Mr. SPEAKER:

I have the honour to inform the house that I have received the following communication:

Office of the Mayor Ottawa, Canada

4th June, 1941.

Hon. J. A. Glen,

Speaker of the House of Commons,

Ottawa.

Victory Loan 1941 Dear Mr. Glen:

The torch and scroll being carried by air force bomber from Victoria to Halifax and thence to England to be presented to the Right Hon. Winston Churchill will arrive in Ottawa on the 11th June. The Ottawa torch day ceremony will take place on that day on parliament hill at 5 o'clock.

At the ceremony the Right Hon. W. L. Mackenzie King will be the speaker and arrangements are being made for His Excellency the Governor General, the Right Hon. the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and myself to sign the scroll.

On behalf of the committee I have the honour to invite you to attend this ceremony. I beg to request also that you will extend an invitation to the members of the House of Commons to be present.

Sincerely yours,

J. E. S. Lewis,

Mayor.

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

I desire to ask the Prime Minister whether consideration has been given by the government to the proposal of the Premier of Ontario as announced in the press, that the Prime Minister call the premiers and representatives of the provinces to a conference devoted exclusively to an open and impartial discussion of the problems to be solved in order to ensure the maximum war effort. If so, has any decision been reached? It will be recalled that I myself this week expressed approval of a conference being called with respect to the fifteen per cent tax on interest on provincial government issues. The present proposal, as I understand it, covers a much wider field.

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

I may say to my hon. friend the leader of the opposition that I received the telegram to which he has referred only after six o'clock last night. It has not been possible to meet with my colleagues in cabinet council since its receipt, therefore the telegram has not thus far been considered.

Mr. J. R. MacNICOL (Davenport):

The press yesterday and again to-day refers to certain strikes in several large plants in the riding I have the honour to represent. Each of those plants is engaged in the manufacture of munitions of war. I know many of the men who are probably now on strike. They are all British, and I know they would not willingly be on strike; they would prefer to be at their jobs. I also know many of those connected with the management. I am convinced that the Minister of Labour has the matter in hand and is just as anxious as each and all of us to have the strikes settled amicably. I should be pleased if he would give us a statement as to the progress of settlement.

Hon. N. A. McLARTY (Minister of Labour):

I was advised this morning that a delegation has arrived here for the purpose of interviewing me in connection with the matter which the hon. member for Davenport mentions. I think it would be well to delay any statement until after I have heard the representations which the delegation have to make. I can assure him that I am as anxious as he is that strikes should not continue.

Natural Gas in Western Ontario

Hon. C. D. HOWE (Minister of Munitions and Supply):

I shall be glad to look into

the matter.

Mr. N. J. M. LOCKHART (Lincoln):

May I associate myself with what was said by the hon. member for Waterloo South (Mr. Homuth) and ask the Minister of Munitions and Supply to be good enough to make his statement sufficiently comprehensive to cover the whole Niagara peninsula. They are very much concerned about the same matter.