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

Since I answered a question of the leader of the opposition (Mr. Hanson) yesterday regarding the status of the discussions with reference to the construction of a highway to Alaska, a recommendation of the Canadian section of the permanent joint board on defence on this subject, which had been referred to the appropriate military authorities for examination, has been considered and approved by the war committee of the cabinet.

I am now therefore in a position to make a statement on the subject to the house.

The advisability from a military standpoint of constructing a highway to Alaska has been under review by the defence services of Canada and the United States. After final consideration by the permanent joint board on defence on February 25 and 26, a unanimous recommendation favouring the construction of such a road was addressed to the two governments. This recommendation has now been examined and approved by both Canada and the United States.

The recommendation of the defence board, which has been endorsed by the military authorities in each country and approved by the respective governments, is based on purely military considerations. The dimensions of the road, the type of construction and the route chosen have all been selected on this basis and this basis only.

The road as approved will start at Fort St. John in northern British Columbia and follow the general line of the airports which Canada has constructed at Fort Nelson, Watson Lake and Whitehorse; and thence via Boundary and Big Delta to Fairbanks. The highway will thus connect with the existing road systems of Canada and Alaska.

The United States government, appreciating the burden of war expenditure already incurred by Canada since her entry into the war, and in particular on the construction of the air route to Alaska, has offered to undertake the building and war-time maintenance of the highway. At the conclusion of the war that part of the highway which is in Canada will, of course, become in all respects an integral part of the Canadian highway system. This offer has been accepted, and its terms will be set forth in an exchange of notes which will be signed and made public in the very near future. Canada will, of course, provide all necessary facilities, including the right of way for the road. Meanwhile, United States engineers who have been selected to make the survey and to lay out a pioneer road have been authorized to commence work without further delay.

Mr. GEORGE BLACK (Yukon):

Following the question asked of the Prime Minister yesterday afternoon by the hon. leader of the opposition, as I feel quite keenly on the subject of the Alaska highway I took it upon myself to write a letter to the Prime Minister on the subject. Probably he has not seen it yet. In the letter I referred to what he quoted to-day, that the road will begin at Fort St. John and go north through Canada, out of the valley of the Mackenzie river into the Yukon, and thence into Alaska. It will be about 1,200 miles in length. It goes for the most part over tundra and muskeg, the most difficult and expensive terrain on which to build a serviceable road. If the United States want to take more men and supplies to Alaska now-and I think they should, although to my knowledge, because I have seen them go, vast numbers of men and great quantities of war materials have already gone there by sea and air-the way to do it is to take them by rail to Prince Rupert, now, not next year or the year after, and from Prince Rupert send them by sea-

Order.

Mr. BLACK (Yukon):

If hon. members

will allow me for a moment; up to the present the matter of time has not been much of a consideration in this house.

Mr. MACKENZIE KING:

As a matter of privilege let the hon. member finish.

Mr. SPEAKER:

If it is the wish of the

house that the hon. member be allowed to make this explanation on the orders of the day, of course the Chair will accede to it. But I wish to point out that exception has already been taken in the house to questions and statements following the answer to a question put on the orders of the day and leading almost to the

Alaska Highway

proportions of a debate. I do not think that is a proper procedure. If the Prime Minister wishes that the hon. member continue his statement-

Mr. MACKENZIE KING:

In this case I think my hon. friend wishes to bring out a matter that he feels is of urgent and immediate importance, and if the house will permit him to make his statement I think it would be helpful.

Mr. HANSON (York-Sunbury):

The hon. member is perhaps asking a question on the orders of the day covering the matter referred to, and the statement of the Prime Minister dealing with the same subject rather foreclosed him. Perhaps the house will be good enough to hear him for three minutes longer.

Mr. HANSELL:

I rise to a point of order. I have no objection to the hon. gentleman making a statement, perhaps a very necessary one, but if one hon. member is allowed to make a statement others may wish to discuss the same matter. There is more than one hon. member who is interested in this particular matter, and if it is a question of discussing routes and so forth there is a good deal that may be said. I suggest that the Prime Minister provide some opportunity for discussion of this matter.

Mr. SPEAKER:

The hon. member is

following on the lines of what I have already mentioned. The Chair is in the hands of the house; in this case the leader of the government has consented to the hon. gentleman's completing his statement, and I take it he has now practically completed it. In this case therefore there might be an exception, but I wish to point out that the Chair should not be placed in the position of having to discriminate between hon. members in matters of this kind.

Mr. BLACK (Yukon):

I was saying that if men and equipment are taken by rail to Prince Rupert they can be shipped from Prince Rupert to Skagway by what is virtually an inland passage, a series of islands all the way on a run that could be easily protected. From Skagway they are taken across the pass by rail to Whitehorse, where a road is now being used to transport goods and passengers from Whitehorse to Dawson, and from Dawson to Fairbanks, which is the centre of activity for Alaska and from which railways and good roads radiate. It is only a short jump from there, and if they want quick action that is the way to go.

I am not opposed to the ultimate construction of the road from Fort St. John north. It is a splendid thing to have, but it cannot be done in a hurry.

Mr. H. C. GREEN (Vancouver South):

May I ask a question of the Prime Minister arising out of his statement? He said nothing whatever about any terms of the agreement covering the actual construction of the road, whether it is to be built by Canadians or by citizens of the United States. Has any agreement been reached on this point?

Mr. MACKENZIE KING:

In the statement which I made to the house a moment ago I said that the offer of the United States government has been accepted, and its terms will be set forth in an exchange of notes which will be signed and made public in the veiy near future.

Mr. GREEN:

Can the Prime Minister not give that information in the meantime?