CANADA’S RECOVERY

Hawera Star, Volume LIII, 2 November 1933, Page 7

CANADA’S RECOVERY

WILL NOT IMITATE U.S.A

“EXPERIMENTS” NOT FAVOURED

The Prime Minister of Canada, Mr Bennett, on his return from London recently, lost no time in answering those who had been demanding that Canada follow the example set by the United States with its National Industrial Recovery Act —the famous NIB A of the day. Mr Beiinet pointed out that Canada was the fifth exporting country in the world and must maintain that position in competition with all the world. »‘‘To continue to do that,” he added, “must of necessity indicate on our part no experiments in the cutting down of hours of labour and in the raising of rates of pay.” A day or two earlier, Mr H. H. Stevens, Minister of Trade and Commerce, urged Canadian si not to be “stampeded” into a desire to “ape” the recovery programme of the United States. Canada had been doing for the past three years, he .said, many of the things in the Roosevelt plan, and ho cited as instances the aid to jiublic works as relief items, the .stabilisation of wheat markets, the inquiry being made by Lord Macmillan and his Royal Commission into tliei Canadian banking and currency systems. Canada, it was suggested, at no time had been confronted by any such desperate situation as existed in the United States last March, and there was no necessity for the extreme measures' Mr Roosevelt found imperative.

The broad improvement in the Canadian economic edifice noted since last spriim Ls 1 continuing, and it is the official belief that complete recovery will ijo effected without recourse to drastic measures. Four month« from April to August saw the employment rolls of private industry ill craned b- more than 200.000 names, without taking account of harvest labour The railroads are making a bettor showing, and there is far more confidence in the immediate future than prevailed a few months ago.