Canada. Royal Commission on Farm Machinery : The Commission to Inquire into the Costs of Farm Machinery and Repair Parts was established under Order in Council, PC 978, 26 May 1966, under Part I of the Inquiries Act (R.S.C., 1952, c.154) and on the recommendation of the prime minister. The Commission was mandated to inquire into the costs of farm machinery and repair parts and, in particular, to consider and report upon: (1) the factors affecting the price to the user of agricultural machinery and equipment and parts in Canada including full reference to the impact of financing, distribution and servicing costs on the total price of the user; (2) the costs to the user of agricultural machinery in Canada as compared with the costs of similar equipment to users in other countries, both in absolute terms and in relation to total costs; (3) the present and prospective competitive position of the Canadian agricultural machinery industry in Canadian and in export markets as compared with agricultural machinery industries in other countries, including an examination of research and development activity and its relationship to the establishment of new facilities in Canada; (4) the historical and present relationship between the price and the productivity of agricultural machinery; and (5) measures that would contribute to the expansion of efficient production of agricultural machinery, the attainment of technological advances, the improvement of distribution, financing and servicing facilities and the enhancement of the industry's competitive position so that Canadian farmers would be ensured most favourable prices for, and availability of, machinery and parts. The commissioner was Clarence Lyle Barber. The secretaries were: Helen M. Roney, also known as Mrs. Helen M. Platt, (1966-1967); Ms. W.A. Carey (1967-1968); and Lois Culpan (1969-1971).
Early in January 1966, J.J. Greene, who had just become Minister of Agriculture, made a statement during a visit to Western Canada on the possibility of holding a federal inquiry into the costs of farm machinery.
On 31 January 1966, Reynold Rapp, Member of Parliament for Humboldt-Melfort-Tisdale, informed the House of Commons that, based on figures of the Dominion Bureau of Statistics, the cost of farm machinery was out of proportion to the price farmers received for their produce. Rapp, a long time critic of farm implement prices, had presented a motion to the House of Commons on the advisability of appointing a royal commission to investigate the increased costs in June 1965. He also made a similar suggestion during the 1963 election campaign.
Gradually, pressure mounted on the government to appoint an inquiry into the farm implement industry. For example, the National Farmer's Union presented a brief to the Cabinet on 3 May 1966 calling on the Government of Canada to hold a joint inquiry with the United States. The union believed that a judicial inquiry was necessary to force American farm implement companies, operating in Canada, to furnish pertinent information.
Finally, on 25 May, Eldon Woolliams, Member of Parliament for Bow River, complained to the House of Commons that the profits of Massey-Ferguson had increased 160 per cent. The very next day, the Government of Canada appointed an inquiry into the costs of farm machinery and repair costs. Apparently, the Minister of Agriculture preferred a public inquiry over a parliamentary committee because he believed that it would be conducted in a more objective manner. Futhermore, the Standing Committee of the House of Commons on Agriculture and Colonization, empowered in 1960 to study the costs of farm machinery, was not able to obtain the information it required, especially from the manufacturers. Moreover, it did not issue a final report because Parliament was dissolved before the committee's work was done. In April 1966, the Manitoba Legislature also set up a committee to study the cost of farm machinery. But, the committee never even convened because a provincial election was called before it got under way.
According to Clarence Barber, Chairman of the Royal Commission in Farm Machinery, the main issues involved in the industry were as follows:
"it became evident to me that changes in farm machinery technology were exerting far-reaching effects on the whole rural scene. More than any other single cause, it has been improvements in farm machinery that have led to the large outflow of labour and population from agriculture since 1945. Again, it has been improvements in farm machinery technology that have resulted in the trend to larger farming units. Along with better transportation, these machinery improvements have also helped cause a decline in the number of farm machinery dealers and a concentration of machinery sales and service in larger trading centres. With farming much more highly mechanized, the farmer has also found himself more vulnerable to the effects of machine breakdown during his busy seasons... All of these changes have created a sense of uneasiness among many farm people and a feeling that farm machinery was in some way one of the sources of their difficulties." (See RG 33/91, Volume 54, press clippings; Ottawa Journal, 1 June 1966; House of Commons, Debates, 9 June 1965, pp. 2180-2184, 31 January 1966, pp. 487-488, 25 May 1966, p. 5507 and 27 May 1966, p. 5599 and Report of the Royal Commission on Farm Machinery, Information Canada, Ottawa, 1971, p. 3).
Hearings of the commission were held in Saint John's, Charlottetown, Fredericton, Halifax, Quebec City, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and Victoria from 6 March to 19 April 1967, and from 12 October 1967 to 19 January 1968.
During a European tour in 1967, staff of the commission visited government research and testing stations for agricultural machinery in Silcoe, England; Uppsala, Sweden; and in Brunswick, Germany. There were 67 submissions filed with the commission. RG33-91 General Inventory
