Bill (No. 191) to incorporate the Home Bank of Canada.-Mr. Russell. Bill (No. 192) to enable the city of Winnipeg to utilize the Assiniboia river water power.-Mr. Puttee.
The MINISTER OF PUBLIC WORKS (Hon. James Sutherland) moved for leave to introduce Bill (No. 193) to amend the Public Works Act. He said : Under the Public Works Act it is provided that the department shall invite tenders for all work to be done. But for the last twenty years, under an Order in Council and on the discretion of the minister, the department could do work up to the amount of $5,000 without inviting tenders. That Order in Council, I understand, has been declared ultra vires by an opinion of the Department of Justice. It is my intention to ask that the Act be amended so as to provide that the department can expend sums up to the amount of $5,000 without inviting tenders ; in other words, making legal by legislation what has been the custom for a great many years in the department.
Mr. MONK.
Is there any provision for the transfer of a part of the attributions of the Public Works Department to the Department of Marine and Fisheries ?
Not in this Bill.
Motion agreed to, and Bill read the first time.
Mr. WILSON-by Mr. Sproule-asked : 1. On what part or parts of the bonuses or subsidies, voted in 1896 and up to 1st of May, 1903, was interest payable ? How much of each
of the said bonuses or subsidies, on which interest is payable, has been paid ; and what are the details with reference to each railway ? 2. What is the amount of interest paid in each of these years by each of the said railways on the bonuses or subsidies they have received ?
The answer to both questions is that no interest has been paid on these accounts.
1. How many writs, or prosecutions, for violation of the Alien Labour Act have been instituted since the coining into force of that Act ?
2. What was the date of the first, and what was the date of the last, of such writs or prosecutions ?
3. How many of such writs, or prosecutions,
have resulted in recovery of penalty, or conviction ? , . . .
4. How many persons have been deported trom Canada for violating the Alien Labour Act ?
5. How many applications have been made to
the government for the institutions of writs, or prosecutions, under the Alien Labour Act, which have not been complied with by the government ? , ,.
6. What amount has been expended by the government for the enforcement of the Alien Labour Act, in each year since this Act came
in force ? . _
7 How much has been paid to informers on account of penalties recovered under the Alien Labour Act, in each year since the coming into force of 'the said Act ?
As to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 7th questions, the government lias no power to institute actions for violations of the Act, the law vesting such power in private citizens. The government has no information as to how many of such actions may have been instituted or what penalties may have been recovered. If any such penalties have been recovered, no portion thereof has been paid over to the Grown. Under an apparent misunderstanding as to the provisions of the law, eight applications have been made to the government for the institution of actions for the violation of the Act, but which the government has no legal authority to comply with.
4. Fifty-two persons were deported as the result of official investigations and nineteen left the country during the course of investigations, making a total of seventy-one deportations carried out at the instance of the Department of Labour.
6. The following sums have been expended by the government for the enforcement of the Alien Labour Act
1900- 1 277 65
1901- 2 277 65
Since the latter date there has been no separate account of the cost of enforcing this Act.
1. When was the contract for the construction of a new wharf, or pier, in the harbour of Quebec, granted to Messrs. Dussault & Lemieux ?
2. What is the contract price for the building of the said wharf, or pier ?
3. How many tenders were received for the said wharf ?
4. What are the names pf the tenderers, and the amount of each tender ?
5. After the contract had been awarded to Messrs. Dussault & Lemieux, were any changes made in the specifications and plans of the said wharf ? If so, what changes ?
1. May 8th, 1903.
2. $198,700.
3. Seven tenders were received.
4. Dussault & Lemieux, $198,700 ; The W. J. Poupore Company (Limited), $199,999.99 ; Lyons & White, $219,900 ; M. P. Davis, $249,000 ; M. Connolly, $273,000 ; Larkin, Sangster & Macdonald, $300,000 ; informal-cheque not accepted-Corny & La-verdure, $184,000.
5. No.
1. Have any complaints been made to or by the Department of Public Printing and Stationery regarding the unsatisfactory character of the half-tone illustrations which appear in the annual report of the Department of the Interior ?
2. Were the half-tone cuts for these illustrations made in the Government Printing Bureau? If not, in what office were they made, and what was paid for them ?