1950-09-15

THE ROYAL ASSENT

Mr. Speaker:: I have the honour to inform the house that I have received the following communication:
Ottawa, September 15, 1950
Sir:
I have the honour to inform you that the Honourable Robert Taschereau, judge of the Supreme Court of Canada, acting as Deputy of His Excellency the Governor General, will proceed to the Senate chamber on Friday, the 15th September, at eleven a.m. for the purpose of giving the royal assent to certain bills.
I have the honour to be, sir.
Your obedient servant,
J. F. Delaute,
Assistant Secretary to the Governor General



DOMINION-PROVINCIAL CONFERENCE INQUIRY AS TO PROBABLE DATE OF AUTUMN MEETING

[Stage Direction]
On the orders of the day:
Mr. M. J. Coldwell (Roselown-Biggar):: Mr. Speaker, I have a question which I had intended to direct to the Prime Minister (Mr. St. Laurent), but in his absence perhaps I might direct it to the government. Early this year the Prime Minister announced that a dominion-provincial conference would be held "in the fall, either during September or October". I understand that some provinces wish to deal with certain matters of great importance both to the dominion and to themselves, including the taxation agreements, the recommendations of the parliamentary committee on social security, and such other matters of importance as the provinces or the dominion might desire to discuss. There is great anxiety also among many municipalities with regard to pressing economic and social problems which would be involved in these discussions. Can the government inform the house whether the conference is to be called, and approximately when it will assemble?


Right Hon. C. D. Howe (Minister of Trade and Commerce):: Mr. Speaker, it is the intention of the government that the conference will be called this autumn. No date has been fixed. I presume that on account of the
session of parliament and the conference on constitutional matters that will meet later this month, the holding of the conference referred to by the hon. member will be somewhat delayed, but I think I can assure my hon. friend that it will be held before Christmas of this year.



NATIONAL DEFENCE


[Stage Direction]
On the orders of the day:
Hon. Brooke Claxton (Minister of National Defence):: Mr. Speaker, on September 12 the hon. member for Nanaimo (Mr. Pearkes) asked the following question:
Are residents of Canada who are neither Canadian citizens nor British subjects entitled to enlist in the reserve army?
The answer is no.



MEETING IN PRAGUE


[Stage Direction]
On the orders of the day:
Mr. Auguste Maltais (Charlevoix):: Mr. Speaker, I should like to direct a question to the Acting Secretary of State for External Affairs. It follows a question I asked a few days ago with respect to the presence in Russia of certain young Canadians. There is a press dispatch this morning stating that six young Canadians, including Guy Caron of Montreal, addressed a gathering which was held in Prague from August 14 to August 24 for the purpose of trying to demonstrate that Canada is carrying on a policy leading to war and is led by a fascist government. I should like to ask whether the government has considered this matter.


Brooke Claxton: I must say it was
rather hard to hear the hon. member. I shall be glad to look into the matter and give him an answer privately.



THE ROYAL ASSENT

[Stage Direction]
A message was delivered by Major C. R. Lamoureux, Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, as follows:
Mr. Speaker, the Honourable the Deputy of His Excellency the Governor General desires the immediate attendance of this honourable house in the chamber of the honourable the Senate.
[Stage Direction]
The late Field Marshal Smuts
Accordingly the house went up to the Senate chamber.
And being returned:
Mr. Speaker informed the house that the Deputy Governor General had been pleased to give, in His Majesty's name, the royal assent to the following bills:
An act to make temporary provision for the regulation of consumer credit.
An act respecting materials and services essential for the purposes of defence and national security.
An act to amend the Income Tax Act.
An act respecting payment of sessional allowances and transportation expenses to members of the Senate and the House of Commons.
An act to amend the Excise Act, 1934.
An act to amend the Excise Tax Act.
An act to amend the Customs Tariff.
An act for granting His Majesty aid for national defence and security.

Right Hon. L. S. St. Laurent (Prime Minister):: Perhaps, Mr. Speaker, I might be permitted to refer to the fact that the validity and vigour of our parliamentary institutions is being made evident in this city today in the memorial service that is being held for the late Field Marshal Jan Christiaan Smuts. I believe his great career is a symbol of the vigour of the political institutions derived from those British roots, and proof that they are suited not only to one nation but to men of good will all over the world. This gives some reason for the hope that ultimately similar systems will prevail in the world, allowing peoples everywhere to live, under benign Providence, the kind of lives we all hope to provide for those who will come after us.


Mr. George A. Drew (Leader of the Opposition):: Mr. Speaker, in joining with the Prime Minister (Mr. St. Laurent) in paying respect to the memory of one of the truly great of our time, I should like also to emphasize the fact, which has been referred to by the Prime Minister, that in his life Jan Christiaan Smuts demonstrated the very thing that all of us hope may be possible in the years ahead. I doubt if there is a more dramatic story in the whole history of free men than the record of a one-time enemy who engaged our own forces in the field of battle becoming the strongest advocate of the very system which he had sought to destroy by force of arms. It was probably a unique experience for men in similar positions for both Field Marshal Smuts and Mr. Churchill to sit down at the council table together during the last war as prime ministers of two of the partner nations within this fellowship 
of ours, and recall the time when Mr. Churchill has been interrogated as a prisoner of war by Field Marshal Smuts, then a junior officer in the Boer army. He fought gallantly with the Boers for the things in which he believed. He accepted the situation which resulted after that war, and from then on not only became one of the great advocates of our parliamentary system, but also gave leadership, perhaps unequalled, in the formation of those two great international bodies which have sought to play their part in preserving peace.
I believe it is a matter of record that the name "League of Nations" was in fact suggested by Field Marshal Smuts. Furthermore, he had some thought of the dangers inherent in such an organization when he went further and suggested at one time that it might be called the "League of Free Nations." In that very suggestion there perhaps may be a thought worthy of consideration today. Again, because of his own vast experience and personal recollections of the great hopes and the tragic failures of the league, he was one whose views were regarded most highly at San Francisco, in 1945, because, out of the hope and then the discouragement, along with his great experience, he was in a position to warn of the weaknesses of the earlier covenant.
Field Marshal Smuts was a great leader in his own country, and a leader amongst men. No man has contributed more to the strength of the commonwealth of which we are a partner. I think all of us today will not only wish to join in expressing the sympathy that is being extended to his family, but will hope that in South Africa and throughout the rest of the world his life, and the friendship which grew out of strife, may be an example to all mankind.



BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE


[Stage Direction]
Right. Hon. L. S. St. Laurent (Prime Minister): Mr. Speaker, I move that this house do now adjourn until three o'clock p.m. on February 14, 1951, subject to parliament being called to meet earlier if Your Honour should come to the conclusion that the public interest requires it.
Knowing as we do, sir, that you have some plans for the immediate future, I think all members of the house would wish me to say on their behalf that they tender to you their very best wishes for a happy and fruitful voyage. I understand that next month you will attend, on our behalf, ceremonies in connec-

tion with the opening of the new chamber of the British House of Commons, the mother of all parliaments.
George Alexander Drew: Mr. Speaker, on this occasion I wish to join with the Prime Minister (Mr. St. Laurent), and with the other members of the house, in extending to you our very best wishes for a pleasant and profitable visit to the mother of parliaments. Might I add that this will be an occasion of special significance for all of us, and for the whole free world at this time, in the fact that this formal opening of the reconstructed House of Commons is in some ways symbolic of the surviving strength of that freedom which we are seeking to preserve. Therefore we wish you well on your trip, and our thoughts will be with the gathering that takes place there as a symbol of the strength of a free parliament.


Major James William Coldwell: Mr. Speaker, I am sure that all of us join in the expression of good will, and hope that you will enjoy your trip across the seas. I have a vivid recollection of a former occasion on which I had the privilege of going with you, sir, to a commonwealth conference in Britain when you acted as chairman of the Canadian delegation. I know that you will bring added dignity to the proceedings, and I can assure you that we shall look forward to hearing your report.
We also concur in the statement of the leader of the opposition (Mr. Drew) that this
Business of the House occasion has significance not only to the commonwealth but to the whole world. We hope you will enjoy your trip, and that the parliament which you will honour by your presence will long remain the basic institution of our common freedoms.


Mr. Solon E. Low (Peace River):: Mr. Speaker, there are only two things left for me to say. One is, "we too", and the other is that we hope, sir, you will not be seasick.


Mr. Speaker:: I should like to thank the
Prime Minister (Mr. St. Laurent), the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. Drew), and the leaders of the other two groups for the very generous words which they have uttered, and for their expression of good will toward me which was accepted generally by all members of this house.
I can assure you I am looking forward to being present at the opening on Thursday, October 26, of the new House of Commons chamber in London. You will recall that the former chamber was destroyed by enemy action during the last war. It will be an historic occasion. When I am there I shall at all times remember that I am representing the members of the Canadian House of Commons, and I shall take great pride in being your representative.
Motion agreed to and the house adjourned at 11.45 o'clock a.m. until Wednesday, February 14, 1951, at three o'clock p.m., unless otherwise ordered pursuant to the provisions of the special order made Thursday, September 14, 1950.

Monday, January 29, 1951