Province Législature Session Type de discours Date du discours Locuteur Fonction du locuteur Parti politique Saskatchewan 14e 1re Discours du trône 9 février 1961 Frank Lindsay Bastedo Lieutenant Governor Co-operative Commonwealth Federation The birth of a second son to her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and his Royal Highness The Prince Philip was the occasion of general rejoicing everywhere in the Commonwealth. The progress of the Canadian economy over the past year has been disappointing. Instead of maintaining a strong recovery from the recession of 1958, the advance of the economy came to an end early in 1960. National production failed to make significant gains, capital investment declined and unemployment rose to a new post-war peak. In December last, official federal statistics reported that over eight percent of the Canadian labour force was out of work and seeking jobs. Although somewhat higher than one year ago, unemployment in Saskatchewan remained below the average for the nation as a whole. In order to stimulate employment opportunities, My Government has proceeded with the construction of important public projects including the largest highway program in the history of our province Activity at the Squaw Rapids power site continues at maximum levels. Announcement has been made that construction of the new Saskatchewan Power Corporation Head Office Building and the new Liquor Board Warehouse and Head Office will proceed immediately. My Government has consciously followed a policy of scheduling the maximum amount of construction work during winter months in order to maintain employment in industries that are habitually plagued by seasonal fluctuations. All municipalities are being encouraged to take advantage of the assistance available under the Federal-Provincial Winter Works Program. Unemployment persons desiring further training are being urged and assisted to attend vocational training classes. To alleviate the hardships which unemployment has imposed on workers and their families, substantial social aid payments have been made. The bumper grain crop harvested in 1960 resulted in a sizeable increase in the value of agricultural production. The wheat crop averaged almost twenty-two bushels per acre. A record acreage was sown to rapeseed and the yield exceeded four hundred million pounds. More high quality feet was harvested than in any previous year and livestock producers were able to partly restore fodder reserves which were depleted following two years of poor hay crops. Favourable climatic conditions prevented severe grasshopper damage. In spite of increased agricultural production, however, cash income from the sale of farm products declined from the previous year. My Government will continue to encourage diversification in farming. Emphasis will be given to pasture development in Northern Saskatchewan. Considerable interest has been shown in the reports issued by the Agricultural Machinery Board on the performance testing of farm machinery. You will be asked to approve funds which will maintain this service to agriculture. A crop insurance plan was formulated and submitted to the farmers of Saskatchewan. In response to petitions more than forty thousand farmers were invited to participate in this plan. You will be asked to approve legislation to amend the Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Act which will extend the final date for receipt of applications for Crop Insurance in 1961 to the end of this month. Sewer and water systems are installed on more than seven hundred farms during the first year of the program designed to improve rural living. You will be asked to provide for the installation of modern plumbing systems on an additional one thousand, five hundred farms. You will be asked to approve legislation to place the administration of ground water resources under The Water Rights Act. Amendments to The Provincial Lands Act and The Conservation and Development Act will be submitted for your consideration. Work continued on the development of the multi-purpose South Saskatchewan River Project. Construction of the main dam and reservoir proceeded on schedule. Further engineering and economic studies were undertaken to determine the areas most suitable for irrigation. You will be asked again to provide funds for the provincial share of construction costs during the coming year. Industrial growth in Saskatchewan continued to maintain an encouraging pace. The value of manufacturing production in 1960 was comparable to 1959. During the year, thirty-two new industries located in the province. The majority of these firms represented new types of industry being established in Saskatchewan and are evidence of the diversification that is taking place. In addition, many firms undertook major expansions. Industrial history was made when steel was first poured by the Interprovincial Steel and Pipe Corporation in the spring of 1960. A large steel fabricating plant and a major paint factory were established in Regina. The munitions firm, Gevelot of Paris, opened a shotgun shell plant in Saskatoon. A factory to manufacture aluminum windows and school furniture and a feed mill to produce more than seventy lines of feed were established in Saskatoon. In Moose Jaw, a steel fabricating firm is now manufacturing steel buildings. In the same city, the largest floral greenhouse between Medicine Hat and the Lakehead has been brought into operation. The range of items manufactured in Saskatchewan expanded to include agricultural implements, snow plows, telephone cable and plastic pipe. My Government welcomes the announcement that Interprovincial Co-operatives Limited intends to establish an agricultural chemical plant in Saskatoon. Despite adverse national trends in the mining industry, the value of minerals produced in Saskatchewan in 1960 shows an increase over 1959. Production of potash ceased during the year due to engineering difficulties. Good progress has been made towards the solution of the problem of water seepage and prospects are bright or production of potash from two mines within this year. More than four thousand, four hundred oil wells produced approximately fifty-three million barrels of oil, exceeding 1959 production by more than eleven percent. The Boundary Dam Power Station at Estevan was officially commissioned last year. The facilities of this station together with those of the Queen Elizabeth Power Station at Saskatoon have doubled electrical generating capacity in the province during the last two years. The Saskatchewan Power Corporation now supplies electric power to approximately one hundred and eighty-seven thousand customers. The farm electrification program is now in its final stages. Last year three thousand, five hundred farms were connected. This year electric power will be extended to an additional one thousand four hundred farms. My Government proposes to make further assistance available to local governments to assist them to meet rising costs of education and to improve standards. Accordingly, grants for school purposes will be increased. Twenty-four additional urban centres were served with natural gas in 1960. More than seventy-one thousand homes, business establishments and industries in ninety-three urban centres are now supplied with this fuel. Steps have been taken to assure a long-term supply of natural gas for Saskatchewan consumers. A number of communities will be newly served during the coming year. Teachers' Scholarship Funds, introduced for the first time last year, are enabling teachers to return to university to complete their training qualifications for the Professional Certificate. In view of the value of this program in improving the quality of secondary education in Saskatchewan, you will again be asked to vote funds for this purpose. The Student Aid Fund, established in 1949 has during the years of its operation made more than eight thousand loans available to students. The service supplied by such a fund is so significantly in the interests of our youth that provision for an increase in the capital of the Fund will be requested. All major construction and equipping of the Saskatchewan Technical Institute at Moose Jaw, has been completed and programs of instruction are available for more than one thousand, four hundred students. Although the enrolment in the vocational training program for the Metis youth in Northern Saskatchewan is relatively small, the progress of the students has been most encouraging. My Government considers it desirable to extend this program in order to provide opportunities for these young men to be better equipped to take part in the economic progress of the province. Construction of university buildings to serve the needs of growing student enrolment continues. Last year, two major projects, a new Biology building and a new Arts building, were brought to completion. In the coming year the University plans major building undertakings on the Regina campus. The Advisory Planning Committee on Medical Care is engaged in all examination of all aspects of an extension of health service benefits for the people of Saskatchewan. The large number of individuals and organizations that have responded to the invitation to submit briefs lo this Committee is indicative of the widespread interest there is on the subject of medical care. It is expected that the Committee will present its report within a few months and that it will form the basis on which a prepaid medical care program can be established in 1962. A Mental health Act designed to bring the law respecting mentally ill persons into conformity with modern attitudes will be submitted for your consideration. A decline in anticipated revenues required that certain projects planned for 1960 be postponed including the construction of a Regional Mental Hospital at Yorklon. Work on this hospital will proceed in accordance with the comprehensive policy of improving facilities for the mentally ill as soon as funds are available. A new facility will be available for mentally retarded persons when the Tuberculosis Sanatorium at Prince Albert is closed this summer. A transfer to Prince Albert of a number of patients now provided for will permit the Saskatchewan Training School at Moose Jaw to make greater use of its training facilities and to accommodate a larger number of mentally retarded persons who can respond to its educational programs. Legislation will be introduced to amend The Social Aid Act to permit municipalities to join together for the administration of social aid. Amendments to The Deserted Wives' and Children's Maintenance Act will be placed before you. The Government has continued to assist municipal and charitable organizations in the building of housing for senior citizens and homes for those requiring nursing care. At the end of 1960 this program provided accommodation for three thousand seven hundred senior citizens. Over two hundred units will be available in similar projects presently under construction. One hundred and nine subsidized rental housing units are being constructed in the City of Regina through a partnership arrangement between the city and the Federal and Provincial Governments. My Government is anxious that other municipalities take advantage of the assistance available to provide housing accommodation of this kind. Uncertainty as to whether the Government of Canada will implement the recommendations contained in the report of the Fauteux Commission on Penal Reform has made it difficult lo plan the expansion of provincial correctional institutions. Proposals which will improve these facilities will be submitted for your consideration. The response by the public to the provincial recreational program has been excellent. Improvements and additions to public facilities in provincial parks will be proposed. More land is being acquired for camp and picnic sites along the Trans-Canada Highway. Basic planning for a park in the vicinity of the South Saskatchewan River Project, including a tree-planting program, will commence during the year. Improvement of the standard of the more frequently used forest access roads will be undertaken and tourists will be encouraged to holiday in the northern part of the province. An abnormally dry summer created serious outbreaks of forest fires. Use of modern suppression techniques, including water bombing, a helicopter and smoke jumpers, assisted materially in reducing losses. You will be asked to consider legislation which will amend The Provincial Parks and Protected Areas Act, The Forest Act and The Fisheries Act. Further progress has been made in providing highways to meet the travel demands within our province. Over two thousand, five hundred miles of the provincial highway system are now dust free. The highway bridge at Prince Albert was opened to traffic. A start was made on the construction of the Petrolka Bridge. The final report of the Continuing Committee on Local Government will be received in the near future. My Government wishes to express its appreciation to the Members of the Committee named by local government organizations for their work on this very important question. The report will undoubtedly be comprehensive and will likely shed light on many facets of the problem. Before any legislation is introduced, the report will receive the most thorough study and consultations will be held with local government organizations. It is the hope of My Government that all concerned with this important question will co-operate in helping to establish the strongest and most effective form of local government There has been continued progress in the building of the grid road system. By the end of 1960, one-half of the twelve thousand-mile grid road program was completed. A program for the regravelling of grid roads was commenced. Nine towns and villages took advantage of the Government's assistance to install water and sewage disposal facilities. You will be asked to approve funds to make assistance available to other communities. A study of ground water resources was advanced. The requirements of the provincial economy for additional water supplies makes it necessary to expand this program. Demand for local and long-distance telephone service continued to increase. The number of telephones in use increased by over ten thousand. This brings the total number of telephones in use to over one hundred and eighty-three thousand. New dial offices were placed in service in several communities last year. Meadow Lake, Wilkie, Unity, Outlook and Maple Creek are scheduled for conversion to dial operation in 1961. A program to assist Rural Telephone Companies to replace poles and provide a better standard of maintenance was instituted last year. It will be proposed that this program be enlarged to provide further improvement ln rural telephone services. Contributory pension plans for employees are now very numerous. It is felt desirable to gather information regarding these plans in order to determine if portable contributory pension plans are practical and desirable. Accordingly, you will be asked to consider legislation providing for the registration and reporting of pension plans. You will be asked to amend and revise The Workmen's Wage Act to provide for the more orderly payment of wages to workmen. The Co-operative movement in Saskatchewan continues to progress. A co-operative feeder program has been supported and aided. Credit unions continue to develop rapidly. You will be asked to consider amendments to The Credit Union Act. The Co-operative Fisheries Limited and Northern Co-operative Trading Services Limited have shown further strength during the past year. The use of the co-operative technique in Northern Saskatchewan is proving a useful method in furthering community development. At the request of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indians, assistance will be given for the establishment of co-operative projects on Indian reserves. More co-operatives for the Métis people will be encouraged. A unique step in the Provincial borrowing program is being taken this year. The Government plans to make available Saskatchewan Savings Bonds for sale exclusively to the people of this province. The primary purpose of this issue will be to provide an opportunity for the people of Saskatchewan in invest their savings and at the same time participate in the development of their own province. As well, the bonds will make a new source of funds available for financing investment in the Saskatchewan Power Corporation, the Saskatchewan Government Telephones and other activities. Two Federal-Provincial fiscal conferences have been held since the Legislative Assembly last met. All provinces, joined in requesting a fairer portion of the constitutionally shared tax fields, in order to carry out their own responsibilities and to give increased assistance to local government. At the last conference, the Federal Government proposed that the rate of equalization payments should be frozen and not permitted to increase with the growth of the Canadian economy. Saskatchewan will be represented at a further conference scheduled to take place in the near future. At this conference My Government will continue to urge the extension of the principle of equalizing major tax revenues among the provinces. Only in this way can all Canadian provinces continue to share in the economic and social growth of our nation. Several questions of importance to Saskatchewan were referred by the Government of Canada to Royal Commissions and committees of inquiry. ln its submissions to the Royal Commission on Transportation, My Government advocated a more equitable distribution of the burden of the cost of railway transportation in Canada. The Government's views were directed to the relief of the prairie region from the impact of post-war increases in railway freight rates and to the preservation of the Crow's Nest Pass Agreement rates on grain and grain products at their present levels and under the control of parliament. A brief was placed before the Royal Commission on Canada's Automotive Industry, stressing the importance of lower priced motor vehicles to our provincial economy and objecting to artificial restrictions on trade. My Government also urged the maintenance of the freest possible climate for the circulation of ideas and information by the periodical press before the royal Commission on Publications and recommended public support for worldwide Canadian journals of opinion. Preparations are under way on submissions to be presented shortly in Ottawa to a special Senate Committee making a study of manpower and employment conditions and to the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture and Colonization inquiring into the cost of farm machinery in Canada. During the past year, representatives of the Government of Saskatchewan have met with representatives of other provinces and of the Government of Canada to seek agreement on the best method of enabling Canadians to amend their own constitution. The Government of Saskatchewan has welcomed this effort to declare in law the independence which Canada has already achieved in fact by bringing to this country the formal power of amending her own constitution. Saskatchewan has expressed the view that any amending procedure should provide sufficient flexibility in the constitution to permit this nation to cope with future economic and social problems. It is earnestly hoped that the discussions will be successful in reaching agreement on a method of amendment worthy of the Canadian people. You will be asked to approve amendments to The Farm Security Act extending the protection given in the case of crop failure and extending the protection given to farmers against a final order for foreclosure of the home quarter. Legislation will be introduced consolidating and amending the law as to legitimacy by the introduction of The Legitimacy Act. Amendments to The Court of Appeal Act, The Conditional Sales Act, The Distress Act, The Religious Societies Land Act and The Commercial Agents Act will be submitted. The Public Accounts for the last fiscal year, together with estimates for the year beginning April 1, 1961 will be submitted. I leave you now to the business of the Session with full confidence that you will favourably discharge your duties and responsibilities. May Divine Providence continue to bless our Province and guide the Legislature in its deliberations.