Mr. VALLANCE:

There are two statements which the minister made which I should like him to explain. First he made the state-

___________Supply-Agriculture-Cold Storage

ment that the Canadian price is 14 cents a pound higher than the price for the Australian product on the world market. Secondly, he stated that there was a difference of 18 cents a pound between the export market and the Canadian market.

Mr. WEIR (Melfort):

That is right, in

April, 1933.

Mr. VALLANCE:

The highest duty on

butter entering this country is eight cents a pound. In view of the higher price, why do the importations not come in? Are there any other orders or regulations that prohibit the importation of butter into Canada outside of the tariff regulations?

Mr. WEIR (Melfort):

The explanation is very simple. The production of butter increases very much in Canada in April, and those interested in the butter trade could not have foreseen that the normal increase would not take place at that time, and therefore they would not take the chance of shipping butter three or six weeks ahead to arrive in Canada at a time when there was normally an increased production of butter in this country and when the price would naturally be expected to go down. Butter fat at the same time made almost the same increase in price as butter. If butter could have been landed here by aeroplane in twenty-four hours it would have come in, but due to the fact that the people in the butter trade could not foresee the condition that arose they were not in time to take advantage of it.

Mr. VALLANCE:

I suppose there was no butter in bond in Canada at that time.

Mr. WEIR (Melfort):

If there was butter in bond in Canada at the time and it was not released, that was all to the advantage of the dairy farmer in this country.

Mr. VALLANCE:

It does not take six

weeks to land butter in Canada from Great Britain. What were the regulations that prevented those importations? Very large consignments of Australian and New Zealand butter have been shipped into this country from Great Britain, as well as large consignments of merchandise. Britain is always prepared to ship butter or any other commodity into the best possible market on short notice. The minister has not yet convinced me as to the 14 to 18 cents difference in the price of butter, although I must take his word for it.

Mr. WEIR (Melfort):

That is the price

differential; it is the price actually paid on the market.

Mr. POULIOT:

If the 1930 promises with regard to butter have been substantially kept, there is little substance in the adverb. '

Mr. POULIOT:

Complaints were made this afternoon that the farmer receives very little for his butter, the principal benefit going to the middleman. Why does not the government increase the vote for cold storage warehouses so that the farmer may put his butter into cold storage and not be under the control of the wholesalers in Montreal, Toronto and other large cities? The farmers are like slaves, and I should like to see them independent on a cooperative basis. The government should assist them to have their own cold storage plants in order that they may obtain better prices in the winter time. The farmers have been exploited and at the present time an investigation is being carried on in this building in this connection. This vote has been cut down from $140,000 to $32,000 when it should be five or ten times as large. I hope the minister will consider this suggestion when the supplementary estimates are being prepared.

Mr. WEIR (Melfort):

We believe that

there is sufficient cold storage to take care of the butter requiring to be stored. With the exception of a recent request, every request has been for fruit cold storage facilities. This vote is sufficient to take care of all commitments which have been made.

Mr. BOTHWELL:

How does the reduction arise?

Air. WEIR (Melfort):

There has been a decrease in the demand for grants.

Mr. AlOTHERWELL: This vote has been cut seventy-five per cent, yet the minister has stated that there is sufficient to meet commitments. I assume that means that the people are so hard up that they cannot afford to pay their share of the construction of these buildings.

Mr. WEIR (Melfort):

I would not say that. Aly understanding is that there is sufficient accommodation. In cooperation with the various provinces a survey has been made as to storage requirements. Ontario gives practically the same proportion as we do, and the other provinces make grants, so there is not a very heavy load on any organization which wishes such facilities.

Air. MOTHERWELL:

Am I to understand that there have been no applications for storage facilities?

Supply-Agriculture-Fruit

Mr. WEIR (Melfort):

We have received some since this item was prepared and they will be taken care of in the supplementary

estimates.

Mr. STEWART (Edmonton):

What was expended last year?

Mr. WEIR (Melfort):

Mr. MOTHERWELL:

Have there been any new cold storage plants erected in the last two or three years?