^Tuesday, February 27, 1968 on the houses themselves which each of the owners can do, they can save a considerable amount of money. Now, Mr. Speaker , this program should be made known to all our people and I would ask the Government to give this matter special attention. It may mean some additional expenditure but I cannot think of anythine that would be more beneficial to our people or return greater dividends to the Gov¬ ernment. Now, Mr. Speaker , Prince Edward Island , like every other Province has a great deal of poor housing. In fact, there is fairly substantial number of our people living in substandard houses and some people living in disgracefully inhuman condi¬ tions. We have an obligation to do something to improve this situation and I think we should make a determined, forceful attack on it. We should make it part of our social welfare program and as far as I can see it is difficult to really improve living conditions for families if they are forced to live in buildings which are little better than barns. Mr. Speaker , I want to commend the Minister of Education, who is the Minis ter responsible for housing in this Province, for his efforts and initiative to make better homes available for all our citizens regardless of income or age At the National Housing Conferenece in Ottawa last December he and our Premier made a forceful presentation for housing problems, especially in the rural areas and suggested many constructive proposals to improve these conditions. Mr. Speaker , I am pleased that the Government is using the various means available to it to' maintain the beauty and appearance of our Province. The most frequent comment about our Island that we hear from visitors and perhaps the one single thing most impresses them is the clean, tidy and attractive appearance of our countryside. Of course, the Island people who take a great pride in their homes and properties are the ones who deserve our congratulations and thanks for this most attractive appearance. The Rural Beautification program has helped a great deal to foster this attitude and encourag¬ ing rural people to beautify and improve their holdings. I hope the Government through various legislation will continue to enforce proper control and standards to maintain a beautiful province. I am happy to note that amendments will be intro¬ duced at this session to the Town Planning and the Unsightly Premises . Of course, those charged with the responsibility of administering this and other legislation and regulations most always exercise good judgment and reasonableness in the enforcement of all restrictions and controls so that those who for financial reasons cannot afford an expenditure will not be hurt or unduly penalized. Now, Mr. Speaker , there has once again been considerable amount of discussion about the proposed causeway or Northumberland Strait crossing. While my position on this important undertaking has not changed and has been made well known I would like to comment on the subject briefly at this time. Since I represent the district which will probably be most affected by the crossing, I am particularly in¬ terested in it. I am pleased that the Government, with financial and technical assis¬ tance from the Atlantic Development Board and the C.M.H.C ., has engaged a top- rate consulting firm to undertake a thorough study to determine the effects on Borden, Carleton and the area of the crossing both during the construction period and after completion. The consultants will provide detailed planning as to what should be done in this area so that maximum advantage can be taken during the building period and the necessary facilities available when the crossing comes into operation. The consultants have already made an interim report, but their final report will wait until a final decision is made on the design of the crossing. The Federal Government has been criticized for delay and I agree that this vital matter does not appear to be advancing as rapidly as it should. However, it seems to me that the Federal Depart¬ ment of Public Works had no choice but to reject any contract when the lowest bid for the New Brunswick causeway section was seventy percent above the estimate. If the cost of this type of construction was nearly double then the more complicated bridge-tunnel section would most likely have been even much more above the estimate. It seems to me that in such an enormous, complex undertaking the prudent thing for the Government to do was to go back for more information and for reconsidera¬ tion of the design. Now, this design should soon be completed. With a man of the calibre of Col. Edward Churchill in charge of this project, I have every confidence that there will be no more delays and a contract for actual construction work on the crossing should be made late this year. There is no doubt in my mind that the crossing will be built and I am equally confident that the man who built Expo from "scratch" in a little over two years will build us the crossing with the same efficiency and despatch. Meanwhile we are completing work on the approach roads and the —11—