Hon. C. H. CAHAN (St. Lawrence-St. George):

May I ask the Minister of Justice (Mr. Lapointe) whether he has yet obtained the opinion of the officers of his department with regard to Bill No. 22, an act respecting the registration of shop cards by labour unions, as to whether the proposed act is intra vires of the parliament of Canada?

Right Hon. ERNEST LAPOINTE (Minister of Justice):

Yes, I have, and I am going to hand the document over to my hon. friend the Secretary of State (Mr. Rinfret).

Mr. CAHAN:

Has the minister any objection to telling us the purport of it?

Mr. LAPOINTE (Quebec East):

The

opinion is that the act is valid.

Mr. F. C. BETTS (London):

I should like to ask the Minister of National Revenue (Mr. Ilsley) a question of which I gave him notice a few minutes ago by telephone, not having had an opportunity to advise him earlier.

The American market is flooded at the present time with Dutch sets of onions which are being offered in this country at a cent and a half a pound. The cost in Canada is six cents a pound. I would ask the minister whether, having regard to the fact that this particular crop has a value in western Ontario alone of some $200,000, the government is

Japanese Immigration

prepared to impose the dumping duty, as was done in 1931, by adding four and a half cents a pound to the invoice cost?

Hon. J. L. ILSLEY (Minister of National Revenue):

An application somewhat similar to my hon. friend's request was made by the Canadian Seed Trade Association very recently and I can only say to my hon. friend, what was said to them, that the department has asked the Department of Agriculture for a report as to surplus stocks now in Canada. When that information is received the application will be given consideration.

Mr. BETTS:

May I ask another question turning upon the last one. Does the minister appreciate that this is a matter in which very speedy action will have to be taken if any result is to ibe achieved?

Order.

Mr. J. H. BLACKMORE (Lethbridge):

Many hon. members of this house and hundreds of thousands of Canadians outside rejoiced last evening when it was announced that at six o'clock Mr. J. H. Unwin was released from the penitentiary. The department's delicacy in choosing a time after the polls were closed and before the results could be known was noted and appreciated. I beg the minister's permission to bring to his notice the name of G. F. Powell, who was a fellow sufferer with Mr. Unwin, and to point out that Mr. Powell is a British subject, a citizen of Great Britain, our motherland; that he is here upon the invitation of the people of the British province called Alberta; that his record prior to his coming to Canada was without blemish, and that his freedom is much desired by millions both here and overseas. I respectfully ask the Minister of Justice (Mr. Lapointe) if he could give us some encouragement touching the case of Mr. Powell.

Right Hon. ERNEST LAPOINTE (Minister of Justice):

Mr. Speaker, the case of Mr. Powell will of course be dealt with on its merits, and independently of the case of Mr. Unwin. As my hon. friend knows, his sentence was for a longer period, six months, while the sentence on Mr. Unwin, by the same judge, was for three months. I may assure my hon. friend, however, that all his representations are being fully considered. I should like if possible to meet his views,

but of course any action taken must in the first place serve the ends of justice.