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Oral
Questions
March 13, 2008
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| In the House | Question
Period
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I understand
there is a situation currently unfolding in the Town of
Spaniards Bay involving a volunteer fire department. It
has been reported - and, actually, I have spoken to the
lady in question - that a qualified female firefighter
has been denied the right to serve with that fire
department for no other justified reason, other than her
gender.
I have to ask the
Minister of Municipal Affairs today: Are
there any policies in place, in your department, that
protects the rights of women who want to join volunteer
fire departments?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Municipal Affairs.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. DENINE: Mr.
Speaker, this government supports both sexes in
volunteer fire departments, male and female, and we
support the contribution of all. As a matter of fact,
one of the first female firefighters that I taught is at
St. John’s Regional Fire Department now, and that was
the first female that was there. So this government does
support it.
To your question, that
was brought to our attention today. The fire
commissioner is looking at it and making contact, and I
will report back to you when he does.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, we all know that the fire commissioner is
unable to speak for himself anymore in the Province
because the Minister of Municipal Affairs now has become
the official spokesperson for the fire commissioner. I
do understand that this is addressed under the Human
Rights Codes that is being revamped in the Province
today.
I guess my specific
question would be to the minister: Is
there any kind of regulation or anything that is adapted
in the Fire Commissioner’s Office that would directly
apply to females becoming volunteers in departments and
if, in fact, this is in any way a legitimate reason to
reject her? I know it is not legitimate, but I am
wondering if there is anything there that protects the
Spaniard’s Bay Fire Department in doing this?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Municipal Affairs.
MR. DENINE: Mr.
Speaker, as Minister of Municipal Affairs, and
responsible for fire and emergency services, I took it
my responsibility to answer the questions on behalf of
my department and that is what I am here as minister
for.
MR. DENINE: As
far as if there is anything else in that, and it needs
to be reviewed, we will do it accordingly.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I hope that we can have
the results of that review in very short order.
Mr. Speaker, there is a
waiting list of anywhere between two-and-a-half and
three years for children who have been recommended for
audiology tests in the Province. This testing has a huge
impact on the educational plans for the child involved
and it determines the kind of treatment that children
receive, and if they require special technology to
assist them in their school work.
My question is for the
Premier. Premier, are you aware
of the long waiting list that exists in the Province
today for children to have this test and, if so, could
you personally get involved to ensure that it is
corrected immediately?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
MR. WISEMAN: Mr.
Speaker, over the last four years our government has
made some major investments in health care. In fact, our
budget has increased over the last four years by over
half a billion dollars, to deal with wait times in a
variety of areas, to deal with enhanced services and
providing new programs and services to the people of the
Province.
Any time, I say, Mr.
Speaker, with any program area that we have, long wait
lists is a concern of ours, and through this year’s
Budget process, as we have in past years, we are
evaluating programs and services with a view of making
some improvements, some enhancements, and we will, in
this year’s Budget, as we did in the last three
Budgets, continue to make further investments in our
health system to be able to address wait times in a
variety of areas, I say, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, from the answer, I am not entirely sure if the
minister is even aware of the wait lists that I refer
to.
We all know that
government is having difficulty attracting these
professionals, even though funding is made available for
the positions; but, Mr. Speaker, we also know that there
are services at the School for the Deaf that are being
diminished as well.
I want
to ask the minister if he can tell me what solutions
they can provide, in the short term, to parents out
there today who need this service for their children
immediately?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
MR. WISEMAN:
Mr. Speaker, any individual in the Province who is
awaiting service needs to be dealing directly with one
of our four health authorities.
If you look at the area
of speech and audiology in the last couple of years, I
think last year it was five new positions we created in
speech language pathology, for example, in the whole
area of speech and hearing, so we have made some major
investments in those areas in the last couple of years,
I say, Mr. Speaker.
As I said a moment ago,
on an ongoing basis we are looking at making
enhancements and improvements in our service, and
through this year’s Budget process we will make some
more.
If there are individuals
out there today who, on an individual basis, have some
real difficulty with their wait time and some difficulty
because of some issues with respect to their children, I
suggest that they, through their family physician, deal
directly with the regional health authority in their
particular region.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, it is through the regional health authority
that I have obtained the information that tells me there
is almost a three year wait list at the hospitals in St.
John’s for audiology testing. I also know from a
parent who has a child in Grade 3, that her child will
not be scheduled for testing until she reaches Grade 6.
Mr. Speaker, the minister
needs to be aware that there is a private service
available in the Province to those parents who can
afford it.
I ask the minister: Is
he concerned that we have a two-tier system of service
for children who require audiology treatment in this
Province? Those who can afford it are getting
it. The children who cannot are waiting three years.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
MR. WISEMAN: Mr.
Speaker, I would not stand in this House today, or any
other place today, and suggest that a three year wait
for audiology services is a reasonable wait, and it is
appropriate, and one that we would want to hold up our
hands and be proud of.
It is one of these
things, I say, Mr. Speaker, as in other areas of wait
times, we have been trying to deal with through an
additional investment of resources, additional
recruitment of human resources, to be able to enhance
those programs and services. This, too, is an area that
we are evaluating with a view to making some changes if
we have the capacity to be able to do that, I say, Mr.
Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, just a follow-up question on that issue.
I know that there are
monies being provided for audiology positions. I also
know that there has been a long recruitment process and
not any ability to fill those positions, so I ask you
today: For those children in our Province who need the
service and who cannot afford it, is
government prepared to provide the provision for them to
access that service through private clinics?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
MR. WISEMAN: What
I can commit to, I say, Mr. Speaker, is that I will have
the officials in my department work with Eastern Health
to look at the wait lists that they have, to see if
there is some way that we can actually address those
critical issues that may be facing some families and
children today as we speak.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the minister for his
answer.
Mr. Speaker, as a
follow-up to a question that I asked yesterday in the
House of Assembly, the need for increased numbers of
social workers in Northern communities, I would like to
point out that the caseloads ranging in the Province in
the 2003 assessment was that there were thirty caseloads
per social worker in regions like the Western Region of
the Province. In Labrador, that caseload was at
thirty-eight. I am being told today that the caseloads
for social workers in Labrador have almost doubled from
that period of time until today. Mr. Speaker, again I
have to reiterate the need for this service in Labrador,
and the crises developing there.
I ask the minister again
today: Is there any set of
supports that government is looking at to put in place
to try and retain and recruit social workers for
Labrador communities?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
As I said yesterday, over
the last year in particular our government has made a
major investment in Child, Youth and Family Services. I
think last year, on an annualized basis, our investment
was some $9 million. Included in that initiative was - I
just forget the number now – a significant number of
social workers, and we have been very successful in
recruiting a large number throughout each of our
regions.
Labrador has had some
additional challenges because of some of the geography
issues that they are dealing with. In the Labrador
region they sometimes have difficulties, or a little
more difficulty than in other areas, in retaining some
of the social workers, but they have had some success
this year as well. They have had some success in
recruiting expatriate Newfoundlanders who want to come
back. They have been successful in recruiting some
social workers in other northern provinces. So, they
have had some success, I say, Mr. Speaker, and we are
continuing to work with them to ensure that they have
the tools that are necessary to assist them further with
their recruitment initiatives.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, the success that they have had certainly does
not translate into an easier workload for any of these
social workers. We still know that there are a large
number of vacancies. Many of them are working in
isolated communities; they are working on call; they are
working double time.
Again, I ask the
minister: Are there any
measures that they can put in place to, number one,
increase the quality of the work environment for some of
these social workers you are placing in these
communities, and other benefits that you can put in
place to try and retain more of them?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Let me repeat what I said
yesterday. I think I said yesterday, in response to a
similar question, that we are, in fact, working with our
four regional health authorities to ensure that they
have the necessary supports in place to allow them to be
successful in their recruitment efforts. So, we are
working with the Labrador-Grenfell Authority to look at
what kind of initiatives might be more appropriate,
given their uniqueness because of geography and other
issues that they face in the north.
Working in the north is
uniquely different than working in other parts of the
Island portion of the Province, so we are working with
that authority to look at what initiatives we may be
able to do and put in place that would reflect the
uniqueness of that work environment.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, my next question for the minister has to deal
with the fact that we are short six social workers now
in communities like Makkovik, Sheshatshiu, Nain, and I
think in Wabush as well there is probably a shortage.
Mr. Speaker, there is a
great complexity to the number of issues that social
workers deal with in these isolated, remote communities.
At the present time most of them get isolation pay in
Labrador, and government provides for a $700 bonus, I
think, a travel bonus, for these workers. Can
the minister honestly tell me that is adequate
compensation to try and recruit people to work in the
remote isolated regions of our Province where the
workload is twice the demand as it is in the capital
city?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Mr.
Speaker, in addition to the answer I just provided a
moment ago on some initiatives that my department is
involved with, with the Regional Health Authority, to
identify what might be some unique things we may want to
do to assist them with their recruitment efforts, my
colleague, the Minister of Finance and President of
Treasury Board, will be engaging in a very short period
of time with the union that represents employees in this
Province, in the negotiation process, to look at issues
around compensation and benefits. Those sorts of issues,
I am certain, will be dealt with as a part of that
collective bargaining process.
To augment what might be
happening with that, we are working, as I said a moment
ago, with the health authorities in looking at what we
may be able to do outside the context of the collective
bargaining process and outside collective agreements to
assist with that recruitment effort.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, I talked earlier about how the root of many of
the problems for social workers in Labrador also lies
with the foster care crisis that we have been seeing
happening especially in some of the Aboriginal
communities. Currently today there are no available
foster care placements in Labrador. Every single
placement has been used up and many of the children in
these communities are now being sent to the Island
portion of the Province for foster care. Obviously, this
is just adding to the trauma and the experiences of some
of these families.
I ask the minister today,
what measures his department is
taking to try and increase the number of foster care
placements available in the Labrador region. Is there
something they are currently looking at, and if so, what
is it they are doing?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the
unfortunate reality we find ourselves in as a Province
today, as we stand here and talk about children and
foster care – it is unfortunate that children may find
themselves in a circumstance where they need to be taken
from their homes and moved into foster care. When that
happens we want to make sure that we have an adequate
supply of foster care families available to them.
Recruiting foster care
has always been an ongoing process, something that each
of our regional health authorities is involved with,
together with the Foster Families Association, and there
has been some degree of success, I say, Mr. Speaker.
Over the last twelve month there have been some
eighty-odd new foster families recruited into the foster
home system.
One of the unfortunate
things though, during that same period of time others
made decisions that they wanted to move on and to not
provide foster services anymore. In Labrador, I think
last year there was a total of thirteen new foster homes
recruited in the Labrador Region.
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
I ask the member to
conclude his answer.
MR. WISEMAN: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I say, Mr. Speaker, just
in concluding, it is an issue that we are very
aggressively pursuing together with the Foster Families
Association. You alluded earlier to an initiative of
having a 1-800 number that people would call to be able
to get information about becoming a foster family. These
sorts of things, together with radio ads, are all a part
of that ongoing initiative.
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
We also know that there
are currently a minimum of twenty-seven Labrador
children in residential group home facilities outside of
the Province. We understand that it is costing
approximately $20,000 per child, per month, to keep them
in these outside of the Province facilities.
I ask the minister: Is
there any action in his department at the current time
to establish residential group homes in Newfoundland and
Labrador so that we can bring these children home and
provide the care for them in our own Province?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Mr.
Speaker, unfortunately, there are times when children
who are taken into foster care need some very intense
intervention, and we do not have a network of
therapeutic foster homes in this Province like they do
in other jurisdictions. I suppose it is fortunate, in
some respects, that we are able to access the
therapeutic homes that are in Ontario. In an ideal set
of circumstances, we would be able to have a network of
those in our Province.
There are a couple of
things that are currently before officials in the
department now. One proposal, in particular, that looks
at the capacity we might have to be able to establish
what might be the first, and that is something we are
giving consideration to as we speak. In an ideal world,
that is what we would want to have. Obviously, these
people should be ably provided for in our Province, but
up to this particular point in our history, we have not
had the ability to be able to establish a network like
they have in other jurisdictions.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Member for Port de Grave.
MR. BUTLER: Mr.
Speaker, snow tires are made with a special rubber
compound with specific tread design that works better in
cold temperatures than non-winter tires. Experts say all
season and summer tires are ineffective on roads during
the winter and snow tires can prevent deadly accidents.
Today is very appropriate
for me to ask the minister: Where
is he at in terms of his analysis of the mandatory use
of snow tires in this Province, and can we expect him to
bring forward legislation on that issue during this
sitting of the House?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Government Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. O'BRIEN: Mr.
Speaker, with the weather conditions today I sort of
anticipated the question from my hon. colleague.
He can be rest assured
that I, as the minister responsible, and I probably can
speak for all my colleagues in this House of Assembly in
general, that we are always concerned with the safety of
our traveling public. We also encourage anyone who has
the resources to put winter tires on their vehicles.
Well, certainly, we encourage them; but don’t feel
safe just because you have winter tires because it is
all about adjusting your driving habits to the
conditions of the road.
As a matter of fact, I
witnessed that today in my office looking out through
the window, there was a car coming up Prince Philip
Drive who was driving to the speed limit, or even over
the speed limit, when he got abreast of the
Confederation Building he did about four 360s and that
was because he or she did not adjust their driving
habits to the conditions of the road. There is a lot -
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
I ask the member to
conclude his answer.
MR. O'BRIEN:
There is a lot of consideration and a lot of analysis
that has to go into this very, very important issue. My
mind is open, and certainly after that analysis, I will
come back to my colleagues with a recommendation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Member for Port de Grave.
MR. BUTLER: Thank
you very much, Mr. Speaker.
It is very ironic that
this government recently joined the national Road Safety
Vision 2010 and their top recommendation is that each
and every car in Canada would have four winter tires
this time of the year.
Mr. Speaker, Quebec has
become the first province to require car owners to
install winter tires on their vehicles as part of a new
road safety law aimed at reducing fatal accidents. There
are many other countries, like Finland, Sweden, Latonia
and Latvia, are among countries that have similar laws
requiring drivers to use winter tires.
I ask the minister: Can
he share with us some of the factors he is considering
as he makes this decision - or it seems like he has made
his decision - that he will not be bringing in
legislation at this time, and I am wondering what
information he based his decision on?
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Minister of
Government Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. O'BRIEN: I
wonder, is the hon. member suggesting that I might go to
Finland? Because I do not think I will get that approved
to go out and do an international study. In the
meantime, we are not going to reinvent the wheel.
Quebec took several years
in regards to having a look at this matter. They passed
a piece of legislation in their House of Assembly, or
their House as compared to ours. I am not sure if that
actually has been proclaimed yet. It has not been
implemented. Their target date in regards to the
implementation is the 2008-2009 winter. They are not
there yet. They have a number of issues that they have
to work out. We are in conversation with them. There are
other areas in the world that have mandatory winter tire
legislation but, again -
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
I ask the hon. minister
to conclude his answer.
MR. O'BRIEN: But,
again, there has to be careful consideration and
analysis done before - because there are a lot of
factors, taking into account senior citizens, taking
into account -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Member for Port de Grave.
MR. BUTLER: God
forbid! Mr. Speaker, I would not want the hon. minister
to go to any of those foreign countries. Maybe we should
listen to what he told us On the Go a few weeks ago when
he said that if it is snowing in Newfoundland maybe we
should all stay home. I wonder who gave the order that
we should all be here today, slipping and sliding trying
to get into the House of Assembly, or maybe we should
listen to the other comment that he made. He stated very
clearly -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh,
oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
MR. BUTLER: Mr.
Speaker, he made it very clearly that he would not
mandate it in the near future because it affected all
the drivers in this Province. That is what I say a
minister who is really concerned about the safety of our
people in this Province.
Mr. Speaker, most car
rental agencies in this Province do not offer cars with
winter tires, or if they do there is an extra charge.
I ask the minister: Will
he make it mandatory that car rental agencies provide
cars with winter tires and make it mandatory this year?
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Minister of
Government Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. O'BRIEN: Mr.
Speaker, I think the hon. member is asking for a day off
but he is not going to get it in this House any time
soon, I will guarantee you that. In the meantime, he did
not listen to my last answer very well as well.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh,
oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
MR. O'BRIEN: After
consideration, careful analysis in regards to the
subject matter which has been done in Quebec, which took
several years to do and is not even implemented yet -
well, once I have that data - as a matter of fact, I
might point out that our data now points that less than
1 per cent of accidents and collisions today is
attributed to a defect in tires, which includes
everything. So, again I go back, that sometimes
regulation is not always the answer. Sometimes education
is the answer, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Opposition
House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
My question is for the
Minister of Aboriginal Affairs.
We understand, minister,
that there are meetings scheduled for next week between
the Labrador Métis Nation and the Minister of Natural
Resources who’s Conservation Officers laid charges
against twenty-four Labrador Métis hunters. We
understand also that the former Minister of Aboriginal
Affairs, the current Government House Leader, indicated
in April of 2007 that charges would not be laid against
Labrador Métis who hunted for subsistence purposes, yet
these charges were laid.
I ask the minister: Where
do you stand on this issue, and do you agree that these
charges should stand?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS POTTLE:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
We enforce the policies
of Aboriginal groups the same throughout the Province.
No one is being treated differently. This is before the
courts, and I have nothing further to say with regards
to it yet.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I can appreciate the
Minister of Justice, who has already declined to meet
with the Leader of the Opposition on the issue because
it is before the courts, and I believe that is the
proper course of action for the Attorney General, but I
do not believe it is the proper response from the
Minister of Aboriginal Affairs. She is certainly at
liberty to comment on it, and give us her opinion as to
where she stands.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh,
oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
MR. PARSONS: Mr.
Speaker, I ask the minister: Minister,
in view of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and
Labrador Court of Appeal decision that came out on
December 12, 2007, just this past December, which was
after some of these charges were laid, is you department
now prepared to recommend to the Department of Justice
and the Department of Natural Resources that the charges
should be withdrawn?
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Minister of
Justice and Attorney General.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. KENNEDY: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
One of the priorities of
this government, and Justice, Aboriginal Affairs and
Labrador Affairs, has been to meet with Aboriginal
groups in Labrador. We have met and have been in
Labrador on a number of different occasions. We have
declined to discuss the Metis hunters’ case; however,
the Court of Appeal decision simply stands for the fact
that there was a duty to consult on the Trans-Labrador
Highway, and we have done that.
We will not get involved
in matters that are before the court. It is up to the
Metis to determine -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh,
oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
MR. KENNEDY: If
they wish, they can challenge the matter in court and
they can put forward their Aboriginal claim. Until such
time as the federal government recognizes their land
claims matter, that is the option that is open to them.
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