Legislative_Assembly

Hon. Daniel J. MacDonald: Would you permit a question, Sir? I was wonder- ing if you would be good enough to advise how you would stop the trade between the two countries, the U.S. and Canada?

Frank Myers: Well my only advice to you, Sir, is this. If you would pay a little more attention to your office, you have a wonderful staff there, in other words don’t rely on the Premier quite as much. (Applause That is my advice to you, because you gave a good speech as far as agriculture was concerned this afternoon. I don’t think he knew what he was talking about, but anyway it sounded pretty good anyway. (Laughter)

What I am sorry to have to say is this, Mr. Speaker. We have such a de- pressed situation in connection with the poultry industry in Canada. Ontario and British Columbia are setting up more or less of a marketing board of some kind called the quota system, and those producers, poultry producers, heard beforehand this was coming and they built their herds up. When the quota system became a reality then they would be in a better position to have more poultry on hand. Now that is the situation.

And where are we at now? Hon. Robert E. Campbell: Carry on, you are doing good!

Frank Myers: I wasn’t going to say very much about the Premier, but 1 just simply must. I have a little clipping here from the Guardian, this morning’s newspaper and apparently you were complaining about we in the Opposition com- plaining about him not fulfilling his election promises. He said, “I have every confidence in the worth of the 1966 platform and believe it should be fulfilled, but I have no intent of fulfilling this platform.” (Laughter) (Applause)

It is just too bad now, Mr. Speaker; this afternoon when we recessed for this evening I was still talking about agriculture.

Hon. Alexander 8. Campbell: Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the speaker would allow me to thank him? Thank you for bringing out that error.

Frank Myers: I may, Mr. Speaker, last year I felt, as one of the older members in this Assembly, that I would try and help the Premier all I could in a very humble manner, and which I did. But I am not going to help him any more. (Laughter) He is on his own now, but I think I left off saying a few words about the difficulties in agriculture. More especially in the assembly line production; I said that in closing I think this afternoon.

Now what do we mean by that? It just simply means producers today don’t have to have the high cost of machinery, nor the land to produce. All you have to do is go around to some of those places, especially one over in New Brunswick, some of you members saw that last year, which I did, a turkey farm there and owned by Canada Packers. Thousands and thousands of birds at that farm and that is what the ordinary farmer is up against, and until such a time comes there are still going to be difficulties. I do not know what can be done.

Now according to the Acres report, and I mentioned that this afternoon, and I am not going into that very much more except to say this, they said agriculture has been dormant for a number of years. Let us go back to 1965 under another administration, the former administration. The income from farms that year was $40,259,000. What happened under this Minister of Agriculture? That is the reason I blame him for this, he took over in 1966-67, and it dropped from $40,259,000 to $36,000,000. (Applause)

In other words it cost the farmers of this Province $4,259,000 to have him as Minister of Agriculture. (Applause)

Some Member: Too much.

Frank Myers: Too much, yes. Is it any wonder, Mr. Speaker, that I com— plain about the Minister of Agriculture, if he thinks, or at least he is supposed to be a responsible Minister.

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