Mr. MACKENZIE KING:

Explain.

Mr. ROWELL:

The Bill is one which contains some formal amendments [DOT] to the Civil Service Act, these amendments having been found necessary or desirable in the actual administration of the Act. There is, however, one very important provision and it is the main provision of the Bill. It provides that the re-classification of the Civil Service shall go into effect as from the first day of April, 1919, instead of the first day of April, 1920, as provided in the Act of last session. Hon. members will recall that when the Act was before the House last session it was urged that the classification should be made effective as from the first of April, 1919. The hon. member for Halifax (Mr. A. K. Maclean), who was in charge of the Bill, stated that the Government would take the matter into consideration in the meantime and that if the Government considered it desirable or necessary that the re-classification should be dated back to the first of April, 1919, an amending Act would be introduced this session. The Government has reached the conclusion that it is desirable and in the public interest to make the classification date from the first of April, 1919, and the main provision of the Bill is to carry out that decision. The' effect will be that where the salaries of civil servants are increased under the classification, they will get the benefit of that increase 'from the first of April, 1919, and that where provision is made under the classification for an annual increase in salaries they will be eligible for the first increase on the first day of April, 1920. It has an1 Simiportant bearing upon the salaries of the civil servants throughout Canada as affected by the classification.

Motion agreed to and Bill read the first, time.

Explain.

Hon. Mr. REID:

To the Bill that passed last session there was a schedule attached giving the list of the companies owned and controlled by the Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada. In that there were two small errors. One of them was the omission of the Vermont and Province Line Railway Company controlled by Grand Trunk ownership to the extent of 100 per cent. There was another small line, the Pembroke Southern Railway Company, that was in the list as being controlled under lease. It should have been designated as 'being controlled by majority stock ownership. It is necessary to amend the agreement to 'correct these two small errors. Then having corrected the errors I am proposing to add a second clause to confirm or ratify the agreement that was submitted to the shareholders including these two small railways. It is necessary, on account of these two small railways that we should confirm the whole agreement. Clause 2 reads: .

The said agreement, as corrected as aforesaid, is hereby declared to have been sufficiently ratified by the holders of the stocks of the Grand Trunk as required by section seven of the said Act. and to be binding and effecive and is hereby in all respects ratified and confirmed as the agreement authorized by the said Act and for all the purposes thereof.

, We are not changing the agreement in any way other than that we are correcting these two errors. I am anxious to get the Bill through as soon as possible in order that we can complete the agreement, appoint the arbitrators and proceed with the arbitration.

Mr. MACKENZIE KING:

Do I understand that the Bill would not have been introduced except for the purpose of correcting these errors?

Hon. Mr. REID:

That is the only reason that is given to me. But for these small

railways it would not have been necessary to ratify the agreement that was passed last session.

Mr. MACKENZIE KING:

The ratifying of the agreement is a secondary consideration in introducing the Bill; primarily it is to correct these errors?

Hon. Mr. REID:

Yes.

Mr. H. A. FORTIER (Labelle):

May I be permitted to ask the Minister of Railways a question on a subject which I deem to be in the public interest. I have been told that agreements have been passed between this Government and the goverifments in the different provinces, in relation to the construction of highways. I would ask if any agreement has been passed between the Dominion Government and the Government of the province of Quebec for the construction of a highway between Ottawa and Hull and the city of Montreal. I have reference to that particular highway, the construction ol which has already been decided upon by the provincial authorities and which is intended to traverse the north shore of the Ottawa river. If such an agreement has been passed, many municipalities are very anxious to know whether any provision Ijas been made in it for the building of the particular highway referred to.

Hon. J. D. REID (Minister of Railways):

In reply to the hon. gentleman I may say that it is necessary for the governments of the several provinces to submit for the approval of the Federal Railway Department plans of the highway which they propose

to construct. The Quebec Government-together with several, if not all of the other provincial governments-has submitted

plans which are now before the Commissioner of Highways and the commission appointed to work in conjunction with him, for the purpose of approving such plans. Personally I have not yet looked over the plans and will be unable t) give an answer to the hon. gentleman until about the first of next week. Then I hope to be able to afford him the information which he is seeking.