Mr. HARRIS (Danforth):

I said 1941.

Mr. ILSLEY:

We are in 1941 now.

Mr. HARRIS (Danforth):

Three months.

Mr. ILSLEY:

I see-the calendar year

1940.

Mr. HARRIS (Danforth):

I gave these

figures: 38 per cent, 14 per cent, and this year 2 per cent.

Mr. ILSLEY:

Last year it was 18 per cent, and the value of imports from the British empire was 81,519,897 and from foreign countries $7,374,907. We were satisfied it would be useless to take up this question with the United Kingdom government, and it might have been undesirable to do so even if it had not been useless. It was useless because the United Kingdom government prizes exports from other parts of the sterling area practically as much, if not just as much, as it prizes exports from the United Kingdom itself.

Mr. HARRIS (Danforth):

I quite agree

that the United Kingdom or the colonial office in London prizes trade on behalf of the colonies. With regard to the minister's observation about 18 per cent coming in, that was for the calendar year 1940?

Mr. ILSLEY:

That related to the calendar year 1940.

Mr. HARRIS (Danforth):

The imports

are practically nil now.

Mr. ILSLEY:

I do not know.

Mr. HARRIS (Danforth):

There is nothing in our relationship with the United Kingdom, or the British empire for that matter, which would preclude us from taking advantage of the ideas 'which the tariff board have with regard to imports from foreign countries. There is at present a tariff of 10 per cent against goods coming in from foreign countries, but

Special War Revenue Act

there is nothing, as I see it, to preclude us from carrying out the board's recommendation and imposing this duty on goods coming in from foreign countries. It would indirectly help the general economic situation by bringing into the dominion treasury from four to five million dollars.

Mr. ILSLEY:

The tariff board's recom-

' mendations were for an excise tax or processing tax on the oil content of soap and edibles. The foreign ones could not be segregated. If a tax like that were imposed it would mean the whole oil content, wherever the oil came from. It would be impossible to apply the board's recommendations to imported oil only, because no one could tell what proportion of the oil in shortening was imported from foreign countries and what was from the British empire. Therefore the recommendation in that form could not be applied to foreign oils only.

Mr. HARRIS (Danforth):

There are practically no imports from the United Kingdom now.

Mr. ILSLEY:

That is true.

Mr. HARRIS (Danforth):

The imports for the three months ending March of this year are practically negligible. I do not know why we cannot get the figures. What were the imports for January, February and March of this year?

Mr. ILSLEY:

I have not got them.

Section 5 (formerly section 4) agreed to.

On section 6-Schedule II amended.

Mr. HAZBN:

I was going to ask a question about section 5. A number of the items in schedule II are being deleted. Do they then have to pay a higher rate of duty? For example, there is item 228 in schedule II, soap powders, and so on. Under schedule II they paid a duty of 10 per cent. What duty will they pay now?

Mr. ILSLEY:

Schedule II is a schedule of items which come in from the United Kingdom free or at reduced rates.

Mr. HAZEN:

What will they pay now? Formerly the duty was 10 per cent.

Mr. ILSLEY:

They are covered by a previous section of the act. I have here a column of schedule II rates and a column of the rates resulting from section 1. Section 1 is very comprehensive. It covers most of the goods which are imported from the United Kingdom, so that when we take a number of items out

of schedule II, they are covered by section 1. I may state the results, if the hon. gentleman is interested. They are as follow:

Item No. Schedule Two Rate Rate resulting from section one220a Per cent

10 Per cent 81220b

10 10228

10 10X284

15 10288

10 10429b

10 74429e

10 74439

15 10439a

10 74445f

10 74445g

10 74445k

10 74451b

10 8|572

25 15573

10 74