Thursday, March 16, 196'!
ernment of three million dollars and another loan of one million was approved in principle by the federal ADB. No payment of interest on the loan of three million was requhd during the first five years and none on the principal for ten years. During the sixth year the rate of interest is to be 1% and increased by another per- cent until the tenth nr eleventh year. In addition, a grant of $309,000 was given by the province for the building of a wharf. ADB agreed to pay a grant of over half a million dollars for services. Why we. or this Government, was not able to assist the town of Georgetown and keep that plant going in the same manner that the province of Nova Scotia fixed up for this little town that was in the same position is beyond me. This is the kind of interest taken by other provinces and there are scores of other examples. Only Prince Edward Island is out of step. Only one party in all of Canada, as far as I know, has taken a stand against industrial development. The Premier of this province wanted another example; why doesn’t he consider his friend ‘ Lester Pearson? How many millions of dollars did he vote out of the taxpayers money of this country to go up into the rich province of Ontario and expand the automobile industry there. Why? Simply because he knew that was a good sugges- tion. He knew that it was going to open more jobs and more wealth for the Province of Ontario. He wasn’t worrying about the money and I think that is the stand that we must take here. These plants, Mr. Speaker, are part of an extension program in the same way that our tourist development is part of an extension program. in the same way that loans to farmers are part of an extension program, making it easier for the farm people to earn their living and bring in greater wealth to themselves and their people. Giving to the tourist industry brings in large amounts of money to this province. Why crack down on this matter of industrial development in this big- gest and most ambitious of our plants, located in Georgetown?
I am not concerned, Mr. Speaker, with the loss of a dollar if it is put out and we are bringing in ten. I am not concerned with the loss of $100,000 or any other amount of money if that is going to bring in a large amount of money that will be distributed among the people. That is what they are trying to do and that is what the Georgetown plant meant to do. I don’t know what the influence of this on Georgetown will be. I do know this, that there were many homes built there, new homes, some of the owners don’t know exactly what to do now that they are out of work. I knew that new business was coming into Georgetown as a result of that plant, and I knew that through that whole stretch of country in my discussions with clergymen and everyone else that the establishment of a Georgetown plant had made people of that part of the province. That is what I am looking for: to help people wherever they are to develop with all possible speed their opportunities, if financial assistance has been provided in the first place for maintenance purposes and that is why they want money, to keep the plant going. Other money would have flowed into this province and there would have been no stoppage of this valuable work. The government is caught at the present time in a mess of their own ill-advised making, they have helped to ruin Georgetown and they helped to destroy industrial develop- ment in the province, and I can only quote the Premier himself when he stated in a release not very long ago that industrial development is now dormant in the prov- ince of Prince Edward Island. It became dormant since his government came in, because of the fact that his Government refused to assist the development of industry. Let him make a clear statement on the unfair and damaging releases that were com- pletely unjustified. Let him explain why he closed these projects right in the middle of the fishing season, and state clearly why he refused financial assistance at the time, and why he is now spending huge amounts of revenue to operate a portion of this plant under government direction. Let him tell this House that the operation now is as efficient as when he took it over. Let him tell this House that it is not true that outside interest did offer financial help if he had showed some disposition
also assist. Let him explain why he has paid some accounts out of government revenues and not others. Let him explain why he has taken over trawlers worth over $800,000 apiece at what is reported to be about $4.00 apiece, and whether he is on legal ground that are sound in that connection. I ask the Premier why he is so anxious to take over the operations from the two companies entirely under govern- ment jurisdiction? Where he has the offer, I believe, at the present time of a plan where responsible people from Prince Edward Island would come in and act as a Board that would help out in the operation of these plants. No, Mr. Speaker, the
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