Legislative Assembly

this is where we are looking for information, and evidence of what this government is trying to do was right here in this Session today and yesterday where questions were asked of the head of the departments, single questions and they said they didn’t know. They had to go home and look through their files to get a “yes” or “no” answer. That is a most disgraceful attitude to take regarding simple questions of information. We remember those flambuoyant promises that were made during the election campaign, we were assured by the Leader with a tremor in his voice that all would promptly be implemented if he were elected, that by election practices that were somewhat questionable, and richly supported it has been said from outside interests with party ammunition, this government finally stumbled into power and has been stumbling ever since.

Now, I wonder about that pension? Here is their wonderful program, I am sure when they look at that and read it they must wonder why they ever put such a program out. They held back, where are the pensions now? Where is that $125.00 pension that they promised people who needed it in this province? That is in their election manifesto. $100.00 a month for Senior Citizens without a means test, and $125.00 where needed, that is the story. Have they any answer for that? At the present time the $25.00 has been held up by this government. Surely the Premier of this province who had so many friends at Ottawa would have made necessary ar- rangements to keep that $25.00 being paid. Make the adjustments later on and let the people enjoy that $26.00 because they needed it and made arrangements for its expenditure. but that wasn’t done. Then where are the nursing homes that they promised? Where is the crash program on low housing units? Where is Medicare?

Gone with the wind. I am sorry. Honourable Keir Clark: It’s coming.

Walter R. Shaw: Yes, it is coming, that’s the promises. Last year as soon as the Government came into power we would implement them. That’s what this peculiar Draft Address says now. “Sometime in the future." Heaven knows when it is coming! Well we know what has arrived: the desolation. Then they went on to say that this Medicare and all this would be started. We were going to get kinder- gartens too. That wasn’t in the Draft Address.

L. George Dewar: Yes, yes. Walter R. Shaw: Was it there? L. George Dewar: Yes, there was an item about it.

Walter R. Shaw: Well I hope they will be built soon and I would urge the members of the Government to get into that kindergarten, and I would be very pleased to offer myself as a teacher. I think I could do them a lot of good in carrying on the business of this province.

But they did do something, they washed out, for some perverted reason, the Senior Citizens homes, one of our finest institutions. I had some correspondence with my honourable friend the Minister of Education where the arrangements were made in a certain part of this province for a Senior Citizen’s home and the list was there of those who wanted to get in that home. My honourable friend knows this too. But no, Sir, they wouldn’t do that; they had something else on their hands. There is a great demand and why have they failed in this? A Minister of IAbour will be appointed, they said, who will devote his full time to the needs of the working people. Well we had good Ministers of Labour, and the labouring institutions in this province were well satisfied too. The minimum wage was to be increased. Yes, Sir, there was a definite promise. It is true our Ministers of Labour did not have the large swanky offices like my honourable friend. I am glad to see him sitting back in his office down there with a happy appearance. But on this minimum wage it was to cover men and women in better paid jobs through planned development and industry by and for Islanders. I would like to ask them where these industries are? They have been in here long enough to develop some of them. I challenge them to mention me industry that has been started, or even on the way. I mean the construction of in- dustry, not the destruction, and I would like to know where the minimum wage act is for men and women. They left the impression that men and women in all prac-

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