Province					   Législature/Legislature Session Type de discours/Type of speech	    Date du discours/Date Locuteur/Speaker	 Fonction du locuteur/Function Parti politique/Political party
Ile du Prince Edward Island – Prince Edward Island 54			   1       Discours du Trône/Speech from the Throne 29-06-1979		  Hon. Gordon L. Bennett Lieutenant-governor		Liberal


P.E.I: Speech from the Throne, First Session of the Fifty fourth General Assembly, 
JUNE 29th, 1979

In the name of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, I am pleased and honoured to welcome you 
to the First Session of the Fifty fifth General Assembly of the Province of Prince Edward 
Island
It would seem appropriate at this time for me to offer my congratulations to the members who 
now sit in this new Assembly, and who have been entrusted by the people of Prince Edward 
Island with the responsibility of representing them here. I would also like to thank those who 
served their province in the Fifty fourth Assembly.
I know I speak for all Islanders when I say how pleased I am to be able to announce that His 
Excellency, the Governor General of Canada, will be a visitor in this Province for five days 
during the month of August. During that time, He will travel to various parts of this Island and 
meet with Islanders from all walks of life. He will also be visiting this Chamber and has 
expressed the wish to meet with the Members of this Assembly.

The statutory necessity of convening this Session so soon after the Provincial election has 
greatly limited the number of measures which my government is prepared to bring before this 
Assembly. As a consequence, the following Legislative items will be presented.

On Prince Edward Island retail shopping mall development has proceeded rapidly over the 
past decade. The economic and social impact of such development is not, however, clear. It is 
My Government's intention to legislate a moratorium on shopping mall development so as to 
allow a full assessment of the costs and benefits of such development.

You will also be asked to consider amendments to the Legislative Assembly Act, Workers, 
Compensation Act, Civil Service Superannuation Act, and Teachers' Superannuation Act.

In addition to these specified items, you will be asked to consider other legislative proposals.

The necessity of providing for the energy requirement of this province in a manner which is in 
the best long term interest of Islanders is a matter of great concern to My Government. In this 
regard it is intended to take whatever action is necessary to assure that Prince Edward Island 
will not be involved in the support of nuclear energy production. My Government believes 
that there is sufficient uncertainty surrounding both the safety and the ultimate costs of this 
type of energy to warrant this action.

It is also the intention of My Government to encourage and support most vigorously the 
development of renewable alternate energy production, thereby reducing the dependency of 
Prince Edward Island on outside energy resources. Such action will also decrease the 
continuous outflow of capital from this province which that dependency entails. The process 
of developing local sources of energy will be long and difficult, but it is a challenge which 
can not be neglected.

My Government will continue to support measures to conserve energy, and will arrange for 
the purchase of the most economical supply of non nuclear energy which can be provided 
through the interconnecting submarine cable.

The Public Accounts and Reports of the Various Departments of My Government for the 
Year ending March 31, 1978, will be tabled for your information. The Interim Report, 
forecasting estimated Revenues and Expenditures for the Fiscal Year ending March 31, 1979, 
and the Estimates for the Fiscal Year beginning April 1,1979, will be presented for your 
consideration. You will also be asked to appropriate the funds for the services and payments 
required for the operation of the Public Service.

MR. SPEAKER AND MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY:

My Government believes that the strong mandate they received from the people was an 
expression of a widespread desire in this Province for basic changes in the direction of 
government policy, and for an improvement in the effectiveness of government management. 
My Government is conscious of the great responsibility entailed in accomplishing these tasks, 
and is committed to making those changes which were endorsed by the electorate during the 
past election.

May Divine Providence guide your deliberations.


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