Mr. FOSTER.

I have received a communication from the Toronto District Labour Council in reference to two matters. The first portion of it is in reference to the Alien Labour Act. The statement is made on behalf of the council that an officer was duly appointed when the Act was passed, that deportations were made from time to time on the report of that officer, that a request was then made for an extension to enable a private individual to take action in addition to any powers which the government bad, and an amendment was made. But the Dominion government, it is said, take the position that its powers to act are gone ns a result of the amendment, and that a conviction ought to be obtained at the suit of a private individual before it can order deportation. The council has always maintained the opposite view, namely, that the power of the government is intact, notwith-

standing the amendment made as I liave stated. Now, they contend that their view has been proved correct by the action the Dominion government has taken in ordering deportations upon the report of Judge Winchester in respect to aliens upon the Grand Trunk Pacific and recently in respect to the Pere Marquette employees or officials. They state that Judge Winchester, while making such an investigation, seemed to be acting practically as an alien labour officer, and that the evidence taken goes to prove that the Grand Trunk Railway Company, which has refused to honour the award of the arbitrators in favour of the Grand Trunk telegraphers, and the Canada Foundry Company are at present flagrantly violating the provisions of the Alien Labour Act.

Then they say that :

*Certain amendments were introduced by the government at the last session of the House of Commons that would have had the effect of making the Act something more than the farce it is at the present time.

And it is resolved by the council that the Dominion government be requested to appoint a commission to at once investigate the charges made by them against the Grand Trunk and the Canada Foundry Company of violating the Alien Labour Act.

There is a further resolution that:

This council further request, inasmuch as it has been publicly charged that the amendments of last session were introduced simply because a general election was then impending, and as the council, in union with the Trades and Labour Congress of Canada, expressed its faith in the sincerity of the government in this regard, that the government reintroduce at the present session the amendments desired to make the working of the Act both expeditious and effective.

That is the case they set forth and that is the request that they have laid before the goverumeut. It is that, iu so far as the Alien Labour Act is concerned, a further investigation take place in reference to two of the charges that they have made, and that the government introduce again and pass this time the amendments which were introduced last session, but which, as 1 understand, were not passed. They think it is wise to do this, both in the interest of the government and in the interest of labour organizations. They seem to be anxious that the government shall demonstrate its good faith that these amendments, as introduced last year, were not introduced simply for a purpose before the general election, but were meant to become a part of the law, and that therefore they should be made part of the Act during the present session.

The second complaint which they wish to be preferred here is with reference to complications which they say have arisen in the old country, and which no doubt have arisen wherever certain classes of emigrants are induced or encouraged to come to Canada by certain agents, with the promise that ready employment will be found, and, going further, with actual recommendations to certain parties, and with the assertion that they will be employed immediately on their making application to them. In some cases I believe these agents have gone so far as to make a form of contract and give it to the emigrant, with the suggestion that it will be implemented as soon as he arrives at the proper place in this Dominion. They contend that Mr. Preston, who after some discussion of the subject gave over doing this, did it of his own accord as Dominion immigration agent, and that the matter is effectually done through the agency of one Leopold, who, it is alleged, has an office in the same building in which the Dominion immigration quarters are, or near by. They say that the modus operandi is that when applications are made to the Dominion officials there, they are sent with the parties making the applications to this man Leopold, and that consequently he is assisted in carrying out his part of the business under what seems to be the patronage or auspices of the Dominion authorities in the immigration office. They feel very strongly upon that point. As a result, either through Leopold or others following out the same plan-because they themselves make something out of it -they say that skilled immigrants have been sent over with these letters and these forms of contract, that they have come to different cities of Canada-to Toronto as one-and that, going to the persons to whom they have been directed, they have found neither any employment, contract nor any employment, and have been left stranded and at the mercy of circumstances ; and that there have been many cases of great hardship. They append and have sent to the government statements made by certain of these immigrants-among them Colin A. Gunn and William A. Moore-as corroboration of what I have said and of their charges. These statements, if true-and we have no reason to believe that they are not true-show a state of affairs which is very undesirable and very unfair to these skilled artisans themselves, and which ought to be remedied, so far as the government can do it. More especially I think it will be admitted that the government itself ought to keep free of any possible suspicion of a connection between its agents in London or in Europe, and these parties who act as employing ageneies, who get fees from these men, and who send them to a far-off and unknown country, where they are put at very great disadvantage in the way just stated? What they want is an immediate investigation into the charge which they have made in this respect. I do not see why that should not be granted. If the circumstances are as the Trades and Labour Council say they are. they have a grievance on behalf of their fellow workmen in Great

Britain and a grievance on behalf of their workmen in this country. I think I have done my part in presenting simply and solely their point of view at the present time, so that it may be before the House and the government. Any further discussion on the subject will be had after the government has made its statement, and it may have another side to it.

Hon. SYDNEY FISHES.

Mr. Speaker, in reply, first of all, to the hon. gentleman's statement in regard to the question of an amendment to the Alien Labour law, I may say that within the last few days, since the departure of the Minister of Labour (Sir William Mulock), the representations in question have reached the government, that they are under consideration, and that the action of the government will be announced in a short time. In regard to the other matter which my hon. friend has brought up, as to what are called immigration bureaus or offices in England, this matter was brought to the attention of the government more than a year ago. It was then gone into by the minister in charge, and the information was put before the country to a very large extent. I have in my hand at the moment the file in connection with this, and I may say that the condition of affairs is this. There is in the same building with the Canadian immigration office in London an office which is in the name of a certain Mr. Leopold. It has no connection whatever with the Canadian immigration office.

Mr. FOSTER.

Does the Canadian immigration office occupy the Whole building?

Mr. FISHER.

No, it does not. This gentleman, with some others, occupy some offices in the same building.

Mr. FOSTER.

We rent simply a part of a building?

Mr. FISHER.

We rent a part of a building, and this gentleman is a tenant of the same proprietor. The Canadian office is on the ground floor. I do not know whether it occupies any other portion than the ground floor-.

Mx-. FOSTER. It goes below the ground floor.

Mr. FISHER.

But this gentleman apparently occupies a portion of an upper floor. The accusation is that immigrants applying to the Canadian office are referred to him. Now, the Canadian officers have direct instructions from the department here that the class of immigrants they are to encourage to come to this country are agricultural labourers, people wishing to go on the land, and domestic servants ; and when other people come for information, they are not in any way encouraged to emigrate to this country. Those people sometimes insist on getting information, and on certain occasions apparently some of them have askrd where they could get the information, Mr. FOSTER.

and I think probably some time ago, not recently, officers in the Canadian office did say to them, ' You can get information on that point at Mr. Leopold's office.' More than this does not seem to have been in any way established as to anything suggesting that people should go to Mr. Leopold's office. There is, however, one letter on the file, in which a certain person applied to Mr. Preston personally, saying that he had had communications with Mr. Leopold's office, and he wished to know what its standing was ; and Mr. Preston's reply acknowledged his letter, and stated that he believed that Mr. Leopold's office was an office of good standing, and was able to carry out anylhing that it undertook to do. So far as I have examined the files, I see that there is no other proof of connection of any kind whatever between Mr. Preston or any other officer of the Canadian immigration office and this Mr. Leopold. In consequence of sim-iar representations being made last year, Mr. Smart, then deputy minister who'was in England, published in the British press a warning to the people, and that warning was also published in the 'Canadian Labour Gazette.' It was as follows :

The government of the Dominion of Canada have been informed that certain persons conducting labour agencies in London and elsewhere in the United Kingdom, have been promoting the emigration to Canada of mechanics and other skilled workmen ; have been giving false information respecting labour conditions in Canada, and have represented themselves as agents of, or as having the sanction and endorsement of the Dominion government ; notice is hereby given that the Dominion of Canada has no such agents in the United Kingdom, has not authorized, sanctioned or in any way given its approval to any agency in the United Kingdom for promoting the emigration to Canada of mechanic or other skilled labour.

(Sgd.) JAMES A. SMART,

Deputy Minister of the Interior of Canada.

This was a positive announcement that the Dominion government had no connection with these different agencies. It came to Mr. Preston's knowledge that he was accused of being in league or in collusion with this Mr. Leopold, and Mr. Smart discussed the question with Mr. Preston and he reported to the minister that the Canadian government had no means by which they could interfere with Mr. Leopold's occupation of the office as he held it under lease and was paying his rent. Mr. Smart seems to have had an interview with Mr. Leopold and to have investigated his business to some extent, and Mr. Smart reported apparently that nothing could be found which would go to throw discredit on the business. At the same time it was evident from circulars which had been issued by Mr. Leopold and probably by other agencies of a similar character, that representations with regard to the labour conditions in Canada were made to the English people, which the facts would hardly justify.

Mr. URIAH WILSON.

Is this office of Mr. Leopold's over the flat which is occupied by Mr. Preston for the Canadian Emigration Department ?

Mr. FISHER.

It is in the same building.

Mr. URIAH WILSON.

Within the last four or five months Mr. Preston has received instructions to report to the High Commissioner instead of reporting direct to the department here; has this business which he was apparently mixed up in had anything to do with that ?

Mr. FISHER.

Nothing whatever. I am informed by the emigration branch that this auestion has not been discussed lately at all* In consequence of the action of Mr. Smart last year and of the categorical statements of Mr. Preston to the minister that he had absolutely no connection, personally, pecuniarily, or in any other way with Mr. Leopold's business or office, the minister seems to have decided that nothing further could be done in the matter at the time, and nothing has arisen since which required any other action. The proprietor of the building leases the office to the Department of the Interior just as he leases an office to Mr. Leopold, and although this government would be powerless to deal with Mr. Leopold's lease or occupation, apparently Mr. Smart did try last year to see if Mr. Leopold's presence could not be got rid of, but he failed in the attempt. Mr. Preston denied explicitly any connection with Mr. Leopold, and he went so far as to say that he had even tried to see whether Mr. Leopold could be induced to leave the office but without success. In addition to the advertisement published in English newspapers by Mr. Smart, and which 1 have read, he also made representations to the Colonial office :

That designing persons were apparently making use of bona fide emigration movement to Canada for the purpose of defrauding and deceiving people in the United Kingdom, and sending them to Canada under false representations, and that the Colonial Office were asked to communicate the substance of this despatch to the Home Office, with a request that steps be taken to prevent the continuance and recurrence of these frauds.

These representations were made to the Colonial office with the view of seeing if the authorities in England could put any machinery in motion to prevent these false representations. I think it will be seen that the Interior Department is absolutely cleared of any disregard or neglect In this matter, and I think it is also clearly shown that there is no connection officially or personally of any kind between the department or its officers and this particular agency or any other of these agencies in Great Britain. It is undoubtedly unfortunate that an agency of this kind should have offices in the same building as our Canadian

offices, and no doubt that fact may frequently give them an advantage and may result in inquiries, instead of going to the Canadian emigration office, getting into the wrong hands and false information supplied.

Mr. URIAH WILSON.

Did I understand the minister to say that they had distributed Canadian government literature from Leopold's office ?

Mr. FISHER.

There is nothing to indicate that.

Mr. BARR.

How long has Leopold's office been in the same building with the Canadian emigration office ?

Mr. FISHER.

It was there in June, 1904, and it probably has been there for a year and a half, or may he longer.

Mr. A. C. MACDONELL.

Would the minister lay this correspondence to which he has referred on the table of the House ?

Mr. FISHER.

I see no objection ; it will have to be copied of course.