April 11, 1957 (22nd Parliament, 5th Session)

Right Hon. L. S. St. Laurent (Prime Minister):

Mr. Speaker, in answer to a question yesterday I undertook to communicate with Mr. Bennett about the question that had been asked of me, whether I was aware that he had been a director of Investors Mutual of Canada Limited. I communicated with him and I have this answer as to the facts:
I have been a director of Investors Mutual of Canada since its incorporation several years ago. On March 1 last I advised the president of the company of my desire to resign from the board, and it was understood that my resignation would be submitted formally at the next meeting of the board. I took this decision because the increase in my responsibilities as president of Eldorado Mining and Refining Limited and of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited made it quite apparent that I could devote no time to outside activities. Since the question of Investors Mutual holdings in uranium has been raised, I should point out that at no time have I been consulted about such investments for the simple reason that under an agreement between Investors Mutual of Canada and Investors Syndicate of Canada the latter company provides an investment service as well as a sales service for Investors Mutual. Accordingly, the board of directors of Investors Mutual has not been involved in the selection of that company's portfolio.