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jurisdiction of any province provided the latter elected to come under the provisions of the Act. In addition:

Nova Scotia. The legislation which made the Industrial Disputes Investigation Act applicable in Nova Scotia as just mentioned, also repealed the Industrial Peace Act of the previous year, which had provided for the compulsory arbitration of labour disputes under a permanent Commission. An amendment to the Factories Act was passed. A Statistics Act gave the Department of Natural Resources power to work in co-operation with the Dominion Bureau of Statistics in the collection of industrial data. Child Immigration was the subject of another Act. Among local acts of the Session was one authorizing the Town of Glace Bay to borrow up to $8,000 for the relief of distress caused by unemployment.

Prince Edward Island.-A Railway Employees' Compensation Act to become effective on July 1st, 1926, was passed in March by the Assembly. The Province had no Workmen's Compensation Act owing to the limited number of industrial employees on the Island apart from those on the railways.

New Brunswick.-By an amendment of the Executive Council Act the Provincial Department of Health was enlarged to include labour. Other legislation of the Session related to vocational education and the licensing of chauffeurs.

Quebec.—A new Workmen's Compensation Act was the most important labour legislation of the year in Quebec. As will be remembered, a Royal Commission was appointed to study the subject in 1922, and the Bill was largely, though not entirely, based upon its findings, though it received a number of additions and alterations during its passage through the Legislative Assembly and Council. It became effective only on Apr. 1st, 1927. The Act was an extensive and up-to-date body of legislation, though no provision was made for a special Board of Administration, claims being referred to the Courts. For permanent total disability a life "rent" equal to two-thirds of yearly wages was allowed (formerly 50 per cent.). Other legislation of the Session related to minimum wages for women, technical education, etc.

Ontario. The enactment of chief interest to labour was an amendment to the Workmen's Compensation Act, adding "silicosis" to the list of compensable diseases. "Compressed Air illness" was similarly added by regulation of the Workmen's Compensation Board. The Vocational Education Act was amended. A Bill respecting the investigation of industrial disputes was introduced, but was withdrawn; the Act, if passed, would have made the Federal Industrial Disputes Investigation Act applicable to disputes within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Province.

Manitoba.-The Mechanics' Lien and Child Welfare Acts were amended, likewise the Companies' Act, under which persons holding shares in trust might be directors without personal liability for employee's wages.

Saskatchewan. In addition to the Act relating to the applicability of the Industrial Disputes Investigation Act already mentioned, amendments were made to the Minimum Wages Act, the Female Employment Act, the Mechanics' Lien Act, the Attachment of Debts Act (with regard to garnishee) and the Vocational Educational Act.

Alberta. The most important labour measure of the Session was a new Act for the protection of persons employed in factories, shops and office buildings. As originally introduced, the Bill proposed a working week of 48 hours; this provision however, was withdrawn, and a commission was appointed to investigate the subject and to report at the next Session of the Legislature. As a temporary measure, it was provided that the hours of labour in factories should not exceed 9 in the day and 54 in the week, except in individual cases of necessity. The principle of male minimum wages in factories was introduced, also a clause requiring government approval of the plans of any proposed factory. In the matter of machinery for the settlement of strikes, Alberta elected to set up her own legislation rather than to validate the Federal I.D.I. Act. A Labour Disputes Act of the Session, however, followed the main lines of the Dominion Act. Other legislation of the Session amended the Mothers' Allowance Act, so as to make eligible for allowance the wife of a husband unable to support his family by reason of a total disability which was expected to continue for at least one year. By an amendment of the School Act, provision was made for the establishment of a permanent board of reference for the settlement of disagreements arising between school trustees and teachers.

Legal
Decisions
Affecting
Labour
in 1926

The more notable decisions in the Canadian Courts affecting labour are briefly catalogued in the following:

Dominion and Provincial Jurisdiction.

An echo of the decision in 1925 of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, in respect of the validity of the Industrial Disputes Investigation Act, was heard in a case before the Alberta Supreme Court in 1926. The action was in damages for injuries for assault, but the point involved was the relative force of sections 91 and 92 of the British North America Act, i. e., the question of Dominion and Provincial jurisdiction. The decision was again against the extra potency or "Dominion over-riding" theory, section 734 of the Criminal Code being held to be an ultra vires the Dominion Parliament "because it is not criminal legislation, but legislation dealing with property and civil rights and could be enacted by the Provincial Legislature."

Picketing.* Several decisions of the year bore on this important matter. A miner of Drumheller, Alberta, was tried before a jury for "watching and besetting," found guilty and fined. Appeal was taken in the Alberta Supreme Court and was dismissed, but as the Court was not unanimous, appeal was facilitated to the Supreme Court of Canada, the dissenting judge, while agreeing that the defendant should be held responsible, not being able to agree that peaceful In Great Britain an important incident of the year was the sending out of a circular by the Home Office to the chief constables of England and Wales pointing out the provisions of the law with regard to intimidation and molestation in connection with picketing in industrial disputes.

*NOTE:

picketing was wrongful and without lawful authority. The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the appeal, holding in effect that the specific act constituted a menace and that such picketing constituted practical compulsion by moral force even if no physical force were contemplated.

In another case, the Supreme Court of British Columbia granted an injunction against the Vancouver Theatrical Stage Employees' Union forbidding them to place pickets outside a theatre with a view to influencing public patronage, certain members of the Union having been discharged. On appeal it was held by the British Columbia Court of Appeal (two judges dissenting) that the picketing in question constituted a boycott and was unlawful.

At Montreal an interlocutory injunction, restraining the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America from picketing employees of three local clothing manufacturers, was issued by Mr. Justice Coderre.

Workmen's Compensation. As usual there were numerous cases before the courts involving the interpretation of Provincial workmen's compensation laws. The more important decisions may be summarized as follows:

In Quebec compensation is allowable in the same case for temporary and for permanent disability. A nervous disease due to accident is compensable. Heirs may recover compensation indemnity due to deceased workmen. An independent contractor is not a 'workman' under the Quebec Workmen's Compensation Act. An employer who is not a builder is not liable for compensation in the building industry, though an employer may recover from a subcontractor compensation payable to a workman. A small blacksmith's shop does not come under the Act, but undertaking establishments are subject to its provisions. An employer's failure to provide a safeguard of which he is ignorant is not 'inexcusable negligence.' An injured workman may alter the amount of compensation claimed without forfeiting the right of further action. An employee engaged in Nova Scotia may be paid compensation in Quebec.

By an Ontario decision "statements made before a workman's compensation board are privileged in the same way as statements made in court. An injured workman refusing to undergo an operation does not forfeit compensation."

In Manitoba the Workmen's Compensation Board "may decide questions of law and fact."

In Saskatchewan industrial establishments "may not be subdivided for purposes of compensation."

In Alberta, "if a case falls under the Workmen's Compensation Act, action at common law is barred. A compensable accident must have arisen out of the employment."

Mechanics Liens.

It was held by an Ontario court "that a mechanic's lien attaches to the land on which the improvements are made. Where the land is owned by an incorporated company the same applies, the term 'owner' extending to a body corporate." "A lien for materials furnished is independent of registration," according to a Saskatchewan decision, registration being necessary only for preserving the priority of the lien claimant.

Master and Servant. An employee engaged for an indefinite period might, according to an Ontario finding, be dismissed only on reasonable notice. In another Ontario case, that of a sales manager employed at a yearly salary, reasonable notice was considered by the court to be five months. An employee justifiably dismissed was not entitled, according to a Saskatchewan decision, to wages for the unexpired period. In the same province it was held that a farmer must provide safe conditions of living for a resident farm hand, the case being one in which the farm hand was overcome with coal gas from a stove and had his feet frozen while unconscious. In a somewhat similar case also in Saskatchewan, a labour foreman who was injured through the breaking of a scaffolding was alowed general damages amounting to $20,000, a master, according to the Appeal Court, being responsible not only for failure to provide good and sufficient apparatus, but for failure in seeing that the apparatus was not properly used. In another Saskatchewan case a hired man brought action for wages due, whereupon the employer brought another action charging the employee with having absented himself from his employment: it was held that the master's action should

not be dealt with in separate proceedings. Again, in a Saskatchewan wages case, it was held that a statement of claim for wages must be explicit, i.e., should state the facts of employment, etc. In an Alberta case it was held that the fixing of a yearly salary did not involve hiring by the year.

Miscellaneous. Members of a local branch in Nova Scotia of the One Big Union sued for monies 'checked off' from the pay of members who had left the United Mine Workers to join the One Big Union. The action was dismissed, and the dismissal was sustained on appeal to the Supreme Court of the Province.

By a Nova Scotia decision the town of Glace Bay was held not liable for damages caused during a riot which occurred on Jan. 4, 1926, in the course of which a trader sustained damages to his store, which he recovered from an insurance company, which, in turn, brought suit against the town.

In a Manitoba case it was held "that a member of a union cannot by his will designate any person he may choose (not being a relative or dependent) as the beneficiary of the donation fund of the union." "A workman employed as watchman and caretaker on board a ship while in dock is not a 'seaman' under the Canada Shipping Act," according to a British Columbia decision.

General Notes

A commission to study the problem of Sunday labour in the Province of Quebec with special reference to the pulp and paper industry was appointed by Provincial Order-in-Council on Mar. 3, 1926. The Commission, which consisted of three members, after having visited all the paper mills in the Province presented its Report in May. The conclusion was reached that little of the work carried on in the pulp and paper mills on Sunday could be held to be urgent and necessary, though certain repairing work if done during the week would reduce the mills' production. The Report contained an interesting description and analysis of the processes of paper-making. Subsequently, the Premier of the Province addressed a letter to the pulp and paper manufacturers, stating that the Government had no other alternative but to enforce the Lord's Day Act adopted by the Federal Government, and asking for conformity to this decision. At a meeting of the pulp and paper manufacturers of the Province held at Montreal, a unanimous decision was arrived at that all Sunday work in the industry on and after Nov. 1st, 1926, should be discontinued.

The Workman's Compensation Boards, a prominent and important feature of labour administration in most of the provinces, presented reports during the year that were full of interesting side-lights on the general labour situation, though dealing primarily with such subjects as the number of accidents and payments in this connection. The Association of Workmen's Compensation Boards, which comprised all Boards in Canada conducting operations on the collective liability plan, held its Annual Meeting in Toronto at the offices of the Ontario Workmen's Compensation Board, on Aug. 23, 24, and 25, 1926. In reviewing their activities for the year 1925, the different Boards reported the following amounts awarded for compensation and medical aid:

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The election of officers resulted as follows: President, V. A. Sinclair, K.C., Toronto; Secretary-Treasurer, N. B. Wormith, Toronto.

A statement showing the number of claims on which payments were made by the Dominion Government under the provisions of the Workmen's Compensation Act (Statutes of Canada, 1918, Chapter 15) was included in the Annual Report of the Department of Railways and Canals. The majority of the claims had to do with the Government railways. The total amount paid in compensation, pensions, etc., under the act from its enactment to Mar. 31, 1926, was $1,464,978.

The Division of Industrial Hygiene of the Department of Health of Ontario issued during 1926 a "rapid reference manual" on occupational diseases, intended for the use of the medical profession in the Province. It shows for any given occupation the hazard involved, which might be the clue to the symptoms of the patient in question. The chief use of the manual is thus to aid diagnosis.

According to records compiled by the Department of Labour, Canada, there were 1,303 fatal accidents to work-people in Canada during 1926 in the course of their employment, divided by industries as follows: transportation and public utilities, 351 or 26.9 per cent. of the total; manufacturing, 184 or 14.1 per cent.; construction, 159 or 12.2 per cent.; mining, non-ferrous smelting and quarrying, 154 or 11.8 per cent.; agriculture, 151 or 11.6 per cent.; logging, 134 or 10.3 per cent.; fishing and trapping, 71 or 5.4 per cent.; service, 68 or 5.2 per cent.; trade, 26 or 2.0 per cent.; finance, 2; unclassified, 11. The classification of accidents according to causes showed that the largest number, 446, came under the category "by moving trains, vehicles, etc."

Mr. H. B. Butler, Deputy Director of the International Labour Office (League of Nations), Geneva, visited Ottawa between Oct. 29 and Nov. 2, and afterwards made brief visits to Montreal, Hamilton and Toronto. The purpose of these visits was to discuss the work of the International Labour Organization with the Dominion Government and with leading employers and labour representatives.

The thirteenth Annual Convention of The Association of Governmental Labour Officials of the United States and Canada was held in Columbus, Ohio, June 7-10, 1926, delegates being present from the Federal Departments of Labour of Canada and the United States, from fourteen State departments and from one provincial department (Ontario.)

The Association of Electrical Utilities of Ontario, at their Annual Convention at Toronto in January, considered a proposed plan to provide retirement, disability and death benefit, which would affect 2,833 employees of municipal electrical utilities in the Province. These employees had no share in the Provincial Government's civil grants, which extended to employees of the Ontario Hydro-Electric Power Commission. Action was deferred by the Association until the municipal taxpayers had an opportunity to understand the proposal.

The Alberta Coal Commission appointed by the Provincial Government in December, 1924, to investigate and report upon the mining industry in its various aspects, presented their Report in February, 1926, and it was issued later in printed form. The Report is a volume of about 400 pages giving the results of an exhaustive study of mining conditions in the Province, and concluding with a number of important recommendations. The chairman, in a brief "foreword," laid stress on the fact that the commissioners, representing elements in the industry that were often opposed, were able to agree on so many points. That general feature of the Report, he considered "more significant than any particular thing contained in it, more full of hope that the men of good will on both sides may combine to ensure that peace within the industry which is incomparably its greatest need." The recommendations included the establishment of a mines' department of the Province of Alberta and of a coal industry advisory council composed of the Deputy Minister of Mines as chairman, two operators, two mine workmen, a coal dealer and one other representing the general public, to advise the Government on all matters concerning the industry. There were also recommendations as to seasonal unemployment, labour relations within the industry, the operation of mines, marketing in general, non-payment of wages, the comfort and health of mine workmen, etc.

A commission to investigate conditions attending Coal Mining Operations in Minto District was appointed by the Government of New Brunswick early in February, 1926.

The inauguration of the new building of the International Labour Office in Geneva took place on June 6, 1926, in the interval between the Eighth and Ninth Sessions of the International Labour Conference. Dr. W. A. Riddell, League of Nations Advisory Officer in Geneva, read a message from the Minister of Labour, Hon. J. C. Elliott, in the terms following: "Canada is proud

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