MARCH 26. 1952-

THE GUARDIAN. CHARLOTTETOWN

PAUE NINE A

lilr. McLure Charges Neglect 0f PEI interests At Ottawa

Charges that the Federal Gov- ernment has neglected this Prov- ince in, the matter of transporta- tion and necessary public build- mg; were made in a strongly ,,...,,-ded speech in the House of commons on March 17 by Mr. W. (shcster S. McLure, M.P. for Queens. Following are excerpts from the I-Iansard report of his address:

"1 have suggested this before." Mr. Mcl.ux'e said, "and again I tharge them with wilful neglect, xl'llh not doing justice to Prince mo.-;ii-d Island under the terms at the union. 'Since I. came here in 1945 I am not unmlndful of citing after the Minister of it-ansporr (Mr. Chevrler) with re- gard to the new steamer for us. tsimilly, after a couple of years of Kouding, we secured an excellent hnat. the Abegweit, to replace the SS. Charlottetown which was lost. Then the S.S. Charl tetown was lost while on her wa from Bor- den to Saint John, N. B. for re- pairs.

"ilad the government of the day fulfilled the terms and the recom- mendations of the Andrew Rae puncan commission of 1926 and had fulfilled the terms of union or tS'i3, we would not have lost tine 5.3. Charlottetown because she uuuld have been repaired in the t-tovllicc in whichzshe was in serv- ice. Recommendations were made tiy the Andrew Rae Duncan cont- ,,,;.-sion for the improvement. of tltv hut-hottr situation of Char- lultplntvll and for building what i-as to he called a drydock or, as it iS railed today It marine rall- My slip. This was at promise that was given to us by the gov- nrnmcnt. but it is one that they lmv never even tried to fulfil.

Nlaritlmc Commission's Veto

at want to say just a few words further with reference to trans- tmrtation. To my surprise I find ilvti the Canadian Maritime Com- mt.-sion. authorized by this Gov- .-tnment. has now the full author- iiy over all our transportation problems. They say yes or no. and with respect to our problem nf transportation they do not. seem in know anything but no; Let us Inuit" for a moment at the last. de- .iuun or so that they have given.

"We in the Maritimcs know. as tl-'1 most of the members of tile House, that we have two ferry ustcms. One is called the Bar-

dnu-Tnrmentine ferry system, with

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two ships. namely the Abegweit and the Prince Edward. This Bor- den-Torrnentine ferry is doing an excellent job for us.. This ferry was given to us by the Borden Government as part of the ful- filment of the terms of union of 1873. Besides the Borden-Tormetn tine ferry. we have another ferry operated by Northumberland Fer- ries Limited, giving service be- tween Wood Island and Caribou. This ferry is u little-different from the other one.

"The Borden-Tormentlne ferry is a government ferry. a government service. while the Northumberiand ferry system is a private enter- prise ferry subsidized by the Do- minion Government. This ferry. known as the Wood Island-Caribou ferry, has given an efficient serv- ice to farmers. fishermen und others. As a matter of fact. dur- ing the last two years the traffic on this ferry has become so great that it is impossible for the com- pany to handle it.

invaluable Service

"I might say further that this company have done a great (teal in the interests of farmers, fish- ermen and the tourist industry. It is. however. is common thing to go down to this ferry, either on the Wood Island side or on the New Brunswick side, and to find there long queues of cars and trucks waiting for transportation. notwithstanding the fact that they have two boats. One of them is small and one of them is fairly large. They are the Prince Nova and the Charles A. Dunning: but they cannot handle the traffic at all. especially in the months of June. July and August.

"This company have submitted facts and figures to the govern- ment. I am not going to put on record. as I did before. the fig- ures showing growth of" traffic over this ferry. because. within the last ten days, the government has had the facts and figures placed before them; they have been placed before the Maritime Commission and. through that Commission, before the Depart- ment of Transport. with all the details to which consideration should be given. The Commission listened to the delegation that came here and spent three or four days. I was not on that delega- tion nor was I even invited in on it: but I learned that they did not have a good reception given to them by the Canadian Maritime Commission.

"Nothing Doing"

"The Commission accepted their briefs in order to stow them

to, when the briefs were presented and they were asked to assist in getting 9. new boat. of larger di- mensions for this Wood Island- Carlbou ferry.the answer given, without even going over the brief. was 'Nothlng doing'; and they never gave a legitimate reason for it

"You could not. however. expect anything else from this Commis- sion. In the first place. I do not believe there was one man on that Commission who knew the terms of Confederation of 1873 or the recommendations with regard to transportation contained in the report of the Andrew Rae Dun- can commission of 1926. For a Commission of that kind to veto the" proposals of this delegation, to the detriment of traffic from Wood Island to Caribou. is some- thing that I think should be fully considered.

Federal Responsibility "In my humble opinion

the

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away, but the decision they came-

delegstlon made a mistake twice over. Tho first one was this. when this Commission told them 'Noth- ing dolng'. right there and then they should have stated: We will not accept your decision in any form. The other mistake they made was this. They should never have gone before this Commission, notwithstanding the fact that it may have been appointed in some way by the Government.

"On transportation questions we are not dealing with sub-con- tractors-although sometimes we

we must deal directly with the Minister of Transport and the Government. If we were dealing with them. we could turn around and say: Hero is our, proposition; you owe this Province of Prince Edward Island proper transporta- tion according to the terms of Confederation. Give this to us at the present time.

"One little excuse was made about three months ago that there was a shortage of steel. when the delegates come back again they will have another excuse about the economy of the country. And yet they want our people to lie- come producers. After they be- come producers of foodstuffs they will not give them the proper means of transporting their pro- duce to market. I mention this to show-that the Commission had no right and no knowledge to study a problem of that kind.

Wood Island ferry that during the railway strike of two years ago it was the only connecting link, in so far as transportation is con- cerned. between our Province and the mainland. During that time the ferry gave a wonderful serv- ice.

Company Willing

"I hope that hon. members will not look in this question as if we were trying to get something for nothing. This company was will- ing to pay its share of building the boat. They were willing to enter into a contract over a per- iod of years. Even when they were shut off and it was said that there was notjting doing for them they went to the United States -and found that they could get: four or five boats there that. with a little alteration, would have given good service in the Northumberlsnd ferry service. But an order in council was passed which said that no Canadian could buy boats for the next five or six years. There- fore that proposition was vetoed. "I hope that our Legislature in Prince Edward Island, which is sitting at the present time, will not accept the refusal of this com- mission. I hope-I am going to guess right on this-that they will bring a new petition before the Minister of Transport (Mr. Chev- rier) and the Government and that they will succeed in getting what they truly deserve.

Election Promises

, "I have a few more things with .reference to my constituency that I might mention. While they may -not be of direct interest to other hon. members. that does not both- er me. They still are of interest to me as one fo the represent- atives of Queen's constituency. In our Province we had two elections recently. Going back to 1945 I find that a great number of prom- ises were made by the Liberal party. First of all, in 1945 we had the promise that a fine Do- minion Building would be erected in Charlottetown. It was a good promise for an election. but we heard nothing more of it until we commenced asking questions on the floor of the house: and even up until the other day nobody seemed to know anything about this building at Charlottetown. "They told us repeatedly that It would be built. They even bought some properties on which the building is to be erected. In ad- dition to that, they drew extensive plans and they even made cuts of the building and had them pub- lished before the election by the press of the Island. saying: Here is this wonderful building. When I ask the Minister of Public Works (Mr. Fournier) when it is to be built I find that he does not know. I suppose it will be held out. as another promise to be made use of in the next. election. We will have to wait. for that.

Naval Iforrscks

"For the last five years we have also been promised--and the re- cords of the House will show that -a Naval Barracks. In answer to a question of mine last year the Minister told us that the Naval Barracks would be built. We have had that promise ever since 1946. The same thing is true of the armouries.

"The Armourles BuildIng- was promised definitely three years ago. but we are farther away from it now than we were then. because the last excuse was that there was one other place prom- ised one first, and when it was built then we might have ours next. I understand that they are not. going to build the other one for the next four or five years. but we are still playing second fiddle.

"Another thing we were prom- ised deflnltcly was harbour im- provements and marine railway slips. I have brought this matter up'on several occasions. Every government and every party are committed to these two particular promises. These things are badly needed in our province. but noth- ing has. been done so far with re- gard to them.

Inespoeltoted Peoplo

"I shall leave the Public Build- ing for the time being. In read- ing over the Speech from the Throne I was disappointed to find no mention of incapacitate" peo- ple. I had hoped. as many others had. that in the speech from the throno we would find that that part of the social security plan would come into effect at this time. The only thing I see is that in the notices of motion on the order paper I find motion No. 10 which reads:

"That. in the opinion of this House. the Government should consider the advisability of co-op- eroting with the Provincial Goy- ernments for the purpose of pro- viding pensions. equal to old one

have been subjected- to' them-but "

"I wish to say on behalf of the ,

serving with 55 Transport Company.

cupacitaicd and ttnrthlo to earn! their living. l'(-gartilcss oi" up:-.'

"I find that motion No. 22 on today's order paper is along the some lines. If we ever reach these notices of motion I am .-turn the House will take a deep inter-l est in the discussion, as it. should. Only today I received a which is so pitiable that I hate to put it on the record. It has to do with a family of three who are incapacitated. They are receiv-

i

Charlottetown they get month. They have to pay 312 a month rent, and all they have to live on is .58. Only one of the three is able to walk. The other two, on account of the dread dis- ease of polio, are completely in- capacitated.

"Although I have

nothing

ernment in connection with the social security measures they have brought l'orward, 1 say it should have done something for those in- capacltated people. I believe it is on record that the Minister of National Health and Welfare (Mr. Martin) made what. amounted al- most to a definite promise that this year provision would be made in the Speech from the Throne whereby these unfortunate people would be cared for.

Needy Pen.-ilotu-rs

"Then I would turn in IIll(illl"I' matter connected with pensions. in. common with many other hon. members. I have referred to pen- sions puid to those who have re- tlred under the old pension plan. Before the increnscli cost of liv- ing, the amount they received was almost sufficient for their .,our- poscs. Today. however, it is quite inadequate. I am thinking par- ticularly of those who worked for the railways. as well as others who held civil service positions. "Many of those pensioners re- tired on amounts as low as 525 a month. But even those who are receiving 390 or 5100 today are not receiving sufficient to live This is also true. and even more unfortunate. in respect of widows in receipt of pensions. There was some inkling in the Speech from the Throne that action would be taken. "Before I left: my home in come to Ottawa I had visited a number of these pensioners. I have in mind one man who had worked '13 years. having entered the service at an early age. Upon his rcttre- ment two years ago he felt that. after working that length of time. he would have enough pension on which to live. He found. lmwcver. that he had to sell his property and then look for a job. This man had a family to support. "Because of the small pension he

ing a little money. From the local I G0V0Fnmel1l lhfy KC! 310 H month. transportation, and I would hope and, from the civic government of that the

to ; say against the action of the Gov-'

received. he had in game again

Islasti Matt shops lti tiortttany

.. ...:.o.u- shopping in down-town Hannover. where they are stationed with the 27th Canadian Infantry Brigade, are Privates A. A. MacDonald, Morell, P. E. I. (left). and .l.T. Mnwdsley, Amherst, N.S. Both men are

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inirrtlie lai)ottr'markci. I-Iowevr.-r. if the Government ltnd increased his pension as it should have been increased. to a point where it would take care of the increased cost of living. he would not have had to re-enter the labour mar- ket and thus take ll job from

letter someone else.

Dent-rving Class

"In closing I would repeat what said earlier with respect to hon.

other members

310 it would take up the cause of the

incapacitated people in all districts of Canada. To them more than in any other class we owe

a

(livelihood, in this fair country of

ours.

"Prince Edward Island is cer- tainly one Province that has done and is doing its full share in the production of foodstuffs for both the domestic and export markets. As I said earlier, however, if we do not. have proper transportation facilities our people will find it difficult to produce. only to find that it cannot be transported to

the point of consumption. I had intended to make some further observations. among which were

some references to the postal serv- ice in Prince Edward Island, but I shall dr.-for thode remarks until a later time."

Tr-mlcrs (Hntgratttintions

In his opening remarks Mr. Mc- Lurc congratulated two young men front Prince Edward Island. Mr. Allan McDonald. is Scotsman. and Mr. Walter Read, an Irishman. "These students front St. Dun- si.'ttt's University," he said. "have won the debating: ritampionship of the whole of Canada,'nccordin;: to press reports: and their final score was made right. here in the Federal capital of Canada about ten (lays ago.

"I nlso want to congratulate the farmers of my ('onsiituen('y and my Province. Again according to the press Prince Edward Island won the oreputation of having the best hogs for bacon in be found anywltere in the world. and last. year we icti every Province in

Two Can Sings

by James M. cola

CHAPTER. ONE

rm Two mg! I she was going back to slnxlnz because she wanted to go back to singing. but she wasn't satisfied just to do that. She had to har- poon me with it. End hI1'P00n me where it hurt. And. In the second place, all we had between us and starvation was the dough I lied salted away in a good bank, enough to last at least three more years. and after that the . house. and after that my share in the Craig-Borland Budding, and after that a couple of other pieces of property the firm had. if thins! got that bad. I had never asked Doris to cut down by one cent On the household expenses or give up anything at all. I mean, it was a lot of hooey, and I began to Set sore.

"Doris. be your age. you're only trying to make a burn out of me, and I'm not going to buy it."

"You have to thwart me, don't you. Leonard? Always"

"There it goes. I knew it. so I thwart you. How long have you had this idea?"

"I've been thinking quite some time."

"About two months, hey?"

about it

"Two months? Why two months?" "It seems funny that this egg

comes back from Europe and right away you decide to resume your career." .

"I-low wrong you are. wrong you are."

"And, by the time he gets his forty 3. week, or whatever it is he takes, and all the rest of his cuts. you'll be taken for a swell ride. There won't. be much left. for the husband and kiddiys."

Oh, how

"I'm not paying Lorentz any- thing."

". . . What?"

"I've explained to him. About

our-circurnstances." I hit the roof then. I wanted to know what business she had tell-

eu'nforE5le in there."

Yes. I even did that. I slept that night in the nursery. Ind took up my abode there from then on. what I ought to do was go in and lock her in the jaw, I lsnew that. so for the next three months, there was nothing but vocallsing all over the place, and then it turn- ed out she was ready for a recital. For a month we got ready for the recital. and the less said about It the better. Never mind what the hall cost. and the advertising cost. and that part. What: I hated was drumming upxthe crowd. I don't know if you know how a high- toned Social Registerite like Doris does when she gets ready to give a recital to show off her technique. she calls up all her friends and sandbags them to buy tickets. at 32 a ticket. And not only does she call up all her friends. but her hus- band calls up his friends, and all her sisters and her cousins and her aunts call up their friends, and those friends have to come through, or else it's an unfriendly act. oh, yes, culture has its prac- tical side when you start. up Park Avenue with it.

I don't know when I tumbled to it that Doris was no good. But some time in the middle of all the egcitement. it just. came to me that. she couldn't sing. that she never could sing, that it was all just. like a pipe dream. I tried to shake it off, to tell myself that I didn't; .know anything about it. be- cause that was one thing which had always been taken for granted in our house: that she could have, 3. career if she wanted it. I