House of Commons Debates, 23 May, 6 June and 20 June 1938: the Vancouver sit-down and its eviction

Read from the page images on 10 Oct 2026 (pp. 3123-3130, 3425-3427, 3578-3582, 4018-4024). Page 4022 (image 642, the link above), Lapointe’s statement of 20 June, has since been checked against the page image, and is transcribed in full below; the other pages are as transcribed in the first reading.

• 23 May (Norman Rogers, Minister of Labour): “some 1,500 single, unemployed men” demonstrating; “I do not think there is any doubt that these men were induced to remain in Vancouver”; should one “create a preferred condition for transients with respect to works in British Columbia”?
• 31 May (pp. 3425-27, as read by a later research brief): R. B. Bennett, “a sit-down strike by those who are trespassers upon public property is one of the most serious things that could happen in this dominion”; W. D. Euler, acting Postmaster General: “We had hoped that, instead of perhaps playing into their hands by way of ejecting them by force, the common sense of these men would… lead them to leave the premises voluntarily.”
• 6 June: Angus MacInnis (CCF, Vancouver East): “they have the sympathy of the people of Vancouver.” A statement from the men read into the record: “We assure you that your property is safe in our hands.”
• 20 June (the emergency debate):
  • J. S. Woodsworth (CCF): “According to the press, the orders came from Ottawa; apparently there was some request from the premier of British Columbia.” He closed: “Even the smashing of windows is not as serious as the official policy of smashing of the morale of these men. Unless the government now steps in to help them, the way will be left open for further disturbances and indeed… for the undermining of democracy itself” (p. 4022).
  • Agnes Macphail: “One wonders about the Sunday coup… There are not many witnesses.”
  • The RCMP report, read by Lapointe: “At five a.m. postmaster addressed the occupants… giving them twenty minutes… At five thirty-five I informed them that unless they started to leave gas would be used.”

Page 4022, checked against the image. Ernest Lapointe, Minister of Justice, “as the minister in control of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police,” answered Woodsworth: “I believe they were ill advised in taking the action they did. My hon. friend says that the government did not wait for the men to riot. I am amazed that he should think that occupation of the public property of Canada should be allowed to continue until riots occurred.” Woodsworth: “What about the alternative I proposed?” Lapointe: “he failed utterly to suggest any solution of this problem.” Some members: “Work and wages.” MacInnis: “What did you offer in 1935?” Lapointe: “If the government has been open to attack, it has been because of the leniency shown… The post office at Vancouver has been occupied in this way by hundreds of men for the last four or five weeks”; the member for Yale, Grote Stirling, had asked “Is this Canada?” He then read the acting Postmaster General’s telegram to the city of Vancouver of 17 June:

In view of the protracted illegal occupation of the post office in Vancouver which is represented as an increasing nuisance to those who make proper use of this building and as a menace through possible contagion to the health of the occupants and to others I am authorized by the dominion government to ask the appropriate authorities of the city of Vancouver to take such steps as they deem necessary to have this federal building vacated by those who are occupying it as trespassers. The dominion government in common with provincial and civic authorities have shown patience and forbearance in dealing with this situation. We have been anxious by such an attitude to avoid the possibility of any untoward incident. We had hoped that the passage of a little time would make apparent to the persons involved the error of proceeding as they have. As such unfortunately has not proved to be the case we feel that the existing situation should not be permitted longer to continue.

“Instructions were sent and given that the men were to be very careful to select the best time possible in order to avoid trouble and to carry out their task in such a way as to avoid as much as possible destruction of property and injury to persons.” The authorities reported “that it was impossible to do what was done in a more careful and at the same time equally effective manner.” The member for Vancouver North had called Colonel Foster “a cool-headed man, a splendid officer”: “Colonel Foster was in charge of those operations, because what was done yesterday was in charge of the civic authorities; the Royal Canadian Mounted Police only gave such assistance as was necessary in order to bring about the evacuation of the post office. The mounted police are now in charge of the Vancouver post office.” Major Hill, commanding the RCMP at Vancouver, reported “that the operation was carried out with the least possible injury to persons and damage to property” (p. 4022).

What it shows: the federal government authorized the clearing of the post office, a federal building, on 17 June, giving health and “contagion” as one ground; the city’s chief constable commanded, with the RCMP; the government’s own complaint was of its “leniency”; and the Opposition understood that the premier had asked for it. See newspaper-prince-rupert-daily-news-1938-06-20-pattullo and pattullo-bloody-sunday.