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Q eens County Member lhnfilyles‘ Liberal Argw ‘ u_ Shows Inconsistency Of Mr. A._E. McLean’s Statements Respecting Implementation 4 Of Duncan Report.

did not know whether or not the complaints were wcll founded. I believe the hon. member knew very well that the lmernployment relief work in his constituency, and in the Island in general, was canted out solely in the interests of the unemployed and the deserving, and that it was absolutely satisfactory. With reference to the constituency, of Queens, which I have the honour

ments And

The following speech on the pro- posed two months’ extension of the operation of the Unemployment and Idurm Relief Act was delivered iii the House of Commons, Ottawa, on March 18th by Mr. W. Chester b‘. lilcLurc, MP.

Mr. McLURE: Queens): “Mr. Speaker, it was not my intention to speak on this resolution, but accord- ing to fiansard the hon. member for Prince (Mr. MacL-ean) in the course of his speech last night said:

"I sce my friend's from Prince Edward Island on the other side and l know they will agree with every word I say."

I think the hon. member was taking a lot for grnnted in making that statement. While I do not know how many members on this side of the house will agree with him-and I am not interested in how many on the other side may share his views-in his attempt to justify the blocking of this resolu- tion and consequent interference with the government in its endeavor 1o relieve unemployment, I say em- phatically tlint I do not agree with his remarks with respect to scvcral JlMTZFYS relating to PIlllCt! Edward Ic! Later on I shall give my rm oils for this disagreement.

Thdidebate on this resolution has pirtakcif of n character quite dif- irirnt from what l liiid zintlclpiitcd. I thought thc l'i‘.\‘illl.lll0l'l .. U0 (lisciissed fioui thc con- slitiitionnl point of view. and that iii»: zrcat legal minds from both rides of the house would enlighten iis on this issue: but the debate soon lvcame divested of all its legal robcs and. in u short time became clothed Ell aiqiistinctly political garb. This ‘has resulted in the debate covering n widc field. and several hon. mem- lisrs, “especially on the opposite sitloyshave seized the opportunity to ppt political propaganda on Han- mirdlor the benefit of their constit- uents.‘ Whether I choose to follow ihe constitutional liric or the polit- iczd, or whether I discuss the resol- ution, strictly on its merits. I expect that: the latitude accorded to other members will be accorded to me alsof

Liberal Obstruction IiJf-iml-

$1 have listened to this debate for fig and hours, yes, for days and yurfaiid now almost for weeks, and

r- more speeches I listen to from g4 other side of thc house the more Daindiinpressed with the sincerity _our hon. friends opposite in their iibborn adherence to their tradi- nal attitude towards relief of the employed and the unfortunate of ‘is country. The right hon. leader tlrc opposition (Mr. Mackenzie lug} led off with a. severe criticism the manner in which the relief

s been administered under the ‘Qlicniployment and Farm Relief Qct, and each of his supporters who llowed him canted on the same

i e of attack. All seem to be im- 311cm’! with the one idem-to stop the ' ussin: of any mean c for further fielief. Their whole object looms 00 ’ to obstruct the government In a: qideavour to enact further leg- filation for the benefit of those of Uflflllow countrymen who are out of employment and in need as a rcsult of this world-wide depression. Everivadmltting the sincerity of our iioiifirienas opposite-and they cer- talhlfly demonstrated it ll Itch one toqggip the cudgels for his party- I c‘ ' ot understand their uncom- proqislrig opposition except on thc ground that they are determined to oblige to their time-honoured pol- " “not a nickel for the Canad- nemployed." That is thol!

_-iveness dates back many years: I ave been in this house only since

iil party argued strongly against any form of relief, they adopted the same course in the ses- sl n of 1931. and now in thb session they-are still running true to form ullftp-oclahning their favourite pol- lf)‘. namely, “not a nickel for tin Canadian unemployed or those In distress."

Several hon. members have in- formed the house how the Unem- ployment and Farm Relief Act has worked out in their constituencies. Last night the hon. member for Prince (Mr. MacLean) touched on this subject very gingerly with re- ference to the province of Prince Edward Island. He mode a few re- marks about unemployment in that r-nvlnc: and said some complaints

Scored By Mr. McLure

resulting benefits to the unemploy- ed were simply godsends in a time

allocated to Prince Edward Island was small in comparison with that

ployed as the industrial provinces had. But we did have unemploy- ment; when we did get our allot- ment it was a great help to those people who were anxious to work,

stltuency and throughout the entire

praise of the Department of Labour, and the federal government ivltli regard to the way in which the rc- lief measures (were carried out", ev- ery dollar of money coming from the federal government, the provin- cial government and the munici- palities was spent entirely in the best interests of those who were un- employed, and there was no question of creed, class or politics when a man was looking for work. If be was out of work and ‘in nced ti“, in. "=11 Kovernment and lb: committee in charge asked no ouesfions as to

the House the other day madethe statement that this ihoneyiwas wasted. I do not believe the hon. gentleman really meant that, be- cause I claim that any money spent

, apparently, and their stick?

.‘ but during that session ‘the’,

. D osiition‘

instruction and technical educa- tion amounted to $37»507-53- while in 1929-30 that creel; W“ w‘ t” $22,117.30. Bo we see that in 1922- 23, as a result of legislation passed by a Conservative aovvflimenf- Prince Edward Island received a to- Qg] grgnt Q1 $525,816.57, Whllfl in 1920-30 the total grant was $404.- 04018. Elven if we include the in- terim payment of $125,000. $811094 in lieu of the fulfilment of the re- _dat.lons of the Duncan re- port, we find that under a Liberal government in Ottawa. the province was very little better of! than it was in 1922-23.

to represent, the relief work and the

on.

of distress.

Gra-ut Administered Fairly

The proportion of federal funds 5mm Linn‘ lucmsmen” During the coume of his remarks the hon. menibcr stated that the Duncan report had not been imple- mcnt/ed by the Prince Edward 1s- land government, and he intimated that the Conservative government of that province should have come to Ottawa in ordcr to see that the recommendations of the report were carried out. During the election campaign of i930, the candidates of the Liberal party in our province went fiom one end of the country to the other, declaring that the Duncan report hacl been implement- ed one hundred per cent. Now the hon. member for Prince goes back on that statement for he is urging upon the government of Prince

Edward Island that they come t0 Ottawa and have the report im- plemented. That was their cam- paign policy in,1930, and I repeat emphatically that nothing has ever been donc for Prince Edward _Is- land from a political point of view, nor have any grants cvcr been made to that province, except through legislation put upon the statute books of the country by the Con- servative party in power in Ottawa. I will admit that the Liberal gov- ernment gave us an interim grant ofv$l25,000 in lieu of the Duncan commission's report, but that was made‘ to our province as a political gesture prior to the election. We were told during the election cam- paign that the Liberal government at Ottawa had a large audit com- mittee figuring out thc great grant that was to be givcn to Prince Ed- ward Island. We heard this all through the campaign of 1930, and one would have thought listening to the Liberal candidates on that oc- casion, that half of the civil ser- vants of Ottawa were employed on this audit committee. One night I challenged one of the candidates on the platform; I told him the facts regarding the matter and I said to him on that occasion that it was only Liberal political bunk they were handing out for election pur- poscs. I was told then that it would be .my fault if no further grant came from ‘Ottawa, because I had described this audit committee as

allotted the other provinces. but possibly this was due to the fact that ours is an agricultural province and did not have so many unem-

rind we had vciy satisfactory rc- suits indeed. The people in my con-

provincc as well were loud in their-

whetber the man was g Grit or l, T017; they simply gave him what work was available, and everyone seemed quite satisfied with tbc way this work was carried out. ’

Some hon. “member, speaklngpin

for the benefit of the poor and needy is not money wasted, but is a gracious act on the port of what- ever government granted that mon- ey. In 193i we had a Conservative government in Prince Edward Is- land and certainly they fully co- operated with the federal govern- ment, but in 1930 there was a Lib- eral government in power in that province. I want to be just as fair to the Liberals as I am to the Conservatives; I believe that in the expenditure of unemployment re- lief moneys in lilac-and I will speak for my own country in par- ticular-the Liberal government did the very best they could and were absolutely fair in the distribution of work. I think it ill behooves anyone from‘ Prince Edward Island to say that a. man had to be ol the proper political complextion in or- der ic gut work,“ because the facts, show that ‘any man seeking labour. found it if work was available at‘ all, irrespective of politics.

at the present time any further im- plementing of the report under the conditions that exist, but as soon as any signs of improvement are noticeable we shall expect, and we

est implementing of the Duncan report not only with respect to the Maritime; generally but so far as our own province in particular ls concerned.

Mr. MacLean Answered

' Inst night the hon. member for. Prince also placcd on Hansard some ' remarks with reference to local con- ditions in~Prince Edward Island. There was one statement Ll-iave heard hlm- make time and time Blhln, it_. was with reference to the generosity of tile late mbéroi us... erumént so far as the. province macs naval-a Island waseoiieem. drill" I tiiiiilr" the lion". g member brought out ‘that old chestnut last "infirm i- new it w tenth» he, begins tow " eve- it. bimqslr Il-llflllld like to mtg; a m; N“! fimliiflmrrin this connection. I am surswhen‘ we compare‘ the lfants made 001511109 Edward Is- land by different governments we will see that the‘ generosity of the 1459"! SWernment was not so great as the hon. member. for Prince, would endeavor u; hayninybniieve“ I should like brlefffppmpnyygiyc federal grants toniy province in the year 1922-23 and the year 1929-30. m statutory subsidy wit; ;saa1,-_ ram in both years: it it fixed by the British North America Act and will remain the same until that act is changed. In 1922-23 the vhighw __ [rant amounted to 8l06.277.01,, but in 1929-30 this grant was discon-

Serious sieuubn

The unemployment problem is one of thegncst serious that the world hasjcvei- known. In this house we have meard many; speeches on the unemployment situation, but we dhbuld all takeI-into consideration one thing, anoIspart from politics ll: should be tile-Endeavor of every hon. inemb to‘ work out some sol- utlomwl-ioi-eby the problem may be met in this fair Canada of ours. The other day, speaking in this House, thevhon, member for Ken- cra-Rainv. River (Mr. Heenan), said agreiit many things with reference to unemployment and labour; con- demning thei Conservative party, and the‘ policy of the present gov- ‘ernment’ with regard to this ques- tion. As reported at page 485 of Iqfiinsard, be said: ,

"I know that my hon. friends on thc other side are all recently Aconvertedto the idea of doing something for the ~workinl.man."

wewiliuke that for what it la worth, but I regret to say that_'tbs hon. Imernber for lichen-Rainy Riverjlmd his followers have a. long wnv yct to go on the road to Dam-

A I- _ MB. W CHESTER S. McLUREi MP-

bunk. However, we do not expect »

know that we shall receive the full- ‘

'\

take place in corincctlon with the unemployment situation in Canada. 1t is all very well to criticize the government and their policy on un- employment, but it would be worth

_ while, if we had time, to study the

attitude of the present opposition

towards this problem. It is not ne-

cessary, however, to go over all this

ancient history; suffice it to say

that, through the preaa Rid Han-

sard, future generations will know just what attitude the Liberal 80V- ernment took towards the unem- ployment situation and tiiose who were in distress in this country.

Their policy with regard to the un-_ employment was simply this—not a' i-grzcl of aid to those in distress.

_ A Growing Problem

Canada has always had a. certain amount of seasonal unemployment, but from 1924 down to thc year 1930 the unemployment problem had been going from bac to worse throughout the length and breadth of this country. We recall the cli- max that was reached in February. 1930, when the mayors of the lead- ing towns, from Sydney on thc At- lantic to Vancouver on the Pacific, and especially in mldwestern Can- ada, came tc Ottawa. These chief magistrates were supported b!‘ 15b- our organizations. churches and various societies engaged in relief work. They could not cope with the situation and therefore came to Ottawa. and pleaded thc cause of the unemployed. They tried to get some relief from the then govern- ment. W'liat happened? The hon. member for Kcuora-Ruiny River. who was then Minister of Labour, and the government of which he was a mouths, ‘ ’ a deaf car to the pleadings ombehalf of the un- employed the nhedy. The gov- ernment .of that day preferred to go on with their bungling trade policies and so did not lend any aid to thc unemployed in 1930. I mention this climax to show that unemployment has been a growing problem in Canada over a. number of years; it is a problem" which was bequeathed to this government by the late ad- ministration after the election of 1930. Besides world conditions which have been a. cause of unem- ploymcnt, the factors next in lin- portance, contributing to the pres- ent situation, have bccn, so far as Canada is concerned. the trade pol- icies of the latc government. ‘

Liberal Bllhgllpg

Let us consider the immigration policy of the late administration. especially as it affected unemploy- ment. During the nine years they were in power they brought into this country over 1,250,000 people to rc- place the labour of almost the same number, of our own people. While we have no objection to immigrants entering our country, wc do object to their coming in when there is not sufllcent work for our or: people. Why bring in other people at such tremendous cost to the country? During those years about $28,000,000 was spent on immigration. What effect dld it have? It had the effect ofldrlvllig‘ out of Canada over one million people; these men and wo- man left Canada. to leek employ- msutwln other countries. When conditions got bad in the United ‘Shins Ind the other countries to which these people had gone, many- ofjthem were forced to return to - Canada and they are be g. includ- £4,111 our unemployment ists. "The trade policy-of the former administration proved to have a

moot situation. Their policy was one of flirting with free trade, and they paid no attention to what ef- fect it might have on home condi- tions. Because of this policy hun- dreds of factories have been closed during the past ten years. and thou- sands of workmen thrown out of employment.

We are proud to ‘say that the im- migration and trade polcles of the present administration have proven- to be most satisfactory. The hon. Minister of Labour (Mr. Gordon) has made the statement that the in- flux into this country practically

had been made with reference to

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tlnued by the Liberal government. ascus before the scales will fall from

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very bad effect upon-the employ- "

had ceased lud it would notbe ol-T.

ORAN PEKOGE

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TEA.

gonads. could take care of 1m- own unemployed. Hon. members o! thi- opposition should give credit to this government "for the inaugura- tion of new policies with reference to immigration and trade. Under these policies industry is again starting to develop and we are loklng to the time in the very near future when it will b: able to take

rxirc of nll wliri . i " s. plsyed at present. Cites Liberal l‘: .:. ifiirment

Canada has had to face problems before but she has always endeavor- rd to work them out to the best pursslble advantage. One must have faith in a country ‘with great us- tural resources, and I have faith in Canada. I have the greatest faith in the government in having an administration which can take care of the problems facing the country and solve them to the ad- vantage of the unemployed. 1‘ was interested in an editorial which ap- peared the other "evening in the Ottawa Citizen, and from which I shall quote in part. This paper, ap- parently having sensed public opin- ion with regard to this debate which has been continuing for so long, says:

"It is safe to say that the ma- jority of Canadian people are more concerned with Mr. Bennett": ef- forts to find the way out for Can- ada than with the Liberal party's protests about the rights of par- liament as the controlling author- ity of government."

And again:

"Without worrying too much about the oppositions constitu- tional criticism, they may well look to Premier Bennett to go on trying to carry out the mandate given to him to abolish the evil condition of unemployment in Canada."

The opposition to this legislation

is causing the greatest distress to the unemployed and needy through- out the country. As far as I am concerned, this opposition can con- tinue for weeks. but it would be better for those who oppose and for the country generally if they would say what their stand is with refer- ence to unemployment. From the speeches which have beer made from the other side, we know that. they are opposed to the granting of any relief at the present time.

Mr. POULIOI‘: No, not at all. Mr. McLUREh We have heard from one county only.

Mr. POULICYI‘: I am speaking for all.

Mr. McLURE: They should oo- opcrati: to see that employment and relief are given, and they might well join those on this side and be a party to the granting of relief to the unemployed. v

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