MR. SPEAKER: The hon. Member for the District of Port de Grave.

MR. BUTLER: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I stand today and present another petition on behalf of the residents of Hickman’s Harbour, Clarenville, Lady Cove, Random Island, Monroe, Milton, Georges Brook, Pilley’s Island, Elliott’s Cove, Lower Lance Cove, Britannia and Shoal Harbour.

I have to say, Mr. Speaker, I think mostly all of those are in my hon. colleague’s district, or just about all of them anyway.

Mr. Speaker, for the record, I would have to read it in again. I think that is the practice.

WHEREAS we, the residents of Newfoundland and Labrador, have always built cabins or tilts away from our homes for hunting, fishing, berry picking or just spending time up in the country, or places around our shores, sometimes just to get away from the stress of everyday living, a place to relax and enjoy the great outdoors; and

WHEREAS your government has come down hard on the thousands of cabin owners and trailer owners that are out on our land with eviction notices, and forcing them to move without providing them with an alternative; and

WHEREAS Kruger Inc. has timber rights to approximately one-third of all forested land on this Island and is refusing the vast majority of applications for cabin development;

WHEREUPON your petitioners call upon all Members of the House of Assembly to urge government to have compassion on the citizens of this fair Province and allow them the right to enjoy what is rightfully ours. We were born on this land and should have the right to enjoy it.

And as in duty bound your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, that is just another of many of the petitions that I have. What those people are saying, Mr. Speaker, is that they have enjoyed the great outdoors in various ways for the last forty or fifty years. Their families have grown up since they went out, whether it is in cabins or trailers, and enjoyed the great outdoors. It is a long-standing tradition. Mr. Speaker, notwithstanding, if there are environmental issues, those people, what they are telling me, if there are environmental issues then let’s deal with them, but sit down with us. Do not just go through the process that happened last year.

Mr. Speaker, I receive phone calls each day after I present those petitions, from other areas of the Province and they are saying: Look, explain to the hon. House of Assembly that we cannot afford to pay $45 or $50 to spend a night in Pippy Park. We cannot afford to pay the $25 in many of our parks.

Now, since this has happened and they know what is happening around this Province, there are parks in Central Newfoundland where the annual fee was $1,500 a year for those senior citizens and now the fees have gone up to $1,800 a year. They are just saying, Mr. Speaker, we cannot afford it. We are asking government to reconsider what they are doing, and sit down with us before they just tell us to take our trailers away, or our cabins away, and destroy them like the ones I mentioned yesterday.

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to be able to present those petitions on behalf of those residents.