Mr. Speaker:

I have the honour to inform the house that I have received a communication from Mr. P. H. Spaak, president of the consultative assembly of the Council of Europe, inviting this parliament to send observers to the session of the council, commencing the 24th September next.

1. Was any amount advanced to George T. Davie and Sons Limited by the Canadian Commercial Corporation for the purpose of enabling the first named company to complete and to deliver ships to the Ming Sung Industrial Company Limited? If so, what was the total advanced?

2. How much of this amount has been repaid?

3. What was the date of such payment?

4. Has any amount been written off?

5. If so. how much, and what was the date of such write-off?

6. Did the government take a first mortgage on the shipyards of George T. Davie and Sons Limited? If so, for what principal amount?

7. Does the government still hold the said mortgage?

8. If so, how much is owing on the said mortgage for (a) principal: (b) interest?

9. If not, when and for what consideration was the said mortgage released?

10. Is the firm George T. Davie and Sons Limited, or any successor thereto presently engaged on any shipbuilding contracts for the government?

11. If so, when were these contracts awarded, what vessels are covered by each contract, what is the cost to the government of each vessel, and what will be the profit to the company under each contract?

12. Who are the directors, and who are the majority shareholders of the firm with whom the contracts referred to in part 10 hereof were entered into?

1. Yes. The government, acting through the Canadian Commercial Corporation, undertook to provide George T. Davie and Sons Limited with any deficiency in its working capital necessary to enable it to complete and deliver three ships to the Ming Sung Industrial Company Limited. The maximum aggregate at any one time of the amounts so advanced was $1,011,187.

2. $481,187.

3. At various dates during the currency of the advances, $371,500; on July 7, 1950, $59,687; on September 6, 1950, $30,000; on April 30, 1951, $20,000.

4. Yes.

5. $450,000, as of November 2, 1949.

6. Yes. For $1,450,000.

7. Yes.

8. (a) $80,000; (b) nil.

9. Mortgage not released.

10. Yes.

11.

Date of Contract

Feb. 16, 1950 Nov. 9, 1950 Nov. 9, 1950 Jan. 31, 1951

June 8, 1951

Estimated

Vessel Covered Cost to

Government

1 gate vessel $500,000

1 influence type minesweeping vessel 925,000

1 gate vessel 500,000

Production of working drawings, et cetera,

for gate vessels 25,000

1 loop layer basic type J. craft 700,000

The amount of estimated cost to the government includes cost of labour, material and overhead plus a fee of five per cent of the total thereof payable to the company. The amount of the actual profit to the company under each contract cannot be determined.

Questions

12. The directors of George T. Davie and Sons Limited are Andre Delagrave, Brenda Delagrave and Maurice Paquet. The majority shareholders of the company are not known.

1. How many rural mail routes were in operation in each province of Canada on (a) June 1, 1946; (b) June 1. 1951?

2. What were the number of boxes on these routes in each province on the above dates?

Mr. Rinfret:

1 and 2.

Number of Number of Rural Routes Boxes

(a) (b) (a) (b)^Postal District 1946 1951 1946 1951Vancouver .... . 112 140 21,095 33,440Edmonton . 165 169 9,369 10,059Calgary . 82 78 4,240 4,409Saskatoon . 119 115 4,731 4,563Moose Jaw . 55 49 1,920 1,828Winnipeg . 149 154 8,719 9,933London 815 821 65,705 73,393Toronto . 573 580 43,863 53,892North Bay . .. . . 99 118 4,904 7,053Ottawa . 689 700 42,695 44,020Montreal . 718 751 42,598 52,113Quebec . 503 674 27,370 42,927Saint John .... . 349 359 14,265 19,325Halifax 245 284 11,543 17,707Charlottetown . . 177 178 9,232 10,244

*Rural mail delivery statistics are kept by postal districts instead of provinces.

1. How many boards or agencies are in existence now or have been in existence since January 1, 1946, which have paid any form of market or production subsidy to, or given any form of capital assistance to, industrial manufacturers?

2. What is the name of each such board or agency?

3. What is the total that has been paid to recipients in each province by each such board or agency since January 1, 1946, or since the date of establishment of the board or agency if established after that date?

Mr. Diefenbaker:

For a copy of all letters, telegrams, and other communications since January 1, 1949, and to date, in connection with the nine ships built for the Ming

Sung Industrial Company Limited and/or its Canadian subsidiary, by the St. Lawrence Metal and Marine Works and Davie shipbuilding company, which have passed between the government of Canada and (1) the said Ming Sung Industrial Company Limited and/or its Canadian subsidiary, or on behalf of either of said companies; (2) the Davie shipbuilding company or any of its officers or other persons on its behalf.

Mr. Abbott:

Mr. Speaker, there is no objection to the passing of the order; but, for reasons which will be obvious, the correspondence asked for is voluminous, a good deal of it being of a purely routine character in relation to the contract referred to. I had a word with my hon. friend, who, I understand, will be quite prepared to examine the original correspondence and indicate which portion of it he desires to have copied and produced in accordance with the order.