1968-09-12

[Stage Direction]
i>ouse of Commons Betiates
[Stage Direction]
Speaker: The Honourable Lucien Lamoureux
[DOT] (10:30 a.m.)

[Stage Direction]
The twenty seventh parliament having been prorogued and dissolved by proclamation on the twenty third day of April, 1968, and writs having been issued and returned, a new parliament was summoned to meet for the dispatch of business on Thursday, September 12, 1968, and did accordingly meet on that day.
Thursday, September 12, 1968
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:
Alistair Fraser, Esquire, the Clerk of the House, read to the house a letter from the assistant secretary to the Governor General informing him that the Right Honourable J. R. Cartwright, 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 eighth parliament of Canada on Thursday, the twelfth day of September, at ten thirty 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 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 o'clock, His Excellency will declare the causes of calling this parliament.
[DOT] (10:50 a.m.)
And the House being returned to the Commons chamber:


Right Hon.   P.-E. Trudeau@Prime Minister: Mr. Fraser, the first and one of the most important tasks of the members upon the opening of a new parliament is the election of the Speaker of the house. The member whom we choose will preside over our deliberations and direct the services which are essential to the efficient guidance of our business; he will also represent us on numerous occasions in Canada as well as abroad.

To perform these functions, and to perform them to our satisfaction, he will require a formidable array of qualities. He must enjoy our respect without losing our affection. He must be firm yet sensitive, a master of language and a good listener, able to interpret the law and to understand human nature. He must be prepared to cite a precedent, and to know when to distinguish it. It will be helpful if he has a good sense of humour, and if

September 12, 1968
Election of Speaker
he can be equally witty in both languages. He needs the skills of a judge and a diplomat. He should combine the talents of a tight-rope walker, a juggler and, occasionally, a lion tamer. In short, he must be a born parliamentarian.
It was our good fortune to find such a man for our Speaker in the last parliament. At the beginning of this session it is reassuring to nominate a man who has demonstrated these qualities and who now has behind him the experience of an eventful and sometimes hectic parliament.

The distinguished career of the Hon. Lucien Lamoureux has prepared him particularly well to fulfil the role of Speaker. Born in Ottawa, where he also studied, he spent the greater part of his life within a few miles of parliament hill. After having been admitted to the bar in Ontario, he became executive assistant to the Minister of Transport. Since 1954, he has practised law at Cornwall, where he took an active part in public affairs, particularly in the field of education. Elected member for Stormont in 1962 for the first time, he was re-elected in 1963, 1965 and 1968. He was appointed Deputy Speaker of the house and Chairman of committees of the whole for the 26th parliament. He was Speaker of the house of Commons during the 27th parliament.
At the end of the last parliament, a large number of members from all parties paid tribute to the way in which he had fulfilled his duties by agreeing that his seat should not be contested in the election. I know that the hon. member firmly believes that independence is necessary to the good operation of the speakership and I welcomed with pleasure the co-operation of the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. Stanfield) and of the leaders of the other parties who did not contest his election as an independent member.
To propose a former speaker and an independent member for the speakership of the house constitute two precedents which I am pleased to create. Those precedents give an idea of the new role that the Speaker will be called upon to play.

At every session of parliament the amount of legislation and other parliamentary business increases substantially, while the amount of time available for debates in the house remains virtually the same. If
[Mr. Trudeau.)
parliament is to play its proper role we must ensure that the available time is used wisely and fairly. An active Speaker who enjoys the confidence and support of the members can greatly improve the performance of the house. This has been our experience and the experience of other Commonwealth parliaments.
In the last parliament we agreed to abolish appeals from the Speaker's rulings. All who were members of the house during that parliament would agree, I believe, that this improved our proceedings without detracting from the rights of individual members. The special committee on procedure, which visited the United Kingdom parliament last winter, reported:
Again and again during the days we were at Westminster we were impressed by the key role as the impartial conductor of the work of parliament conferred on the Speaker.
When neither rules nor understandings can be devised to guide, the wisdom and diligence of Mr. Speaker prevails. Experience has shown that an officer of his high standing is needed. At Westminster he has been given both heavy duties and countervailing independence and honour. Undoubtedly, the independence of the Speaker and the power vested in him constitute a condition precedent to the effectiveness of parliamentary procedure in the United Kingdom.
I am convinced that these remarks apply with equal force to our own house. That is why the policy of strengthening the Speaker's independence and increasing his responsibilities has been advanced and supported by many members in all parts of the house. That is why I feel certain that the members of the house will support me in urging the Speaker, with respect, not to hesitate to restrain abuses of the rules and irrelevancy, no matter on which side of the aisle they arise.

I am sure that all hon. members will want to join with me to express our feeling that, of all the members of this house, the Hon. Lucien Lamoureux is the most qualified by his temperament, his knowledge and his experience to assume the heavy responsibilities of the office for which I have the honour to propose his candidacy.

Therefore I take great pleasure in moving, seconded by the Leader of the Opposition, that Lucien Lamoureux, Esquire, member for the electoral district of Stormont-Dundas, do take the Chair of this house as Speaker.


Some hon. Members:: Hear, hear.
September 12, 1968


Hon. Robert L. Slaniield (Leader of the Opposition):: Mr. Fraser, it gives me a great deal of pleasure to second the Prime Minister's nomination of the member for Stor-mont-Dundas as Speaker for this first session of the twenty eighth parliament.

Mr. Lamoureux, who was elected Speaker at the first session of the 27th Parliament, has always since then discharged that important office with tact, diplomacy, firmness and with complete and scrupulous impartiality.

Coupled with these qualities has been an innate wisdom, comprehension and respect for the parliamentary process, for parliament and the rights of members of parliament.
I might mention, sir, that at Mr. Lamou-reux's election the Prime Minister of the day addressed his words to the then Clerk, Mr. Raymond. Today, only a short time later, although the procedure is the same you, Mr. Fraser, have succeeded Mr. Raymond and at the opening of this new session I take the occasion to wish you well.


Some hon. Members:: Hear, hear.


Robert Lorne Stanfield: The appointment of a permanent Speaker remains one of the necessary objectives of parliamentary procedure and parliamentary improvement. I hope we can all agree upon the urgency of taking action in this regard. I hope also I will be forgiven for saying here that I am proud of the role played by the members of the Progressive Conservative party in Stormont-Dundas in order that Mr. Lamoureux could come to parliament bearing as much as possible the stamp of non-partisan approval. But the traditional rights of party supporters to nominate candidates in Stormont-Dundas must not be forgotten. Therefore it is urgent in that respect as well as for the regulation of parliamentary procedure that early consideration be given to alternative methods of removing the election of the Speaker from partisan considerations.
[DOT] (11:00 a.m.)

I am glad to say it again: The choice of Mr. Lamoureux is a happy one. His past rulings show the attachment and the respect he has for the institution whose standing orders he had to apply. While men come and
Election of Speaker
go, the continuity of institutions ensures the survival, the strength of democracy.
But the institutions must keep abreast of the times-and the same is true of parliament-and in that sense, I think that when the office of Speaker becomes permanent, we will have taken a step forward.

The Speaker is the chief officer of parliament. He has been the bulwark of the privileges of parliament and its members. In the continuity of the office of Speaker and its progressive removal from the exigencies of partisan conflict lie the best guarantees of parliament's survival as the basic institution of freedom. In the eyes of the Speaker there are no parties in parliament, there are only members equal as to rights and privileges, equally entitled to consideration. It is this which makes parliament the supreme instrument of man's designing for the defence of freedom.
Mr. Lamoureux has been and I am sure will continue to remain an outstanding exponent of these great principles and traditions. Personally and on behalf of the members of this party in the house I extend to him my congratulations, anticipating the outcome of the motion with great confidence, and my best wishes as he resumes his most important duties at the opening of this session of parliament.


Some hon. Members:: Hear, hear. [Translation]


Mr. David Lewis (York South):: Mr. Fraser, we already have had the experience and the pleasure of having Mr. Lamoureux as a Speaker, and he has always displayed fairness, kindness and wisdom. What more could we ask of the man who is now our Speaker?

I note, Mr. Fraser, that Mr. Lamoureux is sitting in the opposition benches of the chamber, determined to show his independence even before he is officially elected Speaker. This is perhaps characteristic of the man's sense of propriety, and humour as well.
I want to agree with the right hon. Prime Minister and the Leader of the Official Opposition on behalf of my colleagues and myself with the necessity of constitutional arrangements in respect of a permanent Speaker in this house, without any constituency in the land being deprived of the opportunity of an electoral contest. That step will receive all

September 12, 1968
Election of Speaker
our support. I also noted that the right hon. Prime Minister, as an expert lawyer, emphasized the fact that the Speaker must be able not only to interpret the rules but also to distinguish them when the situation requires. In that agile effort of applying the rules with impartiality and good nature to the particular situation, Mr. Lamoureux has already shown himself to be a master.
It is with very deep pleasure that we of the New Democratic party support his candidature for this office and offer him the cooperation which I know he will receive from all hon. members of the house.


Mr. Real Caouelte (Temiscamingue):: Mr. Fraser, when the appointment of a permanent Speaker was discussed some months ago, the Hon. Lucien Lamoureux was suggested for this position, and we were happy to think that he might become permanent Speaker of this house. The hon. Lucien Lamoureux possesses obvious qualities thanks to which he has shown himself to be, during the 27th Parliament, one of the great Speakers in the history of the House of Commons. He acted with impartiality, and even when Parliament was led by a minority government, he managed to do a difficult job very well, in spite of a situation which was often rather awkward.
This time, the Speaker will preside over the deliberations of a parliament led by a majority government, and this for the first time in six years. At this time, I feel that the hon. Mr. Lamoureux has, once again, all the unquestionable qualities required to know that we must protect the minorities. Now, we will be a minority. I am of the opinion, in short, I am already convinced that the hon. Mr. Lamoureux will treat the members of parliament, the appointees of the people as they should be treated in a democratic parliament. We have been appointed by the Canadian people: the hon. Mr. Lamoureux knows that.
We, of the Ralliement Creditiste, are indeed very happy to support fully the motion of the right hon. Prime Minister (Mr. Trudeau), seconded by the Leader of the Official Opposition (Mr. Stanfield), for the appointment of the hon. Mr. Lamoureux as Speaker of the house during the session opening today.
Therefore, we wish every success to the hon. Mr. Lamoureux, and we feel sure that the members will be treated equitably, in all
fairness, for the common good of the Canadian people.

The Clerk of the House declared the motion carried in the affirmative, nemine contradicente, and Lucien Lamoureux, Esquire, member for the electoral district of Stormont-Dundas, duly elected to the Chair of the house.
Mr. Lamoureux was conducted from his seat in the house to the Speaker's chair by Right Hon. P.-E. Trudeau and Hon. Robert L. Stanfield.
[DOT] (11:10 a.m.)


Mr. Speaker:: Hon. members, I thank you for the honour you have just bestowed upon me, an honour which is shared by my family and by the constituents I represent in this parliament.
For the second time you have called me to the high office of Speaker of the House of Commons. I am deeply grateful to you for this renewed expression of confidence. When I stood before you as Speaker-elect to the twenty seventh parliament I undertook to serve this house and to serve parliament with fairness, objectivity and impartiality. This is my renewed pledge to the house on this solemn occasion.


Some hon. Members:: Hear, hear.


Mr. Speaker:: I will again consider it an honour and my duty to uphold the rights and privileges of individual members of the house and to maintain our parliamentary customs and traditions, and I am sure all hon. members will want to co-operate with their presiding officer to ensure that in its deliberations our assembly will always observe the highest standards of decorum, propriety and dignity.

I therefore thank you, Mr. Prime Minister, and I thank you, hon. members, for the great honour that you have just bestowed upon me.
I am deeply touched, of course, by the much too flattering remarks of the Prime Minister (Mr. Trudeau) and I am also grateful to the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. Stanfield who, in much too gracious terms, was kind enough to support the Prime Minister's motion. The remarks made by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition as

September 12, 1968

well as those made by the hon. members for York South and Temiscamingue (Messrs. Lewis and Caouette) are for me today a source of comfort and encouragement and will be a source of strength, if need be, in difficult moments.
In the discharge of the high office devolved upon me, I shall do my utmost to deserve the confidence placed in me today by all members of this house.
As in the past, I shall count on the cooperation and goodwill of all hon. members. I will rely on them for advice, especially on those of our colleagues who bring to our debate the wisdom of age and a long experience in this house.
Such a co-operation will contribute more than any other factor to the orderly, efficient and dignified dispatch of our parliamentary business.

Hon. members, I approach my task with humility and fully conscious of my limitations, but sustained by your advice and counsel I shall endeavour to prove worthy of the trust committed to me by this house whose servant I am.


Some hon. Members:: Hear, hear.



SITTING SUSPENDED

Right Hon.   P.-E. Trudeau@Prime Minister: Mr. Speaker, may I suggest that this sitting be suspended until three o'clock this afternoon.


Mr. Speaker:: The house has heard the suggestion by the right hon. Prime Minister that this sitting be suspended until three o'clock this afternoon. Is it the pleasure of the house to adopt this suggestion?


Some hon. Members:: Agreed.


Mr. Speaker:: I declare the sitting suspended until the ringing of the bells at three o'clock this afternoon.
At 11.15 a.m. the sitting was suspended until 3 p.m. this day.
[DOT] (3:00 p.m.)



SITTING RESUMED

[Stage Direction]
The house resumed at three o'clock.

Mr. Speaker:: Before commencing further proceedings, perhaps I might be permitted to 29180-2
Opening of the Session recall to the minds of hon. members that on Friday, July 7, 1967, the following motion was adopted by the house:
On motion of Mr. Martin (Essex East) for Mr. Pearson, seconded by Mr. Diefenbaker, it was resolved,-That the Members of this House, desiring to record their deep appreciation of the long and distinguished service rendered by Leon-J. Raymond, Esquire, O.B.E., as Clerk of the House of Commons, and acknowledging the dignity and profound learning with which he graced his office, designate him as Honorary Officer of the House of Commons with an entree to the Chamber and a seat at the Table on ceremonial occasions.
To give effect to the motion of the house Mr. Raymond today is sitting at the table of the house.


Some hon. Members:: Hear, hear.



OPENING OF THE SESSION

[Stage Direction]
Mr. Speaker read a communication from the Governor General's secretary announcing that His Excellency the Governor General 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.
[DOT] (3:20 p.m.)
A message was delivered by Major C. R. Lamoureux, Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, as follows:
Mr. Speaker, it is the pleasure of His Excellency the Governor General that this honourable house attend him immediately in the chamber of the honourable the Senate.
Accordingly, Mr. Speaker with the house went up to the Senate chamber. Then the Hon. Lucien Lamoureux, Speaker of the House of Commons, said:
May it please Your Excellency,
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 Excellency's person at all seasonable times, and that their proceedings may receive from Your Excellency 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 His Excellency the Governor General to declare to you that he freely confides in the duty and attachment of the
[Stage Direction]
September 12, 1968
Speech from the Throne House of Commons to Her Majesty's person and government, and not doubting that their proceedings will be conducted with wisdom, temper and prudence, he 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 His Excellency upon all seasonable occasions, and that their proceedings as well as your words and actions, will constantly receive from him the most favourable construction.
Then His Excellency the Governor General was pleased to open parliament by a speech from the throne.
And the house being returned to the Commons chamber:
[DOT] (4:10 p.m.)
Mr. Speaker:: I have the honour to report that, the house having attended on His Excellency the Governor General in the Senate chamber, I informed His Excellency 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 His Excellency was pleased to confirm to you.



OATHS OF OFFICE

Right Hon. P. E. Trudeau (Prime Minister) moved: for leave to introduce Bill No. C-l, 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 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 have the honour to welcome you to the first session of the 28th Parliament of Canada.
Across the land there are great expectations of what this Parliament will produce. My Ministers recognize the responsibility for leadership which these hopes entail. They are determined to do all that they can to carry out the mandate they received from the people of Canada in the recent general election. They recognize their duty to ensure that the wishes of Canadians concerning their Government be fulfilled as quickly and as completely as the general advantage will allow. At the same time my Government is conscious that aspirations and their realization have to be tempered by a sober awareness of reality. In the complexities of modern society, effective programs take time to

develop and more time to implement. At all stages they require financial and intellectual resources which are not unlimited and must be used with careful planning and the hard judgement of priorities. It is a simple fact of life that everything cannot be done at once.
My Government has planned the legislative program of this first session in the context of a Parliament of normal duration. To make way for the consideration in later sessions of new programs that Ministers are already developing, it is proposed, during the current session, to elucidate priorities and to set in motion new policies. Of equal importance, though of far less drama, Parliament will be asked to deal with a host of matters essential to the smooth and up-to-date functioning of government which were not disposed of in the previous Parliament. My Government considers that its first responsibility, and the first responsibility of this Parliament, is to clear the accumulation of essential legislative adjustments, improvements and modernizations left over from the last Parliament. Unless they are cleared up promptly, efficient public administration and the effective operation of the Canadian economy and society will be hampered.
My Ministers believe that much of the delay and difficulty in the handling of Parliamentary business during recent years could have been avoided or reduced by the improvement of Parliamentary rules and procedures. It is their view that Canadians feel that Parliament is too far removed from the people it serves; its operations are too slow and ponderous; its deliberations are often insufficiently informed and its decisions are too few and too much delayed. In order that Parliamentary institutions may retain the confidence of the people, and in order that they may cope successfully with the vast scope and complexity of government today, it is essential that provision be made for legislative machinery that can act speedily on the large number of varied, detailed and complicated legislative, financial and policy questions that will be the normal, and indeed the growing, Parliamentary program of the future. My Government accords the greatest importance to Parliamentary reform and, to this end and as a matter of the highest priority, it has already had useful discussions with representatives of Opposition parties concerning changes in the rules and procedures of the House of Commons.
So that the Official Opposition, to which we in Canada give formal recognition as a vital part of our democratic process, as well as the other parties in opposition, may be in a position to cope more effectively with the heavy load of action and decision each session must face, you will be asked to make new provision for the Official Opposition, and the other parties in their Parliamentary role. You will also be asked to consider additional facilities for the better discharge of the functions of Parliament generally.
My Government is deeply and irrevocably committed to the objectives of a just society and a prosperous economy in a peaceful world. My Ministers believe that the unity of the country is fundamental to the attainment of these goals, as-indeed-to the enjoyment by each Canadian of the maximum possible liberty, happiness x and material well-being. Constitutional reform remains the best long-term guarantee of Canadian unity and my Ministers are directing officials in discussions with the Provinces which are proceeding well and will, through a series of intergovernmental
September 12, 1968

conferences, lead to proposals that Parliament will wish to consider. In the meantime, however, to further the objective of a united Canada, you will be asked during the current session, to enact a totally new Official Languages Act based on the recommendations of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism. You will also be asked to approve a new Publication of Statutes Act to change the way in which the law of our bilingual land is presented and made known in both the official languages of our land. You will also be asked to consider measures relating to Indians, to citizenship, to national symbols, to cultural agencies, to transportation of all kinds as well as to communications (including satellites), educational television, and the financing of the Post Office.
Some of these proposals involve the righting of wrongs and others the opening of opportunities long denied. Together they exemplify the essential connection between justice and national unity. The attainment of a just society is the cherished hope of civilized men. While perhaps more difficult to formulate for groups than for individuals, even the members of majorities-political, religious, linguistic or economic-must know what it is to suffer injustice. My Government is deeply concerned to provide and to ensure increased justice, dignity and recognition to the individual, particularly in an age which is characterized by large governments, industrial automation, social regimentation and old-fashioned laws. A great deal has been accomplished in recent years to make the Canadian society more just in terms of income distribution and security against the vicissitudes of life. Pensions for the aged, provision for the sick and for the needy have been made more effective by legislation passed in recent Parliaments and by action of the provinces. Notwithstanding such measures, poverty continues to exist in Canada. My Government recognizes that, but it also believes that it would be deluding and cruel to pretend that there is a simple, all-encompassing or instantaneously effective remedy. Poverty can be dealt with successfully and permanently only by continued and determined action in a variety of ways by all governments. For its part, Parliament can be assured that the federal government will contribute fully and assume leadership wherever it can properly do so. To this end, the proposals you will have for your consideration will include the establishment of a department charged with the objective of ensuring that people in all areas and regions of our country have as equal access as possible to the opportunities of Canada's economic development.
At the same time, there are other and broader elements vital to a just society, and my Ministers feel that these must receive, at this and in later sessions of Parliament, a degree of attention they have not had hitherto. Toward these ends, you will be asked to enact important changes in the Criminal Law, to provide new protections for consumers and investors, to up-date food, drug and health legislation, to revise or amend legislation relating to the machinery of justice, and to correct a number of particular injustices, including those resulting from certain provisions of the Industrial Relations and Disputes Investigation Act. During the course of the present session it is anticipated that the government will receive reports from 29180-2 \
Speech from the Throne inquiries with regard to labour legislation and veterans pensions, and it is the intention of my Ministers to bring their proposals in these matters before you as soon as possible.
My Government believes that the objective of a just society must always include the pursuit of a prosperous economy as well as the fair distribution of its proceeds. Just as we have in the past tended, perhaps, to consider justice in our society largely in material terms, so we must recognize that there has been a tendency in Parliament and to some degree in Government to concentrate on the distributive aspects of our economy. In this course we have sometimes tended to neglect those aspects that can affect the productivity of our country, and hence the total provision of economic well-being for our society, and its competitiveness in the changing conditions of the modern world. The natural resources of Canada and the industries based upon them continue to be of immense importance to our economy but the advantages of our great physical resources by themselves are no longer an adequate base for a growing and prosperous modern economy. We shall increasingly have to compete on even terms with those countries of the world which are most advanced technologically in the provision of the sophisticated products of modern life. Unless Canada can maintain an economy that is efficient, competitive and productive in relation to the most advanced nations on earth, we cannot have the basis for a society from which poverty has been eliminated, we cannot maintain high levels of employment and income and we cannot ensure the standard of life to which Canadians generally aspire. It is against this background, as well as with the consciousness that the interests of all must be fairly balanced, that the government is approaching its policies and programs of an economic character. In this same context, Parliament will be asked during the present session to consider proposals for a systematic and continuous review of prices and costs in our economy.
Just as incomes cannot increase faster than productivity if price increases are to be restrained, so government spending by all levels of government cannot increase faster than productivity if we wish to restrain the increase in levels of taxation. These two realities are among the most important that Canadians and their leaders must bear in mind during the months and years ahead. Measures that you will have to consider relating to the Kennedy Round reflect the outcome of a major international effort to reduce the barriers to international trade and emphasize the opportunities opening up for a great trading nation like Canada. A measure to be brought before you dealing with the amendment of the Bretton Woods arrangements, results from comparable efforts to stabilize and improve the whole international financial system.
Conscious of the limitations it must place on its expenditures, my Government has acted within the framework of previously announced guidelines to select carefully the programs which in the light of regional needs and opportunities it considers most promising for the promotion of a prosperous economy. My Ministers will bring before you legislation relating to the encouragement of manpower programs, regional improvements, domestic investment, export development, and resource administration, including a Yukon Mineral Act and an Oil and Gas Production Act relating to Canada's increasingly

September 12, 1968
Speech from the Throne important northern resources. In addition, my Government will propose a Freshwater Fish Marketing Act, and intends to investigate immediately a number of methods for promoting greater efficiency in the production and marketing of grains, including the establishment of a National Grains Council. You will be asked to approve amendments to the Farm Improvement Loans Act, the Farm Credit Act, the Farm Machinery Syndicates Act, the Prairie Grain Advance Payments Act, and the Fisheries Improvement Loans Act. You will be asked to consider a Canada Development Corporation Act, a Federal Cooperatives Act and an Export Development Corporation Act.
The growth of our population and the changes in the nature of our mobile urban and industrial society lend a new importance to conservation in its traditional sense. We have taken and are taking effective strides toward economic conservation through progressively better use of our resources to achieve a high and long-term productivity. We must also give new attention before it is too late to the preservation of our natural heritage for the enjoyment of Canadians of future generations. You will be asked to consider measures concerning National Parks and Historic Sites and Monuments. These and other facilities for the repose of the mind and restoration of the spirit, for sport, and for physical relaxation are and will be of increasing importance to our social environment. They offer Canadians and to visitors to Canada the possibility of a quality of life richly satisfying and ever more difficult to come by in this and in other industrial countries. Of broader importance is the problem of pollution, which must receive increased attention from federal, provincial and municipal governments. My Ministers are actively engaged in preparing proposals on these subjects and, in due course, these will be brought before you for your examination.
The natural riches with which Canada is blessed must serve to remind us that we have a substantial responsibility and a great opportunity in matters of foreign aid. My Government intends to press forward its plans and programs for international cooperation and development which include the establishment in Canada of an International Development Centre.
In international affairs generally, my Ministers regard the current situation as uncertain and deeply disturbing. Talks are under way in Paris concerning Vietnam but so far negotiations have not advanced as we had hoped they might. The Government has followed with anxiety the attempts to promote a peaceful settlement in Nigeria and has participated actively in international efforts to relieve the sufferings of the civilian population. The situation in Czechoslovakia has also caused the gravest concern to the government, not only for its effects on the prospects of detente and future evolution within Communist countries, but also for its consequences for the freedom and well-being of the Czechoslovak people. For those of them who have to seek refuge in other countries, my Ministers have already taken steps to offer permanent homes in Canada.
The Government has undertaken and is pursuing a thorough review of our external and defence policies. Canada's contribution to NATO, relations with Peking, with Latin America and with Europe

are being studied currently. Reviews of our relations with other areas will be undertaken later and, as conclusions are reached, Parliament will be invited to consider them.
The events in other lands to which I have referred are a vivid reminder that our gocJ fortune as Canadians includes rights and freedoms as well as material advantages. They alert us to the need, not only for vigilance in the conservation of our democratic institutions, but also to the importance of constant concern for their improvement. Efficient government, responsive to public requirements and open to public participation, is essential to the meaningful operation of the democratic process. It will be the more vital in the future as technology and science provide new and more immediate means for the dissemination of information and for the involvement, as individuals, of all our people. The Government has already taken steps to review its information services in order to introduce, as soon as possible, improvements by which the flow of information into and out of the government will be more efficient and effective, permitting the people of Canada a continuing, informed, and more active participation in the activities of their government. In addition, as part of the continuing process of modernization and development of governmental machinery, you will be asked during the current session to enact a Government Organization Act. This measure will complete a number of changes in organization and structure announced by the Prime Minister some weeks ago and will complement the Parliamentary reforms so fundamental to the successful operation of our democratic institutions.
The reinforcement and renovation of Parliamentary and administrative machinery and the clearing away of the substantial backlog now outstanding in the legislative program, will free Parliament so that it can come to grips with difficult and pressing problems relating to youth, poverty, regional disparities, urban growth, individual welfare, and the application and encouragement of scientific technology. These subjects are of concern to all governments in Canada and it is clear that a great deal more has to be done than has so far been contemplated. It would be wrong, however, to expect solutions to be found easily or indeed to be found at all except on the basis of close cooperation in good faith between federal, provincial and municipal governments not only in planning but in implementation as well.
To assist in this process it would be useful to have available to all governments an institute where long-term research and thinking can be carried out into governmental matters of all kinds. At the present time there is no such facility available in this country and it is the intention of my Ministers to bring before you in the near future legislation that will fill this most important gap in our governmental apparatus.
Members of the House of Commons:
During the current session you will be asked to appropriate the funds required for the services and payments authorized by Parliament. In addition to this business, the legislative program that the Government proposes is very extensive but many of the items have been seen before or are of an uncontroversial nature. A list of the Bills relating to the matters to which I have referred will be tabled by the Prime Minister later this day and
September 12, 1968

other portions of the program will be brought forward as the session proceeds. It is very important to the proper government of the country in the years ahead that the proposals for the current session be dealt with. In Canada as in other countries of the world democracy today faces a decisive challenge. It must adapt to new circumstances and new demands or fail in its purpose. This challenge is not abstract but a confrontation which you will have to face by virtue of your election to this Parliament.
Honourable Members of the Senate,
Members of the House of Commons,
May Divine Providence guide you in your deliberations.


Right Hon.   P.-E. Trudeau@Prime Minister: That the speech of His Excellency the Governor General delivered this day from the throne to the two houses of parliament, be taken into consideration at the next sitting of the house.


[Stage Direction]
Motion agreed to.
Right Hon.   P.-E. Trudeau@Prime Minister: Mr. Speaker, I request leave of the house to table a list of the titles of the several bills which were referred to in His Excellency's speech. I would ask, Mr. Speaker, that this list of titles be printed in today's Hansard.


Mr. Speaker:: Is it agreed that the list of the bills referred to in His Excellency's speech be printed in this day's Hansard?


Some hon. Members:: Agreed.
1Editor's Note: The list of bills referred to above is as follows:]
1.	A bill respecting the status of the official languages of Canada.
2.	A bill to amend the Publication of Statutes Act.
3.	A bill to amend the Post Office Act.
4.	A bill to amend the Customs Tariff.
5.	A bill to establish a Canadian educational broadcasting agency.
6.	A bill respecting the organization of the Government of Canada and matters related or incidental thereto.
7.	A bill to amend the Farm Improvement Loans Act.
8.	A bill to amend the Farm Credit Act.
9.	A bill to amend the Farm Machinery Syndicates Credit Act.
10.	A bill to amend the Prairie Grain Advance Payments Act.
Speech from the Throne
11.	A bill to amend the Fisheries Improvement Loans Act.
12.	A bill to amend the Patent Act, the Trade Marks Act and the Food and Drugs Act.
13.	A bill to amend the Industrial Relations and Disputes Investigation Act.
14.	A bill to amend the Canada Evidence Act.
15.	A bill to amend the Veterans Land Act.
16.	A bill to amend the Navigable Waters Protection Act.
17.	A bill respecting the construction of a line of railway in the Province of Alberta by Canadian National Railway Company from the vicinity of Windfall on the Windfall Extension to the Sangudo Subdivision of the Canadian National Railway in a westerly direction for a distance of approximately 51 miles to the Bigstone property of Pan American Petroleum Corporation and of a connecting spur extending in a northerly direction for a distance of approximately 9 miles to the South Kaybob property of Hudson's Bay Oil & Gas Company Limited and its associates.
18.	A bill respecting the marking of articles containing precious metals.
19.	A bill respecting the production and conservation of oil and gas in the Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories.
20.	A bill to establish a satellite communication corporation.
21.	A bill to regulate interprovincial and export trade in freshwater fish.
22.	A bill to establish the Export Development Corporation.
23.	A bill to amend the Bretton Woods Agreements Act and the Currency, Mint and Exchange Fund Act.
24.	A bill to amend the Canada Shipping Act.
25.	A bill to amend the National Parks Act.
26.	A bill respecting minerals in the Yukon Territory.
27.	A bill to amend the Aeronautics Act.
28.	A bill to prohibit the sale and advertising of hazardous substances.
'29. A bill to amend the Food and Drugs Act and the Narcotic Control Act and to make a consequential amendment to the Criminal Code.
30.	A bill respecting investment companies.
31.	A bill to establish the Canada Development Corporation.
September 12, 1968

Tributes to the Late Colin Cameron
32.	A bill to amend the Canadian Overseas Telecommunication Corporation Act.
33.	A bill to amend the Historic Sites and Monuments Act.
34.	A bill to amend the National Library Act.
35.	A bill to amend the Judges Act.
36.	A bill to amend the Expropriation Act.
37.	A bill to provide tor the dissolution of the Dominion Coal Board.
38.	A bill to amend the Financial Administration Act.
39.	A bill to amend the Canada Corporations Act.
40.	A bill to amend the Criminal Code.
41.	A bill to amend the Animal Contagious Diseases Act.
42.	A bill to amend the Pest Control Products Act.
43.	A bill to prevent the introduction or spreading of pests injurious to plants.
44.	A bill to provide compensation to farmers whose agricultural products are contaminated by pesticide residue.
45.	A bill respecting the imposition of antidumping duty.
46.	A resolution concerning the National Anthem.
47.	A bill to establish an Indian Claims Commission.



THE LATE COLIN CAMERON


Right Hon.   P.-E. Trudeau@Prime Minister: Mr. Speaker, it is my sad duty this afternoon to pay tribute to the memory of one of the senior members of this house, whose death this summer has prevented him from claiming the seat he won in last June's election. I speak, of course, of the hon. member for Nanaimo-Cowichan-The Islands, the late Colin Cameron.
Mr. Cameron's outstanding success at the polls-he contested six federal elections, winning five of them-was exceeded only by the effectiveness of his presence in this chamber. His contributions to the debates of the house were of a consistently high level: Always pertinent, usually provocative and frequently witty. When Mr. Cameron spoke, members were assured of a contribution of the type which has made this place the great institution it is.
Colin Cameron displayed in his person the promise which is Canada. He came to this country as a youth and devoted his energies to farming and to work in shipyards, before turning the greater part of his attention to politics. Using his own talents in this land of opportunity, he came to this house where his lucid mind and forceful debating ability placed him in the forefront. He will not soon be forgotten in this chamber.
Neither will he be forgotten elsewhere in this land. It was part of the measure of this man that the tenacity of purpose which he displayed on the floor was matched by a courtliness and warmth which won him friends on all sides.
Mr. Cameron's loss, Mr. Speaker, will be felt by his family of whom he was so fond, by his party to which he was so loyal, and by this house to which he contributed so much. Canada herself can ill afford the loss of a man of this stature.


Robert Lorne Stanfield: Mr. Speaker, on behalf of all the members of this party I want to join the Prime Minister in paying tribute to the memory and to the contribution made by the late Colin Cameron. He was a member of long standing of this house, and before that of the legislature of British Columbia. He applied his uncommon wit, intellect and eloquence to the great issues of his time. Simply on that record of three full and active decades in public life he earned the esteem of his countrymen. But I think it was the manner of his service which won for Colin Cameron the immense affection and respect of all who were associated with him.
He was a vigorous partisan, not simply of a party, which he served with distinction, but also of a point of view which he argued and advanced with a rare eloquence. He would set differences aside when the argument was done. I had the privilege of meeting him quite a number of years ago; but like others who came more recently to this house I knew Colin Cameron by his reputation as a spirited debater and a fine and gentle man, and our observations here confirmed that reputation.
[DOT] (4:20 p.m.)
This house will miss his vigorous presence, and we extend to his family and to his associates our very genuine sympathy.


David Réal Caouette: Mr. Speaker, I too, and on behalf of my colleagues, join the right hon. Prime Minister
IMr. Speaker.]
September 12, 1868

(Mr. Trudeau) and the leader of the official opposition (Mr. Stanfield) in extending to the family of Mr. Colin Cameron our most sincere condolences.
We had the opportunity of knowing Mr. Cameron in this house during six years; he was a member of parliament for eleven years, after having sat in the legislature of British Columbia for several years. All of us, regardless of our political allegiance, have admired his hard work in this house. He was the financial critic for his party and, from that point of view, we were very much interested in the criticism he voiced. Even though we may not have shared his opinions and criticism, Mr. Cameron still was a model member, a member who minded his own business, a man who brought something worthwhile to the House of Commons, as well for the government as for the opposition.
The house will certainly suffer from the loss of this inveterate worker. In any event, the memory of Mr. Cameron dwells with us and we offer to his family our most sincere condolences.


David Lewis: Mr. Speaker, the words which have been spoken by the Prime Minister (Mr. Trudeau), the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. Stanfield) and the hon. member for Temiscamingue (Mr. Caouette) are very deeply appreciated not only by the members of my party who are in this chamber but also by thousands of our members across the country, and most particularly by the family who survive Mr. Cameron.
I had known him for over 30 years. We worked together in the C.C.F. party as in the New Democratic party and I learned, with all my colleagues in our party, to admire and respect Mr. Cameron as much in disagreement as in agreement.
We found him always, if I may put it this way, a civilized human being, a human being with compassion for others, a human being with sensitivity about other people, a human being with concern not only for the welfare but for the comfort, decencies and relationships among people. That deep human concern expressed itself in the vigour of his opposition as well as in the vigour of his support.
He was a man, as I know, and all others who worked with him for, as I have said, more than three decades in a party know- he was a man who was dedicated beyond exaggeration to the improvement of the

Tributes to the Late Colin Cameron human condition not only in his own land but in lands all across the world. He was, when one knew him personally, as deeply affected by the hunger and deprivation of millions of people in Asia, Africa or elsewhere in the world as he was by the hunger and suffering of people here in his own country.
It was this profound dedication to the welfare of human beings that made him stand out among his peers in this country. Added to that was an appreciation of language, a respect for the nuance of words and a poetic turn of phrase which made the expression of his concern for humanity a delight to listen to.
We are grateful to the Prime Minister, and to the others who have spoken, for their kind words about a colleague whom we in this party miss profoundly, as does this house.



INTERNAL ECONOMY COMMISSION

[Stage Direction]
Right Hon. P.-E. Trudeau (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. George James Mcllraith, Solicitor General of Canada, the Hon. Charles Mills Drury, President of the Treasury Board, the Hon. Jean Chretien, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, and the Hon. Donald Stovel Macdonald, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, 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.

Right Hon.   P.-E. Trudeau@Prime Minister: That a special committee be appointed to prepare and report, with all convenient speed, list of members to compose the standing committees of this house and that such committee be composed of Messrs. Baldwin, Bell, Knowles (Winnipeg North Centre), Macdonald (Rosedale), Pilon and Rondeau; and that the provisions of paragraph (1) of standing order 65 not apply with regard to the number of members on such committee.


[Stage Direction]
Motion agreed to.

Right Hon.   P.-E. Trudeau@Prime Minister: Mr. Speaker, I move seconded by Mr. Macdonald that Mr. Hugh Faulkner, member for
September 12, 1968

Appointment of Chairman the electoral district of Peterborough, be appointed chairman of committees of the whole house.


[Stage Direction]
Motion agreed to.
[Stage Direction]
APPOINTMENT OF DEPUTY CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEES OF THE WHOLE Right Hon. P.-E. Trudeau (Prime Minister):
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by Mr. Macdonald (Rosedale) that Albert Bechard, Esquire, Member for the electoral district of
Bonaventure, be appointed Deputy Chairman of Committees of the Whole House.
Motion agreed to.
Right Hon.   P.-E. Trudeau@Prime Minister: Mr. Speaker, I believe that this concludes our business for today. Therefore I move, seconded by Mr. Macdonald (Rosedale):
That this house do now adjourn.

Motion agreed to and the house adjourned at 4.32 p.m.

Friday, September 13, 19B8