The House met at 2:00 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Wiseman): Order, please!

Admit strangers.

Today we are very pleased to welcome to our galleries forty individuals from the 50 Plus Brigus and Area Seniors Club from the District of Harbour Main.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Today, they are accompanied by their group leader Bill Smith, and their bus driver Tom Costello.

We are also very pleased today to have in our galleries Jeana Bowen of Riverhead, St. Mary's Bay, who recently participated in the Canadian Council for the Blind Athletic Sports Recreation Games and was named Best Totally Blind Female Athlete for Atlantic Canada.

Welcome to our galleries.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Today we will have members' statements from: the Member for the District of Placentia – St. Mary's by leave; the Member for the District of Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune; the Member for the District of St. John's Centre; the Member for the District of Bay Verte – Springdale; the Member for the District of Lake Melville; and the Member for the District of Humber Valley.

The hon. the Member for the District of Placentia – St. Mary's.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. F. COLLINS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased today to rise in this hon. House to pay tribute to Jeana Bowen of Riverhead, St. Mary's Bay.

Two weeks ago, Jeana participated in the Canadian Council for the Blind Atlantic Sports and Recreation Games, which were held in the Province for the first time. Jeana participated in the totally blind under fifty category. Jeana competed in eleven of the fourteen events, and won first place ribbons in the sixty metre run, the 100 metre run, discus throwing and javelin throwing, as well as second and third place ribbons in other events.

For her efforts, Mr. Speaker, Jeana was named the Best Totally Blind Female Athlete for Atlantic Canada, the first time this award has ever been won by a person from this Province. She is looking forward to defending her award at the games next year in Moncton.

Mr. Speaker, Jeana says that participation in events like this help her keep her self-confidence and independence. I have known Jeana for almost seven years, and she is an inspiration to everyone who knows her and has earned the admiration and respect of her community.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of this hon. House to join with me in congratulating Jeana on her amazing achievement.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS PERRY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this hon. House today to pay tribute to professional artist Ruth Lawrence for receiving the 2011 Artist of the Year Award from the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council.

Since her graduation from Conrad Fitzgerald Academy of English Harbour West, Ruth has demonstrated that hard work, determination, and a strong belief in yourself does ensure that dreams can come true. She is an amazingly talented artist who has performed more than 100 roles in professional theatre, film, television, musicals, and radio productions. She also chairs the board for Neighbourhood Dance Works and is executive director of the Nickel Independent Film Festival.

Ruth's commitment and dedication is second to none, and we are all so glad that she made her choice to practice her profession here at home. All residents of Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune are very proud of our Newfoundland treasure, and we highly commend her determination to excel as an artist.

I ask that all members join with me in congratulating her remarkable talent. Well done, Ruth, you are truly an inspiration to us all to follow our dreams and we look forward to your new efforts.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's Centre.

MS ROGERS: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honour and congratulate the work of Bridges to Hope on Cookstown Road in St. John's Centre. Guided by the compassion and expertise of program Director Derek Winsor, the four staff and a whole host of volunteers have created several innovative programs to help lift people out of poverty.

Through their Food Pantry, they have assisted 2,835 people, including 510 children, since this January alone. In the community kitchen every day, Chef Andrew teaches eight new people how to cook nutritious, delicious meals on a budget. Many are single moms trying to make ends meet.

Wednesdays, Chef and participants bake 100 loaves of whole grain bread to distribute at the Food Pantry, and in summer months he runs a youth cooking program.

If that weren't enough, Bridges to Hope and their supporters prepare and distribute 500 book bags at the beginning of the school year, 300 Christmas hampers, and with Daybreak, operate a toy lending library two days a week, providing developmental toys to families who could not otherwise afford them.

Bridges to Hope say: "Poverty can rob people of many things except hope. We are the bridge. Let's make a difference!"

Mr. Speaker, I would like the whole House to congratulate Derek and team for the incredible difference that they do make.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Baie Verte – Springdale.

MR. POLLARD: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

On Saturday, May 11, I had the privilege to attend a very unique health care fundraiser in Baie Verte.

The fourth annual Victorian Tea Party is a fundraiser to develop a therapeutic wander garden for long-term care residents who struggle with dementia in the region.

Health care staff and other volunteers sold costumes and chair covers, polished silver, built a backdrop, handled delicate china teapots and dishes, and prepared a delicious selection of finger foods. A wonderful and elegant environment was created in the modern Copper Ridge Academy gymnasium.

The event has grown in popularity, with 161 people experiencing the valued Mother's Day tradition in the community.

Huge accolades go out to Tracy Comeau, Central Health Director of Health Services for Baie Verte, for spearheading the event, and to all of the Baie Verte Peninsula Health Centre staff for their contribution.

I ask all hon. members to congratulate Ms Comeau and her team of volunteers for a wonderful event and wish them well in their quest to create the first therapeutic wander garden in the Province.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Lake Melville.

MR. RUSSELL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased t rise today in this hon. House to congratulate the high school graduates of Lake Melville School in the beautiful town of North West River, who celebrated this milestone on May 5, 2012.

The four graduates are Max Matthews, Brooke Davey, Sammi Rae Brown, and Tom Rich.

I would also like to thank the principal of Lake Melville School, Mr. Barry Flynn, for all of his hard work he has put into the students over the years. I would also like to thank the staff for their ongoing support of these students.

I ask all hon. members of this House to join with me and congratulate these four students on their successes and a great achievement.

Congratulations, graduates of 2012; here is wishing you all the very best for your future!

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Humber Valley.

MR. BALL: I rise in this hon. House today to commend the Elwood Envirothon Team of Deer Lake on their recent victory at the provincial Envirothon competition held earlier this month.

This team of five youth has helped create a provincial precedent as Elwood has been the winner of four of the past five consecutive Envirothon provincial championships. Under the direction of team coaches Fred Pearson and Oral Roberts, this group met regularly since October to study environmental issues.

Mr. Speaker, this team will now represent our Province as they travel to Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania for the International Canon Envirothon Competition on July 1. I would like to congratulate the team members Mark Murdoch, Erin Pearson, Michaela Pye, Bethany Roberts, and Brittany Ropson.

I would also like to commend Elwood Regional High as this victory amounted to seven provincial titles for the Deer Lake School since they have been taking part in Envirothon competitions.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all hon. members to stand with me and congratulate this group of exceptional youth and their team coaches, and wish them every success as they represent our Province on the international scene.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Statements by Ministers.

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this hon. House today to announce Team Newfoundland and Labrador's mission staff for the 2013 Canada Summer Games in Sherbrooke, Quebec.

The seventeen-member team will be led by Chef de Mission Michelle Healey of St. John's and Assistant Chefs de Mission Rod Snow of Mount Pearl and Karen Sherriffs of St. John's. This is the second time Ms Healey and Mr. Snow will take on these roles, having also served in the 2011 Canada Winter Games. Ms Healey is currently Director of Athletics with Memorial University and Mr. Snow is Manager and High Performance Director with the Newfoundland and Labrador Sport Centre. Ms Sherriffs is a Community Program Supervisor with the City of St. John's.

Other members joining them are Gary Martin of Mount Pearl, Allison Sturge of St. John's, Peter Butt of Twillingate, Gregory Pittman of Clarenville, Robert Goulding of Grand Falls-Windsor, Jamie Jewers of Clarenville, Doug Redmond of St. John's, David Kennedy of Carbonear, Michelle Carroll of St. John's, Dave Feener of St. John's, Laura Cole of Outer Cove, Colin Carroll of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Janet Facey of Tilting, and Angela King of Flatrock.

The mission staff team will provide logistical support and assistance to over 350 provincial athletes on their quest to reach the podium at the country's most prestigious sports competition.

The time, effort, and commitment of these volunteers prior to and during the two-week-long event will certainly play an important role in the team's overall Canada Games experience. Their dedication and efforts are commendable and appreciated.

Mr. Speaker, our Province continues to produce outstanding athletes who, year after year, compete successfully on the provincial, national, and international stage. We remain committed to the continued growth of athletic excellence in Newfoundland and Labrador as outlined in our recreation and sport strategy, Active, Healthy Newfoundland and Labrador.

We thank everyone involved in this event, including coaches, managers, parents, and volunteers. The dreams of many young athletes of Newfoundland and Labrador will be fulfilled with their support.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Bay of Islands.

MR. JOYCE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an advance copy. I also would like to congratulate all the volunteers; Michelle, Rod, and Karen for their volunteer work; and all the mission staff. I know as participants in the Canada Games some of the challenges this mission staff must have to keep the athletes in line sometimes in ensuring that everything is running smoothly at times. I know the Member for Port de Grave was on a lot of Canada Games teams; I know his contribution also with the Canada Games teams from Newfoundland and Labrador. I just want to recognize that because I know the contribution that he made on many times.

To all the athletes, you have a great team going with you. Minister, I would be remiss if I did not mention that I noticed there is no one west of Grand Falls. The next time when there is a mission staff, I encourage you to include the West Coast for the mission staff. Not taking away the qualifications of the people who are on this mission staff, but I just want to make that and just put a plug in for the West Coast. There are a lot of fine people on the West Coast who would love to participate in that.

I say congratulations to all the athletes; you have a fine team taking care of you. To the athletes, you will have an experience of a lifetime because it is a great adventure; it is a great bit of fun. To the mission staff who are going to keep everybody in line, Newfoundland and Labrador has a great reputation at the Canada Games. I know from a participant and from a person who attended many games that Newfoundland and Labrador – and it is because of volunteers like here helping out with the staff, helping out with all the athletes.

Thank you very much. Congratulations to them all.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Member for St. John's Centre.

MS ROGERS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I, too, would like to thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement. I would like to congratulate Chef de Mission Michelle Healey, and Assistant Chefs de Mission Rod Snow and Karen Sherriffs, and the other members of the mission staff who will be providing support to our athletes at the Canada Summer Games in Quebec. It is extremely important that we support athletic excellence in our Province. Sports and recreation strategies are very important, and not only for supporting elite athletes but for also encouraging and supporting all our youth in both schools and communities to be active and healthy.

To all the members of Team Newfoundland and Labrador, you make us proud. Bonne chance and bon voyage!

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services and the Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN: Mr. Speaker, I rise today in this hon. House to inform my colleagues that today, May 30, is Provincial Francophonie Day.

Mr. Speaker, in 1999, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador passed an Order in Council designating May 30 Provincial Francophonie Day. May 30 is a very symbolic day for the Francophone and Acadian community in Newfoundland and Labrador. It was on this date in 1987 that the first sod was turned on the site of the future Sainte-Anne School and Community Centre at Mainland on the Port au Port Peninsula, which, of course, is the traditional heart of the Province's French-speaking community.

Depuis cette date, Monsieur le Président, les Francophones, les Acadiens et leurs nombreux amis et partenaires, y compris le gouvernement de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador, se réunissent le 30 mai tous les ans pour lever le drapeau franco-terre-neuvien-et-labradorien qui exprime l'esprit et la ténacité de la communauté.

Although I was unable to be there personally last week, the provincial government continued its long-standing tradition of partnering with the Francophone Federation of Newfoundland and Labrador to mark Provincial Francophonie Day with a flag-raising ceremony just outside of these doors. My colleague, the Member for Port au Port, represented the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador at this event and helped raise the flag outside of Confederation Building.

Monsieur le Président, cette manifestation a été un grand succès et les élèves de l'école francophone locale, l'École des Grands-Vents, ont montré leur fierté communautaire en faisant flotter des drapeaux et en se joignant à la chorale francophone, La Rose de Vents, pour chanter Ô Canada et l'hymne de Terre-Neuve.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of this hon. House to join me in congratulating the Francophone and Acadian community of Newfoundland and Labrador for is tireless efforts to protect and promote the French language in this Province. This past year, this community has been successful in launching a French-language tourism Web site and initiating a project aimed at enhancing youth identity, which is key to the success of French as a vital language in Newfoundland and Labrador. The provincial government is proud to have been a partner on both those projects, as well as several others.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Member for Burgeo – La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS: Merci beaucoup, Mr. Speaker.

Merci beaucoup to the minister for an advance copy of her statement. Je ne parle pas français; therefore, I will continue en anglais.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. A. PARSONS: Today we do indeed celebrate our Province's Francophone and Acadian history, and I want to join with the government in recognizing the Francophone and Acadian community. It was twenty-five years ago that the French Newfoundland and Labrador flag was first raised in Mainland on the West Coast, La Grand'Terre. We have a couple of thousand Francophones living in our Province and it is important that we invest in and celebrate the Francophone and Acadian heritage within our Province.

French-speaking Newfoundlanders and Labradorians contribute significantly to our Province. I applaud the Francophone and Acadian community in its launch of a French-language tourism site, which is in keeping with our bilingual nation as well as their project promoting youth identity, which is crucial in the survival of the language in this Province.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

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

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

C'est un vrai plaisir pour moi de dire félicitations aux Francophones et aux Acadiens qui habite Terre Neuve et Labrador à l'occasion de la Journée provinciale de la Francophonie.

I was pleased to be at this ceremony again this year to celebrate their cultures with them. It is encouraging especially to see how far French language has come in this Province in the last forty years, especially in our educational system.

I have the honour of saying that I was a member of the first Ministerial Advisory Committee on French in Education in this Province for a minister of the Progressive Conservative government. I am delighted to see that so much of what we recommended at that time has become a reality.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Oral Questions.

MR. SPEAKER: The Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As early as April 25, 2011, the consultants at Eastern Health hired to do its operational review gave its first recommendations to the Eastern Health board. Those consultants gathered input from managers at Eastern Health, but at no time consulted with the front line staff or their representatives.

I ask the Premier: Can you explain why such an extensive operational review aimed at improving efficiencies at Eastern Health could be conducted without consulting the very people who would be required and asked to implement those changes?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, perhaps what we should look at is what this benchmarking process is all about. Benchmarking is comparing one organization with another of comparable size, comparable program offerings, et cetera. That is what has happened here, Eastern Health comparing various facilities with various other facilities across the Province. That was the first bit. That is data gathering, Mr. Speaker.

Once the data is brought back, Mr. Speaker, it is taken and then the people at Eastern Health worked with their employees to come up with the recommendations. The recommendations do not come from outside, Mr. Speaker. The recommendations come from the employees at Eastern Health itself. It is grassroots up and that is the procedure that has been followed.

Very clearly, Mr. Speaker, employees were very much involved in making the recommendations. Managers will be very vigilant in seeing that these recommendations are carried through.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BALL: It is interesting to hear the minister talk about how they were consulted because, actually, what we heard yesterday was quite different. We heard union representatives use words like blindsided and not seeing this at all. The fact that managers were consulted really was not the question. The question for me was if you want to successfully implement those changes, you really need to be talking to the people who will be required to do the implementation.

Mr. Speaker, Eastern Health keeps referencing the comparators that consultants use to determine the appropriate benchmarks for Eastern Health and to justify their conclusions and their recommendations. This comparative information has not been provided to the public or the organizations representing the staff impacted by these recommendations.

I ask the minister: Will this information be made available to all the affected groups and the concerned parties?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, once again, what we are talking about is a comparison of data. That is what has been supplied to us. There is no report; it is a matter of data. What we cannot do is we cannot share data from various other organizations around this country, Mr. Speaker. That is private, individualized information. It has been made available to Eastern Health so that they can look at the comparisons, but we cannot release data from other hospitals, other organizations around the country.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BALL: We understand the information from other health care authorities is owned by those, but we had the consultant group that actually collected this on behalf of Eastern Health and then were required to compile all that data to put it into the action plan or the recommendations. That is the kind of things that we are asking for. I know there is no report, but the managers were actually challenged to implement the changes. The leaders of NAPE, the Nurses' Union, and CUPE feel that they were blindsided, as I said, by this announcement. They were concerned by the recommendations in the operational review, particularly on how they would be implemented without impacting the level of care provided to patients.

Without having received input from these groups, how can you ensure that these recommendations will not negatively impact the level of care and services at Eastern Health?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN: Mr. Speaker, the first part of the commentary, again having to do with the recommendations. Recommendations did not come to us, Mr. Speaker. We took the data and then we used that to develop our own recommendations. It is not a matter of a report out there that we can pass over. We do not have a report, we simply have the data. We are developing our own recommendations, or Eastern Health is, based on that. That is the first part.

In terms of being blindsided, Mr. Speaker, we talk about unions being blindsided. What happened there, Mr. Speaker, was that there was a very measured, organized process by which Eastern Health intended to talk to people of Newfoundland and Labrador, its own employees, MHAs here in the House of Assembly, members of the Opposition, and members of the media. It was the people opposite who blindsided the unions when they went out ahead of everybody else.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BALL: (Inaudible) do that because if you go back to the report that was given by Eastern Health yesterday you will find that as far back as April 2011 there were early recommendations given to the managers and directors at Eastern Health. This has been a year in the making right now. There were some calls made last week too, so it was only obvious – we were not blindsided here; it is when people heard it from media reports, that was the problem.

The Eastern Health Regional Authority was created by your government in 2005 when you amalgamated seven health care boards. Your government was warned that the amalgamation could create an uncontrollable monster from a financial efficiency and administrative perspective.

I ask the Premier: Why did it take seven years to realize things were not operating properly at Eastern Health, while you continued to pour money into the deficits year after year?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, again, we are given conflicting advice. They tell us to spend, spend, spend, spend on the other side of the House, a daily call here in this House of Assembly.

MS JONES: (Inaudible).

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: I hear the MHA for Cartwright – L'Anse au Clair; her voice, again, today, loudest as it usually is, is calling for us to spend, spend, spend and invest in health care, but, Mr. Speaker, did not have the sense to ask the same question her colleague from Burgeo – La Poile asked here in the House last night, to say: we know we are spending a lot of money in health care and in this Province, Mr. Speaker, but are we getting value for the money?

That is the question that has been posed in health care and that is what Eastern Health is trying to ensure.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I know, at least from the Official Opposition's perspective, we have been on record many times when you talk about investments in health, but outcomes are important. When you do not consult with the very people that are going to be asked to implement those changes, that is where we have a big problem today, Mr. Speaker.

According to your government, the reason for creating the board was to make more accountable health authorities. The boards were supposed to find efficiencies in administration. The AG confirmed in 2007 that this did not happen. In fact, the CEO has confirmed that Eastern Health was amongst the worst financial performers in the country.

I ask the Premier: Why did your government not provide proper oversight to control the board's expenditures as opposed to propping up huge deficits?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I am not exactly clear what the Leader of the Opposition is putting before us here today. Does he want the health care boards to review their spending or does he not, Mr. Speaker? Is this a good exercise or not a good exercise? It is certainly not clear in his messaging here today.

As part of a due diligence process, when you are in charge of the public purse, whether it be in health care, education, or other forms of governance, Mr. Speaker, we have a responsibility and an obligation to the people of this Province to ensure that they are getting quality services and their money is being spent correctly. That is what is happening, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BALL: We will be very clear; from our point of view, we have no problem with dealing with inefficiencies. If you have a coffee shop that is losing $260,000 a year, yes, you deal with that. That has been in place since, we have been told, 1995.

AN HON. MEMBER: How come you (inaudible)?

MR. BALL: You were here in 2003. The information about the coffee shop operation at the Health Sciences –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. BALL: Maybe you will answer the question. When you answer the question, we will find out.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. BALL: The information about the coffee shop operation at the Health Sciences Centre and its $260,000 loss last year has gathered much public comment today. This business has been in operation for several years. Surely the viability of a single business should have been known for some years through the internal financial auditing procedures at Eastern Health.

I ask the Premier: Will you make available the financial information for this outlet since it has been in operation?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN: Mr. Speaker, the coffee shop at Eastern Health has been in operation, in fact was brought in, in 1995, by members opposite. I would assume they have some of the statistics that they are already looking for.

Mr. Speaker, if the members opposite think that the level of scrutiny that we do over a $3 billion expenditure in health care is to take every single health authority and work down line by line by line through every piece of that, I do not know what they are thinking over there. Mr. Speaker, let me tell you what is happening. What is absolutely incredulous is that we have found a way; Eastern Health is leading the way on finding ways to improve health care in Newfoundland and Labrador, to improve inefficiencies and to be able to put money into other programs as they come to a balanced budget. That is good work, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

On several occasions in the House, the Minister Responsible for Fire and Emergency Services stated that any documentation he had on search and rescue in relation to the Makkovik tragedy would be tabled. The Premier also gave the impression that the Province's internal review they were conducting would be tabled at the same time as the correspondence from the federal government. However, on Monday the Premier stated that this internal review was not a written document.

I ask her today to clarify once and for all: Was there an internal review? Was it a written document? If so, why won't you table it?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I understand that the Member for Cartwright – L'Anse au Clair and the House Leader for the Opposition has some difficulty from time to time with her recall. That is why we have Hansard in this House, Mr. Speaker.

There is nowhere in Hansard that she will find me promising or committing to make available a written report on an internal review with the Fire and Emergency Services. What I did say in this House, Mr. Speaker, was that a review of protocols was going to take place within FES in concert with the Department of Municipal Affairs, and that has taken place, took place very early in February, Mr. Speaker.

So, no, there is no written report, Mr. Speaker, for me to file here in the House, nor have I ever promised same.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Opposition House Leader.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Premier left the impression, and the minister did commit to table it.

Mr. Speaker, on April, 26 in the House the Premier stated that the internal review was completed and reported upon. She also stated on Monday that after this review, Fire and Emergency Services made adjustments to their protocols.

I ask the Premier today: Where is the report, and what adjustments to the protocols were made? Please outline them.

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. O'BRIEN: Mr. Speaker, just to clarify for the hon. member, when I spoke on this tragic issue some time ago, and we have spoken on it many, many times, there was no such thing as a report that would be tabled in this House other than the time frame and the timelines associated with the search itself, which has been tabled in this House previously by the Premier this week, along with the correspondence that we had with the Minister of Defence, the hon. Minister Peter MacKay. That is exactly what we committed to and exactly what we have done. We have had discussions with our counterparts in regard to the various levels of protocols, with the RCMP and JRCC, to review the protocols to see if we can tighten anything up, which we do in all cases in regard to IGOR or whatever it may be. We always review our practices to see if we can make them better.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Opposition House Leader.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, I repeat, on April 26 - and this is why we have Hansard - the Premier stated that the internal review was completed and reported upon. We are not sure where it was reported to, who it was reported to, or what was contained in that report, or how that report was done. What we do know is that there was no complete, formal, written, internal investigation done by the provincial government in the failed search in Makkovik.

I ask the Premier: Why was it not done, and why will you not call a public inquiry?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we have a number of search and rescue operations that take place in this Province on an annual basis, and we have an obligation to ensure that the best service that we can provide to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, in concert with other resources we have to call upon, is available to them. We do not do a formal review after every time we conduct a search or rescue, Mr. Speaker. That is the facts of it, Mr. Speaker, and FES did review its protocols, in concert with the Department of Municipal Affairs. That was reported upon to Cabinet, Mr. Speaker, and we are satisfied with the protocols that we have in place. We have searched out further information and do not see the need for an inquiry, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, you need a Hansard to follow what the Premier says. One day she is talking about how they changed protocols, and now they are saying that there was not any change.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Premier this question: Are there any agreements in place today to sell Muskrat Falls power to mining companies that are developing in Labrador?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Mr. Speaker, I have indicated on numerous occasions that we are in discussions with the mining companies. When I say we, I am talking about the government and Nalcor, Mr. Speaker. We have indicated clearly that if companies are interested in purchasing power, that we will do our best to get it to them. I have also indicated clearly, Mr. Speaker, to the member of the Opposition, that Muskrat Falls power holds the key to providing mining companies in Labrador with the power they need and satisfying the needs of the Island.

So, hopefully, and I look forward to the day when the member for Labrador will get up and vote for Muskrat Falls, as I know she will.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

If there has been an offer of power made to these mining companies, I would like to ask the minister: What companies they have offered power to? In addition, I would like to ask him what the terms of that offer included? Does it include the mining companies building the transmission capacity, and was there an industrial rate set and offered to these companies?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Yes, Mr. Speaker.

I would like, first, to indicate that I know the member opposite met with Mr. Martin and Nalcor today and her attitude certainly was not a good one, Mr. Speaker.

What we are doing and what we have indicated is that there will be power available with Muskrat Falls, Mr. Speaker, if it is sanctioned and developed. Mr. Speaker, there are no firm contracts signed. I have met with all these companies. There is only one company that said we are willing to buy power. We are in discussions, Mr. Speaker, with these companies and if they want to sign firm contracts, then we will guarantee the power if Muskrat Falls is sanctioned, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Opposition House Leader.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I had a very courteous meeting with Ed Martin this morning, and a very informative meeting, I would like to say to you, Minister. I am absolutely shocked if Mr. Martin would have said anything that would be any different than that.

Mr. Speaker, in order to use Muskrat Falls power in Labrador, you need to build a 350 kilovolt line from Churchill Falls to Labrador West.

I would like to ask the government: Has there been any analysis done on this line in terms of the EIS, the construction time frame, or the cost? You can bury your face, Premier, but you cannot stand in the House and say we are going to do something for Labrador, and then do nothing – then do nothing.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Maybe the member opposite should look at her own motivations for making these kinds of comments, Mr. Speaker. Self interest at times, Mr. Speaker, is something that leads to problems.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. KENNEDY: Mr. Ball was present there today, too.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. KENNEDY: Your behaviour was –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask members to direct their comments to the Chair.

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Opposition Leader, Mr. Speaker, I understand was very polite.

Mr. Speaker, in terms of the Muskrat Falls power – and I am going to be speaking to this in Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given – we have made it clear on numerous occasions that if Muskrat Falls is developed, there will be power available for development. We are not going to develop Muskrat Falls simply to supply power to mining companies, Mr. Speaker. There has to be the replacement of Holyrood. When all of that is done, Mr. Speaker, then what we will look at is the provision of power to these companies.

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have to make a decision as to whether or not they support Muskrat Falls –

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL: People are asking how Eastern Health can cut 385 positions and make other changes to the tune of $43 million without affecting the quality of patient care.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier: Could she clearly outline how their Department of Health is going to monitor the changes so that they will not affect patient care?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the vast majority of the changes that will be made Eastern Health will be made in terms of jobs that will be gone through attrition; however, when it comes to monitoring what is happening over there that will continue to happen as it always has. Mr. Speaker, this process, as was indicated earlier today, started about a year ago. For example, the issues around constant care, those are not brand-new initiatives. Those are initiatives that were learned along the way, Mr. Speaker –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS SULLIVAN: Therefore, Mr. Speaker, Eastern Health has been monitoring the process of how that is unfolding and how the new initiative is working itself through.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Leader of the Third Party.

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

The Conservative's 2004 Throne Speech claimed striking the right balance between quality health care and an efficient, sustainable system required them to make four regional health boards. Yesterday's report from Eastern Health shows clearly that their plan has not worked.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier: Will she recognize the mess they have created and put in place an external review to assess how the whole system is working?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Here we go again, Mr. Speaker. Almost every time the Leader of the Third Party gets on their feet she is calling for a review of something. Mr. Speaker, there are only 500,000 of us in this Province and four health boards serve us very well. There are a lot of people in this country, Mr. Speaker, who would argue that four health boards for 500,000 people is far too much administration.

Mr. Speaker, health care in this Province is very, very, very good. You only have to tune in to any kind of television show like the Janeway Telethon, for example, to hear wonderful stories about the health care that is provided to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians through those four health care authorities. Do we have challenges? Yes, but we are prepared to meet them in exercises like this.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

New census data shows our Province has a higher proportion of seniors than ever before. These are people who have worked and paid into the health care system their whole lives and who will now need it more than ever.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier: Where is the long-term and home care strategy that this government has been promising for years?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, as I pointed out yesterday, when we make commitments we are going to see those commitments come to reality. We talked about a long-term care strategy, Mr. Speaker. We are in the final stages of having that long-term care strategy put together. You are going to see that very, very soon.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Nalcor would not be spending millions of dollars of taxpayers' money building a road to Muskrat Falls unless it was certain that Muskrat Falls would be sanctioned by this government.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier: What is the point of a special debate in the House if Muskrat Falls hydro project is a fait accompli?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Martin and Nalcor have indicated that as you get toward the Decision Gate 3 process, Mr. Speaker, you spend money to determine your cost. The best way to determine what overruns you will face is by taking certain steps. So what is going on, we are preparing for the decision, if sanction is granted. No decision has been made. We are open to discussion, and what Nalcor is doing is preparing for sanction and determining how the cost will come out so that all the information can be provided. What I would say to the member opposite, why does she not just speak to Thomas Mulcair or Jack Harris? They can help her out.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Last year, Nalcor built roads on the West Coast to potential oil drilling sites which were never used, expensive roads to nowhere at taxpayers' expense. Now Nalcor is building this road to Muskrat Falls before sanction.

I say to the Premier, she claims that her government are prudent fiscal managers; I ask: How does building an expensive road to nowhere fit with that claim?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, it is important sometimes to spend money in order to make money.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: That is exactly what is happening in this Province. Mr. Speaker, we know there is oil on the West Coast of this Province. It bubbles up to the top of the ground. It is incumbent on us to spend some money to firm up our reserves, Mr. Speaker. It is important to the economic future of Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Third Party wants Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to risk nothing, companies to risk everything, come in and operate in this Province, and not even be able to count on the agreements they have signed with the government of the day, because if they come in, they are going to revisit all of those agreements and make sure they pay more.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's North.

MR. KIRBY: Mr. Speaker, when schools are not provided with the numbers of teachers they need –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. KIRBY: – the students most in need of special attention suffer. Teachers have told us –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. KIRBY: – that the current teacher allocation model fails to meet the needs of students with special needs.

I ask the Minister of Education: How many more students need to fall behind before he orders a review of the teacher allocation formula?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, I do not know how many times I have to say it for the member to get the message. We have the best teacher-student allocation amongst all of the provinces in Canada. Second, one in every seven teachers that are allocated are allocated for special education services.

Mr. Speaker, what we are providing to the students of this Province is the best that can be offered in Canada. I make no apologies for it and we will continue it, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's North.

MR. KIRBY: Mr. Speaker, teachers are telling us that special needs education and inclusion are deprived of funds by this government's formula-driven teacher allocation process.

When will the Minister of Education finally stop making excuses and order an immediate review of his flawed and outdated teacher allocation formula?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, I caution the people watching, because we will remember that it was only about a week or so ago that the hon. member got up and talked about all the kindergarten classes that were over the size of twenty. I had to point out, after I researched it, that none of the classes in this Province had more than twenty students in their class.

Mr. Speaker, I say again: will there be challenges in special needs? Certainly, there always will be. Teachers are the best-qualified ones that we have across the country, better than most across the country. They are qualified to meet the needs. Schools and school boards have teams that work together to formulate plans to deal with these special circumstances.

Mr. Speaker, make no apologies for the system that we have in place (inaudible).

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's East.

MR. MURPHY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In 2008, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada recommended the replacement of voyage data recorders in ferries. The minister of the day said that they were looking into getting the data recorders at that particular time. Mr. Speaker, just one of the provincial ferries had these important recording devices then.

Can the minister tell this House if all ferries under the Newfoundland and Labrador Government's charge have these recorders installed?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HEDDERSON: Mr. Speaker, let me say right off the top that when it comes to safety, especially with our transportation system, in particular ferries, everything has been done to make sure that those ferries are safe. As a matter of fact, Mr. Speaker, those ferries will not go into service unless they are absolutely certified, that everything is of working order, and that they are absolutely safe.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's East.

MR. MURPHY: Mr. Speaker, his answer really was not clear. We still do not know if the recorders are in.

I will ask about the incident this morning. The incident on the Bell Island ferry this morning shines more light onto the problems with our aging fleet; the ferries on the Tickle are no different when it comes to the need for replacement.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the minister: What is the plan for the Bell Island ferry's replacement?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HEDDERSON: Mr. Speaker, we are talking about boats in the water. There are times when they will scrape the wharf, where they bump up against the wharf. That incident this morning, Mr. Speaker, was an incident that occurs very rarely.

Upon arrival in port, the propulsion went down and, for a boat length, the boat drifted. Again, the crew acted very quickly, got the visor down, got the anchor out, and minimized the damage; note, minimum damage to the boat, but also, most importantly, no injuries to the people onboard.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: There are fifteen seconds left in Question Period.

MS ROGERS: Mr. Speaker, our offices are getting calls from seniors in distress who cannot afford the skyrocketing, uncontrolled rent increases they are getting.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier: When will this government –

MR. SPEAKER: Question Period is over. I am sorry; time has expired.

I remind members, in Question Period I try to signal when we are getting close. I would ask members then to recognize that the preamble will have to be eliminated from their question if they wish to get the question in. I will signal that there are only a few seconds left, and when I say there is time for a quick question, I would ask members to recognize if they insist on having the preamble to their question, they will not get their question concluded.

The time has expired for Question Period.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling of Documents.

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

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In fulfilling the provincial government's commitment of being transparent and accountable to the citizens of Newfoundland and Labrador, it is my pleasure to table the audited 2011 Business and Financial Report for Nalcor Energy and the audited Consolidated Financial Statements for Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro for the year ended December 31, 2011.

MR. SPEAKER: Notices of Motion.

Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

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

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

On March 27, the Member for Cartwright - L'Anse au Clair asked the Minister of Natural Resources to table in the House any correspondence, analysis or reports that government has in relation to the current and projected demand for electricity in Labrador and how such demand can be met.

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, Mr. Speaker, is a Crown corporation owned by the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. Its focus is on delivering safe, reliable, least-cost power to residents, businesses, and industrial customers in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, Mr. Speaker, is also mandated to ensure that adequate planning occurs for the future generation, transmission, and distribution of power in the Province. There is currently 525 megawatts of available electricity from the Churchill Falls Generating Station to meet demand in Labrador. This includes the 225 Twin Falls or TwinCo block and the 300 megawatt recall block.

Labrador industrial customers, Mr. Speaker, currently use the full 225 megawatt Twin Falls block and an additional sixty-two megawatts of firm power from the recall block. After Hydro's rural customers and industrial contracts are supplied, there is between eighty and 280 megawatts of recall power available, depending on the time of year. At peak during the winter, Mr. Speaker, in Labrador, 220 megawatts of power is required, thereby leaving eighty megawatts for other use in Labrador or for other export purposes.

Strong commodity prices, Mr. Speaker, have resulted in record levels of mineral exploration in Western Labrador resulting in the announcement of a number of new mining projects. If all projects go ahead, Mr. Speaker, there will be an estimated $10 billion to $15 billion in capital investment for mining developments in Labrador in the next ten years. These new developments will require an adequate supply of electrical power at competitive rates to proceed. So much depends, however, on the need for iron ore in China. The demand for iron ore is affected directly by the Chinese economy.

If Muskrat Falls does not proceed, Mr. Speaker, there will not be sufficient power available for all of the mining projects to proceed. Over the last number of months the minister and departmental officials have held numerous meetings with mining companies, including: the Iron Ore Company of Canada, Cliff's Natural Resources in Wabush, Alderon Iron Ore Corporation, New Millennium Iron Corporation, Tata Steel, Labrador Iron Mines, Vale, and Grand River Ironsands. These meetings have covered numerous topics, Mr. Speaker, and have included discussions regarding power requirements and transmission infrastructure.

As stated earlier, these projects are at various stages, Mr. Speaker, ranging from early stage, pre-feasibility studies, environmental assessment studies, and those that have commenced construction. The normal process, Mr. Speaker, for a new industrial or large commercial customer will be to approach Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro to identify their projects' needs and make a formal request for power.

The following companies, Mr. Speaker, have identified a need for power: IOC, Alderon, Tata/New Millennium, Vale, Labrador Iron Mines, and Grand River Ironsands. Once received, Nalcor then undertakes initial engineering studies that are required to provide the customer with a preliminary estimate of cost and timelines. There is a chart prepared by Nalcor, Mr. Speaker, which summarizes their assessment of potential new demand in Labrador. The chart is based on an aggregate of electricity demand from these projected projects. Some of the companies the department has spoken with have indicated other possible power requirements, such as multiple expansions, but formal requests for service have not yet been made. Projects currently under construction include Tata Steel, Canada's DSO project, and Phase 2 of the Iron Ore Company of Canada's Concentrate Expansion Program. Labrador Iron Mines is already in production and is exploring the potential to transition from electricity supplied by diesel units to hydropower supplied by the isolated Menihek substation.

Projects undergoing feasibility study included Alderon's Kami Project, Grand River Ironsands Churchill River Project, IOC's CEP stage three Project, IOC's Long-term Expansion Program, Tata's LabMag Project, and Vale's underground mine at Voisey's Bay.

Longer term developments included a second phase for the Kami project, the Julienne Lake Project, a second phase for Grand River Ironsands, further expansion associated with IOC, and the Paladin Aurora Michelin Uranium Project near Makkovik.

To satisfy these future mining developments in Labrador, there clearly needs to be a new source of power supplied. While our government would like to develop Gull Island, Mr. Speaker, it is not an option at present. Gull Island can only proceed if our Province can arrive at a favourable arrangement with Quebec on transmission. Gull Island, if developed, can supply an additional 2,250 megawatts of power for Labrador industrial use or export.

Muskrat Falls is an ideal source for new electricity. At 824 megawatts, Mr. Speaker, this project will meet the growing needs of the Island population, and enable us to close the expensive and environmentally unfriendly Holyrood Thermal Generating Station. It will also enable us, Mr. Speaker, to meet the growing needs of the mining industry. Approximately 40 per cent of the output from Muskrat Falls will be available to meet this energy demand. Until such time as the power is required, the excess power will be sold on the spot markets in the Maritimes and Northeastern United States.

The development of Muskrat Falls, Mr. Speaker, will also support significant regional economic development in Labrador. Power will be available for industrial expansion and development in the region at competitive rates, encouraging development, which brings further business opportunities.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. SPEAKER: It being Wednesday, Private Members' Day, Standing Order 63.(7) requires us at 3 o'clock to start the debate on the private member's motion, and I call upon the Member for Cartwright – L'Anse au Clair to debate the resolution that appears in her name.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am pleased to rise today to debate the motion that is on the Order Paper. I will certainly read a copy of the motion as well, for the record, Mr. Speaker. It starts:

WHEREAS we have seen many tragedies and many lives lost due to distress on land and at sea, most recently, the death of fourteen-year old Burton Winters of Makkovik, Labrador; and

WHEREAS ground search and rescue is a provincial responsibility and was the first point of contact in the Burton Winters tragedy; and

WHEREAS the federal government has announced the Maritime Sub-Centre for search and rescue services in Newfoundland and Labrador will close on April 25 of this year– and, in fact, since this motion was tabled, the search and rescue services centre, the Maritime Sub-Centre in the Province, has indeed closed; and

WHEREAS many questions have been raised about procedures and practices of the provincial government and DND in relation to the Burton Winters tragedy; and

WHEREAS the Government of Canada has indicated that they are ready to participate in, and co-operate with, a public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of Burton Winters;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that this House urges the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to conduct a full investigation into the Burton Winters tragedy and search and rescue services in Newfoundland and Labrador using a public inquiry under section 3.(1) of the Public Inquiries Act which states: "The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may by order establish a commission of inquiry to inquire and report on a matter that the Lieutenant-Governor in Council considers to be of public concern".

Mr. Speaker, that is the motion that is on the Order Paper, put forward by myself and seconded by the hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains. Mr. Speaker, that particular motion is in response to what we have seen as very distressing events around search and rescue in Newfoundland and Labrador. First of all, with the announced closure of the Maritime Sub-Centre, which has subsequently closed since the time I tabled the motion. Then, of course, the tragic events of what happened in Northern Labrador to a fourteen-year-old boy, Burton Winters. Of course, since then, we have seen the closure of marine Coast Guard radio in a number of areas around the Province as well.

All of these things, we feel, are having a very negative effect in terms of search and rescue in this Province. We feel there needs to be a public inquiry to study all of the facts, the protocols, the procedures and the services in our Province. We need to be able to come to conclusions and recommendations on how we can make improvements in our lifesaving services for all of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. I do not need to tell anyone that we live in a dangerous place. We have a rich, seafaring history and we are well aware of the risk of living on the ocean. Thousands of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians earn their living at sea and it is dangerous work. They deserve to be as safe as possible.

Mr. Speaker, we have unique situations. We have a unique culture. We have unique dialects. Many of those dialects can be challenging to decipher, and we all know that. We have many men and women whose livelihoods require them to venture into the wilderness. More focus needs to be put on improving the search and rescue services in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, in our history we have seen many inquiries called in Newfoundland and Labrador. The provincial governments alone, between 1980 and 1991 – or certainly 1980 and 2000 are the statistics I have here; we have seen twelve provincial inquiries that I have on this particular list alone. They have been into the tragic deaths of a number of individuals, whether it was at sea or on land, whether it was through shooting or helicopter crashes, whether it was through fires or plane crashes, or drowning, and so on.

Mr. Speaker, we have had a number of inquiries, inquiries that were announced and triggered by the provincial government, inquiries that were done in co-operation with the federal government but were launched by the Province. What we are asking for is nothing new, and we feel, Mr. Speaker, there needs to be an inquiry into search and rescue in this Province. It needs to look at the specific case of the tragic loss of Burton Winters as well. We feel there are a number of questions that need to be answered with respect to the Makkovik tragedy.

We have seen a number of high-profile botched search and rescue efforts in this Province in the past. We have had public inquiries and investigations into many of those. I look at a list that I have, Mr. Speaker, that I had actually prepared of a number of those investigations. The Melina and Keith II was one of those that saw the tragic loss of four lives in this Province. We realize that investigation had to be done in order to find the answers that were required and in order to make decisions that were going to be in the best interests of many others who were venturing out on the ocean and earning their living from the sea. It had to happen, Mr. Speaker.

The investigation by Transport Canada into the Ryan's Commander was another incident in our history where we have been able to do an inquiry and investigation to find out what went wrong in that search and rescue, and how things could be improved. As a result of it, we have seen a tremendous number of recommendations right from the stabilization of vessels to the response times of search and rescue and the available resources that needed to be deployed, and what procedures need to be followed.

In the Melina and Keith II investigation, I think that was the most concrete evidence that we have seen of procedures that either were not in place or not followed appropriately. Since that time they have adapted to calling it protocols as opposed to procedures, with the same meaning, just different wording; the language speaks to the same classification of change that would be required in command.

Mr. Speaker, I am bringing forward this motion because I think we are dealing with other cases in this Province today that we need to have an investigation into or an inquiry into. The government themselves have said that there has been a number of things that have been misinformation; they feel there needs to be protocol changes and all of these things around this particular case of Burton Winters. In fact, Mr. Speaker, we know that there are many peculiar questions that need to be asked and need to be answered. They should be done under oath so that we do not have the confusing information out there in the public that we have today.

We have confusing information being put forward by the Premier of this Province; we have confusing information being put forward by the Minister for the Department of National Defence. We have confusing information being put forward by the Member of Parliament for Labrador. All of these things have been documented. They themselves have disagreed with each other publicly. I have the documentation here of newspaper clips, radio interviews, and a number of other things, Mr. Speaker, in which they have contradicted each other as it related to information.

What we do know and what we do feel, Mr. Speaker, is that search and rescue appears to have failed at both the federal and provincial levels in this case. Burton Winters' case has come under intense scrutiny, public scrutiny, because of the apparent search and rescue discrepancies that have been associated with it. The internal investigations have identified serious flaws in how the search was conducted. Communication protocols among search and rescue providers and serious timeline lapses may have contributed to untimely search actions. The assignment of search and rescue resources, including manpower and materials, seems to have been highly inadequate in this case.

It appears that the level of due diligence and jurisdictional responsibility expected from search and rescue providers appears to have resulted in a failure for an effective search and rescue response for Burton Winters.

We need an inquiry; it needs to be independent and unbiased to review all of the facts and make recommendations to improve search and rescue in our Province. The entire process of the most recent tragedy has been deemed unsatisfactory and grossly inadequate by the vast majority of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

The Burton Winters case has given rise to some very serious questions about some very basic public safety features that are expected of our Province and of the Canadian search and rescue system in general.

There have been various media investigations such as what we have seen with The Fifth Estate, and anecdotal evidence among the public, who have legitimate questions about the integrity of the investigations that were conducted by officials responsible for search and rescue in this Province.

We feel there needs to be a transparency and accountability in order for there to be proper public confidence in search and rescue in this Province. Most importantly, we feel that there need to be facts and there needs to be full disclosure in order for these recommendations to develop and evolve appropriately. In order for us to ensure that we do not see similar occurrences in the future and at least take the greatest safeguards that we can to ensure that we do not see those similar occurrences in the future, we need to do what is appropriate; an inquiry is definitely an appropriate step forward to do that.

Mr. Speaker, I have heard the Premier say time and time again that an inquiry is not warranted. However, I would like to backtrack to just before the Makkovik tragedy. It was in October of 2011 when the Premier said that search and rescue services provided by the federal government must be investigated to see if improvements are necessary. This was her statement after a Fifth Estate episode on the search and rescue that was aired centering around our Province.

At the time, she said the following, and I quote it: "It is not satisfactory to the people of this province, to the people who earn their living on the sea, to be at further risk because of slow response time or policies that affect response time in marine search and rescue". She said that she would vigorously pursue this issue of search and rescue with the federal government.

However, Mr. Speaker, let us fast-forward to the Burton Winters tragedy and how her attitude has since changed, how she is no longer prepared to look at the in-depth issue of search and rescue in this Province, to look at what went wrong in responding to this tragedy in Makkovik, like other tragedies where public inquiries have been done in this Province. Mr. Speaker, it is an injustice to the people of this Province and I can coin it in no other phrase than to say just that.

We have had ministers on the other side, the Government House Leader, who pushed for an inquiry into the wrongful conviction of people in this Province, because he knew it was the right thing to do and pushed until he got it. I myself was part of the Official Opposition who pushed to get an inquiry into the faulty hormone receptor testing in this Province when the government opposite, of which the current Premier was a part, refused to do that inquiry for weeks and months, Mr. Speaker.

We did not relent and we did not give up. We knew that the right thing to do was a public inquiry into what had happened with the faulty hormone receptor testing in this Province in order to get justice for the many victims and to ensure the safety of many others in our health care system as we went forward.

Finally, they did agree to do it, Mr. Speaker. They did it, and afterwards we ended up with sixty recommendations in this Province that have served to improve and provide a better level of health care to the people of this Province than we had prior to that incident happening. Mr. Speaker, there are many other incidents which I could talk about. It is unfortunate that the government is not learning from their past mistakes and moving forward with this inquiry.

Mr. Speaker, I remember an interview that was published in The Telegram, December 24, 2010, when the Premier said she is not the kind of person who envisions things ten years down the road, but prefers to live in the now. I know, Mr. Speaker, she is not much of a visionary. If she is going to live in the now, do justice for this young boy –

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS JONES: – do justice for search and rescue in this Province, and do an inquiry.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I remind the member her time has expired.

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, on a cold Sunday afternoon, January 29, in Labrador, a tragic event took place that has cut at the heartstrings of every person in this Province, if not in the country. A young boy's life was lost, Mr. Speaker. The thing that we are debating here today is, when there was a recognition that this young man might be in trouble, the forces that were called into play to try to come to his assistance and bring him safely home to his family, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, nobody can hear about this tragedy without feeling a pain in their hearts and souls, especially those of us who have children, because there is nothing worse that can happen to a parent than the loss of a child. It is a profound event in your life, Mr. Speaker, and I speak from personal experience in my own family, where a young person was tragically killed. The life of a family is never the same. The life of a parent is never the same. The best way that I can describe the effect it has had in the life of the parent who was affected in our family is that they will never know joy again. No matter how well they have gone on and picked up the pieces, and dealt with the other children in their lives, they never will truly know joy in the way they did before since that event and the loss of their child.

There is a great appreciation for what the family is going through, Mr. Speaker, and for what the community is going through, because they shared in the life of this family and this young man. Mr. Speaker, what we have to do as a government, beyond saying to the family that we understand these circumstances as best as we can - having never experienced them fully and directly - that we understand what you are going through. We understand that you never want anybody else in this Province to come any closer to this kind of pain and loss than they are at the moment hearing this story. We understand that the family wants that for everybody else. They are heartbroken. They do not ever want anybody else to experience this pain. They want the assurance that everything that can be done in these kinds of circumstances is done. Beyond the family, and the family thinking about: Is there anything we could have done differently?

Mr. Speaker, in Makkovik we have a community, we have the RCMP, we have Canadian Rangers, and we have volunteers who worked diligently to save the life of this young man. I am sure when they lie in their beds in the dark of night, that over and over in their heads they are asking the question: Was there something else I could have done? Is there something else I could have done differently? Should I have gone left when I went right? I am sure people are haunted by those kinds of questions, Mr. Speaker.

So it behooves a government particularly, Mr. Speaker, to step back from all of that emotion, once we have expressed our condolences, and assure the people who are most directly affected that we understand; to all of the other people of the Province who may need to avail of this service in the future, that we understand. It is incumbent on all of us to step back from the emotion of those events, examine what went on and in this kind of a situation appreciate fully that we are not dealing with a precise science, that there is no dictated way that you can conduct a search.

People are trained, they are given the skills to make determinations, to deduct from information that is given to them to make the best possible judgments they can from the information they have available to them about what they ought to do. There is a measured way to do searches and so on, but a lot of it is based on very subjective information and bits and pieces you would get from a number of different sources, Mr. Speaker. We have a system in our Province that responds when somebody calls and reports that somebody is missing.

Mr. Speaker, very quickly, I am going to take you through chronological events that began in Makkovik on January 29. At approximately 7:00 o'clock on a Sunday evening, January 29, the RCMP got a call in Makkovik saying that a young man was missing. Mr. Speaker, they put together a search team based on the information that they had been provided by the family and began a search, first of all right in Makkovik trying to locate this young man.

Mr. Speaker, as the evening progressed they gathered more and more information. There was a possibility that – they learned from information provided that the young man had travelled out of the community on his Ski-Doo on the ice and toward open water. Mr. Speaker, the search became bigger; they called in more resources, such as the Canadian Rangers and volunteers on the ground.

At approximately 11:00 o'clock that night, RCMP Makkovik had a conversation with RCMP command here in St. John's, discussed all of the information they had, the strategy they were exercising in conducting the search, and made a certain number of decisions, Mr. Speaker. One of those decisions was to wait until first light in the morning before they made an assessment as to whether or not they needed air support.

So the search continued in Makkovik until the early hours of the morning. At approximately 2:00 o'clock, the searchers stood down because they were out on the ice, they could not see where they were going, the quality of the ice was questionable, and we could have had another tragedy. Everyone stood down at approximately 2:00 o'clock on the Monday morning.

At first light, they got back together, they reassessed the situation, and they decided they needed air support. At 8:19 o'clock on Monday morning, January 30, they made a call to Fire and Emergency Services asking for air support. Fire and Emergency Services called on the aircraft available to them in Goose Bay to travel to Makkovik to participate in the search. We are told that because of weather, these aircraft were unable to fly. As protocol dictates, Mr. Speaker, they then went to JRCC, a joint search and rescue facility or organization of the federal government, and requested air support. They made that call around 9:00.

They were going to dispatch a Griffon from Goose Bay. They have two Griffons in Goose Bay. One was in deep maintenance. When they went to board the second plane, she had an oil leak and they could not go. They did not make an operational decision to deploy their assets from any other location in Atlantic Canada.

Mr. Speaker, Fire and Emergency Services continued their contact with the RCMP in Makkovik. Weather cleared sufficiently that they felt they could dispatch an aircraft around 10:30 o'clock. At 10:45 o'clock, Fire and Emergency Services deployed an aircraft from Goose Bay, Mr. Speaker.

The call came in at 8:19 o'clock in the morning. By 10:45 o'clock in the morning, there was an aircraft from Fire and Emergency Services in the air on the way to Makkovik for the search. Mr. Speaker, that first helicopter was joined by a second helicopter at 1:00 o'clock that same day. We had two helicopters in the air, Mr. Speaker.

On that same day, at 2:30 o'clock in the afternoon, aircraft were told to stand down and that the air search was being called off. Mr. Speaker, they did and they went back to Goose Bay. The RCMP continued their activities through the evening and through the next day. They had called in their own aircraft to bring in divers, and an underwater camera, in what they believed to be a recovery situation at that point in time.

When that aircraft was asked to go look for debris, they discovered the Ski-Doo, Burton Winters' Ski-Doo, Mr. Speaker. They then called in JRCC again, who responded with a Griffon, and later in that evening a second plane, the Aurora. They covered the search area twice, Mr. Speaker, worked until the early hours of the morning, and their cruise timed out. They went down for a couple of hours. Our helicopters were back in the air at first light and continued to search until Burton was found.

So, Mr. Speaker, all of that is exactly how it all happened; the tapes support it, every piece of information that we have supports that sequence of events. There was one question arising out of all of that: the federal government had resources available to it in Atlantic Canada, particularly in Gander; they had three Cormorants that could have flown and could have gone and participated in the search from 9:00 o'clock in the morning until 2:30 in the afternoon.

When Minister MacKay said we will provide all information to you, we took him at his word and we asked the question: Why did you not deploy from Gander? You had the resources there to do it. They came back and offered up two reasons as to why the Cormorants did not fly. One was because of weather, the second one was because of their call-out standby protocols in Gander.

Now, Mr. Speaker, nobody has offered anything new from the federal government since that first offer of providing information. We have asked for the information and we received the information. Mr. Speaker, we are not satisfied with the – we know that is your rationale for not having sent out the plane; we think your rationale is flawed.

We understand that you do not have a mandated responsibility to respond to ground search and rescue in this Province. An inquiry cannot mandate them to take that responsibility on. An inquiry can make whatever recommendations they like. They cannot force the federal government to be responsible for ground search and rescue in this Province, but there is a long-standing practice of responding as part of a humanitarian effort when provinces ask you for assistance. The service we offer in Newfoundland and Labrador is very similar to what is offered across every other province in this country, Mr. Speaker, and all of us call on the federal government as a humanitarian response when we need them. Our position to the federal government is if you are not deployed in your primary mandate doing search and rescue at sea and somebody calls for help on the ground in Newfoundland and Labrador, you ought to respond – you ought to respond. We are asking you to change your protocols to reflect that, Mr. Speaker. That should not be left to the judgment of a commander on the ground. That should be a clearly established process that as part of your humanitarian response, that you fly and come to help. If something happens at sea, you can re-task your aircraft to go there, but when you can come, come.

Mr. Speaker, we do not need an inquiry to determine what the facts were. We understand what the facts were and people did the best that they could do. Mr. Speaker, the resources that were required and requested by the RCMP in Makkovik were provided as soon as the weather cleared enough for us to provide them. It was not an absence of resources, Mr. Speaker. It is around judgments people make when you do not have a mandated responsibility about whether or not you are going to respond.

Mr. Speaker, we can always do more. As we have the means, we will do more. The people of the Province demand the service of us and we are satisfied that service is being provided in the most responsible way that we can do at this point in our history. Would it be that we could go back and change things, Mr. Speaker? We cannot. Like the family, we want to make sure that nothing like this ever happens again, if there is something that can be done to prevent it, Mr. Speaker. We were assured, after our review, that what can be done is being done.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As the Premier opened her comments there and she talked about the emotion surrounding the Burton Winters tragedy in this particular case, there is no question. After visiting Makkovik, it was quite obvious that as a community and as a family there is quite a bit of emotion, as you would understand, with the loss of a life of a young fourteen-year-old boy.

Our PMR today, our call today, is calling yes, indeed, for an investigation into the Burton Winters tragedy, but it goes a little farther than that in talking about an inquiry into search and rescue in the Province in general.

The Premier told a story about her own family, and I can certainly relate something very similar in our own life. Actually, someone in the gallery today was actually closer to this today than even I was. I can remember an incident that happened in our own community back a few years ago with the drowning of a young eighteen-year-old boy. The community, the Ground Search and Rescue, and the RCMP, indeed, were the first people called that day. After four or five days of some intensive type searching, the body was not recovered. We knew it was not a rescue situation, but there was a search required.

What happened is that the community did not give up. They kept searching for the young boy. After seventy-three days of an awful lot of work that was done, it actually took the efforts of a group that came out of the USA to actually successfully find the young boy's body on the body of Bonne Bay Pond. It goes to show all of us in some ways are emotionally attached to stories and unfortunate tragedies that have happened within our Province. I am sure if we asked every MHA in this House to stand up and give an example, they would all have one.

As Newfoundlanders, it is really hard to ignore in the early days of this incident when you look at some of the responses that came of people like Rear-Admiral Gardam and his comment about deploying the assets of the Canadian Forces and not responding just because the assets could be needed to respond to a Maritime emergency, or, for instance, a plane crash or some other primary mission. Those sorts of comments are very hard to listen to in light of the moment. When you think about what the protocol would do, indeed there was an active search that was being undertaken in Makkovik at that time, responding to the tragedy or just after the tragedy. It was very difficult to be able to determine why someone in that capacity and someone at that level would actually make such comments as that. Therefore it brought into question about where the protocol actually is. What are the steps that should be determined? We have asked questions in this House surrounding protocol.

I have talked to many people with emergency plans. What would happen, even in our own health care system and in our own emergency departments? You see your own local fire departments, for that matter. They like to have a hard and fast plan which would serve as a guideline of how you would respond to incidents in your own community, very similar to what happened in Makkovik on January 29.