For the defence of Canada

by Canada. Military Service Council

XXI.

By the Militia Act it was provided that “if at any time enough men do not volunteer to complete the quota required the men liable to serve shall be drafted by ballot.” Chiefly because of this provision the Militia Act was amended or superseded by the Military Service Act. It was manifest that selection by ballot would continue and multiply the inequalities produced by voluntary recruiting. Occupations and industries embarrassed by scarcity of labor would suffer still further, and physical fitness for war would be the general test of eligibility. It was, therefore, declared that “by reason of the large number of men who have already left agricultural and industrial pursuits in Canada to join the Expeditionary Force as volunteers, and of the necessity of sustaining under such conditions the productivity of the Dominion, it is expedient to secure the men still required, not by ballot, as provided in the Militia Act, but by selective draft.” Other provisions of the Act divide the available manhood of the country into six classes ranging in age from 20 to 45 and subject to selection according to military necessity, number of dependents and order of physical fitness.

XXII.

Under national service “conscript” has no invidious meaning. It is expunged from the language. As Lincoln said, failure to volunteer does not necessarily imply want of patriotism. Who has the right to judge his neighbor? Who fully understands his neighbor’s position? If we think of our school days we will recall the boys who had a natural instinct for fighting. We will think, too, of those who shrank from rough physical encounters, and were almost suspected of actual cowardice. But how often in emergencies those under suspicion of cowardice revealed courage and daring at least equal to their more pugnacious comrades. They would, perhaps, be the last to join a volunteer fire brigade but, if occasion required, they would fight a fire as courageously and resolutely as their adventurous associates. The new regiments to go forward under the Military Service Act will perform deeds of valor equal to any that have glorified Canadian arms. There will be Military Crosses for many of those who found it hard to decide between private and public duty. “I will give unto this last even as unto thee.”

XXIII.

Under national service the State calls all its manhood to arms but relieves from odium and suspicion all those who can better serve its interests on the farms, in the factories, or in other necessary civil activities. The Military Service Act of Canada, as has been said, was passed by Parliament in obedience to a general public demand and in assertion of the Government’s deliberate conviction that only by selective draft could the necessary reinforcements for the army in France be obtained and the orderly continuance of production and industry assured. In the machinery for applying and enforcing the measure there are ample safeguards against partiality, injustice or partisanship. The Military Service Council has been constituted to advise and assist in the administration and enforcement of the Act. The Deputy Minister of Justice is the chairman of the Council, and the other members have been chosen equally from the two great political parties. The advice of the Council is sought in order to ensure that the Act will be administered with just and equal regard to the interests of all classes of the community, and in all questions affecting the draft, requiring the consideration of the Governor General or the Minister of Justice, the conclusions will be reached in consultation with the Council. Moreover, the provincial registrars and the local tribunals receive instructions from the Council as to the manner in which their duties are to be discharged; and, while the local tribunals exercise their judicial functions with perfect independence, so far as concerns the determination of individual cases, they may nevertheless refer to the Council for direction or advice upon general questions of doubt or difficulty. Provincial tribunals, chosen from the judiciary of the various provinces, are provided for resort by those who are dissatisfied with decisions of the local tribunals; and, in order to ensure uniform treatment of claims for exemption, as well as sympathetic and consistent consideration alike of local and national conditions, an ultimate appeal is authorized to Mr. Justice Duff, a distinguished member of the Supreme Court of Canada.

XXIV.

The scruples of those belonging to recognized religious denominations which forbid military service will be respected. All those whose services in the occupations in which they are now engaged, whether agricultural, industrial or commercial, are essential to the national interest or whose business or domestic responsibilities are so onerous that serious hardship would result if they were enrolled, are entitled to conditional exemption. There is, however, no provision that any occupation or industry shall be absolutely exempted. Each individual claim for exemption must be considered on its merits, but the general dispositions of the law are such as to ensure that civil occupation will compete successfully with military service in any case in which it is established that the withdrawal of the man from his civil occupation would materially diminish the output or production, or seriously impair the service necessary for the maintenance or efficiency of the expeditionary force, or for the support of the people at home. It will readily be perceived, having regard to this principle, that the supply of useful farm labor must not be substantially diminished since food production is so vital not only to the inhabitants of Canada, but to the armies, to Great Britain and to the allied countries within the actual area of war; and also because the volume of exports must be maintained, for upon these greatly depend the national revenues and the ability of the Dominion to provide credits for the mother country. More and more increasingly Britain’s purchases in Canada will be measured by the amount of credit that Canada can supply. The huge war burdens of Britain, and the immense obligations assumed for the allies have strained her financial resources; and in proportion, therefore, as we can afford relief, we will render service secondary in importance only to reinforcement of the army.

XXV.

There is reason to believe that the selective draft will operate with greater equality than has distinguished voluntary recruiting in the townships. Doubtless there are farms from which the only son has gone to the Front, while from other farms the men who could have gone have exercised the option which they had to remain at home. Such inequalities will be avoided under the draft system, and the men will be taken who can best be spared. If in any occupation, be it that of the farmer, the miner, the skilled artisan or the mechanic, there be men available for military service who for the present are not needed in their ordinary pursuits, these will be required to serve; but it will be the duty of the tribunals, as much to uphold a natural title to exemption, as to reject a claim which cannot compatibly with the national interest be established. Professional and literary men as well as men employed at manual occupations, and those engaged in directing them, may seek exemption by reason of the importance to the community of the work in which they are habitually engaged and which would in a material degree remain undone if they were taken. The State will first seek those who have no dependents, but the fact that a young man is unmarried will not be conclusive evidence against his exemption. He may hold a position for which he has peculiar qualifications, and in which his service is essential to the prosperity or comfort of the community. It is not possible to review here the various considerations which may arise with respect to individuals engaged in different callings each presenting questions peculiar to itself, but it is intended that in all cases the tribunals shall afford protection and assume the task, be it difficult or otherwise, of relieving an applicant from the anxiety of an embarrassing personal decision. No doubt there are many young men in Canada who should not have waited until compelled to serve, but there are also thousands who have chafed and fretted because they could not enlist, and whom it would be grossly unjust to describe as “slackers” or “shirkers.” Reflection upon these considerations emphasizes the defects of the voluntary system and suggests the essential justice and fairness of national service.