July 23, 2019
HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS
Vol. XLIX No. 11
The
House met at 1:30 p.m.
MR. SPEAKER (Trimper):
Admit strangers, please.
Order,
please!
I would
like to welcome all of my colleagues back to this House of Assembly, and while
it's an unusual time of the year for us to be sitting, it certainly is a great
opportunity for me to introduce a few key people who are joining us today.
First of
all, to my right is a very new Page for us. She's been serving as a tour guide
for us this summer in bilingual capacity. This is Claire Dowden, she's from St.
John's. She's studying at Memorial University, completing an arts degree with a
double major in Communication Studies and English Language and Literature.
Welcome
Claire as our new Page.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Also, I'm well accompanied by
Lauren and Elizabeth. Thanks to my Pages for showing up in the middle of the
summer.
Special
guests in the Speaker's gallery today; we have joining us for a Member's
statement, first of all, Special Olympian Joshua Gardner, and joining him is
Michelle Rye-Gardner.
Welcome
to you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you, colleagues.
Also
joining us in the Speaker's gallery, no stranger to this province, Mr. Woodrow
French. He's the former mayor of Conception Bay South, and he's here for a
Member's statement. And he's joined by Wayne Miller, who's an Order of
Newfoundland and Labrador recipient and a veteran of our Canadian Forces.
Welcome
to you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
Statements by
Members
MR. SPEAKER:
For Members' statements today
we will hear from the Members for the Districts of St. George's - Humber; Mount
Scio; Stephenville - Port au Port; Conception Bay South; and Grand Falls-Windsor
- Buchans.
The hon.
the Member for St. George's - Humber.
MR. REID:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
When
Princess Anne made her royal visit to the grounds of Grenfell Campus of Memorial
University in Corner Brook in 2016, she helped unveil the bronze sculpture of
the infamous Danger Tree, the iconic symbol of the Battle of Beaumont-Hamel
where hundreds of young men from the Royal Newfoundland Regiment were killed.
This
past week additions to the Danger Tree site were unveiled. A statue of Private
Hugh Walter McWhirter of Humbermouth, who was the first person from the province
to be killed in World War I.
A bench
was also unveiled to commemorate the contributions of the Newfoundland Forestry
Corps in World War I and the Newfoundland Overseas Forestry Unit in World War
II. Both these additions to the Danger Tree site were created by Corner Brook
sculptor, Morgan McDonald.
I ask
all Members of this House to join me in commending David Higgins and other
members of the Forget-Me-Not Committee and the people of Grenfell Campus of
Memorial University for the important work they're doing in recognizing the
sacrifice of our war veterans.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
The hon.
the Member for Mount Scio.
MS. STOODLEY:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Today,
I'd like to recognize the Rabbittown Community Centre in my District of Mount
Scio, which has amazing programming for children and families.
Earlier
in July, both local residents and staff of the community centre were concerned
about traffic speed. In consultation with stakeholders, the centre took a
leadership role and engaged their summer camp students and local community in
painting a colourful and majestic tree over a large area of the road. The
artwork was designed to be visible to drivers and to slow traffic.
The tree
is made up of big puzzle pieces, and students and local residents participated
by painting a piece or leaving a handprint. Constituents I visited nearby were
delighted to have been offered the opportunity to leave their mark.
In
particular, I'd like to recognize the leading artist, Stephanie Poirier, who
works at the centre and the hard work of Executive Director Lillian Lush who
lends her leadership, energy and vision into the Rabbittown Community Centre
every day. This community centre runs year-round programming for children and
families and is an exemplary organization.
Please
join me in congratulating the Rabbittown Community Centre for their creativity
and ingenuity in leading such a thoughtful project which has proven to be
effective in slowing traffic.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for the
District of Stephenville - Port au Port.
MR. WAKEHAM:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The
Stephenville Theatre Festival is now in its 41st year, the longest running
professional theatre company in this province. This season opened on July 12
with a performance of Green Day's “American Idiot” and will conclude with the
Stephenville Theatre's Gala on August 11, 2019.
The
festival's mission has always been to enrich the economic, artistic and cultural
sectors of the Town of Stephenville, along with the whole province, and become
an anchor event for tourism in and around the Bay St. George area.
The hard
work and dedication of the cast, artistic director, volunteers and
administration with this organization is second to none. The Stephenville
Festival experience is unique, in that it offers a distinctive performance of
works that entertain, engage and enlighten audiences young and old alike.
I ask
all hon. Members of the House to join me in congratulating the Stephenville
Theatre Festival in its 41st season.
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for the
District of Conception Bay South.
MR. PETTEN:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr.
Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge a very proud resident of my district and
someone who fought hard to make a difference in the lives of many air
travellers; his advocacy, determination and unwillingness to take no for an
answer was very commendable.
I speak
of none other than Mr. Woodrow French, former mayor of Conception Bay South, the
driving force and the person responsible for the passenger Bill of Rights
becoming a reality. Mr. Speaker, phase one of this new Bill of Rights was
brought into effect on July 15, with phase two being implemented in December of
this year.
This
bill came as a result of hard lobbying by Woodrow to improve the lives of many
travellers who experienced frustration with dealing with various airlines, as
Woodrow seen and experienced himself.
Since
2006, Woodrow has been advocating for airline changes for consumers and, just
recently, the federal government passed this legislation in the House of
Commons. This has led to the passenger Bill of Rights which will improve air
travel and make sure people are treated with the respect they deserve.
Mr.
Speaker, I ask all hon. Members to join with me in congratulating Mr. Woodrow
French on making this Bill of Rights a reality.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
The hon.
the Member for Grand Falls-Windsor - Buchans.
MR. TIBBS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I rise
in this hon. House today to pay tribute to Mr. Joshua Gardner. Joshua is a
decorated Special Olympian of five years who competes in swimming, track and
field and curling, where he and the rest of his team, the Exploits Hurricanes
Hot Shots – Margaret McNeil, Gary Wicks, Kim O'Neil and Tony Krytsis – have won
Team of the Year for Newfoundland and Labrador. Joshua has qualified to
represent Team Newfoundland and Labrador as the skip for curling at the 2020
National Games in Thunder Bay.
Joshua
has graduated high school and now attends College of the North Atlantic. From
there, he hopes to mentor and advocate for Special Olympians throughout the
province. This year, Joshua was named Male Athlete of the Year for Newfoundland
and Labrador.
I had
the pleasure of volunteering at this year's Special Olympics in Grand
Falls-Windsor. I have come to learn what the word special truly means. Special
does not define these athletes' inabilities. Instead, it defines their ability
to overcome life's greatest challenges and play for the love of the game and
respect for their fellow athletes.
Please
join me as we honour Mr. Joshua Gardner, Newfoundland and Labrador's Male
Athlete of the Year.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you. Well done!
Statements by Ministers.
Statements by
Ministers
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Justice and Public Safety.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Mr. Speaker, today, with
great sadness, we mark the passing of a man who was instrumental in the
evolution of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary.
Retired
Chief Robert Johnston was highly admired by all who knew him. Described by
colleagues as a devoted officer and mentor, he embodied all the characteristics
of a great officer; he was brave but gentle, kind but confident. He was a born
leader who joined the RNC in 1979 and served as Chief between 2010 and 2014
after working his way through the ranks – testament to his hard work and the
respect he garnered from all corners.
Mr.
Johnston passed away July 8, 2019 after a courageous battle with brain cancer.
As during his policing career, he lived with positivity and courage after his
diagnosis, giving hope to survivors throughout his 22-month battle. He will be
remembered for his strength and contribution to the province.
Mr.
Speaker, today, together with all hon. Members of this House and on behalf of
the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, we send condolences to his wife Gloria,
daughters Amanda and Sarah, his mother Inez and his extended family at the RNC.
I hope that they can take comfort in knowing the profound impact that Mr.
Johnston had on this province.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you very much.
The hon.
the Leader of the Official Opposition.
MR. CROSBIE:
Mr. Speaker, I thank the
minister. It is with great respect that I stand here today and pay tribute to
Mr. Johnston on behalf of the Official Opposition. Mr. Johnston served our
province with dignity, courage, compassion and devotion. He exemplified these
characteristics which we've come to expect from members of the RNC. Mr. Johnston
was a truly remarkable and deserving choice to serve as Chief. As the minister
recognized, Mr. Johnston passed away earlier this month.
On
behalf of the Official Opposition, I extend my deepest sympathies to his wife
Gloria, daughters Amanda and Sarah, his mother Inez, and his large circle of
friends and family. Mr. Johnston had a tremendous impact on this province for
which he will be fondly remembered and appreciated.
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Third Party.
MS. COFFIN:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I, too,
thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement. I also want to add our
condolences to the family of Robert Johnston. Chief Johnston was key in the
ongoing growth of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, helping to mould it into
the modern, professional organization it is today. He was a great officer who
served the public well over his long career.
It would
benefit all RNC officers, especially the new recruits, to reflect on Chief
Johnston's career and model their career on his. Our hearts go out to his family
and loved ones.
Thank
you for your service, Robert Johnston.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Further statements by
ministers?
The hon.
the Minister of Health and Community Service.
MR. HAGGIE:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I rise
in this hon. House to congratulate Eastern Health and their CEO David Diamond on
achieving communications excellence at the 2019 International Association of
Business Communicators' Pinnacle Awards, held on June 26, at the Alt Hotel in
St. John's.
Eastern
Health received three awards, which include Awards of Merit for their 2018
influenza public awareness campaign, and a staff recognition video entitled
EZ Belong. They also received an award
of excellence for their Health Innovations Fair.
In
addition to these awards, CEO David Diamond was recognized with the 2019 Award
of Excellence for Organizational Leader. This award is presented annually to an
individual who has demonstrated leadership, with a vision and commitment to
communications excellence.
Mr.
Diamond was nominated by communications staff, who say he has a solid and strong
presence, which has permeated every fibre of the work carried out within Eastern
Health.
To quote
one media relations manager at the organization: Dave is committed to honest and
open communication with staff, clients and residents Eastern Health serves. He
leads by example and inspires everyone to give 100 per cent.
I ask
all hon. Members to join me in congratulating Eastern Health and their CEO David
Diamond on receiving these prestigious awards.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Opposition House
Leader.
MR. BRAZIL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr.
Speaker, I join with the minister to offer congratulations to Eastern Health and
their CEO, David Diamond, on receiving three awards for communications
excellence at the 2019 Association of Business Communicators' Pinnacle Awards.
The CEO,
Mr. David Diamond, was the recipient of the 2019 Award of Excellence for
Organizational Leader. Mr. Diamond was nominated by the communications staff at
Eastern Health. He was praised for the high quality of work and commitment that
he brings to the job each and every day.
Mr.
Speaker, it always makes us so proud when members of our public service receive
the recognition they rightfully deserve. On behalf of the Official Opposition,
we extend our sincere congratulations and a sincere thank you.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
The hon.
the Leader of the Third Party.
MS. COFFIN:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I would
also like to thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement. Those of
us with long memories will recall the communications disaster which was the 2007
ER/PR scandal. I'm delighted to stand here today and praise Eastern Health for
how far they've come since those dark days. It is impressive to see Eastern
Health move from a harsh review with a judicial inquiry to winning three awards
of excellence in communications.
Congratulations to CEO Dave Diamond, his staff and the hard work of everyone at
Eastern Health involved in winning this award.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
If I
may, I would like to also chime in my congratulations and recognize that Mr.
David Diamond, the CEO for Eastern Health, is here with us today. Thank you for
coming, Sir.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Further statements by ministers?
The hon.
the Minister of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation.
MR. MITCHELMORE:
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to
recognize the incredible achievement of our very own Shallaway Youth Choir.
Just
recently, Shallaway became the first choir from the province to reach the final
round of the prestigious Seghizzi Choral Competition Grand Prix in Italy.
Competing against choirs of all ages and genres, Shallaway was awarded a third
overall finish.
Mr.
Speaker, on top of this significant achievement, Shallaway received two other
noteworthy accolades at the Grand Prix – a gold medal in the gospel category,
and a silver medal in contemporary music.
Congratulations to all the musicians in Shallaway's Camerata, as well as the
artistic director Kellie Walsh, collaborative pianist Leslee Heys and associate
director Jennifer Hart.
Shallaway is an internationally recognized and celebrated organization that is
dedicated to exploring, developing and celebrating cultural expression through
choral music. As ambassadors for our province, Shallaway has travelled the world
sharing music from Newfoundland and Labrador. Currently, the choir is still in
Italy, and will soon sing a full mass at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.
Mr.
Speaker, these young men and women are leaders of Newfoundland and Labrador, and
I ask all hon. Members to join me in recognizing Shallaway Youth Choir on their
incredible achievement.
Thank
you.
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. Member for Terra
Nova.
MR. PARROTT:
Mr. Speaker, I thank the
minister for an advance copy of his statement. On behalf of the Official
Opposition, I congratulate the Shallaway Youth Choir on their recent success at
the Seghizzi Choral Competition Grand Prix in Italy.
Mr.
Speaker, being awarded a third overall finish, a gold medal in the gospel
category and a silver medal in contemporary music is an outstanding achievement
and an accomplishment that the entire province should be proud of. The success
of Shallaway is a testament to the dedication and talent of Shallaway's members,
vocal coaches, musicians, volunteers and the staff who work tirelessly to share
the talent of our youngest artists throughout the world.
I
congratulate Shallaway on their recent success and wish them the best in their
future. This province is full of talent and it's fantastic to see this talent
recognized on the world stage.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
The hon.
the Member for the District of Labrador West.
MR. BROWN:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I, too,
thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement. Congratulations to
Shallaway Youth Choir on their award-winning performance and the importance of
international competition.
These
excellent singers and conductors have helped put Newfoundland and Labrador on
the map of choral music. Shallaway gives youth of this province an opportunity
to sing music from around the world, as well as traditional songs from this
province. Many graduates go on to have successful music careers and lifelong
choral memberships.
Thank
you so much.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
Further
statements by ministers?
Oral
Questions.
Oral Questions
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Official Opposition.
MR. CROSBIE:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
As you
would well know, the House was brought back today to vote on the appointment of
an Information and Privacy Commissioner. The report of the selection panel was
received on June 24 before the House closed.
Is the
Premier willing to explain why this appointment could not be made during the
last session in June?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
PREMIER BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The
Leader of the Opposition is very much aware of the meeting, because he was
actually in the room when the three leaders – the Leader of the Third Party, the
Leader of the Opposition – were participating in a discussion that would
normally occur based on this information.
Mr.
Speaker, at the time, we were not in a position to actually bring the resolution
to the House of Assembly. That is why we're here today doing the due diligence
on the information that was provided to us July 23. Working with the speaker
himself brought us back to where we are today.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
The hon.
the Leader of the Official Opposition.
MR. CROSBIE:
At the Muskrat Falls inquiry,
Mr. Speaker, the Premier said – quote – it was my intention to do wetland
capping – unquote – but that the government unintentionally missed the deadline.
The Premier also said he would investigate why the deadline was missed.
What is
the result of this investigation?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
PREMIER BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Well,
first of all, the inquiry, as we now know, was bringing forward some information
that I'm sure the Leader of the Opposition would consider by now that, as well
as working with his Members, if they had this information, probably we would not
even be in this situation today.
Yes, I
did testify. I spent two days there. A lot of information was shared, Mr.
Speaker. Like I said, at the inquiry, it came to my attention that the
pre-impoundment for wetland capping, when that came to Cabinet – this is all out
there publicly, and I've spoken to this at great length during the inquiry. It
came to our attention that it was approved in Cabinet. The resources and the
appropriation to continue on with wetland capping, the direction was given in
January. It was weeks after that we found that it could not be done, that the
window had closed.
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Official Opposition.
MR. CROSBIE:
Mr. Speaker, the Premier is
asking us to believe that everyone in government knew he wanted wetland capping
done and, somehow, it didn't get done.
In July
2018, Nalcor applied to the government to carry out wetland capping within the
reservoir of Muskrat Falls. This must be the first time in history that Nalcor
didn't get a permit it asked for.
Why did
the government defy Nalcor on an issue so important to Labradorians?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
PREMIER BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yes,
there was an amendment that came in. It would have been the fourth or fifth
amendment to that permit. I would say to the Leader of the Opposition that it
was very clear that that came in, in July of 2018. It gave a deadline of
December 1.
All of
this – I've said this and mentioned this at the inquiry, so this is not news
what we are saying today. This has been publicly discussed, and through the
inquiry, which was one of the good things, I will say, that this information is
now coming out. Unfortunately, we are finding out a lot of information that even
the Leader of the Opposition is still protecting, I would say, Mr. Speaker.
So, with
that said, the permit – I was not made aware of it, Mr. Speaker. This is not the
correspondence that would have come to the Premier's office. I had many, many
meetings that would have occurred during that time. This did not come up. Many
meetings with Nalcor, it did not come up. As a matter of fact, Stan Marshall
also said at the inquiry that he probably could have urged and asked on a more
regular basis of where this was.
This was
not intentional, Mr. Speaker. It was always my intention to do wetland capping.
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Official Opposition.
MR. CROSBIE:
Well, Mr. Speaker, in the
context of methylmercury and the capping, the Government of Nunatsiavut said
yesterday that the Premier has repeatedly betrayed their trust on reconciliation
issues.
Does the
Premier think trust with Indigenous peoples can be restored, and how does he
plan to do it?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
PREMIER BALL:
Mr. Speaker, when you look at
the IEAC and that formation, that was put in place simply because the previous
administration ignored this. You cannot forget, I would say to the Leader of the
Opposition, that it's the party that you now lead that missed this, missed the
opportunity and dismissed all of this prior to sanctioning. So let's not forget
how we got to where we are. It was this –
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
PREMIER BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Would
you want to repeat that out loud, I say to the Leader of the Opposition? I'll
give you the chance. Stand up and repeat what you just said.
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Official Opposition.
MR. CROSBIE:
I'm talking about now, not
the past.
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
PREMIER BALL:
Mr. Speaker, lessons of the
past are very important, and it's the reason why we're having this inquiry
today. That is the reason why the Muskrat Falls Project, Mr. Speaker, is 30 per
cent of the net debt of this province. That was not told to us by the previous
administration, but I want to get back to where we are today. I appreciate that.
The
Indigenous groups, Mr. Speaker, were brought to the table in October of 2016.
They were participating. Since that time, there's a considerable amount of data
that has been collected. All of this has been disclosed to the inquiry.
Mr.
Speaker, today we've reached two agreements with the Innu, who are the
constitutional rights holders to the land around the Muskrat Falls Project area.
We cannot forget that. We've reached an agreement with the NunatuKavut council.
So two
of the groups, Mr. Speaker, we've been working very closely with, and we want to
work with the Nunatsiavut Government as well.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Official Opposition.
MR. CROSBIE:
Mr. Speaker, I asked the
Premier earlier what results his investigation into the fumbling of the permit
for doing the wetland capping, what conclusion was reached.
Can I
ask the Premier, which of his ministers failed to execute on this?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
PREMIER BALL:
Mr. Speaker, when information
comes to Cabinet in the form of a presentation – which was all made public
through the inquiry. The presentation comes, the minister of the day brings that
to the Cabinet table. That was January; I think it was the 9th of January that
that presentation came to Cabinet.
At no
point during that presentation was there any recognition that the opportunity
for wetland capping had passed. That information wasn't disclosed. So at that
point the presentation was given from the information that had been put
together. There were five or six meetings of the deputy ministers, meetings that
would have occurred on the Lower Churchill based in – that would have been in
2018. This was never disclosed at those meetings. It wasn't until about the
third week in January, the information about pre-impoundment for wetland capping
that that window had closed. That came out of a meeting with the deputy
ministers.
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Official Opposition.
MR. CROSBIE:
The acting minister of the
day and the present Minister of Justice didn't get a chance at the inquiry to
explain his role, and so I give him that opportunity now.
Can he
explain to the House how the information that was missing from Cabinet
presentations came to be missing?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
PREMIER BALL:
Mr. Speaker, the information
in to the ministers – ministers bring it to the Cabinet table. When the
presentation comes to the Cabinet table – thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the
protection – so when it comes to the Cabinet table, the ministers do the
presentation, they're supported by the deputy ministers of the day.
At that
time there was no indication, based on the presentation which is all publicly
available, none of that information about the window closing for pre-impoundment
– as a matter of fact, Mr. Speaker, immediately after we found out that
pre-impoundment wetland mitigation was no longer an option, I directed the
deputy ministers and Nalcor to go and look for a new approach.
This all
came out in the inquiry, Mr. Speaker. None of this is news today.
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Official Opposition.
MR. CROSBIE:
Well, it remains the case,
Mr. Speaker, that the opportunity to take preventative measures against
methylmercury contamination in Lake Melville was blown during the watch of the
Minister of Justice.
Will the
Premier do his duty by reprimanding and dismissing this minister?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
PREMIER BALL:
Mr. Speaker, 1,300 samples
have been collected. So when you compare this to the Calder model in 2015, they
set a 23-metre level of the reservoir. If you took what Calder was forecasting
in 2015, it would've been a 50 per cent increase in methylmercury from where we
are today.
So, Mr.
Speaker, yeah, it was frustrating. It was disappointing to know we had missed
the opportunity for wetland capping, I say that. But with the information that
we now have available to us, that is not demonstrating or forecasting where they
thought it would be at this particular point in time. That is the reason why
we've reached out to the Indigenous groups.
We have
two agreements that have been signed, Mr. Speaker, with $30 million now
available to be spent on issues that could bring benefits to the Indigenous
communities. This was never about saving money.
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Torngat Mountains.
MS. EVANS:
Mr. Speaker, people in my
district are speaking out against a missed window of time to cap the Muskrat
Falls wetlands and mitigate against poisoning of their food chain by
methylmercury.
Will the
Premier agree to conduct an independent investigation into this important issue
of trust between his government and Indigenous peoples and table the report in
this House?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
PREMIER BALL:
Mr. Speaker, the
recommendations from the IEAC, the Independent Expert Advisory Committee that
was put together, included three Indigenous groups, as well as some communities.
There were recommendations.
Mr.
Speaker, this Committee was put in place to find a consensus on recommendations,
but also to use evidence-based information that was available to them. During
the period of time the final report came in to government in April of 2018, we
continued to collect samples. None of the samples right now that we've collected
– 1,300 of them, compared to, I think it was some-48 that have been collected by
Calder – are showing that it would lead to increased levels of methylmercury
that will lead to health risks for Indigenous communities.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
The hon.
the Member for Torngat Mountains.
MS. EVANS:
Mr. Speaker, Members on this
side of the House, including myself, have asked questions repeatedly about this
issue. Government should not have missed the deadline.
On
December 25 the Premier said, and I quote: We are looking at options that we can
actually have to mitigate methylmercury. And also, I say and quote: His
intention to work with these three Indigenous groups. I suggest to the Premier
that this answer actually misled many Indigenous leaders that capping was still
possible.
So now I
ask the Premier: Why didn't he tell us that the deadline had passed for capping?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
PREMIER BALL:
Mr. Speaker, this information
is all out there in the inquiry. We've continued to engage with our three
Indigenous groups. I participated in a conference call with the NG just a few
days ago. We've had the CEO, through the direction of government, he's met with
all three Indigenous groups to see what the next steps would be.
We
cannot forget that the evidence that's been created, the data that we've been
able to collect over the 1,300 samples that are now publicly available, and
we've offered to the Indigenous groups to bring in the experts that could
actually share this information and the interpretation of what it means.
Mr.
Speaker, in 2015, what we saw from the predictions of the Calder model is not
what we're seeing today in the reservoir and both downstream at Lake Melville.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
The hon.
the Member for Torngat Mountains.
MS. EVANS:
Mr. Speaker, since I've been
elected I've been advocating for the people of Labrador on this issue. Also, on
June 25 the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Environment said the health of the
people trumps everything.
I ask
the Premier: How are you going to protect against future risks of methylmercury
to human health and to the food chain?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
PREMIER BALL:
Mr. Speaker, one of the
recommendations of the Independent Expert Advisory Committee was community-based
ongoing monitoring. This is the reason why we wrote the Indigenous groups to put
the implementation committee in place so that we can implement those
recommendations from the IEAC. This is important for us.
Mr.
Speaker, you would remember, even in times there was – we talked about before
there was the environmental assessment. There were conditions put on the
environmental assessment back in June of 2016 that, right now, we would take
compensation measures around a food security fund and so on.
Mr.
Speaker, it's important that we continue to work with our Indigenous groups. Mr.
Marshall has worked and have met with and reached an agreement with NunatuKavut
and with the Innu right now. But let's not forget the constitutional rights
holders of the lands around the Muskrat Falls Project area are the Innu and we
cannot just simply dismiss this.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
The hon.
the Member for Torngat Mountains.
MS. EVANS:
Monitoring is not protection,
Mr. Speaker. I'm just a little bit emotional right here right now.
A
government is supposed to protect its people, its lands and its wildlife. That
is why I ran. That's why I'm standing here speaking to you now. Due to the
incompetence of this Liberal government, all three are now at risk.
I ask
the Premier: How are you going to protect the people of my district?
My
people are going to be poisoned, Mr. Speaker. It's my people, Nunatsiavut people
in North West River, in Mud Lake and in Rigolet. They are the ones that are
going to be affected by methylmercury because we eat the food; we eat the organs
that actually are in the food. Over time, Mr. Speaker, as a scientist yourself,
you know that it accumulates, poisoning of my food chain.
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
The hon.
the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Environment.
MS. DEMPSTER:
Mr. Speaker, there's some
extreme messaging out there that people will be poisoned. I say to the hon.
Member, my fellow Labradorian: That is absolutely false.
We have
a world-class water-monitoring system put in place. It was applauded by the
Independent Expert Advisory Committee. What that does, Mr. Speaker – we've
actually seen some flooding and thought, based on Calder, that we would see an
increase in methylmercury, but we did not. We might have seen a bump in the
reservoir, but not further down in Lake Melville where this is concerned with
the food chain.
Mr.
Speaker, when the Member says monitoring is not protection, she's missing
something. We monitor the water. If we see an increase in methylmercury that
gets to a danger level, we go out then and we inform the people that right now
you cannot eat your country food.
We are
nowhere near that, Mr. Speaker. Most of the levels, of over 1,300 samples, are
below what you can even detect.
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Torngat Mountains.
MS. EVANS:
Mr. Speaker, as one fellow
scientist to another scientist, bioaccumulation in the food chain has been
proven over time and time again. Right now, the monitoring is in partial
impoundment, partial flooding. We know that when it's flooded, that's when the
methylmercury will be released. That's when it's going to start to accumulate.
Measuring water samples right now is not really effective in forecasting the
future.
I say to
you that bioaccumulation in the food chain for Inuit Indigenous people that eat
the food, it will cause methylmercury poisoning in their breast milk, in the
organs of the children and in the parents, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Municipal Affairs and Environment.
MS. DEMPSTER:
Mr. Speaker, you will
remember back in August of 2016, you and I attended a scientific workshop
meeting on methylmercury. At that time, there was no clear consensus on what was
the safe way to go forward. There are a full chronological number of events that
happened after that, but the water monitoring plan was then born from that.
I say to
the Member, right now there's no restriction on country food. As the impoundment
happens and the water levels go up if there is a concern, it may be – and we're
not talking salmon at all, we're talking smelts and seal and brook trout. If
there is a concern, we may have to go out and say you cannot eat trout seven
times a week, you can eat trout twice a week, Mr. Speaker, but that is the
reason why we're monitoring. That is the reason why we have 13 monitoring
stations –
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
MS. DEMPSTER:
– set up, Mr. Speaker; 13,
where we are monitoring every single week.
MR. SPEAKER:
I remind the Members I will
not tolerate interruptions.
The next
Member, please.
The hon.
the Opposition House Leader.
MR. BRAZIL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
On July
17, the Hibernia Management and Development Company reported an oil spill.
Can the
minister please provide an update on the environmental cleanup efforts?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Natural Resources.
MS. COADY:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I will
say that this is not acceptable. It's unacceptable to the Government of
Newfoundland and Labrador, it's unacceptable to the people of Newfoundland and
Labrador and it's unacceptable to industry. Safety and environmental protection
is our primary concern.
I'm
going to say that, Mr. Speaker, because I think it needs to be said. I will say
that the recovery efforts are continuing. There are currently seven vessels, as
the Members opposite know, as the people of the province know. Hibernia
management has been keeping the people of the province aware that there are
large efforts under way to ensure as much recovery as possible is done on the
oil and water mixture.
There
have been wildlife observers. Environment Canada is involved. The Canadian Coast
Guard is involved, Mr. Speaker, and most of all, the regulator is involved.
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Opposition House
Leader.
MR. BRAZIL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Budget 2016
reads: “The Nalcor Board will
be directed to review their operational structure to achieve efficiencies and
develop a plan to bring their compensation, benefits, and gender equity policies
more in line with similar positions in other public sector bodies.”
I ask
the minister: Has the compensation and benefits policy of Nalcor been reviewed?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Natural Resources.
MS. COADY:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
That is
an ongoing process. They have been engaged with Human Resource Secretariat of
the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to bring like-minded positions in
line. That work is continuing and will be continuing.
As we
have said in this House on many occasions, we want to ensure that the
compensation of our entities are in line with the provincial government.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Opposition House
Leader.
MR. BRAZIL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
In 2018,
five Nalcor executives took home bonuses totalling $312,000.
I ask
the minister: Does she believe that these high bonus figures are in line with
compensation across the public sector?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Natural Resources.
MS. COADY:
Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I wish
he had asked that question when he was minister in the former administration,
because that is where those bonuses were borne from and became part of the
compensation packages of the Nalcor executives.
AN HON. MEMBER:
It's contractual.
MS. COADY:
And it is a contractual
agreement, as my colleague had just indicated.
Mr.
Speaker, we are concerned, as we continue to be concerned, with the costs and
the compensation of Nalcor Energy. That is why we're working with the Human
Resource Secretariat to bring like-minded positions in line with government.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
The hon.
the Member for Terra Nova.
MR. PARROTT:
Mr. Speaker, on July 12 we
also learned that former Liberal Premier Roger Grimes had been appointed to the
Chair of the C-NLOPB. During the recent provincial election, Mr. Grimes was
doing Liberal radio ads in Central Newfoundland.
Mr.
Speaker, is Mr. Grimes's appointment, him being rewarded for his loyalty to the
Liberal Party?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Natural Resources.
MS. COADY:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr.
Grimes was appointed to the board of the C-NLOPB last year by the federal
government. He was appointed interim chair of the C-NLOPB by his fellow board
members. Then there was an extensive process from the province, an Independent
Appointments Commission process, as well as by the federal government, and Mr.
Grimes's name came to the top. He does have a depth of experience.
Political affiliations aside, it was an Independent Appointments Commission
review and an independent appointments commission review federally as well. As I
said, the board itself appointed him as interim chair. He's eminently qualified,
and I'm sure he'll do a good job as Chair of C-NLOPB.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for the
District of Terra Nova.
MR. PARROTT:
Mr. Speaker, given the
government's failure in efforts on Bill C-69, how can the minister now support
having such a partisan Liberal talking head in such an important position?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Natural Resources.
MS. COADY:
I think, Mr. Speaker, that is
quite disrespectful to the people that serve on the board of C-NLOPB.
As I
said earlier, the people that serve on the board of C-NLOPB that were placed by
the former administration, actually chose Mr. Grimes as their interim chair.
Then the independent appointments process, both federally and provincially,
chose him as the permanent chair, Mr. Speaker.
I will
say that we do have a CEO, and I think it's very important that we talk about
the governance of C-NLOPB. This government has, in working with the federal
government, separated the role of chair and the role of CEO, Mr. Speaker, to
ensure proper and effective governance and most modernized governance. So it is
good that we have a part-time chair and a full-time CEO.
Thank
you.
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for the
District of Stephenville - Port au Port.
MR. WAKEHAM:
Mr. Speaker, on Friday, July
12, the government announced Dean Brinton had been terminated without cause from
The Rooms with a hefty, secret payout. Mr. Brinton had spent close to 15 years
as the CEO of The Rooms. Rumors continue to swirl that his departure was related
to his reluctance to accept the political appointment of Carla Foote to an
unadvertised position, paying $132,000.
I ask
the minister: Did the political appointment of Carla Foote play a role in the
departure of Mr. Brinton?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Finance and President of Treasury Board.
MR. OSBORNE:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
These
are two completely different matters. Discussions with Mr. Brinton had been
ongoing regarding the decision that was made. There was no secretive payout.
Government were very forthright and the fact that he received 11 months pay as
compensation. That's been out there. It's known by everybody, Mr. Speaker.
The
reality is, Mr. Speaker, we respect the privacy of Mr. Brinton, which is
something that was mutually agreed to. This is a HRS matter, and I think that
all parties involved should respect the privacy of the individual that we're
talking about.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
The hon.
the Member for Stephenville - Port au Port.
MR. WAKEHAM:
Mr. Speaker, it has been
almost a year since defeated Liberal candidate George Joyce was appointed Acting
Chair of the Public Service Commission without any competition and who now
oversees all recruitment and hiring within the public service.
Mr.
Speaker, I ask the minister: When is he going to remove patronage from the
Public Service Commission by properly advertising and filling this position?
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister
Responsible for the Human Resource Secretariat.
MR. OSBORNE:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I think
we have done a good job of removing patronage from the public sector.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
MR. OSBORNE:
Mr. Speaker, there have been
over 500 positions appointed through the appointments process, a merit-based
appointments process that was put in place by this government.
Prior to
us coming to office, all 500 of those positions would have been appointed – hand
selected by ministers. In fact, just prior to the election in 2015, I think one
individual minister on one day appointed about 40 people.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Third Party.
MS. COFFIN:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr.
Speaker, government has tasked departments and agencies with finding
efficiencies to deal with our fiscal crises. They then turn around and bring the
House back in the depths of summer at considerable expense to vote on a motion
which could easily have been dealt with in last month's sitting.
I ask
the Premier: Why the double standard?
MR. SPEAKER:
I'm going to take that
question myself because, as the Speaker, I was responsible for convening the
selection committee. I can explain in further detail, but I don't see it as the
purview of the administrative policy of this government, so I'll rule that out
of order.
Next
question, please.
The hon.
the Member for St. John's Centre.
MR. J. DINN:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
During
the hiring process for the Commissioner, many discussed the fact that the
legislative process was not clear.
I ask
the Premier: Will he commit to reviewing the legislation to make it more
definitive?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Government House
Leader.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Thank you,
Mr. Speaker.
I
apologize; I never quite caught all of the question there. I think the question
that was asked was about the appointment process for the Information and Privacy
Commissioner, which would come under ATIPPA 2015, and again I think there's
actually a five-year review process on this.
So what
I would suggest is that's due for a review within a year. However the process
established, which was voted on unanimously in this House, called for a
committee that was appointed outside of this House containing membership from
Memorial University, from the chief judge, Clerk of the Executive Council and
Clerk of this House of Assembly, so it's a process that, again, was voted on in
this House by everybody.
But when
it comes to changing processes to make them better, we're always willing to look
and examine those.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
The hon.
the Member for Labrador West.
MR. BROWN:
Mr. Speaker, last year the
former MHA for my district put forward a successful private Member's motion
asking the House to support consultations on how to avoid protracted work
stoppages.
I ask
the Premier: Fourteen months later, what is the status of this work?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Advanced Education, Skills and Labour.
MR. DAVIS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
There
was a private Member's resolution that was brought forward in the House that,
unfortunately, passed on the Order Paper and didn't get debated.
At the
end of the day, the protracted labour disputes, 97 per cent of those disputes
that come to conciliation end in a negotiated settlement, which is exactly what
we want. We encourage both parties to work together to come to agreements.
That's when the best agreements are had, when both parties sit down together and
weigh the balances on both sides and come to an agreement together.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
The hon.
the Member for Labrador West.
MR. BROWN:
Mr. Speaker, I ask the
Premier: Why doesn't he just simply abide by the recommendations made seven
years ago by the industrial inquiry into the lengthy Voisey's Bay strike?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Advanced Education, Skills and Labour.
MR. DAVIS:
Mr. Speaker, as I said
before, 97 per cent of these protracted labour disputes don't actually get to
that point any longer than six months.
So it's
an important piece that we deal with and ensure that both parties, we support
them with conciliation officers, we support them through the process, encourage
them to get back to the table. Our Premier and the former minister in this role
did that exactly, encouraged both parties to get back to the table in a dispute
in the Gander area.
We
encourage those parties, when that happens – and it doesn't happen very often.
So we encourage them to both work together to find a solution that's the best
approach. That's the best approach we found in governments right across this
country, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St.
John's Centre.
MR. J. DINN:
Mr. Speaker, last week the
CEO of The Rooms was fired and the remaining year of his contract paid out. This
CEO did not publicly support the government's hiring of the Liberal staffer for
an executive position at The Rooms, after the CEO had already signed a contract
to hire someone else through the normal process.
Can the
Premier say that the dismissal of The Rooms CEO had nothing to do with the
appointment of Carla Foote as executive director of marketing and development?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister
Responsible for the Human Resource Secretariat.
MR. OSBORNE:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
As I'd
indicated earlier in Question Period, these are two completely separate matters.
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
The time
for questions has ended.
Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.
Tabling
of Documents.
Notices
of Motion.
Notices of Motion
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Fortune Bay - Cape La Hune.
MR. LOVELESS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I
introduce the following private Member's motion, seconded by my colleague for
Mount Scio:
WHEREAS
the Premier's Task Force on Improving Educational Outcomes and the Education
Action Plan both recommended developing a phased-in implementation plan for
junior kindergarten; and
WHEREAS
Ontario, the Northwest Territories and Nova Scotia have implemented or are in
the process of implementing province-wide junior kindergarten; and
WHEREAS
play-based learning promotes children's natural sense of curiosity and discovery
through hands-on exploration of the world around them;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that this hon. House supports the Government of
Newfoundland and Labrador in taking necessary steps towards establishing a
junior kindergarten program.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
Further
notices of motion?
The hon.
the Minister of Service Newfoundland and Labrador.
MS. GAMBIN-WALSH:
Mr. Speaker, I give notice
that I will ask leave to introduce a bill entitled, An Act To Amend The Highway
Traffic Act, Bill 5.
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
Further
notices of motion?
The hon.
the Minister of Justice and Public Safety.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Firstly,
pursuant to Standing Order 63(3), the motion just entered by the Member for
Fortune Bay - Cape La Hune shall be the private Member's resolution debated this
week.
Secondly, I give notice that I will ask leave to introduce a bill entitled, An
Act Respecting The Supreme Court In The Province, Bill 7.
Further,
I give notice that I will ask leave to introduce a bill entitled, An Act
Respecting Disclosure Of Information Under An Interpersonal Violence Disclosure
Protocol, Bill 6.
Further,
Mr. Speaker, I give notice that I will on tomorrow move the following motion:
WHEREAS
in accordance with subsection 38(1) of the
House of Assembly Accountability, Integrity and Administration Act, the
Commissioner for Legislative Standards has submitted a report respecting his
opinion on a matter referred to him under the authority of subsection 36(1) of
that act.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that this House of Assembly concur in the Parsons
report of June 25, 2019.
And
finally, Mr. Speaker, I give notice of the following resolution:
WHEREAS
section 85 of the Access to Information
and Protection of Privacy Act, 2015 provides that the Office of the
Information and Privacy Commissioner shall be filled by the Lieutenant-Governor
in Council on a resolution of the House of Assembly;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Michael Harvey be appointed as the Information and
Privacy Commissioner effective August 5, 2019.
Thank
you.
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
Further
notices of motion?
Answers
to Questions for which Notice has been Given.
Petitions.
Petitions
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Exploits.
MR. FORSEY:
Mr. Speaker, the residents of
Exploits District have a great concern from the result of the 24-hour emergency
service cut to the Dr. Hugh Twomey Health Care Centre in Botwood.
All
residents feel that the 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. service does not adequately and
efficiently address the emergency requirements of this district, affecting both
patients and residents of receiving adequate care when needed.
We, the
undersigned, call upon the House of Assembly to urge the Government of
Newfoundland and Labrador to restore the 24-hour emergency service to the Dr.
Hugh Twomey Centre immediately.
Mr.
Speaker, during the campaign, and even since we've been home going through the
district, the Dr. Hugh Twomey Centre keeps coming up. This facility is very
crucial to our rural area, including the Botwood residents and the outlying area
as well.
Some of
the residents feel that the one-hour drive to the Dr. Hugh Twomey Centre – and
if it's after 8 p.m. they have to drive another 40 minutes into Grand
Falls-Windsor, which is usually blocked to capacity by this time, and in the
winter months adds more stress and unnecessary stress to the patient, and even
the facility at Grand Falls-Windsor.
Twomey
Drive is located in Botwood, appropriately where the hospital is located. This
drive and the hospital is named after the man who put it there himself, Dr. Hugh
Twomey.
Mr.
Speaker, during the election the Premier was there. He knows where Twomey Drive
is, he knows where the hospital is, he was there four days before the polls
closed and he promised to reinstate the 24-hour emergency service in 2021.
People want to see it now, not in a couple of years. That's why the seniors
moved to the seniors' homes and apartments on Twomey Drive, because it's located
right next to the hospital there in Botwood.
Besides,
Mr. Speaker, the previous government spent millions of dollars, including X-ray
labs, beds, kitchens, updated the blood facilities in that facility. Nothing has
changed, Mr. Speaker. All the facilities are still there, yet the 24-hour
emergency service has been cut. People of the Exploits District are not
satisfied with it and would like to have it reinstated right away.
Mr.
Speaker, I have 52 pages here, and that's only a week petition, a week-long
having it out. I have lots more pages to come and I know there will be more
coming in the near future.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Further petitions?
The hon.
the Member for Topsail - Paradise.
MR. P. DINN:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
WHEREAS
many students within our province depend on school busing for transportation to
and from school each day; and
WHEREAS
there are many parents of school-aged children throughout the province who live
inside the eastern school district's 1.6 kilometre zone and therefore do not
qualify for busing; and
WHEREAS
the policy cannot override the safety of our children.
THEREFORE we petition the hon. House of Assembly as follows:
We, the
undersigned, call upon the House of Assembly to urge the Government of
Newfoundland and Labrador to eliminate the 1.6 kilometre policy for all
elementary schools in the province and in junior and senior high schools where
safety is a primary concern.
Again,
this is not a new petition to this House. It's been presented on many occasions.
We're at midsummer now. I would say the retail ads will be going in on schools,
at the school displays and so on. This is a time when we really have to start
looking at this policy before the fall opening of the schools.
The 1.6
kilometre, especially in the winter season, has created safety concerns. I
personally, and I'm sure anyone in this House, do not want to see someone hurt,
injured or killed trying to go to school.
So I
really would call upon and urge the House of Assembly, on behalf of these
petitioners here, to address the 1.6 kilometre policy and eliminate it.
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Education and Early Childhood Development.
MR. WARR:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I
certainly appreciate the comments from the Member. Again, I'll repeat that it's
paramount on behalf of this government, Mr. Speaker, about the safety of our
school children. We've taken action to address the concerns, and the current
policy is comparable.
Can we
make it better? Absolutely, Mr. Speaker. We'll do that over time, but in most
cases our policy right now is favourable to most provinces.
We are
consistently collaborating with the district to address the concerns, and to
date, Mr. Speaker, 649 additional courtesy stops have been implemented within
the 1.6 kilometre zone. We'll continue to work with the department.
Again, I
want to go back to the policy, and the fact that it is working and it's prudent
to consider thoroughly. If, for example, additional funds were to be put into
education, Mr. Speaker, would this be the best use or should they be placed in
other areas such as teaching resources?
Again,
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. Member for his petition and certainly we're
prepared to work together.
Thank
you.
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Further petitions?
The hon.
the Deputy Government House Leader.
MS. COADY:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I ask
leave to debate and move the resolution to appoint the Privacy Commissioner. I
understand that we do have leave to appoint a Privacy Commissioner.
MR. SPEAKER:
Leave is confirmed?
AN HON. MEMBER:
Yes.
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
Please
proceed.
MS. COADY:
Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker.
Do you
want (inaudible)?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Government House
Leader.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Yes, Mr. Speaker.
We're
here today, and the resolution was just – notice provided for today, and I
appreciate my colleagues on the other side giving confirmation that we can move
forward with the disposition of this matter.
So,
essentially, this is a – sorry again – moved and seconded by the Minister of
Natural Resources. Thank you to the Clerk, who again is going to be mentioned in
my comments now shortly because she was a part of the process to help select the
new Information and Privacy Commissioner.
Perhaps
what we can do is – I'll try my best to provide some background on the process
and how we've come about going through this. The Information and Privacy
Commissioner is a fairly important position, one that's been in this province
now for some time, and I wouldn't be able to give you a full comprehensive list
off the top of my head. I can remember dealing with Mr. Ed Ring when he was in
the position for some time, and then Donovan Molloy was put in the position.
Then, of
course, Mr. Molloy ended up being appointed to the Provincial Court bench in
Northwest Territories. It's a position that, I would remind people out there,
it's not appointed by government per se. It's an independent statutory office of
the House of Assembly, similar to the Child and Youth Advocate, similar to the
chair of elections, the Commissioner for Electoral Standards, similar to the
Seniors' Advocate.
These
are positions that are appointed by the House, through a resolution of the
House. Now, I'll point out one – so this is all done under the auspices of the
Access to Information and Protection of
Privacy Act 2015 which, I believe it's under section 85, lays out how this
position is appointed.
It's
interesting, because I've had people want to discuss this, and I explained that
as Government House Leader, essentially, I'm the vessel through which this
resolution would enter into the House. It's not the same as me putting forward a
motion, to call a motion when we talk about legislation under the Department of
Justice and Public Safety. This is a resolution that comes from the House.
In fact,
when Commissioner Molloy took leave of the position to move to the Northwest
Territories, in fact it was the Management Commission of the House that
appointed the interim Commissioner, Ms. Victoria Woodworth-Lynas. So I wanted to
provide that context here. This is an individual whose position comes to us,
again, by Members of this House voting. Now, I would also submit that the
process through which this person goes is different than what's happened in the
past, or even different than what happens under the Independent Appointments
Commission.
Now, to
provide some background on this – and I believe there was a question asked by my
colleague from the Third Party about the process. Well, back previously, this
position was appointed by government. Government appointed who they wanted. When
Mr. Ring was appointed there might've been a resolution in the House, but at the
end of the day there was no process per se. This was a position that was
appointed by government; who do you want to put in that position?
Now, I'm
not taking any shots at that commissioner. Mr. Ring, who I dealt with when I was
in Opposition, did his job, did it very well, and I can certainly say that
whenever you had any questions he was more than willing to answer. What happened
then, and without getting into the whole ordeal that was the Access to
Information Act and what went on between 2012 and 2015, but in 2015 there was a
new act brought in that was voted on – someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but
I'm willing to say that that was voted on unanimously in favour of by all
Members of the House, no matter which party stripe they wore.
So part
of that process brought in this new act, and under section 85 it talks about the
process to appoint the Information and Privacy Commissioner. I don't have the
act specifically in front of me now, and I might have an opportunity again when
we close debate on this resolution, to get into it if necessary, but what I
would refer people to is section 85 of the act where it talks about the process.
Again, it's the Speaker that actually plays a significant role in this process;
whereas there's a committee appointed that will do the work, the due diligence
in appointing this individual.
It's
made up of, I believe, the chancellor of Memorial University or their designate,
the president, and in this case I believe it was actually Mr. Kent Decker that
played a role on that. Having done work with Mr. Decker, I have nothing but good
and kind words to say about him. He's truly a public servant beyond reproach.
It also
has Chief Judge Pamela Goulding, someone who's had a long and significant
history with the public service, dating back to her time in the department of –
back then it was just the Department of Justice. She was elevated to the bench,
served in a multitude of roles, and right now is the chief judge of our
Provincial Court. So Chief Judge Goulding sits on this Committee, which I
believe, I will point out, was involved in the appointment of Mr. Molloy to
this.
Now, the
third part is it actually involves the Clerk of the House of Assembly, who's
sitting here in the House with us. She plays a role in this and certainly has,
again, a wide background in public service through multiple departments, but has
been in the House of Assembly with us for some time, and we appreciate her
guidance as we move through these processes and through the legislative debate.
Finally,
it contains the Clerk of the Executive Council, which right now is Ms. Elizabeth
Day.
So that
Committee is tasked, with the Speaker, to take the information that comes in,
the different applications. This is something that's publicly posted, people
have a chance to apply. I believe they work with the Public Service Commission
as well. Again, at the end of the day, after the process is done candidates are
churned out, and it's the Speaker's job to work with these candidates.
It
specifically states in the legislation to work with the leader of the governing
party, which would be the Premier, the Leader of the Official Opposition, the
leader – and it doesn't specifically say NDP or Third Party, it just says any
third party or party. I forget the exact wording, but this would refer to any
other, basically, party that has standing in this House, and they have a
consultation on what should we do.
Now, I
can remember a consultation of this nature happening with the previous
appointment of Mr. Molloy. There was a debate and, for some reason, I can
remember having conversations with the former Leader of the Official Opposition,
former premier, Mr. Davis played a role at that time. I remember having
conversations on the different candidates at that time, how this was going to
work. Then we eventually had the decision and a resolution brought forward for
Mr. Molloy to be appointed to this role.
Similar
to this, there was a consultation, there's a discussion. There are multiple
candidates brought forward. At the end of the day, we have a process whereby we
here in the House – again, as House Leader, I am the vessel through which it
travels. My job on any number of resolutions is just to put it out there on the
floor of the House for it to be debated and voted on by Members. What we have
here is we have Mr. Michael Harvey, who the resolution is stating be appointed
as the Commissioner, be appointed to this statutory office effective August 5 of
2019.
Now,
what I can say about Mr. Harvey is – and I don't have his résumé here in front
of me, but I've had the experience of having had an opportunity to work with him
at various times here in government in various roles. I've also seen his work
back – he's been in the civil service for some time, in fact. He's been working
in multiple departments, most recently in the Department of Health.
The
involvement I had with him was when we were dealing with cannabis and with the
legalization of cannabis. He played a significant role in that. It's funny now,
how when we talk about cannabis and the biggest issue seems to be we can't get a
big enough supply of cannabis. Well, I can tell you that from the time we got in
in 2016 up until the actual legalization, there was a significant level of
anxiety and stress over this. There were significant questions.
I can
remember a lot of people talking about the implementation and how we wouldn't be
ready and how things were – you know, all these fears which were fine and dandy,
but behind the scenes – again, I won't take any of the credit here. Behind the
scenes there were a number of people working on this from multiple departments.
Mr. Harvey was one of the leads on that. What I can say is he did a tremendous
job with that part of public policy, which was a huge shift in this province and
in this country.
It's not
just taking what you want to do in Newfoundland and Labrador and making it
apply. You also have to deal with the feds and look at other provinces. It took
a lot of collaboration. It took a lot of working with others. It was a
significant grind that he was a part of.
That's
not without looking at all the other things that he's worked at in his time
within government. Right now, I believe he is an assistant deputy minister in
the Department of Health. So I'm sure if my colleague, the Minister of Health
and Community Services, was to talk about him, he could talk more intimately
about the background he held in Health; however, what I would say is he has
excerpts on his résumé that make him qualified and suitable for this position.
Really,
when you think about this commission, when we think about the access to
information, one thing we always talk about is just the access to information. A
lot of times we overlook the protection of privacy, which I can tell you is
something that probably has a lot of concern for me now. More and more when we
think about it, when we look at it, everyone in this House can talk about our
constituents. In fact, when we talk about our data, our information and it's
release in an unauthorized fashion from going out there, whether it's through
government departments or through whatever, it's something that I have
significant concern. On the other side of that is the access to information
where citizens have a right to information.
Now,
obviously, there are levels to this. There are limits to this, and that is
something that is contemplated without rehashing the entire piece of legislation
that was debated here back in this House. What I can say is it's a pretty
comprehensive, significant piece of legislation that was formulated by three
individuals over a significant period of time. There is a statutory review that
will come in in five years, which means in 2020 we're going to have another
review of the legislation. It's something that as the minister responsible,
whether you're talking to citizens, whether you talk to journalists, whether you
talk to ATIPP coordinators, there are certainly things we can look at.
One of
the questions asked today during Question Period was about the process itself.
Well, when we do the statutory review and the committee is appointed, these are
all things that can be looked at to make sure that the act is the best that it
can be. But the reason we are here today is because we need a commissioner, and
the legislation also states that we must do so sooner rather later, which is why
we are here today.
It's
funny, because once upon a time I can remember when we were in this House and
people would say, my God, the House doesn't sit very often. Then when the House
comes back unexpectedly, now people complain and say, well, why are you here in
the House? So sometimes you can't win for losing.
The fact
is we are here via legislation today. That's the reason we are here today, to
comply with legislation. Any day that we can sit in the House and debate and
talk, I think is actually a good day, and it's something that our constituents
often like to see us do.
The
reason we are here, as I stated, is to appoint Mr. Michael Harvey to this role.
In closing my comments to this and deferring to my colleagues across the way,
what I can say is my colleagues on the government side look forward to
supporting Mr. Harvey, who many of us have had a chance to work with. We look
forward to supporting Mr. Harvey in this role.
What we
would also like to do at this time is to thank Ms. Victoria Woodworth-Lynas for
the work she has done in an interim fashion. She came in fairly quickly, fairly
rapidly, because the resignation of Mr. Molloy was not something that there was
a significant period of notice on. She came in and she did a fantastic job, and
we'd like to thank her for that. She is also someone who has done yeoman's work
when it comes to the public service and service to Newfoundlanders and
Labradorians. We want to thank her for that.
We wish
Mr. Harvey the best in this new role, pending confirmation of the resolution
here today.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
The hon.
the Leader of the Official Opposition.
MR. CROSBIE:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank
the minister for his remarks, and I echo his congratulations to the successful
candidate, Mr. Harvey, and as well thank the interim commissioner for her
service.
This
process is worth some more context than the minister has provided, and I'll
start at the beginning.
On March
18, 2014, Premier Tom Marshall appointed three individuals with expertise in
law, privacy legislation and journalism to conduct an independent, statutory
review of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, often known
as ATIPPA.
These
three individuals were former Premier and Chief Justice Clyde Wells, former
Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Jennifer Stoddart, and former CBC journalist,
Doug Letto – highly regarded individuals with a great deal of expertise.
Their
report was received in March 2015. It included a draft bill to complete the
overhaul of the ATIPP legislation, including the process for appointing a new
Information and Privacy Commissioner. Members of the House passed these reforms
into law.
In 2016,
this new process was used for the first time to appoint Donovan Molloy to become
the new Commissioner. Our caucus wants to thank Mr. Molloy for doing a stellar
job in that role.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. CROSBIE:
He pulled no punches and told it as he saw it. This is what we need in the role
in order to make sure the office works and strikes the right balance between
information disclosure and privacy protection – fundamental rights in our
society.
Effective February 20, 2019, Mr. Molloy was appointed to the bench of the
Territorial Court of the Northwest Territories. This left a vacancy at the
Commissioner's office and triggered the process for finding a replacement. The
House was not in session at the time.
The
first step, following the recommendation of the Wells-Stoddart-Letto report, was
to appoint an Acting Commissioner. This was done by the Lieutenant-Governor in
Council – the Cabinet, of course – on the recommendation of the House of
Assembly Management Commission. This has been adverted to by my colleague, the
Minister of Justice.
In a
news release dated March 22 of this year, the Speaker announced the appointment
of Ms. Victoria Woodworth-Lynas, effective March 21, 2019, as the Acting
Information and Privacy Commissioner until such time as the position would be
permanently filled in accordance with the act. And again, we commend her for
stepping into the gap.
Subsection 89(2) of the act states that in this particular circumstance “the
term of the acting commissioner shall not extend beyond the end of the next
sitting of the House of Assembly.” Things are a little more complicated here
because the House sat from March 4 to April 2 to conclude the 2018-2019 session,
then it sat from April 4 to April 17 to begin the 2019 session. But then the
election was called. The House returned for the post-election session from June
10-26 and then adjourned. And now we're back. Even though it's late July, I
suppose it may still be spring from a House perspective.
Back on
March 11, prior to the appointment of the Acting Commissioner, another section
of the act was triggered. This section, 85, also reflected the recommendation of
Wells, Stoddart, Letto. Section 85 states: “The office of the Information and
Privacy Commissioner is continued.” Then by subsection (2): “The office shall be
filled by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council on a resolution of the House of
Assembly.
“(3)
Before an appointment is made, the Speaker shall establish a selection committee
comprising” and I won't go through all of it because my colleague, the Minister
of Justice, has already told us about the blue ribbon and eminent and expert
panel which is convened pursuant to the legislation to make the selection.
Sub (4)
goes on to explain that: “The selection committee shall develop a roster of
qualified candidates and in doing so may publicly invite expressions of interest
for the position of commissioner.
“(5) The
selection committee shall submit the roster to the Speaker of the House of
Assembly.
“(6) The
Speaker shall
“(a)
consult with the Premier, the Leader of the Official Opposition and the leader
or member of a registered political party that is represented on the House of
Assembly Management Commission” – this turned out to be the Leader of the NDP in
this instance – and “(b) cause to be placed before the House of Assembly a
resolution to appoint as commissioner one of the individuals named on the
roster.”
So
that's the process, which was passed into law and recommended originally by
Wells, Stoddart, Letto. To determine how the legislation ought to be
interpreted, we need to look at the committee that drafted it and their report.
With due respect to the Office of the Speaker, the report does offer some
additional insight into the process and the interpretation of the legislation,
and is useful as an interpretive aid to how the legislation ought to be
understood. This is a common thing in courts of law when approaching the
interpretation of statute.
With
respect, in the Speaker's letter, he stated: I have discharged my duties as
required by the act. The Speaker stated he has established the selection
committee which has done its work and developed a roster of candidates and has
consulted – this is in quotes – with the Premier, the Leader of the Official
Opposition and the Leader of the Third Party respecting the roster as required
by the legislation.
The
Speaker then writes to the Government House Leader – quote – as these
requirements are complete, I therefore request that in your role as Government
House Leader, you now proceed to introduce a resolution to the House of Assembly
so that it may consider the matter. This request is in accordance with paragraph
85(6)(b) of the act which states: The Speaker shall cause to be placed before
the House of Assembly a resolution to appoint as commissioner one of the
individuals named on the roster.
The
Speaker then concludes the letter writing: As you know, the role of Speaker of
the House is to interpret parliamentary rules, to maintain order and to defend
the rights and privileges of Members. The Speaker never participates in debate.
Based upon these long-held traditions and the language of subsection 85(6) of
the act, I therefore request that you introduce a resolution respecting this
appointment. By way of this request, I am therefore fulfilling my final duty
outlined in the act that is to cause a resolution to be introduced into the
House respecting this matter.
Again,
with great respect – and this is really for the benefit of posterity because we
have the process before us or the resolution before us by the process that was,
in all good faith, no doubt followed. It is a fact that Wells-Stoddart- Letto
report says something – I submit different and I would refer you to Volume 1 of
the report of the 2014 Statutory Review of the Access to Information and
Protection of Privacy Act, page 36 top of the second column. It states, “After
consulting with the party leaders in the House, including the Premier and the
leaders of opposition parties, the Speaker would present the name of a candidate
for the House to consider.” Again, “the Speaker would present the name of a
candidate for the House to consider.”
Again,
this is not to take issue with the process that has to be followed to get us to
this point, but really to place on the record some considerations for future
process to be followed.
There
are seven statutory offices of the House: Legislative Standards, Office of the
Auditor General, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Office of the Child and
Youth Advocate, Office of the Citizens' Representative, Office of the
Information and Privacy Commissioner and Office of the Seniors' Advocate. All
these offices must be clearly independent of the Executive Branch of government.
That separation must be clear and distinct in reality and in perception.
The
Information and Privacy Commissioner, which is the Officer we have before us for
our consideration, or the office before us, is answerable not to the government
but to the House and this, again, would be consistent with it being the duty of
the Speaker to lay a name from the roster before the House.
Again,
to come back to the composition of the selection committee, it was composed of
people who understand the workings of government, the rule of law, the
principles of justice, the importance of the roles of Officers of the House and
the importance of choosing the best person for the job while accounting for
every other factor relevant to the hiring. Such an imminent selection committee
is not brought together every day but when it is, it is the position of the
Official Opposition that its advice ought to be followed.
I think
it is worth noting, that three of the people in these most senior roles of our
province are women. They did not come into these roles because they were women.
They were appointed because they were the most qualified people for these jobs,
and they are shining role models for younger women throughout the province who
need to know that the glass ceilings that may have served as unfair impediments
to progress are, indeed, being shattered.
In the
particular case before us, the selection committee, after examining all
potential candidates, found one candidate who was exceptionally qualified and
warranted their top recommendation. In the documentation provided to us the
phrase is, and I quote: is the top-ranked candidate for this position. This was
used to describe one specific candidate, the candidate now put forward. When
such a distinguished committee makes such a recommendation it should be
followed.
So, Mr.
Speaker – and I apologize for not having given you the benefit of these
submissions on a prior occasion to today. It's by way of saying that we do
believe that the Speaker is the officer who should bring forward the resolution,
not the Government House Leader, but since the resolution does name the
candidate ranked first by the selection committee, we'll be supporting that
candidate's nomination. This only occurs because the legislation requires
consultation, but consultation should not involve an attempt to second guess the
distinguished selection process just because the Premier does not get his way.
The
suggestion was made that the Speaker and the three statutory consultees
interview the roster of people put forward. In other words, second guess the
selection process, and I would simply at this point reiterate the position I
took in writing on that suggestion. I stated: I express my advice to go with the
top-rank candidate, so I am not inclined to engage in an interview process which
is not required by the act. A very thorough interview and assessment using a
point system has already been conducted by eminent people, and in my opinion I
should not be second guessing the interview committee by duplicating their work
in a less thorough way. We would be replacing a process which strives for
objectivity with our own subjectivity.
Further,
I stated: This additional layer of process at the political level is proposed to
happen because the Premier wants the less-ranked candidate. I must inform you,
that I decline to attend the Wednesday interview and maintain my consultative
advice to you that the Speaker should recommend the higher-ranked candidate for
consideration by the House. I understand that the Leader of the Third Party is
of the same opinion. So, Mr. Speaker, that was the position.
Here we
are today with the government having, at long length, followed the better
practice, the practice of good governance and – the better practice of good
governance, which is to choose the highest-ranked candidate who has emerged from
a rigorous selection process conducted by distinguished officials whose duty it
was to recommend the highest-ranked candidate.
We
believe the individual being put forward will be a formidable Commissioner and
will serve the people of the province diligently in this essential role, and I
congratulate, on behalf of the Official Opposition, the candidate.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
The hon.
the Leader of the Third Party.
MS. COFFIN:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I would
like to congratulate Mr. Michael Harvey on his new position. I understand that
he is a stellar candidate, chosen by an exemplary and well-respected group of
individuals who deemed that his long-standing career, his considerable depth of
experience and the breadth of his knowledge, he is the top-ranked candidate. I
have no qualms in strongly supporting the recommendation of the selection
committee in putting forth the name of Mr. Michael Harvey.
So I
really support his appointment and I do look forward to working with him in the
future and seeing how he can craft Newfoundland and Labrador as perhaps being an
exemplar in privacy and information. As we know, that is an emerging field and
I'm sure he will be able to protect the privacy and information of people in
Newfoundland and Labrador.
As for
the selection process, I am not going to belabour that. Certainly, it would have
been lovely if we could have concluded that before the House rose back in June;
however I'm delighted to be able to say that we have finally reached a consensus
and that everyone agrees that Mr. Harvey is the appropriate individual for this
position, and we all do look forward to working with him in the future.
Thank
you very much, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
The hon.
the Member for Mount Pearl - Southlands.
MR. LANE:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
First of
all, I want to congratulate Mr. Harvey. I will say upfront that as the
legislation that's been referenced by the minister – and the Leader of the
Official Opposition went through it in great detail, and I thank him for that –
as is indicated in that legislation, when we talk about consulting with the
Official Opposition, consulting with the leader of a registered party, that
inherently would leave myself out and, of course, the Member for Humber - Bay of
Islands, because we're not with a registered party. So, there was zero
consultation with me. I understand, because of the legislation, as it is
written, but I do want to point it out.
I am
going to support it, obviously, but I never saw the résumé. I never saw the
résumé of anybody else. There was no discussion about any of the other
candidates with me, or the ranking system, if there was a ranking system, and
who ranked ahead of who and so on. Some information was sort of being alluded to
by the Leader of the Official Opposition that I certainly was not party to. So I
guess I have to support it on good faith, but I do so in recognition of the fact
that the people who made the selection – again, I'm not going to repeat who they
all were, but as the Leader of the Official Opposition said, I believe he called
them a blue ribbon selection committee or something to that effect. Obviously, a
very qualified, competent, unbiased people who made that selection.
I know
that the minister and the government, I know they're really glad about that. I
know they are thrilled with the fact that that was such an unbiased process, and
that's why they are doing the right thing. I know they certainly wanted to do
the right thing and are doing the right thing by bringing forth the name of the
most qualified person because we all know that's the right thing to do. We know
that's what the people want us to do. We know the government campaigned on being
open and transparent and putting an end – political patronage, as we've seen
with the Independent Appointments Commission, where all those appointments have
been done in an unbiased manner.
I'm sure
when the list of three names go, they always go with the best person. I'm sure
that always happens, and I'm glad to see that happened in this process as well.
That there was no temptation to go with anybody, only the best. Apparently
that's what has happened, so I've been told. I'm very, very, very pleased to see
that.
So I
commend the government for doing the right thing, for picking the best person,
not trying to do anything political or sneaky or underhanded, not trying to give
the job to anybody only the best person. Good job, I support it 100 per cent.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Government House
Leader, to close the debate.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I
appreciate the comments from my colleagues across the way and look forward to
unanimous support of the candidate.
I do
want to take this opportunity in closing to point out a few interesting things I
gleaned from the comments I heard across the way. The first thing I would say to
my colleague across the way, the Leader of the Opposition, who said – he talked
a bit about second-guessing a process and how he would never second-guess it;
however, at the same time he questioned the process here and how it shouldn't be
the Government House Leader that enters the motion, it should be the Speaker.
Well, if
we're going to talk about second-guessing, what I will say is that it was
Members of his caucus that drafted that legislation, that put the legislation
here in the House and that voted on the legislation. You know what? I wouldn't
second-guess them, I got a lot of respect for them. But the fact is you can't
stand up on one side and say you're not going to second-guess it, when the fact
is you second-guessed the legislation that your colleagues sitting next to you
put here in the House of Assembly. So I'd need to point out that irony there,
maybe that little difference there.
To my
colleague, the Leader of the Third Party, thank you for your comments to this,
and to my colleague, the independent, I want to point out a couple of things.
It's interesting because he's had an opportunity to be a part of a number of
debates as it relates to access to information and privacy. He will remember his
full-fledged support for Bill 29, and then his full-fledged support for access
to information 2015. I cannot remember at that point, at which point he was a
Member of a caucus, I can never remember any concerns expressed about
independence – never expressed –
AN HON. MEMBER:
(Inaudible.)
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
MR. A. PARSONS:
Those concerns were only
borne of now; they are not long-seeded concerns that he's carried with him for
some time. What I would suggest is again, I know where he was going later on.
The fact is we have two good individuals that I know that were interviewed, both
who were appointed by a previous PC administration. I will put that out there.
I know
that the Member opposite, now that he sits as an independent, wants to have some
consultation in this. What I would say is that the résumés and curriculum vitae
for each individual could've been asked for and would've possibly been provided
to those if they had asked; I don't know if they asked for or not.
So
again, it's interesting to hear that concern about independence when that
concern was not there in 2012 or in 2015.
Thank
you very much.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
Is the
House ready for the question?
Is it
the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?
All
those in favour?
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Aye.
MR. SPEAKER:
All those against?
The
motion is carried.
The hon.
the Government House Leader.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Yes, Mr. Speaker, given the
time of the day and that I have certain colleagues in the House that were not
interested in being here, I would move, seconded by the Minister of Health and
Community Services, that the House do adjourn to the call of the Chair.
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you to the Government
House Leader.
I do,
first of all, remind all Members of the Management Commission that we will
convene in this room in 30 minutes from now – I'm sorry, upstairs in the
committee room, our beautiful committee room.
And with
that, this House does stand adjourned until the call of the Chair.
Thank
you.
On motion, the House adjourned to the call
of the Chair.