Province	Législature	Session	Type de discours	Date du discours	Locuteur	Fonction du locuteur	Parti politique
Nouveau-Brunswick	46e 	3e 	Discours du trône	24 février 1970	M. Wallace Samuel Bird	Lieutenant-Gouverneur	PL

Mr. Speaker and Hon. Members of the Legislative Assembly,

I am pleased, as Her Majesty's representative, to address you today as you begin the third session of the Forty-sixth Legislature of the Province of New Brunswick.

We avail ourselves of this occasion to reaffirm our allegiance to Her Majesty the Queen and to recall with affection the investiture of His Royal Highness the Prince Charles, Her Majesty's son and heir, as Prince of Wales.

As Canadians now confidently enter a new decade, it is appropriate that we reflect upon and assess the decade immediately past, and express our continuing hopes and aspirations for the 1970's.

The year of the centenary of Canada's Confederation served to direct the attention of Canadians everywhere to their unique position of unity in diversity. Out of these reflections came a new national consciousness of a people, strong in their pride of the nationhood of Canada, yet holding very precious their diverse cultural heritage.

As we enter the 1970's, a revitalized Confederation has emerged It is a Confederation still being shaped, still being developed by all its partners. The continuing constitutional review, in which my government takes an active part, is laying a firm foundation on which to build new structures within an acceptable framework of a Canada designed to meet the modern needs of a modern Canadian federalism, taking into account all the regional realities which make up our great country.

For New Brunswick, the decade of the 1960's was the period of the most impressive economic growth in almost a hundred years. It was the most impressive decade of development since the age of sailing ships reached its zenith in the province in the early days of post-Confederation.

Enormous expansions, still under way, occurred in various sectors of the provincial economy. Record expansion was achieved in the pulp and paper industry. Unprecedented growth took place in the metal mining sector, with base metal mines, concentrators and a smelter all emerging as new, vital economic forces of great benefit to the people of New Brunswick. Large scale growth occurred in manufacturing in the province. New industrial construction is continuing and more is in the active planning stage. Evolving port facilities, including containerization, hold promise of giving New Brunswick a new key role in North American and world transportation services.

While the decade of the 1960's was one of impressive economic growth, it was equally one of unique achievement in social, educational and governmental reform. The program for equal opportunity introduced sweeping and forward-looking structural reforms that will continue to be developed throughout the new decade.

The decade of the 1960's resulted in an increased sense of identity as a region by the people of the Atlantic Provinces. Governments of the four provinces worked together with increased harmony to achieve objectives of common interest. Soon the people of the Maritime Provinces will be challenged anew by the findings of the report of the Maritime Union Study. Whatever the recommendations of the study, they will focus attention of the people of three Atlantic Provinces on their position within the region and within a united Canada.

My government believes the problem of inflation is a most serious one in the nation and shares the concern of the government of Canada on the subject. At the same time, my government is urging the government of Canada to take a more selective approach to the national problem of inflation and to view it within the context of the economic regions of the country.

My government welcomes the positive measures being brought to fruition by the Regional Economic Expansion Department of the government of Canada. These new initiatives and new assistance programs have resulted in important strides forward in industrial development since the inception of the new department, as evidenced by the designation of growth centres for the Moncton and Saint John areas and special emphasis being given to industrial development throughout the province.

My government welcomes the approach of the Regional Economic Expansion Department of viewing the Atlantic region in total, with its new policy of broad application of economic initiatives, taking into careful account the need for a modern infrastructure to support a developing economy.

Both the long and short term prospects of an accelerated pace of industrial expansion in New Brunswick are promising.

Last year was a record one for industrial expansion in the province, with a large number of major new projects under way.

In the pulp and paper industry, improved international markets have resulted in record expansion. The $80 million St. Anne-Nackawic hardwood mill is nearing operation and will provide a valuable market for hardwood resources in the province, as will the new S 16 million hardwood mill in the St. George area and the $16 million particle plant of Airscrew Weyroc in the Chatham area. McMillan Rothesay is undertaking a $35-million expansion at its newsprint mill in Saint John, and a further $35 million expansion program is under way at Fraser Companies mill in Edmundston.

Metal mining is now a $100-million-a-year industry in New Brunswick: a more than fivefold increase in the decade of the 1960's. New development continues, including an $11 million expansion program at Heath Steele Mines, and the construction of a copper concentrator at Anaconda-Caribou which is scheduled for production in September.

In the Crand Falls area a huge potato processing plant is being constructed, bringing expanded markets and a large number of new jobs to the district.

The Grand Lake Development Corporation, established last year by the Legislature, has had marked success in the establishment of four industries in the coal field area. Coal mining has been rationalized under one operating company in order to utilize existing markets to the maximum advantage. The seriousness of the market situation is fully recognized and every effort is being made to maintain a balanced program while meeting the needs of miners and communities in the area. My government is pledged to programs which will improve the quality of life in the coal field areas and to maintain the communities as an integral part of the economic life of the province.

My government continues to place a high priority on programs that will provide solutions to our long-standing transportation problems. Discussions are continuing with the government of Canada to develop a new transportation policy for this province and for the whole Atlantic Region. Successful conclusion of these negotiations will provide new opportunities for New Brunswick producers and manufacturers to market their goods in Central Canada.  

During the current year a number of shared-cost programs with the federal government for highway construction will terminate, as others did during 1969. My government successfully negotiated a new program for the past year and is now concluding negotiations for a further program to provide more modern arterial highways in the province.

Reconstruction of Route No. 11 to Trans-Canada Highway standards is a top priority item in the province's road-building program.

Upgrading of the Trans-Canada Highway from Sussex to Fredericton will be completed this year to bring the whole of this highway up to all-weather standards. Construction will continue on the remaining section of Route No. I between Saint John and St. Stephen. Work will begin on the vital highway link between the Trans-Canada Highway at Woodstock and the Interstate Highway at Houlton, Maine.                  

Major construction will be initiated on the Saint John Throughway. A high level of construction activity will be under way on highway bypasses at Campbellton and Bathurst. Work will continue on the new four-lane highway from Shediac to Moncton.

My government will continue to provide grants to municipalities for the maintenance and improvement of arterial highways that pass through urban areas. During the past year my government introduced a program to provide technical advisory services to towns and villages that are embarking on major construction programs.

The construction of dust-free rural highways will continue. Additional funds will be provided this year for the replacement of rural bridges. The installation of modern signs and other safety features will also be increased during 1970.

New Brunswickers were distressed at the widespread damage caused in many parts of the province earlier this month by unseasonable floods. A committee on flood damage has been established and adjustors are currently assessing the damage. Assistance programs to help those who suffered losses are being established.

A principal objective of the program for equal opportunity is to guarantee the right of all students in the province to an education enabling them to achieve their full potential in citizenship. Accordingly, education has been for the past decade, and will continue to be in the current decade, a top priority item of government.

At the beginning of the 1960's, only 24.3 per cent of students who entered school 12 years earlier were in their senior year of high school. In the current year the figure has doubled to nearly 49 per cent. The number of New Brunswick university students tripled during the decade. Eight trade and technical schools, institutes of technology and fisheries schools were built or expanded, as well as two Teachers Colleges. 

Teachers are now better paid and better qualified in 1960, only 28 per cent of all teachers had Certificate I standing or better. Today it is a remarkable 78 per cent.                       

The construction of new high school complexes is continuing and six will have been totally completed by the fall of this year. Another six are under construction in phases and should be partially occupied by fall or early in 1971. These 12 complexes represent a $50-million investment by the people of the province.

The government will continue its long-term program to provide every school district in the province with modern school facilities.

In the current year, record grants have been paid to New Brunswick universities. This sum will be increased in the new fiscal year.

Improvements in legislation will be proposed in relation to education, and particularly to the Auxiliary Classes Act.

My government believes that the subject of social welfare and social development is one that needs to be examined carefully in light of rapidly changing social and economic conditions in the nation,

Within the last year task forces have been set up by the government of Canada and the provincial Ministers of Welfare to analyze the costs of welfare programs and examine in detail new methods of approaching the problem.

My government will table a White Paper on Social Welfare and Social Development. This will provide a basis for discussion and the introduction of reform legislation at the next session of the Legislature.

My government is pleased to report that progress is being made in the development of modern programs in mental health and in the treatment of mental retardation, as a result of the Mental Health Act adopted at the last session of the Legislature. Additional mental health clinics have been established in communities not previously served.

Over the past decade, increasing concern has been expressed over the problem of pollution of the environment. Substantial progress has been achieved in pollution control during the period, but an enormous task lies ahead. The concerted efforts of governments at all levels, industry, and all citizens will be required to achieve the desired objective of an unpolluted environment for New Brunswick.

In addition to long standing sources, two principal factors contributed to added pollution of the environment in the past decade: our record industrial expansion and the upstream pollution of waters outside New Brunswick.

Positive measures have been taken.

New industrial establishments and all new municipal sewerage systems are now required to install controls to minimize pollution. Existing pulp and paper industries without required equipment are being given schedules to meet in installing required antipollution equipment.

New pulp and paper mills under construction at Nackawic and St. George will have the required modern antipollution equipment. Fraser Companies are redeveloping and expanding facilities at Edmundston which will embody suitable equipment for elimination of damaging effluent.

My government is currently negotiating an agreement with the government of Canada to formulate a comprehensive water resource management plan for the St. John and St. Croix River Basins.

Pollution entering the St. John River from Maine via tributary rivers and streams is causing my government serious concern. The government of Canada has been asked to inform the United States that the pollutants entering New Brunswick constitute a violation of the Boundary Waters Treaty and to request appropriate corrective action.

My government has ordered an appraisal of the situation concerning air pollution in the province.

My government welcomes the initiative of the government of Canada in introducing the Canada Water Act in Parliament. To insure maximum protection of the New Brunswick environment once this legislation receives the approval of the Parliament of Canada, my government will introduce appropriate complementary legislation which will allow it to deal with all environmental pollution within the provincial jurisdiction.

My government is urging the government of Canada to establish a national contingency plan for dealing with potential pollution disasters such as that created by the recent sinking of the Arrow. With increased shipping of petroleum products in super tankers the danger could become a very real one for New Brunswick and our sister Atlantic Provinces.

A modern province needs a modern penal system.

As part of its continuing program of reform, my government intends to act on recommendations concerning treatment of offenders in the province, in line with proposals contained in the recent report of a federal-provincial study on corrections.

You will be asked to approve legislation aimed at achieving the objective of the rehabilitation of offenders, allowing them to reconstruct their Uves to become useful members of society.

The revision of the statutes of the province will be commenced, and, in accordance with the Official Languages Act, they will be made available in the two official languages.

The promotion of tourism in New Brunswick is recognized as of paramount importance to the economy, and increased emphasis will be placed on the industry in the coming year.

Last year in New Brunswick there was a record spending program in recreational development, and this amount is expected to be increased in the coming year. Major new park and other recreational development will be undertaken, including a start on the extensive development at Lake Utopia in the designated area of Charlotte County.

This year will be an important one for park development with the opening of the new Mactaquac Park, offering comprehensive recreational facilities.

The signing of a formal agreement for the establishment of a second national park in New Brunswick is regarded by my government as a major incentive to rapid development of tourism which will also provide additional outdoor recreational facilities for residents of the province.

Efforts are being made to extend the normal tourist season and to promote winter recreational facilities. Planning is under way for wilderness parks and modern winter recreational resource development.

It is recognized that the snowmobile is changing winter recreational patterns and, accordingly, you will be asked to approve legislation for careful regulation of snow vehicles, for the protection of both users and the public.

The provincial student bursary program has been extended to assist students attending designated post-secondary institutions. Bursaries have been awarded to nearly 5,000 students to a total of nearly $1.5 million, an increase of over 5600,000 over the previous year. The federal student loan program in New Brunswick currently applies to more than 6,700 students, with total loans of $5.3 million.

Continuous emphasis is being placed on the encouragement of athletic development in the province. Provincial athletes are preparing for the Third New Brunswick Winter Games to be held in March, and the 1971 Canada Winter Games next February in Saskatoon. During the year the Department of Youth assisted in the formation of the New Brunswick Federation of Sports Recreation and Physical Education. Last summer over 200 New Brunswick athletes represented New Brunswick in 13 sports competitions at the Canada Summer Games in Halifax and Dartmouth.

Under the new municipal reform legislation adopted by New Brunswick unconditional grants to the municipalities and local service districts continue to increase. In 1968 the grants totalled $11.6 million, in 1969 approximately $13.5 million, and this year they will be increased to S 15.1 million.

There has been a much higher degree of stabilization of municipal taxes in New Brunswick since the beginning of 1967 than in any other province in Canada.

My government is assisting the Greater Fredericton and Greater Moncton areas in their amalgamation studies, as well as the amalgamation study of the St. Stephen-Milltown area.     

During the fiscal year, there were some 800 unit starts on New Brunswick Housing Corporation projects, for a total investment of some $12 million. These starts represent some 20 per cent of the housing starts in the province during the period, and will effectively double the amount of publicly assisted housing produced in the province over the past 18 years. During the current fiscal year the corporation initiated some 25 family and senior citizen housing developments in 17 communities.

During the next fiscal year, the New Brunswick Housing Corporation has plans for an additional 600 units of family and senior citizen housing. The corporation is developing a program for cooperative housing to come to fruition by 1971.

The decade of the 1960's resulted in more new electric power production than in any previous period in the history of the province. Electric power production tripled in the decade; the $120-million Mactaquac development construction and expansion of the Courtenay Bay thermal plant, the Newcastle Creek thermal plant and the new Dalhousie thermal plant provided more power for more industry for more steady jobs.

The development programs resulting in increased electrical energy laid the cornerstone for New Brunswick's record decade of industrial expansion in the 1960's.

The New Brunswick Electric Power Commission continues to keep pace with the social and industrial development of the province through the provision of economically priced power to all areas. Further expansion and upgrading of the transmission and distribution systems will continue throughout the coming year.                 

Construction of a 345,000-volt interconnecting transmission line with the New England power systems is under way from the Keswick terminal to the international border. Agreements were signed last August to assure both the New England and Mantime Power Systems of the benefits of a major interconnection for power and energy exchanges, including mutual support in emergencies.

The Commission is enlarging its interconnection facilities with Hydro Quebec with the installation of a high-voltage direct-current convertor station at the Eel River terminal near Dalhousie. This convertor station will be energized early in 1972 and will facilitate the transfer of large amounts of power between the two utilities. The method of transfer is an innovation in Canada and will attract worldwide attention in the utility science and research field.

The Public Service Labour Relations Act, legislation far in advance of any existing in Canada, has been proclaimed. It has paved the way for collective bargaining negotiations by the public service of the province.

New Brunswick's Human Rights Commission is engaging in a number of new projects with the aim of the achievement of the maximum protection of human rights in the province. An expanded program on radio, television and in the newspapers of the province will be undertaken to increase public awareness of the Human Rights Act.

The Industrial Safety Code is presently under revision in an effort to deal with more hazardous conditions which are arising as a result of an expanding industrial economy.

New Brunswick farm income increased approximately eight per cent in 1969 over 1968. However, 1969 was considered only a fair crop year because of unfavorable weather. Fruit and vegetable production continues to expand in the province.

An all-Canadian electronic farm accounting and record system is being developed nationally through the cooperation of all provincial Departments of Agriculture and the Canada Department of Agriculture.

Special attention is being given to the problem of soil erosion control in the potato growing areas of the St. John River Valley.

Substantial increases in the number and total amount of loans for purchase of livestock and machinery have been recorded by the Farm Adjustment Board.

The federal-provincial ARDA agreement has been extended to March 31, 1972.

Measures to improve opportunities in agriculture will continue to be developed.

The New Brunswick fisheries continue to gain in importance. Fish landings reached record highs in 1969, with volume up by 15 per cent. The larger volume resulted from increased catches of herring, crab, shrimp and lobster.

The diversification program undertaken by the Department of Fisheries is being widely accepted by the private sector of the industry.

The Department of Fisheries has prepared a five-year program of boat building and is seeking the financial support of the government of Canada. Obsolete units are being replaced with modern efficient vessels. Four such units are now nearing the completion stage. The Department is promoting diversification programs in the industry with the objective of a New Brunswick fishery that will operate on a year-round basis.

The public accounts for the fiscal period ending the 31st of March 1969, together with a statement of the estimated revenues and expenditures for the current fiscal year, and the estimates for the coming fiscal year will be placed before you.

You will be asked to approve additional measures for the benefit of our province.

I am confident, as I leave you now to your deliberations and exacting responsibilities that you will work together for the benefit and advantage of all the people of our beloved province.

May Divine Providence guide you in your deliberations.