MP George Andrews, June 1, 1920, speaking the House of Commons to the members of the Unionist government, stated:
"Apparently money is more highly valued and more sacred in the eyes of this Government than human life.
I have recently placed in the hands of the Chairman of the Pensions Commissioners specific cases where the whole family of sons have been killed, have been sacrificed in this war. The whole family of sons; sons upon whom had been lavished the savings of a lifetime. The poor mother of those boys applies for a pension, but before .she can get one she has to prove that she is a pauper....
I would abolish the war profits tax altogether, and in its stead I would introduce forthwith a Financial Service Act along the lines of the old Military Service Act.
in other words, I would conscript millionaires. I would put men who had made $1,000,000 in class A; those who had made $500,000 in class B; those who had made $100,000 in class C. But 1 would not call these men to the colours as criminals, far from it; I would mobilize them as the strong, cunning men of the race, men that we can depend on in the country's time of financial need. I would pay them $1.10 a day, with their board and lodgings, and I would keep them on for the continuation of the debt and six months' afterward.
I do not want their money so much as their brains, their ability. I am frank to admit, Mr. Speaker, that they would be a pretty tough army to handle, but I am satisfied that from amongst their own numbers you would find someone who could handle them, and after they had once caught the spirit of the thing I have not the slightest doubt that they would make good just as their sons and the other young fellows made good overseas.
But you may well ask me: What kind of work would you turn them to when you got them?
Roughly, my plan would be to direct them to develop the resources of this country for the nation instead of for themselves.
But I do not think it is necessary to go into details at this time; I will wait until after the election.
My idea is this: I would call these strong men to the colours and I would say to their leaders: The debt is $2,000,000,000; you have Canada and her resources at your back: Go to it. And I have not the slightest doubt that they would make good.
Now, Sir, it was my purpose to speak at some length on the words uttered by my hon. friend the Minister of the Interior (Mr. Meighen) in this debate, but my physician has ordered me off this line. I am frank to admit that when those words were uttered they made me angry - righteously angry, I believe, but apparently that is just as dangerous as any other kind of anger.
However, I would say in passing that I hope the hon. member has learned that protectionists can blunder as well as free traders. I must point out to him that many blunders were made in the war. But it is an axiom amongst soldiers that the army that makes the fewest blunders wins the war. Germany made blunders, and even in our own army our poor boys lost their lives through blunders of those in control - but I am not going to make the mistake of pointing out these blunders to bolster up an argument on free trade.
I would point out to the hon. minister that economists and thinking men are of the opinion that the supreme blunder of all was the blunder of starting the war, and that blunder was committed, not by free trade England but by protectionist Germany. (from Hansard, June 1, 1920)
George Andrew at the time he spoke those words was an Independent MP. He had been elected in 1917 as a Unionist Liberal in Winnipeg Centre, but left the party due to the government's handling of the Winnipeg General Strike, to sit as an Independent.
Despite his change of mind, he was not elected in the next election. J.S. Woodsworth, Labour candidate and later leader of the CCF, was elected to take his seat in that election.
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