Newfoundland and Labrador Hansard — Members' Statements; Statements by Ministers — 8 May 2014 (47th General Assembly, 3rd Session, Vol. XLVII No. 24)
2014-05-08
Newfoundland and Labrador — Debates (Hansard)
PDF Version
May 8,
HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS
Vol. XLVII No. 24
The House met at 1:30 p.m.
MR.
SPEAKER (Wiseman):
Order, please!
Admit strangers.
Before we start our proceedings, I want to welcome some
special guests to our gallery. Today
we are joined by eight Grade 12 students from Mealy Mountain Collegiate in Happy
Valley-Goose Bay.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
They are accompanied today by their Vice-Principal, Mr. Scott Fraser, and the
school counsellor, Ms Deanna Miles.
Welcome to the House of Assembly.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
are also joined today by the parents from the Holy Cross Elementary School in
St. John's Centre.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
Statements by Members
MR.
SPEAKER:
Today we will have members' statements from the Member for the District of
Cartwright L'Anse au Clair; the Member for the District of Cape St. Francis;
the Member for the District of Port de Grave; the Member for the District of
Fortune Bay Cape La Hune; the Member for the District of Baie Verte
Springdale; and the Member for the District of St. John's Centre.
The hon. the Member for the District of Cartwright
L'Anse au Clair.
DEMPSTER:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today to
recognize a group of young men and women in my District of Cartwright L'Anse
au Clair the Junior Canadian Rangers.
The first Junior Canadian Ranger patrols were
established along the Labrador Coast in 1999.
Today we have patrols in Cartwright, Black Tickle, Port Hope Simpson,
Mary's Harbour, St. Lewis and the Labrador Straits.
Mr. Speaker, Junior Canadian Rangers is an organization
for youth between the age of twelve and eighteen that provides an excellent
opportunity to develop strong leadership skills and valuable life skills.
Many of our Labrador patrols have travelled to
Yellowknife to participate in national shooting competitions and visited the
Canadian War Cemetery in Normandy.
Mr. Speaker, organizations like the Junior Canadian
Rangers can only be successful with the support of the Department of National
Defence and the many community volunteers that donate their time and share their
traditional knowledge and skills.
I am always encouraged by the co-operation that exists
between all the patrols in the region who work very well together to share their
skills, knowledge, with a little competition, of course, always thrown in.
Mr. Speaker, I ask all hon. members to join me in
recognizing the Junior Canadian Rangers throughout my district and, indeed, the
entire Province.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Member for Cape St. Francis.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
K. PARSONS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I rise in this hon. House today to recognize a young
athlete from Logy Bay, Erica Devereaux, who was a finalist for Female Athlete of
the Year 2013.
Erica was the first female gymnast in the Province
named to the Canadian Gymnastics Team where she competed on Vault and Floor, and
placed a respective seventh in the team event at the World University Games in
Russia.
Erica was the only gymnast in Newfoundland and Labrador
to compete at the National Level in 2013; she placed respectively at the
Canadian National Championships in Ottawa and the Gymnix in Montreal, also won a
bronze on the bars at the Eastern Canadian Championships.
Erica works tirelessly and still finds time to mentor
and coach other young gymnasts, and is presently completing her engineering
degree at MUN.
Erica also received the Gymnastics Newfoundland and
Labrador Athlete of Excellence Award and the Leadership Award, and in addition
to that the Erica Devereaux Cygnus Lifetime Achievement Award.
This is a result of her excellent leadership throughout her career.
I ask all hon. members to join with me in recognizing
the hard work and dedication of Erica Devereaux.
Thank you very much.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.
MR.
LITTLEJOHN:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I rise today in this hon. House to commend the
outstanding achievements of Warrant Officer Taylor Hutchings of the 2372 Avalon
North Army cadets.
This seventeen-year-old cadet has achieved a great deal
in her six years within the cadet movement.
She is a recipient of the Lord Strathcona medal, the highest award that
can be bestowed upon a Canadian cadet.
This past January, Taylor was the only Newfoundlander
and Labradorian selected for an international expedition to Argentina.
Taylor joined fifteen other cadets from across the country.
Before heading off on this expedition, Taylor had to complete certain
requirements including corps involvement, community service, fitness components,
and a regional expedition which she did in Labrador last December.
The expedition in Argentina included a four-day kayaking trip, followed
by glacier scaling and mountain climbing.
Taylor received high praise for her skill and tenacity while there.
The expedition was sponsored by the Army Cadet League
of Canada and the Department of National Defence, and her medical costs were
supported by the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 32 of Bay Roberts.
I ask all members to join me today in congratulating
Taylor on her tremendous accomplishments.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Member for Fortune Bay Cape La Hune.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
PERRY:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I rise today to recognize Bay d'Espoir's participants
in the forty-ninth Central Newfoundland Kiwanis Music Festival.
Congratulations to the Bay d'Espoir Dolce Singers for the winning the
Duet/Trio/Triple Trio Award, and congratulations to the Bay d'Espoir Choir as
well.
Kyla Kendall of Milltown-Head of Bay d'Espoir, won in
the age fourteen and under category for compositions by Canadian Composers, and
for songs from movies or Broadway.
Jessica Willcott of St. Alban's received awards in the fourteen and under
category: the Best Performance in Newfoundland Music, Best Performance for Vocal
Solo, Best Performance for Traditional Folk, and the Laura Blackmore Award in
Newfoundland Music. Julie Young won
first place with her Broadway piece, first in Traditional Folk Song Solo, and
second in Voice Solo, fifteen and under.
I would also like to commend young McKenna Benoit,
Brooklyn Framp, Tia Cox, and her father Perry for their performances at the
festival. Congratulations, Mr.
Speaker, to the Grade 4 class at the Bay d'Espoir Academy for choral speeches
My Roots and How to Torture Your Teacher.
A big thank you as well, Mr. Speaker, to their instructor, Valerie
Coombs.
I ask all members of this House to join me in
commending all participants for their outstanding performances.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Member for Baie Verte Springdale.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
POLLARD:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Located in King's Point, this small, vibrant K-12
school with a population less than 120, has accomplished something that was
never done before, to my knowledge.
Valmont Academy Girls captured four School Sports Newfoundland & Labrador
provincial titles all in one school year, 2013-2014.
They brought home provincial banners in 2A slo-pitch,
2A soccer, A basketball, and 2A ball hockey.
Coaches Greg Flynn, Adam Matthews, Tanya Warford, and Stephen Earle are
to be commended for their contribution to the overall success of the teams.
It is a testament to the outstanding support that the
teams get, not only from the teaching staff but also from the entire school
community. The school's success has
generated a lot of excitement in the town, and has fostered an upbeat, positive
learning environment.
I had the opportunity to attend three of the four
championships and I witnessed the pride that exuded from the athletes, parents,
teachers, coaches, and the entire student body.
These girls have become my sisters we are family now,
said the graduating Grade 12 student, Natalie Burt.
No better remark could sum up the value of athletics,
the other half of education.
Honourable members, please join me in applauding
Valmont Academy in their extraordinary accomplishment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Member for St. John's Centre.
ROGERS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Today I am happy to honour the parents and grandparents
of the children of Holy Cross Elementary School in St. John's Centre.
Holy Cross was originally on Patrick Street, and my own father was a Holy
Cross student. Now on St. Clare
Avenue, it is 125 years old.
The parents talk about what a wonderful neighbourhood
school it is, with an excellent learning environment, an incredible committed
and experienced staff, and ideal class sizes that facilitate learning,
especially for their children with exceptionalities.
The school provides circle time and a program to help
children cope with anxieties. They
have a number of innovative programs that help with learning and socialization.
The school, the staff, and the parents are outstanding.
Parents and student volunteers help provide breakfast
and lunch programs. The school is
also home to Brighter Futures and Mother Goose programs.
Neighbourhood programs include Judo, Zumba, and more.
Now the parents are working hard together to save their
school from closure.
Citizen engagement is very important.
These parents know the value of Holy Cross Elementary.
They are engaged and working hard to save their school to benefit their
children, their community, and their neighbourhood.
Mr. Speaker, I praise and commend these parents for
their courageous and dedicated engagement on behalf of their children and on
behalf of their neighbourhood. Bravo
to them.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
Ministerial Statements.
Statements by Ministers
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
PREMIER MARSHALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in this hon. House to
recognize National Day of Honour, which takes place tomorrow.
On March 18, 2014, Prime Minister Stephen Harper
announced that, in recognition and commemoration of Canada's military mission in
Afghanistan, that May 9, 2014 has been declared a National Day of Honour across
the country.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to acknowledge this important
day and to recognize the official end of Canada's mission in Afghanistan, which
ended in March. I would also like to
take this opportunity to recognize the brave men and women who fought in this
mission.
While some soldiers go to war never to return, leaving
families at home to mourn, many others return from battle badly broken in body,
mind and spirit.
I encourage all municipalities in Newfoundland and
Labrador to participate in any local recognition happening in their communities
on Friday, May 9. Consider taking
part in the ceremony at a local war memorial or an event being organized by a
local service organization in your community to show appreciation to our
military.
Mr. Speaker, I would also like to highlight and
acknowledge the Afghanistan Memorial Vigil, which was constructed by Canada's
troops in Kandahar and which is now here in Canada.
This monument commemorates the hard work, the dedication and the
sacrifices of soldiers during the mission in Afghanistan and will be in
Newfoundland and Labrador from October 22-26 in the East Block Lobby of this
Confederation Building.
Mr. Speaker, I ask all hon. members of the House to
rise and bow their heads for a moment of silence to recognize the sacrifices and
contributions of our soldiers and their families during Canada's mission in
Afghanistan.
Thank you.
MR.
SPEAKER:
All
rise.
[Moment of silence]
MR.
SPEAKER:
Thank you.
The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
MR.
BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I want to thank the Premier for the advance copy of his
statement. The Official Opposition
commemorates the strength and the sacrifices made by the members of the Canadian
Armed Forces in Afghanistan. We
encourage everyone to take a moment tomorrow, May 9, the National Day of Honour,
to pause and recognize the commitment that these men and women have made.
Tomorrow is the official day, but, of course, the memories live on 365
days a year for the families to the service in Afghanistan.
We want to especially recognize the young men and women
from Newfoundland and Labrador who served in Afghanistan and remember those who
made the ultimate sacrifice to protect us from terrorism.
We also want to thank the members of the Royal Canadian Legion who are
dedicated to preserving the legacy of the Afghanistan mission.
The mission in Afghanistan was the largest deployment
of the Canadian Forces in a generation, involving thousands of our brave men and
women from coast to coast. Even
though the mission has officially ended, we must not forget the toll this has
taken on many young men, women, and their families who protect the rights of
people and freedoms across the world, many of them who, of course, they have
never met before. Also, we must
remember the ongoing disproportionate rates of suicide we are seeing in many of
those young men and women today.
In closing, Mr. Speaker, allow me again to invite the
citizens of Newfoundland and Labrador to honour our soldiers and remember their
sacrifices and achievements tomorrow on May 9.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Leader of the Third Party.
MICHAEL:
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
I thank the Premier for the advance copy of his
statement, and thank him, too, for bringing here into the House a reminder to us
of the new significance of May 9 in our country.
I am pleased to stand with my colleagues in thinking of the men and women
of this Province who took
part in the mission in Afghanistan and those who lost
their lives.
We have to remember that the brave men and women who
came home with physical and mental damage also have to be remembered as they are
and will be tomorrow, and must be given every support they need to come back
into our society as whole people and as full participants.
We must not abandon those who stepped up and went to answer their
country's call.
We must also remember the people of Afghanistan still
face turmoil and strife in their country, and think of them, too, because our
men and women certainly interacted with them and know what they left behind.
We must remember the good work our troops did in Afghanistan, the
friendships and good relations that were forged, and I hope Newfoundlanders and
Labradorians will work with all Canadians in maintaining ties with the people of
that war-torn country and continue to offer our support to them and encourage
our federal government to do so.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
O'BRIEN:
Mr.
Speaker, I rise today in this hon. House to talk about the second annual Skilled
Trades Conference for Women and Youth held in Stephenville yesterday by the
Office to Advance Women Apprentices.
I was pleased to be invited to attend and speak at the event.
Over 700 women and youth attended this year's
conference, which encourages participation for women and youth to explore the
option of pursuing a career in a skilled trade, and meet a growing demand for
skilled trade workers in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Office to Advance Women Apprentices is committed to ensuring more
employment opportunities for female apprentices.
Today, there are 527 registered female apprentices in
thirty-three designated trades.
Approximately 418 are registered in non-traditional trades with the largest
numbers in construction, electrician, welder, steamfitter/pipefitter, carpenter,
and industrial mechanic.
Newfoundland and Labrador is recognized nationally for
the support provided to apprentices.
The Executive Director of the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum, Sarah Watts-Rynard,
told CBC Crosstalk last week that this Province is out ahead of the rest of the
country when it comes to financial assistance provided through the
Apprenticeship Wage Subsidy for employers.
She said supporting employers through this program demonstrates a real
effort in wanting to help employers hire and train apprentices.
Since 2007, government has committed over $100 million
to support initiatives outlined in All the
Skills To Succeed: Report of the Newfoundland and Labrador Skills Task Force .
Budget 2014 provides $39.8 million to continue the development of a
skilled workforce in Newfoundland and Labrador, including $4.1 million to
support apprentices and trades.
Mr. Speaker, this is an unprecedented time of
opportunity in Newfoundland and Labrador especially for women.
As women make their mark on construction projects Province-wide,
employers have been encouraged to open their doors to female tradespeople like
never before. With that in mind, the
Department of Advanced Education and Skills remains focused on advancing women
apprentices at every opportunity so they have access to programming and
assistance to further their careers and gain employment here at home.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Member for Cartwright L'Anse au Clair.
DEMPSTER:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank the minister for the advance copy of his
statement. Encouraging and
supporting women in pursing non-traditional sectors like skilled trades is a
positive step forward for women, not only securing high-paying employment but
learning different practical skills like construction, electrical, wiring, et
cetera. It really puts a whole new
spin on the idea of homemaker. Kudos
to these women who are trailblazers.
Mr. Speaker, our apprenticeship program has many
challenges. The fact is, thousands
of apprentices are stalled in their plans of training, struggling to get the
work experience they need to advance to their next block.
Sadly, staff at the department's Industrial Training Unit has actually
told apprentices they are better off heading to Alberta to get their hours a
troubling message for a government trying to grow the population.
Mr. Speaker, this department's own consultant, John
Noseworthy, outlined a program full of deficiencies, and I quote, The
Apprenticeship Division does not track the status of its 5,800 apprentices
They are not monitored or provided assistance to connect them to an
employer. Therefore, the department
can spend significant amounts of funding to train individuals without being
proactive in getting them attached to the labour market.
There is no formal case management process for
pre-apprentices and apprentices; therefore, there is less of a focus on
addressing their needs with regards to training, employment, and obtaining a
journeyperson status.
Although Government enters into significant capital
works projects with external contractors, there is no mechanism for the
placement of apprentices on projects.
What is more, Mr. Speaker, we are encouraging people to
get a trade based on outdated labour market information.
In conclusion, I urge government to address these serious kinks in the
system so apprentices can become journeypersons.
Without acknowledging these changes, there is little
MR.
SPEAKER:
Order, please!
The member's time has expired.
The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MICHAEL:
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
I, too, thank the minister for an advance copy of his
statement. It is a great statement
and giving us very good information about women apprentices in particular.
It is good news, but it is something that is very close to my heart, as I
was the first Executive Director of Women in Resource Development and still am
concerned about what is happening with regard to women apprentices.
It all looks good on paper, but in reality there is
still a lot of work to be done to rid the Province's workplaces of almost
endemic harassment issues against women workers.
I continually have tradeswomen coming to me to talk about how they are
harassed by men in the workplace and the difficulties they have in trying to get
it dealt with.
Many women are still afraid to come forward and report
harassment and abuse, which are a real barrier to women working in the skilled
trades. I emphasize, women are
coming to me continually about this.
I encourage the minister to explore the prevalence of harassment in these
workplaces, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
DAVIS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, this week, May 5 to May 11 is Mental
Health Week and earlier this week I had the privilege and honour of launching
the Understanding Changes Everything
campaign.
This campaign focuses on challenging, and ultimately
changing the way people think and act toward individuals with a mental illness
or addiction.
Mr. Speaker, stigma and discrimination are some of the
greatest challenges faced by those living with a mental illness or an addition.
In fact, we have even heard that stigma associated with these conditions
can often be as debilitating as the conditions themselves.
In year one of the three-year campaign, people
throughout the Province will see television commercials, online and cinema
Facebook and Twitter.
Through our campaign, which we have developed in
collaboration with local stakeholders, our ultimate goal is to inform, educate
and act as a conduit for people to get help.
We want to change the way many people think about mental illness and
addiction and bring awareness to the fact that one in five of us will experience
a mental illness or addiction in any given year.
Mr. Speaker, our government has placed significant
focus on mental health and addictions and has made it a priority.
We invest approximately $100 million annually to provide important
programs and services throughout the four regional health authorities.
I encourage residents, and my colleagues here in the
House of Assembly, to become better informed on this important issue and to take
some time to visit the Web site, understandnow.ca for more information.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Member for Cartwright L'Anse au Clair.
DEMPSTER:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank the minister for an advance copy of his
statement. Mental health is a
crucial dimension of overall health and it is an essential resource for living.
There is no health without mental health.
On behalf of my colleagues, I want to acknowledge
Mental Health Week. We want to
commend all of the people who work in this field for the valuable work they do.
As the minister said, one in five Newfoundlanders and
Labradorians will experience a serious mental health illness during their
lifetime. Sadly, however, Mr.
Speaker, only one in three of those people who need mental health services
actually receive them.
Just this week, government announced a campaign to
reduce stigma and discrimination. We
hope that the campaign will help people in every corner of our Province, but the
sad truth is stigma and discrimination is not the only problem.
Access to mental health services vary widely across our Province and
supports are just not there in many cases for those who need it.
Look at the facilities for youth with complex needs
that were promised back in 2009.
They still are not open. We have a
mobile crisis unit that only works five out of seven days each week.
We are still sending police with the mobile crisis unit on a regular
basis, even though a 2003 recommendation by Judge Luther said this should not
be.
In my own district, there are very few services for
people in our region. We need those
community supports in place to ensure that we have communities that are healthy
and thriving. While I commend
government on their campaign, I want to add there is still much more to be done.
MR.
SPEAKER:
Order, please!
The member's time has expired.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Leader of the Third Party.
MICHAEL:
too, thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement.
I am pleased this campaign is underway and that it is a three-year
campaign.
It is important that we raise the profile of mental
illness, and make every effort so people know how widespread it is and how to
get help. We do need a more
proactive campaign than one that is just Web and media based.
I am sure the stakeholders have good ideas about that, so I am looking
forward to hearing more about education and information in a practical way with
people in year two and three.
We also need better mental health services in the
community because they are woefully inadequate and have not lived up to the
Mental Health Care and Treatment Act, which stipulates that a person released
from hospital must have access to services including income and housing to live
successfully in the community.
Currently, many people with a serious mental illness live in poverty and in
terrible boarding home environments which keep them ill.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
MR.
SPEAKER:
Oral Questions.
Oral Questions
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
MR.
BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Issues surrounding Humber Valley Paving and the
government's decision to cancel that contract without any penalties have been
front and center in this House of Assembly.
The incoming Premier was one of the owners of the company when it ran
into trouble on the $19 million paving contract in Labrador.
Government has since let the company out of the contract without penalty
and released $19 million in bonds.
I ask the Premier: Did you have any involvement in the
decision to cancel the contract?
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
PREMIER MARSHALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I had no involvement in any discussions
involving the cancellation of the contract, in terms of negotiations of the
contract, or in terms of a possible settlement of the contract none
whatsoever.
In fact, I did not learn about this until two Saturdays
ago while I was sitting in an airport in Halifax and was advised by someone who
was a competitor in a business who is a competitor of Humber Valley Paving, who
indicated to me this had happened. I
asked the question: How would he know about this and I did not know about this?
He informed me that he got his information from the Leader of the
Opposition.
Upon my return
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh,
oh!
MR.
SPEAKER:
Order, please!
PREMIER MARSHALL:
Mr.
Speaker, I am giving the facts as I know it.
That is who told me. The hon.
member opposite knows it.
Subsequent to that, when I got back to St. John's I
contacted the minister and I had the minister and the deputy minister come over
and give me a briefing
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh,
oh!
MR.
SPEAKER:
Order, please!
PREMIER MARSHALL:
on this issue and explain what happened.
Subsequent to that, I heard the MP for Labrador make some comments about
payments and value. I heard the
Member for Cartwright L'Anse au Clair talking about return of cash.
I had the minister, the deputy minister, and the lawyer in the department
who had advised them on the contract to come back to my office and explain this
to me. I was advised there was
nothing (inaudible)
MR.
SPEAKER:
Order, please!
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MR.
BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I will remind the Premier that could have been one of
many people because we have received many, many calls from contractors who have
known about this for many weeks now.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh,
oh!
MR.
SPEAKER:
Order, please!
MR.
BALL:
The
incoming Premier said negotiations on cancelling the contract began in earnest
this February, but the minister maintains he did not have a conversation with
Mr. Coleman until March 13.
I ask the Premier: Since Humber Valley Paving says the
negotiations started in February, but the minister was not involved until March,
who from government was involved in February?
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
PREMIER MARSHALL:
Mr.
Speaker, I have had no discussions with Mr. Coleman concerning the negotiation
of this contract. I obviously know
Mr. Coleman. I am familiar with
Humber Valley Paving. I am familiar
with the fact they were in Labrador doing paving work for the government.
I am familiar with the fact that because of exceptional circumstances
there with the forest fires the company had experienced difficulties, was in
fact seeking compensation from government, and was giving consideration that
government had been in breach of the contract.
I was aware of that, but I was involved in no discussions of
negotiations, no discussions involving a settlement, and no discussions
whatsoever about having the company released from the contract.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MR.
BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Months before the contract was cancelled, government
granted Humber Valley Paving a one-year extension.
This goes back into September last year.
I ask the Premier: When did you become aware that the
extension was granted?
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
PREMIER MARSHALL:
Mr.
Speaker, I was not aware that an extension had been granted.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MR.
BALL:
Mr.
Speaker, I ask the Premier again we know that the extension was granted; we
asked for a copy of the correspondence yesterday in this House.
So I ask you: Will you instruct your minister to table the correspondence
related to that extension?
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
PREMIER MARSHALL:
Mr.
Speaker, I think for the benefit of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, we
should do a lot more than that. Yes,
we will have that tabled.
I have been away for the last number of days attending
the OTC in Houston, but I have been following the media and what is happening
here, and I think it is very important.
I have confidence in the Minister of Transportation and Works.
I am satisfied from my discussion with
him and his deputy
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
PREMIER MARSHALL:
and the lawyer that advises the department on this particular contract or
advised on that particular contract that nothing untoward has happened.
I am satisfied that the minister has acted, always, with the best
interests of the people of this Province in mind, and not for any other purpose.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
PREMIER MARSHALL:
view of what has been happening here and in view of things that have been said
in the media and the things that have been said in this House and conclusions
reached by members opposite, which I believe are incorrect, I have today written
to the Auditor General and have asked him to do an examination of any and all
aspects of the contract between the Department of Transportation and Works and
Humber Valley Paving.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
PREMIER MARSHALL:
Mr.
Speaker, I would like to table that.
MR.
SPEAKER:
Order, please!
The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
MR.
BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Well, government canceled the contract with Humber
Valley Paving and released $19 million in bonds.
This, no doubt, improved the financial position of the company; however,
back in 2008 and I am sure members opposite will remember this government
did not do the same for another West Coast company, Island Aggregates.
So I ask the Premier: Why were you willing to help
Humber Valley Paving now but not help this West Coast company, this small
company, in 2008?
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
PREMIER MARSHALL:
Mr.
Speaker, the government of the Province, I am sure, is involved in numerous
contracts in different departments.
I practiced law for thirty-five years.
I know that when you are in contracts there are always disagreements,
there are disputes that arise from time to time, and there are discussions.
They either settle it or they end up going to court.
Mr. Speaker, these matters do no come to my attention.
These matters are not brought to me; they are handled at the departmental
level. This Island Aggregates
contract you refer to was not brought to my attention and neither was the one
involving Humber Valley Paving, and I would not expect it to be.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
MR.
BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Premier mentions taking care of the public purse,
making sure that things are done with due diligence with this government.
Yesterday I asked the minister to confirm if government received a sworn
statutory declaration before releasing Humber Valley Paving from the contract.
The document is important.
What it does is it ensures other small businesses that are attached to
this contract, our subcontractors, for instance, and that they are looked after
in situations like this.
I ask the Premier: Are you aware that this government
received a sworn statutory declaration before letting Humber Valley Paving out
of the contract and releasing the bonds?
It is simple, yes or no.
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
PREMIER MARSHALL:
Mr.
Speaker, when you are dealing with a contractor, you do not pay anything
upfront. That is a mistake many
consumers make. They pay somebody
upfront to do work and the person disappears.
We pay as the work is done.
As the work is done, the companies will put forward
interim certificates claiming payment.
Government officials and engineers will review those certificates to
confirm that the work has been done.
If it has been done, then they will be paid.
When they are paid, there is always that 10 per cent
mechanics' lien holdback held back from every payment.
That holdback is there to meet the claims of people who may not have been
paid by the contractor, such as suppliers and subcontractors.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
MR.
BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I am asking for a very simple document that is included
in the package. People should
understand this. It is not about the
mechanics' lien; it is about a sworn statutory declaration that says when a
company signs it, it says that we have paid our subcontractors.
I asked the minister for this yesterday.
It is a simple document.
Do you have it, yes or no?
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
MCGRATH:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the document that the Leader of the
Opposition is talking about, if you read the particular contract that we are
questioning, it says that the statutory declaration is on the mechanics' lien;
it was not on the bonds. The
statutory declaration in the contract says that it is on the mechanics' lien.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
MR.
BALL:
Once again a simple question.
I ask the minister: Do you have it?
Do you have the sworn document from Humber Valley Paving?
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh,
oh!
MR.
SPEAKER:
Order, please!
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh,
oh!
MR.
SPEAKER:
Order, please!
The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
MCGRATH:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the statutory declaration, the way that
works is that the company would apply for it.
We would not ask for that until they apply to have the holdback released.
Until the company comes to us asking to have the mechanics' lien or a
holdback, as some people refer to it, you would not ask for a statutory
declaration.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh,
oh!
MR.
SPEAKER:
Order, please!
MR.
MCGRATH:
That is the next process.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
MR.
BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I ask the Premier: Before the last payment to the
company, did you at least check with your own government agencies, including
Workers' Compensation, to ensure they were paid and this company was in good
standing?
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
MCGRATH:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, as I said throughout Question Period this
whole week, I do not run the finances of Humber Valley Paving, so I have no idea
what their finances are. My job as
the Minister of Transportation and Works is to administer the Department of
Transportation and Works, and that is what I am doing.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
MR.
BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The minister may not run the finances, but he makes
sure they are propped up by letting them out of this contract.
I asked a simple question: Did you at least check with
the government agencies, like Workers' Compensation, to make sure they were
paid?
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh,
oh!
MR.
SPEAKER:
Order, please!
The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
MCGRATH:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I am not sure if the member across the way
understands how many companies and contracts the government actually has
contracts with on a daily basis. We
have the guarantee in place with this particular company and the contract we are
talking about. We have a mechanics'
lien in place to protect the exact people he is talking about, so I am not sure
what his issue is.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Member for Virginia Waters.
C. BENNETT:
Mr.
Speaker, yesterday the minister admitted that Humber Valley Paving was in
financial trouble prior to cancelling the contract.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh,
oh!
MR.
SPEAKER:
Order, please!
C. BENNETT:
ask the Premier: Does he acknowledge that by cancelling these contracts the
minister has improved the financial position of the company, despite them not
finishing the job?
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
PREMIER MARSHALL:
Mr.
Speaker, the hon. member, as someone who has been in business, knows if you are
in a contract and the other party is not in a position to complete the contract
you want to make sure you take steps to ensure you do not have a loss, and if
there is a loss that you take steps to mitigate the loss.
You have a duty in law to do that, and that is what we did.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh,
oh!
MR.
SPEAKER:
Order, please!
PREMIER MARSHALL:
Mr.
Speaker, that is what we did. The
minister's main concern was: How do we get the work done and how do we get it
done on time and on schedule? That
is what he did. That is what guided
him, not some other thing. He was
doing it to protect the people of the Province, and that is what he should do.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
Order, please!
The hon. the Member for Virginia Waters.
C. BENNETT:
The
minister has said countless times that he did this to protect
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh,
oh!
MR.
SPEAKER:
Order, please!
The hon. the Member for Virginia Waters.
C. BENNETT:
Thank you.
The minister has said countless times that he did this
to protect the people of the Province.
He should have clarified that he did this to protect some people in the
Province, namely Humber Valley Paving.
In fact, by cancelling these contracts the minister gave this company a
competitive advantage.
I ask the Premier: Did his minister consider other
companies in our Province that he disadvantaged when he decided to protect the
bottom line of Humber Valley Paving?
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
MCGRATH:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I will state again, my job as the minister
of the department is to run the department.
I do that with the best interests of the people of Newfoundland and
Labrador in mind. That is what I
took into consideration when I made this decision.
I have a job. I had an option
to go a legal route or to go a route to get the job done.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh,
oh!
MR.
SPEAKER:
Order, please!
MR.
MCGRATH:
took the route to make sure I got the job done on time and on budget, and that
is the route we are taking.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Member for Virginia Waters.
C. BENNETT:
Mr.
Speaker, let me lay out how Humber Valley Paving has been given a competitive
advantage, extending the contract to 2014 improve their cash flow.
Cancelling the bonds eliminated potential increases to insurance and bond
cost, and cancelling the contract reduced liabilities.
I ask the Premier: Do you agree that your minister's
interference has single-handedly disrupted the marketplace?
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh,
oh!
MR.
SPEAKER:
Order, please!
Members are asking important questions and members are
responding to those questions. I ask
all hon. members, when I have acknowledged a member to speak, all others please
wait in silence for the question or the answer.
The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
PREMIER MARSHALL:
Mr.
Speaker, Humber Valley Paving has been doing business with this Province since
2006 and they have been a good partner to deal with.
They have honoured their contracts.
They have honoured their undertakings.
They did a contract last year in Labrador, and there
were exceptional circumstances.
There was a massive forest fire in Labrador.
I know that because I was the Minister of Natural Resources at the time
and I was being briefed by the fire suppression unit.
There was a serious fire up there.
We thought at one point the Town of Wabush could be
burned. As a result of that, Humber
Valley Paving could not get its liquid asphalt to the site.
As a result of that, they suffered losses.
Because of those losses, they came to the government wanting the
government to compensate them for their losses.
They were alleging that the government was in breach of the contract.
MR.
SPEAKER:
Order, please!
The hon. the Member for Virginia Waters.
C. BENNETT:
Mr.
Speaker, by choosing to cancel the contract this government has interrupted the
marketplace and unfairly propped up Humber Valley Paving.
Your minister's blatant mismanagement of this project has far-reaching
negative effectives on competing companies and people all over the Province.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh,
oh!
MR.
SPEAKER:
Order, please!
C. BENNETT:
ask the Premier: How can the people of the Province have any confidence in this
government when they (inaudible) clearly favouring one company?
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
PREMIER MARSHALL:
Mr.
Speaker, when the fires happened, and as a result of that there were concerns
with the contract. The minister,
based on my discussions with the minister and the deputy minister and the lawyer
advising the executive of that department the minister's views were not the
industry's the minister's views were to protect the taxpayers of the Province
who had a contract, they wanted the contract completed on time and on budget.
That is what the minister was trying to do, that is what he should have
done, and I am glad to see he was there and that is why he has my confidence.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Member for St. John's South.
MR.
OSBORNE:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the mechanics' lien, which is supposedly
10 per cent of the value of the contract, is held by government as a holdback to
protect suppliers and contractors.
I ask the minister: If he can confirm the amount of
money in that holdback and whether or not he believes that amount is sufficient
to cover all of the suppliers and subcontractors in the project?
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
MCGRATH:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I can confirm the amount of the money, and
what I have to put out in public here today is that when we terminated the
contract and I said it yesterday, I will say it again today there was not
one call, not one call came into us that said they were owed money by Humber
Valley Paving. There were no calls.
It is not our place to go out into the market to see if money is owed.
We have the guarantee in place, the mechanics' lien is in place, and the
value of it is $1.18 million.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Member for St. John's South.
MR.
OSBORNE:
the value is $1.18 million, Mr. Speaker.
I ask the minister: If he can confirm whether or not
the deadline to make a claim against that holdback is gone beyond or whether
subcontractors can still make a claim against that holdback?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
MCGRATH:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, there is a time limit written into the
mechanics' lien that you can act from the last day you did business, and if you
feel you have no other way of collecting that money and you want to put a lien
on that, that is still available.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Member for St. John's South.
MR.
OSBORNE:
Mr.
Speaker, I understood that it was thirty days.
Now, I may be mistaken. I
will ask the minister.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh,
oh!
MR.
SPEAKER:
Order, please!
MR.
OSBORNE:
will ask the minister, Mr. Speaker, how does he expect subcontractors and
suppliers to make a claim when they cancelled the contract on this and it was
well over a month before the public even knew the contract was cancelled?
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
MCGRATH:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I have heard all week that I was
incompetent because of the way I conducted business.
What I am hearing today is that the members opposite are asking me to run
the finances of the businesses that were doing work with the contractor in this
case.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh,
oh!
MR.
SPEAKER:
Order, please!
MR.
MCGRATH:
you are having a problem when I ran my businesses if I was having a problem
collecting my money from someone that I was doing business with, I did not wait
to find out if they were going to terminate a contract; I went into the
mechanics' lien immediately .
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Member for St. John's South.
MR.
OSBORNE:
Mr.
Speaker, what is the last date that somebody could have made a claim on that
mechanics' lien?
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
MCGRATH:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member across the way has a copy
of the mechanics' lien, and I suggest you read it and you will get your
information.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Member for St. John's South.
MR.
OSBORNE:
Mr.
Speaker, very quickly, how many days was the road closed which affected that
contract because of the fires?
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
MCGRATH:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, that fire, if I remember correctly, and I
will stand to be corrected, started on June 24 and there were a series of the
road opening and closing. During the
closures there was also times when there were escorts, convoys, so the
government through the Department of Fire and Emergency Services at the time and
the Minister Responsible for Fire and Emergency Services came into Labrador West
with me. There were
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh,
oh!
MR.
SPEAKER:
Order, please!
The Opposition has time in Question Period if they
want to waste it all in interrupting the proceedings, that is fine because when
their time is up, it is up.
I have acknowledged the Minister of Transportation and
Works.
MR.
MCGRATH:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, as I was saying, the Minister Responsible
for Fire and Emergency Services came in with me and it was orchestrated through
the ground
MR.
SPEAKER:
Order, please!
The hon. the Member for Cartwright L'Anse au Clair.
DEMPSTER:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, harvesters and plant workers are enduring
hardship because of unprecedented ice.
Some in my district have been without EI benefits since late March and
early April, and in some households, men and women both from the same household.
I understand the Minister of Fisheries has been in touch with Ottawa on
this critical matter.
I ask the minister: What exactly are you doing to push
strongly to get ice compensation for people unable to get back fishing because
of the ice?
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
HUTCHINGS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I will point out to the hon. member this
is a federal program and at any time the federal government is free to start
this program. What we have done is a
number of weeks ago we initiated with DFO monitoring of ice conditions, the
various fisheries and zones of the Province, and what was happening, and
certainly advocated in regard to having a look at getting this program started.
Two weeks ago, we made formal representation to
Minister Kenney and Minister Shea in regard to what we were seeing and the
patterns we were seeing with regard to ice and with regard to particular
fisheries. Yesterday, my officials
were in touch with the federal officials in Ottawa again impressing on them
there is a need to get moving on this program.
We certainly expect them to get moving in the very near future because it
is needed. It is federal
jurisdiction and they need to step in at this particular time.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Member for Cartwright L'Anse au Clair, for a quick question.
DEMPSTER:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Why do people have to beg to Ottawa to get something
they are entitled to? It is time for
the begging to stop. It is an insult
to our people.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh,
oh!
MR.
SPEAKER:
Order, please!
DEMPSTER:
is an insult to the Province. We are
entitled to compensation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh,
oh!
MR.
SPEAKER:
Order, please!
DEMPSTER:
ask the minister: Can he explain to the people
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh,
oh!
MR.
SPEAKER:
Order, please!
I have acknowledged the Member for Cartwright L'Anse
au Clair. Let her finish her
question, please.
DEMPSTER:
Can
he explain to the people without income how he and the Premier are making this a
priority issue on their behalf?
Right now, they are certainly not convinced.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Member for Fisheries and Aquaculture, for a quick response.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
HUTCHINGS:
Mr.
Speaker, we have been dealing with this issue for six or seven weeks.
She can follow up with her federal counterparts, the MP.
This is a federal issue. We
have been out in front of it. We
were out in front in 2007 advocating.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh,
oh!
MR.
SPEAKER:
Order, please!
MR.
HUTCHINGS:
will advocate again and continue our work.
It is federal jurisdiction.
Any time the federal government wants to step in, which they should do now, they
are free to do it and I encourage her to continue to advocate for it.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Leader of the Third Party.
MICHAEL:
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Nalcor is in Massachusetts lobbying lawmakers to pass a
clean energy bill, which Nalcor hopes will lead to financing of their proposed
Gull Island hydro project.
I ask the Premier: Why is a utility which can barely
keep the lights on this Province continuing to build on its own Muskrat Falls
folly?
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
DALLEY:
Mr.
Speaker, I hardly know where to start, I have to be honest, but I will start.
It is about vision. It is
about planning. It is about a
future. It is about laying
groundwork. It is about looking
forward and about the opportunities that exist in this Province to develop our
resources for the benefit of the people of this Province, not only in this
generation but generations to come.
I understand the member opposite really struggles with
economic development, Mr. Speaker, but we have laid that down in this Province
for the past ten years. We are
developing our resources, but we are also looking to the future.
They are in Massachusetts because there is a strong market there.
We are on the ground. We are
getting favourable response from it and certainly appreciate the work that
Nalcor is doing to lay out the future for Newfoundland and Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Leader of the Third Party.
MICHAEL:
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
I ask the Premier why his government is condoning
Nalcor's planned construction of an even larger and more expensive hydroelectric
project instead of putting development in place that is rooted in the
communities of this Province.
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
DALLEY:
Mr.
Speaker, I am struck amazed, I have to be honest.
How you can talk about communities and development and go against a
project like Muskrat Falls is unbelievable.
How you can stand there and criticize when government
and the Crown corporation is planning for the future, planning for our children,
Mr. Speaker. They are not out
spending money and developing Gull Island; they are laying out a platform,
whether it is this government or any other government.
That is our responsibility: to have vision, to make plans, to develop for
our future.
We have students in this House today, Mr. Speaker, and
it is about those students that we are going to develop and plan for the future.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
Order, please!
MR.
DALLEY:
is time to be a part of it, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Leader of the Third Party.
MICHAEL:
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh,
oh!
MR.
SPEAKER:
Order, please!
The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.
MICHAEL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The completion of the C-NLOPB's environmental
assessment of oil exploration in the Gulf of St. Lawrence is a green light to
industry
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh,
oh!
MR.
SPEAKER:
Order, please!
MICHAEL:
for further offshore oil exploration in that area.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh,
oh!
MR.
SPEAKER:
Order, please!
MICHAEL:
border dispute with Quebec on the Old Harry remains a major obstacle.
I ask the Premier: What is the status of our boundary
dispute with Quebec over the Old Harry oil projects?
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
DALLEY:
Mr.
Speaker, the standard environmental assessment to which she refers to is
standard practice in the industry.
It is regularly done. In fact, there
are strategic environmental assessments being done on the offshore in the East
Coast of the Province as well.
What it has done, Mr. Speaker, is it has opened the
doors on a very broad environmental assessment to proceed in terms of
entertaining opportunities for exploration on the West Coast.
Built into that is further environmental assessments that will be
required.
It is not opening the gates, Mr. Speaker.
What it is, again very clearly what we are seeing today what the
environmental assessment has done is open the doors for potential exploration
and economic activity.
Once again the Leader of the Third Party is standing in
this House today criticizing, trying to find ways to condemn economic
development in Newfoundland and Labrador.
It is absolutely shameful, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Member for St. John's Centre.
ROGERS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
With school reform in 1997, government promised the new
system would be based on the principle of community and neighbourhood schools.
Holy Cross Elementary School is a successful neighbourhood school.
Holy Cross is scheduled to close this year.
Mr. Speaker, I ask the minister: Why is he backing away
from the principle of neighbourhood schools?
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Minister of Education.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
KING:
Mr.
Speaker, as we have said many times in this House of Assembly, the legal
authority for administering schools, for organizing schools, for arranging
catchment areas for schools in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador rest
with the school boards. The member
opposite knows that very well.
I understand fully the situation that the member is
presenting. From my previous
experiences with school boards, I understand how difficult it is for anyone when
there is a change in school systems, particularly students and parents and
more often parents than students, I might add in my experiences, Mr. Speaker
but the reality is it is not my decision to open or close schools.
It is a decision of the school board.
I encourage the member, and I encourage parents and
others who are interested, to be engaged with the school board on that process.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Member for St. John's Centre.
ROGERS:
Mr.
Speaker, parents of Holy Cross Elementary students do not want their school to
close. They worry their children are
going to a much larger school further away.
I ask the minister: Does he think closing the school is
in the best interest of these students?
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Minister of Education.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
KING:
Mr.
Speaker, one thing I will say is that I have tremendous confidence in the
teachers of Newfoundland and Labrador.
I have tremendous confidence in the teachers of Holy Cross Elementary and
I have equal confidence in the teachers at St. Teresa's, the school they will be
attending, the new St. Teresa's school.
I have no doubt that with a brand new, modern facility those students are
going to receive a top quality education.
They will blend in very well with their new classmates and their new
friends, and things will work out fine.
I do encourage parents to be a part of this process, if
there are concerns. I encourage them
to work with the school board to ensure they are informed about the process,
informed about the changing in the environment that they are going to go to.
As I said to the member before, if the school council needs to meet with
me to discuss issues, I am more than willing to do that.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Member for St. John's Centre for a very quick question without
preamble.
ROGERS:
Mr.
Speaker, I ask the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services: Is a new
facility to be opened by Blue sky in Stephenville a foster home or a level four
residential care group home?
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services for a quick response.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
JACKMAN:
Mr.
Speaker, the member is right. The
provision of care in these homes is different now than it was at one particular
point. This was open custody
facilities at one particular point, Mr. Speaker, and now they have become more
of foster home types.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
time for Question Period has expired.
I want to acknowledge, as well, a former Member of the
House of Assembly in the Speaker's gallery today, Mr. Aylward.
I think a former minister, as well.
He occupied many ministerial portfolios while a member here.
Welcome, Sir.
Welcome back.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.
Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees
MR.
SPEAKER:
have the Member for Port de Grave.
MR.
LITTLEJOHN:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Social Services Committee have considered the
matters to them referred and have directed me to report that they have passed
without amendment the Estimates of: the Department of Child, Youth and Family
Services; the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation; the Department of
Municipal and Intergovernmental Affairs; the Office of Public Engagement,
Executive Council; the Department of Justice; the Department of Education; and
the Department of Health and Community Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Member for Conception Bay East Bell Island.
MR.
BRAZIL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Resource Committee have considered the matters to
them referred and have directed me to report that they have passed without
amendment the Estimates of: the Department of Advanced Education and Skills; the
Department of Environment and Conservation; the Women's Policy Office and the
Provincial Advisory Council on the Status of Women, Executive Council; the
Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture; the Department of Innovation, Business
and Rural Development; the Newfoundland and Labrador Research and Development
Corporation, Executive Council; the Department of Natural Resources; and the
Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
MR.
SPEAKER:
Tabling of Documents.
Tabling of Documents
MR.
SPEAKER:
accordance with subsection 20(7) of the House of Assembly, Accountability,
Integrity and Administration Act, I am tabling an amendment to the Members'
Resources and Allowances Rules approved by the Management Commission of the
House of Assembly on Monday, April 14, 2014.
Notices of Motion.
Notices of Motion
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Government House Leader.
MR.
KING:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I give notice that I will ask leave to
move the following resolution:
WHEREAS subsection 20(7) of the House of Assembly,
Accountability, Integrity and Administration Act provides that a change to the
level of amounts of allowances and resources provided to members not be made
except in accordance with a rule that has been first laid before the House of
Assembly and adopted by resolution of the House; and
WHEREAS an amendment to the Members' Resources and
Allowances Rules, which would change the level of the amounts of allowances and
resources has been laid before the House by the Speaker;
THEREFORE
BE IT RESOLVED that this hon. House of
Assembly adopt the amendments to the Members' Resources and Allowances Rules as
approved by the Management Commission of this House on April 14, 2014 and tabled
by the Speaker of this House on May 8, 2014 and those are so attached to the
resolution.
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
MR.
HUTCHINGS:
Mr.
Speaker, I give notice that I will ask leave to introduce a bill entitled, An
Act To Amend The Fish Processing Licensing Board Act, Bill 18.
MR.
SPEAKER:
Further notices of motion?
Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.
Petitions.
Petitions
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Member for St. John's North.
MR.
KIRBY:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of
Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the
undersigned residents of Newfoundland and Labrador humbly sheweth:
WHEREAS in 2006 the provincial government created a
commission to review the Individualized Student Support Plan/Pathways Model and
make recommendations to improve the delivery of special education programming in
the K-12 education system; and
WHEREAS in 2007, the ISSP/Pathways Commission delivered
a final report to government outlining seventy-five recommendations for creating
a better system for the delivery of special education programming; and
WHEREAS to date, many important recommendations of the
ISSP/Pathways Commission have not been acted upon, including those related to:
public disclosure of assessment and wait-list information; guidelines for
comprehensive and ethical assessment practices; procedures to address the needs
of at-risk students; creating an effective appeals process for families; meeting
the needs of exceptionally able (i.e., gifted) learners; expanding the role of
student assistants into teacher assistant roles; introducing special education
department heads in schools; improving on special education teacher
qualifications and certification.
WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly
pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge government to fully implement
the recommendations of the ISSP/Pathways Commission in order to improve the
delivery of special education programming for all students, parents, teachers,
and schools.
As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.
Mr. Speaker, there are a couple of points I would like
to raise with respect to this report.
I think, one, once again we see this government commissioning a report.
Spending thousands of dollars of taxpayers' money without acting upon the
recommendations of the report.
I know there was a debate here about the report, the
Minimum Wage Commission, some time back.
I remember the hon. Government House Leader saying they had no problem
accepting all of the recommendations of the reports that were commissioned, the
consultants reports that came in around Muskrat Falls.
So I asked him, how it is they have still not acted on these
recommendations? He is uniquely
placed to respond to this, of course, because now he is the Minister of
Education.
I also point out that one of the recommendations of the
Pathways and ISSP Commission report is for public disclosure of assessment and
wait-list information. It is very
timely, because today and this week we have been debating Bill 1, the so-called
whistleblower legislation. This
government is now open, it is now transparent, and it is newly accountable to
the people of the Province, so why not make this information available?
MR.
SPEAKER:
Order, please!
The member's time is over.
The hon. the Member for St. John's Centre..
ROGERS:
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province and
Labrador in Parliament assembly, the petition of the undersigned residents
humbly sheweth:
WHEREAS Holy Cross School is a small, family-oriented
school that gives all the children the highest education possible;
WHEREAS the school helps support the many students who
have difficulty and/or learning disabilities to reach their highest potential;
WHEREAS the school has a friendly atmosphere for
children and parents, the staff knowing all the children and parents by name;
WHEREAS the teachers at Holy Cross bring the extra
supports that would not present in a larger school or a larger classroom;
WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly
pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge government to consider keeping
Holy Cross open and to allow the children of the area to attend a neighbourhood
school as was promised with education reform.
As in duty bound your petitioners will ever pray.
Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to stand today to bring
this petition on behalf of the many parents of students at Holy Cross; it is
signed by a lot of parents. It is
not only the parents of the students, it is their grandparents, it is their
neighbours, and it is the community who uses the school as well.
This school is firmly based and has its foundation in the community.
It is a school that has had many changes in principals
and administrations over the last few years, except the past two years this
school has really solidified. We see
that students are doing much better.
It is also a school, Mr. Speaker, that is in an economically disadvantaged area,
and it is also a school with a higher percentage of children with
exceptionalities who need extra supports and extra help.
The parents are very, very clear about the needs of their children, and
they are very involved in the school.
So, not only are they aware of the needs of the
children, they are aware of the services that this school provides.
One of the benefits of the school is that it is a smaller school, which
is much easier for children who have ADHD, for children who have anxiety issues.
We do not know what the school is being closed.
Is the school being closed for economic reasons?
We know that there is a Population Growth Strategy somewhere out there on
behalf of the government, and that they are encouraging population growth.
So, Mr. Speaker, we can only hope that there will be an
increase in the number of student enrolments at this school over the next few
years. What is going to happen now
is that children who can walk to school will now be bused.
What does that mean for afterschool activities?
Nobody has told the parents that.
Will children who are going to be bused have the same advantages of the
children who can walk to their own neighbourhood schools?
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Member for The Straits White Bay North.
MR.
MITCHELMORE:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of
Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the
undersigned residents of Newfoundland and Labrador humbly sheweth:
WHEREAS government has the responsibility to ensure
that Internet access is broadly available so people have the right to be able to
access the Internet in order to exercise and enjoy their rights to freedom of
expression and opinion and other fundamental human rights; and
WHEREAS the town of Goose Cove still remains without
broadband services; and
WHEREAS residents rely on Internet services for
education, business, communication, and social activity; and
WHEREAS wireless and wired technologies exist to
provide broadband service to rural communities, to replace slower dial-up
service;
We, the undersigned, petition the House of Assembly to
urge the government to assist providers to ensure the town of Goose Cove is in
receipt of broadband Internet services in Newfoundland and Labrador.
As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.
Mr. Speaker, all the petitioners are from the town of
Goose Cove. I would like to know the
number of municipalities that are without broadband Internet access that
cannot access the broadband Internet.
In Estimates yesterday I am very pleased that the
Minister of Innovation, Business and Rural Development has committed to
providing a list of communities that are served by broadband Internet.
Therefore, I can do the work after that and find the number of
municipalities and other communities.
With it you can only imagine how difficult it is for a
municipality not to be able to access broadband Internet, to be able to engage
and provide information to its citizens in a dynamic form and get information
out there. Other municipalities in
my district that have broadband are putting out constant HTML releases saying
the water shut-off is happening here.
It is a direct mailing list.
It is made easy; you are having informed citizens.
It really does build a stronger community and a stronger town.
This is something that we need.
The Town of Goose Cove would have a stronger business
community. You would see greater
educational opportunities. This is
why we need to look at providing broadband Internet service.
It should be something that is universal using a combination of services,
whether it is wireless, wire line, cellular or whether you look at using Wi-Fi
mesh networks to make that happen.
There are all kinds of opportunities; we talked about
it in Estimates yesterday. I think
government is in the right direction with the RBI.
We need to step that up to make sure that the close to 200 communities in
Newfoundland and Labrador are certainly in receipt of broadband Internet.
I submit this petition on behalf of constituents in my
district of Goose Cove. I look
forward to speaking on my feet on this again.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Member for Cartwright L'Anse au Clair.
DEMPSTER:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of
Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the
undersigned humbly sheweth:
WHEREAS most communities in the District of Cartwright
L'Anse au Clair do not have adequate broadband service; and
WHEREAS residents, businesses, students, nurses, and
teachers rely heavily on the Internet to conduct their work and cannot afford to
wait until 2016 to access a potential plan in partnership with the Muskrat Falls
development; and
WHEREAS there are a number of world-class tourism sites
in the region, including a UNESCO site at Red Bay, Battle Harbour Historic Site,
and the Mealey Mountains National Park;
WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly
pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge the Government of Newfoundland
and Labrador to work with the appropriate agencies to provide adequate broadband
service to the communities along the Labrador Coast.
As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.
Mr. Speaker, I think there are twenty-two communities
in my district. I know when the
Speech from the Throne came down it talked about 95 per cent of the communities
connected with broadband. Many of
mine are connected, but I have ten communities that have exceeded capacity and
the capacity that is in some is so poor it might be better to say they did not
have anything because at least we would be working on putting something there.
We are about to enter into the tourism season.
I had a call from a business in my district a couple of days ago.
I have been up on my feet many times talking about the need for a tourism
development officer in the region to help market.
Businesses are struggling on their own in many ways as it is to promote,
and this was a business in a community, West St. Modeste, that said you can
right now only get on the Internet after midnight and before 6:00 a.m.
This is unacceptable and as a result this business is losing large
amounts of money.
She had an e-mail come in from a group that wanted to
book to stay, a tour group that was coming in a bus.
By the time she was able to reply to that e-mail, Mr. Speaker, they had
gone and booked somewhere else. It
is certainly negatively impacting the business community.
I had another call from a business in the community of
L'Anse-au-Loup. Their broadband is
so slow right now that the Interac, you put in a card people here do not
understand, Mr. Speaker, because you run, you stick your card through, and you
move on. When someone puts their
card through, the Internet is so slow dialing, the Interac in that business is
not properly working.
Mr. Speaker, we cannot close down.
We cannot say wait, it is coming in 2016.
I will continue to be on my feet because I want to know, what is the
interim plan? What is being done?
As my colleague for The Straits White Bay North has mentioned here,
there are many, many options we could be exploring and we will continue to
advocate for this service.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Member for St. John's South.
MR.
OSBORNE:
Thank you for recognizing me, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I have a petition again on the issue of
Holy Cross. I have been presenting
them pretty much daily here in the House.
The petition reads:
WHEREAS Holy Cross is a small, family-oriented school
that gives all the children the highest education possible; and
WHEREAS the school helps support the many students who
have difficulty and/or learning disabilities to reach their highest potential;
and
WHEREAS the school has a friendly atmosphere for
children and parents, the staff knowing all of the children and parents by name;
and
WHEREAS the teachers at Holy Cross bring the extra
supports that would not be present at a larger school or larger classroom;
WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly
pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge government to consider keeping
Holy Cross open and to allow the children of the area to attend a neighbourhood
school as was promised with education reform.
Mr. Speaker, I have spoken on this previously.
The argument that I am making, education reform promised neighbour
schools, and that is exactly what this is.
It is a smaller school. I am
very familiar with the smaller schools and how they are better for the student
population because students do not get drowned out in a larger classroom or a
super school.
Mr. Speaker, many of the students that attend Holy
Cross do have learning disabilities or other issues.
The fact that every teacher in that school knows every student by name is
a benefit to those students. You put
those students on a school bus, some of them would be agitated, and some of them
would not deal with that quite as comfortably as going to a school that is close
to where they live, a neighbourhood school.
Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, government has introduced
all-day Kindergarten and there is no doubt I heard from the school board
trustees the other evening who said that St. Teresa's School, which is where
Holy Cross is slated to go, can accommodate all of the Kindergarten students
that are slated to go to Holy Cross.
That is not the point.
Kindergarten being announced and introduced throughout
the Province, throughout the entire Province, we will need additional classroom
space to accommodate all of those students.
We are not going to build additional classroom space on the existing
schools, Mr. Speaker. That does not
make sense. We need to have another
look at the schools that are slated to be closed; Holy Cross is a fine example.
We will need additional school space.
Maybe we need to recalculate the zoning of those schools in order to
accommodate all of the additional students who will be going to the school
system because of all-day Kindergarten.
I do contend that Holy Cross now deserves an additional
look, in addition to the fact that it is a neighbourhood school, because of
all-day Kindergarten and the fact we are going to need additional classroom
space.
Mr. Speaker, I know I am being urged to clue up.
I will make this final comment on this petition.
The parents and the students of that neighbourhood deserve the
opportunity to have Holy Cross stay open.
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Member for Bay of Islands.
MR.
JOYCE:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I rise again today to present a petition on behalf of
the people Western Newfoundland and Labrador, Central Newfoundland.
To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of
Newfoundland and Labrador, the petition of the undersigned residents humbly
sheweth:
WHEREAS we wish to raise concerns regarding the recent
delays of the construction of the new hospital in Corner Brook, Newfoundland and
Labrador;
WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly
pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge the Government of Newfoundland
and Labrador to commit to the planning and construction of a new hospital in
Corner Brook as previously committed to and in a timely manner as originally
announced without further delay or changes.
Mr. Speaker, I have a petition here again from people
all over Corner Brook. There are
people here from Cox's Cove, Meadows, Corner Brook, Humber East, and Humber
West. Once again their major concern
is about the hospital, about what we are hearing about it.
Mr. Speaker, I have to put it on the record.
When I was re-elected in 2011, when I was asking questions about the
delay of the hospital, how long it is going to take us to start, the big calm
person who was trying to disprove what I was saying about the delays in the
hospital, the Member for Humber East, the Premier of the Province today, went
out to the media and said I will not resign until steel is in the ground.
That was his commitment. That
was his personal commitment, the Premier of this Province: I will not resign
until there is steel in the ground.
Now, you hear him in the media trying to give away his seat cannot wait to
give away his seat.
Mr. Speaker, when the Premier of the Province stood up,
who was the Member for Humber East at the time, and tried to dispel all the
rumours that it was close to construction in 2011, when he stood up at a debate
and said construction would start in 2012 when I tried to say that is not
correct I went into Estimates, that is not correct.
The Premier of the Province stood up and said no, the construction will
not go ahead I will stick around; I will not resign.
That is why I am asking the questions.
I have going to look at some of the changes to the hospital.
Because of the Premier of the Province, who is the Member for Humber
East, says we are going to put one unit or two, we are going to put a PET
scanner and it is in the design.
Excuse me, Mr. Premier, from past history I have to ask questions.
I am sorry; I have to ask questions.
I know there was some amendments done to the design
plan. I know there is a Request for
Proposal. I just want people of
Western Newfoundland and Labrador and Central who are here listening I just
want to bring this up. They put out
a Request for Proposal back in February.
Mr. Speaker, the design is not even complete yet.
MR.
SPEAKER:
Order, please!
The hon. member's time has expired.
MR.
JOYCE:
Thank you.
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Government House Leader.
MR.
KING:
Mr.
Speaker, I move, seconded by the Minister of Environment and Conservation, that
we move to Orders of the Day.
MR.
SPEAKER:
Orders of the Day has been moved and seconded.
All those in favour, aye'.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Aye.
MR.
SPEAKER:
All
those against, nay'.
Motion carried.
The hon. the Minister of Finance.
JOHNSON:
Mr.
Speaker, I ask leave to bring in a notice of motion.
MR.
SPEAKER:
Does the minister have leave to revert to Notices of Motion?
HON. MEMBER:
Leave.
MR.
SPEAKER:
leave.
JOHNSON:
Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I give notice that I will ask leave to
introduce bill entitled,
An Act To Amend The Revenue Administration Act And The
Act Agreement, 2010, Bill 17.
Thank you.
MR.
SPEAKER:
Orders of the Day.
Orders of the Day
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Government House Leader.
MR.
KING:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
At this time I call Motion 1, to move that the House
approves in general the budgetary policy of the government, the Budget Speech.
MR.
SPEAKER:
are now debating the Budget Speech and, more particularly, the amendment to the
Budget motion.
The hon. the Member for Virginia Waters.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
C. BENNETT:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, as I stand here today I am reminded of
this quote by Winston Churchill, Politics is not a game.
It is an earnest business.
An earnest business listening to people, being a voice for people, standing up
for people and working to make things better for everyone.
That is why I chose to enter public life: to make a difference for
people.
Standing up and doing what is right, sharing ideas and
facing issues head-on, this is something I have done my entire life.
My father encouraged to me to do it and I can remember on more than one
occasion when a neighbour, a teacher or some other adult in my young life would
go to him and complain about something I said or did, usually in defending
someone or sticking my nose into something.
He would shrug his shoulders and he would tell them: You are not getting
anything past Cathy; she is pretty determined once she latches on to something.
Mr. Speaker, as determined as I can be and as much as I
have come here to jump into the debates and start working on issues, there is
something about standing on the floor of this hon. House, in this spot,
representing the District of Virginia Waters that makes me pause.
It is not just the history of this place or the realization that the
decisions that we make here every day impact the lives of people, of every
Newfoundlander and Labradorian today and in the future.
Mr. Speaker, more than anything, at this moment I am moved by the
confidence placed in me by the voters of Virginia Waters.
Democracy is an incredible thing, and sometimes we take
it too much for granted. After
spending weeks on the campaign trail, and really months in preparation, it is
humbling to see it in action and to appreciate the ability of the people of the
Province to effect change.
First and foremost, I want to thank the people of
Virginia Waters for their support, for their faith and the trust that you have
placed in me as your representative in this House of Assembly.
My commitment to you today, to every person who lives in the district,
remains the same as it was on the first day of the campaign, and the same as it
will be on the last day I serve in this hon. House.
My commitment is to you, to serve you, to earn your trust, and to
represent you with integrity.
Mr. Speaker, Virginia Waters is more than just an
electoral district; it is my home. I
grew up there. I am raising my
family there. It is where I went to
school, and it is where I built my business.
I have deep roots in the district and my constituents are my neighbours,
my friends and co-workers.
Today, Virginia Waters is home to a diverse group of
people. There are those who spent
their entire lives in the district growing up as I did, in neighbourhoods like
Wedgewood Park, Newfoundland Drive, Carrick Drive and going to neighbourhood
schools. These are people who want
the same opportunity for their children as they had, but are afraid that as a
society we may be failing our children in this Province.
Virginia Waters is also home to many residents who
moved to St. John's from communities around the Province, around our home of
Newfoundland and Labrador. I met
many of them during the campaign, people who live in St. John's but have deep
connections with family around the Province.
They live in developments like Airport Heights, but they are still
connected to their home communities and they worry about things like caring for
their elderly parents who live some distance away.
They struggle with the economic reality of owning a home in the capital
city and raising a family.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, Virginia Waters is home to a rich
and vibrant immigrant community.
Folks from all over the world who have chosen to make Newfoundland and Labrador
their home to raise their children, and to share in the benefit of living in the
best Province, in the best country.
They have enriched our community by their presence.
Mr. Speaker, I can recall growing up in the east end of
St. John's in the 1970s and 1980s.
As different as things are today, as neighbourhoods expand and as we welcome
newcomers to our city, the values and hopes and aspirations of the residents of
Virginia Waters remains the same as they were when I grew up.
What the people of the Province and the people of Virginia Waters want is
a good quality of life, a job to provide for their families, a home to call
their own, and an education for their children.
Mr. Speaker, as everyone in this House knows, public
life is not easy, but with the support of mentors, like former Virginia Waters
MHA Walter Noel and his team, as well as others, people can step forward and
should, including women. While there
is more, so much more that we can and should do to raise the level of debate and
encourage engagement in the political process, it is still a tough and
unforgiving business. Often, you are
only as good as the last thing you did.
I have a great deal of respect for anyone who puts
their name forward for public service at any level of government, for any party.
So I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge and thank former Premier
Dunderdale for her work on behalf of Virginia Waters.
I want to wish her well in her retirement, and while we may not agree
politically, I value the trail she blazed, particularly for women in this
Province.
That said, Mr. Speaker, we are under new management, or
rather interim management. Mr.
Speaker, I am delighted to be here as part of a Liberal caucus.
The people of Virginia Waters have not only put their faith in me, but
they have put their faith in the Liberal Party and our leader, the hon. Member
for Humber Valley.
Over the past few weeks and months I have spent a great
deal of time with my hon. colleague, and have come to know him as a friend.
He spent many cold days and nights knocking on doors, climbing snowbanks,
and shaking hands during the Virginia Waters campaign, but he also spent an
incredible amount of time talking to residents.
He clearly understands the issues that voters in the capital city are
facing, and government's unique responsibilities to its residents.
He understands that the people of St. John's are the ones negatively
impacted by government's failure to deal with a fiscal imbalance for
municipalities, and people of the city have gotten to know him as I have, as a
man of his word, a man committed to serving the people of the Province, a man
focused on rebuilding trust in government.
In the months to come, the people of the Province will
see and hear more from the Liberal Party, from our members, our leader, and the
many talented men and women who are seeking nominations.
They will see in all of us a common
thread, a commitment to creating an inclusive environment where all opinions are
welcome, where engagement is real, and where solutions are balanced.
Mr. Speaker, there has been much talk about prosperity
in this Province over the past decade, about the benefits of resource
development and the impact on revenues.
Well, for the Liberal Party, prosperity is defined by our ability to
align people with opportunity in a manner that elevates the quality of their
lives. We can only optimize the
opportunities we have in this Province when the benefits are felt by all, by
children, young people, families of all shapes and sizes, single adults,
immigrants, persons with disabilities, women, men, young, old, those struggling,
and those who have achieved success.
Mr. Speaker, we are here today as part of the Budget
debate, yet anyone who opened their mail recently might believe the Budget has
already passed. I was surprised to
receive this expensive piece of political propaganda in my mail recently.
I am not sure what the government is trying to achieve, but I can assure
the hon. members that the people see through it.
I believe it, Mr. Speaker, because they told me on the doorsteps.
While government points out the five things about this
year's Budget that we need to know, what about the five things that you do not
know? Let's take a moment to look at
those.
Number one, Mr. Speaker: Shared prosperity, fairness
and balance. It is more like lost
opportunity and fiscal mismanagement.
Over 1,200 people eliminated in last year's Budget had their lives turned
upside down by this government.
Where is the shared prosperity?
Investments in the social sector, as per a per cent of expenditures, are down
from 64 per cent to 59 per cent, and young people who needed help years ago to
get ready for today's opportunities are not getting the help until now, years
too late. That is not fair.
This year's Budget solution?
Borrow $1 billion. Where is the
balance?
Number two, Mr. Speaker: Creating first-rate education
opportunities. More and more kids
are graduating from high school where the no-zero policy is disabling teachers
from teaching the lessons and providing the valuable learning needed about
failure, about success, and about accountability.
I have tremendous confidence in our teachers and our students.
What I do not have confidence in is a system that does not allow the
talents of those two stakeholder groups to be optimized for the future of our
Province.
We need our children to grow up to be even smarter than
we perceive ourselves to be.
Children who need early interventions are not getting those interventions when
they need them, or in some cases getting them too late to make a meaningful
difference in their future success.
Mr. Speaker, math scores are declining at a time when
industry is crying out for STEM skills because of the people's resources not
the Tories' resources, the people's resources of oil and hydro.
This is not about first-rate.
Let's talk a moment about providing quality health
care. Above all, again and again,
the most important issue I heard during the campaign daily on the doorsteps was
health care. Young and old, people
want their government to assure access to the kind of health care system that
Canada has built its reputation on, yet many are on lengthy wait-lists for
procedures.
Five years for rheumatoid arthritis, long lists for
occupational and physiotherapy.
People are spending nights in hallways.
In one case, a constituent told me he spent the night on a cot in what he
said appeared to be a linen closet, and we cannot even manage basic services as
ensuring an ambulance is available when it is needed.
We must and can do more to ensure that we have a health care system that
is accountable, while meeting the needs of residents by leveraging the talents
of our front line employees. That is
what defines quality health care.
Mr. Speaker, a fourth point was building strong
communities. My constituents, like
many in the capital city and other places in our Province, are worried about
feeling safe in their homes. They
are worried about safety in their neighbourhoods, a basic and simple right that
people deserve to be safe at home.
Taxpayers in St. John's are paying a higher burden to
cover costs associated with provincial responsibilities in the city.
This means fewer resources for the city to address municipal issues, a
direct link to their ability to respond to concerns like snow clearing and
quality of roads. By downloading
responsibilities onto municipalities, including the capital city, without
providing the necessary resources, how is that building stronger communities?
Finally, encouraging a vibrant economy.
Mr. Speaker, perhaps the government should look at its own Budget
documents. I am not sure how they
define the word vibrant, but their own Budget predicts significant economic
decline in 2016 and 2017. We will go
from record high employment to seeing employment decline by 13,000, or 5.6 per
cent, by 2017.
Mr. Speaker, that is all accompanied by declines in all
major economic indicators. So today,
with little follow-up on oil development benefit agreements needed to grow our
oil and gas sector, with continued high employment in rural Newfoundland, and
workforce and labour challenges in urban centres, and a disconnect between the
skills we need today and those we need in the future, with little progress on
economic diversification which is needed to create long-term jobs jobs that
are needed to keep and attract young people in this Province and with every
economic indicator warning us of trouble ahead, what in this Budget is
encouraging us in any way that we have a vibrant economy?
Mr. Speaker, these are issues we are talking about in
Virginia Waters and the people in the district are talking about.
Issues that I am sad to say government has ignored and only paid lip
service to in this Budget while they promote their version of the past as a
reason to trust them in the future.
For those of you who do not know me, my life revolves
around my family. That does not make
me different from any other member in this House.
My commitment to my family goes beyond providing for them.
They are my moral compasses.
More than members opposite and more than the folks in the press gallery, my
family will keep me focused on the work that I was sent here to do, work that I
will do with the values of hard work and commitment, and fighting for what is
right and fair, and respecting and defending the values and opinions of others.
These are the values I grew up with, the values I share with my family
and constituents, and the values that will guide me here in the House as we
address the issues in a respectful and thoughtful manner.
When we have earned the trust of the people to govern,
a Liberal government will be more accountable and will always act in the best
interest of the people of the Province.
We will be more caring and we will better protect those who are
potentially vulnerable, including children, seniors, Aboriginal peoples, persons
facing challenges due to disabilities, or mental health problems.
We will be fair and respectful of our people and communities in the
Province and we will be focused on prosperity and success for individuals,
communities, and the Province as a whole.
As I conclude, I will take a few moments to say a few
words to my family. I want to
acknowledge my parents, who taught me the value of hard work, giving back, and
speaking up, and the importance of doing the right things at the right times.
I want to acknowledge my own family and the contribution they have made.
As many members in this House know, public service
impacts our families in many ways.
As a mom, the challenges can be even more so.
My husband and my children have supported me, and this is truly a family
choice, a choice to give back and give voice to people who need a voice.
My family is always with me and I am always with them.
I will be guided not only by a passion for the people in Virginia Waters
and a passion to serve them, but equally by a commitment to my family to serve
with honour and integrity so they can be proud of me, as I am of them.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. members
for their kind words and support over the past few weeks as I have prepared to
enter the House. Many of them know
me not to be a shy person. I am not
known to be timid or one to be intimidated.
On occasion I have been known to share an opinion or two; but, that said,
as raucous as debates can be at times, and regardless of our individual
political views, I believe we all enter here with the same desire and hope for
the future as I do today. There is a
great deal of work ahead of us, and the people of the Province are depending on
us. We must do everything we can, as
individual members, as caucuses, to ensure we stay focused on the work of the
House.
Mr. Speaker, as I said in the beginning of my comments
today, politics is not a game. It is
an earnest business and we must treat it as such.
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER (Littlejohn) The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation .
SHEA:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, we are going to adjourn debate on Motion 1
at this time. I would like to call
from the Order Paper, Motion 4, debate of Bill 1,
An Act Respecting Public
Interest Disclosure.
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Member for Exploits.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
FORSEY:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the opportunity to speak on Bill 1,
An Act
Respecting Public Interest Disclosure.
Our government, Mr. Speaker, is moving ahead with
whistleblower legislation. This was
announced in the Speech from the Throne, and of course it is another one of our
Blue Book commitments. With this
legislation, employees who have knowledge of wrongdoing that they wish to
disclose can now do so without reprisal.
Mr. Speaker, this act is clearly defined, and some of
my colleagues have already spoken on this particular bill.
There are quite a few
definitions in the act.
I would just like to touch on a couple, Mr. Speaker, for the information
of the general public. There are
many in this bill.
In this act it says a board, (
a) board' means the
Labour Relations Board appointed under the Labour Relations Act.
In this act it also defines a public body: (
h) public' body means
(
i) a corporation, the ownership of which or a
majority of the shares of which is vested in the Crown,
(ii) a corporation, commission or body, the majority
of the members of which, or a majority of the members of the board of directors
of which, are appointed by
an Act, the Lieutenant-Governor in Council or a
minister.
I am just touching on a couple of the
definitions
there, Mr. Speaker, because I think they are important.
As I said, it is an important piece of legislation.
It is going to give our public service a tool to actually report
wrongdoings without reprisal.
In this act it also defines reprisal; (
j) reprisal'
means one or more of the following measures taken against an employee because
the employee has, in good faith, sought advice about making a disclosure, made a
disclosure or cooperated in an investigation under this Act.
It also defines wrongdoing.
Section 4.(1)(
a) an act or omission constituting an offence under
an Act
of the Legislature or the Parliament of Canada, or a regulation made under an
Act.
It goes on to define other sections in the act.
It is quite lengthy, Mr. Speaker, but I would like touch on a couple of
what I just mentioned. I am sure I
will have, hopefully, the time to do it.
Just recently, my colleague explained certain sections
of the act in very fine detail. I
recall the Member for Lewisporte, he detailed the four pillars.
The Member for Bonavista North explained the duties of the Citizens'
Representative and the Labour Relations Board.
There are going to be other colleagues following today
and will be speaking on it as well.
I do believe my colleague from Conception Bay East Bell Island is also going
to speak on this particular piece of legislation because it is an important
piece and it is something that we have been reviewing for the past couple of
years. It took a lot of detail and I
am sure we are going to get a lot of support for it here in the House.
I did mention one of the
definitions, one of the
sections in the act, Mr. Speaker, what is meant by wrongdoing.
It is an unlawful act that contravenes provincial or federal legislation,
a substantial and specific danger to a person or persons; gross mismanagement of
public funds or assets; counselling to commit a wrongdoing.
Of course, we have already mentioned the duties of the Citizens'
Representative. With this, with the
wrongdoing, there must be a written disclosure.
A written disclosure will be required.
The reason for that, Mr. Speaker, is anonymous disclosures, number one,
will not be accepted, but it can be difficult to investigate a disclosure
without confirming details about the alleged wrongdoing with the person who
makes the disclosure. A standard
disclosure form will be available from the Office of the Citizens'
Representative.
In conjunction with that, Mr. Speaker, the Citizens'
Representative is required to prepare an annual report and to table it in the
House outlining the number of inquiries received under the act, the number of
disclosures, the number acted upon, the number not acted upon, the number of
investigations undertaken, the number of recommendations made and whether
departments and public bodies have complied with the recommendations, whether
there are systemic problems that contribute to the issues, and any
recommendations for improvement that should be considered.
Mr. Speaker, the Citizens' Representative will also
have authority to publish special reports where he deems it to be in the public
interest and consistent with the scope of his functions and duties outlined in
this act. This includes the
publishing of a report related to an investigation of wrongdoing under the act.
This particular act, Mr. Speaker, is not taken lightly.
You just cannot go out and make a report or be a whistleblower.
Employees are required to make disclosures in good faith.
If an employee makes a disclosure of wrongdoing, where the disclosure is
frivolous, vexatious, or in bad faith, that employee will be subject to
appropriate disciplinary action, which may include termination of employment
and/or other penalties provided under the law.
It is vital that employees become aware and knowledgeable of the entire
act, its intent, purpose, and roles and responsibilities.
So I guess an employee just cannot go out and make up
something because you are probably not pleased with one of your co-workers or
one of your supervisors. You have to
be sincere and report this in good faith.
Mr. Speaker, this legislation will apply to public
service employees of government departments and public bodies such as Crown
corporations, including Nalcor;, Hydro; Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor
Corporation; Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation; Workplace Health,
Safety and Compensation Commission; the Public Utilities Board; regional health
authorities; the Legal Aid Commission; College of the North Atlantic; school
boards and school districts.
It takes in all the departments of the government
operations, Mr. Speaker. So, any
public person or public service employee can make a report or become a
whistleblower; but, as I said, it has to be done in good faith.
You just cannot go out because you are not pleased or happy with
something that went on that day at work.
It has to be done in good faith.
Mr. Speaker, there was a couple of other things in the
act that are defined and very important to this bill.
Earlier I mentioned the wrongdoing and the definition of a wrongdoing.
When you report somebody of wrongdoing, there are other things that must
be in place. This act defines a
wrongdoing also as
an act or omission that creates a substantial and specific
danger to the life, health or safety of persons, or to the environment, other
than a danger that is inherent in the performance of the duties or functions of
an employee. As I said, also gross
mismanagement, including of public funds and/or a public asset.
It is clearly detailed, Mr. Speaker.
A very good piece of legislation that I think most all members in this
House are supporting. As I said,
there have been some negative comments on it, but overall I think the majority
is supporting this piece of legislation.
I am looking forward to listening to other comments
from some more of my colleagues in the House.
I look forward to when we come to vote on this supporting Bill 1,
An Act
Respecting Public Interest Disclosure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
EDMUNDS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It is a pleasure to rise and to discuss this new
legislation, the Public Interest Disclosure and Whistleblower Protection Act.
As I read through many portions of this I just attended part of the
briefing, Mr. Speaker I could not help notice that going through this whole
act kind of reminded me of Bill 21.
There are a lot of protective measures in there, but definitely room for a lot
of improvement. The sense of
direction for a whistleblower is somewhat limited.
He talked about the four main pillars and I really do
not have a problem with most of them, Mr. Speaker, because they are there to
protect the whistleblower. The whole
purpose of this act is to outline a plan for people who report neglect in the
public service so that they do have an avenue where they can come forward
without fear of reprisal. This has
been in the making for seven years, and certainly I would like to see this
legislation go back retroactive for the seven years that it was proposed.
When you look at whistleblower legislation in other
provinces I think they have taken most of it from one province, with a few
additions. There are some issues
that I do have a problem with and I am looking at it from a whistleblower
perspective rather than a protective agency as a result of whistleblowing, which
obviously this government has done again.
Pillar one talks about disclosing serious wrongdoing
without the fear of reprisal. That
is the whole purpose of this legislation.
Going through the Office of the Citizens' Representative, a single
process does it create some problems?
It creates problems in effective whistleblower legislation, it creates
problems in timing, and it creates doubt and uncomfortableness from a
whistleblower perspective, especially when you look at the amount of time that
has passed. I do not see any problem
with a dual process, and I do not think there is any problem with internal and
external investigations. I think it
can be done at the same time, it can be done simultaneously, and there is no
reason for a whistleblower to have to live in doubt while the process is
unfolding.
My question is: Does an internal investigation really
and effectively protect a whistleblower?
No one knows what is going on, except the OCR, and certainly that would
create a level of fear and a level of mistrust, and it goes back to how would a
whistleblower feel having to wait, not knowing what the outcome of it is.
I think it would cause a person who wants to report wrongdoing to
second-guess himself and not say anything, and that would defeat the whole
purpose of this legislation in the first place.
Now, we have asked on this side for whistleblower
protection, Mr. Speaker. We have
asked it, obviously, since 2011, and I cannot totally condemn this government.
They have, in fact, brought it in.
When I look at legislation that has been here since 1949, a lot of
legislation is revisited at every session in the House and upgrades are made.
So, there is obviously room for improvement, and governments do change.
Take Bill 29, for example.
This government stood by it; now they are backing off and revisiting it.
As the Official Opposition, we said that if we form the government, we
will repeal it. So, there is a
process, it takes time, and hopefully it is time that builds strength into
legislation and effectiveness into legislation.
Certainly this piece of legislation has a lot of room for improvement,
Mr. Speaker.
I am just going through some of my notes here.
I spoke a little bit about timing, Mr. Speaker.
As you go through the legislation from the time that an incident is
reported to the time there is closure or action upon investigation, there is no
time limit. The danger here is that
if there is wrongdoing, let us say it is environmentally related, by the time
that the wrongdoing is reported, how long can this environmental issue be going
on before anything is done? Because
sometimes a report can be I think the word is frivolous and vexatious; terms
that are not new in this House, Mr. Speaker, by any means.
I would just like to talk about what a wrongdoing is.
One that jumps out to my mind and I wish this could be retroactive, Mr.
Speaker, the definition of a wrongdoing could be gross mismanagement, including
of public funds or a public asset, in which case we could blow the whistle on
the whole government. It goes back a
step before to say that wrongdoing is
an act or omission that creates a
substantial and specific danger to the life, health or safety of persons, or to
the environment, other than a danger that is inherent in the performance of
duties or functions of an employee.
That is quite broad, Mr. Speaker, and it covers pretty much everything in the
public sector, with the exception of Memorial University; they have their own.
I was just looking at some issues where whistleblowing
would have been effective and I was trying to make it relative to the district I
come from. I think there were two
that kind of jumped out at me, and I would like to talk about those two pieces
of legislation. There are safeguards
that have been put in place as a result of the issues making it to the floor of
the House of Assembly. I think it
was three or four times that I have stood in this hon. House and I talked about
shipping in Northern Labrador shipping in December in Northern Labrador.
We have had freight boats come into every community, pretty much, and as
a business owner I have witnessed some of what went on.
I will just outline a little scenario of how whistleblower protection
would be put into place here.
You have a snowstorm going on at 12:00 to 4:00 o'clock
in the morning, Mr. Speaker, and a ship arrives.
You have perishables on-board that ship.
In December, it is the time of the year when you have all-terrain
vehicles on the road, you have snowmobiles on the road, and you have trucks and
cars on the road all at the same time.
Everybody wants to get their perishable freight that is coming off the
freight boat at 4:00 o'clock in the morning in a snowstorm.
Now, the docking area in all communities on the North
Coast is very congested. In the
middle of trucks, cars, snowmobiles, and ATVs, Mr. Speaker, you have forklifts
running with containers and with pallets of freight in a very congested area.
If there is not a definition for wrongdoing, there is one now.
That is an accident waiting to happen.
We have had accidents. We
have been lucky so far that no one has been killed, but it is a scenario where
there is a safety to persons, right in the category.
I have seen, I think, in the last two years when the
contracts for shipping are put out to tender there is a clause in there that
says: On-loading shall not occur in the hours of 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. unless
authorized by the department. Now,
Mr. Speaker, we realize that if there are perishables on-board that freight
container at 4:00 o'clock in the morning that are going to freeze if you do not
get them, they have to be removed.
That does not mean there is not going to be an accident.
The activity around that area is just as dangerous as it would be if
there was no legislation or there were no terms of a contract that says you can
unload at 6:00 o'clock in the morning.
In the interest of backloads of freight, you have a
freight boat that is coming into, say, my home community of Makkovik at minus
twenty-five with a danger of freezing and still has four communities north of me
to go. There are emergency
situations, but still there is that danger of unloading a vessel.
These are the kinds of examples that I can come up with
that I have actually brought up in this House.
If this whistleblower legislation is introduced, and it is effective I
think July of this year I wish it could be retroactive.
I wish it could go back, because there is nothing to protect what happens
until then. It could certainly be
applied in many, many situations.
There are many, many people out there I think who would
love to bring an issue forward but are afraid to because they could lose their
jobs, they could be threatened.
There are all kinds of issues that a whistleblower would look for in protection
and a lot of it I do not see in this legislation.
I want to talk about another example, Mr. Speaker, as
you define a wrongdoing,
an act or omission that creates a specific danger to
the environment. In October of 2011,
at the Vale site in Anaktalak Bay, I think there was some 500,000 cubic metres
of waste product that went into the bay.
If you did the math, you would fill like 200 Olympic-sized swimming
pools.
Anaktalak Bay I am familiar with because I did work
over there. It is a very small bay.
There is a lot of char, there are a lot of seals, and there are a lot of
groundfish. The only thing we can be
thankful for in terms of Arctic char migration is that they are all gone up in
the river by October.
The point is this legislation is before the courts.
If someone blew the whistle on this particular incident and it went to
the OCR, the question is, would it be in the courts now?
That is the kind of doubt this legislation creates, Mr. Speaker, and
certainly one that we would like to see given more teeth.
If I were to summarize and I know I would be drastic
and I would probably be a little more forceful than I ought to be it seems to
me that this whistleblower, Mr. Speaker, protects everybody except the
whistleblower. I see a problem with
that. As you go through it you see
protection of Executive Council, and of Cabinet.
That is an understandable point to a certain degree.
Bill 29 said the same thing.
Bill 29 was filled with ifs, buts, may, and so is this legislation, Mr. Speaker.
There are many places where if you put in a, may, it creates a time
delay. Like I said, there is no time
delay.
How would a whistleblower feel knowing that he makes
his report to the Office of the Citizens' Representative and not knowing how
long he has to wait? Until a
decision comes down, is that individual at the mercy of reprisal?
Can this person be terminated?
These are the questions that come out of it.
Like I said, and I will conclude.
That legislation, if it is in fact to protect the whistleblower, it needs
to be redesigned. It needs to be
strengthened so that it in fact does protect the whistleblower.
Thank you.
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Member for Conception East Bell Island.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR.
BRAZIL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It is an honour to stand in this House and speak to a
very important piece of legislation, Bill 1.
Before I do that, I want to welcome the Member for Virginia Waters, as we
just listened to her maiden speech.
I want to acknowledge, as she said, we come here based on the process of
improving and working for our district and for this Province.
That is true across this House on all sides.
I want to welcome her here again.
We look forward to some good open debate.
As she said, she is not afraid of open debate, and I guarantee you we are
not afraid of that over here on this side also, Mr. Speaker.
I want to get into Bill 1,
An Act Respecting Public
Interest Disclosure. Mr. Speaker, it
is a very important piece of legislation because it gives us the opportunity now
to really put forward the integrity and safety of the civil service.
While people may criticize us and say it is overdue,
Mr. Speaker, every piece of legislation and every program we bring in is overdue
until we do it. That is just the
reality of life. Until it is done
and people know it is the right piece of legislation or it is the right program,
it is overdue. Things have to be
done in due diligence, and we have done that in this case.
I might note, and I find it a lit