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Oral
Questions
May 26, 2009
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| In the House | Question
Period
MS
JONES:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
My question is for the
Minister of Natural Resources.
Mr. Speaker, last
December, and again on April 30, we asked the Minister
of Natural Resources about potential irregularities at
the Chicken Marketing Board. She stated last month that
there were no irregularities to report. Yesterday the
minister read a prepared statement indicating that
problems had indeed been found and the matter has been
referred to the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary for
further investigation of possible criminal wrongdoing.
I ask the minister: Why
did you state on April 30 that you had received and
reviewed the report and there were no irregularities to
report and yet you have referred the matter now to the
RNC?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources and Deputy
Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
When this issue was first
raised with me there was an issue around criminal
wrongdoing with regard to the Chicken Marketing Board.
Upon investigation of audits with the Chicken Marketing
Board there was no evidence that could be clearly seen
to substantiate such an accusation.
I went to the RNC and I
asked the RNC to investigate, Mr. Speaker. They told me
that unless they had some evidence of wrongdoing that
they would not do that. I went to an outside agency to
ask that the Chicken Marketing Board audits be reviewed.
I could not find a firm that was prepared to do that
unless I had some evidence of incorrect auditing. I then
went internally, Mr. Speaker, and asked our own
Comptroller General to review the financial records of
the Chicken Marketing Board. I received that report
several weeks ago. I reviewed it. There is no evidence
that I can see of criminal wrongdoing but I want to
close the loop completely. While we have improved
processes at the Chicken Marketing Board, I want the RNC
to review to be absolutely sure that there was nothing
of a criminal nature taking place there.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
The minister, yesterday,
referenced that certain transactions led to these
financial problems and mentioned in particular a staff
manager in her statement yesterday.
I ask the minister: Can
you elaborate on these questionable transactions which
you made yesterday and the role they played in this
investigation?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the chicken
farmers marketing board is an arms-length agency of this
government. When this matter was first brought to my
attention and I had an inquiry from the media, the
question was later raised here in the House of Assembly,
the onus was on me to go back and see if there were any
irregularities. I had just been in the process of making
new appointments to the board. There have been a number
of staff changes. Our own internal review within the
department showed that processes need to be put in place
and things need to be tightened up there. There were a
number of actions that we took as a department. I am not
going to comment on any specific members of the board or
staff. There has been a comprehensive review done. That
report has not only gone to the RNC, but I have provided
the report to the Auditor General for his review as
well, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
The minister said in her
statement yesterday that an auditing firm had originally
completed an audit of the Chicken Marketing Board.
I ask the minister: Who
were the original auditors who did the marketing
board’s books, and was there any explanation given to
you as to how they missed these irregularities?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Mr.
Speaker, I do not have the name of the auditing firm
with me today. I will say, though, that the firm has
been replaced. We have another firm now doing this work,
Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
The minister also stated
yesterday that government could not get other external
auditing firms to re-evaluate the books of the initial
auditing firm unless they knew exactly what they were
looking for.
I ask the minister: How
many and which external firms did you contact to
re-evaluate the original audit?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I will have
to get that information from my staff, but the response
from auditing firms that we did contact was the same as
we had from the RNC. Unless there was some evidence of
wrongdoing they were not prepared to review the work.
That is why we went internally to the Comptroller
General, to ask him to do a review of all the audits and
the activities of the financial issues, particularly, of
the Chicken Marketing Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Mr.
Speaker, the minister also alluded to the fact that the
Comptroller General’s Office eventually conducted the
audit, and several recommendations were made in that
report to address these problems at the board.
I ask the minister: What
were these recommendations, and would you be prepared to
table a copy of the Comptroller General’s Report here
in the House of Assembly?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
There were a number of
recommendations around processes that need to be, had to
be put in place for financial management at the Chicken
Marketing Board. I am happy to report that the
substantial number of those recommendations had already
been completed, or are well advanced by the department.
There is sensitive
information in the report, Mr. Speaker. I will have to
review all of that before I can make any promises to
release the report, but I want to reiterate again that I
have made the report available to the Auditor General,
my department has had a number of discussions with him,
and he has indicated at this point in time that all of
the things that he would have recommended that we do in
the face of this, we have already completed.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
There are apparently new
checks and balances and protocols established to monitor
the activities and finances of the board coming out of
the Comptroller General’s report. There may be more, I
guess, once the RNC investigation is complete, and the
Auditor General’s investigation.
I ask the minister: What
checks and balances and protocols, to your knowledge,
were not in place in the first instance that allowed
these irregularities to take place?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
When I reviewed all of
the information I certainly had a concern about the
oversight of the board and the amount of diligence that
was being applied to the activities of the board. There
could have been issues on travel claims. There were
certainly not regular enough meetings with the banks,
and not enough review of the financial activities that
were happening within the board itself.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Mr.
Speaker, the information that has been provided to us as
early as last December, which we brought to the
attention of the House, during this whole incident
stated that department officials were removed from their
positions as a result of these financial irregularities.
I ask the minister: Can
you confirm whether either an assistant deputy minister
or director in your department has been removed from
their position as a result of these irregularities?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, this is a
four-person board. Two of the appointments of the board
are nominated by the department. The other two come from
chicken farmers here in Newfoundland and Labrador. The
chair and the vice-chair that are the responsibility for
nomination from the provincial government were
appointees of the former Administration, appointed in
2000. Their terms were up in 2007, and I thanked them
for their service and I made new appointments to the
Chicken Marketing Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Maybe if the minister
could just clarify it for me again, my question was
pretty direct: Was there any
ADM or director who was associated with the chicken
board incident, who was relieved from his or her duties?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources and Deputy
Premier
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: No,
Mr. Speaker, there was no one relieved from their duties
by my department as a result of this review. The two
members that are direct nominees of the Department of
Natural Resources, their term was up and they were
replaced.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank
you.
We learned today that the
minister has now provided a copy of the Comptroller
General’s report to the Auditor General. Now the
Auditor General, as we are all aware, is the watchdog
over public expenditures.
I am
wondering, Minister, have you just asked the Auditor
General to review the Comptroller General’s report, or
have you invited the Auditor General as well to do a
forensic audit, which you could not get done externally
and which was not done properly, obviously, in the first
place?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the Auditor
General is well aware of what his authority is, and he
does not need an invitation from me to do much of
anything. He has certainly been made aware of this
report. He called my department and asked for a copy of
the report. I was more than happy to provide that to
him, as well as access to my departmental officials so
that he understood clearly how this issue came to our
attention, what actions we have taken, and so far early
indications from him are that he is happy with the
actions that we have taken to date.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
My other questions are
for the Minister of Justice.
Mr. Speaker, a couple
weeks ago I questioned the minister about how effective
house arrest sentences were for people involved with the
law, and whether the appropriate monitoring practices
were in place. The minister committed at that time to
getting certain information and bringing it back to this
House.
Yesterday we learned of
another incident, this time in La Scie, where an
individual who was supposed to be under house arrest but
instead was chased through the community by police for
allegedly committing another crime.
I ask the minister: Have
you checked into the issue of monitoring bracelets for
individuals under house arrest, and why it appears that
they are not being used?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Justice and Attorney General.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. T. MARSHALL: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
The Chief Probation
Officer for the Province has made a review of the house
arrest in the Province. There are 168 conditional
sentences at the present time. There are forty-three
bracelets. I understand that fifteen of these bracelets,
these electronic monitoring devices, have also been
ordered, which will increase our number to fifty-eight.
We have thirty-five probation officers, dealing with
about 1,800 to 2,000 cases on average.
From time to time people
will breach the terms of their conditional sentence, and
if people do then they will run the risk of being
incarcerated and imprisoned.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank
you.
It is quite clear, Mr.
Speaker, that the minister was not too apt to provide
the information without being prompted again.
Mr. Speaker, again, this
most recent incident in La Scie happened in the Central
Region where we already have noted there is a lack of
probation officers in the region for the caseload they
are expected to monitor. The caseload in Central is far
too high as per the national average, and it is obvious
that the proper monitoring of those persons under house
arrest is not taking place.
I ask the minister - you
undertook to find out what was happening in Central; we
did not hear back, and we now have another incident - are
there too few adult probation officers in Central to
monitor the growing caseload?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Justice and Attorney General.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. T. MARSHALL: Mr.
Speaker, as I mentioned, there are thirty-five probation
officers dealing with a caseload of about 1,800 to
2,000, which would be an average caseload of fifty-five
to sixty. I understand in Central there are two officers
in Gander. There is only one in Grand Falls-Windsor. I
understand from the Chief Probation Officer, who was
recently in Central to review the situation, that some
cases have been assigned from Grand Falls to the officer
in Springdale and that the assistant probation officer
in Springdale will - I believe it is twice weekly - go
to Grand Falls to assist with pre-sentence reports.
The Chief Probation
Officer is reviewing the entire system and I will be
meeting with her either later this week or early next
week to review what she has discovered and to discuss
with her what her recommendations would be for the
future.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Deer Lake has one medical
clinic. It was built in 1972 as a three-way partnership
between the federal and provincial governments and the
Town of Deer Lake. It today houses the doctors, the
nurses, the dentists, as well as lab and x-ray. This
facility, Mr. Speaker, is in need of repairs and there
have been over 3,000 people who have signed a petition
to have presented in the House by their MHA, which we
have not seen to date.
I ask the minister: Will
government commit to finding the money that is required
to make the necessary repairs to this building to ensure
that medical services can continue to be provided in the
Deer Lake area?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
MR. WISEMAN: Mr.
Speaker, just to make a couple of corrections: number
one, the member opposite talked about a three-party
arrangement. This is a private clinic. This is operated
by an independent corporation in the Town of Deer Lake,
and Western Memorial Health Authority is a landlord in a
building that is owned by them. They made a request very
recently, through their MHA, for some financial
assistance to be able to do some needed renovations to
the building. In fact, the member involved, the MHA for
that district, is going to be meeting with me tomorrow
to follow up on some discussions that he has already
held with the Authority to look at what options might be
available to look at doing something with that
particular clinic.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
The volunteer board that
runs this facility has been coming to government for
over ten years for money to do the necessary upgrades
that are required, Mr. Speaker, and they have gotten
money through those years. In the last two years there
have been other engineering deficiencies identified by
government engineers that require a cost of over
$400,000 to have done.
Mr. Speaker, this issue
has been ongoing for nearly two years, and I
ask the minister today, if he will commit the funds to
have this work done so that the Town of Deer Lake and
the volunteer board will not have to incur the pressure
and the expenditure that they don’t have to, to ensure
that it happens.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: I
can’t speak to it, Mr. Speaker, and no people on this
side of the House can speak to anything that would have
happened ten years ago, that would have happened, I say,
Mr. Speaker, on your watch.
Clearly, Mr. Speaker, I
have been minister for just a little over two years now.
I guess, five or six months into my term I met with my
colleague, the MHA for that area, with the town council
and representatives of the community, toured the clinic
to have a look at what they were talking about and some
of the issues they had, and we had that kind of
discussion with them.
The member for that area
has been working closely with the council and the
committee and, in fact, Mr. Speaker, the committee, I
guess two to three weeks ago, finally provided some
detail on the kinds of renovations that they need, and
the kinds of costs associated with that. The member has
been working with them for a long period of time trying
to clearly identify exactly what was needed, what costs
would be involved, and the extent of the renovations
that are to be done. He now has that in hand and is
meeting with me tomorrow to follow up on that.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
If you go back through
the years, Minister, you can see in your department
exactly where government has invested money in this
facility. It was before you came into power but it was
still seen as a responsibility of government to do this
work.
In the last election you
made commitments in Deer Lake to these people that you
were going to do this work, so I ask you today,
Minister: Now that you are
aware of what the issues are, will government be
forthcoming with the $420,000 that is needed to do these
repairs over the summer?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: She
is talking about making commitments. I guess the next
thing is she is going to blame me for getting their MHA
defeated over there the last time. Clearly, I give that
credit to my colleague, the current MHA for that
district, Mr. Speaker.
As I just finished
saying, the question about being aware of the issue, I
acknowledged having met with the town and
representatives of the committee and touring the
facility and saw firsthand some of the issues they were
raising. Until very recently, Mr. Speaker, the committee
hadn’t furnished the MHA with a detailed listing of
the kinds of repairs that are necessary, and the
associated costs with it. They have made some general
overtures around needing to have financial support, but
we needed to have some sense of understanding of what
that would be, Mr. Speaker. So now I need, as a result
of my meeting tomorrow, we will be following up, the MHA
for the region and myself and the officials of my
department will follow up some discussions with Western
but I needed to fully understand the scope of the work
involved. Now we have some insight, we will be able to
pursue it and have some further discussions.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
The lobster fishery
continues to suffer from low prices and falling demand.
The federal government pledged $10 million on Friday for
marketing and promotion of Atlantic Canada’s lobster
fishery.
I ask
the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture today, if he
has had any discussions with his federal counterpart on
this commitment and what specific activities or
incentives will be provided to lobster fishermen in
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, the Leader
of the Opposition is correct. There was a $10 million
commitment made late last week for marketing of Atlantic
Canadian lobster. Mr. Speaker, the unfortunate thing
about that is that it does very little, if anything, for
the people who are involved in the lobster fishery in
the short term in Atlantic Canada and does very little
to deal with the bigger structural problems that are in
the Atlantic Canadian lobster fishery.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister
of Fisheries and Aquaculture here in Newfoundland and
Labrador and his colleagues throughout Atlantic Canada
have been working aggressively to try and secure a
meeting with the federal Minister of Fisheries and
Oceans on the many issues involved in the lobster
fishery, the crab fishery, and the shrimp fishery in
particular, in Newfoundland and Labrador and throughout
Atlantic Canada and for that matter, Mr. Speaker,
globally as a result of the global recession that we are
facing. They have not been able to secure a meeting at
this point, although they are continuing to work on it,
Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
So what I am hearing from
the minister is that this $10 million federal program
will not be used to offset any of the financial burdens
that lobster fishermen are currently experiencing. Mr.
Speaker, when I questioned the minister provincially on
May 11, he stated that his department was looking at
options to see what could be done to help the struggling
industry in the Province.
So
today I ask him, if he has developed any additional
options for this industry and will the provincial
government be offering some investment or incentive
program to help lobster harvesters this year?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. TAYLOR: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, as the
Opposition Leader would know and as the people of
Newfoundland and Labrador and certainly the people in
the Fishermen’s Union would know, this government has,
over the course of the past three years, on a number of
occasions, tried to work with the industry to solicit a
more aggressive marketing campaign. We offered to buy
the marketing arm of Fishery Products International and
put it in the hands of the industry here for a
collaborative marketing effort. We tried, Mr. Speaker,
just as late as the last six or eight months.
The Minister of Fisheries
and Aquaculture here met with our industry. They put it
to a vote. We were prepared to establish a seafood
marketing council here in Newfoundland and Labrador. We
were prepared to help fund that, Mr. Speaker. We were
prepared to reduce the cost of licence fees so that the
industry could participate in that, Mr. Speaker. All of
those initiatives that our government and our Minister
of Fisheries and Aquaculture have tried to pursue with
the industry, Mr. Speaker, have been met with resistance
in the industry. As it stands right now, Mr. Speaker,
there is a short-term requirement for financial aid for
lobster harvesters in Newfoundland and Labrador. That
request, Mr. Speaker, is in to the federal government
and we wait their response.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
In addition to low
prices, most lobster harvesters, or some recently lost
gear and equipment as a result of poor weather
conditions adding to their financial struggles for this
year.
I ask the minister: Is
there some program within the department that provides
assistance for gear replacement for these particular
harvesters, or will the Province look at designing a
program to help the system in that capacity?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. TAYLOR: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I think I answered that
question about four-and-a-half years ago, if my memory
serves me correctly, when there was a pile of lobster
gear lost on the West Coast. There is no program. There
has not been a program since the late 1970s, Mr.
Speaker, and without getting into it, I think there was
a significant amount of legal action that took place as
a result of some issues, I will suggest, in the
administration of that program and I believe that two
people went to jail over it.
No, Mr. Speaker, we do
not plan on going down that road again.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.
MR. BUTLER: Mr.
Speaker, yesterday I asked the minister about the former
Grand Falls Academy High School in Grand Falls-Windsor,
and the minister informed us that the provincial
government had disposed of the premises by conveying it
to a private individual.
I ask the minister: When
this conveyance of the school to the purchaser was made,
were there any guarantees or disclosures made by the
vendor respecting the asbestos contained in the flooring
and the walls?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Education.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. KING: For
clarity, Mr. Speaker, I think what I said yesterday, and
if I did not I will correct it, that the building was
the property of the school board, not of the government,
and the school board would have disposed of it. It would
have been my understanding and expectation that it would
have been done in keeping with the particular
regulations of Government Services that would have been
required.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.
MR. BUTLER: Mr.
Speaker, I ask the minister: Was
there a process of consultation with the Town of Grand
Falls-Windsor prior to the disposal of assets to ensure
they met with the developmental plans?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Education.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. KING: Mr.
Speaker, I can only say that if the school board
disposed of the assets, they would have had to do so in
keeping with provincial regulations and municipal
regulations. I really cannot speak for the school board
and say what kind of consultation, if any, occurred, but
I can certainly endeavour to try and get that
information if the member wishes.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Member for
the District of Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.
MS MICHAEL: Thank
you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday
the Minister of Health and Community Services was trying
to downplay the systemic issues in our health care
system when I raised questions arising from the recent
event at G.B. Cross Memorial in Clarenville.
Mr. Speaker, we continue
to have events occur that are making the public question
the reliability of Eastern Health’s abilities. At the
very least, Eastern Health seems to have a serious
continuing communications problem.
Mr. Speaker, I ask the
minister if he would tell the House: Did G.B. Cross
Memorial report the recent tragic incident to senior
management of Eastern Health on the day that the near
tragic event occurred?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: I
really wish the member opposite would not try to play
cheap politics with people’s lives and significant
events that are happening to people of this Province.
I did not say yesterday,
nor was I downplaying the significance of any event. For
the member to stand in this House today and suggest that
I said that is totally irresponsible on her part and
playing cheap politics and trying to get a shot at me as
a minister.
It is embarrassing, Mr.
Speaker, to be a member of this House and listen to this
member stand up day after day to try to make cheap
political games out of personal tragedies. Mr. Speaker,
it is embarrassing to be a part of the House and witness
that.
Clearly, I did not say
that in this House yesterday. What I spoke to in this
House yesterday was the significance of the tragedy, and
I stress my condolences on behalf of government to the
family. I was not at all speaking to any issues in the
broader health system. So let’s make something very
clear about my comments yesterday, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Member for the District of Signal Hill-Quidi
Vidi.
MS MICHAEL: Mr.
Speaker, I too am concerned about the family and their
loss, and I too have expressed my condolences to the
family, but the public is speaking out.
Mr. Speaker, the Task
Force on Adverse Events called for a communications plan
to deal with an event that might have the potential to
raise public concern due to unofficial information
circulating about the event. That comes from the task
force report. A relative calling Open Line, as happened
Sunday night, has caused the confusion in the public.
I ask the Minister of
Health and Community Services: Is there a generic
communications plan, as called for by the task force,
that Eastern Health has to deal with public
communication when the adverse event gets out into the
public before they plan it to happen?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Mr.
Speaker, it is extremely important if any health
authority, whether it is Eastern Health or anybody else
for that matter, or the department itself, if you are
going to make public comment, you have to make sure that
you understand what the circumstance might be.
Now, there is an event
that happened at the Cross Memorial Hospital in
Clarenville early Friday morning and there is an
investigation taking place internally with respect to
what might have happened and what might have given rise
to that tragedy. Until Eastern Health is in a position
to have a good understanding of what actually took
place, it is impossible for them to make a public
comment.
Unfortunately, Mr.
Speaker, this government, health authorities, no one has
any control of who may call in to Open Line shows. I do
not think anyone in this House would stand here and
suggest that everything repeated or everything stated on
an Open Line show is a statement of fact. Many people
call in speculating. Many people call in talking about
things as they understand them.
I understand that they
are expressing the views as they understand them, but
they may not be factual. So for the member opposite, or
anyone else in the public for that matter, to be running
with that information as suggesting that it is factual
is totally inappropriate.
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.
What I am doing, I am not
repeating anything that I have heard, I say to the
minister, on Open Line. What I am saying is that concern
was raised. One of the reasons concern was raised is
because people do not have the facts. So, isn’t there
something Eastern Health could do to at least give a
modicum of facts to people?
That is what the task
force talks about, that you can get something out in the
public before the health authority meant it to happen.
What do they do when that kind of thing happens? That is
what I am asking, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Mr.
Speaker, there are some Open Line callers, I understand
that, but the most active voice on this issue is the
member opposite.
I give credit to the
Leader of the Opposition for having the decency and an
understanding of the sensitivity of the issue and not
raising it yesterday and again today, and I commend you
for that.
For the member opposite
to be standing the second day in a row, and going out in
the public domain and the media, she is the single
loudest voice on this issue and it is shameful to listen
to her again stand in this House. I suspect that when
she leaves here she will rush out and have another scrum
and have another comment in the public domain again, Mr.
Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The time allotted for
questions and answers has expired. |
