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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, on the Open Line program this morning in responding to a private member’s motion that government has on the Order Paper relative to the energy corporation’s decision out of Quebec, the Minister of Government Services and Lands indicated that it was perfectly acceptable to debate a motion and vote on it even though he had not read the material relative to the issue.

I ask the minister: Is this how you run your department in making decisions based on what you are told, never reading the information or the material for yourself?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition is right in that we put forward a motion to be debated in private members’ day tomorrow with regard to the Régie ruling in Quebec.

Mr. Speaker, when we got that decision last week we invited members of the Opposition to a briefing provided by Nalcor to explain the gist of that ruling. Subsequent to that, the Leader of the Opposition asked for an English translation. We had hoped to have it by now and have it in their hands earlier this week. We do not have it, Mr. Speaker. It is not going to be available today. We do not expect members of the Opposition to debate a resolution without all of the relevant information, therefore we have withdrawn. We will put it back on the agenda again, Mr. Speaker, as soon as the English translation is available.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, since the Deputy Premier has risen to speak for the Minister of Government Services and Lands on this issue maybe she will answer the other questions as well. She is right; she did inform us late this morning that they would withdraw the motion this afternoon. However, Mr. Speaker, I have to question why two backbenchers in the government would bring forward a motion that they had little or no information regarding, Mr. Speaker, and why would the Minister of Government Services and the Minister of Business go to the public airways and defend the fact that government would make this decision without proper information?

I ask the minister: Is it standard practice within her government to make decisions on the blind?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, this is a very significant issue for this government and we do not rely only on the English translation to get our information. Our Cabinet has been briefed on a regular basis on this issue, on the grounds before we laid the complaints with the Régie, on what happened during that whole process of the hearings. Mr. Speaker, they were briefed when we got the results by Nalcor and by Nalcor’s legal team.

Also, Mr. Speaker, within our departments we have the capacity to translate ourselves the documents that came out of the Régie. The official translation requested by the Leader of the Opposition and promised by the Premier is not yet available, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I do not put a lot of credence into briefings, I say to the minister opposite. We got briefings from your government on Abitibi as well, and then we find out you expropriated a mill and liabilities around the environment which we were told were not part of the deal, Mr. Speaker. So forgive us if we want to see the information and read it ourselves.

I ask the minister again, Mr. Speaker: When that motion was being tabled in the House of Assembly yesterday I was receiving an e-mail on my BlackBerry from the Premier’s office telling me there was no English version of this available. Why would you even bring a motion to the House of Assembly to be voted on when you had no English copy of the information to be circulated for the debate?

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, talk about accuracy of information that is presented here in the House. When we expropriated the mill in Grand Falls-Windsor, even though we did it inadvertently, we did not take on the remediation responsibilities for that site. That has been pointed out to the Leader of the Opposition a number of times, and had she been familiar with legislation that was probably brought in under your own Administration, you would know that to be the truth. They did know it when they were in power, Mr. Speaker, they certainly do not know it now.

With regard to the other issue, Mr. Speaker, we did not have it when the phone call was made yesterday looking for it. We hoped to have it yesterday. It is not available. A decision was made this morning, Mr. Speaker, to withdraw this motion in the House.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It just goes to show that this government makes decisions on the blind. They make it based on what they are told, not what they actually have in their hands, Mr. Speaker, and that is the kind of law-making decisions that we are seeing in this Province today.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday in the Budget Estimates Committee, the Minister of Natural Resources advised that there is currently no capacity to transmit extra power to the Avalon Peninsula with our current transmission infrastructure. Using our current lines, power from hydro projects such as the Exploits can only be transported as far as Sunnyside. This came as somewhat of a surprise to me, Minister, since I have heard your government talk about, on a number of occasions, reducing the amount of power generated at Holyrood with clean energy.

So I ask the minister today: What is the issue that currently prevents excess power from being shipped onto the Avalon Peninsula?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Deputy Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, again we have further evidence of the knowledge that was held by these very people who sat in government. The situation we have with the infrastructure coming on the Avalon Peninsula did not occur in the last seven years. This has been the situation with regard to our infrastructure and with regard to Holyrood for a number of years.

Yes, especially when we talk about development of the Lower Churchill, we talk about bringing clean, green energy to the Avalon Peninsula, and we will no longer require the facility at Holyrood. Until we make a decision, Mr. Speaker, on the Lower Churchill project, we will not be making significant and expensive repairs to the infrastructure because we do not need them at this point in time, and we are not going to spend good money after bad.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

She has not told us what the problem is, so I do not know if she does not know or she just does not want to tell us.

Mr. Speaker, we do know that with the closure of the Abitibi mill in Grand Falls-Windsor there is eighty-four megawatts of electricity going into the grid. The minister confirmed yesterday that there is extra power available at Bay d’Espoir, but they are spilling water because of no demand and flat industry growth.

I ask the minister: As a result of the power from the Exploits, how much extra capacity do we currently have at Bay d’Espoir’s generating facility?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Deputy Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, it depends on the drawn down on the load, the time of year and so on. I do not keep monthly statistics in my department on the draw down of power coming out of Bay d’Espoir.

Mr. Speaker, the Exploits River does not have a reservoir system, so there is no way to store power. When the electricity is generated on the Exploits River, it is put immediately into the grid. What happens in our facility in Bay d’Espoir then, power is stored because water is stored in the reservoir. Sometime over the summer when demand has been low - we have had two pulp and paper mills shut down, Mr. Speaker – it has caused us to spill water because there has not been a great demand.

That is simply it, Mr. Speaker. I have talked about it a number of times publicly and here in the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We know that there is extra power available at Bay d’Espoir. We know that the government opposite allowed two paper mills to close on their watch, and we know that we cannot transmit that excess power onto the Avalon Peninsula.

I ask the minister if she can give us some answers in terms of have you looked at what kinds of infrastructure upgrades are required. Have you put any cost on being able to run this power into the Avalon grid, and if that is something that is in the plans for Nalcor or government?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Deputy Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, usually we are under criticism from the Opposition about how much time we spend around energy and particularly the development of the Lower Churchill, any investment in that project.

Hours and hours are spent in terms of addressing the energy needs that we have here in the Province, in discussions around the elimination of fossil fuels being used in the generation of power, particularly as it relates to Holyrood, and, Mr. Speaker, planning to deal with the Holyrood situation.

We are very blessed in having green power for the majority of our needs here in the Province, but to be a totally green Province is our objective.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to ask the minister: If there were upgrades made to the transmission capacity on the Avalon Peninsula, how much clean hydro power could we transmit to this region of the Province, and would oil consumption be reduced at Holyrood resulting in lower cost of electricity for the consumers of the Province?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Deputy Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS DUNDERDALE: Of course, Mr. Speaker, the answer is yes. Nalcor has costed out the infrastructure that is going to be required to bring in the right number of megawatts of electricity to serve the Avalon Peninsula with the elimination of Holyrood. That is a stated goal of this Province. It is one of the major reasons why we are so focused on the development of the Lower Churchill, Mr. Speaker.

All of the infrastructure that is going to be required to bring the power onto the Island part of the Province, transmit it across the Province and eliminate Holyrood, and also create a subsea line to Eastern Canada and through to the United States is all part of the planning of the development of the Lower Churchill.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The minister talks about the Lower Churchill transmission line, we are talking about using the water that we are spilling today to provide cheap, clean energy to people on the Avalon Peninsula, Minister.

After the mill in Stephenville closed, the government put $10 million in place to offset electricity costs to industrial customers.

Now that we have less industry demand to draw on this money and no forecasted industry growth at this stage, I ask the minister: What is the balance of this account?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Deputy Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is nice to know that she pays some attention in Estimates, some more attention than she normally pays here in the House, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we have a Rate Stabilization Plan in this Province that helps even out the cost of fuel for our industrial customers. When Abitibi in Stephenville closed, they left a deficit in the Rate Stabilization Plan. As a result of that, government made an investment, a deposit into that plan of $10 million so that our other industrial customers in this Province did not have to pick up Abitibi’s debt with regard to that deficit.

Mr. Speaker, the Rate Stabilization Plan now has a surplus. I will be happy to give her the exact number. We are in a position to withdraw that $10 million now and apply it in a different way.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As we know, this money was intended to ensure a stable price for the industrial users of the Province while oil prices moved up and down. We know now that with two less paper mills in the Province that there is no longer a demand.

The minister talks about withdrawing the money, and I ask her today: Is there any reason why you would not now invest that money into a Rate Stabilization Plan for residential customers in this Province so they do not have to go through a rate increase this year?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Deputy Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, she demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of the Rate Stabilization Plan and what it is used for. Mr. Speaker, the plan from time to time has deficits, and actions are taken to correct those deficits. Mr. Speaker, at other times the plan has surpluses and they are dealt with as well.

In terms of this current surplus, with regard to the $10 million we put in to smooth out the closing of the Abitibi mill in Stephenville, that portion of the money is going to be removed. Decisions have still to be made with regard to the remaining surplus. We will take that under consideration with Nalcor and our other industrial customers, and there may very well be a solution as she suggests, to do something for residential customers.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, what I do know is that government is prepared to put millions of dollars into rate stabilization for industrial customers, but yet Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro today is going before the PUB looking for a 2 per cent increase in everybody’s light bill in this Province as a part of rate stabilization.

I ask you minister, you have millions of dollars sitting in this fund: Why are we going to allow consumers in this Province to pay more this year when you can easily transfer the money you had for big business into small households in this Province so they do not have to pay the differential themselves?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out to the Leader of the Opposition that the industrial customers make the deposits to the Rate Stabilization Plan, not the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. We did in that initial instance because we were trying to shelter our other industrial customers, like the refinery, Mr. Speaker, like Corner Brook Pulp and Paper, Mr. Speaker, because we were trying to protect them from having to pay a bill that they did not incur.

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Newfoundland subsidizes electricity users in this Province in our isolated coastal communities. Mr. Speaker, we are developing a project in Ramea that will hopefully allow us to really minimize, if not eliminate the use of fossil fuels in our isolated communities, and, Mr. Speaker, the people of Newfoundland and Labrador subsidize isolated communities in the Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am happy the minister raised the rural communities and the isolated diesel customers. Right now, while this millions of dollars sits in this fund the business community, Mr. Speaker, the small businesses, the one and two family owned businesses on the Coast of Labrador, the north and south coast, pay nearly twenty cents a kilowatt hour for power compared to the five cents kilowatt hour in places like Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

I ask the minister: Why will she not consider subsidizing those small business, commercial operated industries on the Coast of Labrador so that they have a competitive playing field with places like Happy Valley-Goose Bay?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, this government made a commitment to residential electricity customers in Labrador under the Northern Strategic Plan. We provided an extra subsidy to keep their rates in line, in the lifeline block, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have continued to do that in each subsequent year. Mr. Speaker, again, she displays a fundamental misunderstanding of the Rate Stabilization Plan. It is under the purview of the PUB, Mr. Speaker, and that is not government’s money, with the exception of the $10 million, Mr. Speaker. That was money put there by industrial customers to make their own cost more predictable.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

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

On April 26, the Minister of Education advised the public of a $5 million overpayment to employees at the College of the North Atlantic in Qatar. He stated at that time that an external review would take place. We asked questions in this House on April 29 and May 5 but the minister stated that the consultant had not yet been selected.

I ask the minister: If you have now been in a position to hire the consultant? If so, who that individual might be, and would you release the terms of reference of his hiring?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KING: Mr. Speaker, the hon. member opposite is correct. As everybody would recall, we did discover an overpayment, an error of some $5 million made by the college with respect to the Qatar operations. We did, as a government, and I as the minister, disclose that to the public through a release, and I did meet with the media and spoke in this House on any number of occasions about the process that we would follow and the expectation that we would have to have a process put in place where there was an external review, external to the college system, to get to the bottom of what happened, what transpired, and what was needed to rectify the situation. We have started that process, Mr. Speaker. We are finalizing the contract details now with an individual who will oversee the process. In the meantime, the work and the collection of data have commenced and I will be in a position within a day or so to release further details to the member opposite.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

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

I ask the minister, Mr. Speaker: Will you be prepared to release the terms of reference that you are hiring that consultant?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KING: I think I have already indicated, Mr. Speaker, just a few moments ago, that it is our expectation that the terms of reference will include a complete review of the process, what the circumstances and the decisions made that led to the error in overpayment and the error in billing of the administration fee to the State of Qatar. I think I have also indicated, Mr. Speaker, that we will – part of the terms of reference will include a review of what exactly the amounts we are talking about are. As I remind the member opposite, and folks who are listening today, that we said $5 million is an estimate based on what we have been provided by the college.

All of those questions, Mr. Speaker, will be part of the terms of reference, and as I said a few moments ago, we are going to be open and transparent on the process. When we have the details finalized around the consultant, we will release all those details to the public and I will be prepared to answer any questions at that point in time.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

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

I appreciate the minister’s undertaking, and we certainly would like to have a copy of it. We like to have the written documentation wherever possible so we can read it before commenting on it, necessarily.

I am glad the minister mentioned about – in his first answer he talked about disclosing, and there is no doubt, Mr. Speaker, that he did disclose the incident, but I say to the minister, there is some issue with disclosing the details and the facts surrounding this incident.

Mr. Speaker, the minister committed in this House on April 29 that he would gladly share information related to this issue with the public. He said again today, he wants to be open and transparent. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, his actions say something completely different. We submitted an Access to Information Request to the minister’s office, to his department, requesting information on this issue and he sent us a bill for $345.

I ask the minister: If you are truly open and accountable on this issue, why would you continue to put roadblocks in the way of releasing this information?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Education.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KING: Mr. Speaker, I realize members opposite are not in the habit of stating the facts, but I want to correct the member opposite, I did not submit a bill to the Opposition. As a minister of a department, I have no engagement whatsoever in that process.

As a minister of a department I have no engagement whatsoever in that process, but I remind the member opposite that there is ATIPP legislation in the Province that outlines the process that individuals can follow if they want to seek information.

I also remind the member opposite that the bills and the Estimates that are provided are based on the piece of work that is required, the amount of time that is required, the amount of human resource time that is required, the amount of effort and photocopying and gathering materials; it can be quite extensive, Mr. Speaker, depending on the nature of the request.

The correspondence that the member opposite would have received would have been based on an analysis performed by someone in my department and responded appropriately.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

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

I say to the minister, Mr. Speaker, you talk about open and accountable out of one side of your mouth and then we are told we have to pay $345.

Minister, if you are truly open and accountable on this issue, and you are prepared to be up front with the public, will you release the information or do we have to cut the cheque first? Let’s see how open you truly are.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Education.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KING: Mr. Speaker, I am certain, on live TV and in front of these good people in the gallery, the minister is not looking for political favours to contravene a process put in place by government for the public protection of information.

Mr. Speaker, if the hon. gentleman would like to listen, I will give him an answer, if he is prepared to listen; if he is prepared to listen -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Opposition House Leader asked a question. I ask members for their co-operation in listening to the answer.

The hon. the Minister of Education.

MR. KING: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

For the interest of people listening, let me just state this for the record: I have explained to the member opposite the process for ATIPP, but let me remind the member opposite that perhaps before he starts criticizing this side of the House, go back to his own staff; because on May 7 a detailed message was left in the office of the Opposition asking that they call the Department of Education to clarify the nature of their request so that bill could be adjusted accordingly. No call was returned to our department, Mr. Speaker, (inaudible).

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.

MR. BUTLER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, residents of Terra Nova are very upset with what they see as a broken promise by this government, to pave the road to their community. The residents say the promise was made quite clearly by the Minister of Business and the Member for Trinity North during last fall’s by-election in the region. Roadwork for Terra Nova district was announced yesterday, and there was nothing allocated for this road.

I ask the Minister of Business: Will you confirm that you made this commitment? Why was such a commitment made during a by-election? Was it only a means to buy votes during a by-election, Mr. Speaker?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HEDDERSON: As the former Minister of Transportation would say: Foolish, is it? How foolish can you be, to get up in the House of Assembly and talk about political favours and promises when, in actual fact, what this is all about is that there is a certain amount of road money that is set aside, there are priorities that are set, and my job as minister is to go down through those priorities. Unfortunately, that piece of road did not get in the priority that it –

AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. HEDDERSON: I am not talking about promises. I am talking about basically that we are moving forward a strategy, Mr. Speaker, and over time I am sure that the priorities, that being one of them, will get done.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Chair is about to recognize the hon. the Member for the District of Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.

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

Mr. Speaker, the government announced on May 7 the resumption of the Iron Ore Company of Canada’s expansion plans. This decision was wonderful news for Labrador West; however, for those residents struggling to find affordable housing in this area, this good news adds great anxiety to their inability to find places to live.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier if this government will recognize the urgent need for affordable housing and put more money into the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation budget to build housing units in Labrador City.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works, and the Minister Responsible for Newfoundland and Labrador Housing.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HEDDERSON: Mr. Speaker, again, when it comes to affordable housing, this government has certainly demonstrated over the last number of years that we are trying to meet the need, that we are putting dollars into affordable housing, and that we are moving forward with a strategy.

Mr. Speaker, with Lab West, as with other parts of the Province, we hope that we can get to a point where we can achieve the goal, which is to provide affordable housing for all.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

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

I point out to the minister that, in spite of the money that went into this year’s Budget for the NLHC, it is money going into refits and other renovations that are absolutely needed. There are only four new units in NLHC’s program for this year, and they are in Nain.

Mr. Speaker, while continued recovery of mining operations will help to ensure future growth, economic development and employment benefits in Labrador West, the cost of housing has more than doubled or tripled in the past few years, negatively impacting low- and middle-income people.

So, Mr. Speaker, once again I ask: Will the Premier direct Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation to look for housing stock in Labrador West to develop into social housing units?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister Responsible for the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HEDDERSON: Again I say, Mr. Speaker, obviously we do identify the needs that are throughout this Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The stock that we have, for example, in Newfoundland and Labrador Housing, we have over 5,000 units that we are looking at - some of these that are fifty or sixty years old - and before we move out into new construction and that sort of thing we have to make sure that we are taking care of the stock that we already have. That is why part of our strategy is to go back and repair these fifty-year-old and sometimes sixty-year-old units, and not only to repair them but also to reconfigure them so that we can have more units.

Again, as well, this government has moved forward with an increase in subsidies so that we can go into areas where we do not have units, and provide assistance to our tenants so that they can have affordable housing.

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 situation we are talking about in Labrador West is one of great urgency, Mr. Speaker. We have heard from people who are under tremendous stress and who cannot afford the high cost of shelter. Women are stuck in abusive, violent relationships - I have an example right here on my desk of one - and cannot leave those situations because they cannot afford to pay rent on their own, even if they have jobs. People are couch surfing. Mobile trailers are renting for $3,000 per month.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Minister Responsible for NLHC if he will meet with concerned stakeholders in Labrador West to try and do something about the urgent lack of housing, and come up solutions that will deal with the present and not in ten years’ time.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister Responsible for Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HEDDERSON: Mr. Speaker, when we put together the housing strategy two years ago there were extensive consultations with the very people the hon. member is referring to. Having said that, though, Mr. Speaker, and I hear the member coming back, but having heard that as well, I have no difficulty in meeting with any group that want to express concerns, because I think it is very, very important that we as a government get out, listen to concerns, and respond appropriately. So, again, I would welcome any sort of a meeting with these people.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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