CANADA’S TRADE

Otago Witness, Issue 3861, 13 March 1928, Page 29

CANADA’S TRADE

THE AUSTRALIAN TREATY. TERMINATION DEMANDED. OTTAWA, March 6. The immediate termination of the Australian treaty was demanded by a delegation of the National Dairy Council of Canada, which met the Minister of Finance and members of Cabinet. Mr Langford, repr&senting the Bread and Cakemakers’ Association, spoke against the treaty on the subject of raisins. Mr Robb promised consideration, but the opinion here is that the request is not likely to be granted. The argument that butter imports would depress the market is not entertained by the Government Statisticians, who deny that the volume of imports is such as would affect th© price of the current market. AMENDMENT OF THE PACT. OTTAWA, March 6. Denouncing the treaty as it affects the dairy industry, Mr Barber, Conservative member for Fraser Valley, in the House argued that Australia had the power to amend the pact which Canada could not. There was no guarantee that Australia would not make changes affecting paper and canned salmon. He called the treaty the greatest blow the dairy industry had received. Steps have been taken by the Ministei of Finance in the direction of securing from Australia some new concessions incidental to the treaty Canada seeks a favourable position, particularly for lumber items and box shooks, in which re spect the Government thinks that Canadian material should have preference over Sweden and the United States. MINISTER OF FINANCE REPLIES. OTTAWA, March 6 Mr J. A. Robb, Minister of Finance, replying to the National Dairy Council’s request for abrogation of the Australian trade treaty, said that the ficy of encouraging interempire trade was the factor which inspired the Government to conclude the treaty. Australia had given Canada concessions commensurate with these received from Canada. Recently he received a resolution from the farmers of Saskatchewan demanding Freetrade within the Empire within five years. In regard to the importation of raisins, Mr Robb declared that the preference clanre in the agreement was inserted for the purpose of encouraging settlement on the land of Australia’s returned soldiers. He did not see why the Government should have any more consideration for the raisin producers of California, inasmuch as the United States had not hesitated to place a complete embargo on importations into that country of Canadian milk and cream.