June 29, 1951 (21st Parliament, 4th Session)

Mr. Harkness:

As I say, Mr. Chairman,
it seems to me that the department of public printing and stationery must have some idea of the expansion of the staff that is going to

take place, and that is the thing that I am complaining about. There was practically the same sort of answer, or an answer along that line, to every question that I asked. They could not answer it. In any event the third question in this return was:
(a) Where will the bureau secure its new employees?
(b) Does it propose to train them, or depend upon hiring workers from private plants?
The answer I received was as follows:
(a) Appointments to clerical and printing trades positions on the staff of the department are made by the civil service commission.
That is a lovely answer as to where they will secure these new employees. Then they go on to say:
(b) Policy to be determined in the light of circumstances existing when the new building is available.
I think one thing is quite clear. They are going to require more employees to man this terrific institution they have at the present time. Have they any policy or any idea whatever how they are going to get these new employees? Are they going around to private printers and say: Here, John Jones,
you come and work for us? In other words, are they going to rob the local printers, or are they going to take people and train these people themselves?