, Legislative Assembly

prime example of how far a person from a small province can go in the great pop- ulations of distant places if the initiative is there.

. I believe it was the Carnegie Commission in the 1920’s or 1930’s which des- cribed the intelligence of the people of Prince Edward Island as second to none in the North American Continent.

Mr. Speaker, I now wish to deal with matters relative to my Department.

I first wish to draw the attention of the House to the election of our Deputy Minister, Brigadier W. W. Reid, as the President of the Canadian Association of the Administrators of Labour Laws in September 1967. This is indeed a great honour for Brigadier Reid and this Province. In his capacity as President of this body, Brigadier Reid will be attending the International Labour Organization Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, during the month of June next.

There has been one staff change and two additions to staff during the past year. The House was in session, I believe, last year when a boiler inspector was added to the Department. He is Mr. Howard Cann, and he is highly qualified for the job and is giving effective direction to a program of boiler inspection.

Mr. W. S. McMurtry, who acted in the dual capacity of Director of Voca- tional Education and Apprenticeship Training withdrew as Director of Apprentice- ship Training due to the increased work load in the Vocational Training Division of the Department of Education. Mr. Malcolm MacDonald who was formerly Super- visor of Apprentice Training under Mr. McMurtry was promoted to the Directorship of the Division.

In October 1967 a Labour Standards Division of the Department was estab- lished. and Mr. Vincent MacIntyre was appointed as Labour Standards Inspector. This Division handles inspections under the Minimum Wage Act for men and women, Vacation Pay Act, the Equal Pay Act and applications under the Industrial Stand— ards Act. Prior the appointment of Mr. MacIntyre the enforcement of these Acts was carried out on complaint only. Now a progressive system of inspection is car- ried on with the exception of the Equal Pay Act, which is still administered on complaint only.

I wish at this time to pay tribute to the staff of the Department for its loyalty to the job and the great amount of work done. The staff is small but in addition to normal working day’s schedules members are called on to work at nights, on days off, on holidays in order to provide the services of the Department in the most

effective way.

The Labour Relations Board held seventeen meetings and hearings during the year. At the last Session, Mr. Speaker, The Industrial Relations Act was changed thereby transferring the power to grant certifictions from the Minister to the Board. Despite the odd protest. of the Opposition to this move. the Board has carried out its duties fairly and impartially and the transition has been without incident, New rules of procedure have now been formalized by Order-in-Council.

There were sixteen applications for certification with fourteen being granted, one rejected and one still pending. There have been two applications to the Supreme Court proceedings from decisions of the Board and both are still pending.

The Board held one hearing on an alleged unfair labour practice but the hear- ing was discontinued when it was learned that the Board had no jurisdiction to hear the matter. The Board has under review at the present time the Minimum Wage Act for Women, and has invited briefs and held a public hearing to allow representations to be made to it by the public on this particular matter. The Board will present its recommendations to the government in the very near future.

In the Apprenticeship Training Division there have been no additional trades designated and the present number remains at eight. Since January 1, 1967, sixty trades qualifications certificates have been issued but no proficiency certificates have been granted. Trades Qualifications Certificates were granted to individuals in the following designated trades: Motor Vehicle Repair—15; Motor Vehicle Repair, elec- trical and Fuel—4; Plumbing—7; Brick-laying—l; Carpentry—-26; Electrical Con- struction—4; Auto Body Repair—3.

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