811.203/341

The Minister in Canada (Atherton) to the Assistant Chief of the Division of European, Affairs (Hickerson)

Dear Mr. Hickerson: When calling upon the Minister of Justice, Mr. St. Laurent, this morning I inquired when we might anticipate that the Canadian Government would take action toward recognizing our exclusive jurisdiction over our armed forces in Canada now that the Supreme Court has rendered its decision.3

Mr. St. Laurent went into considerable detail, pointing out the difference between the practice in Canada and the United States and said that, in view of this fact and of the fact that he had been able so far to obtain jurisdiction for us in incidents which had arisen, the Canadian Government did not plan to take any action in the premises unless pressed to do so by us. As you know, in Canada the civil courts retain jurisdiction over the members of the Canadian armed forces, even in wartime, and it is the policy of the armed services to encourage the assumption of such jurisdiction by the civil courts, whereas in the United States the practice is exactly the opposite.

While Mr. St. Laurent evidenced every willingness to go ahead with the matter should we press for formal recognition by Canada of our exclusive jurisdiction over our troops in Canada, it is plain that the Canadian Government will take no action in the premises unless we press them to do so.

When you have discussed this with those interested, will you let me know whether we should take the matter up formally with the Canadian Government?

Yours sincerely,

Ray Atherton
  1. Decision of August 3, 1943, Dominion Law Reports, 1943 (Toronto, Canada Law Book Co., Ltd., 1943), vol 4, p. 11.