1957-10-14

[Stage Direction]
House of Commons debates
[Stage Direction]
Speaker: The Honourable Roland Michener

[Stage Direction]
The twenty-second parliament having been prorogued on the twelfth day of April, 1957, and dissolved by proclamation on the same day, and writs having been issued and returned, a new parliament was summoned to meet for the dispatch of business on Monday, October 14, 1957, and did accordingly meet on that day.
Monday, October 14, 1957
This being the day on which parliament is convoked by proclamation of His Excellency the Governor General for the dispatch of business, and the members of the house being assembled:
Leon J. Raymond, Esquire, O.B.E., the Clerk of the House, read to the house a letter from the secretary to the Governor General informing him that the Honourable Patrick Kerwin, Chief Justice of Canada, in his capacity as Deputy Governor General, would proceed to the Senate chamber to open the first session of the twenty-third parliament of Canada on Monday, the fourteenth of October, at eleven o'clock.
A message was delivered by Major C. R. Lamoureux, Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, as follows:
Members of the House of Commons:
It is the desire of the Honourable the Deputy of His Excellency the Governor General that this honourable house attend him immediately 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,
and Members of the House of Commons:
I have it in command to let you know that Her Majesty the Queen does not see fit to declare the causes of her 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 o'clock. Her Majesty will declare the causes of calling this parliament.
And the house being returned to the Commons chamber:


Right Hon. J. G. Diefenbaker (Prime Minister):: Mr. Raymond, what is uppermost in the minds of us all today is the opening of the twenty-third parliament by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. It is a great and joyous occasion, a shining moment of rededication to all the traditions and a living exemplification of our history. I do not rise on this occasion to memorialize this historic event, but only to make possible the participation of this house in that event. I know how eager we are to hear from Her Majesty, but having not as yet elected a Speaker we have no voice to speak on our behalf or no means of communication with Her Majesty. Indeed, according to law, the House of Commons is not constituted nor has it any status until that has been achieved. The representative of the crown has reminded us that Her Majesty the Queen does not see fit to disclose to us the reasons that have caused her to bring us together until we have selected a Speaker.
All this is in the tradition of parliament, for at this moment, and on this what I choose to call the Queen's day, the members of the Commons and of the Senate as well will walk with history. There is no need for me to tell you that the highest position that can be conferred on anyone, that of the first commoner, will be in the custody and keeping of that person who is chosen as Speaker. He is the link with the crown and in olden days, as the records show, the function was an arduous one, requiring great courage on the part of those chosen.

Election of Speaker
Those were the days when the Commons faced the overwhelming sovereignty of the monarch. Because of the fact that the Commons never did sit with the crown and the Lords, the practice was, and it goes back to the fourteenth century, of having a spokesman speak on behalf of the Commons. As an example, almost 400 years ago, in 1562, Speaker Williams, during the reign of Elizabeth I, spoke on behalf of the rights of the commoners. He asked for the right of free access to the Queen. He asked for the right to interpret the wishes of the members of the House of Commons. He asked for the historic and prerogative rights of the Commons in these words:
That the assembly ot the lower house may have frank and free liberties to speak their minds without any controlment, blame, grudge, menaces or displeasure, according to the old ancient order.
Finally Speaker Williams said:
.. .the old privilege of the house be observed, which is that they and theirs might he at liberty, frank and free, without arrest, molestation, trouble or other damage to their bodies, lands, goods or servants, with all other their liberties, during the time of the said parliament, whereby they may the better attend and do their duty; all which privileges I desire may be enrolled, as at other times it hath been accustomed.
That was under Elizabeth I. Today parliament is supreme, and the throne, while losing its apparent powers and authority, has gained in dignity and significance and in the hearts of the people, and this function is no longer one of concern.
Oliver Goldsmith, exemplifying what parliament stood for and the right of the rule of law in parliament, said:
The Englishman Is taught to love the King as his friend, but to acknowledge no other master than the laws which he himself has contributed to enact.
What are the functions of the Speaker? I am not going to review what has been said in the past by my predecessors in office. Summarizing the position of the Speaker, it is this: to preside over the House of Commons, to be the jealous guardian of its prerogatives and rights, without which its prestige would suffer and ultimately freedom would be endangered. The Speaker must be impartial. He must know the rules of procedure. He should have parliamentary experience for that reason. He must exercise his office with scrupulous and rigorous impartiality. He must be firm and yet patient and incisive, courteous and ever vigilant to guard the rights and privileges of the individual member.
My predecessor in office, the right hon. Leader of the Opposition (Mr. St. Laurent), spoke of this on the last occasion a Speaker was chosen. Other prime ministers have done the same. What are the qualifications of a

Speaker? Well, as one reads the ancient records one finds that they embody those qualities that make a Speaker almost above ordinary humanity. Lord Palmerston asked the editor of the London Times, 'What do you require in a Speaker?" This was the reply:
Imperturbability, good temper, tact, urbanity and, if possible, a training in the law.
Mr. Raymond, in my opinion, such a man is among us in the person of Roland Michener. He was born in Alberta, where his father took part in public life, and afterwards, for many years, was a distinguished member of the Senate. Mr. Michener was a brilliant student and was awarded a Rhodes scholarship from Alberta; a queen's counsel and a member of the Middle Temple as well as the bar of Ontario, and with wide experience in government and public service as a private member of this house and as provincial secretary in Ontario; and, above everything else, whose friendships are not circumscribed by party limitations.
It may be appropriate at this time

it has been mentioned on several occasions

when we have the Queen amongst us and when our thoughts are on our traditions and history, to point out that there is a difference between our system of the choice of Speaker and that in the United Kingdom in the mother of parliaments. There it has been the custom to keep the same Speaker as long as he retains his seat in the house. The opinion has been expressed that we should have a permanent Speaker, but up to the present time the practice of Canada has not been to do so. Our practice, as constituted, is governed by the character and historic basis of our country. Under it, with few exceptions, the Speaker in one parliament is of French origin, followed in the next parliament by one of English origin. Whatever our personal views may be as to having a permanent Speaker, only parliament can make that decision and then only when there is generous unanimity in that regard.
Mr. Michener speaks French fluently. I hope he will receive the approval of the house as being a fit and proper person to be Speaker of the twenty-third parliament. Mr. Raymond, I therefore move, seconded by the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. St. Laurent):
That Roland Michener, Esquire, member for the electoral district of St. Paul's, do take the chair of this house as Speaker.


Right Hon. L. S. St. Laurent (Leader of the Opposition):: Mr. Raymond, when the Prime Minister approached me to inquire if I would like to second his motion for the appointment of Mr. Michener as Speaker, I readily agreed to do so. I have been a member of the House of Commons since 1942, and in all the time I have been here we

have had Speakers who have worthily upheld the finest traditions of our British parliamentary system.
In the years since Mr. Michener was first elected to this house he has been, as those of us who were here then were able to observe, diligent in his attendance and scrupulous in his observance of the rules of the house and all its ancient usages. His background, which has been referred to in such fitting terms by the Prime Minister, his record as a member, and what we know of him as a man will, I feel, all commend themselves to us as good auguries for the future.
In the confident expectation-and I stress those words-that the house will be well served by Mr. Michener as its Speaker and that he will preside over us competently and with dignity and impartiality, I am happy to second the Prime Minister's motion.


Mr. M. J. Coldwell (Rosetown-Biggar):: Mr. Raymond, as is customary at this time I join with the Prime Minister (Mr. Diefenbaker) and the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. St. Laurent) in supporting the nomination of a new Speaker for this parliament. The Prime Minister expressed to the house and indeed to the country what are the functions of the Speaker in this parliament and in the parliaments like it throughout the commonwealth. I noted that he stated that one of the functions of the Speaker was to see that every individual member was properly protected and properly treated in this house.
May I say that I regard one of the principal functions of the Speaker to be not only to protect the individual rights of each member of this house, but to protect groups who may be in minority positions. As a matter of fact, throughout the long period of British history when, as has been indicated, the Speaker occupied a position not only of some responsibility but of some danger, that function on occasion has been the primary function of the Speaker of the day.
I am reminded, as I often am, of one of the greatest Speakers of the British parliament, namely Mr. Speaker Lenthall. I recall again today, as I have done on former occasions, that when Charles I came to the House of Commons in 1642 and demanded that he have the right to arrest five members who had displeased him, it was Lenthall who turned to the king and said:
I have neither eyes to see, nor tongue to speak, in this place but as the house is pleased to direct me, whose servant I am here.
Thus the Speaker established his position as the protector of the rights of a small minority. In this chamber today there is a house much different from any in which I have had the privilege of sitting, for this is my sixth 96698-14
Election of Speaker
parliament since 1935. There are not majorities in this house; there are a number of minorities.
Consequently the Speaker will have a particular function to fulfil, and I believe that in Mr. Michener we shall have a Speaker who will try to carry out his responsibilities impartially and give the minorities in this house, whether large or small, the proper consideration and protection they deserve.
The Prime Minister said the Speaker would occupy the chair. The Speaker of the House of Commons is, of course, no mere chairman elected for the supervision of debates. He is the champion of the legislature, against whom? Against the executive. I would remind the government-the executive -of that important function of the Speaker, to protect the house against the executive. The Speaker is custodian of the rights and the privileges that have been handed down to us through a very long period of history and of struggle. Indeed, as the first commoner he is a principal part of the very constitution under which we live and in a very peculiar way which we are recognizing today when Her Majesty the Queen opens this parliament.
So I rise to join with the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in supporting the election of Mr. Michener as Speaker of this parliament, and to assure him that we shall give him all the co-operation we can. I believe and I pray that his period as Speaker may be a very distinguished one and that he may function according to the historic precedents which have been so well laid down from time to time in the mother of parliaments as well as this younger institution of our own.


Mr. Solon E. Low (Peace River):: Mr. Raymond, I rise at this time to indicate to you and to the hon. members of this house that the Social Credit party feel that Mr. Roland Michener is a fit and proper person to assume the office of Speaker and the position of first commoner. We have confidence in Mr. Michener that has been born of our close association with him for some years.
When the Prime Minister outlined to the house the background of Mr. Michener's experience which fitted him to assume this very high and important office, he told the house that Mr. Michener was born in Alberta. We think that was the most important thing which fitted him to be the first commoner and the Speaker of the House of Commons.
We realize that the new Speaker, when he is elected, will have a more difficult time, perhaps, than other Speakers have had for some years because of the very fact, as

Election of Speaker
pointed out by the leader of the C.C.F. party (Mr. Coldwell), that this house is now a house of minorities. By force of circumstance one of the minorities now sits at the Speaker's right, and we realize that it will be difficult for him to see the members of this group, occasionally perhaps mistaking them for members of the government. But we draw attention, Mr. Raymond, to the fact that it would be desirable for the Speaker, when he is elected, to get an extra long-range lens in the right side of his glasses so he can see the members of this group when they rise and recognize that they do have a right to speak.
Mr. Raymond, in all seriousness we do feel that in Mr. Michener a good choice has been made-one which will uphold the great traditions that have been built around the Speakers of the British parliaments and we wish for him a period of happy and fruitful presidency over this chamber. We will, to a man, give him the best support of which we are capable, always remembering that the rules are here to be obeyed and we shall obey them.
The Clerk of ihe House declared the motion carried in the affirmative, nemine con-tradicente, and Roland Michener, Esquire, member for the electoral district of St. Paul's, duly elected to the chair of the house.
Mr. Michener was conducted from his seat in the house to the Speaker's chair by Right Hon. J. G. Diefenbaker and Right Hon. L. S. St. Laurent.


Mr. Speaker:: Hon. members of the House of Commons, in the time-honoured formula, I beg to return my humble acknowledgments to the House of Commons for the great honour you have been pleased to confer upon me in electing me unanimously as your Speaker.
Being conscious of the responsibilities of that office and of my own inexperience, I am doubly grateful for the gracious and encouraging words in which my nomination has been proposed by the right hon. Prime Minister and the right hon. Leader of the Opposition, and supported by the leaders of the C.C.F. and Social Credit groups.
My aim will be to understand and interpret the will and the moods of the house; to secure the transaction of public business in an orderly manner; to protect the minority; to enable every member to express his opinions within the limits necessary to preserve decorum; to prevent unnecessary waste of time, and above all to be non-partisan and impartial in my decisions. If my service to this house is to contribute to the projection

of its great traditions, it will come about only because of the sympathetic support, advice and co-operation of every member.
We all expect the cross-fire, the vigorous cross-fire of debate. My only request is that you give me time to try my wings before you start shooting in this direction.
(Translation):
May I say to my French-speaking colleagues how I wish I could answer them in their own beautiful tongue every time they rise to address me. However, in spite of all my willingness-of which I should like to assure them at this time-it may be that, during the first few months of my probation period in the chair, I will have to use the language I understand best.
I do toil and take pains, but alas, I am poorest in my basic knowledge of your tongue.
Nevertheless let me assure you that I love your tongue and respect the equal status of the two official languages.
Once again I thank the members of the house for the great honour they have been pleased to confer upon me.
(Text):



SITTING SUSPENDED

John George Diefenbaker: Mr. Speaker, might I suggest that the sitting be suspended until three o'clock this day.
At 11.50 a.m. the sitting was suspended until 3 p.m. this day.



SITTING RESUMED

[Stage Direction]
The house resumed at three o'clock. OPENING OF THE SESSION
Mr. Speaker read a communication from the Governor General's secretary announcing that Her Majesty the Queen would proceed to the Senate chamber at three o'clock on this day, for the purpose of formally opening the session of the dominion parliament.
A message was delivered by Major C. R. Lamoureux, Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, as follows:
Mr. Speaker:: It is the pleasure of Her Majesty the Queen that this honourable house attend her immediately in the chamber of the honourable the Senate.
Accordingly, Mr. Speaker with the house went up to the Senate chamber.
Then the Hon. Roland Michener, Speaker of the House of Commons, said:
May it please Your Majesty:
The House of Commons have elected me their Speaker, though I am but little able to fulfil the important duties thus assigned to me.

If in the performance of those duties I should at any time fall into error, I pray that the fault may be imputed to me, and not to the Commons, whose servant I am, and who, through me, the better to enable them to discharge their duty to their Queen and country, humbly claim all their undoubted rights and privileges, especially that they may have freedom of speech in their debates, access to Your Majesty's person at all seasonable times, and that their proceedings may receive from Your Majesty the most favourable construction.
The Honourable the Speaker of the Senate, addressing the Honourable the Speaker of the House of Commons, then said:
Mr. Speaker, I am commanded by Her Majesty the Queen to declare to you that she freely confides in the duty and attachment of the House of Commons to Her Majesty's person and government, and not doubting that their proceedings will be conducted with wisdom, temper and prudence, she grants and upon all occasions will recognize and allow their constitutional privileges.
I am commanded also to assure you that the Commons shall have ready access to Her Majesty upon all seasonable occasions, and that their proceedings, as well as your words and actions, will constantly receive from her the most favourable construction.
Then Her Majesty the Queen was pleased to open parliament by a speech from the throne.
And the house being returned to the Commons chamber:


Mr. Speaker:: I have the honour to report that, the house having attended on Her Majesty the Queen in the Senate chamber, I informed Her Majesty that the choice of Speaker had fallen upon me, and, in your names and on your behalf, I made the usual claim for your privileges, which Her Majesty was pleased to confirm to you.



OATHS OF OFFICE

John George Diefenbaker: for leave to introduce Bill No. 1, respecting the administration of oaths of office.
Motion agreed to and bill read the first time.



SPEECH FROM THE THRONE

Mr. Speaker:: I have the honour to inform the house that, when this house did attend Her Majesty the Queen this day in the Senate chamber, Her Majesty 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 greet you as your Queen. Together we constitute the parliament of Canada. For the first time the representatives of the people of Canada and their sovereign are here assembled on the occasion of the opening of parliament. This is for all of us a moment to remember.
Parliamentary government has been fashioned by the wisdom of many centuries. Its justice, authority and dignity are cherished by men of good will. It
Speech from the Throne will be the high purpose of my ministers not only to preserve these qualities but to take steps to make both houses of this parliament more effective in the discharge of their responsibilities to the people of Canada.
You have come here to form this new parliament from across a great land, a land far wider than either of those older countries that first gave it birth. I am proud to contemplate the great heritage of this nation-the minerals, the forests, the lands, the waters, the sources of power and energy which fire your ever-growing industries. But I am more proud to contemplate the spirit and ideas which brought this country to nationhood, and now, drawing reinforcement and enrichment from many lands and peoples, have given Canada a national character peculiarly her own.
Yet in this age no nation can live unto itself. Through the overcast of international affairs the bright constellation of the commonwealth illumines our times. The continuing admission of nations newly guided to self-government both broadens and strengthens our diverse commonwealth as more of us come to share the great inheritance of those institutions and ideals which make our association a quiet but pervasive force for good in an unquiet world. This was manifest when the prime ministers of the commonwealth met in London last June to talk of great affairs; and again, only a few days ago when on Canada's invitation, the finance ministers met at Mont Tremblant and in a comradely spirit laid plans for a commonwealth trade and economic conference to take place next year.
A similar spirit has been evident in the Colombo plan, which is a part of the high venture of the peoples of south and southeast Asia as they move along the path of national development, and which my government will continue to support.
My ministers believe that Canada's active participation in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is essential for the preservation of peace. You will accordingly be asked to maintain modern defence forces in being which, together with those of our allies, will continue to act as a deterrent to attack upon any part of that alliance.
While Canada plays a full part in these particular associations, my ministers remain convinced that in the wider forum of the United Nations we must also continue to seek such agreements as will preserve security and bring about a wide measure of disarmament. Indeed we must continue to hope that through the United Nations the aspirations of men and women for peace and security will be fulfilled.
In domestic affairs my ministers look forward to meeting next month with the leaders of the provincial governments in order to discuss fiscal relations and to seek better understanding and arrangement of many aspects of our public finances.
In the legislative program to be laid before you, it is fitting that mention should first be made of measures to improve the lot of the senior members of our society. Accordingly you will be asked to increase old age security pensions and to shorten the period of residence required to qualify for them. Changes will be proposed in the terms of assistance offered to provincial governments to enable them to increase the payments to be made under the Old Age Assistance Act, the Blind Persons Act and the Disabled Persons Act to a corresponding level.
You will also be asked to increase the scale of war veterans allowances and to enlarge the groups to whom they are paid. Changes will also be proposed in several sections of the Pension Act.
In order to assure to the farmers of Canada a fair share of the national income, you will be asked to enact a measure to provide greater stability in the prices of their products. Every possible effort is now being made, and will continue

Address to Her Majesty to be made to seek new markets for agricultural products as well as to regain those that have been lost.
Due to inability to market their grain, prairie farmers have for some time been faced with a serious shortage of funds to meet their immediate needs. In order to permit them to receive an advance payment for the grain they can expect to deliver this year you will be asked to authorize a system of cash advances for grain stored on farms.
My government will strive to secure additional markets for the products of our fisheries and to promote the development of international rules to safeguard the living resources of the sea.
My ministers believe that a national development policy carried out in co-operation with the provinces, and in the territories, is needed to enable all regions of Canada to share in the benefits to be realized in developing the resources of this great nation. It is their intention to propose to you from time to time programs and projects to implement this policy.
As an immediate start upon a program of more extensive development in the Atlantic provinces, you will be asked to authorize, in joint action with the provincial governments, the creation of facilities for the production and transmission of cheaper electric power in those provinces. You will also be asked to provide assistance in financing the Beechwood project which has been under construction in New Brunswick.
My ministers will advance this national development policy further by initiating new discussions with the government of Saskatchewan in order to make possible the early commencement of construction of the dam on the South Saskatchewan river.
My ministers are pressing for a favourable settlement of international problems in connection with the Columbia river to clear the way for a joint program with the province of British Columbia to develop the immense power in the waters of this river.
My ministers will place before you a measure to ensure that those working in industries under federal jurisdiction will receive annual vacations with pay.
You will be asked to approve bills relating to certain railway branch lines, amendments to the Canadian and British Insurance Companies Act, and, in so far as the other business before you permits, to several other statutes.
Members of the House of Commons:
You will be asked to appropriate the sums required for carrying on the government of Canada during the remainder of the current fiscal year.
Changes in certain of the taxing statutes will be submitted for your approval.
Honourable Members of the Senate:
Members of the Commons:
I wish to express to you and to the people of Canada my gratitude and that of my husband for the warmth of the loyalty and affection with which we have been welcomed here in Canada.
As I now address you here for the first time, I will call to your minds the words of the earlier Elizabeth when, more than three centuries ago, she spoke from her heart to the Speaker and members of her last parliament and said "Though God hath raised me high, yet this I count the glory of my crown, that I have reigned with your loves". Now here in the new world I say to you that it is my wish that in the years before me I may so reign in Canada and be so remembered.
On this happy day when we give thanks to God for all that He has bestowed on us, I ask that He may bless and guide you.

Right	Hon.	J.	G.	Diefenbaker	(Prime
Minister) moved:
That the speech of Her Majesty the Queen to both houses of parliament be taken into consideration at the next sitting of the house.


[Stage Direction]
Motion agreed to.


[Stage Direction]
Right	Hon.	J.	G.	Diefenbaker	(Prime
Minister): Mr. Speaker, having regard to the fact that this is indeed the Queen's day, as I said earlier, and in the light of the moving experience which has been ours during the last few minutes, 1 could not but think of the words of the poet John Masefield in which he described the Queen in this way: An order and a beauty from of old Set by its virtue above greed and hate;
A loneliness of living crowned with gold;
In all life's storm a standard of the state.
Without further words I feel that all hon. members in this house would wish to join in the motion to be moved by myself and seconded by the Right Hon. Mr. St. Laurent in these words:
That a humble address be presented to Her Majesty conveying the loyalty and love of this house and of all her Canadian subjects, their joy in welcoming the presence in Canada of Her Majesty and His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, and their profound gratitude to Her Majesty for graciously opening parliament and making of this day an historic occasion for all Canadians.
Louis Stephen St-Laurent: Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to second the motion of the Prime Minister expressing the deep loyalty, respect and affection which I know everyone in this chamber feels for Her Majesty the Queen, and our genuine satisfaction in welcoming our sovereign lady and Prince Philip.
This is a happy occasion on which to state in formal terms the emotions we felt when Her Majesty presided at the opening of the twenty-third parliament of Canada, and stated, as was the fact, that for the first time the representatives of the people of Canada and their sovereign were assembled on an occasion of such importance. I think this day will go down in Canadian history as- in the words used by the Prime Minister-the Queen's day, and that we shall all rejoice in remembering the emotions of this splendid occasion.
Hon. members will recall that the possibility of Her Majesty and Prince Philip being in Canada at this time arose some months ago, and even then we all hoped that the situation would be such that Her Majesty might herself preside at the opening of this twenty-third parliament. I am very happy that the

Prime Minister was able to arrange that this historic ceremony should take place on the occasion of this visit.
I shall defer until the appropriate time my observations on the contents of Her Majesty's speech from the throne, but I do wish to say a word about the gracious and moving speech the Queen addressed last evening by radio and television to the people of Canada.
The pride of all Canadians in our country was, I am sure, enhanced when Her Majesty referred to herself with such evident pride as the Queen of Canada, and particularly when she reminded us that it would be as Queen of Canada that she would visit the United States of America within the next few days. For many of us those words carried our minds back some 18 years to the first visit of a reigning sovereign to the United States, a visit which prepared the way for the ready acceptance today of the position that the sovereign, in visiting our great neighbouring nation, makes such a visit primarily as the head of the Canadian nation.
(Translation):
The grace and ease with which Her Majesty has addressed us in the native tongue of some five million of her Canadian subjects has warmed the hearts of those who, for more than two centuries, have realized that their traditions, their culture and their language are an ever-growing source of pride to all Canadians and, in the eyes of our gracious sovereign, are part and parcel of our national heritage.
(Text):
From the moment of the accession of our Queen to the throne she has displayed on all occasions those qualities which made her late father, King George YI, so universally loved and respected by his subjects throughout the empire and commonwealth. We have all admired her devotion to duty, her high ideals of family life, and her firm attachment to the finest traditions of the commonwealth over which she presides.
As head of the commonwealth Her Majesty symbolizes the principles of freedom, selfgovernment and mutual understanding which unite the members of the commonwealth and make the commonwealth itself a great force for peace in the world.
We on this side of the house are happy to join in the humble address conveying to Her Majesty the loyalty and love of this house and of all her Canadian subjects, their joy in welcoming the presence in Canada of Her Majesty and His Royal Highness the Prince Philip, and the profound gratitude of the nation to Her Majesty for graciously opening
Appointment of Chairman of Committees parliament and making of this day, as the motion itself states, an historic occasion for all Canadians.


John George Diefenbaker: Mr. Speaker, may I
suggest that in putting the motion we stand and sing.
Whereupon the members of the house rose and sang
God Save the Queen.


[Stage Direction]
Motion agreed to.

[Stage Direction]
Right Hon. J. G. Diefenbaker (Prime Minister) presented the following message from His Excellency the Governor General:
The Governor General transmits to the House of Commons a certified copy of an order in council appointing the Hon. Donald Methuen Fleming, Minister of Finance, the Hon. Leon Balcer, Solicitor General, the Hon. George Clyde Nowlan, Minister of National Revenue and the Hon. Ellen Louks Fairclough, Secretary of State, to act with the Speaker of the House of Commons as commissioners for the purposes and under the provisions of chapter 143 of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1952, intituled: An act respecting the House of Commons.

John George Diefenbaker: That Henri Courtemanche, Esquire, member for the electoral district of Labelle, be appointed chairman of committees of the whole house.
He said: The hon. member for Labelle (Mr. Courtemanche) served in the previous parliament and he is a member again of this parliament. He has unusual ability and capacity and I know that if appointed he will discharge the responsibilities of this office with honour to himself and to this house.


[Stage Direction]
Motion agreed to.

John George Diefenbaker: That Arza Clair Casselman, Esquire, member for the electoral district of Grenville-Dundas, be appointed deputy chairman of committees of the whole house.
He said: The hon. member to whom I refer has been in the House of Commons continuously since 1925. He was first elected in the year 1921 and resigned at that time. He returned in 1925 and has been a member of the House of Commons since. I also hope that his nomination will receive the approval of the house.

Appointment of Committees Mr. A. C. Casselman (Grenville-Dundas):
Mr. Speaker, I must admit I am taken completely by surprise. I had not been officially informed of this. In the long time that I have been in the House of Commons I have learned to appreciate the responsibilities that accompany positions of this kind because for a period of 20 years I was the whip of the opposition. I would ask my leader if he would allow his motion to stand until such time as I can have an opportunity to look into it.


John George Diefenbaker: Mr. Speaker, at the
request of the hon. gentleman the motion will stand.
Motion stands.



APPOINTMENT OF COMMITTEE

John George Diefenbaker: Mr. Speaker, a similar situation prevails today as prevailed in 1949 in the second session of parliament. In the second session of that year a portion of supply had been voted. When the new parliament began its sittings on September 15 in that year the Right Hon. L. S. St. Laurent, then prime minister, moved that the house resolve itself at its next sitting into a committee to consider of a supply to be granted to His Majesty.
A similar situation prevails today because supply will run out at the end of this month. I move, seconded by the Minister of Finance (Mr. Fleming):
That this house will, at its next sitting, resolve itself into a committee to consider of a supply to be granted to Her Majesty.
This can be done only with consent.


Mr. Speaker:: Is it the pleasure of the house to adopt the said motion by unanimous consent?


Some hon. Members:: Agreed.


[Stage Direction]
Motion agreed to.


John George Diefenbaker: Again by unanimous consent I move, seconded by the Minister of Finance (Mr. Fleming):
That this house will, at its next sitting, resolve itself into a committee to consider of the ways and means for raising the supply to be granted to Her Majesty.


Mr. Speaker:: Is it the pleasure of the house to adopt the said motion?


Some hon. Members:: Agreed.


[Stage Direction]
Motion agreed to.

John George Diefenbaker: Mr. Speaker, very often during sessions of parliament the members of this house are called upon to say words of commendation of hon. members who having served have passed on, and these occasions arising from time to time serve as unhappy reminders of the shortness of life. The election had been over only a few days when Dr. William Gourlay Blair passed away. He was born in Lanark county, Ontario, the county which he represented in the House of Commons, on January 13, 1890. He attended Perth collegiate and subsequently Queen's University, where he graduated as a medical doctor. He went overseas early in the first war and served as a captain in the Canadian Army Medical Corps. Following the war he maintained a continuing interest in the militia forces of the country and became a lieutenant colonel in the militia.
He was first elected to the House of Commons in the election of 1945 and re-elected in all subsequent elections. I think it will be generally agreed that he was hard working, capable and able and devoted himself both in the house and in committee with zeal and capacity. He was the spokesman of this party on the subject of health and welfare. He will be remembered, however, by members of all political parties for the infinite care that he took whenever any member of this house was stricken in any way with illness. He became, as it were, the unofficial medical officer of parliament, and he continued an interest in the afflicted member's condition throughout the period of the illness.
I think one of the most touching descriptions of him appeared in the Ottawa Journal a day or so after his passing. I think these words, if said of us, would constitute a magnificent epitaph:
Dr. Blair, that good and gentle man, carried to the House of Commons a spirit of tolerant understanding that made no political battle bitter or any disagreement harmful to friendship.
His memory will be revered. A great and truly magnanimous spirit has passed on. His death is a loss to parliament; it is a loss to the country and it is a loss to this party in which, had he lived a little longer, the opportunity for greater service would have been accorded to him. The house will join with me, I am sure, when I express the heartfelt sympathy of every one of us to the members of the family, to his widow and to his son and daughter. He served his generation well. His memory will be revered.


Louis Stephen St-Laurent: Mr. Speaker, all of us in
the house, the new members who did not know him as well as those of us who did, will share the feeling of sadness that at the very-opening of a new parliament we should be paying tribute to one of the members who enjoyed and deserved the respect of everyone in the previous parliaments in which he sat. I think it is one of the finest attributes of our parliamentary system that we can differ with one another about public questions and still retain respect, esteem and affection for one another as members of the human family.
In the case of Dr. Blair we know that he was one of those members who was deeply loyal to his own party, who worked hard in its interests but was never an extreme partisan, and I think we would all agree with what the Prime Minister (Mr. Diefenbaker) has said about him. As a consequence we all know that he enjoyed in more than large measure the regard of his fellow members in all parties in this house.
On behalf of the official opposition I should like to extend to the Prime Minister and to his colleagues our sincere sympathy in the loss of one who would have contributed to their strength in this house had he been spared to continue his service among us. On behalf of our party I should like to join with the Prime Minister in expressing to Mrs. Blair, to their son and daughter, and to all the members of the family, our very deep sympathy in their bereavement.


Major James William Coldwell: Mr. Speaker, I am quite sure that all members of the house will agree with what the Prime Minister (Mr. Diefenbaker) and the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. St. Laurent) have said regarding the late Dr. Blair. Those of us who sat in the house with him for some years look upon the loss as a personal one. When a member fell ill, Dr. Blair, like other medical men in this chamber, was immediately able to render assistance to the suffering member. Dr. Blair sat very close to me-just across the way; consequently I got to know him very well. Indeed, I might say that I had not only a high regard for him but I came to have affection for him, as many of us had. When he passed away so suddenly it was a reminder, of course, that even a medical man who attends members of parliament suffering from the diseases which ultimately take them away was perhaps unaware of the condition in which he himself was.
I wish to join the Leader of the Opposition in expressing to the government and the members of the late Dr. Blair's party our sincere sympathy in the loss that they have
The late Dr. W. G. Blair sustained. I noted the Prime Minister said that had Dr. Blair lived a little longer his great ability might have been recognized to a greater extent than it was hitherto. I noted, too, at the time that the shock must have been very great to his family. I noticed that his wife suffered an attack almost immediately. May I express sympathy to his wife and to his family and also the hope that Mrs. Blair has fully recovered her health and that time will heal the loss she must have sustained in the passing of Dr. Blair.


Solon Earl Low: Mr. Speaker, it seems that all too frequently we are called upon to pause in our activities in this house to pay tribute to a deceased member. It seems to me it indicates the strenuous nature of the work that has to be undertaken by those who stand for election to this House of Commons.
It has been some months now since the shock of the news of Dr. Blair's death came to us, but I am sure it will be a long time before our deep appreciation of his many fine qualities is in any way dulled. Dr. Blair was one of those members about whom almost everything good could be said. It is therefore no problem whatever to pay tribute to him in the very highest terms and to do it honestly.
We concur in what has already been said about him. However, I would like to add this. In my judgment he was a good representative of his people; he was a good parliamentarian; he was a trusted and valued friend; and above all he was a gentleman who was always kind, considerate and very, very helpful. On behalf of the party that I have the privilege to lead I express to the Prime Minister and his party our sympathy in their great loss, and to his widow and the members of the family left behind our very sincere sympathy and our prayers that time will heal the shock and the wounds and will sublimate their sorrow into most beautiful memories.


Mr. W. H. McMillan (Welland):: I rise to pay tribute to an old friend, the late member for Lanark. I think I possibly knew him longer than did any other member in this house. We were in the same medical year at Queen's University; we graduated together, went overseas with the Canadian Army Medical Corps and returned and took postgraduate courses together in the city of New York. We were returned home from France within a day or two of each other and I met him at the demobilization centre in Kingston, Ontario. There I introduced him to one of the nursing sisters of the unit to which I was attached. She was that gracious lady, Miss Grace Moore, who became Mrs. Blair the

The late Dr. W. G. Blair following year. While in New York I noticed that he took a great interest in the two political parties in that city and I was not surprised that when he came back to Canada he entered politics.
He was a very hard working, sincere member and I am sure that he represented his constituents in the house with distinction. He was always interested in the health of the members of the house. One of the last conversations I had with him had to do with that very matter. The Prime Minister (Mr. Diefenbaker) said today that he had intended to call Dr. Blair to a higher duty, I presume to the portfolio of minister of national health and welfare. Without detracting in any way from the present incumbent of that high
office, may I say that I regret that Dr. Blair was not spared to be called to take that portfolio.
I desire to join with the leader of the various parties in the house and express my condolences to Mrs. Blair and her family.



BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE

John George Diefenbaker: Mr. Speaker, the debate in reply to the speech from the throne will be proceeded with tomorrow and will be restricted to the mover and seconder. By leave the house will then adjourn until Wednesday.
On motion of Mr. Diefenbaker the house adjourned at 4.45 p.m.

Tuesday, October 15, 1957