Thursday, March 7, 1968

Now a word on Agricultural Engineering. . ..

Keith S. Harrington: Mr. Speaker. would this member permit a question; I wasn’t following quite closely enough. Did anyone receive that scholarship?

Hon. Daniel J. MacDonald: You asked me this afternoon, Mr. Speaker, and I was sure of one, Mr. Speaker, and I will get that answer for you in the morning. I haven’t got it here. I know there was a submission made if they had a class avil- able for them. It is a scholarship that is not very easily obtained, we admit this, but however if they do not obtain it they still have this $2,000 assistance which is not a very mean allowance I must say, and $15.00 per week room and board. Next year we are anticipating an increase.

This provides a wonderful facility for our Prince Edward Island boys that are interested in agriculture whether they want to go farming or they want to join some other firm like feed mills, Canada Packers, Shur-Gain. There is always a great demand for this type of person. Often there have been some remarks about a college of this type being constructed in Prince Edward Island, but this now is agreed by the three Maritime Provinces, the Federal Government has set the pro- gram in construction over in the college, and the facilities there — this is one problem you would have if this was ever thought of trying to do here. The beef herds are there, the swine herds are there, everything is there for practice, not just theory at all, but practice. It is a government institution and they are not in around somebody’s elses herds; people with good dairy herds don’t want boys and girls around disturbing them, so to speak.

Keith S. Harrington: Mr. Minister you mentioned about a grant of $2,000. I realize there is a grant of $2,000 to students who take a diploma course at Nova Sootia Agricultural College, but I am wondering if there is any assistance at all in any of these Colleges to students who are attending universities such as MacDonald College, or Guelph or OAC?

Hon. Daniel J. MacDonald: We have scholarships for some types of assistance, and there is assistance also. We do not participate in this. This first three years we participate in this in our own Maritime Provinces here, but we have no program for those going further afield. This is something we would like to do, possibly.

Walter R. Shaw: Are the student loans in operation now? Hon. Daniel J. MacDonald: Yes, Sir.

Walter R. Shaw: Well, that would take them on to University. Hon. Daniel J. MacDonald: That’s right.

Walter R. Shaw: What is the amount of that?

Hon. Daniel J. MacDonald: One thousand dollars.

Walter R. Shaw: A year? Is part of that a loan?

Hon. Daniel J. MacDonald: It is all a loan.

Walter R. Shaw: It is all a loan, there is no grant? There was a time when the grant was part of it.

L. George Dewar: You have a grant, haven’t you? Walter R. Shaw: No part of the original loan is just a grant and a loan? Hon. Daniel J. MacDonald: Yes it was, I was in the Department myself.

Agricultural Engineering: Thirty—nine individual farm building plans were blue-printed and distributed. These included ten dairy barns, this is by our Agri- cultural Engineering Department; ten potato storages; seven sow barns and 12 hog feeder barns. Over 200 farm calls were made relative to farm building renovations, new farm buildings, and the ventilation of livestock and potato storages.

In co-operation with ARDA, investigations into soil erosion control were con- ducted and so measures are being planned, on a limited scale, for 1968. In con-

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