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19 novembre 2008

HANSARD 08-51

DEBATES AND PROCEEDINGS

Speaker: Honourable Alfie MacLeod

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

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


Second Session

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2008

TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE
TABLING REPORTS, REGULATIONS AND OTHER PAPERS:
Auditor General of Nova Scotia, 2008 Report, The Speaker 5815
GOVERNMENT NOTICES OF MOTION:
Res. 5618, MacKinnon, Lewis: Gaelic Language - Preservation,
The Premier 5816
Vote - Affirmative 5817
Res. 5619, TIR: Road Safety - Importance,
Hon. M. Scott 5817
Vote - Affirmative 5818
Res. 5620, LWD: Journeypersons - Qualification Certificates,
Hon. M. Parent 5818
Vote - Affirmative 5819
Res. 5621, PSC: Healthy Workplace Comm. - Hfx. CC Award,
Hon. C. Bolivar-Getson 5819
Vote - Affirmative 5819
Res. 5622, Educ.: Sch. Bd. Chairs - Congrats.,
Hon. K. Casey 5820
Vote - Affirmative 5820
Res. 5623, Conserv. N.S.: "It Starts with Me" Proj. - Congrats.,
Hon. R. Hurlburt 5820
Vote - Affirmative 5821
Res. 5624, Howlett, Michael: Pub. Serv. (30 Yrs.) - Congrats.,
Hon. B. Taylor 5821
Vote - Affirmative 5822
Res. 5625, Justice: Integrated Impaired Driving Enforcement Unit -
Congrats., Hon. C. Clarke 5822
Vote - Affirmative 5823
Res. 5626, Serv. N.S. & Mun. Rel. - Mun. Councils: Outgoing Members -
Recognize, Hon. J. Muir 5823
Vote - Affirmative 5823
Res. 5627, Com. Serv.: Pub. Good Soc. (Dart.) - Commend,
Hon. J. Streatch 5824
Vote - Affirmative 5824
Res. 5628, LWD: Parents as Career Coaches - Workshops,
Hon. M. Parent 5824
Vote - Affirmative 5825
Res. 5629, EMO: Hurricane Juan - Lessons,
Hon. C. Bolivar-Getson 5825
Vote - Affirmative 5826
Res. 5630, Masstown Market - Ind. Grocer of Yr.,
Hon. B. Taylor 5826
Vote - Affirmative 5827
INTRODUCTION OF BILLS:
No. 225, Provincial Sport Act, Mr. C. Porter 5827
No. 226, Right to Read Act, Mr. L. Glavine 5827
No. 227, Provincial Horse Act, Mr. L. Preyra 5827
No. 228, Adult Literacy Act, Mr. L. Glavine 5827
No. 229, Education Act, Mr. P. Paris 5827
NOTICES OF MOTION:
Res. 5631, New Waterford Cons. Hosp.: Ladies Aux. - Congrats.,
Mr. F. Corbett 5828
Vote - Affirmative 5828
Res. 5632, MacPhee, Al - Cdn. Auto. Dealers Assoc.: Sec.-Treas. -
Election, Mr. S. McNeil 5828
Vote - Affirmative 5829
Res. 5633, MacLellan, Judy: Pub. Serv. (30 Yrs.) - Congrats.,
Mr. K. Bain 5829
Vote - Affirmative 5830
Res. 5634, Habitat for Humanity HRM/Graham, Larry: House Building -
Congrats., Ms. M. More 5830
Vote - Affirmative 5831
Res. 5635, Milliken, Hon. Peter: HoC Speaker - Election Congrats.,
Mr. Manning MacDonald 5831
Vote - Affirmative 5831
Res. 5636, Bird, Robert: Amherst Councillor - Election,
Mr. E. Fage 5832
Vote - Affirmative 5832
Res. 5637, Christmas in the Brook: Organizers - Commend,
Mr. C. Parker 5832
Vote - Affirmative 5833
Res. 5638, Banks, Catherine - Gov.-Gen's Award,
Mr. M. Samson 5833
Vote - Affirmative 5834
Res. 5639, New Glasgow: Parkinson's Support Group - Congrats.,
Mr. P. Dunn 5834
Vote - Affirmative 5835
Res. 5640, Penny Lane Enterprises - Recycling Int.: Employees - Congrats.,
Ms. V. Conrad 5835
Vote - Affirmative 5835
Res. 5641, David, Ron: North Preston Commun. Serv. (35 Yrs.) - Congrats.,
Mr. K. Colwell 5836
Vote - Affirmative 5836
Res. 5642, Brooklyn FD - FD Comp.: Winners - Congrats.,
Mr. C. Porter 5836
Vote - Affirmative 5837
Res. 5643, Landry, S.Sgt. Ross: Pictou Co. RCMP - Policing Model,
Mr. C. MacKinnon 5837
Vote - Affirmative 5838
Res. 5644, Deveau, June - LePrix Grand Pré Award,
Mr. W. Gaudet 5838
Vote - Affirmative 5839
Res. 5645, Nicholson, Graham: Pub. Serv. (30 Yrs.) - Congrats.,
Mr. K. Bain 5839
Vote - Affirmative 5840
Res. 5646, Porters Lake Fire: Cole Hbr.-East. Passage Firefighters -
Commend, Ms. B. Kent 5840
Vote - Affirmative 5841
Res. 5647, Allen, Rev. Dr. George: Religious Serv. (68 Yrs.) - Recognize,
Mr. H. Theriault 5841
Vote - Affirmative 5841
Res. 5648, Bond, Dunnery: Next Star Reality Show - Winner,
Mr. C. Porter 5841
Vote - Affirmative 5842
Res. 5649, Active Pictou Co. Prog.: Staff/Vols. - Congrats.,
Mr. C. MacKinnon 5842
Vote - Affirmative 5843
Res. 5650, Gas Reg.: PC/NDP Coalition - Scrap,
Mr. K. Colwell 5843
Res. 5651, MacIntosh, David/New Glasgow: Town Hist. - Celebration,
Mr. P. Dunn 5844
Vote - Affirmative 5844
Res. 5652, Conseil de developpement Economique de la Nouvelle-Écosse:
Launch - Congrats., Hon. C. d'Entremont 5845
Vote - Affirmative 5846
Res. 5653, Martell, Pres. Aubrey: Golden "K" Club - Contributions,
Hon. C. Bolivar-Getson 5846
Vote - Affirmative 5847
Res. 5654, Cuzner, MP Rodger - HoC: Re-election/Appt. - Congrats.,
Mr. David Wilson (Glace Bay) 5847
Vote - Affirmative 5847
Res. 5655, Bauchman, Brint & Madelyn: Fundraising - Recognize,
Hon. D. Morse 5848
Vote - Affirmative 5848
Res. 5656, LeBlanc, Mireille - Golf Championship,
Mr. W. Gaudet 5848
Vote - Affirmative 5849
Res. 5657, Kidston, Earl - Buy Local: Awareness - Efforts,
Hon. M. Parent 5849
Vote - Affirmative 5850
Res. 5658, McNally, Russell & Marjorie - Prov. Woodlot Owner of Yr.,
Hon. K. Casey 5850
Vote - Affirmative 5850
Res. 5659, Prem.: Econ. Update - Release,
Ms. D. Whalen (by Mr. Manning MacDonald) 5850
Res. 5660, Wall, June - Dianna H Bleakney Guild: Involvement -
Thank, Hon. L. Goucher 5851
Vote - Affirmative 5852
Res. 5661, Comeau, Philip - Medal of Bravery,
Mr. E. Fage 5852
Vote - Affirmative 5852
ORAL QUESTIONS PUT BY MEMBERS:
No. 492, Health: Auditor Gen. - Recommendations, Mr. D. Dexter 5853
No. 493, Justice: Pub. Institutions - Safety Plan, Mr. M. Samson 5854
No. 494, Health: Home Care Agencies - Letters of Understanding,
Mr. D. Dexter 5856
No. 495, Health: Professionals - Recruitment & Retention,
Mr. D. Dexter 5857
No. 496, Gov't. (N.S.): Auditor Gen.'s Rept. - Recommendations,
Mr. S. McNeil 5858
No. 497, LWD: Investment Strategies - Monitoring,
Ms. Maureen MacDonald 5859
No. 498, Educ.: Sch. Buses - Deficiencies, Mr. P. Paris 5861
No. 499, Prem.: Fiscal Update - Details, Mr. S. McNeil 5863
No. 500, Educ.: Green Fam. - Tuition Support, Mr. G. Steele 5864
No. 501, Fish. & Aquaculture: Southwestern N.S. Fishery - Assistance,
Mr. H. Theriault 5865
No. 502, Health: Lillian Fraser Hosp. ER - Opening Incentives,
Mr. C. Parker 5867
No. 503, Health: ERs - Instability, Mr. F. Corbett 5868
No. 504, Health: Caregivers Proj. - Details, Mr. M. Samson 5870
No. 505, Com. Serv.: Family Support Prog. - Analysis,
Mr. T. Zinck 5871
No. 506, TIR: Chebucto Head Rd. - Maintenance, Ms. M. Raymond 5872
No. 507, Health: Digby ER - Closure Stats., Mr. H. Theriault 5874
No. 508, Com. Serv. - Income Assistance: Reassessment - Evidence,
Mr. D. Dexter 5875
No. 509, LWD: Apprenticeship Prog. - Gender Stats.,
Ms. Maureen MacDonald 5876
No. 510, Com. Serv.: Cape Ctr. - Funding,
Mr. David Wilson (Glace Bay) 5878
No. 511, TIR: Infrastructure Inspections - Report Table,
Ms. V. Conrad 5879
OPPOSITION MEMBERS' BUSINESS:
MOTIONS OTHER THAN GOVERNMENT MOTIONS:
Res. No. 5383, Com. Serv. - Min.: Carbon Tax - Awareness,
Mr. T. Zinck 5881
Mr. T. Zinck 5881
Hon. J. Streatch 5884
Hon. M. Parent 5886
Mr. Manning MacDonald 5887
Mr. C. MacKinnon 5890
Res. No. 5357, Agric.: Agricultural Policy - Develop,
Mr. J. MacDonell 5892
Mr. J. MacDonell 5892
Hon. B. Taylor 5895
Mr. L. Glavine 5897
Mr. C. Parker 5900
ADJOURNMENT, House rose to meet again on Thur., Nov. 20th at 10:00 a.m. 5902
NOTICES OF MOTION UNDER RULE 32(3):
Res. No. 5662, Anna. Royal - Lt.-Gov's. Commun. Spirit Award,
Mr. S. McNeil 5903
Res. No. 5663, Bridgetown RCL Br. 33 - Anniv (80th),
Mr. S. McNeil 5903
Res. 5664, Greenwood Haines Hawks: Soccer Season -
Congrats., Mr. L. Glavine 5904
Res. 5665, Parish-Zwicker, Lavinia - Anna. Valley Reg. Sch. Bd.:
Chair - Election, Hon. K. Casey 5904
Res. 5666, Green, Lorne - C.B. - Victoria Reg. Sch. Bd.:
Chair - Election, Hon. K. Casey 5905
Res 5667, Thompson, Trudy - Chignecto-Cent. Reg. Sch. Bd.:
Chair - Election, Hon. K. Casey 5905
Res. 5668, Gaudet, Kenneth - Conseil scolaire acadien provincial:
Chair - Election, Hon. K. Casey 5906
Res. 5669, Carvery, Irvine - Hfx. Reg. Sch. Bd.: Chair - Election,
Hon. K. Casey 5906
Res. 5670, MacDonald, Mary Jess - Strait Reg. Sch. Bd.: Chair -
Election, Hon. K. Casey 5907
Res. 5671, Payzant, Elliott - S. Shore Reg. Sch. Bd.: Chair -
Election, Hon. K. Casey 5907
Res. 5672, Haley, Faye - Tri. Co. Reg. Sch. Bd.: Chair - Election,
Hon. K. Casey 5908
Res. 5673, Sheridan, Will - Dianna H. Bleakney Guild:
Involvement - Thank, Hon. L. Goucher 5908
Res. 5674, Glace Bay Citizens Serv. League - Anniv. (40th),
Mr. D. Wilson (Glace Bay) 5909
Res. 5675, Bridgeway Acad.: Silver Lining Soiree Auction -
Congrats., Ms. J. Massey 5909
Res. 5676, McConnery, Jason - Lt. Gov's Award, Ms. J. Massey 5910
Res. 5677, Campbell, Jessica - Lt. Gov.'s Award, Ms. J. Massey 5910
Res. 5678, HomeBridge Youth Soc./Scarlet Soiree: Efforts -
Congrats., Ms. J. Massey 5911
Res. 5679, Crowell, Carolyn: Book Release - Congrats.,
Mr. S. Belliveau 5911
Res. 5680, Bancroft, Brenda/Jeffrey, Laura: Handful of Hope
Fundraising, Mr. S. Belliveau 5912
Res. 5681, Messenger, Abbey - Info. Technology Scholarship,
Mr. S. Belliveau 5912
Res. 5682, Pierce, Alex - Best Cdn. Poetry Prize, Mr. S. Belliveau 5913
Res. 5683, Mood, Nickerson, Andrea: Forest Ridge Acad. -
Founding - Mr. S. Belliveau 5913
Res. 5684, Hunt, Andrew: Playoffs - Congrats., Mr. S. Belliveau 5914
Res. 5685, Dendunnen, Anne: Shelburne Family Roots -
Connection, Mr. S. Belliveau 5914
Res. 5686, Bower, Austin - Hockey Medal, Mr. S. Belliveau 5915
Res. 5687, Smith, Babe - Hockey Medal, Mr. S. Belliveau 5915
Res. 5688, Shelburne Co. Bantam A Flames - Hockey Championship,
Mr. S. Belliveau 5916
Res. 5689, Barrington Barons - Track & Field - Accomplishments,
Mr. S. Belliveau 5916
Res. 5690, Barrington Barons - NSSAF Boys Championship,
Mr. S. Belliveau 5917
Res. 5691, Barrington Wishmakers Parade: Participants -
Congrats., Mr. S. Belliveau 5917
Res. 5692, Bayside Home: Continuing Care Mo. - Kickoff,
Mr. S. Belliveau 5918
Res. 5693, Barrington Mun. HS Green Team: Barrington River
Stewardship - Congrats., Mr. S. Belliveau 5918
Res. 5694, Barrington Mun. HS: Soccer Field - Grand Opening,
Mr. S. Belliveau 5919
Res. 5695, Goreham, Asst. Coach Brennan - Playoffs,
Mr. S. Belliveau 5919
Res. 5696, Wile, Brittany Ann - Lt. Gov.'s Award, Mr. S. Belliveau 5920
Res. 5697, Simpson, Brogan - Dist. Playoffs, Mr. S. Belliveau 5920
Res. 5698, Chase-Penney, Calvin - Bowling Tournament,
Mr. S. Belliveau 5921
Res. 5699, Shaw, Carmen - Hockey Medal, Mr. S. Belliveau 5921
Res. 5700, Keeler, Catherine - Sci. & Tech. Expo, Mr. S. Belliveau 5922
Res. 5701, Chapel Hill Hist. Soc. - Veterans Wall of Honour,
Mr. S. Belliveau 5922
Res. 5702, Kenney, Chelsea - Bowling Tournament, Mr. S. Belliveau 5923
Res. 5703, Goreham, Christopher - Dist. Playoffs, Mr. S. Belliveau 5923
Res. 5704, Nickerson, Cindy: Shag Hbr. UFO Incident -
Dedication, Mr. S. Belliveau 5924
Res. 5705, Clark's Hbr. Foggies Bantam A Baseball Team -
Championship, Mr. S. Belliveau 5924
Res. 5706, Belliveau, Colin - Hockey Medal, Mr. S. Belliveau 5925
Res. 5707, Cameron, Daniel - Hockey Medal, Mr. S. Belliveau 5925
Res. 5708, Nickerson, Danisha - Bowling Tournament,
Mr. S. Belliveau 5926
Res. 5709, Donaldson, Dawson - Dist. Playoffs, Mr. S. Belliveau 5926
Res. 5710, Nickerson, Deedee/Jones, Nicole - Dory Races,
Mr. S. Belliveau 5927
Res. 5711, Symonds, Demiah - Hockey Medal, Mr. S. Belliveau 5927
Res. 5712, Ross, Dylan - Dist. Playoffs, Mr. S. Belliveau 5928
Res. 5713, Dixon, Ethan - Hockey Medal, Mr. S. Belliveau 5928
Res. 5714, Nickerson, Ethan - Hockey Medal, Mr. S. Belliveau 5929
Res. 5715, Forest Ridge Academy - Stand Up Against Bullying Day,
Mr. S. Belliveau 5929
Res. 5716, Oqallak - Hockey Medal, Mr. S. Belliveau 5930
Res. 5717, Penney, Gabriel - Hockey Medal, Mr. S. Belliveau 5930
Res. 5718, Black, Gary - Hockey Medal, Mr. S. Belliveau 5931
Res. 5719, Blades, Gary - Golf Tournament, Mr. S. Belliveau 5931
Res. 5720, Buree, Gloria - Shelburne Vol. of Yr., Mr. S. Belliveau 5932
Res. 5721, Duggan, Gregory Island & Barrington Passage Vol. FD -
Scroll of Recognition (22 yrs.), Mr. S. Belliveau 5932
Res. 5722, Perry, Greg - Barrington Barons Basketball Championships,
Mr. S. Belliveau 5933
Res. 5723, Tipton, Guy/King, Matt - Sailing Championships,
Mr. S. Belliveau 5933
Res. 5724, Cunningham, Hazen/Atkinson, Angus - Dory Races,
Mr. S. Belliveau 5934
Res. 5725, Nickerson, Holden - Bowling Tournament,
Mr. S. Belliveau 5934
Res. 5726, Hubbubgo Youth Comm.: Youth Concert - Performance,
Mr. S. Belliveau 5935
Res. 5727, Nickerson, Isaiah - Bowling Tournament,
Mr. S. Belliveau 5935
Res. 5728, Fry, Jack: Terry Fox Run - Participation (27 yrs.),
Mr. S. Belliveau 5936
Res. 5729, Goulden, Jade: Angel Hair for Kids - Donation,
Mr. S. Belliveau 5936
Res. 5730, MacKay, James: Chainsaw Carver - Recognize,
Mr. S. Belliveau 5937
Res. 5731, Perry, Jarrett - Hockey Medal, Mr. S. Belliveau 5937
Res. 5732, Locke, Jason - Golf Tournament, Mr. S. Belliveau 5938
Res. 5733, bower, Jim - Golf Tournament, Mr. S. Belliveau 5938
Res. 5734, Swim, Jody - Golf Tournament, Mr. S. Belliveau 5939
Res. 5735, Brannen, John - Chorale Performances, Mr. S. Belliveau 5939
Res. 5736, Nickerson, John: Barrington 7E Vol. FD - Scroll of
Recognition (15 yrs.), Mr. S. Belliveau 5940
Res. 5737, Penney, Johnny/Blades, Wylie - Dory Races,
Mr. S. Belliveau 5940
Res. 5738, Hartley, John: Support the Troops Ball Tournament -
Mr. S. Belliveau 5941
Res. 5739, MacDonald, Mickey - Red Cross Humanitarian Award,
Hon. J. Stretch 5941
Res. 5740, McGee, Beth - Lions Club Award, Hon. J. Stretch 5942
Res. 5741, Hutt, Bettye: Pumpkin Weigh-Off - Congrats.,
Hon. J. Stretch 5942
Res. 5742, St. Margarets Bay Breakers Swim Team - Anniv. (20th),
Hon. J. Stretch 5943
Res. 5743, Young, C.C.: Pumpkin Weigh-Off - Congrats.,
Hon. J. Stretch 5943
Res. 5744, MacDonald, Colin - Red Cross Humanitarian Award,
Hon. J. Stretch 5944
Res. 5745, Levy, Diane: Pumpkin Weigh-Off - Congrats.,
Hon. J. Stretch 5944
Res. 5746, McInnis, Fenton: Pumpkin Weigh-Off - Congrats.,
Hon. J. Stretch 5945
Res. 5747, Smith, Gail: Pub. Serv. - Congrats., Hon. J. Stretch 5945
Res. 5748, Meade, Gary: Pub. Serv. - Congrats., Hon. J. Stretch 5946^
Res. 5749, Mulrooney, Laura/Julien, Didier: Julien's Bakery -
Expansion, Hon. J. Stretch 5946
Res. 5750, Swinamer, Leo: Pumpkin Weigh-Off - Congrats.,
Hon. J. Streatch 5947
Res. 5751, Seaforth Plumbing & Heating: Contributions - Applaud,
Hon. William Dooks 5947
Res. 5752, Sunset Flare Hair Studio: Contributions - Applaud,
Hon. William Dooks 5947
Res. 5753, Sure Air Systems Ltd.: Contributions - Applaud,
Hon. William Dooks 5948
Res. 5754, TP Satellite Sales & Installation: Contributions - Applaud,
Hon. William Dooks 5948
Res. 5755, Unicorn Cottage Feline Boarding: Contributions - Applaud,
Hon. William Dooks 5949
Res. 5756, Union Print: Contributions - Applaud, Hon. William Dooks 5949
Res. 5757, Universal Machining: Contributions - Applaud,
Hon. William Dooks 5950
Res. 5758, Veinotte's Truck and Auto: Contributions - Applaud,
Hon. William Dooks 5950
Res. 5759, E&F Webber Lakeside Park/Webber's Lakeside Cottage:
Contributions - Applaud, Hon. William Dooks 5950
Res. 5760, Weste Animal Hosp.: Contributions - Applaud,
Hon. William Dooks 5951
Res. 5761, Westside Trucking Ltd.: Contributions - Applaud,
Hon. William Dooks 5951
Res. 5762, Whippie Wood.: Contributions - Applaud,
Hon. William Dooks 5952
Res. 5763, Max White Excavating: Contributions - Applaud,
Hon. William Dooks 5952
Res. 5764, Wild Grape Florals: Contributions - Applaud,
Hon. William Dooks 5953
Res. 5765, Wing Chun Fung-Fu: Contributions - Applaud,
Hon. William Dooks 5953
Res. 5766, World Wide Roofing & Const.: Contributions - Applaud,
Hon. William Dooks 5953
Res. 5767, WT Computer Products Inc.: Contributions - Applaud,
Hon. William Dooks 5954
Res. 5768, Xpressway Courier: Contributions - Applaud,
Hon. William Dooks 5954

[Page 5815]

HALIFAX, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2008

Sixtieth General Assembly

Second Session

2:00 P.M.

SPEAKER

Hon. Alfie MacLeod

DEPUTY SPEAKER

Mr. Wayne Gaudet

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please. We will commence with the daily routine.

PRESENTING AND READING PETITIONS

PRESENTING REPORTS OF COMMITTEES

TABLING REPORTS, REGULATIONS AND OTHER PAPERS

MR. SPEAKER: Honourable members, I would like to table the report presented by the Auditor General of Nova Scotia to the House of Assembly, dated November, 2008.

The report is tabled.

The honourable Minister of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations on an introduction.

[Page 5816]

5815

[Page 5817]

HON. JAMES MUIR: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It's a great pleasure for me today to introduce some very special guests who are in the east gallery. For over a decade, the province, with our partners at IPAC and CIDA, have been working with Indonesia's Ministry of Home Affairs. Most recently we've been sharing best practices relating to councillor training, municipal capacity building and public enterprises. This week our guests from the Indonesian government will be attending the orientation sessions being conducted for new municipal councillors in Truro and today they've joined us to watch our Legislature in action.

Mr. Speaker, this information-sharing agreement, which I had the privilege of signing this morning, is beneficial to both the province and the Government of Indonesia. Today, as a rather happy coincidence, the Indonesian Ambassador to Canada is in town and he's been able to join us as well. So I would ask the members of the House to join me in welcoming first, His Excellency, Ambassador Hardono, and I would ask him to stand, as well the delegation from Jakarta, Dr. Nuryanto, Dr. Tavipiyono, Dr. Wiyono, Mr. Mak Bacah, and Mr. Hidayat. Thank you very much for coming and welcome to the House. (Standing Ovation)

[2:15 p.m.]

STATEMENTS BY MINISTERS

GOVERNMENT NOTICES OF MOTION

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member Premier.

RESOLUTION NO. 5618

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

Whereas Lewis MacKinnon, the CEO of the Nova Scotia Office of Gaelic Affairs, has taken another step to preserve and promote Gaelic culture and language; and

Whereas Lewis, who has always enjoyed writing poetry, and over the past four years has translated some of his works into Gaelic, has released a book: Giant and other Gaelic Poems; and

Whereas he is the first to publish a contemporary compilation of Gaelic poetry in Nova Scotia with each having a Gaelic and English translation;

[Page 5818]

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House join me in congratulating Lewis MacKinnon on this new venture and thank him for the many ways, in addition to his job, he has found to help preserve the Gaelic language.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice. Morantaing a'huile duine.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

In my haste to get started today, I forgot to announce the late debate. It has been submitted by the honourable member for Hants West:

Therefore be it resolved that members of this House acknowledge the continuing work that is going into balancing negative forces such as falling oil and natural gas prices and slowing exports in some sectors with the positive indicators such as rising employment numbers, as we navigate the province through uncertain economic times.

The honourable Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal.

RESOLUTION NO. 5619

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

Whereas too many individuals, families and communities are impacted by the deaths on Nova Scotia roads;

Whereas the Day of Remembrance for Road Crash Victims is observed throughout the world and on November 19th, 2008, Canada will observe its first national Day of Remembrance; and

Whereas the observation of this day will draw public attention to the devastating effects of motor vehicle collisions and the measures that can be taken to prevent them;

[Page 5819]

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this Nova Scotia Legislature, and all Nova Scotians, recognize the importance of road safety and support efforts to keep all road users safe in our province.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable Minister of Labour and Workplace Development.

RESOLUTION NO. 5620

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

Whereas the Department of Labour and Workforce Development ensures that highly qualified skilled trades training is available to employers and apprentices in Nova Scotia; and

Whereas skilled tradespeople are essential to the strength and growth of our province's businesses and its economy; and

Whereas the Department of Labour and Workforce Development provided 839 new journeypersons with a certificate of qualification for a designated trade in 2007-08;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate those newly certified journeypersons and recognize all our partners including the Nova Scotia Community College, the Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Board, industry associations and the many employers who hire and mentor apprentices for the work they are doing to help ensure Nova Scotia has a skilled workforce ready to meet the demands of our changing economy.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

[Page 5820]

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 responsible for the Public Service Commission.

RESOLUTION NO. 5621

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

Whereas the Government of Nova Scotia created a corporate healthy workplace policy which became the foundation for healthy workplace activities across government; and

Whereas the Public Service Commission implemented initiatives such as the flexible work options pilot, walking challenges, healthy catering guidelines and nutrition sessions; and

Whereas the PSC were recognized for their efforts in workplace health and were awarded the Halifax Chamber of Commerce Healthy Innovator Award;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of the House of Assembly congratulate members of the Public Service Commission Healthy Workplace Committee on this achievement and their commitment to providing a healthy, safe and supportive workplace.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable Minister of Education.

[Page 5821]

RESOLUTION NO. 5622

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

Whereas the first order of business following a school board election is the selection of the board's chair by its members; and

Whereas Lavinia Parish-Zwicker, Lorne Green, Trudy Thompson, Kenneth Gaudet, Irvine Carvery, Mary Jess MacDonald, Elliott Payzant and Faye Haley were recently sworn in as chairs of Nova Scotia's eight elected school boards; and

Whereas school board chairs work with other board members and superintendents to guide policy and decision making in the best interests of Nova Scotia's students;

Therefore be it resolved all members of the House congratulate newly elected and returning school board chairs and recognize the leadership and value our school boards add to public education.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable Minister responsible for Conserve Nova Scotia.

RESOLUTION NO. 5623

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

Whereas a total of 42 schools and 5,280 students in Nova Scotia have participated in Conserve Nova Scotia's "It Starts With Me" school fundraising project to date; and

[Page 5822]

Whereas the students sold energy-efficient household items which can help families and local residents cut their energy costs, save money, reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and

Whereas Conserve Nova Scotia is pleased that the students achieved sales of more than $84,000, selling a total of 25,000 energy saving products;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of the House congratulate the participating students and staff for playing a direct role in reducing more than 22,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions in Nova Scotia.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable Minister of Agriculture.

RESOLUTION NO. 5624

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

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

Whereas Gerald Michael Howlett of Stewiacke was recently recognized for his 30 years of exemplary work with the Government of Nova Scotia; and

Whereas Michael is a Driver Enhancement Officer with the Department of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of the House of Assembly applaud Stewiacke's Gerald Michael Howlett on his outstanding work ethic and for doing such a commendable job over the past three decades.

[Page 5823]

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable Minister of Justice.

RESOLUTION NO. 5625

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

Whereas the Integrated Impaired Driving Enforcement Unit, comprised of RCMP, Bridgewater Police Service and Kentville Police Service personnel, was a 12-month pilot project in southwest Nova Scotia, with a primary focus on detecting and intercepting impaired drivers; and

Whereas this unique integrated relationship has made a significant impact on road safety in southwest Nova Scotia; and

Whereas the Integrated Impaired Driving Enforcement Unit is a key component of the provincial Road Safety Strategy and Impaired Driving Sub-Strategy as well as the Provincial Crime Reduction Strategy;

Therefore be it resolved that the members of this House congratulate the unit for their excellent work on this strategy which is making roads and communities safer across this province.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

[Page 5824]

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable Minister of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations.

RESOLUTION NO. 5626

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

Whereas municipal government plays a vital role in providing services to Nova Scotians every day and setting direction and policies that enhance local government; and

Whereas the role of councillors in local government often involves countless hours of work, day and night, for the benefit of citizens in their communities and their province; and

Whereas the recent municipal elections resulted in changes when new members were elected, and retained experience when previous members were re-elected or acclaimed or finished their term;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House recognize outgoing council members for their service and dedication to the people, communities and municipalities across the province, as well as congratulate and welcome newly elected and acclaimed councillors, mayors, and wardens who will continue to meet the needs of residents and help to build a strong and prosperous Nova Scotia.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable Minister of Community Services.

[Page 5825]

RESOLUTION NO. 5627

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

Whereas Joseph Howe once said, "What is right? What is just? What is for the public good?", and based on that notion the Public Good Society of Dartmouth was founded in 2004 by people intent on working together and pooling resources to better address complex social issues facing the Dartmouth area; and

Whereas steering committee members and resource people include local community health board coordinators, a developer, an educator, an MLA from this House, two municipal councillors, Department of Community Services officials, a social policy analyst, and a non-profit board chairman; and

Whereas the Public Good Society of Dartmouth is in the midst of a project involving working with food bank consumers to connect information and services to individuals with high barriers to employment;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House commend the positive work being done by the society to improve coordination of community-based services delivered by the volunteer sector, and all levels of government, to make more efficient use of human and financial resources and to better serve Nova Scotians in need.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable Minister of Labour and Workforce Development.

RESOLUTION NO. 5628

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

[Page 5826]

Whereas Parents as Career Coaches workshops work to provide parents with the skills they need to effectively guide their children as they move from high school to post-secondary education or a career; and

Whereas over 500 parents have participated in Parents as Career Coaches workshops delivered in 33 schools across Nova Scotia in the 2007-2008 academic year, and we hope to exceed this number for the 2008-2009 academic year with close to 60 parents participating in the first session at Citadel High School; and

Whereas during these workshops parents will learn about changing trends in today's job market; how to engage in productive career discussions with their teenagers; and how to identify tools that will assess their child's interests and skills that they might develop into a career choice;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate those parents who have or will participate in the Parents as Career Coaches workshops and wish them success as they help their children plan their successful career paths for their futures.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable Minister of Emergency Management.

RESOLUTION NO. 5629

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

Whereas September 29th was the 5th Anniversary of Hurricane Juan making landfall in Nova Scotia; and

Whereas the Emergency Management Office strives to educate the public about preparing for weather-related and man-made emergencies; and

[Page 5827]

Whereas Nova Scotians were well prepared this September for Post-Tropical Storm Hanna and Hurricane Kyle;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Nova Scotians for heeding the lessons of Hurricane Juan and the advice of the Emergency Management Office.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable Minister of Agriculture.

RESOLUTION NO. 5630

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

Whereas the Masstown Market, located outside of Truro, in Colchester County, was awarded the Gold 2008 Canadian Independent Grocer of the Year in the small surface category at Canada's premier grocery conference and trade show last October in Toronto; and

Whereas the Masstown Market, which has been in business since 1969, has built a solid reputation over the years in the community for their fresh, in season, local produce and their fresh bakery products, drawing regular customers from near and far; and

Whereas the Jennings family-run business has continued to grow and expand since its early beginnings supporting local farmers and providing customers with a welcoming destination to meet their demands;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate the Masstown Market for its quality customer service, product selection and community involvement, as well as recognizing the contributions that Laurie Jennings makes to the Department of Agriculture and the minister's Buy Local advisory committee.

[Page 5828]

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable member for Hants West.

MR. CHUCK PORTER: Mr. Speaker, may I be permitted to do an introduction?

MR. SPEAKER: Please do.

MR. PORTER: I would like to introduce in your gallery today: Darren Cossar, he's the executive director for Hockey Nova Scotia, if he would please rise; as well as Meredith MacDonald, communications coordinator for Hockey Nova Scotia; Stephen Antle with the MacDonnell Group; and Ralston MacDonnell, also with the MacDonnell group and a board member of the directors of the Hockeyland project going on right now. Welcome to the House and I would ask the House to give them a warm welcome. (Applause)

[2:30 p.m.]

INTRODUCTION OF BILLS

Bill No. 225 - Entitled an Act to Declare Ice Hockey to be the Provincial Sport of Nova Scotia. (Mr. Chuck Porter)

Bill No. 226 - Entitled an Act Respecting the Enhancement of School Libraries. (Mr. Leo Glavine)

Bill No. 227 - Entitled an Act to Declare the Sable Island Horse to be the Provincial Horse of Nova Scotia. (Mr. Leonard Preyra)

Bill No. 228 - Entitled an Act Respecting Adult Literacy. (Mr. Leo Glavine)

Bill No. 229 - Entitled an Act to Amend Chapter 1 of the Acts of 1995-96. The Education Act, Respecting Busing. (Mr. Percy Paris)

[Page 5829]

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

NOTICES OF MOTION

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

RESOLUTION NO. 5631

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

Whereas the New Waterford Consolidated Hospital Ladies Auxiliary recently celebrated their 50th Anniversary; and

Whereas this fine group of women work tirelessly for the well-being of the community and the hospital; and

Whereas because of their fundraising efforts, this group has purchased many needed pieces of equipment for that facility;

Therefore be it resolved that the Nova Scotia Legislature congratulate the Ladies Auxiliary of the New Waterford Consolidated Hospital for all of their good work, and wish them many more years of success.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable Leader of the Liberal Party.

RESOLUTION NO. 5632

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

[Page 5830]

Whereas Al MacPhee, President of MacPhee Pontiac Buick GMC in Dartmouth, has been elected secretary-treasurer of the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association; and

Whereas throughout his distinguished career in the automotive industry Mr. MacPhee has served as a director of the CADA and is currently president of the Nova Scotia Automobile Dealers Association; and

Whereas Mr. MacPhee has made many numerous contributions to his community and to our province, including his involvement with Cape Breton University, Junior Achievement of Nova Scotia, Business Hall of Fame and the Dartmouth General Hospital;

Therefore be it resolved that the members of the House of Assembly recognize the many contributions that Al MacPhee has made to both his industry and his community, and wish him much success in his new role with the CADA.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable member for Victoria-The Lakes.

RESOLUTION NO. 5633

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

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

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

[Page 5831]

Whereas Ms. Judy MacLellan of Baddeck was recognized in October for her 30 years of faithful and dedicated work for the Department of Natural Resources as a field unit accounting clerk;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly applaud Ms. MacLellan for her 30 years of outstanding work in Nova Scotia's Public Service, while wishing her continued success.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable member for Dartmouth South-Portland Valley.

RESOLUTION NO. 5634

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

Whereas Habitat for Humanity HRM recognizes that "everyone (deserves) a safe and decent place to live and building affordable housing and promoting home ownership is a means to breaking the cycle of poverty"; and

Whereas on July 26, 2008, the 25th home built by Habitat for Humanity in the Halifax Regional Municipality was dedicated to Larry Graham in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to this organization and his community; and

Whereas Larry Graham has donated his skills, time and energy during the construction of all 25 metro-area Habitat homes since 1992;

Therefore be it resolved that the Nova Scotia Legislature congratulate Habitat for Humanity HRM and Larry Graham of Dartmouth, for building 25 homes which help address the growing need for affordable housing in Nova Scotia.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

[Page 5832]

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable member for Cape Breton South.

RESOLUTION NO. 5635

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

Whereas after five ballots and roughly six hours of secret ballot voting, the Honourable Peter Milliken was returned as Speaker of the House of Commons; and

Whereas the Honourable Peter Milliken, who represents the riding of Kingston-The Islands, was first elected Speaker in 2001; and

Whereas his re-election yesterday marks the fourth time that he has been elected to this prestigious role;

Therefore be it resolved that members of this House of Assembly extend congratulations and our best wishes to the Honourable Peter Milliken as he continues in his role as Speaker of the House of Commons.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable member for Cumberland North.

[Page 5833]

RESOLUTION NO. 5636

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

Whereas on his first occasion to run for public office, Robert Bird won a council seat in the recent municipal elections in Amherst; and

Whereas Robert is an independent certified financial planner, educator and writer after graduating from Dalhousie University in 1983 and Mount Allison University in 1984; and

Whereas Robert is pleased with this opportunity to work with the mayor and council of Amherst for the good of all citizens - Councillor Bird enjoys life in his hometown with wife Kelly, and young son Mason;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House join me in sending our congratulations and best wishes to Councillor Robert Bird for his recent win in the municipal elections.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable member for Pictou West.

RESOLUTION NO. 5637

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

Whereas the very first Christmas in the Brook fundraiser is being planned in Lyons Brook, Pictou County, on November 29 and November 30, 2008, featuring a tour of wonderfully decorated homes; and

[Page 5834]

Whereas this walking tour will feature five uniquely decorated homes - the Logan House, School House Cove, the Jones House, Sandpiper Point and Baillie House; and

Whereas all monies raised will go toward improvements to the community hall, which will feature a reception during Christmas in the Brook with hot chocolate, tea, cookies, music from local talent and periodic caroling;

Therefore be it resolved that this Nova Scotia Legislature commend the organizers of the first-ever Christmas in the Brook fundraiser and for building community spirit in Lyons Brook, Pictou County.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable member for Richmond.

RESOLUTION NO. 5638

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

Whereas Nova Scotian Catherine Banks, a playwright of 25 years, is a founding member of the Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre and the Atlantic representative for Playwrights Guild of Canada; and

Whereas her play Bone Cage, which was performed at Neptune's Studio Theatre in Fall 2007, has gained her national attention; and

Whereas her skillful writing of Bone Cage has earned her the Governor General's Literary Award for best play in the drama genre;

Therefore be it resolved that members of this House of Assembly congratulate Catherine Banks on receiving the Governor General's Literary Award and may she continue to experience success in the future.

[Page 5835]

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable member for Pictou Centre.

RESOLUTION NO. 5639

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

Whereas a New Glasgow community group that has been supporting those suffering with Parkinson's disease, and their caregivers, recently celebrated a milestone this month; and

Whereas the community support group that meets at the Atlantic Superstore once a month has been helping people for 10 years; and

Whereas the group was formed by 10 people in November 1998 and its membership has tripled since that time and in addition to offering support for those affected by the disease, the group also offers information about medications, healthy diets and helpful exercises;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate the New Glasgow community members who started this support group for those affected by Parkinson's disease, demonstrating just what strong communities are all about.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

[Page 5836]

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable member for Queens.

RESOLUTION NO. 5640

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

Whereas the employees of Penny Lane Enterprises in Milton are taking the words "reduce, reuse and recycle" seriously; and

Whereas the employees construct beautiful Christmas ornaments with the use of recycled wood from construction, renovation and improvement projects; and

Whereas the design, construction, assembly and completion of these ornaments are beautifully displayed on recycled wood stands;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Freeman Wamboldt, Todd McGinnis, Nick Whynot, Jeff Craft, Roxanne Weare, Neil Luxton and Jeffrey Hatt of Penny Lane Enterprises for this initiative to reduce, reuse and recycle, and wish them success with the sale of their Christmas ornaments.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable member for Preston.

[Page 5837]

[2:45 p.m.]

RESOLUTION NO. 5641

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

Whereas Ron David is a resident and active member of the North Preston community; and

Whereas Ron has served 10 years as president of the North Preston Community Development Association and eight years as president and five years as secretary of the North Preston Ratepayers Association, as well as countless other designations over the years; and

Whereas Ron has accomplished a great deal for the community, dealing with water rate and supply issues, infrastructure upgrades, and recreational requirements to name a few;

Therefore be it resolved that the members of this House commend Ron David for his 35 years of dedication to the community of North Preston and encourage him to continue his service well into the future.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable member for Hants West.

RESOLUTION NO. 5642

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

Whereas the Brooklyn Fire Department had another sensational competition at the 2008 Atlantic Canada Vehicle Extrication Competition by winning for a second consecutive year at the event held in Windsor in early August; and

[Page 5838]

Whereas Brooklyn Fire Department Captain Mike Maynard described the education learned from this event as immeasurable and said because of these competitions, accident victims are being removed from vehicles in shorter times; and

Whereas event committee chair Jason Cochrane said the turnout of 13 teams for the competition was especially impressive;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly recognize the significant work undertaken by the Brooklyn Fire Department members in winning the 2008 competition once again, while commending Brett Tetanish for his victory as the Top Incident Commander, and Jessica Murphy for winning the Top Medic Award.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable member for Pictou East.

RESOLUTION NO. 5643

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

Whereas the Pictou County RCMP has shown leadership in developing and implementing a system of strategic, community-based policing for our region that has resulted in decreased costs and increased initiatives; and

Whereas the RCMP is committed to regular community meetings throughout Pictou County to acquire input and act on the public contributions toward policing; and

Whereas the RCMP in Pictou County has forged ahead to become the first region in Nova Scotia to complete and implement a computerized response mechanism in case of an incident or lockdown at any of our schools;

[Page 5839]

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Staff Sergeant Ross Landry, along with all officers and support staff of the RCMP, for the leadership, innovation, communications and inclusiveness reflected within the strategic community policing model now implemented in Pictou County.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable member for Clare.

RESOLUTION NO. 5644

MR. WAYNE GAUDET: M. le Président par la présente, j'avise que je proposerai à une date ultérieure, l'adoption de la résolution suivante:

Attendu que le Prix Grand-Pré a été crée en 1987 pour honorer le travail des artistes acadiens de la Nouvelle-Écosse dans les domaines des arts du spectacle et du cinéma, des beaux arts et de l'artisanat ainsi que la littérature; et

Attendu que l'artiste June Deveau de la Baie Sainte Marie a mérité le Prix Grand Pré 2008; et

Attendu que le travail de Mme Deveau est inspiré de ses souvenirs d'enfance et de la riche culture de sa communaut;

Qu'il soit Re'solu que cette assembleé exprime ses félicitations et transmet se milleurs voices de succés à Mme June Deveau pour avoir gagner le Prix Grand-Pré 2008.

Monsieur le Président, je demande l'adoption de cette résolution.

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

[Page 5840]

Whereas le Prix Grand-Pré award was created in 1987 to recognize the work of Acadian Nova Scotians in the performing arts, film, visual arts and crafts; and

Whereas the le Prix Grand-Pré was awarded to June Deveau, an artist from Clare; and

Whereas Mrs. Deveau's paintings were inspired from her childhood memories and from the rich culture in her community;

Therefore be it resolved that members of this House of Assembly congratulate Mrs. June Deveau, the 2008 recipient of Le Prix Grand-Pré Award.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable member for Victoria-The Lakes.

RESOLUTION NO. 5645

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

Whereas Public Service work is a central institution within our democratic structure of government; and

Whereas Nova Scotia's Public Service consists of hardworking, resourceful, innovative and dedicated individuals offering a high level of quality work; and

Whereas Mr. Graham Nicholson of Baddeck was recognized during Public Service Week in October for his 30 years of talented work for the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly recognize Graham Nicholson for his 30 years of distinguished service with Nova Scotia's Public Service.

[Page 5841]

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

[Page 5842]

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable member for Cole Harbour-Eastern Passage.

RESOLUTION NO. 5646

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

Whereas Nova Scotia experienced a devastating forest fire in the Porters Lake area in June of this year; and

Whereas thousands of people were at risk of losing their homes, pets, property, assets and, indeed, perhaps their lives as the fire raged on; and

Whereas firefighters from communities all over Nova Scotia, including those from the good riding of Cole Harbour-Eastern Passage, risked their lives to fight this fire to help save the lives and property of those most affected;

Therefore be it resolved that this Nova Scotia House of Assembly commend firefighters Captain Ken Morrow, Michael Morris, Tom Lizotte, Jim Young, Cory Detchkoff, Blake Edwards, Scott Fahie, Steve Gallant, Bruce Masales, Robert Sandeski, Steven Taylor, Ben Thomson, Brian Tilley and Arron Wight for their commitment to their neighbouring communities though their selfless act of fighting the Porters Lake fire.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

[Page 5843]

The motion is carried.

The honourable member for Digby-Annapolis.

RESOLUTION NO. 5647

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

Whereas Reverend Dr. George Allen of Clementsvale, Annapolis County, has been a continuing source of inspiration to many people throughout this province, including myself; and

Whereas at the wise age of 95 years, and 15 years after announcing his retirement, Reverend Allen still travels the province delivering sermons, doing interim work where needed; and

Whereas Reverend Allen's style of speaking clearly and without notes is a testament to his knowledge of the subject matter;

Therefore be it resolved that the members of the House of Assembly recognize the 68 years of religious service that Reverend Dr. George Allen has brought to the people of this province.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable member for Hants West.

RESOLUTION NO. 5648

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

[Page 5844]

Whereas Dunnery Bond was announced recently as the winner of the Youth Television's Reality Series, The Next Star; and

Whereas the win was huge for Dunnery as he was provided with a recording contract by Universal Music Canada, along with the rights to a leading single named I Dare You to Shine; and

Whereas Dunnery was ecstatic with the win with his single to be featured on YTV's Big Fun Party Mix 10 CD along with a professional music video airing;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House of Assembly applaud the superior talent of Dunnery Bond from Lakelands, Hants County and wish him every success with all of his future plans.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable member for Pictou East.

RESOLUTION NO. 5649

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

Whereas the Active Pictou County program is designed to educate and motivate residents of Pictou County to increase daily activity in an effort to create a healthier and more active community; and

Whereas it has been estimated less than half the Pictou County population is physically active on a regular basis; and

Whereas several Pictou County agencies including the Regional Development Commission, Municipal Recreation Directors, the Health Authority, the Pictou County Y, the Chignecto-Central School Board and Nova Scotia Health Promotion and Protection have

[Page 5845]

combined efforts to undertake this program and will officially launch the campaign in the coming days;

Therefore be it resolved that the Nova Scotia Legislative Assembly commend all staff and volunteers working on the Active Pictou County Project and congratulate them on the community teamwork shown between agencies to undertake this important project.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable member for Preston.

RESOLUTION NO. 5650

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

Whereas the Progressive Conservative/NDP gas regulation coalition have tried since day one to coax Nova Scotians into believing that gas regulation has been good for this province as they take our money; and

Whereas while New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and many other provinces have been paying a fair price for gasoline, Nova Scotians have been continuously gouged at the pumps due to gas regulation; and

Whereas in addition to ripping off Nova Scotians at the pumps, the government is wasting the hard-earned money of taxpayers on yet another report to tell them what they already know, that gas regulation doesn't work;

Therefore be it resolved that the Progressive Conservative/NDP gas regulation coalition admit that the gas regulation has been a failure and move towards scrapping it for the economic well-being of Nova Scotia.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

[Page 5846]

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

Is it agreed?

I hear several Noes.

The notice is tabled.

The honourable member for Pictou Centre.

RESOLUTION NO. 5651

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

Whereas earlier this month, nine oil paintings outlining New Glasgow's history were unveiled; and

Whereas local self-taught artist David MacIntosh completed the series of images as part of the phase one of the town's $4.3 million downtown revitalization initiative; and

Whereas the project was described by New Glasgow Mayor Ann MacLean as priceless and an opportunity for people to have a look at the town's earliest days and how far it has come and the series of paintings will be displayed throughout the Town Hall and will be available for public viewing in late Spring;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House send best wishes to artist David MacIntosh and the Town of New Glasgow for coming together to celebrate the town's history as it moves towards the future.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

[Page 5847]

The honourable Minister of Health.

RESOLUTION NO. 5652

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

Attendu que en 2006, le Conseil de développement économique de la Nouvelle-Écosse (CDENE), lors d'un sondage effectué auprès des entreprises de la Municipalité d'Argyle, a identifié le besoin de former une Chambre de commerce francophone dans la région, et en octobre 2007, après des mois de planification, a tenu la première réunion de la Chambre de commerce d'Argyle, qui a été constituée en société en décembre 2007; et

Attendu que la Chambre de commerce d'Argyle compte maintenant 65 membres, don't 60 entreprises et 5 particulaiers, et le conseil d'administration, formé du président Eddie Madden, du vice-président Réal Boudreau, du secrétaire Peter Boudreau et du trésorier Calvin Boudreau, tient toutes ses réunions en français; et

Attendu que son objectif principal est d'offrir une orientation et de l'assistance aux nouvelles entreprises afin de les aider à bien s'établir, et d'aider les enterprises existantes à promouvoir leurs produits et services dans la langue de leur choix;

Par conséquent, qu'il soit résolu que tous les membres de cette Assemblée se joignent à moi pour féliciter la Chambre de commerce d'Argyle pour avoir lancé cette initiative fructueuse, et lui souhaiter un succès contunu dans tuos ses projects.

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

[3:00 p.m.]

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

Whereas in 2006 le Conseil de Développement Économique de la Nouvelle-Écosse, while conducting a survey of businesses in the Municipality of Argyle, identified a need to form a local French-speaking Chamber of Commerce in the district and after months of planning, held the first meeting of La Chambre de Commerce d'Argyle Chamber of Commerce in October of 2007, which was incorporated in December of 2007; and

Whereas La Chambre de Commerce d'Argyle Chamber of Commerce has now 65 members consisting of 60 enterprises and five personal members who conduct all their

[Page 5848]

meetings in French with President Eddie Madden, Vice-President Réal Boudreau, Secretary Peter Boudreau, Treasurer Calvin Boudreau; and

Whereas the main objective is to offer guidance and assistance to new businesses to get properly established as well as assisting the existing businesses to promote their products and services in the language of their choice;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House join me in congratulating La Chambre de Commerce d'Argyle Chamber of Commerce for successfully launching this venture and wish them continued success in all their endeavours.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable Minister of Human Resources.

RESOLUTION NO. 5653

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

Whereas community service clubs provide excellent support to their communities; and

Whereas the Bridgewater Kiwanis Club of Bluenose Golden K is noted for their exemplary volunteer support; and

Whereas Aubrey Martell was recently elected as the 2008-09 president of the Golden K Club;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of the House congratulate President Aubrey Martell for his contributions to the Golden K Club and to the various communities being served.

[Page 5849]

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable member for Glace Bay.

RESOLUTION NO. 5654

MR. DAVID WILSON (Glace Bay): Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas the Honourable Roger Cuzner, the Member of Parliament for Cape Breton-Canso, recently was elected to his fourth term in office; and

Whereas MP Cuzner has served as parliamentary secretary to the Prime Minister, chair of the Nova Scotia Liberal caucus, and chair of the Atlantic Liberal caucus; and

Whereas MP Cuzner has been named the Chief Opposition Whip in the House of Commons;

Therefore be it resolved that the members of the House of Assembly congratulate MP Roger Cuzner on his appointment and re-election.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

[Page 5850]

The honourable Minister of Natural Resources.

[Page 5851]

RESOLUTION NO. 5655

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

Whereas Brint and Madelyn Bauchman of West Paradise, Annapolis County, who give of themselves and their musical talents to churches and community halls all over the province; and

Whereas Brint and Madelyn are busy every weekend, all year round, supporting fundraising events for individuals in need; and

Whereas the congregation of the Forest Hill Baptist Church in the Gaspereau Valley wish to recognize the generosity and compassionate way the Bauchmans offered their musical talents at their variety show on October 4, 2008;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House recognize and applaud the selfless fundraising contributions of Brint and Madelyn Bauchman and indeed all those who volunteer their talents for such worthy causes.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable member for Clare.

RESOLUTION NO. 5656

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

Whereas the West Pubnico Golf and Country Club hosted the Nova Scotia Golf Association 2008 Royale Women's Amateur Golf Championships; and

[Page 5852]

Whereas Mireille LeBlanc of Clare won the 2008 Royale Women's Amateur Championship; and

Whereas Ms. LeBlanc finished the tournament with a four-day combined score of 309;

Therefore be it resolved that this House congratulate Mireille LeBlanc of Clare for her 1st place finish in the 2008 Royale Women's Amateur Golf Championships.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable Minister of Environment.

RESOLUTION NO. 5657

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

Whereas Buy Local campaigns have never been more important to Nova Scotia agriculture; and

Whereas a local producer this summer went national with his media advertising, in co-operation with Loblaws; and

Whereas Earl Kidston hoped to raise public awareness of local products;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate the efforts of Earl Kidston in his labours to raise awareness of local brands and products.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

[Page 5853]

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 Education.

RESOLUTION NO. 5658

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

Whereas the Department of Natural Resources received 15 nominations for the honour of Woodlot Owner of the Year; and

Whereas Russell and Marjorie McNally were chosen for their keen and innovative approach to running their 200-acre woodlot by implementing sound harvesting and silvicultural techniques, as well as giving consideration to wildlife enhancement and recreation improvement; and

Whereas the McNally's woodlot, located in Colchester County, has produced high-quality timber, wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate the McNally family for being chosen the 2008 provincial Woodlot Owner of Year.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable member for Cape Breton South.

RESOLUTION NO. 5659

[Page 5854]

MR. MANNING MACDONALD: Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the honourable member for Halifax Clayton Park, I hereby give notice that on a future day I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas a few weeks ago the Premier was quoted in the media as saying we will not have a deficit in Nova Scotia; and

Whereas the Premier went on to say that if the government needs to make changes and make reductions in certain areas, then they are prepared to do that if it means staying within our means; and

Whereas the Premier's recent prediction that a $28 million program would put us into deficit, it is time for him to tell Nova Scotians exactly what programs he plans to change and reduce;

Therefore be it resolved that the Premier be open and honest with Nova Scotians on the state of the provincial budget and release an economic update immediately.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

I hear several Noes.

The notice is tabled.

The honourable Minister of Immigration.

RESOLUTION NO. 5660

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

Whereas the Dianna H. Bleakney Guild is a group of volunteers who provide refreshments and support at the Nova Scotia Cancer Care Centre, to cancer care patients under stressful situations; and

Whereas the Dianna H. Bleakney Guild is celebrating its 35th Anniversary of providing this comfort and care of the Nova Scotia Cancer Care Centre; and

[Page 5855]

Whereas the volunteers of the guild go above and beyond the call of duty to console patients and ease the stress they face;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House thank June Wall for her involvement with the guild and the work done for patients suffering with cancer.

[Page 5856]

Mr. Speaker, I request wavier of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The honourable member for Cumberland North.

RESOLUTION NO. 5661

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

Whereas Philip Comeau of Amherst travelled to Ottawa in August of this year to receive recognition for his courageous act of saving a life; and

Whereas Mr. Comeau was presented with a Medal of Bravery by Governor General Michaelle Jean, during a ceremony at Rideau Hall; and

Whereas Mr. Comeau entered a burning house for an elderly handicapped gentleman who lived alone, and carried him to safety without a thought for his own life;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House join me in sending our congratulations to Philip Comeau for receiving this distinguished medal in recognition of his heroism.

Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.

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

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

[Page 5857]

We will now go to orders of the day, commencing with Oral Questions Put By Members. The time right now is 3:10 p.m. and we will go until 4:40 p.m.

ORDERS OF THE DAY

ORAL QUESTIONS PUT BY MEMBERS

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

HEALTH: AUDITOR GEN. - RECOMMENDATIONS

MR. DARRELL DEXTER: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question will be for the Minister of Health. Home care is a vital part of the health care system. Most seniors want to live in their own homes as long as possible. When seniors and others with serious illness need care, their first choice is usually home care. Today the Auditor General reports that only 17 per cent of his office's previous recommendations to ensure good home care have been fully addressed. So my question to the Minister of Health is, why has your government failed to address most of the Auditor General's recommendations to ensure good quality home care is available?

HON. CHRISTOPHER D'ENTREMONT: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. As I have just received a copy of the Auditor General's Report, we are going to be perusing that, looking at those recommendations and finding a strategy over the next six months to address the issues that are held therein.

MR. DEXTER: Well, Mr. Speaker, he has had 10 years to address some of these recommendations. This government has shown an inability to show any kind of leadership with respect to these services. In fact, their leadership in home care services has been so weak that they are paying the VON more than $37 million a year for home nursing services, although the VON has not had a contract since 1996.

Now, Mr. Speaker, the VON's commitment to quality is well known. They deserve full credit for carrying on in some difficult circumstances and they also deserve the professional courtesy of a contract for the important services that they provide in homes from one end of the province to the other. So my question for the minister is, why did it take the outside pressure of this audit for your department to finally start negotiating a contract for the VON's very valued services?

MR. D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, first of all I want to thank the VON and the professionals who work for the VON for the superb service that they provide to patients each and every day.

[Page 5858]

Mr. Speaker, there are a number of recommendations within this report that we'll look at to find an implementation, to make sure that they will be in place, to provide with reporting functions that the Auditor General has requested.

MR. DEXTER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The minister is right about one thing - the VON does provide valuable services. I was on the board of the Dartmouth VON and I know very well the quality care they provide.

This government has been muddling through on home care, with the results laid bare today by the Auditor General. They have failed to provide an allowance for self-managed care, they have failed to provide an assisted living allowance and they have failed to take other measures that would help many Nova Scotians receive good, necessary care at home. So my question for the minister is this, will his government end their lip service and make home care a truly important part of the continuum of care?

MR. D'ENTREMONT: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. To the member opposite, I would say the premise of his question is incorrect; it's loose. I can say that through the Continuing Care Strategy, one that will provide over $260 million of new services to Nova Scotians, one that will create over 1300 new beds across this province, one that will replace over 1,000 beds in long-term care facilities across this province, is one that is making a difference for Nova Scotians. We are here, we are focused on the patient and maybe there's some things here that we need to address but we will get to them when we can, over the next six months.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Richmond.

JUSTICE: PUB. INSTITUTIONS - SAFETY PLAN

MR. MICHEL SAMSON: Mr. Speaker, last evening reality struck home for people when someone was shot outside the IWK Children's Hospital. While we are told that it was not a random incident, an innocent person could have been hurt in the crossfire. Worse yet, it could have actually happened inside the hospital. This incident falls on the heels of violent situations at schools like John McNeil and Citadel High. Violent incidents at correctional facilities that if not controlled could result in a dangerous offender escaping or a jail guard being injured. These incidents are causing Nova Scotians to question the overall safety of our public institutions, so my question to the Minister of Justice is, could he indicate whether he has a plan which would address gaps in safety measures in our public institutions such as our hospitals and our schools?

[3:15 p.m.]

HON. CECIL CLARKE: Mr. Speaker, to my honourable colleague, the incident he refers to stems from a group incident that has been associated to one who has been known

[Page 5859]

to the police and being tracked by them. I can say to the honourable member that as these issues have come forward, there has been an open dialogue between public safety as well as the Halifax Regional Police. Indeed, from a facilities aspect, whether it's hospitals as in the case of last night, but also with schools, there is a protocol in place, community policing initiatives, and when these things are deemed to be a concern, they're brought forward. The case in question is one that was a random item and not anticipated, but one the police are responding to.

MR. SAMSON: Mr. Speaker, on almost a daily basis, Nova Scotians read about these incidents and are clearly losing confidence in the government. People in this province are becoming increasingly scared when they hear of violence happening in our schools and now this most recent incident in, of all places, the IWK Hospital. We have to have schools being schools and hospitals being hospitals in our province, but they can't be those things unless we ensure the highest level of safety and security. My question again to the Minister of Justice is, given the most recent rash of violence in our public schools and the most recent incident at the IWK, what steps is he taking to ensure the highest level of public safety in our public institutions?

MR. CLARKE: Mr. Speaker, as my honourable colleague would be aware, the Department of Education, the local school boards deal and address concerns that arise, issues that are present within the community and may present themselves to a facility. That's why, in many places, community policing initiatives have gone to the schools. That's also why we have a targeted initiative with our crime strategy - Time to Fight Crime Together. That strategy is about dealing with intervention, prevention and the enforcement piece as well. That's why, for those youth who in many cases are out of control, we've been advocating for more measures from the Parliament of Canada to assist us in our fight against crime.

MR. SAMSON: Mr. Speaker, photo-ops and press conferences don't appear to be making our streets any safer because during 2008, under the direction of our good Premier, Nova Scotians have witnessed the high profile escape from custody by Mr. Carvery, violent assaults at local high schools, wrongful release of inmates from our correctional facilities, questionable use of tasers and now a shooting outside the IWK hospital. My final question to the Premier is, is this what he meant when he told Nova Scotians that he would get tough on crime and make Nova Scotia's streets safer?

MR. CLARKE: Mr. Speaker, what the honourable colleague failed to mention in his question is the fact that while there are instances that cause grave concern and most recently the ones that have been before the public through the media are of concern, action is being taken. The honourable member for Richmond failed to talk about overall crime stats being down, year over year. He failed to mention this government has made a multi-year commitment to add 250 more police officers across this province and are making a difference in many areas. While he will dismiss the hard-working men and women in our system, this

[Page 5860]

government is investing, supporting them, and helping to empower them to do a job to keep our public safe.

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

HEALTH: HOME CARE AGENCIES - LETTERS OF UNDERSTANDING

MR. DARRELL DEXTER: Mr. Speaker, my question will be through you to the Minister of Health. The Auditor General's 2008 Report says that in 2007-08, home support agencies were paid $83.5 million to provide services to Nova Scotians. In fact, every year the department, and the service providers, sign a letter of understanding regarding service delivery. Surprisingly, the Auditor General reports that the department's letters of understanding do not address whether or not a home care agency can actually meet the service demands of the Home Care Program. My question for the minister is, why would such a basic requirement as the capacity to be able to provide the necessary service be omitted from the letters of understanding?

HON. CHRISTOPHER D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, I do know one thing and the one thing is that our home support agencies are providing excellent service for Nova Scotians and I have full confidence in the service that they provide for us.

MR. DEXTER: Mr. Speaker, as you may have noticed, the minister failed to answer the most basic of questions, so we'll try again. Most home support workers are excellent and home care agencies work hard despite many obstacles, but Nova Scotians also expect their government to show some leadership in setting the safeguards that are expected in today's society. The Auditor General reports that this government does not require first aid or CPR certification, nor does it require that background checks be done for home care workers. My question for the minister is, why has the Minister of Health failed to ensure these basic safeguards are in place in our home care system?

MR. D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, home care workers need to adhere to a set of training; they have to be either the level of a CCA or other in order to provide services in the homes that work for us. Again, knowing a lot of the service providers around this province, I have full confidence in the work that they provide for us.

MR. DEXTER: Mr. Speaker, those were not the findings of the Auditor General. For 10 years, the government here has made a mess of home care in this province. They were advised on what they had to do and instead they addressed only 17 per cent of the Auditor General's previous recommendations. That's a terrible track record. My question to the minister is, why should Nova Scotians believe that your department is now going to make the positive and necessary changes to home support?

[Page 5861]

MR. D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, I know that over the next number of months we will make the changes that are recommended by the Auditor General. A lot of these, if not all of them, are of course process-oriented, administration-oriented, but not patient-oriented. We will continue to provide the best service that we can for Nova Scotians.

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

HEALTH: PROFESSIONALS - RECRUITMENT & RETENTION

MR. DARRELL DEXTER: Mr. Speaker, I'm not sure how you could get more patient-centred than making sure that the service is actually available. I'm not sure how that could be possible.

When it comes to home support, the Auditor General's 2008 Report says, "We concluded some service providers experienced staff shortages due to an inability to recruit and retain trained professionals." I've raised this very thing with the government over and over again and now the Auditor General is raising it. My question for the Minister of Health is, when will you address the inability of your government to recruit and retain the needed health care professionals?

HON. CHRISTOPHER D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, one only has to look as far as the Annapolis Valley and the work that we've done there where they had the absolute worst wait lists for home care services, to have no wait list for home care services. This government, the VON and the individuals in the Valley made a huge change to the services they provided and have been able to recruit the professionals that they need. Also, we can say that over the last year and over the next year we're training well over 1,000 continuing care assistants to meet the needs of Nova Scotians.

MR. DEXTER: Mr. Speaker, we are constantly getting complaints about the lack of home care services in the communities. I think the minister is living in a fantasy land if he thinks that there are appropriate home care services in place. Earlier this year, we released a plan with specific steps including doubling the bursary for continuing care assistants, setting up a seniors' collaborative care that would focus on recruiting and retaining home support workers and providing Nova Scotians with the care when and where they need it. My question for the Minister of Health is, why is your government refusing to make recruiting and retaining home support workers a priority?

MR. D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, apparently the member opposite is not listening to my answers. We have worked diligently in making sure that we have the training spaces available at the community college in our communities for continuing care assistance. We have a strategy that is working, one that is putting more people on the ground. Again, look at the experience that we've had in the Valley and with our partner there, the VON. They've

[Page 5862]

made a tremendous difference, from the worst wait list for home care services in the province to the best one. I think projects like that work. We're making the best of it and we're the ones who are going to get it done.

[Page 5863]

MR. DEXTER: Mr. Speaker, I think the minister misunderstands - just him saying it doesn't make it so. The Auditor General Report clearly outlines the failures of this government, failures that this government has had almost10 years to fix, but instead have made the problems worse. My question for the Minister of Health is this, can you explain to this House how you have let the situation facing home support in Nova Scotia get this out of control?

MR. D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, it is my estimation that it is not out of control. We have a 10-year Continuing Care Strategy that we continue to invest in, again the continuing care project which is going to inject over $260 million into home care services, again one that the NDP of course voted against during the last budget process. They really don't seem to care about Nova Scotians and the services that are available. So we have a plan, and we have a plan that's working, and they just can't admit it.

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

GOV'T. (N.S.): AUDITOR GEN.'S REPT. - RECOMMENDATIONS

MR. STEPHEN MCNEIL: Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Premier. The Auditor General released his November 2008 report this afternoon which highlighted several disturbing trends. The Auditor General concluded that the Department of Health implemented only 70 per cent of the recommendations made by the 1996 audit and the 2002 Audit Report. The Auditor General commented that one of his greatest concerns was the lack of a culture of control. So my first question to the Premier is, why is your government continuing to ignore the Auditor General's Office?

THE PREMIER: Mr. Speaker, if one takes a look back at many of the recommendations made during the past number of years, my honourable colleague will see that a significant percentage of those have been either completed or are in progress. These do take time and we want to make sure that we provide the very best services to the people of this province and we take very seriously all recommendations put forward by the Auditor General.

MR. MCNEIL: Failure to implement these recommendations could have a very real effect on patient care in this province. This past February, the Auditor General reported three years later only 39 per cent of all the recommendations made by his office in 2004 and 2005 had been implemented. This government's policy of ignoring the Auditor General's recommendations is beyond alarming. So my question to the Premier is, why does your government continue to ignore the improvements to protect taxpayers' money suggested by the Auditor General?

THE PREMIER: Again, Mr. Speaker, a number of the recommendations, a significant percentage, have either been moved forward or are in progress. As with any

[Page 5864]

recommendation, we take a look at the recommendation. We take a look at the aspects of the cost for the taxpayer. We move forward to ensure that what we're doing is not only in the best interests of the province fiscally but in the best interests of the people of the province, be it a health care issue, an education issue, or another issue that he refers to. We will continue to not only review with his office the recommendations made but we'll continue to act upon those recommendations.

MR. MCNEIL: Mr. Speaker, this government's record with the Auditor General's Office is clear. They refuse to deal with recommendations from his office. They continue to ignore his reports. They refuse to fully comply with the Auditor Generals Act. They refuse to disclose documents at the Auditor General's request. So my question to the Premier - since today he has said each of these recommendations are at certain stages, could he commit to this House that he will do an annual report to this House on all the recommendations from the Auditor General so that we can have a full disclosure of where his government is on the recommendations set out by the Auditor General?

THE PREMIER: Mr. Speaker, as I indicated, we'll continue to work with the Auditor General's Office and move forward on the recommendations as put forward, but we'll do so in a prudent and responsible way. We will not go forward like previous Liberal Governments and spend to no end when the taxpayers in this province can't afford it. After years of having deficits in Nova Scotia, we turned the province around, and we finally have balanced budgets once again in Nova Scotia, and I don't want to move down the direction that the Liberal Party wants to move this province forward, and the NDP. We need to make sure that we remain fiscally responsible. Mr. Speaker, and no matter how hard they cry, we will not go into a deficit, I can assure you.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Halifax Needham.

LWD: INVESTMENT STRATEGIES - MONITORING

MS. MAUREEN MACDONALD: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question through you is for the Minister of Labour and Workforce Development. The Auditor General reported today that the Department of Labour and Workforce Development is not bothering to review investment strategies for the pension plans of approximately 169,000 Nova Scotians. The Auditor General recommends that the department periodically verify that plans are invested in accordance with pension legislation and with the plans own statements of policies and procedures.

Unfortunately, the department rejects this recommendation. It's quite possible that the department may have misunderstood what the Auditor General is recommending. So my question for the Minister of Labour and Workforce Development is, does he understand that the Auditor General is recommending that investment strategies only be periodically monitored and only to make sure they comply with the laws of the province?

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[3:30 p.m.]

HON. MARK PARENT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you very much for the question. The Auditor General had five recommendations for our department and we've accepted four of them, which is a good record; on this fifth recommendation, we're confident that the process we have, the regulatory process works very, very well.

There are three legs to this stool here: the actuarial report, the administrator of the plan and then the regulator of the plan, which is us and we examined both of those, to make sure that everything is fine and we do it on a consistent basis, in accordance with standard pension policies across the country.

MS. MAUREEN MACDONALD: Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General wants to ensure that pension plans comply with the law of the Province of Nova Scotia and that is, in fact, the minister's job. There are 169,000 Nova Scotians who will be very interested in this fact and the fact that the minister seems unwilling to exercise his responsibility, a very important part of his job. The Auditor General is not telling the minister to verify the nature of every investment for every plan - he is telling the government to ensure that the law of the province is being followed through by periodically checking how these plans are invested.

So, Mr. Speaker, my question to the minister again is, doesn't he understand that his failure to enforce pension legislation, in terms of investment strategies, jeopardizes the retirement or more than 169,000 Nova Scotians?

MR. PARENT: Mr. Speaker, a correction to the honourable member - 169,000 Nova Scotians are covered by pensions. Of those, 101,000 are covered by private pensions or municipal pensions. The other are public pensions, through the Minister of Finance. So we're talking about the private pension plans which cover 101,000 Nova Scotians and they are adequately and fully covered by the process we have in place.

The process we have in place is that there is an annual report that is done by the pension plan administrator, who is under the legislation that he or she has strong prudence and exercise prudence in how they invest. That is then annually transmitted to the Pension Superintendent and every three years an actuary does an examination of that, an actuarial report, and then an evaluation is done on that afterwards, by the Office of the Superintendent. This is the standard practice across Canada.

MS. MAUREEN MACDONALD: Mr. Speaker, according to the Auditor General, these private plans are not being adequately reviewed by the government with respect to our own pension legislation and that's all the Auditor General is asking for, that we ensure compliance with our own pension legislation.

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Mr. Speaker, finding out that a pension plan wasn't complied with by our own law, after that plan goes under, is not good for anyone. This minister has a duty to enforce legislation, he has a sound recommendation from the province's Auditor General and yet he is ignoring it. So my question to the minister is, how can he fail to understand that ensuring reasonable pension plan investment strategies is one of the most important jobs his department has?

MR. PARENT: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I think the problem is that the honourable member opposite doesn't understand how the pension plan works and how pension regulation works. This is the same pension regulation that the Province of Manitoba enacts, an NDP Government, the same regulation that every other province in Canada uses and we force the companies under the private pension plan to adhere to the regulations of this province, with their annual reports, their actuarial evaluations every three years and then the solvency test.

I resent the implication in the other member's comments that I do not stand up and protect the process to safeguard the regulatory process, because there have been many times when there have been members on the opposite bench asking me to waive solvency and I have it in Hansard, two members from the opposite bench asked me to waive solvency. I stated in this House that I will not relax solvency and risk pension plans for members because the pension plan should be there to pay out and our pension department does that and this minister will do that.

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

EDUC.: SCH. BUSES - DEFICIENCIES

MR. PERCY PARIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the most stunning aspects of the Auditor General's Report today is the question raised around public passenger carriers, including school buses. I am encouraged that the Utility and Review Board accepts the auditor's many recommendations. However, over two years the Auditor General's Office checked safety on various public passenger vehicles and discovered, among other things, that 63 per cent of school buses and 73 per cent of passenger buses have deficiencies.

These vary in seriousness, Mr. Speaker; 66 school buses out of 112 that were checked had problems with tires, brakes and steering. Mr. Speaker, through you, my question for the Minister of Education is, was she aware of these serious problems and can she explain how her department has stood by and done nothing for the past few years while so may school buses were being discovered to have deficiencies with their tires, brakes and steering?

HON. KAREN CASEY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the member opposite, I'm sure he is very interested in the Auditor General's Report with respect to education and so am I. I do want to remind this House that we have concerns raised by the Auditor General with

[Page 5867]

respect to school buses in one of our boards, in particular the South Shore board. I believe the member of Public Accounts will recall people from that board being in to respond most recently to the actions that that board had taken in response to the Auditor General's concerns and every board in this province, and me as the minister, want to make sure that our children are safe and we will do everything we can. We will work with the URB, we will work with the inspectors and we will ensure that our buses are as safe as possible and we will respond to those concerns.

MR. PARIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My next question is for the Premier. The Auditor General points out that this government shares responsibility for enforcing the safety of public passenger vehicles. The Auditor General says that he will report on the actions or inactions of the Nova Scotia Government in the very near future.

The Utility and Review Board, in its response today, says that a review of the roles and responsibilities that rest with the board and government are needed. So my question through you, Mr. Speaker, for the Premier; does he understand that his government is also responsible for this mess and will he explain steps his government is taking to address the serious issues raised by the Auditor General?

MS. CASEY: Mr. Speaker, I did indicate earlier that we do take this seriously. We do want to work with the URB and I do want to table a letter that I have written to the URB. I would like to read that - I'm writing in regard to the report and I'm asking that there be an opportunity for our staff to sit down with staff of the URB so we can work together through the detail of the Auditor General's Report. We will work towards safety with our students, Mr. Speaker . . .

MR. PARIS: Mr. Speaker, buses and vans are being hauled off the road - 3,100 out of 4,900 vehicles were kept out of service due to deficiencies. These are very serious matters. But, the Utility and Review Board says it requires legislation and policies to be put into place to ensure it can fulfill the recommendations laid out in the Auditor General's Report. My question, again, to the Premier, what steps is your government taking to ensure the proper legislative authority, and the proper policies are in place, to allow the board to fulfill the Auditor General's recommendations?

MS. CASEY: Mr. Speaker, we will do, as I've indicated, everything we can to work with those agencies that are involved. I want to commend the inspectors for the work they do and we welcome a report which tells us that there may be a safety concern so we can pull that vehicle off, and we can make sure it's safe, before it goes back onto the road.

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

[Page 5868]

PREM.: FISCAL UPDATE - DETAILS

MR. STEPHEN MCNEIL: Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Premier. Yesterday another province was added to the list of governments that have been open and transparent about their finances of the province. Alberta's Finance Minister released updated information that showed a surplus in the province had dropped from $8.5 billion to $2 billion. My question to the Premier is, with Alberta experiencing such a drop, can Nova Scotia expect the same?

THE PREMIER: Mr. Speaker, as I indicated, we'll provide a fiscal update by the end of December. We have already indicated that publicly, the Minister of Finance has also indicated that. The member is speaking about a good, solid, Progressive Conservative Government in Alberta who is doing a fine job on behalf of the residents there. We share their interest in growing the economy of Nova Scotia so that we can assure that people have the opportunity to work and contribute to our economy here.

MR. MCNEIL: Mr. Speaker, he shares it so much, it's why we have the lowest-growing economy in the entire country. My question to the Premier is, how many more families will be forced to deal with lay-offs before you put forward an updated plan to deal with this crisis?

THE PREMIER: Mr. Speaker, again, because of the work of the Minister of Economic Development, and previous Ministers of Economic Development on this side of the House, we have seen record highs of employment levels here in Nova Scotia this year. That is a result of good fiscal policy, that is a result of good, solid investment and that's a result of making sure we invest in the areas that are going to make a difference in keeping our young people here so they can raise a family, so they can have a career, so they can contribute back to Nova Scotia.

MR. MCNEIL: Mr. Speaker, the Premier's rhetoric and this government's status quo has led our province to the last place when it comes to economic growth in this country. Instead of bringing forward economic measures of substance, when the Premier called this House of Assembly back, he had no fiscal update, he had no updated business plan and he had no job strategy. Not one significant measure to help move our economy forward through this global economic crisis. My question to the Premier is, will you commit to this House to bring forward an updated economic strategy before this House adjourns?

THE PREMIER: Mr. Speaker, as I indicated, we'll bring forward an economic update by the end of December. The one thing I do share with my colleagues in Alberta is the fact that they too were opposing the Liberal carbon tax, which would have been devastating not only to the Province of Alberta, but devastating to the people of Nova Scotia, sending hundreds of millions of dollars each and every year to Ottawa when those dollars should be here, spent in Nova Scotia.

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MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Halifax Fairview.

EDUC.: GREEN FAM. - TUITION SUPPORT

MR. GRAHAM STEELE: My question is for the Minister of Education. Jennifer Green and her 12-year-old son, Will, recently returned to Nova Scotia after many years overseas, most recently in the South Pacific country of Vanuatu. They currently live in Fairview. Will has been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, which is a pervasive developmental disorder, and which makes it very difficult for Will to succeed in a regular school. Throughout his life, school has been a misery for him. Fortunately, on his return to Nova Scotia, he enrolled in Churchill Academy in Dartmouth. For the first time in his young life, school is a positive place for Will, but the Department of Education has denied tuition support to Will and his family. My question to the minister is, why has this family been denied tuition support when it is so obvious that Churchill Academy is the right place for Will to be?

[3:45 p.m.]

HON. KAREN CASEY: Mr. Speaker, I certainly am prepared to discuss the details of that case with the member opposite, but I do want to take the opportunity to speak a little bit about the Tuition Support Program. We do recognize, and in fact this government recognized in 2004, that there were a number of students who presented challenges that we were not able to meet in the public school system and thus the Tuition Support Program was introduced.

As with every program, there is criteria for eligibility for that and part of the criteria and with respect to this particular case, part of the criteria that this individual did not meet, was that the student must be in a public school in Nova Scotia for one year prior to being eligible for tuition support. So I would suggest to the member opposite that that may be part of the criteria that caused the application to be denied.

MR. STEELE: Mr. Speaker, that really is the heart of the issue. The rules governing tuition support state that tuition support will be considered only where the student has been in a public school in the province for at least a year, and during that year the student must have been on an individual program plan. The problem is that Jennifer and Will have only just returned to Canada and individual program plans are completely unknown in Vanuatu. So this family is automatically excluded from consideration, regardless of the child's need. My question to the Minister of Education is, why do the rules governing tuition support discriminate against families that have only just moved to Nova Scotia?

MS. CASEY: Mr. Speaker, members of this House will recall a review that was called for last year, a review of special education, how we deliver special education in our schools, and whether the taxpayers' dollars that are going into that are being effectively used.

[Page 5870]

Two recommendations that stand out from that - one was that the Tuition Support Program would be discontinued and people will recall that that is a recommendation I did not accept because I recognize its value.

Another recommendation was that we would do a complete review of Tuition Support Program, that is currently underway, that began in June, the report will be to me in the new year. But one of the things that we are reviewing and will certainly take into very serious consideration, the concern that has been raised by the member, is the criteria, what about those special circumstances and can we provide opportunity in the criteria to deal with special circumstances.

MR. STEELE: Mr. Speaker, the only question in a case like this should be whether Will, and other children like him, need tuition support - not whether the family has moved from the Valley, or Vancouver, or Vanuatu. The rules as they exist make life harder for families moving, or thinking of moving to Nova Scotia from overseas, and may actually discourage immigration to this province. My question to the minister is, what steps will the minister take so that Will, and any other special needs child who has moved to Nova Scotia from overseas, is not automatically excluded from consideration for tuition support, if tuition support is what that child needs.

MS. CASEY: Mr. Speaker, as I've indicated, a review of the criteria, with consideration given to special circumstances, will be very much a part of the outcome of the review that is currently underway. I have spoken to my staff and we will pull the application from this particular individual, we will assess the conditions and we will give that a second review beyond the appeal, and I would be glad to share the results with the member opposite.

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

FISH. & AQUACULTURE: SOUTHWESTERN N.S. FISHERY -

ASSISTANCE

MR. HAROLD THERIAULT: Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture. The lobster fishery in southwestern Nova Scotia is in jeopardy and I don't think we should stand by and wait for this catastrophe to strike, because we know it's coming. If the lobster fishery in southwestern Nova Scotia collapses, it will be an impact to this area like you've never seen before. My question to the minister is, what is your government's plan to help southwestern Nova Scotia through this upcoming financial emergency that is coming to our fishery?

HON. RONALD CHISHOLM: Mr. Speaker, thank you to the member opposite for the question. It is a good one because, as we all know, the lobster fishery in this province is worth well over $400 million per year and any economic glitch in that is a concern for the province and this government. So we are doing some marketing initiatives that we've

[Page 5871]

undertaken - probably in early December we will be on a tour of some of our western provinces where we feel there is a major market for Nova Scotia lobsters. I think the member opposite, at the minister's conference the other day, heard some of the things that we are doing because of the downturn in the price and the economic issues with the fishery.

MR. THERIAULT: Mr. Speaker, the minister is right, I was at that conference and I believe that's a good thing that he's doing for the marketing, but it's many years down the road before that's going to be of any effect to the fishery, and it will be good.

Mr. Speaker, fishermen may find this year that the processing sector won't be there to the degree that they have in the past - I've also heard that some banking institutions may not be willing to finance the capital needed to purchase lobsters. For southwestern Nova Scotia to get $50 million to $100 million less in its economy in the next six months will be devastating, not only to the western part of the province but for all this province. We must work together to help this vital sector of Nova Scotia's economy. So my question to the minister is, have you had any discussions with the federal government to address these issues and help the lobster fishing industry of Nova Scotia?

MR. CHISHOLM: Mr. Speaker, again thank you to the member opposite for the question. I have sent a letter to the federal minister on some of the issues that are of concern to the fishermen in southwestern Nova Scotia, as well as all across the province. Like I said, the lobster industry is very important to the economy of Nova Scotia, generating about $400 million per year. The lobster season in southwestern Nova Scotia has not started yet. So I think we should just, you know - I think we have a very good quality lobster, everybody around the world knows that. Export sales, like I said, have been $400 million a year on a continual basis and when we determine what the needs are in the fishery, we will deal with it.

MR. THERIAULT: Mr. Speaker, the Premier of Ontario has spoken up about the auto manufacturing industry in that province, stating "Auto manufacturing in Ontario generates so much revenue that it's in the national interest to shore up the sector." - well, a stable lobster fishing industry is in the provincial interest of Nova Scotia and must be addressed by our Premier. If the lobster fishery collapses in Nova Scotia, it will have a similar impact to Ontario losing its car manufacturing industry. My question to our Premier is, will your government commit to seeking financial aid from our federal government for our important lobster industry of Nova Scotia?

THE PREMIER: Mr. Speaker, I will defer that to the honourable Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

MR. CHISHOLM: Mr. Speaker, to the member opposite, yes, we will work with our federal counterparts to try to resolve the issues that are before us and try to find proper solutions for the problem. Like I said, I mean just last week, or just a couple of days ago, we

[Page 5872]

announced $375 million through the Community Development Trust Fund to help our seafood industry in the Province of Nova Scotia - $375 million that is being invested to find new markets, to do innovative things in our fisheries and to enhance value added to our products that we sell (Interruption) Oh, $3.7 million. So we are doing what we can for the fishing industry in the Province of Nova Scotia.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please. The honourable Minister of Fisheries has the floor.

MR. CHISHOLM: Mr. Speaker, we are doing what we can for the fisheries, especially the lobster fishery right now with the issues that are before us, and we certainly will work with the federal government to resolve the problems in the best interests of the fishermen of the province.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Pictou West.

HEALTH: LILLIAN FRASER HOSP. ER - OPENING INCENTIVES

MR. CHARLES PARKER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question, through you, is to the Minister of Health. The minister has been unable to attract doctors to work in emergency departments outside of metro and, because of this lack of leadership, ERs are closing and Nova Scotians are being forced to travel outside of their communities to access care. The Lillian Fraser Memorial Hospital emergency department last year had 4,620 visits. This is a lot, considering how often it was closed. So my question through you to the minister is, why are you failing this community which relies on the emergency department being open when they need it?

HON. CHRISTOPHER D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, the member opposite is forgetting the recent developments in, of course, the district health authority that he lives in. There are four new doctors coming to that district. We know that there's one for Westville, there's one for Pictou and two others, of course, who will be working at the hospital.

MR. PARKER: Mr. Speaker, it would be good if the minister knew which DHA he was talking about; Tatamagouche is in Colchester, not Pictou County. The Minister of Health does not have a plan for our rural ERs. He is unable to recruit doctors and health care professionals and he is not listening to what Nova Scotians are telling him. Concerned community members have organized information pickets outside of the hospital, in the Lillian Fraser ER - that's in the Colchester DHA - and yet it was closed for 137 hours in September. So my question to the minister is, why isn't your government providing the necessary incentives to keep this ER open?

MR. D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, I'm very well aware of which districts we're talking about. There is a new doctor for Westville, and I'm pretty sure that's somewhere in Pictou County; there's one in Pictou - oh, wait a minute, that's in Pictou County, which I

[Page 5873]

think the member represents. So, Mr. Speaker, we are making headway. We are getting doctors to move to our communities. We are finding opportunities to work in our ERs. So do better research.

MR. PARKER: Mr. Speaker, physicians who come to Tatamagouche are under a lot of pressures to work too many hours in an ER that is constantly closing. It is no wonder that many would prefer to work in a neighbouring regional hospital where they get paid more and have fewer staffing issues. So again, my question to the minister is, what are you doing to target hospitals with frequent ER closures to make them attractive to physicians?

MR. D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, I know he was talking about Tatamagouche in there as well. There are four doctors who will be working on rotation at Tatamagouche so if you look at the whole northern shore there, of course you've got Tatamagouche, you've got Pictou, you've got New Glasgow. You have all those areas which are all covered well. (Interruption)

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please. The honourable Minister of Health has the floor. (Interruption)

MR. D'ENTREMONT: That's right. So you do have very good coverage that this government has been able to provide to those rural areas. So, Mr. Speaker, again we'll work with the district health authorities to find solutions to areas. Those areas where we're having trouble with doctors, we will see whether there are other options, like primary care clinics that will include nurse practitioners and other practitioners that will provide, to the utmost, the best type of service that is possible to Nova Scotians.

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

HEALTH: ERs - INSTABILITY

MR. FRANK CORBETT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question, too, is for the minister responsible for ER closures. Nova Scotians are trying to tell this Minister of Health what services they require but he is simply not listening. Under your government, Mr. Minister, closures at the New Waterford emergency room have become more frequent and they are lasting longer. Last year, New Waterford ER saw over 15,000 patients, Glace Bay saw over 24,000 patients, yet they are closed on a regular basis. My question to the minister is, can you explain to this House why you are allowing this instability in our ERs to continue?

HON. CHRISTOPHER D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the individuals at the Cape Breton District Health Authority, people like John Malcolm, who have been able to amalgamate and work with the services that they have available. People in the area know ahead of time where the emergency room is open, hours they are open. Don't forget, there are a number of ERs in that area, there's the one in the Northside, there's

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one at the Regional, there's one in New Waterford, there's one in Glace Bay. We know that the people of Cape Breton (Interruptions) I said North Sydney, you heard that, right? The member opposite maybe wasn't listening to my answer, because ultimately they have a program that is working to maintain services for all people in Sydney and the Sydney area.

[4:00 p.m.]

MR. CORBETT: Mr. Speaker, I don't know if the minister just told us we have too many emergency rooms in Cape Breton. Is that what you're saying? Well, I'm just asking you to clarify it. The Minister of Health needs to create a strategy to recruit and maintain health care professionals in targeted areas like New Waterford and Glace Bay, to keep these ERs open. Communities need ERs that are open full time so that when they have an emergency, they do not have to consult a closure schedule posted on a door somewhere. I want to ask the minister, when are you going to ensure that the people of New Waterford and Glace Bay go to their ER and make sure it's open?

MR. D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, as I said in this House before, working with the district health authorities we will have ERs open as is humanly possible. Again, it does fall to the issue of not having enough doctors to work in those emergency rooms or, in the case of, I believe the Glace Bay one, it was the availability of nursing services. We will provide services to those areas, sometimes it is a challenge. We should make it available, a listing program available to those individuals, to those citizens, to know what's open and what's not. But again, as I've said many times before, if they are an emergency they should be calling 911.

MR. CORBETT: Mr. Speaker, you know that for the last two summers the emergency rooms have been closed in Cape Breton on a rotating basis because of a human resource issue. This is two summers in a row and your department has failed to respond to that, Mr. Minister. You're telling us today that you're trying something - well, it's two years now and we're about eight months away from the summer vacation, and what you're saying is these health care professional don't need time off. Well, they're burnt out and they need your help. I want to ask, when will you improve the quality of life for our health care professionals so that they will come and stay here in Nova Scotia?

MR. D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, we'll be fair to all Nova Scotians, making sure we have a consistent approach on recruiting physicians and other professionals. As I just mentioned, in the Pictou area we have two doctors coming in. We continue to work in all areas of the province in the same way. (Interruptions) I think the member opposite forgot that he has members for Pictou County in his caucus, maybe he should talk to his caucus members and tell them they should send their doctor my way. We'll be consistent across the board and we'll work with the district health authorities. But it also is important that the communities work together in the attracting of physicians and other professionals for their communities.

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MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Richmond.

[Page 5876]

HEALTH: CAREGIVERS PROJ. - DETAILS

MR. MICHEL SAMSON: Mr. Speaker, prior to 1999, back at a time when the provincial government actually valued caregivers in Nova Scotia, the previous Liberal Government had the in-home support program. This program provided a monthly financial payment to caregivers who stayed home to take care of loved ones. This removed stress from our long-term health care system and provided much-needed financial support to caregivers, yet the Progressive Conservative Government froze the program in the year 2000 to review it.

Well, what a review it was, because it took seven years for caregivers to wait to hear the government introduce a pilot project, in the budget of 2007, through the Department of Community Services, which we know, unfortunately, was a failure. Yet they've tried again this Spring through the budget in 2008 by passing on this pilot project to the Department of Health. So my question is to the minister, six months after the budget has been passed would you be so kind as to tell Nova Scotia caregivers what is the status of the long-awaited support for caregivers in Nova Scotia?

HON. CHRISTOPHER D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, I know it has taken a little bit of time to get this prepared but those are the same professionals who are working on our continuing care program, the bed expansions to the province, working with the people like the St. Ann's Community Home, and those individuals to make sure that they have the services available, whether it be the home in St. Peter's, whether it be any home that's in one of our constituencies. They are very busy.

Mr. Speaker, I can say that the work has been ongoing to find the correct way to get dollars in the hands of those caregivers. It is a challenge because at one point it's a taxable benefit and at another point people who are providing care might become an employee of the province. So there are many legal ramifications to this program but I think the research is very well advanced and one that we'll be bringing forward to Cabinet in the very near future. I'm hoping to have that program in place by early winter.

MR. SAMSON: You know, Mr. Speaker, this is not rocket science and I think it's a disservice to civil servants in Nova Scotia to suggest that they just can't get this straight. The clients of the Department of Community Services are not employees of the Province of Nova Scotia. They are beneficiaries of monies from the Government of Nova Scotia. Caregivers would be in the same category. Giving money to seniors who are on pensions that is going to be taxable is an absolute waste of time and the Department of Community Services, unfortunately, found that out.

Now, I've done my best to try to work with the Department of Community Services, with the Department of Health which to date has refused my offer to meet with them to talk about this program. It's common sense, Mr. Speaker, and these caregivers have waited a long

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time and the minister wonders why there are lineups to get into nursing homes. Caregivers have simply given up. Will the minister commit today to arrange a meeting between myself and whoever else necessary with his department to finally get this program in place and put money into the pockets of hardworking caregivers throughout Nova Scotia?

MR. D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, we have a program that is ready for R & R, that is ready to go forward to Cabinet, one that we will act upon that will provide dollars to caregivers. It is far more difficult than just to throw money at a caregiver. What we want to do is make sure that we're doing it appropriately and in the right fashion and it's also getting to people that, of course, need that service. I know on a couple of occasions that my deputy minister has wanted to meet with the member opposite but has had trouble setting up a meeting.

MR. SAMSON: Mr. Speaker, it would be too easy for me to respond to the deputy minister. I have a lot of respect for the deputy minister and being she's not here, I'm not going to suggest that. Let me just say my offer for a meeting has not been taken up. I've had no requests to meet with the Department of Health.

Again, this is common sense and the problem is when people start to think and create problems, those are excuses not to move on something. If the minister says there's an R & R ready to go to Cabinet, why would he be waiting until early winter to do this? These caregivers are getting burned out, they're giving up, and as a result loved ones are being placed on the waiting lists for nursing homes. There's a way to avoid this. There's a way to make that investment. Will the minister commit today to have a program available to put money into the pockets of caregivers by January 1, 2009?

MR. D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, even though a lot of the work has been done, it is impossible to have a program ready for January 1st, but I will commit to having something ready by February.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Dartmouth North.

COM. SERV.: FAMILY SUPPORT PROG. - ANALYSIS

MR. TREVOR ZINCK: Mr. Speaker, the Direct Family Support program is meant to provide supports and services for both children and adults with disabilities who live at home with their families. However, the income cutoff for these services are so low that many families are excluded from the program and are paying out-of-pocket for necessary care. So my question through you, Mr. Speaker, is to the Minister of Community Services. What analysis has your department done looking at what services people with disabilities can afford versus what they really need?

[Page 5878]

HON. JUDY STREATCH: Mr. Speaker, to my honourable colleague across the way, I know he raises this very important issue because he cares very compassionately about those individuals who he serves in his role as critic. The Services for Persons with Disabilities Program is a vast program, we serve approximately 4,800 Nova Scotians and their families across the province. We have implemented programs on the ground to allow for more independence, for more independent living, and those programs are income tested. While we would like to be able to provide them to everyone in the province, we do have to balance fiscal realities with the ability to serve those who are most in need.

MR. ZINCK: Mr. Speaker, families want to care for their lived ones at home, in their communities, near friends and families. If their child has a disability they have to pay for a tutor, a caregiver and any other activities necessary for development. For some children this includes swimming to refine motor skills, group activities for social skills, as well as physiotherapy, among other activities. My question to the minister is, why does your department continue to deny children with disabilities the funding they need to access care?

MS. STREATCH: Mr. Speaker, again to my honourable colleague, we were very pleased to be able to introduce those programs - the Alternate Family Support Program, the Independent Living Support Program - as well to ensure that Nova Scotians do have the ability to stay in their homes when they're able to, and when they have the assistance provided through those programs. Indeed, the Alternate Family Support Program community residence has approximately 125 homes, with 202 beds, serving 202 clients. The Independent Living Support Program, supervised apartments would have 665 clients, and so we do offer a variety, a range of programs, to many Nova Scotians.

MR. ZINCK: Mr. Speaker, caring for a loved one with a disability places a huge financial burden on families who have to pay for care while they are at work. My question to the minister is, when will you reassess the income guidelines so that Nova Scotia families can afford to provide their loved ones with the care they truly need?

MS. STREATCH: Mr. Speaker, I know my honourable colleague understands that the fiscal responsibility of the department, and of the program, is one that allows us to increase household income limits when we're able to, for what's in the best interest of Nova Scotians, as finances are available. We do so, however, we want to ensure that we provide assistance to the maximum number of Nova Scotians, especially in those independent living programs that allow Nova Scotians to have the choice to be able to stay at home and, indeed, have that quality of life with their family members.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Halifax Atlantic.

TIR: CHEBUCTO HEAD RD. - MAINTENANCE

[Page 5879]

MS. MICHELE RAYMOND: Mr. Speaker, the residents of the Chebucto Head Road have been pleading with various levels of government for nearly 10 years to do something about the deplorable condition of this road. Unlike other federally-abandoned roads, this is used by residents, hikers, whale watchers and tourists who are attracted to the Canadian Coast Guard Light Station. It's been operational since 1872, and it occupies one of the most commanding vantage points over the mouth of Halifax Harbour. My question is for the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal. Can he tell this House what progress has been made in getting this road on a proper maintenance schedule?

HON. MURRAY SCOTT: Mr. Speaker, I believe I'm correct in saying that is a privately-owned road and it was a federal road, so there would be no provincial responsibility in that road.

MS. RAYMOND: Mr. Speaker, the issue has been raised in this House before. It is not, in fact, a private road - it is a road which has been abandoned but not divested by the federal government. In fact, the federal government offered the province a whole list of lighthouses more than five years ago but the then-Minister of Tourism at the time, the Premier, made no response. Since then all of these Nova Scotia icons, and the roads leading to them, have been orphaned. My question is, has the provincial government yet responded to the federal government's offer of these lighthouses?

HON. WILLIAMS DOOKS: Mr. Speaker, to the member across the way, we know and we appreciate the value of lighthouses in Nova Scotia. We value the history. I must say here, standing in my place, I know a little bit about lighthouses and the importance of their history to Nova Scotia because I was a son of a lighthouse keeper, so I understand the importance of it.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please.

MR. DOOKS: Mr. Speaker, over 13 years the question was, every night as the sun set, is your light on? Mine is on today. Certainly I understand the importance of lighthouses to the Province of Nova Scotia and to respect them in saying that we have been dealing with the federal government to find out their position on the issue. We know at this particular time there are a lot of problems surrounding the environmental issues, surrounding contaminations of certain sites, but to answer the questions, we are involved in talks with the federal government and hopefully soon we will have some information to supply regarding lighthouses.

MS. RAYMOND: Mr. Speaker, I'm so glad to know that the minister, the son of a lighthouse keeper, is at least aware that the lighthouses themselves have been orphaned and have been this way for the last five years. Next year all eyes will be on Halifax when Tall Ships Atlantic arrive during one of the most important tourist attractions of the 2009 season in Canada. There will be hundreds of people attempting to visit the Chebucto Head

[Page 5880]

Lighthouse to watch the ships arrive. My question is, how will tourism in Nova Scotia be affected when tourists go home talking only about how very difficult it is to reach such an important icon in the Nova Scotia tourist lexicon?

[Page 5881]

[4:15 p.m.]

MR. DOOKS: Mr. Speaker, we're very aware of the opportunities on the Atlantic Coast of Canada, especially in Nova Scotia, in regard to lighthouses and tall ships. I might add the Department of Tourism, especially the Department of Economic Development, have been involved in providing funding for tourists to come to Nova Scotia, to enjoy our coast and to take part in the festivities in regard to the tall ships.

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

HEALTH: DIGBY ER - CLOSURE STATS.

MR. HAROLD THERIAULT: Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health. Yesterday during Question Period the Minister of Health stated the ER in Digby is open 98 per cent of the time. Well, a quick calculation indicates the minister's playing a little bit loose with the facts. In November the Digby ER was open 73 per cent of the time; in October, 87 per cent; September, 87 per cent; August, 85 per cent; and July, 77 per cent. My question to the minister is, did he just lose track of the Digby ER closure because there were so many closures, or did he honestly think the people of Digby would actually believe his 98 per cent statistic? Which is it?

HON. CHRISTOPHER D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, I was talking about secondary ERs in the province that are open a combined amount of 98 per cent, which includes places like Digby and other ERs around the province. I know the member opposite is very concerned about his ER in Digby and I know he is going to stand and ask questions about it. He knows the availability of doctors, so maybe I'll ask a question back to the member, why are we having trouble keeping doctors in Digby?

MR. THERIAULT: Mr. Speaker, if I was the Minister of Health I would answer that. (Laughter) Each year the situation has gotten worse for the Digby General and now the residents fear that it will close altogether. Yesterday our Premier alluded in response to a question that recommendations in the Corpus Sanchez report will guide them when it comes to solutions for smaller ERs. In case the Premier is not aware, Corpus Sanchez recommended closing small ERs. So my question to the Premier is, are you closing the Digby ER or keeping it open?

THE PREMIER: Mr. Speaker, the government has been very clear, but I will state for the member once again, the government has no intention of closing any ERs in Nova Scotia. In fact, we believe our small ERs play an integral role in our health care system. So I can assure him, for his hospital, and can appreciate in representing a very rural area, just how important those small ERs are.

[Page 5882]

MR. THERIAULT: Mr. Speaker, this government had an option when it came to addressing ER closures - they could address the problem or they could hope it goes away. Clearly they chose the latter. My question to the minister is, can you give the residents of Digby one glimmer of hope that you will find a solution once and for all when it comes to the never-ending ER closures at Digby General?

MR. D'ENTREMONT: Mr. Speaker, number one, we were trying to find other solutions, as well, to go along, to complement what's happening at the ER, which is why we opened up the nurse practitioner clinic that's now open five days a week for residents of Digby. That's one solution. The next solution, of course, is to find doctors who want to go there and stay there. Maybe that requires a bit more work with some of the existing physicians who are there. Maybe it means trying to find a true solution there which might mean the removal of people there in order to bring in a new guard. So I don't know exactly what the solution is there, but I know that's where it really maintains, and I know the member opposite knows exactly what I'm talking about.

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

COM. SERV.- INCOME ASSISTANCE: REASSESSMENT - EVIDENCE

MR. DARRELL DEXTER: Mr. Speaker, my question will be through you to the Minister of Community Services. One of the most basic rights in a free society is the right for every individual to know the case that has been made against him, or her, by a public body. This right is very well understood in our courts, where the Crown routinely discloses all of the evidence that is collected in the public interest of ensuring fair and open trials. It seems, however, that the Department of Community Services does not understand this aspect of a free society. My question to the minister is, will the Minister of Community Services explain why the department refuses to disclose the evidence used to reassess income assistance even if that reassessment can have dire financial consequences for a young family?

HON. JUDY STREATCH: Mr. Speaker, to my honourable colleague across the way, of course, anyone who applies for income assistance, or any of our programs, has the ability to appeal the decision that's made. Those appeals are heard and they're taken very seriously.

MR. DEXTER: Mr. Speaker, you know, people living in the former East Germany knew that their life might be turned upside down by an anonymous snitch. They had no right to see or challenge the so-called evidence that was used against them. However, in a free and democratic society the rules of natural justice apply to decision makers, even though it's in the Department of Community Services. Yet in assisting one of my constituents, I have found that this department seems to follow the East German model. I will table an appeal report. In the appeal report, the entire section called Evidence, which supports the decision, has been removed. My question to the minister is, is this justice?

[Page 5883]

MS. STREATCH: Mr. Speaker, certainly the Department of Community Services cares very compassionately about all cases that come forward as applications as well as appeals. We have a tremendous staff who work from one end of this province to the other. They are very dedicated to ensure that everyone is treated fairly and I have the utmost confidence that the staff do that. As to the question regarding the information not being released, I will check with Legal Services and find out what the particulars are in that case.

MR. DEXTER: Mr. Speaker, my constituent and her children have had the income they need for food and shelter affected on the basis of evidence that is being held in secret by the Department of Community Services. The department claims it is withholding all the evidence to protect personal information about a third party, even through the freedom of information Act states that such information can be released when an applicant needs it to defend their rights. My question for the minister is, will the minister meet and review with me the way that her department has withheld evidence in this case, and to ensure fair treatment for my constituent and for anyone else who suffers the same injustice?

MS. STREATCH: Mr. Speaker, the staff of the Department of Community Services is very dedicated, very compassionate, they go above and beyond at all times. They do have legal parameters as it pertains to an individual's information, and as my honourable colleague has come to me before with particular personal issues for individual clients, I've accorded a meeting with the member - of course I'll meet with the member to discuss this issue.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Halifax Needham.

LWD: APPRENTICESHIP PROG. - GENDER STATS

MS. MAUREEN MACDONALD: Mr. Speaker, my question through you is for the Minister of Labour and Workforce Development. Almost a year ago, the Minister of Education said in this House that she was very impressed by the number of women who are getting their journeyperson certificates. It doesn't take a lot to impress that minister, it would seem. In 2006-07, 498 people graduated from the Apprenticeship Training Program in Nova Scotia, but of this, only 13 were women and out of that, four were cooks. There's nothing wrong with being a cook, but of all the designated trades, hairstylists and cooks are the occupations where traditionally you'll most likely find women. My question through you to the minister is - this was 2007 not 1907 - I'm wondering, could the Minister of Labour and Workforce Development explain why his government thinks that 13 out of 498 is an impressive number?

HON. MARK PARENT: Mr. Speaker, thank you for the question, it's an excellent question and certainly an issue the department is working on, trying to attract more women into the skilled trades. Not simply for the gender balance, but because we need more people in the trades. I was pleased at the last graduation service of apprentices under the certified trades and I was at the graduation and spoke at it. One of the star graduates was a woman

[Page 5884]

who had entered carpentry, another star graduate from Guatemala had completed her work in cooking and had been working at Salty's.

Clearly we need to do more in this regard and we have made this a priority within the department to try to encourage more women to move into the trades and to consider taking apprenticeships. I encourage the honourable member to work with the department because I think it's a very important issue that together we need to improve upon.

MS. MAUREEN MACDONALD: Mr. Speaker, between 2000 and 2007, a grand total of 2.9 per cent of new journeypersons were women. That's 104 women out of 3,552 graduating apprentices. This is really not acceptable. Back in 2006, the Skills Nova Scotia Action Plan committed the minister's government "to develop a co-ordinated strategy for recruitment and retention of women in science, trades, and technology occupations."

That strategy doesn't actually seem to have appeared anywhere. To the Minister of Labour and Workforce Development, I'm wondering, would he provide this House with a copy of the women's strategy his government promised it would complete in 2006?

MR. PARENT: Mr. Speaker, I'd be very happy to meet with the member opposite and I covet her support in working toward this very worthy goal. There are many new programs within the high schools in programs that would encourage women to move in this direction and we're going to see that flow through. We've also put more money into apprenticeship training. We originally had bursaries for people in their third, fourth and fifth year - we now realize that to encourage apprentices we have to move forward and have scholarships and bursaries to help people in their first and second year. We're hoping that will be of benefit to help women who may have a family and need the financial help right at the start in year one and not for year three.

I'll be happy to meet with the member, but we are doing some very significant things - both in the Department of Education with my honourable colleague, and also with the financial help we think will be of particular assistance to women who may want to enter the apprenticeship skill trades occupations.

MS. MAUREEN MACDONALD: The Minister of Labour talks a good line, but it's action that we need. Mr. Speaker, I want to ask the minister, through you, why doesn't he understand that this province must take immediate steps to address the fact that only 3 per cent of new journeypersons are women?

MR. PARENT: Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comment. As I said, I appreciate the help of the honourable member, and certainly we will work hard at this and I will sit down and chat with her.

[Page 5885]

[4:30 p.m.]

I do never want to miss an opportunity though to state that the very first female MLA in the Legislature of Nova Scotia, the very first one, was from the riding of Kings North, from the Tory Party - her picture is opposite. She is an inspiration to me to make sure that we work hard with women in all trades and all professions, including political professions to get adequate representation.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Glace Bay.

COM. SERV.: CAPE CTR. - FUNDING

MR. DAVID WILSON (Glace Bay): Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Community Services. I've been contacted by several families in the Glace Bay area who have persons in their care who have high needs intellectually and physically. Some of these individuals have just recently graduated from high school; some are still attending.

Mr. Speaker, after high school there are very limited resources for these individuals, especially for someone with high needs. The C.A.P.E., Centre for Adults in Progressive Employment, in Glace Bay is the only adult service centre in the immediate area. In June of this year the Department of Community Services put out a summary report of vocational and day program services for adults with disabilities, and it identified six priorities to be phased in over three years. My question for the minister is, will there be adequate funding next year for those priorities?

HON. JUDY STREATCH: Mr. Speaker, I thank my honourable colleague for the question. I know that his interest in this file is very sincere, for indeed he attended the opening of a facility, an adult day work program, with me just last Spring. Of course as we review - and we do residential review, we do strategy and funding review, we do that to ensure that we have the dollars in place at the right time at the right places. As my honourable colleague points out, once those students leave the public education system in some communities there are limited opportunities, and we want to make sure that those adult day programs are funded so that the most opportunity can be experienced by those individuals.

MR. DAVID WILSON (Glace Bay): Mr. Speaker, the C.A.P.E. centre for adults does a tremendous job in the area and it is, as the minister pointed out, a much-needed new facility that the Department of Community Services funded and built, and rightfully so, but without the resources, without the funding, they're limited in what they can do. They want to provide the care in a much better way. So my question to the minister is, is there a timeline that's in place for implementation of the programs that have been identified?

[Page 5886]

MS. STREATCH: Mr. Speaker, indeed the funding of the adult service centres is an ongoing file that we work with our service providers across the province. We do have approximately 2,150 adults with disabilities who are provided services in the 30 adult service centres. Of course the ACEE and the Strait to Work programs help bridge the gap between the high school and the potential entry into the workforce for the adult service centre. Indeed we have funded those and we will continue into the future to do so.

MR. DAVID WILSON (Glace Bay): Mr. Speaker, the report itself has identified that the funding formula for such centres is lacking; the report has identified that there are gaps in service. There are a couple of pilot projects I understand that are underway, so my final question for the minister is, is there a plan in place to address this with the Department of Education, and does that include those individuals that you would classify as high needs?

MS. STREATCH: Mr. Speaker, of course, my honourable colleague, the Minister of Education and I have worked together on this file for quite some time. Members will recall when the federal government withdrew funding for programs here in the Halifax Regional Municipality, the minister and I stepped in to ensure that those programs were funded, indeed we will continue to provide the approximate $16 million worth of funding to these adult programs across the province and we will continue to invest in those Nova Scotians.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Queens.

TIR: INFRASTRUCTURE INSPECTIONS - REPORT TABLE

MS. VICKI CONRAD: Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal. This past Saturday, a piece of concrete fell from the Dunbrack overpass, which crosses Highway No. 102, and thankfully, no one was injured. The minister's department was quick to point out that it was not a structural issue with the overpass but it was remnants from repair work done a year earlier. Today in a news release, the minister states his department will investigate how many overpasses have the same design as the one in which a piece of concrete fell from. My question to the minister is, will he recognize that the current bridge and overpass inspection criteria is not working to ensure the safety of the travelling public, and table today, in the House, a detailed report on inspections and infrastructure status carried out to date?

HON. MURRAY SCOTT: Mr. Speaker, I want to say to the honourable member opposite - what she just said is absolutely incorrect, that is absolutely not true. We have a very good safety inspection system in this province. I strongly put my faith in the people in this department who go out on a daily basis and inspect bridges throughout Nova Scotia. No, I think that's wrong, but I will tell the honourable member this - what I said was that when that structure was built, approximately 30 years ago, the type of steel that was used at the time, the design of the steel, caused a ripple of cement in overlay that went out past the steel.

[Page 5887]

Over time that sliver of cement, which I understand was about two inches wide, because of weather and frost and whatnot, broke away from the steel.

We're trying to determine right now how many bridges in Nova Scotia are of that design. It's not a lot, but I still believe when something like that happens it should cause us all concern. It concerns me and it has caused my department concern. We are going to ensure that we know the number of bridges in Nova Scotia that are of the same design, we're going to go out and we're going to do a thorough inspection of those bridges to ensure the same thing doesn't happen again. We have also ensured that in the future, staff will be aware of what has happened here and make sure that's part of the inspection process.

I want to reiterate - what the honourable member said a few moments ago was absolutely false and I trust fully that the people in this department are doing a great job in Nova Scotia.

MS. CONRAD: Mr. Speaker, the minister knows only too well that our infrastructure is in a serious safety deficit and should consider this incident a wake-up call. It's just not about inspecting or investigating what bridges or overpasses have the same design as one that has been identified as having some concern. Nova Scotia has some of the oldest infrastructure in the country, and with well over 4,100 bridges and overpasses, some of which carry over 35,000 vehicles daily, and with only a little over 20 DOT certified bridge inspectors. My question to the minister is, how will he assure Nova Scotians that more rigorous inspections will take place, thus ensuring public safety?

MR. SCOTT: Mr. Speaker, I thank the honourable member for the question. Maybe the honourable member didn't hear what I said first, but I will restate it. We do have a good inspection system in this province. We have good technicians, engineers and individuals in the department who go out and do this on a regular basis. They're doing it daily, they would have done them today, they do them almost every day of the year reguarding inspections of bridges.

Again, this piece of cement that fell from this bridge had nothing to do with the integrity, or the credibility, or the ability of this structure to perform as it was designed to do. It was a sliver of cement, it was excess cement that fell as a result of the design of the steel in that bridge. There are very few in Nova Scotia - I can't tell you today the exact number, but I will know very soon. We'll go out and look at those few bridges to ensure, as best we can, that won't happen again, but I do take that very seriously, we all do in the department.

I can tell you again that I have full confidence in the people at the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal, that they are doing their jobs to the utmost, Mr. Speaker, on a daily basis and I have faith in them. They're doing the very best for Nova Scotians.

[Page 5888]

MS. CONRAD: Mr. Speaker, since this incident (Interruptions)

[Page 5889]

MR. SPEAKER: Order, order. The honourable member for Queens has the floor.

MS. CONRAD: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Since this incident, my office has received a number of calls concerning other potential safety hazards with bridges and overpass infrastructure. The safety of our driving public should be the number one priority . . .

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

HON. MURRAY SCOTT: Mr. Speaker, on a point of order. The honourable member mentioned about constituents calling her office, I suggest she tell them to call the Minister of Transportation and Public Works and we'll look into those issues for her.

MR. SPEAKER: That's not a point of order. That is definitely not a point of order

OPPOSITION MEMBERS' BUSINESS

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Opposition House Leader.

MR. FRANK CORBETT: Mr. Speaker, would you please call the order of business, Motions Other Than Government Motions.

MOTIONS OTHER THAN GOVERNMENT MOTIONS

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Opposition House Leader.

MR. FRANK CORBETT: Mr. Speaker, would you please call Resolution No. 5383.

Res. No. 5383, re Com. Serv. - Min.: Carbon Tax - Awareness - notice given Nov. 17/08 - (Mr. T. Zinck)

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Dartmouth North.

MR. TREVOR ZINCK: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't think, honestly, that 10 minutes is going to be enough for me to talk about this subject. It's one that absolutely we should be talking about this. This should have dominated this session because it's one of great importance.

Part of the resolution called for a question as to the most recent increase in income assistance of the $4. Now in fairness to the minister, I understand that in her moments that she will speak here, she will talk about the many programs that are offered up by Community Services and I recognize that. The other point that she'll make is about fiscal responsibility. I also recognize that.

[Page 5890]

What we ventured into in consensus as a government, Mr. Speaker, over the last year has been the introduction of a Poverty Reduction Strategy. Now the issue that I take with that - and in particular the $4 increase in reference to the Poverty Reduction Strategy - was the most recent decision by the Premier to put the 8 per cent back on, the HST, on electricity back in the May 15th budget.

Now at that time when we were discussing that, Mr. Speaker, we were talking about an average of $8 to $12, $8 to $15 on the average household electricity bill. So keep that in mind - $8 to $15. Now that's whether you're working poor, you have a substantial income or you're on income assistance or the Guaranteed Income Supplement, as a senior.

We come to the Fall, Mr. Speaker, and we have a $4 increase. That $4 increase that people on social assistance receive does not allow them to pay for the increase that they received in their recent power bill. Now I can tell you that in July - on May 15th, the budget was passed and the 8 per cent was put on immediately - when my constituents received their first power bill, that first two-month glimpse of the increase, I had a number of calls, well over two dozen calls from constituents who had difficulty in paying their new power bill because of the increase.

The government says that they want to fight poverty but those people on income assistance who received that $4 are further in poverty, because of the power hike the Premier decided to put the HST back on. That being said the URB just recently approved the rate hike for Nova Scotia Power - 9.4 per cent, Mr. Speaker.

Now I know that big business, Nova Scotia Power, we acknowledge that they had some issues with coal and the price of coal and the fuels that they use. In saying that, I believe Nova Scotia Power has to look more at using natural gas, which they could in Dartmouth North, in the Tufts Cove plant, but they choose not to.

So we have a $4 increase, $8 to $15 with the 8 per cent being put back on by the Premier and his government, another increase of 9.4 per cent. That's totaling over 17 per cent increase. So we believe, or Nova Scotians believe that this government, that this House wants to fight poverty but we're only enabling them a $4 increase. It's inadequate.

Now I've spoken many times in my place here about the shelter allowances and I know the minister and I had a great debate, we went on at great lengths during the most recent budgets about the difficulties. The reality though, Mr. Speaker, is that there is no magic number as far as what possible increase we can get, no exact dollar figure. But the real reality is that if we don't take care of individuals who are on social assistance - we're talking well over 30,000, we're talking about probably 75 per cent of those individuals who are considered disabled or unable to re-enter the workforce.

[Page 5891]

We know those are individuals we're always going to have to take care of to some degree. That $4 - and I've said it many times in this House - in the HRM area, in rural Nova Scotia even, housing costs are going up. When housing costs go up - and I'll give you an example. I had a gentleman call me the other day who receives $535 for his shelter. He now receives the $208, which was $204 - he received a $4 increase - he will receive a bus pass and some special diet money. That equates to less than $10,000 a year.

[4:45 p.m.]

With the $4 increase, you have to understand, where does that $4 increase go? Even though gas prices and diesel prices are going down now, food prices haven't gone down. The power bills are going up, the government's decision to put the HST back on has hurt. The most recent decision by the URB is going to hurt. I've said last Spring that 60 per cent of my community who reside in apartment buildings, who are 30, 40, 50 years old, who don't have energy-efficient appliances - I'm not talking just about people on income assistance, I'm talking about working poor, both young and old. I'm talking about seniors who aren't able to pay their power bills now.

However, in making that decision to take off the HST, the government came out with a program, the Heat Smart program. It was pretty much a hybrid of the old Keep the Heat program, which I think all members in this House had supported in the past and maybe it had to be re-worked, and the government re-worked it, and they put the HST back on, which increased - or as we call it, a $28 million tax - but they came up with a $92 million program called Heat Smart.

Now, we've heard in this session that there have been many issues with the application process from all over Nova Scotia - rural, HRM. Most recently, the majority of individuals who were on income assistance, who when they realized there was an opportunity for them to get help, they immediately contacted my office and asked about the application process. I can say, as many of us in this House, as an MLA, I have to assist a lot of constituents with the application process, so I'm very well aware of some of the situations people find themselves in, whether they receive the benefit or they don't.

One of the most alarming things that came to my attention was that the Heat Smart program, which I'll table - I'm just going to read part of the section from it. Section 2 says: Pick your main source of heat - and it goes through oil, natural gas, propane, but under electricity it states - you must use at least 10,000-kilowatt hours for the year and it says to check your power bill.

This was an issue for me, and many of my constituents who came to me, because down at the bottom of the second page where it has a chart of the incomes, it says: GIS, or income assistance, is able to have a maximum of $450 if they use oil, propane or gas, or $150

[Page 5892]

on electricity or other fuels. The issue that I have is, above the chart it says: The chart below shows what rebate you can expect if you qualify.

Mr. Speaker, many of the constituents who have come to me and we've ventured off into filling this application out, the government has taken it back to last January, which is a good thing because for many families, the last fuel they bought was in the Spring time, so going back to last January gives people a chance to really capitalize on this potential rebate. What came to my attention is that the majority of people that live in apartments, the seniors that I deal with who are on the fixed incomes, the people that are on income assistance, aren't using 10,000-kilowatt hours per year, so they don't qualify.

I'm really looking forward to having the minister respond, hopefully to this part of my question - for people on income assistance, if they are unable to qualify for that $150 rebate, where do they go when they have a power bill problem? I know the Premier and his government have given $800,000 to the Salvation Army, and I appreciate that, as all MLAs do in this House, the efforts and the work that the Salvation Army does, but we never talk about the fact that the program is a one-time shot in five years so it's a "need not apply" if you applied last year. I know it places the Salvation Army in a difficult situation even with the increase in funding.

That funding doesn't go toward electricity bills and that's a real big problem. So where does somebody on income assistance go when they can't pay their power bill? I can tell you that we exhaust all possibilities. We try to make a deal with the power company and I have gone to the Salvation Army and pleaded with them, and on a number of occasions they really wanted to help out but they just couldn't. Those funds weren't earmarked for that. So we're left with going back to Community Services, which again we have to go back and we plead with the supervisor, and to their efforts I applaud them, they have helped me on a number of occasions, but it goes to the special needs budget so it is actually coming out of the taxpayers' pockets.

However, that money now is no longer a rebate because when it comes out of the special needs budget it has to be paid back. With the most recent policy changes through the overpayment process, which I compliment the department on, it's still at a $15 rate. So we have a $4 increase that is not a substantial amount of money to cover the price of food, the cost of energy, $535, $208, possibly a bus pass. When you average that down you have less than $100 you are eating on. Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Minister of Community Services.

HON. JUDY STREATCH: Mr. Speaker, indeed it is my pleasure to rise today and speak to this very serious issue that my colleague, the member for Dartmouth North raises. In my few short moments I will attempt to address a couple of the points as I see them being as they pertain to this issue. I know that my honourable colleague, the Minister of Labour and

[Page 5893]

Workforce Development, would like to have a moment or two to address a couple of issues, as well, so I will be sharing a couple of moments with him.

I want to commend my honourable colleague first and foremost for his commitment and his dedication that he displays. Time in and time out in the cut and thrust of what we do in this House we forget sometimes the reason we're sent here, the reason we come here, is indeed to serve those who have put us here. My honourable colleague comes to me on the floor of this House, as well as privately, to discuss issues that are in the best interest of his constituents and indeed Nova Scotians, and I want to recognize that publicly today.

There's no question that the challenges are very real. We have programs in place that attempt to address the needs of Nova Scotians who find themselves vulnerable and in a situation where they have to reach out for assistance. We are very proud of the assistance we are able to provide and a multitude of programs. I don't need to list those programs for my honourable colleagues, they're well aware of them, they help constituents each and every day to access those programs.

I do want to briefly for a moment address the issue of the Employment Support and Income Assistance budgetary commitment. Over the past five years we have been able to increase personal allowance for clients by 15.5 per cent for the personal allowance and we've been able to increase shelter allowances two years in a row as well. When we use figures like that they seem very cold, and I acknowledge that they seem very cold and very harsh, but I do want to put in perspective that it represents $19 million and I know the members in this House know that's a significant commitment to Nova Scotians, it's a significant commitment from our department.

Mr. Speaker, I also want to acknowledge a couple of other facts. For indeed the caseloads at the Department of Community Services sit currently at 28,230 and we're pleased when those caseloads decline. We know that there are a variety of reasons for that but I do want to indicate that of the 28,230, 41 per cent of our income assistance clients would identify in their budgets having electricity costs. So it's significant that we recognize that and identify that.

Certainly we do want to identify - and I know my honourable colleague is aware of this - that we know there are challenges when it comes to being able to meet the needs. We have worked in co-operation with Nova Scotia Power in some cases to have direct payments made when the client's wish, if they find that more convenient and more stable. We have worked with Nova Scotia Power and the Salvation Army, as my colleague mentioned, for their Good Neighbour Program, and we were pleased to be able to double the commitment that we made to the Salvation Army for the program this year. They distribute those funds as they see fit.

[Page 5894]

Yes, they have restrictions because they know that to do all they would like to be able to do is unreasonable as well. It's just not in the fiscal ability of the programs that they offer, but they do attempt to meet the needs of those individuals who come to them. I know that they try very hard to have some flexibility, and yet respect the parameters of the program that they're able to offer.

I do also want to identify, for my honourable colleague, that when clients come to us with the first request, when they prove that they have a budget deficit for heating and for energy, Mr. Speaker, we will not treat that as an overpayment. We recognize that there are challenges, and so we will not treat that "first come to" as an overpayment. Now, when we do have subsequent challenges, then we do try to be very fair, and we do offer a repayment program that responds to the ability of the clients that they're able to handle, because certainly we do not want to put individuals who are in a vulnerable position to begin with into an additional vulnerable position.

The other issue that I would like to raise, of course, Mr. Speaker, is that we sometimes forget that folks who live in the public housing units that we provide in the province do not pay for their heat or their hot water. So we do want to identify that those individuals are separate and apart.

I know my colleague would like to have a couple of moments, but I do want to speak for a moment about the tremendous co-operation that we've had from service organizations across this province, from the good folks at the Salvation Army, from churches and community organizations. They realize government can't go it alone. We know we can't go it alone. When we embarked on the poverty working group, we employed that entire group of individuals to come together because we know we don't have all the answers. We know we don't even know all the questions to ask. So we certainly appreciate and value all of those stakeholders coming together to assist us to truly ensure that generous nature that is so evident in Nova Scotians.

Time in and time out Nova Scotians step up to the plate when communities face challenges. We can all identify specific cases in our own communities where that's the case, but certainly that generous nature, which indeed is a second nature to Nova Scotians, is one that we value. We value that relationship that we have with our stakeholders. The only way we're going to address the true root causes of poverty, and to be able to assist those Nova Scotians who need our help, is to do it together and to ensure that we all recognize we don't walk it alone. With those words, I would thank my honourable colleague for bringing this forward and I would ask my honourable colleague, the member for Kings North, to share a few words with us.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Minister of Environment.

HON. MARK PARENT: Mr. Speaker, my honourable colleague, the Minister of Community Services, has spoken quite graciously. I will not be as gracious because, frankly,

[Page 5895]

I'm discombobulated by the hypocrisy that I hear coming from the NDP, not from that member, but from his Leader. The Leader has spoken very often about this and understands full well that the changes that were made in this program were made to free up money to help low-income people with their heating costs, and yet not a peep, there's a disjuncture there that discombobulates me, frustrates me, and is, I think, an insult to those who are living on low income.

There's another thing that discombobulates me as well, Mr. Speaker, and the editorial in The ChronicleHerald today pointed it out. It said, "The NDP's proposed tax holiday would be for energy consumption unrelated to heating. What's the point of that? At the very least such a measure would do nothing to promote energy conservation." That, too, is something that discombobulates me because they pretend they care for the environment, but there's nothing in their policies and their statements for energy conservation. In fact, the member for Queens, when asked about Zen cars that run off electricity produced by coal, and it was pointed out to her that it might not be environmentally a good thing and allnovascotia.com said, well, pass those cars now and worry about the environment later.

Mr. Speaker, we need to worry about the environment now and when we shift money to help the low-income people, I expect and would hope that at least the critic for that department would talk about how that's a good thing. Thank you very much.

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

MR. MANNING MACDONALD: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It's a pleasure to rise in my place today and join this debate on this Resolution No. 5383. This is a really good political resolution here. In other words, it looks good on paper but there's not much meat on the bones of it from what I've heard certainly so far. I'll get into that in a little bit.

[5:00 p.m.]

In the resolution he talks in the whereases that the carbon tax will add $8 to $12 to the average electric bill, and "Whereas the Minister of Community Services lauds this year's paltry $4 increase . . ." and it goes on to say a little bit more about that, and "Whereas 30,000 individuals currently collecting social assistance will endure a winter of hardship because of . . ." the government's decisions. It doesn't say which particular decisions, and "Therefore be it resolved that the minister is in the dark about the Progressive Conservative carbon tax . . ."

So it starts off with the carbon tax, moves to a general statement about poverty and then ends up with the carbon tax again, in the resolution, which is all very fine but as the Minister of Labour and Workforce Development pointed out, The Halifax ChronicleHerald weren't too kind to the NDP in their editorial regarding their current stand on this whole issue. I suspect that this is another example of the way the NDP conducts business - hit and run. A day's publicity justifies whatever they could say and if they can catch the spirit of

[Page 5896]

publicity for the day, then they'll have achieved what they set out to do and never mind worrying about what is going to happen tomorrow.

[Page 5897]

Well, the Liberal Party is worried about what is going to happen tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that, when it comes to the poor of this province. We certainly have put forward some programs which do have some meat on the bones and programs that could alleviate a lot of hardship for Nova Scotians.

The HST rebate would not amount to much in savings, approximately $65 a year. I might remind you, Mr. Speaker, and all members that the Liberals would do more than that for those who need it the most. The NDP did not support the Heating Assistance Rebate Program in the last provincial budget. This program will allow low-income individuals and families to save up to $450.

Now, I'm not dreaming that, I'm stating a fact, that the NDP did not support that home assistance program which would give people in need, and who qualify, $450 - not $65, which is what would be the case with the HST rebate. We supported the program and the NDP did not.

Mr. Speaker, Nova Scotia needs a comprehensive plan to address the rising cost of home heating and promote energy conservation in this province. We proposed Bill No. 209 that will allow renewable energy providers to sell directly to customers. I didn't hear the NDP supporting that initiative and I don't wonder why because the NDP would not want anybody else to get control of energy in this province, unless it was something that they control themselves. More people will be able to purchase affordable energy, while helping the environment under that initiative, yet we haven't heard anything from the NDP on that.

Now in regard to poverty, Mr. Speaker, $4 is not enough to help those on social assistance to keep up with the rising costs and the minister knows that. The $4 is simply a cost of living increase, I guess, that somebody in the bureaucracy determined to be the amount. More needs to be done to monitor assistance budgets. I think in that regard, and I think if close attention is paid to that statement, what we need here is more latitude for front-line workers in dealing with the day-to-day situations that people on social assistance face. You can't just rely on an amount that's punched out every month on a computer that states that a social assistance family - or an individual or a family with children, for example - have to live on this computer statement that says they're going to get X number of dollars per month. There has to be some latitude for social workers on the front lines to deal with people who have emergencies during the month - and there are a lot of them with people on limited income.

The government needs to ensure that assistance recipients don't go further into poverty as a result of rising heat costs. The Liberal Party proposed Bill No. 218, which stated - and I talked to the minister about this - that the first $5,000 earned by an individual receiving employment support or income assistance is exempt from the calculation of financial need for the first twelve months the income is earned. Now, if the NDP wanted to do something they could have called that bill of ours today and talked in a meaningful way

[Page 5898]

about the need to have some latitude in the amount of money that people on social assistance can earn before it's clawed back by the department. But you know what, Mr. Speaker? They wouldn't do that because that doesn't make for good politics on the NDP. This is all about politics with the NDP - it's not about serving the people who need it the most in this province.

Time and time again, we've seen the NDP resort to pure, raw politics in dealing with these issues and then move on to another issue where they can grab the headlines for a day or so and then move on to something else. Well I'm saying they could have moved on to Bill No. 218 today, called that, called our bill, and between the two of us we might have convinced the government to let the bill come to a vote for second reading. But that didn't happen and it will never happen, because they will never grab a good idea from somebody else and promote it in this House and we all know that.

The Poverty Reduction Strategy, the working group, released their report in June of this year and the government announced they would take another full year to review and come up with their own strategy. That is not appropriate - poverty issues need to be addressed now, not a year from now.

The government doesn't want to deal with the issues of poverty despite the fact that more than 130,000 Nova Scotians live in poverty and 52,000 people are on one form of social assistance or another. And, Mr. Speaker, what's even more alarming, one in five children currently live in poverty. These are some statements that are made by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, and the Poverty Report 2006 that states over a million Canadian children live in poverty in this date that we're presently with here today. That's just deplorable.

While I will say that between 2003 and 2004, the percentage of Nova Scotians has dropped from 21 to 18 per cent, but still there are 34,000 people in our province, children in our province, living in poverty. There's much work to be done - and that's certainly an understatement.

More than 11,000 children of working parents in this province live in poverty, and more than 25,000 Nova Scotians relied on food banks last year in this province. Mr. Speaker, thank heavens we have volunteer organizations like food banks that can take up the slack when that latitude I talked about earlier is not there for front-line social workers to deal with these problems on a regular basis, instead of just kicking out a computer-generated amount they're entitled to every month and that's the end of it. That's not appropriate. These workers need to have some latitude to deal with emergency cases and deal with special needs that come up from time to time in dealing with people on social assistance.

The Poverty Reduction Strategy is a start; the report is a start to addressing these issues, but the government to date has failed to act. A Ms. Hiltz, who runs the Single Parent

[Page 5899]

Centre in Spryfield, said government "has created a poverty reduction strategy but hasn't acted on it. We know that the research and statistics are there saying the gap between the rich and the poor is getting wider and issues aren't getting addressed. We know what the issues are but nothing is happening."

There are many things that we can do to lift Nova Scotians out of poverty. One of them is to allow those on social assistance to attend universities - and we all know that debate - without losing their benefits; and expand the mandate and programs offered by Nova Scotia Legal Aid. Those are just two examples. The Halifax Coalition Against Poverty held a rally in front of Province House this weekend. In an interview with The ChronicleHerald, they said the government has known for years what needs to be done because every report always says the same thing.

One of the key issues talked about at the rally was the closing of Pendleton Place, a shelter for the homeless. It won't reopen this winter due to a lack of funds from government and probably other sources. Government used to fund Pendleton Place to the tune of $240,000 but it has cut that funding. Do they think it's not necessary any more? I don't think so. I don't think the recommendations from the front-line social workers in the minister's department would agree with that, but they're not running the budget of that department. They're only asked to do the bidding on the budget they're provided.

The government should make sure, Mr. Speaker, there is enough space and shelters for those who need a place to stay, particularly in cold weather. Wayne MacNaughton, an advocate for the homeless, said at the rally on Saturday, ". . . government has done absolutely nothing to address the underlying issue of poverty, which is more affordable housing and more community support for people suffering from mental illness and addictions. They have done nothing on either of those things."

Mr. Speaker, I refer again in summing up, I don't think I have much more time here, I'm just about done, I would say that I would be prepared to debate the Liberals' position on these issues with anybody, anywhere, any time.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Pictou East.

MR. CLARRIE MACKINNON: Mr. Speaker, this is a serious issue and we were told by the previous speaker about the pure politics of some of things raised in this Legislative Assembly. For the first part of his remarks, we were dealing with pure politics. The Minister of Labour and Workforce Development talked about some new word that he was using - discombobulate, he was discombobulated. Well, he certainly discombobulated me with some of his remarks, because we are dealing with an issue that was spoken to with real sincerity by the member for Dartmouth North and also by the minister. Both of them spoke with real sincerity about an issue of concern to us.

[Page 5900]

I want to talk with some passion about some of the cases that I have in my riding that are of a tremendous concern to me, and they can be extrapolated throughout this province. When you look at a $4 increase, a $4 increase, and the minister talked about the figures being very cold. Well, we are going to have some cold bodies in this province this winter. We have a situation where a $4 increase, versus an 8 per cent increase in electricity tax, and the fact that you have to have a usage of 10,000-kilowatt hours to get $150.

Mr. Speaker, I think I mentioned in the House at one time about a person who came to me with a situation last Spring. This person came to my door. He told me that he was eating dog food and that the heat that he had in his house was a toaster. I just had a person in my office within the last couple of weeks, his family was gone, there was no food, no heat, medication was not available to him, he had no money for medication. He didn't know where to turn. He had given up his diabetic pills a number of days before, or a week before.

At this juncture, I would like to say that some of these people have never been on assistance before - just to be able to direct them to the Food Bank, to direct them to Community Services - the situation with some of these folks is that they don't really know where to turn. There have been so many who have come to my office. I have opened into the third year, over 1,500 files and a lot of them relate to Community Services. I'm on my way to 1,600 files and that doesn't include three massive binders in relationship to road work and faxes that have been exchanged in relationship to that.

[5:15 p.m.]

There are situations that I want to raise. A rent increase - this has come to me on a number of occasions - by a landlord and this involved a constituent with a disability. The shelter allowances are not adjusted to the cost of living. In this particular case, this constituent with a disability had to take the food money to go towards the rent. This is a very, very common occurrence. This happens quite a bit. Rents are increasing and more and more people are now looking at public housing. The public housing scenario is one where the list is months and months long. We have so many cases that are coming forward relating to Community Services. Before I go further, and I have a whole host of these that could be extrapolated, I want to pass out a couple of bouquets in relationship to Community Services. Without the compassion of people like Mike MacIsaac, who happens to be a cousin of the deputy Premier of Nova Scotia, and he's probably proud of his cousin, the deputy minister. I think the deputy minster should be proud of his cousin who works in Pictou County with Community Services. He has gone above and beyond the call of duty in a lot of situations.

One of the things the Liberal member from Cape Breton spoke about a few moments ago was flexibility. There isn't the flexibility that is required in some cases. People like Mike MacIsaac have their hands tied in relationship to flexibility. I think there has to be some more flexibility involved in the system.

[Page 5901]

While I'm talking about bouquets, I should also mention that Nova Scotia Power Inc., a guy by the name of Ken Paruch and there was a Mr. O'Brien there before him, Ken Paruch has, on countless occasions - the number of people that are being threatened with power cut-offs is going all the time. People are coming into my office, what am I going to do, Clarrie? I have a power bill that has built up to $250 and I don't think I can come up with $40 or $50 to put towards it. We have had so many cases that we've been able to work out some budgetary situations with people like Ken and people like Mike who have a real compassion for people with difficulties.

But, getting back to some of the situations, there was a woman in my office within the last couple of days, on Community Services, who didn't have enough food money because of all the other expenditures - the increased rent and so on - didn't have money to buy milk and had to go to the food bank and make a case. She really had to plead with the food bank, which does a great job in Pictou County, but milk is not given to an adult, it's made available to people with children. She had to plead with the food bank to get some milk.

These are the situations that are out there in our ridings and they can be extrapolated throughout the province. The Premier has said on a number of occasions, no one will be left behind, no one will be left behind in Nova Scotia. Well people are being left behind in Nova Scotia, they're being left behind in Pictou East and I'm sure they're being left behind in 51 other ridings in this province.

With that I'm going to conclude my remarks. We need to have some real flexibility involved in the system here and we need to have more than $4 being provided in an increase. What is going to happen to Nova Scotians this winter? It really bothers me, it really concerns me that the caseload is growing day by day, and will continue to do so with the indications. Trenton Works and so many things in Pictou County contribute to the factors here.

MR. SPEAKER: The time allotted for debate on Resolution No. 5383 has now expired.

The honourable member for Hants East.

MR. JOHN MACDONELL: Mr. Speaker, would you please call Resolution No. 5357.

Res. No. 5357, Agric.: Agricultural Policy - Develop - notice given Nov. 17/08 - (Mr. J. MacDonell)

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Hants East.

[Page 5902]

MR. JOHN MACDONELL: Mr. Speaker, I guess this resolution follows the buoyant hopeful note of the previous resolution and it is in the same tone I would say. The operative clause reads:

[Page 5903]

"Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly demand that the minister listen to our agricultural industries and develop an actual agricultural policy to address the issues raised in the GPI Atlantic Reports and aid in the survival of the Nova Scotia farm communities."

I'm not sure what the usual is, if there are any protocols around critic assignments. Certainly when you're a New Democratic, and I think all members are aware of the history of our Party in this House, we've never sat on the government side of the House, so the role of Opposition is one that historically has been ours. I want to say I'm not sure if the record would show that there has been any member who has held the same critic portfolio as long as I have and that is of agriculture. I want to say that I always try to be optimistic about the future, and certainly about agriculture. I have to let the members of the government side also be aware that is becoming more and more difficult. I don't actually worry a lot about solutions in the sense that I know there are qualified capable people out there who have lots of good ideas and are willing to offer them to any government that would be willing to listen and would help in the sector.

I guess I find it somewhat odd, in the sense that - and we think about the agriculture sector, and I guess it's because agriculture has been around from the time whenever our ancestors quit being gatherers and hunters and started actually putting seeds in the ground, growing crops and containing wild animals in one location to feed themselves. So the notion that I think we seem to take for granted, because we can walk into Superstore, or Sobey's, or wherever, and as long as there's food in the display case I think we tend to think that there always will be food in the display case. You only need to talk to immigrants who have come to this country and left areas of the world where that wasn't the case. Actually I worked on a dairy farm in Milford, owned by Ben Vermeulen.

Those few days after Hurricane Juan, when the power was out, I remember being in Fall River at the Sobey's store, and there was a lineup of people waiting for the store to open, just trying to get milk or whatever and they had gotten a generator going, and it really did make you think - will there be milk on the shelf in the store? It's kind of a harsh reality for someone who never had to worry about that. Ben Vermeulen made the comment that every now and then that was a good wake-up call for people because he remembered being on their small farm in Holland and eating mouldy bread because it was all that they had because they were trying to keep as much as they could away from the Germans. They were hiding food and so on, so food was scarce.

I guess I'm digressing a bit but I'm trying to make a point to the minister, and to the government, that we don't think enough about the possibility that we may not have food, or give enough importance to agriculture. We have water commissions, Mr. Speaker, who actually look over the sale and control of water in our municipalities. Nobody every talks about a food commission that would actually oversee the distribution of food, check prices

[Page 5904]

of food in relation to cost of production, whether the consumer is getting a good deal or not. There's never any talk or thought much about that.

So since I've had such a history of being the Agriculture Critic, Mr. Speaker, I was there at the last days of the previous Liberal Government, in 1998, and then also to watch the Progressive Conservative Government come in, in 1999, I can remember emergency debates for the hog industry, actually a couple of them in this House. I know the BSE, the devastation it caused in the beef industry, it's still causing it. We're going to have no beef industry. As a matter of fact, we might as well say we have no beef industry in this province. We used to finish 8,000 head of cattle a year in Nova Scotia, Mr. Speaker. We bring in the equivalent of 9,000 head a month to feed the people.

We can grow forages, we can grow grass, we can grow more grass than they can in the Prairie Provinces, Mr. Speaker. We can have a grass-fed beef industry. We don't need to be hauling grain across the country and $200 million consumer dollars is what the people in Nova Scotia spend on those 9,000 head a month that come into this province.

If the members in this House were to think, what would be the impact - if you could wake up tomorrow morning and say, what can I do that would generate $200 million in rural Nova Scotia? One commodity, the beef industry, you could do it with the beef industry. You wouldn't do it overnight. There's a whole structural thing around processing, et cetera, that would have to take place, but it could be done. At least we could start and take the stats, maybe we would only get to 60 per cent and we would have to bring in 40 per cent. Maybe we would only get to 50 per cent, that would be $100 million. I see the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Heritage making some comments there and he's right, but there could be a start.

The hog industry in this province provided 65 per cent of our consumption - $100 million farm gate, $8 million in taxes, $8 million in taxes to the treasury of this province and it wasn't worth $8 million a year to keep it. It wasn't worth $8 million a year to the government to try to keep those jobs in rural Nova Scotia.

Now, Mr. Speaker, we have to think that none of this exists on its own, in the sense - the hog industry is a big consumer of grain. Once it is removed, then those other consumers of grain - like the chicken industry - are going to have to pay more because the grain prices are kept down by volume. So therefore, chicken costs will go up, or the price of chicken will go up, the price of eggs will go up, people will leave rural Nova Scotia, et cetera, it has a snowball effect.

[5:30 p.m.]

The point I wanted to make with my resolution, and I better soon make it, is that certainly the federation, and the minister will maybe dismiss my comments over 10 years, but certainly the Federation of Agriculture has tried again and again to make a point to the government. They had a primary production value chain, a recovery initiative. I think that

[Page 5905]

this was part of the transition report. The minister had a committee that worked on that for a year and basically went nowhere.

[Page 5906]

The GPI Atlantic had a report in 2001, which indicated the problems in the industry, Mr. Speaker. It had an agriculture and community strategy into the next decade. That was around 2003. That got set aside by the agriculture policy framework which was a federal initiative but the industry has tried over time to activate the government and work with the government for policy and nothing really has come of that. The state of the industry indicates that. So with those comments, I look forward to listening to the minister, hopefully, and the other members on the Opposition side.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Minister of Agriculture.

HON. BROOKE TAYLOR: Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the honourable member for Hants East for bringing forward Resolution No. 5357 and for making some reasoned comments regarding the situation as it pertains to the agriculture industry, a very important sector in Nova Scotia, especially rural Nova Scotia I like to say, and would think that it's supported by many of my colleagues. In fact, agriculture, forestry, mining and fishing are really the backbone of rural Nova Scotia, and as goes our resource-based sector, so does the economy of Nova Scotia.

We're very blessed in rural Nova Scotia that we do have a very active, sustainable agriculture community and we recognize, and I think the honourable member opposite recognizes, that the agriculture community does face many, many challenges. Having said that, I do want to say that the government has worked with the many stakeholders, including the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture. We've worked, actually for months, on a number of fronts trying to assist the industry to become more sustainable and more profitable. That is a challenge.

I know yesterday the Agriculture Critic for the Official Opposition raised a concern relative to the GPI study during Question Period. While in fact it was around the end of Question Period, there wasn't time to appropriately respond to some of the questions that were brought forward. I did point out at that time, not to incense the honourable member and his caucus, the fact of the matter is the House, as you would know, Mr. Speaker, in your capacity as Deputy Speaker and MLA for Clare, that this House was reconvened back on October 30th. Today is November 19th - actually, it's my son's birthday today - and yesterday was the first time that the Official Opposition brought forward even a question regarding agriculture. Everybody in Nova Scotia, in fact I will go so far as to say that everybody in the world, is affected by agriculture because everybody, to sustain, has to eat, has to eat to survive.

Mr. Speaker, I'm not suggesting that the NDP caucus and the honourable member for East Hants don't recognize the importance of agriculture, but I am surprised that they don't more highly prioritize agriculture because, in fact, it is one of the backbones that makes rural Nova Scotia the community that it is today. I do say that when the border closed (Interruptions) The honourable member for Hants East is correct in one thing, and really, I

[Page 5907]

can say to the honourable member that now he has seen the light, because the NDP representative in the Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley riding during the 2003 election said, oh, the mad cow situation, that's a federal issue, that has nothing to do with us.

In fact I have the clipping out of The ChronicleHerald, but the honourable member for Hants East told me, oh, no, she did not say that, she said - and he's shaking his head now again, but, Mr. Speaker, he admitted today and it was really heartening to hear the member admit, and I know he knows better because he wouldn't do this out at an agricultural meeting, a county federation meeting in Halifax, East Hants, or down in Brooklyn, down the Valley. He wouldn't dare make that comment as his colleague did who ran against me that the mad cow didn't - it has affected the farmers right across this province and right across North America, and it still continues to impact the agriculture sector.

But we are working with the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture; we're working on a "made in Nova Scotia" strategic framework that will examine how to turn these challenges into opportunities. We do know from our experiences this past summer that the supply management sector in Nova Scotia is doing fairly good, and I'm talking about dairy, egg, turkey and chicken producers - yes, all the poultry. Those sectors are doing reasonably well and they don't want me, as minister, or any government that's in pretending to come forward to tell them we know what is best for you. We know what's best for you, and we'll come in with a grandiose plan - they don't want that.

The mink industry doesn't want that, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker, and I think as the MLA for Clare you understand how important the mink sector is, and you understand as well how important the wine industry is. Blueberries. We have some success stories - it isn't all gloom and doom. Agriculture is important, and some sectors are thriving. So I will not, and this government will not, get in the face of agriculture and tell them we know what's best for you. We're simply not going to do that, Mr. Speaker.

What we will do is work with the sectors. We have worked with the hog industry, we have put more monetary, we have invested more in pork, more in beef, than any government per capita on a production base and across Canada. That includes Alberta, Manitoba, British Columbia, Ontario, P.E.I., our friends in Newfoundland and Labrador - right across this great country we have invested.

But you know the challenges that the GPI study identified - and the member knows this, it's not a problem unique to Nova Scotia. But he's asking with legitimacy, what is Nova Scotia doing, you know these results? He accused me of saying it's staggering. Well, I would tell him and that NDP caucus it is staggering, the losses the agriculture industry is sustaining. But we're working with them, we're trying to work through that. The department is developing a strategic policy framework intended to guide the department's operations and how the department will work in the future with these struggling agriculture sectors.

[Page 5908]

Again, I want to point out that we want to continue to be connected to and engage in dialogue with industry and other stakeholders, and we are working very, very carefully with the agricultural sector. You know there's no disputing that the leadership, the agriculture leadership through their president, Willy Versteeg, and members of the executive have met with the Premier and myself - I don't think that's any surprise to the agriculture critics - and we're working with them.

Mr. Speaker, you're holding up two fingers - I'm sure that doesn't mean two hours, that means only two minutes. I understand that. But I do want to say, and I don't want to bore the honourable member opposite who brought forward the resolution, I was born and raised on a dairy farm. I'm the proud product of a dairy farm in the Musquodoboit Valley, in the small community of Chaswood. Yes, we only milked perhaps 23 cows at the most, if you will, they kept us right up to quota, but we were very blessed. I believe the farmers today and their families make an incredible contribution to this province.

We want to continue working with them to come in with a plan. We're looking at what the federation has requested and we're looking at what they put forward. We haven't said yes and we haven't said no, but we are taking the request under very serious consideration because we want - as much as the member opposite wants - the various commodities to succeed, not just the successful ones. We want all the commodities in farming to succeed.

Something we have to be very, very concerned about, and we are concerned about, and we have put some funding in place and we'd like to put more funding in place, is in terms of succession planning. The average age of the farmer is 57 years old, and some of us can identify very closely with that age, as far as the demographic goes. We have to be concerned about the future of farming and this government, the people on this side of the House, and I would submit that people on all sides of the House, are concerned about the future of agriculture but we're concerned enough to sit down. We won't promise everything to the farmer because we can't. We have pressures coming from all sides, from all angles, we have pressures that are incredible.

Mr. [Deputy] Speaker, you know that from your time as Agriculture Minister and your time in government, that it's really hard to say yes all the time. So the NDP should, if I might, with all respect, wise up a little bit and listen to the agriculture community, and try to work with them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Kings West.

MR. LEO GLAVINE: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to have some time to speak to this resolution. I know the minister could have gone on much longer. The Critic for the NDP Party could as well.

[Page 5909]

I am pleased to join the debate today. This is a very, very important topic to all Nova Scotians. I have found over the last couple of years, more and more Nova Scotians have become very conscious, very cognizant of the fact that food supply, food security, those areas, the carbon footprint of trucking our food from California to Nova Scotia and those kinds of impacts, all of that coming together, as well as seeing with each census fewer farmers - fewer farms and fewer farmers - are the realities that are facing Nova Scotia.

I do want to take a moment, based on the resolution that the honourable member brought forward, especially in reference to the GPI report, I don't think it will hurt any of us to hear a few of the major points that were made in that report. First, when I heard it, I was startled by it. You want to question the integrity of the report when you hear things, for example, farmers in Nova Scotia are now earning less than at any time in the last four decades. How hard-hitting is that?

We all know that now one member of the farm couple, or the farm partners, need to work off the farm. We're even talking now dairy farmers, dairy farmers are at the point where, in fact, some member of the family is working. I know most of the dairy farmers in my riding and that is the reality that has taken place. So we've reached a very serious crossroad around the very future of agriculture and its impact on rural Nova Scotia.

In terms of the viability in Nova Scotia, we have seen a significant decline and the report did point out things like net farm income has dropped by an average of 91 per cent in Nova Scotia, and in 2007, reached the lowest level ever recorded. In the past few weeks I've met with people in the Kings County Federation of Agriculture, as well as the Hants County, and I think the member opposite did as well. The four or five representatives at that meeting gave one of those real reality checks, where everybody there was questioning whether in a year or two they could be around. If it wasn't for being probably the third, fourth, fifth generation farmer, and wanting to continue to farm the land, perhaps they would pack it in because of what they're going through, just to make a living, or just to get by and survive.

In Nova Scotia, the expense to income ratio increased from an average of 82 per cent in the 1970's, to an average of 97 per cent in the last decade. What this means is that if you exceed the 80 per cent threshold, estimated as needed for a healthy farm sector. In 2006, the expense to income ratio reached 100 per cent for Nova Scotia farms. So again, another critical indicator that is showing that the health of many of our farms, in fact, is very, very weak, and at that point of consideration of whether they do have a future. So this indicates that the prices paid to producers for their products are inadequate relative to rising input costs and are not keeping pace with farm expenses, this is, as we know of course, as each sector declines.

The minister talks about what has gone in the pork industry and yes there has been a considerable amount over the years but we had a program that was serving the hog industry, Larsens, and the other smaller abattoirs, just fine. In other words in good times you

[Page 5910]

had the grower, you had the processor, you had government all putting in a small amount of money, not a significant amount, that led to having a pool of dollars for this time of the year when the cycle goes low.

[5:45 p.m.]

Now all we have left in Nova Scotia are about six large producers. The six isowean growers are what we have left. I do want to appeal to the minister that they be given a full opportunity for at least another 12 months to see whether or not they can survive in that kind of approach. The minister did stand in this House and talk about that as the preferred model. The minister said this was his preferred model, for farmers going forward. Now we've already seen a number of them reach a point where they've closed down their operations, and the sows have been sold off to Quebec, and they're no longer in the business. In addition to those six, there are still a few that are direct from farm to home sales. There are a few others that are putting in to the small abattoirs but for all intents and purposes the industry that we have known is dead, it's over.

I would have really liked to have seen an opportunity given to those farmers, producing our own grains here to see whether or not there was viability, especially as the price of grain production goes up. While we may have a little downturn because of oil and so forth, we are going to see a high price for grains in the future, and perhaps growing our own for the hog industry as well as the beef industry, this could in fact impact on a possible better future than where we currently are.

One of the areas that I think has great promise, and I do applaud government for bringing in the Select Nova Scotia Campaign but I think the pace at which that program needs to develop, needs to pick up. We're putting all of our marbles into a provincial picnic and a lot of the advert TV dollars are placed there. Perhaps it may not have the returns that constant advertising over 12 months of the year would have - because after all we have Nova Scotia product 12 months of the year, we have a lot of products that are there. So I think we need to continue to accelerate the buy local campaign. It has helped some farmers substantially, I think it can help a great deal more and I believe in moving to the point where perhaps more farm land can be put in production, especially on small 10 to 20 acre lots that are dormant in many parts of this province - so that's an area.

Also I've been disappointed that the minister didn't give Kelco an honest go. I still think Kelco and that report has a lot of promise. It has worked, for example, in our neighbour province New Brunswick with the apple sector. I think we should have been given an opportunity here in Nova Scotia to make it work as well. So with that, Mr. Speaker, I take my place.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Pictou West.

[Page 5911]

MR. CHARLES PARKER: Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased tonight to be able to have a few minutes to join the debate here on Resolution No. 5357 and I thank my colleague, the member for Hants East for bringing this forward. It's certainly an important issue. Our agricultural industry is really falling on tough times and while there are some sectors that are doing reasonably well, there are many others that are hurting.

The minister calls the agriculture industry stable in this province and that is true in some segments but it's certainly not true in many others. The hog industry is in dire straits, you know, as the previous member mentioned, there's only about six major farms left in that industry in all of this province. I remember in Pictou County where I come from, there were a number of people who were in the hog industry for many years and I guess there's maybe one left on a part-time basis, the Toney River hybrid hog farm, and he's only able to survive because he has his own retail business that goes along with it.

Certainly the beef industry has been hurting. There were dozens and dozens of beef farmers in the area where I grew up in Durham, Greenhill, Alma, you know, throughout Pictou County and throughout Nova Scotia, and many of those are gone now. So that segment is not what it used to be and the horticulture industry, vegetable farmers, greenhouse growers, even the apple industry is facing tough times.

Mr. Speaker, we just can't let these segments of our agricultural industry fade away. They are vital, they're important. They contribute much to the rural economy of this province and, you know, it has been mentioned that the agriculture industry is the backbone or the cornerstone of many of our rural communities and that has been true but it's becoming less and less as the years go by. Yes, they do support many other industries in the community whether it's a restaurant, or a service station, or our schools, our churches, other small businesses rely on a strong agricultural industry.

Mr. Speaker, I know just as an example in my riding, I've had some farmers come to me who are finding it really, really tough. I can think of one individual who lives out near the Sundridge area of our county, who came to me almost in tears, and he had a nice home and a barn, lots of land, but his debt load was just more than he could handle and, unfortunately, he did lose his farm business and was no longer contributing to the farm community, to the rural community, no longer supporting other businesses in the area.

I think of farmers like George Smith whom I grew up with in Central West River, a strong beef producer. He's into Angus cattle at this time but a real struggle. He has been involved with his county federation and with the Nova Scotia Cattle Producers and trying to find a way to make ends meet, but the truth is that there's more debt than income, as an example. It's a real struggle for somebody like him.

I know of another farmer in the Durham area who has been in the horticulture business for many years and really, you know, is now starting to sell off some of his farmland

[Page 5912]

because he needs the money to pay his debts. So we're seeing farmland going into housing and going out of agriculture. That's just another sign, Mr. Speaker, that the industry is not stable, that farmers are disappearing and it's hurting our rural economy.

This resolution refers to the GPI findings and they are quite alarming, what's in there. Some of the factors have been mentioned but I just want to mention a couple of other statistics that are in the report. Net farm income has dropped by an average of 91 per cent since 1971. So there is now a negative net farm income. In other words, people have more expenses than they have income, and how long can you stay in business when your expenses outrun your dollars coming in?

I can remember growing up on a family farm in the Durham area and we used to grow a lot of vegetables, and table corn was one of the crops that we grew year after year. I can remember in high school and in university, in summer months picking the crops like that, and year after year it was $1 a dozen, is what my dad received at Sobeys or Superstore, or wherever it was. The next year it was $1 a dozen, the year after, it never went up, but certainly the expenses of operating were going up each year. Now, maybe corn is has gone up now to $5 or $6 a dozen, and maybe it's at a point where it's a bit more viable. People want to buy local, but when the farmer is not getting enough to meet his expenses, sooner or later they're just not going to be there. So you wonder, where did all the farmers go? They just weren't getting enough for their product to make ends meet.

Another stat here in the GPI Atlantic Report was that total farm debt increased by 146 per cent in Nova Scotia between 1971 and 2006, an alarming figure. It mentions that farming is no longer economically viable in Nova Scotia, so it's no longer stable. It's in a state of serious crisis. I'm hoping the minister is reading the report, is listening to what's in it and perhaps will take some comfort in knowing that what this side of the House is saying has some merit to it and that he will act upon what's in the report and try to stabilize the segments of the industry that are not doing so well - as I mentioned, beef, and hogs, and apples, and horticulture greenhouses and so on.

The number of farms continue to decline. Back between World War I and II, there was something like 50,000 farms in Nova Scotia, today there are only 3,795. We only have about 8 per cent of the farms in this province that we had at one time, so a huge decline in the number of farms, the number of farmers, the number of people in our rural communities that can support our other institutions - our schools, churches, other small businesses in the area. Part of the problem is that farmers are not getting a fair share of the food dollar. As I mentioned, table corn never went up for a number of years. I think people want to buy from the local farmer, they want to buy local produce. I certainly commend the minister and his department for the Select Nova Scotia program, but perhaps more could be done to allow for local products to be available in our local supermarkets.

[Page 5913]

People want to see local food, they want to be able to identify it. Part of the problem is when they go into the store, they can't tell whether it's from Alberta or California or Nova Scotia. They need better labels, better identification. That's one suggestion for a solution.

I guess the report mentions two or three other possible solutions, perhaps greater supply management, chickens and dairy are under that now; but is it possible to look at working with other provinces to see other food commodities in supply management, those are doing better than those that are not there at this time; selecting local products to be used in our institutions like our hospitals, schools, universities, other government agencies.

I think lots can be done. There are lots of problems. The industry is not stable, we really need a plan from this government to stabilize it. We do not want to see the industry fade away. We need to keep it strong in our rural communities. I hope the government, the minister and his department can work towards that. Thank you very much.

MR. SPEAKER: The time allotted for debate on Resolution No. 5357 has now expired.

The honourable Official Opposition House Leader.

MR. FRANK CORBETT: Thank you. That concludes our business for the day.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable Deputy Government House Leader.

MR. CHUCK PORTER: Mr. Speaker, business hours for tomorrow will be from 10:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. Following the daily routine, and Oral Questions Put By Members, we would be calling for Government Business, public bills in Committee of the Whole House, Public Bills for Second Reading, Private Members' Public Bills and depending on what comes back across from Law Amendments, we will ask for consent at the appropriate time.

MR. SPEAKER: The motion is to adjourn.

Is it agreed?

It is agreed.

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

The motion is carried.

The House will rise to sit again tomorrow between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.

[Page 5914]

[The House rose at 5:58 p.m.]

[Page 5915]

NOTICES OF MOTION UNDER RULE 32(3)

RESOLUTION NO. 5662

By: Mr. Stephen McNeil (Annapolis)

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

Whereas the Town of Annapolis Royal once again proved that they are the little town with big spirit, when they were awarded the Lieutenant Governor's Community Spirit Award this summer by Lieutenant Governor Mayann Francis; and

Whereas the Lieutenant Governor described Annapolis Royal as a leader in heritage preservation, and commended the citizens who work tirelessly to support arts and culture, including a vibrant community band, arts council and theatre; and

Whereas this small town has a mighty vision and a can do attitude that has garnered them many awards over the years, and will likely lead to many more.

Therefore be it resolved that members of this House of Assembly join me in recognizing the Town of Annapolis Royal's most recent achievement and encourage them to keep up the outstanding work.

RESOLUTION NO. 5663

By: Mr. Stephen McNeil (Annapolis)

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

Whereas the Bridgetown Branch No. 33 of the Royal Canadian Legion has a proud history of serving the needs of servicemen and servicewomen and ensuring the remembrance of those who sacrificed to secure our freedoms; and

Whereas over the past 80 years, Legion membership has grown from 14 founding members to 55 general members, 14 life members, 80 associate members and 27 affiliate members; and

Whereas this dedicated group of members gathered on October 25th, 2008, to mark this important milestone of 80 years of individual and collective service;

[Page 5916]

Therefore be it resolved that members of this House of Assembly join me in congratulating members of the Bridgetown Royal Canadian Legion Branch 33 on 80 years of service to their community.

RESOLUTION NO. 5664

By: Mr. Leo Glavine (Kings West)

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

Whereas the Kingston/Greenwood Under 14 Girls Tier 2B soccer team had an exceptional season, being named the Western Valley champions and making it all the way to the provincial finals; and

Whereas this was an extraordinary feat considering that the team often played short handed or with a minimal number of substitutions; and

Whereas this is an excellent example of how determination, great coaching, and dedicated volunteers can make a significant difference.

Therefore be it resolved that members of this House of Assembly congratulate the Greenwood Haines Hawks on a great season and wish them great success in seasons to come.

RESOLUTION NO. 5665

By: Hon. Karen Casey (Education)

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

Whereas the first order of business following school board elections is the selection of the board's chair by its members; and

Whereas Lavinia Parish-Zwicker was elected to Annapolis Valley Regional School Board by general election on October 18, 2008, and has been sworn in as its chair; and

Whereas Lavinia Parish-Zwicker will carry out her duties and guide policy and decision-making in the best interests of Annapolis Valley Regional School Board's 15,466 students;

[Page 5917]

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Lavinia Parish-Zwicker upon her election as chair of the Annapolis Valley School Board and recognize the leadership and value school boards add to the public education system.

RESOLUTION NO. 5666

By: Hon. Karen Casey (Education)

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

Whereas the first order of business following school board elections is the selection of the board's chair by its members; and

Whereas Lorne Green was elected to Cape Breton-Victoria Regional School Bard by general election on October 18th, 2008, and has been sworn in as its chair; and

Whereas Lorne Green will carry out his duties and guide policy and decision-making in the best interests of Cape Breton-Victoria Regional School Board's 16,418 students;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Lorne Green upon his election as the chair of the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional School Board and recognize the leadership and value school boards add to the public education system.

RESOLUTION NO. 5667

By: Hon. Karen Casey (Education)

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

Whereas the first order of business following school board elections is the selection of the board's chair by its members; and

Whereas Trudy Thompson was elected to Chignecto-Central Regional School Board by general election on October 18, 2008, and has been sworn in as its chair; and

Whereas Trudy Thompson will carry out her duties and guide policy and decision-making in the best interests of Chignecto-Central Regional School Board's 23,279 students;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Trudy Thompson upon her election as chair of the Chignecto-Central Regional School Board and recognize the leadership and value school boards add to the public education system.

[Page 5918]

RESOLUTION NO. 5668

By: Hon. Karen Casey (Education)

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

Whereas the first order of business following school board elections is the selection of the board's chair by its members; and

Whereas Kenneth Gaudet was elected to Conseil scolaire acadien provincial by general election on October 18, 2008, and has been sworn in as its chair; and

Whereas Kenneth Gaudet will carry out his duties and guide policy and decision-making in the best interests of Conseil scolaire acadien provincial's 4,257 students;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Kenneth Gaudet upon his election as chair of the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial and recognize the leadership and value school boards add to the public education system.

RESOLUTION NO. 5669

By: Hon. Karen Casey (Education)

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

Whereas the first order of business following school board elections is the selection of the board's chair by its members; and

Whereas Irvine Carvery was elected to Halifax Regional School Board by general election on October 18, 2008, and has been sworn in as its chair; and

Whereas Irvine Carvery will carry out his duties and guide policy and decision-making in the best interests of Halifax Regional School Board's 52,524 students;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Irvine Carvery upon his election as chair of the Halifax Regional School Board and recognize the leadership and value school boards add to the public education system.

[Page 5919]

RESOLUTION NO. 5670

By: Hon. Karen Casey (Education)

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

Whereas the first order of business following school board elections is the selection of the board's chair by its members; and

Whereas Mary Jess MacDonald was elected to Strait Regional School Board by general election on October 18, 2008, and has been sworn in as its chair; and

Whereas Mary Jess MacDonald will carry out her duties and guide policy and decision-making in the best interests of Strait Regional School Board's 7,888 students;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Mary Jess MacDonald upon her election as chair of the Strait Regional School Board recognize the leadership and value school boards add to the public education system.

RESOLUTION NO. 5671

By: Hon. Karen Casey (Education)

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

Whereas the first order of business following school board elections is the selection of the board's chair by its members; and

Whereas Elliott Payzant was elected to South Shore Regional School Board by general election on October 18, 2008, and has been sworn in as its chair; and

Whereas Elliott Payzant will carry out his duties and guide policy and decision-making in the best interests of South Shore Regional School Board's 7,903 students;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Elliott Payzant upon his election as chair of the South Shore Regional School Board and recognize the leadership and value school boards add to the public education system.

[Page 5920]

RESOLUTION NO. 5672

By: Hon. Karen Casey (Education)

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

Whereas the first order of business following school board elections is the selection of the board's chair by its members; and

Whereas Faye Haley was elected to Tri-County School Board by general election on October 18, 2008, and has been sworn in as its chair; and

Whereas Faye Haley will carry out her duties and guide policy and decision-making in the best interests of Tri-County Regional School Board's 7,568 students;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Faye Haley upon her election as chair of the Tri-County Regional School Board recognize the leadership and value school boards add to the public education system.

RESOLUTION NO. 5673

By: Hon. Leonard Goucher (Immigration)

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

Whereas the Dianna H. Bleakney Guild is a group of volunteers who provide refreshments and support at the Nova Scotia Cancer Centre, to cancer patients who are in stressful situations; and

Whereas the Dianna H. Bleakney Guild is celebrating its 35th Anniversary of providing this comfort and care at the Nova Scotia Cancer Centre; and

Whereas the volunteers of the guild go above and beyond the call of duty to console patients and ease the stress they face;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House thank Will Sheridan for his involvement with the guild and the work done for patients suffering with cancer.

[Page 5921]

RESOLUTION NO. 5674

By: Mr. David Wilson (Glace Bay)

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

Whereas the Glace Bay Citizens Service League celebrated its 40th Anniversary this year; and

Whereas this group of Glace Bay residents has been doing great work for their community, from their humble beginnings of having no permanent address to their current operation out of St. Mary's Parish; and

Whereas under the direction and management of Mrs. Elinor McArel, the Citizens Service League has grown significantly to include many services such as Meals on Wheels, a clothing depot, health care equipment loan program, and offering various courses and workshops;

Therefore be it resolved that members of the House of Assembly recognize the great work of the Glace Bay Citizens Service League and congratulate them on their 40th Anniversary.

RESOLUTION NO. 5675

By: Ms. Joan Massey (Dartmouth East)

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

Whereas Bridgeway Academy recently held a Silver Lining Soiree Auction which raised over $75,000; and

Whereas Bridgeway Academy is a school that teaches the Nova Scotia education curriculum to children with learning disabilities aged five to nineteen; and

Whereas the school's goal is to ensure each student receives the education he or she deserves and is capable of achieving;

Therefore be it resolved that this Legislative Assembly congratulate Bridgeway Academy and all those who helped make the Silver Lining Soiree a success.

[Page 5922]

RESOLUTION NO. 5676

By: Ms. Joan Massey (Dartmouth East)

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

Whereas 11 students from the Halifax Regional School Board received Lieutenant Governor's Education Medals at a ceremony on May 25, 2008; and

Whereas the Lieutenant Governor's Medal is given to students who demonstrate leadership, service, and commendable academic performance; and

Whereas Jason McConnery from Prince Andrew High School was awarded the Lieutenant Governor's Medal in May 2008;

Therefore be it resolved that this Legislative Assembly congratulate Jason McConnery for his efforts and for receiving the Lieutenant Governor's Award and wish him all the best in his future endeavours.

RESOLUTION NO. 5677

By: Ms. Joan Massey (Dartmouth East)

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

Whereas 11 students from the Halifax Regional School Board received Lieutenant Governor's Education Medals at a ceremony on May 25, 2008; and

Whereas the Lieutenant Governor's Medal is given to students who demonstrate leadership, service, and commendable academic performance; and

Whereas Jessica Campbell from Prince Andrew High School was awarded the Lieutenant Governor's Medal in May 2008;

Therefore be it resolved that this Legislative Assembly congratulate Jessica Campbell for her efforts and for receiving the Lieutenant Governor's Medal and wish her all the best in her future endeavours.

[Page 5923]

RESOLUTION NO. 5678

By: Ms. Joan Massey (Dartmouth East)

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

Whereas the Scarlet Soiree, a collective group of women from the community, held a celebrity purse auction on May 21, 2008; and

Whereas the event raised over $18,000 for HomeBridge Youth Society; and

Whereas HomeBridge continues to provide services and opportunities for youth at risk;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate the HomeBridge Youth Society and the Scarlet Soiree for all their hard work and efforts in supporting our youth.

RESOLUTION NO. 5679

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Bear Point resident, Carolyn Crowell, has written a book, Do You Remember When, which explores the histories of businesses in the county; and

Whereas the book features research done by Carolyn along with 156 calendars of county businesses dating back to the early 1900s; and

Whereas Carolyn has donated copies of the book to the Chapel Hill Museum, the Cape Sable Island Historical Society, the Shelburne County Museum and both Clark's Harbour and Barrington Visitor Information Centres;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Carolyn Crowell for putting in the time and effort to keep the histories of local businesses alive and for the new release of her book, Do You Remember When.

[Page 5924]

RESOLUTION NO. 5680

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Brenda Bancroft and Laura Jeffrey recently formed the team, Handful of Hope, to raise money to help in the hope to make a difference for the future of women living with and fighting breast cancer; and

Whereas for the first time ever, the Weekend to End Breast Cancer will be holding its 60 km walk in the province to raise money to support critical breast cancer research; and

Whereas Jeffrey is walking for her mother who was diagnosed with breast cancer, and Bancroft and Jeffrey know that we've all been touched by someone who has breast cancer or had a scare, and each person who walks must raise $2,000 before the August 16th walk so we can raise money and get in shape at the same time;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Brenda Bancroft and Laura Jeffrey for forming the team, Handful of Hope, raising money for the research to make a difference for the future of women living with and fighting cancer.

RESOLUTION NO. 5681

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Abbey Messenger of Barrington Municipal High School was awarded a $2,400 scholarship from Information Technology's Your Future Scholarship on June 20th , 2008; and

Whereas Abbey had demonstrated a passion for interest and learning while pursuing a career in Information Technology; and

Whereas the scholarship program is generating awareness and opportunities and is dedicated to investing in the students of Nova Scotia to become skilled IT professionals;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulates Abbey Messenger of Barrington Municipal High School for being awarded a $2,400 scholarship in the 2007-08 Information Technology's Your Future Scholarship on June 20th, 2008.

[Page 5925]

RESOLUTION NO. 5682

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Alex Pierce, a native to Shelburne County, was named to The Best Canadian Poetry in English for 2008; and

Whereas her poem - To Float, To Drown, To Close Up, To Open A Throat - was printed in Arc Magazine and named one of the best 50 poems printed in Canada; and

Whereas Alex's work has previously been broadcast on CBC Radio, has received an honourable mention in Arc's Poem of the Year contest and has received close consideration for the CBC Literary Awards;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Alex Pierce for being named to The Best Canadian Poetry in English for 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5683

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Andrea Mood Nickerson founded the Forest Ridge Academy running club to give students an opportunity to become more physically active; and

Whereas the group met twice a week in order to train for the Youth Run at the Bluenose International Marathon on May 17th in Halifax; and

Whereas the group promotes exercise and healthy living among adults;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Andrea Mood Nickerson for founding the Forest Ridge Academy running club.

[Page 5926]

RESOLUTION NO. 5684

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Andrew Hunt, player for the Clark's Harbour Mosquito Foggies, has helped to bring the team to victory in the District Playoffs on August 9th, 2008; and

Whereas the team pulled off an exciting two game sweep in their best of three games district showdown with Yarmouth; and

Whereas the Foggies were then able to compete in the Mosquito A Provincials from August 22nd to August 24th, 2008, in Bridgewater;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulates Andrew Hunt, player for the Clark's Harbour Mosquito Foggies, for helping to bring the team to victory in the District Playoffs on August 9th, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5685

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Anne Dendunnen, an Australian woman who has been searching for her biological father for 62 years, discovered that she is the daughter of Lockport native and Canadian soldier Moyle Edwin Williams; and

Whereas Anne has dedicated countless hours to tracing her father back to the South Shore; and

Whereas the relatives of Moyle Edwin Williams welcomed Anne into their family and were finally able to provide closure in her search;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulates Anne Dendunnen for her tireless efforts to reconnect with her family roots in Shelburne County.

[Page 5927]

RESOLUTION NO. 5686

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Austin Bower of the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Association won the gold medal in the Atom B League Tournament on March 8-9, 2008, held in Chester, Nova Scotia; and

Whereas hockey is an enthusiastic and passionate sport that requires skill, devotion, hard work and dedication; and

Whereas the coach Derrick Penny and assistant coaches, Travis Devine and Nicole Jones, are very proud of their team for their great sportsmanship and hard work in succeeding to win the tournament;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Austin Bower of the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Association Atom B Team for winning the gold medal in the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Atom B Team Tournament held in Chester on March 8-9, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5687

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Babe Smith of Shelburne County competed in the Ice Hockey 65+ division winning second for the Silver Medal in Dieppe, New Brunswick, on August 26-30, 2008; and

Whereas Babe also won a gold medal in the 60 and over division at the Monctonian tournament in February, 2008; and

Whereas all players in the hockey competitions ranged in age from 65-82 years old;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulates Babe Smith of Shelburne County for competing in the Ice Hockey 65+ division winning second for the Silver Medal in Dieppe, New Brunswick, on August 26-30, 2008.

[Page 5928]

RESOLUTION NO. 5688

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas the Shelburne County Bantam A Flames won 1st place in the Accord division at the Shearwater East Dartmouth Minor Hockey Association's annual SEDMHA tournament held between April 3rd and 6th, 2008; and

Whereas hockey is a team sport requiring skill and dedication; and

Whereas the Flames performed well all season, winning first place in the Shelburne Fall Classic, the Truro KFC Christmas Tournament, the SCMHA Wickens Cup, and the Joe Lamontagne hosted by Cole Harbour;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate the Shelburne County Bantam A Flames for winning 1st place in the Accord division at the SEDMHA tournament held between April 3rd and 6th, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5689

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas the Barrington Barons track and field team saw over 50 of their athletes advance to the regional competition held in Bridgetown from May 30 to May 31, 2008; and

Whereas the Barons won district banners in the junior, intermediate, and senior divisions; and

Whereas Barrington's student turnout for the event was the largest in years;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate the Barrington Barons track and field team for excelling at districts and advancing many of their athletes to the regional competition held in Bridgetown from May 30 to May 31, 2008.

[Page 5929]

RESOLUTION NO. 5690

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas the Barrington Barons won first place in the Nova Scotia School Athletic Federation Division 2 Boys Championship held on the weekend of March 28th to March 30th; and

Whereas hockey is a team sport which requires skill and dedication; and

Whereas the Barons posted a perfect record in the tournament in order to bring the title to Barrington for the second time in three years;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate the Barrington Barons on winning first place in the Nova Scotia School Athletic Federation Division 2 Boys Championship held between March 28 and March 30, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5691

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas more than 100 people and eight businesses participated in the Barrington Wishmakers Parade in Barrington Passage on October 4, 2008; and

Whereas just over $6,000 was raised for the Children's Wish Foundation, which helps dreams come true for children suffering from life-threatening illnesses; and

Whereas the parade included numerous family-orientated events and fundraisers by local businesses and their staff;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate more than 100 people and eight businesses that participated in the Barrington Wishmakers Parade in Barrington Passage on October 4, 2008.

[Page 5930]

RESOLUTION NO. 5692

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Bayside Home in Barrington Passage celebrated "the kickoff " on September 9, 2008, as part of Continuing Care Month; and

Whereas September 2008 marked the 5th Annual Nova Scotia Association of Health Organizations -sponsored Continuing Care Month campaign; and

Whereas continuing care programs and services help people maximize their independence, promote well-being, sustain and enhance quality of life, and supports families to meet the ongoing care of loved ones;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly recognize Bayside Home in Barrington Passage for its participation in the kickoff, part of Continuing Care Month on September 9, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5693

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Barrington Municipal High School Green Team has been working with the Barrington River Stewardship Association to promote health in monitoring the Barrington River system and its surrounding watershed; and

Whereas the Green Team removed quite a few pieces of metal left from the bridge construction, and monitored temperature and PH levels on a monthly basis; and

Whereas the Barrington River is the largest source of fresh water flowing into the Barrington Bay estuary;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate the Barrington Municipal High School Green Team for working with the Barrington River Stewardship Association to promote health in monitoring the Barrington River system and its surrounding watershed.

[Page 5931]

RESOLUTION NO. 5694

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Barrington Municipal High School students and staff volunteers and special guests participated in the grand opening of the new soccer field on Friday, October 17, 2008; and

Whereas it was a momentous event that the school and community eagerly anticipated since the school opened in 2006; and

Whereas the ribbon was held by soccer captains and cut by the Student Council Co-Presidents Brock Zinck and Brittany Wile;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly recognize the Barrington Municipal High School students and staff f volunteers and special guests who participated in the grand opening of the new soccer field on Friday, October 17, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5695

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Brennan Goreham, assistant coach for the Clark's Harbour Mosquito Foggies, helped to bring the team to victory in the district playoffs on August 9, 2008; and

Whereas the team pulled off an exciting two- game sweep in their best of three games district showdown with Yarmouth; and

Whereas the Foggies were then able to compete in the Mosquito A Provincials from August 22 to August 24, 2008, in Bridgewater;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulates Brennan Goreham, assistant coach for the Clark's Harbour Mosquito Foggies, for helping to bring the team to victory in the district playoffs on August 9, 2008

[Page 5932]

RESOLUTION NO. 5696

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Brittany Ann Wile of Barrington Municipal High School was a recipient of the Lieutenant Governor's Medal, presented by the Honourable Mayann E. Francis on June 4, 2008; and

Whereas Brittany has displayed commitment and dedication while continuing to work in the service of others; and

Whereas the 2007/2008 medal recipients have set an exemplary and positive example for other students and community;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulates Brittany Ann Wile of Barrington Municipal High School for receiving the Lieutenant Governor's Medal on June 4, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5697

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Brogan Simpson, player for the Clark's Harbour Mosquito Foggies, helped to bring the team to victory in the district playoffs on August 9, 2008; and

Whereas the team pulled off an exciting two-game sweep in their best of three games district showdown with Yarmouth; and

Whereas the Foggies were then able to compete in the Mosquito A Provincials from August 22 to August 24, 2008, in Bridgewater;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulates Brogan Simpson, player for the Clark's Harbour Mosquito Foggies, for helping to bring the team to victory in the district playoffs on August 9, 2008.

[Page 5933]

RESOLUTION NO. 5698

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Calvin Chase-Penney, along with his team, was the first- place winner of the Nova Scotia Youth Bowling Association NSYBA Tournament held on March 30, 2008, at the Island Lanes Ltd. in Clark's Harbour; and

Whereas bowling is a team sport requiring skill and dedication; and

Whereas Calvin has spent time in practice to perfect his game, in order for his team to be number one in this provincial tournament;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Calvin Chase-Penney on winning first place in the Nova Scotia Youth Bowling Association NSYBA Tournament held on March 30, 2008, at the Island Lanes Ltd. in Clark's Harbour.

RESOLUTION NO. 5699

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Carmen Shaw of the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Association won the gold medal in the Atom B League tournament on March 8th and March 9th, 2008, held in Chester, Nova Scotia; and

Whereas hockey is an enthusiastic and passionate sport that requires skill, devotion, hard work and dedication; and

Whereas the coach Derrick Penny and assistant coaches, Travis Devine and Nichole Jones, are very proud of their team for their great sportsmanship and hard work in winning the tournament;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Carmen Shaw of the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Association Atom B team for winning the gold medal in the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Atom B team tournament held in Chester on March 8th and March 9th, 2008.

[Page 5934]

RESOLUTION NO. 5700

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Catherine Keeler, a grade 12 student at Shelburne Regional High School, won third place in the Senior 11/12 Division of the Tri-County Regional Science and Technology Expo 2008 with her Acidic Foods & Your Teeth project; and

Whereas 106 registered participants from grades 7-12 throughout the Tri-County Region participated in this science fair; and

Whereas the winners from the regional competition participated in the Canada-wide National Science Fair to be held May 10-18, 2008;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Catherine Keeler winning third place in the grade 11/12 division with her Acidic Foods & Your Teeth project at the Tri-County Regional Science and Technology Expo 2008, held at the NSCC Burridge Campus on March 26th, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5701

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas the Chapel Hill Historical Society is creating a Wall of Honor for War Veterans from the communities of Shag Harbour, Bear Point, Doctors Cove and Atwoods Brook; and

Whereas these veterans from World War I to present day will be immortalized; and

Whereas the respect and honor so well deserved will be shown for the veterans and their families through plaques commemorating each veteran at the museum;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly commends the Chapel Hill Historical Society for their initiative in creating a Wall of Honor for War Veterans from the communities of Shag Harbour, Bear Point, Doctors Cove and Atwoods Brook.

[Page 5935]

RESOLUTION NO. 5702

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Chelsea Kenney, along with her team, was the first place winner of the Nova Scotia Youth Bowling Association's NSYBA Tournament, held on March 30th, 2008, at the Island Lanes Ltd. in Clark's Harbour; and

Whereas bowling is a team sport requiring skill and dedication; and

Whereas Chelsea has spent time in practice to perfect her game in order for her team to be number one in this provincial tournament;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Chelsea Kenney on winning first place in the Nova Scotia Youth Bowling Association's NSYBA Tournament, held on March 30th, 2008, at the Island Lanes Ltd. in Clark's Harbour.

RESOLUTION NO. 5703

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Christopher Goreham, player for the Clark's Harbour Mosquito Foggies, has helped to bring the team to victory in the district playoffs on August 9th, 2008; and

Whereas the team pulled off an exciting two game sweep in their best of three games district showdown with Yarmouth; and

Whereas the Foggies were then able to compete in the Mosquito A Provincials from August 22nd to August 24th in Bridgewater;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulates Christopher Goreham, player for the Clark's Harbour Mosquito Foggies, for helping to bring the team to victory in the district playoffs on August 9th, 2008.

[Page 5936]

RESOLUTION NO. 5704

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Cindy Nickerson, chairperson of the UFO Incident Society, organized the Shag Harbour UFO Incident Festival held on August 8 and 9, 2008; and

Whereas more than 150 people visited the community UFO Centre during the two-day festival, including attendees from as far away as New York, Massachusetts, and England; and

Whereas since Shag Harbour began promoting the incident in 2001, the community has been the focus of several documentaries and numerous festivals attracting worldwide attention;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Cindy Nickerson for her hard work and dedication to the Shag Harbour UFO Incident Society.

RESOLUTION NO. 5705

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas the Clark's Harbour Foggies Bantam A baseball team qualified for the 2008 provincial championship tournament in Amherst; and

Whereas the Foggies put forth great effort in order to beat Yarmouth two games straight and advance to the championship tournament; and

Whereas baseball is a team sport requiring skill and dedication;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulates the Clark's Harbour Foggies Bantam A baseball team for qualifying for the 2008 provincial championship tournament in Amherst.

[Page 5937]

RESOLUTION NO. 5706

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Colin Belliveau of the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Association won the gold medal in the Atom B League Tournament on March 8 and 9, 2008, held in Chester, Nova Scotia; and

Whereas hockey is an enthusiastic and passionate sport that requires skill, devotion, hard work and dedication; and

Whereas the coach Derrick Penny and assistant coaches Travis Devine and Nichole Jones are very proud of their team for their great sportsmanship and hard work in winning the tournament;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Colin Belliveau of the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Association Atom B team for winning the gold medal in the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Atom B Team Tournament held in Chester on March 8 and 9, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5707

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Daniel Cameron of the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Association won the gold medal in the Atom B League Tournament on March 8 and 9, 2008, held in Chester, Nova Scotia; and

Whereas hockey is an enthusiastic and passionate sport that requires skill, devotion, hard work and dedication; and

Whereas the coach Derrick Penny and assistant coaches Travis Devine and Nichole Jones are very proud of their team for their great sportsmanship and hard work in winning the tournament;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Daniel Cameron of the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Association Atom B team for winning the gold

[Page 5938]

medal in the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Atom B Team Tournament held in Chester on March 8 and 9, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5708

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Danisha Nickerson, along with her team, was the first-place winner of the Nova Scotia Youth Bowling Association NSYBA Tournament held on March 30, 2008, at the Island Lanes Ltd. in Clark's Harbour; and

Whereas bowling is a team sport requiring skill and dedication; and

Whereas Danisha has spent time in practice to perfect her game in order for her team to be number one in this provincial tournament;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Danisha Nickerson for winning 1st place in the Nova Scotia Youth Bowling Association NSYBA Tournament held on March 30, 2008, at the Island Lanes Ltd. in Clark's Harbour.

RESOLUTION NO. 5709

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Dawson Donaldson, a player for the Clark's Harbour Mosquito Foggies, has helped to bring the team to victory in the district playoffs on August 9, 2008; and

Whereas the team pulled off an exciting two game sweep in their best of three games district showdown with Yarmouth; and

Whereas the Foggies were then able to compete in the Mosquito A Provincials from August 22nd to August 24th in Bridgewater;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulates Dawson Donaldson, a player for the Clark's Harbour Mosquito Foggies, for helping to bring the team to victory in the district playoffs on August 9, 2008.

[Page 5939]

RESOLUTION NO. 5710

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas the Island Days Dory Races in Clark's Harbour were held on August 16, 2008, with competitions held in four divisions; and

Whereas in the Women's Race Division, Deedee Nickerson and Nicole Jones placed second in the competition; and

Whereas dory racing promotes Maritime heritage, healthy lifestyles and family competition and fun;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Deedee Nickerson and Nicole Jones for placing second in the Women's Race Division at the Island Days Dory Races in Clark's Harbour held on August 16, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5711

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Demiah Symonds of the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Association won the gold medal in the Atom B League tournament on March 8 and March 9, 2008, held in Chester, Nova Scotia; and

Whereas hockey is an enthusiastic and passionate sport that requires skill, devotion, hard work and dedication; and

Whereas coach Derrick Penny and assistant coaches, Travis Devine and Nichole Jones, are very proud of their team for their great sportsmanship and hard work in winning the tournament;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Demiah Symonds of the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Association Atom B team for winning the gold medal in the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Atom B team tournament held in Chester on March 8 and March 9, 2008.

[Page 5940]

RESOLUTION NO. 5712

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Dylan Ross, a player for the Clark's Harbour Mosquito Foggies, has helped to bring the team to victory in the district playoffs on August 9, 2008; and

Whereas the team pulled off an exciting two game sweep in their best of three games district showdown with Yarmouth; and

Whereas the Foggies were then able to compete in the Mosquito A Provincials from August 22nd to August 24th in Bridgewater;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulates Dylan Ross, a player for the Clark's Harbour Mosquito Foggies, for helping to bring the team to victory in the district playoffs on August 9, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5713

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Ethan Dixon of the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Association won the gold medal in the Atom B League tournament on March 8 and March 9, 2008, held in Chester, Nova Scotia; and

Whereas hockey is an enthusiastic and passionate sport that requires skill, devotion, hard work and dedication; and

Whereas the coach Derrick Penny, and assistant coaches, Travis Devine and Nichole Jones, are very proud of their team for their great sportsmanship and hard work in winning the tournament;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Ethan Dixon of the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Association Atom B team for winning the gold medal in the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Atom B League tournament held in Chester on March 8 and March 9, 2008.

[Page 5941]

RESOLUTION NO. 5714

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Ethan Nickerson of the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Association won the gold medal in the Atom B League Tournament on March 8 and 9, 2008, held in Chester, Nova Scotia; and

Whereas hockey is an enthusiastic and passionate sport that requires skill, devotion, hard work and dedication; and

Whereas the coach Derrick Penny and assistance coaches Travis Devine and Nichole Jones are very proud of their team for their great sportsmanship and hard work in winning the tournament;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Ethan Nickerson of the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Association Atom B Team for winning the gold medal in the Shelburne County Minor Atom B League Tournament held in Chester on March 8 and 9, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5715

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Forest Ridge Academy participated in the Stand Up Against Bullying Day September 11, 2008; and

Whereas all the Academy students dressed in pink shirts, pink armbands and headbands in the stand against bullies; and

Whereas the students participated in presentations and discussions which focused on dealing with bullies, feelings and cyber bullying;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Forest Ridge Academy for their participation in the Stand Up Against Bullying Day September 11, 2008.

[Page 5942]

RESOLUTION NO. 5716

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Etuk Oqallak of Shelburne County Minor Hockey Association won the gold medal in the Atom B League Tournament on March 8 and 9, 2008, held in Chester, Nova Scotia; and

Whereas hockey is an enthusiastic and passionate sport that requires skill, devotion and dedication; and

Whereas the coach Derrick Penny and assistance coaches Travis Devine and Nichole Jones are very proud of their team for their great sportsmanship and hard work in winning the tournament;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Etuk Oqallak of the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Association Atom B team for winning the gold medal in the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Atom B League Tournament held in Chester on March 8 and 9, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5717

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Gabriel Penney of the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Association won the gold medal in the Atom B League Tournament on March 8 and 9, 2008, held in Chester, Nova Scotia; and

Whereas hockey is an enthusiastic and passionate sport that requires skill, devotion, hard work and dedication; and

Whereas the coach Derrick Penny and assistance coaches Travis Devine and Nichole Jones are very proud of their team for their great sportsmanship and hard work in winning the tournament;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Gabriel Penney of the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Association Atom B team for winning the gold medal

[Page 5943]

in the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Atom B League Tournament held in Chester on March 8 to 9, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5718

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Gary Black of Shelburne County competed in the Ice Hockey 65+ Division winning second for the Silver Medal in Dieppe, New Brunswick, on August 26-30, 2008; and

Whereas all players in these hockey competitions ranged in age from 65-82 years old; and

Whereas Gary also won a gold medal in the 60 and over division at the Monctonian tournament in February, 2008;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Gary Black of Shelburne County for competing in the Ice Hockey 65+ Division winning second for the silver medal in Dieppe, New Brunswick, on August 26-30, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5719

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Gary Blades, a team member at the River Hills Golf Course, participated in a 6-4 record win for the Goudey Cup Annual event at the Yarmouth Links Golf Course on October 12, 2008; and

Whereas this is the 9th Goudey Cup win for River Hills; and

Whereas the competition was started 17 years ago to honour a Yarmouth native, the late Creighton Goudey;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Gary Blades for his participation in the Goudey Cup Annual Tournament at the Yarmouth Links Golf Course on October 12, 2008.

[Page 5944]

RESOLUTION NO. 5720

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Gloria Buree of Shelburne has been selected as the Volunteer of the Year 2008 by the Town of Shelburne where she attended the Provincial Volunteer Awards ceremony on April 24, 2008; and

Whereas Gloria is an active volunteer at the local St. Thomas Church, participating on various committees, the Shelburne Historical Society, Cox building team, Shelburne County Museum Complex, Shelburne County Archives and Genealogical Society, and the Discover Shelburne County Tourism Association; and

Whereas Gloria is the secretary of the town's Waterfront Development Committee and the co-chair for the Federation of Nova Scotia Heritage;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulates Gloria Buree of Shelburne, who was selected as the Volunteer of the Year 2008 by the Town of Shelburne, where she attended the Provincial Volunteer Awards ceremony on April 24, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5721

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Gregory Duggan of the Island Barrington Fire Department, was awarded with a Scroll of Recognition from the Municipality of Barrington at the Shelburne County Mutual Aid Supper for his 22 years of service to the fire department on March 8, 2008; and

Whereas volunteer firefighters give freely of their time to train for and respond to emergencies, and have chosen to make a long-term commitment to their local fire department; and

Whereas it is important to recognize the commitment and dedication all firefighters make to ensure the safety and well-being of their communities;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Gregory Duggan of the Island Barrington Volunteer Fire Department for his Scroll of Recognition from the

[Page 5945]

Municipality of Barrington for his 22 years of service to the fire department on March 8, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5722

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Greg Perry, of the Barrington Barons Junior Boys Basketball Team, won the Shelburne/Yarmouth District Championships on Wednesday, February 20, 2008; and

Whereas the Barons defeated the undefeated Yarmouth Jr. Bulldogs by a score of 46-42 and then defeated the Lockeport Greenwaves with a score of 46-32 in the championship game; and

Whereas this is the first district championship win for the Barrington Barons since the 1900's;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Greg Perry of the Barrington Barons Junior Boys Basketball Team for his participation in winning the Shelburne/Yarmouth District Championships on Wednesday, February 20, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5723

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Guy Tipton and Matt King are the 2008 Canadian Champions winning the Fireball World Championships of sailing dinghies at the regatta in Ottawa on September 5 - 7, 2008; and

Whereas Tipton and King were described as the class of the field by the regatta organizer Mike McEvoy; and

Whereas Tipton and King plan to attend the North American Fireball Championships in Kingston, Ontario, in 2009;

[Page 5946]

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Guy Tipton and Matt King, the 2008 Canadian Champions for winning the Fireball World Championships of sailing dinghies at the regatta in Ottawa on September 5 to 7, 2008.

[Page 5947]

RESOLUTION NO. 5724

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas the Island Days Dory Races in Clark's Harbour was held on August 16, 2008, with competitions held in four divisions; and

Whereas in the Seniors Row Division, Hazen Cunningham and Angus Atkinson placed second in the competition; and

Whereas dory racing promotes Maritime heritage, healthy lifestyles and family competition and fun;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Hazen Cunningham and Angus Atkinson for placing second in the Seniors Row Division at the Island Days Dory Races in Clark's Harbour held on August 16, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5725

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Holden Nickerson, along with his team, was the first place winner of the Nova Scotia Youth Bowling Association's NSYBA Tournament held on March 3, 2008, at the Island Lanes Ltd. in Clark's Harbour; and

Whereas bowling is a team sport requiring skill and dedication; and

Whereas Holden has spent time in practice to perfect his game in order for his team to be number one in this provincial tournament;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Holden Nickerson on winning first place in the Nova Scotia Youth Bowling Association's NSYBA Tournament held on March 30, 2008, at the Island Lanes Ltd. in Clark's Harbour.

[Page 5948]

RESOLUTION NO. 5726

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas the Hubbubgo Youth Concert took place at the Osprey Art Centre in Shelburne on April 5 to 7, 2008; and

Whereas the concert was produced and performed by a variety of young talent in Shelburne County, including a variety of solo and group musical acts; and

Whereas the money raised at the show went to other Osprey youth functions including next year's Hubbubgo;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulates the Hubbubgo Youth Committee for organizing and performing in the Hubbubgo Youth Concert held on April 5 to 7, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5727

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Isaiah Nickerson, along with his team, was the first place winner of the Nova Scotia Youth Bowling Association's NSYBA Tournament held on March 30th, 2008, at the Island Lanes Ltd. in Clark's Harbour; and

Whereas bowling is a team sport requiring skill and dedication; and

Whereas Isaiah has spent time in practice to perfect his game in order for his team to be number one in this provincial tournament;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of assembly congratulate Isaiah Nickerson on winning first place in the Nova Scotia Youth Bowling Association's NSYBA Tournament held on March 30, 2008, at the Island Lanes Ltd. in Clark's Harbour.

[Page 5949]

RESOLUTION NO. 5728

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Jack Fry of Barrington Passage, Shelburne County, has been participating in the Terry Fox Run for the past 27 years, where he has raised in excess of $45,000; and

Whereas Jack's commitment and dedication has placed him on the top list of 25 fundraisers for the Terry Fox Run; and

Whereas last year Clark's Harbour saw 27 participants and raised over $5,600 in the 2008 Terry Fox Run;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly commend Jack Fry for his participation and fundraising efforts in the Terry Fox Run for the past 27 years.

RESOLUTION NO. 5729

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Jade Goulden of Barrington, Shelburne County, donated 12 inches of her hair through Joanna's Ocean Reflections to Headquarters to Angel Hair for Kids in Halifax on August 12, 2008; and

Whereas Angel Hair for Kids provides wigs at no charge to financially disadvantaged children under 19 years who have lost their hair due to alopecia, burns, and cancer chemotherapy and radiation treatments; and

Whereas Jade's act of kindness has encouraged many of her peers to also donate their hair to the Angel Hair for Kids program;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly commend and thank Jade Goulden for donating 12 inches of her hair to Angel Hair for Kids in Halifax on August 12, 2008.

[Page 5950]

RESOLUTION NO. 5730

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas James Mackay of Shelburne County has been a practised chainsaw carver for more than 10 years; and

Whereas James can often be found on Dock Street in Shelburne carving wildlife, fishermen, and even furniture; and

Whereas James has been changing the landscape on the lighthouse-coast town of Shelburne County, Nova Scotia;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly recognize James as a practised chainsaw carver for more than 10 years and extend best wishes for future endeavours.

RESOLUTION NO. 5731

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Jarrett Perry of the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Association won the gold medal in the Atom B League Tournament on March 8 and March 9, 2008, in Chester; and

Whereas hockey is an enthusiastic and passionate sport that requires skill, devotion, hard work and dedication; and

Whereas the coach Derrick Penny and assistant coaches Travis Devine and Nichole Jones are very proud of their team for their great sportsmanship and hard work in winning the tournament;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Jarrett Perry of the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Association Atom B team for winning the gold medal in the Shelburne County Minor Hockey Atom B League Tournament held in Chester on March 8 and March 9, 2008.

[Page 5951]

RESOLUTION NO. 5732

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Jason Locke, a team member at the River Hills Golf Course, participated in a 6-4 record win for the Goudey Cup Annual event at the Yarmouth Links Golf Course on October 12, 2008; and

Whereas this is the ninth Goudey Cup win for River Hills; and

Whereas the competition was started 17 years ago to honor a Yarmouth native, the late Creighton Goudey;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Jason Locke for his participation in the Goudey Cup Annual Tournament at the Yarmouth Links Golf Course on October 12, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5733

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Jim Bower, a team member at the River Hills Golf Course, participated in a 6-4 record win for the Goudey Cup Annual event at the Yarmouth Links Golf Course on October 12, 2008; and

Whereas this is the ninth Goudey Cup win for River Hills; and

Whereas the competition was started 17 years ago to honor a Yarmouth native, the late Creighton Goudey;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Jim Bower for his participation in the Goudey Cup Annual Tournament at the Yarmouth Links Golf Course on October 12, 2008.

[Page 5952]

RESOLUTION NO. 5734

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas Jody Swim, a team member at the River Hills Golf Course, participated in a 6-4 record win for the Goudey Cup Annual event at the Yarmouth Links Golf Course on October 12, 2008; and

Whereas this is the ninth Goudey Cup win for River Hills; and

Whereas the competition was started 17 years ago to honor a Yarmouth native, the late Creighton Goudey;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulate Jody Swim for his participation in the Goudey Cup Annual Tournament at the Yarmouth Links Golf Course on October 12, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5735

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas John Brannen is a Shelburne County resident who is working towards Bachelor of Music at Mount Allison University; and

Whereas John Brannen performed with the Elliott Chorale Choir at the Barrington Municipal High School on Friday, April 4, 2008; and

Whereas this chamber choir of approximately 20 members also conducted a workshop with the Barrington High School students;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly thank John Brannen for his performance with the Elliott Chorale Choir at the Barrington Municipal High School on Friday April 4, 2008.

[Page 5953]

RESOLUTION NO. 5736

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas John Nickerson of the Barrington 7E Volunteer Fire Department was awarded with a Scroll of Recognition from the Municipality of Barrington at the Shelburne County Mutual Aid Supper for his 15 years of service to the Fire Department on March 8, 2008; and

Whereas volunteer firefighters give freely their time to train for and respond to emergencies, and have chosen to make a long-term commitment to their local fire department; and

Whereas it is important to recognize the commitment and dedication all firefighters make to ensure the safety and well being of their communities;

Therefore be it resolved this House of Assembly congratulate John Nickerson of the Barrington 7E Volunteer Fire Department for his Scroll of Recognition from the Municipality of Barrington for his 15 years of service to the fire department on March 8, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5737

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas the Island Days Dory Races in Clark's Harbour was held on August 16, 2008, with competitions held in four divisions; and

Whereas in the Seniors Row Division, Johnny Penney and Wylie Blades placed first in the competition; and

Whereas dory racing promotes Maritime heritage, healthy lifestyles and family competition and fun;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly congratulates Johnny Penney and Wylie Blades for placing first in the Seniors Row Division at the Island Days Dory Races in Clark's Harbour held on August 16, 2008.

[Page 5954]

RESOLUTION NO. 5738

By: Mr. Sterling Belliveau (Shelburne)

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

Whereas John Hartley coordinated the Support The Troops Ball Tournament at the Grovestine Complex where $1310 was raised on October 3, 4 and 5, 2008; and

Whereas last year 18 boxes were sent to soldiers and the lob ball team efforts raised double the money in 2008; and

Whereas monies from this tournament are used to fill boxes to send to the soldiers overseas giving them a real feeling of home;

Therefore be it resolved that this House of Assembly thank John Hartley for coordinating the Support The Troops Ball Tournament at the Grovestine Complex where $1310 was raised on October 3, 4 and 5, 2008.

RESOLUTION NO. 5739

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

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

Whereas Michael (Mickey) MacDonald acquired DownEast Cellular in 1991 which was later renamed Downeast Communications and expanded to 51 stores in Atlantic Canada with annual sales of $100 million by the time it was sold to Aliant in 2004; and

Whereas Mickey MacDonald of Halifax and brother Colin MacDonald of Chester have been named co-recipients of the Canadian Red Cross 2008 Humanitarian Award for Nova Scotia and it is the first time there are multiple recipients of the award, which the Red Cross has presented annually in Nova Scotia since 2001; and

Whereas the brothers were honoured on November 12 at the Canadian Red Cross Humanitarian Awards dinner at the World Trade and Convention Centre in Halifax and proceeds from the fundraising dinner support Red Cross programs and services in Nova Scotia, including disaster management, injury and violence prevention, health equipment loans and humanitarian issues awareness;

[Page 5955]

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Michael (Mickey) MacDonald on his achievement and wish him all the best at his future endeavours.

RESOLUTION NO. 5740

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

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

Whereas Beth McGee is a founding member of the Five Bridges Wilderness Heritage Trust and is also the driving force behind the Council of Community Organizations; and

Whereas Ms. McGee continues to play an integral role in the attempt to create a working arrangement with the Department of Natural Resources to manage the Chebucto Peninsula; and

Whereas Ms. McGee, currently residing in Seabright, is a well deserving recipient for the St. Margaret's Bay Lions Club Citizen of the Year Award;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Beth McGee on receiving this award and wish her much success with her future endeavours.

RESOLUTION NO. 5741

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

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

Whereas growing giant pumpkins takes a lot of patience, knowledge and a bit of good luck; and

Whereas on September 27, a crowd gathered outside the Hubbards Save Easy to watch the St. Margaret's Bay Pumpkin Growers Association annual weigh-off; and

Whereas Bettye Hutt of Tantallon placed 3rd with a gourd that weighed in at 206 pounds;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Bettye Hutt on her third place finish and wish her much success in future growing seasons.

[Page 5956]

RESOLUTION NO. 5742

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

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

Whereas on August 16, the St. Margaret's Bay Breakers swim team held a fun day after what was a very intense year of competition; and

Whereas the team consisted of 93 swimmers ranging in age from 6 to 18 and swam in all four strokes; and

Whereas 2008 marks the team's 20th Anniversary;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate the St. Margaret's Bay Breakers' swim team on celebrating their 20th Anniversary and wish them much success in the future.

RESOLUTION NO. 5743

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

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

Whereas growing giant pumpkins takes a lot of patience, knowledge and a bit of good luck; and

Whereas on September 27, a crowd gathered outside the Hubbards Save Easy to watch the St. Margaret's Bay Pumpkin Growers Association annual weigh-off; and

Whereas C. C. Young of Black Point was the runner up with a gourd that weighed in at 357 pounds;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate C. C. Young on her third place finish and wish her much success in future growing seasons.

[Page 5957]

RESOLUTION NO. 5744

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

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

Whereas Colin MacDonald co-founded Clearwater Fine Foods in 1976 with business partner John Risley and he is now president and chief executive officer of Clearwater Seafoods Limited Partnership which harvests, produces and distributes seafood worldwide; and

Whereas Colin MacDonald of Chester and brother Michael (Mickey) MacDonald of Halifax have been named co-recipients of the Canadian Red Cross 2008 Humanitarian Award for Nova Scotia and it is the first time there are multiple recipients of the award, which the Red Cross has presented annually in Nova Scotia since 2001; and

Whereas the brothers were honoured on November 12 at the Canadian Red Cross Humanitarian Awards dinner at the World Trade and Convention Centre in Halifax and proceeds from the fundraising dinner support Red Cross programs and services in Nova Scotia, including disaster management, injury and violence prevention, health equipment loans and humanitarian issues awareness;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Colin MacDonald on his achievement and wish him all the best at his future endeavours.

RESOLUTION NO. 5745

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

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

Whereas growing giant pumpkins takes a lot of patience, knowledge and a bit of good luck; and

Whereas on September 27th, a crowd gathered outside the Hubbards Save Easy to watch the St. Margaret's Bay Pumpkin Growers Association annual weigh-off; and

Whereas Diane Levy of Simms Settlement took the top honours with a gourd that weighed in at 513 pounds;

[Page 5958]

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Diane Levy on her first-place finish and wish her much success in future growing seasons.

RESOLUTION NO. 5746

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

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

Whereas growing giant pumpkins takes a lot of patience, knowledge and a bit of good luck; and

Whereas on September 27th, a crowd gathered outside the Hubbards Save Easy to watch the St. Margaret's Bay Pumpkin Growers Association annual weigh-off; and

Whereas Fenton McInnis of Simms Settlement took the top honours with a gourd that weighed in at 890 pounds;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Fenton McInnis on his first-place finish and wish him much success in future growing seasons.

RESOLUTION NO. 5747

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

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

Whereas on November 6, 2008, the new Chester Council was sworn in and for the first time since 1994 it will not include Gail Smith; and

Whereas after almost 30 years in public life, Ms. Smith has decided that it was time, as she says - give someone else the opportunity - to represent Chester/East Chester; and

Whereas her political career began with the Chester Village Commission where she served for 18 years before being elected to the Chester Municipal Council;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate and thank Gail Smith on an accomplished career in public life and wish her all the best during her retirement.

[Page 5959]

RESOLUTION NO. 5748

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

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

Whereas on October 18, 2008, Gary Meade ended an impressive career in municipal politics; and

Whereas Mr. Meade was first elected to the Halifax County Council in 1988 to represent District 1, Hubbards-St. Margaret's, and was re-elected in October 2000 to represent District 23 in the Halifax Regional Municipality; and

Whereas Gary Meade is a well-known and respected individual and has actively volunteered with the Boy Scouts of Canada, St. Margaret's Anglican Church, Recreation Associations and the St. Margaret's Bay Lion's Club;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Gary Meade on an accomplished career in public life and wish him all the best during his retirement.

RESOLUTION NO. 5749

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

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

Whereas the owners of Julien's Bakery, Laura Mulrooney and Didier Julien, are living their dream with a $1 million expansion of their business in Chester; and

Whereas the pair pride themselves in the fact that everything is baked local at their Chester location, a decision that has paid off and allowed them to open a store in Halifax's Hydrostone Market and send bread and pastries to countless stores throughout the region; and

Whereas once complete, the expansion will see them opening a new 5,000 square foot bakery on Standford Lake in Chester;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Laura Mulrooney and Didier Julien on their expansion and wish them all the best with future endeavours.

[Page 5960]

RESOLUTION NO. 5750

By: Hon. Judy Streatch (Community Services)

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

Whereas growing giant pumpkins takes a lot of patience, knowledge and a bit of good luck; and

Whereas on September 27th, a crowd gathered outside the Hubbards Save Easy to watch the St. Margaret's Bay Pumpkin Growers Association annual weigh-off; and

Whereas Leo Swinamer of New Ross placed third with a gourd that weighed in at 581 pounds;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House congratulate Leo Swinamer on his first-place finish and wish him much success in future growing seasons.

RESOLUTION NO. 5751

By: Hon. William Dooks (Tourism, Culture and Heritage)

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

Whereas rural Nova Scotia is strengthened by small businesses; and

Whereas through training and hard work, small businesses like Seaforth Plumbing and Heating are able to provide valuable services; and

Whereas these small businesses also provide our communities with employment opportunities;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House applaud the contributions of Seaforth Plumbing and Heating and wish them continued success.

RESOLUTION NO. 5752

By: Hon. William Dooks (Tourism, Culture and Heritage)

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

[Page 5961]

Whereas rural Nova Scotia is strengthened by small businesses; and

Whereas through training and hard work, small businesses like Sunset Flare Hair Studio are able to provide valuable services; and

Whereas these small businesses also provide our communities with employment opportunities;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House applaud the contributions of Sunset Flare Hair Studio and wish them continued success.

RESOLUTION NO. 5753

By: Hon. William Dooks (Tourism, Culture and Heritage)

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

Whereas rural Nova Scotia is strengthened by small businesses; and

Whereas through training and hard work, small businesses like Sure Air Systems Limited are able to provide valuable services; and

Whereas these small businesses also provide our communities with employment opportunities;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House applaud the contributions of Sure Air Systems Limited and wish them continued success.

RESOLUTION NO. 5754

By: Hon. William Dooks (Tourism, Culture and Heritage)

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

Whereas rural Nova Scotia is strengthened by small businesses; and

Whereas through training and hard work, small businesses like TP Satellite Sales & Installation are able to provide valuable services; and

Whereas these small businesses also provide our communities with employment opportunities;

[Page 5962]

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House applaud the contributions of TP Satellite Sales & Installation and wish them continued success.

RESOLUTION NO. 5755

By: Hon. William Dooks (Tourism, Culture and Heritage)

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

Whereas rural Nova Scotia is strengthened by small businesses; and

Whereas through training and hard work, small businesses like Unicorn Cottage Feline Boarding are able to provide valuable services; and

Whereas these small businesses also provide our communities with employment opportunities;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House applaud the contributions of Unicorn Cottage Feline Boarding and wish them continued success.

RESOLUTION NO. 5756

By: Hon. William Dooks (Tourism, Culture and Heritage)

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

Whereas rural Nova Scotia is strengthened by small businesses; and

Whereas through training and hard work, small businesses like Union Print are able to provide valuable services; and

Whereas these small businesses also provide our communities with employment opportunities;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House applaud the contributions of Union Print and wish them continued success.

[Page 5963]

RESOLUTION NO. 5757

By: Hon. William Dooks (Tourism, Culture and Heritage)

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

Whereas rural Nova Scotia is strengthened by small businesses; and

Whereas through training and hard work, small businesses like Universal Machining are able to provide valuable services; and

Whereas these small businesses also provide our communities with employment opportunities;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House applaud the contributions of Universal Machining and wish them continued success.

RESOLUTION NO. 5758

By: Hon. William Dooks (Tourism, Culture and Heritage)

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

Whereas rural Nova Scotia is strengthened by small businesses; and

Whereas through training and hard work, small businesses like Veinotte's Truck and Auto are able to provide valuable services; and

Whereas these small businesses also provide our communities with employment opportunities;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House applaud the contributions of Veinotte's Truck and Auto and wish them continued success.

RESOLUTION NO. 5759

By: Hon. William Dooks (Tourism, Culture and Heritage)

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

[Page 5964]

Whereas rural Nova Scotia is strengthened by small businesses; and

Whereas through training and hard work, small businesses like Webber E&F Lakeside Park Ltd. and Webber's Lakeside Cottage are able to provide valuable services; and

Whereas these small businesses also provide our communities with employment opportunities;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House applaud the contributions of Webber E & F Lakeside Park Ltd. and Webber's Lakeside Cottage and wish them continued success.

RESOLUTION NO. 5760

By: Hon. William Dooks (Tourism, Culture and Heritage)

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

Whereas rural Nova Scotia is strengthened by small businesses; and

Whereas through training and hard work, small businesses like Weste Animal Hospital are able to provide valuable services; and

Whereas these small businesses also provide our communities with employment opportunities;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House applaud the contributions of Weste Animal Hospital and wish them continued success.

RESOLUTION NO. 5761

By: Hon. William Dooks (Tourism, Culture and Heritage)

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

Whereas rural Nova Scotia is strengthened by small businesses; and

Whereas through training and hard work, small businesses like Westside Trucking Limited are able to provide valuable services; and

[Page 5965]

Whereas these small businesses also provide our communities with employment opportunities;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House applaud the contributions of Westside Trucking Limited and wish them continued success.

RESOLUTION NO. 5762

By: Hon. William Dooks (Tourism, Culture and Heritage)

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

Whereas rural Nova Scotia is strengthened by small businesses; and

Whereas through training and hard work, small businesses like Whippie Wood are able to provide valuable services; and

Whereas these small businesses also provide our communities with employment opportunities;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House applaud the contributions of Whippie Wood and wish them continued success.

RESOLUTION NO. 5763

By: Hon. William Dooks (Tourism, Culture and Heritage)

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

Whereas rural Nova Scotia is strengthened by small businesses; and

Whereas through training and hard work, small businesses like White Max Excavating Limited are able to provide valuable services; and

Whereas these small businesses also provide our communities with employment opportunities;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House applaud the contributions of White Max Excavating Limited and wish them continued success.

[Page 5966]

RESOLUTION NO. 5764

By: Hon. William Dooks (Tourism, Culture and Heritage)

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

Whereas rural Nova Scotia is strengthened by small businesses; and

Whereas through training and hard work, small businesses like Wild Grape Florals are able to provide valuable services; and

Whereas these small businesses also provide our communities with employment opportunities;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House applaud the contributions of Wild Grape Florals and wish them continued success.

RESOLUTION NO. 5765

By: Hon. William Dooks (Tourism, Culture and Heritage)

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

Whereas rural Nova Scotia is strengthened by small businesses; and

Whereas through training and hard work, small businesses like Wing Chun Fung-Fu are able to provide valuable services; and

Whereas these small businesses also provide our communities with employment opportunities;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House applaud the contributions of Wing Chun Fung-Fu and wish them continued success.

RESOLUTION NO. 5766

By: Hon. William Dooks (Tourism, Culture and Heritage)

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

[Page 5967]

Whereas rural Nova Scotia is strengthened by small businesses; and

Whereas through training and hard work, small businesses like World Wide Roofing and Construction are able to provide valuable services; and

Whereas these small businesses also provide our communities with employment opportunities;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House applaud the contributions of World Wide Roofing and Construction and wish them continued success.

RESOLUTION NO. 5767

By: Hon. William Dooks (Tourism, Culture and Heritage)

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

Whereas rural Nova Scotia is strengthened by small businesses; and

Whereas through training and hard work, small businesses like WT Computer Products Inc. are able to provide valuable services; and

Whereas these small businesses also provide our communities with employment opportunities;

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House applaud the contributions of WT Computer Products Inc. and wish them continued success.

RESOLUTION NO. 5768

By: Hon. William Dooks (Tourism, Culture and Heritage)

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

Whereas rural Nova Scotia is strengthened by small businesses; and

Whereas through training and hard work, small businesses like Xpressway Courier are able to provide valuable services; and

Whereas these small businesses also provide our communities with employment opportunities;

[Page 5968]

Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House applaud the contributions of Xpressway Courier and wish them continued success.