In Canada during WWI, what were the military and or medical
exemptions? Religious groups were exempt, e.g. Mennonites and Quakers,
but what about the average man who signed up for military service?
What were the disqualifying reasons?

Dear lentionne-ga;

Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting question.

Military obligations in Canada during World War One were set forth in
Chapter 19 of The Military Service Act (29 August, 1917). The
following citizens might be exempted from conscription or military
service:

Preface:
Any man who has not yet reached the age of 18 years

Section 2(a)(a):
Any man over the age of 45 years

In addition, a Canadian citizen might apply for exemption based on his
personal needs, obligations or disabilities related to one or more of
the following criteria:

LEGAL EXEMPTIONS (Being a matter of law I shall quote each statute verbatim)

Section 11(1):
At any time before a date to be fixed in the proclamation mentioned in
section four, an application may be made, by or in respect of any man
in the class of subclass called out by such proclamation, to a local
tribunal established in the province in which such man ordinarily
resides, for a certificate of exemption on any of the following
grounds:-

(a) That it is expedient in the national interest that the man should,
instead of being employed in military service, be engaged in other
work in which he is habitually engaged;

(b) That it is expedient in the national interest that the man should,
instead of being employed in military service, be engaged in other
work in which he wished to be in engaged and for which he has special
qualifications;

(c) That it is expedient in the national interest that, instead of
being employed in military service, he should continue to be educated
or trained for any work for which he is then being educated or
trained;

(d) That serious hardship would ensue, if the man were placed on
active service, owing to his exceptional financial or business
obligations or domestic position;

(e) Ill health or infirmity

(f) That he conscientiously objects to the undertaking of combatant
service and is prohibited from so doing by the tenets and articles of
faith, in effect on the sixth day of July, 1917, of any organized
religious denomination existing and well recognized in Canada at such
date, and to which he in good faith belongs; and if any of the grounds
of such application be established, a certificate of exemption shall
be granted to such man.

(2) (a) A certificate may be conditional as to time or otherwise, and,
if granted solely on conscientious grounds, shall state that such
exemption is from combatant service only.

(b) A certificate granted on the ground of the continuance of
education or training, or on the ground of exceptional financial or
business obligations or domestic position, shall be a conditional
certificate only.

(c) No certificate shall be conditional upon a person to whom it is
granted continuing in or entering in to employment under any specified
employer or in any specified place or establishment.

(d) A certificate may transfer man to the class next in numerical order.

(e) When a conditional certificate is granted the conditions shall be
stated on the certificate.

(f) It shall be the duty of any man holding a conditional certificate
within three days after the condition stated therein cease to exit or
after his exemption terminated, to give notice in writing of such fact
tot he Registrar of the province in which he ordinarily resides; and
if he fails without reasonable excuse to do so, he shall be guilty of
an offence and liable on summary conviction to a penalty not exceeding
two hundred and fifty dollars.

(3) (a) Subject to such conditions as to application and notice as may
be provided by regulations, and subject also to paragraph (b) of this
subsection, a certificate may, during the currency thereof, be
renewed, varied or withdrawn at any time by the local tribunal issuing
the same.

(b) Where a decision of a local or appeal tribunal has been varied on
appeal to a n appeal tribunal or to the Central Appeal Judge, a
certificate granted upon such variation shall thereafter, subject to
such conditions as to application and notice as my be provided by
regulations, be renewed, varied or withdrawn, but only during the
currency thereof and only by the appeal tribunal or judge who granted
the certificate.

(4) Any person who, for the pursue of obtaining a certificate or a
condition in a certificate for himself or for any other person, or for
the purpose of obtaining the renewal, variation or withdrawal of a
certificate, makes any false statement or representation, shall be
guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to imprisonment
for any term not exceeding twelve moths with or without hard labour.

(5) (a) Any man who, having applied to any local tribunal for the
issue to him of a certificate, applies without the leave of the
Minister to any other local tribunal for a certificate, and any person
who, knowing or having reason to believe that no application for a
certificate had been made or is being made by or in respect of a man
to a local tribunal, makes or aids or abets in the making or
establishing of an application without such leave by or in respect of
such man to another local tribunal, shall be guilty of an offence, and
shall be liable on summary conviction to a penalty of not less than
one hundred dollars and not more than one thousand dollars.

(b) All applications and all proceedings taken on applications for
certificates, made without the leave of the Minister, by or in respect
of a man before a local tribunal other than the local tribunal before
which the first application by or in respect of such man was made,
shall be null and void.

(c) Notwithstanding anything in this section contained, the Governor
in Council may by regulations abolish any local tribunal, and transfer
its duties and powers to any other local tribunal.

(6) Any person who alters or tampers with a certificate or, for the
purpose of evading this Act, falsely represents himself to be a person
to whom a certificate has been granted, or, if granted a certificate
allows, for like purpose, any other person to have possession thereof,
shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to
imprisonment for any term not exceeding six months.

(7) When a certificate is lost, destroyed or deface, the tribunal by
whom it was granted shall, upon the application of them an to whom it
was granted and upon payment of a fee of fifty cents, issue to him a
duplicate of such certificate.

MILITARY HISTORY: FIRST WORLD WAR: HOMEFRONT, 1917
http://www.lermuseum.org/ler/mh/wwi/homefront1917.html


In addition, and for a brief time, there was one other exemption. To
provide a little background on the matter, the Canadian government
realized that many farmers opposed mandatory military service (i.e.,
draft, conscription) because they argued that they were supporting the
war effort by supplying the country and the military with necessary
food to sustain the citizens and soldiers. The government responded in
1917 by granting exemptions from conscription to farmers' sons but in
early 1918 following the next election these exemptions were
eventually revoked and the sons were once again targeted for
conscription.


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Tutuzdad ? Google Answers Researcher


INFORMATION SOURCES

MILITARY HISTORY: FIRST WORLD WAR: HOMEFRONT, 1917
http://www.lermuseum.org/ler/mh/wwi/homefront1917.html
(Click the document at mid page entitled ?Military Service Act?)

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Request for Answer Clarification by lentionne-ga on 07 Apr 2004 04:00 PDT

What a thorough answer, thank you very much. Lastly, would these
exemptions ALSO apply to a Canadian citizen being schooled at a major
college or university in the northeast at this time? I am hoping so.
From Section II (c) this would appear to be true.
Please let me know.
Thank you Tutuzdad-ga. Hard to say that name fast!

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Clarification of Answer by tutuzdad-ga on 07 Apr 2004 07:33 PDT

You are correct. In re-examining the Act, it does appear that Section
2 was intended specifically to extend to those who were Canadian
citizens but who were located, for whatever reason, outside the
country at the time their service was conscripted:

The original Militia Act of 1906 stated:

"All the male inhabitants of Canada, of the age of eighteen years and
upwards, and under sixty, not exempt or disqualified by law, and being
British subjects, shall be liable to service in the Militia: Provided
that the Governor General may require all the male inhabitants of
Canada, capable of bearing arms, to serve in the case of a levée en
masse"

However, the statutes of the Military Service Act 1917, which served
as a revision to the Militia Act of 1906, extended the obligation to
Canadian citizens everywhere, but limited the age range, with regard
to this conflict, from 18-45:

SECTION 2:

Section 2 (1) ?Every male British subject who comes within one of the
classes described in section three of this Act, and who,-

(a) is ORDINARILY RESIDENT IN CANADA [emphasis is mine here]; or, 

(b) has been at any time since the fourth day of August, 1914,
resident in Canada, shall be liable to be called out as hereinafter
provided on active service in the Canadian Expeditionary Force for the
defence of Canada , either in or beyond Canada, unless he

(a) comes within the exceptions set out in the Schedule; or, 

(b) reaches the age of forty-five before the class or subclass to
which he belongs, as described in section three, is called out.

Such service shall be for the duration of the present war and of
demobilization after the conclusion of the war.

Section 2(2) served as a provisional statute allowing those who wanted
to voluntarily enlist, even though they were outside of age or
qualifications for compulsory service or conscription:

Section 2 (2) ?Nothing in this Act shall prevent any man from
voluntarily enlisting in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, so long as
voluntary enlistment in such Force is authorized.?

So, if a Canadian citizen were working in New York, USA at the time
and was called upon for service, he would be obligated to return to
his country and answer his call to duty or claim one (or more) of the
exemptions set forth in Section 11 in order to be legally authorized
to refrain from service.

I hope this clarifies the matter for you and sheds a bit more light on the subject.

Regards;
Tutuzdad-ga