Right Hon. W. L. MACKENZIE KING (Leader of the Opposition):

May I ask the Prime Minister if he is in a position to advise the house as to when the royal commission on price spreads and mass buying is likely to conclude its proceedings and how soon the house may expect to receive its report? I think the Prime Minister will agree that if there is legislation to be based upon the report the house should have it as soon as possible.

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

Mr. Speaker, the government has no control over the price spreads commission nor has it sought in any way to limit or restrict its operations or to suggest to it the course of action it should pursue. I was last advised that the commission was endeavouring to close

its business by the date of the opening of the house. That however was impossible. My last information was that they were now endeavouring with every expedition to prepare a report for submission not to this house but, as it will be recalled, to the Minister of Trade and Commerce (Mr. Hanson). By that minister the report will be laid upon the table of the house.

I quite agree with what the right hon. gentleman has said as to the desirability of having the report concluded as soon as possible in order that the government may take cognizance of its contents, and determine to what extent legislation may be introduced founded upon the recommendations that are made. But I believe for the same reasons the right hon. gentleman will realize it would not be proper for the government to indicate to the commission how or when it should determine its hearing, but that we should rather leave it to the discretion of the commission as to the manner in which it would discharge its duties.

Mr. MACKENZIE KING:

I agree with the Prime Minister in his concluding remarks. He will observe however that all I wished to know was whether or not it would be possible for him to ascertain from the commission when it might be in a position to report so that we may be guided in our actions accordingly.

Hon. IAN MACKENZIE (Vancouver Centre):

Mr. Speaker, may I ask the Minister of Finance (Mr. Rhodes) when we may expect the Bank of Canada to commence functioning?

Hon. E. N. RHODES (Minister of Finance):

I am not in a position to make an announcement definitely, but it is anticipated it will be somewhere in the neighbourhood of March 1.

Mr. F. G. SANDERSON (South Perth):

Mr. Speaker, I should like to ask a question of the Minister of Railways (Mr. Manion) based on a telegram I received this morning from the city of Stratford. It is as follows:

Lodge 103 International Association of Machinists at Stratford with over 400 members protests that contracts for new equipment for Canadian National railways be let to private

Electoral Lists

companies while railway shops have worked only sixteen days a month for the past three years.

W. Lyons,

Recording Secretary,

73 Dufferin street, Stratford.

My question to the minister to-day arises out of his answer yesterday to a similar question. I could not quite hear the minister's reply to my question yesterday and I did not know what his answer was until I read it in Hansard this morning. He says that the government has not come to any decision with regard to this equipment which is to be made either by private companies or in the railway shops, but that the matter has been considered. My question of the minister to-day is how long will it take the government to make a decision, and when they do make a decision, will the minister immediately inform the house and the country what it is?

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

Well, Mr. Speaker, I do not think there is any answer coming to the hon. gentleman. The government, if it makes a decision on this question, will submit it to the house at the proper time.

RADIO BROADCAST OF OPENING On the orders of the day:

Mr. THOMAS REID (New Westminster):

I should like to direct a question to the Minister of Marine (Mr. Duranleau). I should like to ask if the statement appearing in the Vancouver Province of January 17 is correct, that millions of Iisteners-in in Great Britain were deprived of hearing the broadcast of the opening of the Canadian parliament because the Canadian Radio Commission did not consider the broadcast momentous enough to send outside of this country.

Hon. ALFRED DURANLEAU (Minister of Marine):

The article referred to has not come under my notice, but I shall be glad to take cognizance of it and give the answer I shall receive from the radio commission.

ELECTORAL LISTS On the orders of the day:

Mr. C. G. POWER (Quebec South):

I should like to direct a question to the hon. Secretary of State (Mr. Cahan) arising out of the statement he made on Friday last, appearing on page 5 of Hansard, to the effect that the electoral lists would be completed about April 15. In that connection may I point out that under the Dominion Franchise Act a very important work begins on April 1, namely, that of clearing the electoral lists of names of 92582-5J

persons who are dead or who have moved, and so forth. The only time at which objections to names on the basic electoral list can be made is during the month of April, and I put it to the Secretary of State that if the lists are not received by hon. members and their organizations until after the fifteenth day of April, it will be extremely difficult to proceed with the important work of clearing the lists. My question to the Secretary of State is as to whether it would not be possible, at least in the congested urban constituencies, to supply the lists earlier so that this important work may begin at the time provided for by the statute, namely, on the first of April.

Hon. C. H. CAHAN (Secretary of State):

As at present advised I do not think there will be any difficulty in supplying the urban lists and placing them at the disposition of the franchise commissioner at such time or times as are necessary for him and the revising officers appointed by him to carry out the terms of the act.