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Oral
Questions
May 20, 2009
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| In the House | Question
Period
MS
JONES:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Before I start my
questions today, Mr. Speaker, I certainly went to extend
congratulations to the Province’s nurses and to the
government.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS JONES: I
congratulate both parties, Mr. Speaker, for reaching a
tentative agreement and securing the health care
services in the Province for the people of Newfoundland
and Labrador.
Mr. Speaker, I have a
couple of questions, just for clarification, around the
contract negotiations.
We understand that there
was a change in the language around the market
adjustment clauses which helped facilitate this
agreement, and I would like to
ask what changes were made and if it is a
differentiation from what has been contained in the
agreements with the other unions.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr.
Speaker, as the hon. member opposite knows we initiated
a call last night to the union at around nine o’clock.
I made a call to Ms Forward and she wasn’t available
on her line, or at least I couldn’t make contact on
her cell phone. We spoke with Mr. Vivian and indicated
that we were prepared to talk about the two outstanding
issues, the two principles we will call them. He was
appreciative of the call. Myself and the Minister of
Finance had met earlier and had met with our officials
and instructed them to go and have a discussion. That
went on throughout the entire night and we finally
finished up at about five-thirty or a quarter to six
this morning; a night’s work well spent.
At the end, the principle
on the extended leave was dropped by the nurses and we
reached what, I guess, would be considered a compromise
position on market modifier. From government’s
perspective, government does have the ability, when
there are recruitment issues or recruitment problems
within a certain area of the health care system, to
provide a bonus in order to deal with that and in order
to solve the recruitment problem.
That was a solution that
is quite satisfactory to the nurses and quite
satisfactory to us. It is a win, win. It wasn’t even a
hold your nose situation, I think, for either party. I
think it is a win not only for government and nurses –
that is not really what it is all about - it is really a
win for the people of the Province, the patients of the
Province.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker, and I certainly agree with that
remark.
Mr. Speaker, the
nurses’ union is recommending acceptance of this
tentative agreement. So we certainly hope that there
will be a deal in the future.
I ask the government
today: When will the nurses see
the improved wage benefits, and will this contract be
retroactive, and if so, to what particular date?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury
Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. KENNEDY: Yes,
Mr. Speaker.
The deal will come into
place, of course, once it is signed and the
ratification. So I am not quite certain as to the length
of time that will be required for the ratification vote.
I do not expect it will be that long. At that point, it
will also be retroactive to the point – and as for
when the nurses’ contract ended -
AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible)
was last year.
MR. KENNEDY: Yes,
it was a long time ago, because we have been negotiating
with them, I think, for fifteen or sixteen months. So
back to April, I think. It could be April of last year,
but it will be retroactive to that point.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
The increased monetary
offer that was designed to address the recruitment and
retention issues will hopefully be able to allow us to
recruit more nurses into the Province.
I ask the government
today: How many nurses are we
currently short in the system, and how does government
plan to launch those recruitment initiatives outside of
the Province in order to promote this new agreement?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Each
of the four authorities have been aggressively pursuing
their recruitment initiatives during this negotiation
process. They were not, obviously, in a position to wait
until successful conclusion, because they have had
recruitment teams in place, attending job fairs and
advertising in publications and journals throughout
Canada, and some international recruitment, I say, Mr.
Speaker, as well.
So this particular deal
signed yesterday, or agreed upon this morning, will now
make that job a lot easier. Now we are going to be
competitive, not only on a national stage but we are
going to be competitive on an international stage. We
are hoping to be able to repatriate some nurses who
would have left in the last couple of years. Now with
this attractive offer, we are now one of the best in the
country, I say, Mr. Speaker. So, clearly, this will be a
great asset and will really enhance our ability to be
successful in recruiting.
With respect to the first
part of the question, I think there are some, roughly
300 permanent positions that are being recruited
external to the organization now as we speak, Mr.
Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
We also know that in
anticipation of a strike there were some contingency
plans put in place by the health care corporation that
also included cancelling some appointments and surgeries
and so on.
I ask the minister today:
If the health corporation has
been able to provide an update as to when those
surgeries and treatments can be rescheduled, and if
those that were cancelled will be given a priority now
to have their appointments rescheduled?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
As I indicated in the
House in recent days, that the health authority in
preparing for the, what was a potential strike today
when they were served notice by the nurses’ union,
started a process to gear down basically for what might
be happening today. It is great news. Obviously, it did
not. So now they are in a position to start rescheduling
some of those cancelled appointments.
The first order of
business was to ensure that those patients scheduled for
today and tomorrow were notified of any cancellations
that were necessary. So they will now start a process,
each of the four authorities will now start a process of
contacting those individuals to reschedule those
appointments that were cancelled. The rescheduling
piece, Mr. Speaker, as with all appointments like that,
there is a prioritization that takes place based on
acuity and illness. So they will be working with their
clinicians to identify those that need to be rescheduled
on a priority basis.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
In the last few weeks we
have been asking the government in the House to provide
interim compensation payments to AbitibiBowater workers
pending the resolution of the legal action. Yesterday,
they certainly agreed to do that and made that
announcement, Mr. Speaker. No coincidence that it was in
the middle of a polling period, I am sure, but
nevertheless, it needed to be done, should have been
done, and we are glad it was done, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, my questions
today around that particular agreement are just for
clarification and information. First of all, I ask the
minister: Will all the people
affected by the closure of the AbitibiBowater mill be
compensated, including all the loggers?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural
Development.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SKINNER: Thank
you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Had I known it was the
middle of a polling period I would have invited the hon.
member out with us.
Mr. Speaker, the answer
to the question is, yes.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I may have gone but I was
rather busy yesterday morning.
Mr.
Speaker, compensating the loggers under this particular
agreement, does this mean - of course I would expect all
unionized loggers, but are there non-unionized loggers
and loggers with private companies as well included in
any of these compensation packages?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural
Development.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SKINNER: Mr.
Speaker, the loggers and silviculturists who worked with
and for Abitibi are the ones that we have identified.
We are in the process of
putting together a small committee representing some
government people and some union people to work out the
intricacies of what needs to be done. There are some
details that need to be worked out. Through that process
we will bring some definition to all of the people
affected, but we have identified five groups which are:
the inside union people, the inside management people,
the work reduction program, the early retirement
allowances, and the loggers and silviculturists. Those
five groups are the groups that have been identified and
brought forward to the union. They have agreed to that
and we will now work on the details of how each of those
groups will be affected by the announcement yesterday.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Although the minister
just outlined the five groups that they were dealing
with, I ask him if there has
been any analysis done around the loggers that work for
private companies that might have been outside of the
unionized agreements that will be included, and if there
are any numbers around the number of them that would
have been impacted with the closure of this mill?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural
Development.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SKINNER: Mr.
Speaker, the announcement yesterday was for the former
AbitibiBowater employees. So if there were any loggers
and silviculturists who were employed by private
contractors they would not be included in yesterday’s
announcement. It would be strictly for former
AbitibiBowater employees.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, I ask the minister as well. There was a group
of workers that were employed by the power plant that
once the expropriation occurred were transferred to
Nalcor Energy. Will these
workers also be included in these severance benefit
packages?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural
Development.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SKINNER: Mr.
Speaker, again the Opposition Leader is correct, that
there were a number of employees who left the employee
of AbitibiBowater and were transferred to Nalcor, and
being former employees of the company AbitibiBowater,
they would be included in this announcement yesterday.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
There were also cases of
workers’ survivors who have lost their benefits. I
am just wondering if this compensation package will
include any of the benefits to this group of people as
well?
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, one of the
five groups was what we referred to as the Early
Retirement Allowance group, and that group would
encompass the group that the hon. Opposition House
Leader just identified, or the hon. Opposition Leader,
sorry, just identified, in terms of the widows who have
been highlighted in the media over the last number of
weeks. They are included in the group that we have
identified as the Early Retirement Allowance people.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Also,
for clarification, maybe if the minister could tell me
if the class of workers who were receiving the $1,200 to
$1,400 payments as a means of bridging them to
retirement age, if this compensation package will
include the benefits to those workers as well.
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
individuals that the hon. Opposition Leader refers to
are the group that we have identified as the Work Force
Reduction Program people. They were receiving an amount
- it varied - between $1,200 and $1,400 per month up
until the age of sixty-five, and those people have been
identified under the broad category of Work Force
Reduction Program people. They, as well, were included
in yesterday’s announcement.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
One other question around
that piece of it, and that includes the holiday pay. I
am not sure if the compensation included the holiday pay
that was due to the workers or if was just the severance
piece that was due to them.
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
announcement made yesterday referred specifically to the
severances that were owed to the workers by
AbitibiBowater. Any other negotiated benefits - vacation
pay, holiday pay, whatever the case may be - are not
included in our announcement. Our announcement
specifically referred to severance benefits.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I ask
the minister if government has an estimated cost on what
this commitment will be to the Province, and also if
they can tell me if there is any indication that they
will be able to recoup that money from the expropriation
deal with Abitibi at some point.
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Minister of
Innovation, Trade and Rural Development.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SKINNER: Mr.
Speaker, the estimated amount of money - and I stress it
is an estimate because we are still working out details
- is approximately $35 million. In terms of any
recouping of that money, the process will involve the
workers assigning their claims against Abitibi to the
union, the union then proceeding through the CCAA
process, through the court-appointed process, and should
the court rule that there be any monies owed through
that process that will be paid to the union on behalf of
the workers, that money would in turn be paid back to
the Province.
The likelihood of that,
we understand from our legal representatives, is
probably not very likely, but we are going to go forward
with the process.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I
would also like to ask the minister where the funds are
going to come from up front. Will they be coming from
the provincial coffers, from Nalcor, from the federal
government’s Community Development Trust program, or
from some revenue stream through the expropriation of
the assets or some other form?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh,
oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Minister of
Innovation, Trade and Rural Development.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SKINNER: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the funds
will come from the general Treasury of the provincial
government. There will be a warrant that we will have to
get to receive the funds, and it will just be general
Treasury funds.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, I am just wondering if
government can indicate to us today how much revenue
they expect to generate from the expropriated assets
that they now have control of?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
No, Mr. Speaker, we have
not put any figures to the amount of money that will be
generated out of electricity in Central. Right now what
we are doing, because Seal Cove is running at its
minimum level, water is being stored in Bay d’Espoir.
So basically the energy that is coming from Central is
being stored in the reservoir in Bay d’Espoir because
we do not have a particular use for it at the moment.
Without a doubt, Mr.
Speaker, we will, as our energy demands increase over
the summer, but right now water is being stored.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Does
the minister have any idea when we may have some demand
for the use of that generated power? If we were to be
using it today, what would be the revenue generation
from it being accrued to the Province on an annual
basis?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
My alter ego is not Karl
Wells, so I cannot really tell you when we are going to
be using that electricity because it depends on the
amount of waterfall and so on that we have in the
Province.
In the summertime, as it
get warm and we start to use up a bit more electricity
or we have greater industrial demands, we are blessed to
have that electricity available to us. We are hopeful in
the long run, Mr. Speaker, that an industrial user will
come forward who has a plan for use of that power in
Central Newfoundland and we will be able, again, to once
more use that power in that region of the Province to
generate jobs for the people there. We are actively
working, Mr. Speaker, to see what the possibilities of
that might be.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, when government made their announcement
yesterday, I think they made a comment that they would
work to ensure the disbursement of these funds as soon
as possible. I wonder if the
minister can indicate to us today some time frame around
which people can expect to see some cheques in their
mailbox.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural
Development.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SKINNER: Thank
you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, in the
announcement yesterday, when we met with all of the
union local leadership, we did indicate that we wanted
to have them serve on the committee with us, to work
through some of these details, and we needed their
support to be able to administer this.
There was a meeting
earlier today of my officials and some other officials
within government, whereby we put some parameters around
the work we needed to do. There will be a meeting
tomorrow that will include the union leadership, and
based upon that meeting I think we will be able to look
at some time frames.
I am reluctant to give
any particular time frames right now, simply because I
think tomorrow’s meeting will help define that a bit
better, but we expect that some of the groups, the five
groups identified, some of those, very, very quickly,
would start to receive cheques very, very soon.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Last week, as well, I
asked questions about the eighty-seven silviculture
workers in Central Newfoundland who have been waiting to
be recalled to work under an agreement, a five-year
agreement that was negotiated between AbitibiBowater and
the Province. That agreement to plant more than 3
million seedlings on 1,100 hectares of land has been
suspended, and these eighty-seven workers have not been
recalled to work.
I ask
if you can give me an update today as to when they will
be called back to take their jobs again this year?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister Responsible for the Forestry and
Agrifoods Agency.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Yes, Mr. Speaker, since
the question was asked in the House last week,
significant progress has been made between the
government, and particularly the Department of Forestry,
and the CEP silviculturalists. We are very hopeful to
have people back planting trees under the Abitibi
Newfoundland and Labrador agreement, hopefully by
mid-June or the end of June.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I have a number of
questions for a number of ministers. I do not think any
of them will bring the government down today, but they
need to be followed up on.
Mr. Speaker, our office
has received inquires on the condition of the Fort
Amherst site here in St. John’s. Although there is
widespread acknowledgment about the historical and
cultural importance of the site, particularly with
reference to the remnants of the World War II
fortifications, safety concerns resulted in the area
being closed to the public some years ago.
I ask the Minister of
Tourism, Culture and Recreation, we know that the City
of St. John’s has recently petitioned the federal
government for assistance with their planned
preservation effort. I ask,
have you been involved in any way in this restoration
effort and been asked to commit any funds to that
particular restoration site?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. JACKMAN: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Indeed, I have been
involved. I have actually visited the site myself, Mr.
Speaker.
Right now, one of the
things under the jurisdiction of The Rooms is to ensure
that what we have there is maintained. There are certain
things about air quality and there has to be very much
temperature control to make sure that what is there
stays intact. I cannot speak specifically to the plan
but I can certainly provide the House with an update as
to where things are progressing.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Just as a follow up to
that. We know that a major plan was put in place by the
city in 2002 for the renewal of Fort Amherst. It seems
to have gone off the radar somewhat.
I ask the minister: Why
has your department not designated Fort Amherst as a
provincial historic site which would allow it to access
the Provincial Historic Resources Act to get some
resources to help in that regard?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. JACKMAN: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
As I said, I certainly
will provide the House with an update, but this is
progressing through the channels. The Rooms are doing
some work on it. As I said, the key thing at this
particular point is to ensure that the integrity of the
site as it stands now is maintained, and I will
certainly provide an update on that.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
My next question is for
the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General. The
Clarenville Women’s Correctional Facility is currently
overcrowded. They have twenty-two inmates, which is over
its twenty inmate capacity. A former inmate recently
indicated as well that at one point inmates were
triple-bunked in the cells. Overcrowding of the
correctional facilities directly breaches section 9 of
the United Nations Standard Minimal Rules for the
Treatment of Prisoners.
What
is government currently doing to curb the overcrowding
problem at the Clarenville Women’s Facility?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. T. MARSHALL: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
There are twenty-two
single bunk cells at the women’s prison in Clarenville.
I understand from time to time that there is some
double-bunking that happens. My understanding is that -
I am certainly not aware of any triple-bunking. My
understanding is that there were three cells in which
they were double bunked.
What will happen from
time to time when prisons are at excessive capacity,
then federal prisoners are moved over to other federal
institutions. I believe at Clarenville that was in the
process of happening. I think on a weekly basis when a
plane arrives, prisoners are moved out to other federal
institutions and that will ultimately solve the problem.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
The government received
two significant reports on the state of corrections for
women in this Province and committed, based upon those
reports, to make certain changes. Specifically, in the
last announcement of government and included in this
year’s budget, I do believe, was funding for a
full-time psychologist and funding for a full-time
addictions counsellor for female offenders.
I ask the minister: Where
is the department right now in that recruitment effort
for those two professionals?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. T. MARSHALL: Mr.
Speaker, if the hon. member will bear with me for a
second, I think I can provide him with a detailed list
on what has been happening and what is happening at
Clarenville.
There is now, as a result
of the new budget, there is now a psychologist, an
addictions counsellor that will serve the women’s
prison and also serve HMP. There are programs taking
place in adult basic education. There are programs under
the national employment to help people get the skills
they need to obtain employment. There is – what I will
do, I will undertake to do is – here we go.
There is a classification
officer there. There is a psychiatrist now, a medical
doctor, there is a psychologist, there is a methadone
program, there is a Home of the Heart program offered by
the Salvation Army, there is mental health counselling,
there is addictions counselling, there is sexual abuse
counselling, there is adult basic education, the
national Employment Skills Program, regular meetings of
AA, a craft program, a pastoral care program, a Native
Friendship centre, and programs offered by the John
Howard Society.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Member for the District of Signal Hill–Quidi
Vidi.
MS MICHAEL: Thank
you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Before I ask you my first
question I want to congratulate the government on doing
the right thing and going back to the table with the
nurses and sticking at it until you were able to
negotiate and avert a strike.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS MICHAEL: I
think it speaks to the goodwill of both sides. I think
that they stayed, they compromised language and they got
to where they got at 5 o’clock this morning and I
think the whole of the Province was smiling because of
that.
However, Mr. Speaker, the
reality is, as we all know, our health care system still
has considerable problems in spite of the new contract
and salaries that are probably the best east of Ontario.
We have graduate nurse
retention rates in the Province that are far from where
they should be. We are short 1,017 nurses and the
Province is continually losing 30 per cent to 40 per
cent of the graduating class from the first year and
experiencing losses in the years afterwards.
Mr. Speaker, I ask the
Premier: What aggressive plan does government, with the
regional authorities, have to try to keep a greater
number of our graduates in the Province this year?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: One
of the biggest planks in that recruitment platform we
heard announced 5:00 o’clock this morning, Mr.
Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: We
now have a competitive salary package, competitive with
the rest of the country. In fact, we are better than
most people in Canada today. The situation that we have
in Newfoundland and Labrador today, with this
announcement early this morning, is that we will have a
recruitment package, we are now second-to-none in the
entire country because we are able to offer –
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: We
have a competitive wage package - more than competitive,
one of the best in the country. We have tuition at our
university the lowest in the country.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: We
have a student aid program, the best in the country.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: We
have a tax rate, one of the lowest in the country.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: What
better place would you want to come to work but
Newfoundland and Labrador?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Member for the District of Signal Hill-Quidi
Vidi.
MS MICHAEL: Thank
you very much, Mr. Speaker.
I recognize all of the things that the minister has just
outlined.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh,
oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
MS MICHAEL: However,
Mr. Speaker, from January 2007 to February 2008 Eastern
Health reported 212,408 hours of nursing overtime and
Western Health reported 64,480 hours of nursing
overtime.
Mr. Speaker, this amount
of overtime that nurses are working has not disappeared
overnight and will not go away in spite of the package
that was agreed to this morning. It is one thing to have
good wages, but nurses are also still looking at their
quality of life.
Mr. Speaker, this is
quite a hurdle to get new recruits to come in and to get
graduate students to stay here, knowing how much
overtime they will have to work. What is the government
going to do about getting over that hurdle?
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Minister of
Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Speaking of hours, it has
only been about six hours since we have had this
sweetheart deal. I say, Mr. Speaker, give us a few more
hours and we will start to deal with some of the
overtime hours.
She is absolutely right;
the member opposite is absolutely right. The
compensation is one piece of it, the quality of work
life is another significant piece, and that is why we
announced – last week, I think, or the week before
last – a new initiative in partnership with the
nurses’ union out in Central Newfoundland, a new
arrangement. We are looking at a new scheduling
arrangement, a new way to better utilize some of our
senior nurses. It was a collaborative effort between
ourselves and the nurses’ union and the regional
health authority looking at quality of work life issues.
We have a partnership
with the ARNN. They have a program where they are
implementing a number of initiatives in a number of our
facilities, working in partnership again with our
department together with the health authority and the
ARNN, looking at quality of work life issues, Mr.
Speaker.
There is a whole suite of
issues taking place. Compensation is one of them, and
some of these other initiatives are (inaudible).
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The time allotted for
questions and answers has expired. |
