Mr. T. H. Goode (Burnaby-Richmond):

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a question of privilege. I believe that it is in the public interest that I should bring to the attention of this house a press release of today's date which informs the people of Canada that Tim Buck, the leader of the Labour-Progressive party in Canada, is at present attending a communist convention in Hungary.

It is my understanding that the government have not the right to inquire into the purpose that prompts a Canadian citizen to leave this country. I suggest, Mr. Speaker, it is about time that this House of Commons should demand that communists of the type of Tim Buck be put in a place that would preclude their opportunities of attending such conventions and then allow them to come back to Canada and spread the communist doctrine among others.

Mr. Gordon Graydon (Peel):

Mr. Speaker, arising out of the question of privilege raised by the hon. member for Burnaby-Richmond (Mr. Goode), I should like to ask a question of the Secretary of State for External Affairs. Under ordinary circumstances perhaps he would require notice of a question of this kind, but the person involved is so well known that perhaps he can answer now. Was Tim Buck granted a passport to go overseas in connection with the mission to which the hon. member referred?

Hon. L. B. Pearson (Secretary of State for External Affairs):

I assume that the gentleman in question -

Gentleman!

Mr. Pearson:

-if I may call him that, is the possessor of a Canadian passport. 1 have no knowledge of the circumstances under which it was issued, or when it was issued.

Mr. Goode:

I have a supplementary question to ask. Has the minister the power to revoke such a passport?

Mr. Pearson:

I do not know of any occasion on which a passport in the possession of a Canadian citizen has been revoked. Whether

I have the legal power to do that, on the assumption that I could get hold of the passport, is something I should like to look into before I answer.

Right Hon. C. D. Howe (Minister of Trade and Commerce):

I wish to make an announcement to the house in regard to initial prices for western wheat, oats and barley for the crop year commencing on August 1, 1950, in order that producers will know the government's policy in regard to initial prices for these grains prior to the seeding of the new crop.

I will first deal with wheat from the designated pool area. As I stated in the house on March 21, the five-year pool ends on July 31, 1950, and a final payment will be made to producers as soon as possible after that date. When the final payment on the five-year pool is made, it will mark the tenth successive wheat crop upon which additional payments, over and above initial prices, have been made by the Canadian wheat board. I believe that this record is one which is not only of public interest, but one that is appreciated by wheat producers themselves. It represents a series of pooling operations for the most important grain crop of the prairie provinces, based upon the principle of reasonably safe initial prices, and the distribution of surpluses resulting from these pooling operations.

Commencing on August 1, 1950, and assuming that parliament will accept proposed amendments to the wheat board act, pooling operations in wheat will be on an annual basis. The initial payment which I am announcing today will be effective for the next crop year from August 1, 1950, to July 31, 1951.

Hon. members and wheat producers in western Canada will remember that the initial price for wheat in the current five-year pool was first established at $1.35 per bushel. Adjustment payments made from time to time within the pool period have brought the payment on delivery up to $1.75 per bushel, with, of course, appropriate adjustments for all deliveries previously made to the pool. In

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Wheat and Coarse Grains setting the new initial payment, the government believes that it is bound to follow sound pooling practice, dictated by experience in pooling operations over the years. The new initial price must again be set at a reasonably safe level, and one that is not likely to lead to the bankruptcy of the pool.

The prices set must take into account not only the international wheat agreement floor prices for 1950-51 of $1.40 U.S., but also the 1951-52 floor of $1.30 U.S., which will apply to whatever carry-over may be on hand-and there is bound to be some-at the end of the coming crop year. Then, too, there is the possibility of deliveries to the board being in excess of the international wheat agreement quantities, which excess would not be protected by any international floor price.

The government proposes, therefore, to establish the initial price for wheat for the crop year 1950-51 at $1.40 per bushel, basis No. 1 northern wheat in store Fort William, Port Arthur or Vancouver. Initial prices for grades other than No. 1 northern will be fixed by the board with the approval of governor in council. I wish to emphasize that this is an initial price, and producers will, of course, receive in further payments any surplus accumulated 'by the board either during the pool period, by advance in the initial price if such should appear justified, or by interim payments after the close of the pool period under the authority to be sought in the amendments to the wheat board act. The final price which producers will receive for wheat delivered in 1950-51 will depend upon the international wheat situation as it develops, and the success of the board's efforts in selling wheat at the best available prices.

I will now deal with oats and barley. The government has decided that the initial price for No. 2 Canada western oats in store Fort William-Port Arthur will be 65 cents per bushel. The initial price for No. 3 Canada western six-row barley, basis in store Fort William-Port Arthur, will be 93 cents per bushel. These initial prices are the same as initial prices for these grades in effect for the present crop year. Appropriate initial prices for other grades of oats and barley will be established by the board.

In establishing these initial prices for oats and barley the government has in mind the principles which I have outlined in regard to the fixing of the initial prices for wheat, and also the successful operation which has been possible in connection with oats and barley during the present crop year. The government expects that there will be a continuing demand for oats and barley, and especially for malting barley.

Whether a voluntary pool for flax will be operated in the next crop year must depend upon the acreage of flax that is planted. In any event, the initial price would not be higher than the $2.50 per bushel fixed for the present voluntary pool. For obvious reasons, the voluntary pool in flax of this year has been little patronized by the growers. Assuming a reasonable crop, the open market is likely to provide an outlet satisfactory to the growers. However, the flax situation will be reviewed before the end of the present crop year and a decision taken then.

Mr. Harkness:

I should like to direct a question to the Minister of Trade and Commerce consequent upon his announcement as to prices of wheat and coarse grain. Was the price of $1.40 for wheat set because of an apprehension that the world price of wheat is going to fall seriously, or was it designed to encourage wheat producers to plant decreased acreages and thus encourage a greater planting of coarse grain?

Mr. Howe:

My hon. friend, not being * a wheat grower, will not be able to interpret the statement, but I think most wheat growers will be able to do so.

Mr. Harkness:

I am a wheat grower.

Mr. George A. Drew (Leader of the Opposition):

Mr. Speaker, with the consent of the house I should like to raise a question which otherwise I would have raised before the orders of the day were called. In view of the fact, however, that at this sitting, the last before the Easter recess, no orders of the day will be called, I wish to ask the Minister of Justice whether he has given consideration to the extent to which the Post Office Department is usurping the authority and responsibilities of the Department of Justice in acting as a court by making decisions as to the guilt or otherwise of certain people using the mails of Canada. According to his published statement, the deputy postmaster general is deciding, without notice to the people affected, whether they may or may not use the mails.

Hon. Sfuari S. Garson (Minister of Justice):

Without in any way acquiescing in the allegations of fact which the hon. member has made in his question, I may say that the matter to which he has referred has had consideration and is still under consideration.

Mr. Drew:

In view of the answer the Minister of Justice has given, that the matter

is under consideration, I should point out to him that the mail now being stopped not only affects those against whom the order has been made, but has the effect of preventing the receipt by other people of securities and other documents to which they are entitled. For that reason I suggest it is a matter which requires urgent attention.