Mr. A. C. BOYCE (West Algoma).

Mr. Speaker, I desire to briefly call attention to the conditions at Sault Ste. Marie in reference to the administration of the alien labour law. I shall first quote an article from the 'Evening News,' published at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, under date Wednesday, March 15, 1911.

Mr. KING.

On that point the hon. gentleman is mistaken.

Mr. BOYCE.

Then, although three years ago it was shown beyond question that there had been steady and constant violations of the law the minister has not yet appointed an officer to enforce it. I gave him and his predecessor in office more credit for vigilance than they deserved. I regret the acknowledgment of the minister that after the promises and the pledges made by his predecessor in the Department of Labour no official has been appointed to administer the provisions of the Alien Labour Act. Let me refer the minister to the report of the proceedings of the House on July 6, 1908, where at page 12156 of ' Hansard ' for that year he will find the following petition:

To the Hon. the Minister of Labour, Ottawa.

The petition of the undersigned citizens of the town of Sault Ste. Marie, in the province of Ontario, most respectfully showeth:

1. That by reason of close proximity to the

international boundary your petitioners are more than usually alive to the fact there is no rigid enforcement of the provisions of anv law in force in Canada to restrict the importation and employment of aliens, and that in consequence industries here suffer by the employment of foreign labour. [DOT]

2. That your petitioners are aware of, and will draw to your attention, the fact that across the border the law is rigidly enforced, and that on that side of the line drastic and prompt measures are taken to immediately deport any Canadian citizen who goes across

Mr. BOYCE.

to look for work and that in that respect your petitioners believe that the powers of the United States customs and immigration officers are exceeded.

3. That in the opinion of your petitioners the present Act is not capable of giving prompt and adequate remedy which will meet the conditions which your petitioners know to exist, and your petitioners believe that more drastic and less cumbrous legislation should be enacted so as to enable prompt action to be taken by way of deportation of any aliens or foreigners seeking to enter Canada to wcrk therein under contracts made out in Canada, and so as to meet the condition of the things and the methods in which the law in the United States is enforced against Canadians.

4. Your petitioners further would draw to your attention that there is no immigration inspector or other officers located here whose duty it is to see that the provisions of the Act in force are enforced and the consequence is both from the nature of the Act itself and from its non-enforcement, that the Canadian workmen are not adequately protected against foreign labour.

5. Your petitioners therefore pray:

I commend to the Minister of Labour (Mr. King) who at that period was not in charge of the department, the remarks which I had then the honour to make in support of that petition, and I also commend to him the answers of his predecessor in office, the Hon. -Eodolphe Lemieux, which are reported at page 12159 of the ' Hansard,' 1908. Speaking on July the 7th, 1908 -in answer to my remarks upon the subject-the Hon. Mr. Lemieux said:

Mr. LEMIEUX.

I thank my hon. friend for bringing this matter up this evening. His remarks as they appear in 'Hansard' will serve me to-morrow as a brief for the Minister of Justice. It is true that practically the administration of the labour law is in the hands of the Minister of Labour, but when these cases are taken to the Attorney General of Canada, that is the Minister of Justice, he acts jointly with me. My hon. friend says we should have a law' similar in its effects to the law in the neighbouring republic. I believe in retaliatory measures, we should favour the doctrine of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

These were the words of the present Postmaster General: ' Ay eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.'

Mr. LEMIEUX.

That, is Christian.

Mr. BOYCE.

That is the Mosaic law as well as the law of the Postmaster General. During the same debate the Postmaster General used this language further:

I have no doubt the remarks of my hon. friend which have been made in a fair spirit will have weight. I shall communicate with the Minister of Justice and see what better provision can be made to render the law more pliable and more effective in protecting our own people against the alien labour.

That was on July 7, 1908, and here we had a direct and definite promise by a minister of the Crown that the remarks made to, and the grievances, and the petition, which were laid before the House in a fair spirit as he says, should form a brief for the Minister of Justice to take prompt action next day to render the law more effective in. protecting our own people against alien labour. I ask the Minister of Labour whether anything has been done to carry out the pledge of his predecessor thus solemnly made. Has there been any attempt to amend the alien labour law so as to make it more pliable, and so as to protect the Canadian working man, his wife and family from the terrible effects of the importation of alien labour to the town of Sault St. Marie or at any other point on the Canadian border.

My hon. friend himself admits that nothing whatever has been done in reply to that earnest petition to appoint an officer to enforce the provisions of the law. Why has that not been done? This is not a mere temporary grievance. It is a permanent grievance. It is one that has existed from day to day and from year to year since that time. There have been, I understand, constant importation's of labour in violation of the Alien Labour Law, which have been brought to the notice of the minister and the minister has done absolutely nothing. I am now asking what he proposes to do. Does he not think that after three years it is high time something should be done to carry out the pledge made by the hon. Postmaster General (Mr. Lemieux), then speaking as Minister of Labour, to render more efficient the protection of the workingmen of Sault Ste. Marie and Steelton and elsewhere along the border. The hon. Postmaster General then promised that he would have our labour law applied more effectively and made something else besides a law in name only. I have said that the labour laws in the two countries are either reciprocal or retaliatory. The Postmaster General takes the more drastic view. He says they must be considered as retaliatory and believes in the doctrine of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Well, I believe in the application of that doctrine laid down by the Postmaster General. I believe he should put an end to the conditions that have existed since July, 1908, as appears by the clipping from a newspaper I have referred to. I say that our Alien Labour Law should be treated as retaliatory and why? Because the Alien Labour Law on the other side of the line is administered in that spirit. We have heard a great deal lately about reciprocity in trade products, but if there ever was an example to show how that reciprocity will work out in favour of the United

States against Canada, it will be found in the condition of things under the Alien Labour Law. We have the same law here as they have in the United States, the same reciprocity, and the same power of retaliation. How does our law work out? No attempt whatever is made to stop the importation of alien labour from the United States; but let a Canadian citizen go across the line in search of work, and he is promply arrested and detained and deported under the Alien Labour Law of that country. I have here a despatch from Hamilton of March 9, a Canadian press despatch:

Alfred Stiles, a well known cutter, who left this city last week to accept a position at Terre Haute, Ind., was stopped by immigration officers at Detroit, and sent back to Canada with a warning that if he set foot in the United States again within a year he would render himself liable to imprisonment.

If that is not retaliatory law I do not know what is. What I want is to have our law administered in the same spirit. But hundreds of Canadians have been displaced in the factories and workshops at Sault Ste. Marie and Steelton by Americans imported in violation of the Act, and no step3 were taken to have the aliens deported. It is now three years since this matter was brought to the attention of this House, and since the Minister of Labour solemnly promised a remedy. I earnestly commend it again to his attention and ask him to get to work and put in force our Alien Labour Law, even if it be necessary to appoint 20 officers in order to protect our Canadian wTorkingmen and their wives and families.

Hon. MACKENZIE KING (Minister of Labour).

I am obliged to my hon. friend for having brought up this matter if only because he has given occasion to make a little clearer what is the nature of the laws of this country respecting the entry into Canada of aliens. Frequently the Department of Labour is charged with being indifferent in the administration of our laws regarding the admission of aliens. This attack is made regardless altogether of the fact that the Department of Immigration and other departments of the government have also a great deal to do with this matter. In fact the greater part of the work of restricting the entry of aliens falls within the scope of the Department of the Interior, and the immigration officials. It is only that part of immigration which has to do with contract labour that comes within the purview of the Alien Labour Act. My hon. friend has said that at Sault Ste. Marie he does not think there is any inspector for the purpose of enforcing this law, and left the impression that the Department of Labour was indifferent in this matter. I may inform him that within the

last few weeks officers of the Immigration Department have been very active at Sault Ste. Marie in refusing admittance to a large number from the United States. My hon. colleague the Minister of the Interior (Mr. Oliver) will be able to inform my hon. friend more particularly on that point; but I do happen to know that within recent days he has received complaints from the management of the company at Sault Ste. Marie about the rigid manner in which our laws are being enforced and admission refused to a large number who came from across the line. My hon. friend read an article from the ' Evening News,' of March 15, respecting the dismissal of one of the employees of the Sault Company. I shall just quote the words of that article, because on it my hon. friend has largely based the complaint he has made.

Mr. BOYCE.

That is only a public illustration of what is taking place, and it does not necessarily apply to all the con;-' ditions that exist there.

Mr. KING.

At any rate my hon. friend introduced his remarks by quoting this article, and it is as he says a public illustration. It is as follows:

As a protest against the dismissal of Jack Wilson, foreman of the electrical engineers employed by the Lake Superior Corporation, the entire staff of twenty-two struck and have not yet returned to work. Wilson has been in the service of the corporation for a number of years and is popular among the workers who regard him as an extremely capable official. In his stead Shumaker has been placed, and the ire of the men was raised in consequence.

I contend there is nothing in that article on which my hon. friend can found a, charge as to the laxity of administration of the Alien Labour Act. All it states is that an employee of many years service, who was popular with the men, was dismissed and somebody else put m his place, and the employees to show their resentment at his dismissal, had gone out on strike.

As respects the administration of the Alien Labour Act, my hon. friend will realize that there are two methods which might be employed. One would require the federal government to take action every time that Act was violated; the other would leave it in the hands of the parties themselves to take' immediate action. As the law stood originally, before any action could be taken, the assent of the Attorney General had to be obtained. A number of complaints were made that inasmuch as the Attorney General of the Dominion had to be consulted before the law could be put into motion, the delays were such as to render it practically ineffective.

Mr. KING.

Mr. BOYCE.

Has the minister not received reports and complaints from Sault Ste. Marie and Steelton that the provisions of the Act had been violated.