MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Opposition.
MS JONES:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I rise today to present another
petition on behalf of the residents of Labrador, with
regard to the Trans-Labrador Highway. Yesterday, Mr.
Speaker, the Minister of Finance said that the Budget
was sizzling.
Well I can tell you right now,
there are a lot of people in Labrador that are sizzling.
They are sizzling, Mr. Speaker, because they are driving
over some of the worst roads that they have ever seen in
their entire lives. You just have to log on to the
Internet today and you can see all kinds of videos, Mr.
Speaker, of roads that are nothing only potholes from
one end to the other.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
MS JONES:
I had this guy, Mr. Speaker, from –
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
The Chair has called for the
presenting of petitions. He has recognized the hon. the
Leader of the Opposition. I ask hon. members to show
respect for the member as she presents her petition.
MS JONES:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I had a video clip
sent to me a couple of days ago from a resident in Lake
Melville who had just left to drive down the
Trans-Labrador Highway to get the ferry out of Blanc-Sablon.
He took the video from the front windshield of his
truck, and it was absolutely amazing to watch that it
was absolutely nothing only potholes, Mr. Speaker, from
one end to the other of the entire video clip. Now, that
is the kind of roads that people in Labrador are being
left to drive over.
Hon. members over there laughing
and smirking, Mr. Speaker, and shouting and all the rest
of it, and it is all fine and dandy for them, because I
can tell you, Mr. Speaker, the other members here from
Labrador are probably not going to drive over that road,
including the Minister of Labrador Affairs.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
MS JONES:
Mr. Speaker, probably they do not
care what situation that road is in, but I can tell you
right now today that there are a lot of people who
really do care. When they get to the end of the road,
Mr. Speaker, the ferry that they would normally take is
not even available.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
MS JONES:
In fact, Mr. Speaker, there is a
freighter on the system that does not have the ice
capability to make the crossing on the Strait of Belle
Isle. There are people that have to fly out, and right
now there is a line up for Easter break. People in
Labrador want to be able to get out for Easter, just
like people everywhere else in the Province, Mr.
Speaker, but this government is not giving any
consideration to what their needs are. They brought down
a Budget yesterday and not one dime in that Budget to
address the situation of these roads. Not one cent. Not
one cent in this Budget –
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
MS JONES:
– to address the ferry needs.
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
I say to the hon. member that her
time for presenting the petition is just about concluded
and I have not heard the prayer of the petition. I ask
the hon. member to read the prayer of the petition
before she concludes.
MS JONES:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
This is about the twelfth petition
that I have presented like this in the House of
Assembly. I will read the prayer again for the twelfth
time.
WHEREAS
the Trans-Labrador Highway is a vital transportation
lifeline for the Labrador communities, providing access,
generating economic activity, and allowing residents to
obtain health care and other public services; and
