Legislative Assembly _________________________

Honourable M. Lorne Bonnell: No. L. George Dewar: No federal?

Walter R. Shaw: Just provincial?

Honourable M. Lorne Bonnell: Now just to clarify that a little bit for the hon- ourable member from Second Prince, there will be a Medical Board. Regulations are set up so that we can have a Medical Board as well as a Canada Assistance Board, and

on that Medical Board there will be two positions, one for the province, and one for the federal, to consider the medical needs of the welfare people who apply.

L. George Dewar: Medical need or medical disability? Honourable M. Lorne Bonnell: Medical need and disability both. Leo F. Rossiter: Mr. Minister, do you consider this a duplication of services?

Honourable M. Lorne Bonnell: Do I consider this a duplication of services over and above what ?

Leo F. Rossiter: Well, you have two Boards and they are both dealing with practically the same thing and they 'both have medical officers on the Board.

Honourable M. Lorne Bonnell: We will have no duplication of services because what we will probably do is make the former Board the Board under this Act.

Leo F. Rossiter: Do away with the other?

Honourable M. Lorne Bonnell: We will do away with The Disabled Persons Board completely because the regulations under that Disabled Persons Act were so ridiculous, to my mind, that an awful lot of just claims were turned down because of minor little paragraphs or some little thing that was left out of the Act.

Leo F. Rossiter: You are doing away with the other Board, eh?

Honourable M. Lorne Bonnell: I propose to do away with the other Board and put them into this one.

Several Members: (Remarks inaudible).

Honourable M. Lorne Bonnell: This is a new program we are phasi in this province to assist those in need. Now somebody asked one day, what is “need ’? What do you mean by “need”? And we mean this by “need". If a lady, a widow with three children should happen to live in a rural area and she is payin rent $40.00 a month. Then she needs that $40.00 a month to pay that rent over and a ove her cost of living, and we consider that rent for that widow “need.” If that widow happens to live in the City of Charlottetown or Summerside where the rents are higher, it might be $60.00 a month. We consider that extra $60.00, a month to pay her rent as “need" over and above her actual living.

Leo F. Rossiter: Deserted mothers?

Honourable M. Lorne Bonnell: Deserted mothers? Well, if they qualify under The Mother’s Allowance, and if they are deserted for two years and have made an effort to have their husband, who deserted them, pay their bills, and they got nothing from him, then we will consider them under this program.

Leo F. Rossiter: We have children in our district whose mother and father both deserted them and they are living with their grandparents, and they have been getting assistance for the children. The grandparents call iff-afford to school them and this type of thing, you know.

_ Honourable M. Lorne Bonnell: Well I might state, Mr. Member from Second Kings, that under this program we can assist in child welfare as well. And under the former Chlld Welfare Program, Provincial Program; but now Child Welfare will be a fifty-fifty deal, half paid by Ottawa and half paid by the province. (Applause)

Leo F. Rossiter: Mr. MacDonald is the man in charge of that?

Honourable M. Lorne Bonnell: Mr. Eugene MacDonald, Director of Child Wel- fare, and this would come under him.

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