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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In august of 2008, we asked the Minister of Health to investigate the unnecessary supply of oxygen cylinders to a government client. Information provided to us indicated that a supplier was charging government for oxygen tanks that were never required nor used by the client. A report was finally received in March of 2009 and we asked for additional follow up. We have sent three additional requests to the minister but we have not received a response on this matter.

I ask the minister today: Can he provide us with an update on the status of this investigation?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Yes, Mr. Speaker.

I am not familiar with the situation that the member talks about. It is certainly something we will look into and I will try to determine the status of the matter. I can indicate, Mr. Speaker, that in our department we certainly pay close attention to how monies are being spent, especially how they are being spent or not spent in the regional health authorities.

What we are doing, Mr. Speaker, and one of the things I am going to look at over the next period of time is to have our officials look at the regional health authorities in terms of: Are they spending their money as efficiently and as effectively as possible?

Mr. Speaker, in terms of health care, we spend $2.7 billion in the health care system and I do not think it is only a matter of, the solutions to the health care system or the problems we have arise from the spending of money. Certainly, any issues raised by - like the one raised by the member today, are ones that we will look into and certainly determine if the money is being spent properly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I did send letters to that minister on October 28, 2009 and on February 18, 2010.

Mr. Speaker, the report showed that the supplier in question provided 148 cylinders to a government client in ten months. Meanwhile, the client says she never used one of them. They sat in her basement from the time they were delivered until they were picked up. The supplier in question charged government thousands of dollars for this client. We received additional information which we forwarded to the minister in June, 2009, that this same supplier was pulling this scam with other government clients.

I ask the minister today: How much money has this cost the taxpayers of the Province, and has this practice now stopped?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Yes, Mr. Speaker.

It sounds to me – and I do not mean to put words in the member’s mouth, but it sounds to me like she is accusing someone of fraud and trying to defraud the government of money. She uses a word like a scam and I can only suggest that if she is going to make allegations like that, that she should be able to support the same. If she is in the possession of the information that she has, perhaps she should be sending it to the police.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I say to the minister, it was brought to the attention of your department in 2008 and you did do an investigation. You did not finish the job and we have been the last year-and-a-half trying to get the answers that we need. If you were up on your files, minister, you would know exactly what I am talking about today.

The supplier clearly overcharged the government for oxygen tanks that were not required by government clients. The report stated that there was no clear or objective documentation available to track the client’s use of E cylinders.

So, I ask the minister: What measures have now been put in place to ensure that this type of practice cannot occur again?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Yes, Mr. Speaker.

I cannot speak to everything that took place in the department prior to me becoming minister, but what I can assure the member opposite, that we have made significant changes in terms of the way things are monitored in our office and in the finance division especially.

Mr. Speaker, if the member opposite is accusing someone of criminal conduct then I can certainly suggest that she contact the police. Certainly, if you are going to use words like scam and if you are going to use words like the kind that she has been using today, then that is very serious language to be using in the House of Assembly and I suggest she use it outside.

Mr. Speaker, in terms of being up on files, what I am up on, Mr. Speaker, is significant files in our department that I have demonstrated day by day in this House of Assembly. Unfortunately, Mr.Speaker, with a $2.7 billion budget I cannot be aware of everything that happens, nor can I be aware of everything the regional health authorities do.

Mr. Speaker, what we do in this department is monitor the monies that are spent, pay close attention to the Auditor General’s report and…

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is nothing only a defensive response from a defensive minister who does not know this file and what is happening in his department, because, minister, it is not about two years ago. It is about the letters that went to your department, under your watch when you were the minister, outlining this entire situation.

Mr. Speaker, two years ago when government introduced the new home oxygen policy under the special assistance program it allowed government clients to receive portable oxygen and the policy also allowed a set number of oxygen tanks for each client each month. Three of the health boards are applying the policy consistently and providing the maximum number of oxygen cylinders that the policy allows, but, Mr. Speaker, urban Eastern Health is not following this policy.

I ask the minister: Why is the same policy being applied differently within the same health organization?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am not being defensive about anything. I am indicating that I am not familiar with the situation that is being brought to my attention by the Leader of the Opposition. It is something that I certainly will check into.

In fact, Mr. Speaker, one of the things I have tried to do, since I have been Minister of Health, is to be very proactive, to deal with issues that arise and to address them before they become a crisis situation. The member opposite presented a petition to the House of Assembly asking to have the air ambulance moved to Labrador. We did that, Mr. Speaker. That is an example of listening to the Opposition, of listening to a concern that was raised and dealing with it in a proactive manner.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I was asked by the Opposition House Leader in relation to wait times. I indicated that certainly we had made some progress, but there are other steps that need to be taken. We are willing to look at the steps that need to be taken to do that.

So, Mr. Speaker, it is not a matter of being defensive by saying that I am not familiar of every file that goes on in the health departments; it is a $2.7 billion budget. I have indicated, Mr. Speaker, that if the member opposite wishes I will certainly forward her letters to the RNC and I will also discuss the matter with Eastern Health (inaudible).

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Very shallow answers, I say to the minister. Also, Mr. Speaker, to indicate for the record in this House, and Hansard will show that I have never presented a petition in this House asking to move an air ambulance out of this Province.

Mr. Speaker, let’s get to the issue at hand because it is a serious issue. Health boards are not applying the policy across the board, although it has been a government regulated decision.

I ask the minister today: Why is it that Eastern Health in their rural areas are allowing patients to have the maximum number of oxygen cylinders, but in urban Eastern Health they are not applying the policy the same? I ask the minister why that is the case.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Mr. Speaker, as I have indicated on a number of occasions we will check into it.

Mr. Speaker, the health department is huge; the health budget is huge. What I recognized, as minister, when I became minister, was that we cannot solve all of the problems at once. So what I have tried to do, Mr. Speaker, as minister, is identify a number of priorities which we are addressing. The issue of the wait times is one we addressed in the Budget this year with $4.7 million, and I have indicated that there are further steps that will be taken.

We have identified, Mr. Speaker, mental health and addictions as a significant priority and we are dealing with that. We have identified enhancing rural health care, we are dealing with that. Cancer care, Mr. Speaker, we are dealing with that. We have also identified wellness as being a priority.

So what I am trying to do is to be practical, to set goals that can be met, as opposed to this wide-ranging review of the health care system, which would be cumbersome and take forever and tell us that which we already know. I am trying to identify priorities and deal with them. That does not mean, Mr. Speaker, that I have all the answers.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, it is all a priority when it is a submitted to the office, it just does not get followed up on. A patient in the Central Region is entitled to and would receive ten E oxygen tanks, for example, yet the same person in St. John’s urban area may only get two because that is what Eastern Health urban is deciding, regardless of what the provincial government policy is.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the minister: Why are these decisions being made inconsistently between these health boards when there are policies out there that speak to it in a different way?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The role of the Department of Health is to look after the provincial policy and trying to set policy in priority areas, Mr. Speaker. Under the Regional Health Authorities Act, the health authorities deal with the operations.

Now, what the member opposite is describing is an operational issue that is looked at by health authorities on a daily basis. Mr. Speaker, we set, for example, the priorities or the policy in relation to the Prescription Drug Program. We deal with issues in relation to cancer care. It is up to the regional health authorities as to how they deliver these priorities in each region.

Mr. Speaker, we have four CEOs, in terms of dealing with the regional health authorities, in Eastern Health, Central Health, Western Health and Lab-Grenfell. These CEOs are in charge of running these health authorities like a company, like a business. Mr. Speaker, as the Minister of Health, I cannot be delving every day into the operational issues. If there is an issue raised, we will check into it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Whenever government brings forward policies like this and those policies are supposed to be done across the board, I do not see why there should be exemptions in one organization.

Mr. Speaker, a doctor’s prescription is required for portable oxygen. We understand that there have been occasions when urban Eastern Health have actually ignored these prescriptions, even though the policy states that they are entitled to the home oxygen and associated funding.

I ask the minister: Why are oxygen prescriptions being ignored, and what is this government doing to ensure that clients receive the oxygen that they require and are entitled to under your own policy?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, with a $2.7 billion budget, there is a lot of good news. There are a lot of things that we are doing right in this Province, and there are issues that we have to work on, such as reducing wait times. Later on this afternoon, I will announce the injection of more funds into mental health and addictions, in terms of community groups out there who need help.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: So, Mr. Speaker, the member opposite can criticize and she can find things to be negative about.

Let me give you an example, Mr. Speaker, of a country the size of Tanzania in Africa – 41 million people. They have a health budget of $750 million. Here we are, living in a Province with a population with 508,000 people and we have a health budget of $2.7 billion. So, Mr. Speaker, it is again, is the glass half empty, is the glass half full? On this side of the House, the glass is half full, on this side it is half empty, and that is why there are four of them over there.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am sure the people in the homes who need the oxygen would be much more concerned about getting it than they would be about Tanzania or anywhere else right now.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Minister of Environment stated that she would be speaking to the Minister of Transport Canada today regarding changes that were made in April to tugboat regulations in Placentia Bay.

I ask the minister if she has had an opportunity to speak with the minister so far today, and if so, has he provided you with an explanation to the rationale behind that decision and the impact it may have on safety and oil spill response in Placentia Bay?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JOHNSON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we have not had an opportunity to have a call with the federal minister yet, but what I did do was I contacted a senior executive at the North Atlantic refinery. I spoke to him personally and asked for some clarification around this.

What was explained to me – and again, I still want to speak to the federal minister – but what was explained to me was that they sought clarification around the Maritime transportation regulations in two areas, both in escort duties and in harbour duties. The response that they received is that for escort duties out in the harbour, there are four people required. They currently had three people, so they increased that from three to four people. For in harbour duties, which involve product docking and undocking of product vessels, the minimum requirement there is two. They historically had three; temporarily had four, but they are maintaining three. They did not reduce it to the minimum requirement of two.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.

MR. BUTLER: Mr. Speaker, members of the Save Our People Action Committee met with three ministers yesterday regarding the moose problem in our Province. They were very disappointed with the lack of progress made at this meeting and were not pleased with government’s response. This is not a new issue. It has been discussed very publicly for years, especially during the past twelve months as more and more moose-vehicle collisions are taking place.

I ask the minister, Mr. Speaker: Why is government taking such little action to address this problem and refusing to implement some of the options brought forward by SOPAC?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JOHNSON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, as I said, we had a really good meeting and, in fact, I heard an Open Line caller this morning who was at the meeting. She thought the meeting went very well and that there was good information sharing and so on.

To say we have not done anything, Mr. Speaker, is totally unfair. In February of this year, we announced a suite of programs. We extended the season by three weeks. We made some announcements on Sunday hunting. We increased the licences. We talked about the brush cutting. Mr. Speaker, one of the most important things we talked about is the five-year moose management plan, and we committed to doing consultations.

However, as I said, it is great for information flow. The young lady who was on Open Line this morning had some great suggestions at the meeting. She talked about incorporating being moose aware into the Young Drivers program. We thought that was a fabulous suggestion and one that we are following up on. She also talked about tourists coming into the Province and how we can better advertise where moose are to them, in terms of on the boats and so on. So we are doing that, but we can always -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.

MR. BUTLER: Mr. Speaker, I have to say, the time for sharing and talking is over. What the people need now is action.

Mr. Speaker, the government committed to SOPAC that they would develop an inventory with statistics showing where moose-vehicle accidents are taking place in the Province. The group was very disappointed that this information was not even completed for yesterday’s meeting.

I ask the minister: Why hasn’t government been able to develop an inventory showing dangerous sections of our highways where the majority of moose-vehicle accidents are taking place in this Province?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JOHNSON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to accidents and all of the circumstances around accidents and the factors involved, the time of day, all of that information, Mr. Speaker, lies with the RCMP. So we have been having discussions with the RCMP trying to collect that information and have a data base. Mr. Speaker, that takes time, because the way the RCMP record their statistics on accidents are not in the form that we need them in today. There was a member of the committee that fully understood that because she had made contact with the RCMP herself and she understands that it takes time. We are committed to doing it. We are committed to working with them, but, Mr. Speaker, certainly the RCMP is the holder of that information and we are working with them to get that information and to pass it over to them as we receive it.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.

MR. BUTLER: Mr. Speaker, it is estimated that there are over 120,000 moose in the Province. Every year thousands more are born and the moose population is increasing.

I ask the minister: Do you feel there are too many moose in our Province, and are you looking at reducing those numbers to a more manageable level?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JOHNSON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As I mentioned, we did increase the number of licenses this year by 2,154. Mr. Speaker, we saw an area where there were about 1,514 licenses that were not being utilized, so we transferred those to the resident population. It is really interesting, I showed the committee and I provided them with the maps that show that these unused licenses, really a lot of them are along the Trans-Canada Highway and a lot of them were in Central Newfoundland. We also increased it by 590 as per our population surveys and we put another fifty licenses into the charitable organizations.

Mr. Speaker, one of the key things we committed to is the five year plan and the consultations around that. That is an opportunity for the public to have input anywhere from, anything I have heard in terms of either sex licenses, to less moose management areas, to reducing the number of moose. It is wide open and we are willing to consider any and all options put forward.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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 people of Jackson’s Arm were hit hard by the sudden news that their shrimp plant would not be opening this session, leaving 120 workers without work. Yesterday, bureaucratic representatives from HRLE, Municipal Affairs, and also from the College of the North Atlantic were in town to meet with those affected to discuss retraining options. While workers appreciated this information session they wondered why the company and probably the fisheries minister or their MHA were not also present to provide some news on the future of their plant.

I ask the minister today: What assurances have you secured from the company that the Jackson’s Arm fish plant will reopen next year?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Immediately upon hearing that the plant in Jackson’s Arm would not be open this year, I spoke to the respective ministers and we put in place a team. In conjunction with the member from the area, we then had these people go into the town and set up and work with these people, as the member opposite has indicated.

We have no indication from the company that they will not be open next year. Mr. Speaker, we can only operate on the premise as to where we are now. If that should be the case, we will continue to work with the people and the community to find a resolution, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. DEAN: Mr. Speaker, these workers already had a short working season last year. Many of them will run out of their employment benefits by July or August. Yet, government is only offering make-work programs that will begin by September or October, so there will be a gap without income for these people.

So, I ask the minister: Are you prepared to put in place a more substantive package that addresses the real need of these people so they will not run out of their income and will not have to work for programs that offer just the minimum wage?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, just as we have done in other communities that were impacted like this, we will do exactly the same in Jackson’s Arm. We offer those supports. We have gone in there on the ground to work with these people and, Mr. Speaker, we will do what we can to find a resolution to the issues that have been raised.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. DEAN: Mr. Speaker, I would suggest that what has been done in other communities has not been enough, these communities have said so, and that there needs to be a more substantive program.

Mr. Speaker, we have seen the federal government cut the Gulf shrimp quota in Area 6 by 28 per cent. We have seen the Northern cod quota cut by 40 per cent. We have seen the Southern Gulf quota cut by over 60 per cent. Additionally, we have had a shortened turbot season. We have seen a dismal lobster season and it just seems to continue. Many are expecting that coming next year there will be even more cuts in our resource quotas.

So, I ask the minister: Is there a plan with the federal government to deal with these continued cuts in our quotas and address a fisheries crisis that is threatening to crush and depopulate the rural parts of our Province?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, I have to speak, firstly, to the comment that he led in with, that we have not assisted with communities and they have not been successful. I would ask him to go and speak to some of the people in Arnold’s Cove, Mr. Speaker, where we did intervene. Where we continued to work with the community of Harbour Breton, and diversifying in the aquaculture field.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, you can be the pessimist or you can be the optimist. It looks like these are the pessimists. We on this side, are very optimistic, Mr. Speaker. We look at other opportunities, and that is what we will do in Jackson’s Arm and other communities around the Province.

Secondly, Mr. Speaker, just recently I met with Minister Shea, with our officials, and I am going to try and make this answer clearer than it was in the paper the other day. Mr. Speaker, we did raise the issues around shrimp, the cod quotas, and the impact that these quota cuts are having on these communities. The important thing that we stressed, Mr. Speaker, was that we have accurate science. We are not disputing the issues that have been raised but we want accurate science.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

My question is for the Minister of Transportation and Works.

Mr. Speaker, the Gallipoli, which services Grey River, Burgeo and Ramea, particularly Grey River for vehicular traffic, has encountered mechanical problems that have forced residents to keep their cars in the community. The minister has been trying to help out in this situation. However, there are several other individuals who need their vehicles to travel to medical appointments as early as this weekend.

I ask the minister: Are there any options that might be available to these people so that they are able to get their cars out of the community so they can keep these urgent medical appointments that were booked months ago?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HEDDERSON: Yes, Mr. Speaker.

We have run into some difficulties with the Gallipoli, in the sense that one of her thrusters is not working properly and therefore cannot dock safely in Grey River. We have the Challenge One that is providing service, and we are trying to make arrangements now with the people concerned to move their vehicles out of Grey River into Burgeo so that they can basically take care of their business, medical appointments and so on.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

For the minister’s information, I realize they have been trying to move the vehicles with the Challenge One, however, all accounts down there, mariners and residents alike say that she is not capable or fit to be used for transport of vehicles. First of all, you might get them on in Grey River but you cannot get them off in Burgeo. There is no way to remove them. So that is an obvious logical issue that we have here.

Mr. Speaker, recent problems with the ferry system on the Southwest Coast are creating significant havoc as well for commuters in the area of La Poile and Grand Bruit. They use The Challenge One there which has a capacity to carry forty people normally. However, that ferry has been taken off the run, I believe put down on the Grey River run, and replaced with The Marine Eagle which only has a capacity of twelve people.

I understand this matter has been brought to the minister’s attention as well and I am wondering: What plans are in place to address this capacity problem for the people of La Poile?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HEDDERSON: Mr. Speaker, the challenge that I have as minister, of course, is the availability of vessels – they are in refit or wherever. In this particular case, we know that Grand Bruit is closing or resettling, and basically we know as well that over 90 per cent of the time, the passenger load on that particular run is less than fifteen.

So we feel that we can adequately service it with the vessel right now, but of course in the future with our new ferries and that, obviously the numbers will be thirty-five or greater which would certainly solve that particular problem. Right now, it is the availability of vessels, Mr. Speaker.

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.

Mr. Speaker, no government in this Province’s history has ever committed to allowing its elected members to do the work elected members do in every other Legislature in the country. Every province but Newfoundland and Labrador has standing committees where draft bills are publicly discussed and debated before going to the Legislature.

Mr. Speaker, the people of this Province are entitled to have their elected members work in open and transparent committees which address the important issues of this Province.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier: Will he instruct his government to begin the process necessary to bring the work of this House of Assembly up to a national standard?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, the workings of the House of Assembly is certainly guided by the Members of the House of Assembly and we have a Standing Orders Committee that is certainly doing a review of the Standing Orders in this House. We will have the opportunity to receive that report and certainly have an open and full debate in the House.

What is also important, Mr. Speaker, and certainly very important to this government, is when we bring legislation or matters of public importance or public policy decisions that are rooted in legislation into the House of Assembly, we certainly do a full and open consultation process before we do that. Whether we look at things like the Human Rights Act, or we look at animal health, or we look at the workings of Child, Youth and Family Services and the new legislation that went along with that department.

Mr. Speaker, it is very important that the public are involved and we have certainly, as government, demonstrated that we see this as a priority for us. The legislation that we bring forward is certainly reflective of public consultations.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

The minister has a different understanding of open consultation than I have.

Mr. Speaker, in the other Legislatures in this country, public committee meetings, all-party members of their Legislature publicly allow concerned and interested members of the public to present their views on important issues in a public and official way to all members of the Legislature who are on that committee.

Mr. Speaker, this government claims it is committed to open and transparent government. When is it going to see that just them sitting with people by themselves having their consultations is not open and transparent? Will this government support a truly democratic process, Mr. Speaker?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I guess it is important to note that when we do public consultations and we hold public meetings across Newfoundland and Labrador that they are not closed. Any member of the House of Assembly who is in that district or wants to go to another district they are more than welcome to attend those meetings. We usually have a member from the House of Assembly or a minister there, parliamentary assistant, we also ensure that there are officials there, that there is accurate note keeping and records made of the information. We take that information; we evaluate it as we develop policy and legislation around that.

Mr. Speaker, there are times when some groups may want to speak to us privately. They are not comfortable in a public forum. We will also entertain that as well. Mr. Speaker, when we do public consultations across this Province they are certainly open and transparent, recorded and that information is used in our decision-making processes.

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.

The minister knows as well as I do that very few pieces of legislation that come to this floor are part of public consultation. Mr. Speaker, this House of Assembly –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MS MICHAEL: Public consultation, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, this House of Assembly has been recorded as having the fewest sitting days of any provincial Legislature in the country. In addition, there are no opportunities for the existing standing committees that are in our Standing Orders to debate legislation. As a result of this we are pushing through legislation without full discussion by either the full public or MHAs.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the minister: Will she see that standing committees, as she can see, by the way, she is given the power in these Standing Orders, will she direct that standing committees function as they are outlined in the Standing Orders of the House of Assembly?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, today represents day forty-one in this particular sitting of the Legislature. Also, Mr. Speaker, I can provide statistics that will show that the highest number of days that this House sat from 1996 until today, prior to this government, prior to this government in 2003 was thirty-two days. This government has sat thirty-five days, thirty-eight days and forty-three days. So, Mr. Speaker, when you compare back to 1996, this government has sat longer than the governments previous here in the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS BURKE: Can I conclude -

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the hon. minister to conclude her answer.

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, not only that there are thirty-one pieces of legislation passed in this sitting and some with very considerable public policy decisions reflected in that legislation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The time allotted for questions and answers has expired.