++NAYS Messrs: Blackmore Castleden Coldwell d'Anjou Dorion Douglas (Weyburn) Gauthier Gillis Hansell Kuhl Lacroix (Beauee) LaCroix (Quebec-Montmorency) Maclnnis Roy-14.
Mr. MARSHALL:
I was paired with the hon. member for Victoria, Ont. (Mr. McNevin). Had I voted I would have voted against the motion.
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 you have voted in reply to my speech at the opening of parliament and thank you for it sincerely. .
Athlone
Government House, Ottawa March 24, 1943.
Mr. FAIR:
I was paired with the hon. member for Melville (Mr. Gardiner). Had I voted I would have voted against the motion.
Mr. ROSS (Moose Jaw):
I was paired with the hon. member for Bow River (Mr. Johnston). Had I voted I would have voted for the motion.
The house in committee of ways and means, Mr. Bradette in the chair. excise act, 1934 Resolved, that it is expedient to introduce a measure to amend the schedule to the Excise Act, 1934, and to provide: 1. That the duty of excise on spirits distilled in Canada be increased from nine dollars to eleven dollars per proof gallon, provided that duty paid spirits owned by any distiller at the close of business on the second day of March, one thousand nine hundred and forty-three shall be subject to the following additional duty of excise on every gallon of the strength of proof two dollars and so in proportion for any greater or less strength than the strength of proof and for any less quantity than a gallon. 2. That the duty of excise on Canadian brandy be increased from seven dollars to nine dollars per proof gallon, provided that duty paid Canadian brandy owned by any distiller at the close of business on the second day of March, one thousand nine hundred and forty-three. shall be subject to tbe following additional duty of excise on every gallon of the strength of proof two dollars and so in proportion for any greater or less strength than the strength of proof and for any jess quantity than a gallon. 3. That any enactment founded upon the foregoing resolution shall come into force on the third day of March, one thousand nine hundred and forty-three. . Progress reported. On motion of Mr. Mackenzie King the house adjourned at twelve o'clock midnight. statement as to application of subsidy on FUEL WOOD
Hon. C. D. HOWE (Minister of Munitions and Supply):
Mr. Speaker, on March 16 at the conclusion of the debate which followed the motion of the hon. member for Vancouver South (Mr. Green) I told the house of various policies which were being adopted in an effort to stimulate the production of fuel. As there appears to be some confusion as to the application of the subsidy on fuel wood I should like to elaborate on my previous statement, particularly to define clearly what is meant by a dealer. I think it possible that my reply to a question from the hon. member for Souris (Mr. Ross) which appears at page 1317 of Hansard may have given rise to some misunderstanding.
A subsidy of $1 per standard cord of 128 stacked cubic feet will be paid to wood fuel dealers on all commercial wood fuel contracted for and cut on or before June 30, 1943, and held to dealers' account on that date. In recommending dealers, the office of the fuel controller will be guided by the following definition of the persons and fuel eligible for the bonus:
1. The coal controller will have authority in his discretion to recognize as a dealer any person who was a dealer in wood fuel and who held a wartime prices and trade board licence as of March 5, 1943.
2. The coal controller will have authority to recognize as dealers those holding licences granted since March 5, 1943, in special cases where, because of a real contribution to increased wood fuel supply, it would be in the public interest to take such action. All such special cases will require approval from the controller's office at Ottawa.
Fuel Shortage
Replying to a question by the hon. member for Souris, I said this:
If the man in question cuts one hundred cords of wood and sells it himself, he is a dealer and would be entitled to the bonus as a dealer.
The special circumstances of a transaction of that kind would be inquired into by the coal controller. The coal controller would of course eliminate cross-transactions between farmers, and any transactions outside of those by bona fide dealers in wood fuel.
Mr. HOMUTH:
The other day when tne fuel problem was being discussed in the house I referred to circumstances under which wood fuel was cut by community effort. The farmer allowed the people to come in to cut fuel, and for every cord they cut he received one cord for himself; thus the people who did the cutting were able to get sufficient fuel for themselves. They paid all the costs of the saw, and so forth. This meant of course that the farmer's wood bush was depreciated; would he not be entitled to the dollar subsidy on the quantity which went to the village? He is actually not a dealer; it is a community effort.
Mr. HOWE:
The transaction in question would be one of those the regulations are planned to prevent. The man neither cut the wood nor delivered it as a dealer. He sold standing wood and was paid in wood. He must be a bona fide dealer; his effort must be different from the ordinary effort of settlers who ordinarily cut wood for their own use.
Mr. BLACK (Cumberland):
Will this
apply to wood cut by mills more or less as a by-product? The minister is reported on .page 1315 of Hansard as follows:
It is to pay a bonus of $1 a cord for wood cut before June 1 and in the hands of dealers on that date.
There appears to be a conflict as to the date; in another place it is given as June 30.
Mr. HOWE:
June 1 is the date. It does not matter who cuts the wood; if it is in a dealer's hands on the first day of June and offered for sale to the public, the dealer will get the bonus of $1 per cord.
Mr. BLACK (Cumberland):
Does it apply to wood cut by mills as a by-product and sold as fuel?
Mr. HOWE:
Yes.
Mr. GRAYDON:
If there is a cooperative enterprise by which a number of persons gather together, purchase a wood lot and cut wood for their own particular town or village, would the dollar a cord subsidy apply in that case?
Mr. HOWE:
Only if the wood is delivered to a dealer for sale to the public at large, not for sale back to the people who cut it. A man who cuts wood for his own use is not entitled to the bonus.
Mr. HATFIELD:
In my constituency
probably sixty per cent of the wood is cut by farmers and sold direct to the users. Would the farmers get the bonus?