PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONFERENCE OF . FEDERAL AND PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS January 10-12, 1950 OTTAWA EDMOND CLOUTIER, C.M.G., B.A., L.PH., KING'S PRINTER AND CONTROLLER OF STATIONERY 1950 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONFERENCE OF FEDERAL AND PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS January 10-12, 1950 OTTAWA EDMOND CLOUTIER, C.M.G., B.A., L.PH., KING'S PRINTER AND CONTROLLER OF STATIONERY 1950 TABLE OF CONTENTS First Session, Tuesday, January 10, 1950 OPENING ADDRESS BY THE PRIME MINISTER, Right Hon. L. S. St. Laurent.. 5 ADDRESSES BY PROVINCIAL PREMIERS: Hon. Leslie M. Frost. .. .. ... ...... .... ........... ...... ....... ........ 11 Hon. Maurice L. Duplessis.. .. ...... ... .... ...... ... .. .. ... ............. 14 Hon. Angus L. Macdonald . 17 Hon. John B. McNair....... ..... .. ... .......... .. ...... .. .... .......... 21 Hon. Douglas L. Campbell..... ..... ... .. ... ... .. ... ... ............. .... 26 Hon. Byron L. Johnson . ... ........................ ..... .. ...... .. ... .. .... 29 Hon. J. Walter Jones... .. ................... ......... .......... 30 Hon. T. C. Douglas. 32 Hon. E. C. Manning . 40 Hon. J. R. Smallwood . • 44 CLOSING REMARKS BY THE PRIME MINISTER............. .............. 46 Second Session, Wednesday, January 11, 1950 Right Hon. L. S. St. Laurent. .............. .... ..... ............... ....... .. ... 49 Hon. Leslie M. Frost. 50 Hon. Maurice L. Duplessis............. .. ........... ................ ... ....... 51 Hon. Angus L. Macdonald. 51 Hon. John B. McNair. 55 Hon. Douglas L. Campbell. 56 Hon. Byron I. Johnson .... ....... ......... .. ..... ..... ........................ 57 Hon. J. Walter Jones ..... .... .. .. ..... .. ....................... .. .. ........ 58 Hon. T. C. Douglas............ ... ........... ........ .............. .. ........... 58 Hon. E. C. Manning. 60 Hon. J. R. Smallwood. 62 53923-ll TABLE OF CONTENTS-Continued Third Session Thursday, January 12, 1950 Right Hon. L. S. St. Laurent. 94 Hon. Stuart S. Garson. 93 Hon. Leslie M. Frost .... ... ·. 106 Hon. Maurice L. Duplessis . 96 Hon. Angus L. Macdonald . 96 Hon. John B. McNair.. .................... .................................... 101 Hon. Douglas L. Campbell . 98 Hon. Byron I. Johnson. 96 Hon. J. Walter Jones. .......................................................... 104 Hon. T. C. Douglas... ............................................... .......... 95 Hon. E. C. Manning. 102 Hon. J. R. Smallwood........................................................... 103 APPENDICES:- !. Translation of speeches delivered in French on January 10........... 107 II. Federal and Provincial Representatives and Advisers........................ 109 III. Draft Resolution submitted by the Attorney-General of Nova Scotia to the Committee of Attorneys-General.. 113 IV. Draft Resolution submitted by the Attorney-General of Manitoba to the Com·· mittee of Attorneys-General. 115 V. Report of the Committee of Attorneys-General. 117 VI. Resolution respecting a Standing Committee of the Constitutional Conference . 118 INDEX........................................................................ 119 4 CONSTITUTIONAL CONFERENCE OF FEDERAL AND PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS HOUSE OF COMMONS, OTTAWA REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS FIRST SESSION, TUESDAY, January 10, 1950 MORNING SESS.ION The Conference convened at 10.30 a.m., Right Hon. L. S. St. Laurent, Prime Minister of Oanada, in the chair. Right Hon. L. S. ST. LAURENT: Gentlemen, my first duty, and it is indeed a pleasant one, is to welcome the Premiers of the ten provinces of Oanada, their cabinet colleagues and other representatives of the provincial govern­ ments, to this conference in Ottawa. Je tiens a repeter en franc;ais que c'est pour moi un devoir tres agreable de souhaiter la bienvenue aux premiers ministres des dix provinces du Canada, a leurs collegues respectifs et aux autres representants des gouvernements provinciaux venus a Ottawa a !'occasion de la presente conference. Nous vivons peut-etre un moment important de notre histoire. C'est la premiere fois depuis la Confederation qu'une conference porte exclusivement sur !'etude de notre constitution. La reunion revet un caractere historique a un autre egard, car ce sera la premiere conference federale-provinciale qui ait lieu depuis que notre pays a atteint pleinement les limites geographiques qu'entrevoyaient les Peres de la Confederation. J'ai done confiance d'exprimer les sentiments des represen­ tants des neuf vieilles provinces du pays autant que ceux des representants du gouvernement federal, en souhaitant particulierement la bienvenue au premier ministre de Terre-Neuve et a ses collegues. L'objet de la conference est de chercher ensemble a elaborer une methode satisfaisante de confier a des autorites responsables a la population canadienne, la competence de decider des amendements qu'il peut etre necessaire d'apporter, de temps a autre, aux dispositions fondamentales de la constitution qui inte­ ressent a la fois les autorites f~derales et les autorites provinciales. Sans doute se manifestera-t-il aujourd'hui, tout comme en 1867, d'appre­ ciables divergences de vues quant aux meilleurs moyens de repondre aux be­ soins communs d'une nation qui, a elle seule, occupe la moitie d'un continent. Quatre-vingt-trois annees de confederation ont bien affermi le sentiment d'unite et de communaute d'interets de notre population, mais il existe encore des di­ vergences importantes que nous devons respecter si nous voulons resoudre de fac;on satisfaisante nos difficultes constitutionnelles, voire tous nos problemes d'ordre national. J'irais meme jusqu'a dire qu'en elaborant une methode d'amendement, il ne suffit pas d'admettre la realite des disparites existant entre les attitudes, les opinions et les coutumes des diverses provinces et des diverses parties du Canada; il importe au plus haut point, j·e crois, que nous comprenions parfai­ tement combien ces disparites memes enrichissent notre vie nationale. 5 ,.,...._.y. - ·- 6 CONSTITUTIONAL CONFERENCE With your permission, I should like to declare the conference open; and if vou find it convenient that we follow the usual procedure I should like to make an.opening statement and then invite each one of you gentlemen to do likewise. After that I have no doubt it will be relatively easy for us to determine what will be the most effective way of charting the future procedure of our meetings. It is our hope that this will prove to be an historic occasion. It is the first occasion since Confederation that a conference has met for the exclusive purpose of considering the constitution of our country. The conference is historic in another sense because it is the first Dominion­ Provincial Conference to be held since our country achieved the full geographic limits envisioned by the Fathers of Confederation. I am sure I speak for the representatives of the lliii'e otrler-provinces, as well as for the federal government, when I extend a special welcome to the Premier of Newfoundland and his colleagues from that province. The purpose of this conference is to seek together to devise a generally! satisfactory method of transferring to authorities responsible to the people of Canada the jurisdiction which may have to be exercised, from time to time, to amend those fundamental parts of the constitution which are of concern alike to the federal and provincial authorities. There will no doubt be substantial differences of view today, as there were in 1867, as to how best to serve the common needs of a single nation stretching across half a continent. Eighty-three years of Confederation have greatly strengthened the sense of unity and common interest of the Canadian people, but differences still exist and are still important, and differences must be respected if we are to achieve a satisfactory solution of our constitutional problem, and, indeed, of all our national problems. I would go furt;her, and suggest that it is not merely necessary for us, in devising any amending procedure, to recognize as facts, the differences that do exist between the attitudes, the views and the ways of life of different provinces and different parts of Canada; it is, I believe, of the utmost importance that we should fully appreciate the values that these very differences have in enriching our national life. And yet, while tJhe elements of difference which are the bones of our federal structure must be respected, we cannot afford to permit differences to frustrate the continued development, in a desirable direction, of the nation as a whole. It is a commonplace that the world of today is a world of ceaseless change and adjustment. If circumstances require that change should be made, it is essential that change should be possible. Burke has been quoted as saying that "a state without the means of some change is without the means of its conservation". To conserve what has been achieved in Canada at the cost of great effort, our constitutional structure should provide the means for such change as circumstances may require. Any procedure for constitutional amendment which may be adopted is likely to endure for a long time. That fact imposes a special degree of responsibility upon us. It means we must think, not only in terms of present circumstances and problems, but also of future probabilities and even possibilities. I It means that each of us has to consider not only his particular part of Canada in the year 1950, but all of Canada for as far as we can see ahead. In order to bring our task into focus it may be helpful if I recall the