May 25, 1917 (12th Parliament, 7th Session)

Mr. CROTHERS:

I am unable to answer my hon. friend's question without referring to what was said last Wednesday night. I was stating that on Sunday I received information that the gentleman whose name appeared oh that telegram had been instructed to have the men return to work immediately, and it was upon the strength of that information that I said on Monday that I expected the men would resume w.ork within forty-eight hours. The information I had received entirely warranted my making that statement, notwithstanding any telegrams that may have been received by my hon. friend from Medicine Hat or anybody else. My hon. friend desires to know if anything further has been done. We are in constant communication with the parties directly interested. We are as anxious to get the men back to work as any hon. gentleman can be, but I do not think it would be in the public interest to go into the details of what is being done. I said on Monday that I expected the men would be at work again within forty-eight hours. I can now only hope that they will be at work within the next forty-eight hours, and I am not so optimistic as I was on Monday because the instructions given to this man have not been carried out up to the present, but I hope they will be.