Legislative Assembly

dairy policy which closed out eighty percent of our creamery patrons subsidy advan- tage and was finally rearranged after our dairymen were up in arms and went to Ottawa? It is still unsettled and still leaves out a large segment of our dairy pro- ducers. Now, farmers who deliver less than 420 lbs. of fat will get nothing, another vicious blow to the small producer. That fellow has been quickly kicked off his farm by these conditions. No small farmer need apply. The Government forgets that the producer who delivers only 420 lbs. of fat may be in addition supporting a large family and he needs these four or five cows to feed his family, supply his own re- quirements and the extra amount of fat is sent to the creamery. Whether a pro- ducer delivers him 420 to 750 lbs. of fat, there is a sort of a dairy means test here and I’d like to bring this to the attention of this House. He now must submit some kind of an application containing personal earning information. If he is energetic and derives a certain level of supplementary revenue, perhaps his wife teaches school, perhaps he goes off and does some carpentry work, he may have some small children 2.‘ home that are looking after the odd jobs and he gets home in the evening and he is industrious and he starts and he gets some cattle in to supplement what he is earning outside. Now, if that is true, if he receives certain level of revenue from outside which may not be sufficient to keep him, he will not receive that subsidy even through he produces up to 1,750 lbs. of fat. Could anyone imagine anything more ridiculuous and discriminatory. I had a young man come in just a few days ago before this House opened and he said, “Look, I bought a few good Holstein cattle. I’ve only got a small farm!” He was burned out last year and he built a new barn. “And I want to see this farm go.” He has a small family of eight or nine children. He said, “I want to build a little herd of cattle, dairy cattle”, and he’s working, he’s working, in his spare time in an adjacent community. “No,” he says, “I won’t be able to take advantage of this and there are scores of people in that same sitution.”

Hon. Alexander B. Campbell: How many cows did he buy?

Walter R. Shaw: He bought five for a start, and they were good cows.

Hon. Alexander B. Campbell: He couldn’t get 420 lbs. from five.

W'alter R. Shaw: He’s not allowed, if he produces 1,750 lbs. if he’s earning outside. Hon. Alexander B. Campbell: Yes, he is, Sir.

Walter R. Shaw: No. he's not and I have the statement right from your office on it. Yes, well you can’t tell me anything different. If that man is earning a certain amount of money outside he can’t take advantage of that. That’s correct. That’s the situation. Can you imagine anything more discriminating than that?

Then the little fellow with 420 pounds, he gets nothing, and I would like you people to read something here in this morning’s paper, and this is a letter from no other than Mr. Hazen Argue. He can argue some too! He was made Senator by the Pearson Government and see what he has to say about this. see if he agrees with this. That small farmer, Mr Speaker, a large percentage of those are sending their cream to the creameries, and, Mr. MacDonald, I want to tell you that one of these creameries told me in the past few days that as a result of this discrimination they will have one hundred patrons less sending cream to that creamery this year. There’s your immediate reaction, and I think that is a shame and that is some- thing that should be undertaken immediately by the government and by the Minister of this Province. No wonder the farmers are leaving the lands while the Govern- ment is clearing out sandbanks and gravel pits.

Now what about the cheese situation? There is a great chance for forward movement, Mr. Minister. What happened here? The Liberal Government at Ottawa cut out the premium on cheese, or is cutting it out completely. That premium was better price for it. Now they are cutting it out and what is going to happen?

Hon. Daniel J. MacDonald: We are not taking it out. Walter R. Shaw: I know you are not, but I don’t know why you should take up the

slack for the Federal Government on it, and you are not paying the same amount either.

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