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Oral
Questions
March 31, 2009
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| In the House | Question
Period
MS
JONES:
Mr. Speaker, today is the
sixtieth anniversary of Confederation with Canada, and
there have been many discussions and debates as to our
place within that union, but the vast majority of
Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are proud Canadians and
proud of their country.
I ask the Premier today: What
recent efforts have been made in an attempt to improve
your strained relations with the federal government and
strengthen our union with Canada as Newfoundlanders and
Labradorians?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I would like to thank
Joan Marie, I mean, I am sorry, the hon. member for her
question.
Mr. Speaker, with regard
to our relations with Canada, we have done everything we
can to try and improve our relationship with the
existing federal government but we are not going to
stand back and allow them to punish our Province. We are
not going to stand back and have them create an economic
stimulus package right across this country, and
stimulate every province and every jurisdiction, every
territory in the country and allow them to punish us. So
we are going to state our piece.
Any time that, whether it
is a federal government and happens to be a Liberal
government, Progressive Conservative government or an
NDP government, we will stand up for what we believe and
we will fight for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians and
we will be heard.
With regard to our
relationship with Canada, we are proud Canadians. We are
proud to be part of Canada but we will not be trampled
on by governments of Canada.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, the Premier appointed our Ambassador to Ottawa,
Mr. John Fitzgerald, several years ago in an effort to
strengthen our relationship with the federal government.
Seeing that our relations today are at an all-time low,
I ask the Premier: Has the
appointment of John Fitzgerald done anything to
strengthen our relationship with Ottawa or is it just a
waste of taxpayers’ money in Newfoundland and
Labrador?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr.
Speaker, our relationship with Ottawa has not hit an
all-time low. It will get lower if they continue to do
what they are doing right now. So do not mark that as a
low watermark because that is not necessarily the case.
If Stephen Harper and his ministers and the people in
Ottawa want to continue to try and nail Newfoundland and
Labrador and punish us for exercising our democratic
rights, even though it may have been questionable
electing Liberals by the same token, but by the same
token, when you do not have much other choice you elect
Liberals and you elect New Democrats. Having said that,
Mr. John Fitzgerald is a tremendous individual. He is a
capable individual –
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: He
is a very knowledgeable individual. He works extremely
hard, and just recently he has visited and spoken with
most of the ambassadors in Ottawa, with respect to
preventing the seal ban in Europe. As a consequence of
his hard work, I have written all the ambassadors. So,
he is doing a very good job, thank you very much.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
The Department of
Tourism, Culture and Recreation spends millions of
dollars each year marketing Newfoundland and Labrador as
a destination of choice for other Canadians, including
the multi-million dollar campaigns they launched last
year, one called Fresh Air, I think, and the other one
called the "Find Yourself Here" campaign.
Well, Mr. Speaker, given
the fact that we still find ourselves here in a
Confederation with Canada, would it not have been a good
opportunity to highlight some of the positive outcomes
of our union and to bring a little fresh air to our
relationship with the federal government through our
Department of Tourism?
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr.
Speaker, the focus of our ad campaign, as everybody can
see - it has been internationally acclaimed, it has been
nationally acclaimed, and it has won all kinds of awards
- is building on our strength. It is building on what we
are all about. It includes the fresh air of our
Province, it includes the clotheslines, it includes the
beautiful communities, it includes the wonderful names,
and it includes the beautiful view-scapes. We are
selling what we are all about.
That is why we, as a
government and the people of Newfoundland and Labrador,
take such pride in those ads. That is why people all
around the world have taken notice of those ads. That is
why other jurisdictions and other territories are
copying those ads. Because they represent what we are
all about as a people. We don’t have to sell our
relationship with Canada to sell who we are as
Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
The diamond anniversary
of Newfoundland’s Confederation with Canada is
obviously not even an event worthy of comment by the
government opposite, and that was apparent in the Throne
Speech only last week.
Mr. Speaker, the
government is planning a celebration this year, a huge
party across the Province to celebrate another important
event in our history and that is the legacy of Bob
Bartlett.
I ask, Mr. Speaker, if
the government would consider adding the 60th
anniversary of our union with Canada as a part of those
celebrations as we go through them this summer.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr.
Speaker, if we are going to have a celebration in this
Province, we will celebrate our pride, we will celebrate
our strength, we will celebrate our determination, and
we will celebrate our resilience. We will celebrate the
resilience of the people of the Port au Port Peninsula
and the people in Stephenville. We will hopefully be
able to celebrate all the people in the Grand
Falls-Windsor and surrounding areas.
Interesting enough, I
heard the Leader of the Opposition last night on Out
of the Fog – she was also on CBC - and I heard her
say how we should change our mind about the addictions
centre in Grand Falls because maybe there is not enough
support around the area to support an addictions centre.
She also said we should also reconsider relocating
people for the home heating benefits from Grand Falls.
So you do not even
support Grand Falls-Windsor and Botwood and Badger and
Bishop’s Falls trying to get ahead. You said exactly
that. I was absolutely horrified and amazed that you
would even say it -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh,
oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: -
but you said it, and you do not want Central
Newfoundland to prosper.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Leader of
the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I will not use my time to
debate that with the Premier in Question Period but he
can go back and read my transcript and he will know that
is not what I said.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh,
oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
I ask members for their
co-operation.
The hon. the Leader of
the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
The Premier has recently
stated that the Province will go it alone in trade
negotiations with the European Union because Canada will
not serve the Province’s best interest at the table.
I ask the Premier: If
this is your government’s position, why did your
former Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture send a
letter in August to the International Trade Minister
expressing his strong support for the federal
government’s bilateral trade negotiations with the
European Union?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Quite
simply, Mr. Speaker, because at that point they had not
shafted us again for the third time when they turned
around and took away over a billion dollars from us. In
all fairness to the minister at that particular point in
time, he was indicating that there were good
relationships with Europe; but from my perspective and
from our government’s perspective and from that
minister’s perspective, who is an experienced
Fisheries Minister, we are going to stand up and we are
going to protect the fishery in this Province. We are
going to protect the seal hunt in this Province, no
matter what the rest of the world thinks about it, and
we are going to continue to do so. That means that we
are going to have to stand up and we are going to
negotiate alone with Europe. We will do so because we
believe in the culture and the heritage of this
Province. We believe in those industries. We make
apologies to nobody. If we want to change our mind after
the federal government have gone out and shafted us, and
we believe that we cannot trust them, then we do not
trust them and we act on our own and we go it alone!
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: So,
Mr. Speaker, it was never about Canada’s position at
the European Union. It was never about Canada’s
strength to be able to represent Newfoundland and
Labrador. The Premier has confirmed it was all about the
fact that they had shafted you, as you say, once again,
and therefore it does not matter if we throw out all the
good with the bad. That is what I am hearing, Mr.
Speaker.
The minister wrote in his
letter - the former minister, who is currently today the
Minister of Transportation and Works – "We
strongly endorse your commitment for bilateral
agreements and look forward to working with the federal
government to achieve a bilateral agreement with the EU."
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh,
oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
MS JONES: Given
that statement, given the fact that in August you had
the confidence in their ability to be able to respond to
this issue, are you now going to work with them to
ensure that it happens?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr.
Speaker, we have stated all along, and we continue to do
so, we believe in free trade with Europe. We have traded
with Europe for over five centuries. We believe in it,
but we are not going to allow a Prime Minister who works
contrary to our interests to go over there and do a deal
on our behalf whereby he will not deal with tariffs, he
will not deal with quotas, he will not deal with the
seal hunt, he will not deal with issues that are
important to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.
We will go back to the
age-old trading whereby they will trade away our quotas,
they will trade away our fish, and they will trade away
our jobs in Newfoundland and Labrador, in the interests
of Canadians on the Mainland. We, as a government, will
not stand for that, believe me.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Leader of
the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
We know today that the
Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture is in Ottawa
meeting with representatives of the European Union,
looking for allies to support the seal hunt and oppose
the EU ban on sealing products.
I ask the Premier: Has
government had any discussions or correspondence with
our fisheries ambassador, Loyola Sullivan, regarding
this issue, and what role he is playing in these
discussions?
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Minister of
Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. TAYLOR: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I, as Minister of
Innovation, Trade and Rural Development, and my
colleague, the Minister of Natural Resources, both
participated with Ambassador Sullivan on what can be
best characterized as a bit of a junket to Europe last
year and the year before.
On both occasions, the
federal government assured us and the delegation - the
delegation that I was a part of, and I am sure the
delegation that the Minister of Natural Resources was a
part of – that Canada would stand up to protect
Newfoundland’s interest in the seal hunt in the face
of a proposed European Union ban, and that they would
initiate action under the World Trade Organization.
Mr. Speaker, I do not
know where Mr. Sullivan is now, unless he has gone to
initiate action under the World Trade Organization. We
have not laid eyes on him or the issue of the seal hunt
with the federal government since.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, as the seal hunt prepares to open, there is
much uncertainty regarding market conditions and prices.
I ask the Premier today: Do
you have any indication as to what the marketing and
pricing conditions will be facing sealers this year?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. TAYLOR: Mr.
Speaker, I cannot say precisely what we expect
conditions to be at the seal hunt this year, only to say
that every indication is that prices will be far lower
than they were in the previous couple of years.
Indications are, out of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, out of
Quebec, that prices this year are somewhere in the order
of – I have heard, anyway - $30 a pelt. That includes
some level of subsidization by the Quebec government.
Mr. Speaker, the market appears to be very soft and I
would anticipate a very low uptake in the hunt this
year.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
During the last election
the Premier raised a long-standing interest regarding
the Province’s establishing its own fisheries research
vessel and facilities. In light of the recent news that
the Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation in St.
John’s is on the verge of closing, I ask the Premier
today: Will you please provide
us with an update of your interest in establishing our
own research initiatives and research vessels in this
Province, as was promised in the last election?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. TAYLOR: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I would have to say – I
am not sure if the hon. member would be aware of this -
I think in large part the reason why the Canadian Centre
for Fisheries Innovation kept going for the better part
of the last year or two was as a result of a
considerable amount of money that was identified by the
provincial government through the Department of
Innovation, Trade and Rural Development, and the
Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture. We wrote to the
other Maritime Provinces, and Quebec and Nunavut, to ask
for their participation in a cost-sharing formula with
the federal government.
My understanding, Mr.
Speaker - the last I heard on it - was that some of the
other provinces and jurisdictions had indicated their
willingness to support that initiative on a go-forward
basis, but it appears, Mr. Speaker, that once again the
federal government have walked away from funding
initiatives 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.
Maybe
the minister can give me an update, then, on your
commitment and promise to the people of the Province to
look at research vessels for Newfoundland and Labrador.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. TAYLOR: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I can report
that there have been significant discussions over the
course of the past year-and-a-half or thereabouts, since
we made that commitment in our Blueprint back in the
fall of 2007. As anybody who is knowledgeable of
fisheries research would know, and oceans research, you
have to put together a research program before you
determine what your vessel will be.
Mr. Speaker, there have
been discussions with those who are knowledgeable in the
ocean sector in Newfoundland and Labrador, including
fisheries researchers, including the Marine Institute,
Mr. Glenn Blackwood and company, officials in the
Department of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development,
and the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
Mr. Speaker, at the
appropriate time when we have our ocean sector strategy
more fully developed, and in consultation with the
Newfoundland and Labrador Research and Development
Council, we will put our money where our mouth is and
get an appropriate ship to conduct research in
Newfoundland and Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, while
government continues its monitoring activities of the
Joir River caribou herd, the Quebec Innu are killing the
animals to extinction. The minister stated yesterday
that it was too dangerous to act to protect the animals,
and they would monitor instead. The same situation has
been occurring over the past number of years, and all
government has done each year is monitor and document
the killing of these endangered animals.
I ask the minister: When
is government going to act to protect the remaining few
animals left in that particular herd?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources and Deputy
Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, it is true,
we have a very sad situation that has developed in
Southern Labrador over the last week. We have forty-five
hunters hunting caribou amongst a snowmobile group of at
least seventy-five snowmobiles, demonstrating very
dangerous behaviour. We have100-plus women, children and
elders in that area and up to this point they have taken
just about half the herd, over forty animals.
Mr. Speaker, we have been
involved with this particular group of Innu hunters
since 2004 on a regular basis, educating them as to the
status of these animals, underlining the importance of
protecting these animals, and asking them not to engage
in the hunt. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, that plea has
fallen on deaf ears.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Falling on deaf ears, I
would submit, is not good enough. Mr. Speaker, the
rights of the Quebec Innu to hunt do not override the
legislative powers of conservation and safety. We have
numerous incidents where conservation officers have
participated in dangerous operations here at home, to
protect fish and wildlife. It will be too late to
protect the Joir River herd once they are decimated to
extinction.
I ask the minister: Besides
documenting and watching these animals being
slaughtered, do you have any plans developed to protect
the remaining herd?
MS JONES: For
three years you could not even negotiate (inaudible).
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I hear the
Leader of the Opposition talking about, over three years
we did not have the ability to negotiate an agreement.
There is no political
agreement, or no agreement on rights, that is going to
trump conservation, Mr. Speaker. Conservation overrides
every other right.
We want to protect this
herd, and I can give a list of activities that we have
undertaken, even to a point that the Grand Chief of this
Innu group is a member of the Woodland Caribou Recovery
Team. They are well aware of the status of these
animals; but, as important as these animals are to all
of us, Mr. Speaker, not all of them are worth the life
of one of my conservation officers and I absolutely
refuse to put them at risk.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
The minister’s
diplomacy is not stopping the bullets. Government cannot
just sit back and watch the Quebec hunters come into our
Province. We talk about standing up for ourselves as a
Province in this very Legislature today. They cannot be
permitted to come into our Province and wipe out an
entire caribou herd.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh,
oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: I
am sure it would not be tolerated if it were the other
way around.
I ask the minister: Have
you at least even spoken to the Labrador Innu or the
federal government, as part of this diplomacy, to see if
we can start some tribal negotiations even to stop this
slaughter?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
This government’s
involvement with Quebec Innu hunters is well documented
since 2004, Mr. Speaker. Only earlier in March we had a
meeting with Chief Lalo, before she went to the hunt,
telling her about the status of these caribou.
As I have said, we have
membership on the recovery team, the caribou recovery
team in Labrador. We have contacted the Quebec
government. We constantly preach conservation. It has
been a regular subject of this government in all kinds
of discussions, both through my department and the
Department of Environment and Conservation, about the
importance of these threatened animals.
It is a very volatile
situation, Mr. Speaker. It is a wonder that an Innu
hunter, or one who has participated in this hunt, has
not been harmed. I am certainly not going to put human
life at risk to protect the caribou.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: I
suggest, Minister, if you had done your homework and
done the job we would not be in this situation today.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh,
oh!
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Mr.
Speaker, last April we requested information on the
Province’s inland fish and wildlife program. After
information was refused, we appealed to the Information
and Privacy Commissioner, who recently chastised
government for refusing, saying that they should have
released the information.
I ask the Premier: Why
did government refuse to follow its own legislation and,
instead, blocked access to information that should have
been released with respect to the Inland Fish and
Wildlife program?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Mr.
Speaker, I can tell you that all information that has
certainly been requested from my department and from the
Department of Justice, where the inland fisheries
officers operate under, all of the information that we
have has been provided. I cannot provide what I do not
have.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Mr.
Speaker, government commissioned retired Justice William
Marshall to conduct a report of the Inland Fish and
Wildlife program back in 2006. In April of 2006, Mr.
Marshall wrote the Premier to advise him that his report
was over 100 pages long and contained many
recommendations to improve the program. He called it a
preliminary report, the 100 pages. He stated that the
final report would follow.
I ask the Premier: What
is the status of these reports and why were they never
released to the public?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Mr.
Speaker, I have not received a report from Mr. Marshall.
The Premier has not received such a report. The
Department of Justice has not received such a report. If
we had it, we would have released it. We do not have it,
Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
At least we have it
confirmed now, that there was no follow-up final report
from Justice Marshall, and we are three years out now.
Mr. Speaker, in a letter
to the Premier Mr. Marshall states that his final report
will outline in detail the problems with the program.
However, he suggests in his preliminary report
immediately implementing certain recommendations, or the
entire Inland Fish and Wildlife program would be eroded
and eventually collapse. Now, this was in 2006 he said
that.
I ask the Premier: Can
you outline what actions government has taken since 2006
to remedy the problems that Mr. Marshall identified in
2006?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Most people are not aware
that from the conservation officer core that resides
within the Department of Natural Resources, a
significant number of those officers go over to the
Department Justice in the spring of the year where they
participate in the inland fishery program.
Mr. Speaker, like any
other ministry that I have been involved in, I am very
aware of the structure of the department, of
relationships within the department, the importance of
having a respectful workplace. From time to time, issues
occur in various branches of the department and from
time to time they have occurred with our conservation
officers and with inland fishery.
I am happy to say that
the program is doing very, very well and there are no
significant issues that, certainly, have risen to my
attention in the past year.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
This is the same program
that supposedly is looking after our caribou herd up in
Labrador.
Mr. Speaker, much of the
information contained under our access to information
request remains blacked out. We have been forced to file
a second request. In fact, it was recommended to us by
the Privacy Commissioner that we go back with a second
request, because of what government had done, to ask for
the censored information.
From what we have seen,
there appears to be a reason why government is
withholding this information. One of the statements made
by Mr. Marshall is that the program is being mismanaged
– his word, not ours – and this has led to
significant tension and anger amongst officers.
I ask the Premier: What
is being done in the face of Mr. Marshall’s comments,
to address these concerns?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Again, I can only repeat
my answer from the previous question. There are always
human resource issues that arise from time to time
within departments. We spend a great deal of time in the
Forestry and Agrifoods Agency addressing human resource
issues, doing everything we can to ensure that there is
good communication amongst our workers and with
management and that we always, always, all of us, do
everything we can to ensure that we have a respectful
workplace. I can only report that the program is working
very well and I am very pleased with the way that the
two departments are working together.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Mr.
Speaker, maybe the minister is not tuned in to what Mr.
Marshall did say back then.
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Marshall
stated in correspondence to the Premier, that 2006
correspondence that he had and I quote: troubling image
of an area of the public service with the potential of
imploding on itself. He cited 2005 as a year of failure
for the program because – now, this is the Premier’s
pet project, which was to take over enforcements, which
the feds were not doing.
I ask the Premier again: Is
the inland fisheries program – because we have not
heard anything we have heard today from Mr. Marshall
since. We have not heard anything having been done from
the minister since 2006. Is the program still intact, or
is it on the verge of destruction?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Mr.
Speaker, in 2006 I was not minister of this department.
I have only been minister in the past three years. I
will have my anniversary this summer.
The inland fishery
program and my conservation program are certainly two
areas that I am particularly interested in. I cannot
speak to the particular circumstance in 2006, but I can
tell you that I am very happy with where the program is,
I am very happy with the way that the Department of
Natural Resources and the Department of Justice interact
and co-operate with one another and how we work really
well together in the delivery of this program. I think
the people of Newfoundland and Labrador can be very
happy with the service that is being provided by these
officers.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Marshall also ignites
the debate about whether the Province should co-operate
with the federal government in a combined effort of
Inland Fisheries Enforcement. As a matter of fact, he
seems fixated that that co-operation with the federal
government on enforcement issues, and I quote from him
again: Undermines your policy initiative - referring to
the Premier - and should be stopped because they tried
it, co-operation.
I ask the Premier: Has
this co-operation between the federal and the provincial
enforcement officers in fact ceased, and if so, was this
decision taken simply because working with the federal
government personnel would have undermined your policy,
as Mr. Marshall indicated?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. T. MARSHALL: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
In 2006 the Inland Fish
Enforcement aspect of inland wildlife was transferred to
the Department of Justice. As the Minister of Natural
Resources indicated, every year in the spring
conservation officers come over to Justice, a part of
the Inland Fish Enforcement Program. The program has
been extremely successful and has operated successively
for the past number of years.
I can also tell the hon.
member that there is co-operation between our
conservation officers and the federal officers. In fact,
our conservation officers have been designated to
conduct prosecutions under the federal legislation as
well as our own. So there is co-operation. The program
is running very well.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
The minister of
non-answers again. It seems like we have shifted from
Natural Resources to the Minister of Justice, neither
one chose to address any of the six questions that have
been asked. Mr. Speaker, I will conclude my questioning
in that area.
From the officers that we
have spoken with, and we have, Mr. Speaker, there is
certainly anger and frustration with the programs. It is
not all rosy as the minister says. We have the phone
calls to prove it.
In an e-mail sent from
the former Clerk of the Executive Council to the
Premier’s Chief of Staff in 2006, it stated, and I
quote: It is understood that the final Marshall Report
may recommend a more far-reaching reorganization of the
wildlife enforcement and Inland Fisheries Enforcement
programs.
I ask the Premier: We
know that there remains major morale problems within
this program, what is being done to help the staff?
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Minister of
Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Mr.
Speaker, I cannot say what will be in Mr. Marshall’s
final report or when we are going to receive the final
report, but I am charged with a responsibility, as is
the Minister of Justice, in the delivery of our
programs, both with conservation officers and inland
fisheries, to provide a specific service to the people
of Newfoundland and Labrador. We are doing that, the
program is working really well. We often have human
resource issues. We are paying attention to what our
employees are saying, and we are doing our very best to
resolve any issues that may exist in the workplace.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The time allotted for
Questions and Answers has expired. |
