Province Législature Session Type de discours Date du discours Locuteur Fonction du locuteur Parti politique Nouvelle-Écosse 48e 3e Discours du Trône 16 Février 1966 Henry P. Mackeen Lieutenant-gouverneur PC Nova Scotia: Speech from the Throne, Third Session of the 48th General Assembly, February 16th, 1966 I am pleased to welcome you to this the third Session of the 48th General Assembly convened in the Province and I extend my best wishes to each of you. My Government's program is based upon the expectation that the coming year will provide further opportunities for growth in our economy, although my Government recognizes that these opportunities may not be shared equally by all our industries or by all our people. It is the conviction of my Government that the rate of economic progress today depends even more upon the quality and skills of people than upon the quality of available resources, and consequently increasing emphasis is being placed upon the education, training and well-being of our people. The first plan for the economy of the Province has been prepared by the Voluntary Economic Planning Board and you will be asked to consider it. In addition to services now available to industry, my Government proposes to establish a management advisory service to small business, and to expand substantially the work of the Economic Services Division of the Department of Trade and Industry. In co-operation with Canada and New Brunswick, further studies will be made of the tidal power potential of Minas Basin. To further encourage agriculture, my Government proposes: (a) to enlarge its existing incentive policy for the use of fertilizer on field crops; (b) to broaden the terms of reference under which farm loans are made by the Nova Scotia Land Settlement Board; (c) to expand under ARDA the program of land improvement and of land consolidation so as to assist, where desirable, in the creation of larger farm units, and (d) to build and operate, in co-operation with the Government of Canada, a technical institute relating to agriculture and the food processing industry. You will be asked to provide funds for these purposes. It is proposed to substantially expand the ARDA programs in the Province. My Government believes its most pressing responsibility relating to our rapidly expanding fishing industry is in the area of training and you will be asked to provide additional funds for an enlarged fisheries training program, as well as for fisheries development projects. Heavy emphasis must be placed upon improved forest management and conservation on both Crown and private lands. You will be asked to provide additional funds for the improvement of timber stands on Crown lands and for an accelerated reforestation program. In order to encourage a necessary and continuing growth in tourist accommodation, including restaurants, to serve the growing number of visitors to our Province, my Government proposes to increase its loan assistance for the construction of accommodation and to make such assistance available to restaurants meeting prescribed conditions. Efforts to lengthen the tourist season will be increased in order to improve the return on investment in seasonal tourist accommodation. A report is expected shortly from the consultants engaged to recommend terminal points for additional boat service between our Province and New England. Our coal mines continue to be a source of anxiety because of the cost of our coal in relation to the cost of competing fuels. My Government is awaiting the disclosure by the Government of Canada of its program relating to mining and marketing assistance for coal following an investigation it has commissioned. The Nova Scotia Power Commission is undertaking a program of heavy investment in new generating and transmission facilities. Through the joint efforts of labour, management and Government, industrial relations in Nova Scotia show further improvement. Legislation will be introduced to amend and consolidate the Apprenticeship and Tradesmen's Qualifications Act to provide a framework for a more flexible training program required for modern industry. The Nova Scotia Water Authority is accelerating its program to eliminate the existing and prevent further pollution of our inland and coastal waters. To accelerate the rate at which equal opportunities for both general education and vocational and technical training may be offered to students in all parts of the Province, the Department of Education will proceed with plans for the development of a Comprehensive School System. Essentially, this will involve a very rapid expansion of the facilities for technical and vocational training and for a much closer coordination of this type of training with the general education offered in the public elementary and secondary schools. The plan also provides for expansion of the courses and programs in the regular schools, both at the senior and junior high school levels. A special grant of $200.00 per student will be provided to School Boards in respect of commercial students in regular high schools. With additional financial assistance from my Government, local school authorities will be encouraged to increase the number of high schools operating the general course program, to provide additional shops and facilities for Industrial Arts and Home Economics and to provide modified academic and practical courses at the junior high school level. To assist in obtaining a sufficient supply of well qualified teachers and to reimburse School Boards for increases in operating expenses, my Government has agreed to make changes in the grant scales under the Foundation Program, beginning August 1st, 1966. My Government with assistance from the Government of Canada will also expand the facilities for post-secondary vocational and technical education and for the training and retraining of adults in technical skills. Substantial changes will be made in the regular school curriculum to keep pace with the expansion of knowledge and new developments in educational methods, especially in mathematics and science. You will be asked to vote additional sums for the provision of new textbooks and other course materials. Further increases in grants to colleges and universities will be made and will be related to the additional grants to universities recently announced by the Government of Canada. Legislation will be introduced to provide for the formation of assessment regions comprising several cities, towns or municipalities. A revised and consolidated Assessment Act will be introduced for your consideration. My Government has agreed, beginning August 1, 1966, to pay, with the assistance of the Government of Canada, all the operating costs of the regional vocational schools, relieving the municipalities of the contributions they now have to make from local taxation to the existing vocational high schools. The additional costs of providing higher salaries and operating expenses of schools during the coming year will be borne by my Government. Increases will also be made in the grant scales for the construction and equipment of new school buildings or extensions to existing buildings, to provide higher rates of reimbursement for regular classroom facilities and to include new types of facilities for grant sharing purpose. You will be asked to vote additional sums for these purposes. You will be requested to authorize an increase in the provincial share of the cost of Municipal Social Assistance and the cost of administering this program. It is the policy of my Government in relation to our municipalities to increase the Province's share of the costs of education, public health, public welfare and the administration of justice. In important instances my Government has assumed full cost, but generally some degree of local administrative and financial participation in programs in these fields is considered desirable, with the financial contributions of municipalities being related to their respective abilities to pay when such contributions are likely to affect local tax rates substantially. You will be asked to provide increased funds for the improvement of our highways. While the program of improving secondary roads, retopping worn pavements and replacing old bridges will continue, heavy emphasis must be placed upon further improvement of our trunk highway system. A number of measures to increase safety on the highways will be placed before you. A new and improved system of administering municipal mental hospitals will be brought into operation during 1966. A major extension of the Central Laboratories of the Pathological Institute is planned to meet the increasing demands of our expanding hospital system. You will be asked to authorize the establishment of a Medical Health Services Planning Commission to prepare a plan to provide for and finance medical health services insurance for Nova Scotia. You will be asked to provide the funds required to extend assistance to municipal governments in the care of prisoners and for extension and improvement of the Adult Probation Service. My Government proposes to take action under Part II of the Public Officers Act to place the office of Sheriff on a salary basis. You will be asked to provide funds to increase the provincial contribution for the maintenance of female prisoners from $850.00 per year to $1,650.00 per year. Legislation will be introduced to amend the Child Welfare Act to improve the method of determining the cost of administration and ward care and make more funds available to Children's Aid Societies. Funds will be requested to establish regional institutions for the care of severely retarded children, many of whom are now in municipal hospitals and some of whom are in their own homes. You will be asked to amend the Social Assistance Act and broaden the categories of persons eligible, increase the amounts of assistance payments, and provide for appeals from administrative decision. It is proposed, through federal cost sharing under the proposed Canada Assistance Act, to expand and develop new rehabilitation services for recipients of Social Assistance and those likely to become dependent on assistance. Funds will be sought to expand the Social Development program begun last year, with special emphasis upon the problems of Negroes. You will be asked to consider a new Housing Development Act. My Government proposes to establish a Family Court in the Halifax-Dartmouth area. You will be requested to vote funds for commemoration of Canada's Centennial and the participation of Nova Scotia in the World Exposition at Montreal in 1967. You will be asked to receive and consider a report of the Provincial Tax Commissioner concerning the collection of the tax on gasoline and diesel fuel. Certain measures in relation to Credit and respecting consumer protection will be placed before you for consideration. It is anticipated that the Computer ordered by my Government will be delivered and in operation during the early summer. Legislation will be introduced to amend the Education Act, Elections Act, the Insurance Act, the Companies Act, the Motor Vehicle Act, the Adoption Act and other public statutes of the Province. The Public Accounts of the Province for the fiscal year ended March 31st, 1965, will be placed before you. An interim statement showing revenues and expenditures for the current fiscal year as presently estimated will be furnished to you. Estimates for the fiscal year to commence April 1st, 1966, will be presented to you for consideration. To these and all other matters which may come before yon, I ask your most careful attention, praying that Divine Providence may guide you in all your deliberations and decisions.