Mr. Speaker, Mr. Powell, or Uncle Ben as he is affectionately known throughout coastal Labrador was born in Carbonear in 1921 to a mother from Labrador and a father from the Island. At the age of fifteen, he began his love affair with Labrador when he took a ship to Square Islands to take up fishing with his brother. He then stayed on for the winter and began trapping, which became his passion. He soon married the love of his life, Effie Campbell and together they raised nine children.

Mr. Speaker, it was because of his desire for his children to have a school and to receive an education that he decided to start a permanent settlement to bring people from all of the outlying coastal areas together during the winter. He settled in a place called Old Broad Cove in 1950 with his family and eventually the expansion continued to what we know today as the Town of Charlottetown.

Mr. Speaker, Uncle Ben was a quiet, ambitious man who always wanted to help people and make things better for those around him. He wanted to preserve the history of Charlottetown and write about his life and wrote his first book in the late 1970s. He then went on to publish a total of nineteen books related to his life in Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, his contributions to the community of Charlottetown and to Labrador have also been recognized nationally and in 1996 he was presented with the Order of Canada.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all hon. members of this House to join with me today in paying tribute to a truly marvellous man on his ninetieth birthday.