7 Legislative Assembly,

Friday, March 8, 1968

Frank Jardine (Fourth Prince): Mr. Speaker, in risin ' to artici ate in '

on the Speech from the Throne, first I’d like to congratqulatepyou, Sir, on 333111: 3:53: time in the high position which you now hold as Speaker of this House. I am sure that all Members of this Legislature respect your able leadership and we know that while you are in the chair everything will be done in order. Now, I would like to congratulate the Mover and the Seconder of the Speech from the Throne. The Mover did an excellent job. He is a good farmer and has served many years in this Legis- lature and we only expected that he would make a good job. As for the Seconder my colleague from the Fourth District of Prince, he’s an outstanding farmer in that area and has made a great name for himself in making this speech not only for him- self but for the District which he represents. I also would like to congratulate Mr. Smith: his son has been promoted in the Fruit & Vegetable Division just lately. Now, Mr. Speaker, one of the most important things in this present time is to make sure of the continuation of the Canadian Forces Base at Summerside. This base has been in operation for nearly thirty years and it is the only active military establish- ment left in this Province. It is the second largest source of revenue in the Province and contributes a good deal towards our employment and population. This base is of vital importance to the economy of Summerside and the Province in general, and much credit is due to the Premier for the able manner in which he has headed a delegation from the Province to Ottawa and achieved great success in the assurance of no cut-backs in the Canadian Force Base. The Prince County Hospital has re- cently completed a substantial capital investment to take care of the medical needs of the expanding base rather than a smaller one. Likewise their public school setup has been designed to meet the need of a large base population. If this base were to close we would be the only Province in Canada with no military projects. The Maritime economy is lagging now in comparison with the central provinces and any out back of this: base would he a great set back to the whole Province. Now at this time, Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate our Premier for the successful man- ner in which he has conducted his many responsibilities since he assumed office eighteen months ago. I know that his leadership is appreciated by all our people in the Province. 1 am sure we are all proud of the headlines and publicity our Premier received at the Premiers’ Conference in Ottawa last fall. He received high recog- nition and was given priority over all ten premiers in Canada, truly an outstanding member of the new confederation of the second hundred years. We appreciate the need, Mr. Speaker, of low rental housing in this Province and while Charlottetown and Summerside will no doubt receive first consideration, we heartily recommend that incorporated villages be given consideration and that in the not too far distant future the rural areas be given the opportunity of participating in this program. Many of our farm homes today are Very old and hard to heat and do not meet present day requirements. Two of the best ways to keep people on the farms today would be, in this Province. better housing and better roads. At this time I would like to congratulate the Minister of Highways for the able way in which he has handled his Department and we’re very glad to see him back well and looking good after his recent illness and trip to the hospital. At this time I would like to con- gratulate a former Highways Minister, Mr. George MacKay. A worthy man from the Fourth District of Prince, he occupied the office through the summer and I am sure that the people of the Province were in capable hands and well looked after while under the supervision of George MacKay, former Minister of Highways in this Province under the previous Liberal Government. The Department of Highways has made a good job of cleaning the snow away in this very particular hard winter. While many people like to get out right after a snow storm it is true that they can’t all get out at once and I think the Dept. of Highways has done an excellent job and there have been very few complaints this season. In my opinion, the lack of paved roads has discouraged a great many farmers. We are in hopes that the Fund for Rural Economic Development will make a vast improvement in rural roads and transportation. We hope that the service offered to our farmers by the Fed— eral Dept. of Agriculture will improve because in recent years the Maritime Prov- inces seem to be neglected to some extent compared with farmers in Central and Western Canada. This is one of the bright spots in our agricultural future. This is the F.R.E.D. fund, the Fund for Rural Economic Development program which the Premier has stated will be a great boost to our agricultural economy by way of assistance to the poultry industry, swine breeders, silo construction subsidies, fer-

—206———