October
17, 2017
HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS
Vol. XLVIII No. 26
The
House met at 1:30 p.m.
MR. SPEAKER (Trimper):
Order, please!
Admit
strangers.
Prior to
the proceedings today, I would like to welcome to the public gallery Mr. Michael
Bartellas who will be the subject of a Ministerial Statement today. I'd also
like to welcome to the public gallery Gemma Hickey who will also be mentioned in
a Ministerial Statement.
Welcome.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
Statements by
Members
MR. SPEAKER:
Today for Members'
statements, we have Members' statements from the Districts of Fogo Island – Cape
Freels, Conception Bay East – Bell Island, Burin – Grand Bank, Virginia Waters –
Pleasantville, Topsail – Paradise and Exploits.
The hon.
the Member for Fogo Island – Cape Freels.
MR. BRAGG:
Mr. Speaker, I'm honoured to
rise in the House today and sing the praises of the many men and women who serve
as volunteer firefighters in my district. My District of Fogo Island – Cape
Freels is serviced by 19 volunteer fire departments – over 350 volunteers
keeping our communities safe.
Last
Saturday night, I had the privilege of attending the 40th anniversary of the
Lumsden volunteer fire department. Chief Chesley Robbins and his crew sacrifice
countless family hours to support their community. These volunteers constantly
hold ticket draws and bingo to fund their department.
Forty
years ago, their fundraiser was to sell $100 worth of tickets. The prize was $20
worth of groceries. Years later, they would drop off a long rubber boot at one
of end of town, pass it along until it was full and then run down, empty it and
pass it to the next house, raising thousands of the years. What started out 40
years ago with a small pump and some hose has evolved into a well-trained and
equipped volunteer fire department.
I would
like everyone to join me in thanking the Lumsden volunteer fire department for
40 years of service.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. Member for
Conception Bay East – Bell Island.
MR. BRAZIL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I stand
today to acknowledge an event that took place a few weeks ago in my district. On
September 16, I, along with the federal and provincial minister, the commander
of the navy, the Lieutenant Governor, senators and representatives of both the
British and French consulates were joined by hundreds of local residents as we
attended the 75th anniversary commemorative ceremony of the sinking of four ore
carriers off Lance Cove on Bell Island by German U-boat 513.
The
ceremony acknowledged the tragic events of 1942 and remembered the 69 sailors
who died during the attack, while paying tribute to the many men and women of
Bell Island who risked their own lives to save those in the water after the
sinking of the ships. Stories of residents swimming out to bring in injured
sailors, kitchen tables being used to perform surgery by local doctors, stables
used to house the many survivors until accommodations could be secured.
The
residents of Bell Island showed true heroism as they launched their own small
boats into the water to save survivors and retrieve bodies – all as the enemy
lurked still in the ocean below.
I
congratulate and thank Bell Island Legion Branch 18 for organizing such a
respectful and memorable event. Lest We Forget.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for Burin
– Grand Bank.
MS. HALEY:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr.
Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to my good friend Judy. Without mention of
her surname, the name Judy in our province automatically implies Judy Foote.
This is an indication of the profound impact she has had on the province she
served for three decades, two of those an elected representative, both in this
hon. House and in the House of Commons.
No
matter the role, whether minister of various portfolios, chief whip, tenacious
representative for those who elected her, she earned a reputation as a strong
advocate for Newfoundland and Labrador, Mr. Speaker. This fall, Judy selflessly
stepped back from politics; certainly not because she had nothing more to offer
but, as we can appreciate, for Judy, family comes first.
Newfoundland and Labrador is a far better place because of Judy's contributions.
For me, she has been a tremendous role model; my seven years as her special
assistant provided me a wonderful experience.
Mr.
Speaker, I ask all Members of this hon. House to join me in thanking this
remarkable woman for her years of service and in wishing her many years of good
health and happiness in her retirement.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Virginia Waters – Pleasantville.
MR. B. DAVIS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I rise
in this hon. House to recognize the Church Lads' Brigade, which is celebrating
125 years of service, making it the longest, continuous youth-serving
organization in our province.
This
past weekend, the organization held their 125th Anniversary Parade, where
approximately 400 members were marching in downtown St. John's. The parade
marshal was Major William G. Tilley, who is the longest-serving member, with
over 91 years of service to the CLB.
The CLB
has been active in all corners of our province since 1892 and is open to all
children, starting at the age of five. The organization's objective is to help
foster the leaders of tomorrow through the use of educational, recreational and
social activities so children are exposed to skills they may not get the
opportunity to participate in otherwise.
The CLB
has already contributed many members to the community such as Gordon Pinsent,
Sgt. Tommy Ricketts and former Premier Joey Smallwood.
I, along
with other Members in this hon. House, have first-hand knowledge of how
influential the CLB can be in shaping the trajectory of a child's life.
I ask
all hon. Members to join me in recognizing the CLB for their dedication and
passion to youth in our communities.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Topsail – Paradise.
MR. P. DAVIS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr.
Speaker, back in August, 10-year-old Nicholas Quinn from my district made sports
history by being the first person from this province to medal at the World Dwarf
Games held in Guelph, Ontario. Among the 400 athletes who competed, Nicholas and
Brooklyn Wolfrey from Rigolet, were the first Newfoundlanders and Labradorians
ever to compete.
The
World Dwarf Games is the largest sporting event in history held exclusively for
athletes with dwarfism. Nicholas participated in 11 sport categories and took
home six medals, including five gold medals and one bronze. He received gold in
Bocce, floor hockey, table tennis, 25 metre swimming and 50 metre swimming, and
a bronze in badminton singles.
Some of
his wins, Mr. Speaker, came against athletes who had competed within their own
countries to earn the right to compete at these world games, quite the
accomplishment for Nicholas.
One of
highlights for Nicholas was to meet and make so many new friends from Canada and
beyond. Nicholas hopes to be part of this again when the games are held in four
years' time.
Mr.
Speaker, I would ask all hon. Members to show our appreciation and
congratulations to Nicholas here in the House of Assembly this afternoon. His
accomplishments are truly amazing.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Exploits.
MR. DEAN:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr.
Speaker, I rise in this hon. House to congratulate Lloyd Seaward on celebrating
his 100th birthday on October 3. I was extremely pleased to have attended the
birthday festivities with him and his family at the Salvation Army Citadel in
his hometown of Bishop's Falls.
Mr.
Seaward was in the Royal Navy from 1939 to 1947 and proved to be a true hero.
While on patrol in the English Channel he was injured and sent to the Royal Navy
hospital. As he was recovering, his doctor recommended sending him home to
Newfoundland but Lloyd would not go and insisted on going back instead to the
patrol boats.
In 1942
his cruiser sank in the Java Sea and he was taken prisoner of war by the
Japanese. In prison he was seen making a pair of wooden clogs and when asked,
told the officer he was a shoemaker. This resulted in a transfer to Makasura
Camp to make boots for the Japanese Army.
I am
happy to see that Lloyd is still in good health, busy with family and friends
and hobbies, in which he has an expertise in fashioning floating replicas, a
rarity in our province, of the traditional Beothuk birchbark canoes.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Statements by Ministers.
Statements by
Ministers
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Service NL.
MS. GAMBIN-WALSH:
Mr. Speaker, our government believes in equality for everyone and we respect the
diversity of all individuals. That is why we adopted the policy to allow for a
change-of-sex designation on a birth certificate from female or male to
non-binary.
During
the fall sitting of this hon. House of Assembly, I will introduce amendments to
the Vital Statistics Act, 2009, which
will remove the requirement to submit a statement from a medical professional
prior to a change in sex designation for those 16 years of age and older.
Children aged 12 to 15 will still require a parent to apply on their behalf, and
consent of a child is also required.
Information pertaining to sex designation at birth will continue to be collected
after the amendments have been made. This data is important for personal health
service decisions, as well as informing government policy and programs. Last
week I also announced a new, more secure driver's licence for our province.
Individuals who qualify for a gender-neutral birth certificate may also avail of
a gender-neutral driver's licence.
Mr.
Speaker, we appreciate activist Gemma Hickey's efforts in bringing this issue
forward. It is important that we remain progressive as a government and continue
to empower people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and gender
expressions.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for Cape St. Francis.
MR. K. PARSONS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I'd like
to thank the minister for the advance copy of her statement. I would also like
to recognize the tremendous advocacy efforts of Gemma Hickey, who has led the
public conversation on this issue. Gemma is a remarkable individual who, through
making their story told, showcased the need of gender-neutral birth
certificates, driver's licences and other forms of identification, and we look
forward to discussing the amendments of the
Vital Statistics Act in the upcoming
weeks.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.
MS. MICHAEL:
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
I, too,
thank the minister for the advance copy of her statement. We're very glad
government has recognized the need to amend the
Vital Statistics Act to better reflect the diversity of our
province. Allowing individuals to change their sex designation to non-binary is
an important step towards inclusion.
We, too,
congratulate the continued efforts of activists such as Gemma Hickey, who has
raised this issue, and look forward to seeing this change take place.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Further statements by
ministers?
The hon.
the Minister of Health and Community Services.
MR. HAGGIE:
Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker.
I rise
today to congratulate Michael Bartellas on being awarded the 2017 Charles
Tabachnick Canadian Medical Hall of Fame Award for leadership and innovation in
health care.
Mr.
Bartellas is the co-creator of MUN MED 3D, Newfoundland and Labrador's first
biomedical 3-D printing laboratory. As part of the design process, Mr. Bartellas
draws on his Red Seal certification as a carpenter.
MUN MED
3D had supported more than 40 biomedical projects, including the mentoring of
Holy Heart high student Nora Boone. Ms. Boone went on to win the goal medal
Youth Can Innovate Award at the Canada-wide science fair earlier this year.
Mr.
Bartellas is a third-year medical student at Memorial University's Facility of
Medicine. He's just one example of the vision and innovation that incubates at
Memorial University and throughout communities across our province.
I invite
all Members of his hon. House to join me today in celebrating these remarkable
achievements and congratulating Mr. Bartellas.
We wish
him every success in his future in medicine.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Conception Bay East – Bell Island.
MR. BRAZIL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank
the minister for an advance copy of his statement. We join with the minister in
congratulating Mr. Bartellas on his winning of this year's Medical Hall of Fame
Award for leadership and innovation.
Mr.
Bartellas is a prime example of some of the great minds we are nurturing and
developing at Memorial University. That is why, Mr. Speaker, we must continue
supporting the important work happening in one of our province's premier
educational institutions.
I want
to again congratulate Mr. Bartellas on his prestigious award and wish him all
the best in his studies. I suspect this will not be the last time we hear this
gentlemen's name.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. Leader of the Third
Party.
MS. MICHAEL:
Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker.
I, too,
thank the minister for the advance copy of this statement. I was delighted to
hear that medical student Michael Bartellas won this prestigious Canadian
Medical Hall of Fame Award.
The work
he is doing with his colleagues at the 3-D printing laboratory is truly
impressive, including the very important work of mentoring students such as Nora
Boone, helping them develop projects to improve health care delivery in our
communities.
I'm
delighted to congratulate Michael Bartellas and all who worked with him in this
laboratory.
Thank
you.
MR. SPEAKER:
Further statements by
ministers?
Oral
Questions.
Oral Questions
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Official Opposition.
MR. P. DAVIS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr.
Speaker, Supreme Court Justice Gillian Butler in her ruling on special ballot
provisions frowned upon how quickly the 2007 bill moved through the House of
Assembly. She went on to comment that there was no study or analysis of the
effects caused by the special ballot provision.
I ask
the minister: As it relates to your proposed bill before the House, what studies
and analysis has your government completed?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. Government House
Leader.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I'm
certainly happy to stand up and speak to this piece of legislation and this
issue. I agree with Justice Butler; we don't want to go through this House, like
the previous administration did, forcing bills upon the people without knowing
what they were doing.
The fact
is that there's been significant research and analysis done of this bill since
the decision was laid down on September 6. We've had numerous lawyers look at
this, people like Todd Stanley, Isobel O'Shea and Dr. Barb Barrowman who did
clerk at the Supreme Court of Canada. So we've had tremendous analysis of this
bill. Then we've also reached out to Elections NL.
What I
can tell you is we have a bill that is constitutionally sound and will allow for
a fair, balanced and democratic election.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Official Opposition.
MR. P. DAVIS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Well,
Minister, will you share that analysis with Members of the House of Assembly
before the debate begins in second reading?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. Government House
Leader.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
What I
would say is that the bill that's been placed out there and given to the
Opposition days ago is the analysis. This is the result of what we have here.
We've done a bill and drafted a bill based on the work done by bureaucrats and
lawyers within the Department of Justice.
What I
will say is contrary to the practice that was adopted by the previous
administration where the previous bill was actually put into this House without
any briefing provided to the Opposition whatsoever, the fact is that this
Opposition was given a briefing. I understand it was very quick because they
didn't actually have many questions.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. Leader of the
Opposition.
MR. P. DAVIS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
He
certainly opened the door on a number of issues now. It's too bad he's playing
politics on an important matter where politics should be removed from them, Mr.
Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. P. DAVIS:
The very crux of Justice
Butler's decision was to remove an advantage to government or to any incumbents
or to anyone in the House of Assembly or anyone who wants to run, not to enter
politics in the discussion and the debate as the Member opposite is doing, Mr.
Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. P. DAVIS:
And there certainly were
questions. As a matter of fact, in the short briefing that happened on Friday
morning, Mr. Speaker, there were changes made to the bill. Imagine what could
happen if there was a good analysis and study done by Members of the House of
Assembly before it comes to the House of Assembly.
I'll ask
the minister again: Will you table the analysis done, with all the people you
mentioned, with Members of the House of Assembly? As Justice Butler said, that
people in the House of Assembly, the Members of the House of Assembly, those
passing the bill should consider those analyses.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. Government House
Leader.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Again,
the Member asked for an analysis. We have a piece of legislation that we placed
on the Table. In fact, we've given them significantly more time than they ever
allowed us when we were in Opposition to debate this.
The fact
is we're here in a special session to debate a piece of legislation that's
necessary for all of us. Now, the Member opposite is talking about an unfair
advantage for the incumbents; this coming from a Member who brought the House
back here to eliminate seats from the House of Assembly so he can extend an
election and keep himself premier for a few extra months.
The fact
is they had every opportunity, and there remains every opportunity to ask
questions. I look forward to a full debate where we can sit here and listen to
what they have to say, and I will not do it behind closed doors as the Members
opposite have requested.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Official Opposition.
MR. P. DAVIS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I remind
the Member opposite that it was the Opposition House Leader of the day in 2007
that allowed the bill to proceed the way it did. What I suggest to the Member
opposite, that he not rush it through like it was done in 2007, that he not be
the author of that and that the right analysis, the right considerations be
given by legislators, as Justice Butler has referred to. They should be left to
consider those analyses, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. P. DAVIS:
Mr. Speaker, I'll ask the
minister this: We were told that Cabinet directed to drafting the bill, why were
changes not led by the Chief Electoral Officer? Why were consultations not held
prior to the bill coming to the House?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Government House
Leader.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, I
have no idea what the Member opposite is referring to. What I can assure him is
that the Chair of Elections NL had plenty of input into this piece of
legislation as it went to Cabinet; the same process that he would have followed
when he was on this side of the House.
The fact
is we are here because the bill from 2007, led by the other administration, is
not constitutional. We have no choice but to be here to make those changes.
We've put forward a bill; we've given every opportunity for briefings and
questions. I look forward to a debate on it, but the debate will rest on whether
they actually want to do that here in this House.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Official Opposition.
MR. P. DAVIS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
We
raised this over a month ago and the Government House Leader dismissed it. He
did make a comment, he would do consultations with Members of the House of
Assembly that he hasn't done.
As a
matter of fact, what we were told in our briefing on Friday is the department
was told just go get it done – just go get it done. So it doesn't appear there
was any analysis or any study done on the impacts of the provisions that they
had brought before the House, Mr. Speaker.
I'll ask
the government this. The bill imposes five days after government decides to call
an election to get all candidates in place. Candidates have to get their affairs
in order, parties have to hold nominations.
So I ask
the Premier: Do you accept that this provision is an unfair advantage to the
governing party, especially when you control the decisions?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Government House
Leader.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Mr. Speaker, unfortunately 45
seconds is not going to be enough to address all the things that I'd like to
address, so I hope we can do it later in debate as well.
What I
can say, the Member talks here about coming into this House – this is the same
person that August 7 said don't come into the House for a half-hour; it's a
waste of money. He comes in here yesterday, and probably today, and continues to
waste money. The same thing he did when he was here on this side of the House.
The fact
is we didn't open the House on September 6 like the Member asked because we had
to do analysis. The Member opposite would have had us open the House and come in
and debate something that nobody had had any analysis done.
The fact
is lawyers within this department have done significant work. They have reached
out, and we have a constitutionally sound bill that will comply with the
decision made by Justice Butler. What I can also say, Mr. Speaker, is I look
forward to more changes to the Elections
Act as we continue on.
Thank
you.
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
MR. P. DAVIS:
So, Mr. Speaker, we have a circumstance here where the Government House Leader
criticizes the 2007 rushing of a bill and criticizes us today for not allowing
them to rush it through. That's what we have happening here in the House today,
Mr. Speaker.
The
question was very, very simple. Does imposing a five-day maximum time for
nominations provide an advantage to the governing party? A very simple question,
Minister: Does it provide an advantage to you when you hold the decision?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Government House Leader.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Mr. Speaker, we are here today because legislation led by that Opposition when
they were in government was unconstitutional.
The
answer that the Member should want to know is: Will this legislation, will this
stand up to constitutional scrutiny? Will it survive a challenge? The answer,
Mr. Speaker, to that is a resounding yes.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
MR. P. DAVIS:
He won't answer the question, Mr. Speaker, a very simple question. He won't
answer it, because everybody in the province wants to have an open and fair
opportunity to nominate candidates for office when you run in a provincial
election. You want good quality candidates, an opportunity to recruit those
candidates, encourage them, have a fair process for running. I submit to the
Members opposite that five days to do 40 candidates in a general election, when
they can call it essentially whenever they want, is not enough time.
Do you
agree that provides an advantage to the governing party, Minister?
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Government House Leader.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Mr. Speaker, the Member opposite is talking about a general election that's two
years away, and here we are because there's a resignation of a Member opposite
and causing a by-election that we need to call now.
The fact
remains that this decision is actually being appealed as well. Who knows what is
going to happen? Who knows if we will have to convene this House to debate
further changes necessary for this act? The fact remains that this is certainly
no advantage in the by-election that we have to deal with now. It does not
affect anybody adversely whatsoever. The Member opposite is just grasping at
straws. The fact is we're here to debate a bill, and I would ask him to let us
debate.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
MR. P. DAVIS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Justice
Butler was quite clear about the need to make sure that election processes were
fair and balanced for all Members of the House of Assembly and for any candidate
anywhere who wanted to enter in the process. What I'm suggesting is that this is
not fair for all.
So,
Minister, let me put it to you this way: Leaders change from time to time and,
at some point in time, the leader of your party and the leader of our party are
going to leave. If the Premier should be replaced today, before the end of the
third year, you can call an election virtually any time, with only five days for
Members to have to fill those seats, fill those nominations. Is that fair,
Minister?
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Government House
Leader.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Yes, Mr. Speaker, the first
point I'll address is certainly we know what it's like to have a change of
leaders. There was a revolving chair of leaders when we were in Opposition
watching this crowd on this side. What I can say is that, number one, this bill
is constitutionally sound; it is fair. We are confident that it will withstand
scrutiny.
The
Member talks about speculation, hypotheticals, possible situations down the
road. What I would say is yes, it would survive any challenge whatsoever. The
real reason remains that we are here today to debate changes to the legislation
that are necessary. Right now, we have an act that doesn't allow for special
ballots. It's unconstitutional. We need to change it. The Members need to
debate, so I would say let us debate; we've given you plenty of opportunity to
review.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Official Opposition.
MR. P. DAVIS:
Mr. Speaker, it is most
unfortunate – it is – that the Government House Leader feels the need to display
his continued arrogance and political pokes when we're discussing a very
important issue before the House of Assembly today.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. P. DAVIS:
A very important issue, Mr.
Speaker, and he continues to do so and he finds that need, and it's most
unfortunate, instead of just answering the questions.
Mr.
Speaker, this bill does not require special ballots to contain names and
affiliates of candidates which are affiliated to a party – something that
Justice Butler had talked about.
I'll ask
again: Do you agree that this was a serious oversight that can leave special
ballot voters uninformed? Is that not fair, I ask the minister? Is that not a
fair process?
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Government House
Leader.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Well,
you know a debate has descended into the Opposition not having a point when they
have to descend into name calling; that's the first thing that I will say, the
Member opposite talking about arrogance.
The fact
is that we are here today; we have a piece of legislation that is
constitutionally sound. I know what Justice Butler said; I read the decision
multiple times. I can tell you who else read the decision multiple times:
multiple lawyers in the Department of Justice, who have significantly more
expertise in the drafting of the legislation than the Members opposite. I take
their advice; I take their expertise. What they are saying is that this bill
will withstand any constitutional scrutiny; it will be in compliance with
Justice Butler's decision.
The fact
remains that they just don't like what this has to say and I don't know why they
won't have this debate.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for Cape
St. Francis.
MR. K. PARSONS:
Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker.
Recent
media reports told of a tragic story of two ladies left to deal with an
unfortunate situation concerning their deceased brother's condo. While the
credit union claims ownership, from a CBC report as I quote: “… a group of
delinquent investors, including the premier of Newfoundland and Labrador.”
I ask
the Minister Responsible for Service NL: What actions have your department taken
regarding a most serious situation and what have officials done at any level
(inaudible)?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
PREMIER BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
First of
all, let me say that as the Member opposite mentioned a business situation that
has been in the news lately in the last few days, as I said publicly many times,
my business interests are in a blind trust. The decisions that are made with the
business assets are made by the blind trust.
The word
delinquency, Mr. Speaker, the Member just mentioned a few minutes ago is
certainly not fact. As a minor shareholder prior to my assets going into a blind
trust, I lived up to every single commitment of a minority shareholder – every
single commitment.
So the
language that was used is unfortunate, it's unfair, it's a disappointing
situation for me personally, Mr. Speaker. I understand the sensitivities around
the decisions that are being made.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. Member for Cape St.
Francis.
MR. K. PARSONS:
I remind the Premier that's
just what CBC quoted in their story of what they said. Since the plight of the
residents –
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
Can I
just remind all hon. Members that when I direct someone to speak, that is the
only person I wish to hear from at that time?
Please
proceed.
The hon.
Member for Cape St. Francis.
MR. K. PARSONS:
I ask the Minister of Service
NL: Since the plight residents at Sundara have faced over the number of years,
have new or additional steps been taken to enhance consumer protection for condo
owners?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. Government House
Leader.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I'll
stand up and take this question. The fact is that we have a situation here and I
know everybody on this side feels concern for anybody that's been done wrong by
this situation.
The fact
that this Opposition is going down this path today, a day where we're here
talking about Elections Act, talking about democracy. We're here talking about
Muskrat Falls inquiries, we're here talking about the fiscal situation of this
province and the Opposition wants to get into a mudslinging match here is what
they're doing to do, Mr. Speaker.
The fact
is it's absolutely despicable but, please, ask another question.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. Member for Cape St.
Francis.
MR. K. PARSONS:
I'd like to remind the
Minister of Justice that this is about two ladies that find an unfortunate
situation of trying to settle the death of their brother. This is what this is
about. This is not about mudslinging; this is about residents of Newfoundland
and Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. K. PARSONS:
My question is to the
Minister of Service NL and it's a simple question: Have you any new or
additional steps being taken to enhance consumer protection when it comes to
condo affairs?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. Minister of Justice
and Public Safety.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The
Member asked a question and I'm going to answer this question. He can say what
he wants but we all know the question that he's asking here.
If he
wants an answer to the first part about consumer protection, I can guarantee you
that every Member here, especially the Minister of Service NL – and, certainly,
I do as well as the person responsible for legislation, we're willing to look at
all measures necessary to protect consumers in this province. It's a piece of
legislation that I looked into when I was in Opposition but, of course, the
government at the time did absolutely nothing about it.
While we
certainly feel sad for the hard situation that anybody's facing, the Members
opposite know this is one issue that they're trying to sling mud and they're
trying to stay away from pressing issues like the
Elections Act and Muskrat Falls debacles that they got us into.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Conception Bay East – Bell Island.
MR. BRAZIL:
Mr. Speaker, yesterday in the House the Minister of Education talked about
fantasy versus fact. Well, let's talk some facts.
The
Premier's Task Force on education was released months ago. At the time, the
minister said there was no rush to act quickly on it, the sky is not falling.
Well, news flash, Mr. Minister, the title of the report is
Now is the Time.
When
does he plan to implement these recommendations?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Education and Early Childhood Development.
MR. KIRBY:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I'm
really glad to have this question. I want to once again thank the four members
of the task force for their important work.
We have
a lot of work to do, to undo a lot of the mess I guess you could say, created by
the previous government. There's not a day that goes by that I don't feel for
those children with special education needs who are in our school system, who
are not getting the level of educational services that they need because the
previous administration forced a failed inclusive education policy onto the
system without consulting with anyone other than themselves.
We will
implement all 82 recommendations of that report and they will hear more about
that in the budget.
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
The
Member's time is expired.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Conception Bay East – Bell Island.
MR. BRAZIL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
So two
years as minister, four years as the Education critic, a task force with
outlined recommendations by professionals who did a very high-level, due
diligence job and you have no plan to implement these recommendations.
I ask
the minister: What is the projected cost of implementing these recommendations?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Education and Early Childhood Development.
MR. KIRBY:
Mr. Speaker, contrary again –
I mean talk about fantasy versus fact. The day the report was released – and
that's just three months ago, so he talks about it like it was six years ago or
something – we fulfilled one of the 82 recommendations by hiring an esteemed
educator from this province to oversee the implementation.
Staff in
the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development – and I want to
thank them as well – have been working around the clock. Just today, just within
the last two hours, I had a meeting with the senior staff in the department to
look at the plan for moving forward.
They're
going to hear lots about that in due course, but we've got an internal process
that we have to abide by. I assure the Member he'll see everything in the
fullness of time but have internal processes to go through. We will implement
that report and not leave it on a shelf like they did with everything they did
in education during their time.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. Member for
Conception Bay East – Bell Island.
MR. BRAZIL:
The Minister has had it for
four months, has acted on absolutely nothing and has talked about stuff that he
was going to implement before the report was ever put in play.
So,
again, knowing that the minister obviously gives mixed answers to questions, I'm
going to ask a very simple yes-or-no: Does he support more inclusion or less
inclusion in classrooms to meet the recommendations?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Education and Early Childhood Development.
MR. KIRBY:
Mr. Speaker, I think we all
support the notion of inclusion. The problem we have with the inclusive
education, or so-called inclusive education policy that the previous
administration foisted onto the school system with no consultation, is that
there are insufficient supports.
The
report points this out. I've been saying this for six years now. There are
insufficient special education services and supports for children with special
education needs. We are going to fix that.
As I
said the day the report came out, we are going to start down that road in
September 2018. It has always been public information about the Premier's Task
Force on Improving Educational Outcomes that we would start to implement the
report in its fullness in September 2018.
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. Member for
Conception Bay East – Bell Island.
MR. BRAZIL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I
applaud the minister for saying that he is going to address it and start dealing
with it. I do ask when he's going to start to do that. The report was short on
details addressing inclusive education supports.
Does the
minister have a plan for inclusive education? It's that simple. You can't say
it's down the road; you can't blame a former administration. What are you going
to do to address inclusive education? Simply, year three has started.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. Minister of
Education and Early Childhood Development.
MR. KIRBY:
Mr. Speaker, I think if we
could get technical services to check this microphone because I don't think the
Member is hearing what I'm saying over here.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. KIRBY:
Mr. Speaker, in 2018 we are
going to have more support for children with special education needs. We are
going to have more literacy intervention, early intervention. We are going to
have a new role in our schools for caring for and providing special education
services for children, as per the report. We are going to fulfill the
recommendations of this report and put the Department of Education and Early
Childhood Development on a path to full implementation of this starting in
September 2018.
I can't
be any more clear than that, Mr. Speaker. The Member does not want to hear this,
so he chooses to ignore what I'm saying.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for Cape St. Francis.
MR. K. PARSONS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
In the
spring, your government made a bizarre decision to move the Crown Lands branch
and 30 employees to Corner Brook. We now know that only seven of those employees
actually moved to Corner Brook.
Minister, will you now admit that this move was never about efficiencies but,
rather, a political move? As you said yourself, staffing up Corner Brook.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Land Resources.
MR. BYRNE:
Mr. Speaker, this government has a very ambitious plan, a plan which will
succeed to grow our land base, to grow agriculture and to create synergies
between four branches of our Department of Fisheries and Land Resources that
were not as effectively working with each other to make sure that they did.
This
past year, we have actually seen a five-fold increase in the number of
agricultural land applications in Western Newfoundland, a 40 per cent increase
in Central Newfoundland. And why is that the case? Because we are growing our
agriculture sector, we're growing our industrial opportunities, our economic
opportunities, and we're doing so because we have a plan to make sure that our
land base is properly, effectively used to grow the economic value of our
province. That, Mr. Speaker, is what our plan is all about.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for Cape St. Francis.
MR. K. PARSONS:
I'll remind the minister that the majority of the Crown land applications last
year were made to the eastern region of the province.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. K. PARSONS:
Minister, there are 24 Crown Land employees who did not move to Corner Brook and
are still working within government. Where do those 24 positions come from, and
were there any new positions created?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Land Resources.
MR. BYRNE:
Mr. Speaker, there were 32 positions affected in the headquarters move, seven of
which – highly technical positions – moved to Corner Brook. There were two
people that sought employment in the private sector. There were two that stayed
in St. John's associated with the vault. There were eight retirements; three of
which, because they had not completed their retirement requirements, actually
were given employment here in St. John's. There were another 13 that were
offered employment.
Every
member of the Crown Lands group was offered two alternatives, two options for
employment, either with Crown Lands or outside in other government departments
and agencies. What is true, what the Member is not talking about is that before
this plan, his government, there were 20 unfilled positions within Crown Lands
(inaudible) –
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for Cape
St. Francis for a quick question; no preamble, please.
MR. K. PARSONS:
I ask the minister: Does this
mean that there are 24 new employees in Corner Brook added to the public
service?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Fisheries and Land Resources.
MR. BYRNE:
Mr. Speaker, the options for
employment were given to the entire civil service of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The headquarters did indeed move to Corner Brook and those positions are either
staffed up or being staffed up.
They are
being staffed by qualified individuals, and we are making great progress in
advancing our agricultural opportunities and, as well, dealing with the
incredible backlog in the Crown Land's process, which was a consequence of their
government's decision not to staff up 20 unfilled positions in the Crown Lands
group.
Quite
frankly, Mr. Speaker, they should be asking themselves the questions and
explaining to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador why they didn't want to
(inaudible) –
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Third Party.
MS. MICHAEL:
Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker.
Yesterday the Government House Leader sought leave to do notice of Bill 14 and
first reading of the bill on the same day. This bill is seeking to correct
changes to the Elections Act that were
made too quickly in 2007 and, with haste, Justice Gillian Butler has spoken to.
I ask
the Government House Leader: What is his rush about?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Government House
Leader.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Mr. Speaker, I cannot wait to
address this because I'm going to give the play-by- play of how this happened.
The fact is that we opened the House on Wednesday, of which I gave the Member
advance notice – something that had never been done. They got the legislation
Thursday – something that is unusual because usually you have to wait until far
later.
Friday,
they had a briefing and they had every opportunity to ask questions. At this
point, I was not contacted once; nothing on Saturday, nothing on Sunday. At that
point I had asked the Member opposite on Wednesday, I said: Do you mind if we
come back on Monday? Instead of doing nothing and wasting taxpayers' dollars,
why don't we get notice and first reading done and move to second reading so I
can at least get my part done and if you want to wait till Tuesday, we can do
that?
I'm
waiting for the next question.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Third Party.
MS. MICHAEL:
Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker.
We
weren't in the House Wednesday and Thursday. The minister may have given some
notice privately. We had a briefing on Friday –
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
The
Speaker is having great difficulty hearing the speaker, the Member.
The
Leader of the Third Party.
Thank
you.
MS. MICHAEL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I'm
going to take time to explain as well. We had a briefing on Friday – Friday. We
had questions at that briefing. We could not get the answers to those questions
at that briefing.
Saturday
and Sunday, I believe you do not find Government Houses open across this country.
We could not do the kind of research we wanted to do, and we came into this
House yesterday.
So, once again, Mr. Speaker, I ask the House Leader why he
would meet with the other House Leaders to talk about the process that we're
going through, not to talk about the content of the bill but the process. Why
would he not sit down with us as three House Leaders and talk about how to do
the process?
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Government House Leader.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The fact is I did what no other former Government House
Leader ever did, which was reach out well in advance. I agree I misspoke. I said
we were in the House Monday. No, I gave notice that the House was something –
the Member opposite should realize that was never done during any of the time
that she was here.
The fact remains she did not ask a single question of me in
any way, shape or form until after Question Period yesterday, never reached out
to discuss it. I made it quite clear: Let me begin second reading so I can
discuss the government's perspective on this piece of legislation. Then we can
continue to debate on Tuesday, we can continue to debate on Wednesday, we can
continue to debate on Thursday.
The reason I wouldn't agree to have a backdoor meeting is
because we're going to do this open, in front of everybody right here on the
floor of the House.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Third Party.
MS. MICHAEL:
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
I cannot let that go, because the reason for the meeting
was to talk about the process. We come to this House time after time after time
discussing bills. We raise our concerns in every way in the second reading, we
do it, and we ask questions in Committee of the Whole. And governments – I've
sat here since 2006 and had both sides, both governments, ignore everything
that's raised.
I want to know if the Government House Leader is really
going to listen to the changes that we are going to propose and one that I'm
going to propose when we go through the process.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Government House Leader.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Mr. Speaker, if the Member opposite really wanted to have a meeting and discuss
this, she may have asked prior to the House even opening yesterday, which she
did not. She gave no notice whatsoever until after the House was adjourned
yesterday.
The second thing I will say is the way this debate usually
works is that we open second reading and every Member in this House gets an
opportunity to speak and to bring up their perspectives. The fact remains that
if I was given notice of what the other Members – their issues with this bill,
I'd be happy to debate them and have that debate here on the floor of the House.
If they are reasonable changes that will bring an
improvement to the legislation and will be constitutionally sound, I will listen,
but right now they've done none of that.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Third Party for a quick question; no preamble, please.
MS. MICHAEL:
I ask the Premier: What
changes does he anticipate that need to be made to the act to make information
about Muskrat Falls open and transparent?
I'm
talking about the Energy Corporation Act,
Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
PREMIER BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Well, I
think the issue the Member opposite is talking about is the embedded
contractors. There are a number of options that will be available to us.
As I
said yesterday in House of Assembly, right now this is under review by the
Privacy Commissioner. We have the CEO of Nalcor looking for options. He, too,
has said publicly that he wants to get this information out there. We have asked
for the aggregate totals in some correspondence that we've seen back and forth,
Mr. Speaker.
As I
said yesterday, and said many times, we want to make sure, this government wants
to make sure that Nalcor is as open and as transparent as any department within
government. So when we go through this process, when we hear back from the
review by the Privacy Commissioner, we will see what changes will need to be
made to make Nalcor open and transparent.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The time for Oral Questions
has ended.
Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.
Tabling
of Documents.
Tabling of
Documents
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Finance and President of Treasury Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. OSBORNE:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Pursuant
to section 5(2)(a) of the Supply Act, 2017, I am tabling one Order in Council
relating to the usage of the Contingency Reserve for the 2017-18 fiscal year.
Further,
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to section 26(5)(a) of the
Financial Administration Act, I am tabling nine Orders in Council
relating to funding precommitments for the fiscal years 2018-19 through 2027-28.
MR. SPEAKER:
Further tabling of documents?
Pursuant
to section 8 and section 10 of the Public
Tender Act, I hereby table reports of
Public Tender Act exceptions for March, April and May 2017 as presented by
the Chief Operating Officer of the Government Purchasing Agency.
Notices
of Motion.
Notices of Motion
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Government House
Leader.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Mr. Speaker, I give notice
that I will ask leave to introduce a bill entitled, An Act To Amend The House Of
Assembly Accountability, Integrity And Administration Act, Bill 19.
MR. SPEAKER:
Further notices of motion?
Answers
to Questions for which Notice has been Given.
Petitions.
Petitions
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Third Party.
MS. MICHAEL:
Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker.
To the
hon. House of Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in
Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents humbly sheweth:
WHEREAS
deaf and hard of hearing children in the public education system of Newfoundland
and Labrador are not receiving full and equivalent access to a quality education
because of the lack of appropriate full-time resources; and
WHEREAS
from 1964 to 2010, deaf and hard of hearing children were provided with a
full-time quality education in the Newfoundland School for the Deaf, but deaf
and hard of hearing children currently placed in mainstream schools receive only
a fraction of a school day with a teacher qualified to instruct deaf and hard of
hearing children;
WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House
of Assembly to urge government to undertake an immediate complete and thorough
assessment of the supports in place for deaf and hard of hearing children by a
committee of at least two independent and recognized experts in the field of
deaf and hard of hearing education, and to accept the recommendations of these
experts, and in the interim take measures to honour the support commitments made
to all current and future students upon closure of the Newfoundland School for
the Deaf in 2010 to ensure that all deaf and hard of hearing children are
provided with access to a quality education equivalent to hearing classmates, as
well as access to sign language.
And as
in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.
Mr.
Speaker, this petition speaks to a very serious situation in our schools right
now. We have hundreds of children – I've received two different numbers, but
it's anywhere between 250 and 350 children – who are deaf or hard of hearing in
our schools. They have very, very particular needs. Today they are not getting
the services they need.
I've
been told by children themselves, by their parents, that even with cochlear
implants – which this government is very, very strong on – many students still
have trouble hearing, understanding and learning. As one parent put it to me: a
cochlear implant is a tool, a cochlear implant doesn't take away deafness and it
doesn't take away the fact that the child is hard of hearing; it's a tool and
those tools do no work perfectly.
It's one
thing to say they have cochlear implants. That doesn't mean that there are other
services that they were used to having in the School for the Deaf that they
still need to have. What's happening is that we're getting poor academic
performance because of this reliance totally on this tool that is imperfect.
Most tools are imperfect.
In order
to have the same access to quality education as hearing students, deaf and hard
of hearing students in our schools have many needs. I think I'm going to have
other opportunities to speak to those needs.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER:
Further petitions?
The hon.
the Member for Conception Bay South.
MR. PETTEN:
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
many students within our province depend on school busing for transportation to
and from school each day; and
WHEREAS
there are many parents of school-aged children throughout the province who live
inside the Eastern School District's 1.6 kilometre zone; therefore, do not
qualify for busing; and
WHEREAS
the policy cannot override the safety of our children;
WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House
of Assembly to urge government to eliminate the 1.6 kilometre policy for all
elementary schools in the province and in junior and senior high schools where
safety is a primary concern.
And as
in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.
Mr.
Speaker, this issue has come up and it was brought up yesterday in Question
Period by my colleague from Conception Bay East – Bell Island. We've had
petitions on it and it's been in the media a fair bit. There is a lot of outcry
in different areas. I'm sure Members on both sides deal with it in their
individual districts, especially in the beginning of the school year with
busing.
It is a
huge issue; it's been around a long time. It's crossed both party lines. It's
not something that's new, come over in the last two years, it's been around for
decades. On that note, things have changed a lot over the last number of years.
The family model is one big thing that jumps out at me. I know in my district, I
deal with this on a pretty regular basis; last year and every beginning of the
school year. It's still ongoing now.
I have a
lot of children now, elementary children, who have to find their best way to
school. Parents have to adjust their work schedules. Some parents have in-home
daycares that some actually had to – one family in particular had to stop their
in-home daycare, a small daycare in their house because they couldn't get the
busing for the children there. So it eliminated their ability to actually earn a
living, which was kind of an extreme case, but that's actually happened and I
have documentation to prove that.
The
family models have changed. When this policy was in effect a lot of years back,
you had a support system. The parents lived there and more than likely the mom
and dad or the grandparents lived around the corner and there was an aunt and
uncle, there were neighbours. It was a full support model.
I know
when I went to school I had to walk a long ways to get to my school but it was
different. The traffic on the roads was totally different. It was a different
time we lived in. I mean I'll go for my own district. Route 60 has upwards of
20,000 vehicles a day; it's a four-lane highway by two elementary schools. Those
children have to find the best way to get there. There are some sidewalks in
some areas. In the new school there are no sidewalks up there, but in the one in
St. George's there is.
Do you
want to let a five-year-old to 11-year-old – five to 11 year olds are primary
and elementary children. They walk to school every day during the wintertime,
during the bad weather. It's not a perfect – it's not a little garden road where
the school is on and you walk a mile. That's not a big deal to any child I
think, if it's in a safe circumstance.
Where a
lot of these are located, those children cannot get to school in a safe manner,
and I think it's a huge issue. We can punt it back and forth to the district and
punt it to government and back and forth, but the thing is everyone agrees with
me when I bring it up but no one wants to make a change. I think it's time for
everyone to stand up and try to do something for all these young families and
small children in our elementary schools.
Thank
you.
MR. SPEAKER:
Further petitions?
The hon.
the Member for Cape St. Francis.
MR. K. PARSONS:
Good job, Member.
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
regulations link harvesting quotas to vessel length; and
WHEREAS
many harvesters own fishing vessels of various sizes but, because of federal
regulations, restrict them from using smaller vessels, sometimes putting their
crew in danger;
WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House
of Assembly to urge the federal government, to make representation to the
federal government to encourage them to change the policy, ensuring the safety
of those fish harvesters.
And as
in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.
I've
continued to do this petition for the last number of years. It's very important
in my district and it's very important to people that I know personally that are
out fishing. A lot of times what happens, just to explain the situation, is that
harvesters mainly in the snow crab – there are different zones.
Under
the 200-mile zone, they can use a certain size vessel, around 50 feet or larger.
Then, there's another zone inside, which is inside the 200, probably 200 to
about 80-kilometre zone and then there's the inside zone.
Sometimes what happens with harvesters, obviously if they have four or five
vessels, they have a couple of vessels that are in really good shape. They're
good vessels; they're 'sealy' bound. There's no problem to go offshore with them
or whatever.
Because
of the restrictions that are in with the federal government, based on size of
vessels – and I can understand the size of vessels because it came in when this
was all a new fishery, but most of the fishermen and fish harvesters that are in
the crab fishery today are well established. In one particular case, I know a
group that has five boats. I know in another case a group that has four boats,
but it's all about the safety of these individuals.
Sometimes what happens, Mr. Speaker, is they go out and sometimes it's even
rougher inshore than it is offshore. You come in 12 miles with the swell and
everything else around the rocks and you get a heave on. Sometimes it's a lot
rougher inside than it is outside, and anyone that's familiar with water will
agree with me on that.
All I'm
asking is for our government to go to the federal government and make the
changes necessary for harvesters that are on the water so it's safe for them to
be able to go to work each day.
Thank
you very much.
MR. SPEAKER:
Further petitions?
The hon.
the Member for Conception Bay East – Bell Island.
MR. BRAZIL:
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 humbly sheweth:
WHEREAS
there has been an identified lack of mental health services in our province's K
to 12 school system; and
WHEREAS
this lack is having a significant impact on both students and teachers; and
WHEREAS
left unchecked, matters can and in many cases will develop into more serious
issues;
WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House
of Assembly to urge government to increase mental health services and programs
in the province's K to 12 school system.
And as
in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.
Mr.
Speaker, we had a good debate today about the education system and the needs,
and particularly the lack of services that are available there. Unfortunately,
the minister missed the point when I asked him questions about the answers. It
wasn't that I didn't get his answer. I don't like his answers. We can't wait two
and three years down the road.
He's
been there for two years to implement programs around mental health, around
inclusion, around how we support those particular needs; the school system
itself, the administrators, the teachers, but particularly the parents and the
students. They're the key components here, and we've already been identified.
We don't
have to reinvent the wheel. We have a very fluent, a very competent, a very
engaging process through the All-Party Committee on Mental Health who identified
a number of key components that had to be supported to ensure mental health
issues within schools got addressed, so that they didn't develop into more
serious mental health issues and didn't have a major impact on our students
being able to complete their education and compete on a world market for
post-secondary education. So, that's already been out there.
We've
talked about it in the Premier's task force, and we've talked about the supports
that are needed for inclusion. Mental health issues are part of our inclusion
process, being able to give our students an opportunity to deal with the
challenges they have in our school system, but that has to be done through
supports. The supports come from professionals, from outside agencies that we
can partner with, from having open dialogue, from ensuring the administration
are key to the process here, but particularly, that the parents and the family
supports are there to ensure these students get the supports they need.
It's a
very simple process. It's been outlined, it's been discussed, it's been talked
about. Health professionals have said it. They've adopted that this has to
happen because they see the remanence and the fallout of the issues of not being
addressed at younger ages when they have to deal with mental health issues in
the school system. The legal system will tell you if things are not addressed at
a younger age, they can see a trend, unfortunately, where it's going to lead to
issues because of mental health when it comes to legal issues in our system.
So we
have health issues. We have legal issues. We have economic issues because people
are not as productive in our society and it takes a major toll on everybody in
our system.
We need
to go back. It's already out there. Let's start implementing. Don't talk about
2018 or 2019. Let's talk about next week, next month and the next six months
down the road to ensure this happens.
Mr.
Speaker, I'll get a chance to speak to this more often as we get in the House
down the road.
Thank
you.
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Government House
Leader.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Yes, Mr. Speaker, I call
Orders of the Day.
MR. SPEAKER:
Orders of the Day.
Shall
the motion carry?
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Aye.
Orders of the Day
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Government House
Leader.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Yes, Mr. Speaker, I move,
seconded by the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board, for leave
to introduce a bill entitled, An Act To Amend The Securities Act, Bill 15, and I
further move that the said bill be now read a first time.
MR. SPEAKER:
It has been moved and
seconded by the Government House Leader that he shall have leave to introduce a
bill entitled, An Act To Amend The Securities Act, Bill 15, and that the said
bill shall now be read a first time.
It is
the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?
All
those in favour, 'aye.'
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Aye.
MR. SPEAKER:
All those against, 'nay.'
Carried.
Motion,
the hon. the Minister of Service NL to introduce a bill, “An Act To Amend The
Securities Act,” carried. (Bill 15)
CLERK (Barnes):
A bill, An Act To Amend The
Securities Act. (Bill 15)
MR. SPEAKER:
This bill has now been read a
first time.
When
shall the said bill be read a second time?
MR. A. PARSONS:
Tomorrow.
On
motion, Bill 15 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Government House
Leader.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded
by the Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour, for leave to introduce
a bill entitled, An Act To Amend The Labour Relations Act, Bill 16, and I
further move that the bill be now read a first time.
MR. SPEAKER:
It is moved and seconded that
the Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour shall have leave to
introduce a bill entitled, An Act To Amend The Labour Relations Act, Bill 16,
and that the said bill shall now be read a first time.
Is it
the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?
All
those in favour, 'aye.'
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Aye.
MR. SPEAKER:
All those against, 'nay.'
Carried.
Motion,
the hon. the Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour to introduce a
bill, “An Act To Amend The Labour Relations Act,” carried. (Bill 16)
CLERK:
A bill, An Act To Amend The
Labour Relations Act. (Bill 16).
MR. SPEAKER:
This bill has now been read a
first time.
When
shall the said bill be read a second time?
MR. A. PARSONS:
Tomorrow.
On
motion, Bill 16 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Government House
Leader.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Yes, Mr. Speaker, I move
seconded by the Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour for leave to
introduce a bill entitled, An Act To Amend The Labour Relations Act No. 2, Bill
17, and I further move that the said bill be now read a first time.
MR. SPEAKER:
It is moved and seconded that
the Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour shall have leave to
introduce a bill entitled, An Act To Amend The Labour Relations Act No. 2, Bill
17, and that the said bill shall now be read a first time.
Is it
the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?
All
those in favour, 'aye.'
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Aye.
MR. SPEAKER:
All those against, 'nay.'
The
motion is carried.
Motion,
the hon. the Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour to introduce a
bill, “An Act To Amend The Labour Relations Act No. 2,” carried. (Bill 17)
CLERK:
A bill, An Act To Amend The
Labour Relations Act No. 2. (Bill 17)
MR. SPEAKER:
This bill has now been read a
first time.
When
shall the said bill be read a second time?
MR. A. PARSONS:
Tomorrow.
On
motion, Bill 17 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Government House
Leader.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded
by the Minister of Service NL, for leave to introduce a bill entitled, An Act To
Amend The Prepaid Funeral Services Act, Bill 18, and I further move that the
said bill be now read a first time.
MR. SPEAKER:
It is moved and seconded that
the hon. the Minister of Service NL shall have leave to introduce a bill
entitled, An Act To Amend The Prepaid Funeral Services Act, Bill 18, and that
the said bill shall now be read a first time.
Is it
the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?
All
those in favour, 'aye.'
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Aye.
MR. SPEAKER:
All those against, 'nay.'
This
motion is carried.
Motion,
the hon. the Minister of Service NL to introduce a bill, “An Act To Amend The
Prepaid Funeral Services Act,” carried. (Bill 18)
CLERK:
A bill, An Act To Amend The
Prepaid Funeral Services Act. (Bill 18).
MR. SPEAKER:
This bill has now been read a
first time.
When
shall the said bill be read a second time?
MR. A. PARSONS:
Tomorrow.
On
motion, Bill 18 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Government House
Leader.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded
by the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board, for leave to
introduce a bill entitled, An Act To Amend The Elections Act, 1991, Bill 14, and
I further move that the said bill be now read a first time.
MR. SPEAKER:
It is moved and seconded that
the Government House Leader shall have leave to introduce a bill entitled, An
Act To Amend The Elections Act, 1991, Bill 14, and that the said bill shall now
be read a first time.
Is it
the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?
All
those in favour, 'aye.'
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Aye.
MR. SPEAKER:
All those against, 'nay.'
The
motion is carried.
Motion,
the hon. the Government House Leader to introduce a bill, “An Act To Amend The
Elections Act, 1991,” carried. (Bill 14)
CLERK:
A bill, An Act To Amend The
Elections Act, 1991. (Bill 14).
MR. SPEAKER:
This bill has now been read a
first time.
When
shall the said bill be read a second time? Tomorrow?
MR. A. PARSONS:
Mr. Speaker, at this point I
would ask leave, pursuant to the Standing Orders that allow for the House to
give unanimous leave, to move past a normal motion, carry on and do second
reading of a bill. I would ask: Do I have leave to begin second reading of the
Elections Act amendments, 1991?
MR. SPEAKER:
Does the Government House
Leader have leave?
AN HON. MEMBER:
No leave.
MR. SPEAKER:
No leave has been granted.
The hon.
the Government House Leader.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Again,
the Opposition doesn't want to work. So on that note, I would adjourn, seconded
by the Leader of the Official Opposition.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
It has been moved and
seconded that this House do now adjourn.
This
House is in adjournment until 10 o'clock tomorrow.
MR. P. DAVIS:
A point of order, Mr.
Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER:
A point of order has been
called.
MR. P. DAVIS:
Mr. Speaker, the Government
House Leader just identified me as seconder to a motion to adjourn the House. I
have not seconded that motion, Mr. Speaker. So the House is not adjourned
because I did not second the House to adjourn.
MR. SPEAKER:
The Government House Leader
would require a second seconder.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Mr. Speaker, given we have no
choice because of the action of the Opposition Leader, I would move, seconded by
the Minister of Service NL, that the House do now adjourn.
MR. SPEAKER:
It has been moved and
seconded that this House do now adjourn until 10 o'clock tomorrow.
On
motion, the House at its rising adjourned until tomorrow, Wednesday, at 10 a.m.