March 11, 1938 (18th Parliament, 3rd Session)

Mr. CRERAR:

The soldier settlers in
Saskatchewan and Alberta did not come under that arrangement. My hon. friend will recall that that was a voluntary arrangement entered into between loan companies, municipalities and the government of Saskatchewan. The government of Saskatchewan was a creditor for very considerable amounts, of farmers all over Saskatchewan, as well as the loan companies and the municipalities. That
arrangement was reached by an understanding come to voluntarily between these various interests. The soldier settlement board had no authority by the legislation under which it operates to come into that scheme. That has been recognized, and as I say, leniency has been shown to the greatest possible extent and the soldier settler was able to enjoy the advantages of that scheme in another fashion, by applying under the Farmers-' Creditors Arrangement Act for an adjustment of his obligations if he felt that he could not carry on.