Wedneaday, May 17, 1967

least the minimum qualifications. And this is the reason, Sir, that we placed the emphasis in our increased grants on those people whose license classification com- menced at Certificate One and ran right through as you know, Sir, to Certificate Five.

Leo F. Rossiter: You don't recognize their experience?

Honourable Gordon L. Bennett: Recognition of experience, Mr. Speaker, is pro- vided for in the increments within the various classes and for the benefit of the honourable member from Second Kings, I may say that the increment in this respect are better in the Province of Prince Edward Island than they are in several of our neighbouring provinces. Now, Mr. Speaker, on this very point I want to say that the teachers themselves in annual Convention showed their real stature when at an open forum on the last day of the Convention they were given an opportunity to discuss the salary grants which had been recently approved. As a matter of fact they were urged to get up and lay their “beefs” before the delegates assembled, and as I say, Sir, I give this teaching body, a thousand of them in attendance, full marks because not one roste to publicly object to the salary scale that was established by the present vernmen .

Walter R. Shaw: You did have some objections through the press.

Honourable Gordon L. Bennett: Yes, the press gave some evidence of dissatis- action among a few teachers, and when I went down to face them I had some trepi- ation I will admit. but I left the meeting feeling that the teachers of this province ere extremely fair-minded individuals, and they recognized that the salary scale hat had been recently ado ted was an education-centered and inspired increase. It as not an election-inspire type of grant. It was based on the sole desire of our epartment to improve the teaching profession. Now I could go on at length, Mr. peaker, with respect to this business of salary increases and trace the record of suc- ssive governments through the years with respect to salary increases and indicate hat there was a virtual cessation of increases for a fairly long riod of time dur- g the regime of our friends who are now in Opposition, but I 0 not intend to do hat at this time, Mr. Speaker.

It is very heartening to us in the Department that the teachers realize that the nly way they are going to get better salaries is by improving their oualifications. e not only want better paid teachers, but we also want better qualified teachers. e teachers themselves are taking this seriouslfy and I venture to predict, Mr. Speak- r, that during the Summer School sessions 0 1967 we will find more teachers in ttendance, trying to improve their qualifications so that they can get increased sal- ries than we ever had in the past. As a matter of fact, several have also indicated hat they wish to take a year or two away from the teaching profession in order to ully qualify through obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree or some other type of credential. And I would hope, Mr. Speaker, that in due time — perhaps before too long — we ight be able to establish some adequate system of bursaries, loans, or a system of sabbatical leave which would permit these teachers to take a year or two off to con- tinue their studies and receive some sort of financial assistance during their absence.

Number two on my little agenda, Mr. Speaker, is this business of university grants. This House is aware that at a Conference in Ottawa last fall the question of university grants came under consideration, and certain very important announce- ments were made at that time. They were three in number and came, I think I must admit, as a bit of a surprise to mose people in attendance at the Conference. Now the main points that were brought to our attention were these. One, that Ottawa was getting out of the Vocational and Technical Training Shared Program. This has since happened; they have phased out of this particular of rogram as of March 31, 1967. The second important announcement was that e f eral government was leaving University support and development completely to the provinces. The fed- eral vernment has decided that the provincial governments shall, in future, receive in a um sum a certain amount of mono which, in turn, will be distributed by the provincia governments. And third, the fe eral government has decided to go into the adult training program to some considerable depth and expand this particular type of program much more than they have in the past.

With respect to the curtailment of the Federal-Provincial Assistance in Voca- tional Training, I think that perhaps this decision was based on sound ground because

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