Legislative_A_ssembly

several of the meetings and I thought that this was going to be the solution to all the problems of Welfare in this Province.

We could have abandoned the Disabled Persons Allowance who only seemed to qualify about 2% of the people who applied. Because the Medical Board had the say in this and they claimed that they must be totally and permanently disabled and unable to dress themselves, and here those people couldn't get a bit of assistance. But now Disabled Persons Allowance, Blind Persons Allowance, T.B. Allowance can all be done away with and put under this one Comprehensive Plan where there is no maximum, there are no strings attached to it. It is up to the Government to decide on what they can do, and we hope that this Canada Assistance Plan, like it is help- ing the other Provinces, will be a benefit to this Province. But I wonder if it has?

I have here a letter given to me by a lady, living alone with three children. She stayed home with her parents and looked after them, both bed patients, until they died. She has three children and she was left with the farm. The Hospital took a mortgage on the farm and sold her out. The purchaser said, “I only want the land, and you can stay in that house.” She came looking for assistance, and first we started her off with $40.00, and then we increased it to $75.00, because even $75.00 is only half of what those little children needed. Four people in a home trying to live on $40.00, but we increased it to help the thing out and I hope that' it could have been increased more, but look what we got: “Please be advised that at the last meeting of the Social Welfare Board, it was decided that your allowance be set at $40.00 pending review. The cheque sent out to you for the last few months was made out in error.” The Social Assistance Board did approve the $75.00 but now they come out and say this was an error. “However we are having a visit made to you and an up-to-date report to provide the Committee with further consideration." They had all the information they wanted on file. Now, Mr. Speaker, I contend, actions like this have forced prostitution on the people in this Province, and that is what we have to put up with. This lady had to move in with someone in order to exist with those children she was looking after. And that is the new Canada Pen- sion Plan in this Province, not in the others. . . .

I was going to say something about industry, but I guess we have heard a lot about industry, about the industry that the former Government established in this Province. I am glad to hear Usen Fisheries are going to be in operation again, but unfortunately we hear rumours. We know that the Montague Plant was having trouble, we know that Georgetown Plants are having trouble, we know that the plant in Summerside is a doubtful re-opener. The plant that was proposed for Alberton, we never hear a word from it and now the biggest industry in this Province, we understand, is having difficulty, and unless they find a buyer, they are going to lock the doors. The plant is paying out $20,000 to the people west of Summerside per week for employment, and there is a danger of that plant closing because they can't get the finances. If we look at all these promises that they are going to do to expand industries, this is what we are getting.

During the last election they made a great hullabaloo about the Industrial Park in Summerside. The former Government arranged for that land, they got A.R.D.A. to run water and sewage through that land, they built a pavement up Green Street to completely cover that area of land. We organized an incorporated group to look after this and during the last election they had a photograph in the paper, the Liberal Party, showing this as the Industrial Development of Hayfields. But they gave us no credit to what had been done. One year later, look at it today, it is still a hayfield it is still a hayfield and we had prospects of the Aluminum Can Company that were to come here from California. Whatever happened to it? All the talk about George- town; they said we will have nothing to do with it. What about the Insecticide Plant that was to come to Summerside and they were down here investigating the possibility of getting some finances. Now they tell me it is out. The two plants that we had hoped to take the place of R.C.A.F. Station Summerside should anything happen there, so there is nothing done. I wonder if we are going along year after year, anticipating industry and never getting it; well, we hope that this does not happen because we want, on this side, to co-operate and get industry. We want to help industry. We know that if we want industry in this Province, the Government has to do something about it. Private capital is not going to do it, because you just

—251—