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Oral
Questions
April 24, 2008
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| In the House | Question
Period
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
My questions today are
for the Minister of Municipal Affairs.
Mr. Speaker, our office
has been contacted by teachers who have raised concerns
regarding fire safety in their schools. Teachers have
pointed out to us that some of the schools in question
may be operating under fire standards from the 1970s and
1980s.
I ask the minister: Now
that you speak for the fire commissioner, can you tell
me if schools are expected to comply with today’s fire
standards, or are they grandfathered in under previous
codes and standards?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Education.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS BURKE: Mr.
Speaker, there are 285 schools in Newfoundland and
Labrador. Many of the schools were built, obviously,
over the years, and were built according to the fire
safety codes of that time. Any new schools are built
according to today’s fire safety codes, so there
probably have been some schools that have been
grandfathered in, which has been the accepted practice.
If there are fire safety
concerns, there is a process that is followed by the
schools to ensure that the schools are safe. There are
daily inspections done, and daily inspection reports
that are submitted to the principal. Then these daily
reports are submitted to the school board on a monthly
basis.
If there are any issues
that are identified on a monthly basis to the school
boards, there is a time frame built in as to when they
go out and they do the work to address these issues.
Mr. Speaker, in saying
that, we have also increased the budget for maintenance
so that the school boards have the latitude to do the
work that needs to be done.
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
I ask the hon. minister
to conclude her answer.
MS BURKE: Mr.
Speaker, I will leave it at that. Hopefully, there is a
supplementary question and I will be able to provide
further information.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, can the minister table for us, in the House of
Assembly, a list of the schools in the Province that
currently fall under existing codes and standards that
are in place today, and those that have grandfathered in
under codes that go back thirty years or more?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Education.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS BURKE: Mr.
Speaker, I certainly do not have that information with
me to table at this time, but I will certainly make an
effort to be able to table that information here in the
House.
I also want to speak
about the importance of fire safety in our schools. We
follow the daily, the monthly, process, the boards do,
and they go out and through their maintenance budget
they address fire safety issues.
In addition to that, Mr.
Speaker, if there are any concerns that they feel they
need an independent opinion, the boards can also call on
the fire commissioner’s office. I am certainly aware
that there have been a number of times, when they wanted
that independent outside decision, that they call in the
fire commissioner’s office and they get that
information.
In addition to that, Mr.
Speaker, this government has also - to show that we are
concerned about the safety of our students - invested in
laboratory safety equipment. We have had professional
development for teachers in lab safety.
MR. SPEAKER:
Order please!
I ask the hon. minister
to conclude her answer.
MS BURKE: The
other thing we did, Mr. Speaker, we invested to make
sure that the chemicals that have been left in our
science labs for many, many, years have also been
disposed of appropriately.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Maybe the fire
commissioner could hold a public conference and verify
what the minister is telling us here today.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh, oh!
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, the fire commissioner indicated that
maintenance and facility managers at health care
facilities who were responsible for fire and life safety
issues did not know the codes relating to their
facilities.
I ask the minister: In
light of this information, can she tell me if the
maintenance people in the schools, or whatever people in
these schools are responsible for enforcing these codes,
are any better prepared or any better trained?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Education.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS BURKE: Mr.
Speaker, the school boards are responsible for the
operation of our schools and they have a process in
place where they require daily reports. Then they are
submitted to the principal, monthly they go into the
board, and we have operations managers who look after
these schools.
As I have indicated, at
times when they felt they needed an independent outside
opinion, they have certainly contacted the fire
commissioner’s office. I can think of one particular
time when I was involved in some discussions and the
fire commissioner’s office was contacted to go and do
an inspection for a school for us.
In addition to that, Mr.
Speaker, there are also other layers of safety that we
have in place in our schools, but it is so important to
realize that we do these daily inspections because we
are certainly concerned about the fire safety in our
schools.
The boards have managers
who oversee this process. They are responsible and they
are accountable to ensure that this work is done, and is
done in an accountable manner.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
It was a very simple
question. I will ask the minister again. The fire
commissioner indicated that the people in hospitals who
were responsible for carrying this out were not familiar
with the codes, nor properly trained.
I ask the minister: Can
she give me the assurance that those people in the
schools responsible for this do have the training and
know the codes under which they are supposed to enforce
those regulations?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Education.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS BURKE: Mr.
Speaker, I have outlined the responsibilities of the
board staff, and the process that they follow in order
to make sure that any issues are brought to the
attention of the school boards.
In addition to that, Mr.
Speaker, on an annual basis each school is inspected by
an outside agency that is contracted to go in and to
check the systems that are in that school, whether it is
the fire equipment, the fire hose, the alarms, the
systems that are in place – on an annual basis – so
it is not just dependent upon the board staff. We also
have an independent company go in to do these
evaluations and provide feedback to each and every
school.
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Can
the minister tell me who the private company is, how
often they do the inspections, and are the reports
submitted to the fire commissioner’s office?
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
The hon. the Minister of
Education.
MS BURKE:
Mr. Speaker, the work is done on an annual basis, and
there are reports generated from that work.
Mr. Speaker, I do not
know the names of the companies offhand, but it is
certainly not private information; it certainly would be
well known. If we are paying a company to go out and do
assessments, that is certainly public information.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
We have a situation here
where concerns are being raised about the standards and
codes that are being used in schools. We have the fire
commissioner out there saying the fire and life safety
process in place for public inspections in the Province
is not working. In fact, I think his statement was that
he was shocked by his own results.
I ask the minister: Why
is she so insistent on not allowing the fire inspector
to do his job and carry out the process of inspecting
public buildings in this Province?
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Minister of
Education.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS BURKE:
Mr. Speaker, I outlined the process that the school
boards have, who are accountable for the day-to-day
operations of the school and the maintenance of these
schools.
What is important here,
Mr. Speaker, is that the fire commissioner has the right
to inspect public buildings. The fire commissioner has
the right to inspect each and every school in this
Province. Under no circumstances would I, as Minister of
Education, or the school boards, not allow the fire
commissioner or the fire department’s ability to go in
and do the assessments that they deem are required.
Mr. Speaker, they have
the right to do it. We have not eliminated that right.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
My question is for the
Minister of Environment.
Minister, in February of
this year, your department advised municipalities and
communities who use incinerators that they would have to
be closed down by December 31. I recall reading as well,
I believe, an article in the Telegram whereby you
gave some information to that effect as well, and what
was intended to originally be a closure of 2010 was
ramped up to December of this year, 2008.
I was
just wondering if there will be any exemptions permitted
to this order, to any communities in the Province?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS JOHNSON: Mr.
Speaker, as for our Waste Management Strategy that was
announced in May, 2007 of last year, one of the
requirements is that teepee incinerators no longer
operate after December 31, 2008. There were
approximately fifty teepee incinerators in operation.
That number is now down to twenty-five, and we have
committed to having a technical team in place to meet
with all of these individual towns so that alternatives
can be explored.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: Thank
you.
Maybe the minister could
be more explicit. The question was: Are there going to
be any exemptions? Because we know the order is out
there, we know that communities are asking.
My question is: Will
there be exemptions, and if there will be exemptions,
have you figured out yet what is necessary to get an
exemption?
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Minister of
Environment and Conservation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS JOHNSON: Mr.
Speaker, our goal in the Department of Environment and
Conservation, and in co-operation with my colleague, the
Minister of Municipal Affairs, is to have these teepee
incinerators eliminated by December 31, 2008. These are
not good for the environment. They are burned at very
low temperatures, and what comes out of these is
certainly not good for people of this Province, in terms
of dioxins and furans. We have committed to working with
these towns to find alternatives, and our goal is to
have all of them eliminated by December 31, 2008.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: Mr.
Speaker, I think my question is fairly clear. We all
understand the issue of the toxins and why we need the
teepees closed.
My question is fairly
straightforward: Are you
prepared to grant any communities in this Province, who
currently have teepees, an exemption? Have you made that
decision yet, that exemptions may be granted?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS JOHNSON: Mr.
Speaker, in keeping with the theme of recycling, if the
hon. member is going to continue to recycle his
question, I will continue to recycle the answer.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS JOHNSON: Mr.
Speaker, our goal is to have teepee incinerators
eliminated by December 31, 2008. We are down to
twenty-five. We have made significant progress. Our
goal, as I said, is to have zero by December 31, 2008.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Sometimes when the
question is simple, but the person does not understand
it and they do not want to give an answer, or maybe -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh,
oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
MR. PARSONS: Maybe
I will put it to the minister this way -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh,
oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
MR. PARSONS: I
asked my questions of the Minister of Environment and we
are not getting an answer. Well, minister, are you
aware, as the Minister of the Department of the
Environment, that the Department of Municipal Affairs
has already, regardless of what you intend to do, your
colleague, the Minister of Municipal Affairs, has
already given some communities an exemption, or is
prepared to give an exemption. Are
you aware of that? Are you aware of that, minister?
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Minister of
Environment and Conservation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS JOHNSON: Mr.
Speaker, the regulations around the elimination of
teepee incinerators falls within the Department of
Environment and Conservation and there have been no
exemptions from our department.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Exactly my point. I am
trying to show here that one minister of this government
does not know what the other minister is doing. One is
in charge of the environment; one is in charge of waste
management.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh,
oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
MR. PARSONS: Mr.
Speaker, I have a copy of an e-mail sent by one of the
government members, a backbencher, to a community, François,
which says that that community will get an exemption. It
came from the office of the Minister of Municipal
Affairs.
Now
which is it, minister? Is there going be exemptions
under Environment who made the order? Does the Minister
of Municipal Affairs know what he is doing? Can you tell
us what is going on, because the communities subject to
your order certainly do not know? Maybe you can clarify.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS JOHNSON: Mr.
Speaker, for the fifth time, there will be no
exemptions. We will continue -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS JOHNSON: We
are eight months away from this elimination date. We are
very committed to working with these communities, both
in co-operation with the Minister of Municipal Affairs,
the Minister of Government Services, and my department.
We are very committed to working with these groups to
find alternatives.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
The point I was trying to
make here with these questions is that it is quite
obvious that neither the minister - the Minister of
Environment might know what she is doing but the
Minister of Municipal Affairs, he had a meeting, Mr.
Speaker. A meeting was held by the Minister of Municipal
Affairs with the Member for Fortune Bay-Cape la Hune on
April 8, this year, after the Minister of Environment
gave the directions - after she said in The Telegram
there will be no exemptions and that Minister of
Municipal Affairs told the Member for Fortune Bay-Cape
la Hune that there would be an exemption, and that was
passed on to the community of François.
The question is: When
will you people make up your mind what you are going to
do about exemptions, and will you communicate that to
other communities in this Province? When will you tell
the communities what you are going to do?
SOME HON MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Minister of
Environment and Conservation.
MS JOHNSON: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
My mind is very made up.
I cannot make it any clearer than I have been making it.
What I will ask the hon. member opposite: Is he
proposing that we continue to burn these potentially
chemical toxins into the environment? If that is what he
is proposing for his area, I think he should talk to his
town.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Opposition
House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
It is easy to tell when
you strike a knot. They can give these fluff answers but
when they get down to some details -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh,
oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
MR. PARSONS: I
say to the minister again: Does the Member for Fortune
Bay-Cape la Hune not know what she is talking about when
she makes a statement to the Mayor of François that you
will be getting an exemption, in writing? And I have had
that confirmed by the Minister of Municipal Affairs on
April 8.
Now, minister, all I am
asking you is: When will the
communities in this Province, who received your order in
February, when will they know and what must they do to
get an exemption, because somebody else, other than you,
is handing out exemptions? Should they deal with you or
Municipal Affairs?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh,
oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Minister of
Environment and Conservation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS JOHNSON: Mr.
Speaker, as Minister Responsible for Environment and
Conservation and as minister responsible for this
particular regulation, I am the only one who could grant
exemptions, if I were to do so.
I did say in The
Telegram that we will work with these communities.
We are committed to working with these communities. We
want to find a solution. We want to eliminate teepee
incinerators. They are not good for the environment.
They emit dioxins and furans which are not good for
people, wildlife and so on and so forth. That is our
goal and we are sticking to it, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I heard that one before:
That’s my story and I am sticking to it.
My next question will be
for the Minister of Municipal Affairs. Minister, I do
not mind tabling that by the way, confirming where it
came from and who it went to. That is not a problem;
that will be done. I can hand it to you personally or
table it, whatever you prefer.
My question for the
minister is, in the community of Ramea for example,
about a year, a year-and-a-half ago, two years, they put
in a new tepee incinerator which cost over $200,000,
that this government paid 100 per cent for. All I am
trying to determine here, on behalf of that community -
because up to thirty minutes ago Mayor Lloyd Rossiter
did not know anything about it.
Can
there be an exemption for places like Ramea? We just
spent over $200,000. You are on record here as saying
that certain communities will get an exemption. What
should (inaudible)?
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Minister of
Environment and Conservation.
MS JOHNSON:
Mr. Speaker, the health concerns of the people in Ramea
are no different than the health concerns of the people
(inaudible).
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS JOHNSON:
Mr. Speaker, while a significant amount of money may
have been spent into putting this incinerator in, the
environmental cost of not eliminating it is much more,
Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. PARSONS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It is quite obvious that
they do not want the Minister of Municipal Affairs to
get on his feet. I don’t know, maybe because he gives
some answers - maybe - but I will ask him another one.
Minister, waste
management, I take it, is in your area, even though it
is all interlinked to environmental concerns and so on.
You recently announced the appointment of three more
persons to the Western Regional Waste Management
Committee.
Port aux Basques, which
is the single largest community in the Burgeo-LaPoile
area, certainly from south of South Branch, which is the
Member for Stephenville East, all of Codroy Valley,
right on down to Grey River, there is only one community
representative of that. The Town of Port aux Basques,
which is the biggest community in the district, wants to
be involved in waste management and wants to co-operate
with government.
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
I ask the hon. member to
pose his question.
MR. PARSONS:
They have been denied a seat on the board.
I ask the minister: With
a community of such size and geographic significance,
why would you refuse and not allow them to have a seat
on a board when they want to be co-operative with you?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Municipal Affairs.
MR. DENINE:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker
The Opposition House
Leader is right; I did release a news release a week
ago, putting a full complement in the Western Waste
Management region.
Mr. Speaker, what the
hon. gentleman is saying can be said by a significant
number of other municipalities that are not represented
on that area.
What I tried to do is try
to get equal representation from small, medium and large
municipalities, so that the input is even throughout,
where the issues from the larger communities are
identified, the issues from the medium-sized communities
are identified, and the issues from the smaller
communities are identified.
Mr. Speaker, every time I
announce a management team in waste management, I have
the same set of arguments: Why?
They are valid arguments,
and I do not disagree with the member across the way.
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
I ask the hon. minister
to complete his answer.
MR. DENINE:
I do not disagree with the hon. member that the Mayor of
Port aux Basques is looking for it. They want to be part
of it. I welcome them to be part of it.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. PARSONS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Minister, I have no
problems with how many communities you have on the Waste
Management Strategy. In fact, I would think the wise and
prudent thing would be, the more bodies and heads we
have involved, the more co-operation and the better we
get it done.
My question of the
minister is: Are you saying
now, Minister - because it is a ten board seat, or seat
board - is there any problem, Minister? Are you prepared
to commit that the Town of Port aux Basques can have a
representative on that board, or the Town of
Stephenville who has also been left out, by the way?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Municipal Affairs.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. DENINE: Mr.
Speaker, I am not prepared today to give that
commitment.
What this committee is
going to do, this committee is going to do the
groundwork to make sure that the process is in place
that they come to a host site that everyone can put
their garbage in. Now, this is not going to be a dump;
it is going to be an engineered landfill.
At the end of the day,
Mr. Speaker, when this committee is done, there will be
an elected board and that member can run for election.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
You talk about one hand
knowing what the other hand is doing.
After the Minister of
Environment announced the closure of the teepees for
December 31, the Minister of Municipal Affairs went out
to the West Coast and told these communities: We are
going to give you a consultant now.
Now, there is a meeting
being held tonight in Burnt Islands by the West Coast
Management Committee dealing with this consultant and
how we are going to have input into it and get it up and
running. Guess who is going to be the lead for that
consultant study? Guess who they have asked? The Town of
Port aux Basques.
Now,
Minister, don’t you see an inconsistency where you
want the Town of Port aux Basques to lead your
consultant to deal with waste management issues but you
do not want the Town of Port aux Basques sitting on the
board? Isn’t there something foolish about that?
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Minister of
Municipal Affairs.
MR. DENINE: I
am not sure what the question is.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. DENINE: All
I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, if the hon. gentleman would
ask me a question, I will answer it.
I am delighted that it is
in Port aux Basques. I am delighted that they are over
there having their consultations, because that is what
the process is all about: listening to everyone who is
going to be involved, to bring their ideas back so the
consultant would have a better vision of what to
recommend.
I applaud Port aux
Basques for hosting that meeting, and that is done
through the Western Regional Waste Management Committee,
not through my office.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
My questions are for the
Minister of Municipal Affairs.
The federal government
transferred $82.3 million for municipalities in this
Province, money carved off the rebate on gas tax. Out of
that, the provincial government carved off $22 million
for themselves to spend within the department on waste
management.
I ask the minister: How
much of that money has now been spent to date, and what
has it been spent on?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Municipal Affairs.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. DENINE: Mr.
Speaker, I cannot give you the exact amount, but if the
member wants it I can give it to her. I do not know the
exact number but there is work being done on the Avalon
area with retrofit of Robin Hood Bay. There is a new
site in the Central area that is being worked on now.
There is money allocated to the Western Waste Management
Committee to get their consultations up and running.
This is all part of the whole picture.
I do not know the exact
number. If she wants it, I can get it for her.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker, and I will wait for the information to
be tabled.
The mega-dump concept
that the minister is promoting in his department, we
know, will have a burden on certain municipalities in
the Province. We know, Mr. Speaker, that there will be
extra cost associated with the transport of garbage –
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order please!
MS JONES: -
and tipping fees that will have to be charged at dump
sites.
I ask the minister: In
this time of rising gas prices, how much will it cost
towns, extra - and let’s take the Town of St.
Lawrence, for example, who is expected to transport
their garbage about 400 kilometres to Robin Hood Bay -
what will the extra cost be to the residents in that
community?
MR. SPEAKER:
Order please!
The hon. the Minister of
Municipal Affairs.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. DENINE: Mr.
Speaker, I want to correct one thing. We are not putting
them into any more – when these three host sites –
dumps. We are putting them into an engineered landfill,
which is totally different. The idea of a dump, let’s
get that out of our mind.
Mr. Speaker, the idea of
how much it is going to cost has not been determined
yet.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh,
oh!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order please!
I ask members for their
co-operation.
The hon. the Minister of
Municipal Affairs.
MR. DENINE: Mr.
Speaker, the area in which she is looking at, the Burin
Peninsula, they have a Regional Management Committee
down there. They are looking at the waste management in
that area. When they get their consulting done, then we
will know.
Right now, I cannot give
you an answer on how much it is going to cost, but what
is going to happen is that the general principle is that
the first 100 kilometres will be the responsibility of
the municipality.
MR. SPEAKER:
Order please!
The hon. the Member for
the District of Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.
MS MICHAEL: Thank
you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, last week
the Minister of Environment and Conservation removed all
doubt and announced that the government wants to cut the
proposed Mealy Mountains National Park by 50 per cent.
This proposal would leave some important watersheds and
wildlife habitats unprotected. It includes taking the
Eagle River section out of the national park and instead
creating a provincial park. This decision is shameful
considering that this Province only has approximately
1.5 per cent of its eco regions protected, well below
the recommended 12 per cent standard.
Given this Province’s
poor record in preserving its provincial parks and
poorer record in setting up wilderness areas, I ask the
minister: Why is government proposing to take the Eagle
River watershed out of the national park where it will
have maximum protection and management by Parks Canada?
It makes no sense.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS JOHNSON: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, this
government is very committed to having a national park
in the Mealy Mountains area.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS JOHNSON: Mr.
Speaker, we are also very committed to ensuring that the
conservation targets set out in the Park Purpose
Statement are also met.
Mr. Speaker, the Steering
Committee did meet last month. It is back up and
running, it is on track, and it is meeting again next
month as well. Also, there have been some discussions
put forward. We are just one player at that Steering
Committee. We did put items forward for discussion, Mr.
Speaker, because it is very important –
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh,
oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please! Order, please!
I ask members for their
cooperation. The Chair has recognized the hon. the
Minister of Environment and Conservation.
MS JOHNSON: Mr.
Speaker, it is very important that there be a balance
between ecological integrity and the potential future
development for the people of Labrador, and any
decisions that are made have to be done in a sustainable
manner. We put items on the table for discussion but at
the end of the day the Steering Committee will put a
proposal forward.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Member for
the District of Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.
MS MICHAEL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
This government also says
it is committed to community consultation. Well, the
community consultation and participation which is very,
very important, that consultation process has said that
they, too, are very concerned about the eco regions, and
the balance for them is a national park.
The people of Labrador
have made their wishes clear in surveys and public
statements. They want the national park that would have
the original boundaries as defined in a Parks Canada
Feasibility Study in 2005. Why is this government
ignoring the wishes of Labrador communities that have
said they want the park with the boundaries as proposed
to ensure that the sensitive areas you are concerned
about will get maximum protection?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS JOHNSON: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
As I said, Mr. Speaker,
it is very important that there be a balance between the
ecological integrity and the items of ecological
importance and the potential for future development for
the people of Labrador, and decisions like these have to
be made so that they are made in a sustainable manner.
We are very committed to having a park in the Mealy
Mountain area. We are very committed to protecting the
Eagle River. Mr. Speaker, because we are interested in
protecting areas within our Province, we propose having
the Eagle River - or what we put on the table for
discussion is that the Eagle River be protected
provincially, because we are, as the member may know,
proposing the waterway park for Main River. It would be
really wonderful, because we have one on the Island, to
have one in Labrador as well. |
