Province Législature Session Type de discours Date du discours Locuteur Fonction du locuteur Parti politique Nouvelle-Écosse 47e 3e Discours du Trône 20 Février 1963 Edward C. Plow Lieutenant-gouverneur PC Nova Scotia: Speech from the Throne, Third Session of the 47th General Assembly, February 20th, 1963 I am pleased to welcome you to this the Third Session of the Forty-seventh General Assembly convened in the Province. We were saddened since the Legislature last met by the death of Ernest M. Ettinger, the Member for Hants East, thus bringing to an end a useful career in the Provincial field and a long and devoted life of community service. The Conference of Premiers of the Atlantic Provinces was held during the year at St. John's, Newfoundland, and further meetings will be held during the coming year at Fredericton to continue discussions of matters of mutual interest and concern to the Atlantic region. Acting in concert with the other Atlantic Provinces and the Maritime Transportation Commission, my Government has made representations to the Government of Canada regarding an appropriate freight rate policy for the Atlantic Provinces. The Conference of the Premiers of the Provinces of Canada was again held during the year at Victoria, British Columbia, and my Government will be the host this year at a further meeting of the Conference at Halifax. My Government has retained the firm of Touche, Ross, Bailey & Smart to make a study of federal, provincial and municipal taxation in and as it affects Nova Scotia, its provincial and municipal governments, the conduct of business, the organization and location of industry, and the positions of individuals. This firm has been requested, among other things, to prepare the basic material for a submission on these matters to the Royal Commission on Taxation, and to make a report to the Government of Nova Scotia on matters relating to provincial and municipal taxation in Nova Scotia. My Government welcomes the establishment of the Atlantic Provinces Development Board as a constructive measure to stimulate the growth of our economy. The progress of our provincial economy as a whole is encouraging, but it does contain areas of difficulty, notably in coal mining communities. My Government will continue to attack the problem of employment by encouraging industry and developing our educational and training programs. My Government has begun a program of voluntary economic planning to increase the rate of economic growth and employment in the Province. The agricultural sector has been organized for such planning. Preparatory work is well advanced in the power, fisheries and forestry sectors. You will be asked to consider legislation to establish a Nova Scotia Voluntary Planning Board in connection with the voluntary economic planning program. To assist the economic growth of the Province you will be requested to increase the amount which the Province may advance to Industrial Estates Limited. Because of weather conditions, farmers suffered losses of hay and grain in 1962. My Government and the Government of Canada have agreed upon a program to assist in the transportation of hay similar to that adopted in 1957. For the benefit of our agricultural producers who may be able to participate in the benefits provided, my Government will introduce legislation to permit the Federal Crop Insurance Program to be implemented in Nova Scotia The regulations of the Nova Scotia Land Settlement Board will be amended so as to make it possible to assist to an even greater degree the establishment of young farmers on the land. Confidence in the future of our fishing industry is indicated by the high rate of construction of ships resulting from the increased subsidies payable by the Government of Canada and record assistance being granted by the Nova Scotia Fisherman's Loan Board. The new Fisheries School at Pictou is nearing completion and will be available for occupancy early in the spring, where fisheries training programs and courses will be conducted. This new school will have living accommodation for those under instruction. Our tourist industry continues to grow, and you will be asked to consider legislation to encourage more construction of modern accommodation in areas catering to seasonal business. Negotiations for the establishment of a second National Park in Nova Scotia are proceeding with the Government of Canada. Discussions regarding a second boat service between Nova Scotia and New England have not yet reached a satisfactory conclusion but are continuing. My Government has entered into an agreement with the Government of Canada under the Agricultural Rural Development Act; and plans are now being formulated to enable the Province to share in the benefits available under that Act. My Government proposes to share with municipal governments grants made to assist regional tourist promotion organizations. Additional provincial campsites have been acquired and will be developed. During the year the work of the Emergency Measures Organization of Nova Scotia was continued and expanded, and plans are being completed for a national exercise next Fall. My Government is negotiating with the Government of Canada respecting financial arrangements for the initiation of a Fire Hose Coupling Standardization Program, so as to make the fire-fighting equipment throughout the Province of greater value in the event of any disaster. The Department of Lands and Forests is exploring the possibility of assisting municipalities in the management and development of municipally owned forestlands. It is anticipated that the survey of crown lands will near completion during the coming year. The coal mining industry continues to give concern, but the market for our coal is expected to remain steady during 1963 and to provide reasonably steady operations for most mines. The recent contract with Ontario Hydro, made possible by generous federal subventions, is most encouraging. The closure of No. 16 Colliery at New Waterford was a severe blow to the economy of that town and area, but measures were adopted to reduce personal suffering as much as possible. Plans are being formulated for training miners and supervisory personnel to improve technical knowledge to a point where maximum efficiency and safety in the use of mechanical and electrical equipment can be attained. Despite difficulties in our coal industry preliminary figures indicate that the value of mineral production in Nova Scotia was some $2,000,000 higher in 1962 than in 1961. During the past year, the kilowatt hour sales of the combined systems of the Nova Scotia Power Commission increased by 9.14% over the previous year. The Commission's thermal power stations used more than 150,000 tons of coal to generate electric energy during the past year. The Nova Scotia Power Commission has continued to act on behalf of the Province in the administration of the Agreement with the Government of Canada covering subvention payments on Maritime coal consumed by electric power generating stations. During the twelve month period ended November 30, 1962, the total of $1,042,960.00 has been returned to industrial consumers of coal generated electric power within Nova Scotia. This brings the total amount of such subventions since the inauguration of the plan in December, 1959, to nearly $5,000,000.00. Negotiations are now under way for an extension of this five-year plan for a further term. The report of Chas. T. Main Inc. on electricity in Nova Scotia will be laid before you. You will be asked to provide the funds necessary for a complete study of the water resources of the Province, including subterranean waters; and to consider legislation to provide for the further and better control of the water resources of the Province and the prevention of pollution therein. The program of improving the highways of the Province will be continued at a high rate, and studies in highway grading and paving methods will be continued to ensure optimum results of the least cost, bearing in mind especially the problems of those living on secondary roads. My Government is giving study to the relocation of that section of Route 1 highway between St. Croix in Hants County and Avonport in Kings County, and to that section of Route 3 highway between Gold River and Martin's River in Lunenburg County. Special attention will be given during the coming year to engineering surveys with a view to building by-passes around the Towns of Amherst, Oxford, Windsor and Truro. Work is well advanced on the entrance to the City of Halifax from Bicentennial Drive and on the by- passes around the Towns of New Glasgow and Antigonish; and during the coming season my Government will construct a connecting link between Bicentennial Drive and Route 3 Highway in the vicinity of Prospect Road, and complete reconstruction of Trunk No. 5 between North Sydney and Sydney River. A new Institute of Technology, a new provincial trade school, four new vocational high schools and two enlarged vocational high schools will open next autumn, having been built and equipped by my Government and the Government of Canada. During the past school year the enrollment in the public schools increased by nearly 7000 and local school authorities completed 72 capital building projects, providing 393 new academic classrooms. You will be requested to provide increased grants to School Boards for teachers' salaries, the maintenance of school buildings and the provision of teaching equipment and supplies, in order to ensure an adequate standard of instruction and to assist municipal governments. Commencing in the academic year 1963-64, my Government proposes to require all students at the Nova Scotia Teachers' College to enroll in the two-year program offered at that institution. Additional High Schools in the Province have been authorized to offer the general courses in academic subjects for students who do not wish to proceed to the regular university courses. In the four schools in which this program was offered last year, the students are now taking these courses in Grade Eleven and if successful, they will receive Provincial certificates at the end of the school year. My Government has appointed a continuing Committee to study the financial needs of the Universities and Colleges of the Province and to study the methods by which financial assistance from the Province can be best employed for the general benefit of the Province. My Government is negotiating a new Agreement with the Government of Canada under the Fitness and Amateur Sport Act, under which the Government of Canada is providing funds for the training of leaders in sport activities. My Government has assisted the Productivity Council to establish in Nova Scotia the first productivity school in Canada. The Commission appointed to consider procedures for altering municipal boundaries and municipal polling districts is expected to make its report later in the year. The housing survey for the Halifax metropolitan area is nearing completion. My Government has agreed to share in the first stage of the Uniacke Square housing development in Halifax and would welcome participation with other municipal governments in housing projects. My Government will appoint a Commission under the Public Inquiries Act to inquire into money lending practices and the protection afforded to borrowers by legislation within the competence of the Province. In order to encourage and facilitate the incorporation of volunteer fire departments in rural areas you will be asked to consider a Bill for the incorporation of rural fire districts. You will be asked to provide increased financial assistance for the maintenance of retarded children in a community residence program. Plans are nearing completion for the erection of a new classroom and auditorium building at the Nova Scotia Training School during the coming year. My Government has appointed an inter-departmental Committee of Ministers and senior officials regarding Human Rights. The first task of this Committee is to give attention to the problem of the negro in Nova Scotia, and a fact finding survey is now being conducted by this Committee. You will be asked to consider a code on human rights. The Select Committee of the Legislature on Labour Legislation has continued its studies and in furtherance of the work of the Committee it visited and studied labour legislation in the Scandinavian countries, West Germany, France and England during the year, and the report of this Select Committee will be laid before you. A most encouraging development has been the progress made by the Joint Labour-Management Study Conference organized and operated under the auspices of the Dalhousie Institute of Public Affairs. You will be asked to establish a Select Committee of the Legislature to consider the desirability of any legislation respecting the Lord's Day. The Department of Public Health is increasing its emphasis on the control of sanitation and pollution problems throughout the Province. The hospital construction program continues throughout the Province. Plans for the extension of the Victoria General Hospital are now complete and construction will proceed. The completion of the new nurses residence at the Nova Scotia Hospital will greatly facilitate the training of nurses in psychiatric nursing. Legislation will be introduced to amend the Motor Vehicle Act, the Education Act, the Credit Union Act, the Elections Act, the Mines Act, and other public statutes of the Province. The Public Accounts of the Province for the fiscal year ended March 31st, 1962, 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, 1963, 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.