Joe Clark, would become Canada’s 16th Prime Minister in 1979, and Jim Coutts, who became in 1975 Pierre Trudeau’s all-powerful Principal Secretary, were in the thick of the parliamentary action on campus. The Edmonton Journal published a story describing the event and you can read it below.

Edmonton Journal: The Liberal minority government narrowly escaped a vote of non-confidence at the opening session of the three-day Model Parliament at the University of Alberta Monday. After close to three hours of debate, the Speech from the Throne was carried by a slim 32 to 29 votes.

Following Friday's election, the campus Liberal party took over the reins of government under the leadership of James Coutts, a second-year law student. The Liberals hold only 25 out of the 65 seats, but an unofficial alliance with the National Federal party gives them a further seven, one short of a majority.

Monday's session bogged down in a mass of technicalities as the opposition asked for a standing vote on almost every issue. On two occasions, Speaker Bernard Adell's rulings were questioned and members frequently interrupted by cries of "point of privilege" and "point of order." The House had barely sat down when Opposition Leader Robert Jarvis questioned the eligibility of Minister of Defence Gerald Lucas, who, he claimed, was chief returning officer for the election. The government stated that Mr. Lucas was not chief returning officer. A vote of the house allowed the minister to retain his seat.

Mayor Roper acted as governor-general for the parliament delivering the Speech from the Throne. In a ceremony patterned after the opening of the federal parliament he entered the chambers at Convocation Hall accompanied by a sergeant-at-arms and a one-man RCAF escort… The Liberal stand on defence is expected to be the major issue of the parliament. It proposes that Canada consolidate its three military forces into one force to act as United Nations police unit. This change, along with the halting of experiments in missiles and nuclear arms is expected to reduce defence spending.

The policy also proposes to encourage total world nuclear disarmament under the supervision of the United Nations. Other proposed legislation includes the abolishment of capital punishment, the abolishment of university fees for students with 65 per cent averages or better, an increase in tax exemptions for students, higher pay for student nurses and increased use of the Rutherford library at the university. In the early stages of the session, the government looked secure. The opposition raised only minor objections. Opposition Leader Jarvis called the defence policy a retrogression and added that the government was backward for refusing to discuss education. He further accused the Liberals of stealing from the Conservative platform.

He agreed to accept the Speech from the Throne with an amendment. The amendment contained a three-point education program asking for higher teacher standards, a strengthening of the Alberta school curriculum and special treatment of gifted children.

The amendment also asked for reduction in tariffs to help western farmers, a greater exploitation of the tourist trade as resource in Alberta and the banning of further construction of non-university on the Alberta campus. When the government defeated the amendment Speaker Adell ruled that this automatically passed the Speech from the Throne. Conservative member Joe Clark questioned then ruling and a vote of the house failed to support the speaker.

The vote on the Speech followed but the Coutts government was saved from defeat when three members of the opposition abstained from voting. The most severe critic of the Liberal policies was Communist leader Alfred Sternberg who said that the Speech from the Throne had said very little. "Why not abolish weapons altogether and end forever the threat of war?" he asked. He further asked for free university education and textbooks with students living expenses to be paid by the government. CCF leader Grant Notley supported the arms and capital punishment policies and, in addition, asked for a study of what he called the violation of the labour act in Newfoundland.

The Model Parliament will re-convene tonight at 7 p.m. in Convocation Hall when the defence proposal will be presented. The parliament is open to the public.