PROVINCE OF NEWFOUNDLAND THIRTY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NEWFOUNDLAND Volume 3 3rd. Session Number 67 VERBATIM REPORT THURSDAY, MAY 9, 1974 SPEAKER: THE HONOURABLE JAMES M. RUSSELL May 9, 1974 Tape No. 15 71 NM - 1 The House met at 3:00 P.M. Mr. Speaker in the Chair. MR. SPEAKER: Order please! It is a distinct pleasure for me to welcome to the Speaker's Gallery today Dr. John MacPherson who is the President of Theatre Canada. His group is having various performances at the Arts and Culture Centre here in St. John's this week. On behalf of all honourable members I sincerely extend to you a very cordial welcome and trust that your visit here is most interesting. PETITIONS: ~- SPEAKER:- The honourable member for Trinity North. MR. _ BRETT: Mr. Speaker, I beg leave to present a petition on behalf of the residents of Random Island. The prayer of the petition is as follows: "Whereas the roads on Random Island are in a deplorable and dangerous condition, whereas there are 262 registered vehicles on Random Island and many other vehicles use the roads," (co1TD11ercial vehicles I suppose we are talking about), "whereas there are 1,818 residents on Random Island and the population has increased by ten per cent in the past three years, whereas there _are 415 children conveyed by bus to school over the island's roads, the residents of Random Island have to travel to Clarenville to recieve medical attention and 121 residents of Random Island are employed outside the island and whereas Random Island has great potential as a tourist attraction, we the undersigned, being residents of Random Island in the District of Trinity North, respectfully petition the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to improve our roads as follows: All main roads on the island to be upgraded and paved and adequate ditches and drainage to be const~cted and the partly constructed road between Aspen Brook and Petley to be completed and paved. This work to be commenced as soon as possible and completed durin!!: 1974." In supporting the petition, Sir, I would like to reiterate some of the 5619 May 9, 1974 Tape No. 1571 NM - 2 points in the prayer of the petition. The population of Random Island is increasing steadily. five years ago, first when I went to live in the area,I had very little hope for the island and I thought probably it would end up as one of these 1ending co11DDunities but I think the change came when a new school was built there, a very large modern school in the centre of the isle.nd. The trend seemed to change and the younger residents of the island are staying on, building new homes. The fact that there are almost 2,000 people there with no pavement whatsoever, the roads are fairly straight but gravel, of course, but the fact that there are 2,000 people and most of them have to conmtute over the roads to work then certainly means that they are deserving of some almost immediate attention. About 400 children I think, it is in the prayer of the petition, bus daily to school. I believe a lot of people maybe in this House know that Random Island is a very beautiful place. There is a small private park there. It is very attractive actually, the island is. You can see it as you drive along in towards Clarenville, very scenic, very beautiful and many people do go there each year and I think that with paved roads we will see more tourists going in. Sir, I strongly support the petition and I hope that the government in its• wisdom seesfit to start the upgrading this summer. I ask that the petition be tabled and referred to a department to which it relates. MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for White Bay South. MR. WM. ROWE: For our part, Mr. Speaker, we strongly support the petition as well. The honourable member did not mention whether our esteemed playwright, Michael Cook,had signed the petition. The Speaker may look it over and see. I rise to support the petition but I also mention for the benefit of our special guest in the Speaker's Gallery this afternoon that Mr. Cook does reside on the island and undoubtedly derives much of his inspiration for his very well received works from the island. Now the only thing, there is a slight conflict of interest, Perhaps if the roads were upgraded and paved Mr. Cook may see fit to drive around more rather than staying at home and scribbling away and writing his - AN HON. MEMBER: That will destroy his creative impulse. 5620 May 9, 1974 Tape No. 15 71 NM - 3 MR. WM. ROWE: Yes, that is right. He might become a vagabond, driving around on the beautifully paved roads if the government accedes to the honourable member's request. But aside from that possible conflict of interest, Sir, on the part of most Newfoundlanders we have no hesitation at all in supporting the petition. I roRe really to make mention of the fact that Mr. Cook does live there and perhaps our guest at some point might get an opportunity to drive out there, see the road first hand, and undoubtedly we will have his support as well,and perhaps visit Mr. Cook and have a chat with him. We support it wholeheartedly, Mr. Chairman. MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Port au Port. MR, F. STAGG: Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition from 311 adults in the two communities of Mainland and Three Rock Cove on the Port au Port Peninsula. These are two connnunities which have been rescued from a fate that they had been assigned some years ago. They were sending connnunities under the resettlement programme. They are now no longer sending connnunities and I think that they are going to survive. The prayer of the peition is that the road leading from these two communities to the Community of Lourdes be upgraded so that the school bus and ordinary passenger traffic can traverse the road safely at all times during the year. There were a number of times this winter when that road was practically impassable, on a couple of occasions it was impassable,brought about by inadequate drainage, thawing conditions which gave rise to a build up of ice on the road ~,hen the ~eather turned cold. This petition is a modest request. It is a request merely that the road be aade passable at all times during the year. Sometime ago this matter was brought to the attention of the Minister of Highways and while I am under an obligation to present the pet~tion.I do have a letter from him a couple of days ago indicating that these particularly dreadful conditions are going to be alleviated this year and I certainly hope that by the end of my tenure that road will not only be upgraded ~621 May 9, 1974 Tape No. 1571 NM - 4 but will be paved as well. So it gives me great pleasure to support this petition and I ask that it be received and referred to the department to which it relates. MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Labrador North. MR. M. WOODWARD: Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House do support the petition that was presented by the member for Port au Port on behalf of the residents of Mainland and Three Rock Cove, not asking very much, asking to have the road made passable, which is indeed a very small request, Mr. Speaker. Seeing that the honourable Minister of Transportation and Communications is in his seat, I trust that he will pay particular attention to the modest plea, I should think, of the member for Port au Port. He presented the petition very well and in a very modest fashion as the people of Mainland and Three Rock Cove had presented the prayer of their petition. They were only asking to have the road made passable. So I suggest that the minister should maybe go a little tiit further, Mr. Speaker, and see that the road is upgraded and paved as indeed all roads in the province should be. While he is considering this particular petition I trust that he will maybe take into consideration the petition from the residents of Northwest River to have the road paved and upgraded from Northwest River to Goose Bay. MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for St. George's. MR. A. DUNPHY: Mr, Speaker, I too would like to support this petition from the people of Mainland and Three Rock Cove. It was only the day before yesterday I had the pleasure of going into the honourable member's district (I assure you I had other interests.)and noticed the condition of the roads at that particular time. It reminded me of a series of volcanoes errupting. Very, very, 11ery bad( MR. STAGG: That was the good part. MR. DUNPHY: That was the bad part of it. I am happy to report that the people of that area are all busily engaged in the lobster fishery, although the conditions are not that good there at this particular time however. tiG22 Hay 9, 1974 Tape No. 1571 NM - 5 also in the area a lot of sawmills, children are attending school etc. Sir•, they are not asking for very much and they are certainly making a contribution to the country as a whole and I think they deserve the upgrading of that road.