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Oral
Questions
March 30, 2009
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| In the House | Question
Period
MS
JONES:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
In last week’s Budget
Speech the Minister of Finance brought forward a new
offer to the Province’s nurses. This offer was
unscripted, without any warning or advanced notice to
the nurses and again shows the disrespect this
government has for the collective bargaining process.
I ask the minister: Why
would you choose to deliver such a message knowing it
was in poor taste and insulting to nurses just days
before returning to negotiations that you agreed would
have no preconditions attached?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr.
Speaker, in these uncertain economic times we are an
exceptional government. What we have done with our
public servants is offered them significant wage
increases. For example, the compounded rate of the
template is about 21.5 per cent. That is at a time I
think when CBC and the federal government, over four
years, are receiving 6 per cent. So, 1.5 per cent in the
first year versus 8 per cent is what we are offering.
Similarly, with nurses we
are being particularly generous. At one point back in
January, and we did not know which way the economy was
going, we decided we should reserve on the template. We
are now saying that we are comfortable enough as to
where we are and where the economy is going and we are
putting that template back on the table. It is very,
very important I think that we get on with it and we
take the uncertainty out of the environment. Patients
are very concerned about surgeries and everything else.
Last year during the
Budget the leader of the nurses’ union indicated that
there was nothing in the Budget with respect to
recruitment and retention. So this year we have
responded to it. We actually had a Cabinet meeting that
morning to deal with this particular issue and because
it was a significant amount of money, we felt it was
important that we get it on the table as soon as
possible. That is exactly what we did.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
It is unfortunate that no
one thought to talk to the nurses before springing that
out on Thursday.
Let me ask this question:
Why did you agree to go back to
the table with no preconditions attached, to negotiate
in good faith, to do bargaining with nurses to preserve
the integrity of our health care system and just days
before haul all that off the table and pull the tactic
that you did on Thursday? It is unexplainable
to me.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr.
Speaker, that morning Cabinet met at 10:00 o’clock. We
were in Cabinet for a fair part of the morning. At that
particular point in time the leader of the nurses’
union was actually in the Budget lockup. As soon as she
came out of the Budget lockup she was presented with the
offer, which we are putting on the table, which I might
indicate, Mr. Speaker, was a very generous offer. We are
now in a situation where we put the nurses – a nurse
now starting at, I guess, probably around $45,000 a year
will now start at about $53,000 to $54,000 a year. By
the time the term of this contact is up a nurse coming
out of school will start at $60,000 a year. With regards
to a nurse with several years experience, she will now
go, during the term of this contract, from $58,000 to
$74,000 a year. That is a significant amount of money.
That will actually place our nurses in Atlantic Canada
and Quebec, either first or second, and that makes it
the best.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Is the
government saying that there is now no need to bargain
with nurses, this is the deal, we have outlined it for
you, you can either take it or leave it?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: No,
Mr. Speaker, take it or leave it is not something that
this government says. Members of the party opposite have
said it from time to time but we decided at that time
that we were going to leave it. Now this is a different
situation.
What we are doing now for
nurses is we are saying here is a very, very generous
package. We are putting the template back on the table.
We are taking out the first two steps for first-year
nurses. So they now move immediately into step three. A
big complaint of about 70 per cent of the nurses was
that they were now capped off. So we have actually added
on a step. They now have an extra step at the end of
that particular period.
What we have also done,
we have also looked at standby fees and shift
differential. Now when it comes to preconditions, I want
to make it very clear, that what was laid out were the
conditions for that particular offer. All conditions are
open. If they want to come in on Thursday and they want
to negotiate anything - if they wanted, for example, Mr.
Speaker, take the template and say: No, we are not going
to take the 21 per cent, we are going to take the
federal government offer of 6 per cent. So we will trade
that off against maybe a two-year agreement. We will
consider absolutely anything, but there are tradeoffs in
a negotiation. We are not saying anything is cast in
stone.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Last week in the House of
Assembly the Minister of Health and Community Services
said that the HIV clinic is currently open and Eastern
Health has communicated information to the patients
affected as to what physician services are available.
In actual fact, we have
learned, Mr. Speaker, that the HIV clinic is not open
and that no patients have received any formal
information from Eastern Health regarding their medical
services.
I ask the minister: Why
was this information provided to the House of Assembly
before completing due diligence and verifying its
accuracy?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: As
I said in this House last week, Mr. Speaker, Eastern
Health runs the clinic for the HIV patients in this
Province. They are the people who are providing the
services in that clinic. They are the people who are
responsible for staffing that clinic.
I had indicated to
members of the House last week that, in fact, the HIV
committee had been in contact with my office. I have
agreed to meet with them. I think it is next week that
we are getting together to have a discussion around the
services they had, the services they believe they need,
and the services they have access to. We will have a
full discussion then with respect to the continuation of
that clinic, the services they have, and the future of
physician services to that group of people in the
Province.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I would like to inform
the minister that I met with them this morning and they
have confirmed that the clinic is closed. With the
absence of the infectious disease specialists in the
Province, with the fact that the nurse who normally runs
the clinic is on leave, the clinic has not been open and
there is no first point of contact for these patients.
Can
the minister tell me, today, when the clinic will
reopen, when we can see it re-staffed, and where can
these people go in the meantime?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Mr.
Speaker, obviously the member opposite has had a
discussion this morning and she is sharing some
information in the House this afternoon that I hadn’t
heard of until she just shared it with me now.
I will undertake to
provide the answer to the member tomorrow.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
We also understand that
Dr. Bowmer and Dr. Bader, two previous infectious
disease specialists from the Province, will be returning
for a couple of days every five weeks to provide locum
coverage to the HIV and AIDS patients.
I ask the minister: what
is the schedule for these visits, and how will these
specialists be able to accommodate the 120 patients in
the Province who need this service, when they can only
see approximately five to six patients during each
visit?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: As
I have said in this House many times before, for the
member opposite to ask me a question on a clinic
schedule and how that is going to be arranged and the
number of patients to be seen, that is a level of
operational detail that a minister, whether in this
government or any administration, would not have a clear
understanding of the running of any particular clinic,
whether it is infectious disease or oncology or urology.
These are things that the health authorities manage
together with the physicians who are in that practice.
The day-to-day scheduling of clinics, how many they will
have, how many patients they see, what time they start,
what time they end, what time they break for lunch, all
of that kind of stuff is something that the health
authorities manage daily.
Now, if the member
opposite would like me to produce a copy of the current
schedule, I will undertake to get a copy of that
schedule from Eastern Health and table it for the House.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
The minister’s
downplaying of this issue is very unfortunate, because
it is a serious issue and one you, Minister, should be
aware of and have details around.
Now, Mr. Speaker, we are
being told that there should be three infectious disease
specialists for this Province. In fact, we have had one.
Today, we have neither one.
I ask the minister: Why
were you unwilling to invest the resources that were
required to retain these particular specialists in the
Province, as opposed to being forced to pay out more
money today to attract them on a locum basis, providing
only an interim and a very interrupted service for very
sick people in this Province?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: When
the member opposite asks questions about this
government’s intention, this government’s interest,
this government’s past practice of investing in
physicians and other human resources in this Province,
you only need to look to this most recent Budget
announced in this House last week.
My colleague stood in
this House last week and announced new investments. I
think some $3 million to create some twenty-two new
physician positions in this Province. We heard an
announcement in last week’s Budget of additional
investments in human resources, whether it is in Child,
Youth and Family Services, in a variety of clinical
programs, social workers and nurses, and others.
I say, Mr. Speaker, this
government’s track record in investing in human
resources in our health system is second to none. I
compare our record in the last four years to any
previous four-year period or any previous five- or
six-year period in the history of this Province. I say,
Mr. Speaker, given an unprecedented investment in health
services, in human resources, and in new people we have
added to our four health authorities in the last three
or four years has been unprecedented, Mr. Speaker –
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
I ask the hon. minister
to conclude his answer.
MR. WISEMAN: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I think that speaks very
clearly, very clearly to this government’s commitment
to enhancing health services to the people of
Newfoundland and Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I say to the minister,
creating positions is easy, filling them is the
challenge that your government has been unable to meet.
Mr. Speaker, we are being
told that doctors are projecting more surgeries to be
cancelled in the first quarter of this year than all of
last year alone. We understand that most of these
cancellations are due either to a shortage of
anaesthesiologists or nurses.
I ask the minister: Does
he recognize this problem, and what is being done to
address the issue?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: I
have been informed by Eastern Health that they are
currently in the process of recruiting anaesthetists. As
I understand the current status, they have two; that
they are working through some details of an appointment.
They are optimistic that they will be able to reach a
deal with them in the very near future. There is another
one who is currently on maternity leave, who will be
returning shortly. So if those two things work through,
with the individual returning from maternity leave,
which is, I understand, pretty much a given. The other
two individuals, that they are currently very
aggressively recruiting and they are optimistic about
their chances of getting the deal signed with them in
the very near future. We will have an increase of three
new anaesthetists over and above where we are now and I
have been advised by Eastern Health that that will see
them through their current demands for OR time.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
In the past when we have
had other areas of our health care system that have been
challenged, such as pathology, there has been a review
done to determine what was required to fix it, such as
the Maung report.
I ask
the minister, if he is prepared to entertain such
reviews for some other divisions of health care, such as
urology and anaesthesiology?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: I
think this government, as I said a moment ago, the
commitment we have made in human resources has come
about as a result of our analysis, our digging into the
issues, getting a better understanding of the kind of
human resources we need, the kind of skills we need and
then the numbers that we need.
I say, Mr. Speaker,
working with the four authorities, together with
officials in my department, we have explored any number
of service areas that we have made enhancements to in
the last three to four years, and we will continue to do
that. So we are working all the time with our four
authorities to examine how we might improve the service
that we provide. What are the human resources, the
financial resources and the technology that is necessary
to provide those services in a fashion that provides
quality care to the people of the Province, and we will
continue to do that, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
A number of these
patients who are having their surgeries cancelled in
Newfoundland and Labrador are now being referred outside
of the Province simply because they cannot wait, Mr.
Speaker, to have the surgeries done at a later date.
I ask the minister: Given
the fact that the Medical Assistance Transportation
Program was not enhanced in this Budget to accommodate
people who have to go outside of the Province for this
treatment, will he look at some
interim solution or interim program to help families who
have to go outside of the Province to have these
surgeries done at a time when we do not have the
resources such as nurses in the Province to provide for
it?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I think this government
has a track record of making sure that people of
Newfoundland and Labrador have access to health service.
We have had occasions in the past, you may recall a
couple of years ago we were not able to provide
radiation therapy here and we sent people out of the
Province for that. You may recall last year we announced
- in fact, the arrangement is still in place, Mr.
Speaker. Last year we made an arrangement with a
practice in Halifax, a urology practice, who was able to
help us with some challenges we had in providing urology
services in a timely fashion, and we put that in place.
That arrangement is still there, as I understand it as
of this morning. We have had about four people since
January who have gone to Halifax to receive services
because of that arrangement that we put in place.
I say, Mr. Speaker, any
time that we as a government are challenged to ensure
that the people of Newfoundland and Labrador have access
to services within this Province we will make
arrangements to have that service provided somewhere
else, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
After hearing the
Minister of Natural Resources’ comments last week
about government’s bid for the Star Lake assets, our
office did contact the company to get their version of
events. They stated they contacted the Premier’s
office in March 2008 regarding the Star Lake asset.
AbitibiBowater had signed an agreement already with a
third party for that asset, but had agreed to allow
Nalcor an opportunity to bid. It took Nalcor six weeks
to submit an offer, and that bid was lower than the one
that was received from the third party.
I ask the Premier today: Were
you given notice of this pending sale prior to that
March 2008 date, and were you given any notice as to the
value of the bid that was being received by the third
party?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
As I said here in the
House last week, and I do not have the exact dates with
me today, AbitibiBowater did alert us that they had Star
Lake up for sale and then invited us to bid. Nalcor did
its due diligence. We do that, Mr. Speaker, before we
rush off and make bids or go headlong into any kind of a
business arrangement.
When the due diligence
piece was completed, they made an offer to
AbitibiBowater. I am not aware of what NL had bid for
the asset.
When you get in a bidding
process, Mr. Speaker, companies do not usually disclose
the amount from the other bidder, but NL did have the
right of first refusal and informed us that they were
going to exercise that right, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
We do know that the third
party bidder bid an amount of somewhere around $20
million, so maybe the minister
can tell me today what the bid from the provincial
government was.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources and Deputy
Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Mr.
Speaker, I said here in the House last week that we did
our due diligence piece; we assigned what we felt was a
fair value to the asset. We made that bid to
AbitibiBowater.
I did not release the
amount at that time, Mr. Speaker, and I will not be
releasing it today.
Thank you very much.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, the Town of Botwood has been trying to get the
federal government to divest of its port facilities to
the town for a number of years. Now that Abitibi is
moving out, there will be even more need for the town to
acquire these assets for future development and
opportunity.
I ask the Premier today: Has
government provided any financial commitment to the town
in an effort to secure these port facilities either from
AbitibiBowater, the federal government, or other private
parties that may be involved there?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. TAYLOR: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the issue of
port divesture is a matter that the provincial
government has been dealing with for some years now. As
the Leader of the Opposition would know, and many in the
House and in communities like Botwood would know, in
many cases there are considerable environmental issues
around these ports. I guess it is not surprising that
the federal government are trying to divest of them.
The position of the
provincial government has been, in the case of Botwood,
and continues to be with any number of ports - Long Pond
comes to mind, down in St. Alban’s - that before the
provincial government will consider anything when it
comes to divesture of ports, and allowing municipalities
or what have you to take over ownership of it, the
environmental liabilities that are associated with it
have to be dealt with by the federal government.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Maybe the minister can
tell me, in light of the situation in Botwood right now,
and the fact that all the port and waterfront facilities
are owned by different parties, is
there any collective effort to have that environmental
work done? Is he aware of the time frames around it, and
if it has been started or not?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. TAYLOR: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the
provincial government’s position has been what it has
been; it continues to be, as I just said. The federal
government have made no movements whatsoever to deal
with the issue as it relates to environmental
liabilities in these ports. We have some understanding
of what the liabilities might be, but until the federal
government changes their position on the divesture of
these ports there is nothing new to report as it relates
to either Botwood or any of the other facilities that
are in Newfoundland and Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Government expropriated
the company’s timber resources, and there are
certainly a number of people employed in this sector in
Central Newfoundland who are waiting to see what the end
result will be for that resource.
I ask the minister: What
is government’s short-term and long-term plan for the
timber resource and those who have earned a living from
it in the past?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, when we
expropriated the timber assets from AbitibiBowater, the
first area of concern for us was to keep whole the
commercial operators who had accessed fibre off those
limits to keep their operations going; and, Mr. Speaker,
I am happy to say that we have been successful in doing
that.
The task force and
various departments within government have received
proposals from a number of proponents around use of the
fibre, but recently, last week, I did a news release
alerting the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, and
anybody who might be interested in doing business here,
that we were doing a call for Expressions of Interest,
so everybody has fair access, all the proposals that are
out there can come together, and we can do a fair
assessment on what brings the best benefit to the people
of that region.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, there are three harvesting companies in Central
Newfoundland, in particular, who have had millions of
dollars invested in their operation and have been
cutting wood in these areas for Abitibi for a number of
years.
Mr. Speaker, today they
are not only out the financial losses of their business
but they have more than 120 employees they have had to
lay off.
I ask the minister: In
her Expression of Interest for utilization of that wood,
will there be consideration given to these three
companies in terms of allowing them to continue their
operations in that area?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, all
proposals that will be brought forward out of this
exercise will be considered, and I am happy to say that
in news reports last week, Mr. Wilson – one of the
people who has the companies, one of the three that she
refers – was very happy with the decision to call for
Expressions of Interest, and certainly indicated that he
will be participating in that process.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
We also know that Abitibi
and government certainly play a significant role in
silvaculture activities, and this is an area of the
Province that would have had a tremendous amount of
silvaculture work taking place, and those workers have
been displaced now for a number of months.
We understand that there
was a three-year agreement on silvaculture, and I
ask if government will continue with that agreement, to
ensure that these workers still have employment and that
work still gets done.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker,
AbitibiBowater still has the obligation to continue with
the silviculture plan and the silviculture agreements
that are in place and we are insisting, Mr. Speaker,
that Abitibi honour those agreements.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.
MR. BUTLER: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the ferry
service for Long Island and Little Bay Islands continues
to be downgraded by this government. Government is
unwilling to construct a causeway to Long Island and
recently decommissioned the ferry service to Little Bay
Islands. On Friday, the replacement vessel serving the
islands broke down and residents have no clear answers
when a replacement vessel will be brought in.
I ask the minister: When
can residents of Long Island and Little Bay Islands
expect to see a regular ferry service again, and will it
be able to handle tractor-trailers when that service is
put back in use?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. TAYLOR: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I guess you reap what you
sow, and for too long there had been nothing sowed when
it came to vessel replacement in Newfoundland and
Labrador, until this government came into power five
years ago, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. TAYLOR: We
are in the process, Mr. Speaker, of building two new
ferries for the Northeast Coast of Newfoundland and
Labrador. As the member said, we do have some
significant challenges on the Northeast Coast right now.
The Island Joiner is down. The Hamilton Sound
struck a rock last week. If anybody wants to look out
the window, they can surely look out through their
office window in the Confederation Building and see the
pack ice that is drifting down along by St. John’s
now. When you see ice drifting along by St. John’s,
you can handy about guess what you have on Cape Freels
and Fogo Island and Green Bay.
Mr. Speaker, right now we
have some considerable challenges when it comes to ferry
service on the Northeast Coast. One of our vessels, the Island
Joiner, was escorted by an icebreaker to Fogo a
couple of days ago. The icebreaker, once ice pressure
–
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
I ask the hon. minister
to complete his response.
MR. TAYLOR: Once
ice pressure diminishes somewhat, we will get back to
get the Hamilton Sound. We have a new shaft and
propeller for the Hamilton Sound that is being
milled right now. As soon as we can get the Hamilton
Sound over to Clarenville, Mr. Speaker -
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Member for
the District of Port de Grave.
MR. BUTLER: Mr.
Speaker, I say to my hon. colleague, saying you reap
what you sow is very little consolation for the problems
these people are having today.
Mr. Speaker, both islands
have representatives on government side; yet, their
silence is deafening. We have more petitions to present
today on behalf of Long Island residents because their
members are unwilling to stand and represent their
constituents.
There are currently poor
ice conditions, as the hon. member said, and weather
conditions can change quickly.
I ask the minister: what
contingency plans are in place to ensure timely access
to medical services at the islands should an emergency
take place during the overnight hours?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
MR. TAYLOR: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I will finish my previous
answer. As I said, the shaft is being milled right now.
It is on location. As soon as we can get the Hamilton
Sound to Clarenville – I think it is Clarenville
we are bringing her – and out of the water, it will
take us a day or two to do the work. Ice pressure will
be the determining factor in how long it takes for us to
get the vessels back in Green Bay, and how long it will
take us to get the vessels out of Green Bay, for that
matter, Mr. Speaker.
As for our contingency
plan, it is the same as it always has been when we
don’t have a ferry to connect to these islands or
anywhere else in the Province for that matter. We put on
a helicopter service in the daytime and, if an emergency
arises, Mr. Speaker, I assume, as is the case in any
other situation, we will depend on Search and Rescue
Gander.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.
MR. BUTLER: Mr.
Speaker, the fish plant on Little Bay Islands relies on
the ferry service to ship their product. School children
from Long Island must cross the tickle to attend school
every day. The need for a new ferry is obvious.
Government has announced their intention to build two
new ferries and they promised they would be in operation
sometime in 2008. Yet, it is my understanding that no
fabrication work has taken place yet.
I ask the minister: When
will you promise new ferries to be built and finally put
into service?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. TAYLOR: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I can tell you that this
government promised them a lot quicker than the previous
government promised them; let’s put it that way.
Mr. Speaker, the
thrusters, the engines, the propulsion systems, are here
in the Province right now for the two vessels. The
contract was signed about four to six weeks ago, I think
it was; I signed the contract. It took some time to get
that finalized. We understand that steel is being
ordered probably as we speak here now. It won’t be
fifty-year old steel from Estonia, I can assure you
that, Mr. Speaker. It will be brand new steel from
Central Canada, I would imagine. I would expect that
rods will be burned sometime in May and we anticipate
right now we will take delivery of our two new vessels
sometime in May or June of next year.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.
MR. BUTLER: Mr.
Speaker, the people of Little Bay Islands have asked
government to construct new docking facilities at Halls
Bay Head. This would shorten the ferry route, have
better ice conditions, and provide a better service.
I ask the minister: Is
government willing to move forward with new docking
facilities and road upgrades at Halls Bay?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. TAYLOR: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
To go back to two or
three questions ago: we will ensure that the ferry on
the Little Bay Islands, Long Island run this year will
be able to accommodate tractor-trailers in order to make
sure that the fish plant is operational. We are very
aware of that situation and will do whatever is in our
means to be able to provide the service to the people
there.
It is understood that
there will be, on a go-forward basis, a three or four
point service in Green Bay between Long Island, Little
Bay Islands, Shoal Arm, Pilley’s Island. How that
configuration will work itself out is yet to be
determined. There will be meetings between officials of
the Department of Transportation’s marine division and
the people on Little Bay Islands and Long Island.
We are aware of the
proposal from Little Bay Islands on Halls Bay Head.
There is a considerable investment required there, my
understanding, somewhere in the order of $15 million, I
believe. If that was to take place, the analysis on that
has not been completed yet and will be completed some
time between now and when we take delivery of the vessel
that will go on that service.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The time allotted for
questions and answers have expired. |
