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The bill, which is entitled "The In-- surance ('Temporary Provisions') Act, 1932," will come into force only on proclamation, and will then have ef-- fect until the 1933 s»ssion concludes. A similar bill, Colonel Price explained vesterday, has already been passed in Saskatchewan, is now before the Legislature of Alborta, and will orchb-- ably be pressntsd t the majority of the Provincial Legislatures in Canada at their current sessions. His statemont follows: *"May I take the opportunity af-- ford:d by the introduction and first reading of this bill to explain to the House the policy of this Government with respect to the regulation of in-- surance and insurance legislation. necessary between present date and the prorogation of the 1933 Legisla-- ture, by which time, it is hoped, the constitutional issue between the Prov-- ince and the Dominion will have been definitely settled, and a revision of the Ontario statutes can be ready for the Legislature's consideration. "In the United States this Gov-- ernment supervision has been exer-- cised by the several States, each of which has a Superintendent or Com-- missioner of Insurance. Reciprocal azreemonts between States have avoided most of the overlapping and duplication, so that most States use the same forms of annual and other Colonel Price's blunt, belligerent declaration was embodied in a press statement of explanation to a new insurance bill which he brought down to the Legislature yesterday aftornoon. This measure--admittedly a stop--gap, mace n>cossary by exisient exiraordi-- nary circumstances--would empower the Licutenant--Governor--in--Council to make such orders and regulations concerning insurance as may become "The business of insurancs--life, fire and casualty insurancs--is gen-- erally recognized not only as one of our most important businesses, but also as one peculiarly impressed with a public interest. Some of its branches, such as workmon's compen-- sation insurancse, have bseen consid-- erad a proper field for a Government monopolr. All other classes of in-- surance have been subject to close Government supervision and regula-- tion, particularly on this continent, for upward of half a century. Supervision in the United States. returns, co--operate in joint exami-- nations of companies, and generally afford the insurance business some-- thing in the nature of a 'trial by Charging that for some unexplain-- able reason the agvisers of the Feda-- eral Government, with respect to adminisiration and control of insur-- ance, "seem to have shut their eyes deliberately to the true and conclu-- sive significance of the recent Privy Council judgment," Attorney--General William H. Price of Ontario yesterday served fair warning that this Prov-- ince will fight for its rights as it has fought in the past, despite the evident determination of the Dominion, dospite the Privy Council decision, to continue its domination of the insur-- ance business "at all cosis." MAKES SUGGESTION FOR SETTLEMENT Att 5 jury." t'I'his s_vstvelm has sorgg obvious ® dvan { 1 concerned. There orney General c?res ?s not,. agg(sl n(:;e?" has been, a Federal Ottawa for Its Continu-- Dopartment of Insurance in | the n tes. ance of Attempt to |__ "In Canada the situation has been Provincial Control Of Insurance Laws Asserted by Price Exercise -- Jurisdiction, Which, He Claims, Has Been Taken From It by Privy Council Decision "These conflicts have led to long and expensive litigation. The Prov-- inces have stood up for their rights. ! Ontario has appreciated that there is | room for a difference of opinion as to | the merits of Federal, as compared | with Provincial, regulation of insur-- | ance. In a young country like Canada, l and particularly in hard times, cen-- tralization is the panacea often sug-- gested to reduce the cost of govern-- | ment. Possibly if we were back in | 1864. we might urge that 'insurance' be declared to be an exclusive field of %[jurisdict.ion for the central Govern-- ' ment. But we're not back in 1864. It iis now 1932. We can't turn the clock ! back nearly seventy years. The re-- ' spective legislative _ powers of the | Dominion and the Provinces are set ' out in the British North America Act, 1867. No informed person has the temerity to suggest seriously that this distribution of powers could be changed. And the Privy Council has now said, in so many words, that 'the (1916) decision on this question con-- clusively and finally settled that regu-- lations as to the carrying on of insur-- ance business were a Provincial, and not a Dominion, matter.' It would be subversive of our Federal system of government in Canada if the Provinces were to shirk the responsibilities im-- posed upon them by the law of the Constitution. "Conflicts of jurisdiction were in-- evitable. Every company was re-- quired to serve two masters, Every company was obliged to procure a Federal license, and also a license from the Provincial department in each Province where it sought to carry on business Every company was required to make annual and other returns to both the Dominion and the Provincial departments. The Do-- minion undertook to prescribe the terms and conditions which must be included in contracts of life, accident and sickness and automobile insurance --conditions differing from those pre-- scribed by the Provincial statutes. It undertook to say what companies should and what companies should not transact the business of insurance in the Province of Ontario. When companies undertook to carry on busi-- ness in Ontario upon the authority of a license under the Ontario Insurance Act, but without a Dominion license, the Dominion undertook to impose a prohibitive tax upon their Ontario policyholders. Litigation Long, Costly. jury.' This system has some obvious advantages for all concerned. There is not. and never has been, a Federal Department of Insurance in the United States. Mar. 22 -- | _ "And so we thought the matter was settled. The Globe carried an editorial on Oct. 24, 1931, expressing satisfaction that the controversy was indeed 'finally settled.' We prepared to assume the added responsibility which the abolition of the Dominion Insurance Department involved. But then we found the Dominion de-- partment was still carrying on, is-- suing licenses, and administering the Dominion statute as though nothing had -- happened. Moreover, -- press despatches from Ottawa reported that another revision of the Dominion In-- surance Act, 'to get over the deci-- sion,' was being planned. So I wrote Premier Bennett on Dec. 8 outlining the situation and appealingg to him to make an early announcement of a decision to abide by the Privy Coun-- cil judgment and withdraw from the field. Nothing happened. Still the Dominion department carried on. Then about Dec. 24 we served the | Minister of Finance and the Super-- intendent of Insurance with an order of the Supreme Court of Ontarlo restraining them from acting under or enforcing the ultra vires licensing sections of the Dominion Insurance | Act. The result was an Order--in-- Council Gdated Dec. 31, 1931, passed under the extraordinary powers con-- ferred by the 'Unemployment and Farm Relief Act, 1931,' requiring every insurance company carrying on business in Canada to have a 'cer-- tificate of solvency' issued through the Doeminion Superintendent of In-- surance. The determination of the Dominion to continue its 'domina-- tion' of the insurance business in Canada at all costs was thus made | apparent. |Senator Meighen's Bills. "Shortly after Parliament met the Right Hon. Arthur Meighen intro--. duced two Government bills (B.1 and C.1) in the Senate. They were sub-- stantially the same as the old statute, but different as to form. They pro-- ; voked a storm of protest and, al-- ' though already referred to the Bank-- | ing and Commerce Committee, were. subsequently formally withdrawn some ten days ago. Now new bills are in course of preparation. A draft of one was submitted to me last Friday. Un-- fertunately it appears to be the old bill (B.1) with the sections rearranged and in some cases redrafted. For some reason the advisers of the Fed-- eral Government seem to have shut their eyes deliberately to the true and conclusive significance of the recent Privy Council judgment. I so advised Mr. Meighen. The next step is neces-- sartly uncertain. Points a Way Out. | "The Dominion does not accept this view. Ever since 1916 successive Ministers of Finance, belonging -- to both political parties, have sponsored repeated attempts to maintain the Dominion Insurance Department. Three times the question has been before the Privy Council (not to men-- tion a fourth occasion earliee in 1881). Each time the validity of Do-- : minion insurance legislation has been at stake. Each time it has been | declared invalid. Provincial insur-- | ance legislation has never been chal-- {lenged since 1881, and then it was | challenged unsuccessfully. In the recent case Quebec made the refer-- ence to the courts and British Co-- | lumbia and Ontario intervened. Their | Lordships referred to the 'domina-- tion' and 'intermeddling' of the }Dominion in insurance matters and | concluded that 'a Dominion license, 'so far as authorizing transactions of | insurance business in a Province is | concerned, is an idle piece of paper | conferring no rights which the party | transacting in accordance with Pro-- | vincial legislation has not already got, |if he has complied with Provincial requirements.' This observation was made in relation to British and for-- j eign companies. "Mentions The Globe Editorial. "The Province has not been content with destructive criticism. It has pointed a way out. So long as its rights are recognized and preserved it will co--operate in every possible way. Concrete proposals have actually been submitted. But they do not recognize what the Dominion apparently desires to retain, that is, the power to regu-- late the insurance business, to license The Dominion's View.