MR. SPEAKER: Further petitions?

The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I stand today to present another petition on behalf of the public sector pensioners in this Province. I presented a petition last week, I think, with over 9,000 signatures on it, and, of course, there are other petitions that have been coming in as well.

Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to read the prayer of the petition into the record for the House of Assembly:

The petition of the undersigned residents of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS provincial public sector pensioners in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador contributed to a pension fund during their employment years; and

WHEREAS the provincial government was and continues to be the trustee of the pension fund; and

WHEREAS prior to 1989, government, from time to time, provided for increases in pension payments to enable pensioners to keep up with the cost of living; and

WHEREAS workers who retired in the 1990s have reduced pensions due to government financial restraints at the time; and

WHEREAS current pensioners have not received a fair and equitable pension increase for twenty-one years and are falling behind the cost of living;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge government to provide pension increases that will allow former provincial government employees to live in dignity after their years of contribution to the development of the Province.

Mr. Speaker, one of the issues here that they have is in the 1990s, when this Province was under tremendous financial restraint, there were times when the government could not contribute to the Public Service Pension Plan. That happened consecutively for two or three years. As a result of those premiums not being paid in at that time, these pensioners feel that their income dropped below the levels that it should have been. They are asking government to review that period of time, to look at what their contributions would have been and to make the appropriate contributions now because we are in a fiscal position to be able to do that.

You have to realize, Mr. Speaker, back in 1990s that was before the days of the oil and gas industry. It was before the days when we were generating huge profits in the mining industry. It was a result of deals that were done by Liberal governments at the time, the development of the offshore oil industry, the deals that were secured around White Rose, Terra Nova, and Hibernia. It was deals like the Voisey’s Bay nickel deal, Mr. Speaker, and the changes in the Mineral Resources Act that allowed for greater contributions in mining for the Province. It was all of those things that were done by Liberal Administrations which have contributed to growth in the Province today.

The government opposite, Mr. Speaker, came into power in 2003; it was like winning the jackpot. It was like winning the jackpot because within twenty-four months, Mr. Speaker, all of these revenues from these previous deals by Liberal governments started to flow. There was the ability then to start righting some of the wrongs of the past-

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I remind the hon. member that her time for speaking has expired.