No

No. 61/2019-20

House of Assembly

Province of Newfoundland & Labrador

_______________________________________

1^st Session – 49^th General Assembly

________________________________________

Monday, November 2^nd, 2020

ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS

(a) Statements by Members

(b) Statements by Ministers

(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. – Address in Reply

Third Reading Bills

2. – Third Reading of a Bill – “An Act To Amend The Insurance Contracts Act”. (Bill No. 41)

(Digital Government and Service NL)

3. – Third Reading of a Bill – “An Act To Amend The Revenue Administration Act, No. 2”. (Bill No. 44)

(Finance)

Second Reading Bills

4. – Second Reading of a Bill - “An Act Respecting The Protection Of The Health Of Persons Exposed To Radiation And Respecting The Safety Of Persons In Connection With The Operation And Use Of The Electrical And Mechanical Components Of Radiation Producing Equipment And Associated Apparatus”. (Bill No. 23) (Digital Government and Service NL)

5. – Second Reading of a Bill – “An Act To Amend The Credit Union Act, 2009”. (Bill No. 46)

(Debate adj'd) (Digital Government and Service NL)

6. – Second Reading of a Bill – “An Act To Amend The Other Post-Employment Benefits Eligibility Modification Act”. (Bill No. 49)

(President of Treasury Board)

7. – Second Reading of a Bill – “An Act To Amend The Auditor General Act”. (Bill No. 50)

(Government House Leader)

MOTIONS

1. – THE HONOURABLE THE MINISTER OF FINANCE – To Move that the House Resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole to Consider a Resolution Respecting the Imposition of Taxes on Carbon Products. (Bill No. 43)

2. – THE HONOURABLE THE MINISTER OF FINANCE – To Move that the House Resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole to Consider a Resolution Respecting the Imposition of Taxes on Vapour Products. (Bill No. 48)

3. − THE HONOURABLE THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY – To ask leave to introduce a Bill entitled, “An Act Respecting The Supreme Court In The Province”. (Bill No. 7)

4. − THE HONOURABLE THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND COMMUNITY SERVICES – To ask leave to introduce a Bill entitled, “An Act To Amend Various Acts Of The Province Respecting The Publication Of A Summary Of A Decision Or Order Of An Adjudication Tribunal”. (Bill No. 22)

5. – THE HONOURABLE THE MINISTER OF DIGITAL GOVERNMENT AND SERVICE NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR – To ask leave to introduce a Bill entitled, “An Act To Amend The Condominium Act, 2009, The Co-Operatives Act And The Corporations Act”. (Bill No. 51)

6. – THE HONOURABLE THE MINISTER OF TOURISM, CULTURE, ARTS AND RECREATION – To ask leave to introduce a Bill entitled, “An Act Respecting Tourist Accommodations”. (Bill No. 52)

7. – THE CHAIR OF THE PRIVILEGES AND ELECTIONS COMMITTEE (Honourable D. Bragg) – To Move:

“THAT the House of Assembly concur in the Report of the Standing Committee on Privileges and Elections on the premature distribution of a report of an officer of the House of Assembly.”

8. − THE HONOURABLE THE GOVERNMENT HOUSE LEADER – To Move:

“WHEREAS Justice LeBlanc has delivered his report Muskrat Falls: A Misguided Project which presents the key findings of the public inquiry;

AND WHEREAS in that report it finds that the former Progressive Conservative Government “was determined to proceed with the development of the hydroelectric potential of the Lower Churchill River and it initiated several activities to advance this development”;

AND WHEREAS the report further indicates that the former Progressive Conservative Government “failed in its duty to ensure that the best interests of the Province's residents were safeguarded”;

AND WHEREAS the Progressive Conservative Government “failed in its responsibility to objectively assess and oversee the decisions and actions of Nalcor”;

AND WHEREAS the original budget for the Muskrat Falls project was $7.4 billion and has risen to $12.7 billion yet findings are that “the assumptions on which the Project's economics were based and promoted were not sufficiently tested, and a comprehensive examination of the range of possible outcomes was not undertaken”;

AND WHEREAS the report indicates that “this resulted in a combination of unrealistic optimism, a willingness to misrepresent cost, schedule and risk, and an inability to change course when things were going wrong”;

AND WHEREAS “the project had clearly reached the point of no return when the Ball Government was elected (late 2015). The real point of no return was at Financial Close of the FLG in November 2013”;

AND WHEREAS the consequence of this $12.7 billion project has had a profound financial impact on the people of the Province, without mitigation a doubling of electricity rates, and represents greater than 30% of the Province's direct and indirect debt;

THEREFORE BE RESOLVED that this House supports the referral of this report to the RCMP and RNC for potential criminality and further refers it to the Department of Justice and Public Safety for potential civil litigation.”

9. − THE HONOURABLE THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY – To Move:

“WHEREAS the Lieutenant-Governor in Council appointed a tribunal under section 28 of the Provincial Court Act, 1991 to make recommendations on the salaries and benefits of judges and the chief judge;

AND WHEREAS the tribunal submitted its recommendations to the Minister of Justice and Public Safety on June 6, 2019;

AND WHEREAS the Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Court Judges Salary and Benefits Tribunal Report was tabled in this Honourable House on June 25, 2019 as required by section 28.2 of the Act;

AND WHEREAS the House of Assembly is required to approve, vary or reject the report;

AND WHEREAS Government has decided to ask this Honourable House to accept all of the recommendations of the tribunal as contained in its report of June 4, 2019:

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that this Honourable House accept the recommendations of the 2018 Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Court Judges Salary and Benefits Tribunal;

AND THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the recommendations of the Tribunal be implemented effective April 1, 2017”. (Debate adj'd)

10. – THE HONOURABLE THE GOVERNMENT HOUSE LEADER – To Move:

“WHEREAS the Commissioner for Legislative Standards found in the Lester Report of September 24, 2020 that MHA for Mount Pearl North violated Principles 5 and 6 of the Code of Conduct in the manner described in the Report;

AND WHEREAS the Commissioner made certain recommendations to this House in his report as he is authorized to do under section 39 of the House of Assembly Accountability, Integrity and Administration Act;

AND WHEREAS the administration of the House's affairs and the discipline of Members is a part of the collective parliamentary privilege of this House;

AND WHEREAS in practice and precedent this House has amended the penalty recommended by the Commissioner where the House has determined that it appropriate to do so;

AND WHEREAS the Commissioner has found that MHA for Mount Pearl North has violated two principles of the Code of Conduct warranting a more severe penalty than the penalty recommended by the Commissioner;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT this House of Assembly concurs in the Lester Report and further requires that the Member for Member for Mount Pearl North:

(a) Stand in his place and unequivocally apologize to this Assembly;

(b) Submit an unequivocal apology to this Assembly, in writing;

(c) Submit an unequivocal apology to Assistant Deputy Minister Keith Deering, Director, Agricultural Production and Research Division Dave Jennings, and Conservation Officer Scott Martin, in writing;

(d) meet with the Commissioner for Legislative Standards and, before January 1, 2021, establish a blind trust; and

(e) provide to the Speaker written confirmation from the Commissioner for Legislative Standards that the Member has established the required blind trust satisfactory within the time frame required by paragraph (d).”

11. – THE HONOURABLE THE GOVERNMENT HOUSE LEADER – To Move pursuant to Standing Order 11(1) that the House not adjourn at 5:30 o'clock p.m. on Monday, November 2^nd , 2020.

12. – THE HONOURABLE THE GOVERNMENT HOUSE LEADER – To Move pursuant to Standing Order 11(1) that the House not adjourn at 5:30 o'clock p.m. on Tuesday, November 3^rd, 2020.

________________________

Published under the authority of the Speaker of the

House of Assembly by the Queen's Printer