BIG FIGURES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 13 January 1943, Page 4

BIG FIGURES

TOUCHED IN CANADIAN WAR PRODUCTION SOME IMPRESSIVE DETAILS OF EXPANSION. OUTPUT OF SHIPS & PLANES. OTTAWA, January 9. Canada’s war production is. near its peak. In the present year it is expected to reach the top, 3,700,000,000 dollars, compared with. 2,600,000,000 dollars last year, which itself more than doubled the 1941 production. None of these figures include the metals, foodstuffs and other products exported to the United States, the United Kingdom and other empire countries, which in 1943 will amount to more than 850,000,000 dollars. During the present fiscal year Canada plans, to launch about a million tons of merchant shipping in addition to 200 oi’ 300 naval craft. Outstanding contracts include nearly 300 ten thousand ton cargo ships to be built at a cost of approximately 600,000,000 dollars.

In a coast to coast chain of plants, Canada is making nine types of aircraft. The aircraft industry, of which the pre-war production was forty planes annually, is now turning out 400 monthly. It is producing five times the number of planes made two years ago. Since Dunkirk it has built 6,500 planes and has supplied five thousand vital training craft to the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. The production *of mechanical transport in 1942 had an estimated value of 401,000,000 dollars. _ In addition tanks and armoured vehicles were turned out ill 1942 to an estimated value of 201,000,000 dollars, of which one-fourth were despatched to Russia for the Soviet winter offensive. The production of guns, small arms, shells, bombs, and small arms ammunition had an aggregate value in 1942 of approximately 6,000,000,000 dollars and gave employment to more than 900,000 persons engaged directly or indirectly in war industry. ON THE FARM FRONT. On the farm front Canada is planning unprecedented production in 1943. Canada and the United States have agreed on methods of producing to the maximum. In Washington after a conference between the Canadian Minister of Agriculture, the Hon J. G. Gardiner, and the United States Secretary of Agriculture, Mr Claude R. Wickard, a Joint Agriculture Committee has been established to keep constant watch on developments in production and distribution. Since the war began about 1,350,000,000 pounds of pork products have been shipped from Canada to Britain, 300,000,000 pounds of cheese, ' nearly 94,000,000 cans of evaporated milk, and 70,000,000 dozen eggs. All commitments to Britain, including the undertaking to supply 600,000,000 pounds of bacon and pork products for the year ended October, 1942, have been completed. Undertakings to supply 675 million pounds of bacon and pork products, and 125,000,000 pounds of cheese in the current period have been made. TRADE & WAR OUTLAY. The aggregate trade of Canada for 1942 is estimated at 4,000,000,000 dollars, compared with 1,687,000,000 dollars in 1939. The value of mineral production reached an all time peak of 564,200,000 dollars in 1942, an increase of almost four millions over 1941, despite a heavy drop in gold production. To November 30, 1942, the war cost Canada 4,775,000,000 dollars, including 909,000,000 dollars of the 1,000,000,000 dollars gift to Britain. The total is equivalent approximately to 415 dollars per capita not including loans or repatriations. In the first Great War from 1914-20 Canada spent 1,670,000,000 dollars for war, including the cost of demobilisations.

The Third Victory Loan has been the most successful in Canadian history. Subscriptions of 991,536,500 dollars were received from 2,041,610 cash subscribers. The initial objective was 750,000,000 dollars. The subscriptions indicate that one out of every 2.7 working Canadians bought a bond. This does not include war savings certificates and compulsory savings through income tax.

An unanimous judgment of the Supreme Court of Canada has upheld the constitutionality of the War Time Control Regulations. '