Mr. GORDON GRAYDON (Leader of the Opposition):

Mr. Speaker, I desire to direct a question to the Minister of Labour, who I think is the appropriate minister, although three ministers are involved. I understand that a delegation of farmers met three ministers, as well as the director of national selective service, in Ottawa yesterday and presented a resolution endorsed by thirty-six Ontario county units of the federation of agriculture, which resolution contained constructive proposals for relieving the present acute farm labour situation. Will the Minister of Labour indicate to the house the nature of these proposals, as well as the steps which the government is prepared to take with respect to them?

Hon. HUMPHREY MITCHELL (Minister of Labour):

Mr. Speaker, I have not the

resolution with me, as this matter came on my desk just before I entered the house. We did have a conference with the delegation, and I would say a very successful conference. As the leader of the opposition (Mr. Graydon) has intimated, the delegation met two other ministers as well as myself, the Minister of National Defence (Mr. Ralston) and the Minister of Agriculture (Mr. Gardiner). As my hon. friend is well aware, we have an agreement with every province in Canada respecting the placement of farm labour, not only in the summer months but the whole year round, and these agreements have worked very satisfactorily in every province. But in addition, after hearing the representations of the delegation it was decided that a committee, accompanied by an official of the Department of Labour, would meet the district officers commanding at Toronto, London, Kingston, Petawawa and Borden with a view to speeding up the granting of leave to men who wish to go farming to the fullest possible extent consistent with army needs.

We also telegraphed the ministers of agricv.I ture for Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba with a view to moving an additional 500 experienced farmers from the western prairies to eastern Canada so that they would be able to help harvest the heavy crops in eastern Canada. We had a similar movement last year. The hon. gentleman will understand that the crops this year in the east are heavier than last year. [DOT]

It has also been decided to recruit 500 students, seventeen years of age or over, who have had farming experience or who come from farm homes in western Canada to give us some assistance with the very heavy crop in this part of the country.

A letter has also gone out to all the industrialists of Ontario urging upon them the desirability of releasing as many experienced farm workers as possible, consistent with maintaining war production, to assist in harvesting the crop.

In addition to that, I might say that we are of course working in very close cooperation with the Department of Agriculture of Ontario, as we did last year. Last year we placed over 100,000 on the farms of Ontario through the instrumentality of that cooperation. I have also sent a direct appeal to the mayors and other municipal officials of all the municipalities in Ontario in an effort to ensure wherever possible the granting of leave to municipal employees in order that we may get over the hump of the haying season and the peak of the farm season in Ontario.

Mr. VINCENT DUPUIS (Chambly-Rou-ville):

Mr. Speaker, with your permission I would like to ask the Minister of Labour:

1. Has a strike occurred in the plant of United Shipyards, Limited, at Montreal?

2. If so, what steps are being taken by the federal Department of Labour to settle the dispute?

3. Has the union holding the collective bargaining agreement asked for police protection because of the attitude of a minority of the workers?

Hon. HUMPHREY MITCHELL (Minister of Labour):

I will answer the first and last questions first. A strike has taken place in the United Shipyards in the city of Montreal, engineered by a minority group there. The union in question has asked for protection in order to permit the membership to go to work in an orderly manner. Arrangements have been made that every protection will be given to those union workers in that particular shipyard to see to it that they carry out the terms of their agreement so that the construction of these very necessary ships at this critical time in the nation's history will be proceeded with.

Aeronautics Act

Mr. M. J. COLDWELL (Rosetown-Biggar):

I wish to direct a question to the Minister of National Defence. I regret that I have not sent him notice of the question but it is of such a nature that perhaps notice is not required. On June 29 I asked a question with regard to the situation which was alleged in military district No. 1 at London, Ontario. Has any investigation been made since that time and has any irregularity been discovered? Because of the nature of the answer to my question on that day, I ask this supplementary question now. I understand that recently a further investigation has been made and it is alleged that some grave irregularities have been discovered.

Hon. J. L. RALSTON (Minister of National Defence):

I wonder if my hon. friend would remind me of the question to which he refers.

Mr. COLDWELL:

The question I asked1, as reported at page 4334 of Hansard, was:

I. Will the Minister of National Defence inform the house whether an investigation has been instituted into alleged irregularities at the central mechanization depot in London, Ontario? 2. If such an investigation has taken place, what irregularities, if any, have been discovered? 3. Has the attention of the minister been drawn to the possibility of irregularities in other divisions of military district No. 1, and will the minister consider instituting an investigation into the administration of the entire district?

Mr. RALSTON:

I remember now. The investigation, I believe, is still proceeding. 1 have not had any report on it at all but I shall inquire.