Province Législature Session Type de discours Date du discours Locuteur Fonction du locuteur Parti politique Manitoba 27e 4e Discours du trône 22 Février 1965 Errick F. Willis Lieutenant-gouverneur PC Madam Speaker and members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba: I welcome you to the fourth session of the 27th Legislature of the Province of Manitoba. My government states that the principal business of the session will be to complete the program begun at your last meeting to effect a massive reallocation of costs and responsibilities designed to alleviate the burden of local taxes in favour of the local taxpayer. A multi-million dollar school tax reduction will be recommended and as a result 64% of Manitoba's school tax bills will be cut in half while the remainder will receive a substantial reduction. A further large appropriation will be sought to enable the province to relieve local government of major road and drainage responsibilities. You will also be asked to provide substantial grants in lieu of local taxes on provincial government property. My Ministers inform me that effective January 1, 1965, every provincial personal income taxpayer is receiving the benefit of a reduction in taxes amounting to one point or 16% on the provincial personal income surtax. Recommendations will be made for the alleviation of certain tax measures now on the statute books. My Ministers regret that the need for an equitable division of revenue between the federal government and the provinces is still unsatisfied. The report of the Economic Council of Canada gives added weight to the views of my government in this respect. The federal administration has been asked for an early conference to discuss problems of equalization, priorities including education, old age pensions, mental health and other important matters. My Ministers have accepted the invitation extended by the Economic Council of Canada to co-operate with their work and will press for the establishment of a national policy of balanced regional economic and social progress. Discussions are in progress as well respecting a Prairie Provinces Economic Council. I am informed that 1964 was a year of record breaking economic activity in Manitoba in almost every sector. My Ministers are gratified to state that the implementation of the Report on Manitoba's Economic Future is yielding results. The number of persons employed in manufacturing in 1964 increased by over 2,000, a figure considerably in excess of the annual increase target set by COMEF in this sector. Measures will be proposed to promote further economic advance in 1965 with emphasis on research and development for small business, broadening the pool of skilled labour through in-plant training, up-grading skills of the unutilized human resources of the province and promoting regional economic growth. My Ministers will propose that the successful Agricultural Credit Act be amended to make it more useful for the young farmers entering the business. I am informed that if current negotiations with the Government of Canada on crop insurance are successfully concluded, my government will double the crop insurance area of the province to offer protection to 70% of our farmers in 1965. You will be asked to provide for an expansion of the Manitoba Water Supply Board program bringing water facilities to our smaller communities. Construction of major works on the Assiniboine - the Shellmouth dam and the Portage la Prairie diversion - will commence this spring. Provision of funds will be sought for the new provincial waterway system now under discussion with local authorities. Capital appropriation will be recommended for the development of the Glenlea Agricultural Research Station operated by the University of Manitoba. My Ministers view with concern recent trends in the price of wheat as a threat to the provincial economy, and you will be asked to consider policy dealing with this subject. Fresh initiatives in the Interlake ARDA project will be requested. Legislation providing for the reorganization of the procedure for the acquisition of property required for public purposes will be introduced. A further large program for the expansion and development of existing provincial parks and of the major new centennial parks at Birds' Hill, the Spruce Woods and in the Shellmouth area will be put before you. My Ministers are concerned to accelerate the development of our natural resources of fish, minerals and forest for the benefit of our people. They will lay before you new policies including a precedent setting program of mineral investigation to stimulate the development of mines, a change in the royalty tax provision applicable to new mines, a new mining road access policy, and additional incentives to stimulate drilling for oil in zones below presently producing horizons. My government will propose an appropriation to support the provincial road system which has been expanded by the takeover of 4,000 miles of new provincial roads. Large investments in the Trans-Canada Highway, No. 59 Highway, the Metropolitan Perimeter Road, and increased assistance towards the street system of the Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg will be recommended. These will complement the regular highway upgrading program which will continue at a high level. Legislation will be introduced to provide for the separation of highways from the Department of Public Works to become the Department of Highways. My Ministers report that negotiations are well in hand looking toward the eventual establishment of local self-government at the Town of Thompson. Important amendments to housing legislation to facilitate urban renewal and slum clearance will be advanced. Amendments to The Official Time Act will be placed before you to provide for daylight saving time for six months in certain communities. You will also be asked to give consideration to policy respecting changes in local government organization. New measures respecting the problem of alcoholism will be recommended. You will be asked to approve legislation respecting mentally disordered persons and a revision of The Public Health Act. A program for the building of new active treatment hospitals and of extended care treatment hospitals and units will be laid before you. An appropriation for funds to provide personal care homes as authorized under recent legislation will be sought. Legislation will be proposed to strengthen our industrial safety programs and to improve Workmen's Compensation legislation. New rehabilitation facilities for juveniles, a new rehabilitation camp in connection with Brandon Gaol, and new Juvenile and Family Courts will be recommended. Plans leading to the introduction of a work release program for prisoners will be presented. Approval will be sought for more probation officers, an enlargement of facilities and personnel in the Court of Queen's Bench and in the Magistrates' Courts, together with other measures to strengthen the administration of justice. The driver testing program will be extended to cover a further large area of the province. The Unsatisfied Judgment Fund will be improved to provide for property damage covering within certain limits. The Manitoba Hydro Board has informed my Ministers of plans to extend hydro service to many of the remote settled communities in northern Manitoba. The Manitoba Telephone System has informed my Ministers of plans for an accelerated program of rural line upgrading and improved communications in northern Manitoba. You will be asked to approve participation by Manitoba in the World's Fair at Montreal in 1967 and in the Pan-American Games to be held in the same year in the City of Winnipeg. Since we last met my Ministers inform me that much study and consultation have taken place on the subject of consumer credit. You will be asked to consider legislation and future policy on this subject. My Ministers state that education continues to develop rapidly on all fronts. You will be asked for the largest public school appropriation in Manitoba's history. University grants proposed will be the highest on record and important capital projects will also be recommended. A Council on Higher Learning will be established to assist the University and affiliated colleges to deal with emerging problems in their field. My government will propose a record appropriation for bursary assistance for students. Funds will be sought respecting the transfer of the Manitoba Teachers' College to the University campus as a substantial step forward in elementary teacher training. Legislation will be introduced to establish a frontier school division with its headquarters at Cranberry Portage. This, together with the technical school at The Pas and the educational upgrading program, will provide enlarged opportunities for all citizens of the north. The Manitoba Residential School for the Deaf will recommence operations this year and funds will be sought for this institution and also in respect of new policies for the education of retarded children. Proposals to improve elementary education will be laid before you, dealing with changes in grants, school district consolidation and the centralization of financial authority on the basis of voluntary local option. Policy respecting highway safety, a racing commission, legal aid to indigents, the constitution, ways and means of safeguarding individual rights vis-a-vis the state, the Canada Pension Plan, and certain business legislation are among the other matters with which you will be asked to deal. My Ministers wish to record their appreciation of the loyalty, devotion and goodwill in which the public servants of the province carry out their duties. Their contribution to the public welfare is second to none and worthy of recognition. My Ministers will introduce a bill respecting a method of negotiation with the Manitoba Government Employees' Association. A pay increase for provincial civil servants will be proposed. Estimates for the requirements of the public service of the province for the next fiscal year and the accounts for the last fiscal year will be submitted for your consideration. In leaving you I pray that you may have the guidance of Divine Providence in your deliberations.