Mr. ALAN COCKERAM (York South):

In view of the fact that Dominion of Canada bonds are selling in New York at a discount of approximately 11J per cent, and interested stocks at a discount of 15 per cent will the Minister of Finance inform the house what steps the government propose to take to cope with the increasingly adverse and critical exchange position as between Canada and the United States of America?

Hon. DOUGLAS ABBOTT (Minister of Finance):

I do not think that is a question to be asked on the orders of the day, but appropriate action is being taken. I suggest that my hon. friend's friends sell their bonds in Canada.

Mr. G. J. TUSTIN (Prince Edward-Len-nox):

Several days before the Easter recess

the Minister of Agriculture stated in the house that negotiations were going on between his department and the food ministry of the United Kingdom in regard to the price of cheese for this year. I wonder if he is in a position to make a statement as yet.

Right Hon. J. G. GARDINER (Minister of Agriculture):

I think at or about the same

time I said consideration was being given to the possibility of adjusting the prices of all dairy products around May 1, in order to carry out the announced policy of doing something in regard to subsidies. I also made the statement about the same time that the whole matter was being considered by the advisory committee, which represents the provincial governments and farm organizations across Canada. We received the recommendations of that committee just this morning. Consideration is being given the whole matter, and an announcement will be made in accordance with the previous statement.

The DEPUTY CHAIRMAN:

Last evening we were dealing with the labour department, and discussing order in council P.C. 946, and also P.C. 251, P.C. 1665, P.C. 469 and P.C. 7355.

Mr. POULIOT:

I rise to a point of order. On April 1 the Right Hon. Secretary of State for External Affairs said, speaking of the consolidation which has been debated and discussed for the last three weeks, as reported at page 1919 of Hansard:

* . . an office consolidation, which has no probative value whatsoever but is a compilation of the orders as they exist now, with the amendments made thereto. That consolidation is not a part of the bill. It is merely a document and one that could not be received in court, that would be no evidence of the orders in council.

I submit that according to the description given by a jurist of the experience and fame of the right hon. gentleman, it is evident that this committee has been engaged in a futile and frivolous discussion for the last three weeks. I entirely agree with the right hon. gentleman that this compendium has nothing to do with the bill, but it is precisely what has been discussed in vain by all hon. members who have taken part in the discussion. I do not see the use of members of parliament wasting their valuable time discussing something that will be of no value before the courts. Therefore, under standing order 59 I move that the committee rise and report progress.

Mr. ST. LAURENT: I think the hon. member is omitting to take into consideration some pertinent and important facts in connection with this matter. The first of those is that the orders in council mentioned in the schedule annexed to the bill are in force at the present time, are the law of the country and are to remain in force until May 15. They are orders in council which have been promulgated and published in the manner in which the law requires that that be done. The list of them is mentioned in the schedule to the bill and, for the convenience of hon. members, the orders in council were tabled before the second reading of the bill. The compendium or office consolidation was a convenient docu-

Emergency Powers

meat prepared so that hon. members would not have to have recourse to the various issues of the official gazette, or to the wartime orders publications, to have before them the text now in force.

The hon. member is right when he says that in the bill we are not dealing with the office consolidation. In it we are dealing with certain orders in council which are in force, which have been published and promulgated as required by law and with respect to which parliament is considering whether the. expiry date should be May 15 or some subsequent date.

The DEPUTY CHAIRMAN:

The hon. member for Temiscouata has moved under standing order 59 that the committee rise and report progress. The motion is not debatable. All in favour will please say yea.

There is no seconder.