Legislative Assembly

busy producing alibies and excuses, too busy trying to blame the past Government or someone, or anyone else, that it has found little time to look .for solutions to the problems that arise from day to day in the normal conduct of business of Government.

This Govemment’s record is not nearly good enough. I want to refer for a moment to this massive document of which we were so kinglyvfrovided copies of not so long ago, this document which the Government called The hite Paper. I read this document very carefully and indeed more than once, and I cannot but think that this is the most nebulous thing, dealing in generalities. When we think that this Govern- ment could not produce, when they were dealing with specifics, some of which I have mentioned, how can we have any hope in a situation like this. I submit, Sir, that this White Paper was well and appropriately named because it is indeed lifeless, and it is colourless. When it is allowed to age, as I am sure it will, and when it turns to yellow they will have another renaming ceremony.

I submit, Sir, that the words, the pronouncements, the charges, the alibies, and the excuses are not good enough for the people of Prince Edward Island. We need action. I think this Government, in order to solve problems, must search for solu- tions and start to work for some worth while objectives. They should remember that a society becomes great only when its leaders become more concerned with serving than in being served. This has been, Sir, and still remains the continuing policy of the Conservative Party.

Thank you. (Applause)

ff . Honourable Keir Clark (Fourth Kings) —- Minister of Health and of 'Municipal a am.

Mr. Speaker, this is the first time I have had an opportunity to speak on an ad- dress of this kind as the junior Member from Murray Harbour, and I feel it is a great privilege for me to represent a district where the voters have such excellent political judgment, (Applause) good common sense, and they have not elected a single Tory for nearly twenty-five years. At that time one fellow did squeak through. Although I am the junior Member from Murray Harbour, I am not exactly a freshman in this institute of higher learning, as I believe I am the last survivor in this House of the election of 1947. In this respect I am the oldest Member in the House in terms of my earlier entry. My return at this time to the “bear pit" proved both interesting and a bit disappointing. Interesting because the sco of Government has increased con- siderably since I was last here, new programs ave been introduced; but disappoint- ing, I think, in the general conduct of the affairs of this House.

I am sure that when I went to school if similar conduct took place, that many of the Members would be “stood in the corner”, and a in, I believe, that the question period instead of being a question period as the Spea er has outlined, has degenerat- ed into something that we should call the “chit chat" period or the “chatter box" period.

Now, I would like to express my congratulations to you Sir, Mr. Speaker, on your elevation to this high position of the House, and to the Mover and the Seconder of the present address.

A good deal has hap ened in Government circles since I was last a Member here, and I think the princip e change has been the increase, the great increase of debt from $29,000,000.00 to $1,000,000.00, and the accompanying increase of indirect debt, which indicates a tripling of our Provincial responsibilities all in seven years of a spree of squandering under the Conservative administration. The Government led by the Opposition in 1959 was elected on a promise to pay all teacher’s supplements immediately, and thereby remove an impossible financial burden from the small school districts. In seven years the 0 position not only -did not remove this burden from the small school districts, but this rden was more than doubled under their administra- tion. But in spite of broken promises, the Conservative Government. did manage to hang on through a second election, largely because of their great plans and promises about industrial development. We all know some of the development that took lace under this administration, we know about the mink ranch in Morell where the e doors were open and the little minks were all let loose and the big mink took off. An- other piece of industrialization that took place was in the town of Montague. We had

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