Legislative Assembly

various speakers who have preceded me in this debate. It was amazing the slight reference that was made to this document. Judging from it’s lack of content, I’m sure the Government members are thankful for this. I presume that they would much prefer slight reference than a slighting reference which a more careful ex- amination would certainly evoke. We all recall that a few days ago a very fair, friendly and helpful Member, the junior Member for First Queens, when he was speaking, tried to supplement the Speech from the Throne in using last year‘s speech as well. Well, this was a good try but I would suggest Mr. Speaker, that you know that, you would not agree, we would have to go a year or so further back in history to find a Speech from the Throne that, besides programs and legis- lation, held hope and opportunity to all segments of the people of this Province. There is in existance, however, another document which is the outline of an exten- sive and very far reaching program to which the Speech from the Throne bears no similarity. This program to which I refer is, of course, the Liberal Party platform of 1966. Throughout the entire election campaign, these fellows over there, Mr. Speaker, were so active in expounding and promoting the philosohy and committing themselves one and severally to it’s implementation if they were elected to be the Government of the Province on this very program and on this very platform. The people of the Province listened to their sales spate and bought the proposition. The good people of the Province did What the Liberals asked, that is, voted for them. Now, it is up to the Liberal Government to fulfill it’s part of the bargain, its sound committments with all its far reaching results. A year ago I criticized them on their lack of production so far as implementing their promised program and, believe me, Mr. Speaker, nearly two years have passed since the election and the criticism is just as valid today as it was then. Let us take, for example, Item No. 3, school tax relief; they promised that a Liberal Government would appoint a committee im- mediately to study problems of taxation with the objective of abolishing urban and rural school taxation and finding equitable alternative means of financing education. With this promise made during the election campaign the hope was that school taxes would soon be eliminated. These hopes were allowed and indeed encouraged to rise in the breasts of every tax payer. The Minister of Education in his speech last week admitted the increasing costs of education were higher in all parts of the Province. He said, “As a Government we are particularly conscious of the heavy financial burden placed upon Summerside and Charlottetown as a result of escalat- ing education costs” and he went on further to say, “And it is hoped that this heavy burden will not continue much longer and that through a different form of educa- tional taxation our two most populous areas will find some relief with respect to educational costs.” Goodness knows, Mr. Speaker, Charlottetown and Summerside need tax relief. His prediction now, for what it is worth, is not abolish but a very weak modification, some relief. This further indicates that the Government has for- gotten rural Prince Edward Island entirely. They were certainly well mentioned in the promise and we look forward to seeing that promise implemented. Mr. Speaker, you would think that the Liberal Members representing rural areas, and there are thirteen of them, would protest. Well, perhaps they do: as the Liberal Government here protests to the Liberal Government at Ottawa. They protest, they get excellent receptions, they get splendid hearings and no results. The way of working is this. Locate a problem, validate it, awaken public concern about it, set up research, col- lect information and get busy to solve the problem! An example of procrastination was given when someone praised an Egyptian king for keeping his army and him- self in an admirable state of fitness and exercise but a critic remarked, “Always preparing and never performing.” (Applause) Well, this is fairly appropriate in speaking about this Government’s program or lack of it, as the case may be.

Hon. Alex B. Campbell: You’re always performing.

Lloyd G. MacPhail: Another subject on which we hear very little of concrete, de— finite progress is their promise on Medicare. Here is an area where they are irres- ponsible. All Liberal candidates subscribed, or in any case we heard of no recorded objections, to their party’s election pledge of 1966. As you recall, Mr. Speaker, the Conservative Government policy at that time was prepaid medical care insurance under which we covered about 10% of the population which included the Old Age Assistance group and other needy groups. But of course that was not good enough. The Liberals were going to introduce institute, introduce, make effective, universal Medicare by July 1, 1967. They were going to do this. They might have made

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