REPATRIATION.

Colonist, Volume LXI, Issue 151034, 28 July 1919, Page 6

REPATRIATION.

THE CANADIAN ORGANISATION, i The development of the Canadian systoa of repatriation has many features of interest to New Zealanders, especially as the. two countries, in handling the problem independently, have both adopted practically the same methods. Canada commenced with & Minister.of Repatriation, as was at first proposed in .New Zealand. There was a strong demand in this country fur the abolition of the Ministerial Repatriation Board, in favour of one Minister of Repatriation and it is interesting to see chut Canada, after some experience of tins system, remodelled its repatriation organisation on lines very similar to those in operation in New Zealand. Here, we have a Repatriation Booard, comprising four Ministers whose departments are concerned with different aspects of the ciyil re-establi&hment of the soldier, while Canada now controls its repatriation activities through a Ministerial board of six, comprising the Minister of Immigration and Colonisation (who is the chairman), the Minister of Soldiers' j Civil Re-establishmenfc t the Minister of the Interior, the Minister of Labour, the President of the Privy Council, and, the Minister of Agriculture. : It is recognised in Canada, as : in this; country, that while there must be one co-ordinating body, the Repatriation Board, the machinery of repatriation can be worked by many other departments and organisations extending their responsibilities to specially provide for: the returned soldier. The' Canadian De-. pnrtmont of Labour conducts employment offices, while tho- Department of the Interior deals with land" .settlement and advances of money uiv land purchase and improvement, in the same way as the Lands Department in New Zealand. The Canadian Department of Interior has a Soldiers Settlement Board to deal with this \yhasr- of its ivork. The permanent work'of U-o Bonnrhment of Agriculture is adopted at ccAtain points to assist soldier settlers, us it assists farmers generally, which is exactly how the New Zealand Department oi: Agriculture is aiding ia the work of repatriation. Tha Canadian Department of Immigration and Cck;.i:ifirt:i-.i svy^rintends the return of soldiers' •,■.-:res and dependents, a duty in Isiev.- Zealand un-. dertaken bj- the Department d" Immigration, which renders assistance to the wires aud dependents in the same way as if they were nominated or assisted imtmigrants, an officer meeting t>;«c!i returning transport to give n-Wka and helpjn tho way of securing travflling faciheies and accommodation. Six Ministers of tho Canadian Govern- I J*ent constitute a Repatriation Com- i mittee, which aims at co-ordinat:n«- the v/ork of the public departments stsyndicated above, and also the ncutties of the Provincial Government i)eparor,ients and such public organisations us social. said fraternal societies and returned sol- i diere' associations. This Ministerial' rommittee works through the Department of Soldiers' Re-establishment, the New Zealand counterpart of which is known as the Repatriation Department Canada possesses' a Department of Public Information, and goes in for a great deal of publicity work in connection with the returned ."oHier's re-estab-1 hshment in civil life. New Zealand hns T)o official depiii-tmenc of the same typo, but the ..Repatriation TJoavd lias readily srocui-ed the help of tho newspapers in publishing lTifnrmatioE, and a regular supply of articles of demobilisation 3 and the facilities pmx-idod for returned s,oldiers had been distributed.to the newspapers by a journalist engaged Tby the Defence Department, so that in this, a.lthousch not on the same scale, New ZenUnd's .system is, parallel-with'that of its' sister DoTninion. Ono of thp Tmo.B+. p.ffectivfl publicity efforts in Canada has".been"the display of .a five" reel film; "depicting military hospital life, industrial nv-fcrsininp- courses :uid the 'fitting of artificial "limbs. The film is, entitled "Canada's' Work for Wounded Soldiers." Bets of slide lec-j tnro jntos. _ aennmpanied by lantern I slides^ are distributed free of charge to i +hpsp; -v!io . ?rp, canable of lecturiirg'.on | the subject of repatriation, and advertis- J ing Dosters are also supplied gratis to the lecturers- All the Omn^ian workera concerned in repatriation are kepT well informed on the sulvject by an .offi-! eialvmagazine, attractively printed with acploured cover, and entitled "Back to ■ Mufti—a; magazine in the interests of • Canadians who have fceen ? fover There *' ': ;" - -'■ :*r :■ ■>:■:-:;■■■ :■ ""■" ■■' ■■- "■• : ■ ■'" \:- . '