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March 26, 2019
Standing Committees
Human Resources
Meeting summary: 

Committee Meeting Room
Granville Level
One Government Place
1700 Granville Street
Halifax
 
Witness/Agenda:
Agency, Board and Commission Appointments

Meeting topics: 

HANSARD

 

NOVA SCOTIA HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY

 

COMMITTEE

 

ON

 

HUMAN RESOURCES

 

 

Tuesday, March 26, 2019

 

 

COMMITTEE ROOM

 

 

 

Appointments to Agencies, Boards and Commissions

 

 

 

 

Printed and Published by Nova Scotia Hansard Reporting Services

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

STANDING COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES

 

Brendan Maguire (Chair)

Suzanne Lohnes-Croft (Vice-Chair)

Bill Horne

Hugh MacKay

Rafah DiCostanzo

Alana Paon

Brad Johns

Lenore Zann

Tammy Martin

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Attendance:

 

Judy Kavanagh

Legislative Committee Clerk

 

Nicole Arsenault

Assistant Clerk, Office of the Speaker

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HALIFAX, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

 

STANDING COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES

 

10:00 A.M.

 

CHAIR

Brendan Maguire

 

VICE-CHAIR

Suzanne Lohnes-Croft

 

            THE CHAIR: I call to order this meeting of the Human Resources Committee. We will start with introductions.

 

            [The committee members introduced themselves.]

 

            THE CHAIR: Good morning, everyone. Just a quick reminder to put your phones on silent, and there are no photos to be taken unless by media.

 

            Let’s jump right into the agenda. First of all, we will start with the agency, board and commission appointments. Mr. MacKay.

 

            HUGH MACKAY: Mr. Chairman, under the Department of Communities, Culture and Heritage, for the Annapolis Valley Regional Library Board, I move that the appointment of Colin Bowers as a member be approved.

 

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

 

            The motion is carried.

 

            Mr. MacKay.

 

            HUGH MACKAY: Mr. Chairman, under the Department of Communities, Culture and Heritage, for the Nova Scotia Museum Board of Governors, I move that the appointments of Sharon Haley-Mancini, Reginald N. Johnston, Katherine MacLellan, and Erin Murphy as members be approved.

 

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

 

            The motion is carried.

 

            Ms. DiCostanzo.

 

            RAFAH DICOSTANZO: Mr. Chairman, under the Department of Health and Wellness, for the Nova Scotia College of Chiropractors, I move that the appointment of Anne Wilcox as a member be approved.

 

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

 

            The motion is carried.

 

            Ms. DiCostanzo.

 

            RAFAH DICOSTANZO: For the Nova Scotia College of Counselling Therapists, I move that the appointments of William (Billy) MacPherson, Lisa Matthews, and Luke Pelot as members be approved.

 

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

 

            The motion is carried.

 

            Ms. DiCostanzo.

 

            RAFAH DICOSTANZO: Mr. Chairman, for the Denturist Licensing Board, I move that the following appointments be approved: Loretta Beals, non-denturist member; Tasha Edwards, denturist member; John Lilly, denturist, vice-president of the society; William (Billy) C. MacPherson, non-denturist member; Christopher Mason, denturist member; Lori Peters, non-denturist member; and Della Sangster, denturist, president of the society.

 

            THE CHAIR: Mr. Johns.

 

            BRAD JOHNS: Just for clarification, if the clerk could clarify, is William (Billy) C. MacPherson the same gentleman we just appointed to the therapists?

 

            JUDY KAVANAGH (Legislative Committee Clerk): I believe so.

 

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

 

            The motion is carried.

 

            Mr. Horne.

 

            BILL HORNE: Mr. Chairman, for Nova Scotia Health Authority Board, I move that the appointment of Paul Comeau as a director be approved.

 

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

 

            The motion is carried.

 

            Mr. Horne.

 

            BILL HORNE: Mr. Chairman, for the Council of the College of Paramedics of Nova Scotia, I move that the appointments of Sharon Johnson-Legere and Elizabeth Mann as members - public representatives, be approved.

 

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

 

            The motion is carried.

 

            Mr. Horne.

 

            BILL HORNE: Mr. Chairman, for the Board of the Nova Scotia College of Physiotherapists, I move that the appointments of Amanda Knight and Timothy McDermott as members be approved.

 

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

 

            The motion is carried.

 

            Ms. Lohnes-Croft.

 

            SUZANNE LOHNES-CROFT: Mr. Chairman, under the Department of Labour and Advanced Education, for the Cape Breton University Foundation, I move that Roger Kirk MacRae and Tara Milburn as members be approved.

 

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

 

            The motion is carried.

 

            Mr. MacKay.

 

            HUGH MACKAY: Mr. Chairman, for the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal, Halifax-Dartmouth Bridge Commission, I move Victoria Harnish as Chair and member.

 

            THE CHAIR: Mr. Johns.

 

            BRAD JOHNS: I’m curious to know - are council appointments from the city made outside of recommendations here?

 

            THE CHAIR: What do you mean?

 

            BRAD JOHNS: Well, HRM typically has representatives that sit on the Halifax-Dartmouth Bridge Commission as well, right.

 

            JUDY KAVANAGH: Those wouldn’t come to us.

 

            THE CHAIR: Those would go to the municipality.

 

            BRAD JOHNS: Do we know who the former chair was?

 

            THE CHAIR: From March 14, 2016 to March 13, 2019, Wayne F. Mason was the Chair and member.

 

            BRAD JOHNS: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the clarification.

 

            THE CHAIR: Any other questions? Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.

 

The motion is carried.

 

That will do it for the ABCs.

 

Next, we had correspondence from the Nova Scotia Office of Immigration – a response to the request for information made at the January 29th meeting. Is there any discussion around this? So, we will move on.

 

Our next meeting will be Tuesday, April 30th, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. There is the Department of Labour and Advanced Education for New Opportunities for Work program. There is some discussion that we have received some information back from the Department of Labour and Advanced Education that the Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency is not directly involved in this program even though they’re named as a witness.

 

            JUDY KAVANAGH: The Department of Labour and Advanced Education has told us that they’re going to bring people from St. F. X. with them as witnesses at the table, as their colleagues. So, there’s no reason to have the Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency there. It’s administered through St. F. X. So, because this is an approved witness, it might make sense for the committee to decide to remove Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency from the list of witnesses for this topic.

 

            THE CHAIR: Thank you. Essentially what we’re saying here is that we were informed by the Department of Labour and Advanced Education that the Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency has nothing to do with this program and it’s actually the university, along with the department, that rolls out this program. What they’re saying is to remove that and then we’ll have individuals from the university here as witnesses.

 

            Ms. Lohnes-Croft.

 

            SUZANNE LOHNES-CROFT: Whose topic was this? It was our topic, okay. I thought it was. I would make a motion then that we uninvite the Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency and allow the university to bring forward appropriate witnesses.

 

            THE CHAIR: Any other discussion? Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay.

 

The motion is carried.

           

There is a note here that if the House is still sitting on April 30th the witnesses will be postponed and that meeting will be for ABCs only.

 

            So, with that, we are adjourned. Have a great budget day.

 

            [The committee adjourned at 10:10 a.m.]