May 9, 1905 (10th Parliament, 1st Session)

Mr. H. S. CLEMENTS (West Kent).

Mr. Speaker, if it be necessary to keep mysell right, I will conclude with a motion. I desire to call the attention of the government to an important question which, I think, is deserving of a more explicit answer from the government than that which has been given. It has been rumoured for some time back that the government propose building several hundred miles of wire fence in the Canadian Northwest along the boundary line between the United States and Canada. On Thursday, April 27, I placed the following questions on the order paper :
1. Has the government decided to erect wire fencing along the southern boundaries in the Northwest Territories ?
2. If so, has the contract been let for the construction of same, and what firm received the contract ?
3. Were tenders asked for by advertising, and
what length of time were tenders open ? If so, was lowest tender accepted ? [DOT]
4. If contract is let, what is the price to be paid per rod, and what style of fence, height, &c. ?
Now, this question was answered by the right hon. Prime Minister on May 1st, as follows : That the government had this under consideration, that no contract had been let or tenders asked for. Some correspondence relating to this fencing has been placed in my hands, and I feel in duty hound to bring it before the government. The Page Wire Fence Company of Walker-ville wrote the following letter to me, under date of April 18th, 1905 :
Walkerville, Ont., April 18th, 1905.