Royal Commission to Inquire into the Events which Occurred at Arvida, Quebec, in July 1941 (Canada) : The Royal Commission to Inquire into the Events which Occurred at Arvida, Quebec, in July 1941 was established under Order in Council P.C. 6334, 15 August 1941, under Part I of the Inquiries Act (R.S.C., 1927, c.99) and on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. The Commission was mandated to inquire the causes and circumstances that led to the disturbance in the smelter of the Aluminum Company of Canada Limited at Arvida, Quebec, and to report their findings to the governor general in council. The Commissioners were Sévérin Létourneau and William Langley Bond. The Secretary was Adrien Falardeau.
On 24 July 1941 an illegal strike occurred shortly after 4:00 p.m. among the potmen employed by the Aluminum Company of Canada's (Alcan) Arvida smelter. The strike later spread to other occupations, but it mainly involved the potmen whose demands included a pay increase. With the strike in progress, and the workers in control of the plant, the pots used to smelt the aluminum gradually became cold and the aluminum therein congealed. There was a total stoppage of production of aluminum during the strike and for a period of time following it. Some 4500 workers at the smelter were put out of work. Gradually, the pots that had frozen were brought back into operation, but they were not fully operative until 17 August.
Because of the importance of aluminum to the war effort, the strike at Arvida received considerable publicity. Suggestions that it was caused by hostile and subversive influences were rampant.
At the time of the strike, the Minister of Munitions and Supply, C.D. Howe, wanted to have the army dispatched immediately to put it down and prevent possible damage to the plant. This request was refused because the Government of Canada had no authority to act unless there was a request from the Attorney General of Quebec for assistance. Because of inaction, and the lack of support that Howe received from his colleagues, he threatened to resign. Meanwhile, Prime Minister King contacted R.E. Powell, the President of Alcan, and asked him to speak to the Chief of Police. The police were prepared to evict the strikers from the Alcan plant. Intervention by the police was unnecessary because on 26 July, an executive of Alcan telegraphed the Attorney General of the Province of Quebec calling for an evacuation of the plant and steps were at once instituted by the Attorney General to have troops sent to the scene. The troops arrived early Sunday morning, 27 July, and on 28 July they were stationed at strategic points near the plant. About noon of that day, the officer in charge of the troops requested that the Mayor of Arvida read the Riot Act. It was not until 4:00 p.m., however, that the men returned to work, and on 31 July the troops were withdrawn.
The Cabinet met on 29 July and agreed to pass an order in council to call out the army in case of sabotage in war production plants. At that time, the question of an investigation of the situation in Arvida by a Royal Commission was discussed. One of the main reasons for the establishment of an inquiry was a reference made by Howe to the effect that the difficulty resulted from sabotage by enemy aliens. This statement, which appeared in the press, caused a serious misunderstanding not only with the Government of Quebec, but also with the general public. Subsequently on 15 August 1941, the Government of Canada appointed a royal commission to investigate the causes and circumstances which had led to the Alcan strike. (See R. Bothwell and W. Kilbourn, C.D. Howe, a Biography, Toronto, McClelland and Stewart, 1979, pp. 162-164; J.W. Pickersgill, The MacKenzie King Record, Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 1960, vol. 1, pp. 228-233; and Royal Commission to Inquire Into the Events Which Occurred At Arvida, P.Q. in July 1941, Report of the Commissioners, Ottawa, King's Printer, 1941).
Hearings of the commission were held at Chicoutimi from 25 August to 9 September 1941. There were 56 exhibits filed with the commission. RG33-56 General Inventory
