Province Législature Session Type de discours Date du discours Locuteur Fonction du locuteur Parti politique Nouvelle-Écosse 51e 3e Discours du Trône 17 Février 1976 Clarence Gosse Lieutenant-gouverneur LIB Nova Scotia: Speech from the Throne, Third Session of the 51st General Assembly, February 17th, 1976 I am delighted to welcome you to this the Third Session of the 51st General Assembly of the Province of Nova Scotia. I extend my very best wishes to each of you. The year 1976 will be a memorable one in the lives of Nova Scotians. In July, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth 11, together with His Royal Highness the Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh, will visit the Province for two days, en route to Montreal where Her Majesty will officially open the XXI modern Olympiad. I know that nowhere in the Commonwealth will Her Majesty and His Royal Highness receive a warmer or more heartfelt welcome than in Nova Scotia. This year also marks the 200th Anniversary of one of the climactic events of world history, the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence. It is the Canadian destiny to share with Americans, in peace and fellowship, a vast continent, a common language, a similar heritage and the same belief that governments, instituted among men, derive "their just powers from the consent of the governed." For Nova Scotians, with fraternal and commercial ties stretching back more than two centuries, the celebration of the American Bicentennial has especial significance. We join with other Canadians in wishing our great and good neighbours happiness and continued prosperity. You are meeting at a time when democratic governments throughout the world are attempting to cope with the associated problems of high rates of inflation and unemployment. Revenues are not keeping pace with commitments, with the result that governments must strike a delicate balance between financial realities and social requirements. My Government recognizes its responsibility to restrain growth in its expenditures. Accordingly, no new major initiatives in public spending will be undertaken. If cutbacks in vital public services are to be avoided, it is essential that every dollar of public expenditure be spent productively and that the overhead costs of government be reduced wherever possible. To this end, my Government announced late last year a 16-point program to ensure the more efficient employment of public funds. In addition, specific plans for the streamlining of a number of government operations will be introduced. Recently, this House approved legislation granting my Government the authority to conclude an agreement with the Government of Canada for the control of inflation. This agreement will be placed before you for your perusal. Nova Scotia is fully committed to the national anti-inflation program. The new Department of Consumer Affairs is coordinating my Government's anti-inflation program and the Minister of Consumer Affairs is responsible for the administration of the new Rent Review Act. The Rent Review Commission recently held its first meeting and is now carrying out its important duties. As the struggle to curb inflation goes on, my government remains concerned that national programs, particularly those relating to economic and social matters, take account of regional differences in our country. In this regard, my Government will continue its efforts to impress upon the Government of Canada the importance of ensuring that national policies in fields such as energy, transportation, foreign investment and health care reflect regional requirements. Balanced regional development is a prerequisite for a prosperous and united Canada. In common with the other Maritime Provinces, Nova Scotia faces rising energy costs for many years to come. My Government regrets that the Federal government and the producing provinces are committed to a policy of gradually moving up domestic oil prices to the world level. Nova Scotia will resist this pressure in every way possible. To the Maritimer, higher oil prices represent a double blow to his standard of living. Not only must he pay more for his gasoline and home heating oil, he incurs the unique disadvantage of having to pay substantially more than other Canadians for the electricity he consumes, the bulk of which is generated from imported petroleum. To prevent the already large disparity in electricity costs from growing, my government will renew its efforts to obtain special consideration for those Provinces which are heavily dependent on oil for power generation. My Government is taking action on several fronts to reduce our reliance on foreign fuels. Construction started last year on the Wreck Cove project in Cape Breton. Negotiations are going forward with the Cape Breton Development Corporation for future supplies of coal for thermal generating purposes and the Department of Mines is continuing its extensive drilling program to find exploitable coal reserves. Studies are now underway, in co-operation with the Government of Canada and the Province of New Brunswick, to determine the feasibility of developing the tides of the Bay of Fundy. In addition, the five Eastern Canadian Provinces are together investigating the technical and economic possibilities of making available to the Maritimes energy which is surplus to the needs of the Provinces of Quebec and Newfoundland. My Government will bring electrical rates under the supervision of the Board of Commissioners of Public Utilities. In these times of rapidly rising costs, it is in the public interest that increased charges be justified before an independent tribunal with public disclosure of the factors causing rate changes. Conservation must play an increasingly important part in our energy policy. The Nova Scotia Power Corporation is continuing examination of its pricing structure to ensure that wasteful and inefficient use of energy is not encouraged. The Corporation is also carrying out research into recapturing excess heat from thermal generating units. Experiments on wind and solar power are being conducted by the Nova Scotia Research Foundation under contract with the Power Corporation. The Nova Scotia Energy Council will be expanding the information program on conservation instituted last year. All of these efforts are aimed at providing Nova Scotians and Canadians in neighbouring provinces with additional sources of indigenous energy supplies. Historically, energy consumption and economic growth have gone hand in hand, and we must develop new sources at stable prices to maintain a high standard of living for our people. A continuing concern of my Government has been relief of the burden on the residential property taxpayer. Recently, the Minister of Municipal Affairs announced a plan whereby that portion of the shareable operating costs of education pertaining to residential property will be assumed by the Province, 75 per cent this year and the remaining 25 per cent in 1977. To give effect to this measure, legislation will be introduced to require municipalities to levy two tax rates, one for residential property and one for commercial and industrial property. Among a number of suggested changes to legislation concerning municipal affairs, an amendment to the Towns Act will extend to the spouse of a ratepayer the right to run for elected town office and to attend and vote at ratepayers' meetings and to vote in ratepayers' Plebiscites. The financial statements of Sydney Steel Corporation will be tabled. Depressed markets for semi- finished steel and the obsolescence of the plant combine to make Sysco a continuing financial burden to the Province. A lasting solution must await the results of the study being carried out by Cansteel Corporation, Devco and four large international steel producers into the feasibility of locating a major new steel complex in Cape Breton. Nova Scotia is co-operating with New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island in a number of fields besides energy through the Council of Maritime Premiers. The Annual Report of the Council will be placed before you for your consideration. The Child Welfare Act, first passed in 1906 and amended many times since then no longer meets modem practices. A new Children's Services Act will be presented for your consideration. The Bill Will incorporate the Adoption Act, the Nova Scotia Youth Training Centres Act and the Training Schools Act. Legislation will be presented to permit the enforcement on a reciprocal basis of child custody orders granted by other provinces. The Family Court Act will be amended to establish rules of court. At present, the Department of Social Services administers the Boarding Homes Act and those sections of the Social Assistance Act relating to establishment and licensing of homes for the aged and disabled, while the Department of Public Health administers the Nursing Homes Act. To eliminate overlapping, a consolidated Homes for Special Care Act will be presented for your consideration. My Government considers it an invasion of individual privacy and a needless inroad on the time of this House to require changes of name to receive legislative sanction. Accordingly, simplified procedures will be presented for your approval. The Nova Scotia Task Force on the Status of Women will be presenting its Report to the Government and it will be tabled for your consideration. Last year you appointed a Select Committee to review the Liquor Control Act. The Committee's Report will be tabled. You will be asked to approve several amendments to the Labour Standards Code to better protect Nova Scotia workers. Each year a number of minor amendments to numerous Acts, mainly of a housekeeping nature, take up a considerable amount of the House's time. To bring all such changes under a single Bill, the Statute Law Amendment Act will be introduced. Changes will be made in public service superannuation. These will include provisions to raise the present cost-of-living limit on pension benefits, to permit veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces from World War 11 and Korea to purchase their equivalent wartime service and to increase employer and employee superannuation contributions. To permit teachers to have a similar escalation limit, you will also be asked to make changes in regard to teachers' pensions. Law reform is of interest to all segments of the community. To provide for greater lay participation in the work of the Law Reform Advisory Commission, you will be asked to increase the Commission's membership. Within the past two decades, a considerable amount of legislation has been enacted to prevent many types of discrimination. You will be asked to amend the Human Rights Act to protect rights of persons who have been treated for mental illness. Legislation will also be introduced to provide for access to buildings by paraplegics. A number of amendments to the Motor Vehicle Act, designed to promote greater highway safety, will be proposed. They will include changing the maximum speed on unposted highways from 60 miles per hour to 50 miles per hour. To strengthen local interest and involvement in educational matters, an amendment will be introduced to require some elected representation to each School Board in the Province. My Government continues to support the Federal Government in its efforts to secure international agreement to the creation of a 200-mile offshore fishing limit. However, should international agreement not be forthcoming in the very near future, my Government, together with those of the other nine provinces, will insist that unilateral action be taken by Canada. A new Fisheries Act will be introduced designed to enable my Government and all Nova Scotian fishermen to take better advantage of emerging opportunities, with particular emphasis to be placed on the inshore fishery. A decade has passed since the last redistribution of provincial electoral districts and a number of areas have grown noticeably in population during these years. You will be asked to approve the terms of reference for an independent commission to recommend a redistribution of electoral boundaries. The Historic Properties Protection Act will be introduced to safeguard the heritage of the Province by preserving Registered Historic Property and districts which reflect our cultural, social, economic, political and architectural history. Amendments to the Pulpwood Marketing Act will be presented for your consideration. Part III of the Lands and Forests Act will be amended to permit the better management of our wildlife and woodland resources. My Government will continue its efforts to stimulate housing through the Nova Scotia Housing Commission by utilizing existing federal programs in land assembly, neighbourhood improvement, rural and native housing and Assisted Home Ownership programs. In addition, the Commission will formulate new policies to provide further assistance to low-income homeowners under its Co-operative Home Builders Program. To provide better protection for home buyers, the Department of Consumer Affairs and the Nova Scotia Housing Commission, in co-operation with their counterparts in the other Atlantic Provinces, are developing a Home Warranty and Insurance Plan. Federal Government participation in the proposed program is also being sought. Major amendments will be introduced to the Public Hospitals Act to eliminate the distinction between general hospitals and mental hospitals and, generally, to bring the legislation into line with modern medical practice. Amendments will be offered to the Insurance Act. A number of important measures will be placed before you to assist those persons engaged in our primary industries. The 1975 annual report of the Voluntary Planning Board, the Ombudsman and various Boards, Commissions and departments will be tabled. The public accounts of the Province for the fiscal year ended March 31, 1975, will be placed before you. Estimates for the fiscal year beginning April 1, 1976, will be presented for your usual close scrutiny. To these and all other matters which may come before you, I ask your most careful attention, praying that sound judgment and Divine Providence may guide you in all your deliberations and decisions.