Legislative Assembly needs of our people. The Legislation introduced in regard to higher education is way off the mark. It does nothing, and again the pious platitudes of the MMeter ojf Education do not help. It is urgent that we do not begin to squander money unless It is necessary. Higher education is too important and too expensive for us to con¬ done its future in this Province being determined by a half dosen prejudiced Indivi¬ duals in both institutions, who will not recognise their responsibility to all of oar people. Mr. Speaker , these four paramount problems have not received the attention they deserve during this session. The Government has been content to drift along. to give the people the pablum which they consider appropriate and iiinadiont, and to rely on publicity, etc., to try to project a progressive image. I suggest to flu members that this is not good enough. The people will not be fooled. We have had a long and largely useless session. It would be longer if we, in the Opposition, thought that there was any hope of the Government's accepting some guidance in conducting the affairs of the people of the Province, but it is envious that we will have to wait a little while longer. Now those are the four major items, Mr. Speaker , on which I wanted to make some observations on the work of this Assembly during these past two months. In regard to the Budget itself, the specific items of the Budget itself. I wish to say only one thing. I now refer to the matter of the Budget for Hospitals. I think some reservations were expressed in the Legislative Assembly here in 1958 and 1959 that possibly there would be some cutting of Hospital Budgets as soon as the Hospital Budgets were in competition with such Budgets as those of Highways and so on. This year the Hospital Service Commission, I understand, sub¬ mitted a Budget which took into consideration necessary increases to nurses and other hospital personnel to bring them more in line with the other . It still would not have brought them up in line, but it would have made the difference less apparent. I believe the hospitals and the Hospital Commission recognise the impossible 10% increase in salaries to hospital personnel. This was immediately chopped by the Treasury Board down to 5% so that now, we, in this Province find ourselves, or will find ourselves, or do find ourselves, trying to keep nurses and other qualified hospital personnel here in the Island when they have been offered more attractive salaries elsewhere. I certainly don't understand the reason for this and I think that when the Estimates come up the Minister of Health will have some difficulty in explaining this move. As certain as I am standing here, we are going to lose highly qualified hos¬ pital personnel within the next year or so, simply on the reason of difference in salary with the other . There is quite a difference between Ontario and Quebec and Prince Edward Island . There is also a marked difference between the other Maritime and Prince Edward Island , and the present Hospital Bndget is going to make that worse. Mr. Speaker , I have no other observations to make on the specific items in the Budget. I will leave this to those who are more qualified to so do. (Applause) Honourable Keir Clark , Minister of Health and Municipal Affairs: (Fourth Kings) Mr. Speaker , it was not my intention to speak on this address, but some indication was given that Ministers were expected to speak. I shall deal with a few matters. The first observation I would like to make in respect to the Budget is that I am simply terrified at the enormity of the budgetary figures, and I am equally terrified at the financial condition of this province at the present time. We see as we glance over the Budget such figures as total net debt on March 81, 1966, as $66,000,000.00. We know that during this election spending-spree that was engaged in by the former Government that our total net debt increased very substantially. We also see such figures as an indirect debt on July 28, 1966, of nearly $28,000.06040, and figuring up the debts, direct and indirect, without taking into consideration all the municipal debts of the province, the per capita debt must be approaching the vicinity of $800.00. The debt charges in the current fiscal year ending March $1, 1967 for the past fiscal year were four and one half million dollars. Actually, Mr.