Canada. National War Labour Board : The National War Labour Board was created on October 24, 1941, under the authority of the Wartime Wages and Cost of Living Bonus Order, also known as the Wages Stabilization Order (P.C. 8253). The government wage policy expressed in the Wages Stabilization Order and administered by the National War Labour Board was formed in response to the increase in cost of living in Canada since the onset of the war in 1939. The main purpose of the Board was to control and monitor wages in the Canadian economy as a means of preventing inflation in Canada during the Second World War. In order to increase the basic scale of wage rates paid to employees under the Wages Stabilization Order, an employer had to seek the written permission of the National War Labour Board or face a strict penalty. It also set a minimum wage below which employers could not pay their employees. Should the cost of living increase, employers were required to provide their employees with a cost of living bonus. The bonus was based on the increase in the cost of living as measured by the Cost of Living Index prepared by the Dominion Bureau of Statistics. The Wages Stabilization Order replaced Order in Council (P.C. 7440), December 16, 1940, which established a similar wartime wages policy with weaker means of enforcement. The National Labour Board was also responsible for managing labour relations and for the administration of the Fair Wages and Hours of Labour Act, 1935.
The National War Labour Board was composed of the National Board located in Ottawa, which was intended to develop broad policy, and five Regional Boards intended to supervise inspection, enforcement and the details of administration of the policy. The Maritime Provinces, Quebec, Ontario, the Prairie Provinces, and British Columbia each received a Regional Board chaired by a provincial Minister of Labour. The National Board was composed of a chairman, Humphrey Mitchell, and several representatives of both employers and employees. The members of the National Board were appointed by the Governor in Council on the recommendation of the Minister of Labour, after consultation with the National Labour Supply Council. The National War Labour Board fell within the wider responsibilities of the Department of Labour, although its function was quite distinct from the other responsibilities of the Department. The National War Labour Board reported to Parliament through the Minister of Labour, but it was quite autonomous in its powers and jurisdiction. The National Board was charged with all the powers and authority of a Commissioner appointed under Part I of the Inquiries Act.
Early in 1943 Humphrey Mitchell was replaced as Chairman by Justice C.P. McTague. By order of P.C. 1141 of February 11th, 1943, the National War Labour Board began a public inquiry to determine the causes of labour unrest occurring in the country at the time and to recommend steps to the government for better labour relations. Public hearings were held in Ottawa from April to June, 1943. The recommendations of the National War Labour Board came in the form of a report and minority report published in the Labour Gazette in February, 1944. These recommendations led to a change in government wages policy embodied in P.C. 9384, February 1944. The National War Labour Board continued to control wages, but terminated the cost of living bonus, accounting instead for the rising cost of living in adjusted wages. The National War Labour Board was also given more specific control and supervision over the Regional Boards, which were required by P.C. 9384 to report all decisions to the National Board. In turn, the National Board was charged with the duty to review decisions of the Regional Boards and was given power to alter or revoke the decision. The number of Regional Boards was adjusted from five to nine in order to represent each province. Another recommendation of the report translated into policy was the establishment of the Wartime Labour Relations Board created by P.C. 1003, February 17th, 1944 to enforce a new Labour Code, which made the process of Collective Bargaining mandatory for labour and management. Thus the Wartime Labour Relations Board took over the function of managing labour relations from the National War Labour Board.
As the end of the Second World War drew near, the federal government's intervention in stabilizing wartime wages lessened. The National War Labour Board and Regional Boards were dissolved in the postwar era on March 31, 1947, by P.C. 1166.
