Thursday, May 18, 1967

Several Members: Remarks inaudible. (Laughter).

Honourable Alexander B. Campbell: Especially his remarks about agriculture and how we have cut it down. Mr. Speaker, I think your last estimates had a million and a half dollars, and here we are coming in budgeting this year for $600,000.00 more in the agricultural department. And I will grant the Leader of the Opposition that we spent more last year; we wouldn’t wait for the Estimate and we had too much to do in the field of agriculture and our Minister of Agriculture went out and spent some extra monies that weren’t budgeted last year, I believe, through the ARDA program.

Well, Mr. Speaker, time is still closing in on me, but I have a list here of some of the vital and important Bills that have been passed in this House. Now perhaps I will have to go on television to get the message through to the public on what has hap pfiened in this House, because all the ublic have been told so far, Mr. Speaker, by t e honourable Junior Member from ifth Kings is that this has been a useless Session. My good friend the Honourable Leader of the Opposition says it has been a “wash-out". Mr. Speaker, the only thing that has been washed-out in

this Session are the cobwebs that have gathered in government circles in the last seven years in this House. (Applause).

Walter R. Shaw: How long did you take making that one up?

Honourable Alexander B. Campbell: Oh, I am drawing inspiration from around me at the moment, Mr. Speaker. (Laughter). But I will have more to say on the Session which has been described by the honourable members of the Opposition as a useless one, and particularly, with this long list of Legislation where the farmers have been given more assistance and where the voting age has been extended. Is that useless Legislation? And the other evening on television, Wednesday night, the young Progressive Conservatives of the province said, “Wouldn’t it be a great thing if we had a Division of Youth in this province.” Had the message gone out from this legislature they would have known that there now is one in this province. We hope that it will serve the people of this province, and especially the youth, not in a par- tisan way, Mr. Speaker, but in a way which is in the best interests of all these young people in co-ordinating their activities and in helping them develop and further

encourage the programs that they are usefully supporting and participating in at the present time. And don’t thinky for a moment, Mr. Speaker, that the widows with

dependent children in this province who will receive increased benefits will consider this a useless Session of the Legislature. (Hear, hear)

Walter R. Shaw: Give them some oats- Honourable George J. Ferguson: No, money.

Honourable Alexander B. Campbell: And don’t think that the teachers and the civil servants whose salaries have been increased and to those forty-five teachers who retired years ago on very small superannuation will not appreciate this. And don't think, Mr. Speaker, for a moment that the working people 11 this province will not appreciate the work that has been done by the government since obtaining office and during this Session. There has been more Labour legislation presented to this House in the interests of management and labour harmony and good relations than at any other Session in the history of this province. Already we have seen the re- sults, the useful results in not laying down the specific rule that you must pay so and so a certain salary when the Builders’ Exchange the other day announced volun- tarily the raising of certain wages in certain areas of our economy.

Well, Mr. Speaker, we believe as a government that we have laid the ground- work and the foundation necessary for the planning and developing to which this government of action has dedicated its full energies and resources. (Applause). And we have only begun our task; we welcome public support as we welcome support from Opposition members for our policies directed to the future development of our province. We appreciate the greater opportunities that lie at our doorstep; we appreciate the task of opening the door to those greater opportunities, and we ap- preciate, as the Leader of the Opposition appreciates and the Opposition Members, that our function is not to run the farmers off small farms. By no means will anyone be forced to leave their present occupation, but there are many people on small farms,

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