November 20, 2008

HANSARD 08-52

DEBATES AND PROCEEDINGS

Speaker: Honourable Alfie MacLeod

Published by Order of the Legislature by Hansard Reporting Services and printed by the Queen's Printer.

Available on INTERNET at http://www.gov.n s.ca/legislature/HOUSE_BUSINESS/hansard.html

Second Session

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2008

TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE
SPEAKER'S RULING: Gov't. Withholder Documents From Auditor General,
re Nominee Prog. (Pt. of privilege by Ms. D. Whalen
[Hansard p. 4415, 10/30/08]) 5955
PRESENTING AND READING PETITIONS:
Fin. - Rental Properties: Taxation - Fairness Ensure,
Ms. D. Whalen 5956
TABLING REPORTS, REGULATIONS AND OTHER PAPERS:
Cumberland Health Authority Anl. Rept., 2007-2008
Annapolis Valley Health Authority Anl. Rept., 2007-2008
Colchester East Hants Health Authority Anl. Rept., 2007-2008
Pictou County Health Authority Anl. Rept., 2008
South Shore Health Community Rept., 2007-2008
Guysborough Antigonish Strait Health Authority 2007-2008
South West Health Community Rept., 2007-2008
IWK Health Centre Community Rept., 2007-2008
Capital Health Anl. Rept., 2007-2008
Cape Breton District Health Authority Anl. Rept., 2007-2008,
Hon. C. d'Entremont 5957
Progress Report 2008, French-language Services Provided by
the Government of Nova Scotia, Hon. C. d'Entremont 5857
STATEMENTS BY MINISTERS:
Acad. Affrs.: Rapport d'étape 2008 - services en français,
Hon. C. d'Entremont 5957
GOVERNMENT NOTICES OF MOTION:
Res. 5769, Int'l. Security Assistance Force - Cornwallis Meeting:
Delegates - Welcome, The Premier 5961
Vote - Carried 5961
Res. 5770, Com. Serv. - Sexual Exploitation: Children - Protection,
Hon. J. Streatch 5961
Vote - Affirmative 5962
Res. 5771, Serv. N.S. & Mun. Rel. - Min. Aware of Excellence:
Recipients - Congrats., Hon. J. Muir (by Hon. C. d'Entremont) 5962
Vote - Affirmative 5963
Res. 5772, TCH - Tourism Marketing Strategy,
Hon. W. Dooks 5963
Vote - Affirmative 5964
Res. 5773, EMO: Hantsport Emergency Operations Ctr. - Opening
Hon. C. Bolivar-Getson 5964
Vote - Affirmative 5965
Res. 5774, Professional Quality Assurance: Expansion (N.S.) - Congrats.,
Hon. A. MacIsaac 5965
Vote - Affirmative 5965
INTRODUCTION OF BILLS:
No. 230, Assessment Act, Ms. D. Whalen 5965
NOTICES OF MOTION:
Res. 5775, The Coast: Shop Local Campaign - Congrats.,
Mr. D. Dexter 5966
Vote - Affirmative 5966
Res. 5776, Prem.: Economic Update - Release,
Mr. Manning MacDonald 5967
Res. 5777, Diversity Day: Hants West Mid. Sch. - Applaud,
Mr. C. Porter 5967
Vote - Affirmative 5968
Res. 5778, Educ.: Social Network - Preventative Approach,
Ms. B. Kent 5968
Vote - Affirmative 5969
Res. 5779, Energy: Bi-Monthly Power Consumption - Encourage,
Mr. H. Theriault 5969
Vote - Affirmative 5969
Res. 5780, "Wake Up Call" Card: Event - Support,
Mr. E. Fage 5970
Vote - Affirmative 5971
Res. 5781, Dartmouth learning Network: "Word For Word" - Congrats.,
Ms. M. More 5971
Vote - Affirmative 5972
Res. 5782, Prem.: Economic Update - Bring Forward,
Mr. Manning MacDonald 5972
Res. 5783, Victoria Co. Commun. Fair: Victoria Co. 4-H Members/Participants -
Compliment, Mr. K. Bain 5972
Vote - Affirmative 5973
Res. 5784, New Waterford Wellness Soc. - Bluenose Achievement Award,
Mr. F. Corbett 5973
Vote - Affirmative 5974
Res. 5785, Dunn, Tara: Harvard Fellowship - Congrats.,
Mr. C. Porter 5974
Vote - Affirmative 5975
Res. 5786, MacDonald, Joey: New York Islanders - Play Congrats.,
Mr. C. Parker 5975
Vote - Affirmative 5975
Res. 5787, Longley, John: Death of - Tribute,
Mr. L. Glavine 5976
Vote - Affirmative 5976
Res. 5788, Fam. Serv. (East. N.S.): Blanket Drive - Thank,
Mr. P. Dunn 5976
Vote - Affirmative 5977
Res. 5789, Int'l. Transgender Remembrance Day (11/20/08) - Recognize,
Mr. L. Preyra 5977
Vote - Affirmative 5978
Res. 5790, Theriault, Rick: Saulnierville PharmaChoice - Anniv. (20th),
Mr. W. Gaudet 5978
Vote - Affirmative 5979
Res. 5791, Jenkins, Rudy: Pub. Serv. (30 Yrs.) - Congrats.,
Mr. K. Bain 5979
Vote - Affirmative 5980
Res. 5792, Pictou Co. Health Auth.: Legacy of Life Program - Commend,
Mr. C. MacKinnon 5980
Vote - Affirmative 5980
Res. 5793, Agric.: Crisis - Plan Develop,
Mr. L. Glavine 5981
Vote - Affirmative 5981
Res. 5794, Kenny, Dr. Nuala: Order of Canada - Congrats.,
Hon. J. Muir 5981
Vote - Affirmative 5982
Res. 5795, MacGregor, Bea - Joseph Howe Fellowship Award,
Mr. M. More 5982
Vote - Affirmative 5983
Res. 5796, Guy's Frenchy - IWK Hosp.: Contributions - Congrats.,
Mr. W. Gaudet 5983
Vote - Affirmative 5984
Res. 5797, MacLeod, Raymond: Pub. Serv. (20 Yrs.) - Congrats.,
Hon. R. Chisholm 5984
Vote - Affirmative 5984
Res. 5798, Dunn, Chief Ken/Vol. Firefighters: Westville FD -
Commun. Dedication, Mr. C. MacKinnon 5985
Vote - Affirmative 5985
Res. 5799, Gorman, Tom - Chezzetcook FD: Contributions - Applaud,
Hon. W. Dooks 5985
Vote - Affirmative 5986
Res. 5800, Cole Hbr. Harvest Fest. Comm. - Fest: Presentation - Congrats.,
Ms. B. Kent 5986
Vote - Affirmative 5987
Res. 5801, Morash, Roger Paul: Pub. Serv. (30 Yrs.) - Congrats.,
Hon. B. Taylor 5987
Vote - Affirmative 5987
Res. 5802, Fredericks, Peter - Insurance Brokers Assoc. Can.: Pres. -
Appt., Hon. L. Goucher 5988
Vote - Affirmative 5988
Res. 5803, Cushman, Jocelyn, et al: N.S. Sea Sch. - Donation,
Hon. M. Baker 5988
Vote - Affirmative 5989
Res. 5804, Bland, Maj. Scott: Camp Aldershot Commander Appt.,
Hon. M. Parent 5989
Vote - Affirmative 5990
Res. 5805, Neufeld, Monika/Schoolmates: Fundraising - Commend,
Hon. D. Morse 5990
Vote - Affirmative 5991
Res. 5806, Calvary Lutheran Church (Middlewood) - Anniv. (100th),
Hon. C. Bolivar-Getson 5991
Vote - Affirmative 5991
ORAL QUESTIONS PUT BY MEMBERS:
No. 512, TIR - Weather Event (19/11/08): Hwy. System - Preparation,
Mr. D. Dexter 5993
No. 513, TIR - Weather Event (19/11/08): Cobequid Pass - Safety Review,
Mr. W. Gaudet 5994
No. 514, Health - Physicians: Paperwork - Reduce,
Mr. D. Dexter 5996
No. 515, Health: Medical Forms - Standardization,
Mr. D. Dexter 5997
No. 516, Prem.: Economy - Status Quo Approach,
Mr. S. McNeil 5999
No. 517, Health: Health Care Serv. - Private Contracts,
Mr. David Wilson (Sackville-Cobequid) 6000
No. 518, Health: Ambulance Diverts - Reverse,
Mr. David Wilson (Sackville-Cobequid) 6002
No. 519, Serv. N.S. & Mun. Rel.: Energy Rebate Prog. - Pub. Inform,
Mr. L. Glavine 6003
No. 520, Justice - Violence/Drugs: Min. Prevention Plans,
Ms. M. Raymond 6005
No. 521, Health: ERs - Patient Tracking,
Ms. D. Whalen 6006
No. 522, Nat. Res.: Boston Christmas Tree - Delivery Mode,
Ms. V. Conrad 6007
No. 523, Health: ERs - Mental Health Triage,
Ms. J. Massey 6009
No. 524, Health - Wait Time Strategy: Creation - Reasons,
Mr. David Wilson (Glace Bay) 6010
No. 525, Fin. - Barrett, Phil: Pension Top-Up - Details,
Mr. J. MacDonell 6011
GOVERNMENT BUSINESS:
PRIVATE MEMBERS' PUBLIC BILLS FOR SECOND READING:
No. 227, Provincial Horse Act, Mr. L. Preyra 6013
Mr. L. Preyra 6013
Mr. H. Theriault 6020
Hon. W. Dooks 6022
Mr. J. MacDonell 6026
Mr. L. Glavine 6028
Hon. B. Taylor 6029
Mr. L. Preyra 6030
Vote - Affirmative 6031
No. 225, Provincial Sport Act, Mr. C. Porter 6031
Mr. C. Porter 6031
Mr. P. Paris 6034
Mr. Manning MacDonald 6038
Adjourned debate 6038
ADJOURNMENT:
MOTION UNDER RULE 43:
Fish. & Aquaculture: Lobster Fishery - Problems,
Mr. H. Theriault 6039
Hon. R. Chisholm 6042
Mr. S. Belliveau 6046
Mr. M. Samson 6049
Hon. R. Hurlburt 6053
Hon. C. d'Entremont 6056
Mr. C. MacKinnon 6058
Ms. V. Conrad 6060
Mr. L. Glavine 6061
Mr. K. Colwell 6062
Mr. K. Bain 6064
Hon. W. Dooks 6065
Mr. F. Corbett 6067
PRIVATE MEMBERS' PUBLIC BILLS FOR SECOND READING:
No. 225, Provincial Sport Act, Mr. C. Porter [Debate resumed] 6069
Mr. Manning MacDonald 6070
Hon. B. Barnet 6074
Mr. W. Estabrooks 6080
Mr. P. Dunn 6085
Mr. T. Zinck 6088
Mr. L. Glavine 6090
Mr. J. MacDonell 6093
Mr. C. Porter 6094
Vote - Affirmative 6095
PRESENTING REPORTS OF COMMITTEES:
Law Amendments Committee, Hon. C. Clarke 6095
HOUSE RESOLVED INTO CWH ON BILLS AT 5:32 P.M. 6096
HOUSE RECONVENED AT 5:35 P.M. 6096
CWH REPORTS 6096
PRESENTING REPORTS OF COMMITTEES:
Law Amendments Committee, Hon. C. Clarke 6097
Law Amendments Committee, Hon. C. Clarke 6097
PUBLIC BILLS FOR THIRD READING:
No. 187, Child Pornography Reporting Act, Hon. C. Clarke 6098
Hon. C. Clarke 6098
Mr. W. Estabrooks 6099
Mr. Manning MacDonald 6100
Hon. C. Clarke 6100
Vote - Affirmative 6100
No. 199, Enforcement of Court Orders Act, Hon. C. Clarke 6101
Hon. C. Clarke 6101
Vote - Affirmative 6101
No. 210, Education Act, Hon. K. Casey 6101
Mr. P. Paris 6102
Mr. L. Glavine 6102
Mr. W. Estabrooks 6102
Hon. K. Casey 6103
Vote - Affirmative 6103
No. 217, Utility and Review Board Act, Hon. M. Baker 6104
Hon. C. Clarke 6104
Vote - Affirmative 6104
ADJOURNMENT:
MOTION UNDER RULE 5(5):
TrentonWorks: Pension Disbursements - Expedite,
Mr. C. MacKinnon 6105
Hon. M. Parent 6107
Mr. P. Dunn 6108
Mr. C. Parker 6109
HOUSE RECESSED AT 6:27 P.M. 6112
HOUSE RECONVENED AT 6:31 P.M. 6112
HOUSE RESOLVED INTO CWH ON BILLS AT 6:31 P.M. 6112
HOUSE RECONVENED AT 6:38 P.M. 6112
CWH REPORTS 6113
PUBLIC BILLS FOR THIRD READING:
No. 211, Fair Registration Practices Act, Hon. M. Parent 6114
Hon. M. Parent 6114
Ms. Maureen MacDonald 6115
Hon. M. Parent 6116
Vote - Affirmative 6116
No. 194, Partnership Act, Hon. J. Muir 6116
Hon. C. Clarke 6116
Vote - Affirmative 6116
PRIVATE MEMBERS' PUBLIC BILLS FOR THIRD READING:
No. 78, Assessment Act, Mr. K. Colwell 6117
Mr. Manning MacDonald 6117
Vote - Affirmative 6117
No. 93, Motor Vehicle Act, Mr. S. McNeil 6117
Mr. F. Corbett 6117
Vote - Affirmative 6117
No. 158, Gaming Control Act, Mr. L. Glavine 6117
Mr. L. Glavine 6118
Vote - Affirmative 6118
No. 189, Miners' Memorial Day Act, Hon. M. Scott 6118
Hon. C. Clarke 6118
Vote - Affirmative 6118
No. 207, Silver Dart 100th Anniversary Act, Mr. K. Bain 6118
Mr. K. Bain 6118
Vote - Affirmative 6119
ADJOURNMENT, House rose to meet again on Fri., Nov. 21st at 9:00 a.m. 6119
NOTICES OF MOTION UNDER RULE 32(3):
Res. 5807, Symphony N.S.: Importance - Acknowledge,
Ms. D. Whalen 6120
Res. 5808, Miller, Natalie - Ruhr Regatta Medal,
Ms. D. Whalen 6120
Res. 5809, Herniak, Edward - Amherst CC Green Award,
Mr. E. Fage 6121
Res. 5810, Landry, Allison: Retirement - Congrats.,
Mr. E. Fage 6121
Res. 5811, First Lego League: Competitors - Congrats.,
Mr. P. Dunn 6122
Res. 5812, Inverness Co. - Arts & Culture Recognition Award,
The Premier 6122
Res. 5813, C.B. Highlands Huskies Girls Soccer Team: Season - Congrats.,
The Premier 6123
Res. 5814, Loughead, Kent: Pub. Serv. (30 Yrs.) - Congrats.,
Hon. B. Taylor 6123
Res. 5815, Naugle, Carolann: Guinness World Records Book - Recognition,
Hon. K. Casey 6124
Res. 5816, Hynes, Maggie: World Vision - Fundraising,
Ms. D. Whalen 6124
Res. 5817, MSVU Mystics Men's Basketball Team: Performances -
Congrats., Mr. D. Whalen 6125
Res. 5818, Dionne, Zachary - WOW Reading Challenge,
Hon. J. Streatch 6125
Res. 5819, Baker, Dylan - WOW Reading Challenge,
Hon. J. Streatch 6126
Res. 5820, Cameron, Gavin - S. Shore United Soccer Team: Season -
Congrats., Hon. J. Streatch 6126
Res. 5821, Stoodley, Evan - S. Shore United Soccer Team: Season -
Congrats., Hon. J. Streatch 6127
Res. 5822, Bruhm, Daniel - S. Shore United Soccer Team: Season -
Congrats., Hon. J. Streatch 6127
Res. 5823, Minard, Brandon - S. Shore United Soccer Team: Season -
Congrats., Hon. J. Streatch 6128
Res. 5824, Williams, Evan - New Ross U-16/18 Boys Soccer Team:
Season - Congrats., Hon. J. Streatch 6128
Res. 5825, Reeves, Dylan - New Ross U-16/18 Boys Soccer Team:
Season - Congrats., Hon. J. Streatch 6129
Res. 5826, Russell, Bryce - New Ross U-16/18 Boys Soccer Team:
Season - Congrats., Hon. J. Streatch 6129
Res. 5827, Reeves, Brandon - New Ross U-16/18 Boys Soccer Team:
Season - Congrats., Hon. J. Streatch 6130
Res. 5828, Lenihan, Craig - New Ross U-16/18 Boys Soccer Team:
Season - Congrats., Hon. J. Streatch 6130
Res. 5829, Bell, Dylan - New Ross U-16/18 Boys Soccer Team:
Season - Congrats., Hon. J. Streatch 6131
Res. 5830, Bell, MacKensey - New Ross U-16/18 Boys Soccer Team:
Season - Congrats., Hon. J. Streatch 6131
Res. 5831, Hatt, Cortney - Chester United U-14 Girls Team: Season -
Congrats., Hon. J. Streatch 6132
Res. 5832, Harnish, Jill - Chester United U-14 Girls Team: Season -
Congrats., Hon. J. Streatch 6132
Res. 5833, Harnish, Courtney - Chester United U-14 Girls Team: Season -
Congrats., Hon. J. Streatch 6133
Res. 5834, Hannaford, Thomas - Chester United U-12 Boys Team:
Season - Congrats., Hon. J. Streatch 6133
Res. 5835, Hamm, Kyle - Chester United U-12 Boys Team: Season -
Congrats., Hon. J. Streatch 6134
Res. 5836, Green, Britni -Chester United U-14 Girls Team: Season -
Congrats., Hon. J. Streatch 6134
Res. 5837, Greek, Morgan - Chester United U-14 Girls Team: Season -
Congrats., Hon. J. Streatch 6135
Res. 5838, Forbes, Evan - Chester United U-12 Boys Team:
Season - Congrats., Hon. J. Streatch 6135
Res. 5839, Swinimer, Evan - Chester United U-12 Boys Team:
Season - Congrats., Hon. J. Streatch 6136
Res. 5840, Dorey, Micayla - Chester United U-14 Girls Team: Season -
Congrats., Hon. J. Streatch 6136
Res. 5841, Creighton, Willa - Chester United U-14 Girls Team: Season -
Congrats., Hon. J. Streatch 6137
Res. 5842, Countway, Bailey - Chester United U-12 Boys Team: Season -
Congrats., Hon. J. Streatch 6137
Res. 5843, Dodson, Chris - Chester United U-12 Boys Team: Season -
Congrats., Hon. J. Streatch 6138
Res. 5844, Bridge, Isaac - Chester United U-12 Boys Team: Season -
Congrats., Hon. J. Streatch 6138
Res. 5845, Hebb, Jordan - Chester United U-12 Boys Team: Season -
Congrats., Hon. J. Streatch 6139
Res. 5846, Adams, Spencer - Chester United U-12 Boys Team: Season -
Congrats., Hon. J. Streatch 6139
Res. 5847, Anderson, Claire - Chester United U-14 Girls Team: Season -
Congrats., Hon. J. Streatch 6140
Res. 5848, Lemoine, Wayne: Paramedicine Grad. - Congrats.,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6140
Res. 5849, Taylor, Tammie: Paramedicine Grad. - Congrats.,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6141
Res. 5850, Smith, Duane: Paramedicine Grad. - Congrats.,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6141
Res. 5851, Nickerson, Peter: Paramedicine Grad. - Congrats.,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6142
Res. 5852, Sutherland, Paula: Paramedicine Grad. - Congrats.,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6142
Res. 5853, Simpson, Marty: Clark's Hbr. Mosquito Foggies -
Dist. Playoffs, Mr. S. Belliveau 6143
Res. 5854, Dennis, Mark - Speed Stacking Medals,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6143
Res. 5855, Devine, Marcus - Hockey Medal,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6144
Res. 5856, Greenwave Sr. Boys Soccer Team - Prov. Championship,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6144
Res. 5857, Little Peoples Place - Anniv. (30th),
Mr. S. Belliveau 6145
Res. 5858, Munroe, Zachary - Hockey Medal,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6145
Res. 5859, Blades, Wylie/Atkinson, Bobbi Jo - Dory Races,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6146
Res. 5860, Woods Hbr. FD: Firefighting Comp. - Congrats.,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6146
Res. 5861, Joudrie, Bevin: Vial of L.I.F.E. Prog. - Congrats.,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6147
Res. 5862, Smith-Hopkins, Veronica - Veterans Wall of Honour,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6147
Res. 5863, Johanna, Ulrich: Lockeport Vol. of Yr. - Congrats.,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6148
Res. 5864, Nickerson, Tristan: Barrington Cub Pack Member - Congrats.,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6148
Res. 5865, Swim, Trevor/Quinlan, Nathan - Dory Races,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6149
Res. 5866, Swim, Trevor/Barnes, Megan - Dory Races,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6149
Res. 5867, Penny, Titus/Chetwynd, Jeremy - Dory Races,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6150
Res. 5868, Jones, Thane - RCL Track & Field Medal,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6150
Res. 5869, Mars, Tanya - Gov.-Gen's Award,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6151
Res. 5870, O'Connell, Tanner: Clark's Hbr. Mosquito Foggies -
Playoffs, Mr. S. Belliveau 6151
Res. 5871, Shelburne Co. Special Olympics Team: Prov. Summer
Games - Congrats., Mr. S. Belliveau 6152
Res. 5872, O'Connell, Skylar: Clark's Hbr. Mosquito Foggies -
Playoffs, Mr. S. Belliveau 6152
Res. 5873, Shelburne Youth Bowlers: Provincials - Participation,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6153
Res. 5874, Shelburne Co. Lob Ballers: Support the Troops Ball Tournament -
Congrats., Mr. S. Belliveau 6153
Res. 5875, Shelburne Bashers - Baseball Medals,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6154
Res. 5876, Shelburne Bashers - Dist. Playoffs,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6154
Res. 5877, Shelburne Auto Parts Bashers: Tournament Win - Congrats.,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6155
Res. 5878, Garland, Shannon - Hockey Medal,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6155
Res. 5879, Nickerson, Shale - Hockey Medal,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6156
Res. 5880, Perry, Scott: Clark's Hbr. Mosquito Foggies - Dist. Playoffs,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6156
Res. 5881, Walsh, Sandra - Prov. Educ. Wk. Award,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6157
Res. 5882, Dixon, Ryan - River Hills Club Championship,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6157
Res. 5883, Crosby, Russell: Craftsmanship - Congrats.,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6158
Res. 5884, Atkinson, Russell/Cunningham, Fenton - Iron Man Row Title,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6158
Res. 5885, Crowell, Ronnie - Clark's Hbr. & Shelburne Giant Pumpkin Comp.,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6159
Res. 5886, Hines, Roman - Hockey Medal,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6159
Res. 5887, Green, Ray - Recreation N.S. Award,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6160
Res. 5888, Jones, Philip - Hockey Medal,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6160
Res. 5889, Jones, Philip and Thane - Silver & Bronze Hockey Medals,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6161
Res. 5890, Hatfield, Ruth - Ruth Rocks,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6161
Res. 5891, Symonds, Patrick: Goudey Golf Tournament - Participation,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6162
Res. 5892, Goreham, Pat: Goudey Golf Tournament - Congrats.,
Ms. S. Belliveau 6162
Res. 5893, Roozes, Nathan: Clark's Hbr. Mosquito Foggies -
Dist. Playoffs, Mr. S. Belliveau 6163
Res. 5894, Quinlan, Nathan/Jones Nicole - Dory Races,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6163
Res. 5895, Smith, Morton - Clark's Hbr./Shelburne Giant Pumpkin Comp.:
Win - Congrats., Mr. S. Belliveau 6164
Res. 5896, Can. 55+ Games: Curling Representatives - Congrats.,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6164
Res. 5897, Barnes, Megan/Atkinson, Bobbi Jo - Dory Races,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6165
Res. 5898, Belliveau, Nolan - Hockey Medal,
Mr. S. Belliveau 6165

[Page 5955]

HALIFAX, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2008

Sixtieth General Assembly

Second Session

10:00 A.M.

SPEAKER

Hon. Alfie MacLeod

DEPUTY SPEAKER

Mr. Wayne Gaudet

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please. Before we start with today's daily routine, I would like to present to you a ruling.

SPEAKER'S RULING: Gov't. withholding documents from Auditor General, re Nominee Prog. (Pt. of privilege by Ms. D. Whalen [Hansard p. 4415, 10/30/08])

On October 30, 2008, the honourable member for Halifax Clayton Park rose on a point of privilege relating to the events, she alleges, of some significance, that it impeded or prevented her from doing her work as a member of the Public Accounts Committee and as a member of this House.

In a nutshell, the honourable member alleges the government refused to provide full access to the Auditor General in his audit of the so-called Nominee Program. That situation, she alleges, prevented her from fulfilling her responsibilities in her role as a member of this House. From information provided by other members and through my investigation of the Hansard reports of the Public Accounts Committee meetings, it clearly appears that access to files and information was provided to the Auditor General submission for his audit purposes.

[Page 5956]

5955

[Page 5957]

The Public Accounts Committee had, at one point, issued subpoenas to the appropriate government officials directing them to release the information. The same committee withdrew the subpoenas when it was determined - through testimony of our Auditor General - that he had received the information he had been trying to obtain in order to effectively conduct his audit. Therefore, in my opinion, there is no prima facie breach of privilege. This decision is based on the facts as I have been able to determine them in the Hansard reports of the Public Accounts Committee, which I have here.

I thank the honourable members for their interventions in this matter and, in particular, the information provided to us by the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee. Thank you.

[10:15 a.m.]

There has been a draw for tonight's late debate and it has been submitted by the honourable member for Pictou West:

Therefore be it resolved that the government do everything within its power to expedite pension disbursements to laid off Trenton workers.

We will commence the daily routine.

PRESENTING AND READING PETITIONS

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Halifax Clayton Park.

MS. DIANA WHALEN: Mr. Speaker, before I present the petition, may I make an introduction?

MR. SPEAKER: Please do.

MS. WHALEN: Thank you. I'd like to draw the members' attention to the west gallery where we're joined today by Ms. Darcene Tannis. She is a constituent of mine in Clayton Park West and is here today to support this petition; she has also signed it. Let's have a proper welcome. (Applause)

Thank you for that warm welcome to my constituent.

Mr. Speaker, I beg leave to introduce a petition on behalf of people who live in apartments in HRM. It is entitled Unfair Taxation of Apartment Renters, and it is addressed to the Minister of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations and the government. It reads as follows: "Since multi-family properties are not taxed the same as private homes, the annual increase in taxes will cause an increase in my rental lease costs. Why am I treated

[Page 5958]

differently than a private homeowner? On behalf of my property owner, I want property taxes to be made fair for me. Please tell me you will change this." - and include apartments in the assessment cap applied to homeowners.

Mr. Speaker, it is signed by 3,204 individuals, and I have also affixed my signature.

MR. SPEAKER: The petition is tabled.

PRESENTING REPORTS OF COMMITTEES

TABLING REPORTS, REGULATIONS AND OTHER PAPERS

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Minister of Health.

HON. CHRISTOPHER D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, I beg leave to introduce a number of annual reports from the district health authorities: the 2007-2008 Annual Reports for the Cumberland Health Authority, Annapolis Valley Health, Colchester East Hants Health Authority, Pictou County Health Authority, South Shore Health, Guysborough Antigonish Strait Health Authority, South West Health Authority, Capital District Health Authority, Cape Breton District Health Authority, as well as the IWK.

MR. SPEAKER: The reports are tabled.

The honourable Minister of Acadian Affairs.

HON. CHRISTOPHER D'ENTREMONT: Merçi beaucoup, Monsieur le président. Monsieur le président, I beg leave to introduce a report, Rapport d'étape, 2008, sur les services en français offrir par le gouvernement de la Nouvelle-Écosse - in English, Progress Report, 2008, French Language Services Provided by the Government of Nova Scotia. I do have a statement after this one as well.

MR. SPEAKER: The reports are tabled.

STATEMENTS BY MINISTERS

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Minister of Acadian Affairs.

HON. CHRISTOPHER D'ENTREMONT: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. If I may do an introduction for a number of people who are in the gallery today?

MR. SPEAKER: Please do.

[Page 5959]

MR. D'ENTREMONT: Thank you very much. I'll ask them to stand and receive the warm welcome of the House and I'll start listing: Gabrielle Verri and Martin Paquette from Patrimoine canadien; Nathalie Poirier de CDENE; Charles Gaudet; and Ronald Bourgois. Also, from the Office of Acadian Affairs: Vaughne Madden, Ina Amirault, Kyla Jardine, Melany Close, Ashley Woodworth, Daniel Arpin, Gaston Saulnier, Helene Lemay and Carole Daley; and also from the juriste, Jean Francoise Caillou.

So with that, I want them to again rise and receive the warm welcome of the House. (Applause) Should I have missed someone, I apologize.

À titre de ministre responsable des Affaires acadiennes et de la Loi sur les services en français, je suis fier de déposer le Rapport d'étape deux mille huit sur les services en français pour l'ensemble du government. Ce rapport bilingue décrit le travail effectué par les institutions publiques désignées dans la presentation de services en français à la communauté acadienne et francophone de la Nouvelle-Écosse pendant l'année financière deux mille sept, deux mille huit.

L'information contenue dans le rapport a été recueille par le comité de coordination des services en français et des personnes-ressources clés représentant trent-neuf des institutions publiques désignées. Ceci inclut tous les ministères, la plupart des offices, et plusieurs organismes et régies régionales de la santé qui sont obligé d'offrir des services en français.

L'Office des affaires acadiennes a compilé et résumé l'information.

Le rapport mesure les réalisations dans sept secteurs:

(1) La communication et la promotion des services in français;

(2) Les ressources humaines;

(3) Le cadre de travail en matière de politique, de réglementation et d'administration;

(4) La consultation de la communauté acadienne et francophone;

(5) L'élaboration et la prestation de services en français;

(6) La préservation et l'essor de la communauté acadienne et francophone; et

(7) Autres activités.

[Page 5960]

En deux mille sept, le lancement de la campagne de publicité pour notre programme de visibilité des services en français Bonjour! a créé des répercussions à l'échelle du gouvernement.

[Page 5961]

Par exemple, nous avons été témoin d'une explosion d'activité dans les domaines de la traduction et de l'accès à l'information en ligne en français. Cela démontre clairement un engagement, par le gouvernement, d'augmenter les services qu'il offre au public francophone. Cela démontre aussi le soutien offert aux communautés acadiennes pour assurer leur autosuffisance.

Les accomplissements présentés dans ce rapport ont été possibles grâce à la collaboration et au soutien

? des minist res, offices et organismes du gouvernement de la Nouvelle- cosse;

? leurs sous-ministres et directeurs généraux;

1 ainsi que les coordonnateurs des services in français.

Bravo à vous tous.

J'aimerais aussi reconnaître le partenariat du gouvernement du Canada par l'entremise du ministère du Patrimoine canadien et l'Entente Canada - Nouvelle-Écosse relative aux services en français, ainsi que de la Fédération acadienne de la Nouvelle-Écosse relative est ses organismes membres.

J'encourage tout le monde à consulter le Rapport d'étape deux mille huit. Des exemplaires seront distribués aux ministères sous peu.

Mr. Speaker, French and English copies of the report are also available and, of course, they are available on the Acadian Affairs Web site, at www.gov.ns.ca/acadian. and with that for all our colleagues in the House of Assembly, as well as ministers from Cabinet, the ones I work with on a regular basis, thank you for your support and the input from your departments on bringing services in the French language to our constituents from one end of the province to another.

With that, thank you very much for this and please, take a copy home and see all the good things that we are doing for Acadians and French culture in Nova Scotia. (Applause)

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Halifax Fairview.

MR. GRAHAM STEELE: Monsieur le président, à titre de porte-parole pour NPD pour les Affaires acadiennes c'est un plaisir pour moi de répondre au discours du ministre. Mais je dois commencer à dire qu'il y a une tradition dans cette assemblée que les critiques soivent notifiés d'un discours du ministre avant qu'il soit livré. C'est difficile pour moi et pour tous les critiques à l'opposition de répondre à un rapport que je viens de recevoir il y a 30 secondes avec aucune notification. Cela dit, Monsieur le président, je dois dire que le

[Page 5962]

progrès du gouvernement avec l'offre des services en français est un succès de ce gouvernement. Il y a du progrès, le progrès est un peu longue, mais c'est nécessaire que ça soit un peu longue afin de savoir le besoin de communauté acadien à travers la province.

Monsieur le président maintenant c'est à la communauté acadien d'employer cet service, de montrer qu'ils ont besoin, qu'ils veulent les services parce-que le plus que les services sont requis le plus le gouvernement peut les offrir. Je veux félicité au nom de NPD le gouvernement du progès qu'il on fait à ce dossier et je serais heureux à lire leur rapport et savoir plus de détails sur ce succès du gouvernement. Merçi.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Clare.

MR. WAYNE GAUDET: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all I want to thank the minister for providing me with a copy of his remarks in advance. My honourable colleague for the Official Opposition indicated he had not received a copy, I did, so I want to thank the minister for providing me with a copy on advance.

Monsieur le président ce rapport démontre l'effort du gouvernement d'offrir les services français à la communauté acadien et francophones dans la Nouvelle-Écosse. Mr. Speaker, this report demonstrates the government's effort in providing French services to our francophone community in our province. I want to encourage our minister to continue working toward providing French services for our francophone population and hoping toward improving upon the delivery of French services offered by our government.

I know my colleague the member for Richmond has raised the need to offer French services in this Assembly on many occasions and I hope, someday, that service will become a reality. There is always room for improvement. Monsieur le président je veux remercier tous les personnes qui travaillent avec le gouvernement pour rendre ces services en français possible et aussi les personnes de la communauté acadiennes et francophones qui continue à travailler envers la réalisation de ce projet. Le ministre a indiqué quelques uns des invités dans la galerie cet après-midi et c'est bien vraie il y en a plusieurs dans la communauté qui travaille avec le gouvernement. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank all the government employees for rendering French services in our province to our francophone population and also I want to thank the individuals and the francophone organizations that are continuing to work with our government to help build upon the services that are being rendered and, of course, hoping that those services will continue to improve.

Again, in closing, I want to encourage the minister responsible for this project to continue to work with the francophone community in our province, to build upon the work that has begun. There's no doubt that we certainly have lots more to do but, definitely, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate the minister and all those who have worked toward making this a reality. Merci.

[Page 5963]

GOVERNMENT NOTICES OF MOTION

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Premier.

RESOLUTION NO. 5769

HON. RODNEY MACDONALD (The Premier): Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas our province has a rich military history; and

Whereas it is appropriate, then, that a former naval training centre in Cornwallis will serve as a meeting place today and tomorrow, scheduled to include Canada's Defence Minister, the Honourable Peter MacKay, as well as defence secretaries of the United States and Great Britain, and others, in the International Security Assistance Force; and

Whereas there are many critical issues on the table for these informal talks;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House welcome our guests to the province and wish them well in their important deliberations.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

[10:30 a.m.]

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

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 Minister of Community Services.

RESOLUTION NO. 5770

HON. JUDY STREATCH: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

[Page 5964]

Whereas National Child Day is November 20th and this year's theme - The Right to Protection from Sexual Exploitation - emphasizes each child's right to be protected from sexual exploitation and abuse; and

Whereas this theme reflects Canada's commitments under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which ensures that all children are treated with dignity and with respect; and

Whereas on this day Nova Scotians, families and individuals, are encouraged to honour the most important members of our communities - our children;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House recognize the importance of protecting children from sexual exploitation in Nova Scotia, Canada and indeed abroad.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

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 Minister of Health.

RESOLUTION NO. 5771

HON. CHRISTOPHER D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Minister of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas public servants do a great job in providing quality service to Nova Scotians every day; and

Whereas Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations recently honoured staff, both individually and in teams, for their outstanding achievements to support the department's goals and objectives, which led to a Minister's Award for Excellence; and

[Page 5965]

Whereas one example of an achievement recognized was the Quality Assurance Team reduction of the turnaround time for client requests from 58 days to nine, increasing customer service for all Nova Scotians;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House recognize and congratulate the 2008 winners of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations' Minister's Awards for Excellence: Kathleen Brown; the Halifax Land Registration Office E-Vault Team members - Michael Jacklyn, Ning Wang, Ken Pierce, Marie-Louise Vieira and James Davison; the Quality Assurance Team members - Ron Skibbons, Gloria Pauls, Leah Lumsden, Paula McKeigan, Faye Mosher and Starlene LeBlanc; and finally, the Wellness Club members - Margo Wilkinson, Germaine Mombourquette, Christopher Purdy, Theresa LeBlanc, Amanda Priest, Donna Arseneau, Veronica Price-Brown, Earl Illsley, Alison Briand and Sharon Crowell.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

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 Minister of Tourism, Culture and Heritage.

RESOLUTION NO. 5772

HON. WILLIAM DOOKS: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Nova Scotia's tourism industry brings more than $1 billion to businesses and attractions throughout the province; and

Whereas the Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage and the Nova Scotia Tourism Partnership Council have held 17 Let's Talk Tourism sessions with tourism operators in communities around the province, in the past 14 months, to talk about issues and ways we can work together to build tourism in Nova Scotia; and

Whereas 470 members of the tourism industry attended these sessions where they learned more about the provincial tourism marketing strategy and had opportunities for discussion about attracting travellers in today's challenging environment;

[Page 5966]

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House recognize the commitment of government and the tourism industry to compete with destinations around the world and bring more visitors to Nova Scotia.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

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 Minister of Emergency Management.

RESOLUTION NO. 5773

HON. CAROLYN BOLIVAR-GETSON: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas on September 24th the Town of Hantsport opened its state-of-the-art Emergency Operations Centre; and

Whereas Hantsport's Emergency Operations Centre will also serve the Town of Windsor and the Municipality of West Hants: and

Whereas this new centre is tied in electronically to the Nova Scotia Emergency Management Office's Joint Emergency Operations Centre in Dartmouth;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of the House congratulate the municipalities of Hantsport, Windsor and West Hants for co-operating on this important step forward for the safety of their citizens.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

[Page 5967]

Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.

[Page 5968]

The motion is carried.

The honourable Minister of Economic Development.

RESOLUTION NO. 5774

HON. ANGUS MACISAAC: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas this morning we saw good news of Nova Scotia once again being the destination of choice for a growing company - Professional Quality Assurance Ltd. - a software testing company of Fredericton; and

Whereas through the work of the province's business development agency and the Department of Economic Development, Professional Quality Assurance Ltd. is expanding in Nova Scotia and plans to create up to 200 jobs over the next five years; and

Whereas this expansion is another example of the opportunities in our IT sector for our workforce and for students, parents, and guidance counsellors to consider - now and for the future;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this provincial Legislature extend their congratulations to Professional Quality Assurance Limited and to the staff of Nova Scotia Business Inc. and Nova Scotia Economic Development for the expansion of PQA in Nova Scotia.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.

The motion is carried.

INTRODUCTION OF BILLS

Bill No. 230 - Entitled an Act to Amend Chapter 23 of the Revised Statutes of 1989. The Assessment Act. (Ms. Diana Whalen)

[Page 5969]

MR. SPEAKER: Ordered that this bill be read a second time on a future day.

NOTICES OF MOTION

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Leader of the Official Opposition.

RESOLUTION NO. 5775

MR. DARRELL DEXTER: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas The Coast weekly newspaper in Halifax has undertaken a Take the Shop Local Pledge contest to encourage its readers to shop at locally owned stores this holiday season; and

Whereas community newspapers in many communities have launched similar "shop local" drives during this holiday season; and

Whereas such support for local businesses and employment is an example of the valuable role that community newspapers play in the social and economic life of our province;

Therefore be it resolved that this House congratulate The Coast for its "shop local" campaign and salute all community newspapers for their record of support for a better Nova Scotia.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

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 Cape Breton South.

[Page 5970]

RESOLUTION NO. 5776

MR. MANNING MACDONALD: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas in tough economic times Nova Scotia businesses and families are faced with many difficult decisions; and

Whereas in a recent interview Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney confirmed that the economic downturn is worse than what was anticipated a month ago; and

Whereas during these rough economic times, Nova Scotians deserve a government that will act in their best interests and be honest about the province's financial situation;

Therefore be it resolved that the Premier and his government be accountable to all Nova Scotians and release an economic update immediately.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

Is it agreed?

I hear several Noes.

The notice is tabled.

The honourable member for Hants West.

RESOLUTION NO. 5777

MR. CHUCK PORTER: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas West Hants Middle School students delved in and received tremendous background information when they celebrated Diversity Day at their school on September 18th; and

Whereas keynote speaker Chris Bourque spoke to approximately 600 students of the importance about understanding and accepting others; and

[Page 5971]

Whereas West Hants Guidance Counsellor Melodie Quinn has said the school's curriculum certainly stresses to students the importance of being aware and respectful of others' differences, but that Diversity Day helps students open their eyes to experiences they may not have experienced otherwise;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of the House applaud the terrific work accomplished during Diversity Day 2008, at Hants West Middle School, on September 18th.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

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 Cole Harbour-Eastern Passage.

RESOLUTION NO. 5778

MS. BECKY KENT: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the widespread use of social networking by school students requires new vigilance and prevention of bullying and cyber-bullying; and

Whereas tens of thousands of students have learned through such networks that today is supposed to be Kick a Ginger Day, an Internet event that some people may take too seriously and cause devastating harm; and

Whereas school officials in other provinces have taken steps to avoid real-life consequences in their schools today;

Therefore be it resolved that this House urge the Minister of Education and school authorities to take a forward-looking and preventive approach to the bullying, cyber-bullying and violence in our schools which can quickly develop through social networks.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

[Page 5972]

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

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 Digby-Annapolis.

RESOLUTION NO. 5779

MR. HAROLD THERIAULT: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas at a time when electricity costs are through the roof, it is important that Nova Scotians do all they can to reduce their consumption; and

Whereas there are many simple ways for people to use less power, ideas such as turning off the lights when leaving a room, using cold water when washing clothes and turning off electronics instead of putting them on standby; and

Whereas if people are willing to put forth the effort, they can save money as well as our environment;

Therefore be it resolved that members of the House of Assembly encourage all Nova Scotians to take steps to reduce their bi-monthly power consumption.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.

The motion is carried.

[Page 5973]

The honourable member for Cumberland North.

MR. ERNEST FAGE: Mr. Speaker, if I may be permitted a small explanation before I read my resolution?

MR. SPEAKER: Yes.

MR. FAGE: On every member's desk this morning there's a "wake-up call" card reminding people to have an annual checkup. This is sponsored by the Elliot family of Amherst, and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Nova Scotia. This tragedy to this family happened 10 years ago, a young man 40 years old tragically died from a massive heart attack while playing hockey. His mother and father, his siblings and his four daughters, along with friends and supporters in the community, work with Heart and Stroke and I think it's important to acknowledge that before I read my resolution.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Cumberland North.

RESOLUTION NO. 5780

MR. ERNEST FAGE: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas on November 22, 2008, the Amherst Recreational Hockey Team and Heart and Stroke Foundation of Nova Scotia are holding their 7th Annual Awareness Day at the Amherst Stadium from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.; and

Whereas this year's agenda will include for the first time an Awareness Day hockey game with the Amherst team playing the Sussex, New Brunswick Mooseheads, who won the Florida Winter Tournament in March 2008; and

Whereas Senator Marilyn Trenholm, and Awareness Day chair Ron Elliot, Sr., will be on hand to officially open the event;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House join me in sending our support to this important event by carrying a "wake-up call" card to remind us all to have an annual medical checkup.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

Is it agreed?

[Page 5974]

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 Dartmouth South-Portland Valley.

RESOLUTION NO. 5781

MS. MARILYN MORE: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Dartmouth Learning Network has supported much-needed educational upgrading for adult learners in our community for over 20 years; and

Whereas DLN fundraises for and highlights the value of literacy through its annual Word for Word variety show held this year at the Nova Scotia Community College Waterfront Campus; and

Whereas this concert showcased the tremendous talents, skills and commitment to literacy of Pat Wilson, Dave Staples, Stephen Kimber, The TestosterTONES, Vanessa Buhr-Rountree, Chris Rowntree, Leon Cole, Stephanie Domet, Dan McKinnon, and Master of Ceremony Don Connolly;

Therefore be it resolved that the Nova Scotia Legislature congratulate the Dartmouth Learning Network, especially Word for Word organizer Margaret Rockwell, Executive Director Sunday Miller, Board Chair Gordon Eastwood, all the entertainers, stage crew, DLN staff, board sponsors and supporters, for another successful fundraiser and recognition of the potential of adult learners in our community.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

[10:45 a.m.]

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.

[Page 5975]

The motion is carried.

The honourable member for Cape Breton South.

RESOLUTION NO. 5782

MR. MANNING MACDONALD: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Nova Scotia businesses need reassurance that they can survive the recent economic turmoil; and

Whereas in a study released yesterday the CFIB showed that in the Atlantic Region, Nova Scotia businesses are the least optimistic about their economic future; and

Whereas the results of this study are not surprising, given that the Progressive Conservative Government refuses to address the economic crisis facing our province;

Therefore be it resolved that the Premier and his government do the responsible thing and bring forward an economic update immediately.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

Is it agreed?

I hear several Noes.

The notice is tabled.

The honourable member for Victoria-The Lakes.

RESOLUTION NO. 5783

MR. KEITH BAIN: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the longest running community fair held anywhere in Cape Breton Island is the Victoria County Community Fair, which was held for the 78th consecutive year in early September; and

[Page 5976]

Whereas there was a wide range of participants, including 4-H members who were judged on everything from cake decorating to rabbits to poultry; and

Whereas the fair saw individuals from 4-H having their articles judged with two representatives from each category being chosen to attend the Nova Scotia Provincial 4-H Show in Windsor in late September;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of the House of Assembly compliment all Victoria County 4-H members and all participants who were involved in the 78th Annual Victoria County Community Fair.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

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 Cape Breton Centre.

RESOLUTION NO. 5784

MR. FRANK CORBETT: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the New Waterford Wellness Society recently won the Bluenose Achievement Award; and

Whereas this award recognizes outstanding achievement in the improvement of recreational leads or opportunities in one's community; and

Whereas the New Waterford Wellness Society has been a promoter of recreational opportunities including the veterans' soccer turf, Dr. J.A. Roach basketball courts, New Waterford ball hockey surface, and other recreational endeavours promoting wellness in our community;

[Page 5977]

Therefore be it resolved that the Nova Scotia Legislature congratulate the New Waterford Wellness Society in helping improve the overall health and well-being of the people of New Waterford and area.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

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 Hants West.

RESOLUTION NO. 5785

MR. CHUCK PORTER: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Harvard Business School, 100 years old this year, is the institution that pioneered the Master's Degree in Business Administration; and

Whereas 2001 Harvard grad Tara Dunn, a member of Harvard's hockey team that won the U.S. collegiate championship in 1999, was recently accepted to their elite business school; and

Whereas Tara was one of the first winners of the Harvard Business School Life Science Fellowship, a $20,000 award established in September 2008, and this week was the recipient of the John H. MacArthur Canadian Fellowship, a $10,000 award;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate the daughter of the member for Pictou Centre for being the recipient of fellowships presented to Harvard students possessing outstanding credentials from various disciplines in the life sciences.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

Is it agreed?

[Page 5978]

It is agreed.

[Page 5979]

Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.

The motion is carried.

The honourable member for Pictou West.

RESOLUTION NO. 5786

MR. CHARLES PARKER: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Joey MacDonald of Bayview, Pictou County, is having a great season as the goalie of the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League; and

Whereas Joey MacDonald grew up playing minor hockey in Pictou County before going on to star with the Halifax Mooseheads and then being drafted by the Detroit Red Wings; and

Whereas Joey MacDonald was recently picked as the star of the game for three games in a row;

Therefore be it resolved that the members of this Nova Scotia Legislature congratulate Joey MacDonald of the New York Islanders for his continued outstanding play and for making Nova Scotia proud of his accomplishments.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

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.

[Page 5980]

RESOLUTION NO. 5787

MR. LEO GLAVINE: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas John Longley was known as Mr. Exhibition, recognizing the remarkable accomplishments he has made while manager of the Annapolis Valley Exhibition and also contributing to provincial and national exhibition associations; and

Whereas John was known as a friend to all, a man who would not shy away from tough problems but would find a solution to benefit all involved; and

Whereas John passed away suddenly, November 4, 2008, he will be sadly missed by his wife, Janet, family and friends;

Therefore be it resolved that members of this House offer heartfelt condolences while acknowledging his legacy to agriculture, in particular the Annapolis County Exhibition.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

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 Pictou Centre.

RESOLUTION NO. 5788

MR. PATRICK DUNN: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the women at Family Service of Eastern Nova Scotia are once again helping those in need; and

Whereas the group are hosting the Share the Warmth blanket drive until the end of December and are accepting new and slightly used blankets for those who need some extra warmth this winter; and

[Page 5981]

Whereas the program helped more than 250 people last year and collected blankets are distributed to the Pictou County Food Bank, Kid's First Family Resource Centre and the Salvation Army;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House thank the women at Family Service of Eastern Nova Scotia for their blanket drive, helping those in their community who need it most.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

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 Halifax Citadel-Sable Island.

RESOLUTION NO. 5789

MR. LEONARD PREYRA: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act recognize the rights of all to be free from discrimination; and

Whereas Nova Scotia is a society open to everyone regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity: and

Whereas in Nova Scotia, people who are gender variant are often perceived as different by much of society, leading to some of the highest rates of violence, intimidation, social discrimination and marginalization experienced by any group;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly recognize November 20th as the International Transgender Remembrance Day and commend Denise Holliday and her radio show - Over the Rainbow - the Lesbian, Gay Bisexual Youth Project, Metro Community Church Safe Harbour, Pride, Health, and other community groups for their hard work in attempting to educate society about and eliminate transphobia.

[Page 5982]

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

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 Hants East on an introduction.

MR. JOHN MACDONELL: Mr. Speaker, I would like to draw the attention of the members of the House to the west gallery. They would know that we're not overrun by individuals from Enfield to the House, so it gives me great pleasure to introduce a couple from the Horne Settlement area, just a mile or so as the crow flies, from where I live. I would like the House to give a warm welcome to Phil and Connie Barrett, neighbours of mine. (Applause)

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Clare.

RESOLUTION NO. 5790

MR. WAYNE GAUDET: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Saulnierville PharmaChoice located in Clare is celebrating 20 years in business this year; and

Whereas Rick Theriault and his staff with their wealth of knowledge have provided the people of Clare with outstanding service; and

Whereas the Saunierville PharmaChoice has contributed greatly to the economic sector of the Municipality of Clare;

Therefore be it resolved that members of this Legislature congratulate Rick Theriault and his staff for servicing the people of Clare for the past 20 years.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

[Page 5983]

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

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 Victoria-The Lakes.

RESOLUTION NO. 5791

MR. KEITH BAIN: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Nova Scotia Public Service Commission is dedicated to building a service that strives for excellence while recruiting Nova Scotians to meet the needs of a modern and innovative Public Service; and

Whereas Rudy Jenkins of Baddeck has served the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal for 30 years; and

Whereas Rudy was recently recognized by the Province of Nova Scotia for his 30 years of dedication and commitment, which he exemplifies as an employee with the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly commend Rudy Jenkins of Baddeck on his tremendous work ethic and for doing such an outstanding job over the past three decades.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.

[Page 5984]

The motion is carried.

The honourable member for Pictou East.

RESOLUTION NO. 5792

MR. CLARRIE MACKINNON: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Nova Scotia Organ and Tissue Donation program, known as Legacy of Life, was created almost two years ago; and

Whereas the Pictou County Health Authority has become strongly engaged in public awareness toward the importance of organ and tissue donation; and

Whereas a gala dinner was hosted last month in which 150 people came out to support the cause, including 37 who signed cards indicating willingness to participate in this community-based support program;

Therefore be it resolved that the Nova Scotia Legislative Assembly commend the Pictou County Health Authority's Legacy of Life program for the success of its education, its tissue donation program and a commitment to assisting transplant patients across Nova Scotia.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

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.

[Page 5985]

RESOLUTION NO. 5793

MR. LEO GLAVINE: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas a recent GPI Atlantic Report has provided further proof that the farming industry in Nova Scotia is in the process of collapsing; and

Whereas the report finds that since 2001, the number of jobs in the agriculture sector have dropped by 36 per cent, from 7,300 to 4,700; and

Whereas in a time when Nova Scotians are being asked to buy local, this government needs to realize that at this pace there will be less farmers and less local food.

Therefore be it resolved that the Premier and his Minister of Agriculture understand the crisis that the agricultural sector is facing and work toward developing a plan to get this vital industry back on track.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

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 Minister of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations.

RESOLUTION NO. 5794

HON. JAMES MUIR: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Dr. Nuala Kenny, a Sister of Charity and former Nova Scotia Deputy Minister of Health, is internationally recognized as an educator and physician ethicist; and

Whereas Dr. Nuala Kenny, after a 30-year career in academic paediatrics became the founding chair of the Department of Bioethics at Dalhousie Faculty of Medicine in 1996; and

[Page 5986]

Whereas Dr. Nuala Kenny, who has received four honorary degrees, was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada, received a 2008 Fellowship in the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House thank and congratulate Dr. Nuala Kenny for outstanding contributions to the field of medicine and to the Nova Scotia Department of Health, and wish her continued health and happiness as she retires from Dalhousie University.

[11:00 a.m.]

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

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 Dartmouth South-Portland Valley.

RESOLUTION NO. 5795

MS. MARILYN MORE: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Dartmouth Historical Association instituted the Joseph Howe Fellowship Award, to recognize outstanding people who have helped to preserve heritage, culture or have been leaders in community service; and

Whereas this award was presented to Bea MacGregor, executive director of the Alderney Landing Cultural Convention Centre on the Dartmouth waterfront and former executive director of the Downtown Dartmouth Business Corporation; and

Whereas this award especially recognizes her well-respected leadership and management of the many components of Alderney Landing, including the theatre, farmers' market, convention centre, gallery and outdoor stage and plaza;

[Page 5987]

Therefore be it resolved that the Nova Scotia Legislature congratulate the Dartmouth Historical Association and Bea MacGregor on the occasion of her Joseph Howe Fellowship Award presentation and thank her for her many contributions to this community and province.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

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 Clare.

RESOLUTION NO. 5796

MR. WAYNE GAUDET: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the staff and management of Guy's Frenchy's stores participated in a fundraising campaign for the IWK Hospital; and

Whereas the combined effort of this past year brought in in excess of $60,000; and

Whereas with all the help from their customers and businesses that donated to a very successful campaign;

Therefore be it resolved that members of this House of Assembly congratulate all the staff and management of all the Guy's Frenchy's stores and thank them for this generous contribution for the IWK Hospital and for their continued dedication.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

[Page 5988]

Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.

The motion is carried.

The honourable Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

RESOLUTION NO. 5797

HON. RONALD CHISHOLM: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Premier MacDonald said during Public Service Week in early October that Nova Scotia's civil servants contributed to the prosperity of our province; and

Whereas Premier MacDonald also said civil servants provide high-quality service to keep our families safe, our businesses growing and our communities thriving every single day; and

Whereas Raymond Macleod of Country Harbour, Guysborough County, was recognized in October for his 30 years of faithful and dedicated work for the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly commend Country Harbour's Raymond Macleod for his 30 years of outstanding work in Nova Scotia's Public Service, while wishing him continued success.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

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 Pictou East.

[Page 5989]

RESOLUTION NO. 5798

MR. CLARRIE MACKINNON: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Westville Hook and Ladder Company was formed in 1874, 20 years before the Town of Westville was incorporated; and

Whereas the Westville Fire Rescue Department consists of 35 dedicated members who are trained as firefighters and first responders; and

Whereas volunteers and auxiliary members give up their time to attend training, respond to fire emergencies in their own district, provide assistance to neighbouring districts, maintain equipment and continuously fundraise to purchase equipment;

Therefore be it resolved that the Nova Scotia Legislative Assembly commend Chief Ken Dunn and the volunteer firefighters of the Westville Fire Department for their dedication to their community and congratulate them on 134 years of outstanding service.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

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 Minister of Tourism, Heritage and Culture.

RESOLUTION NO. 5799

HON. WILLIAM DOOKS: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas fire departments on the Eastern Shore are run by volunteers; and

Whereas through dedication and self-sacrifice volunteers like Tom Gorman keep the departments going; and

[Page 5990]

Whereas with these volunteers our communities are strengthened;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House applaud the contribution of Tom Gorman of the Chezzetcook Fire Department and wish him continued success.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

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 Cole Harbour-Eastern Passage.

RESOLUTION NO. 5800

MS. BECKY KENT: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Cole Harbour residents enjoyed the presentation of the first Cole Harbour Harvest Festival earlier this year; and

Whereas the festival celebrated the richness and talent of the community of Cole Harbour, which fostered great community spirit, through fun, family-oriented activities; and

Whereas Cole Harbour Harvest Festival committee chair Lorelei Nicoll and committee members Jim Nicoll, Venkatesh Thyagarjan, Patricia Lemont, David and Joan MacAulay were the driving force behind the success of this festival;

Therefore be it resolved that this Nova Scotia House of Assembly congratulate the Cole Harbour Harvest Festival Committee on the successful presentation of the first Cole Harbour Harvest Festival.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

[Page 5991]

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 Minister of Agriculture.

RESOLUTION NO. 5801

HON. BROOKE TAYLOR: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Nova Scotia Public Service Commission is dedicated to building a service that strives for excellence while recruiting Nova Scotians to meet the needs of modern and innovative public service; and

Whereas Mr. Roger Paul Morash of Elderbank in the beautiful Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley has served the Department of Natural Resources as a conservation officer for the past 30 years; and

Whereas Mr. Roger Morash was recently recognized by the Government of Nova Scotia for his long-time service;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House applaud the tremendous work ethic and commitment of Roger Paul Morash to Nova Scotia's Public Service and for the job that he has done so well.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.

The motion is carried.

[Page 5992]

The honourable Minister of Immigration.

RESOLUTION NO. 5802

HON. LEONARD GOUCHER: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Peter Fredericks began his insurance career in the family business, Ray F. Fredericks Insurance Limited, in February, 1977; and

Whereas Peter has worked diligently to see the continued growth of the family brokerage, and over the years he has held numerous positions with the Insurance Brokers Association of Nova Scotia and the Insurance Brokers Association of Canada; and

Whereas in September of 2008, Peter was named the 57th President of the Insurance Brokers Association of Canada;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House acknowledge the years of dedication by Peter to the insurance industry and congratulate Peter in his new role as President of the IBAC.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver.

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

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 Minister of Finance.

RESOLUTION NO. 5803

HON. MICHAEL BAKER: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Jocelyn Cushman, Larry Brown, John Letson, Ian Munroe, Paul and Betty Middleton have been racing handmade wooden schooners at the Mahone Bay Classic Boat Festival for many years; and

[Page 5993]

Whereas Ms. Cushman's boat, a 23-foot Bolger light schooner, was built by John Letson and Ian Munroe at the Classic Boat Festival; and

Whereas Ms. Cushman and her sailing mates have agreed to donate their boats to the Nova Scotia Sea School in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, for the enjoyment and education of sea school students;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of the House of Assembly thank Jocelyn Cushman, Larry Brown, John Letson, Ian Munroe, Paul and Betty Middleton for their donation to the Nova Scotia Sea School.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

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 Minister of Labour and Workforce Development.

RESOLUTION NO. 5804

HON. MARK PARENT: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Camp Aldershot has been a long-standing partner in the Valley community; and

Whereas there have been many changes in recent years to the role and training at the camp; and

Whereas August 6th saw a change of command to the camp, with Major Scott Bland taking charge of the camp;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Major Scott Bland in his new role as camp commander and wish him every success.

[Page 5994]

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

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 Minister of Natural Resources.

RESOLUTION NO. 5805

HON. DAVID MORSE: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas a student, Monika Neufeld of New Minas Elementary, initiated and organized a school-wide penny collection; and

Whereas Monika and her schoolmates collected 140,000 pennies, exceeding their goal of 100,000, and then donated half of them to the Stephen Lewis Foundation, an organization to help children who have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS in Africa; and

Whereas the remainder of the pennies were directed to CODE, the Canadian Organization for Development through Education, who matched them two to one to purchase school supplies for an African country;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House commend Monika Neufeld and her schoolmates for their social conscience and willingness to share their good fortune as Canadians, and congratulate them on their endeavour.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

[Page 5995]

Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.

The motion is carried.

The honourable Minister of Human Resources.

RESOLUTION NO. 5806

HON. CAROLYN BOLIVAR-GETSON: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the parish of the Calvary Lutheran Church, Middlewood, celebrated its 100th Anniversary on September 28th; and

Whereas Bishop Michael Pryse, Eastern Synod Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, gave the sermon; and

Whereas the memorabilia of the last 100 years was displayed for everyone to enjoy;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of the House join me in sending congratulations to the parish and congregation of the Calvary Lutheran Church on their 100th Anniversary, and sincere wishes for many more years of service to the community of Middlewood and surrounding communities.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.

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 Digby-Annapolis.

MR. HAROLD THERIAULT: Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the notice I've given you in accordance with Rule 43, I would like to move to have the business of the House set aside for the purpose of dealing with a matter of urgent public importance. Nova Scotia's lobster fishery is an important and vital economic industry that employs and directly affects thousands of people in our coastal communities. Worries are growing on both sides of the

[Page 5996]

border over what is going to happen when the southwestern Nova Scotia lobster fishery opens next week.

Declining orders and credit problems in a troubled economy has led to the decrease in demand for lobster products and this will have a substantial, negative impact on southwestern Nova Scotia, indeed, the entire province.

With volatile markets and the slowing economy the lobster fishery faces an uncertain and difficult future if the problem is not addressed by the Government of Nova Scotia immediately. It is a critical situation that deserves urgent attention. It is estimated that the processing sector will only buy about one-third of what it normally purchased during the approaching lobster season, however, lobster fishermen are going to find that the processing sector will not be present to the degree that they've seen in the past.

It is predicted that approximately $100 million will be reduced from the economy in the next six months, should the lobster fishery not receive substantial economic assistance in the near future. Given the severity of the situation, I believe it is important for government to speak to this serious situation. It is imperative that we immediately set aside time to discuss and debate the best way for our province to address this emergency.

[11:15 a.m.]

The next generation of lobster fishermen and indeed the sustainability of our coastal communities depend on this matter. The importance of a sustainable lobster industry in Nova Scotia requires the immediate attention of the House and I would ask that all members of this House support our motion for this emergency debate. Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER: I have received more than two hours notice of the matter required under Rule 43(2), and under Rule 43(4) I am required to decide whether the matter is proper to be discussed. I have considered the factors set out in Rule 43(4A), this is a matter of grave concern to Nova Scotians and it does come partially within the jurisdiction of the provincial, as well as the federal governments. Therefore my question is, does the House agree to give leave for the motion to this debate?

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

The motion is carried.

The debate shall take place at the hour of adjournment. It will be for two hours with each member having an opportunity to speak for a maximum of 15 minutes.

[Page 5997]

ORDERS OF THE DAY

ORAL QUESTIONS PUT BY MEMBERS

MR. SPEAKER: The time is now 11:17 a.m. and we will go until 12:17 p.m.

The honourable Leader of the Official Opposition

TIR - WEATHER EVENT (19/11/08): HWY. SYSTEM - PREPARATION

MR. DARRELL DEXTER: Mr. Speaker, my question will be for the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal. Last night's snowfall was not forecast but it was not unpredictable either. It brought our provincial highway system to a virtual standstill. Sections of the 100-Series Highways were closed and reports this morning say that hundreds of cars were left on the roadside. Some drivers and passengers had to spend the night in their vehicles. Drivers in the affected areas say there were very few snowplows on the roads last night, so my question for the minister is, why was the department not prepared to keep the highways safe and open?

HON. MURRAY SCOTT: Mr. Speaker, that is a very serious issue and something that I take full responsibility for as the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal. I do want to say first of all to those motorists who were stranded in their vehicles, I apologize to them for any discomfort they incurred. I believe at this time no one was injured, there was certainly nothing any worse, no serious injury.

As a result of what happened last night, two things are being put into place this morning. First, I'm calling together all of the appropriate departments involved, EMO, the provincial police, other folks who would be involved in regard to what happened in the situation last night to do a full review of what transpired, what protocols should be put in place in the event that it would happen in the future. The second thing is, I'm calling for a private review of the Cobequid Pass highway, to do a review of the safety of that highway, to ensure that motorists can be assured they are driving on a safe highway in this province. That review will be done independently of my department.

MR. DEXTER: Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the minister's attention to this matter and I know that on a personal basis, the minister travels that highway quite often and, of course, would be well aware of the conditions that are there. The weather event that happened yesterday at this time of year, would not be totally unexpected though. I understand last night at 6:15 p.m., a manager at the Highway No. 104 Western Alignment Corporation said that we still have vehicles that are stuck and we haven't seen a snowplough here in more than 30 minutes. At 7:49 a.m., the government's 511 road information system still reported that the section of the Cobequid Pass was impossible (Interruptions) I said impossible, I meant impassable - maybe impossible too, but impassable. I understand part of the problem was a

[Page 5998]

communications problem with people going through the tolls not being warned about what lay ahead of them.

I ask the minister, will he also be reviewing the question of communications with respect to this matter, with the EMO, with the policing authorities, and, of course, with the staff in the toll facilities, in order to make sure motorists are appropriately warned?

MR. SCOTT: Mr. Speaker, yes.

MR. DEXTER: Mr. Speaker, I'm glad I could give the minister an easy one. The reality is that they were caught somewhat unprepared for this. The other question I'd like to aks the minister is with respect to that section of the highway. Any of us who travel that highway understand that there are no services for almost 40 kilometres. I would ask whether or not the minister will also commit to a review of the contractual arrangements with the Western Alignment Corporation and to see whether or not it's possible to have services provided on that section of the highway?

MR. SCOTT: Mr. Speaker, I do thank the honourable member for the question. I believe the honourable member was outside when I was interviewed by the media and I said to the media, one of the things I have asked of my deputy this morning is I want someone to take a look at the contractual agreement we have with that highway to see if, in fact, we can allow - either publicly, or privately, or some sort of process - that we could allow for services somewhere on that highway. I've already told the media outside that's part of my review that will happen right away, so the answer is yes.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Clare.

TIR - WEATHER EVENT (19/11/08): COBEQUID PASS -

SAFETY REVIEW

MR. WAYNE GAUDET: Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal. Yesterday, hundreds of people were stranded in their vehicles after an accident blocked the Cobequid Pass. The RCMP estimates as many as 1,500 cars were backed up along a 10 kilometre stretch. While it's the first major snowfall of the season, such weather is not out of the ordinary for this time of the year. People were stranded in their vehicles overnight after this accident, hoping they had enough gas to keep their cars heated, completely unacceptable. My first question to the minister is, why did this happen?

HON. MURRAY SCOTT: Mr. Speaker, I do want to start by saying that the department staff, the snowplow operators, have good equipment, they are well trained and well prepared for winter. They'd be in the process now - a lot of those trucks would have been changed over with ploughs and prepared for salting and sand, and they'd be prepared

[Page 5999]

for the winter season. But, I don't know how anybody could have been any better prepared for what happened last night on the Cobequid Pass. If you can picture - high winds, high snow, blizzard conditions, vehicles blocking the road and vehicles driving into that, congesting it. Snowplow operators are trained and prepared to plough snow. When they were faced with that situation last night, it was very difficult for them. We have their safety to be concerned about as well and all emergency responders.

I can say that I believe that in normal conditions, they are well prepared. Unfortunately, what happened last night was not only unpredictable and not called for, but something that fortunately doesn't happen on a regular basis. As I said earlier, I'm committed to doing a full review within my departments, and the other departments, and those responsible - the emergency response, the police and so on - and involving the media. That's one end of it as well.

I'm going to have a review done of that highway to ensure that a safety review is done by an independent body to ensure the highway is safe. Mr. Speaker, I do believe, and I want to say that highway workers in this province and snowplow operators, I believe, are well equipped, well prepared and well trained for winter conditions in Nova Scotia.

MR. GAUDET: Mr. Speaker, the media reported that the road kept backing up overnight. Wayne Crossan, one of the road operators, had this to say after the accident, "We still have vehicles that are stuck, we still have vehicles off the road and I haven't seen a plow go by here in probably 30 minutes." This is unacceptable that people were stranded in their cars overnight but what is even more intolerable is the lack of response from the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal and Emergency Management Office. So again to the minister, where was government's response system to deal with emergencies such as this that inevitably arise at this time of the year?

MR. SCOTT: Mr. Speaker, there are several things I would like to mention here. One is that we are where we are. I am the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal, I'm responsible and I will take full responsibility for this issue. I will do the best I can to ensure that the public are prepared about all the things we just talked about a moment ago. I remember back in the mid-1990s, I live in that area and I remember very clearly many people who live in that area, farmers who said consistently and repeatedly, don't put the highway over that mountain, the conditions there are unbelievable, it's wrong to do it. But that road was put there anyway. We are where we are and I have to deal with that.

The other thing, Mr. Speaker, is this. As we all would know, transportation workers in Nova Scotia, we have summer employees, we have winter employees. Some only work in those seasons, some work in both seasons. One of the issues that I'm attempting to address in my department right now is that those employees who are laid off in the summer-to-winter season and have that break, we're trying to bridge that. In fact, we've put additional resources

[Page 6000]

this year in my department to bridge those employees who want to work summer and winter, to work year-round, so we can have a consistent workforce who are with us year round.

I know that's not an easy task but it's something that I want to see addressed so that we have year-round employees who will know and have some security in their life, but also give my department a secure workforce year round. I appreciate the honourable member's questions because I know he has a real heart for safety in our province on our highways. I've spoken about it many times. We will deal with this issue.

MR. GAUDET: Mr. Speaker, the slow response to yesterday's accident was completely unacceptable. The news release at 5:30 a.m. reported that there are still stranded vehicles on the highway. So my question is for the Minister of Emergency Management, will your government commit to reviewing and improving emergency response services so that this situation does not happen again?

HON. CAROLYN BOLIVAR-GETSON: Mr. Speaker, as the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal did answer the question, he also stated that we would be having a joint meeting to look at all the services that are provided in the province. We are committed to sit at that table with them and look at all these services.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Leader of the Official Opposition.

HEALTH - PHYSICIANS: PAPERWORK - REDUCE

MR. DARRELL DEXTER: Mr. Speaker, my question will be for the Premier. The Premier quite often makes excuses for things he cannot do. Emergency rooms are closed because his government does not recruit or retain enough doctors. People go without a family physician because this government does not recruit or retain enough doctors. Well, according to Doctors Nova Scotia, this government can help add the equivalent of 20 to 40 doctors for Nova Scotians. Government can take the lead on reducing paperwork in the form of sick notes and medical reports that doctors must fill out. So my question for the Premier is, what steps has his government taken to reduce the paperwork burden so that doctors can spend more time on patient care and less time on paperwork?

THE PREMIER: In fact, Mr. Speaker, for clarity and for my colleague, Nova Scotia has the highest doctor-to-patient ratio in the country and we're very proud of that fact. With respect to working with our doctors, we continue to work with them to ensure that we provide the very best of care to Nova Scotians; we will continue to do so. One of the aspects in the last contract dealt with ensuring that we encourage more doctors out in our rural communities to deal with some of the issues that we are dealing with. That's the very reason why we are investing in information technology and working with our doctors to speed up the process for our patients but also to have better records. We will continue to do so and we will continue to work with Doctors Nova Scotia to see progress in that regard.

[Page 6001]

MR. DEXTER: Mr. Speaker, many doctors say that they fill out at least one sick note or medical form a day. People are even showing up at the emergency rooms, when they're open, to have the forms filled in, but there are solutions. The Canadian Medical Association recently suggested that the insurance industry and that the government standardize sick note and medical forms and make greater use of electronic forms. Therefore my question is to the Minister of Health. Why haven't you listened to the CMA and acted to reduce paperwork burden, so that doctors are able to treat their patients rather than fill out paperwork?

MR. D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, through the last number of months we've been able to sign an historic agreement with Doctors Nova Scotia when it comes to their master agreement. Within that agreement are a number of incentives and initiatives to streamline processes just like this one, not only in paperwork basis, but also trying to find ways to utilize more electronic medical systems, electronic patient records and the like.

So, Mr. Speaker, I know the issue today is one that is concerning, one that we would like to find new solutions to, and from place to place, different employers, different organizations require these kinds of notes and we need to find a better way to address them.

[11:30 a.m.]

MR. DEXTER: Well, Mr. Speaker, Doctors Nova Scotia brought this matter to the public's attention last summer and certainly to the minister's attention. Instead of taking a leadership role to try and develop a standardized sick note or medical form, the minister appears to have spent all his time working on excuses. So my question is, why doesn't the minister recognize that he needs to ensure that doctors can spend more time treating their patients and less time filling out medical forms, especially when that could mean the equivalent of 20 to 40 more doctors for Nova Scotians?

MR. D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, I think over the last year or so we've used our time very wisely in organizing the master agreement with Doctors Nova Scotia, again, an historic document that does flow millions and millions of dollars to doctors, but not just to provide the same old service, to provide new services, new innovations like this one, which includes electronic patient records in order to streamline these kinds of processes.

Mr. Speaker, the other impetus that really will help this one will be the addition of broadband across this province, so that our physicians can access the systems that they require to make this one even better.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Leader of the Official Opposition on a new question.

HEALTH: MEDICAL FORMS - STANDARDIZATION

[Page 6002]

MR. DARRELL DEXTER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't think the Minister of Health is really getting this. The Canadian Medical Association says that standardizing sick note forms, medical forms, will save time and reduce errors.

Mr. Speaker, I want to table the Nova Scotia Certificate that is required to be filled out by an attending physician. I also want to table the Capital Health's form for medical sick note; I want to table the IWK's medical form; I also want to table the Driver's Medical Examination Report through that agency - four different forms for four different provincial agencies. So my question for the Minister of Health is, why hasn't the Minister of Health acted to standardize the forms required by provincial government agencies and departments, as a simple first step in reducing the paperwork burden on family doctors?

HON. CHRISTOPHER D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister opposite for this question but I'm concerned with the misinformation he is providing here. He has provided four different documents which all ask for four different types of information.

I hope that the member opposite is not saying that we need to do medical examinations for drivers; I am hoping that the member opposite is not saying that we shouldn't be doing this kind of work. The ones that I am concerned about are the issues where people, in order to get time off or to get those kinds of services, they need to have a doctor's note in order to say that they were sick.

Now, Mr. Speaker, again, through the master agreement we do have a lot more leeway to work with our physicians and that is what we were waiting for, to make sure that we did it correctly, rather than haphazardly, as the member opposite is suggesting.

MR. DEXTER: Well thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would remind the minister that this is a suggestion that came forward from the Canadian Medical Association. If a Capital Health employee indicates on their first two-page sick note that they are pregnant or suffering from mental illness, the doctor then must fill out another two-page form. Each form has more than 40 questions, the pregnancy form even asks for the patient's pre-pregnancy and current weights. Some employers require a sick note every 30 days, even if the diagnosis is the same.

Mr. Speaker, it's no wonder that doctors, and thousands of Nova Scotians without a family doctor, are frustrated. So my question to the minister is this, having heard doctors' requests for less paperwork, what analysis did the minister undertake to determine how much doctors' time is being wasted by his own government, with its many different sick note requirements?

MR. D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, the root of the issue was allowing doctors to make the changes, to have a mechanism like the master agreement to allow them to do things differently. It also requires a standardization of the electronic systems that we use in the province.

[Page 6003]

Mr. Speaker, we've gone a long way in doing that. We have a master agreement that everybody is very happy about, one that is historic in what it provides to Nova Scotians, and one that will make a difference in cases just like this one.

MR. DEXTER: Mr. Speaker, there's no question that employers, insurance agencies, and governments require medical information, and I'm not disputing that long-term disability plans, WCB, employment insurance and employers themselves don't require evidence of illness, but family doctors should not be expected to police absenteeism, and this minister should ensure that doctors' time is not wasted. My final question to the minister is, why doesn't the minister have the good sense to take up the challenge of reducing and standardizing paperwork where it's possible, so that doctors can spend more time with their patients and less time on paperwork?

MR. D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, it takes a very simple answer on this one - we have, we continue to work on it, and we'll continue to find those solutions.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Leader of the Liberal Party.

PREM.: ECONOMY - STATUS QUO APPROACH

MR. STEPHEN MCNEIL: My question is for the Premier. Mr. Speaker, the Premier and his Minister of Economic Development continue to stand in this House and defend their "business as usual" approach to the growth in this province. Yesterday CFIB released their latest business conference report and the findings are troubling - Nova Scotia is dead last in our region and second last in all of Canada. So my question to the Premier is, are you going to continue on with your status quo approach, even though the business community has lost faith in your ability to handle our economy?

THE PREMIER: Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth from what my honourable colleague is suggesting. I've met with representatives of CFIB as late as this past Wednesday, I've met with the Halifax Chamber of Commerce, I've met with the Nova Scotia Chamber of Commerce, I've met with economists, and we met with many others across Nova Scotia in the business community, and what they are saying is to keep on track to what we are doing as a government because it is making a difference.

Today is proof positive, Mr. Speaker, when the Minister of Economic Development stood in his place and we passed a resolution here with respect to Professional Quality Assurance - $45,000 per job, 200 more jobs coming to Nova Scotia.

MR. MCNEIL: Tomorrow, six months from now, 10 years from now, Mr. Speaker, this is what this government seems to be talking about - Nova Scotians want to know about their economy today. I'll table a press release that came out from the CFIB today, which says that it's not this Party telling this government it has lost the confidence of the business

[Page 6004]

community, it is the CFIB, the voice of small business in Nova Scotia, that has lost confidence in this government's ability to handle the economy of Nova Scotia.

[Page 6005]

Mr. Speaker, CFIB noted this time last year that the confidence of Nova Scotia was the highest in this region, however, just one year later, the confidence in the business community has plummeted and now it's dead last in this region. Nova Scotia companies are struggling, and government's failure to operate with transparency begs the question, what are they hiding? So my question to the Premier is, with this sudden drop in business confidence and all the uncertainty surrounding our economy, will you table a fiscal update in this House before we rise this session?

THE PREMIER: Mr. Speaker, as I indicated already, we'll provide a fiscal update before the end of December. We'll continue to work with the business community, including the CFIB, but it is as a result of the work that the government has done during the past number of years where we have seen historic highs in employment levels here in our province, 458,600 people working today in Nova Scotia, a significant difference over 10 years ago.

MR. MCNEIL: Mr. Speaker, he knows that day after day we're hearing of Nova Scotians being laid off because of this government's inaction when it comes to the economy of this province. The Premier and the Minister of Economic Development think the fundamentals of our economy are strong. But 10 out of 10 in growth, dead last; business optimism at an all-time low; and a large increase in bankruptcies - this is simply not good enough for Nova Scotians. The Premier is in his own political dream world if he thinks the economy is strong relative to the rest of Canada. My question to the Premier is, why do you continue to put political rhetoric ahead of the economy and the best interests of Nova Scotians?

THE PREMIER: Mr. Speaker, in fact, the CFIB has said they want to work with the government and we are working with them. In fact, following my meeting, CFIB said: we believe a balanced budget is the right thing to do - said Leanne Hachey, federation vice-president of Atlantic Canada - this is a critical time in Nova Scotia and we have a number of issues that need to be addressed, but this has to start with the province having a solid fiscal plan and putting the economy at the top of the agenda - as we do, which this government is doing and will continue to do. I will table that.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Sackville-Cobequid.

HEALTH: HEALTH CARE SERV. - PRIVATE CONTRACTS

MR. DAVID WILSON (Sackville-Cobequid): Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Health has made three years of long and detailed excuses about his failure to recruit and retain health care workers. His failure comes at a price. Capital Health has given a $30 million contract to Bayshore to provide private nursing and health care services at Capital District Health. Everyone in the House will agree that Capital Health should be able to go wherever they need to get staff when floors are short.

[Page 6006]

The issue here, Mr. Speaker, is the minister's failure to recruit and retain and the cost of that failure. So I would like to ask the Minister of Health a very simple question, will the minister tell this House how much more it costs on an hourly rate to hire a nurse through a private company rather than use the staff already at the hospital?

HON. CHRISTOPHER D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, it is Capital Health's impetus to hire any private contractors that it might require to offer services to Nova Scotians. We do have one of the best nursing strategies in the country, one that has brought thousands of nurses back to this province to practise, one that has added nursing seats to our province to have them, but from time to time there are still going to be vacancies that we will try to fill the best way that we can.

MR. DAVID WILSON (Sackville-Cobequid): Mr. Speaker, it's a simple question and if you're going to spend $30 million, you better know the answer to that question. I would like to table documents obtained through freedom of information. From 2004 to 2007, a private company called HealthStaff provided 91,000 nursing hours coverage at Capital Health. That is 30,000 hours a year.

Now I'll table the new Bayshore contract. It shows that the hospital will require up to 51,000 hours of nursing coverage a year. If the minister is doing such a great job recruiting and retaining nurses, why is a private company being contracted to deliver 51,000 hours of nursing coverage every year for the next four years?

MR. D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, again I'll say that the nursing strategy is one that has pumped over $70 million into helping recruit and retain nurses. In 2007-08 we invested over $12.3 million in retaining and training of nurses to work here in the province. I can talk about the RN seats that have been added to our university, the LPN seats that have been added to our community college. The retention rate that we have is well over 80 per cent of those individuals who are coming from around the country to have their training here, but from to time there are going to be some gaps and we would hope that our district health authorities would find solutions for those gaps.

MR. DAVID WILSON (Sackville-Cobequid): Mr. Speaker, the minister opposite cannot recruit, he cannot retain and he cannot add. If he could do any of these things, he would ensure the province hires permanent nurses rather than hiring them through a private company and I'll talk about the gaps, the small gaps. This Bayshore contract calls for 51,000 RN hours a year, 59,000 LPN hours, and over 178,000 patient attendant hours. The minister can't even recruit patient attendants. Mr. Speaker, my question is simple, will the minister commit today to table in the House the hourly rate being paid to the private company for each of these health care classifications - a simple question, will he table the rates today?

[Page 6007]

MR. D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, you know what, there's a whole bunch I could say - that the member opposite is playing politics with those unions that sit at their caucus table. What I will do - I know there are a couple of members over there that like to hear themselves talk over top of us, I tell you, the ex-school teacher over there (Interruptions) Yes, Boston won last night so I don't know how he's doing about that one.

Mr. Speaker, I can say that this is a contract with the district health authority. I will endeavour to have a copy of that, the information the member opposite is asking for, either today or at the earliest convenience that I can get it from the district health authority.

[11:45 a.m.]

MR. SPEAKER: On a new question, the honourable member for Sackville-Cobequid.

HEALTH: AMBULANCE DIVERTS - REVERSE

MR. DAVID WILSON (Sackville-Cobequid): Mr. Speaker, I'm going to table a list of ambulance diverts from the Halifax Infirmary between March and September 2008 - diverts mean the ambulances are turned away from that ER. There were 170 diverts in this five-and-a-half-month period caused by issues like long delays, inadequate beds, staff shortages, high volumes and a slower ambulance turnaround. This means Nova Scotians are experiencing delays in our emergency room and with emergency care. I'd like to ask the Minister of Health, what are you doing to reduce diverts from the Halifax Infirmary to improve the level of emergency care Nova Scotians receive?

HON. CHRISTOPHER D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, knowing the member opposite was a paramedic, he knows by talking to his friends within the EHS system what some of the challenges are. A lot of it has to do with the policies of that hospital itself. I know the district health authority, the CDHA, along with departmental heads are working to find cleaner and more concise policies when it comes to the admission of patients into the HI, as well as the consult times that are required for people to be admitted to that hospital. I know there are a lot of things going on there that will bring down the divert rates at that hospital.

MR. DAVID WILSON (Sackville-Cobequid): Mr. Speaker, the enlargement of the ER at the Halifax Infirmary won't decrease the patient volumes or the staff shortages, and will not speed up ambulance turnarounds. To do this, the Minister of Health needs to have a recruitment and retention program targeted at emergency rooms. My question to the Minister of Health is, will he take my advice and target a recruitment and retention program for emergency rooms?

MR. D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, it's great when they come late to the party. We've had a recruitment program for awhile. The member opposite knows full well when

[Page 6008]

it comes to the HI, it's not an issue of doctor shortage, it's an issue of policies and patient flow, and the CDHA is working very hard to get all of their professionals on board to make sure there's better patient flow within that hospital.

MR. DAVID WILSON (Sackville-Cobequid): Mr. Speaker, the minister's government has been at this party for 10 years and Nova Scotians want the government to address this issue. Health care professional shortages cause long wait times in emergency rooms. They're not new. As I said, this government has had almost 10 years to fix the emergency room problems and hire more staff, but it has failed that. My question to the Minister of Health is, will your department come up with a solution to the crisis being faced by emergency rooms across this province?

MR. D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, the question, and the premise of the question, really goes to show the inadequacy of the NDP understanding the true problem here. Does that member not know that we're in a global problem when it comes to the recruitment and retention of physicians? Trying to find professionals to work in our ERs is a problem that all provinces in this country, including the NDP ones, are having. There are many jurisdictions from one end of this continent to the other that are having some of the very same problems we are having and they are finding it difficult times as well.

We have the best doctor-per-population ratio of any province in Canada. We are working very diligently through the master agreement to find better incentives to get those doctors to pick up more emergency room work, and we believe that's the way to do it. That is the one that is going to work, not the NDP's way of - hey, just throw some money at it and hope that people will come.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Kings West.

SERV. N.S. & MUN. REL.: ENERGY REBATE PROG. - PUB. INFORM

MR. LEO GLAVINE: Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations. Government announced its mixed residential and commercial energy rebate program some time ago. However, in true form, and what the people of Nova Scotia have come to expect from this government, and especially this department, they decided to allow oil companies to inform the public about the high increase on furnace oil. What we have here is a government of contradiction and broken promises. My question to the minister is, why didn't you take responsibility and properly inform the public about the implications of the mixed residential and commercial rebate program?

HON. JAMES MUIR: Mr. Speaker, I explained that - I guess fortunately for those who are involved and perhaps unfortunately for the process - there were people who got the rebate last year because of a computer foul-up. The situation is if you have a mixed-use property, you have to apply to get the rebate. Unfortunately - or perhaps fortunately if you

[Page 6009]

were one of the people - you got it automatically last year, in some cases where you should not have. Once the department discovered that error, it had to be rectified, and the department determined that the most effective process to rectify the error was the way it was done.

MR. GLAVINE: Mr. Speaker, the government's mixed residential commercial application program for energy rebates is just that - mixed. It has caused confusion for a number of people and it is another direct hit on seniors and those who live on a fixed income. People who own a parcel of land that is resource in name only, and provides no income, are being swindled by this government and they didn't even have the respect to tell the public about it. It's not just once, but every time the oil companies come to fill the tanks (Interruptions) Well, Mr. Speaker, it's winter now.

MR. SPEAKER: The member knows that terminology is not quite proper for this House. Would you like to change it?

MR. GLAVINE: Well, we can make a change - are being deluded by this government.

MR. SPEAKER: That's better.

MR. GLAVINE: Well, Mr. Speaker, it's winter now. The oil man cometh and he is a bearer of bad tidings. My question to the minister, do you have plans to clarify this rebate program and fix the problem you have created?

MR. MUIR: Mr. Speaker, there is no change in the program principles. Those who are entitled to get the rebate at point of sale continue to get it. Those who have to get the rebate by application will receive it.

MR. GLAVINE: Mr. Speaker, we hear from Nova Scotians across the province about this issue and they are clearly not happy. This will drastically affect 40,000 Nova Scotians. For example, we have Murray Salsman of Grafton, Nova Scotia, who feels that government misled the public on this matter and, as the Minister of Environment knows, Mr. Salsman gets things done. Watch out for a provincial campaign. (Interruptions)

To add, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Salsman grows upwards of 9,000 gladiolus to raise money to help cancer patients. This is all for charity and provides no income to Mr. Salsman, yet he will be charged more to have his tank filled this winter and if he does try to get the rebate, it's with every oil fil. My question to the minister, what kind of relief are you planning to provide for people like Murray Salsman who are being charged extra money for no legitimate reason?

[Page 6010]

MR. MUIR: Mr. Speaker, the honourable member is incorrect in a number of things that he has stated this morning. First of all, everybody pays HST on fuel oil. It happens that some people get a rebate if they are residential and Mr. Salsman, and that's the person you're talking about, can get the rebate by applying for it.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Halifax Atlantic.

JUSTICE - VIOLENCE/DRUGS: MIN. PREVENTION PLANS

MS. MICHELE RAYMOND: Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Justice. The people of Halifax are shocked and frightened by a spate of recent violence that began with gunfire in Spryfield on Monday. It was followed the next day by a shooting in the parking lot of the children's hospital. Police say the events are "similar to other incidents lately and they're probably connected". Police Chief Frank Beazley told The Globe and Mail, "It appears the feud has begun again, . . . the latest incidents in a long-standing conflict between two families involved in the drug trade." So my question is, if these are similar and predictable events, part of a long-term pattern, they're not random. What is the Minister of Justice doing to ensure that they are prevented?

HON. CECIL CLARKE: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and to my honourable colleague in response to her question, I can say that as she would note as well from yesterday, my willingness to work with the Chief of Police and the Halifax Regional Police and all of our justice partners to make sure we have the safest streets and communities possible. In doing that, Mr. Speaker, we have had many targeted initiatives, many integrated approaches, and I'm sure she is also very relieved as well that there were 14 arrests yesterday dealing with the drug trade here in Halifax.

MS. RAYMOND: Exactly. Mr. Speaker, police blame years of fire bombings and shootings and murders throughout the Halifax Regional Municipality on a single ongoing feud over control of the drug trade. Many of these events have taken place in Halifax Atlantic, yet it's only yesterday, after the shooting at the IWK Hospital, that the Justice Minister decided to commit extra resources to keep law-abiding citizens safe from the effects of this. My question is, why did the minister wait until this spilled over onto the Halifax Peninsula before taking action?

MR. CLARKE: Mr. Speaker, and again not to question the research of the New Democrats, but the socialists don't have it right again. It was about committing, Mr. Speaker, what I did was offer whatever necessary support, in addition to the good efforts of the Halifax Regional Police, that may be required. She'll also note that I have encouraged citizens to utilize our safer streets initiatives, where they can anonymously report suspected activity and through the Public Safety Division within the Department of Justice they are being investigated, that indeed, there are many integrated things. As well, she failed to talk

[Page 6011]

about the additional new police officers, as part of our 250 complement that the NDP socialists voted against, resoundingly.

MS. RAYMOND: You know, Mr. Speaker, to quote an earlier comment, it sounds as though the minister has come a little late to this party. Nobody should have to accept shootings as a regular part of life, but it adds insult to injury that the good people of Spryfield see it as being characterized as a Spryfield problem and it's not, it's the work of a few individuals.

What assurances can this minister give, not only to the people of Spryfield but to the people of Halifax, that the resources will remain committed and that this matter will, in fact, finally be resolved in a timely manner?

MR. CLARKE: Mr. Speaker, the honourable member for Halifax Atlantic wants to talk about parties, well they often want to have their cake and eat it, too, while others are out there dealing with the real world and real issues, and that is the utmost of holding public safety at the forefront.

I can assure the member that we continue to move forward for the things that they oppose and work against. Mr. Speaker, a lot of these issues in the drug trade are also affecting young offenders, young people who are out of control, things that we've advocated for changes to the Youth Criminal Justice Act in the Parliament of Canada. We'll continue to advocate for that and we'll continue to provide the street level support that we have been out in front of and will continue to do.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Halifax Clayton Park.

HEALTH: ERs - PATIENT TRACKING

MS. DIANA WHALEN: Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health. In recent days the Minister of Health has admitted publicly that some of the data being kept and monitored by the department is not the best, particularly when it comes to wait times. One of the greatest pressure points we have in Halifax is the emergency department at the Halifax Infirmary where people with urgent and less urgent medical issues line up for care because there aren't alternatives in their community. My question to the minister is, does your department track the patients who arrive at the emergency department - where they are from and what type of care they need to receive?

HON. CHRISTOPHER D'ENTREMONT: Thank you very much. What they do track is the triage level that those people are presenting. They would have some information, of course, on their locality and their addresses as they present themselves to the emergency rooms.

[Page 6012]

MS. WHALEN: Mr. Speaker, earlier in the House on another day the minister said that 70 per cent of the people who arrive at emergency rooms are not urgent cases. In that regard, Mr. Speaker, I believe that it's important to note that a large number of the patients who arrive at the Infirmary will be from the Mainland North area of Halifax, where there are no other alternatives. That area has grown very rapidly and now has about 100,000 people living there.

The chief of emergency medicine at Capital Health, Dr. Ross, recently said in a newspaper article that other hospitals allow for triage that then redirects people who are less urgent to other clinics in the community. The Corpus Sanchez Report, in addition to that, recognized that the improvement we need in our health care system begins by focusing on health services that are available in the community. It recommends the immediate establishment of a primary care leadership task force involving the department and DHAs. My question to the minister is, has this task force been instructed to look at the development of 24/7 clinics outside of the downtown core to accommodate those areas of HRM that are rapidly growing?

[12:00 noon]

MR. D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, yes it has, as it has looked at other locations within the province that require this other level of service - one that emergency rooms and those people doing the assessments can forward those people to the correct level of care.

MS. WHALEN: Mr. Speaker, as usual, everything is moving very slowly with this government. There is a solution to ER wait times and it is community-based, 24/7 medical clinics. It has been discussed here for years. The government knows it, we know it, and Corpus Sanchez has mentioned it - yet it still remains undone. In terms of siting a clinic, my final question to the minister is, will the minister consider using the Mainland North Clayton Park area as a pilot site for the establishment of a 24/7 medical clinic, which would clearly alleviate pressures at the Halifax Infirmary Emergency?

MR. D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, what I would do is entertain any request from any region in the province that is looking at setting up a primary care clinic - there is always the challenge of 24 hours, but one that we could look at. What we're finding is municipal councils and other interested personnel are bringing these proposals forward to the government to see if we can find resources in order to do it. If the member opposite could work with her community to find a solution, it is one that we would clearly look at favourably.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Queens.

NAT. RES.: BOSTON CHRISTMAS TREE - DELIVERY MODE

[Page 6013]

MS. VICKI CONRAD: Mr. Speaker, my question through you is for the Premier. The survival of the Digby ferry is an issue of high importance to the economy of southwestern Nova Scotia, especially the fishery. This service allows fishermen to land their product one morning and have it at the fish market in Boston early the next day. The federal government and the Provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have come forward with temporary funding, but there is still no long-term solution. Increased promotion, diverse and increased use could go a long way to help stabilize this asset. My question to the Premier is, why didn't your government use this ferry to transport the provincial tree bound for Boston?

[Page 6014]

THE PREMIER: Mr. Speaker, I will defer this question to the Minister of Natural Resources.

HON. DAVID MORSE: Mr. Speaker, it was a great pleasure to be down in Annapolis County on Monday, joined by the member for Digby-Annapolis and over 100 schoolchildren. It was a great day celebrating this tradition; the tree was cut and sent off to Halifax that day. It was trucked by the very capable employees of the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal to Boston, and my understanding is it's arriving there today and we're looking forward to another great celebration on December 4th.

MS. CONRAD: Mr. Speaker, this provincial tree was transported the long way - or should I say the wrong way - by truck travelling through the Provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. This year's beautiful tree was cut in Clementsvale at 10:30 a.m., just a 40- minute drive from the Digby terminal. There was ample time to make the 3:30 p.m. Saint John ferry. My question to the Premier is why didn't your government use this opportunity to advertise the convenience and the efficiency of using this ferry as a link to the Boston market?

THE PREMIER: Mr. Speaker, I will defer that question to the Minister of Natural Resources.

MR. MORSE: Mr. Speaker, I would just point out that the Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony is on December 4th and it would seem to me that if we can get it there by today, November 20th, it would seem to be in lots of time. The good people at the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal clearly know what they're doing, they've done it this way for years. In fact, their tradition goes back to 1971. They're doing a great job, this is a happy story, there's no need to cast aspersions on this very noble tradition.

MS. CONRAD: Mr. Speaker, we're talking about the importance of stabilizing a tremendous link from Digby, Nova Scotia to Saint John. That Digby ferry is so important to rural Nova Scotia. When this government made its funding announcement in August, the acting Minister of Economic Development, the Minister of Environment, said, we continue to provide a safe and reliable service and maintain important economic and tourism links within our region and within the country. My question to the Premier is, why didn't this government support this service, support the community of Digby, all of southwestern Nova Scotia, a vital part of rural Nova Scotia, by using this ferry service to transport our provincial Boston tree?

THE PREMIER: Mr. Speaker, the honourable member raises a good question and the government will follow up on that. But, let's not forget, that honourable member and her caucus colleagues voted against the money that we're putting into the tree lighting this year. They voted against the money that we're putting into the Digby ferry to keep it in operation. I can assure that member we will follow up on this important issue.

[Page 6015]

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Dartmouth East.

HEALTH: ERs - MENTAL HEALTH TRIAGE

MS. JOAN MASSEY: Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health. I will table a document obtained through freedom of information showing that between July 2004 and September 2008 there were almost 16,000 mental health cases presented at four emergency departments in the Capital District Health Authority. When these people are triaged, however, they do not present with life-threatening injuries so are not made a high priority. Mental illness presents with very real pain, just that this is not diagnosable through standard physical tests. My question to the minister is, what steps has your department taken to put in place a system for mental health triage in emergency departments across the province?

HON. CHRISTOPHER D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, there are a couple of fronts that we're taking on this one. One is the mobile intervention team that can be called upon by anybody within those emergency rooms that can bring those professionals in.

The second piece, of course, here on the peninsula, at the Halifax Infirmary the new expansion will incorporate mental health services right there in the emergency room so when people present themselves, they'll have those individuals, those specialists, right there on site to help them out.

MS. MASSEY: Mr. Speaker, it's time for mental health consumers in this province to be treated with the respect they deserve. Presenting at an emergency department in crisis requires the same level of treatment as physical crisis. Mental health cases should not be forced to wait for hours simply because their illness is not externally visible. My question to the Minister of Health is, when will mental health consumers be triaged appropriately in emergency departments in this Province of Nova Scotia?

MR. D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, I can say that today there is a lot of work that has gone on in training those ER doctors that are in our emergency rooms to better identify mental illness. This is a very difficult issue, one that not all professionals are capable of working with. There has been a number of courses that have gone on in training. We continue to work with the mobile intervention team in order to try to fill in some of those gaps. I can say there has been some tremendous work done in this regard.

MS. MASSEY: Mr. Speaker, that's just not enough. Mental health services in Nova Scotia are inadequate. Consumers have long waits for care and cannot access immediate emergency attention. In the span of four years almost 16,000 people in CDHA alone presented in ERs with a mental health crisis. My question to the minister is, what are you

[Page 6016]

doing to ensure that Nova Scotians with a mental health emergency have immediate access - immediate access - to care?

MR. D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, to the member opposite, as I said in my previous answer - to invest in that mobile intervention team, to work with training not only our health professionals, but police and other professionals within the communities who will come in contact with people who require mental services, who will receive those services as soon as humanly possible. Of course, the expansion at the Halifax Infirmary, with the new emergency room, will have services on site 24 hours a day.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Glace Bay.

HEALTH - WAIT TIME STRATEGY: CREATION - REASONS

MR. DAVID WILSON (Glace Bay): Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health. Last week, we learned from the Minister of Health that his government received and spent close to $106 million in federal money which was drawn down from the Wait Times Reduction Fund. I know there are Nova Scotians sitting at home today waiting for procedures. They will find it hard to believe that this government and this minister have spent $106 million in the past four years and no significant change to speak of.

We have seen investments made in programs, yet with no overall plan, no change. This government has not only mismanaged data, which the minister admitted last week, they have failed to execute their own plan. My question for the minister is, why did his government even bother to create a wait time strategy if you had no intention of ever using it?

HON. CHRISTOPHER D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, what we found over time is, as we increase services, as we utilize that wait time fund, we had more people using those services. What we've done is responded to the increasing need and not necessarily to making that better, which was where we thought we were going. It shows that the strategy is working, but one that we have to increase our concentration on and add more dollars to. Today, we're meeting a larger consumer base for these services and we need to find a way to get that extra going, which requires, of course, more dollars.

MR. DAVID WILSON (Glace Bay): Mr. Speaker, the minister in the past has highlighted programs which he says are good programs, and they are. They should have been funded through the minister's Health budget, but these are federal monies - which I don't need to remind this government will be harder to come by in the coming years - and provide provincial governments with golden opportunities to make long-term changes. If you look at the so-called non-implemented plan of this government, you'll see words like capacity, access, management and communication - all of the things the Minister of Health stated last week were not happening. My question to the minister is, why did the minister then admit

[Page 6017]

last week there's no operating room information system when the wait times plan clearly recommends that be done?

MR. D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, as I wrote to the member opposite in my letter dated September 18th, it showed a number of programs that were reinstated, whether it be the liver transplant and renal dialysis services, whether it be investing in additional physician seats, whether it be to expand access to continuing care or to try to reduce pressures on acute care. Those dollars were used strategically in different places around our health system in order to incite changes, but what we're finding is that demand continues to rise.

MR. DAVID WILSON (Glace Bay): Mr. Speaker, if you go to war with no plan, you lose. We've already lost in Nova Scotia. This government has spent $106 million and people are still waiting two years to get a hip replacement. The minister can talk about all the programs he wants because he and his government know spreading money to the program - and that program will be politically popular. People are still waiting. Our health care budget continues to grow at an unsustainable rate with very little return. The biggest wait time we have in Nova Scotia is waiting to get rid of that minister, and waiting to get rid of that government. I can tell you that wait time is about to come to an end. My final question for the minister is, why did that minister not use the $106 - sit down, minister, I'm not finished.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please. I believe that I'm the Speaker in this House and I believe that you owe an apology.

The honourable member for Glace Bay.

MR. DAVID WILSON (Glace Bay): Mr. Speaker, accept my apology, please. My question to the minister is, why did he not use the $106 million to make overall system changes that would make the health care system in this province more efficient and finally sustainable.

MR. D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, if that member would stand respectfully and ask the question, I might want to answer it.

[12:15 p.m.]

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Hants East.

Order please. order please. The honourable member for Hants East has the floor.

FIN. - BARRETT, PHIL: PENSION TOP-UP - DETAILS

[Page 6018]

MR. JOHN MACDONELL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question will be for the Minister of Finance, through you. Phil Barrett worked for more than 40 years at the Halifax-Dartmouth Bridge Commission. In 1991, the pension plan was changed to a defined contribution plan and because of that change, Mr. Barrett's pension expectations dropped to 20 per cent of his salary, a mere $14,000 per year. The Bridge Commission Board of Directors agreed that this was unfair and wanted to top up his pension but the Minister of Finance stepped in and would not allow that to happen. My question for the minister is, why won't the minister allow the Bridge Commission to do the right thing and top up Mr. Barrett's pension?

HON. MICHAEL BAKER: Mr. Speaker, we have need in this province to be fair to all people who are members or are former members of our Public Service. In this particular case, a number of individuals - and I'm not going to talk about names of people - but a number of individuals elected to convert their defined benefit plan to a defined contribution plan. It was their choice to do so and, while it is unfortunate that that choice didn't work out well, unfortunately the taxpayers of the province should not be asked to compensate them for that choice.

MR. MACDONELL: Mr. Speaker, the taxpayers won't be paying - this is a user-pay by the tolls. The Board of Directors have booked it for this pension, the minister won't allow it but he had no trouble using taxpayers' dollars for Fred MacGillvray's $800,000 or CEO of the Atlantic Corporation Michelle Carinci - 10 years worth of pension for five years worth of work.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please. The time allotted for the Oral Question Period has expired.

The honourable Premier on an introduction.

THE PREMIER: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. If you might permit me again, thank you for allowing me to make an introduction. As the Minister of Economic Development indicated today in his resolution about new job development in Nova Scotia, we have some very special guests with us here today with respect to Professional Quality Assurance, a technology company expanding here in Nova Scotia and creating up to 200 more jobs in a Dartmouth location. We've very pleased to be partnering with them and assisting them in that regard.

Mr. Speaker, I would ask members to draw their attention to your gallery and I would ask our visitors to please rise and be recognized by the House. First of all, Mr. Speaker, Keith McIntosh, the President, PQA; we also have Ken Kuehm, Delivery Manager, Halifax; Steve Christie, Vice President of Corporate Services; we have Erik Nobbe , Director of Investment Attraction Financial Services and Nearshore Solutions for NSBI; and Marvin Robar, Director

[Page 6019]

of Investment at Nova Scotia Economic Development. Again, I would ask all members to give them a warm welcome. (Applause)

MR. SPEAKER: The Government House Leader.

HON. CECIL CLARKE: Mr. Speaker, before we proceed with the government business for today, I would just ask for the concurrence of the House to recess from the hour of 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and during that period we would have the consideration of the emergency debate that you referred to earlier and allow for that discussion to happen in the fullness because the hours for today would put us at a later time, and I would seek the House's approval to do that.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

The debate shall take place between the hours of 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. today.

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Deputy Government House Leader.

MR. CHUCK PORTER: Mr. Speaker, would you please call the order of business, Private Members' Public Bills for Second Reading.

PRIVATE MEMBERS' PUBLIC BILLS FOR SECOND READING

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Deputy Government House Leader.

MR. CHUCK PORTER: Mr. Speaker, would you please call Bill No. 227.

Bill No. 227 - Provincial Horse Act.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Halifax Citadel-Sable Island.

MR. LEONARD PREYRA: Mr. Speaker, it's my pleasure and privilege to rise here today to speak to Bill No. 227, an Act to Declare the Sable Island Horse to be the Provincial Horse of Nova Scotia.

Mr. Speaker, this bill is not just about the wild horses of Sable Island. You know people have said to me, Leonard, why are you so concerned about the horses on Sable Island? Why are you so concerned about Sable Island? There are so few voters there for starters. People ask, why are you so busy protecting these horses that very few people will ever see?

[Page 6020]

I think those are good questions. These policies that we pass in this Legislature have to be more than whether or not it protects our particular constituencies, or whether it supports our voters, or adds to the self-interest of the people who supported us. Legislation has to be more than about humans, although that's our main priority. It has to be about our natural habitat. It has to be about living species as well and our duties to it.

So this bill, although it doesn't speak to a large constituency, it speaks to an important part of my constituency, but it speaks to something that I think is far more important, and far more fundamental, in the long term. This bill is about stewardship for our natural habitat and all living things. It's about protecting our coastlines. It's about the importance of scientific research and understanding climate change in our future. It's an important part of our natural heritage, and world heritage in fact. So this bill, while it talks about the wild horses of Sable Island, it really is more about acknowledging and protecting our natural legacy, our natural heritage, and what we pass on to future generations.

I would like to say a little bit here about Sable Island itself. Sable Island is a tiny little sandbar, 42-kilometres long, about 1.5-kilometres wide. It's far offshore, approximately 160 kilometres southeast of Canso, which is Nova Scotia's nearest landfall. The island, as you know, has been the focus of human activities, imagination and speculation for over 500 years. People have heard about shipwrecks, wild horses, seabirds and seals. It has a certain mystique to it and I would say it's an iconic part of Nova Scotia. So I wanted to give the members in this House a little flavour of Sable Island and maybe I'll say a little bit before I come to a more specific reference.

In any case, only a handful of people, as I've said earlier, live on Sable Island and I want to say something about those people who live on Sable Island year-round. These are the scientific staff and researchers, naturalists, who work at the Sable Island station, who live and work there and conduct their research year-round. The staff and the researchers at Sable Island collect weather data, atmospheric research, it provides an infrastructure for the offshore, for human activities in the area. They include maintenance of aids to navigation, scientific research on the flora and fauna, and the support services of the offshore energy industry. In other words, the staff and researchers at the Sable Island station are an important vanguard, important sentries on the front lines of some of the things that we want to know more about - about our coastlines, about our flora and fauna, about changes in climate - so it is important for us to maintain that weather station there.

I wanted to particularly say something about Zoe Lucas. Zoe Lucas has been a naturalist on Sable Island, has lived there for I believe about 30 years and has become a passionate defender of the island and its conservation and preservation. Zoe Lucas is one of the founders of the Green Horse Society, a society that exists largely to protect the natural habitat of Sable Island and she has devoted her life to preserving the island itself and to educating people about Sable Island and its natural habitat. I want to use this occasion to

[Page 6021]

commend Zoe Lucas on behalf of the Legislature for the work she has done in protecting this important part of our natural heritage.

I want to say something also about the Sable Island Preservation Trust, and that group has also essentially devoted itself to education. It's a large group of people, they've raised funds, they've had public events, they've advertised, and mostly they've educated young students about the island itself and served as a public relations arm - almost - of it.

These two groups of people, the Sable Island station staff and the researchers and the Sable Island Preservation Trust, have been two of the institutions that have helped us understand that island better and to bring the flavour of the island to those of us who have not yet seen it and some of us who hope to see it. Mr. Speaker, if that sounded like a pitch, it was.

I want to say something about the annual meeting of the scientific researchers who work on Sable Island, or who work away from Sable Island but have a particular interest in it. Every year this group meets to share knowledge, experience of the previous year, to set priorities for the coming year. Last year I happened to be at their meeting and it was delightful to see the enthusiasm of the research staff there for Sable Island and the discoveries that they make. Every year seems to bring us some new information about this wonderful island.

Last year, for example, they talked about the beaching of thousands of huge surf clams and, of course, it led to a lot of speculation about where they had come from and why it happened and new atmospheric pollutants that they were sampling and new atmospheric pollutants that they were finding. They discovered a mysterious stand of snapdragons.

Sable Island, as I'm going to talk about later, has also in the past year been the focus of new artistic, scientific and cultural events. This group will be meeting again in March to review their research and their findings and talk about their future work, and I'm very much looking forward to it. I want to thank Zoe Lucas, David Richardson, Mark Butler and all of the others who bring this gathering together and make it happen for us.

Over 330 species of birds have been sighted on Sable Island. The island is home to a number of breeding bird species, it offers a habitat for migrating shore birds and waterfowl. The Ipswich sparrow, a large subspecies of the Savannah sparrow, nests exclusively on the island, Mr. Speaker, and nesting colonies of Arctic and Common tern, all threatened species and declining , all threatened species are present on those islands. So apart from the horses, there are these living things that are not extinct, but are threatened, that are present on Sable Island and we have an obligation to conserve and preserve them.

[12:30 p.m.]

[Page 6022]

I want to say something, Mr. Speaker, about our own obligations to understanding that island and the living things and the species that live there. As you know, most of the research that is conducted on Sable Island, and off Sable Island, is supported by Environment Canada, and Fisheries and Oceans. I want to commend the Department of Fisheries and Oceans for making a commitment to supporting, to maintaining the Sable Island station and its research. This funding has been provided by the Oceans Action Plan, which has now evolved into the Health of Canada's Oceans program. So funding of this station to maintain operations and programs, as I said earlier, operations and programs that are vital to our scientific understanding of Sable Island for developing a national wildlife area designation for the island.

I want to thank the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Health of Canada's Oceans program for supporting research there. Mr. Speaker, the department has guaranteed funding for five years and this funding has to be approved every year and funding is available up to March 2002, and includes a maintenance budget for Sable Island and a budget for the Canadian Wildlife Service.

Mr. Speaker, having funding approved from year to year or even having five-year funding, really doesn't provide a stable basis for a research station that conducts such important work. We need to do more to work toward getting long-term funding for the research station. I certainly would encourage the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to continue its support, but beyond that, I'd like the province itself and our government to take more ownership of that island, particularly its research on the island and the conservation of species on that island. So we would very much like to see the stewardship that's implied in this bill carried over to hard-core support and long-term funding.

I would invite the Minister of Environment - I know we were talking last night about this bill and Sable Island, and he said he would be very interested in going there and getting an assessment of the issue and what the Department of Environment can do. I was delighted that he offered me an opportunity to go with him to this really important part of my constituency, and I thank him for considering that, and I very much look forward to the Department of Environment and the Minister of Environment going to Sable Island and conducting an assessment, perhaps even offering long-term support for research on the island, as his federal counterparts in Ottawa - at the Departments of Environment, and Fisheries and Oceans - have done.

It's very important, Mr. Speaker, that we know more about Sable Island and its natural habitat and this natural heritage. Of course Sable Island is important and its natural heritage is important but today we're here to talk about probably the most iconic, probably the best-known aspect of Sable Island, and that is its famous fauna, particularly the wild horses. So although access to the island is restricted, both because of the location of Sable Island - 160 kilometres offshore, as I was saying - and by the regulations, the horses

[Page 6023]

themselves are well-known. They are of great interest to the scientific community and they're important to us for cultural reasons, for heritage reasons.

There is a certain romanticism, Mr. Speaker, about the wild horses of Sable Island and that they are descended from shipwrecks, survivors, and I did a little bit of research on the history of Sable Island and I came across a very interesting excerpt from a book by an author whose name now escapes me for the moment - Christie - The Horses of Sable Island by Pottersfield Press, and this is what she said on Page 70,"They are said to have been taken to their sandy home by Norsemen, or Cabot," (Interruptions) - horsemen who were Norsemen perhaps - "by Baron de Lery in 1518, by Portuguese fishermen in 1582, by Marquis de La Roche Mesgouez in 1598, and by Acadian horse ranchers in the early 1700s."

I was intrigued, Mr. Speaker, by the Acadian link. There seems to be two strands to this story about the Acadians. Some people believe that it was Acadian ranchers who established themselves on the Island in the early 1700s and that those horses are direct descendants from them, but there are others who say that during the Grand Dérangement, during the expulsion, after the Acadians were dispossessed, people stole their horses and moved the horses to Sable Island to hide them and that these horses, yes, they are from Acadians, but they are refugees and plunder from those days.

Many believe that these horses have escaped from a Spanish wreck, and that . . .

MR. SPEAKER: Would the honourable member yield the floor for an introduction, please?

MR. PREYRA: Yes, certainly, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Thank you.

The honourable Minister of Health on an introduction.

HON. CHRISTOPHER D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, we have some distinguished guests in your gallery today and I would like to introduce them to the House of Assembly. Today, visiting with us is Minister Leslie Ramsammy, the Minister of Health from Guyana. He is also president of the 61st World Health Assembly. Also visiting with Minister Ramsammy is Dr. Sonia Chehil from Dalhousie, and Nancy Beck from Connections Clubhouse. Also I think I see Dr. Jim Millar there, as well as my deputy, Cheryl Doiron. I would like them to stand and receive the warm welcome of the Nova Scotia Assembly. (Applause)

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Halifax Citadel-Sable Island has the floor.

[Page 6024]

MR. PREYRA: Mr. Speaker, while we're doing acknowledgments and introductions, I would like to acknowledge the presence in the gallery of Peggy Cameron who is one of the co-chairs of Friends of the Halifax Common. I would like to thank Peggy for the tremendous job she's doing in educating me about the Halifax Common and its importance - and educating the people of Halifax. So I would like her to rise and receive the applause of the members of the House. (Applause)

In any case, Mr. Speaker, I was talking about some of the myths and perhaps some of the realities about the horses of Sable Island and how they arrived there.

Some people believe, as I was saying, that they are survivors from a Spanish wreck and that they have their roots in a ship, that they were being transshipped and ended up on Sable Island. Those who have studied the genetic origins of these horses say that, yes, indeed they are Spanish horses, and many of them are Spanish horses. Over time they appear to have adapted and one of the reasons why they look so small - and some people have mistaken them for ponies - is because of their natural habitat. But it's that adaptation, it's their origins, perhaps even their mixed origins that make them unique and make them such an important part of our natural heritage.

In any event, Mr. Speaker, regardless of the origins of the Sable horses and their romance and mysticism that goes around them, we know that the Sable horses are among the few wild horse populations left in this world.

The Sable Island horses are entirely unmanaged. They're not subject to any kind of interference and since 1961, the Sable Island horses have had legal protection under the Sable Island regulations of the Canada Shipping Act, of all measures. We know the number of horses on Sable Island generally range between 200 and 350 and there have been a number of calls over the years to control or to cull or remove these horses. Indeed, the protections that we have now, protections that were established in 1961 under the Sable Island regulations of the Canada Shipping Act, those Sable Island regulations really emerged out of a debate that began in the 1960s. In 1960, when the federal government announced that the horses were to be taken from the Island.

In 1960 there was an outcry and as I understand it, it was an outcry that was led largely by school children. These were school children who disagreed with the proposed policy and they wrote hundreds of letters to the-then Prime Minister, Mr. Diefenbaker. Out of that outcry among the children and Mr. Diefenbaker, to his credit, responded to that and established the regulations that I referred to earlier.

I want to say something about a book that arrived on my desk last year, a book entitled, Free As The Wind: Saving the Horses of Sable Island. Free As The Wind talks about that public campaign by school children across Canada to save the wild horses of Sable Island. I wanted to give credit to Jamie Bastedo, the author of that book and Susan Tooke

[Page 6025]

for bringing that story to life and popularizing it. It won a remarkable number of awards, both for the story and for the illustration.

This is what the dusk jacket for that book says, "The horses of Sable Island - they are a romantic and enduring symbol of the will to survive in an unforgiving environment." One reviewer said, "Free As The Wind is Jamie Bastedo's re-creation of one of the most fascinating episodes in the history of these wild creatures: the moment in the early 1960s when it was decided the horses would be removed from the island and auctioned off, many of them slaughtered for dog food. School children across the country wrote Canada's then Prime Minister, John Diefenbaker, pleading with him to restore the horses to the island, to save them from certain death. . . . The horses of Sable Island are a national treasure, not only because their history dates back as early as the settlement of Canada, but also because their continued survival showed the world that children can make a difference. Susan Tooke's sparkling paintings capture the spare but magnificent terrain of Sable Island in a way that will captivate readers of all ages."

This is what one reader in Yellowknife said: this is an endearing account of how one young person can make a difference and how standing up for what you believe is right will have an impact. In addition to the inspiring story, the illustrations provide vivid scenes depicting the freedom and beauty of the wild horses of Sable Island.

For those of you who haven't bought all of your seasonal gifts this year, I certainly encourage you to have a look at this book because it's not only a great story, but in this year of Democracy 250, it tells us that young people can make a difference and one person can make a big difference.

I also wanted to say something about another great work that has been produced in the last year. Over the past several years an American - and sometimes it does take people from away to recognize the real value of what we have - an American from New York, Roberto Dutesco has an obsession with the Sable horses. Mr. Dutesco has been there several times, he has photographed them and, as he said, his obsession and his experience of travelling on Sable Island ". . .left him with a passion for 'One World', the place where we live, the place we share." I'm quoting here, Mr. Speaker. "For Roberto 'home' has a plural sense. He explains that 'home is a place where even after you have left, you still exist, it is a place where you look forward to return, it is a place that helps you become.'"

[12:45 p.m.]

So, Mr. Speaker, despite this renowned photographer who has photographed some of the most beautiful places and some of the most beautiful women in the world for fashion magazines, for him the wild horses of Sable Island have become his obsession and Sable Island has become his home.

[Page 6026]

His obsession so impressed the folks at Arcadia Entertainment that they did a feature film on Roberto Dutesco and his obsession with the Sable horses. If I may be allowed a prop, Mr. Speaker, or at least a promotion, each of the members in this House will find on their desk Arcadia Entertainment's production of Chasing Wild Horses. Chasing Wild Horses documents Mr. Dutesco's fascination with the Sable horses. Chasing Wild Horses won the Best Director Award last month for its director and for Arcadia Entertainment at the New York Film Festival.

I'd like to read a little bit more about what the promoters have said about Chasing Wild Horses. I must add I saw it at the Atlantic Film Festival and I thought more people should see this. Everyone should see this because it's part of the world that hardly anyone will see and this brings that world to light, it brings the horses to light and you can understand why this mystique and this myth around the horses has emerged and why so many people are obsessed with it.

Here's what they say: the story of Sable Island's beautiful wild horses and Roberto Dutesco, a well-known New York fashion photographer, whose obsession is with the secrets of the herd of wild horses on a remote island in the North Atlantic. Dutesco has photographed some of the most beautiful women in the world as New York's most well-known fashion photographer. His idea of perfect beauty is hidden on a tiny, storm-tossed island in the darkest part of the North Atlantic - dangerous, alone, wild and free, existing only by the grace of a delicate balance of two epic oceans' currents, a barometer of the ocean climate. Roberto has searched the world for a fleeting image of his childhood, wild horses running on the sand. When he finally found them on Sable Island, he discovered his ultimate subject but he also finds the horses in deep trouble.

Mr. Speaker, Chasing Wild Horses, documents some of the freest and wildest creatures on earth and his exploration of Sable Island reveals where the mysterious Sable Island horses come from, learn about his quest to remind us that some of the most beautiful places in the world are best when they're left untouched. So I bring these two great works to your attention, Mr. Speaker, because for those of us who have not been there and who never will be there, it gives us a little flavour of Sable Island and the wild horses and why it's so important that we take steps to protect this important piece of my constituency and of the universe.

In summary, Mr. Speaker, I would like to say that this bill - Bill No. 227, an Act to Declare the Sable Island Horse to be the Provincial Horse of Nova Scotia - is more than just about the wild horses and it's more than just about Sable Island. It's about stewardship for our natural habitat and all living things. It's about protecting our coastlines. It's about the importance of conducting and supporting scientific research and understanding climate change on the frontiers. It's an important part of our natural and world heritage. It's about acknowledging and protecting our natural legacy and heritage, and what we're going to pass on to future generations.

[Page 6027]

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Digby-Annapolis.

MR. HAROLD THERIAULT: Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to stand in my place to speak on Bill No. 227, just a few words. (Interruptions) I won't be long, I won't be long, but I commend the member for Halifax Citadel-Sable Island for tabling this bill. It has brought attention to Sable Island.

Mr. Speaker, I read a book on Sable Island not too long ago, a year ago I guess, whatever. It was from 1801 to 1804, this book was - it was when the Canadian Government first put people out there to try to fend off ships. There were a lot of ships going ashore on that island so they put people there, they put guns on each end of the island, big flags, so they could wave to the ships somehow, or make a big noise to keep them away from the island.

AN HON. MEMBER: Did it work?

MR. THERIAULT: Well, it worked a little. There were a few shipwrecks still in that three year period, but the people who went there, the people that they put there - a man and his wife, I don't remember their names, and the children, and they had a few workers there too. Anyway, the ponies were there, and it's surprising that the same amount of ponies are there now that there were then, you know, it's pretty sustainable, it stayed pretty steady. But also on that island were seals. There were seals on that island and through that book, I kind of counted them up. It was a journal he was keeping. I have kept one of them all my life as a fisherman, and he was the same thing, he was a sea captain.

So he would go to this point one morning and there would be five or six, or seven seals there - and by the way, they ate the seals too, through the winter especially. When their food supplies got low, they harvested a seal and fed it to the people on the island - good food, you wouldn't get any better. They never ate the horses though, they never touched the horses, but they ate the seals because it was good food, good protein, and that's how they survived.

Anyway, getting back to the count of them. He would go to this point one day and there would be eight to 10 seals there, he would say - at another point on another day, or another cove, 15 to 20. The highest he spoke of through the whole book was about 60 or 70 at the most in one place. So I figured it all up through the book and I figured on that whole island there were probably 30 to 50 ponies and probably 1,500 to 2,000 grey seals; that's what was on that island. Well, today, there are still those 30, 40, 50 ponies but there are 200,000 grey seals there.

AN HON. MEMBER: More than that.

MR. THERIAULT: Whatever. That's enough to be on Sable Island, 1,000 pound animals - that's enough. Now, I'm concerned, I have a concern. The member for Halifax

[Page 6028]

Citadel-Sable Island is concerned about these ponies and he talked about stewardship. My concern is, as the fish are disappearing around that island, what are these seals going to eat? Now, I'm not going to say they're going to take a pony down and eat it but I'll guarantee you when the kelp and seaweed are gone, and the fish are gone around that island, they'll start eating the grass in the sand dunes and they probably are now.

I would say to the member, he wants to save the ponies, he better look at the problem that may be there for those ponies. That's what I believe. (Applause) I commend him, I commend the member for caring about those ponies because I think it is a great thing. But if this keeps going on in the environment out there, what has changed, going from 1,500 thousand pound animals around that Island to 200,000 or maybe 250,000 animals - there's something out of whack out there. It could bring danger to those ponies. I just wanted to point that out. With that, I will take my seat. Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Minister of Tourism, Culture and Heritage.

HON. WILLIAM DOOKS: Mr. Speaker, I listened today with great interest. Yesterday in the House in Question Period, I had said that I was a son of the lighthouse keeper and that's a fact, but not only the son of a lighthouse keeper, but our whole family has been entrenched in the lighthouse keeping business or in the business of lifesaving on the marine coast of Atlantic Canada.

I want to talk a little bit about Sable Island because listening to the members across the way - they read from reports, they spoke of books and they told stories. In fact, I actually had the opportunity to be on Sable Island. I grew up listening to stories - some factual, ghost stories, true stories, whatever - because my people actually kept light on Sable Island. The last superintendent of Sable Island was my uncle Arthur, who I believe had a five year stay there and at that time he had his family with him - his wife Audrey, Harlen, Janet, Sylvia, Valerie and I hope I didn't forget them because they are my cousins, aunts and uncles. But the point is, in 1960 they returned from the function of actually being superintendent of that light.

What did that mean? The superintendent of the Sable light kept order, kept track of the supplies, made sure the men of that time that manned the stations - there were a number of lights on different islands on the Island, different ends of the Island. I think there over 100, almost 200 people at one time there on the Island. These people were from all parts of Nova Scotia, but a lot of them actually were from Eastern Passage, a lot of them were from the Eastern Shore. Some of the family names, I had another cousin, Billy Maskell, Hurson Maskell, Keith Maskell, the Williamses from Ostrea Lake, the Days from Oyster Pond, the Bowsers were out there - all these Eastern Shore names were on the light.

At that time, young men would go out for a certain amount of time - I'm not sure, I'm forgetting the facts, but up to four to six months and then they would go home by ship at that

[Page 6029]

time. I couldn't even remember the names of some of the vessels that transported them back and forth and another shift would come out. But what was constant was my uncle and aunt who raised their family for five years, because he was the superintendent, they actually lived on the Island.

You can imagine what would take place in a five year stay. Yes, they witnessed storms, they witnessed a lifestyle associated with the Sable Island pony, as it was called at that time and today we're calling it a horse because in fact, I believe it is. Anyway, so many stories were shared that I'm going to recall just a couple of them with regard to the Sable Island pony.

First of all, when you had a lot of people there working, there would be a lot of spare time, I suggest. What would happen, they had big barns there and they would keep a number of horses in the barns and there would be a number of horses that wouldn't be stabled. The young men at that time would saddle these horses and they would have races in their free time and they would clock each other, and I won't say who was the fastest, because on the Eastern Shore it's still in question, and on some Saturday evenings there's still a question who was the fastest. But anyway, we won't get into that. So it became a social and a recreational use, but also they became used as a working force.

Now, the purpose of the people, as the member across the way said, was that they were on that island in a lifesaving capacity. So that meant that they had to be there to protect the people who would be attempting to sail close on the shoals. (Interruption) I got a note passed to me, Mr. Speaker, I just lost my thought for a minute. Anyway, 200 or 300 men would be there, so you know that they would have to have supplies for 200 or 300 men on that island. They used the horses to gather the supplies up off the beaches, as was landed by the ships, and these horses would haul oil, flour, potatoes, soap, and all the supplies of a couple hundred people, twice a year, from the shoreline up to the storehouses. So they were used commercially as well. These horses were looked after and looked after well. They were fed and they were maintained.

[1:00 p.m.]

At this particular time, I am stopping for the introduction, and as I'm getting some support, this is so very important for me just to pause, Mr. Speaker, and recognize the introduction.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Minister of Education on an introduction.

HON. KAREN CASEY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to my colleague for interrupting his entertaining story, but I do want to take the opportunity to make an introduction if I could. I'm pleased to welcome to our Assembly here today a number of employees from my department, the Department of Education, who are on tour of the

[Page 6030]

building and who for some it's their visit to the Legislature. I would like to welcome them and I'm glad they're here for a very entertaining part of our program. So a warm welcome to the staff from the Department of Education. (Applause)

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Minister of Tourism, Culture and Heritage.

MR. DOOKS: And I welcome you folks as well.

Mr. Speaker, to get back to my life, I guess, acquaintance with that beautiful sandbar in the Atlantic Ocean, the one that I care so dearly about, the one that I grew up hearing stories about, a part of my whole development process. I want to tell you, speaking about the pony - and I'll say the pony in respect of the traditional name, but understanding that the bill is about the horse, but in getting back to that - they were used for many purposes.

Yes, it's true, how did they get there? Well there are many explanations about that but, indeed, the fact is that they are there. They're there now. They are there, they're recognized world-wide and we have government involvement to protect them. We know that they were used for social and also commercial uses, but getting back to the end of my uncle and aunt's stay with their family on Sable Island. When they left, my uncle, because of the request of the children and not wanting to change their lifestyle too much, decided that he was going to bring home to the Head of Jeddore - Sable Island ponies. Now, can you imagine?

So anyway, he wrote the federal government - it must have been the Progressive Conservative Government in power at that time, I don't know, I hope it was. Anyway, he did get permission from the level of federal government to bring two Sable Island ponies home with him to Jeddore. That was many years ago and I can even remember the names - Princess and Dolly. Well, the excitement about Princess and Dolly when they arrived home - my uncle didn't have her in the barn all the time because just nine or 10 months later, Flash appeared. So then we ended up with three - the two mares with Flash being a horse. At that particular time we had three Sable Island ponies in the Head of Jeddore.

Well, that created great excitement. Everyone would come down to the Head of Jeddore, almost a tourist attraction of a type, and they would come to his barn, which was next door to our property. We were horse people anyway, we always had horses on our property and continued to have horses on our properties until just recently. But, anyway, Flash was a young horse who had a very, I guess, aggressive type of spirit but Princess and Dolly, indeed, Dolly was the kindest but Princess was aggressive as well, as the nature of them can be, if you know the nature of the Sable Island pony. Maybe they are not all as docile as what we may think because they can be aggressive in their own right.

Anyway, Mr. Speaker, can you imagine, as a young man growing up in the community, to live next door and especially your uncle, I had many opportunities to ride

[Page 6031]

them. We had a buggy, we had a harness and all of the good things. So later on, as everyone grew up, my uncle then gave and sold the Sable Island ponies away. That is a memory that I cherish, it's a story I tell often and I'll tell you, I've always kept Sable Island as a special place near and dear to me.

When I was a young man I had the opportunity to work on the oil rigs as well. Of course I would just set off to Sable Island on the oil rig and when the sun would set at night I can remember that fantastic and wonderful view of the sun setting on Sable Island.

One thing I used to notice - Sable Island, if you haven't been there - it's a wonderful sand bar, it's spacious, sandscapes and also the wind blows and moves the dunes around from here to there. There are no trees on the island but there are long, flat spaces on which the waves pass over. In the morning the horses would go from one end of the island and wait until the tide went down and they would cross this gully and go over to feed where the grass was a little better and then, you know, I would watch them and when the tide started to rise, I'd say how are they going to get across? So just before the tide would reach a certain point - I was on the oil rig, watching the horses, and across - they would line up, knowing that the tide was going to rise and they would not have free passage across that channel. They had the intellect and the intelligence to go across that channel before the tide would rise. Then, in the early morning light again, Mr. Speaker, they would line up and wait for the tide to lower, so we're talking about an animal that is very intelligent.

Mr. Speaker, I love horses, I said I grew up around horses and I understand the significance of the horse to our development, to our country. They get little acclaim for that, we don't talk about that too much. Across the way one of the members would understand the importance to our rural life of the horse, the team, when we used to hitch them up in our harness and also our parents sending us to the barn early in the morning to look after the horse, before we had our own breakfast, before the wood fire would be made in our kitchens.

Horses played a tremendous part in our history, a tremendous part in the development of our province, of our country. They also played an important part in the lifesaving ability of men and women who lived on Sable Island and now bring us national acclaim to our country - national acclaim because of movies and/or books and stories told about the Sable Island pony.

I'm very pleased to see that this legislation is being put forth by the member and we're going to support it. It's important to make sure that the recognition that's appropriate to the now horses of Sable Island remains forever. One other thing I could do, but to the respect of time, I could tell you stories, I could tell you ghost stories about Sable Island. I could tell you, as I said earlier on, maybe stories that haven't been embellished as much. I'm a bit of a story-teller myself. I would make it interesting, you can believe me if I had the opportunity to do that.

[Page 6032]

The boys from time to time on Sable Island used to make a little moonshine. I don't know if that's right to say that, I'm not mentioning any names, but not legally, of course, but at that particular time that happened as well, and I'm not mentioning any names. Anyway, Mr. Speaker, there are so many interesting stories to talk about Sable Island.

Before I take my seat, I have something here. I have a flag - a Nova Scotia flag that actually flew on the island of Sable Island. I would like to - well, I'm afraid to - if you think it's not appropriate to show it and I don't want to table it because it may be perceived as a prop, but in my place, I have a flag that actually flew on Sable Island in December 2006 for a full month. I think, in the spirit of the legislation, I think that, in the respect of what we're doing here today, later on I'll present this flag that's very dear and true to me to the member for Halifax Citadel-Sable Island, across the way, in respect of the legislation that's been put forth here today.

So, the Sable Island horse forever. The Sable Island horse forever. We appreciate the Sable Island horse and all the good folks who have worked on Sable Island to provide safety to the marine industry - the schooners, the square riggers, even today those people play an important part with reporting on our environment, our weather. I don't know if I shared with you, but when I actually went to Sable Island just a little over a year ago, they heard that the minister was coming on Sable Island and the folks on Sable Island met me on the helicopter pad. They had researched about my family and the contribution that we made with regard to Sable Island. I was very honoured to be presented a flag, a bottle of sand, some other artifacts. But especially, an article that was in the Halifax Herald of 1956 or 1958 speaking about the Dooks family who was living on Sable Island with their family and how they were adapting to a hostile environment, how they were working with the other men who were there and became a part of their lifestyle. A part of their lifestyle that if you were speaking to them today, they would surely share with you some of the stories.

Shortly after I take my seat, I will be presenting this flag to the member for Halifax Citadel and I hope he keeps this flag, I hope he respects the flag. It's our provincial flag, of course, a movement by our government to fly the provincial flag on Sable Island. I can speak his name, I believe it was Mr. Bill Langille at that time - he was the gentleman who decided that the provincial flag should be flown on Sable Island so that we could stake our claim that we knew that island had a provincial representative, that it wasn't only federal territory. Indeed it was a part of the Nova Scotia history that has made us so famous, not only in Canada, but across the world. Thank you. (Applause)

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Hants East.

MR. JOHN MACDONELL: Mr. Speaker, my comments will be, I expect, somewhat briefer than the minister. I want to say that I actually enjoyed the comments of the minister, I thought that was good information for members to have. I've never been to Sable Island and so to hear his account of his family's history there, I appreciate that very much.

[Page 6033]

This bill, an Act to Declare the Sable Island Horse to be the Provincial Horse of Nova Scotia, I'm glad to have an opportunity to stand and support this piece of legislation. The wonderful thing about the Sable Island horse is the mystery around that animal. I think all Nova Scotians pretty well agree that the Sable horse was not indigenous to Sable Island and that somebody had to put it there. I think all of the variety of stories as to how it got there only lends to the create interest in this horse.

I think it's pretty much agreed that the horses were, at one point, or are descendants of domesticated horses that were on the mainland of New France, certainly Nova Scotia. I know one account, at least part of one account that I read. I can't remember the name of the gentleman but I know it's recorded, who actually collected horses that were left on farms when the Acadians were deported and I think his idea was actually to use the island as a holding area for horses that he intended to ship to Boston, or wherever he had a market for those horses. I think probably some of those horses were removed, that he actually was able to move some of them and then, for whatever reasons, they didn't all get removed from the island. I think there probably - I'm not sure, so even though this will go in Hansard, even I will recognize I may not have all the facts correct - but I would assume that probably there were other livestock as well, perhaps some cattle and so on went on that island, on the notion that they would be shipped as well.

[1:15 p.m.]

It's an interesting question around the genetics of the Sable Island horse. Certainly when you look at them, they do have characteristics of some horse breeds that we could recognize, the abundance of heavy mane and forelock and tail, certainly things that we see in Arabian horses and horses of quite good breeding, Mr. Speaker.

Members may or may not know that I keep some Canadian horses. I think in about 2003, and I may be wrong on the date, but recently, in the last few years, the Canadian became Canada's national breed of horse; along with the Chanticleer Chicken, our national chicken breed; and the Canadienne Cow, our national breed of cattle. Members may not know, when you think of all of the breeds of chickens and cattle, we are not known for creating a lot of livestock, generating a lot of new breeds in this country. The Canadienne Cow and the Hays Converter are the only two breeds of cattle that were generated in Canada. Presently, I think there are four breeds of sheep - the Outaouais and the Rideau Arcott, as well as the Canadian Arcott, are three of those breeds. I think the DLS from Quebec is a Dorset, Leicester, Suffolk cross that has been recognized as a breed now by Canadian Livestock Records in Quebec.

The reason I mention the Canadian, the Canadian is a product of horses that were sent to New France by Louis XIV between 1640 and 1700. There are those who would make a pretty good argument that the Morgan horse in Vermont is actually a Canadian horse and where Vermont and Quebec, obviously, are next to one another, border one another, and this

[Page 6034]

little horse appears in Vermont, with several hundred of them already in Quebec at the same time; I'm sure the Americans would not jump on that argument to say that, but there is a fair bit of evidence to that effect.

I believe at one point, and I wish I had the year right, but I think a Canadian stallion was placed on Sable Island so I think it's quite possible that some of those blood lines would appear in Sable Island ponies in the present day. There are Sable Island ponies at the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park and our Clerk has said Upper Clements Park, so for anybody who doesn't easily get to Sable Island, there is an opportunity to have a look at these horses. I've never seen the ones at Upper Clements Park, but the ones at Shubenacadie, I really thought were quite nice animals. I can appreciate good horseflesh. They were fairly well put together, and not quite so small as I was thinking that they might be on that island. It is a fairly inhospitable environment, I think we all could say, in the North Atlantic and that habitat certainly has worked to select the hardiest animals out of the herd and to ensure a fairly rugged gene pool of animals, Mr. Speaker. I think that considering the history of that population of horses, it's so connected to the history of Nova Scotia and the events that we regard as important in Nova Scotia. Nova Scotians would be well served I think to recognize this horse as the provincial horse. I think we should consider ourselves lucky that all those horses weren't removed from Sable Island and that for generations to come they can enjoy that part of our heritage. With those comments, I'll listen to other members.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Kings West.

MR. LEO GLAVINE: Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased today to join the debate on this bill that will make the Sable pony the provincial horse. I know coming from Newfoundland, you know, and the significance of the Newfoundland pony, I can draw a parallel here in Nova Scotia. Probably there is nothing that captures the imagination of Nova Scotians like the story of the Sable ponies, Sable horses, and how they survived the shipwrecks and many times humans did not survive.

As the honourable member pointed out, it has led to the selection now of a breed of horses that are of the highest genetic pool that we could probably find perhaps in North America. So it is a great story that does appeal to all of us and one that, obviously, we want to preserve and has as part of our heritage, the same as I mentioned in regard to the well-known, well-liked- and now many people actually, I know some here in Nova Scotia who have purchased a Newfoundland pony because, again, it's a special breed and has a special history with it.

As a former geography teacher, it's probably more of the island itself, Sable Island, that I also find very captivating. When you take a look at the very first photographs that were taken on Sable Island, and today of course we're able to get a lot of satellite photos and imagery updated annually, but when you take a look at the first mappings and the first photographs and you take a look at how the island has changed over 20, 50, 75 years, the

[Page 6035]

actual size, the shape and the location as the sand is moved around and new dunes are formed. So it is an island that has given us I guess a great deal of information about the gulf current, a great deal of information about weather and climate, and currently a scientific team inhabits the island and keeps those records ongoing.

I guess for many people in the science world and the natural history world, when there was talk about the federal government not funding the work on Sable Island, there was a tremendous outcry. So even though there has only been a few people who have actually visited Sable Island, it is part of the consciousness, however, of many people and it is the Sable horse, the Sable pony, that I think brings us around to that. So if this bill in any way brings a greater recognition, a greater sense that we need to do all that is necessary to preserve the place of the Sable horse in our natural history and our connections to our human history of the province, then I think this will be a bill that can have some real tangible value, because it's getting us talking and thinking about the future of the horse and that we may need to have some interventions.

My honourable colleague talks about how the seal is impacting on the island and if we start to lose some of the natural vegetation out there, it will indeed be a cause for a concern. So I want to thank the member for Halifax Citadel-Sable Island for bringing forth this bill. It's a good initiative and indeed one that we hope will have a speedy passage through the House.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Minister of Agriculture.

HON. BROOKE TAYLOR: Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to speak on the bill before the House this afternoon, a bill that will make the Sable Island horse the provincial horse.

Mr. Speaker, I understand we're not permitted to use props but I do want to thank the individual or individuals responsible for circulating the DVD to honourable members. The title of the DVD, Chasing Wild Horses, is interesting and I flipped over to the back cover, the narrative so to speak, and it indicates that the photographer is well-renowned, one of the most renowned New York photographers that in fact exists. He has photographed the most beautiful women in the world. I'm just reading from the back cover if I might, his idea of perfect beauty is hidden on the tiny storm-tossed island, which of course is Sable Island in the North Atlantic. I think that is a remarkable statement to make because those little horses, those creatures are, in fact, some of the most wild and free animals that exist in all of the world.

I know that the NDP has, I trust, spoken with the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture, Mr. Speaker, because you know we do have many, many breeds of horses in the province. Now, some aren't perhaps as renowned as the Sable Island pony, but we do have Arabian, and as the member for Hants East mentioned, we have the Canadian horse, he owns

[Page 6036]

some of them. There are Morgans, there are Percherons, there are Clydesdales, there are Belgians, there are any number of different breeds of horses. So I would trust that the member who presented the bill, through his caucus, did some good research on coming forward with this bill, and perhaps he can speak to that when he closes debate.

Certainly I will be supporting the legislation but, you know, with the ground being white and things of that nature, it's not hard not to think that (Interruption) Well, you know, I hear one of my honourable colleagues talking about Santa Claus, but I was thinking of dashing through the snow in a one-horse open sleigh. So it may be timely, but I do think that there is a lot of mystery, there is a lot of romance about these little survivors, there's a lot of intrigue.

That would be the extent of my comments, Mr. Speaker, and I just wanted to bring some considerations forward as to how widely the NDP, and in particular the member, has done his canvassing and research regarding this particular bill. I'll just close off by saying that I have heard - and I've never been to Sable Island - but I hear that the research station on Sable Island has a fence all the way around it because those creatures love to scratch themselves up against the research station. In order to stop the horses from doing damage to themselves, or in fact to the building, they had to put a fence around the research station.

I know the honourable Minister of Tourism, Culture and Heritage spoke about his kinfolk and the lighthouse that is on Sable Island, or at least was on Sable Island, that as the sand moves in - and he may have spoken to this and I apologize, Mr. Speaker, I might have missed it - but because of the shifting sand and the sand continually shifts on Sable Island - the good folks, the lightkeeper and his family who were residing on the bottom floor just simply had to keep moving upstairs as the sand kept building up. In fact that's 40 stories high, I'm told. I'm not quite sure of that, but nonetheless, that would be my concern on behalf of the Federation of Agriculture as to whether or not the NDP did, in fact, consult - I'll take a chance and trust that they have. And we will be supporting the legislation. Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER: If I recognize the member it will be to close the debate.

The honourable member for Halifax Citadel-Sable Island.

MR. LEONARD PREYRA: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I want to thank the members of this House for their support of this bill and, in particular, of the motives underpinning it.

[1:30 p.m.]

I would like to thank the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Heritage for his kind gesture in giving me the flag that flew over Sable Island at one time. It was a very generous

[Page 6037]

thing to do and I will treasure it - and I will take a photograph of it and post it on my Web site so that people will know that that's the - it's the only direct contact I have with Sable Island up to now.

I know the Minister of Environment will want to take me up on my offer to go with him to Sable Island and to assess the environment there and the potential that may be there to study, to look at some of the great work that is going on there at the research station and how the Department of Environment can, in fact, support that very valuable research. He and I have talked about that possibility and I look forward to some further discussions with him about this subject.

I do want to speak to the honourable member for Digby about his assessment of the number of horses on Sable Island. Mr. Speaker, the information I have is from the research station there - there are 250 to 300 horses there and it's in fine balance. Certainly I would encourage him to come to the conference in March 2009, where they talk about the specific research and their findings on Sable Island.

As you know, I also would like to thank the member for Kings North for his offer to distribute the video, that all of the members on the opposite side have and on this side have, to schools and to encourage students and teachers to talk about Sable Island and to view this video. I would certainly encourage the members to consider that as one alternative and I certainly would encourage them to view it.

Anyway, I just want to close by thanking the members for their support. And with that, Mr. Speaker, I move second reading of Bill No. 227, an Act to Declare the Sable Island Horse to be the Provincial Horse of Nova Scotia. Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER: The motion is for second reading of Bill No. 227. Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.

The motion is carried.

Ordered that this bill be referred to the Committee on Law Amendments.

The honourable Deputy Government House Leader.

MR. CHUCK PORTER: Mr. Speaker, would you please call Bill No. 225.

Bill No. 225 - Provincial Sport Act.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Hants West.

[Page 6038]

MR. CHUCK PORTER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm pleased to rise to make a few opening comments, to take a few minutes - we won't be talking about ghosts, I don't think, or horses too much, but you never know as we move along here.

Mr. Speaker, hockey is an important game in this province. I did a little research and checking last year, and Sport Nova Scotia claims there are over 18,000 men, women, and boys and girls playing the sport. I know that there are many, many hours - I don't know how many hours it takes in in the run of a year, but we play now from, I guess in August things start up and hockey schools are underway, and I guess all year-round, maybe in some places, the game continues in the province.

But we have a lot of things going on. Certainly, where I am from, we would claim to be the birthplace of hockey, although we're not debating that today. We have a lot of facts that were put forward by a number of historians, and Thomas Chandler Haliburton obviously writing about the days on Long Pond, and Garth Vaughan who did a great deal of work and history and writing about - I think it was called, The Puck Starts Here - and gave great detail of the game. Although he may not have agreed on which pond it began on, at the time, I think there's a (Interruptions) Percy Paris plaque, is that what he's saying over there? There is agreement that the game did start locally, in the Windsor area, and I think we would all agree in this House, in Nova Scotia.

It's important that we bring this bill forward to recognize that game. I remember as a kid, we couldn't wait to get home from school, and it wouldn't matter if it were summer or winter, we played the game of hockey. In the winter, as soon as we got in, we'd be out on a pond, we had a pond in our backyard. The kids from the neighbourhood would all come and we would play until my mother hollered at us to come in long after supper hour had passed. That was a daily event where I grew up.

In the summer, we formed leagues and we travelled around from communities - you don't see that too much any more - but we would go from one community to the other playing different groups and individuals and we had it organized that we played right in the streets in the different communities. Those community folks supported us a great deal as that went on and we had little tournaments and we played in the high school yards or wherever we could.

Recently I've noticed in the mornings - I drop my kids off to elementary school in Windsor every once in a while - and every single morning that I do that, just across from the school there's a group of kids in their driveway who have the nets out, and the goalie gear, and they're playing hockey before they go to school. I know these kids and they all play minor hockey right now - I guess that's a good start to their day, but it's a regular occurrence. Everywhere we go, we see hockey and it doesn't matter what community we're in, there are people who are playing the game.

[Page 6039]

That's good to see, you know, it's great exercise for them and it's a long love of the game and all these kids, probably just like myself, had days when they dreamed of scoring the big goal. I know other honourable members in this House have played the game, some are still playing it. I know the Minister of Health Promotion and Protection, as his aging allows him, he still enjoying the game.

AN HON. MEMBER: He's not that good.

MR. PORTER: He's not that good, I'm told, but he plays.

We all have our favourite teams, but we're very fortunate in this province, we host two Quebec Major Junior teams. One in Cape Breton - the Screaming Eagles, having a good season this year - and the Mooseheads as well who have been very popular over the years in that league. We have our own junior Bs and A teams and so on throughout the province. Our own Windsor Royals last year took the provincial and then the Maritime title, not off to such a great start this year, they're rebuilding. I guess that happens after you have the big year, but good to see just the same.

In this province as well, we've seen some great NHL players - Al McInnis from Cape Breton, probably still a record for the hardest slap shot in the NHL; our own Glen Murray from down the South Shore, I'm not sure if Glen's back on the ice or not this year, but a lot of years in Boston; Colin White out of New Glasgow, certainly a Stanley Cup winner; Joey MacDonald, from Pictou, he's playing with the New York Islanders, I believe he's the goal tender there; and John Sim is also playing with the Islanders at the present time. It's nice to see those people and the talent coming out of this province.

In years past we've hosted the NHL farm clubs. The Voyagers - albeit they were the team for the Habs and myself not being a Habs fan but that's okay, we've put some good players through this Province of Nova Scotia. I am a Maple Leaf fan, there's no question about that and I can say this, we have a lot of support for the Maple Leafs in this House, there's no doubt about that, that's for sure, and I know other teams as well. I think it's been awhile since they've won the Stanley Cup but if you look on the Cup, you'll see where they won it many years before; they'll win it again. I always look at that and say, they're giving other teams the opportunity to get their name affixed to that Cup and that's why they're holding off. I'm sure - matter of fact, I prayed the odd time in my lifetime - I'll see their name go back on the Cup. But they're off to a good start as well.

In this province, you know, we live and we breathe hockey at times and I know families that go one way with one child and one way with another just to make the games. The boys and the girls are playing and having a great time, not only in Windsor, but all over Nova Scotia.

[Page 6040]

I know everyone here would be familiar with the fact that we hosted the Men's World Hockey this past year - phenomenal crowds, great time, great opportunity to see talent come, not only to Canada, but specifically Nova Scotia. It was interesting when we looked at a little bit of research, that Hockey Canada has a Web site that had over 2 million hits on it in the last year and I would say that hundreds of thousands of them probably came from right here in Nova Scotia, given our interest.

The CBC a few years back, Don Cherry was here and Ron MacLean and I think it was 2002 or 2003, I forget the year, they were here for the CBC Hockey Day in Canada and they hosted that out of Windsor. They were on Long Pond, or the cradle of hockey, on the Dill property and were on the skates and played and did numerous interviews and filmed the game. We had the longest day of hockey that went on throughout that period and, of course, did the regular annual games that they played, showed the NHL games at night and they kept coming back to Windsor where they hosted it from. So that was a lot of excitement around our area as well.

You know, Mr. Speaker, the kids that play this game have developed talent over the years. We've seen it change from the time that I played hockey. I didn't join organized hockey until I was probably 10 or 11 years old in Windsor and played minor hockey for a number of years and up through junior and so on. We keep seeing every year, and for whatever reason, and maybe they're working harder at it because of the love of the game, they're out there, they're working hard, the boys, the girls, both, and they are developing skills that are phenomenal.

We see that in the Canadian championships that we've won, both men's and women's, the talent that goes around the world and plays and represents this country. As I've already mentioned, some of the names that come from this province, wonderful talent that comes from this province.

I don't want to take a lot of time, Mr. Speaker, I know we have other things on the agenda this afternoon and I think there's probably a couple of others who want to speak to this, or at least I hope there are others who want to speak to this.

With that, I am pleased to open the debate on Bill No. 225. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Thank you. The honourable member for Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank.

MR. PERCY PARIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think I could just literally stand up here for hours and talk about hockey in Nova Scotia and, more particularly, referencing the Town of Windsor, Windsor where I was born and I'm going to take you on a little bit of a short journey, very short.

[Page 6041]

Where I lived and where the family homestead still is today in the Town of Windsor, if you ever go to Martock on a skiing trip, when you take that exit, that Garlands Crossing Exit and come towards Mount Martock, which would be on Route 14, opposite Route 14 there is a little street called Cottage Street and at the end of that street they say the toughest people on the street lived at the end of the street, and we were the last house on the street. I've got to say, Mr. Speaker, I was next to the baby in the family, so the road was somewhat paved for me.

If anyone is familiar with that area, that area is called Currys Corner. It is referred to as Currys Corner, not too far from the site of Long Pond that's now well documented. Again, as the member for Hants West said, we're not here to debate Long Pond as the birthplace of hockey but more about hockey and the role it has played in the lives of Nova Scotians.

The member for Hants West really got my juices flowing because he was mentioning some names from the Town of Windsor. I can remember some names that are very familiar to him because I can remember watching his father play hockey. I can remember - he was a goalie, he reminded me a little bit of Gump Worsley. I don't think he was as tall as the Gumper but he was certainly a goaltender who had the admiration of a lot of people. I've seen him go out and get cut and in one game get almost knocked unconscious but stayed in the game.

Also, one of the ice heroes that I had, and I know this name will ring a bell to the member for Hants West, a gentleman who had particularly good hockey skills, just an excellent defenceman and also a member of the Hockey Heritage Hall of Fame in Windsor and that was Howie Fish - I think he's your uncle, if I'm not mistaken. I used to just admire the way this gentleman played hockey. As a kid I watched him, you know how you develop heroes and he was certainly one of the many heroes I developed. I can remember growing up there, and I think this was for males and females - they also had female hockey teams in the Windsor area in the 1920s and before that - but I can remember, it was almost like a given. It was a tradition that if you played on any of the hockey teams in Windsor, there was a tradition you had to uphold, and that was to win.

[1:45 p.m.]

We used to win championships year after year. I remember one year playing minor hockey in the Town of Windsor. In one year I was on a team that won three championships. I shouldn't say I was on a team that won three championships, but I won three championships. I played peewee, went to midget, from midget to juvenile, all in the same year. In those days, if you didn't have enough players on your juvenile team, you could move up to make out a full complement for a team. So there were some of us who were fortunate enough to get to play at two or three levels in one season.

When I think of Windsor, I could name Ernie Mosher - anyone who has ever followed hockey at all and wants to go back many, many years ago, certainly before my time,

[Page 6042]

the name Ernie Mosher will ring a bell. I can remember names after the Ernie Moshers, the Kilcups, certainly in my era, names like Randy "Jake" Miller, who went on to play professional hockey for over a dozen years, and guys like Joe "Hummer" Robinson, who went on to the pro ranks.

I played hockey on a high school team in the 1960s that won the Nova Scotia championship. I would say that, of those members, of that team, I would say - this is an estimate - that probably 75 per cent of us went on to play varsity hockey at some university here in Canada. There's such a legacy.

One of the things that always impressed me - and I should take a look around the House because I was looking to see if Bob Fowler was in the House. Bob Fowler, also from Windsor, who would be well-known by the members opposite, was better than a decent hockey player himself - a good hockey player. He wasn't quite as good as I was, but he was a decent hockey player, better than decent. (Laughter)

I know when I think of Windsor and I think about throughout all of Nova Scotia, all those leagues we used to have and in around Windsor there would be the old rural league, there would be the shore league and where we'd have teams from Kennetcook, from Tennycape, from Gore. I can remember we, as kids, would be playing against adults - we, I refer to those of us who lived in town - we'd be playing midget and we played in the shore league. We travelled to East Hants to play in the East Hants league. It was just a great experience.

What really impressed me, I think, about hockey and about hockey in the Province of Nova Scotia, and particularly in reference to Windsor, there was a bond there, and that bond even extended to the fans who used to come out to watch you play. Every time we'd come to the city or as we got older and we went off to university, or we went out into the workplace, people would always identify with you. They could say I saw you play or I played with you or I played against you or I watched you play in New Glasgow or I saw a game up in Cape Breton where you were playing for the championship.

There's a legacy that sport can provide and particularly, I think, for us as Canadians and as Nova Scotians, that particular sport is hockey. For Americans, it may be football or baseball, but certainly for Canada and for Nova Scotians it is hockey.

I was mentioning some names and I mentioned if you gave reference to the Nova Scotia Sport Heritage Centre in Windsor, I think of the name, Ernie Mosher. I can remember a big event in the Town of Windsor was when Fleming MacKell who toured - called Fleming MacKell's All-Stars. Fleming MacKell won a scoring championship with the Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League. He came to Nova Scotia, he was playing in the old Nova Scotia Senior League and he played with New Glasgow, and they toured the Maritimes. I can remember the night they played in Windsor.

[Page 6043]

I don't know if I've ever mentioned this, but one of the biggest thrills in my life was not only watching the game, but after the game I returned to my house, and in my house were three members from that team sitting there talking to my dad. I can remember Scotty Bowman, who at one time was a scout with the Montreal Canadiens coming to my house. I came home from school and Scotty Bowman was in my house talking to my father about his children, and my older brother going on, at the age of 15, for try-out camp with the Montreal Canadiens.

Without a doubt I could go on and on about the legacy of hockey here in the Province of Nova Scotia. There's one person I have to mention who was probably instrumental to so many people in the Town of Windsor and beyond. He certainly reached out and touched a lot of people when it came to the game of hockey and that is Murray 'Moe' Smith. Moe Smith at one time was minor hockey in Windsor. If it hadn't been for Murray Moe Smith, there are a lot of kids that wouldn't have played hockey, period.

How he ever did this, I don't know. I can remember in those days we used to have what we called the house league. What you would do, you would pick an all-star team from the house league, which would be your rep team. It would be your AAA midget if you were playing midget house, or whatever the case may be - it sort of gave you something to aspire to and to shoot for.

There were so many names, I could mention the name, Boyd, Redden, Dill, Armstrong, Rogers, Spence, Keith, MacPherson, Phillips, Cochrane, Bishop - all names that are synonymous with hockey in the Town of Windsor. I know there are many hockey players in this House. I hear the member for Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley carries a pretty mean stick and I hear it's a mean stick. We also have a member for Shelburne who I guess if you go in the corner with him, you know you've been there. That's what he says anyway.

There are people like Foley. I mentioned earlier, there are some people who maybe were not the best hockey players on the team, but they competed and sometimes that's what it's all about. You don't have to be the best, but get out there and compete. I know some people who I grew up with who competed in the game of hockey. I remember one gentleman, who's still one of my best friends, who is now the president of the Shaw Group of companies - Bert Frizzell - who was a very, very fierce competitor on the ice, just an excellent gentleman. I think of some teachers, I think of the name, Whalen - it was just the whole idea of competing, because hockey goes beyond just that competitiveness upon the ice. A lot of it takes part in the dressing room, leading up to the game, and after the game.

There are all kinds of things. There has been a book written by the Fosty brothers, who have roots here in Canada. The Fosty brothers, now out of the U.S., wrote a book called Black Ice. Hockey in Nova Scotia has played a very, very prominent and important role in race relations in the Province of Nova Scotia. My father was the first person to play on a

[Page 6044]

white hockey team in the Province of Nova Scotia and, indeed, he's the first person thus far that we know of, and according to the Fosty research, who ever played with a white team certainly in Canada.

How he got to play - as a teenager he would travel with the team, and in those days they wouldn't let Blacks play hockey with white players. He would have been in his early - well he would have been 13, 14, and the team from Windsor would show up at a rink in the Valley and they would say well, look, we don't have enough players, would you mind if our stick boy played? You know he's not much of a hockey player, but would you mind if he played, or if he can't play then we can't play you because we don't have enough players. Of course the consensus of the opposing team would be well, yes, he can play. Then, of course, there would be another bit of a hubbub when John "Buster" Paris would come out on the ice as a young child and then he would show his skills.

I can remember a little story - I'm just going to tell you one little story. I've got an older brother, John, who coaches in the Junior A League now, but he also played professional hockey. When he played in the Quebec league, in his first year and his first game, he was playing and the coach put him out - this is well documented in the Quebec papers, my father used to keep all the clippings - the coach put him out on the ice to kill a penalty and John went out on the ice to kill a penalty and he ragged the puck for a full two minutes. He never let anybody touch the puck, and he comes to the bench and the coach started scolding him and shaking his finger at him. He says, well what is that all about, coach? The coach says, why didn't you put the puck in the net? John innocently responded to the coach - well, coach, you didn't tell me to score, you told me to go out and kill the penalty. (Laughter) And when I talk about hockey, I can remember my good friend behind me, the member for Timberlea-Prospect. I've seen him on the ice, and I'm glad he made his fame on the football field. (Laughter)

So I would say that Bill No. 225, Mr. Speaker, is a very worthy bill and it will go a long way towards everything that we here in Nova Scotia stand for, and I want to thank the member opposite for bringing it forward. And, with that, I'll take my seat.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Cape Breton South.

MR. MANNING MACDONALD: Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak on Bill No. 225, which was sponsored today by the member for Hants West. If I might use a well-worn phrase, I'm going to rag the puck for a few minutes on this particular bill and perhaps say a few things about a part of this province that didn't get too much attention so far in the bill. But I'm sure that we respect the fact that somebody took the initiative - and that somebody was the member for Hants West - to bring this bill to the House and congratulate him for that because I think it's an important thing to recognize where we come from in this province in regard to hockey.

[Page 6045]

As some of my colleagues from Cape Breton would know, I literally grew up with hockey as a rink rat in the Sydney Forum, and some would say that I was raised in the coal bin of the forum because we lived next door and as such, and as a rink rat, that was a prized position to have when I was growing up. Of course, you didn't have to pay to get in the rink and you got all kinds of ice time when there was nobody else paying for the ice time, and we would get free time on Friday nights and play under the milk bottle, which had a light in it and that's the only light we had to play at midnight on Friday night for a couple of hours. You got away with a lot when you were playing under the light of a milk bottle, that's for sure.

All through school I had the opportunity to be a rink rat in the old Sydney forum which, of course, as you know, has been replaced by Centre 200. The old Sydney forum was a historic building because it housed something like 2,000 seats maybe, and at senior hockey games, the Maritimes Senior League, there would be 5,000 in the building. Now, I don't know where the Fire Marshals were in those days . . .

[2:00 p.m.]

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please. I wonder if the honourable member would adjourn debate?

MR. MANNING MACDONALD: Yes, I'll adjourn debate. The hour has arrived and I will adjourn debate, but I'll certainly pick it up later.

MR. SPEAKER: We have arrived at the moment for today's emergency debate and that was approved earlier by the House. The debate is to discuss the crisis facing the lobster industry in Nova Scotia and how it will affect the economy of our province.

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION UNDER RULE 43

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Digby-Annapolis.

FISH. & AQUACULTURE: LOBSTER FISHERY - PROBLEMS

MR. HAROLD THERIAULT: Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the House for accepting this debate. I would like to say that I'm pleased to stand in my place here today to speak on this crisis, but I'm not. Last Spring, I stood in this House and I predicted the bubble was going to burst. When you see the price of oil double within one year - I knew last Spring the bubble was going to burst, and the bubble has burst. The worst of a burst bubble is that you have to let it go completely flat before you can try to patch it and blow it back up.

[Page 6046]

That is what is happening in our fishery, Mr. Speaker. Right now if you give fishermen their fuel for free, they probably won't be able to go fishing this winter. I started fishing, my family started fishing 15 generations ago in this province - no, 14 generations ago. My grandchildren, if they make it, will be 15. I was 13th generation and my sons are 14th generation. In 1637, John Theriault came here from France and he started, probably the first day he landed on these beaches, to live off the beach and live off the sea. I started myself at 12 years old in the lobster fishery. I would come home after school, I would have an hour and I would take my little rowboat and shove it off, in the wintertime, in December, and go catch my lobsters every night. That's when I started.

I want to tell you how the licencing started too, in this fishery. You didn't need a licence when I was 12 years old. If you wanted to go fishing, you went fishing, no such thing as a lobster licence or a fishing licence. One day I was walking up the wharf, just before Christmas, and I had my bucket of lobsters. I always caught enough in the winter to buy my eight brothers and sisters something for Christmas; it's what I did it for. I was 12 or 13 years old, I was walking up the wharf one night with my bucket of lobsters and Herbie Cossaboom, the only fishery officer that we had in Digby County, I met him on the wharf. He looked at me and he said, Junior, have you got a lobster licence? I said, no, Herbie, I don't. Well, he says, you've got to have one. I said I've got to? Yes, he said, it's a new law now, you all have got to have a lobster licence.

So he sat down, Mr. Speaker, he wrote out a little pink slip like this and he handed it to me, he says that's 25 cents, Junior. I says, Herbie, I haven't got 25 cents. So he patted me on the back and said Merry Christmas. That's where my licence came from. It wasn't long after that we saw more fishery officers coming into the fishery; more, and more, and more, as more licencing got out, because it was about control I guess. I mean we controlled it for 14 generations, but somehow DFO thought they could control it better. We controlled it pretty well I would say. We had one of the best fisheries, it still is one of the best fisheries today in this world.

In the early 1970s, after that, after everything was licenced, the catch did go down some. So they decided to take a buyout, just too many at it. So they did a buyout of the lobster fishery. Romeo LeBlanc was involved in that and it was good because after the buyout, the fishery started growing. It grew and it grew because we had good conservation measures in it. We threw our small ones back, we always threw the berried ones back, we even came up to where we notched the females and threw them back. They produced and produced and it was the best kind of lobster fishery in Atlantic Canada. It seemed to be growing more in other areas but LFA-34 in Southwest Nova Scotia, where I'm from, is an exceptional fishery; very depended on. People looked for it for their whole years work out of that season.

In 1999, there was a Supreme Court decision that came down. The Supreme Court decision had to be satisfied and everybody knows it was about getting First Nations into the

[Page 6047]

fishery. We agreed - if they want to go fishing, they can go fishing. So DFO in their wisdom figured out a way to get them in - they would buy them in. They would buy First Nations into the fishery. In 2000 you could buy a nice lobster rig for $200,000 to $250,000, I would say around that. It wasn't long, three or four years - these licensing rigs got up to $1 million because DFO was paying anything they could, didn't care, to get that court order satisfied. That was their wisdom to do that and under their management wisdom, so $1 million for a rig which federal government was paying for these licenses

So we had our young fellas coming along wanting to get into the fishery. Dad, how am I going to get into the fishery? Well you have to buy into it. So they started, three or four years after this, our younger children started coming into the fishery, going and doing every mortgage and everything we had to get these guys into the fishery. What else could we do? We just couldn't leave them out. So we had to pay the price that DFO set to get the licenses for First Nations.

Right now when those licenses were bought, they were bought on a $6 or $7 pound lobster - that's what the banks looked at, that's what all the financial institutions looked at. So the boys are catching 40,000 or 50,000 pounds a year at $6, it will give you pretty good stock - we'll take half of that for the boat, the other half will go for the crew. I know three fellas last year who have been living off nothing but love, but they've been paying their payments at $6 a pound. So here they are, there's about 200 - I'll talk about LFA-34 because that's where I'm from - in that fleet with payments from $500 to $1.2 million, probably. That's what's going on there today in that fleet of debt.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday there was a meeting in Yarmouth and at this meeting there were buyers from Maine and Nova Scotia there, and things didn't sound too rosy. Maine says the pounds are full in the United States - they've had good lobster on the American shore, they may not even be able to take any lobsters. They filled their pound down on the American shore with $2.50 lobsters, that's what they've done. They don't want anymore lobsters but they may be able to help out to buy a few somehow. We don't know the price, they talk $2.50 they paid for what they got so they could be talking $2 a pound for these lobsters. You have these businesses down there that borrowed all this debt on a $6 lobster.

The market is down 50 per cent to what it was last year, Mr. Speaker. That was said by our buyers, that was said by the American buyers. The canners, the processors - they may be looking at one-third of what they needed last year, one-third of the amount of lobster. Last year they paid $4 and $5 dollars for them, the canners. So if they only need a third this year and they don't really need that third but they're talking they might be able to take up to that third, you know. Then we have the banks down there, the financial institutes where buyers - a lot of them smaller buyers - go and have a line of credit. They can go to the bank and get $2 million, $3 million, $4 million, $5 million, whatever they need that first week to pay the fishermen for the lobster. The financial institutes are taking a second look at this, that's

[Page 6048]

what's going on. They're taking a second look to see if that's secure enough to put this money out to buy any lobster at all.

Industry, last night I talked to a lot of fishermen last night, stayed up most of the night talking to them on the telephone - including my sons, my brother who is an executive on LFA-34, plus other executives. Industry is looking at ways to reduce the effort somehow. They're looking at reducing a day's fishing, they're looking at shutting Sundays down, they're looking at fishing until January 1st, shutting down and they're looking at shutting down period until next April. That's how bad and gloomy things are. I said I hated to stand here in my place today and speak to this because there are young fellows down there tonight, but their not sleeping half as good as I did last night and I never slept much.

The LFA-34 executive today is going to ask the financial institutes in southwest Nova Scotia if they'll help the fishermen out by deferring their loans and even deferring their interest payments, so we can get through this mess. The industry is going to need time to get through this mess and I'm sure in the next year or two, things are going to get better. But there are ways that the federal government can help. Can the federal government give back these fishermen their $1,890 they just had to pay for a licence fee, for that one Herbie give me - $1,890 they have to pay out to have access to that for the season, but that would buy a lot of food for them. The EI Program - the federal government could look at that somehow to help them. I would also like to say the province may be able to help.

I tabled a bill in this House the other day about Workers' Compensation. They want nearly 8 per cent, talking 10 per cent of a fishermen's wages to insure him while he is aboard that boat - 10 per cent, Workers' Comp. They're not going to be able to do it, Mr. Speaker, and that's something this province can look at to help these people. The lobster fishing in Nova Scotia has been a success story, one of the best fisheries and we're going to go through hard times right now.

There is a saying that goes, never allow a crisis to go to waste. I think if we all work together - if governments all work together with the fishermen, with the buyers, with the financial institutions - I believe we can come up with an answer to this problem because for every problem there's a solution, there always was and always will be. There have been solutions through the fishery for 15 generations that my family knows about. I think this one here is one of the biggest and worse ones that we've ever run up against because of the massive debt that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans of this country helped create, so surely to God we can help create a solution for it. I hope that DFO in Ottawa is listening today and with that, I'll take my seat and I thank you very much.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

HON. RONALD CHISHOLM: Mr. Speaker, I too, as well as the member for Digby-Annapolis, have some really grave concerns about the upcoming fishing season in southwest Nova Scotia and LFA-34, as well, as the Premier and the rest of our government had those

[Page 6049]

same concerns. We know that the lobster fishery in the Province of Nova Scotia is one of the most lucrative in the country. As I've mentioned or talked about before in this House, the lobster industry to the Province of Nova Scotia is valued at about $400 million to $450 million to the economy of the province. So we all know it's a very important economic generator for Nova Scotia.

[2:15 p.m.]

Mr. Speaker, the lobster fishery over my lifetime, and I turned 60 not too long ago, so the lobster fishery has been a very important part of my life in growing up down in Heatherton, in Bayfield - my grandmother lived in Bayfield, Antigonish County. I used to stay down there and I went to school in Bayfield for a few years. My goal I guess on Saturday morning, I was at the wharf at 3:00 a.m. to see what boat I could get on to go out lobster fishing with some of the guys there. I know the member for Halifax Needham understands, her home port I guess was Frankville in Havre Boucher, which was another very important lobster fishing community and still is.

Mr. Speaker, the lobster fishery is very important. I still go to Bayfield every chance I get to spend an evening in the camper and get out on the boat to lobster fish when the opportunity arises. But I guess, as we all know, I mean the downturn in the economy world-wide, you know, is causing the problem that we have today. We do know last year one of the major problems that we had in the lobster fishery was the value of the Canadian dollar, which hurt the lobster fishery.

You know, a dollar that's on par with the U.S. dollar is not good for our export sales. As well, we had the high cost of fuel last year, it was another one, which again this year has dropped and is not as bad as it was last year. But as we've been saying - and the member for Digby-Annapolis has indicated - we all know that the consumer in the U.S. where our biggest market is, probably 75 per cent of our exports go to the U.S., and we've depended on that market for a lot of years. Ever since I can remember, the U.S. market was our biggest market for our lobster fishery.

Mr. Speaker, I guess, you know, we have to do things a little bit differently than we have been. We feel that there's a major market that we haven't tapped into, and that's probably our Canadian market. So I would like to take a few minutes today to talk about our marketing initiatives that we are taking part in this Fall. We'll be starting very soon. Like I say, we know the commercial fishery drives the economy of our coastal communities and the lobsters are an economic engine and, as I've also said, the lobster industry has faced a number of challenges over the past few years.

Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday of this week the fishermen in southwestern Nova Scotia met to discuss the coming season and the issues and as the member said, there were a number of things discussed at that meeting that tried to maybe take some of the pressure off the

[Page 6050]

lobster fishery but we still know that there are going to be pressures. There are concerns with pricing as we head into our important Fall season that opens next week and, given the uncertainties in the lobster markets in the United States, staff are looking at a number of marketing opportunities for our lobster products.

Mr. Speaker, we are working to expand our markets in Canada, Europe and Asia. Staff in our marketing division are working very hard on a marketing campaign for lobsters to be launched early in December, called the discover Nova Scotia lobster campaign. While we're always looking at ways to assist the industry with ways they can get their products out there and have consumers be aware of the great Nova Scotia seafood available to them, this campaign is being done to mitigate some of the potential losses that may be felt by lobster fishermen in our province due to the low prices in the marketplace right now.

The lobster fishery, Mr. Speaker, is too important to this province for us to ignore the impact that these lower prices may have on the fisheries overall, which is why we are working so quickly to get some things in place.

I'd like to take a moment to outline to you what this promotion is all about. We are looking at ways to market the message of the unique experience of eating Nova Scotia's luxurious product, lobster. Now if you haven't eaten a Nova Scotia lobster lately, I encourage you to do so as soon as possible and, Mr. Speaker, if you know where we can get some, I'll go with you. As a matter of fact, I encourage you to pick some up this weekend and share them with your family and your friends and me. Nova Scotia lobster is some of the best and the tastiest lobsters you can find anywhere.

Now most of us in here are used to eating lobster in a particular way and, while tradition is good, we are also looking at way to promote our lobster in unique ways that perhaps people haven't thought about before. Mr. Speaker, it is important to educate people about how to cook, prepare and serve lobster in many new and different ways.

Now, from a business planning perspective we are looking at education of consumers to create positive awareness, excitement and demand for Nova Scotia lobsters. This campaign will work to increase the perception and the brand of Nova Scotia lobster, educate what makes Nova Scotia lobsters unique, stimulate consumer interest in seeking and purchasing lobster, both at stores and in restaurants, and supports our seafood industry. So the campaign thrust is focused on the current situation but it also has more long-term goals. We want to show people that lobster is a versatile product that can be prepared, eaten and enjoyed in many ways.

Mr. Speaker, let me describe to you and our audience who we are reaching out to,we want to strengthen the existing consumer markets but also reach out to those who may be unaware or shy on how to even handle or cook with lobster. There are existing consumers, those people who buy lobster on a regular basis. Those people need to be given new ways

[Page 6051]

to prepare and serve this great product. As well, there are new consumers, the ones who I have mentioned, who have never handled or cooked a lobster before.

Then there are our ex-pats, living and working in western Canada. Those consumers may not be aware that you can buy Nova Scotia lobster all year-round and the taste of Nova Scotia - taste of home, so to speak - is available all year-round. As I said earlier, my staff in the Marketing Division are working very hard to line up this marketing strategy in time for the Christmas season. They are also busy that things are happening that fast and they need to happen fast. The marketing staff presented some of those ideas to industry during the annual Ministers' Conference last week and the industry was very impressed with the amount of work this division is engaged in and how quickly they are responding to the need for more and better marketing.

Let me outline to you some of the ways we are looking at reaching that market. First, we are planning a media blitz, advertising on radio, TV, in all four provinces, specifically an ad in the popular food magazine, Flavours. This magazine ad will reach 190,000 households in four provinces, including Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. Mr. Speaker, I'll table a copy of that promotion that would be in that magazine as well as on TV and other advertising.

Secondly, Mr. Speaker, we are planning a culinary tour in various places; in Alberta, for example, Lloydminster, Fort McMurray, Edmonton and Calgary, that will include chefs and other point-of-sale materials.

Finally, in terms of marketing, we are working on launching a Web site that will include everything lobster; things like recipes, handling, storage and preparation. Serving suggestions and other consumer information that will educate people about our lobster. We are looking at ways to assess the outcome of our campaign. We will be measuring sales results of western retailers carrying Nova Scotia lobster, speaking with Nova Scotia suppliers to determine the impact on orders and sales. We plan to continue to carry this message into 2009, during the early months, highlighting Valentine's Day, Easter and the same and possible additional locations. We will maintain our current collaborative relationship with the industry and work to establish new ones with best west coast buyers from results of this campaign.

I want to make it clear that we realize this is a very challenging and potentially difficult time for our lobster fishery in Nova Scotia. Before we made any decisions, we communicated directly through the industry, asking them who and what cities they are currently active in, and this is what shaped our decision to target the consumers directly, instead of the food service industry. We realize that this is a pilot project, although we want to apply the same theory to other markets for our products in the seafood and agri-food sectors.

[Page 6052]

As I mentioned earlier, all this information on the campaign, and even more, will be available December 1st on the Web site that we are developing. The launch of this Web site will be made available to the people of Nova Scotia by my very capable communications staff, once it is ready to go.

I would have to say something in response to the honourable member for Digby-Annapolis as well when he spoke about the hardships of some of our young fishermen who are tied down with big loans required for boats and quota. One of the reasons we did, in our last budget, come up with the loans for licences program - which I believe is one of the best programs that has happened in the Department of Fisheries since 1936, when the boat loans were first initiated. I can tell you, our staff and our loan board work with the fishermen. They work with the guys with the boat loans and if they're having some difficult times, they can defer loan payments and they can defer interest, that sort of thing.

We certainly realize the hardships are there, but we will do anything in our power. We will work with the federal government as well. I do have a letter to the federal minister asking her for a meeting as soon as possible. You have to realize the minister is only new, she's only been in the position roughly three weeks to a month. The House of Commons is now just sitting for the first, I think yesterday it opened, and the new Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, I can assure you, is very busy. She has indicated to us that she's willing to talk and willing to try to help the fishermen in the situation that they might find themselves in.

On behalf of our government and on behalf of our loan board - which I do know will make ever effort to work with the fishermen who have loans, to try to accommodate whatever need may be there. Our loans for licences program - I will have to tell the House again, that we are on target to be able to be accepting applications by January 1st, for licences, quotas. By April 1st, it is our expectation that we will be putting loans out the door. Like I said, we are here to work with the industry. I know at our minister's conference last week that the industry was very receptive to the program that we brought forward on the marketing plans that we have for lobster.

In the lobster industry, if we don't start doing things a little bit differently in our marketing - we depend too much on the U.S. market. Another issue, too, I guess I should mention is the Japanese market that we have and the concern we had there with the PSP toxins in tomalley in lobster, which is a very big concern for the Japanese market. They take approximately 8 per cent of the export sales from Nova Scotia to Japan. Two weeks ago I met with the Japanese Ambassador to Canada, brought that very issue up, and once we explained - my staff was with me, Assistant Deputy Minister Greg Roach - and once we explained what Canada, what we are doing to inspect and make sure that we have a very safe product on the market, he told us he would refer that back to his country. So thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, for the opportunity.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Shelburne.

[Page 6053]

MR. STERLING BELLIVEAU: Mr. Speaker, it's a pleasure. I noticed the remarks of the member for Digby-Annapolis, that he was reluctant to talk about this difficult topic and I think I have the opportunity here tonight to speak on this emergency debate regarding the crisis that we are about to face in the lobster fishery. I just want to point out that I'm used to difficult times and I think the member for Digby-Annapolis will confirm that we both sat on the advisory board in the early 1980s, mid-1990s and we faced difficult times during 1983 with the Pubnico affair - and I'll leave that for another day.

[2:30 p.m.]

Also, in 1999, the member for Digby-Annapolis and I dealt with an issue regarding the Marshall decision, so we are faced with some difficult times in this industry and I look forward to having this debate here tonight.

I noted the minister - I'm going to get away from my prepared text here, but the minister just spoke about the possibility of having a meeting with the federal minister on this issue. I suggest to all members here tonight that we need to warm up the plane and get that meeting started immediately.

Last Sunday, a few days ago, there was an emergency meeting in Wedgeport, Nova Scotia, and fishermen around this province from District 33 to District 34 came together in very inclement weather, and it was not difficult to find the new fire hall in Wedgeport because it was surrounded by trucks and it was evident where the meeting was held. It was packed, 300 or 400 people there and they all had one thing in common - they understood that trouble was ahead of them.

There are some difficult, troubled economic waters - and I don't want to say that this is a perfect storm, but the potential is there for some difficult waters facing this industry. I just want to point out that in the most recent days this government has a wait-and-see approach - and, Mr. Speaker, I will table two documents basically confirming that. What we've seen with our industry to the south, in the last three weeks we've seen the Governor of Maine suggest they appoint a task force to deal with the economic crisis that is facing the lobster industry.

What is our federal government doing on this? Again, I pointed out last week we've heard silence from our MPs in Nova Scotia, and the silence is deafening. I will quickly point out, and members will suggest, that we have a similar situation dealing with the auto industry in central Canada and the United States. I believe the jets are being warmed up; they're meeting as we speak. It became a part of our election, and we've seen it most recently in the U.S., in their campaign, that basically put their election on hold and dealt with the economic crisis.

[Page 6054]

We have a Canadian Government that's dealing with the auto bailout - and I'm not suggesting a bailout. What I'm suggesting is our fishermen are requesting a hand up, not a handout. I think that's the important topic here.

The fishing industries met just as of yesterday. There were two issues brought forward for recommendation and for endorsement from politicians around Nova Scotia. One was to DFO, they suggested that they would take some responsibility and the economic marketing glut that creates in our lobster industry in the very first three weeks, they made a decision that they would stay home each and every Sunday - this is District 34 now, I want to be very clear - each and every Sunday for the entire season of a six-month season. I just want to point out that District 33, all conditions are status quo, as the saying goes.

There was one other suggestion. The fishermen suggested that the industry promote that we have a deferral program to deal with the heavy payments that fishermen have faced in the upcoming season because of the low prices that they felt this is crucial for this particular industry to get through the next few months, the next year. I was listening with great interest to the minister speak earlier and I didn't hear any of that message in there. I think that's something that we all have to take into consideration here, have the debate, and I think that should be a package when we go to meet our federal minister. Again I want to point out that I think the lobster industry of Nova Scotia will be insulted. In fact, it's a slap in the face by this government to say that it has a wait and see approach, and I tabled the two documents earlier.

Mr. Speaker, if I am successful in having a long political life, where I've been here for two and a half years, if there's one point that I want to make and want to have made in the next minute - the fishing industry has an unwritten rule that when someone is in distress or needs assistance, the signal goes up. The first person on the scene offers assistance. That rule - and I think the member for Digby-Annapolis will confirm that - has been existing for generations. (Applause)

There's a side note to this. If you visualize a boat being in distress and just sitting there stalled in the water, the people who may pass by will be taken to task for this. The one who will offer assistance does not, I repeat, does not take a wait and see attitude or approach. That's the point that I want to make - if I'm successful in the next 10 years, that's the one clear message that we have to make. We do not pass by an industry that's asking for assistance. The meeting was in Wedgeport. They met yesterday with the respective buyers from the United States, in Canada and Nova Scotia, and the industry is saying, the signal went up, we need assistance. They will recall of the attitude of a wait and see approach. You do not leave somebody on the verge of going ashore on a stormy night, you don't do that.

What fishermen have always done, and the way I was taught, is you prepare for the worst and you simply hope for the best. I think a lot of us are prepared for the uncertainty of the economic market conditions that are being faced in the next six months. Fishermen are

[Page 6055]

very successful of observing and reading the weather conditions and every single person who was in that meeting Sunday, every fishermen representative, every buyer that was in the meeting yesterday understands the market conditions that we are facing in the next several months. That's a given.

What we see each year because of the efficiency of our fishing industry in Southwest Nova Scotia, the marketplace - there's the creation of a bottleneck in that marketplace. The fishermen have attempted to address that. They have taken each and every Sunday off of the upcoming season for LFA-34, they have a simple request. We know that there is going to be some rough waters ahead. We know that if we have a strong boat and the economic engine that we can get through this storm that we're about to face. They want a simple solution, a simple solution, and I hope the minister will address this. They want assurances that we'll have a program in place to defer these loans so we can get through this crisis.

There's a number of things that we can do, Mr. Speaker. As we look across Nova Scotia we're faced with an opportunity to export our product to our European friends and there's a large question as we face the Christmas market - will there be air cargo space for these particular lobsters? That shouldn't be a question. That never should be a question.

This is a multi-million dollar industry. I think we could go out and create a working group and we can have that problem addressed. We shouldn't be wondering when it comes to 10 days before the Christmas market if we have cargo space.

Again, the economic engine that drives the rural communities across Nova Scotia is the lobster industry. We watched our federal government, when the Marshall decision was implemented; they responded by giving millions of dollars to that particular situation. They simply went out and bought licences and they tried to address a Supreme Court decision.

We're not asking for money or a bailout, we're simply asking for a hand up. You know there are a number of questions that a working group can be done and I alluded earlier that each time we had a crisis in the fisheries there was a working group that was formed and they addressed it and they came up with some great recommendations. That's another point that I'm strongly recommending, that we form a working group. We can have members from the industry, we can have political members from all Parties and we can have some great recommendations. For instance, the opportunity for lobster buyers who take a lot of this inventory and they can just store it for several months. They need access to capital and we're talking major money here, right? So this situation can change in the next three weeks and if they don't have opportunity for that inventory or to buy that inventory that can be sold in March or February, there's a problem and that never should be.

The other topic is access to markets. I believe there are some markets that need to be tapped around the world that we're simply not doing as we speak.

[Page 6056]

The point I am trying to make here is that our industry is vital to rural Nova Scotia and we see something that is happening once in probably 20 years. I think the last time I recall the price was below $3 was something like 18 or 20 years ago, it is a fluke. I think we have an economic crisis that is amongst us, that is evident. The G-20 members have met, the emphasis is going to be on the economy so I believe that we can see a future. We can ride out this storm but we need some assistance and I'm going to ask the minister again that we warm up the airplane, and I'm not talking in weeks or months, we need to go to Ottawa now. We need to take that message, we want to defer these loans, we want to have access to capital. We want a place for these lobsters to go and we want to know that we have the backing of this government.

I encourage the members to thoroughly debate this here tonight and we can make a difference. I thank you for the time, thank you very much. I look forward to hearing the other members' remarks.

MR. SPEAKER: Thank you. The honourable member for Richmond.

MR. MICHEL SAMSON: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It is both a pleasure and it is unfortunate to have to rise to speak on this emergency debate here tonight. I want to commend my colleague, the member for Digby-Annapolis who, I think it is safe to say, since 2005 has been the voice of the fishing industry here in this House, both in his career as a fisherman and the passion that he has brought to the floor of this House each and every time that he has spoken about this industry.

For him to bring forward this emergency debate about the lobster industry touches to the very core of his being and the core of his family history and the core of his own children who continue in that industry.

Mr. Speaker, I've had the privilege of growing up in a fishing family. Mind you, our family was more involved in the groundfish because my dad did get out of the lobster fishery in the early 1980s when the federal government was threatening to cancel licences that weren't being used. I remember he fondly, or not so fondly, tells how much he sold the licence for, which was $2,000, which today is probably worth $0.5 million. So needless to say, they were different times and we're in different circumstances now.

In Richmond County, as in so many other communities around the province, in lobster fishing Area 29, 30 and 31 which all touch Richmond - the lobster fishery plays a major role in our economy. Just working out some of the rough numbers I was given today, well over $10 million was the value of the landings this summer, in 2008, in Richmond County, $10 million is a lot of money.

[2:45 p.m.]

[Page 6057]

I can tell you that it wasn't always the case in Richmond County because one just has to go 10 years to see that the landings were 80 per cent less than what they are today. So we've been fortunate in the sense that, what I believe the member for Digby-Annapolis has said, some good management practices by our local fishermen, and maybe with a little bit of luck from mother nature, the catches have gone up quite a bit and it's been a very lucrative fishery. We have approximately 100 vessels fishing out of Richmond County. They average a crew of three to four members and there's also been a strong number of women who are now part of the lobster fishery in Richmond County, so it's important to also consider the impact that it is having on them as well.

The question before us today as part of the Emergency Debate, is the concerns about markets and the concerns about the price that is going to be offered to fishermen in the upcoming season starting in Southwest Nova Scotia. Mr. Speaker, I remember as a very young boy when the price of lobster was around $3.50 a pound, which was approximately - I think as the member for Shelburne said - 18 to 20 years ago, when I first started working in the fishery. We saw it gradually increase from that point and I can tell you in Richmond County there were such low catches, and having such a small price it was a very difficult fishery, to say the least. In fact, fishermen would usually make more money on EI than they did during the season, that's how bad things were. It's only been the last number of years that financial reality has actually changed.

Mr. Speaker, one of the big problems in our province - and I'm going to disagree a bit with my colleague from Digby-Annapolis and the member for Shelburne, in that their focus has been on the federal government and what the federal government should be doing. But we need to realize that other than issuing a licence and making sure that the enforcement around the fishery takes place, that's the only role the DFO and the federal government have in our fishery. They're not concerned about markets, they're not concerned about prices, they're not concerned about how we ship it, where we store it, how it gets to where it needs to go. The federal government absolutely doesn't care about that because it's not part of what they do. Who should care about that? The Government of Nova Scotia and the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

The big problem is over the years that unfortunately - and successive governments I think it's safe to say - is that we've taken a laissez-faire approach when it's come to our fishery in Nova Scotia. We've basically said everything is working fine, it's going well. Let's just sit down at the end of the year and say, here's how much money the fishery brought us this year. That has basically been the approach for the most part and that's unfortunate, because we now find ourselves in a situation where everything's not going well and the markets aren't what they used to be. Where we're selling our product, they aren't prepared to pay what they used to pay. Now we find ourselves where the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture says that they do have a marketing plan - I commend him for that. I'm pleased to hear that there's finally a marketing plan but the question is, this government has been in

[Page 6058]

office going on almost 10 years and it's now that we hear there's going to be a marketing plan - what have we been doing all this time?

Mr. Speaker, I'd be remiss if I didn't remind Nova Scotians that this was the government, under the previous Premier, who took away the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture as a stand-alone department. It was mixed in with Agriculture - again sending the signal that this government did not appreciate the important role it had to play in the Nova Scotia fishery.

So I do commend the current Premier and his government for having made a stand-alone minister but there are still issues about the fact of whether there's a stand-alone deputy and whether the proper focus is being given on this very department. Mr. Speaker, I can tell you that it was only a few years ago, when the member for Cumberland North was holding what was not a full department at the time, Fisheries and Aquaculture, and I started asking him questions, asking him how many processing plants do we have in Nova Scotia doing crab? He didn't know the answer. How many are doing shrimp? He didn't know the answer. What's the exact amount of pounds of lobsters landed in Nova Scotia? He didn't know. How much crab landed? He didn't know. How much shrimp landed? He didn't know.

Mr. Speaker, if our Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture in this province doesn't know that information, who does? Yet the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture tells us today that the value of lobster, just lobster, is $400 million to $450 million a year. Now, add crab, add shrimp, add scallops and all the rest of our seafood, if I'm not mistaken, seafood continues to be our number one export in Nova Scotia. If it's not number one, it's number two but it certainly was number one for the longest time.

What's ironic, Mr. Speaker, is ask yourself how much value-added processing goes on in the Nova Scotia fishery and it's almost none. Almost all of the products I've just listed - lobster, crab, shrimp and scallops - are taken out of the water and shipped out of the province. That's not acceptable and DFO is not going to change that. It's not in their mandate. The people who need to change it is the Province of Nova Scotia and I do agree with the member for Shelburne when he talks about a task force - I think he's referring to a federal task force. What I would like to know is why do we not have a provincial task force? Why is this issue falling only to the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture when we know that seafood products is our biggest export in Nova Scotia? Why is it not falling to the Minister of Economic Development? Why is it not falling to the Minister of Finance? Why is it not falling to other ministries to say we need to work together knowing that this is such a vital part of our economy?

We can't just ask the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture on his own and say, look, take a couple of chefs and go out West and let's hope for the best; it's not enough. I think they need to work with the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture to indicate the importance of this very issue of identifying these markets and strengthening this industry.

[Page 6059]

You know, Mr. Speaker, I've had the opportunity to speak to a few individual people in the trucking industry, telling me about some of the products that they've been taking from the Eastern Shore and trucking down to New York to be put on a plane - species I wasn't even aware that were landing in this province. What value added is taking place or processing? Almost none. It's almost going right out of the water to the wharf, on a truck, off to New York, on a plane.

The question I have is, could we be doing more with these products? I'm not suggesting that we need to open a whole bunch of fish plants again but is there more value added that we can be doing. The question that I would have to the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture is, what is he doing to work with processors and buyers here in Nova Scotia to do value added for lobster here in the province? I know of at least one buyer in one area of the province where they've been developing lobster tails and they've been marketing lobster tails. They're actually getting quite a value just for the tails and the tails are taken - they can be baked, they can be deep fried, they can be fried right in a frying pan. There are all sorts of things that can be done but that's just one example. The question is, is the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture and his department actually working to find what value added we can do in this province? Or, again, is it just the laissez-faire attitude of, it will come out of the water, it will be trucked out and then we'll say at the end of the year it's our biggest export in Nova Scotia?

It's not good enough and it's unfortunate that we now find ourselves in a potential crisis that the government is finally saying that it's prepared to take action in identifying new markets. I know that the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture regularly attends the Boston Seafood Show. That's a very worthwhile show for our government and our province to be involved in. But the question is, when you hear about seafood shows taking place in Dubai and in Asia, and Europe, is Nova Scotia there to market our products? If we're not there, why are we not there? Again, why is the Department of Economic Development through NSBI, or through any of its other divisions, not working with Fisheries and Aquaculture in trying to identify markets? It's not just a matter of telling Nova Scotians how to cook lobster differently that's going to change our industry.

So we find ourselves in this situation that we're in now where, especially in southwestern Nova Scotia, massive investments have been made in both the purchasing of licences and in the vessels that are used. I would almost suggest to you, Mr. Speaker, that when it comes to the lobster fishery, southwestern Nova Scotia is almost a unique area in that sense. Back in Richmond County they're still fishing out of 28-foot boats and 30-foot boats. That's not the case in southwestern Nova Scotia - they're fishing out of 55-foot boats, massive vessels, and massive vessels come with a massive price. The value of their licences have been high for years so it's not abnormal for people to be in for $1 million or slightly less than that to get into the industry. Any downturn is going to have a major impact and right now, as the member for Digby-Annapolis and the member for Shelburne said, you're looking at half the price of what there was last year. Unfortunately the loan payments don't

[Page 6060]

fall by half, the interest on those loans doesn't fall by half either and that's the reality that we are being faced with.

Yes, Mr. Speaker, it is the lifeblood of many rural communities but I would suggest to you when seafood is one of the top, if not the top, export in Nova Scotia I would suggest to you it is the lifeblood of this province. We cannot just suggest that it's rural communities such as mine or such as yours, Mr. Speaker, where you're from. This is something that affects everyone in Nova Scotia because that revenue goes to pay, through taxes, for our hospitals, for our roads, for all of our services. So it affects all Nova Scotians and therefore all Nova Scotians should be concerned any time that there is a potential collapse in the fishery such as the lobster fishery.

Mr. Speaker, I know that the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, I can tell you I am pleased to see him in that portfolio because I mentioned earlier the frustrations with one of the previous ministers. I know that the current minister has a vested knowledge and a vested interest in seeing our fishery succeed. My message to his colleagues would be that he needs help and it should not be left to the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture alone to be dealing with this problem. The Department of Economic Development should be there, the Department of Finance should be there and any other divisions of government that can assist in identifying new markets, making sure that we continue to achieve the success that we achieve here in this province and that our fishermen and everyone involved in our fishing industry can continue to play such a vital role in the future prosperity of Nova Scotia. Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Minister of Energy.

HON. RICHARD HURLBURT: Mr. Speaker, it's with regrets that I have to stand here and debate the potential crisis in southwestern Nova Scotia. Just to give you a little background of my life on the water, in my younger years, that was many years ago, I used to go out on dumping day and I'd take the week off from my own company and I'd go with my family members and spend the week out. I'd take seven days on the water with them and I was sick for seven days. If I can give anybody any advice in the House today I suggest to anybody that gets a bit seasick don't eat egg sandwiches and go on the water because it's not really good for you.

Mr. Speaker, I have family members who are in the lobster fisheries. My mother hails from Cape Sable Island, from Clam Point, the tradition there is the fisheries. So it goes back through my roots for many generations, the fisheries and to all of southwestern Nova Scotia. The lobster fisheries is the backbone of southwestern Nova Scotia, it's the backbone to the economy of this province. I know I'm nervous, I spoke to the fishermen and to the buyers and to their families last weekend and I blatantly asked a question to fishermen in my community what can our government do to help you? They were going to bring it to the table and ask members of LFA- 34 what can the Government of Nova Scotia do to help you? I also want

[Page 6061]

to point out, I just want to correct the member for Richmond, that members on this side are all helping our Minister of Fisheries and I'm very proud of our Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture. He's doing an excellent job and I thank the member for acknowledging that.

Mr. Speaker, I also have sent a letter off to the new Minister of DFO in Ottawa to have a meeting, to accompany the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture. This has a serious impact on my riding and to all of our province and I think everybody in this House has an important part to play in it. I can assure the members in the House that this evening I will be meeting with the Honourable Peter MacKay and I will be bringing this to the forefront with the Honourable Peter MacKay about the fisheries in southwestern Nova Scotia. I can assure the members also that I will be meeting with the new member, our new MP for West Nova, Greg Kerr, who is in tune with the issue at hand and will be dealing with the Minister of Fisheries in Ottawa on the crisis that may happen in southwestern Nova Scotia, and I suggest other members from the southwest area talk to your new MP and let him know your feelings on what's going to happen with the fisheries in southwestern Nova Scotia. Forget about political stripes, think about the person. They are representing us in Ottawa and those people have to be onside to work with us.

I see smiles from members opposite. Well, I don't care, this is not political, Mr. Speaker, this is an issue that is going to affect all Nova Scotians. It's going to affect members of my family, it's going to affect families of the members opposite, it's going to affect the economy of Nova Scotia and I think that we all have a part to play. That's why I am more than willing to get to my feet, go to Ottawa, support our Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, this government, and stand up for the economy of Nova Scotia.

[3:00 p.m.]

I also want to say congratulations to the minister for looking at new marketing initiatives in this province for our fisheries. I firmly believe that there are markets close to home. Our markets may be in Europe, but I believe that the western provinces are our markets, Mr. Speaker. I can tell you my brother-in-law works out in the oil sands and he's telling me that there are definitely markets in the Alberta area, Saskatchewan area, B.C. We have markets that we haven't tapped yet and I believe that's what we have to be focused on.

There are markets right here in our own province. We have to let people know that this is a product from Nova Scotia and we should be buying Nova Scotia first. It's not a job for one member, it's a job for all of us in this House, to deal with this. I believe that partnering and working together is the answer. I believe that the new federal government will listen to us; we will have our meeting and we will get our points across, that this is very important to our economy in Nova Scotia.

Regardless of what the dollar value is, what it does, I can tell you in my home riding, what this does - the support teams that are working on the wharves, the people, the buyers,

[Page 6062]

all the support team that they have that are waiting for the boats to come in at night, to buy and weigh and put the lobsters away into the cars, Mr. Speaker.

If you go to our shopping centres, you go to our boutiques, they are waiting for the lobster fisheries, Mr. Speaker. That's what makes our economy grow in southwestern Nova Scotia. All of our stores are waiting for the lobster fisheries and I'll tell you, they're crossing their fingers and hoping that we have a good market, that these men and women who risk their lives every day - I was laying on the deck most of the time I was out there because I was sick - but I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, these men and women who are on these boats risk their lives. They are out there in terrible conditions, and they are risking their lives, but they are creating wealth in our economy. I tell you, hats off to them for the jobs that they do.

My brother's son has his own boat and he goes out and last year, the first day that he pulled his traps - he went out, he pulled his traps, baited them, came in and went right back out and that man landed 9,400 pounds of lobster in the very first 24 hours. That's a lot of lobsters. But if they are at $2.50 a pound, or even $3 a pound, they cannot make a living at that, Mr. Speaker. They cannot pay their bills and make a living at that, that's why we have to work with the fisheries.

I don't want to go and dictate to our fishermen; I want to go and listen to their concerns and bring their concerns to our minister, who is listening to the concerns, and see what we can do to help them, to relieve some of the pressures. I think that's what our job is to do, to help out our fisheries, not to walk in and dictate to our fisheries.

I know the honourable member for Digby and the honourable member for Shelburne know what am saying. I don't think that for any of us it is our place to dictate to them. I think it is our place to work with them and see what we can do to help them out. I can tell you, that's what I intend to do, and the information that I can get again this weekend I will be relaying back to the Minister of Fisheries and let him know what their concerns are. If it is relief for the fisherman's loan, that's something that the minister will have to deal with and he will have to bring to his Cabinet colleagues to see what we can do.

I want to hear from them. I do not want to walk into their business and dictate to them, I want to work with them because that is our economy. If our lobster fisheries in southwestern Nova Scotia go down, we are doomed in southwestern Nova Scotia. That's why we have to do whatever we can to work with them.

I must say that I appreciate what the member for Digby-Annapolis did to bring this debate to the table here today. I appreciate it and I appreciate him speaking and the member for Shelburne speaking very passionately. They know the industry, worked in the industry and they know what it means to the economy of southwestern Nova Scotia.

[Page 6063]

You go to the car lots and you ask them, they're waiting too. Everybody's waiting for the lobster fisheries in southwestern Nova Scotia. The restaurants, everybody, everybody in Southwest Nova - it is the lifeblood of our communities in southwestern Nova Scotia. So, whatever we can do to relieve some of the pressures off the industry. They're all business people - I forget the number, 938 boats - that's all independent businesses in southwestern Nova Scotia. They're hiring and paying staff to work with them and it's the spin-off from it. It's like the little manufacturing company in Pubnico that manufactures the wire traps. There's so much spin-off from this, it's unbelievable.

I believe that my job as the MLA is to listen to the concerns of the people that are in the business and to see what we can do as government and bring that information back to the good Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture and get him and his staff to assess all the information and see what he can bring forward to Cabinet to help the lobster fisheries. I think that's everybody's job. I can assure you as long as I'm the member for Yarmouth, I'll do my job and that's listening to the concerns of the industry.

With those few words, I'd like to share my time with my colleague, the Minister of Health, the member for Argyle, and I thank you for the time.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Minister of Health.

HON. CHRISTOPHER D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, how much time do I have on this one? Okay, we'll work on the schedule.

I want to thank again the member for Digby-Annapolis for bringing this issue forward. It's one of timing here that is probably more critical than the issue itself. Let's not forget that our lobster fishermen that are from the area all around - Shelburne right around to Digby and of course, the different district, we'll talk about District 34 for now - they're going fishing on Monday, I think. That's the question.

We've got into a bit of a conundrum here where the system itself, I don't think, works very well. You have an LFA that is less than a week away from putting those pots in the water and they haven't decided on whether they're going to move the start date, they haven't made a decision on whether they could go to a three day limit that I know the member opposite has talked about on a couple of occasions. So there's some very critical pieces and decisions that need to be made now. (Interruptions)

When is it to be confirmed to? Monday, well there you go. I think that's the wrong thing because as we move closer to Christmas time, as that market will start to either establish itself or not establish itself, I think there might be too much fish caught in a very short period of time and therefore, driving what is a low number down even further. There are some pieces that we really need to get together on and have a true discussion.

[Page 6064]

I know the LFA is doing as much work as they can, working in concert with the federal government and with DFO, but I think there's more work that needs to be done. I think that's where the provincial government comes into play. That's where the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture comes into play. I know that the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture has put some things together and is willing to try to find some of these solutions which are, in my estimation, is, one, try to get that fish out of the Boston area and get it into some new markets, either in the U.S. - there could be some opportunities.

I know the Minister of Economic Development was down in Chicago and in the Midwest. There's some opportunities here in Canada, there are opportunities in Europe and it's time to start focussing on those areas to try to do it. I know the guys that are probably down there at Vernon d'Eon's right now having a coffee trying to figure out what the heck to do over the next few days - what is that market going to bear? What is it going to look like?

I think the guys really have to think ahead. This is an important market and it's too important to just throw lobsters into it. We need to be very measured right now on the stock that we're going to be bringing in forward. I think there are people there who believe in that and that understand that. I think at the same time, we need to be supporting the LFA, we need to be supporting the fishermen in trying to find the buyers, to try to find those new markets.

Again I'm not a fishermen. I'm sort of like the MLA for Yarmouth, the Minister of Energy - I spend more time on the deck throwing up than I do fishing. Unfortunately from a fishing family that's kind of frowned upon, I guess, but after five or six days you kind of get your sea legs under you and you get going. I know that lobster fishing is very difficult and the Minister of Energy was very correct that a lot of these guys put their lives on the line a lot of times when they go out in bad weather, they go out into some circumstances that they shouldn't be out in, but they do, to get that lobster. Right now it's so important.

If I look at the Ford dealership, if I look at the Vernon d'Eon Lobster Plugs, if I look at all the supply services that are in our guile, that need the cash flow that lobster fishery brings us, all of them are sitting there wondering, with almost a broken heart right now, because they see what is so vibrant, so important for them, on the cusp of possibly losing it. So we all need to work together. Never mind the political stripes here, never mind the different districts that we have, it doesn't matter if you're from Digby or Argyle, Yarmouth, Shelburne, or anywhere else in this province, we need to be there to help support those individuals, working with our Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, and working with that federal government that does hold so many cards when it comes to the fishery in southwestern Nova Scotia. I thank you for the opportunity to stand today and speak to this extremely important topic for southwestern Nova Scotia.

[Page 6065]

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Pictou East.

MR. CLARRIE MACKINNON: Mr. Speaker, it's a pleasure for me to stand in this House, at this time, to speak on this important issue. The Minister of Energy mentioned some smiling faces on this side of the House, I didn't see any smiling faces. There's no one smiling in southwestern Nova Scotia today. This is a serious situation and I'm very proud to ride shotgun with the member from Shelburne because he has, so many times, taken a stand for the fish harvesters of southwestern Nova Scotia and for the entire Province of Nova Scotia. I would have dearly loved to have been riding shotgun for the member from Digby-Annapolis and I just wish he were in our Caucus because he is a great member.

These two have shown leadership when others have been involved in situations of listening, and assessing, and taking a wait and see attitude. These two have been calling for action, Mr. Speaker, calling for action. (Applause) You know this situation just doesn't involve southwestern Nova Scotia because it could have ramifications on other seasons throughout this province unless we show leadership, unless we get some butts in Ottawa and take stands like some other provinces have taken when issues of concern have come forward. We have to do more than just listen and assess.

We have seasons that will be opening down the road, next Spring ,in my riding, in the Northumberland Strait; we have seasons that will be opening in Cape Breton; we have seasons that will be opening on the Eastern Shore. We have in the gallery today, Dannie Hansen, from Louisbourg Seafoods Ltd., and he knows a lot about crab and lobster and the problems that exist in this industry because he is one of the people who is on the forefront in relationship to dealing with these problems and trying to sell in these market places that are being hit with such volatility. There are declining orders. There are credit problems here in Nova Scotia and in the U.S. This industry is worth $1 billion to the economy of Canada. We send lobsters to 55 countries and most of these are having problems at this time, economic problems, and we are in an assessment mode. We are in an assessment mode.

Mr. Speaker, I don't know as much about the industry as the two members that I referenced earlier with such great respect but I have spent over 30 years in the fishery, in the public and private sector of the fishery. I was involved in buying crab, in buying lobster. I was involved in negotiating the purchase of the Mullins' operation in Main-à-Dieu which is a lobster operation. My son came up and bought lobsters there for the company that I was involved with for a year. I've tried to sell product. I've gone to Korea and Japan trying to sell product from Nova Scotia and we have to take some leadership on this issue.

[3:15 p.m.]

Mr. Speaker, our approach to Ottawa is one of Mr. Harper, or Prime Minister Harper, or Minister Shea, you know, do you think you might be able to do something for us? Sending a letter to the Prime Minister on some issues, or sending a letter to the Minister of Fisheries

[Page 6066]

and Oceans? I mean we have to do more. We have to look at the Premier of Manitoba, Gary Doer, and look how he has been involved in issues like Air Canada closures. We have to be somewhat, perhaps not quite like Premier Danny Williams, but we have to take a stand. We have to take a stand. We don't go hat in hand in a letter, you know, I mean Danny Williams would say cough, Stevie, cough it up, cough it up, Stevie. I mean there's a different approach here.

We really have to start looking at some action and we have to look at deferred loans, we have to look at access to capital and, above all, we have to get involved in consultation and communication. Our fish harvesters in southwestern Nova Scotia are reading about billions of dollars going to big banks to bail them out. We're seeing the auto industry poised to receive tremendous billions of dollars probably. Our fish harvesters in southwestern Nova Scotia, one of the most important industries that we have in this province, and what are we doing? What are we doing? Have we been in the minister's office? Have we done more than write a letter?

Mr. Speaker, we have to come together here. I just looked at some of the headlines, the lobster market meltdown could mean a $100 million loss to the local economy, $100 million, and we cannot sit on our thumbs and talk about a three-year marketing program. A three-year marketing program? The season is opening next Monday, on the 24th the season will be opening, and we're talking about a three-year plan that we're going to start kicking something in in December. We have to wake up here. We have to get Ottawa to wake up to the needs of the fish harvesters of southwestern Nova Scotia and the entire Province of Nova Scotia.

Mr. Speaker, this situation, I believe that I could go on for hours in relation to this but I promised the member for Queens that I would in fact give her a small portion of my time because this is very important to her area as well. So I'm not sure when I started but how much time do I have to share?

MR. SPEAKER: Approximately eight minutes.

MR. MACKINNON: Thank you very much. You know, we have a situation where I've been looking at some of the e-mails that are being sent to newspapers in southwestern Nova Scotia in relationship to what harvesters are saying in response to the newspapers' stories. I'd like to quote one of them that I just jotted down a few moments ago: I can foresee that if this trend doesn't change, our family will lose our house, be living on the street and be collecting welfare, and we certainly won't be the only ones - that was from a fish harvester in southwestern Nova Scotia - and we will not be the only ones.

Mr. Speaker, after the debate that we had in this House that I participated in last night, where we talked about a $4 increase for people on welfare, when we talked about the 8 per cent that this government put on the people in increased taxes for electricity, welfare

[Page 6067]

isn't the answer for these people in southwestern Nova Scotia. They need a hand up, as the minister from Shelburne - I hope he will be a minister some day - as the member for Shelburne has indicated, they need a hand up. They don't need a handout, they don't want a handout, they want a hand up.

This government has to do something; it has to get to Ottawa, it has to move on from the status quo, the little bit of wait-and-see business that we have been hearing for the last little while. I just wish I had time to get wound up on this issue, Mr. Speaker, because I can say much more on this issue because it is very dear to my heart, this fishing industry, but I will share a little bit of time with the member for Queens.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Queens.

MS. VICKI CONRAD: Thank you to my colleague for sharing some of the time on this very important debate. I want to thank the member for Digby-Annapolis for bringing this resolution to the floor today. I also want to thank my honourable colleague and member for Shelburne for talking about this very important issue over the past few weeks here, because it is extremely important.

It was just a little while ago when my honourable colleague, the member for Shelburne, and I did a wharf tour around the constituency of Queens and I represent a portion of LFA-33, which runs from Baccaro Point in Shelburne, as far up as Sambro. Certainly during that particular day when we were talking to fishermen, they were discussing with my colleague and me many concerns they had about the fishing industry in general, but nobody saw this coming. Certainly that was not on the radar screen on that particular day chatting about other issues of importance to our fishermen.

These uncertain economic times have certainly taken this industry, taken the wind out of the sails of this very important industry and we really need to come together on a united front, such as the fishermen today are very united in this cause and wanting to move some action forward.

On Sunday I received a call from a very well-known and respected fisherman in my area, a person who has kept me in touch and certainly in the loop about many of the issues and concerns of fishermen in my area. Captain Nickerson came in several times and started alerting me and telling me that things were happening in the industry that were going to be a major concern and fishermen were already, just several weeks ago, feeling the uncertainty of the economic conditions.

On Sunday he called me and told me that a meeting was going to be held in Wedgeport and wanted to know if I was able to attend that meeting, and certainly he had already been in touch with my colleague, the member for Shelburne, who had assured him that he would be at that meeting. Unfortunately I wasn't able to attend, but I can tell you

[Page 6068]

when I was talking to Captain Nickerson there was panic in his voice - there was absolute panic about what this meant for the fishing industry, for the fishermen not only in Areas 33 and 34, but all across the province as the seasons start to roll out.

It was very unsettling to hear his concerns for many of his colleagues and family members who fish. My neighbours, several of them are fishermen, my husband will sometimes go out at the end of the season and will work the last day with some of our neighbours who are lobster fishermen. I can tell you I worry very much for those families. A few of our neighbours are young families just starting out, and some of them have been fishing for many, many years, all of their lives, but they're very concerned about the overheads that they have, the boat loans, the licences, the gear, the deckhands, and the market price for these lobsters right now is just not going to cut it, it's not going to help these fishermen get through this season.

I would like to ask this House and all members to take a proposal that has been moved by my colleague and good member for Shelburne. He's proposed a solution and that solution is to come up with a program or package that looks at deferred loan payments for these fishermen. It's very important that we stand united - that my good colleague, the member for Shelburne, and the good member for Digby-Annapolis accompany the Minister of Fisheries here to Ottawa to come up with that solution, to present that solution in Ottawa, and we all stand together united to give our fishermen a hand up. Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Kings West.

MR. LEO GLAVINE: Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join the emergency debate today on the lobster fishery. While it only, in a very minimal way, affects my riding, as there are few lobster fishermen - the Hamiltons, the Kenneallys, First Nations, that come out of Harbourville in Kings County - but all of Nova Scotia is in fact likely to be impacted if this is a devastating season, and all prospects are now that the risk and danger of lobster fishing is actually being played out right now before they ever go on the water. There is great fear in this industry, in particular southwestern Nova Scotia, the most lucrative in North America, especially comprising Areas 33 and 34.

For those perhaps watching the debate at home today, Area 33 extends from Cole Harbour to a point near Banquereau, Shelburne County, and Area 34, the richest lobster ground extends from there around to Digby. This is an area that if you take out some of the kinds of millions of dollars that this industry brings in each year - and I'll just quote one year where the statistics were very strong. In 2004 and 2005 in Area 34, one of the best seasons in recent years, had landings worth $320 million, so you start taking even $50 or $100 million out of that picture - and all prospects are unfortunately looking that way. Grand Manan and southern New Brunswick started the fishery last week and fishermen were getting $3.50 a pound, and by Sunday it had dropped to $3.25 a pound. In fact there may be fishermen who are in the process of deciding whether they can even put their boats in the water this year. So there is indeed a looming crisis.

[Page 6069]

When you take a look at Areas 33 and 34 ,it makes a horseshoe around southwestern Nova Scotia. I think of the communities like Bridgewater and the New Minas- Kentville area where you have all the major car dealerships, and it is that period from late November until Christmas that many of them have their best sales because this is when the lobster fishermen and their families are making their income practically for the year. When we start to take a look at this money drying up, and no longer being infused into that part of the economy of southwestern Nova Scotia, and impacting on the province, we know that we're in for some very, very difficult times.

Just a couple of more points before I hand my time over to a former Minister of Fisheries, my colleague, the member for Preston. I do want to say that there is a glorious opportunity here for the minister and government to immediately put to work a group of four or five people who can quickly look at markets, who can quickly look at how there can be an injection of monies - a hand up, as we're talking about here - for these fishermen.

[3:30 p.m.]

I think four or five people who have the knowledge and the wisdom around the lobster fishery, who can make some things happen quickly, hopefully - why not, if the market is there in Europe, get the planes in place if it's looking like there won't be that number this year. I think Henry Demone - I always call him Captain Highliner - from National Sea said it best this week in a CBC interview, when he said that they've fared fairly well to date, their fish processing. He said he sees some of the banking financial crisis as dissipating, however, the economic crisis is now starting. Southwestern Nova Scotia could show up on that barometer, immensely, being in a depressed state this winter.

We really need to see all Parties come together on this. I think in this year of democracy, what a great opportunity for government, and all of us as MLAs, to restore confidence in the Nova Scotia electorate by creating that kind of credibility to respond to a crisis, to a need. It's a great opportunity and the next few weeks must see that happen. It will play itself out, I'm afraid, very quickly. With that, I pass over to my colleague.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Preston.

MR. KEITH COLWELL: It's a very sad day that we have to have this discussion in the Legislature. The economic impact that's coming for Nova Scotia is something that we haven't seen in many, many years. It's very unfortunate that the economy in the U.S. and the economy in the world, indeed, is going to have such a profound effect on us here in Nova Scotia.

The issue with the lobster fishery is great. Over the years, the value of the lobster fishery, it has already been said here by all of my colleagues, has grown into an incredibly good industry. I can remember when I was a very small child, the price of a lobster was

[Page 6070]

insignificant and nobody even wanted to buy them at the time. How that has changed and how the industry has done so well to improve that and work on it.

The issue of shipping lobsters to Europe is a very serious one. It's one I worked on a great deal when I was Minister of Fisheries and there is a big problem with the Halifax International Airport. Nobody talks about it, but there's a major problem there. As far as I know, that problem hasn't gone away. Until the international airport allows the planes to land from outside the country, freighters that can reliably move these lobsters, and also to ensure they're moved in a timely manner - I can remember at one point, many years ago, there were several metric tonnes of lobster on a freighter ready to go and the freighter was being de-iced. The captain and the co-pilot were all set to go and Air Canada had to de-ice another plane. So they took it off that plane for an hour and a half, and an hour and a half later they came back to de-ice it and guess what? The captain and the co-pilot were over the number of hours they were allowed to be on the plane, stopped the plane, destroyed the whole shipment.

So this is the kind of foolishness that's going on. This has to stop, it really has to stop. Nobody talks about this and it's time we talked about it, it's time we put on some pressure. We've seen Air Canada move their staff out of here, and at the same time they do nothing to help us move these lobsters and this valuable freight that could go to a place in Europe and other places where we could get a higher price. It's a serious issue and there are so many issues in the fishery. The Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture rightfully talks about marketing. Unfortunately, marketing doesn't happen in 24 hours. It doesn't happen in one week. It doesn't happen in a month. It takes a long time to market a product and to create a demand for it and by creating a demand, increasing the price for it.

So I'm glad to hear that the minister is going to pursue that but, unfortunately, it's going to be a long time before that has a real positive impact, unless we get really, really lucky and there is somebody there looking for lobsters and didn't realize there were none in Nova Scotia. I can tell you from the lobster fishing industry I've seen here, and from the people who are in the industry, it's very, very unlikely that's going to happen. We've got some very high quality fish processors here that have been marketing all over the world and have done very successfully. That's one reason our lobster was at the high price it was at, and why they could move so much lobster.

So I think that all parties have to address this issue. This is not political. This is important to our economy. We've seen our tourism industry basically go down the drain in the Province of Nova Scotia with the receipts gone that we've typically seen, as people are not traveling here, and the costs of doing business for the boats are not going away. The costs are going to be there and we're going to be faced with people losing their homes. They're going to lose their licences, they're going to lose their boats and all the other people around that - the gear suppliers and everybody else in the province - are going to be affected by this. It's so many millions of dollars that are here, and such an important part of our economy.

[Page 6071]

Even the people who don't realize that - you know, when you think of lobsters, oh, well, I don't buy lobsters, I don't eat lobsters and nobody I know works with lobsters.

Well, I can bet you don't have to go very far and there's somebody you know, or a relative of yours, who is indeed affected by lobsters, financially, or their job or their family is, and that's in the whole province. So this is a very serious issue. It's probably the most serious issue that has faced this province in the last 10 to 20 years. I think that we have to work together as one group, as this Legislative Assembly, to resolve this problem and help these very solid entrepreneurs through this. The fishermen will survive, but we've got to make it so they'll survive and prosper so they can move forward again and keep our economy going.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Victoria-The Lakes.

MR. KEITH BAIN: Mr. Speaker, much of the conversation this afternoon is dealing with the fishery in southwestern Nova Scotia, mainly because of the immediacy that's there. But it's actually an issue throughout this province.

Mr. Speaker, in Victoria-The Lakes there are fishing ports in Bay St. Lawrence, Dingwall, Neil's Harbour, Ingonish, Little River, Big Bras d'Or, just to name a few. When you consider the number of boats, and the number of people who work on each of these boats, in each of these ports, you can imagine the dollars that flow into each and every community. As the honourable member for Kings West and many others have said this afternoon, this is a province-wide issue that needs to be addressed.

Our minister, Mr. Speaker, has made his commitment to help but each of us in this House has to put politics aside and work together with our minister to provide the united voice with our federal counterparts. Over the next few months I, as the member of Victoria-The Lakes, plan to set up meetings with the fishers in each of these ports, in their own community, to hear the concerns and the challenges they face and present them to the minister so that collectively we can work together for the betterment of the fishery within this province.

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, we realize how many dollars go into each and every community that is affected by the fishery and the spinoffs that come about as a result in the supermarkets in our communities, in the stores, in the car dealerships and much, much more. It is province-wide and it's something that does have immediacy, especially as it relates to southwestern Nova Scotia, but it has immediacy as it relates to each and every port within this province. With those few words, I would like to share my time with the honourable member to my right.

[Page 6072]

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Minister of Tourism, Culture and Heritage.

HON. WILLIAM DOOKS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I also would like to have a few moments here to discuss and to take part in debate of how important this issue is, not only to the members of this House but to all fishermen, fishermen's families and the people of Nova Scotia.

People know that I represent the Eastern Shore and I have many fishing communities on the Eastern Shore in the Lawrencetown area, Three Fathom Harbour, down in through the Chezzetcooks, the Petpeswicks, Ostrea Lake, the Jeddores, Little Harbour and so on and so forth and further on down the Eastern Shore, Ship Harbour and so on.

Mr. Speaker, the way the community is designed, the way the Eastern Shore is designed, maybe in one harbour you may have one or two fishermen or maybe even one and in another harbour you may have a lot of fishermen. The bottom line is the fishing industry is important to Nova Scotians. As the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture said earlier on, he takes this issue very seriously and also, a few comments from across the way have been made - what is the government's position in relation to this? Well, the government has said clearly that as far as, for instance, the Fisheries and Aquaculture Loan Board, that the government and that loan board is not here to hurt the fishermen or the fishermen's family but here to work with and support them.

I believe in the minister, I believe in this government that when the crunch, or if - I should say, maybe it would be better to say if - the crunch comes, that the government will be there to support them in that manner.

Mr. Speaker, I also would like to say that it doesn't only affect the fisheries but also many different portfolios within government. For instance, as far as tourism - as the minister, it is very important for me to make sure that we have good lobster, hard-shelled lobster, a good quality product, to make sure that it's there to promote tourism in the parks of Nova Scotia. Actually tourists will come to our fishing villages to buy or to partake in festivals, especially with the very famous Atlantic lobster.

Maybe I should say - and I'm not speaking for, but the Minister of Economic Development, of course, would have an interest as well and would want for the fishery to be strong and to move forward because the more money the fishermen make, in fact the better the province does, and other people.

Growing up in a fishing community, Mr. Speaker, I've watched the benefit of a strong fishing community. I've watched the fishermen - the fishers in my community work long and hard hours and I realize the benefit. When the fishery is strong, our economy on the Eastern Shore is strong. Quite honestly, the gas stations sell more gas, the building supplies stores sell more building supplies, the fishermen build pieces on their houses, new houses, they

[Page 6073]

look after their boats, the mechanics are busy and in a rural area, the economics of the strong fisheries are very important. That's why when the minister said when the House rises that day, he'd be interested in making a meeting with the federal minister, Minister Shea, and to explain our position here that it's very important for us possibly to look at this in a very beneficial way, to find a solution.

Mr. Speaker, I hope this does not come to crisis stage and I understand that that's not necessarily the case but it's quite right - we know with the world economy in a slowdown, that people may not be buying as many lobsters as they ordinarily have. I don't think we would not notice the fact that possibly there will be a slowdown in the market, whether it's $2.50, whether it's $4 a pound, whether it's $7 a pound, the price will be set and there's a mechanism in relation to setting the price of lobsters.

Mr. Speaker, I can remember, when the fishing season is over on the Eastern Shore we always have a conversation with our fishing people, saying, was it a good year, hoping that they can say yes, it was as strong as last year. Or sometimes they say, you know it wasn't a bad year, we were able to get by. So you can be prepared to be presented that answer - it was a bad year; no, it was a good year, or we got by, so they sort of rate it in the previous years. We've experienced some hard times already in the past in the lobster fishery. I can remember when the lobster was at $2.50 a pound a few years ago and I can also remember when the fishermen were getting as high as $6.50 or $7 and sometimes more. Each fishing person understands that it sort of goes in cycles.

[3:45 p.m.]

What I always say is if you go to the wharf, that's how we traditionally buy our lobsters on the Eastern Shore, I believe that's how it happens throughout Nova Scotia, you go down on the wharf because you know what time your fisherman or fisherperson is coming in. You know what time their boat comes in, you know you prefer their lobster I'll tell you, and you know what the price is because when you go to the garage station, or you go to the restaurant, the library, doesn't matter, what are the price of lobsters this year? So you know, and you go there. I always said I like for the price to be fair but I always looked at it this way. If I went to the wharf and I was to purchase 10 pounds of lobsters at $5 a pound, which would be $50 I would have no problem paying $6 a pound because that puts an extra dollar per pound on the lobsters. When you spread that over the purchase of all the lobsters over the season the lobster men or lobster person would do better.

On the Eastern Shore we never wanted to bargain and try to get the cheapest price for the lobster because we knew that if we could get a fair price and put more dollars in their pockets in return someone in that rural area was going to benefit. The guy at the garage station would get more, the contractor would get more, the painter would get more, they'd buy their ATVs, they go hunting so the ammunition would be bought there or they do whatever with the money to roll it back into our economy. Fishermen in Nova Scotia are well

[Page 6074]

respected, fishermen in Nova Scotia work hard, fishermen in Nova Scotia are very intelligent people. They know their industry, they can forecast the future and they can tell what price lobsters may be in the next season. This is why we're here discussing this today because they're forecasting a possible decline in the price of lobster but, Mr. Speaker, I don't want to see it.

I want to see a strong price for their lobster per pound in the southwestern part of Nova Scotia because I'm on the Eastern Shore and soon Spring will come and the season will be open on the Eastern Shore. We must not forget what the minister has said. The minister has said that he understands, that he's working with departmental people, they will not betray the fishery, they will not betray that industry here in Nova Scotia. He's going to go to Ottawa, he's going to work with the federal government, the federal bureaucracy, and try to put a solution in place if there should be a crisis in the lobster fishery. They will not, this government, the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, the loans department, will not seize a fisherman's boat in Nova Scotia while we address this issue if that person can demonstrate that indeed it was because of the downturn in the fishery.

We wish the lobster fishermen success, we encourage them to keep strong in their lobby and we're going to do everything as a government. I too as the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Heritage hope that we have a strong economy and I will support the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture on his trip to Ottawa or to lobby the federal minister to help our fishermen. Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Cape Breton Centre.

MR. FRANK CORBETT: Mr. Speaker, first of all let me congratulate the member for Digby-Annapolis for bringing this motion forward. It's timely and worthwhile. I guess I'm not perceived, as someone from a coal mining town, as someone that would know, nor do I profess to know, a lot about lobster fishing but the industry is very vibrant in that coastal area that's called Area 28. That's an area that stretches from Cape North, which is in the member for Victoria-The Lakes' riding, around to the ridings of Cape Breton North, Cape Breton South, Cape Breton Nova, Cape Breton Centre, Glace Bay and indeed the Speaker from Cape Breton West. So those areas are all involved.

Last year the catches were relatively good in those areas but the reality of fishing is that many times when you have an abundance of the commodity, the price is driven down because of the abundance. What happens is there's a leveling off and fishermen understand this and they hope they'll balance. But historically the price of lobster hasn't really moved with the overall costs of the other aspects of doing business, whether it's purchasing equipment, whether it's fuel, whether it's your other labour costs such as your hands and so on.

[Page 6075]

Those are cost factors that have not been increasing. Yet in the area I explained - and I'm sure that the minister knows this area very well because his assistant deputy minister's family is from that area. Mr. Roach is from that area and he'd know this all too personally. Maybe he's not too good at building bait shacks but nonetheless he knows the area. That's a little snipe at the minister and he understands it and I don't think he takes any real affront to it. We both know what we're talking about. Mr. Speaker - that area by and large employs 500 directly and it's an industry that's worth between $10 and $15 million. But the importance in this debate, at this time, is traditionally in that area, their price flows out of what's being paid this time of year.

Now as the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Heritage said, and I have to agree with him, that to survive in this industry you have to be really bright and you have to know how your business operates. So what they know is they will see the prices early on in the area around southwestern Nova Scotia and all that. You will see a spike which is really the Christmas buying season. Now if you weren't bright like a lot of these fishermen, you would say, oh, this is what we can expect next year, this is the price that will be fluctuating when we set our traps in April, May, June and July. Well, Mr. Speaker, that's not the case here. The case is they realize that's a spike, then it falls, then it averages out. As a matter of fact, when it comes time for their product to hit market, it's usually lower.

Now again last year, that fishery in particular had a hard time because that's when our Canadian dollar was stronger and the exports out of the States, while the markets were still fairly good, you had a problem with the overall currency so there was a harder exchange there. They would buy and sell in American dollars and therefore it meant a smaller return for many of these fishermen.

So we've got a problem coming up here that has to be addressed in the fullness of the discussion. The discussion really has to say - not a trip to Ottawa to talk to, as been said by members on the government side, the minister and bureaucrats. These problems are resolved with long-term planning, long-term planning around marketing, around looking for new and expanding existing markets. For us to say it's business is usual and hope that the people of the fishery will ride out this storm - what we'll find is that we'll get through this year, but the 2009-10 season will be better. Well, we can't depend on that. What we have to do is look at this in the long term and then say where are our new markets? I heard the minister talk about going to Japan but these plans cannot be just thought through, or talked to, from a nation to nation perspective.

Mr. Speaker, what has to be done is - I don't think there's any other commodity-based industry like the fishery where these folks - you're in real danger when you exclude the actual people who go out and catch in this fishery, when you remove them from this actual negotiation side of the equation. So we need to look at those and say, well, what do we want to do here? Do we want to do a year by year and hope every year that we'll get lucky and that it will be a good year, and then tell them, well, you know, maybe next year we won't be so

[Page 6076]

lucky. We have to have something, you know - we've heard many people talk about whether it's a plan to rescue other industries, whether it's auto, and we see what happened in the financial sector in the United States.

I don't think we need a drastic plan like that to help make this industry better. I don't want to use the term, save this industry, because the people who have been doing this for generations will make sure that this industry survives. What we've got to do is make sure that it survives in local small communities, that these local independent fisheries people are not knocked out of that industry because of ITQs. What we need to do is to take that industry and say, look, this is an industry that has supported rural Nova Scotia for years. Members across the way have said what that meant to local rural communities and what they would buy in the local rural communities.

So it's very important that when we work on a plan - and I'm agreeing with the minister and those for it, yes, go to Ottawa. But it can't be a one off, it has to be a larger picture because, Mr. Speaker, if there is - and I think we all believe there is a fabric to rural Nova Scotia and clearly our fishing industry is part of a major piece of our rural fabric. We are, as our licence plates say, Canada's ocean playground. I don't think we want to see that industry harmed by way of getting our local community-minded people out of that business. We don't want to see it corporatized. What we want to do is keep it in the hands, as it has been for centuries, a lobster licence has been handed down from one member of the family to the next, we want that identity. We want that identity in rural Nova Scotia.

Yes, a good start is the trip to Ottawa but, Mr. Speaker, what we really need is to make sure that the voices of rural Nova Scotia, the fisheries; my friend here, the member for Shelburne; my friend, the member for Digby-Annapolis; and indeed my friend, the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture; that everybody has to work together to make this work. Lets make sure this is an issue that will resolve itself and help grow rural Nova Scotia. We need to protect rural Nova Scotia. Ottawa will not protect rural Nova Scotia. International financiers will not protect rural Nova Scotia. The people who have to protect our way of life in rural Nova Scotia, our fishing industry, our agriculture industry, are the people in this House. We have to do that. We have to do it today. Minister, I urge you to make that trip to Ottawa, take your counterparts, do it now, don't do it later, and tell them what we want, what we'll accept, and we'll accept nothing less than the survival of rural Nova Scotia. (Applause)

MR. SPEAKER: The time has expired for the emergency debate before the House this afternoon. We will now return to the order of business, Private Members' Public Bills for Second Reading.

PRIVATE MEMBERS' PUBLIC BILLS FOR SECOND READING

MR. SPEAKER: We will continue with the honourable member for Cape Breton South.

[Page 6077]

MR. MANNING MACDONALD: Mr. Speaker, I'm not sure if the mic is on.

Bill No. 225 - Provincial Sport Act. [Debate resumed.]

MR. MANNING MACDONALD: Mr. Speaker, boy we're having fun this session. I'll try again to say a few remarks (Interruption) Yes, I could have gone on without the microphone, but unfortunately it wouldn't be recorded.

[4:00 p.m.]

When I first rose in my place here before the hour of interruption for the emergency debate, I said that I was going to rag the puck a little bit on this bill because of the fact we needed to keep the debate going while we were waiting for the debate, but I don't need to do that anymore.

Again, in case some members were absent when I first started speaking about this bill, Bill No. 225, I want to congratulate the honourable member for Hants West for bringing this bill forward. It's a bill our Party can certainly support and will support. It's a bill that brings back memories for a lot of people when you start talking about hockey and what it has meant to the people of Nova Scotia over the years and what it means to the people of Nova Scotia today.

As I stated before, I grew up with hockey. I was born next door to the old Sydney Forum and as such, became a rink rat at a very early age. One of the benefits of being a rink rat is that you don't pay to get into the building. I can honestly say I've never paid to get into Sydney Forum all the time I was growing up. As a matter of fact, some people would even say that I was literally born in the coal bin at the back of the Sydney Forum because that's how close our house was.

I was a rink rat and proud of it. As such, in the late 1940s and early 1950s I was pleased to be able to be the - first of all I started off as the water boy for the Sydney Millionaires, which was one of the teams in the Big Four league and a great team over the years. In those days when you're water boy, you didn't have the water bottles like you have today. You had a quart beer bottle, usually a Keith's or Oland's or one of those, wrapped in tape with a little tape handle on the top and you'd have to go get that bottle filled every 10, 15 minutes and everybody drank from the same bottle. You just passed it down and - it's an amazing thing about that, nobody ever died from doing that.

Then, as I got a little older, 8 or 9 years old, I graduated to being assistant stick boy and then stick boy of the Millionaires. My fondest memories were going to Glace Bay to play the Glace Bay Miners on Saturday evening and you had to fight your way in the town and

[Page 6078]

fight your way out of the town. I'd be just down the back watching our fans taking on the Glace Bay fans on Saturday night.

When you were a rink rat and when you were growing up, literally, with hockey, you got to observe a lot of things and a lot of things happened in a building like the old Sydney Forum. For example, I believe the seating capacity was something like 2,000 and some games in the Maritime Major League and when we had the big teams down there and the big names, there were 5, 000 in that building with one entrance and the bullpen designed to hold about 15 or 20 people would have 300, 10 deep, with the screen ripped apart so the people could see over the ice and one small exit. One wonders whether we had any fire marshals in those days because if there were ever a fire in that building, at the time, you had no chance.

Thankfully, over the years, everybody that worked there kept a pretty close eye on that. In those days, everybody used to bring their own refreshments as well. I would have to clean up what was left of those refreshments after the game was over. I'd start from one end with a broom and by the time I got down the other end, the bottles were that high. So you can imagine the interest the people had because, of course, there was no liquor licence or anything in the buildings, everybody just brought their own. It worked, nobody ever died from that, nobody ever got arrested or anything like that.

I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, I was really pleased to be able to grow up with hockey because I think it taught me, and other guys my age, discipline at an early age. You respected those who came to Sydney from afar to play senior hockey. I know that some of you would remember people like Nick Pitsodny, Big George Robertson, those people who came down from up the line to play there. Pitsodny used to play nets with a cigar in his mouth and when the play was up at the other end, he'd smoke the cigar and when it started down to his end he'd put it on the back of the net. I don't think you'd see that around today. We had all kinds of characters who played.

You know when I got a little bit older, I played common school hockey, like probably everybody in this building did, and I certainly wasn't any better or worse than anybody here - even the member for Timberlea-Prospect was probably better than me when he played, you know, in those days. But when I got to Sydney Academy, I majored in two things at Sydney Academy: one was hockey and the other was Friday night dances. It was amazing that I ever got through school, but I can proudly say that I graduated - don't ask me what my marks were, but I graduated.

I am very proud to be able to say that I played with Sydney Academy and their hockey team in the days when they had the two leagues - the juvenile league and the interscholastic A hockey league. I was pleased to be able to do that and I believe that my training as a rink rat, and playing under the clock on Friday nights, the milk bottle clock because they turned the lights out - nobody in the building but the rink rats. There were a few exchanges on that

[Page 6079]

ice when you couldn't see what you were doing there but it gave us the impetus to keep on going and to play more hockey.

I can remember moving on, Mr. Speaker, to juvenile hockey and winning a championship with the St. Joseph's Juveniles. At that time it was a juvenile team sponsored by the St. Joseph's Church and nine of us were Protestants who were on the team. The general manager was a guy by the name of Father Reverend Findlay MacLellan. He used to say, if you win the championship, even you Protestants are going to Heaven. So we had a good hockey team that year and yes, we won the championship that year - beat St. Theresa's, as a matter of fact. I don't know how many Protestants they had on the team, but anyway.

Then, Mr. Speaker, I loved the game so much that I tried to keep going with it and I ended up playing junior A hockey over in North Sydney with the Northside Junior Victorias at the time, and again, we had a very successful year over there. That year Sydney didn't have a team so a number of us went over to North Sydney and played with the junior A team over there. At that time the Montreal Canadiens were looking for people down in the Maritimes to attend a walk-on camp in Moncton. They had the Moncton Junior Beavers franchise up there, which was an elite junior team in those days. So anyway, they were inviting walk-ons. So six or seven of us got in the car and went up to Moncton for the walk-on and one of us made the Junior Beavers - it wasn't me - and got into the Montreal chain.

I can remember vividly, I think I put two steps on the ice and the guy says, you're gone, he took one look at me. That was my sole attempt to go further in hockey. He was cutting, he looked at me and said, off. Anyway, that was the end of my hockey career, I went to work after that.

One of the things that I wanted to talk about briefly - and again, I'm glad the member brought this bill to the House. Hockey is legendary in Nova Scotia and he mentioned some of the things that we've been able to do in Nova Scotia over the years with a relatively small population. He referred in his remarks to the Halifax Voyageurs, to some of the great senior teams we had, the Windsor Maple Leafs, teams like that throughout the years, Halifax Wolverines, Truro Bearcats, and I can go on and on - the Sydney Millionaires.

I want to take it a little bit further here. A population of our size has produced some great hockey greats: Danny Gallivan, for example, the voice of the Montreal Canadiens for years; Parker MacDonald - I don't know how many people remember Parker MacDonald - played on a line with Gordie Howe and Alex Delvecchio for the Detroit Red Wings. Parker grew up on the same street that I did and his brothers played hockey with me. I watched Parker play when I was a young fellow along with Big Al MacNeil, who was a Stanley Cup coach with the Montreal Canadiens, he's from Sydney. You know he probably would have spent more time in Montreal had André Richard not decided that it was "either going to be me or him". You remember that? So Allister went on to the Calgary Flames sometime after that.

[Page 6080]

John "Junior" Hanna, another one from Sydney, and I bring these names up because all of these hockey players played when there were only six teams in the National Hockey League and that was some feat for a small area, for example, like Sydney, to have Parker, Al MacNeil, Junior Hanna, Big Hughie Campbell and Normie Ferguson, Paul "Jigger Andrea" - all of these people played back in the days when you really had to be good to get in the league then - and Alphie LaJeune, a referee from Sydney as well. All of these guys played in the days when it was really an elite hockey league and there weren't very many opportunities. So an area our size produced a lot of greats in hockey but we also produced what some would consider the impossible.

I was pleased to be involved as Mayor of Sydney in the AHL team, the Cape Breton Oilers. The history of the Cape Breton Oilers was in fact the Nova Scotia Oilers before that and we had built a new building called Centre 200 for the paltry sum of $15 million - paltry by today's standards - but it was a huge investment by the City of Sydney in 1985 to celebrate our 200th Anniversary. So, Mr. Speaker, when we built the building we needed a tenant and we went fishing for an AHL team and we promised that if we did get an AHL team that we would fill the place and we would make it work.

Well, the Nova Scotia Oilers were having problems and we went after the Nova Scotia Oilers franchise, but first of all I had meetings out in Winnipeg with John Ferguson and Barry Shenkarow from the Winnipeg Jets at the time. The Jets sort of abused me a little bit when I went after them because they led me so far down the path and all the time they wanted to go into Moncton. So they got a deal out of me and then what they did was once they got the deal out of me they bartered that with Moncton and got a better deal with Moncton, and that's where they went.

I wasn't going to be bitten twice and in my role of Chairman of Centre 200 and Mayor of Sydney, we went after the Nova Scotia Oilers who we knew were leaving Halifax. I went out and talked to Sather and the guy that owned the team at the time, Pocklington, and we sat down with those guys and we cooked a deal. The only way I would cook the deal with them was if we owned half the franchise, the franchise had to be half owned by the Centre 200 Commission, so we made a deal for them to come to Sydney.

There is a funny story because after they came to Sydney of course there was no team in Halifax. When there was no team in Halifax we might be in a little jeopardy because there was no other team in Nova Scotia. So I called up Ron Wallace some time after we had the team in Sydney and I said to Ron - he was my counterpart Mayor of Halifax at the time - what are you guys going to do about a hockey team in Halifax? He said we already have a hockey team. I said no you don't, that team is in Sydney now. He said just a minute. So he put the phone down and he came back to the phone and said the Nova Scotia Oilers went to Sydney. I said I know that, Ron, I'm wondering what you're going to do for a team and he

[Page 6081]

said I'll get back to you. It wasn't too long after that the Nordiques were born there and it gave us quite a rivalry. That went on for about seven or eight years.

The value of having a hockey program like that was that as soon as we put Centre 200 up, this little area called Sydney, population 30,000, with the help of the surrounding areas in Cape Breton, brought a professional hockey franchise into the area and also two new hotels went up on the waterfront almost immediately. So the hockey spinoff was great and it was certainly appreciated by the business community in Sydney. Of course once the American Hockey League became too expensive because of the Canadian dollar, because of the salaries and all of the above, the rinks weren't big enough. The Quebec Major Junior League followed and the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles have been there now for a dozen years at Centre 200 and are doing very well.

So for a population area in Nova Scotia of less than one million people, for a population area in my area of 100,000 people in industrial Cape Breton, we felt very proud of the fact that we have a Calder Cup banner hanging in Centre 200, that the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Screaming Eagles are on the verge of getting a Memorial Cup, I think, in the next year or two, and we're going to try to beat Halifax to the punch. (Interruption) No problem, the member for Victoria-The Lakes says, and I appreciate his comments.

I was real pleased that the bill came here because, Mr. Speaker, hockey is history in Nova Scotia. It has a deep history, it has a long history and everybody can argue where the first game of hockey was played and I certainly know that wherever it was, it was in every corner of Nova Scotia at some point, and was in every corner of Nova Scotia, and I believe that it's the right thing to do.

Again, I want to congratulate the member on bringing this bill to the House and we certainly will be supporting the bill. I want to say to everybody in the House that if you want to get an early education in hockey, tell your grandchildren to be rink rats. Thank you very much.

[4:15 p.m.]

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Minister of Health Promotion and Protection.

HON. BARRY BARNET: Mr. Speaker, the members opposite started heckling before I even started. It's going to be a good 10 minutes, I'm sure. I won't be long tonight. I do want to add my voice in support of the bill, to declare ice hockey to be the provincial sport of Nova Scotia.

Mr. Speaker, I know a little bit about hockey. I've had the good fortune of having parents who recognized the need to keep their sons and daughters busy and hockey in our family was part of our family, part of our tradition and I played hockey through the Sackville

[Page 6082]

minor hockey program, later went on to referee and do the lines through Sackville minor hockey and then beyond.

As well, I also had an opportunity to coach young people. Currently I am on the board of directors of a junior hockey franchise in Sackville that has had 30 years of success, although we went 27 years before we actually won the Nova Scotia Junior B championship. Then we won it three years in a row and we also won three years in a row the Atlantic championship. It's a team that has been blessed to have great players, a good executive, some solid coaching, and I'd be remiss if I didn't point out the fact that under the coach leadership of Andy Conrad, the team went on to win three Atlantic championships - not recently but in the last couple of years.

Mr. Speaker, I think there are some unsung heroes with respect to hockey in Nova Scotia, particularly the moms and the dads that do the job of driving their kids round, raising the money that is necessary. I wonder, and have wondered out loud, how my parents with one vehicle were able to take five kids to five different rinks all around Halifax and make sure we got there on time, got our skates tied, played our game and got home, but they managed to do it. I don't know how they did it but they did do it. That happens day in and day out all winter long and now, throughout the Spring and into the summer and into Fall, hockey has become no longer a sport of just one season but a sport, in many cases, for young people all year round.

The game has changed but one thing that I believe remains consistent and constant is the fact, again - and I don't want to get into the debate of where the birthplace of hockey is, other than to say that the birthplace of hockey is Nova Scotia, in my mind, but the game has changed. It's a better game now, I believe, than it was in the early days. For me, Mr. Speaker, the real heroes are the people who I remember in the past who have been part of my hockey experience, and I speak about those people who have been coaches. Harvey Lively coached me, I think, in my very first year of hockey. I see Harvey every day. He is somebody that I hold in great respect.

I remember a coach, Paul McDade, who went on later to give me a job opportunity as I left high school, and a gentleman by the name of Ron King, who spent some time coaching in Sackville. I don't know if he ever played the game but I know he coached the game and he managed to coach me. A former school teacher of mine, Alvin MacDonald, I know he's known by some across. Alvin was the junior high school hockey coach at Sackville Heights Junior High. I can tell you that he was a great coach but I was petrified of Alvin MacDonald. I was afraid to make a mistake. He was a hard coach and when you made a mistake, he let you know. I was thankful for the fact that I sat a lot of time on the bench because I had less time to make mistakes and to be reminded of those mistakes, but I know a lot of people hold Alvin in great regard.

[Page 6083]

A coach by the name of Bernie Bishop, who still plays hockey today - I play summer hockey with Bernie - I remember having a conversation this summer when he was trying to give me some advice. I said, Bernie, you couldn't teach me that 40 years ago, what makes you think you could teach me that now? But Bernie has been and is a hockey legend in parts of Nova Scotia and has played all over the world. (Interruption) He's from Hants County, that's right, as the member opposite indicates.

Bill MacDonald, a former member of this House, a long-time coach and organizer of Sackville minor hockey, put a huge effort into making sure not only his sons had a place to play, but that all the young people in Sackville had a place to play.

John Doyle joins me on the board of directors of the Sackville Blazers but he has been involved in hockey since I can remember. I know John and my parents were original members of the Sackville minor hockey executive. When Sackville minor hockey first started, and people might not know this, but we didn't have a rink. We actually travelled - our home rink initially was Windsor and then we went to Brooklyn. Then we went to Shannon Park and then we went to North End Rink. Then eventually Sackville built its first rink in the mid-1970s - built, I would add, by the community. There was no government money in that rink. It was built by fundraising efforts and the actual carpentry work, the construction of that rink - it was built by members of the community and local companies that did the work. The rink still exists today and it's the home of the Sackville Blazers. We now have another rink at the Sackville Sports Stadium.

In addition to people like John Doyle, there was Fred McInnis and Freddy Grace. Fred McInnis, for example, was the first person to sign me up as an official and helped me work through my Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 officiating. He was the referee assigner for Sackville minor hockey and it was a great opportunity for me to make a little bit of money refereeing hockey games, get extra ice time, be involved in the game as a young person, and continue my path of being physically fit, or trying to be physically fit.

A person whom I'd like to mention right now is Darren Cossar. We talked a little bit about the Halifax Citadels. Darren Cossar was actually in the Speaker's Gallery during the introduction of this bill. Darren is the executive director of Hockey Nova Scotia, but what people may not be aware of is that Darren Cossar actually played nets for a short period of time for the Halifax Citadels. Darren is a great hockey enthusiast. He played junior hockey, I believe, for Dartmouth and for a number of clubs around and is an excellent goaltender.

Mr. Speaker, a lot of my hockey actually growing up was pond hockey. I enjoyed pond hockey, I still do to this day. It's where the heart of the game is, you know, where instead of a net, you have two boots. You have young people who go out and they play from the minute they get out of school until dark. They understand that the rules aren't necessarily the same in pond hockey as they are in official game hockey, but they play for the fun of it.

[Page 6084]

I think that's where we need to remind our parents and our coaches from time to time that the game has to get back to the basics - the simple, the fun.

Our community has had some tremendous successes recently with respect to having our young people advance to competitive hockey. In one year - and I brought these young folks to the House a couple of years back - we were blessed to have four young people from our community drafted into the NHL. I speak of James Sheppard, Brad Marchand, Andrew Bodnarchuk and Ryan Hillier, all drafted into the NHL, the same year, from the same general area. In fact, three of these young people grew up on the same street or lived near each other for a short period of time. (Interruptions) Well, there's some debate about where they played but what I said, Mr. Speaker, was that they were from the same community. They're from communities I represent, and I can tell you that they've all made their neighbours and their communities very, very proud.

The Glube Cup, Mr. Speaker - I was asked to remind members about the Glube Cup - I have the job of jersey manager. I look after the sweaters for the MLA's hockey team - it's an important job. Those sweaters are hung up neatly in my garage right now and I make sure from time to time, when the MLAs are challenged to a hockey game, that we get the jerseys out and we get as many MLAs as possible to go out to communities to play games.

We haven't had a lot lately, I continue to remind members to sharpen their skates, to be involved, to make sure we get out there to be a competitive team. I can tell you the MLAs compete annually in the Glube Cup. It's a small tournament that involves a team of judges, a team of Crown Prosecutors, two teams of defence attorneys, the MLAs, and I believe there's another team.

The MLAs have been successful holders of the Glube Cup two out of the last three times. We pick up a few extra players to help us along the way and my expectation is that our team this year will be successful again, although I understand that one of the Crown Prosecutors may be playing for a different team. Frank Hoskins, who was a Crown Prosecutor, is now a judge so I suspect that he'll be playing for the judges. It might give the judges a little more ability to compete. I would say that the judges last year, in the last Glube Cup, did very well. In fact, I believe they came second or third, and undefeated going into the final game.

One of the great events that happens in Nova Scotia with respect to hockey, in addition to those great minor hockey tournaments like the Joe Lamontagne tournament and the TASA tournament and the other tournaments - there are lots of great tournaments - there's an adult tournament that I now understand is the largest adult hockey tournament in the world. It's the Vince Ryan tournament, which is organized by a group of people led by a fellow by the name of Richie Warren and it brings in hundreds of teams to Cape Breton to participate in adult hockey. I've had the good fortune to play in that tournament a few times. It's a great opportunity for people to get out and be physically active, to enjoy each other's company and to take advantage of great Cape Breton hospitality.

[Page 6085]

I still play hockey, I play two, three or four nights a week, depending on my schedule. I get the opportunity to play with some very interesting people. On Wednesday night gone by, I play in a league and the team that I play for is called the Screaming Eagles. I happened to be lucky to be on that team, but I also found I was one of the few people on that team that wasn't from Cape Breton. Although we're not the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, we're the Sackville Screaming Eagles, I would say that a lot of the talent on that team comes from Cape Breton.

We have people like Glen McDougall and Dave Keys, both played high-level hockey. I think Glen played for St. F.X., in fact, and Dave Keys played major junior hockey in Ontario - I don't know if it was the Peterborough Petes or one of those teams. We have people like Victor Lansleeve and D.A. McNeil and Brian McEachern - all from Cape Breton, all now living here in Halifax and all have come together to play the great game of hockey in the Sackville arena.

The other thing that I really love about the game - it's not just the game, it's the rinks - is those rink characters. Everybody who has an arena would have one of these rink characters. It's almost like an assignment - if you have a rink, you have a rink character. I can tell you that those characters are people who make up the heart and soul of that community. In the New Waterford rink, Willie Cormier, for example, is a fixture in that rink, he's there all the time. He's like the local comedian, the guy who meets you, greets you and looks after the people who come to watch the games.

I know in the Windsor rink, there's a guy by the name of Sticks Arnold. I don't know what his real name is, but I know him by Sticks Arnold. Sticks is in that rink all the time, he's actually the equipment manager, I believe, for the Windsor Royals. Every rink has one of these types of characters. They help build communities. There are a lot of people in this province who have put a great effort into not only building communities, but building the rinks in their communities.

I think of the Berwick arena as a prime example. I know that people like George Moody, who was a former member of this House, puts a great deal of effort into raising money to build that new arena that they so well deserve. People like Bobby Best - Bobby Best is loved by some and hated by others. He's a referee and he has that ability to hold a game to check. Bobby Best though, in my mind, is best known for his work at the Berwick Apple Dome and the work that he has done to help raise money to build that new facility.

You know, Nova Scotia has been fortunate because we not only have exported into the NHL, into the professional ranks, good hockey players, but we've brought into the ranks great officials as well, and Bobby Best is one of those people that I believe officiated in the NHL. I can tell you that others like Don Koharski, he still officiates; Chuck Banfield officiated in the NHL for a long period of time. I know for short stints, I believe people like

[Page 6086]

Randy Pulsifer officiated in the NHL and the AHL; Dave Stone, I believe as well, may have done so. It's our presence into that game - and I think there was a point in time when we had more people officiating in the NHL than actually playing in the NHL. That's an important part, too, it's an important part of the game.

[4:30 p.m.]

Mr. Speaker, I remember as a young person, some of my earliest memories of hockey are going to the Halifax Forum and watching the Voyageurs. My father worked for Pepsi-Cola and Pepsi had some seats reserved next to the visitors' bench. As a young person, I would go along with my father to those games and idolized those men who were out there playing that game. I think that's what helped me get the love for the sport of hockey.

You know it really is, in my mind, about a whole community, a province, where we recognize the fact that it's important to be physically active, to play the game, to help build our character, to shape who we are and what we are as a province. That's why I'm proud to support this bill that declares ice hockey the official sport of Nova Scotia.

I can tell you that in Sackville minor hockey, literally thousands of kids, boys and girls, sign up every year to play hockey. Our high school programs are among the best in the province. I point to Millwood High School as a prime example. Millwood High School recently competed, I believe, in Cape Breton in a recent tournament and ended up defeating the high school from Glace Bay - I think it was a 6-1 or 6-2 game - to win that championship. But for a small high school to be able to compete so well at the provincial and even Atlantic level, I think it speaks to not only the love for the game, but the commitment by parents and the effort by the players to the game.

Mr. Speaker, I want to speak a little bit about my proudest moment in hockey - and it wasn't as a player, it was as a coach. I remember I was coaching an atom house league hockey team and it was about 15 years ago or so. We had a great team, we had lots of young people who were very enthusiastic. I used to tell them the same thing before every game; I remember I had this little saying that I would start the year out with. I would say, it doesn't matter whether you win or lose, and then I'd ask them to say the next verse and the next verse is, it's how you play the game. But I would say no, no, not on our team - it doesn't matter whether you win or lose until you lose, and then it matters.

I can tell you, I had kids and still have kids today who are now grown adults, who come up to me and remind me of saying that to them week after week, but my proudest moment came when we had a young guy who was a heart-and-soul player. He was the last guy to arrive before a game started - he was always rushing to get his gear on and everybody was helping him - and he was a heart-and-soul player but had very little talent. Our team was undefeated for the year. This young guy hadn't scored a goal or gotten an assist - no, it wasn't Bill Estabrooks. (Laughter)

[Page 6087]

He hadn't scored a goal or gotten an assist and before he arrived at the game, I sat down all of the other guys and I said, today's game isn't about winning, it's about getting Adam a goal. Those guys fed Adam the puck over and over and over again. At the end of the first period I think we were down 3-0. At the end of the second period I think we were down 4-1 or 5-1 and finally, at about two minutes left to go in the game, Adam happened to be standing in front of the net, where I told him to stand all the time, stick on the ice. Somebody fed him the puck, he got his goal, and he was the happiest kid on the team. One goal for one year, and that was the proudest moment - I was so proud of the team because they knew it wasn't about the win, it was about getting Adam a goal. I don't know how he has done - I don't even know if I've seen him since then as a young person. But I know he had a lot of heart and soul and I know that goal meant a lot to him. I can tell you it meant a lot to me, but it meant more to those ten other kids on the team who were focused on getting Adam a goal.

Mr. Speaker, that's what hockey is all about. It's about the parents who drive their kids back and forth to the rink; it's about the managers and the people who are the unsung heros who go and do the organizing. But most importantly it's about the little kids like Adam who gets a goal, who is able to celebrate that goal and celebrate the championship and the value of it with his teammates and go on to become an important part of our society.

So, with that, I think it's absolutely appropriate that we declare that the official sport of Nova Scotia, ice hockey and I'm proud and pleased to support the bill from the member for Hants West.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Timberlea-Prospect.

MR. WILLIAM ESTABROOKS: Mr. Speaker, this is an important debate - I want to congratulate the member for Hants West. I'm concerned about the decorum during my comments, Mr. Speaker, make sure you have this House under control for the next few moments as I speak because I expect that there will an occasional interruption, which I would welcome. First of all, my congratulations, Bill No. 225 is something we are going to support, of course, in this caucus and it's something that shows some foresight on the member's behalf as we celebrate hockey in Nova Scotia and the birthplace of hockey, uncontested, Windsor, Nova Scotia. My congratulations to that member opposite.

I have got some questions for you, Mr. Speaker. I know where you were when Obama was elected president. I know where you were; in fact, you shared that with me. I know where I was when John F. Kennedy was assassinated - a terrible moment at an impressionable age in my young life at that time. I know where I was when John F. Kennedy was assassinated on that terrible, terrible, terrible afternoon. But where were you on May 10, 1970, Mr. Speaker? Where were the members of this House on May 10. 1970? Just like a history classroom, I see some hands going up opposite. On May 10, 1970, the greatest hockey player of all time raced in, took a pass from Derek Sanderson, put it by Glenn Hall, and the

[Page 6088]

Boston Bruins - and how are they doing, how are the Bruins doing? - the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup. I know where I was on May 10, 1970. (Interruption)

Mr. Speaker, the member for Cape Breton Centre is beginning to cause me a problem and, if he does that, the member for Cape Breton Centre should be excused from this debate. (Laughter) If he cannot maintain proper decorum, he should not be in this Legislature. Agreed, Mr. Speaker? (Laughter) Okay, thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I want to, however, recognize the role that hockey has played in my life and I know that members opposite are aware of that. I'm the proud son of a man who is in the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame. My father played hockey overseas and last year, I know when we were sitting here, I received a wonderful photo that had been sent to me of my father playing for the Canadian National Team during the Second World War and he was wearing a Toronto Maple Leafs sweater at the time.

Unfortunately, I want you to know that my father's favourite hockey team was the Detroit Red Wings and his favourite hockey player was "Terrible" Ted Lindsay. So let me tell the member for Cape Breton South that when my father played for the Sydney Millionaires after the war, he caused the occasional riot in Glace Bay.

I was in Sydney a number of years ago with the member for Cape Breton Centre, and we were talking to some people on the street corner and this gentleman came over to me and said, you are related to Dandy, are you not? Mr. Speaker, I said, you're talking about my father and he said, yes, the man who caused the riot in the Glace Bay Forum. My father was a hockey player and let me tell you, I couldn't carry his skates, but he used to give me this lecture and he used to tell me this - hockey will be my savior, it will keep me out of jail. (Interruptions)

Mr. Speaker, I hear members opposite making comments; I hear the good member of the beautiful Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley making comments. I welcome those comments but the member for Cape Breton Centre has to be brought under control during this debate and I, again, would like you to remind him of that. (Laughter) Mr. Speaker, do I have your assent to that?

AN HON. MEMBER: You don't even have his attention, why would you have his assent? (Laughter)

MR. ESTABROOKS: I am aware of the fact, of course, of my role when it came to hockey with my Dad because at the time when I was a young teenager we used to travel across the marsh to Amherst to watch the Amherst Ramblers play. At that time you got a feel for what senior hockey was about. Senior hockey was huge. On Saturday night at those games we didn't stay home to watch the comedian, Don Cherry - Boston Bruins aside, he couldn't even count. He put the wrong players on at the wrong time. Mr. Cherry is a great

[Page 6089]

hockey commentator but he is not Coach's Corner - it should be the Entertainment Corner, let me assure you.

On Saturday night, where we grew up in Dorchester in New Brunswick, we went to see the Ramblers play. At that time we had the opportunity to watch the Windsor Maple Leafs and some of the great hockey players who were, of course, locals like Frank Barteaux, in particular, but other locals who came and played locally - Jimmy Backman I can remember from the Windsor Maple Leafs. We loved to have the Halifax Wolverines come to Amherst because we could beat them all up. We could always beat the Wolverines because they were from Halifax.

At that time, in the Ramblers days, there were some great hockey players. I can remember the opportunity I had on a number of occasions to be in Amherst for various other reasons, some of them I won't mention in this place at this time, and I would be pulled aside particularly by members of the police force in Amherst, who also were hockey players. They would say to me on occasion, now, young man, we won't have to tell your father about this but we want to remind you that Saturday night you are welcome back to watch the Ramblers play. Among those hockey players was a young man named Hartley Estabrooks, who had a tryout with the Bruins and returned to play senior hockey in the Maritimes, and another member of my family who skates, let me assure you I could not carry.

People are always intrigued with why I am a Boston Bruins fan.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Who cares? (Laughter)

MR. ESTABROOKS: Mr. Speaker, well okay, I can't draw attention to the fact that I won't receive that heckling voice any more but I'm glad that you can draw attention to the fact of what hockey has meant to me personally. Let me assure you that when we were in those games, no matter where they were, no matter what part of the province or what part of the Maritimes you were in, people would come up to me, even now, politically come up to me and identify the fact that I am the son of Bill Dandy Estabrooks, Senior, okay - a lot better hockey player than I ever was and Hartley, of course, is the same way when they remember that.

I want to tell you about why I am a Boston Bruins fan. It's not a long story. When the Bruins never made the playoffs, of course, they always barnstormed through the Maritimes, they always came with the six teams in the NHL at the time, only four of them made the playoffs. So the Bruins would come to Nova Scotia, they'd come to New Brunswick and they'd barnstorm around to make them some extra money. That's when I first saw Fleming MacKell and Don Simmons and those gentlemen play hockey. They brought a great love to the game. MacKell, of course, ended up back in the Maritime Senior League playing for the New Glasgow Rangers - not the Bombers? Fleming MacKell, of course, added a great deal to senior hockey of this province.

[Page 6090]

Nova Scotia is known for some great hockey players and the member for Hants West has brought them to our attention. We should remember, however, that a true hockey fan goes to see live hockey. I say to people all the time, what are you doing Saturday night? Oh, Saturday night the Leafs are playing Phoenix - like sorry, who cares? But the Bay Ducks are playing the Sackville Blazers; that's a hockey game you go to see. That's a Junior B game you go to see.

Go see the Mooseheads play; go to see university hockey played; go see Junior B in the rink in St. Margarets Centre and you will see hockey highlights that you and your family can remember. That's what we should be remembering about hockey - the involvement, the commitment, the lessons that it has taught all of us, but it is important that we continue to support these young girls and these young guys who are playing hockey.

[Page 6091]

Let me remind you, Mr. Speaker, that the minor hockey association in my community is TASA Minor Hockey - the Timberlea Amateur Sports Association Minor Hockey. There is a total of 23 young men in my community who wear on their back, Bill MLA - that's what they wear on their back, Bill MLA, nothing else.

One young man in particular came into my office the other day and he said, you know, it was Halloween, so I thought I'd wear my hockey sweater to school. Let me tell you, Mr. Speaker, the abuse that Braden Stafford took that day in his own school about wearing his TASA Pee Wee AAA sweater, but his mother told him that's okay, Braden, they're not making fun of you - they're making fun of the MLA.

Mr. Speaker, I have a few more comments to make. It's nice to see that you're here, Mr. Speaker, because - no reflection on the Deputy Speaker - but I've been bothered a number of times during my comments by certain members and I draw your attention to the fact that the member for Cape Breton Centre has caused me angst without doubt. The member for Cape Breton Centre is in my very own caucus, but he . . .

MR. SPEAKER: A good member. (Interruptions)

MR. ESTABROOKS: He is a good member, Mr. Speaker, but he has poor taste in hockey teams - exceptionally poor taste in hockey teams.

Mr. Speaker, I think we all should know, and I think that members opposite and other people present are going to speak about hockey and what it means to them personally but let me tell you, aside from my father's influence, aside from the hockey that I played - and let me tell you, I played against the member for Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank, and he was the original Inge Hammerstrom. He could go in the corner with two dozen eggs and come out with the two dozen eggs, none of them even touched, none of them even scrambled, and he was the prettiest guy on the ice because no one was allowed to touch him. (Laughter) (Interruptions)

Mr. Speaker, more importantly, I do know that the schools where I've taught school and let's be clear on the fact that the previous Deputy Minister of Education, when he first hired me as a teacher at Sir John A. Macdonald, I was teaching at the time at Dorchester Penitentiary. I was teaching there. I clarify that, okay. I was teaching at the time at Dorchester Penitentiary. Lloyd Gillis who was the Deputy Minister of Education a number of years ago called and said to me of that situation, I've got lots of history teachers, I've got lots of people with history degrees, I need a hockey coach, and I said I'm just the man for that job, I can coach high school hockey - never having coached high school hockey before. In fact, only having the skates on a few time through university because although the member for Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank made some reaction to my football career, let me tell you, coaching hockey in high school was a great learning experience for me.

[Page 6092]

I can compliment the member from Hammonds Plains-Upper Sackville because I want you to know it's a wonderful event when you have the opportunity to run into some of your old players and your old students who come up and remember the tournament that you took them to, or the game you won or lost because that is, after all, the influence that we have in this country.

Mr. Speaker, recently, of course, they were looking for new anthems for Hockey Night in Canada on CBC. You know it was a big deal, it's a big event to make sure that event - and TSN of course says that what we consider Canada's second anthem, the second anthem in this country, of course, is the theme to Hockey Night in Canada. Hockey is a big part of the tradition of this country. It's a big part of what happens in this country because of the influence of our fathers and our mothers, of course, who drove us to the rink and made sure that our gear was in the right order - but never wash the gear, mom, never touch the gear.

Now, the member for Cape Breton Centre has heard this story so I should make it at least important at this time. Mr. Speaker, in my senior year in high school, the team I played on won the New Brunswick High School Hockey Championship. It was an important event in my life. I was the captain of the team, and I don't want an interruption and I don't want a laugh - I was picked for other abilities as opposed to my hockey ability, I suppose. We won the hockey championship. (Interruption)

Mr. Speaker, did you hear that comment? Hansard will just say interruption but I heard that comment and I take that personally. (Laughter) That's not a compliment, that's an insult. I'm trying to maintain my train of thought here. This is an important event in my life. I'm in Grade 12. I come home, we've won the New Brunswick High School Hockey Championship, it's a little late at night and we've been celebrating. Now, I won't go into many of the details but as I crept into the house that night with my hockey gear left outside in the snowbank, as I was creeping in front of the television, lo and behold, I realized the television was on and my father was sitting there watching whatever event was on TV.

The member for Cape Breton Centre is aware of this story with a few details that I'm not going to repeat publicly. That particular night after winning the New Brunswick High School Hockey Championship, I spent the night in the woodshed on the Tantramar Marshes. (Laughter) Now, that was an important lesson in my life: You can win or lose but don't hit the booze - a lesson my father never ever forgot to remind me of time after time after time.

So the members opposite and the members of our caucus, we are aware of what hockey means to us, the recognition it means for this province, and this is a bill that we are looking forward to supporting as it moves on. I look forward to hearing and sharing the comments of other members. Thank you, member for Hants West, for bringing this bill forward.

[Page 6093]

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Pictou Centre.

MR. PATRICK DUNN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's a privilege and a pleasure to stand here and talk about this particular bill. One of the main reasons I'm standing here is there has been very little talking about this bill this evening, so I though it would only be fair to pass along a few words. (Laughter)

It is certainly a tremendous sport and we have a lot of talent across this province, as indicated by many of the members who have been talking. Certainly Pictou County has its share of the province's talent pool. In fact, the Stanley Cup has visited New Glasgow with two local players in recent years: Jon Sim with the Dallas Stars, who is presently with the New York Islanders, and Colin White of the New Jersey Devils.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention someone across the county lines, someone who I know and played competitive fastball against - Paul MacLean, the assistant coach of the Detroit Red Wings, defending Stanley Cup champions. In fact, Paul had a very lengthy, productive career. In fact, when he was with Winnipeg he was on a line with Dale Hawerchuk and in Detroit with Steve Yzerman. Also, a name that comes to mind in the New Glasgow area is Derrick Walser, a talented, high-scoring defenceman - in fact, he shattered the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League scoring championship a number of years ago. Last year he played with the Toronto Marlies and he's playing now in the Russian elite league. He also had other European experience where he played over in Germany, and that's along with a stint with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Earlier today, the member for Pictou West mentioned Joey MacDonald, a goaltender for the New York Islanders. I can remember back in Atom when Joey was a goaltender playing for the Pictou Atom club and he was instrumental in practically winning most of their games, standing on his head at times. He had an outstanding career so far with the Detroit Red Wings' American Hockey League franchise and now he's with the Islanders.

Another outstanding Pictou County player, a player with roots from Thorburn, was a player by the name of Lowell MacDonald. This was a time when - a member mentioned that he played against him - Lowell MacDonald made the National Hockey League when there were only six teams and also he was a winner of the Bill Masterton Trophy for the NHL's most gentlemanly player. His son, Lane, went on to play for Harvard University - in fact, he was the captain of the Harvard University team.

Mr. Speaker, senior hockey was very popular in Pictou County, especially during the early 1960s. Teams in the league at that time were the Amherst Ramblers, Moncton Hawks, Windsor Maple Leafs, to mention a few. As members mentioned and talked tonight, they certainly brought back a lot of memories for me with a lot of the names from talented senior hockey players who played during that time, some with previous professional experience and others making their mark, climbing up the professional ranks.

[Page 6094]

The member for Timberlea-Prospect mentioned Fleming Mackell. Back in 1963 Fleming Mackell was brought in to be the playing coach - in fact, former Premier John Hamm, who was the president of the New Glasgow Rangers senior team, was instrumental in bringing in Fleming Mackell. He had just finished a career with the - what's that team now? - the Toronto Maple Leafs and then the Boston Bruins. (Laughter) He was certainly one of the better players in the National Hockey League when he played. Certainly it was a pleasure to watch Fleming Mackell play at the New Glasgow stadium. He was definitely heads above everyone else, a very talented player, who returned to Pictou County this past year for a reunion of some former hockey players from the 1960s.

Also on that local senior hockey team we had players, very gifted players like Nelson Wilson; Ralphie Cameron; Jim MacNeil, pound for pound probably one of the toughest players who ever played in the league; the Young brothers, Johnnie and Stewie; Frankie MacDonald; even Hughie Matheson from Brookfield came over and played with the New Glasgow Rangers; and goaltender Phil Bewber. Mr. Speaker, they used to fill the rink to see these senior stars like Jock Sollard, Simon Olay, goaltender from the Moncton Hawks, Don Laren.

Mr. Speaker, once again I am very pleased that this bill came forward. I've been involved with sports all my life, I've coached hockey for over 30 years, at every level from novice to midget to high school hockey. In fact, all six children of mine have played hockey - three boys and three girls - at all the levels. In fact, I can remember some Saturdays a few years ago, having a piece of looseleaf in the rink, wondering what rink should I go to next because at times I had, at one time, five playing - four on travelling teams and one playing on a local novice team. One thing we can say is the hockey parents were always there to help out other parents, as far as getting your kids around, getting your kids to a rink.

I can remember sometimes I had one playing in Sydney, one down in Kentville, one over in P.E.I., one in Halifax and one at home. So certainly, Mr. Speaker, it was very nice to be able to depend on somebody's great hockey parents, moms and dads, to help out.

Female hockey - well, maybe I'll mention, the honourable member there for the beautiful Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley asked me to just mention a few words about female hockey, Mr. Speaker. My youngest daughter, who is in Grade 11 at the moment, is playing high school hockey, but if I jump up the line a little bit, my oldest daughter, Tara, played through the ranks and when she came in and started playing hockey at the age of six, it was somewhat difficult at the time because there were no female teams around and she was playing on a boys team, which I thought was great. In fact, she played against the son of the member for Antigonish many games and became friends.

Mr. Speaker, because of the level of hockey, I think it definitely was advantageous for some of the females at that time because as she went up the ranks, because of her love

[Page 6095]

and her dedication for the game, she ended up being on a Maritime team that played down in the States, at a major tournament, a Boston tournament, and at that particular time there are many scouts from the Ivy League teams that were scouting there and she was picked up by Harvard University. (Applause)

Mr. Speaker, she went on to a very successful four-year career from 1997 to 2001 with Harvard University and she was picked as one of the top-three players in her final senior year with the Harvard team. A lot of players that she played with played on Team USA and Team Canada.

Mr. Speaker, I can remember many days leaving school at four o'clock on a Friday, driving straight through to Boston, in order to see her play against teams like Princeton, Cornell, Yale, Brown, Boston College, New Hampshire, Boston University - the game would be Saturday evening - and wake up Sunday morning, hit the road and come back home again, an 11- or 12-hour trip. In fact, a couple of times I stayed for the Sunday game, which probably wasn't a wise decision but I did, and saw a second game. By the time the second game was over, it would be about seven o'clock Sunday evening and I would hit the road, because I had to be back in the office at school the next day and I would arrive in New Glasgow, Pictou County, at 6:30 a.m. (Interruption) I was driving a good car there, member. But anyway, they were great days, fond memories and it was a lot of fun.

Also, Mr. Speaker, another daughter, Ashley, she went up through the ranks, played high school hockey with the boys, the same as my daughter Tara. She went on to play hockey for Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, and also following that, during her law degree, she played for the UNB team.

Again, I want to support the bill brought forth by our member, I believe it is Bill No. 225. Hockey is the official sport of Nova Scotia and we certainly have a great love for this sport right across the country and, in particular, in Nova Scotia. We even have members - the member beside me from Guysborough-Sheet Harbour - who played for the Heatherton Warriors.

[5:00 p.m.]

Anyway, Mr. Speaker, I'm going to close here and, in fact, I'll leave you with a very quick story, if I may, a story that I shared with some of my friends here earlier this afternoon when other members were speaking. Fleming Mackell who played in the early 1960's in the Maritime Senior Hockey League, gave my brother two tickets for the 1965 final seventh game of the Stanley Cup in Montreal between the Black Hawks and the Habs. I can remember that game, waiting for it, watching it on TV. That particular game, the coach of the Montreal team had to make a choice, who is going to play nets - Charlie Hodge or Gump Worsley. The reason why is the Gumper was injured earlier in the finals but it was a good choice, Gump Worsley was put in the nets, he shutout the Black Hawks 4-0 - no mask on.

[Page 6096]

John Belliveau scored, 14 seconds into the game, Yvan Cournoyer and Savard, I believe, were the third of the four goals.

The last comment, Mr. Speaker, is that 1965 was the first year that the Conn Smythe Trophy was awarded for the MVP of the playoffs, and it was awarded to number four, John Belliveau. Anyway, once again I want to support the bill here and I have enjoyed listening to the dialogue on both sides. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Dartmouth North.

MR. TREVOR ZINCK: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will also make a note that the member for Cape Breton Centre is going to do some heckling (Interruption) and who, I thought, was my honourable colleague from Timberlea-Prospect. I guess I want to rise, obviously, to point just exactly how important this bill is. I mean we've heard from the many senior members in this House about how important their memories of hockey have been in their lives.

Now I know there are some other colleagues - the Premier, the member for Richmond, the Minister of Health - around the age category that I fall into and I, too, have memories but for those out there listening, who want to talk about the '70's hockey and the '80's, when hockey meant the most to us. That's why I stand today in my place, Mr. Speaker.

Now you've heard early on in the banter that I was not a hockey player. Well, Mr. Speaker, that was not by choice. I always wanted to be a goaltender. I always wanted to be Mike Palmateer or Mike Liut, okay, six foot three, but my father saw another avenue for me. The day he put a baseball in my hand, he realized that there was no need for me to get injured on the ice, stick to baseball. That's why I became a baseball player.

However, Mr. Speaker, the memories are fond and the early recollections that I have as a young person around hockey is going to your neighbours. I remember the brown, stubby beer bottles at my neighbour's house, and my parents enjoying the Canada Cups and kids running around watching hockey on TV. We've got a rich history in this province and in this country.

The member for Hants West brought this bill forward and I was speaking to him earlier outside the Chamber. We were wondering why this wasn't brought forward earlier, when we have, as we've heard earlier, such memories of the great hockey players and the great memories that the members have shared earlier.

Sports in general, Mr. Speaker, is a wonderful tool that teaches children, that teaches young people discipline, teamwork, citizenship. That's what, not just hockey, but any sport does.

[Page 6097]

I recently had the opportunity to meet with Alan MacDonald and his staff over at the Maritime Hockey Academy in Burnside. I had the opportunity to meet 22 young individuals, both young men and young women, who were endeavouring into the career of hockey. This is a wonderful opportunity for them to learn, and get their education, but also to play hockey and to excel. That's the evolution, that's where we've come. We actually have private hockey academies setting up to allow children to believe that they can achieve a goal. It's from memories of the past, memories that their parents have shared with them, memories that they have watching young people like - I know the honourable Leader from Cole Harbour would be remiss if I didn't mention Sidney Crosby. These are memories that our young people have as well, that we've heard some of the most fortunate recent players made mention of in this House, who have gone on to success.

What has hockey actually really achieved? Hockey in this province - what it means to me, what baseball has meant to me - is a young man travels on, he gets to that level where he is playing competitively and his mom and dad are taking him around the province to play the game of hockey, and on that ride they're building that relationship, that family bond, whether it be with their mother or with their father. A young boy becomes a young man.

Hockey brings families together. It also brings communities together and we heard made mention tonight, by several members, about the rinks and the different communities in this province. I know hockey is the same as baseball. When you go into another town, you fight getting in and you fight getting out, but that's the real love of the game. (Interruption) Some of us are lucky enough to end up with our teeth fully in place, unlike my honourable colleague from Timberlea-Prospect.

AN HON. MEMBER: He lost his teeth when he tripped over his laces.

MR. ZINCK: Mr. Speaker, I was very pleased to see my colleague make mention of Joey MacDonald today. I am very proud to proclaim that I am a New York Islander fan and that lineage goes back to 1979-80 when Glenn Chico Resch was my hero, and I had a little K-Mart glove that I used to play road hockey with and I played nets. Those were the memories that I had. At one point we did win four consecutive cups and yes, I've suffered, but as the honourable colleague who brought this bill forward openly admitted that he was a long-time Leafs fan, I feel your pain. However, better days are coming.

As a young man, Mr. Speaker - and I'm sure many members in this House have had the privilege of collecting cards. It was one of my hobbies. In elementary school I used to actually sell my lunch. My mother packed a wonderful lunch and I'd get 50 cents for a sandwich, 50 cents for the little mini sips, $1.00 for a Joe Louis, and at the end of the week I'd go to the local corner store and I'd buy hockey cards. The following week I'd go to school and we'd play that game where we throw the cards against the wall, we'd call it flick or tops, and we'd compete for the cards.

[Page 6098]

That didn't last very long because we realized the value of hockey cards. I can tell you today that I'm very pleased to say that I've got an attic full of suitcases that are full of hockey cards that are of great value.

A lot of ground hockey, but the best part of winter - I was never a skier, Mr. Speaker, but it was when the first ice formed on the lake. The whole community comes together and they make for the ice and there's nothing better. I know the Honourable Minister of Health Promotion and Protection made mention that when you're playing pond hockey, there are no rules, its about getting out there and enjoying it, getting in the fresh air, playing hard and coming together.

Early on I made mention about the more senior members and their memories. Well, as young men and young women, we grow up and we want to play professionally, but when that goal isn't achieved, hockey has progressed to give us another place, and when the first 35 and over leagues began, or what we call gentlemen's hockey, it allowed us to dream again. That's when I began to really play ice hockey, Mr. Speaker, it gave me a second chance to actually play.

Now I wasn't the best player, I was gangly, I wore a size 13 skate so I could stop a puck playing defence - you couldn't get by me, but what I looked forward to most was the competition, the camaraderie and the cold beer afterwards because the cold in the rink opened up - I was over 35. That's the real crux of why this bill is so important, the memories it holds for all of us and the future memories that our young people today are in envy and work towards. With those, Mr. Speaker, I'll take my place.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Kings West.

MR. LEO GLAVINE: Mr. Speaker, I've been trying to get to my feet here now on a couple of occasions but this is a bill that I think many members wanted to speak to. I want to first congratulate the member for Hants West for bringing this forward. He comes, of course, from what we call the cradle of hockey, not just in Nova Scotia but perhaps the birthplace in Canada.

I'm sure every member of this House can speak here and ravel many stories around their own hockey or people they've associated with in their communities or people at the NHL level that they've admired or have been their heroes through the years. Growing up, I had an early connection with Nova Scotia hockey, actually, growing up in central Newfoundland. A number of players from Nova Scotia would come over, get a job in the mill or with the mining companies and then play hockey during the winter months. I know when I bring up names like Jacques Allard, Dankie Dorrington, Clobie Collins, Frank Finlayson, Hughie Wadden, Jim Backman - these were people who came to Newfoundland for a few years or a lot of years, to play hockey.

[Page 6099]

Also, playing high school hockey, I had a coach by the name of Joe Byrne from Belle Island, Newfoundland, who was a scout for the Detroit Red Wings and he was well ahead of his time. In those days you didn't go on the ice until about November - hockey season was November to maybe a little bit of March. He would have us running and working out practically in the first week of school, to prepare for the hockey season. So I did enjoy a fine high school hockey career.

Also at that time, I grew up actually in a community that didn't have an arena so it was on the ponds and on the river, the Exploits River that I played hockey. One of the people I played hockey with and against was Alex Faulker, so I'm really dating myself now but he played for the Detroit Red Wings and he brought to my little community of Bishops Falls players like Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay, Terry Sawchuck, members of the Detroit Red Wings who would come down on a fishing trip and then they would have some kind of an event in the community around them.

So from Newfoundland, I went to St. F.X. and at St. F.X., Pierre Page was one of the stars of that era. But when I was at St. F.X. again the folklore around the hockey team for years and Father Kehoe - you learned those stories. They become part, as well, of who you are. You go out to the games and at that time I saw just what a great level of hockey, university hockey was and is today. If you want a great evening at an arena at Acadia or St. F.X. or Saint Mary's, there's no question, it's probably the best game in town.

I just wanted to give a little bit of a tribute to one of my professors when I was at Acadia, and I know this is a man who a number of people here in the Legislature or in the arenas of hockey know as well and that's Don Wells. Don Wells coached for about 20 years at Acadia and last year they had a real nice event for Don as he was battling cancer and is doing pretty well. When I was at Acadia, Don was my coaching foundations professor. When I was taking the course, he said, you all have a busy year, but if you have an opportunity to go down to the arena and help out with a team, that's one of the great ways to learn the coaching methods and the principles of sport that we're trying to teach here at Acadia.

So I was living in Kentville, a great hockey town. Kentville has a long tradition; in fact, Kentville - and many members may not know this and realize this - they had the very first summer hockey school, and when they put the ice in on those hots days in August, they'd have to get the fire department to spray down the rink to try to keep it cool and to be able to keep the refrigeration unit going. We're talking about the first hockey school in Canada, that was in Kentville. Then the Montreal Canadiens came there for a number of years and actually held their training camp - so this was even before the modern era of teams coming here.

[5:15 p.m.]

[Page 6100]

I went down to the rink in Kentville and there were four teams in the Atom Division, one was without a coach and I decided in my year of education that I would coach that team, and it was one of the best learning experiences that I had. I owe Don Wells for that, and especially since coaching went on to be a big part of my teaching career as well and I ended up coaching about 30 teams along the way.

A couple of the communities in the Valley, that are part of my constituency now, of course also have tremendous hockey histories, Berwick and Greenwood. The member for Timberlea-Prospect, I'm sure, knows that Berwick also has that wonderful name - all the teams out of Berwick are the Berwick Bruins. They were also, again, a minor hockey organization that of course had many success stories with players.

When I first went to West Kings to teach, Greenwood minor hockey was one of the minor hockey systems well-known across Nova Scotia, and those early years in the 70s they actually won provincial titles at Bantam A and Bantam B level. One of the goaltenders on the Bantam teams - the Bantam A team - went on to the NHL, a player by the name of Kenny Wregget, and he played his career in Toronto and in Philadelphia. So we all have our stories associated with prominent players, players we've played with.

I just wanted to, I guess, end by saying that it's great to see that our minor hockey systems are still strong, and it's really parents and coaches - and a role that government will often play as well, like through the Department of Health Promotion and Protection, to be able to assist with arenas, their construction or their renovations projects. So we do have that role.

In terms of the future of minor hockey - there is that concern that it is pricing itself out of the market for many young children. As one of the members opposite also said, it is such a sport to teach discipline, teamwork and the goals of good citizenship - and that should be some of the primary part of what sport is all about.

I do worry that young boys and girls are finding the game too expensive. I know, as the member opposite, the member for Timberlea-Prospect said, hockey was a way of keeping him out of trouble (Interruption) Out of jail - oh, I didn't know he went as far as jail, but anyway it kept many people off the streets and gave them a purpose, gave them a goal, and a true education from good coaches as well along the way.

Rather than have GM Place and Air Canada Place and so on, maybe these corporations could have some money come down into minor hockey so that boys and girls could pick up the game in strong numbers - perhaps not like we historically had because families are much smaller - going down to the rink. We still see many communities - a place like Plaster Rock in New Brunswick where the Prime Minister went last year to attend what is the world championship of pond hockey.

[Page 6101]

Those are the things that I think we need to cultivate in our province and in our communities and hopefully this bill will bring some of that scrutiny of the game, but also a celebration of a sport that's very prominent in all of our communities. With that, I thank you.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Hants East.

MR. JOHN MACDONELL: Mr. Speaker, I can see by those controlling the microphone that they are in awe that I would stand and speak on hockey. I never was a hockey player, I did play at it as a child. I want to say that at a very early age it became quite evident that I was more of an obstacle on the ice than a benefit to any team so I try to remove myself from any slippery slope where I might find myself. (Interruptions) I want to thank my Leader for his interjections.

I do want to make a few comments on this bill for several reasons. One is the member for Hants West introduced it and he and I share Hants County and I feel some obligation to promote this piece of legislation. I want to say that some years ago there was an opportunity offered by the combination of the Departments of Agriculture and Tourism to take people around to some of the farming operations - in particular those roadside stands and so on. It started in Hants East and went down through the Valley - it was a couple of days.

On that trip, the bus stopped at Howard Dill's in Windsor. Howard Dill had mentioned to me about Long Pond and the origin of hockey and I related to him that, even though I wasn't a hockey player, my wife's family were pretty avid hockey players and my wife's grandfather was Tiger Mackie from Port Hawkesbury. Anybody who is familiar with the Strait Pirates, especially the old-timers, would have been familiar with Tiger Mackie.

Tiger started playing hockey probably at a very early age, but at 15 he played for the Charlottetown Silver Foxes and they were Maritime Junior champs. In 1935 he was invited to the Boston Bruins training camp and offered an NHL contract. He didn't take them up on it for health reasons. He played for the Boston Orioles and got traded to the Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets of the Eastern Amateur League. In 1936 his contract was bought by the Detroit Red Wings and he played for their farm team, the Detroit Pontiacs. In 1939 he played for the Quebec Aces, in 1940 he moved to Glace Bay and played for the Glace Bay Miners for two years. After that, he moved to New Glasgow and played for various teams in Pictou County and lived there for several years. I think he worked at the pulp mill there as a welder. He played for the old-timers in Stephenville, Newfoundland when he worked there for a short time and in 1960 he moved to Port Hawkesbury and was active in hockey, coaching and playing for the old-timers and that was where I met Tiger Mackie - he was very active in the hockey scene in Port Hawkesbury and playing for the Strait Pirates Old-timers. Tiger played until he was 85 years of age and Wayne Ronstad actually did a story on him on On The Road Again. I have to say, on that show he showed that he could hold a broom and jump through it and he was 80 years of age. I'm 52 and I don't think I could do it today. So he was a tremendous athlete and when we think about the impacts of hockey on young people and

[Page 6102]

what it has meant to communities in this province, it is significant and I have to applaud the member for his piece of legislation.

The other day we talked about a bill introduced here for the East Hants Sportsplex. I guess three members of the Progressive Conservative Government spoke in support of that legislation but I want to say that in Hants East hockey is a big item and there are probably too many people to mention as far as their impacts on hockey. I see the Minister of Agriculture there nodding because he would have played hockey in the old Lantz rink for sure - not that I was there to watch necessarily but I sure heard the stories.

I do want to mention one individual from East Hants who I would say deserves mention when we talk about hockey in this province and that's Keith Miller from Lantz. Keith has been a fountain of energy, I would say a tremendous advocate for hockey in our local area. There's a man in his eighties now, still very active, tremendous good health for him that he's able to do this, but I'm amazed at the contribution he still makes to the Sportsplex Arena Association. The board that he is a member of - they really have an asset in having him there.

Members I think would know, I know my Leader would want to argue this point, I know Cole Harbour is the home of Sidney Crosby but Enfield can take some claim for that, that he lives in Enfield, or I should say, at least I think he does. (Interruption) He did. I heard somebody mention they saw a Maclean's magazine article where he was selling his home so perhaps he doesn't live there any more but I know the community was very proud and pleased to have Sidney Crosby as a citizen there. I have to say, setting aside what great talent Sidney Crosby has - for anybody who has watched him interviewed on any newscast, certainly an articulate, well-spoken young man that I think any community would be proud to have and not to mention what a great ambassador for the province and for the country with his hockey talent.

Mr. Speaker, with those few comments I want to say how much I am glad to see the member bring forward this legislation. I think Nova Scotians will be proud to endorse it and I know in my area there are many families for whom hockey is the biggest deal that they have for enjoyment of getting out together, the quality time, and health promotion. It's something that we certainly know that even into old age you can still do it, be more careful. It certainly provides good social contacts and good health contacts for people. So with that, I look forward to the bill moving through the House.

MR. SPEAKER: If I recognize the member it will be to close the debate.

The honourable member for Hants West.

MR. CHUCK PORTER: Mr. Speaker, I want to take just a minute to thank all the honourable members who spoke today on this bill, passionately speaking about their personal

[Page 6103]

experiences, many names coming forward, and that's exactly what this bill is about. Nova Scotians will remember what a great sport hockey is, what it has done for this province and the people who live in it, and the many memories of days gone by and the days yet to come. So with that, Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to move second reading of Bill No. 225.

MR. SPEAKER: The motion is for second reading of Bill No. 225. Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.

The motion is carried.

Ordered that this bill be referred to the Committee on Law Amendments.

The honourable Government House Leader.

[5:30 p.m.]

HON. CECIL CLARKE: Mr. Speaker, with the consent of the House, I would ask that you revert to the order of business, Presenting Reports of Committees.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

PRESENTING REPORTS OF COMMITTEES

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Government House Leader.

HON. CECIL CLARKE: Mr. Speaker, as Chairman of the Committee on Law Amendments, I am directed to report that the committee has met and considered the following bills:

Bill No. 187 - Child Pornography Reporting Act.

Bill No. 199 - Enforcement of Court Orders Act.

Bill No. 210 - Education Act.

Bill No. 217 - Utility and Review Board Act.

and the committee recommends these bills to the favourable consideration of the House, each without amendment.

[Page 6104]

MR. SPEAKER: Ordered that these bills be referred to the Committee of the Whole House on Bills.

The honourable Government House Leader.

HON. CECIL CLARKE: Mr. Speaker, I now look for the consent of the House to consider these bills in Committee of the Whole House on Bills.

[Page 6105]

MR. SPEAKER: Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

The honorable Government House Leader.

HON. CECIL CLARKE: 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: would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.

The motion is carried.

[5:32 p.m. The House resolved itself into a CWH on Bills with Deputy Speaker Mr. Wayne Gaudet in the Chair.]

[5:35 p.m. CWH on Bills rose and the House reconvened. Mr. Speaker, Hon. Alfie MacLeod, resumed the chair.]

MR. SPEAKER: The Chairman of the Committee of the Whole House on Bills reports:

THE CLERK: That the committee has met and considered the following bills:

Bill 187 - Child Pornography Reporting Act.

Bill No. 199 - Enforcement of Court Orders Act.

Bill No. 210 - Education Act.

Bill No. 217 - Utility and Review Board Act.

and the chairman has been instructed to recommend these bills to the favourable consideration of the House, each without amendment.

MR. SPEAKER: Ordered that these bills be read a third time on a future day.

The honourable Government House Leader.

HON. CECIL CLARKE: Mr. Speaker, again I would ask for the consent of the House to revert to the order of business, Presenting Reports of Committees.

[Page 6106]

MR. SPEAKER: Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

PRESENTING REPORTS OF COMMITTEES

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Government House Leader.

HON. CECIL CLARKE: Mr. Speaker, as Chairman of the Committee of Law Amendments I'm directed to report that the committee has met and considered the following bills:

Bill No. 78 - Assessment Act.

Bill No. 93 - Motor Vehicle Act.

Bill No. 158 - Gaming Control Act.

Bill No. 189 - Miners' Memorial Day Act.

Bill No. 194 - Partnership Act.

Bill No. 207 - Silver Dart 100th Anniversary Act.

and the committee recommends these bills to the favourable consideration of the House, with certain amendments.

MR. SPEAKER: Ordered that these bills be referred to the Committee of the Whole House on Bills.

The honourable Government House Leader.

HON. CECIL CLARKE: Mr. Speaker, as Chairman of the Committee on Law Amendments, I am directed to report that the committee has met and considered the following bills:

Bill No. 211 - Fair Registration Practices Act.

Bill No. 212 - Homeowner Protection Act.

and the committee recommends these bills to the favourable consideration of the House, without amendment.

[Page 6107]

MR. SPEAKER: Ordered that these bills be referred to the Committee on the Whole House on Bills.

[Page 6108]

The honourable Government House Leader.

HON. CECIL CLARKE: Mr. Speaker, I would now ask for the consent of the House to revert to the order of business, Public Bills for Third Reading.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

PUBLIC BILLS FOR THIRD READING

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Government House Leader.

HON. CECIL CLARKE: Mr. Speaker, would you please call Bill No. 187.

Bill No. 187 - Child Pornography Reporting Act.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Minister of Justice.

HON. CECIL CLARKE: Mr. Speaker, I'm very pleased to rise and move third reading of Bill No. 187, the Child Pornography Reporting Act. As we've known from the debate in the House, and subsequent processes of moving through the Law Amendments Committee, there has been a number of intercessions associated with this. Also, in the course of that, I want to thank my honourable colleagues in the House who have provided their commentary, the questions and some of the concerns they've raised. I also want to say a special thank you to the policing community and other Justice partners who have been supportive of this bill and I know that we all have, at the core of our hearts, to make sure that we can protect any child and save them from the abuse of child pornography and its impact. As one of the police officers today said, in Law Amendments, that if this bill stops one pedophile, if this bill can protect one child, then it's been worthwhile.

Throughout the process, there have been some questions about the impact of this legislation, if it was not there, or the call for it. There is almost a question that is unanswerable in the sense of how many times would this have been reported, because it's hypothetical in a sense of without it, you'll never know until others can use it another day, and hopefully will. I've been very pleased that CyberTip, the national organization to deal with the reporting of child pornography, has been supportive of this; that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have added their voice to it; and as well, that the associations of chiefs of police for Nova Scotia have added their support for this.

[Page 6109]

Also, as indicated, we've added policing positions under our 250 policing complement that we've been rolling out across the province. As was noted by Deputy Chief Myles Burke today in Law Amendments, one of their requests will be to add a policing position for an ICE unit. I know that the acting chief will provide us with that direction as they look to do other things. As he indicated, their first priority in that particular area was dealing with the impact of drugs on our community, and especially on our youth.

I can say that as we go forward and we've added positions, we have the joint initiative for the province and the ICE unit; we also have a joint initiative between the Halifax Regional Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. All of this is about there is no one solution. The sheer volume and the vastness of the Internet and people's access to images is such that it takes a concerted effort over time. With that, again, I want to thank my colleagues and look forward to the continued debate, and I've been very pleased and proud to move third reading.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Timberlea-Prospect.

MR. WILLIAM ESTABROOKS: Mr. Speaker, Law Amendments Committee always presents us with a wonderful opportunity and if you're not a member of that committee, I urge you to make a point of either getting at the table or at least coming to sit in the audience.

I have the opportunity to serve on Law Amendments Committee since I was first elected and today we had the opportunity to listen to a RCMP officer. I was particularly intrigued with Myles Burke, it was great to see Mr. Burke there, the acting chief of the CBRM police. I was the one who asked the question to Mr. Burke at the time - I understand this is a very well intentioned bill, but are the dollars in place to follow up with the details? It was Acting Chief Burke, if I'm correct, who replied that would be one of his first requests. We've heard time, after time, after time about more boots on the street - 500 boots in total, 2 boots per officer by the sounds of things.

Well, here's a request again for the ICE unit, the dollars follow the request - put teeth in this legislation, perhaps it will work. Perhaps. Time will tell, but it's still problematic from my perspective and I've put this on the record for all to see that when I quote from the Sunday, November 2, 2008, Child Porn comment in the editorial in the Chronicle Herald, "Political posturing is the only point in bringing in a law that will seldom result in prosecutions."

Time will tell if this bill is going to work, if the charges are going to stick and the convictions are going to follow, we have a good piece of legislation. The window dressing aside, it's something we look forward to supporting. Thank you.

[Page 6110]

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Cape Breton South.

MR. MANNING MACDONALD: Mr. Speaker, I'm just rising on behalf of our Justice Critic, the member for Richmond to, first of all congratulate the Minister of Justice for bringing this bill forward. It's a bill on the mandatory reporting of child pornography is certainly something that will have the effect in this province of making the lives of our children safer. Anything that will do that, will certainly receive the support of our Party. Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER: If I recognize the minister it will be to close the debate.

The honourable Minister of Justice.

HON. CECIL CLARKE: Mr. Speaker, I do want to thank my honourable colleagues and I do know that with both Superintendent Roper from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and with Acting Chief Myles Burke, they work with a great dedicated group of individuals. Anything we can do through our efforts to support them, we're going to continue to do that.

Mr. Speaker, I just would reiterate, again, a very disturbing topic that when people say, and it's kind of said in terms of one of the media editorials, that this is a bill without bite, well, I can tell you what really hurts is the knowledge that in a 2007 report, a national survey, it indicated over 5,000 active accounts in this province. That has a lot of sting and that is something that is driving us to do that. That's why it's part of a pan-Canadian effort amongst Justice Ministers in the country to address this.

[5:45 p.m.]

I do recognize in closing this debate, Mr. Speaker, the Province of Manitoba has led the way with this and also in Ontario they are working on this. So what we're doing here is part of a national effort. I also hope that our legislation will be potentially short-lived because the Parliament of Canada is scheduled to look at this and to have national legislation that indeed will give us the bite to deal with those who are breaking the law. So I'm very proud and pleased to close debate.

MR. SPEAKER: The motion is for third reading of Bill No. 187. Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.

The motion is carried.

Ordered that this bill do pass. Ordered that the title be as read by the Clerk. Ordered that the bill be engrossed.

[Page 6111]

The honourable Government House Leader.

HON. CECIL CLARKE: Mr. Speaker, would you please call Bill No. 199.

Bill No. 199 - Enforcement of Court Orders Act.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Minister of Justice.

HON. CECIL CLARKE: Mr. Speaker, again, this has been an item for us that is important to deal with as we go forward. It has been something I want to thank the honourable colleagues of the House for moving forward through this process and everything we can do to assist with efficiency and streamlining in our processes, then that's something we've been very pleased to act on. So with that, I think we've had a good deal of debate and I'm pleased to move third reading.

MR. SPEAKER: The motion is for third reading of Bill No. 199. Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.

The motion is carried.

Ordered that this bill do pass. Ordered that the title be as read by the Clerk. Ordered that the bill be engrossed.

The honourable Deputy Government House Leader.

MR. CHUCK PORTER: Mr. Speaker, would you please call Bill No. 210.

Bill No. 210 - Education Act.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Minister of Education.

HON. KAREN CASEY: Mr. Speaker, through you to all members of the Legislature here, I would like to thank all members for their careful consideration of this bill and as has been stated in the House before, the amendments to the Act through this bill will ensure that all students regardless of what schools they are in and regardless of what school board they're in across this province, they will be able to stay at school during the lunch period in their own school without having to pay a fee.

When this was brought to our attention, Mr. Speaker, we recognized that this concern was specific really to one board in our province and really only in part of that board, but it was necessary that we look at an amendment that would bring equity in the provision of lunch supervision to all students. So we certainly appreciate the support, as I said, from all members of the House and I'm pleased to move third reading of Bill No. 210.

[Page 6112]

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank.

MR. PERCY PARIS: Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to rise to speak briefly on third reading of Bill No. 210. I think we support this bill. In essence, we feel that this bill will accomplish a number of things. We agree that the bill will make it safer for our children in the public school system in Nova Scotia. We also feel that this bill, in fact, will enhance the learning environment for our children. We've long made the argument that the school day is made up in part of the lunch hour.

We also have some concerns. We heard during the Law Amendments Committee, and I certainly heard for the last number of months as we led up to this bill - certainly from school boards with particular reference to HRSB - around finances, around the costs that are associated with this. We would like to ensure that the minister assures us that she be vigilant and do due diligence so that no hardships will be caused by the implementation of this bill with respect to the classrooms in the Province of Nova Scotia.

Further, Mr. Speaker, we would hope that the minister will work closely and as soon as possible with school boards to develop a strategy around not only the recruitment of lunch monitors, but also the retention of those lunch monitors. So with those few things that we'd like to say about the bill, we look forward to this bill becoming law, and those are our reservations.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Kings West.

MR. LEO GLAVINE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to say a few words to this bill. This started out, of course, as Bill No. 51, our bill recognizing the need that public education have universal access, and this was a bill to correct a problem that existed in the HRSB system. I think now with the bill that the minister has brought forward, it gives a clear direction to the new Halifax board and I think they will, in fact, work diligently with the department to make sure that it accomplishes that goal of universality.

Also, there is a concern that there will be a period of adjustment. This is a new undertaking for HRSB and for central office, to make sure that it works smoothly, starting in September 2009, and I think the minister's commitment is to make sure that, in fact, that does happen. So I'm pleased to see this bill moving through the House.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Timberlea-Prospect.

MR. WILLIAM ESTABROOKS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to add a few comments. For the record, I want to make sure that the Minister of Education is aware that on Friday, November 14th, the acting minister at the time - while the minister was involved with some personal matters - the Acting Minister of Education said at that time on November

[Page 6113]

14th, and I'm quoting from Hansard if I may, "Now, as the members would know, school boards have a responsibility to provide lunch supervision for students who are transported by bus. That supervision is free and the Department of Education provides funding for it."

The concern that is brought to our attention at the Law Amendments Committee is based upon the fact of the proper formula, to make sure that dollars assigned for curriculum reasons are not taken from the important priority of classroom education and classroom curriculum to cover lunch-hour supervision. That remains a concern, it's something that has been brought to the members of the Law Amendments Committee and it's something that we're obliged to make sure that the Minister of Education will pay due diligence to, and I know in her thoroughness she will do that.

In addition, there's been some concern with questions about the ratio of supervisors at lunch for the number of students who will be in some of these schools, particularly in the HRSB. I know the minister - and I always take her at her word, she's a pro about these things. She'll consult, she'll make sure that the Halifax Regional School Board, and other school boards that have issues with this, she will undertake that they are listened to on these particular topics.

This is a piece of legislation that it is time to move forward. I thank the previous councillor from Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank area, Ms. Krista Snow, I thank the current member of our provincial Legislature, from the NDP caucus, for Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank, and I also thank the member for Kings West who showed some initiative on this matter. This is something that is necessary and if it's properly financed, it certainly will be something that will stand the children of our schools in good stead. With those comments, I'll take my place, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER: If I recognize the minister it will be to close the debate.

The honourable Minister of Education.

HON. KAREN CASEY: Mr. Speaker, to the members opposite, I appreciate the comments. I have heard those and, as Minister of Education, we certainly will be monitoring the implementation of this. We recognize that funding to other boards has allowed them to provide this supervision. We recognize there's a significant population in the Halifax board that will be involved in this and we will continue to monitor this to make sure there's no negative impact on students in the classroom. With that, I would close debate on Bill No. 210.

MR. SPEAKER: The motion is for third reading of Bill No. 210. Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.

The motion is carried.

[Page 6114]

Ordered that this bill do pass. Ordered that the title be as read by the Clerk. Ordered that the bill be engrossed.

The honourable Deputy Government House Leader.

MR. CHUCK PORTER: Mr. Speaker, would you please call Bill No. 217.

Bill No. 217 - Utility and Review Board Act.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Minister of Justice.

HON. CECIL CLARKE: Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to rise and move third reading of Bill No. 217, on behalf of my honourable colleague, the Minister of Finance. As we know, this deals with the number of members on the board to deal with some of the work items they have and to deal with some of the files which pertain to the insurance industry. We've had that discussion and I'm very pleased on behalf of my colleague, the Minister of Finance, to move third reading.

MR. SPEAKER: The motion is for third reading of Bill No. 217. Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.

The motion is carried.

Ordered that this bill do pass. Ordered that the title be as read by the Clerk. Ordered that the bill be engrossed.

The honourable Government House Leader.

HON. CECIL CLARKE: Mr. Speaker, I see we're reaching the moment of interruption, but if I could now seek the concurrence of the House that when we come back, following the moment of interruption, that we would go back to Committee of the Whole House on Bills.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

At the end of the late debate we will go into Committee of the Whole House on Bills.

We are now at the moment of interruption. The debate tonight was submitted by the honourable member for Pictou West:

[Page 6115]

"Therefore be it resolved that the government do everything within its power to expedite pension disbursements to laid off Trenton workers."

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION UNDER RULE 5(5)

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Pictou East.

TRENTONWORKS: PENSION DISBURSEMENTS - EXPEDITE

MR. CLARRIE MACKINNON: Mr. Speaker, I'm very pleased that this matter was discussed this morning in our caucus and put forward by my colleague, the member for Pictou West.

This is a very important issue to Pictou County. It's a very important issue to the three MLAs of Pictou County because all three of us have had sincere concerns about the situation that has taken place at TrentonWorks. I have, in fact, been in the plant on nine occasions before it closed. I dealt with management as often as I dealt with the union. I even put a resolution through this House commending management, commending Bob Hickey and Sandy Stephenson and others in management, commending Dave Fanning and the union and Lawrence McKay and so on that took such an important role in trying to keep things going.

I think it was fundamentally wrong that a company like Greenbrier that was, in fact, a viable company was able to hive off TrentonWorks and put that aspect of the company into bankruptcy. That was not criminal but fundamentally wrong.

I know the Minister of Labour and Workforce Development likes to use his BlackBerry for just about everything and he hasn't been ruled on that in the House recently, however, I hope that he is going to take some notes because I have more questions than I have answers. I want those answers for the displaced workers, the unemployed workers from Trenton.

[6:00 p.m.]

The former workers have been awaiting pension monies for many months, with several distribution dates that have come and gone; November 15th was the most recent given, however, just yesterday we learned there will be yet another delay. This too is fundamentally wrong and very unfair. The workers have been battered by the bankruptcy and they have been battered by the pension fund distribution process. What I want to know, first of all, from the minister is what his department is doing to expedite the payment procedure and get final benefits to these individuals, many of whom are hard-pressed and anxiously awaiting their rightful disbursements?

[Page 6116]

Some former workers are to receive monthly pensions, others lump-sum payouts, while younger persons are required to invest for future benefits, unless they can prove dire, financial hardship. A good number of them have, in fact, tried to prove the dire, financial hardships. The pension funds have gone through several insurance and financial entities, including Aon, Industrial Alliance and RBC. I want to know from the Minister of Labour and Workforce Development - I want him to find out the information for the laid-off workers on what the administrative fees are. What are the fees that are being charged by these companies, because that's important?

I have a memo that was e-mailed on Tuesday, November 18th, this week, at 4:46 p.m. In it I have learned that: Except the final benefit will vary a little bit once we obtain the information mentioned in Section 2.2 below.

In subsection 2.2 below, we see that one of the concerns is an estimate of the fees from RBC for issuing the payments. They also want to know - this is actually a memo from Aon, the administrators: The premium to be reimbursed by Industrial Alliance which is needed to determine the final percentage of benefits to be paid.

The other delay that I found out about yesterday is that once RBC receives the information, it will take two to three weeks to process all the payments - now, that's after the information is received. They do tell us that there has been a liquidation of the assets and the cash is in the RBC account ready to be transferred to the members, but there are still some outstanding issues. Now, all along we have had a situation of no information, poor information, inaccurate information and misleading information. One of the things that I want to know from this minister, and it's a question that has come to me, did Aon Consulting invest a portion of the pension fund on the open market because I understand that there was an investment of some of that money? So what I also want to know is - because the superintendent of pensions should be aware of this - an accurate figure on the value of the pension fund when the plant closed and what is there now, because this is fundamentally important to those workers.

Mr. Speaker, there is some information circulating in Pictou County that is giving some renewed hope that a company or consortium is showing interest in the idle industrial complex at this time. So what I would like to have the Minister of Economic Development do, I would like to see him come to Pictou County and give an update to the people of Pictou County on this important issue. We need an information session, or a public meeting, or at least a press conference, to update the people of Pictou County because we have seen a situation where there has not been much leadership in relationship to this file.

We need more information. We need to know what is actually happening with these funds because a lot of people have had to resort to Community Services benefits and some of them have never been there before, never wanted to be in those situations but, Mr.

[Page 6117]

Speaker, they have had to go to Community Services and they are awaiting the disbursement of these funds. As I said before, some can get access to a lump sum, others will, in fact, have pensions on a monthly basis, and others, the younger workers, will, in fact, have to see their monies invested unless the dire straits can be shown. So we need action, real action on this issue.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Minister of Labour and Workforce Development.

HON. MARK PARENT: Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to speak to this resolution, and the government will do everything within its power to expedite pension disbursements to laid-off Trenton workers. I'll be sharing my time with the member for Pictou Centre. Certainly before I respond to some of the questions which I have answers for - some I'll have to get back to the member on - I do want to put on the record that I certainly understand both the commitment of the members from Pictou County and the financial hardship, and more than hardship, worry, that the Trenton workers have gone through as they've dealt with the apprehension about losing their jobs, the possibility of a new company coming in, and the whole issue of pensions, and certainly it's not easy for them.

The superintendent of pensions has been in close contact with Aon Consulting which was in charge of the pension, as the honourable member stated, the trustee appointed to handle the windup administration of the Trenton pension fund. Aon Consulting was appointed as administrator of the plan last January 2008. At that time it proceeded to protect the assets by putting everything in short-term money investments. It contacted all 1,100 plan members, both the pensioners and non-pensioners, and in light of the market decline since January, the trustee estimates that pensions will only be reduced by about 8 per cent - not good news, but not nearly as bad as most plans, so it may have been fortuitous, the decision at that time for short-term money investments.

As you know, this was not a usual windup. Some plan members were slow to respond to Aon, in part because they thought that the plant might be continuing and their pensions might be taken over. Members have the right to decide if they would start drawing their pensions or move their pensions into a locked-in RRSP. At first they only heard from about 400 of the pension members so they had to re-contact the bulk of the members and this enabled Aon to make the best possible purchase of pensions for retired members from Industrial Alliance.

Pensioners who were retired used to receive their pension from Royal Trust each month, now Industrial Alliance will pay the monthly pension to the retired members and that part, at least, will go on seamlessly as before.

On November 10th , Aon chose Industrial Alliance as the best annuity provider for the pension and because this is a group purchase, a better deal is reached when there's a larger-scale purchase of the annuities. So in future those Trenton plan members who have opted

[Page 6118]

to take their pensions now will be, as I said, receiving their cheques from Industrial Alliance. Those who choose the locked-in RRSP route can go with whatever financial service provider they choose - their bank, their credit union, their life insurance company, whatever - and Aon has arranged, as the honourable member noted, with the Royal Bank of Canada to make the appropriate disbursements.

Unfortunately it will take, as the honourable member stated, about two to three weeks to process all the payments and people should start seeing their amounts within the December 4th to December 11th time frame. If they do not, I encourage the MLAs for Pictou County to contact the Superintendent's Office, contact me if you want, and we will assist them in that.

A handful of workers, five to six, have already applied to unlock a portion of their pension savings under the Financial Hardships Provision, which was passed by this House in 2007, and the superintendent, I'm told, has processed these requests and her office will continue to receive new applications, as requested by employees, in our usual two week time frame.

In conclusion, the purchase of pensions with Industrial Alliance has now been completed. I'm sorry it took longer than anticipated, in part it was that Aon was trying to get all the members to respond so they could make a better purchase with the money. Plan members who haven't responded, and haven't elected to make a decision, should do so very soon, because if they don't, Aon, as dictated by the windup within the Superintendent of Pensions Office and by the legislation, will have to turn these funds over to the Public Trustee and the funds will then be taxed on transfer.

So we've concluded our business but it's very, very important if there are any plan members who haven't elected to either do a locked-in RRSP or to go with Industrial Alliance, that they do so very, very soon because that's part of the pension windup legislation. So with those few words, and my commitment that if the cheques don't start rolling out December 4th to 11th, my office will do everything we can to help. I'll turn the rest of my time over to the member for Pictou Centre who has been very vigilant in bringing this to not only my attention, but to the attention of the Minister of Economic Development on not just one, but on several occasions.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Pictou Centre.

MR. PATRICK DUNN: Mr. Speaker, it is, indeed, a pleasure to stand here in my place tonight and I want to thank the member for Pictou East for his words and concern and, as well, the member for Pictou West for bringing this resolution to the floor of the House. As he mentioned, all three MLAs from Pictou County have been very, very concerned about the economic development in Pictou County with regard to the Trenton rail car plant.

[Page 6119]

I want to thank the Minister of Labour and Workforce Development for all the work that he and his department staff have been doing to move this file along and to help these employees who have been waiting for word, very patiently, to find out what is happening with their pensions, when they are going to get their pensions and so on. We have certainly spent a great deal of time attempting to assist the Trenton employees with the Labour and Workforce Development staff.

Mr. Speaker, for close to a century TrentonWorks has been the economic backbone of not only the Town of Trenton but, of course, Pictou County. Our goal is to find a new operator for the site that will bring quality, manufacturing jobs back to the community of Trenton. It is vital that we protect the plant facilities and support continued discussions with prospective new operators.

The province has provided $2.6 million through the Community Development Trust Fund, to maintain valuable facilities and equipment at the former TrentonWorks plant, while efforts continue to locate a new operator. One thing I would like to mention, something I'm very proud of, is the last shift of TrentonWorks which occurred at 4:00 o'clock, May 4, 2007 - one month following the closure announcement - during that month the loyalty of the employees at the plant was certainly exposed.

[6:15 p.m.]

Four weeks following the announcement, the employees continued to work very, very hard during their shifts to finish off the order that they were working on. Kudos to them for doing that. There were attempts at that particular time, with offers of assistance from the union and governments that were rejected by Greenbrier and, of course, the rest is history with regard to what happened there.

Sustainable communities are the future of our province. Through the Community Development Trust Fund, we are able to help towns like Trenton that are heavily reliant on one industry and have been hit hard by changes in the global economy. TrentonWorks has been a fixture in Nova Scotia since 1872. In 1995, Greenbrier came and took over the Trenton plant and were here until 2007.

I was in the plant many, many times during the past few years, I had worked in the plant following my Grade 12 graduation. One thing in the closing comments that I have, there have been numerous people working daily on the Trenton file. The Minister of Economic Development not only has been working very hard but has been in Trenton, along with the Premier, to talk with some officials and to see the plant. MP Peter MacKay, Central Nova, Ernst & Young, the Nova Scotia Economic Development staff and many, many more have been involved in trying to bring this operation back to a viable operation. Once again, Mr. Speaker, thank you for allowing me to make a few comments.

[Page 6120]

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Pictou West.

MR. CHARLES PARKER: Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased tonight to have a couple of minutes to be able to speak on this resolution about TrentonWorks and the need for a windup of their pensions. There are a number of Pictonians who worked at TrentonWorks and are very anxiously awaiting some word on just how this is going to end in a favourable light, if they can get their dollars that were invested in their pensions.

TrentonWorks has a long history in Pictou County, dating back to the 1870s, I believe - perhaps it was 1883, I guess, that the first steel was poured in North America in the Town of Trenton, Pictou County. It has employed many, many men and women, generations of families really over all of that time. I guess in my memory, through the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s and so on, it was the mainstay of the economy of Pictou County. Many families relied very much on the production of rail cars, steel rails and other products that were produced there at that time. It has had an interesting history of different owners, the most recent being Greenbrier, but Lavalin and Stelco, I believe it was, or Hawker-Siddley were some of the previous owners and as I said, I can trace its roots back to the 19th Century.

There was always a common belief around Pictou County, the saying was that if TrentonWorks went, so went Pictou County and it was very true. Of course, we were augmented with industry like Michelin Tire and Scott Paper and others that had come into our county in the 1960s and 1970s that helped, but nonetheless it was always said that the workers at TrentonWorks were the ones, their money stayed in the county. When they had a paycheque, it was turned right back into the economy, whether it was buying groceries or buying a vehicle of some type, the money stayed right there.

Now, of course, as of last year the plant closed and we've been working with government and the Department of Economic Development and we're hoping that there's going to be a new buyer at that plant. We've had lots of word that maybe something was about to happen, whether it was a rail car manufacturer from offshore or a windmill manufacturer from Europe - or even a sugar beet plant has been proposed. We're all hopeful that something is going to come out, so I certainly would call on government to do everything and anything they can to find a new operator for the TrentonWorks building. The plant is the largest manufacturing facility east of Montreal and it has a tremendous potential to employ many hundreds, if not thousands, of Nova Scotians once again.

But the issue here at hand, Mr. Speaker, is really around the pensions that were due to the workers who had worked and toiled at that plant, some of them for decades, and they've come away with nothing at this point in time. Even the employees who have worked there for many, many years, some of them have come away with very, very small pensions. I know of one neighbour of mine, not far from where I live, he worked there for decades and he has come away with a pension of $178 - that's all he got for all his lifetime of work.

[Page 6121]

Nova Scotians should be entitled to a decent pension. It's really a basic human right to be able to work hard and then at the end of your working career to receive an adequate pension, but that amount of money is just, you know, it's beyond words that that's adequate or meets the needs of somebody who has worked that long and hard. Less than one-third of Nova Scotians actually have a pension. I guess a lot of people will be relying on the Canada Pension to see them through, but often that's not enough and a private pension is, you know, just a deferred salary is what it is. We need better legislation to protect private pensions in this province and in this country.

So when the plant closed last year, in May of last year, I can remember participating in some of the marches with the workers, down the streets in Trenton and towards New Glasgow, and certainly workers marched side by side, as did my colleagues, the member for Pictou East and Pictou Centre, with workers like Fielding Smith who had worked there for many, many years. People like Ernie McInnis who, again, gave a lifetime of work to that particular employer, and they were only looking for a decent pension. Their union representatives, like Dave Fanning and Lawrence MacKay, were marching there side by side. Don Murphy was another hardworking individual from TrentonWorks that I can remember walking down the street with; and some of their international reps, people like Roger Faulkner, Marie Kelly, Dennis Deveau - these were some of the United Steelworkers who were backing up the workers there to try to get a decent pension for the work that these men and women had worked on for so many years.

One fortunate aspect I guess that did come out of the closure of the plant, the transition centre that was set up in the Town of Trenton with funding from HRDC, the Career Connections, Department of Education, PRDC and some other partners came together to try to find help for the workers who were out of work, who were waiting for their pension money to come through, and it did help a number of individuals to find other training, other job opportunities. I commend Bonnie Matheson who was the coordinator there at the TrentonWorks Transition Centre, and former employees like Fielding Smith, Ernie McInnis and others who were there to advise and help and offer advice in any way they could whether it was training or other employment opportunities or even help that was needed with social assistance or the food bank. There was a variety of services offered there. Unfortunately that transition closed out in June of this year and while these other agencies are still there, the transition centre itself has been missed by many people.

There are a number of workers, Mr. Speaker, who are left out in the cold here who are waiting for their pensions. There was one story in our newspaper, the news in New Glasgow recently, a gentleman by the name of Vern Cooke. Vern is a constituent of mine who lives in Abercrombie and he is one of 1,200 workers who are still waiting for their money from the pension payout from Greenbrier. Certainly it had been hoped that the bill that we passed here last year in the House, Bill No. 4, would have adequately met that need and it looked promising when we passed the legislation that it would have allowed for this pension to be fully funded and paid out. But, as we know, that didn't happen and by legal

[Page 6122]

means or whatever, the company, Greenbrier, was able to declare bankruptcy here in Canada, even though they were a profitable company in other parts of North America, United States and Mexico, and really our workers were left here in the cold without any coverage for their pension.

[Page 6123]

So Aon is the administrator of the pension money and some people have been trying to get their money for quite some time. I did attend a meeting that was held by one of the banks, I guess trying to obtain some of the business here that would be available when this money was freed up. My understanding from attending that meeting is that if there was a small amount of money - under $4,375 - then the workers could get the money. If it was over that, then they could only get a monthly amount or, if the amount paid out was less than $145, they could be eligible for that. Otherwise, it went on a monthly payout unless the individual could prove financial hardship - then they might be able to make a case to the Superintendent of Pensions to get their money back out.

Anyway, the bottom line, Mr. Speaker, is that there's money tied up here while the minister has indicated that he's hopeful that in early December the money will become available. These workers have been waiting a long, long time and I would urge the government to work with the Aon or the administrator, and with the Superintendent of Pensions to try to find a way to make this happen for the workers of Pictou County. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Thank you. The time allocated for late debate tonight has expired. I want to thank all members for having taken part in tonight's late debate.

The House will recess for a few minutes.

[6:27 p.m. The House recessed.]

[6:31 p.m. The House reconvened.]

MR. CHAIRMAN: Order, please. The honourable Government House Leader.

HON. CECIL CLARKE: Thank you, 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: Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.

The motion is carried.

[6:31 p.m. The House resolved itself into a CWH on Bills with Deputy Speaker Wayne Gaudet in the Chair.]

[6:38 p.m. CWH on Bills rose and the House reconvened. Mr. Speaker, Hon. Alfie MacLeod resumed the Chair.]

[Page 6124]

MR. SPEAKER: The Chairman of the Committee of the Whole House on Bills reports:

THE CLERK: That the committee has met and considered the following bills:

Bill No. 211 - Fair Registration Practices Act.

Bill No. 78 - Assessment Act.

Bill No. 93 - Motor Vehicle Act.

Bill No. 158 - Gaming Control Act.

Bill No 189 - Miners' Memorial Day Act.

Bill No. 194 - Partnership Act.

Bill No. 207 - Silver Dart 100th Anniversary Act.

and the chairman has been instructed to recommend these bills to the favourable consideration of the House, each without amendment.

MR. SPEAKER: Ordered that these bills be read for a third time on a future day.

The honourable Government House Leader.

HON. CECIL CLARKE: Mr. Speaker, with agreement I would ask that the House consider these bills for third reading.

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Government House Leader.

HON. CECIL CLARKE: Mr. Speker, would you please call the order of business, Public Bills for Third Reading.

PUBLIC BILLS FOR THIRD READING

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Government House Leader.

HON. CECIL CLARKE: Mr. Speaker, would you please call Bill No. 211.

[Page 6125]

Bill No. 211 - Fair Registration Practices Act.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Minister of Labour and Workforce Development.

HON. MARK PARENT: Mr. Speaker, it's a pleasure to move third reading of this bill. I do want to thank my Opposition critics for their support and for the opportunity I had to work with them through this process. It has been a longer process than originally anticipated, but it has been, I think, productive.

Darrel Pink, who was at Law Amendments Committee earlier today, mentioned that the process of coming to improve the prior bill that we had, resulted in this group of people from the regulated bodies who trust each other, who have worked together over the summer and who are quite eager now to move on to work on the Agreement on Internal Trade, which will be a more challenging piece of work but nonetheless an important piece of work as we look at labour mobility across the Country of Canada.

The delay that we had actually was fortuitous. If you are using religious terms you might say providential because what it allowed was this sense of trust. It was very, very important, the regulated bodies are groups that have enormous power and well it should be so, but to get them all together with government - 38 NGOs, six government departments covering a large part of the workforce, almost a quarter, maybe, of the workforce of Nova Scotia is quite a daunting task.

That was the benefit and Mr. Pink shared that in Law Amendments Committee, I understand, according to my staff, and shared the bonding that had taken place, the trust that had been built up and the sense of collegiality which will help them move on to AIT.

This bill, though, is also an extremely important bill because this bill will facilitate and make more transparent and open the process of being recognized in Nova Scotia and getting appropriate certification - whether you live in another province in Canada or whether you live abroad in another country.

It is incredibly important for the economic well-being of this province that we have people either migrating back who are living in other provinces or immigrating from other countries. When I look at the demographic challenge of the Province of Nova Scotia, it is something that is a preoccupation of mine. Our median age is 42 per cent and our demographic profile is a profile that is not a typical triangle, but it's a profile whereby the younger cohort, which should be filling in many of the jobs that we have in Nova Scotia, are not there. We need to be creative, we need to be visionary, we need to be aggressive in all sorts of ways in terms of attracting the workforce that will keep this province strong - not only in the next few years, but in the decades to come.

[Page 6126]

I do want to, at this time, along with thanking the Opposition critics, I want to thank the Premier for his leadership in this bill. This bill and the Agreement on Internal Trade, of course, are negotiations that are worked out at the Council of the Federation and agreements are made there in order to help the whole country, but certainly our Premier is there with a mandate to keep Nova Scotia strong and to make sure that Nova Scotia stays strong in the future. This is an important bill, the Agreement on Internal Trade, led by the Minister of Economic Development with the labour mobility led by my department is also an important one, as well.

I do thank the Opposition members because I think they realize the importance of this bill as well and I thank the regulated professions for the work they've done. As I said, fortuitous or providential, the work over the summer has laid the groundwork for collegiality as we move on to address the agreement on internal trade.

So with those few words about the importance of this bill - I can't stress it enough - and with my thanks to the Opposition for their support, because to take a bill like this through we need the support of the Opposition, I'll take my place.

[6:45 p.m.]

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Halifax Needham.

MS. MAUREEN MACDONALD: Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the minister for his comments, and our caucus is fully in support of this bill in the form that we have in front of us today.

I want to thank the various professional bodies for the integrity that they've demonstrated throughout this process, and their professionalism. Obviously they are professional groups and they came together and I think they displayed an extraordinary amount of professionalism in terms of trying to find a way to move this important issue forward to ensure that those people who are coming to our province with professional credentials, that they've acquired through education outside of our country, will have access to an open, transparent and a fair process to continue to perform in their respective professions and to make a contribution to our province. I think this is what we all are working for and if this legislation will bring us closer to that, we'll be all the better for it.

So thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, those are my remarks on that bill.

MR. SPEAKER: If I recognize the minister it will be to close the debate.

The honourable Minister of Labour and Workforce Development.

[Page 6127]

HON. MARK PARENT: It's a great pleasure for me to thank the honourable members for their interventions and to rise to close debate on Bill No. 211.

MR. SPEAKER: The motion is for third reading of Bill No. 211. Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.

The motion is carried.

Ordered that this bill do pass. Ordered that the title be as read by the Clerk. Ordered that the bill be engrossed.

The honourable Deputy Government House Leader.

MR. CHUCK PORTER: Mr. Speaker, would you please call Bill No. 194.

Bill No. 194 - Partnership Act.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Minister of Justice.

HON. CECIL CLARKE: Mr. Speaker, I'm very pleased to rise on behalf of my colleague, the honourable Minister of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations, with regard to Bill No. 194. In fact, as many know, this affords professional partners of Nova Scotia Limited Liability Partnership greater personal liability protection, and indeed the formation of limited liability protection of partnerships in Nova Scotia. I know we've had some discussion on this, so I know the honourable members have been listening intently as this has moved through. And so with that, again on behalf of the Minister of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations, I'm very pleased to move third reading of Bill No. 194.

MR. SPEAKER: The motion is for third reading of Bill No. 194. Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.

The motion is carried.

Ordered that this bill do pass. Ordered that the title be as read by the Clerk. Ordered that the bill be engrossed.

The honourable Deputy Government House Leader.

MR. CHUCK PORTER: Mr. Speaker, would you please call the order of business, Private Members' Public Bills for Third Reading.

PRIVATE MEMBERS' PUBLIC BILLS FOR THIRD READING

[Page 6128]

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Deputy Government House Leader.

MR. CHUCK PORTER: Mr. Speaker, would you please call Bill No. 78.

Bill No. 78 - Assessment Act.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Cape Breton South.

MR. MANNING MACDONALD: Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the honourable member for Preston, I move Bill No. 78.

MR. SPEAKER: The motion is for third reading of Bill No. 78. Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.

The motion is carried.

Ordered that this bill do pass. Ordered that the title be as read by the Clerk. Ordered that the bill be engrossed.

The honourable Deputy Government House Leader.

MR. CHUCK PORTER: Mr. Speaker, would you please call Bill No. 93.

Bill No. 93 - Motor Vehicle Act.

MR. CHAIRMAN: The honourable member for Cape Breton Centre.

MR. FRANK CORBETT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On behalf of the Leader of the Official Opposition, I move this bill for third reading.

MR. CHAIRMAN: The motion is for third reading of Bill No. 93. Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.

The motion is carried.

Ordered that this bill do pass. Ordered that the title be as read by the Clerk. Ordered that the bill be engrossed.

The honourable Deputy Government House Leader.

MR. CHUCK PORTER: Mr. Speaker, would you please call Bill No. 158.

Bill No. 158 - Gaming Control Act.

[Page 6129]

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Kings West.

MR. LEO GLAVINE: Mr. Speaker, I move third reading of Bill No. 158.

MR. SPEAKER: The motion is for third reading of Bill No. 158. Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.

The motion is carried.

Ordered that this bill do pass. Ordered that the title be as read by the Clerk. Ordered that the bill be engrossed.

The honourable Deputy Government House Leader.

MR. CHUCK PORTER: Mr. Speaker, would you please call Bill No. 189.

Bill No. 189 - Miners' Memorial Day Act.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Minister of Justice.

HON. CECIL CLARKE: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I'm very pleased to rise on behalf of my colleague, the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal, to move third reading of Bill No. 189.

MR. SPEAKER: The motion is for third reading of Bill No. 189. Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.

The motion is carried.

Ordered that this bill do pass. Ordered that the title be as read by the Clerk. Ordered that the bill be engrossed.

The honourable Deputy Government House Leader.

MR. CHUCK PORTER: Mr. Speaker, would you please call Bill No. 207.

Bill No. 207 - Silver Dart 100th Anniversary Act.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Victoria-The Lakes.

MR. KEITH BAIN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to rise in my place this evening to move third reading of Bill No. 207. The bill recognizes the importance of the

[Page 6130]

flight of the Silver Dart for Baddeck and, indeed, all of Canada, as well as the celebrations to honour this auspicious occasion in 2009.

I want to thank members on both sides of the House for their support of this bill and with that, Mr. Speaker, I move third reading of Bill No. 207.

MR. SPEAKER: The motion is for third reading of Bill No. 207. Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.

The motion is carried.

Ordered that this bill do pass. Ordered that the title be as read by the Clerk. Ordered that the bill be engrossed.

The honourable Government House Leader.

HON. CECIL CLARKE: Yes thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. That concludes the government's business for this day. I move that the House do now rise to meet again tomorrow at the hour of 9:00 a.m. and that we sit from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Mr. Speaker, following the daily routine, I'm sure we'll do a little bit of this and a little bit of that but, more importantly, we do have business. (Interruptions) I would suggest we'll go to Committee of the Whole House on Bills, the Law Amendments Committee and we'll go to Public Bills, potentially for third reading. Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER: The motion is that the House rise to meet again tomorrow at the hour of 9:00 a.m.

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 House rose at 6:54 p.m.]

[Page 6131]

NOTICES OF MOTION UNDER RULE 32(3)

RESOLUTION NO. 5807

By: Ms. Diana Whalen (Halifax Clayton Park)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Symphony Nova Scotia is a major contributor to the cultural richness of our province; and

Whereas since its founding in 1983, Symphony Nova Scotia has overcome many challenges and continues to enrich the cultural fabric of Nova Scotia; and

Whereas over the past 25 years, the Symphony has given more than 1,000 performances and has also taken its music to schools and to the broader community;

Therefore be it resolved that the members of the House acknowledge the importance of Symphony Nova Scotia to our economic and cultural life and wish them continued success in the future.

RESOLUTION NO. 5808

By: Ms. Diana Whalen (Halifax Clayton Park)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Canada's junior and developmental team paddlers combined for 14 medals at the Ruhr Regatta International held in Bochum, Germany in June 2008; and

Whereas Natalie Miller, a resident of Halifax Clayton Park, won second place in the combined women's kayak fours (K-4) 1,000 metre event; and

Whereas Natalie has shown dedication, determination and hard work in kayaking, which has taken her to the international level of competition;

Therefore be it resolved that the members of this House of Assembly congratulate Natalie Miller on her Silver medal win at the Ruhr Regatta in Germany and wish her every success in the future.

[Page 6132]

RESOLUTION NO. 5809

By: Mr. Ernest Fage (Cumberland North)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Amherst Chamber of Commerce held their Gala Awards at the Wandlyn Inn October 23, 2008 where they recognized the business achievers in various categories; and

Whereas the Green Award with the focus being on going green was presented to Edward Herniak of EG Energy Controls of Warren, NS; and

Whereas Edward and his company's research and development for the last 15 years was based on utilizing power resources and working with the local and international institutions to accomplish their goals;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House join me in sending our congratulations to Edward Herniak of EG Energy Controls for receiving this award.

RESOLUTION NO. 5810

By: Mr. Ernest Fage (Cumberland North)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Allison Landry retired from the Amherst Fire Department this year after 30-plus years of service as a professional firefighter; and

Whereas when Landry was called out to his first fire call, he had to help push the fire truck out of the station because it wouldn't start; and

Whereas he can attest to many positive changes and updates to equipment and training of personnel, making the department one of the most modern and efficient in Nova Scotia today;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House join me in sending our congratulations to long-time firefighter Allison Landry upon his retirement.

[Page 6133]

RESOLUTION NO. 5811

By: Mr. Patrick Dunn (Pictou Centre)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas junior high school students from Trenton Middle School, East Pictou and Dr. Thomas McCulloch Schools came together recently for some serious Lego building; and

Whereas the students participated in the First Lego League, a global program created to get kids excited about science and technology; and

Whereas the groups of three were all provided with a robot from Lego and then asked to take the robot through an obstacle course, made entirely of Lego, in the two minutes and 30 seconds provided and it was the first time the international competition involved Pictou County students and seeing as how much fun the kids had, it's likely to catch on;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House send congratulations to the competitors from Trenton Middle School, East Pictou Junior High and Dr. Thomas McCulloch Junior High on their very first, successful, First Lego League competition.

RESOLUTION NO. 5812

By: Hon. Rodney MacDonald (The Premier)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Inverness County is deeply entrenched in its preservation of the arts and culture; and

Whereas arts and culture in Inverness County play a vital role in tourism and the economic growth of the area; and

Whereas the Municipality of the County of Inverness recently won the $10,000 provincial Community Arts and Culture Recognition Award;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate the citizens of our county on their fine efforts in preserving the very best of Inverness County.

[Page 6134]

RESOLUTION NO. 5813

By: Hon. Rodney MacDonald (The Premier)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas on November 1st, Cape Breton Highlands Huskies hosted the NSSAF Division 4 Girls Soccer Provincial Championship; and

Whereas the Huskies knocked off both the No. 3 and No.1 seeds in the Highland Regionals - affording them the honour of hosting the provincial tournament; and

Whereas the Cape Breton Highlands Huskies not only acted as hosts but, under the skilful guidance of Coach Auriel Lelievre, defeated Pugwash by a score of 2-0 and claimed the provincial title;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Coach Auriel Lelievre and all the members of the Cape Breton Highlands Huskies Division 4 Girls Soccer Team for their triumphant season and their provincial championship victory.

RESOLUTION NO. 5814

By: Hon. Brooke Taylor (Agriculture)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas public service is a central institution of our democracy of which we are so proudly representing 250 years in 2008; and

Whereas Kent Loughead of Old Barns, Colchester County, was recently honoured for his 30 years of commendable work with the Government of Nova Scotia; and

Whereas Kent was employed with the Department of Agriculture as a program administration officer;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly acknowledge Kent Loughead of Old Barns, Colchester County, on his outstanding work ethic for the past three decades with the Government of Nova Scotia.

[Page 6135]

RESOLUTION NO. 5815

By: Hon. Karen Casey (Education)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas after three months of hard work, Carolann Naugle of Valley, completed a 251-foot, nine-inch balsam fir Christmas wreath; and

Whereas it took an additional 27 hours to tie the brush on the frame in an open field in Belmont; and

Whereas after waiting five months, Carolann Naugle received the word that she had created the world's largest Christmas wreath;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Carolann Naugle for being recognized in the Guinness World Records Book.

RESOLUTION NO. 5816

By: Ms. Diana Whalen (Halifax Clayton Park)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Mount Saint Vincent University Public Relations student, Maggie Hynes selflessly raised $15,000 on behalf of World Vision, to make better the lives of poverty-stricken children in Africa; and

Whereas hundreds of children in Senegal, Africa will benefit from the pre-school that now stands as tangible evidence of Ms. Hynes' fundraising efforts; and

Whereas this young woman continues to educate the public on the importance of poverty-related issues and humanitarian organizations:

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House join me in applauding Maggie Hynes on her heartfelt generosity, selfless hard work and leadership.

[Page 6136]

RESOLUTION NO. 5817

By: Ms. Diana Whalen (Halifax Clayton Park)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Mount Saint Vincent University men's Mystics basketball team became the first Atlantic team to achieve the honour of being ranked number one in the nation by the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association (CCAA); and

Whereas the Mystics men's basketball team became the first Atlantic Colleges Athletic Association (ACAA) to capture the Hagen Basketball Tournament, held annually in Montreal; and

Whereas for the past two seasons the men's Mystics basketball team has won 47 consecutive games, making them undefeated in regular season play;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House join me in congratulating the Mount Saint Vincent University men's Mystics basketball team for their outstanding performances, great sportsmanship, as well as their determination and drive.

RESOLUTION NO. 5818

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the WOW reading challenge which is operated as part of Adopt-a-Library is a partnership of police, public libraries and the community and the goal of the challenge is to fight crime at an early age through literacy; and

Whereas Zachary Dionne of Big Tancook Island Elementary School read approximately 632 books between November 13th to April 5th to claim the international championship; and

Whereas 14,669 students from 80 schools in four countries took part to read almost 1.1 million books;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Zachary Dionne of Big Tancook Island Elementary on his success with the WOW reading challenge and wish him much luck in his future endeavours.

[Page 6137]

RESOLUTION NO. 5819

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the WOW reading challenge which is operated as part of Adopt-a-Library is a partnership of police, public libraries and the community and the goal of the challenge is to fight crime at an early age through literacy; and

Whereas Dylan Baker of Big Tancook Island Elementary School read approximately 632 books between November 13th to April 5th to claim the international championship; and

Whereas 14,669 students from 80 schools in four countries took part to read almost 1.1 million books;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Dylan Baker of Big Tancook Island Elementary on his success with the WOW reading challenge and wish him much luck in his future endeavours.

RESOLUTION NO. 5820

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the South Shore United, a Tier 1 club which plays in the Nova Scotia Soccer League, romped to a league-leading record of 15 wins, one loss and three ties during the regular season; and

Whereas it has been a number of years since the South Shore team placed first in the league, but also bring home a first place finish; and

Whereas Gavin Cameron played a valuable part in the team 3-0 shutout of Dartmouth Invited in the gold medal match;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Gavin Cameron and all of South Shore United team on an exceptional season and wish them much success in the future.

[Page 6138]

RESOLUTION NO. 5821

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the South Shore United, a Tier 1 club which plays in the Nova Scotia Soccer League, romped to a league-leading record of 15 wins, one loss and three ties during the regular season; and

Whereas it has been a number of years since the South Shore team placed first in the league, but also bring home a first place finish; and

Whereas Evan Stoodley played a valuable part in the team 3-0 shutout of Dartmouth Invited in the gold medal match;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Evan Stoodley and all of South Shore United team on an exceptional season and wish them much success in the future.

RESOLUTION NO. 5822

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the South Shore United, a Tier 1 club which plays in the Nova Scotia Soccer League, romped to a league-leading record of 15 wins, one loss and three ties during the regular season; and

Whereas it has been a number of years since the South Shore team placed first in the league, but also bring home a first place finish; and

Whereas Daniel Bruhm played a valuable part in the team 3-0 shutout of Dartmouth Invited in the gold medal match;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Daniel Bruhm and all of South Shore United team on an exceptional season and wish them much success in the future.

[Page 6139]

RESOLUTION NO. 5823

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the South Shore United, a Tier 1 club which plays in the Nova Scotia Soccer League, romped to a league-leading record of 15 wins, one loss and three ties during the regular season; and

Whereas it has been a number of years since the South Shore team placed first in the league, but also bring home a first place finish; and

Whereas Brandon Minard played a valuable part in the team 3-0 shutout of Dartmouth Invited in the gold medal match;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Brandon Minard and all of South Shore United team on an exceptional season and wish them much success in the future.

RESOLUTION NO. 5824

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas most of the players on the New Ross Under 16-18 boys soccer team were 14-16 years old; and

Whereas when asked about the team coach Pam Reeve's pride could not be contained, as she indicated that they absolutely are a special group that unite as a team, using praise and "brotherly criticism" to support each others' efforts in a positive manner and this is absolutely the best quality any team could achieve, but most never will; and

Whereas at the final game the team finally realized their accomplishment of being one game away from the Valley Indoor Soccer Title, and the team pulled together and Evan Williams helped to bring the title home to the New Ross area;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Evan Williams and the New Ross Under 16-18 boys team on a fantastic season and wish them much success in the future.

[Page 6140]

RESOLUTION NO. 5825

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas most of the players on the New Ross Under 16-18 boys soccer team were 14-16 years old; and

Whereas when asked about the team coach Pam Reeves' pride could not be contained, as she indicated that they absolutely are a special group that unite as a team, using praise and "brotherly criticism" to support each others' efforts in a positive manner and this is absolutely the best quality any team could achieve, but most never will; and

Whereas at the final game the team finally realized their accomplishment of being one game away from the Valley Indoor Soccer Title, and the team pulled together and Dylan Reeves of New Ross helped to bring the title home to the New Ross area;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Dylan Reeves and the New Ross Under 16-18 boys team on a fantastic season and wish them much success in the future.

RESOLUTION NO. 5826

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas most of the players on the New Ross Under 16-18 boys soccer team were 14-16 years old; and

Whereas when asked about the team coach Pam Reeve's pride could not be contained, as she indicated that they absolutely are a special group that unite as a team, using praise and "brotherly criticism" to support each others' efforts in a positive manner and this is absolutely the best quality any team could achieve, but most never will; and

Whereas at the final game the team finally realized their accomplishment of being one game away from the Valley Indoor Soccer Title, and the team pulled together and Bryce Russell of New Ross helped to bring the title home to the New Ross area;

[Page 6141]

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Bryce Russell and the New Ross Under 16-18 boys team on a fantastic season and wish them much success in the future.

[Page 6142]

RESOLUTION NO. 5827

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas most of the players on the New Ross Under 16-18 boys soccer team were 14-16 years old; and

Whereas when asked about the team coach Pan Reeve's pride could not be contained, as she indicated that they absolutely are a special group that unite as a team, using praise and "brotherly criticism" to support each others' efforts in a positive manner and this is absolutely the best quality any team could achieve, but most never will; and

Whereas at the final game the team finally realized their accomplishment of being one game away from the Valley Indoor Soccer Title, and the team pulled together and Brandon Reeves of New Ross helped to bring the title home to the New Ross area;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Brandon Reeves and the New Ross Under 16-18 boys team on a fantastic season and wish them much success in the future.

RESOLUTION NO. 5828

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas most of the players on the New Ross Under 16-18 boys soccer team were 14-16 years old; and

Whereas when asked about the team coach Pam Reeve's pride could not be contained, as she indicated that they absolutely are a special group that unite as a team, using praise and "brotherly criticism" to support each others' efforts in a positive manner and this is absolutely the best quality any team could achieve, but most never will; and

Whereas at the final game the team finally realized their accomplishment of being one game away from the Valley Indoor Soccer Title, and the team pulled together and Craig Lenihan of New Ross helped to bring the title home to the New Ross area;

[Page 6143]

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Craig Lenihan and the New Ross Under 16-18 boys team on a fantastic season and wish them much success in the future.

RESOLUTION NO. 5829

By: Hon. Judy Stretch (Community Services)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas most of the players on the New Ross Under 16-18 boys soccer team were 14-16 years old; and

Whereas when asked about the team coach Pam Reeve's pride could not be contained, as she indicated that they absolutely are a special group that unite as a team, using praise and "brotherly criticism" to support each others' efforts in a positive manner and this is absolutely the best quality any team could achieve, but most never will; and

Whereas at the final game the team finally realized their accomplishment of being one game away from the Valley Indoor Soccer Title, and the team pulled together and Dylan Bell of New Ross helped to bring the title home to the New Ross area;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Dylan Bell and the New Ross Under 16-18 boys team on a fantastic season and wish them much success in the future.

RESOLUTION NO. 5830

By: Hon. Judy Stretch (Community Services)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas most of the players on the New Ross Under 16-18 boys soccer team were 14-16 years old; and

Whereas when asked about the team coach Pam Reeve's pride could not be contained, as she indicated that they absolutely are a special group that unite as a team, using praise and "brotherly criticism" to support each others' efforts in a positive manner and this is absolutely the best quality any team could achieve, but most never will; and

[Page 6144]

Whereas at the final game the team finally realized their accomplishment of being one game away from the Valley Indoor Soccer Title, and the team pulled together and Mackensey Bell helped to bring the title home to the New Ross area;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Mackensey Bell and the New Ross Under 16/18 boys team on a fantastic season and wish them much success in the future.

RESOLUTION NO. 5831

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Chester United under-14 girls team, a Tier 2b club, romped to a league-leading record of 13 wins, one loss and one tie during the regular season; and

Whereas on September 7th the Chester team defeated Greenwood by a score of 3-0, and prior to that defeated West Nova by a score of 2-0 to capture the gold medals at the provincial and playoff levels respectively; and

Whereas Cortney Hatt was instrumental in Chester United's success this year;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Cortney Hatt and all of the Chester United team on an exceptional season, and wish them much success in the future.

RESOLUTION NO. 5832

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Chester United under-14 girls team, a Tier 2b club, romped to a league-leading record of 13 wins, one loss and one tie during the regular season; and

Whereas on September 7th the Chester team defeated Greenwood by a score of 3-0, and prior to that defeated West Nova by a score of 2-0 to capture the gold medals at the provincial and playoff levels respectively; and

Whereas Jill Harnish was instrumental in Chester United's success this year;

[Page 6145]

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Jill Harnish and all of the Chester United team on an exceptional season, and wish them much success in the future.

[Page 6146]

RESOLUTION NO. 5833

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Chester United under-14 girls team, a Tier 2b club, romped to a league-leading record of 13 wins, one loss and one tie during the regular season; and

Whereas on September 7th the Chester team defeated Greenwood by a score of 3-0, and prior to that defeated West Nova by a score of 2-0 to capture the gold medals at the provincial and playoff levels respectively; and

Whereas Courtney Harnish was instrumental in Chester United's success this year;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Courtney Harnish and all of the Chester United team on an exceptional season, and wish them much success in the future.

RESOLUTION NO. 5834

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Chester United under-12 boys team had an exceptional season, playing 15 games and winning 11, losing just one, and tying three to lead their division; and

Whereas on August 29th the Chester squadron shut out the New Germany team 4-0; and

Whereas thanks to the talent of Thomas Hannaford, the Chester team finished first in their division and automatically advanced to the provincial championship;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Thomas Hannaford and the entire Chester United under-12 team on another successful season, and wish them much luck in the future.

[Page 6147]

RESOLUTION NO. 5835

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Chester United under-12 boys team had an exceptional season, playing 15 games and winning 11, losing just one, and tying three to lead their division; and

Whereas on August 29th the Chester squadron shut out the New Germany team 4-0; and

Whereas thanks to the talent of Kyle Hamm, the Chester team finished first in their division and automatically advanced to the provincial championship;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Kyle Hamm and the entire Chester United under-12 team on another successful season, and wish them much luck in the future.

RESOLUTION NO. 5836

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Chester United under-14 girls team, a Tier 2b club, romped to a league-leading record of 13 wins, one loss and one tie during the regular season; and

Whereas on September 7th the Chester team defeated Greenwood by a score of 3-0, and prior to that defeated West Nova by a score of 2-0 to capture the gold medals at the provincial and playoff levels respectively; and

Whereas Britni Green was instrumental in Chester United's success this year;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Britni Green and all of the Chester United team on an exceptional season, and wish them much success in the future.

[Page 6148]

RESOLUTION NO. 5837

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Chester United under-14 girls team, a Tier 2b club, romped to a league-leading record of 13 wins, one loss and one tie during the regular season; and

Whereas on September 7th the Chester team defeated Greenwood by a score of 3-0, and prior to that defeated West Nova by a score of 2-0 to capture the gold medals at the provincial and playoff levels respectively; and

Whereas Morgan Greek was instrumental in Chester United's success this year;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Morgan Greek and all of the Chester United team on an exceptional season, and wish them much success in the future.

RESOLUTION NO. 5838

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Chester United under-12 boys team had an exceptional season, playing 15 games and winning 11, losing just one, and tying three to lead their division; and

Whereas on August 29th the Chester squadron shut out the New Germany team 4-0; and

Whereas thanks to the talent of Evan Forbes, the Chester team finished first in their division and automatically advanced to the provincial championship;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Evan Forbes and the entire Chester United under-12 team on another successful season, and wish them much luck in the future.

[Page 6149]

RESOLUTION NO. 5839

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Chester United under-12 boys team had an exceptional season, playing 15 games and winning 11, losing just one, and tying three to lead their division; and

Whereas on August 29th the Chester squadron shut out the New Germany team 4-0; and

Whereas thanks to the talent of Evan Swinimer, the Chester team finished first in their division and automatically advanced to the provincial championship;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Evan Swinimer and the entire Chester United under-12 team on another successful season, and wish them much luck in the future.

RESOLUTION NO. 5840

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Chester United under-14 girls team, a Tier 2b club, romped to a league-leading record of 13 wins, one loss and one tie during the regular season; and

Whereas on September 7th the Chester team defeated Greenwood by a score of 3-0, and prior to that defeated West Nova by a score of 2-0 to capture the gold medals at the provincial and playoff levels respectively; and

Whereas Micayla Dorey was instrumental in Chester United's success this year;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Micayla Dorey and all of the Chester United team on an exceptional season, and wish them much success in the future.

[Page 6150]

RESOLUTION NO. 5841

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Chester United under-14 girls team, a Tier 2b club, romped to a league-leading record of 13 wins, one loss and one tie during the regular season; and

Whereas on September 7th the Chester team defeated Greenwood by a score of 3-0, and prior to that defeated West Nova by a score of 2-0 to capture the gold medals at the provincial and playoff levels respectively; and

Whereas Willa Creighton was instrumental in Chester United's success this year;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Willa Creighton and all of the Chester United team on an exceptional season, and wish them much success in the future.

RESOLUTION NO. 5842

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Chester United under-12 boys team had an exceptional season, playing 15 games and winning 11, losing just one, and tying 3 to lead their division; and

Whereas on August 29th the Chester squadron shut out the New Germany team 4-0; and

Whereas thanks to the talent of Bailey Countway, the Chester team finished first in their division and automatically advanced to the provincial championship;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Bailey Countway and the entire Chester United under-12 team on another successful season, and wish them much luck in the future.

[Page 6151]

RESOLUTION NO. 5843

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Chester United under-12 boys team had an exceptional season, playing 15 games and winning 11, losing just one, and tying three to lead their division; and

Whereas on August 29th the Chester squadron shut out the New Germany team 4-0; and

Whereas thanks to the talent of Chris Dodson, the Chester team finished first in their division and automatically advanced to the provincial championship;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Chris Dodson and the entire Chester United under-12 team on another successful season, and wish them much luck in the future.

RESOLUTION NO. 5844

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Chester United under-12 boys team had an exceptional season, playing 15 games and winning 11, losing just one, and tying three to lead their division; and

Whereas on August 29th the Chester squadron shut out the New Germany team 4-0; and

Whereas thanks to the talent of Isaac Bridge, the Chester team finished first in their division and automatically advanced to the provincial championship;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Isaac Bridge and the entire Chester United under-12 team on another successful season, and wish them much luck in the future.

[Page 6152]

RESOLUTION NO. 5845

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Chester United under-12 boys team had an exceptional season, playing 15 games and winning 11, losing just one, and tying three to lead their division; and

Whereas on August 29th the Chester squadron shut out the New Germany team 4-0; and

Whereas thanks to the talent of Jordan Hebb, the Chester team finished first in their division and automatically advanced to the provincial championship;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Jordan Hebb and the entire Chester United under-12 team on another successful season, and wish them much luck in the future.

RESOLUTION NO. 5846

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Chester United under-12 boys team had an exceptional season, playing 15 games and winning 11, losing just one, and tying three to lead their division; and

Whereas on August 29th the Chester squadron shut out the New Germany team 4-0; and

Whereas thanks to the talent of Spencer Adams, the Chester team finished first in their division and automatically advanced to the provincial championship;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Spencer Adams and the entire Chester United under-12 team on another successful season, and wish them much luck in the future.

[Page 6153]

RESOLUTION NO. 5847

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Chester United under-14 girls team is a Tier 2b club, romped to a league-leading record of 13 wins, 1 loss and 1 tie during the regular season; and

Whereas on September 7th the Chester team defeated Greenwood by a score of 3-0 and prior to that, defeated West Nova by a score of 2-0 to capture the gold medals at the provincial and playoff levels respectively; and

Whereas Claire Anderson was instrumental in Chester United's success this year;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Claire Anderson and all of Chester United team on an exceptional season and wish them much success in the future.

RESOLUTION NO. 5848

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Wayne Lemoine of Barrington was honoured at the 2008 Maritime School of Paramedicine's first graduation ceremony for the Shelburne ACP Class of 2006-08 at the White Point Beach Resort on November 19, 2008; and

Whereas paramedics from Shelburne County completed over 756 hours of in-class and home study, 243 hours of in-lab skills, 784 hours of hospital and ambulance practical hands-on patient care and an extra 59 weeks of work and 1,783 hours of education in the past 18-24 months plus they worked their full-time positions; and

Whereas the commitment to obtaining a higher standard of care and education to deliver a better service to community is a remarkable decision and achievement;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Wayne Lemoine of Barrington for being honoured for his outstanding achievements at the 2008 Maritime School of Paramedicine's first graduation ceremony for the Shelburne ACP Class of 2006-08 at the White Point Beach Resort on November 19, 2008.

[Page 6154]

RESOLUTION NO. 5849

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Tammie Taylor of Shelburne was honoured at the 2008 Maritime School of Paramedicine's first graduation ceremony for the Shelburne ACP Class of 2006-08 at the White Point Beach Resort on November 19, 2008; and

Whereas paramedics from Shelburne County completed over 756 hours of in-class and home study, 243 hours of in-lab skills, 784 hours of hospital and ambulance practical hands-on patient care and an extra 59 weeks of work and 1,783 hours of education in the past 18-24 months plus they worked their full-time positions; and

Whereas the commitment to obtaining a higher standard of care and education to deliver a better service to community is a remarkable decision and achievement;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Tammie Taylor of Shelburne for being honoured for her outstanding achievements at the 2008 Maritime School of Paramedicine's first graduation ceremony for the Shelburne ACP Class of 2006-08 at the White Point Beach Resort on November 19, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5850

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Duane Smith of Woods Harbour was honoured at the 2008 Maritime School of Paramedicine's first graduation ceremony for the Shelburne ACP Class of 2006-08 at the White Point Beach Resort on November 19, 2008; and

Whereas paramedics from Shelburne County completed over 756 hours of in-class and home study, 243 hours of in-lab skills, 784 hours of hospital and ambulance practical hands-on patient care and an extra 59 weeks of work and 1,783 hours of education in the past 18-24 months plus they worked their full-time positions; and

Whereas the commitment to obtaining a higher standard of care and education to deliver a better service to community is a remarkable decision and achievement;

[Page 6155]

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Duane Smith of Woods Harbour for being honoured for his outstanding achievements at the 2008 Maritime School of Paramedicine's first graduation ceremony for the Shelburne ACP Class of 2006-08 at the White Point Beach Resort on November 19, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5851

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Peter Nickerson of Woods Harbour was honoured at the 2008 Maritime School of Paramedicine's first graduation ceremony for the Shelburne ACP Class of 2006-08 at the White Point Beach Resort on November 19, 2008; and

Whereas paramedics from Shelburne County completed over 756 hours of in-class and home study, 243 hours of in-lab skills, 784 hours of hospital and ambulance practical hands-on patient care and an extra 59 weeks of work and 1,783 hours of education in the past 18-24 months plus they worked their full-time positions; and

Whereas the commitment to obtaining a higher standard of care and education to deliver a better service to community is a remarkable decision and achievement;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Peter Nickerson of Woods Harbour for being honoured for his outstanding achievements at the 2008 Maritime School of Paramedicine's first graduation ceremony for the Shelburne ACP Class of 2006-08 at the White Point Beach Resort on November 19, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5852

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Paula Sutherland of Barrington was honoured at the 2008 Maritime School of Paramedicine's first graduation ceremony for the Shelburne ACP Class of 2006-08 at the White Point Beach Resort on November 19, 2008; and

Whereas paramedics from Shelburne County completed over 756 hours of in-class and home study, 243 hours of in-lab skills, 784 hours of hospital and ambulance practical

[Page 6156]

hands-on patient care and an extra 59 weeks of work and 1,783 hours of education in the past 18-24 months plus they worked their full-time positions; and

Whereas the commitment to obtaining a higher standard of care and education to deliver a better service to community is a remarkable decision and achievement;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Paula Sutherland of Barrington for being honoured for her outstanding achievements at the 2008 Maritime School of Paramedicine's first graduation ceremony for the Shelburne ACP Class of 2006-08 at the White Point Beach Resort on November 19, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5853

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Marty Simpson, coach of the Clark's Harbour Mosquito Foggies, helped to bring the team to victory in the district playoffs on August 9, 2008; and

Whereas the team pulled off an exciting two-game sweep in their best of three games district showdown with Yarmouth; and

Whereas the Foggies were then able to compete in the Mosquito A Provincials from August 22nd to August 24th in Bridgewater;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Marty Simpson, coach of the Clark's Harbour Mosquito Foggies, for helping to bring the team to victory in the district playoffs on August 9, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5854

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Mark Dennis of Shelburne County began speed stacking 16 months ago and competed in the World Speed Stacking Competition in Denver, Colorado, on April 5 and April 6, 2008; and

[Page 6157]

Whereas Mark placed second in the 3-6-3 category with a time of 2.91 seconds, winning a silver medal, and placed third in the Cycle competition with a time of 8.25 seconds, winning a bronze trophy, setting an unofficial new Canadian record for both events; and

Whereas 129 children his age and 1,051 competitors from eight countries came together to compete, with Mark being the only Canadian to reach the finals;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Mark Dennis of Shelburne County for competing in the World Speed Stacking Competition in Denver, Colorado, in April 2008 and winning a silver medal in the 3-6-3 category and a bronze trophy in the Cycle competition.

RESOLUTION NO. 5855

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Marcus Devine of the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Association won the gold medal in the Atom B league tournament on March 8 and 9, 2008, held in Chester, Nova Scotia; and

Whereas hockey is an enthusiastic and passionate sport that requires skill, devotion, hard work and dedication; and

Whereas the coach, Derrick Penny, and assistant coaches, Travis Devine and Nichole Jones, are very proud of their team for their great sportsmanship and hard work in winning the tournament;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Marcus Devine of the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Association Atom B team for winning the gold medal in the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Atom B Tournament held in Chester on March 8 and 9, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5856

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

[Page 6158]

Whereas the Lockeport Greenwave senior soccer boys team was honoured at the Lockeport Regional High School for winning the provincial Division 4 Soccer Championship on November 1, 2008; and

Whereas Greenwave finished the season with a 15-5 record where the community welcomed the team as heroes, being led by a fire truck followed by 25 vehicles, residents flickering porch lights and the streets lined with sparklers and supporters; and

Whereas this is the second Nova Scotia School Athletic Federation provincial soccer banner in four seasons and marks the fourth senior's boys soccer title in the history of the Lockeport Regional High School;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate the Greenwave senior soccer boys team for winning the provincial Division 4 Soccer Championship on November 1, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5857

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Little Peoples Place of Shelburne celebrated 30 years of child care service to residents of Shelburne County on October 28, 2008; and

Whereas Little Peoples Place employs nine people and cares for 50 children ages 18 months to 12 years every day; and

Whereas dedicated staff, volunteers and community support have contributed to the success of the Little Peoples Place;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate the Little Peoples Place for 30 years of child care service to residents of Shelburne County.

RESOLUTION NO. 5858

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

[Page 6159]

Whereas Zachary Munroe of the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Association won the gold medal in the Atom B league tournament on March 8 and 9, 2008, held in Chester, Nova Scotia; and

Whereas hockey is an enthusiastic and passionate sport that requires skill, devotion, hard work and dedication; and

Whereas the coach, Derrick Penny, and assistant coaches, Travis Devine and Nichole Jones, are very proud of their team for their great sportsmanship and hard work in winning the tournament;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Zachary Munroe of the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Association Atom B team for winning the gold medal in the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Atom B Tournament held in Chester on March 8 and 9, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5859

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Island Days Dory Races in Clark's Harbour were held on August 16, 2008, with competitions held in four divisions; and

Whereas in the Mixed Class Division, Wylie Blades and Bobbi Jo Atkinson placed third in the competition; and

Whereas dory racing promotes Maritime heritage, healthy lifestyles, and family competition and fun;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Wylie Blades and Bobbi Jo Atkinson for placing third in the Mixed Class Division at the Island Days Dory Races in Clark's Harbour held on August 16, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5860

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

[Page 6160]

Whereas the Woods Harbour Fire Department placed fourth of 13 teams at the Atlantic Region Vehicle Extrication Learning Symposium in Windsor, Nova Scotia, on August 2 and 3, 2008; and

Whereas the Woods Harbour Fire Department participated with two teams and practiced for three months prior to the competition; and

Whereas the competition is viewed by the firefighters as an excellent chance to improve their skills and techniques;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulates the Woods Harbour Fire Department for placing fourth of 13 teams at the Atlantic Region Vehicle Extrication Learning Symposium in Windsor, Nova Scotia, on August 2 and 3, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5861

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Lockeport Pharmacy has created awareness throughout Shelburne County with a program called Vial of L.I.F.E. - Livesaving Information for Emergencies; and

Whereas Bevin Joudrie at the Lockeport Pharmacy has been running this service at no cost, allowing individuals to provide medical information in advance which can be used by emergency personnel in emergency situations; and

Whereas Bevin Joudrie believes this program would save lives if people with health problems had this in their homes;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Bevin Joudrie of Lockeport Pharmacy in creating Vial of L.I.F.E. program.

RESOLUTION NO. 5862

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

[Page 6161]

Whereas Veronica Smith-Hopkins has spearheaded the idea for the Chapel Hill Historical Society to create a Wall of Honour for War Veterans from the communities of Shag Harbour, Bear Point, Doctor's Cove and Atwood's Brook; and

Whereas these veterans from World War I to present day will be immortalized; and

Whereas the respect and honour so deserving will be shown for the veterans and their families through plaques commemorating each veteran at the museum;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly commend Veronica Smith-Hopkins for her dedication to the work of creating a Wall of Honour for War Veterans from the communities of Shag Harbour, Bear Point, Doctor's Cove and Atwood's Brook.

RESOLUTION NO. 5863

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Ulrich Johanns of Lockeport has been selected as the Volunteer of the Year 2008 by the Town of Lockeport, where he attended the Provincial Volunteer Awards Ceremony on April 24, 2008; and

Whereas Ulrich volunteers actively in Shelburne County as a board member for Discover Shelburne County, Shelburne Area & Chamber of Commerce, Sou'Wester Coin Club; and

Whereas Ulrich is a board member for Crescent Beach Centre and always is ready to lend a hand with church and community events;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulates Ulrich Johanns of Lockeport, who was selected as the Volunteer of the Year 2008 by the Town of Lockeport.

RESOLUTION NO. 5864

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Tristan Nathaniel Cole Nickerson of Shelburne County has been a member of the 3rd Barrington Cub Pack since 2002, with many noted achievements; and

[Page 6162]

Whereas Tristan has received six stars and six awards, including the Canadian Wilderness, Camper, Heritage, Arts, Healthy Living, and the Family Care Award; and

Whereas Tristan has earned more than 30 badges and has been involved with community and family-oriented functions throughout his life;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Tristan Nickerson of Shelburne County for being a 3rd Barrington Cub Scout since 2002, with many noted achievements.

RESOLUTION NO. 5865

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Island Days Dory Races in Clark's Harbour were held on August 16, 2008, with competitions held in four divisions; and

Whereas in the Seniors Row Division, Trevor Swim and Nathan Quinlan placed third in the competition; and

Whereas dory racing promotes Maritime heritage, healthy lifestyles and family competition and fun;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Trevor Swim and Nathan Quinlan for placing third in the Seniors Row Division at the Island Days Dory Races in Clark's Harbour, held on August 16, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5866

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Island Days Dory Races in Clark's Harbour were held on August 16, 2008, with competitions held in four divisions; and

Whereas in the Mixed Class Division, Trevor Swim and Megan Barnes placed second in the competition; and

[Page 6163]

Whereas dory racing promotes Maritime heritage, healthy lifestyles, and family competition and fun;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Trevor Swim and Megan Barnes for placing second in the Mixed Class Division at the Island Days Dory Races in Clark's Harbour, held on August 16, 2008.

[Page 6164]

RESOLUTION NO. 5867

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Island Days Dory Races in Clark's Harbour were held on August 16, 2008, with competitions held in four divisions; and

Whereas in the Junior Class Division, Titus Penney and Jeremy Chetwynd placed second in the competition; and

Whereas dory racing promotes Maritime heritage, healthy lifestyles, and family competition and fun;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Titus Penney and Jeremy Chetwynd for placing second in the Junior Class Division at the Island Days Dory Races in Clark's Harbour, held on August 16, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5868

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Thane Jones of Newellton, Shelburne County, was a bronze medalist in the 4 x 100-metre relay at the Royal Canadian Legion National Track and Field Championships in Quebec in August 2008; and

Whereas Thane qualified for the Nova Scotia/Nunavut Legion Track Team in July, being first place in the 200-metre and fourth place in the 100-metre team trials; and

Whereas Thane had an impressive season with his competitions in high school track, regional and provincial high school meets, junior/senior team selection meet, and at the Atlantic Track and Field Championships;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Thane Jones of Newellton, Shelburne County, for being a bronze medalist in the Royal Canadian Legion National Track and Field Championships in Quebec in August 2008.

[Page 6165]

RESOLUTION NO. 5869

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Tanya Mars of Middle Ohio, a part-time resident of Shelburne County, was awarded the 2008 Governor General's Award for her artistic achievements on March 28, 2008; and

Whereas the award was presented by the Right Honourable Michaelle Jean, Governor General of Canada, at Rideau Hall; and

Whereas 2008 marks the 9th annual presentation where Tanya has been active in the Canadian alternative art scene since the early 1970s;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Tanya Mars of Middle Ohio for receiving the 2008 Governor General's Award, recognizing her artistic achievements, on March 28, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5870

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Tanner O'Connell, bat boy for the Clark's Harbour Mosquito Foggies, helped to bring the team to victory in the district playoffs on August 9, 2008; and

Whereas the team pulled off an exciting two-game sweep in their best of three games district showdown with Yarmouth; and

Whereas the Foggies were then able to compete in the Mosquito A Provincials from August 22nd to August 24th in Bridgewater;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Tanner O'Connell, bat boy for the Clark's Harbour Mosquito Foggies, for helping to bring the team to victory in the district playoffs on August 9, 2008.

[Page 6166]

RESOLUTION NO. 5871

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Shelburne Special Olympics team participated in the Nova Scotia Provincial Summer Games in Halifax on June 13 to15, 2008; and

Whereas the team of 22 athletes competed against 750 other special Olympians from all over Nova Scotia; and

Whereas the team brought home 19 gold, eight silver, and eight bronze medals in events including bowling, athletics and masters competitions;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate the Shelburne County Special Olympics team for excelling at the Provincial Summer Games in Halifax on June 13 to 15, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5872

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Skylar O'Connell, player for the Clark's Harbour Mosquito Foggies, helped to bring the team to victory in the district playoffs on August 9, 2008; and

Whereas the team pulled off an exciting two-game sweep in their best of three games district showdown with Yarmouth; and

Whereas the Foggies were then able to compete in the Mosquito A Provincials from August 22nd to August 24th in Bridgewater;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Skylar O'Connell, player for the Clark's Harbour Mosquito Foggies, for helping to bring the team to victory in the district playoffs on August 9, 2008.

[Page 6167]

RESOLUTION NO. 5873

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Shelburne Youth Bowlers bowled in provincials on March 1, 2008, against Shearwater, Greenwood, and St. Bernard, to see who would go to the national championships May 2 to 6, 2008, in Edmonton; and

Whereas Chelsea Goulden won first in the senior girls; Landon Penny, third in the senior boys; Brandon Maden, first in the junior boys; Ashley Antonia, fourth in the junior girls; Leanne Goodick, first in the bantam girls; and Brendan Balcom, first in the bantam boys; and

Whereas the Shelburne Youth Bowlers brought home four first-place medals, one third-place medal, and one fourth-place medal;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate the Shelburne Youth Bowlers for participating in the provincials and their many wins.

RESOLUTION NO. 5874

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Shelburne County Lob Ballers participated in the Support the Troops Ball Tournament at the Grovestine Complex, raising over $1,300 on October 3, 4 and 5, 2008; and

Whereas seven teams participated, with Jack Dolliver's winning team donating their prize of $500 back to the troops' fund; and

Whereas monies from this tournament are used to fill boxes to send to the soldiers overseas, giving them a real feeling of home;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly thank the Shelburne County Lob Ballers who participated in the Support the Troops Ball Tournament at the Grovestine Complex, raising $1,300 on October 3, 4 and 5, 2008.

[Page 6168]

RESOLUTION NO. 5875

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Shelburne Bashers won the silver medal in the Bantam R Provincial Baseball Championships on August 30 and 31, 2008; and

Whereas the Bashers, hosts of the six- team tournament, opened with a 6-1 win in the first game, a 14-12 win in the second game, and a 19-0 win in the third game; and

Whereas in the semifinal play the Bashers won the game 9-3 and fell short of the championship banner, losing 11-6;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate the Shelburne Bashers for winning the silver medal in the Bantam R Provincial Baseball Championships on August 30 and 31, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5876

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Shelburne Bashers advanced to the Mosquito R Provincial Baseball Championships after winning their district playoffs on the weekend of August 16, 2008; and

Whereas the Bashers won three of their four games in the district playoffs, including a close one-run championship win against Liverpool; and

Whereas baseball is a team sport requiring skill and dedication;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate the Shelburne Bashers for winning their district playoffs on the weekend of August 16, 2008, and advancing to the Mosquito R Provincial Championships.

[Page 6169]

RESOLUTION NO. 5877

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Shelburne Auto Parts Bashers claimed the Shelburne County Minor Ball rookie title, winning with a 4-1 record in the playoffs tournament on September 20 and 21, 2008; and

Whereas the team won 9-2 over Liverpool, 7-6 over Clark's Harbour, and 10-9 over Goulden's Shell; and

Whereas the Bashers defeated the Clark's Harbour team 9-5 in the championship game;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate the Shelburne Auto Parts Bashers for claiming the Shelburne County Minor Ball rookie title, winning the playoffs tournament on September 20 and 21, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5878

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Shannon Garland of the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Association won the gold medal in the Atom B League Tournament on March 8 and 9, 2008, held in Chester, Nova Scotia; and

Whereas hockey is an enthusiastic and passionate sport that requires skill, devotion, hard work and dedication; and

Whereas the coach Derrick Penny and assistant coaches Travis Devine and Nichole Jones are very proud of their team for their great sportsmanship and hard work in winning the tournament;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Shannon Garland of the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Association Atom B team for winning the gold medal in the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Atom B Tournament held in Chester on March 8 and 9, 2008.

[Page 6170]

RESOLUTION NO. 5879

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Shale Nickerson of the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Association won the gold medal in the Atom B League Tournament on March 8 and 9, 2008, held in Chester, Nova Scotia; and

Whereas hockey is an enthusiastic and passionate sport that requires skill, devotion, hard work and dedication; and

Whereas the coach Derrick Penny and assistant coaches Travis Devine and Nichole Jones are very proud of their team for their great sportsmanship and hard work in winning the tournament;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Shale Nickerson of the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Association Atom B League for winning the gold medal in the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Atom B League Tournament held in Chester on March 8 and 9, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5880

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Scott Perry, player for the Clark's Harbour Mosquito Foggies, helped to bring the team to victory with the winning home run in the district playoffs on August 9, 2008; and

Whereas the team pulled off an exciting two-game sweep in their best of three games district showdown with Yarmouth; and

Whereas the Foggies were then able to compete in the Mosquito A Provincials from August 22 to August 24 in Bridgewater;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Scott Perry, player for the Clark's Harbour Mosquito Foggies, for helping to bring the team to victory with the winning home run in the district playoffs on August 9, 2008.

[Page 6171]

RESOLUTION NO. 5881

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Sandra Walsh, a Grade 12 social studies teacher at Shelburne Regional High School, was honoured with an award during Provincial Education Week on April 14, 2008, at the awards ceremony held in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia; and

Whereas the Provincial Education Week Award recognizes and honours educators who are doing exceptional work, shaping the lives of young individuals with skills and attitudes they need to become good citizens; and

Whereas Sandra is a selfless, caring woman of incredible energy, and an inspiration to the community and to her students;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Sandra Walsh for being honoured with an award during Provincial Education Week on April 14, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5882

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Ryan Dixon captured the 2008 River Hills Club Championships on August 30, 31 and September 1, 2008; and

Whereas Ryan defeated the Provincial Men's Champion, Aaron Nickerson, in sudden death playoff action; and

Whereas both Dixon and Nickerson were tied at 213 at the end of three rounds of play, with Dixon winning the playoffs after three holes;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Ryan Dixon for capturing the 2008 River Hills Club Championships on August 30, 31 and September 1, 2008.

[Page 6172]

RESOLUTION NO. 5883

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas craftsman Russell Crosby of East Jordan was commissioned by the Shelburne County Arts Council to build his fist mandolin; and

Whereas for 12 years Russell has been making guitars of high quality, known for their superior sound; and

Whereas the instrument commissioned by the Shelburne County Arts Council made its debut at Mike Elliott's annual kitchen party at the Osprey Arts Centre, in Shelburne, on Saturday, August 23, 2008;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Russell Crosby for his exemplary craftsmanship and the completion of his first mandolin.

RESOLUTION NO. 5884

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Clark's Harbour rowers Russell Atkinson and Fenton Cunningham captured their seventh Cape Sable Island Iron Man Row title, clocking a time of 4:12 in the 26-mile race on October 13, 2008; and

Whereas seven teams competed in the event; and

Whereas the Iron Man Row has been held nine times, with the fastest row being 3:55, also set by Russell Atkinson and Fenton Cunningham;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Russell Atkinson and Fenton Cunningham for capturing the seventh Cape Sable Island Iron Man Row title on October 13, 2008.

[Page 6173]

RESOLUTION NO. 5885

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Ronnie Crowell of Woods Harbour won second place, weighing in at 697 pounds in the Clark's Harbour Pumpkin Weigh-Off Competition on October 11 and 12, 2008; and

Whereas Ronnie's pumpkin weighed in at 700 pounds at the Shelburne competition; and

Whereas Ronnie won third place in the squash category competition in Clark's Harbour and Shelburne weigh-offs;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Ronnie Crowell of Woods Harbour for winning second place at the Clark's Harbour and Shelburne giant pumpkin competitions on October 11 and 12, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5886

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Roman Hines of the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Association won the gold medal in the Atom B League Tournament on March 8 and 9, 2008, held in Chester, Nova Scotia; and

Whereas hockey is an enthusiastic and passionate sport that requires skill, devotion, hard work and dedication; and

Whereas the coach Derrick Penny and assistant coaches Travis Devine and Nichole Jones are very proud of their team for their great sportsmanship and hard work in winning the tournament;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Roman Hines of the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Association Atom B team for winning the gold medal in the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Atom B Tournament held in Chester on March 8 and 9, 2008.

[Page 6174]

RESOLUTION NO. 5887

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Ray Green of Barrington, Shelburne County, was presented with the 2008 Professional Development Award at the Annual Recreation Nova Scotia Conference in Halifax on November 5 to 8, 2008; and

Whereas in 1985 Ray settled in Barrington and was instrumental in the development of numerous recreational programs and events which contributed to social, health and economic benefits to the community; and

Whereas Ray also made significant contributions to many professional organizations, including the Arena Managers Association, the Recreation Society of Atlantic Canada, the Yarmouth-Shelburne Recreation Directors Association, and the former Recreation Association of Nova Scotia;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Ray Green for being honoured with the 2008 Professional Development Award at the Annual Recreation Nova Scotia Conference in Halifax on November 5 to 8, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5888

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Philip Jones of Newellton, Shelburne County, competed in the Ice Hockey 65+ Division, winning second for the silver medal in Dieppe, New Brunswick, on August 26 to 30; 2008; and

Whereas all players in this hockey competition ranged in age from 65 to 82 years old; and

Whereas these national games began in 1996 and are held every two years;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Philip Jones of Newellton, Shelburne County, for competing in the Ice Hockey 65+ Division, winning second for the silver medal in Dieppe, New Brunswick, on August 26 to 30, 2008.

[Page 6175]

RESOLUTION NO. 5889

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Philip Jones of Newellton was awarded a silver medal for playing ice hockey in the 65+ Division in Dieppe, New Brunswick, on August 26 to 30, 2008; and

Whereas Philip's grandson, Thane Jones, also was awarded a bronze medal at the National Track and Field Championships in August 2008 in Quebec; and

Whereas Philip Jones and Thane Jones, grandfather and grandson, have been fortunate and successful in the year 2008 in their love of sports and competitions;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Philip Jones and Thane Jones for winning the silver and bronze medals in 2008, and best wishes towards future sports competitions and endeavours.

RESOLUTION NO. 5890

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Ruth Hatfield of Barrington Passage, Shelburne County, founded Ruth Rocks in August 2007, where she has artistically painted scenes of whimsical alien creatures on rocks; and

Whereas Ruth has painted nearly 130 rocks, where every rock is unique and has never been duplicated; and

Whereas Ruth's first rocks are on loan to the Shag Harbour Incident Society Museum, depicting scenes of aliens;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly recognize Ruth Hatfield of Barrington Passage, who founded Ruth Rocks in August 2007 and who artistically paints scenes of whimsical alien creatures, and extend best wishes for future endeavours.

[Page 6176]

RESOLUTION NO. 5891

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Patrick Symonds, a team member at the River Hills Golf Course, participated in a 6-4 record win for the Goudey Cup Annual event at the Yarmouth Links Golf Course on October 12, 2008; and

Whereas this is the 9th Goudey Cup win for River Hills; and

Whereas the competition was started 17 years ago to honour a Yarmouth native, the late Creighton Goudey;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Patrick Symonds for his participation in the Goudey Cup Annual Tournament at the Yarmouth Links Golf Course on October 12, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5892

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Pat Goreham, a team member at the River Hills Golf Course, participated in a 6-4 record win for the Goudey Cup Annual event at the Yarmouth Links Golf Course on October 12, 2008; and

Whereas this is the 9th Goudey Cup win for River Hills; and

Whereas the competition was started 17 years ago to honour a Yarmouth native, the late Creighton Goudey;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Pat Goreham for his participation in the Goudey Cup Annual Tournament at the Yarmouth Links Golf Course on October 12, 2008.

[Page 6177]

RESOLUTION 5893

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Nathan Roozes, a player for the Clark's Harbour Mosquito Foggies, helped to bring the team to victory in the district playoffs on August 9, 2008; and

Whereas the team pulled off an exciting two-game sweep in their best of three games district showdown with Yarmouth; and

Whereas the Foggies were then able to compete in the Mosquito A Provincials from August 22 to August 24 in Bridgewater;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulates Nathan Roozes, player for the Clark's Harbour Mosquito Foggies, for helping to bring the team to victory in the district playoffs on August 9, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5894

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Island Days Dory Races in Clark's Harbour were held on August 16, 2008, with competitions held in four divisions; and

Whereas in the Mixed Class Division, Nathan Quinlan and Nichole Jones placed first in the competition; and

Whereas dory racing promotes Maritime heritage, healthy lifestyles, and family competition and fun;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Nathan Quinlan and Nichole Jones for placing first in the Mixed Class Division at the Island Days Dory Races in Clark's Harbour, held on August 16, 2008.

[Page 6178]

RESOLUTION NO. 5895

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Morton Smith of Shag Harbour weighed the heaviest pumpkin in the Clark's Harbour Pumpkin Weigh-Off Competition, with 726 pounds winning first place on October 11 and 12, 2008; and

Whereas Morton's pumpkin weighed in at 730 pounds at the Shelburne competition; and

Whereas giant pumpkins require a tremendous amount of care and attention, beginning with soil preparation and seed selection to vine positioning and fertilizing programs;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Morton Smith of Shag Harbour for winning first place at the Clark's Harbour and Shelburne giant pumpkin competitions on October 11 and 12, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5896

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Ron Leary and Helen Leary, Bob Cushing and Mary Cushing of the Barrington Regional Curling Club mixed team qualified to represent Nova Scotia in the Canada 55+ Games held in Dieppe, New Brunswick, on August 26 to 30, 2008; and

Whereas there were 1,300 athletes from across Canada participating in 20 different sports events at the games; and

Whereas curling has become an essential element of grassroots Canada and is a sport attractive to all ages and participants;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Ron Leary and Helen Leary, Bob Cushing and Mary Cushing of the Barrington Regional Curling Club mixed team for qualifying to represent Nova Scotia in the Canada 55+ Games held in Dieppe, New Brunswick, on August 26 to 30, 2008.

[Page 6179]

RESOLUTION NO. 5897

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Island Days Dory Races in Clark's Harbour were held on August 16, 2008, with competitions held in four divisions; and

Whereas in the Women's Race Division, Megan Barnes and Bobbi Jo Atkinson placed first in the competition; and

Whereas dory racing promotes Maritime heritage, healthy lifestyles and family competition and fun;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Megan Barnes and Bobbi Jo Atkinson for placing first in the Women's Race Division at the Island Days Dory Races in Clark's Harbour, held on August 16, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5898

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Nolan Belliveau of the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Association won the gold medal in the Atom B League Tournament on March 8 and 9, 2008, held in Chester, Nova Scotia; and

Whereas hockey is an enthusiastic and passionate sport that requires skill, devotion, hard work and dedication; and

Whereas the coach Derrick Penny and assistant coaches Travis Devine and Nichole Jones are very proud of their team for their great sportsmanship and hard work in winning the tournament;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Nolan Belliveau of the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Association Atom B team for winning the gold medal in the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Atom B Tournament held in Chester on March 8 and 9, 2008.