A message from His Excellency the Governor General transmitting supplementary estimates for the financial year ending March 31, 1933, was presented iby Hon. E. N. Rhodes (Minister of Finance), read by Mr. Speaker to the house, and referred to the committee of supply.
Hon. W. A. GORDON (Minister of Labour) :
I desire to lay on the table of the house orders in council P.C. 905 and 906, passed under the provisions of the Unemployment and Farm Relief Continuance Act, 1932.
On the orders of the day:
Hon. C. H. CAHAN (Secretary of State):
On the orders of the day I would ask permission to reply to an inquiry made last evening by the hon. member for Battle River (Mr. Spencer). There remain under the Canada Temperance Act the following districts: the city of Thetford Mines, Quebec, the district of Manitoulin, Ontario, and Lisgar and Marquette in Manitoba.
On the orders of the day:
Hon. C. H. CAHAN (Secretary of State):
In relation to certain matters mentioned last evening by the hon. member for Winnipeg North Centre (Mr. Woodsworth) and the hon. member for Macleod (Mr. Coote), with regard to the Canada Power and Paper Corporation, the fact is-I was quite confident of it last night, but did not wish to rely entirely upon my memory-that this company was incorporated under the laws of the
Supply-Immigra tion
province of Quebec. It is true that applications were made to the Secretary of State for an inquiry with respect to that company, and one of the applications contained copies of the Winnipeg Free Press from which extracts were read last evening. Representations were made direct to the Secretary of State and to the Secretary of State through the Department of Justice by the firm of Hunt, Auld & Wafburton, of Winnipeg. Mr. Thomas A. Hunt subscribed the letter, to which I replied as follows:
It is impossible for me to order an investigation of the Canada Power and Paper Corporation, because it is a Quebec incorporation and does not come within the terms of section 120 of the Companies Act, Canada.
Subsequently representations were made to the Prime Minister to the same effect, and these were referred to me for action. I find that on September 26, 1931, I wrote the Prime Minister as follows:
My Dear Prime Minister:
I have received applications for an investigation, under section 120 of the Companies Act of Canada, into the business and affairs of Canada Power and Paper Corporation, which was one of the companies recently merged under the auspices of the Dunning committee into Consolidated Paper Corporation Limited.
I have declined the request for an investigation into Canada Power and Paper Corporation because I have ascertained that this company was not incorporated under the Dominion Companies Act, but was incorporated on January 16, 1928, under the laws of the province of Quebec.
As you spoke to me recently about a prospective investigation of the above mentioned company, I thought you would be interested in knowing the grounds of my decision.
On the orders of the day:
Mr. A. E. MacLEAN (Prince):
I would like to ask the Minister of Agriculture (Mr. Weir) or some other member of the government whether a resolution has been received from the provincial government of Prince Edward Island asking for assistance in the purchase of fertilizer.
Hon. ROBERT WEIR (Minister of Agriculture) :
I believe a resolution to that effect has been received but I was unable to look up the details last night. I will be glad to look into the matter and give my hon. friend the information at the next sitting.
The house in committee of supply, Mr. Short in the chair. Salaries and contingencies, $290,766.
Mr. MACKENZIE KING:
I would like to ask the minister one question. Could my hon. friend tell us whether the subject of migration and settlement within the British Empire will be one of the matters taken up at the forthcoming Imperial conference?
Hon. W. A. GORDON (Acting Minister of Immigration and Colonization):
That hardly comes within the scope of this item, but I imagine matters of that character will be discussed, though to what extent or from what angle I am not prepared to indicate at the moment.
Mr. MACKENZIE KING:
As I understand it, then, the minister's reply is to the effect that he imagines this may come up but at the present time he cannot say.
Mr. WOODSWORTH:
Last night the
minister was giving us some information about the back to the land movement, although I am not sure that most of us got a very clear idea of the extent of that movement or of just where the people were being placed. Another aspect to the question arises in connection with the proposal made by some of the western provinces to establish people on the land in connection with unemployment relief. To-day I received a wire from Winnipeg, signed by W. L. Parrish, chairman of the commission, reading as follows:
We urgently request immediate action on back to the land scheme approved by city council and provincial government and set out in Mr. Glubb's letter to Mr. Gordon dated March 16th and referred to in Clubb's letter-of April 16th. Opportune time to start scheme rapidly passing away. Please do your utmost with Prime Minister and Minister of Immigration. Applicants and public very restless at delay. Please wire reply.
This back to the land scheme as proposed in M innipeg and endorsed by the province and the city council has been a matter of negotiation for some time, and if these people are to go out on the land they should be there at once; otherwise it will be impossible for them to do any seeding this year. I have not been personally in close touch with the details of the movement, but I know that the minister has recently had an interview with Mr. Clubb, and we should like to have some very definite information as to whether the government is going to fall in line.