Mr. Hatfield:

Is the licence fee for a television set any different from the other fee?

Mr. McCann:

There is no licence fee for a television set because we have not established television. It would be most unfair to ask people to pay a licence fee for television receiving sets when they are receiving television from another country.

Mr. Knowles:

The hon. member should not suggest it as he may put ideas in the minister's head.

Mr. Haliield:

Is there going to be any difference in the licence fee when we do have television in Canada?

Mr. McCann:

I do not know.

Mr. Higgins:

I have one question that rather bothers me. An application was made for a new radio station in Newfoundland and included in it was an application for the required steel. As you know, steel has been highly controlled. I am informed, and I verily believe, as we say in the old law applications, that this steel has been granted to the corporation making the application, which corporation, as the minister is probably aware, is known as the Sunday Herald. Mr. Geoff Stirling and Mr. Don Jameson have been granted permission by C.B.C. to operate a radio station, and an allocation of steel has been given. The minister should be aware of what that station is going to do in so far as broadcasting is concerned, and what the reason for it is. I do not need to enlarge on it. There have been so many acrimonious debates in the house in recent days that I will not go into that. Will the minister tell me how they got the steel and why they got permission?*

Mr. McCann:

I do not know how they got the steel. They make an application for the steel to the Department of Trade and Commerce, and I suppose either the steel controller was able to give it to them or they bought the steel privately. I have known of one or two who have obtained permission and were able to buy secondhand steel from a radio station which had previously purchased new steel and then had a change in frequency or in power.

Mr. Higgins:

I am informed-and I will not qualify it by saying that I know-that permission was given to buy the steel following the time that steel was put under 'control. I know that I made application for steel myself to the controller for another very worth-while project in the province of Newfoundland, a stadium, but it was not considered sufficiently worth-while to involve permission. However, since that time permission has been granted for this radio station which, from what I hear, will chiefly broadcast items that might interest the party of which the minister is a member. I merely make that remark. I do not know.

Mr. McCann:

We get the inference too.

Mr. Fleming:

In connection with item 564, the sum of $1,500,000 for the development of television, will the minister put on the record

* (See also page 4996.)

Supply-National Revenue -I am not asking him to take the time to read the figures-the budget submitted by C.B.C. that contemplates the need for that sum of money for this purpose?

Mr. McCann:

We can get that for you.

Mr. Fleming:

Is it understood that the committee will give leave to have that printed in Hansard in order to save time?

Agreed.

Mr. McCann:

It is as follows:

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Distribution of Television Funds

Loans

Authorized by Appropriation Act, No. 7,

1949, Vote 934 $4,500,000

Requested through Vote 564, 1951/52 .. 1,500,000

Mr. Fleming:

I have one final question. In view of the discussion today and the abundant proof it has given of the need for detailed study of this whole subject, will the minister undertake that at the fall session of the house the government will propose the establishment of the special committee on broadcasting, and that the relevant parts of the report of the Massey commission, including the chapters on radio broadcasting and television, will be referred to that committee for study and report?

Mr. McCann:

I can give no such undertaking. I will bring it to the attention of

Supply-Fisheries

my colleagues that it has been suggested by the hon. member for Eglinton that the radio committee should meet in the fall.

Mr. Diefenbaker:

In view of that, I have to put a further question with respect to the applicants. Will the minister give the committee the names of the applicants for television licences and the amounts that they are prepared to expend? He mentioned ten.

Mr. McCann:

Actually the applicants do not make application to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. They make application to the Department of Transport which is responsible for the administration of the Radio Act. On recommendation of the Department of Transport, after they have gone through the preliminaries of technical details, they come to the board of governors of the C.B.C. These applications have actually' not been made to the broadcasting corporation.

Mr. Diefenbaker:

And the broadcasting corporation has no information about them at all?