Mr. Gerard Duquet (Quebec East), seconded by Mr. Yvon L'Heureux (Chambly) moved:

That the petition of Alliance Security and Investigation Limited, which petition was not filed within the time limit specified by Standing Order 90, be referred to the Standing Committee on Miscellaneous Private Bills and Standing Orders, with the Third Report of the Clerk of Petitions tabled in the House on Tuesday, April 30, 1974, to enable the committee to make the recommendations it deems appropriate.

Mr. Speaker:

Does it please the House to adopt said motion?

Agreed.

Hon. C. M. Drury (President of the Treasury Board):

Mr. Speaker, I wish to make a statement to the House on the subject of the wages and salaries of employees of the

government of Canada. As I said in this House the other day, the government has been giving this matter serious consideration. I am sure you are aware that an increasing number of employers across this country, as well as in most other industrialized countries, have been taking special action to adjust their employees' wages and salaries to meet the effects of unusual rises in costs. Since the first of this year, major employers outside the federal Public Service have, as a result, begun to adjust wage ranges, provide their employees with lump-sum payments, re-open wage agreements or adopt other measures to increase employee compensation.

The government of Canada has always had a policy of paying its employees at levels which compare fairly with those of other employers. We closely monitor pay movements outside the Public Service to maintain our position in this regard. In arriving at pay settlements with various groups of Public Service employees during the course of 1972, 1973 and the early part of 1974, both parties at the bargaining table relied on wages and salary data as to future increases outside the federal Public Service.

Mr. Paproski:

You will not get their votes, so don't worry.

Mr. Drury:

Of course, the outside settlements relative to the future increase were reached at a time when it was not possible to fully foresee the degree of escalation in costs brought about by international conditions.

It is apparent, however, that in recognition of the upward movement in prices, wages and salary increases in the country generally have been adjusted more rapidly than anticipated in order to protect the real purchasing power of employees. The government has concluded that it is inappropriate to deal with this development only through the process of collective bargaining as agreements come up for renewal. Instead, special action is required in order to ensure that the pay levels of public servants will maintain their relative positions with those of persons performing similar work outside the Public Service.

Accordingly, Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to announce that the government has authorized an increase in pay ranges of $500 which will have the effect of increasing the annual rate of compensation by this amount as of April 1, 1974, for all its employees, including members of the RCMP and the Armed Forces-

Hear, hear!

Mr. Hees:

Watch out! The old pork barrel is rolling.

Mr. Drury:

-and excepting those in groups where notice to bargain has been given but no settlement has yet been reached and those in groups in respect of which an arbitral award was rendered or a settlement reached after April 1, 1974, the effective date of this general increase.

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Public Service Wages and Salaries

This adjustment will be added to employees' pay ranges and will become part of their regular compensation rather than take the form of a lump-sum payment. It should also be noted that this type of adjustment provides the greatest percentage increase to lower paid employees.

We took this pay action because it is our policy to maintain comparability and also in response to representations from the Public Service Alliance and requests from other Public Service unions.

There are exceptions to this general pay adjustment, Mr. Speaker, as I have said. Recent Public Service pay settlements and offers have recognized the unusual wages and salary escalation in the private sector, and I am confident that the settlements for those groups where an agreement has not yet been concluded will be reflective of current wages and salary patterns in Canada.

The government believes that this measure reinforces its policy of paying compensation comparable to that paid for comparable work elsewhere and will reflect positively in the achievement of good staff relations in the Public Service of Canada.

Mr. Walter Baker (Grenville-Carleton):

Mr. Speaker, let me say at the outset that the announcement which has been made today is an insult to lower paid civil servants. In terms of their needs, I am being charitable if I describe this action as inadequate. I received the minister's statement just a few minutes before coming into the House, but from a preliminary examination it is obvious that the fact that this increase is going to apply to deputy ministers now receiving a salary of $60,000 a year is an insult to the Canadian people.

Hear, hear!