March
27, 2017
HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS
Vol. XLVIII No. 70
The
House met at 1:30 p.m.
MR. SPEAKER (Osborne):
Order, please!
Admit
strangers.
Please
be seated.
SERGEANT-AT-ARMS:
Mr. Speaker, His Honour the Lieutenant Governor has arrived.
MR. SPEAKER:
Admit His Honour the
Lieutenant Governor.
SERGEANT-AT-ARMS:
All rise.
(Mr.
Speaker leaves the Chair.)
(His
Honour the Lieutenant Governor takes the Chair.)
SERGEANT-AT-ARMS:
It is the wish of His Honour the Lieutenant Governor that all present be seated.
HIS HONOUR THE LIEUTENANT
GOVERNOR (Frank F. Fagan, CM, ONL, MBA):
Mr. Speaker and Members of
the Honourable House of Assembly:
The
First Session of the Forty-Eighth General Assembly of the Honourable House of
Assembly is about to be prorogued, but before releasing you from your duties, I
wish to express gratitude for the careful and sympathetic attention that you
have given to important matters brought to you by our ministers.
During
this first session, 71 pieces of legislation were debated and passed in this
Honourable House. In our government's inaugural session, our legislation was
guided by the principles of supporting residents and communities, greater fiscal
responsibility, as well as openness, transparency and accountability.
Fiscal Responsibility,
Openness, Transparency and Accountability
The
first Bill our Government introduced was Bill 1, the
Independent Appointments Commission Act,
creating Newfoundland and Labrador's first merit-based appointment process for
agencies, boards and commissions and an Independent Appointments Commission. The
IAC is the only one of its kind in Canada.
For
years, Newfoundland and Labrador was the only province in Atlantic Canada to pay
an additional salary to Members of the House of Assembly serving as
parliamentary secretaries and parliamentary assistants. In keeping with
government's commitment to fiscal responsibility and transparency, Bill 3,
amended the Parliamentary Assistant Act
and Parliamentary Secretaries Act,
eliminating compensation for parliamentary secretaries and the parliamentary
assistant to the Premier.
Our
Government is modernizing how public bodies purchase goods and services by
replacing the decades-old Public Tender
Act. Bill 46 introduced the Public
Procurement Act, a piece of legislation that brings greater transparency to
the procurement process and shifts from just getting the best price to getting
the best value.
Bill 61
introduced the Public Sector Compensation
Transparency Act, bringing openness and transparency to government
expenditures through an annual listing of all employees in departments and a
number of agencies, boards, commissions, health care bodies, educational bodies
and Crown corporations who receive total compensation of more than $100,000 a
year.
The
Lands Act was amended in Bill 63. Our
Government is improving access to Crown lands to residents and businesses so
that the true value of these assets can be realized in communities throughout
the province. Government is increasing accessibility and enforcement related to
Crown lands by making much needed improvements to its processes and practices.
To
enhance the accountability of the provincial government on the management of
fiscal resources, Bill 65 amended the
Financial Administration Act, which requires tabling of public accounts on
or before October 31of the following fiscal year.
Supporting People and
Communities
Our
Government has advanced important legislation to support residents and
communities.
Bill 7
amended the Vital Statistics Act, 2009,
ensuring the rights of transgendered individuals by removing the requirement for
a person to undergo sex reassignment surgery prior to changing the gender marker
on the person's birth or marriage registration. Bill 8 amended the
Change of Name Act, 2009, changing
the definition of child to a person under the age of 16 years, and lowering the
age requirement for applying for a change of name from the age of majority to 16
years of age.
Bill 33
amended the Highway Traffic Act,
increasing the fines for using a hand-held cellular phone while driving a motor
vehicle.
Our
Government introduced Bill 34, the
Management of Greenhouse Gas Act, protecting the environment through
regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from large industrial facilities.
Amendments introduced in Bill 35 change the
Smoke-Free Environment Act, 2005, and
the Tobacco Control Act, in order to
further protect the public, in particular children and youth, from the harms of
tobacco products. These amendments will cover the sale, use and promotion of
flavoured tobacco, e-cigarettes and hookah products throughout Newfoundland and
Labrador.
Our
Government introduced Bill 43, the Access
to Abortion Services Act,
allowing for the creation of safe access zones around health care facilities and
the homes of health professionals and clinic owners providing abortion services
in the province. This Bill balances the rights of individuals to secure,
respectful and private access to legal medical services, with the rights of
others to protest or express dissent.
Bill 52
amended the Consumer Protection and
Business Practices Act, strengthening the protection of individuals who have
difficulty accessing credit through traditional lending institutions by
requiring payday lenders to be licensed, and imposing restrictions and
obligations that protect consumers.
Compassionate Compare Leave provisions were increased from 8 to 28 weeks,
through amendments in Bill 53, relating to the
Labour Standards Act. This allows
family members to care for a gravely ill family member and not have to worry
about job security during this very difficult time in their lives.
Bill 55
introduced the Secure Withdrawal
Management Act, providing parents of children with drug addiction an avenue
to ensure their child receives care. The goal of the legislation is to ensure
those young people who are most at risk of harming themselves or others, can go
through withdrawal in a secure facility. Once withdrawal has occurred, they will
be in a better place to discuss their treatment options.
Our
government amended the Workplace Health,
Safety and Compensation Act with Bill 59, providing presumptive cancer
coverage to the career and volunteer firefighters that help protect the
province's families and communities. Adding a presumptive clause to the
legislation means a firefighter who serves for a specific period of time and
develops a specific form of cancer will be presumed to have developed that
cancer as a result of their work, and can avail of workers' compensation
benefits.
Ensuring that government policies, programs and services meet the needs of
seniors, Bill 64 introduced the Seniors'
Advocate Act. The Office of the Seniors' Advocate will work collaboratively
with seniors, their families, caregivers, policy-makers and front-line service
providers to identify and address systemic issues facing seniors in our
province.
Bill 68
amended the Highway Traffic Act,
making it mandatory for a police officer to order the vehicle of an impaired
driver to be impounded. This amendment will reduce the ability of impaired
drivers to commit repeat impaired driving offences. The amendments also include
the introduction of a mandatory ignition interlock program as a condition for
driver's licence reinstatement following conviction for impaired driving under
the Criminal Code. Additionally, drivers less than 22 years of age will be
required to maintain a blood alcohol content of zero per cent. The intent of
this amendment is to give young drivers the opportunity to form good driving
habits that separate alcohol consumption from driving.
Reducing and mitigating preventable harm within the health care system, Bill 71
introduced the Patient Safety Act.
This bill ensures patients and families have access to information about their
care, ensures regional health authorities consistently report to the Minister of
Health and Community Services on indicators such as hand washing, and
establishing regional and provincial structures to oversee quality assurance
activities. The legislation will mark the first time that Newfoundland and
Labrador patients and their families will have the statutory right to
recommendations that are the result of a quality assurance activity related to
an adverse health event.
Summary
In
summary, our legislative initiatives enhanced fiscal responsibility, increased
the level of openness, transparency and accountability, and supported residents
and communities.
I thank
you for the large measure of Supply you have granted. I assure you the
appropriations you have granted have been and will be expended by our Ministers
with care and efficiency.
It is
my pleasure that the First Session of the Forty-Eighth General Assembly now be
prorogued and it is prorogued accordingly.
Thank
you very much.
SERGEANT-AT-ARMS:
All rise.
(His
Honour the Lieutenant Governor leaves the Chamber.)
(Mr.
Speaker returns to the Chair.)
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
Pursuant to the Speech from His Honour, this House now stands prorogued.