Hon. W. D. EULER (North Waterloo):

Mr. Speaker, I should like to direct a question to the Minister of Railways and Canals (Mr. Manion). I believe he stated yesterday that the annual report of the Canadian National Railways would be tabled very soon. I would like to ask whether or not the government has decided on the establishment of the usual committee on the Canadian National Railways, and whether in that event both the report and the estimate which has just been submitted will be referred to that committee.

Hon. R. J. MANION (Minister of Railways and Canals):

On the day I table the report I intend definitely to answer that question, though I think there is no reason to believe that we would object in any way to the establishment of the committee, if the house desires. Apparently the house does, so we will probably establish it, and submit both the report and the estimate to that committee.

Mr. BARRETTE (Translation):

Name

them.

Hon. ALFRED DURANLEAU (Minister of Marine) (Translation):

The question of the hon. member will serve as notice; I shall inquire and report.

Mr. JEAN FRANCOIS POULIOT (Temis-couata) (Translation):

Mr. Speaker, is the government aware that Edgar Boutet, employed as secretary to the executive of the Post Office Department at a salary of $2,100 per year, from December 1, 1933, was present in the Press Gallery during the sitting of the house, at various times, since the beginning of the session? Is the government also aware that said Edgar Boutet is still the correspondent of the newspapers "Llllustration" of Montreal, and the "Journal" of Quebec, in which he writes false and unfounded articles about the members of this house? I should like the government to furnish me with full information relating to these two questions; moreover, whether the said Edgar Boutet is still in the employ of the Post Office Department; if not, when was he retired?

Right Hon. R. B. BENNETT (Prime Minister) :

Mr. Speaker, the private secretaries

and chief executive clerks to ministers are, of course, political appointees, and in the main they discharge political duties. If it is thought desirable that one of the secretaries to a minister should attend in the press gallery for the purpose of giving information to his minister, it has been the custom to do so, and always will be, so long as the offices of secretary and assistant secretary obtain. I have no knowledge of this particular case, but I merely mention that is so with respect to these matters in general. Whether or not Mr. Boutet is engaged in supplying information to journals favourable to his chief I cannot at the moment say, but if he is I

Social Reforms-Mr. Bourassa

may say he is following a custom which has been pursued by men in his position since the position came into being, and will continue long afteT he has ceased to occupy his present post.

Mr. POU'LIOT (Translation): This gives him no right to lie.

Hon. MURRAY MacLAREN (Minister of Pensions and National Health):

My answer

is very similar to the one I gave yesterday: The government has not considered the subject. Yesterday the hon. member asked whether it was the intention of the government to bring down legislation, and I said the answer was in the negative. In other words, the government has not considered the subject.

Mr. (SANDERSON: If I may be permitted to say so, when I put the question to the minister on February 6, his answer was that the matter was under consideration.

Mr. MacLAREN:

I shall have to look

into the matter and see what the circumstances were. Probably the circumstances at that time were different from those obtaining to-day.