Legislative Assembly

price changes are taken in to account. The Council suggests that there las been some narrowing of inter—regional per capita disparities. “Among the high income provinces. personal income per capita, at levels in Ontario, British Columbia and Al- berta, moved somewhat closer to the average. Among the middle group Quebec and Manitoba held their relative position while Saskatchewan, as a result of flu:tuating farm income, varied from year to year. In the lower income provinces New Bruns wick and Newfoundland experienced little or no change while Nova Scotia an! Prince Edward Island fell somewhat behind.” The report goes on to state. “However, re- gardless of the relative shifts over the past decade the income differences among the Provinces have remained essentially unchanged. The Council concludes that this experience reinforces earlier conclusions that the growth of the economy at the national level provides a necessary and a favorable environment but is not in itself sufficient to secure major improvements in regionally balanced economic develop- ment". The first annual review of the Atlantic economy by APEC published in October. 1967, attempts an analysis of the Maritimes economic situation. It examines the causes of this economic disparity and proposes a partial solution. The report emphasizes that there has been insufficient discussion and insufficient debate on many of the basic issues facing the development of this region and it seems that insofar as Prince Edward Island is concerned we are going to have. even Eess dis- cussion and debate. The Premier has indicated that the big development plan for this Province will be submitted to Ottawa on the “sayso” of a small group of planners without any discussion or criticism by the Members of this Assembly or any other group. The Government seems to regard this is a fait accompli. But there are a number of pitfalls. The Directors of the Fund for Regional Economic Development may not agree and, secondly, the planners may be wrong. The big carrot which this Government is hanging out, of course, is the possible one hundred million dollar in- vestment by the Federal Government. But I suggest to you that this is a pie in the sky approach to a very serious problem. The Act which established the fund makes no reference to total Federal financing. The share of the Federal Govern- ment, if it agrees at all to the proposal, is to be determined by negotiation and if the recent punishments meted out by Ottawa to this Province are any indication of Federal concern for our welfare. then their share. I suggest. will be small indeed. But to continue with the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council’s assessment of our economic situation, the report emphasizes two things as causative factors in our economic depression and they list it as lower productivity with a smaller employment base and the necessity of an over-all development plan. An important factor is the migration of the population from the provinces and the report states that, “Out migration of the population from the Atlantic Provinces is, no doubt, a symptom of the lower level of productivity and a smaller employment base but it is, at the same time. a causative factor contributing to the lower productivity and smaller employ- ment base hereby reinforcing the per capita income gap. For example, the lower level of education of the population in the Maritimes which contributes to lower productivity is partly the result of emigration of the people with higher than average levels of schooling. At the same time the lower proportion of the population in the working age group which contributes to the smaller employment base is. to a large extent, the result of migration. The working age group has a greater tendency to migrate than the total population. Thus the working age group is smaller in relation to the total population than in Canada as a whole. The lower proportion of the adult population in the labor force may also be related to the migration of those of labor force age if, as a result. less enterprising individuals are left in the region”. These observations may be correct but perhaps at the same time, and in the future opera- tion, Newstart may provide some data on this. Insofar as P.E.I. is concerned there is no question about the loss of our best people. We export about a thousand of our best and youngest people per year. This Island has always been and still is ahead of the rest of Canada in the per capita number of university students. For the past twenty years there has been an average of seven university students per thousand of our population in Prince Edward Island while only ten years ago the national average was only four per thousand. The rest of Canada has been slowly catching up but it is still below the Island’s figure of seven university students per thousand of our population. (Applause) Unfortunately most of these well-educated people do not return here because one could hardly expect them to return. There would be little or no employment for them. The Atlantic Provinces Economic Coun- cil annual report examines this to some extent and then has this to say, “The lower— ing of the level of emigration can only be accomplished through the generation of

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