Mr. LUDGER DIONNE (Beauce):

Mr. Speaker, I rise to a question of privilege. At the outset may I crave the indulgence of this house, on whose generosity I hope I can count, to make a statement with reference to the extensively publicized question of the one hundred Polish girls whom I have brought to Canada. I consider it my duty to inform the house and the people as to the exact facts pertaining to this matter. If my colleagues r.nd Your Honour will kindly permit me to do so, I shall immediately proceed with my statement. It will take me about thirty minutes.

Mr. SPEAKER:

Has the hon. gentleman unanimous consent to make the statement?

Agreed.

Mr. SPEAKER:

The hon. gentleman may proceed.

Mr. DIONNE (Beauce):

It has been said in this house that I am short of female help. That is true, since my mill was built in 1941. It is also true that there was a turnover of 550 girls in my mill in 1945. The reason for the turnover is mainly the shortage of houses in St. Georges. We had to hire some farmer girls from the neighbouring communities. These girls have no board to pay at the parents' homes, and they are not obliged to work. If they do so it is mostly because they wish to make a few dollars for their personal expenditures. Furthermore they have to go home in the spring to help make maple syrup and sow and gather the crops, so we cannot rely on these girls as steady employees. In a few words, these girls are not industrially minded, and are not looking to make a career out of their jobs. In the meantime my mill is operating under adverse conditions. Other mills all over Canada whom I supply with varn consequently are in the same situation, because they cannot rely on steady weekly deliveries from my plant to keep in full operation.

In order to illustrate the dislocation that an irregular supply of yarn produces in a weaving mill, let me tell you that looms in such mills consume a definite quantity of yarn daily. When this plant runs out of yarn the looms have to be stopped and help discharged. When production resumes or increases,

Privilege-Mr. L. Dionne

employees have gone away on other jobs and cannot be replaced except by inexperienced help. The same conditions apply to the knitting industry and dress-making establishments. The owners of knitting and weaving plants could not stand such adverse conditions. So they went to the United States and bought yarns to keep their looms in operation. As the price of yarn is much higher in the United States than in Canada, the Canadian government has to give a subsidy on United States yarns to these manufacturers, in order to keep the selling price of their fabrics in line with the ceilings imposed by the wartime prices and trade board.

Who will have to pay for this? The Canadian people. Who is penalized by lack of employment? The labouring class in this country. During the war I bought buses to bring help to the mill from neighbouring communities. Unfortunately this method was too expensive to be carried on after the war. I advertised in rural newspapers all over the province for months asking for female help. I wrote to the parish priests and mayors of municipalities from Beaumont to Gaspe, including the Magdalen islands, without success.

When the dominion arsenals were closed in Quebec city I got in touch with the employees social welfare officers of those plants to get some female help, but with no more success. I also got in touch with the unemployment office.

In 1945 I built ten apartment houses to shelter large families who would be willing to come to St. Georges. I had authority from the wartime prices and trade board to charge S40 a month rent for those houses. I offered them to my employees for S20 a month, which is the price they are still paying me.

All this was not enough. I was still short of female help. I cannot understand why I should be blamed for trying to improve the conditions in my mill, and at the same time to improve the conditions in other mills in Canada.

It has been said that the wage paid in my plant to female help was 25 cents an hour. This is exact for the first month. But the second month the rate is 30 cents. I would like the house to know that these salaries are above the minimum imposed by the province of Quebec. When girls become more acquainted with their respective duties they are paid on piecework. When a girl has gained enough experience she can make a salary of from S16 to $25 a week, according to her ability and her ambition. The price the girls have to pay for their room and board at St. Georges is between $5.50 and $6 a week. This is due to the offices

of the good nuns who make it possible, by their devotion to duty and humanity. I think these salaries are not so bad when compared with those paid in Ontario, where the cost of living is much higher.

I have received many letters from people all over the country since this matter has been debated in the house. I will read only one, to show you that facts are much different from words. This letter is from Toronto, under date of June 2, and states:

For the last few days since the arrival of the two groups of Polish girls to work at the Dionne spinning mills we have heard blasphemy over the radio and newspapers about you and your good heart. I, as a Polish-French girl, wish to tell you that, as I see this case, I am proud to say I see nothing wrong. What you are doing to my Polish sisters is a great magnificent deed.

I cannot express myself exactly what I think, but I am very proud of your work.

I would like to tell you that these people who spread blasphemies about your work are people who do not look into their own front garden to see whether it is as perfect as the neighbour's garden, before criticizing others. These people say that you pay very little, whereas here in Toronto people receive the same amount and no one mentions about it. I will give you an example as to myself and many other girls similar to myself. In November, 1946, I worked as an experienced hand at $12.50 a week. That was after finishing high school and graduating a year later from designing school, which cost my parents $150. The reason I could hold out on a pay as this was because of my good parents that gave me room and board free. But my money was spent for carfare and lunch. The remaining money went for other expenses, which was not much.

The rest of the letter is to the same effect. Some people have declared that if I was short of labour the reason was that I did not pay salaries high enough to attract labour. Well, any textile man will tell you that it costs $100 to his employees rather than lose it inthat when there is a turnover of 550 girls in a plant in a year it costs the employer $55,000. Do you not think that an employer who knows his business would prefer to give this $55,000 to his employees rather than lose it in

inefficiency and be always operating with learners?

I have enough experience to tell you that when a girl has decided to quit her job, either to get married or to enjoy the beautiful summer sun at her home, there is no money to keep her working in a plant.

Some union members have declared there were 2,000 women out of jobs in Quebec city. I knew that. I endeavoured to take advantage of this reservoir of female help. But Quebec girls do not want to come to work in the country.

The responsibility of an employer is to keep his plant in full operation at all timees in order

Privilege-Mr. L. Dionne

to improve the conditions of his employees. When a plant is working at part capacity it costs the same price for fuel, electricity, water, insurance, interest on money, overhead and the like. The elementary duty of an employer who is short of labour is to try to hire some and keep his mill in full production. In a spinning plant there must be a certain percentage of female help and male workers. The more female help I can get, the more male employees I can give work to. This improved situation will reflect itself in weaving and knitting mills, as well as in dress shops throughout Canada.

Someone has said that the textile industry is the worst industry in Canada in the matter of wages. In view of the information I have placed before the house, I hope hon. members will admit that the textile industry is not so bad, after all, so far as wages and working conditions are concerned.

The same person has said-and I quote this from page 2480 of Hansard.

It is therefore unfortunate that we should bring these women in and put them in the worst industry in the worst province.

I am not ready to admit this. I have a duty on behalf of my constituents to protest against this declaration as being inexact. People living in my constituency, and more particularly in St. Georges, are happy, and would not change their way of living with that of the constituents of any other province.

We all know that the province of Quebec is the rampart against agitators and advocates of socialism, communism and atheism. These trouble makers db not make much headway because our people have the knowledge of sound principles of life, such as the dignity of man, that the state exists for man and his needs and not vice versa, and a firm belief in the unit of civilization which is the family. We also believe that the province of Quebec is a good place to bring up our families in the love of God, of our country, of our province and of our fellow man. With these principles we cannot help but be good citizens.

When I arrived in London I was directed by the intergovernmental committee on refugees to General Wood in Frankfurt. When I reached Frankfurt, Germany, I was received by General Wood and Mr. Elliott Shirk, United States director of intergovernmental committee on refugees in Germany. These people were very helpful and courteous. There are two organizations looking after the refugees: the UNRRA, who have charge of camps, and the I.G.C.R.-that is the abbreviation for the intergovernmental committee on 83166-264*

refugees-who have the exclusive authority to analyse each request for refugees, accept or reject them. The girls were actually selected by the international Catholic welfare association and were examined by Canadian doctors. The reason why they were selected by the international Catholic welfare association was that the I.G.C.R. had no time to look after my request, being busy with 15,000 miners they had to send to Belgium, 5,000 families for Brazil and 1,500 for Venezuela. They authorized the international Catholic welfare association to look after my request.

It took me four weeks before I could have access to some camps. It would be silly to report all the details of the different conferences that were held on the matter between the UNRRA and I.G.C.R. authorities. Some officers made the same accusations against me at these conferences as those that were made in the House of Commons not long ago, namely, "sold into slavery; sold down the river," "brought here to be exploited1"; "contract labour"; "cannot marry for two years"; "they are slaves until they pay back their transportation." There is only one accusation that was made by them which was not repeated here. Here it is: I was accused of bringing these women into Canada for prostitution purposes. I imagine this accusation was not made against me in this country because nobody would have believed it. It only goes to show the extent to which some people will go to accomplish their ends, to create discord and confusion amongst free nations while they proceed to grab the poor unfortunates now in displaced persons camps.

The result of these conferences brought orders from the I.G.C.R. to open the doors of the camps and let me in with the officers of the international Catholic welfare association. Just a week or two after this was finally decided upon, some members of this house and the press began to criticize me. It is possible some people in this country were unknowingly spreading communistic propaganda. After all, how can you explain the turmoil which has been created in this matter and which spread so rapidly, not only in Canada but in the United States and England? What do 100 girls amount to if you compare them to 850,000 who are in the German camps? A drop in the bucket. To support my suspicion, I will read an article which appeared in a Frankfurt newspaper on the 22nd of May. I quote:

Frankfurt, Germany: Elliott M. Shirk, U.S.

Zone, Director of the intergovernmental committee on refugees now in displaced persons camps, charged today that Russia has actively opposed and obstructed resettlement of displaced

Privilege-Mr. L. Dionne

persons, and their tactics have created fear and despair in their minds, and is a planned campaign to libel the motives and actions of displaced persons who refuse to return to eastern European countries. Mr. Shirk also said that Russian demands for forcible repatriation was coupled with Soviet liaison officers attempts in Germany and Austria to accomplish the same *thing.

After all, Canada is a small country which we do not hear much about in European newspapers. All at once the press of the whole world practically is talking about 100 poor helpless girls who have come to Canada. If Canadian planes had dropped bombs on the Kremlin, there would not have been more publicity. Is there any sensible man to imagine that people are simple enough to believe that I deserve all the sharp criticism and false accusations made by some members in this house, as well as in the press? Is it possible that some underground concerted action might be behind this propaganda? I do not think I deserve any praise, because the motive that animated me was business, but when I witnessed this great human distress it finally ended in a humanitarian action.

I have assumed the guardianship of these war-torn refugees, many of whom have seen their fathers and mothers killed' and do not know where or if they have any relatives still living. Many of these girls are from sixteen to twenty years of age. I am grateful for this opportunity to contribute my feeble efforts to help them. I publicly7 state that I will carry out my part of the agreement to the best of my ability. I would like all of us Canadians, regardless of political ties and beliefs, to unite in a common effort to alleviate this tblot on humanity. Let us get more refugees from under the shadow of hunger, despair and violence and from under communist dictatorship and regimentation. Let us give them hope and individual dignity and make them free. I am certain that when we all die our Creator will not ask us what is our nationality, or what language we speak, or from what province we come, but rather: How did you love your neighbour? I hope that my 100 little Polish girls will help me answer that question.

Some members did not like the idea of bringing these girls to Canada by plane. There was no room available on ships, therefore there was no other means of transportation. I had to take immediate steps to bring these girls to Canada and I personally arranged and paid1 for their air transportation. I could not expect them to swim across.

Some trade union leaders have declared that these girls have left one concentration

camp in Germany to find another in Quebec. These leaders have not seen the building in which these girls are sheltered, because they would be ashamed to make such a false declaration. The foyer in St. Georges where these girls are living is a brand new building with terrazzo flooring all over, covered with pale grey battleship linoleum. The kitchen, dining room, lobbies and rooms are just as nice and clean as any up-to-date hotel in Ottawa. If you can call such a building a camp, my only wish is that everybody in Canada had such kind of camp to live in. We would not hear so much in this house about slums. The girls noted it as soon as they arrived, and seem to be very happy to have something to eat when they are hungry and enjoy freedom. Would it have been better if they had! been allowed to come to Canada under open immigration and landed in Canadian cities without any funds? Could they have counted on any support from labour leaders who made this charge? I have a letter here from a man who came to Canada from England on the Aquitania on the 15th of April asking me for a job. I will not read it, because it is marked "personal", but it shows clearly that people coming here without a job and without funds may be in a desperate situation.

Someone has talked about English immigration. How can you expect to get many immigrants from England when the Britishers themselves are canvassing the British zone in Germany to bring 100,000 refugees into their country?

Someone has said I should not have been allowed to make a contract with these Polish girls. Why not? What harm have I done to the country, to the girls and to any member of parliament in so doing? Would you have preferred that the government let these girls come into Canada and then have them look for a job themselves? I can visualize the criticism that would have been unloaded on the government right here in this house had that been done. After all, I am not responsible for this contract. It was drawn up and three hundred copies mimeographed by the authorities of the I.G.C.R. in London. One copy will be given to each girl and the others will be kept at the I.G.C.R. office in Ottawa. It is the same organization that has inserted, with my consent, in the contract the clause by which I am not allowed to deduct one cent from the salaries of the girls to refund me for their transportation. I have a copy of the contract right here and I will read the clause referring to transportation. Clause (d) reads:

Privilege-Mr. L. Dionne

No deduction from the wages will be made by the company for the cost of transportation of the worker from Germany to destination in Canada.

Someone has said in this house that the girls cannot freely think, act, associate or marry for two years. This is too ridiculous to answer. Someone has talked about government supervision in the selection of immigrants. I would like to emphasize that refugees are dying daily in these camps. Of the number of girls examined, there were many who were rejected by the Canadian officers in Germany. I will not give the percentage, or the percentage of those dying in camps, for fear my speech would reach their camps and add to their sufferings. If you had witnessed the tears and despair of some of these girls who were rejected by the Canadian officers, you would be deeply moved. Who will cure the victims of T.B.? Who will prevent the spreading of the disease in camps where there are some 14,000 people? In some cases a room 10 x 12 is the only space available for two and three families. How can you expect these people to live long enough under these conditions to wait for government formalities?

When one has to deal with such pressing conditions, words and speeches do not make much headway or bring much relief. It is action which is needed, and quick action. There are hundreds of thousands of girls in camps who would make good maids for private homes. How' many thousands can we absorb? No matter where you go in this country, in villages, towns and cities, you will hear people by thousands asking for maids. Having seen the suffering and the desperate situation of these refugees, I think those who need a maid cannot do any greater charity than to get one of these girls. I will go so far as to say that if the government is willing to grant the permits, the intergovernmental committee on refugees will handle the applications. The office of Mr. Colley, the representative of the I.G.C.R. in Canada, is located in the Royal Bank Building in Ottawa. I am sure any application sent to this gentleman will be given the attention and the cooperation it deserves.

The intergovernmental committee on refugees pays the fares of these refugees up to destination when they are brought over by boat and rail, so that nobody has to look after transportation. It may take some time to get the refugees here on account of the shortage of space on boats. However, when I was in Germany I met some people who told me they could put a boat at the disposition of the refugees provided that we could reserve space for 2,250 each voyage, in order to fill the

boat. I am convinced that it would be an easy matter to collect 2,250 applications from the people who need maids in this country.

In conclusion, I do not wish any of my remarks to be construed as an apology for my activities. I am proud of what I have done and would gladly repeat it if necessary.

Mr. M. J. COLDWELL (Rosetown-Big-gar):

Mr. Speaker, I am not going to enter into debate on this matter, but may I ask the hon .gentleman, since he has mentioned the contract and read a clause from it, that the entire contract be tabled? I would also like him to table if possible a copy of the correspondence with the government of Canada and with the international refugee organization. Is the hon. gentleman going to table a copy of what I asked for? The answer is no?

Mr. HOWE:

The contract has been tabled. I tabled it a week ago.

Mr. DIONNE (Beauce):

I deposited the contract with the I.G.C.R. The originals are there. I have only a copy here.

Mr. COLDWELL:

May we have the copy laid on the table?

Mr. DIONNE (Beauce):

Yes.

Mr. MACKENZIE:

A copy of it was tabled last week.