- > Tuesday, March 12, 1968 fine presentation of their reports on their various Departments. No doubt they were subjected to the usual criticism from this side of the House but this is not anythmg new. This is good. This is, I believe, one of the most valuable elements of our democratic system. I know the Ministers will take some of the advice from here in good part and much good will have proved from it, but there is one Minister of the Crown who has not spoken on the Draft yet so I am unable to include him in my compliments so the best thing I can do in his case is to congratulate him on his maiden speech last year. I’m something like the old Irish priest who was asked to make a donation to the price of construction of a Protestant church in his com- munity. His answer was that it might bother his conscience if he did so but to keep peace in his community he’d give them $50.00 to help tear down the old one so that’s what I’ll have to do with the Minister of Natural Resources. I can’t compliment him on what he has not already done but I’ll congratulate him on his efforts a year ago. I can recall when he spoke a year ago, he was, as usual. most eloquent you know. I was thinking of the great American criminal lawyer familiar to most of us here. the great Clarence Darrow, the way he would make the jury members wccp and cry, you know. Well, the Minister of Natural Resources last year did equally as well as Darrow. I guess he’ll probably be better this year. We’ll have to wait and see. Now, there was another matter. I should have referred to it while I was speaking about the matters pertaining to highways and the Provincial Secretary. This is the new regulation regarding the compulsory inspection of vehicles. cars.

trucks, what have you. Now, I have no doubt, Mr. Speaker, that the Provincial Secretary is serious and .....

Unknown Voice: Five thirty.

Thomas A. Curran: What? Five-thirty? Well, okay, Mr. Speaker, I will call it five thirty.

Hon. Alexander B. Campbell: If the Honourable Member should wish to continue . . .

Thomas A. Curran: Yes, okay then. It won’t take me very many minutes. With the inspection of cars by the various stations set up, I have no doubt that the Govern- ment and the Provincial Secretary as well have introduced this legislation with a good purpose in mind but, personally, I think there’s going to be a lot of holes found in it. For example, in my mind the majority, probably a big majority, of the car owners who operate cars and half-ton trucks, I think this doesn’t cover heavier vehicles, who wouldn’t think of going out on the road with a vehicle that wasn’t a 100% road worthy but that same driver and owner, he’s got to pay $2.50 to fill in the sticker to go on the side of it. If he doesn’t comply with the regulations he can be found guilty of a crime he has never committed. As I say, there is a big majority of the car owners and car drivers who drive a car one or two, or possibly three years old, give or take a little hit one way or the other, and, in the first place they would never take out a car that wasn’t 100% worthy and they have a service, most every garage of any size is now considered a service station and it’s your local service station and he knows before he ever puts on the sticker that all he has to do is put on the sticker because he has checked it from time to time and he knows it’s okay. Well, I don’t think it’s going to achieve the results, I could be wrong on this here, anticipated in it and another thing too. It can be abused. Now, for example, I was talking to, yesterday morning it was, one of those operators and I asked him, “Did you have any cars in for inspection so far?” Well, he said, “Just so far we’ve had three.” “Well,” he said, “It’s funny. Just a couple of days ago we worked under a half ton truck.” It’s two years old but in reasonably good shape and there was one or two cracks in the windshield and in the garage operators opinion it didn’t deter the vision of the driver and he planned on okaying it but it so happened that one of the Inspectors was going through and he stopped. He said “You’re just the man I want to see”. He says, “Come in here”. Took him into the service bay. He says, “What would you say about that windshield on this here tmck?” So the Inspector sat in the truck and he says, “I don’t know what way you look at it but in my opinion I would say it’s all right”. Well he says, “That’s what I planned on doing”, so he gave him the okay and while they were still discussing the cracked windshield a neighbor came in, another farmer from the area, he joined the con- versation so he says, “I didn’t get along as good as that. I had my car in the other day”. I can’t say whether it was a car or truck. He didn’t say that. In one of the bigger dealers in, I think it was in Charlottetown, he happened to have a little pebble dent. You’ve often seen those. You often see a little pebble hit you any part. When

—237——