o

73 .. .

, give us larger quotas on the items

- been fixed. That. I think. l5 3»

Island Produce

I

the Mackenzie Kin trade treaty were advanced in

laeDona id.

Notable in Senator Sincla reference made to benefits ilerive under the treat_v—lien Donald pointed out in follow

lumber prices,

that it did not represent the t by one organization in Prince as the important fishery and the Province had been totally tiating the treaty.

Senator MacDonald expre senative from this Province

advantage.

Following is the I-laiisard report If both addresses. as delivered:

Ben. J. E. Sinclair: May I com- pliment the honou,rab‘e senators ‘ recently appointed to this Chamber on their contributions to this de- bate. By their eloquence and logic they have maintained it at a high level.

We must not lose sight of the fact that this trade treaty is based on an agreement arrived at by the representatives of two great na- tions, and neither country could expect to secure any great advan- tage over the other. We have tried to reduce the barrier; so that we may increase our trade with our neighbours to the south, and to se- cure a quid pro quo for what we have given.

The knowledge that we are all pretty much in agreement with re- spect to the main object of the treaty is a source of pleasure. The criticisms thus far offered, if I may refer to them as such, have been that the agreement does not go far enough in securing reductions of duty on our goods entering the Unit-' ed States, and that we have not , been able to induce that country to

I

with respect to which quotas have

healthy sign. Naturally, in making 3 bargain we all wish to get as much as possible and to give as litt‘e as necessary. It is worthy of particular note. I think, that very little criticism has been heard with regard to what we have had to give the United States.

silver Fox Fun

I should like to speak ‘bore dir- ectly about a few items which are of particular interest to Eastern Canada. The people of the Mari- time Provinces are interested in the export of lumber and potatoes, two items which are dealt with in the agreement before us. In speaking of those items we must notice that there are two methods of dealing with them. one is by way of a re- duction of duty on certain articles in Schedule 1 when they come into Canada; the other is by providing that for three years, or the life of the treaty, certain articles shall re- main on the free list. One of these articles, si‘xer fox furs, was refer- red to the other night. The hon- ourable member from Acadia (Hon. 15]-_ Leger), in error. 1 think, spoke of the agreement placing that item non the free list. The principle “spud in regard to silver fox furs » was rather that oi continuins l-hm! , on the free list, a principle which .13 not confined to this agreement- Thcsg who followed the reading of the memorandum this afternoon by the honourable senator from Park- dglo (I-Ion. Mr. Murdock) ml! V have noted that the same prinoivk '3; adopted by the bleak! G:lV<:'|'|' men heaitbe In t neso I 0“ g V E nlted States

i

t. On me 9 of the pamph- by the Government last on find our Canadian Minist-

the secretary of state of

vernnieut of C'“'“‘ no one nvour. an the first ‘rug Anon: Included . in out In the no . by pro-

ndeetlon In "60 pen, leading

[I of II! CQIIIHC

udiill

Laboured Defense Of Treaty By Senator Sinclair.-

s. Arguments fo and against the concessions given by Government under the Canada-U. S.

on April 2 by two representatives from Prince Edward Island—Hon. John E. Sinclair (Liberal) and Hon. J. A.

Prince Edward Island and would actually be to the detri-‘ ment of our basic producers if it resulted in a rise in

On the other hand. Senator MacDonald showed that in return for a free market in Canada, our potato producers

received no concession on table stock and were restricted in the matter‘ of seed potato exports to such a small amount

treaty which was so obviously one-sided, and which places the producers of this ection of Canada at such dis-

]In years gone. by. though not so

‘Washington making this atatc-- Q’

Isriclencitors eb Merits Of Trade Treaty Negotiated At Washington

;;Senator John A. MacDonald Champ- ’ ions Interests Of Prince Edward

rs, Replying To .

the Senate Chamber, Ottawa.

ir’s address was the extended the lumber industry would efits which, as Senator Mac- ing him, were of no value to

otal shipped in in some years Edward Island alone; where-

silver fox fur industries of ignored by Mr. King in nego-

ssed surprise that any repre- would attempt to defend a

tariff for the past thirty years, or perhaps longer.

Fairly Generous

Now may I refer to quotas?" While the quotas on some articles going‘ to the United States—-sucli as cream, potatoes, lumber and cattle

ate .‘

S1Tke"In Senate

. honourable senator on the

HON. J. A. MacDONAl.D

of March. after which they may be taken out under the lower rate. This. I think. shows the spirit of the agreement in relation to trade barriers, and it is apparent that our efforts towards the eflicfcnt

met with a good measure of lair-‘ ness by the United States.

Tile Cuban market

It is important for the peopie oi’

the Maritime f’roviiices to have as}

‘ wide a market as possible for theiri

poiatocs. Our farm-Ers depend very. largely upon potatoes for their- cush crop. Formerly \ve enjoyed a.

but some foui- cr five years ago,

—are not as large as we should

have liked to see them, the United

States has dealt fairly gcncrou.ly; with us in respect to the method} by which they will be interpreted.’ Quotas, of course, apply to all arti- cles of the class or kind referred} to. Under the agreement, if conces- sions are given by the United States to any third country they shalil apply also to Canada; and if a third 1 country, such as Mexico, should in-

crease licr exports to the United States, the quota, as far as Canada is concerned, would be interpreted on the basis of our trade over a representative period of years prior to the coming into force of the agreement. so we have nothing to, fear with respect to any change; that may take place in the expor-isj of any other country into the Unit-; ed States. ‘

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It is unfortunate, I think, that the honourable member from Westmorland (Hon. Mr. Blaclci.

who spoke a few days ago, should have referred to the duty as apply- ing to table potatoes. The treaty, does not reduce the duty on table‘ potatoes going into the United’ States, but it does appreciably re-_ duce the duty on seed potatoes. While seed potatoes going into the United States are subject to '75 cenm per hundred pounds. the treaty reduces this duty to 60 cents P01‘ hundred pounds between the first of December and the end oi Febru- ary, and. to 45 cents P3? loo pounds between March 1 and November 30. That is an ap- preciable reduction, and is of bene- fit to the growers of the_ Maritime Provinces, particularly those of Prince Edward Island. where we have specialized to a considerable degree in the growing 0‘ 3°°d DOW- toes for sale to the Southern Sunfis-

much in the immediate past. that business was a profitable one. The. treaty guarantees it for the life of] the agreement. l

Seed Potntou , . l Fur-thercmore. there is a choose in the import regulltions which is [or benefit to us. The United States were generous enough to aooevfi 85 prima facie uddenee of the fact that our potatoes are seed P°'M°°S« the certificate of the Government- Inspecwr in Canada stating that they are such and are intended for the purpose for which the! “'0 P97‘ mitted to enter under the low rate of duty. Prior to 1932 we en)°Y€d the privilege of shiwlnl P°W"°°5 to the United states in the early - pgrt of the acdson, and puttinl them in band. In the early winter the Maritime Provinces an able to ship by water

-are highly thought of and readily

to the American ports. and. by reuon oi the cheap- ralcc, to save almost enough to pay the duty. other-wiu we should be very much handicapped in com- pcting with ‘Maine. In order to go?- uic low rate we have to ship be- ioiw December. Under the old cr- rangement. if we had done that. We should have had to my the hlsher rate of duty applicable between De- cember 1 and Mulch I: but thl regulations have been so amnctd u togiveusthI.lIlV|l0I0°ivlIf- lag in our potgtou under general

owing to a change in the Cuban tariff regulations, a preference of fifty per cent in duty was given to the United states. this made it impossible for us to {CU in that

i

I

toes and some potatoes or second size which were used for

the Maritime Provinces.

Since losing that oiillct we have, suffered frcm £1 restilclcti market, for table potatoes. Not bcin to iCll 0\'Cl' the duty of 75 cents, we, have had only the Caiiadimi nial'- kct. If LllL‘l'c is a good crop through- out Canada each province can read- ily raise potatoes sufficient for its own iiccrlzs. We thcrsiorc welcome- the opening of the Amzi-lean mar-' kct to us by this agrcciiient. 5

'l‘herc is another ilciii which is oil inicicst to lhc people of the East,l and, I think. to the people of other-

i

1

‘parts. as well. lrcfcr to the reduc-‘Smoot tari'f was 8 per cent. but

iicii on cnttlc, pai'i'ic.iloi'ly dairyl rattle. some years .'igo_ we, in com-' mm with brccdrri; in Ontario and Quebec. ciiloycd a very good mar- ket for our inilcli cows in the New Eng and States. Pure-bred cows now go into the siritcs free of duty. On other cattle the tariff is three: cent. 11 pound, cxcept dairy cattle, of grade variclics, on which the rate is one cent and a half. Now,l the bulk of the cattle that we pro-; duce are dairy cows. We can raisz them cheaply and well, and they

purchased by dairymeii of the New England States. I think it lSl generally felt that the halving of the duty on dairy cows will be of real benefit to cattle shippers of the Maritime Provinces.

Cream Exports

1 should like to refer to a state- ment quoted a few evenings ago by the honourab‘c senator from. Petcrborcugli (Hon. Mrs. Fallis) ‘ from the unreviscd Haiisard report of a speech made by the Prime Mlnkter in another place. I appre- ciate the confidence the honourable senator showed in the Prime Min- ister by taking as correct, without checking it, a figure found in that report. It was stated that in 1929 the exports of cream to the United States were over 5,000,000 tons. it is obvious that that could not pos- sibly be so, for it would mean we had exported the stupendous quan- tity of ten billion pounds. The statement should have read that the exports amounted to $5,000,000 in value. and this correction was made by the Debate 0fI.\- of an-

I I

other place as soon as the error was noticed. There is another item in the

treaty which will be of real benc- fit to the Maritime Pmvinou, and particularly to Prince ldwacd Is- land, and that is table minim. In the last ‘ecade we have built IIP a fine business in growing table hir- nlps and shipping them to New England markets. Ontario and Prince Edward Island are the only provinces that really maoieuae in these shlzmcntz to the United stains. and murio has been in the business for the larger time. We have made uoéil ptogteu on the Island. I have not ‘the exact fig- ures at mm, but I know that last year our exports ran around two

million biubcla. In value they var-

fuiictioning of the treazy are being ,p,;-m does not apply to anything

seed. The honourable Formerly we shipped from three to correct in that. four million bushels-—a trade which) The next item referred to in the right direction an was of real hclp to the growers of;statement in “Other softwood, ex-

it able ‘.

Then hardwood of all

THE Cl-1ARLO'l"l‘ETlOWN GUARDIAN‘.

aged to grow table turnips to a greater extent than before.

Lumber Dulles

Now may 1 make a few remarks with regard to the question of lumber, which was_ referred to by the honourable senator who spoke immediately before me (Hon. Mr. Gordon.) The reduction in duties on lumber under this agreement is a real benefit to eastern, central and western Canada. I have in my hand a report prepared by the Department of Trade and Com- merce from which some figures were quoted a Jew days ago by an other -side. It gives in detail the duties .pieva.iling under various tariffs win the United States from 1921 up to lhe present time‘. Under the 'Hawley-Smoot tariff, sawed boards, planks, deals. and sawed timber, of fir, spruce, pine, hemlock or larch, entered the United States free on a reciprocal basis, up to June 21, 1933. Since that date there has been a duty of ti. p'us $3 revenue tax, or $4 a thousand feet. By this agreement the duty is reduced to fifty cents and the revenue tax to $1.50 or $2 in all. But in the case of Douglas fir and Western hemlock these rates of duty and [tax do ‘not rpply to more than 260 million, board feet in any calendar ‘year. l Hon. Mr. Gordon: How can you lreconcile that statement with item 1803 (1) of the United States tariff?

lion. Mr. Sinclair: I think that item app‘ics to timber.

Hon. Mr. Gordon: It also applies ‘to lumber not further manufactur- ed than planed, and tongued and

igrooved. I I-Ion. Ml‘. Sinclair: The item reads: ’l':inIn~r lli"\\‘ll, Rl(l.'ll, or tlqlll.|l'(‘fl. nlliei-wi.~«i tliiiii li_v siiiving, and

roiiml tluilncr us-‘<1 for spurs or in liiiilillin: \\'lll]I‘\'(‘S SlI\\‘(‘ll llliIll)('l' um] ‘llI|llI‘f', not further mniiufiic- l||l'I‘Il lllllll Dllll|l‘ll. llllll tongued uml grooved; ull the foregoing, if uni. oi’ liiiluii or teak. and not spec-

! liill_\' prurlilcd for-. free.

i. l The last four words, "not special- :ly provided for," mean that the

that is specially provided for," mean that is specially provided for.

Hon. Mr. Gordon: But does my honourable friend not see that item provides for free entry of more than is covered by the state- ment he was reading? This refers to tongued and grooved lumber—-

Hon. Mr. Sinclair: The words "not specially provided for" mean

"1: else tax; and then the United States cancelled their duty of 01; Later on that year. in November.

government passed a further Order in oouncl‘, mlkinc this ex- emption retroactive to the that the Budget was hrouzht down.

tree liat. There was no change from that time until April 6, 1932. when the Budget resolu" increased the special excise tax from one to three per cent. In the following June the American government im-

upon imports of lumber. It does

two governments might have avoid- ed the imposition _of these taxes. The reduction un or this aime- mcnt will be of s bstantlal bene- fit to Canada.

May I cite a Canadian Press dis-

patch from Victoria, of March 28. which appeared in an Ottawa paper last month. It refers to record ac- tivities in the timber market on Vancouver Island and reads: Gl'I‘lIlI'|' :icil\'lt_\' in the standing lllIlh(‘l' iiinrkef :IIid iii lolzlflnlt lull milling opt-rations than at any time in till‘ lIli<lnl')' or \'uin-uurer island was f‘<‘\'i'LIl0(l in a survey made Dilb- lic today.

Wiiiiin the last few vmeka billions of run of immdini: timber. mostly Douglas fir, have been nci1"m'd b! nprrutliig companies in a series of ilciila running into millions of dol- liiiii. New operations are being ()[l(!lI‘.‘(l on both tho out and west

'l.'tIlt§f8 of the island. .‘

A rlit-ck of the operating coni- paniva toilii_v lI.Illli'flll‘(l 1,500 men are being uildcil to staffs of logging’ uud uiillirii: companies in the area between Victoria and the ?\'iiuaimo- .\lbcriil line. Above the Naiiaimo- .»\lin-rul line the big camps in the ('iiinpiu-ll river area \vili lie reopen- ing on full production within the lien. 1‘:-\v weeks, taking on more than 1:,0<I0 men.

ltnop-iilng of the Uiiltcd States iuarkcis has been one of the fav- oralilv f.'l('t0l‘R, mill operators said. At the same time exporters have been iililc to hold their market for higher grade lumber in England. Tlir-rn has also been ii large ile- lllllflfl fruin Japan.

Log prices in the last year have risen ’_'lI per cent. Prices of stand- lrig llllllJL‘l.‘ pi-e stiffening, but not yet up to the pro-depression levels.

l'roiIiiccrs see possibilities of the Cflnllllltill market on the prairie 01>-.‘nIiii: up with rciiemil of con- stv-urlinii at-tlvllir-ll. This market has lnkcii litilo fur 10 years.

Hon. Mr. Gordon: I am afraid that is too optimistic. Hon. Mr. Sinclair: The Cans.

dish Press bu a reputation for re- liability.

I think those who make a care- ful study of the agreement. partic- ularly in relation to the items to which I have referred. will admit

that the item dccs not apply to

‘market in Cuba Sor table poi-atces, gocds of the class referred to in

the statement I was quoting.

Hon. Mr. Gordon: I venture to say that if the statement read by in

that this is a move in the right dlfecloioll. for by increasing our foreign trade there will be greater opportunities for employment, and this in turn will be reflected in bet-

y lionourab‘c friend does actually ter conditions throughout the coun.

apply, not one thousand feet of try. All honourable members have

lumber will go into the States under practically rmarlret except for R few seed pota- this agreement.

free. but after June 21, 1932, it was subject to a revenue tax of $3 a thousand feet. In this agreement that tax is cut in half, to $1.50. kinds, ex- cept flooring of maple, birch and beech, was free up to June 21, 1932, when it also was made subject to a revenue tax of 53. And under the agreement this tax likewise has been reduced to $1.50.

On flooring of maple. birch and beech the duty under the Ha.wley-

tlierc was no revenue tax. The l1gl‘L":lllCXlt, cuts the duty in half. to 4 per cent. Flooring of other kinds of wood. except those I have just referred to, was free up to June 21, 1932. at which time a rev- enue tax of $3 a thousand feet was imputed. Under the agreement it is still free and the tax has been reduced by one half.

Item 1803 (ii. to which my hon- ourable friend has called attention. applies only to such lumber. oiher than ba‘sa or teak, as is not spec- ially provided for.

Hon. Mr. Gordon: Then will my honourable friend tell me what kind of lumber does go in free, under that item? There is nothing. Hon. Mr. Sinclair: Timber.

Hon. Mr. Gordon: But the item also mentions lumber.

Hon. Mr. Sinclair: If the honour- able senator wishes to know what lumber is admitted free to the United States under item 1803 (1) he will have to get the details from the Custom; or the Department of Trade and Commerce.

1-ion. Mr. Gordon: I think you will find that none goes in free. Hon. Mr. Sinclair: While that item is p‘accd on the free list. it is subject to $1.50 revenue tax, which tax had been 33 prior to this agreement. The President had no authority to reduce either ex- else taxes or duties more than fifty per cent.

(Jairns Industry Bencfited

May I add this, with regard to lumber? Item (01 of the ‘United States Tariff Act of 1030 imposed a duty of 01 a. thousand feet board measure on sawed lumber of fir. spruce. pine, hemlock or larch. There was, however. a proviso in this ph exempting from such duty certain classes of lumber “when imported from a country oofltilllolu to the Oontlnenlal Unit- ed States. which country admits no. of duty similar lumber import- ed from the United states." Now we know that at that time no duty was applied on an dlan lumber of the classes in question. But in 1931 our Government imposed on lum- bar a special war revenue tax of one per cent, which was interpret- ed by the United states Custom:

1

one dollar per thousand. to DMD ‘ .