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Oral
Questions
April 23, 2008
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| In the House | Question
Period
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS. JONES:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
My questions are for the
Minister of Health and Community Services.
A couple of weeks ago I
raised an issue in the House of Assembly related to the
lack of ICU beds and admitting beds at St. John’s
hospitals. Patients were being housed in corridors and
surgeries were being postponed. Since that time, Mr.
Speaker, I informed the minister that I have received
more phone calls, more e-mails from people who have been
frustrated with this system. In fact, I spoke to a
gentleman this morning that has had his bypass surgery
postponed eight times. I think he has made that aware to
the minister and to the department as well.
I ask you, minister: Have
you since investigated this problem with ICU bed
availability and will anything be done to help these
patients whose surgeries are now consistently being
postponed?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
As I had indicated last
week or the week before last in response to questions
from members opposite around the closure of beds at
Eastern Health, and more particularly at the Health
Sciences Centre, I reported back to the House that that
was not in fact the case. All beds were open. There may
be periodic times when some beds may be closed for a
very short period of time because of some staffing
change issues, but, for the most part, all beds at
Eastern Health are open.
With respect to the ICU,
Mr. Speaker, in recent past Eastern Health has found
that they have had a lot of critically ill patients who
have been admitted to hospital. One of the unfortunate
realities that physicians find themselves in on occasion
is trying to establish priorities. Many people may be on
waiting lists, many people may be booked for procedures
and all of a sudden an emergency will crop up and
physicians will have to make that judgement call to
respond to the most urgent and the most life-threatening
situation first as a priority and, as a result, they
require some rescheduling on occasion.
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, the minister has failed to answer my question
around why we are seeing all of these surgeries
postponed and why there is not more availability of ICU
beds.
This particular gentleman
was told this week that we will admit you into the
hospital after five weeks of surgeries postponed, eight
different occasions for bypass surgery. He was then
told: we will admit you into the hospital, that way we
can get you into surgery quicker. When he went to the
hospital to be admitted, he was told: I’m sorry, but
we have no beds available to admit you either.
Now, I have to ask the
minister: Has he checked to see
if there are enough beds available within our hospitals
in the St. John’s region? Is this going to be a
consistent problem or is it not?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
One of the things - in
terms of the issue of how long this will be a problem,
as I said earlier, in recent past we have had a real
flurry, a real increase in the number of people who come
in acutely ill, and as a result of that there has had to
be some prioritization taking place.
With respect to the total
ICU beds, all of the ICU beds are open. So, in terms of
capacity issues, we are at a peak capacity right now
with our intensive care units.
One of the things the
member might recall as well, last year our government
made a commitment to look at acute care services in St.
John’s; to look at the kinds of services that are
currently provided now, the kind of facilities we need
to provide those services. So, in terms of the long-term
piece, I say, Mr. Speaker, we are very much actively
engaged in a process now looking at the future needs of
acute care services in St. John’s and in the region.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
It is quite obvious that
in the last two weeks since we have raised this issue
the minister has not taken any action to deal with the
problem. It remains to be a problem. We are also being
told, Mr. Speaker, by nurses that some of these beds are
remaining closed because of a nursing shortage, not just
the admitting beds but the ICU beds as well. We know
that there are nearly 400 vacant positions in the
nursing profession, just in the Eastern region right
now.
So I ask the minister: Is
the availability of nurses contributing to this problem
at all, or is it just simply that we do not have enough
ICU beds in the St. John’s Region?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: As
I understand from officials, as recent as an hour or so
ago, all of the ICU beds in St. John’s are open. So
additional pressure that may be brought to bear on the
current number of ICU beds that we have in the system is
coming about as a result of more acutely ill patients
presenting at the hospital who require admission to an
Intensive Care Unit.
In terms of capacity - I
want to go back to a point I made earlier - there will
be periods of time when, in fact, as we are experiencing
right now, there will be increased pressures on
intensive care beds.
The long-term piece, as I
said a moment ago, we are very much in the midst now of
looking at acute care services in St. John’s, looking
at the current capacity, looking at future needs, trying
to identify what might our acute care services look like
in St. John’s for the future to respond to a changing
population, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, I ask the minister: Does
he think it is an acceptable level of service when
people are travelling from one region of the Province to
the capital city, waiting for up to five week periods,
having surgeries postponed seven or eight times? Is this
an acceptable level of service? At what point, Minister,
will you intervene to make improvements in the system
immediately?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: One
of the things that you find yourselves periodically -
and as a government we have done this in the past. When
we, in fact, have pressures like we are finding now -
unfortunately, the number of ICU beds are a fixed number
right now today. We do not have the flexibility to open
ICU beds or close them at a moment’s notice, so
periodically you will end up with pressures like we are
experiencing in the recent past. On occasion, in the
past, as a government, we have sent patients outside of
the Province when we have had increased pressures for
acute care services. If that need arises, we will do the
same thing again.
One of the challenges you
run into, though, in trying to transport ICU patients,
is the stability of that patient and their ability to be
able to be transported out of the Province for some kind
of service. Eastern Health are trying to manage with
what they have there right now to be able to ensure that
the most acutely ill patients are dealt with as a
priority and dealt with earlier.
One of the challenges you
run into in that kind of –
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
I ask the hon. minister
to conclude his answer.
MR. WISEMAN: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
When that happens,
sometimes individuals may have their appointments
postponed. The time frame that you are talking about,
the reference to several weeks and having it delayed
eight or nine times, no, I would not agree that is an
acceptable process.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Yesterday, I asked the
Minister of Health to confirm for me if there were 3,000
cases of grievances outstanding at Eastern Health. Since
then, I have now confirmed that the number was correct.
I have also been told that many of these cases have been
on the list for a number of years to be heard and, in
fact, on average, they have 350-400 new grievances filed
on an annual basis.
I ask
the minister if he is now aware of the issue, and what
action will government take to deal with this backlog of
grievances?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
In response to the
member’s question yesterday, I had indicated in the
House that I would undertake to find that information
– I do not have it yet - and when I have it available
I will provide it to the House.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I think it goes without
saying that high morale in the workplace has some very
successful impacts when it comes to the recruiting and
retention of professionals. Any grievances that are
filed are obviously discontent in that workplace, and we
would like to see it dealt with.
It is our understanding
that the process for grievances is a long and trying
process. I want to ask the
minister if his government will undertake to devise a
process that could be more simple and could get the same
result, so that these people can have their cases heard
in a more timely manner and hopefully improve the morale
in our health care system.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: I
do not want to repeat myself, Mr. Speaker, but as I said
yesterday to the member opposite – she asked me a
question about the number - I said I would undertake to
find out the status of outstanding grievances.
In that process I will
gain an understanding of what they are doing to deal
with it, and if there is something necessary or
something that is available to us as an instrument in
the labour relations process to actually expedite the
process, then we will explore those options with Eastern
Health to ensure that they are settled as easy as
possible.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Even with our limited
resources, in twenty-four hours we can confirm
information, I say to the minister. With probably the
few hundred employees you have, you might be able to
confirm it before the week is over.
My next questions are for
the Minister of Municipal and Provincial Affairs.
Mr. Speaker, it is
obvious that fire inspections of the Province’s health
facilities is of great concern. Despite government’s
attempt to play down the seriousness of the issue in the
past couple of months, specifically last month, we know
now that there are significant fire and life safety
issues at public institutions that have gone on notice.
I ask the minister: Why
has government downloaded this responsibility for timely
inspections, thorough inspections, to volunteer fire
departments that, as we know, are underfunded, in many
cases, without the proper training to be doing this
work?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Municipal Affairs.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. DENINE: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
The thing here is this: I
said yesterday in this House that the protocol system
that we operate today was the one that was in place
thirty years ago. It has continued on. It was in when
the Liberal Party was in power, and it continued on.
Today, Mr. Speaker, what
we have found out is there are deficiencies within the
facilities that we inspected. Our government has been
committed to correct those deficiencies as efficiently
and effectively as possible. There are sixty to ninety
days to do that and, Mr. Speaker, twenty-four months to
put in the sprinkler system.
Mr. Speaker, we are
acting upon the recommendations of the fire
commissioner, and it will take time to do that.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, the fact that the policy may have been there
for thirty years holds no relevance. The Speaker now
knows there is a problem here; the minister now knows
there is a problem. We are only asking: What are you
going to do to fix it? It is a recognizable problem that
needs the attention immediately. Why
download this responsibility continuously on these
non-profit, underfunded, under trained fire departments?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Municipal Affairs.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. DENINE: Mr.
Speaker, just let me inform the Opposition Leader, just
over thirty days ago, I directed the fire commissioner
to go out and do the inspections. He came back and he
found some deficiencies there. Our government is
committed to look at those deficiencies and make sure
they are corrected.
As far as what we are
going to do, Mr. Speaker, yes, we found that there were
deficiencies in those facilities. We found there were
differences in protocols that it was under for the last
thirty years. We are committed to look at those
protocols to make sure that the security is in place for
the future, from now on in.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, we also understand that the same process that
was used for inspections in these health facilities is
also being used for inspections in our school system. I
would like to ask the minister,
in regard to what is happening now within the health
care system, if they will now conduct a full inspection
program of our schools in the Province to ensure that
they are indeed in compliance with fire safety
regulations?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Education.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS BURKE: Mr.
Speaker, we are certainly very concerned about fire
safety in our schools, and all schools are required to
have a fire safety plan and do a number of fire drills
throughout the year.
Mr. Speaker, I had the
opportunity to speak – to ask the department to speak
- with the fire commissioner’s office, and there were
no outstanding orders from that office. I went further
on March 12 in a meeting with the CEOs of the school
boards and the chairs of the school boards as well to
ask if there were any fire safety issues, anything that
needs to be brought to our attention. I was assured by
both the chairs of the boards and by the CEOs that there
were no outstanding issues. Any issues or orders that
they had had a time frame on it, they were working
within those time frames, Mr. Speaker.
In addition to that, Mr.
Speaker, in last year’s budget we also increased the
maintenance to our schools by 67 per cent. So, we are
concerned about fire safety. We have increased
maintenance and I have certainly checked with the chairs
and the CEOs and have been informed that there are no
outstanding issues.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I would like to remind
the minister that back in March her colleague told us
there were no outstanding life safety issues in the
health care facilities either, but upon review and
inspection by the fire commissioner’s office we see a
different result.
A simple question
minister: Will you now
undertake to have the fire commissioner do a full
inspection of the schools in this Province?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Education.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS BURKE: Mr.
Speaker, in a department as decentralized like
Education, where we depend on school boards, they are
tasked with the day-to-day functions of operating the
schools. One of the responsibilities that they have is
fire safety.
Mr Speaker, I have spoken
with, as I said, on March 12 with both the chairs and
the CEOs or the Directors of Education and it is my
understanding that there are no outstanding issues with
regards to fire safety issues. I will take it upon
myself to go back, to check with the boards to ensure
that the policies that they have in place are being
followed. I understand there are daily reports that are
done by staff at the school. They are submitted to the
board on a monthly basis.
So, Mr. Speaker, we are
concerned about fire safety. There are protocols in
place. I will double-check, although I have checked on
March 12, I will check again to ensure that the
protocols are being followed.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Let
me ask the minister this, Mr. Speaker. The fire
commissioner is the independent recognized professional
that does this in our Province, oversees this process. Why
would you not want him to do a review and inspection of
schools in the Province? Answer that for me.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Education.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS BURKE: Mr.
Speaker, let me be perfectly clear. I am not opposed to
the fire commissioner doing a study of the schools. What
I am saying is that there are established protocols in
place. We do have a maintenance budget. We have people
who do maintenance. We also have chairs of the board and
we also have Directors of Education who are accountable
to make sure that these protocols and fire safety is in
place. I have checked with these people, I will check
again. If they bring any issues or any concerns that the
work or the protocols are not being followed, I will
certainly follow up on it.
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS. JONES:
Mr. Speaker, again, to the Minister of Education.
The protocol she refers
to did not work in the health care sector. It did not
work when it came to inspections of life and fire safety
issues in our health care facilities. Why
do you have so much confidence in the fact that they are
working in our school systems?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Education.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS. BURKE: Mr.
Speaker, there is a process in place and I have spoken
with the people who are charged with the accountability
to ensure that the protocols are in place. Each school
does a fire safety plan. I have been told and it is my
understanding that these reports have been filed. These
are done in conjunction with the local fire departments.
There are people who do daily reports regarding the fire
safety in our schools. They are submitted to the boards
on a monthly basis. When I checked with the Directors of
Education on March 12 they indicated that any
outstanding orders that they had, they were within the
time frames. They gave examples of some of the issues
that they had to deal with, primarily storing materials,
or whatever, under stairwells and they had a time frame
they had to deal with it.
So, Mr. Speaker, I have
spoken to the people. I have been told that they are
following the protocols. I have said right now that I
will go back and double-check to see if there are any
issues or anything we need to do, just in case that
protocol is not being followed, but -
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
I ask the hon. minister
to conclude her answer.
MS. BURKE:
Mr. Speaker, fire safety is something we are concerned
about in our schools. It is something that is practiced
throughout the school year, but I will go back and make
sure and ask if there is anything, any concerns that we
need to address.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS. JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
If the minister was so
concerned she would be committing to have that done now.
It would be concern enough for her to have that done.
Mr. Speaker, the fire
commissioner today gave a technical briefing this
morning and some very informative information, very
factual information and very technical in nature. Mr.
Speaker, I think the Premier would agree with me that
the fire commissioner is a well-respected, knowledgeable
individual on fire safety in this Province.
I have to ask you,
Premier, today: Will you at
least relieve the gag order that this commissioner has
been placed on as an independent officer in this
Province, responsible for fire safety in the public, and
allow him to talk?
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr.
Speaker, the hon. Leader of the Opposition is obviously
frustrated by the answers that she has gotten from both
ministers.
The recent Minister of
Education just stood up and said she has asked everybody
responsible the right questions and will follow through
and will ask again, and if anything comes up, she will
come back and report to the House. If there are any
problems, we will deal with it.
There are no gag orders
in place on anybody. We do not put gag orders in place.
The fire commissioner is not under a gag order. The
minister is responsible for the fire commissioner and
the minister will speak for the fire commissioner. When
matters relate to education, that minister will speak
for the fire commissioner. The fire commissioner is not
out speaking publicly. He has a right to do technical
briefings and everything else, but he acts under the
minister. He has a responsibility to that minister and
the minister will speak, and that is the way it is going
to be. It is as simple as that.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
My next question is for
the Premier as well.
Yesterday AbitibiBowater
announced that thirteen of its managers in Grand
Falls-Windsor were being laid off. The Minister of
Natural Resources complained to the media that she was
not notified, only an hour before these lay-offs, I
think, were announced. Yet, in February the Premier had
a meeting with AbitibiBowater’s CEO, David Paterson.
I ask you today, Premier:
What was discussed at this meeting, and was any
indication given that these layoffs were actually
coming?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: No,
Mr. Speaker, there was no indication that any layoffs
were coming.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
It is my understanding
from discussions that the mayors of both Grand
Falls-Windsor, Botwood and Bishop’s Falls were not
informed of what was happening with AbitibiBowater, and
certainly not kept in the loop by government on any
action you were taking on this issue.
I have to ask: Is
there any particular reason why, in light of the fact
that there were cuts coming within this company, that
there has not been consistent dialogue between
government and the mayors in those regions and
communities affected?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
The Premier and I met
with Mr. Paterson in February. We met with local members
of the CEP union in Grand Falls shortly after. I have
met with the union local again, as late as Friday. The
conversation that took place in February talked about
the state of the industry, that phase one review was
complete, the company was now entering into phase two
review, they did not know what the outcome of that was
going to be and that they would keep us informed.
Unfortunately, that did not happen, in terms of the
layoffs. I have expressed my disappointment with regard
to that in the strongest terms to the company. I have
been told that we will be briefed early next week on
what the future plans might be.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I do not think the minister came anywhere near answering
my question.
Anyway, Mr. Speaker,
government knew since 2007 that there was a revenue loss
in this company of $490 million. They also knew there
were demands being placed on the AbitibiBowater in Grand
Falls that they were asking for a $10 million cost
reduction.
I ask the minister: Why
did government not engage at a more, I guess, powerful
way within the company to try and curb any particular
job loss that could be occurring as a result of that
announcement?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
This government was
engaged with company officials at that time in terms of
what they were looking for in the Phase 1 review. We
were deeply engaged with the mill employees, through
their union, as they went through that forty-five day
process, found the $10 million in savings that the
company was looking for.
Mr. Speaker, this
government has been very proactive with both the pulp
and paper companies in this Province. In the last two
years, we have provided approximately $40 million in
help to both of these companies, almost $20 million of
it to Abitibi, in the face of the crisis that the pulp
and paper industry faces worldwide. We have been very
proactive. We have been very supportive. We have been
very engaged, and we will stay that way, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
For a minister who claims
to be so engaged, I do not know why she was left out of
the loop – and that is by her own admission, Mr.
Speaker. It obviously went off the rails somewhere, and
the minister was not included in the loop.
Mr. Speaker, the
Communications, Energy and Paperworkers estimate that
there could be eighty to one hundred layoffs of
unionized workers at the Grand Falls-Windsor mill
expected in the near future.
I ask the minister: Will
you now fully engage in the process to ensure that we do
not see another hundred jobs lost in this industry under
the watch of your government?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Mr.
Speaker, this industry might have disappeared from
Newfoundland and Labrador all together, except that we
were on watch over the last (inaudible).
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: We
have provided, as I said, over $40 million assistance to
both of these companies.
Mr. Speaker, as I have
said, I expressed my strong disappointment to Abitibi
yesterday. We have been very open with them. We have
been very accessible. We have been extremely supportive.
We have a very good relationship with the CEP union in
Grand Falls and in Corner Brook.
Now, Mr. Speaker, my
disappointment has been strongly conveyed; the company
has responded and said that they will engage with us.
They are meeting in Montreal over the weekend, and
hopefully we will have something of substance to hear
from them next week, about their future plans.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.
MS MICHAEL: Thank
you very much, Mr. Speaker.
I would just like to
continue some questions for the Minister of Natural
Resources.
I think we all agree that
we have a worsening situation there. We had fifty-six
people laid off in 2005, thirteen yesterday, probably
dozens more of unionized workers in a few weeks.
Mr. Speaker, I would like
to ask the Minister of Natural Resources: What are the
particulars of what you are trying to do to ensure that
we will see a continued commitment, or even to find out
if there is a commitment, from AbitibiBowater to
maintaining operations in Grand Falls-Windsor? What are
you bringing to the table next week? Are you just going
to sit and listen, or what are you going to be bringing
to force this commitment to happen?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Mr.
Speaker, as I have just said, we have brought $20
million to the table, approximately, over the last two
years, to Abitibi, to sustain that operation in Grand
Falls. We need to know where the company is in terms of
their Phase 2 review, what their plans are and what
their expectations are. Until we know where they are,
and what they are planning to do, it is very difficult
for us to respond.
They have committed to
inform us about their plans. They did not live up to
that commitment, in my estimation, yesterday. I reminded
them of that, and I certainly expect something better of
them early next week. Then, at that point, we can engage
once we know what it is the company is going to need.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.
MS MICHAEL: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Just to follow that a
little bit, to get a bit more particulars, last year
AbitibiBowater announced that it needed to save $10
million, as we know, and then the union announced in
March 2007 that it had negotiated a plan with the
company for saving that $10 million. The company said it
did not come quite up to the $10 million as they saw it.
When you heard from them
this week, Minister, did they give you any update on
that plan that they put together with the union last
year, and where that plan went to save the $10 million?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
By the union’s
estimate, in their forty-five day review, they found
closer to $12 million. They built in that cushion.
We have a very good
relationship with the union there. There is a great
source of knowledge and expertise for us, as government,
to call upon from time to time as we engage in dealings
with the company.
We know that Abitibi has
the best energy price in North America. We know that
they have very reasonable fibre costs in the country, in
North America. We know that their productivity is an
issue for them. A big piece of the issue around
productivity is because not enough capital investment
has been made in the mill. To achieve productivity that
they are looking for needs a capital investment in that
mill, so we want to know: What is your plan?
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.
MS MICHAEL: I
guess I really do want to follow up on that, then,
because that was my third question. How do you intend
finding out next week what their plans are with regard
to investing in the Grand Falls-Windsor mill’s
production facilities?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I wish there
were some other means available to me, but unfortunately
all I can do is ask. We have dealt with this company in
good faith. The people of Grand Falls-Windsor, and all
of the eighteen surrounding communities, the 944 people
who are engaged directly with that company through the
mill and through their woodlands operation, I feel, have
dealt with them in good faith. We are asking them to do
the same. We know it is troubled times. We have worked
with you in the past, we are prepared to work with you
in the future, but you have to talk to us and lay out
your plan.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.
MR. BUTLER: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
My question is for the
Minister of Environment and Conservation.
We know that the
Multi-Materials Stewardship Board is a self-financed
Crown agency which derives revenues from levies on such
items as beverage containers, tires, and the sale of
recycled material. In accordance with the Transparency
and Accountability Act, the MMSB issued a strategy plan
for 2007-2008. This was the first one that has been
public since 2003.
I ask the minister: Why
were there no annual reports provided to the public
since 2003?
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Minister of
Environment and Conservation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS JOHNSON: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I have been
assured by the MMSB that those reports will be
forthcoming in the very near future. I have also been
assured that they will be filed on a timely basis, on a
go-forward basis.
I would also like to
point out for the member opposite that, although the
reports have not been filed, certainly the financial
information of MMSB is certainly available through the
public accounts of this House. |
