No.42/2012

House of Assembly

Province of Newfoundland & Labrador

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1st Session – 47th General Assembly

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Wednesday, June 6, 2012

ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS

(a)    Statements by Members

(b)    Statements by Ministers

(c)    Oral Questions

(d)    Presenting Reports by Standing and Select 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. C Address in Reply

Bills Referred to Committee of the Whole

 

2. C Committee of the Whole on a Bill C “An Act To Amend The Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement Act”. (Bill No. 23)

                           (Intergovernmental and Aboriginal Affairs)

 

3. C Committee of the Whole on a Bill C “An Act To Extinguish Obsolete Actions In The Province”. (Bill No. 24)

                                                               (Justice and Attorney General)

 

4. C Committee of the Whole on a Bill C “An Act Respecting The Practice Of Optometry In The Province”. (Bill No. 25)

                                       (Health and Community Services)

 

5. C Committee of the Whole on a Bill C “An Act To Amend The Consumer Protection And Business Practices Act No. 2”.

(Bill No. 26)                             (Service NL)

 

6. C Committee of the Whole on a Bill C “An Act To Amend The Psychologists Act, 2005”. (Bill No. 28)

                                                                           (Health and Community Services)

 

Second Reading Bills

 

7. C Second Reading of a Bill C “An Act Respecting Procurement By Public Bodies”.

(Bill No. 1)                                                                                          (Service NL)

 

8. C Second Reading of a Bill C “An Act To Regulate The Personal Services Industry”.

(Bill No. 27)                                                                 (Health and Community Services)

 

MOTIONS

 

1. C THE HONOURABLE THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE AND ATTORNEY GENERAL  C To ask leave to introduce a Bill entitled, “An Act To Amend The Access To Information And Protection Of Privacy Act”. (Bill No. 29)

 

2. C THE HONOURABLE THE MINISTER OF MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS  C To ask leave to introduce a Bill entitled, “An Act To Amend The City Of St. John's Act and The City Of St. John's Municipal Taxation Act”. (Bill No. 30)

 

3. C THE HONOURABLE THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND PRESIDENT OF TREASURY BOARD  C To ask leave to introduce a Bill entitled, “An Act To Amend The Public Service Collective Bargaining Act”. (Bill No. 31)

 

4. C THE HONOURABLE THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND PRESIDENT OF TREASURY BOARD  C To ask leave to introduce a Bill entitled, “An Act To Amend The Public Service Commission Act”. (Bill No. 32)

 

5. C MR. DWIGHT BALL (Humber Valley) C To Move:

 

“WHEREAS the labour force of Newfoundland and Labrador has traditionally been one that is disproportionally based on seasonal employment compared with other provinces given the large rural population and broad seasonal industries including the fishery, tourism, forestry, roadwork, construction, cultural industries and agriculture.  Many of these industries depend upon seasonal labour for their continued existence and success;

 

AND WHEREAS the Government of Canada has announced profound and substantial changes to the national Employment Insurance program;

 

AND WHEREAS these changes will adversely affect more than 50,000 persons in Newfoundland and Labrador who are in receipt of Employment Insurance each year, including more than 7,000 recipients of fishery benefits;

 

AND WHEREAS the changes, including the requirement for EI recipients to find a job paying at least 80 per cent of pay in a similar occupation within six weeks and the requirement that recipients to be willing to work at a job that is within a one hour commute from their home are aimed at urban populations and ignores the needs and realities of the rural economy;

 

AND WHEREAS the changes made to the Employment Insurance appeals and review process denies the right for a speedy, meaningful and comprehensive appeal;

 

AND WHEREAS the changes were conceived, announced and will be implemented without consultations with the population of Canada, without advance warning to the government's of the provinces or territories, without a proper debate in the Parliament of Canada on the principles or implementation, and without mandate to do so given these changes were never proposed during the most recent federal election;

 

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that this House of Assembly condemns the substance and implementation of the changes to the Canadian Employment Insurance program;

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this House calls upon Government to immediately conduct a detailed research program to examine the long-term effects of these changes on individuals, communities and the Province as a whole with the goals of gathering evidence to use in a campaign against these changes and also for use in determining what Provincial Government programs may be required to mitigate the negative effects of these changes;

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this House calls upon the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to join forces with the governments of the Maritime provinces in order to better address the issue with one united regional voice;

 

         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this House calls upon the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to ensure that this issue be placed on the agenda for discussion at the annual Council of the Federation Summer Meeting, in order to initiate a national debate on the role and value of the Employment Insurance program.”

 

6. C MR. GLENN LITTLEJOHN (Port de Grave) C To Move:

 

         “WHEREAS the Federal Government has tremendous power and leverage to lower barriers between provinces and forge a path toward fairness and true community;

 

         AND WHEREAS Quebec has frustrated Newfoundland and Labrador's attempts to wheel electricity fairly through that province;

 

         AND WHEREAS Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his colleagues have committed to provide a loan guarantee or equivalent financial support for the Muskrat Falls Project, which includes a sub-sea transmission link to the Maritimes, because it has national or regional importance, it has economic and financial merit, and it will significantly reduce greenhouse gases;

 

         AND WHEREAS the Prime Minister, in announcing funding for Ontario under the eco Trust on March 6, 2007, said that province could choose to use its funding to advance construction of “an East-West electrical transmission interconnect with Manitoba, allowing for the importation of clean hydroelectric power”;

 

         AND WHEREAS on September 16, 2009, the Prime Minister announced funding for the construction of the Northwest Transmission Line in northern British Columbia and the prospect of connecting the line to Alaska;

 

         AND WHEREAS the opening of Canadian east-west energy corridors would give provinces the freedom to transmit energy to markets within Canada, create economic opportunity and strengthen the country;

 

         BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that this House of Assembly urges all governments in Canada to cooperate in exploring opportunities to open east-west electricity transmission corridors within Canada.”

 

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Published under the authority of the Speaker of the

House of Assembly by William E. Parsons, Queen's Printer