Mr. J. P. HOWDEN (St. Boniface) moved:

That the following resolution, namely: That, in the opinion of this house, the government should take into immediate consideration steps which would: (a) provide for periodic medical examination of the Canadian people; (b) afford medical relief for those suffering from disease, be restored on this order paper under the provisions of standing order 52.

Right Hon. R. B. BENNETT (Prime Minister) moved:

That it is expedient that parliament do approve of the international convention for limiting the manufacture and regulating the distribution of narcotic drugs, Geneva, July 13, 1931, signed on behalf of Canada by the plenipotentiaries named therein, and that this house do approve of the same.

He said: In moving the resolution which stands in my name, I desire to make a short

explanation inasmuch as this convention is a matter of considerable importance to the dominion. It was drawn up by an international conference held in Geneva, from the 27th May to the 13th July, 1931, in which fifty-seven states participated. Thirty-eight have now signed the convention.

The convention was signed for Canada by Dr. W. A. Riddell, Canadian advisory officer accredited to the League of Nations, and Colonel C. H. L. Sharman, chief of the narcotic division of the Department of Pensions and National Health, who represented this country at the conference.

The convention will become effective ninety days after the secretary-general of the League of Nations has received the ratifi-caton or accessions of twenty-five members of the League of Nations or non-member States, including any four of the following: France, Germany, United Kingdom, Japan, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United States of America, which, of course, is not a member of the League.

Seven of the eight named states, that is all except Turkey, (have already signed the convention, and His Majesty's government in the United Kingdom has introduced legislation which is now before the British parliament to give effect to the provisions of the convention.

The convention supplements and develops the earlier efforts for the international regulation of the traffic in narcotic drugs which were embodied in the Hague Convention of the 23rd January, 1912, and the Geneva Convention of the 19th February, 1923, to both of which the Dominion of Canada is a party. Under the provisions of the conventions now in force a fairly effective system of control of international trade in narcotic drugs has been worked out, and I suppose, Mr. Speaker, that there are few matters of more universal import to this country than the trade in narcotic drugs. The main lines of this system of control are probably familiar to the members of this house, for on more than one occasion we have debated the matter. They are embodied in the Opium and Narcotic Drug Act and the regulations made by order in council to give effect to that act. In substance, they require that all imports of narcotic drugs into this country should be accompanied by an official import 'certificate issued by a competent government department, which has satisfied itself that the consignment in question will be used solely for medicinal purposes. Within the limits of the earlier agreements this system has worked satisfactorily, but it was obvious that no system of control of 'trade could be

Narcotic Drugs

completely effective if no restrictions of any kind were placed upon the manufacture of drugs whose distribution was regulated. It will be recalled that on more than one occasion the medical doctors who are members of this chamber have discussed that phase of the situation, and the difficulty of adequate control based upon restrictions was apparent when no control or restrictions were exercised upon manufacture. That discussion, I think, will be within the memory of most members of the chamber.

The task of inducing the manufacturing countries to agree upon restricting their output of habit-forming drugs has been an extremely difficult one. The kernel of the convention before the house is Article 6, which stipulates:

1. There shall not be manufactured in any country or territory in any one year a quantity of any of the drugs greater than the total of the following quantities: . .

(a) The quantity required within the limits

of the estimates for that country or territory for that year for use as such for its medicinal and scientific needs including the quantity required for the manufacture of preparations for the export of which export authorizations are not required, whether such preparations are intended for domestic consumption or for export. ....

(b) The quantity required within the limits of the estimates for that country or territory for that year for conversion, whether for domestic consumption or for export.

(c) Such quantity as may be required by that country or territory for the execution during the year of orders for export in accordance with the provisions of this convention.

(d) The quantity, if any, required by that country or territory for the purpose of maintaining the reserve stocks at the level specified for the estimates for that year.

(e) The quantity, if any, required for the purpose of maintaining the government stocks at the level specified in the estimates for that year.

An extensive illicit traffic in such drugs as morphine, heroin, and cocaine is carried on in many parts of the world. In fact, almost every day one reads in the newspapers of efforts that are being made to convict those who are so engaged. We in this country are neither exempt from the operation of these habit-forming drugs nor yet from the illicit traffic in them, but our efforts to repress the traffic have been marked with a certain measure of success. The effectiveness of regulatory action has, however, been limited by the fact that narcotic drugs are being manufactured in quantities vastly in excess of legitimate requirements for medical and scientific purposes. The restriction of manufacture to these requirements is the primary object of the convention before the house. Its

prompt ratification and rigorous application promise the ultimate eradication of a wretched and evil trade.

The importance of securing a satisfactory solution of this problem of manufacture to a country like Canada, which is technically a "victim country" cannot be over-emphasized. We do not manufacture narcotic drugs but depend for our legitimate requirements upon the countries in which these industries are already established. It is, therefore, a source of great satisfaction to all engaged in preventive work in Canada that an agreement has been reached on such a measure of limitation as this convention represents.

I may say that our representatives at the convention at Geneva were confronted with many difficulties in securing assistance from countries similarly situated and lending assistance to other countries determined to suppress the traffic. The result is the convention now before the house. It will be necessary to amend the Opium and Narcotic Drug Aot of 1929, and notice to that effect stands upon the order paper. That will enable the ratification of the convention, which will take place immediately, and the bill, as I say, will give effect to the provisions which the convention provides.

It may be pointed out that if this convention is approved and the government authorized to proceed to its ratification Canada will be the first country to complete ratification of the convention.

The attached report may be of some interest to members of this house who have been following these matters, for these words were used at the fifth committee of the assembly of the League of Nations on September 18, 1931, and give a fair indication of public opinion as represented by the delegates there assembled. The language is as follows:

The convention marks an entirely new and highly important development in international cooperation, since this is the first time that an industry has been brought under international regulation and that manufacture in its economic aspect has been wholly subordinated to higher humanitarian and moral aims. Thanks to the system established by this convention and the Geneva convention, there will be at the headquarters of the league itself a sort of central counting-house for the world traffic in drugs. . . . The new convention covers a far larger number of drugs than preceding conventions. It brings codeine under control, whereas for many years morphine converted into codeine has to some extent escaped all supervision. It prohibits the export, except on very strict conditions, of a substance which has in the past bulked very large in the illicit traffic-diacetylmorphme- and raises the question of its replacement by

League of Nations

less dangerous substances. It contains stipulations relating to reserve stocks and surplus stocks, which will be gradually brought into use for legitimate consumption by a corresponding reduction in output or will be disposed of under the sole responsibility of the government.

Above all, through a system of estimates furnished by governments, the convention enables a world total of the quantities to be manufactured to be fixed, and sets up a supervisory body to examine those estimates. . . . The new convention strengthens the powers of various league organizations, especially the advisory committee and the permanent central board. The fifth committee emphasized the importance that attached to the provisions instructing the advisory committee to draw up a model administrative code to serve, as it were, as a body of regulations for the application of the convention, and as a pattern for national laws and regulations. Furthermore, the system of annual reports and reports of seizures, which forms an essential part of the committee's work, is for the first time effectually incorporated in an international convention. The powers and responsibilities of the permanent central board are also enlarged.

Those are the words used in submitting the convention to the assembly in September last. I have, therefore, Mr. Speaker, the greatest satisfaction in moving the approval of this convention which has been entered into and in connection with which I should like to say that the Canadian representatives, and especially the chief of the narcotic division of our own Department of Pensions and National Health took a very important and at times not indecisive part.

Hon. ROBERT WEIR (Minister of Agriculture) :

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for

Willow Bunch (Mr. Donnelly) yesterday asked for information arising out of a letter he had received as to why the elevators were receiving 58 cents a bushel for wheat, and the farmers receiving only 52 cents for the same grade of wheat. My information is that the elevators are receiving only 52 cents a bushel.

LOBSTER FISHING On the orders of the day:

Right Hon. R. B. BENNETT (Prime Min-.ster):

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for

Shelburne-Yarmouth (Mr. Ralston) yesterday asked me a question. Previously he had sent a note to my office which I did not receive until I had left the office and the chamber had assembled. His inquiry has been forwarded to the State department.

Hon. E. N. RHODES (Minister of Finance):

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for Lisgar (Mr. Brown) yesterday asked a question with respect to an order for a return which was passed a few days ago. Upon inquiry I learn the return involves the work of several departments. Undoubtedly my hon. friend is aware of the procedure in such cases. The information from the several departments is forwarded to the Secretary of State, who, in turn, submits the return. Speaking only for the Department of Finance, I can say that I shall undertake to expedite the answer.

Mr. J. A. BRADETTE (North Timiska-ming):

Mr. Speaker, in the absence of the

Minister of Immigration and Colonization (Mr. Gordon), I should like to direct a question to the Prime Minister (Mr. Bennett). I have in my hand an Associated Press cable from Colombia to the effect that the government of that country intends to expropriate

1,000,000 acres of land and to place thereon 20,000 Canadians and 30,000 Europeans. Is the government aware of that movement?

Right Hon. R. B. BENNETT (Prime Minister) :

I would ask that the question of the hon. member stand as a notice for the Minister of Immigration and Colonization (Mr. Gordon). I have heard that some Doukhobors from Canada were contemplating removal to Colombia. During the last few days, however, I have not had occasion to look into the matter.