Province Législature Session Type de discours Date du discours Locuteur Fonction du locuteur Parti politique Saskatchewan 14e 5e Discours du trône 14 février 1963 Frank Lindsay Bastedo Lieutenant Governor Co-operative Commonwealth Federation It is my privilege to welcome you to the Fifth Session of the Fourteenth Legislature of Saskatchewan. In 1962 the Canadian economy weathered a succession of strains and crises to produce its first year significant growth since 1956. This past year has been one of sound economic growth for our Province of Saskatchewan. Most gratifying was the impressive recovery of the agricultural sector from a near crop failure in 1961. Cattle production was above average and good prices prevailed. Further gains in the non-agricultural industries increased the tempo of economic growth. Public and private investment reached record levels while manufacturing and mineral production climbed to new peaks. Personal per capita income also reached a record peak and retail trade benefited accordingly. We look with confidence to a future of sustained growth and broader employment opportunities. The legislative and budgetary programmes which will be presented to you during this session are designed to contribute further to this economic growth and to make broader opportunities for better living available to all our citizens. Good progress has been made in the construction and development of the South Saskatchewan River Development Project. The further development of community pastures and fodder projects has made a valuable contribution to agricultural stability. Five new community pastures will be opened during the coming year. You will be asked to approve requests for additional funds to greatly expand existing agricultural development programmes. Legislation will be introduced to facilitate the development and administration of water resources on a watershed basis. The Family Farm Improvement Programme has assisted more than six thousand farmers to modernize their homes. The Municipal Water Assistance Programme has enabled fifty-six towns and villages to install water and sewerage systems. Funds to continue these programmes will be requested. The non-agricultural labour force in Saskatchewan has continued to increase and now exceeds two hundred thousand. Of this number seventy-four thousand are employed in establishments with more than fifteen employees. The largest and most significant single development in the industrial history of our province occurred last year with the opening of the International Minerals and Chemical Corporation potash mine and mill at Esterhazy. This industry is rapidly approaching full production and announcement has been made that another shaft will be sunk at this site and additional plant facilities constructed. Sixteen other companies are actively exploring and developing our potash resources. The helium gas reserves of the Province are creating wide interest. One company has announced its intention to produce and market this rare product before the end of the year. Saskatchewan's first steel mill continues to expand its volume and variety of products. Recently it obtained a large contract to supply pipe for a new gas transmission line that will be built through our Province. The protective plastic coating for this entire line will also be supplied by a plant established in Regina three years ago. The generation of electric power has increased to serve the needs of our growing industrial economy. The commencement of hydro-electric generation at the new Squaw Rapids plant of the Saskatchewan Power Corporation this spring brings under active development another natural resource of our Province. During the coming year the provincial power and gas utility will further extend services. The total number of its electrical customers will reach two hundred thousand; the total number of natural gas customers will approach one hundred thousand. Interprovincial Co-operatives Limited has started construction of its chemical plant in Saskatoon. This industry will produce the basic materials for farm chemicals and provision is being made for the production of other products in the future. A considerable upswing in exploratory interest in the sedimentary area of the Province has been noted since a full market for the productive capacity of Saskatchewan's oil and gas fields was achieved in 1962. In order to foster greater exploratory activity consultation with the petroleum producers of Saskatchewan has taken place and certain changes in regulations governing disposition of petroleum rights will be announced. My Government will continue to supply information and services to companies engaged in the exploration for minerals in the Precambrian areas. Aeromagnetic surveys will be continued. A drill core and sample storage building for metallic mineral specimens will be constructed at La Ronge. Additional incentives will be offered to mineral exploration companies. The Saskatchewan Research Council has continued its valuable work of obtaining information on the utilization of our resources and providing services to our industries. In order to increase these activities approval has been given for the expansion of the Research Laboratory on the Saskatoon Campus of the University of Saskatchewan. Since the end of the war our Province has witnessed the steady emergence of a broader and more diversified economic base. Greater stability and diversity in agriculture, the discovery and extended use of both new and old resources, new and improved facilities for electric power, natural gas water, transportation and research, the establishment and development of key industries, and the rapid population growth in major cities and towns have all strengthened the foundations of the provincial economy. These achievements have now laid a suitable basis for further expansion of manufacturing industry. Legislation will be introduced to consolidate and extend several longstanding programmes of Government encouragement and assistance in the location of industry in Saskatchewan. You will be asked also to approve measures establishing a formal means for representatives of the private sector of the provincial economy to participate more fully in a programme designed to encourage industrial development. Technical and vocational education has been developed and extended in order to provide training, encourage industry and increase employment. New technical and vocational school facilities in Moose Jaw, Saskatoon and Prince Albert valued at seven million dollars will be completed during the coming year. My Government expresses the hope that the Government of Canada, which has contributed a substantial amount of the cost of these facilities, will extend its policy of financial support for education. Of particular need is assistance for the rapidly growing university programme. The Apprenticeship Training Programme has expanded and during the current training period over one thousand apprentices will receive instructions. Unemployed persons took advantage of the education upgrading programme in order to qualify for vocational training in approved schools. It is gratifying to note that the number of unemployed workers in Saskatchewan has declined from the level of one year ago. Some of this improvement is undoubtedly due to the Municipal Winter Works Incentive Programme in which the Province takes an active part. During the current fiscal year five hundred and twenty municipalities have participated in more than one thousand winter works projects valued at fourteen and one-half million dollars. As a consequence more than three hundred thousand man days of work were provided. During 1962 minimum wages were increased and the provisions of The Hours of Work Act were extended to seventeen additional communities. More than three thousand miles of our extensive highway system now have a dust free surface. Year around reliability of our provincial highway system along with other improvements have permitted the operation of larger and more efficient trucks with resultant major economies in the movement of goods. Nearly nine thousand miles of high standard all weather municipal, oilfield and resort access roads have been constructed since the Grid Road Programme was introduced. The 1963 highway and municipal road assistance programme will continue to improve these important services. More than two hundred thousand telephones are now in service in Saskatchewan. This represents a one hundred percent increase over the last ten years. During 1962, telephone exchanges in twenty-one communities were converted to automatic operation and five thousand additional rural subscribers were connected to these exchanges. One third of all rural telephones are now dial operated. This program of modernization will continue. An increased number of rural telephone companies took advantage of the assistance programme which has provided grants for pole replacement and higher standards of maintenance. The Otosquen Road, connecting Hudson Bay and The Pas, Manitoba, will be completed in the coming year. Work on the Lake Hanson Road to Creighton and Flin Flon is proceeding. The provision of these and other northern roads has opened the way to untouched resources and provides access to new recreation and holiday areas. The extent to which our citizens and visitors from outside Saskatchewan use established provincial parks requires the expansion of this programme. Accordingly new provincial parks will be established at three sites adjacent to the South Saskatchewan Reservoir. Mental health facilities continue to improve. Construction of the Psychiatric Center at Yorkton is proceeding satisfactorily. The facilities and programmes of the newly established Training School at Prince Albert are being further improved to meet the needs of the mentally retarded, and more patients will be admitted during the year. Last year, Sabin poliomyelitis vaccine was made available to all persons in the Province. It is gratifying to note that only three cases of the disease, and no deaths from it, occurred in 1962. Another dose of this vaccine will be provided in 1963 for all children over one year of age. Amendments will be introduced to The Health Services Act in order to enlarge the membership of the Health Services Advisory Commission with a view to increasing the scope of its activities. Recipients of Old Age Assistance and their dependents, totalling more than eight thousand persons, now receive medical care at the expense of the Province. This new measure should also be of benefit to municipalities which formerly were responsible for much of the cost of medical care for this group. The programme of housing for senior citizens continues to obtain the support of communities and organizations. More than five thousand aged persons will be accommodated in homes and in Provincial Geriatric Centres by mid-summer. Negotiations have been completed for Federal-Provincial-Municipal subsidized housing projects at Saskatoon and Weyburn and construction of these is expected at an early date. Similar projects for other Saskatchewan cities are under discussion. Amendments to The Child Welfare Act will be introduced to relieve municipalities of any part of the cost of maintaining neglected children in the future. My Government has continued to consult with municipal people on a number of matters. As a result some changes in statutes under which local government exercise authority will be proposed. Legislation relating to local improvements will be introduced. The proposed piece-meal abandonment of railway lines in Western Canada has caused widespread concern. Because of potential serious economic and social dislocations in a number of communities, My Government considered it necessary to oppose the procedure which was being followed. Consequently it convened a conference in December last year to discuss action that might be taken by the governments of the three prairie provinces, by farm organizations, by organizations representing local governments and by representatives of commercial interests. Following this conference My Government participated in the representations made to the Government of Canada. The decision to temporarily suspend further abandonment of railway lines was welcomed throughout Western Canada. However My Government will continue to concern itself with this problem until a policy is devised which will provide for a proper rationalization of transportation services. Further attention has been given to special problems of our Métis and Treaty Indian citizens. Annual grants are being made to the Federation of Saskatchewan Indians to assist in defraying the costs of operating this association. New experiments in assisting northern residents to construct homes have proven successful. The eagerness with which a group of young Métis men have participated in special educational upgrading classes and technical and vocational instruction encourages the expansion of this programme. A policy providing for the extension of the rural electrification programme to Indian reservations has been adopted. The provision of power to remote northern communities such as Beauval has produced encouraging results. After attending a school offering training in electrical installations in this community, seventeen homes were wired by their owners. Progress has been made in the integration of Treaty Indian students into the provincial school systems in many parts of the Province. In order to encourage this desirable trend amendments to The School Act to facilitate agreements between school boards and the federal authority will be proposed. Further recognition will be given to the problems school authorities have in providing adequate educational opportunities. In this regard amendments to The Teachers, Superannuation Act will be proposed. Also provision for increased school grants will again be made. Legislation will be introduced consolidating and amending The Automobile Accident Insurance Act and extending the benefits it provides. Legislation will also be introduced consolidating and amending The Municipal Hail Insurance Act and The Administrator of Estates of the Mentally Incompetent Act. You will be asked to consider amendments to legislation which will strengthen the position of magistrates courts and give greater security of tenure to magistrates. The matter of adequate publication and subsequent review of regulations passed pursuant to the Statutes of the Province has been under active review. It is now proposed to introduce legislation dealing with the registration, the publication, and the tabling in the Legislature of regulations requiring observance by sections of the public. My Government has reviewed with interest the three reports of the federal Royal Commission on Government Organization. The need for ensuring efficiency and effectiveness in the discharge of public business has long been recognized by the Government of Saskatchewan. It was in fact the first provincial government in Canada to establish a special agency to conduct continuing studies in organization and management of governmental affairs. It can be noted also that a number of the recommendations of this Commission have been government policy in Saskatchewan for many years. In the interests of contributing further toward this purpose, legislation will be brought before this Assembly to establish a Saskatchewan Public Administration Foundation devoted to research studies and special training projects in fields relating to all levels of the public service. The Public Accounts for the last fiscal year, together with estimates for the year beginning April 1, 1963 will be submitted.