No. 34/2005

House of Assembly

Province of Newfoundland & Labrador


2nd Session -- 45th General Assembly

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2005

ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS

(a) Statements by Members

(b) Statements by Ministers

(c) Oral Questions

(d) Presenting Reports by Standing and Special Committees

(e) Tabling of Documents

(f) Notices of Motion

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

(h) Petitions

ORDERS OF THE DAY

1. -- Address in Reply

2. -- Committee of Supply

Bill Referred To Committee Of The Whole House

3. -- Committee of the Whole on a Bill -- "An Act To Revise The Law About Pensions For Members Of The House of Assembly". (Bill No. 24)

Second Reading Bills

4. -- Second Reading of a Bill -- "An Act To Amend The Forestry Act". (Bill No. 32)

5. -- Second Reading of a Bill -- "An Act To Amend The Workplace Health, Safety And Compensation Act". (Bill No. 45)

6. -- Second Reading of a Bill -- "An Act To Amend The Pippy Park Commission Act". (Bill No. 42)

7. -- Second Reading of a Bill -- "An Act To Amend The Income Tax Act, 2000 No. 2". (Bill No. 48)

8. -- Second Reading of a Bill -- "An Act To Amend The Electoral Boundaries Act". (Bill No. 43)

9. -- Second Reading of a Bill -- "An Act Respecting Protection Against Family Violence". (Bill No. 50)

10. -- Second Reading of a Bill -- "An Act To Amend The Provincial Court Act, 1991". (Bill No. 44)

MOTIONS

1. -- THE HONOURABLE THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND COMMUNITY SERVICES -- To ask leave to introduce a Bill entitled, "An Act To Regulate The Practice Of Dietetics". (Bill No. 51)

2. -- THE HONOURABLE THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND COMMUNITY SERVICES -- To ask leave to introduce a Bill entitled, "An Act Respecting Dispensing Opticians". (Bill No. 52)

3. -- THE HONOURABLE THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND COMMUNITY SERVICES -- To ask leave to introduce a Bill entitled, "An Act Respecting The Registration And Licensing Of Hearing Aid Practitioners". (Bill No. 53)

4. -- THE HONOURABLE THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND COMMUNITY SERVICES -- To ask leave to introduce a Bill entitled, "An Act Respecting The Licensure Of Practical Nurses". (Bill No. 54)

5. -- THE HONOURABLE THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND COMMUNITY SERVICES -- To ask leave to introduce a Bill entitled, "An Act Respecting The Practice Of Massage Therapy". (Bill No. 55)

6. -- THE HONOURABLE THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND COMMUNITY SERVICES -- To ask leave to introduce a Bill entitled, "An Act Respecting Occupational Therapists". (Bill No. 56)

7. -- THE HONOURABLE THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND COMMUNITY SERVICES -- To ask leave to introduce a Bill entitled, "An Act Respecting The Registration Of Psychologists". (Bill No. 57)

8. -- THE HONOURABLE THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND COMMUNITY SERVICES -- To ask leave to introduce a Bill entitled, "An Act To Amend The Optometry Act, 2004". (Bill No. 58)

9. -- THE HONOURABLE THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND COMMUNITY SERVICES -- To ask leave to introduce a Bill entitled, "An Act To Amend The Pharmacy Act". (Bill No. 59)

10. -- 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."

11. -- 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."

12. -- 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."

13. -- MR. KEVIN O'BRIEN (Gander) -- To Move:

"WHEREAS a consequence of the relocation of weather forecasting services from this province has been that the workplace and social activities of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are being conducted in a hazardous environment;

AND WHEREAS the social, economic, business and commercial operations of our province are impacted negatively by inaccurate weather forecasts at a far greater rate of frequency, In particular by

(a) threats to the safety of fishermen,

(b) havoc and lost productivity inflicted upon the operation of educational institutions,

(c) turmoil and chaotic conditions that are created when patients must reschedule long awaited appointments because of cancellations due to inaccurate forecasting of impending storms, and

(d) impairment of groups such as business committees, sports organizations, and volunteer groups to conduct their affairs in a timely, economic and effective manner so as to maintain a reasonable flow of activity;

AND WHEREAS as a result of undependable weather forecasting, it is clearly evident that this province is paying an economic penalty far greater than could be anticipated, due to

(a) the economic impact upon the coastal and rural workforce,

(b) the loss of productivity and added costs within the medical field when hours of work for specialists and medical staff are not fully utilized because of rescheduling caused by erroneous weather predictions,

(c) the added costs to patients and all citizens who are forced to make repeated journeys when appointments are rescheduled because of inaccurate weather forecasts, and

(d) the negative economic impact on specific aspects of our tourist industry like adventure tourism, who rely on accurate forecasting for their livelihood;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador make representation to the Federal Government of Canada to rescind the decision to move weather forecasting services from Gander to mainland sites and to return full weather forecasting services to this province."

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

"WHEREAS the Speaker of the House of Assembly has not applies the rules of the House equally to all Members;

AND WHEREAS the Speaker of the House of Assembly has extended the power of his position without the authority of the House;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that this House of Assembly calls on the Speaker to operate within the confines of Standing Order 1(1) and 1(2) and convene the Standing Orders Committee when otherwise necessary."

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

"WHEREAS a substantial number of tax dollars were invested in the establishment of Fishery Products International;

WHEREAS the operation of the company is of critical importance to the future of the economy of this province;

WHEREAS the management of this company promised to make investments in production facilities in this province and create jobs;

WHEREAS these promises have been broken while the company borrowed money to make substantial investments in other parts of the world;

WHEREAS other fish companies that face the same challenges as FPI continue to operate successfully in this province;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that this House of Assembly calls upon Government to conduct a public inquiry into the operation and management practices of FPI and the resulting crisis situation being faced by communities throughout this province who rely on the company for their economic and social well being;

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this House of Assembly calls upon Government to postpone proclaiming recent amendments to the FPI Act until the company commits to using the proceeds from an income trust for the benefit of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador."

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Published under the authority of the Speaker of the

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