Province Législature Session Type de discours Date du discours Locuteur Fonction du locuteur Parti politique Nouvelle-Écosse 46e 4e Discours du Trône 24 Février 1960 Edward C. Plow Lieutenant-gouverneur PC Nova Scotia: Speech from the Throne, Fourth Session of the 46th General Assembly, February 24th, 1960 I am pleased to welcome you to this, the Fourth Session convened for the conduct of business of the 46th General Assembly of the Province. Nova Scotians everywhere rejoiced at the birth on February 19th of the third child and second son of Her Majesty the Queen. We recall with lasting pleasure the visit of Her Gracious Majesty and His Royal Highness the Prince Philip to the Province last summer, and recall with pride the fact that of Halifax, following a meeting of the Government of Canada held here, Her Majesty appointed the present Governor General of Canada. The Conference of the Premiers of the Atlantic Provinces was continued and further meetings were held at Fredericton, New Brunswick, to discuss matters of mutual concern and interest. The meetings will be continued this year in Halifax, and a special meeting will be convened following the inaugural direct Trans Atlantic flight between Nova Scotia and the United Kingdom. My Government has adapted a wage and salary plan for the employees of the Civil Service and certain Boards and Commissions, and the plan is now being implemented. Chronic unemployment in some areas of the Province is a matter of concern to my Government. My Government welcomes the appointment by the Government of Canada of the Royal Commission on Coal, and my Government will join with others in making a submission to that Commission. My Government engaged the firm of Arthur D. Little Inc. to make a study of the future of the steel industry in Sydney. It is expected that this report will be completed and laid before you. The primary contract for the erection of a chemical pulp mill near Point Tupper has been awarded and active construction work will commence during the year. In the field of Industrial Development, substantial progress is being made through the efforts of the Department of Trade and Industry, Industrial Estates Limited and the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council. Seasonal unemployment has been usual in Nova Scotia. My ministers are concerned with its extent and consequently, in addition to dressing a winter works program, my Government has requested the Government of Canada to join in a study of the unemployment problem, including the problems of seasonal unemployment in Nova Scotia. As a result of the examination of a By-Law passed by the Town Council of the Town of Dartmouth for the purpose of increasing the boundaries of that Town by the addition of certain adjacent areas, deficiencies became apparent in the law relating to the method of enlarging or diminishing town areas and legislation will be introduced to amend the respective statutes to simplify the required procedures. My Government, in cooperation with the City of Halifax, the Town of Dartmouth and the Municipality of the County of Halifax, is undertaking a study of housing in the metropolitan Halifax area to determine the magnitude of the housing problem. Pursuant to the provisions of the Alcoholism Research Commission Act passed at the last Session of the Legislature, a Commission has been appointed and a full time staff is now engaged in a study of this problem. The major extension to the Pathological Institute at Halifax is proceeding satisfactorily and the new extension should be in operation during the year. A contract has been awarded by my Government for the erection of a new teaching unit at the Nova Scotia Sanatorium at Kentville, and work on the building is now proceeding. Plans are proceeding for a major extension to the Victoria General Hospital and for a new Nurses' Home at the Nova Scotia Hospital. Plans for the construction of new hospital accommodation throughout the Province to provide 768 hospital beds and 278 bed equivalents have been approved and construction is underway or imminent. In addition, the Hospital Insurance Commission has approved further construction to provide 1232 more beds or equivalents, and detailed plans are now being prepared. The Hospital Insurance Commission has also approved plans for the provision of 391 beds for new nurses' residences. Besides increasing the assistance to approved municipal mental hospitals from one-third to one-half the cost of operation, my Government has agreed to assume one-third of the cost of approved fire protection measures including the purchase and installation of modern sprinkler systems. My Government proposes to make available, without cost to the patient, the necessary insulin for diabetic persons who are financially unable to provide this medication from their own resources. Legislation will be introduced to amend the Medical Examiners' Act to permit generally throughout the Province the substitution of Magisterial enquiries for Coroners' inquests. You will be asked to amend the law to provide for the appointment of separate inspectors for humane institutions and for penal institutions. Enrolment in the public schools of the Province has again increased. Total enrolment for the current year is approximately 178,000, which is an increase of approximately 7000 over last year and approximately 14,000 over the previous year. This rapidly increasing enrolment is creating a serious problem of finance in the matter of school construction. Legislation will be introduced to give further assistance to municipalities in financing school construction by permitting the Provincial share of the cost of construction to be paid in whole or in part as construction progresses. Enrolment at the Provincial Normal College has risen to 478 students as compared with 319 students two years ago. It is the intention of my Government to erect a new Provincial Teachers' College to provide adequate facilities for the training of elementary school teachers. You will be asked to approve an Agreement between my Government and the Government of New Brunswick for the building and operation of an inter-Provincial School for the Deaf at Amherst. You will be asked to provide funds to increase the University Students' Loan Fund. My Government will propose that, beginning in the school year commencing in 1960, a book rental plan be instituted under which students in Grades IX to XII will be enabled to rent from the Provinces a complete set of required text books for an annual fee of $5.00. To improve and enlarge the facilities for Vocational training, my Government proposes to erect a Provincial Trades School and Technical Institute to provide for pre-employment training of apprentices and for courses in non-designated trades and for the training of unemployed persons. An agreement has been signed with municipal governments in the County of Cape Breton for the erection of a Vocational High School in that County and a survey to determine the program of the school and its estimated size and cost should be completed during the summer. My Government proposes to amend the Regulations under the foundation program in the Department of Education to provide greater assistance from the Provincial Treasury toward salaries of principals and supervising principals, as well as superintendents and supervisors employed by local School Boards above the salary paid to these officials as teachers. My Government proposes to appoint a permanent revaluation commission under the provisions of the Education Act. This will make possible, beginning on January 1, 1962, an annual recalculation of the provincial and municipal proportions of the cost of the foundation program of education. An interim report of the Royal Commission on Election Practices established by my Government during the year will be laid before you and legislation will be introduced arising there from. My Government is continuing the study of the practicability of a freight and passenger service across Minas Basin, and has submitted a proposal to the Government of Canada. The inspection staff of the Department of Mines has been reorganized to bring about a better control of hazardous conditions in our coal mines, and equipment for loading and unloading minerals other than coal on ships, has been placed under inspection. The production of gypsum which reached record levels during 1959 should be maintained at or close to that figure and the production of salt will probably set a new record. Exploration for base metal and non-metallic minerals, which reached a new high level in Nova Scotia in 1959, is expected to continue at the same level. The Nova Scotia Co-operative Abattoir is nearing completion and it is anticipated that before your legislative duties are concluded the abattoir will be in operation. Assistance given to our farmers through the facilities of the Nova Scotia Land Settlement Board is currently at record levels. In the field of highway improvement, planning and engineering is well advanced in relation to substantial projects to be undertaken in the near future, including new high standard highways in the metropolitan areas of Halifax and Sydney, and major improvements to Routes 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. It is proposed that the work preparatory to paving Routes 8 and 12 be completed during the coming season and further preparatory work be continued on Route 14. Plans are well advanced to lay more than 300 miles of new pavement and 75 miles of re-pavement during the 1960 construction season. My Government will make adjustments in certain rates paid for highway labor and truck hire. You will be requested to authorize an annual grant of $200.00 a mile towards maintenance of streets in cities and towns. The total amount of such grant will give the cities and towns approximately the same average relief per capita as abolition of the highway tax afforded the rural municipalities in 1957. In cooperation with the City of Halifax and the Municipality of the County of Halifax, the feasibility of the construction of a bridge across the North West Arm is being studied. Should this study so indicate, my Government is prepared to enter into discussions with the City and the County to facilitate the construction of a suitable bridge in the near future. 43. An examination and evaluation of the existing bridge structures on the trunk roads of the Province is being made to determine whether the allowable weight limits for vehicles with more than two axles may safely be increased. It is not anticipated, however, that the maximum weight load of 18,000 pounds per single axle will be increased. A program to evaluate the hard surface of our highways is being pursued and data is being obtained respecting the economic design of future pavement and to establish the probable life of existing pavement. The program for replacing obsolete bridges on the trunk roads of the Province will be continued and carried out on a stole to ensure their removal and replacement as soon as possible. If the Government of Canada extends the term of the Trans-Canada Highway Agreement, new work under this Agreement will be proposed. Projects which will receive early attention will be by-passes around the towns of Antigonish, New Glasgow, and Truro and the improvement of Route 4 between the towns of New Glasgow and Antigonish. The extension through the town of North Sydney to the terminus of the Newfoundland ferry is proposed to be completed during 1960. During the coming construction season the bridge at Little Bras d'Or is expected to be completed. The crossing of Big Bras d'Or at Seal Island together with its approaches is expected to be in use by or soon after the 31st of December, 1960. You will be asked to consider legislation to prevent or control unsightly premises near certain trunk highways. The Registry of Motor Vehicles has been reorganized and modernized, which will result in the operations there being carried out more economically and with better and more speedy service to the public. Motor vehicle insurance rates in the Province have been reduced for the coming year. The provision of a maximum speed limit enacted last year, the program and activities of the Nova Scotia Safety Council and the operation of the point system have all be major contributing factors. Both the frequency of claims and the amount of claims in respect of insured automobiles have been reduced. My Ministers are holding discussions with Bowaters Mersey Paper Company Limited concerning the leasing of Crown lands in western Nova Scotia which are surrounded by or which touch present company holdings. Only lands which cannot reasonably be managed or cut by other operators will be considered for leasing to the company. The company is concerned that it will in future be forced to rely more on western Nova Scotia for pulpwood. This may afford the Province an opportunity to place some acreage of Crown lands under better management than the Province can provide for that acreage. In recognition of the need for recreational facilities for a growing and more mobile population, and realizing the economic and recreational value of the wild life and inland fisheries of the Province, my Government has created a Provincial Parks Division in the Department of Lands and Forests to promote recreational facilities both for our own people and for visitors to the Province. You will be asked to provide additional appropriations for an enlarged program of scientific research concerning these valuable resources. The Agreement with the Government of Canada first established last year for the development of Trans Canada Camp grounds and picnic areas is being continued this year and fifty percent of the cost of these facilities exclusive of land acquisition costs will again be paid by the Government of Canada. Legislation will be introduced to enable the Province to pay Social Assistance to certain classes of disabled persons who are now or might otherwise become dependent for support on municipal units of government. My Government approves the establishment in the Province of Family Courts. The Legislative Committee of the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society has, however, requested further time for fuller consideration of proposed legislation to that end, and consequently legislation will not be presented at this Session. The operations of the Nova Scotia Power Commission continue to expand. The load promotion program which was begun in 1959 and under which approximately $30,000.00 has been loaned to customers will be continued. The sales of domestic power increased by nearly twenty percent during 1959 and in substantial measure this increase is attributable to this program. Two hydro-electric generating stations with a total capacity of 20,000 Horse Power will be completed on the Sissiboo River during 1960. An extension of the 60,000 volt transmission grid in the western network of the Commission to Sable River and Lunenburg will be completed during the next year. The new 20,000-kilowatt turbo generator unit at the Trenton Thermal Power Plant is now in operation. It is anticipated that the 138,000-volt Inter-Provincial connection with New Brunswick will be in operation by the 1st of May of this year and will be operated under an Agreement made among The Nova Scotia Power Commission, The Nova Scotia Light and Power Company Limited and The New Brunswick Electric Power Commission. Legislation will be introduced to extend the benefits of the Workmen's Compensation Act to employees of all hospitals in the Province; and on the application of the respective municipal governments to extend, on an elective basis, the provisions of the Act to members of Volunteer Fire Departments. The amendments will also provide that benefits under the Act be payable in respect of all dependent children regardless of their number, and to permit the Board to pay an allowance for the transportation of the body of a workman to his place of residence following a fatal accident. Provision will be made for the placing of the sealing industry under Part III of the Act in the same manner as the fishing industry is now covered and to include radiation among the industrial diseases. Following the sale to the Government of Canada of an industrial site in Springhill for a penitentiary farm, Industrial Estates Limited purchased from the Cumberland Railway and Coal Company Limited a further parcel of land in the vicinity of the Railway station at Springhill. This site is now being developed for industry and the first plant thereon is now under construction. The tourist-advertising program in the United States will again be substantially increased. In cooperation with the Provinces of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island my Government will participate in a greater tourist-advertising program in Canada. There will also be an extensive mail survey of recent visitors to Nova Scotia and more intensive procedures will be adopted to follow up enquiries received. During the coming season approximately five hundred new hotel or motel rooms are expected to be available for the accommodation of visitors to the Province. Legislation will be introduced to amend the Assessment Act, the Education of the Deaf Act, the Museum Act, the Motor Vehicle Act, the Motor Carrier Act, the Social Assistance Act, the Probate Act, the Automobile Insurance Act, the Domestic, Dominion and Foreign Corporations Act, the Credit Union Act, and other Acts. The Public Accounts of the Province for the fiscal year ended March 31st, 1959, will be placed before you. An interim statement showing revenues and expenditures for the current fiscal year as presently estimated will be furnished to you. Estimates for the fiscal year to commence April 1st, 1960, will be presented to you for consideration. To these and all other matters which may come before you I ask your most careful attention, praying that Divine Providence may guide you in all your deliberations and decisions.