Mr. A. M. Nicholson (Mackenzie):

Mr. Speaker, I wish to direct a question to the Minister of Agriculture. In the light of the minister's statement in the house on January 11 which assured prairie egg producers a floor price of 30 cents a dozen, will the minister explain why the price at Invermay, Saskatchewan, on January 21 was 28 cents for grade A large? Could he account for the fact that a 12-dozen crate of eggs brought $2.68 this year, $4.39 in 1957, and $5.05 in 1956?

Hon. D. S. Harkness (Minister of Agriculture):

Mr. Speaker, I have no knowledge with regard to what the price may have been in Invermay. I will be glad to have the matter investigated. However, I can assure the hon. member that the price of 30 cents to the producer applies and has applied at all main assembly centres throughout the western provinces since action was taken about January 11 or 12 to ensure that that situation would obtain.

As far as the latter part of his question is concerned, in which he cited the prices of crates of eggs, I can only say that it seems to me to be designed to create a totally false impression. The reason for any difference of that kind would be due to the fact that in one case he is talking about grade A large eggs and in another place probably he is referring to grade B eggs, or else he is talking about two different periods of the year.

Mr. Nicholson:

I will be glad to send over to the minister the slips from which I took this information, which come from a very good source, and I note that the grade "C" eggs are worth only 10 cents a dozen.

Mr. Sinclair:

Tory times are hard times; 10 cents a dozen for eggs under the Tories.

Mr. Bell (Saini John-Albert):

You are only qualified to talk about rotten eggs.

Mr. Harkness:

In so far as the question asked by the hon. member for Mackenzie about egg prices is concerned, I have now had an opportunity of looking at the egg slips which he sent over to me. They appear to bear out completely what I said in answer to his question. The prices of these eggs which he has mentioned are due mainly to the fact that they were delivered at completely different times of the year. The first lot was delivered in January, when egg prices are always low and under support. The other two slips show that they are dated in August 96698-2631

Inquiries of the Ministry when prices were high, 39 cents for grade A large rather than 30 cents which is now being paid, and the other slip shows 45 cents for grade A. In one of these cases the eggs were grade A large, and in the other case he mentioned where the total is $2.68, only half of the eggs were grade A large.

Questions of this sort, when a member has the information before him in the form of these slips which he subsequently sends over to me, are designed entirely to give the farmers a completely false picture, and that is the sort of thing hon. members should not do.

Mr. Nicholson:

May I ask the minister if he thinks eggs can be produced cheaper in Saskatchewan in the summertime than they can be in January? Does he not think the producer who goes to the expense of putting up buildings for the production of eggs in January should have the ma'ximum price in that month?

Mr. Harkness:

What I think in regard to the matter is immaterial. The hon. member has asked me for my thought.

Mr. Argue:

That is right; they are worth nothing.

Mr. Speaker:

Order. In so far as this egg question is concerned, I hope the eggs are better than the questions. I shall refrain from making the obvious pun, but I do feel the questions might be taken up when the Department of Agriculture estimates are under consideration. These questions seem to produce a great deal of argument every time they are raised.

Mr. H. R. Argue (Assiniboia):

Mr. Speaker, I wish to direct a question to the Secretary of State for External Affairs. Can the minister inform the house whether the United States Senate foreign relations committee has invited Canadian officials to give testimony before that committee next week when it inquires into Canadian-United States relations, as has been reported in the press, and whether Canada is going to take part in the proceedings before that committee?

Hon. Sidney E. Smith (Secretary of State for External Affairs):

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for giving me notice of this question since I came into the house. We know nothing about this investigation into the relations between Canada and the United States except what we have read in

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Inquiries of the Ministry the newspapers. I have been endeavouring to obtain some official information about it but as yet I have not been successful and, as I say, all we know about it is what we have read in the newspapers. One report I saw indicated that the foreign relations committee of the Senate would not be inviting any Canadians to appear before it.

May I interpolate, Mr. Speaker, that we were gratified to observe that the foreign relations committee of the United States Senate is beginning to take heed of Canadian protests with respect to the injury that has been done on occasion to Canadian interests.

Mr. Argue:

Mr. Speaker, the Globe and Mail report I have in my hand says the committee would also like to hear testimony from Canadian officials. I am wondering whether the minister can say if Canada would be prepared to give sympathetic consideration-

Mr. Speaker:

Order. I am sorry, but that question falls in the category of being hypothetical and should not be asked until there is some certainty about the matter.

Hon. L. B. Pearson (Leader of the Opposition):

Mr. Speaker, I was going to direct a similar question to the Secretary of State for External Affairs with respect to whether he thought it was appropriate for Canadian officials to appear before the United States Senate foreign relations committee, but as you have ruled that question out of order may I ask him whether the intergovernmental agreement between Canada and the United States covering the air defence command which was set up last July and which was, in the words of the Minister of National Defence, to have been concluded early in the new year, has yet been concluded.