Mr. Speaker, in this budget, we are maintaining our priority on people, and the programs they tell us matter most to them: health, education and helping those most in need. Placing a stronger focus on the youth of the province remains a key priority.

Our greater priority on youth is reflected in the initiative we undertook that established a new Department of Youth Services and Post Secondary Education. At the same time, the Department of Education was given an intensified mandate to concentrate on the K to 12 system and literacy, as well as responsibility for early childhood education. A new Provincial Youth Advisory Committee was created to give our youth a stronger voice on issues that affect them.

More Per Pupil in K to 12

Mr. Speaker, our initiatives continue to increase the level of spending per student in the K to 12 system. As of September 2002, school enrolment over the last five years will have declined by 17,700 students, or by 17.4 percent. Yet, over the same period our spending per student will have grown from $5,557 to $6,672, an increase of 20 percent.

Part of the increase in spending per student has come because we have permitted school boards to retain savings from educational reform that normally would revert to government. In 1996-97 we gave a commitment that school boards could retain for three years the savings from school reorganizations for one time capital improvements. Including this year, this initiative will have seen $25.1 million reinvested in school facilities.

But this government has gone even further. Rather than take back the savings at the end of three years, government has allowed all the savings from school reorganization to remain with the boards. Even though our fiscal situation now is not as robust as the recent past, we believe extending this policy is in the best interests of students. This policy will see $8.4 million reinvested for the coming year in school board operating grants. This means that despite enrolment declines and fewer schools there will be no reductions in operating grants. Including this year, there has been no reduction for seven consecutive years.

The report of the Ministerial Panel on Educational Delivery in the Classroom, developed in consultation with all education stakeholders, recommended a formula for determining the number of teaching positions that should be available to school boards based principally on student enrolment. That formula would have seen a reduction last year and this year of a total of 426 teaching positions. Last year, for the first time, we did not reduce the number of teachers although enrolments declined. This means there are 218 more teaching positions currently in the system that would have been lost had we applied the formula. This decision represents an $11 million reinvestment in education that will continue this year.

As a result, more than half the teaching positions that the formula would have removed will stay in the education system. With over 400 expected retirements this year, it is likely school boards will have to hire new teachers for the upcoming school year.

Our pupil-teacher ratio has improved steadily for more than a decade and for several years now has been the best in the country. The national average is one teacher for every 16 students. Using exactly the same methodology to calculate the ratio, we have one teacher for every 13.4 students. We expect to again lead the country this year in teaching resources per student.

We want to have not only the best ratio, but the best teachers. This requires investment in teacher professional development. We are extending for the third year an additional allocation of $900,000 that brings the professional development budget for teachers once again up to $4.4 million.

Since 1998-99 we have allocated $160 million to address priority school construction and renovation projects, mostly outside the St. John�s region. To date, 11 new schools have been constructed and work is progressing on 15 others. Another 36 schools have seen major renovations or extensions. This year a further $10 million is being provided. A significant portion will be used to address priority needs of the Avalon East School Board. We also will be making the final $4 million instalment this year on our three year $12 million commitment to fund maintenance projects for school buildings.

In support of the Strategic Literacy Plan, and for the third consecutive year, in addition to our regular annual funding, a further $1 million is allocated for the purchase of library books. This is another investment in education, as well as our library system, because accessibility to reading materials is a major factor in improving literacy.

For public post secondary institutions, our funding has increased by 26.6 percent over the past five years. This is only part of the support we provide for students. A greater priority on youth means we will take steps to reduce student debt for post secondary education students and graduates.

We began in the 1999 budget by providing funding so that Memorial University and the College of the North Atlantic could implement a tuition freeze for two years. Last year, we provided $3.3 million to Memorial University to fund a 10 percent tuition reduction. As well, students at the Faculty of Medicine, the Marine Institute and the College of the North Atlantic had a tuition freeze for the third consecutive year.

This year, we are making $3.5 million available so a university education will be more affordable. Government will hold a roundtable discussion with MUN students and administration to determine together whether these funds should be invested in a further 10 percent tuition reduction or other actions to reduce student debt. Furthermore, tuition rates at the Faculty of Medicine, Marine Institute and College of the North Atlantic will remain frozen for the fourth consecutive year. Our public college fees are already substantially lower than the university and will remain the second lowest in Atlantic Canada.

Our grant in aid to Memorial University will increase this year by $13 million. When we compare the support other provinces give to their universities, we find that our grant to Memorial is the highest per student in the country. At the same time, students attending Memorial already pay the lowest university tuition rates in Atlantic Canada.

While tuition levels are important to educational affordability, this is only one of the components that contribute to student debt. Taking action to reduce the burden of student debt on our graduates is also a priority of this government. This budget provides funding for additional staff and program resources for the Student Aid Program to better respond to student needs. Government will announce details of a Student Aid restructuring plan within the next two weeks.

Last year, we created the Student Investment and Opportunity Corporation to generate employment opportunities for students, particularly those in rural areas. Funding for the youth employment programs will be maintained at $4.8 million. Jobs supported by the corporation give students the opportunity to save more for their education, reducing their need to borrow, as well as provide valuable work experience.

Acting again this year on our commitment to match private donations to the MUN Opportunity Fund, we are making a $3 million payment. This brings our total contribution to date to $24.3 million, supporting scholarships for students and capital improvements at the university. The university also will receive an additional $1 million for priority capital projects.

Access by Memorial and the College of the North Atlantic to research and development funding available through the Canada Foundation for Innovation will be facilitated for the second year by an allocation of $500,000. Last year, our investment levered a total of $2.6 million in R & D funding for projects carried out in the province.

Mr. Speaker, there is an ongoing national debate about the future of health care in this country. Several provinces and the federal government have appointed commissions to study this issue. Premiers met in January to put in place a joint health action plan. Provinces are united in calling on the federal government to increase its declining share of social program funding. Increased federal cash support for programs delivered by provinces like health is crucial if Canadians are to have sustainable public services. While there is a wide consensus that there is no crisis in health care, real challenges do exist that require a coordinated national effort to address.

In this province, we conducted consultations last year through regional Health Forums to get the benefit of public input. This Spring, government will release a new Strategic Health Plan for the province.

Last year we brought in the largest single increase in the health budget ever made by any government of this province. We forecast an increase of 9 percent, but when the final figures are tallied the increase should be almost 12 percent. According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, per capita public sector spending on health in this province has exceeded the Canadian average every year since 1997.

In the new fiscal year, not only is the health budget being maintained, additional investments will be made in important services. The operating budget for health will see a further 3.3 percent increase this year, totalling over 15 percent in two years. The increase in annual operating expenditures for health over the past six years will reach 46 percent.

In addition, when monies allocated in this budget are included, over $500 million in capital investments in new facilities, renovations and equipment will have been made in the province over the same period. Our record shows that we continue to give high priority to health.

When the Strategic Health Plan is released, one of the key priorities will be a Wellness Strategy. The need for this was highlighted at the Health Forums. This will focus on preventing disease by promoting healthy living, as well as early detection and intervention. To provide for implementation of the Strategy beginning later this year, $1.1 million is allocated. Among other things, this funding will permit the extension for another year of our anti-smoking tobacco strategy.

To increase the number of nurses admitted to the Bachelor of Nursing program this year, an additional $300,000 is allocated. This is in response to retirements anticipated in future years. This funding would allow at least 32 new students to begin nursing studies in September.

For the third consecutive year, the subsidy for personal care homes will increase. An additional $1.3 million will bring the total to $13 million annually. Our contribution to monthly rates is rising, as well as the number of individual clients receiving subsidies. Our plan is to see over time more portable subsidies, rather than subsidizing facilities.

Health care facilities around the province will receive $36.9 million for construction and renovation projects. Of this amount, $31.1 million will fund major construction projects ongoing at Gander, Stephenville, Grand Bank and Fogo.

The balance of $5.8 million will assist various facilities with planning, renovations and repairs. This includes $800,000 provided to develop a psychiatric assessment / short stay unit at the Waterford Hospital. This new unit will enable the health system to respond more effectively to clients requiring immediate attention and fills a very important gap in mental health services. Government is awaiting the results of a review of mental health services which will assist in identifying future priorities.

Government is supportive of ongoing planning by boards to upgrade their nursing home facilities. Our objective is to ensure the delivery of care to our elderly population will be responsive to their expectations. Government is open to considering various financing options, including public/private partnering.

Investments in new equipment have totalled $120 million in the last five years. This includes $15 million in this budget to continue modernizing diagnostic and therapeutic equipment at facilities all across the province. Of this amount, $14 million is being provided before year end to ensure timely purchases of priority equipment. Purchases will include x-ray and ultrasound equipment, as well as therapeutic equipment for acute care and equipment for residential care needs in nursing homes.

Stabilizing Health Board Budgets

After very significant increases to the base budgets of institutional health boards over the past few years, government believes boards now have sufficient funding to deliver their service mandates. However, additional funding of $5 million is being provided for utilization increases and inflation. Further funding is also being provided for negotiated salary increases, group reclassifications and pay equity settlements. With these increases, boards are expected to balance their budgets in 2002-03. Over the past six years, on a cumulative basis, government has contributed an additional $427 million to the base budgets of boards.

Government commends the institutional boards on the progress they have made to operate with balanced budgets. Projected deficits for 2001-02 have been reduced from around $18 million to as low as $3 million. Government will continue to work with all boards so they can achieve efficiencies, as well as service improvements. There will be new initiatives to encourage primary health care reform as part of the new Strategic Health Plan, for which $2.5 million is provided.

Most home support workers received a 20 percent salary increase last year. Home support rates will increase further this year by 4 percent, 2 percent in June and 2 percent in December. This increase is in accordance with a study on home support. The annualized cost of the increases for both years is $10.1 million. This recognizes the valuable contribution of home support workers and will contribute to stabilizing the workforce.

Population Floor for Federal Transfers

Mr. Speaker, an appropriate level of federal transfers for social programs is vital to sustainable public services in this province. We advocate reform of transfers to better reflect the cost realities of delivering social programs in this country. Among the improvements that could be made to federal transfers is the implementation of a population floor.

When population declines, the cost of public services does not adjust immediately. Adjustment can be a lengthy process. Yet transfers drop as if the population decline and the service cost moved in lock step. They do not. Transfer payments should not drop, they should phase down, in response to population decline, giving a province the opportunity to rationalize services in a reasonable manner. At one time an all-province consensus recommended a population floor for transfer programs be implemented by the present federal government, along with other reforms, as the mechanism to moderate this type of decline. It still would be good public policy to do so.

Strategic Social Plan

Mr. Speaker, the province is receiving national and international attention as an innovator in bringing social and economic development together, facilitated by the Strategic Social Plan. To further advance the Strategic Social Plan in making a difference in the lives of people and communities to improve long term outcomes and better coordinate service delivery, funding of $2 million is maintained. A key next step under development is a social audit report to examine the social progress of the province five years after the Plan�s implementation. We are moving closer to our ultimate objective of creating one integrated social and economic plan for the province.

We have underway an ongoing series of initiatives to redesign programs that assist persons on social assistance. One thrust is to place increasing emphasis on providing employment and career supports. In recent years, we have extended drug card benefits for those returning to employment and increased the earnings exemptions while receiving social assistance. The transition to employment is supported through innovative programs such as NewfoundJobs and the Linkages Youth Employment Program, which focus on the link between social and economic development. We have achieved notable results.

Over the past five years, the social assistance caseload has dropped by about 8,500, or around 23 percent. A major initiative this year will be the revamping of the Social Assistance Act, which dates from 1977. The present Act no longer reflects many of the objectives of the income support program, including easing the transition from social assistance to work. Consultations are underway to seek public input.

For the second year, we are increasing the eligibility thresholds for the Newfoundland and Labrador Child Benefit. The income threshold this year which will determine the families who qualify for the maximum benefit is being raised $653 to $17,397. Families with incomes above this threshold but below $22,397 will receive a partial benefit. This means that in two budgets we have increased the threshold by almost 10 percent, providing more financial support to low income families with dependent children.

This year, $2 million is allocated for a new program to assist low income homeowners offset 50 percent of the cost of replacing domestic fuel oil tanks up to $300. The program comes into effect April 1, 2002 for a term of five years. Households with net income of less than $22,397 who rely primarily on home heating fuel can receive assistance.

The Task Force on the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission recommended government increase substantially its compliance, monitoring and enforcement of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. This budget provides an additional $1.3 million to support the reorganization and expansion of the occupational health and safety responsibilities of government, including the hiring and training of more inspectors. This will contribute to safer workplaces and better protection for workers in all sectors throughout our economy.

A Hazardous Material Response Initiative, cost shared by the federal and provincial governments, will see about $1 million used to establish 8 to 10 regional response teams throughout the province. These teams will be provided with equipment and training to respond to incidents involving hazardous materials.

Mr. Speaker, this year $12 million is being made available to complete the municipal Debt Relief Program. This last instalment brings our total commitment over six years to $47 million. Since we brought in this program, 139 municipalities have been assisted in reducing or refinancing their debt. We expect 50 municipalities will receive assistance this year. Because of the program, municipalities are enhancing their long term financial stability, allowing them to realize cost savings that they are able to reinvest in their communities.