Province Législature Session Type de discours Date du discours Locuteur Fonction du locuteur Parti politique Nouvelle-Écosse 51e 1re Discours du Trône 23 Mai 1974 Clarence Gosse Lieutenant-gouverneur LIB Nova Scotia: Speech from the Throne, First Session of the 51st General Assembly, May 23rd, 1974 I am pleased to welcome you to this, the First Session of the 51st General Assembly of the Province of Nova Scotia. I extend my very best wishes to each of you, particularly to the nineteen Members who are serving for the first time. Because of recent events, you are meeting later in the year than usual. During the life of this General Assembly, matters of historic importance will require your attention. In addition to the legislative measures to be presented during your current deliberations, you will be asked to lay the groundwork for subsequent Sessions of this Assembly. Years ago our illustrious forebear, Joseph Howe, observed that: "Nova Scotians are few in numbers; our Province is but a narrow tract." However, Nova Scotia is surrounded by some of the richest, most dynamic and heavily populated areas of the world. This is both our opportunity and our challenge. While we recognize the need for change and outward-looking politics, we are equally cognizant of our responsibility to preserve and protect our culture and material heritage. To achieve that elusive balance between economic prosperity and the life style that we regard as unique will require strong but sensitive Government in the years ahead. As Nova Scotians, we must devise wise land use and land ownership policies. We must modernize our major industries. We must reform our structure of Government. We must rekindle the entrepreneurial spirit of the people. We must insist on the better use of our physical resources. We must look to the sea as the new frontier of opportunity. We may look to others for guidance and assistance in these matters, but the decisions, ultimately, must be made by you, in this historic chamber. We are meeting at a time of considerable economic uncertainty. While employment, incomes and investment continue to increase rapidly, prices of goods and services are rising at rates that seriously erode the real gains our economy is making. My Government recognizes that inflation is a complex national and international problem, but it acknowledges that it has a responsibility to assist those who are least able to help themselves cope with the rising cost of living. In addition to those measures already taken to help meet higher living costs, legislation will be introduced to give substantial relief to residential property taxpayers. My Government shall pay to each municipality, on behalf of residential property taxpayers and tenants, twenty-five per cent of the 1974 residential property tax bill, up to a maximum of $200. My Government emphasizes that relief of residential property taxpayers in this way is an interim measure only, pending reform of the basic structure of municipal-provincial relations. The Report of the Royal Commission on Education, Public Services and Provincial-Municipal Relations will be presented to you. Three years in preparation, it is the most comprehensive study of its type ever undertaken in Canada. Because of its far-reaching nature, you will be asked to strike a Select Committee of the House to consider the Report and to continue sitting after the House rises. In further recognition of the fact that inflation hits hardest those who are least able to bear its inroads, legislation will be introduced to enable municipalities to deduct up to $4,500 from the assessments of homes of pensioners 65 and over, as well as widows and deserted wives whose incomes are less than $3,500 a year. This measure will be retroactive to last January 1. During the past year, the subject of energy has been a major preoccupation of much of the world. My Government's policy has been to ensure Nova Scotians secure energy supplies at the lowest possible price. My Government forcefully presented these views during First Ministers' Conferences held in Ottawa in January and again in March. That substantial agreement was secured for a single, nation- wide price for oil, considerably below prevailing world levels, was a tribute not so much to any one person or group of persons but to the enduring spirit of Canadian nationhood. Because energy, in all its various forms, constitutes such a large part of the household budget, particularly for lower income families, my Government made a commitment to the people of Nova Scotia following the March meeting of the First Ministers that current prices would be maintained for the balance of 1974 on gasoline, diesel fuel, light heating oil and domestic electricity. This program commenced on schedule. The energy crisis will not suddenly disappear. Instead, it is already becoming a persistent problem to be met through a blend of new technology and wise statesmanship. Higher oil costs have dramatically altered the economics of mining Nova Scotia coal, of developing hydro sites which a few years ago were considered marginal, and of harnessing the tides of the Bay of Fundy. Participation with New Brunswick in that Province's first nuclear power plant is currently being negotiated. And we all look to the day when oil and gas will be found off our coasts in commercial quantities. Because the exploration, production, transportation and marketing of petroleum products is such a vast international enterprise, seemingly beyond the control of even the most powerful states, my Government has been assiduous in its use of its full constitutional authority to protect consumers of these products from unwarranted price increases. To ensure that such safeguards for Nova Scotian consumers will continue, you will be asked to approve amendments to the Gasoline and Fuel Oil Licensing Act and to pass new legislation to permit the allocation of petroleum products in times of shortage. In accordance with my Government's commitment to ensure optimum control and maximum utilization of all potential energy resources, legislation will be introduced respecting the bituminous shale resources of the Province. My Government is committed to the expansion of health services as the finances of the Province permit. Accordingly, a dental care program for children seven years and under is scheduled to go into effect on July 1. In addition, my Government will introduce legislation to provide free prescription drugs for all persons who are 65 years of age and over. In this way, the health of our senior citizens will be enhanced and they will be spared a frequently onerous financial burden at a time when their incomes have decreased. Stemming from the recommendations of the Select Committee on Education, legislation will be introduced respecting collective bargaining for teachers. In recent years, the Maritime Provinces have greatly increased and formalized their areas of mutual co- operation. For decades, the three Provinces have co-operated, on an informal basis, in providing education to visually and hearing-handicapped persons. Now, the Maritimes, together with Newfoundland, intend to have the School for the Blind in Halifax and the School for the Deaf in Amherst taken over and operated by an Atlantic Provinces Special Education Authority. Legislation to effect this change will be presented. With the dissolution of the 50th General Assembly, the Select Committee on Non-Resident Land Ownership became nonexistent. Much useful work was done by this Committee and many proposals for legislation were advanced during its public hearings. Continued research and public discussion, however, are needed before legislation may be presented to deal with this complex and controversial subject. You will, therefore, be asked to reconstitute the Select Committee. In the meantime, my Government will continue its policy of purchasing and, where necessary, expropriating prime recreational lands to ensure that such lands will be preserved for the enjoyment of this and future generations of Nova Scotians. Recommendations of the Select Committee on the Police Act are being embodied in three Bills, the Police Act, The Civil Constables Act and amendments to the Constables Act. Amendments to the Lands and Forests Act will be introduced to enable the Minister to enter into agreements with private operators to ensure better utilization of our forest resources. You will be asked to approve amendments to the Livestock Loans Guarantee Act and to extend its life for a further period of three years. This is a vital part of my Government's program to increase livestock production in Nova Scotia. To conform with the provisions for provincial elections, you will be asked to approve amendments to lower the municipal voting age to 18. You will be asked to reconstitute the Select Committee on the Public Service Superannuation Act. The 1973 annual reports of the Voluntary Planning Board, the Ombudsman and various Boards, Commissions and Departments will be placed before you. The public accounts of the Province for the fiscal year ended March 31, 1973, will be presented for your consideration. An interim statement of the revenues and expenditures for the fiscal year ended March 31, 1974, will be placed before you. Estimates for the fiscal year started April 1, 1974, will be presented to you for your consideration. To these and all of the matters which may come before you, I ask your most careful attention, praying that Divine Providence may guide you in all your deliberations and decisions.