CANADIAN AIR TRAINEES DOUBLE EXPECTATIONS

Northern Advocate, 12 March 1941, Page 8

CANADIAN AIR TRAINEES DOUBLE EXPECTATIONS

LONDON, March 11

The number of graduates from the Empire Air Training Scheme is most secret, says “The Times,” but 10,000 are estimated to be at present enrolled and 15,000 to 20,000 more will be enrolled for air crew duties this year. The last training school is expected to be open in July instead of September, and thereafter a staff' of 40,000 will be available. It is expected that the number of pilots trained in Canada will be double the figure visualised a year ago. Canadian Destroyers. -

The Canadian Minister for Munitions (Mr. C. D. Howe), announced in Ottawa that Canada ' was ready to build destroyers for Britain. Experts were en route from England. The bottle neck was labour, he said. There were at present 20,000 engaged in shipbuilding, in Canada, compared with 1500 before the war. The Government was investigating the possibility of increasing the capacity of shipyards on the Pacific coast. Canada’s actual war expenditure is now at the rate of about £230,G00,000 a year, says a British Official Wireless message.

Spending £390,000,000 Yearly.

Together with other expenses, including repatriation operations on Canadian securities held in Britain, ‘the total expenditure amounts to about £390,000,000 a year. Of this sum rather less than half will be forthcoming from the revenue and the remainder will be raised on loan.

Diversion of Canada’s peace time industry to war production meanwhile proceeds apace. During 1941, 200,000 additional men and women will be required for war industries. Contracts awarded by the Department of Munitions and Supply in a single week recently numbered 1776.