Thursday, February 29, 1968

Some Member: You should go back a few more years when you are at it.

Frank Myers: I should but I don’t wish to take up the time of the :House. (Applause) (Laughter)

Hon. Robert E. Campbell: Lots of time, all night and all day tomorrow.

Frank Myers: Potato production in 1966 was 54.7 million hundredweight in Canada. Last year it was only 44.4 million hundredweight. In other words we are twenty-eight thousand cars of potatoes less here in Canada. It seems too bad that we have such a depressed situation at the present time, which just should not be. When speaking about potatoes the Seconder of the Throne Speech, made a wonderful job as I said this afternoon, he referred to McCains over in New Bruns- wick, whose plant we visited. They produce there seven cars a day, just imagine, seven cars a day, and I marked it down somewhere. I just forget where it is now. But that carried on for eight months and it would use up a lot of potatoes.

And that brings me to another point which the Premier mentioned, the cole crops. ‘He was saying what a wonderful thing they are. He was right one hundred per cent, but what happened last year‘.7 It kept leading up year after year until last year. The farmers, especially the farmers that I speak about that I know of in my own district, when they started out first to grow cole crops for the processing plants, they were harvesting them themselves and they were well satisfied. But somehow or another something happened and they bought combines or machinery, special machinery, to harvest the crops. Now there were a great many acres not harvested last year, because there was a lot of wet weather. But the point is this, Mr. Speaker, there is a farm that I know very well indeed, they had seven good acres of peas, and they expected to get quite a bit of money from it for their labour. Came a little wet weather, the machine did not come, but the unfortunate part is this. They are still in the field and those people did not re- ceive one cent. Now I feel that there should be something done along that line and the same applied to brussels sprouts. After the expense of the fertilizer and the work they should not be left without one cent of remuneration. And speaking about fertilizer, there is another fault I have with the Minister of Agriculture, and I have it right here about some of those promises that were made. Here it is here. Yes this is his picture, and he is still walking. Reminds me of a story with your permission, Sir, it just came to mind now about a young clergyman who went to a new church and he was a stranger and he though he would try and enthuse his congregation. When he was up in the pulpit he said. Brethern if this church is to receive any status in the community this church must walk. There was an old chap down in the back of the church, who said, “Let her walk, let her walk, brethern.” So this kind of enthused the clergyman a little bit more and he went on to say and elaborate a little more and he said, “This church must run brethern, this church must run. The same voice, “Let her run, let her run, brother.” This en— thused the clergyman a little more and he said, “This church must fly, this church must fly brethern, but it will take a lot of hard work, therefore, on your part and a lot of money.” And the same voice replied, “Let her walk, let her walk, brother.”

(Applause)

So that is the way with the Premier, walking pretty fast in his picture but he is slowing down.

Now this is a definite promise, and I am not being sarcastic, Mr. Speaker; it is against my will to bring this up but I just simply have to after what appeared in the press this moring. There is nothing else a person can do about it. They promised to pay fertilizer subsidy. Now this is another complaint I have with the Minister. What did he do? He just paid a subsidy up to the purchase price of $300.00. Purchase price of $300.00, which would mean $60.00 to the farmer.

Now the Premier mentioned this afternoon about 39% of the farmers on farms here in Prince Edward Island over fifty—five years of age and that is true. But what is the difficulty? Did you ever think about that, Mr. Premier? Now he is talking of clearing 400,000 acres ~ perhaps he is right — I am not saying he is wrong at all, but I honestly feel, Mr. Speaker . . . .

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