

Women are three times more likely to have to take time off work to deal with consequences of violence. Mr. Speaker, I have worked with women who stayed home because they have had bruises, black eyes, swollen lips, gashes; they are too embarrassed to come out. They stay home, and sometimes they stay home because it is the demand of their abusive partner: I don't want you out in public and people seeing what I did to you, because they may point fingers at me. Stay inside until everything heals and nobody knows about it - is basically what they are telling them.

Women are twice as likely to report chronic, ongoing assaults. Normally, Mr. Speaker, when a woman is in a violent relationship it is not a one-time deal; it is ongoing. It is chronic, in some cases chronic. I know a lot of examples where women I know – I have a friend of mine who went her entire life, and to this day is still being beaten at the hands of someone who claims that he loves her.

There are many characteristics of abused women. There are very many negative impacts to a person, and to a woman in particular, when they are abused. Some women may have addiction problems, and I know in a lot of cases that is the case. They turn to alcohol or smoking cigarettes or drugs or whatever, just to try to deal with some of the pain that they are incurring. Some have mental health problems. I know of a lady who had to be sent out of town because, after being beaten so much, she is now mentally challenged. She was never like it. It was only at the hands of someone who claimed that he loved her that she became like this.

Women usually lack concentration; they miss work. They have low self-esteem and, when at work, they have low levels of energy. Statistics will say that a lot of times they are absent from work, but I know of women who are glad to go to work because that becomes their safe haven. That becomes a place to get away from the situation for four, five, six, seven or eight hours a day. That is their time to be able to socialize with members of their own sex, because they do not get out often. They are home, they are abused, they are restricted as to what they can do, so getting out and finding a job sometimes is the highlight of their life.

I know of an incident where a female in a very abusive relationship is working for an employer and the abusive husband came to her workplace one time. She managed to hide away until he left the building. It was very frightening for everyone else involved as well.

Women in abusive relationships also, when there are children involved, they have disrupted parenting skills. These families become dysfunctional, and sometimes you will see children acting out in schools, and things like that, and we wonder why. If this is the behaviour they are seeing at home, by someone who claims that they love their wife, we wonder why, but it all makes sense, Mr. Speaker. It all makes sense, why children go to school and they are acting out, and things like that, if they are seeing this negative behaviour at home.

Mr. Speaker, I have indicated a lot of examples here, but this is why our work on preventing violence and advancing the status of women in Newfoundland and Labrador is so important. In Budget 2010 our commitment to the Women's Policy Office to provide leadership on the prevention of violence and to advance on the status of women in Newfoundland and Labrador is $4.7 million. Over half of this funding, Mr. Speaker, is to assist with violence prevention against women and other vulnerable populations in Newfoundland and Labrador. The remaining funding will improve access to services for women, as well as build capacity and increase awareness on other critical issues of importance to the women in this Province. I must stress, Mr. Speaker, that this important work could not be done without women and our community partners whom are dedicated to preventing violence and advancing the social and economic status of women in this Province.

We have many key players in our Province. We have many women's organizations, many partners out there that we support. In our Budget of 2010 we had announcements specific to Aboriginal women in our Province. We provided funding to the Newfoundland Aboriginal Women's Network, of $100,000, Mr. Speaker, that will help them continue the very good work that they are doing over in Western and Central Newfoundland for their membership.

There was an announcement for $125,000 for Inuit women in the five Inuit communities on the North Coast of Labrador so that they could deliver workshops in their communities: on capacity building, on awareness. It is nothing more than empowering women, giving them the strength, giving them the tools to combat violence, poverty, you name it.

We also had a number of initiatives announced through the Violence Prevention Initiative that went to our Innu women up in Sheshatshiu. There was money announced for the members of the NunatuKavut, the former Labrador Metis Nation; they were given money in our last fiscal year. The Flat Bay Indian Band was given money for a project that they were doing. The Nunatsiavut government was given money for a couple of projects that they did. All of this money was going towards Violence Prevention Initiatives. Also, there was money given to the St. John's Native Friendship Centre; $27,000 was given to them. That is important, too, because we have a lot of Aboriginal women living in our urban centre here on the Avalon Peninsula. Supporting our St. John's Native Friendship Centre is important because, regardless of where you live - urban, rural, wherever - a lot of women still encounter family violence.

I was pleased, too, with the announcement for additional funding for the Nain shelter. I visited the Nain shelter over Easter and spoke with one of the workers. There were a couple of clients there. They very much appreciate the service that is provided in their community. It is not easy for an individual living in a remote isolated community to uproot and go to, say, the Libra House in Goose Bay. So, if we are able to provide those services in the community, it really, really benefits and they very much appreciate that. That is why I was also pleased with the support going to the Rigolet shelter, another isolated community in Northern Labrador.

We also, Mr. Speaker, are continuing to fund the women's centres in Newfoundland and Labrador, an increased budget for them, grant money of $115,762. We continue to support the provincial Transition House Association of Newfoundland and Labrador; we increased their monies to $105,000. The Family Violence Intervention Court is another great initiative of this government. It is a pilot project, hopefully something that is going to really work, and we are expecting to unroll that very soon. I think – I am looking at the Minister of Finance, because he was the Minister of Justice at one time – $519,000 is allotted for that project, Mr. Speaker. We continue to support the provincial Sexual Assault Crisis & Prevention Centre; an annual grant of $100,000 is going to them. We have ten regional violence prevention co-ordinating committees across the Province; their annual grant is $70,000 each.

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

I remind the hon. member that her time for speaking has expired.

MS POTTLE: Can I have leave to finish?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. member has asked for leave.

Does the hon. member have leave?

AN HON. MEMBER: By leave.

MS POTTLE: I appreciate that. Thank you very much.

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

MS POTTLE: Thank you.

Just to clue up, a couple of other initiatives that I just wanted to mention here, is our support for the Multicultural Women's Organization of Newfoundland and Labrador, an annual grant of $100,000. We have to support the women who are coming into our Province as well, Mr. Speaker, and they very much appreciate that.

Our Provincial Advisory Council on the Status of Women, Mr. Speaker, we continue, and this year we are providing $451,000. That is a 72 per cent increase since 2003. They provide some valuable information to this government, and we very much appreciate their services.

I would just like to clue up by saying that we are going to continue to fund the annual meetings of the women's councils. We are going to fund again this year an Aboriginal Women's Conference. The Aboriginal Women's Conference is something that I have been very pleased to be able to attend since I have been here in government. They do some great work and they are able to bring together Aboriginal women from across this Province, and it is great networking for them as well.

We are also going to do a provincial Violence Prevention Initiative Stakeholders Conference, Mr. Speaker, and I am pleased to say that was announced in this Budget as well.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I stand today to speak to the motion put forward by my colleague, the Member for Torngat Mountains, and I certainly appreciate her introduction of the motion, Mr. Speaker. It was a very heartfelt and passionate speech, and I am sure there is no one in this House who would underestimate the number of women whose lives she has affected over her time in her position, and as a member of the Aboriginal community.

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, Newfoundland and Labrador remains a Province of Canada that is still inflicted by violence against women, and violence against women of all stripes of society. Whether those women have disabilities, whether they be of one persuasion sexually or another, women who are Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, they are all impacted. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, what we continue to see are statistics that are far too high, far too alarming, and impacting so many women out there in our society today.

Violence in society, Mr. Speaker, does not just impact women, but it often impacts a lot of children, as well. We have seen many cases of that, and there are lots of statistics of violence against children in our society.

Mr. Speaker, when you have violence against women, it comes in all different forms. Mr. Speaker, whether that be through harassment, through bodily harm in some way, through assault of one form or another, through sexual assault and other kinds of sex crimes, it is all constituted as violence against another person.

Mr. Speaker, I guess the work in Newfoundland and Labrador in fighting violence against women, unfortunately, started a very long time ago. It probably started as early as 1925, and probably even before that, but it was during those years, through the decades of lobbying governments and officials, that women really started to take a position on the public stage in this Province. Women fought to become voting members of society so they could be better equipped to influence public policy and advance the concerns which affected women in our communities. These and those days, Mr. Speaker, one of those concerns very evidently highlighted was domestic violence, and child welfare issues. Unfortunately, today, women and men continue to fight, Mr. Speaker, to counteract domestic violence and other forms of violence in our community. Mr. Speaker, it has become a growing problem and unfortunately it is not restricted to just larger centres as we often are led to believe and think. Violence against women and children is in every single community across this Province and every part of this country.

While a lot of it, Mr. Speaker, can arguably be connected to alcohol and drug abuse and addiction, while a lot of it can be connected to poverty and social welfare issues, while a lot of it can be connected to low incomes and high unemployment levels, it is not always the case. In fact, Mr. Speaker, domestic violence occurs in homes of the most affluent people in our society. They occur in the homes of some of the most prominent Canadians as we have just seen with the case that is going before the courts in Canada today with General Russell Williams.

Mr. Speaker, it is not just restricted to the issues of poverty and addiction; however, we have also seen many cases where those connections are made. There are many of us, and I am one of them, who still fundamentally believe that if we are able to deal with issues around addictions and around alcoholism and around poverty, that we can also reduce the levels of domestic violence and sexual assault and physical assault that occurs within our society, but it is not restricted to that.

Mr. Speaker, one in five homicides in this country has involved domestic violence. Eighty per cent of the women in Newfoundland and Labrador who face violent experiences, it is from their spouse or partner. As the member said when she introduced her statement, most of the time it is from someone they love or someone who loves them and is supposed to protect them. In recent years we have seen more than twenty women violently killed in our own Province by someone whom they have loved, who have loved them or was to protect them.

Mr. Speaker, those statistics are not just numbers on a page. We can all put names to these cases, to these women, to these families. We can identify the communities from which they come. We can talk about the kind of life in which they have led. Many of them being individuals who have contributed to their community, who were involved in volunteer activities, who worked in a normal job, who cared for children and who were a mother and a sister and a daughter. Mr. Speaker, it does not change the fact that they are not being abused. It does not change the fact that these individuals often have lives that none of us are aware of. I would think that all of us know someone very personally and very intimately who has been a woman who has been affected by violence in her life.

Mr. Speaker, one of the things that we are seeing in this Province because I, like the member who introduced this motion today, have been around many cases of family violence, unfortunately. I have had to – not had to but I guess I have been in the presence and have spent time with many women who have had to leave their homes in the middle of the night, who have had to seek refuge in a neighbour's house, in a family member's house when there were not always shelters - because in many parts of our Province we do not have women's shelters, even today.

Mr. Speaker, we know the trials and tribulations that go with that. While it is hard to leave, many times it is as hard to stay away and that is the one thing I have noticed. Even though a woman may be violently abused in her own home, in her own kitchen, in her own bedroom, maybe violently, sexually and physically abused, day in and day out, and when they finally gain the courage to be able to walk away from that situation, which is not always easy, it is also about having the courage to stay away. In a lot of cases these women leave and although they have family support and they have friends supporting them, all too often they start feeling that they have become a burden in some way and they start looking that their only other option and their only way out is to go back to the situation from which they have come. Unfortunately, I have seen that happen as well.

Mr. Speaker, having the supports in our communities and in society is very important. I know of cases, Mr. Speaker, where women that I have known and have been friends of mine that I actually visited at women's shelters in this Province, when they have had the courage to leave the relationships that they were in and they sought refuge in these shelters, but while they were there, over that course of four to six weeks with their children they did feel a level of protection and security, but there was a level of agony that came with waking up every morning, of knowing that you are responsible not just for yourself but for your children, wondering every day where I will go from here. Trying to find affordable housing is always one of the biggest issues that I see these women deal with.

Mr. Speaker, we know that there are people out there - we fund groups like women's centres and others to help bridge the gap between women who find themselves in these kinds of situations and help them bridge the gap from a shelter to new living arrangements, but it is not always easy. When you look at the statistics in St. John's today where you have a rate of less than 1 per cent of vacancies in the Province when it comes to housing, it is not easy. Even the head of Newfoundland and Labrador Housing - I do not have his quote in front of me right now, but I remember not too long ago when he was talking about the huge wait-list that they have for these housing units.

So, Mr. Speaker, it is difficult. It is hard to walk away, but it is really hard and difficult as well to take that next step when you have to deal with these kinds of challenges. Some of these women are in a situation of affordability, and they can just move on and make a transition much easier than others. There are a lot of women who need to depend upon social housing to make that transition. I think that we have to make more of an effort to ensure that that kind of housing is available to them.

In fact, Mr. Speaker, in Labrador City recently there have been a number of people in this community who are speaking out against the issues around housing because it has become a major problem in that community as well. The community has become more industrialized. You have more of a transient population, you have more people moving into this particular community and you have higher levels of women seeking refuge in a shelter. I remember back a few months ago, even when I was there and was actually in the office of the women's shelter, and at that time they were completely full and had been for a period of time. They had no more vacancies. They were actually looking for independent arrangements in the community so that women who were affected by physical and sexual violence and assault, Mr. Speaker, that they would have a safe refuge for them.

Unfortunately, there are regions of our Province where these numbers are continuing to increase, and we do not necessarily have the facilities to be able to provide for the kind of transition that these families and women need to make. In Labrador West today, Mr. Speaker, there isn't affordable housing for any of those people. We have students who are on wait-lists up there, sleeping on people's couches to try and go to school and get an education because there is no residence and there are no accommodations. We have women and children who are seeking refuge wherever they can find it; the women's centre in Hope Haven has been doing a remarkable job at trying to address that problem. Mr. Speaker, it is a problem that they cannot address when there are no vacancies available. This is the situation that they find themselves in.

One of the things I would like to encourage the minister to look at in her capacity, is that in areas of the Province where these problems do exist, is look at emergency funding for these shelters so that they can go out. If they have to pay more money for that first month to find a refuge for a woman and her children coming out of a violent relationship, then they have the financial ability to do it. It may not cost a lot of money at the end of the day, but it may help another eight, ten or twelve women in this Province who need that kind of a service. Right now, Mr. Speaker, we are seeing situations where they do not have that alternative available to them.

Just recently, Mr. Speaker, you remember hearing the story in the news - I have the article here, I am not sure of the date that it was. It was the story about Colleen Cromwell and her three children who were living in the Province with nowhere to live. In fact, Mr. Speaker, they saw themselves in a predicament one night where they actually spent the night in a storage container where they had stored their belongings. Then after that, Mr. Speaker, they set up in a car, a Pontiac Pursuit; a woman and her three children living in this car for about a week in our Province. This was just recently in the last few months, because there is no housing and no accommodations.

Mr. Speaker, while we all work to counteract the statistics that are out there in terms of violence against women, we also have to be very cognizant that encouraging women to get out of the situation that they are in also means providing a path for them to stay out of that situation. We go out every day and we educate women in our communities that you do not have to be a victim; you do not have to tolerate being abused physically or sexually in your own home or in your own workplace. Mr. Speaker, when they are able, when they get the courage to make that transition, we need the supports in place in our society to allow them to do it effectively and appropriately. Part of that, of course, is counselling programs and part of it is providing services for children who are very often impacted by this as well.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I remind the hon. member that her time for speaking has expired.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

If I could just take a couple of seconds to clue up?

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

AN HON. MEMBER: Yes.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I say to the hon. House Leader, I certainly will not use up any of your valuable time but I did want to say that I want to support the motion that has been put forward by my colleague and ask that she would take some of those suggestions under consideration because I know that this is an issue that is important to her and I ask that she would give some consideration to that, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Topsail.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DAVIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise this afternoon to speak to this private member's resolution, a resolution that I was quite pleased to be able to second as it is brought forward today.

Mr. Speaker, as a former police officer here in this Province, I have had many experiences, unfortunately have had many experiences over the years in attending to, as a front line police officer and as well as investigating matters related to violence against women and family violence; and family violence circumstances that at times have had some very devastating effects on individuals and families, and far too often on the children of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, my colleague, the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, as well as the Leader of the Opposition have brought forward some important statistical information, some important factual information in their presentations today. I think it is a wise fact to discuss, and I am going to discuss some as well because I think it is very important to understand how prevalent violence against women is in our communities today.

Some of these numbers are staggering. Of the 217,000, almost 218,000 women over the age of fifteen residing in Newfoundland and Labrador, it is believed that just under 109,000 will experience at least one incident of sexual or physical violence throughout their lifetime. As I said, Mr. Speaker, this number here is staggering in itself. What is even more upsetting is that unfortunately only 10 per cent of women will actually report the victimization to police. This is a very, very low number, Mr. Speaker, considering the high number of women who will experience violence throughout their lifetime and having only 10 per cent who will ever report is a very low number.

Between 1975 and 2004 there were twice as many women than men in Newfoundland and Labrador that were victimized or victims of spousal homicide; again, twice as many women than men, another very staggering number. In Newfoundland, 43 per cent of incidents of spousal violence against women involved physical force and 6 per cent of violence against women involved weapons. Again, this is very concerning. It can be very devastating and it can have a major and a devastating impact. These types of numbers are far too high, Mr. Speaker.

Between 1999 and 2004, in Canada the overall rate of spousal violence against women actually declined. Now, it was a very small number. It was only approximately 1 per cent number decreased, but what is more concerning is for that same time period Newfoundland and Labrador was the only jurisdiction, during this five-year period, to show an increase in spousal violence against women. Again, it was a small increase of 2 per cent but it is going in the opposite direction of where the rest of the country has gone and these numbers are not acceptable.

In the two-year period between 2006 and 2008, the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary reported that over 2,500 violent crimes against women had occurred in their jurisdictions; again, another very high number and another very unacceptable number. During the same time period, the RCMP in Newfoundland and Labrador reported just over 1,800 women were assaulted by a partner, at which constitutes 73 per cent of all family violence incidents responded to by the RCMP in Newfoundland and Labrador. Mr. Speaker, this is over 4,300 incidents in both policing jurisdictions to take in the entire Province of Newfoundland and Labrador during a two-year time period; 4,300 incidents in just a short two-year time period.

The hon. the Leader of the Opposition has referred to some of the admissions to some of our shelters in Newfoundland and Labrador and we know that during 2007-2008 there were just over 1,100 admissions. That is three admissions every day of the year, and that is admissions of women, dependent children to all residential shelters in the Province; and 56 per cent of women escaping violent situations come to these shelters with children. The far majority of those cases, approximately 59 per cent, are cases where children are under the age of ten years of age. These are children, we have to remember, very young children who have been exposed to domestic violence. We also know that almost one-quarter, 24 per cent of women residing in shelters are repeat clients, a number that is much too high.

Mr. Speaker, in the Speech from the Throne this year this government has continued to help change attitudes about violence against women through its Respect Women Campaign, and has committed in this year's Throne Speech to continue to make violence against women as unacceptable as any other violent crime. I support this work and I support this initiative. This initiative will have efforts to stay vigilant in addressing the root causes of violence against women in this Province and government is providing leadership in education and awareness on this topic in all regions – a very important move for short term and long term.

Mr. Speaker, in June of last year, I was quite pleased to have been present when the Violence Prevention Initiative launched this very successful Respect Women public awareness campaign. The implementation of this public awareness and education campaign is a priority of the Violence Prevention Initiative, and through this approach government will increase its awareness and change attitudes to prevent violence against those most at risk in our societies.

With government and community representatives working together – and this is the only way this can work is if we work with our community partners. Government developed this innovative and unique campaign with an intergenerational approach. The campaign delivers positive messages around showing fairness and respect and equality towards women.

Government is primarily targeting men with this campaign. I can tell you from my own experiences it is a very different approach; it is a very new approach from what I have seen anywhere else. Many campaigns in the past have focused on women, but this new approach focuses on men engaged in healthy living and healthy activities. Through the use of print, television advertisements, bookmarks, as well as posters and the Web site – respectwomen.ca – government has been encouraging all men to take responsibility for preventing violence against women.

The campaign demonstrates a unique approach to violence prevention. The intergenerational piece highlights men as role models who play a key part in shaping the beliefs and values and attitudes of their sons, their grandsons, nephews and younger brothers. The belief is that if a young boy is taught to respect women at an early age, then we have tackled a major obstacle in preventing violence against women in the future. This will achieve short-term and long-term results.

The messages are quite simple – and I know that, as I have mentioned, many people are aware of these initiatives and I will get to some more information shortly relating to that. The messages are very, very simple. It is very straightforward in the wording used: I will show him how to share. This is a core value used quite often by parents as they teach their children and raise their families. I will show him how to tie his shoes. I will show him how to spell his name, how to catch a fish. I will show him how to throw a ball. I will show him how to play golf. These are very fundamental core activities that parents and adults share with their children.

As well, the message goes on: I will teach him how to respect women. It makes respecting women a core and basic value in raising children and raising families. It makes it acceptable. It makes it as straightforward as teaching a child to tie their shoes, or to share, as we all do.

Visitors to the respectwomen.ca Web site will also find links to other elements of this campaign, which include print ads and television ads; they are all available on the Web site. I encourage all to take a few minutes to visit the Web site. It has some very good information there. It also has a variety of topics which may be beneficial to anyone who wants to visit there. It includes other aspects, such as tips to prevent male violence against women, information if someone has committed intimate partner violence, how to help someone who is violent. There are descriptions there and explanations on different forms of violence and abuse, because there are many forms of violence and abuse in relationships and in our communities, and some are not easily identified by the community or individuals, or not seen to be forms of violence and abuse. There are also facts on violence against women. There are many aspects there, Mr. Speaker, on the Web site that are very informative and can be very helpful, and I encourage people to visit it.

Now, with a campaign like this, it is very important to have a means to measure the campaign, to get a grasp on the results of the campaign. The Respect Women campaign aired on television for a total of twenty-three weeks during 2009 and 2010, but prior to the release of the campaign a pre-evaluation survey was conducted in the spring of 2009, and then there was a post-evaluation survey on the campaign that was completed in October 2009. Now this was only ten weeks into the campaign. Even though the campaign ran for twenty-three weeks in the past year, the post-evaluation was actually conducted only ten weeks into the campaign. There are some very interesting information and results from the campaign that were learned.

We know that over 50 per cent of respondents - 219,000 adult residents - became aware of the campaign. That is over half of the adult population in Newfoundland and Labrador. Over 90 per cent of these people became aware of the campaigns through television, a very effective medium, which is more than 199,000 residents. This shows that we are indeed reaching people through our television ads.

Twenty-four thousand more people were able to identify the family as the relationship in which acts of violence are more likely to occur, and that was an increase of almost 6 per cent; 22,400 more residents identified emotional violence as a form of male violence against women, a 5 per cent increase. Although the television campaigns aired for only ten weeks prior to the post-evaluation survey, it already demonstrates a significant shift in public attitudes, which is the core value of this campaign. One of the core values of this campaign is to shift attitudes.

Fifty-six thousand more residents of Newfoundland and Labrador believe that society as a whole is responsible for combating and eliminating male violence. This is a whopping increase of 13.6 per cent; a big, big increase in a very short period of time. As well, 33,500 more residents believe that increased education through schools and government programs will help eliminate male violence against women; that is an 8 per cent increase. Again these numbers, Mr. Speaker, are simply outstanding and it shows that this program and these government initiatives are on the right track with our social marketing efforts to raise awareness and changed attitudes towards violence.

Mr. Speaker, there are some significant decreases as well that were noted through this campaign and they were very positive decreases. They relate to victim blaming; 21,000 less residents identified women as being responsible for combating and eliminating male violence against women, which is a 5 per cent decrease. As well, just over 10,000 less people identified the victim as responsible for combating and eliminating male violence against women; a 2.5 per cent decrease. Again, these are very encouraging results from this campaign.

Mr. Speaker, this campaign like many others, if we look back years ago - and if I can make a comparison to impaired driving, drinking and driving, driving when impaired by a drug. Many years ago it was not widely socially unacceptable to drink and drive. We know that the criminal penalties for drinking and driving and driving while impaired were much less than they are today. Socially, it was not deemed, broadly, as being unacceptable.

Well, those attitudes on impaired driving and drinking and driving have changed over constant messaging, over hard work by good community groups, by increased penalties for such activity. Today, I know first-hand that more people than ever before will pick up a telephone and contact the police when they believe somebody is drinking and driving or driving while under the influence of drugs, more than ever before. There are calls made to the police from parties, in social gathering, when they see someone is leaving to get in their car after consuming alcohol or consuming drugs and they do not want it to happen. It is not socially acceptable.

Mr. Speaker, through campaigns such as respectwomen.ca campaign and other initiatives, we need to continue to send home these messages to ensure that violence against women can be ended so that it becomes socially unacceptable, so all of the community will stand up and take action to eliminate this.

One of the other initiatives - if I can take a couple of minutes, Mr. Speaker, to discuss initiatives of government – occurred back on July 1, 2006 when the Family Violence Protection Act became law in Newfoundland and Labrador. Now this new piece of legislation, it is a new law, allows for police officers, lawyers and victims of violent relationships who did not have the tools before to help them escape from and remove themselves from violent circumstances and violent difficulties. These were for emergency and urgent situations. Traditionally, when police attended such circumstances they did not have the ability quite often to look after the circumstances in a manner that was safe for the victim, but under this new act, this new piece of legislation, it gives a new opportunity for safe measures. Under this new law a mechanism is now in place to obtain what is referred to as an Emergency Protection Order. It is often referred to as an EPO. An EPO is a court order that can be granted by a provincial court judge in emergency or urgent circumstances when immediate safety measures must be provided for protection of a family when family violence has occurred. Most often, an EPO can be obtained within a twenty-four hour period, which is relatively a short period of time.

There are several options under an EPO that are available to a person who files for an application that will allow to give them protective measures. One of those is a provision granting the applicant exclusive occupation of a residence for a defined period of time. Mr. Speaker, as well, a second provision of that is allowing the directing of a police officer to remove a respondent from a residence immediately, or within a specific period of time. There are several provisions available, from the providing of utilities, providing transportation, a car, a home, food and other provisions that in the past had been obstacles for women when they were trying to leave a violent relationship or domestic violence situation. This family protection orders I know are used quite regularly by police in Newfoundland and Labrador today.

Mr. Speaker, to sum up, as individuals and community leaders we need to make an effort to raise awareness of violence against women and the role we can all play in the elimination of violence against women. I am calling on you, and the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, to help prevent violence against women before it starts; to reach out and take action.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS PERRY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is a great privilege for me to rise in this hon. House today to address this most important motion as we continue to take a strong stand against violence. All across this Province, great efforts are being made towards creating more peaceful communities and increasing awareness about the issue of violence against women. It is critical that we do so, I say, Mr. Speaker, because this is a very, very serious issue for Newfoundland and Labrador.

Nearly half of all women in this Province will, at some point in their lifetime, be a victim of either sexual or physical victimization. Yet, only about 10 per cent of these will actually report this victimization to police. We have come a long way in providing supports to women who do find a way out, but we still have a great deal of work left to be done. Incidents of domestic violence occur in all cultures and people of all races, ethnicities, religions, sexes and classes have been reported as perpetrators of this violent, serious and hidden criminal act.

As legislators we have a very important role to play in preventing violence, from enacting laws to creating awareness and to allocating funding. Our government is very committed to tackling this issue and we are contributing $9.2 million over six years to raise awareness, support victims, and to find the long-term solutions, Mr. Speaker, that will help eliminate this problem of violence.

My colleagues here today have quite eloquently talked about many of these initiatives we are undertaking and I look forward to our continued efforts for the women of Newfoundland and Labrador. I want to reiterate some of them that have been mentioned and talk about a few others as well.

Some of the things we have done, as a government, include designating the month of February as Violence Prevention Month, to increase awareness across the Province as a whole against all types of violence, not just violence towards women but violence towards all members of our society. We have doubled our investment in the eight women's centres across the Province.

As Minister Pottle said earlier, we are investing $451,000 now to the Provincial Advisory Council on the Status of Women. We have funded ten regional violence prevention co-ordinating committees and we provide financial support for the Sexual Assault and Crisis Prevention Centre, as well as the provincial Transition House Association of Newfoundland and Labrador. In addition, sessions for Aboriginal women covering: dating violence, bullying, emotional and physiological abuse, sexual assault, Aboriginal leadership and governance were offered all across this Province, including in my district at Conne River. I thank the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs for her outstanding support and leadership on this issue.

In addition, Mr. Speaker, within the Department of Justice there is an ongoing Violence Prevention Initiative. We have thirty-seven adult probation officers in the Province and they have received mandatory training in domestic violence intervention just this March. The abuse intervention program is a collaborative, therapeutic approach to working with men, emphasizing a narrative therapy approach and EPOs are now equipped with the enhanced skills to provide therapeutic intervention to male domestic violence offenders, both individually and in a group setting.

Mr. Speaker, my district of Fortune Bay-Cape la Hune has experienced some horrific cases of violence that have tragically resulted in the death of loved ones. We know all too well about the permanent devastation that family violence causes.

I would like to take this opportunity to commend the Central West Committee Against Violence for the remarkable work it is doing in Central Newfoundland. It is a centralized service that is truly reaching out to all the surrounding rural areas and assisting us tremendously. This year, they have embarked on a very powerful initiative to remember and honour women who have been killed in domestic violence. It is called the Silent Witness Project. Silent witnesses are red, life-sized wooden silhouettes and they are crafted to represent women eighteen years of age and over who have been affected by violence in their lifetimes and killed by their partner, ex-partner or intimate acquaintance. It aims to create awareness about the tragedies of domestic violence and to promote united action to end domestic, as well as all other forms of violence.

On February 3 of this year, two silhouettes were unveiled for Jenny Hull and Goldie Loveless, two beautiful, young, vibrant women with children who tragically lost their lives in murder suicides. It was powerful, emotional, and moving, and it has left a lasting impact for our entire community as we fight to stop the abuse towards women. It was a very special way to allow our community and friends to show their compassion and provided us with a very important opportunity to learn about how we can all play a role in eliminating violence.

Mr. Speaker, in talking about the devastating impact of violence, I would like to also take a look at some of the statistics. Approximately 89 per cent of women residing in shelters are victims of violence. Among these, approximately 97 per cent are fleeing psychological abuse, 73 per cent physical abuse, 45 per cent harassment, 44 per cent threats, 42 per cent sexual abuse, and 36 per cent financial abuse.

Separation is a particularly dangerous time for women, but, as I have already discussed, not every woman can escape. You heard Minister Pottle talk about what we often hear from people, they ask the question: Why do people stay in these abusive relationships? She made a very good point. The more important question that we should be asking perhaps is: Why do men abuse? There are many reasons why women stay including: financial stability, fear of losing custody of their children, and fear for their very own lives. However, how violence affects victims depends on other aspects of their lives such as: age, ethnicity, background, education, and sexual orientation, to name a few.

These multiple dimensions are weaved into all life experiences, and I will talk a little bit again going back to how we felt as communities when the tragedy struck. It hit the families, devastated the families, will forever devastate the families. Not just the families of the victims but the families of the abusers and the entire community was taken aback, and I do not know if we will ever really full recover. The aura in the community, the sadness, the fear, it was prevalent everywhere you went and the pain will never ever, ever be forgotten. We have to, as a society and as a people, commit to never allow these types of situations to ever happen in our communities again.

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that governments alone cannot put an end to violence in our society. Each and every one of us has a role to play. Violence destroys people, relationships and families. As I said throughout my speech today, it has devastating long-term effects on its victims and their families. However, what is most important and why we are discussing this today and why we are bringing in initiatives to bring in awareness is because this violence is preventable. There is strong evidence to show that intervention can reduce and prevent violence.

I would like to take a moment here - many people, as we know, across this Province listen to this hon. House and the discussions we have. There is a very important message that I would like to portray here today and that is: In our role that each and every one of us has in preventing this violence, if you are a person who is being abused know that there are supports out there, know that there is help available to get, and please contact someone and try to remove yourself from the situation. If you know of someone who is being abused, let them know they do not have to live with it and that there is help if you look to the sources that are out there.

Also, if you know someone who is an abuser, let them know that you do not condone their behaviour and you will not tolerate such behaviour any longer. Look for the warning signs. It could be your sister, your mother, your cousin, your friend, someone very, very close to you. If someone you know and love is showing up with bruises that cannot be explained, or if they are becoming reclusive, drawing away from society, or if they are turning to substance abuse, a problem they never had their entire life, find out what is going on and help them escape the situation.

Another group I would like to speak to today, as we all play our role in preventing this, is if you are an abuser, stop, step back, take a good hard look at what you are doing, not just to the person you are hurting, but perhaps your children, to their families, to your very own family. The pain and suffering of our actions extend far beyond the individual that you are abusing. Seek professional help and turn your life around; save your life and someone else's.

Mr. Speaker, we have talked a lot today about violence against women, but that is not the only form of violence in our society. Violence also exists towards children, seniors and persons with disabilities. These are, perhaps, the most vulnerable groups in our society. The violence does not just have to be physical. It can be sexual, financial, verbal or emotional. It can occur in intimate relationships or it can occur between strangers. Again, we all have a role to play in putting a stop to it by letting society know, by letting people know that this type of behaviour is simply not acceptable.

I guess why we are focusing perhaps on women in particular today is because the statistics do tell us that violence against women tends to more severe and more frequent, with greater physical and physiological injuries.

I am very pleased, Mr. Speaker, that we have taken the time to put this motion on the floor of the House today as we continue to try and increase awareness to people of just how devastating the situation is. You may or may not have been touched by it in your life, but certainly you have a role to play in ensuring that this type of abuse ceases in our society.

The prevalence and severity of violence against women by their intimate partners in Newfoundland and Labrador cannot be tolerated. This issue will not be ignored in our Province, and we must continue to fight to prevent these violent acts from happening and to ensure that every woman is given a chance to live freely and in peace. It is essential that we all work together to support each other in our efforts to eliminate violence in this Province. We no doubt will have many challenges as we move forward, but there is no better goal than the one we are working towards – a safe and healthy province where all people can enjoy a wonderful quality of life.

So, as we discuss this motion here in the House today, and I have no doubt that this motion will pass unanimously, let's think about the women in our lives, let's think about the men in our lives, let's think about the people who are impacted by this tragic behaviour, violent and criminal behaviour, and let's all make an effort to do our part, each and every one of us, to put an end to this. To say: No, we do not tolerate it; no, we do not condone it. If we see it happening, let's each and every one of us do our part to put a stop to it.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER (Kelly): The Chair recognizes the hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.

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

I am quite pleased to stand this afternoon and to speak to the member's motion that is on the floor of the House today. I cannot think of anything that would be more important for us to deal with. There are many things that we do have to deal with in this House and all of them are of great import. Some of them economic, many social, but when it comes to violence, I think that we have to say it is the most important.

When we talk about violence between people, very often we do necessarily go immediately to thinking about violence against women because, unfortunately, in our society that is a core imbalance that exists in our society, and that is the imbalance between the genders, the imbalance, systemically, between men and women. We cannot talk about violence without talking about it in the context of the imbalance of power because all violence that takes place has to do with the imbalance of power. When we look at it between men and women, women have a much less unequal situation in society when it comes to men. When we look at violence against children, very often we are thinking of adults who are violent with children. Again, the adults are in a power situation. When we think of violence that happens sometimes between groups of people based on race or based on sexual orientation, again, it is always violence that is coming from an imbalance of power; one individual or one group feeling, for whatever reason, that they have more power than the other and they can exert that power.

Unfortunately in our society, and it has developed over centuries, we do have a society where we have systemic imbalance between men and women. We have been working hard in our society to deal with that; there is no doubt about it. We talk about it openly in our society and we talk about the need for equality of women with men, but unfortunately we know that in so many ways that inequality is there.

We have inequality that is based on access to money, so financial inequality. We have inequality based on positions that women can get in our society. We have inequality based on status in one society, what one is born into. There are just so many ways in which women are unequal to men in our society. It is very disturbing when we look at the reality in our own Province here in Newfoundland and Labrador, when we look at how that inequality of women is coming out in the high rates of assaults that we have in our Province.

The statistics, and some statistics were used here today, I will use a few more. The sexual assault rate in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2008 was 80.7 per 100,000 people. It is the highest rate in the Atlantic Provinces and it is higher than the national average, which is 64.5 out of 100,000. In the past twenty years alone in this Province, more than twenty women have been killed in a domestic homicide, and many, many more have been injured. We are lucky to have the shelters that we have in this Province. We have too few of them; we have way too few shelters.

The statistics I have ends in 2008. Just from 2007 to 2008, 1,107 women and children were admitted to emergency shelters that year. We do know that the shelters that exist are always filled to capacity, that there are times when they cannot take in anybody else. We also know that women and children in rural Newfoundland do not have the same access to protection that women in the more urban centres have. This is an unfortunate situation in our Province. We need more shelters for women when they get to a point when they realize they cannot take anymore and they are getting out and they need protection.

I applaud the educational aspect of the Violence Prevention Initiative. Increased education, increased awareness is absolutely essential, and I applaud all the ways in which the initiative is working. The government out there working with community groups, having the RNC involved, and having the justice system involved. It is really important that we have educational programs and programs to increase awareness.

All of those educational programs and awareness programs will not be sufficient and they are going to take a long time before programs like that will make a difference. So we have to continue to look to the victims of violence. While the Violence Prevention Initiative is ongoing, when we get to 2012, I am willing to bet – that is only two years away. I am willing to bet that our statistics are going to be no more different, I hate to say it, but no more different in 2012 than they are now because we are dealing with such a systemic problem in our society. It is not simple, it is extremely complicated.

We have to have more and more places where women can feel safe. We have to give more resources to the community groups who are out there trying to create the safe places. I know government has increased funding to the women's centres in each of the Budgets recently. I think $20,000 per centre every year for the last few Budgets, but that is nothing in comparison to the needs that are out there. I think government does have hand in hand - along with the Violence Prevention Initiative, hand in hand has to deal with the fact that we need more resources out there to help the victims that exist.

We cannot get away from using the word violence. I heard one of the speakers today speak to the ads that are part of the Violence Prevention Initiative. The ads are good. There is stuff about them, but the ads are good. The one thing that really strikes me about the ad, and I asked the minister to watch the ads with this sort of ear and or eye. That the audio part of the ad never indicates in any way that what the ad is dealing with is violence against women. It does say at the very end: and respect women, I will teach him to respect women. On the screen, violence against women is written, but you do not hear the words violence against women. I personally believe that those ads are too subtle. I think that we have to be more direct in recognizing what violence against women means. It is so much more than physical, because violence against women, violence against children, violence against man on man, it is physical, it is sexual, it is psychological.

You can have a woman in a family situation who has never been physically hit once, but is just as victimized and just as violated as a woman who has been physically beaten every day, because sometimes the psychological violence is even worse than the physical violence. All of it is terrible. We cannot tolerate any of it. So, we have to make sure that we have adequate resources out there in the community to deal with the victims. We know that we do not have enough. We still have some areas where women who have been victimized are placed on a six-month waiting list for counselling. That is not adequate. Sometimes it could be that the woman who is a victim is not getting counselling as quickly as the person who has been incarcerated. I am not saying that is always the case but I do know that victims are waiting for counselling.

We need more trained sexual assault nurses in our health care facilities, because it is a very special situation and you have to have people who understand what is going on inside the victim when they have gotten to the point where they have been able to run away from a violent situation. So, it is like with everything else in our society, if we are really going to deal with it, then we have to have specialists deal with it. Not everybody can deal with violence. You take, for example, if you had a nurse in a health care facility, a female nurse, who herself had experienced violence. She might very well not be able to cope with somebody coming in who has come out of violence, especially if the nurse herself has not been able to deal with the violence in her own life. So it is very complex, all the resources that need to be in place in order to help the victims.

We also have to look at all the supports that are needed that we are slowly working on. One of the things in the initiative I know that I am very, very pleased about, one of the things that has happened because of the initiative is that the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation does support transitional housing and long-term housing for those in need or for victims of violence. I do know, in our office, that there are times that my constituency assistant has been able to get a unit from NLHC very quickly because the woman is coming out of a violent situation and they will allow that person to move to the top of the list. That is extremely important that that kind of thing has started to happen.

We need to increase more and more the opportunities for those who are coming out of violence. That is why looking at affordable housing is such an important issue because so many women coming out of violent situations that is what they need and that is what they are looking for. While Newfoundland and Labrador Housing does have this policy, there is the problem that in St. John's somebody might be able to get a unit more quickly than a woman in a rural area. So, the housing issue is very serious.

Also, having a child care program, sometimes the women who are stuck in violence - there are all kinds of reasons why they do not get out of it. One is the financial; another is the feeling of helplessness and part of the helplessness might be being tied with children to the house. If we had a child care program in general, a full child care program as some other provinces have, then women would have more freedom and would be more able to deal with their own situations. They would be safer and their children would be safer. Some of them are tied to being in the house not being able - they do not have a lot of money, but they cannot go out to work because we do not have a child care program. It is something where everything is all caught up together. It is not one issue. All the issues are all interconnected.

Another one is minimum wage where women have been the majority of people receiving minimum wage. It is very important that we continue increasing minimum wage, indexing minimum wage and making sure that women who are working in low paying jobs - because there will always be women working in low paying jobs - have better paying jobs so that they have the financial ability to leave an abusive situation.

The other thing I would just like to mention quickly - and I will be able to do it within my time - is the need for the Department of Justice and the judicial system to be involved in looking at violence against women. The department is involved, of course, in the Violence Prevention Initiative, but we still do not have a judicial system that understands well enough the – I do not want to say the punishment, but what is needed when somebody has been charged with a crime of violence against – whether it is a woman, whether it is against their children or whatever it is. I am not talking about vengeance, but I am talking about there has to be adequate sentences and adequate programs to deal with these people so that they will not continue being violent people. There are times when the community sometimes is not satisfied with sentences that are brought down.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, if I may, I would like to say that this is one of the reasons why I asked the minister to become stronger with regard to the issue of the pretrial centre in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Some of the women who are going into that, who themselves have been charged with something, have probably been women - and I know there have been - who themselves have been abused, have been in violent situations and are reacting to those violent situations. Then, to further abuse them by taking them out of their culture, making them come down here to the Island (inaudible) –

MR. SPEAKER: I remind the hon. member that her time for speaking has expired.

MS MICHAEL: If I may have leave to just clue up, Mr. Speaker?

MR. SPEAKER: By leave to clue up?

AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible) all the time you want.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much. I have just been given all of the time I want, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to finish on this point. I think we need to see that pretrial - we need to see the proposed pretrial centre in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, not so much in terms of corrections, but in terms of creating a safe place for women who probably have come out of a very unsafe place. It will be found, probably, that the performance of a criminal act has been in the context of herself being in an unsafe place.

Allowing them to feel safe, allowing them to feel comfortable, allowing them to feel that they are not being assaulted when they are in that pretrial situation, in that holding situation, is extremely important and I ask the minister to think about that as she sits around the Cabinet table and speaks to this issue.

I am very pleased, Mr. Speaker, to support this motion. I do, but I support it in the context of the broader issues that I have talked about and which I encourage the minister to continue looking at as she continues to work with others around the Violence Prevention Initiative.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: The Chair recognizes the Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

Mr. Speaker, I am certainly pleased to be able to stand today and provide some commentary on this particular motion brought forward by my colleague, the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, in support of government's Violence Prevention Initiative – the VPI – which urges all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to do their part in making our society a safer place by taking responsibility to condemn violence against women and promote non-violent behaviours in all ages.

I hesitated, Mr. Speaker, as I stood to find the right word because while I said that I was pleased to stand, I am also in some sense disappointed that we have to do this at this point in our history. It is a sad day when we still have to stand up and make the case against violence against women, against children, against the vulnerable in our society, Mr. Speaker. It is certainly still a sad day. However, that day is still with us and so, therefore, I am pleased to do my part to speak out and to add to this debate here this afternoon.

The Violence Prevention Initiative that has been launched by WPO, by the Women's Policy Office, is certainly one that I think all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are aware of at this point, particularly as a result of some of the initiatives in terms of ads and awareness campaigns and so on, but it is also an initiative that reflects government's commitment to address this particular problem of violence in the Province and, in particular, violence against women. While I do not need to go back and reiterate all that was said by my colleagues here in the House this afternoon about the horrific cases that we all know about, about the number of incidents of violence that still occur, it is a sobering thought and it is something that we can never forget in this House; it is something that we have to constantly remind ourselves about.

The vision of the Violence Prevention Initiative is that women, children and youth, Aboriginal women and children, seniors, persons with disabilities and others who are victims of violence because of race, or ethnicity, or sexual orientation, or economic status will face less violence and live and work in communities where violence is considered unacceptable. Mr. Speaker, that is really the message that we have to get out there, that violence in any form is absolutely and completely unacceptable.

The VPI, the Violence Prevention Initiative, adopted six strategic priorities in its attempt to ensure that that message gets out there and that we are responsive to that message. I will not go through all six of the strategic priorities but there are a couple I think bear mentioning here this afternoon. One is in terms of increasing awareness and attitude change. My colleague, the Member for Topsail, addressed that, as did several other colleagues who spoke here this afternoon, about this business of drawing attention to the violence that still exists and making sure that people are aware. That we cannot put our heads in the sand, that violence still very much is part of this society and is very much something that we have to address, we have to stand up against.

Much of what we know about violence is that it is a reflection of inequality. Therefore, it is an attitude change quite often that has to happen. I am very, very supportive of the ads that we have all seen on television. I recognize that several people here today have spoken about those particular ads. It is about changing the attitude completely so that our young boys, our sons, our brothers, our uncles, our fathers, husbands, whoever out there understand that first and foremost we have to learn to respect - respect everyone for sure, but respect women particularly. That is an attitude change that still unfortunately needs to be taught and it has to be taught from a very young age.

Mr. Speaker, the focus of what I want to talk about today though has to do with increasing community participation in the fight against violence. We have all heard the expression that it takes a village to raise a child. Well, in this fight against violence then we certainly know that it will take the whole community to ensure that this particular aspect of our society is done away with, is eradicated, that violence is forever forgotten. It will take the whole community.

The focus of the VPI as it relates to increasing community partnership has been to address ourselves to several different aspects of society. First of all, Mr. Speaker, in increasing community participation we encourage collaboration across departments here in government, and that is a very important piece. To ensure that the lens that we put on every policy that is developed, the lens that we put on every program that is developed within government has the focus, has the lens of ensuring that violence prevention is always first and foremost and uppermost in the development of that particular policy.

As we work across government within interdepartmental domains then it is very important that we include the Department of Justice in whatever it is we are doing; that we look at the RNC; that we look at the RCMP as partners in this particular fight; that we look at the Department of Health and Community Services, and we are inclusive there, particularly with respect to our regional health authorities, policies that they are undertaking, initiatives that they are undertaking; the Department of Education; my Department of Human Resources, Labour and Employment. There are many, many departments across government, and certainly I think we have made that attempt. I know; I sit on the Violence Prevention Initiative as part of the Women's Policy Office representing my department there. We are very concerned, very supportive of the initiative. Very concerned that whatever policies we are adopting, whatever programs and services we are putting in place, we are also very mindful of those who are victims of violence, those who are perpetrators of violence as well, as we start to implement and put together our new strategies and programs.

Further to that, when we are talking about community partnerships. Of course, we have to consider our provincial organizations, and I am very happy to say that there are so many provincial organizations out there that are so supportive and play a great role in the fight against violence against women and children: particularly the Provincial Advisory Council on the Status of Women; not only the Provincial Advisory Council, but our local advisory councils as well. I know that I cannot say enough positive about the good work of the Status of Women council out in my area, Central Newfoundland, and the wonderful work they do. The partnerships that they have forged as well with the community against violence with that particular regional co-ordinating committee out there, has been phenomenal. It is exactly that. It is working hand in hand, one with another, that we are able to make that progress forward. That is why, again, that particular initiative of increasing community partnership is so important.

There are other provincial organizations out there as well, Mr. Speaker, who do amazing work for us. Newfoundland and Labrador Sexual Assault Crisis and Prevention Centre, the Transition House Association of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Seniors Resource Centre of Newfoundland and Labrador, Citizen's Crime Prevention Association, and so on. We could list out all kinds of other provincial organizations. As well, there are community stakeholders out there who do tremendous work. Again, it is that notion of understanding that we have to work together as a Province, as a people, if we are really going to combat violence and eradicate it totally.

I would look to groups, for example, the Coalition of Persons with Disabilities, who have been an inordinate support to us as we try to understand violence and where the issues are; The Canadian Mental Health Association; Canadian Red Cross; Community Youth Network as well. It is amazing what we are able to learn from our Community Youth Network as they work with our young people here in the Province as well and express their concerns and share their stories around violence.

In all of these areas, we work with other governments as well. We work with the Nunatsiavut Government, we work with the Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation, with Innu Nation, the Federation of Newfoundland Indians and so on. There are many, many groups with whom we work but that is just the focus that it is this notion that we all have a role to play, and as individuals in this Province we too have a role to play.

I heard my colleague from Fortune Bay-Cape la Hune make reference to the fact that every individual, if they are aware of violence, if they suspect violence, everybody has a role to play here and that is the absolute only way that violence is going to be eradicated from this society. If we are leaving it to one organization, if we are leaving it to one group, then that is not the way that it is going to be combated here in the Province. We all have a role to play, Mr. Speaker.

Leadership roles that are provided through our regional co-ordinating committees are very, very important. They provide information, they do referrals, they provide public education, they do training and outreach. I know that, again, the Member for Fortune Bay-Cape la Hune made reference to the Silent Witness Project that happens in the Gander area. It is a project that I find really touching to see those silhouettes, the silhouettes in red, to understand that they represent a young woman who has been killed in this Province or a woman who has been killed in this Province. It is a very sobering experience, Mr. Speaker, and I see the Member for Gander nodding as I make reference to that. He too understands the power of that particular project that has been undertaken actually by - I think it is called the Central West Regional Coordinating Committee.

Another of the projects that I find extremely powerful is the Montreal Massacre National Day of Remembrance. I know that in my area - and the Member for Gander again is nodding - that is a very powerful event where we remember those young women from L'Ιcole Polytechnique who were gunned down, who were massacred for no other reason than they were female. I know, Mr. Speaker, it is a personal experience, but I have attended many of those events. My sister-in-law attended one event with me, and she is an artist and a very good artist, and she was so moved by that particular experience that she went home and she painted single roses, and the next year presented them to the Community Against Violence, to that committee as a means of honouring those young women. It was a very moving, a very touching experience. Those roses, they are not all red. They are different coloured roses, represent those young women. They hang now in the centre in the Communities Against Violence office out in Grand Falls-Windsor - very, very poignant.

Mr. Speaker, coming from Central Newfoundland, I would be remiss if I did not make mention of the wonderful work that the Central West Committee Against Violence does in its fight against violence, the number of workshops that they hold and the number of events that they hold - absolutely phenomenal. In terms of raising awareness about violence and how we all have to wager in and be part of the war against violence, I cannot say enough about the great work that they do. One of the things is they have sponsored a play on family violence that is called Broken Hearts, Broken Homes. If you have not seen that play, I would encourage everyone to see I t. There is a DVD, as well, that is used in our schools. There is a development instructional guidebook, as well, for use in our schools. That particular play was written and directed by a local playwright Shirley Morrow. It explores the lives of teenagers affected by alcoholism and family violence. A very, very powerful piece and I would encourage anyone who has not seen it to do so.

One of the things that I think I should mention - and I am watching the clock because I do not want to run out of time – is when we talk about quest for justice and rights of victims. One of the most powerful speakers that I have ever had the privilege of listening to in my lifetime was Nellie Nippard. Nellie Nippard was the victim of violence, in fact, she was left for dead - an amazing story. Her courage has really directed a lot of us, particularly those in Central Newfoundland who knew of Nellie.

The Central West Committee Against Violence supports various organizations and takes part in many events to advocate and be a voice for various issues. One example, in particular, has to do with Nellie Nippard. She fought, tirelessly, to have the right to be able to appear and the right to be able to speak at parole hearings. The right would provide victims with a voice in their struggle to express the impact of violence on them and their families.

Mr. Speaker, after many, many years this right was finally granted thanks to the courageous work of Nellie Nippard. It was granted, sadly, two months after Nellie passed away however. The Central West Committee Against Violence continues to work daily in the promotion of that right and continues to work daily in encouraging others to attend such parole hearings and so on. Nellie could not attend her husband's parole board hearing in 2007, but our Central West Committee Against Violence did attend on her behalf and offered some support.

Mr. Speaker, there is so much more that we can say about violence – and I realize that I am running out of time. I had hoped to talk about some of the initiatives that this government has undertaken as well. Many of them have already been outlined. Suffice it to say that significant dollars since we have been involved in government in 2003 have been expended in the fight against violence – some 205 per cent increase, as a matter of fact, in our total commitment in violence prevention; $12 million invested in the VPI itself.

MR. SPEAKER: I remind the hon. member that her time for speaking has expired.

MS SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will clue up (inaudible).

MR. SPEAKER: Leave to clue up?

AN HON. MEMBER: By leave.

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

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

There are a number of initiatives that I could outline but, again, the speakers before me have outlined those initiatives in terms of dollars spent and so on.

I will conclude by saying: Over the life of the Violence Prevention Initiative, we will continue our work to prevent violence against women and children and vulnerable parties in Newfoundland and Labrador. Too often women are harmed by men and the police must be called after the fact. I am calling on all of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador to help prevent violence against women before it starts, and I am calling on everyone to reach out and take action because, as I have tried to highlight throughout this fifteen minutes, it is precisely that, it is about increasing participation in the whole of the community that will make a difference in the fight against violence.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS BURKE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I wanted to take a few minutes as well to address the very serious issue that we are debating here in the House this afternoon, and I want to pick up right where the hon. Member for Grand Falls-Windsor-Buchans just left off about the collaborative approach that needs to be taken in order for us to really make any inroads to reduce violence in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, the whole Violence Prevention Initiative that we have is across all government departments. There is a ministerial committee that oversees the Violence Prevention Initiative because the Violence Prevention Initiative permeates so many different departments of government. Mr. Speaker, it is certainly something that we have to deal with in the school systems, and we have the Minister of Education on the ministerial committee. People who work at the school boards certainly serve on the regional co-ordinating committees of our Violence Prevention Initiative.

One of the main areas that they deal with the schools all the time is the whole issue around bullying. It gets at the real heart of violence when we deal with young people and children because it is at that age that attitudes are formed and sometimes, unfortunately, negatives attitudes can be formed for life. It is young people who are exposed to violence, who see violence as a way of solving problems and who grow up in violent environments that feel that as they get older this is a way to deal and this is a way to cope with situations. So, it starts at a very young age and our Violence Prevention Initiative certainly addresses that.

Mr. Speaker, it certainly gets at issues, as highlighted by many of colleagues here in the hon. House this afternoon regarding women, because as much as others can be victims of violence, women, unfortunately, continue to be victims. We also heard from the Member for Topsail who spoke and certainly has a very strong background in policing and is very well aware of the issues of violence in Newfoundland and Labrador, that in recent years, unlike other provinces, there has been an increase in violence or reported violence against women.

You would certainly ask the question: Well, if we have a six-year Violence Prevention Initiative and we have invested $12 million into this strategy, why is it that we are having more reported incidents of violence in Newfoundland and Labrador? Mr. Speaker, I think what happens is that we develop an awareness. We develop awareness around violence. People begin to understand what it is, why it is unacceptable and what resources are there to assist people. If people feel there are no resources available, they are certainly not going to come forward and ask for help or support or try to get away from a violent relationship.

As outlined by the hon. Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, and the member who represents Torngat Mountains, who has a district with probably more challenges in the area of violence than any other member in this House - when you hear the Member for Torngat Mountains speak about the fact that women stay in violent relationships knowing that there is going to be continued violence, knowing that they are going to be victims, but the alternative is to leave and there is no option to leave because if they leave, they feel more at risk. We have to make sure, as a Province, that we have sufficient resources or supports in place so that when women do leave violent relationships they feel supported.

One very strong initiative from this government is the fact that we have continued to invest in transition services, transition houses for women. It is very reassuring to know that these services are now available in Nain, in Rigolet and in Hopedale. Mr. Speaker, when I first became a minister in 2003, within the first year, I had the portfolio of being Minister Responsible for the Status of Women and in the summer of 2004 I had the opportunity to travel to Coastal Labrador; I travelled with the Premier on that particular trip. My main reason for visiting Coastal Labrador at that time was to be able to meet with the women who lived in Coastal Labrador in the communities and who worked or were attached to various women's groups in those communities.

We knew at that time that we had overwhelming challenges to address violence, particularly in the Aboriginal communities and women who were in isolated communities. Since then, we have developed a number of services and supports, whether it is the Aboriginal Women's Conference that has been held annually since 2004, whether it is the investment we have made in the transition services, whether it is more policing services that we have in Coastal Labrador. All of these services help, but more importantly, Mr. Speaker, the biggest change that we have seen since 2007 to help us do the analysis and realize what needs to be done for the women of Newfoundland and Labrador, but in particularly in our Coastal Labrador region, is the fact that we have the hon. Member for Torngat Mountains, who is an Inuit woman, who is a woman who knows that area, who knows the social problems; she was born there, she was raised there, she can speak eloquently to what is going on. Her deep analysis has added to the discussion at the Cabinet table, it adds to every policy we have in government, and, Mr. Speaker, this is one initiative and one policy area that is extremely important for us. We all have our views and we all understand that collaborative approach is necessary but when we actually have an Aboriginal woman from Coastal Labrador, and I believe the first Inuit woman from Labrador who ever sat in this House of Assembly and at the Cabinet table, and the input that she puts into initiatives like this is absolutely invaluable.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS BURKE: It has certainly been through the advocacy of the Member for Torngat Mountains that led to additional police services in Postville, to the continuation of the Aboriginal Women's Conferences -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS BURKE: - to the transition services that are going into Rigolet.

Mr. Speaker, I realize the time this afternoon and that we have to end the debate so we can have the closing comment from the member who spoke first to the motion and put the motion forward here in the House of Assembly.

I guess my closing comments that I want to make is the fact that we have put the spotlight on the need to prevent violence since 2003. We have a $12 million initiative over six years. We certainly respect the collaborative approach. We have ten regional co-ordinating committees across Newfoundland and Labrador and we also want to make sure that we put more emphasis on this through our social marketing campaigns and in particular, during the month of February.

Mr. Speaker, another very important initiative that will help us reduce violence, and I will be speaking about it in detail as the House continues, is the development of the new Department of Child, Youth and Family Services.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I certainly want to express my support for the motion that was put forward by the Member for Torngat Mountains and I fully expect that this government will continue in the areas of violence prevention and we will certainly be able to make very real investments that will yield results in years down the road.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Chair recognizes the hon. the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS POTTLE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I must say, I truly appreciate the comments that came from the Leader of the Official Opposition, the comments that came from the Leader of the New Democratic Party, comments from my colleagues here on this side of the House, from St. George's-Stephenville East, from Grand Falls-Windsor-Buchans, and from Fortune Bay-Cape la Hune.

I especially appreciate the comments from my colleague from Topsail, being a male colleague and showing his support towards this initiative of ending violence against women in our Province. He spoke about the successes of our Respect Women Campaign. This is a campaign that is primarily targeting men, so it was very fitting for him to talk about it; a campaign that has been encouraging all men to take responsibility for preventing violence against women; a campaign that demonstrates a unique approach to violence prevention; a campaign that highlights men as role models who play a key role in shaping the beliefs, values and attitudes of our sons, our grandsons, nephews, brothers. If our younger boys are taught to respect women, especially by men who are role models, using men as our role models, then we have tackled a major obstacle in preventing violence against women in the future as these boys become men. It is all about learned behaviour, Mr. Speaker. Teach them right from wrong, teach them to respect women, and I thank my hon. colleague for his input.

Mr. Speaker, as a government it is important that we stay vigilant in addressing the root causes of violence against women in this Province and providing leadership and education and awareness on the topic in all regions of our Province; our vast Province, Mr. Speaker. While I am pleased with the work happening throughout the Province to prevent violence against women and other vulnerable populations, as my colleague from Grand Falls-Windsor-Buchans stated, it is very unfortunate that we have to do this here today; but it is needed, it is important and we must do it.

It is very difficult to stand here and talk about violence against women when you have flashes of family and friends who encounter it on a regular basis. So I appreciate all the support that my colleagues have provided here and their input.

More importantly, I want to thank the women's community for raising the importance of preventing violence against women in our communities. Without them we would not have our shelters and our transitions houses, our women's centres, or even our Violence Prevention Initiative.

So thank you very much to all of the women out there, especially women who play a role and are members of the Newfoundland Aboriginal Women's Network. Part of their mandate is to prevent violence against women. They offer workshops, they spread the message; they are doing some great work there. They develop programs and services that address priority issues identified by the membership of NAWN, such as violence, poverty, cultural, wellness and economic well-being.

We have the Nunatsiavut Government, and I want to thank them for partnering and welcoming the $125,000 that was announced in this year's Budget for capacity building for the Inuit women in our five communities up on the North Coast of Labrador. So I thank them for their support there.

I want to thank women who are involved with the holistic wellness getaway workshop which was held by the Labrador Metis Nation. It was a workshop that was developed - a project was developed for networking, a communication tool where community members become familiar with the resources and services that are available to them regarding violence and abuse - very important, Mr. Speaker.

I want to thank the participants from the Flat Bay Indian Band for their initiative on Virtual Violence Prevention. The idea is to create an interactive Web site that educates and encourages the membership and public about violence prevention and traditional preventive and healing solutions. Like I mentioned earlier, the St. John's Native Friendship Centre held a workshop called Standing Strong. I want to thank them for showing their interest in this and helping move this forward for the Aboriginal people who reside in our urban centre here on the Avalon Peninsula.

We had some other workshops that the Nunatsiavut Government put off this past year, and I want to thank them for that. They had workshops that were designed to empower women by building leadership and business skills. They had a retreat for Inuit women to gather on the land in an environment that is safe to participate in an activity that reflects the strength of Inuit culture that promotes well-being, violence prevention, and ways of supporting others. They also had presentations on sexual assault crises. So I want to thank them for the education they are providing their membership.

I want to thank the women from the Sheshatshiu Innu Band Council for their participation in the healing journey, an information session about preventing violence in a home situation. Everything we do across this Province is very important to ending violence.

I want to thank the women's centres in Newfoundland and Labrador for all the work the work they do, for addressing the concerns of women in our Province and providing support to our women.

A great big thank you to the provincial Transition House Association of Newfoundland and Labrador; they are doing some great work. We approved, in our Budget this year, an additional $30,000 to bring their annual grant to $105,000. This additional funding will allow the association to expand and enhance its activities related to program development and training opportunities for shelter administration and staff – very important. In my home community, the women's group has gathered again and they want to reopen the shelter up there. They had some challenges, and I know that this group will help support and give them some guidance that is very much needed. The Newfoundland and Labrador association of shelters will also be completing a review of shelter standards and provide will enhanced services for the transition houses in Labrador.

I want to also thank the provincial Sexual Assault Crisis & Prevention Centre for all the work they do. This organization has been active in providing outreach and educational programs throughout the Province. Our ten regional violence prevention co-ordinating committees for all the work they do in advancing the issues of preventing violence.

We cannot forget about our immigrant women. They face some unique challenges in our society and are very vulnerable to violence due to cultural beliefs and situations. So I want to thank the Multicultural Women's Organization of Newfoundland and Labrador for the work they do.

The Provincial Advisory Council on the Status of Women and their legislated mandate is to advise the ministers in government, decision makers, on ways policies and programs needs to be changed to advance the status of women in Newfoundland and Labrador. They also have some funding to educate women and the public on the important status of women's issues in our society. So thank you very much for their thirty years of hard work.

I also want to mention before I clue up, Mr. Speaker – you may have noticed I am wearing my purple ribbon and what it means. Back in November, we all received our purple ribbons and we will get them again this year. The Purple Ribbon Campaign is a symbol for preventing violence against women. It is the memory of those women who lost their lives to violence, as well as the work that is being done to prevent violence against women. So each year in our Province, many organizations and agencies encourage women and men to wear purple ribbons beginning on November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. It ends on December 6, the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. So I encourage all citizens in this great Province, come November, when you hear it, please wear your purple ribbons. I am sure all my colleagues in this House will do the same.

One other thing that I want to mention is the new initiative by government on the Family Violence Intervention Court. This is a specialized court. It is a pilot project that focuses upon treatment intervention to moderate risk offenders and supports other family members. The ultimate goal of the Family Violence Intervention Court is to break the cycle of family violence, which the family has experienced. Victim safety and offender accountability are paramount. This is a criminal court; however, it differs from traditional courts in the sense that the accused must plead guilty. The accused must consent to supervision by a probation officer, and must attend sixteen sessions of a counselling program to address family violence issues over eight weeks. This is prior to his sentencing. The victims may avail of counselling and have safety concerns addressed through a multi-disciplinary team from Victim Services, probation, defence, Crown, and Child, Youth and Family Services.

So, Mr. Speaker, we have some good work happening in our Province. We have some great support out there from our women and our women's groups, and we are getting support from the men in our society. I appreciate it and thank everyone for that, but there is still a long way to go. As we heard from some statistics, everything is still not great, but awareness, education, and acknowledging that there is violence in our society is going to help eliminate violence in our Province.

So, Mr. Speaker, I am pleased with the work and expenditures of the Women's Policy Office, the Provincial Advisory Council on the Status of Women, our Violence Prevention Initiative, the women's councils, the ten regional violence prevention co-ordinating committees, the Aboriginal women's organizations, and our other provincial partners in the work that they do to advance the status of women and prevent violence in Newfoundland and Labrador.

So, in 2010, this is important work that we must continue, and I call upon your support.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER (Fitzgerald): Order, please!

Is the House ready for the question?

Shall the private member's resolution as put forward by the hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains and the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs carry?

All those in favour, ‘aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The resolution is carried unanimously.

On motion, resolution carried unanimously.

MR. SPEAKER: This being Private Members' Day and the business of the House being concluded, before I adjourn the House I call on the hon. the Government House Leader.

MS BURKE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I just want to remind the hon. members that the Government Services Committee will review the Estimates of the Department of Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs at 5:30 this afternoon.

MR. SPEAKER: This House now stands adjourned until 1:30 of the clock tomorrow, being Thursday.

This House is now adjourned.