Parliamentary Control of Foreign Policy?
| DOI | 10.1177/002070205601100403 |
| Published date | 01 December 1956 |
| Date | 01 December 1956 |
| Author | Kenneth McNaught |
| Subject Matter | Article |
PARLIAMENTARY
CONTROL
OF
FOREIGN
POLICY?
Kenneth McNaught*
N
o
one
writing
about any
aspect
of
the
1956
session
of
the
Canadian
parliament
can
ignore
the
pervasive
problem
of
the
relationship
of
the
cabinet
to
the
house.
Although
this
issue
reached
its
crescendo
late
in
the
session
the
reasons
for
what
happened
during
the
debate
on
the
trans-Canada
gas
pipe-
line existed
long
before
the
explosions
of
May
and
June.
Those
reasons
affected
the
area
of
external
affairs
as
they
did
every
other
department.
This discussion
will,
therefore,
have
particular
reference
to
the
problems
of
cabinet-house
relations
and
of
"majority
rule."
The
theme
has
a
perennial
interest.
Amongst
the
most
authoritative
general
statements
on
the
subject
is
that
of
Mr.
G.
P.
de
T.
Glazebrook.
He
writes
in A
History
of
Canadian
External
Relations
that
the
principle
of
parliamentary
control
of
foreign
policy was
automatically
accepted
from
the
time
of
confederation,
and
in
later
years
"became
a
veritable
dogma."
One
recalls,
also,
the
not
infrequent assertions
of
the
late
W.
L.
Mackenzie
King
that
in
major
foreign
policy
committments
par-
liament
would decide.
Apart
from
the
question
of
whether
par-
liament
ever
really
did
control
foreign
policy,
the
last
session
provided
much
fresh
evidence
to
be
considered.
The
most
persistent
topic
of
external
affairs
was
the
Middle
East.
Very
few
days passed
without
a
question
being
asked
on
the
orders
of
the
day
concerning
Canada's
attitude
to
some aspect
of
the
continuing
crisis
in
that
area.
At
the
very
outset
Alistair
Stewart,
for
the
CCF,
introduced
the
question
of
arms
ship-
ments. This
issue,
taken
up
quickly by
the
Conservatives,
prompted
the
Minister
of
Trade
and
Commerce
to
suggest
that
"fifteen
training
aircraft"
would
become
the
great
Tory
issue
of
the
session.
But
despite
the
relatively minor
nature
of
this
par-
ticular
shipment,
subsequent
developments
were
revealing.
On
January
11,
Mr.
Stewart
asked
the
Secretary
of
State
for
External
Affairs:
"Have
any
aircraft
been
shipped
from
Canada
*Associate
Professor
of
History,
United
College,
Winnipeg.
Author
of
Who
Controls
Foreign
Policy?
American
and Canadian
Contrasts
(1954)
in
the
CIIA's
Behind
the Headlines
series of
pamphlets
and
contributor
to
Canadian
Forum, Foreign
Affairs,
and
other
periodicals.
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