The Department of National Defence was not considered to be a portfolio of the first importance between the wars, and second-rank politicians were often exiled there. The minister from 1935 to 1939 was the Honourable Ian Mackenzie, a Scottish-born political warhorse from Vancouver. Mackenzie was, however, called upon to administer the department during the sensitive period of Canada's rearmament, and he was not politically skilful in avoiding pitfalls. One such was the Bren gun affair of 1938 which arose from the government's attempt to stimulate private production of small arms in Canada and as a form of insurance against the outbreak of general war, when guns from outside Canada might have been difficult to obtain. The Bren gun, illustrated here, was a light machine gun, easy to make and to use. The press alleged that there had been some skulduggery between the manufacturer and the government, and Mackenzie's attempts at denial were singularly unconvincing. A Royal Commission had to be appointed to clear the air; it recommended that greater care be exercised in future in contracts between munitions firms and the government. In the event, however, the Bren gun contract proved to have been a wise and foresighted investment and proved its worth on the outbreak of war. Mackenzie, who had not proven his worth, was transferred to another department in September 1939.
Courtesy: Canadian War Museum, National Museum of Man, National Museums of Canada
