No. 44/2019-20

 

House of Assembly

Province of Newfoundland & Labrador

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1st Session – 49th General Assembly

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Tuesday, September 15th, 2020

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. – Address in Reply

 

                                       

MOTIONS

 

               1. THE HONOURABLE THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND PRESIDENT OF TREASURY BOARD – To Move that the House Resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole on Supply to Consider A Resolution Relating to the Granting of Supply to Her Majesty.  (Bill No. 40)

 

      2. − 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)

      3. − 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)

      4. − THE HONOURABLE THE MINISTER OF SERVICE NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR – To ask leave to introduce a Bill entitled, “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)

               5.    THE HONOURABLE THE MINISTER OF DIGITAL GOVERNMENT AND SERVICE NL  - To ask leave to introduce a Bill entitled, “An Act To Amend The Insurance Contracts Act”. (Bill No. 41)

 

               6. – THE CHAIR OF THE STANDING ORDERS COMMITTEE (Honourable. S. Coady) – To Move:

 

              “THAT the House of Assembly concur in the Report of the Standing Orders Committee dated September 14, 2020”.

 

               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 pursuant to  Standing Order 11(1) that the House not adjourn at 5:30 o'clock p.m. on Tuesday, September 15th, 2020.

 

      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 Thursday, September 17th, 2020.

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Published under the authority of the Speaker of the

House of Assembly by the Queen's Printer