Legislative Assembly

Honourable Alexander B. Campbell: Could we know what your quoting from?

Walter R. Shaw: I'm quoting from the Maritime Co-Opeirator and he says, “I quite well remember a study made by business consultants working for the Nova Scotia

Government in the very early sixties. The study cost the tax payers of the Province over a half a million dollars. The recommendations that were finally made as they affected the Dept. of Agriculture and marketing were not worth the paper they were written on. To the best of my knowledge not one of the recommendations have ever been implemented. I would say these recommendations were fruitless and wasteful. I have watched a lot of these studies over the years. I have read of many of the economic studies since they affected agriculture and I must say that at one time I had some enthusiasm for the value of this type of approach. I can’t remember

any of the economic studies made in Canada by agricultural economists that are really worth a damn.”

Hon. Cecil A. Miller: Who is the author? Walter R. Shaw: Dr. J. W. Walsh, one of the most highly respected men in Canada.

Hon. Cecil A. Miller: Was he a very close friend of yours?

Walter R. Shaw: He was a friend of mine surely because we were on dozens of con- ferences together.

Hon. Alexander B. Campbell: You send him the Acres reports. Send him the Acres reports. He’ll probably say the same thing.

Walter R. Shaw: I have read a great many of these reports and am not impressed. Then he goes on to deal with the recent committee appointed by the Hon. J. J. Greene. I know that fellow too. and he calls it, “Greene’s fumble” and he criticizes the qualifi- cations of some of the men who have been appointed to do the job and states, “I wonder why the Minister could not have found people in his own Department who could at least have equal or better qualifications”. Now, this is what Dr. Walsh says, he goes on further to state, “I think the economists are great at collecting figures. Agriculture really is sick and we certainly want the best doctors we can to get and look after this patient. make decisions and who has a down to earth con- cept of the problems of the 300,000 farmers in Canada”. Now, again I will say that this has no relationship. this is a general observation on men who are being set up to do a job for industry and I feel that it is something that we should take no time, that’s if we’re going to establish plans that’s going to help agriculture, particularly in the position it is in at the present time, we must have men who understand the problem of the farmer. Now, I wonder why able men in this Province are not involved in this study? What about the Experimental Farm personnel, with long years of intensive study and experience: what about the Agricultural Council that was organ- ized twenty-one years ago and is still going strong? It held it’s annual meeting about two weeks ago: that involves all the leading agriculturists in this province. What about the rural community groups started about eight years ago now being carried on in this Province with excellent results? I feel there is a great power and experience and understanding in that group of people. men and women. that are organized in a score of different sections of this Province at the present time and I have a great respect for these men and women, they are doing a tremendous job and I would support them in every way. I feel that some of these men and women could very well have mixed in with this group here to line out or devise some agric- cultural policy that is going to help the farm people of this province.

Hon. Alexander B. Campbell: They are, Sir, they are.

Walter R. Shaw: They’re not. There‘s not one on that group.

Hon. Alexander B. Campbell: Rural Development.

\Valter R. Shaw: They’re not, no, not with the Economic Corporation.

Hon. Alexander B. Campbell: You wait ‘till Wednesday, ‘till you meet some tomor- row morning.

‘Valtcr R. Shaw: I mean in here taking part and advising, not casual contacts here and there. That’s not working or devising a plan at all.

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