Grostenquin, France

1965 – Canadian Financed Buildings in France – National Archives of Canada

Dept. National Defence
File 10-7-G19 TD 5071
Date April 6, 1965

Authority to Make Gifts of
Canadian Financed Buildings
in France

Details of Request to the Honourable the Treasury Board

The undersigned has the honour to report that:

  1. requests have been received from various French organizations of a charitable nature for certain buildings at the former Royal Canadian Air Force Station at Grostenquin, all of which buildings were constructed with Canadian rather than NATO common Funds under authority of the Franco-Canadian Airfields Agreement of May, 1952;
  2. the Royal Canadian Air Force having vacated this Station and having turned it over to the French Government, the buildings in question are the property of the French Government under article 14 of the Franco-Canadian Airfields Agreement subject however to a disposable user right in Canada which will be preserved for a period of two years in a formal exchange of notes with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be concluded shortly to remove Grostenquin from the terms of the Airfield Agreement;
  3. the Royal Canadian Air Force has no plans to relocate elsewhere any of the buildings which have been requested;
  4. the formal consent of the French authorities has been obtained and notified to this department by the French Liaison Mission for the gifts of all the buildings which have been requested with the exception of Barrack Blocks Numbers 35 and 36 and the requests for these two buildings are now being investigated by the French Liaison Mission;
  5. the French Liaison Mission has further advised that it will notify the regional customs authorities before giving effect to any of the gifts which might be approved;
  6. legal officers of the department have been advised that Canada’s disposable user interest in these buildings is not "property" within the meaning of Section 3 of the Surplus Crown Assets Act and that it would not for that reason be appropriate to request the Minister of Defence Production to dispose of these buildings as surplus Crown assets.

The undersigned therefore recommends that the Treasury Board request the Governor General in Council to:

  1. authorize the following gifts of Canadian Financed buildings at the former Royal Canadian Air Force Station at Grostenquin:

(i)

to Foyer Du Jeune Travailleur, Building 85F (Alert Shelter);

(ii)

to Centre De Jeunesse Feminine Herrenwald, Building 44 (Roman Catholic Chapel), and Building 41 (Barrack Block);

(iii)

to Confession of Augsburg Parish of St. Avold, Building 43 (Protestant Chapel), and Building 40 (Barrack Block);

(iv)

to Parish of Laning-Lixing-Les-St. Avold, Building 38 (Barrack Block), and Building 39 (Barrack Block);

(v)

to Communaute Emmanus De Peltre, Building 34 (Barrack Block);

(vi)

to City of St. Avold, Building 37 (Officer’s Mess), and

(b) authorize the gifts of any other Canadian Financed buildings at the former Royal Canadian Air Force Station at Grostenquin to French Organizations of a charitable nature on the condition that such gifts are approved in advance by the French authorities and that notification of such approval is made to the Department of National Defence by the French Liaison Mission.

This proposal, if approved, will not involved the expenditure of any Canadian funds.

The undersigned has the honour to submit this proposal for approval under and by virtue of the Financial Administration Act, Chapter 116, Revised Statutes of Canada (1952).

L Cadieux,
Associate Minister