April
9, 2014
HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS
Vol. XLVII No. 16
The House met at 2:00 p.m.
MR. SPEAKER (Wiseman):
Order, please!
Admit strangers.
Statements by Members
MR. SPEAKER:
Today we will have members' statements from the
Member for the District of Bonavista North; the Member for the District of
Cartwright – L'Anse au Clair; the Member for the District of Lake Melville; the
Member for the District of Torngat Mountains; the Member for the District of
Bellevue; and the Member for the District of Humber West.
The hon. the Member for the
District of Bonavista North.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. CROSS:
“All the world's a stage”, Mr. Speaker.
It is with great pleasure I stand on my stage today and applaud the
dramatic performance of students from Pearson Academy, who recently earned the
award for best production in the Central Regional High School Drama Festival.
You have heard many a
compliment through my statements of the tremendous athletic prowess of Pearson
Academy students, from Deadman's Bay to Greenspond region of Bonavista North;
but they have truly taken to a new stage, quite literally, Mr. Speaker.
In recent years, theatre has
become a positive outlet for students to display their talents.
Unable to personally name the entire cast, I need to recognize Kirk
Blackwood, Best Male Performer; Kyla Stratton, Best Female Performer; Blake
Stratton, Kimberley Oram and Riley Gill for Exemplary Supporting Roles; and
their Theatre Arts teacher, Craig Loder, is an exceptional motivator, coach, and
a friend to all his students
Our collective hope is that
the students take positive memories from school experiences, recognizing the
devotion of staff members and parents alike to make for a diverse and positive
school life.
Mr. Speaker, hon.
colleagues, support me please in extending congratulations and best wishes for a
very special red carpet experience at the provincial competition in May.
As they say in the biz, “Break a leg!”
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for Cartwright – L'Anse au
Clair.
MS DEMPSTER:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to
acknowledge the thirty years of outstanding service and dedication of the Eagle
River Credit Union.
Napoleon Hill once said,
“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve”.
The same can be said for the people of Cartwright – L'Anse au Clair when
thirty years ago the Bank of Montreal decided to close and leave town, leaving
the people of the district without a financial institution.
The people of the Labrador
Straits rose to the challenge.
Having the support of the Labrador Fishermen's Union Shrimp Company and the
people of the District of Cartwright – L'Anse au Clair, Eagle River Credit Union
was born.
Starting with one branch and
two employees the Eagle River Credit Union has flourished to seven branches and
fifty employees, with growth and assets of just over $102 million.
This was made possible by the competent staff, the valued members, and
the dedicated board of directors.
Their reputation and customer service continues to contribute to their success
year after year, bringing economic sustainability to the district.
Mr. Speaker, I ask all
members of this House to join me in commemorating the Eagle River Credit Union
on thirty years of service.
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for Lake Melville.
MR. RUSSELL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I rise today to recognize
the Ike Rich Players from Mealy Mountain Collegiate on winning the Labrador
Regional High School Drama Festival.
The Ike Rich Players won the
competition through hard work and dedication, Mr. Speaker.
They had been working together and practicing the play for over a month.
The week of the festival, drama students were expected to practice every
single day of the week until the big showcase of their play.
The group performed Don
Zolidius' play Crushed, and did it in
fine form, receiving several accolades from the festival.
Specifically, Emily Harris was recognized as the best overall actor of
the festival.
The Ike Rich Players' cast
for the festival included Jamie Felsberg, Heidi Applin, Rachel Goudie, Louna
Fezoui, Emily Harris, Becca Pike, Connor Crocker, Noah Taite, Bradley Baker,
Mitchell Eddy, and Quinten Taylor.
They will now go on to compete in the upcoming Provincial High School Drama
Festival at the LSPU Hall in St. John's this coming May.
Mr. Speaker, I ask all
members of this hon. House to join me in recognizing the Ike Rich Players from
Mealy Mountain Collegiate on winning the Labrador Regional High School Drama
Festival.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.
MR. EDMUNDS:
Mr. Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today to
acknowledge the passing of a true son of Labrador, Mr. Ted Andersen,
affectionately known as Uncle Ted.
Uncle Ted was dedicated to
his community of Makkovik, the communities of the North Coast, and the people of
Labrador. He was the cofounder of
the Combined Councils of Labrador, served on the Makkovik community council for
more than twenty years, and was actively involved in the Labrador Inuit
Association.
Uncle Ted followed the
political world very closely and was very astute in the politics of his day.
His first words to me as a rookie politician were, “They'll elect you,
but remember, you are at the mercy of the very people you represent.”
As a successful entrepreneur
and fisherman, he believed that hard work and perseverance would always prevail.
He always told me to stand up for what you believe in.
His family tried on many
occasions to get Uncle Ted closer to them in his final years.
We can now take comfort in knowing that Uncle Ted has gone home.
I ask all hon. members to
join me in expressing condolences to his family.
Have a rest, my friend; you have earned it.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for the District of Bellevue.
MR. PEACH:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I rise in this hon. House to
recognize the Community Five Lions Club of Dildo.
I had the great privilege of attending their annual forty-fifth Lions
Charter Night on March 29, 2014.
This club has been very active and still stands strong today with twenty-eight
members.
Mr. Speaker, the highlight
of the night was the honouring of a charter member.
With forty-five years of being a Lion member with the club, Mr. Cyril
Russell of Blaketown is a gentleman of great stature.
I would like to also take
this opportunity to recognize four other long-time members.
Mr. Walter Reid has been a member for forty-two years, Lemuel Reid who
has served for thirty-two years, Barry Peckham with thirty-two years, and
Rayfield Reid has been a member for thirty years.
One would say that the
survival of this club is attributed to the long-time dedication of such
individuals who gave up so many of their valuable hours to be a true Lion
member.
I ask all members of this
hon. House to join me and say thank you to the above mentioned long-time members
of the Community Five Lions Club and to congratulate Mr. Cyril Russell on being
a charter member for forty-five years with the club.
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for Humber West.
MR. GRANTER:
Mr. Speaker, I stand in this hon. House to
congratulate a trio of budding swimmers from the Corner Brook Rapids Swim Club
on their impressive achievements in competition recently held at the Canada
Games Aquatic Centre in Saint John, New Brunswick.
Megan Colbourne, Heidi
Perry, and Caleigh Edwards had personal best times in all of their events while
combining to smash a total of eight rapids records in the process.
The team of three finished
tenth, out of thirty-one teams that participated in the female category, up
against some of the elite young athletes in Atlantic Canada.
Colbourne's impressive
weekend included nailing down an age group National Time for her first place
finish in the 1,500 meter freestyle.
Edwards set a new rapids record in the 200 metre freestyle, and Perry was
impressive setting new records in fifty, 100 and 400 metre events.
Honourable members, please
join me in congratulating Megan Colbourne, Heidi Perry and Caleigh Edwards on
their achievements in the pool and wish them much more athletic achievements as
they continue their swimming pursuits.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Statements by Ministers.
Statements by Ministers
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Municipal and
Intergovernmental Affairs.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. KENT:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I am pleased to rise today
in this hon. House to inform all members of a new Municipal Council Handbook,
available through Municipal and Intergovernmental Affairs to assist municipal
administrators and elected officials in the handling of day-to-day operations.
The Municipal Council
Handbook was officially launched last week, at the forty-second Professional
Municipal Administrators Convention in Gander.
A training session and overview was provided to delegates and hard copies
were available at the event for municipal administrators.
I am also pleased to note that we will be distributing copies for elected
officials at the Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador Symposium which takes
place next month in Gander.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to
thank officials with the Professional Municipal Administrators and
Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador for partnering with the department to
bring this handbook to fruition.
The Municipal Council
Handbook was funded through the Department of Municipal and Intergovernmental
Affairs and developed in partnership with the Professional Municipal
Administrators and Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador.
This guide book is designed for use by municipal administrators and
elected officials as a resource to assist them in providing efficient and
effective services to residents. I
am happy to report that the handbook was well-received by all during the
convention last week.
Mr. Speaker, this new
handbook can be used as a quick reference guide to assist mayors, councillors,
and municipal administrators in the handling of day-to-day operations in their
municipalities. It contains
information on areas such as council budgeting and financial administration,
council communications and civic engagement, and council's role as a
policymaker, regulator and planner.
An electronic copy of this handbook is also available on the Department of
Municipal and Intergovernmental Affairs' Web site.
The department is
continuously looking at ways to provide assistance to municipalities to ensure
that they have the information they need to operate efficiently and in
accordance with legislation.
Mr. Speaker, we will
continue to work with our stakeholders to ensure that residents of Newfoundland
and Labrador are represented by strong councils which will support sustainable
and vibrant communities.
Thank you.
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 of the statement. I
agree that anything we can do to help out the municipalities, councils, and
administrators is a great thing. I
heard people who already availed of this service.
It is a great handbook, it will help councillors.
It will help a lot of people who administer their towns, town clerks, and
other people. Anything we can do,
Mr. Speaker, to help out our volunteers, the town councils, to make our towns
run smoother is better for the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Mr. Speaker, I commend the
government and all the people who helped out to bring this book forward.
It is going to make a difference to a lot of towns for their quick use.
I did speak to somebody and what they said to me is they would rather
have a fiscal framework than a municipal handbook.
Once again, we see all this
gloss coming up, which is good. This
handbook is great, I have to admit.
What they are saying is great, we have a handbook, but we need the finances so
we can run our towns. I urge the
minister, I urge the government, that there is some way we start the fiscal
framework to ensure that what they committed six years ago is going to be filled
this year.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St. John's East.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. MURPHY:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I would like to thank the
minister for the advance copy of his statement as well.
A big thank you as well, to the professional administrators who helped to
make up this manual for Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador, in their
assistance in making this book. It
is a great aid, especially when you are talking about the volunteers who are
running a lot of the smaller communities out there.
I would also like to add,
one of the administrators I was talking to pretty much echoed the same
sentiments as the Member for Bay of Islands as well.
They did not see a chapter in the book called how to get more money out
of a minister. Hopefully in the next
little while we will see that chapter coming up sooner rather than later.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Environment and
Conservation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MS SHEA:
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to inform this hon.
House that the deadline for nominations for the 2014 Environmental Awards is May
1. This annual awards program is an
opportunity to recognize environmental achievements in our Province and raise
awareness of the individuals, groups, and businesses who take action to protect
and sustain our environment.
Mr. Speaker, the Department
of Environment and Conservation partners annually with the Multi-Materials
Stewardship Board and the Newfoundland and Labrador Women's Institutes to
recognize environmental achievement in the following categories: Individual;
Community Group or Organization; Youth, Youth Group or School; Municipality or
Regional Waste Management Committee; and, Business or Industry Leader.
It is important to recognize
our Province's environmental leaders in this manner.
Each category winner will receive a $1,000 honorarium from the
Multi-Materials Stewardship Board and a trophy to be presented during an
Environment Week ceremony, which will take place this June.
Mr. Speaker, a healthy and
sustainable environment yields healthy people, a stronger economy, more vibrant
communities, and a legacy for which we can be proud.
Our commitment to our ecosystem will ensure we meet the social, physical,
cultural, and economic needs of present and future generations.
Recognizing these types of
achievements continues to raise awareness of the tireless work being done by
those dedicated to making a difference and protecting our environment.
We all need to take responsibility for the protection of the environment.
Further information about
the Environment Awards and the criteria is available on our Web site for the
Department of Environment and Conservation.
Nomination forms can be accessed easily and printed from that site.
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St. John's South.
MR. OSBORNE:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
This is a good program.
I am familiar with the program and those who receive awards deserve to be
recognized. In fact, everyone who is
nominated for one of those awards deserves recognition because they lead by
example.
I want to talk a little bit,
Mr. Speaker, about the Energy Plan government released a few years ago.
They promised a detailed plan for efficiency and conservation in 2008.
That is over six years ago.
It did not happen – it did not happen.
Government promised to
introduce targeted programs to help home owners reduce energy consumption.
Guess what, Mr. Speaker? It
did not happen. They promised
retrofit rebates. It did not happen.
They promised to switch to more energy-efficient lights and net metering.
Guess what? It did not
happen.
Our Province is lagging well
behind other provinces, provinces as close as Nova Scotia, in developing these
types of programs. Mr. Speaker,
wouldn't it be nice if the provincial government led by example?
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
The member's time has
expired.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St. John's East.
MR. MURPHY:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I would like to thank the
minister for the advance copy of her statement here today in the House.
This is a very good project.
I have to commend government for this.
I am looking forward to hearing about some of the groups, for example, in
my area that will be participating.
I can think of a schoolyard
– that is where environmental protection really starts, I think, and it is
integral to our young people. I can
think of Rennie's River school down there that literally changed a parking lot
into a playground, and I can think of other groups that are worthy of receiving
rewards.
I encourage all residents of
this Province to look at groups such as the salmonid association of Newfoundland
and Labrador; the Sandy Pond Alliance should also be included in that; the
Rennie's River foundation; and the Johnson Family Foundation.
This list is endless when it comes to the contribution that these groups
are making to (inaudible) in this Province.
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
MR. MURPHY:
Thank you very much.
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture and
Recreation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. FRENCH:
Mr. Speaker, East Coast Music Week is a five-day,
non-stop musical celebration showcasing and recognizing the best of east coast
artists and music. It is promoted as
a premiere music event for the music industry in Canada, as well as the
conference of choice for artist and industry professionals.
The event is hosted on an annual basis throughout the Atlantic provinces,
and alternates within five regions – Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island, New
Brunswick, mainland Nova Scotia, and, of course, Newfoundland and Labrador.
This past weekend, Mr.
Speaker, I had the opportunity to attend a number of musical showcases and other
industry-centred events at East Coast Music Week in Prince Edward Island,
culminating in the awards show on Sunday evening.
A number of performers from our Province were nominated for awards,
including Amelia Curran, Matthew Hornell, Tonya Kennedy, Ennis, The Rolling
Kings, and Lady Cove Women's Choir, to name a few, and I offer my sincerest
congratulations to everyone who was nominated.
Some of the highlights of
the awards show included Jenn Grant for Song of the year, and Dave Gunning for
Solo Recording and Songwriter of the Year.
Our provincial winners were Duane Andrews and Craig Young who won in the
category of Traditional Instrumental Recording; Clark Winslow Ross who was
awarded Classical Composition of the Year; and choral director Kellie Walsh who
received the Stompin' Tom Award.
Along with the dynamic array
of musical showcases, seminars and industry-centred gatherings, East Coast Music
Week offers opportunities for musicians to be discovered and secure career
opportunities. Over the past several
years, the awards have resulted in more than a million dollars in local,
regional, and international contract opportunities for artists.
Mr. Speaker, East Coast
Music Week is not only a musical celebration which fosters and promotes the
careers of east coast artists, it also provides a significant economic benefit
to the host province. Depending on
the event location, the week historically generates between $3 million and $4
million in direct and indirect economic benefits to the host province.
It engages upwards of 500 volunteers in a number of key operational roles
for the host jurisdiction. I am
absolutely delighted, Mr. Speaker, that Newfoundland and Labrador will be the
host province in 2015 for this exciting week in the music industry, and our
government will proudly support this event.
Mr. Speaker, we are
certainly looking forward to hosting the East Coast Music Week in April of 2015,
and building on the momentum this event has created since its inception.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for the District of Bay of
Islands.
MR. JOYCE:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank the minister for the
advance copy.
I must commend the minister,
this is the first ministerial statement that I received in the number of years I
have been in the House that actually recognizes the volunteers and not trying to
promote government agenda. I commend
the minister for that because, Mr. Speaker, these volunteers – I congratulate
all the winners, I congratulate all the hard work and all the volunteers that
makes this award.
I had the privilege of
attending this past, in the East Coast Music Award Week.
Mr. Speaker, it is a great showcase of our talent for all Atlantic
Canada. It is great for
Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. It
is a great opportunity, as the minister stated, to get some contracts.
Mr. Speaker, I congratulate
again the organizers and the 500 volunteers who are going to be working on this
next year. I congratulate the
minister once again for helping promote the arts in the Province, as we had in
Estimates this year. I welcome all
people to the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador because when they come once
they will want to come again.
I just want to congratulate
the minister for promoting all the volunteers, promoting the event, as it should
be. I thank the organizers, and I
thank the minister and the government for the work they gave and they do give
our artists in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St. John's Centre.
MS ROGERS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank the minister for an
advance copy of his statement.
Congratulations to all the
nominees from Newfoundland and Labrador, and bravo to all award winners: Duane
Andrews, Craig Young, Clark Winslow Ross, and Kellie Walsh.
You all make us so proud.
Our singer songwriters and
musicians are jewels in our crown.
Through their music they carry us through tough times, through celebrations.
They are there when we marry, they help us bury our dead.
They make music for our films and music we can tap our feet to or even
dance. Sometimes we even sing along.
They soothe our souls and help our hearts and minds soar.
Thank you to all those brave and determined enough to make music.
It is crucial that we ensure
our musicians have the support they need in order to be able to exceed because
we all benefit. It is a solid
investment. We all look forward to
East Coast Music Week on our shores next year, and bravo to all.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Oral Questions.
Oral Questions
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
MR. BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
After almost two years
without a contract, talks with government and the teachers have broken off.
We know the teachers have made a formal request for government to appoint
a conciliation officer.
I ask the Premier: When will
the conciliation process begin?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Justice.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. KING:
Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I am thumbing
through my mail because I have not received a formal request, unless it is in
this bunch. If it is in this bunch
of mail, I can tell you that it will be signed off this afternoon and it will
start immediately.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
MR. BALL:
Sometime yesterday afternoon, I think, just after
3:00 o'clock, I say to the minister.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the
Minister of Finance tried to brush off the fact that talks have broken down with
the teachers. She said it is just
the next step in the bargaining process.
I ask the Premier: Why is
your government acting like it is a normal process, it is normal for teachers to
be without a contract for almost two years?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
PREMIER MARSHALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, we have been
elected by the people of Newfoundland and Labrador to ensure that we look after
their best interests, and one of the things we do is we negotiate contracts with
our valued employees. When we do
that, we negotiate. We try to arrive
at a collective agreement that is fair and reasonable; fair and reasonable to
our public employees and fair and reasonable to the taxpayers, and we do that.
We have experienced negotiators who negotiate on our behalf and we ask
them to negotiate at the table because that is where a deal can be gotten, not
in the media.
Mr. Speaker, these
negotiators and this government have negotiated collective agreements with NAPE,
the RNC, with CUPE, with health professionals, with correction officers, with
workers, health and corporate safety, and also with the dentists, and that
process will continue.
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
One of the things that the
teachers are saying is they do not really feel that this is a fair and a
meaningful process. They have openly
said in public and stated on many occasions that they really do not feel that
government negotiators have a mandate to be at the table.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday in
the House the Premier finally admitted that patient numbers justify a radiation
unit at Western Memorial, in Western Newfoundland.
We have said as the Official Opposition that there are enough patients in
Western Newfoundland to make the radiation unit viable, but the Minister of
Health has said time and time again that the numbers do not justify a radiation
unit.
I ask the Premier: Why is
your Minister of Health ignoring the fact that the numbers justify a radiation
unit in Corner Brook, or ignoring the fact?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
PREMIER MARSHALL:
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
In 2012-2013 of the patients
who received radiation treatment in the Province I think there were 172 who came
from the West Coast of the Province.
As I think the hon. member probably knows the 20 per cent – it would be complex
and if the radiation treatment were offered in the new hospital in Corner Brook,
20 per cent would still have to go to St. John's or Halifax for complex
treatments or for brachytherapy.
We know that there are
certain professionals who indicate that the numbers are low.
We also know that there are also psychosocial benefits.
It is important that people be as close to home as possible and for
people to be able to go home at night and go home to their own beds, and we know
that is an important factor that has to be reviewed as well.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
MR. BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
We also know that there are
many people, especially in palliative situations, who do not get treatment.
As a matter of fact that number in some provinces in our country right
now is as high as 20 per cent from the numbers that we have.
Mr. Speaker, our office made
an ATIPP, or an access to information request, for all documents that were used
to justify the decision not to place a radiation unit in the new hospital.
That was received on March 7 and it was 141 pages long.
Three weeks later in Budget 2014, government announced $500,000 to review
radiation therapy for the Western Region.
I ask the Premier: What
happened in those three weeks for you to change your mind?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
PREMIER MARSHALL:
Mr. Speaker, obviously we have professionals who have indicated – and
this was in the Stantec report – that the numbers in Western Newfoundland were
very low. We have also heard the
concerns of the people of the West Coast.
We have collectively reflected and after further discussion – we also
heard from experts working in cancer care and other areas.
We see value in exploring what they are doing in other jurisdictions, in
exploring radiation therapy programs outside of the provincial care program.
As I said yesterday, we know
there are areas that have one machine.
We are looking at whether that model could work or whether there would
need to be a backup machine. We are
concerned about safety because if you do not have the right professionals, the
care may not be safe. We have to
make sure it is.
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
MR. BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Quite clearly yesterday the
Premier stated that the numbers do justify.
That is exactly what we have been seeing as we have been reviewing this
situation across the country.
The safety is not an issue,
I say to the Premier. We are seeing this
happen in Ontario, in Nova Scotia, and as a matter of fact in other places in
the world.
We have been asking for
improved health services for the Western Region of our Province for years.
We have said and now the Premier agrees, the numbers justify a radiation
unit. The Minister of Health,
however, has disagreed and now the Premier is stating the opposite yesterday,
the numbers do justify it.
I ask the Premier: When did
you determine that your government's initial analysis was wrong?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
PREMIER MARSHALL:
Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. member is trying to put words in my mouth.
I said we had numbers, we had low numbers, and we have looked at those
numbers and we are now in the process of exploring additional information.
There is nothing wrong in doing that.
You can get information from one source; you can get other information
from other sources.
The Minister of Health and
her department are going through a process now to help us get additional
information other than what was provided by Stantec, information coming out of
Cape Breton and information coming out of Prince Edward Island.
We look forward to seeing that information because what we want to do is
ensure that if radiation therapy can be offered in the new hospital in Western
Newfoundland, we are sure it has to offer the highest-quality care, it has to be
done safely, and we have to be able to get the right people.
That is what we are looking
at. When we get that information
that will inform the decision this government is going to make.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
MR. BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
This government has made a
significant decision on behalf of the people of Western Newfoundland and
Labrador. The information you relied
on prior to March 7 was clearly wrong.
I ask the Premier: Why did
you ignore the current information that is available in the country – easily
available in the country – before you made the decision on March 7?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
PREMIER MARSHALL:
Mr. Speaker, the information that was provided to me by the minister and
by the Department of Health was information provided by Stantec.
You have a copy of that. The
hon. Member for Bay of Islands ‘ATIPPed' that and got a copy.
As a matter of fact, the Minister of Health was out and readily shared
that information with the people of Western Newfoundland.
What we have done is we have
looked at those numbers and we said that is one person, that is one company, and
we are exploring others. To me, that
is a wise decision. We are looking
at other areas. We looked at
Sudbury. We looked at Peterborough.
We are now looking at Cape Breton and PEI.
We are looking at: Can we get medical physicists?
Can we get the radiation oncologists?
Can we offer one machine or do we have to have a backup machine?
We are exploring that and that information will, again, inform our
decision.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
MR. BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Information that was readily
available, one phone call and the Opposition set up a call with leaders in
Ontario who are actually delivering this service right now.
Why didn't government
actually make the simple call to Ontario to get the information that was readily
available?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
PREMIER MARSHALL:
Mr. Speaker, we obviously have to rely on experts, health professionals,
to help guide us in making our decisions.
What we have asked them to do is to provide us with the evidence, and
that is what they have been doing.
As they gather the evidence, they present it to us.
We will make the policy decision.
We will make the decision, and when we have this additional information
we will be very happy to do so.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for the District of Bay of
Islands.
MR. JOYCE:
I will just let the Premier know, if he is not
aware, that Stantec Report, I had to apply under the Freedom of Information
because your Department of Health would not release it.
Just for the record.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday I was
pleased that the Premier stood and talked about the different radiation models
that are being looked at for our Province.
What he said was very different from the Minister of Health, who has said
there would be no radiation unit in the new Corner Brook hospital.
I ask the Minister of
Health: Can you explain to the people of the Province why you think there should
not be a radiation unit in the new hospital?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
PREMIER MARSHALL:
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member just indicated he had to ATIPP it.
The information was given out by the minister and her officials when they
were there announcing what the plan would be and what the timelines would be for
building a new health care campus and a new hospital in Corner Brook over the
next few years. So, you did not have
to ATIPP the information. It was
released by the minister.
Mr. Speaker, a decision like
this is a serious decision, and we have to ensure that we gather all possible
information. It is very simple, the
information came from Stantec. The
number there is 172; 20 per cent will have to go somewhere else because it is
complex and because of brachytherapy.
We are now exploring other areas in Atlantic Canada, two machines.
We looked at the model across the country.
In St. John's it is –
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
The hon. the Member for the
District of Bay of Islands.
MR. JOYCE:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I say to the Premier again,
I will show you the ATIPP request that I had to put in when I received the
information sixty days later. I will
show it to you.
Also, Mr. Speaker, in the
past two months the Minister of Health has written several letters to
communities, organizations on the West Coast saying that the addition of
radiation therapy in the new hospital was not recommended.
For example, she wrote the Town of Burgeo on February 17 and the Gateway
Status of Women on February 27, just to name two.
Yesterday, the Premier said a radiation unit was justified.
I ask the minister: Will you
now admit that you did not provide the proper due diligence before you made such
a huge decision affecting so many people in the Province?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
PREMIER MARSHALL:
Mr. Speaker, once again the information was given out by the minister in
the deck that you have had for some time.
Mr. Speaker, the information
that was provided to the minister was provided by the company that is doing the
master program and the functional program for the West Coast hospital.
That particular group did not recommend radiation therapy because of the
low numbers.
So we looked at that, and we
wanted to consult with others as well.
We wanted to see what other people have to do.
The officials of the Department of Health are gathering that evidence,
because they want to make sure that they offer and provide to the people of
Newfoundland and Labrador the best health services that are possible.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for the District of Bay of
Islands.
MR. JOYCE:
Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier, will you provide
details of – if you are saying that you have the information, your department is
collecting it: Can you explain what the $500,000 will be used for?
Is there a consulting firm hired?
Because you mentioned yesterday that officials are gathering the
information. Can you explain what
the $500,000 – and are you now admitting that the Stantec report was inaccurate,
or is it just that you are not following the recommendations of the Stantec
report?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
PREMIER MARSHALL:
Mr. Speaker, the Stantec report provided information, provided facts.
It provided the number of people in Newfoundland and Labrador who were
seeing a radiation oncologist, and those from the West Coast.
It provided the number of people from Newfoundland and Labrador who were
getting radiation therapy, including those from the West Coast.
The information that Stantec
provided, 172 – they are the numbers from 2012-2013.
It was for one year. We
decided to look for more information to be thorough and to look elsewhere.
The information provided by the minister, provided by the Department of
Health is accurate. They are
providing evidence, and from the evidence we will make the decision.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St. John's South.
MR. OSBORNE:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, on Monday it
was Bay d'Espoir, today it is Baie Verte.
The original tender for roadwork in Baie Verte called for 12.5 kilometres
of work to be completed by September 30 of this year.
Government later released an addendum
limiting the amount of roadwork to $2.2 million this year.
That is roughly four kilometres, 30 per cent of the original tender.
I ask the minister: Will you
tell the people of Baie Verte why you reduced the amount of roadwork that was
supposed to be completed this year?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Transportation and
Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. MCGRATH:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, what we have
done this year, through the Heavy Civil Association and consultation with them,
they came to us and asked us could we stop ‘piecemealing', doing a kilometre
here, a kilometre there? So the
department, working with the Heavy Civil Association, decided that we would get
together and we would put large projects together.
The information that the
member across the House is giving out is misinformation.
He accused me the other day of political posturing.
If someone is politically posturing, it is him trying to give misleading
information to the people in Baie Verte and the other day in Bay d'Espoir.
What we have done is put larger projects together and we have put out
tenders for large projects. We can
guarantee to keep the work, and I will comment on this after his next question.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St. John's South.
MR. OSBORNE:
Mr. Speaker, the tender documents do not lie.
The proof is in the pavement or the lack thereof.
There was supposed to be 12.5 kilometres clearly outlined in the original
tender document, Mr. Speaker. That
was reduced to $2.2 million, which will only complete 30 per cent of the work.
I ask the minister: Why are
you continuing to play politics with provincial roadwork in this Province?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Transportation and
Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. MCGRATH:
Thank you again, Mr. Speaker.
I will pick up where I left
off on the last question. What we
have done is put these projects together.
Through the Heavy Civil Association, we are guaranteeing that work can be
done. These large tenders – and I
will use Bay d'Espoir as an example.
There is a maximum there, so in two seasons the work has to be completed,
thirty-three kilometres that have to be completed in two years – the guarantees
and commitments from this government that the work will be done.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
The hon. the Member for
Cartwright – L'Anse au Clair.
MS DEMPSTER:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday in
Estimates when I asked whether the minister responsible for violence prevention
tried to save the family violence court by offering to cost share, she simply
replied: It was a Justice initiative.
I ask the minister: Why
won't you work with the Minister of Justice to protect women and children in our
Province?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Environment and
Conservation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MS SHEA:
Mr. Speaker, it seems somewhat as if the member
does not understand the Budget process.
As the Minister Responsible for the Status of Women and the Women's
Policy Office, we just cannot take money from one budget head and assign it to a
project in another department. I
just cannot take money, say, from the Violence Prevention Initiative and not
give it to the Regional Coordinating Committees and transfer it to another
department.
Mr. Speaker, there is a
process that you follow and this government has supported the Violence
Prevention Initiative for many years.
We are about to release the second phase of that initiative.
Mr. Speaker, we are firmly committed to advancing the issues of women in
this Province and we are committed to the prevention of violence.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for Cartwright – L'Anse au
Clair.
MS DEMPSTER:
Mr. Speaker, I think we would all benefit if
departments could work together more.
Yesterday, in Estimates I
asked the minister responsible for violence prevention whether programs for
offenders were being funded by the Violence Prevention Initiative.
The minister again responded that this was a Justice issue.
I ask the minister: Can you
confirm that you are not willing to help fund violence prevention programs to
help women and children in the Province?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Environment and
Conservation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MS SHEA:
Mr. Speaker, the Violence Prevention Initiative
works with many community groups throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, and they
certainly put forward the projects or the initiatives that they feel are most
appropriate for their communities.
Historically, violence
treatment programs are typically offered in settings that would be more
appropriate to the Justice setting.
Oftentimes they are cost shared or provided by the Correctional Service of
Canada, as opposed to the provincial government, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, we will
continue to work with our community groups, our Regional Coordinating
Committees, and we will give the people who have the expertise from their local
areas to be able to determine their priorities and work within that fund to
ensure that they meet the priorities of their local communities.
We will not dictate to them what they have to do for these committees.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for Mount Pearl South.
MR. LANE:
Mr. Speaker, the number of Occupational Health
and Safety inspectors in our Province cannot keep up with the demand.
Even the minister told the media: There are just a total of twenty-two
inspectors to keep tabs on every single industry in the Province, including the
fishery.
I ask the minister: When
will you admit there is a critical shortage of Occupational Health and Safety
Officers and what are you going to do to address it?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Service NL.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. CRUMMELL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I am just going to put a few
facts out here, Mr. Speaker, to refute what the hon. member said on the opposite
side. Certainly, the Occupational
Health and Safety branch of government at Service NL has a very strong record in
safety in our workplaces, Mr. Speaker.
We are a leader in the country.
So let's look at some facts
here. We have the third highest
workplace inspection rates in Canada, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. CRUMMELL:
That includes Ontario, British Columbia, and
Alberta. We have the lowest
incidence rates in our history: 1.6 per cent for 100 employees, 50 per cent
lower than ten years ago, Mr. Speaker.
When we look at the fish harvesting sector, the incidence rates are 2.2
percent, the lowest since 2008.
We are doing good work.
The work is getting done. The
inspections are getting done, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for Mount Pearl South.
MR. LANE:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I say to the minister, he
should tell that to all the injured workers and their families trying to survive
on workers' comp.
Mr. Speaker, in the past
three years this government carried out just thirty-eight safety inspections on
commercial fishing vessels that are over forty feet long.
That works out to just over twelve a year.
Given that injury rates in
the fishery are almost double the provincial average for workers, I ask the
minister: Why have you not committed to providing dock-side safety inspections
for all fishing vessels over forty feet long?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Service NL.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. CRUMMELL:
Mr. Speaker, we do recognize that there are
significant challenges when it comes to inspecting fish harvesters, but we are
doing the good work around the prevention piece.
We have twenty-two inspectors out there who are doing their jobs day in,
day out. We have added two new
inspectors in the Budget this year.
We know that the rates are going to go up in terms of our inspections rates.
Certainly in the fishing sector, the harvesting sector, we are going to
be out there on the ground at dockside monitoring the situation as best we can.
Fundamentally, Mr. Speaker,
we will know that occupational health and safety is everybody's responsibility.
We have labour, we have industry, we have employers, we have employees,
and we have government. It is
everybody's responsibility, Mr. Speaker.
We are working together to educate, to train, to make sure our workplaces
are as safe as they possibly can be.
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for Carbonear – Harbour Grace
for a quick question.
MR. SLADE:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
This morning, Mr. Speaker, I
stood shoulder to shoulder with our fishers protesting against the shrimp quota
cuts. We have always said the
solution is for more provincial say –
MR. SPEAKER:
I ask the member to get to his question quickly,
please.
MR. SLADE:
– in the management of our fisheries.
It seems this government is finally agreeing.
I ask the minister: After
the federal Tories promised joint fisheries management in 2006, why has it taken
you eight years to finally warm up to the idea?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and
Aquaculture for a quick response.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. HUTCHINGS:
Mr. Speaker, I was down this morning to the
demonstration, too, and stood shoulder to shoulder along with the Member for
Lewisporte, the Minister of Justice, and the Members for Placentia – St. Mary's,
Bonavista South, and Bonavista North.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. HUTCHINGS:
Mr. Speaker, we have stood shoulder to shoulder
to this issue since 2004 in LIFO. We
have been quite clear that we did not think it was efficient for the industry,
it had to change. We said it needs
to change. We have supported the
industry; we certainly continue to support it.
I do not know where the hon.
member is. Last week I did a
member's statement. The Leader of
the NDP supported it. This member
stood up, he did not support what we said about LIFO.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MS MICHAEL:
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
The loss of 900 metric tons
to the inshore shrimp harvesters is going to have far-reaching and devastating
implications to our already struggling rural economy, a major concern of the
protesters I spoke to this morning at DFO.
I ask the Premier: Will he
stand up for the 2,200 plant workers and more than 250 small boat enterprises
affected and get on the phone to the Prime Minister to get this decision
reversed, Mr. Speaker?
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and
Aquaculture.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. HUTCHINGS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I will bring
the hon. member up to date in terms of our reference over the past number of
years in terms of dealing with this issue last in, first out and how devastating
it is and will be in terms of these proposed cuts.
That is why we demanded the federal government have these cuts changed.
They are devastating to rural Newfoundland and Labrador, to our coastal
communities.
Since 2010, we have lobbied.
We continuously lobby the former minister.
Certainly I, as the Minister of DFA, have been in touch with various
ministers in Ottawa and said quite clearly, this is not good for the inshore
fishery of Newfoundland and Labrador.
We met with industry.
We met with the shrimp inshore fleet.
We were down this morning, and over the past number of months.
We have lobbied to have this changed.
It must be changed. We
believe there are great opportunities in the fisheries.
That is why we believe joint management, the inventory of science, the
$400 million fund we built, and all we have built with the industry, we can move
it forward, but the federal government needs to be there to work with us.
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.
DFO's last in, first out
so-called policy does not exist on paper and it is not mentioned in any federal
legislation.
I ask the Premier: Will he
get on the phone and explain clearly to the Prime Minister the disastrous
ramifications last in, first out has to the inshore fishers and plant workers
and this Province's economy?
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and
Aquaculture.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. HUTCHINGS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the last in,
first out policy, we need to go back and look at it in 1996 when the inshore
fleet got access to this resource on a temporary basis.
Then in 2007, the federal government decided to give permanent licence to
these licence holders. At that point
in time, these individuals, these 240 harvesters and enterprises became
stakeholders in this fishery.
That is our point today in
regard to LIFO. They have invested.
We have invested through the Fisheries Loan Guarantee Program a couple of
years ago. We made tremendous
investment. We opened it up to allow them
to get access to capital to drive the industry, to rationalize.
We have done a number of
programs. There is FTNOP driving
technology in terms of the fishing industry.
Again we are investing $120 million in the fishery with CETA when that is
signed. Our contribution to the
fishery has been second to none of any government in this Province.
We are proud of it, and we believe in the fishery.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.
MS MICHAEL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Government's CETA deal with
the EU includes a $400 million fund to help protect Newfoundland and Labrador
fish plant workers affected by government's abandoning its policy of minimum
processing requirements.
I ask the Premier: Will any
of this money be available to help harvesters and plant workers who may get hurt
by this unfair federal government practice that is happening?
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and
Aquaculture.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. HUTCHINGS:
Mr. Speaker, we negotiated $400 million with the
federal government for CETA. When
they came to the table first, they were very limited in what they wanted to
spend the money on but we negotiated.
We said we want a program for technology utilization, for research and
science, which they backed out on.
We continue to build on the
$13 million and the $5 million I announced yesterday at the Marine Institute.
We can build our industry based on the opportunities we have in free
trade and other opportunities around the world, whether that is the EU, South
Korea, or trade deals that have recently been established or will be signed in
the coming years.
In regard to that fund, we
have funds now in regard to wage adjustment for workers, but we are not letting
the federal government off the hook.
If they want to come and do rationalization in regard to this, they can come and
we will sit with them, but we have decided how that $400 million will be used.
We are not letting them off the hook now
and say we are going to use that. If
they want to come with more money, bring it on.
We are willing to talk.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St. John's Centre.
MS ROGERS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Women's Policy Office is
who government turns to for direction on policy and program decisions affecting
women. Their primary focus is
violence prevention and addressing the needs of women who are victims of
violence.
Mr. Speaker, I ask the
minister: Did he consult the Women's Policy Office before closing the Family
Violence Intervention Court?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Environment and
Conservation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MS SHEA:
Mr. Speaker, the Women's Policy Office has
individuals who are able to provide a gender analysis to all the policies of the
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and they do their job very effectively.
Any time there is a decision that may or may not even affect women, we
ask for their opinion on that particular policy or policy move of government to
ensure we do not miss that piece of work, Mr. Speaker.
As has been said by my
colleague, the Minister of Justice, sometimes decisions are made for budgetary
reasons and not necessarily because we disagree with the particular policy.
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St. John's Centre.
MS ROGERS:
Mr. Speaker, I ask the minister: Why did he not
consult these experts that are part of the Executive Council?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Environment and
Conservation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MS SHEA:
Mr. Speaker, this government has said that the
Family Violence Court was an initiative that was brought in by this government
and discontinued for budgetary reasons.
At no point did this government say we disagreed with that particular
policy, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St. John's Centre for a
quick question.
MS ROGERS:
Mr. Speaker, I ask the minster: Did he consult
with the Provincial Advisory Council on the Status of Women before closing the
Family Violence Intervention Court?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Environment and
Conservation.
MS SHEA:
Again, Mr. Speaker, unless the member does not
understand what I am saying, the Family Violence Intervention Court was a
budgetary decision as opposed to a reversal of policy for this particular
government.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St. John's Centre.
MS ROGERS:
Mr. Speaker, did the minister consult with his
Justice Minister's Committee on Violence Against Women who helped plan the
Family Violence Intervention Court before closing the court?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Environment and
Conservation.
MS SHEA:
Again, Mr. Speaker, this government looked at the
Family Violence Court from a policy perspective and agreed with that policy.
The decision to eliminate it or not continue it was a budgetary decision,
Mr. Speaker, not because this government disagrees with the concept of a Family
Violence Intervention Court.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The time for Question Period has expired.
Presenting Reports by
Standing and Select Committees.
Tabling of Documents.
Notices of Motion.
Answers to Questions for
which Notice has been Given.
Petitions.
Petitions
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St. Barbe.
MR. BENNETT:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
To the hon. House of
Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled,
the petition of the undersigned humbly sheweth:
WHEREAS there is no
cellphone service in the Town of Trout River, which is an enclave community in
Gros Morne National Park; and
WHEREAS visitors to Gros
Morne National Park, more than 100,000 annually, expect to communicate by
cellphone when they visit the park; and
WHEREAS cellphone service
has become a very important aspect of everyday living for residents; and
WHEREAS cellphone service is
an essential safety tool for visitors and residents; and
WHEREAS cellphone service is
essential for business development;
WHEREUPON the undersigned,
your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge the
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to partner with the private sector to
extend cellphone coverage throughout Gros Morne National Park and the enclave
community of Trout River.
As in duty bound, your
petitioners will ever pray.
Mr. Speaker, Trout River is
a thriving community, a very traditional community; but it is a thriving
community, as has been evidenced by awards having been won by students at
Jakeman All Grade school in Trout River.
Last year they won the Indigo award.
I think it was in the order of $30,000 worth of books for the library.
Yesterday I did a member's
statement for a Grade 2 student who was a Province-wide winner.
So clearly, the townspeople and the school are doing well, but it seems
eminently unfair and short sighted that this government – not that it does not
take any money, but it refuses to partner with the private sector in order to
extend cellphone coverage to the Town of Trout River.
The Town of Trout River should be as entitled to have cellphone coverage
as any other similarly situated town.
Clearly, many visitors go there every single year through Gros Morne
National Park.
Without any doubt, the
private sector partner, if there were a partnership to go forward, would
generate significant revenue from cellphone usage with people who are travelling
in Gros Morne National Park in the area of Trout River.
So, Mr. Speaker, once again
I call upon the House of Assembly to urge the Government of Newfoundland and
Labrador to partner with the private sector and extend cellphone coverage to
Trout River.
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.
To the hon. House of
Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled,
the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland and Labrador humbly
sheweth:
WHEREAS the US Centers for
Disease Control now estimates that autism spectrum disorder affects one in
sixty-eight children, which represents a 30 per cent increase from the estimate
two years ago; and
WHEREAS early diagnosis of
ASD is essential because there is a critical developmental period when early
intervention is vital for future success of children with ASD; and
WHEREAS there are
approximately 380 children on a two-year wait-list for an ASD diagnosis, which
in this Province can only be made by a developmental pediatrician, and there is
only one available at the Janeway Children's Hospital; and
WHEREAS although Budget 2014
announced that another developmental pediatrician will be recruited, more must
be done to reduce the wait-list for a diagnosis so that children can get the
early treatment they need; and
WHEREAS in other provinces
an ASD diagnosis can be made by specialists certified and trained in ADOS;
WHEREUPON the undersigned,
your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge
government to allow other specialists trained and certified with ADOS to make
the autism spectrum disorder diagnosis.
And as in duty bound, your
petitioners will ever pray.
I am very happy once again,
Mr. Speaker, to present this petition which hundreds of people around the
Province have signed. I understand
from people concerned that more people are signing this petition.
Any time they are put in my hand, I will be very happy and honoured to
stand and present on behalf of the families, the friends, and the supporters of
children with autism spectrum disorder.
We have a pressing issue
here in the Province. One of the
concerns of the signers of the petition is that once again we have a Budget and
a year ahead of us which is not meeting the needs of the children in this
Province who have ASD. Once again
the government made a piecemeal decision instead of making a policy decision
with regard to the need for timely diagnosis of children ending the wait-list
that we have.
The government did once
again a piecemeal thing by putting in place in the Budget one more developmental
pediatrician. They did not deal with
the policy issue that needs to be dealt with, that we could have a broader group
of people who are trained in the Province and qualified to do the diagnosis.
There should not be a
wait-list, Mr. Speaker. We no longer
have a wait-list for treatment because of a Supreme Court decision that after a
diagnosis is made, treatment has to happen within thirty days.
We wish the same for a diagnosis.
Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for Burgeo – La Poile.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I have a petition to the
hon. House of Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in
Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents humbly sheweth:
WHEREAS the residents of
Burgeo, Ramea, Grey River, and François of the Province of Newfoundland and
Labrador must use Route 480 on a regular basis for work, medical, educational,
and social reasons; and
WHEREAS Route 480 is in
deplorable condition, such that the shoulders of the road continuously wash away
and there are huge potholes on the road; and
WHEREAS the condition of
Route 480 poses a safety hazard to residents and visitors to Burgeo, Ramea, Grey
River, and François; and
WHEREAS the Department of
Transportation and Works is responsible for the maintenance and repairs in the
Province; and
WHEREAS the local division
of the Department of Transportation and Works does make periodic repairs to this
route but these repairs are only temporary patchwork and this road needs to be
resurfaced;
WHEREUPON the undersigned,
your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House to urge the government to
support the users of Route 480 in their request to have Route 480 resurfaced.
As in duty bound, your
petitioners will ever pray.
Mr. Speaker, I enter this
petition again today because the Burgeo road is always in a bad state of repair.
We have seen that over the years.
It is acknowledged by employees of the Department of Transportation and
Works. There is simply not enough
done to maintain it. It is in an
especially horrible condition, given the time of year and given the winter we
had.
What I am asking here today
is that steps are going to be taken to make sure this road is put into a shape
where people can drive back and forth without constantly damaging their
vehicles. Now, it is bad enough they
cannot drive along this road; God forbid, if something happens, they will not be
able to call anyone because there is no cellphone service.
That is a different petition.
I will put that in tomorrow.
The problem is I am getting
lots of e-mails from people who are showing me pictures of their vehicles that
are damaged. Their tires are gone,
they are beating up their vehicles, they are driving over a road, and they are
wondering: Why doesn't this road get resurfaced and get treated when it should?
I will give the minister
credit. I brought to his attention
last year, after he took the department over, a piece of the road that had
washed away and was just left there.
Nothing was done for months and months.
It was not in the right place, we will say.
The minister, I will give him credit, when I brought it to his attention,
made sure it was done.
That is why I am entering
this petition on behalf of my constituents.
I am putting it to the government's attention.
Hopefully they will get the right thing done again.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER:
I remind the Member for St. John's North he only
has about half a minute to do this.
This is Private Members' Day.
Go ahead and proceed.
MR. KIRBY:
I will stand another time, Mr. Speaker.
Thanks for the warning.
Orders of the Day
Private Members' Day
MR. SPEAKER:
This being Wednesday, Private Members' Day, and
we are close to 3:00 o'clock, I will call upon the Member for Terra Nova to
introduce the motion that is on the Order Paper in his name.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. S. COLLINS:
I move, seconded by the Member for Port de Grave:
BE IT RESOLVED that this
hon. House supports the government's decision to introduce full-day
Kindergarten.
I will continue.
Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to stand today and speak on something I
know is very important and worthwhile to me personally and to a number of folks
in this House. I will start off by
talking about the Budget in general.
Of course, this has been a Budget that has been touted by a number of groups and
individuals throughout the Province.
It is a Budget that has been coined an education Budget.
I think that is so very true, if you look at the investments that were
made in this past Budget. It would
be hard to disagree with that statement.
This Budget has seen a huge
investment, if I may start with post-secondary education.
You only have to look to a couple of initiatives, whether it is the
continued tuition freeze which has been on the go now for a number of years.
A commitment that our government stands strong on, saving huge amounts of
money for students and for parents and whatnot.
It is wonderful.
The other part, of course,
is something new we have begun to implement, and we will be implementing.
It is from loans to grants.
We had a launch actually at a number of post-secondary institutions last week I
believe. The reaction was
overwhelming. I did not have the
opportunity to attend one of the functions myself but I was following along on
social media.
I know my colleague here
from Corner Brook was there, as well as the Minister of Natural Resources, and
others. The reaction was
overwhelming. It is not often a
government announces something that totally crosses over party lines.
You park politics because it is good for everyone.
It is good for society.
That was one of these
decisions, because I noted a number of individuals who were tied to other
parties that were big advocates as well of this.
They said it is time for this, it is great.
We are so happy the government is taking the initiative to introduce it.
Mr. Speaker, there is no
doubt that this is an education Budget for sure.
Like I said, those two pieces alone speak to the type of focus we put on
post-secondary education, and that is very well needed.
Now, obviously just as
important as post-secondary, Mr. Speaker, is the beginning years, the early
years. Of course, that sets the foundation and after that the rest is history.
We invested large and we invested big time in that.
The true side of any Budget
is when you see the Opposition parties, Mr. Speaker, falling over one another to
take credit for the Budget that we presented.
It was an amazing sight to see.
I equate it to almost – I do not know if you have ever been sitting in
the parking lot of a McDonald's and you threw a French fry outside the window.
The gulls would just come, they would be fighting over that French fry.
That is what it was like, Mr. Speaker.
The day of the Budget, the
Opposition parties were falling over themselves to take credit.
That, Mr. Speaker, speaks volumes.
I think it is something we are all very proud of.
I am so glad that everybody in this House was so appreciative of the
great Budget that our Finance Minister tabled.
Early childhood education
and full-day Kindergarten, as I had said, Mr. Speaker, is something that is very
close to my heart. Not only as
someone who is a trained educator, but someone who is – and probably more
importantly, obviously, as a parent of young children.
I have two young children myself.
One being three years old and the other about four months old.
So both of my children will avail of full-day Kindergarten.
I have not let my wife know, but I am going to try for some more kids as
well. I am hoping that there is
going to be quite a few kids going through.
You look around this House,
and I am not the only one. I am one
of the younger members of the House of Assembly, but I look across the way and I
see the Member for St. John's North has a young son.
The Member for Burgeo – La Poile has a young son as well.
The Member for Mount Pearl North who has a farm load of kids.
Actually, his wife I believe is pregnant with their third one now, and
you are just getting started. It is
great to see that growth in the House of Assembly.
So not only are we talking
about our constituents, Mr. Speaker, we are talking about members who sit here
in the House of Assembly. There are
a number of others. The Minister of
Finance herself has young children, and many people continue to have more
children. This is something that
affects all of us, not only me personally, but many of the folks who sit around
the House of Assembly.
Like I said, my oldest child
which is now three will be, I guess, in the first class, if this is going to be
implemented in a couple of year. She
will be in the first class of full-day Kindergarten.
That is something that is so important, both on an educational level and
academically speaking, which, of course, we have to keep first and foremost at
the forefront. That is the most
important part, but also there is a socio-economic fact to it as well.
That is something I want to touch on in a little bit.
I would like to discuss
first, I guess, our first phase; the early childhood learning and how that has
paved the way to where we are today, where we are looking at implementing
full-day Kindergarten. Because you
cannot take one in isolation, they are very much connected.
That is something our Minister of Education has been talking about for
quite some time. It is something we
started a while back and it has been hugely successful.
Again, as a young parent, I have seen these things first-hand.
I will talk about that in a moment.
Early childhood learning
invests in the long-term Early Childhood Learning Strategy.
Learning from the Start it was entitled.
It began in 2011, with a primary focus on zero to three initiatives.
Budget 2014 provided $4.8
million over three years to continue and to enhance the commitment of zero to
three initiatives; while initiatives for children aged four and six are under
development right now. Of course,
the full-day Kindergarten is part of that.
The first three years of
Learning from the Start has been a tremendous success.
For example, parent resource kits for children aged two, four, six,
twelve and eighteen months are now being distributed Province-wide, and kits for
children aged twenty-four and thirty-six months are being developed.
I want to refer to these
parent resource kits because, again, Mr. Speaker, it is fun to stand in the
House and talk about things we are not overly familiar with, but this is
something I have seen first-hand. I
remember when my wife came home from getting – I was not there at the time, but
when my wife came home from getting –
AN HON. MEMBER:
(Inaudible).
MR. S. COLLINS:
Well, I will tell you the reason why.
I do not like going to the doctor when my children have to get needles
because I hate needles myself. So I
stayed home and my wife went to the clinic.
AN HON. MEMBER:
Wimp.
MR. S. COLLINS:
I am a wimp when it comes to that, definitely.
She came home and she had
this kit with her, and it came in a nice bag.
It was a parent resource kit.
It had a bunch of different materials.
It had books. It had
instructional type things with regard to activities that would be very
beneficial to children that age. It
came with some sort of – I will say a blanket/toy – a sensory item in there as
well. I was thinking this is
fantastic. This is something that
she is going to get again when she goes in for her other checks.
Obviously, the parent resource kits develop as your child develops, and
the material that is in there is focused to that particular age group.
If I can talk about these
parent resource kits for just one moment.
I would like to remember back, the former Opposition critic for Education
mocked these kits, I believe. He was
talking about how foolish it is to provide toys and these types of things for
kids. I cannot speak to that
member's childhood but it must have been deprived.
That is all I can attribute it to.
I want to be part of a
government that looks – again, we just do not put these items in the parent
resource kits haphazardly. These
have been developed. I want to talk
about that for a short time because it has been a great success.
I and my wife have greatly appreciated it, as others in this House as
well.
This partnership, as I said,
has been developed between the division of Early Childhood Learning, the
Department of Education, and child health clinics offered through the RHAs.
Parent resource kits have been developed and include a variety of
learning materials, Mr. Speaker, materials that have been selected or developed
through an interdepartmental committee.
Again, these are not put in there haphazardly.
These are all being developed by people who know; people obviously who
have quite a bit of experience in the field.
There is representation from
departments on the ministerial council, as well as the regional health
authorities. Again, all
professionals. Resources provided in
these kits are complimentary to those already provided by public health nurses
and will support the existing work of public health nurses through the provision
of take home resources, key messaging on child development topics, and early
learning materials that will help extend learning at home.
By the time children reach
Kindergarten age, Mr. Speaker, parents and caregivers will have been provided
with a range of early learning resources and developmentally appropriate
materials to extend their children's learning and development through everyday
activities that they do with their children at key intervals during the early
years. As I said, they focus on
different intervals, whether it is two months, four or six.
Language and literacy
development through play base learning is a priority focus in all parent
resource kits – again, play base learning.
We are not talking about teaching adults.
We are talking about teaching very young infants.
So obviously it has to be tailored towards them.
These are very tailored, very specific, and developed by professionals.
For example, eighteen to
twenty items, including children's books, play items, CDs with music – which I
might add, actually a number of local artists are included on those CDs as well
–and nursery rhymes along with age developmentally appropriate information,
resources, tip sheets and activity guides will be provided focusing on all areas
of the child's development.
I speak for myself, and I am
sure others as well, when you become a parent for the first time everyone does
not know how to be a parent the first day, as soon as you have that child home.
So it is great to be able to have these resources that have been provided
by people who know. It is able to
give you some kind of an instructional, so you can help your child's
development. I think as parents we
are all very hopeful that we can play a part in our child's development.
Distribution of resource
kits began March, 2012, in twenty pilot sites throughout the Province.
Resource kits are now available in all child health clinics located
throughout the Province.
Mr. Speaker, if I can talk
with regard to the time of implementation because that is something else we have
heard: Why can we not do it tomorrow?
I have researched quite a bit on this; I have looked at different
jurisdictions in Canada. I know in
Ontario I am pretty sure it took four years for implementation from the time
they announced it to the time they implemented it.
It is a huge piece of work
and obviously any time that you are dealing with a child's education, you want
to make sure it is done right. You
do not want to just throw something out and then try to fix the bugs after the
fact. When this full-day
Kindergarten is implemented, it is going to be implemented right and we are
going to do exactly what needs to be done.
It is going to be through hard work and it is going to be done through
consultation.
Why 2016 and why not this
coming September? First, as I have
stated, we wanted phase one of our Early Childhood Learning Strategy, Learning
from the Start, to begin at the beginning with a primary focus on birth to age
three – the critical years of brain development.
I have heard the minister himself, who is a former educator, speak to the
importance of zero to three. We
needed to have that in place. We
need to have that program implemented and working, which it is with great
success. We need to do that before
we could move on to begin to implement full-day Kindergarten.
Secondly, of course, Mr.
Speaker, it is no secret that we have been challenged with a major population
shift in recent years. In some areas
of the Province, particularly just outside St. John's, it has been a challenge
for government and the construction industry to build the new schools and
extensions fast enough to accommodate current enrolments, let alone full-day
Kindergarten programming.
We are all very familiar – I
know the Member for Cartwright – L'Anse au Clair is very familiar with the
investment we have made in education with schools going up everywhere it seems.
Not only are we building new schools, we are renovating existing ones – a
huge amount of money. It is
important we recognize that there are limitations, and there are challenges with
regard to construction.
With the first three-year
phase of Learning from the Start up and running, we knew we wanted to make a
universal full-day Kindergarten program part of the second three-year phase.
There is a lot of work to do to determine a school by school plan, work
that requires significant investments in many areas.
It is something that we cannot just do overnight.
It is a big piece of work, but it is something that we are going to move
towards and with implementation in 2016.
That begins with
infrastructure as I had said. We are
already in the process of building new schools and/or extensions in St. John's,
Paradise, CBS, Portugal Cove-St. Phillips, Torbay, and Gander, which will help
alleviate enrolment pressures in these communities.
It is an unprecedented investment in schools and infrastructure, and
something so very important. We will
now embark on an intensive process to build, extend, redevelop, and renovate
existing school infrastructure, where necessary, to accommodate full-day
Kindergarten programming in schools which do not currently have the appropriate
space.
Let us talk about costs in
my last couple of moments of my first – I will get another opportunity, but let
us talk about costs. At a cost of
$30.6 million – almost $31 million, funding is allocated for infrastructure
which are extensions, redevelopments, renovations, modular classrooms, where
necessary, as well as furnishing and other required teaching and learning
resources. Those resources include
books, CDs, and all those types of things.
This is how it breaks
down:$1.5 million in 2014-2015 for primary instruction planning, the very early
stages; next we have $12.6 million in 2015-2016 for modulars and infrastructure
upgrades; then $16.5 million in 2016-2017 – which is the first year of
implementation – and that is for modulars, infrastructure upgrades, furniture
and equipment, and something else that is very important, teacher allocations –
about 140 units. With those teacher
allocations, of course, comes student assistant support – that is all included
in that as well. So that is a huge
piece as well.
The cost after is going to
be expected to be about $13 million annually.
So there is a huge cost on it, but actually I do have in my notes with
regard to return on investment, and it is something I think we can point to.
We are spending a lot of money, it is very important, it is very
necessary money to be spent, but on the back end we have a return on investment,
which is oh so crucial as well.
Mr. Speaker, we know we have
about seventy to seventy-five public schools which offer Kindergarten in the
Province that will require some minor renovations or significant infrastructure
improvements or additions. This
first year will be about firming up plans for individual schools, especially
those in areas where student enrolment has been unpredictable.
As we have learned, Kindergarten enrolment can be a moving target.
Sometimes over a summer holiday you can have ten kids enrolled; other
places, you can have fifteen come out of the system that you expected would be
there. So it is a moving target all
the time. It is not as easy as we
would hope it would be.
Something I want to touch on
in the last moments of my first time speaking here, something that was raised by
the critic as well, is with regard to cap spaces.
Something that we are all very proud of in this House is the caps, the
ratios, that we have in this Province, which are the best in the country.
The best in the entire country, which is something we should be very
proud of. Those same caps of twenty
students-one teacher are going to be extended to the full-day Kindergarten
program. So that is very important,
very important.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. S. COLLINS:
Again, if we are going to do a program we have to do it right.
We are not doing this just overnight.
We are not going to put something in that we have to fix the bugs then
after. The same process that we use
from Grade 1 to Grade 9, the cap, that is the same thing that is going to be
used for the Kindergarten students as well.
So that is something very important.
It is nothing that we have to worry about at this point.
It is something that will be done, and we have had the minister speak to
that.
With that, Mr. Speaker, I
only have a couple of moments left; I will take my seat.
I do look forward to having another opportunity to get up and talking
about not only my own personal experience with this and my hopes and whatnot,
but also to hear what the Opposition has to say as well.
Thank you so much.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for Cartwright – L'Anse au
Clair.
MS DEMPSTER:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I am pleased this afternoon
to be able to stand and speak to the full-day Kindergarten.
I had to smile at the resolution, Mr. Speaker, I could not help it: “BE
IT RESOLVED that this Honourable House supports the Government's decision to
introduce full day Kindergarten.”
Mr. Speaker, who in this
House is not going to support the full-day Kindergarten, when the Opposition
members on this side have been lobbying and advocating for full-day Kindergarten
for some time? I find the timing of
it has lined up really, really nicely.
It was back on February 13 that our Liberal candidate, who is running
today in Virginia Waters, first raised full-day Kindergarten at a board of trade
luncheon. In that luncheon, Cathy
Bennett encouraged all parents everywhere to advocate for full-day Kindergarten.
I look forward to what that individual can do once she is here in the
House of Assembly, given what she is already doing right now and she is not even
here yet.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MS DEMPSTER:
Mr. Speaker, Nelson Mandela once said – and we
all know Nelson Mandela, that famous South African revolutionary.
He taught us much. There are
many, many quotes and things we can say about Nelson Mandela, but one of my
favourite quotes by Nelson Mandela is, “Education is the most powerful weapon
which you can use to change the world.”
Mr. Speaker, as a career and
employment counsellor for two-and-a-half decades, I have spent most of my adult
life working in an area helping unemployed people become employed, channeling
many through the channels and helping guide them to get a better education.
In my community, for fourteen years I served as a community
representative on our school council.
Now, as a mom who has a daughter enrolling in university, education is
very important to me on a personal level.
The current minister will
know that I, along with my community and everybody in that community, lobbied
very, very hard for a new school in our community.
The school the children were learning in, in that coastal community, Mr.
Speaker, was full of mould. It was
not an environment that was conducive to learning.
We were writing letters for fourteen years.
The previous minister did not even answer the letter.
We got real serious about it.
No, we are not getting a new school, but we are getting new classrooms.
I look forward to the day, and I hope they are going to be able to
accommodate the full-day Kindergarten.
It was April 26, 2013 when I
met with the Minister of Education face to face and I said to him at that time,
I believe the Minister of Education has the most important job in the Province
of Newfoundland and Labrador, no matter who sits in that seat.
Mr. Speaker, where would we be in oil and gas?
Where would we be in health care, when you look at the Health Sciences,
without education? It is extremely
important that we give our children that important first start.
Right now, Mr. Speaker, we
are just catching up with the rest of Canada.
I believe it is estimated that about 80 per cent of Kindergartens in our
country are already into full-day Kindergarten – about 80 per cent – so these
people are seeing the benefits they have experienced from full-day Kindergarten.
Mr. Speaker, everybody was
pleased when government announced in Budget 2014 that they intend to introduce
full-day Kindergarten because it is something that many of us have been after
them to implement for quite some time.
On a little look in Hansard,
Mr. Speaker, I saw that our Leader, Mr. Ball, on March 13 he was asking the
minister: When are you going to implement full-day Kindergarten?
That is just one year ago, and the minister said: I am not going to
commit today. I am really happy that
he has had a change of heart because a lot of things have been changing on the
other side really fast with the beep, beep, beep, the backup and the flip-flop –
AN HON. MEMBER:
(Inaudible).
MS DEMPSTER:
No, you did not change my school; that is good,
because you clearly understood that more than half of the kids in the school
were sick from sitting and learning in a mouldy environment.
You give credit where credit is due.
I was very pleased that Charlottetown got the outcome that they had
hoped, and I hope that the minister will sit with the Member for Mount Pearl and
come to some resolution because I know they have a lot of issues certainly right
now that is concerning in their school.
Mr. Speaker, when we look at
a background into early childhood education we see that universal early learning
proponents say that the early learning can close the achievement gap between
children from immigrant and low-income families and their more advantaged peers,
providing payoffs to society many years down the road.
Just imagine, it is a
win-win; low-income families, immigrants – it is not just those sometimes we
refer to as born with a silver spoon in their mouth and they get the best of
everything and they get the private schools.
We see that universal early learning can close that achievement gap
between the low incomes, between the immigrants.
Sometimes, Mr. Speaker, we
look at something and we might think that we cannot afford to implement but when
you see the payoffs, the research, the work that have already been done showing
the benefits of full-day Kindergarten, I say, Mr. Speaker, that we cannot not
afford to implement.
Mr. Speaker, I looked into
some work that Dr. David Philpott, a well-known professor at MUN, did.
He talked about Newfoundland and Labrador's model of early childhood
education being consistently rated as the poorest in the country, and that it
had ranked last among the ten provinces in early childhood education.
That, Mr. Speaker, is just a snapshot of provincial early learning
services here in our Province. I am
personally really delighted to see that we are now going to invest in full-day
Kindergarten.
We know that some places
around the Province already are into full-day Kindergarten.
My colleague here for Torngat, I know there are a number of communities
on the North Coast that they are into their second year at least, and it is
getting rave reviews, the full-day Kindergarten, from what I understand.
So I think it is wonderful,
Mr. Speaker, that after being pressured for years – pressured for years – that
government came forth with a 2016 initiative in their election promises Budget.
So right now, Mr. Speaker, I guess it is recommendation by them because
the electorate of Newfoundland and Labrador is going to decide before 2015 who
the government of the day is. So
while we see that this is a $30.6 million initiative over three years, we know
that only $1.5 million of this Budget have been allocated toward the planning of
full-day Kindergarten. We are happy
with the recommendation and who knows, maybe we will be sitting on that side and
we will be the people who will get to carry out this full-day Kindergarten.
Mr. Speaker, a couple of
things; the cap size of twenty is very, very important.
I sat in Estimates with my colleague the other day and he raised this
issue. It is very important that the
cap size of twenty remain in place.
We hope that does not mean twenty students to a teacher.
We hope it does not mean forty little Kindergartens in a class and two
teachers and just a divider between.
Mr. Speaker, anybody with
children under four years old will benefit from this.
There are many gone before who did not have the educational enhancement,
but we are very pleased to see it now coming on stream.
When we look at the 140
teachers that will be needed, Mr. Speaker, that speaks volumes to enhancing the
economy. We have been struggling.
I have been doing some research on the Population Growth Strategy and the
Board of Trade has been speaking out; I read about it a number of times in the
paper. If we want to grow our
economy and we want to help pay down the debt, we need more people working in
our Province. We need more people
paying taxes. When we see that 140
teachers will be needed, this is another positive thing with the implementation
of full-day Kindergarten.
We do see that government
says they will need to renovate seventy-five schools.
Mr. Speaker, I am hoping that in the spirit of openness and transparency,
government will share with us the list of the schools that need to be renovated
and the extent of the work that needs to be done.
Mr. Speaker, I want to
digress for a moment and say on a side note, that it is really concerning that
new schools are going up and classroom size is not big enough.
If we are talking about money and what we can afford and about spending
wisely, we have to try to nip this problem.
I know in Port Hope Simpson, a beautiful school, but every time I go into
the school they say the classrooms are not big enough.
Clearly there is a problem here.
Full-day Kindergarten
research: From the research I have done, it shows that it is a game changer for
children. We were talking about
yesterday how bright our children are and talking about youth sitting on
municipal councils now. Just imagine
where we are going to be. It is
really an exciting time, I think. I
just wonder why we waited so long before the announcement and why it is still a
couple of years off. As I said
earlier sometimes it is not about can you afford; it is about can you afford not
to wait.
I want to quote an economist
James Heckman who suggested that early intervention can improve school readiness
for disadvantaged children – early intervention school readiness for
disadvantaged, so we have the immigrant, the low income, we have the
disadvantaged; we have many from all walks of life.
Why would anyone disagree?
Yet, the Member for Terra
Nova – I saw a tweet that he sent out last night saying he was getting ready for
the PMR today and he hoped that he would have the support of the House.
That is just foolishness, Mr. Speaker, for someone to get on like that.
Why would we not support this wonderful initiative that we have been
lobbying for? We are actually
applauding this full-day Kindergarten.
We are pleased that the government has finally acted on this important
initiative.
I looked into some of the
reaction from some of the prominent groups, Mr. Speaker, and their reaction has
been very, very strong. I already
quoted the MUN professor connected with the Jimmy Pratt Foundation who said it
is a huge sigh of relief; John Dinn who said that has been our message since I
have taken office. Everything I have
looked at has supported the full-day Kindergarten initiative.
Mr. Speaker, I want to
mention back in 2012 the Liberals passed a resolution at its 2012 AGM on
full-day Kindergarten. It is
certainly something that has been on our radar for some time.
Numerous times members on this side and my colleague who will be speaking
shortly to the motion have been lobbying for full-day Kindergarten, have done
the research, and have seen the benefits.
Mr. Speaker, we know the
cost. We have 50,000 children in the
Province under the age of ten and only 8,000 regulated child care spaces.
Then we wonder why all our young people are choosing to go west and have
their families, Mr. Speaker. Now
with full-day Kindergarten, that is another plus that is going to help with that
situation. The burden will be less.
Many times when you have had one of the parents who are very skilled and
knowledgeable staying home to care for the child, now the child will be in
full-day Kindergarten and you will have a second person in that home who will be
able to go out and work and pay taxes and contribute and help to continue to
grow the economy.
Mr. Speaker, before I sit
down, I want to mention again the candidate in Virginia Waters.
It was the minister who said he was not persuaded by her arguments when
she talked about the economic benefits, but I am really happy that there has
been a change of heart in the Budget with the big heart – I am glad there has
been a change of heart. I really
look forward and I think it is an exciting time for full-day Kindergarten to be
implemented.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER (Verge):
Order, please!
The hon. the Minister of
Justice.
MR. KING:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I am indeed very pleased and
honoured to have a chance to speak to this motion here in the House of Assembly
today as well. As many of our
colleagues have said already, it is a very important motion, and one that
deserves an opportunity to be debated here and deserves an opportunity for
people to share their views on how they feel about full-day Kindergarten.
As a small bit of history, I
have always been an advocate for extending learning experiences for all of us,
whether it is extending from Grade 1 back to birth, between birth and the age of
five, or whether it is to extend lifelong learning opportunities, as I have had
an opportunity to be a part of both in my previous life and in my political
life.
As a number of members have
referenced, pulling in their past experience, I have had more than two decades
as well connected with education in this Province.
My very first job was teaching Kindergarten, so I understand exactly what
we are talking about when we talk about children in Kindergarten.
I held a variety of jobs in the education system, Mr. Speaker, starting
out, as I said, on the South Coast of Newfoundland where teaching Kindergarten
was part of my responsibility. I
worked through a number of positions, including school administrative positions
up to my last job, before getting elected in politics, which was the Chief
Executive Officer of Eastern School District.
I am very proud of a number
of things that we did during my tenure in the public system, including making
attempts wherever we could to open up schools, particularly in communities where
the schools were considered to be community schools, where they were the heart
of the community. Where they often
served not only as educational institutions, but they served as community
centres, community rec centres and local hockey leagues, and darts, and all
kinds of activities occurred.
One of the things that I
pushed hard for in my career while I was in education – when I was in, I should
say, in a position to influence some of these decisions – was to open up schools
to provide earlier learning opportunities before students entered school.
I remember fondly over the
years having to deal with Family Resource Centres and Brighter Futures, in
particular. These were organizations
that worked with families and worked with children prior to them becoming
full-time attendance at school. I
worked with them to bring them into a learning environment, and provide
opportunities for them to gain further development and further exposure, in
particular, to the formalized school setting, to the classroom setting,
formalized exposure to the rules and regulations and the structures of a
learning environment, and to help further assist in the adjustment from simply
being a little toddler and a two or a three year old at home, with all the
freedoms and flexibilities that go with that – and as we recognize, there is
tremendous learning that goes with that.
There is an adjustment period, Mr. Speaker, that goes with moving
students from that kind of an environment into a school environment where it is
far more structured and far more detailed.
I had an opportunity during
my career to play a role in opening up the schools, particularly with the
Eastern School District. I started
on the Burin Peninsula with the Burin Peninsula School Board.
When I finished my teaching career with the Eastern District, we would
have pretty much taken all schools east of Port Blandford, I think was the
actual artificial cut-off at that point in time – so all schools east of that.
We experienced, in my opinion, some great successes there, and we really
opened the doors to provide opportunities in communities that really had not
existed before.
Since my time in political
life, I have had, of course, like many members in this House, an opportunity to
try and influence policy and to advocate for policy and advocate for change.
I was very lucky in some respects – some would say, perhaps unlucky, but
I consider it very lucky that the first Cabinet position I ever held was the
Minister of Education. As I said, it
was a great opportunity because it put me in a field that I had spent my entire
professional career being associated with and being exposed to.
I have to say that I have
smiled lots over the last year, in particular, but since the Budget in
particular I have smiled lots as I listened to some of the commentary,
particularly on Twitter while we were sitting here doing the Budget, some of the
commentary that was happening just outside this door here in the foyer of
Confederation Building; and I smiled as I listened to my colleague a few moments
who, like a lot of people would, I am sure, was offering up some credit because
the Virginia Waters Liberal candidate first started talking about this way back
in February 2013. I understand that.
AN HON. MEMBER:
(Inaudible).
MR. KING:
I am sorry.
You asked what the name was.
It is the person Danny Breen is going to beat tonight.
Sorry, I forgot to mention that.
She also mentioned that even
the Leader of the Opposition – and I have heard the Leader of the Opposition
talk about this on many occasions. I
have, indeed, and I have heard the member who I think is going to follow me talk
about it lots. The Leader of the
Opposition actually started talking about this way back in March 2013.
We have had a lot of advocates.
I listened to the Leader of
the NDP, who has referenced on any number of occasions that it has been part of
their policy platform for quite some time.
I am not sure how far back, but perhaps the Member for St. John's North
might enlighten us a little bit on that.
I smile, Mr. Speaker.
The reason I smile is because I was the Minister of Education who had the
good pleasure to announce on March 29 – and I am even prepared to table this if
they would like. On March 29, 2010,
I was the Minister of Education who announced that this government is moving
forward with full-day Kindergarten.
That is 2010.
For those who are listening
at home and want to do the math, that would be four years ago that this
government went on record, and I can speak to it because I was the minister.
I will give you a timeline, Mr. Speaker, to help people understand I am
not just giving rhetoric that cannot be substantiated with any particular dates
or any particular information. I can
give you some dates.
On March 29, I, as the
Minister of Education, announced that this government was adopting a policy, and
the policy was called Learning from the Start.
I have it here for viewers at home.
Here it is. The policy had
three phases to it: there was birth to three years of age; there was a program
for four year olds; and then there was full-day Kindergarten.
That was on March 29, 2010.
When I introduced that on
behalf of my colleagues on this side of this on March 29, 2010, we also said to
the public, though, that we want to hear what you have to say.
Then we set out on consultations, and there are a whole pile of press
releases. I will table these as well
if people are very eager to see them, but there are a whole pile of them here.
We went across Newfoundland
and Labrador. We went into Grand
Falls-Windsor, Gander, Stephenville, Port aux Basques, Clarenville, St.
Lawrence, Corner Brook - and Stephenville was very interesting.
It was in Stephenville that a person by the name of Bernice Hackett, who
was an NDP candidate, stood up in one consultation and strongly opposed any move
toward full-day Kindergarten in this Province.
AN HON. MEMBER:
What?
MR. KING:
An NDP candidate, yes.
I just thought I would add that in there, Mr. Speaker, but I do not want
to get sidetracked. Members opposite
tend to want to sidetrack us when we are laying out facts that tend to refute
and tend to take away from any credit that they are all trying to claim.
By the way, I do acknowledge
and thank them for saluting us, because the Budget contains many good things,
Kindergarten is one of them. As the
Member for Cartwright – L'Anse au Clair said, who would not support this?
I look forward to the day that we vote on the Budget which would
demonstrate whether you support full-day Kindergarten or not, I say to the
member.
We moved on with
consultations. We went all across
Newfoundland and Labrador, Mr. Speaker.
St. Anthony, Port Hope Simpson, Labrador City, Old Perlican, Happy
Valley-Goose Bay, Hopedale, Carbonear, even Mount Pearl, Mr. Speaker.
We went all over Newfoundland and Labrador and we did consultations.
We concluded those on October 12, 2010.
Subsequence to that, on
April 19, during the Budget process, Mr. Speaker, I was still the Minister of
Education, and I had the opportunity again to announce formally that we were
adopting full-day Kindergarten as a policy statement for this government.
I also announced in that Budget an amount of money to move that
initiative forward. That document
was firmed up, with the support of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, as I
said a few moments ago for those at home, was called Learning from the Start.
Here it is, if anybody wants to see it.
It outlines three components.
The first component was
focused on children from birth to three.
The focus was to provide parental support.
It was recognized very clearly in the consultations, in what we heard
from parents and members of the public, that there were a lot of parents
struggling out there in trying to understand what they could do with their
children from the time they were born until they got to about three years of
age; trying to understand what they could do, what kinds of activities they
could engage in, whether they should be reading to their children, how much they
should be reading to their children, what kinds of material they should be
reading to their children, all sorts of things.
So, from birth to three we
set out as component one. We
developed resource kits, an information and awareness campaign.
We engaged the public health nurses and other health officials across the
Province to become engaged with parents and with families in Newfoundland and
Labrador.
The second component we
committed to was what we call enhanced learning opportunities for
four-year-olds. That included
changing and refining an initiative that our government also implemented several
years ago called KinderStart. I had
the pleasure of being a part of that when I was still in the K-12 system.
Under this new framework we
enhanced KinderStart and provided more opportunities for children to come into
school. For the benefit of those
paying attention through the television to this debate, KinderStart was the
first real formalized opportunity for students to come into the classroom
setting and to work with the Kindergarten teacher to give them an opportunity to
become acquainted with the school setting, to become acquainted with the rules
and the expectations.
For any of us who had
children – and perhaps most in the House, I am not sure if everyone has, but for
any of us or have been around children, we all understand that children from a
very young age as they start to grow older, it is important to help teach them
about rules and expectations.
KinderStart provided a wonderful opportunity for us to formalize it and to
provide more opportunity for students to come into the school setting and to get
experience, to get access to these kinds of experience that we believed and
members of the public believed, based on the consultation and feedback we
received, that would significantly and further enhance students opportunities to
succeed in school.
The third component, Mr.
Speaker, which I am so proud that my colleague from the Burin Peninsula, the
Member for Burin – Placentia West, has also himself been a lifelong educator, a
part of politics and also, for the record, worked with me when we were with the
old Burin Peninsula school board.
One of the focuses of his assignment at that time was around literacy and early
learning. He had tremendous
experience at that.
For me it is a real pleasure
because the minister and I worked closely together, as all of our colleagues
here know. It was a pleasure that I
had the opportunity to announce the document as the Minister of Education and to
announce our government's commitment to full-day Kindergarten back, as I said a
few moments ago – I will double check that – on March 29, 2010.
Then to see that my colleague for Burin – Placentia West had the great
opportunity in this year's Budget to announce that we have secured funding to
move forward with full implementation of that third piece or third prong of the
policy announcement that our government has been following.
It was a great day.
There is a significant
investment put on the table here for this Budget.
It is disappointing when the member opposite refers to this as some kind
of an election Budget. Other than
the fact that we have known for three-and-a-half years there is an election next
year, money that is put in the Budget is not an empty promise, it is budgeted.
Members opposite have an
opportunity to talk to us in Estimates, to talk to us in the House of Assembly
in Question Period any time they want.
The fact of the matter is once it goes into the Budget it is a commitment
to the people of the Province. We
are moving forward with that. We are
moving forward with it because we are committed to families in Newfoundland and
Labrador, we are committed to children in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Most importantly, Mr.
Speaker, as we have said on any number of occasions, that our government, from
2003, the day we got elected, we have always been focused on the realization
that the better educated a population we have in Newfoundland and Labrador, the
more successful the population will be and the greater the opportunity for
people in this Province to take advantage of all of the opportunities that exist
here. I am not going to deviate on
that or digress, because we all know the number of jobs that are coming up.
We all know the state of the
economy. We all know the
opportunities that exist for the future, but those opportunities only exist if
we ensure that we have a population who has the education, the training, and the
background necessary to help them grab a hold of those opportunities, whichever
ones they choose. We have been
saying this, as I said, since 2010.
In the document we announced as our policy, we believe that the full-day
Kindergarten is the final prong of our early learning approach to supporting
children before they become regular attendants at the regular K-12 setting.
This is a great motion.
I thank my colleague from Terra Nova for bringing this motion forward,
who also has a young family. I know
it means a lot to him personally to be able to do that, and I congratulate him
for it.
This is a great opportunity
to have the debate, and I am pleased to be a part of it.
As I said before, I just wanted to make sure we set the record straight.
I am not looking for, by the way, any kudos for me personally, but I
think it is important for people to recognize that the Government of
Newfoundland and Labrador that was elected in 2003, is the government that
introduced that policy. It was not
somebody from Virginia Waters or some other district a year ago.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St. John's North.
MR. KIRBY:
Thanks, Mr. Speaker.
I first have to say that I
am absolutely delighted, as someone who has been an advocate for public
education in this Province for over twenty years now, I am delighted to speak to
this motion and to support this initiative.
It is really interesting
that the minister talks about credit and all of that, because there is certainly
lots of that going around. There is
a saying: many hands make quick work.
I am not sure this is quick work, but there have been many hands working
at this for a long time.
We can go back as far as
1968, the Royal Commission on Education and Youth led by Dr. Phil Warren.
One of the major recommendations of the Royal Commission on Education and
Youth was the implementation of Kindergarten.
Unfortunately, it was really silent on whether it be a half or a full
day, and we ended up with a half day, but there has been debate under PC
governments and under Liberal governments, education for self-reliance.
All sorts of documents have been produced, task forces on education and
youth. All sorts of documents have
been produced talking about the state of the education system and the direction
we need to go in.
I want to put that out there
because there has been a lot of work done in this area.
Members ought not to forget, but the last time we had a Liberal
government in Newfoundland and Labrador there were a series of pilots for
full-day Kindergarten that were carried out.
I have been in touch with a number of those people and interviewed some
of the teachers who were involved in that.
Something happened in 1992
that really threw a monkey wrench into that.
Of course, anybody who is from a rural community and has been involved in
the fishery knows that the cod moratorium caused some serious problems in the
Province and threw off a lot of the planning that was going on toward full-day
Kindergarten. We have had full-day
Kindergarten in other quarters.
In Churchill Falls, there is
full-day Kindergarten program that has been run by the company there for years.
Nalcor is the operator of it now.
Ḗcole des Grands-Vents has a full-day Kindergarten here in the
Francophone school in the City of St. John's.
Whitbourne Elementary, there is a full-day Kindergarten program.
This all did not start in
2010. I am not here to claim any
credit myself. There are lots of
people – I am glad my colleague from Cartwright – L'Anse au Clair pointed out
Dr. Philpott. Before I was elected
and before I took my leave from Memorial University of Newfoundland, my office,
the wall right next to me, behind that wall was Dr. David Philpott.
We talked for years about the need for full-day Kindergarten and how that
was going to happen. He has been
involved with Kathy LeGrow, with the Jimmy Pratt Foundation.
They have been advocating this for a long time.
So there are certainly lots
of people who can claim some credit for what has gone on.
I have always said, since the Budget at least, that one of the turning
points was when Cathy Bennett, a successful businessperson – who the Member for
Grand Bank, the Minister of Justice, kindly pointed out is seeking the seat in
Virginia Waters for the Liberal Party – that the turning point was when she
rallied the St. John's business community behind the idea just about a year ago.
I want to commend the Leader
of the Official Opposition, the Member for Humber Valley, who, in addition to, I
guess, myself and the Member for St. Barbe, had been asking questions of
government since the 2011 election here in the House of Assembly.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. KIRBY:
I have been asking the Minister of Education, I
have been asking the Premier questions here in Question Period about when we are
going to have a full-day Kindergarten program.
I would like to commend the Leader of the Official Opposition for his
leadership in that area and my colleague, the Member for St. Barbe, as well, for
being Johnny-on-the-spot and asking questions about this.
Of course, this is a promise
for 2016. As somebody said, this is
just a promise. A lot has to be
done. There is only $1.5 million
that is going to be spent out of that $30 million and change figure that gets
tossed around over the next year.
There is certainly a lot that will need to be done after that.
The Member for Terra Nova is
saying he hopes people will support it. Of
course we are going to support it. A
similar question could be: Do we love our children?
Do we love our kids? Of
course we love our kids. You could
say: Do we want our children to have the best education possible?
I think it is the same thing.
Of course we do. You could say: Do
we want our students to catch up with the rest of Canada and have an education
system that is just as good as the education system they have in Ontario,
British Columbia, or other provinces in Canada?
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. KIRBY:
Of course we do, Mr. Speaker – of course we do.
There is a certain amount of
irony in this, too, here, Mr. Speaker, and I have to point this out.
I am glad I have the Minister of Justice on my side.
He is clearly on my side. I
am glad I have the Member for Terra Nova on my side.
He is clearly on my side.
Some of the other members over there, I am not so sure they support a full-day
Kindergarten program, and I will give you a couple of examples.
Back on October 6 of last
year, Mr. Speaker, not very long ago – just October of last year – the Minister
of Municipal Affairs, the Member for Mount Pearl North, tweeted through social
media and more or less gave an endorsement to a column that was written called
“Full-day Kindergarten is no magic bullet,” which was published in
The Globe and Mail last October.
This was published by a person who everybody will know because she is no
friend to Newfoundland and Labrador, one Margaret Wente.
There is no end of ink that has been written in
The Globe and Mail that has been
negative and nasty about Newfoundland and Labrador by that columnist.
In this column, which was
endorsed or at least circulated by the Minister of Municipal Affairs, she talks
about how the money could be used in a better way than wasting money on full-day
Kindergarten in the Province of Ontario.
That is what the implication is.
She questions the benefits of full-day Kindergarten.
It is interesting because
there was a letter in The Globe and Mail
in the past couple of weeks and the person said, “Cherry-picking to create a
negative impression regarding positive research results is not helpful to the
public discourse about something as important as early childhood education.”
That is what Margaret Wente does in the column that was circulated last
October by the Member for Mount Pearl North, the Minister of Municipal Affairs.
She cherry-picks research to somehow malign full-day Kindergarten as
something that is positive.
Another instance where a
member opposite was not exactly rallying around full-day Kindergarten and the
idea of implementing that –
MR. KENT:
A point of order.
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
The hon. the Minister of
Municipal and Intergovernmental Affairs on a point of order.
MR. KENT:
Quickly, Mr. Speaker, reading of an article is
not an endorsement. The member
opposite knows full well. I would
elaborate but I do not want to interrupt the member's time.
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
There is no point of order.
The hon. the Member for St.
John's North.
MR. KIRBY:
There was no retweet either, Mr. Speaker.
The person who went and got this column just tweeted it themselves.
It originated with the minister, I say, it was not retweeted, just to
correct that.
Going back to last February,
when the former President of the St. John's Board of Trade, Cathy Bennett, went
and rallied the St. John's business community behind the idea of full-day
Kindergarten, she made a number of arguments, some of them I have made before.
She focused on the economics of it and so on.
There was an article that
appeared on the CBC, it was on the news.
I have to go back to it because I thought it was interesting in light of
all of the accolades – and I know the Member for Grand Bank, the Minister of
Justice, was talking about the Minister of Education and how it is so great that
he is leading it now. I guess he is
behind it now because last February – so just over a year ago, that is not a
long time in politics – the Minister of Education was, according to the CBC,
cool to the idea.
AN HON. MEMBER:
Who?
MR. KIRBY:
The Minister of Education was cool to the idea of
full-day Kindergarten. He said he
was not persuaded by the argument made by Cathy Bennett when she rallied the St.
John's business community behind the idea of full-day Kindergarten last
February.
He was cool to the idea and
he was not persuaded by the arguments made by Ms Cathy Bennett, no, not at all.
He said that Ms Bennett's “…assertion that full-day Kindergarten can lure
young families to the Province or prevent them from moving away is flawed.”
The Minister of Education a year ago said that was flawed when Ms Bennett
made that argument.
I think I heard the Minister
of Finance say something completely contradictory to that here in the House of
Assembly since we came back. In
fact, I think the Minister of Finance said something that completely
contradicted what the minister said just over a year ago.
To continue, he said, “Nowhere along the way can I ever think that we'll
base initiatives that we're going to put on education as being economic.”
I do not really understand
what the minister is trying to say there, a rough idea.
He says, “If we're going to implement some system or programs within the
school system, it's got to be based on research.”
Of course it has to be based on research, Mr. Speaker.
One of the problems that we have in education in Newfoundland and
Labrador is that all the research on education is often rejected by this
government. It is lampooned by this
government, it is made fun of, and it is contradicted, especially if it
originates outside of here.
I wanted to point at that
because I am glad the Minister of Justice is squarely standing shoulder to
shoulder with us over here on full-day Kindergarten and we have the Member for
Terra Nova on the other shoulder.
Beyond that, I think all the other members will find out today because the
Minister of Education has been cool to the idea in the past, and the Minister of
Municipal Affairs has been circulating materials, I say, full arguments, against
full-day Kindergarten, so we will see how everybody stands at the end of the
day.
Everybody over there knows
where I stand. My constituents know
where I stand on this issue. The
people who watch the proceedings in the House of Assembly regularly, who have
been watching it since I came in here in 2011 know where I stand.
I have been very clear about where I stand on this issue.
There is no ambiguity involved at all.
I also was surprised to see
the Minister of Justice waving around his child care strategy document because
just before the last election, just conveniently before the last election in
September 2011, the government circulated this document called a Literature
Review around Developing a Provincial Early Childhood Learning Strategy.
I am really surprised that the Minister of Education could be cool to the
idea and the Minister of Municipal Affairs circulating Marg Wente's
cherry-picking column about it because there is a section starting on page 37 in
here that basically covers all of the benefits of full-day Kindergarten.
There is one sentence in here.
I do not know who wrote this document, but I have to hand it to them,
they are a very good writer and in one sentence – and you do not have to read
any fine print either – it encapsulates what it is about full-day Kindergarten
that makes it so attractive and such a great thing for our kids.
About the research on
full-day Kindergarten they say, “The overall findings have been strongly
supportive of full-day Kindergarten in particular as it benefits children with
respect to: their social-emotional development; academic development, in
particular their early language and literacy development; transition to grade 1;
narrowing the gap of achievement for children from families with lower incomes;
and better integration of Kindergarten students into the school community”.
More or less in one
sentence, the author of this document is able to sum up all of the benefits,
thereabouts, for full-day Kindergarten.
If members of the opposite side read their own document I cannot see how
they would argue against it, how they would be cool to it, and how they would be
circulating a mainland newspaper's version of an alternate universe when it
comes to full-day Kindergarten.
I also wanted to correct one
thing, because I did listen intently when the members were speaking on the other
side. I know the Member for Terra
Nova said something to the effect of, well, why have they delayed – why has this
government been in power for over a decade now and this is the first we are
hearing this election promise for 2016 around full-day Kindergarten?
He says: The reason why, is that have been working on their zero-to-three
policy. He says: Now the
zero-to-three policy is in place, and it is working.
I have to question that. I
have to question whether that is working or not.
Because we have seen one document after another that puts us, if not
last, near last in all of the indicators when it comes to early learning and
care in this country, in Canada, showing other provinces way, way, way further
ahead than us, well more advanced than us in the area of early learning and
care.
I am a bit concerned to hear
the Member for Terra Nova saying: Well, that is all done and it is working.
It is not done and it is not working.
There are significant problems that exist.
Because of the problems that we have in the system now, it is going to
make it a little more difficult even to implement this program of full-day
Kindergarten. Just one example, very
quickly, is the lack of integration between early childhood education curriculum
and what will be a full-day Kindergarten curriculum.
So, those are the types of
problems we have.
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
MR. KIRBY:
I could go on for a lot longer, but I will sit
down, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Education.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. JACKMAN:
Mr. Speaker, I have to say, and I said on several
occasions about the special moments in the House of Assembly.
I have been in this House of Assembly since 2003.
There are some special moments.
With our announcement of full-day Kindergarten, it is one of the days
that I feel there is a special moment in the House for the Province of
Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Member for St. John's
North spoke about where he stands. I
was committed that I was not going to say anything about it, but I cannot resist
this one. We are not quite sure, Mr.
Speaker, where he stands, sometimes.
He stands in a different spot now than he did a year ago, but I will leave that
where it is.
The Member for Grand Bank
mentioned my past history. For
twenty-seven years, Mr. Speaker, I was in education and my last role before I
became into government, I was a program specialist responsible for language
arts. I recognized then – the
research indicated then and the research now continues to indicate the best
place that you can invest for children is in those early years.
Mr. Speaker, I was
interested in a comment that was made in the paper recently about this year's
Budget. I think it speaks to the
Finance Minister; I think they referred to it as a maternal budget.
If I was sitting in her chair and being a young parent, I would take that
as a compliment. It is what we have
said time and time again, and my staff will recognize this when I say it is
about the children. This is all
about the children. It is about
investing in those children at the earliest of years, and we have done a
tremendous job of that. I am so, so
proud of it.
Mr. Speaker, I just want to
make a couple of comments before I get in to speak about the area of full-day
Kindergarten. I was in an area of
the Province probably about six or seven months ago and a retired teacher – I
guess the teacher had frequented the schools and her comment to me was: I cannot
believe how good it is in education now.
What she spoke about was our investments in education.
There is no way in the world
the Member for St. John's North, or any of the other Liberal caucus or any of
the NDP caucus can dampen my spirits with this announcement.
They cannot dampen my spirits with this announcement and they cannot
dampen my spirits when it comes to our investment in education from that zero on
up to six that we have developed in the framework.
Before I get into that, I
just want to take a look at this.
Look at two investments that we have made in education.
These investments came as a result of parents and school councils making
representation to us and they were specific to the elimination of school fees
and the introduction of no charge for textbooks.
I want to just highlight this.
In 2006, we announced we were no longer going to charge standard fees for
the students in our Province and we have invested $56 million in that.
Mr. Speaker, let me just reference this.
I just had it here in my hand.
Just think of it, in 2006 we announced no further fees.
In 2007, we said we were going to eliminate textbook charges and cost to
parents. So since then, since 2007,
we have invested $21 million for that.
Now, to make this point,
here is what I want. I certainly
hope the people of the Province and the people in this House of Assembly
remember the days when we charged textbook costs and we charged fees.
The impact of $21 million may not cut it, but listen to this: the Level
III math textbook now costs $75.55.
The Level I English language arts book costs $62.50.
I am assuming the Level III language arts book would cost much the same
thing.
Just think of a parent
having to prepare for September, having to purchase one of those language arts
books and one of those math resources books.
Mr. Speaker, that is $130 or $140 just for two books.
Now they have to purchase textbooks for every course.
So for one child that could be $500 or $600 for textbooks.
Put on top of the fees and we could have, getting a student ready for
school, in the area of $700 or $800.
Just imagine a parent with three children.
The $21 may not set the tone, but I can tell you when you labour that
cost onto a parent, then it certainly makes a difference.
Mr. Speaker, I have to say,
in our debates around the Cabinet table and our discussions in the caucus room,
the support we have gotten around this early initiative has been tremendous.
We can all stand up here, the politicising that we are doing and whatnot,
but I am telling you the folks on this side, and I think the folks on the other
side, wanted full-day Kindergarten, but full-day Kindergarten as a stand-alone,
I do not think, was the answer.
I will credit Minister King
who mentioned that in March 2010, the document was drawn up.
I will tell you another thing, and I know some of these folks are
watching and I want to recognize their efforts, because these people are not the
ones with the political interests.
These are the ones who work at and staff the Department of Education who have
researched and know the merits of having this early initiative.
I can remember one member
opposite one year when I did an interview about the early childhood kits.
He poked a little bit of fun at me one day.
That is part of it and I accept that as it is, but to the people who
developed these kits, they are very serious about it.
Included in those kits are activities that parents and children can do
together.
I am certain there are
people out there who would say: These advertisements you have on TV about the
power of play, do you need it? Well,
we do need it because research shows us now that we did not actually realize, I
do not think, how much was happening when the play was underway.
Now, I just want to speak to
that. The Member for Terra Nova
explained the kits for months two, four, and six are developed and out there.
The twelve and eighteen months have been piloted; they are ready to be
distributed. Now we have the months
for twenty-four and thirty-six out being piloted, and they will be developed and
put out there.
Mr. Speaker, just think of
it. With this investment this year,
that is $9.1 million and the investments into the early childhood education.
The Minister of Finance and I met probably about a year ago with the
McCain Foundation and the Pratt Foundation.
The thing they encouraged us to do was to move with this.
We spoke to them about our plan, that our plan was that zero to three and
then the next step. Well, the next
step is this Kindergarten.
I have to say the Member for
St. John's North mentioned the office next to him and Dr. Philpott.
I was very pleased to hear his comment after this announcement was that
he breathed a sigh of relief. I was
very pleased to hear that. I would
hope the McCain Foundation and the Pratt Foundation would see this is an
investment they touted and it is one we have committed to.
If we move into the full-day Kindergarten, it is $30.6 million.
The Member for St. John's
North said: Is it a promise? I think
he is questioning if we are committed to doing this.
Mr. Speaker, I tell you, I am not about to stand on my feet as minister
with my colleague the Minister of Finance to announce full-day Kindergarten and
think that we are going to withdraw on it.
That statement to me is a question of my integrity; it simply is that.
In this I can guarantee you that I and our government are continuing and
committed to it.
What we have done, Mr.
Speaker, is $1.5 million this year and that is primarily for planning of the
infrastructure. Next year, $12.6
million and that $12.6 million is specific to infrastructure.
We know there are challenges, especially in the urban areas; there is no
doubt about it. The shifting
populations within the urban areas are such that we may have to adapt and be
creative. I do not know, but one
thing about it is we know we are going to have to put something like twenty-two
or twenty-five modulars in. We know
there are some areas where there is going to have to be some minor modifications
and there will be some areas where there will have to be some more major
modifications. That is what that
$12.6 million is. In the final year,
the year of implementation, there is $16.5 million.
That will be to complete some of the infrastructure, but there is $13
million in there for the teaching units.
There are going to be about 140 teaching units.
Mr. Speaker, I have to tell
you, too, on both accounts, the zero-to-three initiative and the implementation
of full-day Kindergarten, I have gotten numerous comments.
I have gotten Facebook messages on it.
I have gotten e-mails on it.
I had an e-mail come just the other day.
I do not know if I still have it or not, but it was from a parent who had
gone to their first session and received their monthly kit.
Their comment was: I simply love it.
Those three words, I simply love it, speak volumes to me – it speaks
volumes to me.
Likewise, from full-day
Kindergarten I have had some comments.
I have to tell you, I suppose for their own reasons, I have had some
comments from some teachers and prospective teachers who look at the 140 or so
units as being very positive and their opportunity to get some work.
I have also had multiple comments from parents, young parents, such as
the Member for Terra Nova and the Minister of Finance, who recognize what this
means for their children and future children who will enter into full-day
Kindergarten.
Mr. Speaker, I would love to
have an hour to get up there; I cannot believe there are just a couple of
minutes left. I just want to speak
to what we have seen as the benefits.
Before I get there, I just have to take exception.
Sometimes I wonder if some of the members opposite think and try to
portray to the public that our system is – if you listen to some of the
comments, you would have to think that they think our education system is about
the worst in the bloody world, Mr. Speaker.
I have to say that.
The Member for St. John's
North wishing that we had an education system as good as the rest of Canada.
I would hope that the teachers that he visits, he would speak to them
about that and tell them that they, as teachers, and our system is not as good
as the rest of Canada. If there is
one thing that depresses me in this House, it is commentary like that.
I have been in the company
of our youth. I am going to tell
you, the students who graduate from our system I would put them on par with
anybody in the rest of Canada, and I would put them on par with any in the rest
of the world, Mr. Speaker. I would
put them on par with any anywhere in this world.
We can speak to some that we see in our immediate range, and I can speak
to some who I met with last night – the student councils that I have met as I
travelled across the Province, Mr. Speaker.
We now are giving our
students a greater opportunity from the start, with initiatives that we have put
in from zero to three, the Kinderstart for the four year olds, and now moving
into full-day Kindergarten, Mr. Speaker.
It is good, and we are the government that announced and implemented it.
Thank you very much.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
MR. KIRBY:
A point of order.
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
Before I recognize the
Member for St. John's North on a point of order, I wanted to remind all members
that when they are speaking in debate it is unparliamentary to refer to any
member by their name. We should
either refer to members by their district or to ministers by the portfolio that
they hold – just a reminder.
The Member for St. John's
North, on a point of order.
MR. KIRBY:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I apologize if
I offended the minister in any way with respect to his integrity.
I was not questioning his integrity or his government's integrity about
the promise (inaudible) –
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
There is no point of order.
MR. KIRBY:
This government promised whistle-blower
legislation and we have not seen that.
MR. SPEAKER:
There is no point of order.
The hon. the Leader of the
Third Party.
MS MICHAEL:
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
I am very pleased this
afternoon to stand and speak to this private member's motion.
As the government knows and I am sure they must, obviously I am going to
support this resolution. When you
consider that in 2003, the call for full-day Kindergarten and the promise of
full-day Kindergarten was in the platform of the NDP of Newfoundland and
Labrador.
The discussions in our party
went on before 2003. Obviously, I am
delighted that this government has finally caught up with something that is
almost a self-evident truth. I am
really bemused by the way in which research is being talked about and the way in
which everybody over there is trying to prove why this was so needed and so
wonderful. We all know it.
That is why back in 2003 we as a party said this should be in place.
This is not news.
The need for full-day Kindergarten is not news.
The need for an early childhood education strategy, plan, and program is
not news. The connection between
play and learning is not news.
I remembered today – it is
very interesting the memory came to me about ten minutes ago, when I was a
teacher in my twenties –and people can do the math on that one; I will leave it
to those who know when I was born.
When I was a teacher in my late twenties, I remember attending a workshop here
in St. John's. It was down at the
old Hotel Newfoundland. The resource
people came from the UK. The whole
workshop was about how we use play in the learning process.
The interesting thing about that workshop was that it just was not
talking about really young children, the workshop was based on we should use
play as a learning tool throughout the whole of the learning process, throughout
the whole of the educational system.
I can remember – I do not
know, a lot of you would not remember the old Newfoundland hotel.
It had a wonderful circular staircase going up on either side of the
foyer with a wide marble bannister all around.
I can remember they had us teachers in that workshop – it was very
experiential – using play as a learning mechanism.
I can remember us acting out being animals and crawling around the whole
balustrade of the stairs as we were doing this experiential workshop.
Now, we are not talking five
years ago or ten years, or even twenty years ago; this notion is something that
has been around for decades. This
government is finally catching up with the fact that full-day Kindergarten is
going help children learn more, learn better, and be better prepared as they go
into Grade 1. What they are missing
is that is true from the moment the child is born, and it is true for us until
we die. Therefore, they are so far
behind in what they are doing.
I am delighted that they are
finally waking up and putting the full-day Kindergarten in place.
I am not delighted with the fact that they did not see that, in actual
fact, they could have put it in place in many schools in the Province before
2016.
I totally agree with the
Minister of Education. We have
wonderful people in the Department of Education, people with knowledge, people
with experience, and people who are probably embarrassed that they know so much
and they have been waiting for a government to make a decision to do this.
We know that work has been going on in that department for years.
The work has been done on what it would mean to put an all-day
Kindergarten in place. We have some
examples already happening.
The schools that were ready
to have it put in place this September, it should have happened.
This September we could have had so many more schools with all-day
Kindergarten and think about what that would mean.
That would mean more jobs for teachers as well because with every
extension of the day, you are going to have to have more teaching positions.
So we would have more people hired in the educational system.
There are schools out there
that are ready; the minister has told us that.
The minister said that only seventy-five schools need upgrades and fifty
are minor, about 100 schools are ready.
He also said the other day in responding – I think it was to a question
from me or it may have been in Estimates actually; we had the discussion in
Estimates. He made the point that
the place where most of the work has to be done is with the schools, mainly in
the St. John's area, not only, and Mount Pearl; because, number one, the older
schools, and number two, the large numbers, et cetera, and that is quite
understandable.
Why keep the other schools
waiting? Why keep the schools that
are not in that situation waiting?
Why not make it happen? We would
have more teachers hired and more parents really happy and more children really
happy because it started a year earlier for them, when I know we have the
knowledge, when I know we could have done it, yet we did not.
I really get disturbed with
the government when it does not admit, number one, how slow they have been to
act and, number two, that they are still doing things in a piecemeal way.
Government can talk about what they are doing with regard to early
childhood learning but that, too, is piecemeal.
They are talking about a tool and talking about that as if it were a
program, and it is not a program; it is a tool that is being used.
What we need is a real plan
for early childhood education that starts from the minute a child is born and
goes right on. That would include,
which someday, maybe someday, if they ever get back in government after the next
election, they might wake up and say: Oh yes, child care, imagine, that is a
great idea!
What I am saying is, in the
places that are far ahead of us when it comes to early childhood education – and
there are statistics that prove it, not only statistics but studies that show
how far behind we are. The places
that are considered ahead of us are the places where the early childhood
education program starts when a child is six months, through a child care
program that is administered and regulated by government, a public child care
program.
That child care program
eases the children into preschool, which is something we are not talking about
at all. We have some preschool in
the Province, but not a program. It
eases them into preschool and then into your junior Kindergarten, your all-day
Kindergarten, and on.
Where they have a program
like that, children are much better prepared when they go into Kindergarten,
children are much better prepared when they go into Grade 1, and they are much
better prepared when it comes to equity because children then are on a much more
equal footing with each other. This
is what is so important. Children
are on a much more equal footing because they have had access equally because of
a public program. They have had
access at the same time to the same opportunities and to the same learning
opportunities. Play is a learning
opportunity.
All the opportunities are
there for all the kids, and so it does not matter what your economic status is
because everybody has access to an early childhood education system.
Then children are on a much more equal footing as they continue on
through the school system. You are
going to get more kids coming out and graduating at the other end.
That is why it has been said
that our system is so far down in this country when it comes to evaluation of
what we are doing here in Newfoundland and Labrador.
This government acts as if – they take one little idea, they put the
little idea in place: okay, aren't we wonderful, isn't that going to work?
I was really shocked when I
heard the Minister of Justice say that the full-day Kindergarten is the final
prong of their early childhood education plan.
Well, that really shocked me.
We have so far to go still and this is the final prong of their plan.
I would say if that is the final prong of their plan that is going to be
the thing that is going to undo their continuing as a government, because that
shows very, very narrow thinking.
The parents out there in
this Province know what is going on in other parts of the country.
They do not need this government to try to tell them what is going on,
they know. Lots of parents know
because they have been elsewhere and they have come back.
I know young couples who came back and left again because they could not
get here in their own Province the type of education that their children were
getting elsewhere. They could not
get an understanding of early childhood education, a program that happens in
other places, they could not get it here.
I know of couples who have
come back home, hoping to raise their children here, and have left again because
they could not get the quality early childhood education.
That is not making things up.
That is not being political. That is
not trying to gain political points.
That is an absolute reality. That is
a fact. When I talk about early
childhood education, I talk about it because I believe in it, because we must
have it.
It is not just a program
here and a program there. The
full-day Kindergarten, I am delighted.
I am very, very happy that we have it.
I am going to vote, of course, for the resolution – naturally.
It is motherhood. Like I
said, they are talking as if this is a brand new revelation.
This is something that has been understood about learning for decades and
decades. They are acting as if they
have invented something new.
AN HON. MEMBER:
It is about time.
MS MICHAEL:
It is about time, as my colleague behind me has
said. It is about time.
Even now, we are doing it in
a way that is sort of haphazard. We
could have started this in this September in schools that were ready.
As I have said earlier, it would have employed more people, and believe
me we need more people employed. We
still have the highest unemployment rate in Canada.
We seem to forget those kinds of things, but I suppose I am wrong too for
saying that, when we know that is a fact.
We have to make sure the
education of our children, the learning process of our children is something
that we are responsible for from the moment they are born.
That is why an early childhood education program would be something that
includes child care, would be something that is under the Department of
Education, because all of it is learning.
If we want to get into stats
and studies, et cetera, it is proven that children who have been able to get
child care prior to going into Kindergarten, whether it a half day or a full
day, are much further ahead than children who have not.
Therefore, we have a real inequality in our Province because we have so
many children who, because of economic circumstances in many cases, are not in
child care. They do not have any
structured learning going on. When
they go into Kindergarten, they are sitting in the same class, sitting in the
same room with children who have been in child care maybe for three years and
have been learning through a wonderful play process, and who are just so far
ahead of these children.
Our children are on an
unequal footing. Whereas in a
Province like Quebec, they have proven that seeing child care as part of the
early childhood education, that putting a full child care program in place that
is as important as the rest of the educational system has meant an improvement
when it comes to the retention of children in the high school years.
It has been good for the economy because more people have been employed,
and it has been good for the people who work in child care because of the fact
that it is now a public system and part of the educational system.
They are better trained and they are earning better salaries.
When we talk about the
all-day Kindergarten, we cannot talk about it in isolation.
AN HON. MEMBER:
(Inaudible).
MS MICHAEL:
You are talking about it in isolation, I say to
the other side, Mr. Speaker. They
are talking about it in isolation.
It is just tiring.
Don't they understand that people are watching them?
They do not even understand how stupid they look when they do what they
are doing. Don't they understand
that people know the difference? That
people know what happens in other parts of the country, that people know that
this is good but it is only a small piece of the pie?
They do not even look at how they look to other people.
I am glad that finally, for
the sake of the people in the Department of Education who have done so much work
over the years – I really am happy for their sake – a lot of their work is going
to start to come to fruition. I also
hope, Mr. Speaker, they can look for much more to happen than just the all-day
Kindergarten, and that they can say to the minister, no, this is not the last
prong and they will get listened to.
Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Justice on a point of
order.
MR. KING:
I would ask that the member retract her statement
where she suggested members on this side of the House are stupid.
I think that would be unparliamentary language.
MR. SPEAKER:
The Speaker will undertake to review the tapes
and see exactly what was said.
MS MICHAEL:
I revoke the statement, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the Third Party was not
recognized when she made her statement, if you would like to stand and make the
statement.
MS MICHAEL:
Yes, Mr. Speaker, I will remove the statement
that has been referred to by the Government House Leader.
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
The hon. the Minister of
Finance.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MS JOHNSON:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It is a great pleasure for
me to speak to this private member's motion today.
I think The Telegram probably
captured best how I felt about full-day Kindergarten in the picture that was in
the paper with the smile. The smile
was because we were giving a standing ovation on this side of the House for
full-day Kindergarten. We really
thought we were going to get the Member for St. John's North to get up and stand
up. I think we were really close.
That is why I had such a smile on my face.
Truthfully, there was a lot
to smile about that day in Budget 2014.
One of the things I have certainly heard most about since the Budget
coming down was full-day Kindergarten.
There are a lot of other wonderful things in the Budget.
We heard a lot about loans to grants.
One other in particular I have heard quite a lot about is MTAP, the
Medical Transportation Assistance Program.
I cannot tell you how many
times I have heard about full-day Kindergarten.
Certainly, being in Virginia Waters over the last couple of weeks and
knocking on doors there, it is a big issue in that area.
It is just unfortunate, I would say, that the Member for St. John's North
did not stand up that day because I know he has been advocating for it.
It is really interesting to
watch both parties here today try to take credit for full-day Kindergarten.
AN HON. MEMBER:
(Inaudible).
MS JOHNSON:
He is cheering there now, so better late than
never, I say, Mr. Speaker.
It is interesting to see
both parties trying to take credit for full-day Kindergarten, Mr. Speaker.
You hear the Leader of the NDP trying to take credit.
Who should take credit for full-day Kindergarten?
I tell you who should take credit for full-day Kindergarten: this
government, this minister, this Premier, this Cabinet, and this caucus.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MS JOHNSON:
We saw that full-day Kindergarten was the next
step in that continuum around the learning strategy.
Mr. Speaker, what I was
really surprised to hear the Leader of the NDP say, and she talked about equity,
which I certainly agree equity is important, but in the same breath she talked
about we should implement full-day Kindergarten in schools this September that
are ready. Now, I do not know where
the Liberals stand on this. I am
sensing they stand where we stand in that we feel an equitable place to be would
be to bring full-day Kindergarten in when the schools are ready for all
children. To hear the Leader of the
NDP talk about equity, but then in the same breath say send some Kindergarten
students to school this September, those schools that are ready, and let the
other ones wait. Like I said, I do
not know about the Liberals, but I can tell you where we stand as a government:
we believe in equity and we believe in bringing this in for all children, all at
the same time.
Then I also heard the
Liberals trying to take credit for full-day Kindergarten.
I heard them talk about Cathy Bennett as President of the Board of Trade.
Myself and Premier Dunderdale, back a few months after she became Premier
in 2010, so it would have been early 2011, had Cathy Bennett in for a meeting at
the time. I was present and we
talked about full-day Kindergarten.
We gave our commitment that full-day Kindergarten is something we are committed
to. We talked about the continuum of
learning and how we need to do things around child care and do the early
learning strategy first, Mr. Speaker.
We explained our continuum and we explained our strategy.
I heard the Member for St.
John's North say that we were against full-day Kindergarten.
Not once did we ever say we were against full-day Kindergarten.
We have been supportive of full-day Kindergarten from day one.
It was the proudest day for me, being in this House of Assembly in nearly
eleven years now, when we brought in full-day Kindergarten.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MS JOHNSON:
Mr. Speaker, if we are going to be on the topic
of the Opposition party trying to take credit for this and trying to give credit
to Cathy Bennett when she was Board of Trade, it is interesting what they leave
out about Cathy Bennett and being Board of Trade President.
You talk about full-day Kindergarten and trying to take credit; I did not
hear any mention at all about Board of Trade wanting defined contribution
pensions – nothing at all there. It
is one thing to raise issues they think are favourable around full-day
Kindergarten, but it is very well known the Board of Trade has been out publicly
talking about pensions being defined contribution.
He left that piece out.
Mr. Speaker, we have always
had a plan. We hear the Leader of
the NDP talking about this as piecemeal.
This has been very well thought out from day one.
Our early learning strategy dealing with children, Learning from the
Start, from ages zero to three – and I know the Member for Terra Nova talked
about it, but it is important to highlight it again.
These parent resource kits for children of various ages – two, four, six
months old, twelve months old, and eighteen months old – have been distributed
Province-wide. The feedback I get
from a lot of my peers is that these are such great kits to have and there is a
lot of information there.
There is no book that comes
when you have a child. There are a
lot of members in this House who have had children and have had them recently
for the first time, and I know members opposite as well.
We wish there was a book that would come when you have a child, but the
reality is it is learning as you go.
It is quite the experience and it is one that has been the most meaningful in my
life and in many lives.
MR. JACKMAN:
Any favourite books?
MS JOHNSON:
I will get to my favourite books in a moment.
We have received excellent
responses from parents, grandparents – I have heard from grandparents about
these kits – early childhood educators, as well as public health staff.
They have talked about these kits.
I know when I have had my daughter in for her preschool check and other
immunizations along the way, there are many positive comments about these kits.
That was phase one. As the
minister said, we have piloted for eighteen-month-olds now and that is ready to
roll, and then the next phase will be for twenty-four and thirty-six months old.
Mr. Speaker, we also have,
as somebody mentioned here, KinderStart.
I love KinderStart. I am
going through that phase right now.
I actually have it this Friday again.
The package they gave out at KinderStart, I have to tell the Minister of
Education, was so valuable. I am
sure members opposite who have had these this year would know
Apple Trouble! and
Jake Starts School, two books included
that I read over and over. It just
teaches how that repetition is so important for children.
Soon enough they are reading the books back to you.
That is the next phase.
One piece that has not been
talked about, and the Leader of the NDP talks about how it is not well thought
out, how there is a gap, and how we need to get our children ready, is our Child
Care Strategy, Mr. Speaker. We
announced the Child Care Strategy a little over a year ago.
I was very proud to do that.
Our government is very committed to child care.
It is a significant issue for many parents, but it is also a very
significant issue for our children and their development.
Since 2003, we have
increased child care spaces in the Province by 70 per cent.
When you look at this year's Budget, Mr. Speaker, we are spending in the
area of child care $42.4 million.
When she talks about we do
not have a strategy on child care, I do not know where she was when we announced
it a year ago and I do not know where she was when we talked about it in the
Budget this year. We certainly
highlighted in the Budget Speech this year about the $9.7 million for operating
grants, Mr. Speaker.
That $42 million is made up
of much more than $9.7 million for operating grants.
There is another million dollars there to continue with the family child
care initiative because parents want choice and that is so critically important.
We certainly respect that some parents prefer to have their children at
home with them or with a grandparent, family member, or friend.
Some parents, when children are young, like to have them in a family
child care setting. Other parents
would prefer the child care centre.
It is all about parental choice. As
a government, we have provided numerous opportunities for choice, Mr. Speaker.
We also see spending this
year in the Budget for a workplace training model program around early childhood
educators, $500,000 for that; $6.1 million for early learning child care
supplement; and $15.7 million for a child care subsidy program.
I know one of the things that they talk about is affordability and we are
committed to quality spaces, we are committed to increasing the number of
quality care spaces, but we are very committed to affordability; $15.7 million
goes into a subsidy program to help parents who cannot afford child care, Mr.
Speaker.
One of the other pieces in
our continuum around our whole strategy, the plan that we do have in place, is
our family resource centres, Mr. Speaker.
I know the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services can speak more to
this, but there are numerous programs that are run by the family resource
centres and they are one of, unfortunately, the best kept secrets.
We are doing a piece of work to market them and get more information
about what is done in the family resource centres – but what a learning resource
for parents or for grandparents or for caregivers of children to help prepare
children for Kindergarten and for school, Mr. Speaker.
Just on the piece about when
full-day Kindergarten is coming into play in 2016 – and I have to agree with my
colleague, the Minister of Education.
When the Opposition talks about it is going to be in 2016, it is almost
like they are accusing us that we have announced it and there is nothing going
to be done but then suddenly in 2016 children will start going to Kindergarten.
Well, let me highlight for
them how much planning has to go into it and how much investment has gone into
the budget for full-day Kindergarten.
For this year, Mr. Speaker, we are hiring two senior engineers; they will
be doing a lot of travel around the Province.
We know in some areas of the Province there are major influxes of
children coming in and it is always a moving target.
Those senior engineers will be going around the Province.
We have a general idea of how many schools need minor renovations, major
renovations, or need a modular classroom, but there are some that need a closer
look.
We have also included
funding in this year's Budget for a program development specialist to develop
the program. It will be a play-based
program; that much is definitely already agreed to because we know the power of
play and the play-based program is the best program for our children.
To further develop that
program, we have put funding in there to hire a program development specialist
and also travel for that person.
There is $280,000 allotted to do some of the minor infrastructure upgrades that
need to be done this year. There is
nearly $1 million there to purchase some of the modulars because the department
has a lot of experience and the officials have a lot of experience with the
purchasing and then, of course, the installation of these modulars.
There is $1 million there to kick start this, this year.
Then, when you look at next
year's Budget, Mr. Speaker, we will be spending $12.6 million in next year's
Budget, again, for the senior engineers to complete their work and for the
program development specialist to do their work.
There will also be an administrative officer and we will be spending
about $4 million for more infrastructure upgrades, as well as another $7 million
for more modulars. We will be
putting funding in there to start the professional development.
Mr. Speaker, when you see
that there is money in this year's Budget, there is money in next year's fiscal
framework to the tune of $12.6 million, until you get to the year that it is
implemented, I do not know how anybody can even suggest that we are not serious
about this. There is a major piece
of work that needs to be done.
Let me tell the Opposition
how well thought out this is and how serious we are about it.
We have even included money for further professional development for
students but we have also included money for when full-day Kindergarten is up
and running in 2016. We have
included almost $650,000 for student assistant support.
That is how well thought out this program is that they had the foresight
to put in the full-day Kindergarten plan, knowing that student assistance is
going to be required, Mr. Speaker.
It is a very
well-thought-out plan and to be accused of announcing it now and not bringing –
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
In accordance with Standing
Order 63, this being Wednesday, Private Members' Day, it being 4:45 p.m., I go
to the mover of the motion to close debate.
The hon. the Member for
Terra Nova.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. S. COLLINS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I would like to compliment
the Minister of Finance for adding her two cents.
It is something not only as Finance Minister but also as a parent as well
she certainly has a grasp on this, as I am sure many members do.
Mr. Speaker, that is the
most concerning thing. A lot of
times when you talk about things that are very important to the general public
in this House of Assembly, is to not let politics get in the way.
It is all right if the Opposition parties want to fight over one another
trying to take credit for this, but at the end of the day we all have to stand
to our feet here and support this because it is so very worthwhile.
Everyone should agree with that and I am very hopeful that is what we
will see at the end of this debate.
Mr. Speaker, I want to talk.
I led off, of course, and I was not able to get through all of my notes.
I want to touch on some of the benefits of full-day Kindergarten because
there has been quite a bit of research done on this.
It is interesting to know exactly what the professionals and what the
experts are saying.
The benefits of full-day,
play-based Kindergarten programming are borne out of research, as I had said
before, by professionals who know: stronger academic outcomes; stronger reading
skills; better social and emotional development and behaviour; reduction in
special education referrals; better development of independence and self-esteem,
which is so very important; and better ability to handle peer interaction.
Obviously there are
heightened advantages for children who are challenged from a socio-economic
perspective, have developmental issues, or have language barriers, such as new
immigrants to this Province, another very nice piece of this as well.
It will help those folks.
The intent of full-day
Kindergarten, let us be clear, is, like the intent of the entire suite of early
childhood learning programming, to give all children the very best opportunities
to develop the early social, emotional, and intellectual skills they will need
to succeed in school and certainly in life afterwards.
I want to refer to some of
the research I did come across when I was researching this.
Of course, it spans quite a few organizations, countries, and
jurisdictions. Some of the pieces I
picked out here, and one in particular, many folks will be familiar with.
It is the National Education Association, which is a very large
organization out of the United States and it represents, I believe, thousands
and thousands of communities right across the United States.
Their research showed much
of what we have already said: “…children in full-day kindergarten classes show
greater reading and mathematics achievement gains than those in half-day
classes.” “Full-day kindergarten can
produce long-term educational gains, especially for low-income and minority
students”, again, as I had said earlier.
“Full-day kindergarten offers social, emotional and intellectual benefits
to kindergarteners…”. Mr. Speaker,
“…5-year-olds are more than ready for a longer school day – and do better in a
setting that allows them time to learn and explore activities in depth.”
Also of note, “Investments
in quality early childhood programs generate returns of 3-to-1 or even higher…”.
I had mentioned that earlier when I was up, the return on investment.
Social programs you have to spend anyways because it is the right thing
to do, but it is also an added benefit when you can spend on those programs and
get a return on those, when something clearly with regard to this we will get a
return.
Full-day Kindergarten
provides an essential bridge between pre-Kindergarten programs and more
structured learning in first grade.
In full-day Kindergarten, classroom teachers have more time to get to know kids
and identify and address their learning challenges at an earlier stage.
A lot of with regard to learning disabilities and whatnot is catching it
at an early stage. That is so very
important. If you are able to nip
that in the bud and get it when it is at its very early stages, of course, you
can better address it for later years.
That helps with much.
Teachers prefer full-day
Kindergarten, we have heard from many people, and parents prefer it.
That was from the National Education Association.
I looked further. The
University of Toronto in March, 2012 did some research on this as well.
As I had said earlier, Ontario is phasing in their full-day Kindergarten.
The senior Kindergarten
children in full-day Kindergarten were ahead of control group children who
attended half-day Kindergarten in vocabulary and reading.
There were no significant differences between – and that goes into first
language children as well, but we do not have to get into there.
The fact is when you have a control group that do half-day Kindergarten
as compared to the group who do full day, the differences are quite easily to
see with regard to mathematics and vocabulary.
Obviously, those are two very important pillars in education.
Something else that study
showed was that parents of senior Kindergarten children in full day rated their
children as being “more ready” than parents of control children in: muscle
development, getting along with other children and adults, letter-sound
knowledge, number knowledge, and speaking.
Those are very important aspects of education.
Queen's University, the
Ontario Ministry of Education in 2013 did a joint study as well.
Research in Ontario's full-day Kindergarten program concluded “…that
full-day Kindergarten, and effective practices within it, is having a positive
impact on reducing risk for children in Ontario.”
What does this all tell us?
I have noted a few different pieces of research that spans from the
States to Ontario and other jurisdictions.
They all point to one thing.
This is something that researchers and professionals in the field all agree on.
There is a consensus that it provides huge benefit to children not only
in the social aspects but also in the academic aspects as well.
We cannot argue that fact and if we can, I would like to see the evidence
that show that it would not be of great benefit.
It is nice to know what
research is being done because we stand here as politicians from different
backgrounds, educational, law, whatever the case is.
I do not know if there are many – I know the Minister of Education has a
deeply-rooted knowledge in education but many of us here do not as such.
It is nice to get the numbers and the facts from researchers, from people
in the field, and that is what I have done.
I think it is quite easily to see, it is very clear that the benefits are
huge.
We know what the research
says, that is quite easily to see.
We know how it has been received by the general public.
I referred to it earlier that on the day of the Budget afterwards – I
know social media was abuzz, Twitter and Facebook, it was overwhelmingly
positive. It was not just by people
who I knew were friendly to the party, it was by people who are partisans to
other parties and people who were involved in the unions and whatnot.
It was overwhelmingly positive.
That speaks volumes as well.
I also spoke to a number of
people out in my district face to face.
Of course me, myself being a younger parent, I hang around.
I have peers who are in similar situations as me, with younger children
who will avail of this. It was
overwhelmingly, 100 per cent positive.
People really see the worth in this.
They know it is a great program.
It is not only going to benefit their children's academic progress but it
is also going to provide some financial stability to them as well, when you
factor in the cost of child care and whatnot.
Something else I have heard
from, educators are overwhelmingly in favour of this as well.
Right across the board, I have heard huge – not only from the educators
who sit here in the House of Assembly representing districts, I have heard from
educators who are in the school.
Actually, I had a chat with
one person yesterday. I was at an
event in Mount Pearl South, out to St. Peter's Elementary, and I had a nice
frank discussion with an educator out there.
They were able to share their opinions of full-day Kindergarten.
As you can imagine, it was quite positive.
Another positive outcome, as
it relates to full-day Kindergarten, is the socio-economic benefit.
That is something I spoke of earlier but I did not really get into it, so
I just want to touch on that for a brief moment.
As many young parents know, me included, daycare is a very costly
venture.
Before I had my second
child, while my wife was still working, both of us were working, we had to put
our only child at that point into daycare.
We used to pay $800 a month.
I found out from speaking to other people and friends and whatnot, that was not
a bad deal, $800 a month. Obviously,
you see how much it costs.
By the very fact that now
two of my children will avail of full-day Kindergarten that is a potential
savings for two years of approximately $20,000.
How nice is it to be able to take $20,000 – that is based on two
children, for one year each. I am
just thinking, as parents there are so many things you would like to spend your
money on. That is $20,000 now I can
put into my children's post-secondary education.
That is $20,000 I would not have had if this government did not introduce
and begin to implement full-day Kindergarten.
So $20,000 is certainly significant.
I am sure when you look even
further – I am happy to be comfortable in life, but there are many people,
obviously, who struggle. Those are
the people who are particularly affected, those lower socio-economic status
whatnot. This is huge for them, and
it provides a massive benefit and an opportunity for them as well.
Of course, I look back at my
own personal experience. We live in
a society where, even though it probably is not right, generally a lot of times
when a couple has a child most generally it is the wife who stays home with the
child in our culture. Now, that is
not always the case. I have friends
that are fathers who stayed home and the wife went back to work.
Generally speaking, in most cases, and in my own personal situation, my
wife would take time off work.
With full-day Kindergarten,
this allows, either it be the wife or the husband, to get back into the
workforce. That is something, it is
not only financially important, it is also emotionally important.
When you are talking about self-esteem and self-worth, it is nice to be
able to get back into the groove of things, to be able to get back into the
workforce.
Further to that, we
understand from hearing from employers that this is going to be very beneficial
as well to employers. Because it is going
to allow those people, instead of having to take care of their children and stay
home, now they are able to return to the workforce.
Obviously, that has huge spinoffs as well.
So, like I said, there are
many different angles to this.
Another one that is interesting, and we did not mean for it to be the impact,
but it is one of those things that now that we have opened up full-day
Kindergarten, as a result it has created even more positive outcomes.
What is the impact of
full-day Kindergarten on child care spaces?
It is not something that my mind automatically went to when I first heard
this announced, but the more you hear and the more I have read, obviously this
is something that is tremendous. It
is going to be anticipated by many people who have trouble finding child care
spaces for children. We know in
certain areas of the Province that sometimes it is a task.
We have invested heavily in
child care spaces, but as always, we seem to be trying to play catch-up with it.
The fact is we anticipate that regulated child care centres will convert
Kindercare spaces for those children attending half-day Kindergarten to other
types of spaces for children of different ages.
Parents with Kindergarten-aged children will no longer be required to pay
fees for full-time child care, resulting in potential savings – which I spoke of
earlier – for some families in the thousands of dollars per year.
I already know for myself it will look probably in the realm of $20,000,
based on two children.
Full-day Kindergarten will
also help reduce stress on some employers – which I mentioned earlier – relieve
stress on parents and children as half-day movement to and from school, and
certainly the parents trying to get to work, leave work, go pick up the
children, bring the children back home and go back to work.
Somebody called it – I believe during the interview somebody did in
The Telegram – the half-day
Kindergarten shuffle, because when you are trying to carry on a work life and
have your children in half-day Kindergarten you are trying to be everywhere, and
it is very difficult.
With the implementation of
full-day Kindergarten, affordability of regulated child care services will be
improved as parents will no longer be required to pay Kindercare fees in
addition to after school care. Just
as important, Mr. Speaker, sufficient regulated child care spaces will be
increased as current Kindercare spaces will be converted to other types of
spaces for children in different age groups.
Basically, in a nutshell,
what you have there is that people now whose kids are in half-day Kindergarten,
most child care spaces, as I understand it, you have to pay for the full day.
Even though your child may only be there for half the day, you are
required to pay the full day because the need is so great and they are able to
do that.
Now, all of a sudden, if a
child does not require that half-day child care, comes out of the system, goes
into full-day Kindergarten, it opens up a whole new child care space.
That is so important. Again,
it frees up space. Not only is it
helping the child go into full-day Kindergarten, it is also helping the parents
who are looking for child care spaces.
Again, that is really good.
Mr. Speaker, I only have a
few moments left. Just as a
conclusion, as parents and educators and MHAs we all have a duty and
responsibility to our children.
Somebody referred to it across the way as a sense of motherhood and we all want
the best for our kids. This is why
implementing the full-day Kindergarten is so important.
On behalf of myself, my
wife, my family, many of my peers, my colleagues, the people I have spoken with,
thank you so – my children, Sophia and Anna.
They thank you as well, but this is such a great initiative.
I am very proud. I am looking
forward to having support from right across the way.
I expect by extension of supporting this motion today all parties have to
look at supporting the Budget because this is such a major, major piece of the
Budget. While we could all support
this today, I am looking for that same support when we stand to our feet and
support the Budget in the coming days and weeks.
In closing, I do have two
minutes left. I will simply say that
there is a by-election going on. No
matter who you are voting for, I encourage anybody who is home watching today to
get out and vote. Let your voices be
heard, and we will be welcoming a new member to the House of Assembly shortly.
With that, I will take my
seat.
Thank you so much for the
opportunity.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER (Wiseman):
You have all heard the question.
All those in favour of the
motion, ‘aye'.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Aye.
MR. SPEAKER:
All those against, ‘nay'.
Motion carried.
AN HON. MEMBER:
Division.
MR. SPEAKER:
Division has been called.
Summon the members.
Division
MR. SPEAKER:
Are the Whips ready?
AN HON. MEMBER:
Yes, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER:
All three?
AN HON. MEMBER:
Yes, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER:
All those in favour of the motion, please rise.
CLERK:
Mr. Marshall, Mr. King, Ms Shea, Mr. O'Brien, Mr. Davis, Mr. McGrath, Mr. Felix
Collins, Ms Johnson, Mr. Jackman, Mr. Verge, Mr. Littlejohn, Mr. Hedderson, Mr.
Dalley, Mr. French, Mr. Kent, Ms Perry, Mr. Cross, Mr. Little, Mr. Pollard, Mr.
Granter, Mr. Sandy Collins, Mr. Cornect, Mr. Peach, Mr. Hunter, Mr. Russell, Mr.
Andrew Parsons, Mr. Joyce, Ms Dempster, Mr. Edmunds, Mr. Kirby, Mr. Slade, Mr.
Mitchelmore, Mr. Murphy, Ms Rogers.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
CLERK:
Mr. Speaker, it is unanimous: the ayes, thirty-four; the nays, zero.
MR. SPEAKER:
Motion carried.
Motion carried unanimously.
MR. SPEAKER:
This House now stands adjourned until tomorrow,
Thursday, at 1:30 p.m.