No.1/2005


House of Assembly

Province of Newfoundland & Labrador

2nd Session -- 45th General Assembly

Wednesday, March 16th, 2005

ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS

(a) Statements by Members

(b) Statements by Ministers

(c) Oral Questions

(d) Presenting Reports by Standing and Special Committees

(e) Notices of Motion

(f) Answers to questions for which notice has been given

(g) Petitions

ORDERS OF THE DAY

Second Reading Bill


1. -- Second Reading of a Bill -- "An Act To Amend The Municipal Elections Act". (Bill No. 1)

MOTIONS

1. -- MR. GERRY REID (Twillingate & Fogo) -- To Move:

"WHEREAS the Dunne Report recommended the development of a raw material sharing system only when, "processors can satisfy the Minister that there are or will be, no substantive and reasonable objections from plant workers and harvesters";

AND WHEREAS it is obvious that substantive and reasonable objections exist among harvesters and plant workers;

AND WHEREAS in the Speech from the Throne last year Government stated that it would consult before it acted and would be inclusive when it consulted;

AND WHEREAS harvesters and plant workers have clearly not been consulted nor included in this process;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that this House of Assembly calls upon Government to only impose production quotas if it is agreed upon by the FFAW and the processors as recommended in the Dunne Report."

2. -- MR. OLIVER LANGDON (Fortune Bay-Cape La Hune) -- To Move:

WHEREAS FPI was created by an Act of this Legislature and Government has a responsibility to ensure its future in the fishing industry in this province;

AND WHEREAS FPI has jeopardized the future of two communities that rely on the processing industry by announcing the closure of the Harbour Breton Fish Plant and the phasing out of operations in Fortune;

AND WHEREAS FPI has approached Government with a plan that would see the sale of 40% of its lucrative marketing and value-added division in the US;

AND WHEREAS this sale will have a very negative impact on FPI's operations in this province;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that this House of Assembly urge the Government to reject FPI's request to sell its American assets and establish an income trust."

3. -- MR. KELVIN PARSONS (Burgeo & LaPoile) -- To Move:

WHEREAS health care is one of the most important services provided by Government to the public;

AND WHEREAS Government has engaged the Hay Group and received reports that identified cuts to health care in the Western and Grenfell regions;

AND WHEREAS the Hay Group's reports are focused on cost savings, not health care delivery that considers the unique demographic and geographic challenges that exist in this province;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that this House of Assembly rejects the drastic cuts proposed by these reports and calls on Government to commit to maintaining and improving current health care services rather than cutting services currently provided."

4. -- MS. ANNA THISTLE (Grand Falls-Buchans) -- To Move:

WHEREAS Abitibi Consolidated announced in January it would be conducting a review of its two operations in Newfoundland and Labrador;

AND WHEREAS Forestry Act amendments passed in 2002 provided for the uniform expiration of Abitibi Consolidated timber licences for the Grand Falls-Windsor mill;

AND WHEREAS the continuance of the licences is subject to the company continuing to operate two paper machines and production using the two machines at substantially the same annual levels as those during the preceding three years at the mill in Grand Falls-Windsor;

AND WHEREAS these Forestry Act amendments passed in 2002 to protect production levels at the Grand Falls-Windsor mill were supported by all parties;

AND WHEREAS Government has an obligation to protect the workers and communities that rely on this important industry;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that this House of Assembly requests that Government reaffirm its commitment to the Bill 27 Forestry Act amendments that protect the production levels at the Grand Falls-Windsor mill, and in turn protect the economy of Central Newfoundland."

5. -- MR. PERCY BARRETT (Bellevue) -- To Move:

WHEREAS the education of the youth of this province is of utmost importance to our future;

AND WHEREAS many schools in this province are in a dilapidated and sometimes dangerous condition;

AND WHEREAS the current Government has caused increased problems in the education system by introducing school board restructuring without proper consultation or study;

AND WHEREAS the current Government has drastically reduced the number of teachers;

AND WHEREAS there is evidence that the buses used to transport children to school are unsafe;

AND WHEREAS many people fear there may be campus closures or program cuts in the post-secondary education system in this province;

AND WHEREAS there were a number of promises in the Blue Book related to schools and improvements in the education system which have not been kept;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Assembly calls on Government to recognize the importance of education to the future of this province and to keep the commitments they made during the last election by investing sufficient funds to address the needs of the province's education system."

6. -- MS. JUDY FOOTE (Grand Bank) -- To Move:

WHEREAS many municipalities in this province are currently experiencing severe financial difficulties;

AND WHEREAS many young people have already left rural communities and out-migration from the province increased to 2077 this past year;

AND WHEREAS the unemployment rate in many communities is at an unacceptable level;

AND WHEREAS the actions of the present Government have hurt the economy of rural areas of this province;

AND WHEREAS, despite the promises made during the last election, the current Government has not taken the action necessary to deal with the immediate crisis which exists in rural parts of this province;

AND WHEREAS the situation in many parts of this province will get even worse as a result of an expanding crisis in the fishery;

AND WHEREAS there is no evidence that this Government has any plan to deal with the crisis facing rural communities in this province;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that this House of Assembly recognizes the seriousness of the situation facing rural areas of this province and calls on the Government to fulfill their election promises, commit the necessary resources and take immediate action to deal with this crisis situation."

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Published under the authority of the Speaker of the

House of Assembly by Earl G. Tucker, Queen's Printer