MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, on May 25, the Minister of Health stated in the House of Assembly that it could take up to a year before a medevac is stationed with the air ambulance in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. It appears, however, that the minister forgot to advise the people of Labrador.

I ask the minister: Has anyone been recruited to fill these positions, how long will it take to complete the necessary training and when will the medevac teams be stationed on the ground with the plane in Happy Valley-Goose Bay?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Business.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I think when government made the announcement that the airplane would be moving from St. Anthony to Happy Valley-Goose Bay that coincided with an announcement in this year’s Budget, that a new medical flight team would be added to the service this year as a part of this budgetary process, Mr. Speaker, and that is exactly what will take place.

The plane is now moved to Happy Valley-Goose Bay. The staff associated with that plane and that service that was in St. Anthony are now relocated to Happy Valley-Goose Bay, and the process of recruiting that team has started, I say, Mr. Speaker. So, there will be a process embarked upon where the paramedics and the nurses will be recruited and the appropriate training will be provided. When that is concluded, they will be in place and they will be stationed in Happy Valley-Goose Bay where the plane is currently located.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

What the government has failed to give us is some dates and timelines around when that will happen.

Mr. Speaker, over the weekend there were medical emergencies in Labrador that required the air ambulance in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Because there was no medevac team in place the St. John’s air ambulance flew to Labrador to pick up a patient while the other air ambulance sat on the Tarmac in Goose Bay.

I ask the minister: If your plan was so well-thought-out, why is it that the plane in St. John’s is required to travel to Labrador for emergencies while the Goose Bay air ambulance sits on the Tarmac?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Business.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Mr. Speaker, one of the things that are really important to understand here is that the service that was in St. Anthony has now been relocated to Happy Valley-Goose Bay. The plane is now located in a different location. How the service operates, has not changed.

The Opposition is trying to make a story as if we have done something to Happy Valley-Goose Bay that did not exist in St. Anthony. All we have really done is moved the plane from St. Anthony to Happy Valley-Goose Bay, a more strategic location.

Mr. Speaker, while the plane was in St. Anthony over the last number of years, the same method of operation existed. Any time that the medical flight team was needed for a flight out of St. Anthony, the plane came from St. John’s to St. Anthony with the team, and if not, the plane from St. Anthony flew in to St. John’s to pick up a team. The method of operation has not changed, Mr. Speaker, has not changed at all.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The minister knows that in relocating the aircraft without the support services, you have set this system up to fail but, more importantly, you have set up a system that will fail the people who need it, I say to you, Minister.

Mr. Speaker, the minister rushed out with a poorly thought-out decision to move the air ambulance, and I can only say it is like cutting off your nose to spite your face. Today, if the air ambulance is needed in my district, that plane would have to fly an hour and forty minutes to St. John’s to pick up a medevac team, fly an hour back to Blanc-Sablon, fly fifteen minutes to St. Anthony to drop off the patient, fly an hour back to St. John’s to drop off the medevac team and fly an hour and forty minutes back to Goose Bay. Mr. Speaker, this does not include the (inaudible) –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the hon. member if she has a question to pose it now.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I ask the minister: How does this convoluted flight plan make any sense and how does it contribute to improving air ambulance services in this Province?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Business.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Mr. Speaker, one thing we can feel pretty comfortable about, the member opposite is not doing the scheduling for that service.

You can take math and you can make it sound like anything, but one of the things that is very important to understand, Mr. Speaker, not every single time an air ambulance flies does the medical flight team need to fly with it.

In fact, when this service operated out of St. Anthony last year – in 2009, Mr. Speaker, out of St. Anthony - only 50 per cent of the time did that flight leave where a medical flight team was necessary. That is the first thing. That is one statistic, Mr. Speaker, she did not share.

Secondly, Mr. Speaker, only 3 per cent of the time, only 3 per cent of the time last year did the aircraft have to leave St. Anthony and come into St. John’s to pick up the medical flight team. We have no reason to believe that those numbers will change very much because it flies out of Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I do not know even how the government can stand and defend that decision. I say to the minister, it is not about the math, it is about people’s lives and it is about real cases. Let me share with you a real case, minister. Let me tell you what happened yesterday on the Coast of Labrador, in my district.

Eight o’clock yesterday morning, Mr. Speaker, there was a patient who needed an air medevac flight. That patient, Mr. Speaker, was waiting for an air medevac aircraft out of St. John’s that happened to break down in Gander with the medevac team onboard. Then they had to send another aircraft, the one out of Goose Bay, Mr. Speaker, to pick them up. Then they brought the medevac team into Goose Bay. Then they got onboard a twin-engine aircraft and they went…

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I remind the hon. member that Question Period is not a period of debate. If she has a question, I ask her if she would pose it now.

MS JONES: I will, Mr. Speaker – and that patient got medevaced out around 6:00 or 6:30 yesterday evening.

I ask you, Minister: Is this an acceptable service for patients in this Province?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Business.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Mr. Speaker, one of the things that is really important to understand here, the member opposite – it is very important when the member opposite stands that she is reasonable, she is balanced in her commentary, and her questions are based on fact.

The fact is, Mr. Speaker, any comparisons made to the services being provided now need to be made between the service provided out of Happy Valley-Goose Bay versus the service provided out of St. Anthony. In this case, Mr. Speaker, if the plane was stationed in St. Anthony, that would not have changed the plane breaking down. That would not have changed the need to have the medical flight team travel out of St. John’s, because that is exactly what used to happen when it was in St. Anthony. So any commentary made by the member opposite needs to be balanced, Mr. Speaker. Needs to be said in the context of what has actually changed by virtue of moving the plane from St. Anthony to Happy Valley-Goose Bay and that is the only thing she needs to be focusing on.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, but I am not going to get into a debate of pitting one against the other. This is a debate about providing, Mr. Speaker, good air ambulance service to the people of this Province. Minister, I am trying to get you and your government to open your eyes to what you have done to the people of this Province. Moving the air medevac to Goose Bay without a medevac team adds an hour and forty minutes each way to that service.

I ask you again, minister: Can you stand in your place today and tell these people – three cases I know of over the last two days – that that is an acceptable service that they are receiving?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Business.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: When the member opposite raises a question about what this government has done to improve air ambulance service in Newfoundland and Labrador, she fails to recognize and fails to acknowledge that it was this government who has purchased a new plane, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: It was this government who has committed to a second plane, Mr. Speaker. It is this government who has committed to, in this year’s Budget, a second medical transfer team, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: When we start talking about this government’s commitment to improve air ambulance service in this Province, you only need to look at those three commitments in the last two years, Mr. Speaker, that our government has made. So there is no need to stand in this House and lecture this government about whether or not we have a commitment to improve air ambulance services. That is what we have done in this particular case here, Mr. Speaker. We have now more strategically located an ambulance that is now in Happy Valley-Goose Bay and we have one in St. John’s. Any time a plane flies it is only sixty minutes from any destination in this Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The minister knows it does not matter where you relocate that aircraft in the Province; without a medevac team, that particular service is not going to effectively serve the people of the Province.

Mr. Speaker, we understand that St. John’s air ambulance –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS JONES: – is down for service due to a broken windshield. That means the Goose Bay plane is now serving the entire Province.

I ask the minister: How long will the St. John’s plane be out of service and what additional delays will now be added to the response times for the Island portion of the Province as well?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Business.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: The member opposite, in her preamble, made probably the most accurate statement that she has made in this entire Question Period, when she said: It does not matter where the air ambulance is located, if the medical flight team is not there, it changes how you deliver the service. So the reality of it is, as of today there is no difference whether that ambulance is in Happy Valley-Goose Bay or in St. Anthony. When we have the medical flight team in place it will improve the service. We all know that. That is why we made the commitment to do it, Mr. Speaker.

So for members opposite to stand in this House and criticize our government for moving it from Happy Valley-Goose Bay, or from St. Anthony to Happy Valley-Goose Bay as being an inappropriate decision or a poorly timed decision, the member opposite just acknowledged, it is not the location that will improve the service. It is the location - part of the process. Have it in a more strategic location, enhance the services of the flight team, and that is exactly what we are doing, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The only problem with all of that is that it is not necessarily the best strategic location. We need two aircraft, and the minister knows that. We need one in Labrador, we need one on the Northern Peninsula and we need medevac teams in this Province if the system is going to operate properly. The minister knows that, Mr. Speaker –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS JONES: - and he has not answered my question about how long the plane in St. John’s is going to be down.

I ask him again: The plane is out of commission, how long is she out of commission for, minister?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Business.

MR. WISEMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would not want the member’s last statement to go unchallenged, because what she has suggested is that if we need three planes in this Province they need to be in St. Anthony, and they need to be in Happy Valley-Goose Bay and they need to be in St. John’s.

I want to remind the members of this House, that the recent evaluation that we had conducted talking about the location of air ambulances in this Province, Mr. Speaker - the operation was in St. Anthony, the recommendation was to move it to Happy Valley-Goose Bay, and we have done that. If and when we were to add a third, it will be located in Deer Lake and not in St. Anthony.

For the member opposite to stand and start a process or start making public commentary to suggest that a third might potentially be in St. Anthony is irresponsible on her part, establishes an unrealistic expectation that they would deliver that, Mr. Speaker, because that is not going to happen. We have been abundantly clear about that from the beginning. Our commitment, from the very beginning, Mr. Speaker, is to improve air ambulance services to all of the residents of Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The only thing irresponsible here is the government in neglecting to provide an appropriate air ambulance service for the people of this Province. Mr. Speaker, what is even more appalling is that I have asked the minister twice now why the second air ambulance is broken down in this Province and how long it is going to be down for. Obviously, the government knows nothing about it and has no answers because they have not provided any.

Mr. Speaker, Corey Banks, the Director of Air Ambulance Program, recommended that there be a three to five year phase in period of moving the aircraft. Mr. Speaker, by moving the plane prematurely, the proper infrastructure and human resources are currently not in place as is evident over the last couple of days.

I ask the minister: Why did you ignore this recommendation in Corey Banks’ internal report but yet accept all the other recommendations he put forward to your government?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Business.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: I would not want the member opposite to stand and accuse me of not answering her question again. So let me go back to her earlier question around the repair of the aircraft.

Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, aircraft have mechanical problems periodically, but the critical thing is how we respond to that. If you look at the history of our government, any time that planes have had a mechanical failure, which will happen, it is a mechanical device, it will happen –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. WISEMAN: Any time that we have done that, Mr. Speaker, we have had a backup plan. The backup plan is we have arrangements to lease planes. We have arrangements with private airlines to be able to provide a charter for us so we can lease planes. We always, Mr. Speaker, in knowing and recognizing that planes will have mechanical problems we need to have a backup plan.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. WISEMAN: So it is not whether or not planes breakdown, Mr. Speaker, the important thing to understand and recognize is: Do you have a backup plan? The answer is: Yes, we do.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the minister again has not answered the question. The question, of course, is that the internal documents in the Department of Health said that this phase-in period for the relocation of air ambulance could take up to three to five years in order to do it appropriately. So, we have no explanation as to why they did not follow that, but they followed all of the other recommendations.

Mr. Speaker, also we are still waiting for the Department of Health to provide documents related to the air ambulance move. The timelines have already passed. We do not understand why we are not receiving the documents other than the fact that the Minister of Health has refused to sign off on the information and release it to the Opposition.

I ask the minister today if that is what is happening here.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Business.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Mr. Speaker, it is interesting how the member opposite stands day after day, her and her colleagues, talking about reports and internal reports and external reports. We have had criticism of Corey Banks and the Corey Banks report. We have had criticisms of the Drodge report and the recommendations. Then, the next day talked about how the recommendations are the same and similar.

So I say, Mr. Speaker, what is fundamental here is that there has been a very in-depth critique of the air ambulance service in the Province and a couple of different individuals, one - not with the Department of Health I might add, but Eastern Health has made some recommendations and made some observations as a person responsible for that service, as did the independent study we had done. Some of them had similar recommendations, Mr. Speaker. There were similar recommendations from both individual’s perspective and one kind of reinforces the validity of the other.

What we have done, Mr. Speaker, is we have moved forward to implement the recommendations that will see an overall improvement in air ambulance services within this Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To say the recommendations were similar is an understatement, as my colleague said it was more like a photocopy, I say to the minister.

Mr. Speaker, the federal government has announced that they are going to dispose of surplus lighthouses in the Province including some very well-known and historically significant properties. There are already delays in opening the provincially operated historical site at Point Amour, due to an agreement between the federal and provincial governments that have not yet been ratified.

I ask the Minister of Tourism today: What is the nature of the negotiations that have taken place around these lighthouses and associated properties in transferring them to the Province, especially on provincially owned sites?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. FRENCH: Well, Mr. Speaker, let me first say that we are certainly very interested in the Point Amour Lighthouse, and we are in a process of negotiating now for the turnover of that lighthouse to the Province. I think last year they had over 5,000 visitors, and we certainly realize the tourism potential and how much that means for the tourism product in Labrador in itself.

Mr. Speaker, there is also the Bonavista Lighthouse that is also one of our provincial historic sites, so certainly that would be of grave interest to us, should a devolution of lighthouses take place in this Province.

Mr. Speaker, the reality of it is that the federal government has over, I believe, 100 lighthouses in this Province, of which forty or fifty of them are not even active. Mr. Speaker, outside of several of the lighthouses, as a government certainly, we would never be in a position, nor would we or could we, to take over 100 lighthouses in this Province.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Can the minister confirm for me today that there is a negotiation or an agreement to take over the lighthouses at Point Amour and Cape Bonavista, or are they just on a lease agreement between the Province and the federal government?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. FRENCH: Mr. Speaker, this is very important, and a very important question indeed. We talk about the Point Amour Lighthouse - just as recently as before I came to the House, there were conversations had from my department with the people who are involved with the Point Amour Lighthouse. If the hon. member opposite would pay attention and stay in her own district and ask a few questions, she might very quickly find out where we are to with that, Mr. Speaker.

I will give you a prime example of how out of touch she is with the Point Amour Lighthouse and the people of Point Amour. Last week in the Northern Pen, she was chastising government for not doing what we should be doing - chastising us that we were not doing anything right when it came to the lighthouse in Point Amour. However, Mr. Speaker, the gentleman that runs the group down there, the local historical society, says he is not concerned at all. I quote him, "It hasn’t suffered at this point…" - and I will keep quoting him, "Both governments I think are doing the right thing at this moment as it all takes time…" –

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the hon. minister and other members to refrain from quoting documents while asking or answering questions.

The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The minister is all too aware that I have talked to people in my district and I have talked to him on two or three occasions about the lighthouse in Point Amour and what the status is. In fact, Mr. Speaker, up to an hour ago, I talked to people who are affiliated with the lighthouse properties. They are telling me they are still locked off the site. They cannot access the site.

We are two weeks into the tourism season. We understand that any agreement between the federal and the provincial government to take over the properties are now off the table.

I ask you, Minister: Will there at least be a licence to occupy or a lease agreement in place in the next few days so that this site can open?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. FRENCH: Mr. Speaker, I chatted with the member opposite the week before last and I told her to assure – she brought to my attention that people were worried and concerned in her area. I respect that, Mr. Speaker, and I told her at that time to go back to her district and tell them not to worry.

It is in hand, Mr. Speaker, it is going to happen. We realize we are a little bit late this year because the federal government has decided to do business a little different than last year. To paraphrase, Mr. Speaker, to paraphrase the local gentleman down there on the ground: I am confident – I am confident, he repeated - that this Province will be able to take it over before too long.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Other than the Point Amour Lighthouse, which we have no indication from the minister at this stage if they will be taking it over and when they will be taking it over, Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask also about other lighthouses at properties in Cape Spear, Red Bay –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Chair is having great difficulty in hearing the hon. the Leader of the Opposition pose her question. I ask members for their co-operation.

The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am straining my voice here to ask the question. The lighthouses at Cape Spear, Red Bay, Rose Blanche and Ferryland are also other tourism attractions that need to be protected.

I ask the minister: Has the Province looked into taking over control of any of those lighthouses, and if so what criteria will be used to determine which ones in the Province are taken over?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. FRENCH: Mr. Speaker, as minister of this department, we certainly realize the importance of our provincial historic sites around this Province, of which some of them have lighthouses.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. FRENCH: So obviously, Mr. Speaker, as I assured the member opposite, the Point Amour Lighthouse is a significant piece of history, something that has significant potential for attraction to Labrador, to the opposite member’s district.

Mr. Speaker, again, I say –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask members, for the final time, for their co-operation, and to allow the hon. minister to provide his answer.

The hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation.

MR. FRENCH: Mr. Speaker, here we are now with a federal government that is devolving of over 100 lighthouses. We have hundreds of historic churches in this Province, Mr. Speaker. There is no possible way that this government could take over every lighthouse that the federal government has devolved of in this Province. However, Mr. Speaker, we certainly will look at the ones that are important to our historical background in this Province. Mr. Speaker, I will be totally frank here now, totally frank with the people in this Province, there is no possible way that this government can take over 100 lighthouses.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of The Straits & White Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the Gulf turbot fishery opened in 4RSP last Thursday and closed at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday. Immediately following the 8:00 p.m. deadline to have nets out of the water, DFO launched an investigation into charging upwards of twenty-five fishing enterprises in the 4R area, simply for going a few hours beyond the catch close or time limits. These fishermen are stating that inclement weather and insufficient offloading sites delayed them getting back on the water to retrieve their fishing gear.

I ask the minister: If he is aware of these potential charges, and if he or his department is investigating the allegations put forth by the fishermen of the Northern Peninsula, and have you been in contact with DFO or even the minister on resolving this matter?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, yes, I am aware of the situation. I do not know if the hon. member saw my news release that went out this morning, but I am meeting with Minister Shea on Saturday. Mr. Speaker, I intend to raise that particular issue.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of The Straits & White Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The time frame allocated to this fishery is only forty-eight hours for some eighty to 100 boats. The steam line is up to five hours and there are some that are using up to 200 nets and so on. Inclement weather and offloading and so on obviously are additional challenges for the harvesters. Given these factors which hamper fishermen getting the gear out of the water in this forty-eight hour time frame, I ask the minister: What do you intend to request from the federal counterpart when you meet with her in this meeting that you just mentioned?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, prior to the opening of the House this session, I travelled around the Province quite extensively and met with a number of people. I met with some people on the Northeast Coast, with the member from that area, and this was one of the issues that was raised. This turbot fishery, it is a very viable, lucrative fishery for a very short period of time. The fishermen on the ground believe that there could be an increase in quota and science is saying that it is sustainable at its present levels.

Mr. Speaker, one of the things that we certainly have to relay to our federal counterparts speak specifically to science, to ensure that we have accurate science and that proper decisions, correct decisions are made to the benefit of all involved and, in particular, Mr. Speaker, the resource.

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, we certainly support aiding other parts of the world in an emergency, yet we must also ensure we do not leave ourselves scrambling at home in the event of our own emergency. Mr. Speaker, since booms are critical to contain oil from a potential spill in the ocean and since we have learned from media reports that Coast Guard has shipped some of our boom south to assist cleanup in the Gulf of Mexico, Mr. Speaker, I ask the Minister of Environment and Conservation if she knows whether or not the plans for containment of an oil spill in Placentia Bay are adequate for keeping oil from hitting the Province’s shoreline?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JOHNSON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, if the member had not asked me, I was certainly going to rise on Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given, because I committed yesterday that I would contact the Coast Guard and I had done that, Mr. Speaker -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS JOHNSON: - and they informed me that they did deploy 600 metres of boom. There is still 750 metres of boom remaining. There is also a single side sweep booms of 500 metres and there is also 8,000 metres of thirty-six inches of inshore boom available. So they have assured me that the capacity is available within the Province to respond to a spill should there be one here.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL: Mr. Speaker, I do thank the minister for coming up with those answers today. It is important information that we need to have.

What I would like to know though now, as a follow-up to that: Is she, in her department, going to meet with these agencies to discover whether or not in general - not just now at this moment, but in general - what they have in place is adequate if an oil spill happened in the Placentia Bay? Is what they have in place adequate to keep oil from reaching our shorelines, taking into account the wave movement in that bay, the islands in that bay et cetera?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JOHNSON: Yes, Mr. Speaker.

As I said yesterday, while it is not in the jurisdiction of the Department of Environment, I also said that we certainly consult with our counterparts on the federal level, at the Coast Guard, at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Mr. Speaker, and certainly Transport Canada. The oil spill plans are certainly in place. They have required times. Certainly, the oil companies are required to have a certified oil spill response organization in place and they are also required to have oil spill emergency plans and contingency plans in place. There are very stringent rules. It is a very strict regime.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS JOHNSON: There are certainly timelines involved in terms of tier one, tier two, and tier three responses.

Mr. Speaker, in terms of the exercise and the training that is done, I am told that in every instance they have certainly exceeded the timelines required to address an oil spill.

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, one of the greatest treasures of this Province is our marine wildlife. Recently, experts have been raising the alarm that the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will have dire effects on our migratory bird population which could devastate, for example, Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve.

Mr. Speaker: Will the minister immediately strike a committee of independent experts to monitor and make recommendations on what we can do to save what we can of our natural heritage in the face of this growing environmental disaster now spreading throughout the Atlantic?

MS JONES: A good question.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JOHNSON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I do agree with the Leader of the Opposition who just shouted it was a good question, and it is a very good question. We are all concerned about the environment, not only people in this House but people outside this House. We see what is happening in the Gulf right now, and, Mr. Speaker, it is an absolute disaster and one that we hope we would not want to see here.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS JOHNSON: Mr. Speaker, we meet regularly with the federal government. We participate on REET, which is the Regional Environmental Emergencies Team, Mr. Speaker. The Canadian Wildlife Service has an oil spill response plan in place, and, Mr. Speaker, as part of the REET organization they can draw on –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MS JOHNSON: Mr. Speaker, if I could have the opportunity to continue. This is a very serious issue and the Leader of the Opposition continues to mock me when I say that the environment is of a serious concern. It certainly is of a serious concern.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the hon. the Leader of the Opposition for her co-operation.

The Chair continually rises here and asks for co-operation. The Chair is going to have no other choice but to start naming members who continue to shout while answers are given or for members to continue to shout while questions are being asked.

I will give fair warning right now that the Chair will not be standing any more and giving four or five warnings, but will ask the hon. members who are causing disorder to immediately apologize or the Chair will not recognize the hon. members who are causing the disorder until they apologize to the House. Gone are the days that the Speaker is going to ask people to leave the Chamber. It is playing into the political hands of the people who are causing the disorder, but the people who are causing disorder will remain invisible to the Chair until there is an apology issued.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: I ask the hon. minister to kindly continue with her answer.

MS JOHNSON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we see, time and time again, that the Leader of the Opposition tries to make this political, and this should be so far from any political stripe. Every single political party should be concerned about what is going on in the Gulf. We certainly are, in this government. I can assure the member, the Leader of the Opposition, that we do meet regularly. REET is an excellent organization.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Chair is reluctant to do this. The Chair just rose and asked the hon. member for her co-operation. The hon. member continues to shout disorder. I ask the hon. member to immediately apologize to the Chair for causing disorder in the House, and I ask the hon. member to do it now.

The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I apologize for any disorder I may have caused in the House.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation, to now conclude her answer.

MS JOHNSON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Just to conclude, I want to assure the Leader of the Opposition that we do meet regularly. There is a lot of consultation that goes on with the federal government, the Coast Guard, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Mr. Speaker. We take it very, very seriously. It is an issue that we do not want to see happen here, and (inaudible)

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The time for questions and answers has expired.