Document Information

Date: 1904-10-06
By: North-West Territories (Legislative Assembly), The Regina Leader
Citation: North-West Territories, Legislative Assembly,The Regina Leader (12 October 1904), 5th Legi, 3rd Sess, 6 October 1904

Other formats: TBA

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Legislative Assembly.

Provincial Autonomy

THURSDAY OCT. 6

The two sessions of the House today were held down town in the Government offices, and were confined to the committee of the whole on the Edmonton charter. The only important happening of the session was the bringing down of the following additional Autonomy correspondence :

Ottawa, May 17

Sir,— in the course of the correspondence which I had with you last year on the subject of the creation of a province in the Territories, you were unable to secure larger representation in the House of Commons.

“While not agreeing with the arguments which you advanced on this question, but still believing that the most important question for the territories is the obtaining of full provincial powers, I would like to point out to you that if larger representation in the Commons is to be regarded as a set-off to our demands for provincial powers, we have not received that representation under the new redistribution act, to which we are entitled. Your letter pointed out that by the postponement of the provincial question you were able to deal with the question of Territorial representation apart from the terms of the British North America Act, which the event of the establishment of the province would apply.

I would therefore, call your attention to the fact that, according to the figures given by the department of the interior, our population at present is about 450,000 and that on the present basis of representation we are entitled to eighteen members instead of the ten given us under the Redistribution act. This representation of ten, which is, at the present time, far below what we are actually entitled to by population will, long before the first parliament elected, under the new act has come to an end, be still more inadequate. I would therefore, ask you to consider the question of amending the Redistribution act before the next general elections and of granting to the Territories at least ten representatives which they are actually to at the present time, if not a representation based upon a reasonable expectation of increased population between now and the next Dominion census. If we were a province at the present time, we would be entitled to the representation I am asking for.

“I have the honor to be, Sir, (Signed) F.W.G. HAULTAIN”

On June 11, Mr. Haultain again wrote the Premier:

A SECOND LETTER

Ottawa, June 11

“Sir,—On several occasions since the second day of May. 1900 I have had the honor to direct the attention of the Dominion government, both through yourself and the minister of the interior to the memorial of the legislative assembly of the Territories, adopted on that date, asking that the preliminary steps should be taken towards the creation of provincial institutions in that portion of the Dominion. You will, I have no doubt, recall the conference held in the fall of 1901, by sub-committee of the privy council, of which you were a member,  with my then colleague, Mr. A. l. Sifton and myself, in behalf of the Territorial government, and you will also be familiar with the extended statement setting forth our views, and crystalizing them, as it were, in the form of a draft bill submitted by myself on Dec. 7, 1901 at your request. I suppose you are also acquainted with the nature of the communication sent to my by the honorable the minister of the interior in March, 1902, in which it was intimated that the conditions with respect to population and alleged difference of opinion in the Territories upon  details of the question, were sufficient reasons, in the opinion of the Dominion government for not discussing our representations, as the correspondence has been made before parliament.

“”I  presume that you are aware that in January, 1903, I addressed a communication to the Hon. Mr. Sifton, in which I took occasion to point out that in May, 1902 I submitted the issue to the people of the Territories with the result that without exception every member of the legislative assembly supported the contentions of this government upon the question of the urgency of carrying on the negotiations and making accounts looking towards the establishment of the territories upon the provincial basis, no matter what their views upon the other subjects may be based; among other reasons, upon the fact that even as late as the twentieth day of November last the members of the assembly unanimously adopted a resolution to present a humble address to his excellency the governor-general-in0council, reaffirming the statements, and renewing the prayers upon the subject of the provincial establishment contained in their address to his excellency and the twenty-fourth day of April, 1903. To all these addresses and supplementary correspondence the only replies we have been favored with from the Dominion Government, have been the letter referred to above from the honorable the minister of the interior debated on march 27, 1902, and another from yourself, dated on June 8, 1903.”

“I deem it necessary in this connection to impress this fact upon you, namely, that the members of the legislative assembly are most closely in touch with the people of the country, and that one and all have repeatedly expressed an opinion entirely contrary to those which have apparently determined your actions on this question. Further—and I make this statement advisedly—of the 35 members of the assembly, one-half are well known to be in active sympathy with yourself and your government and the gentlemen in full accord with the other members of the House upon this subject.”

“I might also refer to the fact that the political conventions at present being held in the Territories for the selection of candidates representing your party, and which are being guided by members of our legislature, are adopting resolutions calling upon your government to take up the question of our provincial establishment and carry it to a satisfactory conclusion. ”

“I think it becoming to mention these matters at this time as it seems to me they are in themselves evidence that the advice tendered to you by some of your supporters in parliament from the Territories has not been in accord with the rights of the people as they were giving expression to them. I need not urge you to deal with this matter upon other grounds, for I have already done so as fully as I am able to, and it only remains for me on behalf of the government of the Territories to meet the presentation of the legislative assembly, by demanding with all respect that your government will take up the negotiations at a point where they were carried to by my letter of December 7, 1901 and continue them until the matters involved are settled. In doing so, I have to say that we request that at the earliest possible date after the conclusion of negotiations, and the settlement of the accounts between the Dominion and the Territories, legislation be introduced into parliament, organizing upon the provincial basis that portion of the Northwest Territories leading between the western boundary of Manitoba and the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains and extending northward from the international boundary and the Northern boundary of Manitoba as far into the district of Athabasca as be decided upon. ”

“We further ask that whatever else is included, the legislation introduced will contain provisions for:

1. The application of the British North America Act as far as possible to the area dealt with:
2. Adequate representation in both houses of parliament, bearing in mind the difference in the ratio of increase in the population in the Territories from that of the older parts of the Dominion;
3. Government legislature and the administration of justice
4. The preservation of vested rights;
5. The transfer of public domain with all territorial rights and the beneficial interests therein involved;
6. A subsidy, based as nearly as may be upon those given to the provinces
7. Remuneration for that part of the public domain alienated by the Dominion for purely Federal purposes;
8. The placing of the burden of Canadian Pacific expansion upon the Dominion where the C.P.R. properly belongs”

“In conclusion I deem to be permitted to state that all these matters have been repeatedly brought to the notice of your government and I trust that they will now receive some consideration at your hands.

(Signed) F.W.G. HAULTAIN”

SIR WILFRID”S REPLY.

Sir Wilfrid Laurier replied to Mr. Haultain as follows;

Ottawa, Sept. 30,

“Dear Sir,—My attention has been called to the fact that there has been no reply to your letters of may 19 and June 1^st, respectively. In regard to the subject raised in the letter of May 19^th, permit me to say that I do not think that upon any occasion indicated an opinion that larger representation was to be regarded as a set off to the demands of the Northwest Territories for provincial powers. I merely pointed out that the action of my government in declining to introduce legislation to constitute the Northwest Territories into a province at the time when your government requested it, had resulted in an increased number of representatives being granted to the Northwest Territories in the House of Commons.

”had the request for provincial autonomy been granted when it was asked the representation necessarily would have been governed by the British North America Act, and you would now be entitled to six members, which number could not have been increased until the next decennial readjustment of the representation by reason of the fact that the Northwest territories still remain without provincial autonomy.

“We have been able to deal more literally in that respect. It was not suggested that the Territories were entitled to call for an annual readjustment of representation on the basis of representation. I don’t know that any precedent can be found on constitutional practice for such suggestion. The number of members granted in the last redistribution was base don a somewhat liberal computation of the population, as presumed to exist at the time the act was introduced. The question as to what should be the representation of the Territories when they are constituted into a province or provinces is one which will call for renewed consideration when the question of provincial autonomy is dealt with. By reference to your letter of the first of June I do not think I need discuss at length the representations which it contains further than to intimate my opinion that circumstances have justified the wisdom of the course adopted by the government in declining to deal finally, two years ago, with the many important questions involved in the admission of the Northwest Territories into confederation, as a province or provinces. Rapid development has taken place in the Northwest Territories during the intervening years, and I am inclined to the view that all those who will be called on to give consideration to the subject will be in a position to deal with it in the near future with the advantage of fuller and more comprehensive information than could possibly have been available two years ago.

“You will have learned before you received this letter that parliament has been dissolved. The new House of Commons will contain not four, but ten representatives of the Northwest Territories who, coming fresh from the people, will be entitled to speak with confidence as to the views and requirements of those whom they represent. Should my government be sustained we will be prepared immediately after the election to enter into negotiations for the purpose of arriving at a settlement of the various questions involved in the granting of provisional autonomy with a view to dealing with the question at the next session of parliament.”

(Signed) Wilfrid Laurier”