BIG IMPETUS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 13 January 1941, Page 8

BIG IMPETUS

CANADIAN WAR INDUSTRY ABNORMAL ACTIVITY. MANY NEW FACTORIES BUILT. MONTREAL. The chief impetus to Canadian trade ; ( and commerce still comes from the ab- ■' i normal industrial activity generated by ’{war orders—an activity of swiftly increasing momentum, reports the Bank { of Montreal in its monthly business : summary for November. In October, i industrial activity reached its highest ; peak in Canadian history, it being es- ' timated that 95 per cent. Pl lhe availcable capacity of industrial plants was Hthen being utilised while many were ; 'I in process of construction. ■ j According io a statement made by ; ! Primo Minister Mackenzie King in the : { House of Commons on November' 12. { : there had been awarded up to Novemi bcr 4. on behalf of the Canadian Go- { 4 vernment. war contracts involving an .' i expenditure of 443.000.000 dollars, of j I which amount 87 per cent, will be \ I spent in Canada, and contracts for the ’ j British Government with a value of - 4 134.000,000 dollars, the full amount of! { which will be spent in Canada. In addition, the Canadian and British. Go- { vernments have undertaken commitments of respectively 235,000.000 dollars and 81.000.000 'L-'.lars for capital ex- { penditurc for plan extension and con- { structicn. These commitments include ’ 15 explosive and chemical plants cost- : ing 70.000.000 dollars. 25 armament j plants cc-sting 66.000,000 dollars, 40 j ammunition plants costing 3(5.0iX).(X)0 i { dollars and addition- to automotive i plants casting 5.000.000 dollars. Some \ i 70 eomjxmits arc mnv enviw.ed in the ' j production < munitions and 44 in the , { mririufaeiurc of gauges, while the out- ! • put <>f asreraft is steadily expanding , { and prenaralmns are well advanced ' ■ for the manufacture of 3000 tanks in ■ Canadian plants. In June and July, i Canada was spending about 40.000.000 I dollars per month on her war elTort. i but in August the figure had risen to { 60.000.000 dollars, in September to 66.i 000,000 dollars, and in October to 81.- : 000.000 dollars. : This great industrial activity is nat- : urally reflected in employment figures. ! Mere than 12000 firms reporting as of ! October 1 showed 1.335.707 persons in- ! dustrially employed, a gain of 45.175 | over the September total, the largest I advance for any corresponding date in 1 the 20 years covered in ollicial records. : The October index was 20 per cent. | above that for the same date in 1939. ; and the increase in personnel during < the year is estimated at 125.000. of; whom the iron and steel industry ab- ; sorbed 56.000. Concurrently, the num- • bcr of persons on relief declined by { 58.1 per cent. - |