The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

7, JUSTICE MINISTER Lucien Cardin, shown leav- ing a recent cabinet meet- ing, has been the centre of a political whirtwind since he alleged that 'two or more" ministers in the Con- PIERRE SEVIGNY, asso- ciate defence minister in the Conservative govern- ment of John Diefenbaker, is shown at a recent press conference. Mr. Sevig zny has servative government of Diefenbaker were involved with one Gerda Hessler Munsinger, who "had been engaged in espionage work" before coming to Canada from Germany. insisted that his relation- ship with Gerda Munsinger was purely social. He said mt her at a party in shay 1959, the month he sc» appointed to the cabinet portf (CP Photo) CP REPORTER REVIEWS FASCINATING CANADIAN AFFAIR Gerda Case Sparked Hate For Two Weeks In Commons By DAVE McINTOSH OTTAWA (CP)--The atnios- phere in the House of Com- mons Friday, March 4, was tense. Opposition Leader John Diefenbaker and Justice Minis- ter Lucien Cardin, who had been feuding for four years, were tangling over the case of alleged spy George Victor Spencer of Vancouver. Since Jan. 19, the day after the 27th Parliament opened, the Opposition had been hard at the government on the Spencer affair Mr. Diefenbaker maintained the government had "hidden the facts right from the be- ginning." He said '"'a labyrinth of de- ception" had been erected around the case which had resulted in dismissal, without pension, of the 62-year-old Spencer from _ his postal clerk's job and in constant RCMP surveillance over him. "The great executioner now is after my political neck," Mr. Cardin shot back. "I can tell the right honor- able gentleman that of all the members of the House of Commons he--I repeat, he-- is the very last person in the House who can afford to give advice on the handling of se- curity cases in Canada." To applause from Liberal | benches he added: "I want the right honorable gentleman to tell the House about his participation in the Monseignor case when he was prime minister of this coun- | try." "T am not worried," Diefenbaker replied. your commission look into it. Put it on the agenda. None of those | false threats | mean anything. Mr. Cardin na no further reference to the "Mon- | seignor' case for five days. But some newspaper report- ers got from political sources | the story that the case in- | volved a German woman named Munsinger and a mem- ber of Mr. Diefenbaker's cabi- net. The Commons on March 4 went back to the Spencer case, Immigration Minister Jean Marchand and Solicitor-Gen- eral Larry Pennell made speeches supporting Mr. Car-..) din's stand -- previosly sup- ported by Prime Minister Lester Pearson--that no in- quiry was required in the Spencer case, Spencer had been fairly treated and had not complained, it was said. But David Lewis, deputy leader of the New Democratic | Party, had produced a tele- | gram from Spencer and his | lawyer saying Spencer wanted an inquiry and was complain- ing about loss of his pension rights. Twenty minutes after Mr. Pennell rejected an inquiry, Mr. Pearson was saying Spen- cer would be given an inquiry | if he wanted one. Moreover, he would telephone Spencer | personally to ask him. And he | did. Mr. | "Have | The Spencer case had come to light May 8, 1965, when the external affairs' department said two Soviet embassy offi- cials had. been expelled after paying thousands of dollars for information from two Ca- nadians, one of them a civil servant in a minor and non- sensitive post. Spencer identified himself to a newspaper man as the civil servant and three weeks later, on Nov. 28, Mr. Cardin confirmed the identification on television. The opposition insisted that in so doing, Mr. Cardin had branded Spencer a spy. The government cer wouldn't be prosecuted be- cause he was dying of lung cancer. He had a lung re- moved and recovered, The government then said much of its evidence against him would be inadmissable in court and would reveal secur- ity procedures. These contradictions pr o- vided the Opposition with | some handy ammunition with which to belabor the govern- ment, On Monday, March 7, Prime Minister Pearson announced a royal commission inquiry into Snencer's dismissal under Mr. Justice Dalton C,. Wells of the Ontario Appeal Court Mr. Pearson also announced a royal commission into se- said Spen- curity procedures, the terms of reference FM be drawn up by.an-all-rarty. committee (Later, Rian the opposition sought an all-party committee to review the terms of refer- ence for the royal commis- sion on the Munsinger affair, Mr, Pearson said this would create a "dungerous prece- dent."') If Mr. Diefenbaker was worried ehout details of the Munsinger case being made public, he didn't show it. He seized sarcastically on the fact that Mr. Cardin's firm refusal {o agree to an inquiry into the Spencer affair had been reyersedl by Mr. Pear- son. 'REMOVED THE CHAIR' "When fie (Mr. Cardin) went to sit down, the prime minister had removed the chair," said the Opposition leader, As for the Munsinger case, Mr. Diefenbaker said, without using the name: "TI cannot understand the endeavor to blackmail the op- position. "The president of the privy council (Guy Favreau) some days ago told one of the mem- bers sitting on this side of the House that. if we pressed the Spencer case there would be a revelation relating to what | took place _-- my-adminis- | tration. . . AVE Sar "The minister of justice looked over at me and said, in effect, 'we will fix you,' Threats and intimidation do not work. We do not scare easily. . . "He thought by that~and the threat was made over and over again as to what they were going to do -- that they were going to close our mouths, "Let me make this state- ment unequivocally: In no case, and } am_ naturally bound to my oath as a privy councillor, which apparently did not apply to the minister of justice, was there ever any breach of security in this na- tion in any case referred to or conjured up by him. "Secondly there was no dan- ger to national security... in anything that took place... . "T read in the papers that | the RCMP had a secret cam- era ensconced in some of the lights and brought about pic- tures I have never heard of before, ... "Well, the minister (Mr. Cardin) is the man who dropped the insinuation and began the cowardly attack he made. Now, he has torun,... "They thought by intimida- tion we could be kept quiet. When blackmail failed) the government altered its (Spencer case) position." A week later, Davie Fulton, former. Conservative justice minister, said more about the "blackmail threat," 5 He said that eight days be- fore Mr. Cardin dropped the name Munsinger in the Com- mons he was called to Mr, Favreau's office. Mr. Favreau had said in ef- féct that if the Conservatives persisted in the Spencer case the would ---feel impelled to siention the Mun- singer affair. Mr, . Favreau denied any Ahréat, But he did confirm he had mentioned the Munsinger file to Mr, Fulton and asked that the Opposition lay off in the Spencer case. Tuesday, March 8, and Wed- nesday, March 9, were fairly quiet in the Commons. There was no further mention of Munsinger and the matter seemed to have quietly ex- pired, But it had a resurrection Thursday that brought the whole country and many other parts of the world bolt up- right. Mr. Cardin had been in a slow boil since the previous Friday when Mr. Pearson had cut the ground from under him ip; the Spencer affair. He submitted his cabinet resig- nation in writing to the Prime Minister. CHANGED HIS MIND Mr. Pearson and other min- isters urged M1. Cardin to re- consider. Mr, Cardin himself said that if he had resigned, Immigration Minister March- and and séveral other Quebec ministers would have quit with him. This indicates there was tremendous. .pressure on Mr, Pearson to le. Mr, Cardin have his head in vindictiveness" -- Mr. Lewis's term--with Mr. Diefenbaker. If several Quebec ministers | had resigned, Mr, Pearson's cabinet would have been shat- tered and perhaps a mortal blow struck at the prime min- ister's constantly avowed aim | of national unity, Mr. Cardin withdrew his resignation at a Liberal cau- cus of MPs Wednesday, March 9. He was given an is 'personal. | ovation by the Liberals and | again in the Commons when he rose to vote on a proced- ural motion that day. WOULD FIGHT BACK ON NEW OIL FURNACES TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR BIG SPRING REDUCTIONS for installation in March, April and May. 'LAUGHLIN COAL AND SUPPLIES LTD. We are Offering SPECIAL SPRING PRICES to avoid the fall rush SO TAKE ADVANTAGE ON SAVINGS NOW! Call 723-3481 p= : Comet Cyclone GT 2 door hardtop ONCE IN YOUR LIFE... LIVE THIS KIND OF EXCITEMENT! COM: Comet raises the curtain on new adventure. Powerful 5 horsepower. Console mounted Bigger Comet. Comet. Up to a rarin' to go 33 110 King St. W. OSHAWA Sport Shift... both -automatic and manual. Longer, wider with more room inside. More luxury everywhere. Comet is the car that can add a little of the dynamic to your life. Dramatic. Set the stage. Now. Tonight. WHETHER BUYING OR LEASING SEE YOUR " MERCURY DEALER. Test drive the exciting Comet, ef or, Mercury, Anglia, Cortina at your Mercury dealer, SEAWAY MOTORS (1965) LTD. 1120 DUNDAS ST. E., WHITBY, ONT. PHONE 668-5893 The Uberal Darty, he sald, had decided to fight back hard and use the "same tactics" ff necessary. It was in this mood that Mr, Cardin held his press confer- ence Thursday morning, March 10. He was to say later that he had had no intention of raising the Munsinger case in (Continued Ga Page 7} GERDA CASE Your Glothes @ Will Look Like New @ Will Feel Like New When Cleaned By "The Best In Town" Phone 725-1191 looking for a down-to-earth way to pay your Income Tax «siyou might well say a Royal Bank termplan loan is made-to-order, A low-cost Royal Bank termplan loan will make the cash available to you promptly, when you need it most. It's life-insured, easy- to-get. Enjoy fast confidential service, often under 24 hours (and you don't need to be a Royal Bank customer to qualify.) Visit your nearest Royal Bank branch, today, ROYAL BANK there's a branch in your neighbourhood From Us... To All of You... ! Just a REMINDER 5p A camping vacation for a crippled child can be the most exciting event of the year -- and beneficial too. There are five Easter Seal camps in Ontario giving 1200 children a two or three week holiday. Easter Seal dollars buy this wonde-ful time for crippled children. The Job is BIG . .. The NEED is GREAT GIVE GENEROUSLY an Return Your Pink Envelope TODAY ! MR. JAMES MeCANSH, Bonk of Montreal, Rotary Cub of Oshawa eaeiiad ob Mrataric Society for Crippled Children: Ge POSTAGE WILL BE PAID BY Treasurer Easter Seal Campaign, 38 Simeoe Street South OSHAWA, ONTARIO ~ Oshawa Rotary Club and Ontario Society For Crippled Children