Wednesday, February 28, 1968

the last session were entirely inadequate and I brought that to the attention of this House at the time. They refused last session to support our resolution, to support New Brunswick in an appeal for assistance among potato growers until the time that that stand was unpopular and could not be justified and then they brought in another resolution. Not a member of this Government went to Ottawa with potato nro- ducers from New Brunswick or from this Province to discuss this matter with the Fed- eral Minister and the Cabinet. They passed it over to you. Mr. Speaker. They passed it over to you and you passed it on to Ottawa very kindly but without one word of support from the Ministers of this Government. The result of this lukewarm atti- tude was the support of 95c which was far below what we should have secured at that time. And what are they doing this year to help our potato growers? Did you notice just about a week ago that the Federal Minister of Agriculture, that great Mr. Greene, was out in the West and promised the western growers support for their potatoes Has any applications been made from this Province by this Govern- ment for help from Ottawa to Mr Greene? What did they do on the fertilizer by the way? We opened this out with no ceiling on the amount of the total subsidy on fertilizer They cut it off so that farm producers could not possibly secure any more than twenty percent on the purchase of three hundred dollars worth of fertilizer or a total of $60.00 in all. but the farmer who purchased five or eight or a thousand dollars worth of fertili7er could also get only $60.00 and I have so many come to me asking me what the world is going on here. There was great disappointment among the people because that fertilizer, whether it is large or small. went out to produce more grain and better pastures. There was no policv that was more in- fluential in helping the farmer out in this time of necessity. They cut out the milk subsidy that was provided through the former Government. Now. during the regeme, and I’m not blaming this Government for all this, during their regime the price of hogs sagged up to ten cents a pound and to make the situation still Worse, the premium on hogs has been reduced by one dollar per head and that premium. Mr. Speaker. bears more heavily on the farmers and the hog growers of this Province than any other of the larger provinces. Our percentage of selects is around fifty- eight percent. The percentage in some of the larger provinces is only around thirty riercent so our hog producers stand to lose on the removal of that premium an amount that reaches up close to a hundred thousand dollars which should have gone, which has been taken out of the pockets of the farmers. What happened to the premium on lambs? I was told by those who were very near the market that the reduction of that premium on lambs will destroy the chief industry of this Province and yet our Government leaders stand in happy poses. getting their pictures taken and giving empty phrases of the great things that will happen at some mysterious future day. What has the Government done about all these things? Let the Gov— ernment table the correspondence with Ottawa along with the statement of what consultations has taken place between this Province and Ottawa regarding these let- ters effecting the farmers. Let them tell what has been done on increased trans- portation costs. Five months ago transportation costs went up. That was the time to have taken action. Not five or six months later when these things are in opera- tion. That too has affected very seriously the revenues for our farmers, a develop- ment, Mr. Speaker, within recent years. again on hogs. has been the large pro- duction of weaner pigs. We had a tremendous market in Newfoundland and in Nova Scotia and many farmers kept a large number of sows which brought in a profit- able, and steady revenue in the weaner market. The increase in the transportation charges has practically destroyed this trade. I am told by one large producer that this trade is ruined. This means the destruction of a profitable new development that has taken place as a result of inaction on the part of this Government. No this is no time for boasting and cheap publicity. It is time for the Government to get up of it’s well padded sleeping-couches and get out to the people who are suf- fering and facing disaster. I just have a few figures here on the revenues in this Province during the period that we were in power. There they are. 1061 — The gross earnings in the farms is 9525000000. over twenty-five: 1002 it was almost 5520000000: in 1903 it was almost $28,000.000: in 1964 it was almost $34,000,000: in 1965 it was over $39,000,000: in 1066. the year we went out of power, it was $40,627,000. What is it today? Millions below that. Millions below that. I’m not saying that the Government is to blame for all that reduction. As I said before, there are natural causes that create changes in production and market values from years to year. But I do say this: if we had carried into effect the promises that were made, if these premiums had been left on. it would have been a lot better. What about the new

_37_