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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Health damaged the reputation of an air ambulance pilot in this Province. He tried to suggest that the reason they were moving the air ambulance by the end of this month out of St. Anthony was because a pilot refused to fly this past weekend.

Well, Mr. Speaker, what the minister did not say was that this pilot was indeed sick and that this pilot was told only a few hours before he was due to fly that he would have to make a decision within two weeks as to uproot his family and to move if he wanted to keep his job. The other thing the minister did not say, Mr. Speaker, is that the decision to move the plane had been made before the pilot even called in sick on that shift.

I ask you today, minister, to do the honourable thing, to stand and apologize to this pilot and to his family for the accusations that you threw at them yesterday.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Yes, Mr. Speaker, let’s talk about damaged reputations and spurious allegations and let’s look at what the Member for The Straits & White Bay North said yesterday when he talked about Mr. Wes Drodge having been responsible for the death of an individual in James Bay.

Mr. Speaker, we have looked at that report. Mr. Drodge was the CEO of the James Bay Hospital and no responsibility for the air ambulance in that area. Mr. Drodge, Mr. Speaker, operated the land ambulance only. So if we are going to talk of spurious allegations being made against people, let’s look at what happened there yesterday. I note that when the MHA was asked to go out and make his comments publicly, he did not do it then, he backed down.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I ask the minister: Is he intending to apologize to this pilot and to his family for the false accusations he made yesterday?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding, when I look at the information that was provided, that the individual in question refused to fly. Now that is the information that I put out there yesterday. I indicated that there was a situation that had been looked at by Labrador Grenfell Health; they are the authority that deals with this matter. They had spoken to the individual. There had been at least one other incident, Mr. Speaker, that caused us concern. There is no question that the plane – we announced on March 26 that the plane was moving and these individuals were notified recently that the plane would be moving. As a result of what is the emotional and volatile situation that exists in St. Anthony, we felt it best to move this plane as quickly as possible and that is what we are doing.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The minister indicated yesterday that it was because this pilot had refused to work, which we know now was indeed sick, I say to the minister, along with other incidences that prompt him to move this aircraft out of St. Anthony immediately.

I ask you today minister: Tell us what those other incidents are?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Yes, Mr. Speaker.

There was another incident that occurred around the day of the protest - I am informed by the paramedics here who run the air ambulance system - that did not meet with their approval.

Also, Mr. Speaker, there have been a number of other e-mails sent to me by pilots that have been – by one pilot in particular, has been particularly disconcerting. When we look at, Mr. Speaker, that five pilots are moving, and we have a number of them who are obviously refusing to comply with the requests that are being put forward to them, then this is something that Labrador Grenfell has to deal with. I understand, Mr. Speaker, that the Labrador Grenfell authorities have dealt with these individuals. They are personnel issues within the health authority, and I understand that they are satisfied that they have been dealt with and there will not be a repeat.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The minister is fairly cavalier in his attitude, and yesterday he did state that it was this incident over the weekend regarding this pilot that prompted him to move the plane immediately.

I ask the minister today: Isn’t it true that the decision to move this particular aircraft took place even before this pilot called in sick for this shift?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Yes, Mr. Speaker.

Hansard will reveal exactly what I said. I think what I indicated was that there are a number of factors there that required the movement of this plane, and there had been an incident this weekend which caused us concern. Mr. Speaker, the pilots and the other individuals had been notified that they had a number of – I do not know if it is seven or fourteen days to determine if they were going to move with the plane, and it had been indicated, yes, that the plane would be moving by the end of the month.

So I think if you review Hansard, what I said was that there are a number of factors, but this was sort of a factor now that caused us to even move along quicker because of the potential danger to the health care system.

Mr. Speaker, I had, over the weekend, on the day of this incident, received e-mails from the Director of Air Ambulance in the Province and also the Chief of Emergency Medicine in the Province expressing their concern about what had happened in St. Anthony that day.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The minister has stated that he wanted to move the plane quickly to stabilize the situation. In actual fact, he has now further demoralized the system and will be putting a plane in another area of the Province that has no medevac team and is an extra hour flying time from St. John’s.

I ask the minister today: How is this action going to stabilize the system as we see it today?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Yes, Mr. Speaker.

As a result of everything that has taken place since last July, there has been a lot of review and thought gone into the air ambulance system and how it should be best structured.

Mr. Speaker, as a result of the question raised by the MHA for The Straits & White Bay North yesterday, I went back and had some work done on statistics, and it shows that approximately 5 per cent of the flights that pick up the medical flight service team come out of St. Anthony. So the St. John’s aircraft goes with the medical flight service team to most of the requirements in this Province. A lot of them, Mr. Speaker, are routine flights and we know that approximately half the flights had the medical flight service team.

I am currently discussing as we speak, yesterday, and will be again tomorrow, discussing with the people who run the air ambulance system how we can best deal with this situation. When we announced in the Budget that there will be a medical flight service team, it was recognized by all that it would take time to recruit and train the proper personnel.

So, Mr. Speaker, the plane will be in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. We will continue to fix up the system and we are working on solutions as we talk.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The minister also knows that the second air medevac, the aircraft that is based in St. John’s, is currently down and is scheduled to be down for the next few days, even a week, and that this has been a frequent thing that has been happening with this aircraft over the past year.

I ask the minister: Will you confirm that this is indeed the case, and will you also explain to the people of this Province how with one provincial air medevac left in operation today, how moving it to Goose Bay where there is no medevac team, is going to help to support the rest of the Province and provide for a more effective service? Why are you not waiting until the plane, the new plane, is on the ground in St. John’s?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Leader of the Opposition raises a very good point in terms of the problems with the plane in St. John’s. That is an older plane and we announced in this year’s Budget $8 million to replace that plane.

Now, Mr. Speaker, what we will be looking at – we are told by the experts in the air ambulance division of Eastern Health that two dedicated aircraft with a charter service suffices to serve this Province. We have charter airplanes, Mr. Speaker, that are available to us and that we hire on a regular basis. In fact, we spent quite a lot of money on charter aircraft.

In relation to what the hon. member is talking about, Mr. Speaker, I can indicate that as late as yesterday discussions were ongoing to address the issue: if you have two planes, there is one in the air or one down, how do we deal with that situation? We are currently looking at a short-term solution and we may be in a position in the not too distant future, Mr. Speaker, to outline how we are going to provide an efficient and effective service with one plane in Goose Bay and the other plane in St. John’s.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, the minister’s response is evident that he has no clue what he is doing. He is putting the lives of people in this Province in jeopardy, Mr. Speaker. How can he stand in the House today and defend moving an aircraft further north to a site with no medevac team in place at this stage when the other aircraft in the Province is not even in working condition?

I ask you, Minister, to start putting your head around this issue and start making decisions that will provide for the life and safety of people in this Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

Further questions?

The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will ask the question again. You have only one air ambulance plane available to the people of this Province right now. You want to move it further north where there is no air medevac team in place at the present time and where you have an aircraft in St. John’s that is not in working condition.

I ask you, Minister: Why would you do this knowing that you are putting people’s lives in jeopardy?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Yes, Mr. Speaker, by not doing this we are putting people’s lives in jeopardy because I think we have to go back to how all of this began on July 15 last year with the terrible incident that occurred in Labrador West. We have to then move forward, Mr. Speaker, to September and what occurred in Happy Valley-Goose Bay and, most recently, what occurred in Labrador West.

Mr. Speaker, we have identified our risk area - the major risk area right now as being in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, the Labrador West North Coast area. Mr. Speaker, the hon. member opposite presented a petition to this House asking to have the plane moved to Labrador; we have done that.

Mr. Speaker, as pointed out by the MHA for The Straits & White Bay North, there is quite extensive medical personnel in St. Anthony; four anaesthetists in St. Anthony for a population of 14,000 people on the Northern Peninsula; four general surgeons, Mr. Speaker, more than in Grand Falls-Windsor or in Gander.

Mr. Speaker, besides all of that we have put over $12 million in capital equipment in this hospital in the last number of years. There is a hospital there to serve the needs of the people. I would suggest to the members opposite that they should concentrate on that because when you look at the numbers of doctors there, it certainly causes concern.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

If the minister was really concerned about the people in Labrador, he would be adding a third air medevac aircraft in this Province today and not diminishing the service in the way he is.

Mr. Speaker, the minister is telling us today that because he does not like the comments from pilots with the air ambulance services and e-mails and letters in the papers, that he is going to promptly move the plane out of St. Anthony before there is even a medevac team in Goose Bay, before there is even a new aircraft on the ground in St. John’s.

I ask you, Minister: Do you not see how this will jeopardize the service further to the people of the Province?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Mr. Speaker, as I have indicated whether or not the plane is in St. Anthony or in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, the reality is that the medical flight service team would not be in place for approximately eight to ten months to a year; people have to be recruited and they have to be trained.

Secondly, Mr. Speaker, most of the medical flight service flights come out of St. John’s, approximately 95 per cent of those flights, so that they originate in St. John’s.

Thirdly, Mr. Speaker, I have indicated that we are aware of the situation that exists and that we are working on it as we speak. I am in contact with the air ambulance experts at Eastern Health who dispatch throughout the Province, Mr. Speaker. We will take such steps that are necessary. As I indicated, as late as yesterday, we were discussing which charters we use, how do we use them to provide the level of service that is required.

So at the end of the day, Mr. Speaker, this is the right decision. We are making it for the right reasons and when we look at a population of 30,000 people as opposed to 14,000 we look at twice as many flights coming out of Labrador and we look at the risk areas, Mr. Speaker, this is the right decision.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Trevor Taylor, the former high-ranking Cabinet minister in the Williams government recently sent a letter to the Northern Pen. In the letter he stated that the people of The Straits & White Bay North voted against the government and implied that they are now being punished related to the air ambulance decision. This is a very serious allegation being put forward by someone who worked inside this government and very closely with the Premier.

I ask the Premier today: Are the statements made by your friend and former colleague accurate and if not why would this ex-cabinet minister make such statements?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear, this government never has and never will inflict retribution on a district; it does not happen. During my entire life, I watched it happen too much while Liberal governments were in power in this Province -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: - and saw too many communities and people punished for supporting the government. So, in fact, as I have stated before when this decision was being made with regard to the air ambulance, we convened a committee of Cabinet ministers to make sure that there was no partisanship whatsoever went into this decision. In fact, we have indicated throughout - and Minister Taylor has advocated very, very strongly on behalf of his district up there. He has advocated for roads. He advocated, of course, for the air ambulance. He advocated for funds for the bottling plant for the hon. member right now so we could employ people in The Straits &White Bay North.

The hon. the Leader of the Opposition knows very well that we support districts. We support your district. There is a school in L’Anse au Loup. There is a school in Port Hope Simpson. More road money has gone into your district than the entire Province collectively put together, so we do not punish districts.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The former Cabinet minister, Mr. Taylor, also bragged about the investments that he secured as an MHA and left the impression that that would now stop because the people of his district voted against the government.

I ask the Premier: Do you stand by Mr. Taylor’s description of how decisions are made around your Cabinet table?

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, the hon. member opposite continues to speak out of both sides of her mouth. One day this is a one-man show; it is a dictatorship. Another day now she is advocating that because he was a team member and he had a strong voice at the Cabinet table that he was successful in advocating for his district. Well, we are quite proud of the fact that he and every member here, and every member over on that side of the House advocate strongly for their district.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: This morning I met with four members, yesterday afternoon I met with three members to hear specifically, exactly, what they wanted for their districts.

Trevor Taylor was a strong voice at the Cabinet table. He is very proud of his record on the Northern Peninsula, just as Wally Young, the Member for St. Barbe district is proud of what he has done. Everybody here makes a contribution. Everybody advocates for their district. As I have said before, we do not exclude hon. members opposite. To the school in Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi, we do not sit there and say because someone sits on the opposite side of the House that they are going to be punished because that is not a government district.

Trevor Taylor did a good job. He advocated for his district, but certainly no more than any of the other hon. members that join us here in this House.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Taylor, in his letter, also said that he provided the necessary information and arguments to his Cabinet colleagues to keep the air ambulance in St. Anthony.

I ask the Premier: If Mr. Taylor’s information convinced you and Cabinet to keep this air ambulance in St. Anthony over the past several years, why did you ignore the validity of this information once he resigned?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, we come down to the nub and the heart of this. This issue was raised by the Leader of the Opposition. She brought a petition to this House. She asked that this particular service be moved to Labrador. We then conducted a study. I would have to say, quite honestly, that until that study was conducted I did not know where the chips would fall. I had no idea where the preference would be. We now find that St. John’s is number one, Happy Valley-Goose Bay is number two, and if, in fact, there was ever a third air ambulance it would be in Deer Lake. So, St. Anthony has been completely eliminated from the picture as a result of the actions of the hon. member opposite.

While that was happening and while that petition was being brought before this House and while that study was being done, the Member for The Straits & White Bay North, at no time met with the minister or asked for a meeting with any of us.

So, you are the author of your own misfortune. You asked for a solution, we gave it to you and now you are blaming us for it. That is not acceptable.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the Premier, in case he has not noticed, I do not sit at the Cabinet table, I do not make decisions, and I do not own the decisions, Premier, that you make in this Province, and it will be you and your Cabinet that will own that decision.

Mr. Speaker, let me ask this question to the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, because last week we found out, Mr. Speaker, that the remand centre for Happy Valley-Goose Bay was cancelled and the funds were removed from the Budget. Well today, Mr. Speaker, I have learned that the funds allocated to build a new wharf in my district, in Williams Harbour, which had been allocated for the past two years, has now been cancelled and the funds have been removed from the Budget.

I ask the minister to confirm that that is the case, and if so, tell me why that is?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I came into this department in November, Mr. Speaker, and we were in the midst of Budget preparations. One of the issues being brought forward was the Williams Harbour wharf. Take it back to 2007, there were tenders called but the tenders came in 35 per cent over budget, so it was re-tendered again. Two bids were made, Mr. Speaker, the lowest bid, the bidder disqualified himself, backed out of it, and the other bid was of a million dollars, in that particular range. When I found out that the volume of traffic there is about four to five boats that tie up there, I had to question whether this was a prudent investment during this Budget process. I am not saying to the member that I will not bring it forward, all I am saying, Mr. Speaker, is before we are going to finalize something, I want more information to guarantee that this is a worthy expenditure.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to remind the minister that this is a community that is on an island in the middle of the Atlantic with no roads and no transportation network. It is a fishing community whose wharf burnt down, whom your government seen fit two years ago that it should be replaced and made a commitment to the people to do just that.

I ask you today, minister, to continue that commitment and to, at the very minimum, give the people in this community a wharf to dock their fishing boats at.

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, what I have directed officials to do is to see and work with the people in that particular area to see if there are alternatives.

Mr. Speaker, I simply cannot stand and say, yes, here is a million dollars and go to it. I want to make sure that the investment that we make is the best one. So I will have officials work with the community to see if there are in fact alternatives, 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, a front page story in The Telegram today is about fishing company Cold North Seafoods, owned by Daley Brothers, who want to transfer its licence to St. Joseph’s, which will leave another community, Little Bay Islands, very likely having to close up shop.

So I ask the minister: Does the future of this or any other community depending on the fishing industry come into play when decisions such as these are made by the fish licensing board and ultimately approved by your department as the Minister of Fisheries?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, from the statement you would take that a decision is made, and that is very far from the truth.

Mr. Speaker, the fact that it was advertised in the paper on Saturday points to a process that indeed is working, Mr. Speaker. A company has asked to transfer a licence. They have to issue it through the media, through the paper. Proponents, community leaders, community groups have two weeks to submit, it goes to the licensing board, they review all the information and then a recommendation will be brought forward to my office, 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, back during a by-election in 2008 the Town of La Scie on the Baie Verte Peninsula was reassured by this government they would get a shrimp licence transferred from St. Joseph’s. It will soon be two years now and people have yet to see the reality of that promise.

I ask the minister: Why this promise is not fulfilled and if indeed he intends to make good on this commitment?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, the proponent has to put the licence there. We have granted - I cannot tell you specifics to that right now but I can certainly get follow-up information and bring it to the House, 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, the minister has been referencing of late about the evolution of the fishery as the MOU process unfolds and I think we are starting to see the beginnings of that process now with licence transfer requests and so on.

I ask the minister: Given the implications of communities for plant closures and so on, can you reassure these communities that they will be given a voice in the MOU process so they can help decide their own future?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, we had Estimates last night, it generated a few questions it seems.

Mr. Speaker, the MOU process is indeed unfolding. Mr Speaker, I think we are at a point in this Province in the fishing industry where people recognize that things cannot continue as they have always continued. Both parties in this MOU process have admitted to that and they want to work as closely as we can.

Mr. Speaker, if we are going to change or somehow manage the evolution of the fishery in this Province I think that community representation is key because there is not only fish plant owners and harvesters who have a stake here, Mr. Speaker, it is all the communities that are involved and they certainly should have a say in that, and I am welcome and open to any commentary that those groups want to provide.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. DEAN: Mr. Speaker, one of the communities that expressed much concern about the future of their fish plant is that of New Ferolle on the Great Northern Peninsula. This multi-species plant was bought by Deep Atlantic Sea Products, Greg Mullowney, in May of 2009 for $1. This would be the second year now with no production.

I ask the minister: Why has he allowed this community to be held at ransom by this operator, and if Mr. Mullowney allows his licence to lapse, what it will mean for the community whose residents feel like they have been forgotten in this situation?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, I made a commitment to both of the Opposition parties last night in the Estimates. It might be a good thing for them to come over and we will give them a little briefing on the MOU and how it is moving along, and that they might, in fact, Mr. Speaker, come out and support this process. We often hear criticism from time to time. Well, if they had some of the ins and outs of the MOU that they might want to support that process along the way.

In reference to New Ferolle, Mr. Speaker, the MHA, Mr. Young, has certainly met with me on it, the Member for The Straits has raised the issue as well. Our most recent conversation with Mr. Mullowney, he reports to us, Mr. Speaker, that he indeed intends to go in there and operate. Hopefully, the folks in the area will see that rather soon, 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, yesterday the Minister of Natural Resources spoke about regulations and safeguards regarding potential accidents in the offshore and that there will always be risk, but, Mr. Speaker, regulations and safeguards are useless if the worst happens and oil spill containment technology fails in extremely deep water.

Mr. Speaker, there is latent hypocrisy in saying that a review of what happened in the Gulf is required on the one hand and then allowing exploratory oil drilling to ocean depths of 2.6 kilometres on the other hand. How do we know that what is happening in the Gulf cannot happen here?

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier: How can the people of this Province have any confidence that government is serious about protecting lives of workers and our fragile environment?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources and Deputy Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, there is no one in this House or outside of it that would ever be able to tell the member opposite that there is no risk associated with drilling for oil or putting any kind of a ship on the water, whether it is for fishing or for drilling or for whatever.

What we have to do, Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday, is understand that risk as well as we can, understand how we can mitigate that risk, put the proper legislative and regulatory controls in place, and then decide whether or not that is a risk that is acceptable.

That has been done by the federal government, by the provincial government, by other agencies, by certifying third parties, Mr. Speaker, and we have decided in this Province, in this country, in this world, that there are acceptable risks.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to point out to the minister that all of those people in the world that the minister is speaking about are starting to question things now that they cannot deal with what is happening at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.

Mr. Speaker, the government explained yesterday that they will not stop exploratory drilling in the Orphan Basin because it is unlikely a spill will happen in the first place. Today, Chevron is promising to be careful in the wake of the current oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. This kind of thinking is setting us up for a reactive response to a disaster and puts us at great disadvantage.

Mr. Speaker, we know nothing is impossible, and it was that kind of rationale that allowed the S-92 to be approved without a thirty-minute dry run capability. Sikorsky said the likelihood of complete oil loss was extremely remote. Well, we know how remote it was, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the hon. member to pose her question.

MS MICHAEL: I am posing my question, Mr. Speaker.

I ask the Premier today: Will he put a halt to exploratory drilling until we have better information on what caused the blowout on the Transocean rig and how to contain a spill at 2,600 meters deep (inaudible).

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

If there is an answer to be given, I ask that it be put forward now.

The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources and Deputy Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, it is disconcerting to stand in the House and try to answer questions when the member demonstrates such ignorance about what goes on in our offshore.

Any time that you drill a well, whether it is onshore or offshore, Mr. Speaker, you need a blowout prevention valve. Mr. Speaker, not only are they used in exploration wells; they are used also in drilling production wells, which happens in Hibernia all the time.

Mr. Speaker, there is no assurance that we can give to the member opposite, or anyone else, that there will not be something happen in our offshore that is going to have some kind of an environmental impact. Does she want us to shut down all three producing projects, Mr. Speaker - because there is risk there - as well as any exploration work that is going on (inaudible)?

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The time allotted for questions and answers has expired.