Wednesday, May 17, 1967

so far as the Opposition in this House is concerned we cannot blame the Opposition for trying to cover up some of these defects by a good deal of noise which they have certainly made, by setting up smoke-screens, which they have certainly tried to do, by drawing red-herrings across the debate, which they have tried to do. But of course I did say, and I think yesterday, that a red-herring wouldn't cover the trail they made in the financial affairs of this province." Well isn’t that so true today! “If they had drawn a whale across that trail the trail would still be pretty distinct and clear. The trail was too deep ly defined and too deeply imprinted upon the know- ledge and the hearts and the minds of the people of this province.” Those statements made by the then Leader of the Government are very much better said today than they were then. Another statment made at that time, when he was talking about this awful debt that the former Liberal Government had left in the province when the new Premier took over, was that the net debt was by way of 328.715.000.00. “Think of it,” he said, “What a disgraceful record it was; the most unjustifiable careless expenditure that was ever experienced in this province.” That is the story, that is the story, the indefensible story of $8,000,000.00 seven years ago. The story today is $100,000;000.00.

Some Member: Don’t you believe the Provincial Auditor?

Honourable M. Lorne Bone“: The Provincial Auditor? I believe him. The only thing is I am taking the debt as of July 28, 1966; the net debt was $6,000,000.00. That's the net debt. It was $1,592,000.00 of a total debt, and you add onto that another ”1,000,000.00 which we have for the year 1968-1967 and this makes it ”2,000,000.00: and you add on another ”4,000,000.00 of indirect debt which makes it just about $1,00,000,000.oo. as of March 81, 1967.

Some Member: I don’t think it is that bad.

Honourable Alexander B. Campbell: That’s quite a Centennial figure, quite a Centennial debt.

Honourable M. Lorne Bonnell: That is the irrefutable story! That is the story that thepeo ple of this province have found out in this Session; that is the story hich was $28, 000, 000. 00, paccording to the Leader of the Government and the external audit of September 16,1969. It has gone up just about four times as much in seven years as it 1’did from Confederation to 1959. It has got to the point where the Pro- vincial Treasurer, whom I congratulate, isto eeg to take a hard look at the economy of the province and at its revenue totry pordinary e ditures in balance to the best of his ability. I feel sure that with the help of t e government and the Premier that he will come back next year with figures very similar to those which he has given about two weeks ago. I think that this External Audit should be made

public and it should be printed in the front pages of the Guardian. I don’t know what you have to do to get this into the Guardian without paying for it. I guess if you paid to have it put in, it would take whatever little bit of money we have left in this province.

Some Member: I think it is going to be $4,000,000.00, next year, Sir. Some Member: What about the golf course?

Honourable M. Lorne Bonnell: I can assure the Junior Member from Third Kings that the golf course is still coming through. (Applause).

Some Member: Mr. Speaker, would the speaker permit another question? Honourable M. Lorne Bonnell: Yes, sure.

Some Member: How come you are giving a nineteen hole golf course to Bru- denell, and only an eighteen hole course to West Prince?

Honourable M. Lorne Donnell: Well, I thought perhaps you might be down . there with your good friend from First Queens. The nineteenth hole would be for

your convenience. (Laughter). It is not a ten thousand dollar hole like the member from Second Kings has.

Now, Mr. Speaker there are a couple of things which I wuld like to comment on in connection with my department. First, the external report of the Hospital

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