Wednesday, March 6, 1968 to the hopefuls there when they were campaigning all over Canada to become lead¬ ers, to become Prime Minister, and during the process they just about lost the gov¬ ernment. So my advice to you boys is be more concerned with your activities here and less concerned with trying to get out of here in a hurry and having me cut my speech short. (Applause) Hon . Alexander B. Campbell : You are good to April the fourth. Carry on! Lloyd G. MacPhail : We have seen with these two governments — Liberal here, Lib¬ eral there — increased cost of living and decreased purchasing power of the dollar. These have been allowed to proceed uncontrolled by these governments. These are, as we all know, the most concealed and the most insidious taxes of all. They effect everyone adversely, especially those least able to bear them. Mr. Speaker , on the increase to which I refer, let me read you something from an Ottawa report by Patrick Nicholson which appeared in the Guardian on Septem¬ ber 6, 1967. This is to say, "prices as we know have generally increased by half since 1949, the base of the official consumer price index for that year as we know was set at one hundred," and Mr. Nicholson says it is half one hundred and fifty for the first time. Well of course it has done better than that in the meantime; on January of this year it stood at 152.6. Now that is bad enough, that is the cost of living index, but what about the increase in taxes over that same period. Let us take one hundred as the tax index base for 1949 and see what has happened. Do you suppose the taxes rose? Well they certainly did. Let me tell you, Hon . J. Elmer Blanchard : Is he an economist? Lloyd G. MacPhail : Contrasted to forty-nine as a hundred our taxpayers extraction index last year stood at a whopping 441. Cost of living has gone up from 100 to 152.6, but the taxes have gone up from 100 to 441. For every hundred dollars which governments collected in Canada in 1949, last year they collected $441.00. Another way of looking at it you see when most of this increase occurred. . .. Hon . T. Earle Hickey : How is it being paid out? Lloyd G. MacPhail : That is the question I was suggesting that you should pay more attention to___I think you should pay more attention and you should have a very thorough report on this for us a little later on. Let us settle where and when this great rise in taxes took place. The increase in tax levied in the four Pearson years, for 1963-1967, the four Pearson years, equals the total increase in tax levies over the eight years of the St. Laurent Government plus the five or six years of the great Diefenbaker Government all added together. (Applause) And another even more sinister fact is this, that in 1949 the Federal government collected in taxes $497,000,000 more than it spent. But now with 441 dollars for every hundred, last year the Pearson government spent 428,000,000 more than they collected. They hold the record. Now the Premier was worried that I would not come to a few deficiencies of the Provincial government here, and there are many, time forbid I could not have the strength, stamina or time to list them all but just a few. Reduced provincial fertilizer subsidy which was available last year. Some re¬ ference was made to this a number of times. We have seen reduced supplementary allowances to many Islanders who as a result are not compensated for the increase in the cost of living. On December 13, 1967 we read, and I quote, "Registrations fees increased for automobiles in Prince Edward Island . Honourable T. Earle Hickey announced new registration fees for automobiles. The increases range from $2.00 on smaller cars to $4.00 on larger ones." A little here, a little there. And all during the same time we have a fabulous increase in the debt of the Province. Now we have seen, too, the imposition of the Motor Vehicle Safety Inspection Program at the cost of $2.50 per owner. Somebody is going to ask me if I am in —157—