Thursday,7MarglL’7, 1968

Hon. Daniel J. MacDonald: I believe he would.

Walter R. Shaw: No, he’s not.

Hon. Daniel J. MacDonald: I think he will.

Walter R. Shaw: No, how do you know? They haven’t decided that yet. Hon. Daniel J. MacDonald: I think he will myself.

Walter R. Shaw: We don’t know, Mr....

Hon. Daniel J. MacDonald: No, this will not be established until we find out...

Walter R. Shaw: Yes, but they’ve got word to make their application with what their earnings are, haven’t they? Now, if a man earns a thousand dollars on his farm and he earns twelve hundred dollars outside of his farm, he’s out.

Hon. Daniel J. MacDonald: Oh, get somebody with a pretty good pencil, I think you can get around that. For instances, we’ll say he’s a hired hand which most of them are, or doing something like this and. . ..

Walter R. Shaw: You know that’s only just one illustration there but it brings out the point that. . . .

Hon. Daniel J. MacDonald: But, I certainly would like to have seen this but, of course, we have a lot of small herds. We have a lot of them phasing out too. They’re not so fond now of staying home on the weekends with the cows. . ..

J. Walter Dingwell: But isn’t it true, pardon me, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Minister, but isn’t it true that this is still only on a year-to-year basis that doesn’t guarantee the man in dairy business much security in the future.

Hon. Daniel J. MacDonald: No, it does not. It’s a year-to-year basis. Pardon. . .. Walter R. Shaw: It’s out on — it’s a year—to-year basis.

Hon. Daniel J. MacDonald: That’s right. The amount of money that’s available and the Dairy Commission have set up. They determine what can be paid per 100 lbs. and I do feel, myself, that the establishment of the Dairy Commission is probably one of the better things that ever happened in our Dominion of Canada. I often think that possibly if we could do something on the quota basis, a different thing, of course, all together, in production of potatoes and so on, on a national scheme like this, it would be wonderful, but we have a lot of problems and we’re certainly aware of them. I don’t think we have any great concern here as yet with fill milk and so on. It almost makes you wonder, you know, a young man setting up or an old man setting up either. We have legislation in this Province that doesn’t al— low this. You can rest assured when somebody up in Toronto is going to buy some- thing to feed his family, if he can buy it for ten cents whereas if he buys something somebody has got for twenty cents and they get just as fat, and walk just as fast, learn just as good on it, it presents a problem. No doubt about that, but I think

probably, pardon. . . . Walter R. Shaw: This could run the cows out of business, after a while. . ..

Hon. Daniel J. MacDonald: Well, this is what would happen but due to our Canadian economy, and how dependent it is on agriculture, I can’t see this happening but we are working on it now anyway. There’s lots of consideration about it now. There’s acts passed around to the various provinces to find out what provinces have legislation that would not permit this. We have in this province, but this Province, of course, is small. We have the lion by the tail if we try to run this thing. I’m going to be here until tomorrow afternoon. I’m just starting!

‘Valter R. Shaw: You’re getting along fine. Getting more real information, from the Minister of Agriculture than we’ve got from all the rest of them combined. (Applause)

Hon. Daniel J. MacDonald: During the year a total of 2,324 cows completed lactation under the Dairy Herd Improvement program. Averge milk production increased by 339 lbs., 11.2 lbs. of butterfat. Several dairy producers have expressed interest in the Dairy Herd Analysis Service now being developed by MacDonald College in

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