Evening star., 1938-07-10


staff Uriter Dho uiSitcd Canada for
frst-hand information. This article
tells the economic and political forces at
work behind the scenes
BY RICHARD H. HIPPELHEUSER.
Associated Press Sta1 Writer.
~ TTAWA, July 9-1n its poten-
tialities, the makeshift alliance of
J Ontario and Quebec currently
transcends every other force in
Canadian life
1t is with something much more than
facetiousness that, in this authority-shorn
capital of the Dominion, the alliance is
referred to as the Ontario Quebec axis, for
these two provinces, standing together. pos
sess not only the economic control of
Canada. but also the political control.
. Just as large sections of the States"
blame Wall Street for their economic ills,
SO the prairie and maritime provinces of
Canada place blame on those rival financial
centers Of the Domnion-St. James street
In Montreal and Bay street in Toronto
AS in the States,' the cries of the have
not sections began swelling in the de-
hatonary years following the World War.
becoming more vocferous following the
worldwide economic collapse
In Toronto and Montreal is centered the
banking industrial control of Canada. And
in the two provinces lie the bulk of the
Dominions wealth of natural resources
gold, copper. nickel. timber AS long as
the axis remains intact. the provinces have
the political power to back up their eco-
nomic domination.
so Per Cent in 2 Provinces.
Ontario and Quebec have so per cent
of the population. OF the "a members of
the House of Commons in Ottawa, the
ruling body of Parliament, they have lat
members, or three-fifths
. The alliance is new-found relation
ship. Like Topsy, it just grew. but it
grew hastily to meet the rapidly growing
demands of other provinces for Dominion
action to solve their financial, social and
economic problems.
1T is not an alliance in any strict in
depreciation of the word. There is no
agreement, no common basis of functioning
on mutual problems. 1t is more of
common attitude of two dominating po-
litical ersonalities-Premiers Mitchell F.
Hepburn of Ontario and Maurice Duplessis
Of Quebec-than it is anything else, and
therein lies its weakness. There is little
in common between the overwhelmingly
French Catholic population of Quebec and
the predominant English-speaking peoples
OF Ontario. Furthermore, there has been
considerable economic i'll feeling between
the two provinces in times past.
Were it not for the present constitution
eontroversy-precipita by the action of
Prime Minister w. L. Mackenzie King last
Winter in appointing a commission to rec
ommend changes in the British North
America Act, Canada's constitution, to meet
the needs of the "have-not" provinces and
to provide dominion authority over social
economic legislation-it seems doubtful that
the alliance would exist for any length of
time
Hepburn, Duplessis Firm in Stand
As it is its one bond of strength is the
vigorous stand of Hepburn and Duplessis
. against allowing the wealth of Ontario and
Quebec to be used to aid the poverty
stricken provinces. and against allowing the
Dominion government to have a central
authority over social-economic legislation.
The "have-nots' are Manitoba, Sas-
katchewan and Alberta Ohe prairie prov
inces), and Nova Scotia, New Brunswick
and Prince Edward Island Ohe maritime
provinces). But even they are not in ac-
cord on what needs to be done. British
Columbia is in somewhat of an isolatonist
position.
The prairie and maritime provinces, by
the nature of their agricultural pursuits.
are benefited least of all by the Canadian
tariff policies: while the commerce and
industry of Quebec and Ontario benefit
most of all. The centralization of trade
and industry in these two provinces is the
Aresult Of the natural growth of Canada, and
1t has increased in geometric progression
The prairie provinces. as a general rule,
would like amendments to the British
North America Act to give the Dominion
authority to enact legislation somewhat
along the lines Of the social-economic
measures of the New Deal.
The belief of these provinces is that the
Dominion should be one taxable unit for
the purposes of relief, social welfare and
the like. They feel that the wealth of
Ontario and Quebec is created, to a large
extent, by all Of the provinces and should
be available to all of the Dominion,
Specifically, they would like to see the
Dominion have complete taxing power over
succession duties now purely provincial
right and over income (now levied upon
by both the Dominion and the provinces).
In this way, they feel the tariff inequalities
would be evened up.
The maritime provinces would like to
have all the help they can get from the
Dominion. even at the, expense of Ontario
and Quebec. but they are lukewarm toward
the idea of increasing the central govern
ment's power, principally because their
provincial loyalities date back to before
confederation.
All Of this. Ontario and Quebec regard
as share the wealth." ana their attitude