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Oral
Questions
December 3, 2008
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| In the House | Question
Period
MS
JONES:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, in
questioning the Premier yesterday with the economy, he
certainly expressed some sentiments that government
might spend so much money over the next year that the
economy may overheat in Newfoundland and Labrador. All
the while he was making his response, Wabush Mines was
letting their employees know that there was going to be
160 people out of work, in addition to the contracts
that would be cancelled. So, Mr. Speaker, it is a
devastating hit for this community.
I ask the minister today:
What is the plan, on behalf of
her ministry and the department, to be able to mitigate
what the impact is going to be on this town and the
people that are involved?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Deputy Premier and Minister of Natural
Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
This is a very serious
situation for the workers at Wabush Mines, and for the
Town of Wabush and Labrador City as well, Mr. Speaker.
I have set up a meeting,
late next week or early the next week, with Wabush Mines
to talk with the management about their plans. I am
encouraged at this point in time, that they are looking
at early retirement and trying to find other measures to
lessen the impact on the workers at this time, Mr.
Speaker.
What is happening in
Wabush is a result of a worldwide economic crisis, and
the response to that is broader than Wabush also, Mr.
Speaker. So that is why we are looking with great
interest to Ottawa, once they resolve their current
situation, to see what kind of a stimulus package that
they will come forward with.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, I think the message might actually be getting
through to this minister that this economic worldwide
crisis is going to impact us in Newfoundland and
Labrador as well. When I asked her about the economy in
the last few days, it was business as usual and steady
as she goes, was her responses, Mr. Speaker, in Hansard.
Anyway, I say to the
minister, Wabush Mines made it known at least a week ago
that there could be some downsizing in their operation. Have
you had an opportunity to talk to the company over the
period of the last week or so, and have you made any
overtures on behalf of government in terms of the role
that you might be able to play in mitigating the loss of
employment there?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
The Leader of the
Opposition never lets the facts get in the way of a good
story.
When I talked last week,
Mr. Speaker, I was answering questions with regard to
IOC and what they had told me, and what they had said
was that they were continuing their operations, it was
steady as she goes and business as usual; they were
delaying their expansion plans, but they were doing
everything possible to maintain their permanent
workforce, and that was good news.
We also heard from Wabush
Mines last week that, because of the 50 per cent
reduction in production in the steel market worldwide,
it was going to have an impact on their operations in
Wabush.
We are in daily contact,
Mr. Speaker, with these companies.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Well, if the minister is
so engaged, she will know that the reason IOC has not
been laying off employees is because they are going to
maintain a maintenance program over a longer period of
time.
Wabush Mines was also
scheduled to invest $100 million in the upgrades in
their mining operation. Maybe
she can tell me why they have postponed that maintenance
program instead of doing it now at a time when the
economy could use the investment.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
The answer is quite
simple and understood by everybody, I think, in this
Province and in the country. It is because of the loss
of markets.
Wabush is involved, at
this point in time, in a pilot project with regard to
their manganese reduction, which will have a significant
impact on the life of that mine, Mr. Speaker. That is a
piece of work that is critical in the long term, and I
am happy to report to the House here today that they are
going to continue with that piece of investment.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, we also heard from Harvest Energy that they
were going to put their expansion programs on hold for
the Come By Chance oil refinery project. Mr. Speaker, in
a quote that I heard from the CEO there, he said
refineries must expand or eventually close.
I ask the minister: Can
you give us an update as to what is going on with the
Come By Chance expansion project and what it will mean
to the long-term future of that operation?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I am happy to report that
yesterday morning I had a meeting with John Zahary and
his officials from Harvest Energy and we had a long
conversation about the future of the refinery in Come By
Chance, which is very bright.
They are currently
looking for a partner for their $2 billion expansion. In
the meantime they see that their operations can continue
as they are now, and they are confident that they will
find the investment they require - not at the present
time; it is a bit of a struggle. They understand that
investment is very tight at the moment, but they have
delayed their plans, they have not shelved their plans,
and they are very confident in the operations that are
happening in Come by Chance at the moment.
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
the minister said – actually, a couple of times in a
row - that she is monitoring what is happening in the
Province. I am not sure that just monitoring it and
waiting in your office for the phone to ring to tell you
the next amount of layoffs in the next mine or the next
oil refinery is the approach to that.
Minister, I ask you: Are
you prepared to take further action and to lead
discussions with the industrial sector in Newfoundland
and Labrador with the business community to look at what
is going to be required as economic stimulus investment
in order to keep our economy rolling?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, we are
engaged with our industrial partners in this Province on
a daily basis. Nowhere, at no time, do I sit in my
office waiting to react to bad news. We are fully
engaged. We are fully aware. We are supportive. We look
for advice. We look to have our policies and programs
informed by the people involved in the different
industries in this Province, and we have an excellent
relationship with people who are involved in industrial
development here in this Province. Much like the Grand
Falls issue, Mr. Speaker, when the Opposition become
engaged we usually have a year or a year-and-a-half work
under our belt.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
My question is for the
Minister of Education.
The minister’s
heavy-handed interference in the appointment of a new
president has caused some serious disruption in the
planning process of Memorial University. In fact, Mr.
Speaker, the government is bringing forward a motion
today to try and express their regret for what happened,
and her interference.
Mr. Speaker, I ask the
minister: Given the fact that
the search committee at the university was disbanded
because of the interference by yourself and the Premier
in the Province, can you tell me when that search
committee will now be put back in place and when we can
look forward to seeing a new president instated?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Government House Leader and Minister of
Education.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS BURKE: Mr.
Speaker, as the hon. member would know, we just recently
appointed a new Chair to the Board of Regents at
Memorial University. I had the opportunity to speak with
the new Chair very briefly a couple of times in the last
week. I certainly look forward to having a meeting with
him in the very near future and we hope to get the
presidential search started as soon as possible.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, it is our understanding that the Board of
Regents has also appointed an ad hoc committee to
recommend changes to the Memorial University Act, which
will strengthen the autonomy of the university and in
turn eliminate the interference of government in that
process.
I ask the minister: Will
you be listening to the recommendations that will come
forward from this committee, and are you prepared to
look at legislative changes if that is what they
require?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Education.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS BURKE: Mr.
Speaker, I certainly welcome the report from the ad hoc
committee that will come to government through the Board
of Regents. We will certainly take it very seriously. We
will look at it. As a government, we will do the
analysis and we will make decisions and act what we feel
is in the best interest of the university and the people
in Newfoundland and Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, earlier today we received a report on adverse
health events in the Province. Mr. Speaker, we have only
had a very short briefing of this report. It is a
comprehensive piece of work, but it appears that many of
the recommendations we feel are there to certainly
improve the system, and unfortunately it seems like a
lot of these improvements are resting on the hands of
the regional health authorities and not on that of the
ministry.
Mr. Speaker, I
ask the minister today if he would be prepared to bring
forward changes to ensure that once the Minister of
Health is advised of adverse health events within the
Province, that the legislation will require that it be
reported to the public?
MR. SPEAKER: Order
please!
The hon. the Minister of
Health and Community Services.
MR. WISEMAN: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I am delighted that the
member opposite has acknowledged the fine piece of work
that that taskforce has done. It is an excellent piece
of work I say, Mr. Speaker. It is a very comprehensive
piece of work. It covers a wide range of issues from
policy to legislation. It talks about the role of the
health authorities. It talks about a whole new reporting
process; it talks about some significant investments
that need to be made to make some improvements; it talks
about a process and structure, I say, Mr. Speaker. So it
is very comprehensive.
Now, what I had indicated
this morning, and the member opposite would have had
some representation at that meeting that I had. I had
indicated then that government only received the report
in detail yesterday. We need some time to evaluate the
recommendations that are in that report. I acknowledged
this morning with a media briefing that there were some
things there of a policy nature that we can move on
immediately, and we intend to do that. Some of the other
things require much more reflection and to help inform
our decision –
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please.
MR. WISEMAN: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please.
I ask the hon. minister
to conclude his answer.
MR. WISEMAN: By
leave, I will just clue up. Thank you.
To help us inform that
decision, we await the Cameron Inquiry’s report as
well, to help inform some components of it.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, it is felt that if there was a requirement in
law, making it mandatory for the Ministry of Health to
report these issues, we may not have ever required the
services of the Cameron Inquiry.
I ask the minister, in
light of this: Will you please
have another look, when you are reviewing the
recommendations, and ensure that there is statutory law
requiring the ministry to make the reports public and to
do what should have been done in the incidents around
ER-PR testing in this Province?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Mr.
Speaker, in the same way this morning, in talking about
the report, I acknowledged the great work that Mr.
Thompson and his task force had done, and thanked them
for their work and indicated that we would be reviewing
the report and giving it full consideration.
In that same vein, I
thanked the member opposite for her recommendation today
and we, too, will take that into consideration as we
ponder what we will do. I can rest assured of one thing,
Mr. Speaker, that we will be swift in our response, we
will be appropriate in our response, because we are
committed. We are committed, as I have said in this
House many times. We are committed to quality health
care in this Province. I think the investments we have
made over the last five years clearly reflect our intent
to strengthen and build the Province’s health care
system. Our focus in the last twelve months, with so
many initiatives we have already announced - the
accreditation of labs, strengthening of management
information systems – reflects our commitment to
quality. So I will take your recommendation into
consideration. As Cabinet colleagues, we will also
consider the recommendations you have made in the past
to us. So thank you very much for that.
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.
I have asked the past
couple of days about the release of a certain report,
the one that was done on correctional facilities. I must
go back again to another question that I raised, to
which an answer was not given by the minister, and that
concerns the death of a thirty-one-year-old gentleman at
HMP in March.
I understand, again, from
the family, the father of the person in question, that
he has met recently, on November 28, with the minister,
and from March to now, nine months, he has been trying
to get an autopsy report, a report from HMP as to what
happened to his son, or from the medical examiner and he
has gotten absolutely nothing.
Is
there anything, Minister, that you can do to expedite
the release of these documents and this information so
that this family will have some idea as to what happened
to their son?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Justice and Attorney General.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. T. MARSHALL: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I did meet with the
father of the individual who, unfortunately, lost his
life when incarcerated. Since that time, I have
discussed this matter with various officials. I am
awaiting the final report of the Chief Medical Officer.
I am asking my officials to explore the options that are
available to me, as minister, and when we have those
options, we will make an appropriate decision and will
contact the father and tell him.
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the
gentleman in question has indicated that the report of
the Medical Examiner has been draft form for some time
now, and he has requested it. Surely, there must be
something more that you can do other than say we will
give it to you sometime in the future.
Can’t
you exert some authority, some pressure, some influence,
on the Medical Examiner so this family can bring some
closure to this issue, or else decide what needs to be
done?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Justice and Attorney General.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. T. MARSHALL: I
am advised that there is a draft report in at the
department but obviously we have to wait for the final
report, because the final report might be different from
the draft.
I do undertake that as
soon as I have that report – and I will be very happy
to call the Chief Medical Examiner and ask if he could
expedite the matter. When I have the report I will be
happy to give it to the father, and I will be pleased to
do so.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank
you.
Minister, we also had a
report from the Office of the Citizens’ Representative
in June, 2007, done about the women’s correctional
facility at Clarenville, which outlines a number of
major, major issues and why that place is in such a
terrible state. In fact, I understand it has been under
lockdown now for the past three or four weeks, as
indicated by the minister to the media last week. Some
of the reports indicate that a counselling team, Mr.
Speaker, has not even been in the facility since 2006.
I ask the minister: Are
you aware of the existence of this Citizens’
Representative Report of 2007, and has anything been
done to act upon that report, or is it merely sitting on
the shelf somewhere? Can you tell us that, Mr. Speaker?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Justice and Attorney General.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. T. MARSHALL: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
There was a report from
the Citizens’ Representative - I think it was, as the
hon. member said, in June of 2007 - in which he made
five recommendations. One was for the Department of
Health and four were for the Department of Justice.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh,
oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
I ask the hon. members
for their co-operation.
The hon. the Minister of
Justice and Attorney General.
MR. T. MARSHALL: Mr.
Speaker, as I said, there was a report by the
Citizens’ Representative in June 2007 and there were
five recommendations made to government. One was for the
Department of Health and the others were for the
Department of Justice.
I can tell the hon.
member that one of the recommendations was to institute
video conferencing equipment at Clarenville, and that
has been done. I can also tell the hon. member that on
each Friday there is either a mental health or an
addictions counsellor provided by Eastern Health. As
well, there is a facilities classification officer who
is a social worker and provides ongoing consultation to
inmates. There was a recommendation that a package,
containing information about community supports, be made
available to the inmates of that institution, and that
is being done. There was also -
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
I ask the hon. minister
to conclude his answer.
MR. T. MARSHALL: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
There was a
recommendation that a pretrial detention centre be
erected in Happy Valley-Goose Bay for the benefit of
Aboriginal women who are inmates, and (inaudible).
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Opposition
House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I
wonder if the minister could indicate whether or not –
again, this is another report, yet another report that
was done on the correction facilities submitted to the
former minister in September of this year – if, in
fact, the report of September included recommendations
as well as to what should be done at Clarenville in
addition to what the Citizens’ Representative pointed
out in June 2007?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Justice and Attorney General.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. T. MARSHALL: Mr.
Speaker, I do not know if this is a first for this House
but I could not hear the question from the hon. member.
I ask him to repeat it, please.
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Opposition
House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Certainly,
Mr. Speaker.
My question deals with
the issue of: there was a Citizens’ Representative
report in June 2007 which the minister just responded
to. We also know of the existence of a corrections
facility report that was submitted to the Department of
Justice at the end of September this year. That report
is yet to be released. Can the
minister tell us at least whether the situation at
Clarenville, which we was addressed by the Citizens’
Representative in 2007, was that also commented upon and
does that form part of this yet to be released report
that was submitted to the Department of Justice in
September of this year?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Justice and Attorney General.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. T. MARSHALL: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I think the report was
submitted on October 1 of this year, just to be correct.
The report, as I indicated, is very comprehensive, very
all-encompassing. I think you may recall that when my
predecessor, the Minister of Finance, who was Minister
of Justice when he released the report, the terms of
reference were publicized at that time and they were
very broad; looking at terms of reference to look at the
management, look at the organizational structure, look
at every institution, including Clarenville, including
Whitbourne – no, not Whitbourne, I am sorry, the seven
correctional institutions - to look at labour relations,
to look at health, to look at mental health as well. As
I said, there were seventy-seven recommendations, a very
broad report, and we look forward to its very imminent
release.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
We are already aware that
we have had undertakings from the government. The former
minister committed a release before the House opened,
and that is not done. It is probably going to wilt again
on the shelves in the department.
I ask the minister - I
read and heard a copy of an interview that you gave to
the media last week dealing with the situation at
Clarenville, and in particular the lockdown that is
occurring there. At that time you made a statement,
Minister, that some of the problems at Clarenville might
be resolved if the inmates there were moved to a federal
institution.
I am
wondering if you might clarify this situation, because
my understanding is that this Province has an exchange
service agreement with the federal government whereby we
in fact want to, in most cases, have federal prisoners
here, and in fact the federal government pays a per diem
to have them. So I am a bit confused about your comment
that if they leave Clarenville to be put in federal
institutions that will resolve it.
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
I ask the hon. member to
pose his question.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Yet
we have a deal to keep them here.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Justice and Attorney General.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. T. MARSHALL: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, we do have,
as the hon. member indicated, and I am sure a lot of the
citizens of this Province would be interested to know,
we have an agreement with the federal government that
people sentenced to federal time can stay in our
provincial institutions. As a result of that we have
asked, on numerous occasions, for the federal government
to share with us the joint cost of a new penitentiary
for the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador; but, of
course, certain inmates who are sentenced to federal
time would, for certain advantages that they perceive
may be available in federal institutions –
AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible)
transferred (inaudible).
MR. T. MARSHALL: Yes,
they will want to be transferred. They will want to go
to federal institutions. So I am not talking about
forcing people to leave. I am talking about those who
have applied to go to a federal institution and were
simply awaiting the time when they would be transferred.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.
MR. BUTLER: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Government recently
rejected the idea of constructing a causeway to Long
Island. It is a very short distance, Mr. Speaker, across
the tickle to Pilley’s Island, and residents feel this
project would be of great benefit to the region.
I ask the Minister of
Transportation and Works: Is
government willing to listen to the people of Long
Island and reconsider the decision of cancelling the
causeway?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. TAYLOR: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
In the interest of giving
the House as much time as possible, Mr. Speaker, I will
make a very short answer: No.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.
MR. BUTLER: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank the minister for
his answer.
My next question is:
Since the causeway project was cancelled and it is not
going to be reconsidered, the people of Long Island have
continually been ignored and dismissed by this
government. That is their feeling, Mr. Speaker. Most
recently, the dedicated ferry service to the island has
been diminished and the number of ferry trips has been
reduced.
I ask the minister: Why
has government diminished the Long Island ferry service
when there is a need for it to be improved rather than
weakened?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. TAYLOR: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, if the
previous government had spent a bit of money on our
ferry fleet instead of buying, as our former colleague
in the House used to say, a rust bucket from Russia, if
they had spent some decent money on ferries and had a
good, sensible vessel maintenance and replacement
program, maybe we would not be in the predicament that
we are with ferries in the Province right now.
The fact of the matter is
that we have an old, decrepit fleet of ferries. We all
know that. We went through an exhaustive planning
process for a vessel replacement strategy. We are in the
process of implementing that replacement strategy. We
are in the process of beginning the construction on two
new ferries.
Mr. Speaker, as part of
that plan, as part of the development of that strategy,
we had a very hard look at the ferry services in the
Province, the number of people that use them, the times
of the day that they use those ferries and, Mr. Speaker,
that was the basis for the reorganization of the ferry
system and schedule on Long Island.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.
MR. BUTLER: Mr.
Speaker, regardless, whether it was a rust bucket from
Russia or wherever, it is little consultation to the
people in those communities. They feel frustrated,
knowing the growing concerns with medical emergencies
and access to services being negatively impacted.
I ask the minister:
In the absence of a causeway, is government willing to
return to the dedicated ferry service to the people of
Long Island?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. TAYLOR: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, as the
member opposite would know, and I am sure the people on
Long Island know, most people in the Province know,
because of the age of our ferry fleet we have, from time
to time, vessels breaking down. We do not have, on many
occasions, another vessel that we can move into service.
I do not think anybody sees ferries down tied onto the
waterfront here on a regular basis, Mr. Speaker. If they
are, it is because they are in there going on dock for
repairs. They are old. We have to try and manage a fleet
in a way that we can get it through the longest possible
time period while we are in the process of replacing the
fleet.
Mr. Speaker, we have
outlined what we are going to do in the Long Island
area, and that is based on a very exhaustive evaluation
of the conditions there. I do not believe there will be
any changes in the foreseeable future.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Member for the District of Signal Hill –
Quidi Vidi.
MS MICHAEL: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Yesterday, the Minister
of Government Services did not answer my question
regarding specific cancers that had been proven to be
related to firefighting. Instead, the minister gave a
general answer on the professionalism of the
Occupational Health and Safety officers.
Mr. Speaker, there are a
number of specific cancers that have been proven to be
related to firefighting and are recognized in other
jurisdictions.
So I ask the minister
today: When is this Province going to introduce
presumptive cancer legislation as is being requested by
the firefighters’ associations?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Government Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. O'BRIEN: Mr.
Speaker, as I said yesterday, we are not actually
replacing anything. As a matter of fact, what we are
doing is – or getting rid of anything, we are actually
replacing it.
What we are doing is
proposing to get rid of section 24 and replace it with
section 23 of the WHSC regulations, and then section 23
will be referenced in our regulations in OHS.
Section 23 is a more
authoritative list and it certainly gets updated
automatically. As a matter of fact, Mr. Speaker, I have
in my hands two of the lists: Occupational Health and
Safety section 24 of the regulations list, which is one
page, thirteen diseases, and the workers health and
safety commission section 23 regulations, which is five
pages, thirty diseases, which is updated automatically
at any given time in regards to the experts in the
field.
I am not an expert in
regard to diseases, so we depend on the advisory council
in workers’ compensation and they –
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
I ask the hon. member to
conclude his answer.
MR. O'BRIEN: -
certainly bring those things forward.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Member for the District of Signal Hill –
Quidi Vidi.
MS MICHAEL: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
The minister might not be
an expert in diseases but he is an expert in not
answering questions, because he still has not answered
it. So, I will move on.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh,
oh!
MS MICHAEL: My
question now is for the Minister of Finance.
Mr. Speaker, I, and I am
sure other MHAs are receiving many calls from
constituents asking when government is going to release
the home heating rebate for this year. Mr. Speaker, last
year we heard stories of seniors going to malls to stay
warm. In a have province, this is not acceptable. In
spite of the fact that we are having a warm spell and it
has not gotten too cold yet in this part of the
Province, this is still an issue. We cannot have people
choosing between food, rent and heat.
Mr. Speaker, I ask the
Minister of Finance: When is the government going to
announce the home heating rebate for this year?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury
Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. KENNEDY: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
By way of preamble, the
last three years of the Liberal reign, 2000-2001, there
was a $100 rebate, nothing in 2001-2002, nothing in
2002-2003. Last year, we announced a program on December
15 – excuse me, in 2006-2007, we announced on December
15; 2007-2008, we announced it on December 6. Last year
the rebate -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh,
oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
MR. KENNEDY: -
was $300 for households using oil; $200 rebate for
electricity, wood or other heating service; $400 for
Coastal Labrador; 76,400 families benefited last year, a
$17.5 million program. I am pleased to tell -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
I ask the hon. minister
to conclude his answer.
MR. KENNEDY: The
announcement will come shortly. |
