Ontario Community Newspapers

Ontario Scrapbook Hansard, 8 Apr 1943, p. 3

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On F ing M In face of the farm help shortage, ~ \Premier Gordon Conant promised | the Legislature yesterday afternoon > |that "we'll turn on the heat" after $ ;the present session to get Ottawa l and the Selective Service Board to |\ get manpower back to the farm. | A large newspaper advertisement, 'brought to the attention of the House by Opposition Leader George Drew, elicited the Premier's state-- ment. The advertisement was head-- ed: "We can't fight if we don't eat-- we won't eat if you don't help On-- tario farmers this summeor." It was f sponsored by the Dominion--Provin-- cial Committee on Farm Labor, and, Col. Drew said, was obviously in-- « serted by authority of the Depart-- meont of Agriculture. The situation was urgent, and drastic action was called for, Col. Drew said. County agricultural com-- mittees should be given authority to organize manpower. If Ontario had g not adequate powers it should be | done through Ottawa. Morgan Baker | (Lib., North York) urged organiz-- | ing of men in cities and towns will-- 'ing to forgo part of their summer |holidays. and praised the effort of Mayor Conboy of Toronto in this direction last year. '"The manpower of the nation is under control of the Dominion au-- thority," Premier Conant replied. "I think Ottawa has been dilatory in this problem. They froze farm labor | too late. Farm labor should have }been frozen in 1941 and kept on the !farm." There was a movement in | that direction now, he said, but it | ought to be extended much further. |\ _ "Comb every business, every in-- dustry, every drug store, and send men to the farm, compulsorily if necessary, to harvest the crops. It's not Conant Commandos this time, but two--armed Commandos who are needed, and if expenditure of money by this Government will do any-- thing we're quite willing to do it," said the Premier. >

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