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the georgetown herald wednesday evening january 29th 1 94 1 these are the facts 1 of the dominionprovincial conference on the sirois report it is particularly important at thu critical phase of our national hfe that the people of the province of ontario should be given the facts and allowed to base their considerations and judgment on them there is very little doubt that in many instances opinions have been based on speculation propaganda and rumor the statements given herewith are taken from the official reports of the conference as published by the dominion government x 3 hon mitchell p hepbvkn prime minister and provincial treasure op ontario vol 1 pegs 14 to 20 t kr prima minister and fen lie men during thi tiro f stra mud train and ruthless warfare i have nsver publicly criticised the slrol report or ita recommend atlona i did make a statement about tha timing of tha publication of tha report because i believed then and mill believe and am joined in thi belief by many par ona that i did a public mrrloa in calling attention to the act of throwing into tha arena of discussion a highly contention document at a time whan people who love tha empire and all it atanda for are concerned with ity la at atak for if our effort faila hitler and not tha delegates prevent at thla dominion provincial oon farenca will settle onr donuatio problem in thla regard tha policy of the government of ontario haa not changed in any particular those of u who represent the central province have been con sistent in onr attitude a soma while ago a former assoclata of mine in the hon of commons my good frisndt the minim tar of finance journeyed to toronto at witch time be dia ussed with mr nixon mr mcquest mr walter and myself the advisability of implementing the recom sanitation of the slroia report along with my col league present i urged ye almost begged him to nee hi lnfluenoa to pre rent thi becoming a national laeue during war time i am satisfied he conveyed my mee age to the prime minister i waa therefore aomewhat perplexed when a few day later i received a letter bom tha prime mlnliter of oanada advising that a con inference would be called and that tha federal go te aunt waa in effec recommerndldg favourable consider ation of the commlaalon findings again in order to maintain our consistency i replied a follow i hare your letter of november 2nd regarding the urol commission report i waa hopeful that a diaeuaslou of thla problem eould be delayed until ftar the war a that then could he no poaaibillty of any con tro venial laeue arising which might impair national unity and the effective prosecution of the war however in view of the fact that a conference la to he railed it is the intention of thla government to make available ita representative any time that may be re quired after the middle of january aa u grated by st later atill on december 2 her in a letter itatad in part in view of requeata from proposed agenda which we will conference haa been worked out and ii ing recommendations i therefore am fri further consideration be given to tha following sentence in the letter la question 90 the prime mtn lutlined below i ahontd like to emphaaiae the view of the govri meat that the opening aeaaion abonld be confined i general atatamenta and ni or special circumstances 1 public should be informed the fallowing paragraph of tha latter inform ns that tha conference will then resolve itaelf into working committee which will alt in camera tha ontario delegate dealre that we state onr eaae publicly and briefly and at no time be a party to a scheme which withholds from the press and the public vital information to which they are justly entitled we ware not informed nor consulted with regard to the terms of reference contained in the order in council passed by the dominion cabinet which gave life to the com mi i on itself when ontario a presentation waa made we asked for nothing when the findings were agreed upon by tha commissioner ontario had no representative mr rowel having long before retired because of 111 health but later on we were presented with a rosily ova bun drad thousand dollar reportj the product of the minds f three professors and a winnipeg newspaper man one of whom hsd any governmental administrative experience and whoae opinions all of us cannot share tn view of the fact that in the report itself it i mated that mr rowell had nothing to do with it hla name which has been tagged on for puriiosna of propa ganda can very well be omitted in future those of us who believe in democracy abhor tha very word propaganda w suae the circulation of ready made opinion by any centrally controlled power 1 he most dinino ii en my of civilisation from this per pectlvo the evil working of eurh vlciou can provinces and dominion both win it ui guard carefully for fear a umllsr frankan 11 n does not a peer in our midst in he first flush of public rra n n th pro agsnds machine made it appear that to urij ii mfnt hi docunniil would make the i covin ia ti iit and at ihs lame time make the domlt i n rirlt hy the simple pro of transferring debts and return rs to the central government lt finch sa there are only two parties to the deal of inrmlra lo nj reilali he fart tl t loth rannot win i iiicm them are transferred will ll- 1 ht auffl cinl existing pr vlnrlal rev nn- 1 imiimw will have tn incrran laic or d- lit or pr 1 nl ly i lh thu i oi 1 and lo 111 end ri i in r i a red i iterate tu the limit st tie ril t lime 1 hl i a d meailr orillern to whlrh w- inn ivote lime and iff rt m a pl win flnamiai prohl m of u day may have ery little rela uonahlp with thus of a year hince i am convinced that the rommlsalani rs wi inely sincere and iilhnr ln when m mil a ago me auled that by aaaurnirig thi rtat of ra 1 l lei i n rellel the dominion would rrnder a financial fnvuir lo tin wrovlnea end the municipalities hut anyoi i ho is ll y todav if ronversnl wl lilty of undill ratd inimlmg guilty i the unemployublce major prohl rm hon mr llnwe ssid some while r that kit tie m hsre serured jobs and thft the o ler hnlf w absorbed in industry during this ar 1 hell if 1 full 1- of all effort it la a reflictlon on the government to work immediately the physically fit adult canada but tha end of employable rein doea not by any means solve the iaaue 11 left tha army of un employables who to day make up the vast burden of relief and generally speaking will con ttnue to do so under present arrangements the dominion contrl hutee forty per cent towards the ooat of food clothing and abetter if thi report adopted la ita enlimty the dominion wth oon tribute nothing and ita former ahare win have to be borne by tha province a and municipal ium after revenues out of which thee costs ware lor- aaerly neat have been auxxsdred to the dominion i aa tare tha actual working out of tha sy statu la quit 4la from that a want the report waa wlttaan m page is bmh ii it i said that the tana left tetfk prcmatm n sum atahle im ontario we 5had aire left dm posits from th llqwer oeafenl bewd penttona vehicle ii sendee aae whan u ifca tamdtrf warttsm rouhitw aa aaraady heea rwawae aaau eiitailtj hw mlnlalet rl ejnha preiperry to that the meral mianiiaal mm b already a fael oontrotie hat been appointed aad he haa the power la regulate the distribution of gaao line aa a war meaaura he could deprive ua entirely of revenue from the licensed vehicles and gasoline we should then have to go to tha dominion authorities with a tin cup in our hands saying either contribute to the extent of onr loae of revenue or pay for the social services of ontario and believe me they are many and varied in this age of growing paternalism whan tha prime minister addressed to mo oa novem bar 2nd 1040 a letter with reference to thla proposed conference he aald in part while th coat of unemployment relief has been reduced the war has cast additional bnrdana on govern ments and taxpayers alike it hat iaeriubly increased the competition between governments to secure rev enuea and baa aggravated the overlapping eumbar some and discriminatory character of much of our tax structure ontario coopera lee on income tax i take thla opportunity of referring to the actlona cf the government of the province of ontario with respect to tha income tax act of ontario perhaps i should explain that the income tei act of ontario differ from the acts of most of the other province in this respect that wa allow aa a deduction from the income of the ontario taxpayer the amonnt of tax paid to tha dominion government under the inoome war tax act before we impose oar own tax is that interfering or competing with the dominion especially as h ha been admitted by former minister of finance of canada that for the dominion to levy an income tax at all la to invade provincial field of taxation t to make such an allowance as i have set out la not competing with the dominion it la taking a secondary position to tha dominion furthermore let me atate that the province of ontario waa the first province in oanada to arrange with the dominion to save the coat of collection of the income tax and the economic waste of lime of taxpayers ontario arranged with the ddmtnlonf thatthetntar1n taxihoud ha collected by the sams dominion officars and at tha saau time as the dominion tax la collected that la not competition that is cooperation ad reeled further tha dominion government on september 13th 1030 added a surtax of 20 per cant applicable to income of 193w and subsequent periods this meant a leaser amount of income left in the hands of the tax payers to be subject to the ontario tax the province of ontario agreed to absorb this loss in revenue ontario suffer revenue loaa 040 ifae 20 per cent surtax aad jer the dominion 1 noons tea act ware repealed and ia their places newer and higher rates were enacted and at the same time exemptions wera cut thee changes were applicable to tha income of 10s0 besides these changee in re tee the new national defence tax was enacted applicable to incomes earned from july 1st 140 tha effect of iheee added impoeu was to seriously reduce the revenuee of the province of ontario and it is estimated that for th fiscal year which begins on april 1 1s1 the province of ontario will suffer a loaa of revenue of upward two million dollars we hare turned over the elgin hospital a sev million dollar institution and many other provincii pro pert lea without payment or reward and will coi llnua to do so wa have curtailed onr capital expenditures an have delayed necessary works works that would bsi been profitable and would have yielded addltioni then too in an effort to encourage the incoming of american tourists who wilt bring with them muct needed american dollars o npceassry to enable thi dominion to save exchange and proaecnte the war th firorlnce of ontario has undertaken fo expend on pt icily and advertising for tourit this year tbs st of three hundred thousand dollar that according official of the dominion govern moot i cooperatlt not competition and in respect to tha corporation tax it will be within the memory of the repreeentativea of the various province hare that the authorities of the dominli edvernment have appointed a hoard to be presided ov 1 the hon charles p mctsgue justice of the 9 pre me ioort of ontario whlrh board has been formed to determine the amount of ohanlesrence and drprecia tlon that may be allowed taxpayer a a writeoff again profit whlrh will be subject to war taxation th g ivernmont of the province of ontario haa announced that it will arrej 1 without question the finding of thli dominion rreati d hoard ontario not com pel inn time t iirovlncs of oumrtu um i nil ully charge the government matter any other province revenue in fields that do not province of with any lack ol on the other aide of the pi organ i ictloned our onti tent of thi lange anyone to auoceaa it ontario or for that with com petit inn iclualvrlv belong to cooperation whalsoc lure even although the imltlie patterned aft o effectively in the lat wa rlo irfgulatur and by ill ii of ills honoir t iriitei i i nlnnel drew and myrlf and evn althoilgl e j in yed u niiaw anif add ullho ilrdged on thsu of u mcretary if ll organlia a tingle reiint r c mi from he federal gnvi run 1 stall myhf of the levelled all lint tha llered judgment on lunlty of srnlni re that tl ey hav lilg to rlns thi exfgenrle nf war wnuld dn ir national unity and onfld n rreparslile dsmai ruber 20th the star bellevi ia a good one the idea that the dominion ah the chief lax collector and as an offset aaaume certain provincial rraponsibtlitiee that was the then friendly policy of that paper what did the slmr say in ita editorial of batnrday january 1 1 1011 i quota the report haa nata rally enough strong backlog great financial oeneeraa and wealthy iadlvidtiale who el tela haa greatf da r hat eathaatad that adap- i a baek s0 000 000 on tar sraalil gtfl ta the txtarihxmen wwejd ha liar eoecy rie tha say other prvflae oataivaa awv bonda i vei ha tuotvauad u vim to eay aa4 dagtu lu credit doeelr apptoaeaoa that of tha dominion x feature of the arraagement not generally realised ta that ia the caae of alberta tha dosoinlon would aasuna not only tha provincial debt bnt th defaulted interest on tha aama thj had reached ib 400 000 bz ibat d stand now at a much higher figure ontario s federal rlr half the dominion t to the bondholder would be provided that shows tha changing opinion of that great pub lication why i because that and other newspaper sensing public opinion erejreflecting the growing aua piclon of the awakening public mind aa a political observer i say that there i a fast developing body of opinion not without eauae now promoting the idea that behind this untimely move ostensibly a a war measure is a well cooked nefarious deal to make good the loaaee in depreciation of certain bonds held largely by financial bouse to collect unpaid interest on alberta bond and to causa a sharp appreciation in bonds of certain provinces whlrh bonds were because of clr cumstance beyond the control of tha respective pro vinclal treasurers actually sold at much leas than par although tha coupon rate waa abnormally high thi possible huge capital appreciation is not even snbject to federal income tax i solemnly warn those who are obviously pressing for such action that they may aggravate that suspicion aod destroy completely public confidence in govern canaoa mmt be united now i coaa to a subject of even greater importance national unity w have it today all canada i behind th prosecution of the war wa are a united people we need be we have a common foe in the dictators i happen to know something about religious and racial lasuee i can apeak feelingly on thi subject w tried aa a government to remedy a eimpl ob vious injuitlce and inequality with regard to school tax revenue we failed and the very ones we tried to hasp ware a anxiou a anyone els to hsvs u retrace our slap i not a similar situation on a larger teal developing todiyt already there are rumblings that quebec is getting preferred treatment i know that to some extent there are extenuating circumstance but the fact remains that quebec la being relieved of aome of her municipal debts while other provinoe are not quebec la to receive an eight million dollar yearly irreducible sub sidy while other including ontario are not to receive a cant again there are extenuating circumstance but explanations do not always explain such eaae with certain aeotlona of society tha toronto t fir pram la a powerful newspaper and reflect the opinions of many dtisaos of ontario who hav a great respect or it considered opinions th toronto ttugrmm baa dealt with thla aspect of tha report with great affect i ehed not quote from ita editorial that la not necessary all i can aay la not tatiroala the power of the prea in this regard issue being developed present a challenge sf ua who believe in national unity to blind to the obviou i not fair to canada not fair leighbouring province of quebec especially this deal according to the beat constitutional can get quebec and tha rest of us will have to a surrender to a central authority of right and privilege granted by the british north america act 1 aay that so long aa my colleagues and i have any say in directing public policy for ontario and so long a there is a britieh north america act in its present form which cannot be amended at will by a mushroom government thai may in future take office in ottawa we shall as a slater province atand solidly bealde quebec if at any time her minority right are threatened on thla sound foundation of national nnlty we stand as firm and resolute as th rock of gibraltar itself to lay bands on the ufa work of bir wilfrid idurier and sir john a macdonald is nothing short of national vandalism thu i when by t advice i c lo we fiddle while london bi in the post war period we may hav u gates to thousands ye millions of europe i if this eventuate th br i destitute pa our rituh north ntil th pro america act may ceis of assimilation la completed i thi the time to send a courier to bomb tors london with a document in hla band and have him step into th hall of weatminaler and ask the british parliament to pauae jn ita consideration of question determining the vary life of the british pmpire in order debate th question of a new constitution for i unthinkable that we should b fiddling i burning in the heart of the fmpln with theh oanada i to r bare rltla i boy and girle- uth treat of their foot with their i they wonld in selops and thi here of the sea and in th ii naiit th invader foot by i a their great leader said incerned with their straggh throughout thi r mpire ant with nothing ele they are waging a winning fight today the remembrance of whjch will never die while freedom livi a they have no i ther concern today while these brave people are shielding ibeii homes with their bodice and braving the bunting bombs and the hail of machine gun bullet do w read that the lord mayor nf lndon haa paused in hli rfforta to save the nation and has railed a meeting ol the aldermen lo consider a readjualmenl or a revlalnr yatem of the great metropolis whirly iw a bclrnguerrd fortreeil lliten to mr churchill to m lid ni inthls bewildered world todi eerily onl an all- hrilianlty our c koonevelt dell fill ontario shall continue to help rlo believe we hav ind hall r ntlmi the billion dollai dominion treaaury in ir time the i rocea ol iransier itself would be involved end upsetting lo our whole financial system a trannfrr of all tax rolled loo artlv die of the clause indicated in the report to the central authority could only lie made after complicated and far rraihing legislation could be enacted the time and effort of the federal parliament would be devoted in thi direction when every ounce of effort is required in the aurreaeful prosecution of the war and while yen thus nhligated ynuraelvea to fight thla war with the laet drop of printers ink and to the last page of hansard ennfuvion utter confusion wonld prevail in all governments as dialing tax machinery bogged wa in ontario i i operated with tha don effort and aha i continue to do eo bnt thi is a peacetime document and we bellere faonaetly and sincerely that th time to discus it 1 not now hut only whett the menace to our desnocracy ohruuatuty anil freedom la removed by th complete defeat an even annihilation of the mlhleee axil pevrer hon a s mtmtllan px1mm mttnlste 0 nova scotia fvl 1 page 22 if wa war aakei ta give a ca faveorlmg or opposdu lb report aa a whale that uuwar i s eg g neva cetaa a wa ww14 hav ta be no hon j s htnatm jcc pmjme ministem of new bkunswicx vol 1 page 23 i at the outset i most say that w do not concur in the findings of the commlaalon a aet out in chapter t and vi of section f of volume ii where certain special claim advanced by tha government of hew brnnswlek are dlacuaaed hon john sxacken pkjme ministek op manitoba vol 1 pega 50i manitoba doc not think it unreasonable if it wanted to borrow money on the credit of the dominion that it should be expected first to obtain the approval of such national hnsno commission wb feel satisfiad that we shall hav no difficulty in obtaining the approval of such a body in all qaaei where onr application merit such approval if a case come up in which such ap proval la withheld that will not prarent ua if w think th object is a worthy one from borrowing upon our own credit h haa been suggested that such borrowing upon provincial credit alone will be im possible if the commission recommendation are made effective we do not agree any province which can borrow now could still borrow if the commissions recommendation ware in force the success of such borrowing in either ca depend upon the credit of the province which ia attempting to borrow for ex ample with their resources we do not think that either ontario or quebec will have any difficulty in borrowing if this report la implemented aome other provinces might have but is there not a question as to whether these latter could borrow satisfactorily even if the report is not implemented i if they could not then they are certainly no worse oft after implementation berauh then tbey can borrow in proper caaca upon the credit of canada th fact i and th report make it clr that in th matter of future borrowing the provincee are ta beleft in exactly the peatuon la which they now are indeed tbey can continue to borrow upon thair wn credit in addition they are given a new and valuable right exercisable wholly at their own option of borrowing upon he credit 61 canada hon t d patvllo phi me ministek op mmjtish columbia vol 1 peg- 44 awd 45 i money of course ia at th root of this whole quee- llon while monetary measure should b based upon tb productive capacity of onr people th productive rapacity of our people can be amplified by wise mone tary measures and other ccmai deration w are now told that it i necessary immediately to implement the recommendations of tha commission ue- ceaafully in order to prosecute the war the govera meot of british columbia disagree with thla view i am sorry that th winning of the war haa been used a an argument to fasten permanently upon the province and the dominion of canada a change in dominion provincial relations which i firmly believe will work to the injury and not to the benefit of the dominion and the provinoe of which it is composed if there had bean no commission war measure would atill proceed and right now without any change in onr constitution tha dominion can take any action deemed necessary to the winning of the war and the people are solidly behind the government that every n source which we posses ah all be brought into at tion at the earlirat possible moment for the purpose of fur thering our war effort let us face thla question fairly and squarely just aa if there were no war a wa the condition al tha time of the appointment of the eommiailnn and not place those who believe harmful chars ever under i hindering the wr effort of this dominion would retard war effort hi commission further state the immediate effect of plan i on dominion finance would be adverse since in some degree provincial fin aneee would have improved at the axpense of those of the dominion inasmuch aa tb finance of the dominion accord log to the communion are not immediately to be im proved but tha reverse it does not seem logical to sug gest that the implementation of this recommends i ion of the commnuon i essential to our war effort rather doe it suggest that during the period of the war the implementation of the ilan will be a burden on the dominion a war effort nor alone through the assump tlon of additional financial obligation hut through the time and effort which must necessarily be expended in the setting up of the new organitatinn a proposed by the mmmllon it would therefore seem the part of wisdom lo get on with the war and postpone eo far reaching and contentious a problem until after hon william aberhart phi me ministem op albexta vol 1 page 63 i our people will ask why are they so anxiou to raise an issue likr this when we all have our bands full with the job ef the war i and the whisper i gone around it ii is the money power going to speak aitualion which if the iden gain popular credence thnl certed and dellbi rate attempt in me mad tire while our attention 1 fully occn led witl and thnt thereby there 2 eloj it mfnl red i a sure that 1 that in the mind e no mitake about it n r nf otilously inspired in fmidcrahle of the ign and ibe great re of money and the frantic and unwarranted t ha been urged in connection with the if the rowell slroi recommendation inly the efforts to ndatlnm but tha rupsganda to win sup- jsli have been causing mnds of many uhether it it we in alberta are fully informed on the action which was ta regarding this ainliur propaganda ountry they seem i wa hi instead of allowing thi i di mr mi nation aa vn d union now propngnndi brlluh empire and ralsi d public addresses on the i ith i in australia i that british ich more direct methods ich matter we note that of radio farilitie it lid this m of protenl that to be abandoned an being hoodwinked and inveigled into a ilnanrial dictatorship or a fascist state at a time when we era giving the beat of our manhood to the empire and are sacrificing onr all to overcome that foul thing which haa raised ita head lu th world in many guises a totatl tarian ervw of centralised control and rvwimentatloa is not only ridiculous but dangerously erlmlaal i aawa aa apology for speaking thua awtmelata th eewpari w hava aa te vettrwat th prwhaee ad i want ta antaa ta levjar tha oaxica bans tha a w published ey thi authority q the bo of thi pi of ontario advertisement continued on page s advertisement