Province Législature Session Type de discours Date du discours Locuteur Fonction du locuteur Parti politique Alberta 14e 2e Discours du trône 16 février 1961 J. Percy Page Lieutenant-gouverneur Alberta Social Credit Party MR. SPEAKER AND MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY: It is with pleasure I welcome you to this Second Session of Fourteenth Legislature of the Province of Alberta. During the past year this Assembly has suffered the loss of two members the deaths of Mrs. E. G. Robinson, Member for the Constituency of Medicine Hat, and Mr. James Lawrence Owens, Member for the Constituency of Didsbury. The sincerity and conscientiousness with which they applied themselves to their legislative duties won for them the confidence and respect of who knew them. Their passing is a distinct loss to this legislature and to the constituencies they represented. More recently, all people throughout the Province were deeply shocked by the tragic school bus-train collision at Lamont which resulted in the loss of so many young lives and in serious injury to others. I am sure all the members of this assembly will join with me in extending to the families who suffered such great bereavement our deepest and sincerest sympathy. My Government has taken the necessary steps to ensure a complete examination of all factors pertaining to this tragic accident and to the increased safety of school bus transportation throughout the Province. Special attention will be given to the elimination, as far as possible, of the hazards created by level and unprotected railway crossings. During the past year factors beyond the control of this legislature have tended to retard the pace of our economic growth and development. An excessively high price level, serious national trade deficits, pyramiding debt at high rates of interest and widespread unemployment on a national scale are factors which cannot be ignored without seriously impairing the national economy and adversely affecting the level of prosperity to which our people have attained in this Province. Effective steps to correct this situation require wise decisions and positive action on the part of governments, management, labour and the public at large. While the causes responsible for national recession can be removed only by effective action at national level, my Government intends to do all in its power to bring about the economic and financial reforms necessary to that end and to enlist the active participation of all citizens in this Province in the important task of controlling costs and curbing the current trend into further excessive debt. Climatic conditions during the past year were generally satisfactory throughout the Province, resulting in an above-average yield of grain crops and adequate feed supplies for the all-time high volume of livestock currently on Alberta farms. Increased services will be recommended at the current session to keep pace with the growing needs arising from this expansion of the livestock industry. Provision will be sought for the further development of community pastures and for programs to aid in the control of livestock diseases. A new Soils Act will be introduced providing authority to encourage practices for the conservation of soil resources. Amendments to The Eastern Irrigation Districts Act and The Water Resources Act will by presented for your consideration. Your approval will be requested for the continuation of construction of trunk drainage systems in the St. Mary and Milk Rivers Development and the Bow River Development irrigation projects. My Government's progressive program of forest protection and management will be continued, including new access roads through important resource regions of the Province. Your approval will be sought for a capital works program in provincial parks and for a research program relative to the conservation and management of wild game and fish. Having regard to the concern of municipal and school ratepayers as a result of the constantly increasing costs of elementary and secondary education, my Government will submit for your consideration a new program of school financing designed to distribute the burden of school costs in a more equitable manner and to provide more effective control over such costs. You will also be asked to approve ammendments to The School Act and The School Buildings Assistance Act together with appropriations to commence construction of a Northern Alberta Institute of Technology at Edmonton and the new School for the Physically Handicapped. As the third phase in my Government's Five Year Development Program, you will be asked to give special consideration to matters in the field of Public Health. Construction of a new Provincial Hospital at Calgary together with a Diagnostic and Referral Centre will be proceeded with during the coming year. An extensive program to provide Auxiliary Hospitals, authorized under legislation passed at the last session of the Legislature, will be carried out. In the field of Public Welfare, plans will be outlined during the session for a comprehensive program designed to relate welfare assistance more closely to individual need. Those who are currently recipients of Mothers' Allowance, Disabled Persons' Pension, Widows' Pension or Supplementary Allowances, will be given an option of continuing under the provisions of the present legislation or, alternatively, receiving the social allowance benefits provided under the new program. Amendments to The Child Welfare Act will be submitted for the purpose of clarifying administrative procedures. Construction of homes for senior citizens, which was the initial phase of my Government's Five Year Development Program, will be proceeded with in the two major cities during the ensuing year. In the field of Natural Resources, necessary amendments The Mines and Minerals Act and to The Oil and Gas Conservation Act will be submitted for your approval. Having regard for new and changing circumstances, my Government, in cooperation with the petroleum industry, proposes this year to make a comprehensive study of existing legislation and regulations pertaining to the exploration, development and marketing of oil and gas resources. The objective will be to revise such legislation and regulations, where necessary in the light of circumstances now prevailing, to ensure the continuation of a sound and efficient development program in the best interest of the people of the Province as a whole. My Government intends to continue the program of street paving, sidewalk construction and the provision of recreational facilities carried on during the past year in towns, villages and hamlets as the second phase of the Five Year Development Program. You will be asked to provide the necessary funds to continue modern highways construction, including divided multilane arteries. Provision will be made for additional campsites and improvements to existing campsites along our roads, which facilities have proven most popular with the travelling public. A major expansion program is proposed for the coming year by the Alberta Government Telephones. While continuing dial conversion program to all centres, the department will place emphasis on the improvement of services to farm communities by stimulating the growth of Mutual Telephone Companies and by providing better services to small settlements. An extensive program of necessary Public Works is planned including additional administrative, educational and institutional buildings and hospitals. To assist in alleviating unemployment, my Government intends to make contract provision for work to be done, whenever feasible, during winter months. Comprehensive studies have been conducted during the past year with the objective of devising a more equitable distribution of the burden of taxation on real property. To this end, legislation designed to broaden the tax base and establish a more equitable basis for real property taxation throughout the Province will be submitted for your consideration. Amendments to various statutes affecting municipalities, designed to further facilitate and improve their administration, will be introduced for your approval. The operation of the Alberta Municipal Finance Corporation will be continued during the ensuing year. Every effort will be made to obtain funds at the lowest possible interest rates and to restrict borrowings to essential capital projects. Opportunity will be afforded Alberta citizens, through the Provincial Treasury Branches, to invest in debentures issued to finance essential projects situated in this Province. You will be asked to consider a new Expropriation Act providing for more uniform and equitable procedures for expropriation of land. Reports of two special committees established by the Legislature to study revisions of The Workmen's Compensation Act and to recommend a general redistribution of electoral representation in the Legislature will be submitted for your consideration and action. The Public Accounts for the last fiscal year together with Estimates for the ensuing year will be submitted for your approval. I leave you now to the business of this session in confidence that you will discharge your duties and responsibilities in the interests of all our people. I pray that Divine Providence will guide and bless you throughout your deliberations.