Mr. SPEAKER:

I have a communication from His Majesty the King:

Government House, Ottawa,

16th June, 1943.

Dear Mr. Speaker,

I am desired by the Governor General to enclose herewith a letter addressed to you by the private secretary to the King in connection with the resolution adopted by the House of Commons on the occasion of the official celebration of His Majesty's birthday.

Yours sincerely,

F. L. C. Pereira, Assistant Secretary to the Governor General.

Buckingham Palace,

8th June, 1943.

Dear Mr. Speaker,

The King has received from the High Commissioner for Canada a copy of the resolution adopted by the House of Commons of Canada on the occasion of the official celebration of his birthday. .

I am commanded by the King to assure the members of the House of Commons of His Majesty's sincere gratitude for this expression of good wishes, and for the generous terms in which they refer to him.

The King shares in full measure their hope that the day may not be far distant when the blessings of peace may be enjoyed throughout the world once more.

Yours sincerely,

A. H. L. Hardinge.

Right Hon. W. L. MACKENZIE KING (Prime Minister):

On June 11, in reply to an inquiry from the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. Graydon), I stated that I hope to be able shortly to lay on the table the draft agreement for the establishment of a United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. I now table this draft agreement together with an introductory note explaining the status of the proposals. The draft agreement has been framed by the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and China in consultation together. It was presented on June 10 for the consideration of other united nations by the Secretary of State of the United States on behalf of these four powers. It is contemplated that after the other governments have had an opportunity of examining these proposals they will be submitted for discussion and approval to a conference of representatives of the united nations and the nations associated with them in this war. The proposals are now under consideration by the government of Canada and Canada will be glad to send representatives to the projected conference.

The problems of bringing relief and rehabilitation to the war-torn regions of the world as they are liberated from enemy control are so vast as almost to stagger the imagination. Much preparatory work has been done in estimating the requirements in the occupied territories of our European allies and in planning the means for meeting these requirements as far as possible. An inter-allied committee under the chairmanship of Sir Frederick Leith-Ross has been engaged in this task in London for nearly two years. Relief and rehabilitation cover many things in addition to the supply of essential foodstuffs for the restoration and maintenance of health. Clothing and medicines will be urgent needs from the day of liberation. Throughout an essential purpose must be to restore production and commerce in the occupied countries by the provision or repair of means of transport, by the supply of agricultural seeds, machinery and live stock, and by making available essential equipment and raw materials for local industries, es-

Canadian Army-Prize Fighting

pecially those engaged in the manufacture of consumers' goods. Relief in the narrow sense is only the first stage of feeding the hungry, tending the sick, and clothing the needy. Relief merges into rehabilitation- the restoration of the productive capacity of the occupied territories so that they may as soon as possible return to normal economic life. .

The amounts needed to restore the economies of the occupied countries are very great indeed and the supplies available to the united nations are far from adequate to [DOT] meet all urgent demands. It is, therefore, of the first importance that relief and rehabilitation should be conducted under a carefully planned international scheme, so as to ensure that the best use is made of available supplies and that relief is not denied to those in urgent need because they may lack financial resources or shipping or a stable authority to supervise distribution.

I have already stated that Canada is prepared to play her full part in international relief, and I am sure that this statement is supported in all quarters of this house. Since the draft agreement which I have tabled is tentative and Will be revised in the light of the observations received from many governments, I believe that it is not necessary to discuss its terms at present in any detail. It is a first step in building a united nations organization for this purpose. It would establish at once a council on which all countries participating in the administration would be represented. The council would be supplemented by a central committee, a committee on supplies and regional committees. A director general supported by an international staff would be responsible for executive operation. That is the framework which the agreement would set up. After its establishment, the organs of the united nations relief and rehabilitation administration would work out detailed arrangements within this framework.

For the convenience of hon. members, I suggest that the draft agreement should be printed in Votes and Proceedings of to-day.

Right Hon. W. L. MACKENZIE KING (Prime Minister):

Mr. Speaker, on June 18, 1940 in the darkest hour of this world-wide struggle, a small group of Frenchmen issued a call to their countrymen to continue the fight against the enemy until the hour of final victory. Since that day three years ago the strength and striking power of French

resistance have steadily increased. To-day, the third anniversary of that significant step, would seem to be an appropriate occasion on which to welcome the recent union of the Fighting French Forces of General de Gaulle with the French armies commanded by General Giraud. The formation in North Africa of the French committee of national liberation is a clear indication of the determination of all Frenchmen to work together to bring about the total defeat of the enemy. Though the way will be hard and long we may now look forward, I trust, to the day when France herself will be free and united.

Mr. COLD WELL:

Mr. Speaker, may I ask the Prime Minister whether this means that the government will recognize the Fighting French and the new committee as the true voice of France; and will the Canadian government give recognition in Ottawa to their representatives?

Mr. MACKENZIE KING:

I shall make a statement later as to the recognition which Canada will give to the forces just mentioned by my hon. friend.

Mr. HANSON (York-Sunbury):

Has the Prime Minister any information with respect to the reconciliation between General de Gaulle and General Giraud? My understanding is that reconciliation is not wholly complete.

Mr. MACKENZIE KING:

There are

difficulties, but I think that the statement I made is justified in the light of conditions as they exist at present.

Mr. W. C. MACDONALD (Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of National Defence) :

Mr. Speaker, on Friday, June 11, in answer to a question by the leader of the opposition (Mr. Graydon), I stated that I would make inquiries into allegations made by the sports columnist of the Toronto Globe and Mail with reference to arrangements made by the Canadian army respecting Private Johnnie Greco's boxing bouts.

I find that Greco was enlisted on January 13 last and was granted leave without pay from February 5 to February 20 in order to complete a pre-enlistment contract to fight Cleo Shans in New York on February 19. The army had nothing to do with this fight. Following the fight of February 19, Mike Jacobs on behalf of the Twentieth Century Sporting Club of New York asked for a return

Labour Conditions

bout to be held in New York and offered ten per cent of the gross receipts as a gift to military district No. 4 athletic fund. Officers of that district felt that the publicity would be of benefit to the army and Greco was given fourteen days' leave without pay to fight in New York on March 26. The athletic fund of military district No. 4 received $5,000 from the Twentieth Century Sporting Club as its share of the receipts.

As a result of Greco's success in New York it was decided to stage a show in Montreal on May 8. This was completely an army show. All details were handled by officers at military district No. 4 and no civilians were involved. Jacobs had nothing to do with this show except obtaining an opponent for Greco. He did not share in any of the

receipts, although indirectly he may have benefited through his connection with Madison Square Gardens by participating in any royalties paid by the American Gillette Razor company for the broadcasting rights.

Greoo received remuneration for the three fights. For his fight in Montreal he got

$2,328, out of which he would have to pay his trainer, also training and incidental expenses. Military district No. 4 athletic fund got $1,586, clear of all expenses, out of the Montreal fight.

Officers in military district No. 4 felt that the Canadian army was receiving favourable publicity by Greco's fights. Consequently when the Twentieth Century Sporting Club offered him an opportunity to fight BobMontgomery in New York the offer was

accepted, subject to the exigencies of the service and to permission being given by National Defence headquarters for Greco to go to New York to fight. Permission was refused, so that the fight will not take place.

Mr. HANSON (York-Sunbury):

What an

important announcement!

Mr. RALSTON:

So important that it was asked for twice by the leader of the opposition.