Thread by @kerrywcampbell

1/x The point of a carbon tax is to make it costlier to burn fossil fuels, thus by comparison making actions that harm the environment less (biking, taking the bus, working from home etc) more cost-competitive...

https://twitter.com/CBCPEI/status/1369666150494314498

2/x When former premier Wade MacLauchlan came back from the Paris climate summit in the first year of his mandate, he was gung-ho about the "war effort" required to combat climate change, talk of tightening belts etc.

3/x But when it came time for #PEI to adopt a carbon price (which the province refused to do until forced by the feds literally on the last possible day), the tone changed dramatically. Govt was at that point insistent that tax paid by #PEI drivers would be returned to them.

4/x That was done primarily in the form of free driver's licences & reduced vehicle registration fees -- things that made it cheaper to drive. And, as the AG has now shown, the province spent more on those initiatives to make driving cheaper, than it took in from carbon tax.

5/x None of this takes into account the province reduced existing excise taxes on fuels to make room for the carbon levy. So those tax revenues effectively disappeared, while the province overspent trying to make sure drivers didn't get annoyed about the carbon levy.

6/x Last we heard from the premier, #PEI's carbon deal with Ottawa will be extended to Sept., to allow more time to strike a new deal. The province is again promising to return the levy to Islanders, but it sounds like this time it could be in the form of some kind of dividend.

And as Islanders know, the free driver's licences are a thing of the past, discontinued by the King government. And on we go to day 8 of this sitting of @peileg.

The throne speech passed yesterday. Not as exciting a vote as it was in the short-lived days of minority govt on #PEI. In the end we saw 2 Liberals & 3 Greens vote against the speech, so it passed by a comfortable margin.

.@stevenmyersPC wants to address a letter in the paper today, which accuses him of bullying @CoryDeaglePEI. Says he calls him more than his own mother. Says they are equals in this house. There are children who are actually being bullied, Myers says.

Possibly the 2nd-most-surprising thing yesterday @peileg (after having a copy of the new AG report plop on my desk during tabling of documents) was hearing confirmation that the 300 new childcare spaces referenced in the throne speech in fact represent govt's 2019 pre-K promise

.@AltassTrish says migrant workers being left out of #PEI's plans for COVID immunization. They're more likely to live in close quarters and engage in essential work that can't be done virtually, putting them at increased risk, she says.

For I believe the first time this sitting, QP begins with someone other than the Opposition leader: it's @beaton_michele, finance critic and chair of Public Accounts, asking govt when it referred AG's report on international students to the child advocate. Next Wed, is the answer

And after that 1 question we go to @peterbevanbaker, with a question about staffing levels at public & private long-term care, & what the health minister is doing to increase those. The minister says he will respond to that question another day when he has the numbers.

There was a mention of this in the throne speech. Bevan-Baker follows up with a story of someone who was injured in a fall at their care home, but the family wasn't notified, as required by regulation. Family in question told Bevan-Baker staff are overworked & underpaid.

The minister really appreciates those workers, & says govt needs to look at 'where the gaps may be' in terms of staffing. Apparently there may also be a shortage of light bulbs.

From throne speech: "conversations and consultations with residents, family members, and staff, have identified areas where services and programming can be improved.

My government will introduce nurse practitioners into the care teams for private long-term care facilities...

... Further, in response to concerns expressed by residents, family and staff, my government will be adjusting staffing assignments at our public long-term care facilities to achieve a better balance between day and night-time shifts."

Bevan-Baker pushing for a balance in govt funding more towards providing home care for seniors vs. institutionalized care. Over to Hammarlund, who asks if govt has any plans to build more LTC homes.

I thought Hammarland was asking about LTC homes, but it might have been seniors housing units. Either way, that was the response the minister gave.

.@AltassTrish asks why govt still hasn't provided coverage for shingles vaccine. Stay tuned for that, says health minister. Then he says, in response to concerns Altass raised earlier, TFW will be able to be vaccinated through their workplaces. Hope that's covered, says Altass.

To be clear - TFW are to be vaccinated for COVID-19, not shingles.

(By the by, the way cabinet ministers have been talking about budget items lately -- like they're not allowed to spill any beans upon pain of death. Govt is allowed to tell people what it plans to spend $ on.)

.@beaton_michele now on wait times for cataract surgery on #PEI -- currently 481 days, twice the national average. Beaton asks the minister to fund surgeries off-island while #PEI looks to hire more ophthalmologists. Already talking to staff about that, says Hudson.

.@SonnyGallant asks the premier when his economic recovery council last met. It's a growth & recovery council, responds the premier, and it last met in Dec. Gallant is wondering why we haven't seen a report. Notes there's a budget coming. We're working on the report, says King.

.@CornwallHeath asks health minister why govt plans to shut down transitional group home on Brackley Pt. Road. Premier responds to this, says there is/was a plan to move this facility from Health PEI to dept of social services.

So from the premier's responses, it seems like when he found out this was happening, he intervened, and the facility won't shut down, nor will the residents move.

In response to Q from McNeilly, King says if there's one thing he wishes he hadn't said in the last 22 months, it was politicizing construction of the new mental health facility. He's concerned about politicization of issue of mental health, he says.

Suggests parties dial down the political rhetoric on mental health, says he was guilty of this. Now suggests the opposition parties "take this one off the board," work together to make improvements.

I assume by politicizing this, the premier is referring to "shovels in the ground on day one" commitments he made during the election campaign. His party won, and is now being taken to task over delivery of mental health services. As the Liberals were by the PCs in previous govt.

All we've heard from your govt is a series or re-announcements & delays, why should we have confidence in you, McNeilly asks premier. (This line of Qs began by asking whether single point-of-contact for mental health mentioned in throne speech is 24/7 mobile mental health line.)

.@sidneymacewen with a question "for the Minister of Action over there" about commitment in throne speech for incentives for electric vehicles. Rebates are coming, confirms said minister. How fast are they coming if they're in the new budget? asks MacEwen. It'll take a month or 2

MacEwen suggests the rebates also apply to used electric vehicles, given a current lack of new electric vehicles on auto lots. We're not dragging our feet on this issue, insists the Minister of Action. Myers likes that, as a way to help people who can't afford $55k new cars.

Lund with Qs suggesting #PEI's senior housing doesn't reflect the growing trend among seniors to be primary caregivers for their grandchildren. Minister says it's an issue his govt is working to address, and that's the end of QP. #peipoli

Six years ago I did this story. Ever since, there's been a flurry of funding announcements near the end of the fiscal year, as #PEI govt makes sure its social services budget is fully spent. cbc.ca/news/canada/pr…

There seems to be no love lost between #PEI's two opposition parties, and that's probably a win for government.