Mr. GLEN:

I understand that the leader of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation would call himself a socialist. I do not think he would deny that, and as I understand socialism one of the fundamental and integral parts of the program of socialism is the socialization of land. It has been said that there are only two sources of wealth, land and labour, and some would add capital; but I know this, that from the land all things come and to the land all things must go. I have asked on the platform in the Brandon by-election, and on many platforms in Manitoba, for the reason why the socialist party in this House of Commons have not in their platform the socialization of land.

Mr. COLDWELL:

I have answered the

question now.

Mr. GLEN:

Is it because there is a disunity of thought within the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation party?

Mr. COLDWELL:

No.

Mr. GLEN:

I do recall this, that when the platform of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation was being drawn at Regina, the hon. member for Grey-Bruce (Miss Macphail) was present with her delegates from Ontario; and it is commonly said and alleged that when the question of the socialization of land was being proposed to be incorporated in the platform, she indicated that if it was incorporated she would retire with the delegation from Ontario. I know that in other and subsequent conferences of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation the same proposition has been put forward and they took the excuse, as given a moment ago by the hon. member for Rosetown-Biggar (Mr. Cold-well), that because it was not a monopoly they did not include it in their platform.

Mr. COLDWELL:

Not an excuse-the

reason.

Mr. GLEN:

May I suggest this, that

there is so much disunity within the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation party with regard to this particular question, that from the political standpoint they dare not put it there or they would lose the votes of the farmers.

Mr. COLDWELL:

May I ask the hon.

member a question? Does he not think it inadvisable- .

Order.

Mr. DEPUTY SPEAKER:

I cannot allow this unless the hon. member who is now speaking gives permission.

The Address-Mr. Weir

Mr. GLEN:

Mr. W. G. WEIR (Macdonald):

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for Marquette (Mr. Glen) will not expect me to follow him in the line he has taken in this debate. Many words of congratulation have already been extended to those who moved and seconded the address in reply to the speech from the throne. Even so, I desire also to offer a word of congratulation to those two hon. gentlemen upon the admirable way in which they performed that task. We from the province of Manitoba are particularly pleased that our contingent has been increased by one and that he should have been selected to move the address in reply to the speech from the throne-which he did in a very capable manner at the opening of this debate. As the hon. member for Marquette (Mr. Glen), has already pointed out, the result of the by-election in Manitoba was the return of one more Liberal member from that province, making Manitoba solidly Libera! except for two constituencies in the city of Winnipeg. I believe, along with the hon. member for Marquette, that the voice of Brandon on that occasion was the voice of western Canada in its general attitude towards the present government.

May I also extend a word of congratulation to my hon. friend the leader of the opposition (Mr. Manion) upon his re-entry into this chamber. We are glad that he has returned. We hope that he will be long spared to enjoy good health and to occupy his present seat in this house.

I desire along with other hon. members to extend my congratulations to the two very worthy gentlemen who have recently been promoted to cabinet positions. We are delighted that they have been selected, and we wish them well.

I desire to express my pleasure at the coming visit to Canada of the king and queen. This visit should further strengthen that little thread of human sentiment and bind more closely together than anything else can the far-flung sections of the British commonwealth of nations.

We are also pleased that this country had the privilege of enjoying a visit during the past summer from the President of the United States. This is a further indication, very dear

The Address-Mr. Weir

to us, of the friendship and good relations that exist between these two countries lying side ' by side.

Nor can I fail at this time to express my gratitude to the Prime Minister of Great Britain for his heroic efforts to save the world from a major catastrophe last fall. I have no hesitation in saying -that I could not see any particular pleasure in the prospect of being called to Ottawa last fall to take a stand as to what Canada should or should not do in the event of war breaking out, as seemed hourly possible at that time. Many of us down in the depths of our hearts cannot fail to feel our appreciation and to realize that a responsibility was taken off our shoulders in the performance of a task which we might easily have been called upon to undertake.

The speech from the throne offers an opportunity for members to express themselves on a wide range of matters and to tell of conditions in their various constituencies. So far the criticism of the government has not been too severe; and even what criticism there has been, has been effectively answered by others, including cabinet ministers, who have taken part in this debate. The government is human, and, of course, it may not be perfect. Even so, during its term of office I think it must be admitted that it has done pretty well; and I believe that when its record is calmly considered, it will compare favourably with that of any government in the past. It has a great many achievements to its credit.

Even in this vexed matter of tariff reductions, which we from the west have done our best to urge upon the government, it has not done too badly. We should have liked to see it go further and we hope that it will. Nevertheless it must be admitted that we have had a more far-reaching tariff reduction since this government has been in office than has ever taken place in the history of any one parliament heretofore. This has been accomplished, first, through the trade agreement with the United States, and now we are to have another reduction in the further trade agreements between Great Britain, the United States and Canada. These reductions should mean much to Canada. They should extend her trading opportunities and give the primary producers of this country an opportunity to secure their goods at a more reasonable cost, or at any rate at competitive cost.

The record of the government is also commendable in other ways. A good deal has been said about the finances of the dominion and what the government has been doing in that regard. It is only fair to point out that through the government's policy of refunding

fMr. Weir.]

maturities we have experienced a creditable reduction in interest rates. The figure given me is a reduction of 29 per cent in interest rates on dominion government borrowings. We do not hear our hon. friends opposite saying very much about that. That can be looked upon as a most commendable achievement. One thing further can be said in connection with our trade agreements. The new agreement which is to be introduced shortly extends to other countries with which we have trade agreements the most-favoured nation clause, so that in that respect we shall secure a further tariff reduction which does not appear on the surface of the agreement with which we are to deal. On top of that, the consumers of the country will be interested in the fact that the three per cent excise tax will be eliminated. All this should be of particular interest to Canadian consumers.

I must say, however, that I am a little disappointed as regards the encouragement which the government attempted to give to the building trade. My observations lead me to believe that so far as the home improvement scheme is concerned, it has accomplished fairly satisfactory results; but I am bound to say that as regards the housing schemes in rural sections I have to express some disappointment. I had occasion to attempt to assist some people in getting accommodations from this source; but they happened to be living in rural areas and I am afraid I shall have to say that the approved lending institutions did not offer the service which the government expected them to give. Perhaps we can assist in having something more done in that regard another year, because I believe that the building industry would be one of the greatest instruments in the hands of the government and of the country to utilize more people and to create greater employment.

A good many people complain about and continue to bring forward the problem of unemployment. They criticize the administration of relief. Viewing the matter from the standpoint of Manitoba, I do not think we have so much to complain about. True, we have a relief problem, largely in our cities; but I do not think anyone has suffered for want of food, clothing or shelter in that province, and I doubt whether that has happened anywhere in the whole dominion where people got into touch with the proper authorities responsible for handling relief. Even with all these things, I am bound to say that we are still, even in western Canada, enjoying a reasonable standard of living.

I have further remarks to make, Mr. Speaker, but with your permission and with

Bren Gun-Privilege-Mr. MacNeil

the consent of the house I should like to break off at this point. If I may do so, I move the adjournment of the debate.

Motion agreed to and debate adjourned.

On motion of Mr. Lapointe (Quebec East) the house adjourned at 10.50 p.m.

Wednesday, February 1, 1939