Wednesday, May 17, 1967

L. George Dewar: I was hoping you were not just quoting an exerpt from the context.

Honourable Gordon L. Bennett: No I was not, Sir. As a matter of fact the Prime Minister said that a province could take the money, all of it if they wished and build a bridge with it!

Walter R. Shaw: That is exactly what I am fraid of, exactly what the Ministef of Public Works will do with it when the election rolls around. He will have two bridges down in Murray Harbour.

Honourable Gordon L. Bennett: And certainly, Sir, as long as the rest of us are concerned with other departments the Minister of Public Works and Highways will not be taking very much of this money to build bridges or roads.

Walter R. Shaw: You hold onto it, and put it where it is intended for education.

Honourable Gordon L. Bennett: I think it is of interest here, Mr. Speaker, to deal specifically with the effect of this money on our own province, and to be even more specific, how it effects the two institutions of higher education. I don’t want to burden the House with statistics and figures but as you have already learned, the honourable member from Second Kings never likes to be quiet when I am up here speaking. The first time I was here he was engaged in a conversation for at least half an hour, and now he has a little “bull-session” going back there.

Walter R. Shaw: I never saw the like, Mr. Speaker.

Honourable Gordon L. Bennett: But I don’t mind as long as the Leader of the Opposition can hear me.

Walter R. Shaw: Indeed that’s right, I support that. (Applause)

Honourable Gordon L. Bennett: I don’t mind, Mr. Speaker, but it can be time consuming and I know we have a dozen more speakers, and there may be the same number on the other side. We recognize, Mr. S eaker, getting back to statistics which can be very boring, that we got from the f eral government $1,630,000 which is as I said a moment ago, was provided by the federal government since they were getting out of the Vocational-Technical Training. With this amount we were expected to provide for all the education at the post-secondary level, of which the university population makes up the largest group. But we must provide all education at the post-secondary levels, we also must continue to maintain and operate the two vocational high schools which we have in this province. As I said last evening, this thought is one of the reasons why we have delayed the construction of another vo- cational high school in Kings County, and in Prince. We know they could serve a need in these areas, but we are aware‘ at the same time that we have to pick up the full cost for the maintaining and the operating of these buildings.

Walter R. Shaw: That's right.

Keith S. Harrington: Mr. Minister you don’t mind me asking you a question? This final payment from the federal government is not a yearly annual grant?

Honourable Gordon L. Bennett: No, it will be probably moved upwards slightly as the costs of post-secondary education across the country increase. But since we are working on a er capita grant, $15.00 per capita, the costs have to go up pretty considerably ore we as a province would profit substantially. But they are related to the increase in the costs of post-secondary education across the country.

Mr. Speaker, to come right down to our own province, I want to show exactly what this means to the universities in the province. These two universities have estimated their attendance for 1967-1968 to be as follows: St. Dunstan’s Un- iversity, 875 students; Prince of Wales College, 700 students.

If we use these figures, and we have no better guide at the present time, the two Universities, under this new arrangement with Ottawa, will be 19.9% better

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