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HALIFAX, THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2019

Sixty-third General Assembly

Second Session

1:00 P.M.

SPEAKER

Hon. Kevin Murphy

DEPUTY SPEAKERS

Suzanne Lohnes-Croft, Brendan Maguire

THE SPEAKER » : Order, please. We'll now begin the daily routine.

PRESENTING AND READING PETITIONS

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Guysborough-Eastern Shore- Tracadie.

HON. LLOYD HINES « » : Mr. Speaker, I beg leave to table a petition with the operative clause being:

"We, the undersigned, request the government of the Province of Nova Scotia give permission for Maritime Launch Services (MLS) to be given written approval for the development of the Canso Spaceport Project, a medium range satellite launch facility in Canso/Little Dover, creating both part time and permanent employment opportunities."

Mr. Speaker, the petition contains 753 names and I have affixed my signature.

THE SPEAKER « » : The petition is tabled.

PRESENTING REPORTS OF COMMITTEES

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TABLING REPORTS, REGULATIONS AND OTHER PAPERS

STATEMENTS BY MINISTERS

GOVERNMENT NOTICES OF MOTION

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable Premier.

HON. STEPHEN MCNEIL (The Premier): Mr. Speaker, may I do an introduction?

THE SPEAKER « » : Permission granted.

THE PREMIER » : I want to draw the attention of the House to the East Gallery where we are joined today by members of the 2019 Canada Winter Games team. I'd ask them all to stand.

I want to tell them all how proud we are, as a House, but also as Nova Scotians. We get a chance to watch these athletes compete and bring home medals, at the same time you are representing the entire Nova Scotia team. All Nova Scotians were excited as we watched the events in Red Deer, Alberta, and you made us all proud.

I also want to recognize the coaches who are here, if the coaches would stand. I want to thank you for your tireless commitment to these athletes and to the sport to ensure that we get to send a team to represent our province to compete inside the federation. As well, I'd ask the parents, families, and friends to stand. Thank you for your commitment to this team as they went on what is a lifetime opportunity.

On behalf of the House we want to extend a warm welcome to all of you here. (Standing Ovation)

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable Premier.

RESOLUTION NO. 1060

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

Whereas from February 15^th to March 3^rd our province witnessed the dedication, passion, and determination of young athletes from across our province who represented Team Nova Scotia at the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer, Alberta; and

Whereas Team Nova Scotia athletes are incredible role models, serving as an example of what can be achieved when we have a goal, work hard, and strive to be our very best; and

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Whereas we are tremendously proud of our 20 Team Nova Scotia medalists and their coaches for bringing home medals from eight different sporting events;

Therefore be it resolved that members of this House of Assembly join me in congratulating Team Nova Scotia athletes who competed in this year's Canada Winter Games, and thank the coaches, families, friends, sponsors, volunteers, and spectators for their ongoing support for our athletes and for making the Winter Games a huge success.

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

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable Minister of Finance and Treasury Board.

RESOLUTION NO. 1061

HON. KAREN CASEY « » : Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Minister of Communities, Culture and Heritage, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas April 7-13, 2019, is National Volunteer Week in Canada, and this is a time to celebrate and recognize the important contributions made by Nova Scotians who volunteer, including the close to 800 members of our province's more than 150 agencies, boards and commissions; and

Whereas members of the agencies, boards and commissions make a difference to their communities and to our province by serving in these roles, while also gaining their own great experience; and

Whereas Nova Scotians from all communities and walks of life are needed to serve, applications are now being accepted, and all residents of Nova Scotia are eligible to apply for these volunteer positions;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly join me in thanking Nova Scotians who volunteer by serving on agencies, boards and commissions, and encourage others to learn more and consider making application.

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

THE 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 Immigration.

RESOLUTION NO. 1062

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

Whereas yesterday, April 10^th, I had the pleasure of providing welcoming remarks at the launch of the book Making Waves, an initiative from the Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia, collecting the stories of second-generation immigrants - one of the stories featured was that of the member for Halifax Citadel-Sable Island; and

Whereas Nova Scotia is fortunate to have strong cultural communities and continues to welcome new immigrants from around the globe, enriching the rich and vibrant diversity that makes Nova Scotia the place we are proud to call home; and

Whereas our settlement partners, such as ISANS, play a key role in helping welcome and settle newcomers, and the work they do is so incredibly important to ensuring all Nova Scotians will benefit from an increased population and a strengthened economy;

Therefore be it resolved that members of this House of Assembly join me in thanking everyone who participated in the development of the Making Waves book, and congratulating ISANS for launching this initiative and for promoting a positive conversation on the contributions of immigrants.

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

THE 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 Minister of Immigration.

HON. LENA METLEGE DIAB « » : Mr. Speaker, we have with us a number of representatives today in the House of Assembly who will be joining us in the gallery shortly, and I just want to read their names before I make my statement, if that is okay. Thank you very much.

Cynthia Murphy, who is the Director of the Dalhousie International Centre; Teresa Inacio, International Student Advisor at Dalhousie International Centre; Yssac Rodriguez, manager of the International Centre at Saint Mary's University; Katie Orr, director at NSCC International; Amy Braye, manager of the International Education Centre at Mount Saint Vincent University; Donalda Johnston, Cape Breton University; Elvis Zhou, Acadia University; Sébastien Dol and Luc Tardif of Université Sainte-Anne; Larissa Strong and Donald Rasmussen, St. Francis Xavier University.

[1:15 p.m.]

A number of these representatives will be with us. All of them are important partners in our efforts to welcome international students to our province and encourage them to stay and build their lives here. If I'm permitted, I'll read my notice of motion.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable Minister of Immigration.

RESOLUTION NO. 1063

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

Whereas we are fortunate to have thousands of international students attending our post-secondary institutions each year; and

Whereas the Nova Scotia Office of Immigration has promoted our immigration pathway to international students at 47 events since July 2018, with nine more scheduled for the months of April and May and worked closely with each of our universities and the Nova Scotia Community College; and

Whereas as the Minister of Immigration, I'm pleased that we are seeing a steady increase in the number of international students who chose to stay in Nova Scotia after graduation with 440 students immigrating through our programs in 2018, up from 35 in 2014;

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Therefore be it resolved that members of the House of Assembly join me in continuing to welcome international students to our province and encourage them to stay and build their lives, families, and careers in Nova Scotia and thank the important partners in our efforts to welcome them.

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

THE 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 SPEAKER « » : The honourable Minister of Immigration.

LENA METLEGE DIAB « » : I just ask those representatives that are with us in the gallery now to please stand and receive the warm welcome of the House. (Applause)

INTRODUCTION OF BILLS

Bill No. 145 - Entitled an Act to Establish the Chief Dental Officer. (Karla MacFarlane)

Bill No. 146 - Entitled an Act to Amend Chapter 1 (1992 Supplement) of the Revised Statutes of 1989. The House of Assembly Act, to Support Public Participation in the Law Amendments Committee. (Claudia Chender)

Bill No. 147 - Entitled an Act Respecting Proportional Representation and Democratic Renewal. (Gary Burrill)

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

NOTICES OF MOTION

THE SPEAKER « » : With the unanimous consent of the House we will revert to Introduction of Bills.

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Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

[INTRODUCTION OF BILLS]

Bill No. 148 – Entitled an Act to Support Opportunities for Participation in the Democratic Process by Acadians and African Nova Scotians. (Lisa Roberts)

THE SPEAKER « » : Ordered that this bill be read a second time on a future day.

[NOTICES OF MOTION]

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Inverness.

ALLAN MACMASTER « » : Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask for unanimous consent of the House to introduce a notice of motion. It does not deal with the business of the House, and I would like to ask for that unanimous consent.

THE SPEAKER « » : Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

The honourable member for Inverness.

ALLAN MACMASTER « » : Mr. Speaker, I would like to make an introduction as well, if I may be permitted.

Mr. Speaker, we remember the recent tragic death of Cassidy Bernard. A young mother to baby twins, Paisley Jean and Mya Mae. I would ask Cassidy's mother, Mona, to stand, along with Annie Bernard-Daisley, who is an aunt to the twins and also a Council Member at Waycobah First Nation.

I would ask other family members to stand as I call their names and we'll give them a warm welcome to the House with a round of applause. I will call their names, Alonzo Denny, Elsa Denny, Tyra Denny, Colby, Gina Poulette, Julena Bernard, Jillian Denny, Haley Denny, John Wayne Bernard, Cyrus Bernard, Renee Denny, Tommy Bernard, Macy Bernard, Everly Bernard, Jason Bernard, Karen Pictou, Lorraine Whitman, and Marie Sack. I'd like to give you a warm welcome with our applause. (Applause)

Mr. Speaker, they are here today to give witness to what happened to Cassidy, so no other woman will suffer as she did. Mona and family members will be making themselves available to speak with MLAs who are interested after this today.

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THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Inverness.

RESOLUTION NO. 1064

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

Whereas Cassidy Bernard of Waycobah First Nation leaves behind a legacy in her twin daughters and the numerous friends and family who love and miss her, and hope for justice; and

Whereas the families and communities of the many missing and murdered Indigenous women have been left to feel like their women are being hunted, if I may use those words expressed to me by the family; and

Whereas work remains to give faith and hope to women everywhere, that places like this Legislature care about what happened to Cassidy and other missing and murdered Indigenous women;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House join me in sharing our support for law enforcement and our judicial system to bring justice for Cassidy and to create a future where Paisley Jean and Mya Mae can feel secure that they live in a society that values and protects First Nations people.

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

THE 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.

STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

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

TIM HALMAN « » : Mr. Speaker, permission to make an introduction.

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THE SPEAKER « » : Permission granted.

TIM HALMAN « » : In the West Gallery we have Dartmouth resident Barbara French. Barbara's son Joel French is currently serving on Sentry Duty at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Ottawa. Barbara, I'd like you to please stand and receive the warm welcome of the House. (Applause)

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

FRENCH, JOEL - L.S.: SENTRY DUTY, NTL. WAR MEM. - CONGRATS.

TIM HALMAN « » : Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Mr. Joel French, a Dartmouth resident who was recently chosen for sentry duty at the National War Memorial in Ottawa.

Mr. Speaker, as I'm sure many of the members in this House know, to guard the National War Memorial is a great honor and is a testament to the level of service invested by the individual.

Leading Seaman French has served proudly as a member of the Royal Canadian Navy for the past five years, and currently serves on HMCS Ville de Québec.

On April 9^th, Joel French joined nine other members of Navy personnel to guard the National War Memorial on Parliament Hill. This launch date also commemorates Canada's participation at Vimy Ridge.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all the members of this House to thank Leading Seaman French for his service and congratulate him on the honour of this assignment.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Truro-Bible Hill-Millbrook-Salmon River.

MISSING/MURDERED INDIGENOUS WOMEN & GIRLS: RECOG. - HONOUR

LENORE ZANN « » : Mr. Speaker, there is no greater grief than the grief of a parent who has to mourn the loss of their child, or the grief of a family, a community, that loses one of its cherished members far too early.

Cassidy Bernard's death was not an isolated incident. Across the country there is an unfolding crisis that is both tragic and outraging - missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. A story of systemic racism, ongoing colonial violence, and a failure on the part of government to take needed action.

Mr. Speaker, I want to stand here today and say to all the Mi'kmaw women, mothers, grandmothers, sisters, and daughters that yes, you are valued. Yes, you are loved. Yes, you are cherished. And together we can and will fight to honour Cassidy's memory.

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Wela'lin to the family for being here today.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Colchester North.

MATTHEWS, CODY - M.CPL.: SERVICE TO COUNTRY - THANKS

HON. KAREN CASEY « » : Mr. Speaker, Master Corporal Cody Matthews from North River, Colchester North, is a reserve master corporal with the Nova Scotia Highlanders.

Matthews was in Latvia from January through July 2018, along with several hundred Canadian soldiers guarding the tiny Baltic nation against possible Russian invasion.

Since his unit was deployed just outside the capital, Matthews got to see the humble buildings of the local towns reflecting the poverty of many Latvians. In spite of that, he said they knew how to appreciate and enjoy what they had.

As well as Canadians, NATO soldiers from the United Kingdom, United States, Italy, Spain, and other European countries were also there to help Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania.

Although the language barrier was the biggest challenge, Matthews enjoyed his time in Latvia. He now works as an instructor at Aldershot, near Kentville, teaching new recruits essential soldiering skills.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Cole Harbour-Eastern Passage.

BARBARA ADAMS « » : Mr. Speaker, I beg leave to make an introduction.

THE SPEAKER « » : Permission granted.

BARBARA ADAMS « » : I would like to draw the attention of the House to the West Gallery, second row - and I will ask them to stand as I read their names. I want to welcome the St. Peter's Youth Group: Kelly-Anne Raftus, her grandmother Mandy Raftus, Coyleasha Clayton, Coyawna Clayton, Chole Young, and Elizabeth Williston.

I would like all the members of the House to join me in welcoming them to the House. (Applause)

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Cole Harbour-Eastern Passage.

ST. PETER'S YOUTH GRP.: COM. SERV. - CELEBRATE

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BARBARA ADAMS « » : Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to celebrate the wonderful youth group from St. Peter's Church in Eastern Passage. Here with the organizer and key volunteer with the only church youth group in our constituency is Mandy Raftus, someone this House has heard me acknowledge for other community volunteer work in the past.

Some of the youth group members - Kelly-Anne Raftus, Coyleasha Clayton, Coyawna Clayton, Chole Young, and Elizabeth Williston, who are here today, along with other members of their group, are involved in all sorts of fundraising events that go on to provide food for the Food Bank and clothes for the homeless, among many other activities.

In addition to doing wonderful acts of kindness for others, they take on the personal responsibility to fundraise for the numerous skill-building events that they participate in such as movie nights, trips to museums and, now, coming here to the Nova Scotia Legislature.

A whole community benefits from having youth who are actively engaged in making their community a better place to live.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of the Legislature to join me in celebrating the wonderful St. Peter's Youth Group, their volunteers, and their wonderful leaders.

[1:30 p.m.]

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

BERWICK WAR MEM.: DEDICATION SERV. - RECOG.

HON. LEO GLAVINE « » : Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize those who played a part in the dedication service this morning for the community of Berwick's new war memorial. The Royal Canadian Legion Ortona Branch 69 in Berwick held a dedication service for the community's new war memorial, and it was an honour to be in attendance for this event.

To commence, a parade took place. The procession included members from 14 Wing Greenwood, Legion members, veterans, RCMP, Cadets, Scouts, Girl Guides, and the entire school population of Berwick and District School.

On November 11, 2018, on the 100^th anniversary of the First World War, the war memorial was erected at Berwick and District School, which is fittingly located on Veterans Drive.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all members of the House join me in recognizing those who made today's very powerful dedication service for the new memorial possible.

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THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Kings North.

JOHN LOHR « » : Mr. Speaker, I beg leave to make an introduction.

THE SPEAKER « » : Permission granted.

JOHN LOHR « » : Mr. Speaker, in the West Gallery, I'd like to call attention to four advocates for rural hospitals in the HRM being able to qualify for the federal student debt relief program. As I read their names, I'd ask them to stand: Peter Stein, Candace MacKean, Jackie Barkhouse, and Steve Barkhouse. Jackie is a former councillor for Eastern Passage. They are advocating for rural hospitals in the HRM.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Victoria-The Lakes.

GOOGOO, AMANDA: VOLUN. OF THE YR. - CONGRATS.

KEITH BAIN « » : Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Amanda Googoo of Wagmatcook First Nation on receiving one of the Nova Scotia Volunteer of the Year Awards. Known as the community's go-to person, Amanda has taken the lead in planning and overseeing the community's two-week March Break activities. This year she also managed the back-to-school bag program, ensuring that every child has a schoolbag filled with school supplies.

Amanda also shares her time for the annual Christmas gathering and acts as a chaperone for the Mi'kmaw Summer Games.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of the Legislature to join me in congratulating Amanda on receiving her award, thanking her for all she does for her community, and wishing her the very best in the future.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Antigonish.

HON. RANDY DELOREY « » : Mr. Speaker, I beg leave to make an introduction.

THE SPEAKER « » : Permission granted.

RANDY DELOREY « » : Mr. Speaker, I direct members' attention to the East Gallery, where we have some constituents from Antigonish joining us. I'll ask them to rise as I read their names: Chase Martell, Luc DeCoste, Aidan Boyd, Colin Tate, Malcolm MacDonald, Dante MacDonald, Parker Flynn, Adam Stalker, Caylum MacLean, and Isaac Murphy.

These are members of the Antigonish Bantam A Bulldog team, and joining them are some parents: Marliese Tate, Mike MacDonald, Lynda Stalker, Terra Martell, and the team's head coach, Wes Martell.

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If you could please provide the warm welcome of the House. (Applause)

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Antigonish.

BANTAM A BULLDOGS:

ON-ICE/OFF-ICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS - CONGRATS.

HON. RANDY DELOREY « » : Mr. Speaker, the Bantam A Bulldogs of Antigonish recently wrapped up a very good season in a very strong and competitive league. While they placed second overall in their league, they tore up the ice in their tournaments, winning two golds and one silver in the five tournaments that they played this year.

This group of young men not only played hard on the ice but developed friendships among their teammates that transcended hockey. They've also given back to the community, volunteering to play floor hockey with members of the Canadian Association for Community Living.

Mr. Speaker, I'm very proud of the accomplishments of my junior constituents, and I'm grateful to their parents and coaches, who are mentoring these fine young men. I ask all members to join me in congratulating the Antigonish Bantam A Bulldogs on a great season and to wish them well in all their future endeavours.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Argyle-Barrington.

ATWOOD, HELEN: VOLUN. OF THE YR. - CONGRATS.

HON. CHRISTOPHER D'ENTREMONT « » : Mr. Speaker, on April 1, 2019, the Nova Scotia government hosted the 45^th annual Provincial Volunteer Awards. Among those being honoured was Helen Atwood.

Helen was a member of the Clark's Harbour Fire Department and held the office of president of the auxiliary for one year. She has also delivered Meals on Wheels for 22 years. Helen joined Seabreeze Rebekah Lodge No. 24 in 1969, and has held the office of treasurer since 2000. Before that, she held many positions throughout the years.

Helen has been a faithful member, rarely missing meetings, and is always available to help when catering to various functions. I'd like to thank Helen for all of her hard work and dedication to making a difference in her community.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Halifax Citadel-Sable Island.

HENRY HOUSE: 50^th ANNIV. - CONGRATS.

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HON. LABI KOUSOULIS « » : Mr. Speaker, I would like to extend congratulations to Henry House, which celebrated its 50^th anniversary on March 29^th of this year. The Henry House was the project of Dick Raymond and his business partner Jacques Ducau, a friend from Marseilles who had already had success as a restauranteur in Toronto.

After a couple of years seeking a suitable historic property in Halifax, the pair eventually settled on 1222 Barrington Street, a stone house that had been home to William Alexander Henry and his family from 1840 to 1867. Henry spent many years in the Legislature serving as a member for Antigonish as both a Liberal and a Progressive Conservative from 1840 to 1867. He attended most of the Confederation conferences and is recognized as one of the Fathers of Confederation.

By the 1960s, the building was a rooming house that had fallen on hard times, but with restoration and necessary adaptations to the 1826 stone buildings, the Henry House and the Little Stone Jug opened on March 29, 1969. Mussels were an early specialty rarely, if ever, served in Nova Scotia restaurants at the time and the Henry House also carried on mail order expert trade in Nova Scotia's smoked salmon.

The building was designated a national historic site in 1972 and, since then, the restaurant has passed through several hands and both the building and business are now in the devoted and capable hands of the Alsop family, who immigrated from Ontario to operate the Henry House in 2003.

I would like to extend the current owners congratulations and I look forward to the next 50 years of the Henry House operating in Halifax.

THE SPEAKER « » : Thank you very much. I'd just like to remind all members that the time limit for members' statements is one minute.

The honourable member for Pictou Centre.

LEBLANC, NICOLE - PROJ. NAV.: HEALTHY PICTOU CO. - BEST WISHES

HON. PAT DUNN « » : Mr. Speaker, Nicole LeBlanc, project navigator with Citizens for a Healthy Pictou County, has been the task of recruiting and retaining medical professionals in Pictou County. In essence, she's not a recruiter. She works closely with recruiters for the Nova Scotia Health Authority's Northern management zone.

Nicole's mandate during the next five years is assisting and attracting and hiring new primary-care givers and specialists. She will also create the environment to ensure primary care individuals will want to stay, work, and live in Pictou County. Nicole realizes site visits are critical. In many cases, visitors might have a few hours to learn about the area. It is always a major decision for them both personally and professionally.

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I would like to take this opportunity along with all residents of Pictou County to wish Nicole great success with her pursuit of fulfilling her mandate.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Hammonds Plains-Lucasville.

BEN JESSOME « » : Mr. Speaker, I beg leave to make an introduction, please.

THE SPEAKER « » : Permission granted.

BEN JESSOME « » : Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen of the House, through the Speaker, today we're joined by the first St. Margaret's Bay Girl Guides. As I read their names, I would ask them to stand. Today, we're joined by Grace Turner, Leilani Dowling, Fallon Pace, Jane Anderson, Caleigh Benoit, Olivia Avery, Ainslie Gale; their leaders Alison Anderson and Vanessa Benoit; and I believe there's an Emily Dauphinee that is not with us here today, but she is a part of the crew. I think I'm missing somebody up there by the looks of it; I apologize. So, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome them to the House of Assembly today. (Applause)

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Hammonds Plains-Lucasville.

SMB GIRL GUIDES: GIRLS FIRST, CONNECT & QUESTION - BEST WISHES

BEN JESSOME « » : Today, Mr. Speaker, I'd like to recognize the first St. Margaret's Bay Girl Guide Unit, which is made up of girls age nine to age 11. They're from St. Margaret's Bay, Upper Tantallon, Stillwater Lake, and Hammonds Plains.

The girls have been working on several badges as part of the new Girls First program that was recently introduced. They have completed the Guide Together portion, which focuses on what it means to be part of guiding in Canada and the global guiding movement. They're now working on the Connect and Question portion, which is about girls discovering the community and the world we live in. Having the opportunity to visit the Legislature today fits perfectly with that.

The girls are travelling to Jasper, Alberta, in June to explore the national park, the glaciers, and the Rocky Mountains, which will be a great adventure for these girls and their leaders. They've been doing extensive fundraising over the past year having raised more than $30,000 for the trip.

Mr. Speaker, I would ask all members of the House of Assembly to congratulate them on their efforts and wish them well on the trip.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable Government House Leader.

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HON. GEOFF MACLELLAN « » : Mr. Speaker, I ask the indulgence of the House to revert back on the order paper. I know the House will this hard to believe, but the Minister of Communities, Culture and Heritage was talking outside of the Chamber and missed his opportunity. If the House wouldn't mind providing unanimous consent to revert back to Government Notices of Motion for one quick motion.

THE SPEAKER « » : Is it agreed? It is agreed.

[GOVERNMENT NOTICES OF MOTION]

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable Minister of Communities, Culture and Heritage.

HON. LEO GLAVINE « » : Mr. Speaker, if I could make an introduction please?

THE SPEAKER « » : Permission granted.

LEO GLAVINE « » : In the East Gallery we have - and I would like them to rise as I introduce their names - Aliyah Lailson and Alice Roebotham, who have recently won the Woozles Writes! Competition. Accompanying them today are their families. Also Finley Baker, an amazing artist who illustrated Alice's book, is here as well with her family.

Also in attendance is Suzy MacLean, who is the manager at Woozles, an amazing local bookstore. As part of their 40^th anniversary celebration, they published the two young authors who are here with us today and their amazing artist. Maybe the families could rise with them and receive the warm welcome of the House. (Applause)

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable Minister of Communities, Culture and Heritage.

RESOLUTION NO. 1065

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

Whereas Alice Roebotham, age 10, and Aliyah Lailson, age 13, have become published authors after winning the annual Woozles Writes! Competition; and

Whereas Alice's book, I Survived the Halifax Explosion, was illustrated by her friend Finley Baker and depicts key events of the tragedy with an underlying message of resilience; and

Whereas Aliyah is the author of North Wind and has been profiled by the Black Business Community as the youngest Black author ever published in Nova Scotia;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Alice Roebotham, Aliyah Lailson, and Finley Baker on their amazing accomplishments, proving talent blooms early in Nova Scotia.

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

THE 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.

[STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS]

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley.

GREAT BIG CRUNCH: ANTI-SILENT FOOD MVMT. - CONGRATS.

LARRY HARRISON « » : On March 28^th, students from the Musquodoboit Valley Education Centre got to participate in the loudest crunch ever.

The Great Big Crunch is an initiative of Food Share to increase food literacy. Students from Musquodoboit Valley Education Centre, participating as the Great Big Crunchers, joined over 300,000 crunchers in 800 crunch sites across Canada to celebrate nutrition, raise awareness of various food discussions, and encourage a sense of both school and national unity.

The Great Big Crunch has been an annual moment of anti-silence since 2008, where everyone gets together and bites into a crunchy, fresh local product in unison. I can imagine how loud that crunch would be with everyone biting into fresh apples, carrots, and celery together.

I applaud the teachers and staff for bringing this anti-silent food moment to their students and congratulate the students on making the loudest crunch ever.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Hammonds Plains-Lucasville on an introduction.

BEN JESSOME « » : I apologize in advance. In fact, the name I omitted was right here on the page in front of me - my error. I would like the House to give a special warm welcome to Sophie Oldford. (Applause)

[Page 3214]

[1:45 p.m.]

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Clare-Digby.

MCNUTT, JANECE - PRIN., SMB ACAD.: LDRSHIP. AWARD - CONGRATS.

GORDON WILSON « » : For 15 years, the Learning Partnership Award has recognized the unique and vital contributions of principals in our schools. The award honours principals who demonstrate innovative leadership and entrepreneurial spirit and have done something remarkable for their school community.

One of the 30 honoured in 2019 is our Janece McNutt from St. Mary's Bay Academy. Ms. McNutt helped teachers develop some instructional strategies which the teachers find increases their effectiveness in the classroom. They are helping students create their learning goals and the strategies to meet those goals.

Ms. McNutt also focused on developing an outdoor education program at her school, including the recent opening of a two-kilometre nature trail at the school. This has allowed students to learn about nature on the trail as well as from books. The trail is also a popular walk for people from the community.

After 25 years in the school system, including seven years at St. Mary's, Janece continues to find her work challenging and loves working with the children and teachers. It is obvious why a passionate and effective educator like Ms. McNutt received this award, and I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate her.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Sackville-Beaver Bank.

BRAD JOHNS « » : Mr. Speaker, I beg leave to make an introduction.

THE SPEAKER « » : Permission granted.

BRAD JOHNS « » : Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask members of the House to look to the Speaker's Gallery. The two really good-looking young women sitting up there are my daughters Jenna and Maria, who are off today on a PD and have joined their father at work.

Maria is a Grade 5 student at Sackville Heights Elementary School; Jenna is in Grade 7 at Sackville Heights Junior High and has just finished her unit in social studies on provincial government, so wanted to come in today and see good government in action. I would ask all the members of the House to please give them a round of applause and welcome them. (Applause)

[Page 3215]

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Sackville-Beaver Bank.

EASTER EGG HUNT, SPRINGFIELD LAKE: 10^th ANNIV. - CONGRATS.

BRAD JOHNS « » : Mr. Speaker, children love hunting Easter eggs, and on Sunday, April 14^th, the Easter Bunny will again be visiting the Springfield Lake Recreation Centre in Middle Sackville.

Organizers are looking forward to the excitement of the children who, along with their parents and grandparents, will enjoy a breakfast with the special guest: the Easter Bunny. I started this tradition 10 years ago, and it carries on today, marking its 10-year anniversary this coming Sunday. The event will feature a pancake breakfast with all the trimmings, as well as family-friendly activities for children and adults.

Today I want to congratulate Donna McDonald and the team that is coordinating this year's Easter egg hunt, and wish them a successful event in Middle Sackville.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Dartmouth North.

THE COLOR PURPLE: NEPTUNE OPENING - BEST WISHES

SUSAN LEBLANC « » : Mr. Speaker, I rise today to wish a very happy opening to the entire team behind Neptune Theatre's The Color Purple, which opens tomorrow night in Fountain Hall.

The show, which has eagerly been anticipated by the Nova Scotia theatre community since it was announced, will be the first mounted regional production of the play in Canada. Featuring a cast entirely of people of colour and predominantly women, the show opens not a moment too soon.

Directed by Winnipeg's Kimberley Rampersad, the show tackles race, queerness, social class, and gender as well as love, betrayal, and self-doubt - all things that make a compelling story.

It's based on Alice Walker's book of the same name from 1982, and has been called a Black feminist manifesto. From what we hear, Kimberley Rampersad is taking that fully to heart. When asked how many times the actors have worked with Black women directors, most of them said it was their first time.

Mr. Speaker shows like this highlight the importance of Black voices, storytellers, and art makers. I cannot wait to see the show. To the entire team, I say, merde.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Guysborough-Eastern Shore- Tracadie.

[Page 3216]

WHITE, DEBBIE/WAYNE: HAVRE BOUCHER EGG HUNT - THANKS

HON. LLOYD HINES « » : Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Wayne and Debbie White, dedicated and engaged citizens of the beautiful community of Havre Boucher.

The Whites are noted for creating events and activities for the local children. Known throughout the community for their annual Easter egg hunt, which they pay for themselves, the Whites open their home every Easter to all the children in the area. This annual event provides candies and sweets for 40 or more local children, and is looked forward to and appreciated by all. I'm sure they'll have a great time again this year.

In addition to that, during the Christmas season, Debbie can be found baking for days to provide gingerbread houses for the children to decorate at an event hosted in the community hall each year. Debbie is also a talented community photographer.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to say thank you to Wayne and Debbie White, for all they do for the children in the community of Havre Boucher, and encourage them to continue their creative holiday activities.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Pictou West.

VANDERTOORN, KYLE: PRES., ACADIA STUDENTS' UNION - CONGRATS.

KARLA MACFARLANE « » : Mr. Speaker, I wish to extend congratulations to Kyle Vandertoorn, a resident of Scotsburn and third-year biology student at Acadia University. On February 14^th of this year, she was elected President of the Acadia Students' Union, and her term of office will begin on May 1, 2019.

I commend Kyle for putting her name forward and for undertaking the incredible amount of work it takes to run and win a campaign. I know Kyle will be a strong voice for positive change, especially in advocating for increased medical, mental health, and sexual violence supports on campus.

Acadia is fortunate to have such a passionate and dedicated president who will work incredibly hard on behalf of the student community at the university, and I wish her the very best in her role going forward.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Halifax Armdale.

FADDOUL, HANNI: 100^th BIRTHDAY - BEST WISHES

[Page 3217]

HON. LENA METLEGE DIAB « » : Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize a very special member of our community, Mrs. Hanni Faddoul, who this year marks an incredible milestone as she celebrates her 100^th birthday.

Mrs. Faddoul's life has had its challenges and blessings. She was widowed at 35 years of age in Lebanon when her husband, also 35, died suddenly. She went on to raise and nurture her six children, four boy and two girls, all under 10. As her children grew, some immigrated to Halifax for better opportunities. In 1976, one of her sons travelled to Lebanon and brought her and his younger brother to make their new life here.

Today, Hanni is a matriarch in her family with 17 grandchildren and 19 great- grandchildren. She's also a valued member of our church and community. Faith and family are the pillars of Hanni's life. She has always maintained a special connection to her hometown of Brissat, Lebanon, and is often heard stating that God is looking over Halifax, as she expresses how grateful she feels for the life this city and province have given her and her family.

As Mrs. Hanni Faddoul marks her centennial birthday, I want to wish her the very best as she continues to bless her family and community.

الله يطول بعمرك وتضل بركي بهل جالية

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member Sydney River-Mira-Louisbourg.

HANNA, BECKY: CBU PRESIDENT'S AWARD - CONGRATS.

HON. ALFIE MACLEOD « » : Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Becky Hanna of Howie Centre who was recently presented the President's Award that recognizes the top academic performance among student athletes. Becky received this award from CBU President David Dingwall at CBU's awards banquet.

Becky Hanna is a soccer player and she achieved an overall average of 90.2 per cent during the 2018-19 academic year while upgrading her Bachelor of Business Administration degree.

I stand here today to wish Becky Hanna much success in her academic and future career. Thank you.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Halifax Needham.

BOGARDUS, JOHN - DIR.: HFX. MUSIC CO-OP - THANKS

[Page 3218]

LISA ROBERTS « » : Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize John Bogardus, until recently the music director of the Halifax Music Co-op, and to thank him for bringing a wonderful space into being in Halifax Needham.

John started the Halifax Music Co-op in about 2010. It's a non-profit that has the mission of enabling anyone to play music. The music co-op accomplishes this with affordable lessons, an instrument library, and pay-what-you-can membership fees. There are a wide range of ensembles playing jazz, classical, and world music, with opportunities for both youth and all ages.

John recently left the music co-op after nine years of pouring an incredible amount of energy, sweat and, I would say, love into the organization that he founded. I ask all members to join me in thanking him for welcoming hundreds of players and singers to learn new skills, express their creativity, and support each other.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Cole Harbour-Portland Valley.

COLE HBR. PKS./TRAILS ASSOC.:

RECOG., CDN. TRAIL FDN. - WELL DONE

HON. TONY INCE « » : Mr. Speaker, one of the hardest working volunteer boards in our area is the Cole Harbour Parks and Trails Association. Their work includes all maintenance and promotion of the local parks and trails, including the Salt Marsh Trail.

They organize volunteer teams on a regular basis to do necessary cleanup along the trails and delegate board members with general maintenance work that ultimately enables us to enjoy the unique and natural beauty of the salt marsh. It's because of this dedication that once again, the organization has garnered the recognition of the Trans Canada Trail Foundation to feature the Salt Marsh Trail as part of its special promotion this summer celebrating various parts of the national trail system.

Well done, Cole Harbour Parks and Trails Association. Thank you for your hard work.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Queens-Shelburne.

ALLISON, EDGAR - FIREFIGHTER: 50 YRS. OF SERV. - THANKS

KIM MASLAND « » : Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Edgar Allison, who has volunteered for the Shelburne Fire Department for the amazingly long period of 50 years, joining on May 6, 1969.

Still active to this day as deputy chief, he has also served as lieutenant, captain, and fire chief over the years. He was instrumental in developing the fire department and has served on numerous committees, including truck replacement, ways and means, public relations, sports, and bylaw review.

[Page 3219]

I ask all members of this House to join me in honouring Edgar Allison on this occasion of 50 busy years of service to the community of Shelburne as a very dedicated and involved volunteer firefighter.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Timberlea-Prospect.

STRATTON, BRENT: TIM HORTONS, COM. SERV. - CONGRATS.

HON. IAIN RANKIN « » : Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Brent Stratton, a prominent business owner of eight Tim Hortons franchises, including the Tim's located in Timberlea.

Brent found himself working behind a Tim Hortons counter serving coffee and donuts while studying at Dalhousie University. His weekend job, customer service, and strong work ethic led to increased responsibilities, and soon he was appointed to a role as manager and well on his way to owning his coffee shops. Brent's hands-on approach means he plays an active role in overseeing the training and operations at all his locations.

Ensuring his guests are properly served is not his only consideration. Brent takes pride in generously donating to community events and has been a part of the annual Timberlea-Prospect Heritage Day skating event, sharing hot chocolate and coffee with the community.

I ask the members of this House to join me in congratulating Mr. Stratton on his successful career and good work within the community.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable Premier on an introduction.

THE PREMIER « » : I want to draw the attention of the House to the East Gallery. We are joined today by Linda Tweedie. Many of you may know Linda. Linda's around this House a lot. She's the executive director of our caucus office.

With Linda today are her parents, William and Annette Hill. We want to thank you for sharing your daughter with us and also for gracing us with your presence here today as you get an opportunity to see part of what she does for a living, but also what happens on the floor of the Legislature.

On behalf of all of us, welcome. (Applause)

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Cumberland North.

[Page 3220]

LAIR, ALISON: HOMELESSNESS ADVOCATE - THANKS

ELIZABETH SMITH-MCCROSSIN « » : Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize Alison Lair of the Cumberland YMCA. She is the homelessness prevention coordinator and has been in that role since the program's launch in Fall 2017. This year they have helped over 50 residents and over 75 per cent of those who were homeless.

Alison is an advocate for the homeless in our community and works hard to help residents access resources so that people have safe shelter. Homelessness is a concern in Cumberland County, and she has stepped up to help in any way she can. She is facilitating work with other concerned citizens to create a safe shelter for those who find themselves in need.

Today I would like to thank Alison for her continued fight against homelessness and poverty in our community.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank.

N.S. RINGETTE U16 ATHLETES: NTL. COMPETITION - BEST WISHES

BILL HORNE « » : The Canadian Ringette Championships were first held in 1979 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Along with the Canada Winter Games, the CRC event is the very best that the sport has to offer nationally.

This year's Canadian championships are being held next door in P.E.I., and I want to wish members from Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank's under-16 players good luck this week as they compete against the best in Canada: Zoey Tilford, Lauren Arnold, Lindsay Gilbert, Maya MacDonald, Renae Boutilier, and coach Danielle Cote.

Mr. Speaker, and all members of the Legislature, please join me in wishing the Nova Scotia under-16 players and coaches good luck and a memorable competition at this year's championships.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Pictou Centre.

MACINTOSH-WISEMAN, SARAH - CEO: PICTOU CO. REN - BEST WISHES

HON. PAT DUNN « » : Mr. Speaker, Sarah MacIntosh-Wiseman has been selected as the new CEO of Pictou County's Regional Enterprise Network. Sarah, a lawyer with Mac, Mac & Mac, has been involved in extensive local and provincial volunteer work. She's acutely aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the area. Nevertheless, Sarah possesses a clear vision for the county's economic development opportunities and how the area can improve.

[Page 3221]

Sarah was born in Pictou County and obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree with a Special Major in Commerce/Management of Organizational Change from Mount Allison University in 1999. With her law degree from Dalhousie University in 2004, she returned to Pictou County in 2006 to begin her legal practice.

I would like to ask all members of this Legislature to join me in wishing Sarah MacIntosh-Wiseman success as she begins her mandate to oversee the creation of an economic development strategy.

THE SPEAKER « » : The time allotted for Statements by Members has expired.

[2:00 p.m.]

ORDERS OF THE DAY

ORAL QUESTIONS PUT BY MEMBERS TO MINISTERS

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable Leader of the Official Opposition.

PREM. - BULLYING RECOMMENDATIONS:

SLOW IMPLEMENTATION - EXPLAIN

TIM HOUSTON « » : Yesterday we asked the Premier why his government was so slow to implement recommendations on bullying. This is an issue that our caucus hears about every single week from Nova Scotians all across this province. The Premier's response - he called it a political football. This, despite the fact that this government has been objectively slow to implement proactive change.

I'd like to ask the Premier: Does the Premier honestly think that parents and other Nova Scotians who are concerned with bullying rates in this province are playing political football?

THE PREMIER « » : Mr. Speaker, again the honourable member has a selective memory. Quite frankly the reality of it is, what I said is that the inflammatory remarks he was making in and around this important issue are for political reasons.

The reality of it is, this is a very serious issue. Families across this province, communities across this province, are dealing with this issue, we are as well as a government. We continue to work with our colleagues in the education system to ensure that we deal with the issue. We're starting to see the numbers being reduced. Mr. Speaker. We know there is still more work to do, and no child should be going to school feeling afraid. We are going to continue to do that.

[Page 3222]

Let me be clear: I never said that parents across this province or children who are being bullied are using this for anything else other than wanting to shed light on the fact and wanting support. That's what we're trying to do.

TIM HOUSTON « » : That's the reality right there; that's the reality. Those parents want to shed light on it. That's what we're doing in this House when we bring those issues to the floor of this House. Whenever the Premier is questioned or challenged, he dismisses or ignores.

When Nova Scotians look to this House for answers as to why they can't get an ambulance or why they can't find a long-term care bed for their parents, we give them a voice. We're bringing those issues to the floor of the Legislature, but the Premier's response is irritation. He brushes it off, he doesn't have time for those voices, Mr. Speaker.

Our Nova Scotians who need a family doctor, need access to primary care, need mental health supports - are they just playing political football, Premier?

THE PREMIER « » : Mr. Speaker, the honourable member demonstrates why I talked about his inflammatory language. I don't question the honourable member's integrity about the issues he brings to this floor, nor do I question the concerns that Nova Scotians bring to me. What he does every time he stands in this House is, he questions whether there are motives of our government not responding to issues.

The fact of the matter is, what I said to him, the data demonstrates we continue to respond to this issue. We know there is more work to do - this is a very serious issue, Mr. Speaker. We continue to make sure that we make improvements and provide supports so that we can deal with this.

This has come up in the House many times. We've talked about technological change, which is coming fast and furious every day, where our children are being exposed online, Mr. Speaker. It is very different to be able to deal with that. It requires all of us to be part of that.

What I have said though, and let me be clear about this, Mr. Speaker: We have continued to take this issue seriously and we will continue to do so. We will work with families and communities across this province, but it is not just in our education system, it's a broader societal conversation that has to happen.

TIM HOUSTON « » : Mr. Speaker, taking the issues seriously means listening to those voices, even those voices that the Premier might not want to hear. A headline dated September 20, 2018, states: Premier defends right to ignore request from privacy commissioner.

[Page 3223]

Nova Scotians are used to this Premier defending his right to ignore certain issues. Ministers using private email - don't care; FOIPOP requests jammed with pages and pages of blacked out information - don't care; Information and Privacy Commissioner sees no legal reason to withhold information - don't care.

This is not just us, Mr. Speaker; these are the voices of everyday Nova Scotians. It's voices of the media working to hold the government accountable. People who dare disagree with this government - he doesn't care, he doesn't want to hear from them.

My question for the Premier: Does the Premier think that Nova Scotians have the right to ask what happened to his promise of the most open and transparent province in Canada, or are those people just playing political football?

THE PREMIER « » : Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the honourable member for the question. I want to tell him that I continue to hear and listen to Nova Scotians. The honourable member would know - he's been here since 2013 - that when you are in government, sometimes you make decisions and everyone doesn't always agree with you. The reality of that doesn't mean we weren't listening, or we didn't hear them. He would know many times we made adjustments to legislation based on the fact that we've heard from citizens across this province. He would know amendments we've made to bills that reflect what we have heard.

Other times, Mr. Speaker, we continue to move forward to provide good government that reflects the realities of what we're hearing from Nova Scotians. He would know that since 2013, we've almost had a 20 per cent increase in our budget because people have told us that is an important part of the health budget. He would also know that we continue to invest in public education, almost a 30 per cent increase to public education to deal with some of the very issues that the honourable member is referring to. We will continue to do that.

Mr. Speaker, I want to tell the honourable member I've been here since 2003, never once have I been asked by the Speaker of this House to apologize for misleading the House.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable Leader of the New Democratic Party.

PREM.: EMERA POSITION CHANGE - EXPLAIN

GARY BURRILL « » : Yesterday, Mr. Speaker, I questioned the Premier about the profits that Nova Scotia Power has taken from the province since its privatization in 1992. The Premier provided me with a little lecture on the virtue of having a profit-generating, private sector power utility in Nova Scotia.

[Page 3224]

Mr. Speaker, I would like the House to hear the following quotation:

Each year more than $100 million for power customers in Nova Scotia leaves this province, to be invested by Emera outside of our province. It is time to find a fair balance between shareholders and Nova Scotians struggling to pay their power bills.

Does the Premier remember writing these words in 2012?

THE PREMIER « » : Mr. Speaker, I sure do. That was at a time when power rates were being increased by over 30 per cent, on top of the fact that the last time the Progressive Conservative government was in power we saw power rates go up by 40 per cent.

I absolutely do remember those words, Mr. Speaker, and I want to tell the honourable member since we came into government that power rates are stabilized.

GARY BURRILL « » : Perhaps the Premier will remember also these words, Mr. Speaker, from another op-ed, which he wrote in the same year:

Nova Scotia Power as a company is certainly not struggling. It's doing so well that in the last 10 years it has sent more than $1 billion of pure profit to its parent company Emera, and right out of the province that's more than $1,000 for every person living in Nova Scotia pulled out of our economy, while executives profit and capital is sucked out of our province.

Mr. Speaker, I could not have expressed this with any more clarity, only I didn't express it - the Premier did. So he owes people an answer to the question: What made him change his mind?

THE PREMIER « » : Mr. Speaker I want to thank the honourable member for the question. I want to tell him that the piece of legislation that is before the House today does two things. It allows for borrowing capacity at a rate that reflects the reality of every other utility. But I think most importantly for Nova Scotians, it secures that Emera's head office will be located in Nova Scotia, that those hundreds of jobs associated with that will be in this province. The investment, those incomes, will be spent in this province. That is a way for us to ensure that Nova Scotians become the major beneficiaries of that investment.

GARY BURRILL « » : Mr. Speaker, plainly the Premier was once very concerned about profits being made off the customers of Nova Scotia Power and then those profits being shipped out of the province. However, today he is more concerned that Emera should be able to call its own tune and have exactly the financial structure it wants.

What has caused the Premier to turn into Mr. Emera and to lose sight of the nearly 40 per cent of our population for whom paying their power bill is a real struggle?

[Page 3225]

THE PREMIER « » : Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the honourable member for the question. What I want to tell the honourable member is that in 2012 and 2013, like many Nova Scotians, I was offended by the fact that consecutive governments allowed power rates to escalate at 40 per cent to 30 per cent in their terms.

I want to tell the honourable member that when Nova Scotians elected this government, they had a government that was going to ensure their power rates didn't escalate like they did in our previous governments.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Cole Harbour-Eastern Passage.

PREM.: FORMER MLA COMPLAINTS - REACH OUT

BARBARA ADAMS « » : Nova Scotians believe that anti-bullying leadership starts at the top so let's look at what that looks like here in our province. The Premier has decided the conduct of members of his Cabinet is the Speaker's responsibility, not his. The fact is that we called for an investigation into the conduct of a Cabinet Minister and it was this Premier, this caucus, that used its majority to shut it down - not you, Mr. Speaker.

We all recall a number of years ago when a member of the Premier's staff was found guilty of intimate partner violence. That person was fired, not because of the violence but because he didn't tell the Premier about it. I'll table that article to that effect. He was fired not because of the assault but because the story got out, and I'll table that article as well.

My question for the Premier: When that assault happened, he got the details and eventually did the right thing. Why won't the Premier, in this case, do the same thing now and call the former members?

THE PREMIER « » : Again I want to thank the honourable member for the question.

Mr. Speaker, as you know, I was cc'd on a letter that was sent to you, detailing experiences former members had in this House. You would also know that letter contained information that was pertaining to me. The reality of it is, at no time was I told that any member of our team had physical contact with anyone.

I want to assure the honourable member that if I had, the member and all Nova Scotians would know that I had received that information, and I can tell you I had not.

BARBARA ADAMS « » : Mr. Speaker, every time somebody on the opposite side tells me they want to reassure me, it's odd that I'm not reassured. The reality is that an allegation was made, and the minister responsible for creating that situation said in this House that he would welcome an investigation, but this government voted down the opportunity to get the facts out.

[Page 3226]

In the most recent incident, the Premier claims that he went through all of his old correspondence and couldn't find anything. Frankly, who cares? The issue is whether he's going to take this situation as seriously now.

I wonder if he did his research to actually find out the facts or just to determine if he was personally going to be embarrassed like the last time the Premier faced a question of integrity. If it's the facts he wants, he can just call the former members. I would prefer to think that doing the right thing matters the most.

Does the Premier believe that the conduct of his caucus members is his responsibility, yes or no?

THE PREMIER « » : I'm very proud of the men and women who have joined me in this journey of elected office. I'm proud of the fact that I have elected more women than any other Premier in the history of this province. I'm proud of the fact that I have appointed more women to the Executive Council than any other Premier in the history of this province.

I'm proud of the fact we currently have gender parity on the bench today. When I had an opportunity to make appointments to the bench, I made sure that our daughters recognized they could aspire to the highest courts in the province, just like our sons could. I want to assure the honourable member we made sure that minorities also saw themselves sitting on the Family Court and Provincial Court benches.

That's what you do when you care. That's what you do when you're open and transparent. I want to thank our members for continuing to work with us to ensure that we provide a government that reflects Nova Scotia.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Truro-Bible Hill-Millbrook-Salmon River.

ENVIRON.: MI'KMAW GRANDMOTHERS ARRESTS:

FAILURE TO CONSULT - COMMENT

LENORE ZANN « » : Mr. Speaker, my question today is for the Minister of Environment. Yesterday, the RCMP arrested three Mi'kmaw grandmothers near the Alton Gas project. This is where the Minister of Environment's disregard for treaty rights has led us - to arresting women who are just trying to protect the Shubenacadie River. It's not right, it's not fair, and it's not just.

Does the minister acknowledge that these arrests are the result of her government's failure to adequately consult indigenous people?

[Page 3227]

HON. MARGARET MILLER « » : I'm very pleased today to rise to speak on this and set the record straight. The results yesterday were about the protesters going against the legal injunction. This is about the courts, the police, and Alton Gas. The province does not have a role in this.

LENORE ZANN « » : Mr. Speaker, this outcome was not how things had to happen. There was another path, a path of what we call true reconciliation, a path of justice. But instead, the minister has once again sided with corporate interests over the interest of the people.

We are never going to get to the place that we need to be in terms of reconciliation like this. We're never going to address the past around the treatment of Indigenous peoples if the response to concerns about this project is to arrest grandmothers just trying to protect their Mi'kmaw territory and a sacred river.

My question to the minister is this: Will she intervene and try to find a solution that respects treaty rights?

MARGARET MILLER « » : Certainly, I want to respect the grandmothers who are taking this action on the river. We have many grandmothers in this House as well, and we know that grandmothers can be a force to be reckoned with.

Beyond that, certainly with the new IA results, the industrial approval results - there were amendments made to that based on the appeal of the industrial approval and the amendment results. Actually, one of the provisions was that there would be more communication, contact, between Sipekne'katik and Alton Gas on the project.

[2:15 p.m.]

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Pictou West.

H&W: CHIEF DENTAL OFFICER - POS. IMPACT

KARLA MACFARLANE « » : Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Health and Wellness.

I think it's really important that our province have advocates for public health outcomes, and I think everyone would agree with that.

We have a Chief Medical Officer of Health with a mandate to promote common public health priorities, but we don't have a similar position for dental health. The federal government and most provinces have a Chief Dental Officer, but there is no such position in Nova Scotia, despite lots of talk about it over the last couple of years.

[Page 3228]

My question is: Does he agree that a Chief Dental Officer would make a positive impact on oral health outcomes in Nova Scotia?

HON. RANDY DELOREY « » : Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for the question. Obviously, this government is concerned and interested in oral and dental health.

We made enhancements to our dental health program earlier this year. In addition, just in the last week or so, the Department of Health and Wellness hired a dental consultant to join the department they're in to help provide more information and advice to help us as we continue to review and look for opportunities for continuous improvement in the area of oral and dental health. That is the work that we do, and we've been taking it seriously. Like I said, there is a new position in the department that started just in the last week or so.

KARLA MACFARLANE « » : I thank the minister for his answer. It's a good start, but it's not enough. We have over 500 children waiting for consultation at the IWK - 500 children suffering with tooth decay and diseases.

Oral health, particularly for young Nova Scotians, is just as important as overall health care. A Chief Dental Officer could highlight these issues with dental care in communities and bring those issues right here to government. They could make preventive dental services a priority and, most importantly, they'd be accountable to the public.

I would like to ask the minister: Will he please commit to examining the introduction of a Chief Dental Officer position?

THE SPEAKER « » : Order please. I am going to disallow that question as it pertains directly to the content of the bill that you had just tabled, and Question Period is not the agenda item for debating the content of bills.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Sydney River-Mira-Louisbourg.

COM. SERV.: C.B. POV. NOS. - GROWTH

HON. ALFIE MACLEOD « » : Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question through you is to the Minister of Community Services.

Cape Breton communities continue to have the highest poverty rates in the country according to recent media reports that I will table, Mr. Speaker.

Cape Breton's two federal electoral districts are number-one and number-three spots in the province for the most low-income families. In Sydney-Victoria riding, one in three children live in a low-income family.

[Page 3229]

I would like to ask the minister: Why have Cape Breton poverty numbers grown progressively during this period of time?

HON. KELLY REGAN » : I want to thank the honourable member for the question. What the honourable member should know is that the market basket measure numbers that came out recently from Statistics Canada are, in fact, from 2017.

We began making a number of significant changes in 2018, so you would not see the effect of those at that time. We have made a number of improvements including, but not limited to, allowing people to keep more of the money they earn if they are able to take outside employment.

We have also ended the clawback on child maintenance so, for example, if a single-parent family is receiving maintenance enforcement what would happen before was that the money would be clawed back for income assistance rates. Now, Mr. Speaker, it's not and that provides an average of $275 more per month for those families.

ALFIE MACLEOD « » : I thank the minister for her answers. It's a cliché, I know, but it's true, the best social program for a person is a good job.

Perhaps the poverty problem doesn't rest at the feet of the Minister of Community Services, but unfortunately she is the one who has to deal with it.

I know Community Services is in the business of economic development and it is truly a safety net for those who have nowhere else to go, but is there anything the minister can do to improve the poverty rates in Cape Breton or is her role just to hold things together while somebody else tries to figure out how to fix the economy?

KELLY REGAN « » : I want to thank the honourable member. I do believe he knows that later this fiscal year we will roll out the second part of the standard household rate, which will see increases in income assistance.

In addition to that, we have undertaken work to alleviate poverty in a number of areas including things like the bus pass here in Halifax which, I want you to know, I would be more than happy to roll out in Cape Breton, as long as we can get that going.

We do have some pilot projects under way around the province under our Building Vibrant Communities program, tasked with solving that problem of transportation for example. Once you have transportation, you can get to a job and I know there is one specifically dealing with Cape Breton right now.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Pictou Centre.

[Page 3230]

COM. SERV. - ESIA REC.: BORROWINGS - POLICY

HON. PAT DUNN « » : Mr. Speaker, my question is also for the Minister of Community Services. In my constituency I have a young father of three children who recently won custody of the children from his ex-wife.

The process of redirecting the Child Tax Benefit and other aspects of support appear to be a bit more difficult for this father than we have seen in the past. However, the following is what I find confusing: the father was advised through our local DCS office that the money borrowed from family and friends for the necessities of life was levied against him as debt, even though he could prove that the funds were repaid. This made him ineligible for income assistance for the month of April.

My question to the minister: Is the minister aware of this policy where an individual forced to borrow in the struggle to provide for their children, is used, in essence, against the individual as a source of income?

HON. KELLY REGAN « » : I want to thank the honourable member for the question. As he knows, I am not able to deal with individual cases here in the House, often because I don't have all the details as we are discussing in the House. But if he would like to speak to me about it later, or speak to my executive assistant, we'd be more than happy to sit down with him and see how we can assist.

PAT DUNN « » : Mr. Speaker, this constituent's young children have been through incredibly difficult situations and they are finally settled with their father. He reports they are all going to the same school and they are showing signs of actually being happy and safe.

With the delay in retroactive Child Tax Benefits and finding that he was not eligible for any assistance through DCS, this father is struggling to provide the necessities of life and is truly afraid of having his children taken and returned to the custody of the department.

My question to the minister: Will the minister commit to reviewing this policy, a policy that is putting these three children and perhaps others, in peril?

KELLY REGAN « » : I want to thank the honourable member for the question. I know that he has great concern for families in his community, and I am more than happy to have our staff sit down with him and review the case.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable Leader of the New Democratic Party.

GOV'T. (N.S.): STREET CHECKS - CHARTER VIOLATION

[Page 3231]

GARY BURRILL « » : My question is for the Premier. The Human Rights Commission's street checks report was released over two weeks ago and was an overdue affirmation of the Black community's long-standing position that street checks are discriminatory. Dr. Wortley's report says in fact that police engage in forms of statistical discrimination that can have a profound impact on policing outcomes.

Mr. Speaker, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms is very clear, every individual is equal before and under the law, without discrimination based on race. I want to ask the Premier of the province: Does he agree that the practice of street checks here is a violation of the Charter rights of the Black community of Nova Scotia?

THE PREMIER « » : Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the honourable member for the question. When the report was issued, the Minister of Justice sent directives to law enforcement agencies across our province that street checks should not be a matter of course as part of going through the regular routine of policing.

He also said that he would do further analysis. That's ongoing and I know the Minister of Justice, who has been out meeting with members of the community, Mr. Speaker, will have more to say on this issue.

GARY BURRILL « » : The report calls the legality of street checks into question and concludes that the province should either ban them all together, or strongly regulate them to improve the practice. In the latter case, Dr. Wortley says that the government of Nova Scotia should consider a moratorium on street checks until this regulation is developed and implemented.

Mr. Speaker, during Budget Estimates, members of the Black community came here to listen to the Minster of Justice be questioned on this issue. Tara Taylor, who has been street checked 42 times, was here and she told reporters that a ban would be a start. She said it would send a very big message to the community.

I'd like to ask the Premier: Is he going to ban the practice of street checks, or at the very least implement the moratorium Dr. Wortley calls for?

THE PREMIER « » : He would know we're taking this issue very seriously. Upon receiving the report, the Minister of Justice made a number of directives to law enforcement agencies across our province to no longer have street checks as part of their daily way of doing policing.

The honourable member would also know the Minister of Justice in his entire time being there, when he has received reports he has taken them and thoroughly reviewed them and come back with a recommendation on how to best implement that.

I want to, as well, thank the member for Cole Harbour-Portland Valley who continues to make sure that his experience in this province, that is different than ours, continues to be reflected at the Cabinet table and when policy decisions are being made.

[Page 3232]

I want to assure the members of the African Nova Scotian community that our government takes this issue very seriously and we will continue to work with them to ensure that they get treated as equals inside of this province, not just in the justice system.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Cumberland North.

FIN. & TREASURY BD. - GAS BILLS: COST OF CARBON - PUNISHMENT

ELIZABETH SMITH-MCCROSSIN « » : In 2005, Amherst was praised as being a leader for being the first large-scale project for natural gas distribution in the region. Industries, government, and private citizens invested in capital expenditures to switch to natural gas.

In 2015, we celebrated 10 years of this accomplishment and it was reported that the decision removed over 80,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions from the environment. That's enough to power 17,000 cars.

My question to the Minister of Finance and Treasury Board: Why has your department chosen to punish those who have invested in a cleaner energy option with a tax called the cost of carbon on my constituency's gas bills?

HON. KAREN CASEY « » : I think it has been very clear what the position of our government has been about carbon reduction. I think it's also very clear that we recognize the importance of green energy and we will continue to be supportive of that because we recognize the environment and the economy have to exist together.

ELIZABETH SMITH-MCCROSSIN « » : I have a lot of questions around this whole tax. How will this tax that's being put on our citizens actually reduce greenhouse gas emissions? I believe it's a tax grab. Most importantly, I'm concerned about the impact of this tax on those who don't deserve it and can't afford it.

I have an 88-year-old widow who made an investment years ago to switch to natural gas because she was told it was cleaner than other fossil fuels and because it's safer and easier to store than other fossil fuels. Now this widow is living on a fixed income and paying this carbon tax.

My question to the Minister of Finance and Treasury Board is: What does she have to say to Nova Scotians on a fixed income who are now forced to pay more every day because of this carbon pricing scheme?

THE PREMIER « » : Indeed, through successive governments, Nova Scotians have continued to reduce our greenhouse gas production. We're 30 per cent below 2005 levels. We'll be near 50 per cent by 2030. We want the national government to recognize that was the case. That's why we have a cap-and-trade system inside of our province.

[Page 3233]

I think the honourable member can reassure her constituent that if we had taken the advice of her Leader and her Party, her power bills would have gone up substantially higher, but we went and fought on behalf of her and all Nova Scotians to make sure that they were recognized for the work that they had already been doing.

[2:30 p.m.]

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Sydney River-Mira-Louisbourg.

COM. SERV. - ESIA REC.: REDUCTION - NUMBER

HON ALFIE MACLEOD « » : First, I want to say that some of what the minister replied to in my last question are important steps, but they are steps that need to be taken outside the capital area, where child poverty is raging wildly amongst our communities in rural Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island.

For the thousands of Nova Scotians who receive income assistance, the chance of a better life gets to be harder and harder because of the cost of living as it keeps rising. We all, every member here, hear far too often from constituents that the current level of funding does not allow them to meet even a minimal living standard in our province. The current levels of funding to provide housing are extremely low.

Mr. Speaker, my question to the minister is: How many Nova Scotians were able to get themselves off of income assistance last year?

HON. KELLY REGAN « » : I want to thank the honourable member for that question. I actually don't have the number with me. I can assure him that our caseload does continue to decline. It has been a year-over-year decline, but I actually do not have the number with me.

ALFIE MACLEOD « » : Well, I am sure that the minister will provide that to the House in a timely fashion.

The steps the government has taken in the last year have been directed at easing the transition from income assistance to the workforce. You know what? That's a step in the right direction. Of course, the key is that when somebody transitions to the workforce there is stability, or their risk of sliding back into the system is great.

Mr. Speaker, the question I have is: Historically, what percentage of clients end up sliding back and needing income assistance again?

[Page 3234]

KELLY REGAN « » : I want to thank the honourable member for the question. Again, I don't have that exact number with me. What I can tell the honourable member is that when we went out and consulted with our clients and with our stakeholders, what we heard loud and clear is that they wanted to make sure they wouldn't be penalized for taking a job. That is why we have changed the work that we are doing around how much money you can actually keep when you step out and begin to earn.

In the past, there was a disincentive for people to work and we understood that. That's why we have made sure that when people work they get to keep more of the money than they have in the past, Mr. Speaker. Also, around things like the bus pass - which I realize is only in HRM right now, but gosh, I would like to expand it elsewhere - or other modes of transportation are for an entire year. So even if you come off part of the way through the year, you continue to have that bus pass for you, your dependants, and your children for the rest of the year.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Sydney River-Mira-Louisbourg.

COM. SERV.: ESIA REC. - TARGET REDUCTION

HON. ALFIE MACLEOD « » : That incentive is a good move, but not every area in the Province of Nova Scotia has a system for transferring people around, and it's very difficult in rural areas. In most cases, they need a car to be able to do what they need to do to keep their family sustainable.

Nova Scotians are slipping through the cracks and they need a real champion. The changes to income assistance announced in the past year should help stabilize the transition and stop some people from falling through the cracks, but the question is whether the changes will have that desired effect and reduce the percentage of clients who again find themselves on income assistance.

Mr. Speaker, I want to ask the minister: Does the minister have a target reduction that would determine whether the program is being successful?

HON. KELLY REGAN « » : I want to thank the honourable member for the question. In fact, what we're in the process of doing is building a poverty reduction blueprint. This is a five-year program. We are rolling it out over a number of years. Right now we are looking at the results of the first two years to see what the promising practices are.

I would also note that it's not just at DCS, as the honourable member has noted, that we have taken steps that will help reduce the cost of living or improve the standard of living for people. For example, the pre-Primary program, for which my colleague just announced I think 83 more classrooms yesterday - that is something that assists families that are . . . (Interruption)

[Page 3235]

If the honourable member for Cape Breton Centre would please let me finish, I would really appreciate it. This is the fifth time the honourable member has interrupted me so far.

I would also note we have increased the number of daycare spaces. We have breakfast programs at 93 per cent of the schools throughout the province. At DCS we also have programs for young people to make sure they don't attach the system, particularly those who have grown up in the system.

ALFIE MACLEOD « » : Mr. Speaker, the thing that we all need to remember is people need help today. It's the same as the announcement they made in Sydney about the hospital - people made noise about that, but they made noise because they don't have a doctor today. We can't live two years, three years, five years in the future. People need to live today, they need the support of their government today.

We know there are two sides to any employment equation - employer and the employee. I know that government has worked at transitioning potential employees and will even decrease the support of those who aren't actively seeking employment. I wonder if enough is being done on the employer's side to make income assistance clients an attractive hire - does the government offer any incentives to employers if they hire a client who is on income assistance?

KELLY REGAN « » : What I can tell the honourable member is there are a number of programs that we have where we have worked with employers in specific sectors of the economy that are looking for employees. For example, last summer we had young people working in the agricultural sector. I can tell you that having spoken to those employers who hired young people whose families had been on income assistance or who were from immigrant families, they were totally impressed by the young people. I heard from some employers who said for the first time in a long, long time they were actually able to take the day off and the young people actually ran the operation.

So, yes, there are some programs like that. Thank you.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Kings North.

H&W - HRM RURAL HOSP. (3): DOCTOR/NURSE RECRUIT. - ACTION

JOHN LOHR « » : Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health and Wellness.

There are three hospitals in rural HRM that do not qualify for the federal student loan debt relief program for doctors and nurses. It's because they're in the HRM that Statistics Canada doesn't include them in this rural program. Anyone who has driven to the outskirts of HRM will agree that the communities of Sheet Harbour, Musquodoboit Valley, Musquodoboit Harbour are certainly rural. That's why on June 4, 2018, I wrote a letter to the federal minister - I'll table that, and I'll table the reply too - I copied the local member and the Minister of Health and Wellness.

[Page 3236]

I know this is a federal issue, but the delivery of health care and doctor and nurse recruitment is definitely a provincial issue, so my question for the Minister of Health and Wellness is: Knowing there are ongoing issues with both doctor and nurse recruitment and how severely this disadvantages these three busy hospitals, what action has the minister taken to change this?

HON. RANDY DELOREY « » : Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for raising the question. I believe this was a question that came up earlier in the week as well. As I indicated at that time, I have spoken with members of the federal government on this topic in the past to bring to their attention the geographic realization of the HRM. Although the member has made reference to his own correspondence with the federal government, I know some of my colleagues, including you, Mr. Speaker, on behalf of your constituents in the Eastern Shore, brought that very thing to the attention of the federal government as well.

JOHN LOHR « » : Mr. Speaker, I'd like to thank the minister for that answer. The local MLA is a Cabinet Minister in this government, the local MP is a government member - federally and provincially the members are in government. According to an article posted today by the Eastern Shore Cooperator, which I'll table, the change could easily be made by Statistics Canada. All that has to happen is for someone to ask.

Apparently that has never happened. If this absurdity continues of this area being considered urban, it's simply because of a lack of effort. My question to the minister is: Will he commit to working with his federal counterparts to get this program changed so these hospitals can use this program to help them recruit doctors and nurses?

RANDY DELOREY « » : Mr. Speaker, as I've already mentioned, we have heard the concerns and we recognize, obviously, the geographic structure and the rural nature of these communities. That's why we've already brought these concerns to attention.

We've highlighted that HRM is not just the largest urban part of the province, Mr. Speaker, but it also represents the largest rural population in the Province of Nova Scotia. So, we've already been doing that. In addition to that though, we continue to work within our own jurisdiction to modify and enhance our recruitment and retention programs for the Province of Nova Scotia right across this province. We're working both with our federal partners and within our own jurisdiction to take steps to improve recruitment and retention of medical professionals.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Dartmouth North.

[Page 3237]

TIR: HWY. NO. 101/LR. SACK. - PEDESTRIAN PEDWAY

SUSAN LEBLANC « » : Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal.

On the evening of November 30, 2018, 60-year-old Glenn Stright was killed on Lower Sackville's busiest traffic artery after being struck by two vehicles. His body lay under an overpass and between two highway ramps funneling traffic on and off Highway No. 101.

Mr. Stright was returning home from work and on his way home to the Sackville Manor mobile home park, just a few minutes walk from where he died. He was the second pedestrian killed at that location in the last 10 years.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the minister: Can he indicate whether or not there is money in this year's budget to build a pedway, so that local residents can get to work, school, and other commitments without putting their lives on the line?

HON. LLOYD HINES « » : Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for the question. In terms of safety, it is the highest priority in our department and our officials are working constantly to improve the safety issues there. This is sort of a difficult circumstance in that the real pedestrian responsibility lies with the local jurisdiction, the local municipality - pedestrian pedways are their responsibility to construct.

We are working with them, with HRM, on that particular location to come up with a solution that will alleviate some of the danger that may exist there.

SUSAN LEBLANC « » : Mr. Speaker, I appreciate those efforts, but action needs to be taken now. People who live in this neighbourhood believe that the department isn't acting quickly enough, or acting at all, to fix this problem, because they're not worried about public outcry from residents.

I'd like to table a quote from local resident, Holly Gallant. She says: "They see us as just trailer park residents but I think if we were a higher-end, upper-class neighbourhood this wouldn't be an issue. They wouldn't be waiting for someone else to be killed."

Mr. Speaker, without taking immediate action and taking leadership with the municipality, how can the minister possibly assure the residents of this community that their needs aren't being ignored because they live in a low-income neighbourhood?

LLOYD HINES « » : Mr. Speaker, our department takes this responsibility regarding highway safety very, very seriously. We don't mess around with that at all, and we don't see the issues of neighbourhood or that sort of thing.

[Page 3238]

Our responsibility is for the right of ways that exist, and the responsibility of the local municipality is to determine the zoning and where these properties grow over time. Sometimes they come in after highway infrastructure is in place, but rest assured we are doing everything we can, working with the municipality, to effect some changes in that area.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Victoria-The Lakes.

BUS.: DEVCO WORKERS WCB - EXTENSION

KEITH BAIN « » : Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Business. There is a group of former Devco workers who have developed lifelong to potentially terminal diseases after working underground. These workers have been receiving WCB payments, but WCB payments are cut off after the worker reaches 65.

These workers have been looking for an extension of these benefits past 65 but have been unsuccessful thus far. Mr. Speaker, I understand that the Minister of Business has met with this group, so my question is: Can the minister confirm that he met with this group and can he say what commitments he has given to them?

HON. GEOFF MACLELLAN « » : Mr. Speaker, certainly an important issue for those retired Devco miners. Knowing my connection to Devco and understanding the industry and the impact on the families that that industry had, I do appreciate where they are coming from. I'm very familiar with the file.

I've met with them on several occasions, different groups, advocates from their association and their organization call weekly, send emails, texts, they come at me pretty regularly. It's one that's certainly going to fall on me with respect to what happens there at the end.

It's been characterized as a provincial issue, and fundamentally this is not a provincial issue, other than how it's connected to the Workers' Compensation Act by way of Public Works with the federal government.

There are a number of significant challenges with how we could potentially get to where they want to go, and certainly, with respect, there's got to be federal involvement in this.

[2:45 p.m.]

[Page 3239]

KEITH BAIN « » : Thank you. Devco was a federal Crown corporation, and I understand that the federal government has made funds available to the province to pay these benefits - and I will table that, Mr. Speaker - yet the benefits have not been paid.

I can understand that the current WCB system isn't built to handle the situation, but if there is no cost to the province, surely we could find a way to get the federal money into the hands of the workers who deserve it.

My question to the minister: Has the government considered amending the WCB legislation or setting up another mechanism to get these payments to those workers?

GEOFF MACLELLAN « » : In a nutshell, for the House and for those who are interested in this conversation, the federal government paid for those employees, so it is federal funds coming to the Devco miners, but they are subject to the Workers' Compensation Act. For us to do what they are asking us to do would be that we amend the Act for everyone. It goes from 65 to perpetuity, which would literally cost billions of dollars for the province.

It's not that there's no money and no expense. For us to do this en masse and make this change to the Worker's Compensation Act, it's just impossible and unaffordable. As hard as it is for me, and I know that I will shoulder this, the reality is that this is just not an option. What I have spoken to Greg, John, and many others about is the way that automatic assumption works in terms of an amendment under the Workers' Compensation Act.

We're exploring with the Minister of Labour and Advanced Education to see if that is some kind of avenue we can use but again, fundamentally, it's patently unfair that we've been sort of made the target in this. (Interruption) I would love for the member for Cape Breton Centre to ask the question next. If she wants to participate, I want to do it on the record.

Again, we are looking at this, but the federal government has a role to play here, and it's unfair that they put this on the province.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Queens-Shelburne.

H&W - EHS: NON-EMERG. TRANSPORTS - EVALUATE

KIM MASLAND « » : Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Health and Wellness. Again and again, we hear that health care resources aren't being consumed efficiently in this province. One example is a significant number of expensive acute care beds occupied by patients waiting for comparatively inexpensive long-term care beds.

Another is the volume of EHS calls received for matters that are non-emergency. Patients in rural areas who need dialysis treatment often feel like EHS is their best and only transport option, but that often ties up ambulances. My question for the minister is: Are there any plans to evaluate new transportation methods for non-emergency patients to get to and from hospitals?

[Page 3240]

HON. RANDY DELOREY « » : I thank the member for bringing this important question to the Legislature. I believe all members of the Legislature would be aware that we do have a review ongoing of the EHS system, which includes all aspects of our ambulance system.

The member correctly identified that in addition to emergency responses that our EHS paramedics provide, there are elements of patient transfers that do take place. There already, in some areas, a separate staffing model and equipment that is used for non-urgent medical or critical patient transfers, so it's not always your emergency ambulance being used for those services already.

KIM MASLAND « » : By now the minister would be familiar with stories of an EHS system that is stretched to the breaking point. What we are hearing is that a lot of those pressures are avoidable. Many of these pressures are another result of decision-making in silos. The issue isn't the fault of paramedics, and it's not the fault of patients. It's another administrative failure - a failure to analyze, a failure to innovate.

Does the minister think that health care in Nova Scotia is innovating quickly enough, or are we being left behind?

RANDY DELOREY « » : Thank you for the question. Indeed, we are very active. That's part of the reason why we have that Fitch review of our EHS system taking place right now. I look forward to receiving it and making improvements to our . . .

THE SPEAKER « » : Order, please. The time allotted for Oral Questions Put by Members to Ministers has expired.

The honourable member for Kings North.

JOHN LOHR « » : Mr. Speaker, I beg leave to make an introduction.

THE SPEAKER « » : Permission granted.

JOHN LOHR « » : Mr. Speaker, I'd like to call the attention of the House to the West Gallery where we have HRM District 2 Councillor and former MLA David Hendsbee. I'd like to ask him to stand. (Applause)

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS

GOVERNMENT MOTIONS

[Page 3241]

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable Government House Leader.

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

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Queens-Shelburne.

KIM MASLAND « » : I am happy to offer a few comments into Supply, in response to the budget. When I sat down to write this response last Sunday, it was a year since I lost my grandmother Pauline Brown. As I am sure some will recall that year ago, I stood in the House and I asked the question to the Minister of Health and Wellness about an 85-year old lady who lay on a gurney for five days in an ER examining room with a highly-infectious patient beside her, with only a curtain separating them. I shared the words of this lady, which were: I am too sick to be home, but I am too sick to be in this room. Just take me home.

I didn't share the story that day because it was my grandmother. I shared it because it was beyond time that this government started listening to residents who were suffering for days on end in ER rooms because there were no beds available. After five days on a gurney, she was finally moved to a room and she died eight days later. My grandmother deserved better.

As much as the system failed her, in her last days do you know what she was worrying about? She was worrying about the nurses who were trying to look after her, run off their feet, working in conditions that are not healthy or safe for them or the patient. She was so worried she actually wrote a note to share with all the nurses, expressing how appreciative she was for their care.

My grandmother loved people and spent most of her life working at North Queens Nursing Home, caring for residents. She had values of empathy and compassion. She knew what was happening around her was wrong. It angers me when I think how badly this government failed her, but what disappoints me the most is that I look back over this last year, nothing has changed. Doctors are still practising hallway medicine and nurses are still run off their feet providing care.

I have stood in this House time and time again bringing forth personal situations of constituents. I have listened to parents sob, desperate for help for their children. I have had an extremely strong young doctor tell me he is sacrificing his own health to care for others. We have heard the pleas from our nurses, our paramedics, who are crying out concerning offload times and increased call volumes, in conditions they are being forced to work under.

These are people sharing stories and asking for help to make a broken system better. They are calling on this government to show up, to listen and to respond. I am so proud for all these people who share their private stories: our paramedics, our doctors, our nurses, specialists, technicians, all dedicated health professionals who are tired of being silenced.

[Page 3242]

The NSGEU survey of over 1,000 Nova Scotia nurses shows that 90 per cent feel patients are being put at risk due to staff shortages and they worry about their patients. Only 12 per cent feel safe at work and 84 per cent have experienced physical or verbal threats or acts of abuse and violence. And how does the NSHA respond to that? Well, they tell the nurses that your summer vacations may not be approved.

As I have said in this House several times, my constituency has two ERs: Roseway Hospital in Shelburne, which struggles to keep the doors open; and Queens General Hospital, which has never closed its doors. I ask the question: Why is it fair that residents who live only 45 to 60 minutes apart experience such a difference in access to emergency room services? Roseway has been closed almost 800 hours since January and approximately 1,000 hours in 2018.

Now, let's be clear here, Mr. Speaker, I'm not being negative. I'll be the first to recognize and applaud the dedication of health care professionals working at Roseway. This is not their fault. They are not letting down the citizens of Shelburne County. This government is, Mr. Speaker. The collaborative care clinic that opened its doors this fall is a welcomed addition, and it is a great place for health care practitioners to deliver primary care. But primary care is primary care, and emergency care is emergency care, and my constituents in Shelburne County deserve both.

Queens General Hospital ER, which has never closed its doors since it opened in the 1940s, is feeling the pressures. Our doctors and nurses are exhausted. Doctors at Queens General Hospital continue to provide comprehensive health care delivery to our community - office patients, in-patients, many orphaned patients, palliative care, nursing home care, and ER. While working a shift at the ER, doctors can see up to 60 patients a night from all neighbouring communities. ER waits are 9 to 12 hours long some nights. Many rural Nova Scotians are obtaining their primary care in increasingly overburdened emergency rooms simply because they don't have a doctor, or they're required to wait months to see their own doctor or nurse practitioner.

Guess what, Mr. Speaker? Our amazing doctors who provide this comprehensive care in Queens General Hospital are not equally compensated as in other parts of the province the crisis is being felt the most. If this government continues to under-compensate rural family doctors for providing comprehensive care, we will never attract the professionals we need to address this crisis.

It is time to invest in doctors who are willing to provide comprehensive care in this province. Lab services are being stripped in rural communities. Nurses are required to draw blood, and point-of-care testing is becoming a way of the future. Lab samples are collected at Roseway and sent to Yarmouth. At Queens General, lab samples are collected, taken by courier to South Shore Regional, and then couriered to Kentville. Couriers dispatch from a regional hospital sometimes four to five times a day.

[Page 3243]

Then let's talk about long-term care facilities. Long-term care facilities are aging in my constituency. Roseway Manor was promised a replacement in 2013. Hillsview Acres residential care facility was promised a replacement in 2013. Sadly, I did not see any follow-through on these previous commitments in this budget.

The Minister of Health and Wellness loves to talk about the investment government has made into home care which is allowing seniors to age in place, and I agree. Aging in place is wonderful if you can, but all simply cannot. Until the day comes that a government can provide 24-hour-a-day care every day, it is impossible for some to remain in their homes an entire lifetime.

Our in-patient beds are filled, in many hospitals, with seniors waiting to be placed in long-term care. Actually, there are between 1,000 to 1,250 people now on the official waiting list, and it is estimated that 20 per cent of the province's 3,554 hospital in-patient beds are occupied by seniors waiting for placement. We need the investment in long-term care so places are available for our most beloved seniors. After contributing to their communities for decades, they deserve this.

Our care providers deserve the support required to ensure all the patients' needs are being met. A 2018 survey by the Health Association of Nova Scotia suggests as many as 40 per cent of continuing care assistants working today may leave or retire in the next five to ten years. Immediate attention to recruitment and staffing is crucial.

Let's talk about mental health. I'm delighted to see the province invest $11.7 million of the budget to support mental health. Sadly, this investment is too late coming for the many who are overcome by the pain and fear when no one was there to help. I think about Anthony Nauss and his family. Anthony reached out for help and left hospital feeling helpless and hopeless.

Anthony's dad, Stephen Nauss, wrote to all members of this Legislature on March 12^th describing his son as smart, hard-working, and full of life, with a huge heart, who would go out of his way to help someone in need - not just friends but strangers as well. It took great courage for Stephen to write this letter, but he did so to ensure no other parent would have to go through the heartache he does every day.

One life is too many, and I call on this government to continue to make the investments needed so Anthony's wishes can be granted. Make the changes. The biggest budget line in this budget, $4.5 billion, is a lot of money for it not to work. This government needs to ensure it has a strategic plan, a vision.

[3:00 p.m.]

[Page 3244]

Last March the government released the long-awaited report on the review of an inclusion model in our schools. It called for a complete redesign of how students with special needs are supported and integrated into classrooms. The report stated 700 supports and specialists including psychologists and speech pathologists were needed to be hired to have a truly inclusive educational model; $15 million was invested now and with this budget another $15 million into the continuation of implementation.

This is welcome money, but I'm hearing from families and classroom teachers filled with emotion because of the challenges they face on a daily basis, and families feel like hope is diminishing. We have students struggling to make it through the day. EPA allocations are needed to guide and support these students. Our EPAs need to be trained how to deal with complex behavioural challenges.

We need to get this right. We owe it to the many students who have been failed by a broken system. We need an education system that is responsive and supportive to all learners and teachers to ensure the success of our children.

Mr. Speaker, $1.4 billion is a lot of money for it not to work. The government needs to ensure it has a strategic plan, a vision.

Another big concern I have is for all the men and women working in the forestry industry in my constituency and this province. I have been hearing from hundreds of people whose livelihoods depend on Northern Pulp's ability to continue to operate.

Right now, in rural Nova Scotia forestry is one of our biggest businesses. We have small and large sawmills, forestry contractors, truckers, road builders, equipment sales, truck repair shops, local firewood producers, woodlot owners, and small stores that rely on Northern Pulp being able to run. I'm hearing from all of them.

I share in their concerns and I'm worried about the future of the forestry industry in this province. We have contractors who are scared to invest and repair gear, and banks that are refusing to give them credit because of the uncertainty. We have some young families that have left the province and more looking to leave and never return because of the uncertainty.

I grew up in Queens County and I never left. My dad worked in the forestry industry; some of my best friends still work in the forestry industry. Forestry is a huge part of our fabric in Queens County. This is bigger than 300 jobs at Northern Pulp. This will hit hard in Queens County and it will hit hard in our province. There is no Plan B here.

When Bowater shut its doors in Brooklyn, Northern Pulp became Plan B. Northern Pulp is the most integrated mill in this province and it will affect every sawmill in this province.

[Page 3245]

What is going to happen to those 150 families who work at Freeman's mill - a mill that has been operating since 1830? We have a terrified industry in Nova Scotia right now. The future of our forestry industry hinges on one decision, and it's this government's job to consider the ramifications of its decisions.

What is the government plan if this mill closes its doors? The collapse of our forestry sector is much bigger than you may think and it's time this government started to think about it.

Of course, I would be remiss if I did not mention the state of our roads. Many of our gravel roads need more than band-aid fixes; they need to be rebuilt, they need proper ditching, and this is throughout my entire constituency. There are routes that have not seen asphalt since the 1950s in my constituency. Brush cutting has been seriously lacking, and the men and women working at local depots are faced with reduced staff and broken equipment. No wonder they cannot get the job done in the seasons they face.

I am happy to see the government has tabled a balanced budget. I believe that government must be fiscally responsible with the taxpayers' money of this province. In saying that, I also believe the province must deliver the services that are needed to citizens in an effective, transparent way. This $11.5 billion budget lacks vision, and we are being smothered in an administrative nightmare. The health system is uncertain and declining.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I will say I take this job seriously. I am humbled each day I have the opportunity to represent the amazing constituents of Queens-Shelburne. I decided to offer my name for public life because I wanted to help make lives better. We were all elected for the same reason - to serve the people - and I think sometimes that gets lost in partisanship.

I think it's time to be reminded of the words of the Honourable Joseph Howe: "My public life is before you; and I know you will believe me when I say that when I sit down in solitude to the labours of my profession, the only questions I ask myself are, What is right? What is just? What is for the public good?" Thank you.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Cole Harbour-Eastern Passage.

BARBARA ADAMS « » : I am pleased to have an opportunity to talk about the constituency of Cole Harbour-Eastern Passage. I want to reflect a little bit about the current budget that we are about to vote on tomorrow, and the past almost two years now since this government's been in power and how it has impacted my constituency.

I live in the best community in the whole province. We have the most amazing constituents, the greatest volunteers, amazing churches, a number of support groups, and non-profit groups. There are so many events going on, to help people in my community, I could be out every night. But we are responsible in this government for what happens to our communities on health care, education, and economic and workplace innovations.

[Page 3246]

What has happened over the past two years, and particularly with this budget, is we don't really have any new money for our senior's dementia strategy; we've barely even talked about it. We had a long-term care strategy that was reported on in January and this government committed $2.8 million, which barely is a drop in the ocean for what's needed for long-term care. We have a continual duck and weave of this government on the Yarmouth ferry deal and what they've done with the contracts and how they're spending the money.

We have nurses coming forward for the first time in my career as a health professional saying that they fear for their own health and, more importantly, they fear that they're going to make a mistake when it comes to the life and death decisions they make with their patients. They might have had a policy in place out at Cobequid for pink slips for people waiting in emergency, but they've never given them out, to my knowledge, until recently.

We've heard about hallway medicine around this province and we've gotten, frankly, used to the fact that emergency rooms around the province in rural areas are closed on an escalating basis - and all you have to do is look at the numbers to know we're losing this battle despite all of the investments of this government. ER closures are increasing in number to the point where now we have hallway medicine in Dartmouth and Halifax, and ambulances around this province that can't unload because of poor management and lack of staffing in our hospitals.

One of the responses from this government in terms of dealing with issues is to shut Public Accounts down for meeting four times a month to once a month. There is no one in this province who thinks that was moving towards better government, except for the government itself.

When we established the first-ever Health Committee in this province - and I'm glad to be on that committee - when we set a time to debate how often we were going to meet we, all on the Opposition side, naturally assumed we would be meeting weekly because it's the most critical issue; it's almost 48 per cent of the budget. This government promised a doctor for every Nova Scotian; I was on record as saying we should be meeting weekly until every Nova Scotian has a family doctor, and that was voted down.

We have school decisions - this government shut down the school boards, so we've become the representative and voice of schools. We have decisions in my constituency where we're still waiting, almost two years later, to know what's going to happen to the Cole Harbour area of schools - two years after this government shut down the school review process. That's a long time, and they're not happy.

[Page 3247]

I've often heard that this government talks about how tourism numbers are up in this province, and I believe that and I'm excited about that. They're not up in my community. I've asked for those numbers and I haven't been able to get them, but I can tell you from talking with all of the business owners in my community that those numbers are not up; in fact, every time there's a big event in downtown Halifax, our tourism numbers go down, not up, and that's a problem for us.

Nova Scotia has almost 40 per cent, give or take, of Canadian Armed Forces members. I have the Shearwater base, and there are people there who make sacrifices on a daily basis, but those who signed up to be members of the Canadian Armed Forces knew what they were signing up for. Their families did not know that when they got posted to our base that they were going to face going almost the entire time they are here with no medical care, except for the emergency room and walk-in clinics.

There has been no strategy put forth to help those military families who go on a wait-list here, then get posted somewhere else and go on a wait-list there, and then at the third place it's the same thing. What's worse are those children who have disabilities, who have intellectual challenges, who are absolutely disadvantaged because they are being put on a wait-list from one posting to the next. It's a shame that we are doing this. We have to do better.

We have income assistance clients in our communities who cannot afford a phone. I am at a loss as to why we, as a province, have not decided that a phone is an essential service, given that one of the things government wants is for people to get off income assistance and get back to work. But how do you apply for a job when you don't have a phone number to put on that application?

We have no parent-and-child resource centre in our community. It is in Cole Harbour. We don't have a bus to get from my community of Eastern Passage-Cow Bay to get to my community in Cole Harbour, so it's an hour and a half bus ride - one way.

We don't have a library. We have a vending machine where you can select from probably around 50 books. That's not good enough, Mr. Speaker. My constituents deserve better.

It wasn't until I got in government, on this side of the Legislature, that I was able to find out conclusively that my constituents were not being called off the 811 list. I managed to have that changed, even though we don't have a family doctor yet. We were able to get this government to take action and make sure that my constituents are being called off that list. I found out today that because of that change, over 2,600 people have been called off that list. Those are 2,600 who didn't even know they weren't on the list because there was no doctor to call them off of it. That's not good enough.

[Page 3248]

We have long-term care wait times where I have constituents in Cole Harbour whose family members are all the way over in Spryfield. They have to take four buses to get there, and that person has already waited five months in hospital to get a bed.

We continue to have workers' compensation patients being unfairly denied because the word and recommendation of an independent medical evaluator, who might have seen them once, is superseding the recommendation of a family doctor who has known them their whole life, physiotherapists who have specialized training in functional-capacity evaluations, and other specialists. Their information, reports, and recommendations are being completely denied because of one independent medical evaluator seeing them very briefly or, even worse, reviewing their records from afar, and saying the one thing that the Workers' Compensation Board wants to hear: You are not eligible for benefits. That's not fair.

We have a suicide rate in this province that is unacceptable. In just this past month, my constituency assistant lost someone in her family and someone in her husband's family to suicide within a week of each other. My son, who is only 27, has lost eight friends to suicide. That is unacceptable to me. We have to do better, and we can do better. For all of those who are considering suicide, I pray they will reach out and ask for help, and this government and we will work together to try to make it better.

As the honourable member beside me said earlier, we are a metro-designated area, but we have rural issues. We have silencing of teachers who are afraid to speak up because the punishment for doing so is financial and possibly a loss of their job.

We even see lack of consultation on good bills. One of those bills is the organ donation bill. What I am hearing from many is that they like the idea. One of my classmates, whose daughter has cystic fibrosis, waited in a Toronto hospital for over a year and a half. She was too ill to come home, but after waiting a year and a half, when her lung function was almost non-existent, she made the decision to come home and make preparations to say goodbye. Mr. Speaker, she had a bag packed ready to go back to Toronto, to go back on that list, when she passed away.

This is a good bill. Nova Scotians didn't have any warning about it. I don't understand it - it's a good bill. Why would we not have included Nova Scotians so that it wasn't taking them by complete surprise? I'm hoping that once they have a chance to hear more about it that many will be on board, but that was a good thing that we could have talked to them about and got their cooperation, so that people's fears could've been addressed long before now.

Mr. Speaker, I have dozens and dozens, well, hundreds of small business owners in my constituency who are struggling. They continue to tell me that there is too much red tape and there are too many barriers for help for those who are already in business. There are some who have actually been advised that if they wanted government help, they'd be better off if they declared bankruptcy and started all over again under a new business to get access to help. I believe we could do a better job together down the road.

[Page 3249]

Mr. Speaker, there has also been very little economic growth in my community. When we look at the government offices in our community, I've mentioned this before, we have a liquor store and we have an unemployment office, but we do not have any of the other essential services in my community.

Mr. Speaker, one of the only promises during the last election that this government made to my constituents was a collaborative health centre. We've had three consecutive budgets that gave collaborative health centres everywhere else. I don't know exactly how many collaborative health centres there are; that will be a question for next Fall for the Minister of Health and Wellness. I would actually be interested to know how many constituencies don't have a collaborative health centre. The last thing I want to have to do is stand up in this Legislature and say that I am the only constituency, not only without a doctor, but without a collaborative health centre.

One of the things I am hearing from my constituents is they feel left behind by this government. There are a lot of opportunities for things that we could be doing in our constituency that aren't ever getting talked about. We have a beautiful boardwalk called the Fisherman's Cove Boardwalk. I had a meeting with the Department of Lands and Forestry when they popped into my office and said, hey, it was great to see you last time. We just want to let you know, that you know all those boards that got ripped up from Fisherman's Cove Boardwalk in the last storm, we are finally going to repair them by removing them. I said, what do you mean you're removing them? Yes, we're going to put down packed gravel. We can't afford to repair these things like we used to because there are too many provincial parks and we can't afford to repair yours, so we're going to put down packed gravel.

Mr. Speaker, I'm a falls-prevention expert. I do falls-prevention talks all over the place, and they had the misfortune of having to spend the next hour with me while I explained to them the impact of gravel on seniors and those with mobility issues, in terms of the greater chance of having a fall. I said, this is the most used tourist area in our constituency, we are supposed to be moving towards a greater accessible province - you are going to go back 50 years by taking out that boardwalk that I used to walk on with my father when I was a child.

So they listened, which I am grateful for, but there are decisions that are getting made that we're not consulting with constituents about and yet, it's our job to make sure they hear our voices. I am so proud to have been given the opportunity to be here to do that for my constituents. I want to send a shout out to my constituency assistant Lisa Rochon and to everyone in my constituency who comes by my office, who calls the office, who calls my cell phone, who sends me Facebook messages and text messages, who stops me at the grocery store, who stops me at events. They tell me what they want me to tell you. Every time one of my constituents reaches out and raises a concern to me, I have more knowledge to bring to this House.

[Page 3250]

I am extremely grateful to everyone in my community for all they do because government, as we know, cannot do it by itself. So for every volunteer I say thank you. For every business owner who has stayed, despite the challenges they have, I say thank you. For every Legion, Lions Club, Buffalo Club, benevolent society and all of the other non-profit groups - the Girl Guides, the Scouts, the Cadets - every parent who goes to a child's school, every teacher who commits to our students and our families, I say thank you to all of you. Because together, collectively, I live in the best constituency in Nova Scotia.

THE SPEAKER « » : The motion is carried.

[3:21 p.m. The House recessed.]

[3:27 p.m. The House resolved itself into a CW on Supply with Deputy Speaker Suzanne Lohnes-Croft in the Chair.]

[7:28 p.m. CW on Supply rose and the House reconvened. The Speaker, Hon. Kevin Murphy, resumed the Chair.]

THE SPEAKER « » : Order, please. The Chair of the Committee of the Whole on Supply will now report.

THE CLERK » : That the Committee of the Whole on Supply has met and made very considerable progress and begs leave to sit again.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable Government House Leader.

HON. GEOFF MACLELLAN « » : Mr. Speaker, as much as I love that you're here to control the operations of the House, I move that you do now leave the Chair and the House resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole House on Bills.

THE SPEAKER « » : The House will now recess while it resolves itself into a Committee of the Whole House on Bills.

[7:33 p.m. The House resolved into a CWH on Bills with Deputy Speaker Suzanne Lohnes-Croft in the Chair.]

[7:46 p.m. CWH on Bills rose and the House reconvened. The Speaker, Hon. Kevin Murphy, resumed the Chair.]

[Page 3251]

THE SPEAKER « » : Order, please. The Chair of the Committee of the Whole House on Bills reports:

THE CLERK « » : That the Committee of the Whole House on Bills has met and considered the following bills:

Bill No. 122 - An Act to Incorporate the Pine Grove Cemetery Company, Lower Stewiacke, Colchester County.

Bill No. 133 - Human Organ and Tissue Donation Act.

Bill No. 136 - Financial Measures (2019) Act.

and the Chair has been instructed to recommend these bills to the favourable consideration of the House.

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

The honourable Government House Leader.

HON. GEOFF MACLELLAN « » : Mr. Speaker, would you please call the order of business, Public Bills for Third Reading.

PUBLIC BILLS FOR THIRD READING

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable Government House Leader.

HON. GEOFF MACLELLAN « » : Mr. Speaker, would you please call Bill No. 106.

Bill No. 106 - Coastal Protection Act.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable Minister of Environment.

HON. MARGARET MILLER « » : I move that Bill No. 106 now be read a third time and do pass.

Mr. Speaker, I'm very pleased to speak briefly again about the Coastal Protection Act and what it means for Nova Scotians. Nova Scotia is a leader in fighting climate change. We are also taking steps to adapt to the effects of climate change that we cannot prevent. That's what this legislation is about.

The Coastal Protection Act will set out clear rules for what can and can't be done in the coastal protection zones. It will help us protect coast ecology; it will ensure that when new development is being planned in coastal protection zones, it takes climate change into account. I think we have made it clear that this legislation deals with future construction. It's meant to prevent today's problems from happening to tomorrow's homes, businesses, and cottages.

[Page 3252]

We consulted before developing this legislation, and we will continue to consult as we develop the regulations that will support it. I'm proud of this legislation and I ask all members of this House to support it.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Sackville-Beaver Bank.

BRAD JOHNS « » : Mr. Speaker, we will be supporting this. We do recognize the good that it will do in regard to global warming and rising sea levels.

I would be remiss if I did not point out the disappointment that we had that our amendment did not go through on this when it was in Committee of the Whole House on Bills. That amendment was to ensure that regulations and mapping were done as soon as possible so that the bill could go into effect. I believe it has been discussed here that it would be almost a year to 18 months before it goes into effect - we would certainly like to see that done sooner.

Although our amendment did not go forward, we will be supporting it, and we do encourage the government, as well as the department, to try to get that mapping and the regulations done on it as soon as possible.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Truro-Bible Hill-Millbrook-Salmon River.

LENORE ZANN « » : I'm pleased to rise to speak to Bill No. 106 today, the Coastal Protection Act. I am pleased to support this bill. Overall, my understanding is that experts and ecological organizations have been adequately consulted and engaged in shaping this bill.

In the broad strokes, we would say that the bill gets it right and is a much-needed step in the right direction. However, I am still disappointed that this government did not listen to the important recommendations that stakeholders brought to the Committee on Law Amendments. East Coast Environmental Law are experts in environmental law and they pointed out the repeated inclusion of the term "wherever possible" in many clauses of the Act; that they create loopholes that you could drive a truck through, in their language, and that this might make many of these clauses unenforceable.

The government's refusal to make these changes recommended by East Coast Environmental Law and remove the phrase "wherever possible" does make me question the government's commitment to the principles of the Act. I hope that I will be proven wrong. Of course, the question remains on everyone's mind that this is great for the future, but what is going to be done for all the existing homes and infrastructure along the coast?

[Page 3253]

As a coastal province, we are particularly vulnerable to the sea level rise that's coming and already happening because of climate change; 70 per cent of the province's population lives within 20 kilometres of the coast. So, we really do need to get serious about reducing emissions and transitioning to a green economy if we want to avoid the worst damage that could come.

We learned this month that Canada's temperatures are going up twice as fast as the rest of the world, and if we keep on the track that we are on, Nova Scotia could be experiencing storms like Hurricane Juan every two years.

For instance, also, all the important dykes and berms in the province are at risk. For example, the Surfing Association of Nova Scotia raised the question of the breakwater wall on Highway No. 207 at Lawrencetown Beach. The government has not been maintaining the infrastructure at the beach, which is a huge tourism draw and a social and recreational benefit to Nova Scotians.

Sea level around the Bay of Fundy has already gone up 40 centimeters and it is going to go up even faster in the next 10 years. I'm going to repeat that, sea level around the Bay of Fundy has already gone up 40 centimeters. That's a lot, Mr. Speaker, and it's going up even faster in the next 10 years.

The Isthmus of Chignecto has already almost flooded twice in the last decade and bad storms are coming more often. If the next bad storm, severe storm, hits at high tide, projections show that the Trans-Canada Highway will be flooded up to our car windows and there will be flooding right into Amherst. I really worry about my community, on a flood plain, of Truro-Bible Hill-Millbrook-Salmon River.

We need to get serious about reducing emissions, Mr. Speaker, but when I ask the Minister of Environment, she continues to defend the weak 2030 emissions target that this government chose. It's a target that all environmental experts in Nova Scotia say is inadequate and is even weaker than the target that the minister's own staff originally recommended.

When the whole world is talking about the need to reach net-zero by the year 2050, the Environment Minister told me that's too far away to think about. Well, Mr. Speaker, she may not be thinking about it, but I am thinking about it, and the people in my caucus are thinking about it.

The minister and the Premier talk as if addressing climate change is about individual sacrifices from just regular people who are already struggling. But that's not the case, it's much more than that. The IPCC Report calls for government action now, Mr. Speaker, not individual sacrifice.

[Page 3254]

With real government investment, addressing climate change will making working-class Nova Scotians' lives better, more affordable, more convenient, more comfortable, safer and healthier. We need to make investments on the scale of the ones our parents and our grandparents' generations made during their war efforts.

We need to make wartime level investments, but we don't need to make wartime level sacrifices. I really think it's clear that the government isn't getting it when it comes to climate action and what that really means; but the children of this province do, the students of this province do, and the children of Canada and around the world do.

That said, this Coastal Protection Act is a product of decades of advocacy by Nova Scotians. It's a good step in the right direction and I look forward to our wetlands and our salt marshes being better protected, and that is very important. I look forward to municipalities getting the planning support they need to make sure we aren't building in harm's way and building on floodplains. I also look forward to the province continuing to work with the groups like ECE Law, the Ecology Action Centre, and others that helped this bill come to be.

With that I'll conclude, and I will be supporting this bill, however, please keep an eye to the future because it's tomorrow. Thank you.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Chester-St. Margaret's.

HUGH MACKAY « » : Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to also rise and contribute my thoughts to Bill No. 106, the Coastal Protection Act. Firstly, I'd like to thank the minister for bringing this important bill forward and I would like to thank the members opposite for their comments and for their expressed support for this bill.

Like most of my colleagues on both sides of the House I represent a coastal constituency, and I must consider the opportunities and challenges our coastline presents to the communities and the constituents that comprise beautiful Chester-St. Margaret's. Across Nova Scotia we have 13,000 kilometres of coastline. We have 60,000 coastal properties. Seventy per cent of our population lives within 20 kilometres of the coast. We are, collectively, a coastal community.

Now our community is threatened by climate change. I'm pleased, very pleased that this government is taking well-considered action to protect us from these threats. This legislation will ensure that new construction is being built in places safer from sea-level rise, coastal erosion, and coastal flooding.

Location of the early settlements in Nova Scotia, both by the Indigenous people and the European settlers was dictated by their interaction with the seas. For food security and commercial trade, our forefathers established their communities along our coastline. Our coast was then and continues to be our ocean advantage. The water's edge is where our forefathers built their homes, their businesses, and the infrastructure they required for daily life. This is where they built the wharves and the piers, their shipping yards, their shipbuilding yards, and warehouses for trade, and their fishing sheds.

[Page 3255]

Nova Scotians built renowned seaports: Maitland for shipbuilding, Lunenburg for fishing on the Grand Banks, Sydney for the shipment of coal and steel, and Halifax for all sorts of military and commercial purposes. Nova Scotians built many, many more coastal ports for our fishing industries and commerce. In the earliest days, most Nova Scotian communities were not linked by roads but by the sea lanes. As the years, the decades, in fact, the centuries passed, roads were built to link the communities with each other. But it was still our ports that connected us to the world.

Gradually the infrastructure for connecting our communities shifted away from the sea and on to the land, but most of our communities still dotted the coast. The land-based transportation systems were generally built along the coastline where people lived and business flourished. Today that same infrastructure is endangered if we do not take action, and not just the transportation infrastructure but the homes and the businesses that sit on our shores, on our bays and harbours.

I'm referring, of course, to the challenges of climate change and how we approach coastal protection and adaptation. Coastal protection is a platform commitment of this government, along with wilderness protection. Coastal protection was also a priority plank in my own 2017 campaign for Chester-St. Margaret's. This Coastal Protection Act is tangible evidence of our follow through on these commitments.

Of course, our commitment is not restricted to bricks and mortar, asphalt and gravel. We're also committed to protection of natural eco-systems. The purpose of this bill is to prevent damage to all coastal eco-systems. The new regulations will help protect the salt marshes, the dunes, and other coastal features. These are the features that filter water and allow the coast to naturally adapt to the impact of climate change.

Through this bill, we are preventing development in areas where it can damage coastal ecosystems and where development puts new structures at risk from sea-level rise, storm surge, and coastal erosion. The legislation will set clear rules that will ensure new construction is built in places safer from the challenges presented by such climate-change phenomena.

Mr. Speaker, in preparing this legislation, the Department of Environment held consultations with municipalities across the province through a series of regional meetings. In addition, there have been numerous briefings with municipal officials, municipal planners, municipal councils, and subcommittees.

[Page 3256]

[8:00 p.m.]

We heard two main concerns from the municipalities. One was a perception by some of a potential downloading of the enforcement of the Act to local government. The second was the possible impacts on coastal development.

I emphasize the following points to address those concerns. Firstly, permitting development in an area known to be vulnerable to sea-level rise and storm surge and erosion puts people's well-being and property at risk. That just doesn't make sense, and in the long term, will cause greater problems for Nova Scotians and for all levels of government. In this legislation, we are supporting the other levels of government - in particular, municipal government.

Secondly, we're minimizing the burden on municipalities because we are using existing building permit approval processes that are already in place in every municipality. Furthermore, if you're applying for a building permit, having the requirements of the Act integrated into that process means owners will be alerted to the requirements of the Act at an early stage in their planning. Again, we are assisting municipalities in abiding by the regulations.

The Act will establish such protection as horizontal and vertical setbacks for buildings. Some municipalities, including some in Chester-St. Margaret's, already have one or both of these setbacks in place. However, many municipalities, particularly those without planning departments or resources, have not yet addressed how they will act on coastal adaptation and protection, even if they recognize the inevitability of climate-change phenomena. Through this legislation, we will help guide these municipalities and establish consistent province-wide protection and adaptation measures.

I'm particularly pleased that this legislation has the support of the Ecology Action Centre. The Ecology Action Centre participated in my recent Chester-St. Margaret's coastal protection forum and has met with my environmental protection advisory group to discuss coastal protection and climate change. The support of the Ecology Action Centre and other organizations such as this has certainly assisted us in bringing this legislation forward.

The legislation also reflects comments and suggestions from more than 1,300 Nova Scotians who considered this legislation, nor are we finished. As we move to developing the regulations that will define exactly how this legislation will work, we will continue to consult with the municipalities, with First Nations, with the coastal industries, and of course the residents.

Another issue, one which is close to my own professional background, is that this effort to protect our coastal ecosystems will require detailed mapping of our coastline and our many inland waterways. Our government is using an advanced mapping technology known as Lidar for much of this mapping. The Lidar data will be integrated with other mapping data sets, such as aerial and satellite imagery, land surveys, and marine survey data.

[Page 3257]

I am excited by the announcement this week that the College of Geographic Sciences - commonly referred to as COGS, a jewel in our Nova Scotia Community College system - will be expanded to include a geomatics business research centre. This centre will serve as a hub for collaboration among academia, business, and government to develop world-leading approaches to coastal mapping.

Mr. Speaker, this government has had the vision to adapt our advanced education system, the Nova Scotia Community College system, to meet the domestic needs for coastal zone mapping and to provide a facility to develop export-ready solutions to the global challenge of climate change.

Finally, I call the member's attention that this Act will minimize future spending of public dollars to repair damage to public and private coastal properties. As a strong proponent of government living within its means, I find this to be invaluable and as our government continues to achieve balanced budgets, we can maintain and increase spending in other areas by investing in climate change and adaptation today.

Mr. Speaker, this Coastal Protection Act demonstrates our government's leadership and fulfills our commitment to coastal protection. I thank you for allowing me to voice my support for this legislation.

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

The honourable Minister of Environment.

HON. MARGARET MILLER « » : Mr. Speaker, I move to close debate on Bill No. 106, the Coastal Protection Act.

THE SPEAKER « » : The motion is for third reading of Bill No. 106. 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. GEOFF MACLELLAN « » : Mr. Speaker, would you please call Bill No. 119.

[Page 3258]

Bill No. 119 - Builders' Lien Act.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable Minster of Justice.

HON. MARK FUREY « » : Mr. Speaker, I move that Bill No. 119, the Builders' Lien Act be read a third time. These amendments are intended to support Nova Scotia's construction workers and businesses in the construction industry with a framework to ensure they get paid on time for the work that they do.

Duncan Williams, President and CEO of the Construction Association of Nova Scotia, addressed the Law Amendments Committee about the significant impacts that late payments are having on the industry. Based on a survey of their members, he expressed concerns over slowness of payments to contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers.

Punctuated by a long list of statistics, he painted a concerning picture of a growing problem: delayed payments making it difficult for small and medium contractors to bid on work; and firms unable to invest in new equipment, training, wages and benefits, and even safety because of late payments. We know that these practices are having a real and negative impact on businesses across Nova Scotia, and that hurts our economy and the communities in which they operate.

Like many small business owners, Heather Cruickshanks of L.E. Cruickshanks Sheet Metal Ltd. spoke of the challenges they faced when payments on work long completed were delayed or did not come at all. She said it quite clearly: when payments are withheld, it can mean the difference between making payroll or not. Jobs are at risk and futures are at stake. There's no question if you're a contractor on a project, you should be paid within a reasonable time period after providing an invoice for the work you have done.

Existing legislation needs to be stronger to address those concerns. Prompt payment legislation will clearly set out the rights and responsibilities of all parties on a construction project. It will establish rules so that the contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers in the construction industry are paid based on clear timelines set out in regulation. Late payments will be subject to interest.

We appreciate the comments expressed by the General Contractors Alliance of Canada and encourage them to take part in our upcoming consultation with the sector. Our plan is to consult with contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, trade unions, engineers, road builders, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities, project owners, developers, and other interested stakeholders beginning this Spring. We will hear from all stakeholders before the bill is proclaimed into law. These consultations will be important as they will help us determine much of the detail we need to inform timelines and the appropriate model for the adjudication process.

With those comments, Mr. Speaker, I'll take my seat and look forward to the comments of my colleagues.

[Page 3259]

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

TIM HALMAN « » : Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak on third reading of Bill No. 119, the Builders' Lien Act. This bill will allow contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers to receive prompt payment.

Mr. Speaker, it was alarming to hear last year that 35 construction companies went bankrupt as a result of late or absent payments. I think we would all agree that small business entrepreneurs are the foundation of our economy. We know the province has to do better to establish a level playing field within the construction industry for payment and set up the appropriate framework for prompt payment. We believe this bill sets out to achieve those end goals.

Within our reading of the bill the Official Opposition believes this Act will create the foundation for a stable environment for prompt payments. We believe the role of government is to work with the private sector to help establish the conditions for prosperity. Bill No. 119 will create the framework for the stable conditions required for contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers.

Now comes the constructive criticism, Mr. Speaker. The Official Opposition will monitor the evolution of this Act over the next few months. The last thing any stakeholder wants with respect to prompt payment is a lack of clarity in the regulations and, of course, the unintended consequences regarding the production of red tape that may have an impact on productivity for our construction industry. This is an industry that contributes nearly $6 billion annually to the Nova Scotia economy and employs over 30,000 women and men across the province.

Mr. Speaker, the Official Opposition supports Bill No. 119 because we believe it is taking an important and critical step forward in addressing some major problems within the prompt payment system within the construction industry.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Dartmouth North.

SUSAN LEBLANC « » : I am very happy to also speak on Bill No. 119. The NDP caucus is pleased to support this legislation and pleased the government is taking the concerns of the construction sector seriously. The construction sector employs more than 30,000 people in Nova Scotia, the majority of whom are unionized. These are good, working-class jobs that support our communities and families.

We know that fixing the issue of payment delay will reduce delays in federal and provincial construction projects and lead to greater employment and more openings for apprentices. The problem is a factor of two key practices: one is delays in processing valid invoices for work that has been performed according to contract that is not in dispute, and that's hurting contractors; and delays in payments down the subcontract chain, even when valid invoices for completed work are submitted are creating bottlenecks and delays in many construction projects.

[Page 3260]

Payment delay problems are systemic in Canada's construction sector and the Nova Scotia sector, and this includes construction work tendered and procured by the federal government. This is a significant problem for small businesses, families, workers, and taxpayers that could be addressed, and is being addressed, simply and at low cost.

We are supporting this legislation because Nova Scotia's laws around this issue have been dragging for some time. We know that a majority of the U.S. states, the U.K., the E.U., and many other countries have this sort of legislation already on the books.

I would also like to thank Duncan Williams from the Prompt Payment Coalition and all the companies, unions, and tradespeople who brought this to the attention of me and our caucus. I am really pleased that we found a way forward and hopefully it will resolve the issues. Thank you.

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

The honourable Minister of Justice.

HON. MARK FUREY « » : Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments from my colleagues. We, too, will monitor the consultation process and work with my colleagues across the aisle, as well as those within the construction environment, to ensure this meets the objectives and intentions that those individuals have brought forward.

Mr. Speaker, with those few comments, I rise to close debate on Bill No. 119.

THE SPEAKER « » : The motion is for third reading of Bill No. 119. 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. GEOFF MACLELLAN « » : Mr. Speaker, would you please call Bill No. 121.

Bill No. 121 - Nursing Act.

[Page 3261]

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

[8:15 p.m.]

HON. RANDY DELOREY « » : I move that Bill No. 121, an Act Respecting the Regulation of Nursing, be now read a third time and do pass.

Just a few brief remarks. (Interruption) By brief, Mr. Speaker, I mean I plan to use my hour to educate my colleagues here in the Legislature. I am going through a bit of withdrawal from Estimates. (Laughter)

Just very briefly, to remind colleagues of this bill, this is a bill amalgamating two existing and long-standing self-regulated health professions. The registered nurses and the licensed practical nurses currently exist as two separate regulatory bodies for their health professions. They came together to identify that working together as a single entity would reduce confusion amongst the public and the nursing professionals.

That was the starting point, to bring them together, bring some administrative efficiencies, and bring clarity. This bill modernizes as well, the regulatory structure of the legislation.

It's a good bill, and one that has certainly been driven by front-line health care professionals in the self-regulated nursing area. With that, I look forward to any further comments my colleagues would have.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Pictou West.

KARLA MACFARLANE « » : I want to thank the minister for his few words and for introducing this most important bill.

When we think of nurses, I often would equate nurses with teachers. You reflect and reminisce and think of that teacher who had such a positive impact on your life. We often, as children and as adults, think about those nurses who also have left a positive impact.

I have two sisters-in-law who are nurses. There's no doubt that they bring a certain amount of comfort no matter where you are. Perhaps it's a girls' night out, and if you know you have a friend in the pack who's a nurse, you feel more comfortable; or you're at the hockey rink with your children, and you're sitting with the moms and dads and you know there's a nurse amongst you; in fact, right here in this Chamber, we have a very competent nurse from Cumberland North. The reality is, where would we be without our nurses, in particular, at a time in Nova Scotia when we find ourselves in a health care crisis?

This bill certainly is a step in the right direction, bringing two regulatory bodies under one umbrella. It's certainly going to be able to help them collaborate more and be more flexible in decision making. That's a positive step, and we want that for the nurses.

[Page 3262]

I have one major concern about this bill. That is the number of doctors who have reached out to me, as well as some nurses but, in particular, doctors. I know that we have all read in the papers with regard to Doctors Nova Scotia and their concerns.

There were consultations on this bill which was great, I think the minister had mentioned that over 4,000 people had input. But we didn't hear how those consultations were conducted. We didn't hear who those consultations were with, what groups, what organizations, what professions. What I did learn is that Doctors Nova Scotia has spoken, and they are concerned about this bill.

I just want to leave us all with one thought on this bill with regard to what Doctors Nova Scotia said. I think we have to take into consideration what they said regardless of how we're voting on this bill.

Doctors Nova Scotia does not object to combining the two regulatory efforts of the College of Registered Nurses of Nova Scotia and the College of Licensed Practical Nurses of Nova Scotia into one nursing body. We know that. That's a good thing. They support that. They don't object to nurse practitioners practising within their full scope of practice without oversight by physicians. However, they have concerns that the proposed legislative change regarding collaboration will send an unintended message, unintended consequences, to other allied health care professionals, physiotherapists, social workers, doctors, and so on.

By association, it may also send the message that the Nova Scotia government and the NSHA feel the same way at a time where both have expressed commitment to, and value in, establishing more collaborative practices in terms of serving Nova Scotians with a better health care system. They're saying on one side, basically, you're talking about being more collaborative and yet, through this bill, it looks like in some regards that you're planning to have them separate.

There are some sincere and important concerns from our doctors, whom I also believe we need to give a big shout-out to. We know that we're under-represented by doctors. I stand here, and I know you've heard it before, I don't have a doctor. I'm happy that I finally have a nurse practitioner who is fabulous, and I appreciate that they work in a clinic together and can collaborate.

With those few words, I just want to say thanks again to the minister for bringing this bill forward. I was there at the briefing and I know that there was a positive response from our nurses, and that's good news, so thank you.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Cape Breton Centre.

[Page 3263]

TAMMY MARTIN « » : Mr. Speaker, we too are happy to see the government responding to the request from nursing regulators. Nurses are essential to the functioning of our health system. Being a nurse is one of the hardest things a person can do. The hours are long, the work is difficult, and our nurses deserve to be treated with respect. They also deserve to report unsafe working conditions without fear of retribution from their employer.

Nurses in Nova Scotia cannot currently do that, which is why I brought forward amendments to this bill in Committee of the Whole House designed to protect nurse whistle-blowers. Nurses in our hospitals are working short every day, and that we know. They are working in conditions that some medical professionals have described as "third world." We also know that some nurses are lucky if they get to go to the washroom during a 12-hour shift. They are so run off their feet that some are worried about violating the terms of their own nursing licences because they simply do not have time to provide the care that their patients require.

While we support this bill, we believe that we must address the systemic crisis that is making it extremely difficult for nurses to continue to care for people in our current health care system. Thank you.

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

The honourable Minister of Health and Wellness.

HON. RANDY DELOREY « » : Mr. Speaker, just a couple of points in response to my colleagues.

The member for Pictou West inquired about the consultations. Indeed, the vast majority of those people consulted were nurses themselves. The colleges reached out through survey means - I don't recall if it was an online or paper survey that they distributed to the licensed nurses that they solicited. From an organizational perspective, this isn't an exhaustive list, these are just the ones off the top of my head that I recall - they had engaged with Doctors Nova Scotia as well as the College of Physicians and Surgeons as representation for physicians, while they themselves are obviously representative of nurses from the regulatory side, and they also reached out to the unions representing nurses from more of the employment side of things.

That allowed people from different perspectives who may have a role or an interest in this bill to provide input and feedback. I believe the president of the NSGEU at Law Amendments Committee laid out very clearly some early consultations they made and their feedback, as well as the many amendments that were made in response to that feedback. I think it does go to show that both the department and the colleges, while drafting this bill, took very seriously the input and the feedback that was provided getting to this point.

[Page 3264]

With respect to any unintended message, let me be absolutely clear. We continue to support the collaboration of all health care professionals. Indeed, all of them feel the same, but it's important that collaboration take place in a fair and equitable way. Nova Scotia is one of the only jurisdictions that maintained a reference, in a nursing context, to a need to have a relationship with another health care provider, that being a physician. This is actually making it more consistent with other jurisdictions which actually allows nurses who may be working in another jurisdiction that didn't have that same provision feel more comfortable to come to Nova Scotia to work here where we are investing, supporting, and hiring more nurses and allied health professionals into our collaborative environments.

If representatives of Doctors Nova Scotia believe that this sends the wrong message, they can join us in celebrating and communicating to ensure people know that other physicians and other health professionals know that we are open for business, we do support collaborative practices, and there's collaboration between our health care professionals in the province. I think that can certainly go a long way to addressing any potential unintended miscommunications. We all know here, and I believe we can all be part of ensuring, if there is any miscommunication, that it is addressed.

Mr. Speaker, just the last thing - the member for Cape Breton Centre made reference to the amendment that was brought forward. I guess the simplest response there is that that amendment doesn't fall within the regulatory scope of the nursing regulatory body. That is why that amendment would be voted down in this piece of legislation. This is legislation about the self-regulated profession of nurses. What the member brought forward really doesn't relate to that provision at all, so it is not something that was appropriate or relevant to this particular piece of legislation and the regulatory role of the College of Nurses.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I do appreciate the input by all my colleagues, and I move that the bill be read and do pass.

THE SPEAKER « » : The motion is for third reading of Bill No. 121, the Nursing Act. 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. GEOFF MACLELLAN « » : Mr. Speaker, would you please call Bill No. 135.

Bill No. 135 - Nova Scotia Power Privatization Act and Nova Scotia Power Reorganization (1998) Act.

[Page 3265]

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable Minister of Business.

HON. GEOFF MACLELLAN « » : I move that Bill No. 135 be now read a third time and do pass. I watched with interest as the legislation moved through the Law Amendments Committee unanimously without any particular criticism or suggested changes to the bill itself. This piece of legislation is fundamentally about ensuring that a Nova Scotia business can have a level playing field to compete with other North American companies.

Right now, Emera is the only one of 100 North American investor-owned utilities and power producers with restrictions on foreign ownership of its voting shares. We are changing the old legislation to remove that old 25 per cent restriction, so Emera can now have more financial flexibility to grow, just like all other companies in its class in North America. At the same time, the bill reinforces Emera's commitment to Nova Scotia, ensuring the company's head office and principal executives will be based here and work here in our province. This legislation recognized the value and economic impact of having a true head office operating here in Nova Scotia. The bill also maintains that no one can own more than 15 per cent of shares, and no one can team up with others to ever try to take control.

Just to be absolutely clear, this legislation has no impact whatsoever on Nova Scotia Power ratepayers. This is about government doing the right and fair thing to help another Nova Scotia-based business succeed here at home and around the world.

With that, I take my place and look forward to the comments from the Opposition.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Inverness.

ALLAN MACMASTER « » : Mr. Speaker, we understand the motivations of Nova Scotia Power, and we're certainly happy to have Emera based here in Nova Scotia, but Nova Scotia Power has done well and the question has to be asked: Why the need for change?

Foreign ownership is not always in the best interest of the domestic economy. Across the country when we think about decisions at the federal level and efforts made by other countries. I think of a growing economy like China and Chinese companies and the country of China trying to control the price of commodities by buying Canadian companies that own resources to be able to possibly control the prices of commodities that they need to manufacture goods for people in their country and for export around the world, and the impact that has on Canada.

[8:30 p.m.]

[Page 3266]

If commodity prices don't rise naturally because of demand but are constrained, that is not good for the Canadian economy. So, there are times when foreign ownership is not good for the domestic economy. I remember when I was working in the investment industry, brokers bemoaning the fact that there were stocks coming off the Canadian stock exchange and it was getting smaller and smaller in terms of the number of companies that were still listed in Canada, and what a loss that is for Canadian investors who can invest in their own country in companies that are participating in a global environment with free trade deals and so on that can generate wealth for Canadians at home.

So, we will not be supporting this bill. Thank you.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Dartmouth South.

CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to the comments of the minister just now. In particular, I would draw attention to his assertion that he was pleased to see that there was no feedback at Law Amendments Committee and that might be partially due to the fact that the Law Amendments Committee meeting was announced on a Friday afternoon and took place on a Monday morning, as it seems to be lately with many bills. I'm not altogether sure that everyone who might be interested in or wanted to be notified of this change was aware of that.

It's our feeling that power is a public good here in Nova Scotia. There are lots of places where people live back to the land but, unless you're the hardiest of types, that's not possible here. All Nova Scotians use power in this climate. We all need it. We all use it and so, with respect, whether or not this is the view of the capital markets, our view is that Emera is not the same as other companies in its class. Nova Scotia Power is not the same as other companies in its class. Nova Scotia Power is the utility that all Nova Scotians rely on to keep their lights on, many to keep them warm in the winter. And now many of the millions of dollars that Emera pays out to its shareholders will be leaving Canada.

Before this change, you could at least say that Emera was a type of export. The profits Emera was making were circulating in the Canadian economy, even the ones they were making internationally because of this ownership provision. Now, that's not the case anymore. In fact, it's the opposite. It's likely the profits that Emera generates from Nova Scotian ratepayers will be disbursed all over the world. To some, that might sound like a good idea. To us, it doesn't make a lot of sense.

This government did nothing to say to Emera, you want a bigger market for your shares, you want to grow and increase your profits, what's in it for Nova Scotians who are generating your profits in the first place? Are you going to deliver more reliable service? Are you going to lower rates? Are you going to generate more renewables? No, the government did nothing to ensure that we get something back in return for making Emera so profitable. In fact, the Premier rose today and said, well, that's not the way business is done. I would say that's a sad indictment on the way this government does business. The way we do business in this Chamber ought to be for the benefit of all Nova Scotians and this change is the exact opposite.

[Page 3267]

Now, make no mistake, I understand the government's argument. If Emera is strong and successful, it could conceivably invest more in Nova Scotia. Well, Mr. Speaker, Emera is strong and successful and it does not.

I'll table this article from February 2019: "Record earnings from its utility operations in Florida and New Mexico helped Halifax-based Emera Inc. beat analyst expectations in the fourth quarter of 2018."

From last year: The executives who run Nova Scotia Power's parent company saw hefty raises in 2017.

From All Nova Scotia recently: Scott Balfour and the rest of his high-paid crew totalled $11.4 million in salary, cash bonuses, and long-term performance-based shares.

I think we've all seen the news in the last couple of weeks about the most recent executive pay raises.

Mr. Speaker, this is trickle-down thinking. Corporations are constantly coming to government and saying, let us profit more and everyone will benefit, we promise. But they never do. We've been trying that since the 1980s. It doesn't work.

Here's a recent example: the U.S. tax cuts that just happened under President Donald Trump. Corporate profits have soared in the United States, but have those profits been reinvested in those corporations developing their productive capacity, in job-creating investments, in better wages and benefits for workers, or in lower prices for consumers? No, Mr. Speaker. No on all counts. That extra cash was spent on stock buybacks to raise the value of their shares. I'm afraid this bill demonstrates the same outdated economic thinking.

If we really wanted to support business in this province, we would have demanded something from Emera. Businesses in our province are impacted by Nova Scotia Power's power rates and they are impacted by how often they have power outages. I spoke about that recently in this Chamber. Every outage has a major negative impact on our economy. I dare say that there are none of us who haven't gotten a call about a power outage from constituents, and for those of us with a particularly weak grid, certainly from local businesses.

The province could have negotiated cheaper access to Nova Scotia Power's infrastructure to help bring broadband to rural Nova Scotia, to help lower the cost of that. Right now, a huge part of why broadband infrastructure is so expensive is that we rent Nova Scotia Power's poles. We rent every pole we attach Internet cables to, Mr. Speaker, at $20 a pole. That's a big cost in rural areas where houses are far apart. Was that up for discussion?

[Page 3268]

As far as I can tell, none of these thoughts have crossed this government's mind. They aren't thinking about the impacts Emera's lack of investment have on everyday Nova Scotians and business.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I am disappointed that the government has introduced a bill that supports profits for Emera and nothing for Nova Scotians. We will not be supporting this bill.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable Leader of the New Democratic Party.

GARY BURRILL « » : Mr. Speaker, the piece of legislation before us is entitled An Act to Amend Chapter 8 of the Acts of 1992, the Nova Scotia Power Privatization Act, and Chapter 19 of the Acts of 1998, the Nova Scotia Power Reorganization (1998) Act. I think in the interests of truthfulness, the legislation before us might better be called the Have You Ever Got Some Gall Act, or perhaps An Act That Takes an Awful Lot of Nerve.

If I were a power company that had taken $3 billion in profits from Nova Scotians since its privatization in 1992, and if I were a subsidiary of a parent company whose CEO makes $6.2 million a year, and if I were operating in a jurisdiction with the lowest median income in Canada and the worst child poverty in the country, a jurisdiction where 38 per cent of the population report that it is a very real struggle for them to pay their power bills - if that were true of me, I'm not sure that I would have the nerve, I'm not sure that I would have the gall to come to the government of that province and say that I wanted that government to pass legislation removing restrictions on the international ownership of my shares.

If I did that in that situation, if I were to summon that amount of gall to make that request of the government of such a jurisdiction, if I were to summon the nerve to tell the government of such a . . . (Interruption)

THE SPEAKER « » : Order, please. The honourable Leader of the New Democratic Party has the floor.

GARY BURRILL « » : Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If I were in that situation and I had the gall to come and make that request of the government of such a jurisdiction, if I had the nerve to do that, I would fully expect that government would say to me under those circumstances, well, you know what, power utility? Actually right now is not all that great a time. Actually, right now, power utility, could you maybe wait until later, it's just not, economically speaking, from the point of view of the lives of our people, it's just not perfect timing.

[Page 3269]

That's not at all what has happened. What has happened rather is that Emera has said to the Liberal government, jump and the Liberal government has said, how high? Emera has said to the Liberal government, dance, and the Liberal government has begun to hop around.

There are different names we could have for this piece of legislation. Perhaps also we could call it "the false and hollow Act" because the arguments the government has raised in favour of this piece of legislation certainly fall within the false and hollow description. For example, the minister has spoken about how Nova Scotia Power/Emera is the only utility in North America that faces restrictions on international capitalization. But this is to obscure the irrelevance of North America outside Canada to the consideration that's before us as it is to pass over the fact that in Canada there is, after all, only one province outside of Nova Scotia - Alberta - where power generation, transmission, and distribution are entirely in private hands.

If we think about this bill, we might want to call it also "the nothing times nothing equals nothing Act." What does this bill anticipate that the customers of Nova Scotia Power will be receiving, as my colleague has just pointed out, in return for the government acceding to this request/demand from Emera? Is there going to be investments in energy infrastructure towards 100 per cent renewables in Nova Scotia? Will there be investments in the direction of a strengthened grid, or in cutting down on the frequency of power outages, or reducing power rates to the people of the province? The answer is that there will be nothing, times nothing, times nothing, which will equal the nothing that Emera will be providing to the people of Nova Scotia in return for the Government of Nova Scotia fulfilling their demand/request.

Or maybe we want to call this piece of legislation "the totally unnecessary Act" since this legislation before us lifts Emera's present limit of 25 per cent of shares held outside the country. Although Emera has never in its history reached, in fact, that limit. Equally unnecessary is the minister's contention that the legislation provides for maintaining Emera's headquarters in Nova Scotia - that's unnecessary because that's already a provision that's contained in the unamended Act.

Maybe what we should do is just sum all of that up and put forward a renewed name for this legislation - let's just call it "the very bad judgment Act." Forget this piece of legislation. We need a government to side with the people of Nova Scotia, not with the corporation through which $3 billion in profits has been taken from them since 1992. The legislation forgets that the government's primary loyalty needs to be to the people who work and struggle and pay the power bills in Nova Scotia, not to the shareholders of Emera. The legislation forgets that the government needs to attend to the multiple economic injuries of a population with the lowest income in the country and not be pouring salt into their wounds. Thank you.

[Page 3270]

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Halifax Needham.

LISA ROBERTS « » : Mr. Speaker, I am going to speak for a shorter time than my colleague, but I also wanted to hit a couple of the points that come to mind when I think about regulating Nova Scotia Power and Emera.

There is no doubt that the way into a future with any sort of viable climate for our children is not going to be found thanks to the leadership of capital and capitalists. There is nothing inherent in the capitalist system that places enough value on our environment, that places enough value on that which we have no way of assigning a number to on a balance sheet, and which is treated as an externality.

[8:45 p.m.]

If I were to look at breaking into the legislation and tinkering around with it, it would be with the idea of performing the role of government, which is in fact, to regulate for the public good. If we're going to take that time to look at Nova Scotia Power perhaps, for example, the government could remove the cap that it has placed on energy efficiency budgets, because we know that higher investments have been shown to be cost effective. Maybe, we could reduce the limit that was placed that has restricted the size of net metering to 100 kilowatts down from one megawatt.

Maybe - and this is I think a really important one - we could decouple the profits of Nova Scotia Power from energy sales and instead, make it based on performance or somehow figure out a formula so we are actually rewarding them when they are providing real value to us. Not when they're selling us more power that is, as my colleagues have said, sometimes unreliable and certainly, not at this point, adequately green.

There are many things that we could do as a government to exercise our function, which involves regulation, and this being the only piece of legislation related to Nova Scotia Power and Emera in my time in this House - coming from the government that once promised to break the monopoly - seems like a very odd place to start.

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

The honourable Minister of Business.

HON. GEOFF MACLELLAN « » : Mr. Speaker, I do thank my colleague's opposite for Inverness, Dartmouth South, Halifax Needham and, of course, the Leader of the NDP as well, on their comments around this bill.

I would remind the members, just to be clear, I know that any time we are having discussions about Emera and what's connected to them as a parent company and their subsidiary being Nova Scotia Power, that this will be an opportunity to draw in power rates, draw in Nova Scotia Power, and target Nova Scotia Power around some of these things. This is specific, this bill, and the member from Dartmouth South referenced Law Amendments Committee and that I said that there weren't any comments or push back.

[Page 3271]

The amendments and the bill that were before Law Amendments Committee was specific to Emera's ability to gain capital investments from the foreign markets and having foreign investment outside of that 25 per cent cap. That's what this is about, Mr. Speaker. It isn't tied into the Nova Scotia Power operations - they're still controlled under the URB processes. They have their structures, their governance, all the things that we talked about with the Minister of Energy and Mines - the conversations around power rates and power outages and all the things that we hear from our constituents as MLAs. This is specific to Emera and their ability to borrow on capital markets and that was not challenged at Law Amendments Committee. No amendments came forward; we didn't see anything of that nature. So, I want to make it clear that that's what I was referring to.

This goes not guarantee Emera profits. This gives their ability to have a more cost-controlled capital borrowing system. When they go out on the capital markets and they bring in investment, this gives them a broader scope to do that. That's what this is. It isn't about profit. They still have to make the same decisions. When they were making decisions on the Maritime Link, Emera wasn't a terrible entity when they were building the Maritime Link, Mr. Speaker, and they were part of that investment.

This is a requirement that when they have the ability to borrow at cheaper rates, at better rates, then it's going to benefit their ability to build major projects. Obviously with all of their subsidiaries, but certainly for Nova Scotia Power, if that's going to benefit the province then obviously, that's a good thing for us.

The member for Inverness referenced around foreign ownership and used an anecdote about how foreign operations come in and they take over companies and they water things down. Number one, there is a 15 per cent cap so, no one person can own more than 15 per cent. There's no opportunity for collusion so, four or five people can't get together and collude and team up and own Emera and take it away.

Mr. Speaker, the member's position on this is very antiquated. We aren't afraid of China, everybody. We're not afraid of China. We want China to invest here. This is not going anywhere. We don't have to worry about foreign governments taking over Emera. It's not going to happen, so I don't want to create that fear that Emera is leaving Nova Scotia, ladies and gentlemen. That's not going to be the place.

Again, all the members referenced that Emera is doing well - they absolutely are, no question about it. Sobeys is doing well. Michelin is doing well. Keep on through the list - Oxford Frozen Foods is doing well, Clearwater is doing well - because they're playing in an international environment and their international investments. If they had legislation that handcuffed them among a hundred competitors, we would help Sobeys and we would help Clearwater. We would create the right conditions for the business environment. That's what this is about. Let's be clear on that.

[Page 3272]

Comments about getting something back - are we getting something back? Yeah, we have a corporation of significant size and prominence that's employing Nova Scotians, that has a footprint here in the province. That's what we're getting back.

Should we demand something? That is the old way of governing, that we pull companies in and we demand that they do certain things. Why would we handcuff any company by demanding they should do certain things? All we're doing here is setting the environment that they can raise money on the capital markets. What kind of message does it send to the international investment community that we would have such restrictions to the point where you are the only entity in the competition of a hundred, that has to be locked in to a cap of investment within Canada?

It's an antiquated way of thinking and, for the members opposite, I know that this is an opportunity to talk about power rates and look at all these things in a negative way. Look around at the investment community, look around at business confidence, look at where our bond ratings are, our investment ratings are. We're doing things right and small businesses, medium businesses, and corporations are recognizing that. That's why they're choosing to be in Nova Scotia; that's why they're choosing to invest in Nova Scotia. We're in the real world.

Real world policy has to reflect what is right to put Nova Scotians to work and keep them in their jobs and make sure that that money is spent here in Nova Scotia. With that, I move to close debate on Bill No. 135.

THE SPEAKER « » : The motion is for third reading of Bill No. 135.

There has been a call for a recorded vote.

The Clerks will now get ready to conduct the recorded vote. While they're getting ready, I remind all members to remain perfectly silent during the call for the recorded vote and, when your name is called, please stand tall and state a simple "yea" or "nay".

[The Clerk calls the roll.]

[8:54 p.m.]

[Page 3273]

YEAS	NAYS
Mr. Churchill	Mr. Dunn
Mr. Furey	Mr. Bain
Ms. Regan	Ms. Masland
Mr. MacLellan	Ms. MacFarlane
Mr. McNeil	Mr. Houston
Ms. Casey	Mr. MacMaster
Mr. Glavine	Ms. Chender
Mr. Delorey	Mr. Burrill
Ms. Miller	Ms. Zann
Mr. Kousoulis	Ms. Roberts
Mr. Wilson	Ms. Leblanc
Mr. Porter	Ms. Martin
Mr. Hines	Ms. Smith-McCrossin
Ms. Metlege Diab	Mr. Halman
Mr. Ince	Mr. d'Entremont
Mr. Rankin	Mr. Orrell
Mr. Mombourquette	Ms. Adams
Ms. Arab	Mr. Lohr
Mr. Horne	Mr. Johns
Mr. Jessome	Ms. Paon
Mr. MacKay	Mr. Rushton
Mr. Maguire	Mr. MacLeod
Ms. Lohnes-Croft	Mr. Harrison
Ms. DiCostanzo
Mr. Irving

THE CLERK « » : For, 25. Against, 23.

THE SPEAKER « » : The motion is carried.

Ordered that the 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. GEOFF MACLELLAN « » : Mr. Speaker, would you please call Bill No. 139, the Income Tax Act.

Bill No. 139 - Income Tax Act.

[Page 3274]

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable Minister of Finance and Treasury Board.

HON. KAREN CASEY « » : Mr. Speaker, I move that Bill No. 139, the Income Tax Act, be now read a third time and do pass.

This government values the contributions that small and medium-size businesses are making to our economy. As announced in the budget, we are expanding the innovation equity tax credit to allow corporate investors to participate and to support our young and growing and innovative companies.

The business community also asked for the creation of a venture capital tax credit as another way of providing needed investment to these companies. The tax credits will be effective in the Spring of 2019 and regulations will follow as soon as possible after.

We continue to encourage investments that stimulate growth and jobs in both our small and medium-size businesses across the province.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Inverness.

ALLAN MACMASTER « » : Mr. Speaker, we will be supporting this bill and we hope that the investments made by those in these and that achieve these tax credits for them will be fruitful and we also hope that the companies that are offering them have success as well.

THE SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Dartmouth South.

CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : Mr. Speaker, we'll also be supporting this bill. We're pleased to see a bill that helps the flow of capital into Nova Scotia companies and small and medium-size businesses and helps Nova Scotians as opposed to hurting them. For those reasons we are pleased to support this bill.

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

The honourable Minister of Finance and Treasury Board.

HON. KAREN CASEY « » : Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the support from the Opposition Parties and I think we all recognize the importance of small and medium-size businesses. They need capital, they need investment, and this will allow this to happen.

I close debate on Bill No. 139, the Income Tax Act.

THE SPEAKER « » : The motion is for third reading of Bill No. 139. Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.

The motion is carried.

[Page 3275]

Ordered that the 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. GEOFF MACLELLAN « » : That concludes government business for today, Mr. Speaker. I move that the House do now rise and sit again tomorrow, Friday, April 12^th, between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 11:59 p.m.

Following the daily routine and QP, we will move the Committee of the Whole on Supply, followed by third reading on Bills Nos. 122, 133 and 136 and, if time permits, Address in Reply as well.

And I may add: Go Leafs, Go!

THE SPEAKER « » : There are a few things I could say about that, but anyway.

The motion is for the House to adjourn and rise again tomorrow, Friday, April the 12^th between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 11:59 p.m.

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

The motion is carried.

The House now stands adjourned until tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m.

[The House rose at 9:00 p.m.]

NOTICES OF MOTION UNDER RULE 32(3)

[Page 3276]

RESOLUTION NO. 1066

By: Hon. Chuck Porter (Hants West)

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

Whereas David and Effie Smith have been delighting passersby with their amazing outdoor Christmas display for the past 15 years; and

Whereas the display has grown over the years as people donate more trees, lights, and decorations; and

Whereas viewers are encouraged to walk around the property, dubbed Candy Cane Lane, to enjoy the display, which includes 100 Christmas trees and 43 inflatable Christmas decorations;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate David and Effie Smith for continuing to keep the spirit of the season alive.

RESOLUTION NO. 1067

By: Hon. Chuck Porter (Hants West)

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

Whereas Hants County lost a great man on January 21^st of this year when David Peters from Upper Vaughan passed away after a very brief battle with cancer; and

Whereas Dave was passionate about his community, which was evident in his determination and drive to see the South West Hants Fire Department have a helipad placed at their station and seeing that project to completion in 2016; and

Whereas, humble and kind, you could always find Dave with a smile on his face, eager to help anyone in need or just sit with you for a little competition in a good card game;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly remember David Peters for his community spirit and kind heart.

RESOLUTION NO. 1068

[Page 3277]

By: Hon. Chuck Porter (Hants West)

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

Whereas for the fourth year, Kathy Johnston-Isenor, owner of Fitness Junkies, hosted an Ugly Christmas Pyjama Run in support of the Family Resource Centre; and

Whereas the run is a fun way to encourage people to be physically active but also encourage fun along the way; and

Whereas with no cost to participate, participants were encouraged to bring a donation and this year's goal was doubled, raising more than $1,000 for the Family Resource Centre;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Kathy Johnston-Isenor for bringing the community together in a fun way for a good cause.

RESOLUTION NO. 1069

By: Hon. Chuck Porter (Hants West)

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

Whereas after the loss of Ted Woundy, an inspirational music teacher at Avon Regional High School, Moe's Music School decided to recognize their friend; and

Whereas Ted Woundy would lend out instruments to his students to push them to pick up a different instrument they never thought they could play, and inspired a whole generation of students; and

Whereas the Ted Woundy Musical Lending Library is being established to help out those interested in trying out an instrument and to carry out Woundy's legacy;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Moe's Music for continuing to encourage learning through music while honouring a mentor to many.

RESOLUTION NO. 1070

[Page 3278]

By: Hon. Chuck Porter (Hants West)

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

Whereas for nearly a decade, Reid and Debbie Swinamer have been lighting up their home for the holidays in a rather unusual way; and

Whereas instead of traditional electric lights, the Swinamers use reflective tape, and the result is a display only appears when vehicles shine their lights on the home; and

Whereas the couple builds and paints several displays, then add reflective tape to create an incredible show, delighting many passersby;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate the Swinamers on reducing their carbon footprint in an ingenious way.

RESOLUTION NO. 1071

By: Hon. Chuck Porter (Hants West)

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

Whereas for Terra Spencer, writing songs happened almost by accident, and as she continued, she began to take the craft to heart; and

Whereas she wraps listeners up with her gentle voice and her music captivates audiences wherever she sings; and

Whereas her debut album, Other People's Lives, was released in January and she begins a tour of Canada, the U.K., and Europe this year;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Terra and wish her the best of luck with her future musical endeavours.

RESOLUTION NO. 1072

By: Hon. Chuck Porter (Hants West)

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

Whereas approximately 25 people gathered at the Windsor Legion Branch 09 for a friendly game of charity poker, which they are hoping to make a monthly event; and

[Page 3279]

Whereas Cherie MacDonald, who's currently going through cancer treatment, was the recipient of a large portion of the funds raised from the game on February 11, 2019; and

Whereas Trevor Rolfe, the main organizer of the charity poker games, wanted to donate to Cherie in recognition of everything she's done for the community;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Trevor Rolfe for organizing the charity poker games that have now helped three families going through treatments for various illnesses.

RESOLUTION NO. 1073

By: Hon. Chuck Porter (Hants West)

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

Whereas the West Hants Warriors Atom AA hockey team are working hard on the ice but also taking time to think of others; and

Whereas throughout the Fall, players were encouraged to bring non-perishable items to practice as a contribution to the Atom AA Holiday Hamper; and

Whereas food items, holiday treats, toiletries, and winter items grew and grew, resulting in a hearty gift for a local family;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate the West Hants Warriors Atom AA hockey team for thinking of those less fortunate in their community.

RESOLUTION NO. 1074

By: Hon. Chuck Porter (Hants West)

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

Whereas the congregation at the Windsor United Church found a creative way to reach out to the community in a busy and sometimes stressful holiday season; and

Whereas a walk-through live nativity was created in an eco-friendly way, repurposing clothing and relying on donations to build props; and

[Page 3280]

Whereas in a time when life can be so complicated, we crave simplicity, inner joy, and peace, and that is exactly what was found at this delightful live nativity created with members of the Windsor United Church;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Rev. David Hann and the congregation of the Windsor United Church for bringing the community together in celebration of the season.

RESOLUTION NO. 1075

By: Hon. Chuck Porter (Hants West)

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

Whereas the Hants County Branch 09 of the Royal Canadian Legion of Windsor, N.S., was first formed in 1919 by a group of local WWI veterans and was known as the Great War Veterans Association; and

Whereas Unity Conferences began in 1925, leading to the formation of the Canadian Legion of the British Empire Service League, with Windsor Branch becoming a member in January 1927; and

Whereas in 1930, the name changed from Windsor Branch to Hants County Branch, and in 1960 the Canadian Legion became the Royal Canadian Legion with the consent of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate the Hants County Branch 09 of the Royal Canadian Legion of Windsor, N.S., on celebrating the 100^th anniversary of the founding and their first official executive meeting and wish them all the best for the next 100 years.

RESOLUTION NO. 1076

By: Hon. Zach Churchill (Yarmouth)

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

Whereas the Yarmouth and Area Chamber of Commerce held its 2018 Business Awards; and

Whereas D.K. Muise Motors won the Community Impact Award; and

[Page 3281]

Whereas this award honours a company or business that has demonstrated exceptional public spirit through active staff participation in community events and shows its support of the community through sponsorships and charitable initiatives, by monetary and/or in-kind contributions;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Daniel Muise and Kerry Munro-Muise of D.K. Muise Motors on receiving this award, and thank them for their constant and generous support of our community.

RESOLUTION NO. 1077

By: Hon. Zach Churchill (Yarmouth)

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

Whereas the Yarmouth and Area Chamber of Commerce held its 2018 Business Awards; and

Whereas Tracy LeBlanc of Pleasant Supplies Timber Mart was named the Employee of the Year; and

Whereas this award goes to an individual who has shown outstanding loyalty and customer service, inspires others, has a passion for their job, and tries to make the workplace better for all employees;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Tracy LeBlanc on this award, thank him for his enthusiasm and professionalism, and wish him much continued success.

RESOLUTION NO. 1078

By: Hon. Zach Churchill (Yarmouth)

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

Whereas the Yarmouth and Area Chamber of Commerce held its 2018 Business Awards; and

Whereas Heritage Brewing Co. was named the Rising Star of the Year; and

Whereas this award goes to a locally owned business that is less than five years old or has had a new owner within the past five years, and has shown tremendous growth and success within the area;

[Page 3282]

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Heritage Brewing Co.'s Jason Murphy, Albert Whittaker, Drew Jackson, and Jeff Bain on winning this award and wish them much continued success.

RESOLUTION NO. 1079

By: Hon. Karen Casey (Colchester North)

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

Whereas Brian Ellis of Upper North River, Colchester North, has been working at the same retail location since leaving high school more than 50 years ago; and

Whereas the job was at Truro's first Canadian Tire Store, which had been opened by Walter Mosher in 1938, and since Ellis was always tinkering at old cars with his buddies, he thought this would be a good place to work; and

Whereas in 1973 owner Les Mosher sold the Canadian Tire franchise and the Willow Street building was turned into a Home Hardware Store;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly send best wishes to Brian Ellis, 72, and owner Les Mosher, 79, on their well-deserved retirement.

RESOLUTION NO. 1080

By: Claudia Chender (Dartmouth South)

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

Whereas Lauren Matheson is a director on the board of Women's Wellness Within and coordinator of their Doula Training Partnership; and

Whereas she has sourced funding and organized the logistics to train over 50 women from underrepresented groups (including women who have experienced criminalization, Indigenous women, and Black women) to become doulas to support the perinatal health of their communities; and

Whereas she is truly making a difference in the lives of Nova Scotians;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly thank Lauren Matheson for her tireless efforts as a volunteer with Women's Wellness Within.

[Page 3283]

RESOLUTION NO. 1081

By: Claudia Chender (Dartmouth South)

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

Whereas Hazel Ling is a founding member of Women's Wellness Within and coordinator of their Resilience Project; and

Whereas Hazel has worked with women inside Nova Prison, the Burnside Jail, Holly House Transition House, and the community, to develop a module and workbook on Resilience Building for women experiencing criminalization; and

Whereas she is truly making a difference in the lives of Nova Scotians;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly thank Hazel Ling for her tireless efforts as a volunteer with Women's Wellness Within.

RESOLUTION NO. 1082

By: Claudia Chender (Dartmouth South)

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

Whereas Lindsay McVicar is the secretary-treasurer of Women's Wellness Within; and

Whereas she is the tireless worker who ensures that all of the details required to run a non-profit, including grants, budgets, meeting notes, and conference agendas, are complete; and

Whereas Lindsay keeps the organization in order, and, as a non-profit without staff, this takes an enormous amount of work and hours;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly thank Lindsay McVicar for her steadfast efforts as a volunteer with Women's Wellness Within.

RESOLUTION NO. 1083

[Page 3284]

By: Hon. Randy Delorey (Antigonish)

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

Whereas the Bantam A Bulldogs of Antigonish recently wrapped up a very good season, during which they placed second overall in their league and won two gold medals and one silver medal at various tournaments they played this year; and

Whereas the members of this team show leadership on and off the ice, and contribute to their community by volunteering to play floor hockey with members of the Canadian Association of Community Living; and

Whereas Aidan Boyd contributed a great deal to the success of his team;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Aidan Boyd, his coaches, and fellow teammates on their successful season.

RESOLUTION NO. 1084

By: Hon. Randy Delorey (Antigonish)

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

Whereas the Bantam A Bulldogs of Antigonish recently wrapped up a very good season, during which they placed second overall in their league and won two gold medals and one silver medal at various tournaments they played this year; and

Whereas the members of this team show leadership on and off the ice, and contribute to their community by volunteering to play floor hockey with members of the Canadian Association of Community Living; and

Whereas Adam Stalker contributed a great deal to the success of his team;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Adam Stalker, his coaches, and fellow teammates on their successful season.

RESOLUTION NO. 1085

[Page 3285]

By: Hon. Randy Delorey (Antigonish)

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

Whereas the Bantam A Bulldogs of Antigonish recently wrapped up a very good season, during which they placed second overall in their league and won two gold medals and one silver medal at various tournaments they played this year; and

Whereas the members of this team show leadership on and off the ice, and contribute to their community by volunteering to play floor hockey with members of the Canadian Association of Community Living; and

Whereas Brennan MacDonald contributed a great deal to the success of his team;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Brennan MacDonald, his coaches, and fellow teammates on their successful season.

RESOLUTION NO. 1086

By: Hon. Randy Delorey (Antigonish)

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

Whereas the Bantam A Bulldogs of Antigonish recently wrapped up a very good season, during which they placed second overall in their league and won two gold medals and one silver medal at various tournaments they played this year; and

Whereas the members of this team show leadership on and off the ice, and contribute to their community by volunteering to play floor hockey with members of the Canadian Association of Community Living; and

Whereas Brett Boyd contributed a great deal to the success of his team;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Brett Boyd, his coaches, and fellow teammates on their successful season.

RESOLUTION NO. 1087

[Page 3286]

By: Hon. Randy Delorey (Antigonish)

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

Whereas the Bantam A Bulldogs of Antigonish recently wrapped up a very good season, during which they placed second overall in their league and won two gold medals and one silver medal at various tournaments they played this year; and

Whereas the members of this team show leadership on and off the ice, and contribute to their community by volunteering to play floor hockey with members of the Canadian Association of Community Living; and

Whereas Brett MacLellan contributed a great deal to the success of his team;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Brett MacLellan, his coaches, and fellow teammates on their successful season.

RESOLUTION NO. 1088

By: Hon. Randy Delorey (Antigonish)

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

Whereas the Bantam A Bulldogs of Antigonish recently wrapped up a very good season, during which they placed second overall in their league and won two gold medals and one silver medal at various tournaments they played this year; and

Whereas the members of this team show leadership on and off the ice, and contribute to their community by volunteering to play floor hockey with members of the Canadian Association of Community Living; and

Whereas Caylum MacLean contributed a great deal to the success of his team;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Caylum MacLean, his coaches, and fellow teammates on their successful season.

RESOLUTION NO. 1089

[Page 3287]

By: Hon. Randy Delorey (Antigonish)

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

Whereas the Bantam A Bulldogs of Antigonish recently wrapped up a very good season, during which they placed second overall in their league and won two gold medals and one silver medal at various tournaments they played this year; and

Whereas the members of this team show leadership on and off the ice, and contribute to their community by volunteering to play floor hockey with members of the Canadian Association of Community Living; and

Whereas Cameron Arsenault contributed a great deal to the success of his team;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Cameron Arsenault, his coaches, and fellow teammates on their successful season.

RESOLUTION NO. 1090

By: Hon. Randy Delorey (Antigonish)

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

Whereas the Bantam A Bulldogs of Antigonish recently wrapped up a very good season, during which they placed second overall in their league and won two gold medals and one silver medal at various tournaments they played this year; and

Whereas the members of this team show leadership on and off the ice, and contribute to their community by volunteering to play floor hockey with members of the Canadian Association of Community Living; and

Whereas Chase Martell contributed a great deal to the success of his team;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Chase Martell, his coaches, and fellow teammates on their successful season.

RESOLUTION NO. 1091

[Page 3288]

By: Hon. Randy Delorey (Antigonish)

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

Whereas the Bantam A Bulldogs of Antigonish recently wrapped up a very good season, during which they placed second overall in their league and won two gold medals and one silver medal at various tournaments they played this year; and

Whereas the members of this team show leadership on and off the ice, and contribute to their community by volunteering to play floor hockey with members of the Canadian Association of Community Living; and

Whereas Dante MacDonald contributed a great deal to the success of his team;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Dante MacDonald, his coaches, and fellow teammates on their successful season.

RESOLUTION NO. 1092

By: Hon. Randy Delorey (Antigonish)

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

Whereas the Bantam A Bulldogs of Antigonish recently wrapped up a very good season, during which they placed second overall in their league and won two gold medals and one silver medal at various tournaments they played this year; and

Whereas the members of this team show leadership on and off the ice, and contribute to their community by volunteering to play floor hockey with members of the Canadian Association of Community Living; and

Whereas Colin Tate contributed a great deal to the success of his team;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Colin Tate, his coaches, and fellow teammates on their successful season.

RESOLUTION NO. 1093

[Page 3289]

By: Hon. Randy Delorey (Antigonish)

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

Whereas the Bantam A Bulldogs of Antigonish recently wrapped up a very good season, during which they placed second overall in their league and won two gold medals and one silver medal at various tournaments they played this year; and

Whereas the members of this team show leadership on and off the ice, and contribute to their community by volunteering to play floor hockey with members of the Canadian Association of Community Living; and

Whereas Isaac Murphy contributed a great deal to the success of his team;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Isaac Murphy, his coaches, and fellow teammates on their successful season.

RESOLUTION NO. 1094

By: Hon. Randy Delorey (Antigonish)

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

Whereas the Bantam A Bulldogs of Antigonish recently wrapped up a very good season, during which they placed second overall in their league and won two gold medals and one silver medal at various tournaments they played this year; and

Whereas the members of this team show leadership on and off the ice, and contribute to their community by volunteering to play floor hockey with members of the Canadian Association of Community Living; and

Whereas Jack Delorey contributed a great deal to the success of his team;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Jack Delorey, his coaches, and fellow teammates on their successful season.

RESOLUTION NO. 1095

[Page 3290]

By: Hon. Randy Delorey (Antigonish)

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

Whereas the Bantam A Bulldogs of Antigonish recently wrapped up a very good season, during which they placed second overall in their league and won two gold medals and one silver medal at various tournaments they played this year; and

Whereas the members of this team show leadership on and off the ice, and contribute to their community by volunteering to play floor hockey with members of the Canadian Association of Community Living; and

Whereas Jesse MacDonald contributed a great deal to the success of his team;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Jesse MacDonald, his coaches, and fellow teammates on their successful season.

RESOLUTION NO. 1096

By: Hon. Randy Delorey (Antigonish)

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

Whereas the Bantam A Bulldogs of Antigonish recently wrapped up a very good season, during which they placed second overall in their league and won two gold medals and one silver medal at various tournaments they played this year; and

Whereas the members of this team show leadership on and off the ice, and contribute to their community by volunteering to play floor hockey with members of the Canadian Association of Community Living; and

Whereas John Boyd contributed a great deal to the success of his team;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate John Boyd, his coaches, and fellow teammates on their successful season.

RESOLUTION NO. 1097

[Page 3291]

By: Hon. Randy Delorey (Antigonish)

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

Whereas the Bantam A Bulldogs of Antigonish recently wrapped up a very good season, during which they placed second overall in their league and won two gold medals and one silver medal at various tournaments they played this year; and

Whereas the members of this team show leadership on and off the ice, and contribute to their community by volunteering to play floor hockey with members of the Canadian Association of Community Living; and

Whereas Malcolm MacDonald contributed a great deal to the success of his team;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Malcolm MacDonald, his coaches, and fellow teammates on their successful season.

RESOLUTION NO. 1098

By: Hon. Randy Delorey (Antigonish)

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

Whereas the Bantam A Bulldogs of Antigonish recently wrapped up a very good season, during which they placed second overall in their league and won two gold medals and one silver medal at various tournaments they played this year; and

Whereas the members of this team show leadership on and off the ice, and contribute to their community by volunteering to play floor hockey with members of the Canadian Association of Community Living; and

Whereas Luc DeCoste contributed a great deal to the success of his team;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Luc DeCoste, his coaches, and fellow teammates on their successful season.

RESOLUTION NO. 1099

[Page 3292]

By: Hon. Randy Delorey (Antigonish)

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

Whereas the Bantam A Bulldogs of Antigonish recently wrapped up a very good season, during which they placed second overall in their league and won two gold medals and one silver medal at various tournaments they played this year; and

Whereas the members of this team show leadership on and off the ice, and contribute to their community by volunteering to play floor hockey with members of the Canadian Association of Community Living; and

Whereas Mitchell Arsenault contributed a great deal to the success of his team;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Mitchel Arsenault, his coaches, and fellow teammates on their successful season.

RESOLUTION NO. 1100

By: Hon. Randy Delorey (Antigonish)

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

Whereas the Bantam A Bulldogs of Antigonish recently wrapped up a very good season, during which they placed second overall in their league and won two gold medals and one silver medal at various tournaments they played this year; and

Whereas the members of this team show leadership on and off the ice, and contribute to their community by volunteering to play floor hockey with members of the Canadian Association of Community Living; and

Whereas Parker Flynn contributed a great deal to the success of his team;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Parker Flynn, his coaches, and fellow teammates on their successful season.

RESOLUTION NO. 1101

[Page 3293]

By: Kim Masland (Queens-Shelburne)

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

Whereas I recognize the achievements of the Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute, a charitable organization that operates a field station for research and education within the Southwest Nova Biosphere Reserve in Kempt, Queens County; and

Whereas their projects focus on species at risk, aquatic health, forest health, climate change and invasive alien species; and

Whereas they also work extensively with private landowners on old growth forests, have incorporated many green energy concepts in their building and are piloting a TV white space internet project;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate the Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute for the amazing work they do, the employment they create and for being stewards of Nova Scotian wildlife.

RESOLUTION NO. 1102

By: Hon. Iain Rankin (Timberlea-Prospect)

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

Whereas the SLAM U12 Boys basketball team coached by two first time coaches and former SLAM players who booked their team into tournaments and countless exhibition games always striving to make the team development into better basketball players; and

Whereas the SLAM U12 Boys division entered the city playoffs ranked 5^th overall and played with spirit and determination to win their first playoff game and advance to the gold medal game; and

Whereas the SLAM U12 Boys team was down to eight players and while on the way to the championship game, one of the players dad's car broke down, an RCMP officer stopped to assist and drove the player to the game just in time so the team did not have to forfeit the game allowing the U12 boys to win the gold championship;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly join me in congratulating Charlie Winsor on his hard work throughout the season to develop his basketball skills and team spirit to assist his team to win the gold medal.

[Page 3294]

RESOLUTION NO. 1103

By: Hon. Iain Rankin (Timberlea-Prospect)

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

Whereas the SLAM U12 Boys basketball team coached by two first time coaches and former SLAM players who booked their team into tournaments and countless exhibition games always striving to make the team development into better basketball players; and

Whereas the SLAM U12 Boys division entered the city playoffs ranked 5th overall and played with spirit and determination to win their first playoff game and advance to the gold medal game; and

Whereas the SLAM U12 Boys team was down to eight players and while on the way to the championship game, one of the players dad's car broke down, an RCMP officer stopped to assist and drove the player to the game just in time so the team did not have to forfeit the game allowing the U12 boys to win the gold championship;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly join me in congratulating Jason Kim on his hard work throughout the season to develop his basketball skills and team spirit to assist his team to win the gold medal.

RESOLUTION NO. 1104

By: Hon. Iain Rankin (Timberlea-Prospect)

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

Whereas the SLAM U12 Boys basketball team coached by two first time coaches and former SLAM players who booked their team into tournaments and countless exhibition games always striving to make the team development into better basketball players; and

Whereas the SLAM U12 Boys division entered the city playoffs ranked 5th overall and played with spirit and determination to win their first playoff game and advance to the gold medal game; and

Whereas the SLAM U12 Boys team was down to eight players and while on the way to the championship game, one of the players dad's car broke down, an RCMP officer stopped to assist and drove the player to the game just in time so the team did not have to forfeit the game allowing the U12 boys to win the gold championship;

[Page 3295]

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly join me in congratulating Tanner Hogue on his hard work throughout the season to develop his basketball skills and team spirit to assist his team to win the gold medal.

RESOLUTION NO. 1105

By: Hon. Iain Rankin (Timberlea-Prospect)

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

Whereas the SLAM U12 Boys basketball team coached by two first time coaches and former SLAM players who booked their team into tournaments and countless exhibition games always striving to make the team development into better basketball players; and

Whereas the SLAM U12 Boys division entered the city playoffs ranked 5th overall and played with spirit and determination to win their first playoff game and advance to the gold medal game; and

Whereas the SLAM U12 Boys team was down to eight players and while on the way to the championship game, one of the players dad's car broke down, an RCMP officer stopped to assist and drove the player to the game just in time so the team did not have to forfeit the game allowing the U12 boys to win the gold championship;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly join me in congratulating Kaleb Heckert on his hard work throughout the season to develop his basketball skills and team spirit to assist his team to win the gold medal.

RESOLUTION NO. 1106

By: Hon. Iain Rankin (Timberlea-Prospect)

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

Whereas the SLAM U12 Boys basketball team coached by two first time coaches and former SLAM players who booked their team into tournaments and countless exhibition games always striving to make the team development into better basketball players; and

[Page 3296]

Whereas the SLAM U12 Boys division entered the city playoffs ranked 5th overall and played with spirit and determination to win their first playoff game and advance to the gold medal game; and

Whereas the SLAM U12 Boys team was down to eight players and while on the way to the championship game, one of the players dad's car broke down, an RCMP officer stopped to assist and drove the player to the game just in time so the team did not have to forfeit the game allowing the U12 boys to win the gold championship;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly join me in congratulating Luca Vuotto on his hard work throughout the season to develop his basketball skills and team spirit to assist his team to win the gold medal.

RESOLUTION NO. 1107

By: Hon. Iain Rankin (Timberlea-Prospect)

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

Whereas the SLAM U12 Boys basketball team coached by two first time coaches and former SLAM players who booked their team into tournaments and countless exhibition games always striving to make the team development into better basketball players; and

Whereas the SLAM U12 Boys division entered the city playoffs ranked 5th overall and played with spirit and determination to win their first playoff game and advance to the gold medal game; and

Whereas the SLAM U12 Boys team was down to eight players and while on the way to the championship game, one of the players dad's car broke down, an RCMP officer stopped to assist and drove the player to the game just in time so the team did not have to forfeit the game allowing the U12 boys to win the gold championship;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly join me in congratulating Max Bragg on his hard work throughout the season to develop his basketball skills and team spirit to assist his team to win the gold medal.

RESOLUTION NO. 1108

[Page 3297]

By: Hon. Iain Rankin (Timberlea-Prospect)

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

Whereas the SLAM U12 Boys basketball team coached by two first time coaches and former SLAM players who booked their team into tournaments and countless exhibition games always striving to make the team development into better basketball players; and

Whereas the SLAM U12 Boys division entered the city playoffs ranked 5th overall and played with spirit and determination to win their first playoff game and advance to the gold medal game; and

Whereas the Slam U12 Boys team was down to eight players and while on the way to the championship game, one of the players dad's car broke down, an RCMP officer stopped to assist and drove the player to the game just in time so the team did not have to forfeit the game allowing the U12 boys to win the gold championship;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly join me in congratulating Riley Diepenveen on his hard work throughout the season to develop his basketball skills and team spirit to assist his team to win the gold medal.

RESOLUTION NO. 1109

By: Hon. Iain Rankin (Timberlea-Prospect)

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

Whereas the SLAM U12 Boys basketball team coached by two first time coaches and former SLAM players who booked their team into tournaments and countless exhibition games always striving to make the team development into better basketball players; and

Whereas the SLAM U12 Boys division entered the city playoffs ranked 5th overall and played with spirit and determination to win their first playoff game and advance to the gold medal game; and

Whereas the SLAM U12 Boys team was down to eight players and while on the way to the championship game, one of the players dad's car broke down, an RCMP officer stopped to assist and drove the player to the game just in time so the team did not have to forfeit the game allowing the U12 boys to win the gold championship;

[Page 3298]

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly join me in congratulating Quinn Riggs on his hard work throughout the season to develop his basketball skills and team spirit to assist his team to win the gold medal.

RESOLUTION NO. 1110

By: Hon. Iain Rankin (Timberlea-Prospect)

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

Whereas the SLAM U12 Boys basketball team coached by two first time coaches and former SLAM players who booked their team into tournaments and countless exhibition games always striving to make the team development into better basketball players; and

Whereas the SLAM U12 Boys division entered the city playoffs ranked 5th overall and played with spirit and determination to win their first playoff game and advance to the gold medal game; and

Whereas the SLAM U12 Boys team was down to eight players and while on the way to the championship game, one of the players dad's car broke down, an RCMP officer stopped to assist and drove the player to the game just in time so the team did not have to forfeit the game allowing the U12 boys to win the gold championship;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly join me in congratulating Noah Denis on his hard work throughout the season to develop his basketball skills and team spirit to assist his team to win the gold medal.

RESOLUTION NO. 1111

By: Hon. Iain Rankin (Timberlea-Prospect)

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

Whereas the SLAM U12 Boys basketball team coached by two first time coaches and former SLAM players who booked their team into tournaments and countless exhibition games always striving to make the team development into better basketball players; and

Whereas the SLAM U12 Boys division entered the city playoffs ranked 5th overall and played with spirit and determination to win their first playoff game and advance to the gold medal game; and

[Page 3299]

Whereas the SLAM U12 Boys team was down to eight players and while on the way to the championship game, one of the players dad's car broke down, an RCMP officer stopped to assist and drove the player to the game just in time so the team did not have to forfeit the game allowing the U12 boys to win the gold championship;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly join me in congratulating Nick Chapman on his hard work throughout the season to develop his basketball skills and team spirit to assist his team to win the gold medal.

RESOLUTION NO. 1112

By: Hon. Iain Rankin (Timberlea-Prospect)

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

Whereas the SLAM U12 Boys basketball team coached by two first time coaches and former SLAM players who booked their team into tournaments and countless exhibition games always striving to make the team development into better basketball players; and

Whereas the SLAM U12 Boys division entered the city playoffs ranked 5th overall and played with spirit and determination to win their first playoff game and advance to the gold medal game; and

Whereas the SLAM U12 Boys team was down to eight players and while on the way to the championship game, one of the players dad's car broke down, an RCMP officer stopped to assist and drove the player to the game just in time so the team did not have to forfeit the game allowing the U12 boys to win the gold championship;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly join me in congratulating Campbell Carson on his hard work throughout the season to develop his basketball skills and team spirit to assist his team to win the gold medal.

RESOLUTION NO. 1113

By: Hon. Mark Furey (Lunenburg West)

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

Whereas Drumlin Hills, a retirement home located in Bridgewater with 96 assisted living and independent living apartments, opened its doors November 2008; and

[Page 3300]

Whereas Shirley and Elliot MacKinnon, Barbara and Larry Hall, Eleanor and Norman Hovland, Cora Aulenback, Jean Marshall, Loretta Cox, Vi Copeland, Garnet Cox and Martha Copeland, all original tenants, celebrated Drumlin Hill's 10th anniversary last September; and

Whereas Drumlin Hills has a garden, lounge areas, an exercise room, and programs that allow friendships to prosper, in addition to an association that plans activities, quality meals, sings-songs, celebrations, health and wellness clinics, and staff who care;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Drumlin Hills on reaching its 10-year milestone and on being a great place to live.

RESOLUTION NO. 1114

By: Hon. Mark Furey (Lunenburg West)

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

Whereas Eleanor and Jim Crowell of Bridgewater earned a bronze in the Age 55⁺ Division of floor shuffleboard, at the 2018 Canada 55⁺ Games held in Saint John, New Brunswick, last August; and

Whereas Jim and Ellie brought this fun sport to Bridgewater the fall of 2017 and formed the Bluenose Shuffleboard Club; and

Whereas Ellie and Jim say that, "the laughter and excitement created from the sport's friendly competition is infectious" and "it provides players with a low-impact activity that's also great exercise for the brain";

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly join me in congratulating Eleanor and Jim Crowell for their success at the Canada 55⁺ Games and for their leadership in developing the sport of shuffleboard.

RESOLUTION NO. 1115

By: Hon. Mark Furey (Lunenburg West)

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

Whereas Gow's Home Hardware, Bridgewater, is the recipient of the Walter J. Hachborn Store of the Year Award and the Best Home Hardware Store over 6,000 Sq. Ft. Award; and

[Page 3301]

Whereas Gow's Home Hardware was selected from among close to 1,100 stores across Canada to receive the Store of the Year designation; and

Whereas according to Terry Davis, President and CEO of Home Hardware Stores Limited, "the Proud of my Home Award recognizes Gow's Home Hardware's commitment and dedication to providing their community with quality advice, superior service and competitively priced products that are second to none";

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Gow's Home Hardware, its staff and 6th generation owner, Amanda Fancy for this impressive achievement.

RESOLUTION NO. 1116

By: Hon. Mark Furey (Lunenburg West)

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

Whereas Jerry's Diner prides itself in having down-home cooked food and friendly staff, and the food tastes as their sign suggests, "just like mom used to make"; and

Whereas the Diner offers a hearty, breakfast, that's served all day long and you can have anything off the menu, any time of the day, including home-made soups, baked beans, corned beef and cabbage, fish and chips, loose hamburger, liver and onions, as well as milkshakes, and a variety of desserts; and

Whereas Amanda Sawler, the manager, says that the staff "make it look seamless, but they work hard and keep customers coming back" and Margie Shea, who has been waitressing at the Diner for 21 years, "likes to keep people laughing and says that the entertainment is always free";

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly thank the staff at Jerry's Diner for making it a welcoming place for both locals and travellers to eat.

RESOLUTION NO. 1117

[Page 3302]

By: Hon. Mark Furey (Lunenburg West)

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

Whereas the South Shore Bluegrass Music Association, a thriving, close-knit group with 150+ members, celebrated its 35th anniversary in 2018; and

Whereas the home of the Association, New Canada's Double S Bluegrass Park, is a hub of activity during the summer months, where members, guests and the public come together to share stories, play cards, and enjoy traditional music, food and fellowship; and

Whereas the Association hosts jams, a variety show, and a gospel hour and the members have fulfilled the original dream of having a camping park where people can enjoy traditional music;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly join me in congratulating the South Shore Bluegrass Music Association in reaching a major milestone.

RESOLUTION NO. 1118

By: Hon. Mark Furey (Lunenburg West)

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

Whereas the South Shore Smash U15 Girls competed in the Volleyball Nova Scotia Tier 2 Provincial Championships held in Halifax, Nova Scotia last April; and

Whereas the South Shore Smash U15 Girls defeated the Dartmouth Volleyball Club 25-11 and 28-26 in the final; and

Whereas the South Shore Smash U15 Girls claimed the Championship banner;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate the South Shore Smash U15 team for their well-deserved victory at the Volleyball NS Provincial Championships.

RESOLUTION NO. 1119

[Page 3303]

By: Hon. Mark Furey (Lunenburg West)

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

Whereas Wayne Thorburne, Ginny Conrad, and Wendell Wamboldt play pickleball out of Bridgewater; and

Whereas these three athletes earned medals at the Canada 55⁺ Games, held in Saint John, New Brunswick, last August; and

Whereas Wayne and his partner Ginny won a silver in the Age 70⁺ Mixed Division of Pickleball, while Wayne and Wendell fought hard in 20 matches, to snag silver in Men's Doubles;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Wayne, Ginny and Wendell, who are an inspiration to our older adults.

RESOLUTION NO. 1120

By: Kim Masland (Queens-Shelburne)

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

Whereas in February, the town of Liverpool and Region of Queens wowed the world when they hosted the 2019 World Junior Curling Championships at Queens Place Emera Centre; and

Whereas from February 16^th through 23^rd, communities across Queens County welcomed 140 of the world's top junior curlers along with their coaches and families and gave them a true South Shore Nova Scotian experience; and

Whereas organizers, volunteers, region staff and local businesses worked together to ensure this event's success, and by all accounts, their efforts were not in vain;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate and thank all involved in bringing the world to Queens County, and for showing them what an amazing place we live in.

RESOLUTION NO. 1121

[Page 3304]

By: Hon. Patricia Arab (Fairview-Clayton Park)

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

Whereas Dr. Ian Pottie was awarded $281,897 to advance his work to develop a new diagnostic agent that will allow for the non-invasive diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease in living patients; and

Whereas currently, a definitive diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease can only be made through brain autopsy; and

Whereas Dr. Pottie is one of a group of Mount Saint Vincent researchers who have established state-of-the-art labs in the Centre for Applied Research in Human Health;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly recognize Dr. Ian Pottie for his tremendous work and congratulate him on this well-deserved funding.

RESOLUTION NO. 1122

By: Hon. Patricia Arab (Fairview-Clayton Park)

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

Whereas Dr. Jennifer Brady and Sandra Berwick were recognized at the National Dietitians of Canada conference in Vancouver; and

Whereas Sandra's education in family studies and gerontology helped her advocate for the ethical care of clients among dietitians from across the province and country; and

Whereas Dr. Jennifer Brady was recognized for her outstanding work in advocating for community security to promote and improve population health;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Sandra Berwick and Dr. Jennifer Brady on this impressive recognition.

RESOLUTION NO. 1123

[Page 3305]

By: Hon. Patricia Arab (Fairview-Clayton Park)

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

Whereas Dr. Mary Bluechardt recently began a new role as President and Vice-Chancellor of Mount Saint Vincent University; and

Whereas Dr. Bluechardt has 25 years of experience in the post-secondary sector with her most recent title being the Vice-President of the Grenfell Campus at Memorial University; and

Whereas Dr. Bluechardt is seen as a strong leader who implements various programs that provide students with the tools to succeed;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Dr. Mary Bluechardt on her new position.

RESOLUTION NO. 1124

By: Hon. Patricia Arab (Fairview-Clayton Park)

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

Whereas in July 2018, Emily Williams placed second at the 10^th Annual Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court competition in Geneva, Switzerland; and

Whereas Emily and her teammate Camille Xavier submitted two legal briefs that earned them a place in the top 10 of their UN region; and

Whereas Emily's impressive performance earned her the distinction of being named one of the top oralists at the event;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Emily on her significant accomplishment.

RESOLUTION NO. 1125

[Page 3306]

By: Hon. Patricia Arab (Fairview-Clayton Park)

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

Whereas, located on Convoy Avenue, the Fairview Gardens is an inclusive outdoor space in the heart of Fairview; and

Whereas the project has expanded throughout the years, accommodating several community organizations and residents; and

Whereas the garden is kept up by community members and is often supported by local businesses, such as Scotiabank on Dutch Village Road, which has planted flowers in the past;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly recognize the community members who work hard to maintain the Fairview Gardens.

RESOLUTION NO. 1126

By: Hon. Patricia Arab (Fairview-Clayton Park)

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

Whereas last year, Feed Nova Scotia expanded and relocated its headquarters from the Bedford Highway to a new facility in Burnside; and

Whereas Feed Nova Scotia saw the need for a larger space to provide non-perishables and fresh, healthy fruits, vegetables, and meat; and

Whereas each day, the organization distributes roughly 10,000 kilograms of food, and with their new location, they will be able to increase their donations and distribution;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Feed Nova Scotia on their continued success in their new facility.

RESOLUTION NO. 1127

[Page 3307]

By: Hon. Patricia Arab (Fairview-Clayton Park)

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

Whereas the Halifax West Boys Soccer team won the Kings-Edgehill Fall Classic soccer tournament for the third year in a row; and

Whereas the team successfully competed in several local tournaments and travelled to Quebec City, where they finished with three wins and a tie; and

Whereas the Halifax West Boys Soccer team are known for their skills on the field and their commitment to the community;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate the Halifax West Boys Soccer team on their many successes.

RESOLUTION NO. 1128

By: Hon. Patricia Arab (Fairview-Clayton Park)

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

Whereas the Halifax West Warriors were declared league champions of the Metro High School Hockey League; and

Whereas the team has many accomplishments, including winning the 2018 Red Cup Showcase; and

Whereas it was the last hockey season for Warriors Ben Penrose, Patrick Oxner, Richard Abbass, Ryan Maunder, Justin Sumarah, Massimo Spensieri, Josh Comeau, Luc Waldron, Kyle Penney, and Ryan Brea;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate the Halifax West Warriors on their successful year.

RESOLUTION NO. 1129

[Page 3308]

By: Hon. Patricia Arab (Fairview-Clayton Park)

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

Whereas Jan Merchant is the franchise manager of Square Roots in Fairview; and

Whereas Square Roots is a local organization that helps those in need by collecting imperfect fruits and vegetables from producers in the Annapolis Valley region; and

Whereas in collaboration with Killam Properties, Jan was able to expand her business by using the Glenforest Apartments Community Room;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Jan on her hard work in helping families in the Fairview community.

RESOLUTION NO. 1130

By: Hon. Patricia Arab (Fairview-Clayton Park)

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

Whereas in 2018, the Joseph Howe Superstore raised nearly $6,000 for PC Children's Charities; and

Whereas the store also hosted a fundraiser barbecue which included food, live music, and face painting, and proceeds went to the March of Dimes Canada; and

Whereas staff members visited Joseph Howe Elementary to hand out fruit, cereal, and juice to the children for breakfast and snacks;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly recognize the Joseph Howe Superstore for their dedication to giving back to their community.

RESOLUTION NO. 1131

By: Hon. Patricia Arab (Fairview-Clayton Park)

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

Whereas Massimo Spensieri is a talented, hard-working resident of Fairview-Clayton Park; and

[Page 3309]

Whereas he was a former assistant captain of the Halifax West Hockey team and currently plays for the Liverpool Junior B team; and

Whereas Massimo is a kinesiology student at Dalhousie University who recently organized a charity hockey game for Feed Nova Scotia;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly recognize Massimo for all of his achievements.

RESOLUTION NO. 1132

By: Hon. Patricia Arab (Fairview-Clayton Park)

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

Whereas the Grade 7 and Grade 9 classes of Clayton Park Junior High participated in a winter-survival field trip at the Natural Resources Education Centre; and

Whereas the students partook in several activities that taught them outdoor survival techniques; and

Whereas the field trip was a unique opportunity for the students, spearheaded by teacher Mr. Binder;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly recognize Mr. Binder for his dedication to teaching his students and for planning the field trip.

RESOLUTION NO. 1133

By: Hon. Patricia Arab (Fairview-Clayton Park)

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

Whereas Murray Austin is the president of the Fairview Legion Branch 142 and has been an active member for many years; and

Whereas Murray has been a resident of the Fairview community for over 20 years, after moving from Ontario to join the Navy; and

Whereas Murray served during the Gulf War on the HMCS Athabaskan;

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Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly recognize Murray Austin on his commitment to the success of the Fairview Legion.

RESOLUTION NO. 1134

By: Hon. Patricia Arab (Fairview-Clayton Park)

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

Whereas Ronald Yhap is a talented local artist who has been creating plastic bottle fish for about five years; and

Whereas Ron grew up in Guyana, but moved to Halifax in 1971, where he practised engineering for 20 years before being employed as a land surveyor; and

Whereas in his retirement, Ron devotes his time to creating artwork out of recycled materials which have been most recently displayed at the Dalhousie Art Gallery;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly recognize Ronald Yhap for creating not only beautiful, but environmentally friendly and resourceful art.

RESOLUTION NO. 1135

By: Hon. Patricia Arab (Fairview-Clayton Park)

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

Whereas Ryan Lane has been working at the community garden at Mount Saint Vincent University for two and a half years, while completing his degree in applied human nutrition; and

Whereas the garden has expanded since 2009 and has become a popular attraction for many of the students at the Mount; and

Whereas Ryan's role included recruiting volunteers to assist with the maintenance of the garden and to distribute the food at a low cost to students;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly recognize Ryan Lane for his dedication to the community garden.

RESOLUTION NO. 1136

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By: Hon. Patricia Arab (Fairview-Clayton Park)

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

Whereas Saint Benedict Catholic Church hosted the Divine Renovation 2018 Conference; and

Whereas the conference drew 650 delegates from across the world, adding to Saint Benedict's reputation as an internationally well-respected parish; and

Whereas parish leaders, Father James Mallon and Father Simon Lobo, have had the opportunity to speak at various religious conferences across the world as a result of the event;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Saint Benedict Catholic Church and the parish leaders on this successful event.

RESOLUTION NO. 1137

By: Hon. Patricia Arab (Fairview-Clayton Park)

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

Whereas the Second Fairview Scout Troop is an active part of the Fairview community and hosted a successful pancake supper; and

Whereas all members from Beavers, Cubs, and Scouts, were tasked with the set-up, cooking, and cleanup with the help of supportive parents and leaders; and

Whereas the event was attended by many in the community;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate the Second Fairview Scouts on organizing this amazing event.

RESOLUTION NO. 1138

By: Hon. Patricia Arab (Fairview-Clayton Park)

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

Whereas Sid Chedrawe was a recipient of the Halifax West Sesquicentennial Award; and

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Whereas Sid founded the Atlantic Convenience Stores Association and is also a founding member of the Canadian-Lebanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and

Whereas Sid is an active member of the Freemasons, Shriners, the Canadian Lebanon Society, and the Diman Association of Canada;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Sid on this esteemed award.

RESOLUTION NO. 1139

By: Hon. Patricia Arab (Fairview-Clayton Park)

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

Whereas Square Roots is an organization that minimizes food waste and insecurity by providing bundles of produce that would otherwise be composted by farmers at a low cost; and

Whereas the initiative has been a great success due to the dedication of project managers and franchise manager, Jan Merchant; and

Whereas in 2018, Square Roots Fairview-Clayton Park celebrated their one-year anniversary in the community;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Jan and Square Roots on their continued success at diverting thousands of pounds of food waste.

RESOLUTION NO. 1140

By: Hon. Patricia Arab (Fairview-Clayton Park)

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

Whereas Yara Yazbek and Renee MacLeod were elected co-presidents for the 2018 school year at Halifax West High School; and

Whereas both girls served as Grades 10 and 11 representatives, which allowed them to gain valuable student government experience; and

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Whereas with the help of their executive and student government advisors, there is no doubt Yara and Renee will be influential change-makers;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Yara and Renee on their successful student election.

RESOLUTION NO. 1141

By: Hon. Patricia Arab (Fairview-Clayton Park)

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

Whereas the YWCA has been a pillar of many communities for several decades, with their main goal to empower women and girls; and

Whereas the YWCA of Halifax hosted a Canada 150 event to celebrate the achievements of women immigrants; and

Whereas Killam Apartments supported this event by giving a $20,000 donation to the YWCA;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly recognize the YWCA for hosting this incredible event.

RESOLUTION NO. 1142

By: Hon. Patricia Arab (Fairview-Clayton Park)

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

Whereas Ali Duale was recently awarded the Halifax Sesquicentennial Award; and

Whereas Ali is an active member of our community, serving as the Diversity and Community Liaison Officer for Halifax Fire and Emergency Services; and

Whereas Ali has also served on the Interim Management Committee of his mosque, has coached two basketball teams, and has organized swimming programs for children in the community;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Ali Duale on this impressive award.

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RESOLUTION NO. 1143

By: Hon. Patricia Arab (Fairview-Clayton Park)

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

Whereas Ann Divine was a recipient of the Top 25 Immigrants in the Maritimes Award; and

Whereas Ann is the CEO and founder of Ashanti Leadership and Professional Development Services, which offers training programs to both individuals and companies; and

Whereas Ann's work has helped many members of the community strengthen and diversity their skills to enhance their work experience;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Ann Divine on this impressive award.

RESOLUTION NO. 1144

By: Hon. Patricia Arab (Fairview-Clayton Park)

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

Whereas the Armdale Fairview Rockingham Lions Club hosted a Road Toll, collecting donations from community members to support the Terry Fox Foundation; and

Whereas the initiative was spearheaded by Vice-President Larry Kennedy, who presented Provincial Director of the Foundation, Barbara Pate, with a cheque the following month; and

Whereas in over 15 years, the Lions Club has raised nearly $24,000 for the Terry Fox Foundation;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly recognize the Armdale Fairview Rockingham Lions Club on their dedication to such a wonderful cause.

RESOLUTION NO. 1145

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By: Hon. Patricia Arab (Fairview-Clayton Park)

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

Whereas Bahay Kubo is a popular Filipino and Asian grocery store in Fairview; and

Whereas the establishment is known for some of the best smoothies in town, as well as many Asian delicacies, including avocado ice candy and halo-halo; and

Whereas due to Bahay Kubo's success, the store expanded and relocated to a brand-new store in the Boss Plaza on Dutch Village Road;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Bahay Kubo on their continued success.

RESOLUTION NO. 1146

By: Hon. Patricia Arab (Fairview-Clayton Park)

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

Whereas this past June, Bill Billard celebrated his 95^th birthday at the Fairview Legion; and

Whereas Bill served as president of Fairview Branch 142; and

Whereas Bill has been an important member of the Fairview branch, not only for the hours and dedication he put in during his time as president, but for his kind, generous, and fun-loving spirit;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Bill on this very special milestone.

RESOLUTION NO. 1147

By: Hon. Patricia Arab (Fairview-Clayton Park)

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

Whereas Centennial Arena has been a cornerstone of Halifax for 50 years and continues to be a community space for families in Fairview to gather; and

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Whereas the rink hosts various events throughout the year, including family skates, concerts, and skating lessons; and

Whereas recently, the board of directors expanded the arena by adding a common area for organizations and individuals to use;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly recognize the board of directors of Centennial Arena for making this expansion possible.

RESOLUTION NO. 1148

By: Hon. Patricia Arab (Fairview-Clayton Park)

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

Whereas each year, the Mainland North Volunteer Awards recognize several community leaders who generously give back their time and talents; and

Whereas in May 2018, Daphne Daisy During was one of the volunteers recognized for her work with the African Diaspora Association of the Maritimes; and

Whereas Daphne is a pivotal member of the association and continually provides the African Canadian community with various opportunities and resources;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Daphne Daisy During on this impressive award.

RESOLUTION NO. 1149

By: Hon. Patricia Arab (Fairview-Clayton Park)

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

Whereas Dr. Heidi Weigand is a full-time professor in the Department of Business, Tourism and Hospitality at Mount Saint Vincent University; and

Whereas Dr. Weigand recently completed her Ph.D. in Management, which will aid her in spearheading her brand-new non-profit leadership program; and

Whereas the program will provide students with the skills needed to excel in the workforce and allow students to build connections within their area of study;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly congratulate Dr. Weigand on her recent accomplishment and continued success.

RESOLUTION NO. 1150

By: Lisa Roberts (Halifax Needham)

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

Whereas Nova Scotia had successful recreational and food fisheries for Atlantic halibut that were ended for conservation reasons; and

Whereas Atlantic halibut populations have rebounded, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada has increased Atlantic halibut quotas for existing fisheries; and

Whereas recreational and food fisheries for Atlantic halibut can bring significant social and economic benefits to Nova Scotia, including through associated tourism revenues;

Therefore be it resolved that the Province of Nova Scotia support the establishment of a recreational fishery for Atlantic halibut and a food fishery for Atlantic halibut in the province.

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