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

Mr. Speaker, hon. members are aware that to-day, June 8, has been set apart for the celebration in Canada of His Majesty's birthday anniversary. The house no doubt would wish to extend to His Majesty greetings and good wishes on this occasion; and my hon. friend, the Leader of the Opposition, (Mr. Graydon) has kindly said that he would join with me in a motion which would

Wednesday Sittings

express the wishes of all parties in the house.

I would therefore move, seconded by the Leader of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition;

That an^ humble address be sent to His Majesty, King George VI, in the following words:

To the King's Most Excellent Majesty:

Most Gracious Sovereign:

We, the members of the House of Commons of Canada in parliament assembled, desire to extend to Your Majesty, on this day set apart for the celebration in Canada of the King's Birthday, our loyal greetings and heartfelt good wishes.

Throughout these anxious days of the supreme effort of the united nations, it is our prayer that Providence may protect Your Majesty; that you may be spared to see an early triumph of the forces of freedom now launched upon tremendous battles on land, on the sea and in the air; and that the efforts of all who fight for freedom may be crowned with security and peace.

Mr. GORDON GRAYDON (Leader of the Opposition):

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the most appropriate manner in which I may be allowed to second the motion of the Prime Minister is to ask the members of this house to rise and sing "God Save the King."

(The members rose and sang God Save the King.)

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

On Tuesday afternoon the leader of the opposition suggested that it might help to expedite the business of the house considerably were we to resume the sittings on Wednesdays. As hon. members are aware, the normal procedure has been to sit on Mondays and Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays in the afternoon and evening, but on Wednesday for the half day only. I have been conferring with my colleagues as to the advisability of resuming the Wednesday afternoon sittings. If the house is prepared to accept the suggestion which was made constructively and helpfully by my hon. friend, that we might on Wednesday afternoons proceed immediately with government business, the business which was taken up on the previous night, or such orders as might be called, thereby avoiding delays on questions or motions preceding the taking up of business previously indicated, I would be prepared to move, with the consent of the house, that the house resume its sittings on Wednesday afternoons.

I have to make it clear that it will be necessary for the war committee of the cabinet to reserve Wednesdays, as we have up to the present this session, for the consideration of the very important matters which come before its members, and that the members of the government who are on the war committee will necessarily be obliged to absent themselves from the house that afternoon. I assume that hon. members will agree in the circumstances that there will be no divisions on Wednesday afternoons; that, as I have already said, ministers will not be expected to reply to questions, but that the procedure will be as it would normally be after the government has entered upon the orders of the day for the discussion of the different measures. If this is agreeable, and I gather from the response made to what I have already said that it is, I would move:

That on and after June 14, 1944, until the end of the session, the house shall meet at three o'clock in the afternoon on Wednesdays and that the order of business shall then :be the continuation of the business interrupted by the adjournment of the house on the preceding day, provided always that government business may be called on Wednesdays in such sequence as the government may think fit.

That last clause refers of course to government business. It means that the government would announce on Tuesday evening that on Wednesday we would take up such and such items on the order paper, but not necessarily continuance of the particular measure that was being discussed after time of adjournment on the Tuesday night. That might be a measure in which the Minister of Finance or some other member of the war committee would be interested. The house will observe that at present we shall continue to follow the custom of not sitting on Wednesday evening. Jf we make substantial progress under the proposed arrangement and we find that it is really likely to help in expediting the business of the house, we may a little later take Wednesday evenings and after that, I hope, before long begin morning sittings.

Mr. GORDON GRAYDON (Leader of the Opposition):

There are just two things I wish to say with respect to this motion. I think it will expedite the business of the house considerably, and I wish to thank the Prime Minister for having acceded to what I felt would be a constructive request, because we are all very anxious, particularly in these times, to see the house conduct itself with as much celerity and dispatch as may be humanly possible in the circumstances, reserving of course the right to deal properly with legislation that comes before the house.

Wednesday Sittings

The second thing I wish to say is that, in connection with Wednesday evening sittings, I had made that a part of my proposal, and I was glad to hear the Prime Minister suggest that the door was being left open so that Wednesday evening might be taken advantage of a little later on.

The other matter mentioned, in connection with the question of divisions on Wednesdays, calls for a comment, and perhaps the opposition ought in its own interests to protect itself, as the government has done, and to make sure that no legislation will be brought in by the government which would, by reason of the acceptance of the Prime Minister's suggestion about no divisions, in any way embarrass the opposition in connection with details of that kind. Perhaps that is a matter upon which we can all cooperate so that the interests and the rights of all shall be protected as time goes on.

Mr. E. G. HANSELL (Macleod):

In rising to support the motion, may I make one or two suggestions to the Prime Minister. We usually find that civil estimates are rushed towards the end of the session. I think we could very largely comply with the suggestion made by the Leader of the Opposition and with the request of the Prime Minister and avoid divisions if it were possible to have civil estimates discussed on Wednesday afternoons. There is to my mind quite a difference in discussion as between civil estimates and legislation. When legislation is brought down it usually determines government policy. In order for us to familiarize ourselves with the various subjects involved in legislation a good deal of time is required, and an hour or two on Wednesday might facilitate the study of certain legislation. While civil estimates are being discussed there are not involved particularly questions of government policy. Civil estimates come down every year and usually about the same discussion takes place. I am going to suggest that if it is possible we reserve Wednesday afternoon for civil estimates and we may find as the session draws near its close that it is not necessary for us to hasten over these estimates as we usually do.

Mr. MACKENZIE KING:

The government will be glad to consider the suggestion, but I do think that general legislation is more important than estimates, though estimates of course are one form of legislation. My hon. friend will realize that already this session a great deal of discussion of items that appear in the civil estimates has taken place on the war appropriation, also in addition there has been under discussion some of the civil estimates, so that there is not now the possibility that

the estimates will be left for consideration until the end of the session. On some Wednesdays we might take up civil government estimates; we might take them up on Monday or Tuesday, on Thursday or Friday. I would not wish to say that Wednesday would be reserved for that purpose. I think that precedence ought to be given to the bills we have, some of which are very important, and some of which will require a good deal of discussion.

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

I wish to announce to the house that a convention for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion in the case of estate taxes and succession duties was signed this afternoon, June 8, at 2.45 p.m. Mr. Atherton, the United States Ambassador, signed on behalf of the United States of America; and Mr. Mackenzie King, the Secretary of State for External Affairs, and Mr. Gibson, the Minister of National Revenue, signed for Canada.

The text of the convention will be tabled in parliament, and an explanatory statement will be furnished as soon as arrangements have been completed in Washington for communicating the convention to the senate.

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

Hon. members will have

observed that the Prime Minister of Great Britain has intimated to the British house that he does not think it will be possible for him to make statements from day to day in reference to the progress of the war, that he will have to choose occasions on which particular statements may be made. However, the Prime Minister in Britain is also Minister of Defence and may wish to speak in either or both capacities. I am sure hon. members will be interested in hearing this afternoon from the Minister of National Defence (Mr. Ralston) something about the events of the last few days, giving to the house as much in the way of information as it is possible for him to give, particularly in relation to the progress which has been made by our own forces. As there is no particular place indicated on the order paper for such a statement, if it suits the convenience of the

Invasion oj Western Europe

house I suggest that the Minister of National Defence might make a statement immediately.

Hon. J. L. RALSTON (Minister of National Defence):

Mr. Speaker, I do not know that there is very much one can add to the press reports, but in view of the welter of official and unofficial news in the press and by radio, I do want to say a word about the various sources of information which we have and also a word as to the present situation.

Many of the reports that we get are from enemy sources and consequently they have to be taken with a good deal of reserve. Their object is not alwajs to inform but frequently with the hope that the allies will give them information by statements correcting these reports. In addition to the enemy sources of information we get official communiques from the supreme allied headquarters which all members see in the newspapers. These are necessarily general in character, and as they are issued only periodically some of the information they contain will already have been released. Then we have press dispatches through the news agencies, the Canadian Press, the Associated Press, the British United Press, and also stories by responsible war correspondents of various agencies and newspapers who are on the ground. While these reports are not official, it can be assumed that they have been passed by the security authorities.

I must say that we have been extremely well served by the dispatches which have appeared in the last few days from all the different sources. At national defence headquarters we get a series of situation reports which show the identity of the troops engaged and the progress made and the positions established. From these we are able to spot the general line which is being occupied. The press and radio provide such speedy facilities that very seldom do we at headquarters have news by way of situation reports or reports from commanders which are earlier in point of time than what is gained from the press or radio. On the other hand there are details which we get in situation reports and reports from commanders which cannot be given for security reasons and are not carried by the press, or radio.

The purpose of this explanation is to intimate that there would be very little point in my making announcements in the house unless there were some details affecting particularly Canadian interests which were not carried by the press or radio but which we felt might be announced without prejudice to security.

Since I am speaking I can say this that a careful putting together of the situation reports which have come in in the last twenty-four hours, enables me to tell the house that I am at least not making any over-statement

when I say that Canadians are as far forward as any other land troops. We have late news of heavy fighting in one sector in which it is stated that the casualties may be considerable. In two recent messages from the commanders, one pays the highest praise to the magnificence of our troops in the assault and indicates that good progress is being made and that the casualties are moderate. Another speaks particularly of the outstanding bravery and resourcefulness of our men. Speaking generally this news is good. What we here can do is to keep right on with training and dispatching men, shipping equipment and paying the shot. But we can also encourage and support our sailors, soldiers, and airmen by letters, messages and by unfailing interest in their loved ones in Canada, and by our fervent prayers.

We cannot help feeling, speaking of the operation generally, that the most precarious phase for troops in an amphibious operation is passed. The outstanding fact is that they have gained solid ground and are pushing forward. That fills us with a sense of humble thankfulness. I am sure, however, that we are not being lulled into any sense of false security or complacency because this first vital phase has succeeded more quickly and with less cost than we dared expect. These men are facing a strong and desperate enemy. We cannot expect that operations will keep steadily on with the good fortune which has so far attended this one. We must always be prepared for bad news, and perhaps shocking news. In the meantime, these men of ours have our grateful appreciation and our fullest confidence. May they have stout hearts and strong hands for all the perils and difficulties of the great undertaking in which they are engaged. On the other hand may we on our part try to match their heroism, their resolution, and their determination with our unbounded support and our unflagging help and interest. *