1935-01-17

OFFICIAL REPORT


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House of
Commons debates
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Thursday, January 17, 1935

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The parliament which had been prorogued from time to time to the 17th day of January, 1935, met this day at Ottawa, for the dispatch of business.

Arthur Beauchesne, Esquire, M.A., K.C., C.M.G., the Clerk of the House, read to the house a letter from the Governor General's secretary informing him that the Chief Justice of Canada, in his capacity as Deputy Governor General, would proceed to the Senate chamber on Thursday, the 17th of January, at 3 p.m., to open the session.


Right Hon. R. B. BENNETT (Prime Minister):: It is my unpleasant duty to announce to this house that the Honourable George Black, our Speaker, has resigned by writing dated the loth January, 1935, as follows:
Sir:
I find it necessary to ask the House of Commons to allow me to retire from the chair.
In laying down the great office to which the House of Commons has called me, I trust that I can hand down its traditions unimpaired. If I have been able to discharge my official duties with any degree of success, it is because I have received the help and support of all my colleagues, for which I desire to express my sincere thanks.
Yours sincerely,
George Black.
I of course am not permitted by the rules of the house to address my remarks to any official, for as members of the House of Commons we all stand on an equality. It will therefore be necessary for us to proceed with the election of a speaker, which we shall do in due course after the formalities which have obtained through the centuries have been complied with.
A message was delivered by Major A. R. Thompson, Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, as follows:
Members of the House of Commons:
His Honour, the Deputy of His Excellency the Governor General, desires the immediate attendance of this honourable house in the chamber of the honourable the Senate.
Accordingly the house went up to the Senate chamber, when the Speaker of the Senate said: Honourable Members of the Senate:
Members of the House of Commons:
I have it in command to let you know that His Excellency the Governor General does not see fit to declare the causes of his summoning the present Parliament of Canada, until the Speaker of the House of Commons shall have been chosen according to law, but this afternoon, at the hour of three-thirty o'clock in the afternoon, His Excellency will declare the causes of calling this parliament.
And the Members being returned to the Commons Chamber:



ELECTION OF SPEAKER

Richard Bedford Bennett: Mr. Beauchesne, the unfortunate circumstance to which I have already alluded renders it necessary that this Commons House of Parliament should proceed with the election of a Speaker.
I therefore, propose, seconded by Mr. Guthrie:
That, James Langstaff Bowman, member representing the electoral district of Dauphin, do take the Chair of this House as Speaker.
I need hardly remind hon. members that the office of presiding officer of this House of Commons is one of the greatest importance. It involves the discharge of great responsibilities, holding the scales of justice even between contending parties, and the administration of the rules of the house in a manner that accords with the traditions and customs of parliament. It is not difficult to maintain order in the House of Commons-it should not be. That portion of the duties of a Speaker is easy to discharge. But the administration of the rules, which are nothing more than the means by which the members of parliament have

Election oj Speaker

themselves determined that their proceedings shall be governed and their deliberations controlled, is sometimes most difficult. In moving that Mr. Bowman, the member for Dauphin, do take the chair as Speaker, I believe that we have in him a fairminded gentleman who will administer the rules of this house fairly, dispassionately, and in a manner consistent with the great traditions of this parliament and of the mother of parliaments, whose rules in part govern where ours are silent.
I will not longer detain the chamber than to express my trust that the nomination which has been made may commend itself to the members of the house as a whole and that in the discharge of his onerous duties he may have the assistance and good-will of every member of this chamber.


Right Hon. W. L. MACKENZIE KING (Leader of the Opposition):: I have much
pleasure in endorsing what the right hon. the Prime Minister has just said with respect to the qualifications of the hon. member for Dauphin for the position of Speaker of this house. Hon. gentlemen opposite will have observed from the applause which greeted the nomination that all hon. members on this side very cordially approve of the choice which evidently accords with the mind of the government from the fact that the Prime Minister made the motion. I am sure the hon. member for Dauphin will feel that it is quite an exceptional compliment that, having been a member of this house for but one parliament, his conduct in the course of debate and his demeanour in the house generally have been such as to inspire that unanimous regard to which expression has just been given. I can wish him nothing better than that he may fill this high office in accordance with the best of its traditions.
The Clerk of the House declared the motion carried in the affirmative, nemine contradicente, and Hon. James Langstaff Bowman, member for the electoral district of Dauphin, duly elected to the chair of the house.
Honourable Mr. Bowman was conducted from his seat in the house to the Speaker's chair by Right Hon. R. B. Bennett and Hon. Hugh Guthrie.
Mr. SPEAKER-ELECT said: Fellow members of the House of Commons, may I say that I deeply and sincerely appreciate the very flattering remarks of the Prime Minister of Canada and the kindly and generous words of the leader of the opposition.

I beg respectfully to thank hon. members of the House of Commons for the honour they have conferred upon me in unanimously electing me as their Speaker, and I can assure the house that I will use my best endeavours to discharge the duties attached to my office with justice and impartiality. I appeal to hon. gentlemen on both sides of the house when I say that I feel sensible of my inability efficiently to discharge those duties, and I ask hon. gentlemen for their earnest, kind cooperation in the preservation of the rights, privileges and duties attached to the House of Commons.



OPENING OF THE SESSION

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Mr. SPEAKER read a communication from the Governor General's Secretary announcing that His Excellency would proceed to the Senate chamber at 3.30 p.m. on this day for the purpose of formally opening the session of the dominion parliament.
William Lyon Mackenzie King: Mr. Speaker, is it not customary for His Honour the Speaker to read prayers every day at the meeting of this house before any business is entered upon? I believe that such is in accordance with the rules of the house. The observance of this rule would appear to be especially appropriate and desirable on the first day of a new session.


Mr. SPEAKER:: I have been informed that there is not time on account of His Excellency being received at any moment. It is a question of time.


William Lyon Mackenzie King: There is no time like the present.
A message was delivered by Major A. R. Thompson, Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, as follows:-
Air. Speaker, His Excellency the Governor General desires the immediate attendance of this honourable house in the chamber of the honourable the Senate.
Accordingly the house went up to the Senate chamber.
And the house being returned to the Commons chamber.


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Prayers.

Pierre Édouard Blondin: I have the honour to inform the house that during the recess notifications have been received from several members that the following vacancies had occurred in the representation namely:

Governor General's Speech
Of Hon. Peter Heenan, member for the electoral district of Kenora-Rainy River, by resignation;
Of Hon. William Anderson Black, member for the electoral district of Halifax, by decease ;
Of Walter Davy Cowan, Esquire, member for the electoral district of Long Lake, by decease;
Of Joseph Arthur Denis, Esquire, member for the electoral district of St. Denis, by
decease;
Of George Brecken Nicholson, Esquire, member for the electoral district of Algoma East, by decease.
And that new warrants were issued to the chief electoral officer to make out new writs of election for the said electoral districts respectively.



NEW MEMBERS

Pierre Édouard Blondin: I have the honour to inform the house that the clerk of the house has received from the chief electoral officer certificates of the election and return of the following members, viz:
Of Wilson Henry Mills, for the electoral district of West Elgin.
Of Thomas Langton Church, for the electoral district of East Toronto.
Of William Pate Mulock, for the electoral district of North York.
Of Hugh Bathgate McKinnon, for the electoral district of Kenora-Rainy River.
Of Colin Alexander Campbell, for the electoral district of Frontenae-Addington.



NEW MEMBERS INTRODUCED

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Thomas Langton Church, Esquire, member for the electoral district of East Toronto, introduced by Right Hon. R. B. Bennett and Hon. Mr. Guthrie.
William Pate Mulock, Esquire, member for the electoral district of North York, introduced by Right Hon. W. L. Mackenzie King and Hon. Mr. Elliott.
Colin Alexander Campbell, Esquire, member for the electoral district of Frontenae-Addington, introduced by Right Hon. W. L. Mackenzie King and Hon. Mr. Elliott.
Wilson Henry Mills, Esquire, member for the electoral district of West Elgin, introduced by Right Hon. W. L. Mackenzie King and Hon. Mr. Elliott.
Hugh Bathgate McKinnon, Esquire, member for the electoral district of Kenora-Rainy River, introduced by Right Hon. W. L. Mackenzie King and Hon. Mr. Elliott.

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Right Hon. R. B. BENNETT (Prime Minister) moved for leave to introduce Bill No. 1, respecting the administration of oaths of office.
Motion agreed to and bill read the first time.

Pierre Édouard Blondin: I have the honour to inform the house that when the house did attend His Excellency the Governor General this day in the Senate chamber, His Excellency was pleased to make a speech to both houses of parliament. To prevent mistakes I have obtained a copy which is as follows: Honourable Members of the Senate:
Members of the House of Commons:
I welcome you at a time when our country stands upon the threshold of a new era. of prosperity. It will be for you, by your labours to throw wide the door.
During the past year the grip of hard times has been broken. Conditions show marked improvement. Employment is increasing. Our trade is expanding. The national revenues are higher. These evidences of recovery attest the wisdom and efficacy of the measures you have taken. In these improved conditions, there may now successfully be carried forward those great tasks of reform upon which the wellbeing of this country depends.
In the anxious years through which you have passed, you have been the witnesses of grave defects and abuses in the capitalist system. Unemployment and' want are the proof of these. Great changes are taking place about us. New conditions prevail. These require modifications in the capitalist system to enable that system more effectively to serve the people. Reform measures will therefore be submitted to you as part of a comprehensive plan designed to remedy the social and economic injustices now prevailing, and to ensure to all classes and to all parts of the country a greater degree of equality in the distribution of the benefits of the capitalist system.
Upon this plan you have made a beginning.
Reform measures approved by you at the last session of parliament are already in successful operation. I observe with especial gratification the manner in which the Natural Products Marketing Act and the Farmers' Creditors Arrangement Act are already serving the great and urgent needs of .agriculture and other primary industries. You will be invited to consider amendments to these acts which will extend the sphere of their usefulness. The organization of the Bank of Canada is nearing completion, and it will commence operations at an early date. My ministers are convinced of the value of this institution as an instrument of national policy to direct the better utilization of the credit resources of Canada.
Legislation enacted at the last session of parliament respecting the metallic coverage of our note issue and the initiation of the public works program have eased credit conditions and stimulated business enterprise.
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Governor General's Speech
Better provision will be made for the security of the worker during unemployment, in sickness, and in old age.
The measures taken respecting public and private debts have done much to lighten the burden of the taxpayer and to improve the position of the farming community. My ministers are now engaged upon a survey of the national debt structure to determine what action may be practicable and advisable to effect further improvement in it.
You will be invited to enact legislation to extend existing facilities for long term and intermediate credit.	.
During the past year, wider markets for our products have been secured. A supplementary trade agreement has been negotiated with the Republic of France. The trade agreement with Austria has been renewed. Negotiations with the government of Poland, which it is hoped will lead to the conclusion of a comprehensive commercial convention, are in progress. It is the policy of my ministers to pursue vigorously every opportunity by which our world trade may be increased. The policy of my government of consolidating and expanding empire markets will be vigorously pursued. _
A royal commission has been appointed to advise my ministers upon the steps which should be taken to implement the findings of the Duncan commission.
Pursuant to the agreement made between the government of Canada and the governments of Saskatchewan and Alberta, royal commissions have been appointed to determine what, if any, compensation is payable to these provinces in respect to the period since 1905, in which their natural resources were under the control of the government of Canada.
My ministers are cooperating with the governments of the prairie provinces in a survey of those areas which have been stricken by recurring periods of drought, for the purpose of determining what steps may be taken to provide a permanent solution to this grave problem.
Action will be taken to ameliorate the conditions of labour, to provide a better and more assured standard of living for the^ worker, to secure minimum wages and a maximum working week, and to alter the incidence of taxation so that it will more directly conform to capacity to pay.
You will be invited to enact measures designed to safeguard the consumer and primary producer against unfair trading practices and to regulate, in the public interest, concentrations in production and distribution.
You will be invited also to enact measures to provide the investing public with means to protect itself against exploitation.
You will be invited to enact legislation to amend and consolidate the acts relating to patents and inventions.
My government has under consideration the adoption, throughout the penitentiaries of Canada. of a system similar to that which is known in England as the " Borstal System," and is making investigations as to its operation.
My ministers have under preparation a plan for the reorganization of the government services so that they may be better equipped to discharge the onerous duties which devolve upon them. You will be invited to consider measures, the purpose of which will be to authorize the first stage in this plan of reorganization.

You will be invited to authorize the constitution of an economic council, the functions of which will be to advise my ministers upon all economic questions which concern the national welfare.
The four hundredth anniversary of the landing of Jacques Cartier was fittingly commemorated in the chief centres connected with his voyages of discovery. Representatives of the governments of the "United Kingdom, France, and the United States, took part. The celebration and the visit of a large and distinguished mission from France knit new bonds of understanding.
The maintenance of peace and the good understanding between nations upon which peace depends, have been the constant concern of my ministers. There are definite signs that the political tension and unrest in Europe which have intensified rivalry in armaments and economic restrictions, are lessening, largely as a result of the renewed determination to make use of the agencies of conciliation and cooperation provided by the League of Nations. It will be the object of my government to support this policy and to vrork towards the progressive reduction of armaments and the stabilization of international economic relations.
The year 1935 will be memorable for all subjects of His Gracious Majesty King George V. On the Gth of May, we shall celebrate, throughout the British Empire, the 25th Anniversary of His Majesty's Accession to the Throne. On that day, all of us will wish to unite in an act of thanksgiving to Almighty God for having thus preserved His Majesty, whose wisdom and devotion to the well-being of his subjects have proved so inestimable a blessing. My ministers are considering means, shortly to be announced, by which the people of Canada may be afforded an opportunity of suitably commemorating this great landmark in the history of our empire, and of testifying their loyal devotion to their beloved Sovereign.
Members of the House of Commons:
The public accounts for the last fiscal year, and the estimates for the coming year, will be submitted to you at an early date.
Honourable Members of the Senate:
[Members of the House of Commons:
I know you will be diligent and resolute in the country's service. Though the problems which confront you are, in essence and degree, far different from those which in the past you overcame, I know that these present ones you will surmount with the same spirit of faith and determination which has carried Canada to a forward place among the nations.
May God give you strength to support, by your unremitting labours, this great movement towards happier days.
Right Hon. R. B. BENNETT (Prime Minister moved:
That the speech of His Excellency the Governor General to both houses of parliament be taken into consideration on Monday next.


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Motion agreed to.

Ministerial Changes

Richard Bedford Bennett: That a special committee be appointed to prepare and report with all convenient speed, lists of members to compose the select standing committees of this house, under standing order 63, said committee to be composed of Messrs. Rhodes, Dupre. Simpson (West Algoma), Stewart (West Edmonton), and Casgrain.


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Motion agreed to.

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Right Hon. R. B. BENNETT (Prime Minister) presented the following message from His Excellency the Governor General:
The Governor General transmits to the House of Commons s coviifioci cnn,r nn approved minute of council, appointing the Right Honourable Sir George H. Perley, Minister without Portfolio:	the Honourable
Donald M. Sutherland, Minister of Pensions and National Health; the Honourable Thomas G. Murphy, Minister of the Interior and Superintendent of Indian Affairs; and the Honourable Maurice Dupre, Solicitor General, to act with the Speaker of the House of Commons as commissioners for the purposes and under the provisions of chapter 145 of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1927, intituled, " An Act respecting the House of Commons."

Pierre Édouard Blondin: I have the honour to lay before the house the report of the joint librarians of parliament.
On motion of Mr. Bennett the house adjourned at 5.05 p.m.
Friday, January 18, 1935