HC Deb 17 July 1940 vol 363 cc207-8
42. Mr. Leach

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether he is aware that the deputy Minister of Health for Ontario has informed Ontario doctors that all children arriving from Britain under the evacuation scheme will be detained for 10 days for medical inspection, vaccination, tuberculin testing and one injection of toxoid; and whether, as these operations are not compulsory for Canadian children, he will make representations to the Canadian Government requesting that none of these operations shall be performed without the consent of the parents of the children?

The Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs (Mr. Shakespeare)

I am making inquiries of the Canadian Government and will communicate with the hon. Member as soon as possible.

Mr. Leach

Do the parents who are involved in this scheme know what they are in for in this respect?

Mr. Shakespeare

We must assume, until we know what the real facts are, that there has been a misunderstanding.

Sir H. Williams

Would not the difficulty be solved if this defeatist scheme were abandoned?