Right Hon. L. S. St. Laurent (Prime Minister) moved:

That the standing committees of this house shall severally be empowered to examine and inquire into all such matters and things as may be referred to them by the house, and to report from time to time their observations and opinions thereon, with power to send for persons, papers and records.

Mr. W. G. Weir (Poriage-Neepawa) moved:

That a message be sent to the Senate acquainting Their Honours that this house has appointed Mr. Speaker and Messrs. Beyerstein, Blackmore, Brown (Essex West), Carroll, Carter, Casselman, Conacher, Coyle, Dechene, Demers, Eudes, Gauthier (Lapointe), Gibson, Gingues, Goode, Hellyer, Henderson, Higgins, Homuth, Hunter, Jones, Kirk (Digby-Yarmouth), Knight, LaCroix, Laing, Leger, Mac-Naught, Mcllraith, McMillan, Noseworthy, Pearkes, Proudfoot, Ratelle, Rochefort, Ross (Hamilton East), Rowe, Sinnott, Smith (Moose Mountain), Smith (York North), Tustin, Valois, White (Middlesex East), Whiteside and Winkler, a committee to assist His Honour the Speaker in the direction of the library of parliament so far as the interests of the House of Commons are concerned, and to act on behalf of the House of Commons as members of a joint committee of both houses on the library.

Mr. W. G. Weir (Poriage-Neepawa) moved:

That a message be sent to the Senate acquainting Their Honours that this house has appointed Mr. Speaker and Messrs. Breithaupt, Casselman, Cour-noyer, Dewar, Ferguson, Gauthier (Sudbury), Gour (Russell), Hansell, Harkness, Langlois (Berthier-Maskinonge), Leger, Little, Macdonald (Edmonton East), MacNaught, McCulloch, McGregor, Ratelle, Richard (Ottawa East), Rochefort, Simmons, Stewart (Winnipeg North), Stick, White (Hastings-Peterborough) and Ward, to assist His Honour the Speaker in the direction of the restaurant so far as the interests of the House of Commons are concerned, and to act on behalf of the House of Commons as members of a joint committee of both houses on the restaurant.

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

Mr. Speaker, the government of Canada has given instructions to apply for leave to appeal to the privy council against the judgment of the Supreme Court of Canada in the cases brought by the Attorney General of Canada and the Canadian wheat board against Jeremiah J. Nolan of Chicago and his agents Hallet and Carey Limited of Winnipeg. These cases involved the question of the ownership of certain barley that had been purchased by Mr. Nolan through Hallet and Carey Limited and which had been vested in the Canadian wheat board under the National Emergency Transitional Powers Act, 1945. The judgment held that the transfer of ownership in the barley to the Canadian wheat board was not authorized by that act and allowed Mr. Nolan's claim to the barley.

[Mr. Weir.)

This litigation involves an important principle that was followed by the government throughout the whole period of price decontrol. This principle was that nobody should be allowed to make fortuitous or speculative profits out of the process of decontrol; in effect that there should be no decontrol profiteering. It is obvious that when commodities have been purchased by traders from producers under a controlled price and then the control is later relaxed, there is great opportunity for profit by traders in the commodity, arising solely from the [DOT]decontrol process, which is quite beyond a normal trading profit. In the opinion of the members of the government, who were members of the House of Commons and also members of the government at the time the National Emergency Transitional Powers Act was introduced and passed by parliament in 1945, it was the intention of both the government and parliament that no such fortuitous profits, resulting directly from decontrol, should be allowed to commercial traders in commodities. This policy was applied with respect to sugar, flax, flour, leather and other commodities where it was found necessary. It was also intended to be followed in the case of oats and barley, and it was to carry out that intention that the barley in question in these cases was to be vested in the Canadian wheat board at the old price, with the option to the former commercial owner to take it back at the new ceiling price. All the commercial dealers in oats and barley except Mr. Nolan of Chicago co-operated fully in giving effect to the principle in that manner.

The National Emergency Transitional Powers Act was drafted to empower the governor in council to provide for a process of orderly decontrol which would not permit the fortuitous profits that I have mentioned. The Court of King's Bench and the Appeal Court of Manitoba, and a majority of the judges of the Supreme Court of Canada, however, have now held that the wording of the act did not authorize the method adopted by the government to prevent such fortuitous profits in the process of decontrolling oats and barley. The government of Canada is, therefore, seeking leave to appeal from the decision of the majority of the Supreme Court of Canada in order that its counsel may attempt to convince the privy council that the language used in the National Emergency Transitional Powers Act was effective to enable these fortuitous profits to be withheld from traders by the method adopted.

Should this appeal not be successful, the government of Canada, being desirous of applying to the decontrol measures in oats and barley the same principles of preventing fortuitous profits as were applied to other

commodities, gives notice that it will, in order to carry out the principle of preventing such fortuitous profits, introduce legislation in parliament confirming the settlements with all of the commercial traders in oats and barley, other than Mr. Nolan, and will, therefore, not recognize claims made on behalf of such commercial traders upon the wheat board or upon the government in derogation of the settlements already made.

Meanwhile the government is authorizing application for leave to appeal rather than seeking legislation at this time, because it feels no exception in favour of Mr. Nolan should be recognized until every possibility still open for judicial determination of the question has been exhausted.

Hon. Douglas Abbott (Minister of Finance):

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the hon. member for St. John's East (Mr. Higgins) asked me the amount of Newfoundland's financial surplus now on deposit with the government. I informed him that the arrangement was, of course, between the dominion government and the government of Newfoundland, and said that if that government had no objection I should be glad to give the information. The Newfoundland provincial government has no objection, and I can say that the amount is $20 million.