Legislative Asselnjlly

Hickey, as our Provincial Treasurer. (Applause). Our Provincial Treasurer, Mr. Speaker, brings to the government a very valuable and vast knowledge of finances, and he will be the first to admit that he is learning something new every day. He has put himself to the task of trying to organize the finances of the province in a way which relate government expenditures to the ability of the provincial economy to finance government commitments and undertakings. This is no mean task, Mr. Speaker, and I may say that in this task he has had the able assistance of his Depfi, whom members of the House recognized last evening. There is another man, . Speaker, who has served this province long and well and I want to pay a tribute this morning to Mr. W. E. Massey, F.C.A. (Applause). Mr. Massey commenced work with the Province of Prince Edward Island in the Audit Office in October of 1929. I wasn’t around then. He was appointed Provincial Auditor in 1932, and he repre- sented the province in the work of the Royal Commission. He served his country joining the RCAF at the beginning of World War II and held the rank of Squadron Leader upon his discharge at war’s end. He returned to the province in late 1945 to begin work in connection with the Federal-Provincial Conference on Reconstruc- tion. He was appointed Deputy Provincial Treasurer in June of 1946, and resigned that position in 1965 to undertake the extensive studies required in connection with the work of the Tax Structure Committee. Mr. Massey has represented the province at many Federal-Provincial Conferences in connection with fiscal and econo- mic matters. He has the distinction incidentally. Mr. Speaker, of having served under nine Premiers of this province, and I believe that all members of this Legis- lature will join with me in paying this tribute to a man who has, as I mentioned earlier, served his province well and long and still indicates a very keen interest in continuing services to his province and to the government of the province. He has demonstrated, as well, a total grasp of provincial finances and the relationship between federal and provincial finances.

He has just recently completed a summary of Federal-Provincial Fiscal rela- tionships from 1953 to 1967. I propose, Mr. Speaker. to have this work published; all members of the Legislature will have an opportunity to see and study that docu- ment. Mr. Massey's health is not as good as he would like it, or as we would like it, and he has desired to relieve himself of his former responsibilities but very fortun- ately he has agreed to continue and make his professional knowledge available to the government. He will do important work for the government during the summer months. We wish him well during the summer, and we trust that his health will enable him to remain an active advisor and helper to the government of Prince Edward Island.

A word about finances, and I suppose in the Budget Address I should speak about finances. There are four significant figures that point themselves out most prominently. The total net debt of this province on July 28, 1966, was $1,592,755.00.

L. George Dewar: I don’t think that is correct, Sir. Walter R. Shaw: That’s the end of the year. L. George Dewar: End of the year.

Honourable Alexander B. Campbell: Where are the books. L. George Dewar: Forty-nine million on the 28th of July, 1966.

Walter R. Shaw: Forty-nine million.

Honourable Alexander 8. Campbell: That includes the estimated debt for 1967 of $1,922,386.00.

Walter R. Shaw: That is unto the forty-nine. L. George Dewar: That’s the end of March, 1967.

Honourable Alexander B. Campbell: That’s right, that’s the net debt at March 31, 1967. That is correct. $61,592,755.00. Then the indirect debt as of July 28, 1968, was $22,000,000.00. Nenty-two point six million, which brings the total deficit ic- ture to “4,000,000.00. Mr. Speaker, this figure has almost reached a hundred mil ion dollars! And I would not have been surprised, Mr. Speaker, that had the previous

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