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November 17, 1997
(Executive Council)


The following statement was issued today by Beaton Tulk, Government House Leader. It was also read in the House of Assembly:

It is my pleasure to stand before my honourable colleagues here on opening day to put forward the government's program for this sitting of the House of Assembly.

We have a full and important slate of issues to deal with, and I want to assure the Honourable Members that the House will be open on a regular basis to address these matters. There will be ample time for debate of the issues, and I am sure there will be lively and productive discussion on all matters.

This government has always shown great flexibility in opening the legislature to deal with important issues. I want to assure the House today that when Term 17 is passed by the federal government, we will ensure that the new Schools Act is passed in a timely fashion, so it may be implemented for the new school year.

I would like to take a few moments, to highlight some of the bills which will be introduced this sitting. We will introduce a number of important bills regarding justice issues. A bill to amend the Human Rights Code to prohibit sexual orientation as a grounds for discrimination will also be introduced. We will also seek to amend the Family Law Act which will allow us to create provincial child support guidelines, consistent with the federal guidelines implemented earlier this year. Further legislation will permit the appointment of an additional judge to the Unified Family Court.

A substantial number of bills having to do with the financial affairs of the province will also be brought forward. Among those are bills which deal with the Public Service Pension Plan and Memorial University's Pension Plan. In addition, important measures such as amendments to the Income Tax Act which will provide a tax credit for low income individuals will be addressed. This action was announced in the Budget, and it is hoped we may deal with this issue in a timely fashion, so as to have credit cheques in the mail before Christmas.

We will also deal with several important pieces of health legislation, among which is a bill that will allow nurse practitioners to perform their duties, and another which will permit the transfer of community service functions from the Department of Human Resources and Employment to the Community Health Boards.

From the Department of Environment and Labour, we will introduce legislation to deal with the recommendations of the Morgan Cooper Report, and outline an appropriate labour relations regime for the offshore oil industry. In addition, we will seek amendments to the Shops Closing Act.

As you know, the federal government has committed $340 million dollars for the Labrador Transportation Initiative. We intend to introduce legislation that will establish a trust fund to receive these federal monies, and which will ensure funds are available for this fiscal year.

In the area of Fisheries and Aquaculture, we will present an amendment to the Professional Fish Harvesters Act which will ensure that individuals connected to the industry have the right to be heard regarding decisions of the Professional Fish Harvesters Certification Board.

As always, this government is committed to the protection of the environment for future generations. That is why we shall introduce amendments to the Wilderness and Ecological Reserves Act to provide for provisional reserves and give authority to enforce the act.

A number of bills have originated from the Department of Government Services and Lands, one of which will give electronically filed information the same legal authority as information filed on paper.

These are just a few of the bills which we intend to address during this sitting of the House of Assembly. In fact, we hope to give notice of motion on many of these bills today, and with the concurrence of the members opposite, we will do first reading. We hope to deal with the business of the House in an expeditious fashion and to fully debate these issues, in a productive manner, for eventual passage.

Mr. Speaker, esteemed colleagues, I look forward to this sitting of the House of Assembly, and I am ready to get to the business at hand.

1997 11 17 2:45 p.m.

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