April 30, 2008               HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS            Vol. XLVI   No. 19


The House met at 2:00 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Fitzgerald): Order, please!

Admit Strangers

Today the House of Assembly would like to welcome thirteen Level III students from Cloud River Academy in the District of The Straits & White Bay North. Accompanying the students today is their Vice-Principal Mr. Tony Kearney and chaperone, Mr. Ron Pittman.

Welcome to the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

Statements by Members

MR. SPEAKER: Members statements today will be from the following members: the hon. the Member for the District of Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair, the hon. the Member for the District of Bonavista North, the hon. the Member for the District of Labrador West, the hon. the Member for the District of Conception Bay South, the hon. the Member for the District of Lewisporte, and the hon. the Member for the District of Grand Bank.

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to recognize Master Warrant Officer Rodney Chubbs from L'Anse au Clair on his 1 Canadian Air Division Commander's Commendation.

Mr. Speaker, Master Warrant Officer Chubbs received this award for his assistance in a Canadian Border Services investigation with respect to the illegal distribution of alcohol and tobacco in Goose Bay, Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, Master Warrant Officer Chubbs is employed by the NCO IC 5 Wing Military Police detachment. He has demonstrated sensational commitment, leadership and professionalism in support of combating smuggling in the area. His thorough investigation and eye for detail made him an exceptional representative of our Canadian Forces and the Department of National Defence.

Mr. Speaker, Master Warrant Officer Chubbs has a passion for serving our Queen, our country and ensuring that justice prevails. This is evident through not only this award but through other awards he has received for his services in the past, one of particular note was for the Soldier of the Year, which was presented by the Chief of Defence Staff General Rick Hillier.

Master Warrant Officer Chubbs is currently training to go to Afghanistan next February which he is eagerly anticipating.

Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to recognize Master Warrant Officer Chubbs on his professional accomplishments, and I ask all members of this House to join me in congratulating him on his recent commendation and on wishing him all the best in his future endeavours, especially on his mission to Afghanistan.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HARDING: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge a very special milestone. On April 4, Mr. Roland W. Abbott of Musgrave Harbour celebrated ninety-five years of living life to the fullest. Mr. Abbott is known throughout my district, and throughout the Province, as a man who is a veritable treasure trove of knowledge regarding the history and culture of the north east coast - a living, breathing archive of interesting and important facts about who we are as a people.

This truly distinguished gentleman was an educator in our school system for forty years, but he has been a teacher for much longer. His specialty is the past and his passion for the subject is unparalleled. Spending time with Mr. Abbott is like attending a master class on the history of this Island. The sparkle in his eyes when speaking of the people and place he loves is infectious, and when listening to Mr. Abbott one cannot help but be swept up and carried away to another place and time.


Mr. Abbott's love of the past is matched only by his appreciation of the present and his hope for the future. Never one to sit on his laurels, Mr. Abbott is currently writing a brief history of Doting Cove from 1844-1845 to amalgamation with Musgrave Harbour in 1954. His hobbies include building miniature boats, houses, and entire communities.

Mr. Abbott was a field officer with the Salvation Army for thirty-five years, a Past Master with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and a member of the Flag Association of Canada.

Mr. Speaker, at ninety-five years, this very special man continues to look back only as a means to look forward. The quantity of his years should be respected, and the quality in those years should most certainly be celebrated. We can all learn a great deal from the way this extraordinary individual has lived, and continues to live, each and every single day.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of this hon. House to join me in congratulating Mr. Roland W. Abbott on ninety-five years of living life to the fullest.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Labrador West.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. BAKER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this House today to congratulate the Labrador West music festival organizing committee on another resounding successful event. This year's festival was held from April 13-19, with over 600 participants performing with a variety of music and dramatic talents, and concluded with a gala concert, at which I was honoured to bring greetings.

After an absence of twenty-five years, the Labrador West music festival was reactivated with great enthusiasm in March 2006. From choirs and bands to piano solos and musical theatre presentations, the music festival showcases many of the various talented musicians in our area. It provides a great opportunity for our young people to perform in an exciting, non-competitive learning atmosphere, and it helps to build lifelong skills for their future. This event speaks to the caliber and pride of all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

I also want to acknowledge the support from Memorial University, the Iron Ore Company of Canada, and many other sponsoring bodies, whose support has been key to the revival of the music festival. In addition, their contributions help develop bursaries, scholarships and other programs such as the Labrador West Music Conservatory, an innovative summer program designed to challenge students in a variety of creative pursuits and help foster a love of music.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all hon. members to join me in congratulating everyone who performed, organized, volunteered or attended, for making this festival such a successful and truly inspirational week of music and learning.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Conception Bay South.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. FRENCH: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

On April 5 of this year, along with my colleague, the MHA for Topsail, I had the privilege of attending the twelfth Annual Conception Bay South Sports Hall of Fame Awards Banquet. During that ceremony there were six individuals inducted into the Hall of Fame, including:

Kathy Normore, whose career was highlighted by playing on the CBS Raiders Ball Hockey Team who won National Championships on two occasions;

Mr. Tom Clarke, who captained and won the National Junior Championships with the St. John's Stars in 1976;

Dennis (Boo) Boggan, in the 1970s and 1980s, won numerous league championships in Conception Bay South;

Robert (Bobby) Hutton, who represented Newfoundland and Labrador at the Canada Winter Games and has his name engraved on both the Boyle and Herder trophies;

Christopher Baker, who competed at local, provincial, national and international levels, highlighted by competing on Japan's National Rugby Team at the World Cup;

Martin (Bud) Suter, inducted into the Hall of Fame as both an athlete and a builder, and he was president of the CBS Senior Hockey League for five years.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all hon. members to join with me in congratulating this year's inductees as well as the Board of Governors of the Conception Bay South Sports Hall of Fame for another successful ceremony.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. VERGE: Thank you, hon. colleagues.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today to recognize the tremendous commitment of a firefighter in my district.

I recently attended a firemen's dinner in Baytona, and I witnessed first-hand the respect and admiration the local firefighters, town council officials, and the whole town has for a gentleman by the name of Pearce Burt.

Pearce served for thirty-one years as a firefighter, including fourteen years as chief. At the age of sixty-seven, Pearce has decided to hand the role of chief off to a younger town leader and volunteer by the name of Mr. Bruce Quinlan.

During Pearce's time, he helped lead efforts to raise funds sufficient to purchase a new pumper, twenty-four new bunker suits, two new breathing apparatus, a new pager system, and also a new fire hall.

In conversation with Pearce, he attributes the success of Baytona's fire department to his firefighters and to the community as a whole. The mark of a true leader, Mr. Speaker, always willing to pass the praise down the line to others.

One final note, Mr. Speaker, I called to talk to Pearce on Thursday of last week, after his retirement. He was out, but his wife told me there was a chimney fire the day before and Pearce was the first one on the scene. I guess old habits die hard.

Members of the House, please join with me in recognizing one of our finest, Pearce Burt.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for District of Grand Bank.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KING: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to recognize a school in my district, John Burke High in Grand Bank. Recently, I had the pleasure of attending the annual Burin Peninsula Regional Drama Festival at Christ the King School in Rushoon with my colleague, the Member for Burin-Placentia West.

This festival has a long history of excellence on the Burin Peninsula, bringing together students from many age groups and schools. This year, approximately 150 students and eleven schools participated.

The festival provides a tremendous opportunity for students to avail of daily workshops on drama and theatre arts, and lets them enjoy the evening with their peers attending the performance of other participating schools.

Under the directorship of Director Yvonne Powell, John Burke Masquerade was named the festival winner this year for their rendition of Apostrophes.

In addition, Mr. Speaker, the team of Kurt Warren, Rebecca Stuckey, Brittany Forsey, and Dylan Myles won the festival's Improv Contest, and Kurt was named the best actor and winner of the Matthew Symes and Ashley Tulk Memorial Award. This award, Mr. Speaker, I might note, is named in honour of two students who were killed tragically in an automobile accident just several years ago.

The John Burke troupe, Mr. Speaker, will now move on to represent the Burin Peninsula at the Provincial Drama Festival in Carbonear from May 8 to May 10. I know the members of the troupe worked hard, and I ask all members in the House to join with me in offering congratulations to the John Burke Masquerade.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Statements by Ministers.

Statements by Ministers

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this hon. House today to speak about the Historica Fairs Program, which celebrates Canadian history and culture through projects presented to the public by students in Grade 4 through to Grade 9.

Many Newfoundland and Labrador schools hold Historica fairs and select representatives to participate in one of the eight regional fairs across the Province. Thousands of students participate in the program annually.

This year, the regional fairs are taking place from May 1 to May 9. Students' projects range from personal family histories to those which feature major historical events in Newfoundland and Labrador and throughout Canada.

Each regional fair then selects one or two students, fifteen in total from across the Province, to represent Newfoundland and Labrador at the National Historica Camp held each July in a different Province. This year, it is being held in Victoria, British Columbia.

Mr. Speaker, I plan to attend the Avalon Region's Historica Fair on Saturday, this Saturday, May 3 and see firsthand the knowledge students have gained through their participation in this program. I know many of my colleagues will be attending regional fairs as well.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, the program is operated through the Historic Sites Association, with the support of the Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation.

As a government, we are proud to support this kind of activity which allows students to develop a critical appreciation of the significant roles that both tangible, and intangible, heritage plays in our society.

I encourage people to visit the Historica Fair near them to see some of the hard work and talent that has gone into these projects.

I invite my colleagues to join me in thanking and commending the Historic Sites Association, and volunteer organizers, and in extending congratulations and best wishes to all Newfoundland and Labrador students participating in the Historica Fairs Program.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate the minister providing me with an advanced copy of his statement today.

It certainly is nice to see people, young people in particular, who recognize and are interested in promoting our history. I notice here it is Grades 4 to Grade 9 and it is good to see that, like you say, at that young age, you do not have to wait to go to university to learn about our history. The earlier we start it the better, and the more programs and events that we can encourage them to get involved in - usually you talk about science fairs and when you can have a history fair of this nature, again, it provides interest, it provides a competitive atmosphere and it is certainly worthy.

I guess, like they say, if you do not understand your history you are going to be in pretty poor shape in putting yourself on the road for your future. So, it is certainly needed. Knowledge of historical events, of course, is very, very important. Not only does it give an individual a better understanding of himself and his society but, of course, it gives you pride in your community once you understand what your roots are. So, we certainly encourage the minister attending these fairs on behalf of everyone. It is good to show these kids of course that they are supported by the governments as well.

Thank you.

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

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for the advanced copy of his statement.

I, too, am delighted to see the government and the minister supporting the Historica Fair Program. I think it is an excellent way for our young people to learn about our history, but I also encourage the minister, and I am sure he will do so, to look at the role of our community museums and heritage museums that are all over the Province. They have been very, very important in exposing young people to our history and culture as well. As the minister knows, they have been cut back federally in funding and sustaining grants. I notice there was no increase in community museums grants in the Budget. So, I do encourage the minister to play a role in assuring that these museums do not have to close down, as is happening in some places, and that they are encouraged to keep going as a way to back up the kind of thing that is happening in the schools with the Historica fairs.

Thank you.

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, every year, the Department of Education brings hundreds of teachers to St. John's to participate in marking boards to grade public exams and CRTs. Marking boards are now being organized for public exams with approximately 22,000 exams written each year.

Mr. Speaker, I was extremely pleased to announce, as part of Budget 2008, an additional investment of $150,000 to move these marking boards for the first time beyond the overpass.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS BURKE: We saw no need, Mr. Speaker, for the boards to be located in St. John's every year, and our intent is to locate them in different communities across the Province. This year, the public exams will be marked in Corner Brook.

This progressive step will be of great benefit for communities in terms of economic spin off, while teachers, some of whom will be joined by their families, spend two weeks in the area. I am sure my hon. colleagues will agree that such benefits should not be restricted to the St. John's area.

As a government, we are committed to economic activity everywhere and seeking out ways to bring new opportunities to communities across the Province. While this may be a modest step, it will nevertheless provide an economic boost for any area where the marking boards are held.

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to take this opportunity to inform my hon. colleagues about another change to the public exam program. Acting upon a recommendation of the ISSP and Pathways Commission report, students who require accommodations in the classroom will now be able to use these accommodations when they write their exams. This means, for example, that students who depend on software such as Microsoft Word to successfully complete classroom evaluations can continue to use it when writing public exams.

This change is part of an ongoing review of the public exam policy with input from representatives of the school districts, advocacy groups, parents and the Department of Education. This review, as well as an analysis of other pan-Canadian jurisdiction's policies, will be considered in formulating an improved provincial public exam policy.

Mr. Speaker, our education system is based on equality and accessibility. Our investment of an additional $69.9 million, as announced in Budget 2008 yesterday, builds on $177 million in new investments in the last two years. As a result, we will continue to see improvements in all aspects of our education system, from reduced class sizes, improved infrastructure, and increased programming from Kindergarten to post-secondary and into adult learning.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BUTLER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want to thank the minister for an advance copy of her statement, and to say that moving the marking board to areas outside of St. John's, I guess, is a good marketing strategy.

I want to say to the minister that, when she mentioned about the spin-off to the various areas, and the teachers coming there, and their families, I can attest to that; because, when a minor hockey team comes into our local area for a weekend we see the tremendous impact it has.

I want to say to the minister that, by some students being able to use Microsoft Word in the classrooms when they do their exams, I think that is another tremendous achievement.

Mr. Speaker, the only thing I would suggest to the minister is - this is a great improvement - hopefully in the next year or two we should be able to see that they travel to the Conception Bay North area.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

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

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

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

With regard to the accommodations being made for the public exams, I think this is a very good move. I would hope that there will be no limitations with regard to whatever that accommodation is, because some are more difficult than others to implement. I am assuming that whatever the accommodation is that a student has in the classroom, it will be available in the public exams.

I am also assuming it means that it is starting this year. The statement doesn't say when it is starting. I hope it is starting this year and will be Province-wide right away. If I am wrong on any of that, I would appreciate the minister letting us know in the House the extent of the accommodations and when it is happening.

With regard to the first part of the announcement, I have to say that I hope the minister doesn't mind if I jump up and down. I have no problem with the panel being moved around the Province, but I have to say, as a community economic development model, it would have to be a fairly small community for the impact that you are seeing here. So, I am sorry, I can't jump up and down.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

Further statements by ministers.

Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

My questions are for the Minister of Health and Community Services.

Yesterday, a lot of hype was made of increasing the threshold for single individuals to qualify for the Seniors' Benefit. We now realize that a number of these seniors will benefit from the changes and will receive the one-time benefit paid out on an annual basis.

I ask the minister if qualifying for the Seniors' Benefit automatically now qualifies you for home care services, or will the current thresholds that have been applied for assessing home care still remain in place?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The short answer is, no, there is no connection, but I think it is important to understand, as I said yesterday in the press scrum, that we are, as part of our development of a long-term care and community support strategy, re-evaluating our Home Support Program to look at the financial assessment tool we now use.

We want to make sure, Mr. Speaker, that the programs and services that we offer to our seniors are not only accessible but are affordable and available to all of the people who live in Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

If I am a senior citizen today who has worked all my life in this Province, I own my own home -myself and my spouse - I have an annual income of $25,000, and I have not been able to put any monies away for RRSPs over the years, I have just been assessed for home care and I have been told that I need to pay $1,100 a month, out of my $25,000 salary a year, to access that home care, I ask the minister: Can he tell me if there was anything in the Budget yesterday that would be able to further accommodate these individuals?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, in yesterday's Budget there was a $10 million figure that we allocated to increase the capacity for home support services in this Province.

The second piece that was in that Budget yesterday, there was going to be a revision in the financial assessment tool for home support services. Where, at one time, we used to consider RRSPs as a liquid asset, as of yesterday's Budget that criteria has now changed and we will no longer be considering RRSPs as part of liquid assets.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: I want to repeat something I just said a second ago, on the previous question. These are two initiatives that we brought forward yesterday that will impact home support services and will impact seniors in this Province.

I want to repeat again, because it is important, this is one piece of an ongoing strategy development that we are involved with. If you were to look into the future, I say, Mr. Speaker, the people of this Province will see some announcements of further enhancements in future years to home support services for the seniors of this Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Pat and Shirley Connors have become the face of thousands of seniors who find themselves confined to their homes, and cannot afford home care services in this Province.

I ask the minister: Does he think it is acceptable by today's standards that they would have to pay $12,000 of their $25,000 annual income in order to get the home care services they require, simply because they cannot care for themselves?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Mr. Speaker, I think it is very important, as we look at supports for seniors, or supports for persons with disabilities, that we need to take a very comprehensive look at all of those programs and services – and that is exactly what we are doing. We are looking at home support services, long-term care homes, personal care homes, other models of care that might be more appropriate for the future than we have historically known in this Province.

All of those things are currently under consideration. They are part of the very in-depth analysis we are doing of our long-term care and community support system. I have indicated before, we are very much in the middle of developing a long-term strategy for those initiatives. One of the pieces of that is a re-evaluation of the financial assessment tool.

We want to make sure, rather than react to individual circumstance, we want to make sure that we have a comprehensive strategy for the future that includes models of care, includes an appropriate financial assessment tool –

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the hon. minister to conclude his answer.

MR. WISEMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Through that process we will identify an appropriate level of contribution for clients to make to services they get, but we want to do it when we are concluded the (inaudible) exercise.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The financial assessment tool that the minister keeps referring to - it has been ten years since it has been revamped or even looked at, from my understanding. Mr. Speaker, under that assessment tool - maybe the minister is aware - they only allow a couple living in their own home to be able to keep $583 a month as a living allowance, to look after their food, their clothing, their personal care and their household maintenance costs.

I ask the minister: How much longer will it be before this financial assessment tool is looked at, revamped, and these people can get some adequate coverage for home care?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am glad the member opposite referenced the fact that this has been on the go for a long time because the tool that is now being used was developed by the members opposite when they were in government. The dollar amounts may have changed because when they developed the policy in the first place they tied the dollar amounts to certain benchmarks. So, it was the policy that we are now using, was developed by the members opposite when they were in government. This is the first time our Administration, for the first time ever, has taken a look at this whole system. We are, in fact, as I said a moment ago, re-evaluating the whole program. The financial assessment tool is one of the pieces that we are now giving consideration to and deciding what might be an appropriate mechanism to have on a go-forward basis. So, I remind the member opposite, we are working with the tool that you handed us four years ago and we are finally doing something about it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, I need to remind the minister, when that tool was being used four and five years ago the price of gasoline was at about eighty-nine to ninety cents a litre. Today it is up to $1.34 and $1.40 in places in our Province. Home heating oil was at about sixty-nine cents a litre, today it has risen to $1.10. These people cannot afford services in this Province but they desperately need them.

I ask the minister to give me a timeframe in which he will revamp the program and put the proper indicators in there to do the assessments for home care patients in this Province?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I just want to bring everybody's attention to all the lists that the member opposite just gave us as to reasons why we should do something. These are the reasons why we have reduced personal income tax; the reason why we have increased the rebate on fuel each year; the reason why we just announced yesterday the increase in the seniors' benefit. These are all of the reasons why we as a government have acted responsible, recognized the pressures that many people in Newfoundland and Labrador have.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Mr. Speaker, we recognize the challenges that many seniors who live on fixed incomes have. That is why our Minister of Finance stood in this House yesterday and read out, for the second time on his tenure, a budget that recognizes the dilemmas that many people in Newfoundland and Labrador have and put more money back in their pockets to be able to spend to support themselves and to live comfortably in their own homes.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Like the CBC online poll said: Thank God for the oil revenues, I say in Newfoundland and Labrador, minister. Thank God for the oil revenues, not because of the deals that your government has inked.

Mr. Speaker, in yesterday's Budget new money was allocated for hospital infrastructure upgrades. In a press conference the Minister of Finance stated that some of this money will go towards the construction of a new acute care facility in St. John's.

I ask the minister: Does government have any plans to replace any of the hospitals that currently exist in the St. John's region?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Yesterday's announcement - in the Budget we announced that we were going to build a new hospital in Corner Brook. We only have one there now, so when we announce something over there it is easy to announce a replacement.

In St. John's we have the Health Sciences Centre, we have the Waterford Hospital, we have the St. Clare's hospital and we have the Miller Centre, all providing acute care services. In yesterday's Budget the minister announced $1 million that will help us develop a strategy, help us define and identify what is an appropriate model for delivery of acute care services in St. John's, for two reasons. One, St. John's is the area where we have our major tertiary centre for the Province, and we need to understand what the entire Province needs by way of tertiary services.

In the greater Avalon area, they have a need for secondary level acute care services. We need to identify what that should be on a go-forward basis. When we get that analysis done, and we better understand the programs and services that are needed, then we will be able to define the kind of physical structures, the kind of facilities that we need to have -

MR. SPEAKER: Order please!

I ask the hon. member to conclude his answer.

MR. WISEMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

So, we need to do a piece of work before we are able to talk about whether we are going to build, modify, renovate, change, or tear down.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.


I was looking for clarification on what the Minister of Finance had said in the media scrum yesterday, and I understand that there was no commitment to replacing or building a new acute care facility in St. John's, from the minister's comments there.

Mr. Speaker, $33.5 million was allocated to address upgrades to hospitals across the Province. We know that from a report on conditions of four hospitals in the St. John's area that approximately $100 million has been identified as needed in critical upgrades for those facilities alone.

I ask the minister: Why is there no long-term strategy accompanying your investment yesterday to deal with all of these problems that were identified in our major hospitals in the Province?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

If she was looking for clarity on her previous question, let me give it to her. Fundamentally, what I did say yesterday is when we develop, when we better understand the future needs of acute care services in St. John's we will then respond and provide the appropriate facilities for that. That was my summary.

Now, to get to the question she just posed with respect to the $33 million. What we said yesterday, Mr. Speaker, was we identified $33 million in this year's Budget to be able to respond to the issues identified by the fire commissioner, respond to those issues identified by our four authorities, issues that they needed to respond to on a priority basis. We gave consideration to two things. One, what was the capacity of the health system to manage a repair maintenance budget? Secondly, looking logistically at how we would actually go about carrying out extensive renovations to hospitals and health facilities while they still (inaudible).

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Obviously, the $33.5 million that has been allocated will not deal with all the critical upgrades and safety issues that were identified in the four St. John's hospitals alone.

I ask the minister, if he can table for us an outline of what that expenditure will include, what hospital facilities will be included and the kind of work that will be undertaken?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We, too, would acknowledge that $33 million will not do each and every single thing that needs to be done in each and every building throughout Newfoundland and Labrador. What it will do, Mr. Speaker, it will deal with all of the priority issues, it will deal with the life safety issues that have been identified by our four authorities.

We said earlier, and I said earlier in this House, that the issues identified by our four authorities as needing repairs, the critical upgrades to the health facilities that we have, we are committed to ensuring that the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, the patients who use our health facilities, the visitors who use them and the people who work there are going to be working in safe environments. We will provide them with the necessary technology they need to do their job and they will be working in buildings that are adequate to supply and support the services that they provide, and that is the commitment we make.

The $33 million we announced yesterday will be a start towards that, and that is as much as we can spend and accommodate in this fiscal year.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Over the last couple of weeks I also raised some issues in the House of Assembly with regard to patients who had surgeries cancelled because of lack of ICU beds.

I ask the minister, because he did say that they would deal with this particular problem: Is there any monies in this Budget at this time for the allocation of expansion of acute care beds and ICU bed availability in St. John's hospitals?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Again, the short answer is, yes. I refer her to the comments I made a moment ago about the announcement yesterday. There was $1 million announced in yesterday's Budget. So, there was money announced yesterday that will start to address the issue that she raises. That $1 million will be used to allow us to better understand the acute care needs of St. John's and the greater Avalon and the tertiary needs of our Province.

With that money, we will be able to identify the kind of facilities that we need on a go-forward basis. When we know that, when we know what it is we need to have in place by way of physical infrastructure, our government is committed to responding to it and making sure that it is available to the citizens of Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

My next questions are for the Minister Responsible for the Status of Women.

Mr. Speaker, the $1,000 baby bonus was announced yesterday in the Budget, and some of the details we were not clear on.

I ask the minister: Will women who had their babies before January 1 but remain on maternity leave today, will they now receive the $100 monthly payment that was announced yesterday, until the end of their maternity leave?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

That program announced yesterday will be effective January 1, so those individuals who will have children delivered after January 1 will be entitled to the benefits announced in yesterday's Budget.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I understand that if you are on maternity leave today - you had your baby in December - I know you will not get the $1,000, but you are going to be on maternity leave for the next ten months. Will you be entitled to the monthly reimbursement of $100 after January 1?

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

MR. WISEMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, you will.

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

MS JONES: That is why it is important to get clarity, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, there is also some clarification required on whether the baby bonus and the $100 monthly payments are excluded from social benefits and maternity EI benefits.

I ask the minister: Will the baby bonus payments that are allocated be subject to clawbacks from unemployment insurance or social assistance programs?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

They will not be subject to any clawbacks of any program the provincial government has.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, I am wondering about the maternity EI program. Most women who take maternity leave after they have their children qualify for a twelve-month maternity program under the Employment Insurance program. I am wondering if there has been any negotiation for exemption of this monthly $100 allowance under that program.

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As I understand, it is structured in a fashion that it will not be, but I am a little bit hesitant to commit on behalf of the federal government. What I will do is have officials get a little more clarity for you. We cannot seem to get a commitment from the federal government that stands for any length of time.

I do not want to speak on behalf of federal government programs, and anything they may want to do in response to something a province might do, but I will have officials provide a little more clarity as to the degree of assurances that we do have from the federal government.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

My question, under the circumstances, I guess, would be for the Premier.

Mr. Speaker, government has allocated $100 million into debt reduction at Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro to improve the corporation's debt-equity ratio.

I ask the Premier: Why is this investment being made, if Hydro just recently announced that it had a $70 million profit?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, the problems at Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro have occurred over the years because previous governments kept sucking the dividends out, rather than leaving the money in the corporation. They kept draining it out, and draining it dry. As a result, their debt to equity ratio was poor - very, very poor.

We are trying to build a super corporation here, a corporation which Newfoundlanders and Labradorians will be proud of.

It was a previous Liberal government that wanted to actually privatize Hydro. This particular government wants to strengthen Hydro, wants to make it a very valuable corporation: a corporation that will ultimately pay significant dividends back to the people of this Province; a corporation that perhaps some day may have enough value in its assets overall as a result of the Hebron deal and the White Rose deal, possible Hibernia deal, possible deals on gas, possible deals on oil refineries and other exploration projects, where hopefully we might be able to sell it some day and pay off all the debt of this Province, and that would be a good thing.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Opposition House Leader.

MR. PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, Hydro has just made an application to have a 6 per cent increase in power bills to the consumers of this Province. Now government has just put $100 million into Hydro. We know they have a $70 million surplus they just announced. Why are the consumers going to be gouged for another 6 per cent when we have that profit and now $100 million being put into Hydro?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, there is the Hydro Corporation, which is the utility corporation which regulates the cost of hydro in the Province, and then there is a separate corporation which for the time being is being called ener. corp., but there is a new name going to be attached to that corporation. That will be a completely separate corporation that will be the corporation that will manage the oil and gas assets, or wind assets or other assets that are separate from the electricity regulation.

So, as a result, we are basically trying to strengthen up the other corporation to put that in a better position on an international stage. Our goal is make this corporation as strong or stronger than Quebec Hydro or Norske Hydro or other major power corporations thought the world. So that would, in fact, be a subsidiary of Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro but the whole power utility regulation is a completely separate entity.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I understand, from the legislation that we passed in this House just recently concerning the creation of the energy corporation, that energy corporation, in and of itself, has been authorized to borrow up to $600 million, I think it is.

I ask the Premier - because we saw yesterday, in addition to the $100 million that went into Hydro we are seeing $215 million going into the energy corp to be used to purchase the equity stakes in Hebron and Ben Nevis and White Rose, as I understand it. This $215 million that you put into the energy corp, will that be a one-off deal or is it government's plan, on a continuing basis, to take surplus cash that we have and put it into the energy corp?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, the energy corporation on its own doesn't have the money to fund those kinds of purchases. That particular purchase, round figures, the price of oil that was arrived at in order to acquire those equity assets, would have been in the $40 to $50 range. Oil now, as you know, is at $120. Any money we put in to buy those assets - for example, if we pay $100 million to buy those assets at today's oil prices that purchase, the equity, is probably worth $240 million. These are actually good investments, so any time we can infuse $100 million or $200 million and get back $400 million or $500 million or $600 million of value we will do it every single time.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. PARSONS: Thank you, Premier.

That is exactly where I was leading with my questions. When I read the press releases on White Rose and on Hebron, I believe it was $110 million that was going to be the cost of the equity for Hebron and $44 million for White Rose, which would mean $154 million. That was why I was a bit confused as to we are putting in $215 million and we needed $154 million.

I take it now that those figures of $110 million and $44 million that were talked about at the time of the press release, that was just based upon the price of oil? There was no fixed purchase price at that time for our equity stake in those ventures, it is going to be paid for now at today's oil prices?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: The final agreement hasn't been done on Hebron yet. The oil price is fixed from a Memorandum of Agreement perspective. It is a question of quantity. For example, on the White Rose agreement it is a question of what the proven reserves are. The only thing that could vary would be the quantity of oil as opposed to the price of oil. The price of oil has been set, so we are not on escalating scales similar to the Upper Churchill deal or anything like that. We get the benefit of the upscale on the oil price and we also get the benefit of the upscale on the reserves as well.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. PARSONS: Thank you, Premier.

During the pre-Budget consultations, the Minister of Finance emphasized the need for debt reduction, and in fact we saw a fair chunk of the surplus from 2007-2008 used for debt reduction. Yet, we don't see – and the minister acknowledged this yesterday in the media – we don't see any long-term plan for the debt reduction.

At what stage is it exactly, this plan for long-term debt reduction, so that we are not on a yearly basis just figuring out where we might like to put some cash? What is the long-term plan and when might we see the long-term plan for debt reduction?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, the long-term plan for this government, for the combination of smart acquisitions and smart investing in oil and gas projects that are owned by Newfoundlanders - we have wind projects that are owned by Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, and gas projects, and any other good energy projects, is eventually to erase the debt in this Province.

Now, from a debt-planning perspective, how can we be expected to plan when the price of oil varies dramatically? Last year our forecasts from Pira, who are the best forecasters in the world, were out by between 35 per cent and 40 per cent. I met with John Lau yesterday. They are unable to predict where the price of oil is going on a short-term or a long-term basis.

The money that we would have available for debt, a significant portion of that would come from windfall profits from oil, for want of a better term. So if the price of oil is fluctuating all over the place, we cannot have a specific plan of an amount of debt repayment, because if we lock in the amount of debt repayment, then we will have the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi all over us because we are not putting enough money into social spending, we will have the Leader of the Opposition all over us because we are not putting enough money into sprinklers and repairs for hospitals -

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: So, it is a moving target. As a result, we will take a significant portion and put it on debt, providing we are meeting all our other social spending obligations in the Province.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. PARSONS: Thank you.

I appreciate the comments and the clarity, because I read the comments that the media printed about the minister's statement yesterday, the Minister of Finance. He certainly, clearly left the impression that: yes, there will be a plan; yes, it is in the works, but we just have not got it ready yet. So that is not on all four squares, what the Premier just said. I agree with your comments about being so fluid that you might not be able to have a plan - that is why we are seeking the clarification.

With regards to a balanced budget legislation, Premier, we have had over the course of the last three or four years, some apparent wavering. Your former minister - who used to be the Member for Ferryland, I believe - said we would be seeing, from this government, balanced budget legislation. Where does the government stand on that issue right now?

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, if you look at the charts that are contained in the Budget document - and I assume it is okay to refer to the Budget document?

MR. SPEAKER: I would suggest to the Premier, just refer to it, rather than show it.

Thank you.

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Well, okay.

From the Budget document perspective, since we have come into office the deficits have gone down. So, they have actually shrunk in the first year. Then in the second, third, fourth and fifth years, our surplus has gone up and up and up, and they continue to climb. Hopefully, it would be nice if they climbed even higher again. However, our projection is for half that this year.

The dollar is moving. The dollar is changing in its value. Oil production could change in value. Oil prices could change in value. So from our perspective, at this point in time, it is not wise to come in with a balanced budget. We have to, basically, do our best estimate. What we have done this year, is we have looked at the average right across Canada, taking the best guess. We have gone even higher than Alberta. So, we are not looking at a balanced budget on a go-forward basis at this particular point in time because it is a moving target, and that is what we are having to deal with.

MR. SPEAEKR: Order please!

I ask the hon. Premier to conclude his answer.

PREMIER WILLIAMS: It is a good problem to have.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.


Mr. Speaker, the government knows that there will be recommendations coming from the Cameron Inquiry. However, in yesterday's Budget there was no new announcement regarding funding to implement anticipated recommendations over and above the $2.3 million that was already announced this past February.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier, why the government has not put more money aside for the cost of implementing recommendations that will surely come from the Cameron Inquiry?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, I do not have the same crystal ball that the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi has, even though I do feel like I should jump up and down after the Budget yesterday.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: From our perspective, we are spending 37 per cent, 38 per cent, if I remember correctly, on health care. The health care minister can inform me, of course, that we are spending $2.3 billion a year on health care. This year, in new money, we are spending $266 million on an annualized basis on operation. This year we are spending another $133.1 million on capital on an annual basis; total $2.3 billion. This year in new money alone, $400 million. That is a lot of money spent, but we cannot predicate what Madam Justice Cameron is going to say.

MR. SPEAKER: Order please!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: What we are doing is incrementally spending a lot of money.

The other thing, just from a general perspective -

MR. SPEAKER: Order please!

I ask the hon. the Premier to conclude his answer.

PREMIER WILLIAMS: - because I have heard your comments, the overall Budget, 70 per cent of what we spend in our Budget is on health care, education and social services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

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

I would like to point out to the Premier that the percentage of the total budget for health, education and social assistance has gone down. The percentage of the total budget has gone down from last year. I would like to point that out.

I will put the next question to the Premier based on what he said. Premier, if the recommendations from the Cameron Inquiry require that new money, over and above what you have already budgeted, has to go into putting recommendations into effect, will you start that in this fiscal year?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, again, I cannot predict what these recommendations may be. We called the inquiry; we asked the inquiry to get to the bottom of the problem. I assume, because Madam Justice Cameron is one of the most competent jurists we have in the Province right now, she will come up with good recommendations. We will implement her recommendations, providing they are reasonable and appropriate, and I would suggest that I don't think for one minute they won't be.

Those recommendations may not have to be done in the first year. She may recommend a phase-in of recommendations, and we will do that within our budgetary limitations, but we will certainly treat them with urgency and priority, I can assure you of that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The time allotted for questions and answers has expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Special Committees.

Tabling of Documents.

Tabling of Documents

MR. SPEAKER: In compliance with the Public Tender Act, I am tabling the Report of Public Tender Act Exceptions for the month of March 2008.

Further tabling of documents.

Notices of Motion.

Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

 

Private Members' Day

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

MR. KENT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It gives me great pleasure to rise in this hon. House today to speak to a motion that I gave notice of, on Monday afternoon. It is a motion that concerns recognizing volunteers in Newfoundland and Labrador. During Volunteer Week in this Province, it is an ideal time to recognize the tremendous contributions that volunteers make in Newfoundland and Labrador.

I would like to refer to the motion that I did give notice of on Monday. It notes that approximately 187,000 people volunteer in this Province, contributing a total of thirty-five million hours of volunteer time, unpaid time, to our communities and to valuable causes within our communities.

The motion also points out that the voluntary sector is facing many challenges: challenges related to retention, recruitment, governance and capacity, ironically just at a time when the services from this important sector are needed the most.

The motion also indicates that it is incredibly important to build on the relationship between society and the voluntary sector, between civil society and government, so that we can improve on the great work that has been done.

The purpose of this motion today is to recognize and congratulate the thousands of volunteers who do so much to contribute to the quality of life in our Province, in each of our communities, and also to encourage this government to continue its support of the voluntary sector. It is for those reasons that I rise in this House this afternoon.

Mr. Speaker, the voluntary sector is something that I am incredibly passionate about. In fact, in my professional life, prior to getting elected to this Legislature, I spent about eight years working in the voluntary sector with organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, the United Way, which has established itself in Newfoundland and Labrador over the last few years, and I have also worked as an independent consultant helping various non-profit organizations.

Even in the couple of years I spent in the private sector I had an opportunity to handle the company's relationship with the voluntary sector, and worked to build partnerships with organizations that are doing great work in our community.


I also completed my graduate studies at McGill University, studying specifically the voluntary sector and the role that it plays in our communities and in society.

I am very pleased to say, like many members of this House, that I am still an active volunteer, serving on the Board of Governors of Scouts Canada, volunteering as a Big Brother with Big Brothers Big Sisters, working on one of the school programs with Junior Achievement. I am involved in Rotary, and I co-host a radio program in a volunteer capacity with VOAR, a station that involves many volunteers. Like many members of this House, I am involved in many community events and activities.

I would venture to guess that each and every member of this House has been actively involved in community life as a volunteer. In fact, it is probably why many of us decided to enter public life to begin with.

Just this morning, in fact, several members of this House were volunteering over in the West Block. I was joined by the Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment, the hon. the Leader of the Opposition, and the hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi. We were all lined up serving breakfast to support the work of the CNIB and to raise awareness of the great work that organization does, and I know that other members of this House had an opportunity to participate today as well. So, there are many opportunities to continue to be involved as volunteers even as public officials.

I was very fortunate to be introduced to volunteering at an early age. It was through those experiences, both in school and in youth organizations, that I was introduced to volunteering and what it could contribute to my development. I gained skills. I developed new friendships. I met all kinds of people who provided incredible networking opportunities. Actually, it was all of those experiences that ultimately contributed to me making the decision to enter public life.

People often ask me: Why did you get involved in public life to begin with? What prompted you, as a young person, to run for council?

For me, it was very much a natural extension of the work that I was doing in the community. For this reason, and for many others, I think it is important to expose young people in our communities to volunteering and to community service and to help them realize the many benefits that volunteering offers.

Mr. Speaker, a technical definition of a volunteer: A person who performs a service willingly and without pay. While this is in fact true, of course, volunteers don't receive any financial compensation for their work, the real definition of a volunteer in my view is someone who changes the lives of others through their selfless actions and by reaching out and helping those in need. Mr. Speaker, I would argue that this is the true essence of volunteering and that is certainly what volunteering means to me.

Mr. Speaker, I believe that today's motion is incredibly important for our Province. One of the main reasons is that it is Volunteer Week which I think is the ideal time for members in this Legislature to acknowledge the important contribution that volunteers make. The theme for this week is, Volunteers: You're Part of the Picture, and that is incredibly true. Over the next few minutes I will try and explain why.

Without the work of dedicated volunteers in each and every community in Newfoundland and Labrador, most voluntary sector groups would not be able to function. They would simply not be able to do their work. This would dramatically affect the quality of life in each and every community in our Province. It is because of the hard work and dedication of volunteers that we are able to provide many vital services to those people who otherwise might not receive those services. It is voluntary sector organizations that reach out to those in our communities who need help the most.

Mr. Speaker, there are many community groups and organizations all over Newfoundland and Labrador that rely mainly on volunteer assistance. It would be difficult to name them all given there are hundreds and hundreds, but it is important to note, as I said at the beginning, that approximately 187,000 people in our Province volunteer. That is certainly worth celebrating in itself, Mr. Speaker.

Volunteer Week is all about celebrating those people in our communities who set aside time in their busy lives to help others. They give a lot and they expect very little in return.

Mr. Speaker, as I was preparing to enter the Legislature this afternoon, the hon. member across the way representing the District of St. John's East made a comment about my tie, wondering if it was a South Park tie. Now, of course, it isn't a South Park tie, and there was a special reason why I choose to wear this tie this afternoon.

MR. BUCKINGHAM: You have no others?

MR. KENT: I have no others! No, that is not true. I have many, as you will see over the next number of weeks in this House.

This tie represents young people. It is a Save Our Children tie and it represents young people pursuing their dreams and pursuing their interests. I wore it because if it wasn't for volunteers young people wouldn't be able to pursue many of their interests and to pursue their dreams. The tie symbolizes young people involved in sports, in outdoor activities, in the arts, in literacy activities, in education activities, and it takes volunteers in each and every community to make those opportunities possible for our young people. I thank the Member for St. John's East for allowing me the opportunity to promote the tie this afternoon as well.

Speaking of young people, Mr. Speaker, in my own district I am constantly amazed at the contribution that young people make to community life and the support that exists for young people in the communities of Paradise and in Mount Pearl. There are countless community groups in both of those communities that operate solely with the help of volunteers.

I like how the coasters stick to the glasses. It is one of the things I am learning as a new member of this House.

Mr. Speaker, just over the last week in Mount Pearl the Citizen of the Year Award ceremony took place and during that ceremony it was an excellent time to acknowledge those people who have gone above and beyond the call of duty in volunteering in our communities. As I introduce this motion this afternoon, Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize a few of those individuals who were recognized this past weekend at the ceremony.

One of the gentlemen who was nominated is Paul Boland who has volunteered with the Youth Bowling Council in Mount Pearl for over twenty years. He has brought national and provincial competitions to our Province. He has represented our Province nationally and provincially as well, and he has been able to bring the sport to the forefront in our community. In fact, with his help the league has become one of the best known in Eastern Canada. He has received many awards for his contribution, and in addition to his involvement in that sport he has been involved at his parish, at St. Peter's Parish, and he has also been a board member with the Mount Pearl Chamber of Commerce.

Shirley Boone has been a volunteer with the Children's Wish Foundation of Canada since 1987. Just a few short years ago the foundation was having a very difficult time finding someone to lead the charge in Mount Pearl. Shirley stepped forward and recruited over twenty volunteers to work with her. The subchapter in Mount Pearl is now one of the strongest in the Province and certainly has a real presence in our community. On top of that, she is active with local sports groups and she is a volunteer at Masonic Park serving members of our seniors' community.

Michelle Case was chapter president of an organization called Aboutface from 1990 to 1995. She remained active in this organization right up until 2000. Mr. Speaker, for those who do not know, Aboutface provides support for people who are affected by facial differences. She served on one of the local school councils for several years, then she got involved in the Kinette Club of Mount Pearl. In fact, Michelle also led the Kinettes for the Avalon and Burin Peninsula as Deputy Governor in 2002 and 2003.

Mr. Speaker, George O'Brien has been volunteering with the Seniors Independence Group in Mount Pearl for five years. He has been a director and he currently serves as the organization's secretary. He was involved in coordinating aspects of the Pope's visit to our Province in 1984. He has been active with the St. Peter's Parish for many years and helped raised funds for the new church and various other projects.

Rosalind Pratt started as a volunteer when she was just a University student with the Head Start Program on Saturday mornings at the University. Then when her son got involved in Beavers and Cubs so did she, and she was involved with the Ladies Auxiliary. Her daughter was involved with Guides and she remains involved with Guides twenty years later and is now the Commissioner for the entire Avalon area. Ros has been involved with Habitat for Humanity, the Frosty Festival and is also currently a member of the Local Crime Prevention Committee.

Mr. Speaker, the winner of the Citizen of the Year Award for 2007 is Agnes Murphy, a lady that I have gotten to know quite well over the last number of years. She is involved with the Knights of Columbus Ladies Auxiliary. She is past president and coordinator of the Mount Pearl Figuring Skating Club. She is a board member with the Youth Opportunity Fund in Mount Pearl, volunteers with Iris Kirby House, is a zone captain for the Kidney Foundation, is a member of the Look Good Feel Good Program for women with cancer and has been involved with the Frosty Festival for over twenty-five years. She is certainly a very deserving recipient of the award and, in fact, all of those individuals are truly a testament to the quality of life in our community and they have done so much to help build our community. They are obviously magnificent volunteers.

Mr. Speaker, this is just a snapshot of the thousands of volunteers in this Province who do so much to contribute to the quality of community life. There are so many great organizations in each of our communities as well that do so much. Some of them with incredibly long histories and others that are brand new organizations that each and every day do a great deal to improve lives in our communities.

We have a new Youth Action Team in Mount Pearl that is providing youth with an opportunity to get involved in municipal government, to bridge the gap between young people and city council and also to provide a variety of recreational activities and events for youth. There are representatives from each of the schools and the organization is very active in community events and activities. Youth Week is coming up, from May 11 to May 18, in Mount Pearl and the Youth Action Team will be organizing a variety of events to take place during that week.

Of course, I would be remiss if I did not mention the great Town of Paradise and there are many great organizations and individuals who volunteer their time to contribute to the growth and development of this community which is indeed one of the fastest growing in Eastern Canada. Paradise will be holding its municipal awards banquet on next Friday, May 9, and there are many, many organizations. Just to name a few: the Thirty Plus Club of Paradise, the Kinsmen and Kinettes in Paradise, the Paradise Guides and Scouts; just a few examples of organizations that for many years have done a great deal to help contribute to the growth and development of Paradise.

Mr. Speaker, even beyond my own district I have encountered many wonderful examples of volunteerism. I had an opportunity to work with many of the crime prevention committees around the Province. Some of them include Bay St. George, Bonavista, Conception Bay South, Clarenville and area, Deer Lake, and there are many, many more. These are organizations that are promoting crime prevention and community safety and are doing wonderful things at the grass-roots in each of our communities.

The community youth networks, largely due to the support of this government, have made an incredible contribution to the social and recreational and educational development of our young people. They provide valuable alternatives to crime and encourage young people to get involved in community life. These networks are developing right across this great Province.

Mr. Speaker, I think this is also an appropriate motion to debate in this House today, given the number of volunteers who directly support the work of our government and also support municipalities in Newfoundland and Labrador. Across this vast Province there are many volunteer organizations that work directly with government agencies and with government departments. Take fire departments, for instance, outside the capital region fire departments are for the most part run primarily by volunteers. Of the 6000 firefighters in Newfoundland and Labrador, an astonishing 5700, approximately, of the 6000 are volunteer. This represents an amazing contribution to the quality of life in our communities and to the safety of our communities. For this reason, I think it is important to recognize -

MR. SPEAKER (Osbourne): Order, please. I remind the hon. member that his time for speaking has expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: By leave.

MR. SPEAKER: The member has leave.

MR. KENT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will conclude and of course I will have an opportunity to close debate later this afternoon.

As I was saying, the volunteer firefighters do so much in many communities right across Newfoundland and Labrador to ensure the safety of our citizens and their communities.

Volunteers make up our school boards and our health boards. They play a crucial role in the delivery of education and health services in this Province.

Take municipal councils, Mr. Speaker. Hundreds and hundreds of people in this Province volunteer as part of local governments right around the Province. I know many of them personally. We do have some challenges, certainly, Mr. Speaker. In recent elections there have been some communities that have struggled to get enough people to step forward. It is an important time to recognize this challenge and to encourage people to make the sacrifice and to take that brave step and get involved in public life and volunteer to serve their community.

Mr. Speaker, volunteers in this Province work 35 million hours per year without compensation; 35 million hours a year. This is vital to Newfoundland and Labrador, vital to our communities and vital to our people. Not only do they deserve to be recognized for their selflessness and for their commitment, they should be acknowledged for being heroes, because, Mr. Speaker, I believe that the thousands of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who volunteer truly are heroes and it is appropriate for members of this House to pay tribute to them during Volunteer Week.

Mr. Speaker, when I conclude, I will talk a little bit more about the economic impact of the volunteer sector, the valuable role that it does play in our communities. I will talk about some of the many benefits of volunteering and, as well, I will talk a little further about how we can work together to recognize the incredible contribution that volunteers make.

I encourage all members of this House to support this motion today, and to participate in the debate, and we will talk more about the incredible role that the voluntary sector plays in our communities.

Mr. Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Member for Port de Grave.

MR. BUTLER: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I have to say, it is a pleasure to be able to stand today and take part in the private member's motion put forward by the Member for Mount Pearl North and to say that the comments I am going to make, I am going to guarantee the hon. member, will not be in debate because they will be in concurrence with what he has said and hopefully touch on some other issues in relation to the area that I represent.

I have to say that I was amazed, in his statement, when he mentioned there were 187,000 people in this Province who we estimate to be volunteering. I couldn't agree any more, I guess, with the motto that they used this year: Volunteers! You're Part of the Picture.

I have to say that I believe volunteers are a very important part and a key part of the picture. I have to say, in the area that I represent, and my hon. colleagues in the neighbouring districts, that volunteering is alive and well. Some time ago I heard, in certain areas of our Province, that volunteering was in decline, but in our area, I can tell you, it is alive and well.

Volunteers make a tremendous impact on the socio-economic development and quality of life that we live in our communities. I just want to touch on - I won't go into any individual names, afraid I would leave somebody out - some of the organizations and groups that do a tremendous job in volunteering in our Province. I am sure what I will refer to is the same in many other districts that are represented here in the House.

I know, when I started volunteering, many people said: Why did you volunteer? They really believe that there is something into it, that you are going to get something out of it. I remember the Lions Clubs, and there are other members here who have served in the Lions Clubs, and many people think, because you are in that club and you are doing something, that you are getting something out of it. I guess it is true, but it is not monetary what you get out of it. It is the enjoyment and the pleasure that you get by helping those people who are less fortune.

That is one group, the Lions, the Kinsmen, the Kiwanis and many others, who take part in doing things for people who are less fortunate, not only in their own communities but throughout their Province, throughout the country and the world - because many of them are international organizations – and then we think about the other people who serve in our communities.

I know in our area, which represents, on a regional basis, the Avalon North Wolverine Search and Rescue, what a tremendous job those people do on a daily basis. Whether someone is lost at sea, or in the woods hunting, they are there to volunteer their time, to leave their work and go and help those people, and they do one tremendous job.

I know the hon. Member for Mount Pearl North mentioned the fire departments, and in our area they are all volunteers. I do not think there are any paid firemen in our area, and what a job they do in not only firefighting and protecting our lives and our property, but they also get involved in the community life as well, helping other organizations from time to time. Mr. Speaker, what a job they do, because they go beyond the call of duty. At one time it was probably only a minor issue for them - they were just doing firefighting – but now they go beyond the call and help very many organizations.

We think about our seniors, the homes, long-term care or what have you. Many people go and volunteer and help those people, and relate to them. They need someone to have a chat with them. They go and socialize with them, and provide entertainment from time to time; and, Mr. Speaker, I think that is one of the most important points in volunteering. There are also people who help in the hospitals, the organizations that help to raise funds for various pieces of equipment, and we know all too well how important that is.

Mr. Speaker, there are many various recreational organizations. We have the minor hockey, the softball, the swimming, the soccer, and all those people, whether they are parents or they are people who run those organizations outside of being parents of the children who are involved, they are all volunteers, and on a daily basis, year in and year out, they spend so much time helping other young people. It is good for our young people to know that we have those volunteers, to see that they are involved in programs and they are kept from doing wrong, as sometimes may happen.

I also remember the Run for the Janeway that we used to have, the hundreds of people who would be involved, volunteering to see that event was so successful each and every year.

Mr. Speaker, there are many individuals who assist seniors from time to time volunteering. I know people in our area who help seniors mow their lawns in the summertime, help them to shovel and plow their driveways in the wintertime, and we see that all over this Island, Mr. Speaker.

From time to time we hear talk of many people who run into difficulty and they need special assistance. I remember, back a few years ago, one individual who had to go to Ontario to have major surgery. His family had to stay there for some seven to eight months while he was there. The people in our area came together, they formed an organization, and I think in that period of time they raised somewhere in the $35,000 to $40,000 range to help that family, whose needs went beyond the financial ability they had at that time.

Mr. Speaker, there are people, even today in our district, I know over the last couple of weeks people who need assistance with transportation back and forth for treatments here in St. John's, who could not get the assistance and who could not afford it. The volunteers came out and they put off various functions to help those who are in need, Mr. Speaker.


It was only last evening that I happened to be talking to a lady here in St. John's who travelled up from Labrador with her daughter just to have a minor operation. I think it was her tonsils or something. Like she said to us, it cost her a lot; she had to stay here and I believe she said it was somewhere in the vicinity of $3,000 or $4,000 by the time they came here - for their meals, staying in a facility here in town - they are so far from home.

When we hear talk of incidents like that, that is when the volunteers really kick in and help people, help them to get through their difficult times.

Mr. Speaker, I know my hon. colleague mentioned about the school boards. We have volunteers who look after the school boards. Not only that, but in our schools, whether it is the school lunch program or the breakfast program, whether it is assisting teachers with various activities throughout the day, we have parents who come forward and take part in such programs.

Mr. Speaker, also in the schools we have parents who come out and help with the grad programs and see that the young people are taken care of; they have drug-free events for them in the evenings. All of this, put together, is volunteering, Mr. Speaker.

One thing I have to say is that later on this evening, if all goes well, I will be attending a function in my district. The Pentecostal Home in Clarke's Beach have an event this evening where they are going to thank their volunteers, the people who come in and spend time with the seniors, and those who come in with entertainment, with music and song. I am sure it will be a wonderful evening.

If we look at the numbers that the hon. member mentioned in his private member's motion, when we talk about 35 million hours, just imagine the dollar value, what that is that local governments or provincial governments do not have to worry about when people come forward to offer their time and to take part with that.

I have to say, I fully agree with the private member's motion put forward by the hon. Member for Mount Pearl North, and go along with it and will be supporting it. I have to say, I think it is another good gesture this year, as I look at my hon. colleague from the District of Harbour Main, to know that we have a minister now responsible for volunteerism and the non-profit sector.

Mr. Speaker, having said those few words, I just want to say that it being Volunteer Week, I want to thank the hon. member for his statement and to all volunteers right throughout this Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, to say to them, keep up the good work.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER (Osborne): Order, please!

The hon. the Member for Fortune Bay-Cape la Hune.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS PERRY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this hon. House today to support the worthy motion recognizing the invaluable contribution of volunteers throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

Without the many volunteers who give so tirelessly and unselfishly of their time, skills and resources, many programs and services of benefit to our children, youth, seniors, ill and challenged persons would not be possible. Volunteers are the backbone of any community, and in particular, they are the foundation of well-being for many rural towns.

In the District of Fortune Bay-Cape la Hune, for example, with a population of 8,500 people, there are over 200 volunteer organizations, each and every one with a very important role to play in helping our residents enjoy a better quality of life.

On the social side, we have recreation committees, crime prevention, church groups, Lions and Lioness Clubs, firefighters, firettes, associations for independent living, seniors' groups, Girl Guides, Boy Scouts, Rangers, Cadets, Legionnaires, Ladies' Auxiliaries, youth support groups, school councils, heritage associations, and the list goes on.

The recreation committees are a crucial part of our social network, providing facilities such as playgrounds, arenas, softball, soccer, and walking trails, all of which help keep us healthy and active. Our church groups keep us grounded, ensuring we have strong religious values and morals that enable us to be good citizens, look out for one another, and care for our family, friends and neighbours.

For decades, Lions and Lioness Clubs have been helping us raise much needed funds to assist the needy in our communities and around the world. It is astounding that we receive so much from our priceless volunteers, who ask for so little in return.

Take our firefighters - each of us have mentioned firefighters here this afternoon - as yet another example of remarkable citizenship. In rural areas, these are primarily all volunteer positions, with our brave men and women often risking their lives to save someone, be it a burning building, a tragedy on the ice, or rescuing people from serious car accidents.

Not so very long ago, the Jaws of Life were used to rescue me, and I am confident that in part through their efforts, I am able to continue to enjoy the luxury of being able to walk today. We must never, never underestimate the talents and abilities of our volunteers who are so courageous in the face of difficulty.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS PERRY: I am also very proud of our volunteers who care for the mentally and physically challenged, ensuring that they are fully integrated into our society, and that they can partake of the joys we so often take for granted, such as a day at the mall, a camping trip, or simply a dance and a meal in the company of friends. Commendable indeed, I say, Mr. Speaker, the happiness that volunteers bring to so many of our people in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Despite having challenges, or limited capacities due to the aging process, our seniors and challenged residents can enjoy getting out and about to socialize with us all, through the diligent commitment and effort of our volunteers. There is nothing like a game of cards, or a good scoff and a scuff to brighten your day.

There are also groups such as Girl Guides, Boy Scouts, Cadets and Rangers, where young and old alike develop new skills, build leadership qualities, and acquire life tools that permit us to do our own part throughout our journey on earth, to lend a helping hand to others.

Mr. Speaker, volunteers play a vital role in the healthy development of our children, our future. They provide tremendous support to teachers and parents in activities such as reading, tutoring, school lunch programs and sports. It is the time given by volunteers today that will help to shape our children and enable them to be strong, independent adults, the volunteers and leaders of tomorrow.

There are numerous other organizations all across this Province, from choirs to play groups to Meals on Wheels. We thank all of you for the difference you are making in improving our quality of life.

I would especially like to mention the many organizations that raise funds to assist those with medical illnesses, from blindness to arthritis, to hearing impairment, to kidney problems, to amputees, to fibrosis, to heart disease and hundreds more. For all your hard work, we are very thankful.

Time does not permit me to highlight them all right now, but I would like to take a moment and praise an incredible group of volunteers dedicated to raising funds to assist those facing the challenge of cancer in the District of Fortune Bay-Cape La Hune. The Bay d'Espoir cancer benefit group which started nearly a decade ago raises tens of thousands of dollars each year to help people in need. As rural residents we face the added burden of financial duress when an illness such as cancer strikes, having to travel hours away from home for days, weeks or months on end to avail of the necessary treatments. This group helps alleviate our burden and we are eternally grateful. Their success has been so profound that similar benefit groups now exist in every part of the district, including Fortune Bay, Hermitage and Harbour Breton. Partnerships and sharing, such as the Bay D'Espoir and the Connaigre Peninsula cancer benefit sport groups, Mr. Speaker, are essential to our wellbeing and longevity.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS PERRY: I lost my father to cancer at the young age of sixty-six, my mother fought her battle with cancer for seven years, and I have family members who continue to fight the good fight today. They are winning due in large part to the great medical care they are receiving from our nurses and doctors and the support they receive from family, friends and volunteers.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS PERRY: In rural Newfoundland volunteers are also having a substantial impact on improving our economy. This area in particular is also near and dear to my heart, having spent the last twelve years of my previous life working with exceptional volunteers dedicated to overcoming challenges so that we can create the option for young people to live and work in rural Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS PERRY: Community economic development could not happen without volunteers on the ground, who are willing to give of their time and knowledge to work together and create new opportunities for employment growth in our rural regions.

I have fond memories of working with the Coast of Bays Corporation, driving in blizzards for three hours over mountainous terrain after cluing up meetings at midnight, and pursuing initiatives through the system and multi layers of government for years on end to see them to fruition. Volunteers in this Province, Mr. Speaker, have commitment, I say, that is second to none.

Our municipal leaders and organizations are also outstanding, providing us with essential services and infrastructure that would not otherwise exist without their stoic perseverance and devotion. There are so many others, such as the South Coast CBDC, which celebrated their twentieth anniversary this Saturday past. Congratulations!

There are fisheries committees, harbour authorities, aquaculture associations, and coastal zone management entities that shape our present and future to ensure that the resources at our doorstep are sustained for the benefit of generations to come. Let us not forget the numerous volunteers who work so avidly to make sure that the people elected to govern our Province are those who are best for the job, keeping this state in its best possible fiscal position. Thank you for your vigilance in ensuring that the issues most important to you, the people, are the issues uppermost in the matters of government.

In conclusion, let us consider for a moment just how much volunteers give to make our world a better place. They take hours and hours of time away from their families. Juggling schedules and often using annual leave to volunteer. They give up their weekends, attend countless meetings, conduct fundraising, and spend hours writing and chasing proposals. They learn and adhere to policies, absorb liability issues, and incur out-of-pocket expenses, all to help other people. Extraordinary indeed.

Volunteers are people who stick with it, even in the face of adversity. At the end of the day, it is the rewards of helping people, of making a difference for the better in someone's life that counts. If we were to place a dollar value on the number of hours contributed by volunteers in this Province, it would no doubt be in the hundreds of millions - all done freely by our fellow Newfoundlanders and Labradorians because we care about our people.

Yes, Mr. Speaker, our volunteers give so much and ask for so little in return. A smile and a thank-you is all they need. I encourage everyone to consider volunteering. It may be one of the most rewarding activities you will ever choose to do. To all the volunteers, let me say: Our communities need you, and we are extremely grateful to you.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all members of this hon. House join me today in extending a sincere thank you to our many volunteers, who I can truly say are deeply appreciated and respected by all of us in this great Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

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

I am quite pleased to stand this afternoon and speak to the motion that has been put to the floor by the Member for Mount Pearl North.

I am particularly happy to speak to both parts of the resolution. The first one, that this House recognize and congratulate the thousands of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who give their time and skills to the benefit of our communities and Province, and encourage others to do the same. The second part of the resolution, that this House encourage the government to continue its commitment to support the voluntary sector for the benefit of the entire Province.

The thoughts that I want to share and what I want to say is very directly related to both parts of the resolution. I know well the role of volunteers. I have spent my life trying to figure out the difference between working for money and doing volunteer work. My life has always been so intertwined, both on a personal level and on a professional level with volunteers themselves and in my own volunteer time.

As a social justice activist you live every minute what you believe, and there just seems to be no distinction. There were times that I worked full-time without reimbursement and times that I worked full-time with reimbursement but still did not know that line between what was volunteer or not, because so much of my life was tied up in the work that I did.

I certainly honour volunteers. I think we have to do everything in our power to assist the work of volunteers. What I would like to do this afternoon is put forward some cautions and some recommendations of my own towards our attitude towards volunteers and what needs to be put in place by government, and how we sustain volunteers so that we do not take advantage of them.

My colleague said recently, just before me, that volunteers work long, long hours, taking time away from their families, et cetera. I think that is something that on the one hand is positive, but on the other hand we need to be cognizant of. The fact that, in actual fact - and I have known people for whom it has happened. Their volunteerism actually became a negative because the volunteerism became so important and the community needed so much, no matter what the community was that they were doing the volunteer work with, that in actual fact, it did encroach upon their personal lives and upon their family lives. The encroachment was not positive, that was a negative. So we do need to think clearly and well about what our expectations of volunteers are.

I guess I will speak very directly from somebody who, even when I was a paid staff person, I always worked in the not-for-profit sector, always, expect for the short time, twelve years, that I was a teacher. Apart from that, I always worked in the not-for-profit sector. I think what is really important in the not-for-profit sector is the recognition that volunteers work mainly within the not-for-profit sector, that is mainly where they do their work, but there needs to be a happy balance between staff and volunteers. In other words, there always has to be staff. The number of staff depends upon the organization. When we expect volunteers to do everything without any staff support at all, that is when I think we run into problems. That is when I think we can be taking advantage of volunteers.

What has happened in our country, and I do not want to see it happen any more than it has happened because it has happened way too much, is that in recent years we have started removing - the federal government in particular began it, began it long before the current government that is up in Ottawa. The federal government began removing core funding from organizations, not-for-profit organizations that were dependent on core funding from government. That removal of core funding has put a tremendous amount of stress on not-for-profit organizations and therefore on the people who do the work of the not-for-profit organizations; because now many organizations that used to get core funding have to do all kinds of fundraising and have to spend an awful lot of time doing the work of fundraising rather than doing the work of the organization.

Sometimes fundraising is a major piece of work of the organization, and that is fine, but when the security of the existence of the organization depends upon the fundraising - where, if no fundraising is done, they will die; where, if there is no project funding, the organization cannot keep going - then we have a problem.

The place where I have seen that most happen – we all sort of will speak from our various experiences. Well, mine is within the women's community. This is the place where, in particular, we have seen this happen in Canada, the women's program of the federal government, where women could expect an amount of core funding and that was secure. That allowed for some staff to be hired, and then they could do project funding after that and their volunteers could help with getting those projects funded. That group, the group of women's organizations around this country, have been so negatively impacted by the fact that core funding was taken away, that the women's programs in the federal government, the federal government funding under women's programs, was removed.

The women's organizations, over the past few years, have had to get into continually doing project funding and doing the planning of permanent staff based on, this project added to this project, added to another project, and it has had a very negative effect.

I know this is true for other sectors - it has happened in other sectors, too - but I am speaking from the one I know well. The effect has been awful because, number one, the volunteers have become really stressed out, and they are becoming stressed out because the work they are expected to do is really the work of paid workers. They are dealing with women who are in great distress coming to Women's Centres, they do not have staff to deal with them, and volunteers are dealing with them. This is an example of where we can start expecting volunteers to do work that is beyond, way beyond, what we should be expecting of volunteers.

I think one of the characteristics of volunteers is commitment. They so much love what it is they are working for, they are so committed to it, that they will give and give and give. Sometimes they give too much, and sometimes they end up burning out. That is what we have to be looking for.

I think we have a responsibility as a society, as a community, to make sure that we have that happy marriage between core funding for organizations so that core funding can be supported by volunteers. It should not be that the volunteers are the base of the organization and you look for some money every now and again to have somebody do the paid work. To me, that is an abuse of volunteers.

There are all kinds of studies that will show that when an organization has to totally rely on only volunteers it starts being stressed. An example of that is actually an organization here in Newfoundland and Labrador, Women in Science and Engineering. I was at a gathering last week, at the university, of Women in Science and Engineering – actually, I think it was on Monday of this week - and they were celebrating the launch of this year's summer education program for high school girls. One of the things they unveiled at the meeting, at the WISE meeting – and there was quite a turnout at the university for the WISE gathering, from the president on down. It was really quite impressive, the support for the program for Women in Science and Engineering, but at the meeting they unveiled an evaluation that had been done of the organization. This organization has been doing its work for almost twenty years, so it has a lot of experience under its belt, but the whole of the work is done by volunteers. For a few years they had support from a paid staff person working in another office in the university, but the evaluation was telling because one of the recommendations of the evaluation was that if WISE - and that is the acronym for Women in Science and Engineering - if WISE was going to be able to maintain its work, it is absolutely essential that there be at least one full-time paid co-ordinator; because it is becoming impossible for the volunteers, as committed as they are, to continue it at the level that they would like to continue it - that there had to be at least one full-time paid co-ordinator.

So, a big recommendation of the consultant who did the work was that they try to come up with money to do that, if they are going to be able to maintain the program at a high quality and do its work. I think there is probably not one organization around, if it is run totally by volunteers, that might not have that same recommendation made to them.

I think that is something that the government has to take into consideration. It is something, I think, that the minister responsible for the volunteering –

MR. SKINNER: (Inaudible).

MS MICHAEL: Pardon?

MR. SKINNER: (Inaudible).

MS MICHAEL: Oh, I know that, but I am talking about in the future, Shawn. I am talking about the future of WISE, and something being put in structurally to make sure that – and not just for WISE - they know that for the next five years they have the money to be able to have full-time staff. That is what I am talking about, long term.

I recognize that the Minister for HRLE was at the same meeting I was at, along with the Minister of Environment and Conservation, and I recognize the money that government has given WISE over the past. That is not what I am talking about, okay? I am talking about the future. I am just using WISE as an example because of that recommendation that came from the consultant. I am not being critical at all, okay?

I apologize for using the hon. minister's first name. I just realized that I did that.

I would like to say to the minister responsible for the volunteer, not-for-profit sector that I think this is something that needs to be looked at. If the minister looks at different studies that have been done, and he probably has already because I am really not sure how far he has gone into his ministry yet, but one study was done by the Community Services Council in 2002. It was a report of the round table on voluntary sector issues. There is another study that was done by the CSC, also in 2007. We have a number, and we have studies that have been done outside of the Province. We have a number of documentations that tell us that the issues that I have raised are serious issues.

Minister, I have to say, I have not seen a mandate yet put together. Probably you are still working on it. I note that in the Budget there is approximately $650,000 for the work coming under your responsibility, but one of the things I would hope, when you do get a mandate put together with what divisions and what the goal is for your ministry, is something about how to support organizations in terms of having core funding so that volunteers will be supported in what they are doing, recognizing that we do not want to be taking advantage of volunteers, or that their private lives and their family lives are impacted, et cetera.

Having said all of that, I do recognize the tremendous work that is done and I do say to volunteers, and this is the word from somebody who has had the experience: Take care of yourselves. No matter how important the work is that you are doing, your personal health, your personal lives and your families are more important.

I would hope that all of us in this House, as we address this motion today, would be committed to saying that to the volunteers of our Province.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HEDDERSON: As well, Mr. Speaker, as the Minister Responsible for the Volunteer and Non-Profit Sector, of which I am so proud, I am proud to get up here today to join with my colleagues in really giving a good boost; yes, indeed.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HEDDERSON: I certainly appreciate the private member's motion that has come forth today from the Member for Mount Pearl North, and also the members on both sides of the House who have risen and have spoken in support of volunteer activities throughout this great Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. They are speaking from the heart, I might add, as they give really personal experiences, as they put the human face on what is going on in Newfoundland and Labrador with regard to volunteerism.

Of course, I am just on my feet today for a few moments just to respond to some of the queries from my colleague the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi, to just look at where we, as a government, are going and the commitment that we have made. Of course, in the Budget yesterday I was very delighted to see that my office in Volunteer and Non-Profit is being supported to the tune of $650,000 as we move forward in our commitment.

With regard to a person date, as to what has been outlined for us, we have seen, in our Blue Book commitments, exactly where we need to go and the direction that has come from that particular document. One of the top things that my colleague across the House has indicated is the need for sustained employability within that sector. I am very proud to say that there are something like 23,000 people who are involved in direct employment in that sector. We must ensure that employability is sustained and part of the direction that has been given to me is to find ways to do that. Through research that has already been carried out, through consultations with the sector, we hopefully can get the forward direction that we need in order to ensure that happens.

As well, the commitment of this government talks about the recognition of volunteers and to make sure that the general public, that all sectors, understand the tremendous contribution. We are talking, Mr. Speaker, about 35 million hours for any given year. In order for us as a government or as a Province to match that, we would have to hire on 20,000 people for forty hours a week for fifty-two weeks of the year to carry out that volunteer work that has been done freely, unselfishly and by people who are striving to make life in Newfoundland and Labrador a quality life, a life for the good of all the people.

There are challenges, there is no doubt. Part of it is about recruitment, it is about retention of volunteers. We know the demographics, the changes that have happened over the last number of decades. As well, we have to realize that the work these volunteers are doing is front-line work in many cases, and the professional development and training have to be part of it as well.

Mr. Speaker, we are moving forward but we are not moving forward unilaterally. This sector is a very, very important sector that has been part of our society from day one. Those that pitched on the shores of Newfoundland and Labrador, in whatever century they pitched, know that to eke out a life here in Newfoundland and Labrador is very difficult to do without the help of your neighbours, without the help of volunteers. We have a culture here in Newfoundland that is supportive of volunteerism because of the type of people we have.

In moving forward, the commitment of this government is to make sure that the relationship we have with this sector is a unique relationship, a relationship of a collaborative effort, that we must stand shoulder-to-shoulder with this sector, that we must move forward with proper consultation, that we will find - and I will say right here, Mr. Speaker, that the capacity to move forward with this sector rests within the sector. They have the capacity, they have demonstrated their capacity, but we have to, as a government, move with that sector to make sure.

Also, I will point out, Mr. Speaker, that it is not only the third sector, it is the three sectors. It is the public sector, it is the private sector, it is the third sector that we need to make sure that we have collaborative relationships and that we are all proverbially pulling on that same oar.

I was at the kick-off on Sunday night down at the Fairmont Hotel and that was certainly a great way to kick off Volunteer Week. It was during that time that it became obvious to me, with some of the awards that were given out, that we have to recognize the importance of the individual, we have to recognize the importance of the organization, and we have to recognize the importance of our corporate sponsorship that plays such a big part in this sector, as well as the media.

Everyone is involved in this, we are all there. That involvement gives us what the whole theme of Volunteer Week is this year, and that is: You're Part of the Picture. The analogy that I use – I always like to talk about Kodak moments, because we all know in our lives there are many Kodak moments. I heard from the members who just got up many Kodak moments in their particular districts, and I would suggest that if the forty-eight members of this particular Assembly rose and talked about the Kodak moments involving volunteers in their districts, that would be just a tremendous big picture, Mr. Speaker. That is what this theme is all about, that there is a bigger picture, we are all part of it, we value the involvement of volunteers, and let us all be part of the picture.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Placentia & St. Mary's.

MR. COLLINS: Pleasure, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased today to rise in this House and make some comments on this very important motion. It is a motion that is near and dear to my heart. I am not going to repeat. A lot of the information has already been given, and the comments have already been made. I do not want to repeat anything that has been said. We are going to be doing a lot of repeating ourselves in the next couple of weeks when we start discussing the Budget, because there are so many things in there worthy of repeating.

I appreciate too, Mr. Speaker, the fact that this motion was brought today by one of the youngest members of the Assembly, the hon. Member from Mount Pearl North. I understand, Mr. Speaker, that he has not yet turned thirty, yet he has an extensive history of volunteer experience behind him; in terms of Big Brothers and Sisters, Scouts Canada, Junior Achievement and so on. He mentioned them as he started. I cannot remember, Mr. Speaker, when I was thirty. I can make some assumptions about it, and from some of the pictures I have seen I had more hair back then, and I could hear back then, as well.

It is important to note that the previous speakers on this side of the House, speaking on this motion, were young people, talking about volunteerism. I think that is significant, and I want to use that, Mr. Speaker, just to get into young people volunteers.

Mr. Speaker, on Sunday past, Maggie Hynes, an eighteen-year-old high school student from Placentia, won the Lions speak-off in Gander. Her topic was teen volunteers. My colleague from Bonavista North was at that Lions speak-off and gave me a copy of her speech. I talked to her last night because a year ago I introduced a member's statement in the House on Maggie Hynes. Maggie Hynes, in 2006, was named Miss Teen International Canada and Miss Teen Newfoundland and Labrador Globe in 2006.

In her talk on teen volunteers, she said teens are helping volunteer today in record numbers, at a level never before seen. According to a survey done by the Corporation of National Community Service, 55 per cent of teenagers aged twelve to eighteen, participate in volunteer activities. That is more than double the adult average.

Now, there are probably reasons for that, but it is important to note that a couple of things are happening in the education system which inspires that. Thirty hours of community service is now required to graduate in some circles. Universities are looking at volunteering as a prerequisite for entrance in many of their requirements. Scholarships are looking at volunteer and service requirements as well as the academic record. So, these are things that probably might be inspiring some of this volunteerism on the part of teenagers but the students are getting involved, teenagers are getting involved and it is having an effect, Mr. Speaker, on the stereotypical image of teenagers.

Over the past ten years serious, violent crimes by teens has fallen by 70 per cent. Teenage pregnancy is down 33 per cent, and 80 per cent to 90 per cent of teens say they get along very well with their parents. So, the statistics are showing that a rapidly growing number of teens are experiencing the sense of self worth and emotional growth that comes from volunteer involvement. Eight-three percent of them are saying they do it willingly without any pressure, and 97 per cent say they are rewarded by their efforts. Not only that, 90 per cent of them say they will continue to volunteer as adults. So, I think that is significant, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, with reference to Maggie Hynes - just to tell you what a teen is doing in the volunteer sector of this Province. Maggie Hynes was recently named the Canadian Youth Ambassador, one of six, for World Vision. She will travel to Tanzania, the poorest country in Africa, for three weeks in July for a missionary trip. Upon her return, she will be speaking to youth groups across the country on World Vision. Previously, for World Vision - listen to this, Mr. Speaker, she raised enough money to build a house in Africa for AIDS-devastated orphans. She raised money to stock five medical clinics in Africa, and found sponsor families for over twenty children living in Third World countries.

I follow this girl. I know her, I know her family well. I know what she is saying is true. She coordinated a thirty-hour famine event in her school last year and raised $3,000 to feed the hungry. She has also coordinated a huge event this year. She initiated the Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child Project in her community, collecting 500 boxes filled with toys and basic necessities to be sent to needy children around the world.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. COLLINS: Finally, Mr. Speaker, she is currently working on a project to raise $15,000 to build a school in Africa, and she is halfway there. We are going to hear a lot from Maggie Hynes.

I want to jump from teen volunteers, Mr. Speaker, to senior volunteers, both ends of the spectrum. Our youth today started off this debate; we need a veteran to make up the rest of the line.

I grew up in the Town of Placentia, a town of about 6,000 people. A town that I thought had everything in terms of a place to raise your children. I am not going to list all the activities, people have done that. The same things happen there.

All of us when we come to this House, prior to coming to this House, had a record of volunteerism. That is probably what enhanced our election possibilities. We were all involved in some level or another. Many of us were mayors, many of us were on commissions, on associations, fundraisers, lobbies, groups. That is probably why we were electable, but we all did it for a purpose. We all did it to improve the quality of life in our communities. That is why we volunteered, and that is why people volunteer today. They volunteer to improve the quality of life in their communities.

The hon. Opposition House Leader said the other day that of all the volunteer groups, firefighters are front and centre with him. I agree with that, because firefighters go the extra mile. They put their lives on the line for our security and our comfort and our safety. I have a great respect for firefighters. Any time I attend any functions involved with firefighters I like to say that they really are the epitome of volunteerism.

There are people who give their lifetime, Mr. Speaker, to volunteering in the community. As a matter of fact, it has been said - and I am sure you have heard it - that if you want a job done give it to the busy person, give it to the volunteer who is already in a number of things, the best person to get the job done. It always amazes me that somebody can spend so long and do so much in their lifetime.

That brings me, Mr. Speaker, to a concern I have. It is a concern that I see in several of my communities, which are rural communities. The population of these communities are aging, and they are aging rapidly. The numbers are dropping, they are dropping rapidly. I have communities in my district - and I am sure many members here have had the same experience - where the majority of the population of these districts are senior citizens. These are people who have given their lifetimes to serve in their community. They are at the stage in their lifetime and in their careers - well, one would expect them to be able to step aside and let new blood take over. In a lot of communities, Mr. Speaker, these people do not have that luxury. That is a real concern I have because what I find is the town councils now are made up of seniors, retired people; the fire brigades, retired people; the tourism associations, all senior people. They do not have the luxury of renewing their resources with young people. That is a concern I have and it is a concern that is shared, I think, in a lot of rural communities.

There is not much we can do about the numbers dropping in the communities, Mr. Speaker. People are moving off for jobs, for employment, the numbers of children in families have dropped. In St. Mary's Bay, part of my district, for example, there were two schools in each community, for a total of eight schools when I served that district in another capacity as an education official back about twenty years ago. Today, there are two schools in that whole area. That shows how the numbers have dropped. These people do not have the luxury now to sit back and let new blood take over. I think that is something we have to be very, very conscious of. I am always impressed with the way people in these communities are trying to present the tourism opportunities and try to sell their communities in terms of developing a tourism industry. Because of the fact there are not a lot of opportunities for economic development in these communities, tourism is something people are turning to, but we are building a tourism industry in these parts of the Province on the backs of volunteers and it is seniors who are doing a lot of it. Again, it is something that I hope the new department having to do with this sector will have a serious look at.

Mr. Speaker, with respect to the resolution - and I am going to cut my remarks short. With respect to the resolution, it has two parts, and I am glad to see that the second part is there because it is not enough just to recognize, congratulate and appreciate what seniors have done and are doing, and what volunteers are doing in this Province. We need to encourage it and support it. We need to support it big time because we need it. If we are going to sustain the vibrancy of our rural Newfoundland communities, if we are going to sustain the lifeblood of our rural Newfoundland communities, we have to depend on these people to do it. There are not a lot of things we can do in rural Newfoundland to sustain the lifeblood of these communities. We have to depend on the people who are living there, and in a lot of cases it is seniors.

I want to make that point to my colleagues in this government, that these are people we are depending on to keep our communities alive, and for that reason this is a great motion, a great time to put it, and I would certainly encourage this House not only to vote for it today but to consider supporting it in every possible way.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

If the member speaks now, he will close debate.

MR. KENT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am very pleased to rise to conclude the debate this afternoon.

I certainly want to begin by thanking the hon. members who participated in this afternoon's debate: the hon. the Member for Port de Grave; the hon. the Member for Fortune Bay-Cape la Hune; the hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi; the hon. the Minister Responsible for the Volunteer and Non-Profit Sector; and, most recently, the hon. the Member for Placentia & St. Mary's. It is quite evident that members on all sides of this House support the great work that is being done in the voluntary sector.

Mr. Speaker, as we conclude this debate, I do want to provide a few more statistics for consideration by members of the House. As I mentioned when I was concluding earlier, thirty-five million hours per year, without financial compensation, is what volunteers contribute in this Province. Just consider, for a moment, the economic impact of that. That is the equivalent of 19,000 person years of employment in this Province alone. There are more than 5,000 voluntary sector organizations in Newfoundland and Labrador and, as several speakers have commented on earlier this afternoon, over 23,000 people are employed in the voluntary sector.

Mr. Speaker, this Province recognizes the vital role that the voluntary sector plays. Based on the minister's comments, I think it is apparent to all of us that our government's commitment to the voluntary sector has never been more evident.

In the Budget yesterday, $650,000 was allocated to further the work of this new ministry; but, Mr. Speaker, it is not the dollar value that is important. What is important is that the third sector is getting the respect and the recognition that it deserves from government, and this minister has made it very clear that he will work co-operatively with the voluntary sector to move this sector forward.

There are many interesting statistics that I could share, and I will share a few of them before I conclude. There was a survey completed over the last number of years in co-ordination with the Community Services Council. Eight hundred and seventy-two organizations were surveyed. Fifty-nine per cent of those organizations said that they need more volunteers. Thirty-eight per cent of those organizations experienced difficulties recruiting people to serve on their boards and committees. These are concerning statistics.

So we, as a government, and we as individuals within each of our communities, as leaders within each of our communities, need to do what we can to encourage people to continue to volunteer. It is vital. Even in terms of keeping communities alive and vibrant, it is vital.

It has often been said that young people do not volunteer. Mr. Speaker, in fact, 51 per cent of fifteen- to nineteen-year-olds surveyed, and 45 per cent of twenty- to twenty-four-year-olds surveyed reported that they are active volunteers. These are encouraging numbers.

One statistic, though, that did surprise me, that I want to raise: this Province was tied at the time with Quebec for the second-lowest volunteer rate in the country for people aged fifteen and over, with 42 per cent. That is indeed concerning, and that is one of the reasons why this Province needs to strengthen its relationship with the voluntary and not-for-profit sector, and support the sector in meeting its potential.

Although the volunteer rate in this Province is not what it could be, the hours that those volunteers dedicate to the sector is towards the top of the national averages. Newfoundland and Labrador has the fourth-highest average of annual volunteer hours in the country. The volunteers in this Province contribute 188 hours per year on average to volunteering. That is the equivalent of about five full-time work weeks, Mr. Speaker, for each and every individual who volunteers in the Province.

On a positive note, 85 per cent of people in Newfoundland and Labrador reported that they are involved in informal volunteering, which means they might not have a formal role within an organization but they are involved in community service in a less formal way, in one way or another.

Mr. Speaker, in this Province, we rely on our voluntary sector to provide community programs and services to enhance the quality of life in our communities. We rely on the sector to stimulate economic growth in our communities. The sector provides people of all ages with opportunities to learn new skills, to gain work experience, and to create important networking opportunities as well. The voluntary sector responds to social needs in each and every community in this Province. The sector supports cultural diversity and heritage by promoting the arts, by celebrating our cultural identities, by preserving historical sites, and the list goes on and on.

Mr. Speaker, we must recognize the contribution of volunteers, not only during Volunteer Week but each and every week of the year. In each of our communities we need to make it a priority to recognize volunteers. We need to do it often and we need to be timely about it. We need to be creative and unique in how we recognize the contributions of volunteers. The recognition needs to be sincere and meaningful and it needs to be consistent. People do not volunteer for recognition, but if we are going to keep volunteers feeling valued and motivated then it is very important that we create opportunities to recognize volunteers.

Mr. Speaker, this afternoon we have touched on many of the benefits of volunteering. I think volunteering offers people outlets for expressing their talents, their interests, their ambitions and their concerns. It allows them to contribute in unique and alternative ways to society. I think people volunteer because primarily they want to help their community. They want to make their community a better place. In doing so, they also fulfil their personal needs, their needs for learning, their needs to develop new skills and their needs to interact with other people in their community.

Mr. Speaker, as someone who chose the voluntary sector as a career choice, I certainly want to encourage others to do the same. It was touched on at several points this afternoon. I want to point out that there are many benefits of working in the voluntary sector, a few of which include income, travel opportunities, helping people and improving the quality of life in our communities. There are opportunities to learn, there are opportunities to meet new people.

Mr. Speaker, I want to allude to one comment that was made by the honourable member for Signal Hill–Quidi Vidi. She spoke about the cuts that have been made by the federal government in recent years to core funding affecting voluntary sector organizations. This is incredibly concerning and I think it is absolutely shameful, Mr. Speaker, that the federal government has cut funding to women's centres. I think it is absolutely shameful that the federal government has cut funding to literacy organizations. I am very pleased, thanks to the leadership of this government, that the Province has stepped up and provided additional support to women's centres and programs and to literacy programs in Newfoundland and Labrador. It is important that all levels of government recognize the value of the voluntary sector and see the sector as an equal partner in delivering important social programs in our communities.

Mr. Speaker, volunteers play a major part in community life. They contribute a great deal economically, socially and culturally to each and every community in Newfoundland and Labrador. They aid in providing a quality of life that sees people happier, healthier and more productive in their personal lives and also in their professional lives. I think Volunteer Week is an ideal time to acknowledge the essential contribution that volunteers make in our Province. I think it is also an ideal time to applaud this government's efforts in advancing the voluntary sector. Volunteers are indeed part of the picture.

Mr. Speaker, I hope this afternoon that all members of this House will support this motion, I hope that it will be carried unanimously and I hope that the records will reflect such, because it is indeed an important motion and an important time to recognize volunteers.

Mr. Speaker, to the volunteers in my district and in fact to all the volunteers throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, for who you are, for what you do, for the difference that you make in your communities, on behalf of my colleagues I certainly want to say a sincere thank you.

I thank members for participating in this debate and I certainly encourage members of this House to support the motion.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER (Fitzgerald): Order, please!

Is the House ready for the question?

All those in favour of the resolution as put forward by the hon. the Member for Mount Pearl North, ‘aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

On motion, resolution carried.

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

MR. RIDEOUT: Mr. Speaker, this being Wednesday I believe that there is an automatic adjournment before the House now until tomorrow, Thursday, at 1:30, and that this House should now adjourn.

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

This House is now adjourned.