МАТЕРИАЛЬНОЕ ОБЕСПЕЧЕНИЕ КАНАДСКИХ ДОБРОВОЛЬЦЕВ В ГОДЫ ПЕРВОЙ МИРОВОЙ ВОЙНЫ

Abstract

The paper studies the Canadian government’s policy in the field of material support for volunteers who enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Forces and the Navy during the First World War. It limits the chronological scope of the work to the period of August 4, 1914 – August 29, 1917. On August 4, 1914 Canada's entry into the war, and on August 29, 1917 the universal conscription was introduced in the country. In fact, it limits the presentation of events to the spring of 1916, when the basics of material support for Canadian volunteers were finally settled. It traced the evolution of government policy in the field of assigning monetary allowances to persons who served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force and in the Navy. It paid particular attention to legislative measures for the material support of volunteers. In general, during the First World War, material support for volunteers of the Canadian Expeditionary Forces and Navy was an integral part of the social policy pursued by the dominion authorities. It represented a system of measures aimed at compensating these categories of the population for the restrictions and hardships of military service, and to some extent raised the prestige of military service in society. It also represented an important basis for maintaining the morale of the troops at a high level and instilled in them confidence that the state guaranteed material support for their lives and everyday life.