Mr. SPEAKER:

I have the honour to

inform the house that I have received a message from His Excellency the Governor General, signed by his own hand, reading as follows:

I have received with great pleasure the address that you have voted in reply to my speech at the opening of parliament, and thank you for it sincerely.

Ath/lone

Government House,

Ottawa.

Right Hon. W. L. MACKENZIE KING (Prime Minister):

I desire to lay on the table

Business oj the House-Legislative Programme

of the house copies of the report and recommendations of the special committee on orientals in British Columbia, which was appointed on October 1, 1940, to investigate the positions of persons of Japanese and Chinese racial origin who are resident in British Columbia, and to report upon the problem of Japanese and Chinese in that province from the point of view of national security, with particular reference to the question of military training.

Right Hon. W. L. MACKENZIE KING (Prime Minister):

In accordance with the provisions of the Public Service Rearrangement and Transfer of Duties Act I desire to lay upon the table of the house copies, in English and French, of order in council P.C. 1055, transferring the administration of the act to place Canadian coal used in the manufacture of iron and steel on a basis of equality with imported coal from the Minister of Trade and Commerce to the Minister of Mines and Resources.

Right Hon. W. L. MACKENZIE KING (Prime Minister):

I wish to lay on the table of the house copies, in English and French, of the published record of the recent dominion-provincial conference. It has been thought advisable to have all the relevant documents brought together in a single volume. This volume thus includes: the letter of invitation *to the conference which I addressed to all premiers on November 2, 1940; the replies received from the premiers; my letter of December 28, 1940, outlining the proposed agenda, and, finally, the verbatim proceedings of the conference itself. A general distribution to all hon. members will, I understand, be undertaken to-day.

Hon. R. B. HANSON (Leader of the Opposition):

Mr. Speaker, if I am in order I should like at .this stage to make some general inquiries of the government, and of the Prime Minister especially, in view of the fact that there is no speech from the throne on the resumption of this session.

First I should like to ask .the Prime Minister if he will as soon as convenient make a general statement of the legislation and business of parliament for the remainder of the session.

I would also inquire when the war appropriation bill and the budget will be brought down. I should also like to know when the estimates for the fiscal year ending March 31, 1942, will be tabled.

May I also ask for the publication of the statistics prepared for the dominion-provincial conference in order to bring the statistical computations of the Sirois report so-called up-to-date. The Prime Minister and the house will recall .that reference .to these statistics was made by the press at the time the conference assembled, and the statement was made that these statistics were ready for production, but for some reason they were not produced. It seems to me it would be of great value to have these revised and up-to-date figures published.

May I also ask the Prime Minister if he will be good enough to let us know when the proposed committee on national expenditure will be set up.

I would also ask that copies of the revisions of the Bren gun contract and all other contracts awarded since the outbreak of war to the John Inglis company be tabled as soon as possible.

May I ask the Minister of Munitions and Supply (Mr. Howe) if he will be good enough to table .the latest record of war contracts awarded. The last volume I understand brings us down to August, 1940, since which time several thousands of contracts must have been awarded.

Finally-it may be unnecessary to ask this question because I have been in communication with the Minister of National Defence (Mr. Ralston)-I should like to know the amount spent in the present fiscal year under the National Resources Mobilization Act in connection with .the thirty day training period.

Right Hon. W. L. MACKENZIE KING (Prime Minister):

Mr. Speaker, replying to my hon. friend the leader of the opposition (Mr. Hanson), first with respect to the legislative programme of the session, I shall endeavour, in so far as the government is in a position to do so at the present time, to indicate to the house in the course of a day or two the measures that are likely to come up at this session. But I think I should state at once that the main work of the session will relate to essential war measures.

The war appropriation bill, to which my hon. friend has referred, will be introduced

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Business oj the House-Legislative Programme

possibly this week-certainly immediately after the estimates of the Department of External Affairs have been discussed in the house.

The estimates for the fiscal year 1941-42 will be tabled this afternoon. The budget I understand will be introduced by the Minister of Finance (Mr. Usley) immediately after the war appropriation measure has been disposed of.

It was my intention this afternoon, if it were agreeable to the house, to proceed with a statement on external affairs as an introduction to a discussion of the estimates of the Department of External Affairs. That statement would give a review of the international situation, particularly of the progress of the war as it has developed since the house was last in session, also an outline of the measures relating to the war which have been considered since parliament adjourned. It would also contain a review of the affairs of the Department of External Affairs. It will be open to hon. members, of course, if they so desire, to have that statement followed by debate. I would suggest, if debate is desired, that we follow the procedure which was adopted on a previous occasion, namely, that such speeches as might be made on general policy be made with the Speaker in the chair. When the house goes into committee of the whole, the estimates of the department can then be taken up in detail.

What I shall have to say this afternoon, if the house is agreeable to listening to me, has been prepared with a view to furnishing a background for discussion on both external affairs and the war appropriation bill. It is almost inevitable that many of the questions relating to external affairs which will be asked will relate in large part also to what will be discussed under the war appropriation bill. I think, therefore, it would facilitate the business of the house if it is known at once that the war appropriation bill will, if the house is agreeable, follow immediately upon the discussion of the external affairs estimates.

My hon. friend also asked a question relating to the dominion-provincial conference.

Mr. HANSON (York-Sunbury):

For the publication of the statistics prepared for the conference, bringing the figures up to date.

Mr. MACKENZIE KING:

I believe that statistics have been prepared bringing up to date matters referred to in the report. They will be tabled immediately.

My hon. friend also asked some questions with respect to departmental matters. Perhaps I had better allow my colleague to reply to those.

Mr. HANSON (York-Sunbury):

There was the question of the setting up of a committee on national expenditure.

Mr. MACKENZIE KING:

I am sorry I omitted to refer to that. I hope to introduce the motion this week. I would have introduced it at once, but I thought it desirable that the whips should first confer as to the personnel of the committee. It is also necessary under the rules of the house that notice shall be given in the Votes and Proceedings.

Were there any other questions?

Mr. HANSON (York-Sunbury):

May I

interject that I think it would be very desirable that we should confer on the terms of reference to the committee. That I think is just as important as the personnel of the committee!

Mr. MACKENZIE KING:

I shall be very happy to confer with my hon. friend. I may say I had in mind in drafting the motion what he himself had expressed before the adjournment, namely, that we should follow as closely as possible the motion as introduced in the British House of Commons. I have had the motion prepared, but I shall be pleased to confer with my hon. friend further with regard to it.