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Oral
Questions
December 1, 2008
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| In the House | Question
Period
MS
JONES:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
My questions are for the
Minister of Finance.
Since August, eight of
the ten provincial jurisdictions in this country have
already had enough confidence in their economic
information to release financial updates. The ninth
province, New Brunswick, has already outlined their
timetable as to when they will make their announcement
and also put a plan in place for the economy.
Mr. Speaker, in
Newfoundland and Labrador we have only seen bits and
pieces of information and I guess a lot of that has been
conflicting, depending upon the audience that government
was addressing on any given day, whether they were
people in collective bargaining or people outside. Mr.
Speaker, I would like to ask the minister today: When
are they going to release the vital economic information
and data for Newfoundland and Labrador? Because
it is imperative that the business community and the
public have that information.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury
Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. KENNEDY: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank the Opposition
Leader for her question, but what is imperative is that
we continue to run this Province as we have been doing
over the last number of years and try to fix up the mess
that was left by the Liberals when we took power in
2003.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. KENNEDY: Essentially
what we are doing, Mr. Speaker, we have consulted with
experts throughout the country, locally and nationally,
as to how this economic crisis should be addressed. We
are taking the steps that are suggested, the first being
to maintain and keep spending money on infrastructure,
which we are doing and which will be outlined in the
economic update. Secondly, Mr. Speaker, to create
employment and to continue to create employment which
will give people money to spend.
We take this situation
very seriously, Mr. Speaker, and the economic update
that will come forward in the next week or two will
outline how we plan to address the situation. The advice
that has been given to us, and the advice that we are
following, is to maintain the course and steady as she
goes.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, maybe I should remind the minister that the
have status that this Province finds themselves in today
is to a large degree because of the deals that were
negotiated by previous Liberal governments and Liberal
premiers, I say to you, Minister, and that cannot be
ignored in the economic –
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh,
oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Leader of
the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, the Province and the minister has had months to
prepare this vital economic information to gather the
opinions of the leaders in the business community.
I would like to ask the
minister today: Have you met
with the leadership in Newfoundland and Labrador? Have
you consulted with the business community, and do you
have a handle on where the industry sectors are going?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury
Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. KENNEDY: Perhaps,
Mr. Speaker, I remind the Leader of the Opposition, if
she would stop giving speeches and ask questions I could
specifically address it.
Let me remind you of a
couple of basic facts. When we took power in 2003 there
was a $12 billion debt and a $1 billion deficit left by
those Liberals. So what we have attempted to do is to
clear that situation up. We have done that.
Let me remind the leader
of the Opposition, in case she missed it, for the last
number of years we have ran a surplus based on prudent
and fiscal spending. Last year we spent 36 per cent of a
$6.35 billion budget on health care – $2.36 billion.
We spent another 20 per cent on education - $1.3
billion.
What we are doing, Mr.
Speaker, is looking after the well-being of this
Province, continuing to take the steps that we have
taken, and we will see our way through this crisis.
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Leader of
the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
The minister did not
answer the question in terms of who has been consulted,
who in the business community has been engaged in these
discussions by the Province.
Mr. Speaker, let me
remind him of something else. The millions of dollars in
debt would still be there if it was not for the revenues
that rolled in from Hibernia and from Terra Nova and
from White Rose and from Voisey’s Bay, projects that
were done by Liberal Administrations. Why doesn’t the
minister get a history lesson in all the numbers that
his department handles, and where that comes from?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh,
oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, we do not know of any consultation that has
occurred with industry sectors in the Province, so maybe
the minister can tell me what dialogue he has had with
his federal counterparts in terms of looking at what the
proposed economic stimulus package will be from the
Government of Canada, how it will impact Newfoundland
and Labrador, and what investments will be made here.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury
Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. KENNEDY: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Well, let me see, a Liberal government when the Upper
Churchill was done; let me see, the Lower Churchill was
going to be given away by a Liberal government, so
don’t talk to me about what the Liberals have done
other than leave us in debt, Mr. Speaker.
Now, in terms of what
have we done? What have we done? On October 31, I was
appointed Minister of Finance. Three days later, I was
at a Finance Ministers’ meeting. Since then, Mr.
Speaker, I have been at the First Ministers’ meeting
with the Premier, I have met with the chief economists
of three major banks - the Bank of Montreal, the
Toronto-Dominion Bank, and the Royal Bank - I have met
with local economists. We are monitoring the situation
on a daily basis. We are following the advice that has
been given us.
Mr. Speaker, what we have
done in this Province is exactly what is suggested in
order to battle recession: one, to maintain the course;
two, to pay down debt; three, to reduce personal income
taxes; and, four, to create employment.
Does that sound like a
plan, Leader of the Opposition?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Leader of
the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Maybe the minister can
outline for me, then - outside the ministers’ meetings
- were there serious
discussions with the Government of Canada on investments
into sectors of the economy like the fishery, the
forestry sectors in Newfoundland and Labrador, Mr.
Speaker, and if there will be any investments coming
forward for future projects like the Lower Churchill?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury
Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. KENNEDY: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
In case the Leader of the
Opposition has missed it, there appears to be an
insurrection going on in Ottawa right now and we are not
quite clear who is going to run the government. The
Building Canada Fund is not outlined as to how it is
going to be dealt with.
The steps we have taken,
Mr. Speaker, are to continue to spend – and, again,
with some due credit to the Liberals, the Vale Inco deal
was announced there a couple of weeks ago; Hebron is on
course. So what we are doing, Mr. Speaker, we are taking
the steps that need to be taken to maintain a strong
economy.
We have also, Mr.
Speaker, offered the unions wages, the public sector
increases, which will amount to $500 million over four
years; 8 per cent which could go into their pockets
immediately, Mr. Speaker, and which they could spend for
Christmas.
These are the kinds of
steps we are taking to stimulate the economy, to battle
the recession; and, as has been pointed out, Mr.
Speaker, we are actually in the best position in this
country to battle this recession and crisis.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, it sounds a lot like status quo to me, but
let’s establish this. There has been no discussion
with the industry leaders in this Province. No
discussion with the business community in this Province.
No serious discussion with the federal government on
forestry and fishery investments or even large scale
developments like the Lower Churchill.
Mr. Speaker, let me ask
the minister this: Have you had
any discussions with the federal government around the
perspective sale of shares in Hibernia and has there
been any dialogue with our Province, you as the
minister, and the feds on that issue?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury
Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. KENNEDY: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
What we are aware of, Mr.
Speaker, as we enter this – as we are in the middle of
this crisis actually, is the best way to put it, is that
we cannot control everything that goes on in the world.
What is happening in the
United States, the sub prime mortgage crisis was not
brought on by us. What is going on in Europe and Asia
was not brought on by us, but, Mr. Speaker, we have to
live in a goldfish bowl if we thought that it does not
affect us. So what we have done, we have consulted with
the experts, we have looked at our own figures, Mr.
Speaker, and we are quite confident that it is by
maintaining the status quo, if the status quo, Mr.
Speaker, is spending money on infrastructure, building
schools and hospitals. If that is the status quo, well
yes, we will maintain it because it creates employment,
it puts money in the pockets of individuals, and that is
what stimulates the economy.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Every other province in
the country is getting their heads around what is
happening in terms of the economy. The minister claims
that we are in the middle of the tsunami on the economy.
Economists are saying we might be at the beginning. I do
not know where his information is coming from.
Mr. Speaker, let me ask
him this: What analysis have
been done with regard to the retail sales tax in the
Province? We already know that the number of
imports coming into the Province has dropped by about 25
per cent. We are hearing of businesses that are closing
up shop in Newfoundland and Labrador.
So I would like to ask
the minister: What analysis has
your department done on what the outlook on retail sales
tax will be, and how that will affect the bottom line of
the budget this year?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury
Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. KENNEDY: Mr.
Speaker, I am not quite certain what the Leader of the
Opposition refers to. Is she talking about retail sales
or retail sales tax? Is she talking about revenues?
Because last year, Mr. Speaker, the revenues in our
Province broke down to - 61.8 per cent came from
taxation, which included offshore oil royalties and
mining royalties are 37 per cent of our revenues. There
was investment; there were fees and fines, other
provincial sources, and equalization and the transfers -
the Canada social and health transfers.
So I am not quite certain
what the hon. Leader of the Opposition is asking me, but
if she asking me about retail sales, Mr. Speaker, it is
expected that they will grow and they have grown 8.1 per
cent, August of this year.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. KENNEDY: Mr.
Speaker, we have an actual increase in housing starts.
The only province in this country right now, I think,
that has an increase in housing starts. We are up to
220, 298 by September.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. KENNEDY: So
does she wish me to keep going (inaudible)?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Leader of
the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
My next question is for
the Minister of Natural Resources –
MR. KENNEDY: Give
up, did you?
MS JONES: Oh,
not by far.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS JONES: I
say to the minister, I have hardly given up, I have only
just begun.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh,
oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Leader of
the Opposition.
MS JONES: It
just goes to show, Mr. Speaker, how serious they really
take this issue. But I say to him, I am not giving up,
Mr. Speaker, by a long shot. There will be lots of
questions to come on this.
Mr. Speaker, my question
for the Minister of Natural Resources is in relation to
an answer she gave us last week when we asked her about
the mining operations in Labrador West. She stated she
was in regular communications with the mining companies,
certainly did not outline that there could be any
downscaling of activity there.
So I ask you minister: When
were you made aware of the plans of IOC and what the
impact was going to be, and why did you not inform the
House?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources and Deputy
Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
At the time that I gave
my answer in the House, I had been in discussion with
the management of IOC within that twenty-four hour
period. I was told at that time that it is was steady as
she goes, that they will be slowing down perhaps their
Phase I and Phase II development but would still be
taking orders. That while the world-wide global crisis
was having an impact on them, they saw that if –
because they had made significant investments when times
were good, they felt strongly that they could weather
through the next piece but they were going to further
assess that as a company and be in further contact with
me, which they were, Mr. Speaker, late last week. That
is when I was informed of the significance of the
slowdown with regard to Phase I and II, the impact on
temporary workers and contractors, but no layoffs are
expected at IOC at this time, Mr. Speaker, of permanent
employees.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Maybe
the minister could inform us as well, when she will get
the next update from the company and if you expect that
there will be any layoffs going into the summer if the
demand for steel remains down?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Mr.
Speaker, we are very proactive in our communication with
these companies. I initiated the contact with IOC,
especially when Wabush Mines indicated that they might
be having some layoffs. I wanted to know where everybody
was. That is the plan that they have laid out at the
moment, Mr. Speaker. They continue to make investment.
One of their pellet plants – each of their six pellet
plants will be refurbished during this period. That
speaks to their commitment in preparing for a time when
production comes up again. They expect a four-week
shutdown in July; they are asking everybody to take
their holidays at this time. There will be an impact
felt on contractors and on temporary employees, but IOC
will continue to invest and expects, hopefully, at the
end of the year, to have ridden out this crisis.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
At least we have one
minister over there who claims to be somewhat proactive.
Let me get to the Minister of Health and Community
Services, Mr. Speaker.
In the media interview on
Friday, the Minister of Health stated that he only
recently became aware of a 2003 report on mental health
services. Well, Mr. Speaker, this contradicted the
information that was contained in all the reports filed
by the Child and Youth Advocate from 2003 to 2007, in
which the Child Advocate stated that the mental health
report was being reviewed by the executive of the
Department of Health and Community Services.
So I ask you, Minister: Which
is it, did you just become aware of the report in your
department and start dealing with it or is the
information reported in the Child and Youth Advocate
reports incorrect and inaccurate?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Mr.
Speaker, there is no either-or answer to the question.
There are two separate issues. I am not going to refute
what the advocate wrote in her report. It is there in
black and white. Anyone who wants to read it, they can.
So it is there for the reading.
Fundamentally, what I had
indicated in the House and indicated outside the House
was that, a short while ago, this report of 2003 came to
my attention and I have asked officials in the
department to start reviewing that report to see about
its validity for today, to update any information in it,
to look at the suggestions and recommendations that are
there, to ensure that they are reasonable, reliable and
we can look at them as being a foundation piece to make
future decisions. So there is no either-or to the
question being posed here, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, there is so much confusion around this
particular issue. In 2005 the Child and Youth Advocate
indicated that the first option was to review this
report, the mental health report, that would be done by
the Department of Health and Community Services, and
that they would look at therapeutic foster care as a way
of reducing the number of youth being sent out of the
Province for mental health services.
I ask you, Minister: Was
that review ever done in 2005 or was it just told to the
Child Advocate, reported in their annual report, and no
action taken?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Mr.
Speaker, personally, I cannot speak to what may have
happened in 2005. If the member opposite would like for
me to find out whether or not the department reviewed
the issue in 2005, I can determine that answer and
provide it to the House and to anyone who has an
interest, but fundamentally the question to me was with
respect to my involvement, what I was personally doing,
and what I had indicated just very recently: I had
revisited that 2003 report and had it reviewed by
officials.
There is no contradiction
in the report. The member opposite is trying to make an
issue of nothing. Fundamentally, if the advocate has
indicated that there were some comments in her report in
previous years, that is in black and white, as I said a
moment ago, and anyone can read that. I cannot speak to
what activity may have taken place within the department
in 2005 on this issue but I say, Mr. Speaker, I can
speak very clearly to the issues that I have been seized
with since I have been minister. With respect to this
report, very recently I have directed officials to
review that report and provide some advice to me, and I
have committed to review the question at hand and to
make some decisions on behalf of government, or bring it
to my colleagues for decisions on behalf of government.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order
please!
The hon. the Leader of
the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, let me ask again. The Child and Youth Advocate
reported in 2005, and reported again in 2006, that the
Department of Health and Community Services was doing a
review of therapeutic foster care as a way of reducing
the number of children being sent out of this Province
for care. I ask you again, Minister: Was
that review ever done in the Department of Health and
Community Services? If so, where is it, why was it never
tabled, and why were you not aware of it as the
minister?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: If
the member opposite can repeat her questions maybe I can
repeat my answer.
Fundamentally, I said,
Mr. Speaker, anything that is written in the
advocate’s report about something she may have said,
comments she may have made, it is there in black and
white, anyone can read it; I am not going to refute
that. Anyone can read that statement.
What I am saying to the
member opposite, in response to questions she has made -
and I have said to the media, in response to the
questions they posed - where the status of that report
is today, as of today, in my role as minister, I have
recently provided direction to officials in the
department to review that report, to sit down with me
when they have done that analysis and we will then talk
about what actions we will move forward with. I will
then decide what recommendations I will bring to my
colleagues in Cabinet, and as government we will make a
decision around what future direction we will take with
respect to enhancing and improving and building upon
mental health services for children in this Province,
Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I want to remind the
minister of something: people in this Province need to
have confidence in the information that is being
reported to them by public offices like that of the
Child Advocate or even your office in the Department of
Health. Why is this information contained in public
documents and you have no knowledge of it?
My question is: Will
you find out if the review on therapeutic care was ever
completed in this Province and, if not, can you tell me
why the Child Advocate was given that information from
your department and it reported to the public?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: If
the member opposite wants to stretch out Question Period
by repeating the same questions, I can repeat the same
answer. I gave you an answer a moment ago. I had
indicated to you that I would undertake to find out
whether or not a review had taken place and report back
to you. I just gave you that answer about two questions
ago, but if you want me to repeat it I just did it
again. If you would like it repeated again, ask that in
your supplementary question again.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Ever since the story
broke and these families had the courage to go forward
and talk about the mental health issues affecting their
children, and the lack of services that they have been
getting in the Province, the minister and the department
has been hiding behind the fact that they are conducting
a review of a report that they have had for five years -
five years - and not dealt with. The same department
that every report must go to die on a shelf or not be
read, Mr. Speaker, I am not sure.
Anyway, let me ask the
minister this, while he hides behind that review: Can
you give us a firm timetable, when will you be able to
respond to the legitimate pleas of these young people in
the Province who need help and need services? When can
we expect your department to have this current review
you talk about completed and have information laid out
for the public?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Let
us make something abundantly clear, Mr. Speaker: This
minister, any minister in this government’s Cabinet,
does not hide behind any reports.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: I
think, Mr. Speaker, this government has very clearly,
since we were elected in 2003, demonstrated that we are
an action oriented government. All you need to look at
are the investments we have made, the success we have
had, and the improvement we have made in the delivery of
health services, education, and other social programs in
this Province. That is the kind of government we are,
Mr. Speaker, not one that hides behind reports.
With respect to the
question at hand, though - when will you have it? - I
had indicated that they are undertaking a review. Very
clearly the problem in this House has been, when the
member opposite says, give me a date, then she is on her
feet: Why don’t you have it? I clearly indicated to
people I have met with respect to this issue, including
the families in question, that over the next couple of
weeks I will have an opportunity to be able to provide
some kind of response.
If the member wants to
nail down how we will roll that out and what timeframe,
I am not in the position to give her that level of
detail.
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
My question is for the
Minister of Justice.
On April 18 of this year,
then Minister of Justice Kennedy announced a review of
the operation of adult corrections in the Province, and
this report was received by government in late September
of this year.
I ask the minister: Your
predecessor had committed to release this report prior
to the opening of the House of Assembly, it has not been
released, and I am wondering if the minister is in a
position to tell us when he intends to reveal the
findings of that report.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Justice and Attorney General.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. T. MARSHALL: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank the hon. member
for his question.
My predecessor, as
Minister of Justice, with a goal to improving living and
working conditions in the various correctional
facilities we have in this Province did ask that an
independent review be undertaken in April. Simonne
Pourier and Gregory Brown, who are senior managers with
the Correction Services of Canada, were retained to do
that report and they were joined by Mr. Terry Carlson, a
former executive director of the John Howard Society of
Newfoundland and Labrador. They have conducted, I think,
275 meetings. They have a report of about 280 pages with
seventy-seven recommendations.
After extensive
discussion, government is anxious to get this report
out. I am very anxious that this report and the whole
idea of corrections generally becomes part of the public
debate and discourse in this Province. The hon. member
does know, however, that there are processes –
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
I ask the hon. minister
to conclude his answer.
MR. T. MARSHALL: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
There are processes and
policies and protocols that we have to go through. We
are going through those procedures right now and when
they are completed I will be very happy to release the
report.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
We had a commitment from
this administration in the Blue Book, going back to
2003, about the time they release reports, and I believe
sixty-days was the timeline used there. We are certainly
well beyond that, I say to the minister.
The review of corrections
was considered necessary in response to reports of
inhumane treatment at a provincial lockup, a suicide and
a preventable death at Her Majesty’s Penitentiary.
Media sources indicated at the time that the report
itself highlighted some seventy-seven recommendations
for improving the state of adult corrections in this
Province.
I ask the minister: Assuming
that you are reviewing the findings of the report, will
the provincial government now undertake any specific
inquiries into those alarming deaths and suicides that
prompted the report in the first place?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. T. MARSHALL: Mr.
Speaker, the first thing of course is for government to
complete its work, its protocols in order to look at the
report – in order to release the report to members of
the general public because I do know that the report
will be of great interest to correction officers and to
inmates and ex-inmates and their families.
With respect to specific
inquiries, I can only tell you that the recommendations
are being reviewed. I have met with government officials
and with certain members of the general public
concerning that request, and that information would come
forward in the normal way in due course.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Member for the District of Signal Hill –
Quidi Vidi.
MS MICHAEL: Thank
you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister
of Government Services said in Question Period last
Thursday that the section of the Occupational Health and
Safety regulations covering occupational diseases is
being removed because it is too broad and he would have
to register all 35,000 workplaces in the Province.
Mr. Speaker, the registry
is specifically for the workers who regularly work with
biohazardous wastes on dangerous, heavy industrial work
sites and with hazardous materials among other things.
Not all workers in the Province would have to be
registered under these regulations.
Mr. Speaker, I ask the
Minister of Government Services: Will he reconsider and
revise the draft section of the regulations to indicate
that all occupational diseases would be reported?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Government Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. O'BRIEN: Mr.
Speaker, what I have committed to is to meet with the
President of the Federation of Labour and any other of
the stakeholders out there, to explain exactly what we
are trying to do within the regulations themselves.
Again, to Thursday’s
question, my answer is that I see this as a
strengthening of the regulations, a strengthening in
regards to me as the minister responsible being able to
focus in on issues within different industries that we
see developing within the Province.
The code of practice that
we have developed in regards to silica; the code of
practice in Wabush is hailed worldwide, used in other
jurisdictions as a template. We have been asked for it
from Australia. These are the ways that we can actually
address, in a focused way, those issues and those
concerns by those workers in these industries.
Again, as well, in
regards to the listing of those particular diseases,
they are covered off under S.23 of the Workers
Compensation Act. So in no way are we violating or
changing our focus in regards to industrial disease. It
is a concern, but also the safety of the workers are
(inaudible).
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Member for
the District of Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.
MS MICHAEL: Thank
you very much, Mr. Speaker.
I say to the minister
that the code of practice is one thing; the
identification of the diseases and the workplaces where
they are related is another thing, and I think that
comes before the code of practice. I have no problem
with individual codes of practice. I do have a problem
with making sure that all diseases are covered.
So I do have to ask the
minister then, in reference to section 23 of the
Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation regulations,
under the act that covers those regulations: Can the
minister actually stand there and tell us that all
currently recognizable occupational diseases are covered
by section 23, because I have read section 23?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Government Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. O'BRIEN: Mr.
Speaker, as I said in interviews, and also in regards to
the House last week, on last Thursday, I do not believe
coming from a profession of pharmacist that we can ever
cover off all the diseases that might have to be
addressed under occupational disease, because we have a
changing global industry. We have industries that are
developing in Newfoundland and Labrador as we go forward
with our economic development plan, but, in saying that,
S.23, as I understand it, will continue to be updated.
The list that is currently under the regulations of
Occupational Health and Safety and Government Services
is forty years old. When I stated, in regards to one of
the talk shows, that it was outdated, I meant that some
of the diseases might have dropped off the table, but
they have not dropped off the tabled. It is just that we
have more diseases to deal with, and other industries to
deal with that are related to the safety of our workers,
which is always a major concern. |
