Robert Hawkins

I’m glad the Premier is rolling in on this issue, because I’m glad to see someone’s taking it serious. The fact is, when the Minister says we’ve been contacting -- yes, as of yesterday, the first time they’ve made any effort to get back to this company. They placed repeated calls to the contact on the tender of request to no answer, only until it’s brought to the Minister of Health and Social Services’ attention, when the clock is ticking.

Mr. Speaker, the only honourable thing to do is to pull this contract back, pause it and tender it in a fair way that doesn’t show the competitor’s inventory...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am just curious. By what policy or what ministerial authority can this Housing Minister guarantee every single process was followed? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, just by chance, the woman who has been evicted, her mother happens to be sitting in the gallery here today. The Minister clearly says the Housing Corporation will only get involved if they feel the need to. Mr. Speaker, I want to hear from the Housing Corporation Minister, does his department support illegal evictions, which is exactly what is going on here today? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I didn’t hear the Minister would make sure that he sent out an e-mail or an information blast to departments who do manage this file. I mean, the point I’m trying to make is the information I got even from his department seems confusing and perhaps wrong, and he’s cleared it up for the record and I appreciate that. I just want to make sure that that information gets out to all the departments to make sure they’re hiring in the same manner the Minister has described today, because if that confusion is out there, people will be missing opportunities that they rightly...

Mr. Speaker, as the Minister said, this government has a role in helping people. Would the government consider analyzing this situation to see if we could view it from what it could cost to help people change their tanks again to protect the environment and to save the bottom line where it is a very expensive process when they have to replace a tank after an oil spill? Thank you.

Thank you. Well, I’ve been to the Minister’s office and it’s the process as I described before just earlier here today. So maybe the Minister can clarify for the record that summer students hired in the priority 1, 2 and 3 are priority over casuals whether they’re P1s, P2s or P3s. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I talked about the issue of oil tanks and the way that we should come up with a rebate program to help people with that expensive cost to replace them and certainly making sure that a good upkeep is kept on those tanks before an environmental problem comes. As I said in my Member’s statement today, an environmental problem with a leaky oil tank could lead to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Mr. Speaker, my first question to the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources is: does the Minister agree that helping people make responsible...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is no guarantee that new tanks have a full life. What I am hearing in the public from people as well as industry folks who change these tanks is that the new tanks don’t seem to last very long, as I said earlier, due to low sulphur and quality of steel as being problems. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister commit today to this House that he will engage this issue immediately and see if he can have something we can bring back and discuss and review maybe by this fall? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’re all too familiar with the devastating effects of oil spills and millions of dollars that are needed to clean them up. An oil spill does not have to be as big as the Gulf of Mexico or, certainly, the Exxon Valdez to have serious financial and long-lasting environmental implications. Mr. Speaker, similar small scale catastrophes happen in our own backyard. Anyone who has experienced a fuel spill as a result of a leaky oil tank knows exactly what I’m talking about.

I’m aware of a recent resident who has paid over $200,000 to excavate contaminated soil in their very...

Thank you. I appreciate the Minister for clearing that up on the record, especially because of the confusion both brought forward to me by the parent as well as the information I received from the department. Mr. Speaker, would the Minister commit to this House that he’ll make sure that all departments are clear on the hiring process to make sure that we follow the priority process he described here today to make sure we give our P1 and P2 summer students the best chance at getting a job? We want to make sure it’s clear to these departments. Thank you.