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HALIFAX, MONDAY, MAY 6, 2013

Sixty-first General Assembly

Fifth Session

4:00 P.M.

SPEAKER

Hon. Gordie Gosse

DEPUTY SPEAKERS

Ms. Becky Kent, Mr. Leo Glavine, Mr. Alfie MacLeod

MR. SPEAKER « » : Order, please. We'll begin the daily routine.

PRESENTING AND READING PETITIONS

PRESENTING REPORTS OF COMMITTEES

MR. SPEAKER « » : The honourable Minister of Justice.

HON. ROSS LANDRY « » : 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:

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Bill No. 67 - Elections Act.

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Bill No. 69 - Statute Amendments (2013) Act.

Bill No. 71 - House of Assembly Act.

Bill No. 72 - House of Assembly Act.

Bill No. 73 - House of Assembly Act.

Bill No. 74 - House of Assembly Act.

Bill No. 75 - House of Assembly Act.

and the committee recommends these bills to the favourable consideration of the House, each without amendment.

MR. SPEAKER « » : Ordered that these bills be referred to the Committee of the Whole House on Bills.

TABLING REPORTS, REGULATIONS AND OTHER PAPERS

STATEMENTS BY MINISTERS

GOVERNMENT NOTICES OF MOTION

MR. SPEAKER « » : The honourable Minister of the Public Service Commission.

HON. MARILYN MORE « » : Mr. Speaker, I wonder if I might be permitted to make an introduction before I read my resolution.

MR. SPEAKER « » : Most certainly.

MS. MORE « » : In the Speaker's Gallery today we have three people who are very special to me: my son, Jeff Worth, and my grandchildren, Garrett and Laura. This is Garrett's and Laura's first chance to visit the House and I would ask my colleagues to give them a very warm welcome - if you'd like to stand, please. (Applause)

MR. SPEAKER « » : We welcome all our guests to the gallery and hope they enjoy this evening's proceedings.

The honourable Minister of the Public Service Commission.

RESOLUTION NO. 1197

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

Whereas the Excellence in Public Service Award is the highest form of honour a Government of Nova Scotia employee or team can receive to recognize outstanding or innovative work on behalf of all Nova Scotians; and

Whereas the Productivity and Innovation Voucher Program Team at Economic and Rural Development and Tourism directly contributed to the province's overall productivity and innovation by connecting small-business owners and entrepreneurs with Nova Scotia's universities and colleges; and

Whereas the Productivity and Innovation Voucher Program Team is helping dozens of businesses take their ideas to the next level;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate the Productivity and Innovation Voucher Program Team for being recognized with a 2013 Excellence in Public Service Award, for making our province a more productive and innovative place to do business, and thank all government employees for delivering high-quality programs to Nova Scotia families, communities, and businesses.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice and passage without debate.

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 Economic and Rural Development and Tourism.

RESOLUTION NO. 1198

HON. PERCY PARIS « » : Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Community Economic Development Investment Fund program contributes to community economic growth, sustainability, and employment; and

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Whereas the program was recently recognized by the World Economic Forum as a successful example of fostering social innovation and entrepreneurship, and local economic development; and

Whereas last year Nova Scotians invested a record-breaking $9.4 million in Community Economic Development Investment Funds;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly recognize and celebrate the success this homegrown initiative - Community Economic Development Investment Funds - has achieved, and the difference it has made to Nova Scotia's communities.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice and passage without debate.

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. 80 - Entitled an Act to Amend Chapter 282 of the Revised Statutes of 1989. The Members' Retiring Allowances Act. (Hon. Frank Corbett)

Bill No. 81 - Entitled an Act to Amend Chapter 277 of the Revised Statutes of 1989. The Builders' Lien Act. (Hon. Ross Landry)

Bill No. 82 - Entitled an Act Respecting the Official Flag of Nova Scotia. (Mr. Jim Boudreau)

MR. SPEAKER « » : Ordered that these bills be read a second time on a future day.

NOTICES OF MOTION

MR. SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Kings West.

RESOLUTION NO. 1199

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

Whereas today, May 6^th, marks the beginning of National Nursing Week, a time when we celebrate and recognize the vital contributions nurses make to the health and well-being of Nova Scotians; and

Whereas this year's theme - Nursing: A Leading Force for Change - celebrates the leadership role nurses play in the forefront of effecting change in the quality of health care; and

Whereas registered nurses and nurse practitioners are catalysts for change as they strive to find solutions to improve access to health services, bring increased attention to health promotion and illness prevention, and are invaluable advocates for the well-being of their patients;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of the Legislature acknowledge May 6^th to 12^th as National Nursing Week and salute the dedication, diligence, and professional commitment nurses bring to their respective workplaces on a daily basis.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice and passage without debate.

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 Argyle

RESOLUTION NO. 1200

HON. CHRISTOPHER D'ENTREMONT « » : M. le Président, à une date ultérieure, je demanderai l'adoption de la résolution suivante:

Attendu que l'Université Sainte-Anne a célébré les accomplissements de ses étudiants lors de leur Gala des mérites annuel du 6 avril 2013; et

Attendu que parmi les nombreux récipiendaires du gala, les étudiants, Colton LeBlanc de Quinan, et Karmanda Murphy et Diane d'Entremont de Pubnico-Ouest, ont été accordés le prix du Palmarès du recteur pour avoir conservé une moyenne de 3,8 ou plus au cours des deux trimestres précédents; et

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Attendu qu'Alyssa Comeau de Pubnico-Ouest a été également reconnue lors de la soirée pour être la joueuse de cross-country la plus améliorée;

Par conséquent, qu'il soit résolu que tous les membres de cette Assemblée se joignent à moi pour féliciter ses étudiants motivés et dévoués de leurs réussites et leur souhaitent plein de succès à l'avenir.

M. le Président, je demande l'adoption de cette résolution sans préavis et sans débat.

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

Whereas Université Sainte-Anne recently recognized the accomplishments of its students at their annual awards banquet on April 6, 2013; and

Whereas among many award recipients, students Colton LeBlanc of Quinan and Karmanda Murphy and Diane d'Entremont of West Pubnico were awarded the prize of the President's Honour Roll for having retained an average of 3.8 or higher over the two previous semesters; and

Whereas Alyssa Comeau of West Pubnico was also recognized during the evening for being the most improved player in cross-country;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly join me in congratulating these motivated and dedicated students and all the evening's other award recipients on their accomplishments, and wish them continued success in their future endeavours.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice and passage without debate.

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.

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The honourable Deputy Premier.

RESOLUTION NO. 1201

HON. FRANK CORBETT « » : Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the honourable Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Reverend Dr. Donald Campbell was a dedicated clergyman, educator, and community volunteer who passed away on April 29, 2013; and

Whereas one of the greatest legacies Dr. Campbell left to his fellow Cape Bretoners was the University College of Cape Breton, now known as Cape Breton University; and

Whereas during his years as president of UCCB as a classroom teacher and as a campus leader, Rev. Dr. Campbell played a significant role within the campus community which will not be soon filled nor ever forgotten;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly recognize the contributions of the late Rev. Dr. Donald Campbell and send thoughts and prayers to his family.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice and passage without debate.

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 East.

RESOLUTION NO. 1202

MR. ANDREW YOUNGER « » : Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Stepping Stone is the second-oldest sex worker support and outreach organization in Canada, offering services to female, male, and transgender sex workers, as well as former sex workers; and

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Whereas Stepping Stone offers not only a safe haven from the street but supports mental and physical health checkups, housing support, computer access, and educational opportunities in a non-judgmental environment; and

Whereas April 2013 marked 25 years of Stepping Stone's work making the streets safer and ensuring people in all walks of life have a better understanding of the challenges faced by sex workers;

Therefore be it resolved that members of the House of Assembly recognize Executive Director Rene Ross and the staff, partners, and supporters of Stepping Stone for their commitment and dedication over the last 25 years, and thank them for their tireless work.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice and passage without debate.

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 Inverness.

RESOLUTION NO. 1203

MR. ALLAN MACMASTER « » : Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas paramedics are on the front lines of emergency pre-hospital care; and

Whereas their professionalism, care, and compassion are an integral component of our health care system; and

Whereas paramedics are unsung heroes whose contributions impact people's lives each day;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly designate the last Monday of each September as Medic Monday, in recognition of the services provided by Nova Scotia's paramedics.

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Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice and passage without debate.

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. 1204

HON. CHARLIE PARKER « » : Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Mary Alice Ali of Lyons Brook, Pictou County, is a Grade 9 math teacher and Race-Culture-Heritage program adviser at Northumberland Regional High School, and acts as adviser to Northumberland's Environmental Committee; and

Whereas Mary Alice is also responsible for the formation and continued success of the school's Envirothon team, and was celebrated for how she finds a way to work messages of social stewardship, global perspective-taking, and environmental responsibility into her lessons; and

Whereas Mary Alice was chosen as Chignecto-Central Regional School Board representative for the 2013 Education Week teaching award on April 22nd, Earth Day, recognizing her efforts in helping students develop the skills and knowledge needed to shape a sustainable future;

Therefore be it resolved that this Nova Scotia House of Assembly congratulate Mary Alice Ali on being chosen for the Education Week Awards 2013 while representing Northumberland Regional High School and Chignecto-Central Regional School Board, and wish her every success in her future endeavours.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice and passage without debate.

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

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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 Bedford-Birch Cove.

RESOLUTION NO. 1205

MS. KELLY REGAN « » : Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Malcolm Pain of Bedford has run the Boston Marathon five times; and

Whereas Mr. Pain broke his leg several years ago, which kept him away from running for two years, and his doctor told him his running days were over; and

Whereas Mr. Pain came third in his category, men aged 75 to 79, at this year's Boston Marathon, breaking the four-hour mark and shaving 31 minutes off his time from last year;

Therefore be it resolved that the members of this House of Assembly congratulate Malcolm Pain on his running achievements and wish him well in his future endeavours.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice and passage without debate.

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 North.

RESOLUTION NO. 1206

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MR. EDDIE ORRELL « » : Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Tuesday, May 7^th, is World Asthma Day; and

Whereas according to the Asthma Society of Canada, three million Canadians live with asthma and it is the number-one chronic condition amongst children; and

Whereas approximately 250 people in Canada die as a result of asthma, despite the fact that more than 80 per cent of those deaths could have been prevented with an increase in education and awareness of the disease;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly recognize World Asthma Day on May 7^th in an effort to create awareness and increased education about this chronic condition that affects so many Canadians, especially children.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice and passage without debate.

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 Lunenburg West.

RESOLUTION NO. 1207

MR. GARY RAMEY « » : Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas National Volunteer Week was observed from April 21^st to April 27^th; and

Whereas an awards ceremony was held in Halifax on April 15, 2013 which honoured, among others, Mr. Robert Boudreau who was selected by the Town of Bridgewater for his significant contribution to his community; and

Whereas Mr. Boudreau has been heavily involved in the organization, funding, and construction efforts for Habitat for Humanity, making builds happen, and particularly in organizing two new builds in 2013, while at the same time serving as team leader for Ground Search and Rescue, serving as a member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, and working with Meals on Wheels;

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Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Mr. Robert Boudreau for receiving this award, and thank him for the significant contribution he's made toward making life better for those in his community.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice and passage without debate.

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 East.

RESOLUTION NO. 1208

MR. ANDREW YOUNGER « » : Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Benchmark Canada covers Canada's leading litigation firms and attorneys and recognizes litigators who have displayed the ability to consistently handle complex, high-stakes litigations in multiple jurisdictions; and

Whereas since 1859, McInnes Cooper has been one of the most respected law firms in Atlantic Canada with strategic partnerships in Charlottetown, Fredericton, and St. John's, as well as Halifax; and

Whereas McInnes Cooper lawyer Michelle Awad was honoured nationally in February at a Toronto ceremony receiving Atlantic Canadian Female Litigator of the Year award from Benchmark Canada;

Therefore be it resolved that members of the House of Assembly congratulate Michelle Awad on her prestigious award and wish her continued success.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice and passage without debate.

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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 West.

RESOLUTION NO. 1209

MR. ALFIE MACLEOD « » : Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas on Saturday May 4^th, the fifth annual Road to Recovery walk in support of Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia took place in Halifax; and

Whereas the event is the first of many that will celebrate Mental Health Week, an event that takes place throughout the province and in hundreds of communities across Canada from May 6^th to May 12^th;

Whereas the Canadian Mental Health Association introduced the awareness and education campaign in 1951 and has been providing information and support to those affected by mental illness since 1918;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly recognize Mental Health Week and the important work the Canadian Mental Health Association has been doing to provide support and education to millions of Canadians for 95 years.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice and passage without debate.

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.

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The honourable member for Richmond.

RESOLUTION NO. 1210

HON. MICHEL SAMSON « » : Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Richmond Rise Under-14 girls volleyball team competed at Volleyball Nova Scotia Provincial Championships in Halifax on April 19-20, 2013; and

Whereas Richmond Rise team placed fourth out of 21 teams at the Provincial Championships; and

Whereas the team consisted of Amber Keating, Bailee Sampson, Monique Savoury, Sarah Boudreau, Nikita Savoury, Madison DeCoste, Jade Marchand, Remy Savoury, Hayley Landry, Emma White, along with head coaches Melanie Samson, Carla Sampson, and assistant coach Mike Hawke;

Therefore be it resolved that the members of the House of Assembly join me in congratulating coaches and Richmond Rise Under-14 girls volleyball team for their hard work during the season and wish them continued success.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice and passage without debate.

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 Argyle.

RESOLUTION NO. 1211

HON. CHRISTOPHER D'ENTREMONT « » : Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas May is National Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month; and

Whereas every week two children are diagnosed with cystic fibrosis and one person dies from this genetic disease in Canada; and

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Whereas here in Nova Scotia on average 260 individuals suffer from the crippling disease of cystic fibrosis;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly recognize the resolve of patients suffering from cystic fibrosis here in Nova Scotia, and applaud the dynamic work of individuals who raise awareness and do what they can to ensure the lives of CF patients in Nova Scotia are more comfortable.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice and passage without debate.

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 Richmond.

RESOLUTION NO. 1212

HON. MICHEL SAMSON « » : Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Education Week 2013 is from April 21^st to April 27^th and provides an opportunity for the education community to acknowledge partners for their outstanding work; and

Whereas the Strait Regional School Board honoured some of their members during Education Week; and

Whereas amongst those honoured from the Strait Area School Board are Superintendent Ford Rice, Canso Academy principal Jeff George, St. Andrew's Consolidated principal Suzanne Delaney, and teacher Annette Daemen, East Richmond Education Centre principal Tanya Carter, Director of Programs and Student Services Monica Williams, board chair Mary Jess MacDonald, North Inverness board member Anne Peters, Canso Academy teacher Mike MacDonald, East Richmond Education Centre teacher Amy McCormack, and Whycocomagh Education Centre teacher Shelley Campbell;

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Therefore be it resolved that members of the House of Assembly join me in congratulating all those recognized with the Strait Regional School Board and thank them for their hard work and commitment towards education and our students in the Strait area.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice and passage without debate.

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 Inverness.

RESOLUTION NO. 1213

MR. ALLAN MACMASTER « » : Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas this week is Hunger Awareness Week in Canada, a week devoted to raising awareness about the solvable problem of hunger; and

Whereas more than 15,000 adults and nearly 8,000 children in Nova Scotia had to rely on community food banks last year, an increase of almost 40 per cent since 2008; and

Whereas people across Canada will work together to raise awareness by fasting, making donations to their local food bank, and sharing their experiences with others so we can one day eradicate the hunger problem here at home;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly show thanks to those working at our local food banks, and work toward a day when we see food bank usage dramatically decrease.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice and passage without debate.

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

Is it agreed?

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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 Clayton Park.

RESOLUTION NO. 1214

MS. DIANA WHALEN « » : Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Rory Flynn of Clayton Park, a Grade 9 student from Sacred Heart School in Halifax, along with her teammate Mattea Roach, recently won top honours in the prestigious Queen's University debating tournament; and

Whereas Rory excelled in her division, her brilliant efforts propelling her to achieve the distinction of being named not only Top Junior, but also Top Senior and Top Speaker at the competition; and

Whereas through this high standing, Rory has made her family, school, and community proud, and has qualified to represent Canada at Cambridge University, England, in May 2013;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Rory Flynn on her tremendous debating success this year at Queen's, and wish her the very best in England and in all her future endeavours.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice and passage without debate.

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 North.

RESOLUTION NO. 1215

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MR. EDDIE ORRELL « » : Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas quality end-of-life care is something every family wants for their loved ones; and

Whereas this week is National Hospice Palliative Care Week, a time when we raise awareness about the services and care available for families with loved ones suffering from life-limiting illnesses; and

Whereas it is also important to take the time to show gratitude and honour the achievements of the wonderful individuals who provide Canadians with the care and support they need during difficult times;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly acknowledge National Hospice Palliative Care Week and show our appreciation to those working in the field of hospice palliative care.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice and passage without debate.

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 Bedford-Birch Cove.

RESOLUTION NO. 1216

MS. KELLY REGAN « » : Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Stephen Lewis Foundation created Grandmothers to Grandmothers, a project dedicated to raising funds to assist grandmothers in Africa who are raising their grandchildren after they were orphaned by the HIV/AIDS epidemic; and

Whereas the Rockingham Grannies group has raised money by selling footstools and hand-sewn goods, and holding fundraising events like teas and fashion shows; and

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Whereas the Rockingham Grannies have raised over $75,000 in under five years;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate the Rockingham Grannies on raising $75,000 for the Stephen Lewis Foundation and thank them for their commitment to making life better for African families.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice and passage without debate.

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.

ORDERS OF THE DAY

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS

MR. SPEAKER « » : The honourable Deputy Government House Leader.

MR. CLARRIE MACKINNON » : Mr. Speaker, would you please call the order of business, Public Bills for Second Reading.

PUBLIC BILLS FOR SECOND READING

MR. SPEAKER « » : The honourable Deputy Government House Leader.

MR. CLARRIE MACKINNON « » : Mr. Speaker, would you please call Bill No. 76.

Bill No. 76 - Adult Protection Act.

MR. SPEAKER « » : The honourable Minister of Health and Wellness.

HON. DAVID WILSON « » : Mr. Speaker, I rise to move second reading of Bill No. 76, an amendment to the Adult Protection Act.

Everyone has the right to feel safe and live comfortably and independently in their communities. Trying to address the financial abuse of seniors has been on our agenda for several years, and it's a difficult situation that we've been working on to try to figure out exactly how we protect vulnerable seniors in communities across the province.

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Seniors who don't have the mental capacity to make decisions are among the most vulnerable members of our society, and we want to know if and when they are being financially taken advantage of so that we can help them. Health and Wellness works closely with the Department of Seniors and the Department of Justice, who have been collaborating with community-based programs and the RCMP and law enforcement to address seniors' abuse issues.

Mr. Speaker, part of the mandate of our department is to protect those who cannot protect themselves from abuse or neglect due to mental or physical incapacity. Up until now, the protection has applied to Nova Scotians 16 years or older who are victims of abuse or neglect because of mental or physical conditions, and unable to protect themselves. In those cases we intervene, as appropriate, under the Adult Protection Act that we have had in place for several years.

Up until now that protection has applied to Nova Scotians 16 years and older. The amendments that we introduced the other day to the Adult Protection Act will now provide the authority for the Department of Health and Wellness adult protection staff to investigate suspected cases of financial abuse of seniors over the age of 65 and who lack the mental capacity to make financial decisions.

Mr. Speaker, it is sad to say that there are cases in our province of financial abuse that extend into our communities and to some of our most vulnerable seniors who may not have government support to protect their financial resources. We know this is a problem - the Department of Health and Wellness receives approximately 50 to 55 referrals a year for financial abuse of vulnerable adults, which we currently do not have the authority to investigate. Financial abuse is the most commonly reported form of senior abuse to the Department of Seniors Abuse Information and Referral Line that we have right now. Our government cares about our seniors; we want to do everything we can to help them live well and independently in their communities, protected from financial abuse.

In 2010 the provincial Better Care Sooner plan outlined actions we could take to help seniors remain in their communities longer, recognizing the clear preference of most of those Nova Scotians, Mr. Speaker. That is why our government invested in home care, to make it more affordable. We support caregivers. We strengthened the community solutions that are adding more caregivers across the province to the home care network. Nova Scotians and their families want to have options and support that will allow seniors to stay in their homes longer, and in their communities. The government has made significant investment and has demonstrated to Nova Scotians that we are taking a different approach to helping seniors live safely in their communities for as long as possible.

Mr. Speaker, we know the public is concerned about this issue; neighbours, friends, and relatives want somewhere to turn if they suspect abuse and financial abuse. Today, the changes will give them that option. The staff in various departments have looked at several options before arriving at this decision.

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In the months ahead the department will work with the Office of the Public Trustee, the Department of Seniors, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Community Services to develop the program and implementation plan for the investigation of financial abuse. We want to strengthen the Act to ensure we have the authority to protect seniors from financial abuse.

Today, Mr. Speaker, is the first step, and it's an important step, to ensure that we have the opportunity and the authority to investigate potential abuse of seniors with their finances. I think over the years as MLAs worked in their constituencies they may have come across loved ones, community members, or friends of an individual whom they might suspect is under some financial abuse. The changes in this legislation will mirror what's happening in Newfoundland and Labrador, and in Prince Edward Island. We know this is an issue that is of concern to all members of the House and people within the community.

Over the next coming months we will work with our partners to ensure that we have the capacity to do the investigations through adult protection. One of the things we didn't want to happen is to have two separate systems. Currently, under the Adult Protection Act we have very capable and professional investigators who go in and investigate the possibility of abuse of individuals in our province.

I think as we move forward and we do some more education around this component, I think the services will be there for those seniors who find themselves being taken advantage of. I hope as this piece of legislation goes through its process here in the Legislature that we hear the input from members across the way and we hear any input from concerned community people around the changes of the Adult Protection Act.

I think it's an important piece of legislation that needed to be expanded to include the authority for the department for those investigators to look at and investigate the potential of financial abuse of our seniors.

I'm glad to be able to move second reading of this bill.

MR. SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Kings West.

MR. LEO GLAVINE « » : Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to rise in my place for a few moments to speak to Bill No. 76, which deals with amendments to the Adult Protection Act.

Once again we're debating a bill that has been two years in the making. We know from a major media story coming out of Digby this piece of legislation has been truly wanting to be updated and passed as soon as possible. I'm certain there have been more cases in the past, perhaps even in the past year, of a very notable nature but have not of course reached the media.

[Page 2050]

They've been unable to be addressed as we waited for this legislation to be tabled.

In fact, the minister himself said continuing care staff deal with about 50 to 60 cases per year which are reported but could not be acted upon. I hope after this bill is passed and proclaimed, this number may grow, and rightfully grow, because seniors who have been reluctant to come forward, caregivers and so on who are aware of these abuses, as well, knowing that nothing was going to be moved in their defence have not brought forth these cases. I think if that happens then I can say we, as legislators, have done a good job to look after some of our most vulnerable citizens.

It was interesting, in the bill briefing, the minister indicated that now that we have our fiscal house in order we are able to move forward with the requisite training and resources that are needed to bring this bill to the stage where it will help the public. Well, I would be remiss if I did not state for the record how disappointing that comment was. If we can't look after our seniors, if we can't give them the due diligence of investigation and legislative support that they need, then I think we have truly failed our seniors - and I mean that in the broadest context.

If the department has enough money to spend on self-promoting Better Care Sooner ads that do nothing but pat the government on the back, then they have the resources to spend on dealing with the very serious issues of financial abuse of seniors. Make no mistake, financial abuse of seniors is the most common and a very serious issue. Canadian research suggests that between 4 and 10 per cent of seniors will experience some form of abuse at some point in their life, and abuse of seniors can take several forms, often with more than one type of abuse occurring at the same time.

As I stated earlier, and as the minister stated, financial abuse is the most common form of elder abuse in the country. The sad reality is the abuser in financial abuse situations is often a trusted person in a senior's life such as a spouse or partner, family member, often an adult child, caregiver, or friend. Often seniors who are victims of abuse are reluctant to speak out. They may be more afraid of what will happen to them if they report abuse than of the abuse itself.

Sometimes seniors simply do not have the capacity to report abuse. In many cases coercion or threats are used to intimidate a senior. As we all know, they are very vulnerable, also those who have intellectual difficulties, those who are in early stages of dementia, all of these are situations that make our seniors much more vulnerable to abuse. They may also even be reluctant to report the abuse because they are ashamed about the abuse or embarrassed that they placed their trust in the abuser. Some seniors may also believe that it was something that he or she did that brought on the abuse. All of these consequences of financial abuse can sometimes lead to other deteriorations in the health and well-being of seniors and, most notably, in their mental health.

[Page 2051]

Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill and my parting comment, as I take my place, would simply be that I hope this is one piece of legislation that moves through the House, moves through Law Amendments Committee and is proclaimed in a very, very quick fashion. We know that there are cases to be brought forward but the inability to have something substantial occur and look after the abuse is not there in the legislation at the moment.

As I say, our seniors deserve this bill to move along and be proclaimed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Argyle.

HON. CHRISTOPHER D'ENTREMONT « » : Mr. Speaker, I, too, support the bill as it stands in front of us. I think the problem that we have is as Nova Scotians, as human beings, we find it abhorrent. I mean we can't possibly understand how somebody could willfully abuse a senior. We come from a society where we are supposed to listen to our elders, listen to our family members, take care of them as they move on in their lives. To even have to have a bill like this before us is, I think, a sad state for our society, to actually have to do this because this should not be happening, that anybody should be taking advantage of a senior or a loved one in their communities.

There has been a gap that has been identified, and I think it has been brought forward by this government with changes. Families, neighbours or anyone with concern about potential financial abuse of Nova Scotians of 65 years of age or older, who lack the capacity to make those financial decisions, will be able to report their concerns to the Department of Health and Wellness. I think there are a number of details that we will be looking forward to seeing as this does flow quickly through the House of Assembly.

I think it is just amazing, and a very sad state, that about 50 to 60 inquiries are made every year to the 1-800 line about seniors' financial abuse, far too many to be had. Of course this is something supported by the RCMP, by the Group of IX, and I think one where I agree with my colleague from the constituency of Kings West, that it is something we should just move on, quickly, in this House of Assembly.

The only parting thought is that I do hope that it is a little more than just an ad campaign that we see after this one, that it is truly put into the hands of Nova Scotians to take care of what we should already be doing and that is taking care of our loved ones and our seniors. Thank you very much.

MR. SPEAKER « » : If I am to recognize the minister it will be to close the debate.

The honourable Minister of Health and Wellness.

[Page 2052]

HON. DAVID WILSON « » : Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the members for their comments. Before I close, the main message I want with these changes that we proposed here for the Adult Protection Act is a message to those Nova Scotians who might be taking advantage of a senior financially - this government will not tolerate that abuse. That's why I'm proud to be part of a government that is bringing changes to the Adult Protection Act and I hope that this message gets out to those Nova Scotians who might be doing that, who might be taking advantage of seniors. I think by all indications here I don't think any member of this Legislature would want to tolerate that either.

I look forward to this piece of legislation moving forward and I'm honoured to close debate on Bill No. 76.

MR. SPEAKER « » : The motion is for a second reading of Bill No. 76. 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. CLARRIE MACKINNON « » : Mr. Speaker, would you please call Bill No. 70.

Bill No. 70 - Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy Professionals Act.

MR. SPEAKER « » : The honourable Minister of Health and Wellness.

HON. DAVID WILSON « » : I move that Bill No. 70 be read a second time. Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased today to rise on an important piece of legislation that was introduced on May 1^st. The Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy Professionals Act will replace the current Medical Radiation Technologists Act which was last amended in 1990. This is the current provincial legislation that guides and regulates the medical imaging discipline here in our province.

Mr. Speaker, our priority is to ensure that Nova Scotians receive the best quality health care possible and that includes the health care services Nova Scotians receive through an array of therapies provided by medical imaging and radiation therapy professionals. In essence, this new piece of legislation will allow more medical imaging professionals in Nova Scotia to control and regulate their profession and in turn provide better health care to all Nova Scotians.

The new Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy Professionals Act will modernize the current legislation by adding two diagnostic imaging disciplines to the self-regulating framework: magnetic resonance technology and diagnostic medical sonography technology. The bill specifically targets the use of ultrasounds for medical diagnostic purposes only and as a result will impact sonographers who are performing medical diagnostic examinations only. By doing this, Mr. Speaker, Nova Scotia will become the first jurisdiction in Canada to regulate and fully recognize the diagnostic medical sonography technologist as a distinct discipline within the practice. Self-regulation helps provide protection to the public through accountability which translates into improved health care for all Nova Scotians and that is always our goal.

[Page 2053]

I will note that while the Province of Quebec does currently regulate the practice of diagnostic ultrasound under the regulatory body, Technologues en imagerie médicale, en radio-oncologie et en électrophysiologie médicale, the practice of diagnostic ultrasound in Quebec does not meet the national competency guidelines established by the Canadian Association of Registered Diagnostic Ultrasound Professionals, and the Canadian Society of Diagnostic Medial sonographers. Under the current Act, magnetic resonance technologists, or MRTs, were also not a distinct group, these professionals practising medical resonance imaging technology in Nova Scotia were eligible, however, for registration with the Nova Scotia Association of Medical Radiation under the category of Medical Radiation Technologists.

This new legislation will bring MRTs to the fold in their own right, Mr. Speaker. Now MRI technologists will be listed as a distinct and separate group in the new Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy Professionals Act. Hand in hand with recognizing MRTs and diagnostic medical sonographers in this piece of legislation, the Nova Scotia Association of Medical Radiation Technologists and the Nova Scotia Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers are coming together to regulate the practice of medical imaging in Nova Scotia. With this new legislation, the groups representing the diagnostic imaging and radiation therapy professions will come together to form one college under one Act.

This is great news for those within the medical imaging discipline. The new Act will modernize the current medical imaging Act, and will recognize the important group of diagnostic medical sonographer technologists. With the formation of the new college to regulate and oversee our medical imaging technologists, we are helping to ensure that Nova Scotians receive the best possible care within our health care system.

I introduced several of them in the House last week when I introduced this. There were a number of individuals, organizations, and professional groups that have worked over the last couple of years to get to the point where we'll have one Act to self-regulate a number of professions and disciplines within the health care sector. So I want to thank them for the work and the co-operation within the Department of Health and Wellness, and the staff within the Department of Health and Wellness, to get to this point. I look forward to this piece of legislation going through its process here in the Legislature.

[Page 2054]

MR. SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Kings West.

MR. LEO GLAVINE « » : Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in my place to speak for a few moments on Bill No. 70, the Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy Professionals Act.

Any legislation that strengthens and enhances processes and accountability for self-regulated professions is a good piece of legislation. We welcome this bill. We welcome the additional professions that will be incorporated into the bill. I understand that the Nova Scotia Association of Medical Radiation Technologists and the Nova Scotia Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers submitted a joint request for amendments to expand a number of professions that would be included under the self-regulation framework. So today, we are debating a piece of legislation that has been two years in the making.

Once this bill has gone through the legislative process, there is still more work to be done before it is in effect and can truly protect the public. Regulations must be completed. It is our understanding that regulations for this particular bill will take about a year to complete. Given that this is the case, I am hoping that the minister will be able to confirm, perhaps through his closing remarks, whether the former Act remains in force until such time as this bill is proclaimed.

While we don't debate clauses to bills in second reading, I note that the former Act is repealed; however, without regulations which would bring this Act into force, there could potentially be a gap for those covered under the Medical Radiation Technologists Act. Perhaps the minister can address whether the current Act will remain in force until the new Act is proclaimed, or whether the current Act no longer exists until such time as Bill No. 70 is proclaimed. I look forward to this clarification.

Regulations and proclamations for self-regulated professions are important. We have debated in the House the college of paramedicine and the Massage Therapy Acts, both Acts that established self-regulated professions, and years after they were passed, they are still not enforced. There is an important message in this: while we debate these bills as being in the public interest, we need to make sure that they are available to be used to serve the public. The public need to know we can count on legislation to protect them, just like government purports them to be. In the case of the college of paramedicine and the Massage Therapy Acts, these bills are not yet, after years of being on the books, proclaimed in force.

The bill we are debating today does not deserve to be added to the college of paramedicine heap and the Massage Therapy heap. This bill, like others we have debated and passed in this House, deserve better. I look forward to going through Law Amendments, and moving on into a quicker process of legislation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

[Page 2055]

MR. SPEAKER « » : Thank you. The honourable member for Argyle.

MR. CHRISTOPHER D'ENTREMONT « » : Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I won't be speaking too long on this one either.

I think this shows a move by government to continue to streamline the processes. When it comes to self-regulation, it ends up being a difficult process in some cases, depending on the size of that profession. As we look at some of the experiences, smaller groups end up being very difficult to try to constitute. It gets very difficult in trying to find those regulations and getting that work done. I think that's why we see a lot of these groups never get to the point where the regulations get put in place and the Act actually gets proclaimed.

I hope that as all these different professions - it seems like every year there's a new profession in health care, a new piece of technology, a new way of doing things, which therefore constitutes new training and a new possibility of employment. Therefore, it creates these opportunities for new regulations or self-regulation.

I hope that the anticipated proclamation of one year does come to fruition. We can't be waiting too long on this one. A valid question from the member for Kings West on what happens in this particular case, does the bill - dated, of course, 1990 - stay in force or not? I believe that as we continue to roll along, more streamlining needs to happen to allow these groups to regulate themselves, but at the same time do it in an effective manner and do it in a way that it is not too expensive to its members. This can get quite expensive, especially when you start looking at the investigations that need to happen, especially when negative things come forward to those colleges.

Mr. Speaker, again, this is something that we can support as it goes along, and I hope that the minister can assure us that it will take a short period of time for regulations to come forward and for this to be constituted as a self-regulated profession. Thank you very much.

MR. SPEAKER « » : If I recognize the minister it will be to close the debate.

The honourable Minister of Health and Wellness.

HON. DAVID WILSON « » : Mr. Speaker, I thank the members for their input and comments. Just one concern would be that the current Act that regulates these professions would remain intact until any proclamation down the road. The main concern is ensuring that the public is receiving the appropriate care, and all the appropriate regulated disciplines would continue until the new Act would be proclaimed. So once the work is done, then we would start the process of repealing past legislation.

[Page 2056]

With that, I'm glad to close debate on Bill No. 70.

MR. SPEAKER « » : The motion is for second reading of Bill No. 70.

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

The motion is carried.

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

The honourable Deputy Government House Leader.

MR. CLARRIE MACKINNON « » : Mr. Speaker, would you please call Bill No. 78.

Bill No. 78 - Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation (Nova Scotia) Act.

MR. SPEAKER « » : The honourable Minister of Energy.

HON. CHARLIE PARKER « » : Mr. Speaker, I move that Bill No. 78, an Act to Amend Chapter 3 of the Acts of 1987, the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum

Resources Accord Implementation (Nova Scotia) Act, occupational health and safety law reform, be now read for a second time.

I am pleased to be here in this House of Assembly today to speak to Bill No. 78. Actually, as you remember, I introduced the amendment to the bill in this Legislature just on Friday of last week. I would like to share more details about the proposed amendments to Nova Scotia's version of the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation (Nova Scotia) Act.

The changes I am proposing will formally establish offshore workers' occupational health and safety rules into legislation. Mr. Speaker, the offshore oil and gas industry is a strong contributor to Canada's economy. We know that Newfoundland and Labrador have seen the positive effects of growth of this industry in their economy. Here in Nova Scotia, we've benefited from jobs from our offshore activity, and we're poised to see significant growth in the sector in upcoming years.

Before I discuss the details of the proposed amendments, I'd like to establish the context around how Occupational Health and Safety is managed at both the federal and provincial levels. The Atlantic Accords that we're discussing were signed in 1985 between Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador, and in 1986 between Canada and Nova Scotia. These two Accord Acts were intended to facilitate the orderly development of petroleum resources in Canada's Atlantic offshore areas.

[Page 2057]

The Accord Acts established that Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board and the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board and made the two boards responsible on behalf of the federal government and the respective provincial governments for joint management of petroleum resources in their offshore areas. The offshore boards oversee health, safety, environmental protection, resource management, and benefits, in our offshore.

The federal and provincial governments, through the federal Minister of Natural Resources Canada and the provincial ministers responsible for energy are currently responsible for establishing the regime for offshore operational safety and Occupational Health and Safety which are administered by our offshore boards. The amendments that are being proposed today will provide clear authority on issues related to Occupational Health and Safety. They will put in place the necessary laws to better protect individuals involved in our offshore oil and gas industry.

Nova Scotia's legislative amendments mirror changes that were introduced at the federal level and also in Newfoundland and Labrador this past week. The goal is to establish one consistent set of Occupational Health and Safety rules for the offshore oil and gas workers across all jurisdictions. The amendments to the Accord Act will first of all clarify the roles and responsibilities of governments, regulators, employers and employees; will enshrine authority for Occupational Health and Safety into the Accord Act; and also provide the authority for regulators to disclose information to the public related to Occupational Health and Safety.

Industry and offshore employees need consistent regulations when it comes to health and safety on the job, especially since we're dealing with an industry that overlaps federal jurisdiction and two provinces. The standards need to be clear and complete and that's what we're looking to accomplish by amending the Accord Acts which are currently not sufficient to deliver the clarity and consistency the industry and our offshore workers need.

The Accord Acts contain regulations that address operational safety, but when it comes to Occupational Health and Safety there is a legal uncertainty where responsibility is divided between the provincial government's Occupational Health and Safety regime and the terms of the Accord Acts themselves. Because of this division, the offshore boards are forced to draft rules that really are a hybrid of the Canada Labour Code and provincial Occupational Health and Safety regulations and append them as a condition of approval for work authorizations.

Federal and provincial governments in Nova Scotia and in Newfoundland and Labrador are proposing amendments to their respective Accord Acts that will clearly clarify responsibilities and establish the Act as the only set of rules for Occupational Health and Safety in the offshore oil and gas industry. I'm pleased to say that the three jurisdictions consulted with stakeholders in 2010 and received positive feedback. Stakeholder feedback has been addressed and included as part of these amendments.

[Page 2058]

Natural Resources Canada worked with the governments of Newfoundland and Labrador and in Nova Scotia in consultation with our offshore boards to develop the policy basis for this legislation. The underlying principles of this legislation include a number of things, and I'll go through them briefly: Offshore Occupational Health and Safety laws that provide workers with protection that is as least as good as that which exists for onshore workers; protection of employee rights, and those rights would include items such as to know, to participate, to refuse and be protected from reprisal; and support for an Occupational Health and Safety culture that recognizes the shared responsibilities in the workplace.

It also includes such things as clear separation of Occupational Health and Safety and production issues, joint management by the federal and provincial governments, comprehensive application to offshore petroleum activities, and also an effective and efficient regulatory regime.

Mr. Speaker, the good news is these legislative changes will make it easier for employers and employees to understand their rights and responsibilities. They will ensure offshore workers of protections that are at least as strong as those that work on land, here onshore. Negotiations to address this gap have been underway for some time. Actually they were prompted by the very unfortunate death of a Newfoundlander, Shawn Hatcher, who was killed working in Nova Scotia's offshore in the year 1999. Now that these important legislative changes are moving through the legislative process, they stand to improve the clarity and transparency for operations in our offshore.

Mr. Speaker, the amendments will also create more legal certainty and will transfer provincial oversight for offshore occupational health and safety policy now to the Department of Labour and Advanced Education, rather than the Department of Energy, where they currently reside. The federal Minister of Natural Resources will, in consultation with the federal Minister of Labour, maintain responsibility for the offshore health and safety regulations at the federal level.

Nova Scotia is introducing proposed amendments to the Accord Act, alongside the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and our federal counterparts. The proposed changes will provide consistency in the occupational health and safety regime and create a stronger system for the industry overall. Offshore oil and gas workers and their families will be better protected at work. They will have clarity around what protections apply when working offshore and the oil and gas industry will also benefit by having one clear occupational health and safety standard with which to comply.

Mr. Speaker, it goes without saying that the offshore petroleum industry is a good source of jobs for Nova Scotians. It is billions of dollars in revenue for our province and we are making sure the industry is going to be safe and the workers will be protected as a priority. This legislation complements the work that is underway to promote workplace safety in every industry across our province and to ensure that all workers, whether they work on land or whether they work at sea, will return home safely from work.

[Page 2059]

Finally, Mr. Speaker, I look forward to moving ahead with these amendments to the Accord Act and to doing our part to protect oil and gas workers in the province. I want to thank all members for listening and I am pleased again to move Bill No. 78 for second reading and I look forward to seeing it move forward to the Law Amendments Committee. Thank you very much.

MR. SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Dartmouth East.

MR. ANDREW YOUNGER « » : Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to speak about this bill today, Bill No. 78. It is interesting when you end up having a bunch of bills come forward that are a mirror image with the federal government on the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act. I had somebody ask me outside, what's the difference between the two bills? Obviously they are very different, as the minister knows, but I know that it is sometimes hard for the public to understand, when you have a couple of bills with similar names coming forward.

Mr. Speaker, the work to get this bill done has been underway since 1999, and I certainly recognize that it is a very lengthy and complicated process when you are dealing with multiple levels of government to get this stuff done and in this case actually dealing with Newfoundland and Labrador as well.

It was an interesting discussion that I had, after the minister's briefing the other day, with Barbara Pike with the Maritime Energy Association - I think that's what they changed their name to - and Rick Clarke, with the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour. The three of us were discussing this the other day and a couple of the observations we made were - and I don't want this to come across as that I'm against this because I think this is a good bill - but where do we go from here?

I think we need to discuss where we go from here because this took since 1999. It has gone through a few different governments in Nova Scotia, as a result of a fatality here, but there are a few things that we can continue to work on. One is harmonizing the safety rules between Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia, and probably at this point potentially Quebec as they come into that offshore - although that might be more complicated, but at least between Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia.

For example, if you commission a rig for use in offshore Nova Scotia, there is no guarantee that that rig will also be approved for use in Newfoundland and Labrador, and vice versa, which makes it very difficult to move back and forth. That means that it could be something as simple as having to have a pipe move one way or the other, or the compression of the fire suppression system - simple things that are obviously important, and you want the highest level of safety, but sometimes it's about separation distance between wires or pipes or the size of a door, and they could be different in two different places. I think that that is something that over time would certainly make offshore Atlantic Canada generally much more attractive, because you'd be able to move your offshore rigs and so forth around with much more ease, and you'd have a lot more transparency. I think that's an important thing.

[Page 2060]

The other thing is that the minister will be aware, from the bill I introduced a few times here on offshore safety, that since 1999, when the process to create this bill came forward, there was a fatality off Newfoundland and Labrador as a result of a helicopter running dry on oil. They've changed the regulations in Newfoundland and Labrador now, so that helicopters have to be able to run dry for a given amount of time. I've got no idea, Mr. Speaker, exactly what that amount of time is, but they have to run dry.

One of the recommendations of that board, which obviously was subsequent to this process starting, was that an independent safety regulator should be created. In fact, they said, ". . . the safety regulator should be separate and independent from all other components of offshore regulation and should stand alone, with safety being its only regulatory task."

The good thing about this bill is that it starts to go in that direction. It creates the mechanism where there is a safety person, but it still falls under CNSOPB and the Newfoundland and Labrador equivalent. That's significant, because I think that where a lot of people in offshore safety - and we had somebody here a little while ago, Mr. Rick Grant, who is one of the world's leading experts in offshore safety - is that if you could get Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia, just for cost efficiencies, to come together and create, out of the positions that this bill enables, an independent safety regulator, then we would be that much further ahead.

I don't want to suggest for a second that the minister should have included that in this bill. I understand that this bill results from negotiations that began in 1999, and to add something at the last minute - and when you're talking about a 14-year process, the "last minute" is any time in the past couple of years - is difficult when you're introducing mirror legislation in Newfoundland and Labrador and the federal government. It's not so much an observation of the issues associated with this bill as it is where we could be going from here. I've asked the minister questions about that in the past, and it's my hope that the minister will begin those negotiations now that we've gotten this far and have this bill.

As we look at this bill, I'm sure there will be people who will come forward at the Law Amendments Committee and say that there should be this amendment or that amendment. Of course, this is mirror legislation within the province and the federal government, so this has taken 14 years to get here. I have not gone through every word of this bill, although I did take a quick read through it the other day. It appears to be on the right track, and it appears to have the support - wide-ranging support at all levels of government, from industry and from labour - and I think that that speaks volumes that this is a step in the right direction.

[Page 2061]

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to this bill going through the process. I just hope that the minister will - now that this is on the shelf and behind us - now that we have the recommendations from 1999 taken care of, I hope we will now be able to look at the recommendations from 2011 and 2012 from Newfoundland and Labrador, where they said the next step after this is to pull it together and move safety into an independent agency entirely. I hope the minister and his department will give that consideration. Thank you very much.

MR. SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Hants West.

MR. CHUCK PORTER « » : I'm glad to have a moment or two tonight to speak to this bill, Bill No. 78. I'm not going to take a long time, just a couple of minutes.

I wanted to show our support as a caucus for this bill. The more we can do to recognize the safety in this industry - in every industry that we are involved in, when it comes to occupational health and safety and protecting those men and women who are getting out every day to go to work. It's imperative that they come home to their families, and every bit that we do to strengthen what has been since 1999 a very long coming together of this thing - I know that partly it has to do with the feds and some other things, but it's certainly worth having here to debate and to get through this Legislature and put in place and protect all those who are going to work, regardless of their industry, but especially in an industry like this, that we know has certain dangers around it. We want to make sure that the right thing is done.

With those few words, Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to stand and put on the record that we will be supporting this legislation.

MR. SPEAKER « » : If I recognize the minister it will be to close the debate.

The honourable Minister of Energy.

HON. CHARLIE PARKER « » : Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I want to thank all honourable members for their interventions and the support they've shown for this bill.

This bill is an important bill. It's true, it has taken 14 years to get to this point, but it's through the co-operation of the federal government and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and our own government that we are finally able to bring in this legislation. It will really help improve health and safety for our offshore workers and build a stronger industry.

[Page 2062]

Mr. Speaker, again, I am pleased to move second reading of Bill No. 78, and look forward to it going on to the Law Amendments Committee.

MR. SPEAKER « » : The motion is for second 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 be referred to the Committee on Law Amendments.

The honourable Government House Leader.

HON. FRANK CORBETT « » : Mr. Speaker, I move that you do now leave the Chair and the House resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole House on Bills.

MR. SPEAKER « » : The motion is carried.

We will now take a short recess while we set up for the Committee of the Whole House on Bills. Thank you.

[5:22 p.m. The House resolved itself into a CWH on Bills with Deputy Speaker Ms. Becky Kent in the Chair.]

[6:04 p.m. CWH on Bills rose and the House reconvened. Mr. Speaker, Hon. Gordie Gosse, 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 No. 59 - Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation (Nova Scotia) Act.

Bill No. 66 - Mariners' Day Act.

Bill No. 67 - Elections Act.

Bill No. 69 - Statute Amendments (2013) Act.

Bill No. 71 - House of Assembly Act.

Bill No. 72 - House of Assembly Act.

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Bill No. 73 - House of Assembly Act.

Bill No. 74 - House of Assembly Act.

Bill No. 75 - House of Assembly Act.

and the chairman has been instructed to recommend these bills to the favourable consideration of the House, without amendments; and

Bill No. 55 - Protection of Animal Welfare and Security Act.

which was reported with certain amendments by the Committee on Law Amendments to the Committee of the Whole House, without further amendments, and the chairman has been instructed to recommend these bills to the favourable consideration of the House.

MR. SPEAKER « » : Ordered that these bills be read a third time on a future day.

The honourable Government House Leader.

HON. FRANK CORBETT « » : Mr. Speaker, with the unanimous consent of the House, can we revert to the daily routine, Presenting Reports of Committees?

MR. SPEAKER « » : Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.

The motion is carried.

PRESENTING REPORTS OF COMMITTEES

MR. SPEAKER « » : The honourable Minister of Justice.

HON. ROSS LANDRY « » : 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. 61 - Cyber-safety Act.

Bill No. 62 - Protection for Persons in Care Act.

and the committee recommends these bills to the favourable consideration of the House, with certain amendments.

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MR. SPEAKER « » : Ordered that these bills be referred to the Committee of the Whole House on Bills.

The honourable Government House Leader.

HON. FRANK CORBETT « » : Mr. Speaker, with the unanimous consent of the House, could we revert to Public Bills for Third Reading for the bills reported from the Committee of the Whole House on Bills, Bill Nos. 55, 59, 66, 67, and 69.

MR. SPEAKER « » : Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.

The motion is carried.

The honourable Government House Leader.

HON. FRANK CORBETT « » : Mr. Speaker, 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. FRANK CORBETT « » : Mr. Speaker, would you please call Bill No. 55.

Bill No. 55 - Protection of Animal Welfare and Security Act.

MR. SPEAKER « » : The honourable Minister of Agriculture.

HON. JOHN MACDONELL « » : Mr. Speaker, I move third reading of Bill No. 55, and I want to make a couple of comments.

The members opposite on the Progressive Conservative benches would hopefully recognize that we included an amendment that they were interested in on the transportation of animals, or the ability for the minister to make regulation in that regard. Also, from comments from the Liberal caucus, in second reading, there is authority in the Act already for judges to have discretion on banning people from having animals - that's already there - and also the regulation-making power of the minister which would include his ability to make regulation around tethering of animals as well.

We will hopefully soon get to the point of being able to consult with stakeholders on those issues, among many others. So with that, I move third reading of Bill No. 55.

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MR. SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Kings West.

MR. LEO GLAVINE « » : Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to rise and just say a few words at third reading. I believe the Committee on Law Amendments process worked well with regard to this bill. Those who came to offer interventions had very passionate and strong points of view in the protection of animals. Their concern, and hopefully addressed by the minister, is that they will be able to have some say as the regulations are developed, that their input, based on a lifetime of caring for animals, will actually show up in the regulations, to give greater protection and to deal in a stronger fashion to those who abuse, especially, companion pets.

We'll have to see how that moves along over the next number of months, but I am pleased that government has started a very, very important process to fulfill some of the gaps that existed in legislation. I guess I am still strong on the banned concept for animal abusers, and we'll have to see how the new set of fines work and what kind of a deterrent they do place. So with that, Mr. Speaker, I take my place.

MR. SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Argyle.

HON. CHRISTOPHER D'ENTREMONT « » : Mr. Speaker, I, too, thank the minister for those amendments as they were brought forward to us. The issue has been brought to me on a couple of occasions of the tethering of animals, especially in the back of trucks as they drive down the road. I don't know how many times you've seen this dog going back and forth in a truck. I know some individuals who have lost their animals off the back of the truck, unknown to them, until a number of hours later they realize the dog is missing.

It's good to be able to create a set of regulations that will fit in around that, to allow the police to make a decision one way or another, whether the animal is being kept in an unsafe manner or not.

Again, this is a bill that is going to be very dependent on the regulations that will be brought forward so I look forward to that process as it goes along. There are 4,000-some Nova Scotians who signed a petition for this House of Assembly who are looking for changes to our regulations and, of course, to the rules governing companion animals, to make sure they are kept safe because they are very much family members that we have.

There is a final detail that's important, I think, to me and to that petition that was brought forward, to make sure that the ability of people to work on these cases, so the caseload can be shared around to the SPCA or to other Department of Agriculture representatives, to be able to investigate cases of abuse in our province. I know the minister on many occasions has said that he feels there is enough manpower there but maybe being used in probably some of the wrong places, so I look forward to seeing that being shared across the province to make sure that there can be swift action when cases of abuse have been reported to either the SPCA or to the department.

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With that, Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for this bill and look forward to the work to be had on this one in the future. Thank you very much.

MR. SPEAKER « » : The motion is for third reading of Bill No. 55. 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. FRANK CORBETT « » : Mr. Speaker, would you please call Bill No. 59.

Bill No. 59 - Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation (Nova Scotia) Act.

MR. SPEAKER « » : The honourable Minister of Energy.

HON. CHARLIE PARKER « » : Mr. Speaker, I know that bill title is a mouthful, it's a long handle, but this is a very special bill so I'm pleased to move third reading of Bill No. 59. This will establish Sable Island as the 43^rd National Park here in our country and the third, of course, in Nova Scotia.

Sable Island is a very special place for our province and it's unique, it has a very fragile ecosystem, sand dunes and marram grass and some rather unique flora and fauna, including the Ipswich sparrow, that is found only on Sable Island and, of course, the famous Sable Island horses. I should mention they are horses, as my colleague the Minister of Communities, Culture and Heritage has often pointed out, they are not ponies, they are actual horses, but culturally very important to Nova Scotia.

Sable Island, of course, has been known for centuries as a land of shipwrecks and the Graveyard of the Atlantic and had Canada's first lifesaving station established there. We're very fortunate that it's part of Nova Scotia and now, with the collaboration of the federal and provincial governments, it's going to be enshrined forever and ever as a national park and be protected.

Yes, it's true there will be some restricted petroleum activities within a nautical mile of the shoreline, but not on the land itself. I'm just very pleased that it's going to be protected now for all time, for Nova Scotians and for Canadians.

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I also want to thank my colleague, the member for Halifax Citadel-Sable Island, the Minister of Communities, Culture and Heritage, for his work in promoting this as a national park and for many people who have really worked hard to see this bill come to fruition.

With those few brief remarks, Mr. Speaker, I am pleased again to move third reading of Bill No. 59 to establish Sable Island as a national park.

MR. SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Dartmouth East.

MR. ANDREW YOUNGER « » : Mr. Speaker, not only is it a cumbersome title it's the same title as the previous bill we had in second reading, just a slightly different one and I guess that's what happens sometimes.

This may be the very first time in four years that you'll hear me say these words, that the member for Halifax Citadel-Sable Island was right - now mark that in time because that's the only time in four years you have ever heard me say that. The other day I read a quote by him and he talked about some of the issues that were brought forward by people at the Law Amendments Committee and he noted that they were good points, but because this is mirror legislation with the federal government there is really no opportunity at this point to change that, and he is right about that.

I was given a call when this came to - it was introduced via the Senate in Parliament and I was called by one of the senators for Halifax, Senator Cowan, and one of the issues that was brought up at the Law Amendments Committee was the very issue I brought up then, the issue of airgun seismic testing on Sable Island itself; unfortunately even at that point, because it had been agreed to via all the parties, there was no opportunity to amend it. Now, do we need to be concerned about that? I'm not sure. Back in 1992 or 1993 I was working for Fisheries and Oceans and one of the things that we were looking at at the time was airgun testing off Sable Island. We put monitors on the ships to watch for dead fish coming up when they were doing these airgun tests, and there weren't any that came up.

The other thing we were looking for was whether the whale migration routes would change and that was significant at the time because, of course, at that time the gully wasn't officially a protected area under the marine protected areas Act of the federal government - I'm not sure if that's what the Act is called - but they're called marine protected areas. It is now, and it will have certain other protections under that marine protected areas Act for the whales in the gully area.

So the question is, what happens on Sable Island itself? Now undoubtedly you have to be able to access the wellheads that are there. I don't personally envision a problem, and there can always be problems and I'm never going to say nothing can happen because that's what they said when Deepwater Horizon happened, that's what they said with - the one in Newfoundland, that name escapes me at the moment. . .

[Page 2068]

MR. GEOFF MACLELLAN » : Ocean Ranger.

MR. YOUNGER « » : Ocean Ranger, thank you. The member for Glace Bay gave me a hand there. But anyway, accidents happen, Mr. Speaker, but what this will allow is you can have a rig a mile or so offshore and you can drill horizontally under the seabed, so you can drill under Sable Island. Conceptually that's fine because you're down deep enough that that shouldn't have any impact so the question becomes, but how do they know if there is oil or gas there. Well, they know that by doing seismic testing.

In the water they do it with airguns and they do it in different ways, including airguns, on land. That's where we'll run into the issue of whether that will ever happen and I guess that's a question. We know fairly well where those basins are in terms of oil and gas in and around Sable Island. We also know that those basins generally extend under the Island, which isn't all that big, and those geological formations are fairly well-known so the question is whether anybody would bother doing additional seismic on the Island in the first place because you basically know that the basins are there.

If the basin is only as wide as the Island you probably wouldn't bother because the resource would be so small it wouldn't be worth exploiting. You can probably do your seismic from the offshore area and you know that the basin is there, you know you haven't found the edge of it, it probably extends underneath, you're going to do a horizontal drilling, which of course they weren't really doing any horizontal drilling back when I was monitoring the air gun testing off the Island.

What will happen is you may find that they'll never do seismic on the island anyway because the mobilization of equipment to the island would just be too expensive and they will just do it from sea and it won't become an issue. We know from our experience that the impact of air gun seismic, in the offshore anyway, is minimal. You have to be careful, and you have watch. Anything can happen and I don't want to say everything is perfectly safe because there is no such thing.

That has been the main issue that has been raised by people who have concerns with this bill. I think that can be reasonably well resolved. The other part I would like to raise, which was raised early on, and I think this is where the hard work begins now, is access. We turn this into a national park - and I think protecting Sable Island is a good thing. I think most people would say that it was protected anyway because there were access restrictions. We're going to name it a national park. What that means federally, I don't know, because the way the federal Conservatives are cutting back funding for national parks, there may be no money to do anything on Sable Island, even the monitoring.

[Page 2069]

The big question is, where does the funding go - in light of federal cutbacks - for Sable Island as a national park? That's something this province and this minister and future ministers will have to keep their eye on. They will have to watch to ensure that we don't see something like what happened in Keji. Keji is a beautiful national park and then the federal government largely closed the doors for the winter and they said, sorry, this park is closed. Well, if they're not willing to put that funding at a federal level into supporting Sable Island as a national park, then the protections become meaningless.

The second part is, how do you assess access? On the one hand the mandate of Parks Canada is to ensure there is access to our national parks. But on the other hand you don't want thousands of people going out to the park. In practical terms, it's very difficult to get to Sable Island. It's going to be very expensive if people want to take a helicopter and it's a long boat ride, so it's not like taking a ferry to McNab's Island or a ferry to George's Island when they've opened those. But it is an issue that's going to have to be resolved because as soon as this becomes a national park, people are going to want to be there. There are all kinds of people who are going to say, I've always wanted to go to Sable Island and now they're going to want to go. That's going to be an issue that will have to be addressed and should be addressed soon.

I guess the thought that I would like to leave with the members, and the minister in particular, is the idea that the passage of this bill is important. This is an important step. I think the concerns that were raised in the Committee on Law Amendments and by others are valid concerns and they're real and they're things that can be managed and they can be managed as long as we keep the eye on the ball.

It will be the responsibility not just of the federal government but of the minister and the provincial government of the day - whatever government that may be - to ensure that the issues around access, the issues around seismic, the issues around what you let people do on the Island, what amenities you allow - whether it's wharfing facilities or whatever - are addressed before they become an issue. If we try and address them after it's already an issue, we're going to be in trouble.

The second issue, we need to be sure that we are fighting for the proper funding of Parks Canada because otherwise we're just going to run into exactly what we ran into in Keji where they just put a closed sign on the door.

I'm pleased to see this move forward but I stress that the work just begins today with the passage of this bill. Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER « » : The motion is for third reading of Bill No. 59. Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.

The motion is carried.

[Page 2070]

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. FRANK CORBETT « » : Mr. Speaker, would you please call Bill No. 66.

Bill No. 66 - Mariners' Day Act.

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

HON. STERLING BELLIVEAU « » : Mr. Speaker, I move third reading of Bill No. 66. I ask that the bill be read now for a third time. Just a few closing remarks - I want to thank all members of the House and I emphasize the word "all" here. There was a great participation but it was a special comment at the Law Amendments Committee - I want to thank the special group, the Canso Lions Club, for their kind remarks and I really am honoured to represent this bill. Thank you for your time.

MR. SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Richmond.

HON. MICHEL SAMSON « » : Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to see Bill No. 66, the Mariners' Day Act, proceed through the House. As was mentioned, there were certainly a number of interventions from members from all sides of the House on this bill.

I would just remind the minister during my comments I mentioned the fact that I hoped the bill possibly could have been presented in both languages, in English and in French, certainly in recognizing the Acadian culture here in Nova Scotia and the fact that almost every major Acadian community is alongside the ocean, which is a reflection of the attachment that there has been to fishing for the Acadian communities.

Since it was not brought as an amendment to the legislation, I would certainly hope that when this is going to be rolled out that the government would use the services available to it, especially in light of the French language services law that exists in the Province of Nova Scotia to ensure that all publicity on this, and the name itself of this day, is presented in both official languages.

With that, we certainly will be supporting third reading of Bill No. 66. Merci.

MR. SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Cape Breton West.

MR. ALFIE MACLEOD « » : Mr. Speaker, I just want to say as well that the Progressive Conservative caucus is proud to be able to support this bill. I want to again congratulate the minister for bringing it forward and to all of those who spoke on this bill in the second reading, I just wanted to say congratulations because I think this is a very worthy bill and it's something we'll all be able to take a little bit of pride in, in the fact that we passed it in this session. Thank you.

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MR. SPEAKER « » : The motion is for third reading of Bill No. 66. 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. FRANK CORBETT « » : Mr. Speaker, would you please call Bill No. 67.

Bill No. 67 - Elections Act.

MR. SPEAKER « » : The honourable Minister of Justice.

HON. ROSS LANDRY « » : Mr. Speaker, I move that Bill No. 67, amendments to the Elections Act, be now read for a third time.

Elections Nova Scotia has recommended changes to the Elections Act, the Act that sets out the rules for running an election in Nova Scotia. The amendments to the Elections Act are intended to make it clearer. They remove existing ambiguity that may make it difficult for Parties and candidates to comply with the Act.

There are some amendments to the Act which better define election expenses. The first allows disabled candidates who incur additional costs as a result of their disability to hold those costs outside of their allotted election expenses. This amendment ends the financial disadvantage these candidates currently experience and will reduce barriers for those who wish to run for office.

In addition to this amendment to election expenses, candidates will now be able to include costs incurred while travelling outside their district to a provincial rally or meeting, and they will also be able to claim close-out costs for a campaign office for seven days after election.

Mr. Speaker, there will also be some amendments which address campaign contributions. We are clarifying that organizations cannot buy tickets to fundraising events where a portion of the ticket price is a political donation - this change makes the Act more consistent and clear as candidates or political Parties cannot accept donations from organizations.

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We are also setting a $5,000 contribution limit for candidates who run independently, the same as the contribution limit for candidates who are affiliated with a Party. Currently, Mr. Speaker, the Act states that the individual can give up to $5,000 to a political Party of their choice in any calendar year; the Act also allows them to will donations of up to $5,000 a year after their death. The Election Commission believes this provision makes things difficult for the executor of an estate, since it could take years to pay out the bequest. These amendments will allow contributions left through a will to be available to a registered Party or Electoral District Association immediately in one lump sum. The Electoral District Association, or political Party, will then be able to draw annual instalments of no greater than $5,000.

There are also amendments which allow Elections Nova Scotia to collect data on 16- and 17-year-olds. It is hoped that this amendment will encourage the habits of voting in this younger demographic. Mr. Speaker, Elections Nova Scotia will use the collected data information to contact these young people to ask their permission to add their names to the voters list when they are 18, or eligible voters.

Finally, amendments to this Act will ensure that the political candidates be required to prove they have the endorsement of the Party they claim to represent before they register as a candidate. Otherwise, they'll be registered as an independent.

I think it's important to note that all amendments outlined have been requested by Elections Nova Scotia. I also want to point out that these amendments had the full support of all seven members of the Election Commission, which includes representatives from all three political Parties. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Halifax-Clayton Park.

MS. DIANA WHALEN « » : Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm pleased to speak a few words on this Bill No. 67, the Elections Act.

I was listening to the minister's remarks, and I didn't hear any mention whatsoever of any amendments that the government might have made or put forward that would address a deficiency, which is a loophole in the Elections Act, and I spoke about it on second reading, and I'm hoping that the minister has had a chance to listen.

But I would like to put it on the record again here at third reading, that there is a loophole in the Elections Act that the - our elections office, what is it? The commissioner? (Interruption) No, the Election Commission themselves had heard from Elections Nova Scotia that it was recommended that we close this gap. It relates to a feature where, at present, any of the Parties in this province could have a union or a corporation sign as a guarantor when they take out loans or lines of credit towards the election financing.

[Page 2073]

And we all know that changes were made here to the Elections Act to remove the involvement of unions and corporations in any of the financing of elections. We've brought in some very major changes that have very much changed the way we fundraise at local constituency levels, in the way we run our elections financing. I think it's just very important that in the spirit of that, we listen to the recommendations that have come from the Chief Electoral Officer which said that we should close the loophole that allows corporations and unions to underwrite, or in a sense to guarantee, loans that are made.

Now, Mr. Speaker, for clarification, I explained this on second reading, and I'm not sure if that was something that you were in the Chair for, but I'd like to go back to this and go over why it's a concern.

If the central Party, whatever Party it may be, has a union or corporation that guarantees their loan, there's not much chance that at the end of the day the union or corporation would actually pay if there was a default on that loan. And the reason for that is there are monies that go on a per-voter basis back to the Parties as part of our financing system. As you know, based on each riding, there is - we say a rebate, but it's not really a rebate. It's a provincial funding of the election essentially, and that money flows back to the central Party. So if the Party had defaulted on any loan, that money would then be used to cover the default. You would know a bank or a lending institution would know that the rebate is coming and that the loan would be covered.

But on a local level and on a district level, or our constituency level, as we say, those campaigns - and there'll be 51 of those campaigns being run for each of the three Parties - the three major Parties here in the province. Those district electoral associations can have a union or corporation co-sign or guarantee their lines of credit and their loans, and there is no rebate coming directly to the district association, and therefore there is the possibility that a district could default on their loan and the union or corporation could then be called on to make good on that loan. And that is something that's not in the spirit of the changes that were made to the Elections Act - it is a loophole, and it needs to be corrected.

And I think that it just allows for an occurrence that we can perhaps foresee, and we can fill that gap. We can make sure that the wording is clear - that this oversight, let's say, in the current Act is corrected.

I was surprised that the minister didn't reference my comments from second reading or give an opinion about whether or not that is being looked at because it was recommended as a change. Again, we listened to those servants of the House that we have, we have a number of them. The Chief Electoral Officer definitely is someone who ensures that we have the best rules in place when the elections come and, therefore, their recommendations to keep us at the cutting edge of good legislation and good practices here in the province need to be listened to.

[Page 2074]

As I say, I was very surprised that there was no comment about that. We have the opportunity with the Act before us. It is being opened up to make some other small changes. This would be a perfect time to clarify that that's not allowed anymore and that there will be no opportunity for unions, at the end of the day, to possibly finance a campaign, or corporations to finance a campaign. I think it is part and parcel of making our rules the best in the country.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I will sit down on Bill No. 67. This is the third reading. I gather that there has been no move by the government to address this shortfall and I will say again, it has been brought to all Parties' attention by the Chief Electoral Officer. It was brought to the commission where we all have members who sit on the electoral commission to look at that and by not addressing it, I can only assume that people are intending to use this as a means to get guarantors or to cover off loans during elections, at least to have that as a backstop. You could ask unions or corporations to guarantee the loans and that's really not what any members of this House, I think, would have intended the Act to allow.

I would, again, ask the minister to consider that once more. Perhaps we're too late now but the minister could signal an intent to look at it in the future or make some provisions that could perhaps clarify that for members that that's not something that we're going to allow and that it will be changed in the Act in the near future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER « » : The motion is for third reading of Bill No. 67. 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. CLARRIE MACKINNON « » : Mr. Speaker, would you please call Bill No. 69.

Bill No. 69 - Statute Amendments (2013) Act.

MR. SPEAKER « » : The honourable Minister of Justice.

HON. ROSS LANDRY « » : Mr. Speaker, I move that Bill No. 69, amendments to the Statute Amendments (2013) Act be now read a third time. This bill addresses housekeeping amendments to seven pieces of legislation, changes to the Act ranging from Body Armour Control Act to the Motor Vehicle Act. To begin I will quickly review changes to the Body Armour Control Act.

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The Body Armour Control Act governs the use of body armour in the province to ensure that people with a valid permit can have and use the body armour. Mr. Speaker, the amendments being proposed would add security agents and agencies to the list of jobs that do not require a person to have a permit for body armour.

Changes to the Fatality Investigations Act are also proposed. These will allow investigators authorized by the Chief Medical Examiner to issue a certificate to allow a body to be cremated or removed from the province. These changes are more efficient and cost effective and bring Nova Scotians in line with Alberta and Manitoba.

There are also amendments being proposed to the Motor Vehicle Act. This bill proposes that Nova Scotians report to police any auto collision where there is more than $2,000 worth of damage. Right now, Mr. Speaker, it's a $1,000 threshold, which we know doesn't reflect the current cost of repairs.

We are also amending the Motor Vehicle Act to correct references to the Criminal Code, which reflect changes made to the federal government. We need to ensure we have referenced the right sections in the Motor Vehicle Act. The sections of the Act that outline when a driver's licence is revoked also need to be amended. The theft of a motor vehicle needs to be added to the list of Criminal Code offences that trigger a licence being revoked. We are also clarifying that the Registry of Motor Vehicles can revoke a person's licence more than once if they are convicted of any of the listed Criminal Code offences. This clarification reflects current practices.

I'd like to move now to amendments to the House of Assembly Act. Elections Nova Scotia has recommended minor boundary changes in Meat Cove and in Mineville, which it believes would make elections easier to administer. These amendments change the boundaries slightly between the Dartmouth-Preston and Eastern Shore electoral district and between Inverness and Victoria-The Lakes. Changing the boundaries in those areas will affect 20 electors in Meat Cove and three electors in Mineville, all of whom have been notified.

I will end with three additional amendments, which I will quickly review. An amendment to the Housing Development Corporation Act will change the name of the Nova Scotia Housing Development Corporation to Housing Nova Scotia. It will also update outlined ministerial and departmental references. We are correcting drafting errors in the Public Interest Disclosure of Wrongdoing Act. And finally, cadets' organizations have asked that we change the date of Sea, Army, Air and Navy League Cadets Day. It will be moved from the first Saturday in November to the first Saturday in October.

Those are the changes contained in the Statute Amendments (2013) Act. Thank you.

[Page 2076]

MR. SPEAKER « » : The motion is for third reading of Bill No. 69. 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. FRANK CORBETT « » : Mr. Speaker, that concludes the government's business for today. I move that the House do now rise to meet again tomorrow from the hours of 12:00 noon until 6:00 p.m. After the daily routine and Question Period, the order of business will be Public Bills for Second Reading, Bill Nos. 80 and 81; Private and Local Bills, Bill No. 82; Committee of the Whole House on Bills, Bill Nos. 61 and 62; and if time permits, third reading of Bill Nos. 71, 72, 73, 74, and 75.

I move that the House do now rise.

MR. SPEAKER « » : The motion is to adjourn.

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 6:43 p.m.]

NOTICES OF MOTION UNDER RULE 32(3)

[Page 2077]

RESOLUTION NO. 1217

By: Mr. Andrew Younger « » (Dartmouth East)

I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas Benchmark Canada covers Canada's leading litigation firms and attorneys and recognizes litigators who have displayed the ability to consistently handle complex, high-stakes litigations in multiple jurisdictions; and

Whereas since 1859 McInnes Cooper has been one of the most respected law firms in Atlantic Canada, with strategic partnerships in Charlottetown, Fredericton, and St. John's, as well as Halifax; and

Whereas McInnes Cooper lawyer George MacDonald, Q.C., was honoured nationally in February at a Toronto ceremony, receiving the Atlantic Litigator of the Year award from Benchmark Canada;

Therefore be it resolved that members of the House of Assembly congratulate George MacDonald on his prestigious award and wish him continued success in the future.

RESOLUTION NO. 1218

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 literature is a perfect avenue for authors to express the customs, history, and landscape of a region; and

Whereas Truman Layton of Great Village, Nova Scotia, has demonstrated his keen ability to lay his captivating plots against Nova Scotia's rich history in dynamic and innovative ways, allowing readers of all ages to relate; and

Whereas Truman Layton's two works published with Community Books - MacKenzie's Cove (2008) and Just for a Day or Two (2006) - are both beautiful examples of how Layton's imagination and creativity capture the essence of our province;

Therefore be it resolved that the members of this House of Assembly thank Truman Layton for sharing our province's history through his works and wish him all the best in his future writing endeavours.

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RESOLUTION NO. 1219

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 Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her ascension to the throne 60 years ago with her Diamond Jubilee; and

Whereas the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal was struck to commemorate this once-in-a-lifetime event, and Canadians who have made a difference or a significant contribution to our country have been presented with this medal throughout the year; and

Whereas Renee Field from Clayton Park was honoured with the presentation of a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal at a special ceremony on August 17, 2012, for her dedication and commitment to volunteerism in her community;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Renee Field on her Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and acknowledge with gratitude her tremendous contributions to her community.

RESOLUTION NO. 1220

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 youth who demonstrate qualities of leadership, academic achievement, and participation in community service are an enormous source of pride for our province; and

Whereas each high school in Nova Scotia selects two Grade 11 students to receive the Lieutenant Governor's Medal based upon their significant contributions to their schools and the communities in which they live; and

Whereas Emma Power has received the distinction of being chosen by Halifax West High School to receive the Lieutenant Governor's Medal this Spring;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Emma Power on receiving this distinguished award of merit that recognizes her academic excellence and community service, and wish her the very best in all her future endeavours.

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RESOLUTION NO. 1221

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 youth who demonstrate qualities of leadership, academic achievement, and participation in community service are an enormous source of pride for our province; and

Whereas each high school in Nova Scotia selects two Grade 11 students to receive the Lieutenant Governor's Medal based upon their significant contributions to their schools and the communities in which they live; and

Whereas Chris Abraham has received the distinction of being chosen by Halifax West High School to receive the Lieutenant Governor's Medal this Spring;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Chris Abraham on receiving this distinguished award of merit that recognizes his academic excellence and community service, and wish him the very best in all his future endeavours.

RESOLUTION NO. 1222

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 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans is an initiative of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award in Canada; and

Whereas this award is part of the 2012 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Challenge Award project, which was developed to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the 40^th Anniversary of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award; and

Whereas Murray Austin was presented with this award for service to our country at the Royal Canadian Legion Fairview Branch 142 on April 28, 2013;

Therefore be it resolved that the members of this House of Assembly congratulate him on receiving the Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans, and thank him for his service to Canada.

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RESOLUTION NO. 1223

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 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans is an initiative of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award in Canada; and

Whereas this award is part of the 2012 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Challenge Award project, which was developed to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the 40^th Anniversary of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award; and

Whereas Murray (Tucker) Fry's memory was honoured with this award for service to our country at the Royal Canadian Legion Fairview Branch 142 on April 28, 2013;

Therefore be it resolved that the members of this House of Assembly commend all that Murray (Tucker) Fry contributed to Canada to be so deserving of the Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans.

RESOLUTION NO. 1224

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 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans is an initiative of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award in Canada; and

Whereas this award is part of the 2012 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Challenge Award project, which was developed to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the 40^th Anniversary of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award; and

Whereas Charles (Fred) Duffy's memory was honoured with this award for service to our country at the Royal Canadian Legion Fairview Branch 142 on April 28, 2013;

Therefore be it resolved that the members of this House of Assembly commend all that Charles (Fred) Duffy contributed to Canada to be so deserving of the Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans.

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RESOLUTION NO. 1225

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 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans is an initiative of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award in Canada; and

Whereas this award is part of the 2012 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Challenge Award project, which was developed to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the 40^th Anniversary of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award; and

Whereas Ronald Young was presented with this award for service to our country at the Royal Canadian Legion Fairview Branch 142 on April 28, 2013;

Therefore be it resolved that the members of this House of Assembly congratulate him on receiving the Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans, and thank him for his service to Canada.

RESOLUTION NO. 1226

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 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans is an initiative of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award in Canada; and

Whereas this award is part of the 2012 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Challenge Award project, which was developed to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the 40^th Anniversary of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award; and

Whereas David Watson was presented with this award for service to our country at the Royal Canadian Legion Fairview Branch 142 on April 28, 2013;

Therefore be it resolved that the members of this House of Assembly congratulate him on receiving the Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans, and thank him for his service to Canada.

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RESOLUTION NO. 1227

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 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans is an initiative of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award in Canada; and

Whereas this award is part of the 2012 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Challenge Award project, which was developed to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the 40^th Anniversary of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award; and

Whereas Roderick Russell was presented with this award for service to our country at the Royal Canadian Legion Fairview Branch 142 on April 28, 2013;

Therefore be it resolved that the members of this House of Assembly congratulate him on receiving the Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans, and thank him for his service to Canada.

RESOLUTION NO. 1228

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 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans is an initiative of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award in Canada; and

Whereas this award is part of the 2012 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Challenge Award project, which was developed to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the 40^th Anniversary of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award; and

Whereas John (Jack) Rolfe was presented with this award for service to our country at the Royal Canadian Legion Fairview Branch 142 on April 28, 2013;

Therefore be it resolved that the members of this House of Assembly congratulate him on receiving the Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans, and thank him for his service to Canada.

[Page 2083]

RESOLUTION NO. 1229

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 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans is an initiative of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award in Canada; and

Whereas this award is part of the 2012 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Challenge Award Project, which was developed to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the 40^th Anniversary of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award; and

Whereas Gordon Purcell was presented with this award for service to our country at the Royal Canadian Legion Fairview Branch 142 on April 28^th, 2013;

Therefore be it resolved that the members of this House of Assembly congratulate him on receiving the Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans, and thank him for his service to Canada.

RESOLUTION NO. 1230

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 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans is an initiative of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award in Canada; and

Whereas this award is part of the 2012 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Challenge Award Project, which was developed to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the 40^th Anniversary of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award; and

Whereas Maurice (Moe) Pearson was presented with this award for service to our country at the Royal Canadian Legion Fairview Branch 142 on April 28^th, 2013;

Therefore be it resolved that the members of this House of Assembly congratulate him on receiving the Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans, and thank him for his service to Canada.

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RESOLUTION NO. 1231

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 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans is an initiative of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award in Canada; and

Whereas this award is part of the 2012 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Challenge Award Project, which was developed to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the 40th Anniversary of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award; and

Whereas Gordon Miller was presented with this award for service to our country at the Royal Canadian Legion Fairview Branch 142 on April 28^th, 2013;

Therefore be it resolved that the members of this House of Assembly congratulate him on receiving the Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans, and thank him for his service to Canada.

RESOLUTION NO. 1232

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 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans is an initiative of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award in Canada; and

Whereas this award is part of the 2012 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Challenge Award Project, which was developed to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the 40^th Anniversary of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award; and

Whereas James Longaphy was presented with this award for service to our country at the Royal Canadian Legion Fairview Branch 142 on April 28^th, 2013;

Therefore be it resolved that the members of this House of Assembly congratulate him on receiving the Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans, and thank him for his service to Canada.

[Page 2085]

RESOLUTION NO. 1233

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 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans is an initiative of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award in Canada; and

Whereas this award is part of the 2012 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Challenge Award Project, which was developed to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the 40^th Anniversary of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award; and

Whereas Hugh Cuvelier was presented with this award for service to our country at the Royal Canadian Legion Fairview Branch 142 on April 28^th, 2013;

Therefore be it resolved that the members of this House of Assembly congratulate him on receiving the Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans, and thank him for his service to Canada.

RESOLUTION NO. 1234

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 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans is an initiative of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award in Canada; and

Whereas this award is part of the 2012 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Challenge Award Project, which was developed to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the 40^th Anniversary of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award; and

Whereas Frederick Cullen was presented with this award for service to our country at the Royal Canadian Legion Fairview Branch 142 on April 28, 2013;

Therefore be it resolved that the members of this House of Assembly congratulate him on receiving the Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans, and thank him for his service to Canada.

[Page 2086]

RESOLUTION NO. 1235

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 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans is an initiative of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award in Canada; and

Whereas this award is part of the 2012 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Challenge Award Project, which was developed to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the 40th Anniversary of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award; and

Whereas Norman Crewe was presented with this award for service to our country at the Royal Canadian Legion Fairview Branch 142 on April 28^th, 2013;

Therefore be it resolved that the members of this House of Assembly congratulate him on receiving the Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans, and thank him for his service to Canada.

RESOLUTION NO. 1236

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 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans is an initiative of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award in Canada; and

Whereas this award is part of the 2012 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Challenge Award Project, which was developed to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the 40^th Anniversary of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award; and

Whereas Robert (Bob) Cole was presented with this award for service to our country at the Royal Canadian Legion Fairview Branch 142 on April 28^th, 2013;

Therefore be it resolved that the members of this House of Assembly congratulate him on receiving the Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans, and thank him for his service to Canada.

[Page 2087]

RESOLUTION NO. 1237

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 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans is an initiative of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award in Canada; and

Whereas this award is part of the 2012 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Challenge Award Project, which was developed to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the 40^th Anniversary of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award; and

Whereas George (Tom) Cane was presented with this award for service to our country at the Royal Canadian Legion Fairview Branch 142 on April 28, 2013;

Therefore be it resolved that the members of this House of Assembly congratulate him on receiving the Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans and thank him for his service to Canada.

RESOLUTION NO. 1238

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 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans is an initiative of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award in Canada; and

Whereas this award is part of the 2012 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Challenge Award Project, which was developed to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the 40^th Anniversary of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award; and

Whereas Philip Burke was presented with this award for service to our country at the Royal Canadian Legion Fairview Branch 142 on April 28, 2013;

Therefore be it resolved that the members of this House of Assembly congratulate him on receiving the Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans and thank him for his service to Canada.

[Page 2088]

RESOLUTION NO. 1239

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 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans is an initiative of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award in Canada; and

Whereas this award is part of the 2012 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Challenge Award Project, which was developed to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the 40^th Anniversary of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award; and

Whereas John Bowser was presented with this award for service to our country at the Royal Canadian Legion Fairview Branch 142 on April 28, 2013;

Therefore be it resolved that the members of this House of Assembly congratulate him on receiving the Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans and thank him for his service to Canada.

RESOLUTION NO. 1240

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 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans is an initiative of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award in Canada; and

Whereas this award is part of the 2012 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Challenge Award Project, which was developed to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the 40^th Anniversary of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award; and

Whereas Wilbert Billard was presented with this award for service to our country at the Royal Canadian Legion Fairview Branch 142 on April 28, 2013;

Therefore be it resolved that the members of this House of Assembly congratulate him on receiving the Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans and thank him for his service to Canada.

[Page 2089]

RESOLUTION NO. 1241

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 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans is an initiative of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award in Canada; and

Whereas this award is part of the 2012 Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Challenge Award Project, which was developed to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the 40^th anniversary of the Nova Scotia Division of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award; and

Whereas Robert (Bob) Baker was presented with this award for service to our country at the Royal Canadian Legion Fairview Branch 142 on April 28, 2013;

Therefore be it resolved that the members of this House of Assembly congratulate him on receiving the Diamond Jubilee Century of Service Honorary Award for Veterans and thank him for his service to Canada.

RESOLUTION NO. 1242

By: Hon. Keith Colwell « » (Preston)

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

Whereas under the NDP power rates have risen 30 per cent and Nova Scotians are struggling to make ends meet due to these skyrocketing power bills; and

Whereas the NDP have cut education funding and students in classrooms across the province are now struggling with the second-lowest per-student funding in the country; and

Whereas the Premier has shown that the Premier doesn't understand what matters to Nova Scotians;

Therefore be it resolved that the Premier does not understand what matters to Nova Scotians and that he has proven this by cutting education and perpetuating unreasonably low per-student funding in the country, while the Premier has stood by and allowed power rates to skyrocket 30 per cent since taking office, forcing Nova Scotians to struggle under these high power rates.

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