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November 30, 2016               HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS               Vol. XLVIII No. 51

The House met at 2 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Osborne): Order, please!

Admit strangers.

We welcome to the Speaker's gallery today Major William G. Tilley, Colonel Keith Arns and Colonel Adrian Heffernan. Major Tilley is the subject of a Member's statement today.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

Statements by Members

MR. SPEAKER: For Members' statements today we have the Member for the District of Conception Bay South; the District of St. George's – Humber; the District of St. John's Centre; the District of Virginia Waters – Pleasantville; and the District of Fogo Island – Cape Freels.

The hon. the Member for the District of Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this House today to honour Mr. Gerald Morgan Greenslade from Long Pond, CBS who passed away at the Caribou Memorial Veterans Pavilion on September 23, 2016 at the age of 96.

In 1940, Mr. Greenslade joined the Royal Navy during WWII and served honourably until 1946. He lived the rest of his life in CBS where he founded the company, Greenslades Construction Ltd.

He led the rapidly growing community of Conception Bay South into incorporation and, in 1973, was appointed the town's first mayor, where he served voluntarily from 1973 to 1977.

Gerald was instrumental in building Branch 50 – Royal Canadian Legion where he served as president. He served on numerous associations; he was a member of the Masonic Lodge Conception, Avalon Lodge, Royal Order of Scotland, St. John's Scottish Rite Freemasons, St. John's Shrine Club, Newfoundland and Labrador Construction Association and an honourary member of the Heavy Civil Association of Newfoundland and Labrador.

He received many awards and recognitions such as CBS Citizen of the Year, and the Queen's Silver, Golden and Diamond Jubilee medals.

Gerald's life was one filled with devotion to his family, outstanding service to his community, province and country.

I ask all Members of this House to join with me in honouring an extraordinary Newfoundlander and Labradorian, Mr. Gerald Greenslade.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. George's – Humber.

MR. REID: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to pay tribute to Cody Blanchard, a native of St. George's, who recently set a new Nova Scotia record in his class weight for weightlifting.

The 23-year-old from St. George's is turning heads in the Olympic weightlifting world after he won gold in the 94 kilogram weight class at the Nova Scotia Weightlifting Championships at Blended Athletics in Dartmouth this past weekend. It was his second impressive performance since he immersed himself in the sport only 18 months ago. He also won gold in his weight class at the Maritime Open in Moncton, New Brunswick back in September.

Cody trains seven days a week while also focusing on his first year at law studies at Dalhousie University. For him, every day at the gym is an opportunity to do a little better than he did the day before. He intends to beat his own personal records and to keep achieving and advancing in the sport.

I ask all Members of the House to join with me in congratulating Cody on his accomplishments and wishing him well in his future endeavours.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

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

Workers from across the province gathered in St. John's for the 2nd Triennial Constitutional Convention of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour and to celebrate their 80th anniversary.

The federation has a proud history, representing union members and workers since 1936, made up of 30 affiliated unions, 500 locals and six district labour councils. They represent 65,000 working women and men from every sector of our economy and every community in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The federation advances the cause of working people and promotes progressive civil society where no one gets left behind. They advocate for improved workplace rights, stronger laws including occupational, health and safety laws, workers' compensation and Employment Insurance programs that are fair and are there when our people need them.

Fighting for better labour laws, strong, accessible public services such as universal health care, education, worker training, elder home care and child care and early learning, the federation and its members stand up for the principles of equality, equity and social justice. They work hard with affiliate unions and social partners to build a better world for all citizens. The only way for us to survive, Mr. Speaker, is to pull together, and that is the Newfoundland and Labrador way.

I ask all Members to join me congratulating and thanking President Mary Shortall and all members of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Virginia Waters – Pleasantville.

MR. B. DAVIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this hon. House today to wish a happy birthday to a man who has given more than nine decades of service to the youth of our province. Major William G. Tilley turns 102 today.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. B. DAVIS: He was the focal point of a recent CLB awards ceremony at Government House.

Major Tilley also received the 90-year Gold Service Bar, and this has been the first time this honour has ever been bestowed. Colonel Keith Arns and Colonel Adrian Heffernan, who are here accompanying Major Tilley today, recently received their 55-year Service Bar as well, which means that in the Speaker's gallery here today there are over 200 years of CLB experience.

Major Tilley joined the CLB in March of 1926 after watching drummers march down Plymouth Road as a child. He later became Drum Major of the CLB Regimental Band in 1939 until 2002, some 63 years.

Upon retiring from a career with the CN railway, Major Tilley was asked to help preserve the history of the CLB, and led the redevelopment of the archives in 1978. Major Tilley remains busy with the archives and is still a fountain of knowledge about the CLB.

I ask all hon. Members to join me in wishing Major Tilley a very happy birthday and thank him for his many years of service.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: On Major Tilley's way into the scrum area today, Colonel Arns apologized that he was walking a little slower as he refuses to use a walker. And I can understand, as you're only 102.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Fogo Island – Cape Freels.

MR. BRAGG: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Today, I would like to recognize the volunteer efforts of a member of my district. Leo Blackmore from New-Wes-Valley has spent years volunteering. Many years ago Leo survived a horrific car accident that left him in a wheelchair. That did not stop him. He invested in his community. He became an active volunteer with the recreation committee and the Lions Club.

While he demonstrated his commitment to the community, the community held a fundraiser to provide him with a wheelchair accessible van. Leo was very grateful and he gave back in spades. Wherever there is bingo, cards or tickets, Leo is always front and centre, always with a smile and always taking your money. He has spent years fundraising for volunteer groups.

A couple of months ago, Leo was hospitalized. Now Leo is in for the fight of his life. I would like to encourage him to pull from his inner strength, the strength he found to survive this accident.

I would like to thank Leo for all the volunteer work he has done and ask all Members to show our support to his new battle.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Statements by Ministers.

Statements by Ministers

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

MS. COADY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I stand in this hon. House today to welcome Anadarko Petroleum Corporation to the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador offshore area. I am pleased to report that Anadarko has successfully acquired a working interest in five exploration licences from Shell – which was initially registered under BG International Limited – for licences in the highly sought after Flemish Pass Basin.

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation is one of the world's largest independent oil and natural gas exploration and production companies. This acquisition gives Anadarko access to 1.2 million hectares of prospective exploration acreage, having total work commitments of $477 million.

As Minister of Natural Resources, one of my key priorities is to further encourage exploration and development of our offshore including attracting new entrants. Significant exploration opportunity exists in our province's offshore, as evidenced by the results of the recent Call for Bids by the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board, which saw other new entrants gain licences in the area: Hess Canada Oil and Gas; Noble Energy Canada; and Delek Group (Navitas Petroleum Ltd. and DKL Investments Ltd.), adding to the total number of operators offshore today. Overall, that call resulted in a total work commitment of close to $758 million with eight successful bids received.

Officials from my department have already met with representatives from Anadarko, and we officially welcome them to the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador offshore area.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. HUTCHINGS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an advance copy of her statement. It's certainly encouraging to see the continued interest in our offshore industry from various industry leaders.

Mr. Speaker, we join with the government in welcoming Anadarko to the Flemish Pass and certainly into our offshore arena. We wish them and their partners success in their exploration.

As the minister noted, through this and the recent C-NLOPB call for bids, there is great potential in our Newfoundland and Labrador offshore industry; however, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the generic royalty regime. Over a year ago, our government announced a generic royalty regime which would encourage growth and development in our offshore industry.

This Liberal government although committing to implementing a generic royalty regime in their red book, and through the minister's mandate letter, have yet to fulfill this commitment. I certainly encourage the minister to work diligently on this file as a generic royalty regime will pave the way for future oil and gas development.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. Member for St. John's East – Quidi Vidi.

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

I, too, thank the minister for the advance copy of her statement. I have to say that I trust government will ensure Anadarko is held to the C-NLOPB standards on worker employment, safety and benefits to local business.

I also remind the minister that the oil industry has taught us all a painful lesson about the need for economic diversification. I further remind the minister that the spending commitments are just that, money not yet spent. We have no evidence oil companies will spend that full amount.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, this year we are marking the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Beaumont-Hamel.

Earlier this fall, the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador held a special Call to Bar to honour five students in law who suspended their studies to take part in the war effort. Unfortunately, none of these five Newfoundlanders and Labradorians had an opportunity to complete their studies after the war.

These brave individuals were Cecil Clift; John Clift; William Hutchings; Janet Miller; and Harris Rendell Oke. Each was ceremonially conferred with the Honorary Degree of Barrister-at-Law by the Law Society.

Cecil Clift was killed at Gueudecourt, France, on October 12, 1916; his brother John was severely wounded and retired from the Newfoundland Regiment in 1919. He was later awarded the Military Cross, and died of complications from war wounds in 1920.

William Hutchings enlisted on September 16, 1914, and was discharged in 1919. He resumed his law studies, but could not continue due to medical reasons.

Janet Miller was the first female permitted to enter into articles in the province. She joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment and served for the duration of the war.

Harris Oke enlisted in 1914 and transferred to the Royal Scots Regiment in 1915. He was also awarded the Military Cross. Following the war, he joined the British Foreign Service.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend the Law Society for holding this special Call to Bar and ask my hon. colleagues in this House to join me in recognizing these Newfoundlanders and Labradorians and their extraordinary contributions during this time in our history.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. HUTCHINGS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I certainly thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement. We join with the government in thanking the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador for recognizing and honouring these five individuals. They are wonderful examples of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who unselfishly gave of themselves and sacrificed so much for the freedom we enjoy and appreciate today.

Unfortunately, as the minister pointed out, none of the five had the opportunity to complete their studies for various reasons, some of which were tragic. But, Mr. Speaker, all completed a far greater calling and they are commended for their service and their sacrifice.

I'd like to thank the Law Society for the undertaking. Let us continue to remember and celebrate the women, the men and the stories that are such an important part of our province's cultural and historical fabric.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

MS. ROGERS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. 

I too thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement. How tragic the loss of lives to war. In honour of these brave young folks who gave so much, so very much, we must to continue to remember that peace is more than just the absence of war, that means in their honour we must strive for a society where everyone can thrive and live fully, that no one is left behind. And especially in light of their great sacrifice, that we strive for a justice system that has the resources it needs to serve our people well so everyone can live in safety, with dignity and respect.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Further statements by ministers?

Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

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

MR. HUTCHINGS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, in the original loan guarantee for the Muskrat Falls Project there was a clause prohibiting the sale of assets.

I ask the Minister of Natural Resources: Will the new loan guarantee include the same stipulation?

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

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

We were very pleased that the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and indeed the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, that we were able to negotiate and have in place an extended loan guarantee. I'm very pleased the federal government was able to do that. We are still in discussions with the federal government on the extension to the loan guarantee and the mechanisms around that.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. HUTCHINGS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I understand negotiations are underway and it's not finalized but one of the conditions in your negotiations – as the Minister of Natural Resources for this province: Will the stipulation be the same that there will be no assets sold under the condition of the loan guarantee for Muskrat Falls?

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

MS. COADY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Most of our discussions have been around the extension of the loan guarantee itself, not in the details of the agreement as the Member opposite has been detailing. We have not gotten to those particular details. We have focused mostly on the extension of the loan guarantee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. HUTCHINGS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will advise the minister, section 4.11, Change of Control, deals with the particular issue that I talked about, and today she hasn't been able to confirm that a sale of assets won't be a condition of the new loan guarantee.

Mr. Speaker, after raising questions about the CEO of Nalcor employment contract, the Auditor General referred me to the Premier and indicated that Cabinet could take action in accordance with the Conflict of Interest Act. I asked the Premier on September 20 to appoint a conflict of interest advisory council to review Mr. Marshall's contract.

I ask the Premier: Could I have an update on that letter?

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

MS. COADY: Thank you.

In response to the first part of his question, Mr. Speaker, I have been clear. Our discussions with the federal government have been on the extension of the loan guarantee not on the details of the contract that currently exists, on the extension of the loan guarantee.

To his second point, Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to report that we have had lots of discussions around conflict of interest with regard to Mr. Marshall. The committee has reviewed Mr. Marshall's conflicts. They have done a thorough analysis, and I went a little bit further and asked Mr. Marshall to remove himself from anything with regard to Fortis, for example, any discussions around that, even though he is not in conflict. He does not breach any of the conflict of interest rules.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. HUTCHINGS: Thank you.

I wonder, could the minister advise us when that review was undertaken and could we have a copy of the results of that review?

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

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

A copy of the act is available to the Member at all times, of course, and it does detail what the conditions under which must be followed by Mr. Marshall and all of us in the province today, Mr. Speaker. We've had a thorough review of Mr. Marshall. We've asked it to be thoroughly reviewed. He has provided all the documentation. It has been discussed, it has been reviewed. We even went a little bit further and asked him to remove himself in certain circumstances, and he has agreed to do all those things.

Mr. Speaker, he is a renowned, international, award-winning CEO. He absolutely understands conflict of interest rules. I can assure the people of the province, I can assure the Members opposite; he's not in contravention of that.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. HUTCHINGS: It's not questioning the integrity of the gentleman; it's the process and the conflict of interest guidelines.

I say to the minister, I wrote the AG, he referred me to the Premier. I wrote the Premier September 20 and asked that the committee be struck.

So are you saying the committee was struck, they reviewed it, they came to conclusions and you have those available? If you do, could you make them available to the public?

Thank you very much.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MS. C. BENNETT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to remind the Member opposite that if you receive a salary from any agency, board or commission in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, you have to abide by the legislation that is governing those hires, which would be the Conflict of Interest Act.

If you're an employee, such as the individual that the Member opposite is referring to, you are required to release directly and indirectly information and documents that are confidential – required not to release those documents. You are required to comply with all of the rules that are stipulated in the Conflict of Interest Act.

The Public Service Commission ensures that those individuals that work across the public sector, particularly that work, as the Member opposite is referring to, in agencies, boards and commissions, are responsible for complying with that act. As the minister has already said, the CEO for Nalcor certainly has complied and has gone above that.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. HUTCHINGS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we still don't know the request made on September 20, whether the review was done and what the results for those reviews were. It appears that information is not forthcoming.

Mr. Speaker, the original contract for the new CEO of Nalcor mirrored that of Ed Martin. There were significant changes made to the new CEO's contract regarding conflict of interest.

I ask the minister: What were the reasons for those changes?

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

MS. COADY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As the Member opposite wells knows, the contract rests with the board of Nalcor. As I've repeated several times today and as the minister responsible for the Conflict of Interest Act repeated, Mr. Marshall's complete portfolio has been reviewed. He meets all the requirements. There has been a thorough evaluation. And we went a little bit further and asked Mr. Marshall to excuse himself from anything of a serious nature with Fortis.

So we have gone above and beyond the steps that we were required. Mr. Marshall does not hold any more than the 5 per cent – less than the 5 per cent threshold that is required under the act, and there is no conflict of interest here, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. HUTCHINGS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the June 10, 2016 draft contract notes that the CEO of Nalcor is not to have any interest in an entity which may compete directly or indirectly with Nalcor. However, the signed version allows for ownership, as the minister mentioned, of 5 per cent in publicly traded companies such as Fortis.

I ask the minister: Did she authorize this change, and are you confident that public interests are protected?

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

MS. COADY: Yes, I'm very confident public interest is protected under the conflict of interest rules, as the minister responsible has indicated. As you know, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Marshall has been reviewed under that act. He has been found to be completely incompliance with that act.

In fact, Mr. Marshall also knows conflict of interest because he has sat on many, many boards and understands the requirements under, what I want to call, the fiduciary responsibility and duties of a board member.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. HUTCHINGS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the prior CEOs contract stated that the CEO and family members shall not have financial interest or holdings in companies in potential competition with Nalcor, specifically Fortis. The new rewritten contract removed these restrictions for the CEO, the current CEO and his family.

Can the minister explain why the conflict of interest guidelines for the new CEO are so different than the predecessor?

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

MS. COADY: Mr. Speaker, as I've said, the contract does sit with the board of Nalcor, Nalcor Energy. However, I can say again, we do have conflict of interest rules; we do have an act that Mr. Marshall must comply with. His portfolio has been reviewed. He does not have any inconsistencies with meeting that act. And we have gone that step further to ask Mr. Marshall to remove himself, as he would because he's an experienced director, from anything that would cause him to be in conflict.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. HUTCHINGS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'll just ask the Natural Resources Minister this: What would happen if Fortis wanted to purchase transmission lines for Nalcor? I ask the minister: Would that be a conflict in that particular instance?

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

MS. COADY: Mr. Speaker, I can't get into suppositions. I can't get into some esoteric possibilities. I can say, Mr. Speaker, that the conflict of interest rules, the compliance with the act are paramount. And Mr. Marshall understands this; the people that administer that act understand this.

I can say that I know that Mr. Marshall understands completely what he required of him as CEO of Nalcor, and he is an international renowned CEO and an internationally renowned director. He understands the rules of conflict. I can assure the people of this province, as I can assure the Members opposite, that he following all the requirements under that act.

Thank you.

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

MR. PETTEN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

On October 3, the Minister of Environment stormed out of a meeting with his federal and provincial counterparts because he felt railroaded by incoming carbon tax.

I ask the minister: Are you in agreement with the prime minister's proposed carbon tax?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

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

I guess the word “stormed” is a bit of an exaggeration. Certainly, there was great concern on that day. For the previous six months, my staff have been working very hard to come up with a solution that could work for what has to be Canada's and the world's most important problem, that is of climate change.

In terms of what the federal government announced on the 3rd of October, there's great concern. We've brought that back and we're engaged in discussions with the federal government. I look forward to reporting back on progress, hopefully.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. Member for Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

When Muskrat Falls is completed, Newfoundland and Labrador will be 99 per cent carbon free.

I ask the minister: Do you believe Newfoundland should have a carbon tax?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

MR. TRIMPER: Thank you very much for the supplementary question.

What I do believe is that this province should have the ability to find its own way forward in this great challenge. I'm very pleased to say that in June we passed legislation dealing with large industry. Its jurisdiction has stepped up.

I'm very pleased to say that understanding our situation as we are and our exposure, it's going to be important to consider all options. Carbon tax is one of them. Cap and trade and other mechanisms are out there.

I look forward to working closely with, what I must say, is probably Canada's top team on climate change. We'll find a way forward.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. Member for Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the federal government will price carbon at $10 a ton in 2018 with a $10 yearly increase to 2022. Our province already has an enormously high gasoline tax.

I ask the Minister of Finance: Will she commit to reducing or removing the gas tax when carbon tax is imposed?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

MR. TRIMPER: I guess what I'd like to start with first of all, Mr. Speaker, is correcting the statement about 99 per cent. It's actually going to be some 98 per cent. While it might sound like I'm dealing with little numbers, when you're talking about millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions, and the fact that by the time Muskrat Falls is completed and Holyrood is down, we will be at 98 per cent in terms of non-GHG sources for generating electricity.

In terms of whether or not moving the temporary tax to a carbon tax or not, it's an option that's available to us. As I said, the staff are working very hard right now with Ottawa. I look forward to reporting back on hopefully progress.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. Member for Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I ask the Minister of Environment: Can you table your analysis of how carbon tax will impact the people of our province?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MS. C. BENNETT: Mr. Speaker, the Member opposite asked a question this afternoon about the temporary gas tax that our government had to bring in as a result of the very challenging fiscal situation that the Members who served in government in the past left the people of the province to face.

Certainly, as we said in this year's fiscal update, that particular gas tax has been in place for only a few months. We've made a commitment and are continuing to review the implications of that gas tax. We will be making further decisions as to whether or not that temporary tax will be continuing, or continuing in what form, as we move towards budget 2017.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. PETTEN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for her answer to my previous question, but I'll ask the Minister Environment: Can you table your analysis of how carbon tax will impact the people of this province?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

MR. TRIMPER: I guess at this time, Mr. Speaker, in response to the question, the deliberations are ongoing. As I said on the 3rd of October when I found myself at the Canadian Council of Ministers of Environment meeting, there was a great surprise. The direction that the federal government is moving in certainly is not the one that this government and this province had started on. There is a significant amount of effort and deliberation right now.

As I said to the Member, I do look forward to advising him and this House as to the full implications of what is being proposed in Ottawa and, hopefully, what can work for this province as we go forward on this very important issue.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. PETTEN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Carbon pricing will have a huge impact on the cost of transportation of people and goods.

Can the minister detail the additional cost to consumers?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

MR. TRIMPER: As I indicated, I'm unable to provide an indication of that at this time. But what I can tell you, and I can tell the entire people of this province, whether it be industry or consumers, they are upper most in our minds in terms of what we agree to and how we proceed on the Pan-Canadian framework.

There's no question, consumers are greatly exposed right now because of the huge investment in Muskrat Falls. Placing additional burden on them right now is a huge concern, not just for myself but for all of my colleagues. So let me just say, this is very much one of our priorities.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. PETTEN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I don't seem to be getting answers to the questions. I'll try another one now.

It will also have a significant impact on the province's municipalities. I ask the minister: What will be the particular impacts to municipalities?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

MR. TRIMPER: Thank you very much.

I guess what I can say and if the Member opposite wants to sort of breakdown the population and think that any one group might be particularly more exposed than another, what I can tell you is that this most significant problem in this province and, indeed, the country and around the world will touch all walks of life.

I'm very pleased to say that I'm part of a team that has been working on finding a solution, in light of the complexity of this issue, that will consider whether it be consumers, municipal, provincial indigenous governments by the way.

One of the key issues I'd like to bring up, if I could, is the fact that the federal government talked about special considerations for the territories because they have communities on diesel. Well, Mr. Speaker, we have 21 communities right now in the same situation. I think it's very important that I took a pause and thought about those people as well.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. PETTEN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

So this government, while not able to give any details around the impacts of the people of the province, I ask the minister: Are you comfortable to blindly support this proposed carbon tax?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

MR. TRIMPER: One detail that I think that would be useful for the House to understand and we have reached an understanding with Ottawa is on the issue of recyclage so that if money is raised as a result of a carbon tax, it remains in the jurisdiction. So then you certainly want to have that available for the most vulnerable parts of our society whether it be indigenous organizations, whether it be people on low income and so on. The concept of recyclage is out there, so I would offer that at least as a partial answer to the Member's question.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cape St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I've been in contact with a number of residents from the Norman's Cove-Long Cove area who are concerned about the local economy and the jobs and their fish plant since the devastating fire in July.

I ask the Minister of Fisheries: Has he considered transferring the processing licences and moving it to Southern Harbour?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries, Forestry and Agrifoods.

MR. CROCKER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, as a government, we have responded to the people of Norman's Cove-Long Cove in the same way as we did with the people of Bay de Verde and offered any assistance we could for the tragic fire that happened in their fish plant back this summer.

With regard to the question from the Member, with transferring a licence, I think the question he's asking is there is an application before the independent licensing board for Quin-Sea to purchase the operation in Southern Harbour. This is not a licence transfer request. At this point there has been no request to transfer any licence from the Town of Norman's Cove-Long Cove.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cape St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS: Mr. Speaker, the people in the community cannot get any answers from the minister or their local MHA.

I'm asking the minister: Will you step in and hold a public meeting in the area?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries, Forestry and Agrifoods.

MR. CROCKER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I have not had a formal request from the Town of Norman's Cove-Long Cove for a meeting because I can assure you the Member and I actually met with the town immediately following the fire.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. CROCKER: I can assure the Member opposite if the Town of Norman's Cove-Long Cove would like to sit down with myself and I'm sure the Member, we would certainly be willing to do so. But I remind the Member – let's be clear on this – any licensing process in this province, when it comes to a fish processing company, is done through an independent board, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. Member for Cape St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS: Mr. Speaker, the local MHA was asked by a constituent what's happening with the fish plant. The MHA replied and said I can't get any answers; there's nothing I can do.

I ask the minister: Has the local MHA for Placentia West – Bellevue not asked the minister to ensure these jobs remain in these communities?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the –

MR. CROCKER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. Minister of Fisheries, Forestry and Agrifoods.

AN HON. MEMBER: Anxious.

MR. CROCKER: Yeah, I am. I'm anxious, Mr. Speaker, because I can assure the Member opposite and the people of the district that their Member – I can assure you we talk about this issue pretty much on a daily or at least bi-daily basis. I can assure you that Member is working hard on behalf of the people of his district.

With regard to the issue in Norman's Cove-Long Cove, the Member and I met with the company days after the fire. I met with the company yesterday and we met with the town as well.

I'm available to meet with the town at any time that we can arrange a schedule. I speak to the company on a regular basis. They have not made – the most recent conversation I had with the company, they were still waiting on information back from the insurance adjustors.

Mr. Speaker, I can assure the hon. Member that the Member that represents that district is doing a fine job for his constituents.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. Member for Cape St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS: The Norman's Cove-Long Cove fish plant was owned by Dorset Fisheries and Quin-Sea; however, recently purchased by the company Royal Greenland. We know that the minister approved the transfer of licence to Royal Greenland.

I ask the minister: Do you intend to ignore the local request yet again and give authorization to Royal Greenland to move this plant?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. Minister of Fisheries, Forestry and Agrifoods.

MR. CROCKER: Mr. Speaker, sorry but I'm not sure that the Member opposite understands the licensing process in this province. It's a board that the previous administration set up. It's an independent board.

A few weeks ago, Dorset Fisheries put a notification in a local paper saying that they have a request to go before the board to purchase the plant in Southern Harbour. There has been no request made with regard to the plant in Norman's Cove-Long Cove.

For the Member to stand up and start to tie stuff back in the process of Quin-Sea and Royal Greenland. Mr. Speaker, this company operated here this summer, they did a good job, very few issues around the company. For him to stand up and talk about an independent process that they set up, he's pretty ill informed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cape St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS: I'll tell you what is ill informed, are the people in the area that are getting no answers. That's what's ill informed.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. K. PARSONS: There are 200 workers in this area that demand answers. They want to know what's happening to their fish plant. They're asking for a public meeting. Those are the requests that I'm getting from people in the area, and I ask the minister to step in and give them a public meeting.

We do realize that it's done through the licensing board, but we want to know: Will you ensure that the licence doesn't get transferred and it stays in the Norman's Cove-Long Cove area?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Placentia West – Bellevue.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. BROWNE: Mr. Speaker, I thank the Member opposite for the interest in the Norman's Cove-Long Cove situation.

On the morning after the fire, which was a devastation for the entire community in the region, myself and the parliamentary secretary for Municipal Affairs were on the ground. I have continued to be informed by my constituents and their concerns, but when dealing with a private company, it is hard to get information from that private company. But this government has stepped up in a very big way to ensure that those affected got the required hours for their EI, and, Mr. Speaker, I can assure the Member opposite and the people of my district that we will remain committed to the people of Norman's Cove-Long Cove.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cape St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS: I ask the hon. Member: Will you hold a public meeting in the area, because they want to know?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Placentia West – Bellevue.

MR. BROWNE: Mr. Speaker, I'm available to my constituents at a moment's notice. If they want a meeting, I will certainly have it, and if the Member opposite wants to come along with me, he's more than welcome.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

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

Since being elected a year ago today, this government has hammered the people of this province with fees and levies, laid off public servants, and slashed programs and services. In the media today the Premier is quoted as saying he is optimistic about the future.

I ask the Premier: How can he be optimistic when, by the government's own account, their plan will yield a 15 per cent loss of employment and 22 per cent loss of earned income, driven by the budget measures that his government has taken this year?

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

Before I recognize the hon. Premier, I've asked Members of the House to respect the individual who's standing to speak. The only person I wish to hear is the individual standing to speak.

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, I'm not surprised at all that the leader of the Third Party would get up and attribute some of the comments that she's made about unemployment rates because it is a very serious issue in our province.

Where I disagree with the Member opposite is the fact that she attributed that to the budget of 2016-2017, I say, Mr. Speaker. Because once again, if the Member had looked back at the economic forecast for many years, you would find the answer that in those forecasts for quite a number of years there was a prediction of unemployment rates growing in our province. You saw slowing housing starts. So contribute that or attribute that to just this one year is disingenuous by the Member opposite.

Like most of Newfoundland and Labrador, I am optimistic about the future. This government will do its part in making sure the youth are optimistic too.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS. MICHAEL: (Inaudible.)

MR. SPEAKER: The Member hasn't been recognized yet.

Order, please!

If you want to be picked up on Broadcast, the Member has to be recognized.

The hon. the Member for St. John's East – Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thought you had recognized me, I apologize.

I say to the Premier, let him read his own budget speech and find out what the budget speech says about the impact of that speech.

This province has suffered austerity measures not seen in a long time, with no job strategy and no economic plan to stimulate growth, yet the Premier says his government is doing a better job at communicating and is optimistic about the future.

I ask the Premier, when will he communicate a job strategy which is the number one issue in the province today?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, job strategy is certainly important to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. That was one of the reasons why this government, as part of this budget in collaboration and working in co-operation with many municipalities, with our federal colleagues, with Aboriginal communities, we invested $570 million into infrastructure. We've been able to leverage that with federal dollars, with private sector money and so on. Mr. Speaker, the full impact of that infrastructure investment will be next year.

Also, The Way Forward: A Vision for Sustainability and Growth in Newfoundland and Labrador, have many measures in that vision statement that will actually produce jobs for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

I remain optimistic about our future. This has been a difficult year. The first thing we had to do was secure our foundation, Mr. Speaker, and we've gone a long ways in doing that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS. ROGERS: Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Fisheries, Forestry and Agrifoods recently told the federal standing committee that he was concerned about the impact that new federal fish habitat protection measures will have on the province's aquaculture industry. Neither he nor the Minister of Environment and Climate Change seem concerned about, though, what impact salmon aquaculture might have on fish habitat.

I ask the Minister of Environment and Climate Change: Why did he not do a full evidence-based environmental assessment before approving the massive Grieg salmon aquaculture project for Placentia Bay?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

MR. TRIMPER: Thank you very much for the question, Mr. Speaker.

Well, in fact, the Grieg proposal actually spent some 10 months and very many hours of scrutiny within my department, other provincial and federal departments, before I made a decision to release the project. Note that that condition to release it was with the understanding of several key conditions that the proponent must undertake, which include further scrutiny and further environmental assessment in the context of fisheries and oceans and within the context of my provincial counterpart in fisheries.

So the project still has some hurdles to go through. That's where it is. As the matter is before the courts, that's about all I can say.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS. ROGERS: Mr. Speaker, I ask the minister: Has he asked DFO to do an evaluation of the impact salmon aquaculture has had on fish habitat on the South Coast before approving the Placentia Bay aquaculture project and, if so, will be table it?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries, Forestry and Agrifoods.

MR. CROCKER: Mr. Speaker, it's absolutely amazing. In the first question, the leader of the Third Party gets up and talks about diversifying the economy and creating jobs. Then they get up and criticize a project that's gone through an environmental review. They're criticizing an industry that is $161 million this year in this province.

It's the major provider of employment on the Connaigre Peninsula. It's revitalized that region of the province and it's just astonishing that she would get up in this place and criticize our due diligence in a project that's going to, if approved, create many jobs in the province. It's astonishing, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The time for Question Period has expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

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. Member for Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this hon. House today to present a petition regarding our seniors once again, 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 Budget 2016 dramatically cut home care hours to many of the province's most vulnerable people;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge government to immediately reinstate much-needed supports to those who need it and to develop a plan to further address the growing needs of people requiring home care support.

And as in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, I raised this petition in the House yesterday as well and talked about how this year, more than any other year, I have had calls of distress to my office and people literally in tears because of the negative impact that Budget 2016, brought down by the Liberals, has had on their lives and on their well-being.

I'm sure many people in the province have read the story on the front page of The Telegram today which brought tears to my eyes, Mr. Speaker. This is the reality, the situation that many people in our province find themselves in. There was a decision by the Liberal government.

They can find money, Mr. Speaker, to hire their friends in positions in the House of Assembly and across the government bureaucracy, but they saw fit to cut home care to the most vulnerable citizens of our province, and that being our seniors and our persons with challenges who truly need this care.

Across the board in every single community of this province, every single person who is a recipient of home care has lost at least one hour, Mr. Speaker. That one hour makes a huge difference to the people who need and rely on home care to have somewhat of a decent quality of life. It's absolutely shameful.

I think it's deplorable that you would see the government opposite continue to fill vacancies and appoint their Liberal friends in positions, at the same time cutting services to our seniors who they claim is a big priority for them. It's absolutely devastating, Mr. Speaker, and I truly hope that they see wisdom in the months ahead to reverse the decisions that they're making, to truly do what they said they were going to do in terms of helping seniors, and that is helping them right where they need it most: in their homes.

Thank you so much, Mr. Speaker.

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

MR. KENT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. 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 provincial wait-lists for long-term care continue to grow; and

WHEREAS hospital beds are increasingly being occupied by individuals who are in need of long-term care; and

WHEREAS this government cancelled the previous administration's plan to increase capacity by 360 beds province-wide;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge government to immediately develop a plan to address the shortage of long-term care beds in order to ensure people receive appropriate care and are treated with dignity.

And as in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, I know I continue to raise this issue because it's an important one and, frankly, had government followed through with the plan of the previous administration, we would have 360 new beds nearing completion right now in Corner Brook, in Central Newfoundland, Grand Falls-Windsor, Gander areas, and also here on the Northeast Avalon.

Wait-lists continue to grow. There is a growing need for long-term care. And I agree with the Minister of Health and Community Services, consistent with the Close to Home strategy of the previous administration, we need to do everything we can to enable our elderly to remain in their own homes and in their own communities as long as they wish to do so. And that requires a different approach –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. KENT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

That requires a different approach than what appears to be being taken at this point in time. Even with best efforts made to strengthen home care, even though the recent budget did the opposite, and even with efforts to enhance services offered to personal care homes, there will still inevitably be a need for long-term care services, expanded services, given the aging demographics that we find here in this province.

So it's time for action. It takes time to build new infrastructure. It takes time to open new beds. In the past year, we've actually seen a reduction in beds which makes no sense, given the magnitude of the challenge.

So yes, let's do everything we can to enable people to remain in their homes as long as possible with as much independence as possible, but we can't ignore the urgent need for more long-term care which is resulting in cancelled surgeries, it's resulting in patients laying in hallways on stretchers, and backups in emergency rooms.

Mr. Speaker, action is needed and it's needed now.

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cape St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS the recreational ground fishery is part of our culture, history and heritage; and

WHEREAS the federal government is proposing a tag system for the recreational fishery for 2017; and

WHEREAS participants would have to purchase a licence and purchase tags in order to participate in the recreational fishery;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge government to urge the federal government not to implement a cost or fees for those participating in the recreational fishery in 2017.

And as in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, the reason why I wanted to bring this forward today: Today is the last day for anyone to put an application or talk to DFO on this before they do their final analysis of what they're going to do. It sounded like, to me, when I went to the meeting that this is a done deal and they're just trying to figure out the number of tags, cost and small stuff like this.

The Minister of Fisheries the other day, when asked, said that we'll be treated the same way as Atlantic Canada. Well, I'd like to inform the Minister of Fisheries that the rest of Atlantic Canada this year will not have to use tags nor will the rest of Atlantic Canada have to pay to go to the recreational fishery, food fishery or whatever you want to call it.

So I really want to emphasize to the minister that all we're asking for is to be treated like the rest of Canada when it comes to our groundfish. Our residents shouldn't have to pay. I agree that there should be some way to monitor how much fish we're catching. It's important for science. It's important for when we do allocations on quotas and whatnot in the future. So it is important. But there are other ways to do it than asking regular Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to pay to go out to catch a cod, which is our right to go out and catch a cod as far as I'm concerned.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

Orders of the Day

Private Members' Day

MR. SPEAKER: It being Private Members' Day, I call on the Member for the District of Terra Nova to proceed with his private Member's resolution. 

MR. HOLLOWAY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is certainly my pleasure to stand in the House today and introduce this private Member's resolution:

WHEREAS Newfoundland and Labrador has a diverse and thriving social enterprise sector, which is actively meeting social, cultural, economic and environmental needs throughout the province; and

WHEREAS social enterprises can help communities control their own economic future, fill critical gaps in the economy, and provide space for a new generation of entrepreneurs to apply their skills; and

WHEREAS social enterprise development is another innovation tool for advancing regional growth opportunities to benefit the economy;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that this hon. House supports the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador's initiative to implement a social enterprise action plan, including long-term strategic goals supported by an annual work plan and certainly it would be tabled early in 2017.

I'm pleased to move this motion today, Mr. Speaker. The motion will be seconded by the hon Member for St. George's – Humber.

I just want to talk a little bit, Mr. Speaker, about social enterprises and the social enterprise action plan in this province. This private Member's resolution stems from The Way Forward vision statement which was released by the Premier last month.

Specifically, it is identified as Action 2.5 under the heading: A Stronger Economic Foundation. So I just want to talk about that for a second, Mr. Speaker. It says, as outlined in The Way Forward document, there is specific action related to increasing the number of social enterprises in Newfoundland and Labrador and enhancing the services of existing social enterprises.

So to do this, the vision document states that “our Government will develop a Social Enterprise Action Plan, including long-term strategic goals supported by an annual work plan. Social enterprise development is another innovation tool for advancing regional growth opportunities to benefit the economy, support rural sustainability and encourage entrepreneurial governance models and service delivery.”

Mr. Speaker, I was particularly pleased to be able to stand and speak to this resolution today, given my vast experience working in the community prior to coming to this hon. House. I can tell you that having been a long-term volunteer in the community and having been out there helping with community economic development with a number of social enterprises and others in the province, I certainly understand the intent of the resolution. I want to talk a little bit about a definition of a social enterprise and the impact it's really going to have on this province, but specifically about rural Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, while the term social enterprise may seem relatively new to some people it is not, in and of itself, a new concept. There are lots of examples of social enterprises in our province and across the country. The first challenge is to actually define what social enterprise really is. There are a number of definitions out there describing social enterprises. I think I'll talk about a couple of those.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) – some people may recognize the acronym – defines social enterprise as “any private activity conducted in the public interest, organised with an entrepreneurial strategy, but whose main purpose is not the maximisation of profit but the attainment of certain economic and social goals, and which has a capacity for bringing innovative solutions to the problems of social exclusion and unemployment ….”

The Government of Canada also defines social enterprise a little bit differently. They say a social “enterprise that seeks to achieve social, cultural or environmental aims through the sale of goods and services. The social enterprise can be for-profit or not-for-profit but the majority of net profits must be directed to a social objective ….” Now we believe, Mr. Speaker, this is the better definition and fits with the objects we are after in this initiative.

Recently, I was fortunate enough to read a discussion paper that was provided by the Community Sector Council here in this province. It was titled: Accelerating Change, Thoughts on How to Build a Social Enterprise Strategy for Newfoundland and Labrador. I just want to read for a second, in terms of the definition that comes out in this paper.

It talks about, “Social enterprises are community-based businesses that sell goods or services in the market place to achieve a social, cultural and / or environmental purpose, and they reinvest their profits to support that purpose. In the context of Canada's economy and social fabric, social enterprises are demonstrating true innovation along with economic and social impact.” It's contained in the report but it's comes from the Social Enterprise Council of Canada.

Mr. Speaker, our economy is made up of three distinct, yet overlapping economic models: the private sector, which we are all familiar with. The second is the public sector, and the third is known by many names. It's known as the not-for-profit sector. It is known as a charitable sector, the voluntary sector, and these days it's most commonly identified as the community sector. This third sector is also being increasingly referred to as the social economy.

I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, over my years working in the community and working specifically with the Community Sector Council on a number their initiatives, I often heard that term about the social economy. I think those listening at home would certainly be aware of that terminology as we're talking about it today.

Mr. Speaker, the intent of this motion today is to offer support for the government as they move forward with a plan to increase the level of activity in our province within the social economy. The things that fit under the social enterprise heading are things like co-operatives and non-profit organizations, charities, community associations, credit unions and businesses created to provide sustainability – and I think that's a key word here, Mr. Speaker – to organizations providing community supports.

I just want to talk a little bit about a couple of examples to help people, I guess, truly understand, what does a social enterprise really look like. So let's use an example that we're all familiar with. The one I want to talk about is the Epilepsy Association of Newfoundland and Labrador. It's a charity that does a lot of good work for people with epilepsy. They provide needed supports their clients. They provide supports to the families of people living with this condition. They invest in research for new treatments for epilepsy and so on.

They're keenly interested in a socially important issue, and, in fact, a health issue in the community. The Epilepsy Association of Newfoundland and Labrador also operate a retail store, and the profits from the store are being used to reinvest into the social and community objectives of the association. So in a nutshell, Mr. Speaker, this is a social enterprise. It employs people, consumes its own share of products and services in its operation, and it provides a needed service in the community and in the consumer marketplace.

I also just want to talk for a second, Mr. Speaker, about a social enterprise within my district, within the great District of Terra Nova. I want to talk about the Clarenville area SPCA. Similar to the Epilepsy Association of Newfoundland and Labrador, they provide an important service to the community, and that's the protection and prevention of cruelty to animals. What they've been doing over the last couple of years is they would have spring sales and fall sales, and they recognized they were getting a lot of contributions from the community. Probably too much that they could sell on a one-day occurrence.

So they opened up a thrift store this year. They built on an extension to the SPCA and they opened up a thrift store. Now they employ people. They're selling things back to the community at a lower cost, especially for people who might have some challenges in terms of requiring goods and services. So they're providing and filling a niche that exists in the community. That's another great example, Mr. Speaker, of what a social enterprise can do in many rural communities in this province.

It's quite possible, Mr. Speaker, the first one in our province was established as far back as 1895. In that year, a co-operative was established in Red Bay, Labrador, by Sir Wilfred Grenfell as part of the Grenfell Mission effort to improve the lives of fishers and their families.

The formation of the Fogo Island fishers co-operative – another good example of a social enterprise, Mr. Speaker – through what is known as the Fogo process is recognized worldwide as an example of how the co-operative model can help facilitate the development of self-sustaining rural communities.

In practice, social enterprises are community-based organizations that run some form of business generating revenue through the production and sale of goods and services. With the revenue generated, social enterprises reinvest in community goals. Such enterprises can provide a public service which benefits the entire community, while at the same time playing a lead role in the creation and maintenance of a competitive economic environment.

Social enterprises have the potential to provide affordable services through the collective production of goods and services, which can be a clear benefit of many rural communities. Such enterprises can play a lead role in job creation and provide entrepreneurial skills and experience to those involved.

I just want to go back for a second, Madam Speaker, and give you a couple of examples of really what happens within social enterprises that currently exist in this province.

The Community Sector Council did a survey of social enterprises in the province in 2014. I just want to talk a little bit. They provide paid employment for at least 815 workers in Newfoundland and Labrador, together earned over $5 million in wages and salaries; 528 people were employed as part of the mission of the social enterprise, so those with disabilities and other employment barriers.

The total revenue earned by these 30 groups that were part of the survey in 2014 was at least $10 million. It includes sales of goods and services of $6 million. So they have a tremendous impact in this province, Madam Speaker, in terms of what social enterprises do.

This is an opportunity for our government to connect with the action plan, to other activities such as the Business Innovation Agenda, the co-op development memorandum of understanding and other regional economic development initiatives.

Madam Speaker, Newfoundland and Labrador's social enterprise are operating in a range of sectors, including tourism, construction, the arts, fisheries, home care, social housing services to people with disabilities and the list goes on and on and on.

True social enterprises are non-profit organizations run by volunteer boards, with no profits paid out to individual shareholders. The organization's focus must be on some broader community benefit and the examples that I have given thus far, Madam Speaker, certainly speak to that. It is about the benefit to communities.

Social enterprise has really been a big business in this Nation. Wages and salaries – just talking about what's happening across Canada, there was also a survey in 2016 about social enterprises across the country and 26 per cent of social enterprises in Canada provide employment development; 19 per cent provide workforce training for workforce integration; and 19 per cent generate income for a parent or a non-profit organization. So, Madam Speaker, even across the country, social enterprises are having a tremendous impact in many of the communities.

We have a lot of social enterprises coming into the market and we want to capitalize on this type of economic opportunity. That's why we're bringing forward this resolution today and that's why we're also keenly interested in the debate that's going to happen this afternoon.

I look forward to coming back towards the end of the afternoon, hearing what others have to say and providing some more commentary.

Thank you very much, Madam Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MADAM SPEAKER (Dempster): The Speaker recognizes the hon. Member for Mount Pearl North.

MR. KENT: Thank you, Madam Speaker, and good afternoon.

I want to thank the Member for Terra Nova for bringing forward this motion today. I also commend him for taking an approach this afternoon that didn't sound at all politically charged, to me. I think that's a really good thing, and I say that sincerely.

Social enterprise can play a real role in helping our economy and helping communities and helping vulnerable sectors of our population. So it's a cause that was talked about within government, as the Member would know, in 2013, 2014, 2015. I only have a little bit of time but I want to take some time to highlight some of the progress that has been made. Not necessarily by the past the government, even though I'm pleased that we supported some of the work, but by the community sector and by social enterprises in our province that have been pioneers and leaders.

Recognizing I don't have a lot of time, I want to start by saying that I support the spirit and intent of the motion for sure. It would be crazy not to, given the work we've done in recent years. I don't need to spend time defining social enterprise; I think the Member did a good job of doing that.

I think this is an issue of significant importance. I also take some comfort in the fact that the Minister of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development is also a believer in social enterprise. Based on our past discussions and based on the experience that I know he has in his own district, I know that to be true, so I think that's a good thing as well.

I think I've been way too positive already, but I'll tone it down. I know I'm making you nervous, so I'll tone it down from here on in. I don't want to spend too much time giving a history lesson, but I will point out that in a couple of previous Blue Books, under the past administration, there were some commitments made to helping support and advance social enterprise. And those things were brought to fruition. There were initiatives that were untaken that helped move the ball further down the field, so to speak.

I'm pleased to see social enterprise highlighted in The Way Forward document because it shows that government is committed to continuing to advance that work. I think that's really positive. It's fairly difficult work. I spent a good chunk of career, before going into provincial politics, working in the community sector. While I wasn't directly involved in social enterprise, I partnered with and worked with a number of organizations that were.

And during my time as the parliamentary secretary in the role the Member now holds, and then later as minister responsible for the Office of Public Engagement, I had a chance to work directly with people in the sector that were engaged in this work. I think it's important to note that several provinces have also developed their own social enterprise action plans, so I think there are some things we can learn from them.

I want to make it clear that I don't believe that governments can just say we need more social enterprises and it will happen because I know that not to be true. This requires real collaboration between sectors and I think we've got the right champions here in this House and the right champions in the community to help make that happen.

Even though governments can't just say it and make it happen there are multiple ways in which governments can enable organizations to pursue social enterprises. Government can ensure access to good funding that enables developments to occur. Government can ensure access to good business expertise and skills to support the work of organizations that wish to pursue social enterprise. Government can help encourage access to good marketing support and advice that organizations would need to pursue social enterprise.

One of the things that I like most about social enterprise is that it can create opportunities to employ people who may have difficulty entering or staying connected to the workforce otherwise. And we've seen some great examples of that here in Newfoundland and Labrador. I hope during the debate this afternoon that some Members will have a chance to talk about some of those examples and pay tribute to some of the leaders that have really been pioneers in this area. I hope in my time I'll have a chance to do a little bit of that as well.

I would encourage government, as they pursue a social enterprise action plan, to also consider the potential implications for our Aboriginal communities. I say that because I do know that there's been some good work done in Manitoba that's worth looking at, and figuring out how we might be able to partner with some of our indigenous communities to foster greater social enterprise in those communities as well.

Here I go being positive again, but I also am pleased to see the new federal government pick up where the previous federal government left off in making this a priority as well. It has been clearly stated in the mandate letters of several of the new federal ministers that they have a role to play in advancing social enterprise. I think that's a good thing as well.

For those organizations that get involved in social enterprise, I think it's important to note that it has to be a good product or service that's being used for training or to create employment. Social enterprise is not going to be a solution or an opportunity for every single one of our hundreds of non-profit organizations out there, but I believe that it can play a valuable role for a good number of our organizations, a good number of communities and a good number of municipalities in this province.

On that note, if communities were to come together to create employment, for instance by taking over an old fish plant and transforming it into something, that's good and that's worthwhile. But that's very different than if you were to undertake an initiative to create employment for a group of individuals with specific needs. It's all valid. It's all community enterprise. It's all social enterprise. I think there's a real array of opportunity available to us, to the community sector, to the business sector and to communities throughout our province, particularly rural ones, even though we've seen some really good examples of social enterprise here in this urban region as well.

I'd also say based on what I've seen in the past that establishing social enterprises requires very detailed business planning. It requires leadership with a high level of management expertise within the organization, executive directors or CEOs that really get it and have the skills and experience to ensure success.

Because we're talking about often non-profits, it requires boards of directors that are prepared to take some risks. It requires boards of directors that are prepared to think big and act boldly in terms of pursuing social enterprise opportunities. I'd also say that one of the challenges I think government will face that – certainly I can't speak for the entire Opposition, but I'll speak for myself. I'd personally be willing to support and help with this.

I think there are new approaches required to government funding models. It might not necessarily mean new money but it might mean changing the rules of existing funding, particularly within – I'm thinking of AESL as it's now known, and Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development.

There are many government programs that don't preclude non-profits from applying, but if non-profits don't have equity, if non-profits don't have the means to put some cash in themselves upfront, then in the borrowing world it makes it very difficult for them to step up to the plate. There are existing government programs that non-profits aren't technically ineligible from, but because of the way we've traditionally run them, it's not easy for non-profits to access those funds. So I think there's a role for government departments to work together to try and address that. Again, I give credit to the minister. I think, based on my previous conversations when we sat opposite, I suspect there's some willingness to explore that.

Just around that whole funding model issue, I think that's why the concept of social financing is so important. I don't doubt when the Member concludes, he'll have more to say about that as well. I think we just need to make some changes to some of our government systems to better enable social enterprise to happen. I think that is possible, I really do.

I was pleased to hear the Member acknowledge that this is not a new concept. There were comments in the Blue Book and in Throne Speeches in the last number of years, just to go back as far as 2011-2012. The 2011 Blue Book read: “We will encourage approaches to support and strengthen social/community enterprise activity and encourage a greater understanding of the social enterprise model as a legitimate means of economic, social, environmental and cultural development.”

There were some tangible initiatives that came out of that. There was a Counterparts Gathering in 2012-2013, that I know the Member would be familiar with. There was commentary in the Throne Speech in 2012 that led to further action. During a national Counterparts Gathering that happened here – I don't know if it was 2012 or 2013 – we actually organized an evening showcase of the Hungry Heart Cafe to profile a provincial example of social enterprise.

As recently as 2014, social enterprise was the focus of our Community Summit where over 200 participants attended. One of the things coming out of that was a renewed commitment by government to promote social enterprise. Promoting social enterprise is not enough, Madam Speaker. It's about creating the right environment for social enterprises to flourish and to succeed.

I'm sorry for talking really fast today, but there's a lot I want to say because I really care about this issue. I'm passionate about it and I am actually really excited about the fact that government is going to follow through with pursuing this because there has been some good groundwork laid. The Member, as a former staff person within the Office of Public Engagement, I know is well familiar with some of that groundwork.

I think it's important to commend the Community Sector Council. I was pleased to hear him reference the recent discussion paper. I had a chance to review that myself. It sounded very familiar. It was very consistent with some of the discussions I've had with Ms. Penny Rowe and others over the last number of years.

I think it's important to acknowledge her contribution because she has been a national leader in social enterprise, advocacy and development. She has proven to be second to none in this field. She has proven it by contributing to some of the success stories here in Newfoundland and Labrador, which I hope we'll hear more about later this afternoon. The esteem which she is held is a testament to her success. That ought to be acknowledged by all of us here today, and I'm sure it will be.

I think the Community Sector Council has made it really easy for government to finalize an action plan, to build on the work that's been done in the last number of years. It's all mapped out in the discussion paper.

There has been a working group inside government. I don't know if the current government has maintained it but I suspect they have. There was an internal working group of multiple departments coming together to figure out how government can be better able to support social enterprise. Two of the departments I've mentioned, but there are others that definitely have a role to play as well. In addition, there was an external working group where some of the leaders and pioneers in social enterprise in our province came together to advise government on what on action plan should look like.

I'm proud to have been part of that work. I'm proud to have encouraged that work. I'm sincerely happy to hear government talking about taking the next steps. I think that's something we should all get behind.

I want to propose what I consider to be a friendly amendment, because I think it's important we honour and respect the work that has been done and acknowledge that it's not all brand new. One of the WHEREAS clauses in the existing motion suggests that, basically, this is all going forward. It doesn't effectively reflect the fact that there's a lot of good work that has been done by, not government, but people in our province that we need to build on. So I'm going to propose what I consider to be a friendly amendment, Madam Speaker, then hopefully I'll have an opportunity to conclude my remarks.

I move, seconded by the Member for Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune, that the resolution be amended by adding immediately after the third WHEREAS clause the following: “and WHEREAS the province has made significant advances in promoting social enterprise growth through the initiatives of the Voluntary and Non-Profit Secretariat, the Office of Public Engagement and others working in collaboration with the social enterprise sector throughout Newfoundland and Labrador;” and by deleting the word “implement” and substituting the words “build the hard work and success of the social enterprise sector in our province by implementing.”

That's the amendment that I'd like to ask the House to consider and to support this afternoon.

Madam Speaker, I present that for your consideration before we go any further.

MADAM SPEAKER: The Member for Mount Pearl North has proposed an amendment to the PMR and this House will take a brief recess to consider the amendment.

Recess

MADAM SPEAKER: Order, please!

Are the Whips ready?

I have reviewed the amendment proposed by the Member for Mount Pearl North and found it to be in order.

The hon. the Member for Mount Pearl North.

MR. KENT: Thank you, Madam Speaker, and thank you for that wise and inspired ruling as well.

I've only got a minute left, so I'd like to draw Members' attention to the discussion paper that both of us have referenced today. I draw your attention, just to illustrate my point, and why I'm asking for your support of the amendment. There's a social enterprise sector survey that was done by the Community Sector Council that looked at what social enterprise looked like in our province in 2014. It shows that this sector has been alive and well for some time. I think there's room for exponential growth. I think there's a ton of work to be done, but at the same time we've got a strong foundation on which to build.

The roadmap to an action plan is laid out in this discussion paper: identify the issues, bring people to the table, convene a high-level task force on social enterprise, build business acumen, improve access to capital and investment opportunities, support additional market opportunities for social enterprises, promote and demonstrate the value of social enterprises, make Newfoundland and Labrador a policy leader and help build networks and community engagement. And there are action steps associated with each of those pillars.

It's a great discussion paper. It builds on the great work that's been done in this province over the last number of years. I commend those involved in social enterprise, and I thank the Member for Terra Nova for bringing forward this motion today. I hope we can amend it and I hope we can all support it.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MADAM SPEAKER: Order, please!

I remind the hon. Member his time for speaking has expired.

The Speaker recognizes the hon. Member for St. George's – Humber.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. REID: Thank you, Madam Speaker.

It's great to rise and participate in this debate today. I think it's a very useful debate. And for the people at home maybe who are just tuning in and not familiar with what is happening here, today is Wednesday; it's Private Members' Day. We take the time to debate a motion that is put forward by a private Member of the House, someone who is not in the Cabinet, and we have an opportunity to sort of discuss and bring attention to an issue.

These debates are great opportunities to give increased profile to an issue and to gauge the support for a concept that's coming forward. So it's very appropriate that the Member for Terra Nova has brought forward this type of motion here today, because it gives us an opportunity to have some discussion about social enterprises and the significance that they play in our province and the increasing significance they could play in our province as well. So it's great to be here to have the opportunity to debate on this kind of issue. These private members' motions are an important part of the proceedings here today.

So social enterprises, this motion specifically relates to Action 2.5 in the recently released document The Way Forward. The Way Forward document outlines a plan for reorganizing government to address some of the economic, social and fiscal challenges that we face. And the plan outlines specific actionable items with a timeline and measurable outcomes. So it's a significant piece of policy direction that this action item is part of.

And this plan is important in that it sets a direction that can be sort of recognized by people who work with government, by the public and by other agencies in society as well. So it's an important document and it's an important, sort of, part of that document.

There are some principles that are sort of outlined in that document that I guess relate to the possibilities that can be generated through social enterprise. And some of the guiding principles for The Way Forward were: We will do better with less. We can do better by spending less. We will collaborate. We'll collaborate across government departments in government. We'll collaborate between the sectors of the economy. Collaborating is another sort of principle of The Way Forward.

We will also challenge ourselves to do better. Challenge ourselves to do things in new ways. So challenging ourselves as a province and as a people, those are some guiding principles laid out in The Way Forward document.

One of the items under building a stronger economic foundation is we will increase the number of social enterprises in Newfoundland and Labrador, and it's one of the action items from this plan.

It's not surprising, as the Member opposite who spoke mentioned that it had been an item in their policy books; it's also an item in our red book in the last election that we would increase focus on social enterprises in society.

As previous speakers have mentioned, it's a concept that's a little difficult to define. Some people use narrow definitions; others use broad. But I guess really the world forum on social enterprises have a working definition that sort of is fairly broad. It says, pursuing social development using business methods. Others have defined it as earning revenue and achieving social or environmental missions. There are different ways of defining it but, generally speaking, it's pursuing social development through business means.

Let's look at some examples of social enterprises. One example that I want to talk a little bit about – and I'll be cognizant of the time, but it's Choices for Youth here in St. John's. They train people who are often hard to employ, employing local youth in retrofitting and renovating low-income housing. Through their efforts, the way they operate, they offer training to hard-to-employ people sometimes. They also increase the benefit of social housing here in the St. John's area. So it's very beneficial all around in terms of the way they operate.

Another example – and it's already been mentioned here in the House – is Stella's Circle, which operates the Hungry Heart Cafe. A similar sort of model, they offer training and employment to people who often have a difficulty finding employment.

Anyone who hasn't been to the Hungry Heart Cafe down at Rawlins Cross, I certainly would encourage people to go there. The food is great. Everything is wonderful. You're also supporting a social enterprise that does a lot of good work here in the community. I've been there many times. I know other Members of the House have been there as well. The Hungry Heart Cafe is a very good example of a social enterprise.

I'll just name a few other social enterprises here in the province. For example, the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association does some work in that regard, Avalon Employment, St. Anthony Basin Resources. Child care facilities around the province, some of them are organized in this social enterprise manner. Ambulance services in some areas of the province are organized in this way, gas stations in some places. Recycling efforts are also organized in this sort of way. They use business practices to promote a social or environmental practice. So it's a very important contribution that these types of enterprises make to the province.

It's important to recognize that social enterprises are nothing new in this province. Some of the early co-operatives in the 1800s could be defined as social enterprises. Some people say the earliest social enterprise in the province was established in Madam Speaker's district that she represents in Red Bay, Labrador, by Sir Wilfred Grenfell in 1895 as part of the Grenfell Mission there. Others would say the co-operative on Fogo Island was a good example of a rural social enterprise. The process they used in setting up that co-operative is a very good example of social enterprise as well.

We have a strong history of social enterprises in this province, but we still have a lot of potential, unused potential, undeveloped potential that could be very beneficial to the province. So that's the objective of this effort. Something that this motion is reinforcing is how can we lead to the establishment of more social enterprises and more benefit for the economy.

There are a few challenges that people, who want to establish social enterprises, face as they work to do the things they do. One of the challenges is access to capital. In terms of the way government organizes its funding programs and other lending institutions offer their funding programs, and the availability of capital to the social enterprises.

We just went through the process of changing our procurement legislation here in this province. That's another area that has the potential to have an impact on social enterprises in this province, because it allows the province to look into the terms of community benefit. Rather than just the lowest price, we look at the best value.

It's very encouraging that some of the changes we've made to legislation, such as the procurement act, will possibly have a positive benefit to social enterprises in this province. Also, I think a challenge is public perception and the way we think of the different roles that organizations play in the province.

Those are some of the challenges we face in terms of the way we educate people. I know at Memorial University, one of the things they're doing is they're offering courses on social enterprises as part of the undergraduate business program, and the graduate program in business in terms of social enterprises. It's a concept that's getting better established, more people are doing.

One of the things I did before I ran for public office was teach at the university. One of the courses I taught there was change management in the MBA program at Memorial. I was struck by how young people thought differently about the idea of jobs and the work they were doing. Many of them were very entrepreneurial, and many of them were entrepreneurial in a way that they wanted to have a lifestyle sort of job, something they were passionate about. They wanted to pursue something they were interested in. Social enterprise was something that was just part of the way they thought.

I think the whole idea of pursuing opportunities to encourage social enterprises in this province is a great thing. I think it's something that we as a government have to facilitate and encourage. So I encourage all Members to support this motion.

Thank you very much, Madam Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MADAM SPEAKER: The Speaker recognizes the hon. Member for Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS. PERRY: Thank you, Madam Speaker.

It's certainly an honour and a privilege for me to rise in the House today and speak to this very important private Member's resolution before the House today.

I have often spoken in this Chamber about my previous life. One of the activities we engaged in, as I worked with the Regional Economic Development Board, was social enterprise. So I had the benefit of seeing firsthand just how valuable this initiative is and just what a difference it can actually make in communities. I'm going to reference a little bit, I guess, about some actual examples of where we've seen social enterprise thrive.

I, too, would like to echo the comments of my colleague from Mount Pearl North regarding Penelope Rowe, who has been with the Community Services Council and has certainly been a trailblazer in this regard. I would say one of my mentors and one of the people I often looked up to over the years in my time with the Regional Economic Development Board. She was always a wealth of information, a wealth of great advice and certainly a great champion for volunteers across all of Newfoundland and Labrador. Hats off to her for continuing to pursue this initiative and ensuring it stays uppermost in government discussions as we move the province forward.

Looking at some examples of success, one that goes back 99 years, Madam Speaker, is NONIA, that enterprise where they are knitting. They began knitting actually for our soldiers who were in war. I don't know how many people know the story of how it originated, but it actually originated in a community of my district, Pool's Cove, and from there, it grew to a province-wide, successful, thriving enterprise. And just this week I posted to my Facebook page a call where they're looking for more people who can provide knitting services. They'll provide the wool and they'll pay knitters for their time, so I certainly encourage anyone who does have that skill to contact NONIA and see if they can contribute to this social enterprise themselves.

And I have two others in my district as well: Pool's Cove Crafts continues to operate today, as well as Yarn Point Knitters. These are enterprises that employee the women in our communities, many of whom were homemakers while their husbands were away at work as fisherpersons. And this enabled them to contribute to the family wealth and to ensure they got out and about with friends and neighbours in the community. So it is a wonderful example, Madam Speaker, of things that are happening right now on the ground that are so successful.

As we all know, volunteers are really the heart of many of our communities. We have well over 20,000 people in our province who are employed in the voluntary and not-for-profit sector, and nearly 200,000 people in our province who volunteers. They contribute well over 35 million hours of valuable, unpaid time to their communities and community organizations, Mr. Speaker. We certainly are very supportive of seeing further expansion of social enterprise in our province.

I'll talk a little about these enterprises now that many of you may be very well aware of and will have, I am sure, benefited from seeing some of their concerts or eating some of their wonderful food. For example, Rising Tide Theatre, the Hungry Heart Café, Stellar Burry – Community Services – this is also one of my favourite places, Mr. Speaker; I certainly enjoy a good meal at the Hungry Heart Café. They have outstanding services down there and a really great example of how you can take volunteerism and turn it into a viable, profitable enterprise that employees many people who need that employment so very much.

Another example many of us in the province are quite familiar with is SABRI, the St. Anthony Basin Resources Inc., the Shorefast Foundation in Fogo, Evergreen Recycling, supported employment corporations, and of course, the international award winning Enactus.

So, Mr. Speaker, just for purposes of ensuring, I guess, that we have a good understanding of what social enterprises are in our communities, they are businesses that are operated by volunteers, not for profit of a single person or a single group of shareholders, but for the benefit of the community as a whole.

Let's look at Shorefast Foundation as one really great example of that. It's a registered Canadian charity that was established in 2003. They use a model for economic and cultural resilience that hold learnings for small communities everywhere. Many people who are enterprising in smaller communities can look at their model and certainly apply it in their own respective communities, I would suggest. The opportunity is there, particularly in the tourism sector.

Fogo Island is one of Canada's oldest communities and in Fogo now they're reviving many of their traditional skills. It's with the support of the Shorefast corporation that they are able to do that and make money at the same time; money that is then reinvested back into the community.

On Fogo Island, the Shorefast Foundation approach to community revitalization has been to focus on three distinct elements: Fogo Island Arts, which is a not-for-profit organization that facilitates artistic practice that is contemporary, local in context and global in scope; the development of a geo-tourism industry with the construction of the Fogo Island Inn and the creation of a guest experience that is recognized as one of the best in the world; and the development of a micro-lending program where entrepreneurs can establish and grow their own small business on Fogo Island.

The significant success achieved by Shorefast to date illustrates that reviving rural communities really is possible and that the inherent value of rural places can be reclaimed and made relevant for the 21st century; that losing our rural communities and the human ways of life that we have is certainly neither inevitable or necessary, Mr. Speaker. Lots of opportunities exist and through initiatives such as social enterprise, I'm sure we will continue to grow them here in our province.

Let's take a look a little bit more in depth at SABRI. The St. Anthony Basin Resources Inc. was established on the Great Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland and Labrador. This area is a rural, remote area of the province. It has a population of approximately 4,500 people. Like many of the rural communities in Newfoundland and Labrador, this region was really economically devastated by the cod moratorium in 1992, but to compensate for the loss of the cod fishery, many fishers moved into alternative fisheries such as shrimp and crab.

By 1997, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans drastically reduced the allowable catch of shrimp. So while most of the new quota was allocated to private interests and individual harvesters, a special allocation of 3,000 tons of additional catch was given to the St. Anthony region of the Great Northern Peninsula.

SABRI was organized as a non-profit social enterprise in order to manage this special allocation for the benefit of the entire community as a whole. Its mission is to administer a 3,000-metric-ton allocation of Northern shrimp on behalf of the communities from Big Brook to Goose Cove, in a manner resulting in expansion of the region's economic base and improved employment opportunities in harmony with a rural setting and lifestyle.

Mr. Speaker, the special allocation was a means for the government to use quota as a mechanism for community economic development rather than simply sectorial fisheries development. SABRI initially leased out the rights to the community's quota with a requirement that the catch be landed and processed in St. Anthony. In the longer term, SABRI sought international partners to manage the catch, eventually attracting a number of partners with the commitment to build an advanced processing plant in St. Anthony with $12 million in investments.

What a wonderful example of a success story in social enterprise, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS. PERRY: We have many such examples all across this great Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Still talking about SABRI, all their surpluses generated are invested back into the community through business expansion opportunities as well as social and community development. SABRI's business expansion activities are in response to local and international market demand. For example, SABRI is investing in a salt fish market due to demands in Iceland and Newfoundland and Labrador.

In terms of community development, SABRI undertook an oral history project to capture stories of cultural and historical significance, which would be of benefit, Mr. Speaker, not just for today's generation but for generations and generations and generations of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to come.

Additionally, some of SABRI's projects have aspects of both economic expansion and community development. For instance, it started a mussel farming initiative that was intended to be a new economic opportunity, but tight competition has meant that the project was operating at a loss. SABRI, however, continues to run the venture because of the local employment it generates and the positive impact it has had in supplying the local tourism sector.

Through their perseverance, Mr. Speaker, we have no doubt that they will continue to be expanded in years to come and will meet with great success. Of that I have no doubt, because when you endured something and you're committed to something, there's always a way to make it work and volunteers are absolutely the key to all of that. SABRI is an example of the definition of social enterprise that really does work.

I want to talk a little bit more again now, we've listed some – I'm going to run out of time quickly. I'll talk about a few more before I finish off with some comments about the Community Services Council itself.

The Rising Tide Theatre Company is one we've all heard about. Here is what Community Profits say about Rising Tide. “Profit-oriented businesses up the Bonavista Peninsula are dependent on non-profit sector enterprise,” says Butt. “Much of what is happening in the region is driven by non-profit organizations.” Butt emphasizes that, aside from its Board of Directors (Rising Tide is a registered charity and incorporated non-profit), the Company seldom relies on volunteers and strives to provide as much employment as possible, both locally and further afield, specifically to actors, writers, musicians and other stage professionals.

“The Company directly employs 40 people during the summer season (more when touring) and actively cooperates with private sector businesses and other non-profits to develop an enticing package to attract tourists to the region for longer periods.”

I know, Mr. Speaker, even residents from my area love to go and check out what's happening with Riding Tide Theatre. It certainly is an attraction for people all across the province.

In the interest of time, I'd like to talk a little bit about the Community Sector Council. In 2006, they did a report titled, Community Profits: Social Enterprise in Newfoundland and Labrador. At that time, they said for nearly 30 years – of course, that would be 10 years ago, so really now it has been nearly 40 years.

The Community Services Council Newfoundland and Labrador has been a province-wide leader in the voluntary, community-based sector. One of the province's first social entrepreneurs, the Community Services Council has been connecting people and organizations to community resources, mentoring new community enterprises and bringing the voluntary sector and government together on important issues of the day.

“Community Profits is a preliminary inventory of organizations in Newfoundland and Labrador involved in community enterprise activity.” At the time of this report their listing included “about 140 groups, all of which generate some level of revenue through the sale of goods or services on an ongoing or regular basis. Most rely on a variety of funding sources, and almost all have paid staff, although there is a strong volunteer component involved in sales even among many well-established enterprises.” Mr. Speaker, because it's the combination of the volunteer component with the entrepreneurial spirit that makes it all work.

I'm going to run out of time, I only have 30 seconds left. Again, I'm going to refer to my colleague for Mount Pearl North. He listed some of the six pillars of social enterprise development. The Community Services Council has spelled out some very concrete, specific actions in their report of this year, November, 2016, and we look forward to working with them. We truly hope they will materialize, and we're certainly happy to support this motion before the House today.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER (Warr): The hon. the Minister of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development.

MR. MITCHELMORE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want to thank the Member for Mount Pearl North for giving accolades to our Premier for the vision to call for a social enterprise action plan. I also want to thank the Member opposite, Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune, for raising the St. Anthony Basin Resources Incorporated in giving significant time in her talking point to a social enterprise that is doing exceptional work in my district for the 17 communities of the people of the north.

It also gives me great pleasure that the Member for Terra Nova actually put forward this motion, because the role of the social enterprise and the action that's required is quite significant from government, and from all of our partners.

As the Member representing an area and the minister responsible for BTCRD that would lead this social enterprise action plan, I have to say that my district in particular is steeped with social enterprises, whether it goes back to the days of Sir Wilfred Grenfell when he formed co-operatives. The oldest retail co-op in the country is basically the Grenfell Memorial Co-op; well over 100 year's old and still operating today.

There were other things that were done, whether it was in the agricultural measures or as part of the health movement. Wilfred Grenfell started, in 1906, the first sawmill. Yes, as part of the health movement, started a sawmill. That was the first year-round employment that was created on the Great Northern Peninsula that really led to people being able to go from the fishery into forestry in the Canada Bay, the Roddickton area that's steeped in lumbering.

These are initiatives that were taken to help link the economy and a social need as well, linking good health, access to food, access to employment. We see today where social enterprises and social entrepreneurs are continuing to do incredible work.

Shaun Loney, in particular, has a book that he's put forward and done a significant amount of work in Manitoba. I visited the social enterprise centre there. I've met with Shaun several times, and the concept that there are an army of problem solvers out there, and they can help create the solutions economy.

Another aspect of my own personal history to social entrepreneurship and social enterprise is with The Straits – St. Barbe Chronic Care Corporation. It's a non-profit social enterprise that is fulfilling health care needs for people on the Great Northern Peninsula, from Eddies Cove to Castor River, 26 communities, providing 36 personal care beds at Level 1 or Level 2 levels, and they are employing a significant amount of people.

They also manage a Newfoundland and Labrador Housing complex as well for those who are independent living. But it's creating jobs and making sure that people have care close to home. They employ local people and put their profits back into the community. Some of the initiatives they undertake are not that of a typical personal care home because that's not their goal or their initiative because of the concept of how a social enterprise is established.

If we look at St. Anthony Basin Resources Incorporated established in 1997 – I won't get into all the details since the Member for Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune has articulated quite a bit, but I want to say that from a public resource that was 3,000 metric tons that is now 1,252 metric tons, is managed by volunteers, fisher people, fish plant employees, community representatives, and two representatives from development committees.

What they've done is put $16 million in infrastructure in the region, awarded more than $260,000 in scholarships, $600,000 in community economic development, employed more than 225 people, and contributed in excess to $3.5 million in payroll to residents in the SABRI region and donated more than $580,000 to different groups. They continue to get involved in business initiatives such as the Hydraulic Yard Trailer.

There is also a partnership between Clearwater and St. Anthony Basin Resources to operate a state-of-the-art shrimp processing facility. They have a state-of-the-art cold storage which is dependent of all the shrimp plants on the Northern Peninsula and in Labrador. And in doing so, they have attracted an international shipping company, Eimskip there, that has direct links to Europe, which creates significant opportunities.

They partnered with Memorial University, with the International Grenfell Association, with the Research and Development Corporation. They are looking at potential use for blue mussels and sea cucumber in nutraceuticals. With their operating budget and what they've been able to do to upgrade tourism and infrastructure, and recently they've added broadband, supported with Bell and federal and provincial governments; the ability to have St. Carol's, Great Brehat, St. Anthony Bight and Goose Cove East connected to high-speed, broadband Internet. Now, if that isn't a success story, I don't know what is.

There are significant success stories when it comes to social enterprises. I was a member of the Canadian Community Economic Development Network, CCEDNet. They've been involved in promoting social entrepreneurship quite significantly.

If I want to go and point out a couple of examples quickly, BUILD is an example in Winnipeg. It has $1.5 million in annual revenues, 45 employees and was founded in 2006 to help inner-city, unemployed people who are significantly at high risk. A lot of people who would be working here would have potentially been involved in the justice system and would have a high risk of incarceration which can be a significant cost to the social system.

When we look at government right now, when we look at our health care budgets, when we look at justice, when we look at Children, Seniors and Social Development, the funds that add pressures; if we could find ways of which social entrepreneurs and social enterprises can find ways to create employment in areas and give people opportunity, this is a significant opportunity, then, to build up community.

This is what BUILD has done. It's actually, in that process, trained 500 people. It's lowered energy and water bills in 12,500 homes and saved $4 million a year. So when you talk about being a lower-income person, if you're able to have these retrofits done to your home and you're able to save money on your energy or water bill because of the install of a low-flow toilet or a retrofit to your home, that's money now that you can spend on healthier food and other things. That's not money that's leaking out of the economy.

We see that. Impact Construction is a very similar example here in Newfoundland and Labrador. Choices for Youth and their revenues of $439,000 in '15-'16 with 19 employees in St. John's; it was the nominee for the 2016-2017 World Habitat Awards as part of the Building and Social Housing Foundation in Europe.

There's a high youth unemployment problem in the St. John's area and providing housing support, education, legal support, access to mental health counsellors and other supports are certainly part of being able to help in advancing the economy in a very social way. Enactus is part of this role with their action of Project SucSeed and what they're doing in working with Choices for Youth and linking up and making sure that people have access to healthier food, whether it be in the north, Northern communities in partnership with the Nunatsiavut Government or in Nunavut. There are lots of good things happening when it comes to social enterprises.

We've seen examples in St. Lawrence at the Miner's Museum where people with disabilities are actually taking part in a training program and making jewellery out of fluorspar. So there are links and there are solutions. This is why I'm excited about being able to take on an action plan right here and work with my colleagues. Work with colleagues like the Minister of Municipal Affairs in seeing that there's a new Public Procurement Act being put forward. The regulations are being worked on that can take a social focus and an environmental focus as well because this has positive impacts, as well as the Minister for Advance Education, Skills and Labour in the training component and what can be done to link and also, working with my colleagues who have social portfolios.

All of us in the House have a collective responsibility to work very hard and put forward our ideas. There are a lot of great organizations out there. I'm sure my colleague opposite will talk about organizations like Stella's Circle, the Hungry Heart Cafe and other programs in St. John's, but they're all across this province and they're doing great work.

There are solutions where we can have more progressive procurement at public and private institutions and we're starting to see that happen. This social enterprise action plan will have a very positive impact on the economy. I'm very happy to be able to work with everyone here in this House.

I'm so happy that my parliamentary secretary and the Member for Terra Nova put forward this initiative and see this as an important initiative moving forward. This is something that, as we link up our business innovation agenda, as we link up procurement – as you see from the vision it is not about setting strategy, strategy, strategy like the former administration put forward, it's about one strategy linking across all areas.

That's the vision of our Premier. That's a great thing that we're doing right here today. I hope we get collective support here from the House of Assembly.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

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

I'm very happy to stand and speak to this private Member's motion which calls for a strategy and an action plan for social enterprise. We've heard a lot today in this House about what is a social enterprise and why it would be good. I agree with all that.

It is my hope that in fact this is not just talking about how great social enterprises are, and it's not just talking about why we need to do them and what they are, but that actually we will move beyond simply a strategy or a plan, put resources in place and make sure that we put the problems – as Shaun Loney, I believe his name has been mentioned here in this House – in the hands of the problem solvers.

So if that's the case, if that's what we're talking about here today, I'm really excited. I'm excited about what's happening in our communities. Many of my colleagues here in the House today have talked about what's happening in their communities in terms of people, entrepreneurs and civil society doing the work of solving our problems. I would like to congratulate all the people who have done such incredible work over the years in our province, in the country and in the world.

Mr. Speaker, what I would highly recommend to people, and to my colleagues here in the House – I'm sure my colleagues in the House are very knowledgeable about this area. Some people have had a chance to read a book by Shaun Loney who is working in Manitoba and who has started a number of social enterprises in Manitoba. His book has just come out. He's going across the country now on a tour, launching his book and doing town hall meetings about social enterprises. The book is called, An Army of Problem Solvers. I highly recommend our colleagues here to have a look at that book. It's a great study, and very accessible, on the social enterprises that he's had a hand in. He also mentions some of the social enterprises here in Newfoundland and Labrador.

A number of my colleagues have referred to a document prepared by the Community Sector Working Committee. It's called Accelerating Change: Thoughts on How to Build a Social Enterprise Strategy for Newfoundland and Labrador. I highly recommend this document as well. It's available online, no cost. It's a quick read. You can find it on the website of the Community Sector Council. They've done a lot of work in this area. Penny Rowe has been their executive director for a very long time and has done great work. As we've heard here today, some of our colleagues have actually worked with Penny Rowe at the Community Sector Council. The work they do is really based on a firm foundation of community activism and community consultation.

It's been very interesting in this House in the past few days because we've been debating a bill about procurement. One of the issues that I brought up in third reading about our procurement debate is the whole issue of how do we embed values in our procurement bill. That's also how do we embed values in any kind of strategy or action plan around social enterprises.

So I looked at legislation that Scotland has had. They first introduced it in 2008 and then there's been a number of times updating their policies in their legislation. In Scotland in their procurement legislation they have something called a community benefit clause. Really, Mr. Speaker, that's what social enterprise is about. It's about enterprise with a community benefit.

We're at a time in our history right now where some of the three greatest issues that we are dealing with as communities all over the province are the issues of food security, the issues of affordable, accessible housing and the issues of – I had three; it's going to come back. So food security, accessible and affordable housing and accessible and affordable energy; those are three main issues, I think, that become problematic for many communities or for many people in our communities.

Social enterprises are a way to be able – again, as Shaun Loney says, let's put the problems into the hands of the problem solvers. There are several instances around the globe of how social enterprises approach those particular issues. In communities that are somewhat similar to our own, some communities for instance in Manitoba – and I'll get into them.

But one of the things I do really want to stress again is legislation that Scotland has around their procurement. When they rate any kind of application for proposals, they rate those proposals based on is there a community benefit clause. We have that opportunity as well. We have that opportunity to embed those kinds of values in our own procurement bill. Then that would trickle down to looking at the possibility of social enterprises putting bids – for procurement bids.

If we had that embedded in our own procurement bill, then those would be evaluated and scored. Those would actually have points on when any bid is being evaluated. I'm sure many of my colleagues know about Scotland's procurement policy and I would really encourage them – it's accessible, it's online and they also have instances and stories, case studies, of social enterprise-type businesses that have been successful in their bids for procurement and how in fact using those particular enterprises to develop services to the people of Scotland, how it has in fact developed a community benefit. That's really exciting, Mr. Speaker, because we can do the same thing. 

As many of my colleagues have stated when they stood and spoke to this particular issue, they've identified some of the social enterprises that we know of in the province and there are a number in the district that I represent. For instance, Stella's Circle has a number of social enterprises that operate both in my District of St. John's Centre but also in the district of my colleague for St. John's East – Quidi Vidi.

They have started a commercial cleaning program. Again, one of the things is not only the delivery of a benefit to community, but it also provides a working opportunity for people, many of whom have had a hard time finding employment. So Stella's Circle, as we've heard from many of my colleagues, operates the Hungry Heart Café. The Hungry Heart Café not only provides the most incredible food, but it provides training opportunities and employment opportunities for people who have experienced barriers to work. Many of whom have gone on to work in the private sector.

So the spinoffs in terms of the community benefits are really quite impressive, and that is an enterprise that's been on the go for a number of years and is very successful.

We also can see the work that Choices for Youth has done. I've had the opportunity to visit Choices for Youth and meet with some of the participants in their BUILD enterprise where we have young people who've had significant barriers to employment work with unionized workers. That's what I find very interesting, Mr. Speaker, that they've worked with unionized workers at Newfoundland and Labrador Housing to help make our social housing more environmentally friendly and also to help strengthen the environmental efficiency of these houses.

It's been wonderful to be able to meet with them to see the potential partnerships of labour and social enterprises. Because in the end, the goals and the objectives of our social enterprises are the same as the goals and objectives of labour in Newfoundland and Labrador, who also look at what are the community benefits and what is the benefit in the longer term to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. So there are many examples of why this is really important.

I'd also like to raise just a few issues before my time runs out, Mr. Speaker. There are a few warnings that I would like to bring to the table. At one point, one of our colleagues here said this is about doing more with less. I believe that's not a good starting point. We have to ensure that we have certain values embedded. It's not about getting a cheaper workforce; it's not about taking advantage of disadvantaged people. It's about we have to look at what are the embedded values that we want to do in a strategy or an action plan around social enterprise.

We do not want to create even more precarious work. That's not the goal. The goal is not to have work only at minimum wage which, at this point, is not a living wage. We want to ensure that people have a living wage, that people also have benefits. It's not good enough just to create a whole other way of precarious work. We want to make sure that the wage is fair; we want to ensure that people have benefits. It's also possible that many of our social enterprises could be unionized. There's nothing that would stop that.

One of the reasons that people in fact are able to survive on minimum wage is because of the safety nets that we have, because we have subsidized housing, because we have extended subsidized health care benefits. Mr. Speaker, we cannot just see this as a way of getting people jobs who may have incredible barriers to jobs, but we also have to be committed to the values of justice and fairness. Again, I believe that is possible. So any strategy or action plan that is built around social enterprises must have these basic values embedded in it.

I believe that we can do that. The Member for Mount Pearl also pointed out from the Community Sector Council's paper, which again I believe has done a thorough job of looking at what are the main elements that we must ensure are in any kind of strategy or action plan around building social enterprises. There are six pillars there, and I believe, Mr. Speaker, that government has to make a commitment to some of these very fundamental values when they're looking at their action plan.

I believe it's possible, even in this economic time. It's not about finding another way to undercut funding to community groups. In order for community groups to be able to develop social enterprises, they themselves must have a strong foundation. They themselves must have the resources they need in order to develop social enterprises.

They don't just happen; they need the resources to ensure that they have the expertise, that they have core funding that gives them a foundation so that they can go on and be successful businesses that provide valid, fair and just employment opportunities for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, and develop services that are needed by the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER (Osborne): The hon. the Deputy Speaker.

MS. DEMPSTER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'll just take six or seven minutes here to stand and speak to this PMR today that's being introduced on social enterprise. I am really excited and happy to support the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador's initiative to build on the hard work and success of the social enterprise sector in our province by implementing a social enterprise action plan, including long-term strategic goals supported by an annual work plan in 2017.

Mr. Speaker, this afternoon we've been hearing a number of examples of successful social enterprises around the province. I represent a rural district with lots of challenges, some very remote communities, isolated communities, but we have had several success stories around social enterprise. My colleague for The Straits – White Bay North – I don't think it's called that now, is it?

MR. MITCHELMORE: St. Barbe – L'Anse aux Meadows.

MS. DEMPSTER: St. Barbe – L'Anse aux Meadows just reminded me of the Moulder of Dreams. I have a community in my district that unfortunately has a very large population of people with myotonia. So a Moulder of Dreams was a very successful social enterprise and contributed much to their quality of life and gave employment to people that may not have otherwise gotten it.

Then we have the Harbourview Manor in Mary's Harbour, the only level two care home that's in my district. A couple of women sitting around their kitchen saw a need, with aging demographics, people getting older, and decided let's pull together a board of directors and let's see if we can get a home in this area. I think right now that home has 19 residents from around my district. The beauty of that, Mr. Speaker, is their family live within an hour or two hours away.

These people didn't have to leave the place that they called home all their lives and go somewhere else where family couldn't visit them. Because of the social enterprise and the efforts of volunteers in the area, they're in the home and the family is able to come and visit them on a regular basis.

But I really want to focus for the next few minutes, Mr. Speaker, on the Labrador Fishermen's Union Shrimp Company – what a legacy; what an astounding success. Myself and the Minister of Fisheries, Forestry and Agrifoods are just back from attending the 35th annual general meeting. Thirty-five years back in, I think, 1978 that the then minister of the day Roméo LeBlanc made the bold but right decision to give two licences to our area. A couple of fishermen got together, Mr. Speaker, to say: What can we do with those two licences to best help this area, this area that is so economically challenged?

Today, Mr. Speaker, 35 years later, this company realizes annual revenues in the amount of almost $90 million a year – $90 million a year, the Labrador Fishermen's Union, what a success story. Between the land and the sea, the employment that they provide to my district is around 1,200 people. They operate five processing facilities. The largest land processing facility that they operate is in my community in Charlottetown. The only shrimp processing facility in Labrador, a major employer, just that one plant in that little area and it provides employment to a number of communities in the surrounding area, Mr. Speaker.

So I think that the Shrimp Company – we've been talking about different examples of social enterprise and I wanted to put a human face on this – are a shining example of how things can and should work and the incredible success that can be achieved when people come together and work as one region.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS. DEMPSTER: So we're very proud of the Shrimp Company and the countless economic and community benefits. Because, Mr. Speaker, not only did they come together and use these couple of licences to benefit the region right from L'Anse au Clair to Cartwright, but time doesn't permit me to talk about all of the successful things they've done.

The first thing they did, the Bank of Montreal had pulled out of the region, they were starting a company, we had no banking institution anywhere so they provided the initial investment for the Eagle River Credit Union, which is now one of the seven most successful branches in Canada, which also has revenue of over $95 million. So I often wonder does the Bank of Montreal wish they had stayed at that time.

And, Mr. Speaker, the list of what they do to support the community – they had lost some members in a plane crash and they put a couple of scholarships in place, $2,500 scholarships and there are a number of smaller scholarships. And you would be very hard pressed anywhere that you go, to any kind of an event in the district that the Shrimp Company has not supported, Mr. Speaker. So we're very proud of them. And unlike, I guess, a for-profit enterprise, this one was built to aid the development of sustainable employment for coastal communities and to maximize the benefits from fish resources.

Regarding the fishery right now as we kind of move from shellfish to groundfish, we know that the way of the fishery of the future is going to be different than the fishery of the past, and I have every confidence that they will adapt and change and that they will continue to be a success, Mr. Speaker, in whatever road they choose to go down. They've certainly been a leader in providing multi-species fish products throughout Canada, the United States and beyond.

So, Mr. Speaker, with that, I see that my time is gone, but I'm very happy to support, pleased that this was one of the initiatives in The Way Forward document. The Way Forward document is really just a road map, it's a guide, it's something for us to measure ourselves by as we go forward which is very, very important because we do work for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador and we must always be mindful that we have to be accountable to them who ultimately is our employer.

Thank you for the opportunity.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Terra Nova.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HOLLOWAY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

First, I want to say thank you to Members on this side of the House, as well as opposite today, for speaking so positively in favour of this private Member's resolution about developing a social enterprise action plan for the province. The Member for Mount Pearl North – and I think I heard all throughout the discussion this afternoon that everybody talked about wonderful examples of social enterprises that are happening in this province, throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, but also across the country.

I also heard my colleague for St. George's – Humber, on the opposite side of the House Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune and the Minister of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development talking about some similar success stories that are happening, whether it's on the Northern Peninsula, the Member for Cartwright – L'Anse au Clair talking about in Southern Labrador. Lots of great things are happening as well in the St. John's area with Stella's Circle and Choices for Youth. I think there have been a number of commonalities with respect to why these social enterprises have been so successful in linking social concerns in the community to economic development.

I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, that it really stems from The Way Forward vision that our Premier has for this province. I can say to everybody in this House today that, like the Premier, I am somebody that wants to see results. One of the reasons I decided to run for political office is because I wanted to bring that leadership to the province and to create change. I think with the direction that we have from the Premier and my colleagues on this side of the House – and even today I'm seeing support from all of our colleagues on the other side of the House in terms of bringing forward and supporting this private Member's resolution.

One of the most attractive things about The Way Forward vision statement is that it's filled with action plans. It's about doing things. It's not about just talking about what we're going to do, what we might do; it's about actually creating results and reporting with schedules. We talked about that in the vision statement.

The statement is designed to hold government accountable, which is why so much of the plan is outlined in time frames, what we're going to do in six months, in 12 months, in 18 months. So that the people of this province can hold us accountable to the things that we're saying we're going to do.

The plan speaks about things that will happen in the first six months, like adopting a flatter management structure in government and reducing the size of government's building footprint. I know the Minister of Transportation and Works is certainly taking a lead on that. So to support The Way Forward initiative about social enterprise, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is committed to engaging the sector.

There has been a lot of talk this afternoon about the great work the Community Sector Council has done. Specifically, the leadership that Penelope Rowe has provided to engaging previous administrations, as well as this administration, in identifying those common pillars and strategic directions that we need to put in this action plan. I can tell all Members of this House today, that those strategic directions, the advice that has come from this discussion document from the Community Sector Council is part of the strategic directions that we will see in this action plan. We will focus on engaging both within government.

I know the Member for Mount Pearl North talked about, that there was some great work that had gone on in the past where you were engaging other departments of government. Well, I can assure the Member, we will continue to engage government. In terms of breaking down these silos, nothing can happen in this province if we don't unit social and economic development.

I digress for a second, Mr. Speaker, and talk about during my long tenure in the public service it was all about breaking down those silos. In communities, in rural communities in particular, you have to break down silos. That's the only way you can be successful. The things that impact people socially, also impact them economically. So we have to unite that.

Our engagement process is going to look at bringing together all those core departments, getting some input and advice as we develop this action plan and move forward on these strategic directions. But I can tell you, externally, we will also engage stakeholders and look at core areas such as policy development. I can tell you that one is really dear to my heart. I spent a lot of years providing advice, to the previous administration actually, on a number of policy issues. Unfortunately, not much of it was taken serious, but I did make many attempts.

Opportunity identification and access to capital and financing; now, I know the Member for Mount Pearl North referenced he was the former minister of the office of public engagement. He referenced today that access to capital and financing is a critical component of this. I can assure him, those were advice documents that came in but we will bring that to fruition with this action plan.

There has been some discussion about social enterprises and how they help individuals who probably are challenged in our community or might be a bit marginalized. I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, one of the strategic directions is going to be around business-skill development, but also working with our research institutions so that we can focus as well on research.

All of these things will certainly support the pillars that all Members have talked about in the Community Sector Council's discussion document. So we very much endorse the advice the Community Sector Council has brought to us.

There was discussion today as well, Mr. Speaker, around procurement. One of the significant differences in the legislation that has been discussed in this House so far this week around procurement is about value. I think when we're providing opportunities for social enterprises and introducing this legislation that's going to provide extra value in how we provide services and goods to the public then this is another way of supporting this revolution that we're bringing forward today.

Revolution? No, resolution. We're not there yet.

Research about social enterprise activity in Newfoundland and Labrador is limited, but it will be focused on the action plan that we're going to bring forward, Mr. Speaker. Our government has already a number of programs and services which support social enterprises through loans and grants and non-financial services, but we also know we need to be a bit more creative in terms of helping social enterprises.

I know we've been doing some of that in the past, specifically in the craft industry. There are select industries where we've been trying to help them have a positive start in the year, so that they've been able to have a very successful year by selling their products as social enterprises. I know the Department of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development has been very helpful with that.

I would also say, Mr. Speaker, one of the things that have been undertaken this year has been through the business retention and expansion diagnostic tool where we've engaged 25 social enterprises to get some idea about strengths and opportunities, things that they can work on and move forward.

In my previous capacity, I was keenly aware and very much involved with the business retention and expansion program and identifying some of those red flags that we can ask other stakeholders, other partners, other departments as well as our own staff within Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development, to help those social enterprises be extremely successful. Because I think from all Members opposite today, we're all talking about, how do we create success in this province?

From the data gathered from the participating social enterprises, it will be used to identify common challenges. More importantly, Mr. Speaker, about those real solutions so that there are more jobs created, so that there is sustainability. I started the discussion today talking about regional sustainability, and it is one of the reasons why I was keenly interested in bringing forward this private Member's resolution today.

I'll also say for a couple of minutes, Mr. Speaker, that we recognize there are other things that are happening in this province to support social enterprises. The Member for St. George's – Humber talked about the things that are happening at Memorial University. In particular, that there are undergrad courses around social enterprise.

The work the Community Sector Council has done to raise the profile of the importance of social enterprise, we're seeing that now with our academic institutions where they're creating courses for students to study and understand more about the true impact of social enterprises in this province.

I would say, Mr. Speaker, our government is currently planning engagement. It's kind of a two-pronged approach. It's going to be internal to a government department but it's going to also look at some other key stakeholders in the province. I just want to name some of those for a minute, Mr. Speaker, and in particular for all Members of the House so that you know we've started to think this through in terms of whom would we want to hear from.

We're going to continue to engage with our federal government, in particular the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, but there are not-for-profit organizations. There are many successes that were talked about here in this House today. We want to engage with many of them to learn from their experiences and also their successes, but to identify some of the challenges that we can put forward in this action plan so that this action plan is truly meaningful to everybody in the province.

Engagement with Memorial University and the College of the North Atlantic, the Community Sector Council, we would certainly not omit the Community Sector Council. They have tremendous knowledge and experience that they can bring to this table.

The Federation of Co-ops, Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Co-ops, the CBDCs, they are located right across this province working with young entrepreneurs. They have tremendous knowledge and experience helping young entrepreneurs with their business plan development, helping through some of their challenges, whether it's through self-employment opportunities that I know they can avail of through the Department of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour. They would be obviously a critical stakeholder that we'd want to engage.

Municipalities, I think that's been mentioned by a number of speakers here today. They would be also critically important. We want to engage them because social enterprises impact every one of our communities across this province.

Industry associations – and there are other larger organizations within the province. I think specifically around the destination management organizations; there are five of those in this province. They bring together a number of players with great knowledge and expertise. So we want to build upon all of that in our stakeholder engagement. I think, Mr. Speaker, social enterprises are active with social and economic sectors; therefore, looking at policy in all areas. That is important as we embark on this social enterprise action plan.

Just to go back and talk about the interdepartmental committee, it's made up of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour; Health and Community Services; Education and Early Childhood Development; Executive Council, in particular, they're going to help provide some direction advice around policy development and strategic direction; the Government Purchasing Agency, of course, when we talk about procurement and the legislation that we brought forward in this House and debated this week; Municipal Affairs; Children, Seniors and Social Development; and, again, as I referenced earlier, the Department of Transportation and Works. It is very much a cross-government collaboration because we know in order to make this work, we have to break down those silos and we have to bring all those players together.

Mr. Speaker, my time is running down. I just want to say that we look forward to the Department of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development to broaden the consultation process as much as possible. We certainly invite others; if you have ideas on if there's someone else that we should engage, please tell the department. We'll certainly bring that forward and possibly include those specific stakeholders within the social enterprise field as it exists today in our province.

We're very much open and transparent. We're certainly going to be accountable with our action plan. Really, in the end, Mr. Speaker, this action plan is going to be good for rural Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HOLLOWAY: It's going to be about sustainability, providing better mechanisms to make our rural communities very sustainable. I'm looking forward to all Members voting in favour of this resolution. I thank everybody for speaking with your passion and examples here today.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

Is the House ready for the question?

All those in favour of the amendment?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: Those against?

Carried.

All those in favour of the motion as amended?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: Those against?

Carried.

I declare the motion passed.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: It being Private Members' Day, the House is now adjourned until tomorrow at 1:30 p.m.