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Oral
Questions
April 8, 2009
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| In the House | Question
Period
MS
JONES:
Mr. Speaker, on March 30
we asked the Minister of Health about surgery
cancellations at Eastern Health due to the lack of
anesthesiologists. At the time he assured the public
that things were under control, and that Eastern Health
was successfully recruiting two other individuals, or
two other positions.
We have since learned
that the senior person is going on leave, the academic
chair has resigned, and another is leaving the Province
in June. Surgeons are concerned about what the impact
will be on cancellations of surgeries.
I ask
the minister if he is aware of this situation that is
developing at Eastern Health and if he can tell us what
the impact will be on those surgeries that are already
scheduled?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Mr.
Speaker, just to correct the member opposite, once again
she takes words and stretches them. I will not say
betrays the truth but stretches the commentary.
I did not indicate
everything was under control, Mr. Speaker. What I had
indicated and advised this House and updated this House
was that there was progress being made. There was some
optimism that they were going to be successful in
recruiting other anaesthetists. That is my comment, Mr.
Speaker, that I had made earlier.
With respect to the issue
at hand and the question she has now posed, are we
working on a solution to try to deal with potential
cancelled surgeries for the month of April? The answer
is yes, Mr. Speaker. Officials in my department have
been working with and talking to Eastern Health about
what it is they are doing, how they are going to
approach this. They are trying to work through how they
are going to reschedule some surgeries in the month of
April, but I say, Mr. Speaker, as well, to repeat what I
had said earlier, they are optimistic that they will
have some success in recruiting other anaesthetists to
replace those that are leaving. So that is an ongoing
process –
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
I ask the hon. minister
to conclude his response.
MR. WISEMAN: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
So the recruitment
process for physicians is an ongoing exercise and again,
Eastern Health has expressed some optimism they will be
successful.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
We already know that the
shortage of nurses has contributed to cancelled
surgeries. We know that the shortage of
anaesthesiologists has also contributed to the problem.
We also know that there are vacancies.
Again, I ask the
minister: Can you tell me when
these positions will be filled, what success Eastern
Health has had in their recruitment efforts and when can
we see these people in place?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: I
am going to try to repeat what I have said earlier this
week in Question Period and as I have just commented on
a second ago. Eastern Health has indicated that they
have had some success with at least two anaesthetists in
particular, who they are optimistic they will be able to
conclude a successful discussion with them and when that
happens, and they are anticipating that might happen in
the near future, they will be able to identify an
effective date, the date that those individuals will be
arriving in those positions. At that time, I will be
only too glad to advise the House of those dates.
With respect to their
ongoing efforts, as I said a second ago as well, Mr.
Speaker, recruitment is an ongoing process. In as much
as they have identified a couple of people who have
expressed some keen interest and they are working
through a process with, they are continuing with other
efforts to identify other anaesthetists who would be
interested in coming to work with Eastern Health.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
The minister said this
week, or indicated that he would be giving direction to
Eastern Health on a go-forward basis.
I ask the minister: Will
he commit today to an external review of the clinical
Department of Anaesthesiology to correct the problems
that exist with this recruitment effort that they are
having?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: If
it is necessary to bring external resources to bear,
then as a government our past practice has been, and our
future practice will be to bring the resources to bear.
If it is external resources to assist with the
recruitment process, we are prepared to do that. We have
done it in the past; we will do it in the future.
Our objective, Mr.
Speaker, is to ensure that each of our health
authorities have an ample supply of very capable,
confident individuals to ensure that we are able to
provide quality, safe care to the people of Newfoundland
and Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, we are approaching our peak diving season for
this year in the Province, and we live on an Island
where we are all too familiar with the accidents that
are involved in our fishing, oil industry and with
recreational activities around the water. In an event of
an accident many times an injured party is placed into a
hyperbaric chamber to prevent permanent injury or death.
I ask
the minister if he can give us an update on the status
of our only hyperbaric chamber in the Province, and if
it is ready to meet our needs in the event of an
emergency?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: It
is not a normal practice, as a minister, that I get an
update on the status of various pieces of equipment in
the system. If the member opposite has a curiosity or an
interest about the functioning of that equipment, I will
only be too glad to have my officials get an update for
her and provide some information to her and the House
about how that equipment may be working, the level of
service it has provided, and how it actually functions
on a day-to-day basis.
Clearly, that is
information that I would have to get from the
authorities. That is not something necessarily my
office, personally, would have on any given day.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, we have been informed that it is technically
ready at the moment, but we also know that the only
reason it is not operational is because of staffing
issues.
I ask the minister today
- this is the only hyperbaric unit in the Province, it
is very important in the case of an emergency. I
ask him if he will undertake to ensure that the staffing
complements are met and that this chamber can be
available and operational if required?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Mr.
Speaker, I thought I had answered that question the
first time out. I indicated that I would get some
information with respect to the equipment that we have
and whether it is operational. I made that commitment in
my earlier response but if she wants to waste another
question, by all means, ask it again.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, it is just another example where the Minister
of Health has no idea of what is going on.
They have been over six
months trying to recruit a couple of physicians in order
to ensure that this unit is operational. We have just
come from one of the hugest disasters in our history in
this Province and to not even know if the one chamber
that could have been available, that may have been
needed to save people’s lives in this Province, and
you do not know if they have been able to recruit the
staff to operate it in the last six months.
I ask
you, minister, to give us an update as soon as possible
in the public as to what the status is.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh,
oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
Are there any further
questions?
The hon. the Member for
the District of Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS MICHAEL: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I hope I am ready,
because I had a whole series of questions for the
Premier with regard to offshore safety and since coming
into the House I have found out that there has been an
answer to some of my questions from C-NLOPB. So I am
going to ask the questions based on what I have just
learned.
First of all, we have a
release from C-NLOPB saying that they are going to be
putting in place a mandatory inquiry into the crash of
the Cougar helicopter that went down on March 12.
I ask the Premier: Was
the government aware of the C-NLOPB’s intentions to
announce the inquiry, and has the government had any
dealings with C-NLOPB with regard to the inquiry?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural
Development.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SKINNER: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, in response
to the question from the Leader of the NDP, the
Department of Natural Resources was contacted by the C-NLOPB
regarding the inquiry being launched. We were made aware
of that yesterday.
In terms of any detailed
discussions around it, at this point there have not been
any. The C-NLOPB is still in the process of determining
its mandate, determining the kinds of things it will be
looking at, the length of the inquiry and those kinds of
things. So, it is just an announcement that there will
be an inquiry. That is something that under the Atlantic
Accord legislation must happen and once they got past
the stage of the initial impacts regarding the Cougar
helicopter crash, they now are looking at the
legislative kinds of things that must be done.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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.
I would like to get
further information, then, with regard to the role of
government as the work of CNLOPB continues, because I
understand they will be working on a definition of the
mandate, the Terms of Reference, the selection of a
commissioner for the inquiry, and timeline for inquiry
completion.
Will government be
directly involved in having input into all of that?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural
Development.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SKINNER: Mr.
Speaker, I can advise that, as I indicated earlier, the
Atlantic Accord legislation requires that if there are
any serious accidents that there be an inquiry into
those accidents to make sure that safety in the offshore
is not compromised, as other activities occur in the
offshore.
There have been
discussions with federal officials who are supportive of
the work that will be undertaken by the CNLOPB. We
certainly, as a government, will provide whatever
support we can to it.
I have to be honest and
say, in terms of legislatively, I am not sure exactly
how much involvement government will have on a direct
basis. It is my understanding today that it will be the
CNLOPB that will lead the inquiry and we will certainly
provide whatever support we can, as a government, to
that.
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.
Because of the recent
news reports concerning the questionable safety of
Sikorsky Helicopters - and these news reports are
increasing every day - there is mounting concern in the
public and the industry around providing safe
transportation for our offshore workers. It would seem
to me that, because of the information that is coming
out, more discussion has to go on around alternative
means; not means of getting out there, but other
helicopters being looked at.
Is government, at this
moment, having those kinds of discussions themselves?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural
Development.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SKINNER: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the
Transportation Safety Board under federal regulation is
conducting an inquiry into the accident that we had
happen with Cougar Flight 491. They are certainly well
aware of the situation that the hon. member has
mentioned, and the news reports relating to that.
The TSB inquiry and
investigation will cover that mandate. It is my
understanding that the mandate of the CNLOPB inquiry
will not overlap with that, in that there will be a
different set of circumstances and different Terms of
Reference that will be looked at. The intention is not
to overlap but to allow the TSB to do its investigation.
There are other aspects of that accident that occurred
that need to be investigated and will be done by the
CNLOPB.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
It is obvious that the
Minister of Health does not know the answers to the
questions I posed in the House, so I will move on to
another topic.
Mr. Speaker, government
recently announced their infrastructure stimulus package
to create economic opportunities in the Province. While
local companies are expecting to benefit from these
packages, they recently learned that a company from
Quebec, Pomerleau, was the lowest bidder again on
another contract, the school in L’Anse-au-Loup; the
same company that this government gave a $57 million
contract to, for the long-term care facility in Corner
Brook.
I ask the Premier today: Will
these contracts that were designed to stimulate our
local economy in Newfoundland and Labrador be awarded to
Quebec-based companies?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr.
Speaker, we have over $800 million out there to
stimulate the economy. The economy is robust. It is
doing very, very well. There are lots of contracts out
there, there is lots of work out there, but we are not
going to throw money away. If a contract comes in and
someone is the low bidder and they bid $10 million, and
someone else comes in and bids $30 million, then we are
going to the low bidder because that saves $20 million
for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Now, if that happens to
be a Quebec company, it is a Quebec company, but they
employ Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. It is
Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who get the work. It is
a competitive process. There are internal trade
provisions. There is free trade among provinces right
across this country. Our contractors can work in
Alberta, our contractors can work in Quebec, our
contractors can work in Ontario and the Maritime
Provinces, and other contractors and construction
companies can work in Newfoundland and Labrador.
We are not going to
fritter money away just to give it away to the highest
bidder, just because you do not want someone from Quebec
doing the work.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
The Premier might want to
check and see how many Newfoundland companies are
bidding and getting jobs in Quebec. Because, I can tell
you, there are a lot of cross-border provinces in this
country that do not get contracts in Quebec, unlike what
we are giving to Quebec companies.
Mr. Speaker, I understand
from the Premier today that these companies are
sole-sourcing their work in Newfoundland and Labrador. I
ask: Can he tell me if this
company has subcontracted work to Quebec-based companies
while they have been doing the long-term care facility
in Corner Brook?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. TAYLOR: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the exact
details on who was contracted to do what from a
subcontracting perspective on the long-term care
facility, I cannot provide all the details on that. I
will undertake to get the information and report back to
the House in a timely fashion, and maybe immediately
after Question Period is over.
Mr. Speaker, as the
Premier said, there is a free and open competitive
process for contracting here in Newfoundland and
Labrador, as it is across the country, and if there is a
problem, Mr. Speaker, there is a process under the
Committee of Internal Trade, the Agreement on Internal
Trade, where, if a company in Newfoundland and Labrador,
or any part of this country, think that they are being
ill done by, by government procurement, they can file a
complaint and it can be dealt with by the Committee on
Internal Trade.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, the four other companies that bid this
contract, you know they do not have the option to go and
seek $14 million contracts in Quebec, like Quebec
companies can do in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Mr. Speaker, this
government excluded the construction of two new ferries
from the Agreement on Internal Trade when you tendered
for those ferries, saying they had to be done in
Newfoundland and Labrador. Why
can’t you use that standard at a time of an economic
crisis to do the same for the other construction trades
industry in our Province?
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Minister of
Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. TAYLOR: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the
Agreement on Internal Trade and the Atlantic Procurement
Agreement allow for governments, for regional economic
development purposes - that is very clear, regional
economic development purposes - to file an exemption
under the Public Tender Act and inform, through the
Agreement on Internal Trade, the rest of the country of
our intentions. That is why we did it with the ferries
on the South Coast, in Marystown, or here in
Newfoundland and Labrador, because it would stimulate
our shipyards.
Mr. Speaker, we just tendered four schools. Three of
them were won by Marco Construction. Marco Construction
does work in Nova Scotia – I don’t know about P.E.I.
- in Alberta, and they do work across this….
When this came up before,
on the long-term care facility, there were people in the
construction association who said that they wanted
restrictions, and there were people in the construction
association who said: I want a competitive process. I
want the ability to compete across this country and here
in Newfoundland and Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
As you know, the mining
industry continues to struggle under the global economic
recession and there is some word coming out of Labrador
West this week that their shutdown schedule for this
summer could be much longer at IOC mines than originally
predicted.
I ask the minister: Have
they been notified by IOC of these potential plans, and
what the exact time frames for this shutdown could mean
for the people in that area?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural
Development.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SKINNER: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
In response to the Leader
of the Opposition’s question, government has been
notified by the company. There is a requirement under
the Labour Standards that they notify us if they are
going to have an extended shutdown. They have indicated
that to us. It is, as I understand it, preliminary in
nature. They are still feeling out the markets for their
product, and whether or not they will have markets
available to be able to have the production levels that
they anticipated; but, as is required by Labour
Standards, they did file notice with government
indicating that they may extend the shutdown that was
announced earlier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, for well over a year now this government have
been telling the people in Labrador West that they are
going to stimulate the economy there, they are going to
do work on the highway, they are going to do work on the
hospital.
I ask you today,
Minister: In light of what is
happening in that area, the fact that we are coming up
on the construction season, when are the tenders going
to be called for the highway work and also for the
hospital?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. TAYLOR: Mr.
Speaker, somewhere around April 18 the tender will be
called for the roadwork. On April 18 the tender will be
called for the trade school; and, subject to discussions
next week, Mr. Speaker, we will be in a better position,
once we know the scope of programming and what have you
at the hospital, we will be able to determine whether or
not we can proceed with the tender call for cement and
services for the hospital later this year.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
My questions are for the
Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development.
Minister, I inquired
yesterday about the broadband contract, and the fact
that it was delayed since the time that the RFPs were
called, by some twelve months or so. The minister did
respond to that question. I am
wondering, in follow-up to that, Minister, are you in a
position to tell us at least how many companies were
involved in the bid process and if the delay, which has
been well over a year now, if that in fact has increased
the cost that was originally anticipated?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural
Development.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SKINNER: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, we had three
responses to the Requests for Proposals that came in.
They did involve some consortia of companies. The exact
number I would not want to guess at, but I can certainly
provide that information if the hon. member wishes it.
There were three responses that came in.
In terms of indications
that there was a delay, there is not actually a delay,
Mr. Speaker. As I indicated in a previous response to
one of the questions from the Opposition, this is a
fairly extensive piece of work. It is a very detailed
piece of work, a very technical piece of work, and a lot
of time and effort had to go into looking at,
investigating and making sure we understood the response
to the Requests for Proposals. So it is not so much a
delay as just making sure that we do the appropriate
analysis.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
When this process
originally started some four years ago, the
government’s position was that we are not going to go
with any public tendering process at that time because
we need to get it done in a timely fashion because it is
so important to have this broadband. Now the government
committed at that time that there was going to be over
200 communities connected, virtually every public
facility, including our health care facilities and so
on, because we needed it and we needed it urgently at
that time, and we still do not have it. We could
certainly use it now during this economic downturn.
Is the
minister prepared, rather than saying we are just going
to wait? What are the deadlines? When are we going to
see this happen, or is this going to go on for another
year?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Member for Innovation, Trade and Rural
Development.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SKINNER: Mr.
Speaker, in terms of responding to the questions –
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh,
oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
MR. SKINNER: I
will indicate to the hon. member, Mr. Speaker, that we
did, during the request for proposals that we put out,
indicate to all of the companies when we put out the
request for proposals, that this would take a
significant amount of time. I actually think we told
them it would take about a year to evaluate the
proposals. So that information was out there.
We are in contact with
the industry people, the companies that are bidding, the
industry associations. They are quite understanding of
the fact that it takes government this amount of time to
do this. The complexity of the work that we are doing is
not going to be compromised by trying to get it done. It
is going to be done when we have all of the appropriate
information, when we have all of the appropriate
decisions made that we need to make. The industry is
understanding of this, the industry is supportive of
this, and we are making progress, Mr. Speaker, but it
will be done when we are ready to do it.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Opposition
House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I say to the minister, by
the time he gets around to getting it done the
technology will be obsolete and we will talking about
something else other than broadband.
Mr. Speaker, my next
question is for the Minister of Justice. Minister, last
year the former minister, in fact, had some meetings
with the federal Minister of Public Safety with regards
to the potential construction of a penitentiary here. We
all know, of course, the deplorable condition that Her
Majesty’s Penitentiary is currently in. Of course, the
ABC campaign derailed that.
Given
the breakdown in the relationship between this Province
and our federal counterparts, is the Province giving any
consideration to possibly doing a penitentiary ourselves
as a go-it-alone project?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. T. MARSHALL: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
At the present time the
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is continuing to
have discussions with officials of the Government of
Canada. There were meetings as recently as last week,
and we are continuing to explore the idea of a joint-costed
facility between the federal government and the
provincial government, and we think that is in the best
interests of both the people of Newfoundland and
Labrador and the people of Canada.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Mr.
Speaker, the former minister had a review done of the
operations of adult corrections throughout the whole
Province last fall and that report, subsequently, was
delivered and made public, or most of it was all made
public, containing some seventy recommendations.
I ask
the minister, we know that there are recommendations in
that report that cannot possibly be physically done and
implemented at Her Majesty’s Penitentiary, due to the
age and the layout of the facility: How does the
minister and government intend to address this problem?
We have a report that
says these things need to be done, but we cannot
physically do it.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. T. MARSHALL: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
We do have the report of
the consultants, Decades of Darkness: Moving Towards the
Light. There were seventy-seven recommendations, and
this government has responded. This is the first year
since we had the report. So our opening move is there is
an investment of $6 million in this year’s Budget,
plus an additional $1 million was spent during the last
fiscal year, from the time we got the report to the end
of the year.
This will continue. We
will treat it the same way we did with the police when
we had the benefits of the recommendations of the Lamer
Report. We will continue to address the issue each year,
and at the end of the day we will have a system of
corrections in this Province, hopefully that will be
second to none across the country.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.
MR. BUTLER: Mr.
Speaker, later today we will be debating a motion
dealing with the Province’s seal hunt and the proposed
EU ban. This ban on imported seal products brings a
serious threat to 6,000 sealers and their families who
depend on this industry. Last week, the Minister of
Fisheries and Aquaculture travelled to Ottawa to meet
with EU officials.
I ask the minister: Did
you achieve any results from these meetings and garner
any additional support in an attempt to stay the
proposed EU ban?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. HEDDERSON: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
In response to the
question from the member opposite, certainly, any time
that you speak with European politicians, in this case,
ambassadors, you do garner intelligence.
What I did find out was
that ban appears to be going full-fledged ahead in the
Parliament. However, in meeting with some of these
ambassadors, we do have allies, we do have
opportunities, and of course, our Premier certainly put
a letter out to all ambassadors clearly stating our
position and indicating that we are not satisfied just
with the ban or the exemptions. We want to have our seal
harvest continue without any restrictions, because it is
humane, it is viable, it is sustainable, and we as a
jurisdiction are going to pull out all the stops to make
sure that they fully understand the consequences of what
they do.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.
MR. BUTLER: Mr.
Speaker, an issue of such importance requires a solid
plan to deal with any potential EU decision, and
requires cooperation and dialogue between the federal
and provincial governments.
I ask the minister:
During your visit to Ottawa, did you meet with the
Minister of Fisheries to discuss any strategy in dealing
with this important issue?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. HEDDERSON: On
the point of meeting with the minister, I certainly made
the minister aware that I was in Ottawa. I did make a
request, but obviously she did not see fit to meet with
me at that particular time.
As the regards to the
federal government and cooperation with the federal
government, we have been two years, I say, Mr. Speaker,
asking this federal government to take trade action so
that we have something that we can stand behind.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. HEDDERSON: I
tell you: finally they have listened to us and are
moving forward.
We, as a jurisdiction, as
I pointed out, will do anything we can to ensure that
this hunt is not only continued but continued in a way
that can give us the commercial return that we need.
Thank you, very much.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.
MR. BUTLER: Mr.
Speaker, seeing as the Minister of Fisheries would not
meet, I am going to ask him another question.
Mr. Speaker, CBC Radio
reported on Friday that if a ban on seal products is
instituted the Government of Canada will launch a world
trade organization action.
I ask the minister: Have
you been in contact with the International Trade
Minister, Stockwell Day, to lend our support to any
international challenges to reverse this potential ban?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. HEDDERSON: Mr.
Speaker, as I pointed out to the hon. member on the
other side, we have left no stone unturned in trying to
make sure that the federal government and our European
politicians understand the position that we hold. My
predecessors and ministers have been in contact with not
only the DFO minister but also Stockwell Day. We have
continually asked him to move forward in the position,
to take the, I guess, WTO action. It was only last
Friday that they indicated that they will.
We have asked them
constantly for their strategy and have not been given
the courtesy of them telling us what their direction is.
As a result of it, I say, Mr. Speaker, we have to, as a
jurisdiction, step up to the plate. We have stepped up
to the plate and we will continue to be at the plate
until we finally hit that homerun. Mr. Speaker, we will
again leave nothing unturned to make sure that we get
that result.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The time allotted for
Oral Questions has expired. |
