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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Finance indicated that government had reduced the number of VLTs in the Province by 26 per cent. This morning he noted that the Atlantic Lottery Corporation has declining revenues partially because of these moves and are looking for new ways to make money. They see the future as getting into on-line casino gambling. So on one hand the minister is promoting the reduction of VLTs, on the other hand he has allowed himself to be open to creating a whole new problem with on-line casino gambling.

I ask the minister: If you are committing to addressing gambling addictions in the Province, why would you even entertain the idea of introducing on-line casino gambling through the Atlantic Lottery Corporation?

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. MARSHALL: Mr. Speaker, the ALC has indicated, the Atlantic Lottery Corporation, which is owned by the four Atlantic Provinces, has indicated an interest in getting into on-line gambling because of the fact there are over 2,000 sites, 2,000 illegal sites that people can access right now, and they want to do it to offer more responsible gambling. Our government has not made any decision on whether we are going to support that initiative or not. That is something that we will consider at some time in the future. The only people that I know, who are actually supporting on-line gambling, are the Liberal Party in Prince Edward Island and the Liberal Party in New Brunswick.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

What the Liberal Party does in other provinces has no reflection on us, I say to the minister. You have certainly liked to distance yourself from your federal cousins in Ottawa on many occasions.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, the minister did state that on-line casino gambling is happening anyway, so it would be better to have it regulated and make money from it. He stated this morning on the Open Line show that government can hide in the sand or they can get into it.

I say to the minister: If you are committed to reducing the number of addictions and the number of VLTs in this Province, why would you even consider going into on-line gambling? Why isn’t the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador saying no today?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. MARSHALL: Mr. Speaker, what I did today, is I pointed out the various arguments that are being made pro and con. One of the things involved when we deal with gambling, there are very strong views on all of the issues that come up - very strong views.

I will just note that Jeff Derevensky, who is co-director of McGill University’s International Centre for Youth Gambling, referred to the on-line industry’s arsenal of technology saying, "You have the opportunity to do (consumer protection) better than other forms of gambling." So there are very strong arguments in favour of it, Mr. Speaker, and there are arguments against it. Government will consider the evidence from all sources and in due course we will come to a consensus as to how we are going to move forward.

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, if we were to legalize drugs, such as cocaine in the Province, we would make money off it and we would be able to regulate it as well, but it does not dismiss the impact that it has on people.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the minister: Why would the Province even consider introducing a new legal form of gambling that will most likely target and affect younger people in this Province, creating addictions for them at a much younger age?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. MARSHALL: Mr. Speaker, again, this government has not made a decision as to how it is going to go. We are going to consider all options.

When you talk about youth gambling, I note that the study that the Leader of the NDP referred to yesterday said that young people had engaged in one gambling activity of eight of them and the least common reported activity is with Internet gambling.

Mr. Speaker, as I said, there are arguments pro and con. Why don’t we banish alcohol? That argument comes up as well. We are going to consider the evidence that each group puts forward and we will make a decision in due course.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yesterday the minister stated that he did not know how much the Province would potentially make in revenues from this type of gambling. However, we do know that the Atlantic Lottery Corporation has already done a lot of the work on this initiative in completing the cost estimates.

I ask the minister: What were the preliminary estimates that have been supplied to your government from the Atlantic Lotto Corporation?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. MARSHALL: I cannot recall the total right now. We have to remember, there are 2,000 sites out there worldwide that people in this Province can access. That is totally unregulated. They can do it from their homes. I believe the number, and I will have to check this, is that they feel we can make a potential $55 million from on-line gambling revenue, if it were introduced.

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

On April 10, 2008, the former Minister of Education informed the House of Assembly that the government had no plans to close the School for the Deaf. I ask the minister today, if that is still the case?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KING: Mr. Speaker, our intentions for the School for the Deaf have not changed since the previous minister spoke in this House. The School for the Deaf still operates and we still offer governmental support to the same degree that we have in the past couple of years. There are no changes at this point in time from government.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Government has announced its intentions to build a new school for the west end of St. John’s.

I ask the minister: Will the School for the Deaf and the adjacent properties be the site of this new school, and if so, will the current buildings be renovated or incorporated into the new school design?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KING: Mr. Speaker, the member opposite is asking me to draw a lot of conclusions and make a lot of assumptions. The future of the School for the Deaf – as I said before, we have no intentions and have not laid any plans to do anything with that school at this point in time. The member opposite knows full well that as demographics change and student enrolments change and parent choices change, we will react accordingly. I am not going to speculate on where that will be at any time in the future.

With respect to the announcement for the new west end high school, we have done just that. We have announced a commitment, as a government, to the people of the west end of this region that we will build a new facility. There is a long established process in place, Mr. Speaker, that engages school councils and school boards to identify possible sites for the construction of new schools and through that process a list of possibilities will be brought forward to the Department of Education for consideration. Mr. Speaker, that is a long ways out, so pretty well everything that has been asked by the member opposite is purely speculative.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, maybe the minister can tell me where we are in the process of site selection for the new west end school, and if he can table in the House of Assembly or indicate to the public what sites are being considered?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KING: Mr. Speaker, what I can say to the member opposite is we are not much more than two months beyond a Budget announcement of a commitment. We are in a process of trying to spend $121 million on infrastructure and maintenance work in this Province, Mr. Speaker, and that project –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KING: - will proceed as we can turn our attention to it. What we have done is we have notified the school board of our commitment and we have also indicated to the school board that we want them to start giving consideration to sites. At some point in time, we will appoint a consultant who will do a review for that as will be done for any new school construction projects, Mr. Speaker.

Everything else that the member opposite is asking is assuming that I am going to speculate and make assumptions here, which I am not prepared to do.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We also know that government is building two new K-6 schools in Paradise because of the growing population of children and young families in the community. Once these children enter junior high and high school they will be forced to travel to Mount Pearl or Conception Bay South and overcrowding will certainly become an issue.

I ask the minister: With a demonstrated need for a junior high and high school facilities in Paradise, has government initiated any plans at this stage to build those schools?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KING: Mr. Speaker, let me share with the House what we have done in instances where there has been a demonstrated need.

Out in Torbay, Mr. Speaker, there was a demonstrated need because of population growth, what did we do? We announced a new school for that area. Mr. Speaker, out in Placentia there was a demonstrated need for a new facility because of ongoing maintenance and repair issues, what did we do? We built a new facility.

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite has asked about Paradise, I was in a former job at that the time that that discussion was initiated and we encountered a number of problems out there, one of which was population growth. What has this government done? We are building two new K-6 schools, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KING: I submit to the member opposite the record of this government is that we will work co-operatively with the school board and with the communities and the people out there. We act when it is appropriate, Mr. Speaker, but we are not in the process, nor in the habit, of building schools based on what-ifs five and ten years down the road.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

So the minister is saying that there is no demonstrated need for a school for junior high and high school in the Paradise area.

Mr. Speaker, Tuesday, the Minister of Natural Resources stated that an oil spill off our coast would not be of great concern because we had an oil spill in 2004 on the Terra Nova. That oil dispersed, broke up and went away was her quote. Well the oil spill in 2004 was only 200 barrels versus the 70,000 per day barrels that we are seeing currently taking place of the coast of Louisiana. It is like comparing an eye dropper, Mr. Speaker, to a fire hose and it shows the minister’s lack of understanding of what is happening.

I ask the minister today: Besides the 2004 incident of an oil spill, what other examples are available to show how a major spill off our coast would react?

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, my answer, earlier in the week, was to a question directed to me by the Leader of the Opposition as to what happened to oil in an oil spill. I answered in terms of our own direct experience with an oil spill that we had in 2004 when wind and wave action had dispersed and help vaporize the oil, and subsequent studies of the sea floor showed that there had been no settlement of oil on the sea floor or no damage to the environment that was able to be observed.

Mr. Speaker, if she is going to twist that into a comparison to what is happening in the Gulf, there is not much I can do about it, but that is not the question that was asked, and that is not the question that was answered.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The minister might want to read her own response in Hansard, but certainly the 2004 incident is not even comparable to what we are looking at in the world today.

Mr. Speaker, government, through Nalcor, owns equity stakes in our oil and gas projects, yet they are also responsible for providing environmental regulations to the industry. We know that adhering to environmental best practices is not always the priority to stakeholders who are trying to make money. Government also makes political appointments to the C-NLOPB to ensure the Province’s interests are represented.

So I ask the minister, now that you are a developer and an equity owner in the oil industry, why would you not support the concept of independent monitors on rigs to remove any perception of conflict?

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, let me say it is very difficult to have a discussion with the Leader of the Opposition about responsibility for the environment when she demonstrated in the House earlier the week she does not even understand what level of government environmental responsibility for the offshore comes under. She was attributing to the Minister of Environment and Conservation, who has no responsibility beyond the high water mark.

It is really disturbing, Mr. Speaker, when it comes from a former Minister of Fisheries for the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador who should have understood that her responsibility did not go any further than that either as far as the offshore was concerned.

Mr. Speaker, science has shown that independent monitoring on the rig is not the best way to do oil spill surveillance. The best way to do it is from the air. That is what is being done on a regular basis in our offshore.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

All we ever hear from the minister opposite is rhetoric and insults. Of course, we continue to hear her trying to defend the Minister of Environment, who really has no handle on the environment, but that is beside the point, Mr. Speaker.

Maybe the minister could tell me why, as a developer and an interest earner in the oil and gas industry –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS JONES: - that they are not prepared to put independent monitors and observers on these platforms, but yet support independent observers on fishing vessels in this Province?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS DUNDERDALE: Mr. Speaker, one of those persons, one of those inspectors is inspecting, counting fish and measuring fish coming on a vessel. Mr. Speaker, it is hard to do that from 20,000 feet.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS DUNDERDALE: Mr. Speaker, to spot an oil spill on our ocean, the most effective way to do that is from 20,000 feet or less.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The minister knows that you cannot monitor what is happening on the rig and on the platform from thousands of feet in the air. The minister knows that, Mr. Speaker. She is making light of a very serious issue in this Province today that could cost us, as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, down the road.

I say to the minister: In light of what is happening in the Gulf of Mexico today, and how the ecosystem and the environment is being destroyed because of a spill in this industry, why will you, as a government, not take a proactive role and put a task force in place to monitor the environmental regulations in the oil industry in this Province?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS DUNDERDALE: Mr. Speaker, we had a discussion earlier in Question Period about gambling, and I am going to indulge myself at the moment, Mr. Speaker, because I am willing to lay money that the Leader of the Opposition knows no more about what the regulation is in the United States with regard to drilling than the man in the moon.

Mr. Speaker, the C-NLOPB is having a technical briefing on Monday of next week to talk about oil spill prevention and oil spill response. I suggest very strongly that members of the Opposition take advantage of that briefing and try to find out a little more about what they are asking questions about, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS DUNDERDALE: Mr. Speaker, we have an independent review ongoing in this Province. When that review is completed and recommendations are made we will consider them and then I will talk to the federal minister who shares responsibility in this to see if we need to do further work.

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, earlier this month in this House I highlighted the need for a community voice in the MOU process. The Minister of Fisheries responded by saying that community representation is a key to the evolution of the fishery, as he termed it, and it was encouraging to hear him acknowledge this.

Based on that recognition, I ask the minister today: Will he commit to formally including community representation in the MOU process, specifically by modifying the agreement itself, so that communities will have a direct voice in the industry as it undergoes the many changes required in the months and years ahead?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, it is certainly important that communities have a say in where the future of the fishery is going to be in this Province. Right now, the MOU process, Mr. Speaker, we have working groups within that and progress is being made. The group met last week and those discussions are ongoing.

Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time, when we feel and the process feels there is a place for community input, then we will be seeking it.

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 stated in a press release on March 18, there was an analysis of marketing issues facing the industry and he expected this report in a couple of months. It has now been over two months since that release.

While the minister indicated in his MOU, a progress report yesterday, that the marketing group is actively engaged in this task, I ask the minister today: Will he indicate to this House when this important work is now expected to be completed?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, one of the things that came out of the talks this year around establishing a price and so forth, was an acknowledgement and an agreement between both sides in that discussion that there is a need for a marketing strategy here.

Mr. Speaker, I am certainly hoping that both sides will remain true to that commitment. Mr. Speaker, if that is indeed the case, for the next coming fishing season we should see something in place that will allow us to market our products in a much more reasonable and strategic way. As a result, Mr. Speaker, have better results for prices for harvesters and processors.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. DEAN: Mr. Speaker, during the crab dispute the government was reluctant to step in and help resolve the impasse with any investments, citing the risk of a NAFTA challenge. As the minister admits, the MOU process will certainly entail some sort of rationalization and therefore financial assistance.

I ask the minister: Will the government consider commissioning a report that would investigate investments that are possible under NAFTA as the MOU process unfolds? Clearly, on this issue it will be critical to the success of any recommended changes to the fishery.

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: I swear, Mr. Speaker, I swear that these people – the Opposition wants another report. I swear to God, they are sounding like they want another report.

Mr. Speaker, the plan; we have an MOU process in place, Mr. Speaker, and we will let that MOU process unfold. We expect and we anticipate that there will be good results coming from that.

Mr. Speaker, the people who can make a difference in the fishery of this Province are sitting at the table: the union, the processors and government, Mr. Speaker. I can assure you one thing, that we as a government will do what we can to support that process.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. DEAN: Mr. Speaker, they must be giving out funny pills across the House today or something or other.

AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).

MR. DEAN: Yes, I know.

Mr. Speaker, you got to have funny questions for funny people. In the two sittings of the House that I have been here, Mr. Speaker, I have never heard an answer to a question, so you might as well ask something that will get a funny response.

Earlier this month, I also questioned the minister on the status of the New Ferolle plant on the Northern Peninsula. I understand a meeting was held a couple of weeks ago with the owner, Greg Mullowney, who again promised the residents of the plant that it would reopen. Other than a few pieces of old furniture and dated equipment going into the facility, the plant remains idle and it is increasingly frustrating for the residents.

I would again ask the minister: What is the status of the plant today in terms of operating this season and why is the owner not being more accountable to the people of New Ferolle and the area?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, there is nothing funny about the questions that the member opposite is asking - I do not think there is.

Anyway, Mr. Speaker, the New Ferolle plant, as he indicated, Mr. Mullowney still, as far as we have been informed, intends to open that plant. We have a number of plants on the Northern Peninsula that opened this week. The Member for St. Barbe has met with the group, he has met with me, and we will continue to monitor that, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, we will continue to monitor that, and the frustrations that the people have, Mr. Speaker, we will hopefully find a resolution to it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. DEAN: Well, the member has met, Mr. Speaker, I guess the problem is resolved, we will leave it there. Mr. Speaker, I will just wait for -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

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

MR. DEAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

They met last year as well, and of course we all know how much work they had last season. Given the uncertainty that has plagued this plant in the past several years the plant committee in that community has sent a letter to the Minister of Fisheries requesting that the processing licence be transferred back to the community.

I ask the minister today: Will he grant this request, and indeed, will he commit to sitting down with those concerned citizens to discuss this matter and help them bring stability to their community?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, more than willing to sit with any group at any time. Secondly, when the letter comes forward, we will give it consideration at that time.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BUTLER: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

My questions are for the Minister of Environment and Conservation. Mr. Speaker, I double-checked my questions, they are all above the high-water mark so hopefully she will be able to answer them.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the hon. member to pose his question.

MR. BUTLER: Mr. Speaker, yesterday -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. BUTLER: Mr. Speaker, yesterday I asked the minister about a tender that was recently advertised in The Telegram for a turnkey operation for the compaction and redistribution of the tires stored in Dunville. The minister stated that they have a proposal that will hopefully come on stream and this tender will make it easier to ship the tires.

I ask the minister: We have heard similar speculation from this government over the past seven years, Mr. Speaker, what is the nature of this proposal and when can we expect to see something concrete announced?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JOHNSON: Mr. Speaker, if the Leader of the Opposition was so concerned about the environment and offshore she should have asked me a question where jurisdiction does fall under my department and that is when the oil reaches the land, Mr. Speaker. The reason that she did not do that, Mr. Speaker, is because the fourteen years that they were in power when there was a very active oil industry, not one policy, not one procedure, not one person hired to develop policies to put in place when the oil should reach land. That is why she has not asked me a question, Mr. Speaker.

To the question of the hon. member opposite about tires, we have been actively involved with trying to find resolutions to the tires. In the interim, we are trying to find ways to cut costs. That is why we put out the recent tender in terms of baling. It is also a safer method, in terms of the hydraulic compression of the tires, there is less opportunity for air to get in, and there are less trucks that will be required once the final plan is in place.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

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

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

Mr. Speaker, the 2007 Student Drug Use Survey commissioned by the governments of the Atlantic Provinces reported that 23 per cent of students in Grades 7, 9, 10, and 12 had played on an Internet gambling site with money or points, and 5.1 per cent had played for money.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS MICHAEL: Mr. Speaker, the minister continues to say that government has not made any decisions on allowing on-line poker, which is being promoted by Atlantic Lottery Corporation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS MICHAEL: Mr. Speaker, I ask the Minister of Finance: Has the Atlantic Lottery Corporation given the Department of Finance any risk assessment reports documenting the potential risk of on-line poker?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I say to the hon. Leader of the Opposition that her time has been allotted earlier to ask questions.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Every time that the Member for the District of Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi stands to ask a question in this House, she is drowned out by members shouting back and forth. I ask members for their co-operation and respect for the members that are asking questions.

Who is the question directed to, I ask the hon. –

MR. MARSHALL: Me.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. MARSHALL: Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, I had a chance to take a look at that study last night and there has been information sent by the Atlantic Lottery Corporation, but they can make their own arguments, Mr. Speaker. As I said, we are not necessarily an advocate for the position they have espoused. We have reduced the number of VLT machines by over 25 per cent in this Province – 25.1 I think is the actual number. Another seventy-three machines were removed on April 1.

The best argument in favour of on-line gambling is the fact that you can control things that are not controlled right now. They mention, for example, that their PlaySphere, their Web site, has been called by Mark Griffiths, Professor of Gambling Studies at Nottingham Trent University in the U.K., as the most responsible gambling site in the world. I mentioned earlier that report from McGill University which talks about that the on-line industry’s arsenal of technology gives you an opportunity for some consumer protection (inaudible) -

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

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

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

Maybe the minister did not hear my question. Does the minister have risk assessment reports on on-line gambling and would he make those – now I add – risk assessment reports, if he has them, available to this House?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. MARSHALL: I am only aware of the prevalence studies that we spoke about yesterday. I am sure the hon. member has that, but if there are any such studies I would be happy to make them available. I will consult with my colleague, the Minister of Health. If we have any studies that can add help to the debate that is going to go on, then I will be happy to share them.

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 has made much reference today, and he just did again, to holding consultations and there will be ongoing discussions and consultations. I would like to know from the minister if he is willing to hold province-wide consultations regarding governments’ dependence on VLTs and the potential for on-line gambling to hear what the people of the Province have to say?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. MARSHALL: Mr. Speaker, I have not committed to any consultations. All I said is that our government, because of the fact that our VLT action plan is now coming to an end, this is the final year of a five-year plan, that we will now determine which way the government is going to go forward. When we do that, I will be happy to announce that here in the House.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The time allotted for Oral Questions has expired.