Province Législature Session Type de discours Date du discours Locuteur Fonction du locuteur Parti politique Colombie-Britannique 26e 4e Discours du Trône 24 janvier 1963 Georges Pearkes Lieutenant-Gouverneur British Columbia Social Credit Party Mr. Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly: I welcome you to the Fourth Session of the Twenty-sixth Parliament of British Columbia. I am confident that your deliberations will contribute greatly to the progress and development of our Province. The past year has been an eventful one for British Columbia. Since you last met, Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal visited the Province to participate in the centennial celebrations of the City of Victoria. British Columbia was further honoured when His Excellency Major-General the Right Honourable Georges P. Vanier, D.S.O., M.C., C.D., made his second official visit to the Province as Governor-General of Canada, and my Government welcomed other distinguished visitors from many lands. In August the Third Annual Conference of Provincial Premiers was convened at Victoria. I know that all members of this Assembly share my pleasure at the success of this conference and my conviction that the Canadian parliamentary system, which was born of a federation of Provinces, will endure and flourish as a result of such demonstrations of national unity. During the past year the Province suffered the loss of valued public servants through the deaths of the Honourable Buda Hosmer Brown, member of the Executive Council without portfolio; George Hobbs, the member for Revelstoke; and Thomas James Irwin, former Speaker of the Legislature. I am advised by my Government that Mrs. Margaret Hobbs and Dr. Patrick McGeer have been elected as members of the Legislature, and I wish them well in the performance of their duties. Since you last met, and in keeping with legislation enacted by you, my Government has established a Department of Water Resources, and the important responsibilities related to its direction have been entrusted to the Honourable R. G. Williston. The past year saw the retirement, after eighteen years of distinguished service as President of the University of British Columbia, of Dr. Norman A. M. MacKenzie, who ably directed the unprecedented growth in enrolment and expansion of teaching facilities of the University throughout the post-war period. We are happy to welcome as his successor Dr. John Barfoot Macdonald, who has already pursued an outstanding career of research in the biological and dental sciences. My Government continued last year to hold meetings of the Executive Council in various sections of the Province. Noteworthy amongst these were the meetings held at Barkerville, on the occasion of the centenary of that historic centre, and at Fort St. John, where my Ministers inspected the rich oil and natural-gas fields and the hydro-electric power project on the Peace River near Hudson Hope. Our Province is fortunate to be served by government employees whose abilities and loyalty are unexcelled. I am gratified to learn that in keeping with its policy of making promotions as far as possible from within the Civil Service, my Government is continuing to provide opportunities for its employees to increase their capabilities. So far, 106 Civil Servants have received diplomas in Public Administration following completion of a three year course administered by the Civil Service Commission in co-operation with the University of British Columbia. The seventh class of this Executive Development Training Plan has now been enrolled. The benefits of the Civil Service Superannuation Act have been extended to employees of the Toll Highways and Bridges Authority, and substantial improvements in pensions have been made for active and retired employees of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway Company. My Government has commenced the payment of further bonuses for former employees who retired before April 1, 1958, and, in keeping with the provisions of the Municipal Superannuation Act, has co-operated with employers to effect increases in the payment of allowances to more than 1,400 pensioned municipal employees. You will be asked at this Session to consider increases in the salaries of all Civil Servants. My Government's programme to provide improved mental-health services through decentralization of the type offered for the treatment of all other illnesses has progressed well during the past year. Highly specialized psychiatric services are now available to citizens of the Okanagan Valley, and similar clinics to serve the central Vancouver Island region from Nanaimo and the Kootenays from Trail are planned. A new industrial-therapy building and a maintenance building will be opened shortly at Essondale. The closing-out of the Colquitz Mental Home at Saanich is proceeding on schedule. During the past year seven major hospital-construction projects, to which my Government has contributed more than 3 million dollars as grants-in-aid, have been completed in British Columbia. Thirteen other major hospital projects are currently under construction; these new hospitals will provide 586 new beds and will require Provincial grants-in-aid of approximately 5 million dollars. I am gratified to 1earn that my Government will continue to develop and improve community health services, placing emphasis on the construction of new health centres and on the expansion of home care and community rehabilitation. Measures for the control of communicable diseases will be greatly facilitated through the opening of a new virus laboratory, which supplements existing comprehensive public health laboratory facilities. My Government has continued, during the past year, to address itself vigorously to the task of increasing educational opportunities within the Province. Reflecting the accomplishments of this policy is the growth of the University of British Columbia, at which seven new buildings were opened in 1962. Six more buildings will be completed during the present year. At Victoria College an extensive building programme continued on a new campus. The Clearihue Building was opened last week, and two more major structures will be completed later this year. In addition, a great amount of work has been performed in reconstructing and converting existing buildings on the new campus. In keeping with my Government's belief that decentralization of facilities for higher education is desirable, a Bill to establish Victoria College as the University of Victoria will be placed before you. My Government agrees further that the establishment of junior colleges at recommended locations within the Province is likewise desirable. Throughout the Province, development of new accommodation to meet the needs of a rapidly expanding School population is going forward. During 1962, 167 new schools or additions to existing schools were built, providing 623 additional classrooms and other instructional areas. New facilities for technical and vocational education will open this year at Prince George, Nelson, and Kelowna, and the Institute of Technology at Burnaby will be in full operation in September, 1964. Through the agency of the Public Library Commission, a research fund has been established at the University of British Columbia to provide for a survey of all public libraries in the Province. I am pleased to learn that in order to meet these pressing needs for expanded educational facilities; my Government has continued to provide further financial assistance to all phases of the programme. You will be asked to authorize increases in grants to the University of British Columbia, to the University of Victoria, and to the school districts of the Province, as well as additional funds for technical and vocational education and for scholarships and bursaries. In keeping with the recommendations of the Chant Royal Commission on Education, reorganization of secondary education throughout the Province is proceeding in a planned and orderly manner. Changes in curriculum content are being implemented gradually, and vocational training programmes will be established in a number of secondary schools. My Government is desirous of emphasizing further the importance of physical fitness to the youth of the Province, and in keeping with this policy two assistants to the Director of the Community Programmes Branch have been appointed to work in the fields of adult education and physical recreation. Amendments to the Public Schools Act will be placed before you. Last year I was pleased to open at Vancouver the first Conference on Apprenticeship to be held in Canada. I was particularly encouraged by the attendance of over 300 representatives of labour, management, and government, who met in harmony and understanding with the common goal of considering an apprenticeship training programme that would help our youth to develop their abilities to their own advantage and that of the community. A similar conference to deal with industrial relations problems will shortly be convened, and it is my hope that both labour and management representatives will serve the public interest by giving the same unequivocal support to this conference. I am happy to learn that last year more people were gainfully employed in British Columbia than ever before in our history, and I note with equal satisfaction the steady and substantial progress made in the field of labour relations. In 1962, an important contract year, all major collective agreements were concluded without resort to strike of lockout, and innumerable agreements covering a lesser number of employees also were successfully concluded. Labour and management have thereby demonstrated a high degree of responsibility, in which all of us can take pride. I am further heartened to learn that following the pattern for labour-management relations established for the Peace River power project, similar agreements to ensure peaceful relations during the construction period have been concluded with respect to the Columbia River project. My Government is determined to pursue vigorously its programme for the reduction of accidents amongst its employees, and in this connection you will be asked to extend the programme which was implemented last year with the appointment of a Safety Director. The wise and orderly development went of our bountiful natural resources for the benefit of all citizens continued during the year. Notable was the remarkable growth in the production of crude oil in British Columbia. The present production of more than 1 million barrels per month means that approximately one-half of the crude oil used within the Province is now produced from British Columbia oil wells, transmitted by British Columbia pipe-lines, and processed in British Columbia refineries. While problems have been encountered during this period of rapid development, the co-operation of all sectors of the petroleum industry has been readily forthcoming, and these problems have been overcome. Natural-gas exploration throughout the Peace River area, and especially in the northerly region near Fort Nelson, has proved large new reserves. We are now assured of more than ample quantities to meet not only our own foreseeable requirements and all present market commitments outside the Province. Mineral production reached an all-time record in 1962, and further expansion of mining operations may be expected during the forthcoming year. For the second year the production of pig iron at Kimberley has attained approximate plant capacity of 34,000 tons per year, and new facilities to permit the production of 100,000 tons per year will be in operation in 1964. The year just concluded was a prosperous one for the forest industries, and the volume of production exceeded that of 1961. I am happy to learn from my Government that nine major pulp-manufacturing projects are now under construction in British Columbia at a combined capital investment of 192 million dollars. I am further advised that a 12-million-dollar pulp-mill is proposed for the Kamloops area. Further progress was made in the field of forest management as additional acreage of Crown lands was brought under sustained-yield regulation. A most important contribution to the economic development of the Interior of the Province was my Government's decision to award pulpwood harvesting licences for the support of pulp and paper mills to be located at Prince George and Kamloops. It is heartening to note that forest fire losses last year were at their lowest level since 1957. Favourable weather conditions and the provision by my Government of additional fire-fighting equipment facilitated prompt suppression action, and costs in this connection were only one-twelfth of those in 1961. By agreement between the Governments of Canada and British Columbia, the Fraser River Board will submit in September of this year a report dealing with a flood-control programme for the Fraser River. My Government is also surveying diligently the ground-water potential of the Lowe-Fraser Valley. The past year was perhaps the most notable in the history of our Province for highway construction, and the resultant beneficial impact on the economy--notably in the fields of tourism, commercial transport, and agriculture--will richly justify my Government's efforts in this connection for many years to come. One of the most scenic roads in the world-the Rogers Pass Highway through the heart of the Selkirk and Rocky Mountains—was opened in July; a four-lane divided highway from the United States Border to Vancouver was completed. The Blueberry-Paulson section of the Southern Trans-Provincial Highway was completed, with the result that three major arterial highways now offer entry from the east to British Columbia. Work is going forward on two additional east-west routes--the North Thompson or Yellowhead Highway and the Northern Trans-Provincial Highway between Prince George and McBride. In keeping with its announced policy, my Government will ask you to consider legislation freeing completely from tolls, bridges at Nelson, Okanagan, Rosedale-Agassiz, Second Narrows, and First Narrows. I am advised that the agreement entered into by my Government with fourteen States of the United States of America concerning the proration of truck licensing fees has proved satisfactory, and will be extended. This agreement has been of great benefit to the operators of British Columbia-based trucks and has resulted in increased exports of peat, cedar shakes, fish, and other products. The completion of the Rogers Pass Highway, and of the Alexandra Bridge and the China Bar Tunnel in the Fraser Canyon section of the Trans-Canada Highway, has markedly benefited not only the trucking industry, but also the farmers of the Province, who are now assured of overnight delivery of freshly harvested produce destined for the large consumer markets of the Greater Vancouver area. The position of agriculture in British Columbia during 1962 was buoyant. Cash farm income is estimated at a record 140 million dollars. My Government has shown keen initiative in developing agricultural television programmes from Interior centres in order to provide additional information on production and marketing to farmers and ranchers. This project has been made possible by the continued extension of electrification to the rural areas of the Province. Tourist income reached a record level of 145 million dollars last year; hunting and fishing activity increased greatly, as did park attendance. My Government has greatly expanded park facilities and will make further improvements this year. Consistent with the growth of winter sports activity, my Government has co-operated with industry in the development of several new aerial tramways. A further indicator of the progress of the tourist industry was the record attendance of 270,000 visitors to the Provincial Museum during 1962, its seventy-fifth year of operation. You will be asked by my Government to consider measures for broadening correctional facilities, particularly with respect to alcoholism and probation. Legislation will be introduced to provide for the appointment of an additional Judge to the Supreme Court of British Columbia, and the office of Public Trustee will be established to consolidate a number of existing functions for greater efficiency. New public buildings planned by my Government for construction this year include Courthouses at Oliver and Quesnel and further Government offices at Fort Nelson and Duncan. Extensive renovations are being carried out on three buildings at the Coquitlam Home for the Aged. An additional dormitory building will be constructed at Jericho High School for the Blind and the Deaf, and a classroom building will be ready for tender later in the year. When you last met, I made reference to the anticipated expansion in construction of elderly citizens' housing projects and my Government's assistance through grants-in-aid. I am happy to learn now that this programme has been expanded throughout the Province. Engineering studies have been completed for a fish-hatchery at Bull River near Cranbrook, and construction will be undertaken shortly. I am informed by my Government that the Pacific Great Eastern Railway made the greatest contribution of its history to the development of the Province in 1962, with resultant increases in both tonnage and revenues. This year the railway will be called upon to deliver vast amounts of supplies and equipment for the Peace River power project, and to continue its role in the establishment of new industries in or near the growing communities along its route. The ferry service inaugurated by my Government in 1960 has continued to expand very rapidly. Two new vessels--the "Queen of Vancouver" and the "Queen of Victoria"--were put into service last year, and a third was brought to the Coast from Okanagan Lake to enter service on the Bowen Island run. Two new vessels--the "Queen of Saanich" and the "Queen of Esquimalt"--will be completed at Victoria within the next two months, and a new ship to serve the Gulf Islands from Tsawwassen--the "Queen of the Islands"--will be completed by its Vancouver builders in June of this year. My Government will shortly call tenders for the construction of two more large ferries; when completed in the spring of 1964, they will provide hourly service from Nanaimo to Horseshoe Bay and at the same time release a second major vessel for the Howe Sound operation. Major construction has been undertaken at terminals at Crofton, Vesuvius, and Langdale, and further improvement will be made to facilities at Departure Bay. A new terminal will be built at Long Harbour on Saltspring Island. I am advised by my Government that the requirements for electric power produced and distributed by the British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority have increased at a rate even greater than that forecast less than two years ago, when the report of the British Columbia Energy Board on Peace River power costs was submitted. This growth rated indicates that the total electric load of the Hydro Authority will double within the next eight years. Accordingly, it is gratifying to note that major construction on the vast Peace River project is proceeding on schedule, and that by the end of the current fiscal year approximately 30 million dollars will have been expended. The Provincial economy is already benefiting from the employment, material purchases, and railway traffic associated with this development, and these benefits will become even more pronounced as work proceeds. Reduction in the height of the main Portage Mountain dam from 650 to 600 feet will result in the saving of many millions of dollars in capital costs. Favourable construction and engineering changes, together with highly competitive bidding, may be expected to result in even greater economies, thereby furthering my Government's policy of providing the most efficient electrical service at the lowest possible cost. In 1968 the first four generators will be installed in the Portage dam; these will produce about 550,000 kilowatts of new power and meet with great accuracy the Hydro Authority's forecast power deficit in that year of between 500,000 and 600,000 kilowatts. I am advised by my Government that its discussions with the Government of Canada and the United States Government relative to the development within the Province of the Columbia River basin are proceeding. The Hydro and Power Authority is actively pursuing its programme to extend efficient electrical service throughout the Province. During the past year, good progress has been made towards taking hydro-electric power to the Prince George area; a transmission-line costing approximately 15 million dollars will be completed to Williams Lake in September of this year, and to Prince George in 1964. These areas, which already are experiencing the most rapid electrical load growth of any section of British Columbia, will benefit greatly from the introduction of lower-cost hydro power for industrial development. The British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority now operates twenty-two hydro-electric stations and 108 diesel units. Many of these are small and inefficient. A large source of hydro-electric power will make it possible to eliminate many of these high-cost units. Mr. Speaker and honourable members, measures to cope fully with current needs and the requirements of our economic growth are embodied in the ways and means for supply to be granted to Her Majesty during the forthcoming year. The reports of the departments of my Government and the Public Accounts will be laid before you. I leave you now to the discharge of your legislative duties. I am confident that your deliberations will be in the best interests of all our citizens, and I pray that Divine guidance will attend your labours.