HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1941-01-30, Page 4r
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:PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT at this critical, phase of. our national life'that'the people of the Province'
of Ontario should -be giventhe facts and allawe'' to 'base their considerations: and judgment on them.
There is very little' doubt that, in many instances opinions have been based on speculation, propaganda
The-staitements-gtven herewith' .are -taken -from: the -O;; sial -Reports -of -the Conference as publiikhe4 by the
Dominion :Government. •
E}l Already a 'Fuel Controller ass been appointed and
NON. MITCHELL F. HEPBURN, PRIME M'INIST e
AND• PROVINCIAL TREASURER OF ONTARIO,
(Vol.' 1, Pages 14 to 20)
"Mr. Prime Minister and gentlemen, during this thne
•of,strops 'and strain and ruthless warare I' have never
publicly criticized the 'Sirois ;report' or its recommend-
ations. I did •make a.atatement about the timing of the
publication of -the 'report because 1 behaved then, and
•.'aril Believe . and am joined `in (hie belief bymany per,
• sone, that '1 did ;a public service in ,calling attention to
.tha;uct ttihro-w,iog ofd.tba uren:i of.diacusaton a hig1i y
eontentioua..document st •a time when people Who love
the Empire and all it standsfor are concerned. with
:one thing, and'. one thingalone—the_ successful. rose -
cation of a victorious war in which our nations secur-
ity is at stake. For if our effort fails,. Hitler, and not
the delegates :present :at•this ;,dominion•provineial" con•'
ference,•will,settle, our domestic problems.
In
this regard the 'policy of thoF ove nment of
Ont rie•hss't�•ot-chesgc4.in any..; particularc:Thase.of:us.,
who' represent the central province hove been eon-,
eiatent'in our attitude.
Some while ago a 'former. associate of minein. the
• House of Commons; :m good friend the Minister of
• Finance,.journey'•ed to ,Toronto; at'which. time he din-'
•cnesed, with Mr. Nixon, .Mr. McQuesten, . Mr. Walters
anmyself .the; advisability of implementing the'recom-.
mendetions of the Silvis, report. Along, with my col-
leagues present, I urged=yes almostbegged him to use
: his influence to prevent this becoming'' anational 'issue
.during .war::time...1 am satisfied lie::eonveyi dmy
• lege to the, Prime Minister. •I was, therefore..somewhat
perplexed when a ';few days later,- I received a: letter"
from the Prime Minister ofCansda'advising!that;3 con
• femme would be called `and that the fed! al govern-
mentwas,. in effect; recommending favourable consider-
-. ation of the commisaioa. Sndinge.- Again;• in order .to.
'maintain our condistency,'I'replied as follows:
`I
have"ybiir`Ietter of November 2nd,regarding the
Birois commission report.. .
I was hopeful that a discussion of> this problem
Could"be delayed until after. -the war so that there could
" ,be, no possibility 'of_ any ;'controversial issue arising,
. " which might impair :national unity and the effective
prosecution of the war.' ;
'However in view of the .• feet that a. conference is to
be••oalled it is the intention of this governnient to make,
available "its representatives any time' that maybe re-
quiren ai'Cer the middle of January, as suggested; by
Later still',, on December 28, 1940,. the Prime Min-
• ister in a letter stated in 'part: ' •
`In view' of requests from several of the„provinces# a
proposed agends which. we wilt recommend to the.
conference has been' worked out and is outlined below,'
Not }laving ,been asked for, nor .having made any
recommendat'}one,` I therefore am free ton suggest that
further+consideration be given to the following sentence
in the letter in question: . •
'I should like to emphasize the view of the govern-
ment that the opening session' • should be confined to
general statements and not to debate on pointsof detail
or special' circumstances.'
•
.Public`Should, Be Informed
he'has the power to regulate,the distribution of'gaso-
line. - As a War measure, 'he could deprive: us- entirely
of revenues from the licensed vehicles and gasoline.
' We Should then have te go• to'the •dominion authorities'
:with a tin, cup in ,our hands saying—'either contribute'
to the extent of .our loss of revenue or pay.. for, the
-social-•services-;of-Ontario'--and,--believe me, -the ,-are-
many. and. varied iu • this age 'of. growing paternalism:.
When, the Prime Minister addressed, to me on. Nevem-,
1940, fan: ter •with reference to,,, his proposed
AO a
conference fie ea"l in 'art:'"' '
'While'. the cost, of unemployment, relief" has been
�odueedrtheswar_itas cyst -additional bnrdens;on.govnrn,
meats and taxpayers alike... It has inevitably increased'
the competition. between' governments to: Beeure'iev-.
enues, and has aggravated the overlapping, comber -
dome and "discriminatory character; of much of our tax.
structure.'.'
The 'folioiving paragraph ft the letter informs us that
', the conference: will then resolve 'itself into working
committees, which will sit in camera.
• The Ontario delegates :desire that "We state our case,
publicly and' briefly, ,and at no time be • a party to at`
sehcme,witich withholds from the press and the public
vital information to which they are. justly entitled.
We.were not, informed nor consulted with regard. to
the terns of reference contained intim order in council
• passed by, the dominion cabinet which gave life to the
commission itself. .
When-Ontario's•presentation was Made we asked for
nothing.. When the findings were agreed upon by the'
commis'si'oners, "Ontario. -had no representative, Mr.
•Rowell having long before retired because of ill: health..
But later On we were presented with a costly five hen:
dred thousand della* report ---the product of -the minds
of three professors and a' Winnipeg newspaper man,
•none of whom end any,•governmental administrative
' . experience, and whose opinions all of us cannot share.
f • In view of the fact .that, in the report itself, 11 is
stated that Mr.. Rowell had nothing to do with' it, hie
name, which lois been tagged on for 1•equities of propa-
ganda, can very well'be omitted in future. T• hose of. of. u! who believe in democracy abhor the very
word preeegenda because the circulation of ready -
Made opinions by any centrally -controlled power is the
, most da'ngelrous enemy of Civilization., From .this per-
epective wo see the evil ,working of Melt. a vicious
3yattem ire-1u3ope, leaving-.-in--its••-wales--macer•..-a
.
endrin eso.oi ertigesio51 Income•. Tag
I' take this opportunity of referring to the actions of
the government of the province of Ontario with respect”
to the Income Tax Act of Ontario. - Perhaps;1 should
e'xplaui, that the. • Income . Tax •Act ,of 'Ontario differs
from the acts of most of the other provinces in• this.
respeot�-that' we fallow. as a deduction from the income
'Of the Ontario 'taxpayer the amount of...tas paid •.to the
dominion -government under the 'Income' War Tax .Act
before We impose our own :tax •'
is that interfering or- competing' with the dominion;
especially as itG,'has bean admitted by Mrraer Ymininters ,
of;finance of Canada:that for the dominion. to'levyen
income tax at all .is to'•inviide ,provincial -fields' of
;taxation? :
To make such en, allowance $e'I'-have set out is nota
• competing' with- the dominion; it i8- taking a:Secondary
position, to the; dominion. Furthermore, let me estate
that the :province of Ontario. was the, flrst'proviuce•iii
Canada .to arrange • with the dominion to save the cost
of collection of the income tax and the economic' waste
of thee, Of taxpayers•,; Ontario ,arranged with the'
dominion government. that'.. the'Ontario.tax'should be
collected by the same dominion officers and at the samm.
time es •tile dominion tax is -collected.
'That isnot eompetit'►on. That is •cooperation, :ad-,
milted' by all, and .due .credit being given by alt teit-
payers affected. .• ti J
Further, the dominion government on September,
13th 1939, added a.:aurtax.of 20 per cent. applicable to
income of 1939. and subsequent periods., This meant sa
lesser amount of in`eome .left in. the hands of the, tax-
payers•to;be•sulijeet to' the Ontario tax. The Province of
'Ontario agreed to 'absorb this loss in revenue.
Ontario .Suff'Ors Revenue Loss :
On August 7th, 1440,3he 20 Per cent, tuts*, and
all the' old' rates.; under .the Dominion. Income Tick Act'
were repealed'and'. ;their places `newer'and higher
rates were enacted,' and, at the same timet exemptions
were'cut: These. changes, were applicable to the incomes
of • 1939. Besides, these changes in rates, ' the new
National Defence Tax was enacted applicable to incomes
earned from July- 1st,, -1940. -'rhe-effect•�of these added•
imposts was to seriously reduce •th'e,reve:iaes of the:
province of Ontario„ and 'it;is estimated that for the
!Meal year which..'begins on April' 1;. 1941,.'tlie,province
of,Onterio will suffer a loss ofaieyenue of upwards of
n o million 'dollars. • . •
I 'We .have turned, over the Elgin Hospital—a !even
million dollar institution= -and :many other provincial
(properties,. without payment or reward' and will eou-
ttnne to do so..
We have curtailed our capital. expenditures . and
have delayed necessary works—works thatwould.'have•
been profltable''and would hale, yielded' additional
revenue. p I •
as its credit'closely•approaebes that.01 the dominion. A
feature of the arrangement not generally realised ia.
that in the case of Alberta the dominion would assume
not only the provincial debt, but 'the defaulted interest,
on the same: This had reached $3,400,000'by 1987 and
stands now at a much higher figure,."Ontario's federal
taxpayers provide nearly' half the dominion 1-eveane
out of -which • this -gift _to_ the_ bondholders would 'be
provided.'.
• That showsthechanging opinion of that'great-,pub-
lication. Why? Because'thet and other •newspapers,,:
:sensing p'ubri 'opinion, aro refiecting,the-growiflg sus
picfon' of the awakening public mind. As a a fast developing Indy .political
observer I sayi8• , that there ofl
oopmron not=without•^•cause,. now promoting--•the,-idea,.
that .behind .this untimely. move, ostensibly. as a war -
measure, ie. a well -cook( d, nefarious' deal to make good
the loases in depreciation of certain bonds held largely
by fnancial houses, to collect unpaid interest on Alberta.,
bonds and to. cause -a--(;harp appreciation in bonds • of
.certain_provincett..-wllu_h.;_bpnds,were, because of cir-
cumstances beyond the control: of the respective;pro-
vincialtreasurers, actui.ily' field •at much less than par
although the coupon -rate` was abnormally high: This
possible huge: capital•. appreciation is not even subject,
to federal income tax.. II U ;
I solemnly' warn those who ere obviously pressing
for such action that they may, aggravate that suspicion
and • destroy ,completely public confidence in ' govern-
ments.;
•
Then, too, in an effort to encourage the incoming' of
Americantourists who will bring with them lmoch
needed American dollars, so necessary to. enable the
dominion to'save .exchange and prosecute the wet', the
province of Ontario has undertaken to expend oil pub-
'itchy
ub-'i city add ,advertising for tourists this year the surf
of three'hundred ,thousand'•dollars. ,That, according to
officials ',of ,the, dominiongovernment is,cooperation; ,
nett competittrina•
And'.in respect to the Corporations'Tex; it will be
withinthe.memory.of the representatives of the various
provice-s 'here that the authorities of the dominion•
government have appointeda-board to'be presided over
by the Hon. Charlet P. McTague, Justice of the Su-
preme Court 'of Ontario, which boerd'has 'been formed
to, determine the amount of obsolescence' and.•depreeia-
'tion that may be allowed taxpayers'as a write-off against,.
profit's which will be .subject' to war taxation. The
government of the' province of Ontario has announced'
that it. will acceptwithout question the findings of this
ptil _ jominiontocieited_board
e . suffering which shakes one.'s faith ni humanity itself.
Can •Prdelinces -and Dominion Both Win?'••
Let u guard Carefully• for fear aSimilar freebie -
stein doi-s no't.appear in oar midst. In the first flush
, of public *action the the propaganda' machine' :made .it
appear that to implement this • document would', make
`the provinces richer 'and, at. the same time, Make the
. dominion richer by the simple Process of transferring
debts and revenues to the central •government.
Inasmuch as there are 'only two parties to. the deal;
'surety, one need'. only to have an elementary knowledge
• of economic! to appreciate the.; fact that both cannot
win. Unless there are transferred with the, debts'suffi-
cient existing provinoia( revenues, ;the dominion will
have to increase taxes or debt or probably both. This
,doe howevor,'offer ,an'opportunity to explore every
possibility of reducing all governmental costs in Canada
and, to this end, Ontario is prepared to..cooperate to
the limit. at'the right time. That is a domestic• problem
' to which' •we can devote time and effort as n post-war
peebleni, . and much better, be ;it 80 too •be'eauee the
financial problems of to -day may have, very little rein-
tionship with those of a year hence.
I am coevinced'that the gomrnisslonerswere• gents=-
finely sincere,' and 'others also, when 'months ago they
stated that by assuming the test of empleyables on relief
the dominion would .render .a financial favour M. the
provinces and the municipalities. But anyone, who.
• says s0 *day, if conversant with' the tree facts; is
guilty of unadulterated, 'humbug',
Unemployables• 'Major` Problem
Hon. Mr. Howe 'said' some while ago that, sloe° the.
report was written•,: more than half the employablos
have secured jobs and that the other half would be
absorbed' in industry, during''this year. 'I `believe .Mr.
Howe. In :fact,' if we are going full oat in this war
.effort it is a reflection on the government not to put
to.Work immediately the physically lit adult males of all
'Canada. But the end of employable relief problems
- • does not by any means solve the issue. .There is still
Weft the army of unemployables, who'to-day make tip the
vast burden of relief and, generally speaking, will can.
to do so..'
Under present; arangements,^ the dominion contri-
butes forty per cent. towards the cost of food, clothing
and itielter. If this report is adopted in its entirety, the
•dominion will contribute nothing and its former share'
Will have to be borne by the provinces and muniailiale
itiee atter revenues, out of which the,* costo were for-
inerly Met, have been surrendered to the dominion 1
am sere the actual.working out of the system is quite`,
Moeda. from that anticipated. When the, report Was
• written; on page 86, Book II, it is said that -the taxes
left to,the _provincee aro more stable.,' In Ontario• ive
•-•;shall .have left the profits from the Liquor"'Control
" Bolted'operatione, vehicle licences and gasoline tax.'
Where is the inability? "•
•Wartime prohibition, es a dominion measure, hail'
already been requested arid,. j1 my 'memory serves ins
r
correctly, the Minister of War Services stated,- and-
quite properly so, that the federal government has the
(lower to enact *etch. a.•measnre. •
•
•
O tario Not Competing,.
Time does n�t permit a lengthy recital of other,
acts
of cooperation on the part of the government bf the
province' of Ontario, but•I challenge.anyone to..aitccess-.
fully' charge the `government et Ontario. or; for that
matter, any other probince; - with '• competition; for
revenue in fielda that do not'exclusiveiy belong .to the
`provinces, or with any leek of• cooperation whatsoever.,
on the other- side. of the picture; even aliheugh the
organization of Resources Committee, patterned after:
the one th'at'functioned so effectively in the 'last war,
was set up •by our Ontario Legieluture=and _by un=
anitnous vote -:--the nucleus, with- power=to add, consist-,
ing of His' 'Honour Lieutenant -Governor Matthews,
Colonel,B.rew;and myself--rind+•e@ven although well over
a year ago' we journeyed to 'Ottawa and personally
pledged, on behalf of the organization, the fullest wa-
fture of'.cooperation in 'every possible War effete, the
secretary of the organization now advises me that not
a single request, or communication'hes been received,
L.
from the federal' government. ' •'
An just criticism. that may be levelled against the-
goverhment of Ontario• for its, .considered judgment oh
this 'lame ' my .colleagues . and I 'accept without nom-,
plaint: But if 'the propagandists, believe. for a moment
that, because of our attitude,,we,,.wili remain 'silent
'while insinuations are broadcast deliberately:for the
purpose of branding us as,unpatriotie,.'unneighbourly
with. our, sister provinces, or guftty`of doing anything
to binek.Canada to aehib'ving our maximum: war effort,
then-I,say to them,•*We shall defend' ourselves from that
kind. of.attaek here, on the"floor of the l'egislature,'and
onthe.public'platform,'; ' -
Here I avail myself of the opportunity of ' warning
the purely financial press and others that they have.
overplayed their 'hands by attempting to cloak this
report with the garments, of patriotjsm and udder the
exigencies of war would.do'irreparable damage to both
national unity and confidence ,
1: desire to quote one authority' as, a case in point.
t'he Toronto Star, a supporter of :the present, federal
govornrnent. in .its editorial of November 20th, 1940,
says: .
The Star' believes, that the general idea of the report•
iViy a: good one, the idea that the dominion should 1 e
tte chief tax coileetor•and, es an offset •aseumtt eertata
provincial responsibilities'' • ;
That was the then . friendly policy of that paper:,
What, did' the Star say iii'Its editorial,o!' •Saturday:
January 11, 19411 1 gttotel•
'The report has, naturally enough, strong backing.
Ore'at financial concerns and•,'wealthy individuals who
are holder's of provincial bonds support a project which
would 'place the credit of the dominion behind provin
cine securities • whose ma kat value has greatly .de
teriornted. A Toronto broker has estimated that`adop-
tion of the report miglitadd es much as $20,000,000,
$40,0'00,000' and $00,000,000 to the 'value of, the bonds
of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, respectively,
Thief. gift .to' the bondholders would be more •costly to
Ontario than any other province, Ontario's own bonds
would notibe. increased in value to any marked degree,
. • o- ,
•
oat it likkokr,„
NON. I. B. 'McNAIR. L C., PRIME MI,NISras 01
, NEW BRUNSWICK, (Vol. 1: •page 23)* .
t'A:t the outset,, I must say thd't -we do not concur
in the findings of the commission as set out in chapters
'V and VI" of section F of Volume II, where certain
epeeist claims advanced •by the 'government, of Naw -
Brunswick are' diacuesed,'
HON. JOHN BRACKEN, PRIME MINISTER Of
MANITOBA; (Vol I, Page 30):'.
"Manitobaes ls it' unreasonable, ff it°
does not' `thie
Wanted to',borrow money: on the credit, of the `dominion
•t et' it should: be expected, first to obtain' the approval
§ feel satisfied .
•oL sec'—h%Tatio"nsl�inance- Co`mmission�i!e
shall have .n difficulty in' obtaining the approval
of lie i ah v l , ication merits
ol:sucks;bodyin;all'caseswhereourappl
susuclr'isch approval. If a case comes.'up in which p-
eeval is withheld,' that will not prevent us if we.
think the abject' is a worthy one from 'borrowing .upon ,
-oer' own? -credit; It-;riot
-been.-suggested_that,:suck:_.-.a°
borrowing, upon provincial credit alone ,will be hn-
possible if'the commission's recommendations are... ,.
made effective. A{'0. do •not agree Any province which
•,can borrow now could still borrow if the,' commission's
recommendations were in force. The success of such
borrowing `in- eil fir case depends; upon the: credit of
the province whi •h is attempting to borrow. For ex-
hamlet with their resources we do not think that -either '
Onttle ,
ario or Quebe•: will have any difficulty.in borrowing •
if this. report is :implemented; some oilier' .provinces
m,,tght"have;' butts'there hot a quoetionasto:whether
these, latter could borrow satisfactorily even if' the
report, is: not in.•demented?' If they'. could not, then
'they are certain # ne worse off after :implementation
because then: they can borrow in proper ;eases upon'
the credit Of 'Canada:. • •
Qum&' „Must .Be_ .United - : a
Now' I' come to: a imbed 'of even greater importance''
—national 'u'nity, We toys it to -day. All Canada ie
behind the prosecution' of the,war. We aro a united
people. We need be, We have a commonfoe in the
dictators. I happen to :now something about religions
and racialissues: I' cat speak feelingly on'titissubject':-
We: tried„ las a government, to' remedy, a simple ob..
viousinjustice "and 'inequality with regard to school
tax revenues: We failed, and the very ones we: tried to
help were as nasions as anyone else to have us retrace
our steps. Is nota eimiiar situation,. on a. iargor scale
developing today?.,
Already there ate rumblings that Quebec is getting
preferred ,treatment. I know that, to some extent, there,
:are extenuating circumstahees:. But, the fact remains
that Quebec is being rolirved of seine of her municipal
debts, 'while other provinces are not, ' Quebec is to
receive' aneight million dollar yearly irreducible`aub-
'eidy, while; others including Ontario, are not to receive
a cent: Again there are extenuating circumstances.
But explanations do 'not always explain such case?
with, certain see•tions•: 1 aocietyt "
• The Toronto Telegr•:m is a powerful newspaper and
reflects the opinions.' of many, citizens of Ontario who
lisvep'a great respect for its considered' opinions, The
Toronto Telegrake has dealt 'with thts'aspect .,of the.
report with great effect., .I shall not , quote ,.from its
editorials,—that 'is nut' necessary. All I'. can say is .not
to underestimate. the polo er of the press' in this regard.
This new'issue being developed presents' a 'challenge.
to tame of us' Who believe in mations'► unity. 'To ,blind
ourselves to the obvious is not, fair to Canada, not fair
'to our neighbouring.' province' of Quebec, especially
when by this deal, aecorling to the beat constitutional
advice 1 me get,. Quebec and the rest bf us will' have..
to .agree to a surrender to 0 central authority of rights
and privileges granteciby the British North, America
Act. I•.sey that 'so long as my colleagues and I' have
anysay in directing public poliey for' Ontario and eo
long as there is•'a. British. North America Act in its
present form; which cannot he untended at will by a;
mushroom government that' may 'in future take office
-in- Ottawa, we shall,' as h sister' province;, stand • solidly.,
'beside Quebec if at any time her; minority rights are
threatened On this,' sound foundation of national unity
we stand'art firm' and_ resolute as the .Rock of G.ibfaltar
itself.' To lay hand's' on the life work of;Sir 'Wilfrid.
,Laurier and Sir John' A. Macdonald' is nothing short
.of mit Meal vandalism.
•
Do We 'Fiddle .While London Burns?'
In the. postwar period we may have .to open our
gates to thus ands, yes millions, of European; homeless
find. destitute. - If this eventuates, .the British North
America 'Act may serve a useful purpose until the pile
Mao of essimilatjon is, coinpleted.:
Ie this . the, , time to .send •a courier: to bomb -torn.
London with a .document in his hand and have him
step into the Ball of Westminster and ask the British
parliament, to pause, in its con:ide:etien of questions
determining very life of the British Empire in order
to' debate . the question of a new•' constitution for
Canada f' .
'To me' it is unthinkable that we should, be fiddling
while London is burning. In the heart of the Empire'
the citizenry --men, women, bays and girls—with, their
-bare•-hands-are.-beatieg'w:t_th temexi_poinad ay_X•.Ath-
"les's'vau`dels'upon.the lioudetope and the -roofs of their
hotites. Britons, on the shores of the sea and in the
streets of their cities, will resist the invader foot
foot with Abair very lives; us their great leader said
they would. Instantly concerned with their struggle'
to survive_ -and to save'ise throughout this Empire• and
With nothing else . they are waging • a • winning fight
, to -day, 'the remembrance of which will never die while
freedom. lives. They have no other •concern. • . •
Today, while these bravepeople are shielding their
homes with their' bodies 'and braving th6 berating
bombs and the hail 'of machine gun bullets, do •we read
that the Lord. Meyer of .London has paused in his
efforts, to pave the nation and has .called a'nieeting bf-
. the aldermen to consider a readjustment or a revision"
of the borough .system of. the great metropolis which
is"mow a beleaguered. fortress? ''
I Beton to Mr. Churchill, to Mr. Roosevelt, the two
great democratic leaders who stand out as beacon lights
in' this bewildered' world le -day. I believe in their sip-
cerity.. Only tin all-out effort will save civilization and
christianity. Our central•government now, under •the'
War Measures Act has' extreme„ even dictatorial, power.'
If there is anything,speciflc that ,the dominion'govern-
ment wants to help in it's war effort, say so,.. and 'I am
sure every province will 'assist. bypassing immediately
the neeessary .enabling legislation. This can be accom-
plished
yl%aswithout
rnour
reasonably well -organized ystem of government.
Ontario: Shall Continue to Help;
In ont War effort We of Ontario believe we have been'
.heipful xind shall continue. to.be se, even to the, extent
billion &Alms of 'debts of other Public .botlieti on the
'dominion treasury ie wer time. The peocess Menefee
itself *would be involved "and' upsetting to ,our•yhole
fintincial.system. 'A teamster of all tax .collectfon
ides 'of' the classes 'indicated in the report to the 'central
liuthOtitY Could only be made atter .complicated ,and
fat reaching, legitlation ' could be enacted. • The tint°
and effott of the. federal parliament would hel"deVotedt
in thin direction, when every ounce of effort id reqtfirifit
in 'the ettemieful. prosecution Of th.e war: And While.
'yeti thus obligated yoursel.v.0,s. to. 'fight, • thi: ,war With
all: goreinments as • existing tax machinery .begged
thulast drop of .printer's ink aid to the last page Of
operated With the dominion edvetnatent in its wer
effort and Shall' detitititte AO -do 80, BUt this is a •
peacetime doeument, and r We believe 'Minnie and
8incerely that 'the' tithe to disease it is ncit ornityi, but,
only when. the menace to out ,demecracy, Obeitithinity
and freedoiii is reMOVed by the 'complete defeat and.
„even annihilation of the nithleee Aids ,poteete." .
NOVA SCOTIA, 0.4Lii„ Mtge 12) t '
../f we were asked to give a categorical answer
favouring ot oppositig ,the repOrt a a whole, that
answer, Ireptesepting Bova Scathe ai we de wauld
•
,.The fact'is, eld the rePon waked it clear that le
be 3eft in'eXactlY the same position in which they now' .
are. Indeed, thei can Continue borrew epee thele
own. credit. To addition,•,they are given .a • new' and
•Valueble right, exercisable wholly ,ep •tligir own: optiom
of borrowing upon the • credit of Cahada." • „ 1.
HON. T."p, PATULLO, • PRIME MINISTER. OF
BRITISH COLUMBIA, (Vol: te' pages 4.4 and 451.1.
''Money, of course,: is at, the root of this whole ques-
tion. While mcinetery measures. ahead be hosed upon
-the .prod,uctive cenacity ol 'Min people, the productive
capacity, of, tier .peoPle mit be. =inhaled by whie mono-
ineasered end' other considerations. •.
implement the teeonimendations of the commisaion
mightily in order to ,proeecute the. war. The govern-
ment of With* Columbia .disigrees, with this vtew.
am sorry thattlie winning of the war hair been 'used ah
• argnment to fasten perinaneetly'apou the provinces
provincial relations which r .firittlY„believe .will ;work
to the injury. and ncit'te the 'be.nefit. of tfie! . dominion
arid the provinces of which it hi' eoMposed. ' •
If . thete ',Mid been no* cOmmissitin, war measures
-would stilt proceed.; aed rigid how without any change :
in, our constitlition the dominion can teke any..action
deettied neceesary to therwinning of the "war; and the
.netiele are solidly behind, the goe:ernment ',that every .",
resoutce Which we possess shall be brought•int9 action
at the earliest paseible moment for the purpose' of fuv
thering our war effoit.
Let us face this questiOn fairly and squarely just
Ita it there Were .no war; aa Woe the Condition at the
'tints of the enpointnent Of the mint:nisei= ; and not
Ohms those who ballets. that the .proposels are. of a ' ,
handed character' under the indietineet thet theyi age
hindering the'..vor effort of. •this. dominion.
•
Woield Retard War Effort
,The eommissioe farther states;
• 'Ike immediate effect of Plan I on doininion finances
would be adverize, sinee in some degree provincial fin-
anees would 'have Unproved at the eipense of those of ,
Inasratich °tie the finances of the dominion, tie -cord-
ing to 'the commissionc'ate not immediately; to. be, im-
gest that the -implementation of stills recoramendation
of the cemmission iti essential to our tear effort. Rather
doeg it Bugged that d.oming the 'period of the, war the •
iniplementation of the: plan will be a berden 08 the "
'dominion's wat effort, not. alone through .the isaunip-
Mon of 'additional financial, obligationo but through
the time and.effort•arhich most neeessatily be !Upended
in the setting up of the neW 'organization as proposed ,
▪ coinmission. It %meld 'therefore mem the part ;
of wisdom td -get on. with Itlite wet and postione io
!'0°a° rA'peitgleRTedill .t(tsIrk°,1%WihyPlagrie 6th3ely3 so. anxious le
•
'rah% an name thie when we all have our heeds
full With the jOb of • the • tear 9' And the tvhieper ham
gone around, 'It lathe money ,poteers.' ,
. I am going' to 'speak • frankly. I believe that the:
perilous aituation which is facihg our nation and the
.ernpire demande linearity of speeCh ,and boldness of
action. I maintiiin that. it would be most unfortunate
if the idea gains pepulat credence that thete a eon-
eerted end delib•Mate attempt being made by the money '
&ewers. to increase. centralized control of our national
life 'While our ' ottention ix fully occupied • with the
prosecution of our 'War effort, and that thereby there• •
38 developing an endeasour`to obtain an ufilair ad. "
_vantage ovet the :people by means- of imposing neen
them a crushing debt structure undet which they Will
be further enslaved. I tun safe that every Man in this
hen 'been. aria -lied in the minds of mahrhecatise of the
expenditure of money and the' Mantic and anwarraWd •
keine find' has ,heen• Urged in eehneetion with. ati
Make no mistake ,about it. ': 'only the. efferte, to
gain the adoption- ,of these recommendations, but the
barrage Of ebeioatily' Metered propaganda to Win sup-
port Mr the '!tinien note" peeposals have been Muting
'is comnion knowledge •ar not, *e in Alberta hro fully
informed on the action which was taken in Aestraile
Ciente), they teem. to have much more direct methode
then we:have te deal With such matters. We note that
instead' of altowing the gee of radio &claim for its,
disemeintitige, do wee done *here they `treated this .
"union ne0 propaganda' as 'being oubvernive to the
British empire and raised *tech a eterrn et protest that
publie addresses, On' the ouleiect had to be abandoned. .
- Suiely if must be evident to' shy, loyal British infle.
ject that to sit. calmly • and indifferentlylby While we
are being hoodwinked and' inveigled into a financial
gliing the best of our inahhood to the empire and .
riactifleing entail to °voted* thatdeul tiling Which has
taised ita held le the World in tinany.gttitleo-.1
Oder of .cehtralized 'Mann 'end tegiimeittitioxia
le not only ridieulties hut datigeronely ham
,nfo apology to teak° tot speaking thus'," .4'," • •
' apPr:Wte dee cooperation that We have to far
toe; te:vrtecol,,,froni theljtovincet and I Want to •mention
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