Ifigislatirejssembly

Now. Mr. Speaker, I do not think that a quick return or a few correspondents is mere important than the future of this Province. Some of our local correspondents haven't given this matter very much thought. They have had a quick return of a few measley bucks for some reports in the newspapers. But were they thinking when they wrote those articles? I think it is high time that this political in-fighting stop and the future of the Province is given some thought. You will never get ano- ther industry in this Province until this matter has been completely forgotten and it is going to take some time. It has meant that industries that intended to estab- lish in this Province, that had taken very active steps, have pulled out; it has meant that you might as well wrap IEL and tell them to go home, because their efforts are absolutely futile. (Applause)

I don’t like saying these things but I must. I have to look at myself in the mirror in the morning.

Now a few words on the Federal Government treatment of Prince Edward Island in the past few years. Prince Edward Island seems to be the forgotten Prov- ince in Canada. We have been downgraded over the years. Our industry out at the airport was knocked out; our armed forces are down to practically nothing in the Charlottetown area, and unless a very strenuous effort is made in Summerside the base there will be down-graded. In this regard I must commend the efforts of the Committee and the Premier for their very action in going to Ottawa and at least getting a stop-gap for the downgrading of the air base in Summerside. But I still feel that this is just a stop-gap and in the long run there must be something else there to replace the payroll now eminating from that base. It won’t be there five years from now.

Ottawa has been nibbling away and nibbling away to the point where we have very little left in this Province, even to the point of knocking off some of our Federal Government engineers in the past week. Just another indication.

And now, Mr. Speaker, I understand that there is a plan under foot in Ottawa to combine the positions of Lieutenant-Governor and Chief Justice in this Province. When the present Governor’s term expires these two positions will be combined and we will have an Administrator and Chief Justice, and Government House will be handed back to the Province. There is only one good feature about that: if this does happen, and God forbid that it will, Government House would make a very fine museum and might be a revenue earning source for the Province. We would be turning a deficit into an asset.

The City of Charlottetown has been asking for years for grants in lieu of taxes on the $12,000,000 worth of Provincial property here in the City and getting nowhere with either government.

Both of the other Maritime Provinces have recognized this right and are pay- ing grants to all cities in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

I realize that this Province is in straightened financial conditions, and I know it is difficult to satisfy all these different pleas. I certainly think that this is one legitimate one, and a start might at least be made in the direction of getting some equality and some fairness into the grant problem to the City. Again, on the equality of educational grants. Apparently, on this basis, and again I am not blaming this government as it has existed for years, but it is time somebody changed it. It is in looking at educational grants between Summerside, Charlottetown and the country that we have two classes of citizens. We have a first-class in the country, well taken care of, and we have second-class in the two urban centres who are not being taken care of. And I think this dates away back to when there seemed to be a lot of feeling between the country and the city. I hope this is forgotten; I hope we have grown up, and I hope it will be recognized that just because the urban centres have only four seats in this Legislature they shouldn’t be recognized as first-class or equal citizens.

I would like to say a few remarks on fiscal responsibility and I commend the Provincial Treasurer for speaking so forthright in this particular regard. But I must remind him that responsibility for the fiscal affairs of this Province lie with the Government; they have been elected and it is in their hands. They are the people

-—268—