On the orders of the day:
Mr. SAMUEL GOBEIL (Compton):
Before the orders of the day are called, Mr. Speaker, I wish to enter my protest against a report of the meeting of the redistribution committee held on Saturday forenoon, appearing in the newspaper Le Devoir, of Montreal.
Order.
Mr. SPEAKER:
The proceedings of the committee referred to are not before the House of Commons, and the hon. member is not in order in referring to them.
Mr. GOBEIL:
The article I wish to refer
to is a personal attack on myself. It appears under the title:
Mr. Gobeil, as a rural member, wants a larger number of urban seats.
I am not going to read the article, which is a tissue of lies. It is quite in line with the attitude taken by the representative of this particular newspaper, because it has continually, since the first meeting of the committee on redistribution, made false reports, or at any rate, reports that have not been quite correct.
I cannot protest too strongly against the insinuation conveyed by the title of the article in question and the whole article itself. Let me say to the representative of Le Devoir of Montreal that he is not only a dirty individual, but a dirty, crooked public liar.
On the orders of the day:
Mr. E. J. YOUNG (Weyburn):
I should
like to direct a question to the Minister of Finance (Mr. Rhodes). On Thursday last I asked the hon. gentleman a question with regard to an amount of 840,000,000 which the government owed the banks, and which I understand was repaid last December. I should like to ask in what funds that loan was paid, whether in Canadian or United States funds, and how much money it took in Canadian funds to discharge that obligation.
Hon. E. N. RHODES (Minister of Finance):
I would not attempt to answer that question at the moment. I shall make immediate inquiries and advise my hon. friend as speedily as possible.
On the orders of the day:
Mr. P. F. CASGRAIN (Charlevoix-Sague-nay):
I should like to ask the Minister of
Marine (Mr. Duranleau) if he has been made aware of an article which appeared in the Montreal Gazette yesterday to the effect that the straits of Belle Isle were jammed with ice and, if so, whether it would not be advisable to have the government ice-breakers relieve that condition in order that navigation may be speeded up.
Hon. ALFRED DURANLEAU (Minister of Marine):
The report mentioned by my
hon. friend has not reached me yet. It may be that some information has been received in the department and, if so, no doubt the matter will be attended to.
On the orders of the day:
Mr. P. F. CASGRAIN (Charlevoix-Sague-nay):
I should like to ask the Minister of
Unemployment Relief
Labour (Mr. Gordon) whether any action will be taken by the government as a result of the report of the agriculture committee in connection with the milk situation.
Hon. W. A. GORDON (Minister of Labour):
The report will be reviewed, and of course if action is necessary it will be taken.