No. 38/2022

 

House of Assembly

Province of Newfoundland & Labrador

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1st Session – 50th General Assembly

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Wednesday, April 6th, 2022

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

 

Third Reading Bills

 

2.      Third Reading of a Bill – “An Act Respecting a Province-Wide 911 Service for the Reporting of Emergencies” (Bill 41).         

                        (Justice and Public Safety)

 

Second Reading Bills

 

  1. Second Reading of a Bill – “An Act to Amend the Elections Act, 1991” (Bill 1).

                             (Government House Leader)

 

4.      Second Reading of a Bill – “An Act to Amend the Management of Information Act” (Bill 25).             

                        (Digital Government and Service NL)

     

5.      Second Reading of a Bill – “An Act Respecting the Requirement for a Balanced Budget” (Bill 30).      

                        (Finance and President of Treasury Board)

 

6.      Second Reading of a Bill – “An Act Respecting a Future Fund for the Province” (Bill 31).                    

                        (Finance and President of Treasury Board)

 

7.      Second Reading of a Bill – “An Act to Amend the Services Charges Act” (Bill 33).

                                    (Finance and President of Treasury Board)

     

      8.   Second Reading of a Bill – “An Act to Amend the Memorial University Act” (Bill 35).

                                    (Education)

 

9.      Second Reading of a Bill – “An Act to Amend the House of Assembly Accountability, Integrity and Administration Act” (Bill 43).           

                              (Government House Leader)

 

      10. Second Reading of a Bill – “An Act to Amend the Provincial Court Act, 1991” (Bill 44).

                                    (Justice and Public Safety)

 

      11. Second Reading of a Bill – “An Act to Repeal the Colonial Building Act” (Bill 50).

                                    (Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation)

 

      12. Second Reading of a Bill – “An Act Respecting Access to Health and Education Services” (Bill 51).   

                                    (Health and Community Services)

 

      13. Second Reading of a Bill – “An Act to Amend the Petroleum Products Act” (Bill 52).

                                    (Digital Government and Service NL)

 

        14. Second Reading of a Bill – “An Act to Amend the Judicature Act” (Bill 53).

                                    (Justice and Public Safety)

 

MOTIONS

 

1.      The Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board – To move “That This House Approve in General the Budgetary Policy of the Government” (Budget Speech).

 

2.      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 Certain Resolutions for the Granting of Supply to Her Majesty (Bill 49).

 

3.      The Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board – To move that the House Resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole to Consider a Resolution Relating to the Raising of Loans by the Province (Bill 47).

 

  1. The Chair of the Privileges and Elections Committee (B. Davis) – To move:

 

THAT this House concur in the Report of the Privileges and Elections Committee tabled April 5, 2022.

 

5.      The Government House Leader – To move:

 

WHEREAS subsection 6(3) of the Independent Appointment Commission Act provides that 5 members are to be appointed to an Independent Appointments Commission by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council on a resolution of the House of Assembly;

 

AND WHEREAS subsection 6(4) of the Act provides that the Lieutenant-Governor in Council designate one of the members of the commission to be chairperson;


AND WHEREAS subsection 7(1) of the Act states that a commissioner may be reappointed for one additional 3 year term to be served consecutively;

 

AND WHEREAS the terms of the following members have expired:

 

            Earl Ludlow, Chairperson

            Cathy Duke

 

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the following persons be reappointed members of the Independent Appointments Commission for a term of 3 years:

            Earl Ludlow, Chairperson

            Cathy Duke.

 

6.      Mr. Tony Wakeham (Stephenville - Port au Port) – To move:

 

WHEREAS Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are urging the government to provide some relief from escalating high prices, which are leaving many people in dire straits;

 

AND WHEREAS government decisions such as lowering certain tax rates or offering home heating rebates would provide relief that many people urgently need;

 

AND WHEREAS the Health Accord says the social determinants of health such as income for food, medicine and housing have an even greater impact on health outcomes than the health system;

 

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT this House urge the government to consider providing some much-needed relief from escalating high prices in the 2022 Budget.

 

7.      Mr. Paul Lane (Mount Pearl - Southlands) – To move:

 

WHEREAS the cornerstone of any democratic society is the right for citizens to choose their representatives to serve in the legislature;

 

WHEREAS  the process for electing their representatives must not only be carried out in a fair and impartial manner with all of the appropriate checks and balances to ensure this principle is upheld, it must be perceived as being conducted that way;

 

WHEREAS the recent NL Provincial General Election has brought serious allegations, numerous concerns and inconsistencies to light including but not necessarily limited to the following:

 

-          Certain individuals knowingly being permitted to vote by telephone in contravention to the Elections Act.

-          Ballots being hand delivered by the Chief Electoral Officer to acquaintances and neighbors.

-          A number of computer and phone line crashes at Elections NL, including on the final evening to apply for ballots, leading to numerous citizens who applied within the established time line, not receiving a ballot.

-          An under-resourcing of Election NL’s Call Center which lead to citizens having to call numerous times to get through to apply for a ballot and some simply giving up out of frustration and not getting a ballot at all.

-          Individuals being provided ballots in person and over the phone without any verification of identity and/or address.  

-          Individuals receiving incomplete ballot kits.

-          Individuals receiving multiple ballots.

-          Ballots being sent to the wrong civic address.

-          Individuals applying for ballots on-line or by telephone not receiving their ballots and upon inquiring with Elections NL being told they had no record of their application and were subsequently denied their right to vote.

-          Indigenous citizens being denied their right to vote due to language barriers not addressed by Elections NL

-          Numerous concerns with the process implemented by Elections NL relating to the scrutinizing and witnessing of the opening, counting and recording of the ballots.

-          Allegations of Elections NL staff taking ballot kits and other related materials to their homes, as well as further allegations of individuals being permitted to print their own ballots which were subsequently accepted by Elections NL.

 

WHEREAS in a VOCM news story of April 9, 2021 an anonymous whistleblower inside Elections NL was reported as making the following observation:

 

“The former employee claims that an apparent lack of direction exacerbated an already difficult situation, comparing it to a “three-ring circus.” That included the sudden change in Election NL’s in-house voting software and a registration process that they say left the door open to potential voter fraud.

 

The worker tells VOCM News duplicate and even triplicate ballots were sent out after some voters reported they hadn’t received their ballots and because of the volume of requests, verification of a voter’s name, age and address became difficult, if not impossible, especially in households with more than one voter.

 

Their conclusion? “This election should have been delayed,” says the worker, because decisions were made “hastily, with no forethought” and that the election was not “well planned” or “well-executed.”

 

WHEREAS the Chief Electoral Officer stated publicly prior to the election that Elections NL was prepared and able to successfully conduct a pandemic election and this was obviously not the case.

 

WHEREAS the Chief Electoral Officer has the ultimate responsibility for the carrying out of fair, democratic elections in the province of NL in accordance with the provisions of the Elections Act, 1991 but preliminary evidence suggests that he has fallen short in this regard;

 

WHEREAS the Chief Electoral Officer reports directly to and is responsible to this Honorable House;

 

WHEREAS we as Members of this Honorable House have a responsibility to the people of NL to ensure that all of our Officers of the House of Assembly, including the Chief Electoral Officer, are carrying out their duties in an ethical and competent manner;

 

AND WHEREAS Section 5.3 of the Elections Act, 1991 which states:

 

The Lieutenant-Governor in Council, on resolution of the House of Assembly passed by a majority vote of the members of the House of Assembly actually voting, may suspend or remove the Chief Electoral Officer from office because of incapacity to act or for misconduct, cause or neglect of duty.

 

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Assembly approve the following actions:

-          Development of a terms of reference for and initiation of an independent investigation of the recent provincial general election to be carried out by an individual or entity as agreed to by all parties and Independent Members of the House.

 

-          Upon completion of the investigation, tabling and debating of the report in the House of Assembly including whether or not section 5.3 of the Elections Act, 1991 should be applied based on the findings of said report.

 

8.      Mr. Eddie Joyce (Humber - Bay of Islands) – To move:

 

WHEREAS the Commissioner for Legislative Standards presented a report, the Joyce Report of October 18th, 2018;

 

WHEREAS the Report was presented in the House of Assembly and concurred by a majority in the House of Assembly;

 

WHEREAS the findings were that I violated Principle #10 of the Code of Conduct;

 

WHEREAS the Complainant was the MHA for Placentia-St. Mary’s, an elected official;

 

WHEREAS Principle #10 states, “ Relationships between Members and government employees should be professional and based upon mutual respect and should have regard to duty of these employees to remain politically impartial when carrying out their duties;

 

WHEREAS the Commissioner for Legislative Standards stated in the Report, “In the manner in which he dealt with the Complainant, and particularly during the call on April 8th”.

“Relationships between Members and government employees should be professional and based upon mutual respect and should have regard to the duty of those employees”.

 

“I find that the conduct of MHA Joyce is a violation of Principle #10 of the Code of Conduct”.

 

“I find that the manner in which he addressed this issue was unprofessional and showed a lack of mutual respect towards members of the public service”.

 

WHEREAS it is very obvious that the Commissioner for Legislative Standards defined the Complainant, a MHA, as a public sector government employee, contrary to Principle #10.  This was a deliberate and malicious attempt to mislead the House of Assembly by the Commissioner for Legislative Standards, Bruce Chaulk;

 

WHEREAS former MHA, Dale Kirby appealed to the Information and Privacy Commissioner in December, 2018, for a copy of the Rubin Thomlinson report;

 

WHEREAS testimony in the Report by the Information and Privacy Commissioner is as follows:

-          The Commissioner for Legislative Standards reversed his position and gave testimony that Members are not government employees, less than two months after he presented the Joyce Report to the House of Assembly;

-          The Clerk of the House of Assembly gave testimony that Members are not government employees;

-          The Information and Privacy Commissioner’s ruling states Members are not government employees, Report A- 2019-004

WHEREAS other evidence to support the position that MHAs are not government employees are:

-          the letter from the Law Clerk who stated Members are not government employees;

-          On November 2nd, 2018, former Speaker and Member for Lake Melville, in his letter stated, “Members of the House of Assembly are elected officials.  They are not employees”.

The former Speaker’s statement was before the debate occurred in the House of Assembly on November 6th, 2018 and he was Chair of the Management Commission.

 

The Commissioner for Legislative Standards reversed his position again, contrary to what he presented in the House of Assembly, in a letter dated November 27th, 2020 to the Honorable David B. Orsborne and I quote, “Members of the House of Assembly are not employees”.

 

Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador, Justice Frances J. Knickle, stated in a ruling on June 10th, 2021, “The appellant, Mr. Dale Kirby, MHA, is neither an employee in the traditional sense”.

 

WHEREAS the Executive Council of the Liberal government mandated public sector employees to be fully vaccinated;

 

WHEREAS Members of the House of Assembly are not government employees, the government introduced a resolution on October 18th, 2021, in the House of Assembly that all MHAs must be fully vaccinated;

 

WHEREAS the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador distinguished by mandating public sector employees to be vaccinated, and the motion of October 18th, 2021 that Members of the House of Assembly are not government employees of the public sector and must be vaccinated by bringing forth the Motion.  This is an admission by Premier Furey and the government that MHAs are not government employees, contrary to the findings of the Joyce Report of 2018;

 

WHEREAS the House of Assembly, by concurring with the Joyce Report of 2018 has established that Members of the House of Assembly are government employees which now the Government is admitting was a wrong conclusion;

 

WHEREAS former Premier Dwight Ball, stated on August 23, 2018 to the media in a public statement, “There’s no room form political interference in the reports, said Ball, I’ve not received any information from the Commissioner neither have I went looking for any”;

 

WHEREAS the Commissioner for Legislative Standards stated on many occasions, “I am an independent Officer of the House of Assembly and these reports are independent”.

 

WHEREAS in a letter on May 31st, 2019, Dwight Ball stated, “I can confirm there were limited occasions whereby my office contacted the Office of the Commissioner for Legislative Standards”.

 

WHEREAS the Commissioner for Legislative Standards made false and misleading findings in the Joyce Report; and

 

WHEREAS the Commissioner for Legislative Standards was not independent and had political influence, which he did not declare in the House of Assembly,

 

I call upon the House of Assembly to rescind the Kirby Report of October 3rd, 2018, and the Joyce Report of October 18th, 2018.  Furthermore, I call upon the House of Assembly to ask for an independent review of the process and make recommendations on how to strengthen the House of Assembly Accountability, Integrity and Administration Act to ensure that all Members will have confidence in the process.”

 

9.      Mr. Perry Trimper (Lake Melville) – To move:

 

WHEREAS the Secretary-General of the United Nations recently stated ‘the alarm bells are deafening, and the evidence is irrefutable: greenhouse-gas emissions from fossil-fuel burning and deforestation are choking our planet and putting billions of people at immediate risk’;

 

WHEREAS scientists estimate that by 2050, if GHG emissions are not reduced, the average winter temperature will be 3.4 0C above pre-industrial levels in St. John’s, 6 0C warmer in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, and 7.3 0C warmer in Nain (Government of NL 2018);

 

WHEREAS the Province is already experiencing significant warming resulting in the reduction of ice cover particularly on the north coast and across Labrador for example;

 

WHEREAS NASA (2021) states that the “Earth’s surface continues to significantly warm, with recent global temperatures being the hottest in the past 2,000-plus years” and “Nineteen of the hottest years have occurred since 2000”.

 

WHEREAS Newfoundland and Labrador, as a partner in the Pan Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, is obligated to aggressively reduce provincial emissions despite increases over the past 20 years (NIR 2021);

 

WHEREAS Hibernia crude oil emits 0.487 metric tonnes of CO2 per barrel, the 1.7 billion barrels of oil extracted from the Province since 1997 (Government of NL 2018) would represent 830 million tonnes of GHGs based on EPA (2020);

 

WHEREAS oil and gas development represents 25 percent of provincial GDP, 41 percent of exports, thousands of direct and indirect jobs, and over $20 billion in cumulative royalties to the Province since 1997 (Government of NL 2018);

 

WHEREAS in advance of COP26 in Scotland, the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance (BOGA) calls on the world to “Create an international community of practice that can support governments in delivering their commitment to a managed and just phase-out of oil and gas production” and “Strengthen global climate ambition by aligning oil and gas production with the Paris Agreement goal of well below 2oC, pursuing efforts for 1.5oC”;

 

WHEREAS Newfoundland and Labrador is facing an unsustainable fiscal situation that requires immediate action (PERT 2021) including being ‘at risk of not being able to make its financial commitments such as paying salaries, operating hospitals, offering other public services or making payments to pension plans which it is legally obligated to do.’

 

AND WHEREAS the primary means of addressing fiscal imbalance and quality of service delivery across Canada, that of equalization payments based on the fiscal capacity of each Province, has been inadequate for Newfoundland and Labrador particularly as a result of how oil and gas revenues are calculated.

 

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Assembly urge Government to:

·         Cease oil and gas exploration on inactive licenses and any further provincial investment in the exploration of active licenses;

·         Move to complete planned production on the existing operational fields of Hibernia, Terra Nova, White Rose and Hebron;

·         Initiate discussions to join the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance with Denmark, Costa Rica and other national and sub-national signatories and

·         Secure a climate crisis agreement with Canada that recognizes the value of leaving oil and gas reserves undeveloped. The carbon offset agreement would calculate projected emissions for commercially viable hydrocarbons AND the federal price per tonne of CO2 directed as $170/tonne by 2030.

 

For example, Equinor estimates the Bay du Nord field to have commercially viable reserves of 300 million barrels of oil that would represent 146 million tonnes of GHGs representing $24.8 billion of carbon offsets based on $170 per tonne.

 

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Published under the authority of the Speaker of the

House of Assembly by the Queen’s Printer