MR. SPEAKER: Order, please. We will commence the daily routine at this time.
PRESENTING AND READING PETITIONS
MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Pictou Centre.
DR. JOHN HAMM: Mr. Speaker, I beg leave to table a petition from residents of District 13 and surrounding areas, which is the Thorburn area in Pictou County. These citizens are objecting to a strip mine in their area. For the purposes of tabling the petition, I have signed it.
MR. SPEAKER: The petition is tabled.
PRESENTING REPORTS OF COMMITTEES
TABLING REPORTS, REGULATIONS AND OTHER PAPERS
STATEMENTS BY MINISTERS
GOVERNMENT NOTICES OF MOTION
INTRODUCTION OF BILLS
NOTICES OF MOTION
MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Halifax Bedford Basin.
MR. GERALD FOGARTY: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:
Whereas the Halifax police drug squad conducted a major drug bust on Wednesday, December 14th, following three months of investigation and undercover activity; and
Whereas this drug bust is one of the biggest drug sweeps the police department has ever conducted, resulting in the laying of 109 charges related to drug trafficking; and
Whereas the presence on our streets of drug dealers and users represents a major threat to the health and well-being of the citizens of this province;
Therefore be it resolved that this House applaud the persistent efforts of the Halifax Police Department drug squad for their continuing efforts at eliminating the ominous presence of drug dealers from our midst.
I would request waiver of notice, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: Is it agreed?
It appears to be agreed.
Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.
The motion is carried.
The honourable Leader of the New Democratic Party.
MR. JOHN HOLM: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:
Whereas this Liberal Government was outraged that anyone would question their plans to transfer 75 jobs to Amherst; and
Whereas one of those questioning this government's approach to decentralization of government jobs is the President of the Cape Breton Nova Liberal Association, Sydney Alderman Mike Moore; and
Whereas this government is ignoring and insulting the long-standing and well-justified concerns expressed by Mr. Moore and others, that unemployment has reached 50 per cent in areas like Whitney Pier;
Therefore be it resolved that the Cabinet should spend less time defending untendered office moves to high-priced downtown Halifax office space and more time fulfilling their many commitments to transfer a fair share of government jobs to Cape Breton.
MR. SPEAKER: The notice is tabled.
The honourable member for Dartmouth-Cole Harbour.
MR. ALAN MITCHELL: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:
Whereas Cole Harbour's RCMP detachment has become the first in Atlantic Canada to formally embrace community-based policing; and
Whereas community-based policing takes a proactive, rather than a reactive or incident-driven, approach to policing; and
Whereas possible projects including foot patrols, satellite offices or the return of bike patrols, all involve community input from elected officials, schools, ratepayers' groups and neighbourhood watches;
Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate the Cole Harbour RCMP detachment for working to establish a closer partnership with the community members.
Mr. Speaker, I would ask for waiver of notice.
MR. SPEAKER: Is it agreed that notice be waived?
It is agreed.
Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.
The motion is carried.
The honourable Leader of the Opposition.
MR. TERENCE DONAHOE: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:
Whereas the idea that a life sentence in our country can now mean 15 years in prison has disturbed many Canadians, especially the families of the victims; and
Whereas the Private Members' Bill currently in debate in the House of Commons to close a loophole in the Criminal Code which has been used to seek early release after 15 years, instead of the mandatory 25 years associated with a life sentence, even has the federal Liberal caucus split; and
Whereas this bill, although not supported by the federal Justice Minister, has support from some of this province's MPs;
Therefore be it resolved that the members of this House commit today to lobby their federal counterparts to support legislation which would give back some sense of justice to the families of murder victims.
Mr. Speaker, I would ask for waiver of notice.
MR. SPEAKER: Is it agreed?
It appears to be agreed.
Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.
The motion is carried.
The honourable member for Hants West.
MR. RONALD RUSSELL: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:
Whereas Nova Scotia's dairy farmers are a key component of Nova Scotia's agricultural industry; and
Whereas milk production has more than doubled on dairy farms in the past 25 years; and
Whereas beginning in 1958, the Bokma family of Shubenacadie, Hants County, began farming and continue to do so five generations later;
Therefore be it resolved that members of this Legislature commend diary farmers such as the Bokmas for their hard work in keeping the dairy industry viable across Nova Scotia.
I would ask for waiver of notice, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: Is it agreed?
It is agreed.
Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.
The motion is carried.
The honourable member for Kings West.
MR. GEORGE MOODY: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:
Whereas when a parent of a four and one-half year old was turned away from the IWK this past week she worried that this was due to cutbacks and a shortage of beds; and
Whereas the emergency medical director stated that the child did receive appropriate treatment; and
Whereas Dr. Murphy also said that while it is fortunate that this is not the case now for the IWK, he is not saying that budget cuts won't be a reason for turning away people from the hospital in the future;
Therefore be it resolved that the Health Minister address the seriousness of this statement in light of his reform direction which should never see a Nova Scotian, most especially our children, turned away when in need of treatment.
MR. SPEAKER: The notice is tabled.
The honourable member for Halifax Atlantic.
MR. ROBERT CHISHOLM: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:
Whereas Halifax Cable has allocated Channel 57 for the provincial channel that brings its customers DUET educational programs and legislative proceedings; and
Whereas this means many Nova Scotians who do not own and cannot afford a television, video cassette recorder or converter with capacity in excess of 50 channels can no longer view these proceedings or DUET; and
Whereas some of the universally available channels, between Channel 2 and Channel 13, are being used to carry stock market quotations, plus listings for the many new cable channels and Broadcast News headlines from which Halifax Cable earns extra income;
Therefore be it resolved that this House urges Halifax Cable and all cable operators to perform the public service of making the provincial channel available to all of their customers, rather than making it as inaccessible as possible. (Interruption)
Mr. Speaker, I would ask for waiver of notice.
I got a call from the Mayor of Williamswood, who asked me to bring this to the attention of the Legislature, (Interruption) and we called the cable station. They said, we will give you a cut on a converter, but for some of the senior citizens who have talked to me, it is not possible.
Anyway, Mr. Speaker, (Laughter) I appreciate the intervention of the Minister for the Economic Renewal Agency and I hope that he will agree to support the unanimous waiving of notice of this one.
MR. SPEAKER: Now, the resolution as presented was a tad long, but since the House seems to be willing to deal with it now, we can do that.
Is it agreed that notice be waived.
It is agreed.
Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.
The motion is carried, unanimously. (Interruption)
The honourable Leader of the Opposition. (Applause)
MR. TERENCE DONAHOE: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:
Whereas the Minister for the Economic Renewal Agency announced yesterday that 75 government jobs will be moved to Amherst in 1995; and
Whereas according to the minister, these jobs are part of an effort to decentralize government services; and
Whereas so far the Minister for the Economic Renewal Agency, who is also the local MLA, has had no explanation for how the decision to move the Atlantic Provinces School for the Hearing Impaired to Halifax fits within the decentralization strategy;
Therefore be it resolved that the Minister for the Economic Renewal Agency clarify the mixed signals which are being sent to communities like Amherst with respect to whether yesterday's decision is part of an overall decentralization strategy.
AN HON. MEMBER: Mr. Speaker, that is out of order, the date is wrong.
MR. SPEAKER: Well, if it contains an error of fact, that doesn't make it out of order. It would only be out of order if it violated the standards of parliamentary debate.
The notice is tabled.
The honourable member for Halifax Fairview.
MS. ALEXA MCDONOUGH: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:
Whereas on April 20th, the Health Minister was urging early appointments to his new Physician Resource Advisory Committee so that the important work of addressing supply, distribution and training of physicians could get underway; and
Whereas the committee's terms of reference called for meetings at least monthly, yet, eight months later the committee has still never met; and
Whereas despite their critical importance to health reform, the Year One objectives dealing with physician targets by specialty and region, plus guidelines for regional and community health boards cannot possibly be achieved in the four short months remaining;
Therefore be it resolved that the Health Minister should, today, call a first meeting of the Physician Resource Advisory Committee so that it can get on with the physician human resource planning, training, supply, distribution and deployment issues that cry out for urgent attention and speedy resolution.
MR. SPEAKER: The notice is tabled.
The honourable Leader of the New Democratic Party.
MR. JOHN HOLM: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:
Whereas within an hour, the Minister of Transportation will appear before the task force on CN commercialization; and
Whereas no one should believe that a fully commercialized CN would find a new commitment to Nova Scotia, rather than making a headlong rush to find quick profits from the most industrialized parts of Canada and the United States; and
Whereas Massachusetts, New York and other American jurisdictions have been forced to spend hundreds of millions on double-stacking, intermodal service and port facilities for so-called fully commercial U.S. railways;
Therefore be it resolved that this House opposes commercialization of Canadian National Railways, rebuts the false promises of its advocates and seeks, instead, the reduced disparity and stronger Canadian economy that would result from renewed effective use of CN as a vehicle of economic development.
[8:15 a.m.]
MR. SPEAKER: The notice is tabled.
The honourable member for Halifax Fairview.
MS. ALEXA MCDONOUGH: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:
Whereas the Health Minister is telling worried Cape Bretoners that he is considering a pilot program for youth outreach mental health services; and
Whereas the minister is thus sidestepping the long established need to permanently establish a Cape Breton child and adolescent assessment program, backed up by appropriate and essential in-patient services; and
Whereas Cape Breton health care professionals, parents and educators should reasonably expect that the opening of the new regional hospital would mark a step forward;
Therefore be it resolved that the Minister of Health should dust off his desk and take early advantage of the years spent preparing the Cape Breton child and adolescent mental health services, both in-patient and community-based, which are so desperately needed.
MR. SPEAKER: The notice is tabled.
The honourable member for Halifax Atlantic.
MR. ROBERT CHISHOLM: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:
Whereas when the Premier added up claims made in old government news releases to prove the value of the $1 million already spent on management consultants, he included such items not recommended by the consultants as firing all the highway supervisors; and
Whereas each management consultant works under the direction of senior government officials, often being told by Cabinet what to study and recommend; and
Whereas the meter is still ticking as hundreds of thousands of dollars continue to be spent on management consultants to tell this Liberal Government what it wants to hear;
Therefore be it resolved that the Premier and his colleagues should heed their federal cousins' advice, stop defending the undefensible and stop wasting unlimited amounts of money on high-priced, downtown consultants to justify Cabinet's biases.
MR. SPEAKER: The notice is tabled.
Are there any further notices of motion? Is there any additional business now to come before the House under the heading of the daily routine? Very well, I will proceed to Orders of the Day.
ORDERS OF THE DAY
GOVERNMENT BUSINESS
MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Deputy Government House Leader.
MR. ALLISTER SURETTE: Mr. Speaker, I move that you do now leave the Chair and the House resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole House on Bills.
MR. SPEAKER: The motion is carried.
[8:17 a.m. The House resolved itself into a CWH on Bills with Deputy Speaker Mr. Gerald O'Malley in the Chair.]
[3:56 p.m. CWH on Bills rose and the House reconvened with Deputy Speaker Mr. Gerald O'Malley in the Chair.]
MR. SPEAKER: The Chairman of the Committee of the Whole House on Bills reports:
THE CLERK: That the committee has met and made some progress in considering Bill No. 114 and begs leave to sit again.
MR. SPEAKER: Is it agreed?
It is agreed.
The honourable acting Government House Leader.
HON. SANDRA JOLLY: Mr. Speaker, would you please revert to the order of business, Introduction of Bills.
INTRODUCTION OF BILLS
Bill No. 139 - Entitled an Act to Amend Chapter 475 of the Revised Statutes of 1989. The Trade Union Act. (Mr. Robert Chisholm)
MR. SPEAKER: Ordered that this bill be read a second time on a future day.
The honourable acting Government House Leader.
HON. SANDRA JOLLY: Mr. Speaker, I would advise the House that the hours on Monday will be from 2:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. I would suggest we will be in Committee of the Whole House on Bills.
Mr. Speaker, I move adjournment.
MR. SPEAKER: The motion for adjournment has been moved.
The motion is carried.
The House will now rise to sit again on Monday at the hour of 2:00 p.m.
[The House rose at 3:58 p.m.]
