Canada. Advisory Board on Tariff and Taxation : The Advisory Board on Tariff and Taxation was established by the federal government on April 27th,1926 (P.C. 530). It was mandated to act as an advisory institution on tariffs and taxation to the Minister of Finance, James Alexander Robb, who had requested its creation. The Advisory Board on Tariff and Taxation was created as a permanent body and carried out investigations and research into questions regarding the tariff at the request of the Minister of Finance. The Board was made up of three members: The Right Honourable George Perry Graham from Brockville, Ontario, served as Chairman. The other Board members were Alfred Lambert, a manufacturer from Montreal, Quebec and Donald Gordon McKenzie, a farmer from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Hector Brown McKinnon of Toronto, Ontario was appointed Secretary of the Board (PC 532). The Board was not empowered to initiate its own investigations but conducted them under the direction of the Minister of Finance. Hearings of the Board were held publicly in Ottawa, the proceedings of which were published. The Board was dissolved on August 8th, 1930 by the new conservative federal government (PC 1937) and was replaced by the Tariff Board in 1931.
Prior to the creation of the Advisory Board on Tariff and Taxation, federal inquiries into tariffs had come in the form of three temporary commissions that traveled across Canada holding public hearings ( see "Records Relating to Tariff Commissions" sous-fonds or series). The first tariff commission was held between 1896-1897 and visited 15 Canadian cities between Winnipeg and Halifax. Members of this first commission were all Cabinet Ministers who held duties related to the tariff: Richard Cartwright, W.S. Fielding, Oliver Mowat, and William Paterson. A second tariff Commission chaired by Minister of Finance W.S. Fielding was held between 1905-1906 and traveled to 47 cities between Nova Scotia and British Columbia. The third commission was held in 1920-1921 by Minister of Finance, Sir Henry Drayton.