The House met at 2:00 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Fitzgerald): Order, please!

Admit strangers.

MR. SPEAKER: Today we welcome the following members' statements: the hon. the Member for the District of Burgeo & LaPoile; the hon. the Member for the District of St. John's West; the hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave; the hon. the Member for the District of Grand Bank; the hon. the Member for the District of Fortune Bay-Cape la Hune; and the hon. the Member for the District of Mount Pearl North.

The hon. the Member for the District of Burgeo & LaPoile.

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

I rise today to recognize and congratulate Mrs. Joyce Samms of Port aux Basques on becoming one of seven Newfoundland and Labrador recipients of the Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation. The award was presented at a special ceremony held at the Fairmont on Friday, December 12.

The Commendation is awarded annually to individuals who have contributed in an exemplary manner to the care and well-being of veterans or to the remembrance of contributions, sacrifices and achievements of veterans.

In April of 2001, Her Majesty the Queen approved the design of a special bar to be worn with decorations to be known as the Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation. The Commendation consists of a certificate, a lapel pin for civilian wear and a bar for wear with decorations. The design is a gold maple leaf resting on a red poppy, a flower long associated with the sacrifices of war, with the Royal Crown on the top of the pin.

Mrs. Samms was born in Yorkshire, England in 1923. She served in the Women's Royal Naval Service in England during World War II, which is where she met her late husband, Frederick Samms, who was also serving in the Navy. They moved to Newfoundland in 1952 and a few years later she became a member of the Royal Canadian Legion. She was the only female member at Branch 11 at that time. She has served in a variety of roles for many years such as president, secretary, poppy chair, honours and awards chair, and she is currently the membership chair.

Mrs. Samms also organizes Remembrance Day school programs each year and is guest speaker at the local schools. She was the first woman elected as District Commander and the first woman to be elected Provincial President. Mrs. Samms has received the Meritorious Service Medal and the Palm Leaf, which is the legion's highest honour. She is also a recipient of the Queen's Jubilee Medal.

I recently had the honour of attending Mrs. Samms eighty-fifth birthday celebrations at the Royal Canadian Legion in Port aux Basques. Mrs. Samms is still a very active, capable lady who continues her good work with the legion. Her husband, Fred, died in 1999 but their two daughters, Judith and Kathleen still reside in Port aux Basques and are quite close to their mom.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of this House to join with me in extending congratulations to Mrs. Joyce Samms on receiving this prestigious award. All the best to Mrs. Samms and her family.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS S. OSBORNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to recognize the students of Cowan Heights Elementary School as well as Mr. Loyola Fitzpatrick, the schools physical education teacher.

Mr. Speaker, this year Cowan Heights Elementary was awarded a gold banner by the Canadian Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance as part of its recognition program for excellence in physical education. For his accomplishments, Mr. Fitzpatrick was awarded the Physical Education Teaching Excellence Award by the association.

Mr. Speaker, this association – recently renamed Physical and Health Education Canada – is a national, voluntary sector organization whose main purpose is to influence the healthy development of children and youth by advocating for quality, school based physical and health education.

We all recognize the value and importance of these goals, Mr. Speaker, and to have Cowan Heights Elementary's physical education program recognized in this way is quite an achievement for the students and, indeed, for Mr. Fitzpatrick who, after thirty years of teaching, continues to be very successful in motivating children to participate in physical activity.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all hon. members to join me in congratulating the students of Cowan Heights Elementary and Mr. Loyola Fitzpatrick on winning these awards and for their continued efforts in living active and healthy lives.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BUTLER: Mr. Speaker, I stand today to congratulate constituents of mine and all other members of Dalton Council 1448 in Harbour Grace, as they celebrate their centennial year in 2009.

One hundred years ago, Reverend Stephen S. Whalen gathered sixty-three men together to take their promises as members of the Knights of Columbus. From this humble beginning a century ago, the organization has grown to more than 5,000 strong throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

The most Reverend Martin W. Currie presented the Papal Blessing to William Dobbin, Grand Knight, a resident of Upper Island Cove, during a special mass to mark the beginning of their celebrations.

The Knights of Columbus are known for their civic involvement and aid to those in need, but also a strong arm of the church.

Today, Knights contribute to their Sick Children's Fun, scholarships, speak-outs, Daffodil Place and numerous other projects.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all hon. members to join me in congratulating all members of the Knights of Columbus as they celebrate their centennial.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KING: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate three soccer players from my district who are teammates with the St. Lawrence Laurentians.

Mike Howlett was recently named Newfoundland and Labrador Soccer Association's Senior Male Player of the Year. Mike put together a banner season in 2008. He played a major role in the great record that the Laurentians posted in provincial Challenge Cup play. His impact was recognized when he was named winner of the Dick Power Memorial Award as provincial league regular season MVP, voted to the provincial all-star team, and awarded the Gerard Quirke Memorial Award as playoff MVP.

Sean Edwards was also recognized by the Newfoundland and Labrador Soccer Association as the Junior Male Player of the Year. Sean enjoyed exceptional personal and team success at every level. Despite his age, he contributed much to the success of the senior Laurentians and was named the team's most improved player. As well, he was a member of his high school team and club Under 16 team that won their respective provincial tournaments. Sean is also a member of the provincial Under 16 team, the Canada Games Pool, and the National Training Pool for the Atlantic Region.

The last player I will recognize, Mr. Speaker, is Blair Aylward, who, after seventeen successful seasons as a member of the Laurentians and winning many individual and team awards, is retiring. Hard work, commitment and leadership are characteristics that Blair exhibited game in and game out as the Laurentians captain. These same characteristics gained him the utmost respect by his teammates, opponents and fans, not only in St. Lawrence but provincially and nationally as well.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of the House to join me in congratulating three exceptional soccer players from the St. Lawrence Laurentians: Mike Howlett, Sean Edwards and Blair Aylward.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS PERRY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this hon. House today to deliver accolades to Joshua Sheppard of St. Alban's. Earlier this year, Joshua placed first among forty students in this Province who wrote the Canadian Association of Physicists exam. The 2008 test covers mechanics, optics, electricity, as well as magnetism, and Joshua excels in them all.

He has now enrolled in the electrical engineering program at MUN, and we look forward to his continued success.

Mr. Sheppard's accomplishments are proof that great things are happening in rural schools, and that attaining an education in rural communities offers just as great quality an education as anywhere in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all members of this hon. House join with me to congratulate Mr. Sheppard on his remarkable achievements.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this hon. House today to congratulate the nominees and winners of the 2008 Pearl Awards. This awards ceremony was recently held at Mount Pearl City Hall, and recognizes residential and commercial property owners for their commitment to ensuring the aesthetic beauty of our community.

The Pearl Awards for Urban Design Program was initiated by the city in 2005, to promote excellence in urban design in Mount Pearl, enhance the quality of life and aesthetics in the city through architectural and landscape design, and recognize the designers, developers and property owners who have achieved success in urban design projects in our community.

Last year, the awards program was expanded to two categories: Urban Design and Gardens. The Pearl Awards for Gardens program promotes excellence in floral display, tidiness, turf and ground cover quality, streetscape beautification, and environmental awareness.

Mr. Speaker, this year's nominees and winners are leaders in this area, and I would like to congratulate, in particular, for Excellence in Urban Design, Barrett's Funeral Home, Carnell's Funeral Home, and Q'Max Solutions Inc. Honourable mention in this category includes: Window Land/Glacier Windows, JMP Holdings Inc., and East-Chem Inc.

I would also like to congratulate, for Excellence for Gardens: residents of 97 Michener Avenue and 35 Sunrise Avenue; and honourable mention to: 17 Barbour Drive, 17 Whelan Avenue, 10 Sycamore Place and 7 Webb Place

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of this House to join me in congratulating the winners and nominees of the 2008 Pearl Awards, as well as offering sincere thanks to the jury members, committee members and the City of Mount Pearl, without whom this awards program would not be possible.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Statements by Ministers.

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS WHALEN: Mr. Speaker, this summer, the Department of Municipal Affairs was honoured to provide a four-week summer internship to five students with the Shad Valley Program.

Shad Valley is committed to the development of remarkable youth. For over twenty-five years, this program has inspired some of Canada's most promising young talent towards leadership roles by unleashing each participant's creativity, innovation and quest for excellence. Shad Valley is known to be a life-changing experience for senior high school students interested in pushing their creative and intellectual capacity to the limit.

Mr. Speaker, the program follows a co-op model, offering a four-week university-based academic portion followed by a challenging summer internship.

As the host of this internship for five Shad Valley students – Alex Abbott, Alex Dias, Chetan Muram, Ankur Ralhan and Chris Williams – the Department of Municipal Affairs offered a unique work and learning experience. These young men were given an opportunity to make a valuable contribution to the work of the department and were exposed to the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador as a potential employer. This was achieved through: orientation to an office environment, the Department of Municipal Affairs and the provincial government; assignment of a challenging project and support work for various office functions; discussions with the Centre for Learning and Development; discussions with Human Resources on recruitment.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate two of our students – Alex Abbott and Ankur Ralhan – on recently being named RBC/Shad Valley Entrepreneurial Cup winners. This award acknowledges the innovative spirit, youthful exuberance and leadership skills of Shad Valley students. The competition is a showcase for entrepreneurship, science, engineering and technology, and demonstrates what teams of bright students can create with a little opportunity and a lot of passion.

The teams that Alex and Ankur were part of won many awards, including first place in the categories of best application of theme and best business plan.

The Department of Municipal Affairs was privileged to have such talented individuals with us this past summer. Over the course of these four weeks, we learned as much from these five students as they learned from us.

In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I would like to say that if these young men are an example of our future leaders then I am fully confident that our future really does look bright.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BUTLER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want to thank the minister for an advanced copy of her statement and to say that we, in the Official Opposition, want to congratulate those five young gentlemen on their achievements this year and to congratulate the Department of Municipal Affairs for taking them on for this four-week program.

This organization, Shad Valley, is based in Waterloo, Ontario, a not-for-profit educational organization that was incorporated back in 1980. Today we know that this organization now delivers Shad Valley programs in ten other universities throughout our country.

We are very fortunate to have one of them being Memorial University right here in Newfoundland and Labrador. I understand that they have close to 10,000 alumni members and eighteen Rhodes Scholars amongst them. We hear all too often about the wonderful achievements our young people are making here in our Province, and I guess this is another continuation of that to know the talent that we do have amongst our young people.

I know it was only this past week there was a ministerial statement with regards to retention program, a strategy for our young people here in the Province. Hopefully, that is what will happen and the calibre of young people that we reference here today will be able to find work, stay right here in their own Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

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

I thank the minister for the advanced copy of her statement. I, too, want to join with my colleagues in congratulating the five young men on participating in the Shad Valley program, especially the two young men who won a particular award from the RBC/Shad Valley Entrepreneurial program.

As my colleague from the Official Opposition has just said, having co-operative students or intern students inside of government working is a wonderful opportunity. One, for the students to learn what the job opportunities are inside of government, and for government to learn about the wonderful graduates who are coming out of our post-secondary institutions.

I would like to see, as I said earlier in the week, when the youth retention strategy was presented to us that I would like very much to see government put together a comprehensive plan for hiring post-secondary graduates in government positions. So it is not enough for them to know what is inside of government, they need to know there are jobs there too that they can apply for. I would love to see co-op students and interns being able to move into permanent positions.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Further statements by ministers?

The hon. the Minister of Labrador Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HICKEY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in the House to update hon. members on my department's administration of the Labrador Transportation Grooming Subsidy, which for several years now, has been funding the operations and maintenance of grooming trails on the North and South Coast of Labrador.

These snowmobile trails are a vital transportation link for isolated communities not connected with the Trans-Labrador Highway, particularly on the North Coast of Labrador. Maintaining and enhancing these trails is a firm commitment made under our Northern Strategic Plan for Labrador. I am pleased to note that in Budget 2008, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, through the Department of Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs, increased the Labrador Transportation Grooming Subsidy by $150,000. As well, $200,000 has been budgeted for trail improvements.

Mr. Speaker, since 2007, Labrador Winter Trails Incorporated was responsible for the administration of this subsidy. Unfortunately, Labrador Winter Trails ran into financial difficulties last season and have since indicated that they no longer wish to be responsible for coordinating of trail grooming.

The Department of Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs has offered to assist Labrador Winter Trails with their debts associated with trail grooming. This government is also prepared to coordinate trail grooming this winter, and will provide funding to Inuit community governments and development agencies to carry out this important work. As well, the request has been made to Labrador Winter Trails to allow access to the necessary trail groomers, which were purchased with public funds, to ensure these vital transportation linkages are maintained for the communities that rely upon them.

To date, Labrador Winter Trails has not accepted this offer. Mr. Speaker, what we are proposing is fair and generous. This arrangement would allow Labrador Winter Trails to better focus on its core mandate of promoting tourism and recreational snowmobiling and collecting trail pass fees.

Mr. Speaker, it has come to my attention that Labrador Winter Trails is arranging the sale of the groomer designated for North West River to Separation Lake – an important connection for residents on the North Coast of Labrador. This groomer was paid for 100 per cent by the provincial government just last year. Our offer to pay back outstanding debts incurred by Labrador Winter Trails is still on the table, providing they do not proceed with this sale.

Meanwhile, Mr. Speaker, officials in my department are doing everything they possibly can to maintain this vital service. However, unless Labrador Winter Trails provides this government with access to the groomers in their possession, this vital winter transportation link to isolated communities within Coastal Labrador cannot be fully maintained.

I strongly encourage Labrador Winter Trails to reconsider its position so that the groomers that were purchased with public funds are made available for the public good.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement.

Mr. Speaker, this is not a statement but rather an ultimatum, an ultimatum that is being issued to a non-profit volunteer organization in Labrador that has groomed trails from one end of Labrador to the other and built up a network and an industry in the tourism industry as well as the transportation sector over the last decade.

Mr. Speaker, this is not an organization who have indicated to the minister that they no longer wish to continue operating the trails in Labrador. This was an organization that was told, told by government who controls the money going into the organization that we are not going to cut the cheques for you. That is what it was. That is exactly what it was; but, Mr. Speaker, they cannot tell them what to do with their assets.

Labrador Winter Trails own the assets, the trail groomers and the equipment that they have always operated. They are the owners, legally. Government cannot tell them what to do with those assets, but this is the same government that made a commitment seven months ago to pay $82,000 to this organization and they have yet to see the cheque. They have no other choice, Mr. Speaker; they have had to sell off assets up there to be able to cover off their cost overruns.

As of Friday, every groomer in Labrador will be taken off the trails if the insurance cost is not paid on those groomers. They have no other choice only to sell off some of the assets that they have, to be able to cover that cost; either that, Mr. Speaker, or there is no program.

This is not a case of where government is managing a program on behalf of the people, and working with volunteers and non-profit groups to do it. This is a case, Mr. Speaker, where government wants to control the program -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS JONES: - control all of those who are involved, boot them out the door, disseminate the Labrador Winter Trails as an organization, and take it all in-house and do it.

Well, it does not always work that way and the minister knows it does not work that way.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the hon. member to conclude her response.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It would be far better today if the minister was taking a lead to partner with these groups, to continue with the development of trails and the operation of trails in Labrador, and to work together in partnership, Mr. Speaker, not putting their back to the wall and issuing ultimatums to them.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

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

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

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

I ask members for their co-operation.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I do not have the knowledge –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS MICHAEL: Mr. Speaker, I do not have the knowledge of this statement that my colleague, the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair has, but I do want to say that when I read this statement, which the minister did give us an advance copy of, I was really quite surprised to see the content of a minister's statement being what is in this statement.

I know I do not have a long history in the House, but my understanding of a statement does not cover this. I think this is an internal issue. I think the minister has used the House to make a political point against an organization here.

As I said, I do not know the details, I am not in Labrador, but I am surprised that the minister took the action of a Ministerial Statement to put this statement out.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

Further statements by ministers.

Oral Questions.

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we started this session of the House of Assembly by asking questions around youth mental health services in the Province, and the lack of services that were available to our young people.

We understand that the minister will be receiving a briefing – if he has not already today – on the 2003 Youth Mental Health Report that has been in the department for the past five years.

I ask the minister today to provide us with an update in the House of Assembly on what immediate action the government will take to address this issue, now that your officials have had an opportunity to go through the report thoroughly.

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The member opposite is correct; I have had an opportunity to be briefed by officials, because I have reported in the House in previous weeks that I have instructed officials in the department to take that 2003 report, to do an analysis of it, and to bring forward to me some recommendations, some commentary, to be able to update the recommendations that were there, update the data that was there to see if the recommendations are indeed valid.

We did meet; we did have a discussion. There are a number of things that came out of that. There is some additional information that I believe is important to better understand. I have asked them now to follow up on a couple of very significant parts of the report to me, that I need further information on, and within the next couple of days we will be back together again to have some further discussions with that new insight, and I am hoping to be in a position to bring forward to my colleagues in Cabinet, early in the new year, some suggestions and recommendations as to how we might want to move forward with a view of making some improvements and some enhancements to mental health services in the Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to ask the minister if he and his officials have reviewed the idea now of a residential treatment facility for the Province for young people suffering from mental illness, and the programs that would entail, and I would like to ask, Mr. Speaker, if this is something that they are prepared to consider at this stage, because we know a few weeks ago it was not on the radar of government and it did not look like they were prepared to even consider it.

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Before I answer the question, let's not cheapen the discussion here, I say to the member opposite. I never did indicate in this House that I was not prepared to consider anything. I have been very clear in this House in my comments that, as a government, as a Minister Responsible for Health and Community Services, I was prepared to consider anything that would make improvements to the health services that we provide in the Province, and in particular the issue at hand here is mental health services for the children of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The 2003 report that has been referenced in this House many times is a point of reference for the discussion, a point of reference for the evaluation I have asked officials to undertake. Whether it is a residential program or other enhancements in mental health services, as a government, yes, we are prepared to consider any and all issues, any and all improvements, any and all recommendations that would see us improve services.

I say, Mr. Speaker, fundamentally, it is the part of the review that I just commented on, and in the next few days I will be able to conclude my discussion with officials with a view to having some conversation with my colleagues in Cabinet early in the new year.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the hon. minister to conclude his answer.

MR. WISEMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, we asked questions in the House of Assembly, I guess earlier this week, about the method of transfer that was used by Eastern Health over the weekend to move two mentally ill youths from the Janeway to the Waterford Hospital. We asked the minister if he could investigate the circumstances around this. I am sure he has had an opportunity to do that at this stage, so I would like to ask him today: number one, if he has had a chance to investigate the circumstances around it; and, number two, can you give us some assurances that other methods of transfer will be put in place for cases like this?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, I have had an opportunity to have discussions with officials of Eastern Health. I had an opportunity to have some discussions with my colleague, the Minister of Justice, with respect to the protocols that currently exist between Eastern Health and the two police forces with respect to the transport.

I have asked officials at Eastern Health as recently as yesterday if they would re-evaluate that MOU with a view of looking at whether that is an appropriate way to do it on a go-forward basis, what other mechanisms we may be able to use with the transportation of people with mental illness, and whether or not the MOU needs a revision and needs an update. That is again, as I said a moment ago, Mr. Speaker, a part of the intense piece of work that myself and officials in our department are doing in and around mental health services right now, today.

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This morning we learned that the Province's only infectious disease specialist will be leaving. This will put more stress on an already overburdened system in our Province. One of the measures that Eastern Health has discussed publicly is to have Internal Medicine specialists handle these cases, but we already know, Mr. Speaker, that these specialists are already understaffed and have huge caseloads.

I would like to ask the minister, Mr. Speaker: What government action will take in conjunction with Eastern Health to ensure that they address this shortage immediately and ensure that the people in the Province with infectious diseases are not marginalized because of this?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: I am very pleased, Mr. Speaker, to stand this afternoon and be able to tell the people of Newfoundland and Labrador that we have a physician who is going to be doing a site visit early in the new year. Eastern Health has had some success in identifying someone who has an interest in this position and they will be visiting the Province early in the new year. We are very hopeful, very optimistic that will result in him or her deciding that this is a great place to live, a great place to practice. Early in the new year I will be able to update the House and members of the Province as to what will happen with that particular discipline.

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 of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

Mr. Speaker, the global economic crisis is affecting all of us, and that includes those in the fishery. Recent financial woes in Iceland have left Newfoundland and Labrador fishing firms on the books for up to $250 million and created a real credit crunch for most of them.

Considering that provinces like Quebec and New Brunswick, in particular, have developed programs for the manufacturing sector, which now are also being offered to people in the fishing industry, I ask the minister: Does you department have any contingency plans in place to address some of these problems that obviously are affecting the industry today?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HEDDERSON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In response to the question from the Leader of the Opposition, certainly within our department right now there are programs, as in the loan guarantee programs, that can address some financial concerns of harvesters as they are refitting or getting new boats. As well as on a forward basis, Mr. Speaker, we know that the fishing industry is not immune from the forces with regard to the economics outside of this Province. I am talking with the union, with the processing sector, with all stakeholders in the fishing industry to make sure that we are aware of the challenges that are coming and to put some sort of plans in place to address those.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We will certainly be looking in the new year, I say to the minister, to see what kind of programs or response will be developed around that.

Mr. Speaker, another issue is with regard to the lobster fishery. As we know, it is one of Canada's most valuable seafood export industries. We also know that it contributes to a large part of the revenue in the industry in Newfoundland and Labrador. Still today, there is lobster warehoused in this Province that has not found a marketplace. We know that is going to contribute to what happens in the industry this spring and we also know that the prices are dropping rapidly.

I would like to ask the minister: Is your department looking at any kind of a program or assistance that you may be able to provide in the case that the bottom falls out of this lobster industry in the spring of the year?

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HEDDERSON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As the Leader of the Opposition has alluded to, obviously, it is not only going to be a credit crunch, but it is going to be a bit of a market meltdown. With the economics as they are developing outside of the Province, and within the Province too I might add, is that it is the market that is going to dictate whether or not we can unload inventory, whether the markets that we had last year are there this year. Of course lobster, as you pointed out, is a high-end product with a very specific market, and as we have seen in the other Atlantic provinces as they began their lobster fishery this year, that the price really was not there for them to even put it on the markets.

I would say to the hon. member, that we are looking at ways in which we can sort of cut that off, but again, it is months down the road. We do not know what the extent of it is going to be. All I can say is that we are gathering the intelligence that we need in order to make the informed decisions that are going to be necessary as we prepare perhaps for the worst.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, earlier this fall one of the provincial ferries, the Apollo, which operates on the Strait of Belle Isle, was unable to dock because an oil tanker had tied up at the ferry wharf in St. Barbe and was refusing to move.

I ask the minister: Will government consider bringing forth regulations that ensure that provincial ferries are given preference at our provincial docking facilities throughout the Province in locations outside of St. Barbe as well?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the challenges that people in Southern Labrador, in particular, faced last fall as a result of not being able to dock in St. Barbe. However, I think it is also fair to point out that had we forced that oil tanker in heavy seas to stay at sea and run into trouble, which the Captain was obviously concerned about – if he had not been concerned about that, he would not, after a day or so of jogging off the West Coast, it is my understanding, put himself into port in St. Barbe and refused to leave the wharf because he was concerned about the wind conditions. If we had forced that Captain, which we would not be able to do, I expect, under the Canada Shipping Act, be able to force him away from the wharf in heavy seas, if something untoward had happened and that ship had been lost on Anchor Point, Mr. Speaker, I suspect that the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Chair would be here today asking why we forced that ship away from the wharf.

No, Mr. Speaker, I don't think we will be bringing in any policies or legislation that will force any ship away from our facilities in a time of need.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am not going to get into a debate on the floor of the House in Question Period over this issue, but the minister well knows that there were a number of ports on that particular stretch of the Peninsula where this oil tanker could have docked; and, Mr. Speaker, they were instructed that the ferry was going to be docking at that particular wharf.

Mr. Speaker, this ferry had several hundred passengers on board and vehicles. They had to turn around in unsafe conditions, as well, I say to the minister, and make a trip right back across the Strait of Belle Isle in order to find a port to dock in.

I think that in this Province ferries should have a primary berthage place, and I ask the minister to give some consideration to putting that in place, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear1

MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I have looked into this incident, but if the member thinks, and the Captain of the ferry thought, that it was unsafe for him to be at sea, then they maybe should not have put to sea themselves; when you talk about that ship being forced to turn around off St. Barbe and make it back across the Straits.

Mr. Speaker, there are judgement calls made every day by the captains of ships in our waters and elsewhere in the world. They make these value judgements. They make the judgements based on the safety of their crew, the safety of their ship, and the safety of their cargo.

I, Mr. Speaker, wasn't at sea that day. If I was out to sea that day, I would have been forced to make a decision just as I have had to make them in the past.

Mr. Speaker, the Captain of the oil tanker decided that St. Barbe was where he needed to go in order to take his ship out of danger. I am not going to question the Captain of an oil tanker any day, nor do I think the Leader of the Opposition is equipped to do so.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We are not dealing with unsafe conditions here, and the minister knows that. We are dealing with a situation where ferries in this Province do not have right access to berthing at docks, and I think, Mr. Speaker, that provincial ferries should have a priority. If it is a safety issue, it is a different matter. When it is not a safety issue, there should be primary berthing.

I ask the minister, why he will not consider that?

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: Mr. Speaker, if we were not dealing with unsafe sea conditions – which is what we all understand to have been that day, the Leader of the Opposition has admitted that, I have admitted that, the Captain of the oil tanker admitted that, the people in the department who have looked into this have admitted that.

Mr. Speaker, I do not know what we would – if it was not unsafe sea conditions my understanding is that the ferry would have been able to dock. The problem is, with the way the wind blows in St. Barbe, if the ferry – there are two ramps in St. Barbe, you have to go in on one side when the wind is eastern, you have to go in on the other side when the wind is western. Now that is as simple as that, Mr. Speaker.

My understanding, there was a gale or a storm of southwest wind. The oil tanker was off St. Barbe for some period of time prior to docking. It had stayed at sea until the Captain - in my understanding now, she can correct me if I am wrong, but what I have been told by my officials is the oil tanker stayed at sea until the Captain determined that he could stay at sea no longer and he had to make port.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Earlier this month I wrote the Public Utilities Board with regard to gas price regulation on the Coast of Labrador, and, Mr. Speaker, prices are frozen in one part of Labrador, and since the freeze went into play, the prices have dropped in the Province four times. In fact, between one zone in my district, and the other zone, there is a price difference of thirty cents per litre on gasoline.

I would like to ask the minister today, if he has had a chance to review this and what the petroleum pricing board is going to do to address that issue?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. ORAM: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This is certainly an issue on the Coast of Labrador, and in Labrador, and the minister is actually at this time looking at this particular issue, and he will certainly report back to the House as soon as he has the information he needs to make a better decision.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This is an issue that has been ongoing now for a month. The Combined Councils of Labrador raised it directly in meetings with the minister as well, Mr. Speaker. Right now today, if you look at every zone of pricing for gasoline around the Province, the difference from one zone to the other is usually between three cents to five cents on a litre. In my district, it is thirty cents in the difference in a seventy-six kilometre basis, and I say it is unfair to the customers there. It is unfair that they have to pay those rates, and I ask that you make a decision to reduce the rates in that area and bring it in line with the rest of the Province.

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. ORAM: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that any particular program that is brought in and put in place is not always perfect, and the department realizes that this particular program is probably not perfect but, at the end of the day, it is what we have in place right now. Again, the department is looking at every option that may be available and we will certainly be looking at that in the future, to find if there is a better way of dealing with this issue.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BUTLER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In June of this year, the government announced the awarding of $50.5 million contracts for construction of two new ferries to Peter Kiewit. It is my understanding that 25 per cent of the work was to be subcontracted to Clarenville Dockyard, Limited. With all the uncertain economic times, the work for those areas and for the Province is crucial.

I ask the minister, would he please give us an update on what date does he expect the construction of the two new ferries?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: Yes, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the member is correct, we did make an announcement back earlier this year on construction of two new ferries in – basically led in Marystown but part in Clarenville.

Mr. Speaker, discussions with Peter Kiewit and Sons have been proceeding. As the member may know, the construction of these two ferries is basically a design-build approach, where approximately 70 per cent of design has been done. The testing on the hull and what have you was done at the Centre for Ocean Dynamics, or the Centre for Marine Dynamics over at back of MUN.

Basically, where we are right now – actually, just earlier this morning there was a meeting between officials of the department and representatives from the Marystown Dockyard. Mr. Speaker, it is moving along. I hope that in the very near future we will be able to begin construction. There are some relatively minor, I would hope, matters around the design of the vessel and the performance of the vessel that Peter Kiewit and Sons have to commit to. When we sign off on the vessel, we want them to guarantee us that the ship is going to float and that the ship is going to perform and have the appropriate sea keeping as was required and that is what we are –

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BUTLER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for his answer. I know that first when this was announced I believe one of the new ferries was to be delivered by the end of 2009 and the other one in the spring of 2010.

I am just wondering, what are the new target dates for the completion of those vessels? If he is able to answer that, and if there are any overruns on the cost now by those minor or extensive delays, whichever way you want to look at it?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In all honesty, I cannot - I wish I could, but I cannot - give a revised timetable because we have not concluded discussions with Peter Kiewit & Sons. Once those discussions are concluded, one way or the other, I will be able to update the House and the public as to what the revised timetable would be.

I can tell the member and the House that the propulsion systems for both ships have already been bought. They are here in a warehouse in St. John's right now. As for cost overruns, Mr. Speaker, given the current state of the world economy and the declining demand for steel and cooper and everything else that you would be required to put into a ship, we would not expect any cost overruns. If anything, Mr. Speaker, our indication to Peter Kiewit & Sons is that we would probably see a decline in some of this stuff.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BUTLER: Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the minister again. We noticed in the exemptions to the Tender Act, I guess, that was delivered to the House here only recently, we saw that, with regard to the equipment the minister just mentioned, it was purchased and I think has something to do with the motors or thrusters or whatever and is on stock.

Mr. Speaker, my next question: At a recent meeting of the Joint Councils of Conception Bay North and the Joint Mayors of Trinity-Bay de Verde, concerns were expressed with the Greater Avalon Waste Management Committee. They felt that they were only messengers for the City of St. John's.

I ask the minister: Can she explain the mandate of this committee, as there is much uncertainty within the municipalities outside of the Greater St. John's area.

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS WHALEN: Mr. Speaker, we do have regional committees throughout the Province working with our Waste Management Strategy, and they are working.

Yes, he heard in the news there the week that we had a member resign from the board, and it is unfortunate, but we have had many expressions of interests of people wanting to go on that board so I will be looking at that.

We are committed to this waste management and we are going to move it forward through the committees.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BUTLER: Mr. Speaker, we know that the MMSB is sitting on millions of dollars. Last week the minister stated that this money was for infrastructure being used at Robin Hood Bay, and many members opposite were saying, have we seen the site?

Knowing that the money from the MMSB is for the infrastructure at Robin Hood Bay, I ask the minister: If that is the case, why are the tipping fees for Robin Hood Bay doubling at this particular time?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS WHALEN: Mr. Speaker, I understand that the tipping fee in Robin Hood Bay has increased, but that operation is a break-even, not-for-profit, there. They have had to hire extra security there in the operation of the facility; so, with that, their tipping fees had to go up.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BUTLER: Mr. Speaker, the waste that is collected in the Conception Bay North area is not separated before going to Robin Hood Bay. There are concerns that this could add an additional charge for their service.

I ask the minister: Will she commit to a transfer station for the Conception Bay North area?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS WHALEN: Mr. Speaker, those issues are dealt with, with the committee. They would make the decisions and make recommendations of how they would deal with their two streams.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BUTLER: Mr. Speaker, my final question to the minister is this: The City of Mount Pearl recently stated their concerns related to this committee. They feel the structure adds an extra level of bureaucracy and gives St. John's significant control over decision-making.

I ask the minister: Is she willing to make improvements to the board structure so that municipalities outside St. John's feel they have a greater input into decision-making?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS WHALEN: Mr. Speaker, that committee is made up of sixteen members: 50 per cent for St. John's and 50 per cent outside of St. John's, and one independent chair, so I think they all have fair and equal representation on that committee.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

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

My question is for the Minister of Justice.

Mr. Speaker, last weekend The Telegram ran a feature story on access to information and this government's lack of openness and accountability. We have our own frustrations in trying to pry information out of this government and various departments, of course. We have also been frustrated with the way this government handles the release of information, and we have been forced to apply for reviews with the Information and Privacy Commissioner to the point where this has been a severe backlog now in his office of appeals.

I ask the minister: Will government allocate extra funding to the Information and Privacy Commissioner's Office to enable a backlog of appeals to be dealt with in a timely fashion?

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Justice and Attorney General.

MR. T. MARSHALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the hon. member for his question. I believe the request was whether government would give additional resources to the Information and Privacy Commissioner. I believe, and the hon. member can correct me if I am wrong, that the Commissioner is an officer of this House of Assembly and the request for resources would have to come to Management Commission and dealt with by the members in this House.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

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

Mr. Speaker, after receiving information from a concerned citizen, our office submitted an Access to Information Request regarding the William Marshall review of the Inland Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Program. Executive Council withheld most of the information and we were forced to appeal to the Information and Privacy Commissioner. He recommended the release of the information in accordance with the legislation, yet government is still hiding these documents. It has been eight months and this issue is still not resolved.

I ask the minister: Why is government withholding significant amounts of information related to the Marshall review?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Justice and Attorney General.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. T. MARSHALL: Mr. Speaker, with respect to the review being undertaken by retired Judge William Marshall, I believe the review is not completed to this point. Obviously, the information could not be disclosed until we have the results of the review.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

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

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

My questions today are for the Minister of Education.

Mr. Speaker, a year ago the Eastern School Board recommended that the government dedicate funds to renovate and extend Virginia Park Elementary School in St. John's to maintain the K-6 configuration. This recommendation was subsequently supported by the Minister of Education and the department in correspondence and in a meeting with the minister, yet there still has been no action on this extension.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Minister of Education: Will the minister commit to an engineering study as the first step needed in the expansion of Virginia Park Elementary?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Education and Government House Leader.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, the hon. member certainly is asking a very important question about one particular school in the St. John's area. Certainly, the department and the Eastern School Board are very concerned about the plan of how we are going to proceed with schools in St. John's.

Certainly there has been work identified at Virginia Park, and following the assessment that we had regarding that particular school, any of the immediate concerns regarding life safety issues had been addressed.

Mr. Speaker, this government certainly has put more money into school capital and renovations, particularly in last year's budget, which reached a record high of $88.8 million. We certainly take it very seriously, as to the work that needs to be done in our schools. I can assure the hon. member that we need to seriously look at the St. John's area. We have some very serious issues in the school here. We have St. Theresa's, we have Holy Heart, we have Virginia Park, and we certainly need to make sure that we work with the board –

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the hon. minister to conclude her answer.

MS BURKE: - so that on a go-forward basis we are able to address some of the schools in the St. John's area in a coordinated way so that we can roll out a plan and understand year by year what work will be completed in this area.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In very recent correspondence with the minister's department, they stated that redevelopment of Virginia Park Elementary would be considered based on priorities set by the Eastern School District, and I know that and I accept that.

However, Mr. Speaker, the Eastern School District has clearly stated, since I have become the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi, that expansion of Virginia Park Elementary is a priority, but the department seems to be lagging behind. It seems to be hesitating, refusing to commit to the expansion.

So I ask the minister: Why are you backing away? When I first met with the minister, when I first became a member, I had a much more positive response from the minister than I do now. So I want to know why the minister is backing away from the previous support that she showed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I want to assure the hon. member that we certainly have not backed away from Virginia Park, nor do we have any intentions to do so.

When we look at priorities of how we are going to spend the capital budget with regards to schools, we have to look at the board priorities that come up and the condition of the buildings. We also have reports on life safety concerns that have to be addressed. We have issues from our enhanced assessments regarding air quality and issues that have to be addressed there. We also have capacity issues because we now have a cap size on from kindergarten to Grade 9, which will roll out over the next couple of years.

So, we have competing demands for the budget, and although the budget seems like it is a lot of money at $88 million, we certainly have all these other issues and demands that we have to also look at as we begin to spend the money and to be able to address the priorities of the school board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order please!

The time allotted for questions and answers has expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling of Documents.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Justice and Attorney General.

MR. T. MARSHALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Pursuant to section 26.(5)(a) of the Financial Administration Act, I am tabling three orders in council relating to funding pre-commitments for the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 fiscal years.

MR. SPEAKER: Further tabling of documents?

Notices of Motion.

Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

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

MR. BUTLER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I stand today with another petition on behalf of the residents of Shearstown, Bay Roberts, Marysvale, Upper Island Cove, Carbonear and Harbour Grace.

Back a few years ago, Mr. Speaker, we all know in the days of the former Premier Smallwood and Prime Minister Pearson they used a slogan: Finish the drive in '65. Premier Peckford, back a few years ago, stated: Someday the sun will shine and have not will be no more.

Well ladies and gentlemen, and hon. colleagues, I have one now: A petition a day for long-term care in Conception Bay.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. BUTLER: And there is going to be a petition everyday, a petition everyday, Mr. Speaker, and the hon. Minister of Health and Community Services looked at me a little while ago, he said, write a letter to Santa Claus. And we will do that, too, Mr. Speaker. But, having said that, it is honoured and – there used to be a program on television one time, keep your cards and letters coming. Well, the petitions are still coming. We have lots of them, and I am sure we will have more in the spring, but I want to call upon the minister and government to really consider it. It is not looking for something out of the blue. This was something that was put forward to the people. The people were really excited about it, and we know that government fell on financial hard times back a few years ago, but now we know the difference.

New long-term care facilities have been built in other areas, and we commend them for that. All we asking them - all we are asking is that this year in their budget they will reconsider looking at the long-term care facility in Conception Bay North. It is long overdue, Mr. Speaker. They found money to look at two long-term care facilities in St. John's, and we do not have a problem with that, but the residents are looking forward to the day when the news is announced that there will be a long-term care facility for Conception Bay North, a much needed facility. It is known by the residents, it is known by government and the professionals that work there.

So, Mr. Speaker, I present this petition, and I thank you for the opportunity once again.

MR. SPEAKER: Further petitions?

Orders of the Day.

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, being Wednesday, this is Private Members' Day, but we are requesting, and we have mutual agreement, that by leave we will continue with government business today.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Chair understands that the proceedings of Private Members' Day will take second place to Orders of the Day to carry out government business.

Does the Government House Leader have leave for government business?

AN HON. MEMBER: Leave.

MR. SPEAKER: Leave has been granted.

The hon. the Government House Leader.

MS BURKE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

From the Order Paper, we will call Order 35, second reading of a bill, An Act Respecting The Practice Of Engineering And Geoscience. (Bill 73)

MR. SPEAKER: It is properly moved and seconded that Bill 73, An Act Respecting The Practice Of Engineering And Geoscience, be now read a second time.

Motion, second reading of a bill, "An Act Respecting The Practice Of Engineering And Geoscience." (Bill 73)

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Government Services.

MR. O'BRIEN: Mr. Speaker, I move, and it is seconded by the Minister of Transportation and Works, Bill 73, An Act Respecting The Practice Of Engineering And Geoscience, be now read a second time.

Again, Mr. Speaker, this piece of legislation is certainly an important piece of legislation as the other pieces that are brought forward in this session of the House in regards to enabling occupations to self-regulate and govern themselves. There are a number of pieces that went through in keeping with the White Paper. It is also in the public interest. The public interest is protected through this legislation as it is to set criteria that will require the Association of Engineers and Geoscientists to file annual reports and establish approved disciplinary process.

There will be a separation of the advocacy responsibilities from licensing and disciplinary responsibilities through the creation of two separate governing bodies with separate mandates and responsibilities. Public representation on each of the governing bodies will be also reflected as reflected in the other pieces of legislation, which certainly enables the occupation to be transparent and accountable to the public of Newfoundland and Labrador. A graduated disciplinary process, including provisions for the settlement of complaints without engaging the form of complaint authorization and disciplinary process, including mediation where all parties consent to such settlement was also reflected in the legislation as well.

Again, Mr. Speaker, I am not going to speak at length in regards to this piece of legislation because I think we have all spoken in regards to the other pieces, the accountants and the certified accounts pieces of legislation that we brought forward earlier in this session. Again, this reflects the White Paper, and in keeping with the White Paper we have conducted consultations with the organization itself and the association. They were welcoming the opportunity to self-regulate and certainly supported this piece of legislation.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I will take my seat and welcome the thoughts and comments by my hon. colleagues across the House.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask members for their co-operation. I ask members if they would take their private conversations to the outside of the Chamber. The Chair is having difficulty hearing members as they are identified to speak.

The hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.

MR. BUTLER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is a pleasure to be able to stand and make a few comments with regards to Bill 73, An Act Respecting The Practice of Engineering and Geoscience.

As the minister just stated, this is really a follow through to two previous pieces of legislation that came forward last week. The legislation defines what the association is all about, the objects of the association, the same as the other legislation, Mr. Speaker. It goes into the meetings and by-laws, and they also have the complaints and disciplinary panel, the same as before. There is the board that is set up. The minister gets the opportunity to appoint three of those individuals, and one of them must sit on the committees that, if there should be a guilty plea by a respondent, the adjudication tribunal may proceed with whatever has to be done. Like the other act, Mr. Speaker, this one also allows for limited liability partnership.

It is interesting to note, when you see a piece of legislation – in this particular case we are referencing the professional engineers and geoscientists - it is nice to know the work that those individuals carry out. All too often you just hear their title and know that they are there, but they play a magnificent part. They have approximately, I think, close to 2,600 members, and they are accountable to the public through the provincial government.

Mr. Speaker, some of the things that they do are very interesting. I noticed from information I read that they deal from transportation and communication systems to the food people eat, the water they drink, and the systems that are put in place.

Mr. Speaker, the geoscientists study the earth's physical makeup and the history. They discover where, when and how our mineral deposits were formed, and so on, so they play a key part. I guess, when we talk about our major industries that we have here in the Province – whether it be Voisey's Bay, Wabush Mines or Lab City – those individuals play a key part in what is going on not only here in our Province of Newfoundland and Labrador but throughout the world. They play a key part, and it is interesting to note that now they have this piece of legislation that they are governed by, like other professionals, like the chartered accountants and so on.

Mr. Speaker, in making those few comments, I concur with the minister. I know that this piece of legislation has been agreed upon by those individuals, and it is a pleasure to see this being brought before the House. Now they have their own governing laws that they are judged by, like many other professionals.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

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

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

I am pleased to stand here today and give my yes to Bill 73 as well. As I have said earlier in the week when we had similar bills presented to us, bills which have to do with the practice of professionals, this bill comes from a template that was put together by government with regard to such bills.

Today we are looking at the bill covering the professional engineers, and those who practice engineering and geoscience. In a Province like ours, which is so dependent on natural resources in particular in our development and for our economy, certainly both of these groups, engineers and geoscientists, play a key role in many of the developments in this Province, as has been just pointed out by my colleague, the MHA for Port de Grave, so there is not much to add to that.

This bill contains all of the divisions and all of the points that need to made in a bill that is covering the formation of a professional association, and I am sure that those who practice engineering and geoscience will be very glad that finally they are recognized and their association is now in legislation, which will cover them as individuals, which will cover the association as a group of the individuals, and which will give a new level of professionalism and accountability to them in their professions.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

If the hon. the Minister of Government Services speaks now he will close the debate on Bill 73 in second reading.

The hon. the Minister of Government Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. O'BRIEN: Mr. Speaker, I have nothing further to add in regard to this piece of legislation as reflected by the comments of my hon. colleagues across the House. They are in support of this piece of legislation, and see it as an important piece of legislation.

Again, the association itself are welcoming this piece of legislation and are looking forward to a self-regulated body and a self-regulated occupation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

Is it the pleasure of the House that Bill 73 be now read a second time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act Respecting The Practice Of Engineering And Geoscience. (Bill 73)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 73 has now been read a second time.

When shall the said bill be referred to a Committee of the Whole House?

MS BURKE: Tomorrow, Mr. Speaker.

On motion, a bill, "An Act Respecting The Practice Of Engineering And Geoscience," read a second time, ordered referred to a Committee of the Whole House on tomorrow. (Bill 73)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, Order 34, second reading of a bill, An Act To Amend The Highway Traffic Act. (Bill 66)

MR. SPEAKER: It is properly moved and seconded that Bill 66, An Act To Amend The Highway Traffic Act, be now read a second time.

Motion, second reading of a bill, "An Act To Amend The Highway Traffic Act." (Bill 66)

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Government Services.

MR. O'BRIEN: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development, that Bill 66, An Act To Amend The Highway Traffic Act, be now read a second time.

Mr. Speaker, these amendments reflect a need to update some sections of the Highway Traffic Act, and to improve safety and to harmonize with the Criminal Code of Canada.

I would also, at this particular time, want to bring several of the proposed changes to the attention of the public because they certainly, in my opinion, reflect some of the safety issues that we find in regard to our highways and provincial roads today.

One of the proposed changes will see fines in designated construction zones doubled. This is a decision that was made in consultation with the Department of Transportation and Works and the Newfoundland and Labrador Roadbuilders Association and police agencies.

I think it is a very significant change because, as we have seen over the last few years, we have seen significant investments by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador in our provincial roads and our Trans-Canada Highway. From time to time when I have been driving the Trans-Canada Highway especially, I have seen violations in regard to people driving a little bit too fast when it comes up to construction zones, with the people there, the labour force, doing a great job for Newfoundland and Labrador, but then putting their lives at risk in regard to being out there on our highways. I think this piece of legislation and this amendment to the Highway Traffic Act is very, very important.

When people are driving fast it certainly creates the potential for serious injury for our road construction workers. We have seen this potential earlier this year when the Department of Transportation and Works had to shut down the median lanes of the Outer Ring Road in both directions because drivers would not slow down enough and were not taking into account the construction workers and the constructions workers' safety when they are out there doing the work really that needs to be done. If they could not get the work done, the travelling public would be complaining about the conditions of our roads, so it is very, very important that we keep these people safe.

We believe that the doubling of the fines will create a greater deterrent to disobeying these lowered limits. I say to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, as soon as this piece of legislation is proclaimed, be aware that when you are out travelling and you see construction zones coming up - they are well signed and you know that they are coming - slow down and obey the signage, because there are people there working on our behalf and certainly we have to keep them safe.

Also, in July, the Criminal Code of Canada was amended with respect to drug-impaired driving offences. We need to make changes to the Highway Traffic Act in order to be consistent with the Criminal Code with respect to police powers and penalties. Basically, the act will outline sanctions that will be imposed by drug-impaired driving, which is now an offence under the Criminal Code of Canada, similar to those available for alcohol impairment. It will pretty well be basically the same if you get caught in regard to be impaired while driving; the same fines and regulations and penalties will certainly be reflected in regard to drug-impaired driving as well.

The last proposed change we are making in this Act today is the definition of resident to reflect the definition used in other provincial legislation and policy, which is a harmonization piece. This change will better address the needs of workers in this Province who move back and forth to Alberta, so to speak, or any other area outside of the Province for work. The revised definition will require ninety consecutive days for residency so that the workers do not have to obtain a Newfoundland and Labrador driver's licence every time they return to the Province.

The current requirement technically require workers to re-obtain their drivers' licences every time they return to the Province if they are in Newfoundland and Labrador for more than a total of ninety days in a year. This is obviously impractical for those who require a driver's licence in the Province they are working in. An individual cannot hold a driver's licence in two provincial jurisdictions at the same time.

Mr. Speaker, these are the changes that are reflected in this piece of legislation today in regards to amends to the Highway Traffic Act. I think they are very, very important. Certainly, each one of them reflects the level - they are all at the same level of importance in my mind. Certainly, the construction zones are very, very important in keeping our construction workers safe. We have to admit that we have people out there on our highways at various times who I would wish, as the minister responsible, were not. They are not only impaired but some people are drug impaired in today's culture and in the times that we find ourselves in this modern world. That cannot be condoned either. This amendment to the legislation certainly reflects the importance of having our peace officers being able to, number one, interact, and the second thing is to convict in regards to these types of violations.

Also in regards to the residency piece, we have seen a number of our people in Newfoundland and Labrador seeking employment elsewhere in the world, and that amendment is certainly needed in regards reflecting the need for them to be able to move freely to obtain that piece of work and not having to go through a bunch of red tape in regards to getting their driver's licence or whatever they have to do when they come back.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I will take my seat. I certainly welcome the thoughts and comments of my hon. colleagues across the House. I would hope and pray that they will be supporting this piece of legislation as they have supported all the other pieces that I brought in, in this session, because I see it as a very important piece of legislation. I welcome their thoughts and I take my seat.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Opposition House Leader.

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

I appreciate an opportunity to have a few words with regards to Bill 66.

This is one case, I guess, where the provincial government certainly are not lagging too much behind the federal government when it comes to making some necessary amendments. The principle ones here, of course, dealing with the drug issue now being a source of impairment, the same as alcohol was always the case. That was imposed by the federal government, of course, back in July of this year, and here we are a few short months later doing the necessary companion piece here in our Province under our Highway Traffic Act to bring in the penalty pieces vis-à-vis suspension of licenses that would be the companion piece to that. It is good to see that it is being done in a very prompt fashion.

Of course, the penalties that are outlined under the legislation, other than the suspension piece for impairment and impaired driving, comes as a result of federal law, not as a result of provincial law. It is the Criminal Code of Canada that creates the impaired driving infractions and it is from there that we take, not only the offence itself, but the punishments that are in place for that particular offence. Anyone, of course, who has been around for any period of time at all is well aware of the need to be vigilant when it comes to impaired driving, and I mean impaired driving in any manner, shape or form, whether it be by alcohol or by drugs.

I am sure we are all familiar with back in the 1970s when it was considered quite okay to sit back and maybe have a laugh if your buddy, or whatever, were driving home from a do and you happened to have a few drinks in, but that is totally unacceptable, as it should be now. We certainly do not have the same acceptance and tolerance as we used to have back in the 1950s and the 1960s when it came to impaired driving.

Not only do these laws apply, and quite rightly, to motor vehicles, i.e. in the form of cars and trucks, but some people are still not aware that it applies to anything that has a motor. It is all motorized vehicles. For example, if you have your ATV machine or you have your boat and it is propelled by a motor of any kind and you are impaired, you are subject to the same offences. It does not have to be a car that is on four wheels. It can be, as I say, an all-terrain vehicle, anything that is motorized. That has been well debated and tried in the courts and determined. There is no question about that.

The safety, of course, is the issue, and not only to the drivers themselves - it is important that you abide by the laws because of the drivers own safety, but it is the criminal consequences of it, the financial consequences of it, to the person, plus their own physical injury consequences that they incur, but also to the public. We have all experienced over the years some incident, probably close to ourselves, where a friend or a family member has been the victim of someone else's violation of the law.

I remember a few short years ago - I believe it was in the community of Labrador City - there was a well-publicized case where some government official, or I think it was a municipal government official, had gone up the street for a few beers on a Christmas Eve with a friend of his and did not have the good sense to leave the vehicle where it was. In fact, that particular individual was apprehended. There was an accident victim, a child who actually died. The person was charged, was convicted and was sentenced to five years in prison. So, all of what started out to be a very joyous occasion, i.e., the Christmas season and having a few drinks with your next door neighbour, turned out to be a very tragic situation for the child, of course, who was killed, but also for the victim and also for the community. We have all experienced first-hand the types of incidents that could happen, so it is very important, of course, that we do have these laws and that there be severe punishments.

I remember first when I got involved in the law myself, back in 1979, and I went back to my hometown of Port-Aux-Basques to practice. The going fines at that time were in the range of $250 to $300 anywhere in this Province. If you were charged with impaired driving and convicted, that is what you would get, $250 to $300. When I went to Port-Aux-Basques - I happened to article in Corner Brook, and those were the going fines.

When I went out to Port-Aux-Basques I ran into this judge in the provincial court by the name of Judge David Peddle and the first impaired driving case that I was involved with for a client, he imposed a fine of $1000 which at the time in this Province was considered draconian, three times the going rate. He set the standards in this Province as early as 1980 and said, no, no, this is not going to be acceptable anymore when you pay a few hundred dollars for such a serious offence. It took a few years, but eventually that became standard, that $1000-plus on a first offence became the punishment.

While I mentioned Judge Peddle's name because I think he was a trailblazer in that sense, I would, at the same time, take this opportunity to congratulate him because as of last week he was promoted from the provincial court. He was nominated and approved and appointed to the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador by the federal government and he is now going to be a family court justice in the city of Corner Brook, I do understand. He was a trailblazer in provincial court back in those days when it came to criminal type offences and, sure enough, he spent the rest of his career since that, the last twenty-eight years that I have known him - he has been on the bench much longer than that, goes back to 1974, I do believe. He was one of the magistrates at the time who came out of Memorial University. He had a social work degree. He was appointed to the magistracy and he availed of the Hickman program, I call it, and went back to law school and got his law degree. He came back to Port aux Basques as a provincial court judge with a law degree and subsequently he spent – after he left Port aux Basques, he has been in Gander ever since. Now he is going to be a resident of the City of Corner Brook as the Supreme Court Justice in the Unified Family Court. A fine individual indeed.

In fact, not only do I know him, but he is also the godfather to one of my sons. So I know him quite well. He was a trailblazer when it came to criminal law. Not only impaired driving cases like we are dealing with here, he was tough when it came to any kind of sentencing. He gave you a fair trial but once you were duly convicted, that was it. You knew you were not going to get a little slap on the wrist from Judge Peddle. He was known for his sentencing tactics. He was quite often referred to as the hanging judge. I think he is not so much into the criminal system any more. From here on in he is going to be spending his time in the family law system but we can certainly look forward to a lot of fairness from him.

Mr. Speaker, talking about the consequences of impaired driving. In 2007, and I came across this article. I was looking for some information on the statistics that we have today and there was an article I came across on the Web site and it is aptly named, Smashed. It deals with the issues of impaired driving, whether it be by alcohol or be by drugs, actually. There are some alarming statistics in it. It is only sometimes when you see these things up front that you realize just how prevalent that a matter could be.

For example, in 2007, just a year ago, roughly 1.8 million Canadians reported that they had driven while they felt they were over the legal limit. That is what people admit to; 1.8 million of our roughly 30 million Canadians admit that they drove while they thought they were over the limit.

Over 1,000 Canadians each year die in alcohol related crashes. A thousand people in our country. It costs Canadians over $10.6 billion each year as a result of lost wages, property damage and health care costs in relation to impaired driving issues. There is no question, that not only is it a safety issue, a health issue, a consequence issue when it comes to society, actually it is very clear that the financial cost to us is very evident.

Just on some of the statistics – and this sheet, again, was very helpful here. It says at the level of 0.15 – and it is alarming, because all of us sometimes have been out socializing and probably had a drink or whatever and you feel it is safe to drive with one drink in, but the fact is, that at a level of 0.15 – and it does not take too far and too much to drink to get to 0.15 - your likelihood of being in a collision where somebody dies – not get injured, dies – increases by more than sixty-five times. That is amazing when you hear about that, and you think that maybe a simple drink or two is okay, but by 0.15 you increase your chances of dying by sixty-five times more likely.

The new law, as the minister says, that actually came into effect in 2008 on July 2 of this year, and that specifically dealt with drugs because over the years you could pretty well – they had ways of finding out if you had alcohol in your system. Going back in time, we had the old sobriety test – back, of course, before the breathalyser, which is the scientific device. The police could yank you out and make you walk the line, or touch your nose, and pick up your keys. That was the so-called sobriety test. As we got into the more modern age, of course, we ended up with the breathalyser and the alert devices that could actually tell and calibrate what level of blood alcohol content that you had, but studies show - and this is why the law has changed with regards to drugs, because there were a series of studies conducted and the studies showed that drugs are found in up to 30 per cent of the drivers killed in car crashes. Thirty per cent, so about one-third. So it is not only alcohol related matters. One-third, roughly, of those killed in crashes had drugs in their system as well. So the federal government, of course, based upon that statistical and scientific information, included drugs under the law.

Now it is more difficult, because to my knowledge there is no readily available scientific device that can tell you have a drug in your system, like it is with alcohol. I suppose we could always have taken the position that what we cannot tell very readily, scientifically, so we should not do it. I think this is one case where you err on the side of caution, and that is where our law is coming from, that if a police officer in this Province now feels on reasonable and probable grounds, that an individual –you might not smell alcohol, you might, in fact, pass an alert device, you might pass the breathalyser if you are taken into the station, but if he or she feels that you may still be impaired by a drug, the police office can take the safest approach, take you right off the road, and suspend your license right away. That is a case, I think, where you err on the side of caution.

We have to respect and understand the police officers. They are not going to do it because they want to be troublesome. They are doing it because they are trying to protect you and they are trying to protect the public. I think it is a very safe approach, that if you had this concern – you might be upset at the time that you got taken off the road, you might be embarrassed that it happened to you, you might plead your innocence all to pieces and whatever, but the bottom line is, at the end of the day, if that happened, you are going to get your license back, it is only for a short period of time. You haven't hurt yourself, you haven't hurt anybody else, and so on. If there was no charge justified, well there would be no charge.

For the price that you pay and, I guess, the invasion of our privacy as a result, in a public interest like that, I think is not a bad, shall we say, invasion or infringement upon our civil liberties. There are certain things that we have to agree to and be acceptable of as a reasonable restraint I would think, to do that.

We would certainly be supportive of this particular piece of legislation and we would encourage everybody, particularly with the season that we are in. We are all likely to have a drink, if you are so inclined. I think this is very timely in the Christmas season. I think there actually should be an educational campaign once the Province passes this, if it is done today and in this session. I think the minister and the appropriate authorities should actually put on a blitz saying that this is a new law and that these changes have been made with respect with impaired driving. I think it is very timely that it be done now in the Christmas season.

I know that the police do beef up their patrols, and they do have random stops more often in the Christmas season.

It is one thing to actually enjoy ourselves and have a Christmas celebration and imbibe, if we are so inclined, but if we do so I think we should do so responsibly. I think this is a great opportunity for the minister and his department to actually do a bit of PR because that PR may, in fact, not only education somebody, it may cause somebody to think twice and to act appropriately.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

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

It is a pleasure to be able to stand briefly to speak to Bill 66, An Act To Amend The Highway Traffic Act.

I am not going into the legal aspects of it like my hon. colleague did. That is his profession and he can read it and see things in the various sections and subsections that I would never find.

I want to speak to it, I guess, from a personal perspective, not that I was ever caught drunk driving. I don't mean it that way either. I want to speak to the fact that when it comes to the issue, I think it was 110.1, with regard to the speed limits in the construction zones, all too often this past year, travelling back and forth the TCH and also on the Outer Ring Road here, I have to say - I was never to the Indianapolis 500, but I did see it on television and I see the tremendous speeds they go - the disrespect that drivers - not everybody, but if it is only one or two - have for the workers on those construction sites is unbelievable. You have two or three people standing up there telling you to slow down or to stop or whatever, but they disregard it totally and go on through. I am so pleased that this section is added to this piece of legislation, Bill 66.

The other thing the minister noted is in the section on fines, about how the fines have been doubled. I have to be honest, speaking personally, I do not know if you can ever put enough money into a fine that will take care of those individuals who are so reckless. It is fine to go out and socialize, but to get into your car and to be out on the highways, not only taking your own life into your hands but the lives of others. I think whatever the fines can be, it does not matter to me how high they go with them.

The only thing on the fines, I guess we all saw in the Auditor General's report a few years ago, he expressed some concern about all the fines that were due for people who had re-offended and so on. I think there were hundreds of thousands, or millions of dollars that were outstanding. I know that has nothing to do with the minister's department but, by putting the fines there, as well, I think there has to be some other mechanism, through justice, that people not only just laugh this off because they are caught drunk driving with a fine and do not pay it; there has to be some other means that they really have to pay their way in the areas that they do.

Mr. Speaker, regardless of not only the testing now for alcohol but other substances, as my hon. colleague mentioned, there is probably a difficulty in doing that, but the control that this gives our police officers, whether it be the RNC or the RCMP, I think it gives them leeway that they are able to pull over vehicles and if they have concerns that they should proceed and do what has to be done.

The other issue I just want to touch on is with regard to - I know there are programs to help individuals who are caught drunk driving and so on. I know there are some there now, but maybe we should be putting more emphasis on rehab. Like my hon. colleague said, with regard to this time of the season, we should get the message out. I know there are road checks throughout the Christmas season, and that really helps to make people aware of what can happen: they are going to be probably stopped and will be caught up on.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I just want to make one comment: It is never safe, for your own safety or the lives of others, to drink and drive. I think this piece of legislation brings it home to us that we all have to be very careful in what we do when we are on our highways, and hopefully this piece of legislation will be brought forward and the public will be made aware of it over this Christmas season and that we will be able to say, after this year ends, that we had a safe Christmas. Hopefully, this will deter people from being involved and heading to the highways under the influence of alcohol or other substances.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

If the hon. the Minister of Government Services speaks now he will close the debate on Bill 66, An Act To Amend The Highway Traffic Act.

The hon. the Minister of Government Services.

MR. O'BRIEN: Mr. Speaker, it certainly gives me great pleasure to stand again and close remarks in regard to second reading of this very important piece of legislation, An Act To Amend The Highway Traffic Act.

I was listening intently to the comments of my hon. colleagues across the House, and certainly I will take it into consideration. Not only in consideration, I will take it on myself to make sure that we do communicate these amendments to the Highway Traffic Act to the travelling public in regard to the construction association, and everybody else involved, because I really, really believe that it is very, very important.

Also, in regard to some of the comments with regard to our police officers, we will be communicating these changes too, as well, to make sure that they have everything in front of them and every tool in regard to making our people safe when they drive and they practice safe driving habits. Certainly, they should not be out there drug-impaired or alcohol-impaired.

Mr. Speaker, I will conclude my remarks now. Again, I certainly welcome the comments by my hon. colleagues across the House. Again, I will be taking it on myself to communicate these changes to the public of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

Is it the pleasure of the House that Bill 66 be now read a second time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act To Amend The Highway Traffic Act. (Bill 66)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 66, has now been read a second time.

When shall the said bill be referred to a Committee of the Whole House?

MS BURKE: Now, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Now.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Amend The Highway Traffic Act," read a second time, ordered referred to a Committee of the Whole House presently, by leave. (Bill 66)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Government Services, that the House resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole to consider Bills 66 and 73.

MR. SPEAKER: The motion is that the House now resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole and that I do now leave the Chair.

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

On motion, that the House resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole, Mr. Speaker left the Chair.

CHAIR (T. Osborne): Order, please!

The hon. the Government House Leader.

MS BURKE: Mr. Chair, we call Bill 60.

CHAIR: We are now debating Bill 60, An Act Respecting Fire Protection Services In The Province.

A bill, "An Act Respecting Fire Protection Services In The Province." (Bill 60)

CLERK: Clause 1.

CHAIR: Shall clause 1 carry?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

The hon. the Opposition House Leader.

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

I just appreciate an opportunity, for the record, to be on the record with respect to this particular Bill 60, what I call the late night or the late shift bill, I guess. We were here a couple of nights ago for quite some time trying to get some answers to some questions in Committee on this particular bill, and I am pleased to report that the very next day the minister had arranged for her CEO and officials to attend in our boardroom and we, of course, had an opportunity at that time to raise any concerns and issues that we did have. Mr. Samson, who is the CEO, was there, and his position, his name and so on, and the details and the technicalities of this piece of legislation - this new piece of legislation - were discussed with him and his officials in detail. He was very helpful, and any questions that we had in the Opposition were dealt with by him, dealt with in fine fashion by him. He was very informative. We thank the minister for providing that information and, based upon that, we have no further concerns about this particular bill at this particular time.

Thank you.

CHAIR: Shall clause 1 carry?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

CHAIR: All those against, 'nay'.

Carried.

On motion, clause 1 carried.

CLERK: Clauses 2 to 44 inclusive.

CHAIR: Shall clauses 2 to 44 inclusive carry?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

CHAIR: All those against, 'nay'.

Carried.

On motion, clauses 2 through 44 carried.

CLERK: Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows.

CHAIR: Shall the enacting clause carry?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

CHAIR: All those against, 'nay'.

Carried.

On motion, enacting clause carried.

CLERK: An Act Respecting Fire Protection Services In The Province.

CHAIR: Shall the title carry?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

CHAIR: All those against, 'nay'.

Carried

On motion, title carried.

CHAIR: Shall I report the bill without amendment?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

CHAIR: All those against, 'nay'.

Carried.

Motion, that the Committee report having passed the bill without amendment, carried.

CHAIR: The hon. the Government House Leader.

MS BURKE: Mr. Chair, I will call Bill 66.

CHAIR: We are now debating Bill 66, An Act To Amend The Highway Traffic Act.

A bill, "An Act To Amend The Highway Traffic Act." (Bill 66)

CLERK: Clause 1.

CHAIR: Shall clause 1 carry?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

CHAIR: All those against, 'nay'.

Carried.

On motion, clause 1 carried.

CLERK: Clauses 2 to 8 inclusive.

CHAIR: Shall clauses 2 to 8 inclusive carry?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

CHAIR: All those against, 'nay'.

Carried.

On motion, clauses 2 to 8 inclusive carried.

CLERK: Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and House of Assembly in legislative session convened as follows.

CHAIR: Shall the enacting clause carry?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

CHAIR: All those against, 'nay'.

Carried.

On motion, enacting clause carried.

CLERK: An Act To Amend The Highway Traffic Act. (Bill 66)

CHAIR: Shall the title carry?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

CHAIR: All those against, 'nay'.

Carried.

On motion, title carried.

CHAIR: Shall I report the bill without amendment?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

CHAIR: All those against, 'nay'.

Carried.

Motion, that the Committee report having passed the bill without amendment, carried.

CHAIR: The hon. the Government House Leader.

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I would like to call Bill 73.

CHAIR: We are now debating Bill 73, An Act Respecting The Practice Of Engineering And Geoscience.

A bill, "An Act Respecting The Practice Of Engineering And Geoscience". (Bill 73)

CLERK: Clause 1.

CHAIR: Shall clause 1 carry?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

CHAIR: All those against, 'nay'.

Carried.

On motion, clause 1 carried.

CLERK: Clauses 2 to 46 inclusive.

CHAIR: Shall clauses 2 to 46 inclusive carry?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

CHAIR: All those against, 'nay'.

Carried.

On motion, clauses 2 to 46 inclusive carried.

CLERK: Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and House of Assembly in legislative session convened as follows.

CHAIR: Shall the enacting clause carry?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

CHAIR: All those against, 'nay'.

Carried.

On motion, enacting clause carried.

CLERK: An Act Respecting The Practice Of Engineering And Geoscience.

CHAIR: Shall the title carry?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

CHAIR: All those against, 'nay'.

Carried.

On motion, title carried.

CHAIR: Shall I report the bill without amendment?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

CHAIR: All those against, 'nay'.

Carried.

Motion, that the Committee report having passed the bill without amendment, carried.

CHAIR: The hon. the Government House Leader.

MS BURKE: Mr. Chair, I move that the Committee rise and report Bills 60, 66 and 73.

CHAIR: The motion is that the Committee rise and report Bills 66, 60 and 73, and ask leave to sit again.

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

CHAIR: All those against, 'nay'.

Carried.

On motion, that the Committee rise, report progress and ask leave to sit again, Mr. Speaker returned to the Chair.

MR. SPEAKER (Fitzgerald): Order, please!

The hon. the Member for St. John's South and Deputy Speaker.

MR. T. OSBORNE: Mr. Speaker, the Committee of the Whole have considered the matters to them referred and have directed me to report Bills 60, 66 and 73 without amendment.

MR. SPEAKER: The Chair of the Committee of the Whole reports that the Committee have considered the matters to them referred and have directed him to report Bills 60, 66 and 73 carried without amendment.

When shall the report be received.

MS BURKE: Now.

MR. SPEAKER: Now.

When shall the bills be read a third time?

MS BURKE: Now, Mr. Speaker.

On motion, report received and adopted, bills ordered read a third time presently, by leave.

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Government Services, that Bill 38, An Act To Amend The Income Tax Act, 2000 And To Repeal The Financial Corporations Capital Tax Act, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 38, An Act To Amend The Income Tax Act, 2000 And To Repeal The Financial Corporations Capital Tax Act, Bill 38, be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act To Amend The Income Tax Act, 2000 And To Repeal The Financial Corporations Capital Tax Act. (Bill 38)

MR. SPEAKER: This bill has now been read a third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Amend The Income Tax Act, 2000 And To Repeal The Financial Corporations Capital Tax Act," read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 38)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Government Services, that Bill 39, An Act To Amend The Real Estate Trading Act, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt a motion that Bill 39 be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act To Amend The Real Estate Trading Act. (Bill 39)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 39 has now been read a third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Amend The Real Estate Trading Act," read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 39)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Government Services, that Bill 40, An Act To Amend The Arts Council Act, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt a motion that Bill 40, An Act To Amend The Arts Council Act, be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act To Amend The Arts Council Act. (Bill 40)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 40 is now read a third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and that its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Amend The Arts Council Act," read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 40)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Government Services, that Bill 41, An Act To Repeal The Pickersgill Fellowship Act, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 41, An Act To Repeal The Pickersgill Fellowship Act, be now read a third time.

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Nay.

MR. SPEAKER: The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act To Repeal The Pickersgill Fellowship Act. (Bill 41)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 41 has now been read a third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and that its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Repeal The Pickersgill Fellowship Act," read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 41)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Government Services, that Bill 42, An Act To Repeal The Memorial University Foundation Act, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt a motion that Bill 42, An Act To Repeal The Memorial University Foundation Act, be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act To Repeal The Memorial University Foundation Act. (Bill 42)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 42 has now been read a third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and that its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Repeal The Memorial University Foundation Act," read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 42)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Government Services, that Bill 43, An Act To Repeal The Corporations Guarantees Act, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 43, An Act To Repeal The Corporations Guarantees Act, be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act To Repeal The Corporations Guarantees Act. (Bill 43)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 43 has now been read a third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and that its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Repeal The Corporations Guarantees Act," read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 43)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Government Services, that Bill 44, An Act To Repeal The Certified Public Accountants Act, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 44 be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act To Repeal The Certified Public Accountants Act. (Bill 44)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 44 has now been read a third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Repeal The Certified Public Accountants Act," read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 44)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Government Services, that Bill 44, An Act To Repeal The Certified Public Accountants Act, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: I ask the Government House Leader, would that be Bill 45?

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I thought the previous one we did was forty-three, was the repeal of the Corporations Guarantees Act.

AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).

MS BURKE: It is done. Okay. So we do not need to do it a second time, I take it.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Government Services, that Bill 45, An Act To Repeal The Chartered Accountants And Certified Public Accountants Merger Act, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 45 be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act To Repeal The Chartered Accountants And Certified Public Accountants Merger Act. (Bill 45)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 45 has now been read a third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Repeal The Chartered Accountants And Certified Public Accountants Merger Act," read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 45)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Government Services, that Bill 46, An Act To Repeal The Newfoundland And Labrador Computer Services Limited Amendment Act, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 46 be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act To Repeal The Newfoundland And Labrador Computer Services Limited Amendment Act. (Bill 46)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 46 has now been read a third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Repeal The Newfoundland And Labrador Computer Services Limited Amendment Act," read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 46)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Natural Resources, that Bill 47, An Act To Repeal The Labrador Linerboard Limited Agreement Act, 1979, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 47 be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act To Repeal The Labrador Linerboard Limited Agreement Act, 1979. (Bill 47)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 47 has now been read a third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and that its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Repeal The Labrador Linerboard Limited Agreement Act, 1979," read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 47)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Natural Resources, that Bill 48, An Act To Repeal The Labrador Linerboard Limited Agreement (Amendment) Act, 1979, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt a motion that Bill 48 be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act To Repeal The Labrador Linerboard Limited Agreement (Amendment) Act, 1979. (Bill 48)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 48 has now been read a third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Repeal The Labrador Linerboard Limited Agreement (Amendment) Act, 1979," read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 48)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Government Services, that Bill 49, An Act To Amend The Securities Act, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt a motion that Bill 49 be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act To Amend The Securities Act. (Bill 49)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 49 has now been read a third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and that its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Amend The Securities Act," read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 49)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Justice and Attorney General, that Bill 50, An Act To Amend The Provincial Court Act, 1991 No. 2, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 50 be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act To Amend The Provincial Court Act, 1991 No. 2. (Bill 50)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 50 has now been read a third time and it is ordered that this bill do pass and its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Amend The Provincial Court Act, 1991 No. 2," read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 50)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Government Services, that Bill 51, An Act Respecting Certified Management Accountants, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 51 be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act Respecting Certified Management Accountants. (Bill 51)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 51 has now been read a third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act Respecting Certified Management Accountants," read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 51)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Government Services, that Bill 52, An Act To Amend The Student Financial Assistance Act No. 2, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 52 be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act To Amend The Student Financial Assistance Act No. 2. (Bill 52)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 52 has now been read a third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Amend The Student Financial Assistance Act No. 2," read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 52)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, that Bill 53, An Act To Remove Anomalies And Errors In The Statue Law, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 53 be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act To Remove Anomalies And Errors In The Statue Law. (Bill 53)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 53 has now been read a third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and that its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Remove Anomalies And Errors In The Statue Law," read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 53)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. the Minister of Government Services, that Bill 54, An Act To Repeal The School Boards' Association Act, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 54 be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act To Repeal The School Boards' Association Act. (Bill 54)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 54 has now been read a third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Repeal The School Boards' Association Act," read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 54)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services, that Bill 55, An Act To Repeal The Homes For Special Care Act, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 55 be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act To Repeal The Homes For Special Care Act. (Bill 55)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 55 has now been read a third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Repeal The Homes For Special Care Act," read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 55)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services, that Bill 56, An Act To Repeal The Midwifery Act, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: It is properly moved and seconded that Bill 56 be now read a third time.

Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt this motion?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act To Repeal The Midwifery Act. (Bill 56)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 56 is now read a third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and that its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Repeal The Midwifery Act," read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 56).

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Health and Community Services, that Bill 57, An Act To Repeal The Private Homes For Special Care Allowances Act, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 57 be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act To Repeal The Private Homes For Special Care Allowances Act. (Bill 57)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 57 has now been read a third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and that its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Repeal The Private Homes For Special Care Allowances Act," read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 57)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Health and Community Services, that Bill 58, An Act To Repeal The Venereal Disease Prevention Act, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 58 be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act To Repeal The Venereal Disease Prevention Act. (Bill 58).

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 58 has now been read a third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and that its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Repeal The Venereal Disease Prevention Act," read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 58)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Government Services, that Bill 59, An Act To Provide For The Organization And Administration Of Emergency Services In The Province, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 59 be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act To Provide For The Organization And Administration Of Emergency Services In The Province. (Bill 59)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 59 has now been read a third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and that its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Provide For The Organization And Administration Of Emergency Services In The Province," read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 59).

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Health and Community Services, that Bill 61, An Act Respecting The Practice of Dentistry, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 61 be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act Respecting The Practice Of Dentistry. (Bill 61).

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 61, has now been read a third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act Respecting The Practice Of Dentistry," read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 61)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Natural Resources, that Bill 62, An Act To Amend The Mineral Act, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt a motion that Bill 62, An Act To Amend The Mineral Act, be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act To Amend The Mineral Act. (Bill 62)

MR. SPEAKER: This bill has now been read a third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Amend The Mineral Act," read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 62)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, that Bill 63, An Act To Amend The Management Of Information Act, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt a motion that Bill 63 be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act To Amend The Management Of Information Act. (Bill 63)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 63 has now been read a third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Amend The Management Of Information Act," read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 63)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, that Bill 64, An Act To Amend The Rooms Act, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: It is moved and seconded that Bill 64 be now read a third time.

Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt a motion that Bill 64, An Act To Amend The Rooms Act, be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act To Amend The Rooms Act. (Bill 64)

MR. SPEAKER: This bill has now been read a third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Amend The Rooms Act," read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 64)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Natural Resources, that Bill 65, An Act To Amend The Forestry Act No. 2, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: It is moved and seconded that Bill 65 be now read a third time.

Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt a motion that Bill 65, An Act To Amend The Forestry Act No. 2, be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act To Amend The Forestry Act No. 2. (Bill 65)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 65 has now been read a third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Amend The Forestry Act No. 2," read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 65)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Government Services, that Bill 68, An Act To Amend The House of Assembly Accountability, Integrity And Administration Act No. 2, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Looking for direction from the hon. the Government House Leader. Was there an exclusion of Bill 68, of a certain clause, clause 19?

MS BURKE: Yes, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: It would be with the exception of clause 19?

MS BURKE: When we went through Committee of the Whole, when we voted clause by clause, we voted down clause 19 at that time.

MR. SPEAKER: So clause 19 does not need to be brought into third reading – with the exception of clause 19.

Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 68, with the exception of clause 19, be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act To Amend The House of Assembly Accountability, Integrity And Administration Act No. 2. (Bill 68)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 68 has now been read a third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and that its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Amend The House of Assembly Accountability, Integrity And Administration Act No. 2," read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 68)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Government Services, that Bill 69, An Act Respecting Chartered Accountants, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 69 be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act Respecting Chartered Accountants. (Bill 69)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 69 has now been read a third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and that its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act Respecting Chartered Accountants," read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 69)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development, that Bill 70, An Act To Establish The Newfoundland And Labrador Research And Development Council, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 70, An Act To Establish The Newfoundland And Labrador Research And Development Council, be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act To Establish The Newfoundland And Labrador Research And Development Council. (Bill 70)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 70 has now been read a third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and that its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Establish The Newfoundland And Labrador Research And Development Council," read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 70)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, that Bill 71, An Act To Amend The Rooms Act No 2., be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 71 be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act To Amend The Rooms Act No 2. (Bill 71)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 71 has now been read a third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and that its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Amend The Rooms Act No. 2," read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 71)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Government Services, that Bill 72, An Act Respecting Certified General Accountants, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 72 be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act Respecting Certified General Accountants. (Bill 72)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 72 has now been read a third time, and it is ordered that the bill do pass and that its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act Respecting Certified General Accountants," read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 72)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Government Services, that Bill 60, An Act Respecting Fire Protection Services In The Province, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 60 be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act Respecting Fire Protection Services In The Province. (Bill 60)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 60 has now been read a third time, and it is ordered that the bill do pass and that its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act Respecting Fire Protection Services In The Province," read a third time ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 60)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker -

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

MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Mr. Speaker, under Standing Order 84 of our rules, it would not be possible today to do third reading on Bill 66 and Bill 73, since we can only do two stages in a day, but we are certainly prepared, since it would only would take a minute or so tomorrow to do that in any case, we certainly would be agreeable to waiving that requirement under Standing Order 84 if the Government House Leader so wishes.

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, it was my full intention, as I was going to introduce third reading of Bills 66 and 73, to ask leave from this hon. House.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to grant leave for Bills 66 and 73 to be read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

Leave is granted.

The hon. the Government House Leader.

MS BURKE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Government Services, that Bill 66, An Act To Amend The Highway Traffic Act, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 66 be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act To Amend The Highway Traffic Act. (Bill 66)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 66 has now been read a third time, and it is ordered that the bill do pass and that its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Amend The Highway Traffic Act," read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 66)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Government Services, that Bill 73, An Act Respecting The Practice Of Engineering And Geoscience, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 73 be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

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

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill, An Act Respecting The Practice Of Engineering And Geoscience. (Bill 73)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 73 has now been read a third time, and it is ordered that the bill do pass and that its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act Respecting The Practice Of Engineering And Geoscience," read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 73)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, with that, certainly, we have concluded the legislative agenda that we came into this hon. House to address in this particular session.

I would like to just take a minute to thank all hon. members, and certainly thank the Members of the House of Assembly from the Opposition, for their co-operation as we moved through this legislative agenda and passed thirty-seven pieces of legislation in fourteen days. I certainly would like to thank everyone for their co-operation in moving this agenda forward.

Mr. Speaker, certainly we are at a point, I guess, today where the House will be coming to a close for the break until we sit again. There were a number of pieces of legislation, and certainly nothing more important than the legislation of Bill 75 that we passed yesterday, which impacts the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

I certainly want to thank all Members of the House of Assembly, and in particular the members of the Opposition, because it certainly shows that when there is a very important issue that affects this Province that we all certainly have a willingness to co-operate and work in the best interest of this Province, and the people of this Province.

I think sometimes when we see some of the dynamics in the House of Assembly it certainly really comes to life what this House is really all about when we address a very serious issue like we did yesterday in Bill 75. I certainly want to thank everyone for their co-operation in that matter.

Mr. Speaker, also, in saying that, we know that this time of year Christmas is coming and I would like, on behalf of the government members, as Government House Leader, to extend warm wishes that everyone has a very safe holiday season.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

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

On behalf of the Leader of the Official Opposition we would like to take this opportunity as well to thank the Government House Leader and the members of government, and members of the Opposition, for how we have handled matters in this session.

It wasn't an overly substantive legislative agenda, with the exception of Bill 75 yesterday. I think, out of the thirty-five pieces of legislation, there were seven new pieces, the rest being some housecleaning and repeal type legislation.

I think, also, notwithstanding how sometimes we have vehement disagreements and we feel that we might be mistreated when it comes to certain issues, like resourcing or whatever, and we might feel that we can get boisterous in here from time to time and caustic towards each other, this is certainly not the time to be that way.

We take this opportunity at the closing of this fall session to wish everybody here – all Members of the House of Assembly, the Leader of the NDP, the Speaker, the Table Officers, the Sergeant-at-Arms, the Commissionaires, the Pages, the people in Hansard, the people who make this place work and be what it is - we would like to wish everybody a safe and Merry Christmas.

I would also like to take this opportunity to personally thank the Government House Leader. People who watch this, or even people who work within this House, sometimes do not understand that we just do not show up here each day. There is a lot of work and preparation that goes into things behind the scenes to make it work, and it only works when everybody who is a part of the machinery makes it work.

I appreciate the co-operation of the Government House Leader and the Leader of the NDP in terms of preparation and keeping the agenda in this place moving. Yesterday, as the Government House Leader says, was certainly a perfect opportunity of how the House can work and how everybody can co-operate and work together when it is in the best interest of the people of this Province.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I would like to again wish everybody a safe Christmas. Be safe. Be happy. Have a Merry Christmas, and may you have an enjoyable time with your families, your friends, and your loved ones.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the New Democratic Party and the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.

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

I am glad to have the opportunity just to take a few moments at the end of this session, first of all, to thank the Government House Leader and the Opposition House Leader for the way in which we have worked together. I think we are learning more and more how to work together.

It is new for the Government House Leader, I know, but it is new for me as well, although I am now working with the third Government House Leader in a short period of time of being in the House, but I do appreciate the way in which the three of us have been working together. I thank her for that, and I thank the Opposition House Leader.

This has been an interesting session. It has not, in many ways, been a heavy one in terms of the bills that we have dealt with, although some of the repeal bills did give an opportunity to raise some important issues here in this House, and I was actually glad to have that opportunity.

I suppose if we did nothing else but pass Bill 75 yesterday, that would make this session worthwhile because what we did yesterday was extremely important. I think we are finding, both from people within the Province, as well as people outside the Province, that everybody is recognizing the import of what happened in this House yesterday and in this Province, and we should be very proud of what did happen here.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS MICHAEL: It is true that in some ways we look like we cannot get on together, but I think it has been said by the Government House Leader, and I want to reiterate it, and I think I said it yesterday too, that when it really comes to the crunch, there is something we all believe in, and that is what is good for the people of this Province and that is what yesterday was about. It is good to know that when it does come to the crunch, that holds us together and that helps us stay together in spite of the other things that go on on this floor. So we do have to acknowledge that.

I will not go on. I do want to wish everybody all the best for this season. I say: Merry Christmas. I say: Happy Hanukkah, and hope that all of us, no matter what it is that we celebrate at this time of year, that it is the time of family, it is the time of friendship, a time of peace and a time of joy.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

If I might have a moment, I am not trying to double team the Opposition here, and there is certainly a response if there is any controversy, I say, but I am not on my feet for controversy today.

I have to say, in the time that I spent in this House, and often, I guess, I can probably be the worst critic sometimes: Do we really get to the meat of it in the House all the time? We do, and we do through Question Period, and we do through debate. But in my term in this hon. House I have never been as proud as I was yesterday the way that this entire House, Opposition and government members, conducted themselves in the interest of the people of the Province. We had an extremely important issue, a core issue to the people of this Province that came before us in very recent days and came before the hon. members of the Opposition in hours before it was passed.

I have to say, the way that our Cabinet and our caucus all rallied, because it had to be a matter of the greatest confidence because of the very delicate issues that we were dealing with and the way that the Opposition addressed it, put their heads into it, got their teeth into it, understood it and accepted it and acknowledged it as being in the best interests of the people of the Province is really a good example of how democracy works.

I have to say, when our Legislature can do that and repatriate to the people of this Province our natural resources, then that is why we are all here. That is why we are all members in our seats (inaudible).

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: I would be prepared to say we even formed a coalition yesterday in order to get this done.

It was a wonderful event, and a complex event, and an event and an action that had consequences, and significant consequences. I want to not only commend the people who sit in this House but the people behind the scenes in government, senior officials, deputy ministers, directors, who spent several days putting all of this together and making sure that they had their Ts crossed and their Is dotted. They worked late into the evenings in order to make sure that we had a comprehensive package put together to the best of our ability under very, very stressful circumstances, given the magnitude, but the Opposition addressed the issues, looked at them, expressed a legitimate concern that it was short notice but, by the same token, understood that time was important because this was a matter of urgency. The company had indicated to us that they were not – despite the fact that they broke their bargain, they were not going to transfer these assets back to the rightful owners, which is the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Opposition recognized that and all government members exercised it.

So, for unanimous resolution of that magnitude to happen here, I think we should all be very proud of it. There have been certain things that have happened in the House and we have co-signed each other's bills but I never saw the eagerness yesterday of everybody to get a signed copy of that particular piece of legislation. That says an awful lot about how valued and how important we considered that act.

If it is any consolation, the Globe and Mail today nailed me for it, and that is a good thing, because if they are criticising it, we are definitely doing something right, there is no doubt about that.

The other interesting thing is, look at the reaction that has come into the Globe and Mail from ordinary Canadians, ordinary individuals right across this country who were responding to that particular article in the Globe and Mail and nearly to a man and to a woman, they are supporting the actions of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and what we have done in order to protect our natural resources.

Corporations come and go, and most corporations are very, very good corporations, good corporate citizens with good corporate consciences and act properly with the resources of the people of the Province. They can still make a profit, because that is the right to do, but they do have a pact with the people of the Province and with their workers and they have to live up to that pact. Abitibi and their predecessors had a good run. They had a century but once they leave this Province – they came into this Province because they were going to be in the milling and logging business and for that bargain, we gave them our land and our timber and our water. When they decided that they were not going to complete that milling and logging business any longer, not going to stay in the business, then we said: Okay, thank you very much. We were partners but the bargain is now broken. We are now going to take back our land and our timber and our water.'

We did a calculation today, on the way to Grand Falls, and e-mailed back to the building to get an estimate of the magnitude of that land compared to other Maritime Provinces. That land that we repatriated yesterday is over three times the size of Prince Edward Island. That will give you an idea of just how important that piece of legislation was. To have three of the smallest provinces in Canada in the middle of our Province lost and in the hands of a corporation that no longer is doing business - not that this is an improper corporation or anything, or one that is operating illegally, but they are no longer doing business so therefore they have lost the right to have the title to those lands.

So, what we did yesterday was a very, very honourable thing and I have to tell you that, from my own perspective, it has driven home to me the importance of this place - this particular place that we sit in here and put in long hours. I understand long hours were put in the other night, and we thank everybody for that debate. Sometimes debate can be tough, it can be heated, but there is a new tone to the debate that is happening in this House.

I commend the Opposition on the way in which they conduct themselves. We commend them as well on the way the questions were put to us, because better questions make us a better government. The tougher your questions are, the more penetrating they are, they just make us do our job better, which is for the benefit of absolutely everybody in the Province and that is why we go through this exercise.

I just want to say thank you for yesterday, and I think we can take a collective thank you and a collective feel good when the people of Grand Falls-Windsor and surrounding areas, and Botwood and Buchans and Badger and Millertown and Bishop's Falls, say that was their Christmas present. There is nothing, I don't think, we could have done any better in this House than what we achieved yesterday.

I also want to wish all members of this hon. House, and the Speaker, a very Merry Christmas, season's greeting, and a happy and prosperous New Year.

We now have a situation where the Prime Minister is indicating that there is uncertainty - he has even used the word depression in the last twenty-four hours - so we have to be careful. We have to manage our resources and our finances carefully but, again, fortunately, I think we are in a position, a very good position, to weather this storm and stay on the top of the heap. We will get through this. I am convinced that we will come out of this recession - I am not going to say depression, because I don't think we are going to go there, but we will come out of this recession – stronger, and I think we will come out even stronger than most provinces in this federation of ours because I think we are ideally positioned and we are also Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, and that gives us an edge over anybody else in this country.

From our perspective, on behalf of all the members of government, I want to thank the Clerk and our Table Officers. I want to thank the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary and our Sergeant-at –Arms. I want to thank the people in the back rooms: Hansard, our Pages - thanks for the Christmas cards; we certainly appreciate them – you certainly seemed to enjoy your stay here, and it was a pleasure to be with you. I want to thank our Commissioners and anybody else who is involved with the workings of this House - our recording group that put this House out to the people of the Province. That is a service that is very, very valuable. They get to see their members in action, they get to see democracy in action, and they get to see the wonderful accomplishment that we made yesterday.

I want to wish everybody all the best to your family and friends, and thanks very much for your co-operation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, it is moved and seconded that when this House adjourns today, it stands adjourned to the call of the Chair. The Speaker, or in his absence from the Province the Deputy Speaker, may give notice and thereupon the House shall meet at the time and date stated by the notice of the proposed sitting.

It is moved that this House do now adjourn.

MR. SPEAKER: Before the Chair moves the adjournment motion the Chair, too, would like to thank all members on both sides of the House for their co-operation in this session in working for the public good. I thank the staff of the House of Assembly that makes this place work every day.

On behalf of my family, I would like to offer all the members of the House, all the staff of the House, and all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

This House now stands adjourned until the call of the Chair.

On motion, the House at its rising adjourned to the call of the Chair.